Jamaica beat Windwards to reach Caribbean Twenty20 final
Tidy bowling followed by steady batting moved Jamaica one step closer to a rare regional triple of titles, when they conquered Windward Islands by five wickets on Saturday to reach the Grand Final of the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament.
Jamaica bowled purposefully, if not menacingly, but the Windwards self-destructed with careless batting and were restricted to 98 for eight from their allocation of 20 overs in the low-scoring first semi-final at Kensington Oval.
Lindon James, playing for the first time in the tournament, laboured over the Windwards’ top score of 37 not out and Johnson Charles made 29.
Leg-spinner Odean Brown earned the Man-of-the-Match for his two wickets for 15 runs from his allotted four overs which strangled the Windwards’ middle order.
Left-arm pacers Krishmar Santokie and Sheldon Cotterrell collected two wickets apiece.
No Jamaica batsman distinguished themselves, but their captain Dave Bernard Jr scored a valuable 22 that brought back stability, after they wobbled on 38 for three in the eighth over.
In the Grand Final late today, the Jamaicans face the winner of the second semi-final yesterday between hosts Barbados and their bitter arch-rivals Trinidad & Tobago.
The Windwards have to settle for the Consolation Final, where they will meet the loser between the Barbadians and the Trinbagonians to play for third and fourth place.
Jamaica got a measured, if not flying start from openers Nkrumah Bonner and Danza Hyatt when they began the chase.
A pull for four through backward square leg off left-arm spinner Garey Mathurin got Hyatt off the mark before Bonner got into gear with an upper cut to third man and a hook – both for four – in an expensive first over from Nelon Pascal.
The two openers put on 33 before they were dismissed five balls apart. Hyatt was run out for 14, when he failed to beat Delorn Johnson’s throw to the ‘keeper going for a single, and Bonner was adjudged lbw for 19 playing back and across a well-pitched delivery.
The Jamaica got into further difficulty, when left-hander Shawn Findlay was caught behind edging a loose drive off Shane Shillingford’s off-spin leaving Jamaica 36 for three in the eighth over.
Bernard arrived and put his side back on track, hitting a six over long-on off Sebastien’s off-spin and the same bowler over mid-wicket for another six two overs later. Marlon Samuels was fortunate on 12, when Garey Mathurin dropped him at short third man off Sebastien.
Bernard found him a steady ally and they added 41 before the Jamaica captain was lbw playing back and across to the same bowler in the 15th over. Samuels was caught behind for 16 off Windwards and West Indies captain Darren Sammy in the 16th over, leaving Carlton Baugh Jr and Andre Russell to usher the side over the finish line.
Earlier, Jamaica got a fortuitous breakthrough in the third over, when Miles Bascombe was run out for a six-ball duck, forced to take a single when fellow opener Johnson Charles hared down on him. An unplayable in-swinging yorker from Santokie bowled Andre Fletcher for a duck three deliveries later to leave Windwards 12 for two.
Jamaica met resistance, when Devon Smith joined Charles and stemmed the flow of wickets before he was caught at short fine leg for six off Brown, top-edging a sweep. Four balls later, Brown struck again, when Charles was caught behind for 29, top edging a cut, leaving Windwards 36 for four.
The Jamaicans never allowed the Windwards to fully recover, although James and Liam Sebastien, with 19, added 43 for the fifth wicket.
Once Cotterrell bowled Sebastien for 11 in the 17th over and Sammy failed to produce his customary tail-end pyrotechnics, the Windwards’ innings faded miserably, as they lost four wickets for 22 inside the last four overs.
Scores: Windward Islands 98/8 (20/20 ov), Jamaica 99/5 (18.0/20 ov). Jamaica won by 5 wickets (with 12 balls remaining).
Serena turns on the power
Serena Williams was so dominant in her 6-1, 6-1 third-round win over Greta Arn at the Australian Open that there's probably only one shot she'll remember more than most.
At 5-0 and a point from winning the first set, Williams lined up in the ideal position for an overhead but then completely shanked it, spraying the ball wide. She screamed and put a hand over her face.
"It was an awkward smash. Then she missed one and I felt a little better," Williams said. "I felt like, 'Am I losing my mind out here?' Everyone sometimes hits a shot that's a little bit insane - you just got to allow yourself to get over it."
