Pakistan trio guilty of spot fixing (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were found guilty on Tuesday of taking bribes to fix part of a test match against England in a case that prosecutors said revealed rampant corruption at the heart of international cricket.

Former captain Butt, 27, and opening bowlers Asif, 28, and 19-year-old Mohammad Amir, who had already admitted his part in the scam, plotted to bowl deliberate no-balls at pre-arranged times during the Lord's test in August last year.

The men will be sentenced on Wednesday with Butt and Asif facing up to seven years in jail or large fines. The three players have already been banned from playing by the International Cricket Council for a minimum of five years.

The "spot fixing" plot was orchestrated by Butt and sports agent Mazhar Majeed, London's Southwark Crown Court was told.

During the three-week trial, the jury heard how an undercover reporter recorded Majeed, 36, boasting of how he could arrange for Pakistan players to rig games for money and how huge sums could be made for gambling syndicates.

Majeed said he had been carrying out match-fixing for 2-1/2 years, had seven players from Pakistan's national side working for him, and had made "masses and masses of money".

He told Mazher Mahmood, an undercover journalist with the now defunct News of the World newspaper, that it would cost between 50,000 pounds ($81,000 )and 80,000 pounds ($130,000) to fix "brackets", a set period of a match on which punters bet.

Rigging the outcome of a test match would cost one million pounds, Majeed told him. The agent was secretly filmed accepting 150,000 pounds in cash from the journalist as part of an arrangement to rig games.

Majeed promised the reporter that Asif and Amir would deliver three no-balls at specific points during the Lord's test. The no-balls were bowled as promised, with the probability of someone predicting this by chance estimated by a cricket statistician as 1.5 million to one.

Butt and Asif denied any involvement in the plot but were convicted of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments, the Press Association reported.

SAME CHANGES

Amir admitted the same charges in September but his guilty plea could not be revealed until the end of the trial of his team mates.

Butt, appointed Pakistan's captain during last year's tour of England, told the court the agent asked him to rig parts of crunch games at the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup and last summer's test series, but he had ignored the requests.

Butt, who made his test debut for Pakistan in 2003 and has played 33 test matches and 78 one-day internationals, admitted he did not fulfil his duty to inform the cricketing authorities about the corrupt approach.

The guilty verdicts came on the day Butt's wife Gul gave birth to their second son in Lahore.

"It is a day of sadness and happiness for us," Butt's father Zulfiqar Butt told Reuters.

"We are shocked by this verdict and will fight to the end. But at the same time God has given us a new life."

Asif was first selected for Pakistan in 2005 and has represented his country in 23 tests and 38 one-day internationals. He declined to answer reporters' questions as he left court.

"This is a case of cheating, pure and simple," said Detective Chief Supt. Matthew Horne after the verdict.

"The defendants have let down the cricketing world, their fans and the hard working people that buy tickets to watch," he told reporters.

"I am not sure these men really appreciated how much they were admired by cricket fans; they were role models to countless children around the world and have betrayed their trust."

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reiterated its policy of zero tolerance in respect of corruption in sport.

"The ECB will make no comment on the court cases of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, but hopes that such criminal actions will act as a strong deterrent to support the eradication of such activity in sport," it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Justin Palmer and Ed Osmond)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111101/india_nm/india602453

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Greek referendum threatens new euro zone crisis (Reuters)

ATHENS (Reuters) ? Prime Minister George Papandreou's shock announcement that he will put Greece's bailout to a referendum threatened to intensify the euro zone crisis, and brought complaints in Germany that Athens is trying to wriggle out of the deal.

Euro zone leaders agreed last week to hand Athens a second, 130 billion-euro ($179 billion) bailout and a 50-percent write-down on its huge debt. The price of the package is a program of harsh state spending cuts that have unleashed a tide of anger among Greeks.

Papandreou, whose ruling Socialist party has suffered several defections as it pushes waves of austerity measures through parliament while protesters rally outside, said he needed wider political backing for the fiscal measures and structural reforms demanded by international lenders.

A leader in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right coalition said on Tuesday he was "irritated" by Papandreou's announcement.

"This sounds to me like someone is trying to wriggle out of what was agreed -- a strange thing to do," said Rainer Bruederle, parliamentary floor leader for the Free Democrats.

"One can only do one thing: make the preparations for the eventuality that there is a state insolvency in Greece and if it doesn't fulfill the agreements, then the point will have been reached where the money is turned off."

Analysts said the latest opinion poll showed a majority of Greeks took a negative view of the bailout deal.

