Schumacher banned for two years

Schumacher competed for the Gerolsteiner team in the 2008 Tour

Germany's Stefan Schumacher has been banned from cycling for two years after failing a drugs test during last year's Tour de France.

Schumacher tested positive for advanced blood doping product Cera (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator).

The rider won two time trials at the 2008 Tour and held the overall leader's yellow jersey for two days.

Schumacher was banned from competing in France for two years by French anti-doping authorities last month.

International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid told a news conference: "Schumacher is now banned from activity from 22 January 2009 to 21 January 2011."

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to Schumacher's two-year ban

But the 27-year-old Schumacher vowed to clear his name through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"One thing is clear: I have not doped and I have nothing to hide," said Schumacher.

Italy's Leonardo Piepoli also tested positive for Cera at the 2008 Tour, and compatriot Riccardo Ricco has admitted using the substance which is a version of blood booster erythropoietin (EPO).

The three riders won five of the 21 stages during the race last July between them.

Austrian Bernhard Kohl, who won the King of the Mountains jersey as the best climber and was third overall, is another to have owned up to using Cera.

The French Anti-Doping Agency has been retesting blood samples from the race in a bid to catch more cyclists they suspect may have used Cera.

This year's Tour of Germany was cancelled following the spate of failed drugs tests.

Viewpoints: Lisbon Treaty impact

All but a few of the EU's 27 member states have ratified the Lisbon Treaty, which is aimed at streamlining EU institutions.

But the reform treaty will not come into force unless all of them do so - and it still has to run the gauntlet of a second Irish referendum later this year. Irish voters rejected it last June. No other country put the treaty to a referendum.

Here, as part of a series of viewpoints on EU issues, two European think-tank experts argue for and against the treaty.

FOR - JEAN-DOMINIQUE GIULIANI

The Lisbon Treaty will give Europe more democracy, more capacity to decide and act and more international prominence.

It will give national parliaments control over the European Commission. The commission will not be able to act in areas not expressly set out in the treaties - for example, hunting or even the size of bird cages!

The people will get the chance to petition, to oblige the commission to scrap a decision. The European Parliament, the only institution directly elected by the people, will gain more power - in 40 new areas, for example the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU budget. It will have the power to elect the president of the European Commission.

The treaty will improve efficiency. The new voting rules will take account of the weight of the different member states. So the UK, France and Germany will have greater voting rights in the European Council, where ministers make decisions.

A bill will require the support of 55% of the member states, representing at least 65% of the European population.

The so-called "majority rule" for Council decisions will be extended to more areas. That means quicker decisions and fewer blockages.

This treaty is not a constitution - it neither sets up a new constitutional order nor a supranational state Q&A: Lisbon Treaty

With the Lisbon Treaty, the European people will for the first time be able to challenge the power of European institutions.

National parliaments will be able to challenge decisions that are the prerogative of member states. Under Lisbon, if one-third of the national parliaments agree on something, they can act together to oblige the Commission to cancel and review a wrong decision. They will also be able to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Parliaments are legally entitled to ratify treaties and international conventions - there is no particular need for national referendums on European issues. Those who ask for referendums want to vote against the EU and their own government.

Referendums are really populist procedures. People use them to answer different questions - not the actual referendum questions.

Did Tony Blair ask by referendum to be allowed to send troops into Iraq? Did Margaret Thatcher ask by referendum to be allowed to carry out social reforms? Did Winston Churchill ask the English people to engage his country against Hitler? No. They all went to parliament, to have a debate and make the best decision. That is also what Sarkozy, Brown and Merkel did.

This treaty is not a constitution. It neither sets up a new constitutional order nor a supranational state. It only brings in new procedures, to improve the decision-making process. These innovations are needed to act better at the European level.

Jean-Dominique Giuliani is Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation in Paris.

AGAINST - LORRAINE MULLALLY

The Lisbon Treaty represents a huge transfer of powers away from EU member states and is bad news for Europe.

In more than 60 areas of policy, countries lose the right to veto legislation they disagree with - on everything from transport to the rights of criminal suspects and aspects of foreign policy.

Britain would lose nearly 30% of its power to block legislation it disagrees with, while Ireland would lose 40%.

It is a myth that the EU Lisbon Treaty will strengthen democracy in Europe.

The President of the German Constitutional Court has said the treaty's provisions for national parliaments are "ineffective" and "impractical".

The cross-party House of Commons EU Scrutiny Committee said: "We doubt the significance of the 'greater opportunities' for national parliaments to be involved in any meaningful manner in the workings of the EU".

