Tanya Mullings eyes JUNO Award
TORONTO-based singer Tanya Mullings is confident she will take home the JUNO Award for Reggae Recording of the Year on April 1. She is nominated for the song, Rescue Me, which was co-produced by Dean Pond and Maurice Gregory of Third World. The other nominees in the category are Luciano and Dubmatix for Seeds of Love and Life; Jay Douglas for Lover's Paradise, Steele for Woman; and Esco Levi for Bleaching Shop.
The ceremony is scheduled for the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Although she has won several awards in Canada, Mullings has not had any luck were the JUNO, Canada's version of the Grammy Awards. This is her sixth nomination since 1993. She told the Observer that she is confused as to why she has not yet won.
"It's kinda hard to understand why there has been past nominations where you didn't win, I do believe you can't win all the time but when the winners turn to you and say 'this should have been yours Tanya' it leads you to question who does make the final decision," she said.
While some Canadian reggae acts have a difficult time connecting with Jamaican reggae fans, Mullings does not believe that is the case with her.
"I personally feel I get support from Jamaica but I think where Jamaica is concerned an artiste has to be in the island promoting his/her music. As the saying goes outta sight, outta mind," she explained.
The daughter of late producer/promoter Karl Mullings, Tanya was born in Canada and has been recording and performing for more than two decades.
She cites her father, Alton Ellis, keyboardist Jackie Mittoo, John Holt, Ken Boothe, Cynthia Schloss, Hopeton Lewis and Jay Douglas, as major influences. Mullings has won various industry awards in Canada including 14 Canadian Reggae Music Awards as well as seven Caribbean Crucible Awards.
Currently working on her fifth album, the singer also hosts the Tanya Mullings Show on DaFlavaRadio.com.
JO
Fans call for Gayle after Windies latest defeat
West Indies' embarrassing defeat to Australia in the first One-Day International here Friday, left some fans at the Arnos Vale Stadium vociferously calling for the return of talismanic opener Chris Gayle.
A chant of "we want Gayle" rang out from the stands as West Indies slid to yet another defeat, this time a 64-run loss after they were set a moderate 205 for victory.
Gayle, a former West Indies captain, has not played for West Indies in almost a year since making controversial comments that were critical of the West Indies Cricket Board and coach Ottis Gibson.
He has been mandated by the WICB to withdraw the comments before he can be considered for selection again but the Jamaican has refused.
At the post-match media conference, Windies captain Darren Sammy said the Gayle issue was being dealt with at a higher level.
"Gayle's matter is definitely not in my hands. We all know what the issue is and it's at board level," Sammy said.
"From since I've made my debut, since I've turned out to play I've always been glad to play with any West Indian cricketer, once you're going there and have been selected to represent the region."
Sammy, who replaced Gayle has captain of the regional side, said the fans were free to express their opinions.
"That matter is out of my hands and the crowd — it's a free country and everybody is welcome to voice their opinions," he remarked.
Gayle has continued to play in the various Twenty20 leagues around the world with much success and has also turned out in the WICB competitions, leading Jamaica to victory in the Regional Super50 series last October and blasting a shot-filled century for Jamaica in the Regional Four-Day championship last month.
The impasse has engaged the attention of regional Heads of Government, who discussed the issue at a meeting in Suriname earlier this month.
JO
Windies romp to first ODI win over Aussies since 2006
KIERON Pollard blazed West Indies to a first ODI victory over Australia since 2006, his stand with Dwayne Bravo swallowing up the tourists' modest total in a rain-affected match at the Arnos Vale Ground. (Scores: West Indies 163 for 5 in 38.2 overs (Pollard 47*) beat Australia 154 for 9 in 40 overs (David Hussey 37, Narine 4-27) by five wickets on D/L method).
Set the Duckworth/Lewis-adjusted target of 158 from 40 overs after holding Australia to 154 for 9, the hosts made the worst possible start when Kieran Powell shouldered arms to Brett Lee's first ball of the innings and was palpably lbw.
But from an uncertain 74 for 4, Pollard and Dwayne Bravo constructed the most assured stand of the match, and took West Indies to a deserved win with five wickets and 11 balls to spare.
Pollard's innings was punctuated by three sixes in one critical four-over burst, and it was a spell of scoring that would prove decisive. He saved a fourth for the closing stages of the chase, swinging Doherty over midwicket with such force that the ball clanged off the roof of a stand and bounded out of the ground.
Bravo was run out before the end, the final few runs collected a little nervously, but there was no doubting the importance of his contribution to a West Indian victory that ended a 14-match run without a win against Australia. Though Doherty and Clint McKay bowled diligently for the visitors, they had been given too few runs to defend. The five-match series is now level at one apiece.
The wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh landed the final blows, and with Chris Gayle celebrating in the stands amid speculation of a possible compromise between the former captain and the WICB, the hosts' prospects for this series looked far brighter than they had on Friday.
Sent in to bat as much because of the threat of that rain as anything else, the tourists slipped to 46 for 3 and lost regular wickets across the innings that staggered to 154 for 9. David Hussey, Watson and George Bailey did their best, but could not find the right gears on a pitch slower and lower than the one for the first match.
Kemar Roach had struck twice in his fourth over, the second after a lengthy rain interruption, and Darren Sammy followed up with the wicket of Australia's captain Watson. Roach's display was particularly arresting as he fights to return to the Test team, while Sunil Narine's spin was tidy and intelligent and earned four wickets.
Powell simply lost his bearings against Lee's first ball when West Indies chased, letting go a delivery that shaped back a fraction but would still have been much too close to leave even if it had not moved.
Watson chimed in with a yorker that Samuels played over, and while the slide from 42 for 1 to 74 for 4 was gradual, it left Australia with what appeared a decent chance of rushing to a 2-0 series lead.
However, Pollard swung the game definitively towards West Indies with a flurry of sixes. He powered three in a matter of minutes to push Watson's fields back and cause him to change his bowlers, while also making the runs-to-balls ratio more or less irrelevant.
In contrast to Pollard, Bravo played with good sense and few risks, only once leaping down the pitch to loft Doherty over mid-on. In their contrasting approaches, Pollard and Bravo presented Watson and Australia with a union they could not separate before the match's course had been determined, and it was a joyous celebration by both the home crowd and their players when the target was reached in fading light.
David Warner and Watson had made a steady opening after a brief shower delayed the start, reaching 16 for 0 in five overs. At this point more substantial rain pelted the ground, and sent the players off the field for about 90 minutes.
When they returned, Warner was swiftly disposed of, playing back to a Roach delivery that skidded through low and flicked off stump. Next man Peter Forrest was undone simply and quickly, edging a ball of high pace and teasing line to second slip to depart for a duck in the same over.
Roach's strikes had the hosts buzzing in the field, and when Andre Russell relieved him, Roach had the startling figures of 5-3-4-2. Watson had returned the West Indian fire with a smart six from the bowling of Sammy, but the West Indies captain would have the last laugh when he floated a slower ball that his opposite number chipped to midwicket.
Michael and David Hussey then set about repairing the innings, as Narine's offbreaks received plenty of assistance from the pitch. The elder Hussey was dropped on eight, a sharp chance from the bowling of Sammy bursting through Pollard's hands in the gully.
The drop was not to prove too expensive, as Narine tossed an off break fractionally fuller than his usual length, prompting a thin edge behind and a neat catch by Carlton Baugh. Bailey again looked at home in international company, but was upset to squander his start by cutting Bravo to backward point.
While Lee scrapped as best he could, adding the second six of the innings with a mighty swipe wide of long-on, Australia's total looked insubstantial. Thanks to Pollard, it would prove exactly that.
(ESPN Cricinfo).
Cincinnati beats FSU; 4th Ohio team in Sweet 16
Dion Dixon stole the ball and dunked to put Cincinnati ahead for good with 1:32 left, and the Bearcats edged out Florida State 62-56 Sunday night to reach their first regional semifinal in the NCAA tournament since 2001.
Cincinnati (26-10) will play No. 2 seed Ohio State in Boston on Thursday night in the East, giving the state of Ohio four teams out of the last 16 still standing.
Sean Kilpatrick scored 18 points, Dixon finished with 15 for Cincinnati. Yancy Gates finished with 10, and JaQuon Parker grabbed 11 rebounds.
Florida State (25-10) snapped a six-game winning streak that took the Seminoles to their first Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title. But the `Noles are heading home short of the regional semifinal they reached a year ago.
Luke Loucks led the Seminoles with 14, Bernard James had 11 and Michael Snaer 11.
AP
Federer, Azarenka take home titles after easy Indian Wells finals
Roger Federer is on a roll again, and Victoria Azarenka can't be stopped, either.
They each won titles in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday and earned matching $1 million paychecks, the richest in tournament history.
Federer defeated John Isner 7-6 (7), 6-3 for his record fourth title at Indian Wells, avenging a loss to the American who beat him in Davis Cup play.
Azarenka routed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-3 in the WTA Tour's first final between the No. 1 and No. 2 players since 2008.
Federer improved to 39-2 since last year's U.S. Open, with his only losses to No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the Australian Open and the 11th-ranked Isner, who won on the Swiss star's home turf last month.
AP
U.S. Congress Seeks Hearing to Examine Antigua Government's Role in $7 Billion Stanford Pnzi Scheme
A group of ten United States Congressmen from seven states have asked House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) to hold a Congressional hearing to investigate the government of Antigua and Barbuda’s role in the $7.2 Stanford billion Ponzi scheme and determine if international treaties have been violated.
