create FilesDataset class
This commit is contained in:
Arkadiusz Kondas
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@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ CHANGELOG
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This changelog references the relevant changes done in PHP-ML library.
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* 0.2.0 (in plan)
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* feature [Dataset] - FileDataset - load dataset from files (folders as targets)
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* feature [Dataset] - FilesDataset - load dataset from files (folder names as targets)
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* feature [Metric] - ClassificationReport - report about trained classifier
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* bug [Feature Extraction] - fix problem with token count vectorizer array order
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* 0.1.1 (2016-07-12)
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* feature [Cross Validation] Stratified Random Split - equal distribution for targets in split
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@ -8,11 +8,6 @@ use Phpml\Exception\DatasetException;
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class CsvDataset extends ArrayDataset
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{
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/**
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* @var string
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*/
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protected $filepath;
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/**
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* @param string $filepath
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* @param int $features
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@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
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<?php
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declare(strict_types = 1);
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namespace Phpml\Dataset;
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use Phpml\Exception\DatasetException;
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class FilesDataset extends ArrayDataset
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{
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/**
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* @param string $rootPath
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*
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* @throws DatasetException
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*/
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public function __construct(string $rootPath)
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{
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if (!is_dir($rootPath)) {
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throw DatasetException::missingFolder($rootPath);
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}
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$this->scanRootPath($rootPath);
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}
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/**
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* @param string $rootPath
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*/
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private function scanRootPath(string $rootPath)
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{
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foreach(glob($rootPath . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . '*', GLOB_ONLYDIR) as $dir) {
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$this->scanDir($dir);
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}
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}
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/**
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* @param string $dir
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*/
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private function scanDir(string $dir)
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{
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$target = basename($dir);
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foreach(array_filter(glob($dir. DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . '*'), 'is_file') as $file) {
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$this->samples[] = [file_get_contents($file)];
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$this->targets[] = $target;
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}
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}
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}
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@ -11,11 +11,19 @@ class DatasetException extends \Exception
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*/
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public static function missingFile($filepath)
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{
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return new self(sprintf('Dataset file %s missing.', $filepath));
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return new self(sprintf('Dataset file "%s" missing.', $filepath));
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}
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/**
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* @return DatasetException
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*/
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public static function missingFolder($path)
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{
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return new self(sprintf('Dataset root folder "%s" missing.', $path));
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}
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public static function cantOpenFile($filepath)
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{
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return new self(sprintf('Dataset file %s can\'t be open.', $filepath));
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return new self(sprintf('Dataset file "%s" can\'t be open.', $filepath));
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}
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}
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@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
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<?php
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declare (strict_types = 1);
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namespace tests\Phpml\Dataset;
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use Phpml\Dataset\FilesDataset;
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class FilesDatasetTest extends \PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
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{
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/**
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* @expectedException \Phpml\Exception\DatasetException
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*/
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public function testThrowExceptionOnMissingRootFolder()
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{
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new FilesDataset('some/not/existed/path');
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}
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public function testLoadFilesDatasetWithBBCData()
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{
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$rootPath = dirname(__FILE__).'/Resources/bbc';
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$dataset = new FilesDataset($rootPath);
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$this->assertEquals(50, count($dataset->getSamples()));
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$this->assertEquals(50, count($dataset->getTargets()));
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$targets = ['business', 'entertainment', 'politics', 'sport', 'tech'];
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$this->assertEquals($targets, array_values(array_unique($dataset->getTargets())));
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$firstSample = file_get_contents($rootPath.'/business/001.txt');
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$this->assertEquals($firstSample, $dataset->getSamples()[0][0]);
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$lastSample = file_get_contents($rootPath.'/tech/010.txt');
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$this->assertEquals($lastSample, $dataset->getSamples()[49][0]);
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}
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}
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Ad sales boost Time Warner profit
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Quarterly profits at US media giant TimeWarner jumped 76% to $1.13bn (£600m) for the three months to December, from $639m year-earlier.
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The firm, which is now one of the biggest investors in Google, benefited from sales of high-speed internet connections and higher advert sales. TimeWarner said fourth quarter sales rose 2% to $11.1bn from $10.9bn. Its profits were buoyed by one-off gains which offset a profit dip at Warner Bros, and less users for AOL.
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Time Warner said on Friday that it now owns 8% of search-engine Google. But its own internet business, AOL, had has mixed fortunes. It lost 464,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter profits were lower than in the preceding three quarters. However, the company said AOL's underlying profit before exceptional items rose 8% on the back of stronger internet advertising revenues. It hopes to increase subscribers by offering the online service free to TimeWarner internet customers and will try to sign up AOL's existing customers for high-speed broadband. TimeWarner also has to restate 2000 and 2003 results following a probe by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), which is close to concluding.
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Time Warner's fourth quarter profits were slightly better than analysts' expectations. But its film division saw profits slump 27% to $284m, helped by box-office flops Alexander and Catwoman, a sharp contrast to year-earlier, when the third and final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy boosted results. For the full-year, TimeWarner posted a profit of $3.36bn, up 27% from its 2003 performance, while revenues grew 6.4% to $42.09bn. "Our financial performance was strong, meeting or exceeding all of our full-year objectives and greatly enhancing our flexibility," chairman and chief executive Richard Parsons said. For 2005, TimeWarner is projecting operating earnings growth of around 5%, and also expects higher revenue and wider profit margins.
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TimeWarner is to restate its accounts as part of efforts to resolve an inquiry into AOL by US market regulators. It has already offered to pay $300m to settle charges, in a deal that is under review by the SEC. The company said it was unable to estimate the amount it needed to set aside for legal reserves, which it previously set at $500m. It intends to adjust the way it accounts for a deal with German music publisher Bertelsmann's purchase of a stake in AOL Europe, which it had reported as advertising revenue. It will now book the sale of its stake in AOL Europe as a loss on the value of that stake.
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Dollar gains on Greenspan speech
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The dollar has hit its highest level against the euro in almost three months after the Federal Reserve head said the US trade deficit is set to stabilise.
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And Alan Greenspan highlighted the US government's willingness to curb spending and rising household savings as factors which may help to reduce it. In late trading in New York, the dollar reached $1.2871 against the euro, from $1.2974 on Thursday. Market concerns about the deficit has hit the greenback in recent months. On Friday, Federal Reserve chairman Mr Greenspan's speech in London ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers sent the dollar higher after it had earlier tumbled on the back of worse-than-expected US jobs data. "I think the chairman's taking a much more sanguine view on the current account deficit than he's taken for some time," said Robert Sinche, head of currency strategy at Bank of America in New York. "He's taking a longer-term view, laying out a set of conditions under which the current account deficit can improve this year and next."
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Worries about the deficit concerns about China do, however, remain. China's currency remains pegged to the dollar and the US currency's sharp falls in recent months have therefore made Chinese export prices highly competitive. But calls for a shift in Beijing's policy have fallen on deaf ears, despite recent comments in a major Chinese newspaper that the "time is ripe" for a loosening of the peg. The G7 meeting is thought unlikely to produce any meaningful movement in Chinese policy. In the meantime, the US Federal Reserve's decision on 2 February to boost interest rates by a quarter of a point - the sixth such move in as many months - has opened up a differential with European rates. The half-point window, some believe, could be enough to keep US assets looking more attractive, and could help prop up the dollar. The recent falls have partly been the result of big budget deficits, as well as the US's yawning current account gap, both of which need to be funded by the buying of US bonds and assets by foreign firms and governments. The White House will announce its budget on Monday, and many commentators believe the deficit will remain at close to half a trillion dollars.
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Yukos unit buyer faces loan claim
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The owners of embattled Russian oil giant Yukos are to ask the buyer of its former production unit to pay back a $900m (£479m) loan.
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State-owned Rosneft bought the Yugansk unit for $9.3bn in a sale forced by Russia to part settle a $27.5bn tax claim against Yukos. Yukos' owner Menatep Group says it will ask Rosneft to repay a loan that Yugansk had secured on its assets. Rosneft already faces a similar $540m repayment demand from foreign banks. Legal experts said Rosneft's purchase of Yugansk would include such obligations. "The pledged assets are with Rosneft, so it will have to pay real money to the creditors to avoid seizure of Yugansk assets," said Moscow-based US lawyer Jamie Firestone, who is not connected to the case. Menatep Group's managing director Tim Osborne told the Reuters news agency: "If they default, we will fight them where the rule of law exists under the international arbitration clauses of the credit."
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Rosneft officials were unavailable for comment. But the company has said it intends to take action against Menatep to recover some of the tax claims and debts owed by Yugansk. Yukos had filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court in an attempt to prevent the forced sale of its main production arm. The sale went ahead in December and Yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company which in turn was bought by Rosneft. Yukos claims its downfall was punishment for the political ambitions of its founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky and has vowed to sue any participant in the sale.
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High fuel prices hit BA's profits
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British Airways has blamed high fuel prices for a 40% drop in profits.
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Reporting its results for the three months to 31 December 2004, the airline made a pre-tax profit of £75m ($141m) compared with £125m a year earlier. Rod Eddington, BA's chief executive, said the results were "respectable" in a third quarter when fuel costs rose by £106m or 47.3%. BA's profits were still better than market expectation of £59m, and it expects a rise in full-year revenues.
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To help offset the increased price of aviation fuel, BA last year introduced a fuel surcharge for passengers.
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In October, it increased this from £6 to £10 one-way for all long-haul flights, while the short-haul surcharge was raised from £2.50 to £4 a leg. Yet aviation analyst Mike Powell of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein says BA's estimated annual surcharge revenues - £160m - will still be way short of its additional fuel costs - a predicted extra £250m. Turnover for the quarter was up 4.3% to £1.97bn, further benefiting from a rise in cargo revenue. Looking ahead to its full year results to March 2005, BA warned that yields - average revenues per passenger - were expected to decline as it continues to lower prices in the face of competition from low-cost carriers. However, it said sales would be better than previously forecast. "For the year to March 2005, the total revenue outlook is slightly better than previous guidance with a 3% to 3.5% improvement anticipated," BA chairman Martin Broughton said. BA had previously forecast a 2% to 3% rise in full-year revenue.
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It also reported on Friday that passenger numbers rose 8.1% in January. Aviation analyst Nick Van den Brul of BNP Paribas described BA's latest quarterly results as "pretty modest". "It is quite good on the revenue side and it shows the impact of fuel surcharges and a positive cargo development, however, operating margins down and cost impact of fuel are very strong," he said. Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, BA has cut 13,000 jobs as part of a major cost-cutting drive. "Our focus remains on reducing controllable costs and debt whilst continuing to invest in our products," Mr Eddington said. "For example, we have taken delivery of six Airbus A321 aircraft and next month we will start further improvements to our Club World flat beds." BA's shares closed up four pence at 274.5 pence.
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Pernod takeover talk lifts Domecq
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Shares in UK drinks and food firm Allied Domecq have risen on speculation that it could be the target of a takeover by France's Pernod Ricard.
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Reports in the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times suggested that the French spirits firm is considering a bid, but has yet to contact its target. Allied Domecq shares in London rose 4% by 1200 GMT, while Pernod shares in Paris slipped 1.2%. Pernod said it was seeking acquisitions but refused to comment on specifics.
