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France Telecom gets Orange boost Strong growth in subscriptions to mobile phone network Orange has helped boost profits at owner France Telecom. Orange added more than five million new customers in 2004, leading to a 10% increase in its revenues. Increased take-up of broadband telecoms services also boosted France Telecom's profits, which showed a 5.5% rise to 18.3bn euros ($23.4bn; £12.5bn). France Telecom is to spend 578m euros on buying out minority shareholders in data services provider Equant. France Telecom, one of the world's largest telecoms and internet service providers, saw its full-year sales rise 2.2% to 47.2bn euros in 2004. Orange enjoyed strong growth outside France and the United Kingdom - its core markets - swelling its subscriber base to 5.4 million. France Telecom's broadband customers also increased, rising to 5.1 million across Europe by the end of the year. The firm said it had met its main strategic objectives of growing its individual businesses and further reducing its large debt. An ill-fated expansion drive in the late 1990s saw France Telecom's debt soar to 72bn euros by 2002. However, this has now been reduced to 43.9bn euros. "Our results for 2004 allow us to improve our financial structure while focusing on the innovation that drives our strategy," said chief executive Thierry Breton. Looking ahead, the company forecast like-for-like sales growth of between 3% and 5% over the next three years. France Telecom is consolidating its interest in Equant, which provides telecoms and data services to businesses. Subject to approval by shareholders of the two firms, it will buy the shares in Equant it does not already own. France Telecom said it would fund the deal by selling an 8% stake in telephone directory company PagesJaunes.

U2 to play at Grammy awards show Irish rock band U2 are to play live at the Grammy Awards presentation in the US next month, organisers have said. Other acts to play include soul singer Alicia Keys, country singer Tim McGraw and punk band Green Day at the event on 13 February in Los Angeles. U2 are nominated twice for their recent single Vertigo, including a nomination for best rock song. This year the Grammys have been dominated by rap star Kanye West, who is in contention for 10 awards. US comedian Ellen Degeneres and singer Christine Milian will present awards at the event. Last week Grammy producers announced the show will be hosted by rap star and Chicago actress Queen Latifah. It will be held at the Staples Center. U2 had number one success in the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic in November when their latest studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, topped the US and UK charts. The band, who are also dominated for best international album at this year's Brit Awards, are to undertake a major world tour this year, their first for four years.

Arnesen denies rift with Santini Tottenham sporting director Frank Arnesen has denied that coach Jacques Santini resigned because of a clash of personalities at White Hart Lane. There had been newspaper speculation that Santini had felt undermined by Arnesen's role at the club. "It is absolutely not true," Arnesen told BBC Radio Five Live. "There is only one thing that made him resign and that is his own personal problems. "He has talked to me recently and said this matter is absolutely for himself." Arnesen said he was unable to throw any light onto the problems that caused Santini to quit after just 13 games in charge. He added: "Jacques has never gone into exactly what it was. But I trust him in that; you have to accept it. I think we should respect it. "The plan is now that over the weekend we will have talks with the board and then on Monday we will clarify the situation." Arnesen countered criticism at the timing of the announcement, coming less than 24 hours before Tottenham's Premiership fixture with Charlton. "When it comes down to personal problems, I don't think we should talk about timing," he said. And he also denied reports that Santini had been given a £3m pay-off. "That is absolute nonsense. He is the one who said 'I will go' and so he went'", said the Spurs sporting director. Tottenham's structure of having a sporting director working alongside a coach is based on a continental model and Arnesen sees no reason why they should change it. "I have confidence in this structure. I am confident that we have started something here in July and I still have a lot of confidence in Tottenham and what we are doing," he said. However, former Spurs and England defender Gary Stevens said he would not be surprised if the system had caused a rift. "I think the problems go a lot deeper, between the director of football at White Hart Lane and Santini," Stevens told Five Live. "On paper they could have worked together. But Frank Arnesen was a very creative, forward-thinking and expansive player - whereas I think Santini was very much the opposite, more a case of being organised, disciplined and happy not conceding goals. "That sort of arrangement can work if the two people have the same principles and ideals and work very closely. But it seems that has not happened."

US woman sues over cartridges A US woman is suing Hewlett Packard (HP), saying its printer ink cartridges are secretly programmed to expire on a certain date. The unnamed woman from Georgia says that a chip inside the cartridge tells the printer that it needs re-filling even when it does not. The lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the US who has purchased an HP inkjet printer since February 2001. HP, the world's biggest printer firm, declined to comment on the lawsuit. HP ink cartridges use a chip technology to sense when they are low on ink and advise the user to make a change. But the suit claims the chips also shut down the cartridges at a predetermined date regardless of whether they are empty. "The smart chip is dually engineered to prematurely register ink depletion and to render a cartridge unusable through the use of a built-in expiration date that is not revealed to the consumer," the suit said. The lawsuit is asking for restitution, damages and other compensation. The cost of printer cartridges has been a contentious issue in Europe for the last 18 months. The price of inkjet printers has come down to as little as £34 but it could cost up to £1,700 in running costs over an 18-month period due to cartridge, a study by Computeractive Magazine revealed last year. The inkjet printer market has been the subject of an investigation by the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which concluded in a 2002 report that retailers and manufacturers needed to make pricing more transparent for consumers.

