Allen Stanford ruled fit for trial over 'Ponzi scheme'
A US federal judge has ruled Texan financier Allen Stanford is mentally fit to stand trial for allegedly operating a $7bn (£4.5bn) Ponzi scheme.
Mr Stanford, 61, is accused of one of the biggest white-collar fraud cases since Bernard Madoff.
The former cricket mogul's lawyers unsuccessfully argued that he suffers from an impaired memory following a prison attack in September 2009.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
"I see no brain injury that stands in the way of his standing trial," said Dr Robert Cochrane, a psychological evaluator at the prison.
US District Judge David Hittner agreed after a three-day hearing in Houston, Texas, that Mr Stanford was able to help his lawyers prepare for the trial.
Mr Stanford has spent more than eight months at a North Carolina prison hospital undergoing psychological tests and being weaned off anti-anxiety medication.
Charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2009, Mr Stanford denies running a Ponzi scheme involving the sale of fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by his offshore bank in Antigua.
Burrell back in the fold
Well-known personalities Horace Burrell, Ronald Jones and Yves Jean-Bart were among nine administrators appointed to restore the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) to normality over the next five months.
Burrell, the suspended president of the Jamaica Football Federation, who will regain his status on January 16 next year; Jones, the president of Barbados Football Association and minister of education; and Jean-Bart of Haiti are the three most recognisable figures on the nine-member Normalisation Committee appointed during an Extraordinary Congress of the CFU over the last two days at FIFA headquarters.
They have been joined by Luis Hernandez of Cuba, Victor Daniel from Grenada, Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, Larry Mussenden from Bermuda, Everton Gonsalves of Antigua & Barbuda, and Rignaal Francisca of Curaçao to execute a number of tasks to return the CFU to equilibrium following the fallout from the cash-for-votes scandal that rocked the regional governing body earlier this year.
Several high-ranking officials in the regional game, principally CFU President Jack Warner, either stepped away from the game, suffered suspension imposed by FIFA, the sport's world governing body, fines, or reprimands.
Jean-Bart, the chairman of the congress, said in a media release on Thursday: "I am proud to have been part of such a historical achievement and expect the decisions taken at the Zurich meetings will result in a brighter and better CFU."
The Normalisation Committee has a 10-point plan on which to work, leading to elections for a new CFU Executive Committee no later than May 15 next year.
The committee will perform the functions of the CFU Executive Committee until elections are held.
It is also expected to appoint an interim CFU general secretary and review new CFU statutes to be proposed by the CFU Legal Committee.
Preparing the 2011 Annual Report and setting a date for a CFU Extraordinary Congress to approve the new CFU statutes must also take place no later than 90 days from Tuesday this week.
The Normalisation Committee is also expected to appoint a Legal Committee, a Finance Committee and a Football Committee, while also making recommendations to the membership as to the legal domicile of the CFU.
Appointing two delegates to attend all CONCACAF meetings or working groups will also be a task of the CFU Normalisation Committee, as well as consulting with the confederation on the appointment of a member of the committee as the Caribbean zone representative to the FIFA Executive Committee as an observer.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said: "I am very pleased that the representatives of the CFU have reached an agreement in order to move forward and to look into the future, for the good of the game in the region."
Leaders of 30 national associations attended the meeting that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fifa riding roughshod over CFU officials—Jack
Former vice-president of world football governing body FIFA, Jack Warner, says the organisation is engaged in a hostile takeover of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and it must be stopped. Warner said FIFA had “no locus standi or even hierarchical relationship” with the CFU. In a statement yesterday, Warner said he was breaking his silence on FIFA matters after an unconstitutional CFU congress was held in Zurich on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Warner said he would be making further statements next Wednesday and at other unspecified dates. He said his action might cause him to be summoned before the Ethics Committee, “but I am no longer prepared to sit back and watch from the sidelines, while a few men destroy an entire region for their own selfish and self-serving motives.”
Warner, who is the Minister of Works and Infrastructure in the People’s Partnership Government, resigned from FIFA after being called to appear before the FIFA Ethics Committee to answer allegations of wrongdoing, during a CFU meeting in Port-of-Spain. He said this week’s congress in Zurich was unconstitutional. “At this unconstitutional CFU congress, certain decisions were taken by the FIFA president—decisions which the presidents of 26 of the 30 national associations present accepted without even consulting their members who they purported to represent.”
Warner said the leaders from Anguilla, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica and T&T did not support FIFA “and its unethical actions.” He said some of the unethical decisions accepted at the meeting were:
• the appointment of a Normalisation Committee to execute various tasks on behalf of the CFU;
• the appointment of an interim CFU general secretary;
• review of the new CFU statutes to be proposed by the CFU Legal Committee;
• preparation of the 2011 Annual Report;
• setting the date for a CFU extraordinary congress to approve the new CFU statutes—such date to be no later than 90 days after December 20, 2011; and
• appointing a Legal Committee, a Finance Committee and a Football Committee.
Warner said: “Never in the history of the FIFA has an organisation that is not a member of FIFA been subject to the ‘law’ of FIFA.”