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Pernod's last major purchase was a third of US giant Seagram in 2000, the move which propelled it into the global top three of drinks firms. The other two-thirds of Seagram was bought by market leader Diageo. In terms of market value, Pernod - at 7.5bn euros ($9.7bn) - is about 9% smaller than Allied Domecq, which has a capitalisation of £5.7bn ($10.7bn; 8.2bn euros). Last year Pernod tried to buy Glenmorangie, one of Scotland's premier whisky firms, but lost out to luxury goods firm LVMH. Pernod is home to brands including Chivas Regal Scotch whisky, Havana Club rum and Jacob's Creek wine. Allied Domecq's big names include Malibu rum, Courvoisier brandy, Stolichnaya vodka and Ballantine's whisky - as well as snack food chains such as Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream. The WSJ said that the two were ripe for consolidation, having each dealt with problematic parts of their portfolio. Pernod has reduced the debt it took on to fund the Seagram purchase to just 1.8bn euros, while Allied has improved the performance of its fast-food chains.
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Japan narrowly escapes recession
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Japan's economy teetered on the brink of a technical recession in the three months to September, figures show.
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Revised figures indicated growth of just 0.1% - and a similar-sized contraction in the previous quarter. On an annual basis, the data suggests annual growth of just 0.2%, suggesting a much more hesitant recovery than had previously been thought. A common technical definition of a recession is two successive quarters of negative growth.
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The government was keen to play down the worrying implications of the data. "I maintain the view that Japan's economy remains in a minor adjustment phase in an upward climb, and we will monitor developments carefully," said economy minister Heizo Takenaka. But in the face of the strengthening yen making exports less competitive and indications of weakening economic conditions ahead, observers were less sanguine. "It's painting a picture of a recovery... much patchier than previously thought," said Paul Sheard, economist at Lehman Brothers in Tokyo. Improvements in the job market apparently have yet to feed through to domestic demand, with private consumption up just 0.2% in the third quarter.
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Jobs growth still slow in the US
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The US created fewer jobs than expected in January, but a fall in jobseekers pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years.
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According to Labor Department figures, US firms added only 146,000 jobs in January. The gain in non-farm payrolls was below market expectations of 190,000 new jobs. Nevertheless it was enough to push down the unemployment rate to 5.2%, its lowest level since September 2001. The job gains mean that President Bush can celebrate - albeit by a very fine margin - a net growth in jobs in the US economy in his first term in office. He presided over a net fall in jobs up to last November's Presidential election - the first President to do so since Herbert Hoover. As a result, job creation became a key issue in last year's election. However, when adding December and January's figures, the administration's first term jobs record ended in positive territory.
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The Labor Department also said it had revised down the jobs gains in December 2004, from 157,000 to 133,000.
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Analysts said the growth in new jobs was not as strong as could be expected given the favourable economic conditions. "It suggests that employment is continuing to expand at a moderate pace," said Rick Egelton, deputy chief economist at BMO Financial Group. "We are not getting the boost to employment that we would have got given the low value of the dollar and the still relatively low interest rate environment." "The economy is producing a moderate but not a satisfying amount of job growth," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "That means there are a limited number of new opportunities for workers."
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India calls for fair trade rules
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India, which attends the G7 meeting of seven leading industrialised nations on Friday, is unlikely to be cowed by its newcomer status.
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In London on Thursday ahead of the meeting, India's finance minister, lashed out at the restrictive trade policies of the G7 nations. He objected to subsidies on agriculture that make it hard for developing nations like India to compete. He also called for reform of the United Nations, the World Bank and the IMF.
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Palaniappan Chidambaram, India's finance minister, argued that these organisations need to take into account the changing world order, given India and China's integration into the global economy. He said the issue is not globalisation but "the terms of engagement in globalisation." Mr Chidambaram is attending the G7 meeting as part of the G20 group of nations, which account for two thirds of the world's population. At a conference on developing enterprise hosted by UK finance minister Gordon Brown on Friday, he said that he was in favour of floating exchange rates because they help countries cope with economic shocks. "A flexible exchange rate is one more channel for absorbing both positive and negative shocks," he told the conference. India, along with China, Brazil, South Africa and Russia, has been invited to take part in the G7 meeting taking place in London on Friday and Saturday. China is expected to face renewed pressure to abandon its fixed exchange rate, which G7 nations, in particular the US, have blamed for a surge in cheap Chinese exports. "Some countries have tried to use fixed exchange rates. I do not wish to make any judgements," Mr Chidambaram said. Separately, the IMF warned on Thursday that India's budget deficit was too large and would hamper the country's economic growth, which it forecast to be around 6.5% in the year to March 2005. In the year to March 2004, the Indian economy grew by 8.5%.
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Ethiopia's crop production up 24%
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Ethiopia produced 14.27 million tonnes of crops in 2004, 24% higher than in 2003 and 21% more than the average of the past five years, a report says.
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In 2003, crop production totalled 11.49 million tonnes, the joint report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme said. Good rains, increased use of fertilizers and improved seeds contributed to the rise in production. Nevertheless, 2.2 million Ethiopians will still need emergency assistance.
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The report calculated emergency food requirements for 2005 to be 387,500 tonnes. On top of that, 89,000 tonnes of fortified blended food and vegetable oil for "targeted supplementary food distributions for a survival programme for children under five and pregnant and lactating women" will be needed.
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In eastern and southern Ethiopia, a prolonged drought has killed crops and drained wells. Last year, a total of 965,000 tonnes of food assistance was needed to help seven million Ethiopians. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recommend that the food assistance is bought locally. "Local purchase of cereals for food assistance programmes is recommended as far as possible, so as to assist domestic markets and farmers," said Henri Josserand, chief of FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System. Agriculture is the main economic activity in Ethiopia, representing 45% of gross domestic product. About 80% of Ethiopians depend directly or indirectly on agriculture.
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Court rejects $280bn tobacco case
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A US government claim accusing the country's biggest tobacco companies of covering up the effects of smoking has been thrown out by an appeal court.
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The demand for $280bn (£155bn) - filed by the Clinton administration in 1999 - was rejected in a 2-1 decision. The court in Washington found that the case could not be brought under federal anti-racketeering laws. Among the accused were Altria Group, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard Tobacco, Liggett Group and Brown and Williamson. In its case, the government claimed tobacco firms manipulated nicotine levels to increase addiction, targeted teenagers with multi-billion dollar advertising campaigns, lied about the dangers of smoking and ignored research to the contrary.
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Prosecutors wanted the cigarette firms to surrender $280bn in profits accumulated over the past 50 years and impose tougher rules on marketing their products. But the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the US government could not sue the firms under legislation drawn up to counteract Mafia infiltration of business. The tobacco companies deny that they illegally conspired to promote smoking and defraud the public. They also say they have already met many of the government's demands in a landmark $206bn settlement reached with 46 states in 1998. Shares of tobacco companies closed higher after the ruling, with Altria rising 5% and Reynolds showing gains of 4.5%.
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Gallery unveils interactive tree
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A Christmas tree that can receive text messages has been unveiled at London's Tate Britain art gallery.
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The spruce has an antenna which can receive Bluetooth texts sent by visitors to the Tate. The messages will be "unwrapped" by sculptor Richard Wentworth, who is responsible for decorating the tree with broken plates and light bulbs. It is the 17th year that the gallery has invited an artist to dress their Christmas tree. Artists who have decorated the Tate tree in previous years include Tracey Emin in 2002.
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The plain green Norway spruce is displayed in the gallery's foyer. Its light bulb adornments are dimmed, ordinary domestic ones joined together with string. The plates decorating the branches will be auctioned off for the children's charity ArtWorks. Wentworth worked as an assistant to sculptor Henry Moore in the late 1960s. His reputation as a sculptor grew in the 1980s, while he has been one of the most influential teachers during the last two decades. Wentworth is also known for his photography of mundane, everyday subjects such as a cigarette packet jammed under the wonky leg of a table.
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Jarre joins fairytale celebration
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French musician Jean-Michel Jarre is to perform at a concert in Copenhagen to mark the bicentennial of the birth of writer Hans Christian Andersen.
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Denmark is holding a three-day celebration of the life of the fairy-tale author, with a concert at Parken stadium on 2 April. Other stars are expected to join the line-up in the coming months, and the Danish royal family will attend. "Christian Andersen's fairy tales are timeless and universal," said Jarre. "For all of us, at any age there is always - beyond the pure enjoyment of the tale - a message to learn." There are year-long celebrations planned across the world to celebrate Andersen and his work, which includes The Emperor's New Clothes and The Little Mermaid. Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary visited New York on Monday to help promote the festivities. The pair were at a Manhattan library to honour US literary critic Harold Bloom "the international icon we thought we knew so well".
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"Bloom recognizes the darker aspects of Andersen's authorship," Prince Frederik said. Bloom is to be formally presented with the Hans Christian Andersen Award this spring in Anderson's hometown of Odense. The royal couple also visited the Hans Christian Anderson School complex, where Queen Mary read The Ugly Duckling to the young audience. Later at a gala dinner, Danish supermodel Helena Christensen was named a Hans Christian Andersen ambassador. Other ambassadors include actors Harvey Keitel and Sir Roger Moore, athlete Cathy Freeman and Brazilian soccer legend Pele.
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Musical treatment for Capra film
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The classic film It's A Wonderful Life is to be turned into a musical by the producer of the controversial hit show Jerry Springer - The Opera.
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Frank Capra's 1946 movie starring James Stewart, is being turned into a £7m musical by producer Jon Thoday. He is working with Steve Brown, who wrote the award-winning musical Spend Spend Spend. A spokeswoman said the plans were in the "very early stages", with no cast, opening date or theatre announced.
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A series of workshops have been held in London, and on Wednesday a cast of singers unveiled the musical to a select group of potential investors. Mr Thoday said the idea of turning the film into a musical had been an ambition of his for almost 20 years. It's a Wonderful Life was based on a short story, The Greatest Gift, by Philip van Doren Stern. Mr Thoday managed to buy the rights to the story from Van Doren Stern's family in 1999, following Mr Brown's success with Spend Spend Spend. He later secured the film rights from Paramount, enabling them to use the title It's A Wonderful Life.
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Richard and Judy choose top books
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The 10 authors shortlisted for a Richard and Judy book award in 2005 are hoping for a boost in sales following the success of this year's winner.
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The TV couple's interest in the book world coined the term "the Richard & Judy effect" and created the top two best-selling paperbacks of 2004 so far. The finalists for 2005 include Andrew Taylor's The American Boy and Robbie Williams' autobiography Feel. This year's winner, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, sold over one million. Joseph O'Connor's Star of the Sea came second and saw sales increase by 350%. The best read award, on Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan's Channel 4 show, is part of the British Book Awards. David Mitchell's Booker-shortlisted novel, Cloud Atlas, makes it into this year's top 10 along with several lesser known works.
|
||||
|
||||
"There's no doubt that this year's selection of book club entries is the best yet. If anything, the choice is even wider than last time," said Madeley. "It was very hard to follow last year's extremely successful list, but we think this year's books will do even better," said Richard and Judy executive producer Amanda Ross. "We were spoiled for choice and it was tough getting down to only 10 from the 301 submitted."
