Israeli intelligence and military officials are increasingly pushing for the assault on Gaza to continue until it assures the eventual downfall of Hamas amid assertions that the 10 days of military bombardment have crippled the Islamist party's ability to govern.As the onslaught progresses, officials are more confident of "changing the equation" in Gaza and are predicting the collapse of the Hamas administration.Last night, Israeli forces bombed the centre of Gaza, and there were reports of intense clashes with Hamas fighters on the edge of the city. But the fighting and the occupation of parts of the north and centre of the Gaza Strip did not stop Hamas from firing more than 40 rockets into Israel.The death toll from 10 days of fighting has risen above 550. Those killed yesterday included 13 members of the same family killed in their house by Israeli tank fire east of Gaza city.The Israeli military said early today that three of its soldiers were killed and four wounded when one of its tank shells was fired in error.The rising number of civilian deaths is helping to drive growing diplomatic pressure for an end to the killing. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, on a visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah, yesterday called on Israel to stop the violence and demanded an immediate ceasefire by both sides. There was a similar call from an EU delegation in Israel.But they were rebuffed by Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, who said: "When Israel is being targeted, Israel is going to retaliate. Israel is going to give an answer to it because this is an ongoing, long battle, war, against terror."Livni's determination reflects a growing confidence in the upper echelons of the Israeli establishment that the assault will fatally damage the foundations of Hamas's control and, in time, drive it from power. Intelligence and military officials have told the cabinet that "not much" remains of the Hamas administration in Gaza and that its ability to take control again has been undermined by the destruction of a large part of the physical infrastructure of administration, including the parliament building and many government offices.The intelligence services also told the cabinet that they believe the Israeli bombardment is turning Palestinian popular opinion against Hamas and that terms can be forced on the Islamist party that will further weaken its control.Israeli officials have generally been reluctant to say that the attack on Gaza is intended to force Hamas from power out of concern that it would undermine the international support they have won by portraying the assault as a purely defensive measure to stop Hamas rockets. Last week, Israel's deputy prime minister, Haim Ramon, and the leader of the Shas religious party, Eli Yishai, walked out of the cabinet meeting that approved the invasion of Gaza because it did not specifically call for the toppling of the Hamas administration. After Ramon told Israeli television that what "we need to do is to reach a situation in which we do not allow Hamas to govern", other government members denied that was the intent.But Livni yesterday said Hamas's continued control of the Gaza strip was "an obstacle" and that Israel was seeking an agreement that "weakens it".The head of the Shin Bet internal security service, Yuval Diskin, told the Israeli cabinet that Hamas was finding it increasingly difficult to govern with its leadership in hiding from Israeli rockets and much of its infrastructure blown to pieces.He was backed by the chief of the general staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, who said "not much" remained of the Hamas government, and by the head of military intelligence, Major General Amos Yadlin. "Hamas has absorbed a very hard blow ... Its ability to govern has been harmed, its leaders have completely abandoned the population and are only worrying about themselves," Yadlin told the cabinet. He said Hamas was increasingly isolated, both internationally and from the Palestinian population. Hamas leaders remained defiant yesterday with the party's political head in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, saying it would fight on "in the name of God". He said in a speech broadcast in Gaza: "They legalised for us knocking down their synagogues when they hit our mosques, they legalised for us knocking down their schools when they hit our schools."Hamas leaders have been assassinated and driven underground before, and the organisation has generally emerged fortified and more radical. Israel has also pursued these tactics in the past and failed to curb Hamas's influence or the rocket attacks. But whether or not the Israeli military and intelligence leaderships' claims to the cabinet are overstated, they reflect a strengthening intent to bring down Hamas.Livni told the cabinet that a diplomatic agreement for a ceasefire should weaken Hamas politically. "This is not a matter of an isolated operation and every arrangement should advance the interests of the state of Israel vis-à-vis Hamas. There is no intention here of creating a diplomatic agreement with Hamas. We need diplomatic agreements against Hamas, and any agreement that weakens it is positive in our eyes," she said. Israel wants foreign powers to impose terms on Hamas that would in effect require it to submit to the authority of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Palestinian Authority, which was driven from the territory in bloody internal fighting two years ago.Diana Buttu, a Palestinian negotiator involved in talks with Israel over its 2005 withdrawal of settlers from Gaza, said the Israeli assault had strengthened short-term solidarity with Hamas, but was likely to have weakened the group politically."People in Gaza are under assault right now so they're going to support Hamas. But when the dust settles I think we'll get a very different perspective, a lot of questioning about whether Hamas has the right strategy."I think what's going to happen will be similar to what happened when [Yasser] Arafat was besieged in the mukata [the Palestinian presidential compound] in 2002. People who were very critical of Arafat before said 'we're supporting him 110%.' A few weeks later ... you started to get the introspection of 'is this really what we need, is this really what we want?'"GazaIsrael and the Palestinian territoriesMiddle Eastguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, today led intensifying international efforts to force a ceasefire in Gaza, despite Israel insisting it was not yet ready to call a halt to its eight-day offensive.Signs have begun to emerge of the shape of a potential deal on a truce and new border arrangements, though analysts said these were still unlikely to be agreed quickly.Sarkozy flew to Israel after a meeting with the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, about the Gaza crisis. After talks in the West Bank town of Ramallah, the French leader said he would tell Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, that "violence must stop"."We in Europe want a ceasefire as quickly as possible, and that everyone understands that time is running against peace," Sarkozy said. "The guns must fall silent, there must be a humanitarian truce. Everyone must understand that what is at stake here is not just an issue of Israel and Palestinians, it is a global issue and it is the whole world which will help you find a solution."Egypt also invited a delegation from Hamas, the Islamist movement fighting Israel, to visit Cairo. Such a visitwould be Hamas's first contact with a key regional player since fighting began 10 days ago.Sarkozy will tomorrow go on to Syria, Hamas's main Arab supporter.In other signs of frantic activity, diplomats said Turkey was playing a significant role behind the scenes. Ankara has already publicly offered to convey any Hamas ceasefire proposal to the UN.It is understood senior Turkish officials met the leaders of Hamas and the smaller, more militant Islamic Jihad faction in Damascus last week. Both are boycotted as terrorists by all western countries.Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, is trusted by Hamas because of his Islamist credentials. "The Turks have been talking to all the right people," said one diplomat based in the region. "They are seen as a neutral broker. They are professional and sincere."Underlining the role played by Turkey, Syria sent its foreign minister, Walid al-Mualim, to Ankara today. "I came to discuss ways to bring about an immediate ceasefire, a removal of the [Israeli] blockade and the opening of all crossings, as well as finding a mechanism to achieve these goals," he said after talks with Ali Babacan, his Turkish counterpart.In a further development, the UN's special co-ordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, was summoned to New York where Arab countries were drafting a security council resolution demanding an immediate end to "Israeli aggression" in Gaza. With UN forces already deployed on Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon, one possibility being mooted is creating a new one for the border between Gaza and Egypt.David Miliband, the foreign secretary, is flying to New York tomorrow to take part in the UN debate on the crisis."If Sarkozy has something that can pass the security council then the pressure may start on both sides," Ali Jarbawi, a professor of political science at Birzeit University, told the bitterlemons.org website.But there are signs that hard bargaining lies ahead. Israel wants its offensive to end with an agreement imposed on Gaza by the international community rather than a new ceasefire directly with Hamas. "We don't sign agreements with terror," Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister, insisted after meeting an EU delegation yesterday. "We fight terror."Israel wants Egypt to prevent smuggling into Gaza from its border and its crossings into the territory operating under international supervision. It insists on the presence of the Palestinian Authority (PA), run by Abbas's West Bank-based Fatah movement, Hamas' bitter rival."The international community will initiate the agreements and impose it on Hamas," the Ha'aretz newspaper quoted a senior political source in Jerusalem as saying. "The agreements will be with both the PA and Egypt and then if Hamas will not agree it will pay the price, mostly by even greater isolation."Israel has suggested the US might help Egypt by sending combat engineers to reinforce the border. As well as EU and PA officials deployed at the Rafah crossing into Egypt, as in the past, it also wants US, French and Arab support for a UN-backed resolution granting Israel the right to respond to any Hamas violations. Above all, it wants to avoid a situation under which Hamas could rearm after a ceasefire, as Lebanon's Hezbullah was able to do soon after the end of the 2006 war.Under a 2005 agreement, Rafah can only be opened to normal traffic if EU observers and PA forces are at the border, which is also monitored by Israel. But the PA presence ended when Hamas took over Gaza from Fatah in June 2007. The challenge now will be to find a way to allow them back at a time that relations between the two factions are at a nadir.Western diplomats said the US, EU and Arab League were now looking at a four-point agenda:• Stopping arms smuggling into Gaza• Financial support for Egypt in controlling the border and detecting tunnels• International monitoring, with the UN, EU and Arab forces assisting Egypt• Reopening of all crossing points into the Gaza Strip - a key Hamas demand.Further signs of a mounting international backlash against Israel came with an unusally strong condemnation from Saudi Arabia. "The international position is feeble in dealing with unprecedented Israeli violations," said a cabinet statement. "To say that Israeli barbarity is self-defence is to close one's eyes to the history of Israeli occupation and settlement of Palestinian territories, practices of closure and terror, and the massive imbalance in power between the two sides," it said.Mauritania said it was recalling its ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations. Egypt and Jordan, the only two other Arab countries which have peace treaties with Israel, have strongly condemned the Gaza offensive.GazaIsrael and the Palestinian territoriesMiddle EastFranceUnited NationsUS foreign policyTurkeyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Mahmoud Khalil looked around the classroom and decided the safest place for his children was under the desks.UN officials had reassured the father of five he and his family would be protected by the large blue and white flag flying above the UN-run school turned refugee shelter. But with the sound of large explosions on the edge of Jabaliya refugee camp, just north of Gaza City, and his children still terrified from the trauma of their escape, Khalil was taking no chances. "They will kill us anywhere. If they can bomb the mosque, if they can kill small children, if they can blow up our parliament, why should they care if they bomb this school? They don't care what the United Nations thinks. They don't care what the whole world thinks," he said, when reached by telephone.The 38-year-old mechanic arranged a cluster of desks in the corner of the classroom and laid blankets on the floor under them for his children - the youngest three years old, the eldest 14 - to lie on. "God willing, that will protect them," he said. "They are terrified after what they have seen. Explosions near our house. Everybody running away. The Israelis dropped leaflets and said on the radio we must all get out or they will kill us because they are going to bomb our houses."But where to flee? In other conflicts refugees move across borders or to quieter regions. But Gaza's 1.5 million residents are trapped behind the long Israeli fence, dotted with machine gun posts and watchtowers, that makes their home a prison. There is no way out. So Khalil and his children, like thousands of other Gazans, settled for what they could find - schools run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency that have flung their doors open as shelters from the Israeli assault that is claiming more lives by the hour. By last night 17 schools had been turned into shelters with more than 5,000 people seeking protection inside. Nine of the schools are in Jabaliya refugee camp on the front line of the fighting. Adnan Abu Hasna is an official with the UN's Palestinian refugee agency who visited several of the schools yesterday. "I found hundreds of people are fleeing their homes just in the Jabaliya area. There's a lot of fear, a lot of panic. You can see it with the children too," he said. "We are talking about Gaza as a very tiny area. Where do they go? We are talking about very poor areas. People arrive without anything. We are providing them with mattresses, blankets and certain amounts of food. We try and give families privacy where the schools are not too crowded. But there are huge numbers coming in some areas."Besides the schools in Jabaliya, three others have been turned into shelters in Gaza City, one in Rafah, in the south of the strip, and a handful of others scattered around. But Hasna says there will be more, although he is only marginally more confident than Khalil that the UN flag will provide protection. "We depend on it being a UN installation with a big flag. We hope the Israelis will respect that. We are contacting them and telling them," he said.Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, is trying to persuade the world that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. UN officials scoff at the claim, noting that 1 million people are living without electricity and 250,000 without running water. And then there are the bombs and rockets, terror and trauma. Khalil has given this some thought. "When Hamas fires rockets into Israel, the Israelis say they are scared and run away," he said. "I'm not saying Hamas is right or wrong. But I believe the Israeli people are scared because the rocket can hurt them or their children. So they run away to Tel Aviv where they have food and electricity and they are safe and Israel says that is a humanitarian crisis. But we who are trapped here with no electricity and water and our children hearing bombs and screaming and holding each other, they say this is not a humanitarian crisis."GazaIsrael and the Palestinian territoriesMiddle EastUnited Nationsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The Obamas settled into their first day in Washington yesterday, with daughters Sasha and Malia attending their new school and the president-elect trying to inject a sense of urgency into congressional ­leaders about tackling the recession.The first family took up residence in the capital early, staying at the historic Hay-Adams hotel opposite the White House, so the children could start school on time.Michelle Obama, who flew into Washington with the girls on Saturday, with the president-elect following a day later, accompanied Sasha, seven, to the Sidwell Friends school's campus in Bethesda, Maryland, on the outskirts of the capital. She then took Malia, 10, to the main Sidwell campus in the city.Barack Obama's team released pictures of the family in their hotel suite dressed for school.The president-elect left three hours later in a motorcade to Capitol Hill for talks on his economic stimulus package in Congress, which starts today. In keeping with his campaign promise to adopt a bipartisan approach, he met Democratic and Republican leaders.He had pressed Congress to have a bill ready for signing on his desk on 20 January but congressional leaders dampened his hopes, saying there was little prospect of such a bill being ready before the middle of February. "The reason we're here today is because the people's business can't wait," Obama told reporters.His proposals, not surprisingly, were welcomed by the Democrats. Republican leaders gave a mixed response, saying they welcomed proposed tax cuts but were concerned about the overall size of his stimulus package.Obama is proposing a package totalling between $675bn (£462bn) and $775bn, of which up to $300bn would be in tax cuts. Single workers are to receive $500 each in cuts, while businesses will get in total more than $100bn of the funding.The scale of the proposed tax cuts will disappoint some liberals, who have been looking for huge New Deal infrastructure projects that would help create jobs.While the economy is Obama's top priority, other problems are beginning to pile up, including finding a replacement as commerce secretary for Bill Richardson, who withdrew from the post on Sunday because of an investigation into a business deal in his home state of New Mexico, where he is the governor.One of the few other remaining vacancies – head of the CIA – was filled yesterday. Democratic officials said Obama had chosen Leon Panetta, former White House chief of staff to Bill Clinton and a Democratic congressman. In an early taste of troubles ahead with Congress, Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic chair of the Senate select committee, was dismissive of Obama's choice of Panetta. Saying she had not been informed of the selection, she hinted she was unhappy over his lack of experience: "My position has consistently been that I believe the agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time."Retired admiral Dennis Blair is Obama's choice to be director of national intelligence, according to Democratic officials.The Obamas take up occupancy of the White House at midday on 20 January. The president-elect was in nostalgic mood on the plane taking him to Washington after locking up the family home in Chicago on Sunday. "Malia's friend had dropped off an album of the two of them together," Obama said. "They had been friends since preschool and I just looked through the pages and the house was empty and it was a little tough, it got me."Obama White HouseBarack ObamaMichelle ObamaUnited StatesUS economyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

