Philippine troops killed in rebel ambush

　　

　　

　　A rebel ambush on a Philippine army patrol south of Manila has killed 11 soldiers, a military spokesman said.

　　A reconnaissance platoon was ambushed by about 60 guerrillas while on patrol outside Mansalay township on Mindoro island, a statement said.

　　The troops had been sent to the area to stop communist rebels of the New People's Army extorting money from candidates ahead of May's elections.

　　It was the army's biggest death-toll in battles with the rebels this year.

　　Colonel Romeo Brawner said seven soldiers were also wounded in a three-hour gun battle, in which a number of rebels were also injured.

　　"The troops fought it out literally to the last bullet," said Col Brawner.

　　He added that reinforcements backed by helicopter gunships had been deployed to track down the rebels, AFP reported.

　　The armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the NPA has an estimated 5,000 members and has been fighting the government since 1969 in one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies.

Precious sweeps indie film awards ahead of Oscars

　　　　By Tim Masters

　　Entertainment correspondent, BBC News, in Los Angeles

　　

 

　　

　　Mo'Nique won the award for best supporting female

　　The harrowing drama Precious has swept to victory at the Independent Spirit Awards, taking five prizes including best feature.

　　Its stars Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique took the best female lead and best supporting female lead.

　　The awards, which celebrate independent film, took place in Los Angeles two days before the Oscars.

　　Many Oscar nominees attended, including British actors Colin Firth, Helen Mirren and Carey Mulligan.

　　Mulligan's An Education won best foreign film while Jeff Bridges was named best actor. Woody Harrelson scooped best supporting actor for his role in the war-on-terror drama The Messenger.

　　The awards ceremony, celebrating its 25th anniversary, had moved from its Santa Monica beach location to a tented car park in central Los Angeles. The event was hosted by Eddie Izzard.

　　'We've won already'

　　Other winners included Crazy Heart for best first feature and Anvil! The Story of Anvil for best documentary. The heavy metal band Anvil played twice during the ceremony.

　　Bridges, who is front runner to win the best actor Oscar, also performed one of the songs from Crazy Heart.

　　

　　Jeff Bridges is the front runner to win the best actor Oscar

　　The 60-year-old Hollywood veteran, who has never won an Oscar, said that he was "not counting any chickens".

　　Mo'Nique, who is hotly tipped to win the best supporting actress Oscar, said: "Have I prepared a speech for Sunday? No. No. Why is that? Because I think the universe would say: 'You have a lot of nerve.'"

　　Precious also won the screenplay award for Geoffrey Fletcher, while Lee Daniels took best director.

　　When asked about his Oscar chances, he said: "We've won already."

　　Colin Firth, who went home empty-handed, told the BBC about the response to his "fridge man" speech when he won a Bafta award last month.

　　He said: "There have been a few fridge men who've popped out of the woodwork! It's very interesting to find out how many there are..."

　　Asked how he would top the speech at the Oscars, he replied: "I'm not sure I'll get the chance. I think I might have peaked."

　　Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man - nominated alongside Avatar and Hurt Locker for best picture at the Oscars, won the Robert Altman Award presented for a movie in the spirit of the ensemble films of the late director.

　　The film followed the woes of a Jewish professor whose life is falling apart.

　　Iraq bomb disposal drama The Hurt Locker was not eligible for the Spirits this year because it was nominated in 2009.

West Ham 1 - 2 Bolton

　　

　　

　　Bolton celebrate after Kevin Davies gives them the lead

　　By Chris Bevan

　　Bolton made the most of some poor West Ham defending to clinch their first away victory since September and climb away from the Premier League drop zone.

　　Kevin Davies nodded Bolton ahead from Lee Chung-Yong's cross before James Tomkins' error let in Davies to help set up Jack Wilshere's volleyed finish.

　　Bolton stayed on top until they had Tamir Cohen sent off after 70 minutes.

　　Alessandro Diamanti replied with a low shot before Junior Stanislas hit the bar for the Hammers in injury time.

　　But Davies also hit the woodwork for Bolton in what was a frantic finish and, ultimately, the visitors got their reward for a determined display.

　　The victory was the first in the Premier League for Wanderers boss Owen Coyle, who had not enjoyed any success on the road in the top flight with Burnley before taking charge of Bolton in January.

