gates added that key goal must be to find greenhouse gas free way to produce
electricity that is cheaper than burning coal to generate power
there will be huge market for this and governments should supply large
amounts of funding for based research and development gates said
the gates foundation has yet to back research into clean sources of electricity
but internet giant google has been investing and offering grants for research in
such technologies
the most important innovation required to avoid climate change will be way of
producing electricity that is cheaper than coal and that emits no greenhouse
gases gates wrote
gates revealed that he will keep an online journal of sorts logging muses about
trips books meetings and other matters he finds interesting at
gatesnotes com website
iran summons swiss envoy over scientist killing reports
tehran jan afp
iran summoned monday the swiss ambassador representing us interests in tehran to
protest at what it called washington support for group it linked to an
atomic scientist killing reports said
livia leu agosti was summoned to the foreign ministry on monday to receive
iran protest over the activities of the tondar terrorist group which resides
on us soil said foreign ministry statement carried by news agencies
the terrorist group has some connections with the martyrdom of dr ali
mohammadi the iranian scientist based on leads found in the case and thus
iran is demanding their extradition to stand trial here the statement added
switzerland has represented the interests of the united states in iran since the
two countries broke off ties in the aftermath of the revolution
massoud ali mohammadi particle physics professor at prestigious tehran
university was killed on january morning by bomb strapped to motorcycle
in the capital
day later parliament speaker ali larijani accused intelligence agents of the
united states and israel of plotting the bombing
larijani also slammed us president barack obama for rashly resorting to
monarchist group which has no credibility to cover such an operation
he was alluding to group called takavaran tondar which claimed responsibility
for the bombing on its website
but according to the opposition website rahesabz net the group later disavowed
the claim and accused iranian intelligence agents of plotting hoax
tehran officials have repeatedly accused the united states and israel of seeking
to foment unrest in iran
figure skating kerrigan brother denies assault charge
stoneham massachusetts jan afp
two time olympic figure skating medalist nancy kerrigan brother mark pleaded
not guilty monday to an assault charge upon their father who died last weekend
kerrigan won silver medal at the lillehammer winter olympics after
sordid scandal involving us rival tonya harding and took bronze at the
albertville winter olympics kerrigan also won the us crown
in kerrigan was clubbed in the right knee by an attacker after practice
session harding was found to have known about the attack plan and banned from
the sport for life but not before she skated at lillehammer
kerrigan suffered more heartache this weekend after her year old father
daniel was discovered unconscious on the floor of the family home by police
responding to an emergency call
he was pronounced dead early sunday at nearby hospital
mark kerrigan was found in the basement of the house according to police
report that described him as belligerent and combative when police tried to
question him eventually needing pepper spray to be subdued
kerrigan appeared intoxicated but appeared coherent in understanding questions
and answering them the report said
police said mark kerrigan said he struggled with his father and put his hands
around his father neck after not being allowed to use the telephone kerrigan
said his father fell to the floor but that he felt his dad was faking it
according to the report
blood was found on the floor as well as other signs of scuffle police said
kerrigan was ordered held on dollars bail after hearing in woburn
district court in which mark never spoke but once broke into tears
not guilty plea was entered for mark kerrigan on charge of assault and
bettery on person over resulting in injury
prosecutor elizabeth healey said the elder kerrigan fell or collapsed after
kitchen struggle with his son who is unemployed and living at home and as
lengthy criminal record
the boston herald reported that brenda kerrigan daniel widow said her
husband had died of heart attack and there was nothing suspicious about his
death
football nigeria zambia teams
lubango angola jan afp
nigeria and zambia teams for africa cup of nations quarter final at tundavala
stadium on monday
nigeria
victor enyeama yusuf mohammed onyekachi apam danny shittu elderson
echiejile dickson etuhu sani kaita john obi mikel osaze odemwingie yakubu
aiyegbeni capt chinedu obasi
coach shaibu amodu
zambia
kennedy mweene joseph musonda stoppila sunzu hichani himonde emmanuel mbola
christopher katongo capt thomas nyirenda william njobvu felix katongo
james chamanga jacob mulenga
coach herve renard fra
rugby union erc investigate ospreys extra man
dublin jan afp
shadow was cast over the ospreys european cup quarter final place after
officials announced monday they would be looking into how they managed to have
players on the field against leicester
the welsh region beat two time european champions leicester in pool six on