The renewed uncertainty will be likely be an embarrassment for G20 leaders in France this week trying to coax China into throwing the euro zone a financial lifeline.

"If there was to be a referendum, we may reasonably conclude that they may not accept the austerity measures. We may conclude that it will bring the pack of cards tumbling down," Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners in London, said.

Early reactions to the surprise move ranged from accusations that Papandreou was gambling with the country's future and predictions of default, to questions over the legality of the referendum and statements by lawmakers that a "No" vote would force his resignation and early elections.

Nobel prize-winning economist Christopher Pissarides caught the mood of uncertainty: "It is difficult to predict what will happen to Greece if they reject it. It will be bad enough for the European Union and the euro zone in particular, but it will be far worse for Greece.

"In the scenario of a 'No' vote Greece would declare bankruptcy immediately, they would default immediately. I can't see them staying within the euro," he said.

REFERENDUM ON MEMBERSHIP

"The situation is so tight that basically it would be a vote over their euro membership," Finland's Europe Minister Alexander Stubb told broadcaster MTV3.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos also warned citizens that euro zone membership was at stake. "It's crunch time," he told lawmakers on Monday.

"Citizens will have to answer the question: are we for Europe, the eurozone and the euro?"

Early on Tuesday, Venizelos checked into an Athens hospital with stomach pains but was expected to be discharged later.

Analysts were divided over whether Greek voters would accept the deal, but agreed that a damaging month or two of market volatility lay ahead while pollsters repeatedly took the Greek voters' pulse and European leaders looked on nervously.

The immediate market reaction to the announcement was negative, the euro extending losses against the dollar and tumbling more than 2 percent to a session low.

European shares were seen opening lower on Tuesday.

Opposition New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras will visit President Karolos Papoulias on Tuesday to discuss developments and push for snap elections, party officials said.

"Mr. Papandreou is dangerous, he tosses Greece's EU membership like a coin in the air," party spokesman Yannis Michelakis said. "He cannot govern and instead of withdrawing honorably, he dynamites everything."

UP TO THE VOTERS

Papandreou told the Greek voters it was up to them to decide the country's fate.

"We trust citizens, we believe in their judgment, we believe in their decision," he told Socialist party deputies. "In a few weeks the (EU) agreement will be a new loan contract... we must spell out if we are accepting it or if we are rejecting it."

Papandreou, grappling with Greece's worst financial crisis in 40 years, said the referendum would take place in a few weeks. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Greek TV it would probably be held early next year.

Opposition parties accused Papandreou of looking for a way out for his embattled party by dragging Greece, which has seen violent clashes between anti-austerity protesters and riot police, through a lengthy period of political instability.

"I never expected Papandreou to take such a dangerous and frivolous decision," said Dora Bakoyanni, former foreign minister and leader of the small center-right Democratic Alliance party. "All the international media will say that Greece itself is putting the EU deal at risk."

Greek newspapers on Tuesday also harshly criticized Papandreou for his choice. "More uncertainty is the last thing that Greece needs right now," said conservative newspaper Kathimerini in its lead editorial.

"The country will certainly paralyze amid endless debates -- the government, the state apparatus and institutions won't work," the newspaper added.

Papandreou also said he would ask for a vote of confidence to secure support for his policy for the rest of his four-year term, which expires in 2013.

Analysts said he was likely to win that, despite dissent among his parliamentary team, and parliament officials said the confidence debate would begin on Wednesday, with a vote on Thursday or Friday.

MONEY RUNNING OUT?

Greece is due to receive an 8 billion-euro tranche in mid-November, but that is likely to run out during January, around the time of the referendum, leaving the government with no funds if there is a "no" vote.

Germany issued a statement saying the EU was working hard to put the second Greek aid package in place by the end of the year and had no comment on the referendum.

Swinging opinion polls would leave markets fluctuating and Greece's EU partners dangling.

A survey carried out on Saturday showed that nearly 60 percent of Greeks viewed the agreement on the bailout package as negative or probably negative.

But David Lea of Control Risks struck a more positive note. "It's all in the question. If he can frame it as a sufficiently apple-pie issue, he stands some chance of winning," he said.

Some parliamentarians questioned the legality of the planned plebiscite under the constitution, which does not allow referendums on economic issues, only on matters of great national importance.

The last time Greeks held a referendum was in December 1974, when they voted to abolish the monarchy shortly after the collapse of a military dictatorship.

To be binding, a referendum result requires a minimum 40 percent turnout on issues of "crucial national importance" and 50 percent on a law that has already been voted on in parliament and "regulates a serious social issue," according to legislation enacted this year. It was not clear which option the government would favor.