David Cameron took the side of savers hit by tumbling interest rates yesterday and promised to abolish tax on the savings income of all basic-rate taxpayers. He also promised to lift personal allowances for pensioners by £2,000 a year. Pounded by Labour charges of offering a do-nothing approach to the crisis, the Tory leader said that he wanted to help the "innocent victims" of the recession.Cameron also toughened his approach to public spending, by proposing for the first time that its growth in the financial year 2009-10 be cut from 3.4% to 2.6%, saving £5bn. Setting out a plan for Conservative government, he said spending on schools, health, defence and international development would be maintained at Labour's planned levels, meaning projected spending in other departments could grow only 1% in real terms, instead of the 4.1% planned by Labour. Cameron said he did not think 1% unreasonable. But his move imposes tight constraints on departments such as the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, business department, and communities department. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, pointed out that public spending would still be rising by £25bn under the Tory regime, as opposed to £30bn, leading Tory rightwingers to claim that Cameron was not doing enough to break with Labour spending or borrowing. The chief secretary to the Treasury, Yvette Cooper, said it was "economic madness" to slow public spending - the Conservatives were isolated internationally, she claimed. Downing Street was last night pointing to reports that Germany is planning a £50bn fiscal stimulus.But Cameron is increasingly bold in advocating tighter spending, and has already proposed a lower level than the government plan for 2010-11. The country, he said, was facing a "catastrophic legacy of debt and disrepair"; he sometimes wanted to shake Gordon Brown, he said, to get him to understand his errors.Cameron put his proposals in the context of a wider claim about the need for an economy that is more balanced, and not so tilted towards housing, the public sector and financial services. He published reports on creating green technology incubators, and buidling the world's first trading market for environmental companies. He also revealed a review into how to give every home ultra-fast broadband within a decade. Brown is proposing a green and digital infrastructure renewal programme this spring.The Tory leader's move came ahead of Thursday's meeting of the Bank of England monetary policy committee, expected to cut interest rates to possibly 1%, the lowest since the Bank's formation in 1694. A cut from the current 2% would further damage the interests of savers when savings are at their lowest for 50 years. Cameron said: "We need to make a really big change in Britain from an economy built on debt to an economy built on savings. A culture of thrift at the heart of government and a culture of saving at the heart of our economy - these changes will provide strong foundations for the new economy we plan to build."Privately, the Tories accept that the cost, and therefore the impact, of abolishing tax on savings for basic-rate taxpayers - £2.6bn - may be too high, since it is based on estimates made at a time when interest rates were much higher.The proposal to lift tax on savings income would, the Conservatives say, simplify the tax system, since banks would no longer have to withhold 20% of interest income at source, and people on low incomes who currently do not pay tax at 20% would no longer be forced to apply for their money back.In practice, a third of savers already have their savings in tax-free Isas, and yesterday's initiative by the Tories may prompt Brown (planning a tour of English regions starting tomorrow) to raise the maximum amount of income that can be invested in an Isa tax-free, currently £7,200. The Tories denied that helping savers would take money out of the economy. They argued that advisers to the Obama administration are suggesting that tax cuts are three times as effective at raising growth as spending increases.More broadly, Cameron insisted he was optimistic that his policy package was winning converts: the government's 2.5% VAT cut in December had been "a criminal waste" of £12.5bn of taxpayers' money, saying the government might as well have burnt the cash.Cameron also repeated his call for a government insurance scheme to back banks lending to customers and businesses. The Treasury is looking at a similar scheme, but the government will be determined to present any proposal as sharply different to the Conservatives' socialisation of credit.Parties' policiesLabour plans• Cut VAT by 2.5%at cost of £11bn to stimulate demand.• Consider second round of help for banks following £50bn recapitalisation, but put the idea of more government cash for banks on the back burner.• Create 100,000 jobs by advancing extra capital investment directed at green jobs and school building.• Publish interim report on digital Britain.• Encourage ailing firms to switch staff to part-time work and allow staff to train for remainder of time.• Consider bringing forward extension of school leaving age. • Allow mortgage holders in difficulty to have a two-year interest rate holiday.• Consider help for savers in March budget.Tory plans • £50bn national loan guarantee scheme to help free up credit for business. Focused on short-term credit lines, overdrafts and trade credit - the lifelines all businesses need to keep afloat. • £3bn tax breaks to reward companies who take on new staff. • Small businesses to enjoy six-month VAT holiday. • An environmental stockmarket, where green companies are listed and traded.• No tax to be paid on savers' incomes for basic rate taxpayers. Help 5 million taxpaying pensioners by increasing personal allowances. • Commission report on how UK households will have access to high-speed broadband internet within next 10 years.David CameronConservativesEconomic policyGordon BrownTax and spendingCredit crunchSmall businessBankingRecessionBanks and building societiesSavingsIncome taxTaxPublic services policyPublic financeguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Britain's leading green commentator, George Monbiot, goes head-to-head with the chief executive of oil giant Shell, tackling ethics, greenwash advertising, renewable energy investments and gas-flaring in Nigeria

