Steven Tyler Is Engaged, Jeweler Confirms
Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and his girlfriend of five years, Erin Brady, got engaged over the holidays, the rocker's go-to jewelry maker has confirmed.
Reports that the "American Idol" judge, 63, had popped the question emerged after the 38-year-old Brady was spotted flashing a large engagement ring on her left hand over the weekend. Neither have responded to requests for comment, but jeweler Loree Rodkin was more than willing to give details, telling PEOPLE the proposal was a surprise.
"He was working, so I picked stones, built settings, showed him choices and sent him pictures on his phone," she told the magazine. "He asked for guidance but the choice was his. Having made jewelry for both Erin and Steven made it an effortless process, as I know their taste."
According to Rodkin, the ring is a 5-carat, brilliant-cut diamond that is laid out on a diamond-and-platinum band. The perpetually bejeweled Tyler has been a client of Rodkin's for years.
Tyler popped the question during a vacation in Hawaii. He has been married twice before, first to model Cyrinda Foxe, from 1978 to 1987, then to clothing designer Teresa Barrick, from 1988 to 2006.
US authorities seize $190,000 from vessel leaving Puerto Rico
Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) federal law enforcement authorities seized $190,000, a Cal-Tech 5.56mm semi-automatic pistol, and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition found in a single-engine yola type vessel, north west of Puerto Rico last Wednesday night.
At midnight on Wednesday, a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maritime patrol aircraft detected a vessel approximately 60 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Rico. The vessel had no visible registration, flag or markings.
CBP personnel coordinated with watch-standers at Coast Guard Sector San Juan to intercept the vessel at sea. An HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft crew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami and Coast Guard Cutter Cushing were diverted to interdict the vessel.
Cutter Cushing boarding team members discovered approximately $190,000, a Kel-Tec 5.56mm semi-automatic rifle, and approximately 300 rounds of ammunition.
The five individuals on board the vessel claimed to be citizens of the Dominican Republic.
Cushing crewmembers team took custody of the five suspects aboard the vessel, currency, and weapon and transported them to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations at Arecibo for further investigation at the Mayaguez Sea Port, Puerto Rico.
OAS electoral observation mission in Jamaica issues preliminary statement
For the general elections of December 29, 2011, in Jamaica, the Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) fielded 25 observers from 16 countries in all 8 of the country’s administrative regions. A total of 852 of the country’s polling stations were visited by the OAS team on Election Day.
The following preliminary observations are based on the direct observations of the OAS team, and on meetings with electoral authorities, a cross-section of government, political parties, media, and civil society organizations.
Observations:
• Pre-electoral period
The OAS mission notes the significant preparations made by the Electoral Commission to generate voter confidence and to ensure an inclusive and clean electoral process.
The continued use of the Electronic Voter Identification and Ballot Issuing System (EVIBIS) has strengthened efforts by the Electoral Commission to improve the integrity and access to the voting process. The EOM observed the use of this system in all of the constituencies where it was utilized and wishes to commend the authorities for its introduction.
The Mission took note of the agreements negotiated by the Electoral Commission with political parties on media and advertising protocols, as well as on campaign financing. These agreements have, in our estimation, improved the democratic process and have increased its transparency. In this regard, the EOM welcomed the publication of the list of companies that have made substantial contributions to the two main political parties. The mission was also particularly struck by the undertaking of the political parties to cease all campaigning, campaign ads and polls as of midnight on Tuesday, December 27. It noted however that this did not prevent the publication of opinion pieces by some of the newspapers on December 28.
• Election Day procedures
On Election Day, the OAS observers noted that the polls opened on time in nearly all the observed locations, all essential materials had arrived, and that the poll workers worked diligently to ensure an efficient casting of the vote. For the most part, these officials seem to be well trained and knowledgeable about the procedures. In addition, electors, security forces and party agents were engaged in almost all locations observed by the OAS, demonstrating their commitment to the exercise of the process.
The OAS mission noted a steady, albeit slow, stream of voters from the commencement of voting but observed that several voters seemed uncertain as to how to locate their specific polling station within the polling center. In the majority of these cases, the elector did in fact eventually locate their polling station within the center. In this regard, the Election Day Supervisors attached to clusters of polling stations played a significant role in helping to resolve any issues that arose.