"If the referendum answer is no, Papandreou has to resign," said Costas Panagopoulos, an analyst at polling firm Alco.

"In the meantime what will happen with the decisions the EU took last week? I cannot understand what the prime minister wants to do."

(Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander; Writing by Dina Kyriakidou; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111101/bs_nm/us_greece_referendum

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94% Weekend

All Critics (49) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (46) | Rotten (3)

It's a definitive example of naturalistic moviemaking -- you feel you're breathing the air that the characters are breathing.

Its final moments offer a vision of what a contemporary romance can achieve: an appreciative gasp of truth, a wet-eyed hope for more.

One of the truest, most beautiful movies ever made about two strangers.

If you've ever met someone who changed your life in the space of days, you'll relate to something in this movie.

The organ that "Weekend" is most concerned with isn't the one you might think, but the human heart.

In just a short period of time, a weekend hookup tests the boundaries each man has set for himself.

Cullen and New are British stage actors with little background in film. Haigh's only previous film was a documentary. Perhaps because they don't feel bound by a set of rules, they've created one of the year's most enjoyable surprises.

Weekend is the year's wittiest hymn to romance.

Weekend might be a small film recounting an intimate relationship, but it speaks to the grandest of ideas.

By the end of their weekend together, it feels like you know these guys and, even better, like you're rooting for them.

A heartfelt romantic comedy, a touching rumination on sexual identity and a striking look at what it is to be gay in 21st Century Britain.

Like Before Sunrise, the real joy of writer/director Andrew Haigh's film is in watching two people make bedrooms, overpasses, kitchenettes, and couches feel alive with potent conversation and pregnant silences.

While you might appreciate its goal, the writing and execution aren't strong enough to reach it.

It's a thrill to watch, just as it's thrilling to be in the hands of such a gifted new filmmaking talent.

This appealing gay-themed drama, written and directed with intelligence by Andrew Haigh, is a British cousin to the American mumblecore movement...

The story is simply told with a lot of talking, some loving and much philosophizing over the meaning of life. The good thing is that [writer-director-editor] Andrew Haigh wears all his hats well and shows a deft hand at all his chores.

The results are gently sincere but maybe a little misguided, a far cry from the note-perfect, transcendently adorable 1999 gay love story "Trick," which this one reminds of?and pales in comparison to.

It's equally as chatty as [Before Sunrise and Before Sunset], but the dialogue is more to the point, less cerebral, and below the belt.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weekend_2011/

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Iranian soccer players suspended over 'goosing'

updated 11:05 a.m. ET Nov. 1, 2011

TEHRAN - Iran's football federation has suspended two players from the top team involved in an "inappropriate" goal celebration, the ISNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

The federation will issue a final verdict next week on Mohammad Nosrati, who appeared to briefly put his hand between the buttocks of Sheys Rezaei as Persepolis players huddled together to celebrate a goal against Damash Gilan in a televised match on Saturday.

The gesture might have caused little comment in the West where fans are used to "laddish" behavior by soccer stars, but it caused some outrage in the Islamic Republic.

Jalal Yahyazadeh, a cleric and member of parliament, said the "shamelsss act" had "upset, angered and outraged" all sports fans and that the sports minister should be held accountable.

"What happened is absolutely not acceptable because it was a very ugly thing," he was quoted as saying by ISNA.

After the incident made headlines in some international media and with a clip available on the Internet, the federation's media committee met on Tuesday and "demanded that elements who damaged the country's sporting spirit be dealt with firmly," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Soccer is the most popular spectator sport in Iran, although women are barred from attending matches.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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More newsJoe Klamar / AFP - Getty Images

Hat trick lifts Messi past 200 goals

??Lionel Messi broke the 200-goal barrier for his career with his second straight hat trick, and Barcelona won 4-0 at Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night with its ninth straight shutout to advance to the European Champions League knockout stage.

Mike Stobe / Getty Images

'Cheap'?

Landon Donovan said the New York Red Bulls were the most unsporting team he had played against in Major League Soccer after a post-match melee on the field Sunday.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45118829/ns/sports-soccer/

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Rare October snowstorm wreaks havoc in Northeast (AP)

WAYLAND, Mass. ? Hundreds of thousands of people across the Northeast shivered at the prospect of days without heat or lights after a freak October snowstorm over the weekend, and many towns postponed trick-or-treating Monday in what seemed like a mean Halloween prank to some children.

