I was trying to upgrade Kubuntu maverick meerkat kde from 4.5.1 to 4.5.3
so i added ppa:kubuntu-ppa to other software in the edit sources menu in kpackage manager and it added
http://ppa.launchpad.net/kubuntu-ppa/ppa/ubuntu maverick main (source code)
i was prompted to reload the software sources which seemed to work. When checking for new software sources again i got an additional 169 packages which are KDE related but they have a yellow triangle with an exclamtaion mark next to each one. unsure as to what to do i removed the ppa:kubuntu-ppa and rechecked the software packages and they dissappeared.
However when i added the ppa:kubuntu-ppa once more and tried to reload the software sources i got

The package system could not be initialised, your configuration may be broken.

details gives

Type ‘b’ is not known on line 3 in source list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubuntu-ppa-ppa-maverick.list

Any ideas?

I moved the relevant file to somewhere else (so i could put it back if needed) and now when i add the ppa:kubuntu-ppa repository i now get the two entries back reload the software and check for updates gives 174 new packages most with yellow triangle/shields and some with red ones . the red ones are listed as

This update is needed to fix a security vulnerability with this package.
The developer logs will be shown as no description is available for this update:
Failed to download the list of changes.
Please check your Internet connection.

the yellow ones as

The developer logs will be shown as no description is available for this update:

Failed to download the list of changes.
Please check your Internet connection.

is it safe/wise to install these?

Well, the Kubuntu PPAs do not provide not completely official updates, not undergoing the same quality assurance standards of regular updates/security updates. So, no, technically they are not save. If you want to be on the save side, do not use PPAs at all.
If you are sure you want to take the potential (however very small) risk of breaking something go for the upgrade. If not, you really should stick with the updates that you get through the official Kubuntu archives.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the advice. Pity i didn't listen to it. Totally screwed up my installation. I have reinstalled Kubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 which is what i had before upgrading to Meerkat.