Software that can not only monitor every keystroke and action performed at a PC but also be used as legally binding evidence of wrong doing has been unveiled. Worries about cyber crime and sabotage have prompted many employers to consider monitoring employees. The developers behind the system claim it is a break through in the way data is monitored and stored. But privacy advocates are concerned by the invasive nature of such software. The system is a joint venture between security firm 3ami and storage specialists BridgeHead Software. They have joined forces to create a system which can monitor computer activity, store it and retrieve disputed files within minutes. More and more firms are finding themselves in deep water as a result of data misuse. Sabotage and data theft are most commonly committed from within an organisation according to the National Hi Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) A survey conducted on its behalf by NOP found evidence that more than 80% of medium and large companies have been victims of some form of cyber crime. BridgeHead Software has come up with techniques to prove, to a legal standard, that any stored file on a PC has not been tampered with. Ironically the impetus for developing the system came as a result of the Freedom of Information Act, which requires companies to store all data for a certain amount of time. The storage system has been incorporated into an application developed by security firm 3ami which allows every action on a computer to be logged. Potentially it could help employers to follow the trail of stolen files and pinpoint whether they had been emailed to a third party, copied, printed, deleted or saved to CD, floppy disk, memory stick or flash card. Other activities the system can monitor include the downloading of pornography, the use of racist or bullying language or the copying of applications for personal use. Increasingly organisations that handle sensitive data, such as governments, are using biometric log ins such as fingerprinting to provide conclusive proof of who was using a particular machine at any given time. Privacy advocates are concerned that monitoring at work is not only damaging to employee's privacy but also to the relationship between employers and their staff. "That is not the case," said Tim Ellsmore, managing director of 3ami. "It is not about replacing dialogue but there are issues that you can talk through but you still need proof," he said. "People need to recognise that you are using a PC as a representative of a company and that employers have a legal requirement to store data," he added.


Web logs or blogs are everywhere, with at least an estimated five million on the web and that number is set to grow. These online diaries come in many shapes and styles, ranging from people willing to sharing their views, pictures and links, to companies interested in another way of reaching their customers. But this year the focus has been on blogs which cast a critical eye over news events, often writing about issues ignored by the big media or offering an eye witness account of events. Most blogs may have only a small readership, but communication experts say they have provided an avenue for people to have a say in the world of politics. The most well known examples include Iraqi Salam Pax's accounts of the US led war, former Iranian vice president Mohammad Ali Abtahi exclusive insight into the Islamic Republic's government, and the highs and lows of the recent US election campaign. There are already websites pulling together these first hand reporting accounts heralded by blogs, like wikinews.com, launched last November. The blogging movement has been building up for many years. Andrew Nachison, Director of the Media Center, a US based think tank that studies media, technology and society, highlights the US presidential race as a possible turning point for blogs. "You could look at that as a moment when audiences exercised a new form of power, to choose among many more sources of information than they have never had before," he says. "And blogs were a key part of that transformation." Among them were blogs carrying picture messages, saying "we are sorry" for George W Bush's victory and the responses from his supporters. Mr Nachison argues blogs have become independent sources for images and ideas that circumvent traditional sources of news and information such as newspapers, TV and radio. "We have to acknowledge that in all of these cases, mainstream media actually plays a role in the discussion and the distribution of these ideas," he told the BBC News website. "But they followed the story, they didn't lead it." Some parts of the so called traditional media have expressed concerns about this emerging competitor, raising questions about the journalistic value of blogs. Others, like the French newspaper Le Monde, have applied a different strategy, offering blogs as part of its content. "I don't think the mission and role of journalism is threatened. It is in transition, as society itself is in transition," says Mr Nachison. However, he agrees with other experts like the linguist and political analyst Noam Chomsky, that mainstream media has lost the traditional role of news gatekeeper. "The one to many road of traditional journalism, yes, it is threatened. And professional journalists need to acclimate themselves to an environment in which there are many more contributors to the discourse," says Mr Nachison. "The notion of a gatekeeper who filters and decides what's acceptable for public consumption and what isn't, that's gone forever." "With people now walking around with information devices in their pockets, like camera or video phones, we are going to see more instances of ordinary citizens breaking stories." It seems unlikely that we will end up living in a planet where every human is a blogger. But the current number of blogs is likely to keep on growing, in a web already overloaded with information. Blog analysis firm Technorati estimates the number of blogs in existence, the so called blogosphere, has already exceeded five million, and is growing at exponential levels. Tools such as Google's Blogger, MovableType and the recently launched beta version of MSN Spaces are making it easier to run a blog. US research think tank Pew Internet American Life says a blog is created every 5.8 seconds, although less than 40% of the total are updated at least once every two months. But experts agree that the phenomenon, allowing individuals to publish, share ideas, exchange information, comment on current issues, post images or video on the web easily, is here to stay. "We are entering one era in which the technological infrastructure is creating a different context for how we tell our stories and how we communicate with each other," said Mr Nachison. "And there's going to be bad that comes with the good."


Tory delegates are gathering for what is expected to be their last conference before the general election, declaring Britain needs "a change at the top". The party goes into its spring forum trying to highlight what it sees as a clear choice between it and Labour. Tory co chairman Liam Fox has opened proceedings with a speech criticising Tony Blair's record in government. Labour's rule has been characterised by "lost trust and failure to deliver", he told the Brighton conference. He also attacked the government's "failure" to control immigration and asylum and criticised its record on the NHS, telling delegates Labour cannot be trusted on education or crime. A Tory government would sort out the "shambles" of immigration, put patients before statistics and bring discipline to schools, he said. Dr Fox also underlined Tory promises to cut tax by 4bn. BBC political correspondent Shaun Ley says opinion polls suggest the Tories still lag some way behind Labour on the issues of health, education and the economy. Conservative leader Michael Howard, who had been due to welcome delegates to the conference on Friday, will address them in a lunchtime speech. His welcome address had to be postponed after he stayed in London to lead the party's opposition to the Prevention of Terrorism Bill in its lengthy progress through Parliament. The bill was finally passed on Friday evening, after more than 30 hours of debate. Mr Howard is likely to defend his party's handling of the bill, which was only passed after the Conservatives accepted Prime Minister Tony Blair's promise that MPs would be able to review it within a year.


Argentina and Venezuela have extended a food for oil deal, which helped the former to overcome a severe energy crisis last year. Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed the deal in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. Last April, Argentina signed a 240m agreement to import Venezuelan fuel in exchange for agricultural goods and this deal has now been extended. Venezuela will now import cattle, medicines and medical equipment. Last year, Argentina's severe energy crisis forced President Kirchner to suspend gas exports to Chile. Argentina fears that rising demand could spark another crisis and wants to prevent it by signing this deal. The two countries also formalised a co operation deal between Venezuelan energy firm PDVSA and Argentina's Enarsa. Under this deal, the Argentine market will be opened to Venezuelan investment. President Chavez added that Brazil's Petrobras could join soon the co operation deal. President Chavez is an ardent promoter of the concept of a South American oil company, which could include the state owned companies of Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia. The two presidents also agreed to create 'Television Sur', a Latin American network of state owned television channels.


The attorney general has denied his statement to Parliament about the legality of the Iraq war was drafted by Downing Street officials. Lord Goldsmith said Lord Falconer and Baroness Morgan played no part in drafting the answer. He added the answer represented his view that the war was legal, but was not a summary of his advice to the PM. The government has resisted calls to publish the full advice, saying such papers are always kept confidential. In a statement, Lord Goldsmith said: "I was fully involved throughout the drafting process and personally finalised, and of course approved, the answer." He said the answer had been prepared in his office with the involvement of Solicitor General Harriet Harman, two of his own officials, three Foreign Office officials, a QC, Christopher Greenwood and the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg. "No other minister or official was involved in any way." He suggested the claim that Lord Falconer and Lady Morgan had drafted the answer were the result of a mis transcription of his evidence to the Butler Inquiry into pre war intelligence. "As I have always made clear, I set out in the answer my own genuinely held, independent view that military action was lawful under the existing (UN) Security Council resolutions," he said. "The answer did not purport to be a summary of my confidential legal advice to government." Former foreign secretary Robin Cook said Lord Goldsmith's admission that his parliamentary answer was not a summary of his legal opinion suggested Parliament may have been misled. "The attorney general may never have presented his answer as a summary, but others certainly did," he said. "What is clear from his statement today is that he does not believe that it was a full, accurate summary of his formal opinion." Earlier, Tony Blair dismissed questions about the attorney general's advice, and said his Parliamentary statement had been a "fair summary" of his opinion. "That's what he (Lord Goldsmith) said and that's what I say. He has dealt with this time and time and time again," Mr Blair told his monthly news conference in Downing Street. He refused to answer further questions on the issue. On the question of whether such papers have always been kept confidential, Tory MP Michael Mates, who is a member of the Commons intelligence and security committee and was part of the Butler inquiry, told the BBC: "That, as a general rule, is right, but it's not an absolute rule." He said there had been other occasions when advice had been published, most recently regarding Prince Charles's marriage plans. The government could not pick and choose when to use the convention, he said. Mr Mates added: "This may be one of those special occasions... when it would be in the public interest to see the advice which the attorney general gave to the prime minister." The claims about Lord Falconer and Baroness Morgan's involvement were made in a book published this week by Philippe Sands QC, a member of Cherie Blair's Matrix Chambers. He also says Lord Goldsmith warned Tony Blair on 7 March 2003 that the Iraq war could be illegal without a second UN resolution sanctioning military action. A short statement about Lord Goldsmith's position presented in a written parliamentary answer on 17 March 2003 just before a crucial Commons vote on the military action did not suggest this. Former minister Clare Short, who resigned from the government over the Iraq war, said the ministerial answer was the same statement that was earlier shown to the cabinet as it discussed military action. She said the full advice should have been attached, according to the ministerial code, and demanded a Lords inquiry into the matter. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats say they still want the publication of the full legal advice given by the Attorney General. Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell said Lord Goldsmith's statement still did not clear up the outstanding issues. "If his original advice of 7 March accepted that military action might be illegal, how was it that he resolved any such doubts by the time the Parliamentary answer was published on 17 March?" he said. "Only the fullest disclosure will now do."


