Euro 2012: England and Ireland await finals draw
Final preparations are taking place in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, as 16 nations including England and the Republic of Ireland await the Euro 2012 draw.
The ceremony will take place from 1700 GMT on Friday, with countries due to be drawn into four groups of four teams.
World and European champions Spain are in Pot One alongside the Netherlands and co-host nations Poland and Ukraine.
Pot Two consists of England, Germany, Italy and Russia, with the Republic of Ireland in the bottom group.
Giovanni Trapattoni's side sit alongside Denmark, the Czech Republic and France, while Croatia, Greece, Portugal and Sweden, who were recently beaten 1-0 by England in a friendly, make up Pot Three.
It throws up the possibility that England and the Republic of Ireland could be drawn together in the same group, though Spain, Germany, Portugal and France are widely regarded to be the strongest teams of their respective pot seedings.
And with the tournament split across two countries, location will be a big consideration for teams when their names are drawn.
England have already chosen the Polish city of Krakow as their base for Euro 2012, so would welcome being drawn in Group A, in which all matches will be staged in either Warsaw or Wroclaw, both of which are approximately 150 miles from England's base.
The other Group based in Poland is C, where matches will be staged in either Poznan (200 miles from Krakow) or Gdansk (300 miles away).
The matches in Group B and D will involve longer journeys to Ukraine. The venues for Group B are Kharkiv (700 miles from Krakow) and Lviv (200 miles), while Group D is Kiev (540 miles) and Donetsk (930 miles).
The Republic of Ireland, having qualified through the play-offs, have yet to settle on a finals base.
Seedings for Euro 2012
Pot 1: Spain, Netherlands, Poland*, Ukraine*.
Pot 2: Germany, Italy, England, Russia.
Pot 3: Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Sweden.
Pot 4: Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland
Regional clubs come for Carib Rugby Sevens
Regional clubs, Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Venezuela), Hornets RFC (Guyana, men and women), St Lucia/St Vincent combination and Aesculapians RFC (UK) are among the 12 clubs which have confirmed participation in the inaugural annual Carib Beer Tobago International Rugby Sevens Tournament. The two-day event which is being hosted by the Tobago Rugby Football Club will be contested on the weekend of December 10-11 at Bon Accord Recreation Ground, Bon Accord, Tobago.
Apart from the 12 clubs, four women’s teams have also confirmed attendance. The event takes over from the annual Carib International Rugby Sevens Tournament hosted by the Trinidad Enthusiasts Rugby Football Club, which has been unable to put together the tournament in recent times. Local clubs, Caribs (men and women), Stag Trinidad Northern, Defence Force, Police (men and women), the University of T&T (UTT), Royalians, Trinidad Enthusiasts and Tobago RFC (men’s and women) will participate.
According to tournament organiser Brian Stollmeyer, who spoke at yesterday’s launch of the event held at the hospitality lounge in Carib Brewery Limited, Champs Fleurs, several other foreign clubs will make a decision whether to attend within the next few days. Making the trip to officiate matches are highly travelled and experienced referees in Hugh Banfield and Huw David, both from Wales and Brian Zapp from the USA.
The three referees have a tremendous track record in sevens professional matches across the globe, as well as international fixtures. Along with Stollmeyer, Director of Sport in the THA Anthony Price, T&T Rugby Football Treasurer and Chairman of Selectors, Curtis Nero, Carib Brewery Sponsorship and Events Manager Colin Murray and Tobago RFC Vice-president Randall Rostant, were all present at the launch to offer best wishes to the participating teams.
Price, speaking on behalf of Assistant Secretary with the special responsibility for Youth Affairs and Sport for the THA, Huey Cadette, said: “We are pleased to be part of this event as it highlights the recent success of the Tobago Rugby Club, which won the Senior Division of the Rugby Union 2011 Championship.” He went on to say: “On behalf of the THA, I would like to pledge our continued commitment to support initiatives such as there.” Price then thanked Carib for its continued support for sport in T&T.
