T20 semis today
The final three semi-final spots in the Sagicor General Twenty/20 Competition will be decided today after the fifth and final preliminary round of matches.
Play is slated to start at 1 p.m. at the various venues.
Those teams going forward will join former champions TeleBarbados Carlton who have already booked a spot in the final four with an unassailable 14 points in zone “A”.
All and sundry will be hoping for improve weather conditions in a competition that has been severely affected by rain.
Of the 24 matches gone to date, 11 have resulted in no-decisions with all but one having no play at all.
Carlton will take on BNB St Catherine who are on ten points at Bayfield. A win will carry St Catherine straight into the knockout phase.
However, a defeat for them and a win for defending champions ICBL Empire over Banks at The Brewery, would put them out. Empire are on eight points, while Banks are on six points and must win to stand any chance of advancing.
ESA Field Pickwick with six points are also in with a mathematical chance base on what transpires at Bayfield and The Brewery.
They must beat Guardian General Barbados Youth at Waterford “A” and await the outcome of the other matches.
In Zone “B” YMPC are out front with 12 points from three consecutive wins and one defeat.
In order to have a clear path to the semis, they must try to avoid defeat against Super Centre Spartan with ten points at Beckles Road.
If they lose, there will still have a lifeline once Sagicor UWI on eight points triumph over CGI/ Sandy Crest Maple ten points at Trents.
UWI and YMPC will then finish on 12 points each but YMPC would be higher placed having won three matches to UWI’s two. A win for Maple will automatically take the inaugural champions to the final four.
A no-decision in both matches will leave Spartan and Maple battling for the final position as they will end on 12 points each with one win and four no-decisions.
The net run rate will then determine which one advances.
The semi-finals are slated for Thursday and Friday and the final next Sunday all at Kensington Oval under the lights starting at 7 p.m.
The winners will pocket $20 000 an increase of $ 5 000. The runners-up will collect $10 000 a top- up of $2 000. The losing semi-finalists will take away $6 000 each.
New regional bloc established at Caracas conference
Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean have approved the creation of a new regional bloc that excludes the United States and Canada.
But, unlike the Washington-based Organisation of American States, the new group (known by its Spanish initials as Celac) includes Cuba.
At the end of the summit in Venezuela, the leaders pledged closer ties.
They pledged to try to withstand the financial crisis affecting Europe and other developed economies.
The host, President Hugo Chavez, called the summit "historic".
Mr Chavez read out several statements approved by the leaders, including one opposing the US trade embargo on Cuba.
The Venezuelan leader, along with some of his closest allies, said the new bloc would help Latin America stand up to US influence.
But other leaders chose to highlight the region's economic concerns and issues such as drug trafficking and climate change.
Regional trade
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that Latin American countries would need to rely more on their neighbours to continue thriving.
The region has so far achieved continued growth despite the problems affecting Europe and the United States.
President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia said countries like his would have to increase their trade with other countries in the region because "a hurricane was hitting the developed economies".
President Sebastian Pinera of Chile, who took over the rotating presidency of the bloc, said he hoped Celac would help build regional cooperation despite the differences between some of the 33 member states.
Other leaders said they expected Celac to serve as a forum to resolve regional conflicts and build stronger ties but not to replace other organisations like the OAS.
The next summit, in 2012, is scheduled to be held in Chile.
On Friday, Mr Chavez said Celac would leave behind the Organisation of American States, which he said was worn-out and dominated by the US.
The inaugural summit was due six months ago but was postponed because Mr Chavez was recovering from surgery to remove a cancerous growth.
The Venezuelan president has said he is completely recovered after four rounds of chemotherapy.
He is expected to run in next October's presidential election for another six-year term.
CAL’s flight to Jamaica makes ‘forced’ landing
A Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flight, bound for Kingston, was forced to land at Sangster International Airport on Thursday night in what the airline called a “controlled emergency landing.” Flight BW 62 had departed from Nassau, Bahamas, for Kingston, Jamaica, with a scheduled stop at the Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay. However, the pilots were forced to undertake “a controlled emergency landing” at the airport. In a press statement, CAL said the unscheduled stop resulted in cancellation of the connecting flight, BW 62, to Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston.