Leroy Lita took his goal tally to 13 for the season as his double earned City an LDV Vans Trophy win. The striker finished off Scott Murray cross from close range just seconds before half time. Lita then made it 2 0 on 52 minutes, but Dons' substitute Serge Makofo then netted a great volley to make it 2 1. The visitors almost took the tie to extra time with a late 30 yard bullet from Richard Johnson which was well held by Steve Phillips. Phillips, Amankwaah, Coles, Hill, Fortune, Murray (Anyinsah 59), Doherty (Harley 45), Dinning, Bell, Lita (Cotterill 72), Gillespie. Subs Not Used: Orr, Brown. Hill. Lita 45, 52. Bevan, Oyedele, Ntimban Zeh, Crooks, Puncheon, Kamara (Makofo 64), Chorley, Herve (McKoy 45), Tapp (Johnson 45), Mackie, Pacquette. Subs Not Used: Martin, Palmer. Pacquette, Chorley, Johnson, McKoy. Makofo 66. 3,367 J Ross (Essex).


Schools must improve the quality of citizenship lessons or social cohesion and democracy will suffer, says the education watchdog. Independent faith schools were singled out by Ofsted chief, David Bell, for not doing enough to promote the "wider tenets of British society". Mr Bell said Muslim, Jewish and Evangelical Christian schools must be "intolerant of intolerance". Diversity "certainly must not mean segregated or separate", he said. Mr Bell's speech called for a much greater effort in all types of schools to teach citizenship with an accompanying survey showing that young people knew little about politics and had no enthusiasm to find out more. Badly taught citizenship lessons have previously been criticised by Mr Bell, and in a speech to the Hansard Society, he warned that it was failing to pass on an understanding of democracy, public service and shared values. He highlighted his particular concern for citizenship in the growing number of independent faith schools which he said included about 100 Muslim, 100 Evangelical Christian and 50 Jewish schools. Mr Bell expressed concern about schools which did not teach children enough about a "common heritage" and needed to do more to promote principles of mutual tolerance and social inclusion. "I worry that many young people are being educated in faith based schools, with little appreciation of their wider responsibilities and obligations to British society," said Mr Bell. The Ofsted chief said his forthcoming annual report would make particular reference to Muslim schools. "Many must adapt their curriculum to ensure that it provides pupils with a broad general knowledge of public institutions and services in England and helps them to acquire an appreciation of and respect for other cultures in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony." Mr Bell said such questions of religion and cultural identity were "tricky issues". But he argued that "we must not allow our recognition of diversity to become apathy in the face of any challenge to our coherence as a nation". "I would go further and say that an awareness of our common heritage as British citizens, equal under the law, should enable us to assert with confidence that we are intolerant of intolerance, illiberalism and attitudes and values that demean the place of certain sections of our community, be they women or people living in non traditional relationships," said Mr Bell.


Ask Jeeves has bought the Bloglines website to improve the way it handles content from web journals or blogs. The Bloglines site has become hugely popular as it gives users one place in which to read, search and share all the blogs they are interested in. Ask Jeeves said it was not planning to change Bloglines but would use the 300 million articles it has archived to round out its index of the web. How much Ask Jeeves paid for Bloglines was not revealed. Bloglines has become popular because it lets users build a list of the blogs they want to follow without having to visit each journal site individually. To do this it makes use of a technology known as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) that many blogs have adopted to let other sites know when new entries are made on their journals. The acquisition follows similar moves by other search sites. Google acquired Pyra Labs, makers of the Blogger software, in 2003. In 2004 MSN introduced its own blog system and Yahoo has tweaked its technology to do a better job of handling blog entries. Jim Lanzone, vice president of search properties at Ask Jeeves in the US, said it did not acquire Bloglines just to get a foothold in the blog publishing world. He said Ask Jeeves was much more interested in helping people find information they were looking for rather than helping them write it. "The universe of readers is vastly larger than the universe of writers," he said. Mr Lanzone said the acquisition would sit well with Ask's My Jeeves service which lets people customise their own web experience and build up a personal collection of useful links. "Search engines are about discovering information for the first time and RSS is the ideal way to keep track of and monitor those sites," he said. It would also help drive information and entries from blogs to the portals that Ask Jeeves operates. There would be no instant sweeping changes to Bloglines, said Mr Lanzone. "Our intent is to take our time to figure out the right business model not to try to monetise it right away," he said. Though Mr Lanzone added that Ask Jeeves would be helping organise the database of 300m blog entries Bloglines holds with its own net indexing technology. "Being able to search the blogosphere as one corpus of information will be very useful in its own right," said Mr Lanzone. Rumours about the acquisition were broken by the Napsterization weblog which said it got the hint from Ask Jeeves insiders.


Electrolux saw its shares rise 14% on Tuesday after it said it would be shifting more of its manufacturing to low cost countries. The Swedish firm, the world's largest maker of home appliances, said it is to relocate about 10 of its 27 plants in western Europe and North America. It did not say which facilities would be affected, but intends moving them to Asia, eastern Europe and Mexico. The company has two manufacturing sites in County Durham. It makes lawn and garden products in Newton Aycliffe, and cookers and ovens in Spennymoor. The Newton Aycliffe plant could also be affected by Electrolux's separate announcement that it is to spin off its outdoor products unit into a new separate company. Electrolux's subsidiary brands include AEG, Zanussi and Frigidaire. The company said it was speeding up its restructuring programme, which aims to save between 190m and 265m annually from 2009. "We see that about half the plants in high cost countries that is around 10 are at risk," said Electrolux chief executive Hans Straberg. "It looks pretty grim," said Swedish trades union official Ulf Carlsson. "What are we going to end up producing in Sweden?"


The US economy added 337,000 jobs in October a seven month high and far more than Wall Street expectations. In a welcome economic boost for newly re elected President George W Bush, the Labor Department figures come after a slow summer of weak jobs gains. Jobs were created in every sector of the US economy except manufacturing. While the separate unemployment rate went up to 5.5% from 5.4% in September, this was because more people were now actively seeking work. The 337,000 new jobs added to US payrolls in October was twice the 169,000 figure that Wall Street economists had forecast. In addition, the Labor Department revised up the number of jobs created in the two previous months to 139,000 in September instead of 96,000, and to 198,000 in August instead of 128,000. The better than expected jobs data had an immediate upward effect on stocks in New York, with the main Dow Jones index gaining 45.4 points to 10,360 by late morning trading. "It looks like the job situation is improving and that this will support consumer spending going into the holidays, and offset some of the drag caused by high oil prices this year," said economist Gary Thayer of AG Edwards Sons. Other analysts said the upbeat jobs data made it more likely that the US Federal Reserve would increase interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 2% when it meets next week. "It should empower the Fed to clearly do something," said Robert MacIntosh, chief economist with Eaton Vance Management in Boston. Kathleen Utgoff, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor, said many of the 71,000 new construction jobs added in October were involved in rebuilding and clean up work in Florida, and neighbouring Deep South states, following four hurricanes in August and September. The dollar rose temporarily on the job creation news before falling back to a new record low against the euro, as investors returned their attention to other economic factors, such as the US's record trade deficit. There is also speculation that President Bush will deliberately try to keep the dollar low in order to assist a growth in exports.


American Olympic stars Justin Gatlin and Joanna Hayes have been named the winners of the 2004 Jesse Owens Awards, USA Track Field's (USATF) top honour. Gatlin, 22, won the closest 100m final in Games history with a career best time of 9.85 seconds in Athens. He also won bronze in the 200m and silver in the 4x100m relay, becoming the only male athlete to win three athletics medals this summer. Hayes, 27, set an Olympic record of 12.37 in winning the 100m hurdles. Established in 1981, the Jesse Owens Awards named in honour of the late Olympic great who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Games are presented annually to the outstanding US male and female track and field performers. The 2004 awards will be presented on 3 December in conjunction with the USATF annual meeting in Portland. "It is such a great honour to win the Jesse Owens Award," said Gatlin. "It is one of the biggest honours in track and field and it is a great end to a great year. " Hayes said: "Knowing some of the great people who have won this award before me and knowing what it represents, I feel a sense accomplishment and pride which lets me know that everything that I have worked for is and always will be worth it."


