Bolt Starsin Visa Ad
Usain Bolt, the defending 100-metre and 200-metre Olympic champion, is being featured in a Visa Europe advertisement in its Run to London campaign leading to the XXX Olympiad starting July 27. Visa is an Olympic sponsor.
The ad was released last Saturday in Europe, as it is a Europe-only campaign.
Bolt is one of the athletes being used to raise awareness of the Summer Games that will make London the first ever city to host the Olympics on three occasions. Prior to this summer, London hosted the Olympics in 1908 and 1948.
Bolt reportedly shot the ad during one of his trips to Europe earlier this season. The entertaining advertisement shows Bolt and another man, who turns out to be a starter, racing from an airport in London to the Olympic stadium via several sites around the British capital using their contactless Visa credit cards.
During his run through the streets of London, Bolt strips down into his Jamaican kit, while the starter dresses up for his starter's role at the Olympic Games.
Insiders say that more and more the sprinter, who turns 26 in August and is considered to be the biggest name in athletics, is being exposed to roles such as the one he plays in the advert as it opens up opportunities for him to pursue other interests once his stellar career is over.
--Gleaner
Morton Laid To Rest In Homeland
Former West Indies batsman Runako Morton was laid to rest here Saturday, following a five-hour service that was attended by several dignitaries and former cricketers.
Morton died two weeks ago in Trinidad and Tobago when the car he was driving crashed into a utility pole along the Solomon Hochoy Highway in Chase Village in central Trinidad. He was 33.
The Elquemedo Willett Park was filled with hundreds of mourners who turned out to pay their last respects to the cricketer, who was only the sixth from the tiny Caribbean island to play Test cricket.
St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, who delivered one of the tributes, was among the mourners.
Premier of Nevis, Joseph Parry, was also in attendance, along with Sports Minister Hensley Daniel and former Premier Vance Amory, who delivered the eulogy.
Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle flew in for the service and delivered one of the tributes.
Carl Tuckett, the Nevis-born fast bowler who played a single one-day international (ODI) for West Indies 14 years ago, was present along with former Windies all-rounder Omari Banks, who played alongside Morton for the Leeward Islands.
Amory, who attended the thanksgiving service for Morton in Trinidad last week, described the cricketer as "unique", stressing throughout his speech that "there was another side to Runako".
"He was not all aggression once you got to know him. You would have known that he was a unique and special person who loved family and friends with passion," Amory said.
Morton played 15 Tests and 56 ODIs for the West Indies in a career spanning nine years and last wore maroon colours in a Twenty20 International against Australia two years ago.
He moved to Trinidad about five years ago to live and last year made his first-class debut for the twin-island republic.
Morton leaves to mourn his Trinidadian wife Leiselle and children Kalika, Macario and Demica-Dior.
He was buried in the cemetery of St George Anglican Church.
--CMC
WI Pumped Up - Narine
Exciting off-spinner Sunil Narine says West Indies' big win over Australia in Sunday's second one-day international (ODI) will serve as a huge boost to the regional side for the third game of the five-match series here today.
West Indies snapped a five-year winning drought against the Aussies when they pulled off a sensational five-wicket win at Arnos Vale, with 10 balls left in the contest reduced to 40 overs per side because of rain interruptions.
Narine, who only made his international debut last December, played a key role, snaring four for 27 to put the brakes on the Australian scoring late in the innings.
"It feels really great to get my best figures in just my fifth match and bowl the team to a victory," the beanpole Trinidadian said.
"We needed this win after going 1-0 down in the first match on Friday. This will be a huge boost for the players in the team and everyone in the dressing room. This is the first West Indies win over Australia in a long time and it shows that we have it in us to win."
Strong comeback
Chasing 158 for victory, West Indies lost opener Kieran Powell to the first ball of the innings, but Kieron Pollard smashed an unbeaten 47 and Dwayne Bravo got 30 to lead the Windies to victory.
The capacity crowd at Arnos Vale cheered the Windies' every run, and the value of their support was not lost on Narine.
"It was amazing. It felt special to have a big crowd cheering us on. This is just my second 'home' match for West Indies and I felt really motivated to go out there and perform," Narine said.
