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french scientists are developing fabrics that make you not only chic but also protect you against odors , bacteria , fungi and yeast . near lille , lyon and other hubs of the growing industry , researchers are developing a range of innovative textiles , including sheets and pillowcases that annihilate dust mites on contact , t shirts woven with tiny ceramic particles that block the ultraviolet rays of the sun and underwear that endures unlaundered day after day , with nary a smell . joining the vanguard of high tech materials is not really such a stretch for the french . the country has a long history of textile innovation , extending back to the jacquard loom of 1801 , with its innovative use of punch_cards to pattern intricate designs , which were then woven into sumptuous fabrics . now french looms are starting to turn out a variety of fabrics in which fungicides and other substances are introduced into the material before it is made into fibers or are enclosed in microcapsules that are bound to the clothing later in the process . proponents hope that the new materials will soon knock the socks off the united_states market or , at the very least , deodorize those socks quite thoroughly . ''we are not just a country of cheeses and wines , '' said francoise abriou , trade attache of the consulate general of france . ''we plan also to lead in high technology fabrics . '' ms . abriou , who works out of the atlanta office of the french trade commission , is coordinating the french pavilion of 14 to 20 companies that will be part of techtextil , an international show to be held in atlanta from march 22 to 25 . with one of the new fabrics developed in france , your love may be more like a red , red rose than even robert burns intended . neyret , the venerable parisian lingerie house , offers lingerie woven with tiny perfume microcapsules . touch the silk and scent escapes the semipermeable membrane and pervades the air . ''and the fabric will keep the scent for about 10 washings , depending on water temperature , '' said sylvie gardeux , the company 's united_states sales representative . for olfactory challenges of a different type , francital , a french company that manufactures clothing for extreme environments , has developed a fabric that is treated with chemicals to absorb perspiration and odors . the company , in le valjoly , near st . etienne , plans to test the latest version of the material on two explorers who will trek from the north_pole to resolute bay in northern_canada . each explorer will receive three pairs of underpants as well as extra undershirts . ''we expect them to wear each pair for 30 days , '' said patrice dheu , director of the company . ''in the north_pole , they will have no chance to wash them . '' the deodorized fabric has a knitted , fleecelike fabric that lies next to the skin and keeps the wearer dry , mr . dheu said . perspiration is wicked away to adjoining hydrophilic layers . while the outer layer of the underwear keeps out water , it lets water from perspiration move outward to evaporate into the air . ''the hydrophilic membrane absorbs the moisture so the skin stays dry even when the person is taxed by extreme conditions , '' mr . dheu said . the water molecules absorbed by the membrane are released into the frigid , dry air of the mountain terrain . mr . dheu said that francital planned to release a line of deodorizing underwear with the special wicking action for expedition or sports use in 2002 . at abeil , a french company that specializes in high technology fabrics for pillows , quilts and bedclothes , dust mites are a target of company research . the company impregnates some of its fabrics with small quantities of permethrin , a pesticide often used to kill fleas on dogs or carpets , to kill dust mites on contact , said dr . hugues a . mayer , owner and director of the company , which is in aurillac , midway between bordeaux and lyon . abeil plans to introduce the anti dust mite fabric into the united_states within the next two years , dr . mayer said , but it first needs to assure regulatory agencies that the cloth is not harmful to people or the environment . many people in this country who are allergic to dust mites keep them away by relying on mechanical barriers like impermeable rubber or vinyl plastic mattress covers or or chemical sprays . abeil also produces textiles that kill bacteria as well as dust mites . dr . mayer is president of the national commission for antibacterial textiles , a french organization that is drawing up standards for evaluating antibacterial properties . ''we are concerned to limit the spread of bacteria , but not to eliminate them entirely , '' dr . mayer said , because microorganisms on the skin provide a useful barrier to infection . other french groups , too , are evaluating the new fabrics . dr . guy nemoz , head of research at the french textile institute in lyon , is working on certification for fabrics with antibacterial and antifungal effects . ''in a few weeks we hope to have a standard , '' he said , ''including certification that the chemical is not going outside the fiber , as well as that it is durable over many washings . '' many french fabrics contain antibacterial agents within the fiber , blended into the fiber before it is spun into cloth . sometimes the basic raw_material for the polymer that constitutes the fiber is polyvinyl chloride , but fibers can also be blended with other types of polymers and with wool , cotton or other materials . rhovyl , another french company , embeds highly specific chemicals like triclosan , an antibacterial compound that inhibits the growth of many bacteria , into the fiber at the spinning stage , said celine giacomuzzi , a press spokeswoman for the company , which is based in tronville en barrois . rhovyl as fibers and other antibacterial fibers , like amicor , are used for a number of antibacterial sock and underwear products manufactured by damart , a french clothing company , said brice tillmann , a textile engineer for damart at its research and development office in roubaix , near lille . ''the antibacterial treatments fight odor well , '' he said , ''even after repeated washings . '' damart also offers a high tech t_shirt in france that blocks ultraviolet and infrared radiation , mr . tillmann said . the t_shirt is a blend of cotton and polyester ceramic particles are added to the polyester before it is spun . ''we prefer to add the properties into the fiber , rather than at the finish , '' mr . tillmann said , ' 'so that the properties will last longer . '' the t_shirt makes the wear feel five degrees cooler , mr . tillmann said , ''and this is particularly good for dark colors , which otherwise absorb the infrared light , making you feel warm . '' there are french fabrics in development to please most everyone , even a light sleeper , researchers say . dr . mayer at abeil said the company was working on a fabric that would transfer water vapor from one side of the pillow to the other , which could put an end to the problem of soggy pillows . what's next	has a location of france
lead education minister lionel_jospin of france , seeking to resolve a national dispute , ruled today that muslim girls could wear traditional head_scarves but could not refuse to attend classes . the suspension early this month of three students who wore the head_scarves had stirred debate over whether their mode of dress violated france 's long tradition of secular public schools . education minister lionel_jospin of france , seeking to resolve a national dispute , ruled today that muslim girls could wear traditional head_scarves but could not refuse to attend classes . the suspension early this month of three students who wore the head_scarves had stirred debate over whether their mode of dress violated france 's long tradition of secular public schools .	has a location of france
trying to change the education system in a country that fears any change is a thankless job , claude allegre , the feisty french minister of education , says with some exasperation . teaching and research in geophysics , his real profession for most of the last 35 years , were much more fun , he said over lunch with a group of foreign correspondents . eyes twinkling behind professorial rimless spectacles , hands clasped around his ample middle , mr . allegre , 61 , looked like a man with a taste for work and joie de vivre . if schools could just teach children how to appreciate both those things , he said , they would be doing their job . but since his old friend lionel_jospin , the prime_minister , picked mr . allegre in 1997 to run the large french education bureaucracy , he has become one of the most vilified politicians in france . he does n't mince words with his fellow teachers in the national system . when he took the minister 's job , he said , he saw his task as cutting out the fat . that put the more than a million teachers on their guard . but when he criticized them for excess absenteeism and said it was a scandal that so many did not show up after summer vacation , some declared open war . now , ''allegre out'' graffiti are plastered all over the latin_quarter . some 4 , 000 teachers took to the streets of paris last month to demand his resignation , and one of the biggest secondary_school teachers' unions has called for a national demonstration on saturday against legislation he has introduced to change the way french high_schools , or lycees , prepare students for a university education . mr . allegre takes it all in stride . ''not all teachers hate me , '' he said . ''they see that the profession is in a period of great change , so they are anxious and defensive . '' the french press often takes him to task for provocative statements , but he ca n't seem to help himself . ''i said once that english is no longer a foreign language , '' he recalled with a laugh , ''and did i get into trouble for that ! '' it was an iconoclastic remark in a country where crusading against inroads from english is a sacred duty . ''i do my bit every time i massacre the language by trying to speak it , '' he said modestly , in french . mr . allegre , a professor 's son , studied at the faculty of sciences of the university of paris and in fact knows english well . he got a postdoctoral scholarship to the california_institute_of_technology in 1964 and knows his way around places like harvard and m.i.t . he is also a member of the american_academy of sciences and several american professional organizations . british and american higher_education , he says , is the envy of the world . ''universities are the american education system , '' he said . ''the rest is n't so good . '' ''i think our education system is still one of the best in the world , alas , '' he said , meaning the french system , ''because the others have deteriorated even more than ours has . '' but because , as he put it , ''the lycee was the sickest part of our system , '' he began consulting teachers , parents and students soon after taking office about how to change the syllabus that leads up to the ''bac'' the baccalaureate diploma , without which no university study is possible . to get it , students have to pass a rigorous final examination that has been an annual spring ordeal dreaded by millions of families . five years ago , 65 . 5 percent did pass it . now , partly because of juvenile delinquency and alienation among minority students of north_african heritage , 62 percent of a generation has the bac . but , mr . allegre pointed out , 20 years ago , only 34 percent got it . most of the rest dropped out at 16 and entered the labor force . ''today we generate more young unemployed people than any other society in europe , '' he said . ''the lycee broadened its syllabus and extended the school day , but lowered its standards and neglected the fundamentals . 'close' is n't a good enough standard , but that 's all a lot of teaching aims for . '' mr . allegre 's plan to change the system was announced in final form early this month . if approved by the french legislature , it would among other things institute individual tutorials in small groups for first year lycee students having trouble with mathematics or french . schools in disadvantaged areas like the heavily north_african close in suburbs of paris would have priority . another part of the plan would create interdisciplinary independent study groups , guided by teachers , for students in the last two years of the three year lycee cycle , with increased use of computers and information_technology . special instructors artists for art courses , native speakers for languages would supplement the work of regular teachers . and new fields like physical and sports education would appeal to students turned off by the traditional curriculum of the past . ''the whole idea is to get teachers to help students , '' mr . allegre said . ''in america and britain that 's understood . '' here , the tradition always was that teachers taught , and students had to figure out for themselves how to learn . ''there 's a great global challenge to education nowadays , '' he said , ''and no country has really figured out the answer . '' meanwhile , mr . allegre said jokingly , he seizes any opportunity he can to teach physics . he was alluding to a running feud with the satirical weekly le canard enchaine about a television appearance he made last month . he had used the occasion to illustrate the inherent difficulty of mastering physics if a beginning student was asked which would fall faster , a tennis ball or a heavy_metal ball the same size dropped at the same time , he said , the answer would usually be the metal ball . ''the truth is , '' he said , ''that they land at the same time . '' a few days later , the newspaper said mr . allegre was technically right , but only if the two balls were falling in a vacuum . air resistance would slow down the tennis ball , it said , so the smoother , metal ball would indeed land first . mr . allegre says he does not read newspapers but was alerted by his staff and sent a handwritten_note to the editor , who published it on march 3 . ''one of your journalists thought he 'd be smart and give me a physics lesson , '' the minister 's note read . the acrimony continues in print , but mr . allegre says he does n't mind . ''i 'm sure all the canard enchaine 's readers have plunged into their physics books and are learning a lot , '' he said with a laugh .	has a location of france
it is one of the more extraordinary sights in france the future elite of the country , the exquisitely articulate men and women who will rule ministries and state industries , gathered in a small classroom in a mouse infested , semiderelict former prison hundreds of miles from the corridors of power in paris . earnestly , they take notes from labyrinthine diagrams in red , blue , black and green ink illustrating an aspect of the state budget . as students of the exclusive ecole nationale d'administration , the school that is a passport to the inner sanctum of french power , they know the importance to the civil_servant of discreet obedience . their sang froid seems intact despite provincial exile . but their dignity is being severely tested . for these 105 students from the school that shaped former president valery giscard_d'estaing mayor jacques_chirac of paris defense minister pierre joxe the socialist_party leader , laurent_fabius peugeot 's chairman , jacques calvet , and others in the who 's who of contemporary france have become guinea pigs in a bitterly_contested experiment in the decentralization of europe 's most centralized state . the idea is that ena ( pronounced ay na ) , as the school founded in 1945 is known , should be moved to strasbourg on the german border in eastern france from its traditional home in the chic rue de l'universite in central paris . the first strasbourg classes began in january and the establishment 's transfer to the city , most commonly known as the home of the european_parliament , is due to be completed by next year . many are troubled although apparently simple , the plan is profoundly troubling to many members of the french establishment . its effect may be compared to the notion of , say , moving harvard_law_school and the georgetown school of government to kansas_city . moreover , france has long run on the conviction that the nation should be directed by its supremely well educated mandarins that the state sector should be large and influential in order to regulate the economy and reduce social conflict , and that the governors to be of this system need to breathe the refined air of the capital to grasp the subtleties of running a country administered from the center for centuries . " france has one of the finest , best trained groups of civil_servants in the world and depends on ena to provide the elite , " said raphael alomar , the president of the association of former students , who are known as enarques ( pronounced ay nark ) . " moving to strasbourg amounts to a costly recipe for destroying the place . " but the socialist government , which decided on the move , thinks otherwise . it believes that putting the school in strasbourg will further its drive to shift power progressively to regions and local authorities , so diminishing the overwhelming role of paris in french life that was developed in the 17th_century by jean baptiste colbert , the brilliant servant of king louis xiv . " the government wants decentralization , and there is no more potent symbol of a governing elite in paris than ena , " said the school 's director , jean coussirou . " it is hoped that by putting the school in strasbourg , a city at the heart of europe , the european awareness of the students will be developed . " asked if he approved of the move , mr . coussirou said " i am a civil_servant and so my role is to obey the government . but the decision strikes me as a little bold . maybe 10 years from now , when a federal europe has developed futher , it could be justified . " others are more forthright . " no to the transfer , " proclaims a huge banner hanging from a window of the otherwise elegant school premises in paris . delegations of former students , led by mr . alomar , have visited ministers to protest . and , in strasbourg , the mood is one of , well , diplomatic disgust . " strasbourg is a nice town and we have been warmly received , " said laurent menard , a first year student . " but i think there is a serious danger that the level of teaching could fall here and , as we 're being formed to govern , we should probably be close to the administration . " another student , thierry rogelet , said " this move is supposed to bring us closer to europe and brussels . but it 's a very theoretical notion . brussels is five hours away by train and i do n't feel more european here . " few students accepted mr . menard and mr . rogelet already know they are destined for the top . the school accepts only about 100 french students a year , as well as about 35 foreigners . entry exams are intensely competitive , and the french students are all assured state posts after their two year course , which consists of one year of classes and one of practical experience in a ministry , an embassy or a state industry like renault , the automaker . teaching is provided mainly by senior civil_servants , many of them former students of the school , who take time off from their jobs . the course is free , with each student costing the french_state about 150 , 000 . " the danger is that the course could become more theoretical and less practical , " said philippe durand , a senior budget ministry official and enarque who had made the journey to strasbourg to teach a two hour lesson . " it will be hard to get ministry officials to take a day off to come here , and you may have to resort to full time professors . " but for the moment the government is pressing ahead with the rapid conversion of a former convent and prison into the new ena at a cost of about 20 million . about one third of the commanderie saint jean , which dates from 1150 , has already been rebuilt , and the rest is due to be completed by december . students enter through a courtyard littered with timber , cement and the top of a bell tower placed there while restoration continues . good reason for haste there is a good reason for the haste it is aimed at creating a fait accompli . parliamentary elections in march are expected to result in a defeat for the socialists and the formation of a center right government . what its views would be on uprooting the school are unclear . " we still believe there could be a reversal of the decision to move from a future government , " mr . coussirou , the director , said . meanwhile , the precipitation is causing problems for martine lucet , the official administering ena 's arrival in strasbourg . the new school has been invaded by mice , attracted from the ruins of the prison to the heated new premises where secretaries keep intriguing cakes in drawers . " i just found this one , " miss lucet said , presenting a dead mouse neatly placed in a cardboard box . " i am going to show it to the director so he knows what is going on . " such are the tribulations of life in the provinces and such the thorny issues with which the french elite , long secluded amid the boulevards and cafes of the capital , now has to contend .	has a location of france
a report in the technology briefing column of business day on friday about yahoo 's objection to a french court 's judgment against the company over the sale of nazi related material on its auction sites misstated the effective date of the fines . it is 90 days after the judgment is served in the united_states , not 180 days .	has a location of france
her long blond ponytail soaked with sweat , maria sharapova stood at midcourt sunday , smiling and blowing kisses to the crowd booing her . the stadium rumbled with jeers as she defeated patty schnyder in a tense fourth round match , 3 6 , 6 4 , 9 7 . sharapova struck the ball with unrelenting power for 2 hours 37 minutes , eventually saving two match points . still , the fans , reacting to what they perceived to be an earlier moment of poor sportsmanship , seemed to see nothing but a villain in a blue clingy tennis dress . ''it 's tough playing tennis and being mother_teresa at the same time and making everyone happy , '' sharapova said , unemotionally , after the match . the second seeded sharapova advanced to the french open quarterfinals for the third time in her career . she has never made it past that round . she will play no . 9 seeded anna chakvetadze , who defeated no . 25 lucie safarova in three sets sunday . by then , the fans may have settled down . on sunday , even schnyder failed to persuade the audience to quell its anger . as the spectators booed , she lifted her right index_finger to her lips , to try to hush them . but her effort was useless . in the third set , those catcalls had reached ear splitting decibels . as sharapova was serving with the score 7 7 , 30 love , a fan shouted . rattled , schnyder had lifted her hand to indicate that she was not ready , but the serve had already landed on her side of the net . when the umpire refused to replay the point , and sharapova did not offer to do so , the crowd erupted . sharapova said she never considered offering to replay that point , considering the closeness of the match . later , schnyder did not complain . ''i was distracted , and it was the public 's choice to do it i did n't boo , '' schnyder said . ''i think we should appreciate the champion she is . '' she added ''at the end , she was the big champion . i 'm the little one who could not win . '' schnyder , who is ranked 15th in the world , ended the match with a forehand that flew wide . on the opposite side of the court , sharapova buried her face in her hands , as emotions washed over her . she held her fist to her chest as she looked around the stands , seemingly deaf to the crowd 's angry roars . though she looked on the verge of tears , she denied it later , saying she was simply grateful to have won . in other fourth round matches sunday , roger_federer , the world 's no . 1 men 's player , defeated mikhail youzhny for the 10th time in a row , 7 6 ( 3 ) , 6 4 , 6 4 . federer will play ninth seeded tommy robredo in the quarterfinals . nikolay davydenko , seeded fourth , also advanced and will play no . 19 guillermo ca as . on the women 's side , no . 1 justine_henin and no . 8 serena_williams both won their matches , setting up a rematch of the 2003 semifinal here . that match four years ago was similar to sharapova 's match sunday . there was jeering and a disputed call for time that added to the intensity of a crowd that was already on henin 's side . williams left the court in tears . henin left with her first grand_slam title . but much has changed since that emotionally charged match , which signified the best moment of henin 's career and the worst of williams 's . both say they have matured since then . ''i 've been through death , '' williams said . ''i had surgery i think since then . i 've been through a lot . '' williams , the 2002 french open champion , said she had become more cynical since 2003 . her half sister yetunde price was murdered that year . also , left knee problems resulted in surgery and have plagued her career . last year , williams nearly fell out of the top 100 because of those injuries . this year , though , she came back to win the australian_open , ranked 81st . ''it takes a strong person to be at the bottom of the barrel , '' said williams , 25 . ''i was really down there , and it 's hard to be able to come back , especially when everyone seems against you and you have so many doubters . '' henin has changed in completely different ways . she has gone from aloof to outgoing . after her 6 2 , 6 4 victory against no . 20 sybille bammer on sunday , she turned to the crowd and even giggled as she soaked up the atmosphere . until recently , henin had been a loner on the women 's tour . there were reasons for that . her mother died of cancer when henin was 12 . afterward , henin distanced herself from her father and three siblings to make a life on her own . but since separating from her husband , pierre yves hardenne , late last year , henin has begun to emerge from behind the wall she had built around her . she said that two weeks ago she restored contact with her estranged father and siblings , whom she had not spoken with in years , calling it ''a lot of joy . '' ''i just tried to become a better person , '' said henin , 25 , who added ''i want to get more concerned , more involved , and a lot of things have changed . i feel much better about myself . '' henin said that she and williams had not discussed that stressful 2003 semifinal . but both players have one thing in common they want to forget that conflict . they played a final in miami in march without incident . williams won in three sets . ''i let it go , and obviously she did , '' williams said . ''or whether she did or not , it does n't matter anymore . this is a new year . '' tennis	has a location of france
albertville	has a location of france
france won its first european basketball championship with underdog limoges 's 59 55 victory over benetton treviso thursday night . the tournament 's most valuable player , toni kukoc , in what might have been his last such european game because he is close to signing a contract with the national_basketball_association 's chicago_bulls , simply waited too long to take over for treviso . after limoges took its first lead at 44 43 on a 3 pointer with 8 minutes 32 seconds left , kukoc , who had 15 points , nailed three 3 pointers , the last for a tie at 55 with 1 01 left . limoges went ahead by 2 points with 41 . 8 seconds left , then kukoc set himself for a 3 pointer from the top of the key , but limoges point_guard frederic forte stripped kukoc of the ball .	has a location of france
dressed in his signature pirate outfit , bright blue bandanna clinging to his sweaty brow , rafael nadal won his fourth round match monday at the french_open , defeating lleyton_hewitt , 6 3 , 6 1 , 7 6 ( 5 ) . the victory moved him one step closer to his third consecutive title at roland_garros . this is the first time in his three years here that he has reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set . the victory also means that nadal , seeded second , will play his mentor and fellow majorcan , the 30 year old carlos moy , in the quarterfinals . moy , the 23rd seed , was the 1998 french open winner . until now , their only competition at roland_garros has been playstation soccer matches . but with joysticks in hand , instead of rackets , those matches have been fiery . ''you get so nervous , like if it was a tennis match , '' moy said of the nightly video_game matchups . ''but it 's good to have some fun . there 's a lot of pressure here , and it 's a way not to think about tennis . '' nadal wrote about those matches on his blog , saying moy was ''quite good and assertive'' in those games . he added that the loser was often forced to do push_ups . each was assertive on the court monday , with nadal , wearing his usual sleeveless shirt and cropped black pants , having to work extra hard in his match . hewitt , seeded 14th , was overwhelmed by nadal 's forehands and the spins he put on them , and he seemed helpless in the first two sets . but hewitt did not let go of the third set without a struggle . his forehands did him in . at crucial points , several of them should have been easy winners , but they smacked into the net instead . his final forehand also landed in the net . later , he said the sun had blinded him . ''he moves so well on his side of the court on this surface that you feel like you 've got to hit perfect shots against him , '' hewitt said , adding ''sometimes he is a different player when it gets a little bit tighter . if he 's 6 3 , 6 1 up , he 's all guns blazing and going for every shot . if you can get that tight situation , then it 's a different ballgame . '' moy had a few of those tight situations in his 7 6 ( 5 ) , 6 2 , 7 5 victory against jonas bjorkman , a meeting of veterans whose combined age was 65 . through it , he never felt old , moy said , although he has lost some of his explosiveness . against the 35 year old bjorkman , moy lunged after shots . he leaped to return serves . he scurried every which way on the red clay , as if it were 1998 , the year he defeated alex corretja , another spaniard , in the final . nadal , who turned 21 on sunday , was only 12 when moy hoisted that trophy . ''i still remember when i was the youngest guy in the draw , and now i became the oldest , '' said moy , who is the oldest player left in the men 's draw . ''the time passed so fast . '' while moy looked spry in his match , bjorkman did not . he had played two five set matches at this tournament he has also advanced to the fourth round in the doubles competition , in which he and max mirnyi are seeded second . he was the oldest player in the men 's draw , and was the oldest male to reach the round of 16 since 1972 . that age began to show . after the second set , bjorkman called for a trainer to work out a knot in his right shoulder . then , he needed a painkiller . bjorkman said that he expected his body to feel even worse later . ''it could be tough sometimes to put the socks on , '' he said , referring to the morning after a match . while the old timers moy and bjorkman were playing , the youngest player left in the men 's draw , the 20 year old novak djokovic , was trying to make it to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row . last year , he played nadal in that round but retired with an injured lower back . healthy now , the sixth_seeded djokovic played his best match yet in paris , defeating fernando verdasco , 6 3 , 6 3 , 7 6 ( 1 ) . he is considered one of the few who could rival nadal or no . 1 roger_federer in the final . ''i did n't come here with the goal to win the tournament , like that was my goal before i started to play , '' djokovic said . ''like i said before , i am trying to go step by step . '' in the quarterfinals , djokovic will play igor andreev , who is ranked 125th and who knocked no . 3 andy_roddick out of the tournament in the first round . he beat marcos baghdatis , the 16th seed , 2 6 , 6 1 , 6 3 , 6 4 . djokovic 's victory also means that three serbs have made it to the quarterfinals . compatriots jelena jankovic and ana ivanovic will play their quarterfinal matches tuesday . jankovic , the fourth seed , will take on no . 6 nicole vaidisova . ivanovic , seeded seventh , will meet no . 3 svetlana kuznetsova . in another quarterfinal , no . 2 maria sharapova will play no . 9 anna chakvetadze . but the most anticipated women 's match will pit serena_williams , winner of eight grand_slam_singles titles , against no . 1 justine_henin , the two time defending french open champion . it is a rematch of the 2003 semifinal , which was marked by an angry crowd , henin 's gamesmanship and williams 's tears as she was booed off the court after losing in three sets . the moy nadal quarterfinal will not end up that way . each said he admired the other 's game and friendship . nadal said that having a player like moy to look up to in majorca was ' 'very , very important'' to him . he often practiced with moy and received tips from him . moy said ''i do n't think he learned anything from me . and if he learned it , he did much better than me . '' tennis	has a location of france
lead despite the leaden skies , it was a bright and wholly unexpected day of triumph for french tennis . two of france 's lightly regarded young players defeated the world 's third ranking man and fourth ranking woman while another young frenchman buried in the depths of the computer listings beat an american 262 places above him . despite the leaden skies , it was a bright and wholly unexpected day of triumph for french tennis . two of france 's lightly regarded young players defeated the world 's third ranking man and fourth ranking woman while another young frenchman buried in the depths of the computer listings beat an american 262 places above him . the three victories were all accomplished in straight sets eric winogradsky over stefan_edberg of sweden , 7 6 , 7 6 , 7 5 nathalie herreman over hana mandlikova of czechoslovakia , 6 4 , 7 6 , and patrice kuchna , no . 325 on the men 's professional computer , by 6 4 , 6 3 , 6 3 over andre_agassi of las_vegas , nev . france is a country with a rich tennis tradition , but it has a history of frustration in its own national championships . since suzanne lenglen and the famed musketeers ruled the sport in the 1920 's and early 30 's , french singles players have won what is now called the french open only five times . before yannick noah triumphed in 1983 , the last french player to capture the men 's singles title was the all but forgotten marcel bernard in 1946 . no woman has won the french title since francoise durr did it in 1967 and none had done it for 28 years before that . the most history minded officials of the french tennis federation could not remember today when one of their female compatriots last reached even the quarterfinals . tournament gaining prestige meanwhile , the french open itself has been steadily gaining in stature . it is now regarded as the third most important tournament in the world , behind wimbledon and the united_states open . all the french open lacked was good french players . noah changed that in the men 's ranks . so did henri leconte , the world 's ninth ranked player , and guy_forget , a top doubles player . yet until today the french had little to cheer for in women 's tennis . each new hopeful who joined the tour performed respectably but no better . for the tennis itself , played on a wet slow court , today 's french victories were unexceptional . winogradsky beat an edberg who nowadays seldom plays well on clay . and herreman caught mandlikova on one of her frequent far off days . both of the french players showed admirable poise bearing the weight of center court history and the hopes of some 15 , 000 spectators . the reactions of winogradsky and herreman to their upset victories differed strikingly . the tall , slender winogradsky , who had played his serve and volley game despite the slowness of the court , treated the occasion almost matter of factly . ''i thought if i served well , i had a chance , '' he said . ''and i did that . anyway , when i take the court , i always like to think i can win . '' however , he had never before beaten a player in the top 50 . victory at 'chez moi' herreman , on the other hand , was clearly elated . her eyes sparkled and the words tumbled forth as she described her play and thoughts . coming on court right after winogradsky 's victory had , she said , been difficult ''i thought , 'i 'll never be able to win like that . ' but then i thought , 'no , it 's a day for the french . i 'll have to do it , ' '' she said . competing in roland_garros stadium , she added , was a special incentive ''i play all year other places and when i get to roland_garros , that 's chez moi . it 's the_dream of all french players , men and women alike , to do well here . ''	has a location of france
no one , it seems , thought about the sikhs and their turbans . as part of a struggle to separate religion from the state , france is poised to pass a law banning religious symbols like muslim veils , jewish skullcaps and large christian crosses from public schools . but a report by an official commission of experts and a speech by president jacques_chirac last month recommending passage of a legal ban said nothing about the head coverings worn by sikhs . after all , france is home to only several thousand sikhs , compared with about 600 , 000 jews and 5 million muslims . historically , the sikh population is quiet , law abiding , apolitical and almost invisible living , working and worshiping mainly in a few isolated pockets of suburban paris . now they have found their voice , demanding that they be exempted from the anticipated prohibition . sitting barefooted and cross_legged in a large worship room in the gurdwara singh sabha temple in the working_class paris suburb of bobigny , two dozen sikhs sounded a chorus of protest . ''i 'm 100 percent french , i speak french , i was born here , '' said dhramvir singh , a 17 year old student who wears a dark blue turban knotted in front to school everyday . ''but it 's impossible for me to take off my turban . if they force me , i 'll have to drop out , and never be able to do anything except a job that no one else wants . '' he said he had no identity card a violation of french law because he refused to remove his turban for the official photo . others said that sikhs in britain , canada and the united_states were now allowed to work turbaned in police departments and in the military and that sikh soldiers fought and died for france in world_war i with their turbans on . ''if marshal foch were still alive , he 'd be fighting against such a law ! '' exclaimed manprit singh , dhramvir 's older brother , referring to the french general who commanded allied troops in world_war i . the sikhs' situation underscores the perils that confront a state when it ventures into the complicated world of religious practice . the impetus for the law stems largely from the increase in the number of muslim girls turning up at public schools in head_scarves , or even in long , black veils that hide their chins , foreheads and the shape of their bodies . most jewish students who wear skullcaps attend private jewish schools there has never been a problem with catholic students' wearing crosses that mr . chirac described in his speech as ''obviously of an excessive dimension , '' members of the government 's commission said . in a recent letter to mr . chirac asking for an exemption for sikhs , chain singh , a leader of the bobigny temple , said that if sikhs could not wear turbans to school , ''this will not only be a failure of our freedom to practice our religion here in france but also of the attitude of the french toward the sikh community . '' the sikhs' outcry so late in the game has stunned and dismayed french officials and experts involved in the commission . ''why did n't the sikhs come forward , why did n't they protest while we were doing our investigation ? '' bernard stasi , who led the commission that produced the report , said in an interview . ''i have finished my job and it 's too late to change the report . now it 's in the government 's hands . '' he acknowledged that no french sikhs were among the more than 200 people interviewed by his commission during its six month investigation . an official at the ministry of national education , which is responsible for negotiating the law with parliament , declined comment , except to say ''what ? there are sikhs in france ? '' a senior official at the ministry of the interior responsible for religious matters said ''i know nothing about the sikh problem . are there many sikhs in france ? '' the ideal of the secular republican state in which all frenchmen are equal is so strong that the census does not count people according to race , religion or ethnic origins . affirmative_action laws do not exist . the bobigny temple has begun collecting signatures on a petition that calls on all ''citizens of france , religious or not , believing or not'' to help protest a law that it contends will be ''inhuman . '' even though a vast majority of sikh students are french citizens , the sikhs have also sent a letter of protest to the indian embassy in paris , asking the indian government to intercede . the sikh letter to mr . chirac injects a new twist into the debate , arguing that the turban should be allowed because it is a cultural , not a religious , symbol . ''different from a muslim veil or a jewish yarmulke , a turban has no religious symbolism , '' the letter said . one of the tenets of the sikh religion requires sikh men never to cut their hair , but says nothing per se about wearing turbans . the distinction between cultural and religious dress cuts both ways , though . on the one hand , the french government could argue that if the garment is purely cultural , then there is no reason why sikhs must wear it , just as schools traditionally ban students from wearing baseball caps and other head coverings . denis matringe , one of france 's leading specialists on india , said , however , that ''for sikhs to remove their turbans and show their long hair would be to humiliate them . '' on the other hand , the sikhs could contend that there is nothing intrinsically religious about the turban and recommend that french school principals continue to turn a blind eye to the practice , as some do when muslim girls turn up in veils . in its current draft form , the law states only that in public schools , ''signs and dress that ostensibly show the religious affiliation of students are forbidden . '' some politicians are calling for the ban to apply to political symbols in schools as well , like the palestinian kaffiyeh and t shirts emblazoned with the face of che guevara . a debate also rages on about whether the law should ban religious symbols that are ''ostensible , '' ''ostentatious'' or just plain ''visible . '' bobigny journal	has a location of france
