a november to remember last saturday  one newspaper proclaimed that england were still the number one side in the world.  that statement was made to look a little foolish by events later that afternoon at twickenham. but it illustrated the wonderful unpredictability of test rugby at the highest level  at the end of a richly entertaining autumn series. the final weekend threw the world pecking order into renewed confusion  with australia s triumph in london followed by france s capitulation to new zealand.  clearly  there is no number one side in the world at the moment   declared wallabies coach eddie jones on arrival back in sydney.  there are four  five or probably six sides all competing at the same level and on any given day the difference between one side and another is only about 1%.   while that bodes well for rugby as a whole  it also sharpens the sense of excitement ahead of what could be the most open six nations championship for a decade. while the wallabies  all blacks and springboks hit the beach before turning their attention to super 12 matters in the new year  europe s finest have less than 10 weeks before they return to the international fray. and for the first time in more than a decade  it will not simply be a straightforward choice between england and france for the six nations title.  that owes much to ireland s continued progress and the belief that wales are on the verge of delivering a major scalp to cement the promise of their autumn displays.    who secured a first triple crown in 19 years last season  could go one better and win their first five/six nations title since 1985. they start with away games against italy and scotland  before england and france come to lansdowne road.  their momentous victory over the springboks can only bolster ireland s self-belief  while ronan o gara s late drop goal to deliver victory over argentina was further proof that eddie o sullivan s side can now close out tight games. not that england or france  who have won nine of the last 10 six nations titles between them  will lay down quietly.  dismantling of the springboks suggested that even after the loss of such influential figures as martin johnson and lawrence dallaglio  they still have the personnel to prosper.  the narrow defeat to australia was a timely reminder that not everything is blooming in the red rose garden  but the fresh shoots of post-world cup recovery have been sown by new head coach andy robinson. a fresh desire to regain former heights is evident  and if england emerge triumphant from an opening six nations engagement in cardiff  a fourth title in six years is within reach.  are in familiar revival territory  but this time it appears there is substance behind the rediscovered style.  while south africa s over-confidence in cardiff made for a closer scoreline than expected  wales could legitimately claim to have had victory within their grasp against the all blacks in one of the best tests in recent memory. if mike ruddock can coax a reliable set-piece platform from his pack  there is no reason why victories should not ensue come february. the last fortnight has left  in a state of bewilderment after an autumn series that began with a superb victory over australia. a stunning defeat to argentina  their first loss since the world cup  could have been attributed to trademark french inconsistency.  but the manner of new zealand s 45-6 demolition job in paris has coach bernard laporte bemoaning a lack of young talent coming through to replace the old guard. fortunately for the french  the opening match of the six nations sees them entertaining  in paris. after two reasonable performances against australia  the scots  humbling by the springboks forced coach matt williams to reassess his belief that a win over one of the major nations was imminent. while individuals such as chris cusiter and ali hogg enhanced their reputations  a lack of top-class players will continue to undermine their best efforts.    who start with home games against ireland and wales before travelling to scotland  are also hopeful of registering more than one victory for the first time in the championship. as autumn gives way to winter and the heineken cup prepares to resume centre stage meantime  the joy of six will keep the home fires burning until february.


us peer-to-peer pirates convicted the first convictions for piracy over peer-to-peer networks have been handed down in the us.  new yorker william trowbridge and texan michael chicoine have pleaded guilty to charges that they infringed copyright by illegally sharing music  movies and software. the two men faced charges following raids in august on suspected pirates by the fbi. the pair face jail terms of up to five years and a $250 000 (£130 000) fine.  in a statement the us department of justice said the two men operated the central hubs in a piracy community organised across the direct connect peer-to-peer network. the piracy group called itself the underground network and membership of it demanded that users share between one and 100 gigabytes of files. direct connect allows users to set themselves up as central servers that act as co-ordinating spots for sharers. users would swap files  such as films and music  by exchanging data over the network. during its investigation fbi agents reportedly downloaded 84 movies  40 software programs  13 games and 178  sound recordings  from the five hubs that made up the larger piracy group. the raids were organised under the umbrella of operation digital gridlock which was aimed at fighting  criminal copyright theft on peer-to-peer networks . in total  six raids were carried out in august. five were on the homes of suspected copyright thieves and one on a net service firm. the department of justice said that both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit felony copyright infringement. they also pleaded guilty to acting for commercial advantage. the two men are due to be sentenced on 29 april.


takeover offer for sunderland fc bob murray  chairman of sunderland fc  has launched a £1.5m ($2.8m) bid for the club after buying broadcaster bskyb s stake in the business.  mr murray is already sunderland s leading shareholder  holding a 37.6% stake  and now hopes to take full control of the championship side. mr murray said the club would find it easier to attract more investment by having a single majority owner. sunderland delisted its shares from the stock market in august.  a lifetime sunderland supporter and board director since 1984  mr murray agreed to buy bskyb s 4.76% holding in the wearside club on tuesday - taking his stake to 42.3%. under stock market rules  mr murray is required to make an offer for the remaining shares that he does not already own at the same price paid for the bskyb holding of 31p a share.  should the offer be fully accepted  mr murray said he expected to pay a maximum of £1.53m for the remaining shares. he also stressed that fans who wanted to keep in touch with the club s financial affairs could retain a small number of shares  enabling them to attend annual meetings.  the football sector is experiencing significant changes and uncertainty   mr murray said in a statement.  the recent speculation surrounding malcolm glazer and manchester united has shown the unsettling effect possible where there are a number of disparate interests   he added.  i believe that this offer will strengthen the company and remove the potential for that type of uncertainty.   sunderland were relegated from the premiership in 2003 but are currently pushing for promotion. the club managed to reduce its losses last year from £20.6m to £1.2m after selling a host of leading players. however  the club s turnover dropped sharply from £42.5m to £28.5m over the same period  because of a fall in broadcast revenues. bskyb bought its stake in sunderland in 1999 as part of a five year media partnership deal. the deal expired last month.


germany nears 1990 jobless level german unemployment rose for the 11th consecutive month in december - making the year s average jobless total the highest since reunification.  the seasonally adjusted jobless total rose a higher than expected 17 000 to 4.483 million  the bundesbank said. allowing for changes in calculating statistics  the average number of people out of work was the highest since 1990 - or a rate of 10.8%. bad weather and a sluggish economy were blamed for the rise. the increase  was due primarily to the onstart of winter   labour office chief frank-juergen weise said.  unadjusted  the figures showed unemployment rose 206 900 to 4.64 million - with many sectors such as construction laying off workers amid bad weather.  the three years of stagnation in the german economy came to an end in 2004. but the upturn is still not strong enough  to boost the labour market  mr weise added. news of the rise came as government welfare reforms came into force  a move that is expected to see unemployment swell still further in coming months. under the hartz iv changes  the previous two tier system of benefits and support for the long term unemployed has been replaced with one flat-rate payout. in turn  that means more people will be classified as looking for work  driving official figures higher.   be prepared for a nasty figure for january 2005  about five million unemployed on a non-seasonally adjusted basis   warned hvb group economist andreas rees. but he did add that the numbers should  subside  throughout the year  to remain near 2004 s level of 4.4 million jobless.  i don t expect a strong and lasting turnaround until 2006   german economy minister wolfgang clement said. by 2010  however  the hartz iv reforms should help cut the average jobless rate to between 3% and 5%  he added. europe s biggest economy has been too weak to create work as it struggles to shake off three years of economic stagnation. in recent months companies such as adam opel - the german arm of us carmaker general motors - and retailer karstadtquelle have slashed jobs.


beer giant swallows russian firm brewing giant inbev has agreed to buy alfa-eco s stake in sun interbrew  russia s second-largest brewer  for up to 259.7m euros ($353.3m; £183.75m).  alfa-eco  the venture capital arm of russian conglomerate alfa group  has a one-fifth stake in sun interbrew. the deal gives inbev  the world s biggest beermaker  near-total control over the russian brewer. inbev bought out another partner in august 2004. inbev brands include bass  stella artois  hoegaarden and staropramen. it employs 77 000 people  running operations in over 30 countries across the americas  europe and asia pacific.  the leuven-based brewery said it would own 97.3% of the voting shares and 98.8% of the non-voting shares of sun interbrew. the deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2005. inbev was formed in august 2004 when belgium s interbrew bought brazilian brewer ambev. sun interbrew  which employs 8 000 staff  owns breweries in eight russian cities - klin  ivanovo  saransk  kursk  volzhsky  omsk  perm and novocheboksarsk. there are also three breweries in ukraine  in the cities of chernigov  nikolaev and kharkov.


