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Fears over web health revolution
Concerns have been raised about the use of the internet and new technologies to revolutionise health care.
There has been a rise in the use of online drug sales and private DNA tests and scans in recent years, says the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
But the independent group said such changes may be putting patients at risk or leading to unnecessary alarm.
Nuffield officials said more regulation may be needed and have launched a consultation to discuss the issues.
The group said it wanted to hear about patients’ experiences and the views of private companies offering these services.
The council said there was a whole host of questions that needed to be addressed about a range of services.
For example, it said the information provided by DNA profiling or body imaging using MRI and CT scans could be misleading and difficult to interpret.
Professor Christopher Hood, an Oxford University expert who is heading the consultation, said this could sometimes have a knock-on effect on the NHS with people coming to it with unnecessary medical worries.
The consultation paper also raised concerns about the selling of drugs on the internet.
Last week a poll of GPs found that one in four had treated patients for adverse reaction to medicines bought online.
Professor Hood said: “Cutting out the GP may sometimes be a good thing, providing us with convenience, privacy and control over our health.
“But there is not much regulation of these new services and we may be getting information that causes more harm than good.”
Benefits
But the consultation also said the advance in technology could offer opportunities to the NHS.
One of the examples given was the use of telemedicine in rural areas to allow GPs and patients to use TV link-ups for consultations.
Nuffield director Hugh Whittal said: “There is a range of benefits to be had, but it is only right some questions are asked about risks, the quality of information, equity of access and the impact on the NHS.”
Professor Steve Field, president of the Royal College of GPs, said: “I think this just reinforces the need for patients to have a GP.
“Doctors should be empowering patients and help them understand and navigate their way through what is being offered.”
But he also warned patients to be wary of some of the services being offered by private firms.

Source:BBC

Obama diary: The first 100 days
Barack Obama was elected on a message of change. Now he is in office, change is expected both in foreign and domestic policy. Here the BBC’s team in Washington tracks developments in the first 100 days of the Obama presidency.
MONDAY 20 APRIL – DAY 91
1811 EDT Navigating engagement with Iran
Kim Ghattas
:
adds another layer to America’s complex attempts to engage Tehran.
Ahmadinejad is walking a fine line ahead of the Iranian elections in June. He needs to appeal to an electorate that may be open to the idea of a detente with “the Great Satan”, in a country that (despite the image it has abroad) has the least anti-American population in the region.
But he also needs to keep the clerics on his side by maintaining his tough anti-Western rethoric. He scored high with the UN speech.
exemplifies that balancing act. The hard-liners in Iran have demonstrated their unwillingness to engage with Washington, but Ahmadinejad has cleverly intervened to ask that Saberi be allowed a full defence during her appeal. All the while,
is unfolding at the UN.
The US is not easing the pressure of sanctions for now. In fact, rather interestingly, the man in charge of tightening the screws on Tehran during the Bush years, Stuart Levey, is still in his job at the Treasury department.
1751 EDT Reassuring the CIA
James Coomarasamy
: On his first visit to CIA headquarters, President Obama told employees that he understands the difficulty they’ve had over the release of the so-called torture memos.
But he defended his decision to publish them and offered reassurance that there’d be no legal consequences for the officers who’d acted on their advice.
Saying his administration had had no alternative but to release the memos, he went on to praise the agency’s unsung patriotism.
He said he understood it was hard to operate against unscrupulous enemies and that the agents must feel as though they were acting with one hand tied behind their backs. But, he said, it was important for US security that they carried out their work to the highest moral standards:
Even if the president’s words do help answer the concerns of CIA agents, they’re unlikely to silence those who’ve criticised his decision to release the memos.
His critics on the right say his action will make the country less secure, while those on the left want him to pursue charges against those who may have tortured prisoners in America’s name.
1608 EDT First Cabinet meeting
Max Deveson
: It’s only taken 91 days, but President Obama has finally gathered his full cabinet together for a meeting.
Of course, his cabinet appointments required congressional approval before they could take up their positions, so it is not really surprising that it has taken so long for the cabinet to meet. Moreover, unlike in countries like the UK, where the Cabinet meets every week, the Cabinet in the US meets less frequently – policy is generally decided at the White House, and Cabinet Secretaries are charged with implementing it.
At the meeting, Mr Obama ordered his Cabinet to find cost saving in their departments, in order to cut 100m form the budget.
He acknowledged that 100m was a “drop in the budget”, but that the government needed to win back the confidence of the American people by showing that money was not being wasted.
“We’ve got to earn their trust,” he said.
1530 EDT Round the table
Barack Obama used his first cabinet meeting to challenge his Cabinet Secretaries to search for cost-savings in their departments
Obama diary: Days 1-10
Obama diary: Days 11-20
Obama diary: Days 21-30
Obama diary: Days 31-40
Obama diary: Days 41-50
Obama diary: Days 51-60
Obama diary: Days 61-70
Obama diary: Days 71-80
Obama diary: Days 81-90
Obama diary: Contributors

Source:BBC

NY Times awarded five Pulitzers
The New York Times newspaper has won five of this year’s sought-after Pulitzer journalism awards.
The paper won prizes for investigative, breaking news and international reporting, as well as for feature photography and criticism.
The Las Vegas Sun won the prestigious public service award for reporting on the high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas strip.
No prizes were awarded for reporting on the global economic crisis.
US newspapers have been suffering from severe financial problems, with many publications closing, going bankrupt or making cuts.
They have also been struggling to compete with online publications.
Although these were allowed to compete for the first time this year, none of their 65 entries won prizes.
However, online content did play a role in a number of winning entries, the Pulitzer board said.
‘Watchdog still bites’
The New York Times, which itself is burdened by heavy debt, won the international reporting prize for its coverage of US involvement in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Times journalist David Barstow was awarded the prize for investigative journalism for revealing how US networks used military commentators who had ties to the Pentagon or defence contractors and defended their policies.
The paper won the breaking news category for its work on a sex scandal that led to the resignation of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
The New York Times’ other prizes went to Holland Cotter, who won the criticism award for his art reviews, and Damon Winter, who won the feature photography award for his coverage of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
The breaking news photography prize was won by Patrick Farrell of The Miami Herald for his pictures of the destruction caused by Hurricane Ike in Haiti.
Pulitzer Prize administrator Sig Gissler said that amid a gloomy outlook for the US newspaper industry, the winning entries were “heartening examples of the high-quality journalism”.
“It’s quite notable that the watchdog function of journalism is underscored in this year’s awards,” he said.
“The watchdog still barks, and the watchdog still bites.”
Each Pulitzer carries a 10,000 cash prize – except for the public service award, which wins the recipient a gold medal.
Named after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who died in 1911, the accolades were first awarded in 1917.

