Yuan debate overcomes Boao boredom factor

China's President Hu Jintao travels to Washington this week to attend the nuclear summit.

On the southern Chinese island of Hainan, where 2,000 business leaders, senior politicians and academics have been meeting, the consensus was that his decision to go showed the relationship between the two nations is on the mend after a difficult few months.

The Boao Forum for Asia, an annual event, can feel a little sterile.

But it attracts big names. Former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson was here. Xi Jingping, the man touted as China's next leader gave the keynote address.

However, there is little of the cut and thrust of debate you might find at similar events in other countries and much of the discussion takes place away from the eyes of the media.

The conference organisers make no apologies for this.

'Bit boring'

Asians are more cautious, more conservative than those in the West they argue, and in China, the company chief executives and senior politicians are only going to speak freely if they know they're not going to be quoted.

At the gala dinner, the tables set out on a golf course as pristine as any, one delegate from overseas admitted that some of it had been "a bit boring".

The real value of Boao though was, he said, the access you got to important Chinese and Asian figures in business and politics as they relax here in the bars, over lunch or on the links.

And certainly outside the halls and meeting rooms where the formal events were taking place the delegates, both Chinese and international, were more forthcoming.

The question of whether Beijing should abandon its currency's de facto dollar peg was getting a lot attention.

"There's no perfect time for this," said Chen Zhiwu, professor of finance at Yale School of Management. "But I predict within one to two weeks something will be announced."

GDP figures

China's economy has recovered faster, and more strongly than almost any other.

First quarter GDP figures due out this week are expected to show growth of more than 11% year on year.

Washington has told Beijing repeatedly that with growth like that the time has come to allow its currency to start appreciating again.

The yuan rose in value by 21% over three years to mid-2008, but the process was halted when the financial crisis hit.

Professor Chen says a debate between different ministries in Beijing, with the commerce ministry pushing for the 'peg' to be kept to help exporters, while the central bank and others argue for a gradual appreciation, has held up the decision.

But that debate within government is now over he believes.

"The Chinese media have been changing their tone, and that implicitly tells us the official policy is going to switch," he said.

He was booked to discuss the issue on the state controlled TV network CCTV he explains, but then a few days ago the subject was changed.

"Usually given how things are done in China that means the propaganda department wanted to put a stop to it. There's less room for discussion because the government has decided, so they don't want different opinions to be aired in the official media."

'Polite'

Chi Schive, the chairman of Taiwan's stock exchange had another explanation for the time it's taken to see a move from China on this issue.

"There is a difference between Eastern and Western culture," he said. "Over there [in the West] if you are not doing the right thing people just tell you you're wrong."

"In Chinese culture, we prefer to try to be polite to everyone. So it took time for the United States to realise how to deal with this, to play it down, to say 'I'm not pushing you, I'm wishing you to change your policy'."

Most here agreed that politicising the issue had been a mistake.

'Improved' relations

The most senior member of the Obama administration to turn up for the Forum was Robert Hormatz, an Under Secretary of State.

He refused to be drawn on the specifics of the currency debate, but did insist that the bilateral relationship had "improved significantly" over the last few weeks.

This was due to the fact that both sides had recognised that "frictions were developing that we couldn't afford to have," he said.

With several meetings scheduled between the two country's presidents over the next few weeks at different global summits "this was a moment to get control of these issues, address them and make sure they don't get out of hand".

'Value chain'

The economic arguments for appreciation appeared to have been accepted by many of the Chinese delegates here.

Zhang Xin, a real estate tycoon said she believed a flexible Chinese currency "was in the interests of the country".

"Putting aside the politics of the US and China, the appreciation of the yuan will ultimately help the Chinese economy grow into a higher 'value added' economy, no longer just competing by cutting prices but moving up the 'value chain'," she said.

But she had a warning for those politicians in the United States and others who have been pressing China on this issue - be careful what you wish for.

"Say their wish is granted. The currency is significantly stronger. Then you will face a much richer Chinese people, a much stronger China. Is that in the interests of the United States?"

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Are cracks emerging in Thailand's military?

When a prime minister needs to hold a special TV broadcast to assure watchers that his government is united and in control, it is often the opposite message that is conveyed.

Far from celebrating Songkran, the Thai New Year, Thailand's top generals and politicians are locked in dissension - trying to explain the failure and high cost of Saturday's crackdown on the red-shirted opposition, and trying to work out what should happen next.

The relatively dove-like commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Gen Anupong Paojinda, seemed in no doubt.

"The best solution of this is to dissolve the House. I don't want to intervene in politics but I guess the end will be a House dissolution.

"Political problems must be solved by political means. House dissolution is a solution but that must be done after a clear time-frame is set."

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, by contrast, insisted his government, the army, the police and his coalition partners were united and doing "good co-operative work".

He said his government was investigating the causes of the killings on Saturday night - the latest toll is 21 dead and almost 900 people injured.

He also put forward the idea that among the peaceful demonstrations was a hard core of "terrorists" who had to be distinguished from the "innocents".

'Badly planned'

That idea - of a mysterious "third hand" - usually accuses a wayward major general of provoking violence through unexplained grenade tossings or shootings.

Certainly various military figures - and soldiers interviewed as they recovered in hospital - say they were unprepared for an armed force among the protesters.

The military analyst, Wassana Nanuam, writing in the Bangkok Post, quoted unnamed colonels as saying the crackdown had been badly planned, badly timed and put tired soldiers at the mercy of protesters.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said he had issued orders for soldiers to be equipped only with shields, batons and tear gas.

"They were unarmed, so some of them were killed," he said.

This conflicts with reports from a BBC correspondent on the scene who saw soldiers carrying and shooting high velocity guns.

Behind the propaganda war lies the larger issue of the military's distress about where it now finds itself.

"There are some divisions in the armed forces," said Prof Surachart Bumrungsuk, a military and politics expert at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"Some units don't want to be involved in such a crackdown, others wanted it to be more assertive.

"It is no secret that General Prayuth Chan-ocha would have liked a harder crackdown," he said.

Gen Prayuth is the deputy armed forces commander and supposedly in line to take the top army job after Gen Anupong's retirement in September.

That transition could be derailed if a military-friendly government is no longer in place to oversee it.

"Gen Anupong has kept a relatively low profile since the 2006 coup and steered clear of the crackdown by his subordinates against the pro-reds governments in 2008," notes Prof Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Centre on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

"In April 2009 during the reds' uprising, he was nominally in charge but Gen Prayuth appeared effectively in command of dispersing the red protesters.

"Gen Anupong's conciliatory words this time are thus unsurprising. He understandably wants a soft landing after his mandatory retirement on 30 September," he said.

By contrast, Gen Prayuth and the "tiger soldiers", otherwise known as the "eastern tigers" - the 2nd, 12th and the 21st infantry divisions - are seen as more hardline.

"Dissension in the army stems from resentment against these privileged soldiers whose career mobility is more promising. It would be unsurprising if other army units would oppose Gen Prayuth's hard-line approach," believes Prof Thitinan.

There is also a new concern within the military, not of division at the top but of a divorce between the top brass and the ordinary soldiers.

"The fear on Friday was that they might lose control of the rank and file. That was new, and very, very frightening [and contributed to] the stupid, chaotic blood-letting on Saturday," says political analyst Chris Baker.

Limited options

Where this leaves Mr Abhisit remains the question as Thailand heads into Songkran, normally a week of water-throwing street parties.

Many analysts believe he is running out of options.

"If he persists in his smug defiance, more violence and mayhem can be expected," said Prof Thitinan.

"His best bet is to set up an expeditious election timetable and bow out, perhaps followed by a sojourn abroad for rehabilitation."

Certainly the deep divisions in Thai society - the military included - are not going away.