"The fans came in from early, and as we drove in we got words of encouragement. That's the reason we play, for the fans, and it is always good to give them something special to celebrate."
Narine is expected to be a key member of the attack again today and says the side would be looking to improve even further on their last performance.
"It was not an easy wicket to score on. The batsmen found it a bit difficult to get away the ball, and I knew once I kept to the game plan, I could create problems," he explained. "I bowled to a plan and I was well backed up by the other bowlers and the guys in the field. This was a wonderful team effort and is something to build on."
The series is currently locked 1-1.
--CMC
Antigua PM: Caribbean peace under threat
CARICOM CHAIRMAN, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, yesterday called upon all regional governments to do all in their power to ensure that crime does not undermine peace and security in the Caribbean.
Spencer issued this clarion call to his fellow Caricom leaders as he revealed that officers from Britain’s Scotland Yard are now on the ground in Antigua and Barbuda to investigate the brutal double murders of British citizens Catherine and Benjamin Mullany on July 27 in his country. The couple were shot during an apparent robbery while on their honeymoon in the Caribbean island.
Speaking at a news conference hosted by the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port-of-Spain, the Prime Minister said: “We felt it would have been necessary very quickly to ask for the assistance and it was strategic for Scotland Yard to do that. They have responded. Scotland Yard is on the ground working with our local law enforcement agencies. They are doing their best to find the perpetrator or perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
Noting that this type of crime was unusual for his country and has implications for its tourism development, Spencer said: “Crime generally has got to be taken seriously. Not only in Antigua and Barbuda but in the Caribbean because we do have a challenge in the Caribbean as it relates to criminal activity.
“As leaders and as people we have to zero in on it in a real way and to find ways and means of combating it. This region comparatively speaking has always been considered a very peaceful and safe region of the world. We do not want anything to develop which would change that outlook on the part of the international community. So it behooves all of us to be able to work at the regional level and domestically to deal with this situation,” he declared.
The Antigua PM assured the international community that his country remains “peaceful and safe” for all visitors and steps are being taken to ensure that this image is not tarnished by crime. At last Thursday’s post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall, National Security Minister Martin Joseph said Caricom countries were praised at a regional security conference in Cartagena de Indies, Colombia earlier this month for taking a proactive approach to curbing crime in the region. At last month’s Caricom Heads of Government conference in Antigua, regional leaders agreed to a regional airspace and maritime agreement that would bolster member states abilities to deal with the threat of transnational crimes such as drug and arms smuggling.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who is Caricom PM with responsibility for security, said Caricom was looking at a Caricom arrest warrant and extending regional extradition agreements with countries like the United States so that persons wanted in one country can be extradited to another country without hearings.
Joseph also indicated that Government will be bringing new gun control legislation to Parliament in an attempt to help the authorities curb the country’s escalating murder rate.
Opposition Chief Whip and former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said that kind of legislation was “completely irrelevant” because Government has failed to provide the police with the capability to detect crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.
--Newsday
Cayman Islands calls in UK police as crime threatens image
The Cayman Islands has brought in British police to tackle a rise in gang-related crime that business leaders fear could hurt the territory's image as a safe finance and tourism destination.
Fourteen British officers arrived in the Caribbean hedge fund hub last month after they were requested by Cayman Police Commissioner David Baines.
The murder rate in the small British territory, with a population of 55,000, remains low compared with Caribbean states like Jamaica where crime is out of control and the country has one of the highest murder rates in the world. But the 390-strong local police force has been stretched since the start of the year by five murders, a kidnapping, armed robberies and shootings.
Victims included a 4-year-old boy killed in crossfire.
Cayman authorities and local leaders in tourism, financial services and real estate are worried the spike in crime could damage the islands' reputation for safety and security, which has underpinned its emergence as a legal domain for many of the world's hedge funds.
"If we can't crack the problem and bring down the murder rate and restore a much better level of law and order, in the long term, it is going to damage the Cayman Islands," the British-appointed governor, Duncan Taylor, said this month.
Cayman authorities are already concerned about preventing the exit of foreign firms after the global economic downturn and an international crackdown on tax havens threatened to diminish the attraction of offshore finance jurisdictions.