Video games could soon be transplanted from their natural habitat to the more academic atmosphere of the classroom. With violent titles continuing to top the charts, gaming and learning have not always sat well together but the tide could be beginning to turn. Recent research by the London Institute of Education concluded that games have a valid place in the classroom. "Games teach life skills such as decision making, problem solving," said Martin Owen, at Futurelab. Mr Owen said games could also help children make quick assessments of situations and learning by trial and error. Futurelab is a non profit organisation looking at ways of using technology for innovative learning. Most game firms are too busy turning a profit in the lucrative commercial market to consider developing games for use in schools but Liverpool based games firm Lateral Visions saw a gap in the market. "Learning games were somewhat old fashioned and we didn't see anyone else doing what we wanted to do," said Dr Carl Gavin, managing director of Lateral Visions. The company set out to write something that had all the look and feel of a commercial game but with an educational and learning element. The result is Racing Academy, a massively multiplayer car racing game, which requires not only a thirst for speed but a working knowledge of physics and engineering as well. It is being used by Futurelab to test the viability of using gaming in the classroom. "We are keen to find out whether alongside learning a game, we can also learn something that the rest of the world can understand as being educational," said Mr Owen. Players will have to understand how a car works in order to win races and the knowledge of physics and engineering that they gather along the way will be done in a way that no text book can teach. The game requires users to build and maintain their vehicles and to monitor and analyse performance using data from a variety of outputs, before and after racing. Teamwork is essential and a chat area allows students to exchange information and data, work collaboratively and review their own performances. This fusion of chatrooms and gaming is of special interest to Futurelab as it is through talking to others that much of the learning can be achieved, thinks Mr Owen. The game has been trialled in two secondary schools in Bristol and feedback from students has been positive. "Pupils used the statistics to work out the best way to build their cars and the online message board to share ideas and support each other," said Ben Williamson, a researcher at Futurelab charged with testing the game in real schools. Dr Gavin thinks the game satisfies both teachers' need for learning outcomes and the children's desire to rise to a challenge. "Games in the classroom need to support the teacher. It is not about giving children free rein to play game but recognising that games attract attention and offer a challenge," he said. Professor Angela MacFarlane, based at Bristol University, has spent several years researching how games can be incorporated into classrooms. Use of games in schools has been patchy she found, with Sim City proving the most popular. Traditionally schools have eschewed mainstream games in favour of used so called edu tainment software in a belief that such packages help to make learning fun, she found in her research. "It is perhaps in a compromise between edutainment and mainstream games that the greatest potential for classroom useable games lies," she wrote in a paper entitled Games and Learning. 'Lite' versions of existing games could be the way forward and would overcome one of the biggest hurdles persuading developers to write for the educational market. This would appeal to developers because of the low costs involved in adapting them as well as offering a new opportunity for marketing. Already there are games on the market, such as Civilisation and Age of Empire, that have educational elements said Mr Owen. "Even in Grand Theft Auto it is not just the violence that engages people," he said. It could be some time until that particular game makes it into the classroom though.


People vulnerable to problem debts should be afforded greater protection from banks aggressively promoting financial products, the Lib Dems say. Vincent Cable says one in eight households already struggle with debt and that will worsen if there is a hike in interest rates or unemployment. The Lib Dems' Treasury spokesman is unveiling a policy aimed at the issue. He wants to see "proper health checks" when loans are marketed so people know to take out payment protection. "Were economic conditions to deteriorate at all, large numbers of people could be affected because they have borrowed to the limit," Mr Cable told BBC News. "Banks are very aggressively promoting debt in many cases there is a bigger problem ahead." Mr Cable said the government's Consumer Credit Bill would target some of the "extreme problems" such as loan sharking, but ministers had been "a bit complacent" about the wider issue of debt levels. He said much of the payment protection currently available was "extremely expensive" and there were "lots of exclusions". Mr Cable added that the Office of Fair Trading should investigate the market. Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy meanwhile is in the middle of a tour of the UK aimed at persuading voters his is the "real opposition". Mr Kennedy is visiting a mixture of rural seats, where his party is hoping to make gains from the Conservatives, and urban areas traditionally associated with Labour. Labour say a Lib Dem vote could "let the Tories in", while the Tories say the Lib Dems would mean "higher taxes, soft crime laws, more power to Europe". Mr Kennedy's tour comes as he, Labour leader Tony Blair and Conservative leader Michael Howard all step up campaigning ahead of the next General Election, widely expected to be held on 5 May. The Liberal Democrats say in the northern cities, the race is between them and Labour, while in southern seats particularly the south west it is between them and the Tories. Speaking to the BBC's Westminster Hour on Sunday, Mr Kennedy said the upcoming general election widely tipped for 5 May would be much more unpredictable than any others in "recent experience". And he brushed off Labour suggestions a vote for his party would mean letting the Tories in "by the back door". "If you look at the four previous parliamentary by elections, the Liberal Democrats have demonstrated that, not only can we leapfrog the Conservatives where we start in a third place position, but we can go on to defeat the government. "That's going to be the story, I think, of this coming general election."


Chancellor Gordon Brown's closest ally has denied suggestions there will be a Budget giveaway on 16 March. Ed Balls, ex chief economic adviser to the Treasury, said there would be no spending spree before polling day. But Mr Balls, a prospective Labour MP, said he was confident the chancellor would meet his fiscal rules. He was speaking as Sir Digby Jones, CBI director general, warned Mr Brown not to be tempted to use any extra cash on pre election bribes. Mr Balls, who stepped down from his Treasury post to stand as a Labour candidate in the election, had suggested that Mr Brown would meet his golden economic rule "with a margin to spare". He said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules. He also stressed rise in interest rates ahead of an expected May election would not affect the Labour Party's chances of winning. Expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed house prices are still rising. Consumer borrowing rose at a near record pace in January. "If the MPC (the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee) were to judge that a rate rise was justified before the election because of the strength of the economy and I'm not predicting that they will I do not believe that this will be a big election issue in Britain for Labour," he told a Parliamentary lunch. "This is a big change in our political culture." During an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Balls said he was sure Mr Brown's Budget would not put at risk the stability of the economy. "I don't think we'll see a pre election spending spree we certainly did not see that before 2001," he said. His assurances came after Sir Digby Jones said stability was all important and any extra cash should be spent on improving workers' skills. His message to the chancellor was: "Please don't give it away in any form of electioneering." Sir Digby added: "I don't think he will. I have to say he has been a prudent chancellor right the way through. Stability is the key word British business needs boring stability more than anything. "We would say to him 'don't increase your public spending, don't give it away. But if you are going to anywhere, just add something to the competitiveness of Britain, put it into skilling our people'. "That would be a good way to spend any excess." Mr Balls refused to say whether Mr Brown would remain as chancellor after the election, amid speculation he will be offered the job of Foreign Secretary. "I think that Gordon Brown wants to be part of the successful Labour government which delivers in the third term for the priorities of the people and sees off a Conservative Party that will take Britain backwards," Mr Balls told Today. Prime Minister Tony Blair has yet to name the date of the election, but most pundits are betting on 5 May.


The Mac Mini was launched amid much fanfare by Apple and great excitement by Apple watchers last month. But does the latest Macintosh justify the hype? Let us get a few things dealt with at the outset yes, the Mac Mini is really, really small, and yes, it is another piece of inspired Apple design. There is more to be said on the computer's size and design but it is worth highlighting that the Mac Mini is a just a computer. Inside that small box there is a G4 processor, a CD/DVD player, a hard drive, some other technical bits and bobs and an operating system. A DVD burner, wireless and bluetooth technologies can be bought at extra cost. And if you do not have a monitor, keyboard or mouse then you will need to purchase those also. It is not the fastest computer for the money but for under 400 you are getting something more interesting than mere technical specifications Apple software. The Mac Mini comes bundled with Mac OS X, the operating system, as well as iLife 05, a suite of software which includes iTunes, web browser Safari, iPhoto, Garage Band and iDVD. I doubt many PC lovers would seriously argue that Windows XP comes with a better suite of programs than Mac OS X. Of course, users of open source operating system Linux draw up their own menu of programs. For people who want to do interesting things with their music, photos and home movies then a Mac Mini is an ideal first computer or companion to a main computer. "It's a good little machine with a reasonable amount of power and just perfect for the average computer user who wants to leave the tyranny of Window and viruses," said Mark Sparrow, technical and reviews editor at Mac Format magazine. He added: "In essence, it's a laptop in a biscuit tin, minus the screen and the keyboard. "The software bundle that comes with the mini makes your average budget PC look a bit sick." The relatively low price of the machine has also encouraged the more technically savvy to experiment with their Macs. One user has already created a "dock" to enable him to plug in and out his Mac Mini in his car. The small size of the machine makes it a practical solution for in car entertainment playing movies and music as well as navigation. Another user has mounted his Mac Mini to the back of his large plasma screen and then controls the computer via a wireless keyboard and mouse. When it was first announced some pundits thought the Mini was designed as a sort of stealth media centre ie the machine would be used to serve TV programmes, music, films and photos partly due to its small, living room friendly design. But there are obvious reasons why this is not the case at least not in the here and now The hard drive at 80GB for the larger model is too small to be realistically used as media centre. While commercial Personal Video Recorders are on the market with smaller than 80GB hard drives it is worth remembering that they only store TV content. A media centre computer has to store music, files and photos and as such 80GB just seems too small. Most PCs running Windows Media Center have at least 120GB hard disks. Coupled with the lack of a TV tuner card, a digital audio out and any kind of media centre software bundled with the machine then the Mac Mini should be judged on what it is, not what it is not. But that has not stopped more enterprising users from adapting the Mac Mini to media centre uses. So is the Mac Mini just another computer or a revolution in computing? Graham Barlow, editor of Mac Format, understandably has a rather partisan viewpoint. "It's just a Mac, but we should be very excited it's revolutionary in its size (smaller than PCs), looks (looks better than PCs), and the fact that it's the first Mac designed to really go for the low cost PC market." The design of the Mac Mini is further evidence of a future when PCs are more than just bland, bulky boxes. There are a number of companies who already produce miniature PCs based on mini ITX motherboards. But at the moment these PCs tend to be either for the home build enthusiast or expensive pre built options based around Microsoft's Media Center software. But for the value the Mac Mini offers, bringing some of the best software packages within reach of more consumers than ever before, Apple is to be congratulated. Let us say then that if the Mac Mini is not a fully fledged revolution it is a mini revolution.


