'Tough choices' for UK broadband

Taking fibre to street cabinets is the cheapest option

The cost of taking fibre-based broadband to every UK home could top £28.8bn, says a report.

Compiled by the government's broadband advisory group, the report details the cost of the different ways to wire the UK for next generation broadband.

Another option, to take the fibres to street-level boxes, would only cost £5.1bn, it said.

Big differences in the cost of updating urban and rural net access will pose difficult choices, says the report.

High costs

In a statement Antony Walker, chief executive of the Broadband Stakeholder Group which drew up the report, said: "The scale of the costs involved means that the transition to superfast broadband will be challenging."

"We hope that this report will help to ensure an informed public debate on the key policy and regulatory decisions that lie ahead," he said.

The BSG report looks at the three most likely options for using fibre to boost the speed of the UK's broadband networks.

The cheapest option, at £5.1bn, is to take fibre only to the familiar street-level cabinets that act as a connection point between homes and exchanges. Beyond the cabinet to the home existing copper cables would be used. The BSG estimates that this system would permit speeds of 30-100 Megabits per second (Mbps).

The other two options involve taking fibre to homes via a shared or dedicated cable.

The BSG puts a £25.5bn price tag on the shared option which would see a small number of homes sharing the 2.5 Gigabits per second capacity of each line.

Giving every home or business its own dedicated cable is the most expensive option, said the BSG, and could cost up to £28.8bn. But it would mean each home would get up to 1Gbps.

But, warned the report, even these relatively simple choices conceal stark differences in the cost of taking fibre to different parts of the country.

For instance, it said that the high price of the cheapest option for fibre is already far higher than the amount telecoms firms have already spent cabling up the UK.

Also, it noted, taking fibre to homes in rural areas costs disproportionate amounts of money - essentially the more isolated a home the more it costs to take fibre to it.

The BSG estimates that getting fibre to the cabinets near the first 58% of households could cost about £1.9bn. The next 26% would cost about £1.4bn and the final 16% would cost £1.8bn.

The disparity in costs meant the UK faced some tough choices, said Mr Walker.

However, he added, enthusiasm for the take-up of broadband could make taking it to rural areas more palatable for telecoms firms.

"If operators could achieve a higher level of take-up in rural areas than we have predicted in our study, then the business case for deployment in those areas could improve significantly", said Mr Walker.

Balls hints at end to Sats tests

Test results were long awaited The Sats tests could end next year, Schools Secretary Ed Balls has hinted. They may be replaced by assessments tailored to the ability of each child, he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. The national tests are taken by about one million children aged seven, 11 and 14 across England each May, but this year's marking was a "fiasco", he said. A five-year contract with ETS Europe was scrapped after it failed to get papers marked in time, and the next contract will be for one year only. "The current system is not set in stone," said Mr Balls. "We are looking currently at a way in which we could assess progress child by child with individual level tests where the tests would be chosen in a way which was right for the child, rather than everybody doing the same test on the same day. "For 2009, we are going to do the same kind of tests as in previous years before the problems with ETS, but for the long term I am really keen to get this right, to listen." Inquiry The new exams would still be marked externally, Mr Balls added, at least for children leaving primary school. ETS apologised to pupils, parents and schools for the delays, which meant some pupils began their summer holidays without knowing their marks. But it maintained quality of marking was not affected. An independent inquiry into the delays is due to report back in the autumn.

Unions demand public pay protest

Council workers walked out in July over pay

The TUC is facing increasing pressure to organise a major protest campaign against the government's public sector pay policy.

Seven unions are supporting the motion which will be debated at the TUC's annual conference in Brighton later.

They say expecting workers to accept 2% pay rises at a time of rapidly rising inflation is "unfair and unjust".

One controversial amendment calls on the TUC to go further and organise a public sector-wide national strike.

The demand comes from the Prison Officers' Association - many of whose members staged an unofficial walkout last year.

The TUC agreed that the pay policy was wrong - but said the POA's demands were illegal, as they were political rather than based on a particular dispute.