"Saturday night made it clear that there are elements within the military providing the opposition with tactical information and that on the other side of the divide there are elements with good military training and equipment," says Anthony Davis, an analyst with Janes Defence Weekly.

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'World needs a barometer of life'

The world needs a "barometer of life" to prevent ecosystems and species being lost forever, scientists have warned.

Existing schemes, they said, did not include enough species from groups such as fungi and invertebrates to provide a detailed picture of what is at risk.

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers said the barometer would increase the number of species being assessed from almost 48,000 to 160,000.

The data would help identify areas in need of urgent action, they added.

The article was penned by four leading figures in conservation, including Harvard University's Edward O Wilson and Simon Stuart, chairman of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC).

"Knowledge about species and extinction rates remains very poor, and species disappear before we know they existed," they wrote.

To date, about 1.9m species have been described and given scientific names, but the actual number may exceed 10m.

"As scientists are better able to assess the conservation status of the species that compose an ecosystem, the more they will understand the health of that ecosystem," they continued.

"It is time to accelerate taxanomy and scientific natural history, two of the most vital but neglected disciplines of biology."

Broader coverage

Currently, the most authoritative data on the status of at-risk species is the IUCN Red List, which has been assessing the conservation status of species around the globe for more than 40 years.

Dr Stuart, who oversees the compilation of the Red List, said it provided a good insight to the health of certain ecosystems, such as forests.

"But it is very weak in its coverage of freshwater, marine and arid land species," he told BBC News.

"There are a lot of additional species that we have to bring into the Red List."

At the moment, it evaluates almost 48,000 species, but it is acknowledged that there is a bias towards higher vertebrates, which include mammals, birds and reptiles.

"The barometer would broaden the reach of the Red List to make it representative of all life, that's what it's all about," Dr Stuart explained.

The authors hope that broadening the taxanomic base of the Red List and increasing the database to 160,000 species would deliver practical benefits.

"A representative barometer would provide a solid basis for informing decisions globally," the authors suggested.

"For example, on conservation planning, resource allocation, environmental impact assessments, monitoring biodiversity trends... and enabling countries to develop national-level biodiversity indicators."

'Not acceptable'

The authors, all of whom are leading figures in their field, decided to join forces in order to voice their concerns that the rate of progress was too slow.

"The amount that we are investing at the moment in the Red List to broaden its coverage means that it would take about 20 years to get there," Dr Stuart observed.

"At a time when everything on the planet is deteriorating, having to wait 20 years before we can measure everything properly is not acceptable."

However, the scientists acknowledge that a three-fold increase in the number of species regularly monitored by a global network of biologists would come at a price - an estimated US $60m (£39m).

But they argued: "The barometer would, from an economic perspective, be one of the best investments for the good of humanity."

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Rio Tinto joins BHP and Vale to end annual ore pricing

Rio Tinto has followed rival mining firms and says it is negotiating new iron ore supply contracts priced for three months rather than a year.

The move ends years of tradition and is seen as a demonstration of the power the miners have over their customers.

Demand is at record levels, especially from China, whose appetite for ore and other commodities continues to grow.

Last month, BHP Billiton and Vale agreed quarterly contracts with some Asian steel mills.

Japan and South Korea seem to have accepted the change, but China's position is less certain.

China has been strongly opposed to a move to shorter-term pricing, which exposes it to price rises over the year.

However, Brian Redican, chief economist at Macquarie bank in Australia, said: "The shortage of iron ore means if the Chinese won't sign up to fixed prices at the quarterly rate they will be forced to buy it on the open market where prices are about 15%-20% higher.

"It would be cutting off its nose to spite its face."

The old yearly pricing system caused huge friction. When the spot - open market - price fell significantly below the annual price, customers complained, and when it rose above the set price, it was the miners that were unhappy.

The most recently struck contracts are, on average, priced 100% higher than last year's prices.

Last month, four Rio Tinto executives were jailed after being found guilty of bribery and stealing secrets by a Chinese court.

One of the four - Australian national Stern Hu - had been Rio Tinto's lead negotiator in talks with Chinese steel mills to try to settle a price for China to buy iron ore from Australian mining companies.

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Pret a Manger plans more shop openings as sales rise

Sandwich and salads chain Pret a Manger has reported rising sales and said it plans to open a record number of new outlets this year.

Its comments came as it reported a 12% rise in overall sales for 2009. When sales from new stores were excluded, like-for-like sales increased 2.6%.

Pret opened 16 new shops last year, including its first in Washington DC.

It said it would take advantage of "favourable property markets" to open a record number of new stores this year.

Its international trade is growing in importance, with 23 outlets currently in New York.

In total, Pret a Manger has 232 shops, the majority in the south of England.

It describes its heartland as London, where it did particularly well towards the end of last year.

Pret markets itself as an healthier, more ethically-sourced alternative to other fast-food outlets.

Its best-selling sandwich is the super Club, with two million of these sold in 2009.

The company said it has had an encouraging start to the year, but said it would keep a cautious view of the global economic environment.

Its owner, Bridgepoint, has a wide range of businesses. including clothing retailer Fat Face and Leeds Bradford International Airport.

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Dorset's fierce political battleground

The land of Thomas Hardy is blessed with a wonderful climate and beautiful countryside.

Two good reasons so many people like to move there to retire.

But Dorset is about a lot more than pensioners and agriculture - it is a land of fierce battles and surprises.

Dorset South - home to the Bovington Tank Museum - has been the scene of some ferocious contests.

The seat is currently held by the Labour MP, and cabinet minister, Jim Knight.

Through the Thatcher years it was a Tory stronghold but the election of 1997 put the constituency on a knife-edge. Labour finally tipped it over with a majority of just 153 in 2001.

Doctored literature

At the next election, Conservative hopes of winning it back drained away when their candidate was pilloried for doctored election literature.

But this time they are back with a vengeance with candidate Richard Drax and Labour will have to fight hard to hang on.

Of the eight MPs elected in the county six are Conservatives.

North Dorset is a rural constituency, centred on the county town, Shaftesbury.

There's a tradition of Liberal Democrat challenge, this time from Emily Gasson, but Robert Walter has held back the tide with a majority of about 3,000 for the last three elections.

In West Dorset, leading Conservative Oliver Letwin has also had to campaign hard to beat the Lib Dems and his majority of 2,461 means he is still a target and Lib Dem candidate Susan Farrant could come through.

The Lib Dems did manage to break through in Mid Dorset and North Poole in 2001.

MP Annette Brooke increased her majority from 681 to 5,482 votes at the last election - against the general trend - but with a new Conservative contender, Nick King, this will be another to watch.

The Dorset motto is "Who's a'feard?". With these small majorities, you would think all of the local politicians are.

Control of local authorities has swung backwards and forwards but they have been united in crying foul over their grant settlement from local government.

Employment has remained above average and land values in places like Sandbanks are equivalent to Mayfair in London.

But the consequence of this is that public services find they receive relatively less support from central government.

As the lowest funded authority in the country per head of population, how to get more from social services, education and roads are all live issues in Dorset.

Bournemouth and Poole is one of the largest urban areas in the South West.

Control of the two unitary authorities has swung from Lib Dem to Conservative in recent years, but of the three Conservative-held parliamentary seats Bournemouth West, where MP John Butterfill is stepping down, sees the greatest Labour vote.

Finally, Christchurch. Apart from the distinction of having the greatest number of voting pensioners in the country, the volatility of the region is shown by the astonishing by-election swing of 35% achieved by Lib Dem Diana Maddock in 1993.

However, it did not last and Conservative Christopher Chope now sits on a majority of 15,500.

More evidence of the changeable nature of Dorset politics.

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The candidates standing for election so far in Bournemouth East are: Tobias Ellwood (Con), David Stokes (Lab), Lisa Northover (Lib Dem) David Hughes (UKIP), David Shaw (Independent).