Families huddled under blankets and winter coats at home or waited out the crisis in shelters as utility crews struggled to fix power lines brought down by the storm. Hundreds of schools closed, giving youngsters one of the earliest snow days on record.

"Such a small storm but such a big disaster," said Marina Shen, who spent Sunday night with her husband and dog at a middle school in Wayland, a Boston suburb of 13,000 where half the homes lost power. Just a few inches fell in Wayland, and most of it had melted by Monday, but overnight temperatures fell below freezing.

"The house is really, really cold. You cannot do anything. It's so dark, cold," Shen said. "Here they give us a hot shower."

From Maryland to Maine, high winds and wet, heavy snow brought down trees, branches and wires Saturday and Sunday. Snowfall amounts ranged from less than inch in some places to 32 inches in the small town of Peru, Mass., in the Berkshire Mountains.

The storm was blamed for at least 20 deaths, including one in Canada. Most were caused by falling trees, traffic accidents or electrocutions from downed wires. Eight people died in Pennsylvania alone.

More than 3 million homes and businesses in the Northeast lost power at the height of the storm. By early Monday night, that number was nearly 1.8 million.

Some of the same areas were hit hard by the rainy remnants of Hurricane Irene just two months ago, but in many places the utility damage was worse this time. The trees had yet to lose their leaves and captured all too much of the snow.

"The leaves on the trees have made whole trees and huge branches come down and taken down more wires," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. "It's a huge challenge for everybody."

With the temperature rising again, the storm's effects will probably outlast the snow itself.

Christie said he expected 95 percent of the 375,000 customers in New Jersey without power to have it back by Thursday, though he knew that would be little comfort to people shivering in the dark.

"I know if you are without power today, Thursday seems like a long time from now," he said.

Companies brought in crews from other states to help, but with lights out and live wires down all over the place, many communities urged children to skip trick-or-treating or at least postpone it until later in the week.

"I was upset because I really wanted to go trick-and-treating and get candy," said 12-year-old McKenzie Gallasso of South Windsor, Conn., who was deciding whether to be a witch or a werewolf when the phone rang with the bad news that town officials were advising families to call off trick-or-treating. "This year I'll have to eat candy from my mom."

In Berlin, Mass., Glen Mair was trying to find someplace for his two children to go for Halloween after the town canceled trick-or-treating. He said they might go to a condominium complex or a neighboring town.

"This is like a mean practical joke," he said of the storm.

Mercedes Hidalgo of Pompton Lakes, N.J., was disappointed the street would be too dark Monday night to hand out candy.

"I have all the candy since probably three, four weeks ago that I bought it, but honestly, what I did ? in the dark, with my flashlight ? I was eating chocolate all night to try and warm up," she said.

In addition to ruining Halloween, the storm was turning into a budget nightmare for cities and towns already dealing the costs of Irene.

"There's no question that most municipal budgets are past bending and into breaking," said William Steinhaus, the top elected of official in Dutchess County, in New York's Hudson Valley, which got nearly 2 feet of snow. "Whether it's fuel money or overtime money or salt and sand material items, those line items are all stretched or broke at this point."

Steinhaus also questioned why the New York Department of Transportation wasn't better prepared for the storm after state police had to help more than 100 drivers who got stuck on Interstate 84 and the Taconic State Parkway early Sunday.

Dana Richardson of Malverne, N.Y., and his 82-year-old mother were stranded on the Taconic for 10 hours after setting out from their Long Island home Saturday afternoon and heading upstate to visit relatives in Rhinebeck. He said he saw only one snowplow the entire time.

Police took them to a firehouse, and they eventually were brought to a hotel, where they slept on chairs in the lobby.

"The authorities tried their best, but it seems like they were totally unprepared," said his mother, Dimitra Richardson.

A call to the department was not immediately returned.

Judd Everhart, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, said the agency spent more than $2 million of its $26 million snow-removal budget on keeping state roads clear during the storm.

In some places, commuters were forced to hunt for open gas stations after power outages knocked out the pumps. At a 7-Eleven in Hartford, Conn., two dozen cars waited in a line that stretched into the street and disrupted traffic.

"There's no gas anywhere," said Debra Palmisano of Plainville, Conn. "It's like we're in a war zone. It's pretty scary, actually."

In Allentown, Pa., where downed branches littered yards, Anne Warschauer, a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor, refused to leave her home.

"I'm freezing," she acknowledged. But she said she worried about her cat, Pumpkin. A friend urged her to go, saying the power would not be back on until Thursday.

"I'm not going," Warschauer replied. "So let's not talk about that anymore."

Angie O'Connor of Boston said she found it striking that temperatures were in the 80s just a few weeks ago.