　　

　　606: DEBATE

　　I was one of those who said we would not go down but, having seen this performance, I eat those words.

　　ccanada

　　And it was an even more unlikely success given that, going into the game, West Ham had not conceded a goal in any of their previous four home matches and Bolton had not found the net for more than seven hours on their travels.

　　Those statistics counted for little when Davies opened the scoring after 10 minutes, heading expertly into the bottom corner after Tomkins misjudged Lee's cross.

　　Things got even worse for the Hammers, and Tomkins in particular, five minutes later when he tried to shepherd the ball out of play but allowed Davies to cross for Cohen, who teed up on-loan Wilshere to score Bolton's second goal, his first in the Premier League.

　　And, while Diamanti went close to replying with two free-kicks and it took a last-gasp challenge from Sam Ricketts to deny Carlton Cole, Bolton would have been 3-0 up at the interval had Johan Elmander not skied his shot when the impressive Davies found him in space in front of goal before the break.

　　The Hammers did at least improve at the back in the second half, but were desperately short of ideas at the other end until Cohen saw red for his second booking, following a trip on Scott Parker.

　　Even then, Bolton looked like holding out until Diamanti's expert finish late in normal time - but they were almost denied a deserved victory when substitute Stanislas smashed his shot against the woodwork with Jussi Jasskelainen beaten.

　　Instead, Wanderers can celebrate their second-successive victory, which sees them leapfrog West Ham and move into 13th place, five points clear of third-bottom Hull.

　　The Hammers are more perilously placed, only two points above the danger zone, and will need a much-improved defensive performance if they are to get anything from their next two matches - trips to Chelsea and Arsenal.

Rangers 3 - 1 St Mirren

　　

　　

　　McCulloch (centre) turned the match in Rangers' favour with two goals

　　By Andy Campbell

　　

 

　　Lee McCulloch scored twice as Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers came from behind to beat St Mirren.

　　Graham Carey stunned the Ibrox crowd with a superb free-kick to give St Mirren the lead on the half-hour mark.

　　McCulloch quickly levelled for Rangers with a deflected shot and the midfielder volleyed home his second just after the half-time interval.

　　Rangers hit the woodwork three times in an open game and sealed victory through Nacho Novo's 78th-minute strike.

　　The result came hours after widespread media speculation about an imminent takeover of Rangers by a London-based consortium and moved the Ibrox side 13 points clear of nearest challengers Celtic.

　　A high-tempo start to the game saw Michael Higdon fire over the Rangers goal from 20 yards.

　　At the other end, Lee Mair made a crucial block to divert Kris Boyd's shot out for a corner.

　　St Mirren went back on the attack and Steven Thomson latched onto a through-ball and stabbed a shot towards goal, forcing Allan McGregor to make a last-ditch save.

　　Steven Davis' swerving free-kick struck the St Mirren crossbar and, after the ball was returned into the penalty area, Sasa Papac fired against the outside of Paul Gallacher's right-hand post.

　　On-loan Celtic full-back Carey broke the deadlock with a fiercely-struck free-kick that flew into the corner as McGregor stood rooted to the spot.

　　Rangers responded within two minutes as Kevin Thomson's free-kick into the area eventually fell to McCulloch, who found the net with the aid of a deflection off Chris Innes.

　　

　　Carey (right) had given St Mirren the lead with an impressive strike

　　The Ibrox side looked to get in front before the break and Danny Wilson's volley from McCulloch's knock-down was superbly saved by Gallacher.

　　However, the hosts did not have long to wait to take the lead as a well-worked move in the opening minute of the second half ended with McCulloch finding the net again.

　　Papac's deep cross was headed down by Boyd to Kenny Miller, who teed up McCulloch for a scoring strike.

　　Rangers continued to pressurise and Miller's shot across goal was almost converted at the back post by DaMarcus Beasley.

　　Innes limped off to be replaced by Stephen O'Donnell before Beasley headed against the post from a Thomson free-kick.

　　Higdon's replacement Dargo tested McGregor from 25 yards as Saints looked for a leveller.

　　Novo had earlier come on for Beasley and made his mark on the scoresheet when he ghosted in behind John Potter to flick home Davis' free-kick.

　　St Mirren had a good chance to reduce the deficit when Carey's cross found O'Donnell at the back post but the midfielder skewed his shot wide.

　　Dargo had another shot saved by McGregor and Andy Dorman was inches away from connecting with a teasing O'Donnell delivery before Steven Whittaker's powerful drive cleared the St Mirren crossbar in injury time.