US oil prices have fallen by 6%, driven down by forecasts of a mild winter in the densely populated northeast. Light crude oil futures fell 2.86 to 41.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), and have now lost 4 in five days. Nonetheless, US crude is still 30% more expensive than at the beginning of 2004, boosted by growing demand and bottlenecks at refineries. Traders ignored the possible effects of Asia's tidal waves on global supplies. Instead, the focus is now on US consumption, which is heavily influenced in the short term by the weather. "With the revised milder temperatures... I'm more inclined to think we'll push lower and test the 40 40.25 range," said John Brady of ABN AMRO. "The market definitely feels to be on the defensive." Statistics released last week showed that stockpiles of oil products in the US had risen, an indication that severe supply disruptions may not arise this winter, barring any serious incident. Oil prices have broken records in 2004, topping 50 a barrel at one point, driven up by a welter of worries about unrest in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, rising demand and supply bottlenecks. London's International Petroleum Exchange remained closed for the Christmas holiday.


Laura Ashley is parting company with its chief executive Ainum Mohd Saaid. The clothing and home furnishing retailer said Ms Mohd Saaid had resigned for personal reasons. Her departure will come into effect on 1 February and follows the departure of co chief executive Rebecca Navarednam on 1 January. Ms Mohd Saaid is to be replaced by Lillian Tan, presently a non executive director of the company and head of a Malaysian retailer. In a statement issued on Thursday, Laura Ashley thanked Ms Mohd Saaid for her services to the company. Its shares were down 8.51% to 10.75p in late Thursday morning trading on the London Stock Exchange. Since 2002, Ms Tan has been managing director and chief executive of Metrojaya, one of the largest retail groups in Malaysia. Laura Ashley, which is due to issue its next trading statement in the next few weeks, has in recent months been hit by reports of poor sales. In October last year, it announced the closure of one of its two Welsh factories. In September, the company had said that its half year clothing sales had been "below expectations". In recent times, it has put renewed focus on home furnishings rather than clothing, but last September it reported that interim six month losses had risen from 1m to 1.2m, while sales had fallen from 138m to 118m. Laura Ashley, which floated on the London Stock Exchange for 200m ( 376m) in 1995, is majority owned by Malaysia entrepreneur Dr Khoo Kay Peng. In 1996, its share price was more than 200p. It has long been reported that Dr Khoo intends to take the company private, but he has always denied this. "Laura Ashley is a bit of a shrivelled husk of a company," said retail analyst Nick Bubb of Evolution Securities. "It is all pretty odd with its Malaysian owners seemingly just shuffling the deckchairs." Laura Ashley was founded by its late namesake in Kent in 1955, before moving to Mid Wales in 1961 where it still has its main UK factory.


Four African players, including Zimbabwe goalkeeper Energy Murambadoro, are all ready to play for Israeli club Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin in the Uefa Cup. Bnei Sakhnin are the first Arab side ever to play in European competition and will play English Premiership side Newcastle United in the first round. Warriors' goalkeeper Murambadoro, who made a name for himself at the African Nations Cup finals in Tunisia, helped Bnei Sakhnin overcome Albania's Partizani Tirana 6 1 in the previous round. Murambadoro moved to Israel recently after a brief stint with South African club Hellenic. The club won the Israeli Cup final last season and are based in Sakhnin, which is near Haifa. The club have a strong ethic and are high profile promoters of peace and co operation within Israel. The three other Africans at the club are former Cameroon defender Ernest Etchi, DR Congo's Alain Masudi and Nigerian midfielder Edith Agoye, who had a stint with Tunisian side Esperance.


British hurdler Sarah Claxton is confident she can win her first major medal at next month's European Indoor Championships in Madrid. The 25 year old has already smashed the British record over 60m hurdles twice this season, setting a new mark of 7.96 seconds to win the AAAs title. "I am quite confident," said Claxton. "But I take each race as it comes. "As long as I keep up my training but not do too much I think there is a chance of a medal." Claxton has won the national 60m hurdles title for the past three years but has struggled to translate her domestic success to the international stage. Now, the Scotland born athlete owns the equal fifth fastest time in the world this year. And at last week's Birmingham Grand Prix, Claxton left European medal favourite Russian Irina Shevchenko trailing in sixth spot. For the first time, Claxton has only been preparing for a campaign over the hurdles which could explain her leap in form. In previous seasons, the 25 year old also contested the long jump but since moving from Colchester to London she has re focused her attentions. Claxton will see if her new training regime pays dividends at the European Indoors which take place on 5 6 March.


Labour has unveiled the four little words that will form the heart of its general election campaign which, for those just returned from the planet Galifray, is "looming". The slogan "Britain forward not back" (no, it's not an instruction from one of those inter planetary Time Lords) is to become as much a part of our daily lives as the sky it's always there but we mostly stop noticing. The word "Britain" is cast on a red background a nod to Old Labour. "Forward" is in italics and cunningly slopes forward and, along with "not back", is set against a mushy pea green background. As one of the journalists assembled at the unveiling declared, it was all very post modern, or something. Great use of colour. Those ad men really do earn their money. And, coincidentally, the ad men who came up with the abandoned flying pigs and so called "Fagin" posters which caused Tory protests have not been sacked but, as election supremo Alan Milburn declared, "are doing a very good job". Mr Milburn, in the latest in his series of pre election campaign campaigning, explained the slogan was the reaction to polling which suggests the public believe Labour and Tony Blair are the future while Michael Howard and the Tories would take the country backwards. "Not many people talk about the years before 1997 as the good old days," he declared. It would be an aggressive campaign because things would inevitably boil down to a choice between Labour and the Tories. Nobody, he claimed, could picture Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy walking up Downing Street the day after polling. They could, however, picture Michael Howard or, of course, Tony Blair doing it. So it was only right that the campaign concentrated on rigorously examining the opposition's policies and past record. And Tony Blair would be in the very front line of that campaign, he said. "Between now and the election the prime minister will be spending more time out of London than in it but in Britain, not overseas," he promised. "He will be leading the domestic debate from the front, listening, taking the flak." So, let's get on with it then.


Controversial new EU rules for the patenting of computer based inventions have been put on hold due to a last minute intervention from Poland. Poland a large and therefore crucial EU member has requested more time to consider the issue, especially as it relates to the patenting of software. Critics say the law would favour large companies over small, innovative ones. They say it could have massive ramifications for developments such as open source software. Polish ministers want to see the phrasing of the text of the Directive on the Patentability of Computer Implemented Inventions changed so that it excludes the patenting of software. The planned law has ignited angry debate about whether the EU should allow the patenting of computer programs and internet business methods as currently happens in the US. So, for instance, US based Amazon.com holds a patent on 'one click shopping'. Critics claim the law, which the EU says is needed to harmonise with the US, is little more than a law on ideas. "Patent rights, it is claimed, protect inventors but in this case it is exclusively the interests of the big companies that are protected," Eva Lichtenberg, a Austrian Green member of the European Parliament said in a statement. "Smaller, innovative firms cannot afford the patenting and legal costs that the directive would inflict on them," she added. The European Parliament has already clashed with the European Union on the issue and there have been accusations that the process to decide the issue has been undemocratic. The directive has been subject to several previous delays.


British children enjoy the highest average annual income in Europe more than double that of Spanish or Italian youngsters, a report suggests. Children in the UK between the ages of 10 and 17 had an annual income of 775, said market analyst Datamonitor. They use "pester power" to get their parents to stump up nearly a third of this income, the report said. As for how they spend their cash, the bulk goes on personal care, soft drinks and food, Datamonitor said. Datamonitor adds that British teenagers are keen on personal care because it helps them combine two seemingly contradictory emotional needs the desire to fit in and the desire to express their individuality. British teenage girls, compared to their counterparts in seven European countries, are the most keen to use make up products. Nearly three out of four girls said they used make up. According to the Datamonitor report the trend marked British teenagers out as "particularly important to cosmetics manufacturers as they are likely to experiment more with brands and products and form long term beauty routines". And the good times are likely to keep rolling for British children, as the report predicts that they will still be topping the earnings table in 2008.


England beat Fiji 26 21 in a dramatic final in Dubai to win the first IRB Sevens event of the season. Having beaten Australia and South Africa to reach the final, England fell behind to an early try against Fiji. They then took charge with scores from Pat Sanderson, Kai Horstman, Mathew Tait and Rob Thirlby, but Fiji rallied to force a tense finale. Scotland were beaten 33 15 by Samoa in the plate semi final and Ireland lost 17 5 to Tunisia in the shield final. Mike Friday's England side matched their opponents for pace, power and skill in the final and led 19 7 at half time. But Neumi Nanuku and Marika Vakacegu touched down for Fiji, only for a needless trip by Tuidriva Bainivalu on Geoff Appleford to allow England to run down the clock. "To be honest, England have wanted to win in Dubai for a very long time now, and the people here have wanted us to win for just as long," said Friday. "We didn't want to put pressure on ourselves but we are thankful we have achieved that and brought through some young talent at the same time that can hopefully play for the England '15s' in a few years." Portugal confirmed their impressive progress in Sevens rugby by recording a sudden death win over France in the bowl final. Samoa won the plate title by edging out Argentina 21 19.


