Thunder takes Game 2 win vs. Lakers
Kevin Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to take a 2-0 lead.
Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came up empty on their last six possessions after Bynum's hook shot made it 75-68 with 2:09 remaining.
After struggling throughout the second half, the Thunder suddenly came alive after Scott Brooks called timeout after Bynum's basket that gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game.
James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Bryant, who he was guarding. Durant ran out for a right-handed dunk at the other end before Russell Westbrook forced another turnover by aggressively challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline.
Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant's jumper on the next Lakers possession and getting a layup in transition to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.
Bryant couldn't connect again, this time on a 3-pointer, to give the Thunder the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen.
Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer from the right side with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace couldn't get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play. Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose -- failing to hit the backboard or rim for a violation.
The Lakers got a desperation try but World Peace's long pass for Bynum was intercepted by Harden.
Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still won.
Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole. The Lakers' last comeback was in the 2004 West semifinals against San Antonio.
Prior says England confident but wary of Windies
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior has warned England against complacency as they prepare to face embattled West Indies in the opening Test at Lord’s starting tomorrow. England, the World number one-ranked side, are expected to easily roll over the luckless Windies who are ranked seventh, but Prior said it would be dangerous for the hosts to approach the three-Test series lackadaisically.
“This is a very tough series in its own right,” he said.
“I think if you get complacent or take things easy in Test cricket or international sport in general, you get bitten pretty quickly. There’s no room for that in our dressing room.”
He added: “It’s fantastic to be back at Lord’s. It’s always a magical place to come. This first series of the summer will be a tough prospect.”
In the last 12 years, England have dominated the Caribbean side, winning 15 of their last 24 contests. The Windies, in contrast, have won just two.
On the last tour of England, West Indies were completely outplayed, losing both Tests by huge margins.
However, the tourists will be looking to capitalise on England’s recent lack of form. They were crushed 3-0 by Pakistan at the start of the year and then struggled to a 1-1 draw with Sri Lanka, in the series on the Asian subcontinent.
Prior said England were expecting to perform much better in more familiar conditions.
“We had a tricky winter. But we came out on top in Colombo – which was a fantastic effort – and we’re back in our home conditions now. The challenges we faced in the winter – spin on the sub-continent - are less likely here,” he pointed out.
“It was obviously a tough winter. But that win [to level the series in Sri Lanka] was crucial. To come out with that win just set us off on the right road going into the summer, and gave us a lot of confidence.”
He continued: “We have learned lessons, and we are going forward. We are a good team, but we do still have some huge improvements to make.”
Brazil truth commission begins rights abuse inquiries
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has inaugurated a truth commission to investigate rights abuses, including those committed during military rule.
The four previous living presidents since democracy was restored in 1985 also attended the ceremony in Brasilia.
The commission will examine the period from 1946 to 1988, but a military-era amnesty means there will be no trials.
There has already been criticism from army officers and victims' relatives of the commission's remit.
Among many in the military there is disquiet with an inquiry they perceive as an ideologically biased attempt at revenge, the BBC's Brazil correspondent Paulo Cabral reports.
Parallel commission
President Rousseff, herself jailed and tortured during the military dictatorship, said on Wednesday that the motive behind the commission was not revenge, hate or the desire to rewrite history.
It was a "celebration of the transparency of truth", she said.
"Brazil deserves the truth, new generations deserve the truth, and - above all - those who lost friends and relatives and who continue to suffer as if they were dying again each day deserve the truth," President Rousseff said, with her voice breaking.
She stressed that the decision to establish the commission was an initiative of the Brazilian state, not government.
For that reason, Ms Rousseff said, she was delighted to be accompanied by her predecessors as president: Jose Sarney, Fernando Collor de Mello, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, described the creation of the commission as "a necessary and very hopeful step".
The seven-member commission will have two years to investigate human rights crimes, with the focus being on the military era from 1964 to 1985.
Up to 500 people were killed or disappeared during this time in Brazil - a far lower number than in shorter periods of military rule in neighbouring Argentina and Chile.