 

British duo Skupski and Fleming win Davis Cup doubles

　　

　　

　　British duo Skupski and Fleming were pushed hard by their opponents after racing into an early lead

　　Great Britain went 2-1 up in their Davis Cup tie with Lithuania after Ken Skupski and Colin Fleming won 6-0 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 in the doubles.

　　After a 19-minute first set there were no breaks of serve in the second before Dovydas Sakinis and Laurynas Grigelis levelled the match for the hosts.

　　Great Britain then broke in the 12th game of the third set and sixth game of the fourth to wrap up the victory.

　　Britain now need to win one of Sunday's two reverse singles to take the tie.

　　From the moment they broke their hosts to love in the opening game, it was clear the British duo were keen to get the job done as soon as possible, rattling through the first set without losing a game.

　　

606: DEBATE

　　It was a good match for GB, apart from the 2nd set TB I thought we were in control

　　erictheblueuk

　　But the one-sided nature of the set proved to be a false dawn for the rest of the match.

　　Maybe the British pair dropped their guard after such an easy start, but the Lithuanians put up far greater resistance in the second, showing more belief when serving, and threatening to break in the sixth game.

　　The home crowd responded enthusiastically to their team's improved performance and were hugely fired-up when a point-blank double-handed overhead return by Grigelis made it 6-5.

　　Great Britain survived set point on the Skupski serve to take an extremely close set to a tie-break.

　　The first extended rally of the match came on the second point of the tie-break, which was taken by the home pair as they went on to open up a 5-0 lead.

　　A Skupski winner and Grigelis double-fault at least saved Great Britian from the ignominy of being whitewashed in the tie-break, but the Lithuanians' momentum was irresistible as they levelled the match.

　　

I expected this scoreline after two days. I would have loved to have 3-0 but plans are still where they are

　　Team captain John Lloyd

　　The third went with serve for the first 11 games, until Grigelis double-faulted to hand the game and the set to Great Britain.

　　The visitors gained the upper hand in the fourth set when they broke Sakinis for the first time since the opening set, courtesy of a fine Skupski return, and Fleming held his serve to put them within touching distance of victory.

　　Grigelis survived three match points to hold his serve but Skupski made no mistake to serve out the match and secure Great Britain's first Davis Cup doubles win since 2007.

　　Afterwards, the pair were delighted with their success on their Davis Cup debut.

　　"We feel like we've merited our place in this tie, it's something we've always wanted to do," said Fleming.

　　Skupski added: "They played great tennis today. We were professional about our tennis and we got the win."

　　Team captain John Lloyd praised the pair for the patience they had demonstrated, and said it set things up nicely for Sunday's final singles matches.

　　"It's a nice feeling to be ahead going into the final day, I'm feeling very good," he said.

　　"I expected this scoreline after two days. I would have loved to have 3-0 but plans are still where they are. Now we've got to win one of these singles, and I think we can do it. "

 

LA Galaxy dash David Moyes' bid to keep Landon Donovan

　　

　　By Sam Lyon

　　

 

　　

　　Donovan has been in fine form at Goodison Park

　　Everton manager David Moyes's hopes of extending Landon Donovan's loan spell at Goodison Park appear to have been dashed by LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena.

　　Moyes had hoped to keep Donovan beyond the end of his loan, saying: "I am keen to keep Landon and it sounds initially in America that they might say yes."

　　But Arena said: "We're not interested. Landon will be back here on 15 March, as we have said all along."

　　Everton's only hope is that the new Major League Soccer season is delayed.

　　League officials are in talks with the players' union about a new labour agreement, and the start of the regular season could be in jeopardy if no deal is reached.

　　LA Galaxy are due to get their campaign under way on 27 March.

　　In the event that the league does not start on time, Arena told the LA Galaxy website: "If we didn't have a league going on we would certainly entertain the idea of allowing Landon to stay there.

　　

606: DEBATE

　　It'd be great if he stayed! But his composure in front of goal could be improved. Only bad thing about him I'd say

　　Merseyblues

　　"If we have a league, Landon's going to be playing for the Galaxy."

　　However, Arena is expecting Donovan back in Los Angeles in a fortnight's time and that is sure to prove hard to hear for Moyes.

