saudi ministry to employ women women will be employed in saudi arabia s foreign ministry for the first time this year  foreign minister prince saud al-faisal has been reported as saying.  the move comes as the conservative country inches open the door to working women. last year  crown prince abdullah  the de-facto ruler  told government departments to put plans in place for employing women. but progress has been slow  reports from the country say.  earlier this week  the local arab news said labour minister ghazi al-gosaibi had  caused uproar  when he said his ministry was having difficulty hiring women because they demanded segregated offices. the newspaper said many saudi women found his explanation  a pitiful excuse for not employing women . women now make up more than half of all graduates from saudi universities but only 5% of the workforce.  our educational reforms have created a new generation of highly-educated and professionally trained saudi women who are acquiring their rightful position in saudi society   arab news quoted prince saud as saying.  i am proud to mention here that this year we shall have women working in the ministry of foreign affairs for the first time.


minister hits out at yukos sale russia s renationalisation of its energy industry needs to be reversed  a senior government figure has warned.  economy minister german gref told the kommersant newspaper that direct state involvement in oil was  unjustified . his comments follow the sale of much of oil giant yukos to cover back taxes - a deal which effectively took most of the firm s assets into public ownership. on 28 december  another senior economic adviser called the sale  the swindle of the century . yuganskneftegaz  the unit which produced 60% of yukos  output  had been seized and sold in december for less than $10bn to a previously unknown firm called baikal.  baikal promptly passed into the hands of state-controlled firm rosneft  itself shortly to merge with state gas giant gazprom.  we used to see street hustlers do this kind of thing   andrei illarionov - then economic adviser to president vladimir putin - told a press conference.  now officials are doing it.  within days  he was stripped of most of his responsibilities.  mr gref  a well-known opponent of nationalisation in competitive parts of the market  was keen to distance himself from mr iliaronov s comments. the privatisation of companies such as yukos in the 1990s had been badly handled  he said. but he stressed that the government needed to get out of oil.  i think that rosneft and yuganskneftegaz  should it become a state-owned company  must be privatized   he said.   today our government is ineffective and state companies  as a result  are for the overwhelming part ineffective as well.  and he warned that using back taxes to deal with firms like yukos - a technique now being applied by the kremlin to several other firms - was a mistake.  if we follow that logic  we should nationalise all businesses   he said. many large russian companies  particularly in the energy sector  use complex webs of offshore companies to avoid taxes.  mr gref also poured cold water on president putin s promises of doubled economic growth within a decade. the assault on yukos  assets has been widely blamed for a slowdown in economic growth in recent months.  the task is not simply to double gdp; instead it is to use gdp to qualitatively improve people s lives   mr gref told kommersant.  we don t need simply to increase gdp  but to improve its structure.  instead of focusing on headline growth figures  russia needed to focus on better institutions  such as a more efficient - and less corrupt - court system.


executive trio leave aer lingus three senior executives of ireland s state-owned airline  aer lingus  are set to leave early on 28 january after accusations of a conflict of interest.  the trio are chief executive willie walsh  chief financial officer brian dunne and chief operations officer seamus kearney. the three have refused to confirm reports they plan to launch a private airline in competition with aer lingus. they announced in november they would quit in may  but did not give a reason. that decision had followed an announcement by irish prime minister bertie ahern - who is still considering the future of the airline - which ruled out a proposed management buy-out of aer lingus. mr walsh denied they had been forced out early because of the reports claiming they were set to launch a competitor airline.   what i do after i leave aer lingus is still too early to say   mr walsh told ap news agency on wednesday.  i have opportunities open to me. brian and seamus are in the equally fortunate position.  he said he had received more than 40 business proposals  mostly aviation-related  since the trio announced their resignations two months ago. mr walsh said there was no conflict of interest  and  if he was to launch a rival airline or join an existing competitor   this thing happens in every business .  there s absolutely no question of a conflict of interest. i ve been completely focused on my responsibilities at aer lingus   he told ap.  this week opposition politicians had called on the irish government to make an urgent decision on the future of the airline. on wednesday irish transport minister martin cullen said in a statement:  a conflict of interest cannot  should not and will not be allowed to arise between their current roles at aer lingus and their future career intentions.  last friday the minister had announced he was to advertise for three senior executives for aer lingus. mr walsh  who took charge in 2000  and his team have earned praise for turning aer lingus around  by cutting air fares and staff  and re-positioning it as a low-fare airline to rival ryanair. the company is 85% owned by the government and 15% by its staff.


long life promised for laptop pcs scientists are working on ways to ensure laptops can stay powered for an entire working day.  building batteries from new chemical mixes could boost power significantly  say industry experts. the changes include everything from the way chips for laptops are made  to tricks that reduce the power consumption of displays. ever since laptops appeared the amount of time they last between recharges has been a frustration for users.  a survey carried out in 2000 by forrester research found that the shortness of battery life was the most complained about feature of laptops.  the focus back then was more on performance and features   said mike trainor  chief mobile technology evangelist for chip giant intel.   for most of the 90s battery life was stuck on two to 2.5 hours.  but now  he said  laptops can last much longer. it was not just a case of improving battery life by squeezing more out of the lithium ion power packs  he explained. other changes are needed to get to the holy grail of a laptop running for about eight hours before needing a recharge.  lithium ion is never going to get there by itself   he said.  the industry has done a great job of wringing all possible energy storage out of that technology that they can.  some new battery chemistries promise to cram more power into the same space  said mr trainor  though work still needed to be done to get them successfully from the lab to manufacturing. he was sceptical that fuel cells would develop quick enough to take over from solid batteries even though they have the potential to produce several times more energy than lithium ion power packs.  in fuel cells you need to have pumps and separators and evaporation chambers   he said.  it s a mini energy plant that needs to be shrunk and shrunk and shrunk.   intel has been working with component makers to test energy consumption on all the parts inside a laptop and find ways to make them less power hungry.  this work has led to the creation of the mobile pc extended battery life (ebl) working group that shares information about building notebooks that are more parsimonious with power. some of the improvements in power use come simply because components on chips are shrinking  said mr trainor. intel has also changed the way it creates transistors on silicon to reduce the power they need. on a larger scale  said mr trainor  improvements in the way that voltage regulators are made can reduce the amount of power lost as heat and make a notebook more energy efficient. also  said mr trainor  research is being done on ways to cut energy consumption on displays - currently the biggest power guzzler on a laptop. many laptop makers have committed to creating 14 and 15 inch screens that draw only three watts of power. this is far below the power consumption levels of screens in current notebooks.  if we can get close to eight hours that s a place that people see as extraordinarily valuable that s what the industry has to deliver   mr trainor said.


millions go missing at china bank two senior officials at one of china s top commercial banks have reportedly disappeared after funds worth up to $120m (£64m) went missing.  the pair both worked at bank of china in the northern city of harbin  the south china morning post reported. the latest scandal at bank of china will do nothing to reassure foreign investors that china s big four banks are ready for international listings. government policy sees the bank listings as vital economic reforms. bank of china is one of two frontrunners in the race to list overseas. the other is china construction bank. both are expected to list abroad during 2005.  they shared a $45bn state bailout in 2003  to help clean up their balance sheets in preparation for a foreign stock market debut.  however  a report in the china-published economic observer said on monday that the two banks may have scrapped plans to list in new york because of the cost of meeting regulatory requirements imposed since the enron scandal. bank of china is the country s biggest foreign exchange dealer  while china construction bank is the largest deposit holder. china s banking sector is burdened with at least $190bn of bad debt according to official data  though most observers believe the true figure is far higher. officially  one in five loans is not being repaid. attempts to strengthen internal controls and tighten lending policies have uncovered a succession of scandals involving embezzlement by bank officials and loans-for-favours. the most high-profile case involved the ex-president of bank of china  wang xuebing  jailed for 12 years in 2003. although  he committed the offences whilst running bank of china in new york  mr wang was head of china construction bank when the scandal broke. earlier this month  a china construction bank branch manager was jailed for life in a separate case.  china s banks used to act as cash offices for state enterprises and did not require checks on credit worthiness. the introduction of market reforms has been accompanied by attempts to modernise the banking sector  but links between banks and local government remain strong. last year  china s premier  wen jiabao  targeted bank lending practices in a series of speeches  and regulators ordered all big loans to be scrutinised  in an attempt to cool down irresponsible lending. china s leaders see reforming the top four banks as vital to distribute capital to profitable companies and protect the health of china s economic boom. but two problems persist. first  inefficient state enterprises continue to receive protection from bankruptcy because they employ large numbers of people. second  many questionable loans come not from the big four  but from smaller banks. another high profile financial firm  china life  is facing shareholder lawsuits and a probe by the us securities and exchange commission following its 2004 new york listing over its failure to disclose accounting irregularities at its parent company.


tate & lyle boss bags top award tate & lyle s chief executive has been named european businessman of the year by a leading business magazine.  iain ferguson was awarded the title by us publication forbes for returning one of the uk s  venerable  manufacturers to the country s top 100 companies. the sugar group had been absent from the ftse 100 for seven years until mr ferguson helped it return to growth. tate s shares have leapt 55% this year  boosted by firming sugar prices and sales of its artificial sweeteners.   after years of a sagging stock price and a seven-year hiatus from the ftse 100  one of britain s venerable manufacturers has returned to the vaunted index   forbes said. mr ferguson took the helm at the company in 2003  after spending most of his career at consumer goods giant unilever. tate & lyle  which was an original member of the historic ft-30 index in 1935  operates more than 41 factories and 20 more additional production facilities in 28 countries. previous winners of the forbes award include royal bank of scotland chief executive fred goodwin and former vodafone boss chris gent.


