virgin blue shares plummet 20% shares in australian budget airline virgin blue plunged 20% after it warned of a steep fall in full year profits.  virgin blue said profits after tax for the year to march would be between 10% to 15% lower than the previous year.  sluggish demand reported previously for november and now december 2004 continues   said virgin blue chief executive brett godfrey. virgin blue  which is 25% owned by richard branson  has been struggling to fend off pressure from rival jetstar. it cut its full year passenger number forecast by  approximately 2.5% . virgin blue reported a 22% fall in first quarter profits in august 2004 due to tough competition. in november  first half profits were down due to slack demand and rising fuel costs. virgin blue was launched four years ago and now has roughly one third of australia s domestic airline market. but the national carrier  qantas  has fought back with its own budget airline  jetstar  which took to the skies in may 2004. sydney-listed virgin blue s shares recovered slightly to close 12% down on wednesday. shares in its major shareholder  patrick corporation - which owns 46% of virgin blue - had dropped 31% by the close.


newry to fight cup exit in courts newry city are expected to discuss legal avenues on friday regarding overturning their ejection from the nationwide irish cup.  the ifa upheld its original decision to throw newry out of the cup following the andy crawford registration row.   a law firm will put a case forward for newry fc  and see what the legal implications of all this is are    said newry boss roy mccreadie.   this is a big issue  now that we have an appeal pending    on wednesday  a fresh ifa hearing into crawford registration saga  ruled that last week s original verdict had been correct. it meant that bangor  beaten 5-1 by newry on the field  will take on portadown in the sixth round. newry had claimed they had uncovered  fresh evidence   in respect of the dates relating to the registration. but mccreadie is not further annoyed that full details of wednesday s meeting was not relayed to the club.   even to this day  we have as much information about what happened during the meeting on wednesday as that told to the media. we are being kept in the dark    mccreadie told the  news letter  .   we want an explanation. there is no good sending us the same fax message the press people received.   it s a real sad case. if we are not back in the irish cup after our appeal  and guided by our legal advise  we will seek to lodge an injunction in the courts to stop bangor playing portadown.


melzer shocks agassi in san jose second seed andre agassi suffered a comprehensive defeat by jurgen melzer in the quarter-finals of the sap open.  agassi was often bamboozled by the austrian s drop shots in san jose  losing 6-3 6-1. defending champion and top seed andy roddick rallied to beat sweden s thomas enqvist 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-5. but unseeded cyril saulnier beat the fourth seed vincent spadea 6-2 6-4 and tommy haas overcame eighth seed max mirnyi 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2. melzer has now beaten agassi in two of their three meetings.   i had a good game plan and i executed it perfectly   he said.  it s always tough to come out to play andre.  i didn t want him to play his game. he makes you run like a dog all over the court.  and agassi  who was more than matched for power by his opponent s two-handed backhand  said melzer was an example of several players on the tour willing to take their chances against him.  a lot more guys are capable of it now   said the american.  he played much better than me. that s what he did both times.  i had opportunities to loosen myself up   agassi added.  but i didn t convert on the big points.


quiksilver moves for rossignol shares of skis rossignol  the world s largest ski-maker  have jumped as much as 15% on speculation that it will be bought by us surfwear firm quiksilver.  the owners of rossignol  the boix-vives family  are said to be considering an offer from quiksilver. analysts believe other sporting goods companies may now take a closer look at rossignol  prompting an auction and pushing the sale price higher. nike and k2 have previously been mentioned as possible suitors.  rossignol shares touched 17.70 euros  before falling back to trade 7.8% higher at 16.60 euros. european sporting goods companies have seen foreign revenues squeezed by a slump in the value of the us dollar  making a takeover more attractive  analysts said. companies such as quiksilver would be able to cut costs by selling rossignol skis through their shops  they added. the boix-vives family is thought to have spent the past couple of years sounding out possible suitors for rossignol  which also makes golf equipment  snowboards and sports clothing.


argentina closes $102.6bn debt swap argentina is set to close its $102.6bn (£53.51bn) debt restructuring offer for bondholders later on friday  with the government hopeful that most creditors will accept the deal.  the estimated loss to bondholders is up to 70% of the original value of the bonds  yet the majority are expected to accept the government s offer. argentina defaulted on its debt three years ago  the biggest sovereign default in modern history. yesterday argentina s economy minister  roberto lavagna  said that he estimated that the results of the restructuring would be ready around next thursday (3 march). argentina s president  nestor kirchner  said on friday:  a year ago when we started the swap (negotiations)  they told us we were crazy  that we were irrational.  but he added that his government was close to achieving:  the best debt renegotiation in history.  the country has been in default on the $102.6bn - based on an original debt of $81.8bn plus interest - for the past three years. if the offer does not go ahead  international lawsuits on behalf of aggrieved investors could follow but analysts are optimistic that it will go through  despite the tough terms for bondholders. about 70% to 80% of bondholders are expected to accept the terms of the offer. by 18 february  creditors holding $41bn - or 40% of the total debt - had accepted the offer. sorting out its debt would enhance the country s credibility on international markets and enable it to attract more foreign investment. of argentina s bondholders  38.4% reside in argentina  15.6% in italy  10.3% in switzerland  9.1% in the united states  5.1% in germany and 3.1% in japan. investors in the uk  holland and luxembourg have about 1% each and the remainder were not broken down by country. the deal is likely to be taken up most enthusiastically by domestic investors  who will benefit if argentina s economy becomes more stable.


german jobless rate at new record more than 5.2 million germans were out of work in february  new figures show.  the figure of 5.216 million people  or 12.6% of the working-age population  is the highest jobless rate in europe s biggest economy since the 1930s. the news comes as the head of germany s panel of government economic advisers predicted growth would again stagnate. speaking on german tv  bert ruerup said the panel s earlier forecast of 1.4% was too optimistic and warned growth would be just 1% in 2005.  the german government is trying to tackle the stubbornly-high levels of joblessness with a range of labour market reforms. at their centre is the  hartz-iv  programme introduced in january to shake up welfare benefits and push people back into work - even if some of the jobs are heavily subsidised. the latest unemployment figures look set to increase the pressure on the government. widely leaked to the german newspapers a day in advance  they produced screaming headlines criticising chancellor gerhard schroeder s social democrat-green party administration. mr schroeder had originally come into office promising to halve unemployment.  still  some measures suggest the picture is not quite so bleak. the soaring official unemployment figure follows a change in the methodology which pushed up the jobless rate by more than 500 000 in january. adjusted for seasonal changes  the overall unemployment rate is 4.875 million people or 11.7%  up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. using the most internationally-accepted methodology of the international labour organisation (ilo)  germany had 3.97 million people out of work in january. and ilo-based figures also suggest that 14 000 new net jobs were created that month  taking the number of people employed to 38.9 million. the ilo defines an unemployed person as someone who in the previous four weeks had actively looked for work they could take up immediately.


thanou desperate to make return greek sprinter katerina thanou says she is eager to compete again after being cleared of missing a drugs test by an independent greek tribunal.  thanou  30  was provisionally suspended for missing a test before the olympics  but the decision was overturned.  the iaaf will decide if we can compete again in greece and abroad   thanou told to vima newspaper in her first interview since the athens olympics.  if given the green light i will run again - that s the only thing i want.  thanou  30  and her compatriot kostas kenteris were provisionally suspended by the iaaf in december for missing three drugs tests. the third was alleged to have been on the eve of the opening ceremony of the athens olympics.  but an independent tribunal of the greek athletics federation overturned the provisional ban on 18 march. the iaaf - which said it was  very surprised  by the decision of the greek tribunal - is deciding whether to appeal against the decision at the court of arbitration for sport. however  dick pound  the chairman of the world anti-doping authority  has said he will appeal against the decision if the iaaf does not. and thanou and kenteris face a criminal trial later this year for allegedly avoiding the test and then faking a motorcycle accident. thanou said:  i can see how people can think the accident seemed like a childish excuse.  i cannot deny that we made a lot of mistakes during that time. i always said we needed a pr person.  an athlete would have to be very stupid to take illegal substances when he or she knows that they will undergo tests at any given moment.  i am a champion. i cannot risk everything i ve achieved in such a silly way.


bomb threat at bernabeu stadium spectators were evacuated from real madrid s bernabeu stadium on sunday following a bomb scare during the game between the hosts and real sociedad.  more than 70 000 people abandoned the ground with the score at 1-1 and only three minutes left to play. the basque newspaper gara apparently received a telephone call saying a bomb was due to explode at 2100 local time. but after searching the stadium with sniffer dogs  the police said that no explosive device had been found.   the police have said they have completed their search and have not found anything   said real madrid president florentino perez.  the best thing we can all do now is to put this nightmare behind us.  madrid midfielder guti told private spanish radio station cadena ser:  i have never seen this before and sport should be above it all.  real took the lead just before the break when brazilian striker ronaldo cracked home with his left foot. sociedad levelled the match midway through the second half when turkish striker nihat kahveci smashed home with an acrobatic finish. it is not yet clear if the remaining three minutes of the game will be played at a later date or if the result will be allowed to stand.  if the result remains at 1-1  real will drop to third place in the standings  11 points behind leaders barcelona  who snatched a late 2-1 win at albacete on saturday. initial reports suggested the basque separatist group eta may be responsible for the bomb threat after issuing similar warnings before a series of small explosions in recent days. the bernabeu was targeted by eta on 1 may  2002  when madrid were about to play fc barcelona in a champions league semi-final. a car bomb exploded in a street outside the stadium and 17 people were slightly injured.