jean pierre papin , a forward for olympique marseilles and the french national team , was taken to a hospital with a concussion after he was struck on the head by a beer bottle as he stepped off the team bus at the st . etienne stadium on saturday . papin was later released , but may not be available for olympique 's european_champions' cup match against czechoslovakia 's spartak praga tomorrow . sports people soccer	has a location of france
reopening the second front in the olympique marseilles match_fixing scandal , investigators yesterday inquired deeper into allegations that the club owner , bernard tapie , tried persuading a rival coach to take the fall . the investigating judge , bernard beffy , questioned boro primorac , former coach for valenciennes , on primorac 's charge that tapie offered him money and career opportunities to become a scapegoat . the encounter was expected to last several hours . the primorac affair is the only part of the bribery scandal directly implicating tapie , who called the coach a liar and accused prosecutors of taking a new tack in trying to destroy him . the scheduled meeting between beffy and primorac in valenciennes followed sunday 's resignation of marseilles 's general_manager , jean_pierre bernes , accused of being the money man in the main part of the scandal . a court freed bernes from prison thursday after two weeks detention failed to get him to confess that he orchestrated bribe offers to three valenciennes players to throw a_league match may 20 . the league 's disciplinary board will start punishing those involved within two weeks . asked whether he thought that corruption by bernes and three players charged had been established , le graet said , " yes , i think it 's relatively clear . " ( ap ) sports people soccer	has a location of france
the first time michael_jordan came to play basketball in this fair city , he could sit outside at a cafe of his choosing and watch the world go by without it watching him . that was in august 1985 . twelve years later , the world is a considerably smaller place , and the multifaceted , multimedia jordan is one of its most recognizable inhabitants . even if it had not been drizzling on the chicago_bulls' first full day of dribbling in the french capital , jordan 's days of lingering over a cafe au lait in public are long gone . ''it 's hard for me to go anywhere unnoticed and to get out in public without people bothering me , '' jordan said at a very crowded news conference on tuesday , after the bulls' first practice in preparation for this weekend 's mcdonald 's championship . ''this was like my last area i could go where no one really knew who i was to some degree , and now it 's been exposed . '' this is the bulls' first trip to europe , and though they were busy scurrying about paris on their national_basketball_association appointed rounds today luc longley signed autographs at galleries lafayette jud buechler and bill wennington signed at a mcdonald 's on the champs_elysees this is no tourist junket . this tournament is the only opportunity for n.b.a . teams and the world 's other top clubs to meet . what the bulls want to avoid as they take to the floor without their ailing mainstays scottie pippen and dennis_rodman is becoming the first n.b.a . team to lose to one of those clubs . the other five teams participating here are the french champion , psg racing the spanish champion , fc barcelona the south_american champion , atenas de cordoba of argentina the italian champion , benetton treviso , and the european champion , olympiakos piraeus of greece . ''i have n't had the opportunity to see these teams we 're facing , '' jordan said . ''but i still feel confident that if we go out and play our type of basketball , it does n't matter who we play europeans or americans . '' jordan was even more direct later tuesday evening when he was a guest on a popular french talk show , ''nulle part ailleurs , '' which means ''nowhere else . '' ''any team can lose , '' he said . ''but we 're not going to . '' jordan was more evasive about his recent announcement that this season would be his last . ''it 's not definite , '' he said . then , referring to bulls coach phil jackson , he added ''if phil stays , i will stay another year or at least i will try . but if the team decides to change and build , i do n't want to be a part of it . '' it was a sign of these marketing driven times that jordan was the third bulls player to appear on ''nulle part ailleurs'' in the last six weeks . rodman was on the show on sept . 5 , when he was in paris to do promotional work for an american shoe company pippen appeared with reggie miller of the indiana pacers one week later , when both were in paris to play in an all star game organized by yet another american shoe company . the n.b.a . is one of several american cultural exports to make serious inroads with young people in france , along with baseball caps , home delivered pizza and ''the x files . '' in october 1991 , magic_johnson and the los_angeles_lakers played in the mcdonald 's championship in paris to sellout crowds . and after jordan , johnson and the_dream teamers romped in barcelona , spain , at the 1992 summer olympics , jordan was voted the most popular athlete in france in a poll of 300 french teen_agers . but his retirement after the 1993 season to play baseball took a bite out of his fan base , and even after two more n.b.a . titles in 1996 and 1997 , neither jordan nor his sport possesses quite the same cachet in france . still , the bulls' two games here on friday and saturday nights have been sold out for weeks , largely because of jordan . he might no longer be france 's no . 1 sports hero with next year 's world_cup of soccer looming , but he is still capable of stirring considerable passion . ''you 're hosting god , '' the french soccer star youri djorkaeff told guillaume durand , the talk show 's host , when he found out jordan would appear on the show . but the media savvy , baritone voiced jordan was not altogether ethereal during his first full day in the french spotlight . asked about his plans for his stay , he said he planned to focus on basketball but that his wife and two children would ''go on some tours and go into the luge . '' he was presumably referring to the louvre , and though museum going is often a winter sport in the city of light , no sled is required . however , this much is certain if jordan were to visit the louvre this week , the mona lisa would n't be the only famous face drawing a crowd . pro_basketball	has a location of france
the weirdest prediction about this year 's tour de france is that marco pantani , the italian climber who won the tour in 1998 but whose team was denied an invitation this year , will be at the start on saturday . his team , however , will not . not that pantani will be riding solo , which nobody has been allowed to do in the tour in 75 years . according to speculation , pantani will quit his italian team , mercatone uno , and join a spanish team at the last moment . weird ? yes . legal ? again yes , it seems . in 1991 , ronan pensec , a french rider , left the seur team , which had not been invited to the tour , and joined amaya , which had , just before the start , mainly so that he could be there when the tour finished a stage in his hometown in brittany . so it could happen ? pantani 's many fans need only wait until saturday , when 21 teams of 9 riders each will set off in dunkirk on their three week , 3 , 462 kilometer ( 2 , 151 mile ) journey through france . this would be a good tour for pantani , who flies up the mountains most others curse . or did fly up them he was left far behind in major climbs in the ill starred giro d'italia last month . that lack of form was the reason cited in april by the tour 's organizers when they declined to invite mercatone uno . the team is nothing without pantani , who has barely raced since the last tour , when he won two mountainous stages . since then , he has been disciplined on drug charges . as a result , he seems to have lost his morale and zest for the sport . ''is he still a bicycle racer ? '' asked jean_marie leblanc , the tour 's director , when he refused the wild_card . ''it remains to be shown . '' a grand place to have shown it would have been the second and final day in the alps , july 18 , the 11th of 20 daily stages . following a strenuous climb over three peaks to alpe d'huez on the 10th stage , the tour will present a rare uphill time trial , 32 kilometers long ( just short of 20 miles ) . riders will set off one by one and face a final ascension of 18 . 4 kilometers ( 11 . 4 miles ) with a grade of 7.2 percent . ( the second long individual time trial , over 61 kilometers , about 38 miles , will be flat it is scheduled two days before the finish july 29 in paris . ) for those who want more mountains , two days after the alps , the race will enter the pyrenees for three stages . peaks like luz ardiden , the tourmalet , the aspin and st . lary soulan will be highlights . while there will be plenty of mountains , the big question is whether there will be men to match them . in addition to pantani , richard virenque , five times the tour 's king of the mountains , alex zulle and fernando escartin will be missing . virenque is serving a nine month suspension for drugging , and zulle and escartin , both of the coast team , received the same empty envelope from the tour 's invitation committee that pantani did . that reduces the competition for the favorite , lance_armstrong , who is seeking his third consecutive overall victory , and for jan ullrich , his german shadow . although joseba beloki and christophe moreau , a spaniard and a frenchman who were third and fourth in the last tour , are riding strongly now , they remain uncertain in the highest mountains . beyond those two , nobody expected in the field seems likely to duplicate armstrong 's and ullrich 's day in , day out resilience when the road turns uphill . cycling	has a location of france
the french soccer league 's disciplinary commission , after daylong questioning of the principals in the olympique marseilles game fixing scandal , said yesterday that it still lacked enough information to penalize anyone . the announcement left the future of both marseilles and the french national soccer team in doubt . marseilles faces possible expulsion from the european_champions cup , and france has been threatened with suspension from international soccer unless its soccer federation takes action by sept . 23 . the disciplinary commission said its eventual action hinged on the outcome of criminal investigations now under way . the marseilles team 's owner , bernard tapie , was the last of seven players and officials to appear before the commission at the league 's headquarters in paris . after his 45 minute session , he said his team 's future would be at stake monday when european soccer 's ruling body , uefa , decides whether to ban marseilles from defending its champions cup title . ( ap ) sports people soccer	has a location of france
even as the united_states bobsled team assembles tomorrow in albertville , france , for the 1992 winter_games , the group will still be feeling the effects of a controversy that has engulfed it since last summer . ray pratt , the team 's executive director , disclosed recently that the team would pay " out of pocket " expenses to todd snavely . snavely is the sledder who made the team last july but then was displaced last month when new trials were held . his expenses are believed to be considerable , more than 10 , 000 . snavely 's family booked french hotel rooms with nonrefundable deposits and also bought airline tickets . but the sledder might never recoup the money he lost in his two years of training for a team that he made , then did n't make . another unhappy person around the bobsled team is jerry malinowsky , an independent sled designer who says he created a four man sled with the 180 pound snavely in mind . taking snavely 's place will be either greg harrell , a former pro_football player who weighs 245 pounds , or robert weissenfels , who weighs 205 pounds . either one would put the malinowsky sled over the maximum limit of 1 , 389 pounds and thus could not be used . but jim hickey , the united_states bobsled coach , said malinowsky 's sled would not have been the team 's first choice for the four man event . " even with its original weight , it never would have been used , " hickey said . " we bought a sled in italy that was better . " malinowsky estimates his cost of developing the unused sled was " in the hundreds of thousands of dollars . " the new sled cost 21 , 000 . some like it cold while americans are storming puerto_rico these days to put a little sun in their lives , that island 's bobsledders will be convening in new york on wednesday for their trip to the albertville games , which start saturday . the winter_olympics are n't just for nordics and cold_weather nuts anymore . indeed , a listing of the countries competing in the winter_games includes many we think of as warm_weather destinations bermuda , fiji , jamaica , lebanon , mexico , morocco , the netherlands antilles , the philippines , puerto_rico , senegal and the united states virgin islands . puerto_rico had been enjoying olympic winters even before the jamaican bobsled team three words that still look funny on paper made such a splash , so to speak , in the 1988 games at calgary , alberta . " george tucker of puerto_rico was in the luge in 1984 at sarajevo , " recalled rich kolko , who coaches puerto_rico 's bobsledders . " he was the one who set the standard for caribbean nations competing . " like many of the winter athletes who represent warm_weather countries , though , tucker actually learned his craft someplace else lake placid , n.y . but because he was born in puerto_rico , he was eligible to compete for the island . national olympic committees set their own standards on who is eligible to compete . in puerto_rico , for example , those who are born there , or who currently reside there , may represent the commonwealth . but the athlete may not have competed for another country , even the united_states . kolko is a former united_states luge champion . but he thinks that outstanding athletes can quickly learn to master the luge and the bobsled , unlike , say , figure_skating or ski_jumping . just look at the football player herschel walker . in large part , sled sports require strength ( to get off to a fast start pushing the vehicle ) and speed . all the practice in the world wo n't make an experienced " pusher " better at it than walker , a pusher as well as brakeman on both the united_states' top two man and four man sleds . " when i was in calgary , coaching puerto_rico in luge , i saw liston bochette he had been a decathlete for puerto_rico , " kolko said . " i said , 'you 're the kind of guy we want to get into bobsledding . ' " four years later , bochette , who has a doctorate in english , is the driver of puerto_rico 's top two man sled and its only four man sled . strikers and protesters less than a week before the winter_olympics open , strikes and protests by dancers and taxi_drivers blotted the pristine alpine landscape in and around albertville , france , over the weekend . about 150 dancers scheduled to perform at the opening and closing ceremonies held a 24 hour strike in their rehearsals saturday to demand better housing and pay . taxi_drivers , meanwhile , blocked roads linking albertville , headquarters of the games , to moutiers , the telecommunication center , with about 30 taxis . the drivers were angry because of regulations established by regional authorities prohibiting them from taking clients freely throughout the region during the two week games . under current rules , aimed at reducing traffic , taxis registered in one zone cannot enter another , and must turn over their clients at the imaginary frontier to different drivers . ( ap ) alpine team is picked the united_states olympic alpine ski team will have 11 men and 11 women , including 7 former olympians . the united_states skiing alpine director , dennis agee , announced the team yesterday . coach ueli luthi chose the men 's team and coach paul major selected the women 's team , following the final pre olympic world_cup races . a . j . kitt of rochester , n.y. , heads the men 's team . in december , he won a downhill at val_d'isere , france , becoming the first american man in seven years to win a world_cup ski race . julie parisian of auburn , me . , who won a world_cup event last year , topped the women 's team . ( ap )	has a location of france
for any american television viewer who overdosed on luge last february , ray leblanc and 16 days of snow capped , tape delayed winter_olympic scenery from the french_alps , a return to the savoy region one year later reveals an area indelibly marked by the olympic experience . the enormous olympic rings are still painted on the highway in the workaday outskirts of albertville . windows full of magique the mascot dolls and " albertville '92 " duffel bags at 40 percent off still fill the stores on the city 's main_street . at the edge of town , past signs for " le parc olympique , " stands the ice hall , where kristi_yamaguchi 's combination of artistry and athleticism carried her to a gold_medal in ladies figure_skating . now , anyone can rent a pair of skates , open a door and lurch gamely onto the ice . only this is no longer quite the same arena where yamaguchi starred . although the hall 's interior shell is unchanged , only 1 , 200 of the original 9 , 000 seats remain . it is as if someone has laid out a little league stadium in a space_shuttle hangar . gone to barcelona across a two lane road from the ice hall , the site of the whimsical and memorable opening ceremonies bears little resemblance to the place where 1 , 808 athletes from 64 nations paraded on feb . 8 , 1992 . the 30 , 000 seat stadium is gone , shipped off piecemeal to barcelona to accommodate summer_olympic fans . in its place is a huge dirt lot that contains only one vestige of its former function the elaborate steel mast that served as an axis for the imaginative choreography of the young ceremonies director , philippe decoufle . across the lot at the speed_skating oval where bonnie_blair once again warmed middle america 's collective heart , the stadium has been left untouched , but the ice has been replaced by a rubberized , all weather track . " before the olympics , the foreigners never stopped in albertville , " said nathalie miege , who works in a souvenir shop . " they all come through now and take their pictures , but i think they 're a little disappointed because there 's not much left anymore . not in albertville anyway . " up the serpentine roads that lead to the ski_resorts , the evidence is more plentiful . in courchevel , the two ski jumps still tower over their wooded surroundings . in val_d'isere , the men 's downhill run , la face de bellevarde , is now open to recreational skiers . in meribel , the hockey rink is home to junior tournaments and figure_skating exhibitions . 'a good source of income' even the bobsled and luge track , which gave organizers such fits because of environmental safety concerns , has finally resumed operation in the hamlet of la roche , offering bold tourists the chance to glide top to bottom with a driver for 400 francs ( about 75 ) . " we see this is a good source of income , " said andre broche , the track 's director , who must balance the track 's books over the next three years to keep it open . money remains an everyday topic in the savoy . the good news is that the 52 million deficit run up by the olympic organizing_committee was quickly covered by the federal_government and the savoy regional council . the troubling news is that some small communities who viewed the games as an excuse to think big continue to struggle . brides_les_bains , site of the principal olympic village , is still searching for financing to underwrite a deficit that exceeds 11 million . pralognan , which was host to the demonstration sport of curling , ended up paying 2 million ( about 3 , 400 for each of its 600 inhabitants ) to cover its share of constructing an ice_rink . les saisies , site of the cross_country events , has reportedly been ordered by the government to spend no more on infrastructure improvements until 1997 because of its financial difficulties . local taxes are up in many areas of the region , even in the tony commune of meribel les allues . " my taxes have increased about 15 percent , " said jean_marie choffel , meribel 's director of tourism . " of course everybody resents it , but it 's the price you pay . there are n't many places who have the chance to hold the olympics . there is a cost , and the hope is that you will benefit in the long term . " strong start to season some short term benefits have already become apparent . tourism was up significantly in the olympic region throughout the summer , and with some help from an early snowfall , the first month of the winter season produced record occupancy rates . " we have never started a season like this the lifts in the three valleys have seen their receipts go up 60 percent , " said michel_barnier , the president of the savoie general council who was a co president of the organizing_committee with jean_claude_killy . " it will be a very good season , but i want to be prudent . i wo n't say we 've really succeeded until i see the same sort of numbers after two or three seasons . " the pre olympic improvements made in local transportation have certainly played a role in the early success . new and improved roads have cut traveling times from lyons to the high altitude stations by as much as a third during peak periods . but the fact remains that nearly 25 percent of the savoy 's visitors this winter have been first time visitors , and the majority of those have been foreigners who discovered the savoy last february . the optimism over tourism has helped soften the psychological blow to an area that in the last year has seen unemployment rise from a relatively low 7.5 percent to 10 percent , which is near the national average . despite the difficulties , it is no easy task to find someone who regrets embarking on the olympic adventure . " we miss the olympics here , " said daniel marret , an albertville bartender . " for five years before the games , it was like people dared to dream . they worked toward a common goal and forgot some of their petty differences . now , albertville is becoming again just another small town . i guess it 's inevitable . you only live an experience like that once in your life . " 'we made it to the end' although barnier can wax nostalgic about the lighting and extinguishing of the flame , it is clearly his relationship with killy that marked him the most . " we started together on this project 10 years ago , and we made it to the end , " he said . " i was very happy to show that two different men could live such an adventure together and come away friends . " in june , killy was named president of amaury sports , a paris based organization that among other tasks , negotiates television rights for the tour de france and the paris dakar automobile rally . barnier , a neo gaullist member of parliament , recently authored a book on environmental trouble spots and is preparing to stand for re election in march . he plans to make his second trip to lillehammer , norway , this summer to meet with the next olympic organizers . " i do n't want to give them too much advice , " barnier said . " i will go see them out of friendship because we have always had a good relationship . all i would say is not to lose a minute . the last year goes very quickly . " olympics	has a location of france
france , whose schoolchildren read better than students in most other developed countries , spent most of this century testing different teaching methods before concluding a decade ago that the teacher probably knows best . in a nation as centralized as france , it is something of an anomaly that primary_school teachers are allowed to decide how to teach their 6 year olds to read as long as they can read by age 7 . the education ministry offers only guidelines . for example , to prepare children for the passage from preschool games to primary_school lessons , it suggests that 5 year olds be given some reading instruction . but the teacher is free to pick the books to be used or even to decide against using books . " we do not recommend any specific approach , " said christian jahan of the education ministry . the long debate over whether to teach children how to recognize letters and say words or to emphasize the meaning of a word has produced a french method that borrows from both approaches . in a report released today , the organization of economic cooperation and development rated the 14 year olds of france and finland as the most proficient readers in their age group . but it is evident that at least in france , the die is cast much earlier . alain chevrel , a school inspector , said that until the 1950 's french_state schools adhered to the " decoding " approach of teaching children to read letter by letter , syllable by syllable , word by word . the result , he said , was poor comprehension . today 's approach focuses on making children comfortable with words . beginning with 2 year olds , preschool teachers make a point of reading and re reading stories aloud . " this enables the children to memorize the structure of words and phrases , " mr . chevrel said . " they become readers without knowing how to read . " mr . chevrel added that children are also encouraged to play with books so that by the time they are 5 , they are ready to learn simple words . but it is not until they start primary_school that they make the jump between reading and understanding . " this is the point where children realize there is no link between a word and reality , " mr . chevrel said . " for example , 'train' is a short word that represents a long object . 'cigarette' is a long word for a short object . they understand the difference between the word and what it means . " alan riding france	has a location of france
it is an ambitious task , nothing less than the creation of an official islam for france . last month , pressed by the law and order interior_minister nicolas_sarkozy , the center right government reached an important agreement with france 's unwieldy and diverse community of five million muslims that created a national , elected council to represent them . today , president jacques_chirac rewarded those muslim leaders who chose to join , welcoming nearly a score of council members to lys e palace to offer new year 's ''best wishes'' over fruit juice and water but no wine . an exchange of ''voeux'' or ''best wishes'' for the new year is a time honored ritual , and the month of january is filled with back to back receptions hosted by mr . chirac and his ministers for groups as diverse as the country 's military , journalists and bakers and pastry chefs . but the event for the muslim community was more than a party . it was part of a campaign by successive governments since the 1980 's to establish a formal channel of communication with a community that includes muslims of varying_degrees of religiosity and political activism from places as far reaching as algeria and cameroon . only half are french citizens . similar bodies exist for catholics , jews and protestants , enabling the government to address issues like education , dress , work and the administration of places of worship . ''in the eight years that i have exchanged greetings with religious authorities , i have regretted that there was no organized dialogue between muslim representatives and the french authorities , '' mr . chirac told his guests , according to catherine colonna , his spokeswoman . mr . chirac also expressed hope that muslims could achieve ''the same status with equal rights and duties as all our other citizens . '' the effort to organize the country 's muslims took on more urgency in the aftermath of sept . 11 , 2001 , when anti muslim feelings among french citizens increased . meanwhile , the conflict between palestinians and israelis and what is seen as america 's determination to overthrow saddam_hussein in iraq but to let israel do what it will has fueled anti american sentiments among muslims and arabs in france . since the new center right government came into office last spring , dozens of terrorism suspects have been arrested . the government has concluded that the threat from radical islamic groups is much more deeply_rooted than previously suspected . in a recent interview with europe 1 radio , mr . sarkozy called the creation of the council good news for france . ''it 's a chance to create an official islam of france and a way to fight the islam of cellars and garages an underground , clandestine islam that feeds fundamentalism and extremism , '' he said . prime_minister jean_pierre_raffarin told journalists recently that it would be a forum for the muslim community to express itself and its religion within france 's traditionally secular republican structure . citizens here are not polled by religion in the census , at school or on the job . interior_ministry officials say that , because of terrorism fears , activities in mosques , including friday sermons , are monitored . but they express concern that the mosques remain places where muslims may be radicalized and terrorist plots against the state hatched . critics of the new council contend that the diverse muslim groups that have joined can never work together . some of the most conservative muslim groups are boycotting , the skeptics note . the 16 member government appointed executive includes only one woman , and the groups represented range from westernized ones like the grand mosque of paris to those with anti western views linked to the muslim_brotherhood . abderrahmane dahmane , 55 , who has lived in france for almost 40 years and is president of a strict islamic group called coordination of muslims , said in an interview ''they are trying to set up a council under the tutelage of the state like in colonial times . sarkozy wants to be archbishop of france , rabbi of france and now he wants to be the grand mufti of france too . '' despite the inherent problems , several of the muslim leaders on the council said they were pleased with its creation . ''the entire nation and the entire muslim_world is watching us , '' said kamel kabtane , the imam of the lyon mosque , as he left lys e palace tonight . ''we have to put aside our individual egos . there may be some problems later on but right now we are building the foundations . ''	has a location of france
bending to pressure from a student protest movement that put more than 100 , 000 demonstrators onto the streets of paris today , the french government announced an " emergency plan " to improve conditions in the country 's 4 , 700 senior high_schools . about 150 , 000 students marched peacefully in dozens of other french towns and cities , but the demonstration in paris ended in confusion after gangs of troublemakers began looting stores , attacking journalists and clashing with the police in montparnasse and other left bank neighborhoods . later , the police used tear_gas and water cannons to prevent groups of youths , some wearing_masks and hurling stones , from crossing the river seine . at least 50 people , including 12 policemen , were wounded , and 10 cars were set on fire along the quai d'orsay near the foreign ministry . the huge turnout of students here and elsewhere in france nonetheless underlined the strength of a movement that in barely three weeks has posed the government of president_francois_mitterrand and prime_minister michel_rocard with its most serious social challenge in two years . set off by rape of student the movement was set off by the rape of a student in a high_school in a paris suburb in late october . complaints about inadequate security soon led to broader demands for increased government spending to end overcrowding in classrooms , to increase the number of teachers and to improve schools . significantly , the movement , which is being coordinated by three ad_hoc student committees , has won considerable public support across france , not only from several teachers' unions and major political_parties but also from local mayors and parents' associations . in a conciliatory_gesture , mr . mitterrand , who has previously expressed sympathy for the students , received about 20 of their representatives tonight . an official spokesman said he endorsed their demand for greater " democracy " at school and said their other claims should be discussed . earlier , after meeting the same group , education minister lionel_jospin , whose handling of the crisis has been widely criticized , promised that the details of an emergency plan would be discussed with student leaders this week . in france , administration and financing of all secondary_education is centralized in paris . students want further increases the government , which has announced a 9 percent increase in its education budget for 1991 , has already agreed to create 1 , 000 maintenance jobs , 100 supervisory posts and 3 , 000 security positions in the high_schools . but student committees have said this is not enough . some of the student leaders who met both mr . mitterrand and mr . jospin said tonight that they wanted guarantees that the education budget would be further increased . " they did not talk about the budget , " said one student , lelia monteuil . " we 're still waiting . " the demonstration today , the largest to date , brought student representatives from all over france who gathered first at the place de la bastille , but police ordered dispersal of the march before it completed its planned route to the champs_elysees after trouble erupted in the latin_quarter . the students themselves demonstrated in an orderly manner , chanting slogans and holding banners , including one that said , " money for schools and not for the gulf_war . " rachel fardel , an 18 year old from strasbourg , said her high_school was dilapidated . " we 're asking the government to do something about it , " she said . student organizers had taken measures to prevent infiltration by agitators who engaged in looting during a smaller demonstration here last monday , but gangs of older youths appeared alongside the march and began causing trouble in the latin_quarter . this evening , long after most students had left the area , roaming bands of youths first tried to set fire to the metro station at pont de l'alma and then were chased by heavily armed police in a large area of central paris , stretching from the quai d'orsay to the eiffel_tower .	has a location of france
