lse  sets date for takeover deal  the london stock exchange (lse) is planning to announce a preferred takeover by the end of the month  newspaper reports claim.  the sunday telegraph said the lse s plan was further evidence it wants to retain tight control over its destiny. both deutsche boerse and rival euronext held talks with the london market last week over a possible offer. a £1.3bn offer from deutsche boerse has already been rejected  while euronext has said it will make an all cash bid. speculation suggests that paris-based euronext has the facilities in place to make a bid of £1.4bn  while its german rival may up its bid to the £1.5bn mark. neither has yet tabled a formal bid  but the lse is expected to hold further talks with the two parties later this week. however  the sunday telegraph report added that there are signs that deutsche boerse chief executive werner seifert is becoming increasingly impatient with the lse s managed bid process.  despite insisting he wants to agree a recommended deal with the lse s board  the newspaper suggested he may pull out of the process and put an offer directly to shareholders instead. the newspaper also claimed mr seifert was becoming  increasingly frustrated  with the pace of negotiations since deutsche boerse s £1.3bn offer was rejected in mid-december  in particular the lse s decision to suspend talks over the christmas period. meanwhile  the german exchange s offer has come under fire recently. unions for deutsche boerse staff in frankfurt have reportedly expressed fears that up to 300 jobs would be moved to london if the takeover is successful. others claim it will weaken the city s status as europe s financial centre  while german politicians are also said to be angry over the market operator s promise to move its headquarters to london if a bid is successful. a further stumbling block is deutsche boerse s control over its clearstream unit  the clearing house that processes securities transactions. lse shareholders fear it would create a monopoly situation  weakening the position of shareholders when negotiating lower transaction fees for share dealings. lse and euronext do not have control over their clearing and settlement operations  a situation which critics say is more transparent and competitive.


tv calls after carroll error spurs boss martin jol said his team were  robbed  at manchester united after pedro mendes  shot clearly crossed the line but was not given.   the referee is already wearing an earpiece so why can t we just stop the game and get the decision right   said jol after the 0-0 draw.  but at the end of the day it s so obvious that pedro s shot was over the line it s incredible.  we feel robbed but it s difficult for the linesman and referee to see it.  mendes shot from 50 yards and united goalkeeper roy carroll spilled the ball into his own net before hooking it clear. jol added:  we are not talking about the ball being a couple of centimetres or an inch or two over the line  it was a metre inside the goal.  what really annoys me is that we are here in 2005  watching something on a tv monitor within two seconds of the incident occurring and the referee isn t told about it.   we didn t play particularly well but i am pleased - even now - with a point  although we should have had three.  mendes could not believe the  goal  was not given after seeing a replay. he said:  my reaction on the pitch was to celebrate.  it was a very nice goal  it was clearly over the line - i ve never seen one so over the line and not given in my career.  it s really  really over. what can you do but laugh about it  it s a nice goal and one to keep in my memory even though it didn t count.  it s not every game you score from the halfway line.  manchester united manager sir alex ferguson sympathised with tottenham and said the incident highlighted the need for video technology.  i think it hammers home what a lot of people have been asking for and that s that technology should play a part in the game   ferguson told mutv.  what i was against originally was the time factor in video replays.  but i read an article the other day which suggested that if a referee can t make up his mind after 30 seconds of watching a video replay then the game should carry on.   thirty seconds is about the same amount of time it takes to organise a free-kick or take a corner or a goal-kick. so you wouldn t be wasting a lot of time.  i think you could start off by using it for goal-line decisions. i think that would be an opening into a new area of football.  arsenal boss arsene wenger also used the incident to highlight the need for video technology.  when the whole world apart from the referee has seen there should be a goal at old trafford  that just reinforces what i feel - there should be video evidence   said wenger.  it s a great example of where the referee could have asked to see a replay and would have seen in five seconds that it was a goal.


bank opts to leave rates on hold the bank of england has left interest rates on hold at 4.75% for a sixth month in a row.  the bank s monetary policy committee (mpc) decided to take no action amid mixed signals from the economy. but some economists predict a further rise in the cost of borrowing will come later this year. interest rates rose five times between november 2003 and august 2004 as soaring house prices and buoyant consumer data sparked inflation fears. bank of england governor mervyn king has recently warned against placing too much weight on one month s economic data  suggesting the mpc is waiting for a clearer picture to emerge. economists see next week s inflation report from the mpc as key in assessing whether a further interest rate rise is necessary to keep the economy in check.  slower consumer spending and a quieter housing market are likely to have convinced the mpc that rates should be left unchanged in recent months. inflation  however  has been rising faster than expected  hitting an annual rate of 1.6% in december - its highest level in six months. data on wednesday also showed manufacturing output rose at its fastest rate since may last month  reinforcing a view that economic growth was stronger than forecasts.  and recent house surveys from the halifax and nationwide have indicated prices are still rising  albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. philip shaw  chief economist at investec securities  said he believed rates would remain at 4.75% for the rest of the year although strong economic data could lead to a further hike.  the economic landscape has changed quite considerably over the last couple of months    he said.  growth appears stronger and the mpc may become more concerned about inflation trends.  howard archer  economist at global insight said the mpc  may well consider that the balance of risks to the growth and inflation outlook have moved from the downside to the upside .  business groups welcomed the mpc s widely-expected move to leave rates on hold and cautioned against further rises. the british chambers of commerce (bcc) said it was  concerned by the clamour in some quarters  for early interest rate increases.  we believe that these demands should be firmly resisted   said david frost  bcc director general.  manufacturing still faces extremely serious problems and is performing poorly  in spite of the recent revised figures.  ian mccafferty  chief economist at the cbi  said the mpc faced an  interesting  challenge.  consumers appear to have pulled in their horns over the holiday period  and exporters are struggling with the strength of sterling   he said.  however  the broader economy continues to show healthy growth  and the tight labour market and buoyant commodity prices are nudging inflation higher.