'Financial hardship'

Unions who have gathered in Brighton for the conference have long been furious at the Treasury's 2% pay package, which ministers say is needed to keep inflation down.

But they now argue that rising fuel and food prices make it even more unacceptable.

We would expect the TUC not to dodge away from this Brian Caton Prison Officers' Association

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has already decided to ballot its 270,000 members over industrial action.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "Faced with pay cuts, pay freezes and increasing financial hardship, civil and public servants will not tolerate the government's approach to pay, which is disproportionately hitting some of the lowest-paid in the economy."

A TUC conference motion, proposed by Unison and the PCS, calls for "days of action including a major national demonstration against the government's pay policy".

But prison officers' leaders say this does not go far enough and have tabled an amendment calling for a series of strikes across the public sector.

'Very strange'

Prison Officers' Association general secretary Brian Caton told the BBC: "The TUC should work towards protecting the vast majority of its members who work in the public sector.

"We would expect the TUC not to dodge away from this."

Mr Caton said he found it "very strange" that other union leaders had not backed his call for a public sector-wide strike.

Nano car plant protest suspended

The protesters described the agreement as big victory

Opposition groups in the Indian state of West Bengal who have been blocking construction work at a Tata Motors plant have suspended their protests.

The move came after the state government promised to return some land at the plant site that is owned by the government.

Tata Motors stopped work last week on the plant where it plans to build the Nano, the world's cheapest car.

Tata had threatened to move production elsewhere if the protests continued.

"The government has taken the decision to respond to the demand of those farmers who have not received compensation," said Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the governor of West Bengal.

'Big victory'

Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the main opposition Trinamul Congress party leading the protests, described the agreement as a big victory.

A committee is to decide the details of the land return next week.

Tata did not take part in the talks between the West Bengal government and the protesters.

The government agreed to return the maximum possible land within the plant site outside Calcutta to "unwilling farmers" who were against acquisition of their farms.

The opposition groups, led by the Trinamul Congress party, agreed to the government's proposal to provide the rest from around the plant site.

Tata Motors, India's biggest vehicle makers, will retain 650 acres of land for the plant. The ancillary factories for the plant will get the 290 acres allotted to them.

West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya said that the government had some land inside the plant site where it had planned some commercial parks and a green patch.

"That land may be given to the farmers," he said.

The West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi said the agreement was a "victory for all, for industry and agriculture, for the government and the opposition".

Tata had faced violent protests and political opposition over the acquisition of farmland for the factory in Singur in the state of West Bengal.

Tata's owner, Ratan Tata, has said he will consider moving production of the Nano out of West Bengal if unrest around the plant continues.

Tata plans to launch the Nano later this year, priced at about $2,500 (£1,370) from the plant in West Bengal.

India's rapid industrialization in recent years has been the backbone of the country's strong economic growth.

But this process has provoked a backlash since the majority of Indians still earn their living off the land.

The policy of creating special economic zones to attract new investment has provided a focal point for the anger of poorer, rural families who rely on their land for food and income.

German FM to run for chancellor

Opinion polls indicate the SPD are lagging far behind their CDU rivals

Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) have chosen Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as candidate for chancellor in next year's federal election.

The choice means he will run against the current chancellor, Angela Merkel, of the Christian Democrats (CDU).

Mr Steinmeier is the foreign minister and vice-chancellor in the "grand coalition" of the SPD and CDU in Ms Merkel's government.

Polls indicate the SPD is far behind the CDU in voter opinion.

The SPD has lost support in recent years to the Left Party, made up of defectors from the SPD and communists from the former East Germany.

In a party shake-up, former SPD chairman Franz Muentefering was chosen by party officials to resume the role after Kurt Beck announced his resignation.

"The party needs strong leadership and a strong centre and I believe that today's decision sets the course for this," Mr Steinmeier said after the party's meeting.

He served as chief of staff in Gerhard Schroeder's ruling coalition with the Greens from 1998-2005.

