Sep
1
Arab group claims Man City deal
Filed Under BBC News, News, Sports | Leave a Comment
A Middle-East company claims to have completed a takeover of Premier League side Manchester City.
Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited says it has bought the club from Thaksin Shinawatra.
“The investment services and development in Abu Dhabi has successfully completed the huge takeover,” its statement read.
City have said discussions are ongoing and BBC Sport understands Thaksin is eager to retain an interest in City.
Sep
1
India battles devastating floods
Filed Under BBC News, News, Top Stories | Leave a Comment
Pressure is building on the Indian government to do more for half a million people stranded by devastating floods in the state of Bihar.
A BBC correspondent reports chaotic scenes as soldiers try to reach those cut off and people attempt to scramble from rooftops into rescue boats.
With 1.2 million people homeless, India is struggling to cope with the crisis.
The flood waters are spreading to new areas, and conditions in relief camps are overcrowded and unsanitary.
The floods are known to have killed at least 75 people in Bihar - but the death toll could climb once the situation in remote areas emerges.
Large areas remain totally submerged, with reports suggesting that some villages have simply been washed away by strong currents.
Tens of thousands of people have also been displaced in neighbouring Nepal, where some of those who have lost their homes are camping under plastic sheets.
Disorganisation
Fights have been breaking out among people desperate to board 800 overcrowded army boats - each of which can carry between one and two dozen people - that have been deployed to help the evacuation process.
Uncertainty in India flood camp
How we rescued survivors
See how the river changed course
The temporary relief camps are being supported by volunteers and community groups, and a lack of central co-ordination is hampering the relief process.
Visiting the Bageecha relief camp in Purnea, the BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder could find no camp co-ordinator or government official in charge of distributing aid.
Trucks and vans carrying relief material stood parked on the highway as volunteers waited to be organised.
Several tonnes of aid had arrived but the volunteers were not quite sure how to distribute it.
The situation was symptomatic of what was happening across Bihar’s flood-affected areas, our correspondent says.
Massive costs
The disaster began on 18 August when a dam burst on the Saptakoshi river in Nepal.
The Saptakoshi, which becomes the Kosi when it enters India, subsequently broke its banks in Bihar.
Officials in Nepal say hundreds of people there have been hit by illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, and an estimated 50,000 are homeless.
They say nearly 1,000 houses have been completely destroyed. Power supplies and transport have been severely affected.
The costs to the economy are now estimated at one billion Nepalese rupees ($14.25m).
Sep
1
Thousands flee Hurricane Gustav
Filed Under BBC News, News, Top Stories | Leave a Comment
Hundreds of thousands of people have been fleeing the southern US coast as Hurricane Gustav approaches land.Authorities have ordered the evacuation of New Orleans and an estimated 1.9 million people along the Gulf coast have been heading inland.
The Category Three storm is expected to make landfall at midday local time.
The storm has prompted the Republicans to scale back their national convention where John McCain is due to accept the party’s nomination for president.
President George W Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney have scrapped plans to address the event in St Paul, Minnesota on Monday.
Dangerous surges
The first storm force winds are already being felt across Louisiana, and forecasters warn heavy rain bands are approaching New Orleans.
At 1000 GMT on Monday, the eye of Gustav was about 40 miles (70km) south-east of the Louisiana coast.
Forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center say that at the current speed, the centre of the storm would hit the coast by midday local time.
They warned that Gustav’s winds were at speeds of 115 mph (185km/h) and could bring “extremely dangerous” storm surges 14ft (4.2m) above normal. Isolated tornadoes are also possible in the area.
The storm has already claimed the lives of more than 80 people in the Caribbean, causing widespread damage in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica over the past week. At least 300,000 people were evacuated in Cuba as the storm brought extensive flooding and some severe damage, but no reports of deaths. Some got a little bit panicky earlier on, a bit like the opening a door on an aeroplane syndrome, but we’re not paying it too much attention
Cian Heasley
In a bar in New Orleans
Tracking Gustav on the web
In New Orleans, a dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force across the city, which is described as being like a ghost town. The 7,000-strong Louisiana National Guard has been mobilised and support requested from other states. The New Orleans mayor has warned looters will be sent to jail.