bbc leads interactive bafta wins the bbc and the national theatre have led the field at this year s interactive bafta awards.  the national theatre s stagework website picked up the prize for best learning as well as top factual site. the bbc collected three awards  including best online entertainment for the hitchhiker s guide to the galaxy adventure game. spooks interactive took the best interactive tv prize. the annual awards recognise the best in digital media. bbc sport interactive fought off competition from cbbc newsround and the guardian to take home the best news and sport trophy for its coverage of england s exit from euro 2004. it was recognised for its  groundbreaking  use of animation. bafta s grant dean  chair of bafta s interactive entertainment committee  said all the entrants had been of  outstanding quality  and that judging had been  enormously difficult .  without a doubt  2005 has been a landmark year for the bafta interactive awards   he added.   many of the top awards this year have gone to the companies we most commonly associate with traditional entertainment  showing how the gap between new media  film and television is closing.   awards were given out in 12 different categories  including interactive tv  film  music  design  as well as technical and social innovation  at a london ceremony. the top music award was given to sseyo minimixa  a mobile music sequencer designed to let people write  edit and share compositions. warner bros was given two prizes for its  inspiring  efforts in film and dvd interactivity. the chaplin collection beat oasis  really bend it like beckham  shaun of the dead and the day today in the dvd category  and trauma won best film. elsewhere  fashionista and clothes designer alexander mcqueen took the accolade for the best-designed website. the awards have been running since 1997  but in 2002 the british academy of film and television decided to split them into separate games and interactive ceremonies. on tuesday half-life 2 dominated the games prizes. it collected six baftas  including best game and best online game.


survey confirms property slowdown government figures have confirmed a widely reported slowdown of the uk s housing market in late 2004.  house prices were 11.8% higher on the year in the last quarter of 2004  down from 16.3% in the july-to-september quarter  the land registry said. the average house price in england and wales was £182 920  down from £187 971 in july-september. the volume of sales between october and december dropped by nearly a quarter from the same period in 2003. the government figures are the first official confirmation of falls in the market at the end of 2004. land registry figures are less up to date than those of banks and building societies  since they record completions not mortgage approvals. however  the figures are viewed as the most accurate measure of house prices as they include all property transactions  including cash sales.  the cost of buying a home fell in seven out of 10 regions between the third and fourth quarters of 2004.  the biggest annual gains were made in wales  where house prices were up by 23% in the fourth quarter. house prices rose the slowest in greater london  being up by 6%. in the capital  the volume of sales fell by 23% from 36 185 in 2003 to 28 041 for the same period in 2004. there was also a decline in the number of million-pound properties sold in the capital  with 436 properties over £1m sold compared to 469 for the same period in 2003. although the figures point to a slowdown in the market  the most recent surveys from nationwide and halifax have indicated the market may be undergoing a revival. after registering falls at the back end of 2004  halifax said house prices rose by 0.8% in january and nationwide reported a rise of 0.4% in the first month of the year. members of the bank of england s rate-setting committee will make their latest decision on interest rates on thursday.


j&j agrees $25bn guidant deal pharmaceutical giant johnson & johnson has agreed to buy medical technology firm guidant for $25.4bn (£13bn).  guidant is a key producer of equipment that combats heart problems such as implant defibrillators and pacemakers. analysts said that the deal is aimed at offsetting johnson & johnson s reliance on a slowing drug business. they also pointed out that more mergers are likely because the drug and healthcare industries are fragmented and are under pressure to cut costs. a number of johnson & johnson s products are facing patent expirations  while the company is also battling fierce competition from generic products. meanwhile  demand for defibrillators  which give the heart a small electric shock when an irregular heartbeat or rhythm is detected  is expected to increase  analysts said. the move by johnson & johnson has been widely expected and the firm will pay $76 for each guidant share  6% more than wednesday s closing price. analysts say that us antitrust regulators could force the firms to shed some overlapping stent operations. stents are tubes that are used to keep an artery open after it has been unblocked.


bellamy fined after row newcastle have fined their welsh striker craig bellamy two weeks  wages - about £80 000 - following his row with manager graeme souness.  but bellamy  25  has not been put on the transfer list  although he did not train with the first team on tuesday. magpies chairman freddy shepherd told the newcastle evening chronicle:  it is not about money. it is about a player thinking he is bigger than this club.  no individual is  be it the chairman  the manager or a player.  souness dropped bellamy for sunday s game against arsenal  claiming the welshman had feigned injury after being asked to play out of position.  when i heard what the manager was saying i was in shock   bellamy said.  i thought  not only has he gone behind my back  he s lying    he said in response to souness  remarks. and the wales international refused to apologise.  i won t apologise because i have done nothing wrong   he told the evening chronicle.  there s no doubt about it  i am out of here.  the difficult relationship between souness and bellamy boiled over at the weekend  and has led to a war of words in the media.  bellamy s claim that souness had lied about the background to the bust-up was strongly denied by shepherd  who accused the striker of  cheating  the club.  i wish to put the record straight regarding the bellamy situation   said shepherd.  craig walked off the training ground saying his hamstring was tight (on friday)  but what he failed to reveal was that he had told other members of the squad before training that he intended to feign injury.  when graeme discovered this he immediately ordered bellamy to attend a meeting in my office.  at that meeting bellamy admitted to graeme and i that he had told the players that he was going to  fake  an injury in training and walk off.  he also agreed at that meeting to apologise to his team-mates for his behaviour. he didn t do this which resulted in the action taken by the manager at the weekend  which i fully support.  in my book this is cheating on the club  the supporters  the manager and his own team-mates.  he is paid extremely well and i consider his behaviour to be totally unacceptable and totally unprofessional.   bellamy s latest outburst would appear to make his chances of a first-team recall remote. but even before newcastle said the player would not be sold  bellamy insisted he had no intention of handing in a transfer request.  i don t want the fans to think for one minute that i wouldn t play for this club   he said.  i d play anywhere for this club  even in goal.  it s a very difficult situation for me at the moment but i d never ask to leave this club.  this club means so much to me. i couldn t do it because i know i couldn t come back here and play against newcastle. it would hurt too much.


s korea spending boost to economy south korea will boost state spending next year in an effort to create jobs and kick start its sputtering economy.  it has earmarked 100 trillion won ($96bn) for the first six months of 2005  60% of its total annual budget. the government s main problems are  slumping consumption and a contraction in the construction industry . it aims to create 400 000 jobs and will focus on infrastructure and home building  as well as providing public firms with money to hire new workers.  the government has set an economic growth rate target of 5% for next year and hinted that would be in danger unless it took action.  internal and external economic conditions are likely to remain unfavourable in 2005   the finance and economy ministry said in a statement.  it blamed  continuing uncertainties such as fluctuating oil prices and foreign exchange rates and stagnant domestic demand that has shown few signs of a quick rebound . in 2004  growth will be between 4.7% and 4.8%  the ministry said. not everyone is convinced the plan will work.  our primary worry centres on the what we believe is the government s overly optimistic view that its front loading of the budget will be enough to turn the economy around   consultancy 4cast said in a report.  the problem facing south korea is that many consumers are reeling from the effects of a credit bubble that only recently burst. millions of south koreans are defaulting on their credit card bills  and the country s biggest card lender has been hovering on the verge of bankruptcy for months. as part of its spending plans  the government said it will ask firms to  roll over mortgage loans that come due in the first half of 2005  . it also pledged to look at ways of helping families on low incomes.  the government voiced concern about the effect of redundancies in the building trade.  given the economic spill over and employment effect in the construction sector  a sharp downturn in the construction industry could have other adverse effects   the ministry said.  as a result  south korea will give private companies also will be given the chance to build schools  hospitals  houses and other public buildings. it also will look at real estate tax system. other plans on the table include promoting new industries such as bio-technology and nano-technology  as well as offering increased support to small and medium sized businesses.  the focus will be on job creation and economic recovery  given that unfavourable domestic and global conditions are likely to dog the korean economy in 2005   the ministry said.