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
|
|||
Poppins musical gets flying start
|
||||
|
||||
The stage adaptation of children's film Mary Poppins has had its opening night in London's West End.
|
||||
|
||||
Sir Cameron Mackintosh's lavish production, which has cost £9m to bring to the stage, was given a 10-minute standing ovation. Lead actress Laura Michelle Kelly soared over the heads of the audience holding the nanny's trademark umbrella. Technical hitches had prevented Mary Poppins' flight into the auditorium during preview performances. A number of celebrities turned out for the musical's premiere, including actress Barbara Windsor, comic Graham Norton and Sir Richard Attenborough.
|
||||
|
||||
The show's director Richard Eyre issued a warning earlier in the week that the show was unsuitable for children under seven, while under-threes are barred. Mary Poppins was originally created by author Pamela Travers, who is said to have cried when she saw Disney's 1964 film starring Julie Andrews. Travers had intended the story to be a lot darker than the perennial family favourite. Theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh has said he hopes the musical is a blend of the sweet-natured film and the original book.
|
||||
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|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
Bennett play takes theatre prizes
|
||||
|
||||
The History Boys by Alan Bennett has been named best new play in the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards.
|
||||
|
||||
Set in a grammar school, the play also earned a best actor prize for star Richard Griffiths as teacher Hector. The Producers was named best musical, Victoria Hamilton was best actress for Suddenly Last Summer and Festen's Rufus Norris was named best director. The History Boys also won the best new comedy title at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards.
|
||||
|
||||
Partly based upon Alan Bennett's experience as a teacher, The History Boys has been at London's National Theatre since last May. The Critics' Circle named Rebecca Lenkiewicz its most promising playwright for The Night Season, and Eddie Redmayne most promising newcomer for The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?
|
||||
|
||||
Paul Rhys was its best Shakespearean performer for Measure for Measure at the National Theatre and Christopher Oram won the design award for Suddenly Last Summer. Both the Critics' Circle and Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice award winners were announced on Tuesday. Chosen by more than 11,000 theatre fans, the Theatregoers' Choice Awards named US actor Christian Slater best actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Diana Rigg was best actress for Suddenly Last Summer, Dame Judi Dench was best supporting actress for the RSC's All's Well That Ends Well and The History Boys' Samuel Barnett was best supporting actor.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
Levy tipped for Whitbread prize
|
||||
|
||||
Novelist Andrea Levy is favourite to win the main Whitbread Prize book of the year award, after winning novel of the year with her book Small Island.
|
||||
|
||||
The book has already won the Orange Prize for fiction, and is now 5/4 favourite for the £25,000 Whitbread. Second favourite is a biography of Mary Queen of Scots, by John Guy. A panel of judges including Sir Trevor McDonald, actor Hugh Grant and writer Joanne Harris will decide the overall winner on Tuesday.
|
||||
|
||||
The five writers in line for the award won their respective categories - first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children's book - on 6 January. Small Island, Levy's fourth novel, is set in post-war London and centres on a landlady and her lodgers. One is a Jamaican who joined British troops to fight Hitler but finds life difficult out of uniform when he settles in the UK. "What could have been a didactic or preachy prospect turns out to hilarious, moving humane and eye-popping. It's hard to think of anybody not enjoying it," wrote the judges. The judges called Guy's My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots "an impressive and readable piece of scholarship, which cannot fail but leave the reader moved and intrigued by this most tragic and likeable of queens". Guy has published many histories, including one of Tudor England. He is a fellow at Clare College, Cambridge and became a honorary research professor of the University of St Andrews in 2003.
|
||||
|
||||
The other contenders include Susan Fletcher for Eve Green, which won the first novel prize. Fletcher has recently graduated from the University of East Anglia's creative writing course. The fourth book in the running is Corpus, Michael Symmons Roberts' fourth collection of poems. As well as writing poetry, Symmons Roberts also makes documentary films. Geraldine McCaughrean is the final contender, having won the children's fiction category for the third time for Not the End of the World. McCaughrean, who went into magazine publishing after studying teaching, previously won the category in 1987 with A Little Lower than Angels and in 1994 with Gold Dust.
|
||||
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|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
West End to honour finest shows
|
||||
|
||||
The West End is honouring its finest stars and shows at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in London on Monday.
|
||||
|
||||
The Producers, starring Nathan Lane and Lee Evans, is up for best musical at the ceremony at the National Theatre. It is competing against Sweeney Todd and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the award. The Goat or Who is Sylvia? by Edward Albee, The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh and Alan Bennett's The History Boys are shortlisted in the best play category.
|
||||
|
||||
Pam Ferris, Victoria Hamilton and Kelly Reilly are nominated for best actress. Ferris - best known for her television roles in programmes such as The Darling Buds of May - has made the shortlist for her role in Notes on Falling Leaves, at the Royal Court Theatre. Meanwhile, Richard Griffiths, who plays Hector in The History Boys at the National Theatre, will battle it out for the best actor award with Douglas Hodge (Dumb Show) and Stanley Townsend (Shining City). The best director shortlist includes Luc Bondy for Cruel and Tender, Simon McBurney for Measure for Measure, and Rufus Norris for Festen.
|
||||
|
||||
Festen is also shortlisted in the best designer category where Ian MacNeil, Jean Kalman and Paul Arditti will be up against Hildegard Bechtler, for Iphigenia at Aulis, and Paul Brown, for False Servant. The Milton Shulman Award for outstanding newcomer will be presented to Dominic Cooper (His Dark Materials and The History Boys), Romola Garai (Calico), Eddie Redmayne (The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?) or Ben Wishaw (Hamlet). And playwrights David Eldridge, Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Owen McCafferty will fight it out for The Charles Wintour Award and a £30,000 bursary. Three 50th Anniversary Special Awards will also be presented to an institution, a playwright and an individual.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
Da Vinci Code is 'lousy history'
|
||||
|
||||
The plot of an international bestseller that thousands of readers are likely to receive as a Christmas present is 'laughable', a clergyman has said.
|
||||
|
||||
The Da Vinci Code claims Jesus was not crucified, but married Mary Magdalene and died a normal death. It claims this was later covered up by the Church. The Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Dr Tom Wright, described the novel as a "great thriller" but "lousy history". The book has sold more than seven million copies worldwide. Despite enjoying Dan Brown's conspiracy theory, the Bishop said there was a lack of evidence to back up its claims.
|
||||
|
||||
Writing his Christmas message in the Northern Echo, the Bishop said: "Conspiracy theories are always fun - fun to invent, fun to read, fun to fantasise about. "Dan Brown is the best writer I've come across in the genre, but anyone who knows anything about 1st century history will see that this underlying material is laughable." A great deal of credible evidence proves the Biblical version of Jesus' life was true, according to the Bishop. "The evidence for Jesus and the origins of Christianity is astonishingly good," he said. "We have literally a hundred times more early manuscripts for the gospels and letters in the New Testament than we have for the main classical authors like Cicero, Virgil and Tacitus.
|
||||
|
||||
"Historical research shows that they present a coherent and thoroughly credible picture of Jesus, with all sorts of incidental details that fit the time when he lived, and don't fit the world of later legend." Brown's book has become a publishing phenomenon, consistently topping book charts in the UK and US. The Da Vinci Code has been translated into 42 languages and has spawned its own cottage industry of publications, including guides on to how to read the book, rebuttals and counter claims. The book, which has become an international best-seller in little over two years, is set to be made into a film starring Tom Hanks.
|
||||
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|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
Uganda bans Vagina Monologues
|
||||
|
||||
Uganda's authorities have banned the play The Vagina Monologues, due to open in the capital, Kampala this weekend.
|
||||
|
||||
The Ugandan Media Council said the performance would not be put on as it promoted and glorified acts such as lesbianism and homosexuality. It said the production could go ahead if the organisers "expunge all the offending parts". But the organisers of the play say it raises awareness of sexual abuse against women. "The play promotes illegal, unnatural sexual acts, homosexuality and prostitution, it should be and is hereby banned," the council's ruling said.
|
||||
|
||||
The show, which has been a controversial sell-out around the world, explores female sexuality and strength through individual women telling their stories through monologues. Some parliamentarians and church leaders are also siding with the Media Council, Uganda's New Vision newspaper reports. "The play is obscene and pornographic although it was under the guise of women's liberation," MP Kefa Ssempgani told parliament.
|
||||
|
||||
But the work's author, US playwright Eve Ensler, says it is all about women's empowerment. "There is obviously some fear of the vagina and saying the word vagina," Ms Ensler told the BBC. "It's not a slang word or dirty word it's a biological, anatomical word." She said the play is being produced and performed by Ugandan women and it is not being forced on them. The four Ugandan NGOs organising the play intended to raise money to campaign to stop violence against women and to raise funds for the war-torn north of the country. "I'm extremely outraged at the hypocrisy," the play's organiser in Uganda, Sarah Mukasa, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. "I'm amazed that this country Uganda gives the impression that it is progressive and supports women's rights and the notions of free speech; yet when women want to share their stories the government uses the apparatus of state to shut us up."
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
|
|||
Labour plans maternity pay rise
|
||||
|
||||
Maternity pay for new mothers is to rise by £1,400 as part of new proposals announced by the Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.
|
||||
|
||||
It would mean paid leave would be increased to nine months by 2007, Ms Hewitt told GMTV's Sunday programme. Other plans include letting maternity pay be given to fathers and extending rights to parents of older children. The Tories dismissed the maternity pay plan as "desperate", while the Liberal Democrats said it was misdirected.
|
||||
|
||||
Ms Hewitt said: "We have already doubled the length of maternity pay, it was 13 weeks when we were elected, we have already taken it up to 26 weeks. "We are going to extend the pay to nine months by 2007 and the aim is to get it right up to the full 12 months by the end of the next Parliament." She said new mothers were already entitled to 12 months leave, but that many women could not take it as only six of those months were paid. "We have made a firm commitment. We will definitely extend the maternity pay, from the six months where it now is to nine months, that's the extra £1,400." She said ministers would consult on other proposals that could see fathers being allowed to take some of their partner's maternity pay or leave period, or extending the rights of flexible working to carers or parents of older children. The Shadow Secretary of State for the Family, Theresa May, said: "These plans were announced by Gordon Brown in his pre-budget review in December and Tony Blair is now recycling it in his desperate bid to win back women voters."
|
||||
|
||||
She said the Conservatives would announce their proposals closer to the General Election. Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for women Sandra Gidley said: "While mothers would welcome any extra maternity pay the Liberal Democrats feel this money is being misdirected." She said her party would boost maternity pay in the first six months to allow more women to stay at home in that time.
|
||||
|
||||
Ms Hewitt also stressed the plans would be paid for by taxpayers, not employers. But David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, warned that many small firms could be "crippled" by the move. "While the majority of any salary costs may be covered by the government's statutory pay, recruitment costs, advertising costs, retraining costs and the strain on the company will not be," he said. Further details of the government's plans will be outlined on Monday. New mothers are currently entitled to 90% of average earnings for the first six weeks after giving birth, followed by £102.80 a week until the baby is six months old.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
|
|||
Watchdog probes e-mail deletions
|
||||
|
||||
The information commissioner says he is urgently asking for details of Cabinet Office orders telling staff to delete e-mails more than three months old.