Crime was a major problem in the New Orleans area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the city three years ago, causing disastrous floods.
The exodus of an estimated 1.9 million people from the Louisiana coast is said to be the largest evacuation in state history. Tens of thousands are also reported to have left coastal Mississippi, Alabama and south-eastern Texas.
Few remain
Roads out of New Orleans - much of which lies below sea level - were crammed with traffic throughout Sunday.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal appealed to residents: “If you’re hearing this, seeing this, if you’ve not evacuated, please do so. There’s still a few hours left.” FLASHBACK TO KATRINA
Katrina struck US Gulf Coast in August 2005 as a category three storm, killing more than 1,800 people
New Orleans was 80% flooded after storm surge breached protective levees
US Government was blamed for slow, botched response that exacerbated disaster
Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced
Flashback: Hurricane Katrina
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told local TV that only about 10,000 residents remained in the city, where rain began falling at sunset on Sunday.
The BBC’s Kevin Connolly, in New Orleans, says the mood among the city’s remaining residents is of hope and fear.
Sandra Taylor, from Lafayette, Indiana, is visiting her daughter, who had a baby nine days ago.
“Where we live it’s not in a flood zone, and we’re quite sheltered,” she said. “There’s a few that have battened down, and sealed all the windows and stuff and disappeared. But there’s a lot of other neighbours around, so I think we’re just going to play the three little pigs - if one house blows away, we’ll shift to the next one.”
Cian Heasley, has joined a few other friends at a bar in New Orleans “waiting out the storm with two generators, a lot of liquor and food”.
“We feel quite safe at the moment. There aren’t any windows but there are two sturdy doors so we feel secure. We’re just drinking and watching TV and staying calm really.
“I think the whole speech about it being the ‘mother of all storms’ is trying to scare everyone, and force people to leave the city.”
Restaurant worker Dustin Goza agreed.
“In some ways it’s good that people are being given a chance to prepare but I think it’s also an overreaction,” he said.
“The rain has been stopping and starting and you can feel the pressure so you know a storm’s on its way. It’s feeling quite gusty. I’ve put some tape up in preparation around windows but that’s it.”
Oil watch
In 2005, three-quarters of New Orleans was flooded by a storm surge that claimed more than 1,800 lives in coastal areas.
All eyes will be on the city’s levees, which Category Three storm Katrina swept away under a wall of mud and water.
Out in the Gulf of Mexico, most oil production has been shut down. Three years ago, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the region’s oil infrastructure and sent oil prices soaring.
Source
Aug
6
Olympic relay in Beijing climax
Filed Under BBC News, News, Sports, Top Stories | Leave a Comment
Cheering, flag-waving crowds in the Chinese capital, Beijing, have been watching the Olympic torch on the final leg of its global relay.
Over three days more than 800 torch bearers will carry the flame to city landmarks ahead of Friday’s Games.
One of China’s best-known sportsmen, basketball star Yao Ming, carried the torch through Tiananmen Square.
Earlier, four activists from the UK and the US were arrested after unfurling banners close to the Olympic stadium.
The torch has travelled 140,000km (87,000 miles) through six continents since it left Greece on 24 March.
Overseas, the relay was marked by protests over China’s human rights record and its policies in Tibet.
On Tuesday, the flame passed through Sichuan province, which was devastated by an earthquake in May.
A minute’s silence was held in Guang’an city, honouring almost 70,000 people who were killed in the quake.
The torch had been scheduled to visit Sichuan in mid-June, but the area’s relay leg was postponed because of the quake, which left around five million people homeless.
Foreigners arrested
Away from the torch relay, other concerns remained ahead of the start of the games. BEIJING AIR QUALITY
6 August PM10 reading: 186 micrograms per cubic metre
WHO recommended level: 50
Levels of particulate matter measured once a day in Beijing by the BBC
In pictures: Beijing pollution
A haze settled over Beijing on Wednesday the city’s air quality continuing to be an issue as the Games neared.
However, despite the cloudy skies Beijing officials said air quality remained “fairly good”, and experts predicted clear weather for the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, China’s authorities have said they are confident that all athletes and spectators will be safe, after an attack by suspected separatist Islamist militants killed 16 policemen on Monday in the western region of Xinjiang.