sifting through his papers , claude desvaux counted 203 foreigners among the 280 students attending his public_school in the crowded belleville section of paris . but the real_number , he added with a resigned smile , is much higher . " we have children born in france who remain culturally foreign because they speak arabic or some other language at home , " the school principal said . " we have kids from the french antilles who are french citizens but they do n't feel french . " across france , foreigners represent around 9 percent of all students under the age of 16 , but in districts with high concentrations of immigrants , they invariably account for more than 70 percent of pupils . throughout western_europe , there is a perception that immigrants arabs in france , turks in germany , pakistanis in britain and so on are " taking over " schools , housing complexes and neighborhoods . that in turn has led to the movement of european families and the entire process has become known as the ghetto phenomenon . that in turn has become a major factor contributing to rising opposition to new immigration . viewed with hostility whether in birmingham , frankfurt , florence or marseilles , third world communities have become the target of simmering xenophobia and occasional racist violence , with some ultra nationalist groups even trying to court popularity by demanding that poor foreigners be forcibly repatriated . yet , with immigration already strictly controlled in western_europe , many experts are now arguing that the problem and the solution lie elsewhere . today 's immigrants are viewed with hostility , they say , because earlier waves of immigrants and their children were not properly integrated . with many governments under strong pressure to do something about immigration , this view is also gaining favor in european capitals . a recent report by the european_community 's executive commission said the focus should now switch to integration , while france 's new council on integration has just published its first findings . in many european cities , as in the united_states , the ghetto phenomenon occurs almost naturally . immigrants are drawn to where their relatives or friends already live . and as they start crowding schools , apartment blocks and hostels , often changing the local scenery with their shops and places of worship , european families move away . the result is evident in the patio below mr . desvaux 's office at the college de fontaine au roi in paris 's 11th arrondissement . at different times of the day , teen_agers of 28 nationalities , five religions and all races take breaks there between classes , but hardly a white french child is to be seen . " the ghetto phenomenon is a permanent danger to us , " mr . desvaux said . experts argue , though , that race is not the principal obstacle to integration . asked in a recent french poll why cohabitation with immigrants was difficult , respondents overwhelmingly identified different customs and religion and , to a smaller extent , language , while skin color was barely mentioned . attitudes have also hardened as immigrants have gone from guest workers to permanent residents . for example , when france , britain , germany , belgium and the netherlands were welcoming the cheap foreign labor of single men between the late 1950 's and the early 1970 's , they represented an economic solution . but by the 1980 's , many immigrants had brought their families , customs and religions and had formed highly visible communities in countries with little " melting_pot " tradition . western_europe 's economies still need them but , often trapped in poverty , they are now considered a social problem . " they continually run the risk of unemployment , of having to accept the worst housing and of facing disproportionate difficulties in schools , " according to the european_commission 's recent report on immigration and integration . " they run the risk of becoming marginalized and remaining marginalized . " the report stressed that the problem not only affected newly arrived immigrants and refugees . " their children and grandchildren also comprise a social and economic underclass , " it said , " and this will not change until integration policies become stronger and more imaginative . " in france , it was only last year after a wave of violent racist incidents and rising support for the extreme rightist national front that the socialist government of president_francois_mitterrand concluded that there was no viable alternative to speeding integration . as a first step , it appointed a high level council on integration to analyze the crisis and recommend action . and last month , the council issued its first report , drawing a dark picture of an immigrant population that is largely cut off from french society in its schools , housing and employment . 'equality of rights and duties' dealing first with principles , it declared that france 's concept of integration meant guaranteeing " equality of rights and duties " for everyone rather than reinforcing segregation of immigrants by treating them as special communities or minorities . but it also recognized that , while earlier generations of immigrants and refugees from eastern_europe had been naturally assimilated , " patient , vigorous and inventive " measures would be needed to integrate the arabs , africans and asians now crowding schools , housing complexes and hostels . the problems involved are apparent enough in paris 's 11th arrondissement , where parents can choose among five public schools . and that means , in mr . desvaux 's words , " they can choose not to integrate . " as a result , his school carries the main burden of handling local immigrant children that in turn has predictable consequences . while 80 percent of pupils at a nearby lycee continue studying after the age of 16 , only 40 percent of mr . desvaux 's students do so . similarly , nationwide , while 30 percent of immigrants between the ages of 16 and 24 are unemployed , the figure for french youths is 20 percent . french schools in turn mirror the concentration of immigrant housing . about 120 , 000 immigrants live in some 400 " temporary " hostels owned and managed by the government . but most other immigrants live in low cost housing that quickly brings the ghetto phenomenon to districts and towns . the french government has established greater integration of the hostels and the low cost housing blocks among its objectives , but the problems are myriad . in one well run hostel in evry , 30 miles outside paris , the fact that most of its 271 guests are foreign permanent residents means there is little room for french workers . a few hundred yards away , a low cost housing complex crowded with algerians , moroccans , tunisians and growing numbers of sub saharan africans poses even greater obstacles to integration because , in evry at least , it is already identified with uncollected garbage , violence and frequent police raids . at the college de fontaine au rois in belleville , mr . desvaux said he had no difficulty maintaining order inside the school . " but there is a problem of delinquency outside , " he said . " the problem is that when the kids go home , there 's no one there , so they hit the streets . often the only social structure is a street_gang . " but winding up a two hour french lesson before a class of 15 year olds , claude beaudoin insisted that the children of immigrants were gradually becoming integrated . " we get young arab girls asking for our help to prevent them from being sent home to get married , " the young teacher said . in the class , impatient for lunch after studying a poem by paul verlaine , there were children from sri_lanka , india , cambodia , mali , yugoslavia , the french antilles and all the countries of north_africa . but when asked who wanted to go home , only one boy from guadeloupe raised his hand . " i miss the weather , " he said .	has a location of france
there may be no olympics this year for dan o'brien , but there may still be a world record . the world decathlon champion said his failure saturday in the united_states olympic track and field trials in new orleans had led him to accept an invitation to a major competition in early september in talence , france . o'brien said a world record there would soothe his unexpected failure to make the olympic team when he failed to clear his opening height in the pole_vault . hours after that failure , the tears had vanished . o'brien returned to his hotel room and showered . then he went to bourbon street for dinner with tanya hughes , who won the women 's high_jump in the trials , and his massage therapist . they did the same sunday_night . " we listened to some good music and tried to think about good things , " o'brien said . " it was the first time i had been able to relax all week . now i 've got to look ahead . i compete best when i 'm hungry , and after this week i 'm hungrier than ever . " sports people decathlon	has a location of france
as costs rose and problems multiplied , there were times when even the chief organizers of the 16th winter_olympics questioned the wisdom of holding this month 's albertville games at 13 sites sprawled over a 600 plus square_mile area of the french_alps . everything , it seemed , had to go that little bit farther new highways and improved access roads , telecommunications , transportation , security , accommodations , even food supplies . and it also meant dealing with 13 municipal governments . yet in the end , thanks to patient planning and a good deal of money from french taxpayers , the last minute scramble that so often precedes such major sporting_events was averted . now , with everything apparently ready for saturday 's opening ceremony , the only remaining worry is the weather . if a reminder were necessary , the area was struck in late december by its worst snowstorm in 47 years . but it also gave both the olympic organizing_committee and the regional government a chance to test their ability to prevent heavy snow from disrupting the games , feb . 8 23 . ready for snow " we 're not in senegal , you know , " said michel_barnier , the savoy region politician who is co president of the organizing_committee . " we ca n't be surprised if it snows here . it will be easier if it does n't snow during the games . but we 're now ready for it . " perhaps as important , the scattered venues of the 57 events stadiums , ski jumps and ski runs , hockey rinks and bobsled runs have all been tested in competition or practice in recent weeks and have been declared in working order . the opening ceremony will take place before a crowd of 30 , 000 in albertville itself and this valley town with no ski_slopes of its own will also be host to the speed_skating , figure_skating and short_track events . in the days that follow the inauguration of the games by president_francois_mitterrand , attention will switch to courchevel , val_d'isere , meribel , la_plagne and other mountain resorts that will be the venues for such popular competitions as ski_jumping , alpine_skiing , bobsledding and hockey . olympic villages at brides_les_bains and les saisies are already spruced up to receive 2 , 200 athletes in unusual comfort , new highways from chambery to albertville and from albertville up the tarentaise valley are open and a press center has been built to handle 7 , 000 journalists and technicians . indeed , in recent days , jean_claude_killy , france 's former skiing idol who is the other co president of the organizing_committee , has felt relaxed enough to start thinking about sports . " it 's very important for the games that we have one or two international stars and one or two french stars , " he said . french fans and , by his own admission , killy are counting on the french brother sister team of paul and isabelle duchesnay to take the ice_dancing gold_medal here . certainly , the 1968 winter_olympics in nearby grenoble are still remembered in france and beyond for killy 's spectacular victories in the slalom , giant_slalom and downhill events . and he recognizes that the best gauge of the success of the albertville games will be the excitement they generate . tv audience is key variable the key variable , though , will be the television audience because the problem of moving large crowds around the valleys and mountain roads of this region has prompted the organizers to limit ticket sales to 800 , 000 compared with the two million spectators who watched in calgary , alberta , in 1988 . some hoteliers in the savoy region have even complained that they still have rooms available this month because some winter holiday makers have chosen other resorts rather than risk being caught in traffic_jams . but they concede that they should profit later from publicity surrounding the event . already the region has benefited from the 1 . 2 billion spent by france 's central and regional governments to insure the success of the games by improving roads , railroads , hospitals and cultural facilities . on top of that , they have contributed 155 million to the organizing_committee . " from the first day , looking at the costs and revenues , we knew we could not do this without public investment , " barnier recalled . " we 're in france , not the united_states . and in france you cannot organize olympic_games without a solid partnership with the state . " aim is to break even as a result , while other recent olympic_games have returned profits , barnier 's aim is merely to break even . if he does , he can perhaps thank cbs , which paid 243 million or almost one third of the organizing_committee 's 750 million budget for the american rights . if he does not , he can count on the government 's picking up the difference . the main unexpected costs so far were associated with construction of the bobsled and luge run at la_plagne and of the two 90 meter and 120 meter ski jumps at courchevel . in both cases the costs came about , in part , because of difficulties with the terrain on which they were built and , additionally at la_plagne , problems handling and containing the ammonia needed to cool the run . some resorts , though , have spent themselves into trouble . pralognon la vanoise built a 6 million ice_rink , but it was assigned only the demonstration curling event and is now heavily in debt . brides_les_bains , which has just 600 permanent residents , gave itself a 56 million face lift to prepare for becoming an olympic village and it now owes 14 million to construction companies . test for resorts after games the real test for many of the resorts will come after the olympics when they must manage the installations that they will inherit . the ski_jump bequeathed by the grenoble games 24 years ago , for example , was recently put on sale for one franc because local authorities could no longer maintain it . " the people of the area have to think big , " killy said , speaking with the conviction of a man who was brought up on the slopes of val_d'isere . " the sales pitch must not be just one resort but the whole tarentaise valley . if the people of the valley can sell the area for competitions and recreation into the next century , we will have won the olympic bet . " albertville '92	has a location of france
after years of bobbing , weaving and semantical tomfoolery , the sport of track and field will take a step toward clarity on friday when the world indoor_championships begin in the palais omnisports de bercy . for the first time at any track world_championships , there will be prize money available to the medalists . not luxury cars , not ribbons , thumps on the back or conspiratorial winks . there will be prize money , and it is hardly a token amount , with an overall purse of 2 . 3 million and 50 , 000 going to each gold medalist . among the luminaries who will compete are gail devers of the united_states in the women 's 60 meter_dash , wilson kipketer of denmark in the men 's 800 , the fast rising hicham el guerrouj of morocco in the men 's 1 , 500 , mary decker slaney of the united_states in the women 's 1500 and haile gebrselassie of ethiopia in the men 's 3 , 000 .	has a location of france
scandal plagued olympique marseilles was barred yesterday from playing in the intercontinental cup , which is for the world club championship , and the european super cup . earlier this month , marseilles was stripped of its 1992 93 french league title and barred from defending its title in the european_champions cup . " we have to protect soccer , " fifa 's general secretary , sepp blatter , said . " we have to maintain order , respect and discipline in an organization which groups 178 national associations and more than 200 million players . " fifa imposed worldwide suspensions on the former marseilles general_manager , jean_pierre bernes the former marseilles player , jean_jacques eydelie , and the former valenciennes players christophe robert and jorge burruchaga , all accused in a bribery accusation . ( ap ) sports people soccer	has a location of france
with about a month to get ready for the world_cup , the biggest event in the world 's most popular spectator_sport , soccer , france has spiffed up tens of thousands of hotel rooms , taught surly taxi_drivers to say , ''sank you , veri meutch , '' to english speaking visitors , and built a futuristic 450 million stadium on the outskirts of paris for the june 10 opening match . ''france welcomes the world , '' the slogan goes . but , even at the world_cup , the french have made it difficult for foreigners to feel welcome even though they received 67 million tourists and took 34 billion from them last year . ''bonjour 98 , '' a booklet prepared by the french tourist office to help travel professionals cater to the needs of the more than 40 nationalities expected in the 10 french cities that will be host to the 64 games , also tells users how to say thank you in german ( ' 'danke cheun'' ) , in spanish ( ' 'moutchas gracias'' ) and in a score of other languages . it also warns that what people from country after country dislike most about the french is their unwelcoming attitude , starting with the refusal of many natives to speak anything but french . even putting their best foot forward , the french manage to trip themselves up . the organizing_committee has made it so difficult for anybody who does not live in france to buy any of the 2.5 million tickets , for example , that the european_union in brussels will probably charge it with violating european rules on fair competition , according to officials who said a guilty finding could bring a fine of a few million dollars . for tourists who managed to snag tickets , hotel rates have been increased , according to some of them who have tried to make reservations . ''they made it all but impossible for people from a foreign country to buy tickets , '' said a spokesman for the european_union 's commissioner for competition , karel van miert , who expects to hold hearings this summer on the charges and reach a ruling in september . ''they made you use the minitel , which you ca n't connect with from the internet they made you give a ticket delivery address in france , and they made you transfer 350 francs , a large sum of money for some people , to a french bank , '' one official said , referring to a sum of 59 american . ''it appears to be an infraction of european_union rules that say a monopolistic or dominant company cannot discriminate , and they appear to have discriminated by nationality . '' in any event , legal action would not help would be spectators with the bad luck not to be french because most of the tickets have already been snapped up by french fans and because the championship game will be played on july 12 . like the final game , the opening one and seven other matches in the 64 game series will take place to the north of paris in the 80 , 000 seat stade de france , an engineering marvel with a cantilevered roof the size of the place de la concorde , but with only 6 , 000 parking_spaces . it seems to hover like a giant , sleek flying saucer over the northern approaches to paris in the ancient royal capital of saint denis . but with french truckers , railroad workers and subway drivers all threatening strikes during the games , fans could have a hard time getting aboard . ''i do n't think it 'll happen , and if it does , i 'll walk to the stadium , '' said michel platini , the former soccer player who heads the french organizing_committee . tickets remain a huge headache . under pressure from the european_union commission , the committee put aside 50 , 000 tickets for foreigners , and allowed foreigners as well as french fans to try to call in for the final allotment of tickets , 110 , 000 of them , which went on sale april 22 . but the 60 operators taking telephone orders were immediately swamped by an estimated 20 million attempted calls , making the odds of getting a ticket about the same as those of winning the lottery . frustrated fans all over europe are furious , and even a french daily newspaper , le_monde , called the telephone scheme a french farce . ''you ca n't please everybody , '' platini said , shrugging . ''french taxpayers built the stadiums and are paying for a lot of the cost of having the world_cup here . it 's only fair that they should get more tickets . '' andreas herren , a spokesman for the federation of international football associations , the sport 's world governing body in zurich , said the french were getting a bum rap for the tourist troubles . ''with millions of affluent fans living within a few hours' driving time from france , and only 2.5 million tickets available , there were bound to be 25 or 30 unhappy fans for every one who got a ticket , '' he said . he defended the ticket distribution , 60 percent for french customers and 20 percent for participating soccer clubs and organizing officials , as standard practice , and said it had been approved by the federation . there were fewer complaints at the last world_cup final round , in the united_states four years ago , he said , but that was because fewer foreign fans had the money to make the trip to the united_states to see the games , and larger american stadiums meant that a million more tickets had been available . the practical professional guide prepared by the french tourist office did not anticipate the ticket troubles , but it did anticipate other problems . americans , the guide says , ' 'deplore prices that are too high , the insufficient use of english and prevailing anti_americanism , '' but , hey , you ca n't have everything . do not force brazilians to eat meals in their hotels , the guide says , and do not serve brains or horse meat to chileans . it says that eastern europeans , among many others , find prices much too high . platini , in a wide_ranging talk with reporters , said one of his biggest problems was french official indifference to the excitement of having millions of visitors for the world_cup here . speaking of plans to have a free open air entertainment spectacular in the streets of paris the night before the opening match , he wiped his brow and said getting the state to actually organize a program had been one of the hardest tasks he had faced . soccer	has a location of france
basking in the reflected glory of france 's world_cup soccer championship , president jacques_chirac appealed to his compatriots today , bastille day , not to lose the upbeat victory spirit . ''at heart this victory showed solidarity and cohesion and showed that france had a soul , or more precisely was trying to find one , '' he said in a nationally_televised conversation with two journalists at a reception in the vast garden of the presidential elysee_palace . the festivities quickly turned into yet another celebration of the french national soccer team , mr . chirac 's guests of honor , who won the championship with a 3 0 victory over brazil on sunday . ''i hope we keep a good part of this national feeling after these festivities , '' added mr . chirac , whose popularity has soared to the highest level in three years as the national mood has improved , primed by an upswing in the economy . the socialist prime_minister with whom the conservative mr . chirac has had to share power since last year , lionel_jospin , came to the festivities today with half his government and several thousand other guests . most of them were soccer tournament volunteers , athletes , low ranking soldiers and sailors , and students mr . chirac invited to liven up the party . liven it up they did , greeting the soccer team 's arrival with an impromptu version of the national_anthem , the ''marseillaise , '' even before mr . chirac had finished the interview with the two television journalists at the other end of the garden . later both he and mr . jospin happily submitted to the crush of the crowd around the players as a recorded chorus of ''we are the champions , '' a long ago hit by the british rock group queen , rattled the palace . speaking of his sometimes uneasy ''cohabitation'' with mr . jospin , the president said , ''france should speak with one voice to the world , and it does . '' but asked whether he thought the government , which took office on june 1 last year , had brought about the economic_recovery , mr . chirac said , ''the government shares responsibility , '' but added , ''the growth we see now is due in large part to the efforts of the previous governments . '' the last two governments before mr . jospin 's were headed by mr . chirac 's conservatives , who were defeated last year by a socialist led coalition that promised to make jobs the priority instead of deficit cutting policies that the conservatives had said were needed to qualify france for a european common currency . with the recovery , the socialists were able to bring the deficit down to 3.1 percent of france 's gross_domestic_product , and mr . jospin , who is more popular than the president now , has said france should be able to get it down to 2.3 percent this year . but mr . chirac said that , with unemployment still at 11 . 9 percent despite the recovery , ''we should remember that growth is n't enough to reduce long term unemployment , and that 's a big problem . '' he also indirectly criticized mr . jospin 's government for changing immigration rules this year in response to leftist criticism that conservative policies were inhumanely strict . ''we should take a position and then stick to it , '' he said . mr . jospin 's new policies , under which illegal_immigrants were invited to register and then half were told they did not qualify for residence and would have to leave , have also been criticized by the socialists' green and communist coalition partners . still , with the sun shining and a breeze blowing over the garden , today was another day for celebrating the symbolism of france 's team , itself evidence of the racial and cultural integration of many ethnic groups . its key playmaker , zinedine zidane , a native of algeria who grew up in marseilles , got more cheers in mr . chirac 's own backyard than the president did . the team with the tricolor , mr . chirac noted , was itself multicolored ''a nice image of france , '' he said . ''they showed an image of a france that wins , and wins together . '' post soccer crash claims a life paris , july 14 ( ap ) a man hit by a car on the champs_elysees during a celebration of france 's world_cup victory died today , hospital officials said . thirty three people are still hospitalized because of the accident on monday , when a woman plowed into revelers . about 80 people were injured . ten were still in serious condition today , hospital officials said .	has a location of france
the french delegation at the atlanta_olympics said it would stage a protest at friday 's opening ceremony against government plans to cut funding for sport . henri serandour , president of the french national_olympic_committee , said his team would be led during the opening ceremony parade by a group of trainers dressed in track suits . under olympic rules , delegations have to wear official team uniforms at the ceremony . serandour said he and his colleagues were protesting against government plans to stop paying some 1 , 500 national trainers out of the sports ministry budget . the plans would mean that each national sports federation would be responsible for paying its own trainers , a step that could put many of them out of work . ( reuters ) olympics notebook	has a location of france
france 's richard gasquet has the look of any 16 year old who has just grown to 5 feet 11 , his 157 pounds stretched to new , not entirely comfortable proportions . he accentuates the look with a backward baseball_cap and an attention span that wanders visibly even during tennis matches . in the united_states open qualifying_tournament two weeks ago , gasquet 's attempt to make the main draw of his second straight grand_slam took a left turn when that typical teenage attention span ran out . he had taken the first set against the journeyman dick norman when he started looking around , watching the adjacent court , focusing on everything but his match . he dropped the next two sets . gasquet is paying attention again , at least as much as needed to storm through the open junior tournament . he played ryan henry of australia in yesterday 's semifinals , vying for a berth in today 's final against marko baghdatis of cyprus , who won his semifinal over robin soderling of sweden , 7 6 ( 6 ) , 7 6 ( 4 ) . after the quarterfinals , gasquet said , ''i am getting more into the tournament , and i really want to win . '' gasquet has been anointed the future of french tennis , lifted onto a perilously high pedestal by a country desperately looking for its next champion . he has been dubbed richard the future great by the bbc and is regularly referred to as le petit prince by the french news_media . all this reached frantic proportions when he won a first round match over franco squillari of argentina at an atp masters series event in monte_carlo in april , took the eventual champion albert costa of spain to a fourth set in the first round of the french open , then dominated the open junior tournament at roland_garros , where he often trains . gasquet , then 15 , was the youngest ever to win that title . he seems to take it all in stride . his parents , francis and maryse , are tennis coaches . he picked up his first racket at 3 , and when he started showing the first signs of his precocious talent , the family moved from their hometown , serignan , to paris . this year , gasquet won a futures tournament and jumped up to playing challenger tournaments . he won one in montauban , france , and reached the final of another in tampere , finland . all were on clay , the surface that suits his lleyton_hewitt style game . he has speed , a solid forehand and backhand , and an improving serve . ''it 's not so difficult to go from juniors to the professional tennis , '' he said . ''it 's the other thing which is difficult , to go from professional tennis to the juniors . this is not easy . '' doubles time before the men 's final today , the women 's doubles final will pit the second seeded team of paola suarez of argentina and virginia ruano pascual of spain against sixth_seeded elena_dementieva of russia and janette husarova of slovakia . dementieva and husarova have not lost a set so far , but suarez and ruano pascual have had the more impressive season . they won the french open for the second straight year , have four other tournament titles and reached the wimbledon final , where they lost to venus and serena_williams . ruano pascual also made a big splash at wimbledon in 2001 , when she knocked out martina_hingis , 6 4 , 6 2 , only the third time in wimbledon history that the top seeded woman was beaten in the first round . grounds crew the united_states_tennis_association is selling grounds passes for today for 5 . the proceeds will go to the u.s.a . tennis foundation , which provides scholarships and finances the national junior tennis leagues . fans can watch the men 's final on the big screens on the grounds of the national tennis center . the gates open at 11 a.m . ratings up cbs announced a 3.0 overnight rating for friday 's broadcast of the women 's semifinals and men 's doubles final , up 11 percent from 2001 . the second women 's semifinal between the americans serena_williams and lindsay_davenport registered a 3.8 . it was the best overnight rating since a 1999 semifinal between venus_williams and martina_hingis drew a 6.0 . heartfelt thanks serena_williams has been understandably reluctant to talk about the man who has been arrested several times for stalking her , albrecht stromeyer of germany . but after her semifinal victory , she was quick to praise the new york police department for keeping him away . ''the police here did a very good job , '' she said . ''i know a couple of people who stayed up over 24 hours , just for me . you can see why new york has been applauding so many of their police and firefighters . i really owe them a lot of thanks . '' stromeyer is scheduled to be turned over to the immigration and naturalization service and deported this week . ''hopefully , it will all be settled now , '' williams said . ''this is a big step because he 's been doing this for a while . he came to new york . he came to the wrong state maybe . '' tennis notebook	has a location of france
jean_claude_killy and michel_barnier , co presidents of the albertville winter_olympics this year , announced today that the committee that organized the games recorded a 56 . 8 million loss , equivalent to 6.8 percent of its 836 million budget . in a news conference today , killy , a former french skiing idol , and barnier , who heads the savoy regional council , played down the significance of the deficit , arguing that the success of the two week long games in february was more important . prime_minister pierre_beregovoy has said that the central government will cover 75 percent of this loss . barnier said the savoy region , which embraces albertville , will assume the balance of the debt , most of which , he added , had already been paid . many empty rooms " obviously we have a small regret , " killy said . " we would have liked to have presented a perfectly balanced_budget . it 's a pity . but there was no single major mistake . " he said the sale of 941 , 000 tickets was higher than expected . but he noted that the organizing_committee had been asked to book 40 , 000 hotel rooms in and around albertville on behalf of foreign olympic delegations and that many rooms had remained empty . " this was very expensive for us , " killy added . the committee 's responsibilities were restricted to preparing the olympic installations spread over 13 different sites because the central and regional governments shouldered the 1 . 2 billion cost of building and upgrading highways , railroads , hospitals and cultural centers in the area . but the committee suffered several unexpected setbacks technical problems increased the cost of the bobsled run at la_plagne to 44 million and of the ski jumps at courchevel to 33 million . the bill for housing and feeding athletes and officials also grew to a massive 92 million . resorts hit hard having planned a budget of only 470 million six years ago , though , it was clear that cost_overruns were a problem from early on . and in the end , even with mounting revenues , including 243 million paid by cbs for american television rights , the french taxpayer was handed a stiff bill for the honor of hosting the games . some ski_resorts around albertville have also been left with a hangover because they ran up debts of their own in the hope of cashing in on the games . in pralognan , la vanoise , a 6 million ice_rink was built but never used . brides_les_bains , which built a ski lift and spruced itself for the apres games , owes 40 million . les saisies is also in the red . for french numbers watchers , however , all this seems familiar . the previous winter_olympics held in france took place in 1968 in grenoble , which is still paying off some of its debts . in contrast , the 1988 winter_games in calgary , alberta , returned a profit of 40 million . olympics	has a location of france
in 1973 , when marcel philippe , a native new yorker , was named to the french track and field team , he could hardly speak french . now he speaks it so well that he spent the last two weeks in new orleans as the expert commentator for french television at the united_states olympic track and field trials . philippe was a half miler and miler at fordham , good enough to have won the 800 meter silver_medal in the 1973 world university games . his parents , yves and leonne , were born in france ( yves became a celebrated chef in new york , known as philippe of the waldorf ) . " they could speak english , " the son said . " in fact , my mother was a graduate of hunter_college . but french was more natural to them . they spoke to my sister and me in french and we talked to them in english . i understood french , but i did n't speak it much then . " philippe , 40 years old , lives in manhattan and is a lawyer in the manhattan district_attorney 's office . at the track trials , he was on television live from 30 minutes to three hours a day . " i 'm comfortable with the french_language , " he said , " but i 'm not 100 percent with it . i have a very good vocabulary , but i 'm always amazed at how many nuances there are in the language , how it is so much more precise than english . when you juggle the vocabulary , you can be more precise . i 'm getting there . " sidelines	has a location of france
the last time cbs ventured into winter_olympics broadcasting was in 1960 in squaw valley , calif . a sum of 50 , 000 was paid for 15 hours of coverage over 11 days . walter_cronkite anchored the action that was captured by 12 cameras . seven winter olympiads passed without cbs . but nearly four years ago , cbs paid ( some say overpaid ) 243 million for the rights to the albertville games . cbs 's albertville effort will differ a tad from its squaw valley coverage . over 16 days , 116 hours of mostly taped coverage from 60 cameras will schuss here by satellite . that 's 21 1 2 hours more than abc broadcast from calgary , alberta , in 1988 . for the first time , two people will anchor the games in prime time paula zahn , the co host of " cbs this morning , " and tim_mccarver , cbs 's baseball analyst . zahn and mccarver have been warming up , somewhat tentatively , on cbs 's pre albertville " olympic winterfest " programs . they acknowledge that they will operate in the shadow of abc 's jim_mckay , but by teaming up , they hope to avoid the comparison . " this is all about storytelling , " said zahn . " we think we can draw people in with the stories of the athletes and the beauty of the region . " mccarver is thrust into the more difficult role transforming himself from a superior one sport analyst into a host . he is n't worried because , he said , " it 's not our job to be the experts . " mccarver and zahn will be lucky to see a single event in person , being ensconced in moutiers , site of the international broadcast center . from there , the coordinating producer , mike pearl , will test the power of the cbs and french technical armory to synchronize feeds from 10 competition venues stretched over a staggering 600 plus square miles . cbs 's effort probably wo n't break technical ground . " people are always saying they 're the first do this or that , but you end up finding out it 's been done before , " said pearl . thumb sized video cameras , for example , will be placed on the men 's and women 's alpine runs and on a luge sled . cbs has a daunting_task in airing 116 hours . winter events are in short supply compared with those in the summer , and skiing can easily be postponed by snowstorms , blanking out a major chunk of programming . most of the extra cbs hours , compared with those from calgary , are slotted for 7 9 a.m. , replacing " cbs this morning . " the morning hours will feature almost all the live hours during the 16 days . all else will be taped . choreographing a taped olympics is a marathon events are monitored live for inclusion in the taped package some that seem crucial are thrown out as more important races or runs overtake them . voice overs are added on the run . one former olympic producer called the process one that " leads to a breakdown of all other social mores , diets , sleep and exercise . " " live is easier , " pearl said . previous winter_olympics have taught cbs to put figure_skating on often because it attracts more women than any other event . cbs will present figure_skating in 10 of 16 prime time slots . " the first thing we did after winning the bid , " said rick gentile , cbs 's vice_president of olympic programming , " was to go to the international skating union to lay in the figure_skating and speed_skating schedule . after that , everything fell into place . " the schedule shares the wealth of air time unequally . skiing of all sorts is on each day at some time . biathlon gets six days and bobsledding four . a clicker will be needed to watch events from 1 6 p.m . over nine weekdays on ted_turner 's tnt . this is the first olympics on cable_tv , one that tnt stands to lose most of its 20 million investment in . tnt paid cbs the 20 million and cannot sell advertising . it will get a rebate on cbs 's ad sales 5 million if tnt is very lucky . tnt will not present the prime events and will go heavy on hockey , although not medal games . cbs will tell tnt what it can and ca n't have , and will do so on a day to day basis depending on what sports or athletes are hot . " our approach will be to show people more of the sports they have n't seen a lot of , " said kevin o'malley , senior vice_president of programming for turner sports . " if cbs does nine ski_jump runs , we 'll have access to 35 . " don mcguire , tnt 's executive_producer of turner sports , insists that he sees beyond showing jamaican bobsledders or spending 6 million on production . " to have the olympic trademark associated with us is valuable , " he said . " how valuable we wo n't know until later . " nick charles will be the host for the tnt effort from atlanta john naber will be the host from albertville . albertville '92	has a location of france
when jackie_joyner_kersee and nourredine morceli set foot inside the costly , graceful stadium that is the latest addition to this city 's venerable skyline , the sun was shining brightly and their familiar faces were clouded with doubt . when the day 's running and jumping were done , they stood side by side in the rain and quietly rejoiced . coming into today 's i.a.a.f . mobil grand_prix final , joyner_kersee was nursing the latest in a string of nagging injuries a strained right hamstring . morceli was fighting the flu . but in the end , both managed to overcome their aches , pains and opposition to win the women 's and men 's grand_prix titles and the 130 , 000 that goes with them . perhaps the bigger surprise was that neither of these dominant athletes had managed to win the overall title before . 'great end' to season " i think this fills in a gap in my career , " said joyner_kersee , the lithe american who has won four world_championships and three olympic gold medals two in the heptathlon and one in the long_jump . " this is really a great end to my season . " joyner_kersee clinched the women 's title by winning the long_jump with a leap of 23 feet 8 inches , which gave her 72 grand_prix points . sonia o'sullivan of ireland , who won the 5 , 000 meters today in 15 minutes 12 . 94 seconds but fell far short in her bid for a world record , and svetlana dimitrova of bulgaria , who won the 100 meter meter_hurdles in 12 . 66 seconds , also finished with 72 points . but they fell short of joyner_kersee in the complex scoring system that serves as the tie_breaker . morceli , the world 's top middle distance runner , took the men 's title outright with 78 points by holding off the rising star venuste niyongabo and winning the 1 , 500 meter race in the deliberately unspectacular time of 3 minutes and 40 . 89 seconds . 'only 80 percent' " i was hoping the beginning would be slow , " said morceli , the world record holder in the mile , 1 , 500 meters and 3 , 000 meters . " this morning i was feeling much better than yesterday , but i still was n't sure what was going to happen . i was only 80 percent . " on an average day , 80 percent would not have been enough to beat niyongabo , the 20 year old from burundi who burst from obscurity this season , winning eight races and clocking the year 's second fastest time in the 1 , 500 ( 3 30 . 66 to morceli 's 3 30 . 61 ) . but instead of pushing the pace early , niyongabo elected to hang back with morceli , who had to win to clinch the overall title . " it still has been a great season , " said niyongabo . " morceli was motivated today because he knew there was a lot of money to earn . " 'sick to my stomach' morceli , who reportedly commands 70 , 000 per appearance , is used to big paydays . he is also used to fielding questions about his troubled country , algeria , where the islamic salvation front is attempting to topple the military backed government . " i feel sick to my stomach because of what 's happening , " he said . " but i 'm not scared of anyone . this is sport , and i am an athlete . all i can do is do my job . " others also did their jobs well today at the new , 130 million charlety stadium . mike conley of the united_states , the defending world and olympic champion , came up with the year 's longest triple_jump , 58 feet 1 4 inch . in the women 's 100 meters , jamaica 's 34 year old star , merlene ottey , continued her late season surge , recording a personal best of 10 . 78 to knock gwen torrence of the united_states out of contention for the overall grand_prix title . torrence , who finished second , had a time of 10 . 82 , a personal best . britain 's linford_christie , the defending world champion in the 100 meters , was beaten for the third consecutive race within a week , finishing one hundredth of a second behind dennis mitchell of the united_states . track and field	has a location of france
