Four-hour gun fight sparks panic…Gunmen attack police, traumatise students
TERROR returned to Spanish Town yesterday after gunmen, suspected to be members of the feared Klansman gang, attacked a police patrol, sparking a four-hour gun battle which, at one point, was fought close to St Jago High School where classes were in session.
The incident traumatised students who were eventually escorted safely off the premises by the police.
Last night, as the security forces maintained a strong presence in the affected areas, the police reported that they found an AK 47 rifle in the aftermath of the firefight, which started about 12:30 pm and sent persons in the normally bustling town running for cover.
“It was like a scene from a movie,” said a member of the police team that eventually repelled the attacks of the heavily armed gunmen.
The Observer was told that the police were patrolling an area known to be controlled by the Klansman gang when they came under fire. The police responded, but were subjected to further attacks from gunmen in Rivoli, Ravensworth and areas near the Rio Cobre.
During the fighting, the gunmen attempted to run onto the premises of St Jago High but were prevented from doing so.
At Monk Street, in the vicinity of the school, parents whose children were late in returning from classes panicked. One woman wept as she anxiously waited with her hands on her head.
“I want to see my son. Where is my son?,” she asked no one in particular. “School has ended and I do not know what is happening.”
As shots continued to be fired, police and soldiers took up strategic positions in the area as they scoured the community in search of the attackers. But their action infuriated some residents who accused the security forces of abuse. Others hurled accusations of political victimisation against them.
“There was no shootout in the community,” one man claimed. “The police dem just trying to make the area look bad because is an area that supports the People’s National Party.”
Yesterday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who is also the education minister, issued a strong condemnation of the shooting, noting that it could have spilled onto the school compound.
He said he was quite disturbed to learn that an educational institution could be placed in such grave danger by virtue of marauding criminals using the school compound to evade the police.
Holness said that the education ministry’s counselling team will be at the school this morning at 7:00 to provide general and individual support for the teachers and students who were traumatised by the ordeal.
He also said that the police commissioner has been instructed to provide additional security within the area to ensure that the school will return to normalcy and that no more school days will be lost for the term.
Yesterday, as well, the Opposition spokesman on national security Peter Bunting expressed concern about the violence.
Bunting encouraged residents and business operators in the area to remain calm as the security forces carry out their duties to bring the situation under control. He expressed concern on behalf of the People’s National Party that incidents of gun violence continue to traumatise young children and disrupt schools as well as the normal flow of business.
Jamaica Observer
LIAT resuming normal operations
Stranded LIAT passengers got some relief yesterday when previously grounded aircraft took to the skies; and management expects normal activity to resume in two days.
A sick-out by pilots, which started Tuesday, remained in limited effect, but pilots reported for work and flights were able to operate.
Passengers were advised that because the action was continuing, there might be further cancellations or rescheduling of flights throughout the day however.
LIAT’s chief executive officer Brain Challenger said stranded passengers were given priority when flights resumed. (YB)
Nation News
Kris Humphries Tells ‘GMA’ He’s ‘Moving Forward’
Kris Humphries and his mama appeared on “Good Morning America” today in his first interview since wife of 72 days Kim Kardashian filed for divorce on Oct. 31.
“For me, it’s just certain things happen in life and you’ve got to move forward,” the 26-year-old said. “Through everything, I’m just focused on family and preparing for basketball.”
Humphries, and mom Debra Humphries, didn’t address his recent filing for an annulment or whether or not he still loves his wife.
He did, however, touch on his seemingly negative portrayal on the current season of E! Network reality series “Kourtney and Kim Take New York.” Production of the show took place during the couple’s brief marriage and the final product focuses on their many disagreements.
“I can’t say for sure or not for sure,” Humphries said, when asked if the cameras sabotaged his marriage. “It’s the only time I’ve been married. I’ve been in the NBA since I was 19 years old, but it’s a different level.”
As for his career in the NBA, Humphries remains a free agent and couldn’t say whether or not he’d be on a team when the lockout-sidelined season resumes later in December. But one thing’s for certain, he says he’s not spending his free time watching “Kourtney and Kim Take New York.”