A spokesman for the organisers said preparations had been made to protect some 10,500 athletes from 205 countries during the Olympics. CHINA RELAY CITIES IN FOCUS
Use the map to see the full Olympic torch relay route or read about some of the key cities:
Full route map, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Jinggangshan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Huangshan, Three Gorges, Kaili, Lhasa, Urumqi, Xian, Yanji, Qufu, Anyang, Beijing.
“China has focused on strengthening security and protection around Olympic venues and at the Olympics Village, so Beijing is already prepared to respond to any threat,” Beijing Games spokesman Sun Weide was quoted as saying.
Officials in the co-host city of Shanghai say all shops and businesses in the metro stations have now been closed until after the Olympic Games because of public security concerns.
The operator of the underground rail system, Shentong Metro Group, said the move would affect more than 1,000 shops, and even vending machines would be closed. It said it would not provide compensation for business owners.
Meanwhile state media reported that four pro-Tibet activists from Britain and the US had been arrested in Beijing after a brief protest close to the Olympic stadium.
Four protesters from Britain and the US were detained by police on Wednesday
Students for a Free Tibet said it was behind the protest, in which members unfurled two large “Free Tibet” banners from electricity poles.
The international leg of the torch’s tour earlier this year was marred by protests in several cities - including London, Paris and San Francisco.
Activists demonstrated against China’s human-rights record and its handling of violent anti-Beijing protests in March in Tibet.
The International Olympic Committee said it believed the Chinese authorities had done everything possible “to ensure the security and safety of everyone at the Games”.
The IOC has also assured athletes that the smog which often plagues the city would not pose major health problems.
Source
Aug
6
Texas executes Mexican murderer
Filed Under BBC News, News, Top Stories | Leave a Comment
A Mexican man whose case has drawn international attention has been executed in Texas for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl.
Jose Medellin, 33, was put to death by lethal injection after the US Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal.
The International Court of Justice had urged Texas not to execute Medellin, as he had not been told of his right to consular help when he was arrested.
The state argued that its courts were not bound by the rulings of the ICJ.
Medellin was pronounced dead at 2157 on Tuesday (0257 GMT), the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement.
The ICJ had ordered that the executions of all Mexicans in the US should be suspended after Mexico complained that some of its nationals on death row had not been informed of their right to consular assistance at the time of their arrest - a right under the Vienna Convention.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the US to abide by the ICJ ruling.
“All decisions and orders of the International Court of Justice must be respected by states,” he told a television station in Mexico City, where he is attending a world Aids conference.
“The United States should take every step to make sure the execution does not take place.”
‘Forfeited right’
Medellin’s case dates back to 1993 when two girls, Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, were raped and murdered by six gang members in Houston.
Set up in 1946, the ICJ is the highest United Nations court
Medellin, who was born in Mexico but moved to the US as a child, was convicted of Miss Pena’s murder and did not deny that he killed her.
But at the time of his arrest, police did not tell him that he could request assistance from the Mexican consulate - in violation of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
In 2003, Mexico, which does not have the death penalty, filed a lawsuit at the ICJ on behalf of Medellin and 50 other Mexican nationals on death row in the US who had also not received consular support.
The court ruled in Mexico’s favour, and ordered that their cases be reviewed.
Texas acknowledged that Medellin had not been told he could ask for help from Mexican diplomats, but argued that he had forfeited the right because he never raised the issue at trial or sentencing.
State officials also argued that it would not have made any difference to the outcome of the case.
Last month, in response to an urgent request from Mexico, the ICJ ordered the US to “take all measures necessary” to halt Medellin’s execution.
But Texas judicial authorities said in response that the law in Medellin’s case was “clear”.
“Texas is not bound by the World Court but by the US Supreme Court, which reviewed this matter and determined that the convicted murderer’s execution shall proceed,” a statement from the attorney general’s office said.
On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected a request by Medellin and his legal team for a reprieve.
