Montserrat Officer Charged With Assault
Following an investigation which involved Bermuda police officers, a member of the Royal Montserrat Police Servic has been charged with assault and several other offences.
Montserrat Governor Adrian Davis said in a press release. “… A member of the Royal Montserrat Police Service has been charged with the offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding, disorderly conduct, and threatening language.” The officer has since been taken before the Magistrate and was later released on bail.
Last month Governor Sir Richard Gozney said, “The Governor of Montserrat asked me if the Bermuda Police could spare two officers for a short attachment to the Montserrat Police Force to help them investigate accusations made against members of their own Force. I understand that the Cayman Police have also been asked to help.
“We are all conscious of the pressures on the Bermuda Police Service and of the need for Bermuda Police Service to remain closely focused on the issues to hand here on the Island. But equally we are conscious of the need to be sympathetic when we can to requests from British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, particularly the smaller ones.”
-BERN News
Ruling out Gasol trade serves no purpose, Lakers' Kupchak
Mitch Kupchak says he must explore every opportunity to improve the Los Angeles Lakers, even if Kobe Bryant doesn't like it.
The Lakers general manager issued a statement Monday night in response to Bryant's criticism of the club brass over the haze of uncertainty surrounding Pau Gasol. The 7-foot Spanish star is having the lowest-scoring season of his career amid rampant speculation about his departure in a trade ever since the Lakers attempted to move him for Chris Paul before the season.
After Sunday night's loss at Phoenix, Bryant said he wanted Kupchak to decide whether Gasol would be traded or not. Kupchak responded with a terse one-paragraph statement before Monday's game against Portland.
"As a former player, I understand how the days leading up to the trade deadline can be nerve-wracking for an NBA player," said Kupchak, a former Lakers center.
"Nonetheless, as General Manager of the Lakers, I have a responsibility to ownership, our fans and the players on this team to actively pursue opportunities to improve the team for this season and seasons to come," Kupchak said. "To say publicly that we would not do this would serve no purpose and put us at a competitive disadvantage. Taking such a course of action at this time would be a disservice to ownership, the team and our many fans."
Bryant said Sunday he hopes the Lakers won't trade Gasol, who is averaging 16.6 points and 10.7 rebounds while failing to make the All-Star team for the first time in four years. Although the Lakers were 18-13 and sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference heading into the Trail Blazers' visit, they've been inconsistent in their first season under coach Mike Brown, with a 5-11 road record and several embarrassing losses along the way.
Bryant is the NBA's leading scorer with 29 points per game, but he's worried about Gasol, saying it's tough for the four-time All-Star to "immerse himself completely into games when he's hearing trade talk every other day."
Gasol doesn't want to leave Los Angeles, and he acknowledged he's thinking about the March 15 trade deadline. He hasn't spoken directly to Kupchak about his future since the Lakers' preseason attempt to deal Gasol to Houston in a three-team trade for Paul was rejected by the NBA.
-AP
Parker lifts Spurs to 11th straight win, 106-102
Even shorthanded, the San Antonio Spurs keep finding ways to win.
On Monday night, Richard Jefferson stepped up big. He hit a 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left - only his second field goal all night - as the Spurs pulled out a 106-102 victory over the Utah Jazz .
It was San Antonio's 11th straight win - the longest streak in the NBA - and the seventh consecutive on this nine-game road trip. San Antonio (23-9) hasn't lost on the road since Jan. 29 in Dallas.
"I haven't been shooting the ball particularly well of late ... and even passed up one shot with about a minute to go," Richard Jefferson said. "But I was blessed the (3) went in."
Tony Parker scored 23 points to lead the Spurs, who were without key players Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter , both expected to miss two weeks because of injury.
"When you have guys that go down, I think sometimes it helps guys re-focus knowing you have less room for error," Jefferson said. "Everybody has to contribute."
Without Splitter to provide a spark off the bench, Matt Bonner came through in the clutch with five 3-pointers. He finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
"Matty was great. Matty was key for us tonight," said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, who finished with 20 points. "He was able to spread the floor and hit some shots and continue to score points for us when we really needed it."
Al Jefferson scored 20 points to lead the Jazz (15-16), who fell below .500 for the first time since Jan. 2, but he couldn't get a mid-range jumper to fall with 29 seconds left.
Paul Millsap added 16 for Utah, and Devin Harris 15. Josh Howard, in the starting lineup because of an injury to shooting guard Raja Bell, had 12 points.
