Prisoners Continue with Strike Action
The male prisoners at the Pointe Blanche prison are still in lock down as they continue what they describe as a peaceful strike. Prison Director Rudsel Ricardo said in an invited comment to SMN News that some of the prisoners want to end the strike but there is another group that is threatening those that want to work. Ricardo said the last time that same group attacked the prisoners who wanted to work. "The situation at the Pointe Blanche Prison is very tense because several prisoners are afraid for their lives." Ricardo said on Tuesday afternoon some of the prisoners lit some paper and threw it in the garbage bins causing a fire. He said the fire department and police reacted very quickly and brought the fire under control. Ricardo further explained that while that was taking place, the male prisoners were making noise because they claim they were being affected by the smoke.
The Prison Director said that the female prisoners at the Pointe Blanche Prison are not part of the on-going strike. "The female prisoners are working normally and they are working very hard."
In the meantime, Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams said that the Minister of Justice Roland Duncan is on top of the crisis at the Pointe Blanche prison.
"The Minister is aware of the matter and he is handling it." In an invited comment, Minister of Justice Roland Duncan said that media has been giving the prisoners too much exposure. He said one has to understand that the prisoners are locked up for the crimes they committed and the Pointe Blanche prison is like a Hotel and Spa. Minister Duncan said he will not comment on the ongoing situation because in his opinion it's causing more trouble.
SMN
Anguilla's Chief Minister Hubert Hughes calls for a fight against growing gun crime
National Address by Chief Minister Hughes:
Fellow Anguillians, the theme for this 45th birthday of our Country which you know by now is Rejoice, Rebuild and Reconcile.
My Anguilla day speech related to our self-determination. It was so written based on the experience of Anguillian leaders before me and my experience in politics in Anguilla. There may be some who will deem that speech controversial but it is a discussion that is long overdue and the time for us to move towards full constitutional independence is now.
Independence should be the goal of each and every one of us but there is another goal that we need to pursue with even more vigour and urgency and that is; UNITY. We need to unite our people. I have seen over my years in Anguilla that there is more that unite us than divides us and it was through that unity that the revolution succeeded and it can only be through unity that we stamp out the scourge of gun violence that plague our youth and our country once and for all.
I still mourn the loss of Mr. Gustave Hodge along with his family. We are all family – the family of Anguillians. I weep for all of those parents who have lost love one’s through this senseless means. As a country, we have to reach out to those who have been injured and maimed as well. They too will need our support.
Fellow Anguillians, we are all one people! From East to West, from North to South, Anguillians are one people. Like the soca song asked a few years ago, “why can’t east go west, why can’t west go east?” there is absolutely no reason why a country of less than sixteen thousand (16,000) people should have its citizens living in fear. All that we have gained since the revolution is being threatened.
We have met with the Chief of Police on more than one occasion to discuss this issue collectively, as one people across the political divide.
Just this week, the Hon. Jerome Roberts and I met with both the Deputy Governor and His Excellency the Governor to discuss this spate of gun play on our island paradise by a handful of young men. We believe that it is time that our local police force receives some regional and or international assistance. We believe that the people of Anguilla – all of us must give our police force our fullest cooperation.
We believe that this is the time that we garner assistance by qualified crime scene investigators and bring an end to this destructive behaviour once and for all. I have privately requested for this help and I am now publicly asking His Excellency to look favourably at this request.
As you know, it is His Excellency, the Governor’s portfolio and I will not interfere in his constitutional duty for our internal security but I believe that if there is ever a time for mutual respect and cooperation, that time is now. This is bigger than any political party – Anguilla’s existence is under threat and we must fight that threat by all means necessary!
There is room to rebuild - We have to commit ourselves to rebuild the Anguilla that makes us proud – economically, socially and culturally and spiritually. We have to reduce the dilemma of increasing hostilities in our youth who are engaging in unruly conduct and crime that is having a devastating impact on lives in this Country. As Parents, Teachers, Community, Law Enforcement and Government we have to be far more vigilant in re-directing our youth into positive behaviour.