Source
Aug
6
Olympic relay in Beijing climax
Filed Under BBC News, News, Top Stories | Leave a Comment
Cheering, flag-waving crowds in the Chinese capital, Beijing, have been watching the Olympic torch on the final leg of its global relay.
Over three days more than 800 torch bearers will carry the flame to city landmarks ahead of Friday’s Games.
One of China’s best-known sportsmen, basketball star Yao Ming, carried the torch through Tiananmen Square.
Earlier, four activists from the UK and the US were arrested after unfurling banners close to the Olympic stadium.
The torch has travelled 140,000km (87,000 miles) through six continents since it left Greece on 24 March.
Overseas, the relay was marked by protests over China’s human rights record and its policies in Tibet.
On Tuesday, the flame passed through Sichuan province, which was devastated by an earthquake in May.
A minute’s silence was held in Guang’an city, honouring almost 70,000 people who were killed in the quake.
The torch had been scheduled to visit Sichuan in mid-June, but the area’s relay leg was postponed because of the quake, which left around five million people homeless.
Foreigners arrested
Away from the torch relay, other concerns remained ahead of the start of the games. BEIJING AIR QUALITY
6 August PM10 reading: 186 micrograms per cubic metre
WHO recommended level: 50
Levels of particulate matter measured once a day in Beijing by the BBC
In pictures: Beijing pollution
A haze settled over Beijing on Wednesday the city’s air quality continuing to be an issue as the Games neared.
However, despite the cloudy skies Beijing officials said air quality remained “fairly good”, and experts predicted clear weather for the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, China’s authorities have said they are confident that all athletes and spectators will be safe, after an attack by suspected separatist Islamist militants killed 16 policemen on Monday in the western region of Xinjiang.
A spokesman for the organisers said preparations had been made to protect some 10,500 athletes from 205 countries during the Olympics. CHINA RELAY CITIES IN FOCUS
Use the map to see the full Olympic torch relay route or read about some of the key cities:
Full route map, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Jinggangshan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Huangshan, Three Gorges, Kaili, Lhasa, Urumqi, Xian, Yanji, Qufu, Anyang, Beijing.
“China has focused on strengthening security and protection around Olympic venues and at the Olympics Village, so Beijing is already prepared to respond to any threat,” Beijing Games spokesman Sun Weide was quoted as saying.
Officials in the co-host city of Shanghai say all shops and businesses in the metro stations have now been closed until after the Olympic Games because of public security concerns.
The operator of the underground rail system, Shentong Metro Group, said the move would affect more than 1,000 shops, and even vending machines would be closed. It said it would not provide compensation for business owners.
Meanwhile state media reported that four pro-Tibet activists from Britain and the US had been arrested in Beijing after a brief protest close to the Olympic stadium.
Four protesters from Britain and the US were detained by police on Wednesday
Students for a Free Tibet said it was behind the protest, in which members unfurled two large “Free Tibet” banners from electricity poles.
The international leg of the torch’s tour earlier this year was marred by protests in several cities - including London, Paris and San Francisco.
Activists demonstrated against China’s human-rights record and its handling of violent anti-Beijing protests in March in Tibet.
The International Olympic Committee said it believed the Chinese authorities had done everything possible “to ensure the security and safety of everyone at the Games”.
The IOC has also assured athletes that the smog which often plagues the city would not pose major health problems.
Source
Jul
21
Zimbabwe leaders ‘to sign deal’
Filed Under BBC News, News, Top Stories | Leave a Comment
Zimbabwe’s ruling party and opposition are close to signing a deal outlining a framework for talks on the country’s political crisis, a UN envoy says.
Haile Menkerios, the UN’s envoy to Zimbabwe, expects a deal to be signed by President Robert Mugabe and the opposition’s Morgan Tsvangirai.
The agreement was due to be signed last week but Mr Tsvangirai pulled out.
The two sides are locked in a dispute over presidential elections - which they both claim to have won.
Mr Tsvangirai garnered more votes in the initial presidential poll - but election officials said there was no outright winner and called for a run-off.
Mr Mugabe won the run-off - but he was the only candidate after Mr Tsvangirai pulled out, accusing the government of mounting a campaign of violence against his supporters.