San Antonio trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and 10 in the third quarter before rallying.
"Persistence," Duncan said. "We stuck with it. They did make a (13-0) run. We came out in the second half and didn't play well for those first couple of minutes. They got themselves a lead, but we knew there was a lot of game left. It kind of shows the character of this team, how we've been playing over the last 10-15 games. We're really starting to turn that corner."
The Jazz, forced to practice Monday morning despite arriving back from Houston at 10:30 a.m., played with much more intensity than they did in a blowout loss to Houston on Sunday.
In the end, they still lost - and have dropped seven of their past nine.
"Tough loss," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "I thought our guys fought hard, especially after last night. We had a chance at the end. We just didn't get the plays at the end."
The Spurs led 56-53 at halftime, but the Jazz opened the second half on a 13-0 run.
The Spurs fought back, with Bonner hitting his fifth 3-pointer and making three free throws after being fouled on his next 3-point attempt.
And Parker had 11 assists to go with his 23 points.
"Tony's an All-Star," Gregg Popovich said of his veteran guard. "He had another magnificent game - scoring, finding people, playing tough, being a leader. He was good."
The bad continues to be injuries for Ginobili.
"It's killing him," Popovich said. "He just came back, played in a couple of games and was beginning to get in shape, get a rhythm and then he goes down again. He's pretty depressed about it. Hopefully the team can be over it and realize he and Tiago (Splitter) are going to gone for a while."
Ginobili suffered a strained left oblique in Saturday's 103-100 victory at the Los Angeles Clippers . An MRI on Monday confirmed the injury to Ginobili, who had played just his fourth game since missing 22 with a broken left hand. He will remain in San Antonio for the remainder of the Spurs' road trip.
Ginobili led the Spurs against the Jazz in the first meeting with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
Splitter, who had averaged 13 points off the bench in his previous five games, traveled with the team to Salt Lake City but also is out two weeks with a strained right calf.
David Haye has no plans to fight again, says trainer Adam Booth
Britain's former heavyweight world champion David Haye has no plans to fight again professionally, his trainer Adam Booth has told BBC Sport.
Booth said that Haye, who brawled with Dereck Chisora in Munich on Saturday, would only come out of retirement to fight WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.
But Booth then revealed: "[Vitali's promoter] Bernd Boente categorically said that fight would never happen.
"So David is still retired and has no plans to fight again."
Haye, who lost his WBA belt to Wladimir Klitschko last July and retired in October, was in Munich as a television commentator and watched Wladimir's Ukrainian brother Vitali successfully defend his heavyweight crown against Britain's Chisora.
However, Haye became embroiled in an ugly spat with Chisora during a news conference that followed the fight.
When asked whether there was any truth in rumours that the fight had been set up to help spark interest in a future bout between the fighters, Booth, who suffered a cut head in the melee, laughed: "If that was staged, I didn't get that memo because I would have ducked.
"David had no intention before and has no intention now of fighting Dereck Chisora."
Haye lost his WBA belt to Wladimir Klitschko last July and retired in October.
"He was there to see if there was a fight with Vitali Klitschko because he's always said the only people he would come out of retirement for are one of the Klitschko brothers and what happened on Saturday doesn't change that."
Booth refused to aportion any blame to either fighter following the unsavoury incident, preferring instead to focus on Chisora's showing in the ring.
"I gave him no chance in that fight just like everyone else did but he proved he belonged at world level," Booth admitted.
"With more improvement he could be the next British heavyweight champion."
Big Race!... Powell Vs Bolt In Rome
Jamaican sprinting royalty will be on show in the Eternal City, after former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell booked an early season clash against double Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt at this year's Golden Gala IAAF/Samsung Diamond League meet in Rome, Italy.
Powell has reintroduced himself to the indoor circuit after a seven-year hiatus, but what the world is really clamouring to see is the renewal of his competitive rivalry with his compatriot, Bolt; as two of the three fastest men in history get ready to test their readiness for track and field's biggest stage.
The clash, scheduled for May 31 - just about two months before the pair are expected to start their gold medal campaign at the London Olympics, comes just days outside a full year since their last meeting, which incidentally also took place in Rome.
On that occasion, a returning Bolt, who had been on ice for nine months because of injuries, found a late 'kick' to edge Powell to the line in an exciting contest. Bolt stopped the clock at 9.91 with Powell crossing the line in 9.93 - pedestrian, by their own lofty standards.