Like I have said, there is room to Reconcile – let us never forget that we are our Brother’s Keeper and we are all one family on this three mile by sixteen mile island.
Let us now unite and rid ourselves of any sort of violence and build our country to her full potential.
God bless.
Dominicans mark the end of their darkest nightmare
The Dominican people today May 30 mark their Day of Freedom, and the 51st anniversary of the execution of dictator Rafael Trujillo, the culmination of a vast conspiracy by various political and military groups, close collaborators of the tyrant among them.
Though the plotters managed to eliminate their main target, the planned political actions failed, leading to the capture and later execution of the conspirators.
To carry out the execution the group learned of Trujillo’s visits to his native town every Wednesday, and corralled him in his car in a hail of bullets on the seaside road today called 30 de Mayo highway to mark the event.
Rajon Rondo outstanding but LeBron James, Heat rally for 2-0 lead
Back and forth they went in overtime, Rajon Rondo and the Miami Heat.
Rondo scored. The Heat answered. Then again. And again.
Eventually, Rondo missed, one of the rare times he didn't deliver on an unforgettable night. Moments later, the Heat took the lead for good, finally able to close out a wild Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
LeBron James scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored eight of his 23 points in the extra session and the Heat rallied from 15 down to beat the Boston Celtics 115-111 on Wednesday night -- taking a 2-0 lead in the series by pulling off the biggest comeback in franchise postseason history.
"One of the best games I've played in, win or lose," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "It's easier said when you win -- but it's unbelievable."
Rondo scored all 12 of Boston's points in overtime, capping a 44-point, 10-assist, eight-rebound effort in which he played every second of a 53-minute game. The Heat expected Boston's best -- and the Celtics didn't disappoint, yet still head home for Game 3 on Friday night facing a deficit no Boston team has rallied from to win a series since 1969.
"Listen, we played terrific," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I told them, we played extremely hard. I thought we played with great heart tonight, but I didn't think we played smart all the time. And there's things we can absolutely fix, and we'll do that. We'll be ready for Friday."
Mario Chalmers scored 22 for the Heat, who took 47 free throws -- 24 by James -- to Boston's 29.
"This group had resolve," Wade said of the Celtics. "They came out and played a great game. It was physical early. They brought the game to us. That can't happen. We used our crowd and the energy to get back into the game and we had to play better."
Paul Pierce scored 21 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and Ray Allen 13 for Boston. Rondo finished 16 of 24 from the floor, 10 of 12 from the foul line and made both his 3-point tries.
"He showed why he's one of the best point guards in this league," Chalmers said.
Rondo shrugged off his night.
"We lost," Rondo said. "Simple as that."
Allen's 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds left tied the game at 99-all. James missed two shots, first a layup -- he got the rebound of his own miss -- and then a jumper on the final possession of regulation, and to overtime they went.
"We had to do it the tough way," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Heat had come back to win from 14 points down in playoff games twice before, first in Game 6 of the 2006 NBA finals -- their title clincher -- and again last season against Philadelphia.
And this one was slipping away, more than once. James missed two free throws 21 seconds into overtime, and Miami looked in trouble, especially since Rondo was simply taking over.
When Rondo missed a layup -- he thought he was fouled, and the Celtics agreed -- with 1:33 left, Miami took advantage, with Udonis Haslem getting a dunk to put the Heat up 105-103. And after a turnover on the next Boston possession, Wade drove the lane, hit the deck and watched as his layup bounced on the rim and dropped through.
Garnett stood over Wade and glared, to no avail. Wade hit the free throw, and Miami was up 110-105 with 59.7 seconds left. By then, the no-call on Rondo had the Celtics seething.
"It was obvious," Rondo said.
Added Allen: "We all thought he got hit. I'll say it. He did, but what can you do about it?"
