Care facing RFU disciplinary

Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care has been called in front of an RFU disciplinary commission after his yellow card for a dangerous tackle against Leeds earlier this month.

Care, who has already been given a one-match ban by his own club over the incident and missed last weekend's game against Sale in the Heineken Cup, will attend the hearing on Tuesday December 15th to find out if he is to be given an increased suspension.

The tackle itself on Leeds forward Rhys Oakley during Quins' 30-27 victory in Yorkshire on December 4th resulted in a ten-minute sin bin for the England international.

His existing suspension by his own club will likely be taken into consideration by the panel when they hand down their decision.

In more positive news for Quins, three players have been re-signed to contracts at the Twickenham Stoop.

Chris Robshaw and George Lowe, both products of the academy, and former Bristol player Ollie Kohn have all agreed deals with the London club.

Chief executive Mark Evans said: 'These are exactly the type of young English players that the club is built on and I am looking forward to announcing further signings in the near future.'

Fernandes out to beat Branson

Tony Fernandes, the boss of the new 1Malaysia Lotus formula one team, has vowed to beat Manor grand prix, which will rebranded as the Virgin Racing team.

Fernandes has confirmed he will lead Lotus’s return to F1 racing in 2010 and at the Motor Sport Business Forum in Monaco also stated that his number one intention is to beat Richard Branson’s Virgin team.

'I said that number one we have to be ahead of Branson, otherwise I will retire and kill myself,' said Fernandes.

'We think we are going to have a very reasonable car. We know we aren't going to be competing near the front in year one, but it takes time and we'll have a good basis for moving forward.'

Fernandes revealed that he will run Lotus on a budget of £55 million and he added that he couldn’t understand how some teams spend three times as much every year.

'Obviously at one stage we were ready to put a team out at £40 million because that's what we were told the cap was going to be,' said Fernandes.

'Obviously we're in favour of having less money to build a car but it's still exciting.

'I am still confused as to where all the extra money goes when you have a team with £150 million. I'm still trying to understand my £55 million.'

He continued: 'We have a licensing agreement with Lotus owner Proton and over time that relationship will grow.

'Lotus will probably buy into the team at some stage. More and more technology from our side will flow into Lotus cars and we will promote the Lotus brand.

'I see it in time being no different from how Ferrari works.'

Tories call benefit rise 'pre-election con'

The Conser

vatives have branded Alistair Darling's plan to increase benefits a 'pre-election con.'

They say the increased benefits will rise before a vote next year only to fall afterwards.

The chancellor defended his pre-Budget report saying that the benefits will in fact rise again the following year.

Critics say the 1.5 per cent increase in some benefits including child support, incapacity benefit and disability allowance which will come into effect in April 2010, potentially weeks before a general election, are only a temporary measure and will be reversed the following year.

It is just one of many aspects of yesterday's pre-Budget report which the Conservatives say make it more political than economic.

Alistair Darling defended the increase and denied it was politically motivated.

He told the BBC: 'I wanted to increase them [the benefits in question] by 1.5 per cent otherwise they would have been frozen. They'll go up again next year.'

Another area of Wednesday's report which came under fire from shadow chancellor George Osborne was the one per cent rise in national insurance.

The hike announced for 2011 will affect anyone earning over £20,000. The government predicts it will raise £2.9 billion in 2011-12.

Mr Osborne though called the rise 'nonsense' on GMTV this morning and claimed it would 'impose a £446 million bill on the NHS, eating into the very resources which the chancellor claimed to be protecting'.

Mr Darling claimed the money generated would in fact protect key public services. He said: 'It's a difficult decision but I think it was right both in terms of what I want to do to cut my borrowing but also, in terms of something like the NHS or schools, it is important we preserve those frontline services.'

The Conservatives have branded Alistair Darling’s plan to increase benefits a 'pre-election con.'

They say the increased benefits will rise before a vote next year only to fall afterwards.

The chancellor defended his pre-Budget report saying that the benefits will in fact rise again the following year.

Critics say the 1.5 per cent increase in some benefits including child support, incapacity benefit and disability allowance which will come into effect in April 2010, potentially weeks before a general election, are only a temporary measure and will be reversed the following year.

It is just one of many aspects of yesterday's pre-Budget report which the Conservatives say make it more political than economic.

American Muslims arrested in Pakistan

Five Ameri

can Muslims captured in Pakistan are being questioned by FBI agents for having possible links to terror groups.

Pakistani police said they have arrested five men aged between 19 and 25 after a raid on the house of a member of militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, in the town of Sargodha in the eastern province of Punjab.