Waterford Wedgwood, the 250-year-old maker of luxury glassware and china, fell in administration today, putting 2,700 jobs in the UK and Ireland at risk.The loss-making company, whose brands include Waterford crystal, Wedgwood and Royal Doulton fine bone china, Rosenthal porcelain and Spring premium cookware, ran out of time in its attempt to raise fresh capital.Politicians on both sides of the Irish Sea warned that the collapse of the company had severe implications for communities where china and glass have been manufactured for generations. The mayor of Waterford said it would be a "national disaster" for Ireland if production at the crystal factory ceased.It is also a heavy blow to Sir Anthony O'Reilly, who chairs the company. The billionaire media tycoon and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris have pumped about €400m (£375m) into Waterford Wedgwood in recent years, and own 60% of the company's shares.Deloitte has taken control of Waterford Wedgwood's British and Irish operations. Joint administrator Angus Martin said that several potential buyers had already contacted Deloitte. "These are classic, high-quality, world-recognised brands," he said. "There is potentially a good business here."Waterford Wedgwood has suffered from falling demand for its high-quality crystal, china and other tableware, and has recorded a loss for the last five years. It was forced to call in the administrators after its lenders, led by Bank of America, refused to postpone its interest payments for a fourth time. They had repeatedly given the company extra time to arrange new funding, and agreed to defer loan payments until 2 January.A US private equity firm had been considering taking a controlling stake and providing $280m of new capital, and sources close to the company believe a deal could still be hammered out.Shares in Waterford Wedgwood, which were suspended on the Dublin market today, had already fallen to €0.001.O'Reilly, who with Goulandris injected €60m into the company three months ago, thanked the company's suppliers, employees and customers and the British and Irish governments for their help. "We are consoled only by the fact that everything that could have been done, by management and by the board, to preserve the group, was done," he said.Waterford Wedgwood employs some 1,900 people in the UK, many of whom work at its Barlaston pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, and a further 800 in Ireland. It runs 19 stores in the UK and 120 retail concessions within larger stores, and has almost 600 outlets worldwide.Mark Meredith, the mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, said it was "a sad day" for the ceramics industry in the Potteries. He urged potential buyers to keep production in the area rather than move it overseas.Thousands of Waterford Wedgwood jobs have already been lost in the UK and Ireland, as the company attempted to cut costs by closing some sites and moving production to eastern Europe and Indonesia. It has also tried to appeal to a younger audience with partnerships with celebrities, including chef Gordon Ramsay.Josiah Wedgwood, known as "the father of English potters", founded the company in 1759. In 1986 it merged with Waterford, which was set up in 1783 by two brothers, William and George Penrose. O'Reilly has been credited with keeping Waterford Crystal alive in Ireland, and Waterford's mayor, Jack Walsh, warned that the country's tourism industry would suffer if it ceased to exist."Waterford Crystal is one of only a handful of iconic Irish brands and the gallery and the visitor centre at Kilbarry is among the most popular visitor attractions in the country," he said. "It is of major strategic importance that this company not be allowed slip in to oblivion."Walsh called on the Irish state to help shore up the company and the brand. Ireland's main opposition party also called on the government to help find a buyer. "The preservation of the Waterford Crystal factory in the city is something the Ggovernment needs to take seriously as it has represented an integral part of Waterford and its people for generations," said John Deasy, Fine Gael TD for Waterford.Unite, the trade union that represents workers at the Waterford plant, described the announcement as "devastating". Following After a meeting with the management at the plant this morning, Jimmy Kelly, Unite's regional general secretary for south-east Ireland, said Unite officials had been assured the company will be maintained as a going concern for as long as possible."The union will work closely with any prospective purchasers of the business so as to ensure we save the maximum number of quality jobs," he said."The workers who built the brand have always worked alongside management to find solutions that would protect the long-term future of the company. Unite will fully support them in liaising with local and national politicians to save the plant and the brand. It is too important to the workers and their families, to the city of Waterford and to the nation as a whole to let it disappear."Waterford WedgwoodRetail industryRecessionIrelandManufacturing sectorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Government draws up amendment to equality bill which will require firms to publish pay band statistics