bbc web search aids odd queries the bbc s online search engine was used a record amount in 2004  helping with enquires both simple and strange.  more than 277 million enquiries were made  asking for informaton of a wide range of subjects. the most requested search terms of 2004 included games  eastenders  cbbc  john peel  harry potter and olympics. but there were many strange enquiries  including: what is a dog   how do you say basketball  and what is the biggest collection of naval fluff  the search engine works by matching key words typed in to different web pages but many people still type in natural language questions. here are some of the strangest queries of 2004 - spelling and grammar errors left untouched - and their possible solutions:    - how to fold a serviette like an elf s boot        - how do i structure a french letter        - what is better one long vacation each year or several short vacations throughout the year        - what is so special about the swiss        - what are the contemporary issue in nurses        - what is the number 4 in this number 40052308090        - what is up        - what is the name of james martin s dog      search engines are key to the way people use the internet. companies such as google have become of paramount importance as they dictate how people travel through websites while online.


poles play with gameboy  blip-pop  a group of artists in poland has taken the cacophony of blips  boops and beeps created as players bash buttons on nintendo s handheld gameboy console to a new level.  the gameboyzz orchestra project has taken the game sounds to put together music tunes they have dubbed  blip-pop.  think of it as donkey kong meets norman cook  or maybe tetris takes on kraftwerk. any way you slice it  the sound is distinct. all the sounds are made by six nintendo gameboys  with a mixture of older models and newer advance sp handhelds. the gameboyzz orchestra project tweaks the software a bit  and then connects the units through a mixing board.  jarek kujda  one of the project s founding members has been into electronic music and video games  for a while now.   i was playing some experimental music and three  four years ago when i first used a gameboy in my band as a drum machine   said kujda. he realised that the console could be used as a rudimentary synthesizer. he wondered  if one gameboy can make music  what would happen if he put six of them together  kujda found five other people who were interested and the gameboyzz orchestra project was born.  gameboyzz orchestra project is more of an improvisational project   said kudja.  we prepare some patterns before a concert  and then improvise during the concert.  the group plays maybe four or five shows a year. malgorzata kujda  jarek s younger sister and a fellow band member  describes a gameboyzz orchestra project concert as a lot of noise.  for example  i make music with more hard beats and noises   she said.  but each of us makes another music  a different sound. and then in the concert we just improvise  and that i think is more fun for us.   the gameboyzz orchestra project admits they get mixed reactions from audiences. some love the group s music  and others are not quite sure what to make of it.  in the world of electronic music  these purveyors of blip-pop are not unique. but jarek kujda says they try to be unique.  we have lots of people making music on old school stuff  electronic old school stuff like commodore  atari  spectrum   he said.  we want to play only experimental music  not cover songs. we re something like an electronic jam session.  the gameboyzz orchestra project s tracks are available online and the group hopes to make a cd next year. and they have sponsorship  courtesy of the polish distributor of nintendo products. the members of the gameboyzz orchestra project do not expect serious competition anytime soon. a gameboy advance costs about us $200 in poland these days  which is still way beyond the reach of most polish gamers  or musicians.  clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world  a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production


slimmer playstation triple sales sony playstation 2 s slimmer shape has proved popular with uk gamers  with 50 000 sold in its first week on sale.  sales have tripled since launch  outstripping microsoft s xbox  said market analysts chart-track. the numbers were also boosted by the release of the ps2-only game grand theft auto: san andreas. the title broke the uk sales record for video games in its first weekend of release. latest figures suggest it has sold more than 677 000 copies.   it is obviously very  very encouraging for sony because microsoft briefly outsold them last week   john houlihan  editor of computerandvideogames.com told bbc news.  and with halo 2 [for xbox] out next week  it really is a head-to-head contest between them and xbox.   although xbox sales over the last week also climbed  ps2 sales were more than double that. the figures mean sony is reaching the seven million barrier for uk sales of the console. edinburgh-based developer  rockstar  which is behind the gta titles  has seen san andreas pull in an estimated £24m in gross revenues over the weekend. in comparison  blockbuster films like harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban took £11.5m in its first three days at the uk box office. the lord of the rings: the return of the king took nearly £10m over its opening weekend  although games titles are four to five times more expensive than cinema tickets.  gangster-themed gta san andreas is the sequel to grand theft auto vice city which previously held the record for the fastest-selling video game ever. the xbox game halo 2  released on 11 november in the uk  is also widely tipped to be one of the best-selling games of the year. the original title won universal acclaim in 2001  and sold more than four million copies.  mr houlihan added that sony had done well with the ps2  but it definitely helped that the release of san andreas coincided with the slimline ps2 hitting the shelves. the run-up to christmas is a huge battlefield for games consoles and titles. microsoft s xbox had been winning the race up until last week in sales. the sales figures also suggest that it may be a largely adult audience driving demand  since gta san andreas has an 18 certificate. sony and microsoft have both reduced console prices recently and are preparing the way for the launches of their next generation consoles in 2005.  both have hit crucial price points at around £100 and that really does open up new consoles to new audience  plus the release of two really important games in terms of development are also driving those sales   said mr houlihan.


strong quarterly growth for nike nike has reported its best second-quarter earnings  helped by strong demand for its athletic shoes and converse sneakers.  the global sports giant said it posted a profit of $261.9m (£135.6m)  for the three months to 30 november  up from $179.1m in the same period last year. revenues increased 11% to $3.1bn  from $2.8bn for the same period in 2003. nike  whose products are endorsed by tiger woods among other sports stars  said  demand continues to grow . the results came after a strong first quarter of the year for the firm based in beaverton  oregon.  philip knight  chairman and chief executive  said:  nike s second-quarter revenues and earnings per share reached all-time high levels as a result of solid performance across our global portfolio.  our businesses in the united states and emerging markets such as china  russia and turkey  combined with favourable european exchange rates  helped drive much of this growth.  he added:  with the first half of our fiscal year in the books  we remain confident that our business strategy and consistent execution will allow us to deliver on our goals of healthy  profitable growth.  the firm reported worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and gear  scheduled for delivery from december 2004 to april 2005  of $4.9bn. that is 9.1% higher than such orders reported for the same period last year.


the future in your pocket if you are a geek or gadget fan  the next 12 months look like they are going to be a lot of fun.  the relentless pace of development in the hi-tech world and rampant competition in many of its sectors  particularly among mobile phone firms  all suggests that 2005 is going to be a very good year. to begin with  2005 will be the year that third-generation (3g) mobile phones become inescapable. the 3 network launched in 2003  vodafone launched its consumer service in november  orange followed in early december and t-mobile and o2 are due to launch in 2005. the main result of these launches will likely be a slew of good deals for consumers as operators try to poach new customers from rivals and convince existing users to trade up.  already the extra capacity in 3g networks lets 3 offer good deals on voice calls at rates that will probably have to be matched by the other operators. but the shift in technology and low cost of voice calls means that operators lose a significant chunk of their revenue.  show me an operator that believes their voice business can sustain them  and i ll write their obituary  said niel ransom  chief technology officer at alcatel.  instead operators are likely to push all other things that 3g phones can do such as video messaging and other multimedia capabilities. already camera phones look set to challenge digital cameras and are likely to win more fans as multi-megapixel devices go on sale. but 3g will not have everything its own way. it will face competition from emerging technologies such as wimax. this wireless technology can boost data transmission speeds up to 75 megabits per second and works over distances of up to 30 miles. kent is likely to be the site of the uk s first wimax network which is due to go live in 2005 and it could be the way that rural areas get high-speed net access. analyst firm telecom view predicts that wimax will steal a lot of market share from 3g and will be a clear winner. bob larribeau  principal analyst at telecom view  said the better return on investment offered by technologies such as wimax could dent the possible returns of 3g networks. and the growing ubiquity of wi-fi must not be forgotten either. the technology is popping up in more places than ever and its wider use is only held back by the price differences across countries and suppliers.  moves to unite mobile and fixed phones look set to get more emphasis in 2005 too.  for a start  bt looks set to roll out its bluephone project during the next 12 months. the service revolves around a hybrid device that uses the mobile networks when you are out and about but switches back to the fixed line when you are at home. fixed line phones will also start to get much more serious competition from a technology that has the formidable name of voice over ip (voip). voip routes calls via the net instead of the fixed line phone network. anyone with a broadband connection  which is now more than 50% of the uk s net using population  can use voip and could slash their monthly phone bills if they used it. telecommunications regulator ofcom has declared 056 to be the area code for voip calls and 2005 is likely to see a lot more consumer-focused voip call services starting up. home broadband services will also start to increase in speed as dwindling numbers of new users signing force the pace of competition. if 2004 has been the year of the portable music player  they 2005 looks like it will be the year of the portable media player. motorola has just announced a deal with apple to produce a phone that works with the itunes service and other hybrid gadgets that sport a big memory and lots of other functions will become commonplace. the pace of advancement in storage media will continue mean that the cost per megabyte of memory will plummet. some of those devices will sport huge hard drives letting you store more data than you ever wanted or knew you had. convergence could mean that single-function devices start to dwindle in number. instead every gadget will be able to do almost anything and communicate almost any way you want. the only downside is that consumers will face a series of tough choices as they are confronted by a bewildering array of gadgets each with an enormous numbers of features and vast data holding capacities. but that is the kind of problem most gadget fans can live with.