Wales coach Mike Ruddock has defended his decision not to release any of the international stars for this weekend's regional Celtic League fixtures. Ruddock says the players will benefit from the rest, and their absence will give youngsters a chance to impress. "We've got the WRU charter in place now which outlines exactly what happens," Ruddock told BBC Wales Sport. "Once we're in the Six Nations, the players will only be released in his and the WRU's best interests." The Ospreys and Scarlets say they are happy to support the Wales cause, but the Dragons have expressed disappointment at not being able to use their national squad players in Friday's game with Ulster. Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Cooper, Ian Gough and Kevin Morgan have been used sparingly by Ruddock in the opening two Six Nations wins and captain Jason Forster believes they would benefit from a game with the Dragons. "I'm sure the guys would want to come back to get some game time," Forster told BBC Wales Sport. "It would also be a timely reminder to Mike Ruddock as to what they can do. "And the supporters want to see the star players no disrespect to the other guys performing on the pitch." Ruddock, though, is keen to protect his players from injury and fatigue. "At this stage, there's nothing more the players can do in games to impress me further. "We've got to look at it at another angle and see the opportunities that are provided for the younger players in the region. "For example, the Dragons might use James Ireland this weekend. I've been looking at the lad he's a great prospect for the future." French and English clubs have requested to have all their international players available which means Stephen Jones, Gareth Thomas and Mefin Davies will play this weekend. The majority of Ireland and Scotland players have also been released for provincial duty.


New controls on economic migrants and tighter border patrols will be part of government plans unveiled on Monday. Home Secretary Charles Clarke wants to introduce a points system for economic migrants and increase deportations of failed asylum seekers. Tony Blair has said people are right to be concerned about abuses of the system but there is no "magic bullet". The Tories say Labour is acting too late while the Lib Dems say the plans may not produce an efficient system. The government's new five year plan is designed to show how Labour would reform immigration and asylum controls if it wins the election, expected to be held in May. Ministers deny they have been spurred into action by Tory campaigning or because the prime minister is worried too little has been done. Instead, they say the plans are part of an "evolving" process aimed at winning public confidence. Mr Clarke is expected to announce an end to the automatic right to settle for immigrants' families, and the introduction of fingerprinting for all visa applicants. The prime minister on Sunday said immigration would be "toughened up" to ensure only those immigrants with skills the UK really needs will be granted work permits. But he rejected the Tories' call for a quota on economic migrants, saying no "arbitrary figure" could reflect the UK's needs. Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour: "We should cut the number or increase it depending on the country's needs... "The public are worried about this, they are worried rightly, because there are abuses of the immigration and asylum system." But he defended the UK's current regime, saying all systems around the world were subject to abuse. Tory proposals to cap the number of asylum seekers and process all claims abroad would not work, argued Mr Blair. He said: "We will not be... pretending there is some simple easy way of processing Britain's asylum seekers in some other country, because no such other country exists." Conservative shadow home secretary David Davis said the government had failed to remove 250,000 failed asylum seekers from the UK and limits on economic migrants had been a "shambles". "What we are seeing today is a rather panicky response from the government after eight years of failure," he said. Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said Labour was right to reject the Tories' idea of quotas on asylum. But he said it was yet to be seen if Mr Clarke could deliver "a fair and efficient asylum system".


Heineken and Carlsberg, two of the world's largest brewers, have reported falling profits after beer sales in western Europe fell flat. Dutch firm Heineken saw its annual profits drop 33% and warned that earnings in 2005 may also slide. Danish brewer Carlsberg suffered a 3% fall in profits due to waning demand and increased marketing costs. Both are looking to Russia and China to provide future growth as western European markets are largely mature. Heineken's net income fell to 537m euros ( 701m; 371m) during 2004, from 798m euro a year ago. It blamed weak demand in western Europe and currency losses. It had warned in September that the weakening US dollar, which has cut the value of foreign sales, would knock 125m euros off its operating profits. Despite the dip in profits, Heineken's sales have been improving and total revenue for the year was 10bn euros, up 8.1% from 9.26bn euros in 2003. Heineken said it now plans to invest 100m euros in "aggressive" and "high impact" marketing in Europe and the US in 2005. Heineken, which also owns the Amstel and Murphy's stout brands, said it would also seek to cut costs. This may involve closing down breweries. Heineken increased its dividend payment by 25% to 40 euro cents, but warned that the continued impact of a weaker dollar and an increased marketing spend may lead to a drop in 2005 net profit. Carlsberg, the world's fifth largest brewer, saw annual pre tax profits fall to 3.4bn Danish kroner (456m euros). Its beer sales have been affected by the sluggish European economy and by the banning of smoking in pubs in several European countries. Nevertheless, total sales increased 4% to 36bn kroner, thanks to strong sales of Carlsberg lager in Russia and Poland. Carlsberg is more optimistic than Heineken about 2005, projecting a 15% rise in net profits for the year. However, it also plans to cut 200 jobs in Sweden, where sales have been hit by demand for cheap, imported brands. "We remain cautious about the medium to long term outlook for revenue growth across western Europe for a host of economic, social and structural reasons," investment bank Merrill Lynch said of Carlsberg.


Italy's Illva Saronno has agreed to buy 33% of Changyu, the largest wine maker in China. Changyu said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange that Illva will pay 481.42m yuan ( 58.16m; 30.7m), once the government approves the deal. The Italian liqueur maker will acquire the shares from the Yantai State Asset Management Bureau. Chinese wine sales are growing, the US Agriculture Department said, with wine sales in 2003 up 25% at 61.1bn yuan. China is encouraging state owned companies to sell shares to foreign investors. Anheuser Busch, Heineken and Scottish Newcastle have all invested in the Chinese beer industry in the last two years and now Illva Saronno is betting on the Chinese wine market. Yantai State Asset Management Bureau a government agency in the north eastern city of Yantai owns 55% of Changyu. The state agency will also sell 10% of its stake in Changyu to another overseas company, although it didn't say who. The remaining 12% will be retained by the Yantai city government. The consumption of wine in China is still low, at just 0.22 litres per capita, said the US Agriculture Department. This compares with 59 litres in France, 12 litres in the US and three litres in Japan.


Deaths in custody have reached "shocking" levels, a committee of MPs and peers has warned. The joint committee on human rights found those committing suicide were mainly the most vulnerable, with mental health, drugs or alcohol problems. Members urged the government to set up a task force to tackle deaths in prisons, police cells, detention centres and special hospitals. There was one prison suicide every four days between 1999 and 2003, MPs said. The report, which followed a year long inquiry by the committee, found the high death rate "amounts to a serious failure to protect the right to life of a highly vulnerable group". Many of those who ended up taking their own lives had "presented themselves" to the authorities with these problems before they even offended, the report said. It questioned whether prison was the most appropriate place for them to be kept and whether earlier intervention would have meant custody could have been avoided. Increased resources and a reduction in the use of imprisonment was needed to address the issue in the longer term, the report said. Committee chairman Labour MP Jean Corston said: "Each and every death in custody is a death too many, regardless of the circumstances. "Yet throughout our inquiry we have seen time and time again that extremely vulnerable people are entering custody with a history of mental illness, drug and alcohol problems and potential for taking their own lives." "These highly vulnerable people are being held within a structure glaringly ill suited to meet even their basic needs. "Crime levels are falling but we are holding more people in custody than ever before. The misplaced over reliance on the prison system for some of the most vulnerable people in the country is at the heart of the problems that we encountered. "Until we change our whole approach to imprisoning vulnerable people we cannot begin to meet our positive obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights and meet our duty of care to them." The committee also highlighted "deeply worrying" cases of children and young people taking their own lives. Between 1990 and 2004, 25 children have taken their own lives in prison and two have died in secure training centres. It picked out the case of Joseph Scholes, who hanged himself from the bars of his cell in Stoke Heath Young Offender Institution in March 2002, and urged the home secretary to hold a public inquiry. It revealed that two weeks before his court appearance for a series of robberies, the 16 year old was depressed, exhibiting suicidal tendencies and slashed his face with a knife about 30 times. Even though the trial judge had been alerted to his experience of sexual abuse and mental illness, he was sentenced to a two year detention and training order. Nine days into his sentence, Joseph hung himself from the bars of his cell window with a sheet.


Soaring oil sales and a budget surplus mean Russian debt is no longer a risky investment, one of the world's leading credit rating agencies says. Standard Poor's has classed Russian bonds as "investment grade", up from their former "speculative" rating. Russia's reputation among investors has been hurt in recent months by the heavy tax bills and asset seizures imposed on companies such as oil giant Yukos. S P said the solidity of government finances outweighed the risk. Russia is now a net creditor rather than a debtor. Gold and foreign currency reserves of 119bn beat its foreign public debt of some 113bn. The other two major ratings agencies Fitch and Moody's have long since upped their rating of Russia's sovereign debt. S P had held back through fear that the government was dragging its feet on economic and legal reforms. Now, though, it has finally followed suit. But the agency made it clear that the improved rating did not mean that the risks were a thing of the past. Instead, with Russian government coffers brimming with tax revenues from energy sales, S P said the government's own debt is looking a good bet. "These improvements are so significant that they now outweight the serious and growing political risk that continues to be a key ratings constraint on Russia," wrote S P credit analyst Helena Hessel. The Yukos saga is the most high profile of the political risks to which Ms Hessel alludes. The company's founder and ex chief executive, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is in jail on trial for tax evasion and fraud. Many believe the real motive for his prosecution is that he threatened to use his wealth to set up a political alternative to President Vladimir Putin. His company, meanwhile, is widely believed to have fallen victim to the Kremlin's wish to get Russian energy resources as far as possible back under state control.