latest opera browser gets vocal net browser opera 8.0  due for official release at the end of next month  will be  the most accessible browser on the market   according to its authors.  the latest version of the net browser can be controlled by voice command and will read pages aloud. the voice features  based on ibm technology  are currently only available in the windows version. opera can also magnify text by up to 10 times and users can create  style sheets   its developers say. this will enable them to view pages with colours and fonts that they prefer. but the browser does not yet work well with screen reader software often used by blind people  so its accessibility features are more likely to appeal to those with some residual vision.  our mission was always to provide the best internet experience for everyone   said opera spokeswoman  berit hanson.  so we would obviously not want to exclude disabled computer users.   another feature likely to appeal to people with low vision is the ability to make pages fit to the screen width  which eliminates the need for horizontal scrolling.  the company points out that this will also appeal to anyone using opera with a handheld device. the company says that features like voice activation are not solely aimed at visually impaired people.  our idea was to take a first step in making human-computer interaction more natural   said ms hanson.  people are not always in a situation where they can access a keyboard  so this makes the web a more hands-free experience.  unlike commercially available voice recognition software  opera does not have to be  trained  to recognise an individual voice. around 50 voice commands are available and users will have to wear a headset which incorporates a microphone. the voice recognition function is currently only available in english. opera is free to download but a paid-for version comes without an ad banner in the top right hand corner and with extra support. opera began life as a research project - a spin-off from norwegian telecoms company telenor. its browser is used by an estimated 10 million people on a variety of operating systems and a number of different platforms.


big guns ease through in san jose top-seeded americans andy roddick and andre agassi survived minor scares to reach the last eight of the sap open.  agassi endured early problems against left-handed dane kenneth carlsen before sealing a 7-5 6-1 victory. and world number three roddick dropped a set to korean player hyung-taik lee  before pulling out a 6-3 3-6 6-2 win in san jose  california. seventh seed jurgen melzer came through 6-3 6-3 against xavier malisse - winner in delray beach last week. frenchman cyril saulnier  meanwhile  fired 19 aces to secure a 6-1 7-6 win over czech qualifier tomas zib.  roddick broke a racket in frustration in the third game of the second set. and afterwards was unimpressed with his form.  i m not playing great   he said.  but i m through and i m going to keep battling.  a lot of people are under the assumption that it s easy to play well every week and it s not.  it is the 12th time in 13 appearances at the event that agassi  now 34  has progressed to the quarter-final stage. he came from 0-40 down in the opening game to hold serve and gradually wore carlsen down after attacking his backhand. agassi also employed several lobs and charged to the net to unsettle the 31-year-old dane  ranked 88th in the world.  as the match went on  i got real patient and waited for my opportunities and felt pretty good   said agassi.


gb quartet get cross country call four british athletes have been pre-selected to compete at the world cross country championships in march after impressive starts to the season.  hayley yelling  jo pavey  karl keska and adam hickey will represent team gb at the event in france. yelling clinched the women s european cross country title last month and pavey followed up with bronze. keska helped the men s team to overall third place while hickey finished in 10th place on his junior debut.  winning the european cross country title meant so much to me   said yelling.  and being pre-selected for the worlds means that i can focus on preparing in the best way possible.  the 32-year-old will race alongside olympic 5 000m finalist pavey in the women s 8km race on 19 march. keska  who has made a successful return from a long-term injury lay-off  contests the men s 12km race on 20 march  while 16-year-old hickey goes in the junior men s 8km on the same day. the rest of the team will be named after the trials at wollaton park in nottingham  which take place on 5 march.


off-colour gardener storms to win britain s jason gardener shook off an upset stomach to win the 60m at sunday s leipzig international meeting.  gardener clocked 6.56 seconds to equal the meeting record and finished well ahead of germany s marc blume  who crossed the line in 6.67 secs. the world indoor champion said:  i got to the airport and my stomach was upset and i was vomiting. i almost went home.  i felt a little better sunday morning but decided i d only run in the main race. then everything went perfectly.  gardener  part of the great britain 4x100m quartet that won gold at the athens olympics  will now turn his attention to next weekend s norwich union european indoor trials in sheffield.   given i am still off-colour i know there is plenty more in the tank and i expect to get faster in the next few weeks   he said.  it s just a case of chipping away as i have done in previous years and the results will come.  scotland s ian mackie was also in action in leipzig. he stepped down from his favoured 400m to 200m to finish third in 21.72 secs. germany s alexander kosenkow won the race in 21.07 secs with dutchman patrick van balkom second in 21.58 secs. there were plenty of other senior british athletes showing their indoor form over the weekend. promising 60m hurdler  clocked a new uk record of 7.98 seconds at a meeting in norway. the 24-year-old reached the mark in her heat but had to settle for joint first place with former aaa champion diane allahgreen in the final.    who broke onto the international scene at the olympic games last season  set an indoor personal best of 16.50m in the triple jump at a meeting in ghent. that leap - 37cm short of brazilian winner jadel gregorio s effort - was good enough to qualify for the european indoor championships. at the same meeting   finished third in 7.27 seconds in a high-class women s 60m. the event was won by european medal favourite christine arron of france while belgium rival kim gevaert was second. britain s joice maduaka finished fifth in 7.35. olympic bronze heptathlon medallist  made a low-key return to action at an indoor meeting in birmingham. the 28-year-old cleared 1.76m to win the high jump and threw 13.86m in the women s shot put.