The candidates standing for election so far in Bournemouth West are: Conor Burns (Con), Sharon Carr-Brown (Lab), Alasdair Murray (Lib Dem), Phillip Glover (UKIP), Harvey Taylor (Independent).

The candidates standing for election so far in Christchurch are: Christopher Chope (Con), Robert Deeks (Labour), Martyn Hurll (Lib Dem).

The candidates standing for election so far in Mid Dorset and North Poole are: Annette Brooke (Lib Dem), Nick King (Con), Darren Brown (Labour), Dave Evans (UKIP).

The candidates standing for election so far in North Dorset are: Robert Walter (Con), Mike Bunney (Labour), Emily Gasson (Lib Dem), Anna Hayball (Green), Jeremy Nieboer (UKIP).

The candidates standing for election so far in Poole are: Robert Syms (Con), Philip Eades (Lib Dem), Jason Sanderson (Lab), David Williams (UKIP).

The candidates standing for election so far in South Dorset are: Jim Knight (Lab), Richard Drax (Con), Rosamond Kayes (Lib Dem), Brian Heatley (Green).

The candidates standing for election so far in West Dorset are: Oliver Letwin (Con), Susan Farrant (Lib Dem), Steve Bick (Lab), J. Susan Greene (Green).

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Conservatives outline £12bn public sector savings plan

The Tories have outlined for the first time how public spending could be cut by £12bn - to help fund their pledge to curb the rise in National Insurance.

Tory adviser Sir Peter Gershon said spending on IT projects, office costs, contracts and recruitment could be cut.

Conservative leader David Cameron said it showed the savings, which Labour say are a "fantasy", were "deliverable".

Asked if it could mean 40,000 public jobs lost, he said hiring freezes, not job cuts, would be used to save money.

In Friday's other election developments:

• Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg says his party would stop excessive bank charges for people who go overdrawn
• Labour's Lord Adonis makes a bid for Lib Dem voters' support
• Facebook and the Electoral Commission team up to register voters
• A Labour candidate is sacked for "offensive" comments about Nick Clegg and David Cameron on his Twitter page
• Gordon Brown campaigns alongside the mother of a murder victim whose killer was caught thanks to the DNA database

'Back of envelope'

Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and Lord Mandelson launched a fierce attack on Conservative claims they could save £12bn through "efficiency savings" within a year of the election - suggesting they were based on "back-of-envelope" calculations.

Sir Peter, a former government adviser now leading the Tories' efficiency review, told the Financial Times that £9.5bn could be saved from cutting IT costs, renegotiating contracts as well as curbing consultants and "perhaps £1bn to £2bn" could be saved by curbing recruitment.

Conservative leader Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is do-able, it is deliverable, I don't think it's particularly challenging to ask government to save £1 out of every £100 it spends.

Mr Cameron was asked about suggestions the plans could mean job losses of up to 40,000.

He said: "It's not talking about people losing their jobs, it's talking about not filling vacancies as they arise."

He said Sir Peter had outlined areas that could be cut - but a Tory government would make changes "along the lines of" what he had suggested, in consultation with the Treasury.

'Back office'

"The exact balance between things like procurement, recruitment and IT should be decided calmly and reasonably with the Treasury if we are elected on 6 May."

He said about 400,000 jobs became available in the public sector each year as people leave: "The point is, if you don't fill all jobs as they become available, that's one way of saving money relatively rapidly."

He said not replacing "back office" and management jobs meant more money could be saved for the front line and denied it was a "plan to fire people".

Gordon Brown has dismissed the Conservatives' plans to save £12bn as built on a "myth" and Chancellor Alistair Darling said some of the savings had already been made by the government.

Mr Darling added: "It is now clear from [David Cameron's] interview on Today - and he was unable to deny this - that additional heavy cuts will have to be made in public sector spending and jobs from this year onwards and that tens of thousands of jobs will be lost, not just in the public sector but in the private sector as well, where they depend on government contracts."

He told the BBC: "They may have got the political tactics right for the first day or so but their overall judgement is just plain wrong."

'Salami slicing'

Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said it appeared Sir Peter Gershon was "looking to immediately slash employment throughout the public sector".

He said: "The Tories are guilty of the worst type of salami slicing - cutting with no regard for what is useful or wasteful spending."

On Friday the Tories are outlining plans to curb excessive public sector pay and to strip some payments from those repeatedly caught committing benefit fraud.

The Lib Dems have pledged to stop banks charging customers unfairly for going over their limit or bouncing a cheque and capping interest rates charged by credit cards and store cards.

And Labour are highlighting the role of the DNA database - the Tories oppose keeping the DNA of people arrested for minor offences but not charged.

Joined by the mother of murdered model Sally Ann Bowman, whose killer was caught after his DNA was taken during a pub brawl, Gordon Brown said: "The use of DNA helps the police put the most dangerous criminals behind bars but can also exonerate the innocent."

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Al-Qaeda in Iraq group claims embassy bombings

A militant group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq has said it was behind Sunday's triple bombings in Baghdad which killed 40 people near foreign embassies.

Islamic State of Iraq said in a statement posted on the internet that it had attacked the Iranian, German, and Egyptian missions.

It said embassies and organisations working with Iraq's government would top its target list.

But it denied involvement in six blasts killing 35 in Shia areas on Tuesday.

The statement regarding Tuesday's attacks, which hit residential buildings, was posted on the internet separately, the monitoring group SITE said.

At least 200 people died in Sunday's attacks, which shattered a period of relative calm after last month's parliamentary elections.

'Themed' bombings

The first two bombs went off within about a minute of one another, in Mansour - a fairly smart suburb on the western side of the city, housing many embassies.

The Egyptian, German, Iranian and Syrian missions were all affected by the blasts.

Another minute or so later, a third suicide bomber blew his car up near the Iranian embassy, closer to the city centre.

With security tight around the embassies, many of the dead and injured were people in the nearby streets and buildings.

A number of Iraqi guards working for foreign missions were among those killed. Egypt said several of its staff were wounded by shrapnel.

Spain said its embassy and the adjacent German mission were also damaged.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says a series of "themed" multiple bombings have hit Baghdad over the past year, clearly with the aim of conveying the message not only that the insurgents can strike several targets simultaneously, but that they can focus on a particular type of target each time.

In August, October and December last year, they carried out co-ordinated attacks on government ministries, which together killed hundreds of people.

In January, big hotels in central Baghdad were targeted.

The attacks came at a sensitive moment, with politicians embroiled in trying to form a government which all agree should reach out to regional countries, especially Arab states which have been slow to restore full diplomatic ties with Baghdad.

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South Africa police deploy for Terreblanche funeral

A major security operation has been mounted for the funeral of white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche, who was killed on his farm on Sunday.

Several police and army units have been deployed to prevent possible clashes between supporters of Terreblanche and the local black population.

Around 3,000 people are commemorating his controversial life in the north-western rural town of Ventersdorp.

Terreblanche led the Afrikaner Resistance movement, the AWB.

Thousands of AWB supporters have gathered in the town, with the mourners including both armed men in camouflage and young children, says the BBC's Karen Allen in Ventersdorp.

South Africa's trade union federation Cosatu is holding a mass meeting on the other side of the town.

Our correspondent says the effect of this meeting - called to discuss recent farm violence - is not clear.

On the one hand, it is a way of occupying some black farm workers who otherwise might turn up at the funeral, she says.

But on the other hand, it could be seen as a somewhat provocative gesture given the timing, she adds.

The Afrikaner Protestant Church where the service is being held, is normally attended mostly by white South Africans.

As a gesture of reconciliation, dignitaries from the local black community have been invited to attend the service, our correspondent says.

But just a handful of them are likely to take up that offer, she adds.

