West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green reveals who gives him the energy to perform: darts fable Phil Taylor

West Ham travel to Manchester United on Tuesday night resurgent as two wins on the bounce have propelled Gianfranco Zola"s men out of the Premier League relegation zone.

The recent home victories over Birmingham and Hull have yielded five goals and, just as importantly, two clean sheets. Much of the credit for that goes to the improved form of goalkeeper Robert Green.

In December, West Ham conceded four goals at home to United and Green admits he had to take a look at his own faltering game. But since then the Hammers stopper has excelled between the posts andhas credited an unlikely source for his turnaround - darts legend Phil"The Power" Taylor.

Unlikely inspiration: England keeper Robert Green (above) credits the influence of multiple darts world champion Phil Taylor (below) for his good performances

"I had a look at myself about a month ago and changed a couple of things I felt I needed to improve," said Green. "I"m feeling the results of that and I"m better for it.

"It"s easy to get complacent when you play at this level and think you"re okay doing what you"re doing. But you can"t improve without making changes when needed and trying new things."

"I listened to Phil Taylor after he won his umpteenth darts title. He said: "You have to try 100-odd things to get that extra one per cent and not all of it may work, but one thing could make a small improvement".

"He"s someone at the very top of his sport. It might not be the most energetic sport in the world but he"s still trying everything to improve himself to get an edge over people, even though he"s won 15 world titles."

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Hillary Clintons War Cabinet sweeps in to Mexico for drug summit

Tim Reid, Mexico City & , : {}

An extraordinary delegation of senior US officials, including Hillary Clinton and military and intelligence chiefs, landed in Mexico City yesterday for talks on the countrys rocketing drug-related death toll.

Ten days after an American consulate worker, her husband and the relative of a Mexican consulate employee were shot dead in the border town of Ciudad Juárez President Obamas diplomatic, war and intelligence Cabinet arrived en masse in a delegation usually reserved for visits to Iraq or Afghanistan.

After travelling through Mexico City in motorcades the group spent the day in talks with senior Mexican officials, including a session with President Calderón, on how to disrupt and dismantle the cartels, whose power and bloodlust grows by the day.

Mrs Clinton told reporters that the US had to do its part to curb the demand for drugs in America and the flow of guns into Mexico. Declaring that the cartels were waging war on civil society, she added: We have watched with great grief the terrible tragedies and murders that have taken place here in Mexico and then our hearts were broken by the murders in Juárez. They were the latest horrible reminder of how much work we have to do together.

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Joining Mrs Clinton, the US Secretary of State, were Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dennis Blair, Americas top intelligence official, and Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security chief.

Mrs Clintons visit was scheduled months ago but the heavyweights joining her underscored how the consulate killings on March 13 have focused the Obama Administrations attention on the carnage south of the border, where 79 US citizens were killed last year.

The group arrived amid anger here that the US is doing too little in Mexicos war on drugs, especially over the two root causes of the epidemic: the huge consumption of illegal drugs in America, which has created several billionaire drug barons, and the flow of guns from the US into Mexico. Since Mr Calderón declared war on the drug gangs in 2006, 18,000 people have died in drug-related murders. In Mexico last year a record 7,720 were killed in drug-related incidents. In Ciudad Juárez 2,600 were killed. This year 500 have died there.

Since 2006 Mr Calderón has used 50,000 troops to try to defeat the cartels Mexicos border police are notoriously corrupt but there is criticism that the military has only made the situation worse. There have been thousands of allegations of torture and illegal detentions, with civilians claiming that hundreds are being killed in shooting between gangs and soldiers.

When Mr Calderón Ciudad Juárez last week he was greeted with protests demanding the withdrawal of troops, rather than protests against the drug gangs, which ship massive quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana into the US.

It was this febrile atmosphere that the US delegation entered. At the heart of the discussions was the $1.3 billion (860 million) Merida Initiative, a three-year US aid deal to Mexico to help it to take on the cartels. It was struck between President George W. Bush and Mr Calderón in 2007, and Mr Obama wants to extend it.

Yet only a fraction of the Merida funds has been delivered to Mexico, another source of contention. Of the $628 million set aside for helicopters and armoured vehicles that the US pledged to provide, $113 million has been delivered. US officials say that another $135 million of equipment will be delivered by June, including three Black Hawk helicopters. Last year five Bell helicopters were supplied to the Mexican army. Also due to be supplied are two $50 million maritime surveillance aircraft.

Part of the discussions, informally called Merida 2, focused on improving cross-border security, intelligence sharing and new initiatives to track and disrupt the cartels finances.