media gadgets get moving pocket-sized devices that let people carry around video and images are set to have a big year in 2005  according to industry experts.  last year saw the emergence of portable media players  such as the windows-based creative zen portable media player  the samsung yepp  the iriver pmc-100  and the archos av400 series among others. but this year  they are set to get smarter and more connected  to allow people to find more video to watch on them. archos launched its latest range of its linux-based portable media devices at the consumer electronics show in las vegas on friday. dubbed the pocket media assistant pma430  it crucially has wi-fi capability built-in for the first time.  consumers are showing a great thirst for devices that store all their media in one place for anywhere access   said henri crohas  chief of archos.  and now those consumers can stay connected and productive at the same time.  archos said the focus for the device is to be the second gadget in people s pockets  after the mobile.  unlike windows-based players  the archos av400 series devices have always been able to record from any video source  such as tvs  as well as playback. the content put onto the devices is copy protected so cannot then be swapped to another device.  recording is perhaps a crucial functionality for those who have not seen the point of portable video if there is not a lot of video to watch on it. and wi-fi connectivity opens up the possibility of content delivery via a high-speed wireless link. archos also announced that it would open up the software development kit to linux developers so that more applications could be created for the device. microsoft also made some announcements in the portable media arena at ces  primarily for us consumers though. it has agreed a content deal with personal video recorder company tivo  which bill gates also showcased in his keynote speech at ces. the tivo to go service means that us consumers will be able to take any programmes they record on their tivos and transfer it for free to watch on any of the windows-based portable media players or smartphones. it also said it had launched a service with mtv to let people watch comedy central  vh1 and country music tv on its devices. and a service is launching with msn to provide people with shortened versions of news  entertainment and other video on a subscription basis for download via the pc onto the portable devices. but the ability to record directly from tv  vcr  and digital cable and satellite boxes  which windows-based devices do not offer  certainly gives people more content to watch on the go too.  the increased capability of these devices  and the content deals that are being done  may go some way to persuading people to use them. recent research by jupiter suggested that people would prefer a device that was dedicated to music. only 13% of europeans wanted to watch video while on the move. more seemed interested in spending their cash on music-only devices.   this year  we are ready for an explosion of portable media   microsoft s mike coleman told the bbc news website.  we are very bullish about it. the fact that i can put photos on here too and share them is super-cool to the consumer   he added. the fact that europeans are far larger public transport users than americans is one reason why portable media will take off in the coming year too. there is a burgeoning market there for commuters to watch news and other programmes on their way to work. although microsoft s content distribution deals are for the us market at the moment  talks were  always on-going  with european content suppliers to offer similar services. various rights management issues have to be ironed out first however. but that does not prevent people from finding ways to create their own content to share online and swap on portable devices  particularly via those which are wi-fi enabled. the possibility is open for non-professional makers of video and audio to take advantage of the growing portable media market to distribute their work. ces  which runs from 6 to 9 january  showcases more than 50 000 new gadgets that will be hitting the shelves in 2005.


bekele sets sights on world mark olympic 10 000m champion kenenisa bekele is determined to add the world indoor two mile record at february s norwich union grand prix in birmingham.  the 22-year-old will again be chasing a record held by his compatriot and mentor haile gebrselassie  who set the mark at the same meeting in 2003.  i am still as hungry to do as much as i can in this sport   said bekele.  and aiming for the two mile world record in birmingham is the next of those targets.  gebrselassie s current record stands at eight minutes  04.69 seconds. and bekele is no stranger to overhauling world marks at the national indoor arena. the ethiopian broke the world indoor 5 000m record on his debut at the meeting last year. compatriots mulugeta wondimu  abiyote abate and markos geneti  the world indoor bronze medallist over 3000m  will race against bekele on 18 february. the meet has already attracted a crop of olympic talent. britain s 800m and 1500m champion kelly holmes is taking part in the 1000m. swedish heptathlon gold medallist carolina kluft will contest the 60m hurdles. while men s 4x100m relay gold medallists jason gardener and mark lewis-francis will go head-to-head in the 60m.


tsunami  to hit sri lanka banks  sri lanka s banks face hard times following december s tsunami disaster  officials have warned.  the sri lanka banks association said the waves which killed more than 30 000 people also washed away huge amounts of property which was securing loans. according to its estimate  as much as 13.6% of the loans made by private banks to clients in the disaster zone has been written off or damaged. state-owned lenders may be even worse hit  it said.  the association estimates that the private banking sector has 25bn rupees ($250m; £135m) of loans outstanding in the disaster zone. on one hand  banks are dealing with the death of their customers  along with damaged or destroyed collateral. on the other  most are extending cheap loans for rebuilding and recovery  as well as giving their clients more time to repay existing borrowing. the combination means a revenue shortfall during 2005  slba chairman - and commercial bank managing director - al gooneratne told a news conference.  most banks have given moratoriums and will not be collecting interest  at least in this quarter   he said. in the public sector  more than one in ten of the state-owned people s bank s customers in the south of sri lanka were affected  a bank spokesman told reuters. he estimated the bank s loss at 3bn rupees.


reboot ordered for eu patent law a european parliament committee has ordered a rewrite of the proposals for controversial new european union rules which govern computer-based inventions.  the legal affairs committee (juri) said the commission should re-submit the computer implemented inventions directive after meps failed to back it. it has had vocal critics who say it could favour large over small firms and impact open-source software innovation. supporters say it would let firms protect their inventions. the directive is intended to offer patent protection to inventions that use software to achieve their effect  in other words   computer implemented invention . the draft law suffered setbacks when poland  one of the largest eu member states  rejected its adoption twice in two months. intense lobbying on the issue has started to gain momentum in some national parliaments putting them under immense pressure. only two meps backed the draft law at the juri meeting  with one voting to abstain.  opponents of the draft directive welcomed the decision and said a new first reading of the proposals would give the eu a chance to have fuller debates about its implications in all member states. in the us  the patenting of computer programs and internet business methods is permitted. this means that the us-based amazon.com holds a patent for its  one-click shopping  service  for example. critics are concerned that the directive could lead to a similar model happening in europe. this  they fear  could hurt small software developers because they do not have the legal and financial might of larger companies if they had to fight patent legal action in court. supporters say current laws are inefficient and it would serve to even up a playing field without bringing eu laws in line with the us.


mcdonald s boss bell dies aged 44 charlie bell  the straight-talking former head of fast-food giant mcdonald s  has died of cancer aged 44.  mr bell was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in may last year  a month after taking over the top job. he resigned in november to fight the illness. joining the company as a 15-year-old part-time worker  mr bell quickly moved through its ranks  becoming australia s youngest store manager at 19. a popular go-getter  he is credited with helping revive mcdonald s sales. mr bell leaves a wife and daughter.  as we mourn his passing  i ask you to keep charlie s family in your hearts and prayers   chief executive james skinner said in a statement.  and remember that in his abbreviated time on this earth  charlie lived life to the fullest.   no matter what cards life dealt  charlie stayed centred on his love for his family and for mcdonald s.   after running the company s australian business in the 1990s  mr bell moved to the us in 1999 to run operations in asia  africa and the middle east. in 2001  he took over the reins in europe  mcdonald s second most important market. he became chief operating officer and president in 2002. mr bell took over as chief executive after his predecessor as ceo  jim cantalupo  died suddenly of a heart attack in april. having worked closely with mr cantalupo  who came out of retirement to turn mcdonald s around  mr bell focused on boosting demand at existing restaurants rather than follow a policy of rapid expansion. he had promised not to let the company get  fat  dumb and happy   and  according to reuters  once told analysts that he would shove a fire hose down the throat of competitors if he saw them drowning. mr bell oversaw mcdonald s  i m lovin  it  advertising campaign and introduced successes such as mccafe  now the biggest coffee shop brand in australia and new zealand. colleagues said that mr bell was proud of his humble beginnings  helping out behind cash tills and clearing tables when visiting restaurants.