“The only things I only watch on TV of myself is playing basketball,” he said. “I’ve never really been one to watch the show on TV. For me my focus is just basketball, my foundation, my family and moving through life.”
Paul shows for Hornets training camp
One day after Chris Paul learned his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers wasn't going to happen, he showed up nonetheless for the opening of Hornets training camp in suburban New Orleans.
The 26-year-old Paul was seen walking in the training facility yesterday wearing a black Hornets practice jersey, and he appeared to be in good spirits.
On Thursday night, NBA rejected a proposed trade of the All-Star guard to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Hornets had established the framework of a three-team deal that would have sent Lamar Odom to New Orleans and Pau Gasol to Houston. The deal also would have sent Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic from the Rockets to New Orleans, along with a 2012 first-round draft choice.
Hornets disappointed
The Hornets were disappointed the deal was not approved.
"Of course, Dell (Demps) and Monty (Williams) were very upset when everything fell through," said a person familiar with the work the general manager and coach had put into negotiations that led to the proposed trade. "They had spent a lot of time on it, and they thought it was a great deal for the team."
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Paul is a four-time All-Star who has the ability to walk in free agency after this season. He has so far resisted signing an extension in New Orleans, which has motivated Hornets general manager Dell Demps to try to revamp his roster by trading the star guard.
When the lockout ended, the Hornets had only five players under contract, including Paul. The others were centre Emeka Okafor, forward Trevor Ariza, forward Quincy Pondexter and point guard Jarrett Jack. They all reported to camp on time.
Windwards name newcomer in T20 squad
Tade Carmichael is the only complete newcomer in the Windward Islands squad for next month's Caribbean Twenty20 Championship. Carmichael was one of the outstanding players in the Windwards' Twenty20 competition and also played in the Under-19s for the subregional side.
Fast bowler Delorn Johnson is the only other uncapped T20 player in the squad, but he is no stranger to the senior regional scene, after playing the first-class championship for the Windwards and the Regional Super50 tournament for the West Indies Under-19s last year and the West Indies High Performance Centre this season.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy will lead the side which has a number of regular faces, including Johnson Charles and Miles Bascombe, the opening pair that West Indies tried in a two-match series against England last September in London.
Shillingford's return
The tournament will also mark the official return to regional tournaments for Shane Shillingford.
The off-spinner was cleared earlier this year to resume bowling after questions about his action. He underwent scientific analysis of his action and worked with West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson and others to remodel his action.
Shillingford gained selection to the West Indies squad for their recent trips to Bangladesh and India, but he failed to gain the nod ahead of leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.
Windwards Islands have been drawn in Group-A with reigning champions Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Leeward Islands and Canada.
Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Miles Bascombe, Tade Carmichael, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Lindon James, Delorn Johnson, Keddy Lesporis, Gary Mathurin, Nelon Pascal, Kenroy Peters, Liam Sebastien, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith.
Plot to remove Ganga, Gayle, Sarwan, WIPA
There is a plot among some regional administrators to remove Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), says president of WIPA Dinanath Ramnarine. The former Test leg-spinner made this remark during a press conference yesterday at WIPA’s offices on Edward Street, Port-of-Spain. Ganga was removed as T&T captain recently and also dropped from the T&T team for the upcoming regional T20 cricket series. Chris Gayle has been penalised for making comments about the WICB and CEO Ernest Hilliare and has not been selected on the regional team. Sarwan has been dropped by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and is now seeking an explanation to his axing.
Ramnarine said yesterday that there seems to be a master plan to get rid of these players because they are strong thinkers and because they are aligned with the West Indies Players Association. “I am seeing a movement to get rid of these strong thinkers. Ganga’s resignation as captain of the T&T team is unfortunate and there is more to it that is being said. I will speak about this more at a later date.” Ramnarine said he was not only blaming the T&T Cricket Board for this but also the WICB. “I think the decisions are coming from a higher authority. They have a plan to get rid of these guys by a certain time, so it will be easy sailing for them, with no one questioning them.”