Although they have not been identified, officials say they are all US nationals, including three of Pakistani descent, one of Egyptian descent and one of Yemeni descent.

Relatives raised the alarm after the men, all students based in northern Virginia, left their families a chilling farewell video saying all Muslims must be defended, before disappearing in late November.

After the recent case of David C Headley, another American of Pakistani origin, who pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges, this will cause even greater concern among Americans who fear terror networks are recruiting within the US.

President Barack Obama did not wish to comment on the situation but did say: 'What has been remarkable over the course of the last eight or nine years since 9/11 is the degree to which America has reaffirmed the extraordinary contributions of the Muslim American community and how they have been woven into the fabric of our nation in a seamless fashion.'

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which was contacted by the families, declined to give the men's names, ages or nationalities but one of the men was identified as a dental student at Howard University in Washington.

Nihad Awad, CAIR's executive director, said: 'One person appeared in that video and they made references to the ongoing conflict in the world, and that young Muslims have to do something.'

'The video's about 11 minutes and it's like a farewell. And they did not specify what they would be doing, 'he added.

In a statement, the FBI said: 'We are working with Pakistan authorities to determine their identities and the nature of their business there, if indeed these are the students who had gone missing.

'Because this is an ongoing investigation, we will not be able to provide further details at this time.'

An FBI team is currently Pakistan and India, principally gathering evidence for the case of Mr Headly, 49, who is charged with plotting terror attacks in India and Denmark.

Obama becomes Nobel peace prize laureate

Barack Obama has accepted his Nobel peace prize in Oslo, with the US president insisting he was 'at the beginning and not the end' of his labours on the world stage.

He formally received the award at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital's City Hall this afternoon, nine days after he announced a decision to send a further 30,000 troops to Afghanistan and just ten months into his presidency.

'I receive this honour with deep gratitude and great humility; it speaks to our greatest aspirations,' President Obama said in his acceptance speech.

'We are not prisoners of fate, our actions matter.'

Obama was named as the winner of this year's peace prize several months ago, with many criticising the decision to award it based on his potential and commitments rather than achievements.

'I cannot argue with those who claim others are far more deserving of this honour than I,' he said.

The White House had already said President Obama's speech would attempt to justify the Nobel committee bestowing the honour upon the leader of a country engaged in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

'I am the commander-in-chief of nation in the midst of two wars,' Mr Obama accepted.

'We are at war, I am responsible for the deployment of thousands to a distant land, some will kill, some will be killed. So I come with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict.'

On the coalition in Afghanistan the president commented: 'America's commitment to world security will never waver but we can not act alone, America alone can not secure peace.

'We must acknowledge the hard truth,' Mr Obama continued. 'That there will be times when nations will find the use of force necessary and morally justified.

'Those who break the rules must be held accountable. The world must stand as one.'

Mr Obama said diplomacy was his preferred route of engagement but that in areas where it broke down, 'there must be consequences when those things fail'.

He said free speech was a direct route to peace and that religious intolerance only led to conflict.

Burma, Iran and Darfur were all referenced directly by the president, who failed to criticise more powerful nations such as China, Russia and Saudi Arabia on their poor human rights records.

'Oppression will always be with us but we can still strive for justice, we can acknowledge there will be war but we can strive for peace.'

Much had previously been made about President Obama's decision to stay in Oslo for less than 24 hours, meaning he will miss out certain traditional elements of the ceremony. He flew in this morning and will leaving tomorrow morning. The official ceremony is usually spread over three days.

He has declined the traditional lunch with the King of Norway and will not attend a concert in his honour nor hold a press conference. In Norway his fleeting visit has been seen by many as a snub but public relations experts say it is a deliberate tactic to keep a low profile.

Speaking at a press conference with President Obama earlier today, Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said his Nobel prize was 'well deserved and an important award'.

'I can not think of anyone else who has done more for peace,' he said, adding it represented a 'bold and important decision'.

When the Nobel committee announced President Obama as this year's laureate it praised 'his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples' and cited his push for nuclear disarmament and his outreach to the Muslim world.

The award comes with prize money of ten million Swedish crowns, about £860,000, which the White House has said will be donated to charity.

Gunmen kidnap 75 in southern Philippines

At least 75 civilians, including children, have been kidnapped in a region in the southern Philippines, local reports have claimed.

Fifteen people are believed to have been freed so far, and according to army captain Enrico Illeto, negotiations are continuing to secure the release of the rest of the group.