The 92nd-ranked Arn saved another set point before holding serve for the first time. Williams responded by winning the next five games before Arn held again. The match ended in 59 minutes yesterday, on consecutive double-faults by the Hungarian.
"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," said Williams, who has won her last 17 matches at Melbourne Park. "I'm just trying to play through it. A little rusty - just trying to play through my rust."
Williams has won the Australian Open five times, including back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. She didn't get to defend her title last year due to injury.
sprained her left ankle
She badly sprained her left ankle in a warm-up tournament at Brisbane two weeks ago, casting doubt again on her participation at Melbourne, but the 13-time major winner has shown no signs of being restricted in her first three matches - she has only conceded 11 games.
Next up she faces Ekaterina Makarova, who beat fellow Russian and seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva earlier Saturday.
Williams is the only American left in the singles at the Australian Open after Vania King lost earlier to former French Open winner Ana Ivanovic - the last US man exited the tournament last Friday when John Isner lost in five sets to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
"I'm definitely going to keep representing the flag and doing the best I can," Williams said.
Novak Djokovic won the last Australian title at the beginning of a 41-match unbeaten run and finished 2011 with the No. 1-ranking after winning three of the four major titles. He next plays two-time Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt, who reached the round of 16 in his 16th Australian Open after beating No. 23-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 on his third match point in the night match.
Against a Frenchman with a reputation for playing long matches, Djokovic wasn't exactly generous with his time.
Djokovic ensured Nicolas Mahut had a 30th birthday he won't quickly forget, routing him 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour, 14 minutes. Mahut lost the longest match in Grand Slam history over 11 hours, 5 minutes against Isner at Wimbledon in 2010.
Mahut was slowed by a left leg injury, but continued the match because the previous matches on Rod Laver Arena were over so quickly.
Djokovic commended him: "I wish him happy birthday and hopefully tonight he can enjoy it."
Djokovic has won 24 straight sets at the Australian Open, and has lost 10 games in his first three matches this time.
"I always played well in Australia. This is the only Grand Slam I won twice," he said. "The conditions are great. They're very suitable to my style of the game, day and night. I'm really looking forward to next week."
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost the 2008 final here to Djokovic, beat Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Like Djokovic, No. 4-ranked Andy Murray was also up against a French opponent and had no trouble advancing in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 over Michael Llodra.
In all six Frenchmen reached the third round, but only two of them advanced. Tsonga wasted hardly any time becoming the first of them to move into the round of 16 and will next play Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach the fourth round in Melbourne in the Open era with a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
Richard Gasquet, the fourth highest-ranked Frenchman at No. 18, knocked out ninth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. He will play fifth-seeded David Ferrer, who lost the first four games against Juan Ignacio Chela before recovering to win 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.
biggest upset of the day
In the biggest upset of the day, No. 92-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan held off an ailing Gael Monfils, seeded 14th, 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4.
On the women's side, two Wimbledon winners - Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova - advanced, but two top-10 players were among the five seeded players who went out.
Zvonareva was beaten 7-6 (7), 6-1 by Makarova and No. 9 Marion Bartoli lost 6-3, 6-3 to Zheng Jie of China, a former Australian Open semi-finalist.
Fourth-seeded Sharapova routed Germany's Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 to continue her fantastic start to the tournament. The 2008 Australian champion has only dropped five games in three rounds and next plays No. 14 Sabine Lisicki, who beat two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Sharapova and Petra Kvitova are among the four women who can claim the No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament. They could play each other in the semi-finals, although Kvitova insisted she hasn't looked that far ahead.
Kvitova reached the round of 16 when Maria Kirilenko retired with a left thigh injury while trailing 6-0, 1-0 after 38 minutes.
Grenada environment minister dismissed
Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, whose National Democratic Congress won 11 of 15 seats in the last general election, has fired a second minister in fewer than four years in office.
Informed sources said Joseph Gilbert, MP for St Patrick West, was told of his dismissal in a telephone call from the prime minister on Thursday morning.
Gilbert, who was appointed Minister for the Environment, Foreign Trade and Export Development last October, was awaiting confirmation of his dismissal in an official letter from Governor General Sir Carlyle Glean.