mirza makes indian tennis history teenager sania mirza completed a superb week at the hyderabad open by becoming the first indian in history to win a wta singles title.  in front of a delirious home crowd  the 18-year-old battled past alyona bondarenko of the ukraine 6-4 5-7 6-3. mirza  ranked 134 in the world  sunk to her knees in celebration after serving out the match against bondarenko.  it is a big moment in my career and i would like to thank everyone who has been a part of my effort   she said.  this win has made me believe more in myself and i can now hope to do better in the coming days.  i wanted to win this tournament very badly since it was in my hometown.  at the australian open in january  mirza became the first indian woman to reach the third round of a grand slam before losing to eventual champion serena williams.  and a year ago  she became the youngest indian to win a professional title by claiming the doubles at the hyderabad open. mirza  playing in her first wta final  began nervously in front of a raucous home crowd - committing three double faults in her opening service game. but from 0-2 down  mirza broke serve twice in a row and held on to her advantage to take the first set. in a see-saw second set  bondarenko raced into a 5-2 lead and though mirza hauled herself level  the ukrainian broke again before finally levelling the match. mirza rediscovered the aggressive strokes that took her to the first set in the decider established a 5-2 lead. at 5-3  the stadium erupted in celebration when mirza thought she had delivered an ace to secure victory but the serve was ruled to have clipped the net. mirza eventually lost the point but to the relief of the crowd  she broke bondarenko again in the next game to clinch the title.


euro firms miss out on optimism more than 90% of large companies around the world are highly optimistic about their economic prospects  a survey of 1 300 bosses suggests.  their biggest worries are not terror threats  but over-regulation  low-cost competition and the wild ups and downs of oil prices. there is one exception: firms in western europe - but not the uk - are lacking confidence after years of slow growth. when business advisers pricewaterhousecoopers (pwc) conducted the same survey two years ago  nearly 30% of bosses were gloomy about their prospects.  global business leaders say that they are facing a two-pronged regulatory assault. after a string of corporate scandals in the united states - from enron to worldcom - the sarbanes-oxley act forces companies to be much more transparent  but doing all the paperwork costs a lot of time and money. across europe  meanwhile  all stock exchange-listed companies are currently in the process of moving to new and complex accounting standards called ifrs. hacking through the red tape can hardly be avoided  but many chief executives around the world appear to have decided on how to deal with low-cost competitors.  already  about 28% of the bosses polled for the survey say that they have moved parts of their business into low-wage countries  and another 11% plan to do so in the future. possibly as a result  the worry about low-cost competition has slightly fallen from last year  with just 54% of companies calling it a  significant threat  or  one of the biggest threats . but pwc s global chief executive  samuel dipiazza  said a growing number of companies were also concerned that moves to outsource work to cheaper countries could both hurt their reputation in their home markets and harm the quality of service they provide to their customers.  according to frank brown  global advisory leader at pwc   the trend of large companies to have global operations has one clear upside:  one risk in one region - for example the middle east - won t kill your business anymore.  surprisingly  the survey suggests that the rapid decline of the us dollar is not seen as a huge threat anymore  unlike even a year ago  when it was cited as the third-largest problem. mr dipiazza said the interviews with chief executives suggested that companies had  adjusted  to the new reality of a euro that buys $1.30 and more  while others had successfully hedged their positions and locked in more favourable exchange rates.    - for the survey  pricewaterhousecoopers interviewed 1 324 chief executives throughout the world during the last three months of 2004.


viewers to be able to shape tv imagine editing titanic down to watch just your favourite bits or cutting out the slushier moments of star wars to leave you with a bare bones action-fest.  manipulating your favourite films to make a more personalised movie is just the beginning of an ambitious new 7.5m euro (£5.1m) project funded by the european union. new media for a new millennium (nm2) will have as its endgame the development of a completely new media genre  which will allow audiences to create their own media worlds based on their specific interests or tastes. viewers will be able to participate in storylines  manipulate plots and even the sets and props of tv shows. bt is one of 13 partners involved in the project. it will be contributing software that was originally designed to spot anomalies in cctv pictures. the software uses content recognition algorithms. the three-year project will work on seven productions as it develops a set of software tools that will allow viewers to edit content to their needs.  one of the productions will be a experimental television show where the plot will be driven by text messages from the tv audience.  participants will text selected words which will impact how the characters in the drama interact. it is being developed in finland and will be shown to finnish tv audiences. another team will work on the bbc s big budget drama of mervyn peake s gothic fantasy gormenghast. it will be re-engineered to allow people to choose a variety of edited versions.  the bbc is allowing us access to the material so that we can prove the technology and the principles   explained dr doug williams of bt  who will be nm2 s technical project manager.  the tv at the moment is a relatively dumb box which receives signals. this project is about teaching the machine to look at content like lego blocks that can be reassembled to make perfect sense   he said.  at the moment we have interactive gaming and a limited form of interactive tv which usually means allowing audiences to vote on shows. we are hoping to occupy the space in-between   he added.  nm2 s co-ordinator peter stollenmayer explained that the new genre would radically alter the role of the audience.   viewers will be able to interact directly with the medium and influence what they see and hear according to their personal tastes and wishes   he said.  media users will no longer be passive viewers but become active engagers.  it will also be important that the tools are sophisticated enough to obey the complex rules of cinematography and editing said john wyver  from tv producer illuminations television limited  which is also involved in the project.  it s not just a matter of stringing together the romantic or action portions of a production   said mr wyver.  the tool has to know which bits fit together both visually  by observing the time-honoured rules that go in editing  and in terms of the story.   only then will the personalised version both make sense and be aesthetically pleasing   he added. mr wyver is planning a production entitled the golden age  about renaissance art. it will allow viewers to create a so-called media world based on their own specific areas of interest such as poetry  music and architecture. other productions that the nm2 team will make range from news  documentaries to a romantic comedy drama.