Opposition demands
Mr Menkerios said he believed the two men had agreed a draft memorandum of understanding setting out the terms under which they could enter direct negotiations.
PRECONDITIONS FOR TALKS
MDC:
End to political violence
Release of supporters
Resumption of aid
Permanent AU envoy
Swearing in of MPs
Zanu-PF:
Mugabe recognised as president
But he said both men would have to sign the document to “clear the way” for talks.
Mr Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), still has several conditions to be met before it will agree to talks with Mr Mugabe.
Party spokesman George Sibotshiwe told the BBC that future talks would remain conditional on a complete cessation of violence and the release of all political prisoners.
“We want a government that creates a platform for us to democratise our society, in order for us to have a genuinely free and fair election,” he said.
But he added that he expected the memorandum to be signed this week.
Mbeki ‘problem’
The MDC’s demands led Mr Tsvangirai to feel the need to pull out of signing the deal last week.
Among the problems identified by the MDC was South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki - the lead negotiator in international talks on Zimbabwe.
They accused him of being biased in favour of Mr Mugabe, and Mr Tsvangirai had asked for another envoy to join the talks.
It was later announced that a group of senior diplomats, drawn from the UN, African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), would help Mr Mbeki - a move welcomed by Mr Tsvangirai.
Since then, several senior diplomats and national leaders have expressed confidence that the agreement would eventually be signed.
Source
Jul
18
Barca wait on Ronaldinho decision
Filed Under BBC News, Sports | Leave a Comment
Ronaldinho is expected to decide his future in the next 72 hours after discussions with Barcelona.
Manchester City appear favourites to sign him from the Nou Camp outfit after reportedly tabling a £25.5m bid, while AC Milan are also in the hunt.
Barcelona said: “The two sides agreed to allow two or three days to finalise the player’s move to one of the clubs interested in landing the Brazilian.”
If no deal is tied up in that time he will resume training with Barca.
Earlier, the Spanish club’s president Joan Laporta told Catalunya Radio: “Ronaldinho and his agent have two interesting proposals and they are leaning more towards the one from City.” 606: DEBATE
It is clear his heart lies with Milan rather than Manchester
BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty
However, BBC Sport understands that AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani is in Barcelona to attempt to convince Ronaldinho to choose the San Siro over the City of Manchester stadium.
The two-time Fifa World Player of the Year was not present on Monday morning to start pre-season fitness tests under new Barca coach Pep Guardiola, leading to speculation that talks about his future were set to take place with Milan.
His time at the Spanish giants effectively came to an end in June when Guardiola announced the playmaker was surplus to requirements.
Nevertheless, the Catalans were not prepared to release Ronaldinho to join Dunga’s Brazil squad for next month’s Beijing Olympics.
Ronaldinho helped the Nou Camp club win back-to-back Spanish league titles (2004-05, 2005-06) and the Champions League in 2006, but failed to cement a regular place in the starting XI last season because of injury and fitness issues.
Jul
18
The 137th Open Championship
Filed Under BBC News, Sports | Leave a Comment
Graeme McDowell, Rocco Mediate and Robert Allenby shot one-under 69s to end as co-leaders after a wet and windy day one of the Open at Royal Birkdale.
Veteran Australian Greg Norman, 53, countryman Adam Scott and American Bart Bryant are one stroke further adrift.
Favourite Sergio Garcia is in a group on 72, Colin Montgomerie took 73 and defending champion Padraig Harrington shrugged off a wrist injury to card 74.
Phil Mickelson (79) and Ernie Els (80) struggled in the morning conditions.
“It was miserable,” said Australian Craig Parry, who teed off first in foul weather at 0630 BST. “It was an honour to hit the first tee shot but after that it got really hard.”
The guys this morning looked like they had a really, really tough time out there
Graeme McDowell after a first round 69
South African Retief Goosen, Canada’s Mike Weir and American Jim Furyk were among a large group on one over, while England’s Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez joined Garcia in the pack on 72.
America’s 2001 Open champion David Duval was another player to finish on 73, alongside England’s Paul Waring and Frenchman Jean van de Velde.
Englishman Justin Rose went round in 74 during the worst of the weather, the same as 58-year-old playing partner and five-time Open champion Tom Watson, while Lee Westwood was five over after a 75.