federer breezes into semi-finals roger federer reached the last four of the qatar open with an easy 6-1 6-2 win over seventh seed feliciano lopez.  the swiss world number one reeled off a series winners to outclass the spaniard and set up a semi-final match against russian nikolay davydenko. federer  who lost in the quarter-final in his last qatar appearance in 2003  was happy with his form.  i think i played better than against greg rusedski and i am happy i am playing so well   said the top seed. lopez showed glimpses of resolve early in the second set when he held his first service game and came close to breaking federer. but the swiss saved a break point and promptly broke serve in the following game to seize control. davydenko  meanwhile  upset french third seed sebastien grosjean 2-6 6-3 6-2. fabrice santoro completed a miserable day for france when he was forced to retire when 6-2 3-0 down to albert costa. spaniard costa will next face croatian ivan ljubicic after the sixth seed beat rafael nadal 6-2 6-7 (3/7) 6-3.


parry firm over gerrard listen to the full interview on sport on five and the bbc sport website from 1900 gmt.  but parry  speaking exclusively to bbc sport  also admits gerrard  who has been constantly linked with chelsea  will have the final say on his future. he told bbc five live:  steven is above money. he is the future of liverpool.  it doesn t matter if it s £30m  £40m or £50m  we will not accept offers. but we are also realistic enough to know we can t keep steven against his will.  on the subject of liverpool s finances  parry also revealed the club is ready to explore the possibility of a sponsorship deal for its proposed new stadium.  and responding to criticism from bbc sport pundit and former liverpool stalwart alan hansen  he insisted talks on new investment are ongoing  but added the door has not closed on shareholder and lifelong fan steve morgan. parry joined liverpool as chief executive in july 1998 from a similar role at the premier league. there have been several highs and lows during his time in charge at anfield - and he had a busy summer  overseeing the arrival of new manager rafael benitez and managing to hold on to steven gerrard.  on the subject of liverpool s captain and prize asset  parry revealed real madrid  did  ask for an option on the england midfield man during negotiations for striker fernando morientes. he said:  they were looking for ways of saying they got more out of the deal for fernando morientes  but the response to real madrid was the same - steven is not for sale.  but when asked if gerrard would be a liverpool player on the first day of next season  parry said:  i sincerely hope he will be. steven knows my views. he knows rafa s views.  we have re-affirmed recently to steven that we are trying to build a team around him. we crave success as much as he does. we know he s ambitious and nobody can argue with that.   i think steven would dearly love to win things with liverpool more than he d like to do anything else.  we all want to see progress by next season. he s not alone in that. there are a lot of other players who feel the same  so we all have a common aim.  it is expected chelsea will test liverpool with a £30m-plus bid in the summer - but parry claims he will be in no mood to listen.  there have been a lot of open secrets about steven  most of which have been complete myths. it is suggested we had a deal tied up last summer. we didn t had an offer last summer   parry explained.  we had told chelsea that as far as we were concerned he was not for sale and we didn t want to sell him. in reality it didn t go beyond that.  maybe there will be an offer in the summer. maybe there won t.   our position is we want steven to stay  but we are also realistic enough and have enough respect for steven - and he has enough respect for us - to know that it is his decision that will be crucial.  you are not going to keep a player like steven against his will. that just doesn t work  but any idea we are going to accept offers for steven and then tell him  by the way we ve decided to sell you  is not on the agenda. you can forget that.  parry is currently in the process of finalising funding for liverpool s new stadium in stanley park  which is set to open in 2007. and he confessed arsenal s £100m deal with emirates to sponsor their new ground - complete with naming rights - has given the anfield club serious food for thought. he said:  i have to say historically it is something i have been against  and i have been on record as saying that  but i think the size of the arsenal deal is a real eye-opener.   i would say in the past deals have been done frankly far too cheaply and it just hasn t even been worth contemplating.  but the arsenal deal is the sort of deal that causes you to draw breath and say  wow - that s interesting.   my personal point of view is that i would find it a hell of a lot more palatable than a shared stadium.  some liverpool fans would find such a move highly controversial  but parry countered:  i recognise it would be an emotive issue for many supporters  but you look at the amount of money available and it could go into the team.  if it was the right partner how strong an issue is it  time will tell.  i think the stadium will always be anfield  not least because of where it is  but do we need to investigate the possibilities of sponsorship  i think it would be remiss not to.  that s not to say we have made a decision that we will go down that road  but i think it is clearly something we have to explore.   on the subject of possible new investment  parry revealed liverpool are still in negotiations with a mystery investor  with rumours of interest from the middle east. that prompted the withdrawal of tycoon steve morgan  who got frustrated by failed bids and what he claimed was indecision by the board. he also accused liverpool of using him as  a stalking horse  to attract other bids  but parry explained:  steve has never been used as a stalking horse. there s no need  and that is not the way we do business.  we had discussions with steve over the course of 2004. i think we came close to concluding a deal in the summer but it didn t happen.  quite genuinely  the new interest did appear relatively late in the day just prior to the agm in december  and as i have said it was of such potential magnitude  and that potential is so exciting  we felt we had to evaluate it. we are still evaluating it.  steve s interest was taken very much on its own merits. his enthusiasm for the club is there for all to see and who knows what the next few months will hold   the door isn t closed on anything. we had a perfectly sensible dialogue with steve last year.  we have a common interest in making liverpool successful. that s a dream we all share  so as far as i m concerned the door is not closed.   i would take £50m if we had no investment  but if we did  keep him. as for the stadium  if it gets us cash what difference does it make really   £50m for gerrard  i don t care who you are  the directors would take the money and it is the way it should be. we cannot let that sum of money go  despite gerrard s quality.  through a cleverly worded statement  the club has effectively forced gerrard to publicly make the decision for himself  which i think is the right thing to do.  critical time for liverpool with regards to gerrard. ideally we would want to secure his future to the club for the long term. i am hoping he doesn t walk out of the club like michael owen did for very little cash.  £50m realistically would allow rafa to completely rebuild the squad  however  if we can afford to do this and keep gerrard we will be better for it. i would however be happy with gerrard s transfer for any fee over £35m.  parry s statements are clever in that any future gerrard transfer cannot be construed as a lack of ambition by the club to not try and keep their best players. upping the ante is another smart move by parry.  i would keep gerrard. no amount of money could replace his obvious love of the club and determination to succeed.  the key is if gerrard comes out and says that he is happy. clearly  if he isn t  then we would be foolish not to sell. the worrying thing is who would you buy (or who would come) pending possible non-champions league football.


gamers could drive high-definition tv  films  and games have been gearing up for some time now for the next revolution to transform the quality of what is on our screens.  it is called high-definition - hd for short - and it is already hugely popular in japan and the us. it is set  according to analysts  to do for images what cds did for sound. different equipment able to receive hd signals is needed though and is expensive. but europe s gamers may be the early adopters to drive demand. europeans will have to wait until at least 2006 until they see mainstream hdtv.  to view it  it needs to be transmitted in hd format  and people need special receivers and displays that can handle the high-quality resolution. the next generation of consoles  however  are expected to start appearing at the end of 2005  start of 2006. and most new computer displays and plasma sets are already capable of handling such high-resolution pictures.  in the next generation [of consoles] hd support is mandatory   dr mark tuffy games systems director at digital content firm thx told the bbc news website.  every game is going to be playable in hd.  so consumers who have gone out and spent all this money on hdtvs  and who have no content to watch  are going to be blown away by these really high-detail pictures.  it s going to change really the way they look at gaming.   at the end of last year  chris deering  sony s european president  made a prediction that 20 million european households would have hdtv sets by 2008. a previous prediction from analysts datamonitor put the figure at 4.6 million by 2008  an increase from an estimated 50 000 sets at the end of 2003. but those in europe may see little point in buying what is quite an expensive bit of technology - about £2 000 - if there are few programmes or films to watch on them. satellite broadcaster bskyb is planning hdtv services in 2006 and the bbc intends to produce all of its content in hd by 2010.  until broadcast rights  format standards - and the practicalities of updating equipment - are agreed  tv content will be limited. all tv images are made up of pixels which go across the screen  and scan lines which go down the screen. most standard uk tv pictures are made up of 625 lines and about 700 pixels. hd offers up to 1 080 active lines  with each line made up of 1 920 pixels. this means the picture is up to six times as sharp as standard tv.  probably  in the uk [gaming] is going to be the only thing you are going to really be able to show off  as in  look what this tv can do   until hd is really adopted by broadcasters   explains dr tuffy. but gamers are also the ideal target audience for hd because they always crave better quality graphics  and more immersive gaming experiences. they are used to spending money on hardware to match a game s requirements. demographics have changed too and the  sweet spot  for the games industry is the gamer in his or her late 20s. this means they are likely to have higher disposable incomes and can afford the price of big-screen  high-definition display technologies and hd projectors  earlier than others.  higher capacity storage discs  such as hd-dvd and blue-ray   are set to be standard in the next round of games consoles - allowing developers more room for detailed graphics.  for console developers though  hd offers some production changes. it could make games production slightly more expensive  thinks dr tuffy.  but we may see the cross-platform development of games becoming more common because they will more easily be able to take a pc game and apply it to a console   he says.  you are literally going to get to the point  with a lord of the rings game for example  is going to be closer and closer to the actual film  especially the cgi stuff from the dvd.  and the transition when they move from a cut scene to the game  just now they have almost got it seamless.  with hd  he says  the transition will be completely seamless and the same quality as the big-screen cinema release. this could herald an increasing convergence between the film and gaming industry. but it may not be until the generation after the next games consoles where the two industries really collide. at that point  says dr tuffy  games could become more or less interactive movies.