"Cayman has for years been compared to how safe and secure it is compared to its Caribbean neighbors ... People have invested here based on this," said forensic accounting expert Ken Krys. He said security questions were coming up more frequently in recruiting staff to fill Cayman financial jobs.
Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman Resort developer Michael Ryan said he believed the crime increase could be checked. "But we have to deal with it now and we have to deal with it very aggressively," he said.
To counter the crime rise, the police commissioner cancelled all rest days and vacation for police officers and put them on 12-hour shifts. Nonessential services were suspended to boost police visibility on the streets.
Drawn from a number of Britain's police forces, the reinforcing officers, who will be on four- to six-week assignments, were investigators and detectives with expertise in running murder inquiries and tackling gang-related crime.
"It is not about bringing in a SWAT team," said Baines. "It's about filling in the skill shortfall we have because our existing detectives are stretched."
Like most of the local police force, the reinforcements will not carry firearms, but will be backed up by armed officers if the need arises, a police spokesperson said.
Varying factors like the release of violent gang members from prison, a greater prevalence of firearms and leadership battles appeared to be contributing to the violence.
Gangs, which gained a foothold in the Caymans in 1996, have been involved in transhipment of drugs to the United States, as well as in the local drug trade, said Detective Chief Inspector Patrick Beersingh of the Joint Intelligence Unit.
Shipments of marijuana and cocaine from South and Central America are brought into the Cayman Islands via Jamaica, Honduras and Panama and then moved on to the United States. So-called Jamaican canoes also frequently smuggle in guns.
Police say there are some 30 criminal gangs in the Caymans with names like Jamaican Posse, Central Crew, West Bay Mobsters, East End Crew, Fern Circle and Wild Dogz. They each have special hand signs, colours and tattoos
--JO
Death of consul's daughter spurs Venezuela outcry
The killing of a Chilean diplomat's teenage daughter by police is reigniting concerns among Venezuelans about excessive force used by officers and their frequent involvement in violent crimes.
Nineteen-year-old Karen Berendique was riding in a vehicle with her older brother and another young man when police at an unmarked checkpoint opened fire early Saturday in the western city of Maracaibo, said her father Fernando Berendique, Chile's honorary consul in the city.
He said they disobeyed a police command to stop, fearing the officers might be robbers.
Twelve police officers were detained and are under investigation, the Justice Ministry said.
Radio program host Beatriz Navas said yesterday the case reinforces deep concerns many Venezuelans have about police misconduct.
"I wouldn't have stopped and they would have killed me, too," Navas said. "The problem is that we don't believe in the police."
She criticised the widespread practice by police in Venezuela of setting up such checkpoints, saying officers should instead be investigating crimes.
President Hugo Chavez's government expressed condolences to the family as well as to the Chilean government, and pledged that those responsible will face justice.
"We reject and repudiate this type of bad police practice," judicial police chief Jose Humberto Ramirez said.
He said the officers were in the area to investigate car thefts and hadn't set up cones as police typically do for checkpoints. Ramirez called the shooting inexplicable.
"They'll have to respond in criminal court," Ramirez said.
Violent crime is widespread in the country, which has one of the highest murder rates in Latin America.
Venezuelans have long been distrustful of the police. The government began building a new national police force in 2009, saying it was part of an effort to professionalize the police.
Justice Ministry Tareck El Aissami said in 2009 that the authorities believed police were involved in 15 to 20 percent of all crimes, particularly kidnappings and murders.
The Justice Ministry said in a statement Saturday that the government will "continue promoting the radical transformation of police forces, deepening the implementation of the new police model: human and professional."
Opposition politicians joined in the criticism over Berendique's killing.
"They shoot first and aim later," Ricardo Sanchez, an opposition lawmaker, said at a news conference yesterday.
He said that many questions remain about the behavior of the officers who opened fire on the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and that police officials should be summoned for questioning before the National Assembly.
Water and agriculture to be highlighted Thursday, World Water Day
IMPROVING agricultural practices to get “more crop per drop” will be Jamaica’s main focus on World Water Day, which will be observed on Thursday.
Based on the international theme ‘Water and Food Security… the World is Hungry because it’s Thirsty’, the Water Resources Authority (WRA) will this year, examine a number of strategies to boost the water supply to the agricultural sector, in an effort to reduce the country’s dependence on imported food, said WRA Managing Director, Basil Fernandez.