Meanwhile, Ramnarine also revealed that the High Court in T&T has granted an extension to injunction filed by WIPA, to prevent the WICB from terminating the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The WICB had stated that if current negotiations between WIPA and WICB did not conclude by November 30, they would terminate the current MOU and CBA and according to Ramnarine this would leave the players at the board’s mercy. WIPA was forced to seek emergency judicial intervention from the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago against the WICB. On November 30, the High Court heard WIPA’s application for injunctive relief to prevent the WICB from terminating the agreements and ordered that the agreements and all the terms of the agreements shall be treated as if in full force and effect and binding until determination of the application.
Justice Ricky Rahim ordered the status be maintained and the matter was set for December 8, for WICB to present its case. After hearing arguments from attorneys of WICB and WIPA, Justice Rahim ordered that the injunction continue and requested further submissions in writing in January. This means that the terms the current agreement remains in force until 10. The matter is set for January 19, when the judge will decide whether to discharge the injunction or to grant a permanent injunction. If the judge discharge the injunction, according to Ramnarine: “It would be a sad day for the sport of cricket in the Caribbean. Cricket will end up in court on a regular basis and this would not be good for the people of the region.”
Lakers' Odom shows up late, leaves camp early
Lakers forward Lamar Odom showed up more than 90 minutes late for Los Angeles' first workout of training camp on Friday, and then left early after a meeting with general manager Mitch Kupchak.
Odom apparently is still upset about the Lakers' aborted attempt to trade him in a megadeal for Chris Paul. He arrived and left without practicing or speaking to reporters on what's sure to be an awkward opening day of camp.
Pau Gasol, the four-time All-Star forward also included in the deal, showed up and participated in the Lakers' first workout under new coach Mike Brown at their training complex, even amid reports the three teams involved in the squashed trade had opened discussions again.
Odom was thought to be headed to New Orleans in the deal for Paul, the Hornets' superstar point guard, until Commissioner David Stern blocked the deal for what a league spokesman called "basketball reasons." Gasol was expected to be moved to Houston in a deal that would have reconfigured the Lakers' roster less than three weeks before their Christmas season opener against Chicago.
After the NBA flattened the deal Thursday night, the Lakers are trying to get on with preparations for the season even while two of their key players have uncertain futures. The 16-time NBA champions' threepeat bid ended last spring with a second-round sweep by Dallas.
Los Angeles also signed veteran shooter Jason Kapono and draft picks Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock on Friday.
Odom was the NBA's sixth man of the year last season, and the veteran big man has spent all but one season of his 12-year career with Los Angeles' two NBA teams. He's also at the nexus of Hollywood's love affair with the Lakers, given his marriage to Khloe Kardashian and their reality show.
"When a team trades u and it doesn't go down? Now what?" Odom tweeted Thursday night.
Gasol has played in three NBA finals and won two titles since the Lakers acquired him in early 2008. Although he's among the NBA's best big men, some Lakers fans soured on the Spanish national team star for his dismal play down the stretch last season.
If the Lakers empty their enviable frontcourt depth in a deal for Paul, they could face a difficult start to the year when the Bulls visit to start a stretch of five games in seven days. Starting center Andrew Bynum is suspended for those first five games for his bad behavior in the final game of the Lakers' playoff loss to Dallas.
Kapono, the former UCLA star from nearby Artesia, joined his sixth NBA team by signing with the Lakers. The two-time 3-Point Shootout winner earned a championship ring with the Miami Heat in 2007, contributing valuable spot-up 3-point shooting.
The Lakers' perimeter shooting was spotty down the stretch last season, with the club struggling to find a dependable 3-point specialist since trading Sasha Vujacic.
(AP)
Ford recalling 130,000 Fusion, Milans to fix wheels
Ford Motor Co. said Friday it is recalling more than 128,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans over concerns the wheel studs could crack and cause the wheels to separate, Detroit News reported.
The recall includes 128,616 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milans, built from April 1 to April 30, 2009, and Dec. 1, 2009, through Nov. 13, 2010, with 17-inch steel wheels after at least six wheel separation incidents.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA), multiple stud fractures could occur at the wheel location while driving, and the driver may experience vehicle vibration and/ or wheel separation, increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford said it's not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem.
Ford has paid at least 128 warranty claims for wheel stud repairs and NHTSA has received 29 complaints.