sec to rethink post-enron rules the us stock market watchdog s chairman has said he is willing to soften tough new us corporate governance rules to ease the burden on foreign firms.  in a speech at the london school of economics  william donaldson promised  several initiatives . european firms have protested that us laws introduced after the enron scandal make wall street listings too costly. the us regulator said foreign firms may get extra time to comply with a key clause in the sarbanes-oxley act.  the act comes into force in mid-2005. it obliges all firms with us stock market listings to make declarations  which  critics say  will add substantially to the cost of preparing their annual accounts.  firms that break the new law could face huge fines  while senior executives risk jail terms of up to 20 years. mr donaldson said that although the act does not provide exemptions for foreign firms  the securities and exchange commission (sec) would  continue to be sensitive to the need to accomodate foreign structures and requirements . there are few  if any  who disagree with the intentions of the act  which obliges chief executives to sign a statement taking responsibility for the accuracy of the accounts. but european firms with secondary listings in new york have objected - arguing that the compliance costs outweigh the benefits of a dual listing. the act also applies to firms with more than 300 us shareholders  a situation many firms without us listings could find themselves in.  the 300-shareholder threshold has drawn anger as it effectively blocks the most obvious remedy  a delisting. mr donaldson said the sec would  consider whether there should be a new approach to the deregistration process  for foreign firms unwilling to meet us requirements.   we should seek a solution that will preserve investor protections  without turning the us market into  one with no exit   he said. he revealed that his staff were already weighing up the merits of delaying the implementation of the act s least popular measure - section 404 - for foreign firms. seen as particularly costly to implement  section 404 obliges chief executives to take responsibility for the firm s internal controls by signing a compliance statement in the annual accounts. the sec has already delayed implementation of this clause for smaller firms - including us ones - with market capitalisations below $700m (£374m).  a delegation of european firms visited the sec in december to press for change  the financial times reported.  it was led by digby jones  director general of the uk s confederation of british industry (cbi) and included representatives of basf  siemens and cadbury schweppes. compliance costs are already believed to be making firms wary of us listings. air china picked the london stock exchange for its secondary listing in its $1.07bn (£558m) stock market debut last month. there are also rumours that two chinese state-run banks - china construction bank and bank of china - have abandoned plans for multi-billion dollar listings in new york later this year. instead  the cost of sarbanes-oxley has persuaded them to stick to a single listing in hong kong  according to press reports in china.


tsunami cost hits jakarta shares the stock market in jakarta has seen its biggest slide in a month  after the country doubled the likely cost of rebuilding from the asian tsunami.  the fall came as indonesia said it expected debt repayments of up to 30 trillion rupiah ($3.2bn; £1.7bn) to be frozen to help pay for the recovery. by monday s close  the jakarta stock exchange was down 2.1% at 1 011.15. bar a slight dip at the new year  the jse had risen steadily by 4.7% since the tsunami hit on 26 december. construction and property companies in particular have gained ground  although banks were among the main fallers on monday.  so far  more than 100 000 people are believed to have been killed in indonesia  the country closest to the earthquake which triggered the great wave.  on friday  the government said its five-year estimate of rebuilding costs for banda aceh province - much of which was flattened by the quake and the tsunami - was 20 trillion rupiah ($2.2bn; £1.1bn)  twice what it had previously estimated. that cost could be defrayed by temporary debt relief. on monday  indonesian economy minister aburizal bakrie told reporters that the paris club group of creditor countries was expected to freeze 20-30bn rupiah in payments due in 2005 and 2006.  we hope we can resume the repayments at least from 2007   mr bakrie said. french finance minister herve gaymard said on sunday that the paris club had already agreed to a moratorium on repayments for tsunami-hit countries ahead of its meeting on 12 january.


koubek suspended after drugs test stefan koubek says he has been banned for three months by the international tennis federation (itf) after testing positive for a banned substance.  the world number 60 failed a routine drugs test at this year s french open but now plans to lodge an appeal. koubek believes an injection given to him by an austrian doctor to treat a wrist injury is to blame for producing traces of the substance in his system.  i have acted correctly   the 27-year-old austrian said in a statement. koubek  who defeated britain s greg rusedski in the decisive rubber of the davis cup in september  is now set to miss the start of the season. he said   a three-month ban would mean that i not only will miss the australian open  but also the davis cup in australia.


apple makes blogs reveal sources apple has won its legal fight to make three bloggers reveal who told them about unreleased products.  the bid to unmask the employees leaking information was launched in december 2004 following online articles about apple s asteroid product. now apple has won the right to see e-mail records from the three bloggers to root out the culprit. a lawyer for the three bloggers said the ruling set a dangerous precedent that could harm all news reporters.  apple s lawsuit accused anonymous people of stealing trade secrets about the asteroid music product and leaking them to the powerpage  apple insider and think secret websites. all three are apple fan sites that obsessively watch the iconic firm for information about future products. apple is notoriously secretive about upcoming products which gives any snippets of information about what it is working on all the more value. the lawsuit to reveal the names of the leakers was filed against the power page and apple insider sites.  the separate legal fight with think secret has yet to be resolved. in the ruling handed down this week by santa clara county superior court judge james kleinberg  apple can now get its hands on e-mail records from the bloggers  net providers. in making his ruling  judge kleinberg said that laws covering the divulging of trade secrets outweighed considerations of public interest. california has so-called  shield  laws which protect journalists from prosecution if what they are writing about can be shown to be in the public interest. the judge wrote:  ...it is not surprising that hundreds of thousands of  hits  on a website about apple have and will happen. but an interested public is not the same as the public interest . judge kleinberg said the question of whether the bloggers were journalists or not did not apply because laws governing the right to keep trade secrets confidential covered journalists  too. the electronic frontier foundation  which is acting as legal counsel for power page and apple insider  said the ruling had potentially wide implications.  anyone who reports on companies or the trade press should be concerned about this ruling   said eff lawyer kurt opsahl. mr opsahl said the eff was planning to appeal against the ruling because the bloggers were journalists and us federal laws stop net firms handing over copies of e-mail messages if the owner of that account does not give their consent.


gadgets galore on show at fair the 2005 consumer electronics show in las vegas is a geek s paradise with more than 50 000 new gadgets and technologies launched during the four-day event.  top gadgets at the show are highlighted in the innovations showcase  which recognises some of the hottest developments in consumer electronics. the bbc news website took an early pre-show look at some of those technologies that will be making their debut in 2005.      one of the key issues for keen gadget users is how to store all their digital images  audio and video files. the 2.5gb and 5gb circular pocket hard drive from seagate might help. the external usb drive won a ces best innovations design and engineering award and is small enough to slip into a pocket.  it is the kind of storage that appeals to people who want their pcs to look cool   said seagate.  it is all about style but it also has lots of functionality.   it is the first time you can say a hard drive is sexy   it said. in the centre of the device is a blue light that flashes while data is being written to ensure users do not unplug it when it is busy saving those precious pictures.      universal electronics  nevosl is a universal controller that lets people use one device to get at their multimedia content  such as photos  no matter where it is in their house. it can also act as a remote for home theatre and stereo systems. working with home broadband networks and pcs  the gadget has built-in wireless and a colourful  simple interface. paul arling  uei chief  said consumers face real problems when trying to get at all the files they own that are typically spread across several different devices. he said the nevo gave people a simple  single way to regain some control over digital media in the home. the nevo won two awards at ces  one as a girl s best friend award and another for innovation  design and engineering. the gadget is expected to go on sale before the summer and will cost about $799 (£425).      hotseat is targeting keen gamers with money to spend with its solo chassis gaming chair. the specially-designed chair lets gamers play in surround-sound while stretching out in their own  space . it is compatible with all the major games consoles  dvd players and pcs.  we found that kids love playing in surround sound   said jay leboff from hotseat.  we are looking at offering different types of seats  depending on the market success of this one.  the chair also lets people experience surround sound while watching videos  with wireless control for six surround sound speakers. and a drinks holder. the chair  which looks like a car seat on a skeletal frame  should go on sale in april and is expected to cost $399 (£211).      satellite radio is big business in the us. in the uk  the digital radio technology is known as dab and works on slightly different technology. eton corporation s porsche designed p7131 digital radio set will be launched both as a dab radio in the uk as well as a satellite radio set in the us. dab sets have been slow to take-off in the uk  but this one concentrates on sleek looks as much as technology.  it is for the risqué consumer   said an eton spokesperson.  we are proud of it because it has the sound quality for the audiophile and the looks for the design-conscious consumer.  the porsche radio is set to go on sale at the end of january in the us and in the first quarter of 2005 in the uk. in the us is it expected to cost $250 (£133).      the average person has a library of 600 digital images estimates the consumer electronics association  the organisation behind ces. this is expected to grow to a massive 3 420 images - or 7.2gb - in five years  time. one gadget that might help swell that collection is sanyo s tiny handheld vpc-c4 camcorder which is another innovation in design and engineering award winner. it combines high quality video and stills in a very small device. it takes mpeg4 video quality at 30 frames a second and has a four megapixel still camera. images and video are stored on sd cards  which have come down in price in recent months. a 512mb card will store about 30 minutes of video and 420 stills. the device is so tiny it can be controlled with one thumb. because images and video are stored on sd memory  it is portable to other devices and means other data like audio can be stored on the card too.      wearable technology has always promised much but failed to deliver because of lack of storage capability and poor design. mpio s tiny digital usb music players come in an array of fashionable colours  taking a leaf out of the apple ipod mini book of design and reflecting the desire for gadgets that look good. slung on a cord  the player would not look too geeky dangling discreetly from the neck. although the pendant design was launched three months ago  the device emphasises large storage as well as good looks for fashion-conscious gadget fiends. an even dinkier model  the fy500  comes out in may and will store about 256mb of music. the range of players recently won an international forum design award 2005.


