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Pettitte to retire after 16-year career

NEW YORK (AFP) – Andy Pettitte, a pitcher on five World Series champions with the New York Yankees in his 16-year Major League Baseball career, will announce his retirement on Friday, the Yankees said Thursday.

The 38-year-old left-hander will end his career despite hopes by the Yankees that they might coax him into one more campaign, but he will instead announce his retirement in a morning news conference at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte finishes his career with a 240-138 record and a 3.88 earned-run average, including a 203-112 showing with a 3.98 earned-run average over 13 seasons with the Yankees.

He ranks third on the Yankees' all-time win list and his 1,823 striekouts are second to Whitey Ford in team history.

Pettitte has the most playoff victories of any pitcher in Major League Baseball history with 19 against 10 defeats over a record 42 appearances with a 3.83 earned-run average in a record 263 innings.

Last season, Pettitte went 11-3 with a 3.28 earned-run average but was sidelined by a groin strain for two months.

Pettitte was part of World Series winners for New York in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. He also pitched in the World Series three other times, including helping the Houston Astros reach the best-of-seven final in 2005.

Pettitte admitted to US Congressional investigators in 2008 that he had taken human growth hormones to help recover from injuries and is expected to be called by prosecutors in July when former Yankee teammate Roger Clemens goes on trial on charges he lied to Congress when denying he took performance-enhancing drugs.

Without Pettitte in their pitching rotation, the Yankees have two holes in a starting lineup that includes ace C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes.

After failing to land prized free agent hurler Cliff Lee, the Yankees are left with lesser names -- veteran right-handers Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia plus Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre -- as possible fourth and fifth starters.

Obama sharpens jobs element of energy pitch

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – President Barack Obama, turning briefly to his eclipsed domestic agenda Thursday, called on the nation's businesses to make fresh investments in clean energy technology that lay a foundation for long-term American prosperity.

He proposed a new tax credit and other measures to encourage businesses to retrofit their plants and reduce costs — steps that he said would save $40 billion a year in utility bills. The visit to the Penn State campus was designed to highlight Obama's emphasis on energy and his view that technological innovations represent jobs of the future.

"Making our buildings more energy efficient is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to save money, combat pollution and create jobs," the president said, taking his retooled economic pitch to the heart of Pennsylvania, a prominent state in presidential politics that will be a key in his 2012 re-election bid.

Obama has wanted to feature his long-term economic plans ever since he detailed them in his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress last week. The State College trip was the third in a series of visits to energy-related enterprises in as many weeks.

But the trip comes as the crisis in Egypt has dominated his time and consumed media attention. Obama is trying to press on with his economic ideas, ahead of the release of his budget plan on Feb. 14, while he manages his response to the violent clashes that have Egypt and the Mideast on the edge.

"In America innovation isn't just how we change our lives, it's how we make a living," Obama said, pushing a key feature of an economic agenda that blends his goals of greater energy independence with a long-term job growth strategy.

Speaking directly to a youthful audience, Obama said: "The greatest force that the world has ever known and that is the American idea. If you remember that and keep breaking new ground, if we as a country keep investing in you, I'm absolutely confident that America will win the future in this century just like we did in the last."

As part of his new plan, Obama will ask Congress to provide companies with a tax credit that financially rewards them for retrofitting their buildings in ways that decrease energy usage. The proposal would alter the existing tax break for such commercial upgrades, switching it from a deduction to a credit that applies more widely, administration officials said.

The energy efficiency plan is an extension of Obama's call last year to give government rebates for home retrofitting, a proposal that has stalled in the Senate.

The White House said former President Clinton and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt will lead the effort to reach out to businesses to take advantage of the government efficiency incentives. Obama recently named Immelt to head an advisory council on entrepreneurship.

Before making his remarks in Penn State's Rec Hall, Obama received a tutorial on energy research designed to improve indoor air quality and another on high performance wall systems, donning safety goggles for one experiment. `'My fifth grade science experiment looked just like this," Obama joked to reporters at one point.

During his comments, Obama twice mentioned Joe Paterno, the locally beloved coach of the Penn State football, who was in the audience.

Rob Gleason, chairman of Pennsylvania's Republican party, said Obama's visit is a sign that the 2012 campaign is in full swing.

In a Thursday morning conference call, Gleason questioned whether Obama's energy policy could be trusted and criticized what he called the administration's "runaway spending" and hostile position toward industry.

The president is also calling for:

• Broader access to financing for businesses that want to make energy-saving upgrades, and loan guarantees for hospitals, schools and companies to do the same.

• Competitive grants for states and local governments that make it easier for companies to upgrade their buildings.

• More training for workers in the field of commercial building technology.

The White House said it is targeting the commercial sector because its buildings consume roughly 20 percent of all energy in the U.S. economy. Administration officials offered no details on how much Obama's plan would cost. They said those details will be released in the budget and the proposed elimination of oil industry subsidies would help cover the costs.

P&G quarterly profit drops 28% on slowing sales

NEW YORK (AFP) – Rising materials costs pushed consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble's second-quarter profits sharply lower, the company said Thursday, predicting a better second half.

P&G's net earnings for the three months that ended December 31 were off 28 percent at $3.33 billion, down from $4.66 billion a year earlier.

P&G cited higher raw material costs and an "unfavorable product mix" that forced its operating margins to shrink 2.1 percent.

Net sales worldwide were up two percent to $21.3 billion, and P&G said it scored solid growth in key markets and for its key brands.

"Volume was up six percent behind growth in all major geographic regions, 16 of 17 top countries, five of six business segments and 19 of 23 billion-dollar brands," the giant consumer goods company said in a statement.