The World 200m champion has dominated Powell over the years; beating the man he openly declared as an inspiration in nine of their last 10 meetings. Powell's last victory over Bolt came in Stockholm during their build-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
"I think I was too worried by Usain at the end of the race," was Powell's analysis after last year's defeat in Rome.
However, according to his agent Paul Doyle, there was no consideration of which athlete was already booked for the meet, the focus is to get his client in the best shape ahead of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association/Supreme Ventures Limited National Senior Championships and the Olympic Games.
"We are being very selective this year because Coach (Stephen) Francis doesn't want Asafa to race too much this year before the trials, so we are being very selective about what meets he will do," Doyle told The Gleaner yesterday. "To be honest, we have not thought once about who he will be facing, we just try to plan based on coach Francis' training plan; we want to ensure that Asafa races when he is ready to race. We don't care who is in the race, the coach has his plans for Asafa and that is to ensure that he is up and running very fast for the trials and Olympics."
"If he, as a result, has to race Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake or Tyson Gay, it doesn't matter, it's all about getting him ready," Doyle added.
Doyle added that Powell, who spends most of his summers in Italy and has been competing at the Golden Gala for some six years, is always excited about running there and is looking forward to his next visit.
"He has always loved running in Rome," said Doyle. "There is great weather there and it's a well-organised meet. The people of Italy are big fans of Asafa, as you know we spend the summers in Italy every year so it feels almost like a home meet for him."
The Golden Gala is the third meet in the lucrative Diamond League series, which opens in Doha on May 11.
Get Chris Gayle to retract
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is imploring Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to use the influence of her office to get out-of-favour West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle to apologise or retract controversial statements he made against the board in a radio interview last year.
The regional body made the statements in response to Simpson Miller, who at the Jamaica Cricket Association Annual awards dinner last weekend, described the impasse involving the WICB-Gayle as "untenable".
"Justice delayed is justice denied, and we demand that a resolution be found as quickly as possible," said Simpson Miller, who is also the minister of defence, development, information and sports.
"Cricket is too important to the people of Jamaica and the West Indies for this to be left down the wicket," she added.
The WICB, however, in a release issued yesterday, said the minister had been misinformed, and chided local officials for not correctly briefing the minister.
"The WICB regrets the comments made by Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, at the Jamaica Cricket Association awards dinner", the release read.
"The WICB believes that the prime minister did not have the benefit of the full information pertaining to the matters on which she spoke ..."
"Had the Honourable Prime Minister been briefed she would have been informed that Mr Chris Gayle has been written to by the WICB, clearly outlining the full details of what is required of him. The WICB is awaiting a response from Mr Gayle."
Gayle, however, who up to two weeks ago stated that he does not believe a retraction of his criticism of the board and its officials is necessary, a position the WICB is asking the minister to look into.
"The WICB implores the prime minister to use her good office to urge Mr Gayle to respond favourably in an effort to put this issue in the past."
"The WICB does not believe that the prime minister is suggesting that Mr Gayle be returned to the West Indies team without withdrawing his comments.
"This would be tantamount to a member of the Jamaican cabinet lambasting and deriding the leader of the cabinet and fellow cabinet colleagues and being returned to that august body without any accountability for his or her actions," the WICB said.
"The WICB believes the prime minister would appreciate the seriousness and repercussions of the case had she been provided with all the relevant information."
The release also spoke to the concerns raised by Simpson Miller as it related to the non-selection of Sabina Park for the upcoming series.
"... the West Indies v Australia tour was, for reasons pertaining to scheduling and weather, always slated to be played in the Southern Caribbean", it read.
8 reasons the WICB wants Gayle to recant:
Listed below are some of the alleged statements CEO Ernest Hilaire says offended the board.
● "The ONLY communication was my physio CJ message got a BBM from me updating him on my progress."
● "I'm the perfect target for them. They want to get rid of me."
● "Just before the IPL auction, I got an email from the CEO if I'm retiring from Test cricket. I found that very strange. It sounded like he wanted me to retire so he can continue to screw me over."
● "They threatening players. They're using the fitness thing to threaten players. You can make 10 ducks in a row and still make the team ... as long as you fit like a fiddle ... That's the system they have now ... Fitness, fitness, fitness ..."
● "Every coach come with the same format ... fitness, fitness, fitness ... 24/7. Man to man, Australia team no fitter than we. You think India fitter than we?" "Ah joke coach Ottis Gibson ah mek!"
● "The coach is a user. That's what he is. He is a user."