Source:BBC

Gay marriage row at Miss USA show
The runner-up at the Miss USA beauty pageant says her outspoken opposition to gay marriage cost her first place in the competition.
During the televised event, Carrie Prejean – Miss California – said she believed that “a marriage should be between a man and a woman”.
She had been asked for her views on the subject by one of the judges, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.
“It did cost me my crown,” said Ms Prejean, after the competition.
The eventual winner of the pageant was Kristen Dalton, Miss North Carolina.
‘Alienated’
“We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage,” said Ms Prejean, in a section of the show that has become a popular clip on YouTube.
“I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman,” she continued.
“No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”
The remarks drew a mixture of booing and applause from the audience.
Speaking after the show, which was broadcast on Sunday evening in the US, Ms Prejean said: “I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I said what I feel. I stated an opinion that was true to myself and that’s all I can do.”
Hilton said he had been “floored” by Ms Prejean’s answer, which, he said, “alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters”.
He told ABC News: “She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the front-runner before that.”
Keith Lewis, who runs the Miss California competition, released a statement condemning Ms Prejean’s comments.
“As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman.”
The issue of same-sex marriage is a flashpoint in American politics.
Four US states now allow gay marriage, but many other states have passed legislation outlawing it.

Source:BBC

Bank loss fears hit global shares
US and European shares have fallen sharply after the biggest bank in the US reported a big increase in the amount it needed to cover bad debt.
The update, from Bank of America (BOA), reignited worries over the stability of the banking sector and future losses that banks may face, observers said.
The Dow Jones index dropped 3.6% and the Nasdaq lost 3.5%. European markets also saw a sell-off.
Banks were the big losers, with BOA down 24.3% and Citigroup 18% lower.
It was the first day of trading since weekend comments by President Barack Obama that the economy remained under strain, while his top economic adviser tempered hopes for a speedy recovery.
Observers say investors are also worried that some institutions may need to raise additional capital to cope with future losses, a move that would potentially dilute the stakes of shareholders.
Inflated
Bank of America said it had set aside 13.4bn (9.2bn) to cover credit losses in the first three months of 2009 from the 8.5bn figure given in the fourth quarter of last year.
This overshadowed figures showing its net income had soared to 4.2bn in the first three months of 2009 from 1.2bn a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations.
These results were inflated by its purchases of Merrill Lynch, which added 3.7bn in net income, and Countrywide, which boosted its mortgage arm.
Meanwhile, shares of Citigroup were hit after Goldman Sachs analysts said credit losses at the bank had continued to grow rapidly.
“When I took a look at the big banks, you saw a nice big positive earnings surprise, but I really questioned the quality of the earnings,” said Fred Dickson, market strategist at Oregon-based DA Davidson & Co.
“The reality is all the banks reported lower earnings than what they did a year ago.”
London’s FTSE 100 indexes closed down 2.5%, while Germany and France’s key index both closed about 4% lower.

Source:BBC

Second Paraguay love-child claim
By Candace Piette
BBC’s South America correspondent
Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo has received a second demand to recognise the paternity of a child.
President Lugo, who is a former bishop, shocked the country last week when he acknowledged a two-year-old boy as his son.
The Pope released him from his vows of chastity only last July, two years after he renounced the priesthood.
The 27-year-old woman making the latest demand says her six-year-old is the son of Mr Lugo.
In a press conference, the woman said her relationship with the then Bishop Lugo had begun in 2001, when she had gone to him for help with trying to contact the father of her first child.
The woman, from a very poor background, said she had wanted help with getting financial support for her child.
She said Mr Lugo had sent her money until the boy was two years old, but the money had stopped coming.
She also said he had asked her to keep quiet about the issue during last year’s election campaign, which he went on to win.
In a statement, the president’s office said he was prepared to act within the bounds of truth, and that he had established a special team to deal with the legal cases that might emerge around this subject.
This is not the first time that Paraguayans have heard allegations of paternity suits against their president.
The opposition Colorado party raised the issue several times during the elections.

Source:BBC

Gun control 10 years after Columbine
By Jonathan Beale
BBC News, Colorado
Ten years on, and the name Columbine is still synonymous with the worst mass school shooting in American history.
The library where the two disturbed teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, roamed and fired indiscriminately has now been rebuilt.
But as you enter, you can still imagine the sheer terror as their victims tried to hide behind and under the desks.
Now, engraved in stone on the library wall, are the names of the 13 murdered by Harris and Klebold.
No checks
Among their victims was Daniel Mauser – just 15 years old. For the past decade, his father Tom has been campaigning for tighter gun controls. He has had limited success.
He says he sometimes feels as if his son were “collateral damage” – the price paid for America’s freedom and liberty.
But he says with rights come responsibilities, adding: “We’ve shown a really irresponsible attitude to firearms in this country.”
The evidence for that, of course, is not just Columbine.
A few days ago, the students at Virginia Tech were marking the second anniversary of the murder of 32 people by a lone gunman. And there have been a series of mass shootings just this month.
The Brady Campaign – a US group that lobbies for stricter controls – says that every day in America 32 people die in shootings.
Columbine may have sparked a national debate about gun control, but the debate has not really moved on.
It is not much harder to buy a gun now than it was a decade ago – in fact in some states it is easier.
In Virginia, you can still go to a gunshow and buy a weapon without any kind of check.
At Firing Line – Denver’s largest gun store – they are doing a roaring trade, even though the country is caught in the middle of an economic downturn.
Stocks of some rifles are running out and ammunition is being rationed.
Richard Taylor, the store’s manager, calls it the President’s Inventory Sale – in honour of Barack Obama.
He says demand has rocketed since Mr Obama was elected, as a consequence of the widespread fear that the new president will introduce tougher laws. There is, Mr Taylor says, no recesion in the firearms business.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to back up this theory, but the FBI criminal background checks – required before you can buy a gun – gives the best statistic: since Barack Obama’s election, the number of checks being carried out has risen by almost 30%.
Battle too far
Brendan and his girlfriend Oona are among the large crowd of customers at Firing Line. He says he already owns around 100 guns and this time he has got his eye on a semi-automatic rifle – the kind you would expect to see a US marine carrying in Afghanistan.
I asked Brendan why he needed another weapon.
At first he said the model he was considering would be good to shoot at coyotes.
Then, after a pause, he added this bombshell: “To be honest, I think the real reason why the public should have semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons is to protect themselves from the government”.
Unabashed, he adds: “I know that’s going to sound right-wing.”
But America’s love affair with the gun crosses the political divide. There are Democrats who are just as passionate.
Another customer, Reed, repeats the line “out of my cold, dead hands” when I ask how he would respond to stricter controls or any attempt to outlaw some weapons.
And if you remind gun owners of Columbine, they will repeat the familiar refrain that it is “people who kill people, not guns”.
The reality is that President Obama has so far shown little appetite for taking on this powerful lobby.
He got burnt in the election campaign when he talked dismissively of the people who “cling to guns and religion”.
With so much else on his plate right now, gun control seems to be a battle too far.
For millions, guns are part of the American way of life.
The Second Amendment – the right to bear arms – is not just written into the constitution. It is ingrained in their psyche.
And it would be a very brave man indeed who tried to re-interpret that right, whatever the tragedies guns have caused.