Manics in charge of BBC 6 Music The Manic Street Preachers are to take over the helm of BBC digital radio station 6 Music for a week in December. The Welsh band, whose hits include Design For Life and If You Tolerate This, have already chosen which records to play between 6 and 12 December. Their albums of the day include Who's Next by The Who and U2's Joshua Tree. The group will also perform their own live session. They follow in the footsteps of Radiohead, who took over the station for a week last year. Bass player Nicky Wire will join Phil Jupitus on his morning show on Monday 6 December, while vocalist and guitarist James Dean Bradfield will appear on Andrew Collins' afternoon show on Thursday 9. The group have also chosen documentaries to air, such as The Leonard Cohen Story and Guitar Greats - Jimmy Page. The live concert session tracks they have picked include The Specials' Rat Race recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London and Public Enemy's Fight The Power and Rebel Without A Pause. The band will also answer questions e-mailed in by 6 Music listeners.

Kennedy predicts bigger turnout Voters' "pent up passion" could confound predictions of a low turnout in the coming general election, Charles Kennedy has said. The Liberal Democrat leader predicted concerns over Iraq and other international and domestic issue would express themselves during the campaign. His comments come as an inquiry looks at how best to boost voter turnouts. Ex-foreign secretary Robin Cook said people were not apathetic but fed up of "pager politics" and not being heard. He, like Mr Kennedy, pointed to the hundreds of thousands of people who demonstrated against plans for the Iraq war. Mr Cook, who is giving evidence to the Power inquiry into voter turnout rates, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme it was not fair to blame the public who were "more interested in politics than ever before". "They are turned off by the way we do politics in Britain. There's a message there for politicians." He urged politicians to avoid negative campaigning and to "speak more from the heart". "We should be not so afraid to say what we stand for." He also criticised the cult of personality politics: "There's far too much interest in celebrities. "Politics are in danger of becoming another branch of the celebrity industry." The government has tried a number of things in an attempt to boost voter turnout, which fell to 59% in the last general election in 2001. This has included bringing in directly elected mayors to head local authorities and trialling postal voting.

Ryanair in $4bn Boeing plane deal Budget airline Ryanair has placed an order for 70 Boeing 737-800 planes, in a deal valued at $4bn (£2.1bn) which should lead to 2,500 new Ryanair jobs. It also has an option for a further 70 aircraft, a move which brings the Ryanair/Boeing order book up to 225 firm orders and options on 193 more. Ryanair said the new planes would help it to cut operating costs further. The carrier reported a drop in quarterly profit earlier this year after it was hit by higher fuel costs. However, when it reported the results, the airline was upbeat about prospects for 2005, despite tough competition in the budget airline market. Ryanair chairman David Bonderman said that the 737-800 had "significantly reduced our unit operating costs and allowed us to reduce air fares each year for the last five years". "With this new order and new pricing in place, Ryanair expects that unit operating costs (excluding fuel) will continue to fall each year for the next five years," he added. At the end of this year, Ryanair will have taken delivery of about 100 new planes, while the 70 new orders are due for delivery between 2008 and 2012. The airline said that when all these planes have been delivered, it will be able to carry more than 70 million passengers a year, making it Europe's largest airline. About 2,500 new jobs should be created in the next seven years, it added. The order can be seen as good news for Boeing, which in recent years has been overtaken by European plane maker Airbus as the world's biggest-selling plane maker.