The treaty is bad enough in itself, but it is the way it is being forced through that really demonstrates why EU institutions should not be given yet more new powers.

Most people now realise that the Lisbon Treaty is a carbon copy of the original Constitutional Treaty that was voted down in both France and the Netherlands in 2005. Open Europe's side-by-side comparison of the two texts found that 96% of the original reappears in the Lisbon Treaty.

The Lisbon Treaty will make it even more difficult to reform the EU in the long run, by ignoring the problems with waste, the lack of transparency and accountability

The author of the text himself, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, has confirmed this several times, saying Lisbon "is purely a legal re-writing - incidentally unreadable - of the draft Constitutional Treaty". And he revealed the reason for this: "Above all, it is to avoid having referendums".

Indeed, despite several governments initially promising to give their people a say on the treaty, Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum, because it is constitutionally obliged to do so.

There 53% of people said "No", but they will be forced to vote again. One leading German politician said the No vote was "a real cheek", while a British Labour MP said the Irish voted No because they had "become extremely arrogant".

It is not just Irish voters who are concerned about the treaty.

Judges at the German Constitutional Court recently pointed out that the treaty involves a clear extension of the EU's competences. One judge said: "One has to ask soberly: What competences are left with the Bundestag [German lower house of parliament] in the end?" He also asked "whether it would not be more honest to just proclaim a European federal state".

The Lisbon Treaty will make it even more difficult to reform the EU in the long run, by ignoring the problems with waste, the lack of transparency and accountability, the outdated policies; and by cementing the status quo. The EU needs urgent reform, not more powers.

Lorraine Mullally is Director of Open Europe, in the UK.

Carla Bruni says 'may adopt' baby

Ms Bruni and President Sarkozy have been married for one year

France's first lady Carla Bruni says she wants to have more children, adding that she will adopt if she cannot have a baby with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"I'd love to have a child, but I'm not going to fight against nature," the 41-year-old model-turned-singer told the French weekly, Madame Figaro.

"If it is not possible biologically, I'll adopt one," she told the magazine.

The interview, to be published Saturday, comes one year into her marriage to President Sarkozy.

"I'm not obsessed by blood ties... I think you can build a powerful bond without that," she told Le Figaro, explaining her attitude to adoption.

"We can't say that we need children," said Ms Bruni, who has a seven-year-old son from a previous relationship, while Mr Sarkozy has three boys from two earlier marriages.

The interview was carried out during Ms Bruni's trip to West Africa last week to promote Aids projects.

She has also announced plans to create a foundation aimed at developing education, reading and culture among youth.

France tweak squad for Twickenham

Damien Traille is likely to feature on the bench at Twickenham

France have made four changes to their 23-man squad for their Six Nations match against England on 15 March.

Coach Mark Lievremont has recalled centres Florian Fritz and Damien Traille in place of Clement Poitrenaud and the injured Benoit Baby (knee).

Back-row forwards Fulgence Ouedraogo and Louis Picamoles make way for lock Jerome Thion and Julien Bonnaire.

Sebastien Chabal moves from lock to the back row, while Francois Trinh-Duc is the only fly-half named in the party.

Stade Francais stand-off Lionel Beauxis is still out with a back injury.

Fresh from a confidence-boosting 21-16 victory over defending champions Wales in Paris last Friday, Lievremont has once again tinkered with his squad.

The omission of blind-side flanker Ouedraogo, who has formed a potent back-row trio wuth Thierry Dusautoir and Imanol Harinordoquy, is the biggest surprise.

With Chabal set to return to the back row, Bonnaire - who has not been involved with Les Bleus for almost a year - is likely to start on the bench.

Thion, whose last Test was the final match of last year's Six Nations against Wales, will compete with Romain Millo-Chluski for the second-row spot alongside captain Lionel Nallet.

Fritz returns having served a three-week ban for punching during France's 30-21 defeat by Ireland on the opening weekend of the Six Nations.

But he may also have to settle for a place on the bench after the superb debut of Mathieu Bastareaud at outside centre against Wales.

Traille, who last played for France in their defeat by Australia in November, offers options at centre, full-back or fly-half.

Sale's Lionel Faure is added to the four props on duty against Wales, with one of the quartet set to miss on the match-day 22.

France have lost their last two Tests against England - last year's Six Nations clash in Paris and the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup.

They also lost on their last Six Nations visit to Twickenham, in 2007, but did win a World Cup warm-up match there later the same year.