Tobago RFC’s Rostant hinted that if the tournament becomes a success on an annual basis, the event will be added to the Tobago House of Assembly’s official calendar of events, which would ultimately boost Tobago’s tourism industry and improve the standard of the event. Trophies will be provided for the men’s and women’s championship finalists and winning teams. The team awarded for “Best Camaraderie” will receive the Larry Mouttet memorial trophy, while the most promising players will take the Jamie Waters memorial trophy.
As announced by Stollmeyer, the event is free to the public, and all are encouraged to attend. On Monday, there will be a day-long beach party at Sandy Point to conclude proceedings.
Brown, Lee prove too strong in weightlifting
Adrian Brown and Roxanne Lee were crowned men and women’s champion respectively, when the T&T Powerlifting Federation (T&TPF) held its National Championship at the Preysal Secondary School on Sunday. A total of 26 athletes competed for bragging rights and for selection on the national team for next year’s Caribbean Championship and North American Championship to be held in March and July respectively. That team is expected to be selected today. Athletes competed in various events of different weight classes including the men and women’s open and masters, men’s junior and men’s subjunior.
Last year’s winners Kerron Commissiong and Cheryl Abraham, were dethroned by Brown and Lee who convincingly took the titles this year. Commissiong, sustained an injury during the bench press but earned the respect and admiration of the crowd by squatting 810 pounds and deadlifting 720 pounds, both his personal best. Abraham did not compete.
The highlight of the day was the father/son clash between 13-time national champion Henderson Martin and his son Sheah in the men’s open 264-pound plus event. The senior Martin showed his son who was still in charge, as he walked away with the first place. Henderson also went on to take the men’s masters titles over Cecil Basdeo, and the awards for the best squat, bench press, and deadlift.
The younger Martin, however, proved too good in his category outshining the field which included Fareed Khan and Rondell Williams, who took second and third respectively in the junior event. His mother Lee was also a double crown champion winning both the women’s masters and open titles. Also putting on a brilliant show, were brothers Sanjeev and Sanjay Teelucksingh, who entered the men’s subjunior and open 163-pound events. Sanjeev earned the top spots in both events while Sanjay trailed, took second and third in the subjunior and open events respectively.
Other winners included Yolande Mc Intyre (women’s open 185-pound weight class), Adrian Knox (men’s open 205-pound weight class) and Sukraj Roodal (men’s open 264-pound weight class). Brown will be joined by Kerron Commissiong, Ronald Carlos Green and Hayden Hudson who will represent T&T at the 2012 Arnold Sports festival in Columbus Ohio, USA.
Results
Women’s Masters
1st - Roxanne Lee
Women’s Open 158-pound weight class
1st - Roxanne Lee
2nd - Lystra James
Men’s Subjunior
1st - Sanjeev Teelucksingh
2nd - Sanjay Teelucksingh
3rd - Capildeo Roopchand
Men’s Junior
1st - Sheah Martin
2nd - Fareed Khan
3rd - Rondell Williams
Men’s Masters
1st - Henderson Martin
2nd - Cecil Basdeo
Men’s Open 163-pound weight class
1st - Sanjeev Teelucksingh
2nd - Virun Lutchman
3rd - Sanjay Teelucksingh
Men’s Open 205-pound weight class
1st - Adrian Knox
2nd - Fareed Khan
3rd - Cecil Basdeo
Men’s Open 231-pound weight class
1st - Adrian Brown
2nd - Jesse Johnson
3rd - Capildeo Roopchand
Men’s Open 264-pound weight class
1st - Sukraj Roodal
Men’s Open 264+ weight class
1st - Henderson Martin
2nd - Sheah Martin
3rd - Clayrun Silcott
Men’s Overall Champion: Adrian Brown
Women’s Overall Champion: Roxanne Lee
Guyana governing party's Donald Ramotar wins election
The electoral commission in Guyana says Donald Ramotar of the People's Progressive Party (PPP/C) has won Monday's presidential election.
It is the fifth straight win for the party, which is mainly backed by Guyana's ethnic-Indian community.