In 2010, Thomas dismissed his former Environment Minister Michael Church, MP for St John. Church subsequently resigned from cabinet after being offered a junior minister’s position by the prime minister.
The wheels were put in motion for Gilbert’s dismissal when Thomas, who is also MP for St Patrick East, summoned an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning.
A report out of St George’s quoted “an informed source close to the Office of the Prime Minister” as saying that Thomas told his cabinet colleagues that he had advised the governor general to revoke the appointment of Gilbert as a minister of government.
But a Wednesday evening written statement issued by the prime minister’s press secretary, Richard Simon, seemed to dismiss the idea that Thomas had actually fired Gilbert earlier in the day.
The statement said the Grenadian leader had “certain troubling information before him pertaining to what appears to be a serious breach of cabinet principles” involving Gilbert.
“The prime minister anticipates that he would come to a decision on this matter very shortly, whereupon he will duly inform his cabinet and the general public,” the statement said.
Thomas, in a brief nationally televised address on Thursday evening, confirmed the sacking of Gilbert. The prime ministers said he had “irrefutable, documented evidence” of misconduct on Gilbert’s part.
He revealed that in August 2011, while serving as Minister of Works, Public Utilities and Physical Development, Gilbert wrote a letter giving certain assurances to a foreign company that was interested in establishing a casino in Grenada.
Thomas said Gilbert did not seek cabinet’s approval in writing the letter, and accused the former minister of “irresponsible” behaviour.
The Grenadian leader promised to continue combating wrongdoing, adding that what was at stake was not the survival of his government but the preservation of “core values” relating to good governance.
However, the letter written by Gilbert and his firing are now being hotly debated by Grenadians, including legal experts.
One veteran St George’s attorney, who read the so-called letter, said he was “bemused” at the fuss that was being made.
“The letter has no binding effect, no legal consequences, on the government,” he said. “In my view, it is simply trying to keep the developer interested in Grenada and not bolting from the country at a time when jobs are so badly needed.”
When contacted, Gilbert declined to comment on the specifics of the issue, only saying that “I did no wrong; I breached nothing; I committed the government to nothing. I did my utmost as a minister, first in the Ministry of Works, and then in the Ministry of Environment. A priority for me is meeting the needs of the Grenadian people, and they have told me that one of their most urgent needs is jobs.”
Casino gambling, and possibly issuing a gaming licence, has been an ongoing debate in cabinet, and the matter is said to be still under review. Although Thomas has repeatedly stated his opposition to casino, cabinet has never taken a position on the matter.
On call-in radio talkshows and among internet bloggers, people have been commenting on the latest developments.
Many have expressed surprise at the prime minister’s response to Gilbert, comparing Thomas’ inaction to the move last year by Ministry of Finance officials who – without the knowledge and approval of cabinet – engaged representatives of Sewang One World in trying to get investment and development projects for Grenada.
As part of the Sewang discussions, the prime minister signed a memorandum of understanding that Finance Minister Nazim Burke later admitted should not have been signed by the Grenadian leader.
Caribbean News Now
Trinidad prime minister cleared by Integrity Commission
The Integrity Commission has cleared Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar of any wrongdoing in a complaint made alleging interference by her in the appointment of the director of the Financial Intelligence Unit.
The prime minister had previously in a statement made in Parliament clarified the basis on which she exercised her constitutional veto in this matter. Her decision was based on representation made by the Minister of Finance Winston Dookeran, who feared that the stability of the work undertaken by the Financial Intelligence Unit would be adversely affected by any sudden change at the helm.
Dookeran had commended the present acting director Susan Francios for her efforts in the strategic planning and management of the Financial Intelligence Unit and observed that this work would have contributed to the improved rating given to Trinidad and Tobago by the Financial Action Task Force.
Concerns had been raised by the opposition in Parliament that Trinidad and Tobago was blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force. The government rejected this and subsequently clarified that the country was not blacklisted, but had been placed on the “dark grey list” and were subject to the ICRG enhanced monitoring process.
In June 2011 at the plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force meeting, Trinidad and Tobago’s position was reviewed and was found to have taken action and showed progress and as such were upgraded to the “light grey” list and were not in danger of being sanctioned.
