Highlights - Afridi inspires Pakistan to victory (UK users only)

Shahid Afridi put in a stirring all-round performance as Pakistan toppled tournament favourites South Africa in the first World Twenty20 semi-final.

Afridi blitzed 51 off 34 balls and then removed batsmen Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers in his first two overs to pick up terrific figures of 2-16.

And although Pakistan’s 149-4 did not look enough, South Africa eventually finished seven runs adrift on 142-5.

Jacques Kallis hit a valiant 64 off 54 balls but there was scant support.

After the agonies of their failed World Cup campaigns in the 50-over format in 1999, 2003 and 2007, South Africa had again failed to do justice to their talents when it really mattered.

They had gone into the Trent Bridge showdown unbeaten in the tournament, while Pakistan had played dreadfully in their opener - losing by 48 runs to England - and had also been comfortably beaten by Sri Lanka.

There were times when South Africa had the upper hand, particularly towards the end of Pakistan’s innings and in the early stages of their chase. But Afridi’s spell changed everything - and Umar Gul’s yorkers at the business end of the contest closed the deal.

Pakistan’s batsmen blazed away freely early on and after the second ball of the third over had advanced to a dangerous 28-1.

Kallis batted beautifully but the support was not there

But Kamran Akmal perished after an explosive 23, top-edging Dale Steyn to mid-on, and Shoaib Malik was a slow starter. So despite Afridi’s three boundaries, a six-over start of 47-2 was not as good as it might have been.

Four overs later, with the half the overs in the innings used up, tenacious South African fielding - and accurate bowling - had limited the score to 68-2.

But Afridi now tucked into the off-spinner Johan Botha, hitting four off-side boundaries in succession. The first three were hit inside out through the covers, with the last delicately steered past the short third-man.

It was Graeme Smith’s third spinner, and seventh bowler in all, who delivered a vital breakthrough, when Afridi attempted to mow Jean-Paul Duminy’s first ball, and top-edged meekly to midwicket.

But Duminy’s second over went for two fours, Malik depositing him over extra cover and Younus Khan, new to the crease, unfurling a delectable reverse-sweep.

Smith persisted with his first-choice spinner of three, Roelof van der Merwe, and the slow left-armer had Malik caught at long-off.

Pakistan now needed one or two really big overs at the death to take themselves up to a big score, but Younus and Abdul Razzaq had to be content with singles and the occasional two.

606: DEBATE SA was a worthy opponent and India a fine propaganda machine, but here Pakistan is out from the grave and playing like a team in form armourdaddy805

Bowling yorkers, and the occasional bouncer, Steyn and the 19-year-old Wayne Parnell produced exhibition stuff over the last four overs. None of the last 32 balls yielded a four or a six and the last five overs went for just 29.

Pakistan looked a little bit flat in the field when South Africa began their chase. Kallis was moving through the gears smoothly and Gul then failed to lay a hand on a skier offered by Smith, thumping the back of his head on the ground for good measure.

Such an error may have proved critical, but Smith top-edged another pull, and the 17-year-old left-armer Mohammad Aamer took the catch comfortably off his own bowling.

The next act of an intriguing drama came when Pakistan’s spinners took to the field, and they were admirably led by Afridi.

Gibbs failed to read a top-spinner and was clean bowled, before De Villiers, South Africa’s top batsmen in the tournament, chopped an attempted cut onto his stumps.

Kallis could no longer play within his comfort zone, with the required rate soaring and Duminy unable to get out of the blocks quickly.

South Africa needed 77 from the last seven overs, and got 10 off Gul’s first when Pakistan’s specialist death bowler did not quite hit his lines initially.

Perplexingly, Younus then opted for a seventh bowler in young Fawad Alam, but the slow left-armer was bullied for a Kallis four - and then a six - and suddenly South Africa were back in the hunt.

But Gul stormed back, with reverse-swing and yorkers aplenty, to give up just six runs in his second over, and that left 39 needed off the last three overs.

Only sixes would do now, but Kallis skied Saeed Ajmal to long-on, and the game was all but up. Gul kept Duminy and Albie Morkel to singles in the penultimate over, leaving Aamer the luxury of bowling the last with 23 wanted.

Sri Lanka are favoured to win their semi-final against West Indies at The Oval on Friday, but on the basis of this upset few will write off Chris Gayle’s men.

Prime Minister Yehude Simon (c) led talks with the tribes

Indigenous groups in Peru have called off protests after two land laws which led to deadly fighting were revoked.

Hailing victory, Amazonian Indian groups said it was an “historic day”.