---

France squad to face England at Twickenham on 15 March:

Backs: Maxime Medard, Cedric Heymans (both Toulouse), Julien Malzieu (Clermont-Auvergne), Damien Traille (Biarritz), Mathieu Bastareaud (Stade Francais), Florian Fritz, Yannick Jauzion (both Toulouse), Francois Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Morgan Parra (Bourgoin), Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Castres).

Forwards: Benjamin Kayser (Leicester), Dimitri Szarzewski, Fabien Barcella (Biarritz), Thomas Domingo (Clermont-Auvergne), Lionel Faure (Sale), Sylvain Marconnet (both Stade Francais), Romain Millo-Chluski (Toulouse), Lionel Nallet (Castres, capt), Jerome Thion (Biarritz), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont-Auvergne), Sebastien Chabal (Sale), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz).

Sarkozy team gets death threats

It is not clear why these top UMP politicians were threatened

President Nicolas Sarkozy and eight other top French politicians have received death threats in letters stuffed with bullets, officials say.

Anti-terrorism police are investigating the mysterious, identical 20-line typed letters, which were full of spelling mistakes and abusive language.

Senior members of Mr Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party were targeted, along with three cabinet ministers.

Justice Minister Rachida Dati and former PM Alain Juppe were among them.

Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Culture Minister Christine Albanel also received such letters.

They contained 9mm or .38-calibre bullets, officials said.

The origin of the letters is not clear, nor is the motive known.

The Associated Press reports that the letter speaks of a mysterious "Cell 34", mentions 1,000 combatants, and describes the recipients as the legislators of "liberty-crushing" and "fascist" laws.

The letter concludes with the statement: "This letter is the last. There will be a black out. Total silence."

Ukraine foreign minister sacked

Mr Ohryzko was one of two ministers appointed by Ukraine's president

Ukraine's parliament has voted to sack Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko for poor handling of government policy.

A total of 250 members in the 450-seat assembly backed a no confidence motion in Mr Ohryzko, including 49 from Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc.

He was criticised for his approach to a ruling last month by a UN court on a territorial dispute with Romania, and for his aggressive approach to Russia.

Mr Ohryzko's dismissal was the second departure of a minister this year.

Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk resigned last month after clashing with Ms Tymoshenko over the budget, including the size of the deficit.

Mr Ohryzko, a career diplomat, was one of two ministers appointed by the prime minister's ally-turned-rival, President Viktor Yushchenko.

Correspondents say the decision to sack the minister is likely to be contested in court as, according to some MPs, only the president has the power to do so. Opposition MPs dispute the assertion.

Last month's ruling by the International Court of Justice, which both parties agreed in advance would be binding, gave Romania about four-fifths of the area it had claimed from Ukraine in a long-running territorial dispute over a part of the Black Sea.

At stake were drilling rights in an area which Romania says may contain some 100bn cubic metres of gas and 10m tonnes of oil.

The ruling was welcomed as a victory for diplomacy by nearly all politicians and the media in Bucharest, but criticised by many in Kiev.

Armstrong confirms European races

Armstrong competed on home ground in the Tour of California last month

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will continue his comeback with a return to Europe this month.

The 37-year-old American will compete in the Milan-San Remo one-day race on 21 March, followed by the Tour of Castille and Leon from 23-27 March.

The Spanish race will allow Armstrong to focus on the time trial and two mountaintop finishes.

Armstrong returned to competitive cycling in January after retiring three-and-a-half years earlier.

He took part in the Tour Down Under in January, and the Tour of California in February.

German governor ski death charges

Dieter Althaus was a key ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel

A German state governor has been charged with manslaughter over a collision on an Austrian ski slope in January in which a woman died.

Dieter Althaus, the governor of Thuringia state, is accused by Austrian prosecutors of failing to observe regulations while skiing at high speed.

He is still recovering from the head injuries he sustained in the collision.

Prosecutors said Mr Althaus had told them he had no memory of the accident but took responsibility for the death.

In the accident on 1 January, Beata Christandl, a 41-year-old Slovakian mother-of-four, collided with Mr Althaus at a junction of two pistes in the Riesneralm ski resort. She died on the way to hospital after suffering from multiple head injuries.

Beata Christandl's death has sparked debate about safety on the piste

Prosecutors said Mr Althaus had strayed onto the blue, or easy, slope on which Ms Christandl was travelling and skied some distance along it in the wrong direction.