Miami was down by 15 in the first half and by as many as 11 in the third quarter, before a pair of 3-pointers by James started a comeback. Wade made consecutive jumpers midway through the third to shake off a slow start to his night and get the Heat within three both times, and the 2006 NBA finals MVP set up Haslem for a three-point play with 2:55 left that gave Miami its first lead since the opening minutes, 73-71.
As Haslem's shot dropped, Wade spun at midcourt and punched the air. More highlights followed.
Miami's lead got to as much as seven in the third after James blocked Pierce's shot near the rim, sending the ball high into the air and starting a sequence that was capped by a three-point play from Wade, pushing the margin to 78-71. It capped a 12-0 run for the Heat, who took an 81-75 lead into the fourth.
It was the fifth straight game where Miami outscored its opponent by double-digits in the third quarter. In each of the previous four of those outings, Miami never trailed in the final period.
That streak ended in this one.
"It's been very key for us, whether we're up, whether we're down, to win that quarter," Wade said. "But in the fourth quarter, even when we were down, we felt like we were close enough. ... We never felt like we were out of it."
They weren't out of it -- but a call that Boston argued against played a big role in the Celtics getting the lead back.
James stole the ball from Rondo early in the fourth, drove down the court and got wrapped up by Pietrus, who was assessed a clear-path foul, meaning Miami got two free throws and the ball. James missed both foul shots, Mike Miller missed a 3-pointer later in the possession, and the lead stayed at 85-81.
Barely a minute later, it was gone. Pietrus hit a 3-pointer, Rondo followed with a steal and layup and Boston led 86-85. The Celtics led by five with 3:50 left after a jumper by Pierce, and the Celtics looked to be in control.
It was temporary. The Heat scored the next nine points, Haslem's jumper with 1:08 remaining put Miami up 98-94. So of course, back came Boston -- Allen's 3-pointer tying the game a few moments after Pierce fouled out.
"Rondo was absolutely amazing," James said. "The performance he put on tonight will go down in the record books. ... It was a battle, and we never felt like we won the game or lost the game when there were zeros on the clock."
Novak Djokovic & Roger Federer win in Paris
Novak Djokovic brushed aside Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-0 6-4 6-4 in the second round of the French Open.
The top seed, aiming to be the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major trophies, will next play Nicolas Devilder or Michael Berrer.
Roger Federer , seeded three, beat Adrian Ungur 6-3 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 for a record 234th victory in Grand Slams.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Cedrik-Marcel Stebe were a set and one game all when heavy rain ended play for the day.
Djokovic began in blistering fashion, racing through the first set in 23 minutes without dropping a game.
The second took more than twice that, with Kavcic finally getting on the board in game eight and collecting the next two games as well.
Kavcic, ranked 99th, had the crowd on his side and was going toe-to-toe with Djokovic from the baseline.
But he wasted a chance to move 4-1 lead ahead, and Djokovic punished him to level at 4-4 before striking again to seal the set.
Kavcic refused to roll over after saving a break point in game six of the third set, a stunning forehand pass gave him 0-30 in game seven.
However, Djokovic responded aggressively and the pressure told in game 10 when Kavcic put a backhand long on the fourth match point.
Federer , the 2009 champion, was in complete control against Romanian Ungur until midway through the third set.
World number 92 Ungur had two break points in the sixth game and then two set points at 5-4.
Federer saved them and then went 6-4 ahead in the tie-break that followed.
However the 16-time Grand Slam winner's immaculate timing briefly deserted him and a netted backhand gave Ungur a fourth successive point and the set.
Federer needed to save two break points in the opening game of the fourth set but soon closed out victory in two hours and 27 minutes.
"Instead of being aggressive I let him show me what he could do," the 30-year-old said of the two squandered matchpoints. "He played two beautiful shots and he played very well."
Next up for the Swiss maestro will be a third-round match against either Slovakian Martin Klizan or Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.
Seventh seed Thomas Berdych , who reached the semi-finals in 2010, hit eight aces and 42 winners to defeat Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-2 6-3 6-3 in an hour and 41 minutes.
The 26-year-old from the Czech Republic plays South African Kevin Anderson in round three, the 31st seed eliminating Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-0.
In the doubles event Britain's Dominic Inglot partnered Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines to a 7-5 6-2 victory over American duo Michael Russell and Donald Young.
However, Britain's Jonathan Marray and German Dustin Brown lost to Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, while Jamie Murray and Australian Carsten Ball were beaten by Yen-hsun Lu of Taiwan and Japan's Go Soeda.
Usain Bolt plays down Justin Gatlin's London 2012 chances
Usain Bolt has dismissed suggestions former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin will provide the biggest challenge for his 100m crown at London 2012.
Gatlin, who won 2004 gold in Athens before a four-year drugs ban, clocked 9.87 seconds in Doha two weeks ago.
"I don't want to sound rude, but Gatlin's had his chance," said Bolt. "He's been on top, but to say 'get ready for the Gatlin show' is funny.
"He has a few guys to get past before he should be worried about me."
World indoor champion Gatlin staked his claim as a contender for the Olympic 100m with victory in Doha's Diamond League meeting on 11 May.
The 30-year-old aims to book his place at London when he runs in the United States team trials in Portland next month.
But Bolt, who won 100m gold in Beijing four years ago, believes American Tyson Gay and current World Championship title holder Yohan Blake will provide sterner challenges than Gatlin.
Meanwhile, the Jamaican sprinter has pledged to bounce back at Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Rome after his disappointing time in Ostrava last week.
He clocked 10.04s in last Friday's 100m and afterwards blamed a lack of sleep and food.
He said: "I explained to my coach that my legs were not feeling that energetic, probably through a lack of sleep and not enough food.
"I've been trying to get a lot more sleep and eating better."
Bolt's time in Ostrava was the first time since 2009 in Toronto that the Jamaican has failed to break 10 seconds in a final.
However, the triple Olympic champion was in relaxed mood ahead of this week's meeting in Rome and admitted he does not feel under pressure to perform in every race.
He said: "You never have a good race every time you run. You have to just put that behind you and move on. It's not a worry. I have a lot more races and the main one is at the Olympics.
"I have set a high standard for myself so I know people like to see me run fast.
"I can't look at it as pressure. People expect you to do certain things - I know I will have my bad races but I have to stay strong and focused."
Bolt will face fellow countryman and former world-record holder Asafa Powell, France's European champion Christophe Lemaitre and veteran Kim Collins in the 100m on Thursday.
Britain's world 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene faces a tough test in Rome, with American Bershawn Jackson among those keen for revenge after the Welshman's victory in Daegu last year.
There is British interest in the men's long jump with both Greg Rutherford - who set a world Long Jump lead of 8.35m in California at the beginning of May - and Chris Tomlinson in action, while Andrew Osagie and Michael Rimmer go in the 800m.
Agnieszka Radwanska ousts Venus Williams
Former world number one Venus Williams followed her sister Serena out of the French Open, losing 6-2 6-3 to third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in round two.
Unseeded Venus, the seven-time Grand Slam winner now ranked 53 following illness, was beaten in exactly an hour.
Top seed Victoria Azarenka eased through with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Germany's Dinah Pfizenmaier.
Eighth seed Marion Bartoli served 14 double faults as she surprisingly lost 6-2 3-6 6-3 to Croatia's Petra Martic.
Venus, who began the year at 134 in the world rankings after being diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, a fatigue-inducing autoimmune disease, has never won the French Open. Her best effort came in 2002 when she lost in the final to her sister.
The 31-year-old was never able to trouble Radwanska on Court Phillipe Chartrier, the scene of Serena's shock three-set defeat against Virginie Razzano 24 hours earlier.
She lost her opening service game and Radwanska, who has won three titles this year, secured the first set with an ace after 28 minutes.
The 23-year-old Polish player, who has yet to progress beyond the quarter-final stage in a Grand Slam event, combined outstanding fitness with some flawless strokeplay.
In the next round she will play 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova , who needed a second set tie-break to overcome Yung-Jan Chan in an hour and 41 minutes.
US Open winner Sam Stosur beat American Irina Falconi 6-1 6-4 and next faces 27th seed Nadia Petrova of Russia.
Stosur, who lost the 2010 French Open final to Francesca Schiavone, has dropped only nine games in her first two matches this year.
The 28-year-old Australian again looked comfortable against Falconi, ranked 112, who was appearing in the second round for the first time.
Azarenka, who lost the first set and was a point away from a 5-0 deficit in the second against world number 105 Alberta Brianti in the opening round, needed only 55 minutes to dispatch Pfizenmaier, who is currently ranked 198th.
The Belarusian is seeking to become the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win the first two Grand Slams of the season, having won the Australian Open in January.
She lost the first game but proceeded to win the next 11 in succession against her 20-year-old opponent, who made 29 unforced errors.
In round three Azarenka will play Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada, who beat 31st seed Zheng Jie of China 6-2 6-4.
Bartoli, a semi-finalist last year, came from a break down in the second set to level at one set apiece against world number 50 Martic but never looked comfortable under threatening skies on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Martic, 21, served an ace on her second match point to complete victory in two hours and 12 minutes, setting up a third-round meeting with 29th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.
Fifteenth seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia quickly advanced with a 6-0 6-2 victory over American Vania King.
Cibulkova will meet Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez for a place in the last 16 after the Spaniard beat 20th seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-4 7-5.
Italian Sara Errani, the 21st seed, beat Melanie Oudin of the USA 6-2 6-3 and now plays the 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic , this year's 13th seed, who beat Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2 6-2.
Former world number one Ivanovic, 24, has failed to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in the last three years.
She has a favourable-looking draw through to the last eight this time, where she could face Radwanska.
Gayle not ruling out return for third Test
Estranged West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has not ruled out making himself available for the third Test of West Indies’ ill-fated tour of England but says a meeting with the West Indies Cricket Board on Sunday will take priority. The former Windies captain will sit down with WICB officials, Antigua’s Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves in St Vincent to discuss “residual matters”, relating to the solution that was brokered last month which paved the way for the player’s return to the team. At the same time, speculation has been rife that Gayle could fly out to join the struggling side that has lost both Tests of the series and is currently in disarray especially with a novice top order. “I don’t know if I’ll eventually get that call [from the selectors] but I have to meet with the Board first on the third [of June] and the Test match starts on the seventh so I don’t how that would work,” Gayle said on Tuesday.
“We would have to meet and then [I would have to] jump on a plane. I don’t know how beneficial that would be for the team to actually be arriving a day before the Test match.” He added: “But as I said, I am a sportsman and I am always ready physically and mentally for the occasion.” Gayle had indicated his unavailability for the Test phase of the England tour, preferring to play the full Indian Premier League for Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, his IPL campaign ended early after Royal Challengers failed to reach the playoffs, and it sparked fresh discussion over his involvement in the ongoing Test series. Gayle, who has not played a Test in 18 months because of his protracted squabble with the WICB, said since the IPL he had been keeping himself fit. “You’ve got to prepare. You never know what will happen. You have to be prepared for the unexpected at times,” the 32-year-old Jamaican said. “As a sportsman, you definitely need to keep yourself in shape and make sure you are ready [because] you can be called on at the last minute.”
While the agenda of Sunday’s meeting has not been disclosed, among the “residual matters” is expected to be Gayle’s role in a multi-million dollar West Indies Players Association lawsuit against the WICB, relating to the issuing of No Objection Certificates. In correspondence to Gayle last month, the WICB raised concerns about the lawsuit and Gayle’s continued participation in the litigation process especially since he was making himself available for selection. At the time, Gayle said he could not “possibly contemplate withdrawing unilaterally from proceedings”, contending that such a move would affect all West Indies players. The left-handed opener Gayle said the meeting with the Board was critical in moving forward with his international career. “It’s nothing really to do with the cricket, to be honest with you,” Gayle said of the meeting. “It’s other issues to actually deal with at this particular time which the Board needs to iron out. We’ll see how best we can work that out and see what comes out of it. “Hopefully [I] can be clear and have [my] mind free of all these ongoing issues and play some cricket and have fun.” Gayle is the region’s most experienced opener with 6373 runs from 91 Tests at an average of 41. He is one of only four players in Test history with two triple centuries.
CMC
Eurozone: ECB says no countries ready to join
The European Central Bank (ECB) has said that none of the eight countries that are supposed to join the euro are ready yet.
The verdict comes amid growing fears over the future of the currency itself amid the worst crisis it has faced.
It said Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden are not yet ready to join the 17 nations that use the euro.
The ECB is obliged to report on their progress at least once every two years.
Of the 10 countries in the European Union that are not in the eurozone, only the UK and Denmark have opt-outs from joining the currency. The rest are supposed to join at some point.
The ECB assesses its convergence criteria based on inflation, deficits, exchange rates, long-term interest rates and legal compliance with the eurosystem of central banks.
"In none of the eight countries examined, the legal framework is fully compatible with all requirements for the adoption of the euro," the ECB said.
Criteria met?
However, in some of the criteria, the eight countries are doing better than the countries already in the euro.
For example, all the countries under review in 2011 had a debt-to-GDP ratio below the 60% eurozone limit, apart from Hungary.
Inside the euro currently, Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio last year was 165.3% last year whereas Italy, Ireland and Portugal were all above 100%.
All those countries - except for Italy - have been bailed out by the EU and IMF.
Ireland was also excluded from a comparison measure because its government bonds "are currently not an appropriate benchmark for assessing progress towards economic convergence, given the high country-specific risk premia prevailing in financial markets".
With elections due in Greece and and an ailing banking sector in Spain, many are worried that Greece will be forced to leave the euro and Spain will need an enormous bailout.
Facebook shares dip below $29 to new low
Facebook shares have dipped below $29 for the first time since their flotation to a new low.
The shares were launched at $38 less than two weeks ago during its high-profile flotation, which valued the firm at $104bn (£66bn).
Since then, Facebook's shares have lost almost a quarter of their value.
Russia's biggest social network, VKontakte, has now postponed its stock market launch, fearing a repeat of Facebook's problems.
"The IPO of FB [Facebook] destroyed the faith of many private investors in social networks," said chief executive Pavel Durov in a message posted on Twitter.
Facebook shares closed down 9.6% to $28.82, just above its low of $28.78.
One reason for the fall in shares since its initial public offering (IPO) is that Tuesday was the first day that options on Facebook stock began trading.
Options are a form of derivative, that allow bets on the future direction of the stock. It appears that most investors are betting Facebook shares will head lower.
"Facebook's stock market debut is already going down as one of the most troubled of recent years," says BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones.
The situation is a remarkable turnaround from recent weeks, when the eight-year-old firm's share sale was over-subscribed.
Lawsuits
The social networking site has transformed the way in which hundreds of millions of people around the world communicate. It is also transforming the way companies advertise to existing and potential customers.
But Facebook's 900 million users helped the company generate just $1bn in profit last year, and there are concerns about its ability to increase profits in the future.
The flotation was disrupted on its first day of trading by technical glitches on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The share price has since slumped amid worries that the company was over-valued by advisers marketing the float.
Now, a group of investors has issued a class-action lawsuit alleging that Facebook revenues were revised down because of a surge in the number of people using mobile devices for apps and connection to websites.
The suit targets Facebook, its founder Mark Zuckerberg and the banks behind the flotation, including lead underwriter Morgan Stanley.
The share sale in New York raised $16bn for Facebook.
Recent reports suggested that Facebook is to launch its own smartphone by next year.