stefan_edberg , loath to retire without a french open title to balance out his grand_slam collection , still has paris . today at the french open , where 88 degree sunshine sent more than one fair weather spectator to the hospital , the 30 year old swede kept his cool against a long haired spanish hotshot in a headband . edberg , using a game of fearless and relentless serve and volley on center court , trampled 20th ranked carlos moya , 6 2 , 6 1 , 6 1 . " i think it was one of those days where everything that you do turns into gold i felt like i was 20 today , " said edberg , who received a standing_ovation when he left the court . the chastened moya made his most succinct comment in the second round match when he clenched his towel between his teeth in a clear gesture of surrender just after edberg soared off to a 5 0 lead in the final set . " it 's his last french open , and he must really be motivated he never let me into the game , " said moya , who more than once simply tossed his racquet in the direction of edberg 's laser esque volleys . moya is just 19 , but already a bigshot on red clay earlier this month he ended the 38 match winning_streak of thomas muster . edberg , however , made short work of the teen_ager . " maybe i took him a little bit by surprise , " said edberg , who owns six grand_slam_singles crowns , but in a dozen visits here got no closer to this one than the 1989 final . edberg has less than fond memories of that match , which was won by michael_chang . as fate would have it , he next faces chang , who outlasted richard fromberg by 6 4 , 3 6 , 7 6 ( 7 5 ) , 6 4 today . meanwhile , the defending champion , muster , treated 171st ranked gerard solves , a french wild_card , like a homegrown punching bag in a 6 1 , 6 3 , 6 0 victory . muster has lost just once on clay this season , to moya . but muster has also been beaten this year by his next opponent , adrian voinea . the same romanian who ambushed boris_becker here in the third round a year ago , voinea handed muster , who was then ranked no . 1 , an opening round loss on hardcourts at indian wells , calif . , in march . after the upset , voinea said he did n't quite feel as if he had defeated a no . 1 player to feel that way , he said he had need to beat muster here at roland_garros . " and i do n't really want to play him on clay , " voinea said . muster , who said hardcourts turn his toenails black , is n't playing in the olympics for his native austria . but his abstention , along with that of germany 's becker , is the exception rather than the rule for players from every nation except , it seems , the united_states , where elbow twisting is the rule at selection time . yesterday 's selection of the united_states olympic team raised eyebrows here , mainly for the exclusion of the oft injured mary joe fernandez , a fed_cup mainstay and olympic gold medalist in doubles at barcelona , spain , in 1992 . billie_jean_king , the team 's captain , observed the computer rankings in her selection of the team 's three singles players , but chose to pass over fernandez , seeded 11th in singles here , in favor of the doubles specialist gigi fernandez . according to a statement released by monica_seles , who was selected as the top united_states singles player despite not yet having participated on a fed_cup squad , " the only negative is that mary joe fernandez , who truly deserves to be on the team , was not included . " the united_states_tennis_association sought wild_cards for fernandez and for jennifer_capriati , the defending olympic gold medalist in singles , but the request was denied by the international tennis federation . " i would love to play , " said capriati , who calls her 1992 olympic experience the highlight of her career , " but i guess it 's not my time . " things were only slightly less muddled on the men 's side , where the fourth_seeded chang , eighth_seeded jim_courier , and the davis_cup regular todd_martin all took their names out of contention . courier originally said he would compete , but suddenly cited a scheduling conflict . martin had his heart set on playing singles and refused the doubles only role the captain , tom_gullikson , offered him . the third singles spot behind pete_sampras and andre_agassi went to malivai washington , who made a sudden surge in the rankings over martin by winning at bermuda . sampras , who faces martin here in the third round , said he would play only singles at the atlanta_olympics and made it clear that the event is third in precedence to wimbledon and the united_states open . " as soon as wimbledon is over , the u.s . open is always in the back of my mind , " said sampras . " that 's where i really want to be playing my best tennis . the olympics , i 'm going to use it as a chance to see some other events , kind of feel the whole olympic feeling , which i did n't get a chance to in barcelona . " match points there were a couple of setbacks to the french cause thursday 11th seeded arnaud boetsch , beaten by 29th ranked paul haarhuis of the netherlands , was the only seeded player to lose . a_10 year veteran and 1994 quarterfinalist , 19th ranked julie halard , was upset , 6 7 ( 4 7 ) , 6 4 , 7 5 , by the smallest player on the women 's side , 66th ranked gloria pizzichini , who is just a shade over 5 feet_tall . moreover , the french 30 somethings , yannick noah and henri leconte , lost to jeff tarango and olivier delaitre , 7 6 ( 7 4 ) , 4 6 , 6 2 . tennis	has a location of france
until just recently , the french motto seemed to be , ''i could have been a contender . '' now france , for the first time , is a contender in a ' 'dream match'' against brazil in the world_cup soccer championship final here on sunday . hundreds of thousands of delirious french fans celebrated the victory over croatia wednesday that got them into the finals by taking to the champs_elysees , demonstrating joie de vivre rather than the more usual griping they call ''la grogne . '' how long the new mood will last is a good question in a country where people say , ''the more things change , the more they stay the same . '' but for the moment france is back , after a long period of querulous gloom , introspection and self doubt . and many people give the socialist led government of prime_minister lionel_jospin credit for the change . mr . jospin has had an extraordinary run , after having had the good luck to replace his conservative predecessor , alain_juppe , a little over a year ago just as the french economy unexpectedly took a turn for the better . paris stock prices have climbed 40 percent this year and the economy is expected to grow this year by 3 percent , the best in years . unemployment , a dismal 12 percent during mr . juppe 's term , is now easing . more people are going to the movies than at any time in the last 10 years . ''i 'm not usually an optimist , but everybody feels we 've finally found something that works , '' said emmanuel roumagere , a postal_worker in paris . ''we 're beginning to believe what they 're telling us . '' mr . jospin 's poll ratings are now the highest they have been since he was elected . polls published this week showed that between 63 and 70 percent of the voters say he is doing a good job . and while mr . juppe 's unpopularity dragged his fellow conservative , president jacques_chirac , into the doghouse with him , mr . jospin 's boom has pulled the president to new heights , with an approval rating of 58 to 68 percent . ''the people of france can say today that things are going better , '' mr . jospin said the other day as the french anticipated the start of their annual five week vacations and the climax of the world_cup . ''a year and a half ago , our fellow citizens were disoriented , fed up with politics and with what the leaders of the time were planning for them . they did not see the relationship between what they had been told during the presidential_election campaign and the policy that was followed . at least today it can be said that there is a connection between what has been said and what is being done . '' nicolas barbey , now a management consultant in rheims after long unemployment , said ''i would not say it was all jospin 's doing , but things do look better now than they did a couple of years ago . the only thing i can complain about is that i do not have enough time to get on the phone to drum up more work . '' like mr . juppe , mr . chirac and many other leaders , mr . jospin is a graduate of the elite national school of administration . but his intense , ebullient style and his way of preparing for major decisions with extensive debates inside and outside the government contrast with his predecessor 's more autocratic methods . mr . jospin brings to mind the tousle headed schoolboy he looked like when he leapt to his feet to cheer the french goals wednesday mr . juppe , by contrast , was compared to a dour tax inspector . mr . jospin , who turns 61 on sunday , was elected on promises to end years of painful budget cuts intended to get france ready for the euro , the common european currency , which will kick off next year . but after coming into office , mr . jospin dutifully helped make the euro a success by reining in spending , just like his predecessor . the task was made easier by the unexpected tax revenues brought in by the economic_recovery , so mr . jospin did not have to cut into generous pension benefits or raise taxes , as mr . juppe tried to do during a recession , proposals that were greeted with endless protests . but where mr . juppe infuriated doctors , normally staunch conservative supporters , by threatening to tax their fees if they did not help the state health_insurance system keep costs down , mr . jospin 's government said this month that it would look to the powerful pharmaceutical_industry to cut drug prices , or pay billions of francs in fines , if health_care costs continue to rise . almost from the time mr . chirac defeated mr . jospin for the presidency in 1995 , he was highly unpopular . now the president is riding high again . ''politicians do n't normally have much to do with soccer , but they like to benefit from it , '' said bruno moerman , who is in the travel business in paris . ''the fans are certainly full of spirit , and it 's having side effects in other areas . '' mr . chirac and mr . jospin share power in what the french call ''cohabitation . '' it may have been an unintended_consequence of the fifth republic 's 1958 constitution , which splits executive power between a strong presidency and a government that depends on a separately elected majority in parliament . unintended or not , the french seem to like this particular cohabitation . according to a poll this week in the weekly l'express , 70 percent want it to continue until the end of mr . chirac 's term , in 2002 . even 64 percent of those who support the right thought cohabitation was working fine . american officials here were also very pleased with the results of mr . jospin 's maiden voyage as prime_minister to washington last month . mr . jospin 's visit made headlines here when he praised the creation of millions of jobs in the united_states , the first time a french leader had acknowledged publicly that the jobs were not all , as some gallic economists snidely suggested , dishwashing positions at mcdonald 's . now mr . jospin is doing his best to persuade skeptics that the most controversial measure his government has passed , a law requiring all companies to go from a 39 hour week to a 35 hour one by 2002 , will actually create jobs rather than endanger them , as mr . chirac keeps warning . the law rewards companies that reach agreements with their employees on reorganization by giving the companies small subsidies for a few years for the jobs they create . an earlier conservative program did the same , permitting companies like cofinaga , a financial_services subsidiary of the galeries lafayette department_stores , to create 182 new jobs this year while reducing the average work week to 35 hours . overall , cofinaga executives say , they saved more than the 8 . 3 million cost of the new employees by agreeing with employees on flexible work schedules that allow the company to stay open longer on weekends and later at night . some employees may work more hours some weeks and fewer in others , but such work schedules , which french unions have often been reluctant to accept , increased productivity . but many french executives fear that the change in working hours that mr . jospin pushed through may make it difficult to get more concessions on productivity from unions . ''there 's no tradition of spontaneous negotiations between employers and employees in france , '' mr . jospin said . ''the state has to play the role of catalyst . '' mr . chirac warned the cabinet last winter against ''rash experiments , '' prompting mr . jospin to observe caustically that he owed his job to mr . chirac 's own rash experiment in calling elections . and , as mr . jospin pointed out , the threat of a 35 hour week did not discourage the toyota_motor_corporation from picking france for a 666 million assembly plant that will create 2 , 000 jobs in northern france over the next three years . within the government , mr . jospin claims that he leads with a more collegial style than mr . juppe did , partly out of necessity as head of a leftist coalition that includes communists and environmentalists who do not always agree with the socialists . if mr . juppe clearly outshone his cabinet intellectually , mr . jospin filled his with some of the socialist_party 's brightest lights , powerful political figures like foreign_minister hubert_vedrine , economics minister dominique_strauss_kahn and labor minister martine aubry . though he was bound by the terms of the coalition 's electoral commitment to oppose the privatization of france telecom , air_france and major french military industries , after the election mr . jospin proceeded nonetheless to make these enterprises more competitive by what he calls ''opening'' their capital to private investment . ''i 'm less interested in who owns an enterprise than in how it contributes to the prosperity , '' he said . with everything going so swimmingly , some fear the new mood may not last , particularly if france loses to brazil on sunday . if the asian economic crisis takes the wind out of europe 's sails later this year and the boom collapses , the french could revert to their usual snappishness when they come back from their vacations at the end of august . ''we 're enjoying it as long as it lasts , '' one presidential aide said .	has a location of france
on the campus of the national institute of sports and physical_education set in the lush greenery of the city 's southeast outskirts and down the road from the ch_teau de vincennes , lucien legrand gave a tour of the educational facilities today to prospective students who , in the united_states , might be called very young recruits . at 14 , they could become part of the incoming freshman class here at what is essentially a high_school for gifted athletes . but for this group of young male basketball players , there was only one subject to discuss , in the lingo of the game . ''i am a guard , '' m'baye alodoulaye of orl ans told a reporter in his limited english . ''a shooting_guard , not like tony parker . '' basketball is far from the most popular sport in france , but for those who play or follow the sport , these are the best of times . nearly three years after france won the silver_medal at the sydney olympics , tony parker , 21 and homegrown , is the starting point_guard for the san antonio spurs as they play for the n.b.a . championship against the nets . when one of the boys taking the tour this morning along with their parents asked legrand , the institute 's basketball director , if he knew parker , it was as if legrand had been cued . in the gymnasium a short walk away was hard evidence in the form of team photos and memorabilia that here was where it all began . here was where parker set out to prove that a skinny french kid who would grow to only 6 feet 2 inches and 180 pounds could take a once unfathomable path to n.b.a . stardom . true , parker is the son of an african_american , tony parker sr . , a former college player at loyola in chicago his mother , pamela , is a former fashion model from amsterdam . but parker , born in bruges , belgium , was raised here and brought by his father , who played pro ball in france , to the institute , known here by its acronym , insep , when he was 14 . parker thus qualifies as an indisputable product of the french basketball system , and another exponential advancement in the internationalization of what not long ago was practically an all american_league . parker is not the first frenchman to play in the n.b.a. , but he is the first with star quality and with the opportunity to win a championship ring . the way legrand tells it , parker knew where he was going from the moment he suited up at the institute and began leading the freshmen to victories over the older students . ''i never meet a player like him , and i am coaching and teaching since i am 25 , 26 , '' legrand , 55 , said . ''he wants to play , play , play . his first year , i pick him for a team to play in the european championships for our cadets . i say to tony , 'i am happy for you . ' he says 'lucien , for me , this is not a finish . it is a beginning . i want the team to win the championships and i want to be the m.v.p . of europe . ' i was surprised , what is in the mouth of this little guy , but not , you know , arrogant . he says and after , he makes . '' too fast and furiously competitive for his classmates , parker progressed at the speed he runs the spurs' fast_break . by 15 , he was playing against third division adult professionals and was selected for the national junior team by its coach , pierre vincent . ''at the beginning i had a lot of problems with my team because nobody saw what i saw , '' vincent said by telephone from bordeaux . ''but at the championships , he was the best player even though he was two years younger than most of the others . ''i think what made him so special is that he has the best of both cultures , american and french . because of his father he is thinking he can win no matter who he plays against , but he also wants to win for the team more than himself . i used to talk to him about lance_armstrong and say , 'tony , you look at the end he is there , the winner , but on the way there he is on a team . ' ''he listens , he understands , always . now people tell me , 'it is incredible what he is doing . ' i tell them , 'no , it is not incredible if you have known tony , to see him play in the finals . ' '' the games are televised at 2 30 a.m . here , one of the 205 countries receiving the games via satellite . even most basketball fans , legrand included , are not loving it live . ''i record and watch in the morning , '' he said , admitting it is something less than world_cup fever . back at the insep gymnasium , where a black no . 9 spurs jersey autographed by parker hangs in the window of legrand 's office , legrand laid out two copies of l' quipe , the french sports daily . one edition had a team photo including parker in his first year at insep . the other edition , today 's , had as its cover the serena_williams justin henin_hardenne tennis match , with a modest story on the spurs' game 1 victory deep inside . ''soccer and tennis , soccer and tennis , '' legrand lamented , much the way an american soccer coach might complain about football and baseball . nearby , christophe allardi , a coach in insep 's girls' program , pointed out that most french children do know who parker is and where he plays , more so than french basketball pros at home , because he is unique . ''yesterday i was trying to find a parker jersey for a young child and i could n't , '' he said . ''all sold . '' as much as he is french , parker has quickly taken his place in the american mtv cultural pantheon that european youth are typically quick to embrace . legrand hopes his developing legacy will sell more talented young french athletes on the game he loves . once they get here , the spurs jersey in his gymnasium office is the proof of how far they may go . pro_basketball	has a location of france
philippe chatrier , who steered tennis through boycott and hot pants controversies and then back into the olympics , steps down today after having served for 24 years as president of the french tennis federation . chatrier was president of the international tennis federation from 1977 to 1991 . he also was president of the men 's international pro tennis council from 1979 to 1985 before pro tennis was taken over by the players . chatrier , 65 , was once a player himself , reaching the fourth round at wimbledon when he was france 's no . 6 ranked player in 1951 . one of his greatest thrills was watching france upset the united_states in lyons to win the 1991 davis_cup . as president of the international federation , he was instrumental in returning tennis to the olympics as a medal event . ( ap ) sports people tennis	has a location of france
the tour de france is one of those great sports events that has eluded live coverage in the united_states . in past years , espn and abc carried it on tape , but the three week race was seen as it happened in most of the rest of the world . that has changed this year , yet there is a twist . it is live on the outdoor life network , but because the cable channel is available in only 36 million households nationwide , many people cannot see it . nielsen market_research does not rate it because it is so small . locally , oln 's two to four hours of morning coverage can be seen on time warner 's digitally upgraded system in new york city , several comcast systems in new jersey , the rcn outlet in manhattan and a cablevision system in ossining , n.y . peter englehart , the senior vice_president of programming and production for oln , said ''we 've been inundated with calls from cyclists who say it 's about time america saw it live , but others who complain 'i ca n't get it . what do i do ? ' '' englehart said it was not a hard sell to persuade tour de france officials to accept oln 's bid over espn abc 's because it promised live coverage . but it also had to promise to go beyond its universe of 36 million cable homes , which is less than half of espn 's , so it bought time on fox_sports net to provide half hour weekday updates and on cbs to offer one hour of taped coverage on three sundays . cash did not hurt , either . ''outdoor life 's offer was quite satisfactory , '' said barry frank of the international management group , who negotiated the deal for the tour . one consequence of outdoor life 's deal is that , having brought the race live to the united_states , it must step away on sunday for cbs , which will exclusively carry on tape the last stage into paris . armen keteyian , the narrator and co writer of cbs 's version of the tour , in a telephone interview from cauteret , france , said ''with due respect to outdoor life , we feel very proprietary toward this . we want to finish this off in the manner it deserves on sunday . this is a crown_jewel , the most exhilarating event i 've ever been associated with . '' outdoor life produces the daily live stages using the french world feed , with phil liggett and paul sherwen calling the race . fox_sports net 's coverage is a truncated version of outdoor life 's , while cbs uses footage from outdoor life and the world feed to create a story that encompasses a week of action . ( for its july 15 program , cbs earned a 1.3 nielsen_rating , or about 1.3 million television homes . sunday 's program produced a 1.6 overnight rating from 51 major markets . ) the cbs crew works feverishly to whittle five to seven hours of daily race footage down to the essence of each stage , then adds music , keteyian 's narration and new voice overs from liggett and sherwen . the goal is to tell a bigger tale than live coverage can , mix it with scenic beauty , all to engage both the uninitiated and those who may know the result , which requires a storyteller 's touch . in recent olympic races , al trautwig and john tesh , to name two , had it . the week of action that culminated sunday was exciting live or on tape because it featured lance_armstrong 's surge to the overall lead , winning three of four stages . in stage 13 , armstrong waited on the course until his chief rival , jan ullrich , returned to the race after cycling into a ravine . in stage 14 , as they finished , ullrich offered his hand to armstrong as they approached the finish . ''what lance did , and the gesture from ullrich that was as rich as you can hope to get , '' keteyian said . ''you want the writing to live up to what they 're doing . '' and at times , the script by keteyian and jeff sarokin achieved that goal . as armstrong pulled away from ullrich in stage 13 , keteyian said ''there is an expansive wellspring of heroism in each of the riders . it is in those who set the pace and those who struggle in vain to keep up . so what do we call it when one man time and time again so easily parts company from a battalion of heroes ? a dance of spirit or an act of will ? one thing is for sure there is a place lance_armstrong can go where others cannot . life and training experiences he draws upon memories both dark and golden he can replay for inspiration . '' the greenspan connection when the international_olympic_committee members gathered last week to vote on the host city for the 2008 summer games , they saw two small promotional films about the benefits of choosing beijing . the films' producer was bud greenspan , who has made so many official olympic documentaries . greenspan chronicles sports dreams , not political fights . let others discuss scandals . greenspan focuses only on athletic ideals . ''we had done the same thing for china nine years ago , '' said greenspan , referring to beijing 's bid , and two vote defeat to sydney , australia , for the 2000 summer games . ''we had shown them our commitment . '' what was missing , not surprisingly , from greenspan 's films for beijing , were questions about china 's dismal human_rights record . ''the human_rights in istanbul were never brought up , '' greenspan said , referring to one of beijing 's competitors . ( turkey 's human_rights record is awful , according to amnesty international . ) ''if we had boycotted the '36 games , we would n't have had jesse_owens , '' he said . ''moscow in 1980 and los_angeles in 1984 proved boycotts meant nothing . ''if we have any part in reversing the human_rights situation in china by helping to open it up to the world , we 're happy . '' tv sports	has a location of france
the ice_dancing competition began tonight with 19 couples dancing the paso doble , with its bullfighter themes , then gliding to blues music . it sounds like good entertainment , and it is , but there 's a catch everyone dances to the same music . to make matters worse , except for a couple of fancy moves at the start and finish , everyone dances to the same steps , as outlined in the rule book . the bottom line ? compulsories may be a thing of the past in figure_skating , but they are very much alive in ice_dancing . the same dearth of creativity will be on display sunday_night in the original_dance , when every couple dances the same dance ( the polka ) to its own choreography . but then the competition moves to its conclusion on monday_night with the free_dance , when everyone has four minutes to do almost anything almost anytime . the compulsory dances count 20 percent of the total score , the original_dance , 30 percent , and the free_dance , 50 percent . to no one 's surprise , the favorites sergei ponomarenko and marina klimova of the unified team , husband and wife , the 1989 and 1990 world champions led after the compulsory dances . second were aleksandr zhulin and maya usova of the unified team , also husband and wife . third were paul and isabelle duchesnay , a brother sister team that represents france . their choreographer is christopher dean , who skated to gold with of jayne torvill in 1984 and now is isabelle 's husband . russ witherby of cincinnati and april sargent thomas of ogdensburg , n.y. , ranked 10th mark janoschak of bramalea , ontario , and jacqueline petr of winnipeg , manitoba , tied for 11th and peter breen of brockton , mass . , and rachel mayer of minneapolis were 14th . on monday , janoschak tripped in practice and knocked over petr . her right skate cut a_4 inch gash in her left calf that required 22 stitches . the canadian team physician advised her not to compete . instead , she skated around the rink thursday and competed tonight . the predominantly french crowd of 7 , 000 cheered wildly for the duchesnays and booed when the italian judge scored another french couple low . it booed when the italian judge scored an italian couple high . it even booed when a french judge gave ponomarenko and klimova a score of 5.4 when the other judges gave them 5 . 8 's and 5 . 9 's . paul duchesnay was unperturbed by the scoring . he knows that the duchesnays' avant_garde freestyle program always excites the spectators , if not the judges . " if we skate well enough , " he said , " we have a shot to win . if we skate well enough , we will be satisfied . you ca n't always make the judges happy . i do n't even look at the marks they give us . " albertville	has a location of france
the president of the world governing body for soccer confirmed yesterday that the organization would outlaw the kind of temporary seating that collapsed in corsica earlier this week , contributing to the death of 11 spectators at a french cup semifinal_match . speaking to reporters in east_rutherford , n.j. , after a tour of giants_stadium , one of the nine sites for the 1994 world_cup , dr . joao havelange , the president of the governing body , the federation internationale de football association , said the new provision would go into effect after a meeting by telephone today by members of fifa 's committee for urgent matters . the stands that collapsed in bastia , corsica , were the same kind used in albertville , france , for the opening and closing ceremonies of the winter_olympics in february . both events took place without a problem . " but at the olympic_games , people did not move , " said havelange . " they just applauded . during football matches , people are very vibrant . they are moving . they are very emotional . " sports people soccer	has a location of france
thousands of the 2.3 million high_school students in france plan to resume protests against poor study conditions with a demonstration in paris on thursday . but at the lycee gaston bachelard in this paris suburb students are torn about how hard they should keep pushing . ''we 've got some promises on paper , '' said abdenbi benammar , 20 , a student leader , referring to promised remedies for shortages of teachers and shortcomings in the curriculum made by the ministry of education after last month 's national protests . ''but until we actually see changes made we should keep up the pressure . '' sarah devannes , a classmate , disagreed . ''we achieved a lot of things , '' she said . ''we got six teachers' assistants who 'll be here in january , and if we continue the strike too long , we 'll start losing support . '' discussions like this are going on in schools all over the country after a two week october vacation that followed some of the biggest school protests since 1995 . then it was university students who were on strike . they wanted better classrooms and study conditions , more teachers , smaller classes and curriculums designed to help them compete for jobs in an economy where many graduates find no jobs waiting for them when they get out of school . in france these days , with unemployment at 11 . 7 percent , students are now striking for the right to study harder to be better prepared for the job market . that is only one of many things about french schools that might amaze americans . even in troubled neighborhoods , schools have no metal_detectors at the door because guns in france are strictly controlled . ''i 've been in teaching for 19 years , and i 've never seen a knife flashed in all that time , though i 've worked in some pretty tough schools , '' said daniel bach , the principal at the lycee bachelard , where 2 , 000 students from all racial and ethnic groups prepare for the ''bac , '' the baccalaureate diploma that qualifies them to study at university . looking at the school , a visitor might ask what there was to strike about . in a neighborhood of single family houses and gardens next to a housing_project , the school has big picture windows and wide , spotlessly clean corridors in four story buildings organized around a central courtyard where students gather during breaks . the openness turns out to be one of the problems . ''kids from the neighborhood can come in and sell hashish and other stuff , '' mr . benammar said . ''we used to have draftees doing alternative service who helped with administrative work and insured security , but the draft ended this year and we do n't have them any more . '' so one of the student demands , here as at other schools around the country , was for more supervisory workers and better safety . the education minister , claude allegre , promised to increase school staffs with part time students as part of the socialist government 's national youth employment program . another complaint of students here was academic schedules that had scheduled some of them right out of lunch , a problem mr . bach laid to computer foul ups that have since been solved . he discusses problems like these regularly with student representatives who , like mr . benammar , tend to be older than their american counterparts . students commonly repeat years before passing the national examination thresholds to higher levels of education , and the examinations , particularly for the ''bac , '' are so rigorous that there is little stigma attached to staying back a year or more to prepare for them . ''one of the strains on the system is that nowadays 60 to 65 percent of all students want to go on to university , '' mr . bach said . ''it used to be 30 percent . so it 's no longer just an elite that wants to continue . '' in a country where until a decade or so ago schools were run by a huge bureaucracy centralized in paris , and providing education is still seen by almost everybody as a state responsibility , students are as apt as their parents to take to the streets to demand solutions to their problems . last month , the high_school protests in paris turned violent when unemployed youths joined student marches and started breaking windows , looting stores and setting cars on fire in scenes reminiscent of the student revolution in the latin_quarter in 1968 . but the violence this time was an aberration , agreed these students , who seem more preoccupied with fitting into today 's global economy and their increasingly competitive society than with changing it . when mr . allegre responded to last month 's strikes by promising to lighten the weekly class workload , which keeps many students on the campus here from 8 15 a.m . to 5 15 p.m. , at least some of them thought he had missed the point . ''if they cut back the workload too much , we could find that we are n't prepared when we get to university , '' miss devannes said . ''they could assume we know math we have n't even studied , and then how would we cope with our courses ? '' what exactly the relief in the study load that mr . allegre promised would mean was not clear to muriel navarro , a history and geography teacher who meets regularly with student representatives more concerned with passing tests than avoiding work . remedial study programs are unknown in the state university system , which leaves students to figure out their own deficiencies and make up for them , if necessary . at the high_school level , according to mr . bach ( whose ancestors came from germany , though he says he has not had the time to research whether they were related to johann sebastian ) , it is up to professors and students together to meet diploma requirements . worry about that was one of the reasons students at this school decided to strike , he said , after they got back to school in september from summer vacation and found that they were short of 4 teachers out of 170 . that meant that some students were unable to sign up for required courses in life sciences and mathematics . ''i had asked the district administration for a replacement for the math teacher last june , when she asked for maternity leave , '' mr . bach said . ''but i did n't get one . '' now that mr . allegre has promised to recruit 3 , 000 new substitute teachers in answer to the strikers' demands , mr . bach thinks he will get replacements for the ones he is missing . but he says it will be up to them and their students to figure out how to get through the required syllabus by the end of the year .	has a location of france
the weather was glorious today for the opening ceremonies of the xvi olympic winter_games in nearby albertville . but snow was likely at several mountain venues sunday , and there were reports that starting times for various events might be changed . the men 's downhill skiing was scheduled to start at noon sunday ( 6 a.m . eastern standard time ) in val_d'isere . olympic skiing officials were said to be considering an earlier start so the race might be completed before the snow began . a different type of weather problem was affecting speed_skating at the outdoor rink in albertville . skaters have complained that the ice is slushy most of the day because of temperatures in the high 40 's . they would like the 10 olympic races to be run late in the day , when the sun has fallen behind the mountains . the skating competition will start sunday with the women 's 3 , 000 meters at 4 p.m . eight of the speed_skating races are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. , one at 2 30 p.m . and one at noon . today , the international skating union refused an appeal by many leading skating nations to run the races in the evening . gert zimmermann , the federation 's technical director , said the federation would reconsider new starting times for the two longest men 's races ( 5 , 000 and 10 , 000 meters ) , but indicated there would be no changes . a crash course in survival this has been a successful alpine_skiing season for julie parisien of auburn , me . , who has placed in the top five this winter in three world_cup slaloms . but four weeks ago , in austria , she crashed into a recreational skier and lost four teeth . three days later , she hooked a gate at the bottom of a giant_slalom and broke her left wrist . " the wrist is not a problem for the slalom and the giant_slalom , " she said . " my teeth are a problem for eating , so i do n't have enough energy . but it 's just mental now . my goal is to have three top five finishes in my three events . " skater is hospitalized johann olav koss of norway , a gold_medal favorite in the speed_skating competition , was hospitalized in germany early_today after suffering severe stomach pains . koss holds the world records in the 5 , 000 and 10 , 000 meters . he is a top contender for the gold_medal in those events and in the 1 , 500 meters . the 23 year old skater had been relaxing and doing some light skating in the german city of inzell when he suffered stomach pains and was taken to the regional hospital in traunstein , the norwegian news agency ntb said . koss' first race , the 5 , 000 , is set for thursday , followed by the 1 , 500 on feb . 16 and the 10 , 000 on feb . 20 . counting on herschel the united_states bobsled team has named herschel walker , the minnesota_vikings running back , as the brakeman for its two no . 1 sleds . brian shimer of naples , fla . , will drive walker 's two man sled . randy will of plainview , l.i. , will drive walker 's four man sled , with joe sawyer of denver and karlos kirby of des_moines , iowa , as pushers . sounds like the n.h.l . aleksei_kovalev , the rangers first round_draft_pick in 1991 from moscow dynamo , is enduring a tough initiation period with the united team at the winter_olympics . kovalev was battered in two scuffles with teammates during a practice scrimmage here , while his coaches looked the other way . kovalev , expected to join the rangers by next season , has demonstrated his usual flashy skating during early workouts . his english and his fighting skills , however , have not improved past the rudimentary stage . john davidson , the msg broadcaster working with cbs during the olympics , spotted kovalev resting along the boards and coaxed a smile from the young russian 's face with three words " new york rangers . " as for the intramural rumbles , igor dmitriev , the assistant coach of the united team , did not seem concerned . " this is a younger team , and a more emotional team , than ever before , " he said . notebook	has a location of france