lufthansa may sue over bush visit german airline lufthansa may sue federal agencies for damages after the arrival of us president george w bush disrupted flights.  lufthansa said that it may lose millions of euros as a result of air force one landing at frankfurt airport. flights were affected for an hour on wednesday morning  double the time that had been expected  leading to cancellations and delays. lufthansa accounts for six out of every 10 planes using frankfurt s airport.   we are doing research into the possibilities we have   michael lamberty  a lufthansa spokesman told the bbc.  we are checking if there is action to be taken and in which courts it could be taken.  mr lamberty explained that the company did not plan to pursue germany s air traffic controllers  organisation or the airport authority but wanted instead to see if it was possible to sue the german federal agencies that gave the orders. the company said that it had to cancel 77 short and medium-distance flights  affecting about 5 000 passengers. long-haul travellers were not disrupted.  central to the problem was that instead of half an hour  the arrival of president bush on the german leg of his european tour took the best part of an hour  lufthansa said. during that time  restrictions were put on planes taxiing  taking off and landing at frankfurt s rhein-main airport. the extra time taken by president bush and his entourage meant that there was a knock-on effect that led to significant delays. mr lamberty said that 92 outgoing flights and 86 income flights were delayed by an average of an hour following president bush s arrival  affecting almost 17 000 passengers. despite the problems  mr lamberty said that it was not certain that lufthansa would take legal action.


looks and music to drive mobiles mobile phones are still enjoying a boom time in sales  according to research from technology analysts gartner.  more than 674 million mobiles were sold last year globally  said the report  the highest total sold to date. the figure was 30% more than in 2003 and surpassed even the most optimistic predictions  gartner said. good design and the look of a mobile  as well as new services such as music downloads  could go some way to pushing up sales in 2005  said analysts. although people were still looking for better replacement phones  there was evidence  according to gartner  that some markets were seeing a slow-down in replacement sales.   all the markets grew apart from japan which shows that replacement sales are continuing in western europe   mobile analyst carolina milanesi told the bbc news website.  japan is where north america and western european markets can be in a couple of years  time.  they already have tv  music  ringtones  cameras  and all that we can think of on mobiles  so people have stopped buying replacement phones.   but there could be a slight slowdown in sales in european and us markets too  according to gartner  as people wait to see what comes next in mobile technology. this means mobile companies have to think carefully about what they are offering in new models so that people see a compelling reason to upgrade  said gartner. third generation mobiles (3g) with the ability to handle large amounts of data transfer  like video  could drive people into upgrading their phones  but ms milanesi said it was difficult to say how quickly that would happen.  at the end of the day  people have cameras and colour screens on mobiles and for the majority of people out there who don t really care about technology the speed of data to a phone is not critical.  nor would the rush to produce two or three megapixel camera phones be a reason for mobile owners to upgrade on its own. the majority of camera phone models are not at the stage where they can compete with digital cameras which also have flashes and zooms.  more likely to drive sales in 2005 would be the attention to design and aesthetics  as well as music services. the motorola razr v3 phone was typical of the attention to design that would be more commonplace in 2005  she added. this was not a  women s thing   she said  but a desire from men and women to have a gadget that is a form of self-expression too. it was not just about how the phone functioned  but about what it said about its owner.  western europe has always been a market which is quite attentive to design   said ms milanesi.   people are after something that is nice-looking  and together with that  there is the entertainment side.  this year music will have a part to play in this.  the market for full-track music downloads was worth just $20 million (£10.5 million) in 2004  but is set to be worth $1.8 billion (£9.4 million) by 2009  according to jupiter research. sony ericsson just released its walkman branded mobile phone  the w800  which combines a digital music player with up to 30 hours  battery life  and a two megapixel camera. in july last year  motorola and apple announced a version of itunes online music downloading service would be released which would be compatible with motorola mobile phones. apple said the new itunes music player would become motorola s standard music application for its music phones. but the challenge will be balancing storage capacity with battery life if mobile music hopes to compete with digital music players like the ipod. ms milanesi said more models would likely be released in the coming year with hard drives. but they would be more likely to compete with the smaller capacity music players that have around four gigabyte storage capacity  which would not put too much strain on battery life.


post-christmas lull  in lending uk mortgage lending showed a  post-christmas lull  in january  indicating a slowing housing market  lenders have said.  both the council of mortgage lenders (cml) and building society association (bsa) said lending was down sharply. the cml said gross mortgage lending stood at £17.9bn  compared with £21.8bn in january last year. the bsa said mortgage approvals - loans approved but not yet made - were £2bn  down from £2.6bn in january 2004.  at the same time  the british bankers  association (bba) said lending was  weaker . overall  the bba said mortgage lending rose by £4bn in january  a far smaller increase than the £5.1bn seen in december. this was a return to the  weaker pattern  of lending seen in the last months of 2004  the bba added. however  it is the year-on-year lending comparisons which are the most striking. the cml said lending for house purchases and gross mortgage lending were 29% and 18% lower year-on-year respectively.  these figures show beyond doubt the recent slowdown in the housing market   peter williams  cml deputy director  said.


call centre users  lose patience  customers trying to get through to call centres are getting impatient and quicker to hang up  a survey suggests.  once past the welcome message  callers on average hang up after just 65 seconds of listening to canned music. the drop in patience comes as the number of calls to call centres is growing at a rate of 20% every year.  customers are getting used to the idea of an  always available  society   says cara diemont of it firm dimension data  which commissioned the survey. however  call centres also saw a sharp increase of customers simply abandoning calls  she says  from just over 5% in 2003 to a record 13.3% during last year. when automated phone message systems are taken out of the equation  where customers have to pick their way through multiple options and messages  the number of abandoned calls is even higher - a sixth of all callers give up rather than wait. one possible reason for the lack in patience  ms diemont says  is the fact that more customers are calling  on the move  using their mobile phones.  the surge in customers trying to get through to call centres is also a reflection of the centres  growing range of tasks.  once a call centre may have looked after mortgages  now its agents may also be responsible for credit cards  insurance and current accounts   ms diemont says. problems are occurring because increased responsibility is not going hand-in-hand with more training  the survey found.  in what dimension data calls an  alarming development   the average induction time for a call centre worker fell last year from 36 to just 21 days  leaving  agents not equipped to deal with customers . this  ms diemont warns  is  scary  and not good for the bottom line either. poor training frustrates both call centre workers and customers. as a result  call centres have a high  churn rate   with nearly a quarter of workers throwing in the towel every year  which in turn forces companies to pay for training new staff. resolution rates - the number of calls where a customer s query is resolved to mutual satisfaction - are running at just 50%. when the query is passed on to a second or third person - a specialist or manager - rates rise to about 70%  but that is still well below the industry target of an 85% resolution rate.  suggestions that  outsourcing  - relocating call centres to low-cost countries like india or south africa - is to blame are wrong  ms diemont says.  there are  no big differences in wait time and call resolution  between call centres based in europe or north america and those in developing countries around the world.  you can make call centres perform anywhere if you have good management and the right processes in place   she says. however  companies that decide to  offshore  their operations are driven not just by cost considerations. only 42% of them say that saving money is the main consideration when closing domestic call centre operations. half of them argue that workers in other countries offer better skills for the money. but not everybody believes that outsourcing and offshoring are the solution. nearly two-thirds of all firms polled for the survey have no plans to offshore their call centres. they give three key reasons for not making the move:  - call centre operations are part of their business  core function     - they are worried about the risk of going abroad    - they fear that they will damage their brand if they join the offshoring drive. the survey was conducted by sunovate on behalf of dimension data  and is based on in-depth questionnaires of 166 call centres in 24 countries and five continents. what are your experiences with call centres  are you happy to listen to vivaldi or greensleeves  or do you want an immediate response  and if you work in a call centre: did your training prepare you for your job


greene sets sights on world title maurice greene aims to wipe out the pain of losing his olympic 100m title in athens by winning a fourth world championship crown this summer.  he had to settle for bronze in greece behind fellow american justin gatlin and francis obikwelu of portugal.  it really hurts to look at that medal. it was my mistake. i lost because of the things i did   said greene  who races in birmingham on friday.  it s never going to happen again. my goal - i m going to win the worlds.  greene crossed the line just 0.02 seconds behind gatlin  who won in 9.87 seconds in one of the closest and fastest sprints of all time. but greene believes he lost the race and his title in the semi-finals.  in my semi-final race  i should have won the race but i was conserving energy.  that s when francis obikwelu came up and i took third because i didn t know he was there.  i believe that s what put me in lane seven in the final and  while i was in lane seven  i couldn t feel anything in the race.   i just felt like i was running all alone.  i believe if i was in the middle of the race i would have been able to react to people that came ahead of me.  greene was also denied olympic gold in the 4x100m men s relay when he could not catch britain s mark lewis-francis on the final leg. the kansas star is set to go head-to-head with lewis-francis again at friday s norwich union grand prix. the pair contest the 60m  the distance over which greene currently holds the world record of 6.39 seconds. he then has another indoor meeting in france before resuming training for the outdoor season and the task of recapturing his world title in helsinki in august. greene believes gatlin will again prove the biggest threat to his ambitions in finland. but he also admits he faces more than one rival for the world crown.  there s always someone else coming. i think when i was coming up i would say there was me and ato (boldon) in the young crowd   greene said.  now you ve got about five or six young guys coming up at the same time.