● "You think that if I didn't get an IPL contract. you think I would get a layaway like Pollard and Bravo?.. Them say they will side with those two ... and show up Chris Gayle ..."
● "Me and Sarwan sit down and talk after the World Cup. Sarwan was messed up mentally. The coach messed up the man mentally. The players were not in the right frame of mind."
Eurozone ministers back 130bn-euro bailout for Greece
Eurozone finance ministers have agreed a second bailout for Greece after marathon talks in Brussels.
Greece will get loans of more than 130bn euros (£110bn; $170bn) and have about 107bn of its debt written off.
In return, it must slash its debt from 160% to 120.5% of GDP within eight years and accept a permanent EU economic monitoring mission.
The country needs the funds to avoid bankruptcy on 20 March, when maturing loans must be repaid.
The euro immediately rose on reports of the deal, which was announced early on Tuesday, after 13 hours of talks.
But a report by international experts obtained by Reuters news agency and the Financial Times warned Greece would need more help if it was to meet its debt reduction target.
The confidential report was drawn up for the international "troika" set up to help Greece - drawn from the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission.
It warned Greece would remain "accident-prone" in coming years.
Under the deal hammered out in Brussels
- Greece will undertake to reduce its debt to 120.5% of GDP by 2020
- Private holders of Greek debt will take losses of 53.5% on the value of their bonds, with the real loss as much as 70%
- Greece's economic management will be subjected to permanent monitoring by eurozone experts on the ground
- Greece will amend its constitution to give priority to debt repayments over the funding of government services
- Greece will set up a special account, managed separately from its main budget, that must always contain enough money to service its debts for the coming three months
The Greek parliament is expected to vote on the bailout on Wednesday.
Nato apologises for Afghan Koran 'disposal'
The US commander of Nato troops in Afghanistan has apologised over reports that foreign troops had "improperly disposed" of copies of the Koran.
In a statement, Gen John R Allen ordered a full investigation.
"When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them," he said.
Rumours that a Koran had been burnt led to a large protest outside the US air base at Bagram about 60km (40 miles) north of Kabul.
Police told the BBC that at least 1,000 people took part in the demonstration, which has now ended, and that some elders went into the base to talk to Nato officials.
Afghan officials told the AP news agency that the Korans were in rubbish that two soldiers with the US-led coalition transported in a lorry late on Monday night to a pit on the base where waste is burned.
When five Afghans working at the pit noticed the religious books in the rubbish, they stopped the disposal process.
"Foreign troops tried to burn a container of holy Koran books at three o'clock in the morning, but the Afghan mujahideen employees working at the base did not allow them," protester Mohammad Zahir told the BBC.
A BBC reporter at the protests said he saw people crying over claims that foreign troops had set fire to the Koran, while others threw stones and fire bombs at the security forces.
A photographer for the AFP news agency said that guards at the base fired rubber bullets from a watchtower as the crowd shouted "Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar" (God is great).
'Sincere apologies'
In his statement, Gen Allen said that the investigation would examine whether troops at Bagram air base "improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans".
The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities," the statement said.
"We are thoroughly investigating the incident and we are taking steps to ensure this does not ever happen again. I assure you… I promise you… this was not intentional in any way."
Gen Allen went on to offer his "sincere apologies for any offence this may have caused", to the president of Afghanistan, the Afghan government and "the noble people of Afghanistan".
Later, the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) force said it intended to invite Afghans to join the investigation "so we are transparent with this issue".
"These were religious materials that were gathered up at the detention facility in Parwan [province, where Bagram is located] and inadvertently given to troops for burning," the Isaf statement said.
"We are still trying to determine if and/or how much got burned before the mistake was discovered.
"If a Koran was damaged, we will find out how it happened and make certain that this does not happen again."
Correspondents say that it was a remarkably candid statement by Gen Allen - played repeatedly on Afghan television - apparently aimed at damage limitation after similar incidents led to violence and attacks on foreigners.
Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa strongly condemned the alleged Koran destruction, which he described as a "shameful move by some stupid individuals".
The BBC's Andrew North, in Kabul, says that reports of the Islamic holy book being mistreated, whether substantiated or not, have proved incendiary in Afghanistan in the past.
The Taliban and other groups have sometimes been accused of spreading such reports to spark violence, but last year at least 10 UN workers were killed and dozens of other people injured in protests triggered by news of an American preacher setting the Koran on fire in Florida.
Strauss-Kahn questioned in prostitution ring inquiry
Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been detained for questioning by French police investigating a prostitution ring.