At least 34 people died during weeks of strikes against the legislation, which allowed foreign companies to exploit resources in the Amazon forest.

The violence provoked tension with Peru’s neighbour, Bolivia, where President Evo Morales backed the Peruvian Indians’ tribal rights.

“This is a historic day for indigenous people because it shows that our demands and our battles were just,” said Daysi Zapata, vice president of the Amazon Indian confederation that led the protests.

She urged fellow activists to end their action by lifting blockades of jungle rivers and roads set up since April across six provinces in the Peruvian Amazon.

The controversial laws, passed to implement a free trade agreement with the US, were revoked by Peru’s Congress by a margin of 82-12 after a five-hour debate.

Diplomatic dispute

The worst of the clashes occurred on 5 June when police tried to clear roadblocks set up by the groups at Bagua, 1,000km (600 miles) north of Lima.

At least 30 civilians died, according to Indian groups, as well as 23 police.

Peru’s Prime Minister Yehude Simon said the reversal of policy would not put at risk Peru’s free trade agreement with the US, but he has said he will step down once the dispute is settled.

The dispute led to a diplomatic row between Peru and Latin American neighbours Venezuela and Bolivia.

Peru recalled its ambassador to Bolivia for consultation on Tuesday after Bolivian President Evo Morales described the deaths of the indigenous protesters as a genocide caused by free trade.

Peru’s Foreign Minister Jose Antonia Garcia Belaunde called Mr Morales an “enemy of Peru”.

Ritalin prescriptions for children have increased

Healthy people should be able to take the anti-hyperactivity drug Ritalin to boost brain power, a UK ethicist says.

Bioethics expert Professor John Harris, of the University of Manchester, said if the drug was safe for children, adults should also be able to take it.

Writing on the British Medical Journal website, he said many students were already using the drug - which is illegal without prescription in the UK.

A US expert said there were too many risks for it to be more widely used.

Ritalin, also known as methylphenidate, is given to children with ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Many doctors say it can help children control their behaviour and perform better at home and school.

If not prescribed, Ritalin is a class B drug in the UK, meaning possession can lead to a five-year prison sentence and dealing could put you behind bars for 14 years.

But there is increasing evidence that healthy adults, especially students, are using it to enhance their mental ability.

‘Synthetic sunshine’

Professor Harris said Ritalin’s benefits included enhanced study skills and concentration.

He said it was “unethical” to stop healthy people from taking the drug and that there was evidence it was safe to use.

And he added: “Safe always means safe enough and since no drugs are free of side effects, that always means the consumer has judged the risks of adverse effects worth taking, given the probable benefits.”

Professor Harris said that if it was safe for children to use Ritalin over a long period of time for a condition that was not usually life-threatening, there was no reason to prevent healthy adults using it too.

He said it was “not rational” to be against human enhancement and likened using drugs to enhance brain power to the use of “synthetic sunlight” - firelight, lamplight and electric light.

“Before synthetic sunshine people slept when it was dark and worked in the light of day.

“With the advent of synthetic sunshine, work and social life could continue into and through the night, creating competitive pressures and incentives for those able or willing to use it to their advantage.”

Pressure

But Professor Anjan Chatterjee, of the University of Pennsylvania, said there were too many risks in taking Ritalin unless a person was actually ill.

He said the US Food and Drug Administration had labelled it with a “black box” - the most alarming of possible warnings - because of its high potential for abuse, dependence, risk of sudden death and serious adverse effects on the heart.

It is not acceptable to recommend that healthy people take drugs to enhance performance Professor Anjan Chatterjee, University of Pennsylvania

Professor Chatterjee questioned whether children at top schools would take Ritalin in “epidemic proportions” and if people such as pilots, police officers and on-call doctors would be pressurised into taking the drug to perform better.

Again writing in the BMJ, he said: “Endorsing the legal non-therapeutic use of methyphenidate or other cognitive enhancers now is premature.

“The efficacy and risks of enhancers in healthy people needs to be researched adequately and this information needs to be disseminated broadly.

“Until such preparations are made, it is not acceptable to recommend that healthy people take drugs to enhance performance.”

Session hijacking could put personal details at risk

Google has been asked to explain why it is not making its Gmail e-mail service more secure.

In an open letter to Google boss Eric Schmidt, security experts, lawyers, and privacy advocates ask why Gmail users are “needlessly” being put at risk.

The 38 signatories want Google to start using the secure version of the HTTP protocol to protect Gmail users.

In response, Google said it was considering trials of the secure system with a select group of users.