After the 2005 elections left neither the CDU nor the SPD with enough votes to form a government, he became foreign minister in the coalition the two parties formed.

Key wins for Hong Kong opposition

Pro-democracy candidates Emily Lau of Frontier Party celebrates

Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp has won more than a third of seats in elections on the island, and so retains a key veto over future major legislation.

Final results show the pro-democracy opposition won 23 out of 60 seats in the Legislative Council of the Chinese-administered but autonomous territory.

Only 30 of the 60 seats in the council are directly elected - the other 30 are allocated to special interest groups.

Hong Kong's election process is said to be the most open anywhere in China.

There had been predictions of heavy losses for the pro-democracy camp and some candidates issued statements on Sunday saying the situation was critical. Others were in tears, expecting to lose.

The BBC's Vaudine England in Hong Kong says analysts had believed pro-government parties would make significant gains after the surge in pro-China patriotism sparked by the Beijing Olympics and the Sichuan earthquake.

China had also promised the region some form of universal suffrage by 2017, blunting the democratic camp's campaign.

Pro-business resignation

Leading figures such as Emily Lau, Audrey Eu and Leung Kwok-hung, also known as Longhair, each fought off stiff competition to keep their seat.

The pro-government party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, or DAB, has also done well, thanks to its strong organisation.

And the pro-China independent Regina Ip won her seat.

But the pro-business Liberal party leader, James Tien lost his, and has resigned.

US takes over key mortgage firms

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are central to the US housing market

US President George Bush says mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have been taken over because they posed "an unacceptable risk" to the economy.

The two companies account for nearly half of the outstanding mortgages in the US, and have lost billions of dollars during the US housing crash.

The most recent figures show about 9% of US homeowners were behind on their payments or faced repossession.

The federal takeover is one of the largest bail-outs in US history.

It was announced on Sunday by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

"Putting these companies on sound financial footing, and reforming their business practices, is critical to the health of our financial system," President Bush said.

"The actions taken today are temporary, and will support housing finance in the near term."

'Comprehensive action'

As part of the changes, the management of the two companies will be replaced while the firms will be given access to extra funding to support their business going forward.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the government was intervening in the wider interests of the financial system and of taxpayers since the financial position of the two firms was fast deteriorating.

A failure of either of them would create great turmoil in financial markets here and around the globe Henry Paulson on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

He added that the two firms' debt levels posed a "systemic risk" to financial stability and that, without action, the situation would get worse.

"We examined all options available and determined this comprehensive and complementary set of actions best met the objectives of market stability, mortgage availability and taxpayer protection," he said.

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would create great turmoil in financial markets here and around the globe."

US treasury statement on the future of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

The move is intended to keep the two companies afloat, amid fears that either could go bankrupt as borrowers default on their home loans.

The two firms will be administered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency until their long-term future is decided.

The Congressional Budget Office has said such a move could cost up to $25bn but Mr Paulson said there was no reason why taxpayers should have to directly foot the bill.

Funding guarantee

Together, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae own or guarantee about $5.3 trillion (£3 trillion) of mortgages.

But they have made a combined loss of about $14bn in the past year and officials were worried that they would no longer be able to continue functioning if such losses continued.

PESTON'S PICKS For the US Treasury, the bailout could turn out to be one of the most expensive financial rescues in history

The Treasury's funding guarantees to the two firms - which will include it buying up high-risk mortgage backed securities used to fund the mortgage market - will last until the end of 2009.

During that period, neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac will be able to make any payments to their shareholders.

But Mr Paulson warned that the move was only a short-term "stabilisation" exercise.

He said it would be up to Congress to agree proposals to reform the two firms and address their "pervasive weaknesses".

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said he "strongly endorsed" the proposals to ensure the two firms remained financially sound.

"These necessary steps will help to strengthen the US housing market and promote stability in our financial markets," he said.