　　Donovan has impressed in his short time at Goodison Park, which has coincided in an upturn in fortunes for the Toffees, who have moved up into 10th place in the Premier League table.

　　The only low point was a bad miss against Tottenham last weekend, a game Everton went on to lose 2-1.

　　"In the main he has done a really good job for us," said Moyes. "It is very rare you can bring in someone in January on loan who can make a real difference to you but Landon has.

　　"But I think his manager at LA Galaxy would say the best World Cup preparation for him would be to start in their team.

　　"They will be keen to get him back so we will have to be respectful of their wishes. If we can keep him it would be nice but if not I totally understand it."

　　Should Donovan return to LA Galaxy as scheduled, it means Sunday's home match with Hull will be his last at Goodison Park.

Ferguson blames Rooney's enthusiasm for knee injury

　　

　　

　　Rooney has scored 28 goals this season for Manchester United

　　Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney is to blame for the knee injury that could rule him out of the league match at Wolves.

　　Rooney, 24, had been struggling with the problem before the Carling Cup final but still played in England's win over Egypt on Wednesday at Wembley.

　　"I don't think he should have played [on Wednesday]," said Ferguson.

　　"It is his own enthusiasm that has caused it. His problem is that he can't say no," the Scot added.

　　"He told us on Sunday he was feeling his knee. Then all of a sudden people put an arm around his shoulder with England and he wants to play.

　　"[England boss] Fabio Capello has to pick his best team. A win was important so I don't blame him at all.

　　"I was more disappointed with Wayne. Why didn't he come off? I can't believe it."

　　

606: DEBATE

　　I hate international friendlies

　　every week u!

　　Rooney is a doubt for what would be his third match in six days as Manchester United travel to Wolves looking to move to the top of the Premier League table.

　　The champions are currently one point behind Chelsea and Arsenal, who are separated by goal difference

　　Rooney was a substitute in Manchester United's 2-1 Carling Cup win over Aston Villa last Sunday, but came on after a first-half injury to Michael Owen and scored the winning goal.

　　He admitted to a knee problem after the match but still played 86 minutes in England's 3-1 victory over Egypt on a Wembley pitch which has drawn widespread criticism over the last week.

　　The turf was seen to cut up last Sunday leading to Ferguson partly blaming it for Owen's hamstring injury which has ruled him out for the rest of the season.

　　Aston Villa's James Milner also described it as "one of the worst pitches you play on all year".

　　Rooney has been vital to his club this season and leads the Premier League scoring charts with 23 goals.

　　"It is hard to quell the enthusiasm of people like Wayne," Ferguson added.

　　"He is restless. He can't sit down. He is always on the move. Even in hotels he is moving from one table to another. If we are away in Europe he is walking about all the time.

　　"You don't want to take away from him but age does some good things for you.

　　"Eventually you see you can't be doing this running about all the time. You have to take a rest sometimes."

 

Australia to review tsunami warnings

Beachgoers were reluctant to leave the water despite advice from lifeguards Tsunami warnings in Australia are to be reviewed after thousands of beachgoers shrugged off alerts following Chile's huge earthquake. Lifeguards struggled to clear beaches in Queensland and New South Wales as people either returned to the water or came down to watch the tsunami arrive. Attorney-General Robert McClelland said police and emergency services may be used in future. Pacific states went on alert after the quake but most areas were unaffected. The waves that hit Australia's east coast were hardly noticeable. Mr McClelland described the response to the tsunami warning as "disappointing but understandable". "People saw the earthquake, of course, literally thousands of kilometres away and didn't appreciate the dangers," he said. Amateur video shows tsunami sweeping through Chilean town of Penco "Emergency responders provide public warnings. They [people] should abide by them because they are not lightly given, they are not given at a drop of a hat." He said he had asked state emergency ministers and surf life-saving organisations in New South Wales and Queensland to review the reaction and look at ways of educating the public about tsunamis. In Chile, the official death toll from the 8.8 magnitude quake has been reduced to 452 from 800, but hundreds of people are still missing.

Gordon Brown visits Afghan troops amid defence row

　　

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　　Gordon Brown: "I've planned this visit for some time"

　　Gordon Brown has visited British troops in Afghanistan amid a row over how well forces were equipped in the Iraq war.

　　The PM told the Chilcot Inquiry no request for equipment was refused but ex-Army chiefs challenged that claim.