some people are not convinced that figure_skating , with its ballet music and its style points , is even a sport . i say , let rickey_henderson try to steal second base while staying in sync with erik satie or tchaikovsky , and see what kind of marks he gets . whatever figure_skating is , cbs is going to show 44 hours of it from albertville , all of them in american prime time . without figure_skating , the winter_games would feel like just another afternoon of " wide world of sports " people you never heard of performing sports you notice once every four years . figure_skating is the reigning monarch of the winter_olympics . and it is the only sport in the world in which the women are vastly more popular than the men . some of us feel that women 's tennis has been just as compelling as men 's tennis in the past generation , what with billie_jean_king and martina_navratilova and chris_evert , but the touts outside the stadiums and the television officials remind us that men 's tennis is the hot ticket . in figure_skating , it is just the opposite , going back to sonja_henie and peggy fleming and dorothy hamill . at the recent nationals in orlando , fla . , the men 's finals were held at 3 p.m . on a saturday and the women 's finals were held at 9 p.m . showtime . and for good reason . " we think of our audience as being women , 35 to 65 my grandmother from des_moines , " said rob dustin , the cbs feature producer for figure_skating at the winter_games . " in 1988 , the ratings for the battle of the carmens and the battle of the brians were close to super_bowl ratings , " dustin added , referring to the different interpretations of carmen performed by katarina_witt and debi_thomas in calgary in 1988 , and the rivalry between brian_boitano of the united_states and brian orser of canada . figure_skating was the absolute best thing i covered in the last winter_games in calgary . i had never been around it before , and i found it to have some of the best of the bullfights , a wimbledon final , and the ballet . from the sensational press section , just above the ice , where the skaters entered , you could see the looks on their faces , who was ready , who was tense . it was one of the rare times a sportswriter has a better vantage_point than the television audience . you could actually see the serenity of witt , the favorite from east_germany , the energy of elizabeth manley , the surprise from canada , and the intelligence and ambiguity of debi_thomas , the american . when thomas hit the ice wrong in the early seconds and plodded away to a bronze_medal , none of us knew that this complex pre med student had just secretly married her college boy friend . she was in love you could see something was distracting her . it is this up close and personal drama that makes figure_skating so popular with live audiences on several competing tours . some of this demand traces to the creative and attractive jayne torvill and christopher dean , the absolute stars of the 1984 games , but the answer is bigger than any one draw . " many of the sports do n't lend themselves to being there , unless you 're at the finish line , " said dr . franklin nelson , the president of the u.s . figure_skating association . " i love the other sports . i went to see eddie the eagle . i love hockey , " said dr . nelson , a former olympic figure_skater . " but the way this builds , it is n't over in a few seconds . it is elegant . it is appealing because of the art of doing difficult things and making them look easy . " it is easy to ridicule figure_skating with its routines set to music , its often gaudy costumes , the prejudging by officials , the bizarre names of the figures , but the performers are also athletes , attempting feats as difficult as the long_jump or the dunk . fleming has often praised the men for showing ways to mix muscle with grace , and the current trend for women seems to favor the jumping ability of midori_ito of japan over the smoothness of kristi_yamaguchi of the united_states . that tension between power and style will be worth watching , particularly because fortunes are at stake . " under normal circumstances , for an american girl to win the gold_medal is worth 10 million over the next five six years , although obviously , the recession changes that , " said michael rosenberg the business agent for the tough little american buzzbomb , tonya_harding . " any of the skaters can blow it with one opened up jump , one fall , " rosenberg said . " one little split second on the ice and anybody 's life changes . " that drama will be played , with music and color , in 44 hours over the next two weeks . if there were any more figure_skating , cbs would show it , too . albertville '92	has a location of france
isabelle and paul duchesnay , a french brother and sister team , will carry the enormous expectations of the home country onto the ice with them . but that should hardly faze them . the duchesnays have spent their careers inviting challenge , as the most innovative and provocative couple since jayne torvill and christopher dean mesmerized audiences at the 1984 sarajevo games . with dean as their coach and , since last spring , isabelle 's husband , the duchesnays have stretched their discipline into such distant dimensions that even russian couples , with their deep classical traditions , are beginning to emulate them . but it has been only recently that judges have begun accepting the duchesnays' varied and unorthodox themes . at the calgary games , they skated to african rhythms and drumbeats and brought down the house but finished eighth . by the 1990 world_championships , they had moved to second place with a performance resonant of represssion and human suffering in south_america . then last year at the world_championships , with an updated version of their 1990 material , they broke through to win the gold . for the olympics , they have chosen themes from " west side story , " but injuries , more than bias , could be the only thing to hold them back . isabelle missed a period of training in the summer with a broken toe . a thigh injury to paul kept them out of the recent european championships . in their absence , three couples from the former soviet_union swept the medals . albertville '92	has a location of france
herschel walker made his olympic debut today , and his rookie eagerness might have added the microsecond that decides a medal in the two man bobsled . these might be the winter_games , but for walker , a heisman_trophy winner who is a minnesota_vikings running back , this was only his second bobsled event in competition . after two runs , the no . 1 united_states sled , with brian shimer as driver and walker as brakeman , finished the day in ninth place over all , going into sunday 's final two runs to decide the champion . they had a sixth and 10th today . shimer and walker , and everyone else , trailed an amazing and perhaps amazed british team , mark tout and lenny paul , who were in first place after today 's runs . britain has not won a winter_games medal since 1984 and has not won an olympic bobsled medal since 1964 . keeping it close gunther huber and stefano ticci of italy were a close second , . 03 seconds behind . austria 's no . 2 sled , ingo appelt and thomas schroll , was third , . 13 behind . today , walker , who says he has been on a bizarre , mostly bread and water diet for five weeks , and wants to try to compete in the olympic summer games , in martial_arts , did the bobsledding equivalent of trying to run with the ball before he had possession . as the brakeman , he is the muscle man , the second into the sled . after shimer , the driver , had climbed aboard following their push , walker jumped in behind him about 35 meters down the run . but he made a rookie mistake . he hopped on before the sled reached its optimal velocity for the trip , which would last almost a mile at speeds exceeding 70 miles an hour . walker later denied that he had climbed aboard too quickly , but the united_states coach , jim hickey , conceded that " he may have been in one or two steps too quickly . " it 's up to gravity after the push , gravity takes over . it took the americans 6 . 14 seconds , respectable at that , to speed the first 50 meters . the germans , by comparison , did 6 . 03 while the british came along at 6 . 08 . the american time for the first run was 1 00 . 34 . then walker and shimer cut their 50 meter start time by 5 hundredths of a second . still , the track was slower now and they produced a 1 01 . 27 their second time around . their total placed them 41 hundredths of a second behind britain , and 28 hundredths of a second out of third place . back home , the british press has been wondering why good money was being thrown after this british olympic team . but today , tout and paul , who have been helped in training by a sports psychologist and the former east_german coach , wooshed their way to the lead with a first and an eighth in their two runs . the first british run was a stunner in 1 minute and 1 tenth seconds . after calgary and a finish barely in the top 20 , tout threatened to leave bobsledding . the british organization was revamped . a sports psychologist was brought in to help tout , a driver who gets angry easily . perhaps the key move , though , was the the arrival of horst hornlein from germany as the " ice " coach . his east_germans had been the best . the four man british bobsled team was accorded a chance in these games , but the two man was not . only two years ago , it finished 27th in the world championship . now , tout and paul are leaders . after the competition today , the team manager , tony wallington , shielded his would be heroes from reporters . " we want to provide the most stable environment possible , " wallington said . " the guys are going straight back to village to concentrate on the next phase . this is the first time we have led the olympics like this and we ca n't afford anything to go wrong . " the american team was not so silent . " this is fun , " walker said . " it 's competition . " " i was more tired running on and off the field , " he said of his football playing . " i had a 70 yard run against tampa and i did n't touch the ball the rest of the way . " walker said he had been on a bread diet since early january ( although he admits to the occasional french_fries and m m 's ) , sleeps about three to four hours a night , and does 1 , 500 pushups and 2 , 000 situps daily . puerto_rican sledder injured la_plagne , france , feb . 15 ( ap ) a puerto_rican bobsledder , jorge bonnet , suffered a slight concussion today in a crash during his sled 's second run . puerto_rico 's no . 2 sled flipped over in a turn near the top of the 1 , 508 meter track and slid uncontrollably down through the finish , trapping the driver , john amabile , a new jersey optometrist , and the brakeman , bonnet , inside . the crew members lost control when they went too high in the no . 6 curve . bonnet suffered a slight concussion , bumps and bruises , and he was put in a neck brace , the puerto_rican coach , rich kolko , said . amabile , of ocean township , walked away from the crash . albertville	has a location of france
halfway through its 16 day marathon broadcast of the winter_olympics , cbs is gradually balancing , rather than juggling , daily deliveries of action , features and studio chitchat . the 10 1 2 minutes of commercials each hour , the cutaways to features at dramatic junctures and the still stilted repartee between the prime time anchors , tim_mccarver and paula zahn , remain apparent . but even the most jaded viewer must be swayed when cbs hits it right , as it did in its friday night coverage of the finnish team 's surprise victory in ski_jumping called by the crack team of phil liggett and jeff hastings , or yesterday 's victory by the american hockey team over poland , presided over by john davidson and mike emrick . emrick is peerless in dropping key nuggets of information , like the offsides rule , into breathless action . " we 've improved and will continue to in terms of keeping the programs interesting from beginning to end , " said mike pearl , the 48 year old coordinating producer for cbs 's olympics broadcasts , a refugee from abc 's olympics unit . " of course , it does n't hurt to have good events . " it does n't hurt to have the best prime time hosts to anchor the broadcast , and pearl defended the mccarver zahn team , while acknowledging that they have had problems . they are the image of cbs in albertville , even if they are on camera each night for no more than 15 minutes ( probably less time than bonnie_blair and family are viewed ) . " it 's a matter of getting them used to their roles , " pearl said . " these are roles neither one of them has experienced before . they 're improving , but i think in the first week , we 've laid a foundation that we can build from . " mccarver and zahn have loosened up slightly . zahn has let her hair down ( literally ) , which makes her warmer . mccarver has donned eyeglasses . instead of the two chatting uncomfortably on their own , they have conducted interviews with analysts like scott hamilton ( figure_skating ) and athletes ( team_usa goaltender ray leblanc ) who appear on the studio monitor . others like analyst john davidson ( hockey ) , have shown up in the studio . " the idea was to get them comfortable first and expand their roles a little bit , " said pearl . " at some point , we 'll send them out of the studio . but we wo n't invent things for them to do . " he added that teaming the two was " a gamble . " " we knew their backgrounds were n't known in this area going in , " he said . " it 's something new , something you ca n't rehearse . " the success of the american hockey team makes it nearly imperative to have mccarver and leblanc swap ideas on catching and goaltending . can somebody at cbs please send timmy 's old catcher 's mitt by overnight mail ? viewers are not showing mass frustration with much of cbs 's effort . they 're watching in big numbers . friday night 's 16 . 8 national rating and 30 share brought cbs 's seven night average to 18 . 8 29 , compared with the seven day 18 . 1 28 for abc four years ago during the calgary winter_games . " with numbers like that , you have to think you 're doing something right , " said pearl . " twice as many people are watching us than would watch a highly rated college_basketball game , so twice as many people may not like some part of what we 're doing . " one eager group gathered last night before five tv sets at the westchester home of doug wilson , who directed figure_skating at six winter_olympics for abc . among those scheduled to show up were 30 of abc 's olympic veterans , including dick button and frank gifford . " it 'll be heart wrenching , " said wilson . " but we 'll be over there in spirit with them . " how 's cbs doing ? " sometimes you wonder why they do this or that , but over all it 's very admirable . every situation that comes up bears their fingerprint and their format . they 're putting on a good show . " tv sports	has a location of france
for the second time in 24 hours , hundreds of thousands of ecstatic and patriotic french soccer fans thronged the most famous avenue in paris today , this time to thank their national team for bringing france its first world_cup soccer championship . ''on est champions , on est champions , on est , on est , on est champions , '' supporters with the tricolor painted on their faces chanted victoriously on the champs_elysees this afternoon as members of the national team , bearing the gold cup to thunderous cheering , slowly worked their way up the avenue toward the arc de triomphe on an open air double decker bus . french flags waved in the fresh breeze under a day that made people happy to be alive . some flew the tricolor alongside the flag of algeria , a salute to zinedine zidane , the team 's playmaker . zidane , the son of algerian parents , scored two of france 's three goals in sunday_night 's 3 0 victory over brazil . marseilles , where zidane grew up , celebrated far into the night after the game . ''merci zizou ! , '' his nickname , became a chant in itself on the champs_elysees this afternoon . people were hanging from sycamore trees , street_lights , traffic signals , and jumping up and down on top of steel and plastic bus shelters . and there in the middle of the packed milelong avenue stood martel chatelain , wearing a new york yankees windbreaker . ''i watched the game at home last night on television , '' he said . ''the guys played so well i just had to come down this afternoon to tell them how grateful we were . '' so grateful , in fact , that the country 's politicians let this be the team 's day , since tuesday is the bastille day national holiday , when the champs_elysees will fill again with tanks and marching soldiers to mark the 209th anniversary of the storming of the bastille . defense minister alain richard paid tribute today to the 8 , 500 soldiers and gendarmes who had worked throughout the monthlong tournament to assure public safety , recalling that one of them , a policeman in lens , still lay in a coma after being attacked by german hooligans there on june 21 . on tuesday , president jacques_chirac , the french team 's honorary no . 23 , plans to talk in a nationally_televised interview about ''the france that wins , '' his aides said . the president , a gaullist conservative , has been trying to get his compatriots to cheer up and be happy for the past three unemployment ridden years , and the national team 's victory on sunday finally did it just as the french prepared to set off on their annual five week summer_vacations . the president also invited team members as guests of honor to the sprawling gardens of elysee_palace , the french equivalent of the white_house , for the bastille day garden party tuesday afternoon . a million and a half parisians surged through the city sunday_night after the game ended shortly after 11 p.m. , most of them on the champs_elysees . there , after a moonlight night turned to clouds and rain shortly after 3 a.m. , a black volkswagen driven by a woman whom the police said was under psychiatric treatment plowed into the crowd and hurt 80 people , 11 of them seriously , according to hospital officials . none of the injured was in critical condition , they said today . the driver , a 44 year old teacher , fled the scene of the accident but surrendered to the police in yvelines , the western parisian suburb where she lives , this morning . the police said she was still in their custody this evening . soccer	has a location of france
britain 's highest court ruled wednesday that a secondary_school was within its rights to bar a female student from wearing a jilbab , a loose , ankle length gown , instead of the regular school uniform . overturning a lower court ruling in favor of the student , shabina begum , a five judge panel in the house of lords pointed out that the school , denbigh high_school in luton , had already taken great care to make its uniform acceptable to its students , 79 percent of whom are muslim . ''the school was entitled to consider that the rules about uniform were necessary for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others , '' one of the judges , lord hoffmann , said in his written opinion . the issue of what sort of religious dress , if any , is appropriate in state run schools has become increasingly divisive in europe , where the wishes of muslim populations are often at odds with the rules set down by secular governments . in france , the hijab , the head_scarf worn by many muslim girls and women , and other ''conspicuous'' religious symbols are banned from schools . in 2005 , the european court of human rights ruled that a university in turkey was within its rights to ban head_scarves , saying that it was justified in avoiding giving preference to any one religion . by such standards , the british policy is comparatively liberal . girls at denbigh , for instance , have a wide choice of uniform a skirt , pants or the shalwar kameez , a flowing pants and tunic combination considered acceptable by many muslims and they can also wear head_scarves . three nearby schools allow students to wear the jilbab . but denbigh , a coeducational school with 1 , 000 students , had argued that permitting ms . begum , now 17 , to wear the jilbab could prove divisive , possibly leading to arguments among students about whether it represented a more devout adherence to islam . in addition , the school said , the jilbab is too constricting and would pose safety risks . tahir alam , the education spokesman for the muslim council of britain , a lobbying group , told bloomberg_news that the safety argument was ''an excuse , really . '' ''you have to ask yourself , '' he said , ''how many people have fallen over and died because they tripped on their jilbab . '' in their unanimous ruling , the judges said denbigh had ''taken immense pains to devise a uniform policy that respected muslim beliefs , '' laying down rules that ''were as far from being mindless as uniform rules could ever be'' and that were apparently ''acceptable to mainstream muslim opinion . '' ms . begum sued the school in 2002 after it insisted that she wear the required uniform , which , she told the bbc on wednesday , she believed ' 'did not satisfy islamic clothing . '' represented by cherie booth , a human_rights lawyer and the wife of prime_minister tony_blair , she argued that the school had denied her the right to practice her religion . speaking of the jilbab , which covers the entire body except for the hands and face , she told the bbc , ''i feel that it is an obligation upon muslim women to wear this , although there are other opinions . '' ms . begum said she was ' 'saddened and disappointed'' by the ruling . ''i still do n't see why i was told to go home from school when i was just practicing my religion , '' she said . as a result of denbigh 's policy , ms . begum spent two years out of school . she now attends another school where the jilbab is permitted . a spokesman for the department of education said it welcomed the ruling as reinforcement of its view that schools should be allowed to set their own uniform policies .	has a location of britain
lead a british investment group that holds a 9.6 percent stake in somerset bankshares inc . said it planned a proxy_fight for control of the savings bank_holding_company , based in somerville , mass . in a securities_and_exchange_commission filing , the british group said it would nominate a slate of five candidates for election to the company 's seven member board . a british investment group that holds a 9.6 percent stake in somerset bankshares inc . said it planned a proxy_fight for control of the savings bank_holding_company , based in somerville , mass . in a securities_and_exchange_commission filing , the british group said it would nominate a slate of five candidates for election to the company 's seven member board . somerset is the parent of somerset savings , a savings bank with 620 million in assets and four branches . john p . driscoll , a lawyer for somerset , said the company had not seen the filing and would have no immediate comment . the british group is led by britannia arrow holdings p.l.c. , a publicly traded london based holding_company . it bought the stake for an average price of 10 . 90 a share . the stock closed today at 13 . 25 , up 62 . 5 cents , in over the counter trading . company news	has a location of britain
the first person in britain to be convicted of creating and planting computer viruses was jailed today for 18 months after being prosecuted under the 1990 computer misuse act . the defendant , christopher pile , a 26 year old computer expert , dubbed himself the black baron and copied computer programs and games before infecting them with a virus and putting them back into computer networks . they were picked up by users of the internet , who infected their own systems . judge jeremy griggs said in a court ruling in exeter , in southwestern england , that millions of dollars' worth of damage could be caused by the viruses . " those who seek to reap mindless havoc on one of the vital tools of our age cannot expect lenient treatment , " he said . the prosecutor , brian lett , said many of the viruses were detected within days of use . but they could not be defined and purged because of a cloaking device mr . pile had used .	has a location of britain
lead unemployment in britain fell to a seasonally_adjusted 7 percent of the work force in january from 7.2 percent in december , bringing the number of jobless to its lowest level in eight years , the government said today . unemployment in britain fell to a seasonally_adjusted 7 percent of the work force in january from 7.2 percent in december , bringing the number of jobless to its lowest level in eight years , the government said today .	has a location of britain
richard chartres , anglican bishop of london , is not used to having congregants wandering around in front of him swearing as he preaches . then again , he does not normally transform himself into a three dimensional computer image in an imaginary sanctuary as he did tuesday to deliver a sermon to animated representations of churchgoers . but such is life virtual life , that is at www . churchoffools . com , an experiment in interactive worship over the internet . the experiment began with a demonstration at a religious products trade show highlighted by bishop chartres 's sermon . people separated by vast distances routinely play in imaginary 3 d worlds and sometimes work in them . church of fools aims over the next three months to explore whether they can also regularly worship in them . visitors who log on to a vaguely romanesque church control the speech and movement of on screen figures known as avatars . acting through the avatars , visitors can kneel in prayer , talk or whisper in text_messages , extend a hand in blessing or raise both arms in ecstatic praise . they can also sit_in pews or gather for conversation in a crypt equipped not only with chairs but with a ''holy water'' water cooler and vending_machines as well . starting tomorrow , they will also hear a sermon at least once a week , from a variety of priests and ministers . a smattering of churches already provide webcasts of sunday services or sites that allow visitors to construct a personalized worship service out of online devotional components . and religious chat_rooms allow people to share online prayers or other spiritual activities . but the church of fools is the first site to make religion the focus of the kind of interactive role_playing common in multiplayer combat games or web fantasy worlds . ''we 're as curious as anyone to see how it works , '' said simon jenkins , co editor of shipoffools . com , the british online publishing group that came up with the concept . ship of fools is best known for hijinks like ''the ark , '' a takeoff on the television show ''survivor'' in which 12 biblical figures competed to avoid being voted off noah 's ark . but mr . jenkins said the church of fools was a serious effort to develop an alternative form of christian worship for people who find the bricks and mortar world of religion off putting . the project is being underwritten in part by the methodist church of great britain . official sunday services start tomorrow at 4 p.m. , eastern time , with stephen tomkins , an author of religious biographies , delivering the sermon . that time slot was chosen to avoid conflicts with traditional services both in the united_states , which ship of fools said is home to about 60 percent of the 80 , 000 to 100 , 000 visitors it gets to its web_site each month , and in britain . one challenge will be to minimize the rants , insults and barnyard humor that characterize so many public internet meeting places . ''we have a slightly old testament way of dealing with abusive people , '' mr . jenkins said . budget restrictions prevented the programmers from developing a code that would send miscreants up in flames , he said , but they can be ejected with a keystroke by the site 's moderators . electronic smiting was the fate of the avatar named anonymous who disrupted bishop chartres 's sermon . still , a substantial part of the early avatar chatter on the site has ricocheted between aggressively irreverent and incomprehensible . ship of fools is looking into filtering software that might automatically convert foul language to ''amen'' or ''hallelujah , '' mr . jenkins said . but the church of fools is open 24 hours a day , and ship of fools lacks the resources to monitor behavior continuously between scheduled services . so in an early response to bad behavior , ship of fools has simply cut off the ability of unauthorized avatars to occupy the pulpit and turned off a ' 'shout'' feature that had allowed visitors to address everyone at once . lack of resources has also affected the worship experience that the church of fools is offering . only some 20 avatars can operate in the church in normal circumstances , although 10 more can be squeezed in for special occasions . in addition , however , the site can handle about 500 ghost visitors , who cannot see one another or interact with the avatars , and its developers hope to be able to expand its capabilities . ''you ca n't have 5 , 000 people in there moving around , but you 'd like that many watching , '' said darrell wilkins , founder of specialmoves , the production_company in london that built the site for ship of fools . one major technical restraint came from the desire to make sure the site was not restricted to people with high speed internet connections and state of the art computers . a dial up modem and a computer less than three years old will suffice , but only because the church is using minimalist graphics that hardcore citizens of online fantasy worlds will regard as primitive . ship of fools is scrambling to find additional financial support . mr . jenkins hopes advertisers will step forward to claim everything from the vending_machines in the basement to the stained glass window over the altar . ideally the advertiser ''would be a craft union like one of the middle ages guilds or a missionary organization , '' mr . jenkins said of his vision for the window . the image would look suitable , but when a visitor clicked on it , the window would function as a hyperlink taking the visitor to the organization 's web_site . clearly , interactive virtual services cannot work as carbon copies of regular church services . based on her experience playing paul on ''the ark , '' during which she conducted a service for her biblical shipmates , the rev . katherine anne carlson , an episcopal minister at the church of the ascension in gaithersburg , md . , said that to avoid overwhelming the screen with type , interactive sermons would need to be kept to about 500 words , perhaps a quarter the length of her standard sermons . ''maybe it will be worship like haiku , '' said ms . carlson , who is hoping to preach at the church of fools . because visitors controlling avatars cannot type as fast as words are sung or spoken , participants at tuesday 's demonstration service posted snippets as the hymn was sung and the lord 's prayer delivered . some who logged on lived as far away as australia . ''they were n't all posting in english , '' mr . jenkins said . ''i found that moving . '' religion journal	has a location of britain
the canadian property company brascan raised its bid for the canary_wharf office development in london to 1 . 6 billion ( 3 . 03 billion ) , matching an earlier offer made by a consortium led by morgan_stanley . the two have been battling for eight months for control of the company . brascan has the backing of the company 's founder and a major shareholder , paul_reichmann . heather_timmons ( nyt )	has a location of britain
had enough of fools , dodos , losers and nitwits in your daily life ? meet the professionals . ''we laugh at the buffoon 's antics , but do we really know what lurks behind the fool 's jolly exterior ? '' asks the jester pages by lisa nelsen woods ( www . geocities . com athens troy 3883 ) . ''do we dare scratch the surface to find the foolish substance beneath ? have a care , you might just learn something before we are done . '' the first court fools were kept by the pharaohs , the site notes in ''the fool throughout the ages . '' it mentions the use of dwarfs , the physically or mentally_handicapped and the ''artificial fools , '' clever wits who took the role because of the freedom it offered to criticize the ruler . there is a section on famous historical fools , various jesters to queen elizabeth i and female fools . another page refutes myths about jesters . ( most did not wear makeup or wear multicolored suits with tassels , and they did not serve only royalty . ) the pages on frequently asked questions , links and 21st_century fools make it clear that jesting is alive and well . modern performers have names like tettles and thomas thimbletoes . there are links to jesters in gilbert sullivan musicals , the joker and company in ''batman'' and ( remember the flagon with the dragon ? ) danny kaye in ''the court jester . '' ''my favorite fool is wil somers , who was fool to king henry viii and three of henry 's children , '' ms . nelsen woods wrote in an e mail message . ''somers even lived to see elizabeth crowned queen of england . it is said that shakespeare modeled his fool in 'king lear' after wil somers . i also have a soft spot for harlequin , who is n't really a jester , but a breakout character from commedia dell'arte , although his diamond covered costume is associated with a stereotypical jester of today . '' an essay by dave ricker at renaissance faire . com towncrier fools . htm discusses the ancient feast of fools , a parody of the mass . a similar site is notre dame de paris and the feast of fools , at home1 . pacific . net . sg kyrie hback . html . no modern jester can ignore the society for creative anachronism ( www . sca . org ) , an international organization dedicated to researching and , especially , re enacting the middle ages through dance , costume , talk , food , martial_arts , decoration and jest . the site will connect you with your kingdom , shire and local chatelaine to get you started . under miscellany and ''people and groups in the sca , '' there are many links to costumers and other merchants . fools paradise by peter michaels ( members . aol . com pmichaels glorantha foolsparadise . html ) explores the role of jester in various cultures , through links to mythical figures like anansi the spider in west_african tradition and loki , the norse god of discord and mischief . what if yogi_berra had been a medieval mullah ? erol beymen has a web_site devoted to nasreddin hodja , a beloved 13th century turkish folk philosopher ( w1 . 871 . telia . com u87109316 index eng . htm ) . there are nasreddin sites in many languages , recounting the cleric 's combination of silliness and shrewdness . this site is unusually pretty , well illustrated and entertainingly written many folk tale sites are cultish or academic . there are nasreddin teaching guides , joke links and related games . as for britain 's most famous jesters , punch and judy on the web ( www . punchandjudy . com ) has a history , a list of modern punch and judy shows , a collector 's guide and statements by several punch and judy societies about attempts to ban performances . ''punch and judy are to domestic_violence what tom and jerry are to animal cruelty and the keystone cops are to police brutality , '' says one of the societies , the punch and judy college of professors , in discussing political_correctness . ''that stick mr . punch wields is the very slapstick that gave its name to the whole genre of broad physical comedy . '' screen grab	has a location of britain
the story was as irresistible as catnip to the sensation greedy british news_media . a pair of foster parents , devastated when they were told they would not be allowed to adopt the two little girls they thought of as their own , vanished from sight , taking the children with them . after living in secret for four months in a remote corner of ireland , they wrote a letter to several tabloid newspapers , pleading to be allowed to keep the children . ''will someone help us to be legally their mummy and daddy forever , making the hopes and dreams of these two wonderful daughters come true ? '' said the couple , jeff and jennifer bramley , in a handwritten_note that was widely reprinted earlier this month . the bramleys finally emerged from hiding last week with the two girls , 5 year old jade and 5 year old hannah , after a carefully negotiated deal with the authorities that included the assurance that their adoption application would be formally considered in court . but what happened to them along the way illustrates the often sinister role the hugely popular tabloid press can play in britain . often seen as saviors , protectors , and tickets to fame and fortune by members of the public , the tabloids can viciously turn against the subjects of sensational stories . ''it 's cutthroat journalism , '' said sue quinn , who has been covering the story for the guardian newspaper , describing the ''posses'' of tabloid reporters , from papers like the express , the sun and daily_mail , that converged on the trailer in ireland where the bramleys had spent part of their time in hiding . ''the newspapers reach a phenomenal number of people , and it 's a pretty good forum to try to win public sympathy . but it 's tough to get it right . '' when they fled from their house in ramsey , england , in september , taking 8 , 000 in savings but leaving their car , the bramleys got plenty of media coverage . as time passed and the pressure for them to return built up , the couple was running out of money and growing desperate . it was then that max clifford , britain 's highest profile public_relations executive and a man who has often been associated with stories that skirt the line of sleazy exploitation , got into the picture . mr . clifford was contacted , as he often is , by someone calling himself ''a close friend'' in this case , of the bramleys who asked him what the couple should do . ''i said that the obvious thing is to get the public to be sympathetic , to get the media supporting you , '' he recalled . he also offered what turned out to be a crucial bit of advice . ''i said , 'you must n't sell your story yet , because you 'll alienate people , ' '' mr . clifford said . ''talk to the media , yes , but when you 're ready and in your own time . '' meanwhile , the newspapers , checkbooks in hand , were desperate to secure exclusive access to the bramleys , a deal that mr . clifford estimates would have earned the couple about 160 , 000 . several tabloids used their news pages to plead directly with the bramleys . such a deal can sound very tempting . but it can be a devil 's bargain . once they become the exclusive property of one tabloid , people in the news often find that the other tabloids turn against them , printing negative ' 'spoilers'' that are designed to blur the impact of their rival 's scoop . that is what happened in the case of louise woodward , the british au pair convicted last year of shaking a boston baby to death . her parents' financial deal with the daily_mail so enraged the mail 's rivals that they set out , successfully , to turn the tide of public opinion against her . and that is what happened to deborah parry and lucille mclauchlan , two british nurses convicted of murdering a colleague in saudi_arabia , who were later sent home . each did a deal with a tabloid , leaving themselves open to the criticism that they were exploiting a tragedy for profit . ''obviously , it 's total hypocrisy when this happens , '' mr . clifford said , ''because i have the letters in front of me from all the editors begging me for the story . '' the bramleys were lucky their heart rending story , the public 's natural suspicion of the adoption authorities , and their decision not to single out any paper for special access meant that they were treated with a fair amount of respect , at least initially . there were signs of a small wave gathering against them , however , with reports circulating in the papers about the authorities' criticism of their parenting skills , including the charge that they urged the girls to call them ' 'mummy'' and ' 'daddy'' too early in the foster parent relationship . but before the backlash got too strong , the judge in the adoption case slapped an injunction on the media , barring them from reporting on the girls' or the parents' background . for now , then , the bramleys are safe from the fickle whims of the news_media . ''the most productive thing for them to do would be to wait until they 've got custody of the kids , '' mr . clifford said . ''then they can do the book and tell the whole story of being on the run , and make a fortune . they can sell the serialization and make another fortune . and everybody 's happy . '' media	has a location of britain
