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The revamped machine has a familiar look and feel
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Fans of retro computing will soon be able to buy a modern PC clad in a classic case.
Commodore is making a Windows PC that fits inside a boxy beige shell that looks exactly like its original C64.
The 8-bit machine was released in 1982, had 64 kilobytes of memory and became one of the best-selling computers ever.
Commodore’s updated version will run Windows 7 but also has an emulator capable of playing games written for its ancestor.
Commodore has started taking orders for the C64x, priced at $595 (£364), and said the machines would ship between May and June. It is expected to appear in shops later in the year.
The machine’s internal hardware will be based around a dual-core Intel Atom D525, a chip typically found in notebook computers.
Its 1.8Ghz chip is far faster than the 8-bit 1MHz MOS 6502 processor used in the 80’s original.
California Games was one of the most popular titles for the original Commodore 64
The C64x will also use an integrated Nvidia graphics chip and buyers have the option of equipping a model with a Bluray DVD player.
All the hardware for the machine fits inside the keyboard case.
The first models will sport the same taupe colour scheme as the original along with a “clicky” keyboard familiar to anyone who used the older C64 or its predecessor, the Vic 20.
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Cover Flow displays album covers for a user to ‘flick’ through
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A judge has thrown out a ruling that would have forced Apple to pay $625m (£383m) for alleged patent infringements.
A jury decided last year that Apple’s Spotlight, Time Machine and Cover Flow systems violated three patents held by small technology firm Mirror Worlds.
However, Judge Leonard Davis overturned the verdict saying that the claimant had failed to properly make their case.
The original fine was one of the biggest ever for patent infringement.
Mirror Worlds, owned by Yale University computer-science Professor David Gelernter, sued Apple in 2008.
The dispute centred on how documents are displayed on-screen – particularly the ‘card-flipping’ technique utilised when a user scrolls through music in their iTunes library.
In October 2010, a federal jury in Tyler, Texas awarded Mirror Worlds $208.5m in damages for each of the three alleged infringements.
Apple appealed, challenging the validity of the smaller firm’s patents and arguing that they were not infringed.
Reviewing the case, Judge Davis upheld Mirror Worlds’ patents, but decided that that the company had not provided enough evidence to support its complaint.
“Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury,” he said.
“But it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law.”
Neither Apple nor Mirror Worlds have commented on the new ruling.
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The process of injecting nitrogen could take several days, engineers say
Workers in Japan have begun injecting nitrogen into one of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent more hydrogen blasts.
The gas is being pumped into reactor 1 of the six-unit plant which was damaged by last month’s quake and tsunami.
Explosions caused by a build-up of hydrogen gas happened in three reactors in the aftermath of the 11 March quake.
Earlier, workers succeeded in stopping a highly radioactive water from the plant into the Pacific Ocean.
The plant’s operator, Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power Co), said it had injected chemical agents to solidify soil near a cracked pit of reactor 2 that was the source of the leak.
Since the earthquake knocked out cooling systems, workers have been pumping water into reactors to cool fuel rods, but must now deal with waste water pooling in and below damaged reactor buildings.
Technicians began injecting nitrogen, an inert gas, at 0131 local time Thursday (1631 GMT Wednesday), said Makoto Watanabe, a spokesman for Japan’s nuclear agency.
A Tepco official was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying that it was “necessary to inject nitrogen gas into the containment vessel and eliminate the potential for a hydrogen explosion”.
Fukushima update (6 April)Reactor 1: Damage to the core from cooling problems. Building holed by gas explosion. Radioactive water detected in reactor and basement, and groundwater. Hydrogen gas building up again.Reactor 2: Damage to the core from cooling problems. Building holed by gas blast. Highly radioactive water detected in reactor and adjoining tunnel. Crack identified in containment pit now plugged.Reactor 3: Damage to the core from cooling problems. Building holed by gas blast; containment damage possible. Spent fuel pond partly refilled with water after running low. Radioactive water detected in reactor and basementReactor 4: Reactor shut down prior to quake. Fires and explosion in spent fuel pond; water level partly restoredReactors 5 & 6: Reactors shut down. Temperature of spent fuel pools now lowered after rising high
Q&A: Health effects of radiationThe process could take several days, officials said.
