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.

Chinese heads sold at YSL auction

China had urged Christie's to halt the auction of the Qing dynasty sculptures

Two 18th-Century statues claimed by China have been sold at the Paris auction of late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent's collection.

The two bronze sculptures of a rabbit and a rat, looted from Beijing's Old Summer Palace in 1860, sold for a total of more than 31m euros (

Belgrade prison guards suspended

Milorad Ulemek was a member of the Red Berets special police force

Serbian authorities have suspended 11 guards at a Belgrade prison, amid reports that one of its most high-profile killers was planning to escape.

A replica gun was recently found in the cell of Milorad Ulemek at the central prison in the Serbian capital.

He is serving 40 years for the murder of Serb prime minister Zoran Djindjic and former president Ivan Stambolic.

Prison official Milan Obradovic said CCTV footage had failed to reveal who had given Ulemek the fake gun and when.

Officials believe the former policeman was planning to use it to escape during a transfer to a military hospital.

Replica pistol

Mr Obradovic, speaking at a news conference, confirmed that 11 guards at the central prison had been suspended, but did not give any further details.

Journalists were shown the replica of a Colt pistol, which Mr Obradovic said could be bought at any bargain store.

Ulemek, an ex-French Foreign Legionnaire, was one of eight people convicted in 2005 for the murder in 2000 of Mr Stambolic.

In 2007 he was one of 12 people found guilty of the murder of Mr Djindjic in 2003.

Guards charged over prison break

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A local resident captured part of the escape on video

Four prison guards and a pilot have appeared in court in Athens on charges of complicity in Sunday's escape by two inmates from a prison by helicopter.

Bank robber Vassilis Paleokostas and Albanian contract killer Alket Rizaj had escaped from the same prison using the same method 20 months earlier.

They escaped from Korydallos prison after a helicopter landed on the roof and a rope ladder was thrown to them.

The jail's director and the inspector of prisons have already been dismissed.

The incident has proved highly embarrassing for the government, which had pledged to increase security after the last jailbreak.

A massive manhunt has so far yielded no trace of the fugitives.

'Participation from within'

But the justice ministry has suspended eight prison guards, four of whom appeared in court on Tuesday accused of complicity in the escape. They face up to four years in prison if convicted.

Prime Minister Karamanlis has called a meeting to discuss the escape

A lawyer for the guards, Dimitris Tsovolas, has accused the authorities of looking for scapegoats and threatened to sue the Justice Minister, Nikos Dendias.

On Monday, Mr Dendias announced that he had ordered an examination of the bank accounts of all guards in the section where Paleokostas and Rizaj were being held to see if any had been bribed.

"The government believes that the operation could not have succeeded without participation from within. The government decided to take measures," Mr Dendias said after a cabinet meeting.

The cabinet also decided to introduce legislation forcing anyone buying pre-paid mobile phone Sim cards to provide identification, after officials said the escapees may have used them to co-ordinate with their accomplices.

Mountains

The helicopter used in the escape was found by a highway in the northern Athens suburb of Kapandriti. The pilot was found bound and gagged, and had a hood over his head.

He told police that the helicopter had been chartered by a couple who wanted to go from the town of Itea in central Greece to Athens, but who later threatened him with an automatic rifle and forced him to fly to the prison.

However, he was later arrested and charged.

The road on which the helicopter was found leads towards Greece's central mountain range, an area where Paleokostas, 42, was able to hide with impunity during previous years.

In June 2006, both men managed to escape when a hijacked helicopter landed in Korydallos' central yard at exercise time. On that occasion, the guards failed to react, because they thought it was a visit by prison inspectors.

The spectacular operation was masterminded by Paleokostas' brother Nikos, who has since been captured and jailed.

Paleokostas himself was recaptured in August 2008, two months after being named by police as a suspect in the kidnapping of a business tycoon George Mylonas, who was released after his family paid a 12m-euro ($15m) ransom.

Fumes kill two Danes in Jeddah

Two young Danish children have died in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah after inhaling poisonous pesticide fumes while they slept, local media say.

The Okaz newspaper said the children, aged six and 10, and their parents woke up complaining of stomach pains.