Some of the strategies include public education on water conservation, protection of watersheds, re-use of treated effluent from households and industries, improving farm water use, rainwater harvesting, and ways to improve agricultural practices to produce more crops.
Fernandez said that as Jamaica continues to compete with the global population for food, which involves food importation, the WRA remains committed to sensitising the public about ways to lessen this trend.
“Our ability to produce sufficient food has been severely impacted by large towns and industries along the South Coast of the island,” he adds.
He further noted that some of the areas affected are major agricultural lands, which negatively impact the food industry. He says that the WRA, in collaboration with other agencies within the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, will be addressing this growing issue to improve the food industry in Jamaica.
Fernandez said World Water Day will provide the agency with an opportunity to educate the different stakeholders about the importance of water resources, and the need for proper management, especially with the onset of climate change, and its present and potential impacts on water resources islandwide.
World Water Day has been observed in Jamaica since 1993.
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com
Toulouse school killer 'had camera around his neck
The man who killed four people at a Jewish school in Toulouse had a camera around his neck and may have filmed the scene, France's interior minister says.
Claude Gueant said the camera was one clue helping police build a profile, as the manhunt intensifies with the area on the highest level of terror alert.
Police have linked the attack to two shootings last week in which three soldiers of North African descent died.
The same gun and the same scooter were used in all the attacks.
French schools held a minute's silence on Tuesday.
It is the first time in the country's history that "scarlet alert" has been declared.
The measure enables the authorities to disrupt daily life and implement sweeping security measures, including mixed police-military patrols, powers to suspend public transport and close schools.
About 250 investigators are pursuing two main lines of inquiry - an Islamist motive or the far right.
Mr Gueant said "inquiries have taken place regarding soldiers who were kicked out of the army and who might want to seek revenge... who might have expressed neo-Nazi opinions".
"That's one line of inquiry, but it's not particularly preferred over others."
Referring to the reported camera, the minister said: "This is indeed a clue that we have been told about. It's a video camera worn in a harness on the chest and indeed he was seen, a witness said so, with this device."
He added he did not know if the man had filmed everything.
The camera "records wide-angle footage that can then be watched on a computer. I feel that that will reinforce the killer's psychological profile," the minister said.
He went on to describe the killer as "someone who is very cold, very determined, very in control of himself, very cruel".
But there was no sign police were near making an arrest.
Mother's anger
The shootings took place as parents were taking their children to Ozar Hatorah school on Monday.
A teacher and three children were shot dead, and a teenage boy was seriously injured.
The man got off a black Yamaha scooter stolen in Toulouse five days earlier and "shot at everybody who was near him, children or adults", according to local prosecutor Michel Valet.
The dead were Jonathan Sandler, a 30-year-old rabbi and teacher of religion originally from Jerusalem, and his two sons, aged four and five.
The fourth person killed was a seven-year-old girl, Miriam Monsonego, daughter of the head teacher. She died in her father's arms.
All the dead were dual French-Israeli nationals and will be buried in Israel.
Initially, the killer used a 9mm gun, but when it jammed, he switched to a .45 calibre pistol.
Police say the .45 was the same gun used to kill three soldiers in two separate shootings in Toulouse and nearby Montauban last week. All three were of North African or Caribbean origin.
The mother of a girl at the Toulouse school told the BBC she was angry with the authorities, who she said had not taken last week's incidents seriously enough and had "lost time to look for this man".
The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says not since the early 1980s have there been lethal attacks like this in France on Jewish targets. And even then, children were never the primary victims, he says.
All the candidates in the French presidential election have suspended campaigning.
--BBC
Diamond Jubilee: Queen to 'rededicate' herself
The Queen has promised to "rededicate myself to the service" of the UK and its people as she celebrates her Diamond Jubilee.
In a speech to both Houses of Parliament, she said the commemoration of her 60 years on the throne was a chance "to come together in a spirit of neighbourliness and celebration".
The Queen also praised Prince Philip for his "constant strength".
A stained glassed window commissioned for the Jubilee was unveiled.