He said the congress failed to discuss issues such as:
• the status of the FIFA Development Office in the Caribbean and the termination by the FIFA, without reason, of the contracts of all officers of this office; and
• the termination, by the FIFA, of the contracts of the T&T FIFA Referee Development Officers Ramesh Ramdhan and Merere Gonzales without explanation (and) without reason.
“In one fell swoop, the Caribbean football leadership has now undone its struggle of some 33 years and has disrespected the entire region,” Warner said. “The arrogance with which the FIFA continues to ride roughshod over duly elected officials of both the CFU and the Concacaf is not just unethical but plain outright immoral. “It demonstrates the crass disrespect to the independence and sanctity of the constitutions of both organisations because the FIFA imposes on these two organisations its will which is neither recognised by FIFA’s constitution nor the constitutions of the CFU and the Concacaf.” Warner in his seven-page statement insisted: “This type of behaviour must never be allowed to continue without a voice of dissent being raised against such malfeasance.”
St Kitts welcomes inaugural non-stop commercial flight from Canada
The Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport will today welcome its first non-stop commercial flight from Canada.
Government said the Air Canada flight from Toronto will make St. Kitts and its sister island, Nevis, a more viable winter destination choice for travelers from “this key North American market.”
Minister of Tourism Senator Richard “Ricky” Skerritt said in a previous interview that Canada is “always a viable source market for visitors and investors as well as home to a large contingent of our Diaspora.”
“I am grateful that Air Canada Vacations is adding us to their lists of partner destinations this coming winter and our government is working closely with our local hoteliers and other St Kitts and Nevis tourism stakeholders to make full use of this opportunity to strengthen our travel and tourism relationship with Canada.”
The tourism minister and St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas are among officials who will welcome the flight from the Pearson International Airport.
Air Canada is using an Airbus 319 aircraft with 108 Economy Class seats and 12 Business Class seats for the flight that arrives here at 3:10 pm.
Caribbean 360 News
Stanford lawyers file motion to delay January trial
LIAT intends to expand its cargo service next year, Director of Cargo and Quikpak,Wilbur Edwards has said.
The disclosure came as the airline announced that its freighter service has transported a million pounds of cargo within a year of its February 2011 launch.
Edwards said the milestone was achieved with this month’s opening up of the San Juan and the United States Virgin Islands market.
The airline was previously unable to move cargo into those territories because of the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
“Next year we will focus on greater service delivery and using our website …to better advantage in terms of tracking, proof of deliveries and other customer service information,” Edwards said in a media release.
“We said we would do it and we did, in spite of many challenges and set-backs.
He noted that the freighter service has stimulated significant movements on LIAT’s regular line flights, which when combined produced more 1.5 million pounds.
The airline official pointed out that amount does not include more than 30,000 pounds of bulk baggage also carried by the freighter aircraft over the period.
Chief Executive Officer Brian Challenger said the management was proud of the achievements of its cargo team.
He said they “demonstrated that even in the midst of a global and regional economic recession they have been able to grow the business from scratch to achieve this significant milestone.”
Caribbean 360 News
Michael Blackburn resigns as head of LIAT pilots union
Captain Michael Blackburn has resigned as Chairman of the Leeward Islands Pilots Association (LIALPA) as he prepares to file a lawsuit against regional carrier LIAT challenging his summary dismissal earlier this month.
Captain Blackburn said his resignation Thursday would prevent possible conflict of interest since he may have to call on association members to aid his defense.
The senior pilot said he will file the challenge by the first week in January, the latest.
He is also aiming to clear his name following allegations he compromised flight safety during a trip to St Lucia.
The former union boss denied being pressured into making the decision and expressed full confidence in the current LIALPA leadership.
“We have a very effective executive council remaining in office and a new chairman would be elected within 60 days. There is no amount of persuasion by members who support me fully that could make me to stay on,” he said.
“LIAT has made some allegations regarding my professional conduct recently and I have to exonerate myself and I would take whatever steps I have to, to do it. That would place me in a compromising position because the position of chairman of the association is very powerful so that I would be in a position to exercise undue leverage or the appearance thereof, which is equally important to me and therefore I have no choice but to step down.”
The former chairman stated he does not believe his resignation will negatively affect the position of LIAPA, which along with other unions are involved in an industrial dispute with the management of the Antigua-based airline.
“It might even strengthen the resolve of guys who will realise they can operate without me,” he said of his resignation.
“If the company is under the belief that because I’m not there they can do whatever they would like or they can take advantage of the situation, then the Caribbean people would pay a serious price.”
The trade unionist denied reports of serious disunity within the association, saying “there is no big division.”
He also urged LIALPA to proceed with changes to the constitution to ensure there is collective leadership rather than centralized power for the chairman.
Captain Blackburn was employed with LIAT for 34 years, and served 32 of them on the LIALPA executive.
His sacking led to days of industrial action by pilots, which left thousands of regional travelers stranded.
Caribbean 360 News
India to fund construction of specialty hospital in Guyana
Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr Roger Luncheon said on Wednesday that the EXIM Bank of India has approved and made available the funding at concessionary terms for the construction of a specialty hospital at Liliendaal in Guyana.