An ambulance took them to hospital, but the children did not survive. Their parents remain in intensive care.

Investigators say the fumes came from a house that had been sprayed with a pesticide meant for agricultural use.

Traces of the pesticide, aluminium phosphide, were found on dishes in the next door house in the al-Masarrah district, whose occupants had gone on holiday after having their house sprayed, reports said.

The family inhaled an extremely dangerous insecticide for several hours during sleep Sami BadawoudDirector of Health Affairs in Jeddah

The head of forensics in Jeddah, Col Saleh Zowayd, said there had been six similar deaths this month and that the pesticide was banned from use in homes.

"It is classified as a dangerous pesticide of the first class, and is only permitted to be used on farms and in open areas," he told Okaz.

Sami Badawoud, a senior health ministry official in the city, said the pesticide "had already been recalled from the market following reports of its dangers".

The children's father was an employee of the Danish company, Arla Foods, which has described their deaths as a "terrible tragedy".

EU tensions amid financial crisis

The four leaders representing the EU in the G20 differ on financial tactics

By Paul Reynolds World affairs correspondent, BBC News website

The British press has been noting with satisfaction that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is the first European leader to be invited to see US President Barack Obama.

However, to the question often asked in Europe when a new administration takes office - "Who's first?"- the answer in Washington is often "Who cares?"

The fact is that in the current global financial crisis, it is substance not style that matters.

It is not who is first but who is strongest.

And when it comes to substance, Britain counts for a good deal less than some other players - notably the EU as a whole, in which Germany above all has the key role, and China.

It is quite natural that Mr Brown should go to Washington first. Britain is chairing a summit of G20 countries in London on 2 April, so transatlantic positions have to be discussed in advance.

Mr Brown met Mr Obama in London during the US presidential campaign

Beyond that, Britain is providing by far the largest number of troops after the US in Afghanistan - and President Obama has made the pacification of Afghanistan a key foreign policy objective.

It would be pointless from his point of view to offer a petty snub to Britain over who gets the first invitation.

Role of EU

The more important issue for the Americans and the rest of the world is the position of the European Union in the face of the global crisis.

And here we find a very mixed picture, with EU leaders only just beginning to get their act together after a tense few months of rivalry, confused analyses and conflicting policies.

"Europe, like everyone, was taken by surprise at the speed of the collapse and lots of mistakes were made," says Peter Ludlow, a veteran Brussels observer who is chairman of the European Strategy Forum, a group of experts brought together in response to the financial meltdown.

This will all leave the world a different place Peter LudlowEuropean Strategy Forum

"Germany, the most important member state, was hesitant and cautious about spending being the way out, but the real trouble was caused by Britain's unilateralism and the disastrous handling of the end of 2008 by President Sarkozy and Commission President Barroso.

"Sarkozy got too big for his boots. He taunted, baited and ridiculed Chancellor Merkel and went off to London to see Gordon Brown, whom the Germans despised as the architect of a disaster from which he was now claiming to save the world. Merkel was not invited."

"Brown responded to the crisis with a reckless commitment to expenditure and an effective devaluation which is a beggar-your-neighbour policy," Mr Ludlow says, referring to the 15% fall of the pound against the euro since October.

"There was no basis for a coherent EU position," he adds.

New picture

Only now is a new picture emerging, Mr Ludlow notes.

"The Germans have concluded that a stimulus is required, and the old Franco-German axis came into play at the Berlin summit last weekend at which tighter regulation of the financial markets was agreed.

"This will not help the City of London and tensions remain. London is on the edge of the picture and the EU position for G20 is very much a continental one. The lesson is that Germany must be fully involved.

"Britain and France do not have that kind of power these days. The EU also cannot rely on the transatlantic dialogue alone. It has to talk directly to China and Japan.

"This will all leave the world a different place."

It is not only Brussels insiders who are urging the EU to get its act together.

German relations

The Times of London said in an editorial: "Europe is beset by bickering now, when it most needs strong, co-ordinated leadership... EU leaders, and especially Britain, need to strengthen ties with Germany."

The British government does not accept that it was wrong to go for a stimulus early on, arguing that others have come round and that, far from being isolated within the EU, Mr Brown is providing an example.