Interview: Graeme McDowell
Northern Ireland’s McDowell, who won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond on Sunday, set out just after midday and maintained his good form to follow Mediate home with two closing birdies.
“The guys this morning looked like they had a really, really tough time out there,” said McDowell.
“We just had a bit of wind to deal with. It was blowing hard but you can always handle one or the other, wind or rain.”
American Mediate is the man that took Tiger Woods to an 18-hole play-off for the US Open last month and the 45-year-old, who has never done better than 18th at the Open, also continued his hot streak.
“I love it here - it was fun and insane,” he said. “It was just survival and by no means pretty.
“I made pretty much every single putt I could have and I chipped in on 17. There’s a certain person who you all know who isn’t here that does that a lot.”
606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on the Open
Norman, the champion in 1986 and 1993, is only an occasional tour player these days and last competed in the Open at St Andrews in 2005, but he made the most of his late start at Birkdale.
“I really don’t play that much,” said Norman. “I probably play more tennis than I do golf. I was just trying to get the clubhead square on the ball.”
Rose, trying to better his fourth place as a 17-year-old amateur the last time the Open was at Birkdale 10 years ago, struggled with his game on the front nine but hung on with nine straight pars coming home.
Interview: Rocco Mediate
“I had an atrocious 6th where I did really well to make double bogey,” he said. “From that point I was on the back foot. But all in all I guess it was a steady start. I think the test today was purely mental.”
Montgomerie received plenty of vocal support as he compiled a round of three bogeys, one double bogey and two birdies.
“If you had offered me a 73 on the first tee I would have turned around straight away and gone back to the clubhouse,” said Montgomerie.
World number two Mickelson’s card included a triple-bogey seven at the 6th after he lost his ball in the right rough and was forced to take a penalty.
Els, the world number five and 2002 champion, ran up a triple-bogey at the short 14th and dropped four more shots on his way home for his worst-ever score at the Open.
The forecast for Friday is for more strong winds and rain showers, with sunny intervals in the afternoon.
Source
Jul
18
Gore challenges US to ditch oil
Filed Under BBC News, News, Top Stories | Leave a Comment
The Nobel laureate and former US vice- president, Al Gore, has urged Americans to abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade.
Mr Gore compared the scale of the challenge to that of putting a man on the moon in the 1960s.
He said it did not make sense that the US was borrowing money from China to burn oil from the Middle East which then contributed to climate change.
Critics say weaning the US off fossil fuels is not possible within a decade.
Mr Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work on climate change, insists his goal is achievable and affordable.
We have a hundred years of infrastructure with trillions of dollars of investment that is not simply going to be made obsolete
Robby Diamond,
Securing America’s Future Energy
“The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels,” he said in a speech in Washington.
“When you connect the dots, it turns out that the real solutions to the climate crisis are the very same measures needed to renew our economy and escape the trap of ever-rising energy prices.”
To secure this green revolution, Mr Gore said the single most important policy change would be to “tax what we burn - not what we earn”.
Cold turkey
Mr Gore’s ambitious plan would still rely on nuclear energy for a fifth of America’s energy needs. Many see the goal as unachievable.
Robby Diamond, president of a bipartisan think tank called Securing America’s Future Energy, said weaning the nation off fossil fuels could not be done in a decade.
“The country is not going to be able to go cold turkey,” he told the Associated Press.
“We have a hundred years of infrastructure with trillions of dollars of investment that is not simply going to be made obsolete.”
US President George W Bush has often been criticised for not doing enough to tackle climate change.
Green campaign
At the recent G8 summit of developed nations in Japan, he did move the US closer to a consensus on climate change, by agreeing to language which makes achieving 50% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 a G8 “vision”.
The BBC’s Warren Bull says that whatever those seeking to succeed Mr Bush in the White House think of Mr Gore’s plan, they appear to agree on the need for progress on green issues.
Mr Gore said US presidential contenders Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain were way ahead of most politicians in the fight against global climate change.
Whether their enthusiasm for the environment survives into the White House may be influenced by how much the electorate warms to Mr Gore’s vision, our correspondent adds.