The prevention of further hydrogen explosions – like those that had ripped through reactors 1 and 3 – is seen as a priority, because blasts could spew more radiation and damage the reactors.
On Wednesday engineers managed to plug the the leak from the pit in reactor 2. It is thought to have been the source of high levels of radiation found in seawater nearby.
In order to stem the leak, Tepco injected ”water glass”, or sodium silicate, and another agent into the pit.
Desperate engineers had also used sawdust, newspapers and concrete in recent days to try to stop the escaping water.
The government’s top spokesman said workers could not rule out other leaks at the reactor.
Meanwhile, engineers are continuing to pump some 11,500 tonnes of low-level radioactive seawater into the sea so the more highly contaminated water can be stored in waste buildings.
Officials said this water would not pose a significant threat to human health, but local fishermen have reacted angrily.
In a letter, the largest fisheries group accused the government of an “utterly outrageous” action that threatened livelihoods.
On Tuesday, elevated levels of radioactive iodine – about twice the legal limit for vegetables – were found in small fish caught off Ibaraki prefecture to the south of Fukushima.
The government has promised compensation for the fishing industry and Tepco has already unveiled plans to compensate residents and farmers around the nuclear plant.
The number of people known to have died in the earthquake and tsunami has now reached 12,494, with another 15,107 still missing, according to police.
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Beyonce is a multiple Grammy Award winner
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Changes are to be made to next year’s Grammys, in what organisers say is the biggest overhaul in the 53-year history of the US music awards.
The number of categories will be reduced from 109 to 78 with many existing categories merged, while some will be dropped completely.
Each category must now start out with at least 40 contenders instead of 25.
Grammy president Neil Portnow said: “It ups the game in terms of what it takes to receive a Grammy.”
The top awards, which include best album, song of the year and best new artist, will remain the same.
Separate male and female vocal categories in fields such as pop, R&B and country are among those being merged, with men and women competing together.
“A great singer is a great singer is a great singer, and somebody that has a gift in terms of their voice, and is at the top of their game in terms of their delivery and emotion, really isn’t necessarily defined by gender,” Mr Portnow said.
Shortlists that are being ditched include best Native American album and best spoken word children’s record.
The new rules also state that shortlists which make between 25 and 39 nominations will only have three finalists on the big night.
If a category attracts fewer than 25 entries, it will be removed for that year and ultimately removed if this happens for three successive years.
“We are talking about the most prestigious, coveted award and it should be a high bar in terms of the measurement of receiving that,” Mr Portnow said.
The Grammy Awards usually take place in February. A date for the 54th annual ceremony has yet to be announced.
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As the battle for Misrata continues, one of the opposition leaders told the BBC’s Tim Wilcox that Col Gaddafi’s forces “are obliterating everything… and Nato is allowing him to do that”.
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More than 35,000 people have died in Mexico’s drugs conflict
Protest marches have been held in more than 20 cities across Mexico against the drug-related violence sweeping the country.
Thousands of people joined the protest in the main square in Mexico City, chanting “no more blood”.
Some called for President Felipe Calderon to resign, saying his strategy had exacerbated the bloodshed.
As the marches got under way, at least 59 bodies were found in a mass grave in Tamaulipas state.
Around 35,000 Mexicans have died in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon began deploying the army to fight the the cartels in December 2006.
The demonstrations were inspired by the poet and journalist Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed last week.
Mr Sicilia has blamed Mexican politicians as well as criminal gangs for the violence, saying they have “torn apart the fabric of the nation”.
Analysis
It is one of the first occasions that Mexicans, in their thousands and simultaneously around the country, have taken to the streets to protest against the violence of the so-called “drugs war”.
At the Zocalo, Mexico City’s main square, the chant most often made was “No more blood!”. A diverse crowd – families, union members, young people and elderly citizens – expressed their frustration with the increasing number of innocent civilians killed in the battle between drug cartels and the security forces.
Many demonstrators carried banners calling for President Felipe Calderon to quit, since – they said – his strategy against organised crime was not working.
Small demonstrations were also held in New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Madrid and other cities around the world.