In a letter dated January 16, 2012, the Integrity Commission ruled that there was no breach of the Integrity in Public Life Act Chapter 22:01, and dismissed the complaint alleging interference in the appointment of Michelle Austin to the position of Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit.
US Presidential candidate allegedly linked to 1981 failed coup attempt in Dominica
In 1981, a lawyer tried to subpoena Ron Paul to testify in the trial of Don Black, a Grand Wizard for the Ku Klux Klan who would later go on to found the white supremacist, neo-Nazi website, Stormfront. Black was charged along with two other Klansmen with planning to violently overthrow the small Caribbean country of Dominica in what they called “Operation Red Dog.” While a judge refused to subpoena Paul, Don Black would come back to haunt him many years later.
In 1981 a group of American and Canadian white supremacists lead by Klansman and mercenary, Michael (Mike) Perdue planned on taking over a small West Indian country called Dominica by overthrowing the government and Prime Minister Eugenia Charles and restoring its previous prime minister, Patrick Johns into power. The group planned to create an Aryan paradise in Dominica and make money through casinos, cocaine and brothels.
On the day the group of white supremacists were supposed to travel to Dominica, they were arrested by ATF agents and were found with over thirty automatic weapons, shotguns, rifles, handguns, dynamite, ammunition, a confederate flag and a Nazi flag. The plan would be dubbed “The Bayou Of Pigs” after the failed invasion of Cuba.
The leader of the group, Michael Perdue, would plead guilty to planning the coup and turned state’s evidence. Perdue would testify that several other people helped organize and fund the coup and that two Texas politicians were aware of the plan. Among those Perdue implicated were infamous white supremacist, David Duke, former Texas Governor, John Connally and Congressman, Ron Paul whom he claimed knew about the plot. Connally was credited with helping Paul win his first congressional election.
A judge refused to subpoena Paul and Connally despite the fact that Perdue had claimed that both of them were aware of the plot. Don Black’s friend and fellow KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke was called to testify before a grand jury but claimed that he would take the Fifth Amendment and never testified. While Duke was never charged with a crime, several books points to Duke as the organizer who connected Perdue to the other mercenary Klansmen and the people who funded their endeavor. (1 2 3) Everyone else implicated by Perdue was charged with the plot.
Perdue implicated three men as funders of the plot, L.E. Matthews of Jackson, Mississippi, James C. White of Houston, and David Duke’s close friend and backer, J.W. Kirkpatrick. Kirpatrick would kill himself before he could stand trial and White and Matthews would be acquitted in court. Former Prime Minister of Dominica, Patrick Johns would be sentenced to 12 years in prison for his part of the plot. Michael Perdue, Don Black and seven other Klansmen would be sentenced to only 3 years in prison.
Ron Paul has never made a statement denying knowledge of the plot despite the fact that he was implicated by Perdue and almost subpoenaed. Two of the people involved in the plot, Don Black and David Duke have gone on to become two of the most prominent white supremacists of the modern era, and also two of Paul’s most controversial supporters.
Paul would be once again tied to Don Black 26 years after the Bayou Of Pigs. After it was revealed that Black donated $500 dollars to the Ron Paul Presidential campaign, Ron Paul’s campaign refused to give it back. Paul was photographed with Black and his son by David Duke’s former assistant, Jamie Kelso who was an organizer for Ron Paul and the owner of white supremacist sites, WhiteNewsNow.com and TheWhiteRace.com and a moderator for Black’s neo-Nazi website, Stormfront.
Black would become one of Paul’s most enthusiastic supporters and helped rally the white supremacist community around Paul, through Stormfront. Paul would praise another Operation Red Dog planner, David Duke in his newsletters and Duke would return the favor calling him “our king” and endorsing him for President.
This would not be the first time Paul was tied to white supremacists. In 80s, Paul claimed that the best source of his campaign donations came from a list from notorious neo-Nazi, Willis Carto’s publication, The Spotlight. In the 90s, Paul’s newsletters were originally discovered from an online neo-Nazi directory. As recently as 2006, Paul was scheduled to appear on David Duke’s white supremacist protégé, James Edwards’ radio show, “The Political Cesspool.”