Walter Ploebst, a spokesman for prosecutors in the town of Leoben, said they had filed the charges of manslaughter by culpable negligence at a court in Irdning on Monday.

If found guilty, Mr Althaus could be sentenced to up to two years in jail.

Members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Thuringia had earlier said they expected him to seek re-election as governor in August in spite of the charges.

Cricket 'was invented in Belgium'

By Chris Mason BBC News, Brussels

WG Grace was cricket's first celebrity, but could he have beaten the Flemish?

New academic research claims cricket is not English, but was imported by immigrants from northern Belgium.

A poem thought to have been written in 1533 has been uncovered, which suggests the game originates from Flanders.

In the work attributed to John Skelton, Flemish weavers are labelled "kings of crekettes", according to Paul Campbell of the Australian National University.

The discovery challenges the long established theory that the sport evolved from English children's games.

The first definitive references to the game appeared in England in the 1600s, when fines were handed out for those missing church to play.

A game played by the masses in the country was taken into public schools and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the century that followed.

The first cricket club was formed in Hambledon in the 1760s and the world-famous Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) was founded in 1787.

'Flemish phrase'

But German academic Heiner Gillmeister and his Australian colleague, Mr Campbell, say the discovery proves the quintessential English pastime is anything but English.

THE IMAGE OF IPOCRISIE O lodre of Ipocrites,Nowe shut vpp your wickettes,And clappe to your clickettes!A! Farewell, kings of crekettes!Poem attributed to John Skelton

Mr Campbell has uncovered an apparent reference to cricket in the 16th Century work, The Image of Ipocrisie, attributed to the English poet John Skelton, which refers to Flemish weavers who settled in southern and eastern England.

They are described as "kings of crekettes"; "wickettes" are mentioned too.

It is thought the weavers brought the game to England and played it close to where they looked after their sheep, using shepherd's crooks as bats.

Mr Campbell's research was based on earlier investigations by Mr Gillmeister, a linguist from the University of Bonn.

He is certain cricket cannot have started in England.

"There is no way to relate the term to any existing English word," he told the BBC.

"I was brought up with Flemish children and I know the language well. I immediately thought of the Flemish phrase 'met de krik ketsen' which means to 'chase a ball with a curved stick'."

In response, cricket historian David Frith said: "It is hard to deny that this is a breakthrough. This discovery points to an addition to the great history of cricket. It's exciting we haven't yet written the final word on it."

He added: "It does make you wonder why Belgium isn't playing test cricket though, doesn't it?"

But Mr Gillmeister's research does not end with cricket.

Earlier studies of his suggest that whilst the spiritual home of golf might be Scotland - records indicate the Belgians were also playing a recognisable form of that sport before people in Britain.

Polls reshape Spain's regional landscape

By Steve Kingstone BBC News, Madrid

The governing Basque Nationalist Party will not give up power lightly

Rarely do regional elections set pulse-rates racing, but Sunday's votes in Galicia and the Basque Country were genuinely exciting, and have produced political shifts which may have nationwide repercussions.

In the case of the Basque vote, history has been made.

For the first time since Spain's transition to democracy following the death of General Franco in 1975, non-nationalist parties have been elected the majority force in the Basque regional parliament.

Together, the Basque Socialist Party (PSE), the conservative People's Party (PP) and the smaller Union, Progress and Democracy Party (UPD) boast 38 parliamentary seats; one more than the governing Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and its potential allies.

We have won the election, it is OK to celebrate Juan Jose IbarretxeLeader, Basque Nationalist Party Mixed results in Spanish elections Analysis: Basque race wide open

The question is whether these "Spanish" parties now join together in a formal governing alliance, to exclude the nationalists from power for the first time in three decades?

Certainly, the Socialists' leader, Patxi Lopez, sounds like a man who wants to govern.

"I feel legitimised to lead the change," he announced after final results were confirmed, having argued during the campaign that Basques needed practical solutions to the economic crisis, rather than grand plans for sovereignty, as proposed by the nationalists.

Coalition talks

But the PNV will not give up power lightly.

In terms of seats and share of the vote, the party remains the largest political force in the parliament, and its failure to secure an absolute majority was principally down to a disappointing performance by smaller coalition partners.

Mr Ibarretxe looked and sounded deeply emotional after the final results

"We have won the election, it is OK to celebrate," was the upbeat message to supporters by the PNV's Juan Jose Ibarretxe, who has been the lehendakari - president of the Basque regional government - for the past decade.

But Mr Ibarretxe looked and sounded deeply emotional, as if trying to reassure himself that he still had a political future.