Two of Terreblanche's workers have been charged with his murder.

Although the authorities stress that the killing had more to do with money than politics, it has led to a period of heightened racial tension.

White groups and opposition parties blamed an ANC official, Julius Malema, for singing an apartheid-era song at rallies, that includes the lyrics "shoot the Boer [farmer]".

The ANC has rejected that link, but accepts that the song and the debate around it was polarising society.

It has now instructed its members to stop using it.

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Ridley Scott's Robin Hood to open Cannes

British director Ridley Scott's new film Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe, has been selected to open the annual Cannes Film Festival in May.

The film, about the birth of the Robin Hood legend, also stars Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian, and William Hurt.

It will be screened out of competition on the opening night of the 12-day festival on 12 May.

Nationwide release in France will begin on the same day, with screenings across the world from 14 May.

In 2008 it was reported that production of the movie had been delayed, with studio Universal Pictures citing script concerns and location issues.

The film, which was originally touted to feature Sienna Miller as Maid Marian, has undergone several rewrites, with Crowe at one point mooted to play both Robin and his nemesis the Sheriff of Nottingham.

British actor Matthew Macfadyen - best known as Mr Darcy to Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice - will now play the Sheriff.

Previous actors to tackle the Robin Hood role include Sean Connery, Errol Flynn and Kevin Costner.

Early award

The movie reunites Crowe, 45, and Scott, 72, who first worked together on the hit 2000 movie Gladiator.

However subsequent collaborations, including 2008's Body of Lies and wine comedy A Good Year (2006), have proved less successful.

It is only Scott's third appearance at the French festival. His early work, The Duellists, appeared in competition in 1977, winning the Best First Work award. Thelma and Louise screened out of competition in 1991.

Robin Hood - originally entitled Nottingham - was adapted for the big screen by Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar in 1997 for LA Confidential.

Director Tim Burton will head the jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Last year's opening film was the hit animated film Up, which won two Oscars earlier this month.

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Russian appeal of 'weather control'

Standing by an open hatch on a Russian military plane high up in the sky is tricky.

All the more so when your job is to "seed" clouds, shovelling chemicals outside to cause rain.

These seeded clouds never make it to Moscow, where millions are enjoying a nice sunny holiday. Or where guests might be dancing at a wedding under the clear blue sky.

Some might think that controlling the weather sounds a bit like science fiction.

But military pilot Alexander Akimenkov doesn't think so.

He has seeded clouds over Moscow on important state holidays for many years. He says the Russians use two different methods to try to drive the rain away.

"Either there's a special machine that spits out silver iodide, dry ice or cement into the clouds, or a hatch opens and a guy with a shovel seeds the clouds manually," he explains.

"As soon as the chemicals touch the cloud, a hole appears. It becomes bigger and bigger, and it either rains right there and then or, if the clouds aren't very dense, they disperse without any precipitation."

The Russian government has used rain prevention methods since Soviet times, seeding clouds for major celebrations three times a year - Victory Day, City Day and, more recently, Russia Day.

There are also private companies that for some $6,000 per hour say they can guarantee sunshine on your wedding day - or for any other private party.

Many ecologists agree that these techniques, also used in many other countries for irrigation purposes, do not pose much of a threat to the environment or people's health, as the period of active influence on the clouds is very short.

But when Moscow's mayor Yuri Luzhkov suggested the technique could shift the winter snow outside the capital - and therefore save more than $10m in snow-clearing costs - many felt the city authorities were going a bit too far.

Even if the idea might appeal to Moscow drivers, tired of constant traffic jams - especially bad in snowy conditions - it has stirred concerns among local ecologists.

"Millions of tonnes of snow diverted from Moscow will create chaos in the areas where it is forced to fall and might even lead to the collapse of bridges and roofs," said Alexei Yablokov, one of Russia's leading environmentalists, who was ecological adviser to former President Boris Yeltsin.

Besides, a lack of snow in Moscow would cause many problems in the capital itself, he said.

"Why do we need snow in Moscow? Snow on the ground helps the roots of trees to survive during severe frosts. If there's no snow, lots of vegetation - trees, bushes - will die.

"Snow also cleans the atmosphere very effectively. If there's nothing to clean the Moscow atmosphere, many people will die - there will be tens or even hundreds of additional deaths," explains Mr Yablokov.

'Groundless' concerns

But Valery Stasenko from Roshydromet - the Federal Service of Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring - calls these concerns groundless.

"It is stupid to say that there won't be any snow in Moscow. If there is some five centimetres of it, it's absolutely fine, but there is a limit when all the transport just stops," he said, adding that the aim of winter cloud-seeding would not be to get rid of snow, but to control its level, not letting it go over this maximum limit.

The planes will be out only occasionally, said Mr Stasenko, to prevent major snowfall that happens on average three or four times a month. Thus it will cost a lot less than using snowploughs that are out most days of the winter.

Besides, the idea didn't come to the Moscow mayor from nowhere, it is based on facts. In the early 1980s, back in the Soviet period, there was a special service to limit snowfall over Moscow. It stopped working during perestroika [Gorbachev's reforms], when money became scarce," Mr Stasenko said.

"Some eight to 10 planes had to find clouds with the most precipitation and spray them with crystallising chemicals.

"Not all water vapour in the atmosphere turns to precipitation, and for the snow to fall, water vapour should concentrate on ice crystals first. So we were making snow fall before it reached Moscow and this work reduced the amount of snow in the capital by 20, 30 and sometimes 40%."

Ecology threat

And even though this winter is over and the snow in Moscow will soon disappear naturally, scientists at the Central Aerological Observatory of Roshydromet have been working for months trying to come up with new, improved techniques of winter cloud-seeding.

They refused to explain the essence of their work. And this secrecy raises important environmental concerns, says a climate specialist from the Russian Academy of Sciences' Department of Earth Sciences, Nina Zaitseva. She believes that even with raincloud seeding, much depends on luck and coincidence.

She is sceptical about the current research and the state's past or present ability to effectively seed winter clouds.

"I don't think there will be good results - dry substances are not able to have any noticeable reaction with ice particles. But if they decide to seed winter clouds with a liquid, they should first and foremost think about the ecological consequences," said Dr Zaitseva.

Regardless of the Moscow authorities' final decision on snow cloud seeding, Russia remains one of the few nations where weather control is more than using anti-hail cannons and battling droughts.

So if you want to visit Moscow and don't fancy rain, go there on one of the three precipitation-free holidays.

And if you want to ensure your wedding day is dry - it might just be possible to make it happen.

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Google's rift with China is a calculated business risk

Google's move into China four years ago was billed by some people as a battle between the irresistible force and the immovable object.

The inexorable expansion of the internet - epitomised by Google - would never exist happily in a command economy like China, said critics.

By taking its search engine onto Chinese soil - and thus agreeing to Beijing's censorship rules - Google was accused of trading reputation for profit.

On Monday, however, Google pulled its search facility out of mainland China, redirecting users to an uncensored site in Hong Kong.

What now for both profits and reputation? Has it shut the door on the world's biggest internet market?

The Great Firewall

China has hit back at Google, limiting its citizens' use of the search facility through web filters that are collectively known as the Great Firewall.

And some of Google's business partners are already starting to distance themselves from the company.

On Wednesday China's second-largest mobile operator, Unicom, announced that it would drop Google's search function from two new handsets that are being developed.

Official Chinese figures put the number of internet users at 384 million. But the number of mobile subscribers - people who do or will eventually - use the internet on their handsets is 745 million.

At Sina Corp, which owns a portal featuring a Google search bar on its main page, executives are considering the future of link with the US giant.

And there are several other news reports from China about how Google's partners and advertisers are reviewing their relationships with the internet giant.

These moves underline the potential impact on Google's business.

