Photographs of the degrading and brutal abuse in Abu Ghraib two years ago stunned and outraged the world. It was not just a pose because Ali was electrocuted by American soldiers five times, often until he passed out.

The Times found that the Gates Foundation has holdings in many companies that have failed tests of social responsibility because of environmental lapses, employment discrimination, disregard for worker rights, or unethical practices.

the Gates Foundation endowment had major holdings in:

* Companies ranked among the worst U.S. and Canadian polluters, including ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical Co. and Tyco International Ltd

* Many of the world's other major polluters, including companies that own an oil refinery and one that owns a paper mill

* Pharmaceutical companies that price drugs beyond the reach of AIDS patients the foundation is trying to treat.

Plastic Logic has attracted $100m (£51m) of investment that will fund a plant to make plastic semiconductors – the first of its kind in the world. The factory should be in operation in Dresden, Germany, by the end of 2008