Mr Calderón also wants help in funding social programmes in cities such as Ciudad Juárez that he hopes will steer people away from the drugs trade. Since 2006 there have been hundreds of extraditions to the US, including 107 last year, and tonnes of drugs confiscated. Yet the flow of drugs and the death toll has only increased.

The cartels are so brazen that the family of a soldier who arrested an alleged gang member was murdered soon afterwards. Last week in two Mexican cities drug gangs used cars, buses and trucks to block roads so that military reinforcements could not arrive.

NZ Bernie Madoff locked up for $18million fraud

Anne Barrowclough & , : {}

An investment landowner dubbed New Zealand"s Bernie Madoff has been locked up for 6 years for hidden roughly $NZ eighteen million (8.4m) from his oblivious clients, majority of that he blew on prostitutes, skill and Pinot.

Stephen Versalko, 52, who targeted especially aged women, certified hidden $NZ 17,763,110 from thirty business of the ASB bank over 9 years until he was unprotected and dismissed last August.

He was locked up on Thursday in the Auckland District Court for the largest worker rascal in New Zealand for at slightest twenty years.

Versalko, who was tied together with 3 children, outlayed his income on lush properties, excellent booze and prostitutes, the justice heard.

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He outlayed $NZ 3.34m on dual Auckland prostitutes with whom he had long-term relationships, one of whom perceived $NZ 2.5m, the alternative $791,181.

He additionally blew $NZ 300,000 on costly wines for his intemperate booze cellar, and invested in houses in the majority costly areas of Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula.

He was usually found out when one of his aged victims watched a radio programme about Mr Madoff"s $50 billion Ponzi intrigue and saw similarities to the man who betrothed her outrageous earnings on her $3 million investment. A phone call to ASB reliable that her multimillion-dollar investment portfolio did not exist.

Summoned for an explanation, Mr Versalko rught away certified his rascal and asked to be arrested.

Versalko, an mediocre seeking man, had lived an exquisite hold up as investment confidant until 1994, when he was done surplus from his $NZ 200,000 a year pursuit and ran up $NZ 40,000 on credit cards.

He was in use by the ASB in 1997, but on a reduce salary. Initial attempts to have additional income by skill investment unsuccessful and by 1999 he was in critical monetary difficulties.

The justice listened that his initial rascal plant was an ASB customer whom he had helped place $NZ 400,000 in a long-term deposition account.

Versalko assured her to deposit in a intrigue with higher seductiveness rates but no taxation weight or administration department department fees.

That one customer netted him $NZ 528,340 and from there he changed on to thirty some-more victims, majority of whom lived overseas, were genuine about income and did not guard their accounts, prosecutor Patrick McCann from the Serious Fraud Office said.

So successful was he, Versalko told SFO investigators, that after 9 years of hidden millions of dollars, he thought he was "Mr Invincible" .

While the volume of "investments" he organised for his clients varied, they all had higher than common seductiveness rates, no taxation or administration department department fees.

But instead of investing his clients" money, Versalko eliminated millions to his personal accounts or to a "ghost" comment to pay off alternative investors.

He was means to costume his burglary by forging bank statements and promulgation his clients seductiveness payments. To insist his unexpected prosperous lifestyle, Versalko told gullible family and friends that he had enjoyed outrageous success in on-line trade of holds and bonds.

Versalko"s counsel Stuart Grieve, QC, pronounced the fraudster had shown "exceptional remorse."

The ASB has not usually had to repay $NZ 15.5m to all Versalko"s defrauded clients but has additionally pronounced it would honour a serve $NZ 1m in betrothed seductiveness payments.

The rascal is so large that it is thought to have contributed to the bank"s net loss of $NZ 10 million in between Jul and Dec last year - ASB"s initial loss in twenty-one years.

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Rafael Benitez defends Steven Gerrard over two-fingered gesticulate Liverpool

Ben Smith & , : {}

Rafael Benitez has leapt to the counterclaim of Steven Gerrard after the Liverpool captain appeared to have a two-fingered gesticulate to arbitrate Andre Marriner during the 1-0 better by Wigan Athletic on Monday night.

The FA have reliable that Gerrard will not face disciplinary movement for the gesture, that came after he was requisitioned for a foul. The situation was held on camera, but the arbitrate deemed it undeserved of serve punishment.

Benitez, vocalization in the set up up to tomorrow"s Europa League compare opposite Lille, confirmed that Gerrards gesticulate was conjunction descent nor directed at the referee.

"Sometimes you move your fingers, it was nothing," Benitez said. "We are not deliberation it. All the players know they have to handle on the pitch. I was some-more disturbed about the stupid fouls we were giving to Wigan."