Eighteen U.S. Representatives from nine states have recently joined House Resolution 507 expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the “Government of Antigua and Barbuda has committed numerous acts against the interests of United States citizens and operated the financial sector and judicial system of Antigua and Barbuda in a manner that is manifestly contrary to the public policy of the United States."
Led by Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO), the Resolution was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. The letter sent to Chairman Ros-Lehtinen today seeks a joint hearing of both subcommittees, and urges a prompt response as the actions cited in the letter “continue to harm” the constituents of the Resolution cosponsors.
While the Resolution focuses primarily on the actions of the government of Antigua and Barbuda to challenge the authority of the U.S. District Court and the Department of Justice in the aftermath of the Stanford Financial Group fraud, it also cites the illegal expropriation of U.S. citizen-owned Half Moon Bay.
“We are especially alarmed the Stanford case is not the first instance in which the government of Antigua and Barbuda has illegally seized assets belonging to U.S. citizens,” the letter states. “The 2007 expropriation of Half Moon Bay, owned by 12 U.S. citizens, was recently cited in the Ninth Report to Congress on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (December 31, 2011). In that report, the Office of the United States Trade Representative specifically referenced the government of Antigua and Barbuda’s failure to meet the requirements specified in the United States Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act.”
A jury in Houston, Texas recently found Allen Stanford guilty of 13 of 14 criminal counts alleged by the U.S. Department of Justice, and subsequently approved the forfeiture of $330 million currently held in Stanford-owned bank accounts in the UK, Switzerland and Canada.
Joint Liquidators appointed first by the government of Antigua and Barbuda and then by the High Court of Antigua have litigated in foreign jurisdictions to gain control of the proceeds of the forfeited bank accounts.
“The three-year international turf war waged by the Antiguan Joint Liquidators has cost Stanford victims tens of millions of dollars that would have otherwise been available for their recovery,” said Peter D. Morgenstern, an attorney representing hundreds of Stanford victims. “Continued litigation by Joint Liquidators Marcus Wide and Hugh Dickson of Grant Thornton—for no reason other than to enrich themselves at the expense of Stanford victims—could keep the forfeited funds from Stanford victims for years.
“The government of Antigua and Barbuda acted as Allen Stanford’s business partner, and allowed him to operate above the law for two decades as he stole from thousands of innocent investors from around the world,” said Angela Shaw, the Director and Founder of the Stanford Victims Coalition. “Instead of taking steps to cooperate with the U.S. government and the U.S. District Court-appointed Receiver to help Stanford victims recover their losses, the government of Antigua and Barbuda looked out for itself—seizing assets that were funded by Stanford investors, and defaulting on loans
made with stolen funds. Under no circumstances should such a country receive U.S. taxpayer funds.”
House Resolution 507 is led by Representative Mike Coffman of Colorado, and joined by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, Representatives Michael McCaul, John Culberson, Ted Poe, Kay Granger, Kenny Marchant, and Pete Sessions, all of Texas; Representatives Jeff Boustany and Bill Cassidy, both of Louisiana; Representative Jo Bonner of Alabama; Representatives John Duncan and Steve Cohen of Tennessee; Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida; Representatives Mike Hall and Tim Griffin of Arkansas; Representative Greg Harper of Mississippi; and Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri.
CaribbeanPressRelease
Territorial Elections now in Process --- Election Watch 2012.
Electors on French St. Martin are currently casting their ballots at the various polling stations throughout the French side of the island. Early predictions show that there will be a higher voter's turn this year.
However, voters are getting tired of waiting since the procedure at several of the polling stations are moving extremely slow. Critics say that the slowness at the polling stations is due to the fact that the Presidents of the polling stations are new and this is the first time they are participating in an election.
A territorial councilor at one of the bureaus said that the Collectivity chose the first 13 elected officials to be the presidents of the bureaus while the other councilors are substitute. "You will find Daniel Gibbs and Marthe Ogoundele Tessi both persons who are contesting the elections on separate lists are presiding at different bureaus.
The incumbent President Frantz Gumbs was seen manning bureau number one while senator Louis Constant Fleming was the Collectivité securing his voters as they enter. Some voters in French Quarter were overheard saying they are ready to quit the lines. There were long lines at bureaus 12 and 13 in French Quarter while Friars Bay and Nina Duverly School also had very long lines there too.
If the procedure continues to be slow it is likely that many people might not get the opportunity to cast their ballots and it will take much longer to get the results.
At noon today, there were 3256 votes already casts.
Toussaint Louverture Airport Still Under Construction
Rehabilitation work continues at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport. If an initial starting room was made available to passengers, most of the work is still yet to be done. We still need at least a month to put the airport in step with international standards, promised the construction firm Panexus.