gb select holmes for double bid kelly holmes has been chosen for both the 800m and 1500m at next month s european indoor championships - despite not yet confirming her availability.  the double-olympic champion is still undecided about whether to compete in her first european indoors in madrid. but uk athletics chief max jones believes it is likely holmes will race. he said:  it s worth a punt  isn t it  she s gone back to training. if she s confident she will pick one (distance). the programme does not permit both.  if holmes does take her place in the gb side  she has already indicated that 1500m will be her favoured distance. under championship rules  she does not have to decide until 24 hours before the event begins in madrid on 4 march. jones added:  she was pleased with her run in birmingham (at last weekend s grand prix).  i am inclined to think she will (compete). it could depend on how training goes and she will have to be close to top form.  and he admitted holmes  presence would be a great boost to the rest of the norwich union gb team.  she is a very good team member and is very good to have there   he added. meanwhile  there is no surprises in the rest of the great britain team announced on tuesday.  defending 60m champion jason gardener is included and will be chasing his third successive gold medal. he will be joined in the event by mark lewis-francis - runner-up behind him three years ago in vienna - and new boy darren chin. kelly sotherton has been invited by championship organisers to compete against carolina kluft in the pentathlon. sotherton finished third in the olympic heptathlon in athens  where the swede took gold. there are 16 newcomers at this level of competition in gb s 46-strong team. the championships will be the last to be attended by jones before he retires to be succeeded by dave collins. jones said:  the olympic games is the overwhelming target for uka and therefore it is beneficial to start the next four-year cycle with a not-so-pressurised major games.  the european indoor championships always provide a chance for the young and inexperienced to make a name for themselves and the current indoor season has produced some exciting new talent.  madrid is the first small step on a long journey to beijing and the 2008 olympics but for some of the emerging athletes  this will be a very important step.   60m: d chin (belgrave harriers)  j gardener (wessex and bath)  m lewis-francis (birchfield harriers).  t abeyie (woodford green with essex ladies)  c lambert (belgrave harriers).  d garland (channel islands ac).  j mcilroy (windsor  slough  eton and hounslow ac)  jimmy watkins (cardiff aac).  ed jackson (aldershot  farnham and district)  n speaight (belgrave harriers)  j thie (cardiff aac).  a baddeley (harrow ac)  m farah (windsor  slough  eton and hounslow ac)  j mayock (barnsley ac).  d greaves (newham and essex beagles)  a scott (shaftesbury barnet harriers)  a turner (notts ac).  b challenger (belgrave harriers). pole vault: n buckfield (crawley ac).  n morgan (birchfield harriers)  c tomlinson (newham and essex beagles).  l achike (shaftesbury barnet harriers)  n douglas (oxford city ac)  p idowu (belgrave harriers).  d cossins (birchfield harriers)  r davenport (gloucester ac)  d garland (channel islands ac)  r preddy (gloucester ac)  g warburton (cardiff aac).  k endacott (city of plymouth ac)  j kwakye (woodford green with essex ladies)  j maduaka (woodford green with essex ladies).  k wall (basildon ac).  k holmes (ealing  southall and middlesex ac).  h clitheroe (preston harriers)  k holmes (ealing  southall and middlesex ac).  j pavey (exeter harriers).  d allahgreen (trafford ac)  s claxton (belgrave harriers).  j crane (sale harriers manchester)  s jones (trafford ac).  j whitlock (trafford ac).  j johnson (herne hill harriers).  k sotherton (birchfield harriers).  d fraser (croydon harriers)  l mcconnell (shaftesbury barnet harriers)  c murphy (woodford green with essex ladies)  m purkiss (southampton ac).


air china in $1bn london listing china s national airline is to make its overseas stock market debut with a dual listing in london and hong kong  the london stock exchange (lse) has said.  air china plans to raise $1bn (£514m) from the flotation. share trading will begin on 15 december  the lse said. for china s aviation authorities  the listing is part of the modernisation of its airline sector to cope with soaring demand for air travel. no further details of the share price or number of shares were given.  the lse has been working hard to woo chinese companies to choose london  rather than new york for their listings. it opened an asia-pacific office in hong kong last month.  we are delighted that air china has chosen london for its listing outside china   said lse chief executive clara furse.  the london stock exchange offers ambitious chinese companies access to the world s most international equity market combined with high regulatory and corporate governance standards   she said. a spokesman for the lse said:  we ve been engaged with them (air china) for about 18 months  two years now.  as part of its pitch to bring listings to london  the lse is thought to be highlighting the extra costs and red-tape imposed by new us laws passed since the enron scandal  whilst stressing london s strong regulatory environment.  germany s chancellor gerhard schroeder began a three-day visit to beijing on monday by signing a deal worth 1bn euros ($1.3bn; £690m) for airbus to sell 23 new planes to air china  the deutsche welle radio station reported. china s booming economy has created huge demand for air travel among middle-class chinese  turning the country into a sales battleground between rival plane makers airbus and boeing. air china s long-awaited flotation is part of a strategy to modernise a dozen state-owned carriers  which have been reorganised into three groups under air china  china southern and china eastern. merrill lynch are sole bookrunners for air china s flotation  which will take the form of a share placing with institutional investors in london  though retail investors may be able to buy air china shares in hong kong. air china s primary listing will be in hong kong  with a secondary listing in london. the shares will be denominated in hong kong dollars. however  investors may be wary of chinese stocks. the collapse last week of china aviation oil  the singapore-listed arm of a chinese jet fuel trader  has cast the spotlight on corporate governance shortcomings at chinese firms.


dollar gains on greenspan speech the dollar has hit its highest level against the euro in almost three months after the federal reserve head said the us trade deficit is set to stabilise.  and alan greenspan highlighted the us government s willingness to curb spending and rising household savings as factors which may help to reduce it. in late trading in new york  the dollar reached $1.2871 against the euro  from $1.2974 on thursday. market concerns about the deficit has hit the greenback in recent months. on friday  federal reserve chairman mr greenspan s speech in london ahead of the meeting of g7 finance ministers sent the dollar higher after it had earlier tumbled on the back of worse-than-expected us jobs data.  i think the chairman s taking a much more sanguine view on the current account deficit than he s taken for some time   said robert sinche  head of currency strategy at bank of america in new york.  he s taking a longer-term view  laying out a set of conditions under which the current account deficit can improve this year and next.   worries about the deficit concerns about china do  however  remain. china s currency remains pegged to the dollar and the us currency s sharp falls in recent months have therefore made chinese export prices highly competitive. but calls for a shift in beijing s policy have fallen on deaf ears  despite recent comments in a major chinese newspaper that the  time is ripe  for a loosening of the peg. the g7 meeting is thought unlikely to produce any meaningful movement in chinese policy. in the meantime  the us federal reserve s decision on 2 february to boost interest rates by a quarter of a point - the sixth such move in as many months - has opened up a differential with european rates. the half-point window  some believe  could be enough to keep us assets looking more attractive  and could help prop up the dollar. the recent falls have partly been the result of big budget deficits  as well as the us s yawning current account gap  both of which need to be funded by the buying of us bonds and assets by foreign firms and governments. the white house will announce its budget on monday  and many commentators believe the deficit will remain at close to half a trillion dollars.


burren awarded egyptian contracts british energy firm burren energy has been awarded two potentially lucrative oil exploration contracts in egypt.  the company successfully bid for the two contracts  granted by government owned oil firms  covering onshore and offshore areas in the gulf of suez. burren energy already has a presence in egypt  having been awarded an exploration contract last year. the firm  which floated in 2003  recently announced a deal to buy 26% of indian firm hindustan oil exploration. the £13.8m deal gives burren energy access to the indian oil and gas industry. this latest contract expands burren energy s global exploration and production portfolio - it also holds contracts in turkmenistan and the republic of congo.  these assets significantly increase our exploration portfolio in egypt and we continue to investigate further opportunities in this region   said chief executive finian o sullivan.


dallaglio eyeing lions tour place former england captain lawrence dallaglio still harbours hopes of a place on the british and irish lions tour to new zealand.  lions coach sir clive woodward has made it clear he will pick his squad to tour next summer based on form shown in the six nations championship. but dallaglio  who called time on england earlier this year  said:  i assure you i wouldn t let anyone down.  i know what it takes and what i have to offer   he told the daily telegraph. dallaglio toured south africa with the lions in 1997 but was forced home early with a knee injury from the trip to australia three years ago.  the 32-year-old also felt concentrating on club rugby could have prolonged his international shelf-life. he said:  i ll be in good shape and fresh without another 10 tests on the clock.  from what i witnessed at close quarters on sunday in our heineken cup match against leicester  i certainly didn t feel out of place alongside those players  many of whom will be on the trip.   if i m fit and playing well  then i m most certainly available.  if clive feels he has no need to look outside the international crop  then fine. if he does  then he won t need to look too far  will he


aviation firms eye booming india india s defence minister has opened the country s aero india 2005 air show with an invitation for global aerospace firms to outsource jobs to the nation.  pranab mukherjee said such companies could take advantage of india s highly skilled workers and low wages. more than 240 civil and military aerospace firms from 31 countries are attending the show. analysts said india could spend up to $35bn (£18.8bn) in the aviation market over the next 20 years. giants such boeing and airbus - on the civil aviation front - as well as lockheed martin and france s snecma - on the military side - are some of the firms attending the show.  there is tremendous scope for outsourcing from india in areas where the companies are competitive   said mr mukerjee.  we are keen to welcome international collaborations that are in conformity with our national goals.   lockheed said it had signed an agreement with state-owned hindustan aeronautics (hal) to share information on the p-3 orion maritime surveillance aircraft.  in fact  the indian armed force is considering the buying of used p-3 orion as well as f-16 fighter jets from lockheed. the us military industry has show a strong interest to open a link with india  now that relations between the two countries have improved a lot. in fact  it is the first time the us air force will attend the air show since sanctions imposed in 1998 after india s nuclear tests were lifted. but the indian air force is also considering proposals from other foreign firms such as france s dassault aviation  sweden s saab and russia s mikoyan-gurevich. meanwhile  france s snecma has also said it plans a joint venture with hal to make engine parts  with an initial investment of $6.5m.  on the civilian front  boeing announced a deal with india s hcl technologies to develop a platform for the flight test system of its 787 dreamliner aircraft. the us company also said it had agreed with a new indian budget airline the sale of 10 737-800 planes for $630m. the airline  spicejet  will also have the option to acquire 10 more aircraft. airbus has also recently signed fresh deals with two indian airlines - air deccan and kingfisher. in addition  the european company has plans to open a training centre in india. meanwhile  flag carrier air india is considering to buy 50 new aircraft from either boeing or airbus.  no other market is going to see the growth that will be seen here in the coming years   said dinesh keskar  senior vice president boeing.