karachi stocks hit historic high the karachi stock exchange (kse) has recorded its largest single day gain  surging 3.5% to a new high.  the index rose 225.79 points in four hours of furious trading  with many investors optimistic that political stability could bring an economic boom. the kse index closed at 6709.93 - an overall gain of nearly 400 points in the first two trading days of the week. energy and telecommunication stocks performed particularly well  recording an 8%-10% rise since monday morning.  in 2002  the kse was the world s best performing stock market  with the index rising 112%.  pakistani investors are expecting the kse to repeat  if not improve on  its 2002 performance. jubilant investors danced on the streets as the market closed for the day on tuesday  confident that the boom will continue at least until the public holiday on 22 january. others  however  who had stayed out fearing an imminent collapse because of prices overheating  continued to warn that the  bubble may burst any time .  that s rubbish   kse chairman yaseen lakhani told the bbc news website.  whenever the market reflects pakistan s true economic reality  it is described as a bubble.  mr lakhani feels that the market has risen on the basis of solid economic growth and its current level rests on sound foundations.  market analysts are inclined to agree with mr lakhani  arguing that there are a number of major factors behind the kse s performance. analysts argue that a steady improvement in pakistan s credit ratings by international credit rating agencies has finally begun to register in the market. standard & poor s upgraded pakistan a few weeks ago. there are indications of yet another upgrade by the end of february.  then  say analysts  there is corporate profitability in the current fiscal year  which has gone up by 27% from last year.  coupled with the 7% gdp growth expected by june this year  i am least surprised at the market s performance   says mr lakhani. one leading karachi broker said the real reasons may be political.  if you file a $1.3 trillion case against saudi money after 9/11  arab money will not go to the us any more.  a lot of arab money  he says  has already gone to malaysia and indonesia. pakistanis are now hoping that energy and telecoms  two of the strongest sectors in pakistan  draw some of the arab money to the kse.  locally  too  say analysts  recent political developments have worked to the market s advantage.  an anti-musharraf campaign threatened by the mma  a countrywide alliance of religious parties  has fizzled out. the release of asif zardari  former prime minister benazir bhutto s husband  has eased political tensions between the military-backed government and the opposition pakistan people s party. most importantly  say analysts  the failure of talks between india and pakistan on the baglihar dam in indian-administered kashmir has not automatically led to heightened tensions. this  they say  indicates that neither country is interested in raising the temperature at this stage  irrespective of the state of their disagreements. the market is abuzz with speculation that substantial investment may now start to flow in from the us  a country seen locally as deeply interested in defusing tensions between the south asian neighbours.  you can call it a peace dividend   smiles one broker.  let us see how long one can reap its benefits.


china bans new tobacco factories the world s biggest tobacco consumer  china  has said it will not allow any new tobacco factories to be built.  china already has more than enough cigarette-making capacity  according to a spokesman for the tobacco industry regulator quoted in china daily. the ban threatens to reignite tensions between the regulator and british american tobacco  which plans to become china s first foreign cigarette maker. a spokeswoman for bat declined to comment on the report.   china won t allow any new tobacco factories to be built  including joint ventures   said xing wangli  a spokesman for the state tobacco administration monopoly quoted in china daily. he also said that the state would retain its monopoly on cigarette distribution. china has 350 million smokers who consumer 1.7 trillion cigarettes a year. smoking is fashionable in china  where it is seen as an essential - and manly - sociable touch for some jobs  such as salesmen. more young  urban woman are taking up smoking too. in july 2004  bat announced it had won approval for to build a $1.5bn (£800m) joint venture factory in china which would make it the first foreign cigarette maker to manufacture there.  the state tobacco monopoly administration said a week later that it had not approved the deal  leading to an embarrassing public row. bat told the bbc at that time that it had not negotiated with the stmc  and secured approval from  the highest levels of government . since then  the row has flared occasionally  most recently at a forum in november. bat consistently declines to comment.  xing s statement comes as especially bad news for british american tobacco   the china daily newspaper said of the latest development. the bat spokeswoman said:  there is nothing for us to add...since our announcement in july last year. the central government of china is the authority that approved our strategic investment.  the decision to ban further tobacco factories does not apply to deals made before 2005  according to the french news agency afp. the joint venture factory was expected to take till 2006 to build. the bat spokeswoman would not comment on its progress. however  if the stma continues to take a tough stance  expansion opportunities could be limited.  china s tobacco market is increasingly valuable as anti-smoking campaigners target public smoking in the west. china daily said the market was currently enjoying steady growth  making more than 210bn yuan ($25.4bn) in pre-tax profits last year  almost double the figure in 2000. the paper made no mention of health concerns. the stma is trying to restructure the domestic tobacco industry  closing some factories  though such moves can be unpopular with local governments.


barclays shares up on merger talk shares in uk banking group barclays have risen on monday following a weekend press report that it had held merger talks with us bank wells fargo.  a tie-up between barclays and california-based wells fargo would create the world s fourth biggest bank  valued at $180bn (£96bn). barclays has declined to comment on the report in the sunday express  saying it does not respond to market speculation. the two banks reportedly held talks in october and november 2004.  barclays shares were up 8 pence  or 1.3%  at 605 pence by late morning in london on monday  making it the second biggest gainer in the ftse 100 index. uk banking icon barclays was founded more than 300 years ago; it has operations in over 60 countries and employs 76 200 staff worldwide. its north american divisions focus on business banking  whereas wells fargo operates retail and business banking services from 6 000 branches. in 2003  barclays reported a 20% rise in pre-tax profits to £3.8bn  and it has recently forecast similar gains in 2004  predicting that full year pre-tax profits would rise 18% to £4.5bn. wells fargo had net income of $6.2bn in its last financial year  a 9% increase on the previous year  and revenues of $28.4bn. barclays was the focus of takeover speculation in august  when it was linked to citigroup  though no bid has ever materialised. stock market traders were sceptical that the latest reports heralded a deal.  the chief executive would be abandoning his duty if he didn t talk to rivals  but a deal doesn t seem likely   reuters quoted one trader as saying.


axa sun life cuts bonus payments life insurer axa sun life has lowered annual bonus payouts for up to 50 000 with-profits investors.  regular annual bonus rates on former axa equity & law with-profits policies are to be cut from 2% to 1% for 2004. axa blamed a poor stock market performance for the cut  adding that recent gains have not yet offset the market falls seen in 2001 and 2002. the cut will hit an estimated 3% of axa s policyholders. the rest will know their fate in march.  the cuts on axa s policies will mean a policyholder who had invested £50 a month into an endowment policy for the past 25 years would see a final maturity payout of £46 998. this equated to a annual investment growth rate of 8% axa said. with-profits policies are designed to smooth out the peaks and troughs of stock market volatility. however  heavy stock market falls throughout 2001 and 2002 forced most firms to trim bonus rates on their policies.  the stock market has grown over the past 18 months  however not enough to undo the damage that occurred during 2001 and 2002   axa spokesman mark hamilton  axa spokesman  told bbc news. axa cut payouts for the same investors last january.


water firm suez in argentina row a conflict between the argentine state and water firm aguas argentinas  controlled by france s suez  is casting doubt on the firm s future.  the firm  which serves the province of buenos aires  wants a tariff rise of 60% to fund water-supply improvements. the government has rejected the 60% rise and wants aguas argentinas to make an annual investment of 400m pesos ($136m; £72.3m) in improvements. planning minister julio de vido has offered state help but not for  free .  mr de vido said that the argentine state would not make a contribution  in the form of a subsidy .  he has said a contribution could be made in return for a seat on the company s board. he added that the government is in discussions with aguas argentinas about what role it might take in the event that a state contribution is agreed. however  aguas argentinas told the argentine newspaper clarin it would not accept any change to its legal structure and  in practice  this rules out state participation on its board. the planning minister didn t rule out the possibility of cancelling aguas argentinas water concession. yet he added that he didn t like to do  futurology . but last week  argentine economic minister  roberto lavagna  told the french media in paris that the government was considering allowing a 16% increase in tariffs and the possibility of a state contribution to aguas argentinas infrastructure investments. speaking in buenos aires  mr de vido later denied the possibility of any tariff increase and insisted that the annual investment in water infrastructure was at the centre of the discussions. he added that in the coming weeks the future of aguas argentinas would be decided. suez owns 40% of aguas argentinas (39.9%)  while spain s aguas de barcelona is its second biggest shareholder with 25.01%. recently  suez lost a water concession in bolivia after mass protests in the city of el alto (the poorest in the country)  with citizens complaining of unfair water charges. this forced the government to cancel the contract.  in argentina  suez s subsidiary  which has been fined for cutting the supply of water during a recent heat wave and allegedly failing to keep up investment to meet the demand for water  has maintained a tense relationship with the argentine government. during the last financial crisis in argentina  the firm sued the state alleging that converting its tariffs from us dollars to pesos  and then freezing them during devaluation  had affected the company and made it difficult for it to meet its contractual obligations. when president nestor kirchner of argentina arrived in power he began to negotiate a solution to the disagreements with international utilities operating in argentina. but he has rejected any tariff increases  alleging this will impoverish citizens further. he has also asked for more investments to meet the growing demand for water. on may 2004  aguas argentinas and the government signed an agreement to renegotiate its buenos aires water-concession contract. the firm agreed to invest 242m pesos. the issue has attracted european interest. last week in paris  president kirchner discussed this problem and other issues with french president jacques chirac. the argentine government is also under pressure from european union countries and the international monetary fund (imf) to raise utilities tariffs  because most of the utilities operating in argentina are european.