china continues breakneck growth china s economy has expanded by a breakneck 9.5% during 2004  faster than predicted and well above 2003 s 9.1%.  the news may mean more limits on investment and lending as beijing tries to take the economy off the boil. china has sucked in raw materials and energy to feed its expansion  which could have knock-on effects on the rest of the world if it overheats. but officials pointed out that industrial growth had slowed  with services providing much of the impetus. growth in industrial output - the main target of government efforts to impose curbs on credit and investments - was 11.5% in 2004  down from 17% the previous year.  still  consumer prices - at 2.4% - rose faster than in 2004  adding to concern that a sharp rise in producer prices of 7.1% could stoke inflation. and overall investment in fixed assets was still high  up 21.3% from the previous year - although some way off the peak of 43% seen in the first quarter of 2004. the result could be higher interest rates. china raised rates by 0.27 percentage points to 5.8% - its first hike in nine years - in october 2004.  despite the apparent rebalancing of the economy the overall growth picture remains strong  economists said.  there is no sign of a slowdown in 2005   said tim congdon  economist at ing barings.  china s economy is not only gathering speed thanks to domestic demand  but also from soaring sales overseas. figures released earlier this year showed exports at a six-year high in 2004  up 35%. part of the impetus comes from the relative cheapness of the yuan  china s currency. the government keeps it pegged close to a rate of 8.28 to the us dollar  - much to the chagrin of many us lawmakers who blame china for lost jobs and competitiveness. despite urging to ease the peg  officials insist they are a long way from ready to make a shift to a more market-set rate.  we need a good and feasible plan and formulating such a plan also needs time   national bureau of statistics chief li deshui told reuters.  those who hope to make a fortune by speculating on a renminbi revaluation will not succeed in making a profit.


russian oil merger excludes yukos the merger of russian gas giant gazprom and oil firm rosneft is to go ahead  but will not include yugansk  which was controversially bought last year.  the merger  backed by russian authorities  will allow foreigners to trade in gazprom shares. gazprom chief alexei miller confirmed rosneft-owned yugansk was not part of the deal and will instead be spun off. under the agreement  the state will get a controlling share of gazprom in exchange for rosneft. the state wanted to control gazprom before allowing foreigners to trade. speaking on ntv television  which is controlled by gazprom  mr miller added that yugansk  which was swallowed up by rosneft late last year  will operate as a separate  state-owned oil firm headed by current rosneft chief sergei bogdanchikov. according to reports from russian news agency interfax  the deal should go through in the next two to three months.   obtaining majority control over gazprom is the beginning of the liberalisation of the market in gazprom shares   mr miller added. by opening up trading in gazprom to foreigners  the firm will become a top emerging market play for traders. currently  foreigners can only trade in gazprom via a small issue of london-listed proxy shares.  this is positive news for the international investment community   global asset management investment chief david smith said.  the majority of investors are going to be happy   he added.  however  analysts were disappointed that yugansk would not be included in the deal.  yugansk is a heavy cashflow generator and would have been a much better asset for gazprom   renaissance capital energy analyst adam landes told reuters news agency. but he said the latest development was simply an interim step to allow foreigners to trade in gazprom.  ultimately and industrially  gazprom needs yugansk   he added. analysts said the deal would give gazprom control of 8% of russia s total oil production  an improvement on its current 2.5%  but still far less than the 20% share it would have gained had it also taken over yugansk. however  the merged group will still remain outside russia s top five oil producers - led by lukoil with 11% of the market   followed by tnk-bp which is half owned by bp  and surgutneftegaz. instead  the merged gazprom-rosneft group will rank alongside sibneft with 7% of the market. yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company in a disputed auction in december  following what many thought was a politically-motivated attack on yukos. the shell company was then snapped up by rosneft. yukos unsuccessfully sought to halt the auction by applying for bankruptcy through the us courts. the unit was auctioned by russian authorities to help pay off a $27.5bn back-tax bill.


uk economy facing  major risks  the uk manufacturing sector will continue to face  serious challenges  over the next two years  the british chamber of commerce (bcc) has said.  the group s quarterly survey of companies found exports had picked up in the last three months of 2004 to their best levels in eight years. the rise came despite exchange rates being cited as a major concern. however  the bcc found the whole uk economy still faced  major risks  and warned that growth is set to slow. it recently forecast economic growth will slow from more than 3% in 2004 to a little below 2.5% in both 2005 and 2006.  manufacturers  domestic sales growth fell back slightly in the quarter  the survey of 5 196 firms found. employment in manufacturing also fell and job expectations were at their lowest level for a year.   despite some positive news for the export sector  there are worrying signs for manufacturing   the bcc said.  these results reinforce our concern over the sector s persistent inability to sustain recovery.  the outlook for the service sector was  uncertain  despite an increase in exports and orders over the quarter  the bcc noted.  the bcc found confidence increased in the quarter across both the manufacturing and service sectors although overall it failed to reach the levels at the start of 2004. the reduced threat of interest rate increases had contributed to improved confidence  it said. the bank of england raised interest rates five times between november 2003 and august last year. but rates have been kept on hold since then amid signs of falling consumer confidence and a slowdown in output.  the pressure on costs and margins  the relentless increase in regulations  and the threat of higher taxes remain serious problems   bcc director general david frost said.  while consumer spending is set to decelerate significantly over the next 12-18 months  it is unlikely that investment and exports will rise sufficiently strongly to pick up the slack.


vickery out of six nations england tight-head prop phil vickery has been ruled out of the rest of the 2005 rbs six nations after breaking a bone in his right forearm.  vickery was injured as his club side  gloucester  beat bath 17-16 in the west country derby on saturday. he could be joined on the sidelines by bath centre olly barkley  who sat out the derby due to a leg injury. barkley will have a scan on sunday and might miss england s trip to six nations leaders ireland next weekend. the news is just the latest blow for coach andy robinson  who has seen his side lose their opening two matches in the 2005 six nations. robinson is already without world cup winners jonny wilkinson  will greenwood  mike tindall  richard hill and trevor woodman through injury. vickery has broken the radius  a large bone in his forearm. he only returned to the england side last weekend after a long-term back injury  which was followed by a fractured eye socket. and the gloucester prop was only recalled after leicester tight-head julian white suffered a neck injury which has already seen him ruled out of the ireland game.  bath prop matt stevens is the only remaining tight-head in england s training squad and could be involved against ireland. but he has to play second fiddle at club level to duncan bell  who excelled for england a against france and may now be called into the squad. the extent of barkley s injury is not yet clear but bath boss john connolly rates him no better than  50-50  to face ireland. barkley played at inside cente in england s defeat by france and if he is unable to play  england s constantly-changing midfield will once again have to be altered.  robinson could choose to recall mathew tait or henry paul  although tait endured a nightmare for newcastle against leicester on saturday and paul limped off with an ankle injury against bath. in-form leicester centre ollie smith is the other outstanding candidate  and two tries against newcastle will have boosted his chances. fly-half andy goode is also a strong contender for the match-day 22 after an immaculate kicking display on saturday. england  fourth in the six nations table with zero points  play ireland  top of the table  in dublin on 27 february  kick-off 1500 gmt.


bmw to recall faulty diesel cars bmw is to recall all cars equipped with a faulty diesel fuel-injection pump supplied by parts maker robert bosch.  the faulty part does not represent a safety risk and the recall only affects pumps made in december and january. bmw said that it was too early to say how many cars were affected or how much the recall would cost. the german company is to extend a planned production break at one of its plants due to the faulty bosch part. the dingolfing site will now be closed all next week instead of for just two days. the additional three-day stoppage will mean a production loss of up to 3 600 vehicles  bmw said  adding that it was confident it could make up the numbers later.  bosch has stopped production of the part but expects to restart by 2 february. the faulty component does not represent a safety risk but causes the motor to stall after a significant amount of mileage. when asked if bmw would be seeking compensation from bosch  the carmaker s chief executive helmut panke said:  we will first solve the problem before talking about who will pay . audi and mercedes benz were also supplied with the defective diesel fuel-injection pumps but neither of them have to recall any vehicles. a spokesman for daimlerchrysler  parent company of mercedes benz  said it will however have to halt some production. it is to close the mercedes factory in sindelfingen on monday and tuesday. audi said it had been hit by production bottlenecks  due to a shortage of unaffected bosch parts.