It is by no means inconceivable that the nationalists will offer to share power with the Socialists in a grand coalition.

The two parties already work in partnership in the Spanish parliament in Madrid, where Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his Socialist Party (PSOE) relies on PNV votes.

But Mr Zapatero has promised not to interfere in negotiations towards a Basque coalition; and to say the least, it is difficult to imagine Messrs Lopez and Ibarretxe sitting around the same cabinet table.

Prime Minister Zapatero's PSE ally Patxi Lopez could soon be in power

If the Socialists do make history and lead the new administration, what effect might it have on the strategy of the Basque separatist movement, Eta?

Before polling, the gunmen branded the election "anti-democratic", on the grounds that the Spanish Supreme Court had banned two radical separatist parties from taking part.

The group portrayed the court ruling as a plot by the Spanish authorities to manufacture a Socialist victory.

If the moderate PNV is now forced out of government, Eta will claim to be a more effective voice for the Basque cause.

People's Party resurgent

In north-western Spain, the coastal region of Galicia produced a result which may offer clearer pointers to future nationwide trends.

Having governed for four years in coalition with Galician nationalists, the Socialists were defeated by a resurgent People's Party, which regained control of a region which was historically a conservative stronghold.

People's Party leader Mariano Rajoy proclaimed a brilliant electoral victory

Needing 38 seats for an absolute parliamentary majority, the PP secured 39.

The result is a personal triumph for the nationwide conservative leader, Mariano Rajoy, a Galician who had committed considerable time and resources to securing victory in his home region.

Having lost two consecutive general elections to the Socialists, Mr Rajoy had seen his own authority questioned, while in recent weeks the party had been dogged by in-fighting and persistent corruption allegations.

Outside his party headquarters in Madrid, the usually reserved conservative leader was feted by young supporters.

He proclaimed a "quite brilliant electoral victory

Austrian far-right gains in polls

The Alliance led a campaign focused on the legacy of Joerg Haider in Carinthia

Austrian far-right parties have made gains at the cost of the governing Social Democrats in two regional polls.

In Carinthia, the main winner was the Alliance for the Future of Austria of the late Joerg Haider, with 45.5%. The Social Democrats trailed with 28.6%.

The centre-left Social Democrats also lost ground in Salzburg, but still came first with 39.5%. The far-right Freedom Party won 13% there.

The far-right gained nearly 29% of the vote in September's general election.

However, neither the Alliance nor the Freedom Party were invited to join the reconstituted coalition government formed two months later by the Social Democrats and the conservative People's Party.

Sunday's regional elections in Salzburg and Carinthia were the first to put to the test the popularity of the government, which has focused in recent months on dealing with the problems confronting Austria in the face of the global economic downturn.

Correspondents say that in Carinthia the Alliance had led a campaign focused on the legacy of Haider, who was the state's governor for 10 years.

"We will look after your Carinthia," the party's posters said.

Haider was killed in a high-speed car crash near Klagenfurt last October. His blood-alcohol level had been well above the legal limit.

He became a potent force in the 1980s and 90s, championing what he called traditional family values and an end to immigration.

Armenia rally marks deadly riots

One year after the violence, deep divisions remain in Armenian society

Thousands of opposition supporters in Armenia attended a rally on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of its worst political violence since independence.

The protesters in the capital, Yerevan, demanded early elections and the release of "political prisoners".

Opposition leader and former President Levon Ter-Petrosian said the government needed to change its methods and open a dialogue with the opposition.

Last year's clashes between police and opposition activists left 10 dead.

They broke out after police tried to end protests by thousands of Mr Ter-Petrosian's supporters at the result of the presidential election, which saw him defeated by Serzh Sarkisian, then prime minister.

More than 100 people were arrested during a state of emergency imposed after the violence.

'Not frightened'

During Sunday's demonstration, tens of thousands of protestors marched through central Yerevan carrying banners painted with the words "Freedom for political prisoners".

Dozens of police officers looked on as people chanted "victory" and "freedom" and laid flowers where the worst clashes took place.

Days of peaceful protest in Yerevan turned violent in March 2008

"The authorities have drawn no conclusions from these tragic events and have done nothing to establish democracy in the country," Mr Ter-Petrosian told the crowd.

"Despite constant pressure from the government, the people are stronger, are not frightened and are ready to continue the struggle," he said, adding that another opposition rally would be held on 1 May.

The BBC's Tom Esslemont in Yerevan says that one year after the violence, deep divisions remain in Armenian society.