Gunmen, believed to be former government militiamen, carried out the abductions in the remote village of San Marin in Agusan del Sur and the local school, the Associated Press news agency reports.

The region has been plagued by banditry in recent years with Muslim and communist insurgents continuing to fight government forces.

Last month 57 people travelling in an election convoy were killed in the southern province of Maguindanao.

It is unclear how many children remain in the 60 still being held hostage.

Boy on trial over Harry Potter bleach attack

The trial of a teenage boy accused of attacking a woman with bleach after she asked a group of youths to be quiet in the cinema has begun today.

The 46-year-old woman was attacked at a restaurant in Leeds after watching the new Harry Potter film during the summer.

The 16-year-old boy was arrested following the incident and has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent.

It is alleged the attack occurred in July after the woman asked a group of teenagers to be quiet during a screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince she was watching with her family.

She was taken to a local hospital afterwards suffering from burns to her skin.

The trial is taking place at Leeds crown court.

Life sentence for mid-Atlantic bomb plotter

A 23-year-old man found guilty of conspiracy to murder by plotting with a convicted terrorist to blow-up passenger aircraft over the Atlantic has been sentenced to life in prison.

Adam Khatib, from Walthamstow, east London, was convicted at Woolwich crown court yesterday, after an eight-week trial, of plotting the terror attacks with ringleader Abdullah Ahmed Ali.

The latter was jailed for a minimum of 40 years back in September after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder by organising the transatlantic attack.

Today, Khatib was ordered to spend a minimum of 18 years in prison.

Khatib's co-defendant Nabeel Hussain, 25, from Chingford, was found guilty of engaging in preparation of terror acts and jailed for eight years, while Shamin Uddin, 39, from Stoke Newington, was found guilty of possessing terrorist items and jailed for 15 months.

He was also sentenced to five years and nine months for possession of a firearm, a charge he pleaded guilty to earlier.

The 39-year-old had also faced charges of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts but the jury cleared him.

The court heard that Khatib had acted as a 'loyal partner and servant' to Ali and had travelled with him to Pakistan.

The plot, discovered in 2006, led to a strict clampdown on liquids being taken on to commercial aircraft, the effects of which are still being felt today.

Three other men, Assad Sarwar, Tanvir Hussain and Umar Islam, were convicted back in September of being involved in the plot.

Commenting after the sentencing, Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowall from the Met's counter-terrorism command, said: 'Adam Khatib may not have known the full extent of the plan being hatched by his co-conspirators, but he certainly knew that they had murder in mind.

'He was a footsoldier to Abdullah Ahmed Ali and was actively involved in a conspiracy to attack innocent members of the public.

'Nabeel Hussain assisted Ali and his cohorts in preparing for acts of terrorism. Both men are committed terrorists who met Ali when he was furthering his plans to blow up transatlantic aircraft.

'Hussain even contemplated losing his life in an act of martyrdom and had made a Will expressing a willingness to die a violent death.'

Inter and Barca seal passage to last 16

Inter Milan and Barcelona both avoided embarrasing early exits from the Champions League, although the pair were forced to work harder than they might have hoped.

Jose Mourinho's Inter, with just four European goals and one win in their last seven San Siro outings, nudged into the knockout stages courtesy of a 2-0 win over Russian champions Rubin Kazan in Group F. Former Barcelona front man Samuel Eto'o got the ball rolling shortly after the half-hour before a ferocious free-kick by Marco Ballotelli wrapped up the win.

In the Ukraine, defending champions Barcelona had to come from behind to earn top spot in the group. The Spaniards were stunned by Dynamo Kiev after just two minutes through Artem Milevskiy but hit back through Xavi after 33 minutes. The pre-tournament favourites grabbed the winner after the break through Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi's gloriously struck free-kick.

The story of the night, though, came in Belgium where goalkeeper Sinan Bolat headed an equaliser five minutes into injury-time as Standard Liege snatched a place in the Europa League from opponents AZ Alkmaar. He became the second stopper in as many nights to get their name on the scoresheet after Bayern Munich's Hans Butt notched against Juventus on Tuesday.

In Group G Stuttgart, who sacked manager Marcus Babbel earlier this week, needed to beat Unirea Urziceni to make it into the last 16 behind Sevila. And they all but secured victory in the first 11 minutes.

Ciprian Marica slotted home after five minutes, Christian Trasch grabbed the second three minutes later and Pavel Pogrebniak the third in the 11th minute. The frighteners were put up the Germans shortly after the interval when Unirea snatched one back, although it proved to be nothing more than a consolation.