In some polling centers, polling stations were placed in uncomfortably small spaces next to each other, affording both workers and electors very little privacy and insufficient work space. At several of these stations, this situation also contributed to delays by creating a bottleneck effect on the queue to access the polling area.
• Tabulation and processing of results
After the close of the polls, the vote counting and transmission process moved expeditiously, with results coming into the Election Center as early as 5:30 pm- half an hour after the close polls. The Election Commission must be commended for providing work space for the media at the Electoral Center to access raw data in real time in order to immediately feed their broadcasts.
Recommendations:
Based on the information gathered by the OAS Electoral Observation Mission during its time in Jamaica, the mission would like to offer the following recommendations to further strengthen the electoral process in the future:
1) Making provision for the allocation of adequate space for polling stations and identifying wherever possible locations that have both an entrance and exit to facilitate the flow of electors;
2) Clarifying the role, duties and responsibilities of the political liaison officer at the polling station;
3) Providing adequate signage at the entrance of the polling station to indicate exactly which polling stations are located within that center;
4) Providing copies of the voter’s list at each polling station in a place it can be easily accessed by voters.
5) Continued efforts by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica and other branches of government in seeking the enactment of campaign finance regulations.
A more detailed verbal report on the observations and recommendations of the OAS EOM will be presented to the OAS Permanent Council in Washington D.C. in early 2012. This report will be shared with all stakeholders in Jamaica and will be available through the OAS website.
Argentine governor dies of shots to head
The ruling party governor of a western Argentine province was killed early yesterday of gunshots to the head, and his wife was being questioned by police.
The .38-caliber revolver was fired as Rio Negro Govenor Carlos Soria, and his wife Susana were in their bedroom after spending New Year's Eve at their home in General Roca, authorities said. Emergency personnel found him bleeding in bed and took him alive to the local hospital, where he was declared dead just before 5 am, local media reported.
The governor's spokesman, Julian Goinhex confirmed the death but gave no further details about what happened to the 62-year-old Soria.
Soria led the province's Peronist Justicialist Party and won election by a wide margin in October. He was inaugurated on December 10 as part of the nation's ruling Front for Victory, displacing the Radical Party that had long controlled the province.
Soria will be succeeded by his vice-governor, Alberto Weretilneck. In an interview with Radio 10, Weretilneck called it a domestic accident and said Soria and his wife were alone at the time.
Susana Freydoz was being questioned by police Sunday to determine whether the shots were fired by accident or intentionally, local media reported.
Soria's son Martin, who replaced him as mayor of General Roca, made no immediate statement about his father's death. The couple also had three other children: German, Carlos and Emilia.
Just before midnight, Soria had given an interview to a local radio station, expressing confidence that 2012 would be a great year and that he was looking forward to the challenge of bringing a new administration to the province, which is quickly developing its mineral and oil wealth through foreign investments. Its land, too, is in huge demand, from developments around Andean ski resorts to farmland.
Chinese companies have reactivated a major iron ore mine and are investing more than $1 billion to irrigate land to provide grains and dairy products for Chinese consumers. The province has 1,400 operations that manage hundreds of thousands of sheep, cows and goats.
"I'm not afraid of any challenge. This isn't very difficult, although it is complex. The province belongs to everyone, and we need to take care of it and not seek personal gain from it," the late governor said.
While Soria was a member of the governing party inspired by Peron, he clashed in the past with President Cristina Fernandez. According to the newspaper Clarin, Fernandez accused him in 2002 of spying on her husband, Nestor Kirchner, while heading the intelligence ministry for Kirchner's predecessor, President Eduardo Duhalde. They put that rift behind them as Soria spent eight years as mayor of his hometown, repeatedly challenging the Radicals until he ended their 28-year hold on the province last year.
Earlier, Soria had led a congressional commission investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires and as regional security minister for Buenos Aires, oversaw a hunt for bodies of victims of the country's 1976-1983 dictatorship. He also made public a stash of documents about the dirty war that had been hidden for years by police.
Cuba making good on pledge to free prisoners
Cuba appeared to be making quick progress in meeting a pledge to free 2,900 pardoned prisoners, most of them convicted of minor crimes, even as a top human rights official on the island criticized the year-end amnesty as a "media show."