On the face of it, picking a fight with the rulers of what is soon to be the world's biggest economy looks like commercial stupidity.

Today's business mantra says that any company which wants to be global has to do business with China.

And yet, there is a growing consensus among analysts that Google's move will have only limited impact on its business.

Google's share price had fallen about 6% since the company announced on 12 January that it was considering a withdrawal from China.

But since Monday, when the final decision was made, the shares have been rising.

Don't Be Evil

Google, whose motto Don't Be Evil was tarnished by the move to China, has won plaudits in the blogosphere and among the commentariat for its decision to withdraw.

The company has stood up for free speech and unfettered enterprise, they say.

These are fine words, says technology analyst Graham Titterington, but in reality they are just "fluff".

"Google has taken a hard-headed business decision," he said.

Mr Titterington, principal analyst at Ovum, said: "Google has looked at the benefits and damage to its business, and made a decision on whether the move will do more harm than good."

In the immediate term, Mr Titterington does not expect much damage because China remains a small part of the company's operations. "Indeed, outside China there will be some kudos and benefits to company and its brand image," he said.

China's total internet advertising market was worth about $1bn last year, with Google's revenues from the country amounting to about $250m-$300m.

This revenue figure represents about 1% to 2% of Google's total, estimates Youssef Squali, analyst at Jefferies & Co.

Before Google moved to the mainland, it had perhaps 13% of the China search market. Going "onshore" took market share to about 20%. Even if Google's share returns to 13% or less, it is by no means critical for the company.

"Exiting China would not be too damaging for Google since the company is the market share leader in most non-domestic markets, where search usage and monetisation opportunities still abound," Mr Squali said.

Besides, Google was already struggling to consolidate and grow in China. For many analysts Beijing clearly backed Baidu as the home-grown internet market leader.

Censorship

Google also faced subtle - and not so subtle - attempts to restrict growth, and was already the subject of attacks from officials over alleged failure to comply with censorship rules.

It is likely that Google saw the writing on the wall a long time ago.

But, surely, losing a position in the world's single biggest constituency of web users must be a retrograde step? After all, by 2014 the Chinese market for internet advertising could grow to as much as $20bn, according to estimates.

Mr Titterington agrees: "In the longer term, Google needs China more than China needs Google."

But he does not believe Google will remain outside China forever. In fact, he believes the company could be operating within the country again within three years.

"China is opening, and in time they [the leaders] will change and react," he said.

Google may have anticipated China would relax its rigid control on society sooner than it has done. But eventually it will happen.

"Politicians have to live with short memories. At some stage they [Google and Beijing] will start co-operating again," Mr Titterington said.

The big question, though, will be how much momentum Google will have lost in the meantime." Will the growth of indigenous operators like Baidu effectively marginalise Google, making a return to China irrelevant?

Not everyone is so optimistic that Google will make a quick return. David Wolf, president of technology marketing consultancy Wolf Group, says it will take years for Google to rebuild partnerships in China.

"Trust me, [Google] aren't walking away from this unhurt," he told the Associated Press news agency.

Nor does the rhetoric coming from Beijing bode well for an early rehabilitation.

The Beijing government called Google's withdrawal "totally wrong", while the People's Daily newspaper was even more strident.

The paper said Google was part of an internet war being orchestrated by the US intelligence services.

Herein lies a danger. What is currently a dispute over business, risks becoming a dispute over politics - which would make it far more difficult for relations to heal.

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Multiple Choice Question

Celebrities like to out-do each other in the strange-name stakes. Actor Nicholas Cage has a child named Kal-El, after the birth name of which comic book character

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Your pictures of the week: Lazy

Here's our weekly look at your pictures and this time we asked you for photographs on the theme of being lazy.

We received more than 250 entries this week, so once again I offer my thanks to all of you who submitted work.

You can see the ones I have selected here.

hope you enjoy looking at the pictures and if you have any comments to make, you can do so below.

If your picture didn't make this week's selection, why not send us something for next week?

The new theme is "clouds" - a theme suggested by reader Barbara Gordon.

Interpret this in any way you see fit and send your pictures to us at yourpics@bbc.co.uk or upload them directly from your computer.

Please include the word "clouds" in the subject line of your message.

The deadline is midnight GMT Tuesday 30 March 2010, and remember to add your name and a caption: who, what, where and when should be enough, though the more details you give, the better your chance of being selected.

We will publish a selection of your photos this time next week.

You can now see a list of the next four themes on this page which will be updated each week.

Files should be sent as JPEGs. They shouldn't be larger than 10Mb and ideally much smaller: around 1Mb is fine, or you can resize your pictures to 1,000 pixels across.

Please see our terms and conditions, but remember that the copyright remains with you. The pictures will only be used by the BBC for the purposes of this project. Finally, when taking photos, please do not endanger yourself or others, take unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

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US schools grapple with gay rights at the school prom

When officials at a small high school in rural Mississippi cancelled the annual prom, little did they know they would trigger a passionate national debate.

For many American teenagers, the high-school prom is a rite of passage on the path to adulthood. But for 18-year-old Constance McMillen, a milestone was reached sooner than she had anticipated when she emerged as a cause celebre among gay rights advocates around the nation.

Ms McMillen - who came out as a lesbian in her early teens - challenged her school's ban on same-sex prom dates.

Earlier this month, Itawamba Agricultural High School scrapped the event rather than reverse a decision banning Ms McMillen escorting her same-sex date, and from wearing a tuxedo - male evening dress - instead of a prom gown.

School officials defended the decision, saying that the whole issue had become a "distraction to the learning process".

Ms McMillen's case has been taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union, which has taken the school to court in an attempt to reinstate the prom. It is also asking the judge to rule on whether Ms McMillen's right to freedom of expression has been violated.

On Tuesday, a federal judge said he wouldn't force the school to hold the dance, but said he would hold a trial at a later date to determine if Ms McMillen's rights had been violated

Ms McMillen had earlier told the court that she "had the right to go to the prom just like someone straight".

Unwelcome spotlight

In the past fortnight, she has been plucked out of her hometown of Fulton to appear on news programmes, and the Ellen DeGeneres show, where she was presented with a $30,000 (£20,000) cheque from a digital media company to help fund her college education.
A Facebook group set up by the ACLU entitled Let Constance Take her Girlfriend to the Prom has attracted almost 400,000 fans.

But, back in rural Fulton, the town of 4,000 residents is reeling from the publicity the case has attracted.

Asked to comment for this article, pastor Bobby Crenshaw of the local Southside Baptist Church acknowledged that the case had brought an unwelcome spotlight to the town but did not want to say more. The Southern Baptist Convention said no-one was available.

Fulton Mayor Paul Walker told the BBC News website by telephone that the "community had had its nose rubbed in it a bit".

"We're deep in the Bible Belt," said Mayor Walker. "It's a traditional Southern town, but contrary to what people think, we don't all stand around in blue overalls chewing tobacco."

He described the community as "conservative" and said it "was a great place to raise a family".

We didn't want this to happen, but it has. But the wounds will heal and we will get back together and move forward," he said.

In court on Monday, the school's principal said he had received thousands of e-mails, mostly supporting Ms McMillen.

"I've been called every name known to man," the Clarion Ledger reported Trae Wiygul as saying. "I've been called a bigot, a homophobe and a few cuss words. It's been pretty rough."

Ms McMillen, too, has said there has been some hostility toward her on the school campus. She reported that one person had said: "Thanks for ruining my senior year."

Prom rights

Chris Hampton of the ACLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Project, says she has never seen a case like the one in Mississippi.

"We deal with quite a lot of cases where students are told they are not allowed to bring a same-sex partner to a prom but the schools often back down," she says.

We even have a letter on our website that students can download and present to school administrators setting out that LGBT students have rights and that these rights exist in the context of the school prom."