|
||||
|
||||
Richard Thomas "totally condemned" the deletion of e-mails to prevent their disclosure under freedom of information laws coming into force on 1 January. Government guidance said e-mails should only be deleted if they served "no current purpose", Mr Thomas said. The Tories and the Lib Dems have questioned the timing of the new rules.
|
||||
|
||||
Tory leader Michael Howard has written to Tony Blair demanding an explanation of the new rules on e-mail retention. On Monday Lib Dem constitutional affairs committee chairman Alan Beith warned that the deletion of millions of government e-mails could harm the ability of key probes like the Hutton Inquiry. The timing of the new rules just before the Freedom of Information Act comes into forces was "too unlikely to have been a coincidence", Mr Beith said. But a Cabinet Office spokeswoman said the move was not about the new laws or "the destruction of important records". Mr Beith urged the information commissioner to look at how the "e-mail regime" could "support the freedom of information regime".
|
||||
|
||||
Mr Thomas said: "The new Act of Parliament makes it very clear that to destroy records in order to prevent their disclosure becomes a criminal offence." He said there was already clear guidance on the retention of e-mails contained in a code of practice from the lord chancellor. All e-mails are subject to the freedom of information laws, but the important thing was the content of the e-mail, said Mr Thomas.
|
||||
|
||||
"If in doubt retain, that has been the long-standing principle of the civil service and public authorities. It's only when you've got no further use for the particular record that it may be legitimate to destroy it. "But any deliberate destruction to avoid the possibility of later disclosure is to be totally condemned." The Freedom of Information Act will cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland from next year. Similar measures are being brought in at the same time in Scotland. It provides the public with a right of access to information held by about 100,000 public bodies, subject to various exemptions. Its implementation will be monitored by the information commissioner.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
|
|||
Hewitt decries 'career sexism'
|
||||
|
||||
Plans to extend paid maternity leave beyond six months should be prominent in Labour's election manifesto, the Trade and Industry Secretary has said.
|
||||
|
||||
Patricia Hewitt said the cost of the proposals was being evaluated, but it was an "increasingly high priority" and a "shared goal across government". Ms Hewitt was speaking at a gender and productivity seminar organised by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). Mothers can currently take up to six months' paid leave - and six unpaid. Ms Hewitt told the seminar: "Clearly, one of the things we need to do in the future is to extend the period of payment for maternity leave beyond the first six months into the second six months. "We are looking at how quickly we can do that, because obviously there are cost implications because the taxpayer reimburses the employers for the cost of that."
|
||||
|
||||
Ms Hewitt also announced a new drive to help women who want to work in male dominated sectors, saying sexism at work was still preventing women reaching their full potential. Plans include funding for universities to help female science and engineering graduates find jobs and "taster courses" for men and women in non-traditional jobs. Women in full-time work earn 19% less than men, according to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
|
||||
|
||||
The minister told delegates that getting rid of "career sexism" was vital to closing the gender pay gap.
|
||||
|
||||
"Career sexism limits opportunities for women of all ages and prevents them from achieving their full potential. "It is simply wrong to assume someone cannot do a job on the grounds of their sex," she said. Earlier, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What we are talking about here is the fact that about six out of 20 women work in jobs that are low-paid and typically dominated by women, so we have got very segregated employment. "Unfortunately, in some cases, this reflects very old-fashioned and stereotypical ideas about the appropriate jobs for women, or indeed for men. "Career sexism is about saying that engineering, for instance, where only 10% of employees are women, is really a male-dominated industry. Construction is even worse. "But it is also about saying childcare jobs are really there for women and not suitable for men. Career sexism goes both ways."
|
||||
|
||||
She added that while progress had been made, there was still a gap in pay figures. "The average woman working full-time is being paid about 80p for every pound a man is earning. For women working part-time it is 60p." The Department for Trade and Industry will also provide funding to help a new pay experts panel run by the TUC.
|
||||
|
||||
It has been set up to advise hundreds of companies on equal wage policies. Research conducted by the EOC last year revealed that many Britons believe the pay gap between men and women is the result of "natural differences" between the sexes. Women hold less than 10% of the top positions in FTSE 100 companies, the police, the judiciary and trade unions, according to their figures. And retired women have just over half the income of their male counterparts on average.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
Labour chooses Manchester
|
||||
|
||||
The Labour Party will hold its 2006 autumn conference in Manchester and not Blackpool, it has been confirmed.
|
||||
|
||||
The much trailed decision was ratified by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee in a break with the traditional choice of a seaside venue. It will be the first time since 1917 that the party has chosen Manchester to host the annual event. Blackpool will get the much smaller February spring conference instead in what will be seen as a placatory move.
|
||||
|
||||
For years the main political parties have rotated between Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton. And the news the much larger annual conference is not to gather in Blackpool will be seen as a blow in the coastal resort. In 1998 the party said it would not return to Blackpool but did so in 2002. The following year Bournemouth hosted the event before the party signed a two year deal for Brighton to host the autumn conference.
|
||||
|
||||
Colin Asplin, Blackpool Hotel Association said: "We have tried very hard to make sure they come back to Blackpool. "Obviously we have failed in that. I just hope Manchester can handle the crowds. "It amazes me that the Labour Party, which is a working class party, doesn't want to come to the main working class resort in the country." The exact cost to Blackpool in terms of lost revenue for hotel accommodation is not yet known but it is thought that block bookings will be taken at the major Manchester hotels after the official announcement.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
|
|||
Brown ally rejects Budget spree
|
||||
|
||||
Chancellor Gordon Brown's closest ally has denied suggestions there will be a Budget giveaway on 16 March.
|
||||
|
||||
Ed Balls, ex-chief economic adviser to the Treasury, said there would be no spending spree before polling day. But Mr Balls, a prospective Labour MP, said he was confident the chancellor would meet his fiscal rules. He was speaking as Sir Digby Jones, CBI director general, warned Mr Brown not to be tempted to use any extra cash on pre-election bribes.
|
||||
|
||||
Mr Balls, who stepped down from his Treasury post to stand as a Labour candidate in the election, had suggested that Mr Brown would meet his golden economic rule - "with a margin to spare". He said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules.
|
||||
|
||||
He also stressed rise in interest rates ahead of an expected May election would not affect the Labour Party's chances of winning. Expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed house prices are still rising. Consumer borrowing rose at a near-record pace in January. "If the MPC (the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee) were to judge that a rate rise was justified before the election because of the strength of the economy - and I'm not predicting that they will - I do not believe that this will be a big election issue in Britain for Labour," he told a Parliamentary lunch. "This is a big change in our political culture."
|
||||
|
||||
During an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Balls said he was sure Mr Brown's Budget would not put at risk the stability of the economy. "I don't think we'll see a pre-election spending spree - we certainly did not see that before 2001," he said.
|
||||
|
||||
His assurances came after Sir Digby Jones said stability was all important and any extra cash should be spent on improving workers' skills. His message to the chancellor was: "Please don't give it away in any form of electioneering." Sir Digby added: "I don't think he will. I have to say he has been a prudent chancellor right the way through. Stability is the key word - British business needs boring stability more than anything. "We would say to him 'don't increase your public spending, don't give it away. But if you are going to anywhere, just add something to the competitiveness of Britain, put it into skilling our people'. "That would be a good way to spend any excess."
|
||||
|
||||
Mr Balls refused to say whether Mr Brown would remain as chancellor after the election, amid speculation he will be offered the job of Foreign Secretary. "I think that Gordon Brown wants to be part of the successful Labour government which delivers in the third term for the priorities of the people and sees off a Conservative Party that will take Britain backwards," Mr Balls told Today. Prime Minister Tony Blair has yet to name the date of the election, but most pundits are betting on 5 May.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
|
|||
'Errors' doomed first Dome sale
|
||||
|
||||
The initial attempt to sell the Millennium Dome failed due to a catalogue of errors, a report by the government's finance watchdog says.
|
||||
|
||||
The report said too many parties were involved in decision-making when the attraction first went on sale after the Millennium exhibition ended. The National Audit Office said the Dome cost taxpayers £28.7m to maintain and sell in the four years after it closed. Finally, a deal to turn it into a sport and entertainment venue was struck. More than £550m could now be returned to the public sector in the wake of the deal to regenerate the site in Greenwich, London.
|
||||
|
||||
The NAO report said that this sale went through because it avoided many of the problems of the previous attempt to sell the Dome. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said a good deal had been secured. "Delivery of the many benefits secured through this deal will continue the substantial progress already made at the Millennium Village and elsewhere on the peninsula," he said. But Edward Leigh, who is chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, warned the government would have to work hard to ensure taxpayers would get full benefit from the Dome deal. He said: "This report also shows that the first attempt to sell the Dome proved a complete fiasco. Every arm of government seems to have had a finger in the pie. The process was confused and muddled." He added: "Four years after the Millennium Exhibition closed, the Government finally has a deal to find a use for what has been a white elephant since it closed in a deal that, incredible as it may seem, should bring in some money and provide a benefit for the local area and the country as whole. However, it was more a question of luck that a strong bid turned up after thefirst abortive attempt." NAO head Sir John Bourn said: "In difficult circumstances following the failure of the first competition, English Partnerships and the office of the deputy prime minister have worked hard to get a deal."
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
|
|||
Fox attacks Blair's Tory 'lies'
|
||||
|
||||
Tony Blair lied when he took the UK to war so has no qualms about lying in the election campaign, say the Tories.
|
||||
|
||||
Tory co-chairman Liam Fox was speaking after Mr Blair told Labour members the Tories offered a "hard right agenda". Dr Fox told BBC Radio: "If you are willing to lie about the reasons for going to war, I guess you are going to lie about anything at all." He would not discuss reports the party repaid £500,000 to Lord Ashcroft after he predicted an election defeat.
|
||||
|
||||
The prime minister ratcheted up Labour's pre-election campaigning at the weekend with a helicopter tour of the country and his speech at the party's spring conference. He insisted he did not know the poll date, but it is widely expected to be 5 May.
|
||||
|
||||
In what was seen as a highly personal speech in Gateshead on Sunday, Mr Blair said: "I have the same passion and hunger as when I first walked through the door of 10 Downing Street." He described his relationship with the public as starting euphoric, then struggling to live up to the expectations, and reaching the point of raised voices and "throwing crockery". He warned his supporters against complacency, saying: "It's a fight for the future of our country, it's a fight that for Britain and the people of Britain we have to win."
|
||||
|
||||
Mr Blair said that whether the public chose Michael Howard or Mr Kennedy, it would result in "a Tory government not a Labour government and a country that goes back and does not move forward". Dr Fox accused Mr Blair and other Cabinet ministers of telling lies about their opponents' policies and then attacking the lies. "What we learned at the weekend is what Labour tactics are going to be and it's going to be fear and smear," he told BBC News. The Tory co-chairman attacked Labour's six new pledges as "vacuous" and said Mr Blair was very worried voters would take revenge for his failure to deliver. Dr Fox refused to discuss weekend newspaper reports that the party had repaid £500,000 to former Tory Treasurer Lord Ashcroft after he said the party could not win the election. "We repay loans when they are due but do not comment to individual financial matters," he said, insisting he enjoyed a "warm and constructive" relationship to Lord Ashcroft.