Human rights official Elizardo Sanchez and dissidents on the Communist-run island said Wednesday that authorities had released more than 2,500 inmates. The government has published a list of names of those pardoned in the Official Gazette, but has not said how the liberations announced by President Raul Castro on Friday are going. Castro said he was granting the pardons in connection with an upcoming visit by Pope Benedict XVI.
One freed prisoner, Jose Menendez, told The Associated Press that it was a complete and welcome surprise when he heard his name over a prison loudspeaker and was told he was on the list.
"If I could talk to President Raul and the Pope, I would shake their hand and say that I am immensely grateful for this opportunity for life that they have given me," an emotional Menendez said from his small Havana apartment, his wife at his side.
Menendez, 46, was imprisoned in the late 1980s on gun charges, and subsequently convicted of other crimes committed while behind bars. He was not due to be released until 2029.
Castro announced the amnesty in a speech to lawmakers on Friday, and noted that most of those pardoned were first-time offenders, youths, women, inmates over 60 or those suffering from illness.
Sanchez, the head of the independent Havana-based Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said only five prisoners convicted of political crimes appeared to be among those pardoned, including a doctor convicted of revealing state secrets, and another prisoner sentenced in connection with a hijacking. He said the overall number of inmates freed was dwarfed by Cuba's prison population.
"It's evident that this is a media show," Sanchez said. "When there are 70,000 prisoners, releasing 3,000 of them is a very small thing."
The government has not said how many people it holds in its jails. While it tolerates Sanchez's activities, it considers all dissidents to be mercenaries sent by Washington to undermine the revolution.
Among those freed in Castro's amnesty were 86 foreigners, many convicted of drug trafficking or prostitution.
One high-profile inmate left off the list was American subcontractor Alan Gross, who is serving a 15-year jail term for crimes against the state.
Grenada draws down US$1.7 million from EU
The European Union (EU) has provided 1.37 million Euros (US$1.7 million) to the Grenada government as the last tranche of the ninth European Development Fund General Budget Support Programme.
A government statement said that this latest disbursement means Grenada would have drawn down 98 per cent or a total of 20 million Euros of the total available funds under the budget support programme.
Head of the European Union in Barbados, Valeriano Diaz, in a letter to Grenada’s finance minister Nazim Burke says the programme has been a success.
Barbados Copyright Agency (B-Copy)to get outside help
Almost four months after going public with its copyright infringement dispute with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus, the Barbados Copyright Agency (B-Copy) is expecting foreign reinforcements to help it press for a settlement.
Chairman Antonio Boo Rudder told the SUNDAY SUN that his organization had received commitments of support from Copyright Clearance Centre (CCC), a global rights broker for print and online content, and the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organization (IFRRO).
Senior manager with CCC, Ed Colleran, as well as regional representative for the Belgium-based IFRRO, Carol Newman, who is also manager of the Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency, are due in Barbados on February 8.
Rudder made the disclosure as he noted that B-Copy had so far received no indication that the Cave Hill campus was willing to pay the $16.50 per student licence fee demanded by the agency to allow it to reproduce copyrighted printed work of local, regional and international authors.
Nation News
Serena Williams wins on Brisbane International return
Serena Williams marked her return to competition in Australia with a 6-2 6-3 win over Chanelle Scheepers in round one of the Brisbane International.
The 30-year-old former world number one last played down under when she won the Australian Open title in 2010.
It was her first match since she was fined for an outburst in September's US Open final defeat against Sam Stosur.
Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic beat Tamira Paszek 6-3 6-3 and faces Kim Clijsters in round two.
Williams had her service broken in the opening game against South African Scheepers.
However, she fired seven aces and took advantage of eight double-faults by Scheepers to secure victory in 68 minutes and book a match with Serbian Bojana Jovanovski in the second round.
"That was definitely not easy, I think she (Scheepers) played really well," said Williams. "I didn't expect that."
Ivanovic, another former world number one, took a shade under 80 minutes to dispose of Austria's Paszek and she said: "There were some nerves involved, particularly early on but I felt I played well. Obviously there is still some room for improvement but it was the first match and I'm happy."
Four-time world number one Clijsters, now ranked 13th, has beaten Ivanovic in all four of their previous meetings.