The commission said the People's Progressive Party won 49% of the vote, compared with 41% for the opposition coalition.
A delay in the results had caused concern over possible unrest.
The Guyana Election Commission (GECOM) said the People's Progressive Party had won 32 seats, the opposition coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) 26 seats, and the Alliance for Change seven seats.
Delays and tension
Chief elections officer Gogool Boodhoo declared Mr Ramotar, 61, the winner and said he would be sworn in shortly.
Mr Ramotar has been the General Secretary of the PPP/C since 1997 and was a political advisor to outgoing President Bharrat Jagdeo.
He campaigned under the slogan "Let Progress Continue", promising to continue the focus on social policies and infrastructure development he said had been the hallmark of his predecessor in office.
Before announcing the final results, GECOM chairman Steve Surujbally defended the integrity of the electoral commission and the results.
The commission had delayed the announcement of the final results, which had been expected on Wednesday, saying it needed to double-check the count.
The delay had given rise to concern of a repeat of the unrest which marred previous polls.
In 2001, post-election unrest between Guyana's ethnic groups continued for weeks.
The PPP/C is mainly backed by the Indo-Guyanese community, while its chief challenger, APNU, is supported largely by Afro-Guyanese voters.
Guyana has a parliamentary system, under which the majority party's candidate assumes the presidency.
Nearly half a million people were eligible to vote in the election.
LIME ‘CLOUD’ GIVES MORE TO BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN THE REGION
Telecoms Company LIME announced that it will be expanding its suite of LIME Cloud services across its 13 markets in the region starting immediately.
The LIME Cloud, which is part of its Managed Services solutions, will be upgraded to include hosted voice, desktop video conferencing, hosted e-mail and web hosting, in an effort to ensure that more businesses have access to the range of services available in the ‘Cloud’.
The LIME Cloud provides businesses with options which range from built-in disaster recovery (hosted voice) to infrastructure as a service (servers in the cloud) to significant savings on the expense of capital equipment required for services such as video conferencing
In announcing the expansion of services Managing Director of Products and Services at LIME, Ian Galt said “Global trends are creating opportunities for businesses through cloud solutions and we have packaged the LIME Cloud to help businesses meet the demands of the modern world while controlling and, in some cases eliminating some operational costs. We are leveraging our expertise and our understanding of useful and superior business solutions for our customers’ benefit.”
Emphasising the immediate benefits for customers, Galt said, “we focus on ‘simplicity and scalability’ which means we are able to tailor solutions to match the scale of each business, without the usual complexities.”
“Our Managed Services can be made available to small businesses, large corporations and any companies in between because we scale our offerings for each company’s requirements and budget,” he added.
Managed Services – which can be defined as ‘management by an outside third party of an organisation’s services and equipment related to computers, networks and software – has been trending globally as the best way to efficiently use digital and computer technology to achieve business goals. 2009 data from Forrester Research suggests that by 2013 “globally, managed services will represent over US$190 billion.”
ACG research forecasts that SMEs have been spending an average 126% more on Managed Services since last year. And other experts claim that 51% of companies are already using some form of Cloud Computing.
The backbone of LIME’s Cloud Service is supported by various world renowned industry experts.
“All of our partners are among the best in their fields with very high service levels and LIME will able to draw from their best in class service offerings to provide effective solutions for any business,” Mr. Galt said.
Among other Multinational Providers, LIME is providing its Managed Services in collaboration with international corporations that are global leaders in specific market segments. BCS Global Networks Limited, a leading worldwide provider of managed visual collaboration services is LIME’s video conferencing solutions partner; while LIME is working with Terremark, a leading global provider of utility-enabled managed IT infrastructure solutions and Rackspace, a global leader in hosting and cloud computing to provide Hosted Email Services.
Fifth man charged in $65 million security heist
A fifth man is to be charged jointly with the four already held in connection with the robbery of $65 million from a team of security guards in February.