|
||||
|
||||
Meanwhile Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy is expected to attack Mr Blair's words as he begins a nationwide tour on Monday. Mr Kennedy is accelerating Lib Dem election preparations this week as he visits Manchester, Liverpool, Leicester, Somerset, Basingstoke, Shrewsbury, Dorset and Torbay. He said: "This is three-party politics. In the northern cities, the contest is between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. "In southern and rural seats - especially in the South West - the principal contenders are the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, who are out of the running in Scotland and Wales." The Lib Dems accuse Mr Blair of making a "touchy-feely" speech to Labour delegates which will not help him regain public trust.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
|
|||
Women MPs reveal sexist taunts
|
||||
|
||||
Women MPs endure "shocking" levels of sexist abuse at the hands of their male counterparts, a new study shows.
|
||||
|
||||
Male MPs pretended to juggle imaginary breasts and jeered "melons" as women made Commons speeches, researchers from Birkbeck College were told. Labour's Yvette Cooper said she found it hard to persuade Commons officials she was a minister and not a secretary. Some 83 MPs gave their answers in 100 hours of taped interviews for the study "Whose Secretary are You, minister".
|
||||
|
||||
The research team, under Professor Joni Lovenduski, had set out to look at the achievements and experiences of women at Westminster. But what emerged was complaints from MPs of all parties of sexist barracking in the Chamber, sexist insults and patronising assumptions about their abilities. Barbara Follet, one of the so-called "Blair Babes" elected in 1997, told researchers: "I remember some Conservatives - whenever a Labour woman got up to speak they would take their breasts - imaginary breasts - in their hands and wiggle them and say 'melons' as we spoke." Former Liberal Democrat MP Jackie Ballard recalled a stream of remarks from a leading MP on topics such as women's legs or their sexual persuasion. And ex-Tory education secretary Gillian Shepherd remembered how one of her male colleagues called all women "Betty".
|
||||
|
||||
"When I said, 'Look you know my name isn't Betty', he said, 'ah but you're all the same, so I call you all Betty'." Harriet Harman told researchers of the sheer hostility prompted by her advancement to the Cabinet: "Well, you've only succeeded because you're a woman." Another current member of the Cabinet says she was told: "Oh, you've had a very fast rise, who have you been sleeping with?" Even after the great influx of women MPs at the 1997 general election, and greater numbers of women in the Cabinet, female MPs often say they feel stuck on the edge of a male world.
|
||||
|
||||
Liberal Democrat Sarah Teather, the most recent female MP to be elected, told researchers: "Lots of people say it's like an old boys club. "I've always said to me it feels more like a teenage public school - you know a public school full of teenagers." Prof Joni Lovenduski, who conducted the study with the help of Margaret Moran MP and a team of journalists, said she was shocked at the findings. "We expected a bit of this but nothing like this extent. We expected to find a couple of shocking episodes." But she said there was a difference between the experiences of women before the 1997 intake and afterwards. This was mainly because there were more women present in Parliament who were not prepared to "put up with" the sexist attitudes they came across, Prof Lovenduski said. But she added: "Some women, including the women who came in 1997, received extraordinary treatment and I am not convinced that if the number of women changed back to what it was before 1997 that things would not change back. "What I think is shocking to the general public is that these things go on in the House of Commons." The interviews are to be placed in the British Library as a historical record.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
|
|||
Campbell: E-mail row 'silly fuss'
|
||||
|
||||
Ex-No 10 media chief Alastair Campbell is at the centre of a new political row over an e-mail containing a four-letter outburst aimed at BBC journalists.
|
||||
|
||||
Mr Campbell sent the missive by mistake to BBC2's Newsnight after it sought to question his role in Labour's controversial poster campaign. He later contacted the show saying the original e-mail had been sent in error and that it was all a "silly fuss". Mr Campbell has recently re-joined Labour's election campaign.
|
||||
|
||||
The e-mail was revealed the day after Peter Mandelson, former Labour minister and now a European Commissioner, warned the BBC to steer away from "demonising" Mr Campbell. Mr Campbell messaged Newsnight after the programme investigated claims that Labour's advertising agency TBWA was blaming him for controversy over its campaign posters. The images, including one of flying pigs and another of what critics claim depicted Tory leader Michael Howard as Fagin, prompted accusations of anti-Semitism, claims denied by Labour.
|
||||
|
||||
Mr Campbell's e-mail, which was apparently intended for a party official, suggested they should get Trevor Beattie, TBWA's boss, to issue a statement. In it, he said: "Just spoke to trev. think tbwa shd give statement to newsnight saying party and agency work together well and nobody here has spoken to standard. Posters done by by tbwa according to political brief. Now fuck off and cover something important you twats!" The e-mail was sent by mistake to Newsnight journalist Andrew McFadyen. Realising his error, Mr Campbell then e-mailed Mr McFadyen pointing out the mistake, but suggesting presenter Jeremy Paxman would have seen the funny side.
|
||||
|
||||
He said: "Not very good at this e-mail Blackberry malarkey. Just looked at log of sent messages, have realised e-mail meant for colleagues at TBWA has gone to you. For the record, first three sentences of email spot on. No row between me and trevor. "Posters done by them according to our brief. I dreamt up flying pigs. Pigs not great but okay in the circs of Tories promising tax cuts and spending rises with the same money. TBWA made production. "Campbell swears shock. Final sentence of earlier e-mail probably a bit colourful and personal considering we have never actually met but I'm sure you share the same sense of humour as your star presenter Mr P. "Never known such a silly fuss since the last silly fuss but there we go. Must look forward not back."
|
||||
|
||||
Later the prime minister's spokesman was asked by journalists about his view on Mr Campbell's use of abusive language. The spokesman said: "The person you are referring to is capable of speaking for himself and he no longer works in government." Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he had always had "very good and polite relations" with Mr Campbell, who he described as "very talented". But on the former spin doctor's use of language, Mr Straw said: "I do know the odd journalist who has occasionally used the odd word that would probably be inappropriate in some circumstances. Maybe I mix with the wrong kind of journalists." Liam Fox, Tory co-chairman, said the return of Mr Campbell was a sign of new "sinister and underhand tactics" by Labour.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
|
|||
Crucial decision on super-casinos
|
||||
|
||||
A decision on whether to allow Westminster to legislate on super-casinos is set to be made by the Scottish Parliament.
|
||||
|
||||
The government has plans for up to eight Las Vegas style resorts in the UK, one of which is likely to be in Glasgow. Scottish ministers insist they will still have the final say on whether a super-casino will be built in Scotland. But opposition parties say that will not happen in practice. The vote is due to be taken on Wednesday and is expected to be close.
|
||||
|
||||
The Scottish Executive believes that the legislation should be handled by Westminster. The new law will control internet gambling for the first time and is aimed at preventing children from becoming involved. A super-casino in Glasgow could be located at Ibrox or the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. The new gambling bill going through Westminster will allow casino complexes to open to the public, have live entertainment and large numbers of fruit machines with unlimited prizes. But the Scottish National Party and the Tories say the issue of super-casinos should be decided in Scotland and believe the executive is shirking its responsibility.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
|
|||
Claxton hunting first major medal
|
||||
|
||||
British hurdler Sarah Claxton is confident she can win her first major medal at next month's European Indoor Championships in Madrid.
|
||||
|
||||
The 25-year-old has already smashed the British record over 60m hurdles twice this season, setting a new mark of 7.96 seconds to win the AAAs title. "I am quite confident," said Claxton. "But I take each race as it comes. "As long as I keep up my training but not do too much I think there is a chance of a medal." Claxton has won the national 60m hurdles title for the past three years but has struggled to translate her domestic success to the international stage. Now, the Scotland-born athlete owns the equal fifth-fastest time in the world this year. And at last week's Birmingham Grand Prix, Claxton left European medal favourite Russian Irina Shevchenko trailing in sixth spot.
|
||||
|
||||
For the first time, Claxton has only been preparing for a campaign over the hurdles - which could explain her leap in form. In previous seasons, the 25-year-old also contested the long jump but since moving from Colchester to London she has re-focused her attentions. Claxton will see if her new training regime pays dividends at the European Indoors which take place on 5-6 March.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
|
|||
O'Sullivan could run in Worlds
|
||||
|
||||
Sonia O'Sullivan has indicated that she would like to participate in next month's World Cross Country Championships in St Etienne.
|
||||
|
||||
Athletics Ireland have hinted that the 35-year-old Cobh runner may be included in the official line-up for the event in France on 19-20 March. Provincial teams were selected after last Saturday's Nationals in Santry and will be officially announced this week. O'Sullivan is at present preparing for the London marathon on 17 April. The participation of O'Sullivan, currentily training at her base in Australia, would boost the Ireland team who won the bronze three years agio. The first three at Santry last Saturday, Jolene Byrne, Maria McCambridge and Fionnualla Britton, are automatic selections and will most likely form part of the long-course team. O'Sullivan will also take part in the Bupa Great Ireland Run on 9 April in Dublin.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
|
|||
Greene sets sights on world title
|
||||
|
||||
Maurice Greene aims to wipe out the pain of losing his Olympic 100m title in Athens by winning a fourth World Championship crown this summer.
|
||||
|
||||
He had to settle for bronze in Greece behind fellow American Justin Gatlin and Francis Obikwelu of Portugal. "It really hurts to look at that medal. It was my mistake. I lost because of the things I did," said Greene, who races in Birmingham on Friday. "It's never going to happen again. My goal - I'm going to win the worlds." Greene crossed the line just 0.02 seconds behind Gatlin, who won in 9.87 seconds in one of the closest and fastest sprints of all time. But Greene believes he lost the race and his title in the semi-finals. "In my semi-final race, I should have won the race but I was conserving energy. "That's when Francis Obikwelu came up and I took third because I didn't know he was there. "I believe that's what put me in lane seven in the final and, while I was in lane seven, I couldn't feel anything in the race.
|
||||
|
||||
"I just felt like I was running all alone. "I believe if I was in the middle of the race I would have been able to react to people that came ahead of me." Greene was also denied Olympic gold in the 4x100m men's relay when he could not catch Britain's Mark Lewis-Francis on the final leg. The Kansas star is set to go head-to-head with Lewis-Francis again at Friday's Norwich Union Grand Prix. The pair contest the 60m, the distance over which Greene currently holds the world record of 6.39 seconds. He then has another indoor meeting in France before resuming training for the outdoor season and the task of recapturing his world title in Helsinki in August. Greene believes Gatlin will again prove the biggest threat to his ambitions in Finland. But he also admits he faces more than one rival for the world crown. "There's always someone else coming. I think when I was coming up I would say there was me and Ato (Boldon) in the young crowd," Greene said. "Now you've got about five or six young guys coming up at the same time."