Given the scrutiny given to presidential candidates, shouldn’t Paul’s connection to an attempted violent invasion of a small island by white supremacists be re-investigated. If the media investigates every accusation of affairs or sexual harassment for Herman Cain or Newt Gingrich, shouldn’t they investigate accusations that Paul knew about a white supremacist plot to violently overthrow the government of a small Black island, especially with Paul’s other connections to white supremacists?
Written by Casey Gane-McCalla, Lead Blogger
Newsone.com
US Envoy: Taliban Must Renounce Terrorism to Participate in Talks
A top U.S. diplomat visiting Afghanistan said Sunday the Taliban must renounce international terrorism and endorse peace initiatives if it wants to participate in negotiations to end the 10-year war.
Marc Grossman, the special U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, made the comment after talks with Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin.
“I am looking forward to the Taliban being clear about breaking ties with international terrorism, denouncing it, distancing themselves from it, and also to say that they are prepared to participate in an Afghan peace process where Afghans talk to Afghans about the future of Afghanistan.''
Grossman also endorsed a Taliban move to open a diplomatic office in Qatar, which is widely seen as a key step in starting a multi-lateral peace process. But he said Afghan Taliban participation in any such dialogue will require a clear commitment to end armed conflict.
“Afghanistan and the US support a peace process for Afghanistan. Efforts being made with Qatar to open an office for the Afghani Taliban need now to move to enable a conversation among Afghans for peace.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Ludin also voiced support for opening the Taliban office and said Kabul backs a possible U.S. move that would transfer some Taliban inmates from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) to Qatar.
“If the US decides to transfer these detainees to Qatar, to the extent that that means these people will be reunited with their families, the Afghan government will support that. But, as I said, if the US decides to do this, we will support it, but it is a decision for your (U.S.) government, but you will also have to ascertain the desire of the detainees themselves.”
Grossman said no decision has been made about the prisoner transfer.
“We haven't made any decisions and it's no surprise to any of you that this is an issue in the United States of law. First of all we have to meet the requirements of our law.''
Also Sunday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with visiting French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet and once again expressed his condolences over the loss of four French soldiers killed Friday by their Afghan colleague. He said the Afghan Defense Ministry has been ordered to thoroughly investigate the incident.
Mr. Karzai thanked France for all of its assistance over the past ten years, calling France “an old and sincere historic friend” of the Afghan nation.
Longuet thanked the Afghan leader for his condolences and vowed that his country would continue to assist the people of Afghanistan.
Colombia's Farc rebels destroy radar station
Farc rebels in Colombia have destroyed a radar installation, disrupting civil aviation in the south and west of the country, the government says.
Around 100 guerrillas bombarded the mountaintop installation with home-made missiles, killing one of the police guards and and smashing the equipment.
Officials said it would take several months to repair the radar, which is also used to monitor drug trafficking.
President Juan Manuel Santos has condemned the attack.
"When the Farc attacks sites that affect the civilian population it shows their weakness and desperation," he said.
Fierce battle
The radar station on Cerro Santana, in a remote mountainous area of the southern Cauca region, was under sustained attack for more than 12 hours.
Rebels bombarded the installations with gunfire and explosive missiles made out of cooking gas canisters.
The 18-strong police garrison fought back, supported by helicopter gunships. Army troops eventually arrived to restore control of the area and pursue the guerrillas.
The director of Colombia's civil aviation authority, Santiago Castro, said it could take months to repair the radar station, which controlled air traffic across a large area of southern and western Colombia.
"The solution we are considering to ensure the safety of flights is to space out their frequency. We don't know if the number of flights will have to be reduced, but there will be delays," Mr Castro said.
The disruption could also affect flights to neighbouring Panama and Ecuador.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are the country's largest left-wing rebel group, and have been fighting since the 1960s.
In recent years they have suffered a series of setbacks, losing thousands of fighters and several of their top commanders.
But they remain a powerful force in large areas of rural Colombia, thanks in part to money gained from the cocaine trade.
Earlier this month the Farc's new leader - known as Timochenko - indicated that he was interested in peace talks with the government.
But President Santos has reiterated that there can be no negotiations until the rebels cease all attacks and release the hostages they are holding.
Greek debt talks hit snag
The chief negotiators for Greece's private creditors have left Athens without securing a deal to write off some of the country's debts.
The Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents the creditors, said a technical team would remain to work on the details and negotiations would continue on the phone.