Javier Sicilia called for the protests after his 24-year-old son, Juan Francisco, was found dead inside a car along with six other people in the city of Cuernavaca last week.
In an open letter to Mexico’s politicians and criminals published in Proceso, he said President Calderon’s campaign against the drugs gangs was “badly planned, badly carried out and badly led”.
“The citizenry has lost confidence in its governors, its police, its army, and is afraid and in pain”.
Mr Sicilia also condemned the criminals as “subhuman, demonic and imbecilic”.
“We have had it up to here with your violence, your loss of honour, your cruelty and senselessness,” he wrote.
Before joining the demonstrations, Mr Sicilia met President Calderon in Mexico City.
He said the president offered his condolences and briefed him on efforts to find his son’s killers.
The Mexican government says it is making progress against the drug cartels, and has captured or killed many of their top leaders.
Javier Sicilia says Mexicans have had enough
It says much of the bloodshed is the result of fighting between rival criminal gangs.
This view was echoed by the head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele Leonhart, at an international conference in the Mexican City of Cancun on Wednesday.
“It may seem contradictory, but the unfortunate level of violence is a sign of success in the fight against drugs,” the DEA chief said.
The cartels “are like caged animals, attacking one another,” she added.
In the latest violence, security forces in the northern state of Tamaulipas, on the US border, found a mass grave containing at least 59 bodies, officials said.
Initially, the grave in the township of San Fernando was said to contain about 40 bodies.
The human remains were uncovered in the same area where the bodies of 72 migrants from Central and South America were found last August.
Tamaulipas state has been the scene of bloody confrontations between rival drugs gangs who also exploit migrants heading to the US.
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A lawyer for Skilling said he would continue to fight to overturn the convictions
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A US appeals court has denied ex-Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling a new trial, upholding his conviction on 19 counts of conspiracy and other crimes.
The court rejected arguments that faulty jury instructions at his 2006 trial meant he should get a new trial.
The arguments were based on a June US Supreme Court ruling that an anti-fraud law was improperly used to convict him.
Skilling, 57, was the highest-ranking Enron officer to be punished after the energy firm’s collapse.
In addition, on Wednesday the three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Houston vacated Skilling’s 24-year prison sentence and sent it back to a lower court for re-sentencing.
Skilling’s lawyer Dan Petrocelli said he would continue to fight to overturn the convictions.
The energy trading giant imploded in December 2001 amid revelations executives had covered up the shoddy state of the company’s finances with accounting trickery and shady business deals.
In 2006, Skilling was convicted for his part in the accounting fraud, after prosecutors said he and other executives had concocted a scheme to keep the firm’s failing financial health secret from shareholders.
Enron founder Kenneth Lay was also convicted but died six weeks later as he awaited sentence.
In June, the US Supreme Court ruled the federal anti-corruption law that made it a crime ”to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services” was overly vague and could only be applied to cases of bribery and pay kickbacks.
The Supreme Court ruled the law was misapplied to Skilling’s case, since prosecutors had shown no evidence he had taken bribes or kickbacks for making the financial misrepresentations, but left it to lower courts to decide whether to void Skilling’s conviction.
In Wednesday’s ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the US government and found the faulty jury instructions in Skilling’s trial were “harmless” because the evidence against him was overwhelming.
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The British rounded up thousands of Kenyans during the uprising
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Four Kenyans who allege they were tortured during the suppression of the Mau Mau uprising are starting legal proceedings against the UK government.
The group, seeking compensation at the High Court, allege they were assaulted between 1952 and 1961 by British colonial administration officials.
Thousands were held in camps by the British during the uprising and many were tortured or killed, say activists.
The government says too much time has elapsed since the alleged abuses.
It says it cannot be held liable.
The legal action is being brought by three Kenyan men and one woman, all of whom are in their 70s and 80s.
Their lawyers say that the four represent the wider community of Kenyans abused during the rebellion against colonial rule in the 1950s.
They say there was systematic use of violence against thousands of detainees involved in the rebellion or suspected of supporting it who were held in detention camps.