Many schools, of course, allow same-sex dates with no questions asked. On Monday, Macon.com reported that a high school in a small town in the state of Georgia had given the OK for an 18-year-old to take his same-sex date to next month's prom.

Ms Hampton said she had never known a school to cancel a prom as a result of a dispute over gay students.

Daryl Presgraves of the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) agreed that while discrimination in terms of prom policy was not uncommon, this was the most extreme case he had encountered.

He said it was unusual that the school was sticking to its guns "in the face of all the media attention".

Part of the problem was that for most schools, issues to do with sexual orientation and gender expression were relatively new, he said.

"Ten or 15 years ago, most schools would say they didn't have any LGBT students, now most schools have an out LGBT student," he said.

He said many schools were grappling with the issues, particular those schools in what he described as more conservative areas.

"They don't do due diligence to find out what the laws say and what the rights of the students are. We see this particularly in the setting up of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) within schools," he added.

Pervasive bullying

GSAs are student clubs that "work to improve school climate for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression".

There are more than 4,000 GSAs registered with GLSEN - but only six of those, according to Mr Presgraves, are in Mississippi.

While federal civil rights laws expressly address discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender, disability or national origin, they do not explicitly include sexual orientation or gender identity.

Ms McMillen's case has helped draw attention to a new bill - The Student Anti-Discrimination Act - introduced by Congressman Jared Polis in January, which would extend civil rights protections to such students.

Mr Presgraves said much still needed to be done to protect LGBT students from discrimination, given that bullying was still a "pervasive problem" in schools.

"Schools have made a big effort to address general bullying but their programmes don't address bias-based bullying," he said.

In 2005, GLSEN carried out a national survey of all students - not just LGBT - to gauge what the general population was experiencing in terms of bullying.

"Categories of student bullying based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender expression are two of the top three reasons students cited for bullying," said Mr Presgraves.

He said the fact that so many Gay-Straight Alliances had been registered indicated that schools would not be able to avoid the issue for much longer.

Some schools perceived there to be a "culture war" going on around them, he said.

"There is a debate going on and they are saying they don't want anything to do with it. They are, therefore wrongly discriminating to avoid what they perceive to be the great debate going on in society."

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'Pirate' death puts spotlight on 'guns for hire'

The death of a suspected pirate off the coast of Somalia has drawn attention to the use of armed private security contractors on board merchant vessels.

The incident, which involved guards aboard the Panamanian-flagged MV Almezaan, is believed to be the first of its kind.

But several organisations, including the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), have previously expressed concerns over the use of armed security contractors.

"While we understand that owners want to protect their ships, we don't agree in principle with putting armed security on ships," IMB director Capt Pottengal Mukundan told the BBC News website.

"Ships are not an ideal place for a gun battle."

One argument is that the use of armed operatives could encourage pirates to use more violence when taking a ship.

But Mr Mukundan said he had seen no evidence that there had been much of an increase in the use of armed guards by merchant ship owners.

Dozens of warships patrol the waters off the Somali coast, but this has not deterred the pirates. The amount of ocean to patrol is extremely vast and pirates have responded to the increased naval presence by moving attacks farther out to sea.

"The naval forces are displacing the threat - they can't be everywhere at once," says Nick Davis, chief executive of Merchant Maritime Warfare Centre, a not-for-profit organisation.

"Almost the whole of the Indian Ocean region - some 5 million square nautical miles - is a security risk."

Prevention

But the shipping industry has, so far, largely resisted arming their boats - not least because this would deny them port in some nations. Furthermore, arming the ships can raise liability issues and increase insurance costs.

Christopher Ledger, director of security firm Idarat Maritime, says the use of private operatives is not necessary and that ship owners can find other ways to protect themselves, such as boosting training, carrying out more drills and purchasing equipment that could prevent pirates boarding a vessel.

"Private security guards are not necessary, they simply muddy the water," he said. "They are often foreign to the crew themselves and they don't know the ship well.
Many are former soldiers that have been in Iraq or Afghanistan and they think they can shake the dust off their shoes and make it as a private security guard. Their day rate is pretty high and the crew have to find ways to get them on and off the vessels."

Their presence, he said, would only lead to "more spilt blood".

This month, international law firm Ince and Co released a report highlighting the issues arising from the use of armed guards. It pointed out that a fundamental question arose as to who would authorise the use of force.

Stephen Askins, a lawyer with Ince, told the BBC News website that the debate on the use of armed guards was one that polarised the industry.

"Most industry bodies and ship-owners are against them," he said. "But no ship with an armed guard has been hijacked, so there are those - particularly those who have had hijacked ships - who think they are necessary."

He said private security companies had come into their own in places like Iraq and had seen seen the maritime sector as potentially lucrative.

"Many have moved across but there is no system of accreditation, so there is no way of knowing the good from the bad," he said.

Legal status

Most security operatives are former British servicemen, but there are also operatives from the US, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Mr Askins said some firms provided armed escort vessels, but that these did not have any status in international law.

"The various conventions dealing with piracy relate to states and their navies," he said. "The rights that they are given, like the right of innocent passage relate to military ships. There are also issues over the use of armed force. The relevant law is the law of the flag state, but a merchant ship could, for example, be Panamanian and the escort ship could be, say, UK flagged."

But he also pointed out that there were some very good companies that had "robust rules of engagement".

"Lethal force for them would come after a series of steps including warning shots. The good companies would follow that procedure. Normally that would be enough to deter an attack."

In May 2009, the US Coast Guard drafted a maritime security directive that would require US-flagged ships sailing around the Horn of Africa to post guards, and ship owners to submit anti-piracy security plans for approval.

At the time, the Coast Guard's director of prevention policy, Rear Admiral James Watson, said that they expected to see "additional security" that could "involve the use of firearms".

He added that they were "looking for things that work but that don't make the situation worse".

The directive has not yet passed into law.

For now, the handling of Tuesday's shooting by a private security operative will be watched closely by legal experts.

An independent inquiry is planned, but first investigators will need to establish who had jurisdiction - the flag the vessel was flying, its owners or the nationality of the contractors - and who was responsible for the security contractors.

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The hospital of the future

Norman Foster, the man whose practice brought us the Gherkin, Beijing Airport, and the Great Court at the British Museum has until now had nothing to do with healthcare.

That has all changed, however, as his first hospital opens amid bold claims that it has reinvented what a hospital can look like.

Situated on the outskirts of Bath, the glass and metal box sits on the edge of a business park and suggests that it might be a trendy headquarters for a computer firm or even perhaps an art gallery.

Inside, it certainly feels more like a posh hotel lobby than a typical NHS waiting room and reception.

Instead of disinfectant it is the smell of coffee and leather seating that greets you. The view through the plate glass windows is of the green fields outside Bath.

The forest of signs that normally greets you at the entrance to a hospital is replaced with people to guide you to the right place. Equipment is hidden away. Everything is designed to calm you.

Upstairs, each patient who stays in overnight has their own room with a view. The floor is made of oak. The windowsill has a herbarium. Downstairs even the operating theatre has a view of the countryside.

Painful costs

Of course, Circle Bath is a private hospital but one that will offer operations to NHS patients at the fixed NHS rate. It is claimed that it was built for roughly the same as any comparable modern hospital.

The ideas though are not new. Increasingly, research is beginning to show that we get better quicker if we recuperate in calm environments with natural light.

The surgeons here say that the calmer the patient the less anaesthetic they have to use, the faster people are back on their feet. It raises productivity.

It is an agenda that has been championed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, CABE.

Some such as the new childrens' wing at Moorfields, Newton Abbot's Community Hospital and the Norfolk and Norwich have all won praise for introducing light and cheer.

But other products of the £12bn hospital programme have not been praised so highly.