But thousands of Brazilians were tortured, exiled or deprived of their political rights.
Supporters of the truth commission argue that it will help Brazil to come to terms with its recent past.
But an amnesty law, passed in 1979 and upheld in 2010 by the Supreme Court, means neither military officials accused of torture nor left-wing guerrillas accused of violence can face prosecution.
For some families of the victims, this means the commission is already limited in what it can achieve, a view rejected by member Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.
"We are not here to punish, that's not the job of any truth commission in the world," Mr Pinheiro told BBC Brasil.
Some members of the military are also unhappy at the prospect of the commission's investigations.
Retired officers have announced that they are setting up a parallel commission to counter any accusations that emerge.
BBC
Swearing-in of New Government Tentatively set for Monday.
The incoming government that is supported by the National Alliance, Democratic Party, and the three independent Members of Parliament Illidge, Richardson, and La Ville might be sworn-in on Monday announced Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams on Wednesday.
Wescot Williams said that the screening of the Ministers and incoming Member of Parliament is underway and it is expected that the reports on the screening would be in by the end of this week. She said when the reports are submitted then she will proceed by sending them to the Governor's office where the swearing in will take place. Wescot Williams said following the appointment of the formateurs, the names of the candidates were submitted for screening. Wescot Williams said some of the current Ministers will be re-appointed while the new Ministers will take office immediately after they are sworn-in. She said she does not foresee any problems with the names she submitted, therefore it is likely that the swearing-in will take place on Monday.
The Prime Minister did not divulge any of the names of the candidates that are being screened. However, SMN News learnt that Prime Minister Sarah Wescot Williams, Minister Cornelius de Weever, and Minister Roland Duncan will be re-appointed while William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs, Romeo Pantophlet, and Roland Tuitt will be sworn-in as Ministers and Rudolph Samuel as a Member of Parliament.
SMN News further learnt that Mathias Voges will be reappointed as the Minister of Plenipotentiary while Henrietta Doran York will be sworn in as the deputy Minister of Plenipotentiary.
Source-SMN
Grenada no-confidence motion defeated
On Tuesday, the no confidence motion tabled in Grenada's House of Parliament by the opposition New National Party (NNP) was debated and ultimately defeated.
In debating the motion, opposition leader Dr Keith Mitchell castigated the leadership of Prime Minster Tillman Thomas and the state of political and economic uncertainty in the country.
In response, lead government spokesman, Minister of Youth Empowerment Patrick Simmonds, offered a compilation of statistics that outlined the achievements of the administration.
Finance Minister Nazim Burke described the NNP motion as “political opportunism”.
Former Minister of the Environment, Michael Church, who was an early casualty of the Thomas administration, pointed to the suffering and victimization of his constituents who should have benefitted from development initiatives that had been approved for his constituency of St John, which he won in 2008 on an NDC ticket, but had been put on hold since his resignation from the Thomas Cabinet.
Church cited a fish plant built by the Japanese in 2009 but has remained shut. NDC promises of housing rehabilitation have been ignored since he demitted Cabinet, he said. He reiterated that his constituents deserved much better and the recalcitrance of Burke and Thomas led him to support the no-confidence motion.
Government ministers Lett, Quarless, Burke and former tourism minister Peter David all spoke against the motion. Like Simmonds, the three government ministers read out a stack of statistical information that attempted to tell Grenadians that, although the infighting was evident, government was full speed ahead with work attending to the nation’s business.
David’s contribution to the debate attracted great attention in that it clarified two critical speculations: David and Mitchell were not collaborative partners in the NNP-introduced motion and David remains a firm member of the NDC but gave clear warning to Thomas that he will be challenged at a future party congress.
'Believe in The Bahamas' resonated among voters
The international research firm that explained to the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) why it lost the 2007 general election in The Bahamas and told it how to turn things around is congratulating the party on its success at the polls last week.
The PLP ran a strong campaign that centered on believing in the potential of the Bahamian people, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner said in a statement.