Source:BBC

Lee hits back at Ferguson remarks

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Liverpool assistant boss Sammy Lee has defended Reds manager Rafael Benitez over claims he showed contempt to Blackburn counterpart Sam Allardyce.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson made the accusation over a gesture Benitez made when the Reds went 2-0 up in a recent win over Blackburn.
“Certainly, any gestures that are made pitchside are to our players, not to anyone else,” said Lee.
“One thing I’ll say is that Rafa is certainly not arrogant, no way.”
Allardyce also criticised Benitez for what he and Ferguson perceived as a dismissive and “undermining” reaction from the Spaniard following Liverpool’s second goal in the 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Rovers.
“I’m surprised he [Allardyce] didn’t mention anything to me when we were sat having a drink after the game,” added Lee.
“No one mentioned anything, and I’m sure if anyone felt strongly about it they would have. But we’ll move on.”
The remarks come as the war of words between Benitez and Ferguson continues to rage on as their teams challenge for the Premier League title.
Liverpool are one point behind Manchester United, who have a game in hand on their Anfield rivals.
“It’s not for us to talk about other football clubs,” said Lee. “We very rarely do. We try to concentrate on what’s going on here and let the game take its course.”
Meanwhile, Lee has welcomed the prospect of former Reds player and manager Kenny Dalglish returning to the club.
The Reds have yet to comment but there are reports Dalglish, who made 515 appearances and scored 172 goals for the club, could join the youth set-up.
“If there’s a future involvement it can only be good for the club,” said Lee, a former team-mate of Dalglish.
“He has great knowledge and can only be a good addition to an already very good staff. Everyone would welcome it.”
Dalglish joined Liverpool from Celtic in August 1977 and is widely regarded as the club’s greatest ever player.
He scored the winning goal in the 1978 European Cup final against Bruges, the first of three times he won the trophy with Liverpool, and also won eight League titles and two FA Cups with them.
Following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985 he became player-manager, and in his first season in charge Liverpool won the Double, with Dalglish himself scoring the goal that clinched the league title.
He left Liverpool in 1991 and went on to have spells managing at Blackburn – where he became only the third manager in English football history to win the league title with two clubs – and Newcastle, and assisting John Barnes at Celtic.
Dalglish has not worked in football for eight years, but Lee said he had remained close to goings-on at Anfield.
“For me he has never really been away,” he said.
“He is hanging around everywhere, he’s always watching games and is terrific to have around. The impact would be very positive. He is a terrific character.”

Source:BBC

Madagascar protest turns violent
One person has been killed and at least 13 others injured during anti-government protests in Madagascar, hospital sources say.
The BBC’s Jonny Hogg in the capital, Antananarivo, says police opened fire after protesters barricaded roads.
Tear gas was then used in the grounds and buildings of the city’s main hospital where protesters had fled.
The protesters, supporters of deposed President Marc Ravalomanana, are angry at the closure of two radio stations.
Violence broke out as crowds marched towards a courthouse in the centre of Antananarivo, protesting at the shutting down of Radio Mada and Radio Fahazavana.
Security forces used tear gas to break up the crowds, then opened fire.
Our correspondent saw at least one person shot in the back at close range, and says cars have been set on fire close to government buildings.
Doctors at the hospital said one person had died from head injuries.
‘Only way’
Mr Ravalomanana resigned in March during a coup headed by opposition leader Andry Rajoelina.
Mr Rajoelina has said he intends to hold presidential elections in October 2010 and has issued a warrant for Mr Ravalomanana’s arrest.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Ravalomanana said he was not afraid of being arrested and was planning to return to Madagascar in the next few weeks.
The former president told a news conference in Johannesburg that having early elections or a referendum before the end of the year was “the only way out of the crisis”.
The international community has condemned Mr Rajoelina’s action as a coup.
Madagascar has been suspended from the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).
Mr Ravalomanana said he trusted the SADC and AU would help him return.

Source:BBC

Pirate mother’s Obama mercy plea
The mother of a teenage alleged pirate held over the hostage-taking of a US sea captain this month has appealed to US President Barack Obama to free him.
Adar Abdurahman Hassan told the BBC her son, Abde Wale Abdul Kadhir Muse, was innocent and just 16 years old.
He was held over the seizure off Somalia of Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship.
While her son was allegedly negotiating on a US warship, naval snipers shot dead three pirates holding the captain.
The mother of the teenager, who is facing trial in New York, said she wanted to be present in court if the case goes ahead.
‘Under-age’
Mrs Hassan said her son had been missing for two weeks prior to the hijacking and she only realised he had been implicated when she heard his name in a radio report.
The teenager is accused of being a member of the pirate gang which boarded the container ship on 8 April and took Capt Phillips hostage in a lifeboat.
The standoff ended on the fifth day while her son was aboard a US warship allegedly demanding a ransom when US Navy marksmen killed three of the pirates.
Mrs Hassan told the BBC’s Somali service: “I am requesting the American government, I am requesting President Obama to release my child. He has got nothing to do with the pirates’ crime.
“He is a minor; he is under-age and he has been used for this crime. I also request from the US, if they choose to put him on trial, I want them to invite me there.”
Her plea came as Somali pirates released a Togo-flagged cargo ship seized last week, reportedly after a 100,000 (68,000) ransom was paid.
The 5,000-tonne Lebanese-owned MV Sea Horse – which had been heading to India to pick up food aid for Somalia – was seized on 14 April.
But 19 foreign vessels and more than 300 sailors remain in the hands of Somali pirates, who have stepped up attacks on shipping in recent weeks.
About three million people – half the Somali population – need assistance, donors say.
On Sunday, the weak, internationally recognised Somali government said captured pirates could face the death penalty.
But the Horn of Africa nation has been without an effective administration since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness which has allowed piracy to thrive.
Shipping companies last year handed over about 80m (54m) in ransom payments to the gangs.