The minister responsible for architecture, Margaret Hodge, spoke last year about the dark rooms and miles of corridors of the new Queens building in Romford.

CABE says there is a long way to go to truly make most of our hospitals welcoming and attractive places to be.

The problem is that healthcare is far more complex than an art gallery or other prestige architectural projects.

Each building has hundreds of activities that change rapidly over time. Familiar solutions are repeated rather than risk tens of millions on new ideas.

Clinical demands are the priority over beauty or natural light and it is rare for an architect new to the field to be given a remit to experiment.

Circle Bath, though, is a new venture and a co-operative of local clinicians. Clinical demands for a clinical atmosphere have to be married with the need to attract patients.

As a consequence the scheme has borrowed heavily from modern hotel design to try to create an atmosphere we want to be in, more health spa than health factory.

The economics is driven by the fact that they can choose which services to provide - this is a place for knees and cataracts, high volume, straight forward day care.

But by making it a beautiful building they hope it will bring in the customers and will speed their passage through the system. Good design, they hope, pays for itself.

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Late blooming daffodils spark web appeal in Cumbria

Tourism chiefs in Cumbria are encouraging people to "tweet" online should they spot a blooming daffodil in the Lake District.

The daffodils, made famous by William Wordsworth, are more than a month late this year following the cold winter.

One of the most famous places to see daffodils in Cumbria is Dora's Field in Rydal near Ambleside.

The "Daffs Watch" appeal asks people to use the social networking site Twitter to point to where they are blooming.

Eric Robson, Chairman of Cumbria Tourism, said: "It's virtually unheard of not to have seen a single daffodil in the Lake District by the middle of March.

"It's an industry of its own with visitors coming here just to see them by the lakesides.

"The upside is that because they are late, it means they should be out and looking their best for the Easter holidays."

Peter Elkington lives at Rydal Mount and Gardens, which is Wordsworth's former home and a visitor attraction open to the public.

Mr Elkington, the curator, said there were plenty of daffodils in Dora's Field but no signs yet of any blooming.

Dora's Field was named after Wordsworth's daughter Dora, who died in 1847.

William Wordsworth lived at Rydal Mount for 37 years until his death in April 1850.

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US plans to give high-speed broadband to every American

US regulators have unveiled the nation's first plan to give every American super-fast broadband by 2020.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which will now submit the plan to Congress, said broadband was the "greatest infrastructure challenge".

It estimates that one-third of Americans, about 100 million people, are without broadband at home.

The FCC's goal is to provide speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), compared to an average 4Mbps now.

"Broadband for every American is not too ambitious a plan and it is absolutely necessary," former FCC chairman Reed Hundt told BBC News.

"The consequences of not succeeding are heartbreaking. Every nation needs a common medium to gather around and to have the internet as a common medium where a third are left out is unacceptable."

'Silver bullet'

In an executive summary released ahead of the presentation to Congress on 16 March, the FCC said: "Broadband is a foundation for economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life.

It is changing how we educate children, deliver healthcare, manage energy, ensure public safety, engage government, and access, organise and disseminate knowledge".

For industry analyst Erik Sherman of business and news site BNet.com, all the talk "sounds like an overstatement".

"The plan cannot be a silver bullet for all these issues and problems which exist for a number of different reasons and not just because of a lack of broadband.

"The plan is very big in scope and if you look at the rationale, the FCC is basically saying we need more money for more internet. I am not saying we don't need a broadband plan but we have to be realistic about what it can and cannot do," Mr Sherman told BBC News.

'Fairy wings and wishes'

Months of hype and speculation has preceded the presentation of the country's first comprehensive broadband roadmap. The FCC has also held a series of briefings previewing its goals.

"It's an action plan, and action is necessary to meet the challenges of global competitiveness, and harness the power of broadband to help address so many vital national issues," said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski.

The executive summary revealed that access to high-speed internet services had grown dramatically from eight million Americans 20 years ago to nearly 200 million today.

Estimates to implement the plan have been put at $350bn (£233bn). How that bill will be split between private investment and tax dollars is not known.

"Who pays and how much is the big fight ahead," said technology industry analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.

"The devil is in the detail and right now it's all fairy wings and wishes. The Republicans are going to fight anything that is excessively expensive while the Democrats have to be wary of looking like they are cutting cheques at a time when the government is for the most part broke."

The FCC will auction off some 500 megahertz of spectrum to pay for some of the expense. More than $7bn will come from President Obama's 2009 stimulus package, which targeted broadband-related initiatives.

'Digital exclusion'

For years the technology industry has pushed for the US government to create a national broadband plan

Ahead of today's meeting with Congress, a number of hi-tech companies wrote to Mr Genachowski to praise the plan.

"Broadband is critical to America's long-term economic and social well-being. As society increasingly moves online, the costs of digital exclusion grow as well," said the signatories of the letter, which included Cisco, Sony, Salesforce, Microsoft, Facebook and Intel.

One possible battleground is expected to be over the sale of spectrum that is mostly in the hands of television broadcasters.

Mobile carriers like AT&T and Verizon have said they will need more spectrum in future to provide superfast reliable internet connections to every customer.

"The problem is most of the spectrum is occupied by somebody else. They are going to want a lot of money for this," said Adam Thierer, president of the free-market leaning Progress & Freedom Foundation.

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Japan aims its home fuel cells at Europe

Following the success of a half-price subsidy for CO2-busting fuel-cell heat and energy generators for homes, Japan is now poised to ship its attention to supplying the UK and Germany with this hi-tech next-generation energy source.

With over 5,000 fuel cells providing heat and energy for conventional homes up and down Japan, the BBC has learnt that companies such as electronics giant Panasonic are in talks with EU governments about the possibility of bringing these proven energy and carbon-saving devices to market in Europe and elsewhere.

Panasonic has described the interest in its commercial fuel-cell project from the German, Korean and UK governments as "intense", and is confident that Japan, as the first to start commercial sales for homes last year, will be the forerunner in bringing the technology into common use.

Fuel cells - a technology that has been around for more than 100 years - convert fuels such as hydrogen and natural gas into electricity through an electrochemical reaction. The resultant heat generated also warms buildings in gas-boiler-sized boxes known as cogeneration fuel cells.

The idea is to generate all of the heating and hot water and the majority of the electricity needed by a typical UK home, without the need to be connected to the energy wasteful national grid.

Such efficient use of gas supplies can save the consumer around 25% of total energy costs, and reduce each home's CO2 emissions by up to 2.5 tonnes per annum, according to their makers.

They also claim customers can earn back the system's relatively high cost, running at present into thousands of pounds, within a few years through utility bill savings.

Cost issue

Panasonic and Toshiba, another manufacturer of home-use fuel cells in Japan, sell their cogeneration fuel cells through energy companies such as Tokyo Gas for around 3.1 to 2.2 million yen. Panasonic claims around 3,000 customers so far, including the Japanese PM's office.

Half that price is met by the government on each purchase, while other incentives bring the real price down for consumers to about 1 million yen (£7,300).

If the price falls again still, its popularity will gain momentum," general manager of Panasonic's fuel cell project, Mr Yasumasa Kurosaki, told the BBC. He added that the company aimed at fixing the per-unit price at around 500,000 yen, and get it even lower in the near future.

With economies of scale, Panasonic says, such devices could be competitively priced at around a couple of thousand of pounds by 2013.

"With over 40,000 hours running time already logged, we have proven the safety, reliability and CO2 savings of our devices in the real world while sales are improving gradually. We expect next year's sales to be up 20-30% on the last fiscal year," he said.

The UK government has estimated that microgeneration products, such as fuel-cell combined-heat-and-power (CHP) units, have the potential to supply over one-third of the country's total electricity needs and help meet its environmental obligations.

However, high capital costs are still a major barrier to widespread adoption of fuel-cell technology.