"This is driving strong volume and sales growth ahead of market levels," said chief executive Bob McDonald.

Earnings per share for the quarter on a diluted basis were $1.11, compared to analysts' average prediction of $1.10.

"Core EPS is ahead of year-ago levels, and we are on track to deliver seven to nine percent growth for the year."

P&G pointed out that the 2009 second quarter net profit had included $1.5 billion from discontinued operations; with this component removed, earnings jumped 6.0 percent.

McDonald said the second half of the fiscal year should see less pressure from commodities than the first six months and that will boost the company's bottom line.

"The fiscal year guidance implies acceleration in the second half," he said in a conference call.

"Prices will swing to a positive against a negative by the end of the fiscal year."

He said the entire industry has been hit by rising materials prices.

"We'll be working to develop substitute materials for those rising quickly," he added.

But sales in the key US market were still "lower than expected" this year, McDonald noted.

Al Jazeera Partners With X Media Lab In Search Of Creative Interns

With over 3000 staff, including more than 400 journalists representing more than 60 nationalities, Al Jazeera is one of the most diverse news networks in the world.In partnership with the internationally acclaimed creative think-tank, X Media Lab, Al Jazeera has announced the establishment of prized Internship opportunities.

(Vocus/PRWEB) January 28, 2011

Al Jazeera Network is partnering within search for outstanding interns in a number of diverse disciplines. Successful applicants will be based for three months at Al Jazeera’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Al Jazeera in creating these internships for graduate students and professionals,” says Megan Elliott, director of X Media Lab. “Working at the headquarters of such a highly regarded news and digital media organization will offer unparalleled opportunities for the selected media professionals.”

X Media Lab, an international digital media think thank and creative workshop, has identified three categories in which the successful interns may work with ’s journalists and its new media team: mobile media applications and services; social media applications and services; and web applications and services.

Within these categories there are a number of disciplines in which the interns will be involved, including development and design, research, future mapping and creative ideas.

While interns will need to cover their own travel and on-ground costs, their accommodation is included as part of the internship.Candidates must be fluent in English.

Applications for the internships can be made via the . The first round of applications closes on Monday 28 February, 2011.

About Al Jazeera Network

was established over fourteen years ago as the first independent Arabic news channel in the world dedicated to providing comprehensive television news and live debate.

With the creation of new channels and services, Al Jazeera established itself as an international media corporation and in March 2006 was formally renamed the Al Jazeera Network. The Al Jazeera Network now consists of the flagship Al Jazeera Satellite (Arabic) channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera.net (the English and Arabic web sites), the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Al Jazeera Mubasher (Live), and Al Jazeera Mobile.

All of the subsidiaries of the Al Jazeera Network follow the spirit and legacy of the flagship Al Jazeera Arabic channel.The Network challenges established narratives and provides a global audience with an alternative voice, putting the human being back at the center of the news agenda, giving a voice to the voiceless, and bringing under-reported stories from across the world to light. With more than 69 bureaus across the world, Al Jazeera Network is the Arab world’s most influential news corporation.

About X Media Lab (XML)

is a global organization that is highly regarded for its role as a digital media think tank facilitator, and for providing a forum for industry networking.

As a digital media industries meeting place, XML is uniquely designed to assist individuals and companies to successfully bring their creative ideas to market. It does this through concept development, business matching, and direct access to world-class networks of creative professionals.

XML specializes in building high-value professional international networks within the emerging creative and new media hotspots of Asia, with partners in selected traditional media hotspots including the UK, USA and Europe.

Each X Media Lab is a completely unique event where people with original digital media ideas connect with a superb international network of independent creative thinkers, technology wizards, commercialization experts, potential business partners and financial resources. The focus of the Lab is always on you and your idea.

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Megan ElliottX Media Lab61 414 573 336Email Information

Haiti candidate refuses to confirm exit

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) – Presidential candidate Jude Celestin refused to confirm that he was withdrawing from Haiti's disputed electoral race after the ruling party pulled its support for him.

The ruling INITE (Unity) party bowed to weeks of US-led pressure on Wednesday and said it was pulling Celestin out of the presidential run-off after he was found to have benefited from widespread fraud.

"Even though we are certain Jude Celestin received the necessary number of votes and was therefore through to the second round, INITE (Unity) has agreed to withdraw his candidacy for the presidency," a party statement said.

But Celestin's spokesman told AFP on Wednesday that the statement still needed the candidate's signature and had not been sent to the electoral commission.

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) "cannot act without the endorsement of the candidate," the spokesman, Richard Dumel, said.

So far, "the CEP has not received an official document either from the party or the candidate certifying the withdrawal of Mr. Celestin."

Under Haiti's electoral law "only the candidate, by way of a legal document, can withdraw from the race," Dumel stressed.

The spokesman did not say if Celestin had made a decision.

According to preliminary results from the November 28 first round poll, Celestin garnered 7,000 more votes than popular singer Michel Martelly, securing a place in a run-off against former first lady Mirlande Manigat.

Within hours of the announcement, protests swept Haitian towns, leaving five dead and the country in crisis as opposition candidates accused President Rene Preval and the electoral commission of rigging the poll.

A team of international monitors called in by Preval found widespread vote tampering and fraud in Celestin's favor, and recommended he should withdraw from the race and leave the field clear for a Martelly-Manigat battle.

The second round, originally scheduled for January 16, has been indefinitely postponed, even though Preval is due to step down in early February and hand over leadership of the poorest country in the Americas.