Mr Brown himself chose to stress another result from the Berlin meeting and one that will feature at the London summit - EU support for an enlarged $500bn (

Man held over Greece acid attack

An Albanian man has been arrested in Greece on suspicion of throwing acid in the face of a union official two months ago and forcing it down her throat.

The 48-year-old has been charged with participation in the attempted murder of Bulgarian Kostadinka Kuneva.

Ms Kuneva, secretary of the Union of Housekeepers and Cleaners in Athens, was ambushed by two men near her home after finishing work on 23 December.

She was blinded in one eye and remains in a serious condition in hospital.

The 42-year-old also suffered serious damage to her vocal chords and other internal organs as a result of the sulphuric acid attack.

Her friends and family say she had received threats over her union activities, which including opposing a recent pension system reform and fighting to improve working conditions for cleaners.

The attack sparked a series of protests by human rights and left-wing groups. Police used tear gas to disperse a rally by more than 1,000 people last Thursday in Athens after it turned violent.

Borthwick seeks 'equal' treatment

Borthwick (right) is given a stern talking to by referee Jonathan Kaplan

England captain Steve Borthwick is asking for his side to be treated fairly by the officials in Saturday's Six Nations game against Ireland.

Manager Martin Johnson claims England have a "perception problem" in the wake of a succession of yellow cards.

Borthwick called on Craig Joubert, who will officiate at Croke Park, not to be influenced by England's recent record.

"We hope he referees both sides equally, with the same interpretations for 80 minutes," said Borthwick.

"If that happens, then we have got a level to be accountable to."

Mike Tindall and Andy Goode were both sent to the sin-bin at the Millennium Stadium as England fell to a 23-15 defeat by Wales, following hot on the heels of Shane Geraghty and James Haskell's yellow cards against Italy in the tournament opener.

And with four players receiving 10 minutes in the bin in the autumn international against New Zealand, England have now had eight players yellow-carded in their last three Tests, as well as being on the wrong end of the penalty count.

606: DEBATE Is this a sign of panic, an attempt to create a ready-made excuse should they lose, or do they have a case? scrumdown2

But England's coaching staff have backed up Johnson's belief that the team is now being judged on reputation, rather than the letter of the law.

Attack coach Brian Smith went as far as to suggest that Jonathan Kaplan, who refereed at the Millennium Stadium, had come under pressure from Wales to find fault in England's play at the breakdown.

"His whole demeanour through that match, the way he addressed our team in the changing room beforehand - he had clearly had heaps of pressure put on by Wales," said Smith.

"The way our team was addressed prior to the Wales game took me a little bit by surprise. It was clear to me that Wales had done their job in terms of getting stuck into the referee.

"Fair play to them for doing it. Teams are looking at every advantage they can get.

"What we are really trying to say to the refs is: 'Please judge us the same way you judge other teams and do not come into the game with a preconceived idea'."

Nevertheless, England - who have a slight injury worry over second-choice hooker Dylan Hartley - have accepted they need to address their discipline if they are to have a chance of victory against Ireland.

"We are mindful we have to be seen to be whiter than white," said Smith.

"But we can't just back off at the breakdown. If we don't contest for the ball we could be blown away in the first half.

"We want the referee to make sure they keep Ireland honest in that area because we want to play rugby."

Explosion at Romania nuclear lab

A Romanian officer has been killed in a blast at a military laboratory dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical research, Romanian officials say.

The defence ministry says the man, aged 37, died of his injuries after the explosion in Bucharest.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known, but the ministry says it "does not pose any threat to the population" and there was no fire.

It says an investigation is now under way into the accident.

The officer who died was identified by the military officials as Octavian Viorel Mihai.

At least two other people were injured in the explosion.

Romanian defence ministry spokesman Costi Spanu said the laboratory did not handle materials "that could cause panic", the Associated Press news agency reported.

Italy falls under Mourinho's spell

Mourinho leads Inter, including in-form striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (bottom left), into battle against Manchester United at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (top right)

By Jonathan Stevenson

I found Jose Mourinho almost exactly as English football had left him.