　　The Tories said his trip to Helmand province was a "cynical" bid to deflect attention from the row, but Mr Brown said it had been planned for some time.

　　The PM promised 200 new patrol vehicles for British troops to give them better protection against roadside bombs.

　　They will replace the controversial Snatch Land Rovers which have been criticised for leaving UK troops vulnerable to attacks.

　　

  He cannot get away with saying 'I gave them everything they asked for'. That is simply disingenuous  

　　Lord Guthrie

　　

 

　　Iraq inquiry: Day-by-day timeline

　　Iraq war was 'right', says Brown

　　Long-haul battle for Afghanistan

　　During his flying visit he told troops: "We will do everything we can to support you with the equipment necessary and the resources you need."

　　On Friday Mr Brown also told the Iraq inquiry that, when he was chancellor during the 2003 war, no military requests were refused.

　　He said: "At any point, commanders were able to ask for equipment that they needed and I know of no occasion when they were turned down."

　　But Lord Guthrie, ex-chief of the defence staff, told the Daily Telegraph armed forces had been denied a request for more helicopters.

　　He said: "He cannot get away with saying 'I gave them everything they asked for'. That is simply disingenuous."

　　

　　Gordon Brown told troops he would do everything he could to support them

　　And his successor, Lord Boyce, told the Times: "There may have been a 1.5% increase in the defence budget but the MoD was starved of funds."

　　Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the defence secretary had already announced on 15 December that the new armoured vehicles would be introduced.

　　He told the BBC: "We get the news re-announced the day after the prime minister gives evidence at Chilcot, when former defence chiefs say he wasn't telling the truth about armed forces funding.

　　"This is not the way to treat our armed forces and I think there will be a lot of people in the armed forces very unhappy at being used as political props today."

　　

  It's really important to come at this stage to see what progress has been made on this first operation under a new phase of action in Afghanistan  

　　Prime Minister Gordon Brown

　　

 

　　Full story: Brown grilled

　　Q&A: Snatch Land Rovers

　　Other opposition parties joined in the criticism with Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey saying while it may be "literally" true every formal request for equipment was met, the requests were always made under a financial constraint.

　　The Scottish National Party's Westminster leader Angus Robertson said the PM "must appear again" before the Chilcot inquiry following the military chiefs' criticisms.

　　£100m investment

　　In a swift tour which took in bases captured only weeks ago from the Taliban, Mr Brown met and thanked some of the 4,000 British forces who took part in the opening phase of Operation Moshtarak.

　　The PM said: "I am here because I want to thank the British troops for their bravery, their dedication and their professionalism."

　　Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox accuses PM of using armed forces as "political props"

　　He added it was "important to come at this stage to see what progress has been made on this first operation under a new phase of action in Afghanistan".

　　His aides said that Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth will announce within weeks the £100m investment in the new British-built vehicles, which should arrive in Afghanistan by late 2011.

　　The new patrol vehicles are smaller and lighter than the Mastiff and Ridgeback armoured personnel carriers which are already taking over some of the tasks of the more vulnerable Snatch.

　　They also said an additional £18m will also be spent on equipment and training for Afghan forces to deal with the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by the Taliban.

　　And 150 new instructors from the UK police and Army will also be deployed to train Afghan police.

 

Iceland holds referendum on Icesave repayment plan

　　

　　

　　Protesters marched to parliament in Reykjavik as the referendum took place

　　Icelanders have gone to the polls to vote on paying the UK and Netherlands after the collapse of the Icesave bank, with a resounding "No" vote expected.

　　The British and Dutch governments want reimbursement for the 3.8bn euros (£3.4bn; $5.2bn) they paid out in compensation to customers in 2008.

　　Talks between the three countries broke down on Friday without agreement.

　　But the prime minister urged people to shun the referendum, saying better payment terms had been tabled.

　　Johanna Sigurdardottir said she would not vote herself as her government sought to continue the talks with Britain and the Netherlands.

　　Opinion polls suggest the majority of voters will reject the referendum. As of Saturday lunchtime, turnout appeared to be lower than in last year's general election.

　　Outside parliament in the capital Reykjavik, hundreds of protesters banged pots and waved banners reading "Icesave No! No! No!".

　　A "No" vote could put billions of dollars of loans from the International Monetary Fund and other countries at risk.

　　Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson attempted to play down the significance of the referendum, called after President Olaf Ragnar Grimsson blocked the initial deal.