Darling announces boiler scrappage scheme

A new boiler scrappage scheme has been announced by Alistair Darling in his pre-Budget report.

The scheme will help 125,000 families replace their old boilers with newer, more efficient models.

The scheme, similar to the car trade-in scheme, was one of a series of green measures announced in the report and is hoped to reduce domestic heating and hot water bills and cut greenhouse gases.

In his speech the chancellor said: 'Each inefficient boiler adds over £200 to household bills and one tonne of carbon to the atmosphere. A quarter of all the country's emissions come from households.'

The scheme will see about £200 million added to help cut carbon emissions from homes from April 2010.

Mick Williams, of Williams and Co, a plumber's merchant in Hampshire, who started a petition for the scheme, told inthenews.co.uk: 'All in all it's very pleasing. It's much better than the car scrappage scheme for the environment, small businesses should benefit and house holders will save about £250 a year. So it's a win, win, win situation.'

He did though add that he was yet to see the details of the scheme and stressed the importance of the involvement of small business.

The scheme will be open to households with what are known as G-rated boilers, which are graded as 70 per cent efficient, so long as they replace them with A-rated boilers.

It is also expected to give a boost to British industry, as about 60 per cent of boilers used in the UK are manufactured here. About 120,000 boiler engineers also look set to benefit from increased business.

Some though feel that the pre-Budget report did not go far enough in terms of the environment.

John Sauven, Greenpeace executive director, said: 'Alistair Darling peppered his speech with references to a low carbon economy, but failed to announce the scale of change that would actually give us one. A bold chancellor would have scrapped Trident, saved £100 billion and used the cash to create a green investment bank.

Royal Mail reports 4% rise in profits

Royal Mail has today announced an operating profit rise of four per cent for the six months to September, compared to the same period last year.

The postal service said profits for the period stood at £184 million, while last year's total stood at £177 million.

Royal Mail said overall group revenues were down due to the 'continuing decline in mail volumes and economic recession which, along with intensifying competition, had an impact on all of the group's businesses'.

The company also said it had paid more than £300 million into its pension fund over the period, saying 'despite the resilient profit performance, group cashflow continues to be negative with an outflow of £434 million during the six months, largely driven by continuing investment and the cost of voluntary redundancies'.

The postal service added: 'During the period we also made a cash payment of more than £300m into the pension fund. The pension fund deficit is currently being revalued with the historic deficit widely expected to be at least £10 billion compared with £3.4 billion at the last valuation three years ago.'

Adam Crozier, chief executive of Royal Mail Group said: 'Traditional volumes continue to fall in the UK and around the world as electronic communications continues its inexorable growth: for example the Dutch postal operator TNT has said that volumes in the Netherlands will fall by seven to nine per cent in 2010 while in some countries such as the US the decline is as steep as 13 per cent.

'It is too early to assess the impact of the Communication Workers Union's (CWU) recent strike action but we are grateful to all those postmen and women who chose to continue working through the strikes and for the huge efforts made by our managers to help keep the mail moving.'

New details on MPs expenses published

The House of Commons has published details of expenses claimed by MPs under the second home allowance.

The information released online shows claims made during 2008-9 and the first three months of 2009-10.

Downing Street has already announced this morning Gordon Brown will repay £500 he claimed for painting a summer house.

Hundreds of thousands of claims, and their supporting receipts, have been released this morning with Westminster promising the details will be much more transparent than the information released earlier this year which was mainly blacked out.

The Guardian claims the new information shows more than 50 MPs 'flipped' their second home allowance last year from one property to another.

The previously unheard of procedure gained notoriety earlier this year when public anger at MPs expenses reached fever pitch in light of the publication of expenses claims by the Daily Telegraph.

However, the MPs named in today's Commons list are said to have not broken any rules. Many swapped their designated home from one in London to another, or one in their constituency to other. Some though 'flipped' between a London property and one in their constituency.

Among them is the Tory MP Douglas Hogg, who gained notoriety after his lavish claim to have his moat cleaned at the taxpayers' expense became public.

Others include Commons Speak John Bercow and former defence secretary Des Browne who changed his second home designation from one London property to another.

Nine local authorities rated as "poor"

Children's services in nine local authorities have been rated as 'poor' in a report released by Ofsted.

Authorities singled out for criticism were Birmingham, Cornwall, Doncaster, Essex, Haringey, Leeds, Rotherham, Warrington and Wokingham. All received the lowest rating possible.