A day before his Inter Milan team's potentially Serie A-defining 2-1 win over city rivals AC in the San Siro last weekend, Mourinho threatened to call an abrupt end to his pre-match news conference.

The question - the first one of the session - that had so riled him? It concerned the fitness of right-back Maicon, the assembled media wanting to know whether the influential Brazilian would be fit to start in the Derby della Madonnina.

"Do you just want me to tell you my team, my substitutes and my tactics and then we can all go home?" demanded Mourinho.

606: DEBATE I like Mourinho's praise of us - but does this mean that Inter will rarely attack us on Tuesday? PTRD

Two minutes later, after repeatedly asking the same question and receiving answers solely in the affirmative, with the atmosphere dramatically tense, Mourinho made to get up and walk out, before a lone voice cut short the madness by telling the Portuguese coach he did not want to hear the team.

Mourinho, who resumes his love affair with the English game when his Inter side host Manchester United in their Champions League last 16, first-leg tie on Tuesday, has enjoyed a typically confrontational, not to mention successful start to his tenure at Internazionale.

Out of the game for nine months after his shock exit at Chelsea, the 45-year-old made an extraordinary return to football when he was unveiled as the Nerazzuri's new manager in June.

At his very first news conference he spoke in fluent Italian, claiming he had learned the language in three weeks of private tuition. And, as if his new public were not already swooning, he was soon dropping in words like "pirla", a colloquialism for "fool" which the Milanese would have to explain to their out-of-town Italian colleagues.

JOSE MOURINHO FACTFILE Born: 26 Jan, 1963, Setubal, Portugal Teams managed: Benfica, Uniao de Leiria, FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan Honours: Four league titles, seven cups (including the Portuguese Cup and FA Cup), one Champions League, one Uefa Cup Did you know? Has not lost a home league game since Feb 23, 2002, when FC Porto lost 3-2 to Beira Mar - 110 matches ago

Italian historian John Foot, who wrote the book 'Calcio: A History of Italian Football', says Mourinho has captivated the country since that first day.

"I think Mourinho was a big thing for Italy," Foot told BBC Sport. "He's a star, a world star, and him coming to Serie A, he's the biggest star to have come for a long time.

"There was huge interest in Mourinho from the start. If you remember when he first arrived at Chelsea, it was like that.

"He is a genius at getting the press interested in him. He was the story and he remains the story, people continue to be hooked on his every word."

On the pitch, Chelsea fans will not be surprised to learn that Mourinho has enjoyed a winning start to his reign at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza since taking over from Roberto Mancini, who was fired at the end of last season.

Mourinho's success must be tempered by the fact that Mancini led Inter to the title in his last three campaigns, but paid the price for a lack of success in European competition.

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Highlights - Inter Milan 2-1 AC Milan

Victory over Milan in the derby helped Inter go nine points clear at the top of Serie A, they are in the last 16 of the Champions League, the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and have already won the Supercoppa Italiana, Italy's version of the Community Shield.

Watching Inter play, it feels like Mourinho is trying to create a clone of the side he so brilliantly crafted during his three-and-a-half-year spell in England.

With keeper Julio Cesar protected by a solid back four and hard-working midfield, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano provide a battering ram effect up front as Didier Drogba did for Chelsea so impressively under Mourinho.

They were second best to Milan for lengthy periods in each half, but simply doubled their work-rate and refused to buckle as Ronaldinho, Clarence Seedorf and Alexandre Pato threw everything they had at them.

Ibrahimovic and Adriano will cause Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic problems

Manchester United's defence has been lauded for much of this season, but Inter have conceded a paltry 18 goals in 25 league games, another classic trait of any Mourinho team.

In-form Swedish striker Ibrahimovic, who has never scored in the knockout stages of the Champions League, told BBC Sport how Inter's new coach has made them even tougher to beat this season.

"I think we were good when he arrived, but he is teaching us something new and we are becoming stronger and better," said Ibrahimovic.

"He has changed the mentality a little bit. We are hungrier for the big games, which is important. We train differently too, I know every coach trains differently, but every day we are enjoying training. It is fantastic.

"Mr Mourinho has spoken about managing other teams, but he has a contract here and I think he will respect it. I think he will stay at Inter for a long time."