“Believe in The Bahamas resonated with voters as the [Free National Movement] government’s policies failed to put the Bahamian people ahead of special interests and neglected a staggering problem with crime,” said the company, which provided services for the PLP during the 2012 general election campaign.
“The PLP’s detailed plan to fight crime, create jobs for Bahamians, and double the investment in education and training was strongly endorsed by the electorate.”
Kristi Lowe, senior associate at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, noted that, “Christie and the PLP achieved a great victory.”
Lowe said, "We extend them our best wishes as they approach the challenges of reducing crime, reviving the economy, and enacting policies that put faith in what the Bahamian people can achieve if given the opportunity.”
Christie and the PLP took 29 of the 38 seats in Parliament. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner noted that this is a strong majority.
After its loss at the polls in 2007, the leadership of the PLP commissioned the research firm to study what went wrong for the party.
That report revealed that 57 percent of respondents cited Christie’s perceived ‘weak leadership’ as the reason they decided not to vote PLP.
The ‘weak leadership’ issue was widely discussed with now former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham stating repeatedly that the 2007 election was about leadership. The survey said the alleged scandals that plagued the PLP leading up to the vote took their toll.
The report highlighted the perception of scandal within the PLP ranks as well as the perception that the leader of the PLP was considered a weak leader.
The report also highlighted steps that the party should take to rebrand its image, so as to gain the confidence of the Bahamian electorate.
It recommended expanding the party's base; cleansing the party’s reputation; conveying Christie’s leadership qualities and advancing a progressive social agenda.
“It needs to take concrete actions that convey its seriousness about purging corruption from the party and state,” said the report.
“There is a perception among voters -- one deepened by the FNM -- that the PLP has become more focused on doing things that benefit its own politicians than for people.”
It’s a claim Ingraham made repeatedly on the campaign trail in the months and weeks leading up to the 2007 and 2012 elections.
Ingraham also accused Christie of presiding over “the most chaotic, last-minute, indecisive and incompetent government since independence”.
Ingraham had claimed that the PLP was besieged by scandal and incompetence and had painted the party as corrupt.
But in one of his final campaign speeches before the recent election, Christie noted that, while Ingraham repeatedly accused the former PLP administration of corruption, he failed to bring any evidence to prove this, and failed to cause anyone to be prosecuted for this alleged corruption.
Following the election last Monday, Ingraham announced that he will not take his seat in Parliament and that he will resign as leader of the Free National Movement.
Story courtesy of the Nassau Guardian
Cuba places third as tourist destination in the Caribbean
Carlos Vogeler, general director for the Americas of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), said Cuba now is in the third position as the Caribbean country that receives more tourists per year, trailing the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
During his visit to the King’s Gardens in a tour after the end of the International Tourism Fair FITCUBA 2012, the official said Cuba is improving its tourist industry and that shows in the increasing number of arrivals each year.
At the same pace Cuban tourism has improved so have the fairs, then the idea to take it this year to such an attractive place as Cayo Santa Maria, said Vogeler.
He added that this visit to King’s Gardens allowed many foreigners to get to know the natural beauties that one can find in the Coco and Guillermo Keys, because it is a very valuable product barely known outside Cuba, he said.
Tour operators, travel agents, and hotel chains and airline representatives toured the different facilities in the keys off the northern central Cuban coast. There they could see the beauty of the Playa Pilar resort, one of the most beautiful places in Cuba, where the sand dunes are among the best preserved in the region.
Cannes Film Festival jury denies 'sexism' claim
The jury for the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or has spoken out over claims of sexism prompted by the lack of female filmmakers in the running.
Critics have complained that all 22 films in the contest have been directed by men, many past winners of the award.
But jury member British director Andrea Arnold said: "I would absolutely hate it if my film was selected because I was a woman.
"I would only want my film to be selected for the right reasons."
The festival opens with the film Moonrise Kingdom later.
Starring Bruce Willis and Ed Norton it was directed by Wes Anderson and is one of the films screening in the competition.
Others who have made the cut include Brit Ken Loach, Michael Haneke and Jacques Audiard - all previous winners of the prize.