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
|
|||
IAAF launches fight against drugs
|
||||
|
||||
The IAAF - athletics' world governing body - has met anti-doping officials, coaches and athletes to co-ordinate the fight against drugs in sport.
|
||||
|
||||
Two task forces have been set up to examine doping and nutrition issues. It was also agreed that a programme to "de-mystify" the issue to athletes, the public and the media was a priority. "Nothing was decided to change things - it was more to have a forum of the stakeholders allowing them to express themselves," said an IAAF spokesman. "Getting everyone together gave us a lot of food for thought." About 60 people attended Sunday's meeting in Monaco, including IAAF chief Lamine Diack and Namibian athlete Frankie Fredericks, now a member of the Athletes' Commission. "I am very happy to see you all, members of the athletics family, respond positively to the IAAF call to sit together and discuss what more we can do in the fight against doping," said Diack. "We are the leading Federation in this field and it is our duty to keep our sport clean." The two task forces will report back to the IAAF Council, at its April meeting in Qatar.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
|
|||
Dibaba breaks 5,000m world record
|
||||
|
||||
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba set a new world record in winning the women's 5,000m at the Boston Indoor Games.
|
||||
|
||||
Dibaba won in 14 minutes 32.93 seconds to erase the previous world indoor mark of 14:39.29 set by another Ethiopian, Berhane Adera, in Stuttgart last year. But compatriot Kenenisa Bekele's record hopes were dashed when he miscounted his laps in the men's 3,000m and staged his sprint finish a lap too soon. Ireland's Alistair Cragg won in 7:39.89 as Bekele battled to second in 7:41.42. "I didn't want to sit back and get out-kicked," said Cragg. "So I kept on the pace. The plan was to go with 500m to go no matter what, but when Bekele made the mistake that was it. The race was mine." Sweden's Carolina Kluft, the Olympic heptathlon champion, and Slovenia's Jolanda Ceplak had winning performances, too. Kluft took the long jump at 6.63m, while Ceplak easily won the women's 800m in 2:01.52.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
|
|||
Isinbayeva claims new world best
|
||||
|
||||
Pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own indoor world record by clearing 4.89 metres in Lievin on Saturday.
|
||||
|
||||
It was the Russian's 12th world record of her career and came just a few days after she cleared 4.88m at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham. The Olympic champion went on to attempt 5.05m at the meeting on France but failed to clear that height. In the men's 60m, former Olympic 100m champion Maurice Greene could only finish second to Leonard Scott. It was Greene's second consecutive defeat at the hands of his fellow American, who also won in Birmingham last week. "I ran my race perfectly," said Scott, who won in 6.46secs, his best time indoors. "I am happy even if I know that Maurice is a long way from being at his peak at the start of the season."
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
|
|||
O'Sullivan commits to Dublin race
|
||||
|
||||
Sonia O'Sullivan will seek to regain her title at the Bupa Great Ireland Run on 9 April in Dublin.
|
||||
|
||||
The 35-year-old was beaten into fourth at last year's event, having won it a year earlier. "I understand she's had a solid winter's training down in Australia after recovering from a minor injury," said race director Matthew Turnbull. Mark Carroll, Irish record holder at 3km, 5km and 10km, will make his debut in the mass participation 10km race. Carroll has stepped up his form in recent weeks and in late January scored an impressive 3,000m victory over leading American Alan Webb in Boston. Carroll will be facing stiff competition from Australian Craig Mottram, winner in Dublin for the last two years.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
|
|||
Hansen 'delays return until 2006'
|
||||
|
||||
British triple jumper Ashia Hansen has ruled out a comeback this year after a setback in her recovery from a bad knee injury, according to reports.
|
||||
|
||||
Hansen, the Commonwealth and European champion, has been sidelined since the European Cup in Poland in June 2004. It was hoped she would be able to return this summer, but the wound from the injury has been very slow to heal. Her coach Aston Moore told the Times: "We're not looking at any sooner than 2006, not as a triple jumper." Moore said Hansen may be able to return to sprinting and long jumping sooner, but there is no short-term prospect of her being involved again in her specialist event. "There was a problem with the wound healing and it set back her rehabilitation by about two months, but that has been solved and we can push ahead now," he said. "The aim is for her to get fit as an athlete - then we will start looking at sprinting and the long jump as an introduction back to the competitive arena." Moore said he is confident Hansen can make it back to top-level competition, though it is unclear if that will be in time for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next March, when she will be 34. "It's been a frustrating time for her, but it has not fazed her determination," he added.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
|
|||
Off-colour Gardener storms to win
|
||||
|
||||
Britain's Jason Gardener shook off an upset stomach to win the 60m at Sunday's Leipzig International meeting.
|
||||
|
||||
Gardener clocked 6.56 seconds to equal the meeting record and finished well ahead of Germany's Marc Blume, who crossed the line in 6.67 secs. The world indoor champion said: "I got to the airport and my stomach was upset and I was vomiting. I almost went home. "I felt a little better Sunday morning but decided I'd only run in the main race. Then everything went perfectly." Gardener, part of the Great Britain 4x100m quartet that won gold at the Athens Olympics, will now turn his attention to next weekend's Norwich Union European Indoor trials in Sheffield.
|
||||
|
||||
"Given I am still off-colour I know there is plenty more in the tank and I expect to get faster in the next few weeks," he said. "It's just a case of chipping away as I have done in previous years and the results will come." Scotland's Ian Mackie was also in action in Leipzig. He stepped down from his favoured 400m to 200m to finish third in 21.72 secs. Germany's Alexander Kosenkow won the race in 21.07 secs with Dutchman Patrick van Balkom second in 21.58 secs. There were plenty of other senior British athletes showing their indoor form over the weekend. Promising 60m hurdler
|
||||
|
||||
clocked a new UK record of 7.98 seconds at a meeting in Norway. The 24-year-old reached the mark in her heat but had to settle for joint first place with former AAA champion Diane Allahgreen in the final.
|
||||
|
||||
, who broke onto the international scene at the Olympic Games last season, set an indoor personal best of 16.50m in the triple jump at a meeting in Ghent. That leap - 37cm short of Brazilian winner Jadel Gregorio's effort - was good enough to qualify for the European Indoor Championships. At the same meeting,
|
||||
|
||||
finished third in 7.27 seconds in a high-class women's 60m. The event was won by European medal favourite Christine Arron of France while Belgium rival Kim Gevaert was second. Britain's Joice Maduaka finished fifth in 7.35. Olympic bronze heptathlon medallist
|
||||
|
||||
made a low-key return to action at an indoor meeting in Birmingham. The 28-year-old cleared 1.76m to win the high jump and threw 13.86m in the women's shot put.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
|
|||
Collins to compete in Birmingham
|
||||
|
||||
World and Commonwealth 100m champion Kim Collins will compete in the 60m at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham on 18 February.
|
||||
|
||||
The St Kitts and Nevis star joins British Olympic relay gold medallists Jason Gardener and Mark Lewis-Francis. Sydney Olympic 100m champion and world indoor record holder Maurice Greene and Athens Olympic 100m silver medallist Francis Obikwelu will also take part. Collins ran in Birmingham at the 2003 World Indoor Championships. "I'm looking forward to competing against such a strong field," he said. "I got a great reception form the crowd at the NIA when I won my 60m world indoor silver medal in 2003 and it will be really exciting to return to this venue." The world champion says he's in good shape but he isn't underestimating the home competition. "Jason Gardener and Mark Lewis-Francis are Olympic gold medallists now and I'm sure they'll be aiming to win in front of their home supporters. "I'm looking forward to competing against Britain's best sprinters and I'm sure the 60 metres will be one of the most exciting races of the evening." Collins was sixth in the Olympic final in Athens but is hoping for a better result at the World Championships in Finland this summer. "This will be a big year for me and I plan to defend my 100m world title in Helsinki in August. Before then I want to perform well over 60m indoors and start my year in winning form."
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
|
|||
Ink helps drive democracy in Asia
|
||||
|
||||
The Kyrgyz Republic, a small, mountainous state of the former Soviet republic, is using invisible ink and ultraviolet readers in the country's elections as part of a drive to prevent multiple voting.
|
||||
|
||||
This new technology is causing both worries and guarded optimism among different sectors of the population. In an effort to live up to its reputation in the 1990s as "an island of democracy", the Kyrgyz President, Askar Akaev, pushed through the law requiring the use of ink during the upcoming Parliamentary and Presidential elections. The US government agreed to fund all expenses associated with this decision.
|
||||
|
||||
The Kyrgyz Republic is seen by many experts as backsliding from the high point it reached in the mid-1990s with a hastily pushed through referendum in 2003, reducing the legislative branch to one chamber with 75 deputies. The use of ink is only one part of a general effort to show commitment towards more open elections - the German Embassy, the Soros Foundation and the Kyrgyz government have all contributed to purchase transparent ballot boxes.
|
||||
|
||||
The actual technology behind the ink is not that complicated. The ink is sprayed on a person's left thumb. It dries and is not visible under normal light.
|
||||
|
||||
However, the presence of ultraviolet light (of the kind used to verify money) causes the ink to glow with a neon yellow light. At the entrance to each polling station, one election official will scan voter's fingers with UV lamp before allowing them to enter, and every voter will have his/her left thumb sprayed with ink before receiving the ballot. If the ink shows under the UV light the voter will not be allowed to enter the polling station. Likewise, any voter who refuses to be inked will not receive the ballot. These elections are assuming even greater significance because of two large factors - the upcoming parliamentary elections are a prelude to a potentially regime changing presidential election in the Autumn as well as the echo of recent elections in other former Soviet Republics, notably Ukraine and Georgia. The use of ink has been controversial - especially among groups perceived to be pro-government.
|
||||
|
||||
Widely circulated articles compared the use of ink to the rural practice of marking sheep - a still common metaphor in this primarily agricultural society.
|
||||
|
||||
The author of one such article began a petition drive against the use of the ink. The greatest part of the opposition to ink has often been sheer ignorance. Local newspapers have carried stories that the ink is harmful, radioactive or even that the ultraviolet readers may cause health problems. Others, such as the aggressively middle of the road, Coalition of Non-governmental Organizations, have lauded the move as an important step forward. This type of ink has been used in many elections in the world, in countries as varied as Serbia, South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey. The other common type of ink in elections is indelible visible ink - but as the elections in Afghanistan showed, improper use of this type of ink can cause additional problems. The use of "invisible" ink is not without its own problems. In most elections, numerous rumors have spread about it.
|
||||
|
||||
In Serbia, for example, both Christian and Islamic leaders assured their populations that its use was not contrary to religion. Other rumours are associated with how to remove the ink - various soft drinks, solvents and cleaning products are put forward. However, in reality, the ink is very effective at getting under the cuticle of the thumb and difficult to wash off. The ink stays on the finger for at least 72 hours and for up to a week. The use of ink and readers by itself is not a panacea for election ills. The passage of the inking law is, nevertheless, a clear step forward towards free and fair elections." The country's widely watched parliamentary elections are scheduled for 27 February.
|
||||
|
||||
David Mikosz works for the IFES, an international, non-profit organisation that supports the building of democratic societies.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
China net cafe culture crackdown
|
||||
|
||||
Chinese authorities closed 12,575 net cafes in the closing months of 2004, the country's government said.
|
||||
|
||||
According to the official news agency most of the net cafes were closed down because they were operating illegally. Chinese net cafes operate under a set of strict guidelines and many of those most recently closed broke rules that limit how close they can be to schools. The move is the latest in a series of steps the Chinese government has taken to crack down on what it considers to be immoral net use.
|
||||
|
||||
The official Xinhua News Agency said the crackdown was carried out to create a "safer environment for young people in China". Rules introduced in 2002 demand that net cafes be at least 200 metres away from middle and elementary schools. The hours that children can use net cafes are also tightly regulated. China has long been worried that net cafes are an unhealthy influence on young people. The 12,575 cafes were shut in the three months from October to December. China also tries to dictate the types of computer games people can play to limit the amount of violence people are exposed to.