"Oh my God." Her hand covered her mouth. She glanced at him in desperate panic. "They filmed me kissing you. And it's up on the giant screens." Her voice rose, her cheeks were scarlet, and her reluctant glance towards the stadium ended in a moan of disbelief. "Oh God, I can't believe this ... and my hair is all over the place and my bottom looks huge, and - everyone is looking." His eyes on the pitch, Prince Casper watched with cool detachment as his friend, the England captain, hit a post with a drop-goal attempt. "More importantly, you just cost England three points."Rugby and romance are perhaps not the most obvious of combinations, but one that the world's biggest romance publisher, Mills & Boon, and the Rugby Football Union believe will bear fruit. The pair have teamed up to publish a series of books featuring tall, dark and handsome rugby heroes - minus cauliflower ears - and their glamorous love interests."Our mission statement is to do for rugby what Jilly Cooper did for polo - to give it an air of sexiness and glitz and glamour," said series editor Jenny Hutton. "You don't have to like rugby to like the books," added Clare Somerville, Mills & Boon's sales and marketing director. "They've got all the elements of a quintessential Mills & Boon romance: jet-set locations, hunky alpha male heroes and hot sex, but in a rugby context."Information on the rules of rugby for the non "rugby savvy", along with tips on what to wear at matches, will also be included, she said.The RFU International Billionaires series launches with The Prince's Waitress Wife - in which one sex scene takes place in the president's suite at Twickenham - on 1 February, just before the start of the RBS Six Nations Championships. In a later title, The Ruthless Billionaire's Virgin, the heroine stands in to sing the national anthem, only to suffer a "wardrobe malfunction" from which she is saved by the chivalrous hero.But readers should not expect guest appearances from real-life players such as Lawrence Dallaglio. "We made a decision early doors that that wasn't going to happen," said Jane Barron, licensing and marketing manager at the RFU. "There are no real people - it's all imaginary."• Can you do better? Write your own at guardian.co.uk/books/booksblogFictionRugby unionNewspapers & magazinesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Tony Blair is to receive the United States's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from his friend George Bush next Tuesday, at a White House ceremony during the latter's last week in office.The medal, a five-pointed white star, was first introduced by President Harry Truman just after the second world war and later revived to reward eminent citizens for distinguished service in peacetime by president John F Kennedy. Although among its previous 400 recipients there are American figures such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye and Arnold Palmer, it has also been presented to every post-war president and to senior politicians and military men.The medal is awarded "for especially meritorious contributions to security or the national interests of the United States, world peace or cultural or other significant public or private endeavours". It was not immediately clear last night under which heading the former prime minister had qualified. He is only the second British prime minister to receive the award, following Margaret Thatcher in 1991, though other recipients have included Lord Carrington, the former foreign secretary, and Lord Robertson, former defence secretary and secretary general of Nato.Blair will find himself among others he will recognise. Donald Rumsfeld received the medal in 1977 for his original period in administration service; vice-president Dick Cheney got his in 1991; and President Bush has previously awarded other prominent figures involved in the Iraq campaign - Paul Bremer, the US's former director in Baghdad, General Tommy Franks, and George Tenet, former director of the CIA.Blair was previously also awarded the US's other highest civilian honour, the Congressional Gold Medal, in 2003, for his support of the US invasion of Iraq, though he has never collected it. He will receive next week's award alongside John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, and Álvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia. A White House spokeswoman said the three were being honoured by the president "for their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad".The award was criticised by the Lib Dems, but Blair's spokesman said he regarded the medal as reflecting the courage of the British armed forces.Tony BlairGeorge BushUnited Statesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The renegade Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff is battling to stay out of prison after allegedly breaking his bail conditions by distributing $1m (£700,000) worth of jewellery and personal possessions to his friends and relatives.Federal prosecutors in Manhattan yesterday asked a judge to jail the 70-year-old fund manager for an "obstruction of justice" in violating an order which froze his assets. The judge deferred a ruling pending written pleadings.The courtroom revelation emerged as US congressmen roasted senior regulatory officials in Washington for failing to detect corruption in Madoff's $50bn investment empire. Trustees have sent out 8,000 claim forms to Madoff's clients who hope to recover a sliver of their lost money.Leaving the New York penthouse apartment where he has been under house arrest since mid-December, Madoff arrived in court to hear US prosecutor Marc Litt describe him as a potential flight risk. "The case against the defendant is strong and it's getting stronger," Litt told magistrate judge Ronald Ellis.Prosecutors said Madoff and his wife, Ruth, had sent at least five items including "very valuable jewellery" to their children and unidentified friends in Florida.But Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, said the items had been sent before an asset freeze came into effect. He said the possessions were not significant, describing them as heirlooms including cufflinks and an antique watch. "It happened innocently," Sorkin told the court. "He's not a threat to the community and there's no danger he's going to flee."At a hearing on Capitol Hill, the head of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation gave some hope to victims of Madoff's scam by revealing that trustees have identified $830m of liquid assets from his firm, on top of $29m already recovered from banks - still a small slice of the $50bn that clients believed was in the fund.Regulatory chiefs were given short shrift by members of the House financial services committee. Gary Ackerman compared the SIPC and the securities and exchange commission to "Keystone cops" and said watchdog agencies had failed to watch out for anybody.Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, called on the SEC's five commissioners to quit: "You would think all members of the SEC should at least offer President Obama a resignation and let him decide."Bernard MadoffCorporate fraudRegulatorsUnited Statesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

One of the most drawn out recount disputes in recent memory lurched closer to resolution today, when Minnesota election officials overturned an election day result to declare comedian Al Franken the victor in his Senate race against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman

China arrested almost 1,300 people on state security charges in the restive north-western region of Xinjiang last year, state press has reported.The figure, which was announced at an official meeting in late December, is nearly double the total of similar arrests for the whole of China in 2007. It has startled outside experts who say the figure has yet to be verified.The Procuratorial Daily reported that the arrests came as the government made "maintaining social stability" a priority, with Beijing's hosting of the Olympics. A wave of attacks – blamed by officials on Uighur separatists – broke out days ahead of the games.They included a raid on police headquarters in Kashgar which killed 17 ­officers. Two Uighur men were sentenced to death for the crime last month.About half of Xinjiang's 19 million inhabitants are Uighur Muslims, who complain that the central authorities have stripped them of religious and cultural freedoms.The newspaper said 1,295 people were arrested on suspicion of endangering state security last year. All but 141 were formally charged and faced trials or administrative punishment. It added that judicial authorities were ordered to "strike hard on the three forces of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism that endanger state security".The charge of endangering state security applies to alleged subversion or "splittism" and its incitement, as well as to offences such as espionage.Xinjiang officials refused to comment when the Guardian asked if the figures were correct.Nicholas Bequelin, an expert on Xinjiang at Human Rights Watch, said: "The numbers are so incredibly high that this would be a real turning point [if correct]. It is possible they are talking about the total number of convictions under the campaign against the 'three evil forces', including things such as illegal religious assembly. About half the state security arrests in previous years were from ­Xinjiang; that was already high."He added that the antiseparatist campaign weighed heavy on Uighurs. "It's not a yellow line that you should not cross … they have to positively demonstrate their opposition to separatism; they have to say so publicly in meetings and study sessions."Critics accuse the authorities of using claims of terrorism to suppress peaceful support for independence and wider expressions of cultural identity in ­Xinjiang over decades.But restrictions have tightened noticeably in the wake of last summer's violence. During Ramadan last year several areas ordered officials to deter mass prayers or banned government employees and Communist party members from fasting, wearing veils or growing beards.Last spring the US-based Dui Hua Foundation, which intervenes on behalf of ­Chinese detainees, reported that nationwide arrests for endangering state security rose to 742 in 2007 – the highest number for eight years. It added that political arrests had doubled between 2005 and 2006.The foundation said the charge, which replaced that of "counter-revolution" following legal reforms in the 90s, was primarily aimed at suppressing political dissent.State media reported today that the authorities had fined three British geology students 20,000 yuan (£2,000) for "illegal map-making activities" in Xinjiang. The students, from Imperial College London, had been researching fault lines with the permission of China's Earthquake Administration.ChinaIslamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

French president Nicolas Sarkozy's controversial cultural revolution of the country's television industry began last night as public service broadcasting (PSB) channels scrapped evening primetime advertising, amid an outcry from journalists and strike action planned for this week. Described as a "big bang", Sarkozy's plans to transform state broadcaster France Télévisions have sparked protests by journalists and 80 hours of heated rows in parliament. Critics have likened him to Italy's Silvio Berlusconi for trying to wrest control of the nation's airwaves. Sarkozy studied the BBC model before declaring advertising would be gradually banned from France's five state channels by 2011, beginning with primetime. He claims scrapping advertising would free state television to be more creative and public service-minded. But journalists' unions are concerned over the potential loss of advertising funding for PSB. Opposition politicians said Sarkozy was handing a gift to his media baron friends in French commercial television, who would reap huge financial benefits as advertising is transferred to their channels.Last night from 8pm more than 20 million French primetime viewers were able to watch PSB channels without the traditional 20-minute block of advertising between the end of the evening news at 8.30pm and the start of evening entertainment programming at 8.50pm. Advertising on PSB channels will now stop at 8pm and start again at 6am the following day. This advertising window, which dominates all main French television channels, is crucial in a country where far more people watch evening television news than buy newspapers. Around 40% of French people eat dinner while watching the 8pm television news. Sarkozy plans to make up the loss of funds by taxing commercial television advertising revenue and introducing a tax on internet and telephone providers, resulting in €450m (£400m) of funding for 2009.But journalists say budgets will suffer. Staff at France Télévisions' France 3 network launched strike action, disrupting production of news bulletins.Nicolas SarkozyFranceAdvertisingTelevisionguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Watch Matt Smith discussing his new role in an extract from BBC1's Doctor Who Confidential

As Guardian News & Media moves into its new home at Kings Place in the King's Cross area of London, we look at the measures taken to ensure the building lives up to the company's sustainability goals. We speak to Jeremy Dixon and Richard Thompson from architects Dixon Jones. The Guardian's environmental manager Claire Buckley discusses how the company's waste and energy is being managed. Feel free to post your comments about this programme on the blog below. You can also join our Facebook group, where you can scrawl your thoughts on our wall.