The world is casting its gaze on the Cell processor for the first time, but what is so important about it, and why is it so different? The backers of the processor are big names in the computer industry. IBM is one of the largest and most respected chip makers in the world, providing cutting edge technology to large businesses. Sony will be using the chip inside its PlayStation 3 console, and its dominance of the games market means that it now has a lot of power to dictate the future of computer and gaming platforms. The technology inside the Cell is being heralded as revolutionary, from a technical standpoint. Traditional computers whether they are household PCs or PlayStation 2s use a single processor to carry out the calculations that run the computer. The Cell technology, on the other hand, uses multiple Cell processors linked together to run lots of calculations simultaneously. This gives it processing power an order of magnitude above its competitors. Whilst its rivals are working on similar technology, it is Sony's which is the most advanced. The speed of computer memory has been slowly increasing over the last few years, but the memory technology that accompanies the Cell is a huge leap in performance. Using a technology called XDR, created by American firm Rambus, memory can run up to eight times faster than the current standard being promoted by Intel. Perhaps more important than any of the technology is the Cell's role in the imminent "war on living rooms". The big trend predicted for this year is the convergence of computers with home entertainment devices such as DVD players and hi fis. Companies like Microsoft and Sony believe that there is a lot of money to be made by putting a computer underneath the TV of every household and then offering services such as music and video downloads, as well as giving an individual access to all the media they already own in one place. Microsoft has already made its first tactical move into this area with its Windows Media Center software, which has been adopted by many PC makers. Sony had a stab at something similar with the PSX a variation on the PlayStation last year in Japan, although this attempt was generally seen as a failure. Both companies believe that increasing the capabilities of games consoles, to make them as powerful as PCs, will make the technology accessible enough to persuade buyers to give them pride of place on the video rack. Sony and IBM want to make sure that the dominance of the PC market enjoyed by Microsoft and Intel is not allowed to extend to this market. By creating a radically new architecture, and using that architecture in a games console that is sure to be a huge seller, they hope that the Cell processor can become the dominant technology in the living room, shutting out their rivals. Once they have established themselves under the TV, there is no doubt that they hope to use this as a base camp to extend their might into our traditional PCs and instigate a regime change on the desktop. Cell is, in fact, specifically designed to be deployed throughout the house. The links between the multiple processors can also be extended to reach Cell processors in entirely different systems. Sony hopes to put Cells in televisions, kitchen appliances and anywhere that could use any sort of computer chip. Each Cell will be linked to the others, creating a vast home network of computing power. Resources of the Cells across the house can be pooled to provide more power, and the links can also be used to enable devices to talk to each other, so that you can programme your microwave from your TV, for example. This digital home of the future depends on the widespread adoption of the Cell processor and there are, as with all things, a number of reasons it could fail. Because the processor is so different, it requires programmers to learn a different way of writing software, and it may be that the changeover is simply too difficult for them to master. You can also guarantee that Microsoft and Intel are not going to sit around and let Cell take over home computing without a fight. Microsoft is going to be pushing its Xbox 2 as hard as possible to make sure that its technology, not Sony's, will be under your tree next Christmas. Intel will be furiously working on new designs that address the problems of its current chips to create a rival technology to Cell, so that it doesn't lose its desktop PC dominance. If Cell succeeds in becoming the living room technology of choice, however, it could provide the jump start to the fully digital home of the future. The revolution might not be televised, but it could well be played with a videogame controller.


Sacked MP Howard Flight's local Conservative association has insisted he will not be its candidate at the general election. Russell Tanguay, agent for Arundel and South Downs Tories, said Mr Flight was ineligible to be a candidate and the association was seeking a substitute. The news comes despite Mr Flight's allies saying they had enough support to hold a meeting to discuss his fate. Mr Flight landed in trouble over remarks on Tory tax and spending plans. He quit as Tory deputy chairman after apparently suggesting the Tories planned extra spending cuts but he wants to continue as an MP. Tory headquarters says he cannot stand as a Conservative candidate because he is no longer an approved candidate. Mr Tanguay backed that view on Tuesday, saying: "Howard Flight is ineligible to stand as a Conservative Party candidate. "The association is in the process of selecting a new candidate." But the local Tory chairman made similar comments on Friday and dissent continues. Two local councillors who back Mr Flight met Mr Tanguay and the local association's chairman in Arundel on Tuesday afternoon but did not comment as they left the meeting. Mr Flight says he will not stand down as a candidate unless his local party instructs him to do so at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). The MP, who is consulting his lawyers, told BBC News: "They selected me and they, if you like, dispose of me or keep me." Mr Flight's supporters also say they have the 50 signatures needed to trigger the EGM. At a news conference, Mr Howard insisted he had played by the party's rules. The Tory leader, who argues he is ensuring honesty, said: "We do not say one thing in private and another thing in public." Labour election campaign coordinator Alan Milburn said the Tories were in "turmoil" because Mr Flight had exposed their hidden plans. The comments were not a "one off", he said, claiming Mr Howard and other senior Tories were obsessively committed to cutting public spending. Liberal Democrat chairman Matthew Taylor said: "Whilst I disagree with Howard Flight's views, it seems extraordinary to sack somebody for telling the truth." It has also emerged Mr Howard has suspended Slough's constituency Conservative association for refusing to deselect its candidate. Adrian Hilton was abandoned after suggesting the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, under John Major's government, was an act of treason. The Catholic Herald also highlighted articles he wrote about the role of Catholicism in the European Union. Mr Hilton was chosen to fight the seat after the previous candidate, Robert Oulds, was sacked for being pictured with a range of guns and a hunting knife. Slough Conservative Association has now been placed on "support status" and is being run from Conservative campaign headquarters, says a senior party spokesman. Mr Hilton on Tuesday said he was considering taking legal action against his deposal. He said the local party had only learned of the final decision on the BBC News website on Monday evening. "There are people at Central Office who are behaving like little dictators and seemingly people who are ordinary members are being treated with contempt," he said. The party says it did try to contact the local Conservative chairman.


Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has reiterated his desire to stay at Anfield and win trophies with the club. The 24 year old England midfielder is determined to see out his contract, despite reported interest from Chelsea. He said: "I'm signed here for this season and another two so there is no situation. There's a lot of speculation but that's not down to me. "As club captain all I want to do is help us get back up the table and into the Champions League again." Gerrard looked set to move to Chelsea during the summer and speculation of a switch to Stamford Bridge has again arisen, with the January transfer window approaching. He raised doubts about his Reds future when he said he wanted the club to prove they were title challengers in the very near future or he might leave. Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has insisted that Gerrard has promised him he wants to stay at Anfield. Benitez said: "I said to Steven that I was sure he wanted to stay here and he said 'I do'. "I then said to him 'Look, if you want to win titles, you want medals and you want Liverpool to have these things then I am going to need your help'. "I really think he wants to stay so now what we must do is make the squad stronger for him." Meanwhile, Gerrard has urged the Anfield board to sign Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes in the January transfer window. Morientes, 28, has already expressed a willingness to come to England. Gerrard added: "He's a great player. He scores goals in the league, in cup competitions and also in the Champions League. "I don't think he'd be able to play for us in Europe this season but if we are able to get hold of him, we'd be getting ourselves a great player. "He'd have Spanish coaches, a Spanish manager and we have got three or four Spanish players here now so they'll help him settle in. "Rafael Benitez knows what he wants and he knows how to strengthen the squad he's got and if the right players become available at the right price I am sure we will strengthen. "It would certainly be nice to see a few new faces in January to freshen things up."


Premiership side Newcastle United face a trip to Ryman Premier League leaders Yeading in the FA Cup third round. The game arguably the highlight of the draw is a potential money spinner for non League Yeading, who beat Slough in the second round. Conference side Exeter City, who knocked out Doncaster on Saturday, will travel to Old Trafford to meet holders Manchester United in January. Arsenal were drawn at home to Stoke and Chelsea will play host to Scunthorpe. The only other non League side in the draw are Hinckley United, who held Brentford to a goalless draw on Sunday. They will meet League One leaders Luton if they win their replay against Martin Allen's team at Griffin Park. A number of Premiership teams face difficult away games against Championship sides on the weekend of 8/9 January. Third placed Everton visit Plymouth, Liverpool travel to Burnley, Crystal Palace go to Sunderland, Fulham face Carling Cup semi finalists Watford, Bolton meet Ipswich, while Aston Villa were drawn against Sheffield United. Premiership strugglers Norwich, Blackburn, West Brom are away at West Ham, Cardiff and Preston North End respectively. Southampton visit Northampton, having already beaten the League Two side in the Carling Cup earlier this season. Middlesbrough were drawn away against either Swindon or Notts County, while Spurs entertain Brighton at White Hart Lane. Arsenal v Stoke Swindon/Notts Co v Middlesbrough Man Utd v Exeter Plymouth v Everton Leicester v Blackpool Derby v Wigan Sunderland v Crystal Palace Wolves v Millwall Yeading v Newcastle Hull v Colchester Tottenham v Brighton Reading v Stockport/Swansea Birmingham v Leeds Hartlepool v Boston Milton Keynes Dons v Peterborough Oldham v Man City Chelsea v Scunthorpe Cardiff v Blackburn Charlton v Rochdale West Ham v Norwich Sheff Utd v Aston Villa Preston v West Brom Rotherham v Yeovil Burnley v Liverpool Bournemouth v Chester Coventry v Crewe Watford v Fulham Ipswich v Bolton Portsmouth v Gillingham Northampton v Southampton QPR v Nottm Forest Luton v Hinckley/Brentford Matches to be played on weekend of 8/9 January.