In an open letter to the media, a group of French filmmakers have accused the organisers of failing to recognise the achievements of female directors.
Last year, four women were included on the list, including Scotland's Lynne Ramsay, director of We Need to Talk About Kevin.
But speaking at a press conference earlier, Arnold said the lack of women in competition reflected the industry as a whole.
"Last year was obviously a good year," she said. "I was asked this earlier and it's true the world over, in the world of film there are just not many woman film directors.
"I guess Cannes is a small pocket that represents how it is out there in the world and that's a great pity, a great disappointment."
Led by Italian director Nanni Moretti and including fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, Oscar-winning writer and filmmaker Alexander Payne and Scots actor Ewan McGregor - the jury will watch all the nominated films and announce a winner on 27 May.
German actress Diane Kruger, known for films including Inglourious Basterds and Troy, is one of four women on the jury.
She starred in the film Lily Sometimes, which closed the Cannes director's fortnight - a special section of the festival which shows features, documentaries and short films - in 2010.
It was directed by a woman, Fabienne Berthaud and Kruger insisted: "My impression is that women are made welcome in Cannes."
Other female filmmakers who are showing at Cannes include the first female Saudi director Haiffa al Mansour and France's Catherine Corsini and Sylvie Verheyde - who are competing in the Un Certain Regard category.
Will Smith supports Obama's position on gay marriage
Will Smith says he supports US President Barack Obama's position on gay marriage.
The Hollywood actor says the question of whether gay people should be allowed to legally marry is "about semantics".
He told reporters in Berlin yesterday that "if anybody can find someone to love them and to help them through this difficult thing that we call life, I support that in any shape or form".
Still, Smith says the president's support for gay marriage was a "brave" move in an election year.
The actor is in Berlin to promote his new film, Men in Black III, that premiered in Germany yesterday.
'Kush Morning' rhythm brings success for ZJ Sparks
Local disc jockey and producer ZJ Sparks is celebrating the success of her reggae rhythm the Kush Morning. The rhythm was recently featured on international Vh1 Television series Basketball Wives, and ZJ Sparks believes that this is testimony that reggae is not dead.
"The production for Kush Morning is a collaboration with my label Twelve 9 Records and Dynasty Records. This is not my first project but this is the most successful," ZJ Sparks said.
The Collie Budz single I Feel So Good on the Morning Kush rhythm was the song featured, and according to ZJ Sparks this marks the first time that reggae music was played on the popular sitcom.
"The person who was representing the musical aspect of the show called Collie Budz and then called us to tell us, and of course we said yes. It's a good feeling and a slap in the face for those who were saying that reggae music is dead. It is also a good for Dynasty Records and my label Twelve 9 Records," ZJ Sparks said.
She also revealed that since the song was featured on the Basketball Wives the rhythm has soared up the iTunes charts.
"It was doing well before, but since the song by Collie Budz went on the show, the rhythm went number 22 on the iTunes album charts. We have also been approached by international distribution company Promo Only because they want it to be distributed to their North American and Caribbean market, and most of the songs they distribute normally go on Billboard," she continued.
"It would be nice to be on Billboard, but my reason to do music is to add my perspective to it and to spread Jamaican culture. A lot of people before us made people recognise reggae music, and I am just doing my part to let people know that reggae music is not dead," she said.
passionate disc jock
The seemingly passionate disc jock believes that local DJs are to share the blame for the dull local presence of reggae music. According to Sparks, DJs aren't prepared to take risks.
"Some selectors are more about the hype and are not willing to take risks. They just want an easy forward ... reggae music is not dead, it just needs to be pushed more in Jamaica, and this is ironic because this is the land of its birth," ZJ Sparks said.
Sparks also believes that the local music business is too saturated. She said the Morning Kush rhythm was given ample time to expand its boundaries, instead of releasing another production from her record label, which could kill the development.
"Productions pick up at different areas and regions at a slow pace so we have to slow it down and give the music time to grow," she concluded.
Other artistes featured on the Kush Morning rhythm include I-Octane, Jah Vinci, Serani and Ikaya.