Out of the 152 English authorities assessed, ten received an 'excellent' rating for children's services, while 94 were judged 'good' and 40 'adequate'.

Authorities that received an 'excellent' rating were Blackburn with Darwen, Camden, City of London, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston-upon-Thames, Lewisham, Richmond-upon-Thames, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, and York.

In the worst performing authorities, Ofsted's identified 'serious weaknesses in aspects of social care provision for children and young people' as well as 'insufficient numbers of permanent and experienced social workers'.

Haringey council, the subject of severe criticism in the wake of Baby Peter's death in 2007, had 'significant weaknesses in areas of social care provision' and 'safeguarding [was judged] to be inadequate', the report said.

The number of under-performing children's services has increased from the eight identified last year.

A press release from Ofsted said: 'These results show that the majority of councils are doing a good job and the vast majority are at least satisfactory...The small number of poorly performing authorities must renew their determination to improve, in the knowledge that it is both possible and necessary.'

In response to the report, Haringey council leader councillor Claire Kober said: 'We continue to work very hard to address the fundamental problems in our child protection services.

'Major changes have already been made and officers and councillors are committed to doing all we can to make Haringey's child protection the best there is.'

Facebook criticised for new privacy changes

Facebook has caused controversy by introducing new privacy settings which critics say could increase the amount of information people expose online.

The social-networking site launched the changes yesterday, sparking a wave of criticism from civil liberties campaigners, digital rights groups and bloggers.

Users logging onto Facebook since yesterday would have immediately seen a pop-up asking whether they would like to update their privacy settings. The site said it hopes the changes would help users to manage their Facebook account, and what others could see, rather than revealing too much private information.

The Electric Frontier Foundation's Kevin Bankston said: 'The new changes are intended to simplify Facebook's notoriously complex privacy settings and, in the words of today's privacy announcement to all Facebook users, 'give you more control of your information.'

'These new 'privacy' changes are clearly intended to push Facebook users to publicly share even more information than before. Even worse, the changes will actually reduce the amount of control that users have over some of their personal data.

'Not to say that many of the changes aren't good for privacy. But other changes are bad, while a few are just plain ugly.'

Facebook began testing the settings a few months ago. The changes let people decide who should see updates, whether all 350 million Facebook members should see them, and if they should be viewable across the web.

Barry Schnitt, a Facebook spokesman, said: 'Any suggestion that we're trying to trick them (users) into something would work against any goal that we have.'

But blogger Marshall Kirkpatrick said: 'This is not what Facebook users signed up for. It's not about privacy at all, it's about increasing traffic and the visibility of activity on the site.

'Information like your email address is recommended to remain limited to friends, but make no mistake about it - Facebook wants you to make the status messages you post visible to the entire internet.'

SFA cancels Petrescu talks

The Scottish Football Association has cancelled a meeting with Unirea Urziceni head coach Dan Petrescu's agent about the Scotland manager's job, following the leak of details to the media.

Petrescu is rumoured to have applied for the job and has impressed some members of the SFA with his increasingly glittering CV.

His London-based representative Frances de Souza was set for an informal chat with SFA chief executive Gordon Smith to present Petrescu's credentials in person.

However, following details of the meeting being leaked to the media the meeting has now been cancelled and Petrescu will only be approached should he make it on to the SFA's yet-to-be-drawn-up shortlist.

The 41-year-old first came to the attention of British observers playing for Romania in the 1994 World Cup in America. After that he spent one season with Sheffield Wednesday before being snapped up by Chelsea and spending five successful years at Stamford Bridge.

Shorter spells with Bradford City and Southampton followed before, in 2004, Petrescu became the manager of Rapid Bucharest.

This season his reputation has grown as the manager of Unirea Urziceni - the Romanian team in the same Champions League group as Rangers - especially following their impressive 4-1 victory at Ibrox.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland last month, he said: 'If someone was to ask if I'm interested I would talk to them because any national team job is a big honour.

'They would have to give me a call because I am not the type of person to approach them and say, 'listen I want to have this job'.'

Meanwhile, following the receipt of 20 applications for the post last week, SFA chief executive Gordon Smith would not speak of individual candidates.

'The matter was discussed extensively and vigorously,' he said.

'We will now initiate that process in the coming weeks.

'It remains the Scottish FA's intention to appoint and present a new national coach in time for the Euro 2012 qualification draw on February 7th.'

The previous Scotland manager, George Burley, was sacked last month after a bleak time in charge.

Osborne: Untrustworthy Labour bungled PBR

George Osborne has claimed Labour lost its moral authority and any chance of being trusted by the electorate ever again with today's pre-Budget report.