The Chinese net using population looks set to exceed that of the US in less than three years, says a report. China's net users number 100m but this represents less than 8% of the country's 1.3 billion people. Market analysts Panlogic predicts that net users in China will exceed the 137 million US users of the net by 2008. The report says that the country's culture will mean that Chinese people will use the net for very different ends than in many other nations. Already net use in China has a very different character than in many Western nations, said William Makower, chief executive of Panlogic. In many Western nations desktop computers that can access the net are hard to escape at work. By contrast in China workplace machines are relatively rare. This, combined with the relatively high cost of PCs in China and the time it takes to get phone lines installed, helps to explains the huge number of net cafes in China. Only 36% of Chinese homes have telephones according to reports. "Net usage tends to happen in the evening," said Mr Makower, "they get access only when they go home and go off to the internet caf 233;." "Its fundamentally different usage to what we have here," he said. Net use in China was still very much an urban phenomenon with most users living on the country's eastern seaboard or in its three biggest cities. The net is key to helping Chinese people keep in touch with friends, said Mr Makower. Many people use it in preference to the phone or arrange to meet up with friends at net cafes. What people can do on the net is also limited by aspects of Chinese life. For instance, said Mr Makower, credit cards are rare in China partly because of fears people have about getting in to debt. "The most popular way to pay is Cash On Delivery," he said, "and that's quite a brake to the development of e commerce." The arrival of foreign banks in China, due in 2006, could mean greater use of credit cards but for the moment they are rare, said Mr Makower. But if Chinese people are not spending cash online they are interested in the news they can get via the net and the view it gives them on Western ways of living. "A large part of the attraction of the internet is that it goes below the radar," he said. "Generally it's more difficult for the government to be able to control it." "Its real value is as an open window onto what's happening elsewhere in the world," he said. Government restrictions on how much advertising can appear on television means that the net is a source of many commercial messages Chinese people would not see anywhere else. Familiarity with the net also has a certain social cachet. "It's a sign of them having made it that they can use the internet and navigate around it," said Mr Makower.


BT is starting its push into television with plans to offer TV over broadband. As a telecoms company, BT is moving to a content distribution strategy, Andrew Burke, chief of BT's new Entertainment unit told the IPTV World Forum. "We want to be an entertainment facilitator," he said on the opening day of the London conference. The BBC is also trialling a service to play programmes over the net and has not ruled out offering it to non licence fee payers overseas. The corporation's Interactive Media Player (iMP) is its first foray into broadband TV known as IPTV (Internet Protocol TV). "We see several opportunities for delivering the type of content that normally broadcasters find it difficult to get to viewers," said BT's Andrew Burke. With more people on broadband, and connection speeds increasing, telcos around the world are looking for new ways to make money from it. Increased competition between net service providers, encouraged by Ofcom, has eroded BT's position in the market. It is looking for a good return on its investment in the technology which has made broadband over ADSL a reality. It also sees delivering TV over broadband as a way of getting high definition (HD) content to people sooner than they will be able to get it through conventional, regular broadcasts. The BBC's iMP has just finished successful technical trials and is set for much larger consumer trials later in 2005. Before it officially launches, the BBC must show the government how it offers value for money. Delivering programmes over broadband offers clear public value, says the BBC, because it gives people more control, and more choice. IPTV is a similar idea to VoIP services, like Skype. Both use broadband net connections to carry information, like video and voice, in packets of data instead of conventional means. Since it uses internet technology, IPTV could mean more choice of programmes, more, more interactivity, tailored programming, and more localised content outside of conventional satellite, digital cable, and terrestrial broadcasts. It is all part of the larger changing TV technology landscape and, like personal digital video recorders (PVRs), gives people much more control over TV. Broadcasters see IPTV and PVRs as both as a threat and an opportunity. The BBC recognises that TV over broadband is a reality and aims to innovate with it, said Rahul Chakkara, controller of BBCi's 24/7 interactive TV services. The iMP is based on peer to peer technology, and lets people download programmes the BBC owns the rights to for up to seven days after broadcast. "IPTV enables us to take back that programme to our audience at different times," said Mr Chakkara. "So we can tell our audience that that programme they paid for via the licence fee , they can access it any time they want." It helps, said Mr Burke, that people are more au fait with terms like "digital", "interactive", now that digital TV reaches more than 56% of UK homes. According to Benoit Joly from broadband telecoms firm Thales, 30% of Europe cannot get satellite TV or digital TV. They could get IPTV though. Analysts say that IPTV will account for 10% of the digital TV market in Europe alone by the end of the decade. What needs to happen now, agree analysts, is for connection speeds to be bumped up to handle the service; 20Mbps connections would be ideal. BT does not see itself as a broadcaster of IPTV services, rather as an "enabler", said Mr Burke. Its strategy is a "hybrid" approach, he explained, where over the air conventional broadcasts are supplemented with content over broadband. Initially appealing to niche markets, like sports fans, it will widen out. But IPTV could be used for home monitoring, "pet cams", localised news services, and local authority TV, too says BT. It even suggests that it could target those households in the UK that do not own a computer, 40% of the country. Broadband to them would not be about data and the net that could come later for them but about cheap phone calls and more choice of TV programmes. Home Choice already offers 10,000 hours of shows and channels, delivered over broadband to homes in London. With a broadband net subscription, you can also get your TV and phone service. Through content deals and partnerships, it offers satellite as well as terrestrial channels, and bespoke channels based on what viewers pick and choose from its catalogues. It aims to expand nationally, but is seeing a lot of success with what it offers its 15,000 subscribers now, and aims to double uptake as well as reach by the summer. Although still at a very early stage, IPTV is another application for broadband that underlines its growing prominence as a backbone network another utility like electricity.


Luxury goods group LVMH has sold its loss making Christian Lacroix clothing label to a US investment group. The Paris based firm has been shedding non core businesses and focusing on its most profitable brands including Moet Chandon champagne and Louis Vuitton. LVMH said the French designer's haute couture and ready to wear labels had been purchased by the Falic Group for an unspecified sum. The Falic Group bought two cosmetics labels from LVMH in 2003. The sale of the Lacroix label comes as many fashion houses are struggling to make money from their expensive haute couture ranges. The Florida based Falic group, which also runs a chain of 90 duty free stores in the US, said it planned to expand the brand by opening new stores. Mr Lacroix said he planned to stay at the label he founded in 1987 although exact details are still to be confirmed.


Japan's Honda has won a copyright case in Beijing, further evidence that China is taking a tougher line on protecting intellectual property rights. A court ruled that Chongqing Lifan Industry Group must stop selling Honda brand motorbikes and said it must pay 1.47m yuan ( 177,600) in compensation. Internationally recognized regulation is now a key part of China's plans for developing its economy, analysts said. Beijing also has been threatened with sanctions if it fails to clamp down. Chinese firms copy products ranging from computer software and spark plugs to baby milk and compact discs. Despite the fact that product piracy is a major problem, foreign companies have only occasionally won cases and the compensation awarded has usually been small. Still, recent rulings and announcements will have boosted optimism that attitudes are changing. Earlier this week China said that in future it will punish violators of intellectual property rights with up to seven years in jail. And on Tuesday, Paws Incorporated the owner of the rights to Garfield the cat won a court battle against a publishing house that violated its copyright. Other firms that have taken legal action in China, with varying degrees of success, include Yamaha, General Motors and Toyota. The problem of piracy is not limited to China, however, and the potential for profit is huge. The European Union estimates that the global trade in pirated wares is worth more than 200bn euros a year ( 140bn; 258bn), or about 5% of total world trade. And it is growing. Between 1998 and 2002, the number of counterfeit or pirated goods intercepted at the EU's external borders increased by more than 800%, it said. Last month the EU said it will start monitoring China, Ukraine and Russia to ensure they are going after pirated goods. Other countries on the EU's hit list include Thailand, Brazil, South Korea and Indonesia. Any countries that are not making enough of an effort could be dragged to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a step that could trigger economic sanctions, the EU warned.


Venezuelan authorities have said they will seize land owned by a British company as part of President Chavez's agrarian reform programme. Officials in Cojedes state said on Friday that farmland owned by a subsidiary of the Vestey Group would be taken and used to settle poor farmers. The government is cracking down on so called latifundios, or large rural estates, which it says are lying idle. The Vestey Group said it had not been informed of any planned seizure. The firm, whose Agroflora subsidiary operates 13 farms in Venezuela, insisted that it had complied fully with Venezuelan law. Prosecutors in the south of the country have targeted Hato El Charcote, a beef cattle ranch owned by Agroflora. According to Reuters, they plan to seize 12,900 acres (5,200 hectares) from the 32,000 acre (13,000 hectare) farm. Officials claim that Agroflora does not possess valid documents proving its ownership of the land in question. They also allege that areas of the ranch are not being used for any form of active production. "The legal boundaries did not match up with the actual boundaries and there is surplus," state prosecutor Alexis Ortiz told Reuters. "As a consequence the government has taken action." Controversial reforms passed in 2001 give the government the right to take control of private property if it is declared idle or ownership cannot be traced back to the 19th Century. Critics say the powers which President Chavez argues are needed to help the country's poorest citizens and develop the Venezuelan economy trample all over private property rights. The Vestey Group said it had owned the land since 1920 and would co operate fully with the authorities. But a spokesman added: "Agroflora is absolutely confident that what it has submitted will demonstrate the legality of its title to the land." The company pointed out that the farm, which employs 300 workers, provides meat solely for the Venezuelan market. Last month, the government said it had identified more than 500 idle farms and had yet to consider the status of a further 40,000. The authorities said landowners whose titles were in order and whose farms were productive had "nothing to fear". Under President Chavez, the Venezuelan government has steadily expanded the state's involvement in the country's economy. It recently said all mining contracts involving foreign firms would be examined to ensure they provided sufficient economic benefits to the state.