Banks around the world are highly exposed to the two companies and therefore, given the febrile state of markets across the world, it had become dangerous for doubts to persist about whether they were viable and would be able to keep up the payments on their massive liabilities, says the BBC's business editor Robert Peston.

A rescue plan passed by Congress in July gave the US government the authority to offer unlimited liquidity to the two companies, and to buy their shares, in order to keep them afloat.

Angolan MPLA set for big poll win

Voting was delayed in some areas Angola's ruling MPLA party is heading for a landslide victory in the country's first parliamentary elections in 16 years, preliminary results show. With around half of the votes counted, the MPLA had received 81% of the vote, the electoral commission said. It said the main opposition party, Unita, had polled 10%. Unita is demanding a re-run in Luanda, saying the voting in the capital was chaotic. An African observer mission said the elections had been credible. This poll is seen as a vital step in the oil-rich country's recovery from decades of civil war. Fourteen parties took part in the elections. Full results are not expected for up to 10 days. 'Bad losers' Polling was extended after chaos on Friday prevented many people in Luanda province from casting their vote. Some polling stations opened late and others quickly ran out of ballot papers. Unita (the Union for the Total Independence of Angola) is now challenging the legality of the poll in the constitutional court. The party's leader, Isaias Samakuva, said the system in Luanda had collapsed. The Sadc mission congratulates the people of Angola on peaceful, free, transparent and credible elections which reflect the will of the people John Kunene, Sadc observer mission Ngola Kabangu, who heads the opposition FNLA party, said the election was extremely flawed. The MPLA (the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) has branded Unita "bad losers" and is already claiming victory, the BBC's Louise Redvers in Luanda says. Population shifts in some provinces due to the long-running civil war have added to Unita's woes, with the MPLA winning majorities in traditionally strong opposition areas, our correspondent says. Observers from the regional grouping, Southern African Development Community (Sadc), said the vote had been "transparent and credible". "The Sadc mission congratulates the people of Angola on peaceful, free, transparent and credible elections which reflect the will of the people," John Kunene of the observer mission told the AFP news agency. Luisa Morgantini, head of the EU observer mission in Angola, blamed "woeful organisation" for the problems and said that a failure to provide voter registration lists at polling stations was a violation of the country's electoral laws. She added that some election officials had failed to show up at some polling stations, and that there was a shortage of the ink used to mark voters' fingers and prevent multiple voting. In the lead up to the election, Unita accused the MPLA of intimidating its supporters and dominating state media. Some eight million voters are registered in the country - more than a quarter of whom live in the capital's overcrowded conditions. The MPLA has ruled Angola since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

First Grand Slam Final For Murray

Andy Murray could become the first British man to win a Grand Slam in more than 70 years, after reaching the final of the US Open.

Murray's relief as he clinched victory in the semi-final

The Scot will face Roger Federer in the final, which gets under way in New York at 10pm BST.

The 21-year-old will attempt to become the first British man to win one of the four major tournaments since Fred Perry took the US Open title back in 1936.

Murray made the first Grand Slam final of his career with victory over world No 1 Rafael Nadal in a rain-interrupted semi-final.

After the 6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4 victory in swirling winds, he said: "I just had to hang in there. I'm going to have to play great if I'm going to win now."

Reacting to his win,Murry launched into his trademark celebration by showing his biceps.

He later revealed that the move was a tribute to his favourite actor Will Ferrell - who was among the crowd in the Arthur Ashe Stadium cheering for the British No 1.

The Prime Minister stayed up late at home to watch the conclusion of Murray's semi-final, which resumed on Sunday night after a rain break.

Gordon Brown sent his fellow Scot a good luck message and added: "It was a fabulous performance by Andy Murray and a fantastic victory."

In his home town of Dunblane, Murray's grandmother Shirley Erskine said she was "over the moon".

She said: "I am just so proud of him, I thought it was absolutely amazing.

"He is in with the big boys now, but he has nothing to fear because he has beaten Federer before. If he goes out and plays as he did with Nadal he'll be fine."