mixed signals from french economy the french economy picked up speed at the end of 2004  official figures show - but still looks set to have fallen short of the government s hopes.  according to state statistics body insee  growth for the three months to december was a seasonally-adjusted 0.7-0.8%  ahead of the 0.6% forecast. if confirmed  that would be the best quarterly showing since early 2002. it leaves gdp up 2.3% for the full year  but short of the 2.5% which the french government had predicted.  despite the apparent shortfall in annual economic growth  the good quarterly figures - a so-called  flash estimate  - mark a continuing trend of improving indicators for the health of the french economy. the government is reiterating a 2.5% target for 2005  while the european central bank is making positive noises for the 12-nation eurozone as a whole. also on friday  france s industrial output for december was released  showing 0.7% growth.  the numbers are good   said david naude  economist at deutsche bank.  they send a positive signal of a rebound in output... and open the way for a continuation in that trend into the new year.  service sector activity improved in january  hitting a seven-month high. but unemployment remains high at about 10%.


german bidder in talks with lse deutsche boerse bosses have held  constructive  professional and friendly  talks with the london stock exchange (lse)  its chief has said.  werner seifert met lse chief executive clara furse amid rumours the german group may raise its bid to £1.5bn ($2.9bn) from its initial £1.3bn offer. however  rival suitor euronext also upped the ante in the bid battle. ahead of talks with the lse on friday  the pan-european bourse said it may be prepared to make its offer in cash. the paris-based exchange  owner of liffe in london  is reported to be ready to raise £1.4bn to fund a bid.  the news came as deutsche boerse held its third meeting with the lse since its bid approach in december which was turned down by the london exchange for undervaluing the business. however  the lse did agree to leave the door open for talks to find out whether a  significantly-improved proposal  would be in the interests of lse s shareholders and customers. in the meantime  euronext  which combines the paris  amsterdam and lisbon stock exchanges  also began talks with the lse. in a statement on thursday  euronext said any offer was likely to be solely in cash  but added that:  there can be no assurances at this stage that any offer will be made.  a deal with either bidder would create the biggest stock market operator in europe and the second biggest in the world after the new york stock exchange. however  neither side has made a formal offer for the lse  with sources claiming such a step may still be weeks away.  deutsche boerse could also face mounting opposition to a bid at home. among sweeteners reported to have been discussed by mr seifert with ms furse were plans to move the management of its cash and eurex derivatives market to london  as well as two members of its executive board. but  hans reckers  a board member of germany s central bank  the bundesbank  said that cash trading should also remain in frankfurt  something deutsche boerse could move to the uk.  it is not just the headquarters of the boerse but also important market segments that must stay permanently in frankfurt. this has special importance for the business activities of the banks and the consultants   he said. local government officials in frankfurt s state of hessen have also spoken out against the move.  it is our wish that the headquarters stay here to maintain frankfurt s standing as the number one financial centre in continental europe   alois rhiel  its minister for economic affairs added.


yeading face newcastle in fa cup premiership side newcastle united face a trip to ryman premier league leaders yeading in the fa cup third round.  the game - arguably the highlight of the draw - is a potential money-spinner for non-league yeading  who beat slough in the second round. conference side exeter city  who knocked out doncaster on saturday  will travel to old trafford to meet holders manchester united in january. arsenal were drawn at home to stoke and chelsea will play host to scunthorpe. the only other non-league side in the draw are hinckley united  who held brentford to a goalless draw on sunday. they will meet league one leaders luton if they win their replay against martin allen s team at griffin park.  a number of premiership teams face difficult away games against championship sides on the weekend of 8/9 january. third-placed everton visit plymouth  liverpool travel to burnley  crystal palace go to sunderland  fulham face carling cup semi-finalists watford  bolton meet ipswich  while aston villa were drawn against sheffield united. premiership strugglers norwich  blackburn  west brom are away at west ham  cardiff and preston north end respectively. southampton visit northampton  having already beaten the league two side in the carling cup earlier this season. middlesbrough were drawn away against either swindon or notts county  while spurs entertain brighton at white hart lane.  arsenal v stoke  swindon/notts co v middlesbrough  man utd v exeter  plymouth v everton  leicester v blackpool  derby v wigan  sunderland v crystal palace  wolves v millwall  yeading v newcastle  hull v colchester  tottenham v brighton  reading v stockport/swansea  birmingham v leeds  hartlepool v boston  milton keynes dons v peterborough  oldham v man city  chelsea v scunthorpe  cardiff v blackburn  charlton v rochdale  west ham v norwich  sheff utd v aston villa  preston v west brom  rotherham v yeovil  burnley v liverpool  bournemouth v chester  coventry v crewe  watford v fulham  ipswich v bolton  portsmouth v gillingham  northampton v southampton  qpr v nottm forest  luton v hinckley/brentford  matches to be played on weekend of 8/9 january.


egypt to sell off state-owned bank the egyptian government is reportedly planning to privatise one of the country s big public banks.  an investment ministry official has told the reuters news agency that the bank of alexandria will be sold sometime in 2005. the move is seen as evidence of a new commitment by the government to reduce the size of public sector. the official said the government has not yet decided whether the sale will take the form of a public flotation.  the most important thing to decide now is the method - whether by selling shares to the public or to a strategic investor from abroad   he said.  analysts say the public-sector banks have suited the government s monetary  credit and exchange policies. nevertheless  the egyptian government has spoken for years about privatising one of the big four state banks - banque misr  national bank of egypt  banque du caire and bank of alexandria. it had been expected one of the smallest of the four big public banks - bank of alexandria or banque du caire - would be sold first. the announcement reinforces the hopes of investors and international financial bodies for a revival of egypt s privatisation programme. about 190 state-run companies and facilities were sold off from the early 1990s to 1997. the appointment of mahmoud mohieldin  a reform-minded technocrat  to the new post of investment minister in july was taken as a sign that more sell-offs were on the way. both the imf and world bank have urged egypt to remove obstacles to the development of the private sector which they say has a vital role to play in reducing poverty by expanding the economy.


us gives foreign firms extra time foreign firms have been given an extra year to meet tough new corporate governance regulations imposed by the us stock market watchdog.  the securities and exchange commission has extended the deadline to get in line with the rules until 15 july 2006. many foreign firms had protested that the sec was imposing an unfair burden. the new rules are the result of the sarbanes-oxley act  part of the us clean-up after corporate scandals such as enron and worldcom. section 404 of the sox act  as the legislation is nicknamed  calls for all firms to certify that their financial reporting is in line with us rules. big us firms already have to meet the requirements  but smaller ones and foreign-based firms which list their shares on us stock markets originally had until the middle of this year.  over the past few months  delegations of european and other business leaders have been heading to the sec s washington dc headquarters to protest. they say the burden is too expensive and the timescale too short and some  particularly the uk s cbi  warned that companies would choose to let their us listings drop rather than get in line with section 404. the latest delegation from the cbi met sec officials on wednesday  just before the decision to relax the deadline was announced.  i think this signifies a change of heart at the sec   cbi director-general sir digby jones told the bbc s today programme.  they have been listening to us and to many overseas companies  who have reminded america what globalisation really means: that they can t make these rules in isolation.  the sec said it had taken into consideration the fact that foreign companies were already working to meet more onerous financial reporting rules in their home countries. the european union  in particular  was imposing new international financial reporting standards in 2005  it noted.  i don t underestimate the effort (compliance) will require... but this extension will provide additional time for those issuers to take a good hard look at their internal controls   said donald nicolaisen  the sec s chief accountant.


bt offers free net phone calls bt is offering customers free internet telephone calls if they sign up to broadband in december.  the christmas give-away entitles customers to free telephone calls anywhere in the uk via the internet. users will need to use bt s internet telephony software  known as bt communicator  and have a microphone and speakers or headset on their pc. bt has launched the promotion to show off the potential of a broadband connection to customers.  people wanting to take advantage of the offer will need to be a bt together fixed-line customer and will have to sign up to broadband online. the offer will be limited to the first 50 000 people who sign up and there are limitations - the free calls do not include calls to mobiles  non-geographical numbers such as 0870  premium numbers or international numbers. bt is keen to provide extra services to its broadband customers.  people already using bt communicator have found it by far the most convenient way of making a call if they are at their pc   said andrew burke  director of value-added services at bt retail. as more homes get high-speed access  providers are increasingly offering add-ons such as cheap net calls.  broadband and telephony are attractive to customers and bt wants to make sure it is in the first wave of services   said ian fogg  an analyst with jupiter research.  bt communicator had a quiet launch in the summer and now bt is waving the flag a bit more for it   he added.  bt has struggled to maintain its market share of broadband subscribers as more competitors enter the market. reports say that bt has lost around 10% of market share over the last year  down from half of broadband users to less than 40%. bt is hoping its latest offer can persuade more people to jump on the broadband bandwagon. it currently has 1.3 million broadband subscribers.