bush to get  tough  on deficit us president george w bush has pledged to introduce a  tough  federal budget next february in a bid to halve the country s deficit in five years.  the us budget and its trade deficit are both deep in the red  helping to push the dollar to lows against the euro and fuelling fears about the economy. mr bush indicated there would be  strict discipline  on non-defence spending in the budget. the vow to cut the deficit had been one of his re-election declarations. the federal budget deficit hit a record $412bn (£211.6bn) in the 12 months to 30 september and $377bn in the previous year.   we will submit a budget that fits the times   mr bush said.  it will provide every tool and resource to the military  will protect the homeland  and meet other priorities of the government.  the us has said it is committed to a strong dollar. but the dollar s weakness has hit european and asian exporters and lead to calls for us intervention to boost the currency. mr bush  however  has said the best way to halt the dollar s slide is to deal with the us deficit.  it s a budget that i think will send the right signal to the financial markets and to those concerned about our short-term deficits   mr bush added.  as well  we ve got to deal with the long-term deficit issues.


monsanto fined $1.5m for bribery the us agrochemical giant monsanto has agreed to pay a $1.5m (£799 000) fine for bribing an indonesian official.  monsanto admitted one of its employees paid the senior official two years ago in a bid to avoid environmental impact studies being conducted on its cotton. in addition to the penalty  monsanto also agreed to three years  close monitoring of its business practices by the american authorities. it said it accepted full responsibility for what it called improper activities.  a former senior manager at monsanto directed an indonesian consulting firm to give a $50 000 bribe to a high-level official in indonesia s environment ministry in 2002. the manager told the company to disguise an invoice for the bribe as  consulting fees .  monsanto was facing stiff opposition from activists and farmers who were campaigning against its plans to introduce genetically-modified cotton in indonesia. despite the bribe  the official did not authorise the waiving of the environmental study requirement. monsanto also has admitted to paying bribes to a number of other high-ranking officials between 1997 and 2002.  the chemicals-and-crops firm said it became aware of irregularities at a jakarta-based subsidiary in 2001 and launched an internal investigation before informing the us department of justice and the securities and exchange commission (sec). monsanto faced both criminal and civil charges from the department of justice and the sec.  companies cannot bribe their way into favourable treatment by foreign officials   said christopher wray  assistant us attorney general. monsanto has agreed to pay $1m to the department of justice  adopt internal compliance measures  and co-operate with continuing civil and criminal investigations. it is also paying $500 000 to the sec to settle the bribe charge and other related violations. monsanto said it accepted full responsibility for its employees  actions  adding that it had taken  remedial actions to address the activities in indonesia  and had been  fully co-operative  throughout the investigative process.


more power to the people says hp the digital revolution is focused on letting people tell and share their own stories  according to carly fiorina  chief of technology giant hewlett packard.  the job of firms such as hp now  she said in a speech at the consumer electronics show (ces)  was to ensure digital and physical worlds fully converged. she said the goal for 2005 was to make people the centre of technology. ces showcases 50 000 new gadgets that will be hitting the shelves in 2005. the tech-fest  the largest of its kind in the world  runs from 6 to 9 january.  the digital revolution is about the democratisation of technology and the experiences it makes possible   she told delegates.  revolution has always been about giving power to the people.  she added:  the real story of the digital revolution is not just new products  but the millions of experiences made possible and stories that millions can tell.  part of giving people more control has been about the freeing up of content  such as images  video and music. crucial to this has been the effort to make devices that speak to each other better so that content can be more easily transferred from one device  such as a digital camera  to others  such as portable media players. a lot of work still needs to be done  however  to sort out compatibility issues and standards within the technology industry so that gadgets just work seamlessly  she said.  ms fiorina s talk also touted the way technology is being designed to focus on lifestyle  fashion and personalisation  something she sees as key to what people want.  special guest  singer gwen stefani  joined her on-stage to promote her own range of hp digital cameras which ms stefani has helped design and which are heavily influenced by japanese youth culture. the digital cameras  which are due to go on sale in the us by the summer  are based on the hp 607 model. the emphasis on personalisation and lifestyle is a big theme at this year s ces  with tiny  wearable mp3 players at every turn and rainbow hues giving colour to everything. ms fiorina also announced that hp was working with nokia to launch a visual radio service for mobiles  which would launch in europe early this year. the service will let people listen to radio on their mobiles and download relevant content  like a track s ringtone  simultaneously. the service is designed to make mobile radio more interactive.  among the other new products she showcased was the digital media hub  a big upgrade to hp s digital entertainment centre. coming out in the autumn in the us  the box is a networked  high-definition tv  cable set-top box  digital video recorder and dvd recorder. it has a removable hard drive cartridge  memory card slots  and light scribe labelling software which lets people design and print customised dvd labels and covers. it is designed to contain all a household s digital media  such as pre-recorded tv shows  pictures  videos and music so it can all be managed in one place. the hub reflects the increasing move to re-box the pc so that it can work as part of other key centres of entertainment. research suggests that about 258 million images are saved and shared every day  equating to 94 billion a year. eighty per cent of those remain on cameras. media hubs are designed to encourage people to organise them on one box. ms fiorina was one of several keynote speakers  who also included microsoft chief bill gates  to set out what major technology companies think people will be doing with technologies and gadgets in the next 12 months. in a separate announcement during the keynote speech  ms fiorina said that hp would be partnering mtv to replace this year s mtv asia music award. mtv s asia aid will be held in bangkok on 3 february  and is aimed at helping to raise money for the asian tsunami disaster.


brentford v southampton griffin park  tuesday  1 march  1945 gmt  barry knight (kent)  home to manchester united in the quarter-finals  midfielder andrew frampton and striker deon burton are both slight doubts with hamstring injuries  but should be fit saints are missing their entire first-choice midfield of jamie redknapp  graeme le saux  nigel quashie and david prutton. anders svensson and matt oakley are likely replacements with kevin phillips also scheduled to start  with henri camara rested.  - brentford boss martin allen:  after conceding eight goals in our last three matches  i have to admit i m not very confident.  there s no doubt we re the underdogs and after defending so poorly recently it s not looking good.  southampton have just drawn with the premiership champions and that makes our task harder than it was already.    - southampton boss harry redknapp:  we know they can give us problems.  brentford have done well but we are the premiership side and should have the better players.  staying in the premiership is our priority. we want to win  of course we do. we ll battle but if it comes to a football match i think we ll win.  key match stats   - brentford are the lowest ranked club left in the fa cup. they re on their best run in the competition since reaching the quarter-finals for the fourth time in their history 16 years ago. now they have the carrot of the plum draw in the last eight dangling before them. victory over premiership strugglers southampton  would bring the mighty manchester united to griffin park and a gigantic pay day for the sole league one survivors.   - martin allen s brave side came back from two goals down at st mary s to earn a deserved replay. southampton striker henri camara scored twice from close range to put the saints in command  but isaiah rankin hit back just before half time  and sam sodje headed past a creaky defence on 58 minutes.   - the londoners have conceded six goals in their two subsequent league outings - three each in losing away to hartlepool and drawing at home to sheffield wednesday. but they haven t lost in six league and cup games on home turf - winning three and drawing three since the reverse to torquay on boxing day.   - southampton go into this tie on the back of an eventful premiership match with arsenal on saturday. an angry david prutton pushed referee alan wiley after being shown the red card  but his side still came back to draw 1-1. it was saints  fourth stalemate in succession in all competitions  but didn t lift them out of the relegation zone. the retention of their ever present premier league status must be the number one priority  irrespective of the rewards that success against brentford would bring.   - victory here would set up a repeat of the 1976 final  when saints astounded the football world by defeating tommy docherty s manchester united courtesy of bobby stokes  famous winner. they also knocked out the red devils in 1991 on penalties in the fourth round. but to write another chapter in their fa cup history  the solent side must avoid succumbing to lower division opposition for the first time since rotherham  from the second level  beat them 2-1 in a third round tie at millmoor on 16 january 2002. southampton were last humbled by a club from the third tier six years ago. fulham were then in the second division  when they won a third round replay at craven cottage 1-0 on 13 january 1999.   - to get to within two matches of a second visit to the millennium stadium in three years for the final  harry redknapp must guide his side past a club 36 places inferior on the league ladder  and a manager 19 years his junior  who played under him at west ham. head to head  10th league one  quarter-finals (four times)  18th prem  winners (once)


deutsche telekom sees mobile gain german telecoms firm deutsche telekom saw strong fourth quarter profits on the back of upbeat us mobile earnings and better-than-expected asset sales.  net profit came in at 1.4bn euros (£960m; $1.85bn)  a dramatic change from the loss of 364m euros in 2003. sales rose 2.8% to 14.96bn euros. sales of stakes in firms including russia s oao mobile telesystems raised 1.17bn euros. this was more than expected and helped to bring debt down to 35.8bn euros.  a year ago  debt was more than 11bn euros higher. t-mobile usa  the company s american mobile business  made a strong contribution to profits.  it s a seminal achievement that they cut debt so low. that gives them some head room to invest in growth now   said hannes wittig  telecoms analyst at dresdner kleinwort wasserstein. the company also said it would resume paying a dividend  after two years in which it focused on cutting debt.