Secure session

“As more of us end up using insecure internet access - such as wi-fi in coffee shops, libraries, and so forth - there’s a real risk of session hijacking,” said Ben Edelman, a signatory of the letter and assistant professor at Harvard Business School.

When users sign on to Gmail, their login name and password are encrypted as the data passes back and forth using the secure version of HTTP known as HTTPS.

However, said Mr Edelman, this is turned off once sign-on is completed. A similar system works for Google Docs and Calendar.

The risk, he said, was from hi-tech criminals who snoop on the unencrypted data passing back and forth to steal ID files called “session cookies” generated when these applications start being used.

Mr Edelman said that using the cookies could let a criminal pose as a user. In Gmail’s case, this could mean they might send e-mails in the owner’s name, abuse their identity, change a password, or hijack an account.

As data moves to the cloud more people will be at risk

“It’s a frightening prospect,” said Mr Edelman.

The open letter pointed out that Google used HTTPS to protect the data of users of its Health and Voice applications.

While Google does make it possible to use HTTPS all the time when signed on to Gmail, Docs, or Calendar the option was so hard to find that few would use it, suggested the letter.

It pointed out that most users retain default options and were likely to be leaving themselves at risk.

“…unless the security issue is well known and salient to consumers, they will not take steps to protect themselves by enabling HTTPS,” said the letter.

If Google took the step to turn on HTTPS all the time, the risks would be removed.

In response, Google said it was looking into whether it made sense to use HTTPS all the time in Gmail. But, it said, before it did so it wanted to be sure that the average user experience of Gmail was not markedly changed by turning it on.

It feared that enabling the encryption would slow down response times as data was scrambled and unscrambled on a PC and Google’s mail servers.

“We’re planning a trial in which we’ll move small samples of different types of Gmail users to HTTPS to see what their experience is, and whether it affects the performance of their e-mail,” said Google.

Mr Edelman said it was not just Google that was putting users at risk. Every webmail company faced the same problem and should do more to protect the its users .

He said it was a problem that would get more acute as services move towards so called “cloud computing”.

“Many of the systems we have built for authentication and session maintenance assume no man-in-the-middle attack,” he said.

Parcelforce allows customers to track the progress of their delivery

Personal data including the signatures of recipients has been exposed to those tracking deliveries on the Parcelforce website, the BBC has discovered.

A failure in the system allowed people using the mail tracing service access to the name, postcode and signature of various addressees.

The breakdown put Parcelforce at risk of breaching data protection rules.

The delivery service, part of the Royal Mail Group, apologised. It said the problem had been resolved.

Fail track

Customers sending a package with Parcelforce Worldwide are given a reference number which allows them to track the progress of the delivery.

The more you think about it, the more you wonder what is going on Parcel recipient Linda Mitchell

However, when the BBC News website entered reference numbers into the “track and trace” feature on the Parcelforce website, a series of unconnected deliveries was revealed.

Although the same reference number was typed in, the specifics of parcels with other reference details were displayed.

Within the space of 30 minutes, the system handed out details of parcels in Cleveland, Swansea and even awaiting customs clearance en route from Shanghai.

These included some parcels that had already been delivered. On the page declaring “proof of delivery”, the name and postcode at its destination were shown, alongside a reproduction of the signature of the recipient.

Such information would give an identity fraudster easy access to people’s names, addresses and signatures.

During the BBC’s investigations, we saw the details of Linda Mitchell, of Farnham in Surrey, and the signature of her mother who signed for the parcel.

Mrs Mitchell noticed a problem when she entered the reference number on the website and it said her parcel was in Glasgow, then Coventry.

“The more you think about it, the more you wonder what is going on,” she said.

And BBC News website reader Steve Davis, of Twickenham, said he was left confused by the tracking service fault.

“I thought that the bike I had been waiting for all week had been delivered and accepted in Germany,” he said.

Data Protection

Businesses have a responsibility to keep personal and sensitive information secure, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Parcelforce Worldwide is part of the Royal Mail Group

“Any organisation which processes personal information must ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to keep that information secure,” said a spokeswoman for the ICO.

“Failure to protect personal details such as names, addresses and signatures could lead to information falling into the wrong hands and ultimately the loss of customers’ trust and confidence.

“We will be contacting Parcelforce to establish how this security breach occurred and to find out what steps it will be taking to ensure that such a breach cannot happen again.”

On some occasions, the website suggested the tracking service was “temporarily unavailable”.

A spokesman for Parcelforce Worldwide apologised to customers who had been affected.

He said the problem emerged after work to the computer system late on Wednesday night and early on Thursday morning. Attempts were being made to fix it, with the online and telephone system halted until this had been done.