ad sales boost time warner profit quarterly profits at us media giant timewarner jumped 76% to $1.13bn (£600m) for the three months to december  from $639m year-earlier.  the firm  which is now one of the biggest investors in google  benefited from sales of high-speed internet connections and higher advert sales. timewarner said fourth quarter sales rose 2% to $11.1bn from $10.9bn. its profits were buoyed by one-off gains which offset a profit dip at warner bros  and less users for aol.  time warner said on friday that it now owns 8% of search-engine google. but its own internet business  aol  had has mixed fortunes. it lost 464 000 subscribers in the fourth quarter profits were lower than in the preceding three quarters. however  the company said aol s underlying profit before exceptional items rose 8% on the back of stronger internet advertising revenues. it hopes to increase subscribers by offering the online service free to timewarner internet customers and will try to sign up aol s existing customers for high-speed broadband. timewarner also has to restate 2000 and 2003 results following a probe by the us securities exchange commission (sec)  which is close to concluding.  time warner s fourth quarter profits were slightly better than analysts  expectations. but its film division saw profits slump 27% to $284m  helped by box-office flops alexander and catwoman  a sharp contrast to year-earlier  when the third and final film in the lord of the rings trilogy boosted results. for the full-year  timewarner posted a profit of $3.36bn  up 27% from its 2003 performance  while revenues grew 6.4% to $42.09bn.  our financial performance was strong  meeting or exceeding all of our full-year objectives and greatly enhancing our flexibility   chairman and chief executive richard parsons said. for 2005  timewarner is projecting operating earnings growth of around 5%  and also expects higher revenue and wider profit margins.  timewarner is to restate its accounts as part of efforts to resolve an inquiry into aol by us market regulators. it has already offered to pay $300m to settle charges  in a deal that is under review by the sec. the company said it was unable to estimate the amount it needed to set aside for legal reserves  which it previously set at $500m. it intends to adjust the way it accounts for a deal with german music publisher bertelsmann s purchase of a stake in aol europe  which it had reported as advertising revenue. it will now book the sale of its stake in aol europe as a loss on the value of that stake.


reliance unit loses anil ambani anil ambani  the younger of the two brothers in charge of india s largest private company  has resigned from running its petrochemicals subsidiary.  the move is likely to be seen as the latest twist in a feud between mr ambani and his brother mukesh. anil  45  has stepped down as director and vice-chairman of indian petrochemicals corporation (ipc). the company was not available for comment. ipc is 46%-owned by reliance industries which in turn is run by mukesh. mukesh has spoken of ownership issues between the two brothers  who took over control of the reliance empire following the death of their father in july  2002.  reliance s operations have massive reach  covering textiles  telecommunications  petrochemicals  petroleum refining and marketing  as well as oil and gas exploration  insurance and financial services. the brothers  spat has hogged headlines in india during recent weeks  despite a denial from the family that there was anything wrong. speculation has been rife about what has triggered the stand-off  with some observers blaming anil s political ambitions  others the heavy investment by mukesh and reliance in a mobile phone venture. shares of ipc dipped on the news in mumbai  but recovered to trade almost 6% higher. reliance shares added 1.7%  while reliance energy  headed by anil  jumped 7%.


virus poses as christmas e-mail security firms are warning about a windows virus disguising itself as an electronic christmas card.  the zafi.d virus translates the christmas greeting on its subject line into the language of the person receiving infected e-mail. anti-virus firms speculate that this multilingual ability is helping the malicious program spread widely online. anti-virus firm sophos said that 10% of the e-mail currently on the net was infected with the zafi virus.  like many other windows viruses  zafi-d plunders microsoft outlook for e-mail addresses and then uses mail-sending software to despatch itself across the web to new victims. to be infected users must open up the attachment travelling with the message which bears the code for the malicious bug. the attachment on the e-mail poses as an electronic christmas card but anyone opening it will simply get a crude image of two smiley faces.  the virus  subject line says  merry christmas  and translates this into one of 15 languages depending of the final suffix of the e-mail address the infected message has been sent to. the message in the body of the e-mail reads:  happy holidays  and this too is translated. on infected machines the virus tries to disable anti-virus and firewall software and opens up a backdoor on the pc to hand over control to the writer of the virus. the virus is thought to have spread most widely in south america  italy  spain  bulgaria and hungary. the original zafi virus appeared in april this year.  we have seen these hoaxes for several christmases already  and personally i prefer traditional pen and paper cards  and we recommend this to all our clients too   said mikko hypponen  who heads f-secure s anti-virus team.


indonesians face fuel price rise indonesia s government has confirmed it is considering raising fuel prices by as much as 30%.  millions of indonesians use kerosene for basic cooking  and prices have been heavily subsidised for years. president susilo bambang yudhoyono s government has said it wants to curb fuel subsidies and direct the money into aid programmes for the poor. but critics argue cutting subsidies will hurt the poorer families that his government says it wants to help. millions of people were left homeless in indonesia aceh s region following the earthquake and tsunami disaster in late december.  indonesia pays subsidies to importers in order to stabilise domestic fuel prices  but higher oil prices have forced the government to spend more on holding prices down. it spent 59.2 trillion rupiah ($6.58bn; £3.5bn) on fuel subsidies in 2004  a sum far in excess of its original projection of 14.5 trillion rupiah. since president yudhoyono s government came to power in october  it has indicated its intention of raising domestic fuel prices by cutting subsidies.  the (january to march) quarter of this year is the best time for us to increase fuel prices   said sri mulyani indrawati  state minister for national development planning.  we are still considering if a 30% hike is suitable at the moment. the sooner the better for the state budget.  the bbc s correspondent in jakarta  rachel harvey  told world business report that there was likely to be a strong public reaction to any price rise.  the big question is whether they go for one big  short  sharp shock and raise prices between 20% and 30% or whether they try to stagger it   she said. indonesia s previous government  led by president megawati sukarnoputri  also attempted to cut subsidies in 2003  but was forced to back down in the face of public protests.


business confidence dips in japan business confidence among japanese manufacturers has weakened for the first time since march 2003  the quarterly tankan survey has found.  slower economic growth  rising oil prices  a stronger yen and weaker exports were blamed for the fall. december s confidence level was below that seen in september  the bank of japan said. however  september s reading was the strongest for 13 years.  the economy is at a pause but unlikely to fall   the economy minister said.  it will feel a bit slower (next year) than this year  and growth may be a bit more gentle but the situation is that the recovery will continue   said economy minister heizo takenaka. in the bank of japan s december survey  the balance of big manufacturers saying business conditions are better  minus those saying they are worse  was 22  down from 26 in september.  japan s economy grew by just 0.1% in the three months to september  according revised data issued this month. with the recovery slowing  the world s second biggest economy is now expected grow by 0.2% in 2004. the tankan index is based on a survey of 10 227 firms. big manufacturers were even more pessimistic about the first quarter of 2005; their views suggest the march reading could go as low as 15 - still in positive territory  but weaker. the dollar s decline has strengthened the yen  making japanese exports more expensive in the us. china s attempts to cool down its fast-growing economy have also hit japanese industry s sales abroad. confidence among non-manufacturers was unchanged in the final quarter of 2004  but it is forecast to drop one point in the march survey. nonetheless  japanese firms have been stepping up capital investment  and the survey found the pace is quickening. companies reported they expect to invest 7.7% more in the year to march 2005 than the previous year - up from expectations of 6.1% increase in the september tankan.


m&s cuts prices by average of 24% marks & spencer has cut prices in london and the regions by an average of 24%  according to research from a city investment bank.  dresdner kleinwort wasserstein said:  in spite of the snow in the uk  it still feels very early to be cutting prices of spring merchandise.  stuart rose  head of m&s  said last year its prices were too high.  we are bringing in ranges at new price points to compete against mid-market retailers like next   said m&s.  next is one of m&s s biggest competitors and the move may force it to lower prices. drkw said the cuts are either to clear stock or could indicate a longer term  step change in pricing in certain areas  at m&s.  either way  this cannot be good news for m&s  margin   it added.  we have brought in quite a lot of new clothing at new price points as part of stuart rose s strategy of quality  style -and price   said the m&s spokesman. many analysts believe february is proving to be a difficult month for retailers and british retail consortium figures  due in a few weeks  are expected to reflect the tough trading environment. separately  investment bank goldman sachs produced reseach showing that a basket of 35 m&s goods is now 11% above the high-street average  compared with 43% higher last year.  it has been a strange week for m&s  which on tuesday received a statement from philip green  the billionaire bhs owner  confirming he was not rebidding for the company. this was followed the same day by mark paulsmeier  a south african financier  issuing a press release saying his paulsmeier group was interested in m&s. a sudden spike in m&s s share price followed. however  an m&s spokesman said on sunday it had no evidence that mr paulsmeier had lined up sufficient finance for a bid. he also said the takeover panel and the uk s financial watchdog the financial services authority had been in touch with m&s at the beginning of the week to find out what it knew about the paulsmeier developments.