A guerrilla group known as Mau Mau began a violent campaign against white settlers in 1952The uprising had been put down by the British colonial government by 1960The Kenya Human Rights Commission says 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdownIt says 160,000 people were detained in appalling conditionsKenya gained independence from Britain in 1963The movement is widely thought to have helped Kenya achieve that independence
The Foreign Office says it understands the strong feelings the Mau Mau issue still evokes and that the period caused a great deal of pain for many on all sides.
However, it says the UK intends to fully defend the cases, arguing that the government cannot be held liable.
Archive searches connected with the case have led to the discovery of thousands of files from former British administrations, including Kenya, which the Foreign Office is to make public.
The armed movement began in central Kenya during the 1950s with the aim of getting back land seized by British colonial authorities.
Historians say the Mau Mau movement helped Kenya achieve independence.
However, their actions have also been blamed for crimes against white farmers and bloody clashes with British forces throughout the 1950s.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission has said 90,000 Kenyans were executed, tortured or maimed during the crackdown, and 160,000 were detained in appalling conditions.
An official report in 1961 determined that more than 11,000 Africans, most of them civilians, and 32 white people died during that period.
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Work on the line could start in 2015 if the plans go ahead
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Environmental charities have formed an alliance calling on the government to reconsider its approach to a London-to-Birmingham high-speed rail line.
The new grouping, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England, RSPB and Greenpeace, says there has been too little consultation on the HS2 scheme.
Its charter sets out four principles “for doing High Speed Rail well”.
The charities fear there will be increased flights or car journeys if the proposals fall through.
The charter is also backed by Campaign for Better Transport, Chiltern Society, Civic Voice, Environmental Law Foundation, Friends of the Earth, The Wildlife Trusts, and Woodland Trust.
It calls for a national transport strategy; better long-term planning of the effects of big transport proposals; and effective public participation.
The alliance says: “Many groups commenting publicly on High Speed Rail to date have represented either people living along the proposed route or businesses and cities that could profit from it.
Analysis
HS2 has been causing green groups a headache. Having supported it in principle in preference to expanding Heathrow, they are now being tugged by radicals who complain it encourages hypermobility for the rich – travelling further and faster each year, and increasing emissions.
A radical transport strategy, they say, would focus on walking and cycling to encourage neighbours to make friends in their street, rather than hundreds of miles away.
But green pragmatists fear that if they campaign too hard against HS2 it will drive the government into the arms of the transport lobby, who will press for more roads and airports. And that will be worse.
So Thursday’s paper is a compromise – not calling for an end to HS2, but for better consultation and – crucially – for the government to produce a strategy showing how it will reduce the environmental effects of transport overall.
“Today’s Charter draws together for the first time many well known national charities, covering environmental, heritage, countryside, legal and wildlife issues, in addition to other organisations. It seeks to achieve the best long-term outcome from high speed rail for the country, the climate, communities and the countryside.”
They say HS2 has been foisted on the public with no prior consultation.
HS2 is designed to shorten journey times between London and Birmingham, and connect later to Manchester and Leeds.
A public consultation on the proposed location of the new track in the Chilterns, Buckinghamshire and Warwickshire is running until July, but some residents have already voiced concerns about the impact.
If the plans go ahead, the government expects work on the line to the West Midlands to begin in 2015 and finish by 2026, with the links to Manchester and Leeds completed in 2032-33.
Earlier this month a group of 21 business figures and politicians called for the proposed link between London and Birmingham to be scrapped.
In the open letter signed by the likes of former Chancellor, Lord Lawson, and Lord Wolfson, the chief executive of Next, the plan was described as an “expensive white elephant”, and a “vanity project”.
But Transport Secretary Philip Hammond says the £17bn project will deliver major strategic benefits to the economy and other business leaders have backed it.
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Rebel forces kept up attacks in the west on Wednesday
The US has rebuffed a personal appeal from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to US President Barack Obama, repeating that he must resign and go into exile.
“Mr Gaddafi knows what he must do,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, commenting on the three-page letter received by the president.
Colonel Gaddafi urged Mr Obama in his letter to end an “unjust war”.
An unconfirmed report from Libya says a coalition air strike has damaged a disputed oil pipeline.
Khaled Kaim, a deputy foreign minister in Col Gaddafi’s government in Tripoli, told reporters that three guards had been killed and other staff injured during an air strike by British jets on the Sarir oilfield in the Sirte basin.