Mr Strauss-Kahn, once a front-runner for the French presidency, could be held for 48 hours at a police station in Lille, northern France.
Investigators have already questioned a number of prostitutes who have admitted having sex with Mr Strauss-Kahn.
He insists he did not know that the women were prostitutes.
"I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman," his lawyer Henri Leclerc has told French television.
Mr Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May 2011 after he was charged in New York with the attempted rape of a hotel maid. The case was later dropped.
In this separate inquiry, French police have already arrested eight men on suspicion of organising a prostitution ring and misusing corporate funds to pay for sex in a scandal known as the "Carlton affair" because of a Lille hotel where clients were allegedly supplied with call-girls.
Three of the suspects were said to have been close to Mr Strauss-Kahn, who is said to have taken part in sex parties in Paris and Washington in late 2010 and early 2011.
The BBC's Christian Fraser, in Paris, says that although consorting with prostitutes is legal in France, supplying them to others and misusing company funds to pay for them are not.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn had been tipped as a potential Socialist candidate in the April presidential elections until his arrest in New York in May last year.
One of the sex parties, allegedly organised by two of the eight suspects, Fabrice Paszkowski and David Roquet, is believed to have taken place in the US shortly before he was detained.
Mr Strauss-Kahn returned to France in September 2011 although the hotel maid involved in the case is pursuing a civil action.
'Ear infection'
The former IMF head said nothing as he arrived at a Lille police station in a car that was immediately surrounded by dozens of journalists.
A lawyer acting on his behalf, Frederique Beaulieu, arrived some time later.
Four investigators are involved in the questioning, Le Figaro reports, and have three police cells and four offices at their disposal.
Mr Strauss-Kahn is reported to have an ear infection and has the right to request a doctor's examination while in custody. The doctor could, theoretically, call for questioning to be suspended although that is considered unlikely.
-BBC
Homs comes under heavy bombardment
Rebel-held areas of the central Syrian city of Homs have come under intense bombardment from the Syrian army.
Anti-government activists report that at least 12 people have been killed so far on Tuesday and 100 injured. This cannot be independently confirmed.
Activists have been warning of additional government forces around Homs, ahead of a possible ground assault on the city.
Thousands have died in Syria in an 11-month uprising against the government.
The area of Baba Amr, which has been under siege for two weeks, endured several hundred shells over a period of one or two hours, says the BBC's Jim Muir, who is monitoring events from neighbouring Lebanon.
He says it is not clear whether the shelling is continuing as communications with residents of Homs are very poor.
Reports from the city say the field hospital has been hit, and video footage appears to show tanks moving through a neighbouring district of Homs.
Our correspondent says it is unclear if the bombardment is the precursor to a much-feared ground assault on Baba Amr.
Human rights groups say that could lead to a massacre and have called for intervention.
The Syrian government said two weeks ago that it would wipe out "pockets of armed terrorists" - its term for the rebel fighters - implying that a ground assault on Baba Amr is on its agenda.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday that it was trying to negotiate a short humanitarian ceasefire so that food and medical supplies could be brought into the areas of Syria worst affected by the violence.
It remains unclear when or if that might happen.
'Defenceless civilians'
An activist in hiding near Baba Amr, Omar, told the BBC that it was no longer safe to stay there.
"I'm trying to leave the area because of the gunfire and heavy shelling, which has rocked the city," he said.
"This is a large-scale military assault on defenceless civilians."
The casualties included two children, one of whom was six years old, he said.
Western and Arab countries are preparing to attend a meeting on Syria in the Tunisian capital Tunis this Friday.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Friends of Syria meeting would show that the government of President Bashar al-Assad was increasingly isolated and that "the brave Syrian people" needed support.
She criticised the positions of Russia and China, saying they were "making the wrong choices".
Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the violence and backing an Arab League plan aimed at ending the conflict in Syria.
They will not be attending Friday's meeting.
Russia proposed on Monday that the United Nations send a special envoy to Syria to help co-ordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
'Help arm fighters'
US Senator John McCain has said that Washington and its allies should find a way to help arm the opposition fighters.
"It is time we gave them the wherewithal to fight back and stop the slaughter," he said on a visit to the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Human rights groups believe more than 7,000 people have been killed since the uprising began.
The Syrian government says at least 2,000 members of the security forces have died fighting militants.
It is pressing on with its plans for a referendum on a proposed new constitution on Sunday, which it regards as the centrepiece of its reform programme.
-BBC