Alistair Darling unveiled plans in the Commons to raise national insurance contributions and tax bankers' bonuses, as well as increasing public borrowing forecasts for the next two years.

Shadow chancellor Mr Osborne said Mr Darling's plan would actively 'choke off the recovery' and reduce Britain to the 'sick man of Europe'.

'This prime minister inflicted the deepest and longest recession upon us in modern history,' he said after referring to Gordon Brown as 'yet another failed master of the universe'.

'No one will believe a word they say on the economy ever again.'

Repeating his much-maligned 'we're all in this together' line from party conference season Mr Osborne accused Mr Darling of 'ring-fencing a black hole'.

'We were promised a pre-Budget report and what we got was a pre-election report,' he added.

Mr Darling hit back at Mr Osborne's allegation that people earning over £20,000 would pay more tax, saying the shadow chancellor was 'long on politics and short on ideas'.

For the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable said Mr Darling could have done more with capital gains tax, which is staying unchanged at 18 per cent.

'There is a long hard slog ahead for the economy and the chancellor has not set out our path for it,' the party's Treasury spokesman said.

He added that it had been a 'good Budget for bingo and boilers', and that the economy was now being 'rebuilt on sand'.

Met Office warning over carbon emissions

The Met Office has warned that unless carbon emissions begin to fall in the next ten years the target of reducing temperature rises of 2C won't be met.

The report from the Met Office says even if emissions peaked in 2020, there would only be a 50 per cent chance of temperature rising more than 2C.

The results from the study were presented at the Copenhagen climate change conference, where it has been agreed that the G8 target of limiting global warming to 2C should be met to prevent temperatures reaching dangerous levels.

The Met Office, in their AVOID study, also said it was 'virtually impossible' to reduce the rise by 1.5C as proposed by some developed countries. AVOID is a research programme funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 'providing key advice to the UK government on avoiding dangerous climate change'.

The research concluded that if peaking was reached in 2018 and shrinking emissions by four per cent per year after, there would be a 50 per cent chance of keeping warming below the target 2C.

But if the peak came in 2020, the decline would then have to be five per cent per year for the same target.

'If you go to 2025 before peaking, it's virtually impossible to stay under two degrees,' Vicky Pope, head of climate science at the Met Office, told the BBC.

'If you reduced everything to zero immediately you'd still get about 1.3C because of the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere.'

Bank of England holds interest rates at 0.5%

The Bank of England has announced it will hold interest rates in the UK at 0.5 per cent.

The Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official bank rate paid on commercial bank reserves at a half of a per cent, and also voted to continue with its programme of asset purchases totalling £200 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.

The last change in interest rates was in March.

Yesterday the chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling said in his pre-Budget report that the economy would shrink by 4.75 per cent in 2009 compared with his Budget estimate in April of 3.5 per cent.

The Bank last month added £25 billion to its quantitative easing programme, and it is expected to wait until this scheme runs out before talking any further action.

Ben Thompson, Legal & General's director of mortgages said following the decision: 'The remortgage market is actually showing early signs of warming up, but it won't really get going until the bank base rate is increased.

'When this happens, borrowers that are able to move around are going to start doing so quickly, creating havoc with lenders' back books. We think that 'locking the back door' is something that lenders should be thinking about far in advance and ought to be preparing their retention strategies already. We would encourage lenders to work with brokers to ensure a cost-effective solution for all parties.

'We would also encourage brokers to start reviewing their books, identifying people on standard variable rates without tie-ins and making lists of prospects to call when the time is right.'

Liverpool 1-2 Fiorentina

Liverpool's disastrous Champions League campaign was brought to an end with a 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina at Anfield.

Yossi Benayoun gave Liverpool the lead in the first half as he headed in Steven Gerrard’s free kick.

But the Israeli’s opening goal was cancelled out by Martin Jorgensen’s strike before Alberto Gilardino grabbed victory for Fiorentina in the final minute.

The defeat means Liverpool finish with their lowest ever points tally in the Champions League, while Fiorentina progress to the last 16 as winners of Group E ahead of Lyon.

Although it was another disappointing night for Rafael Benitez, he was able to welcome back Fernando Torres from injury while handing Alberto Aquilani his first start since joining the club in August.

Liverpool started brightly with Aquilani immediately involved as he sent an inviting pass to Andrea Dossena on the left who whipped in a cross to the near post which Dirk Kuyt couldn’t apply a finishing touch to.