Winter scenes from around the country as a further cold snap bites

The best sports pictures from around the world in the last 24 hours

A full version of this interview is available at the British Library website

If the return to work, grim weather and global economic downturn were not enough to contend with, astronomers added to the seasonal gloom today by announcing that the Milky Way is set to crash into a nearby galaxy sooner than they thought.According to their most detailed measurements yet, scientists admitted to have grossly underestimated the mass of the Milky Way, and so the gravitational pull it exerts on our cosmic neighbours, including the giant Andromeda galaxy.The oversight means that the two galaxies, which are on a cataclysmic collision course, will slam into one another earlier than scientists had previously predicted.When the two galaxies meet, powerful shockwaves will compress interstellar gas clouds within them, triggering a dazzling flourish of newborn stars, in a last heavenly hurrah before the giant wreckage slowly dims and dies out.Fortunately the galactic disaster still lies unfathomably far into the future.Our solar system is around 28,000 light years from the centre of the Milky Way, itself one of more than 35 galaxies in our cosmic neighbourhood. The Andromeda galaxy, which is twice as wide, is around 2m light years away. Karl Menten, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany, said that while the galactic collision would happen sooner than expected, there was no cause for alarm. "We still expect it to happen billions of years in the future," he said.A team led by Menten and Mark Reid at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Massachusetts used a radio telescope called the Very Large Baseline Array (VLBA) to make precise measurements of the Milky Way as it moved through space. As the galaxy rotates, parts that emit radiowaves move relative to Earth, allowing the researchers to work out how fast the galaxy is spinning.The scientists recorded intense ­radiowaves coming from the galaxy's four spiral arms, where new stars are born. Heat from the stars warms up molecules of alcohol in interstellar gas clouds, which release the energy as radiowaves.The measurements showed that our solar system is hurtling along at 600,000mph, 100,000mph faster than thought. "These measurements are revising our understanding of the structure and motions of our galaxy," said Menten.The speedier rotation of the galaxy means its mass must be similar to that of Andromeda, around 270bn times the mass of the sun, or 33% greater than earlier calculations have suggested. "No longer will we think of the Milky Way as the little sister of the Andromeda galaxy," said Reid. The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Long Beach, California.Astronomers believe the crunch to end all crunches could happen around the same time our sun is due to burn up the last of its nuclear fuel, within the next 7bn years. It is highly unlikely that planets and stars will collide. Instead the two galaxies will merge to form a new, large galaxy."The galaxies will be dramatically stirred up, but they are very squidgy, so they will stick together and eventually all the stars will die out, and it will become one huge, dead galaxy," said Gerry Gilmore at the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge university, who was not involved in the study. "One thing we don't know yet is whether Andromeda will hit us square on, or whether it will be a glancing blow." If the galaxy strikes the side of the Milky Way, it is expected to be pulled back again for further collisions. The whole collision could take many millions of years.According to Gilmore, the research does more than bring forward the date of our galactic demise. The work also sheds fresh light on the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance believed to hold galaxies together. Gilmore said the findings point to more dark matter at the centre of the galaxy that may be colder and more compacted than astronomers thought.Other astronomers at the meeting reported an updated map of the Milky Way's spiral arms. It shows two prominent and symmetrical arms spiralling our of the galaxy's core, which then branch into four separate arms. Earlier observations had confused astronomers by revealing different numbers of spiral arms reaching out from the galaxy's centre.Space explorationAstronomyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Government consultants have been accused of miscalculating the costs of a project to generate vast amounts of green electricity in the Severn estuary, promoting a 10 mile-long tidal barrier strongly backed by ministers in preference to a scheme that engineers and environmentalists say is far less damaging.The US engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff has been hired by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) to assess technologies that could meet, from the Severn estuary, up to 7% of the electricity consumption of England and Wales. Its feasibility study for the estuary, which has the second highest tidal range in the world, has been sent to ministers, who will soon announce a shortlist of potential schemes based on the assessment.Finding a way to harness the power of the Severn's tides is important as it would represent a big step towards Britain's target of generating 35% of all electricity from renewable sources by 2020.Sources in Decc say the firm favourite is the 10-mile barrier, which would span the entire estuary and is costed at about £14bn. Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) said the barrier could generate between 5GW and 8.6GW of renewable electricity at a cost of about 3p/kWh, but that it would impede shipping and lead to permanent flooding over more than 100 miles of shoreline.Ministers have already called the scheme "visionary" and a "trailblazer for clean, green energy".But correspondence seen by the Guardian shows that a row erupted between PB and a company promoting a scheme that environmental groups and other engineers claim would be far less damaging, as well as cheaper and more efficient.Tidal Electric wants to generate electricity by using tidal lagoons built on the estuary floor from rock. Up to 13 lagoons would be dotted around the Severn estuary, not across it. These would trap water at high tide and release it later through electricity-generating turbines.Studies carried out by the engineers AS Atkins, for Tidal Electric, have suggested that the lagoons could generate twice as much power, per square mile impounded, than the barrage, and therefore generate about 25-40% more energy without damaging the shoreline.However, the plan sent by PB to ministers says the tidal lagoon option would be eight times more expensive than the barrage scheme and would not generate as much power.But Peter Ullman, chief executive of Tidal Electric, said: "PB has made huge miscalculations. They have submitted [to ministers] cost-numbers on power from tidal lagoons that are roughly 800% higher than all the previous studies of tidal lagoon power conducted by UK engineering giant WS Atkins and corroborated by AEA Technology, Ofgem and Rothschild Bank. They have arrived at their extraordinarily high numbers by ignoring the technology developer's design parameters and introducing their own design."One key issue is that Tidal Electric plans to site the lagoons in shallow water, while PB assumes they would be built – at a higher cost – in deeper water.Tidal Electric is backed by many leading environment groups, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Friends of the Earth, as well as a vocal west country lobby, which believes a barrage would be ecologically and socially disastrous. According to the Bristol-based group Stop the Barrage Now a barrage would add to local flooding, reduce fish stocks, damage bird life and destroy the Severn bore, as well as ruin mudflats across an area of more than 77 sq miles. They say a barrage would impede shipping, adversely affecting ports such as Bristol, Sharpness, Gloucester and Cardiff, and put at risk thousands of jobs.A PB spokesman said: "We are unable to comment on Mr Ullman's complaint, but it is important to stress that during the selection process all options have been technically assessed to a common engineering and cost baseline."The same technical and energy yield approach has been applied to all options and the process and outcomes have been subject to peer review. The selection process is reviewed by an independent panel of experts appointed by Decc."In correspondence with Tidal Electric, seen by the Guardian, PB executives note that the consultation will continue: "There [will be] ample opportunity for dialogue to continue even though the public consultation documents are in the final stages of preparation. The public consultation process provides you with the opportunity to formally respond to the consultation documents, which will include our appraisal of the long-listed schemes. If the offshore lagoon concept is shortlisted, specific optimisation of proposals will be carried out in the next phase, which will require further dialogue."A range of barrage studies were made between 1974 and 1987 at a cost of £65m, out of which a specific Severn barrage scheme was drawn up by the Severn Tidal Power Group. A revised report was published in 2002 but all the plans were rejected at the time as being too expensive or too ecologically damaging.WildlifeWave, tidal and hydropowerConservationRenewable energyEnergyAlternative energyGreen politicsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Mark Hughes has identified a small but influential group of Manchester City players he fears are trying to lead a dressing-room mutiny against him. There has already been one meeting at which the ringleaders shared their grievances, and a fringe player has complained about Hughes to the club's executive chairman, Garry Cook.Hughes, the latest Premier League manager to face speculation about a prospective sacking, is said to be dismayed but unsurprised by the unrest. He has been comforted by the fact he retains the backing of the majority of his squad but he has also had prolonged difficulties with some of the players he inherited from Sven-Goran Eriksson, most notably the Brazilian midfielder Elano. His relationship has also deteriorated with two of the players who were bought to the club under his management but entirely on the say-so of the former owner Thaksin Shinawatra, Tal Ben Haim and the Brazilian striker Jo.Hughes is already seeking ways to offload several of the players he has come to regard as bad apples. Ben Haim has been offered to Blackburn as part of a proposed cash-plus-player exchange for Roque Santa Cruz that would also see City pay a fee of around £18m, and the Israel international is unlikely to be the only player to leave Eastlands.Elano's relationship with Hughes has rarely been anything better than tepid and, despite being recognised as one of City's more