Source:BBC

BBC iPlayer goes high definition
The BBC’s iPlayer is to start offering high definition (HD) streams and downloads of some programmes.
It will mean improved picture quality on streams to web browsers.
For many users, it will be their first chance to view HD television, with Doctor Who, Kerwhizz, and Dragons’ Den all slated for HD release.
The iPlayer has been a runaway sucess, with more than 387 million requests to stream or download since it launched on Christmas Day 2007.
BBC’s head of digital media technology, Anthony Rose, who is responsible for delivering the next generation of BBC iPlayer, said the launch of an HD iPlayer was a significant milestone in improving video quality.
“Introducing HD streams users to enjoy BBC programmes in HD without a set-top box,” he said.
The updated iPlayer also comes with a diagnostic tool that examines a users internet connection and automatically switches the streaming options to give the best quality image.
User defined
The player will now also allow users to customise the size of their viewing window, which the developers say, are now nearly twice as good as the previous high quality format.
“The new adaptive bitrate technology and speed diagnostics page help optimise the viewing experience, while the resizable window gives users flexibility to switch between different quality streams, hopefully leading to a more satisfying experience overall,” said Mr Rose.
Danielle Nagler, Head of BBC HD, said: “In the last month we’ve extended the channel hours to nine per day, refreshed the look, enhanced the range of programmes, and now our HD content will be available whenever and wherever the audience want it.”
Other new features include a new internet speed diagnostics page, the full release of the new BBC iPlayer Desktop, and a cross-platform manager that will allow Windows, Mac, and Linux users to download BBC programmes, including those in HD.
At present, the new HD servce, which also includes HD downloads of some programmes, is only available on the BBC iPlayer at present.
There are plans to roll out the HD streams to devices such as the Virgin Set Top Box and PlayStation 3, but no date has yet been set.

Source:BBC

Great Wall of China ‘even longer’
The Great Wall of China is even greater than previously thought, according to the first detailed survey to establish the length of the ancient barricade.
A two-year government mapping study found that the wall spans 8,850km (5,500 miles) – until now, the length was commonly put at about 5,000km.
Previous estimates of its length were mainly based on historical records.
Infra-red and GPS technologies helped locate some areas concealed over time by sandstorms, state media said.
The project found that there were wall sections of 6,259km, 359km of trenches, and 2,232km of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.
The study was carried out by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.
Barricade
Experts said the newly-discovered sections of the wall were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and stretch from Hu Mountain in northern Liaoning province to Jiayu Pass in western Gansu province.
The project will continue for another 18 months in order to map sections of the wall built during the Qin (221-206BC) and Han (206BC-9AD) Dynasties, the report said.
The wall, the world’s largest man-made structure, was built to protect the northern border of the Chinese Empire.
Archaeologists had lobbied for the survey to be done to provide scholars with an accurate understanding of the construction.
Known to the Chinese as the “long Wall of 10,000 Li”, the Great Wall is in fact a series of walls and earthen works begun in the 5th Century BC and first linked up under Qin Shi Huang in about 220BC.
It was listed as a Unesco world heritage site in 1987.

Source:BBC

Oracle in 7.4bn deal to buy Sun
Business software manufacturer Oracle has said it is to acquire computer hardware and software maker Sun Microsystems for 7.4bn (5.1bn).
Oracle is to pay 9.50 in cash for each Sun share, it said.
Oracle said the buy “transforms the IT industry, combining best-in-class enterprise software and mission-critical computing systems”.
Oracle shares were down 5.56% and Sun’s were up 27% in trading before the open of the New York Stock Exchange.
The offer of 9.50 per share represents a 42% premium over Sun’s closing stock price on Friday.
‘Natural evolution’
The deal comes a month after IBM abandoned its bid to buy Sun.
“Oracle and Sun have been industry pioneers and close partners for more than 20 years,” said Sun chairman Scott McNealy.
“This combination is a natural evolution of our relationship and will be an industry-defining event.”
Sun said its board of directors had unanimously agreed the deal, which is expected to be completed this summer after approval from shareholders and government regulators.
‘Interesting acquisition’
Computer industry analyst Robert Jakobsen said he was initially “a little bit surprised”.
“It could make sense,” he added.
“The deal would strengthen Oracle’s position against IBM. Oracle has done a good job on acquisitions it has done earlier.”
Oracle said the takeover of Sun would boost its profits by more than 1.5bn in the first year, and by 2bn in the second.
However, Sun made a loss of 1.9bn over the past 12 months, despite sales totalling 13.3bn.
Fellow computer industry analyst Shannon Cross, said it was “a very interesting acquisition”.
“It gives Oracle a very strong operating system. It gets hardware, which should be interesting to see since Oracle doesn’t make things.
“It’s going to give them access to customers who weren’t using the Oracle database.”
Job cuts?
Although best known for its computer servers, Sun was also the developer of the Java programming language, and created the Solaris operating system.
Sun currently employs 33,000 people, while Oracle’s workforce totals 86,000.
The firms have yet to comment on whether any redundancies will be made following the completion of the takeover.