Game warnings 'must be clearer' Violent video games should carry larger warnings so parents can understand what their children are playing, the trade and industry secretary has said. Patricia Hewitt is expected to call for the law banning the sale of 18-rated games to children to be enforced better at a games industry meeting on Sunday. She is concerned too many children are playing games aimed at adults which include "high levels of violence". Parents are expected to spend millions on video games as Christmas presents. Violent games have been hit by controversy after the game Manhunt was blamed by the parents of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah, who was stabbed to death in Leicester in February. His mother, Giselle, said her son's killer, Warren Leblanc, 17 - who was jailed for life in September - had mimicked behaviour in the game. Police investigating the Stefan's murder dismissed its influence and Manhunt was not part of its legal case. Ahead of Sunday's meeting in London, Ms Hewitt said she was proud of the UK's "vibrant games industry" but was concerned too many children were playing games which should only be sold to adults. Roger Bennett, head of gaming industry body ELSPA, said banning violent games would be wrong. He said: "We don't want to go down that route. We have seen that the government is supportive of the industry." The government is holding a further meeting on Friday with industry and retail representatives as well as the British Board of Film Classification to discuss how labelling can be made clearer. Ms Hewitt said: "Adults should be treated as adults and children as children. It is important that retailers respect the classifications and do not sell games with high levels of violence to minors. "Equally parents need to know what they might be buying for their children. "Video games are different to films or videos, and not all parents have grown up playing games in the way our children do. "We need to look carefully at how we improve content warnings and strengthen sales enforcement." Her call was backed by Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell who said: "You wouldn't let your child watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You wouldn't let them go to a strip club. "So you shouldn't let them play an 18-rated game. It's the same principle - adults can make their own informed choices, but children can't always and need to be protected." Anyone convicted of selling an 18-rated game to a child can be jailed for six months and fined up to £5,000. Rockstar Games, the makers of Manhunt, has said in the past it markets its games responsibly and only targets its adverts at adults.

Blair ready to call election Tony Blair seems certain to end weeks of phoney war on Monday and announce there will be a general election on 5 May. The date has been pencilled into the diaries of politicians and political journalists for many months and, despite occasional panics that the prime minister was on the verge of calling a snap poll, it has not shifted. Over the weeks, there have been any number of signs that 050505 was going to be the day Mr Blair would go for an historic third term. And the calling of a special political cabinet meeting has only added to the belief that the announcement is imminent. The prime minister and his campaign boss Alan Milburn have already insisted the election will be fought on the economy and what they claim is a stark choice between Labour's stability and investment against Tory cuts and boom and bust. And Chancellor Gordon Brown has stepped into the front line of the campaign - to the relief of many of his supporters in Westminster - to underline that economic message. And it is certain one of the big arguments at the centre of the election battle will be around the big parties' tax and spend policies. During the phoney campaign, Labour got into trouble over its central claim that Michael Howard was planning £35 bn cuts in public services. The prime minister found himself struggling to explain how a smaller, slower increase in spending planned by the Tories compared to Labour's plans was a cut. And it looked like the Labour campaign - which was already being criticised for being thrown into defensive mode by Mr Howard on issues such as immigration and health - was on the rocks. Then deputy Conservative Chairman Howard Flight was reported to have suggested Mr Howard was secretly planning even bigger "cuts". He was sacked for his gaffe, but the damage had been done and the faltering Labour campaign was back on track. A second central argument will be over taxation, with the Tories claiming the Chancellor has to fill a black hole at the centre of his finances and will be forced to raise taxes if Labour wins again. Mr Brown slaps that aside, claiming his forecasts are accurate and that previous claims of looming economic disaster have proved inaccurate. As usual, the Liberal Democrats will have to fight to get their voice heard over the sounds of battle between the two big parties. But leader Charles Kennedy believes he has set out a distinctive manifesto with plans for a tax rise for the wealthiest to finance extra spending and the abolition of the council tax in favour of a local income tax. Other issues are certain to play a part - immigration and asylum, the war on Iraq, law and order and education, for example. But, as ever, it will be the economy that will almost certainly decide the outcome. And, whatever that outcome, 2005 is set to be a far more lively, even bitter campaign than 2001's non-event.

Mourinho expects fight to finish Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho expects the Champions League clash with Barcelona to be a fight to the finish. Mourinho is relishing the first leg of the tie against his former club in the last 16 in the Nou Camp. He said: "I wouldn't be surprised if nothing had been decided by the last minute of the return leg and the match had to go into extra time. "I have to defend what is mine and the Champions League is mine at the moment. I'm the last manager to have won it." Mourinho never coached Barcelona, assisting both Sir Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal. But he is not envious, insisting: "I don't have to be jealous about Barcelona because they have 100 years of history and have won the European Cup once. "I have been managing for five years and I have the same amount of Champions League trophies to my name." Barcelona star Ronaldinho admitted: "I think that it is going to be a difficult match for us because Chelsea have a good team full of big stars. "I have seen Chelsea a few times on television, tactically they are very good and they are very strong on the counter-attack. "They pressure very well and keep possession of the ball so it will be important that we play our own game. "I believe they are the two strongest teams in Europe. Nevertheless, Barcelona are accustomed to playing big games at the Nou Camp, where they have to face the likes of Real Madrid each season. "It is a special game, the atmosphere in the city changes, there are lots of journalists but inside the dressing room there is not a lot of difference," Ronaldinho added. "We are only thinking of winning the match with all respect to the opposition."