saturday to seemingly secure their place in this season last eight of european
club rugby union leading competition
but leicester protested that no action had been taken against the ospreys when
instead of the regulation players they briefly had in action late on when
lee byrne returned from blood binning only for temporary replacement sonny
parker to stay on the pitch at swansea liberty stadium
european rugby cup erc the tournament organisers said monday they had
received letter of complaint from leicester and that disciplinary officer
roger connor was currently gathering statements and evidence from both clubs
and the match officials relating to the incident in the second half
erc statement added once all statements and evidence have been gathered and
reviewed decision will be taken as to what further steps if any will be
taken
that left open the possibility of the ospreys being expelled from the tournament
although as this appears to be precluded by tournament rules fine would seem
the more likely punishment
eventual champions england were fined during the world cup when wing dan
luger briefly appeared as th player during their group victory over samoa in
melbourne
haitian police shoot scavengers indiscriminately afp
port au prince jan afp
haitian police on monday shot indiscriminately at scavengers and looters in
port au prince hitting two in the head as post quake security deteriorated an
afp photographer reported
group of police pushed to keep control among desperate population after the
january tremor which killed or injured many of their number and destroyed the
city prison opened fire on warehouse from building opposite
an afp photographer inside the scavengers building said two men were hit in the
head one of whom received medical attention two others were lying prone on the
floor one lifeless the other was treated for serious head wound
haitian man in the street outside said he saw police pistol whip man
this guy was trying to go inside the warehouse the cops took gun straight
to the back of the head don know why they do that it not fair because
everyone in haiti is hungry the man who declined to give his name said
looters and scavengers have moved into the downtown commercial district taking
what they can from the ruins as bulldozers demolished damaged shops and
warehouses
the haitian government has said the death toll from the january quake which
shattered what little infrastructure existed in the capital and left million
people homeless is expected to be around
us accuses former guatemalan president of money laundering
new york jan afp
us prosecutors on monday charged guatemala fugitive former president alfonso
portillo with laundering millions of dollars he embezzled while in office
portillo who was president from embezzled tens of million of
dollars worth of public funds portion of which he then laundered through bank
accounts located among other places in the united states and europe the
grand jury indictment reads
the grand jury indicted portillo in new york
the united states has requested portillo extradition guatemalan police said
sunday they had searched his two homes in guatemala city and his birthplace in
eastern zacapa but failed to find him
the page indictment charges portillo with using two national banks that he
oversaw to make fraudulent transactions an embezzle money from the government
to enrich himself and his co conspirators
he then allegedly laundered this money through various international bank
accounts including accounts located in the united states through at least in
or about
prosecutors said they were seeking forfeiture of the allegedly laundered money
if found guilty portillo could be sentenced to maximum of years in prison
and fine of of dollars or double the value of funds in the money
laundering transactions
portillo embezzled almost four million dollars from the ministry of defense and
also stole donations from taiwan to program known as bibliotecas para la paz
or libraries for peace according to the indictment
taiwan issued three checks of half million dollars each in to purchase
books none of the checks issued by the government of taiwan was applied to the
libraries for peace program instead this money was diverted the
indictment said
between portillo also allegedly misappropriated funds from the
publicly financed reserves of one of the banks he oversaw credito hipocaterio
nacional chn
to launder money portillo moved funds around the world including in florida
lichtenstein london luxembourg paris and switzerland the charges allege
portillo fled to mexico in after he lost his immunity from prosecution for
alleged corruption during his administration in october he was
extradited from mexico to guatemala where he has been awaiting trial on
embezzlement charges
portillo abused the trust of his nation people said us attorney preet
bharara in new york no matter who you are if you use our financial system to
launder your dirty cash we will follow the money trail to your door
afp gmt news advisory
washington jan afp
duty editor michael mathes
tel
top stories
chemical ali hanged in iraq
donors told rebuilding haiti to take years
dead in plane crash off lebanon
three bus bombs target baghdad hotels
iraq execution chemicalali thlead wrap
baghdad
saddam hussein notorious cousin and henchman chemical ali is executed
iraq government says eight days after he was sentenced to death for the