When completed, the hospital will provide services including cardio-related and cosmetic surgeries and organ transplant. Construction is anticipated to commence by the first quarter of 2012.
Luncheon said that site preparation, which includes drainage of the land and the provision of the necessary utilities (water, roads, etc.) that are required for the operationalisation of the institution, is a fairly expensive undertaking that was not covered in the financial arrangement between the government of Guyana and the government of India through the EXIM Bank.
Last month, the Indian government indicated that its approval of the “soft loan” to fund the construction of this state-of-the-art facility will not only become part of what is being offered within the public health system, but will also allow Guyanese to access the best quality tertiary health care at an affordable cost because government will be entering a partnership with a management group that will deliver those services.
In February this year, former President Bharrat Jagdeo and then Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran visited India to finalise the agreement to construct 250-bed hospital.
Caribbean News Now
Mel Gibson's Ex Wife Takes Half His Estimated $850 Million in Divorce Settlement
Mel Gibson is now legally single after his divorce was finalized Friday in a Los Angeles courtroom, but bachelorhood came at a heavy price.
Robyn, his ex-wife of nearly 30 years and the mother of their seven children, is walking away with half his fortune, once estimated to be as high as $850 million (according to the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2006) in what is considered the biggest divorce payout in Hollywood history.
Because the couple didn't have a prenuptial agreement, Robyn, 55, was legally entitled to half of everything he earned during their marriage.
Among Gibson's estimated assets: more than $600 million grossed by The Passion of the Christ alone; $100-plus million in real estate investments worldwide (he bought an island in Fiji for $15 million in 2005); and $75 million for film and TV projects for which Gibson, 55, executive produced.
It appears some of his wealth has already been transferred to Robyn, in particular two Malibu homes worth a combined $22.5 million. As for film residuals, Robyn is entitled to half of every future check Gibson receives for the rest of his life.
"I left my wife because we had no spiritual common ground," Gibson told his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in secretly recorded tapes she made of the actor in February 2010.
During his custody battle with Grigorieva, in which the Russian musician accused Gibson of domestic violence, Robyn filed a sworn statement in July 2010 stating that "Mel was a wonderful and loving father" and never abused Robyn or their kids.
Gibson met Robyn, at the time a dental nurse, in the late 1970s after the American-born actor, who moved to Australia when he was 12, had filmed his breakout role in Mad Max.
George Michael: 'Incredibly fortunate to be here'
Returning to London after weeks of being treated in an Austrian hospital for severe pneumonia, singer George Michael revealed Friday his illness was much more serious than his representatives had said previously.
"I'd say (it was) touch and go for a couple of weeks," said Michael. "We played it down. I didn't want to worry my fans too much."
He said he got "streptococcus-something. It's a form of pneumonia, and they spent three weeks keeping me alive, basically."
He appeared thin and breathless and said he was "trying to get over the tracheotomy."
But, he said, the experience was life-changing -- "I'm a new man."
"I don't want to take you through all of it, because some of it I want to protect my family from," he said. "... But it was basically by far the worst month of my life. I'm incredibly, incredibly fortunate to be here and incredibly fortunate to have picked up this bug where I did. Apparently, the hospital in Austria that they rushed me to was absolutely the best place in the world I could have been to deal with pneumonia. So I have to believe that somebody thinks I've still got some work to do here."
The illness prompted Michael to cancel the remainder of his European tour. His representative, Connie Filipello, said in announcing the cancellations last month that Michael was "on the mend" and "receiving medication."
He said Friday he was sorry that he had not contacted fans, but he had been in no shape to do so.
"But I promise them, absolutely without question, the plan is to play to every single person who had a ticket," he said.
Michael said he also wants to play for the doctors who saved his life.
He grew emotional as he said, "I've spent the last 10 days since I woke up literally thanking people for saving my life, which is something I've never had to do before and never want to have to do again."
Asked what kept him going, he said, "My family. The thought of all the people I still have to play to ... the fact that I've been so lucky, and the fact that I still have plenty to live for. I have an amazing, amazing life, and if I wasn't spiritual enough before the last four, five weeks, then I certainly am now."
Disney: 'The Avengers' will be in 3-D
Hulk smash! Right into the theater!
Walt Disney Pictures announced today that "The Avengers" will be converted to 3-D for its May 4, 2012 release.
The news shouldn't be a huge surprise -- Disney is undergoing the same 3-D conversion process for "John Carter," and director Joss Whedon expressed his love for 3-D at an EW-hosted Comic-Con panel in 2010.
The studio also announced today that a previously untitled 3-D Walt Disney Animation project, a fairy tale, has been titled "Frozen" and slated to open November 27, 2013.
At the studio's D23 convention last August, filmmakers from sister animation studio, Pixar, indicated that they were also eyeing a 2013 holiday season debut for an untitled Pixar film about dinosaurs; that movie, however, does not yet have an official release date.
Finally, an untitled Marvel Studios project has been moved from June 27, 2014 to April 4, 2014.