The 28-year-old Belgian defeated Simona Halep of Romania in the opening round, her first match since August following an abdominal injury.
Ivanovic squandered five match points in her last match against Clijsters in March. Asked about their latest meeting, the Serbian added: "It will be a battle and I just want to try and apply things that I have worked on and see how that plays.
"I just need to go out there and test myself and push and see how far I am from the top players."
Top seed Stosur was due to play later on Monday against Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus.
Meanwhile, British number one Elena Baltacha beat 21-year-old wildcard Sacha Jones of New Zealand in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Baltacha secured a second-round tie with fourth seed Flavia Pennetta and said: "It was very windy out there and she had a lot of support so I'm pleased to get the win and get a good start to 2012."
Anne Keothavong failed to make it through to the main draw, losing in the final qualifying round 6-1 6-4 against Jamie Hampton of the United States.
Bosh scores 24 and Heat roll past Bobcats, 129-90
Last week, drama for the Miami Heat was defined as having one shot to beat the Charlotte Bobcats .
On Sunday night, it was defined as whether the Heat would enjoy the biggest win in franchise history.
Chris Bosh scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half, and the Heat improved to 5-0 for the first time by rolling past the Bobcats 129-90. The 129 points is the most scored by any NBA team so far this season and the 39-point victory margin matched the third-largest in Heat history, four shy of the team mark.
"I think we're where we should be," Dwyane Wade said. "I think we're only going to get better."
Wade scored 22 points and LeBron James, Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole all scored 16 for the Heat, who ran out to an 18-point lead after one quarter and held a 46-point lead at one point in the fourth.
DJ White scored 21 points and Kemba Walker finished with 17 for Charlotte, which lost its seventh straight regular-season meeting against Miami.
"Tonight was a night," Bobcats' guard Corey Maggette said, "where we just did not get it done."
The Heat needed a game-winner from Wade with 2.9 seconds left to win at Charlotte on Wednesday night.
No such heroics were necessary this time. In fact, it took a falling-down 3-pointer from Walker - while getting fouled - with 3:26 left to get Charlotte back within 40 points.
"Just one of those games where nothing went right," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said.
White made all eight of his shots in the first half for the Bobcats. The rest of Charlotte's starters in the first 24 minutes shot a staggering 3 for 22, including an 0 for 7 from D.J. Augustin and 0 for 6 from Maggette.
So in control was Miami that James - who got engaged to longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson as his New Year's highlight - wasn't even an offensive factor in the first half. His first field goal of the game came on a layup with 48 seconds remaining before intermission, and by then the Heat lead was 63-37.
"We came into the game tonight trying to play with a heightened sense of athleticism," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I was encouraged by our ability to concentrate, even as we got the lead."
Chalmers made all four of his shots from 3-point range, Cole scored his 16 points in 20 minutes, and Miami held huge edges in fast-break points (30-11) and points in the paint (58-38).
"We wanted a complete effort," Bosh said. "I think we got it."
Bosh controlled the play early, scoring nine of Miami's first 15 points, the last of those being an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Chalmers for an 11-point Heat lead. And with that, it was a total turnaround from the game in Charlotte last week, where Miami quickly got into an 11-0 hole and needed to scratch and claw all the way to the finish.
On Sunday, Spoelstra had the luxury of giving his starters plenty of time off in the fourth quarter, with the added bonus there being a few extra minutes to rest up for a visit from Atlanta (3-1) on Monday night. Every Miami starter spent at least 18 minutes on the bench.
"Guys had fresh legs and guys were very responsible last night with the new year coming in," James said.
Before the game, Silas said he thought Walker was "a little tired" as the rookie got used to the NBA grind.
Walker might not have been alone with that issue.
Besides White, no other Charlotte starter reached double figures in scoring. Maggette is now 1-for-16 shooting in two games against Miami this season. Augustin finished 1 for 11, the worst shooting night of his career when trying at least 10 shots. Combined, Charlotte's starters grabbed 14 rebounds, which was four more than what Bosh collected by himself.
"We're all going to take the load off every night for each other. That's what great teams do," Bosh said. "It was just a good night."
SI
Former Liverpool & Everton defender Gary Ablett dies
Former Liverpool and Everton defender Gary Ablett has died at the age of 46 following a 16-month battle against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
More to follow.