lead merrill_lynch europe ltd . confirmed speculation today that it had stopped market making in british_government bonds , which are known as gilts . but the company said that it would continue to serve customers on an agency basis and that efforts were being made to redeploy staff in the gilts division to other areas . merrill_lynch europe ltd . confirmed speculation today that it had stopped market making in british_government bonds , which are known as gilts . but the company said that it would continue to serve customers on an agency basis and that efforts were being made to redeploy staff in the gilts division to other areas . merrill_lynch said its decision followed a fall in profits and the contraction of the gilt market since the government started repurchasing gilts as part of its financing policy .	has a location of britain
two british construction companies amec and alfred mcalpine and kvaerner a.s. , a big norwegian shipbuilder , drew up battle lines yesterday as a three way takeover fight loomed . amec steeled itself to fight off a possible bid by kvaerner while moving swiftly to lure its smaller rival , mcalpine , with a takeover offer that would give mcalpine shareholders two amec shares for each mcalpine share . kvaerner , which raised its stake in amec to 12 percent on thursday , said it was pondering its next move but would not make a bid at more than 100 pence ( 1 . 56 ) an amec share . amec 's shares closed yesterday at 95 pence , down 4 pence , on the london_stock_exchange . reuters international briefs	has a location of britain
america online has decided that subscribers who favor or oppose irish nationalism can continue their heated disagreements in aol 's on line forums , but they 're going to have to be more cordial about it . on dec . 11 , aol , the world 's largest on line provider , pulled the plug on 23 irish heritage discussion forums . aol said it had done so because the political debates had included too many personal attacks and ''vulgarity and profanity , '' which violated aol 's terms of service . last week , aol reopened the discussion groups after ''cleaning them up , '' said a spokesman , jim whitney . in a note to visitors to the discussion groups , aol stated , ''we encourage you to make this a more amiable place where any person , regardless of faction , can openly discuss political issues and current events . '' ''we encourage and remind you to debate issues only and not resort to personal attacks or member harassment , '' the note continued . some irish nationalists who favor irish rule for northern_ireland dispute aol 's account . on the irish people web_site ( inac . org irishpeople top 121998 121998aol . html ) , critics contend that aol is seeking to silence outspoken irish nationalists to make the service more appealing in britain , where aol is trying to build membership . mr . whitney denied that aol 's actions were motivated by that . news watch	has a location of britain
lead prime_minister margaret_thatcher 's government disclosed an ambitious program of domestic legislation today that could make this session of parliament the stormiest since she took office in 1979 . prime_minister margaret_thatcher 's government disclosed an ambitious program of domestic legislation today that could make this session of parliament the stormiest since she took office in 1979 . the proposals were outlined at the opening of parliament in the annual speech from the throne read by queen_elizabeth_ii , but written by mrs . thatcher and her staff . the prime_minister 's plans call for what mrs . thatcher has termed ''radical'' changes in education , trade_union elections , local taxes , inner city redevelopment , the ownership of utilities and even the operating hours of pubs . mrs . thatcher 's advisers say her conservative_party program is intended to show that she will not run out of steam in her third term . by singling out labor dominated inner cities as her main target , mrs . thatcher is also trying to overcome the impression that britain is a nation divided . aimed at the cities many of her programs are aimed at industrial cities and the declining areas of wales and scotland . the conservatives fared poorly in those areas , even though their strength in london and southern_england gave them a 101 seat majority in the house of commons . ever since the election june 11 , the thatcher_government has been working to offset the impression that it really lacks a mandate in vast tracts of britain where labor won most of its 229 seats . the opposition_parties are promising fierce_resistance to the legislative program . but that will not be the only source of political turmoil in the parliament that opened today and is expected to run until the fall of 1988 . both the labor_party and the alliance of the liberal and social_democratic parties are caught up in internal struggles as a consequence of their drubbing in the election . neil_kinnock , the labor leader , has taken on his party 's ''hard left'' in an attempt to impose new rules that would allow labor to run more moderate parliamentary candidates . meanwhile , civil_war has broken out in the alliance . dr . david owen , a founder of the social democrats , is fighting for his political survival in urging his party to reject a takeover attempt engineered by david steel , the liberal leader . the feud , prompted by the alliance 's poor showing in the election , is expected to drag_on for months . scene of grace and order whatever the conflicts ahead , the scene today was one of grace and order as the members of both houses of parliament assembled in the palace of westminster for ceremonies whose written protocols extend back for over four centuries . mrs . thatcher and mr . kinnock walking side by side but ignoring each other as much as possible led the 650 members of commons into the house of lords in obedience to the queen 's summons . among the main thatcher proposals to be elaborated from the sketchy outline in the speech read by the queen are these education there will be legislation calling for a national_curriculum , setting up mandatory testing at the ages of 7 , 11 and 14 , allowing local schools to place themselves under the central government and increasing the powers of head teachers and parents at the expense of classroom teachers . the opposition regards these measures as intended to decrease the powers of local labor governments and the teachers' unions . inner cities mrs . thatcher plans to lead an effort to encourage growth through measures such as expanded powers for urban development corporations and limitations on local taxes for inner city businesses . local taxes the tories would replace property_taxes with a flat_rate tax called a community charge to be paid by each adult in a household . the opposition regards this as a boon to rich property owners at the expense of poor people and renters . trade_unions the government will propose that officers stand for re election every five years by secret_ballot and place new regulations on the use of union funds . housing there will be legislation expanding the ''right to rent'' by allowing private landlords a higher return and by allowing public_housing tenants to replace local government officials with landlords of their own choosing . again , labor sees this as an attempt to weaken its hold on local_governments . public utilities the conservatives proposed to allow water authorities in wales and england to sell their water and sewage services to private companies . liquor licensing a bill will permit pubs in england and wales to operate 12 hours a day monday through saturday . they are currently open nine and a half hours . health officials fear an increase in alcohol and traffic problems , but the conservatives dispute this and add that longer hours will create over 50 , 000 new jobs . the opening debates will take five days . after the queen left westminster , things got off to a mean start . depicting the prime_minister as an enemy of the average voter , mr . kinnock said that her third term ''government like the one before will be using its powers malevolently . '' mrs . thatcher responded by taunting the labor leader about his defeat . ''you are very long on words and short on content , '' she said . ''i begin to understand why you lost the general_election in such a decisive way . ''	has a location of britain
a pipe_bomb was defused outside the catholic_school in north belfast where protestant protesters harassed students for three months in 2001 as they walked to classes because their path crossed briefly into a protestant enclave . a protestant paramilitary group , the red hand defenders , claimed responsibility in a statement to the bbc in belfast . the police dismantled the device shortly before students were to return to studies after the holidays . the rev . aidan troy , chairman of governors at the holy_cross school , said , ''i find it hugely disappointing to have started the new term after christmas with this . '' warren hoge ( nyt )	has a location of britain
the bank of england surprised investors on thursday and raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point , to 5 . 25 percent , to head off rising inflation amid a boom in the housing market and strong economic_growth . meanwhile , the european_central_bank , meeting in frankfurt , left borrowing costs at a five year high of 3.5 percent . but the bank hinted it could increase rates as early as march to guard against rising prices if europe 's economy continued to expand . after a two year slump , growth has been picking up steadily across much of the continent , led by a recovery in germany , the euro_zone 's largest economy . the british economy has moved ahead even more rapidly , fueled by a housing market that helped the economy expand 2.7 percent in the third quarter , compared with the period a year earlier . home prices in britain have surged 15 percent over the last two years , according to the halifax house price index . still , the decision by the bank of england to raise rates bringing them to the same level as in the united_states surprised investors who had said they believed the bank 's most recent increase , which was in november , would be its last for a while . the bank of england has raised interest rates three times since august . one reason for such a view is that oil prices have eased in the last six months . lower oil prices generally temper inflation by helping to trim prices on a range of consumer purchases , from gasoline to airplane seats . british_airways , for instance , said it was lowering some fuel surcharges as crude_oil prices slid . meanwhile , the british_pound has also been enjoying a run up against the dollar , the euro and other major currencies . in new york trading , the pound was fetching 1 . 9447 thursday in early december , it hit 1 . 98 . traders expect the pound to cross 2 by the end of the quarter , a mark not seen since 1992 . ''it is likely that inflation will rise further above the target in the near term , '' the bank of england 's monetary_policy_committee said . the bank 's move alarmed businesses and some economists in britain , who said it could harm the economy and curb spending . many british consumers have taken on substantial amounts of debt , including home mortgages and credit_card borrowings . ''this is an unnecessary blow , '' said the director general of the british retail consortium , kevin hawkins . the bank of england has ''overreacted by stepping up the pace , '' said holger_schmieding , an economist with bank of america in london . the worst case scenario , he added , would be for the bank of england to raise rates another quarter of a point in a few months , and ' 'realize too late they are overdoing it . '' the european_central_bank has steadily been lifting rates , and it forecast thursday that the european economy would expand at a reasonable pace in 2007 , led by germany , which grew in 2006 by 2.5 percent , more than double the rate in 2005 . for 2007 , the economies of the 13 nations that share the euro are expected to expand at an average rate of about 2.6 percent . although euro_zone inflation has fallen below the bank 's goal of less than 2 percent for four consecutive months , the president of the european_central_bank , jean_claude_trichet , warned the bank would lift rates again in march if companies pass on previous increases in energy prices to their customers , or if the price of oil , which has retreated recently , spikes again . ''i would say nothing here that would change expectations by the market that we could do something at the end of the first quarter , '' mr . trichet added . ''i would not contradict that . '' the european_central_bank is responsible for setting euro interest rates and has ordered increases over the last year that some politicians have complained could put europe 's economic_growth at risk .	has a location of britain
at a moment when scholarships and academic elitism are the hot_button topic in britain 's most august places of learning , enter bill gates . his philanthropic foundation , the bill and melinda gates foundation , is considering a request from cambridge_university for a 200 million scholarship endowment to bring 230 foreign graduate students to cambridge each year . mr . gates had already shown interest in the city of cambridge 's ambitions to become britain 's silicon_valley . its combination of research institutions and start up technology companies has earned it the nickname silicon fen . mr . gates has given the university 19 million for a computer laboratory . but the discussion of his negotiations has become mired in a case that involves cambridge 's rival , oxford , and that forms a mirror image of what mr . gates is being asked to pay for . political and academic luminaries around britain have been seething over the story of a young briton who found the doors of oxford closed to her and ended up instead with a 100 , 000 scholarship to harvard . clearly , cambridge wants to ensure that the two cases are not mixed up . ''these are two completely separate issues , '' said alison mcfarquhar , a university spokeswoman . oxford and cambridge compete to snare the top students , produce the top scholars and advance their financial standing . some cambridge academics said they believed that the availability of the rhodes scholarships to 32 americans each year gave oxford a higher profile in the united_states and , thus , a sharper blade in the harvest of alumni generosity . mr . gates 's interest coincides with a deepening debate over how elitist an elite university should be and how this may be financed in a nation whose leaders , under prime_minister tony_blair 's government , vouchsafe a deep and traditional labor_party strain of egalitarianism . the controversy began when laura spence , 18 , a high_school student from a public state run school in northeastern england , applied to study medicine at oxford and was rejected after an interview , despite high grades . in britain 's league of class distinctions , state run nonselective schools and the northeast stand at one end of a spectrum whose other extremity is occupied by private schools in the south like eton or harrow . when news of ms . spence 's harvard scholarship emerged last month , it touched raw nerves . mr . blair 's government , smarting from recent opposition moves to seize the populist high ground , saw an opportunity to revive its laborite credentials . chancellor of the exchequer gordon_brown called it ''an absolute scandal'' and said ms . spence had been a victim of an interview system that ''is more reminiscent of the old boy network and the old school tie than genuine justice in our society . '' another labor figure , barry sheerman , said britain 's top universities took half their students from private schools attended by 7 percent of high_school scholars . the conservatives fired back . ''when they are in trouble , they go back to class war , '' said a party spokesman , david willetts . cambridge says 53 percent of its first year students are from state schools . oxford says half its new students are from a category of state_school .	has a location of britain
in what they said was a goodwill gesture , protestants in the ardoyne neighborhood of north belfast suspended their protest outside the holy_cross girls' primary_school yesterday morning for the first time since sept . 3 to avoid upsetting the girls before they took the secondary_school admissions exam . in a significant scaling down of their security presence , the police no longer wear riot gear while guarding the route to the school . brian_lavery ( nyt )	has a location of britain
stung by the stabbing death of a school headmaster , britons surrendered more than 37 , 000 knives in a monthlong campaign to make the country safer . police_forces around the country and the daily_mirror newspaper organized the project after the death of philip lawrence , 48 , headmaster of st . george 's roman catholic_school in london . mr . lawrence was fatally injured dec . 15 when he tried to protect a pupil from attack by a gang . with figures from nine districts still pending , some 37 , 578 knives had been deposited in sealed bins by monday 's deadline , said sussex police officials , who were coordinating the operation . among the weapons turned in were one samurai sword , a battle axe , a five foot long spear , three imitation guns , a few machetes and a baseball_bat . world news briefs	has a location of britain
the fate of the beagle 2 mars lander remained unknown on friday after a powerful radio telescope failed overnight to detect its tiny signal while additional sensors were readied to join the search in coming days , mission officials said . british scientists said they were prepared for an extended hunt for the lander as britain 's largest tabloid , the sun , reflected the national anxiety over the missing spacecraft with the headline ''beagle phone home ! '' ''i 'm not feeling too down yet , '' said dr . colin t . pillinger , the british scientist who headed the low budget team that built the 73 pound beagle 2 , named for h.m.s . beagle , which took charles darwin on his scientific voyages from 1831 to '36 . ''but we are not in any way giving up yet , '' he said at a news conference . scientists had hoped that the lovell telescope at jodrell bank in western england would detect beagle 2 's call sign between 10 p.m . thursday and 12 30 a.m . friday , london time . ''jodrell bank listened for beagle 2 , '' but ' 'did not detect a transmission , '' mission officials said in a statement . the disc shaped lander , barely two feet across and less that a foot thick , was scheduled to transmit its hailing signal again friday evening for about 80 minutes , dr . pillinger said , adding ''you have to liken this to the early days of mobile_phones . we 've got one mobile_phone , one mobile_phone mast and one satellite , and we have to match these things up , and it 's not that easy . '' in all , 13 more attempts will be made in the future to contact the lander . dr . pillinger said a telescope from stanford_university would join the search . dutch astronomers reported that they tried thursday but failed to detect the beagle 2 signal . over the next month there will be other opportunities an american space probe , now in orbit around the planet , or the the beagle 2 's mother ship to make contact with the lander . the beagle 2 's designers said the craft could have strayed off course , could have deployed its antenna in the wrong direction or could be behind a rock , all of which might be overcome if communications were established . but a number of nonrecoverable failures were just as likely , scientists said , like parachute failure or a flaw in the air bag system designed to cushion beagle 2 's impact on the surface of mars .	has a location of britain
lead charles_schwab company disclosed that it had postponed the opening of a new branch office in london because of a sharp decline in the discount brokerage 's trading_volume since the market collapse in october . in a securities_and_exchange_commission filing , schwab said its trading_volume for the last two weeks of november was ' 'significantly below the average for the first six months of 1987 . charles_schwab company disclosed that it had postponed the opening of a new branch office in london because of a sharp decline in the discount brokerage 's trading_volume since the market collapse in october . in a securities_and_exchange_commission filing , schwab said its trading_volume for the last two weeks of november was ' 'significantly below the average for the first six months of 1987 . '' schwab said that its projections showed that trading_volume and the average commission per trade for the first six months of next year would probably fall below the levels of the first six months of 1987 . as a result , schwab said it was ' 're evaluating product expansion plans and limiting hiring new employees . '' company news	has a location of britain
want to peek at a family web_site crammed with murder , treachery , blood lust , centuries long feuds , torture , insanity and whole dungeonfuls of assorted other skeletons ? the british monarchy is just the ticket ( www . royal . gov . uk ) . not the current entries , of course . since the royal family entered cyberspace in 1997 to help satisfy the public 's insatiable curiosity , its official web realm has compiled a ream 's worth of stars and garters , palaces and plantagenets . but there is more on the site about the two penny tyrian plum stamp of 1910 in the royal philatelic collection than about sarah ferguson . ( only one canceled copy of each is known to exist . ) the pages devoted to diana , princess of wales , are suitably prominent , reverential and respectful . the pages detailing a typical day in the life of the queen depict a very wealthy , very earnest , very busy woman . but the mountains of minutiae seem to highlight the obvious omissions , and to make them more poignant . duty . dedication . few tears . little joy . royal insight , the site 's online magazine , highlights important engagements of the month . it will not be mistaken for a tabloid . ( may 's feature visiting the chelsea flower show . ) there is enough data about castles , remodeling , acreage , equerries , swan upping , royal mews and queen 's beasts to put even the most ardent monarchist to sleep . the casual viewer who scans the site quickly for the trivia will unearth some gems prince_william began his education at mrs . mynor 's nursery_school in september 1985 , at age 3 . the last welsh prince of wales was llywelyn ap gruffyd ( 1246 82 ) . victoria 's oldest child , victoria , the princess royal , was the mother of kaiser wilhelm ii . the royal train has two locomotives . they are named prince_william and prince henry . the royal stamp collection ( beloved especially by george v ) includes what is believed to be the personal stamp album of the murdered czarevitch aleksei , heir to the russian throne . the brightly illustrated child 's album was stolen by a bolshevik soldier and sold to an employee of a british company in the soviet_union . the britannia was the 83rd royal yacht . elizabeth i attended the premiere of ''a midsummer night 's dream . '' george_iii 's interest in botany earned him the nickname farmer george . ( no mention of the nicknames he was given on this side of the pond . ) the site also has some unintentionally funny writing . ''george_iii is widely remembered for two things losing the american colonies and going mad . this is far from the whole truth . '' the best part of the royal site is the deep past , starting with the anglo_saxon kings of wessex . there are longer profiles of notable monarchs like alfred the great , william the conqueror , henry viii ( who wrote a best seller defending the roman_catholic_church , before all that marital unpleasantness changed things ) and charles i ( he stammered ) . as a capsule british history , the site is n't bad , as long as you do n't look for too much information on how the common people lived . but for incomparable mayhem , nothing beats the history of the scottish crown . here is a sample from 962 to 1005 dubh was killed by culen who was killed by riderch , king of strathclyde , whose daughter he had seized . he was succeeded by kenneth ii , dubh 's brother , who killed culen 's brother and was killed by culen 's son , constantine . constantine 's reign was short he was killed , probably by kenneth iii . kenneth was killed and succeeded by malcolm ii . the glory of britain is n't its pomp , but its language and its ideals . the speeches of some of its monarchs ring out from the site . elizabeth i to her army on the eve of the spanish armada ''i know i have the body of a weak , feeble woman but i have the heart and stomach of a king and of a king of england , too . '' james i proclaims an attitude ''kings are justly called gods , for that they exercise a manner of resemblance of divine power on earth . '' a member of parliament at the time of the glorious revolution of 1688 , on the importance of making william and mary and future monarchs financially dependent on the legislative body ''when princes have not needed money , they have not needed us . '' screen grab	has a location of britain
as an eight day firefighters strike entered a fifth day across britain , thousands of schoolteachers in london abandoned classes today to press demands for a doubling of the allowance they receive to compensate for the expense of living in the capital . the allowance is around 4 , 800 per year the teachers want it raised to 9 , 500 , the amount police officers receive . the strikes have confronted prime_minister tony_blair with the most serious challenge from organized_labor since he took office five years ago .	has a location of britain
after nearly 13 months of back and forth bidding and negotiations , a morgan_stanley led investment group may have won the battle for canary_wharf , london 's new financial district . late yesterday afternoon , the group , which also includes the glick and tisch families of new york , bid 295 pence a share for the 14 million square_foot property in an offer that analysts said was more attractive than an offer of 275 pence plus stock from canary_wharf 's founder , paul_reichmann . mr . reichmann teamed up with brascan , a toronto property group . under rules set by the takeover panel , the government_agency that controls mergers , no additional bids for the property are allowed . both offers will now be open to a vote from shareholders . heather_timmons ( nyt )	has a location of britain
the first couple of earthquakes were , understandably , upsetting . ''i was in a sandwich shop buying lunch and a lady started screaming , 'it 's the end of the world as we know it ! ' '' marie corcoran , a complaints analyst at the cooperative insurance society , recalled . ''all the food was sliding toward us . '' that was more than three weeks ago , when the people of manchester were earthquake naifs , unused to threats from below . by now , after an unusual period in which the normally stable city has been treated to more than 70 mostly minuscule earthquakes , contributing to what geologists are calling a harmless ' 'swarm , '' the mood has shifted . fear is no longer a factor . ''because they 're so small , they 're almost cute , as far as environmental catastrophes go , '' said raphael conn , a filmmaker . ''we 've turned them into our pet earthquakes liverpool has n't got them . '' it helps , of course , that the earthquakes are truly tiny , with a magnitude of 2.1 to 3 . 9 , mere taps on the shoulder compared with the recent ones in italy and elsewhere . nearly 30 have been felt by the people here and have manifested themselves in ways that tend toward the teacup rattling and the tile propelling the rest have been detected by machines , but not by people . it also helps that geologists have reassured initially jittery residents that no , there is no need to worry about the big one . indeed , except for people falling down and slightly hurting themselves , there have been no reports of serious injuries . ''on the basis of what we know , nothing is preparing to happen , '' said ernest h . rutter , professor of structural geology at the university of manchester , who reacted to the first earthquake by peering outside to see if any large trucks were passing by . professor rutter said there was no accounting for swarms , which come and go as they please . ''you could have these sorts of earthquakes anywhere at any time , '' he said . a whole swath of mainland britain , it seems , lies right over a geological section that is prone to what , in geology circles , are known as seismic incidents , and little earthquakes can happen at a rate of about 200 a year . the biggest recent quake , centered under birmingham , 70 miles away , measured 4.8 and was the strongest felt in britain in 10 years . what makes the manchester earthquakes so unusual is their sheer persistence and the fact that they are taking place in the middle of a busy city , not in the middle of nowhere , which is usually the case in britain . julian bukits , an assistant scientific officer at the british geological survey in edinburgh , traveled to manchester recently to check out the earthquakes . six took place while he was there , but he was outside at the time and did not feel them . ''it was just bad_timing , '' he said . ''they felt them in the building . '' the earthquakes have taken some getting used to . thousands of people have contacted the geological_survey with accounts of where they were , and what they were doing , during the worst ones . the next door building lost a gargoyle , '' went one e mail . another said , ''all the pigeons flew away , '' while still another writer reported , ''i felt shocks up my spine , and i was thrown out of my chair . '' one of the epicenters was in the neighborhood of beswick , home to the school of the resurrection , which was on midterm break when the first quakes hit . barbara holt , a teacher , heard the news on the radio as she drove to school to do some administrative work . ''i thought , epicenter ? this is a bit silly , '' she said . but when ms . holt got inside , the building started to vibrate as if someone had given the roof a vigorous shake . she happened to be standing on a chair , reaching for something , at the time . ''i thought , 'perhaps i will get off the chair , ' '' she said . down the road , the quake was felt by michael howarth , 10 , and by his hamster , age unknown . ''the hamster was in bed and it woke up and began to run about , '' michael said . ''i said to my mum , 'what was that ? ' and she said , 'i do n't know . ' '' things were scarier in the center of town , where more than 3 , 000 people work at the 25 story cooperative insurance society building . during one of the earliest quakes , there was a big rumble , followed by silence and then uneasy chattering in the cafeteria . the next one came right afterward . this time , the only sound was of people stampeding toward the exits . ''we just legged it , '' said gemma brocklehurst , 22 . but by now panic has turned to sangfroid . sarah dursley , 24 , was giving a customer insurance advice over the telephone when a later tremor struck . ms . dursley inadvertently gasped , only to have the customer shout ''are you in that big building ? get out ! get out ! save yourself ! '' ''but i just laughed , '' ms . dursley said . ''they really do n't bother me anymore . ''	has a location of britain
british interior_ministry officials said today that they were considering tougher penalties for carrying knives in public after the principal of a london school was fatally stabbed when he tried to save a student from attack by a gang of youths . the killing provoked a wave of public outrage and schoolchildren laid wreaths today at the spot where the principal , philip lawrence , a 48 year old father of four , was stabbed . if we think there is advantage in stiffening the law , then that is something we will do , " home_secretary michael_howard said in a television interview . mr . lawrence was killed on friday when he was stabbed in the chest while trying to prevent a gang from attacking one of his students in maida vale in west_london . the boy attacked by the gang was released after being treated for a head wound . the police said they were hunting for the youths , who fled after the attack . education minister gillian shephard said she was making urgent inquiries into the killing , and jack_straw , the opposition labor_party 's spokesman for domestic affairs , joined in calls for a crackdown on anyone carring knives in public .	has a location of britain
the leader of the opposition labor_party said today that once in power his party would not try to roll back changes wrought by prime_ministers margaret_thatcher and john_major in many british institutions , from state run industries now privatized to once powerful unions now curbed . " i believe passionately that our government will fail if it sees its task as dismantling thatcherism , " said the labor leader , tony_blair . " we ca n't just switch the clock back to where we were or we will fail . our task is to build and create those things that thatcherism did n't deal with . " instead , the man widely expected to bring the center left back into office after 17 years in the political wilderness said that a labor_government would concentrate on reforms in education and welfare and attempts to improve the lot of " the large underclass of people set apart from society 's mainstream . " in foreign_affairs , mr . blair said that labor would look more kindly upon further integration with europe an issue that has bedeviled mr . major 's conservative_party for the last three years and has come into play again this week with the european ban on british beef in the scare over mad_cow_disease . mr . blair said his party was more pro european than the tories . " i do not have to appease a large euro skeptic wing of the labor_party , " he explained , referring to the tory back bench rebels who have opposed mr . major on european unity . the 43 year old mr . blair , who is heavily favored to win a general_election that must be held by next spring , said he would value the " special relationship " with the united_states but in the context of improved relations with continental_europe . " if britain has a leadership role in europe , that is of enormous assistance to it in its relationship to the united_states , " he said . " i reject completely this idea that we have to choose between a trans_atlantic relationship with the united_states and our relationship with europe . the stronger the latter is , the stronger the former will be . " mr . blair outlined his views in a wide_ranging interview in anticipation of a three day visit he will pay to the united_states next week . he will meet business leaders in new york and then travel to washington for meetings with president_clinton , vice_president gore and congressional leaders . the visit is his first since assuming the party leadership in 1994 after the death of john_smith . since then he has pried the labor_party away from the left of the political_spectrum , jettisoning its long held objective of nationalizing the means of production and emphasizing issues like combating crime . the party 's slogan is " new labor . " mr . blair , whose efforts to change the labor_party are sometimes compared to mr . clinton 's in the democratic_party , said that both parties reached an impasse in the 1960 's and 1970 's . " we were big_government , special interest run parties and we never stopped to ask the question what lay behind that , " he said . to critics who charge that in moving away from its bedrock socialism , labor no longer presents a principled alternative to the free_market tories , mr . blair said , " what we are about is a set of values , not a set of fixed economic government prescriptions , and the basic essence of those values is that the individual thrives best in a well functioning community of people . " he predicted that mr . major would call an election before may 1997 . " six months ago , i would have said the government will struggle on to next year , " he observed . " i think it is less certain now . there is an accumulating air of decay . we 're effectively almost in an election situation now . "	has a location of britain
the new york on line column on sept . 6 , about the new york welsh home page , misstated the name of a welsh language publication based in basking_ridge , n.j . it is ninnau ( translated as we or us ) , not the north_american welsh newspaper .	has a location of britain
pat_robertson , the religious broadcaster who built a fortune from businesses affiliated with his ministry and ran for president in 1988 , now wants to go into the banking business . mr . robertson and the bank of scotland applied yesterday for a charter to operate a new national bank that will have no branches , but will instead deal with customers by telephone and mail , as the bank of scotland already does in britain . the same model is used for dealing with donors to mr . robertson 's christian broadcasting network and his political arm , the christian_coalition . the bank hopes to begin accepting deposits in three or four months and to issue credit_cards and mortgages later , said tom smellie , a spokesman for the bank of scotland . the new bank has not been named , mr . smellie said , but it will not include either scotland or mr . robertson 's name in the title . mr . robertson , the founder and chairman of the christian_coalition , will be ''a very significant minority shareholder'' in the bank and will be chairman of its american holding_company , said c . a . volder 3d , a spokesman for robertson financial_services , the unit that is investing in the new bank . several banking experts said the arrangement could be highly successful if it tapped even a small part of the vast audience that regularly tunes into mr . robertson 's daily religious and news broadcast program , ''the 700 club . '' mr . volder said that the bank would not advertise on ''the 700 club'' and that neither the program 's mailing list nor the christian_coalition 's would be used to solicit bank business . ''of course the fact that he is endorsing the product is important , '' mr . volder said , ''and his co host may say , 'dr . robertson , i hear you are going into the banking business , ' and ask him about it . '' in some ways , the bank , which is not expected to face major obstacles to regulatory approval , would be a natural extension of mr . robertson 's existing operations , analysts said . ''essentially , he is a bank on the deposit side already , '' said seamus mcmahon of first manhattan consulting group , which advises financial_institutions on marketing . ''he is one of the biggest fund_raisers in the u.s . between his religious , political and charitable interests . although he will be going after the same people , he is trying to get a bigger share of their wallets . so today he may get 50 or 150 as a gift , but he is looking to get 2 , 000 and 3 , 000 and 4 , 000 in deposits . '' eric w . hartz , chief_operating_officer of security first network bank , which operates over the internet and has one office , in atlanta , said that ''not having brick and mortar is a great advantage . '' a big expense in operating a bank , he added , is simply getting the word out . ''if you are citibank with its phenomenal branch network , you just drop brochures in all the branches to tell people how to reach you , '' mr . hartz said . ''bank of scotland can accomplish this by teaming with robertson , who has a pretty strong followership . '' the idea for the deal grew out of a business loan that mr . robertson sought last june from the bank of scotland , which has 4 billion of commercial loans in the united_states . he learned that the bank had attracted about 800 , 000 customers to its telephone business , which it started in 1997 in partnership with j . sainsbury , the big british grocery_store chain . mr . mcmahon and others said that mr . robertson 's high public profile and polarizing reputation could be a liability for domestic banks with established names , but not for a foreign bank seeking to enter the united_states market . over the years , mr . robertson has made remarks that have drawn complaints from gay activists and members of other minority groups . last year , for example , mr . robertson took note of banners welcoming gay people to theme_parks in orlando , fla . , and said , ''i would warn orlando that you 're right in the way of some serious hurricanes , and i do n't think i 'd be waving those flags in god 's face if i were you . '' mr . robertson 's fortune rests on his creation of the family channel , which was spun out of the christian broadcasting network and sold in 1997 to fox television for 1 . 9 billion .	has a location of britain