“We can confirm that the fault was rectified and the service restored on Thursday night. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.”

Parcelforce Worldwide advertises itself as able to deliver to 99.6% of the world’s population. It aims to be “the UK’s most trusted worldwide express carrier”.

In the nine months to Christmas last year, all four Royal Mail businesses were profitable for the first time in almost 20 years. Royal Mail Letters, the Post Office, Parcelforce Worldwide and European parcels business GLS contributed to an operating profit of £255m.

The government is planning to sell 30% of Royal Mail’s parcels and letters service.

Data loss

This is not the first case of potential exposure of sensitive data.

Last month, it was revealed that a laptop computer with details of 109,000 members of six pension schemes had been stolen from offices in Marlow in Buckinghamshire.

The data, which was not encrypted, included names, addresses, dates of birth, employers’ details, national insurance numbers, salary details and, in the case of those receiving their pensions, their bank details too.

Last October, a laptop containing personal details of more than 100,000 members of the Network Rail and British Transport Police pension schemes was stolen from the accountancy firm Deloitte.

And in November 2007, HM Revenue and Customs lost two computer discs that held the entire child benefit database, including the personal details of 25 million people, covering 7.25 million families.

If a business regularly fails to safeguard sensitive information, it can be served with an enforcement notice by the Information Commissioner. Any breach of such a notice is a criminal offence.

Tyra Banks testified in court

A man convicted of stalking supermodel-turned-TV presenter Tyra Banks has been sentenced to a year’s probation.

Brady Green has also been ordered to complete a treatment programme for stalkers and must stay away from the America’s Next Top Model host.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke told Green, 39, if he disobeys orders he could face 90 days in jail.

In April, Burke pleaded guilty to stalking and harassment charges after turning up at the star’s work.

Prosecutors claimed Green had threatened to slit the throat of Banks’s assistant and sent flowers with the note, “when I see you, I love you”.

When he was arrested in March, police said Green told them they “had a thing together”.

Banks, who testified in court, she feared for her safety and had increased security around her.

European heads are discussing ways to better regulate financial markets

EU ministers have agreed in principle on a framework for enhanced oversight of the financial sector, with the UK winning key concessions to the plans.

The UK opposed proposals to give a new oversight body the ability to order national governments to use taxpayer money to bail-out failing banks.

It also opposed the European Central Bank heading such a watchdog.

Ministers are meeting at a two day event in Brussels addressing a range of issues including finance regulation.

The UK is worried a pan-European financial framework may undermine national rules.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown backed plans for tighter financial rules but has said ultimately control of the financial system in the UK should rest in the UK.

Any change should not “impinge in any way on the fiscal responsibilities of member states,” said the Prime Minister.

“It is only logical that supervisory decisions with an impact on taxpayers must be taken by national authorities,” he said.

Though he has repeatedly underlined the need for international cooperation in tackling the financial crisis and its causes, he has also insisted on the importance of national legislation.

Common rules

Changing EU financial regulations is meant to set out common standards for European nations and alter how the region’s major financial institutions are supervised.

While such talks have long been considered it was only following the worldwide financial crisis, and the bail-out of major banks, that discussions on the topic have intensified - as governments seek ways to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis.

On Wednesday US President Barack Obama announced a major overhaul of the financial system - the most dramatic since the 1930s Great Depression.

The US plan included stricter market supervision, greater powers given to the Federal Reserve, enhanced consumer protection as well as more international cooperation.

Porsche has been hit hard by the global recession

Porsche has seen its nine-month unit sales slump by more than a quarter after demand for its cars was hit by the worldwide recession.

Global sales at the German carmaker declined 28% to 53,635 vehicles between August 2008 and the end of April, compared with a year earlier.

On a financial basis, its sales fell 15% to 4.6bn euros ($6.4bn; £3.9bn).

The figures do not include those of Volkswagen (VW), in which Porsche increased its stake to 51% in January.

Porsche had planned to further increase its stake in VW to 75%, to gain a controlling interest, but talks with VW broke down in May amid reports Porsche could not raise the required funds.

Share option

Porsche will have to decide later whether it meets a Friday deadline that gives it the option to buy a further 20% of VW shares.

While most analysts expect Porsche will make a payment to extend the option period, there has been some speculation in the markets as to whether it can afford to do so.

If it doesn’t extend its option, the banks who own these shares could sell them on the stock market.

Shares in VW were down 3.8% in Friday morning trading on Frankfurt, while those in Porsche were 1.3% lower.

Separately, Porsche is also continuing talks with the Gulf state of Qatar over a possible investment by the Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s state run sovereign wealth fund, in the firm.