hotspot users gain free net calls people using wireless net hotspots will soon be able to make free phone calls as well as surf the net.  wireless provider broadreach and net telephony firm skype are rolling out a service at 350 hotspots around the uk this week. users will need a skype account - downloadable for free - and they will then be able to make net calls via wi-fi without paying for net access. skype allows people to make free pc-based calls to other skype users.  users of the system can also make calls to landlines and mobiles for a fee. the system is gaining in popularity and now has 28 million users around the world. its paid service - dubbed skype out - has so far attracted 940 000 users. it plans to add more paid services with forthcoming launches of video conferencing  voice mail and skype in  a service which would allow users to receive phone calls from landlines and mobiles. london-based software developer connectotel has unveiled software that will expand the sms functions of skype  allowing users to send text messages to mobile phones from the service. broadreach networks has around two million users and hotspots in places such as virgin megastores  the travelodge chain of hotels and all london s major rail terminals. the company is due to launch wi-fi on virgin trains later in the year.  skype s success at spreading the world about internet telephony is well-known and we are delighted to be offering free access to skype users in our hotspots   commented broadreach chief executive magnus mcewen-king.


reaction from spanish press england s 1-0 defeat to spain on wednesday dominated the back and front pages of the country s press on thursday.  controversy was in no short supply  with racist abuse of england s black players  wayne rooney s petulance and england s inept performance. but what did the spanish press make of the affair  bbc sport looks at the reaction.      there is little coverage of the racist chanting on wednesday night s game. but as does cover the english reaction to the pre-match comments from spain coach luis aragones  who highlighted britain s colonial past when probed about his own remarks regarding thierry henry in october. journalist guillem balague writes:  in our country  where multi-culturalism is a new thing  we are in nappies dealing with these things  and have a naivety which makes the english nervous.   marca refers in passing to the booing of england s black players - but only after referring to the cheers of  ole  which greeted the long periods of spanish possession. aragones   no comment  to questions about racism after the match is also highlighted  as marca focuses on the spanish coach s praise for his players. serbia & montenegro s 2-0 world cup qualifying win in belgium - which could make qualification tougher for spain - seems to be of greater importance.  elsewhere  the spanish media criticises its english counterparts for stoking up the racism issue.  were there racist chants against some players  this hasn t happened in the spanish league and spain for many years   said spanish federation press officer fernando garrido.  so you (english reporters) should ask yourselves what you have done to contribute to all this.  and spanish daily abc accuses english reporters of launching a witch-hunt against aragones.  perhaps it was because their team had played so poorly and they wanted to divert attention towards this muddled issue   the paper says.       what the boy in the bernabeu did was odd... rooney seemed intent to kick any spanish player who approached him.  yet rooney is seen only as the worst example of many england miscreants  with gary neville criticised for continuing the feud between manchester united and arsenal for his tackles on jose reyes. ashley cole s treatment of joaquin  and a frank lampard foul on reyes are also lambasted for their  ugliness .  marca s headline says it all:  wayne rooney se volvió loco en el bernabéu (wayne rooney became crazy in the bernabeu)  rooney s display alarms the writer  in particular three  chilling  fouls on joaquin  casillas and marchena  which  could well have left them in the infirmary.  and like as  marca criticises gary neville for  leaving a message on reyes  ankle  to remind him of the manchester united-arsenal clash this month.      spain s first-half performance is showered with praise  with xavi singled out as the biggest star.  xavi did things on wednesday which were worthy of maradona   the paper beams  adding   what a work-rate  what dynamism  what vision  what leadership  what a midfield player!  on a controversial evening  as offers one seemingly undeniable viewpoint:  spanish football players played better football than the english.   more plaudits are given to the home team  with jaime vargas lauding the manner in which  spain dominated england with order and quality . the paper adds:  the bad thing about spain v england was that it lasted only 65 minutes after which a succession of changes prevented any real competition.  vargas does not mention england s two galacticos  simply adding in a ps:  i have not forgotten to speak of beckham and owen. they forgot to play.


the year search became personal the odds are that when you fire up your browser  you go straight to your favourite search engine  rather than type in a web address.  some may see this as the height of laziness  but in an era of information overload  search has become a vital tool in navigating the net. it is symptomatic of how the way we use the internet is changing. and as google has shown  there is money in offering a service that people cannot live without. there is no shortage of companies vying for the loyalty of web searchers  offering a wealth of different services and tools to help you find what you want. over the past 12 months  giants of the technology world such as microsoft and yahoo have sought to grab a slice of the search action.  user experience has contributed to people searching more   said yonca brunini of yahoo. as people become more familiar with the internet  they tend to spend more time online and ask more queries  she said.  the other second thing is broadband   ms brunini told the bbc news website.  this will do to internet what colour has done to tv.   but search is hardly a new phenomenon. it has been around since the early days of the net.  veteran surfers will remember old-timers like hotbot and altavista.  search was always important   said urs holzle  google vice-president of operations.  we trumpeted that in 1999. it is even truer now as there are more users and more information.   people didn t realise that search was the future. the financials have something to do with it.  google has shown web commerce can work through its targeted small adverts  which appear at the top and down the right-hand side of a page and are related to the original search. these small ads helped google reach revenues of $805.9m for the three months to september. others have woken up to the fact that you can make money out of web queries.  once you see there is a market  microsoft is bound to step to it. if microsoft sees search as important  then nobody queries it   said mr holzle.  microsoft is just one of the net giants muscling in on search. yahoo  ask jeeves  amazon and a handful of smaller outfits are all seeking to capture eyeballs.  web users face a plethora of choices as each company tries to outflank google by rolling out new search products such as desktop search. it reflects how the battlefield has shifted from the net to your pc. search is not just about finding your way around the web. it is now about unlocking information hidden in the gigabytes of documents  images and music on hard drives. for all these advances  search is still a clumsy tool  often failing to come up with exactly what you had in mind. in order to do a better job  search engines are trying to get to know you better  doing a better job of remembering  cataloguing and managing all the information you come across.  personalisation is going to be a big area for the future   said yahoo s yonca brunini.  whoever cracks that and gives you the information you want is going to be the winner. we have to understand you to give you better results that are tailored to you.  this is perhaps the holy grail of search  understanding what it is you are looking for and providing it quickly. the problem is that no one yet knows how to get there.


healthsouth ex-boss goes on trial the former head of us medical services firm healthsouth overstated earnings and assets to boost the company s share price  it was claimed in court.  richard scrushy  52  is accused of  directing  a $2.7bn (£1.4bn) accounting fraud at the company he co-founded in alabama in 1984. prosecutors said he was motivated by wealth - spending about $200m between 1996 and 2002 while earning much less. defence lawyers said mr scrushy had been deceived by other executives. several former healthsouth employees have already pleaded guilty to fraud and are expected to give evidence against mr scrushy.   we will present evidence that richard scrushy knew about the conspiracy  that he participated in the conspiracy and that he profited   prosecutor alice martin told the court. mr scrushy is the first chief executive to be tried for breaching the sarbanes oxley act - a law introduced in the wake of the enron and worldcom frauds which obliges corporate bosses to vouch for the accuracy of their companies  results. among the charges he faces are conspiracy to commit fraud  filing false statements and money laundering. after federal agents raided healthsouth s offices in march 2003  the company said none of its past financial statements could be relied on. the firm has since reorganised its board and management team and currently operates about 1 400 health clinics.


mexican in us send $16bn home mexican labourers living in the us sent a record $16.6bn (£8.82bn) home last year.  the bank of mexico said that remittances grew 24% last year and now represent the country s second-biggest source of income after oil. better records and greater prosperity of mexican expatriates in the us are the main reasons behind the increase. about 10 million mexicans live in the us  where there are 16 million citizens of mexican origin. remittances now represent more than 2% of the country s gdp  according to the bank of mexico s figures. last year  there were 50.9 million transactions  with an average value of $327 per remittance  the bank said. according to standard & poor s  which has recently upgraded mexico s sovereign debt rating  the rise in remittances helps protect the mexican economy against a potential fall in the international oil prices.  the growth in remittances has sparked fierce competition between banks. bank of america announced last week that it planned to eliminate transfer fees for some customers. remittance charges are estimated to have dropped by between 50 and 60%  reports from the us treasury and the inter-american development bank have said. the inter-american development bank estimates that remittances to latin america and the caribbean reached $45bn in 2004.