Source:BBC

‘Calls on Mumbai victims’ phones’
The Mumbai (Bombay) gunmen used cell phones from victims to communicate with co-conspirators during the raid, the trial prosecution has said.
The prosecution spelled out evidence in the court in Mumbai on some of the alleged conversations and set out more than 300 draft charges.
Surviving suspected gunman Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab is on trial along with two alleged Indian accomplices.
More than 170 people died in the attacks last November.
The draft charges pertain to Mr Qasab, the nine dead gunmen and 35 “wanted accused” said to be members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group India blames for the attacks.
The prosecution said their objective was to “wage war against the government of India”.
Delays
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court the co-conspirators and the other “wanted accused” were in “constant touch with the deceased accused through mobile phones”.
He said one of the phones belonged to “Mr Holtzberg [Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg] in Nariman House who was killed mercilessly by the accused Nasir and Babar Imran”.
Mr Nikam said: “If you carefully listen to the intercepted conversations you will know how they killed, how nine deceased attackers came in a rubber boat and reached Fishermen’s Colony [in Mumbai].”
The prosecution also submitted that one of the Sim cards had been brought from Pakistan and that there were several calls made to three numbers, which it read out in court.
Mr Nikam also said that calls were received from a US number and that the US FBI had collected “clinching evidence”.
He said a US-based service provider had given five numbers to a certain Kharaksingh. Mr Nikam listed a Yahoo address which he said was the one used to communicate with the service provider.
He also mentioned a threatening email that was received by a news channel in India on 27 November said to be sent by the Deccan Mujahideen – the previously unknown militant group that claimed responsibility for the Mumbai attacks.
He said the prosecution would show this email and the one to the service provider were sent by the same person in Pakistan.
On Monday, Mr Qasab, who police say is 21, told special judge ML Tahiliyani that he could not understand the prosecution’s submissions except for names such as Qasab, Pakistan and the names of the other two accused.
The prosecution has completed its opening address and proposed 312 draft charges.
The court will now hear defence lawyers for the three accused and then frame the charges.
The trial began on Friday after numerous delays.
The main focus then was Mr Qasab’s retraction of his confession from February, which he says was extracted through coercion and force.
The two Indians on trial, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, are accused of being members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group and of scouting for the attacks.

Source:BBC

Bishop would renew Zuma charges
Opposition South African presidential candidate Bishop Mvume Dandala has told the BBC he would reopen a corruption case against his main rival if elected.
African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma was accused of corruption in connection with an arms deal.
He denied the charges and the case against him was recently withdrawn.
Mr Dandala said that all indicted, including people from his own Congress of the People party, would have to face the consequences of their actions.
His party, Cope, was founded last year after former President Thabo Mbeki was ousted following a power struggle with Mr Zuma.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) reports that more than 23 million people, including 16,000 of the South African diaspora, have registered to vote in what is being seen as the most keenly contested election since the end of apartheid.
Voting has already started for those who are disabled, pregnant and those who will be temporarily out of the country on Wednesday.
Election officials and security force members who will be on duty on election day also go to the polls on Monday and Tuesday.

Source:BBC

Scientist Hawking ill in hospital
Leading scientist Stephen Hawking is “very ill” in hospital, his employer Cambridge University has said.
A spokesman said Professor Hawking was undergoing tests at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
The spokesman said the 67-year-old, who has motor neurone disease, had “been unwell for a couple of weeks”.
Prof Hawking has worked at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University for more than 30 years.
Prof Hawking, who speaks with the aid of a voice synthesiser, has three children and one grandchild.
He became a CBE in 1982 and a Companion of Honour in 1989.
Prof Peter Haynes, head of the University’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, said: “Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague.
“We all hope he will be amongst us again soon.”

Source:BBC

Drugs led to deaths of patients
Five patients who died at a hospital in Hampshire in the late 1990s were prescribed too much medication, an inquest jury has ruled.
Three of those patients were given inappropriate medication, the inquest at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court found.
The inquest panel of five women and three men looked at the deaths of 10 patients at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1996 and 1999.
Some families had long believed morphine was being over-prescribed.
Police carried out investigations into 92 patients’ treatment at the hospital, but no prosecutions were brought.
The jury decided that in the cases of Robert Wilson, 74, Geoffrey Packman, 66, and Elsie Devine, 88, the use of painkillers was inappropriate for their condition.
In a statement after the verdicts the families said their relatives had been overprescribed painkillers “without justification or logic” and that they now awaited the reaction of the General Medical Council (GMC).

Source:BBC

What pop music tells us about JG Ballard
By Stephen Dowling
BBC News Magazine
Author JG Ballard, who has died aged 78, cast a huge influence over the literary world. But for those who have never picked up one of his novels there’s another forum for learning about his work – pop music.
Through his books and essays JG Ballard was said to have predicted the melting of the polar icecaps, terrorism against tourists and Ronald Reagan’s ascent to the White House.
His science fiction of the almost-normal – based around suburbia and urban hinterlands, fixations on celebrity and car crashes – became best known through the film Crash, and the surreal semi-autobiography Empire of the Sun.
But his feverish imagination, stoked by pre-lunch whisky and sodas in his study, found an unlikely appeal among pop musicians – many of whom liked to invoke a bit of Ballard in their work.
JOY DIVISION
The 1980 album Closer – the band’s last record before the death of singer Ian Curtis – included the track Atrocity Exhibition, a chilling glimpse into psychosis. The track is based on Ballard’s 1970 short-story collection The Atrocity Exhibition, in which a psychotic mental hospital doctor tries to make sense of world events surrounding him. Curtis had written most of the song before reading Ballard’s book, but the song – anchored round the oppressive chorus “this is the way, step inside” – is still heavily informed by Ballard’s tale of a man restaging world events in his mind.
COMSAT ANGELS/EMPIRE OF THE SUN
Two bands who took their names from Ballard’s work. Sheffield post-punkers the Comsat Angels, who enjoyed a brief flourish of cult success in the 1980s and have recently reformed, named themselves after a late-1960s short story. Sleepy Jackson frontman Luke Steele named his new band, Empire of the Sun, after Ballard’s best-known novel, which was based on his own experiences as a child in war-torn China.
THE KLAXONS’ MYTHS OF THE NEAR FUTURE
Mercury Prize winners The Klaxons named their debut album Myths of the Near Future after Ballard’s short story collection published in 1982. One of its tracks, Golden Skans – “Light touch my hands, in a dream of Golden Skans, from now on, you can forget all future plans” – marries the psychedelic lights of a concert to the planet scouring rays which transform the Earth in the short story Myths of the Near Future. Ballard alluded to environmental devastation often in his work, exploring how man-made landscapes and the retreat from the natural world might affect humanity.
BUGGLES’ VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
JG Ballard: Lyrics influenced by his violent surrealism
Producer Trevor Horn’s 1979 single Video Killed the Radio Star ushered in the MTV age – it was the first song played on MTV when it launched in 1981. Horn admits the song – about a radio star whose career is cut short by TV – is based on a Ballard short story The Sound Sweep, in which a mute boy obsessed with collecting music discovers an opera singer hiding in a sewer. It taps into Ballard’s interest in the hold of mass media on people’s lives, especially the influence of television, beamed into the same suburban homes that used to listen in their millions to radio.
RADIOHEAD’S OK COMPUTER
Not a band to simply knock out two-minute pop songs on unrequited love, Radiohead condensed Ballard’s preoccupation with the spectacle of tragedy – most famously explored in the story Crash – into some of their most celebrated work. OK Computer, their 1997 album, includes two songs influenced by Ballard’s worldview. Opener Airbag describes a car crash almost in slow motion – “In a fast German car/ I’m amazed that I survived/An airbag saved my life” – while the haunting Lucky relates a near-death experience in a crashing airliner. Singer Thom Yorke, never one to wear his esoteric pursuits lightly, blogged excerpts of Ballard’s anti-consumerist novel Kingdom Come in the run up to the release of the band’s 2007 album In Rainbows.
HAWKWIND’S HIGH RISE
Space-rock pioneers Hawkwind released a song called High Rise on their 1978 album PXR5, which they said was inspired by the author. Ballard’s 1975 novel High Rise is set in a futuristic high-rise building that offers its pampered inhabitants everything they need – closing them off from the wider world. After intermittent power failures within the sealed-off building, the closed society begins to fragment, leading to a brutal, violent tribalism. Ballard believed an urban life aided by technology might warp the human psyche in unexpected ways.
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
Manic Street Preachers have also relied on Ballard’s words
The Welsh band’s lyricists Nicky Wire and Richey Edwards were both fans of Ballard’s work. Their bleak, unsettling 1994 album The Holy Bible included the song Mausoleum, a dystopian nightmare which included a sample of Ballard talking about his book Crash: “I wanted to rub the human face in its own vomit, I wanted to force it to look in the mirror…” Elsewhere, the capital punishment treatise Archives of Pain and the Intense Humming of Evil – which describes the horrors of the Holocaust through the emptiness of modern day Auschwitz – connect with Ballard’s dystopian themes.
GARY NUMAN’s DOWN IN THE PARK
New wave synth-pop man Gary Numan’s Tubeway Army song Down In the Park is a Ballard-influenced dystopian nightmare. The lyric relates a story of humans raped and killed by androids for entertainment, viewed by a crowd in a nearby club – a fear and fetishism of technology that was a Ballard staple. Asked about his inspiration, Numan cited Philip K Dick and, of course, Ballard. The concrete futurama of other Numan songs contains much Ballardian imagery, with the twin themes of technological improvement and alienation explored succinctly in the 1979 hit Cars “Here in my car/Where the image breaks down/Will you visit me please?/If I open my door/In cars”.
SUEDE
You don’t need to cite Ballard to have worn his influence. Suede, who always had a dash more pretension than most of their Brit Pop peers, paid homage to Ballard – knowingly or otherwise – with the cover image of their 1997 B-sides compilation, Sci-Fi Lullabies. Its picture of a scrapped RAF English Electric jet fighter lying on desolate moorland is the perfect Ballardian image; the writer repeatedly used downed or crashed aircraft in his work. Suede’s lyrics often touched on a Ballardian conceit of urban life, rich with allusions to concrete, traffic and ennui.