　　"It's of utmost importance that we don't over-interpret whatever message comes out of this," he said.

　　"We want to be perfectly clear that a 'No' vote does not mean we are refusing to pay. We will honour our obligations. To maintain anything else is highly dangerous for the economy of this country."

　　Partial results are expected shortly after polls close at 2200 GMT.

　　Referendum defended

　　The government had hoped to avoid the vote by agreeing a new repayment plan before the weekend.

　　

ANALYSIS

　　Jonny Dymond, BBC News, Reykjavik

　　Rarely can there have been a stranger referendum than this.

　　Everyone here acknowledges that the deal that Icelanders are being asked to vote on has been superseded in negotiations between Britain, Iceland and the Netherlands over the past two months, so the current offer to Iceland is better than the one that is on today's ballot papers.

　　The government would have liked to have scrapped the referendum. The prime minister has already said that she will not vote.

　　Those who do make it to the polling stations will probably make a protest vote: there is real bitterness here about the way that Iceland has been treated by the Netherlands and especially by Britain.

　　Chance for payback

　　Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphethinsson told Reuters news agency he expected a new Icesave deal "in the next weeks, perhaps sooner".

　　Britain and the Netherlands want the money as repayment for bailing out customers in the Icesave online bank, which folded in 2008 due to the global financial meltdown.

　　President Grimsson rejected suggestions the vote was meaningless, telling the BBC that a strong "No" would strengthen his country's hand.

　　"It's not a pointless exercise because the referendum, according to our constitution, is on whether the deal which the British and the Dutch insisted on at the end of last year, should remain in force as a law in this country," he said.

　　"It is encouraging that in the last few weeks the British and the Dutch have acknowledged that that deal, on which the referendum takes place, is an unfair deal and that is by itself a tremendous achievement by the referendum. So, after the vote today, which I believe will be a clear 'No' vote, we will be able to continue the negotiations."

　　

We want to pay our debts, but we want to do it without going bankrupt

　　Steinunn Ragnarsdottir

　　voter

　　Many Icelanders believe the plan should be rejected because they feel they are being penalised for the mistakes of the banking industry.

　　"I will vote 'No' simply because I disagree very strongly with us... having to shoulder this burden," Ingimar Gudmundsson, a lorry driver, told AFP news agency.

　　"We want to pay our debts but we want to do it without going bankrupt," Steinunn Ragnarsdottir, a pianist who voted in Reykjavik City Hall, told Reuters.

　　Britain accused

　　There is also anger against the UK for using anti-terrorist legislation to freeze Icesave assets in the country.

　　

　　Some 230,000 Icelanders were eligible to vote on Saturday

　　Arni Gunnarsson, a former Icelandic MP, told the BBC News website: "We have not forgotten how Britain used battleships against Iceland during the cod wars.

　　"We find this a very strange method of thanking the Icelandic people for sacrificing the lives of their seamen during World War II.

　　"The colonial attitude is still going strong. The UK should come to its senses."

　　The Reykjavik government approved the repayment plan last December but it was blocked by Mr Grimsson in January, which led to the referendum being called.

 

Greece does not need financial aid, says Angela Merkel

　　

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　　Demonstrators clash with riot police in Athens

　　German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Greece does not need financial aid, after talks with Prime Minister George Papandreou in Berlin.

　　She said Greece has not asked for financial support and that the stability of the eurozone is "assured".

　　Athens saw its most serious unrest since the financial crisis began, as MPs passed austerity measures.

　　Rock-throwing protesters outside parliament clashed with police, who used tear gas to disperse them.

　　The BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens said the mood on the streets degenerated after three months of relatively mild protests.

　　Trouble broke out after the leader of Greece's biggest union, Yannis Panagopoulos of the GSEE was attacked by three assailants, as he addressed demonstrators.

　　

　　There have been clashes outside the parliament in Athens

　　TV pictures subsequently showed officers spraying gas into the face of veteran left-winger Manolis Glezos, who is in his mid-80s.

　　Mr Glezos is one of the country's most beloved figures because of his exploits during the World War Two, when he climbed the Acropolis walls to tear down the swastika during the Nazi occupation.

　　Greece's two main unions have called another general strike on 11 March, arguing that the austerity cuts put forward by the prime minister are "anti-popular" and "barbaric".