More than 40 people have received jail sentences and some are still on trial, including the former foreign minister, Alexander Arzoumanian.

The government has come under mounting pressure to address what some organisations see as urgent human rights concerns, our correspondent says.

Last week, Human Rights Watch said the authorities were conducting "politically motivated" trials against members of the opposition while failing to investigate the excessive use of force by police during the clashes.

Yerevan's mayor had refused to sanction Sunday's protest, but decided at the last minute to allow people to gather peacefully.

The president's office said Mr Sarkisian had lit candles at a church in memory of those killed last March, who included two police officers.

EU holding economic crisis summit

President Sarkozy (left) denies that his bail-out plan is protectionist

European Union leaders are preparing for an emergency summit in Brussels seeking to bridge differences on how to deal with the global economic crisis.

The summit was called after French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised to bail out France's car industry if it did not shift jobs out of France.

The French move raised fears that national protectionism could scupper hopes of recovery within the EU.

Leaders of badly-hit European nations will also meet prior to the summit.

Many of the newer EU members of Central and Eastern Europe have seen their financial institutions and economies battered by the developing recession.

The heads of nine of those nations - among them Hungary and Latvia, both facing serious liquidity problems - will gather before the full summit begins.

They are then expected to highlight their concerns about protectionism and call for more help from richer EU nations, reports the BBC's Oana Lungescu, in Brussels.

However, officials have played down chances of EU leaders taking any decision on Hungary's call for a 180bn-euro (

Seven arrests after 7m euro heist

The money was taken from the Bank of Ireland at College Green in Dublin

Police in the Irish Republic have arrested six men and a woman in connection with the country's biggest ever bank robbery.

On Friday, an armed gang forced a bank official to withdraw an estimated 7m euros (

Guadeloupe strike on despite deal

Unions on the islands have been demanding payments for the poor

Unions in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe have signed a deal to raise workers' salaries, but have not ended a five-week-long general strike.

The agreement will see the wages of the lowest-paid workers supplemented with a 200-euro ($254;

Parry to leave post at Liverpool

Parry's (left) relationship with Benitez has been strained

Rick Parry will leave his post as Liverpool chief executive at the end of the season after 12 years at the club.

The relationship between Parry, manager Rafael Benitez and American co-owner Tom Hicks has been strained and Hicks asked him to resign last April.

Parry branded the request as "offensive" but he has now decided the time is right to leave Anfield.

The departure of Parry is likely to take Benitez a step closer to finally signing a new deal.

BBC Sport understands the decision is the result of "mature" talks held over the past two weeks and the acceptance that Parry and Hicks can no longer work together.

In November Parry pledged his loyalty to the club after he was linked with the chief executive's post as part of the Football Association's 2018 World Cup bid.

He decided to remain at Anfield, despite being the top contender from a five-man shortlist for the job

Liverpool have been locked in a series of boardroom wrangles with Benitez looking to gain greater control over transfers in his protracted talks over a new contract and co-owners Hicks and George Gillett falling out.

606: DEBATE This is fantastic news and hopefully a sign that Benitez is getting what he wants SirDjimiTraore

Parry said he had been proud to be part of the club for over a decade.

"I have had 12 very exciting years at Liverpool and am extremely proud of what has been achieved by the club over that period," he said.

"The 1-0 victory in Madrid [on Wednesday] was a wonderful reminder of the many high points we have experienced and adds to the moments that make Liverpool and its magnificent fans so special.

"It has been a privilege to serve the club and as a lifelong supporter I wish the owners, Rafa, the players and the wonderful staff all the very best for the future.

"I will be leaving at the end of the season knowing that the club remains strong and with a set of supporters who deserve success in all that Liverpool does."

Liverpool co-chairman Hicks paid tribute to Parry's work at Anfield: "Rick's commitment to Liverpool Football Club is epitomised by his desire to ensure that this transitional period is managed efficiently and we are grateful to him for his help.

"He will always remain a friend of the football club," he added.

It is something that had to be done, whether it was Gillett and Hicks forcing the issue or Rafa Benitez we don't know Alan Kennedy

Fellow co-chairman Gillett added: "I would like to thank Rick for his significant service to the club and the assistance he has given us since we joined Liverpool. He has been integral to the club's success over the past decade and leaves with our best wishes for the future."

Former Liverpool defender Alan Kennedy backed Parry's decision to step down and believed there had been problems between Parry and Benitez.