"I was swimming in the ocean on Oct. 10," she said. "It does seem awfully early for this."

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Rubinkam in Allentown, Pa.; Denise Lavoie in Boston; Michael Melia and Stephen Singer in Hartford, Conn.; Frank Eltman in Garden City, N.Y.; Chris Carola in Albany; Beth DeFalco in Trenton, N.J.; and Samantha Henry in Pompton Lakes, N.J.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111031/ap_on_re_us/us_october_snow

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Video: Defense witness in Murray trial gets fined

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45115361#45115361

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Kyrgyz election front-runner set for crushing win (AP)

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan ? The front-runner in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election looked set for an unexpectedly crushing victory early Monday, prompting bitter accusations of fraud in a vote that was supposed to put the country on a firmer footing after an uprising last year overthrew the government.

With 88 percent of precincts counted, businessman and former prime minister Almazbek Atambayev was easily leading the field with 63 percent of the vote in the former Soviet Central Asian nation. The winner has to get at least 50 percent of the ballots cast to claim victory in one round, and a run-off had been widely anticipated.

Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished and mainly Muslim nation of around 5 million people on China's western fringes, is home to both U.S. and Russian military air bases, making its fortunes the subject of lively international interest.

It remains to be seen if the defeated presidential candidates will pursue their complaints through legal channels or summon supporters to the streets. The specter of a new wave of protests could cause profound anxiety in a country still unstable due to the political and ethnic violence of recent years.

The Kyrgyz overthrew authoritarian President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April 2010 amid anger over corruption and stagnating living standards. Sunday's election had been touted as the culmination of a movement for political reform away from the strong authoritarian model that has prevailed in the country since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Over the past two decades, elections had been purely formal exercises designed to lend a threadbare veil of legitimacy to the ruling elite. Kyrgyzstan last year adopted a new Constitution that saw the powers of the presidency watered down in favor of a more powerful parliament.

Many had hoped this election would be the first peaceful transition of power in the economically struggling nation's history. The two presidents that ruled the country over the first two decades of its independence, Bakiyev and Askar Akayev, were both unseated in public uprisings.

International observers had largely praised the run-up to the elections, but some complained on the night of the vote of irregularities in the counting process and said the scale of Atambayev's apparent win indicated he may have benefited from reliance on state resources.

"It seems that the numbers in some areas bears an impact of administrative resources," an international observer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment before an official observation report is issued Monday afternoon.

Outgoing President Roza Otunbayeva, who has been running the country as interim leader since April 2010, earned international plaudits by agreeing to step down to make way for the election winner.

Atambayev's most vigorous opponents were two popular nationalist politicians ? Kamchibek Tashiyev and Adakhan Madumarov.

As of early Monday, they appeared to have performed less impressively than many had expected, both capturing less than 15 percent of the vote with only one-tenth of the ballots left to count. None of the other 13 candidates running looked set to earn even 1 percent of the vote.

Atambayev had easily the best-funded campaign and enjoyed significant public exposure by serving as prime minister until last month. In that capacity, he had raised state salaries and increased pensions, both policies that doubtless earned him significant political capital.

Under the new constitution, Atamabayev will as the new president be limited to a single six-year term. He has hinted that the constitution may face further adjustments, but has offered no specific details.

But as polls were closing Sunday evening, a group of presidential candidates, including Madumarov, complained to journalists that tens of thousands of people had been excluded from the electoral register. Other alleged violations included repeat voting and ballot box stuffing.

"We are willing to adopt all legal methods in order to protect our votes," said Madumarov, who did not rule out street action as a means of protesting the outcome of the election.

Madumarov urged authorities to form a commission made up of party officials and candidates' representatives to investigate the alleged violations.

There were scattered media reports of voting violations throughout the day.

At a polling station in the Kyrgyz National University in Bishkek, several teachers were seen by an AP reporter calling their students by telephone to urge them to vote. Large crowds of students were seen waiting in line shortly after polls opened to cast their ballot.

University teacher Izanat Gasanova, 30, denied she was forcing students to vote for any particular candidate. "This is their personal choice, nobody is forcing them," said Gasanova, who said she was voting for Atambayev.

Earlier in the day, Otunbayeva, a seasoned diplomat who served as ambassador in Washington and London, said she was certain the election was being held in full compliance with the law.

"Any claims that administrative resources have been deployed or that the election is not being held according to the rules or unlawfully are unfounded," she said.

___

Leila Saralayeva contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111030/ap_on_re_as/as_kyrgyzstan_presidential_election

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