lead britain today announced the first fall in inflation in 19 months , suggesting that the rise in the cost of living had peaked and would soon slow down . britain today announced the first fall in inflation in 19 months , suggesting that the rise in the cost of living had peaked and would soon slow down . the retail price index showed an 8.2 percent annual increase in july against 8.3 percent in june , official figures showed . financial analysts had expected the july figure to be unchanged at 8.3 percent . ''this is consistent with the chancellor 's statement that inflation may have peaked and will soon fall , '' said a spokesman for the chancellor of the exchequer , nigel_lawson , who has made the fight against inflation his main priority . mr . lawson has raised interest rates steadily since june of last year in an attempt to bring britain 's inflation_rate , one of the highest in the industrialized world , under control . but the treasury spokesman indicated that there was no early prospect of a fall in interest rates . ''monetary_policy will continue to be as tight as necessary to insure that this fall in inflation continues , '' he said . figures released monday showed that retail sales fell again in july , suggesting that high interest rates were halting an inflationary boom in consumer_spending .	has a location of britain
in a surprise move , britain called yesterday for an antitrust review of two proposed acquisitions by power generation companies for regional electric companies . ian lang , secretary of state for trade and industry , said he referred national_power p.l.c . 's l2 . 8 billion ( 4 . 4 billion ) proposed acquisition of southern electric to the monopolies and mergers commission . powergen p.l.c . 's l1 . 95 billion bid for midlands_electricity was also referred , he said . the announcement shocked analysts , who had expected the government to approve the mergers . the bids were the first proposed takeovers of power generators by regional electric companies in britain 's turbulent utility sector . " this just raises all sorts of questions and makes no sense whatsoever , " said james hutton mills , an analyst with sgst securities ltd . " there is just no logic to be found . " mr . lang said the referral did not mean the mergers would not proceed . he said , however , that such " vertical " mergers may thwart competition in the industry . electricity shares dove on the announcement . the ft se index of leading electricity shares fell 91 . 3 points to 2 , 764 before recovering slightly to 2 , 784 . ( bloomberg business news ) international briefs	has a location of britain
to the editor re ''just average , and therein lay his greatness'' ( nov . 16 ) the analysis of eclipse 's bones was so long overdue that its conclusions were skewed by today 's standards . if we compare an 18th_century man 's physique with a modern man 's , he would seem below average in height , weight and therefore strength . judging any 240 year old beast by today 's standards does it no justice . the only part of eclipse judged by the standards of his time was his heart , which was deemed ''large . '' when scientifically comparing bones that have hundreds of years of differences between them , we must remember that most measurements are distorted by unfair comparisons . david hermann state college , pa .	has a location of britain
the british_government appointed rachel lomax , a top civil_servant , economist and former world_bank official , to succeed mervyn a . king as deputy governor of the bank of england when mr . king takes over from sir edward george as governor later this year . ms . lomax is the most senior official at the transportation department . her appointment will make her the highest ranking woman in the bank 's history , a spokesman for the bank of england said . the government also announced that richard lambert , former editor of the financial_times , would join the monetary_policy_committee , which sets interest rates , in june . alan_cowell ( nyt )	has a location of britain
abbey national p.l.c. , a british financial_services conglomerate , has approached bank of scotland about a possible merger , the companies said . bank of scotland said the approach was unlikely to lead to a satisfactory transaction for its shareholders . the two banks had discussed a possible combination in july and august , but bank of scotland said those talks were ended . bank of scotland has been looking for a partner since it lost out to its rival , the royal_bank_of_scotland , in a takeover fight for national_westminster_bank . suzanne_kapner ( nyt ) company news	has a location of britain
for years , local politicians said today , they had been trying to get someone to do something about thomas hamilton . mr . hamilton , 43 , a shambling loner whose obsessions were guns , boys and photography , was well known to children and their parents in this tiny community , even before he killed 16 small children , their teacher and himself in a burst of gunfire on wednesday morning . as the leader of a local boys' club , he had generated scores of informal complaints over the years from parents who said their children felt uncomfortable around him . recently , he had begun sending bitter letters to townspeople , politicians and the queen , saying that he had been unfairly branded a " pervert . " but today people here were asking why someone well known to the police and apparently trusted by no one had been allowed to continue working with children and to own the four semi automatic pistols he used in the shooting . mr . hamilton was dismissed as a boy_scout leader in 1974 . in a news conference here this morning , regional council members said they had tried to get him removed from the boys' club he ran , in which children complained that he was overly familiar , that he made them take their shirts off , and that he was obsessed with photographing them . ultimately , the councilors said , no parent produced evidence that mr . hamilton had abused a child . an effort to stop him from using the dunblane high_school as a meeting place for the group in 1984 also failed , the councilors said . and while the police investigated him in 1989 after parents complained about his behavior on a weeklong camping trip , the daily express reported today , they did not file charges . " we tried everything , every channel available to us , " said a council member , anne dickson . " but the police can do nothing unless there 's a specific charge and you have proof . " the bbc reported that mr . hamilton had been rejected for membership in a local gun club just a few weeks ago , despite having been licensed to own firearms for 19 years . in britain , applicants for gun licenses have to prove their fitness for gun ownership , declare that they are not mentally ill , inform the police of any criminal_record and furnish reasons why they want to use the guns . robert bell , who owns a gun shop in nearby stirling , told the bbc that mr . hamilton always had the proper documentation for weapons he bought there . what remains unclear is why mr . hamilton was granted a license that is supposed to be difficult to obtain . " what seems rather extraordinary is the way in which the rules were applied in this particular case , " michael stephen , a member of parliament , told the press association . " i would have thought he was an unacceptable person . " today , many stores on high_street , the social center of this cathedral town , were closed . some had signs out front , expressing sympathy for the families of the children . " it is very difficult because people will always be aware of yesterday , " said louis stott , owner of browsers bookstore on high_street . he said that from now on , the town would think of itself completely differently in terms of " before " and " after . " " it will be like lockerbie , except that dunblane will always be the place where the children were murdered . " the shooting killed 16 children 6 years old or younger and their teacher , and left 12 children injured . three remained in critical condition today . a picturesque town of 7 , 000 people , many of them well to do commuters with jobs in edinburgh or glasgow , dunblane is known as a place of friendly respectability and beautiful large houses , where people know their neighbors and even burglary is seen as an exotic urban practice . in front of dunblane primary_school a growing pile of bouquets , stuffed_animals and poignant notes dotted the drive , and some residents were calling for the gymnasium where the shooting took place to be torn down . ron taylor , the headmaster , said he would never forget what the gymnasium looked like when he arrived right after the shooting stopped . " the scene that met us in the hallway was utterly devastating , utterly appalling , " he said . " evil visited us yesterday , and why , we will probably never know . "	has a location of britain
the government today pronounced a_10 . 1 billion privatization of britain 's electricity industry a huge success , with britons seeking more than 10 times the number of shares being offered . demand from the public was so strong , in fact , that it triggered a " clawback " mechanism that scaled back the amount of shares reserved for both foreign investors and domestic institutional_investors , said kleinwort_benson ltd . , the government 's financial_adviser . under the offering , the government sold a total 2 . 16 billion shares in the 12 electricity distributing companies of england and wales . the shares sold for 240 pence , or 4 . 68 each , for a total 5 . 18 billion , or 10 . 1 billion . the government plans to sell its two electricity generating companies and the scottish electricity industry next year . the selloff is britain 's biggest and most complex privatization yet . the conservative government has sold 64 billion worth of state owned companies in the past decade to promote capitalism and encourage wider ownership of the companies .	has a location of britain
jet_lag may be an inevitable part of international travel , but another unpleasant aspect waiting in line at passport control will soon be bypassed by some people flying into london . instead , they will gain entry to britain by directing their eyes toward a camera . last week the eyeticket corporation announced that a trial program of a system using iris scanning technology to identify passengers would begin this fall at heathrow_airport . the trial of what the company calls its jetstream passenger processing system will involve up to 2 , 000 american and canadian passengers on british_airways and virgin_atlantic_airways flights into heathrow . passengers will initially have to enroll and have their irises scanned at either of the carriers' airport based clubs at heathrow . to scan the iris , the colored part of the eye surrounding the pupil , a special camera trains infrared light on the passenger from just 14 inches away . an image of the iris is encoded into a 512 byte code that is stored on a server . the next time the passenger lands at heathrow , he will proceed to a special line in the passport control area of the airline terminal and stand before the jetstream camera . the camera takes another image of the passenger 's iris , converts it to code and compares it with codes stored on the server 's database to find a match . no passport need be shown . bill willis , chief technology officer at iridian technologies in moorestown , n.j. , which licenses the iris scanning technology to eyeticket , said that it held certain advantages over other biometrics applications like facial recognition and digitized fingerprints . most important is its high level of detail , which is vital for verifying the identities of people in high security environments like airports . ''the iris has more information in the infrastructure of its organ than any other component of the body , '' he said . the iris has about 240 unique areas , known as ' 'degrees of freedom , '' that can be used to search a database to identify someone , whereas a face has about 80 degrees of freedom and a fingerprint has 20 to 40 , he said . the jetstream system will recognize an individual 's iris regardless of lighting conditions and whether the person is wearing glasses or contact_lenses or squinting , mr . willis said . ''if we do n't get a good picture of your eye , we 'll tell you to open your eye , or move backward or forward , '' he said . eyeticket has tested iris recognition in other airports , but only with airline and airport employees . u.s . airways employees in charlotte , n.c. , for example , are using a similar eyeticket product , called eyepass , to gain entry to secure areas . another employee trial is under way at the airport in frankfurt . arrangements between eyeticket and immigration agencies will vary as the product develops and is introduced to other airports , said stewart mann , chairman and chief executive of eyeticket , based in mclean , va . ''when you 're doing passport control , you have to be sensitive to the governing authority , which in this case is the united_kingdom immigration service , '' mr . mann said . ''we 're giving them the tools and letting them have the input into how it 's managed . '' eyeticket and the international air transport association , the airline_industry trade_association , will conduct and finance the trial , which is expected to last six months . eyeticket will also program jetstream to allow passenger check in at heathrow . the jetstream system is designed to link with existing airline databases so that when a passenger checks in , frequent_flier numbers , flight and seat numbers and other information can be retrieved along with the iris identification . ''the amount of time and aggravation that you save passengers by giving them a fast track access is just awesome , '' said evan smith , senior vice_president of eyeticket . iris recognition , which was developed in 1994 by john daugman , a computer scientist at cambridge_university , is a relatively new area of biometrics technology . and like other biometrics technologies that face hurdles involving precision and user friendliness , it has its problems . some biometrics experts , including dr . jim wayman , director of the biometric test center at san jose state university , question the speed at which any iris recognition system can run . ( eyeticket says that jetstream can identify someone in less than two seconds . ) ''with any biometrics application , you need cooperative users , adjustable equipment and trained operators , and these are big things , '' dr . wayman said . ''it 's clear it 's going to take many seconds , if not tens of seconds , to get people through the system , and the passenger will probably need to adjust themselves to the system by moving their head back and forth . '' dr . wayman also raised the possibility that certain contoured contact_lenses would pose problems . and he pointed out that some people have difficulty focusing their eyes on a specific point , which might make it difficult to obtain an image . the cost of installing and operating an iris recognition system may be another barrier , especially since the benefits to airlines and airports have not yet crystallized . ''what is it replacing , how would it expedite things and who pays for it are the biggest problems , '' dr . wayman said . the airline_industry has generally been slow to adopt biometrics , and there is no clear leader among the eye , face or fingerprint technologies for processing passengers or limiting access to secure areas . the most visible and longest lasting biometrics program to date is inspass , which since 1996 has used hand geometry to distinguish american and canadian citizens , foreign diplomats and foreign airline employees from other passengers at several airports in the united_states , including kennedy international airport and miami airport . but the program is small , with just 65 , 000 travelers enrolled so far . industry experts say that more trial runs like jetstream 's are needed to broaden the public 's experience with biometrics . ''because there are so many different needs , it will be a combination of technologies to improve service , '' said rick norton , executive director of the international biometrics industry association , a trade group in washington . ''everyone is moving along in their thinking as to how this is going to be implemented , and i 'm sure you 'll see more trials like this in the next six to nine months . '' what's next	has a location of britain
europe 's first attempt to land an unmanned probe on mars entered its final phase on friday when a disc shaped landing_craft named beagle ii separated from the mars express spaceship and began a series of maneuvers to orbit the red planet before bouncing onto the surface early on christmas day . the 73 pound martian explorer was conceived by dr . colin t . pillinger of the open university in milton_keynes , england . funds for the 60 million project were drawn from a variety of agencies and sources that dr . pillinger and his colleagues have yet to fully disclose . but they were so determined to advance the exploration for life on mars that they succeeded in winning support from the european_space_agency to add the beagle ii lander to the mars express orbital exploration mission . dr . pillinger expressed great satisfaction on friday , telling the bbc that when he conceived the martian landing mission in 1997 , he wanted to take advantage of the planet 's remarkably close alignment with earth this year . ''this is definitely a case of seize the moment , '' he said . but the modest spaceship a dowdy affair that resembles a doorknob has struck a chord of national pride for britons , many of whom are expected to tune in christmas morning to monitor the fate of the plucky little craft . beagle ii carries just 5 percent of the weight of the viking lander that america sent to mars in 1976 . the mars express and beagle ii lifted off from earth on june 2 from the baikanor , kazakhstan , spaceport on a russian soyuz fregat launcher . ''it was a relief , absolutely , '' zeina mounzer , a senior mars express engineer said at the mission_control_center in darmstadt , germany , after the separation , according to the associated press . ''we have all been waiting for this moment for a long time , and when our screens lit up , we were ecstatic . '' the beagle ii is named for the ship that took charles darwin around the world , but british tabloids have already engaged in some space_age wordplay on the 1969 american moon_landing , announcing with pride , ''the beagle has landed . '' if all goes well , the tiny ship will enter the martian atmosphere , slowing considerably in its final descent with the aid of a parachute , then land on a desolate plain near the martian equator with the help of three inflatable air bags that will cushion its first bounce . if it survives the descent and landing , the beagle ii is designed to pop open , raise its solar_panels and , eventually , use robotic arms and a collection of sniffers , spectrometers and digging devices to search for signs of carbon , water or bacteria on and beneath the surface of mars . while the beagle ii carries out six months worth of work on the surface , the mars express will deploy a radar from orbit to penetrate the surface in search of water and other formations that will add to an understanding of whether the planet has supported life . the beagle ii will be joined by two american probes in january .	has a location of britain
for most of two centuries , england 's private boarding_schools have struggled to turn generations of young toffs into gentlemen , mixing classics and cricket with a lip stiffening regimen of hard beds , cold showers and mean discipline , often meted out by a sneering clique of dormitory bullies . but with the recession and changing attitudes about boarding cutting into their enrollments , many of britain 's best public schools , as they are known here , have embarked on a new and , in its own way , revolutionary strategy to entice fresh recruits to their privileged ranks . they are marketing themselves as caring , pastoral institutions where cuddles and compassion are supplanting the sometimes cruel punishment of the past . times and the economy have both changed , acknowledged david jewell , the headmaster at haileybury college in rural hertfordshire about 20 miles north of london , a campus of elegant victorian architecture that traces its roots to the beginning of the 19th_century , when it was founded as a training academy for the east india company . this fall , mr . jewell and the headmasters of some 200 other british public schools agreed at a meeting to mount a new marketing campaign to convince prospective parents that boarding_schools are pleasant , convivial and caring places after all . what manhood means 'not so long ago , conformity and manliness and toughness were the virtues that we celebrated , " said mr . jewell , whose outlook was shaped , in part , by some bleak memories of his own life as a public_school student in devon , where he recalls being beaten twice by older boys . " now we value nonconformity and independence of thought , and try to teach young men that real manhood involves tolerance , not aggression . " in haileybury 's great domed dining hall , beneath the framed portrait of clement atlee , a former prime_minister and haileybury " old boy , " as graduates are known , a table filled with 14 and 15 year old boys agreed that it was so . " no sir , " they agreed , in near chorus , when asked whether they had suffered bullying or beatings from older pupils . overall public_school enrollment has risen to 608 , 000 about 7 percent of the total student population from 560 , 000 in 1985 . but dick davison , the deputy director of the independent schools information service , said enrollment at boarding schools had been on a long term decline , dropping from 125 , 000 in 1985 to 115 , 000 this year . over the same period , the number of boarding schools has also fallen , from 1 , 040 to 979 . but the drop has been sharper in the last two years , as families pinched by britain 's longest recession since the 1930 's have turned to lower cost alternatives for educating their children . annual tuition and boarding fees at first rank public schools average about 17 , 000 a year . 'more like families' " the schools decided they had to do a better job of marketing , of reassuring parents they are more friendly places , more like families , with strong pastoral support systems , " mr . davison said . " the fact is , bullying and corporal punishment went out at most boarding schools more than a decade ago , but we just never got the word out . " the british public_school has changed in other ways , too . most of them now enroll young women , at least in the upper forms , which are equivalent to 11th and 12th_grade in an american high_school . at haileybury , for example , a third of the upper form pupils are girls . in addition , there has been a marked trend in recent years away from boarding and toward day schooling . about four of every five students attending private schools today are day students , a departure from the days when many upper_class parents ritually packed their sons off to boarding_school as soon as they turned 8 or 9 . over the years , the public_school has loomed large in the british consciousness , partly as a result of a succession of popular books and stories set in boarding schools , and described recently by the times of london as a kind of " unique english bildungsroman " that helped inculcate among its young readers a shared set of distinctly english values . the heroes of such stories are invariably stout hearted fellows , keen on athletics and defenders of the underdog , as they confront a succession of adolescent bullies and cheats who comprise a kind of permanent moral underclass . the victims organize the type was first described in " tom brown 's school days , " published in 1857 and telling the tale of young squire brown , sent off to rugby school to become a " brave , helpful , truth telling englishman , and a gentleman , and a christian . " along the way , he muddies himself on the playing fields and outwits flashman , the callow school bully . in all of these novels , like life in the schools themselves , the premium was placed on the stiff_upper_lip . to cry or cringe or give in was , in the brutal lexicon of the public_school set , to be " wet , " a stinging epithet . such attitudes claimed victims , and three years ago several public_school graduates went public with a support group called " boarding_school survivors , " to serve men who now say their experience in public_school left them scarred and hurt . in an answering echo , the schools now seem insistent on emphasizing their own softer feelings . elizabeth prichard , the first chairwoman of the incorporated association of preparatory schools , an organization that represents many boarding schools for elementary age children , said last month that schools must now put the emphasis on " compassion , care and cuddle , " rather than conformity . mr . jewell says he still believes that public schools have a role to play in building character and enforcing a ethical and moral code among his young charges , although he says it is n't as simple as it was in tom brown 's days . " i may personally believe the air marshals and generals who won world_war_ii were much better role models than the sex pistols , " he said . " but after all , we do have to live in our own times , do n't we ? "	has a location of britain
the british_government said today that it had agreed to sell the three leasing companies that own the government railway 's 11 , 000 passenger cars for nearly l1 . 8 billion , or 2 . 8 billion . " this is britain 's largest ever privatization by direct sale , " the transport minister , sir george young , said . the three companies angel train contracts , eversholt leasing and peterbrook leasing were sold to several investment companies from britain , japan and the united_states . angel train was sold for l672 . 5 million to a group that includes nomura international , a subsidiary of the nomura_securities company , japan 's largest securities house , and babcock brown , an american financing company that is affiliated with nomura . eversholt was bought for l580 million by a management_buyout group led by candover partners ltd . , and porterbrook was bought for l527 million by funds managed by charthouse development capital and porterbrook 's management . sir george said the sale would be worth more than l2 . 5 billion because the leasing companies would also give back to the government about l800 million in cash they had accumulated . the sale is important to prime_minister john_major , who wants to sell the bulk of british_rail before the next general_election , which is due by may 1997 .	has a location of britain
executives of american_airlines yesterday denounced a plan by the investor kirk_kerkorian to buy t.w.a . as a delay tactic and a " half baked , ill conceived , poorly fleshed out excuse for a business_plan . " on friday , the tracinda corporation , an investment group headed by mr . kerkorian , filed details of its plan to buy and operate trans_world_airlines inc . the filing was requested by the transportation department . the plan called for turning around t.w.a . 's operations by replacing its aging fleet , attracting new management and revamping its routes . the government is expected to decide this week whether to approve t.w.a . 's agreement to sell its london routes to american_airlines . swift decision urged carl c . icahn , t.w.a . 's chairman , said yesterday that the airline would seek bankruptcy_protection if a decision was not made very shortly on the sale of its london routes to american_airlines . " we feel if they extend this at all , we will probably file for bankruptcy , " mr . icahn told the reuters news_agency . " if we do n't get a decision very shortly , we 're going to have to file . " mr . kerkorian 's offer to buy t.w.a . would require that it retain the routes . 'fundamentally foolish' in an interview yesterday , michael j . durham , the chief_financial_officer of american_airlines , derided mr . kerkorian 's plan as " fundamentally foolish " and " demonstrating a fundamental lack of understanding " about airline operations . there was no answer yesterday at tracinda 's offices in beverly_hills , calif . mr . kerkorian , a los_angeles financier , also owns the mgm grand luxury airline . american , based in dallas , announced its plans to acquire t.w.a . 's london routes in december , and on march 14 , the transportation department gave the airline tentative approval to buy three routes to heathrow_airport in london . the sale would provide cash for t.w.a . the airline defaulted on debt payments in february . offer made last month in late march , mr . kerkorian made a highly conditional offer to buy t.w.a . some analysts are skeptical about mr . kerkorian 's motives , but the airline 's unions and public officials in missouri have generally supported the plan . t.w.a . 's main hub is in st . louis . mr . icahn has called mr . kerkorian 's offer an attempt to force t.w.a . into a position where he could buy it for nothing . american plans to formally respond to mr . kerkorian 's plan in a filing with the transportation department tomorrow .	has a location of britain
the amerada_hess corporation , known for its green hess trucks and gas stations , agreed today to buy lasmo p.l.c. , a british oil exploration and production_company , for 3 . 5 billion in cash and stock in a move that shifts the balance of its business outside the united_states and away from its roots as a refiner and marketer . amid continued consolidation , like the 36 billion marriage of chevron and texaco , smaller , independent oil and gas companies are scrambling to get bigger . ''scale is increasingly essential to the best projects and access to capital , '' the lasmo chairman , antony hichens , said . ''hess and lasmo complement each other . the combination will be stronger than each separately . '' john hess , chairman and chief executive of amerada_hess , put it slightly differently by saying ''we are now a bigger fish in a smaller pond , '' explaining that the combined company will have assets in just a handful of countries , among them the united_states , britain and venezuela . in buying lasmo , amerada will gain access to crucial foreign oil_reserves considered more valuable than domestic reserves , because of lower costs and longer life . the percent of oil_reserves outside the united_states for the combined company , to be called amerada_hess , will jump to 41 percent from 13 percent . moreover , lasmo furthers amerada 's ambitions to increase its exploration and production operations , and reduce its refining and marketing activities . ''exploration and production is the primary engine of income growth , '' mr . hess said . combined , the company will use 76 percent of its capital for exploration and production , up from 59 percent . only 24 percent of capital will be spent on other activities , such as running the 1 , 100 gas stations on the east_coast of the united_states . ''this deal accomplishes in one fell swoop many of amerada 's objectives , '' said eugene nowak , head of north_american research at abn_amro , who is recommending the stock . mr . nowak said amerada was not overpaying for lasmo , even though the purchase comes at what analysts would call the top of the cycle . although many oil stocks have benefited from rising prices , shares of lasmo , which is perceived as too small to remain competitive , have lagged those of competitors one reason that mr . hichens began exploring strategic options when he became chairman in may . the price of 180 pence per share , consisting of 69 percent cash and the remainder in stock , is 28 percent higher than lasmo 's closing price on friday , the last day of trading before the deal was made public . amerada will also assume 1 . 6 billion of lasmo 's debt . the companies said about 150 jobs would be eliminated . shares of lasmo rose 34 pence , to 175 pence , in london , while shares of amerada were down 3 . 19 , to 59 . 63 , in late trading in new york . valued another way , amerada is paying 5 . 49 a barrel for lasmo , or slightly below the industry average of 6 . 91 a barrel .	has a location of britain
with more and more space flooding into an already glutted london office market , many of the age old british leasing practices that heavily favored the landlord over the tenant are finally starting to crumble . as a consequence , commercial tenants will no longer have to sign up for a minimum of 25 years . nor will they have to assume full responsibility for repairs during the lease period , although they may still be responsible for paying the property_taxes . such terms , which used to make leasing space in london so burdensome , grew to be the norm following decades of shortages caused , in part , by highly restrictive planning and zoning regulations . " it was more like a feudal system than a normal business relationship , " said geoffrey marsh , managing director of applied property research , a statistical service that monitors central_london real_estate . the easing of those regulations by the thatcher_government followed by the 80 's construction binge ended all that . today , the oversupply and thus the rise of tenant power has been further enhanced by shrinking demand , intensified by the fact that so many companies who might have otherwise moved are still locked into top priced , 25 year leases signed as recently as five years ago . the situation locks even interested players in place , since finding a subtenant at anywhere near the same price is tantamount to impossible . thus , an unprecedented 40 million square_feet is available for rent in the central_london , which comprises the city , the west_end and the docklands , reports ralph pearson , a director of chestertons , a local property brokerage . this represents an overall vacancy_rate of around 18 percent , rising to 25 percent in the city where modern office towers many still empty stand in close encounters of the most jarring kind with the noble architecture of robert adam , john nash and sir christopher wren . as a consequence , asking prices per square_foot in central_london , which had been among the highest in europe , have become far more competitive , down about 40 percent from a peak of about 125 in 1988 to around 65 today , and still falling , say brokers . even this disguises the true extent of the problem , they say , because deals are being struck for as much as 20 percent less , made even lower by free rent concessions ranging from several months to two years . further concessions are being won in the form of caps on the cost of repairs . and though , on paper , the 25 year lease remains the norm , break clauses at five year intervals are increasingly common . " the tenant has become king , " said david beales , a property partner with slaughter and may , a firm of london lawyers specializing in commercial leasing . so far , however , the relaxation is proving as ineffectual in improving demand as is the recent drop in interest rates in the united_states . one manifestation of the extent and intractable nature of the gridlock was a decision in march by the westminster council to ban the hundreds of large " to let " signs littering the facades along some of the great historic streetscapes , as though london itself had been humbled into holding a giant going out of business sale . these billboards had become ignoble symbols of the wider economic woes facing britain today , showing up in newspaper cartoons and even theatrical productions as the icons that best depicted the despair of the 1990 's . ironically , it was the prevailing 25 year lease , seemingly as immutable as the monarchy , that at the height of the 80 's led to the current oversupply , recall brokers , drawing the international investment community interested in the emerging european_community from competing commercial centers such as paris , brussels and frankfurt . investors from abu_dhabi , for instance , completed one knightsbridge , a_7 story , 141 , 000 square_foot structure facing hyde_park in september 1991 . itis still empty . a dutch company built henrietta house near oxford street , a 9 story , 96 , 000 square_foot building that is nearing_completion and has yet to sign up a tenant . further compounding the problem was the added money pumped into property following the deregulation of the british financial markets in 1987 . at the time , many of the great financial houses of the world rushed to seek a presence in the city . they welcomed the chance to finance lavish office towers for themselves with extra space left over for speculation , said colin hargreaves , the partner in charge of city leasing for healey baker , another firm of london property brokers , in an interview in his offices in austin friars , a dickensian alley near the bank of england . it turned out to be the worst of investments . many of these branch offices have since contracted or disappeared from london . meanwhile , some of those projects are only now reaching completion , worsening the glut . a further depressant has been canary_wharf , the vast office development going up in east_london . olympia york , its canadian developers , is in bankruptcy and the best of its anticipated anchor tenants , like the american_express_company and texaco , are pulling out for fear of being left in a ghost_town . thus anyone in a position to make a move faces opportunities this summer that could n't be finer . coca_cola , for example , has just taken 80 , 000 square_feet of brand new space for its british headquarters in hammersmith at the western end of central_london , consolidating operations out of three different locations . jonathan bekenn , financial director for united_kingdom operations , said that since it was a major user and a high profile tenant , the developer was willing to purchase lease obligations at one of its former and largest sites . moreover , coca_cola was able to bypass a traditional commercial lease entirely by " buying " a 185 year occupancy agreement that gives it , in effect , ownership of the property . " it was an incredible deal , " he said , noting that the location was also highly desirable , midway between the fashionable neighborhoods of mayfair and st . james and the airport . a hammersmith location is also being sought by the british division of the walt disney company which has been expanding into shops and consumer products over here , too . interestingly , both coca_cola and disney refused to consider any of the vacant space in the city or the docklands , despite fire sale terms , because so many of their employees live in the western suburbs , which would have created a commuting nightmare . it 's been a bonanza , too , for smaller firms moving into the area . consider the experience of dimensional fund advisors of santa_monica , calif . last fall , while seeking to establish a london branch for its emerging european investments , it was able to afford the cachet of an address in mayfair . deborah ferris , administrator of its london office , said it had also decided that a city location , though more appropriate , was out of the question because of commuting difficulties . further , its visiting american institutional clients tend to stay in mayfair hotels . it now has a_10 year lease on 2 , 000 square_feet in fashionable berkeley street with a 5 year break clause . the details were not revealed . but brokers say it 's probably costing around 45 a square_foot . " everything could n't have been easier , " said deborah ferris , administrator of the london office . " we even got it all fitted out without any delay . "	has a location of britain