However, the oilfield has been under rebel control, and the rebels reported attacks this week by Libyan government forces in the area, which forced a halt to oil production.
There was no immediate official comment from the UK’s Ministry of Defence on the Libyan government report.
But on Wednesday afternoon, it reported that British jets had hit targets around Sirte and Misrata, attacking armoured fighting vehicles and tanks.
A White House spokesman responded to Col Gaddafi’s letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press news agency, by saying actions, not words, were needed from the Libyan leader.
“I don’t think there is any mystery about what is expected from Mr Gaddafi at this time”
Hillary Clinton US secretary of state
American warplanes are no longer involved in the air strikes on Libya – a fact hailed by Col Gaddafi in his letter.
Referring to Barack Obama as “our son”, the Libyan leader urged the US leader to end an “unjust war against a small people of a developing country”, and dismissed the rebels as “al-Qaeda” militants.
His nation, he said, had been been hurt “morally” more than “physically”.
Mrs Clinton said in Washington: “I don’t think there is any mystery about what is expected from Mr Gaddafi at this time.
“There needs to be a cease-fire, his forces need to withdraw from the cities that they have forcibly taken at great violence and human cost…
“There needs to be a decision made about his departure from power and… his departure from Libya.”
In another development, a former US congressman has arrived in Tripoli at the invitation of the Libyan government.
Curt Weldon says he will urge Mr Gaddafi to “step aside”, and is suggesting that his forces pull back from western cities under siege while rebel fighters do not try to advance any further from the east.
The White House was informed about the visit in advance but a spokesman stressed that Mr Weldon was not an official envoy.
Nato has promised to do everything it can to protect civilians in the west Libyan city of Misrata which is besieged by Col Gaddafi’s forces.
Rebel leaders have predicted a massacre there within a week unless Nato takes more decisive action.
The BBC’s Wyre Davies reports from rebel-held eastern Libya that rebel forces remain enthusiastic but ill-disciplined, despite attempts by the few former regular soldiers among their ranks to try to coordinate their operations.
It is a safe bet that after firing off their rockets and mortars in the general direction of the enemy, the same rebels will come charging back, unable or unwilling to dig in and take on Col Gaddafi’s better-trained troops, our correspondent says.
Meanwhile, government forces have adapted their efforts to frustrate Nato air strikes, no longer using tanks or other military vehicles that could easily be identified and attacked.
They are using the same pick-up trucks and civilian guise as the rebel fighters, our correspondent says.
Col Gaddafi’s opponents are still not in immediate danger of losing strongholds like Benghazi but nor are they in any shape to make significant advances on the ground without more Nato air strikes, he adds.
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Economic problems can act as a trigger for depression, experts say
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Economic problems may be fuelling a rise in depression in England, it has been suggested.
Prescriptions for anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac rose by more than 40% over the past four years, data obtained by the BBC shows.
GPs and charities said they were being contacted increasingly by people struggling with debt and job worries.
They said financial woe often acted as a “trigger” for mental health problems.
The rise has happened at a time when the government has been increasing access to talking therapies, which should in theory curb the demand for anti-depressants.
In the last year alone referrals for talking therapies rose four-fold to nearly 600,000, Department of Health figures showed.
Dr Clare Gerada, head of the Royal College of GPs, said some of the rise in prescribing was also likely to be due to increased awareness about the condition.
But she added: “Of course, in times of economic problems we would expect mental health problems to worsen – and GPs are seeing more people coming in with debts racking up, or who have lost their job and are cancelling their holidays.
“They feel guilty that they can’t provide for their family and these things can often act as a trigger for depression.”
Case study
Caitlin, 28, from Manchester, has struggled with mental health problems since adolescence.
But financial problems in the last year have made it worse and she has recently been prescribed anti-depressants.
She used to work in a residential care home for children, but has been out of work for 12 months.
Caitlin is now living on benefits totalling £140 a week, but the cost of her mortgage and other bills far outstrips this. It means she has built up debts of £10,000.
She is currently doing voluntary work and studying, but has given up on getting a job in the immediate future because of the cuts to public services.
“It is a really worrying time. I have never been out of work for this long and it puts a real strain on you.”
