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
Yemen violence mars poll to replace Ali Abdullah Saleh
Violence in southern Yemen has marred an election to replace veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.
At least eight soldiers have been killed at southern polling stations despite a large army presence, after separatists called for a voter boycott.
Half of Aden's polling stations have now closed, but the capital, Sanaa, was calm as people formed orderly queues.
Voters are expected to rubber-stamp Vice-President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi - the only candidate in Tuesday's poll.
Officials told BBC Arabic that gunmen killed four soldiers in an attack on a polling station in Hadramawt province.
Two soldiers were killed and a number of people injured in Aden, the main city in the south. Half the polling stations there have now been closed.
Two soldiers were also killed in an attack in the al-Hawta district.
The separatist Southern Movement has called for a day of "civil disobedience" to mark the vote.
The poll comes after a year violent anti-government protests erupted in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country.
The main supporters of the uprising that began in January 2011 are backing Mr Hadi, whose election posters are prominently displayed in Sanaa.
He is from the south himself and has called for dialogue with the separatists.
Yemeni human rights activist Tawakkol Karman, joint winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, said as she voted that the election marked the end of Mr Saleh's 33-year long reign.
"Today we are building the new Yemen, we are building the democratic and happy Yemen that all of the youth and women have dreamed about," she said.
But the country still faces multiple challenges - an ongoing rebellion in large chunks of the country, al-Qaeda militants, widespread malnutrition among children and severe drought.
Husam Al-Sharjabi, a 37-year-old protester who recently formed the al-Watan opposition party, acknowledged in a BBC interview that al-Qaeda posed a real threat.
"It's a threat that has been exaggerated, but it must be taken seriously," he said.
"We need to take a multi-faceted approach involving defence, diplomacy and development, to minimise the opportunities for these groups to recruit from the poor and disenfranchised."
The election follows a deal brokered by Yemen's Gulf Arab neighbours.
Mr Saleh signed the agreement to step down - but only once a new president has been elected.
On Monday, he urged Yemenis to vote for Mr Hadi to ensure "a peaceful transition of power".
More than 12 million people are eligible to vote, including 2.2 million newly registered voters.
The new president is due to stay stay in office for two years, when a further round of presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled.
-BBC
European shares edge lower after Greece bailout agreed
Europe's financial markets have given a muted reaction to the announcement of a second bailout deal for Greece.
The euro was little changed from Monday's closing price, while leading European stock markets edged lower in morning trading.
London's FTSE was down 0.3% by lunchtime, while the Paris Cac and Frankfurt's Dax index were 0.6% lower.
Shares across Europe rose on Monday in anticipation of a deal being reached, with bank shares doing well.
Europe's banking industry has been bolstered by support from the European Central Bank.
In the latest bailout deal, Greece is to receive loans worth more than 130bn euros (£110bn; $170bn).
In return, it will undertake to reduce its debts to 120.5% of its GDP by 2020 and accept an "enhanced and permanent" presence of EU monitors to oversee economic management.
Greece needs the funds to avoid bankruptcy on 20 March, when maturing loans must be repaid.
'Problems remain'
"Effectively Europe's banks have been given almost half-a-trillion euros at 1%, very cheap money that has sort of ring-fenced the banks from the crisis. The thinking is that banks will not go bust if Greece fails," said Louise Cooper, market analyst at BGC Partners.
But she said few in the markets thought the latest bailout was the answer.
"This just puts off the inevitable. It's the second deal in two years. You're talking almost 20,000 euros per person [in Greece] in total bailout funds and even that amount has not solved Greece's problems. That suggests the money has not been well spent," she added.
"It [the deal] probably avoids a messy and chaotic default on 20 March, there are still a lot of steps to go through before then, but does it solve any of its problems? No."
Wal-Mart fourth-quarter profits rise 5.4%
The world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, has reported healthy quarterly profits after a strong holiday season in its home market.
For the three months to 31 January, Wal-Mart turned in a net income of $5.2bn (£3.3bn), up 3.4% compared with the same period in the previous year.
Wal-Mart lowered prices to tempt shoppers during the holiday season.
But sales at its British arm, Asda, were up just 1%, a slowdown from the third quarter, when sales grew 1.3%.
Asda has a slightly different quarter from its parent company. It reports on the three months to 7 January.
In its quarterly report, Wal-Mart's chief executive, Mike Duke, said the price-cutting strategy was working.
"Our price leadership is making a difference across the United States, as many families are settling into a new normal," he said.
"Core customers remain cautious about their finances, and they rely on Wal-Mart's every day low price promise to help them manage through today's economic challenges."
But that growth has come at a cost. The company's profit margin fell in the fourth quarter because of discounting.
Wal-Mart has been expanding overseas with last year's purchase of South Africa's Massmart.
It is also planning to raise its stake in the Chinese internet retailer Yihaodian to 51%.
Oil price hits eight-month high
The price of oil has reached its highest level since June last year due to rising tensions over Iran's nuclear programme.
Benchmark US light crude rose 1.7% to $105.01 a barrel and brent crude futures rose $1.14 to $120.72 a barrel.
On Sunday, the country's oil ministry said it had halted oil sales to British and French companies.
The cost of fuel has also risen. In the UK the price of diesel has hit a new high, at 143.16 pence a litre.
The figures, from Experian Catalyst, also show the price of a litre of unleaded petrol has reached 135.39 pence.
Iran is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.
The country insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, but the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency says it has information suggesting Iran has carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device".
Transition
The rise in the oil price also pushed UK oil giant BP's shares above 500 pence for the first time since last January.
Analysts say the price of oil has risen as EU countries seek to find new oil suppliers and Iran hunts new buyers for its oil.
"The increase in price is a direct result of European importers of Iranian oil looking round to find alternative sources," said Professor Paul Stevens from Chatham House.
Oil prices have also been driven up by an improvement in the performance of the US and Chinese economies.
The US is the world's largest consumer of oil.
Manchester United boosts revenues and cuts its debt
Manchester United says its revenues for the last six months of 2011 increased to £175m, as it released its latest financial figures.
It is an increase of £18.5m on the Old Trafford club's revenues for the same period last year.
The Premier League club said debt was £439m at the end of 2011, less than the £508m reported 12 months previously.
Last year, United said it would partially float on the Singapore Stock Exchange, but that has yet to happen.
The team, currently second to rivals Manchester City in the Premier League, are also competing in the Europa League.
Match day revenues (up from £52.4m to £54.5m), media revenue (up from £53.7m to £60.9m) and commercial revenue (up from £50.4m to £58.6m) were all ahead.
United were taken over by the Glazer family in 2005 and have had a rocky relationship with many of the fans since then over the level of debt at the club.
A buyback of bonds, sold as part of a £500m refinancing operation two years ago, helped bring down the latest debt figures.
However, total operating costs - up from £96.9m to £110.8m - and net player capital expenditure - up from £11.7m to £47.9m - both rose.
The latter's rise was due to a summer outlay on players David de Gea, Ashley Young and Phil Jones, as manager Sir Alex Ferguson set about freshening up his team.
Other figures show a bank balance of £50.9m and a £10.4m rise in general capital expenditure, mainly due to upgrading hospitality areas.
Without the lucrative revenue streams garnered from competing in the Champions League, the club is expected to see a decline in income over the next half-year.