Fuel-cell makers have yet to turn a profit despite the massive investments in Japan and elsewhere around the world.

But some are optimistic the gas-burning-without-combustion systems could be the answer to soaring fuel costs and lowering carbon emissions.

Pay-back time

"Once fuel cells hit the US$5,000 (£3,300) mark, which we imagine will happen in the next 2 years, these units will become as compelling to home owners as energy-saving water-heaters and double-glazing," Tokyo- based entrepreneur and business analyst Terrie Lloyd told the BBC.

"It will be hard to ignore a product that might save US$2,500 or more a year on energy bills."

The UK government meanwhile recently announced further support for the adoption of the technology with a money-back feed-in-tariff (FIT) for all fuel-cell owners that starts this April.

Under the FIT, any household installing a fuel cell will receive a generation payment of 10p/kWh for all electricity generated over a 10-year period, plus an additional export payment of 3p/kWh for any electricity that is not consumed in the home and is fed back into the grid.

Importantly, households will still retain the efficiency savings on their energy bills, providing an incentive to consume any electricity generated on-site, in preference to exporting to the grid.

"On average, a home fuel user can expect about £360-a-year cash-back in addition to the energy bill savings from consuming the electricity generated on-site," according to the UK's leading fuel-cell maker, Ceres Power.

The company plans to go into mass production after completing field studies this year. Initial prices for its generators are not yet available but they are unlikely to match Japanese competiveness, says Mr Lloyd, as Japan has achieved a big start with widespread commercialization last year.

Export possibilities

Despite high prices, some think the market is ready to explode. Tokyo-based research firm Fuji-Keizai Group has estimated Japan's market for fuel cells will expand nearly 100-fold from fiscal 2009 to 1.61 trillion yen in fiscal 2025 owing to uptake of the technology for housing and vehicles.

Fuel-cell systems for housing, says its report, will serve as a driving force for the market until 2018 when fuel-celled cars are expected to take over demand.

Panasonic is bullish about possible exports of Japanese know-how to the UK and Germany where gas is generally cheaper than electricity per kW and solar cells offer a poor return on investment.

Mr Kurosaki said he was confident Panasonic could reduce costs, increase efficiency and extend the life of its units which now have a lifespan of 10 years to make an attractive package to overseas buyers and governments looking to cut CO2 emissions quickly.

With gas fuel for Japan's fuel cells more costly per kW than electricity in Japan, some analysts see Japan's nascent fuel-cell industry reaping benefits abroad.

And with such high prices for gas in energy-poor Japan, take up of the new technology may well fizzle out along with the government subsidies that support the current market. Cutting capital costs and boosting sales to compete abroad seems the only likelihood of success for the Japanese makers if they are to scale up and be competitive without subsidies.

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Hollywood plans turkey tale movie

The story of a woman who was stranded by snow for a month after she popped out to buy a Christmas turkey could be made into a Hollywood film.

A company has bought the rights to the story of Kay Ure, who lives with husband John in Cape Wrath, in the extreme north west of Scotland.

Mrs Ure set out on 19 December to go to Inverness to buy festive food, but was unable to return home for 30 days.

Movie company Furst Films offered the couple £40,000 for their story.

Mrs Ure was driven by her husband 11 miles from their home in the Cape Wrath lighthouse keeper's cottage to a jetty where their boat was moored and from there they crossed the Kyle of Durness sea loch.

She then embarked on 100-mile bus journey to Inverness, where she managed to reach the shops and buy a turkey before attempting to return home - only to discover that the final 11-mile leg of the journey was blocked by snow.

She had to spend Christmas in a friend's caravan, while her husband had the company of their six dogs, and two walkers who had been passing-by.

Furst Films - whose movies include The Matador, The Cooler and The Girl In The Park - are to pay the couple for the rights to a screenplay and consultation.

Mr Ure told BBC Scotland the offer from Furst had come as a complete surprise.

He said: "We thought it was a joke until we Googled them and found out they'd won a few Golden Globes."

Mr Ure said he would like "someone with a bit of character" to play him, with his choice being Scottish actor Robert Carlyle.

But he stressed the film would be as much about the couple's lifestyle - they have no mains electricity and are forced to rely on a generator - as it was about poultry.

"It's not just about the turkey, it's about our life story and how we came to be here," he explained.

"People find it intriguing that we're living this kind of lifestyle up here but we're used to it and it's a pleasant way to live."

He said he hoped the film would help bring some business to their small cafe, which is one of Britain's most remote eateries.

"We've only had one customer since Christmas and they only wanted coffee and snacks, but we expect business to pick up in May," he told BBC Scotland.

The couple are already planning for this year's festive period, with Mr Ure joking: "This Christmas I'm going to be better prepared, and keep the wife on a shorter lead.

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Divide Nigeria in two, says Muammar Gaddafi

Nigeria should be divided into two nations to avoid further bloodshed between Muslims and Christians, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has said.

In a speech to students, he praised the example of India and Pakistan, where he said partition saved many lives.

Splitting Nigeria "would stop the bloodshed and burning of places of worship," state news agency Jana quoted him as saying.

A senior Nigerian diplomat said he did not take the suggestion seriously.

Hundreds of people have died in communal violence in villages around the central Nigerian city of Jos this year.

'Historic, radical solution'

Although the violence generally takes place between Muslim and Christian communities, the underlying causes are a complex mix of political, social and economic grievances.

Nigeria is roughly split between its largely Muslim north, and a Christian-dominated south.

Mr Gaddafi, until recently head of the African Union, characterised the Jos violence as a "deep conflict of religious nature" caused by the federal state, "which was made and imposed by the British in spite of the people's resistance to it".

He described the partition of India as a "historic, radical solution" which saved the lives of "millions of Hindus and Muslims".

Splitting India in 1947 caused a breakdown of law and order in which at least 200,000 people died. Some estimates say one million people were killed.

About 12 million people were left homeless and thousands were raped.

An attempt by the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria to secede in 1967 sparked a war which left more than one million people dead.

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US sends FBI agents to investigate Mexico killings

American FBI agents have been sent to the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez to investigate the deaths of three US citizens.

Three people connected to the consulate were killed in drive-by shootings on Saturday in two separate incidents.

The US state department said the killings underscored the "severe and significant danger" Mexico represents to the United States.

Mexico has blamed the killings on a gang linked to a drugs cartel.

But investigators have said it is too early to tell if those killed were deliberately targeted.

"It could be a mistaken identity, it could be that they were targeted; we don't know at this point," special agent Andrea Simmons, a spokesman for the FBI's El Paso, Texas, office told Agence France-Presse.

Some eight FBI agents will be working alongside Mexican authorities in the investigation, she added.

Flashpoint city

On Saturday, Lesley Enrique - a US citizen working at the Juarez consulate - her American husband, Arthur Redelf, and Jorge Alberto Sarcido - the Mexican husband of another consular employee - were shot dead in two separate incidents.

Both couples had just left a social event in the city when they were killed.

Enriquez, 35, and her 34-year-old husband were killed in a hail of bullets as they drove their car towards the US side of the border. Their one-year-old baby was found unharmed in the back seat.

In the second attack, gunmen opened fire on the car belonging to Jorge Alberto Sarcido, killing him and wounding his two children.

The state department said the killings were a "tragedy".

"We all share the determination that, ultimately, through a variety of means, we will take back these streets one community at a time," state spokesman PJ Crowley told a news briefing.

His comments come a day ahead of a visit to the city by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who will make his third tour this year of the country's most violent city to discuss the government's efforts to tackle organised crime.

Mexico is battling a drug war that has killed some 18,000 people since 2006.

Ciudad Juarez is a major flashpoint in the battle between Mexican drug gangs over trafficking routes to the US. More than 2,600 people were murdered there in drug-related violence last year alone.

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