Mental health charity Sane also said it had seen more people contacting its e-mail and phone advice lines with money worries.
Its chief executive, Marjorie Wallace, said: “It is impossible to say for sure that economic problems are leading to a rise in depression. But we are certainly hearing more from people who are worried where the next meal is coming from, job security and cuts in benefits – many who are getting in touch with us for the first time.
“It is a toxic combination, especially for those who already have darker thoughts and other problems.”
The figures, obtained from NHS Prescription Services under the Freedom of Information Act, cover anti-depressant prescribing from 2006 to 2010, during which time the country had to cope with the banking crisis, recession and the start of the spending cuts.
They showed the number of prescriptions for selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, the most commonly prescribed group of anti-depressants, rose by 43% to nearly 23m a year.
The data also showed increases in other types of anti-depressants, including drugs such as Duloxetine which tends to be used for more serious cases.
Care services minister Paul Burstow said: “The last recession has left many people facing tough times. If people do experience mental health problems, the NHS is well placed to help.
“We’re boosting funding for talking therapies by £400m over the next four years. This will ensure that modern, evidence-based therapies are available to all who need them, whether their depression or anxiety are caused by economic worries or anything else.”
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President Obama met with House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday to discuss the budget
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Talks are intensifying on Capitol Hill as congressional negotiators attempt to reach an agreement over federal spending cuts in order to avoid a looming government shutdown.
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday “a glimmer of hope” existed following late-night talks.
But without a budget deal, parts of the US government will shut down on Friday.
The White House said President Barack Obama could hold a second meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday.
House Speaker John Boehner and Mr Obama met on Tuesday in an effort to craft a budget deal that could cut $33bn (£20bn) from this year’s budget against last year’s spending levels and ensure the government does not shut down when the most recent stop-gap measure expires at midnight on Friday.
In remarks after that meeting, Mr Obama said his administration and House Republicans were closer than they had ever been to coming to an agreement.
The White House was said on Wednesday morning to be assessing any progress lawmakers made during late-night talks between Senate Democrats and House Republicans before holding a second meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Schumer, the Senate’s number three Democrat, told US media on Wednesday morning that “some progress was made” in negotiations with House Republicans on Tuesday.
“We’ve met the other side more than half way” at $33bn (£20bn) in proposed cuts, he added.
Negotiations have stalled over legislation to fund the day-to-day operations of US federal agencies to the end of the fiscal year on 30 September.
Republicans, urged on by the anti-government Tea Party movement, are calling for far greater spending cuts than Democrats are willing to concede.
Meanwhile, Democrats have accused Republicans of linking social policy agendas to the bill, and say the size of the cuts Republicans demand would hinder the nascent US economic recovery.
Mr Obama is scheduled to head to the state of Pennsylvania for a town hall meeting on energy security on Wednesday at 1230 local time (1730GMT).
But a meeting with “Congressional leaders on the budget is still possible,” White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said in a message on the micro-blogging website Twitter.
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Dorothea Krimitsas, International Committee of the Red Cross: “The population in Abidjan has been very hard hit”
Troops backing the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast have been rebuffed in attempts to oust the country’s incumbent leader.
Alassane Ouattara’s forces launched an assault on the home of Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to stand down as president.
After hours of fighting, Mr Ouattara’s men pulled back in the face of heavy fire from within Mr Gbagbo’s residence.
Mr Gbagbo insists he won November’s run-off vote, but election officials found Mr Ouattara was the winner.
That result was certified by the UN, but Mr Gbagbo has refused to leave office.
Mr Gbagbo and his family are believed to be sheltering in the bunker of his residence, in an upmarket area of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s main city.
He says Mr Ouattara’s troops want to kill him, while they say they have strict orders to capture him alive.
Speaking by phone to French radio and sounding defiant, Mr Gbagbo denied he was hiding in a bunker.
“I am in the residence – the residence of the president of the republic. When it rains, can’t one take shelter inside one’s house?”
Mr Gbagbo had earlier denied he was surrendering, saying he was only negotiating a truce.
Late on Wednesday, French helicopters evacuated the Japanese ambassador after his home near the presidential residence was invaded by unidentified gunmen, whom he described as “mercenaries”.