mobiles rack up 20 years of use mobile phones in the uk are celebrating their 20th anniversary this weekend.  britain s first mobile phone call was made across the vodafone network on 1 january 1985 by veteran comedian ernie wise. in the 20 years since that day  mobile phones have become an integral part of modern life and now almost 90% of britons own a handset. mobiles have become so popular that many people use their handset as their only phone and rarely use a landline.  the first ever call over a portable phone was made in 1973 in new york but it took 10 years for the first commercial mobile service to be launched. the uk was not far behind the rest of the world in setting up networks in 1985 that let people make calls while they walked. the first call was made from st katherine s dock to vodafone s head office in newbury which at the time was over a curry house. for the first nine days of 1985 vodafone was the only firm with a mobile network in the uk. then on 10 january cellnet (now o2) launched its service. mike caudwell  spokesman for vodafone  said that when phones were launched they were the size of a briefcase  cost about £2 000 and had a battery life of little more than 20 minutes.   despite that they were hugely popular in the mid-80s   he said.  they became a yuppy must-have and a status symbol among young wealthy business folk.  this was also despite the fact that the phones used analogue radio signals to communicate which made them very easy to eavesdrop on. he said it took vodafone almost nine years to rack up its first million customers but only 18 months to get the second million.  it s very easy to forget that in 1983 when we put the bid document in we were forecasting that the total market would be two million people   he said.  cellnet was forecasting half that.  now vodafone has 14m customers in the uk alone. cellnet and vodafone were the only mobile phone operators in the uk until 1993 when one2one (now t-mobile) was launched. orange had its uk launch in 1994. both newcomers operated digital mobile networks and now all operators use this technology. the analogue spectrum for the old phones has been retired. called global system for mobiles (gsm) this is now the most widely used phone technology on the planet and is used to help more than 1.2 billion people make calls. mr caudwell said the advent of digital technology also helped to introduce all those things  such as text messaging and roaming that have made mobiles so popular.


venezuela and china sign oil deal venezuelan president hugo chavez has offered china wide-ranging access to the country s oil reserves.  the offer  made as part of a trade deal between the two countries  will allow china to operate oil fields in venezuela and invest in new refineries. venezuela has also offered to supply 120 000 barrels of fuel oil a month to china. venezuela - the world s fifth largest oil exporter - sells about 60% of its output to the united states. mr chavez s administration  which has a strained relationship with the us  is trying to diversify sales to reduce its dependence on its largest export market.  china s quick-growing economy s need for oil has contributed to record-high oil prices this year  along with political unrest in the middle east and supply bottlenecks. oil prices are finishing the year roughly 30% higher than they were in january 2004.  in 2004  according to forecasts from the ministry of commerce  china s oil imports will be 110m tons  up 21% on the previous year. china has been a net importer of oil since the mid 1990 s with more than a third of the oil and gas it consumes coming from abroad. a lack of sufficient domestic production and the need to lessen its dependence on imports from the middle east has meant that china is looking to invest in other potential markets such as latin america. mr chavez  who is visiting china  said his country would put its many of its oil facilities at the disposal of china. chinese firms would be allowed to operate 15 mature oil fields in the east of venezuela  which could produce more than one billion barrels  he confirmed. the two countries will also continue a joint venture agreement to produce stocks of the boiler fuel orimulsion. mr chavez has also invited chinese firms to bid for gas exploration contracts which his government will offer next year in the western gulf of venezuela. the two countries also signed a number of other agreements covering other industries including mining.


gardener battles to narrow win jason gardener fought all the way to the line to narrowly claim the men s 60m title at the norwich union indoor trials and aaas championships.  the world 60m champion got off to a rolling start and had to dig deep to dip ahead of mark findlay and darren chin  who both set personal bests.  it was a close race   admitted gardener.  i stumbled out the blocks but my experience told through.  i still feel there s more life in me and i believe i can go faster.  gardener s performance in sheffield could have been affected by the news  which he heard before his semi-final  that his european record had been broken frenchman ronald pognon  who will be a real threat at the european championships  set a new time of 6.45  one-hundreth of a second faster than gardener s previous mark. favourite  delivered a powerful performance to take the women s 60m title in 7.27 seconds.  you ll see me in madrid and i feel there is a lot more to come along   said the 22-year-old. katherine endacott battled hard to take second and dip under the european qualifying mark. defending champion joice maduaka had pulled out of the final with a chest infection.  was on record-breaking form as she stormed to the women s 60m hurdles crown. the 25-year-old set a new british record for the second time in seven days  clocking 7.96 seconds to finish ahead of rival diane allahgreen.  i m so happy   a tearful claxton told bbc sport.  all the years i ve been running and i m getting recognition.  claxton s time was also good enough to qualify for the european championships.  the men s 800m went to form in sheffield as  dominated the race from start to finish. the northern ireland athlete went off at a startling pace but had to hold off the challenge of welshman jimmy watkins over the final 200m to win in one minute  47.96 seconds. both mcilory and watkins  who set a life-time best of 1:48.32  had already booked their places in madrid and were again well within the qualifying time.  i had to go out and go through all the gears before the europeans and i won t run again until then   said mcilroy.  could not reach the european mark in the women s race as she crossed the line to win in 2:04.45. olympic bronze heptathlon medallist  rounded off a useful weekend with two more personal bests in sheffield. the 28-year-old reached 1.80m in the high jump and clocked 8.47secs in the heats of the 60m hurdles.  i ve surprised myself   said sotherton.  i m starting to thrive on the pressure but if i don t perform then it s not the end of the world.  pole vaulter  made a winning return to major competition after a drugs ban. the trafford athlete  who has served a two-year ban after testing positive for anabolic steroids  clinched the title with a championship record 4.25m.  also set a new championship mark in the men s triple jump title in sheffield. the 26-year-old  who has been training in australia over the winter  landed 17.30m with his final effort - the longest leap in the world this year.  i didn t have a clue   said idowu.  i ve not jumped indoors before and i just wanted the qualifying mark.  but this isn t a bad start and hopefully i ll come back from madrid with a gold medal.  nathan douglas continued his steady progress this season as he set a life-time best of 16.76m in second while jonathan moore took third.  and  resumed their rivalry in the long jump competition  both achieving the european standard. commonwealth champion morgan reached a personal best of 7.96m on his very first jump and then promptly retired with a bruised heel. olympian tomlinson tried to play catch up with his six jumps but had to settle for a season s best jump of 7.91m.  i was advised not to jump by my doctor and so i m pleased to come here and get the qualifying mark   said tomlinson.    now based at loughborough  sprinted past front runner catherine murphy in the final 100m to steal the women s 400m title. the 21-year-old ran a personal best of 53.45 seconds to win her first indoor title. wall s time was just short of the qualifying mark - something murphy already has. ireland s  took the men s title in 46.46 ahead of promising channel islands decathlete dale garland. sudanese 18-year-old rabah yusuf  who is seeking british citizenship  showed his raw talent as he burst through in third.  cleared the required 1.90m to qualify for the european championships and claim the aaas title in the women s high jump. in the men s 3 000m   powered to a new personal best of seven minutes  56.86 seconds to defend his aaas title in style. it was the first time in 11 years the eight-minute barrier has been broken at the championships and was just within the european mark.  took the women s 1500m aaas title in the absence of kelly holmes. her time of 4:19.11 was not good enough to qualify for madrid but ovens had already opted out of the championships. the men s race was won by    who had to fight off a closing pack to claim the title in 3:45.87.


o driscoll out of scotland game ireland captain brian o driscoll has been ruled out of saturday s rbs six nations clash against scotland.  o driscoll was originally named in the starting line-up but has failed to recover from the hamstring injury he picked up in the win over italy. his replacement will be named after training on friday morning. fellow centre gordon d arcy is also struggling with a hamstring injury and he will undergo a fitness test on friday to see if he can play.  kevin maggs would be an obvious replacement at centre while shane horgan could also be moved from wing. ulster wing tommy bowe could also be asked to travel with the squad to scotland as a precautionary measure. the only other change to the ireland side sees wasps flanker johnny o connor replacing denis leamy. o connor will be winning his third cap after making his debut in the victory over south africa last november.  : murphy  horgan  tbc  d arcy  hickie  o gara  stringer  corrigan  byrne  hayes  o kelly  o connell  s easterby  o connor  foley.  : sheahan  horan  o callaghan  miller  g easterby  humphreys  dempsey.


moya suffers shock loss fifth seed carlos moya was the first big name to fall at the australian open as he went down to fellow spaniard guillermo garcia-lopez on monday.  moya began the year with victory at the chennai open but looked out of sorts from the start in the melbourne heat. garcia-lopez  ranked 106 in the world  dominated from the outset and withstood a third-set rally from moya to hang on for a 7-5 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory. the 21-year-old plays kevin kim or lee hyuung-taik in the second round. garcia-lopez was delighted with the victory in only his third ever grand slam match.  i think this was the most important win of my life as carlos is one of the best players in the world   he said.  this has given me a lot of confidence. now i feel i can beat all these players.  moya said:  i was playing well before i came here. it was the perfect preparation but something was wrong today.   four-time champion andre agassi began what could be his last australian open with a convincing win over german qualifier dieter kindlmann. the 34-year-old american  who had been struggling with a hip injury earlier in the week  stormed to a 6-4 6-3 6-0 win. agassi will play france s olivier patience or germany s rainer schuettler - the man he beat in the 2003 final - in the next round.  no one was more concerned (about the injury) than myself   said eighth seed agassi.  i d worked hard to be down here and ready. but the last few days  i ve pushed through the injury and it seemed to do pretty good.  in other matches  world junior champion gael monfils made use of his wild card with a magnificent 1-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win over american robby ginepri. the 2002 champion thomas johansson fought back to beat peter luczak 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3 4-6 6-0  and french open champion gaston gaudio beat justin gimelstob 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-3. seeds dominik hrbaty  ivan ljubicic and mario ancic made comfortable progress  but former french open champion albert costa lost to bjorn phau.