funding cut hits wales students the wales students rugby side has become a casualty of the welsh rugby union s reorganisation at youth level.  an amalgamated under-18 side formed from separate schools and national youth teams plays its first match on thursday  against italy at the gnoll. but that move has seen the wru decide to end its funding of representative sides such as wales students. as a result  traditional international fixtures against england and france in the new year have been cancelled. the welsh students rugby football union feels that it is unable to properly prepare for or stage the matches. the secretary of the welsh students rugby football union  reverend eldon phillips  said:  it is a shame that fixtures cannot be maintained this year.  the competition provided by the strong english and french teams has enabled the welsh students to test themselves in high quality matches.  the increasing number of young rugby players entering higher education look for the biggest challenge  that is representative rugby  but this year that opportunity will be denied them. players who have played for wales students before going on to win full senior representative honours include robert jones  rob howley  jon humphreys  darren morris  martyn williams and ceri sweeney.


tsunami slows sri lanka s growth sri lanka s president has launched a reconstruction drive worth $3.5bn (£1.8bn) by appealing for peace and national unity.  president kumaratunga said it was now important to find a peaceful solution to years of internal conflict. meanwhile  the international monetary fund (imf) said damage from the tsunami would cut one percentage point from sri lanka s economic growth this year. it estimated the wave left physical damage equal to 6.5% of the economy.  separately  the international labour organisation (ilo) said that at least one million people have lost their livelihoods in sri lanka and indonesia alone. it called for action to create jobs. president kumaratunga attended a ceremony in the southern town of hambantota. she was joined by government and opposition politicians  together with buddhist  hindu  muslim and christian clergy.  prime minister mahinda rajapakse laid the foundation stone on a new housing project intended to provide 6 000 homes for survivors of the tsunami. mrs kumaratunga called for the tragedy to be  the start of a new beginning to rebuild our nation .  we are a country blessed with so many natural resources and we have not made use of them fully. instead we have been squabbling  fighting   she added. norway s peace negotiator erik solheim is due to arrive on wednesday to try to revive peace talks in the decades-long conflict between government forces and the tamil tigers  who want a separate state in the north east of the country. reconstruction efforts in eastern sri lanka have been hampered by tensions between the two sides.  the imf said that the sri lankan authorities  initial estimates have put the physical damage at $1.3 to $1.5bn  but added that the implications for the economy were much wider than this.  the broader macroeconomic impact will clearly be substantial but the details are difficult to assess at this early stage   the imf said. growth  inflation  the balance of payments and foreign exchange reserves are all expected to show the effects of lost businesses and reconstruction costs.  the fishing industry has been devastated  agricultural production may be affected and tourism will suffer  especially in the short term   the report said. the ilo estimated that 400 000 sri lankans have lost their jobs  mostly in these three industries. earnings from tourism this year are expected to be 15% lower than last year. economic growth this year is expected to be 4%  which is about 1% less than previously forecast. inflation could climb to 14% compared to a previous estimate of 12%. although major exports have not suffered  the imf expects the reconstruction effort will require higher imports which could damage the balance of payments. foreign exchange reserves may become strained as  sri lanka will be hard pressed to keep international reserves at the pre-tsunami level  which totalled more than two months worth of imports. last week  the imf approved sri lanka s request for a freeze on loan repayments.


faultless federer has no equal roger federer - nice bloke  fantastic tennis player - the ultimate sportsman.  when lleyton hewitt shook his hand after getting another thrashing  a third in as many months  the australian said;  you re the best.  how right he is. the stats speak for themselves: 11 titles from 11 finals during 2004 - three of them grand slams - and 13 final victories in a row going back to vienna 2003. that s an open-era record. hewitt  at times in houston  showed form which easily matched his grand slam-winning efforts of 2001 and 2002. but he was outplayed. twice. hewitt  along with andy roddick and marat safin  is sure to be prominent during 2005. but realistically  all three will be fighting for the world number two ranking. according to all those players and even federer himself  the swiss star is in a different league.   right now i feel that a little bit   he told bbc sport.  i ve dominated all the top ten players. they say nice things about me because i have beaten them all. i am dominating the game right now and i hope it continues!  the number one player in the world is also the main man for promoting the sport off court. he has just been voted  by the international tennis writers  as the best  ambassador for tennis  on the atp tour. he has time for everyone. every match  from first round to final  is followed by a series of press interviews in three languages; english  french and swiss-german. after a major win  there are extra requests  obligations and interviews  all seen through to the end with courtesy and  most importantly  good humour.  you guys are funny  i have a good time with you guys   he said  genuinely happy to talk into yet another tape recorder.  i see you pretty much every day on the tour so to give away an hour for interviews is really no problem for me.  if i can promote tennis and the sport then that is good for me. people say thanks back and that is nice.  what a refreshing attitude from someone who could easily dominate the sports pages for a decade. it sums up his modest personality. shortly after collecting a waterford crystal trophy  a mercedes convertible and a tasty cheque for $1.5m  federer addressed the houston crowd and concluded by saying  thanks for having me . now he just needs to find a way of winning the french open  the one grand slam to so far elude him.


row brewing over peer-to-peer ads music download networks are proving popular not just with an audience of youngsters keen to take advantage of free music but with advertisers equally keen to reach out to a captive audience.  the debate over the legitimacy of file-sharing networks rages on as the music industry continues its threats to close the services down for good. meanwhile the millions of downloaders are proving both an advertiser s dream come true and a branding nightmare. paul myers  chief executive of wippit - a peer to peer service which provides paid-for music downloads - believes it is time advertisers stopped providing  oxygen  for companies that support illegal downloading.  you may be surprised to know that current advertisers on the most popular peer to peer service edonkey who now steadfastly support copyright theft with real cash money include nat west  vodafone  o2  first direct  ntl  and renault   he said in an open letter to the british phonographic industry last month.  he urged people to follow his lead and  dump  brands associated with companies such as edonkey. the bpi is equally quick to condemn established brands becoming bedfellows with peer to peer networks.  networks like edonkey  kazaa and grokster facilitate illegal filesharing. the bpi strongly believes that any reputable company should look carefully at the support they are giving these networks through their advertising revenue   it said in a statement.  illegal file-sharers steal millions of pounds worth of music through these services. we are sure that the companies advertising on them would not put up with theft on such a scale from their own businesses   it said. but the issue is often more complicated for advertisers  said mark mulligan  a music analyst with jupiter research.  this has been a problem for a long time  ever since the days of napster   he told the bbc news website.  the reality is that the millions of downloaders represent a very attractive audience.  advertisers probably pay a lot less for putting ads here than on more respected sites and they are reaching the perfect target audience   he said.  if you put the legality issues aside  not to advertise here would mean missing out on a valuable audience   he added. meanwhile companies contacted by the bbc news website insist that they were not directly aware of where their ads have been appearing. onetel adverts were spotted on edonkey this week and its response was typical.  we have investigated this matter and believe that one of our affiliate partners has placed this advert without our knowledge. it is not our policy to advertise through peer-to-peer networks   read a statement from the discount phone firm. it has requested the advert be removed immediately  said a spokeswoman. similarly telecommunications firm ntl blames its media buying agency which places adverts with third party networks featuring thousands of sites. since the matter was brought to its attention last month  the agency has strict instructions to make sure ads do not appear on such sites  a spokesman told the bbc news website.  however mr mulligan was not entirely convinced by these explanations. while smaller brands might not necessarily be aware of where the money they allocate to online advertising actually ends  this is no excuse for well-known brands  he said.  i would be surprised if these brands didn t have the know-how to prevent this happening   he said. at the moment edonkey is enjoying the benefits of having some very well-known faces advert on its network.  many big brands have leveraged the opportunity  including perhaps two of the biggest brands in the world - senator john kerry and president george w. bush   said chief executive sam yagan. there are some distinct advantages of advertising on such a network  he thinks.  peer-to-peer clients offer big brands a unique opportunity to engage with their customers where they re most comfortable: at their desks interacting with their favourite digital media   he said.