continental  may run out of cash  shares in continental airlines have tumbled after the firm warned it could run out of cash.  in a filing to us regulators the airline warned of  inadequate liquidity  if it fails to reduce wage costs by $500m by the end of february. continental also said that  if it did not make any cuts  it expects to lose  hundreds of millions of dollars  in 2005 in current market conditions. failure to make cutbacks may also push it to reduce its fleet  the group said. shares in the fifth biggest us carrier had fallen 6.87% on the news to $10.44 by 1830 gmt.  without the reduction in wage and benefit costs and a reasonable prospect of future profitability  we believe that our ability to raise additional money through financings would be uncertain   continental said in its filing to the us securities and exchange commission (sec).  airlines have faced tough conditions in recent years  amid terrorism fears since the 11 september world trade centre attack in 2001. but despite passengers returning to the skies  record-high fuel costs and fare wars prompted by competition from low cost carriers have taken their toll. houston-based continental now has debt and pension payments of nearly $984m which it must pay off this year. the company has been working to streamline its operations - and has managed to save $1.1bn in costs without cutting jobs. two weeks  ago the group also announced it would be able to shave a further $48m a year from its costs with changes to wage and benefits for most of its us-based management and clerical staff.


euronext joins bid battle for lse pan-european stock market euronext has approached the london stock exchange (lse) about a possible takeover bid.   the approach is at an early stage and therefore does not require a response at this point   lse said. talks with the european stock market and with rival bidder deutsche boerse will continue  the lse said. last week  the group rejected a £1.3bn ($2.5bn) takeover offer from deutsche boerse  claiming that it undervalued the business. lse saw its shares surge 4.9% to a new high of 583p in early trade  following the announcement on monday.  the offer follows widespread media speculation that euronext would make an offer for lse. experts now widely expect a bidding war for europe s biggest stock market  which lists stocks with a total capitalisation of £1.4 trillion  to break out. commentators say that a deal with euronext  which owns the liffe derivatives exchange in london and combines the paris  amsterdam and lisbon stock exchanges  could potentially offer the lse more cost savings than a deal with deutsche boerse.  a weekend report in the telegraph had quoted an unnamed executive at euronext as saying the group would make a cash bid to trump deutsche boerse s offer.  because we already own liffe in london  the cost savings available to us from a merger are far greater than for deutsche boerse   the newspaper quoted the executive as saying. euronext chief executive jean-francois theodore is reported to have already held private talks with lse s chief executive clara furse. further reports had suggested that euronext could make an offer in excess of the lse s 533p a share closing price on friday. however  euronext said it could not guarantee  at this stage  that a firm offer would be made for lse. there has been extensive speculation about a possible takeover of the company since an attempted merger with deutsche boerse failed in 2000.


steel firm  to cut  45 000 jobs mittal steel  one of the world s largest steel producers  could cut up to 45 000 jobs over the next five years  its chief executive has said.  the netherlands-based company is due to complete its $4.5bn acquisition of us firm isg next month  making it one of the largest global firms of its kind. however  lakshmi mittal has told investors the combined company will have to shed thousands of jobs. the indian-born magnate did not say where the job losses would fall.  mr mittal told us investors that once the acquisition of international steel group was completed  the company would aim to reduce its workforce by between 7 000 and 8 000 annually. this could see its workforce trimmed from 155 000 to 110 000 staff by 2010.  we are investing in modernisation so employees will go down   mr mittal told the conference in chicago.  mittal steel was formed last year when mr mittal s lnm holdings merged with dutch firm ispat. a combination of mittal steel and isg would have annual sales of $32bn (£16.7bn; 24.1bn euros) and a production capacity of 70 million tonnes.  a mittal steel spokeman said that no decisions on job cuts have been made yet.  we are trying to create a sustainable steel industry and if we want to do that  we have to invest in new technology   a spokesman said. mittal steel has operations in 14 countries. many of its businesses - particularly those in eastern europe - were previously state owned and have huge workforces. it employs 50 000 staff in kazakhstan alone  and has large operations in romania  the czech republic  south africa and the united states.


ivanovic seals canberra victory serbia s ana ivanovic captured her first wta title with a straight-sets victory over hungarian melinda czink in the final of the canberra classic.  the 17-year-old took 83 minutes to take the match 7-5 6-1. ivanovic beat czink in the last round of qualifying but the hungarian made the main draw as a lucky loser after katarina srebotnik withdrew injured. ivanovic said:  i was really nervous in the beginning  but i pulled through and didn t do too much wrong.  a junior wimbledon finalist last year  she added:  it s my first wta title  and to win it has really given me more energy to practice and improve.  ivanovic will play 32nd seed iveta benesova of the czech republic in the first round.said of the australian open in melbourne.


beckham rules out management move real madrid midfielder david beckham has no plans to become a manager when his playing career is over.   i am not interested in being a coach but i would like to have football schools   the england captain said on television station canal plus.  i have wanted to do that since i went to the bobby charlton school. i m going to open one in london and one in la.  my second passion is charity work - i am an ambassador for unicef and it gives me great pride.  but beckham revealed that his immediate priority was winning the spanish league title with real madrid.  real slipped to 13 points behind leaders barcelona with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of sevilla on wednesday. beckham admitted:  it s disappointing and frustrating to see the results  considering the team we have.  i would really like to win la liga with real madrid - i have been here two years and we still have not done it.  in a wide-ranging interview  beckham also revealed that his sending-off against argentina - and the resulting media storm - had been the most significant moment in his career. asked for his worst memory  he said:  to be sent off against argentina - it was not for the sending-off but for what happened afterwards.  i was lucky because i had a manager  sir alex ferguson  who supported me and a strong family behind me but i believe that changed me.  i believe it changed me for the better.


open source leaders slam patents the war of words between microsoft and the open source movement heated up this week as linux founder linus torvalds led an attack on software patents.  in a panel discussion at a linux summit in california mr torvalds said software patents were a problem for the open source movement. mitchell kapor  chairman of the mozilla foundation  warned that microsoft could use patent lawsuits in the future. linux is a freely-available alternative to microsoft s windows. it relies on a community of programmers for its development and is based on open source principles  which allow others to use and modify it without having to pay licence fees. the attack on software patents comes at a time when ibm has made 500 of its patents freely available. other companies are expected to follow suit.  there are between 150 000 and 300 000 registered software patents in the us and open source developers argue that many should never have been granted. this is a view corroborated by the uk patent office.  some of the patents have dubious validity and are being wielded by some big companies to force smaller companies to buy licenses in the knowledge that they can t afford to take them to court   said dr jeremy philpott of the uk patent office. some panel members are worried that microsoft would issue a series of patent lawsuits in the future.  if totally pushed to the wall - because their business model no longer holds up in an era in which open source is an economically superior way to produce software...of course they re going to unleash the wmds   mr kapor is reported as saying. microsoft did not want to comment directly  referring the issue instead to trade body intellect  of which it is a member.  as far as intellect is concerned  open source and patents have co-existed for many years without problems   said spokeswoman jill sutherland.  the industry respects the open source movement and in fact many of the members we represent use the open source system to develop software    we think the important point to make is that companies should be able to choose between patents  copyrights and open source as to the treatment of their intellectual discoveries  and not be forced into using one or the other   she added.


mystery surrounds new yukos owner the fate of russia s yuganskneftegas - the oil firm sold to a little-known buyer on sunday - is the subject of frantic speculation in moscow.  baikal finance group emerged as the auction winner  agreeing to pay 260.75bn roubles (£4.8bn; $9.4bn). russia s newspapers claimed that baikal was a front for gas monopoly gazprom  which had been expected to win. the sale has destroyed yukos  once the owner of yuganskneftegas  said founder mikhail khodorkovsky.  yuganskneftegas has been sold in the best traditions of the 90s. the authorities have made themselves a wonderful christmas present - russia s most efficient oil company has been destroyed   the interfax news agency quoted mr khodorkovsky as saying via his lawyers.  gazprom had been expected to win the auction but is thought to have failed to get finance for the deal after a us court injunction barred it from taking part. last week  yukos filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the us in a last-ditch attempt to hang on to yuganskneftegas  which accounts for 60% of its output. a us judge banned gazprom from taking part in the auction and barred international banks from providing the firm with cash.  they screwed up the financing   said ronald smith  an analyst at renaissance capital in moscow.  and gazprom doesn t have this sort of money lying around.   gazprom has denied that it is behind the purchase.  it is a front for somebody but not necessarily for gazprom   said oleg maximov  an analyst at troika dialog in moscow.  we don t know if this company is linked 100% to gazprom.   we tried to find it  but we couldn t and as far as i know  the papers had the same result.  the sale has however bought time for gazprom to raise the money needed for the purchase  analysts said. one scenario is that baikal will not pay when it is supposed to in two weeks time  putting yuganskneftegas back in the hands of bailiffs and back within the reach of gazprom. yukos is not planning on letting go of its unit without a fight and has threatened legal action against any buyer. menatep  yukos main shareholders  group  has also threatened legal action. yukos claims that it is being punished for the political ambitions of its founder  mikhail khodorkovsky  who is now in jail facing separate fraud charges. it has been hit with more than $27bn in taxes and fines and many observers now say that the break up of the firm that accounts for 20% of russia s oil output is inevitable.