The case was set for trial today in the Gun Court but was put off to allow the crown to add Vernon Elliott, who is the alleged the mastermind behind the robbery, to the list of accused men.
The accused are Oral Chin, Andre Malcolm, Corriann Collins and Courtney Getten.
It is being alleged that in February this year security guards employed to a company in Kingston were transporting money to two banks in the Corporate Area.
While they were travelling on East Road, off Hagley Park Road, a blue Honda motor car collided with their vehicle.
The guards reportedly got out of the vehicle to assess the damage.
Men from the Honda motorcar reportedly robbed them at gun-point of money, a firearm and 12 rounds of ammunition.
The men are to return to the Gun Court on December 8 when a trial date will be set.
Vybz Kartel gets bail
Controversial dancehall artiste, Vybz Kartel, was granted $3 million bail today with relation to one of the murder charges against him.
Bail was offered by Supreme Court judge, Justice Bertram Morrison in relation to the case involving the murder of St. Catherine businessman, Barrington Burton.
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, has been ordered to report to the Constant Spring Police Station everyday as part of the conditions of his bail.
The bail application was made in chambers by his attorneys, Tom Tavares-Finson and Christian Tavares-Finson.
However, he will not be able to take up the bail offer as he has another case – relating to the August murder of Clive Williams – pending in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's (RM) Court.
Williams was beaten and stabbed at a house in Havendale, St. Andrew.
Kartel will return to the RM court tomorrow, when the matter is set to be called up.
The lawyers are also planning to make a bail application in relation to that case.
Katy Perry laughs off divorce rumors
Katy Perry's life is becoming a soap opera.
At least, that's how the pop star sees it, given all the rumors surrounding her in recent days.
First, there was speculation that she was expecting, which she colorfully denied. Now, there have been rumors that her marriage is on the rocks -- something Perry also denied Wednesday night with a joke on Twitter.
"First I'm pregnant & then I'm divorced. What am I All My Children?!" she quipped.
Earlier Wednesday night, Perry helped announce the Grammy nominations at a live concert in Los Angeles, where she sported her wedding ring. (Perry also snagged two nominations herself.)
Perry, 27, and Brand, 36, were married in October 2010 in a lavish ceremony -- that included two elephants as well as acrobats and jugglers -- at a luxury resort in northern India.
Since then, they've had nothing but fawning words for one another in interviews, with Perry calling Brand her great man of God, and he gushing about his spiritual and emotional connection to his bride.
41,000 added to voters’ list in Jamaica
THE names of 41,607 eligible electors have been added to the new voters’ list published by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica yesterday.
At the same time, the names of 5,636 electors confirmed as dead have been deleted.
This now brings to 1,648,036 the total number of persons registered to vote. The previous list, published in May of this year, contained 1,612,065.
“The total number added reflects the names of all persons who registered from the beginning of the registration phase on April 1 to the registration deadline on September 30. Persons who registered after the September 30 deadline will not be added until the next list is published on May 31, 2012,” said Director of Elections Orrette Fisher.
He added that the Electoral Office will now move towards producing the 41,607 voter identification cards for the electors just added to the list.
“We will now begin printing ID cards for these persons, which we anticipate will be ready for distribution to the constituency offices in approximately one week. The public will be advised once the cards are available for collection from the constituency offices,” said Fisher.
The national voters’ list, which is the complete list of persons registered and eligible to vote, is updated and released every six months — on May 31 and November 30. Persons who wish to be added to the May list must register on or before March 31, 2012.
The online voters’ list database will be fully updated today, December 1, and persons wishing to check their names may do so at www.ecj.com.jm.
Printed copies of the new list will be placed at constituency offices, post offices and other select public buildings.
Cops want ‘Gaza Slim’
THE police have listed Vanessa Saddler o/c ‘Vanessa Bling’ and ‘Gaza Slim’ as a person of interest.
Detectives say several attempts have been made to contact Saddler but to date they have been unable to locate her.
‘Gaza Slim’ is asked to report to police personnel at the Constant Spring Police Station by 12:00 noon tomorrow.