Source:BBC

New election head to take office
A controversial new chief election commissioner is to take office in India four days after the start of the marathon five-phase general election.
Navin Chawla will take over from N Gopalaswami, who had urged his rival’s removal from the commission for favouring the ruling Congress party.
The government said Mr Gopalaswami’s demand had no merit.
The Election Commission is an autonomous, three-member body aimed at delivering free and fair elections.
‘Short-sighted assault’
Mr Gopalaswami’s term as commission head was always scheduled to end on 20 April.
Mr Chawla will take over as chief commissioner and V S Sampath will be promoted to the three-member body to join current commissioner SY Quraishi.
Mr Chawla will serve as commission head until 29 July 2010.
In January, Mr Gopalaswami petitioned India’s president to remove Mr Chawla, accusing him of “bias”.
At the time India’s Law Minister Hans Raj Bharadwaj said Mr Gopalaswami “should do his work in the EC [Election Commission] and not become a political boss”.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has also accused Mr Chawla of favouring Congress and last year lodged a complaint with Mr Gopalaswami.
Congress criticised the BJP for an “irresponsible and short-sighted assault” on the commission.
Mr Chawla and Mr Gopalaswami maintained their rivalry to the end.
On Sunday Mr Gopalaswami was the dissenting voice in a split 2-1 decision which ruled that Congress president Sonia Gandhi should not be stripped of her membership of the lower house of parliament for accepting a foreign award.
A petition had been brought by a lawyer claiming Sonia Gandhi should be disqualified as the constitution demands that an MP cannot be “under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign state”.
Mr Chawla also faces controversy over the arrest of BJP politician Ashok Sahu.
The Election Commission last week ordered his arrest in connection with an alleged hate speech against Christians in the eastern state of Orissa.
Mr Sahu accused Mr Chawla of behaving in a “partisan manner”.
“The EC is not above the law. He derives his powers from the law and should function within its ambit,” Mr Sahu said.
Mr Chawla will oversee the final four phases of the election, with final voting on 13 May and counting on 16 May.

Source:BBC

Chan’s China remarks criticised
Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan is facing criticism after suggesting that Chinese people “need to be controlled.”
The action star questioned the notion of a free society at a business forum in southern China last week.
“I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not. I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled,” he said.
Pro-democracy legislator Leung Kwok-hung told the AP news agency that Chan had “insulted the Chinese people”.
“Chinese people aren’t pets. Chinese society needs a democratic system to protect human rights and rule of law,” he added.
Chan also said that the freedoms enjoyed in Hong Kong and Taiwan made those societies “chaotic”.
‘Racist’
“If we (the Chinese) are not controlled, we’ll just do what we want,” he told the audience of Chinese business leaders, who largely applauded his comments.
Another legislator, Albert Ho, called Chan’s comments “racist”.
“People around the world are running their own countries. Why can’t Chinese do the same?” he added.
Chan, the star of Hollywood movies including Shanghai Noon, was a critic of the massacre at Tiananmen Square in 1989 but he has not publicly criticised the government in recent years.
Chan’s remarks were ignored by the mainland Chinese press but reported by news agencies in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Source:BBC

