I can't believe this is happening in Australia."The International Office of Migration, a non-governmental organisation that looks after refugees, described the situation aboard the Manoora as tense. An IOM representative, Mark Getchell, who flew to the ship by helicopter, said more vocal members of the group – who he said were of middle-class background, with Western-style clothes and fluent English – were intimidating others who wanted to get off. "They still want to go to Australia and they're not listening to anything else," he said.On Nauru, Australian soldiers are working round the clock to construct makeshift tin and plastic shelters, where the asylum-seekers could spend up to six months while their claims are processed. A plan to house them in seaside bungalows was dropped because of local landowners' demands.The near bankrupt island is taking the boat people in return for about £8m in aid from the Canberra government, which was criticised by the international community for refusing to allow the Tampa's passengers to land on Christmas Island, the Australian outpost 200 miles south of Indonesia.Philip Ruddock, the Immigration Minister, welcomed the decision of the full bench of the court in Melbourne, saying the judgment would be a "red light" to people smugglers..

Manganese Bronze, the black cab maker, plans to counter flagging cab sales with the launch of a new taxi-hailing service. Manganese Bronze, the black cab maker, plans to counter flagging cab sales with the launch of a new taxi-hailing service. The company will invest £8m this year in developing "Zingo", a service to help passengers hail the nearest cab using their mobile phones. The move marks a step on Manganese Bronze's transition from manufacturing cabs to supplying them with products and services.Ian Pickering, the chief executive, said: "We hope to launch Zingo next spring. As a more efficient way of hailing a taxi than standing on the street with your arm, we hope it will be well accepted by passengers and that taxi drivers will see it as a way of boosting their income."Manganese Bronze will charge cab drivers a subscription fee to use Zingo.

It will also receive a proportion of the booking fee and of the mobile call charge. It has signed an agreement "with a major mobile network operator" to enable the system to locate mobile phones.Manganese Bronze shares yesterday dived 5.2 per cent to 72.5p after it reported a pre-tax loss for the year to 31 July of £1m from a £4.75m profit last year. Sales slipped 12 per cent to £115m as sales of new taxis fell by 24 per cent.. Shares in the software business Cedar Group more than halved yesterday after it warned that revenues this year would be "materially below" current market expectations of about £150m. Shares in the software business Cedar Group more than halved yesterday after it warned that revenues this year would be "materially below" current market expectations of about £150m. The company, which is "actively reviewing" its cost base, blamed a combination of factors including the fact its customers were taking longer to make IT-related decisions.John Stanley, chairman, said: "In common with many other companies in the IT sector, Cedar is experiencing difficult trading conditions in both our main markets of the US and the UK."Shares in Cedar dropped 58.5 per cent, or 109p, to 77.5p – their lowest point for about a year and a half.While the company said it still expected current year sales to show "sound growth" over last year's level of £73.3m, it said specific factors combined with the current market environment were "likely to result in revenue for the current year falling materially below current market estimates". Cedar's cost-cutting plan is likely to include sweeping redundancies among its 1,300 strong work-force.Mike Hosie, finance director, said the company would try to minimise the impact of the cost cutting on its staff, but noted that 70 per cent of its costs were people-related.Analysts, who had been expecting Cedar to move back into a profit of anything from £15m to £20m this year, were yesterday suggesting Cedar would now do well to break even.Ian Mitchell, an analyst at Beeson Gregory, said: "The scale of this is something you see very seldom."He added: "Given the likely shortfall in revenue, it's entirely possible that it [Cedar] will post a loss."In June, the company reported a pre-tax loss of £20.1m for the year ended 31 March compared with a loss in the previous year of £3.5m.At that time, Cedar also restated its accounts to bring them into line with US GAAP standards, viewed as more conservative than the UK equivalent. The change lopped £9.3m off sales in the year ended 31 March 2000 and turned an operating profit of £5.6m into a £2.7m loss..

Consignia warned yesterday that its ability to provide a universal postal service was under threat after the industry's regulator took the historic step of granting the first licence to a competitor. Consignia warned yesterday that its ability to provide a universal postal service was under threat after the industry's regulator took the historic step of granting the first licence to a competitor. Senior managers at the state-owned Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office, declared last night that Hays Commercial Services was being allowed to cream off the most lucrative trade. It is the first time the British mail service has encountered competition since the initial monopoly was granted in 1654.Hays has been given a year-long licence to deliver business documents before 8am in parts of London, Edinburgh and Manchester, which have been the preserve of the Royal Mail.Leaders of the Communication Workers' Union said the regulator, PostComm, had set about "destroying the British postal service" and warned that the union nor the public would allow it to happen "without a fight".Some employees' representatives expected postal workers would walk out if they were asked to handle mail processed by private sector competitors.The union had agreed last week to suspend any official ballots for industrial action for at least a month while talks continue over improving industrial relations in the service.However, the regulator also announced yesterday it was considering issuing a licence to a firm for the delivery of mail for local authorities if the postal service is disrupted by industrial action or other problems.Hays is likely to be given permission to provide a UK-wide service for councils to step in and deliver mail such as housing benefit payments. The CWU said the regulator seemed to be planning a "strike-breaking" operation at a time when the industry was attempting to resolve its problems.Consignia said yesterday it was concerned that the intervention of Hays would undermine its ability to ensure that addresses everywhere in the United Kingdom received mail at a uniform price. However, Consignia said it welcomed Postcomm's commitment to review the effect of the Hays licence on the universal service."Postcomm is now prepared to look favourably on applications for postal licences from any company that wants to pick its customers and offer a mail service at less than the basic 27p first class stamp," said Stuart Sweetman, Consignia's managing director for business development.Hays could "cream off" the market by picking and choosing its customers, he said.

Because Consignia was state-backed, competition law prevented the group selectively lowering its prices, which was the most effective way it could compete with an operation such as Hays.Mr Sweetman said there was "nothing innovative" about the overnight service Hays wants to provide. "It carries no guarantee and is essentially the same as Royal Mail's first class service," he said. "Its main selling point will be its price, which is bound to undercut the 27p basic postage."Mr Sweetman said Consignia fully supported the introduction of fair competition because it was convinced it could compete if "level playing field" rules apply to all operators.Hays said the new licences were designed to provide new benefits and alternatives for postal users. A range of features and options, using the latest in postal technology will be introduced for Hays' customers, said managing director Neil Tregarthen."This licence will enable us to begin the process of revitalising and expanding the mail market, complementing the universal service provided by Consignia," he said.Sources at Consignia, however, argued that Hays would ensure the universal service was not undermined before the regulator reviewed the situation after 12 months.The consumers' postal watchdog, Postwatch, welcomed the decision, saying that some customers would have a choice for the first time."For the Post Office it is the day competition arrived," said Gregor McGregor, chief executive of Postwatch. "This could act as a real spur to improve services to its customers.". WPP Group, the advertising and marketing services giant, yesterday waded into the market to buy stock in Tempus Group, the media buying firm, raising its stake to 26 per cent, sources said. WPP Group, the advertising and marketing services giant, yesterday waded into the market to buy stock in Tempus Group, the media buying firm, raising its stake to 26 per cent, sources said. WPP actively bought Tempus shares, which saw unusually heavy volume of 5.3 million yesterday, the sources said.