|
||||
|
||||
Net cafes are hugely popular in China because the relatively high cost of computer hardware means that few people have PCs in their homes. This is not the first time that the Chinese government has moved against net cafes that are not operating within its strict guidelines. All the 100,000 or so net cafes in the country are required to use software that controls what websites users can see. Logs of sites people visit are also kept. Laws on net cafe opening hours and who can use them were introduced in 2002 following a fire at one cafe that killed 25 people. During the crackdown following the blaze authorities moved to clean up net cafes and demanded that all of them get permits to operate. In August 2004 Chinese authorities shut down 700 websites and arrested 224 people in a crackdown on net porn. At the same time it introduced new controls to block overseas sex sites. The Reporters Without Borders group said in a report that Chinese government technologies for e-mail interception and net censorship are among the most highly developed in the world.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
Microsoft seeking spyware trojan
|
||||
|
||||
Microsoft is investigating a trojan program that attempts to switch off the firm's anti-spyware software.
|
||||
|
||||
The spyware tool was only released by Microsoft in the last few weeks and has been downloaded by six million people. Stephen Toulouse, a security manager at Microsoft, said the malicious program was called Bankash-A Trojan and was being sent as an e-mail attachment. Microsoft said it did not believe the program was widespread and recommended users to use an anti-virus program. The program attempts to disable or delete Microsoft's anti-spyware tool and suppress warning messages given to users.
|
||||
|
||||
It may also try to steal online banking passwords or other personal information by tracking users' keystrokes.
|
||||
|
||||
Microsoft said in a statement it is investigating what it called a criminal attack on its software. Earlier this week, Microsoft said it would buy anti-virus software maker Sybari Software to improve its security in its Windows and e-mail software. Microsoft has said it plans to offer its own paid-for anti-virus software but it has not yet set a date for its release. The anti-spyware program being targeted is currently only in beta form and aims to help users find and remove spyware - programs which monitor internet use, causes advert pop-ups and slow a PC's performance.
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
|
|||
Digital guru floats sub-$100 PC
|
||||
|
||||
Nicholas Negroponte, chairman and founder of MIT's Media Labs, says he is developing a laptop PC that will go on sale for less than $100 (£53).
|
||||
|
||||
He told the BBC World Service programme Go Digital he hoped it would become an education tool in developing countries. He said one laptop per child could be " very important to the development of not just that child but now the whole family, village and neighbourhood". He said the child could use the laptop like a text book. He described the device as a stripped down laptop, which would run a Linux-based operating system, "We have to get the display down to below $20, to do this we need to rear project the image rather than using an ordinary flat panel.
|
||||
|
||||
"The second trick is to get rid of the fat , if you can skinny it down you can gain speed and the ability to use smaller processors and slower memory." The device will probably be exported as a kit of parts to be assembled locally to keep costs down. Mr Negroponte said this was a not for profit venture, though he recognised that the manufacturers of the components would be making money. In 1995 Mr Negroponte published the bestselling Being Digital, now widely seen as predicting the digital age. The concept is based on experiments in the US state of Maine, where children were given laptop computers to take home and do their work on.
|
||||
|
||||
While the idea was popular amongst the children, it initially received some resistance from the teachers and there were problems with laptops getting broken. However, Mr Negroponte has adapted the idea to his own work in Cambodia where he set up two schools together with his wife and gave the children laptops. "We put in 25 laptops three years ago , only one has been broken, the kids cherish these things, it's also a TV a telephone and a games machine, not just a textbook." Mr Negroponte wants the laptops to become more common than mobile phones but conceded this was ambitious. "Nokia make 200 million cell phones a year, so for us to claim we're going to make 200 million laptops is a big number, but we're not talking about doing it in three or five years, we're talking about months." He plans to be distributing them by the end of 2006 and is already in discussion with the Chinese education ministry who are expected to make a large order. "In China they spend $17 per child per year on textbooks. That's for five or six years, so if we can distribute and sell laptops in quantities of one million or more to ministries of education that's cheaper and the marketing overheads go away."
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
|
|||
Technology gets the creative bug
|
||||
|
||||
The hi-tech and the arts worlds have for some time danced around each other and offered creative and technical help when required.
|
||||
|
||||
Often this help has come in the form of corporate art sponsorship or infrastructure provision. But that dance is growing more intimate as hi-tech firms look to the creative industries for inspiration. And vice versa. UK telco BT is serious about the idea and has launched its Connected World initiative. The idea, says BT, is to shape a "21st Century model" which will help cement the art, technology, and business worlds together. "We are hoping to understand the creative industry that has a natural thirst for broadband technology," said Frank Stone, head of the BT's business sector programmes. He looks after several "centres of excellence" which the telco has set up with other institutions and organisations, one of which is focused on creative industries.
|
||||
|
||||
To mark the initiative's launch, a major international art installation is to open on 15 April in Brussels, with a further exhibit in Madrid later in the summer. They have both been created using the telco's technology that it has been incubating at its research and development arm, including a sophisticated graphics rendering program. Using a 3D graphics engine, the type commonly used in gaming, Bafta-winning artists Langlands & Bell have created a virtual, story-based, 3D model of Brussels' Coudenberg Cellars.
|
||||
|
||||
They have recently been excavated and are thought to be the remnants of Coudenberg Palace, an historical seat of European power. The 3D world can be navigated using a joystick and offers an immersive experience of a landscape that historically had a river running through it until it was bricked up in the 19th Century. "The river was integral to the city's survival for hundreds of years and it was equally essential to the city that it disappeared," said the artists. "We hope that by uncovering the river, we can greater understand the connections between the past and the present, and appreciate the flow of modernity, once concealing, but now revealing the River Senne." In their previous works they used the Quake game graphics engine. The game engine is the core component of a video game because it handles graphics rendering, game AI, and how objects behave and relate to each other in a game. They are so time-consuming and expensive to create, the engines can be licensed out to handle other graphics-intensive games. BT's own engine, Tara (Total Abstract Rendering Architecture) has been in development since 2001 and has been used to recreate virtual interactive models of buildings for planners. It was also used in 2003 in Encounter, an urban-based, pervasive game that combined both virtual play in conjunction with physical, on-the-street action. Because the artists wanted video and interactive elements in their worlds, new features were added to Tara in order to handle the complex data sets. But collaboration between art and digital technology is by no means new, and many keen coders, designers, games makers and animators argue that what they create is art itself.
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As more tools for self-expression are given to the person on the street, enabling people to take photos with a phone and upload them to the web for instance, creativity will become an integral part of technology. The Orange Expressionist exhibition last year, for example, displayed thousands of picture messages from people all over the UK to create an interactive installation.
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Technology as a way of unleashing creativity has massive potential, not least because it gives people something to do with their technology. Big businesses know it is good for them to get in on the creative vein too. The art world is "fantastically rich", said Mr Stone, with creative people and ideas which means traditional companies like BT want to get in with them. Between 1997 and 2002, the creative industry brought £21 billion to London alone. It is an industry that is growing by 6% a year too. The partnership between artists and technologists is part of trying to understand the creative potential of technologies like broadband net, according to Mr Stone. "This is not just about putting art galleries and museums online," he said. "It is about how can everyone have the best seat in house and asking if technology has a role in solving that problem." With broadband penetration reaching 100% in the UK, businesses with a stake in the technology want to give people reasons to want and use it. The creative drive is not purely altruistic obviously. It is about both industries borrowing strategies and creative ideas together which can result in better business practices for creative industries, or more patent ideas for tech companies. "What we are trying to do is have outside-in thinking. "We are creating a future cultural drive for the economy," said Mr Stone.
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Wi-fi web reaches farmers in Peru
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A network of community computer centres, linked by wireless technology, is providing a helping hand for poor farmers in Peru.
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The pilot scheme in the Huaral Valley, 80 kilometres north of the capital Lima, aims to offer the 6,000-strong community up-to-date information on agricultural market prices and trends. The Agricultural Information Project for Farmers of the Chancay-Huaral Valley also provides vital links between local organisations in charge of water irrigation, enabling them to coordinate their actions. More than 13,000 rural inhabitants, as well as 18,000 students in the region, will also benefit from the telecoms infrastructure.
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The 14 telecentres uses only free open source software and affordable computer equipment. The network has been three years in the making and was officially inaugurated in September.
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The non-government organisation, Cepes (Peruvian Centre for Social Studies) led the $200,000 project, also backed by local institutions, the Education and Agriculture ministries, and European development organisations. "The plan includes training on computers and internet skills for both operators and users of the system," said Carlos Saldarriaga, technical coordinator at Cepes. Farmers are also taking extra lessons on how to apply the new information to make the most of their plots of land. The Board of Irrigation Users which runs the computer centres, aims to make the network self-sustainable within three years, through the cash generated by using the telecentres as internet cafes.
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One of the key elements of the project is the Agricultural Information System, with its flagship huaral.org website. There, farmers can find the prices for local produce, as well as information on topics ranging from plague prevention to the latest farming techniques. The system also helps the inhabitants of the Chancay-Huaral Valley to organise their vital irrigation systems. "Water is the main element that unites them all. It is a precious element in Peru's coastal areas, because it is so scarce, and therefore it is necessary to have proper irrigation systems to make the most of it," Mr Saldarriaga told the BBC News website. The information network also allows farmers to look beyond their own region, and share experiences with other colleagues from the rest of Peru and even around the world.
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Cepes says the involvement of the farmers has been key in the project's success. "Throughout the last three years, the people have provided a vital thrust to the project; they feel it belongs to them," said Mr Saldarriaga. The community training sessions, attended by an equal number of men and women, have been the perfect showcase for their enthusiasm. "We have had an excellent response, mainly from young people. But we have also had a great feedback when we trained 40 or 50-year old women, who were seeing a computer for the first time in their lives." So far, the Huaral programme promoters say the experience has been very positive, and are already planning on spreading the model among other farmers' organisations in Peru. "This is a pilot project, and we have been very keen on its cloning potential in other places," underlined Mr Saldarriaga.
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The Cepes researcher recalls what happened in Cuyo, a 50-family community with no electricity, during the construction of the local telecentre site. There it was necessary to build a mini-hydraulic dam in order to generate 2kW worth of power for the computers, the communications equipment and the cabin lights. "It was already dark when the technicians realised they didn't have any light bulbs to test the generator, so they turned up to the local store to buy light bulbs," recalls Carlos Saldarriaga. "The logical answer was 'we don't sell any', so they had to wait until the next morning to do the testing." Now, with the wireless network, Cuyo as well as the other communities is no longer isolated.
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Microsoft releases bumper patches
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Microsoft has warned PC users to update their systems with the latest security fixes for flaws in Windows programs.
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In its monthly security bulletin, it flagged up eight "critical" security holes which could leave PCs open to attack if left unpatched. The number of holes considered "critical" is more than usual. They affect Windows programs, including Internet Explorer (IE), media player and instant messaging. Four other important fixes were also released. These were considered to be less critical, however. If not updated, either automatically or manually, PC users running the programs could be vulnerable to viruses or other malicious attacks designed to exploit the holes. Many of the flaws could be used by virus writers to take over computers remotely, install programs, change, and delete or see data.