newcastle to join morientes race newcastle have joined the race to sign real madrid striker fernando morientes and scupper liverpool s bid to snap up the player  according to reports.  liverpool were reported to have bid £3.5m for the 28-year-old spanish international this week. but the liverpool echo newspaper has said anfield boss rafa benitez will avoid a bidding war and instead turn his attentions to nicolas anelka. real are believed to still want £7m before selling morientes. monaco are also in the race for the player they had on loan last season. reports suggest liverpool will lift their offer to £5m - the highest they are willing to go before bowing out of any deal.  on tuesday  morientes had said:  i like liverpool and i am pleased that a club of their stature want to buy me. i have told madrid that i want it to happen.  madrid know my situation and they know they must do something about me. they must sort out the situation by being sensible.  i am in a position where i want to play  and i will have to look elsewhere to do that. if madrid do not want me then it s in the best interests of everyone that they are realistic.   i haven t spoken to rafa benitez but i have always appreciated his work and i would like to play for him. but benitez could yet turn his attentions to the younger anelka should morientes be reluctant to pledge his future to liverpool. anelka previously played at anfield under gerard houllier before sealing his permanent switch to manchester city.


a year to remember for irish there used to be one subliminal moment during a year in irish rugby that stood out more than most.  well  at least there used to one. now there is a handful to look back with a mixture of satisfaction  and sorrow. it has been quite a year for the irish  and not just with eddie o sullivan s triple crown winning international outfit either. right down through the ranks irish rugby is creating waves and upsetting the more established teams in the game. but most of the kudos will go to o sullivan and his merry band of warriors who not only collected their first triple crown for 29 years  but also finished their autumn campaign with a 100% record. for the second year in succession they also finished in the runners-up spot in the rbs six nations. but in the three games in november which included a victory over tri-nations champions and grand slam chasing south africa  ireland finsihed the year on a high. the 18-12 victory at lansdowne road was only their second victory over the boks after the initial success back in 1965. that success was revenge for the consecutive defeats in blomefontein and cape town in the summer. those two reverses and the 35-17 flop against france  were the only dark patches in an otherwise excellent 12 months. but the big one  of course  was the 19-13 defeat of world cup champions england on their precious twickenham turf. the winning try was conceived in o sullivan s mind  perfectly executed by the team and finished immaculately by girvan dempsey. for me  the try of the championship. o sullivan s career is now in vertical take-off mode. it is no wonder that sir clive woodward has elevated the galway-based coach to head the lions test side. not only that  but a fair majority of the present ireland side will be wearing red next june in new zealand.  there can be no doubt that ireland s representation will be the biggest ever  albeit in a proposed 44-man squad. in brian o driscoll and paul o connell  ireland have now the two front-runners for the captaincy. gordon d arcy  whose career began as a teenager back in 1999  finally arrived when he was named the six nations player of the tournament. but it was not only the senior squad that brought kudos to ireland  the youngsters strutted their stuff on the big stage as well. the under-21 squad confounded the doubters as they went all the way to the world cup final in scotland only to be beaten by a powerful all black side in the decider. the young irish boys had stated their intentions earlier in the season when they finished runners-up to england in the six nations under-21 tournament. on the provincial front  leinster  for second year in succession  blew it when the heineken cup looked a good wager. while ulster finished runners-up in their very tight group for the second season in succession  it was munster again flying the flag for the irish. looking to reach their third final  they went down 37-32 to eventual winners wasps in what many beileve was the most competitive and thunderous game ever witnessed at lansdowne road. how wasps recovered from that energy-sapping duel  and then go onto to defeat toulouse in the final was anybody s guess. ulster  meanwhile  just lost out to adding the inaugural celtic cup in winning the celtic league when they were pipped at the post by the scarlets in the final game.  ulster  however  took time to start the new season under new coach mark mccall. the once famous ravenhill fortress was breached four times as ulster only manged five wins from their first 12 outings in the celtic league. leinster are again looking the most potent outfit going into 2005  but whether they can take that final step under declan kidney is another thing. on the down side  irish rugby was hit by a number of tragedies. teenage star john mccall died while playing for the ireland against new zealand in the under-19 world cup game in durban. that happened only 10 days after he led royal armagh to their first ulster schools  cup success since 1977. the death of former ireland coach and lions flanker mike doyle in a car crash in northern ireland shocked the rugby fraternity a larger than life character  doyle had coached ireland to the triple crown in 1985  the last time that goal had been achieved before this season. ulster rugby also suffered the sudden deaths of well-known londonderry ym player jim huey  coleraine s jonathan hutchinson  and belfast harlequins lock johnny poole. they all passed away long before the full-time whistle.


standoff  on deutsche s lse bid deutsche boerse investors unhappy with its london stock exchange bid will have no chance to throw out the exchange s management until may  reuters says.  the sunday times reported that hedge funds tci and atticus were planning to demand the removal of the group s chairman and chief executive. but deutsche boerse told news agency reuters such a move would have to wait until may s annual general meeting. investors want deutsche to return cash to shareholders rather than bid.  we are long-term investors and are experienced in removing management. we are not scared to take this to its conclusion this time   atticus  david slager told the sunday times. however  deutsche boerse told reuters:  tci s request for the removal of the supervisory board will be considered at the annual general meeting on may 25.   the sunday times reported that tci had been drawing up a list of heavyweight executives to replace deutsche s chairman rolf breuer and chief executive werner seifert. the group owns more than 5% of deutsche - more than enough to demand an extraordinary general meeting to call on shareholders to oust the german exchange s management. under german law deutsche does not need investor backing to make a takeover bid. tci and atticus have opposed the lse bid for some time saying it would destroy shareholder value  and would be better spent on a share buyback. deutsche is in competition with pan-european bourse euronext to take over the london exchange. many commentators have suggested a bidding war between the two could break out. however  any such move would have to wait until march when the office of fair trading completes an investigation into the competition aspects of the pair s takeover proposals.


kluft impressed by sotherton form olympic heptathlon champion carolina kluft was full of admiration for britain s kelly sotherton as the pair prepared to clash in birmingham.  both will be in action on friday in the 60m hurdles and long jump ahead of the european indoor championships later this month in madrid. sotherton finished third behind the swede in athens  and kluft said:  i knew about her  she s a great girl.  she looked very good early in the season and was competing really well.  kluft showed impressive early-season form on tuesday in stockholm s ge galan meeting  winning the sprint hurdles  the long jump and the 400m. sotherton has also displayed promise  with a new high jump personal best in sheffield at the combined norwich union european trials and aaa championships  and a second place in the long jump behind jade johnson.


tv future in the hands of viewers with home theatre systems  plasma high-definition tvs  and digital video recorders moving into the living room  the way people watch tv will be radically different in five years  time.  that is according to an expert panel which gathered at the annual consumer electronics show in las vegas to discuss how these new technologies will impact one of our favourite pastimes. with the us leading the trend  programmes and other content will be delivered to viewers via home networks  through cable  satellite  telecoms companies  and broadband service providers to front rooms and portable devices.  one of the most talked-about technologies of ces has been digital and personal video recorders (dvr and pvr). these set-top boxes  like the us s tivo and the uk s sky+ system  allow people to record  store  play  pause and forward wind tv programmes when they want.  essentially  the technology allows for much more personalised tv. they are also being built-in to high-definition tv sets  which are big business in japan and the us  but slower to take off in europe because of the lack of high-definition programming. not only can people forward wind through adverts  they can also forget about abiding by network and channel schedules  putting together their own a-la-carte entertainment. but some us networks and cable and satellite companies are worried about what it means for them in terms of advertising revenues as well as  brand identity  and viewer loyalty to channels. although the us leads in this technology at the moment  it is also a concern that is being raised in europe  particularly with the growing uptake of services like sky+.  what happens here today  we will see in nine months to a years  time in the uk   adam hume  the bbc broadcast s futurologist told the bbc news website. for the likes of the bbc  there are no issues of lost advertising revenue yet. it is a more pressing issue at the moment for commercial uk broadcasters  but brand loyalty is important for everyone.  we will be talking more about content brands rather than network brands   said tim hanlon  from brand communications firm starcom mediavest.  the reality is that with broadband connections  anybody can be the producer of content.  he added:  the challenge now is that it is hard to promote a programme with so much choice.   what this means  said stacey jolna  senior vice president of tv guide tv group  is that the way people find the content they want to watch has to be simplified for tv viewers. it means that networks  in us terms  or channels could take a leaf out of google s book and be the search engine of the future  instead of the scheduler to help people find what they want to watch. this kind of channel model might work for the younger ipod generation which is used to taking control of their gadgets and what they play on them. but it might not suit everyone  the panel recognised. older generations are more comfortable with familiar schedules and channel brands because they know what they are getting. they perhaps do not want so much of the choice put into their hands  mr hanlon suggested.  on the other end  you have the kids just out of diapers who are pushing buttons already - everything is possible and available to them   said mr hanlon.  ultimately  the consumer will tell the market they want.   of the 50 000 new gadgets and technologies being showcased at ces  many of them are about enhancing the tv-watching experience. high-definition tv sets are everywhere and many new models of lcd (liquid crystal display) tvs have been launched with dvr capability built into them  instead of being external boxes. one such example launched at the show is humax s 26-inch lcd tv with an 80-hour tivo dvr and dvd recorder. one of the us s biggest satellite tv companies  directtv  has even launched its own branded dvr at the show with 100-hours of recording capability  instant replay  and a search function. the set can pause and rewind tv for up to 90 hours. and microsoft chief bill gates announced in his pre-show keynote speech a partnership with tivo  called tivotogo  which means people can play recorded programmes on windows pcs and mobile devices. all these reflect the increasing trend of freeing up multimedia so that people can watch what they want  when they want.