Reports have suggested that the Qatar government wishes to buy a 25% stake in Porsche.

Worldwide dip

On a model-by-model basis, Porsche’s nine-month decline in sales was most pronounced for its Boxster and Cayman models, which fell a combined 47%.

Sales of its core 911 model shed 18%, while those of its Cayenne four-wheel drive vehicle were down 25%.

Porsche said it had experienced falling demand across the world, but that the decline was most extensive in the US and Canada.

“In the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal year, the Porsche subgroup could not avoid the downward trend that has overtaken the worldwide automobile industry,” said Porsche.

Sir Allen, 58, denies any wrongdoing

Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford has surrendered to the US authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest on criminal charges.

The 58-year-old already faces civil charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over an alleged fraud worth $8bn (£6bn).

Sir Allen turned himself in to the FBI in Virginia and is expected to appear in a Richmond federal court on Friday.

It was not immediately clear what criminal charges Sir Allen faces.

Dick DeGuerin, Sir Allen’s lawyer, told The Associated Press he had surrendered “to some FBI agents who were hiding out in black SUVs outside the residence where he was staying in Virginia”.

“He walked out and asked if they had a warrant,” Mr DeGuerin said.

He said Stanford told the agents to arrest him if they had a warrant, but if they did not have a warrant, he would go back to Houston to turn himself in.

In February, the SEC, the US financial watchdog, described the alleged fraud at Stanford Financial group as a “fraud of shocking magnitude”.

The cricket impresario is accused by the SEC of luring investors with promises of improbable and unsubstantiated high returns on certificates of deposit and other investments - what is known as a Ponzi scheme.

The billionaire financer has refused to talk to US regulators investigating his alleged fraud, and court documents show that Sir Allen pleaded the Fifth Amendment - the right to withhold potentially self-incriminating evidence.

In an interview with ABC earlier this year he insisted no money was lost by customers dealing with his financial services companies.

“If it was a Ponzi scheme, why are they finding billions and billions of dollars all over the place?” he said at the time.

Co-proxamol is linked to fatal overdoses

The controversial withdrawal of a common painkiller has dramatically cut suicides, say researchers.

A gradual phase-out of co-proxamol led to 350 fewer suicides and accidental deaths in England and Wales, a study in the British Medical Journal reports.

Regulators removed the drug’s licence in 2007 after fears about the risk of overdose but the move proved unpopular with some patients and doctors.

Arthritis Care says some patients now struggle to control their pain.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency announced the withdrawal in 2005.

GPs were encouraged to move patients to other painkillers before the drug’s licence was revoked in 2007.

After that time doctors could prescribe the drug on a “named patient basis” for those who could not manage their pain with alternatives but as it is unlicensed they did so at their own risk.

Study leader Professor Keith Hawton, director of the Centre for Suicide Research at Oxford University, said before the restrictions co-proxamol was responsible for a fifth of all drug-related suicides.

By the 2007 deadline, prescribing of the drug had fallen by 59%, his analysis showed.

Over the two-year period, deaths from co-proxamol fell by 62%.

Specifically there were 295 fewer suicides and 349 fewer deaths from the drug including accidental overdoses.

The research also showed that had been no increase in deaths from other painkillers, despite large increases in their use.

Initiative ‘effective’

Professor Hawton said authorities in the US were now considering withdrawing co-proxamol, which is a mixture of paracetamol and an opioid drug.

“This marked reduction in suicides and accidental poisonings involving co-proxamol during this period, with no evidence of an increase in deaths involving other analgesics, suggests the initiative has been effective,” he added.

In 2008, there were 380,831 prescription items for co-proxamol, showing some GPs are still prescribing the drug.

A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said prior to its withdrawal co-proxamol was involved in 300-400 self-poisoning deaths each year, of which around a fifth were accidental.

“Co-proxamol is extremely dangerous in overdose - only a small overdose can be fatal, and death can occur very rapidly - before medical attention can be sought.”

He added: “There is no robust evidence that co-proxamol offers any advantage over paracetamol or ibuprofen at normal doses.”

But Federico Moscogiuri, head of policy and campaigns at Arthritis Care, said many people who used to be prescribed co-proxamol were now struggling to control their pain.

A survey done last year by the charity found most people could no longer get prescriptions of the drug from their GPs and many said they had not found an effective alternative.

“For them, co-proxamol makes the difference between being able to perform simple everyday activities and living in chronic, debilitating pain.

“This is an intolerable situation for a society committed to high quality care for all.

“If the named patient system is to work, GPs should feel supported in prescribing co-proxamol for patients who really need it.”