dal maso in to replace bergamasco david dal maso has been handed the task of replacing the injured mauro bergamasco at flanker in italy s team to face scotland on saturday.  alessandro troncon continues at scrum-half despite the return to fitness of paul griffen. the experienced cristian stoica is recalled at centre at the expense of walter pozzebon.  we are going to scotland for the first away win and nothing else   said manager marco bollesan.  i really believe this is the team who will have all our faith for saturday s game.  we lost a player like mauro bergamasco who has been important for us  but (coach) john (kirwan) has put together the best team at present  if not ever.  r de marigny (parma); mirco bergamasco (stade francais)  c stoica (montpellier)  a masi (viadana)  l nitoglia (calvisano); l orquera (padova)  a troncon (treviso); a lo cicero (l aquilla)  f ongaro (treviso)  m castrogiovanni (calvisano)  s dellape (agen)  m bortolami (narbonne  capt)  a persico (agen)  d dal maso (treviso)  s parisse (treviso).  g intoppa (calvisano)  s perugini (calvisano)  ca del fava (parma)  s orlando (treviso)  p griffen (calvisano)  r pedrazzi (viadana)  k robertson (viadana).


tindall aiming to earn lions spot bath and england centre mike tindall believes he can make this summer s lions tour  despite missing most of the season through injury.  the world cup winner has been out of action since december  having damaged both his shoulder and his foot. but tindall  who recently signed for bath s west-country rivals gloucester  told rugby special he would be fit in time for the tour to new zealand.  i m aiming to be fit by 18 april and hope i can play from then   he said.  i ve spoken to sir clive woodward and he understands the situation  so i just hope that i can get on the tour.  the 26-year-old will face stiff competition for those centre places from brian o driscoll  gordon d arcy and gavin henson  and is aware that competition is intense.  but after missing out on the 2001 tour to australia with a knee injury  tindall says he will be happy just to have an opportunity to wear the red shirt.  i m quite laid back about it to be honest - it s quite hard for me to expect to be pushing for a test spot   he said.  but after what s happened this season at least clive knows i ll be 100% fresh!   - for the full interview with mike tindall tune into this sunday s rugby special  2340 on bbc two


sun offers processing by the hour sun microsystems has launched a pay-as-you-go service which will allow customers requiring huge computing power to rent it by the hour.  sun grid costs users $1 (53p) for an hour s worth of processing and storage power on systems maintained by sun. so-called grid computing is the latest buzz phrase in a company which believes that computing capacity is as important a commodity as hardware and software. sun likened grid computing to the development of electricity.  the system could mature in the same way utilities such as electricity and water have developed  said sun s chief operating officer jonathan schwartz.  why build your own grid when you can use ours for a buck an hour   he asked in a webcast launching sun s quarterly network computing event in california. the company will have to persuade data centre managers to adopt a new model but it said it already had interest from customers in the oil  gas and financial services industries.  some of them want to book computing capacity of more than 5 000 processors each  sun said. mr schwartz ran a demonstration of the service  showing how data could be processed in a protein folding experiment. hundreds of servers were used simultaneously  working on the problem for a few seconds each.  although it only took a few seconds  the experiment cost $12 (£6.30) because it had used up 12 hour s worth of computing power. the sun grid relies on solaris  the operating system owned by sun. initially it will house the grid in existing premises and will use idle servers to test software before shipping it to customers. it has not said how much the system will cost to develop but it already has a rival in ibm  which argues that its capacity on-demand service is cheaper than that offered by sun.


marsh executive in guilty plea an executive at us insurance firm marsh & mclennan has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with an ongoing fraud and bid-rigging probe.  new york attorney general elliot spitzer said senior vice president robert stearns had pleaded guilty to scheming to defraud. the offence carries a sentence of 16 months to four years in state prison. mr spitzer s office added mr stearns had also agreed to testify in future cases during the industry inquiry.  we are saddened by the development   marsh said in a statement. the company added it would continue to co-operate in the case  adding it was  committed to resolving the company s legal issues and to serving our clients with the highest standards of transparency and ethics .  according to a statement from mr spitzer s office  the marsh executive admitted he instructed insurance companies to submit non-competitive bids for insurance business between 2002 and 2004. those bids were then  conveyed to marsh clients under false and fraudulent pretences . through the practice  marsh was allowed to determine which insurers won business from clients  and so control the insurance market  mr spitzer s office added. it also protected incumbent insurers when their business was up for renewal and helped marsh to maximise its fees  a statement said. in one case  an email showed mr stearns had instructed a colleague to solicit a non-competitive - or  b  - quote from aig that was  higher in premium and more restrictive in coverage  and so fixed the bids in a way that would support the present provider chubb. the company is also still being examined by us stock market regulator the securities and exchange commission (sec). late last month the sec asked for information about transactions involving holders of 5% or more of the firm s shares.


jobs growth still slow in the us the us created fewer jobs than expected in january  but a fall in jobseekers pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years.  according to labor department figures  us firms added only 146 000 jobs in january. the gain in non-farm payrolls was below market expectations of 190 000 new jobs. nevertheless it was enough to push down the unemployment rate to 5.2%  its lowest level since september 2001. the job gains mean that president bush can celebrate - albeit by a very fine margin - a net growth in jobs in the us economy in his first term in office. he presided over a net fall in jobs up to last november s presidential election - the first president to do so since herbert hoover. as a result  job creation became a key issue in last year s election. however  when adding december and january s figures  the administration s first term jobs record ended in positive territory.  the labor department also said it had revised down the jobs gains in december 2004  from 157 000 to 133 000.  analysts said the growth in new jobs was not as strong as could be expected given the favourable economic conditions.  it suggests that employment is continuing to expand at a moderate pace   said rick egelton  deputy chief economist at bmo financial group.  we are not getting the boost to employment that we would have got given the low value of the dollar and the still relatively low interest rate environment.   the economy is producing a moderate but not a satisfying amount of job growth   said ken mayland  president of clearview economics.  that means there are a limited number of new opportunities for workers.


yangtze electric s profits double yangtze electric power  the operator of china s three gorges dam  has said its profits more than doubled in 2004.  the firm has benefited from increased demand for electricity at a time when power shortages have hit cities and provinces across the country. as a hydroelectric-power generator it has not been hurt by higher coal costs. net income jumped to 3bn yuan in 2004 ($365m; £190m)  compared with 1.4bn yuan in 2003. sales surged to 6.2bn yuan  from 3bn yuan a year earlier. the figures topped analysts expectations  even though the rate of growth has slowed from 2003. analysts forecast that it is likely to decline further this year to a rate of expansion of closer to 20%.  yangtze electric has been expanding its output to meet demand driven by china s booming economy. the government has delayed the building of a number of power plants in an effort to rein in growth amid concerns that the economy may overheat. that has led to an energy crunch  with demand outstripping supply. earlier this month  work was halted on an underground power station  and a supply unit on the three gorges dam  as well as a power station on its sister xiluodu dam because of environmental worries. a total of 30 large-scale projects have been halted across the country for similar reasons. the three gorges dam project has led to more than half a million people being relocated and drawn criticism from environmental groups and overseas human rights activists. its sister project  the xiluodu dam  is being built on the jinshajiang - or  river of golden sand  as the upper reaches of the yangtze are known.


uk homes hit £3.3 trillion total the value of the uk s housing stock reached the £3.3 trillion mark in 2004 - triple the value 10 years earlier  a report indicates.  research from halifax  the country s biggest mortgage lender  suggests the value of private housing stock is continuing to rise steadily. all regions saw at least a doubling in their assets during the past decade. but northern ireland led the way with a 262% rise  while scotland saw the smallest increase of just 112%.  the core retail price index rose by just 28% in the same period  underlining how effective an investment in housing has been for most people during the past decade. more than a third of the uk s private housing assets - representing more than a trillion pounds in value - are concentrated in london and the south east  the halifax s figures indicate. tim crawford  group economist at halifax  said:  the value of the private housing stock continues to grow and the family home remains  by a large margin  the most valuable asset of the majority of households in the uk.  halifax s own monthly figures on house sales - issued on thursday - suggest the average price of a british property now stands at £163 748 after a 0.8% rise in january. housing experts are split on prospects for the market  with some saying price growth will slow but not fall  while others predict a sharp drop in values.


cairn energy in indian gas find shares in cairn energy rose 3.8% to 1 088 pence on tuesday after the uk firm announced a fresh gas discovery in northern india.  the firm  which last year made a number of other new finds in the rajasthan area  said the latest discovery could lead to large gas volumes. however  chief executive bill gammell cautioned that additional evalution was first needed at the site. cairn has also been granted approval to extend its rajasthan exploration area. this approval has come from the indian government.  a spokesman said the company s decision to carry out further investigations at the new find showed that it believed there was significant gas. but he added:  it s still too early to say what the extent of it is.  cairn s string of finds in rajasthan last year saw it elevated to the ftse 100 index of the uk s leading listed companies. the company had bought the rights to explore in the area from oil giant shell. mr gammell is a former scottish international rugby player.