The statement added: “The airline is following standard operating procedures to assess the situation and we apologise for the inconvenience. “We assure you that the safety of our passengers is our primary focus and we are doing all possible to ensure that the aircraft is fully operational.” The airline said all 79 passengers on board were accommodated. It said 12 passengers were provided with hotel accommodation in Montego Bay while 52 people were provided with ground transportation to several destinations in St Thomas, New Kingston and to the Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston.
The company said: “The remaining passengers, who were scheduled to connect onto Trinidad and Guyana, have been accommodated on alternative flights. “We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you, our customers, for your continued support.” On July 30, a CAL 737 aircraft was written off after it split into two following a runway incident at the Cheddi Jagan Airport, Guyana. The airline is awaiting a final report from the Guyanese Civil Aviation Authority on the cause of the incident. To date, the T&T Guardian understands CAL has received about 140 legal letters from some of the 157 passengers who were on that flight.
US renews calls for the release of jailed contractor in Cuba
The United States yesterday renewed its calls for the immediate release of US contractor Alan Gross, as he prepared to mark two years behind bars in Cuba on state security charges.
Gross was arrested December 3, 2009, for delivering laptops and communications equipment to Cuba's small Jewish community under a State Department contract.
In March, he was found guilty of "acts against the independence or territorial integrity" of Cuba, and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
"Tomorrow Alan Gross will begin his third year of unjustified imprisonment in Cuba," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in Washington.
"Mr. Gross is a 62-year-old husband, father, and dedicated professional with a long history of providing assistance and support to underserved communities in more than 50 countries," Toner said.
"We continue to call on the Cuban government to release Alan Gross and return him to his family, where he belongs."
White House spokesman Jay Carney called for Havana to free the American "immediately."
"Our deepest sympathies are with Mr. Gross and his family and friends, who have suffered tremendously during this ordeal," Carney added.
"It is past the time for Mr Gross to return home to his family where he belongs. Cuban authorities have failed in their efforts to use Mr Gross as a pawn to their own ends. They must heed the call of Mr Gross's family and friends, the international community and the United States, to immediately release Mr Gross."
The renewed calls from the US government come following appeals from US President Barack Obama, former president Jimmy Carter, Gross's family members and others.
Gross was visited this week by Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the US National Council of Churches, who also met with President Raul Castro to press the case for a humanitarian release for the US citizen.
Kinnamon, who met the detainee for two hours, said he had lost weight and expressed concern over the health of Gross, who is confined in a military hospital in Havana.
A group of 19 US senators on Thursday expressed similar concerns.
"After two years in a Cuban prison, Mr. Gross and his family have paid an enormous personal price," the Democratic and Republican lawmakers said in a letter to the head of the Cuban interests section in Washington, Jorge Bolano.
"Mr Gross has lost 100 pounds and suffers from numerous medical conditions," they wrote. "Mr Gross's daughter and mother are both fighting cancer, and his wife is struggling to make ends meet."
On Friday, Kinnamon said that Gross, if freed, could become a "powerful spokesman" in favor of the normalization of ties between the United States and Cuba, which have not had formal diplomatic relations for decades.
St Lucia PM says road ahead will be difficult
The leader of St Lucia's former main opposition party, who was sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday, has promised to strengthen the tourism-dependent Caribbean island's economy, reduce crime and improve prospects for young people.
Kenny Anthony led the St Lucia Labour Party to victory in Monday's parliamentary elections, winning a majority in the 17-member House of Assembly.
Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy swore in Anthony on Wednesday afternoon in front of party colleagues at her official residence.
The 60-year-old Anthony, who served as St Lucia's prime minister from 1997 to 2006, said the road ahead will be "difficult and challenging" and he called for unity.
Former Prime Minister Stephenson King had assumed the top government post in September 2007 following the death of Prime Minister John Compton.
Said Anthony: "We have to do our utmost to work together as a team, as one people, and always remember that the paramount consideration has to be at all times the best interest of the people of St Lucia."
During the campaign, Anthony's party pledged to immediately undertake a major review of the island's foreign relations policy if it won, something political analysts believe means a switch to renewed ties with China.