Hundreds of dignitaries, including Prime Minister David Cameron, his deputy Nick Clegg, Labour leader Ed Miliband and Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, assembled for the speech, which was greeted with a standing ovation.
The Queen responded to tributes made to her in both Houses of Parliament earlier this month.
'Ingenuity and tolerance'
These "humble addresses" were officially presented to her by Commons Speaker John Bercow and Lords Speaker Baroness D'Souza.
Speaking in Westminster Hall, the Queen paid tribute to the British virtues of "resilience, ingenuity and tolerance", and to the Duke of Edinburgh, whom she called her "constant strength and guide" over the decades.
She said: "During these years as your Queen, the support of my family has, across the generations, been beyond measure.
"Prince Philip is, I believe, well-known for declining compliments of any kind. But throughout he has been a constant strength and guide."
Reflecting on the ancient setting for her address: "We are reminded here of our past, of the continuity of our national story and the virtues of resilience, ingenuity and tolerance which created it.
"I have been privileged to witness some of that history and, with the support of my family, rededicate myself to the service of our great country and its people now and in the years to come."
The Queen also looked back at the only other monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee, Queen Victoria, in 1897.
She said: "So, in an era when the regular, worthy rhythm of life is less eye-catching than doing something extraordinary, I am reassured that I am merely the second sovereign to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee."
Ahead of the speech, House of Commons Speaker John Bercow praised the Queen for presiding over an increase in diversity in public life during her reign, describing her as a "kaleidoscope Queen of a kaleidoscope country in a kaleidoscope Commonwealth".
'Close affinity'
The tradition of both houses of Parliament making addresses to the monarch and the sovereign replying dates back to the 16th Century.
Such events have been staged in Westminster Hall since George V's Silver Jubilee in 1935.
To mark the occasion, the Queen was presented with the specially commissioned stained glass window as a gift by members of both Houses of Parliament.
Consisting of up 1,500 pieces of glass, it has been paid for personally by members of both Houses and designed by British artist John Reyntiens.
In her speech, the Queen praised the "remarkable sacrifice and courage of our armed forces", adding: "Much may have indeed have changed these past 60 years but the valour of those who risk their lives for the defence and freedom of us all remains undimmed."
Members of the Royal Family have begun touring the Commonwealth to mark the Diamond Jubilee, with Prince Harry recently returning from a trip to Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica.
The Queen said: "These overseas tours are a reminder of our close affinity with the Commonwealth, encompassing about one-third of the world's population.
"My own association with the Commonwealth has taught me that the most important contact between nations is usually contact between its peoples.
"An organisation dedicated to certain values, the Commonwealth has flourished and grown by successfully promoting and protecting that contact."
Few people are accorded the honour of addressing both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall. Among those to have done so in recent times include US President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI.
The Queen addressed Parliament in 1977 and 2002 when she marked her Silver and Golden Jubilees respectively.
She also opens Parliament every year, delivering a speech outlining the government's legislative agenda.
The Queen's Speech will take place this year in early May, a change from its normal date in the autumn following changes to the parliamentary calendar by the coalition government.
The Queen began her Diamond Jubilee tour of the UK in Leicester earlier this month. Celebrations will come to a head in June during a four-day series of events.
--BBC
Deadly explosions in series of attacks on Iraqi cities
At least 38 people have been killed in a series of co-ordinated attacks across Iraq, officials say.
Two car bombs in the predominantly Shia city of Kerbala are reported to have killed at least 13 people.
Another car bomb near police headquarters in the northern city of Kirkuk killed seven people, according to hospital sources.
The attacks come ahead of next week's Arab League summit to be held in the capital, Baghdad.
Security forces in Iraq have been placed on high alert ahead of the summit.
The attacks also coincide with the ninth anniversary of the beginning of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The summit is seen as the country's debut on the regional stage following the withdrawal of US troops in December.
It is widely thought that the attacks are intended to undermine confidence in the government at a crucial time, says the BBC's Peter Biles.
Elsewhere, there were attacks in a number of other Iraqi towns.
There are also reports of a car bomb blast in the capital, Baghdad, which is said to have killed at least two people, and of an attack outside the foreign ministry, as well as attacks in Hilla and Latifiya in the south of the country.