The UK government borrowed £12.4bn in February, less than economists had expected, official figures have shown.

The figure for January was also revised sharply downwards, to £43m from £4.3bn.

Borrowing in the current financial year has now reached £131.9bn, but analysts say the full-year total may be less than the government’s £178bn forecast.

Until recently, most analysts thought the government’s borrowing forecast was too optimistic.

The Office for National Statistics said that the overall effect of the latest revisions to historical data for the year had cut overall borrowing for 2009/10 by £2.9bn.

Despite the revisions and February’s better-than-expected figure, government borrowing is still running at record highs for the year, partly due to reduced tax receipts because of slow economic growth.

‘Timely boost’

The borrowing figure for February was not as bad as some had feared, partly because of the rise in VAT at the beginning of this year and new taxes on bankers’ bonuses.

The government is also paying out slightly less in benefits because unemployment is falling.

“February’s public finances figures have provided [Chancellor] Alistair Darling with a very timely boost ahead of next Wednesday’s Budget,” said Jonathan Loynes at Capital Economics.

“The figures leave a total deficit for the first 11 months of the year of £132bn, suggesting that Mr Darling may now hit or even undershoot his full-year forecast.”

Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight agreed: “Mr Darling could significantly undershoot the £178bn public sector borrowing requirement that he forecast for 2009/2010 in last December’s pre-Budget report.”

Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that the budget deficit for the financial year would be £173bn, £5bn less than the government forecast.

Although the UK’s overall level of debt is similar to other major economies, it has increased its borrowing during the downturn at a much faster rate than its competitors.

Chancellor Alistair Darling has pledged to halve the budget deficit in percentage terms over the next four years, but argues that making cuts now could harm the UK’s recovery from recession.

On Wednesday, the European Union published a report saying that the government’s plans to cut the deficit are not ambitious enough.

EU rules say government deficits must be below 3% of GDP, but the UK’s deficit is expected to hit 12.6% of GDP this year.

The Conservatives also argue that cuts need to be made more quickly.

Burgeoning debt levels have also led to concerns in recent months that the UK could lose its AAA credit rating - reserved for the very safest borrowers.

However, earlier this week, Moody’s agency said the UK’s top rating was secure.

In a clinical trial, 110 people had electrodes implanted in their brains and their seizures were monitored.

Forty-one per cent of patients showed a reduction in seizures after 13 months while 56% experienced a reduction after two years.

The patients all suffered from regular epileptic seizures and had failed to respond to drug treatment.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain.

In the group of patients who received brain stimulation, researchers noted a 41% reduction in seizures compared to a 14.5% decline in seizures in a control group. This group did not receive stimulation.

Invasive therapy

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder which is characterised by recurrent seizures. These seizures can cause temporary loss of consciousness, convulsions, confusion or disturbances in sensations.

According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide.

Previous studies indicate that one third of those with epilepsy do not respond to anti-epileptic drugs.

Dr Robert Fisher, director of the Epilepsy Centre at Stanford University and lead author of the study, said electrical deep brain stimulation does reduce seizure frequency in patients.

But he cautioned: “DBS therapy is invasive and serious complications can occur. Additional clinical knowledge would help to determine the best candidates for DBS therapy.”

Simon Wigglesworth, deputy chief executive at UK charity Epilepsy Action, said: “We have been hopeful for some time that deep brain stimulation may be a treatment option for some people with epilepsy.

“This study is exciting news and could be an important development in the treatment of epilepsy in the 30% of people whose seizures don’t respond to traditional drug therapies.”

The research is published online in the journal Epilepsia.

The Geelong Cricket Association (GCA) on Wednesday heard allegations that six Waurn Ponds players of Indian descent were subjected to a series of racially motivated verbal attacks during Saturday’s fourth-grade qualifying final at Grinter Reserve No 2.

GCA President Ron Dew said players from both teams were able to give their version of what happened during the game at the hearing. According to reports, Cricket Victoria’s Code of Conduct Commissioner Ron Beazley spoke to the players involved before the official hearing.

It is alleged the comments were made during Waurn Ponds’ batting innings, with requests to stop from both the umpire and several aggrieved players allegedly going unheeded.

Witnesses claimed some of the players were reduced to tears and were even considering giving up the sport.