Greece had hoped an agreement would be in place by the end of the weekend.
It needs a deal if it is to receive the next tranche of bailout funds.
The 130bn euro ($168bn; £108bn) rescue package from the EU and IMF is crucial if Greece is to meet its next debt repayment deadline in two months.
The Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents the private creditors, denied that its managing director Charles Dallara and his adviser Jean Lemierre had left unexpectedly on Saturday, saying that they had "longstanding personal appointments".
A deal now seems unlikely before eurozone finance ministers meet on Monday.
Default risk
European leaders agreed in principle last year that private lenders would voluntarily write off 50% of their loans to Greece, but private creditors still need to agree to the terms of the deal.
Athens and the IIF last week discussed not only the size of the write-off, but also the rate of interest on the new loans, which will be renegotiated and rolled over into new bonds as part of any agreement.
Reports have suggested that a small number of hedge funds are blocking the deal, either to try to force a reduced write-off or to trigger a default, against which they are insured.
However, analysts say that even if an agreement is reached, there is no guarantee that all bond holders will sign up.
Without the EU-IMF bailout money, the Greek government could run out of cash and be forced to default on its debts.
Some analysts believe that if Greece did default, the country would be forced to leave the eurozone.
General Electric shares fall on lower revenues
US industrial conglomerate General Electric has seen its profits rise, but its shares fell after revenues were lower than expected.
GE shares opened down more than 2% as investors reacted badly to the results for the three months to 31 December.
Fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations rose 26% to $4.5bn (£2.89bn) but revenue fell 8% to $37.9bn.
GE blamed lower-than-expected revenues on slower-than-expected growth in Europe and currency changes.
Europe downturn
For the full-year, the picture was similar. Earnings were up to $20.1bn from $14.1bn in 2010, while revenues for the year were down.
Revenues in 2010 were boosted by the sale of GE's majority stake in broadcaster NBC, which largely accounts for the fall in revenues in 2011.
However, the results for the final three months of the year were still about $2bn below analysts' expectations.
The company, which manufactures a range of industrial products including jet engines and turbines for power generators from coal plants to wind farms, said it would change its European business in response to the poor economy.
"We expect continued volatility in 2012 and have prepared for it by investing in new products and technology, expanding our growth market footprint and taking important steps to strengthen risk management," said GE chairman and chief executive Jeff Immelt.
"We are restructuring our businesses in Europe to reflect market conditions," he added.
Google revenues worse than expected
Google reported a 27% increase in revenues for the last three months of 2011, but even that was not good enough to meet Wall Street estimates, sending the shares tumbling.
Google shares fell 10% in after-hours trading to $575.
It reported 3-month revenues of $10.6bn (£6.8bn). Its net profit rose 6.4% to $2.7bn.
"Google had a really strong quarter ending a great year," said chief executive Larry Page.
"I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally - well over double what I announced just three months ago."
It came as fellow technology firms Microsoft and Intel also posted results for the same period.
Microsoft posted flat earnings of $6.62bn in the same quarter, seeing strong business demand for software and services.
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, posted a better-than-expected 6% rise in earnings to $3.36bn, even though floods in Thailand knocked out factories that produce hard drives and components.
'Pressure' outside US
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, Graham Palmer, head of Intel, said: "We're seeing strong growth in the merging PC markets.
"China now has 20% consumption of the personal PC market - there are about one million PCs 'consumed' every day globally and there is still lots of growth, especially the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China."
But analysts were less impressed with Google's figures.
"Expectations were very high and they have missed that," said Trip Chowdhry, from Global Equities Research.
"Unlike Microsoft and Intel, estimates for Google have been rising for a few months."
The number of clicks on Google's search adverts rose significantly in the fourth quarter, but the amount that Google was able to charge advertisers for each click fell 8%.
"Expectations had got ahead of themselves for Google, largely because investors don't have a good feel for what happens outside the US," said Jordan Rohan from Stifel Nicolaus.
"North America has remained strong, but there are parts of the world where there's a lot of economic pressure. I would have to assume Europe, particularly Germany and some others, undergoing austerity measures. The underlying demand in those countries is weak."
For the full year, Google reported a 29% rise in revenue to $37.9bn, with net profit up 14% to $9.7bn.