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Former US vice-president Al Gore and Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with their awards during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, yesterday.

Photograph: Bjorn Sigurdson/Reuters

Putin opts for deputy prime minister as successor
President Vladimir Putin ended months of speculation yesterday by naming Dmitry Medvedev, a 42-year-old economic liberal, as his preferred candidate to win Russia's presidential election next year.
Garda Commissioner calls for help to fight drugs trade
The Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy called for greater community support in the fight against illegal drug use.
Former press magnate Conrad Black is jailed
Former newspaper magnate Conrad Black, once renowned for his lavish lifestyle and flamboyant public persona, has been sentenced to 6½ years in prison for stealing millions from his shareholders.

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Finance

UBS in $10bn writedown over US subprime exposure
Swiss bank UBS became the biggest European casualty of the US subprime mortgage crisis yesterday when it announced a writedown of $10 billion (€6.8 billion) in the value of its assets and an emergency injection of funds from Singapore and the Middle East. p
NTR may return £400m to investors
NTR is mulling a return of as much as €400 million to its investors next year if its 51 per cent-controlled subsidiary Airtricity succeeds in selling its European wind farms in the coming weeks. p
Sale of Sachsen LB hangs in the balance
The planned sale of German state bank Sachsen LB could collapse at the last minute unless the Saxon state government agrees to cover all debts associated with the bank's risky Dublin dealings. p
Aer Lingus to carry 500,000 via Belfast
Aer Lingus was well on its way to meeting its first-year target of half a million passengers flying from Belfast International Airport, chief executive Dermot Mannion said yesterday at the inauguration of its first routes from the new hub. p

Ireland

Dunlop scan results delay proves costly for tribunal
Mahon tribunal: Delays in the conveying of lobbyist Frank Dunlop's MRI scan "down a few corridors from one part of the Mater hospital to another" was a "significant cost issue" for the Mahon tribunal, its chairman said yesterday. p
Man gets life in prison for killing partner
A Dublin man who murdered his partner by stabbing her 14 times said a Sunday newspaper article humiliated and plunged him into depression before the killing, a court heard yesterday. p
Model buried as she lived in media spotlight
Katy French, the model and socialite who lived and died in the media beam, had her final outing in a sunny, country churchyard in Co Wicklow yesterday, amid a phalanx of cameras and an attendance of about 500. p
INTO critical of report on truancy
A new ESRI report on school attendance has been criticised by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, the INTO. The report's key finding is that that young boys are much more likely to skip school than girls. p
Second fire at Longford waste plant this year
A midlands businessman who last January suffered severe burns fighting a fire at his premises yesterday relived the nightmare when another blaze ripped through the company's base. p
Review finds hospital erred in breast case
An external review of the case of a mother of two who underwent a mastectomy in 2005, despite being told two years earlier by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, that a lump in her breast was not cancerous, has found that she should have been offered a mammogram at that time. p
Tributes paid to slain band members
Remembering the Miami: Taoiseach unveils Dublin memorial to showband Taoiseach Bertie Ahern led tributes and Dana Rosemary Scallon sang Love Is, at the unveiling of a memorial to murdered members of the Miami Showband, in Parnell Square, Dublin, yesterday. p
Dunne in legal challenge to docklands development
Property developer Seán Dunne has brought legal proceedings challenging a decision by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority that a €200 million development on Dublin's north quays, which surrounds on three sides development lands owned by Mr Dunne, is exempted development. p
Home violence 'affects 25%' of men
More than a quarter of Irish men are victims of domestic violence, a conference on men's rights heard yesterday. However, only 5 per cent of men report domestic abuse to the Garda, compared to almost one-in-three women who contact authorities. p

World

At least 53 illegal migrants drowned off Turkish coast
TURKEY: At least 53 people drowned when a boat carrying illegal migrants sank off Turkey's Aegean coast, in the biggest single accident to occur on this increasingly important route for migration to the European Union. p
EU ministers edge towards unity on Kosovo
EU: EU foreign ministers said they were moving towards a common position on the future of Kosovo yesterday as the deadline for a negotiated solution with Serbia passed. p
Judge urged to quit after freeing gang rapists
AUSTRALIA: A judge in Australia was facing calls to step down yesterday after she failed to jail nine males who admitted gang-raping a 10-year- old girl in an Aboriginal community in 2005, saying the victim "probably agreed" to have sex with them. p
Warning of 'global civil war'
UN CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT: The world could be engulfed by a "global civil war" if rising temperatures are not checked by deep cuts in the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, according to one of the lead authors of a new report on the likely security risks. p

Sport

Capello new favourite for England as Mourinho bows out
SOCCER: Fabio Capello has emerged as the favourite to succeed Steve McClaren as England's coach after Jose Mourinho last night confirmed he has ruled himself out of contention. p
Renault return ends troubled year for Alonso
Motor Sport: Fernando Alonso will seek to rekindle his glory days with Renault after confirming that he is rejoining the French team only weeks after calling time at the end of a disastrous one-year alliance with the McLaren-Mercedes squad. p
Defining week for Liverpool and Rafa
If ever an occasion required Rafael Benitez to remain "focused on training and coaching my team", it is the Champions League reckoning that awaits Liverpool here tonight. p