gassing of thousands of kurds
words gmt by arthur macmillan picture
we have also moved iraq justice chemicalali profile
iraq execution saddam regime background
haiti quake lead wrap
port au prince
haiti prime minister calls for donors to back the rebuilding of his quake hit
country and boost international aid as hundreds of thousands of people fought
for survival in the rubble
words gmt by dave clark
lebanon plane crash thlead wrap
beirut
rescuers find bodies but no survivors during massive search operation after an
ethiopian airliner carrying people plunged flaming into the sea off lebanon
words gmt by jocelyne zablit picture video graphics
we have also moved lebanon plane crash families ndlead scene
lebanon plane crash ethiopia aviation lead facts
lebanon plane crash sea chrono
iraq unrest thlead wrap
baghdad
three huge and apparently co ordinated minibus bombs target hotels in baghdad
killing at least people and wounding less than six weeks before general
election
words gmt by salam faraj graphic picture video
we have also moved iraq unrest timeline chrono
haiti quake
haiti quake aid canada summit ndlead
montreal
international donors are warned it will take at least years to rebuild haiti
after the devastating quake as aid groups called for haiti billion dollar
foreign debt to be wiped clean
words gmt by judi rever picture video
haiti quake refugees scene
port au prince
at the champ de mars refugee camp in central port au prince earthquake
survivors are slowly starting to organize themselves but the one thing they
can always ensure is getting enough food
words gmt by deborah pasmantier picture
filing plans by region
americas
us economy property sales thlead
washington
us existing home sales nose dived in december following buyers rush to take
advantage of tax credits industry data shows signaling murky outlook for the
devastated sector
words gmt by veronica smith file picture
us auto company gm thlead
detroit michigan
general motors interim chief executive and chairman ed whitacre says he has
agreed to be permanent ceo at the struggling us auto giant and vows to repay
government loans by june
words gmt
europe
france politics sarkozy lead
paris
battered in the opinion polls french president nicolas sarkozy goes on prime
time television to defend his record in office as joblessness rises and regional
elections loom
words gmt picture
france migration kurds lead
lyon france
french judges order the release of more than kurdish migrants who faced
possible deportation after rare mass landing in corsica allowing them to
claim asylum
words gmt picture video
britain nireland politics ndlead
belfast
british and irish leaders make an unscheduled dash to northern ireland to help
its power sharing executive resolve deadlock on policing that threatens its
future
words gmt picture
turkey afghanistan pakistan diplomacy rdlead wrap
istanbul
afghan president hamid karzai says he will press for taliban names to be removed
from un blacklist as he seeks support for his country in talks with the
leaders of pakistan and turkey
words moved by nicolas cheviron picture
africa
nigeria unrest religion
abuja
the nigerian army restricts troop movements after deadly muslim christian
clashes in and around the central city of jos which have so far claimed more
than lives
words gmt by aminu abubakar
asia
china us it internet google thlead wrap
beijing
china denies any state involvement in cyberattacks on google and accuses the
united states of double standards as row with washington over internet
freedom intensifies
words moved by susan stumme
srilanka vote ndlead wrap
colombo
sri lankan president mahinda rajapakse vows to ensure the first post war
nationwide election goes off peacefully as he prepared to face his former army
chief after an acrimonious campaign
words moved by adam plowright graphic picture
we have also moved srilanka vote astrology focus
srilanka vote economy diplomacy unrest analysis
nfl colts will try to spoil the super bowl party for saints
indianapolis indiana jan afp
forgive the indianapolis colts if they try to dampen the party spirit on bourbon
street by beating the new orleans saints to win their second title in four
seasons in super bowl
the saints an inspiration to city still struggling to bounce back from
hurricane katrina devastation in reached the first super bowl in their
year national football league history by beating minnesota on sunday
that touched off an all night celebration in the french quarter by who dat
nation the loyal saints fan base known for their cajun accented battle cry
who dat say dey gonna beat dem saints
colts coach jim caldwell whose team ousted the new york jets to reach the
title game said monday that the colts do not want to diminish the joy the
saints have brought to their city but they will fight hard for the crown also
we re not trying to stomp on that it great story caldwell said they
have done so much for that city to bring it back the enthusiasm you see around
that team is incredible
we don want to stamp any of that out but we want to win this ball game
the colts had not been to super bowl since until defeating chicago in
span that saw the club move from baltimore to indianapolis in
new orleans quarterback drew brees guides the nfl most potent scoring attack
while indianapolis counterpart peyton manning directs an offense that threw for
more touchdowns than any other except brees and the saints