crossrail link  to get go-ahead  the £10bn crossrail transport plan  backed by business groups  is to get the go-ahead this month  according to the mail on sunday.  it says the uk treasury has allocated £7.5bn ($13.99bn) for the project and that talks with business groups on raising the rest will begin shortly. the much delayed crossrail link bill would provide for a fast cross-london rail link. the paper says it will go before the house of commons on 23 february.  a second reading could follow on 16 or 17 march.  we ve always said we are going to introduce a hybrid bill for crossrail in the spring and this remains the case   the department for transport said on sunday. jeremy de souza  a spokesman for crossrail  said on sunday he could not confirm whether the treasury was planning to invest £7.5bn or when the bill would go before parliament.  however  he said some impetus may have been provided by the proximity of an election.  the new line would go out as far as maidenhead  berkshire  to the west of london  and link heathrow to canary wharf via the city. heathrow to the city would take 40 minutes  dramatically cutting journey times for business travellers  and reducing overcrowding on the tube. the line has the support of the mayor of london  ken livingstone  business groups and the government  but there have been three years of arguments over how it should be funded. the mail on sunday s financial mail said the £7.5bn of treasury money was earmarked for spending in £2.5bn instalments in 2010  2011 and 2012.


lennon brands rangers favourites celtic s neil lennon admits rangers could be considered  slight favourites  for the old firm cis cup clash  but insists his side can still win.  lennon concedes rangers are in good form at the moment  but they have failed to beat celtic in their last seven meetings.  rangers are on the up and have been on a good run in recent weeks   he said.  but it s a game we believe we re capable of winning if we play our best   he told the evening times.  all the boys are looking forward to it because they are brilliant games to be involved in.  without playing at the top of our game  we have still been winning matches.  at the minute  we are at the top of the league and still in with a chance of staying in europe  so i don t think it is the crisis people have been trying to make out.  of course  it is a concern when you are losing goals  because we have been notorious for being a team that is hard to beat and keeping clean sheets  but hopefully we are over that wee run.  considering we lost henrik larsson at the end of last season  we have still been scoring a lot of goals  which is pleasing.


britons growing  digitally obese  gadget lovers are so hungry for digital data many are carrying the equivalent of 10 trucks full of paper in  weight .  music  images  e-mails  and texts are being hoarded on mobiles  cameras laptops and pdas (personal digital assistants)  a toshiba study found. it found that more than 60% kept 1 000 to 2 000 music files on their devices  making the uk  digitally fat .  virtual weight  measurements are based on research by california institute of technology professor roy williams. he calculated physical comparisons for digital data in the mid-1990s. he worked out that one gigabyte (1 000 000 000 bytes) was the equivalent of a pick-up truck filled with paper. the amount of data people are squirreling away on their gadgets is clearly a sign that people are finding more things to do with their shiny things.  if digital hoarding habits continue on this scale  people could be carrying around a  digitally obese  20 gigabytes by next year.  britain has become a nation of information hoarders with a ferocious appetite for data   said martin larsson  general manager of toshiba s european storage device division.   as storage capabilities increase and the features and functionalities of mobile devices expand to support movie files and entire libraries of multi-media content  we will all become virtually obese   he told the bbc news website. the survey reflects the increasing trend for portable devices with built-in hard drives like music and media players from apple  creative labs  archos  iriver and others. this trend is set to grow  according to analysts. they suggest the number of hard drives in consumer electronics gadgets could grow from 17 million last year to 55 million in 2006.  consumers are driving the move towards smaller devices that have greater functionality  and industry is trying to keep up   said mr larsson.  people are looking for more than just phone calls and text messages on the move  they want things like web browsing  e-mailing  music  photos and more.   many are finding memory keys and memory sticks are simply not big enough to hold everything.   floppies and memory keys have their place  but they don t have anything like the capacity or flexibility of a hard drive so are unable to meet the demand for more and more storage capacity in consumer devices   said mr larsson. the cost of making hard drives has dropped and is continuing to do so because of improved technologies so they are proving to be more cost-effective than other forms of memory  he added. the amount of data that can be stored has grown by 400% in the last three years  while the cost for every gigabyte has fallen by 80%. it is also getting easier to transfer files from one device to another  which has traditionally been a slow and problematic area.  transfer of data between different memory types has improved significantly in recent times  and will be further helped by the standards for hard drives which are currently being developed by the major manufacturers   said mr larsson. according to technology analysts idc  a fifth of all hard drives produced will be used in consumer electronics by 2007.


mobiles  not media players yet  mobiles are not yet ready to be all-singing  all-dancing multimedia devices which will replace portable media players  say two reports.  despite moves to bring music download services to mobiles  people do not want to trade multimedia services with size and battery life  said jupiter. a separate study by gartner has also said real-time tv broadcasts to mobiles is  unlikely  in europe until 2007. technical issues and standards must be resolved first  said the report. batteries already have to cope with other services that operators offer  like video playback  video messaging  megapixel cameras and games amongst others. bringing music download services based on the success of computer-based download services will put more demands on battery life.  fifty percent of europeans said the size of a mobile was the most important factor when it came to choosing their phone  but more power demands tend to mean larger handsets.  mobile phone music services must not be positioned to compete with the pc music experience as the handsets are not yet ready   said thomas husson  mobile analyst at jupiter research.  mobile music services should be new and different  and enable operators to differentiate their brands and support third generation network launches.  other problems facing mobile music include limited storage on phones  compared to portable players which can hold up to 40gb of music. the mobile industry is keen to get into music downloading  after the success of apple s itunes  napster and other net music download services.  with phones getting smarter and more powerful  there are also demands to be able to watch tv on the move. in the us  services like tivo to go let people transfer pre-recorded tv content onto their phones. but  the gartner report on mobile tv broadcasting in europe suggests direct broadcasting will have to wait. currently  tv-like services  where clips are downloaded  are offered by several european operators  like italy s tim and 3. mobile tv will have to overcome several barriers before it is widely taken up though  said the report.  various standards and ways of getting tv signals to mobiles are being worked on globally. in europe  trials in berlin and helsinki are making use of terrestrial tv masts to broadcast compressed signals to handsets with extra receivers. a service from the norwegian broadcasting corporation lets people watch tv programmes on their mobiles 24 hours a day. the service uses 3gp technology  one of the standards for mobile tv. but at the end of 2004  the european telecommunications institute (etsi) formally adopted digital video broadcasting handheld (dvb-h) as the mobile tv broadcasting standard for europe. operators will be working on the standard as a way to bring real-time broadcasts to mobiles  as well as trying to overcome several other barriers. the cost and infrastructure needs to set up the services will need to be addressed. handsets also need to be able to work with the dvb-h standard. tv services will have to live up to the expectations of the digital tv generation too  which expects good quality images at low prices  according to analysts. people are also likely to be put off watching tv on such small screens  said gartner. digital video recorders  like europe s sky+ box  and video-on-demand services mean people have much more control over what tv they watch. as a result  people may see broadcasting straight to mobiles as taking away that control. more powerful smartphones like the xda ii  nokia 6600  sonyericsson p900 and the orange e200  offering web access  text and multimedia messaging  e-mail  calendar and gaming are becoming increasingly common. a report by analysts instat/mdr has predicted that smartphone shipments will grow by 44% over the next five years. it says that smartphones will make up 117 million out of 833 million handsets shipped globally by 2009.