Daniel Agger almost handed Fiorentina the lead though with a poor backpass, however Diego Cavalieri managed to get to the ball before the advancing Mario Santana.

Liverpool continued to outdo their opponents in the possession stakes, but they struggled to create many openings with Benayoun guilty of giving the ball away in a number of promising positions.

In contrast Fiorentina always looked a threat with former AC Milan striker Gilardino playing on the shoulder of Agger and stretching the Liverpool defence.

It was Lorenzo de Silvestri who came closest to opening the scoring for the Italians with a header that Cavalieri did well to push over his bar before diving low to his left to save Riccardo Montolivo’s volley from the following corner.

Liverpool took the lead before half-time though when Benayoun sent a glancing header into the net from Gerrard’s swinging free kick from the right.

Gilardino had the chance to equalise immediately after the restart but Cavalieri managed to smother the Italian’s header after he arrived at the front post unmarked to meet Gianluca Comotto’s cross.

Liverpool began to threaten their visitors' goal more as they upped the tempo and Agger should have scored his team's second on the hour, but failed to make contact with the ball as he dived to meet another Gerrard free kick.

And Fiorentina took immediate advantage of their hosts' failure to double their lead when they broke quickly to equalise with Gilardino laying on a pass for Jorgensen to arrow a low shot past Cavalieri.

Benitez introduced Torres from the bench as they looked to regain the lead and the Spaniard supplied an excellent cross for Dossena but he failed to get his head to the ball.

The game became stretched in the final ten minutes as both teams pushed to find a winning goal with Cavalieri denying Montolivo from distance.

And the Italians finished the game the stronger, snatching victory in the final minutes when Gilardino slotted the ball past Cavalieri to compound Liverpool’s miserable Champions League campaign.

Olympiakos 1-0 Arsenal

Arsenal ended their Group H qualifying campaign with a 1-0 defeat at Olympiakos after Arsene Wenger fielded the youngest-ever side in Champions League.

Wenger chose to select virtually a reserve side, giving a debut to a left-back called Tom Cruise.

With Alex Song being the only Arsenal regular making an appearance in a side with an average age of 20, hopes of an away victory seemed like mission impossible.

But the young Gunners, despite already being assured of qualification to the knock-out stages, started brightly - showing adhesive control while passing at pace.

Olympiakos, needing a point to ensure a place in the last 16, initially struggled to find their rhythm. When they did they showed a willingness to shoot from distance, finishing the half more strongly than their opponents.

Playmaker Aaron Ramsey was far and away Arsenal's most creative player throughout the game with Theo Walcott offering their best chance of scoring.

But Walcott's fine running with and without the ball is not matched by his finishing power - his final touches reminiscent of Michael Owen when the Manchester United player was struggling for form earlier in the season.

There were no such finishing problems for Olympiakos when they opened the scoring early in the second half after a slick move which started in the centre circle.

A fine pass released the Brazilian Leonardo, who needed just one touch before he fired a left-footed shot past the advancing Fabianski from the corner of the six-yard box.

Arsenal nearly equalised with a counter-attack of their own, Ramsey bursting into the penalty box and passing to Carlos Vela - only for the Mexican's shot to hit the legs of the grey-haired Olympiakos goalkeeper Nikopolidis.

The same striker had another chance in the 70th minute, toe-poking a chipped shot over the bar after another fine Ramsey pass.

Olympiakos responded quickly, Leonardo getting behind the Arsenal defence to shoot from the same spot where he had scored from earlier. This time the impressive Fabianski pulled off a fine save.

The Gunners' goalie also came to the rescue a few minutes later after another quick Olympiakos break left him as the last line of the defence.

Arsenal might have snatched a slightly undeserved draw had Olympiakos goalscorer Leonardo not made a reflex goal-line clearance from a Ramsey shot in the last minutes of normal time.

City pair on mend after swine flu

Manchester City duo Craig Bellamy and Vladimir Weiss are set to resume training before the weekend after recovering from doses of swine flu.

Slovakian international midfielder Weiss came down with the disease almost a week ago and has been laid low since before City's 2-1 home win over Chelsea last Saturday.

Bellamy reported suffering cold and flu symptoms over the weekend and was tested for the H1N1 strain on Monday, although he has since recovered and could be back in training before the squad heads to Bolton this weekend.

The Welsh international also has a bruised knee, which kept him out of the impressive win over the Blues, but could be in contention for a return for the trip to the Reebok Stadium.

The two will be joined at Carrington by fellow first team returnee Stephen Ireland, who also missed last week's game with a minor knee injury.