The issue has been a political football for years.
St Lucia, with a population of roughly 170,000 people, had diplomatic relations with Taiwan for years under Compton. But after Compton's United Workers Party was defeated by the Labour Party in 1996, St Lucia recognised China and dropped relations with Taiwan. Compton led his party back to power in 2006 elections and promptly re-established ties with Taiwan.
Jacques Delors: Euro was flawed from beginning
One of the main architects of the single European currency, Jacques Delors, has said the eurozone was flawed from the beginning.
He told Britain's Daily Telegraph that the lack of central powers to co-ordinate economic policies allowed some members to run up unsustainable debt.
As head of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, he played a key role in the process that launched the euro.
The comments come amid growing doubts over the viability of the eurozone.
In his interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Delors says the debt crisis stems not from the idea of a single currency itself, but from "a fault in execution" by political leaders who oversaw its launch.
He says they turned a blind eye to the fundamental weaknesses and imbalances of member states' economies.
"The finance ministers did not want to see anything disagreeable which they would be forced to deal with," the 86-year-old Frenchman says.
Mr Delors insists that all European countries must share the blame for the debt crisis - which has led to fears for the survival of the euro.
"Everyone must examine their consciences," he says.
'Too little, too late'
Commenting on those - like the British - who objected to euro membership by saying the currency could not work without a state, Mr Delors said: "They had a point."
The reaction of the current generation of EU leaders, he added, has been "too little, too late".
In particular Mr Delors identified "a combination of the stubbornness of the Germanic idea of monetary control, and the absence of a clear vision from all the other countries".
The BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says the comments come ahead of a critical week for the eurozone.
On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was working towards setting up a "fiscal union", in an effort to impose budget discipline by members.
She and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have called for EU treaty changes.
The two are to meet on Monday, to agree on joint proposals to be put to a meeting of European leaders next week.
RIM will swallow Playbook charge
Research In Motion (RIM) will account for extra costs of $360m (£229m; 266m euros) in its third quarter after poor sales of its Playbook tablet computers.
RIM shares have fallen around 65% this year as Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices dominate the smartphone market.
RIM introduced the tablet in April, 12 months after the launch of Apple's first iPad tablet computer.
The firm slashed Playbook prices last month in a bid to boost sales.
US unemployment rate falls sharply to 8.6%
The US unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6% in November, its lowest level in two-and-a-half years, from 9% the month before, official figures show.
The US economy added 120,000 new jobs in November, the Department of Labor said, in line with forecasts.
The number of jobs created in September and October was revised up by 72,000.
The US has struggled for many months with slow growth while the unemployment rate has remained stubbornly high.
One of the reasons for the sharp drop in the unemployment rate in November was the large number of people who gave up looking for work, and therefore were no longer counted as part of the workforce.
The report helped the US market to open higher, with the Dow Jones index climbing 0.8% in early trading.
Upward revisions
The private sector added 140,000 jobs during the month, while government employment continued to fall.
The retail sector saw the biggest gains, with 50,000 jobs added, while the leisure and hospitality, business services and healthcare sectors also saw strong gains.
Manufacturing and construction, however, saw little change.
The number of jobs added in October was revised up to 100,000 from 80,000, while the figure for September was pushed up to 210,000 from 158,000.
Analysts were generally encouraged by the jobs figures.
"This is a pretty handsome looking report in my mind. The US has clearly turned a corner," said Eric Lascelles at RBC Global Asset Management.
Others were more circumspect.
"The really good news is that employment has grown for four months running - in large steps," said Pierre Ellis at Decision Economics.
However, he pointed out that "a lot of the drop in the unemployment rate comes down to a decline in the size of the labour force, which is quite large".
The unemployment figures come one day after data showed the pace of growth in the US manufacturing sector in November grew at its strongest pace since June.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of factory output rose to 52.7 from 50.8 the month before.
Stocks rise on US jobless data and EU integration hopes
Global stock markets have risen as Europe's leaders called for closer economic integration as the way to ultimately resolve the debt crisis.