I live for the risk. I believe you can succeed in the first season and if you do not, you fail. I prefer it like this Jose Mourinho

If he does, Mourinho is sure to upset an awful lot more people before he abandons Serie A for another "project", as he likes to term the team he is coaching.

In his eight months in Italy, Mourinho has fallen out several times with journalists, been involved in a slanging match with his Chelsea predecessor Claudio Ranieri, now Juventus boss, and had a spat with new Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic as well.

Mourinho's behaviour riled Catania director of football Pietro Lo Monaco so much that he claimed the Inter coach "deserves a smack in the mouth".

Foot says Mourinho has polarised opinion in Italy, just as he did while he was in England. However, he warned that unless Inter continue to be successful, Mourinho's outspoken approach could do him more harm than good.

"He's certainly divided Italians," said Foot. "His argumentative nature, his polemical nature, his arguments with journalists; they've turned a lot of people against him already.

"I think he's gone too far, but I think he did that in England. He personalises things, he did it with (Arsenal boss) Arsene Wenger and he's certainly done it with Ranieri, quite insulting actually, about his age and other things.

"The public are absolutely obsessed by him; whether they like him or not is another matter.

"Some fans love me, some fans hate me," says Inter boss Mourinho

"As long as he's winning, he'll get away with it. But if they lose to Manchester United and don't win the league, things will be very different.

"Even in Italy, everything depends on what happens on the pitch."

Mourinho doesn't care who likes him. Asked about his relationship with supporters in Italy compared to his time in England, he said there is not much difference.

"Some fans love me, some fans hate me and some never think about me. It's basically the same everywhere. It doesn't change a lot," said Mourinho.

Few managers have put themselves under as much pressure to win trophies as Mourinho. Then again, few have been so adept at handling that pressure and Mourinho, perhaps also taking a pot-shot at Wenger and Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, says he needs to burden himself in order to be successful.

"Look at the situation at Chelsea at the moment," said Mourinho. "They have not won anything for one-and-a-half years, while Arsenal have gone five years. Yet it looks like everything is good at Arsenal, while at Chelsea everything is in bits.

"Some managers use arriving at a new club as an excuse. They say they need time, and if you do that, you are protected. If you don't win the title in the first or second season, you can keep telling everyone you need time.

"Sometimes you stay for four or five years, keep not winning, and then keep demanding more time.

"I could never be like this. I live for the risk. I believe you can do it in the first season and if you do not, you fail. I prefer it like this. I prefer the pressure because that's how I live."

Pressure does not get much bigger than a Champions League knockout tie against a Manchester United team that is in arguably the best form of Sir Alex Ferguson's 22-year reign.

But Mourinho is one of few managers to have outfoxed Ferguson time and again, suffering only one defeat at the hands of the wily Scot in 10 games while he was Chelsea boss.

And five years on from leading his FC Porto side to a sensational victory over United in Europe, only a "pirla" would bet against Mourinho repeating the trick this time around.

Terminally ill Jade Goody marries

Goody and her fiance, Jack Tweed, kiss for the cameras on Saturday In pictures: Jade Goody's wedding Read your emails

Terminally ill reality TV star Jade Goody has married her fiance Jack Tweed at an "emotional, wonderful" ceremony, her publicist Max Clifford has said.

The couple received a standing ovation from their 200 guests after they exchanged vows at Down Hall in Essex.

Goody was 45 minutes late, and shed tears at "the lovely things that were being said," Clifford told reporters.

The 27-year-old was able to stand for most of the 45-minute ceremony but asked to sit down at the end, he added.

As the newly-wed couple signed their wedding certificate, Goody's two young sons sat on their laps.

"It was a very beautiful, very moving service," PR guru Clifford said.

Max Clifford describes the wedding

"She looked wonderful, the ceremony was absolutely beautiful and you know at one stage Jade was obviously, she had a few tears, but it was just a room full of love, for her, for them, for their happiness."

Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross and former boyband star Antony Costa were among the 200 guests who attended the ceremony at Down Hall Country House Hotel.