　　This didn't deter the Socialist-led Greek parliament from approving the measures, which include further tax rises and spending cuts.

　　'Not a cent'

　　

ANALYSIS

　　

 

　　By Oana Lungescu, BBC News, Berlin

　　Despite mounting speculation about an EU bail-out, most Germans oppose giving aid to a country that has misreported budget figures for years to hide its mountain of debt.

　　Chancellor Merkel has warned that the euro is in the most difficult phase since its creation.

　　Few doubt that Mrs Merkel will eventually take action if she sees the stability - or credibility - of the euro under threat.

　　But with support for her centre-right coalition slipping, Mrs Merkel has reassured voters that she will not use taxpayers' money, nor breach the "no bail-out clause" in the EU's Maastricht Treaty.

　　A recent poll shows that 71% of Germans think the EU should not help Greece at all. You could call it a culture clash. Germans are big savers, not big spenders.

　　Germany wary of footing Greek bill

　　Talking after the meeting, Mrs Merkel called for an end to market speculation that Greece would default and said that Germany would offer support and expertise.

　　"Greece and Germany will work together toward a further modernisation of Greece," she said.

　　She also remarked that Germany and other European Union countries have also had to implement austerity measures amid the global economic crisis.

　　Help

　　Previous reports of potential support for Greece had proved unpopular in Germany where many people do not support their taxes being used for bailouts.

　　Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said that his government "does not intend to give a cent" to Greece in financial aid.

　　There are also fears that rescuing one country could encourage others to expect the same.

　　Meanwhile, Germany passed its budget for 2010, with borrowing set to soar this year.

　　New borrowing is expected to reach 80.2bn euros ($109bn; £72.5bn) - double the previous highest debt record, set in 1996. However this is less than the 85.8bn euros initially proposed by the government.

　　Raising funds

　　On Thursday, the Greek government went to the financial markets to borrow money and saw its 5bn euro ($6.8bn; £4.5bn) bond issue oversubscribed.

　　Commenting on the move Mrs Merkel welcomed the uptake. "The placement of the bond yesterday went very well and that is of course a good signal for the markets," she said.

　　But Greece will need to borrow more in the coming months - more than $70bn for the year as a whole.

　　Mr Papandreou has suggested that Greece might go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.

　　But the other countries in the eurozone would not welcome what would be seen as a sign that they could not fix their own problems.

　　The president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, has dismissed the idea of the IMF providing financial aid for Greece.

　　"I do not trust that it would be appropriate to have the introduction of the IMF as a supplier of help through standby or through any kind of such help," he told reporters in Frankfurt on Thursday.

　　Mr Papandreou will also meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Sunday before travelling to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

US borrowing saw unexpected rise in January

　　

　　

　　Credit card borrowing, however, has fallen for the 16th month in a row

　　Borrowing by US consumers rose for the first time in a year in January, according to the Federal Reserve.

　　The central bank said consumer credit rose 2.4% or $5bn (£3.3bn) from December 2009 to a total of $2.45 trillion in the first month of 2010.

　　It was the first gain after a record 11 straight declines and it was the largest increase since July 2008.

　　Analysts were expecting a $4.5bn decrease in January following a $4.6bn fall in December.

　　January's figure was boosted by a $6.62bn, or 5%, increase in credit for car loans.

　　However, credit card borrowing, which has now fallen for the 16th month in a row, declined by $1.7bn, or 2.3%.

WPP profits fall after 'brutal' 2009

　　

　　

　　Sir Martin Sorrell: last year his company was 'staring into the abyss'

　　The world's biggest advertising group, WPP, saw profits fall by 11% to £663m ($1bn) in 2009 as the economic downturn bit hard into its business.

　　Chief executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, told the BBC that last year the firm had been "staring into the abyss".

　　He added that the corner had now been turned and that after cutting 14,000 staff last year - about one in 10 workers - it was now hiring again.

　　WPP said that it expected 2010 to be a more stable year.

　　That, though, was followed by the phrase in brackets: "famous last words".

　　

WPP GROUP

　　Last updated: 05 Mar 2010, 16:29 UK

　　

　　*Chart shows local time

　　

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　　645.50p+21.50+3.45

　　

 

　　More data on this share price

　　"Although 2009 was a brutal year overall the group adjusted its cost base, after a difficult first six months, to falling like-for-like revenues," the firm said.