he lot like peyton in that he can move the ball downfield in chunks
caldwell said of brees he able to find weaknesses in coverages quickly they
are team that can really spread it out
they present number of problems they have number of weapons they spread
the ball around very well they are tough to handle they put lot of points on
the board
with the colts and saints each advancing the top playoff seeds from each
conference will meet in the super bowl for the first time since
indianapolis began the season before benching starters and dropping their
final two regular season games the saints began before losing their final
three games neither managed perfect season but one will claim title
didn look at it from critical standpoint but nevertheless it tough to
ignore caldwell said
they were playing well at the same time we were rarely do you find the number
one seeds playing each other they are good team and we re looking forward to
playing them
fans can expect super bowl thriller the comeback minded colts won league
best seven games this season when trailing in the fourth quarter
we ve shown the ability to endure with quickness and speed toward the end of
ball games caldwell said do believe when you are fresh you can make up
mistake here or there with little speed
caldwell will be the fifth rookie coach in the super bowl the only prior super
bowl winners among first time coaches were the colts don mccafferty in and
george seifert of the san francisco ers in
cyprus leaders in second phase of intensive talks
nicosia jan afp
rival cypriot leaders on monday began second round of day long talks in an
accelerated un push to try and reunify the island this year and end years of
division
after three days of un led negotiations ended without progress on january
the onus is on this second series of intensive talks to produce results
the greek and turkish cypriot leaders say they are committed to finding
solution this year while the united nations is hoping will usher cyprus
settlement
president demetris christofias greek cypriot and turkish cypriot leader
mehmet ali talat are hoping to secure much needed breakthrough after months
of sluggish negotiations
there is sincere effort from both sides to achieve new convergences it
isn an easy task but can say that it hopeless and tomorrow we continue
christofias told reporters after eight hours of talks on monday
un envoy alexander downer said the men had very friendly meeting with
very significant exchange of ideas
they had three marathon sessions earlier this month and now continue this
process through to wednesday
the leaders will pick up where they left off on governance and power sharing in
federal cyprus they are also aiming to accelerate convergences on the
economy and eu issues
christofias has ruled out any draft agreement at this stage as both the greek
and turkish cypriot sides are adamant that nothing is agreed until everything is
agreed
any deal which emerges must be put before the cypriot people in separate
simultaneous referendums
the international community has called for the momentum of the negotiations to
quicken with un chief ban ki moon mulling cyprus visit before april if
progress is made
british prime minister gordon brown and us secretary of state hillary clinton
have spoken to both leaders by telephone to give their encouragement
there is talk of the process being extended into february before recess to
allow talat to campaign in april leadership elections in northern cyprus
he is eager to nail down the outline of deal by then as he could lose out to
hardliners result that could derail the process altogether
peace talks were launched amid much optimism and fanfare in september but
the two sides remain divided on the core issues of property security and
territorial adjustments
cyprus has been split since turkish troops seized and occupied its northern
third in in response to greek led coup aimed at uniting the island with
greece
football africa cup of nations quarter final egypt cameroon
benguela angola jan afp
full result of an africa cup of nations quarter final at ombaka stadium on
monday
egypt holders hassan nagy cameroon hassan own goal
aet
score after minutes
teams
egypt
essam al hadary mahmoud fathallah hany said wael gomaa ahmed fathi ahmed
al muhamadi sayed moawad hosni abd rabou hossam ghaly ahmed hassan
capt mohamed abdelshafy mohamed zidan mohamed gedo nagy emad
motaeb
coach hassan shehata
cameroon
carlos kameni geremi njitap andre bikey henri bedimo georges mandjeck
nicolas koulou alexandre song aurelien chedjou enoh eyong achille emana
achille webo samuel eto capt mohamadou idrissou
coach paul le guen fra
referee jerome damon rsa
yellow cards abd rabou gomaa al muhamadi njitap mandjeck
koulou moawad
red card chedjou
nba wizards crittenton faces gun charges report
washington jan afp
washington wizards guard javaris crittenton was charged with felony unlawful
firearm possession and attempting to carry pistol without license on monday
the washington post reported
the charges stem from december locker room incident involving wizards
playmaker gilbert arenas who has been indefinitely suspended by the nba and
will be sentenced march after pleading guilty to felony gun charge
the post reported that crittenton reserve guard is working on plea deal
under which he would plead guilty to the misdemeanor pistol charge in exchange