hong kong in 2011 world cup bid hong kong is hoping to join japan as co-host of the 2011 rugby world cup.  japan has applied to host the tournament on its own  with the aim of taking it outside rugby s traditional strongholds for the first time. but hong kong rugby football union (hkrfu) chairman john molloy has called for the territory to host one of the pools and a quarter-final. the japanese rugby football union (jrfu) says it has yet to receive a formal presentation from the hkrfu.  at this stage  we are only considering hosting the event by ourselves   said jrfu secretary koji tokumasu.  we cannot examine any proposal unless we get it in a definitive form.  japan faces stiff competition in the form of south africa and new zealand to host the event in seven years  time.   until now  the world cup has been held in countries from the six nations or tri-nations   said tokumasu.  we think  and the irb thinks  that it is time for rugby to go global.  japan is ready to host the tournament and we are looking forward to welcoming the world of rugby to japan.  tokumasu added that the 2002 football world cup  co-hosted by japan and south korea  had been a huge success.  as well as having the infrastructure in place  japan also has the commercial clout to host one of sport s top competitions   he said. last year  japan launched its first professional rugby league and it has the fourth largest number of registered players (125 508) in the world after england  south africa and france.


ferguson puts faith in youngsters manchester united manager sir alex ferguson said he has no regrets after his second-string side lost 3-0 away at fenerbahce in the champions league.  ferguson said:  the good thing about being manager is that you are in control of which team to pick.  i care about united  that s important  so while i am disappointed at the result i am not at the team i selected.  this game was important for the young lads. they will remember it and next time they come they will be better.  ferguson admitted his side were well-beaten by the turks  a result which meant they finished second in group d behind lyon. he added:  they ll know not to play like that again. we showed a lack of strength. but i have no complaints about the scoreline.  in the second half we had some good moments in attack. and in that situation  you have to take one chance.  but we didn t do that  so the game just petered out for us.  i didn t think it made much difference whether we won the group or finished second and i still don t.  we could get inter  ac milan and juventus but bayern  barcelona and real madrid were among the runners-up. all we can do is let fate decide how it works out.


premier league planning cole date the premier league is attempting to find a mutually convenient date to investigate allegations chelsea made an illegal approach for ashley cole.  both chelsea and arsenal will be asked to give evidence to a premier league commission  but no deadline has been put on when that meeting will convene.  it s hard to put a date on it   a premier league spokesman confirmed to bbc sport.  it s not a formal situation where they ve got so much time to respond.  arsenal and england defender cole reportedly met blues boss jose mourinho and chief executive peter kenyon in a london hotel 11 days ago. chelsea have yet to officially confirm or deny the meeting  which would be in breach of premier league rule k3.  now the gunners have asked for an inquiry to look into claims that their player has been  tapped up . both clubs have pledged to co-operate with the inquiry which will be conducted on a single day as opposed to being run as an ongoing evaluation. cole is in negotiations with the gunners over extending his current deal which ends in 2007. and his arsenal team-mate robert pires has urged the england left-back to stay at highbury. pires told the evening standard:  he has been at arsenal for ever. he is a very attacking left-back and i think he is enjoying his football because at arsenal he plays in an offensive team.  i am not sure he will get the same pleasure at chelsea  even though they are doing so well at the moment.  i have built a fantastic playing relationship with ashley.  we play together so well - we could do it with our eyes shut.  but you have to respect the decision of the player. everybody has that right.


jp morgan admits us slavery links thousands of slaves were accepted as collateral for loans by two banks that later became part of jp morgan chase.  the admission is part of an apology sent to jp morgan staff after the bank researched its links to slavery in order to meet legislation in chicago. citizens bank and canal bank are the two lenders that were identified. they are now closed  but were linked to bank one  which jp morgan bought last year. about 13 000 slaves were used as loan collateral between 1831 and 1865.  because of defaults by plantation owners  citizens and canal ended up owning about 1 250 slaves.  we all know slavery existed in our country  but it is quite different to see how our history and the institution of slavery were intertwined   jp morgan chief executive william harrison and chief operating officer james dimon said in the letter.  slavery was tragically ingrained in american society  but that is no excuse.   we apologise to the african-american community  particularly those who are descendants of slaves  and to the rest of the american public for the role that citizens bank and canal bank played.   the slavery era was a tragic time in us history and in our company s history.  jp morgan said that it was setting up a $5m scholarship programme for students living in louisiana  the state where the events took place. the bank said that it is a  very different company than the citizens and canal banks of the 1800s .


safety alert as gm recalls cars the world s biggest carmaker general motors (gm) is recalling nearly 200 000 vehicles in the us on safety grounds  according to federal regulators.  the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) said the largest recall involves 155 465 pickups  vans and sports utility vehicles (suvs). this is because of possible malfunctions with the braking systems. the affected vehicles in the product recall are from the 2004 and 2005 model years  gm said. those vehicles with potential faults are the chevrolet avalanche  express  kodiak  silverade and suburban; the gmc savana  sierra and yukon.  the nhtsa said a pressure accumulator in the braking system could crack during normal driving and fragments could injure people if the hood was open. this could allow hydraulic fluid to leak  which could make it harder to brake or steer and could cause a crash  it warned. gm is also recalling 19 924 cadillac xlr coupes  srx suvs and pontiac grand prix sedans from the 2004 model year. this is because the accelerator pedal may not work properly in extremely cold temperatures  requiring more braking. in addition  the car giant is calling back 17 815 buick raniers  chevrolet trailblazers  gmc envoys and isuzu ascenders from the 2005 model years because the windshield is not properly fitted and could fall out in a crash. however  gm stressed that it did not know of any injuries related to the problems. news of the recall follows an announcement last month that gm expects earnings this year be lower than in 2004. the world s biggest car maker is grappling with losses in its european business  weak us sales and now a product recall. in january  gm said higher healthcare costs in north america  and lower profits at its financial services subsidiary would hurt its performance in 2005.