voters flock to blog awards site voting is under way for the annual bloggies which recognise the best web blogs - online spaces where people publish their thoughts - of the year.  nominations were announced on sunday  but traffic to the official site was so heavy that the website was temporarily closed because of too many visitors. weblogs have been nominated in 30 categories  from the top regional blog  to the best-kept-secret blog. blogs had a huge year  with a top us dictionary naming  blog  word of 2004. technorati  a blog search engine  tracks about six million blogs and says that more than 12 000 are added daily. a blog is created every 5.8 seconds  according to us research think-tank pew internet and american life  but less than 40% of the total are updated at least once every two months.  nikolai nolan  who has run the bloggies for the past five years  told the bbc news website he was not too surprised by the amount of voters who crowded the site.  the awards always get a lot of traffic; this was just my first year on a server with a bandwidth limit  so i had to guess how much i d need   he said. there were many new finalists this year  he added  and a few that had won bloggies before. several entries reflected specific news events.  there are four nominations for the south-east asia earthquake and tsunami blog  which is a pretty timely one for 2005   said mr nolan.  the big bloggies battle will be for the ultimate prize of blog of the year. the nominated blogs are wide-ranging covering what is in the news to quirky sites of interest. fighting it out for the coveted award are gawker  this fish needs a bicycle  wonkette  boing boing  and gothamist. in a sign that blogs are playing an increasingly key part in spreading news and current affairs  the south-east asia earthquake and tsunami blog is also nominated in the best overall category. greenfairydotcom  londonist  hicksdesign  plasticbag and london underground tube blog are the nominees in the best british or irish weblog.  included in the other categories is best  meme . this is for the top  replicating idea that spread about weblogs . nominations include flickr  a web photo album which lets people upload  tag  share and publish their images to blogs. podcasting has also made an appearance in the category. it is an increasingly popular idea that makes use of rss (really simple syndication) and audio technology to let people easily make their own radio shows  and distribute them automatically onto portable devices.  many are done by those who already have text-based blogs  so they are almost like audio blogs. three new categories have been added to the list this year  including best food  best entertainment  and best writing of a weblog. one of the categories that was scrapped though was best music blog. the winners of the fifth annual bloggies are chosen by the public. public voting closes on 3 february and the winners will be announced sometime between 13 and 15 march.


henman hopes ended in dubai third seed tim henman slumped to a straight sets defeat in his rain-interrupted dubai open quarter-final against ivan ljubicic.  the croatian eighth seed booked his place in the last four with a 7-5 6-4 victory over the british number one. henman had looked on course to level the match after going 2-0 up in the second set  but his progress was halted as the rain intervened again. ljubicic hit back after the break to seal a fourth straight win over henman. earlier in the day  spanish fifth seed tommy robredo secured his semi-final place when he beat nicolas kiefer of germany 6-4 6-4. afterwards  henman was left cursing the weather and the umpire after seven breaks for rain during the match.  it was incredibly frustrating   henman said.  it s raining and the umpire doesn t take control.  he kept telling us to play till the end of the game. but if it s raining  you come off - the score s irrelevant.  it couldn t be more frustrating as i was very happy with my form until now. you don t expect this in the desert.


slovakia reach hopman cup final slovakia will play argentina in the final of the hopman cup after beating group b rivals the netherlands 3-0.  daniela hantuchova defeated michaella krajicek 6-4 6-2 to give the slovaks the perfect start before dutchman peter wessels retired against dominik hrbaty. wessels was unable to compete in the mixed doubles but slovakia had already booked their place in the final for the second year running. argentina claimed top spot in group a with three wins from three matches. in the other group b match  the united states defeated australia 2-1.  meghann shaughnessy lost the opening match against alicia molik but james blake levelled the tie with a 6-3 6-4 win over paul baccanello  who came in as a replacement for the injured mark philippoussis. blake and shaughnessy then beat molik and baccanello in a tense mixed doubles contest to take the win. hantuchova  who did not win a hopman cup singles match in 2004  has been in good form during this year s event and has won two of her three matches.  i feel like it s really deserved this time as i ve helped dominik to get through   she said.  i think if i keep going the way i have been in the past few matches then i will be okay.  i was really pleased with my last two singles  even the first one  which was a really high standard.  you can t ask for a better preparation than to play a few matches here for the australian open.


ibm puts cash behind linux push ibm is spending $100m (£52m) over the next three years beefing up its commitment to linux software.  the cash injection will be used to help its customers use linux on every type of device from handheld computers and phones right up to powerful servers. ibm said the money will fund a variety of technical  research and marketing initiatives to boost linux use. ibm said it had taken the step in response to greater customer demand for the open source software.  in 2004 ibm said it had seen double digit growth in the number of customers using linux to help staff work together more closely. the money will be used to help this push towards greater collaboration and will add linux-based elements to ibm s workplace software. workplace is a suite of programs and tools that allow workers to get at core business applications no matter what device they use to connect to corporate networks. one of the main focuses of the initiative will be to make it easier to use linux-based desktop computers and mobile devices with workplace. even before ibm announced this latest spending boost it was one of the biggest advocates of the open source way of working. in 2001 it put $300m into a three-year linux program and has produced linux versions of many of its programs. linux and the open source software movement are based on the premise that developers should be free to tinker with the core components of software programs. they reason that more open scrutiny of software produces better programs and fuels innovation.


chip maker backs net phone calls rich templeton  the head of giant chip maker texas instruments  has given his backing to the growing sector of voice over internet telephony (voip)  voip allows pc users  and in some cases those with just a broadband connection  to make telephone calls via the net. mr templeton said voip would be the next major application to drive broadband connections into homes. internet service provider wanadoo has announced it is launching its own broadband telephony service in the uk.  subscribers to wanadoo s broadband service will be able to use the service to make free evening and weekend calls to any uk landline  and free calls at any time to other wanadoo users. the service will cost an extra £4 a month and will come with a free livebox  the broadband hub which wanadoo plans will be used in future to provide video-on-demand and home security services. the secondary phone line will mean customers can have an extra home phone number and will also provide wireless internet access around the home. eventually the service will replace existing landline services as wanadoo goes head to head with bt.  voice-over broadband is a key trend across europe and is set to have a dramatic impact on the telecommunications industry    eric abensur  wanadoo s chief executive told the bbc news website. mr templeton said he agreed.  voice-over-packet is going to be the second killer application after broadband internet access   he said. the world s largest maker of chips for mobile phones believes the technology will grow rapidly from the relatively small user base it has currently.  almost 83 million people have downloaded the software that powers the skype voip service  according to the net telephony firm s website. skype lets people make free calls to other skype users and also make low-cost calls to ordinary phone numbers. us firm vonage also offers a voip service  but one which lets people plug an ordinary phone into a broadband router to make calls. bill simmelink  general manager of ti s voip business  said the technology would only take off when people were making net calls with the ease of making a normal call.  it s not about the pipe  if you will  or the silicon per se  it s about the application   he said.   we want to communicate freely  effortlessly and economically wherever we are.  in a sign that voip is seeping into the mainstream  giant isp aol announced on tuesday that it had plans to launch a net-based phone service for some of its members within the month. customers will continue to use their traditional phones  but they will plug them into adapters connected to their broadband source rather than the jack provided by the telephone company. calls are received and placed just like on the old telephone network.  we can help mass-market adoption of voip   said aol chief executive jonathan miller.  we can utilise our national footprint. we can help the entire industry become well known.


us firm pulls out of iraq a us company has pulled out of a major contract to rebuild iraq s transport system after attacks on reconstruction efforts  pentagon officials have said.  contrack international  of arlington  virginia  heads a coalition of firms working on a series of schemes. its withdrawal from the $325m (£170m) contract in november is thought to be the largest cancellation to date. contrack said  the original scope of work that was envisioned could not be executed in a cost-effective manner . but the firm denied reports it was withdrawing completely from iraq.  members of the joint venture including contrack are committed to the ongoing reconstruction efforts  are actively working in iraq and continue to look for new construction opportunities in the country   it said in a statement. the pentagon s project and contract office (pco) in baghdad said it had taken over contrack s management of the subcontractors working on the transportation projects.  us firms and their workers have been targets of attacks  and security concerns are said to be a major reason for the slow pace of reconstruction in iraq. of the $18.4bn in reconstruction funds approved by congress  less than $2bn has been spent. lt col eric schnaible of the pco told the associated press news agency contrack s withdrawal from the transportation contract was a  mutually agreed-to separation  and did not indicate a movement by us companies to leave iraq.  some parts of the country are a whole lot more permissive than others   he added.  where we can get the work done  good things are happening.