Police, media and well-wishers all gathered at the entrance, while a spotter plane flew overhead trailing a banner emblazoned with the couple's names.

Television presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan were among those who arrived for a post-wedding party, where pop group The Sugababes are due to serenade the newly-weds.

Meanwhile, a group of performers called Incognito will pose as waiters before bursting into song during the reception.

I love Jade more than anything and this is all we both want Jack Tweed

Goody has spoken of how Tweed, 21, proposed to her shortly after doctors told her she may only have months to live.

Whirlwind preparations for the ceremony followed, with the TV personality reportedly masterminding the details from a laptop from her hospital bed.

She pledged to walk down the aisle unaided in a

Bulgarian challenges chess record

Kiril Georgiev's opponents faced a long wait between moves

A Bulgarian grandmaster has begun 360 chess matches in an attempt to break the world record for the number of games played simultaneously.

Kiril Georgiev is working his way up and down rows of tables at which his rivals are seated, in the Inter Expo Center in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

He needs to win 80% of the games to beat a record set by Hungarian-American chess champion Susan Polgar in 2005.

She played 326 games, winning 309, drawing 14 and losing three.

On her blog, she advised the Bulgarian grandmaster to wear comfortable shoes.

Mr Georgiev is a three-time Bulgarian national champion and a former under-18 world champion, according to the Bulgarian News Network.

It said his opponents, ranging in age from children to pensioners, were chosen from a pool of 600.

Nato members offer Afghan support

Mr Gates said Afghanistan must eventually handle its own security

Up to 20 Nato countries have offered to boost their civilian, military or training commitments to Afghanistan, US defence secretary Robert Gates says.

At an meeting of Nato defence ministers in Poland, he said the alliance faced a tough test in Afghanistan but he was convinced it could meet the challenge.

The US is sending an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan and has been pressing its allies to do more.

Afghanistan is facing a growing insurgency from Taleban militants.

Mr Gates ended the two-day meeting in Krakow in an upbeat mood, says the BBC's defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt, as he announced the offers of increased commitments.

"Over the last couple of days, 19 or 20 countries announced at one point or another in the meetings that they would be increasing their contribution, either on the civilian or the military or the training side," Mr Gates told reporters.

The demands on Nato are greater than ever before Jaap de Hoop SchefferNato Secretary-General Nato's increasing Afghan challenges

Some Nato members have been reluctant to contribute more troops to the mission in Afghanistan.

Several European states have caveats preventing their forces being deployed in the most dangerous areas. Some are also constrained by domestic political opposition to the Afghan war.

However, Mr Gates said there was agreement among the 26-member bloc that they must "intensify our efforts to bring security and stability to Afghanistan, and to ensure that the Afghans are capable of sustaining it themselves".

"It is, after all, their country, their fight and their future," he said.

"So I consider that a good start as we begin to look toward the summit [of Nato leaders in April]."

By then, the US is expected to have completed a major review of its policy in Afghanistan.

Moscow chill

Nato has also been examining its own future doctrine, our correspondent says, with secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer saying on Thursday that it needed a new strategic concept to include the new challenges posed by global warming, threats to the energy supply and cyber-attacks.

"The demands on Nato are greater than ever before," he warned.

Mr De Hoop Scheffer called for a more "joined-up" international approach

The secretary-general also said a revised strategy was needed to reflect Nato's plan to admit new members. Croatia and Albania are set to join at a summit in April marking the alliance's 60th anniversary.

Georgian and Ukrainian hopes for Nato membership were also discussed in Krakow, despite opposition from Moscow to the prospect.

Nato has said the two countries can eventually join the alliance but Mr Gates said their membership was still far off.

Nato's relations with Moscow chilled last year when Russia fought a brief war with Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Also on Friday, a US military commander said Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, which border Afghanistan, had agreed that their territory could be used to transport non-military supplies to Nato troops.

Hours before the meeting began on Thursday, Kyrgyzstan said it was closing the US air base at Manas, part of a key supply route for its forces in Afghanistan.

Our defence correspondent says some believe that Kyrgyzstan's decision to close the Manas air base was due to pressure from Moscow - a way for Russia to show its continuing opposition to countries in its former sphere of influence joining Nato.