seamen sail into biometric future the luxury cruise liner crystal harmony  currently in the gulf of mexico  is the unlikely setting for tests of biometric technology.  as holidaymakers enjoy balmy breezes  their ship s crew is testing prototype versions of the world s first internationally issued biometric id cards  the seafarer s equivalent of a passport. along with the owner s picture  name and personal details  the new seafarers  identity document incorporates a barcode representing unique features of its holder s fingerprints. the cards are due to be issued in february next year  in line with the revised un convention on seafarers  identity documents of june 2003. tests currently under way in the caribbean are designed to ensure that new cards and their machine readers  produced by different companies in different countries  are working to interoperable standards. results of the current tests  which involve seafarers from a wide range of occupations and nationalities  will be published by the international labour organisation (ilo) by the end of november. crystal cruises  which operates the crystal harmony  is exploring the use of biometrics but has not yet committed to the technology.  authenti-corp  the us technology consultancy  has been working with the ilo on its technical specifications for the cards.   if you re issued a seafarer s id in your country  you want to be sure that when the ship lands in a port in  say  my country you can validate yourself using whatever equipment we have installed   authenti-corp s ceo  cynthia musselman  told the bbc s go digital programme. she said french  jordanian and nigerian nationals would be the first seafarers to get the new id cards since their countries have already ratified the convention. it aims to combat international terrorism whilst guaranteeing the welfare the one million seafarers estimated to be at sea. the convention highlights the importance of access to shore facilities and shore leave as vital elements to a sailor s wellbeing and  therefore  it says  to safer shipping and cleaner oceans.  by increasing security on the seas as well as border control and protection  the cards will hopefully reduce the number of piracy problems around the world   said ms musselman.  it should be a safer environment for seafarers to work in  and will allow people protecting their borders to have confidence that the people getting off the ship are  in fact  seafarers.


wales make two changes for france wales coach mike ruddock has made two changes from the team that beat italy 38-8 for saturday s trip to france.  kevin morgan takes over from his injured newport-gwent dragons colleague hal luscombe on the right wing. and in the pack neath-swansea ospreys forward ryan jones is preferred at blindside flanker to jonathan thomas. thomas  a try-scorer in rome  drops down to the bench instead of ian gough  while cardiff back rhys williams steps up in place of morgan. luscombe is sidelined by a hamstring problem sustained during the six nations game against italy last weekend.  however  the experienced and in-form morgan was already pushing hard for a start at stade de france.  due to his impressive performances from the bench  kevin was very much in the selection mix anyway  and the unfortunate injury to hal gives him the chance to start   said ruddock.  now that ryan jones has recovered from injury  we have increased the options in the back row.  jonathan thomas is unlucky to lose his spot after performing well against italy and scoring a try  but such is the competition for places that every position is debated in detail.  for this particular game  we felt we might not always be afforded the open spaces out wide we were able to exploit against italy  so an extra big ball-carrier in the back-row is thought to be necessary on this occasion.  obviously  it s a 22-man game these days  and there is every chance that jonathan will be making an impact from the bench.  wales have beaten france on two of their last three visits to paris  and another victory this time around would keep them firmly on course for a first five or six nations title triumph since 1994.  graham henry (former wales coach) said a couple of years ago that we should  be bold  when going to france  and he was proved right   said ruddock.  that is a great way to approach the game  and something we will further endorse with the players this week.   g thomas (toulouse  capt); k morgan (newport-gwent)  t shanklin (cardiff)  g henson (neath-swansea)  s williams (neath-swansea); s jones (clermont auvergne)  d peel (llanelli); g jenkins (cardiff)  m davies (gloucester)  a jones; (neath-swansea)  b cockbain (neath-swansea)  r sidoli (cardiff); r jones (neath-swansea)  m williams (cardiff)  m owen (newport-gwent).  replacements: r mcbryde (llanelli)  j yapp (cardiff)  j thomas (neath-swansea)  r sowden-taylor (cardiff)  g cooper (newport-gwent)  c sweeney newport-gwent)  r williams (cardiff).


celtic unhappy over bulgaria date martin o neill hopes to block stilian petrov s call-up by bulgaria during celtic s busy festive programme.  the celtic manager does not view the friendly against valenciana - a region of spain - on 28 december as important.  i can t say i was overly pleased at the fixture being played just after christmas   said o neill.  we will have to speak with the bulgarian fa. it s their prerogative for them to arrange a fixture and our prerogative how we handle it.  bulgaria s game comes between celtic s boxing day meeting with hearts and their 2 january fixture against livingston. o neill believes the extra game will not help a midfielder whose season has already been affected by injury.  they have organised a game at a rather awkward time   he added.  when we were out playing barcelona  i spoke with the bulgarian manager  hristo stoichkov  and he mentioned this game to me.  we pay his wages  we are the ones that if an awkward fixture is going to be played at some stage or another it should be to our benefit  rather than anyone else.  i have said this before  but bulgaria are the one nation who seem to organise a lot of friendly games.


us economy shows solid gdp growth the us economy has grown more than expected  expanding at an annual rate of 3.8% in the last quarter of 2004.  the gross domestic product figure was ahead of the 3.1% the government estimated a month ago. the rise reflects stronger spending by businesses on capital equipment and a smaller-than-expected trade deficit. gdp is a measure of a country s economic health  reflecting the value of the goods and services it produces.  the new gdp figure  announced by the commerce department on friday  also topped the 3.5% growth rate that economists had forecast ahead of friday s announcement. growth was at an annual rate of 4% in the third quarter of 2004 and for the year it came in at 4.4%  the best figure in five years. however  the positive economic climate may lead to a rise in interest rates  with many expecting us rates to rise on 22 march. in the january-to-march quarter  the economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of about 4%  economists forecast. in the final quarter of 2004  businesses increased spending on capital equipment and software by 18%  up from 17.5% in the third quarter. consumer spending grew 4.2% in the final quarter  down from the third quarter s 5.1%.