troubled marsh under sec scrutiny the us stock market regulator is investigating troubled insurance broker marsh & mclennan s shareholder transactions  the firm has said.  the securities and exchange commission has asked for information about transactions involving holders of 5% or more of the firm s shares. marsh has said it is co-operating fully with the sec investigation. marsh is also the focus of an inquiry the new york attorney-general into whether insurers rigged the market. since that inquiry was launched in october  marsh has replaced its chief executive and held a boardroom shake-out to meet criticism by lessening the number of company executives on the board. prosecutors allege that marsh - the world s biggest insurance broker - and other us insurance firms may have fixed bids for corporate cover. this is the issue at the heart of the inquiry by new york s top law officer  eliot spitzer  and a separate prosecution of five insurers by the state of california. the sec s investigation into so-called related party transactions includes dealings in the trident funds  managed by mmc capital  the company s private equity firm. marsh s new chief executive  michael cherkasky  is trying to negotiate a settlement with mr spitzer. mr spitzer has built up a reputation as a fierce critic and campaigner against corporate america s misdeeds.  the uncertainty unleashed by the scandal has prompted three credit rating agencies - standard & poor s  moody s and fitch - to downgrade marsh in recent weeks. according to the financial times  insurance analysts are now questioning whether marsh will be able to maintain its strong record of earning growth as they draw up forecasts for the first quarter of next year. doubts also exist over how much the company may have to pay regulators and lawyers to put the scandal behind.


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.


net regulation  still possible  the blurring of boundaries between tv and the internet raises questions of regulation  watchdog ofcom has said.  content on tv and the internet is set to move closer this year as tv-quality video online becomes a norm. at a debate in westminster  the net industry considered the options. lord currie  chairman of super-regulator ofcom  told the panel that protecting audiences would always have to be a primary concern for the watchdog. despite having no remit for the regulation of net content  disquiet has increased among internet service providers as speeches made by ofcom in recent months hinted that regulation might be an option. at the debate  organised by the internet service providers  association (ispa)  lord currie did not rule out the possibility of regulation.   the challenge will arise when boundaries between tv and the internet truly blur and then there is a balance to be struck between protecting consumers and allowing them to assess the risks themselves   he said. adopting the rules that currently exist to regulate tv content or self-regulation  which is currently the practice of the net industry  will be up for discussion.  some studies suggest that as many as eight million households in the uk could have adopted broadband by the end of 2005  and the technology opens the door to tv content delivered over the net. more and more internet service providers and media companies are streaming video content on the web. bt has already set up an entertainment division to create and distribute content that could come from sources such as bskyb  itv and the bbc. head of the division  andrew burke  spoke about the possibility of creating content for all platforms.  how risque can i be in this new age  with celebrity chefs serving up more expletives than hot dinners  surely i can push it to the limit   he said.  in fact  he said  if content has been requested by consumers and they have gone to lengths to download it  then maybe it should be entirely regulation free. internet service providers have long claimed no responsibility for the content they carry on their servers since the law commission dubbed them  mere conduits  back in 2002. this defence does not apply if they have actual knowledge of illegal content and have failed to remove it. the level of responsibility they have has been tested in several high-profile legal cases. richard ayers  portal director at tiscali  said there was little point trying to regulate the internet because it would be impossible. huge changes are afoot in 2005  he predicted  as companies such as the bbc offer tv content over the net. the bbc s planned interactive media player which will give surfers the chance to download programmes such as eastenders and top gear will make net tv mainstream and raise a whole new set of questions  he said.  one of these will be about the vast sums of money involved in maintaining the network to supply such a huge quantity of data and could herald a new digital licence fee  said mr ayers. as inappropriate net content  most obviously pornography viewed by children  continues to dominate the headlines  internet regulation remains a political issue said mp richard allan  liberal democrat spokesman on it. mr allan thinks that the answer could lie somewhere between the cries of  impossible to regulate  and  just apply offline laws online . in fact  instead of seeing regulation brought online  the future could bring an end to regulation as we know it for all tv content. after lord currie departed  the panel agreed that this could be a reality and that for the internet people power is likely to reign.  if content is on-demand  consumers have pulled it up rather than had pushed to them  then it is the consumers  choice to watch it. there is no watershed on the net   said mr burke.


bank holds interest rate at 4.75% the bank of england has left interest rates on hold again at 4.75%  in a widely-predicted move.  rates went up five times from november 2003 - as the bank sought to cool the housing market and consumer debt - but have remained unchanged since august. recent data has indicated a slowdown in manufacturing and consumer spending  as well as in mortgage approvals. and retail sales disappointed over christmas  with analysts putting the drop down to less consumer confidence.  rising interest rates and the accompanying slowdown in the housing market have knocked consumers  optimism  causing a sharp fall in demand for expensive goods  according to a report earlier this week from the british retail consortium. the brc said britain s retailers had endured their worst christmas in a decade.   today s no change decision is correct   said david frost  director general of the british chambers of commerce (bcc).  but  if there are clear signs that the economy slows  the mpc should be ready to take quick corrective action and cut rates.  dismal reports from the retail trade about christmas sales are worrying  if they indicate a more general weakening in consumer spending.   mr frost added:  the housing market outlook remains highly uncertain.  it is widely accepted that  if house prices start falling more sharply  the risks facing the economy will worsen considerably.  cbi chief economist ian mccafferty said the economy had  slowed in recent months in response to rate rises  but that it was difficult to gauge from the christmas period the likely pace of activity through the summer.  the bank is having to juggle the emergence of inflationary pressures  driven by a tight labour market and buoyant commodity prices  against the risk of an over-abrupt slowdown in consumer activity   he said.  interest rates are likely to remain on hold for some time.   on thursday there was more gloomy news on the manufacturing front  as the office for national (ons) statistics revealed british manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in november - for the fifth month in the past six. the ons said manufacturing output dropped 0.1% in november  matching a similar unrevised fall in october and confounding economists  expectations of a 0.3% rise. manufacturers  organisation  the eef  said it expected the hold in interest rates to continue in the near future. it also said there was evidence that manufacturers  confidence may be waning as the outlook for the world economy becomes more uncertain.   so far the evidence suggests that last year s rate increases have helped to rebalance the economy without damaging the recovery in manufacturing   said eef chief economist  steve radley.  however  should the business outlook start to deteriorate  the bank should stand ready to cut rates.  some economists have predicted rates will drop later in the year  although others feel the bank may still think there is a need for a rise to 5% before that happens. the bank remains concerned about the long-term risks posed by personal debt - which is rising at 15% a year - if economic conditions worsen.


split-caps pay £194m compensation investors who lost money following the split-capital investment trust scandal are to receive £194m compensation  the uk s financial watchdog has announced.  eighteen investment firms involved in the sale of the investments agreed the compensation package with the financial services authority (fsa). splits were marketed as a low-risk way to benefit from rising share prices. but when the stock market collapsed in 2000  the products left thousands of investors out of pocket. an estimated 50 000 people took out split-capital funds  some investing their life savings in the schemes. the paying of compensation will be overseen by an independent company  the fsa said.  further details of how investors will be able to claim their share of the compensation package will be announced in the new year.  this should save investors from having to take their case to the financial ombudsman service  something  no doubt  that will be very welcome   rob mcivor  fsa spokesman  told bbc news. agreeing to pay compensation did not mean that the eighteen firms involved were admitting any guilt  the fsa added. any investor accepting the compensation will have to waive the right to take their case to the financial ombudsman service.  the fsa has been investigating whether investors were misled about the risks posed by split-capital investment trusts. the fsa s 60 strong investigation team looked into whether fund managers colluded in a so-called  magic circle   in the hope of propping up one another s share prices.  firms involved were presented with 780 files of evidence detailing 27 000 taped conversations and over 70 interviews. in may  the fsa was widely reported as having asked firms to pay up to £350m in compensation. mr mcivor told the bbc that the final settlement figure was smaller because two unnamed firms had pulled out of the compensation negotiations. investors in these two firms may now have to take any compensation claim to the financial ombudsman service or the courts.


microsoft releases 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.


legendary dutch boss michels dies legendary dutch coach rinus michels  the man credited with developing  total football   has died aged 77.  referred to in the netherlands as  the general   michels led the dutch at the 1974 world cup - when they reached the final only to lose 2-1 to germany. however  he guided his side to the 1988 european championship title with a 2-0 win over the soviet union in the final. michels played for ajax and coached the side to four national titles between 1965-71 and a european cup in 1971. his 1970s dutch team was built around johan cruyff and johan neeskens and introduced the concept of  total football  to the world. the strategy was to foster team coherence and individual imagination - with all players possessing the skills to play in any part of the pitch. cruyff was the on-field organiser of a team whose players rotated in and out of defence at will and was encouraged to play creative attacking football. michels had recently undergone heart surgery and dutch football federation (knvb) spokesman frank huizinga said:  he was one of the best coaches we had in history.  the no-nonsense coach also enjoyed spells at barcelona  who he took to a spanish title in 1974  fc cologne and bayer leverkusen. michels  named coach of the century by world football s governing body fifa in 1999  also won five caps for the netherlands as a bruising centre forward. dutch sports minister clemence ross-van dorp said:  he was the man who  together with cruyff  made dutch football big.