talented passers, the Brazilian has created so many problems he, too, is available to potential buyers. Jo, a £19m recruit from CSKA Moscow, will also be sold or loaned if Hughes gets his way, and it is a measure of how strongly the manager feels that he is prepared for it to impact on the happiness of a third Brazilian, Robinho.The priority for Hughes, according to well-placed sources inside the club, is to bring in new players and he remains hopeful of taking his spending at City over the £100m mark this week by concluding the deal for Santa Cruz as well as the £12m capture of West Ham's Scott Parker. City have also resurrected their interest in Kolo Touré of Arsenal and lodged a bid for Parker's team-mate, Craig Bellamy, with a back-up offer in place to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the market for Portsmouth's Jermain Defoe. Shay Given, the Newcastle United goalkeeper, is also on Hughes's wish-list.Once City have worked through that list of names, however, Hughes will confirm to Cook there are several players with whom he feels he can no longer work - some because of their ability but others because of their attitude.Potential buyers will be encouraged to look at a list that includes Dietmar Hamann, Michael Ball, Javier Garrido, Kasper Schmeichel, Nedum Onuoha and Darius Vassell.Cook is sympathetic towards the manager and made that perfectly clear to the player who complained to him. However, quotes attributed to Cook yesterday, insisting there is no danger of Hughes being sacked, came from a month-old interview – before the run of games that saw City briefly drop into the Premier League's relegation zone as well as being humiliated in the FA Cup on Saturday by a Nottingham Forest side currently fourth from bottom of the Championship.That 3-0 defeat has led to calls for Hughes's head from some supporters, although he is still thought to retain the backing of the club's billionaire owners in Abu Dhabi. Yet Hughes's problems can be gauged by the fact that one of the players who was involved in Saturday's game was seen laughing and joking in the showers directly afterwards.Manchester CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Further pressure was heaped on the ­England fly-half Danny ­Cipriani today as his misfiring kicking game was described as "a real issue" by his club coach, Shaun Edwards, following a mixed display for Wasps against Harlequins on Sunday.Edwards is one of Cipriani's biggest admirers but even he is starting to wince at how often the 21-year-old's clearance kicks are being charged down. There were two more instances at Adams Park on Sunday, after similar misjudgments at Test level last year, and Edwards acknowledged there is a possibility that Cipriani will be forced to remodel his kicking technique."It's becoming a real issue," said Edwards, who is concerned opponents are targeting a recurring weakness. "Maybe I'll get him to put his boots on the other way round. He's [kicking] too slowly and not kicking the ball high enough. This drop punting style he uses is a nightmare for defensive coaches. The old-fashioned spiral kick was much better."Cipriani's kicking coach with England, the former Bath full-back John Callard, said: "When you receive the ball on the back foot and under severe pressure you need to have a snap and then to get the ball away within one pace, like they do in American football. Some players like two or three steps to get into their kicking stride. If your confidence is sapped somewhat and you are struggling for a good connection, you would ­probably like to have a little bit more time on the ball to make a good contact. That could be an issue at the moment."Only one of Cipriani's errors led to a try against Quins but Edwards has been examining Wasps' below-par defensive record this season and has fingered chargedowns and dropped high balls among the main culprits. Cipriani was responsible for chargedown tries against England by Italy, the Pacific Islanders and South Africa last year and he needs to kick the habit.Another of Wasps' England contingent, Tom Rees, will be out for six to eight weeks with ligament damage to his left knee and is likely to miss the start of England's Six Nations campaign, against Italy at ­Twickenham on 7 February. The openside lasted less than three minutes on Sunday before twisting awkwardly. His injury could open the door for London Irish's Steffon Armitage, Bath's Michael Lipman or Leicester's Lewis Moody.Rugby unionDanny CiprianiLondon Waspsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The head of the Apple technology empire, Steve Jobs, has revealed that a "hormone imbalance" has caused him to lose weight and to take on a gaunt appearance that has alarmed investors, analysts and gadget enthusiasts.In an attempt to quieten persistent rumours that he is fighting a recurrence of pancreatic cancer, Jobs made a rare personal statement on his health today, which proved sufficiently reassuring to reverse a steady decline in Apple's shares.The man behind the iPod, the iMac and the iPhone said he had nothing more serious than a nutritional problem with a "simple and straightforward remedy", although his remarks caused a degree of puzzlement among experts in endocrinology.Jobs, who co-founded Apple in 1976, is widely viewed as the driving force behind the company's innovation in consumer electronics. The 53-year-old's weight loss has prompted worries on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley over the future of the business.His decision to pull out of MacWorld, an annual trade show in San Francisco this week, heightened concerns, though he stressed today that he fully intended to remain as chief executive.In a letter addressed to the "Apple community", Jobs said he had grown tired of media reports that he could be on his "deathbed". He said the cause of his weight loss had initially been a mystery but that doctors had recently discovered a "hormone imbalance that has been 'robbing' me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy".He continued: "The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment. But, just like I didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take until late this spring to regain it."During early trading on the technology-dominated Nasdaq exchange, Apple's shares rallied by 3% to $93.56. The stock has fallen by 45% over six months, in part depressed by rumours about Jobs, despite the phenomenal global popularity of Apple's touch-screen iPhone handsets.Speculation began last summer when Apple's army of followers on technology websites remarked upon Jobs's slim appearance at an event to launch a 3G version of the iPhone. Some pointed out that Jobs had surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and that at the time Apple had been cagey about his condition.Apple's repeated refusal to comment on such a "personal matter" did little to silence the rumour-mongers. The newswire service Bloomberg unwittingly kept the issue in focus by accidentally ­publishing an obituary of Jobs in August. Then two months later, a contributor to a news blogging site owned by CNN, iReport, wrongly reported that Jobs had suffered a "major heart attack", sending Apple's shares down 11% within 10 minutes.Richard Ross, a professor of endocrinology at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, said that although Jobs's description of his condition was opaque, a hormonal imbalance could be a result of his pancreatic surgery."If you've had surgery around the pancreas or small bowel, you can get mal­absorption or nutritional symptoms," said Ross. "If you've had damage to the pancreas, you can lose enzymes that break down food." Such disorders are generally treated with dietary supplements and drugs. A common imbalance of this type is diabetes.Analysts expressed relief that Jobs had clarified his condition."I think it does put to rest all the speculation on his health and I think people will now start to focus on the business," said Vijay Rakesh, an analyst at ThinkEquity Partners in Chicago. "I think obviously this is very good for Apple and the stock because Jobs has been an innovator. He steered the company into a lot of new products."AppleAppleAppleTechnologyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The crisis in the global car industry was underlined today with a further round of plunging sales figures from key markets around the world.In Japan, sales of new vehicles slumped by 22% last month to their lowest ever December total, while French sales were down almost 16% as the impact of the credit crunch continues to bite.Across the Atlantic, Ford disclosed that it sold 32% fewer cars in December than it did a year earlier. While purchases by individual customers were down by 27%, the number of vehicles sold to fleet buyers such as rental agencies and hospitality businesses plummeted by 42%. Its rival Chrysler reported even worse December sales, plunging by 53%, while General Motors saw a 31% decline. Foreign manufacturers also fared badly in the US market with Toyota sales down 37% in December, Honda down 35% and Nissan down 31%. The car website Edmunds.com predicted sales for the full year will total just over 13m, down 18% from 2007 and the lowest level since 1992.Latest sales figures for the UK are due to be published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on Wednesday and will make grim reading."The outlook for the auto industry is becoming increasingly bleak heading into 2009 as car companies and sales operations wrestle with the issues of the evaporation of consumer demand as the full extent of the financial crisis hits the industry," according to Paul Newton, motor industry analyst at Global Insight.The fall in French car sales follows poor numbers from Italy, Belgium and Spain last week. Global Insight now expects sales for the western European market to be below 14m for 2008 and is ­projecting a further fall in 2009 to just 12.5m. ­ Wednesday's SMMT figures are likely to increase the urgency of talks between the government and the UK motor industry over help in the current crisis.Industry sources insist companies are not looking for a "bail-out" but believe the government could help increase the availability of credit to keep the market moving.Today Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, repeated earlier calls for the government to get involved. "Now is the moment for Gordon Brown to be bold and give our car industry the sort of backing already offered to the financial services and construction sectors – backing it would never get from do-nothing free-market Tories."One lesson of this crisis is that ­Britain needs a strong manufacturing sector. Over-reliance on finance has got us into this mess – let's give the car industry the chance to help us get out of it."MotoringAutomotive industryFordUS economyJapanFranceCredit crunchguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Guardian technology correspondent Bobbie Johnson previews this year's Macworld and Consumer Electronics Show expos