India power shares jump on debut Shares in India's largest power producer, National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) have risen 13% on their stock market debut. The government's partial sell-off of NTPC is part of a controversial programme to privatise state-run firms. The 865 million share offer, a mix of new shares and sales by the government, raised 54bn rupees($1.2bn). It was India's second $1bn stock debut in three months, coming after the flotation by software firm Tata. The share offer was eleven times oversubscribed. "It is a good investment bet," said Suhas Naik, an investment analyst from ING Mutual Fund. "Power needs in India are set to rise and NTPC will benefit from that." Analysts say the success of the NTPC flotation would encourage the government to reduce stakes in more power companies. NTPC has said it will use the money from the share sale to feed the growing needs of the country's energy-starved economy. The firm is the largest utility company in India, and the sixth largest power producer in the world.

Critics back Aviator for Oscars Martin Scorsese's The Aviator will win best film at the Oscars, according to the UK's leading movie critics. But several of those surveyed by the BBC News website think the veteran film-maker will lose the best director prize to Clint Eastwood. Most of the critics tipped Jamie Foxx and Hilary Swank to scoop best actor and actress for Ray and Million Dollar Baby respectively. The jury comprised experts and critics from the top UK film publications. The panel also revealed which nominees they would personally prefer to win. All expect The Aviator to win best film, but many think it will be a close race between Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic and Eastwood's boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. The other films nominated are wine comedy Sideways, factual drama Finding Neverland, and Ray Charles biopic Ray. "I'm pretty sure this is the year of The Aviator, though my own choice would be Sideways," said the Observer's Philip French. "Sideways should win but it doesn't have a hope," said Jamie Graham of Total Film, a position shared by Film 2005 presenter Jonathan Ross. "The form going in to the Oscars points to The Aviator, but I liked Million Dollar Baby more," said Tim Dams, news editor of trade weekly Screen International. Five of the eight critics tipped Scorsese to win best director, with Mr Dams, Heat's Charles Gant and Empire's Angie Errigo plumping for Eastwood. Sideway's Alexander Payne, Ray's Taylor Hackford and British director Mike Leigh - nominated for period drama Vera Drake - are considered outsiders in this category. "Up until recently I could have sworn Scorsese would get it just for being Scorsese," Ms Errigo told the BBC News website. "But I'm beginning to think Eastwood will get it." "I'd be very happy for Mike Leigh to win, but I don't think he has any chance," said Charles Gant, film editor of Heat. Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles has already seen him win prizes at the Golden Globes, Baftas and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Mr Dams said this made him "out-and-out favourite" to be named best actor on Oscar night. "Everyone would be incredibly surprised if he didn't win," he said. "If you're a betting man, he's as close as you get to a certainty." "If Paul Giamatti was nominated for Sideways it would be a different game," says Total Film's Jamie Graham. "But Foxx will and should win." With Vera Drake star Imelda Staunton nominated for best actress alongside Kate Winslet, Britain has a good chance of victory - on paper. Jonathan Ross, for one, will be very happy if Winslet wins for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But while Wendy Ide of The Times still thinks Staunton has a chance, Heat's Charles Gant believes her Bafta win will cut little ice with Academy voters. "I'd like Staunton to win, but her chances are not that great," said Mr Gant, who predicted a second Oscar for Hilary Swank. "I think Swank will win," said Mr French. "Imelda has got as far as she's going to get playing that role." Staunton is also the personal choice of Steven Gaydos, executive editor of industry magazine Variety. But while he tipped Swank to win, he predicted it would be a close contest. "Everything has the ability to flip by one vote and go the other way," he told the BBC News website. "There's not a sense that it's obvious how it's going to go." Meanwhile, thousands of people have voted in a BBC Radio Five Live poll to find the best film never to have won a best picture Oscar. The audience voted overwhelmingly for The Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 Frank Darabont tale of hope and humanity, which received 52% of the online votes and 68% of the text messages. The other two finalists, Citizen Kane and A Matter of Life and Death split the remaining votes roughly equally. This year's Academy Awards will be shown in the UK by Sky Movies 1 at 0130 GMT on Monday. - Tim Dams, Screen International: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Angie Errigo, Empire: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Philip French, The Observer: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Charles Gant, Heat: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Steven Gaydos, Variety: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Jamie Graham, Total Film: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Wendy Ide, The Times: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Jonathan Ross, Film 2005: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Tim Dams, Screen International: Film - Million Dollar Baby; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Angie Errigo, Empire: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Philip French, The Observer: Film - Sideways; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Charles Gant, Heat: Film - Sideways; director - Mike Leigh; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Steven Gaydos, Variety: Film - Million Dollar Baby; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Don Cheadle; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Jamie Graham, Total Film: Film - Sideways; director - Alexander Payne; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Wendy Ide, The Times: Film - Sideways; director - Alexander Payne; actor - Don Cheadle; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Jonathan Ross, Film 2005: Film - Sideways; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Kate Winslet.