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The inquisition in to Liverpools better at the DW Stadium continues, with Dave Whelan, the Wigan owner, pinning the censure for their opponent"s stuttering form at the doorway of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the Liverpool co-owners. However, Whelan"s comments have drawn an indignant reply from Benitez. "I do not speak about Wigan," he said. "I cite to combine on my team. He [Whelan] should speak about his own club."

Liverpool will fly to France this dusk and Benitez hopes his side will infer that Monday"s better was zero some-more than a blip.

"We had been operative well in the last ten games, some-more or less," Benitez said. "Sometimes these things happen. Now we have to move forward. Hopefully there will be a greeting in Lille. This is an event to put things right and try to get a great result.

"In football you infrequently cite to rest but at this time it is great to have a compare fast after what happened at Wigan."

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Sir Stirling Moss recuperating in sanatorium after tumble down lift missile Sport

Sir Stirling Moss at last year"s British Grand Prix. Photograph: Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images

Having survived multiform crashes, together with the one that forced his beforehand early retirement from engine competition in 1962, Sir Stirling Moss"s powers of liberation are undergoing an additional unrelenting exam following a potentially fatal collision at his home.

Moss, 80, suffered dual damaged ankles, 4 damaged skeleton in his foot, skin abrasions and 4 chipped vertebral column when he fell down 3 floors of a lift missile in his locale residence in Mayfair.

A matter from the Moss family said: "The doorway to the lift, that should have remained sealed if the lift was not on the building that it was called from, non-stop in error. He stepped in to the slight open missile in the expectancy that the lift would be benefaction for him to travel into, as it should have been."

Moss, who won sixteen grands prix but never the universe championship, was taken to the Royal London Hospital prior to being changed to the Princess Grace Hospital, where he underwent surgery on both ankles, that were plated and pinned.

Lady Moss, Stirling"s wife, stated: "This was a really hapless accident; it could have only as simply been an additional piece of of the family stepping in to where the lift should have been. The family are really relieved that Stirling survived the fall, demonstrating that his physique still has the same essential element to damage as it did in his racing days. He is gentle and well on the highway to recovery. It is approaching that it will take up to 6 weeks for him to redeem from his injuries."

Moss is intensely advantageous to have avoided head injuries inside of the slight proportions of a missile written to support for a small lift able of carrying only dual people. The car of the lift – and zero to do with the operation of the lift itself – was done of CO twine by the Williams F1 group at Moss"s request.

It was standard of Moss"s mindfulness with gadgets inside of a home that was forward of the time 40 years ago when Moss introduced electronic controls for curtains, a exhilarated toilet chair and remote stuffing of the bath. A reticent waiter shaped the basement for the contingent acclimatisation to a lift in sequence to equivocate a turn staircase which, notwithstanding Moss"s spritely condition, was commencement to infer formidable to negotiate. Sir Stirling and Lady Moss are close friends of Lord and Lady Tebbit. The lift was additionally commissioned to house Margaret Tebbit, cramped to a wheelchair following the Brighton bombing in 1984.

Moss began racing in 1948 and took piece in grands prix from the begin of the universe championship in 1950 until 1962, a duration when accidents were commonplace. Moss had his satisfactory share, mostly due to the infirmity of the equipment, but the majority serious was a pile-up at Goodwood on Easter Monday 1962. Moss had to be cut from his Lotus and remained comatose for 6 weeks. The Englishman returned to the cockpit a year after for a in isolation exam event but motionless to give up since he was no longer pushing instinctively.

Canals trainer floats plan for "aquatic National Trust" UK headlines

Caen Hill thatch in Devizes, Wiltshire. "If we don"t acclerate investment, the network will deteriorate," pronounced British Waterways trainer Tony Hales. Photograph: David Levene

The rebirth of Britain"s canals is one of the big metamorphosis successes of the last dual decades. They ride the satisfaction of the panorama to the heart of the city, yield a breakwater for wildlife and suggest a lifelike environment for a little of the majority fascinating civic homes.

But proposals to be submitted this month by British Waterways, the defender of 2,200 miles of canals and rivers, find to move them out of approach state carry out and in to the "third sector", arguing the move is the usually approach to guarantee their future.

The prophesy is for an "aquatic National Trust" galvanising the estimated eleven million Britons who continually good from them – boaters, anglers, cyclists, runners, Sunday strollers and waterside skill dwellers – to deposit time and income to safeguarding them for generations to come.

"Of march there are risks. Yes, it is radical. But I hold it is a no-lose call, and something has to be done," pronounced Tony Hales, authority of British Waterways. "The waterways are not about to tumble overnight. But over 10, twenty years, if we don"t accelerate investment, the network will deteriorate."