　　WPP conceded that the group had been slow to react to significant declines in revenue in the first half of the year, suggesting staff cuts should perhaps have been more severe during that period.

　　However it admitted that more swingeing reductions might ultimately have damaged the business.

　　The figures were worse than had been expected, pushing shares 2.6% lower in early trading - one of the biggest fallers in London. But by mid-morning, they had recovered and were down just 4 pence at 620p.

　　Major events

　　Looking forward, Sir Martin said growth was expected to continue to come from the so-called Bric countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China.

　　Is Private Equity too focused on the short-term?

　　He singled out India in particular as somewhere that was experiencing a consumer boom.

　　But he said worries about unemployment and low growth meant consumers and clients were generally still cautious.

　　He hit out at corporations that had cut back on advertising spending saying that they wrongly believed that they could "cost-cut their way to prosperity".

　　But on a brighter note, he said the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, the Asian games in Guangzhou, China and the FIFA World Cup in South Africa were among major events which WPP expect will bolster its revenue in 2010.

　　There was an indication that the year had started brightly as new net billings - or new business won - was $2bn in the first two months of the year, already half of the amount earned in the whole of 2009.

　　WPP, which includes advertising agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and JWT, moved his headquarters to Dublin in 2008 for tax reasons.

US unemployment better-than-expected

　　

　　

　　Since the start of the recession 8.4 million Americans have lost their jobs

　　US employers shed fewer jobs than expected in February, cutting 36,000 jobs. This was better than the 50,000 analysts had been expecting.

　　Last month's unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.7%, the same as in January, and lower than December's rate of 10%.

　　Employment in the construction and government sectors fell, while there were more jobs for temporary workers.

　　The Labor Department said it was unclear how much the severe snow storms had affected hiring and firing.

　　US markets opened slightly higher at the opening, up 0.6% at 10,501.28

　　There are currently around 14.9 million unemployed people in the US and about 40% of these have been out of work for 27 weeks or more.

　　The average number of hours worked in February slipped a little to 33.8 hours from 33.9 in January.

　　"There appears to be some semblance of underlying improvement, but it's wrong to say it's buoyant," said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec.

　　Since the start of the recession in December 2007, employment has fallen by 8.4 million, but recent US economic data has been improving gradually.

　　On Wednesday the Federal Reserve's influential Beige Book report said the US economy had continued to grow at a "modest" pace this year.

　　In the last three months of 2009, the US economy grew at an annualised rate of 5.9%.

 

Pakistan Taliban commander 'killed in air strike'

　　

　　

　　

　　A senior Taliban commander is likely to have been killed by an air strike in Pakistan's north-west, officials say.

　　The interior minister said he assumed Maulana Faqir Mohammed was dead after helicopters hit a building in Mohmand region, killing at least 16 militants.

　　Faqir Mohammed - one of the Pakistani Taliban's top figures and commander in the Bajaur tribal area - has been the focus of recent Pakistani action.

　　A number of Taliban leaders have been arrested or killed in recent weeks.

　　Washington has been urging Pakistan to act against Afghan Taliban members taking shelter in the tribal areas along the border.

　　The Pakistani military said recently that the Bajaur area, on the border and once a haven for Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, had been cleared of insurgents.

　　Last refuge

　　Speaking in Islamabad, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said he could not confirm the death of Maulana Faqir Mohammed, but expected he was killed in the strike.

　　"We had real-time intelligence that Faqir Mohammad was in a meeting with another commander, Qari Zia-ur-Rehman, in the basement of this hideout at the time of the attack," Mr Malik said, quoted by Reuters news agency.

　　"I would be surprised if he's alive. I hope we'll have confirmation in a day or so."

　　Mr Malik did confirm the death of one senior Taliban figure in the raid, Fateh Mohammed, a military commander in the Swat valley area.

　　Faqir Mohammed staked a claim to be the overall leader of the Pakistani Taliban after the movement's figurehead, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a US drone attack, reports the BBC's Ilyas Khan, in Islamabad,

　　After the fall last week of Damadola, the Taliban's last stronghold in Bajaur, he was reported to have slipped into the Mohmand region along with hundreds of Taliban fighters.

　　Qari Zia-ur-Rehman is said to be the top leader of the Taliban in Kunar and Nuristan provinces in Afghanistan.

　　It is widely believed he has been hiding in Bajaur, and is wanted by Pakistanis and US forces operating in Afghanistan.