for prosecutors dropping the felony firearm charge
arenas is expected to serve jail time for his role in an incident that began
with dispute over gambling debts during an airplane flight in which crittenton
joked he would shoot arenas in the knees
two days later arenas brought four guns into team the locker room and put
them on chair near crittenton locker with note saying pick one in what
he later called joke
portugual main opposition party to allow budget through
lisbon jan afp
portugal main opposition party said on monday that it will abstain from voting
on the key budget ensuring that the minority socialist government plans
to stabilise the economy will be passed
social democratic party leader manuela ferreira leite said the government had
agreed to initiate correction to the economic path of the country and the
financial imbalances this year
accordingly the essential elements of the party concerns have been taken
into account she said
our country is being closely watched by international organisations ratings
agencies and investors ferreira leite said stressing the need for
collective effort to remedy situation much more worrying than anticipated
the budget has to be submitted to parliament no later than tuesday
earlier this month rating agency moody warned that portugal and greece risked
slow death unless they stabilised their finances and then put them on
sounder footing
the public deficit is expected to have topped percent of total economic
output last year well above the european union limit of percent with total
debt to output at around percent above the eu percent limit
earlier monday the head of the party parliamentary grouping jose aguiar
branco said the public deficit for could amount to percent of gross
domestic product
for the government aims to bring it back down to between eight and
percent aguiar branco said
football hammers make mccarthy move
blackburn england jan afp
south africa benni mccarthy could be on his way from blackburn to west ham
after his current club confirmed monday they received written offer from
their premier league rivals
the year old striker has grown disillusioned with his lack of first team
starts under blackburn boss sam allardyce and has been agitating for move to
ensure regular football in the run up to the world cup finals in his home
country in june and july
relations between mccarthy and allardyce were not helped by the forward non
appearance at blackburn last two training sessions
we are very disappointed with benni non appearance for training and will deal
with it separately should he remain here after the transfer window has closed
allardyce said monday
we have said all along that we will listen to offers but only agree to sell if
both the commercial and football reasons satisfy blackburn rovers that
situation remains unchanged
west ham have been in the market for striker following the london club
takeover by david sullivan and david gold the former owners of birmingham
the hammers are only presently above the premier league relegation zone on goal
difference while blackburn are five points clear of the bottom three
football egypt down cameroon to set up algeria rematch
benguela angola jan afp
aided by brace from skipper ahmed hassan egypt defeated man cameroon
after extra time monday in the semi finals of the africa cup of nations at the
ombaka stadium to set up rematch against bitter regional rivals algeria
egypt prize is mouth watering rematch on thursday against bitter rivals
algeria who pipped the egyptians to world cup ticket in dramatic
circumstances in november
the pharaohs thus improved to matches their unbeaten run in the tournament
and also extended their five year superiority over the indomitable lions
cameroon defender aurelien chedjou saw red in the th minute for
professional foul on mohamed nagy
cameroon opened the scoring in the th minute courtesy of an own goal by
hassan winning record th cap
hassan got the slightest touch with his head on an achille emana corner at the
near post as it sailed into the net
egypt would have equalised soon after when long searching free kick found
emad motaeb who raced past onrushing goalkeeper carlos kameni but his header
was too long for him to control and slot into an empty net
hassan turned from villain to hero in the th minute when he caught kameni
napping with dipping shot from over yards which bounced in front of the
cameroon goalkeeper before resting at the back of the net to draw the champions
level
faulty back pass two minutes into extra time by geremi njitap found super sub
mohamed gedo nagy who slotted home between kameni legs to give egypt the
lead in this pulsating encounter
the defending champions increased their lead on minutes when curling
freekick by hassan was adjudged to have been palmed beyond the goalline by
kameni television replays showed that the ball did not cross the line
man of the hour hassan was unperturbed by the controversy
very happy because we won today he said we played very good match
and thrilled to score two goals and also with the record of
appearances
in the th minute nagy dashed free through the cameroon defence but kameni
made brave save the game appeared to slip away for the lions of cameroon when
chedjou was sent off moments later
cameroon fought to reduce the deficit in the second half of extra time but egypt
kept their shape to stay on course for an unprecedented seventh nations cup