Rocky clues from dirty dead stars
By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News
A survey of dead stars has found that many are probably surrounded by the rocky remains of asteroids and planets.
The discovery comes from a Spitzer space-telescope study of white dwarfs – the fading embers of burnt-out stars.
Astronomers showed at least one in 100 of these objects has “surface” layers that are contaminated with elements such as calcium and magnesium.
They say the elements could only have come from rocky debris that was constantly raining down on the stars.
“We used Spitzer to study these white dwarfs and look for elements that shouldn’t be there and we found that a very significant fraction of them had closely orbiting dust right on top of them,” said Dr Jay Farihi of the University of Leicester, UK.
“We see this phenomenon 1-3% of the time, so we infer that main sequence stars similar to our Sun – or perhaps just a little bit bigger – have terrestrial planets 1-3% of the time.”
Dr Farihi told BBC News: “In our galaxy, a very rough estimate would be that there are five million white dwarfs with left-over rocky planetary material.”
Pollution signature
Just how many stars out there might harbour terrestrial planets, like an Earth or a Mars, is an open question because the technology needed to detect them directly is only now becoming available.
Until astronomers can routinely identify them, indirect methods must be used to infer the planets’ existence – such as with the Spitzer study.
Spitzer is the US space agency’s (Nasa) infrared orbiting observatory.
It is tuned to see the longer wavelengths of light emanating from cooler objects, such as the compact white dwarf stars that have ended their main hydrogen- and helium-burning phase and blown off their outer layers.
These objects tend to be about the mass of our Sun but encapsulated in a body no bigger than the Earth. Their strong gravity pulls any heavier elements that are present to the core, leaving just the very light elements of hydrogen and helium to float on top.
But, occasionally, scientists do see the signatures of heavier elements persisting at the surface; and the only way to explain this is if material is continually being drawn down on to the white dwarfs.
The model constructed by Dr Farihi and colleagues to explain Spitzer’s latest observations suggests planets in orbit around the dead stars are disrupting smaller objects, hurling them towards the dwarfs.
Planet hunting
Close in, these rocks are broken up by gravitational tides (the same phenomenon which led to the creation of Saturn’s rings) to form dusty discs that feed the pollution.
“We see heavy elements,” said Dr Farihi. “Calcium is the main one, but we also see magnesium and iron.
“These are typical of rocks. They’re not typical of, say, interstellar clouds which are rich in hydrogen and volatile elements such as carbon and helium. It’s not a definitive conclusion but it’s pretty supportive of the idea that this material is rocky.”
Dr Farihi said dirty white dwarfs would be excellent places to go looking for Earth-sized planets once the detection technology matures. However, he cautioned that worlds that circle dead stars would not be very interesting places.
“They’re not going to harbour water and they’re not going to be great sites for habitability. But they may have been habitable previously and perhaps life did get started on them. It’s speculation, and the outlook for such things is bleak,” Dr Farihi said.
The researcher was presenting the discovery here at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science conference at the University of Hertfordshire.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET

Source:BBC

Two-tier proposal not on agenda
Plans to increase the Premier League to two divisions including Celtic and Rangers will not be formally discussed by English club chairmen on Thursday.
A proposal for two divisions of 18 teams had been reported, but the BBC has learned the issue will not be on the agenda.
Bolton chairman Phil Gartside put the scheme together and was set to present it to his Premier League counterparts.
Uefa told the BBC it would not oppose the Old Firm moving to play in England.
In theory, any addition of the Old Firm to an English league could provide a stiffer test for Scotland’s top two clubs and generate more enthusiasm from broadcasters and fans.
That would make up some of the money each club would lose if the Premier League is expanded from 20 to 36 clubs.
At the moment, teams relegated to the Championship are given 11.5m a year for two years for lost television income if they drop out of the top flight and are not promoted back into it.
Gartside’s plan, which will need the approval of 14 out of 20 Premier League chairmen, would offer more financial stability to teams in the lower half of the Premier League, who would then be able to plan for the future with greater certainty.
However, there are a substantial number of obstacles. Uefa, the European governing body, has consistently said that teams will not be allowed to play in leagues outside their own country.
However, the Uefa director of communications, William Gaillard, said the matter would be something to be decided between the leagues and associations involved.
“We wouldn’t take a position on such a proposal,” Gaillard told BBC Scotland.
In addition, both Glasgow giants would inevitably find it harder to qualify for the Champions League.
The Football Association, their Scottish counterparts and the Football League would all have to give their approval as well.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are likely to be against the plan as it would affect their income. Others such as Aston Villa, Tottenham and Everton, who may consider it unlikely they would ever drop out of a 20-team Premier League, may also have misgivings.
Mid-table clubs might also struggle to cope with a drop in television money as the cash is spread more widely.
A Premier League spokesman said: “We haven’t seen any proposal and therefore are unable to comment.”