Baron Cohen sued over Bruno 'terrorist'

A man branded a 'terrorist' by Sacha Baron Cohen after appearing in his last movie Bruno is suing the UK comic for $110 million (£68 million).

Ayman Abu Aita, a shopkeeper from Bethlehem, was interviewed by Cohen in the guise of his eponymous gay Austrian fashion journalist.

During the segment, in which Bruno tries to be kidnapped in order to become the 'most famous Austrian since Hitler', Mr Abu Aita is labelled as a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, the armed wing of Fatah, in a caption.

Baron Cohen later appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS when he said he had feared for his life during the interview with Mr Abu Aita and that he had contacted intelligence agencies to help set up an interview with a 'terrorist'.

But a lawsuit filed at the District of Columbia federal court says the interview took place at a hotel in the Israeli-controlled West Bank.

Mr Abu Aita, a member of the board of the Holy Land Trust, non-profit organisation working on Palestinian community-building, said his 'good reputation for honesty and a peaceable nature' had been ruined.

His US lawyer Joseph Peter Drennan said: 'This is an important lawsuit because it is about the dignity of a specific person. It is about his reputation, about his standing in the community.'

Baron Cohen, Letterman, producers NBC Universal and Bruno director Larry Charles are all named in the lawsuit.

Chancellor announces levy on bankers' bonuses

The chance

llor yesterday announced a 50 per cent levy on all bankers' bonuses over £25,000.

The super-tax announced in his pre-Budget report is hoped to curb the culture of excessive bonuses.

The 50 per cent levy is to be paid by companies rather than employees and is hoped to claw back an extra £500 million for the UK. This money is to be used to pay for new measures also announced in the report including help for the young and older unemployed to get back into work.

Alistair Darling said: 'If they [banks] insist on paying substantial rewards, I am determined to claw money back for the taxpayer. I have decided to introduce from today a special one-off levy of 50 per cent on any individual discretionary bonus above £25,000. This will be paid by the bank not the bank employee.'

It has though attracted criticism from some who say it makes London a less attractive proposition for international businesses.

Angela Knight, British Bankers' Association chief executive, said: 'Viewed from abroad, London may well look now like a significantly less attractive place to build a business. We must repeat that only concerted international agreements will succeed in reforming remuneration in the financial sector.'

She added: 'This new tax has to be set in the context of commitments already made. The UK's banks have already agreed to observe pay restraints where bonuses are mostly deferred and paid in shares. We are already well ahead of the other G20 countries in doing this.'

Others have criticised the move arguing that a levy should have been put on bank's profits rather than staff bonuses, and that it would be difficult to enforce.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader, speaking in parliament after the pre-Budget report, said: 'How will you stop the banks converting the bonuses into their basic salaries? You need not to try to tax bankers separately from high earners but to have to pay a levy on bank profits because they rely on the taxpayer guarantee.'

United boosted for Villa visit

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that at least three of his injury-ravaged stars are set to return for this Saturday's Premier League match against Aston Villa.

Strikers Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are set to return from hamstring and knee injuries, respectively, but arguably the most important first-team regular back in the fold is central defender Nemanja Vidic.

The Serbian international has been out with the flu for the past week - missing United's 4-0 win at West Ham on Saturday and the 3-1 success at Wolfsburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.

But Ferguson talked up Vidic's chances of being fit for the arrival of Villa at Old Trafford.

'We expect Vidic to be ready for Saturday,' the manager said.

'We'll be ok with that - I'm happy enough if I can play a back four of [Darren] Fletcher, [Michael] Carrick, Vidic and [Patrice] Evra.'

United played a back three against the German side earlier in the week, with midfielders Fletcher and Carrick joining Evra in defence.

However, against Villa, Carrick would partner the returning Vidic in the centre of a four-man back-line with Fletcher on the right flank and Evra in his customary left-back role.

FTSE 100 remains positive in early trading

The FTSE 100 started brightly on Thursday morning as the market continues to show indifference to yesterday's pre-Budget report.

At 09:40 GMT the London index stood at 5,216.33, a rise of 12.44 points, 0.24 per cent.

Royal Bank of Scotland led the gains, up 2.77 per cent, to 31.17p, despite chancellor Alistair Darling's announcement on Wednesday of a new super-tax on bankers' bonuses.

The Bank of England's predicted announcement of a holding of interest rates later also appears not to be weighing on traders' minds, with Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC all performing well in early trading.

The biggest loser of the day so far is Land Securities Group – down 1.24 per cent to 639p.