The employees are in the oven and the mill. Each, in his case, focuses on his task. No time for jokes. Everything happens almost indoors now. Much of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport is under construction. The work will not be completed before the end of March.
Contrary to what was promised by those of the construction firm Panexus, passengers still have to wait. However, they can always console themselves with the first arrival hall, quite comfortable, which allows us to predict how the airport will be when completed.
"We're almost done with the ground floor, the finish area. We met with unexpected [matters] that gave us a hard time. But I think by next week, the bulk of the building work will be completed to advance to the finals on the floor that will be housed, among other things, the immigration hall," said Lesly Oriol, manager of the construction firm Panexus, speaking with Le Nouvelliste.
"There are many things we encountered on the ground that it did not expect. It took that time to take time for another study and whether we should keep ... ," Oriol said.
When asked when will there be an airport totally completed, Lesly Oriol said that in ten or fifteen days, the large structures will be completed, but "as in all airports I visited, we never complete the work. Even when the firm has completed its work and handed the key to the authorities, it will always continue to develop the airport, again and again. And besides, every five years, you're supposed to redesign the interior, subject to give it another look," suggested Lesly Oriol.
It's true, he acknowledged, that work should take between late February and March, but, he said, on the ground reality is quite different.
Haitian-Americans Concerned about Political Instability in Haiti
Like Haitians in Haiti, compatriots in the diaspora are also awaiting a durable solution to the crisis that gnaws Haitian policy and society. Situations in the Haitian media are relayed, discussed in the salons, streets and in public places in the U.S. where there are compatriots.
The political situation in Haiti is increasingly a concern for Haitians living in the United States. Many of these compatriots, interviewed by Le Nouvelliste on the current situation, believe that political instability is the main obstacle to development. This situation, according to most of them, blocks the entry of new investors and prevents businesses on site to work under normal conditions. They believe that the Haitian authorities must find real political stability, which will put the first black republic in the world on the track for development.
Asked by the newspaper, Fénold Lamy, a fellow who has lived 20 years in the United States, said that the continuing problems which the country faces delay its march towards progress.
"These changes of governments and prime ministers in recent years, with many events, especially the violence and insecurity rampant enough to discourage investors, which should contribute to the development of Haiti," said Fénold, who wants Haitian authorities to come together to move the country forward.
For his part, Jean-Pierre, a resident of Long Island (New York), believes that the repeated crises between the executive and legislative powers undermine the proper functioning of the institutions and the democratic process.
"As a Haitian citizen, I believe that the institutional paralysis caused by tensions between the government, Parliament and President of the Republic - causing this political stalemate - did not reflect the commitments that they have taken the benefit of the Haitian population. The behavior of these authorities are not likely to create the conditions necessary for economic recovery and consolidation of democracy in Haiti," said Jean-Pierre, looking sad.
To believe Jonathan Phillipe, another fellow who closely follows the news in Haiti, our country has missed its economic development during the past two decades due to political instability and lack of vision of its leaders. He further adds that is not in the division and exclusion we arrive in the country out of this abyss, but in unity among Haitians.
Finally, Josianne Jean-Louis (resident in Manhattan), a Haitian with a passion for his country , states that the number of political parties in Haiti is too high. She claims that this creates enormous difficulties and hinders the proper functioning of the institutions of the country while deploring the lack of a development program for society, corruption and diversion of public funds.
So she encourages the Haitian authorities to firmly build consensus beyond party differences, to make decisions that will strengthen the country's institutions, political stability and economic development for the welfare of the Haitian people.
$9 million euros for agriculture
The Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Cardi) has agreed with the Caricom Secretariat and the Inter-American Institute for Agriculture to equitably manage the Intra-ACP project of $9 million euros for agricultural development in the region. This will be done over a four-year period, commencing in 2012.
At an annual planning meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain, on March 5, Dr Arlington Chesney, Cardi’s executive director, highlighted the need to ensure that the work of Cardi supported the programmes and activities of member countries. Cardi’s work programmes are executed through donor funds. Major donors include the Common Fund for Commodities, the European Union, the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture, the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation, the Caricom Australia Fund, Caricom Japan, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and the World Bank.
Arlington explained that his institute must adhere to stringent international standards for financial management in order to qualify for donor funding. Priority projects identified for 2012 include small ruminants, roots and tubers, hot peppers, protected agriculture, climate change and agriculture, and control of invasive species, mainly the red palm mite and black sigatoka.
Thirty-four staffers of Cardi from countries across the region, namely Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and T&T were in attendance. The meeting followed a five-day Scientific Writing Workshop, which was attended by 40 participants.
The scientists, drawn from Cardi, UWI and UTT, were skilfully guided in the art of writing for scientific peers and policy decision makers by Professor Anthony Youdeowi of Nigeria.