microsoft releases bumper patches microsoft has warned pc users to update their systems with the latest security fixes for flaws in windows programs.  in its monthly security bulletin  it flagged up eight  critical  security holes which could leave pcs open to attack if left unpatched. the number of holes considered  critical  is more than usual. they affect windows programs  including internet explorer (ie)  media player and instant messaging. four other important fixes were also released. these were considered to be less critical  however. if not updated  either automatically or manually  pc users running the programs could be vulnerable to viruses or other malicious attacks designed to exploit the holes. many of the flaws could be used by virus writers to take over computers remotely  install programs  change  and delete or see data.  one of the critical patches microsoft has made available is an important one that fixes some ie flaws. stephen toulouse  a microsoft security manager  said the flaws were known about  and although the firm had not seen any attacks exploiting the flaw  he did not rule them out. often  when a critical flaw is announced  spates of viruses follow because home users and businesses leave the flaw unpatched. a further patch fixes a hole in media player  windows messenger and msn messenger which an attacker could use to take control of unprotected machines through .png files. microsoft announces any vulnerabilities in its software every month. the most important ones are those which are classed as  critical . its latest releases came the week that the company announced it was to buy security software maker sybari software as part of microsoft s plans to make its own security programs.


stuart joins norwich from addicks norwich have signed charlton midfielder graham stuart until the end of the season for an undisclosed fee.   it was a very easy decision to make   the 34-year-old told norwich s website.  the attraction for me was to continue to play in the premiership.  canaries boss nigel worthington added:  i m delighted that graham will be joining us until the end of the season.  he s gives us a wealth of experience. hopefully  he can be part of keeping us in the premier league.  stuart has extensive top-flight experience with everton  chelsea and charlton and can play across the midfield positions. he joins norwich with the norfolk club second-from-bottom in the premiership  but stuart is confident that the carrow road outfit have a bright future.  i ve been very impressed with the facilities here. it s obviously a very well run football club with excellent facilities and i ve always enjoyed playing at carrow road   he added.  it s a nice compact ground with a good atmosphere and hopefully i can help give the fans something else to cheer.   stuart  a former england under-21 international  made 110 appearances for chelsea  scoring 18 goals  before joining everton. he won the fa cup with the toffees in 1995 and remains a hero at goodison park after his 81st-minute winner against wimbledon saved everton from relegation in 1994. stuart spent just over four years at goodison park  making 125 senior appearances and scoring 25 goals  before signing for sheffield united - where he scored 12 goals in 68 appearances. after signing for charlton he made 164 appearances  scoring 23 times  but recently he has been battling a back problem and had not played for the londoners for three months before heading to norwich.


why few targets are better than many the economic targets set out at the lisbon summit of european union leaders in 2000 were meant to help europe leapfrog its way past the united states to become the world s leading economy by 2010.  but the lisbon targets are about much more than just economic prestige. for many economists and analysts they are about ensuring europe doesn t become a global economic laggard. they are also about ensuring europe can continue to compete as an equal with the growing economic giants of asia  india and china  as well as with the economic might of the united states. that s why there was a tone of urgency in the report  out on wednesday  by the former dutch prime minister wim kok. mr kok was commissioned by the european commission in march this year to assess how far the eu has come towards meeting the lisbon targets  five years on from their inception. his conclusion was simple: too many of the targets will be seriously missed.  lisbon risks becoming a  synonym for missed objectives and failed promises   his report said.  the status quo is not an option.   at risk in the medium to long run is nothing less than the sustainability of the society europe has built  it said. the report comes at a time when europe s competitive position is waning. the eu s economic growth rate is projected to be 2% this year and 2.4% next. while there has been growth in overall employment rates in europe  productivity lags behind that of the us. but meeting the lisbon targets requires a political commitment that no eu member state has volunteered so far. that has in part been due to the state of the global economy in the past few years.  as mr kok s report noted:  the ink had scarcely dried on the [lisbon] agreement before the worldwide stock market bubble imploded.   the us suffered two years of economic slowdown and recession and the european economy followed suit.   the circumstances weren t conducive to creating the 20 million new jobs promised by eu leaders in lisbon in 2000. neither were they conducive to getting governments to spend more on research and development  money needed if the eu was to meet its target of becoming a so-called  knowledge-based economy .  the [lisbon] vision is a compelling one  but in order to do it society has to change   said paul hofheinz of the lisbon council  a brussels-based citizen action group.  what you find is that a lot of people have been fighting change. you find trade unions fighting change. but also the employers  associations.  even though they tell you they re in favour of change  many are actually pushing for less competition  more subsidy and less free market activity.   but part of the problem was also linked to the original targets set out in lisbon five years ago. targets have a habit of coming back to haunt you and in the lisbon case  they covered too much  according to the wim report. economic growth and job creation were linked to issues ranging from environmental protection to social inclusion  and even safety at sea. the agenda was just too broad and as a result nothing was prioritised.   lisbon is about everything and thus about nothing   the kok report said.  everybody is responsible and thus no one.  that s why the kok report recommends that the lisbon targets be narrowed down to 14 key indicators  with an emphasis on creating jobs and economic growth. it also recommends that the european commission draw up a league table which ranks countries according to the steps they re taking towards meeting the targets  effectively  naming  shaming and faming .  rhetoric and delivery don t necessarily go hand in hand   mr kok said in a press conference alongside the publication of his report.  we don t have the luxury anymore just to exchange politeness with one another.   on one point mr kok was very clear: the european union should not try to emulate the us economy. the european economic and social model needs to change  but not so much so that social and environmental issues take a backseat to economic growth. in that sense  the lisbon agenda is sailing into unchartered waters. the kok report tries to do away with a belief that jobs need to be sacrificed at the altar of economic growth.  it s very ambitious   said john palmer  political director at the european policy centre  a brussels-based think-tank.  this is something that no advanced economy in the world has tried to do. it s going to require quite new and innovative policies.  but some analysts believe that the kok report doesn t come up with the sort of innovative policies and thinking needed to make the lisbon targets a reality. for example  it recommends putting in place policies which encourage women and older people to remain in the workforce. but it doesn t say how companies should be convinced to do this. it will be up to the incoming president of the european commission  jose manuel barroso  to adopt mr kok s recommendations and press them on eu governments. mr barroso has said that the eu s competitiveness will be his top priority. he expects his five-year term in office to be judged on europe s success in meeting the lisbon agenda.