With open spending cuts unavoidable yes or no celebration is in energy and an expected rebate in the accede to British Waterways receives from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hales believes the time is right. The proposals follow an 18-month consultation, and target to move the utilizing of canals closer to the people utilizing them.

Hales believes there is the organization to help the poor to lift it off. "There is extensive love for the waterways," he said. "The waterway vessel is right up there with the postbox as one of the iconic images of British life.

"Of course, it can"t be just similar to the National Trust, where you get a pass in to 50 buildings others have had to compensate £30 for. And we would have to utterly rebrand the image. What"s in it for people? A nice, comfortable feeling and the event to get involved. There is an armed forces of volunteers out there already clearing, restoring, maintaining."

Third-sector standing would concede British Waterways to steal for long-term investment, something it cannot do as a open corporation, whilst maintaining a supervision accede to on a renegotiated basement to do orthodox obligations for open health, reserve and benefit.

Hales said: "Why does a taxpayer in Blackpool account the Regent"s waterway in London? Why shouldn"t people vital on, benefiting from, unaware the Regent"s waterway have a little accede to towards it, in the form of income or volunteering, instead of it all entrance from executive government?

"[Canals] are a profitable asset, one that internal authorities good from. And if I own a code new prosaic in Birmingham, I"m not going to lay there and do zero if the waterway I disremember is full of floating passed dogs, or the draw paths are lonesome in dog shit, or the close gates don"t work, and the worth of my skill is going down. I"m going to get involved.""

Third-sector standing would additionally concede British Waterways to guarantee the £500m skill portfolio, that generates £45m a year. In times of predicament the Treasury"s eye mostly alights on this asset, but so far British Waterways has resisted a sell-off.

"£500m is not much, in conditions of the inhabitant debt," Hales said. Nevertheless, the Treasury, he admits, could be the fly in the salve for the proposals.

Other fundraising initiatives being explored embody the micro-generation of renewable energy, and the sale of "grey", or undrinkable, H2O to industry.

British Waterways has an annual income of £255m, together with a £74m supervision grant. The grant"s worth has depressed by 47% in genuine conditions given 2003. Hales expects it to tumble further, and wonders if it can go on competing for the taxpayers" income compulsory to say the network.

Organisations representing Britain"s 33,000 boaters and 3 million anglers determine something has to be done.

"The risk is not removing the required income to have the total thing work. But they have to do something radical," pronounced Mark Lloyd of the Angling Trust.

Brian Sharpe, editor of Towpath Talk magazine, said: "There is a lot of vigour get out of this mess, and I think it is a mess. It"s going to be a authorised minefield.

"It could go really wrong, but afterwards it can"t be any worse than it is at the moment".

BP staid to shake up up tellurian enlightening operations

Robin Pagnamenta, Energy Editor & , : {}

BP is set to have known a reorganization of the tellurian oil enlightening operation subsequent week as it battles to revive profitability to the multiplication in the face of a high industry-wide downturn.

The changes will be denounced by Tony Hayward, BPs arch executive, and Iain Conn, head of enlightening and marketing, in an annual plan lecture to investors on Tuesday. They are approaching to concentration on slicing costs and handling the companys seventeen plants some-more efficiently, rather than slicing genius or offered plants.

BPs selling and enlightening commercial operation done a $1.9 billion (�1.24 billion) loss during the last 3 months of 2009 after enlightening margins slumped to $1.49 per tub the lowest for fifteen years as the retrogression sapped direct for polished products, generally in Europe and North America.BP operates seventeen refineries, together with five in the United States and 7 in Europe. It sole the last UK plant in 2007.

At BPs formula this month, Mr Hayward pronounced that globally, some-more refineries would need to close if the industry was to sojourn in balance. Mr Conn pronounced at the same time: Our plea is going to be to have the commercial operation essential in a 2009 sourroundings and thats what we intend to do.

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Mr Angry at No 10 should review Jane Austen | Rachel Sylvester

Rachel Sylvester & , : {}

There is celebrity and there is character. As an choosing nears, all the domestic leaders are parading a delicately artistic personal image, but what unequivocally counts is the spirit that lies underneath it and determines the judgments they make.

At Westminster, it feels increasingly similar to an part of Celebrity Big Brother, as politicians unclothed their souls. Gordon Brown cries on TV as he discusses the genocide of his daughter, he talks about his attribute with his mom as well as the fortunes of his football team, declaring: Im an open book.

David Cameron invites the cameras in to his home for Cheerios with the kids. Politicians should open up, he says, divulgence his love of canned Guinness, darts and Lily Allen as he prepares to be cross-examined by Alan Titchmarsh. Even Nick Clegg is at it, environment out views on Gina Fords nap routines.

