new version and thankfully I was not disappointed. The character of Fagin, so crucial to the story, is performed with outstanding ability by Ben Kingsley. He really portrays this grotesque but somehow lovable character well from his slight mannerisms and movements to his vocal abilities. Also, finely performed were the parts of the artful dodger (Harry Eden), Mr Brownlowe (Edward Hardwicke) and of course Oliver Twist (Barney Clarke). There was such sadness and despair in his eyes throughout that he really captured the part well. Less convincing was Bill Sykes (Jamie Foreman) who was not right for the part nor performed well enough to stand up against the masterful Oliver Reed in a previous version. Foreman is a regular in gangster type films and for me did notZawahri: 'Iraq war a failure'

Al-Qaeda's deputy leader says Bush is passing on problem to his successor.

20 Apr 2008 03:10 GMT

Zawahri says the US troops will face defeat in Iraq [EPA]

Passing on problem

Marking the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, Zawahri said that the administration of George Bush, the US president, is passing on a "problem" to the president's successor by guaranteeing that a heavy foreign military presence stays in Iraq for the rest of Bush's term.

Following the advice of General David Petraeus, the US' senior commander in Iraq, to delay troop withdrawals, the current total of 160,000 soldiers is scheduled to shrink to about 140,000 by the end of July.

"The truth is that if Bush keeps all his forces in Iraq until doomsday and until they