Reg Tuffin, the Lundy postmaster, talks about life on the remote Bristol Channel island

At 91, the former publisher Diana Athill tonight became one of the oldest writers to ever win a major literary prize, taking the 2008 Costa prize for biography. Somewhere Towards The End, in which she contemplates the pros and cons of advanced age, was one of five category winners on a good night for seasoned contenders.The other winners were Irish writer Sebastian Barry who won the best novel prize with The Secret Scripture; Michelle Magorian - whose first novel Goodnight Mister Tom won awards nearly 30 years ago - who won the children's book award with Just Henry; Sadie Jones, who won best first novel with The Outcast and Adam Foulds, who won the poetry prize for The Broken Word. All five will now compete for the overall book of the year to be announced on January 27.The judges called Athill's book "a perfect memoir of old age – candid, detailed, charming, totally lacking in self-pity or sentimentality and above all, beautifully, beautifully written". Through 16 essays, Athill, who helped set up the publisher André Deutsch, contemplates subjects from gardening to sex to death. In an interview in today's Guardian Athill admitted she was hoping to win "because I'm always terribly broke, and how wonderful it would be to get that lovely cheque."The 53-year-old novelist Barry has been something of a literary prize bridesmaid over recent years and was shortlisted for the Booker last year and in 2005. He lost out both times. "Shortlists have their own magic but this is a pure and simple pleasure," he said. "It's like being 10 again and hearing some good news from a grown-up."William Hill have now installed Barry as 2/1 favourite for the overall prize - "God bless them," he said. "My dear old grandfather lost four fortunes backing favourites." Jones is next at 5/2 followed by Athill, 4/1 and Foulds at 9/2.The outsider is Magorian at 5/1. Just Henry, her first new book in 10 years, tells the story a young boy who escapes the bleakness of his life in gloomy post-war Britain through his passion for cinema. The judges called her a "master storyteller" adding: "Just Henry is a soaring, uplifting warm bath of a book – a wonderful roller-coaster of a story which we all absolutely loved."Magorian, still best known for her debut novel Goodnight Mister Tom which was adapted for TV and starred John Thaw, said that home educating her two sons had meant she'd had less time to write novels. "It's amazing to win. You have no idea if anyone is going to like the book you've written."For a debut novel, The Outcast has been a phenomenal success. It was part of the Richard and Judy Summer Read, serialised by Radio 4's Book at Bedtime and shortlisted for last year's Orange Prize. Jones said she was "really, really pleased. The book has had so much luck, I'm having all my jam at once."At 41, Jones is a late debutant. "I've been writing screenplays for a long time but I didn't think I had a book in me to be honest. It's taken me a long time to know how to do it. I do love writing and I'm not happy if I'm not doing it."The youngest winner yesterday was 34-year-old Foulds who won the poetry award. The Broken Word shines a light into a period Foulds believes Britain would rather keep secret, the Mau Mau uprisings in 1950s Kenya. The judges adored it saying: "It is a rare achievement to write a poetry book that the reader simply can't put down. Readers of poetry and fiction alike will be swept along by its chilling narrative."Foulds's award follows praise and prizes for his first novel, The Truth About These Strange Times, which came out in 2007. He said of yesterday's announcement: "It is hugely pleasing. It was a very intense writing experience for me and it's great to feel that it resulted in something like this. I hadn't really written poetry for a while but the subject matter drove me towards writing it as a poem."All of the winners pick up £5,000 as well as the extra sales generated by being a Costa winner, or Whitbread winner as some still prefer (The coffee shop chain took over sponsorship from the brewer in 2006). A panel of judges chaired by Matthew Parris will now decide the overall winner of a prize won last year by AL Kennedy for Day.Costa book awardsAwards and prizesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

When I was very young, I thought the theatre was a place where higher beings went about their celestial business, as if they knew nothing of ordinary life and its political mysteries. I went to the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr and saw a troupe of beautiful dancers up on their toes, making a jealous suitor dance himself to death. I went to the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock and watched an opera based on Hansel and Gretel, where, for some strange reason, the children of a poor woodcutter are sent into the forest and try to survive by eating a house made of sweets. It didn't seem to me, at the time, that these dramatic stories had anything to do with my life: they were enchantments, stories promoting a strictly magical notion of life, where even threatened people lived happily ever after. It would take years for me to understand what the fears lurking in those cardboard forests actually represented - abandonment, hunger, sexual obsession, imprisonment - but I've never forgotten that first period, when all theatre appeared to me like a form of surreal niceness. Things changed one day, when a nice caretaker allowed me to look inside the long-defunct Britannia Panopticon Music Hall in Glasgow's Trongate; it was an eerie place where one imagined laughter and the remnants of Edwardian applause still clinging to the wallpaper, and to this day the place appears to me in dreams. I knew that Stan Laurel had performed at the Britannia in the days before he moved to Hollywood, and that Harry Lauder and Dan Leno had given Glasgow audiences a hoard of comedy culled from everyday experience and patter. When I began learning about the kinds of shows and the kinds of audience that came to the Britannia, I understood that something strangely democratic had occurred there, and that large investments of common feeling must constitute a sort of political power. Later still, in an archive, I came across a letter that was found on the floor of a burning Glasgow theatre. It said simply: "It won't happen unless we make it happen." Nobody knows who wrote the letter, or for whose eyes it was meant, but in my mind it conjures an idea of the theatre as a site of assignations, romantic and otherwise, that might threaten to change a person's life.If you come from a world of aspiration, as Glasgow was, with its beautiful public parks and its once gleaming high-rises, then the theatre could easily come to seem like a place where the idea of human improvement was essential. In the 1970s, that idea seemed to take on a perfect form when the company 7:84, under John McGrath, began presenting plays that married the energy of variety theatre to a dormant political radicalism. There was no National Theatre of Scotland in those days, but 7:84 - along with Wildcat, Clyde Unity Theatre and Borderline (then based in my native Irvine New Town) - appeared to take on Britain's mythologies and social turmoil in a way that seemed to enjoy a natural attachment to the everyday political energy of the people. And I don't just mean theatre types, but the kind of people who didn't consider themselves to be part of the usual audience for serious plays. It might be that those early political productions added to my sense of what was possible for a novelist when I turned out to be one. There was lyrical realism at work in those productions, and I thought of them as providing a new spectacle and a new philosophy based on lived experience, much as American plays of the 1930s to the mid-50s had done. I see when I look back that the first proper thing I ever wrote was a Tennessee Williams kind of story called Orpheus Ascending, about an old woman in Glasgow's Royal Infirmary, who wished someone would come and do her makeup.It was the sort of writing that felt like a kind of politics and a kind of dreaming. It also felt like a species of memory, and I'm sure its sentiments were pressed into being by notions of a changing society. Thatcher was more than just a little bit around by then, and the theatre, with varying degrees of success, continued to seem like a place where people might go to meet their morality. It also seemed like a natural platform for dissent. I remember a number of productions at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre around that time, the late 1980s, that were so sumptuous and clever that I'm sure the audience scanned every expression for news, and for evidence about the political times we happened to be living through. Perhaps the most memorable was Philip Prowse's production of The Vortex, starring Rupert Everett and Maria Aitken, in which one generation turns on the other: the younger is shocked by the older generation's faithlessness, while the mother is shocked by the extent of her son's hedonism. This was around the time the Berlin wall collapsed, when students were murdered in Tiananmen Square, when the Ayatollah condemned Salman Rushdie. And there we were watching The Vortex, and I strongly believe the production made a beeline for the audience's common uncertainty: the night I saw it, more than half the people in the audience were sitting in subsidised seats (UB40-holders went free and students paid £1). Afterwards, people were loudly discussing the play as they walked through the Gorbals, and some of us sat in city-centre bars arguing the toss about everything. It seemed that plays, even what some considered a languid old play about toffs, could, if beautifully made and performed, stir people to battle with their own ideas and circumstances in a spirit of changefulness.There was another play like that, which I first saw in London and which I later travelled to Dublin to see in a separate production. This was Faith Healer by Brian Friel, and each version starred Ian McDiarmid as the strangely captivating, deluded impresario, Teddy. The play is one of the great contemporary dramas: it tells several tales of Francis Hardy, a faith healer. Either "endowed with a unique and awesome gift", or else a conman, Francis tours village halls and fairs in Wales and Scotland, laying hands on people who want to believe. But does he believe it himself? His cockney manager Teddy and his mistress Grace, likewise, are either abetting Francis, revealing his lies, or both. Friel's play stirred what to me were chiefly political emotions, to do with the power of belief and the meaning of the past. Suddenly, so much of what I'd considered to matter about the theatre, from the faraway days of those Ayrshire enchantments to the social aliveness of those plays produced by 7:84 and at the Citz, came together in a single production - and I wanted to believe much more of it was possible.Out of the blue, then, in 2007, came a message from John Tiffany, a director and associate of the National Theatre of Scotland, that an adaptation of my novel Be Near Me was proposed by none other than Ian McDiarmid. The novel tells the story of a poshly educated, somewhat egoistical English priest, Father David, who comes to take over a small Scottish parish. Father David befriends two local youths, Mark and Lisa, and in no time is forced into a confrontation with the secrets of himself, his romantic past, as well as with the anger of the community. I read Ian's adaptation immediately and felt he might have made the story new for the stage. He later told me he had read the book and felt compelled to play the part of Father David. His adaptation was full of sensitive possibilities: he seemed to see Father David as in many ways an actor, performing a life rather than living one. I recently went back home to film with the BBC and it occurred to me, on a typical wet day, that Ayrshire is shaped like an amphitheatre, a bowl that curves from the upland hills down to the sea. The Atlantic was always a presence in our lives, and many of us looked out there from that coast, into the old religious Irish past, as well as the new America. Both of those worlds came together for me personally in the writing of Be Near Me, and it feels right and good to be returning to Kilmarnock - the town where Robert Burns published the first great edition of his poems - to see the stage premiere of a moral drama that, on the 250th anniversary of Burns' birth, may contain some of the human dilemmas that interested him. The play is destined for London, but it is wonderful to know it will start in Ayrshire, the place that gives the story its life. At the Palace Theatre, I am bound to feel I am back in the cardboard forests of my youth, seeing Ian McDiarmid's and John Tiffany's kind of enchantment supplanting, for a while, the excellent panto. I wonder if the play will get the same audience: I'd be happy if it did. From my point of view, we are dealing in the same things. The characters in Be Near Me come from a genuine place, a Britain that is more than one country and more than one ideal. But it always seemed exciting to me that these characters might eventually have the chance to find a home in the pure imaginative space of the theatre - where human figures come alive as they turn in the light and speak to the dark.Be Near Me is at the Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock, 14-17 January; at the Donmar, London WC2, 22 January to 14 March; then touring. Details: nationaltheatrescotland.com. The play Be Near Me and The Atlantic Ocean, a collection of essays by Andrew O'Hagan, are published by Faber.Theatreguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