turkey knocks six zeros off lira turkey is to relaunch its currency on saturday  knocking six zeros off the lira in the hope of boosting trade and powering its growing economy.  the change will see the end of such dizzyingly-high denominations as five million lira - enough for a short taxi ride - and the 20m note  worth $15. these valuations were the product of decades of inflation which  as recently as 2001  was as high as 70%. inflation has since been tamed and economic prospects are improving.  the currency - officially to be known as the new lira - will be launched at midnight on 1 january. from that point  the one-million lira note will become the new one-lira coin. the government hopes the change will be seen as a promise of growing economic stability as turkey embarks on the long process of trying to join the european union.  on an everyday level  it is hoped the change will stimulate more international trade and end confusion among foreign investors and turks alike.  the transition to the new turkish lira shows clearly that our economy has broken the vicious circle that it was imprisoned in for long years   said sureyya serdengecti  head of the turkish central bank.  the new lira is also the symbol of the stable economy that we dreamed of for long years.   the turkish economy teetered on the brink of collapse in 2001 when the lira plunged in value and two million people lost their jobs.  turkey had to turn to the international monetary fund for financial assistance  accepting a $18bn loan in return for pushing through a wide-ranging austerity programme. these tough measures have borne fruit. inflation fell below 10% earlier this year for the first time in decades while exports are up 30% this year. meanwhile  the economy is expanding at a healthy rate  with 7.9% growth expected in 2004. the government hopes that the new currency will cement the country s economic progress  two weeks after eu leaders set a date for the start of turkey s accession talks.  the slimmed-down lira is likely to be widely welcomed by the business community.   the turkish lira has been like funny money   tevfik aksoy  chief turkish economist for deutsche bank  told associated press.  now at least in cosmetic terms it will look like real currency.  however  some do not feel quite so happy about seeing the nominal value of their investments reduced.  if a person has 10 billion lira in investments this will suddenly decrease   shop owner hayriye evren  told associated press.  this will definitely affect people psychologically.


uk interest rates held 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.


relay squad thrilled with honours jason gardener says being made an mbe in the new year honours list underlines the achievement of great britain s 4x100m relay squad at the olympics.  gardener  darren campbell  marlon devonish and mark lewis-francis have all been awarded mbes after beating pre-race favourites usa to gold.  i think this award reinforces what we did on that fantastic night   he said.  this recognition is really inspiring and makes me want to have more success   said lewis-francis. the british sprint quartet produced a string of faultless baton changes in the final to put pressure on the americans.  and when the usa stumbled with a poor switch between justin gatlin and coby miller at the 300m stage  britain edged ahead going into the final bend. then  on cue  lewis-francis ran a textbook final leg  holding off maurice greene to bring team gb home in 38.07 seconds - just one hundredth of a second ahead of their rivals.  winning the gold medal was the highlight of my athletics career so far   said the birchfield harrier.  this award is not just for me  but for all my friends  family and the people who have helped me to get to this level in my sport.  gardener added:  all of us had worked very hard for a long  long time to carry off what most believed was an impossible task.  of course this award is very special  but for me nothing will ever take away winning an olympic gold medal. it s all i ever wanted.  all my life that is what i dreamed of doing. life since then has been fantastic.  campbell agreed receiving the honour capped off what has been a difficult year for the sprinter.  i think the mbe is important because the people closest to me know my journey   said the newport-based athlete.  i ve not just stumbled upon this.  it gives me a lot of joy and satisfaction to know the stuff you do for your country does mean something.   - there was also recognition for james clarke  chairman of the london marathon. he becomes an obe.


text message record smashed again uk mobile owners continue to break records with their text messaging  with latest figures showing that 26 billion texts were sent in total in 2004.  the figures collected by the mobile data association (mda) showed that 2.4 billion were fired off in december alone  the highest monthly total ever. that was 26% more than in december 2003. the records even surpassed the mda s own predictions  it said. every day 78 million messages are sent and there are no signs of a slow down. before december s bumper text record  the previous highest monthly total was in october 2004  when 2.3 billion were sent. text messaging is set to smash more records in 2005 too  said the mda  with forecasts suggesting a total of 30 billion for the year.  even though mobiles are becoming increasingly sophisticated with much more multimedia applications  texting is still one of the most useful functions of mobiles. people are using sms to do much more too. booking cinema tickets  text voting  and news or sports text alerts are growing popular. mobile owners have also given the chance to donate to the disasters emergency committee s (dec) asian tsunami fund by texting  donate  to a simple short code number. looking further ahead in the year  the mda s chairman mike short  has predicted that more people will go online through their mobiles  estimating 15 billion wap page impressions. handsets with gprs capability - an  always on  net connection - will rise to 75%  while 3g mobile ownership growing to five million by the end of 2005. these third generation mobiles offer a high-speed connection which means more data like video can be received on the phone. globally  mobile phone sales passed 167 million in the third quarter of 2004  according to a recent report from analysts gartner. that was 26% more than the previous year. it is predicted that there would be two billion handsets in use worldwide by the end of 2005.


rings of steel combat net attacks gambling is hugely popular  especially with tech-savvy criminals.  many extortionists are targeting net-based betting firms and threatening to cripple their websites with deluges of data unless a ransom is paid. but now deep defences are being put in place by some of the uk s biggest net firms to stop these attacks. increasing numbers of attacks and the huge amounts of data being used to try to bump a site off the web are prompting firms to adopt the measures.  net firms are realising that it s not just about anti-virus and firewalls   said paul king  chief security architect at cisco.  there are more things that can be done in the network to protect data centres.  mr king said the only way to properly combat these so-called distributed denial-of-service attacks was with intelligent net-based systems. many of the gambling sites suffering ddos attacks are in offshore data and hosting centres  so any large scale data flood could knock out access to many more sites than just the one the criminals were targeting  said mr king. this overspill effect was only likely to grow as attacks grow in size and scale.  malcolm seagrave  security expert at energis  said the most common types of attacks hit sites with 10 megabytes of data over short periods of time. bigger attacks sending down 200 megabytes of traffic or more were rarely seen  he said.  it does feel like they are turning the dial because you see this traffic gradually growing   he said.  so far there have been no attacks involving gigabytes of data  said mr seagrave. however  he added that it was only a matter of time before such large attacks were mounted. maria capella  spokeswoman for net provider pipex  said that when ddos attacks were at their height  customers were getting hit every four to five days. the defences being put in place constantly monitor the streams of data flowing across networks and pluck out the traffic destined for target sites.  it s about understanding what s genuine traffic and keeping attack traffic from going to the site   she said.  we study the profile of their traffic and as soon as we see an anomaly in the profile that s when we start to get the backbone engineering boys to see if we are going to sustain an attack   said ms capella. this traffic can be hard to spot because ddos attacks typically use thousands of computers in many different countries  each participating machine only sends a small part of the entire data flood.  typically these computers have been infected by a virus or worm which reports its success and the net address of compromised machines back to the malicious hacker or hi-tech criminal that set off the virus. hijacked computers are known as zombies or  bots and collections of them are called  bot nets. many spammers rent out  bot nets to help them anonymously send junk mail.  most of the zombies are based outside the country that hosts the target site so getting the attacking pcs shut off can be difficult. often pipex and other net suppliers do get advance notice that an attack is about to happen.  the serious players tend to precede an attack with some kind of ransom e-mail   said ms capella.  we ask  as part of the service we provide  that customers notify us of anything they have in advance that would give us forewarning.  once an attack is spotted dedicated net hardware takes over to remove the attack traffic and ensure that sites stay up. energis took a similar approach  said mr seagrave.  we have technology out there that allows us to detect attacks in minutes rather than let network engineers spend hours pulling the information together   said mr seagrave. also net firms were starting to work more closely together on the problem of ddos attacks and pool information about where they are coming from. information gathered on attacks and where they originated has led to some arrests. he said energis also did its own intelligence work to get in insight into which sites criminal gangs plan to target.  we have people in places where they shouldn t be  monitoring tech sites   he said. sometimes though  he said  spotting the next victim was easy.  you can see them going alphabetically through the list with the gambling sites  trying one after another   said mr seagrave.