Source:BBC

Liverpool v Arsenal
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue:
Anfield
Date:
Tuesday, 21 April
Kick-off:
2000 BST
Coverage:
Score updates on Final Score, BBC Sport website and BBC Radio 5 Live
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will miss out as he needs another seven to 10 days to overcome a groin problem.
After a week’s rest boss Rafael Benitez may stick with the same side knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea.
Arsenal will be without leading scorer Robin van Persie (groin) and striker Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) for the trip to Anfield.
Full-back Bacary Sagna has recovered from a virus and could feature along with fit-again Croatia forward Eduardo.
Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski will again deputise for the injured Manuel Almunia (ankle).
Defenders Gael Clichy (back), William Gallas (knee) and Johan Djourou (knee) are all sidelined.
Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Skrtel, Dossena, Aurelio, Insua, Benayoun, Riera, Mascherano, Alonso, Lucas, Kuyt, Torres, Ngog, El Zhar, Cavalieri.
Arsenal (from): Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Silvestre, Gibbs, Arshavin, Song, Fabregas, Walcott, Bendtner, Eduardo, Mannone, Eboue, Nasri, Diaby, Vela, Denilson, Ramsey.
BIG-MATCH FACTS
Liverpool
are focussed entirely on the pursuit of a record 19th English top-flight title and their first in 19 years, and the attempt to deny Manchester United the prestige of equalling their 18 championship crowns.
Rafa Benitez’ men
have had all weekend to prepare for this vital home clash with
Arsenal
which could put them back on top of the table. A draw would see them climb above Manchester United on goal difference; a win would put them two points clear, having then played two more games than the Red Devils, who host Portsmouth on Wednesday night.
Champions League semi-finalists
Arsenal
must put the disappointment of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea behind them, as they may have a major say on the destination of the Premier League trophy.
Arsene Wenger’s side
still have to host Chelsea and visit Manchester United in their five remaining league fixtures after this.
Both these clubs have won their last five Premier League games.
Liverpool
are bidding for 28 successive home top-flight matches without defeat;
Arsenal
have not lost in 18 home and away, and need three wins and a draw from six games to be guaranteed a top-four finish.
Four of the last five meetings between these clubs in all competitions have been 1-1 draws, including the last three in the Premier League.
The
Gunners
have been beaten more often (14 times) and dropped more points (52) in the Premier League against
Liverpool
, than against any other club.
Distance between the clubs: 209 miles (336 kilometres)
CLUB FORM
LIVERPOOL
2nd 70 points
Highest achievable: 1st
Lowest could fall: 2nd
1. Won their last five Premier League matches against Sunderland (h), Manchester United (a), Aston Villa (h) Fulham (a), and Blackburn (h). Now pursuing their longest winning sequence since ending the 2005-06 campaign with nine successive victories.
2. Lost one of 21 league games; the defeat being 2-0, away to Middlesbrough on 28 February.
3. Boast the best attack in the highest league.
More details
4. Scored nine goals in stoppage time; only
Arsenal
match that.
5. Failed to score in one of the last 11 Premier League matches; away to Middlesbrough.
6. The current total of 70 points after 32 games is their best ever return in the Premier League, and the best at this stage since the title-winning campaign of 1987-88, when 76 points had been accrued at this corresponding juncture.
7. Lost just one of 17 league games in which they’ve opening the scoring; away to Spurs.
8. Undefeated in 27 home league games; won 19 and drawn eight since Manchester United’s 0-1 triumph at Anfield on 16 December 2007 – their only defeat in 39 league games on home turf.
9. Kept clean sheets in nine of the last 12 league games at Anfield; the most recent two being 5-0 against Aston Villa on 22 March, and 4-0 against Blackburn on 11 April.
10. The run-in after this is:- Hull (a), Newcastle (h), West Ham (a), West Brom (a) and Tottenham (h).
Fixtures
ARSENAL
Club stats
4th 61 points
Highest achievable: 4th
Lowest could fall: 4th
Best & Worst categories in 2008-09 Premier League
1. Won the last five Premier League matches with an aggregate score of 16-3. Not won six in a row since seven on the bounce between 25 August and 20 October 2007.
2. Won 10 and drawn eight of their last 18 Premier League matches; their longest undefeated sequence since the “invincibles” went through the entire 2003-04 season without defeat.
3. Kept clean sheets in six of the last nine league games, conceding just three goals in the nine matches. Let in only five Premier League goals in 2009; fewer than any other club.
6. Top in the Premier League’s “Last Six Current Form” table, but the current total of 61 points after 32 games is nine points down on last season.
7. On the longest current run of 13 top-flight outings since conceding more than one goal in a game; the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on Boxing Day being the most recent.
8. On the longest current undefeated run away from home in the top league of nine games; won five and drawn four on the road since losing 3-0 to Manchester City at Eastlands on 22 November. That defeat is their only loss in 12 against North-West clubs; won nine of them.
10. This match precedes a home clash with Middlesbrough next Sunday, and the first leg of the Champions League semi-final with Manchester United at Old Trafford next Wednesday. Thereafter the run-in is:- Portsmouth (a), Chelsea (h), Manchester United (a) and Stoke (h).
Fixtures
KEY PLAYER NOTES
LIVERPOOL
Squad profiles
Jose REINA is the only remaining player to have been on the field for every minute of every one of Liverpool’s Premier League matches this season.
Jamie CARRAGHER is the only other player to have started all of Liverpool’s Premier League games this term.
Steven GERRARD is the club’s top Premier League scorer with 13 goals.
Fernando TORRES needs a hat-trick to total 50 goals for Liverpool.
If selected:-
Daniel AGGER will be making his 50th Premier League appearance for Liverpool.
ARSENAL
Squad profiles
Emmanuel ADEBAYOR is Arsenal’s top Premier League scorer with 10 goals.
HEAD TO HEAD
Arsenal have not returned with all three points from Anfield since a 1-2 win on 4 October 2003, when a stunning second-half strike from Robert Pires secured the points and kept the Gunners on course for the title.
There has not been an away win in a fixture between Arsenal and Liverpool, either in London or at Anfield, in 10 league meetings.
Home and away
League (inc PL): Liverpool 68 wins, Arsenal 58, Draws 43
Prem: Liverpool 14 wins, Arsenal 9, Draws 10
at Liverpool only
League (inc PL): Liverpool 48 wins, Arsenal 21, Draws 15
Prem: Liverpool 9 wins, Arsenal 3, Draws 4
LAST SEASON’S CORRESPONDING GAME
Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
28 October 2007 – Ref: Howard Webb
Liverpool scorer: Gerrard 7
Arsenal scorer: Fabregas 80
THIS SEASON’S REVERSE FIXTURE
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool
21 December 2008 – Ref: Howard Webb
Arsenal scorer: Van Persie 24
Liverpool scorer: Keane 42
Sent Off: Adebayor (Arsenal) 62
REFEREE
Howard Webb (Yorkshire)
Premier League referees’ table
Howard Webb’s 2008-09 Premier League card count

Source:BBC

Jets target Pakistani militants
By M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Islamabad
Army jets and helicopters have launched air strikes on a number of militant sites in north-western Pakistan, officials say.
The strikes in the Orakzai tribal region come a day after a suicide car bombing killed more than 20 soldiers in nearby Hangu district.
A key deputy of leading militant warlord, Baitullah Mehsud, is said to be based in Orakzai.
The deputy, Zulfiqar Mehsud, had said he carried out the Hangu attack.
Supply route
The casualties in the Orakzai strike are unclear.
An army spokesman contacted by the BBC confirmed the strikes in the Afghan border region but had no details on casualties.
An army official told the Reuters news agency at least 20 militants had been killed when jets and helicopter gunships hit their hideouts in the Ghaljo area of Orakzai.
A suspected US drone also targeted Orakzai three weeks ago, killing more than 10 suspected militants.
Zulfiqar Mehsud is reported to have been involved in disrupting supplies to Nato in Afghanistan from his bases in Orakzai.
He claimed responsibility for the suicide car bombing of a security checkpoint in Hangu on Saturday.
On Sunday a suspected US drone missile targeted militants in South Waziristan, where Baitullah Mehsud is said to be based.
The attack was reported to have killed three people in the Zari Noor village area.
Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for last month’s attack on a police academy in the eastern city of Lahore in which eight people were killed.
He was also accused by the government of planning the 2007 assassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto, a charge he has denied.
The US believes South Waziristan and the tribal regions are a haven for Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters who enter Afghanistan to fight US and Nato forces.

Source:BBC