"I don't think it's that big a shock, something had to give, something had to happen and unfortunately Rick is going to move on," Kennedy told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It is something that had to be done, whether it was Gillett and Hicks forcing the issue or Rafa Benitez, we don't know.

"When you look at the transfer system, Rafa has wanted certain players to come to the club and it just hasn't happened.

"Questions were asked over Robbie Keane, did the manager buy the player or did the chief executive? It's one of those situations, you have to have something between you and clearly this hasn't happened."

Kennedy added that Parry's decision to leave the club could pave the way for Benitez to commit his future to Anfield.

"Rafa has stalled on his contract which is a sign he wasn't happy with certain situations at the club," added Kennedy.

"Everything has to come to a head and the sooner something happened the better it is for the club.

"I think Rafa will now look upon his situation with Gillett and Hicks and say 'I'm signing the contract as simple as that'."

Rome bans horse-drawn carriages

Drivers of horse-drawn carriages have reacted angrily to the weekday ban

Animal rights activists have succeeded in obtaining a ban on horse-drawn carriages in Rome's historic centre following several traffic accidents.

The 44 horse-drawn carriages will be confined to parks during the week, under plans drawn up by the city, and allowed in the centre only at weekends.

They will be replaced on weekdays by electrically-powered vintage cars.

Last year, a horse had to be put down after being hit by a truck and breaking its leg on a street near the Colosseum.

Italy's deputy tourism minister said the plight of horses drawing the carriages in polluted and crowded streets had become a scandal, leading to the deaths of several animals among the 90 employed.

"The time has come to abolish this anachronism," Michela Vittoria Brambilla said, according to the UK's Times newspaper.

Sad moment

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says that for centuries, cab drivers have been picking up passengers at the foot of the Spanish Steps and driving their horse-drawn carriages through the city.

They are really not happy about the decision of the city authorities to withdraw their licences because of the chaotic weekday traffic, our correspondent says.

Gianni Montoni, who has been driving his carriage for the past 15 years, told the BBC that the city authorities did not want horse-drawn carriages going through the city any more.

Our correspondent says the Roman cabbies do not seem to want to go along with a proposal to keep the tourists happy by driving round Rome in electric-powered "period" cars instead of their elegant traditional horse-drawn vehicles.

The carriages will instead be relegated to parks such as the Borghese Gardens, and not allowed to ply for hire on the streets of the city except at the weekend.

Final details on how the ban will be operated are set to be decided by the city authorities on Wednesday.

The clip-clop of horses' hooves on the cobbled streets of Rome may soon be only a memory, our correspondent adds.

Sweden probes 'anti-US' attacks

The supermarkets targeted were all Swedish, but sell American goods

Three supermarkets have been destroyed and a fourth damaged in central Sweden in what police say might have been a series of anti-American arson attacks.

Police spokeswoman Kia Samrell said more than 100 firefighters were called in to put out the fires overnight at the Swedish supermarkets in Sodertalje.

Ms Samrell said the police were investigating whether the left-wing group, Global Intifada, was connected.

Global Intifada claimed responsibility for two fires in Sodertalje last year.

It has also said it was behind arson attacks on vehicles belonging to the Danish and Russian embassies in 2005, and an attack on a Polish consulate in 2004, according to the Swedish Security Service.

"The targets have primarily been countries that are participating in the war in Iraq and the Swedish defence industry," it said.

The supermarkets targeted on Thursday were branches of Willys, and Ica and Tempo. The chains are all Swedish, but sell American goods.

Swedish Radio reports that Global Intifada had recently distributed leaflets in Sodertalje encouraging the public to firebomb shops selling American products.

The US embassy in Stockholm has been in contact with the police and has advised people to exercise "caution while shopping and be attentive to suspicious behaviour", Swedish media report.

Sodertalje, an industrial town of 60,000 people, received worldwide attention in recent years after accepting nearly 6,000 Iraqi refugees.

Gabon president's accounts frozen

Omar Bongo's relations with Paris have deteriorated in recent years

French authorities have frozen bank accounts held by Gabon's President Omar Bongo, says a lawyer in a case against Africa's longest-serving head of state.

The move comes after a Bordeaux court ordered President Bongo to return a payment made to him to release a jailed French businessman, Rene Cardona.

He was freed after his son paid more than $580,000 (

Bugaria's nuclear dilemma

The threat of global warming has given a boost to the nuclear industry in many countries as one way to provide electricity without increasing carbon emissions. But what to do with the nuclear waste, especially the most toxic form - spent nuclear fuel. Nick Thorpe went to see how Bulgaria is coping.