The Prince's Trust has discovered that one in 10 16- to 25-year-olds feel that life is meaningless, about a quarter of young people questioned are depressed and nearly a half regularly stressed. Nothing new there then. Perk up Trust, don't be alarmed. This is what young persons are meant to do: feel confused, depressed, slighted, rebellious and pointless. Isn't it a period of transition and separation, when most people wear annoying clothes, feel that the world is mad, parents ruin everything and life is rubbish? I did, and I was one of the lucky ones: we had prospects, no money problems, two married parents, pleasant suburban homes, home-cooked dinners, Elvis and grammar school, but I still drooped around in black, often weeping, protesting and panicking over the Cuban missile crisis and looming nuclear holocaust, and wondering what I might do when the whole world burned and our skin peeled off. In between all that I felt glum about my very long nose, the boyfriends I didn't have, or did have and then lost, whether I would ever find happiness, whether my mother would ever stop shouting and my father ever stop sulking.It was all fairly run-of-the-mill. Rosemary and her peers also suffered, in a comparatively low-key way. "Nobody loves me and I don't know what to do with my hands," said one girl at a rather hopeless sherry party. "God loves you and you can sit on your hands," said one of her chums strictly, because they were from the postwar "pull yourself together and polish your shoes" generation. But Rosemary was still haunted by the Bay of Pigs, could never find enough money for the gas meter and went out with two dreary Brians who both liked Wagner, but neither of them brought her happiness. She still hasn't quite found it.For some of us the world always seems meaningless now and again, even after a life of privilege. What must it be like if one's life has been deprived and brutish? The Prince's Trust found that the young people worst affected are those without training, education or a job. Quite right. It must be tough, on top of the usual growing up, separating from parents, information overload, advent of puberty, sex and relationships, drink, drugs and now looming depression and mass unemployment. No wonder they wear their trousers at half-mast. What can the future hold for them? The miracle is that only one in 10 think life means nothing. Eight out of 10 would not be unreasonable. Today's youth need a medal for sticking it out. I was wandering through Leicester Square last week and it suddenly seemed to me that the world is even more full of crap than ever before: more noise, more sex, more drugs, more greed, more rubbishy produce, more chips, more drekky fast food, more homeless people, more starving pensioners, more stabbings, loads of wars, bigger gap between rich and poor, hardly any secure job prospects. And there were all the youth wading through it, still batting on with life and finding reasons to be cheerful - a whole 90% of them. They are a tribute to the human spirit. I'm on my dog walkie and I meet an acquaintance with her dog. We are both Jewish. Naturally I mention Israel, now that it is bombing the hell out of Gaza. This is not good for the Jews. First Bernie Madoff, Wall Street financier and swindler, now this. Our name will be mud. But I like this woman. She is personable, friendly, witty, bright. We often talk about our children and families. I assume she will agree with me, so I say that Israel must be mad. They must stop their attack at once, this is not going to help anyone.But my friend does not agree. "They have to defend themselves," she says. "Hamas keep firing rockets.""Because Israel is illegally occupying Palestine. It must get its settlements out of the West Bank ... blah, blah, blah." Why argue? I can tell I'm not going to get anywhere. How are Israel and Palestine to agree if we cannot? Clear as day to me. Clear as day the other way round to her, and apparently to the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and most newspapers. None of them mentions the bloody settlements. I watch the news, I listen carefully, I wait for the reporters to ask the Israeli leaders, ministers and representatives, "What about the illegal settlements? When are they going to be dismantled? When can the Palestinians have their land back? What about the wall? The siege/blockade of Gaza? The democratic choice of Hamas? The death of 1,700 Palestinians in Gaza in the last three years since the Israelis 'pulled out'? When will the checkpoints be opened?" Not a peep."Where is Tony Blair in all this?" asks Rosemary. "Isn't he meant to be sorting it out?" Yes. He's just back from holiday and he's going to do it without talking to Hamas, and probably without making too much fuss about settlements. I would laugh, but I can't.• This week Michele rose at dawn every morning specially to watch Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, on Sky Three: "Then trudged across freezing Hampstead Heath doing exactly what he said and trying to be Pack Leader, which means a complete personality overhaul, but it still isn't quite working, and now the programmes are over, so that's me done for."guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

To make an upbeat speech about the British economy on a bleak January morning in the midst of a painful and deepening financial crisis might seem a task reserved to the recklessly optimistic. Today, David Cameron attempted such a speech, determined to leaven his stern critique of Gordon Brown's economic policies with "the vision thing".As Cameron's Conservatives become more trenchant in their criticism of what Cameron termed "Labour's debt crisis", the edict has gone out that Tories must not appear to revel in the political opportunities provided by the downturn. And the media-savvy Conservative leader knows that audiences will turn away from a negative message. They want to hear some good news.Justifiably, they also want to know if – and how – a Conservative government would handle things differently. So what is the vision for Britain that Cameron is sketching out? Not exactly utopian, he describes it as "an economy where government and its citizens live within their means, save for a rainy day, waste not and want not". It's also "a better balanced economy where we spread ownership and opportunity" and where we "work to live, not live to work". In other words, there's more to life than money, cherish what you have and don't expect a return to the days of high living and high spending.To set us on the path to this new Britain, Cameron – sensibly enough – proposes some tax incentives for savers (abolishing basic rate tax for savings) and relief for pensioners (a £2,000 increase in their tax allowance). These are the two large groups whose financial security is damaged by the savage cuts in interest rates that the government and the monetary policy committee seem to consider the tool to get lending moving again (though with little evidence of success so far). The Tory proposals will win plaudits from "justice for savers" campaigners, not least in the right-leaning press.Importantly, they provide specific examples of Tory tax cuts aimed at restoring a savings culture, in sharp contrast to the government's spend now, pay later approach.The modest nature of the tax cuts makes it relatively easy for the Tories to claim that they will be paid for by restraining spending growth to 1% in all departments except NHS, education, defence and international development.Cameron's reference to "2009 spending", however, makes it unclear whether he is promising future Tory restraint or simply recommending government action for the year in hand, and this needs to be spelt out. So, a little cheer for most of us and a few signposts to the spending restraint, tax cuts and good housekeeping that Cameron believes would characterise a future Conservative government. Good as far as it goes, but it seems all too likely that the package will be overtaken by events. I suspect it will not be long before Brown is compelled to announce his own real-time spending cuts, as it will become impossible for him to sustain the illusion that public sector Britain can grow while commercial Britain implodes. As Cameron rightly pointed out yesterday, it's "back to the 70s" (or worse) for the government. The Conservatives are whistling the first few bars of the tune to help us out of this mess but their vision needs to spell out much more clearly the shape of a Britain where the public sector is small enough to live within the means of its revenue-producing citizens.David CameronEconomic policyConservativesGordon BrownTaxSavingsRecessionguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Rock guitarist Dorian Cox on suffering a stroke at 27

When it comes to dieting, there is something very interesting - and actually quite satisfying - about the Christmas and new year period, containing, as it does, the binge and purge impulse in microcosm. First comes Christmas, its table heaving with gustatory delights - the mince pies, cheap chocolates, and multiple roast potatoes we would naturally have struggled to avoid in previous months. In late December the warning bells in our head are replaced by the sound of Noddy Holder yelling "It's Christmas!", giving us the perfect licence to suck down more brandy butter.The bloating that results is less worrying than usual, because we know it's the ideal prelude to the next phase, the era signalled by the bells striking new year, when we put down the champagne glass, pull on the tracksuit bottoms, and convince ourselves we can become a new person. We will work harder, eat less, eschew alcohol. Eventually we will shed our winter skin, and emerge blinking into the sunlight, renewed, revived, redeemed. Of course, this time of year is also a chance to look back and ask: did I achieve everything I wanted to last year? Did I lose as much weight as I would have liked? No. But I am lighter than last year. Did I get as fit as I would have liked? No. But I am fitter. I didn't succeed, but I edged in the right direction.Thinking about this reminded me of when I was 17. I had just been turned down by a good university, and a mentor sent me a card with a Samuel Beckett quote: "Try again. Fail again. Fail better." I was mortified. What on earth was he trying to say? That I would keep on failing? That this was the start of a long losing trajectory? At that age, I couldn't understand that, on some level, we always fail. Now I do, and it's comforting. In trying to be healthier, stronger and happier, none of us will be perfect this year - perhaps you've already fallen a bit short of your new year aspirations. If we can fail a little better, though, that might just be enough.Health & wellbeingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds