Two Charged in Killings of Chinese Students in Los Angeles
A Los Angeles court Tuesday charged two men who allegedly shot to death two Chinese graduate students with capital murder — a charge that could bring the death penalty.
The suspects allegedly killed Ming Qu and Ying Wu as the students sat in their car near the University of Southern California in April.
Police say the two were shot during a robbery.
The parents of the students are suing the university, saying the school misrepresented the area where the crime took place as safe.
About 2,500 Chinese students attend USC.
Egyptians Hold Historic Presidental Election
Egyptians vote Wednesday in a historic presidential election that pollsters say is too close to call, with a choice of candidates touting radically different visions for the country's future.
No outright winner is expected from the two-day poll, so a runoff is scheduled for June 16-17 between the two top finishers. The winner will be announced June 21.
Four main contenders have emerged from a field of 13 on the eve of Egypt's biggest test yet of its transition from decades of military dictatorship to democratic civilian rule.
Two of the front-runners served under former president Hosni Mubarak and have promised to restore stability and ensure secular rule.
Former foreign minister and Arab League chief Amr Moussa, a liberal who has been a public figure for years, seemed to be leading the pack until the last few days. But recent polls have shown the rise of Ahmed Shafiq, a former Air Force commander and Mr. Mubarak's last prime minister, who enjoys the support of Egypt's powerful military.
The two are running against a pair of Islamist candidates.
Mohamed Morsi, who represents Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood, entered the race late but has benefited from the group's effective political machine, which has campaigned door-to-door.
His rise has come at the expense of the moderate Islamist candidate, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh. A former Brotherhood member, Aboul Fotouh's campaign is geared to a wide range of Egyptian voters, from liberals to hardline Salafi Muslims and Christians.
But analysts say such a broad appeal has grown harder to maintain as rhetoric sharpens on all sides.
Shafiq has risen in the polls by targeting a population frustrated with Egypt's turbulent transition, plagued by violent clashes, an ever-increasing wave of violent crime and an economy in disarray.
Egypt's widespread lawlessness has overshadowed daily life since the revolution that began in January 2011. It is the most prominent issue in the presidential race.
A victory for either of the secularist candidates would mark a significant turn from parliamentary elections just six months ago when more than 70 percent of voters cast ballots for Islamist parties.
The head of Egypt's independent Baseera polling firm told the French news agency that 33 percent of those surveyed on May 16 were still undecided.
Attack on Mali's Interim President Sparks Condemnation
Mali residents are expressing shock at an attack on the country's interim president by protesters unhappy with an agreement to let him stay in office for a year. West African leaders have condemned the attack and threatened sanctions on those it finds responsible for trying to block a return to civilian government, two months after a military coup.
Tuesday marks the end of Mali's interim president Dioncounda Traore's initial 40-day mandate.
However, the soldiers who ousted the nation's previous leader in March signed a deal Sunday with West African regional bloc ECOWAS. The accord keeps Traore in charge for one year to organize elections.
Hundreds protested that agreement Monday in Bamako.
They screamed "Down with ECOWAS" and "Mali is a sovereign nation. Mali can choose its own president."
Protesters broke down the door to Traore's office at the palace and beat him unconscious after demanding he step down.
The interim leader has been released from the hospital where he was treated for what his staff said were not life-threatening head wounds.
Some see Traore as part of a much-disliked political elite. As head of the National Assembly, Traore was designated by Mali's constitution to take the reins following the military coup.
Speaking on state TV Monday night, interim Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra said what happened was shameful. He called on those who took to the streets to stop protesting. He said vandalism and looting are not what the country needs right now.
Banks were closed in Bamako Tuesday, fearing further unrest. However, the capital was calm.
Malians, even those opposed to the ECOWAS decision, expressed shock and dismay at Monday's attack.
Diakite Boubacar says they should respect the institution of the presidency. He says it is a question of Mali's honor. He says he doesn't want Traore to stay in power, but he is against the attack. He says they can deal with this situation without physically attacking him.
Suspicion has fallen on pro-junta soldiers who may have helped protesters enter the palace.
Bamako resident Fadala Toure asks how could a protest that began at 9 a.m. on the other side of the city wind up at the presidential palace? She says she doesn't understand how people could have gotten inside to assault the president.
ECOWAS says it is investigating how the attack could take place despite security at the palace. The bloc also says it will impose sanctions against those it finds to be orchestrating unrest aimed at derailing the return to constitutional order.
U.N. Security Council representatives, on a visit to Ivory Coast Monday, reiterated their support for ECOWAS efforts in Mali.
Geraud Araud, France's permanent representative to the United Nations, says ECOWAS' diplomatic efforts have been conducted with a lot of courage, perseverance and determination to find a solution based on the departure of the military junta. He says he doesn't want to say that these efforts have now failed but they have been put in considerable danger by these latest developments. He says it may be necessary to consider other avenues.
The accord that junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo signed with ECOWAS Sunday gives him the status and privileges of a former head of state. However, it is unclear what role he will play in the year to come. The captain continued to exercise considerable influence even after Traore's interim government was put in place April 12.
Northern Mali remains in the hands of armed groups that seized power in the days following the coup, effectively cutting the country in half.
ECOWAS has offered to deploy regional peacekeepers to Mali. The nation's military, already unable to halt the rebellion in the north earlier this year, is in shambles following the coup. Analysts say the situation in the north is unlikely to change in the near future.
TCI TOP MODEL WASHANDA REGISTRE SHOOTS TIME’S EDITORIAL AND DIGICEL CAMPAIGN
2012 TCI Top Model Contest winner Washanda Registre was super busy last weekend, as she did an editorial and cover photoshoot for this Summer’s Times of the Islands magazine and photos for a few upcoming Digicel TCI ad campaigns.
The TCI Top Model photoshoot took place in three locations: a villa, out to sea and on a beach. On Sunday, May 13th at light and airy Carib House, a marvelous home located in an upscale location on Providenciales, Washanda did the first half of her photoshoot. With open spaces, panoramic vistas and plush furnishing, this beautiful home had a fabulous outdoor patio with an infiniti pool – lending itself as a great locale for the shoot.
Accompanying the 2012 TCI Top Model on the shoot was male model Alyx Williams. Wearing outfits in today’s vibrant trendy colours, Washanda and Alyx were shot by up-and-coming photographer Renau Destine of Double R Media, who was assisted by Cadlin Pierre.
Also on hand were Executive Producer of the TCI Top Model Contest Courtney Robinson - who art directed the shoot, along Times Publishing Advertising Manager Claire Parrish and Digicel TCI Head of Marketing Ava-Dayne Fulford.
Washanda was transformed from fresh-faced beauty to glamorous catwalk queen; and Alyx from a cool dude to fashion forward style icon. The shoot, taking better part of the day to complete went exceptionally smooth. The models spirited through their looks at Carib House, on to the “Lady K” – a luxury speedboat, with the shoot ending on the idyllic isle of Water Cay.
“The photo shoot was incredible. Carib House, the Lady K and Water Cay were simply amazing and picturesque. Shooting with Alyx was a fun and incredible experience. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it,” said the 2012 TCI Top Model winner.
“I am indeed grateful for this opportunity, as it is one that I will relish. This is the lifestyle that I dreamt about and the career that I’m going to pursue with every fiber of my being. I love fashion modeling and cannot wait to explore every aspect of it here in the Turks & Caicos and the fashion capitals of the world,” said Washanda.
To see photos from the shoot, look out for this summer’s Times of the Islands magazine out mid June and Washanda’s first Digicel TCI ‘roaming ad’ campaign to be launched early this summer.
Robin Gibb: Music stars pay tribute to Bee Gees singer
Stars of the music industry have been paying tribute to Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, who has died at the age of 62.
Sir Cliff Richard said the singer's legacy of songs with the group, including Tragedy and Jive Talkin' was "stunningly good".
Lyricist Sir Tim Rice said Gibb, who had cancer, was "a charming man".
"I saw him only a couple of weeks ago," he said. "He wasn't at all well but was putting up a marvellous fight. It's a terrible loss for the music industry."
Robin Gibb formed the Bee Gees with brothers Barry and Maurice. They were among the most successful pop groups and songwriting teams of all time, with hits spanning five decades.
They scored nine US number one singles and five chart-toppers in the UK.
Sir Cliff said: "We are a fraternity of people who sing pop and rock and Robin is another one of us who's gone too soon, too early.
"So the legacy will be what the Bee Gees did, which was stunning, stunningly good stuff - right on a par with the Beatles."
Former Beatle Ringo Starr told the BBC: "Robin will be remembered as a musician and as a singer and part of The Bee Gees. The legacy they'll leave behind is Stayin' Alive, the harmonies and the songs that they've written."
Singer Dionne Warwick, whose biggest hit Heartbreaker was written by the Gibb brothers, said of Robin: "He was wonderful. He was a jokester.
"He had an incredibly witty sense of humour and was fun to be around. All three of them were sensational gentlemen first, just fun loving guys."
She touched upon the family members' close bond, adding: "I think what was most attractive to me was how grounded they were.
"I think a lot of it has to do with their sense of family and being together as a family. That is very important, to be connected. They loved each other very strongly and showed it, and it was a joy."
The trio also penned Islands In The Stream for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, a hit which featured on Rogers' 1983 album Eyes That See In The Dark.
"Robin was a part of something unique," said Rogers in a statement. "The sound of the Bee Gees was so specific and dominating, especially in the 70s - unlike anything that had ever happened before or will ever happen again.
"Mostly, Robin was a good guy who didn't deserve to die this young. We will all miss him for what he was as a person and what he brought to music."
John Travolta, who danced to the Bee Gees' distinctive soundtrack in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, also paid tribute to Gibb on Monday.
He said: "I thought Robin was one of the most wonderful people - gifted, generous and a real friend to everyone he knew. And we'll miss him."
The announcement of Robin Gibbs' death was made by his family on Sunday with "great sadness".
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini described the singer as "one of the major figures in the history of British music".
"Everyone should be aware that the Bee Gees are second only to Lennon and McCartney as the most successful songwriting unit in British popular music," he said.
Robin Gibb had "one of the best white soul voices ever", Gambaccini said, adding that the group's accomplishments had been "monumental".
"Not only have they written their own number one hits, but they wrote huge hit records for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Celine Dion, Destiny's Child... the list goes on and on."
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Stevie Nicks, Bryan Adams, Duran Duran and Justin Timberlake are among a host of musicians that took to Twitter to pay their respects.
Gibb had battled ill health for several years.
In 2010, he cancelled a series of shows after suffering severe stomach pains while performing in Belgium. He went on to have emergency surgery for a blocked intestine.
His twin brother and band partner Maurice died in 2003 aged 53 following complications from a twisted intestine.
Robin Gibb cancelled a series of shows in Brazil in April 2011, after again suffering from abdominal pains.
Later that year, he was found to have cancer of the colon after having surgery on his bowel for an unrelated condition.
He was later also diagnosed with cancer of the liver, and underwent chemotherapy and surgery.
Last month the singer fell into a coma after contracting pneumonia.
Four weeks ago, he regained consciousness and was said to have been making a positive recovery. But his death was announced at 23:30 BST (22:30 GMT) on Sunday.
Busy signal arrested on extradition warrant
Law enforcement agents have arrested another high profile figure from the West Kingston community, on an extradition warrant.
Popular dancehall artiste, Busy Signal, whose real name is Glendale Gordon, was picked up at the Norman Manley International Airport, immediately after he stepped off a flight from the United Kingdom this afternoon.
The Gleaner/Power 106 News understands that the entertainer was returning from a tour in Amsterdam.
His arrest came months after The Gleaner broke the story that a prominent entertainer was under the radar of the United States to be extradited.
According one of the law enforcement officers who spoke with The Gleaner, 'Busy' has been under investigation since 2002.
Source-gleanerjm.com
BVI Music Festival Launch Party, Presented By Digicel
The countdown is definitely on for the biggest musical event to take place in the Territory - the 2012 BVI Music Fest 2012 - this weekend!
Come this Thursday, on the eve of the official opening, the BVI Music Festival Committee, in conjunction with Digicel, The Bigger, Better Network, will host a massive Launch Party at The Wedding in Cane Garden Bay. Admission is FREE!
Everyone is invited to come on down to Cane Garden Bay for this Launch Party, which promises to be super charged with great music and entertainment and be a fantastic precursor to the weekend. Organizers have lined up two of the Territory´s hottest DJ´s - DJ Dre and DJ Birch - to keep the music pumping from 8pm to 1am, while guests enjoy sumptuous food, a variety of drinks and a chance to win several phones from sponsors Digicel.
Digicel´s retail staff and the Digi Girls will also be in hand selling Top Up and distributing promotional giveaways.
"Digicel is really excited to be partnering with the BVI Music Festival Committee and the government of the BVI, along with all of the other sponsors, to bring this event to the public this year," stated Marketing Executive Angela Burns. "It´s now just a few more days before Cane Garden Bay comes alive at 4pm on Friday, continuing nightly until the wee hours of Monday morning, May 28th."
On the line up are international artists Estelle, Melanie Amaro, Forever Motown, Third World, Lady Saw and regional performers Tizzy, Delroy Fireman Hooper and Mada Nile and local entertainers Ritical, Lincoln Ward, B´More, A Type of Toad and many more.
The Avengers tops US box office again
Superhero movie The Avengers has topped the US and Canadian box office for the third week in a row, taking $55.1m (£34.8m), studio estimates suggest.
The film easily saw off new release Battleship, which took $25.4m (£16.1m).
The Avengers also raked in another $56m (£35.4m) globally over the weekend - taking its total worldwide earnings to $1.2bn (£758m).
The Disney blockbuster sees a team of Marvel comic-book heroes team up to fight an extra-terrestrial threat.
Among the cast are Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Hemsworth - who have appeared in previous Marvel movies as Iron Man, Black Widow and Thor respectively.
Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com, said: "The Avengers is dominating the marketplace so profoundly that the newcomers are having a tough time breaking in now."
Universal's Battleship, which stars Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in the adaptation of the board game, did not do as well as anticipated on its North American release.
Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution, admitted: "I would be glad to be number two if we opened to a better number. But given the presence of an absolute juggernaut in the marketplace, there's nothing you can do."
Sacha Baron's latest film The Dictator, which sees the British comedian play third-world despot Admiral General Aladeen, went straight in at number three with $17.4m (£11m) over the weekend.
The Johnny Depp/Tim Burton vampire spoof Dark Shadows dropped from second place to fourth, while pregnancy comedy What to Expect When You're Expecting, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez, debuted at number five.
Adele wins 12 Billboard Music awards in Las Vegas
The British singer picked up the top artist prize and best album for her second record, 21, winning 12 awards in total from 18 nominations.
Adele's awards were not presented during the live show and the singer wasn't present at the event.
Other winners included Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and LMFAO, who picked up song of the year for their single Party Rock Anthem.
The US pop act also picked up five other awards at the MGM Grand Casino Hotel.
Rappers Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne and R&B singer Chris Brown won top new artist, male artist of the year and R&B artist of the year respectively.
Former American Idol winner Jordin Sparks and John Legend performed a tribute to Whitney Houston at the event.
Social artist
A shirtless Chris Brown sang his dance single Turn Up The Music with BMX bikers doing stunts on stage.
Katy Perry, wearing a white dress, hung above the stage in a swing to sing her latest single Wide Awake.
Justin Bieber also sang his new track Boyfriend accompanied by dancers dressed as clowns and neon geisha girls.
Other performers included Kelly Clarkson, The Wanted, Carly Rae Jepsen, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Linkin Park and Nelly Furtado.
Taylor Swift was named Billboard woman of the year and picked up the award from New Girl TV star Zooey Deschanel and veteran artist Kris Kristofferson.
Bieber, 18, picked up the award for the most social artist, thanking his 22 million Twitter followers and 43 million Facebook fans, saying "the internet is where I got my start".
Perry was given the spotlight award for being the only female artist in history to have five number one singles in America from one album.
Michael Jackson is the only artist to have received the award previously.
Colombia says Farc kills 12 soldiers in border attack
Officials in Colombia say left-wing Farc rebels have killed 12 soldiers in an ambush near the border with Venezuela.
A security official in the northern department of La Guajira said the troops were attacked during a routine patrol.
The army said it was still trying to find out if any rebels or other soldiers had been killed.
Venezuela has reacted by beefing up security along the border.
Mr Chavez went on state television to make the announcement.
"We maintain our position, that we will no permit incursions of any armed force, whatever its type might be, into Venezuelan territory," he said.
He said Venezuela would not allow rebel groups to use the country as a base for attacks against Colombia.
"This conflict is not ours. We defend peace and insist that our territory is not used by either side in the conflict."
Mr Chavez was accused by previous Colombian governments of harbouring the rebels from the Farc, a claim he has always rejected.
The area where the attack took place is very remote and mountainous, inhabited mostly by ethnic indigenous populations.
According to a Colombian security official in La Guajira, Yusti Maria Lopez, four soldiers were also wounded in the ambush.
"Regional and national official are drawing up a toll," she told AFP news agency.
"We are not ruling out that there were guerrilla dead too, but that's being analysed by the army."