US stocks had their best week in more than two years, up 7%. Leading indexes in France, Germany and the UK were all up about 1%.
In a speech to the Bundestag, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was working towards "fiscal union".
US unemployment data showed the jobless rate falling sharply to 8.6%.
The Labor Department said 120,000 jobs were created in November, while the figures for the previous two months were revised up by a combined 72,000.
However, one reason for the drop in the unemployment rate was the large number of people who gave up looking for work, and therefore were no longer counted as part of the workforce.
Banking stocks in particular performed well. In the UK, Lloyds was up more than 4% while Barclays gained 5%. In Germany, Commerzbank climbed almost 6% and Deutsche Bank rose 4%, while in France BNP Paribas was up more than 7%.
Earlier, Asian markets closed slightly higher, with Japan's Nikkei index up 0.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.2% higher.
Treaty changes
Mrs Merkel said steps were already being taken to create closer ties between eurozone members.
"We are not only talking about a fiscal union, we are beginning to create it," she said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also called for changes to EU treaties as a prelude to closer integration in a speech on Thursday evening.
Global markets made strong gains on Wednesday after the some of the world's biggest central banks announced a joint plan to ease tensions within the global financial system.
This centred around offering access to cheaper dollars for commercial banks in the hope of stimulating lending.
China also announced that it was cutting its bank reserve limit, also a move designed to boost lending.
US Republican Herman Cain suspends campaign
US presidential hopeful Herman Cain has said he is suspending his campaign for the Republican nomination.
He blamed political and media pressure on his family in the wake of "false" allegations of sexual harassment and a 13-year-long extra-marital affair.
"I am not going to be silenced and I'm not going away," he told supporters in his home city of Atlanta, Georgia.
Next month, voters in Iowa will begin the process of choosing a Republican presidential candidate for 2012.
Mr Cain said the allegations against him had taken a toll on his family, but added: "I am at peace."
"I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family," he told supporters at what had been billed as the opening of his campaign headquarters.
"These false and unproved allegations continue to be spinned in the media and in the court of public opinion so as to create a cloud of doubt over me and this campaign and my family," he said.
He said he would endorse another candidate at a later date but gave no hint of where he would direct his supporters to go.
Tweets of praise
On Friday Mr Cain discussed with his wife, Gloria, whether to press on with his campaign.
Last week, an Atlanta woman, Ginger White, 46, came forward to claim she had a 13-year affair with Mr Cain.
Speaking to MSNBC on Thursday, Ms White denied they had been in love, saying: "It was a sexual affair - as hard as that is for me to say."
While rejecting any suggestion of an affair with Ms White, Mr Cain has acknowledged helping pay her monthly bills and expenses, and that his wife did not know about the friendship.
The BBC's Marcus George, in Washington DC, says even before the questions arose about Mr Cain's private life, there were doubts about his plans for tax reform and his understanding of foreign affairs.
The former pizza executive went from obscure longshot to unlikely frontrunner to tabloid fodder.
While Mr Cain's ratings slumped, support for former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has surged.
Mr Gingrich has now overtaken frontrunner Mitt Romney in some opinion polls on who should be the Republican candidate to challenge Barack Obama for the White House in November 2012.
Within minutes of his speech, rival Republican candidates - including Michele Bachmann and Mr Gingrich - had tweeted their praise for Mr Cain.
"Herman Cain provided an important voice. His ideas & energy generated tremendous enthusiasm for the conservative movement," Michele Bachmann tweeted.
Mr Gingrich's tweet said: "I am proud to know Herman Cain and consider him a friend and I know he will continue to be a powerful voice for years to come."
Tea Party
Mr Cain made his announcement before the series of state-by-state contests, known as primaries and caucuses, begins next month in Iowa to to choose the Republican nominee.
The former Godfather's Pizza chief executive - who has never won an election - was propelled by conservative Tea Party support to the front of the Republican field in October.
Portraying himself as a business-savvy, anti-establishment outsider, he captured the spotlight with his folksy charm and catchy 9-9-9 tax reform proposal.
But supporters were also alarmed when he made confusing comments about abortion and badly fumbled a question on Libya policy in a recorded interview.