Waurn Ponds, based at Deakin University, comprises a strong core of international students in its lower grades, with more than a dozen registered players of Indian descent.

“He is a fool. On 16th November (2009) he was sitting right here (President’s office in Colombo) and I asked him if he was interested in contesting (the presidential election) and he said, No, sir… I haven’t made up my mind. Even on the day of his last visit he didn’t tell me,” Rajapaksa said in an interview to Singapore’s Straits Times published today.

Fonseka, who led the Sri Lankan army to victory against the LTTE last year, was the joint opposition candidate in the January 26 Presidential polls in which he was defeated by Rajapaksa.

“So I advised him. I told him that politics is not the army. In the army, when you have an order they follow. In politics you give order and they react in a different way… I told him, whatever he might think, I know this game and I am going to win this election. Whoever is my opponent doesn’t matter to me,” Rajapaksa said.

He made the remarks when asked about his feelings towards Fonseka and whether the former army chief could be accommodated under the planned national reconciliation.

Rajapaksa said he could have prevented Fonseka, who is being detained at the Naval Headquarters in Colombo since his arrest on February 8, from contesting the Presidential polls by delaying his retirement.

“I could have stopped him (from) contesting, because he couldn’t retire until I permitted him to. I could have just sat on his retirement request until after the nomination papers were filed… But I let him contest. I didn’t want people to say I was frightened,” he said.

Claiming that Fonseka was on “holiday” in China when the war against the LTTE was in its last days, the President ruled out an early pardon for him.

“But if I pardon him what about army discipline? What about the court martials of other officers? What can I do! This is the British law. They gave it to India and us,” he said.

“Fonseka himself put thousands of soldiers under court martial. At one time the figure was 8,500. I shouted at him and I had to release them,” Rajapaksa told the paper.

He said Fonseka wanted to increase the size of the army to 450,000 from 200,000 after the war got over as the General treated India as an “external threat.”

“India’s standing army is 1.5 million, its paramilitary forces are about 1 million. So what can 450,000 do against 2.5 million? I told him, let me worry about external forces,”
Rajapaksa said.

He also alleged that Fonseka had “placed cash of 700,000 dollars in a bank after the elections.”

Asked about charges that the former army chief was plotting a coup, Rajapaksa said “there was something going on.

I cannot discuss all details as inquiries and legal proceedings are on.”

“It is up to the police and security forces to frame the charges. It is not for me to get involved. Let them handle it.

Whether he is found guilty or not guilty is not my concern. But the procedure must go on. The law must be enforced irrespective of persons,” he said.

“You know, I think that Tiger has acknowledged that he betrayed his family and that’s a personal issue that he has got to work out,” said Obama who is an avid lover of the game.

“I hope they have worked it out, I’m sure he is going to still be a terrific golfer,” Obama told FOX news.

Woods has not played for the past five months following the sex scandal that has received worldwide attention as several of the golfer’s mistresses came forward with lurid details about his infidelity.

The cat was out of the bag after his wife Elin found out about his affair with, Rachel Uchitel, a New York party planner, which led to an argument and accident on November 27 when Woods crashed his SUV outside his Florida mansion sustaining minor injuries.

Woods has completed six weeks of sex-rehab at two different centres in the US and last week he announced his return to the game - contrary to what he said in his apology to the world in February.

“I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don’t know when that day will be,” he said, ruling out 2010.

“When I do return I need to make my behaviour more respectful of the game.”

Speaking to a roomful of his friends and colleagues for 14 minutes, Woods apologised for his behaviour and asked the media to back off from his private life, and revealed that he would use Buddhism to get his life back on track.

“I want to say to each one of you simply and directly I am deeply sorry for the irresponsible and selfish behaviour I engaged in.

“I am embarrassed I have put you in this position. For all that I have done I am so sorry,” he said.

The troubled sports star spoke of a sense of “entitlement” which came from money and fame that allowed him to believe that the normal rules of conduct did not apply to him.

Last week, cocktail waitress, Jamie Jungers won the “Tiger Woods Mistress Beauty Pageant,” organised by media personality, Howard Stern, on his satellite radio show.

The 27-year-old won USD 75,000 followed by runner up waitress Jaimee Grubbs who won USD 15,000 and call girl Loredana Jolie who received USD 10,000.