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One of the critical patches Microsoft has made available is an important one that fixes some IE flaws. Stephen Toulouse, a Microsoft security manager, said the flaws were known about, and although the firm had not seen any attacks exploiting the flaw, he did not rule them out. Often, when a critical flaw is announced, spates of viruses follow because home users and businesses leave the flaw unpatched. A further patch fixes a hole in Media Player, Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger which an attacker could use to take control of unprotected machines through .png files. Microsoft announces any vulnerabilities in its software every month. The most important ones are those which are classed as "critical". Its latest releases came the week that the company announced it was to buy security software maker Sybari Software as part of Microsoft's plans to make its own security programs.
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Virus poses as Christmas e-mail
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Security firms are warning about a Windows virus disguising itself as an electronic Christmas card.
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The Zafi.D virus translates the Christmas greeting on its subject line into the language of the person receiving infected e-mail. Anti-virus firms speculate that this multilingual ability is helping the malicious program spread widely online. Anti-virus firm Sophos said that 10% of the e-mail currently on the net was infected with the Zafi virus.
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Like many other Windows viruses, Zafi-D plunders Microsoft Outlook for e-mail addresses and then uses mail-sending software to despatch itself across the web to new victims. To be infected users must open up the attachment travelling with the message which bears the code for the malicious bug. The attachment on the e-mail poses as an electronic Christmas card but anyone opening it will simply get a crude image of two smiley faces.
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The virus' subject line says "Merry Christmas" and translates this into one of 15 languages depending of the final suffix of the e-mail address the infected message has been sent to. The message in the body of the e-mail reads: "Happy Holidays" and this too is translated. On infected machines the virus tries to disable anti-virus and firewall software and opens up a backdoor on the PC to hand over control to the writer of the virus. The virus is thought to have spread most widely in South America, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Hungary. The original Zafi virus appeared in April this year. "We have seen these hoaxes for several Christmases already, and personally I prefer traditional pen and paper cards, and we recommend this to all our clients too," said Mikko Hypponen, who heads F-Secure's anti-virus team.
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Apple laptop is 'greatest gadget'
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The Apple Powerbook 100 has been chosen as the greatest gadget of all time, by US magazine Mobile PC.
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|
||||
The 1991 laptop was chosen because it was one of the first "lightweight" portable computers and helped define the layout of all future notebook PCs. The magazine has compiled an all-time top 100 list of gadgets, which includes the Sony Walkman at number three and the 1956 Zenith remote control at two. Gadgets needed moving parts and/or electronics to warrant inclusion. The magazine specified that gadgets also needed to be a "self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own, not a subset of another device".
|
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|
||||
"In general we included only items that were potentially mobile," said the magazine.
|
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|
||||
"In the end, we tried to get to the heart of what really makes a gadget a gadget," it concluded. The oldest "gadget" in the top 100 is the abacus, which the magazine dates at 190 A.D., and put in 60th place. Other pre-electronic gadgets in the top 100 include the sextant from 1731 (59th position), the marine chronometer from 1761 (42nd position) and the Kodak Brownie camera from 1900 (28th position). The Tivo personal video recorder is the newest device to make the top 10, which also includes the first flash mp3 player (Diamound Multimedia), as well as the first "successful" digital camera (Casio QV-10) and mobile phone (Motorola Startac). The most popular gadget of the moment, the Apple iPod, is at number 12 in the list while the first Sony transistor radio is at number 13.
|
||||
|
||||
Sony's third entry in the top 20 is the CDP-101 CD player from 1983. "Who can forget the crystalline, hiss-free blast of Madonna's Like A Virgin emenating from their first CD player?" asked the magazine. Karl Elsener's knife, the Swiss Army Knife from 1891, is at number 20 in the list. Gadgets which could be said to feature surprisngly low down in the list include the original telephone (23rd), the Nintendo GameBoy (25th), and the Pulsar quartz digital watch (36th). The list also contains plenty of oddities: the Pez sweet dispenser (98th), 1980s toy Tamagotchi (86th) and the bizarre Ronco inside the shell egg scrambler (84th).
|
||||
|
||||
Why worry about mobile phones. Soon they will be subsumed into the PDA's / laptops etc.
|
||||
|
||||
What about the Marine Chronometer? Completely revolutionised navigation for boats and was in use for centuries. For it's time, a technological marvel!
|
||||
|
||||
Sony Net Minidisc! It paved the way for more mp3 player to explode onto the market. I always used my NetMD, and could not go anywhere without it.
|
||||
|
||||
A laptop computer is not a gadget! It's a working tool!
|
||||
|
||||
The Sinclair Executive was the world's first pocket calculator. I think this should be there as well.
|
||||
|
||||
How about the clockwork radio? Or GPS? Or a pocket calculator? All these things are useful to real people, not just PC magazine editors.
|
||||
|
||||
Are the people who created this list insane ? Surely the most important gadget of the modern age is the mobile phone? It has revolutionalised communication, which is more than can be said for a niche market laptop. From outside the modern age, the marine chronometer is the single most important gadget, without which modern transportation systems would not have evolved so quickly.
|
||||
|
||||
Has everyone forgot about the Breville pie maker??
|
||||
|
||||
An interesting list. Of the electronic gadgets, thousands of journalists in the early 1980s blessed the original noteboook pc - the Tandy 100. The size of A4 paper and light, three weeks on a set of batteries, an excellent keyboard, a modem. A pity Tandy did not make it DOS compatible.
|
||||
|
||||
What's an Apple Powerbook 100 ? It's out of date - not much of a "gadget". Surely it has to be something simple / timeless - the tin opener, Swiss Army Knife, safety razor blade, wristwatch or the thing for taking stones out of horses hooves ?
|
||||
|
||||
It has to be the mobile phone. No other single device has had such an effect on our way of living in such a short space of time.
|
||||
|
||||
The ball point pen has got to be one of the most used and common gadgets ever. Also many might be grateful for the pocket calculator which was a great improvement over the slide rule.
|
||||
|
||||
The Casio pocket calculator that played a simple game and made tinny noises was also a hot gadget in 1980. A true gadget, it could be carried around and shown off.
|
||||
|
||||
All top 10 are electronic toys, so the list is probably a better reflection of the current high-tech obsession than anyhting else. I say this as the Swiss Army Knife only made No 20.
|
||||
|
||||
Sinclair QL a machine far ahead of its time. The first home machine with a true multi-takings OS. Shame the marketing was so bad!!!
|
||||
|
||||
Apple.. a triumph of fashion over... well everything else.
|
||||
|
||||
Utter rubbish. Yes, the Apple laptop and Sony Walkman are classic gadgets. But to call the sextant and the marine chronometer 'gadgets' and rank them as less important than a TV remote control reveals a quite shocking lack of historical perspective. The former literally helped change the world by vastly improving navigation at see. The latter is the seed around which the couch potato culture has developed. No competition.
|
||||
|
||||
I'd also put Apple's Newton and the first Palm Pilot there as the front runners for portable computing, and possibly the Toshiba Libretto for the same reason. I only wish that Vulcan Inc's Flipstart wasn't just vapourware otherwise it would be at the top.
|
||||
|
||||
How did a laptop ever manage to beat off the challenge of the wristwatch or the telephone (mobile or otherwise)? What about radios and TVs?
|
||||
|
||||
The swiss army knife. By far the most useful gadget. I got mine 12 years ago. Still wearing and using it a lot! It stood the test of time.
|
||||
|
||||
Psion Organiser series 3, should be up there. Had a usable qwerty keyboard, removable storage, good set of apps and programmable. Case design was good (batteries in the hinge - a first, I think). Great product innovation.
|
||||
|
||||
The first mobile PC was voted best gadget by readers of...err... mobile PC?! Why do you keep putting these obviously biased lists on your site? It's obviously the mobile phone or remote control, and readers of a less partisan publication would tell you that.
|
||||
|
||||
The Motorola Startac should be Number One. Why? There will be mobile phones long after notebook computers and other gadgets are either gone or integrated in communications devices.
|
||||
|
||||
The Psion series 3c! The first most practical way to carry all your info around...
|
||||
|
||||
I too would back the Sinclair Spectrum - without this little beauty I would never have moved into the world of IT and earn the living that I do now.
|
||||
|
||||
I'd have put the mobile phone high up the list. Probably a Nokia model.
|
||||
|
||||
Sinclair Spectrum - 16k. It plugged into the tv. Games were rubbish but it gave me a taste for programming and that's what I do for a living now.
|
||||
|
||||
I wish more modern notebooks -- even Apple's newest offerings -- were more like the PB100. Particularly disheartening is the demise of the trackball, which has given way to the largely useless "trackpad" which every notebook on the market today uses. They're invariably inaccurate, uncomfortable, and cumbersome to use.
|
||||
|
||||
Congratulations to Apple, a deserved win!
|
||||
|
|
@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
|
|||
Google's toolbar sparks concern
|
||||
|
||||
Search engine firm Google has released a trial tool which is concerning some net users because it directs people to pre-selected commercial websites.
|
||||
|
||||
The AutoLink feature comes with Google's latest toolbar and provides links in a webpage to Amazon.com if it finds a book's ISBN number on the site. It also links to Google's map service, if there is an address, or to car firm Carfax, if there is a licence plate. Google said the feature, available only in the US, "adds useful links". But some users are concerned that Google's dominant position in the search engine market place could mean it would be giving a competitive edge to firms like Amazon.
|
||||
|
||||
AutoLink works by creating a link to a website based on information contained in a webpage - even if there is no link specified and whether or not the publisher of the page has given permission.
|
||||
|
||||
If a user clicks the AutoLink feature in the Google toolbar then a webpage with a book's unique ISBN number would link directly to Amazon's website. It could mean online libraries that list ISBN book numbers find they are directing users to Amazon.com whether they like it or not. Websites which have paid for advertising on their pages may also be directing people to rival services. Dan Gillmor, founder of Grassroots Media, which supports citizen-based media, said the tool was a "bad idea, and an unfortunate move by a company that is looking to continue its hypergrowth". In a statement Google said the feature was still only in beta, ie trial, stage and that the company welcomed feedback from users. It said: "The user can choose never to click on the AutoLink button, and web pages she views will never be modified. "In addition, the user can choose to disable the AutoLink feature entirely at any time."
|
||||
|
||||
The new tool has been compared to the Smart Tags feature from Microsoft by some users. It was widely criticised by net users and later dropped by Microsoft after concerns over trademark use were raised. Smart Tags allowed Microsoft to link any word on a web page to another site chosen by the company. Google said none of the companies which received AutoLinks had paid for the service. Some users said AutoLink would only be fair if websites had to sign up to allow the feature to work on their pages or if they received revenue for any "click through" to a commercial site. Cory Doctorow, European outreach coordinator for digital civil liberties group Electronic Fronter Foundation, said that Google should not be penalised for its market dominance. "Of course Google should be allowed to direct people to whatever proxies it chooses. "But as an end user I would want to know - 'Can I choose to use this service?, 'How much is Google being paid?', 'Can I substitute my own companies for the ones chosen by Google?'." Mr Doctorow said the only objection would be if users were forced into using AutoLink or "tricked into using the service".
|
||||
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Reference in New Issue