Bulgaria shut down four of Kozloduy's reactors under EU pressure

Kiril Nikolov smiles a big, nuclear smile.

"Year by year, we are getting rid of more spent nuclear fuel than we produce," he explains, "so our stores are going down."

One can only share his happiness. Who would actually want to be sitting on tonnes and tonnes of a material so radioactive, it will remain dangerous for at least 300,000 years?

I am sitting with Mr Nikolov in his fern-fringed office, as snow blanks out reactor after reactor in the winter wonderland outside.

There are actually six reactors at Kozloduy - four "small ones", which once produced 440 megawatts each, but were closed down as a condition of Bulgaria joining the European Union. And two "big ones" the 1,000 megawatt reactors which are still pouring power into Bulgaria's grid, keeping the lights on in the dark months.

Costly

Mr Nikolov is deputy director of the plant.

Bulgaria is almost the only eastern European country still sending spent nuclear fuel back to Russia for reprocessing.

The Hungarians, Czechs and Slovaks stopped in the 1990s, as the Russians increased the price for accepting it, and as Ukraine increased the transit fees.

It is rather like being on the bridge of a supertanker, looking down at all the equipment on the deck. But this is a ghost ship

But just as the other East Europeans were abandoning the Russian dump option, the Bulgarians signed a new deal with Moscow.

They had to. The ponds next to the reactors, where the spent fuel canisters were transferred, were nearly full. So was the tall grey warehouse near Reactor Two.

Kozloduy managers argued at the time, that unless spent fuel shipments to Russia resumed soon, Kozloduy would have to shut down. It was choking on its own waste.

'Nuclear submarine'

I am taken for a guided tour of Reactor Two.

In the control room, technicians study computer screens erected in a line in front of a curving wall of panels. No-one can tell me why everything in nuclear power stations is painted yellow.

Then we climb the stairs behind the panels, through a metal door like something from a nuclear submarine, to reach the observation point, a long lead-lined glass window, overlooking two yellow reactors, Kozloduy One and Two.

It is rather like being on the bridge of a supertanker, looking down at all the equipment on the deck. But this is a ghost ship.

The steady hum is produced by the ventilation system, not the engines. The machinery is draped with thick plastic sheets which lift eerily in the draught, like cobwebs in the breeze.

Technicians dressed in white resemble ghosts at the nuclear plant

Small green lights indicate that radiation levels are not dangerous.

Technicians in white overalls, white hats, and white gloves appear below us, armed with powerful spotlamps, and start to inspect the equipment.

Bends in the leaded glass give the men a strange elongated look. It is like a scene from the Russian director, Andrei Tarkovsky's film, Stalker.

Next stop, the storage buildings. By now the snow is rising like a great white tide.

In the midst of it, workers in yellow helmets struggle to complete what looks like another big warehouse to store the waste - right next to the one which already exists. The only difference is that in the old building, it is cooled by water, in the new building, it will be cooled by air.

"We are keeping all our options open," says Valentin Ribarski, the man in charge of decommissioning, and eventually dismantling the old reactors, his eyebrows thick with snowflakes. To keep the fuel indefinitely at the nuclear power station, as well as to send it back to Russia.

"Is it dangerous?" I shout to him through the blizzard.

"Not at all," he shouts back. "We've been dealing with this stuff for 35 years. Moving it from one building to another will be a normal operation."

Dangerous waste

Back upstairs in his dry, civilised office, Kiril Nikolov concedes that Bulgaria will eventually have to take its own nuclear waste back from Russia.

The waste left over when the spent pellets of enriched uranium are extracted from their stainless steel and concrete casing at the Mayak Reprocessing Plant at Chelyabinsk in the Ural mountains.

Workers are building a dry storage facility for the spent nuclear fuel

This is the main reason why the other East European countries no longer want to do business with Russia. They do not want to re-import their own dangerous waste.

"Aren't you worried by that thought?" I ask Mr Nikolov.

"Absolutely not... the Russians have to give us 10 years warning before they do so," he explains. "And that will give us time to prepare."

I wheel out my last question.

"Isn't it irresponsible to proceed with nuclear energy, if you don't have a safe solution for the waste?" And he wheels out his answer.

"Only nuclear power can provide the sheer amount of energy which mankind needs."

We shake hands warmly. But I wheel away through the snowy wastes of the Bulgarian Arctic, deeply unconvinced.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Thursday, 26 February, 2009 at 1100 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.