hearts of oak 3-2 cotonsport hearts of oak set up an all ghanaian confederation cup final with a 3-2 win over cameroon s cotonsport garoua in accra on sunday.  the win for hearts means they will play asante kotoko in the two-leg final  after the kumasi team qualified from group a on saturday. in the other group b game cameroon s  beat  of south africa 3-2 in douala  neither side could have qualified for the final. hearts of oak started the game needing a win to qualify for the final while cotonsport only needed to avoid defeat to go through. louis agyemang scored the first two goals for hearts either side of half time before ben don bortey scored the third. hearts looked set for a comfortable win but cotonsport staged a late fight back scoring twice late on. first of all boukar makaji scored in the 89th minute and then 3 minutes into injury time at the end of the game andre nzame iii was on target. but it was too little too late for the cameroonians and hearts held on to win the game and a place in the final. the first leg of the final will be played in accra on the weekend of 27-28 november and the second leg two weeks later on the 11 december in kumasi. in the other group b game cameroon s sable batie took the lead in the 35th minute through kemadjou before santos equalised on the hour mark thanks to thokozani xaba . bernard ngom put sable ahead just five minutes later and then ernest nfor settled the game on 68 minutes. ruben cloete scored the south african sides consolation with just three minutes left on the clock.


us bank boss hails  genius  smith us federal reserve chairman alan greenspan has given a speech at a scottish church in honour of the pioneering economist  adam smith.  he delivered the 14th adam smith lecture in kirkcaldy  fife. the adam smith lecture celebrates the author of 1776 s wealth of nations  which became a bible of capitalism. dr greenspan was invited by chancellor gordon brown  whose minister father john used to preach at the st bryce kirk church. mr brown introduced dr greenspan to the 400 invited guests as the  the world s greatest economist . dr greenspan  79  who has been in the uk to attend the g7 meeting in london  said the world could never repay the debt of gratitude it owed to smith  whose genius he compared to that of mozart.  he said the philosopher was a  towering contributor to the modern world .  kirkcaldy  the birthplace in 1723 of adam smith and  by extension  of modern economics  is also of course  where your chancellor was reared.  i am led to ponder to what extent the chancellor s renowned economic and financial skills are the result of exposure to the subliminal intellect-enhancing emanation in this area.  he continued:  smith reached far beyond the insights of his predecessors to frame a global view of how market economics  just then emerging  worked.  in so doing he supported changes in societal organisation that were to measurably enhance standards of living.   dr greenspan said smith s revolutionary philosophy on human self-interest  laissez-faire economics and competition had been a force for good in the world.  the incredible insights of a handful of intellectuals of the enlightenment - especially with smith toiling in the environs of kirkcaldy - created the modern vision of people free to choose and to act according to their individual self-interest   he said. following his lecture  dr greenspan - who received an honorary knighthood from the queen at balmoral in 2002 - was awarded an honorary fellowship of the royal society of edinburgh. he later opened an exhibition dedicated to smith in the atrium of fife college of further and higher education. joyce johnston  principal of the college  said:  it is very fitting that the world s premier economist delivered this lecture in tribute to the world s first economist.  dr greenspan - who became chairman of the federal reserve for an unprecedented fifth term in june 2004 - will step down in january next year. he has served under presidents george w bush  bill clinton  george bush  and ronald reagan. he was also chairman of the council of economic advisors to gerald ford.


uk bank seals south korean deal uk-based bank standard chartered said it would spend $3.3bn (£1.8bn) to buy one of south korea s main retail banks.  standard chartered said acquiring korea first bank (kfb) fulfilled a strategic objective of building a bigger presence in asia s third largest economy. its shares fell nearly 3% in london as the bank raised funds for the deal by selling new stocks worth £1bn ($1.8bn)  equal to 10% of its share capital. standard chartered expects about 16% of future group revenue to come from kfb.  the south korean bank will also make up 22% of the group s total assets. the move  a year after citigroup beat standard chartered to buy koram bank  would be the south korean financial sector s biggest foreign takeover. this time around  standard chartered is thought to have beaten hsbc to the deal. kfb is south korea s seventh largest bank  with 3 million retail customers  6% of the country s banking market and an extensive branch network.  the country s banking market is three times the size of hong kong s with annual revenues of $44bn. standard chartered has its headquarters in london but does two thirds of its business in asia  and much of the rest in africa.  we re comfortable with the price paid...the key here has been speed and decisiveness in making sure that we won   said standard chartered chief executive mervyn davies at a london press conference. standard chartered said kfb was a  well-managed  conservatively run bank with a highly skilled workforce  and represented a  significant acquisition in a growth market . in london  standard chartered s sale of 118 million new shares to institutional investors pushed its share price down  and contributing to the ftse 100 s 0.3% decline. standard chartered s shares were 28 pence lower at 925p by midday. some analysts also queried whether standard chartered had overpaid for kfb. the deal  which requires regulatory approval  is expected to be completed by april 2005 and to be earnings accretive in 2006  standard chartered said.  rival banking giant hsbc  which is based in london and hong kong  was also in the running. standard chartered is believed to have gained the initiative by putting together a bid during the christmas break.  they were able to move so quickly it caught hsbc by surprise   the financial times newspaper quoted an insider in the talks as saying. hsbc will now have to wait for the next south korean bank in line to be sold off - thought likely to be korea exchange bank  also currently in the hands of a us group. standard chartered said it was buying 100% of kfb  an agreement that would bring an end to the bank s complex dual ownership. the south korean government owns 51.4% of kfb  while the remaining shareholding  and operational control  are in the hands of us private equity group newbridge capital. newbridge bought its stake during the government s nationalisation of several banks in the wake of the 1997 asia-wide currency crisis which crippled south korea s financial institutions.  south korea s economy is expected to grow by 4.5% this year. although often thought of an export-driven economy  south korea s service sector has overtaken manufacturing in the last decade or so. services now make up roughly 40% of the economy  and consumer spending and retail banking have become increasingly important. in the aftermath of the asian financial crisis  the government encouraged the growth of consumer credit. bad loan problems followed; lg card  the country s biggest credit card provider  has been struggling to avoid bankruptcy for months  for instance. but analysts believe south korea s financial services industry is still in its infancy  offering plenty of scope for new products. standard chartered sees  the opportunity to create value by the introduction of more sophisticated banking products . since 1999  kfb has been restructured from a wholesale bank into a retail bank focused on mortgage lending  which makes up 45% of its loans.


economy  stronger than forecast  the uk economy probably grew at a faster rate in the third quarter than the 0.4% reported  according to bank of england deputy governor rachel lomax.  private sector business surveys suggest a stronger economy than official estimates  ms lomax said. other surveys collectively show a rapid slowdown in uk house price growth  she pointed out. this means that despite a strong economic growth  base rates will probably stay on hold at 4.75%. official data comes from the office for national statistics (ons). though reliable  ons data takes longer to publish  so now the boe is calling for faster delivery of data so it can make more effective policy decisions.  recent work by the bank has shown that private sector surveys add value  even when preliminary ons estimates are available   ms lomax said in a speech to the north wales business club.  the ons is due to publish its second estimate of third quarter growth on friday.  the mpc judges that overall growth was a little higher in the third quarter than the official data currently indicate   ms lomax said. the bank said successful monetary policy depends on having good information. rachel lomax cited the late 1980s as an example of a time when weak economic figures were published  but substantially revised upwards years later.   the statistical fog surrounding the true state of the economy has proved a particularly potent breeding ground for policy errors in the past   she said. improving the quality of national statistics is the single the best way of making sure the monetary policy committee (mpc) makes the right decisions  she said. the bank of england is working in tandem with the ons to improve the quality and speed of delivery of data. her remarks follow criticism from the house of lords economic affairs committee  which said the mpc had held interest rates too high given that inflation was way below the 2% target.  a slowdown in the housing market and this year s surge in oil prices has made economic forecasting all the more tricky  leading to a more uncertain outlook.  this year rising oil prices and a significant slowdown in the housing market have awoken bad memories of the 1970s and 1980s   ms lomax said.  the mpc will be doing well if it can achieve the same stability over the next decade as we have enjoyed over the past 10 years.  decisions on interest rates are made after the mpc gathers together the range of indicators available every month. the clearest signals come when all indicators are pointing the same direction  ms lomax intimated.  in economic assessment  there is safety in numbers.