British number one Tim Henman will face France's Cyril Saulnier in the first round of next week's Australian Open. Greg Rusedski, the British number two, is in the same quarter of the draw and could face Andy Roddick in the second round if he beats Swede Jonas Bjorkman. Local favourite Lleyton Hewitt will meet France's Arnaud Clement, while defending champion and world number one Roger Federer faces Fabrice Santoro. Women's top seed Lindsay Davenport drew Spanish veteran Conchita Martinez. Henman came from two sets down to defeat Saulnier in the first round of the French Open last year, so he knows he faces a tough test in Melbourne. The seventh seed, who has never gone beyond the quarter finals in the year's first major and is lined up to meet Roddick in the last eight, is looking forward to the match. "He's tough player on any surface, he's got a lot of ability," he said. "We had a really tight one in Paris that went my way so I'm going to need to play well from the outset because he's a dangerous competitor." Switzerland's Federer, seeded one, is the hot favourite having won three of the four grand slam titles in 2004. He has beaten Santoro in five of their seven previous encounters, but is taking nothing for granted. "It's a tricky match," Federer said. "I played him at the US Open and won quite comfortably then. But you never know, if the rhythm is a bit off, he can keep you guessing and make it difficult. "The most important thing, though, is to get used to playing five set matches and winning them." The 23 year old could meet four time champion Andre Agassi in the quarter finals before meeting Russian Marat Safin, the player he beat in last year's final. Eighth seeded American Agassi is set to play a qualifier in round one if he can shake off a hip injury which ruled him out of the Kooyong Classic. Second seed Andy Roddick will open his campaign against Irakli Labadze of Georgia. The American could meet Rusedski in the second round, seventh seed Henman in the quarter finals and Hewitt in the last four. Hewitt is hoping to become the first Australian man to win the event since Mark Edmondson in 1976. The 23 year old has never been beyond round four in eight attempts at Melbourne Park but has at least secured the opposite half of the draw to Federer, who beat him in the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year. Safin, seeded four, opens his campaign against a qualifier with 16th seed Tommy Haas, the player he beat in the semi finals in 2002, a possible fourth round opponent. In the women's draw, Davenport could encounter eighth seeded Venus Williams in the quarter finals and third ranked Anastasia Myskina, the French Open champion, in the semi finals. Bronchitis ruled Davenport, the 2000 Australian Open champion, out of her Sydney quarter final on Thursday. Venus Williams, who lost to younger sister Serena in the Melbourne final two years ago, opens against Eleni Daniilidou of Greece. Serena Williams, who won her fourth consecutive grand slam at the 2003 Australian Open, was drawn in the bottom quarter with second seed Amelie Mauresmo, a runner up in 1999. Serena will open against another Frenchwoman Camille Pin, while Mauresmo plays Australia's Samantha Stosur. Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, seeded fourth, drew a qualifier in the first round but could meet fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the US Open winner, in the last eight 1 Roger Federer (Switzerland) 2 Andy Roddick (US) 3 Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 4 Marat Safin (Russia) 5 Carlos Moya (Spain) 6 Guillermo Coria (Argentina) 7 Tim Henman (Britain) 8 Andre Agassi (US) 9 David Nalbandian (Argentina) 10 Gaston Gaudio (Argentina) 11 Joachim Johansson (Sweden) 12 Guillermo Canas (Argentina) 13 Tommy Robredo (Spain) 14 Sebastien Grosjean (France) 15 Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 16 Tommy Haas (Germany) 17 Andrei Pavel (Romania) 18 Nicolas Massu (Chile) 19 Vincent Spadea (US) 20 Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 21 Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) 22 Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 23 Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 24 Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 25 Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) 26 Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 27 Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand) 28 Mario Ancic (Croatia) 29 Taylor Dent (US) 30 Thomas Johansson (Sweden) 31 Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) 32 Jurgen Melzer (Austria) 1 Lindsay Davenport (US) 2 Amelie Mauresmo (France) 3 Anastasia Myskina (Russia) 4 Maria Sharapova (Russia) 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 6 Elena Dementieva (Russia) 7 Serena Williams (US) 8 Venus Williams (US) 9 Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 10 Alicia Molik (Australia) 11 Nadia Petrova (Russia) 12 Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 13 Karolina Sprem (Croatia) 14 Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 15 Silvia Farina Elia (Italy) 16 Ai Sugiyama (Japan) 17 Fabiola Zuluaga (Colombia) 18 Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) 19 Nathalie Dechy (France) 20 Tatiana Golovin (France) 21 Amy Frazier (US) 22 Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria) 23 Jelena Jankovic (Serbia and Montenegro) 24 Mary Pierce (France) 25 Lisa Raymond (US) 26 Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 27 Anna Smashnova (Israel) 28 Shinobu Asagoe (Japan) 29 Gisela Dulko (Argentina) 30 Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 31 Jelena Kostanic (Croatia) 32 Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic)


Computer giant Microsoft has launched a pilot scheme to replace counterfeit versions of Windows XP with legal ones. The first time initiative is restricted to the UK and to users with pre installed copies of the operating system in PCs bought before November. Until December Microsoft said software can be sent to it for analysis if there are doubts about its legitimacy. The company aims to detect illegal traders and turn users of fake versions of Windows into legitimate ones. The Windows XP Counterfeit Project will mean that software that is found to be counterfeit will be replaced for free, subject to certain conditions, until the end of the year. It is the first time Microsoft has launched a counterfeit product replacement scheme in the world, the company told the BBC News website. In June, the software giant said that the major security update to Windows XP, Service Pack 2, would not work with the most widely pirated versions of its operating system. The upgrade closed security loopholes in XP and added features that made it easier to keep machines safe from viruses and other types of malicious computer code. The US company invited anyone who had suspicions about their version of Windows XP to submit it for testing as soon as possible. The procedure consists of a series of computer checks, collating documents, and filling out a witness statement. "This is a great opportunity for users to confirm the authenticity of Windows XP software whilst helping gather vital information about illegal traders", said Alex Hilton, licence compliance manager at Microsoft. The scheme has also been welcomed by the technology and commerce industry. "It is important that users ensure that they are legally licensed to avoid the risks of purchasing and using counterfeit products", said David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce. The plan would enable Microsoft to gather intelligence about illegal traders in a prompt way, which would allow it to take action against software pirates. Microsoft said it would evaluate the results of the UK programme before setting up similar schemes in other countries.


Double Olympic 10,000m champion Haile Gebrselassie will race in the London Marathon for the next three years. The Ethiopian legend won Sunday's Almeria half marathon in Spain on his return from an operation on his Achilles tendon. He was third in London in 2002 in his first serious attempt at the marathon. "It is a coup for us to secure Haile's presence for the next three years and it guarantees a quality race," said race director David Bedford. Gebrselassie will face Olympic champion Stefano Baldini, world champion Jaouad Gharib, and arch rival Paul Tergat, the current world record holder. "If I didn't think I could win I would not be here," said Gebrselassie, who has set world records on 18 occasions in his illustrious career and is keen to add the marathon record to his collection. "There are a lot of fantastic runners in the race but I shall be doing my utmost to upset them."


UK house prices fell 0.7% in December, according to figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Nationally, house prices rose at an annual rate of 10.7% in December, less than the 13.7% rise the previous month. The average UK house price fell from 180,126 in November to 178,906, reflecting recent Land Registry figures confirming a slowdown in late 2004. All major UK regions, apart from Northern Ireland, experienced a fall in annual growth during December. December is traditionally a quiet month for the housing market because of Christmas celebrations. However, recent figures from the Land Registry showing a big drop in sales between the last quarter of 2004 and the previous year suggested the slowdown could be more than a seasonal blip. The volume of sales between October and December dropped by nearly a quarter from the same period in 2003, the Land Registry said. Although both the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Land Registry figures point to a slowdown in the market, the most recent surveys from Nationwide and Halifax have indicated the market may be undergoing a revival. After registering falls at the back end of 2004, Halifax said house prices rose by 0.8% in January and Nationwide reported a rise of 0.4% in the first month of the year.


London Marathon organisers are hoping that banned athlete Susan Chepkemei will still take part in this year's race on 17 April. Chepkemei was suspended from all competition until the end of the year by Athletics Kenya after failing to report to a national training camp. "We are watching it closely," said London race director David Bedford. "There is a long way to go before the race and we are hoping the situation will be satisfactorily resolved." The camp in Embu was to prepare for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships later this month. Chepkemei however took part and finished third in last Sunday's world best 10K race in Puerto Rico. The 29 year old has finished second to Paula Radcliffe in the 2002 and 2003 London races as well as in November's New York City marathon.


Algeria suffered a weekend of violent protests against government plans to raise gas prices, local press reports. Demonstrators in a number of regions blocked roads, attacked public buildings and overturned vehicles, newspapers including El Watan reported. The price of butane gas, a vital fuel for cooking, has risen to 200 dinars ( 2.77) per canister from 170 dinars. Even before the hike, failing economic conditions had been fanning resentment in some of Algeria's poorest regions. Demonstrators took to the streets last week when the cost change was first announced, but police seemed to have restored order. According to local press reports, trouble flared up again on Saturday and carried on into Sunday. El Watan said that a number of hot spots centred on the villages and towns close to Bouira, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital Algiers. Among the other main areas affected were the western Tiaret region and Sidi Ammar in the east of the country, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. Riots also flared up in the Maghnia region close to the border with Morocco in the west, AFP said. Butane gas and fuel oil are used as the main source of fuel to heat homes and cook food in Algeria's remote mountain areas.