british_airways said it would add a surcharge of 5 ( 8 . 89 ) to every round trip fare on its british flights as a result of the rising price of oil . outside britain , fares will increase by 4 per flight sector . airlines in the united_states have tried to add fuel surcharges several times this year , but dropped them when their competitors did not match the fees . british_airways said it would review the charge on ''a regular basis with a view to adjusting it when appropriate . '' heather_timmons ( nyt )	has a location of britain
lead in the agency world there are the conglomerates , as typified by saatchi_saatchi and the interpublic group of companies , and the colonial ( or branch ) networks , like those run by j . walter_thompson , young_rubicam and foote , cone_belding . a more recent phenomenon is what peter scott , chief executive of britain 's wcrs in the agency world there are the conglomerates , as typified by saatchi_saatchi and the interpublic group of companies , and the colonial ( or branch ) networks , like those run by j . walter_thompson , young_rubicam and foote , cone_belding . a more recent phenomenon is what peter scott , chief executive of britain 's wcrs group , describes as a creative federation . his own publicly held company , which has acquired america 's della_femina , travisano_partners and hbm creamer , is just such an organization . so are two other british agencies boase massimi , which bought new york 's ammirati_puris , and lowe_howard_spink_bell , which now owns laurence charles , free lawson . they are medium_sized creative agencies all , he told american agency executives at a meeting of the western region of the american association of advertising agencies in laguna niguel , calif . he did n't have to tell his audience that the conglomerates are giants composed of differently named chains or that the networks are single agencies with many far flung offices . this they already knew . he described conglomerates and colonial networks as ''yesterday 's solutions , '' and said his shop and its peer agencies are geared to the concept that ''business but not advertising or creative solutions is becoming global . '' all the talk about global ad campaigns may be fine for coca_cola , he said , but there are darn few others that would benefit . his point was that the advertising of most global products requires local solutions . mr . scott got to that point in his speech after a first_rate job of explaining the progress of the british agency from a fiefdom subservient to american interests to a booming business that has shaken off its shackles and is buying united_states companies left and right . as the american colonists rebelled against the absentee management of the british crown , so the british agency business has rebelled against the absentee management of american international agencies , mr . scott said . and with the help of a far healthier economy brought about by prime_minister margaret_thatcher , the british advertising community has almost flipped the percentage of billings at the top 20 agencies in britain from 70 percent in the hands of american agencies to only 40 percent . at the same time , mr . scott maintained , there has been a return of creative advertising in the british tradition that was all but stamped out by the introduction of on site american managers and their promulgation of research dominated creativity . came the revolution , and ''the british advertising industry once again came to believe that advertising could be effective without being insipid , '' he said , adding , ''it remembered that advertising could entice , charm , amuse and flatter the consumer and still be effective . '' the management of mr . scott 's agency , begun in 1979 as wight collins rutherford scott , realized a few years later that because of british tax laws it had the choice of selling out and giving up ''the identity , independence and entrepreneurial drive that had been snuffed out like a flame in so many good and occasionally great british agencies , or fighting to retain the values and culture that had made the business a success , '' mr . scott said . to fight meant to go public . so his agency copied the saatchis and offered shares to the public . once public , the management realized that ''no agency no matter how good , how energetic , how creative can expect to survive , thrive and prosper as a single profit center business in the long term . '' that led to diversification , to other areas of marketing service in order to escape the threat of client conflict , and ultimately to buying united_states agencies and becoming a colonial power . british imperialism once again .	has a location of britain
lead shandwick_p.l.c. , the british company that has turned itself into the world 's largest independent public_relations agency through its aggressive acquisition strategy , yesterday announced that it had purchased mona , meyer mcgrath , the largest public_relations firm in minnesota . shandwick paid 4 . 8 million for the agency , said charles jones , president of shandwick north shandwick_p.l.c. , the british company that has turned itself into the world 's largest independent public_relations agency through its aggressive acquisition strategy , yesterday announced that it had purchased mona , meyer mcgrath , the largest public_relations firm in minnesota . shandwick paid 4 . 8 million for the agency , said charles jones , president of shandwick north_america . mr . jones said the acquisition of the six year old agency , which had 6 million in billings last year , was made to shore up shandwick in the midwest , where it is weak . like shandwick 's other acquisitions , mona , meyer mcgrath will retain its name and its independent status .	has a location of britain
as the clinton_administration formally enters the debate about law enforcement surveillance in cyberspace , the british_government is about to enact a law that would give the authorities here broad powers to intercept and decode e mail messages and other communications between companies , organizations and individuals . the measure , which goes further than the american plan unveiled on monday in washington , would make britain the only western democracy where the government could require anyone using the internet to turn over the keys to decoding e mails messages and other data . such a measure would be an important tool for the government because data is increasingly being encrypted for reasons of security and privacy . despite a barrage of criticism from all sides , the bill is likely to become law as it passes through its final stage in the house of lords and returns to the house of commons next week because the labor_government , which offered the plan , holds a wide majority in parliament . government officials maintain that the measure is essential if law enforcement agencies are to combat the sophisticated modern crime that is enhanced by access to the internet , including pedophilia , drug smuggling , money_laundering , terrorism and trafficking in refugees . ''the powers in the bill are necessary and proportionate to the threat posed by 21st_century criminals , no more , no less , '' charles clarke , the home_office official in charge of the bill , said last week . but the measure has had a rocky time in parliament , where lawmakers have vehemently objected to several provisions , including one that would give the government new powers to require internet_service_providers to install ''black box'' surveillance systems that would sort and send a range of data and e mail to a monitoring center controlled by the domestic security service , m.i.5 . such systems are also being used in the united_states by the federal_bureau_of_investigation , where the technology is known as carnivore because it is able to extract the ' 'meat'' quickly from vast quantities of e mail messages and other communications between computers . but one major difference in the british measure is that the authorities here would be able to require companies to install and maintain the black boxes at their own expense and according to technological specifications set out by the government . in addition , to justify such surveillance , the authorities would not be obligated to take elaborate steps to persuade an independent arbiter like a court that a crime had probably been committed . in contrast to the united_states , britain has a tradition of unfettered and often uncontested intrusion by the authorities into citizens' privacy , in the united_states , the f.b.i . must first obtain a search_warrant before using the carnivore technology , which is then installed and maintained by the bureau . under the british plan , failure to turn over a decryption key or to convert encrypted data or messages into plain text could result in a two year prison sentence . although many nations are considering similar bills to deal with encrypted data , only singapore and malaysia have so far enacted them . the legislation would allow the british_government to tap into and monitor electronic communication for a host of reasons , including to protect national_security , to ' 'safeguard the country 's well being , '' and to prevent and detect serious crime . that last , far reaching category might include , for instance , ''a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose . '' the measure would not require traditional warrants signed by judges . instead , warrants for e mail surveillance would have to be signed by the home_secretary , who controls a range of domestic and legal matters . other officials , including high ranking police officers , would be empowered to approve requests for encryption keys . the effect of this part of the bill ''can justifiably be described as mass surveillance of internet activities without judicial warrant or adequate oversight , '' according to a report prepared for the british_chambers_of_commerce by a team of professors at the london school of economics and university college london . opponents of the measure in britain represent an extraordinarily diverse interests , ranging from trade_unions and amnesty international to representatives of big_business and newspapers across the political_spectrum . not only does the bill violate basic civil_liberties , they argue , but it would also impose onerous costs on internet_service_providers , subject them to anti competitive restraints , and drive business out of britain . ''this is big brother government realizing that unless they get their act together , technology is going to make them impotent by allowing individuals to bypass the regulations , and the spies , of the state , '' said ian angell , professor of information systems at the london school of economics and a consultant on the recent report . ''i 'm a supporter of the police , and i believe they should be given powers , but there has to be due process , and this bill does n't provide that , '' mr . angell said . ''they 'll be allowed to go on fishing expeditions . '' it is not yet clear how much the measure will cost . the government has put aside 20 million pounds , or 30 million , to help businesses set up the new technology , but as it stands now , internet_service_providers themselves would bear most of the costs of the ''black boxes'' themselves . this provision is roughly akin to asking ' 'manufacturers to pay for the police cars the home_office provides to the police , '' said william roebuck , an executive on the legal advisory group at the e center , a trade_association that studies standards and practices in e_commerce . the london school of economics report estimated that the measure would cost british business some 640 million pounds , or 960 million , over the next five years , a figure that could rise to 46 billion , or 69 billion , when opportunity costs and losses from the economy are included . but mr . roebuck said it was impossible to tell what the final figure would be . ''if internet_service_providers are made to take on board the costs , then the costs will be put through to the consumer , '' he said . ''what 's going to happen is that companies are going to reroute everything away from the u.k . and take their business abroad . '' among the companies that have already said the measure would make them reluctant to do business here is poptel , one of britain 's oldest internet_service_providers . poptel serves the noncommercial sector charities , trade_unions , lobbying organizations and the like and many of its members have serious concerns about the bill 's implications . ''there are a number of our users who come into quite legitimate conflict with the government , '' said shaun fensom , poptel 's chairman , who said he might transfer some of the company 's operations offshore . ''they are concerned that the government could classify some of their legitimate activity as being snoopable . my feeling is that they will want access to at least some kind of secure e mail facility . '' some critics are charging that the measure has been sloppily and hastily drawn up to give the government as broad latitude as possible . ''what this does is contravene a large number of fundamental rights in the european convention on human rights and other international standards , which include the right to privacy , the right to liberty , the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of association , '' said halya gowan , a researcher at amnesty international in london . ''as a human_rights organization , our work is based on the confidentiality of statements we take from opponents of governments around the world who are possibly victims of human_rights violations by these governments , '' she said . ''but under this bill , we wo n't be able to guarantee confidentiality anymore . '' the measure , known as the regulation of investigatory powers bill , or r.i.p. , is an effort to extend a 1985 law setting out the government 's powers to intercept and monitor communications across telephone lines to a host of modern technologies , including e mail , web_sites , pagers and cell phones . as it happens , said mr . roebuck of the e center , the government has already quietly been doing many of the things it will now be legally allowed to do . ''they 've already been doing covert surveillance , covertly intercepting e mail , '' he said . ''this gives them a legal basis to do so . '' and the government agrees , in effect , saying it is merely setting out in law the parameters for what it has been doing informally anyway . ''the bill is an important one which does not substantially increase the powers available to the law enforcement and security agencies but will make the u.k . a better and safer place to live for all , '' mr . clarke told the daily_telegraph . some groups say that although they disagree with the nuts and bolts of the bill , they are encouraged that the government is , at last , trying to establish a legal framework for its surveillance activities . ''generally , people should welcome the bill because it provides some kind of system of accountability for interferences with privacy where there has n't been in the past , '' said john wadham , the director of liberty , a civil_liberties group . but that is not good enough , said conor gearty , a professor of human_rights_law at king 's college london . ''the british authorities have a history of engaging in activities outside the law which inflict on people 's privacy or otherwise affect their liberties , and then suddenly saying that the time has come to bring the law into line with practice , '' he said .	has a location of britain
lead an international group of scientists is planning to use satellite photography and other sophisticated computer imaging techniques to aid searchers still looking for the remains of 28 passengers in the widely scattered wreckage of a pan am boeing 747 in scotland . an international group of scientists is planning to use satellite photography and other sophisticated computer imaging techniques to aid searchers still looking for the remains of 28 passengers in the widely scattered wreckage of a pan am boeing 747 in scotland . all 259 people aboard the flight and 11 people on the ground were killed when the plane , pan_american_world_airways flight 103 , was blown apart by a bomb over the scottish countryside on dec . 21 . the search for remains by a team of hundreds has been hampered by mountainous terrain , dense forests and poor weather . computer scientists at an oil prospecting company and geologists at syracuse_university are acquiring photographs taken by a reconnaissance satellite launched in a commercial venture sponsored by the french government , and are planning to use them in conjunction with aerial photographs and radar images in an effort to direct searchers to places where wreckage fell . three techniques considered ''we thought that by using computer image analysis we will be able to automate the search and do this much more efficiently , '' said john mcbrearty , a computer specialist at donard united_kingdom , a subsidiary of the donard oil and gas exploration company in the united_states . the satellite , known by its french acronym spot , is orbiting more than 500 miles above earth and has a maximum resolving power capable of detecting objects that are about 30 feet in diameter . he said the researchers were exploring the use of three techniques subtractive processing of satellite photographic data to look for changes in the terrain , infrared photography to spot damaged vegetation and special radar to detect pieces of metal in dense pine forests . computer simulation the subtractive processing approach uses computers to process the satellite images taken before and after the crash and search for changes in the two images . the special radar , known as synthetic aperture radar , involves sending ultra high frequency radio signals toward a target and then detecting the echo reflected back . the result is a highly detailed image offering the illusion of three dimensions . it is especially effective in detecting metal objects on the ground , since they are highly reflective and tend to show up as a bright spot . mr . mcbrearty said that researchers had performed a computer simulation in an effort to determine where it might be most useful to search for wreckage . the researchers said they were attempting to persuade the united_states_government to assist in their search , by providing access to higher quality satellite images of scotland or by using a national_aeronautics_and_space_administration er 2 surveillance_aircraft to take high altitude photographs of the region . united_states intelligence gathering organizations have satellites with many times the resolution of civilian satellites . a spokesman for senator daniel_patrick_moynihan , democrat of new york , said that the senator was trying to help the researchers by making sure they were in contact with the responsible government officials . syracuse role coincidental geologists at syracuse_university said that they were prepared to use sophisticated image processing computers to analyze photographic data as soon as it becomes available . among those killed on the pan am jumbo_jet were 35 students on overseas programs sponsored by syracuse , but the university 's involvement in the satellite effort is coincidental . mr . mcbrearty said he had turned to researchers at syracuse because he was acquainted with a geologist there . the university has a network of powerful computer work stations made by sun_microsystems incorporated and a parallel processing computer called the connection machine that can be used to extract details and look for specific features in a large mass of photographic data . military equipment superior an expert in remote sensing technologies said that there were advanced technologies that are well suited for this kind of search . ''the ideal approach for this search would be to use synthetic aperture radar , '' said paul curran , a researcher at nasa 's ames research laboratory in mountain_view , calif . ''the problem is that the commercially available radars take a long time to process data . it may be a couple of months before you have images . ''	has a location of britain
a 27 year old chemist today became the first briton in space when she and two soviet astronauts blasted off here aboard a spacecraft on an eight day mission . helen sharman , accompanied by anatoly artsebarsky and sergei krikalyov , lifted off in a soyuz tm 12 craft from the baikonur space center in soviet central asia . soviet television showed the slim brown and white rocket rising smoothly from the launching_pad and disappearing into the clouds after a few seconds . a brief shot of britain 's first astronaut as the seconds to blast off ticked away showed her looking calm but pensive . miss_sharman , nicknamed " the woman from mars " after the mars candy company where she worked before winning a contest to join the space flight , spent two years training in the star city space center near moscow . she is the first woman on a soviet space mission since svetlana savistskaya , a soviet citizen , went up in 1984 . valentina tereshkova , the soviet astronaut who was the first woman in space in 1963 , was at the baikonur center to watch the launching . former prime_minister nikolai i . ryzhkov , one of the leading candidates in next month 's russian_republic elections , was also there . soyuz tm 12 is to rendezvous in space with the orbiting mir station manned by two other soviet astronauts , musa manarov and viktor afanasyev . mr . krikalyov and mr . artsebarsky are to stay aboard_mir , the centerpiece of the soviet space program . it has been manned for all but a few months since it was put into orbit in february 1986 .	has a location of britain
minutes from the bank of england 's meeting on sept . 8 that raised interest rates after a string of cuts disclosed that the panel voted 7 to 2 for the raise . two committee members , sushil wadhwani and deanne julius , dissented , arguing that an increase might slow growth . the increased division reflected in the minutes led some economists and analysts to speculate that another rate increase might come soon . andrew_ross_sorkin world business briefing europe	has a location of britain
lead undertaking by far the largest corporate takeover bid in european history , an investor group led by sir_james_goldsmith , the british french financier , made a 21 billion offer today for b.a.t . industries . b.a.t. , a london based conglomerate with extensive operations in the united_states , owns saks fifth avenue and the hardee 's fast_food chain and sells kool and lucky strike cigarettes . undertaking by far the largest corporate takeover bid in european history , an investor group led by sir_james_goldsmith , the british french financier , made a 21 billion offer today for b.a.t . industries . b.a.t. , a london based conglomerate with extensive operations in the united_states , owns saks fifth avenue and the hardee 's fast_food chain and sells kool and lucky strike cigarettes . it is britain 's third largest company behind british_petroleum and shell . rejecting the bid , patrick sheehy , b.a.t . 's chairman , called it ''unsolicited and unwelcome . '' in a statement , he said the bid ''is no more than an illconceived attempt at destructive financial engineering . '' some analysts said sir james 's group might yet be forced to increase its bie , so that the total value of the deal would eventually exceed the 25 billion takeover of rjr_nabisco by kohlberg , kravis , roberts , until now the world 's largest corporate takeover . an aggressive trio the takeover battle in britain pits an aggressive trio of investors led by sir james , the tall , flamboyant billionaire who admits a fondness for gambling , against mr sheehy , the tough , straitlaced b.a.t . chairman , who has spent the last eight years shaping his company into a diversified conglomerate . ( page_d1 . ) as his partners , sir james has jacob rothschild , a careful , private man who , as part of the famous dynasty , is a financier in britain , and kerry f.b . packer , and informal australian media baron who loves cricket and junk food . ( page d6 . ) rather than pay for the shares with cash , the investor group proposes to issue bonds to shareholders , changing their status from owners to creditors . financial analysts said it would be by far the largest leveraged_buyout ever attempted in europe . what is happening here , some analysts say , is that sir james is introducing into europe the aggressive american practice of buying and breaking up companies whose parts are more valuable than the whole . they added that if the bidders conquer a target as large as b.a.t. , a whole new set of giant companies in britain , and in europe , would be vulnerable to takeover . ''if this succeeds , it opens a whole new world , '' said nigel utley , and analyst with laing cruickshank in london . the investor group criticized b.a.t . 's broad stategy of becoming a diversified conglomerate and said a statement that it would sell many of b.a.t . 's assets . the group , calling itself hoylake investments , offered 850 pence , or 13 . 82 , in securities for each b.a.t . share . that is 22 percent above b.a.t . 's closing price of 694 pence , or 11 . 31 , on the london_stock_exchange monday . indicating a widespread belief that the bid will go higher than the hoylake offer , b.a.t . stock closed today at 895 pence , or about 14 . 55 . in traking on the american stock exchange , american_depository_receipts for b.a.t . shares rose 2 . 94 , to 14 . 375 . an opening shot ''it would n't surprise me if we saw higher bids or higher numbers , '' said kevin phillips , and analyst with kleinwort_benson in london . ''this is the opening shot in what should be a protracted battle . goldsmith is obviously serious . '' in most leveraged_buyouts , the bidders borrow from banks or investors to finance their pruchase of the shares . but in this case , the investors propose to issue the bonds directly to shareholders , leaving the company deeply in debt without ever receiving any cash . shareholders would have to determine what they believed the bonds were worth . several analysts estimated that b.a.t . 's breakup value was somewhere between 11 and 12 a share . at a share price 11 , the company 's valuation would be 16 . 8 billion , or 27 . 3 billion . b.a.t . 's worldwide businesses include brown williamson tobacco , the hardee' 's hammburger chain , the farmers group , a california sinsurance company , along with several other pulp , paper , insurance and retailing companies , in the united_states and europe . ''there is no logic in retaining these businesses under the same group ownership , '' the hoylake group said . ''the financial consequences of this strategic error , pedestrian earnings growth and a traditionally low tobacco multiple , are such that a restructuring is now the only logical course . '' in addition to kool and lucky strikes , b.a.t. , originally called british_american_tobacco is known for its benson hedges brank . in the last five years , b.a.t . management has used the steady cash_flow from its tobacco businesses to move into higher growth sectors . management buyouts the goldsmith group said it might involve existing b.a.t . managements in any breakup , and analysts said the group might push for management buyouts of some b.a.t . units . the bidding group said it would sell off as soon as possible the farmers group , which b.a.t . bought last year for 5 . 2 billion . analysts said it appeared that the goldsmith group might keep the tobacco core . several analysts said the goldsmith group would not have undertaken the bid unless it was confident it could sell of b.a.t . 's parts at a hefty premium to its offering price . the 56 year old sir james has a reputation as an aggressive investor and has never been accepted by the british business establishment . analysts said b.a.t . 's management would have to convince shareholders that it would offer them more long term value than the high risk bonds the goldsmith group would be paying them with . one adviser to management said it might seek to resist the hostile bid by trying to arrange a management_buyout , finding a white knight or selling some assets . will give reasons b.a.t . urged its shareholders to take no action and said it would detail its reasons for the rejection once hoylake published a formal offer , expected in the next few days . mr . sheehy , b.a.t . 's 58 year old chairman , said the goldsmith offer ''is designed to remove value from b.a.t . 's own shareholders directly to the benefit of an ad_hoc troupe of financiers . '' analysts said the hoylake offer could face several regulatory obstacles . since b.a.t . owns farmers group , a change of ownership is expected to require the clearance of california authorities . in addition , some analysts speculated that the british_government might block a takeover on the ground that the company would be too highly_leveraged . the investment group 's representatives refused today to give copies of their statement on the bid to american reporters . they said such a move might make it appear that they were making an offer to american investors and they feared this would mean they world have to comply with s.e.c . regulations . b.a.t . whose american arm , batus , accounted for 30 percent of the parent 's sales alone last year had net incom of 1 . 7 billion on revenue of 31 billion last year . hoylake , a subsidiary of the anglo group p.l.c. , has three investors general oriental investments , which in headed by sir james j . rothschild holdings , a banking company controlled by mr . rothschild , and consolidate press holdings , an australian media company owned by mr . packer . among the companies helping hoylake arrange financing are hambros bank , bankers_trust and drexel_burnham_lambert . ''i would n't think this is the finale , '' said mr . utley , the analyst . ''i think fund managers wo n't accept this . '' so far , the largest takeove agreement in british history was hanson_p.l.c . 's recent 5 . 5 billion deal with consolidated_gold_fields p.l.c . many analysts have said b.a.t . was vastly undervalued . the argued that many investors had not recognized how fast b.a.t . had moved away from low growth tobacco for the first time last year less than half of its profits came from tobacco . they said the stock was also depressed by fears about tobacco litigation in the united_states , but many analysts said the stock price had not yet reflected the industry 's victory in many of the lawsuits . some analysts speculated ther might have been leaks about the b.a.t . bid . on monday the company 's stock jumped 19 pence , to 694 pence . the three men leading the takeover bid represent a daunting froup . sir james built his fortune in britain in the 1970 's , and spent much of this decade acting as a corporate_raider pouncing on undervalued companies in the united_states . he bought the crown zellerbach corporation in 1985 , disposing of most of its assets soon after , and he also bought large stakes in goodyear and grand union . sir james also sold off most of his holdings in the summer of 1987 , so he escaped more or less unscathed from the marked crash . in march , he announced that he was looking for investments , saying he would use the anglo leasing group , headed by mr . rothschild , as a vehicle . in may , mr . goldsmith , said to be worth at least 2 billion , flexed his muscles after a long layoff , and his group paid 650 million for a stake in ranks hovis mcdougall , a leading british food company .	has a location of britain
lead a computer virus struck personal_computers in britain today , wiping out program files and causing problems for businesses , a computer expert said . a computer virus struck personal_computers in britain today , wiping out program files and causing problems for businesses , a computer expert said . hundreds of personal computer users found that the virus was programmed to delete files on friday the 13th , said alan solomon , managing director of s and s enterprises , a data recovery center in chesham . the virus slowed computers made by international_business_machines corporation and compatible models , said mr . solomon , who is also chairman of a group people who use i.b.m . personal_computers . telephone lines to the center were busy with calls for help , he said . ''it has been frisky and hundreds of people , including a large firm with over 400 computers , have telephoned with their problems , '' he said . a spokesman for i.b.m . in portsmouth said the virus might be a previously known virus from jerusalem that struck on a previous friday the 13th . he confirmed that the virus had wiped out files in personal_computers made by i.b.m . and in compatible machines . the virus appears to affect the microsoft corporation software known as ms dos , which controls the internal operations of personal_computers , the spokesman said . he said he did not know whether computers outside britain or larger computers were affected . in the united_states , several computer security experts said today they had not heard any reports the virus had crossed the atlantic . a computer virus is a rogue program designed to reproduce and infiltrate itself through links between computers .	has a location of britain
whether it is with scorn , anger or resignation , most computer experts and year 2000 program managers brush off suggestions that they overreacted to the y2k threat , taken in by computer companies and consultants positioned to profit from fear . still , like the skeptics , many wonder how did countries that started so late and appeared to do so little manage to enter 2000 as smoothly as nations like the united_states and britain that got an early jump ? ''that question is plaguing all of us , although some people wo n't admit it , '' said maggie parent , morgan_stanley dean_witter 's representative to global 2000 , an international banking group formed to coordinate and stimulate year 2000 work . ''we expected there to be some significant blowouts . '' a world_bank survey published last january said that just 54 of 139 developing_countries had year 2000 programs outlined and only 21 were taking concrete steps to prepare . japan , china , italy and venezuela showed up as high profile question marks in various studies . paraguay 's year 2000 coordinator said last summer the country would experience so many disruptions its government would have to impose martial_law . russia , ukraine , belarus and moldova were seen as so risky that the state_department issued travel advisories and called nonessential personnel home . so what accounts for the surprisingly quiet rollover ? computer experts cite several factors . even they may have underestimated how hard many countries worked in the last few months and how much help came from others that started early . and in many cases , assessments of overseas readiness were based on scarce or vague data . but the simplest if most embarrassing explanation is that some public and private analysts who testified before congress and were widely quoted overestimated the world 's dependence on computer technology . most countries had much less to do to prepare because they are far less computerized than the united_states . the computers they do have are much less likely to be tied together in complex systems and are often so old that they run much simpler software , according to louis marcoccio , year 2000 research director for the gartner group , a technology consulting_firm . at a briefing last week on why pentagon analysts overestimated the risks in many countries , deputy defense secretary john hamre said , ''if we had a failing , it may be that we extrapolated to the rest of the world the kind of business practices that we have developed here . '' once adjustments are made for technology dependence , some analysts say , the investment of the united_states and other pacesetters in year 2000 preparations was not that far out of line with those that started late . but the figures from many countries are so unreliable that it is hard to be sure . russia , for example , is estimated to have spent anywhere from 200 million to 1 billion . mr . marcoccio suspects the lower figures are closest to the truth , but he adds that based on the government 's estimate that the united_states spent 100 billion , ''if russia spent 400 million , they spent proportionally more than the united_states , because the united_states is 300 times more reliant on computers . '' such assessments lead down a pathway that only a statistician could love . use gartner 's estimate that the united_states spent 150 billion to 225 billion , and the comparable russia investment jumps to a minimum of 500 million . tamper with gartner 's guess that the united_states is 300 times as computer dependent , and figures dance another direction . but nearly everyone agrees that the figures for the united_states include substantial sums toward preparations abroad by american multinationals . motorola said its 225 million year 2000 budget included not just repairs at its overseas factories but , for example , helping its asian suppliers pinpoint potential flaws . the federal_government picked up part of the tab for foreign nations , paying for many of them to send representatives to the first united_nations meeting on year 2000 in late 1998 . it distributed hundreds of thousands of cd 's in 10 languages providing suggestions for organizing year 2000 projects . the defense_department provided 8 million to set up a joint observation_post in colorado as insurance against miscommunication that could lead to missiles' being launched . such aid played a bigger role in helping late starters catch up than most people realize , some experts say . as john a . koskinen , chairman of the president 's council on year 2000 conversion , sees it , hype about the magnitude of the problem misled fewer people than hype about the impossibility of getting it fixed . ''this was a process that could move faster than the preparedness surveys , '' mr . koskinen said , noting that alarming press_releases and testimony frequently relied on research that was obsolete within weeks . it helped that repair efforts became less expensive toward the end because of the experience gained by those who did the work early , according to brian robbins , senior vice_president in charge of the year 2000 project at chase . by 1998 , the pacesetters were far enough along for a sense to develop that others were lagging , and fears about the consequences began building . there were extenuating_circumstances in some cases , like the economic slump in asia , and many realized the problems would not be as daunting as in the united_states . but with time short , industry groups like global 2000 and a few countries began trying a variety of tactics to accelerate year 2000 preparations . still , many of those most familiar with the relative preparedness and spending levels in many countries wonder if it will be possible to figure out why things went so smoothly . information was always hard to get and compare since sources varied so widely in what costs they attributed to year 2000 work . many countries have not included labor costs in their year 2000 figures while the united_states and britain have , but practices have varied_widely . now that 2000 has arrived , the pressure to sort out such data is disappearing . still , questions will not go away . what actually happened might figure in insurance lawsuits because if courts were to decide insurers were liable for the money companies spent to avoid problems , the insurers would undoubtedly cite the success of laggards and low spenders as a sign that budgets for american companies were bloated . more broadly though , comparing preparations and the results achieved may shed valuable light on cultural differences in how technology is set up and managed , according to edward tenner , author of ''why things bite back . '' that in turn could help society deal with problems like global_warming and the proper use of biotechnology . ''we really need to look at the sociology of computing in detail , '' he said .	has a location of britain
the british_government has commissioned the royal society and the royal academy of engineering to study the fast growing field of nanotechnology and make recommendations on how it should be regulated , the two groups said wednesday . nanotechnology deals with materials whose size is measured in billionths of a meter , which is roughly the size of molecules . the study will look at the state of current research and where the field is likely to be in 10 years and beyond , said professor ann dowling , an engineering expert from cambridge_university , who will lead the study . it will also consider environmental and social implications . the report is expected to be completed by april . barnaby j . feder ( nyt )	has a location of britain