During the operation, French forces exchanged fire with fighters defending Mr Gbagbo’s residence, the French embassy said.
Gun, rocket and mortar fire was reported around Mr Gbagbo’s residence during Wednesday.
Carrying automatic weapons and approaching the compound in pickup trucks modified to carry heavy machine guns, Mr Ouattara’s troops attempted to storm the residence to spring Mr Gbagbo from his hideaway.
At the scene
A negotiated ending might have helped ease tensions in this bitterly divided country. After all, Mr Gbagbo won 46% of the vote in the recent election.
But he seems to have overplayed a weak hand, and so a more forceful denouement beckons, and with it the real risk of greater instability.
What will his militias do if Mr Gbagbo is killed, or dragged out and humiliated?
Civilians, still trapped in Abidjan, say there has been sporadic gunfire across the city, with pro-Gbagbo militias still on the streets, and Ouattara force’s still “mopping up” opposition at several military installations.
The stench of dead bodies, littering the sides of the road, is a powerful reminder of the price this city has paid for the “restoration of democracy”.
Harding: Cornered in Abidjan
But they faced stiff resistance from inside the property’s walls, where Mr Gbagbo’s supporters were said to be dug in with mortars and rocket launchers.
After several hours of fighting the sounds of battle died away.
Local residents, Western officials and representatives of Mr Ouattara’s forces conceded that Mr Gbagbo’s men had held out.
“We retreated but we are preparing for a second assault,” a spokesman for the fighters, Yves Doumbia, told the Associated Press new agency.
The BBC’s John James, outside Abidjan, says a new standoff appears to be developing, with the anti-Gbagbo forces possibly regrouping for an overnight assault.
“There are still some mortars and tanks in the presidential compound – the offensive was suspended for a few hours,” French news agency AFP quoted a French official in Abidjan as saying.
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Mr Gbagbo’s “intransigence” had led to the collapse of UN-brokered talks aimed at negotiating an orderly departure.
“The conditions set by President Ouattara are very clear: he demands that Laurent Gbagbo accepts his defeat and recognises the victory of the legitimately elected president,” he told parliament.
“That’s where we stand today, so sadly the arms have begun to talk again.”
France – the former colonial power in Ivory Coast – has troops in the country alongside UN peacekeepers. They are attempting to maintain security around Abidjan under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution.
Mr Juppe said neither French nor UN troops were involved in the offensive against Mr Gbagbo.
As the two sides continue to battle for the presidency, concern is growing over the humanitarian situation in Ivory Coast.
Following two days of advances in Abidjan by pro-Ouattara forces the city’s four million people remain mainly inside their homes.
Soldiers, ex-rebel fighters, militia groups and mercenaries are battling for control of the streets, says the our correspondent. The main banks have been closed for nearly two months and few people have the funds to stock up on food.
Ivorian turmoil28 November: Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara in election run-off2 December: Electoral commission announces that Ouattara has won3 December: Constitutional Council declaring Gbagbo the winner; UN says Ouattara was victor30 March: Pro-Ouattara forces enter the capital, Yamoussoukro4 April: UN launches air strikes on Gbagbo in main city, Abidjan5 April: Three generals negotiate Gbagbo’s surrender
Mark Doyle: Ouattara’s political tightropeThe UN and the Red Cross have both voiced their concern for the civilians caught up in the fighting. The Red Cross has described the humanitarian situation as “worsening” and is beginning to distribute 12 tonnes of aid to those judged most in need.
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes to escape the violence, with the UN refugee agency reporting an increase in the number of Ivorians crossing the border into neighbouring Liberia.
The International Criminal Court says it is preparing to investigate reports of human rights abuses during the fighting.
Last November’s election was intended to reunite Ivory Coast which split in two following a northern rebellion in 2002.
The electoral commission pronounced Mr Ouattara the victor, but Ivory Coast’s Constitutional Council said Mr Gbagbo had won.
The US, the UN and the EU recognised Mr Ouattara as the winner, but both candidates had themselves sworn in as president and a stand-off ensued.
Skirmishes and battles between the rival forces have since taken place across Ivory Coast, culminating in Mr Ouattara’s troops sweeping into Abidjan at the end of March.
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