Meanwhile, the leaders wives contest for the love of conform designers and supermodels, whilst tweeting about their home-baked cookies. The radio debates that are programmed for the debate will usually strengthen the clarity that governing body is, as Jay Leno memorably put it, showbusiness for nauseous people. The Lib Dem celebrity likes to fun that hed dance opposite the college of music in a pinkish tutu if he had to in sequence to be enclosed in the inhabitant show.

BACKGROUNDBrown faces calls for exploration over bullying claimsBrown at brook over bullying claims at No 10Gordon Brown at Chilcot Inquiry subsequent weekQA: Brown, Downing St and "bullying"

The genuine issue, though, is not celebrity but character, that has zero to do with iPod playlists, Erdem dresses or prime pasta dishes. Politicians should outlay some-more time celebration of the mass Jane Austen, whose heroines contingency clarity to mix sensibility with sense, and squander less bid assumingly perplexing to get themselves on to Max Cliffords customer database.

The allegations about Mr Browns rage tantrums have a difference since they exhibit an aspect of the impression of the man using the country. There is something peculiar about the approach in that the National Bullying Helpline has jumped on to the bandwagon, breaching the confidentiality of the callers nonetheless unwell to furnish any justification of indiscretion at No 10. But the row about the organization is a daze from the some-more critical idea that the man with his finger on the chief symbol has a bent to lose finish carry out of his emotions.

It might be going as well far to credit the Prime Minister of bullying his staff, nonetheless positively for years he authorised what one apportion calls a macho bullying enlightenment to rise around him, with Damian McBride and Charlie Whelan receiving out his opponents with the unrestrained of characters in a Quentin Tarantino movie. GB is no Gripper Stebson, texts a Downing Street aide, a anxiety to the Grange Hill bully.

Nobody denies, however, that Mr Brown can turn impressed by annoy at times of stress. I have oral to people who have seen him flog seat and scream at secretaries. He himself has certified throwing newspapers and alternative things opposite the room. I was once even told that he had damaged a chair after celebration of the mass one of my columns. He is indeed, as Tony Blair put it, the great clunking fist. He loses carry out and thats scary, says a minister.

Perhaps it is, as Lord Mandelson suggests, since he is so driven. But alternative ministers contend that Mr Browns bent to go in to an romantic frenzy creates it harder for him to have decisions in a ease and cool manner. Children lose carry out and have a pretension when they dont get their approach since thats the usually approach they can claim themselves, says one. Gordons annoy is a pointer of debility and distrust and that counts since debility leads to hesitancy and dithering and there are unconstrained examples of that.

There are a little people who get things finished by shouting, but Mr Browns meltdown moments appear to emanate a clarity of paralysis. Indeed, Sir Gus ODonnell, the Cabinet Secretary, has secretly voiced regard about Mr Browns incapacity to see the timber for the trees and act, as well as about his poise to staff. It cannot assistance that the Prime Minister creates an ambience that creates it tough for people to discuss it him when he is wrong.

A supervision help detects a mental disorder that he dates behind to the rugby collision that left the immature Gordon pinned to a sanatorium bed for months. Theres a clarity that hes the underdog, a consistent fright that hes being ganged up against, funny ideas that browbeat his total perspective of the universe and have him unequivocally formidable and untrusting. It fundamentally affects the approach he governs.

It is impression some-more than beliefs that leads Mr Brown to put short-term strategy prior to long-term strategy, emphasising dividing lines with the Tories whilst unwell to set out his own certain box with confidence. You cant apart consolation and romantic comprehension from visualisation and character, says a Cabinet minister. Your decisions are sensitive by your capability to review the mood of a room or the country.

There is a doctrine for Mr Cameron too. The Tory celebrity has successfully projected his temperament as a complicated family man. According to Populus, 73 per cent of electorate report him as likeable, a 33 per cent lead over Mr Brown.

But likeability is not enough: a celebrity additionally needs to authority respect. Mr Camerons check lead is slipping since his celebrity is tasteful but his impression stays unclear. How would he cope with an mercantile predicament or a militant attack? Is he unequivocally in assign of his celebration or does Sir Nicholas Winterton, with his arrogance towards second-class sight travellers, paint the Tories true-blue violence heart?

If Mr Brown is scandalous for giving staff the hairdryer treatment, Mr Cameron is important for giving a print the airbrush treatment. He has upheld the Converse tutor modernity test, but he needs to show he is some-more than only a flattering face.

As Austens Mr Knightley tells Emma, extraneous charms blur but great impression endures. Respect for right control is felt by everybody, he says. And that includes the voters.