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect he rear brake disc surface for flatness and replace the discs as necessary. Additionally, the wheel lug nuts will be replaced on all four wheels.
UK alone as EU agrees fiscal deal
European leaders say 26 out of 27 EU member states have backed a tax and budget pact to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.
Only the UK has said it will not join. Prime Minister David Cameron said he had to protect key British interests, including its financial markets.
The 17 countries that use the euro have all agreed to the deal.
Nine other countries have said they will sign up, some pending consultations with their parliaments.
Hungary originally said it would also remain outside the deal but has now changed its stance.
'Stable euro'
The UK effectively used its veto to block an attempt, led by the French and Germans, to get all 27 EU states to support changes to the union's treaties.
Instead, eurozone members and others will adopt an accord with penalties for breaking deficit rules. It will be backed by a treaty between governments, not an EU treaty.
"In fact, 26 leaders are in favour of joining this effort. They recognise the euro is a common good," said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.
Mr Cameron said he had done "the right thing" by not signing up to the deal, as it was not in Britain's interests.
"We were offered a treaty that didn't have proper safeguards for Britain, and I decided it was not right to sign that treaty," he told the BBC.
"We're still in the single market. That is the best safeguard of keeping markets open," he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the UK was the only country to have expressed reservations, but that Mr Cameron had recognised that a stable euro was in Britain's interest.
Of the nine other EU countries outside the euro, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Sweden have said they must consult their parliaments. Six others - including Denmark, Poland and Latvia - have agreed to join the new deal.
However, some countries - such as the Republic of Ireland, which is in the eurozone - have a constitutional requirement to hold a referendum on any major transfer of powers to the EU.
The Irish Minister for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton, told the Reuters news agency the probability of a referendum was "50-50 and we will be looking at the detail over the next couple of weeks".
EU leaders aim to have the pact - known as a "fiscal compact" - ready to take effect by March.
Its main provisions include:
- a cap of 0.5% of GDP on countries' annual structural deficits
- "automatic consequences" for countries whose public deficit exceeds 3% of GDP
- the tighter rules to be enshrined in countries' constitutions
- the EU's permanent bailout facility, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), to be accelerated and brought into force in July 2012
- the adequacy of 500bn-euro (£427bn; $666bn) limit for the ESM to be reassessed
- eurozone and other EU countries to provide up to 200bn euros to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help debt-stricken eurozone members
Nearly 10 hours of talks could not produce an agreement involving all member states.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the sticking point had been Mr Cameron's insistence on a protocol allowing London to opt-out on proposed change on financial services.
"We could not accept this," he said.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde welcomed the deal as "a really good step in the right direction".
But the announcement from Brussels failed to lift the markets, which are still hoping for more intervention by the European Central Bank (ECB), and European stocks traded slightly down on Friday.
Insurers face ratings downgrade threat from S&P
Some of Europe's top insurance companies have been warned their credit rating could be downgraded as a result of the European financial crisis.
The warning comes from the rating agency Standard and Poor's, which earlier this week warned most eurozone countries they could be downgraded
Allianz, Aviva, Axa, Generali and Mapfre were among 15 firms warned.
Credit ratings are used by lenders to gauge the likelihood of their borrowings being paid back.
That in turn affects the price borrowers pay for credit.
S&P said the "credit watch" was related to the earlier warning on the ratings of 15 of the 17 countries of the eurozone.
In a statement it said: "We are placing the ratings on certain European insurance providers on credit watch negative.
"Depending on the outcome of our review of the ratings on the eurozone member governments, the long-term ratings on these insurers could be lowered by one or two notches, and short-term ratings for some issuers could be lowered by one notch."
The full list of insurers also names Caisse Centrale de Reassurance, CNP Group, Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurances, Millenniumbcp-Ageas Group, Nacional de Reaseguros, Pozavarovalnica Sava, RSA Insurance Ireland, Societa Cattolica di Assicurazione, Triglav Group and Unipol Group.
Among the countries warned on Monday were Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg and Austria, who were told their rating could be marked down one notch.
France, the eurozone's second-largest economy, was warned it could be given a two-notch cut downgrade.
S&P said it would complete a review of the 15 countries' ratings "as soon as possible" after this week's EU summit.