Rory McIlroy wins Shanghai Masters after sudden-death play-off
US Open champion Rory McIlroy beat American Anthony Kim in a play-off to win the Shanghai Masters and claim the richest prize in golf - £1.24m ($2m).
McIlroy gave up an early three-shot lead before rallying on the back nine to finish level with Kim at 18-under.
The 22-year-old had a chance to win with an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th, but missed by inches.
Both players drove into the bunker on the first hole, but Kim missed his putt, while McIlroy sank his to win.
While McIlroy pocketed over £1m, Kim took home £465,000 ($750,000). Thirty players took part in the invitational, first-year tournament, which is not sanctioned by a major tour.
American Hunter Mahan and South Korea's Noh Seung-yul finished equal third at 13-under.
England's world number two Lee Westwood hit a hole in one on the 12th hole and seven birdies for a 67, finishing in fifth place at 12-under. It was the best round of the week for Westwood, despite the fact he ended with two bogeys.
The final round turned into an unexpected battle between McIlroy and world number 82 Kim.
There were echoes of McIlroy's stunning collapse at the Masters earlier this year when he surrendered a four-shot lead in the final round at Augusta on his way to an 80.
After three rounds of relatively mistake-free golf in Shanghai, the world number three hit into the water and bunkers, and missed several close putts, but this time, he was able to turn it around.
The Northern Irishman, playing his first event since changing management, resumed three clear, but had a bogey to Kim's birdie on the first and, when he dropped another shot at the 11th, trailed by one.
McIlroy drew level with a birdie at the 15th, however, and with pars at the final three holes they tied on the 18-under-par mark of 270, McIlroy going round in a level-par 72 to Kim's 69.
At the first extra hole Kim missed a three-foot putt and McIlroy's two-footer for par gave him the title.
"I've been close in two or three tournaments and had two thirds and two seconds and was finally able to get myself over the line today," said McIlroy.
"This was the third play-off of my career, and I was able to win this one, so at least my record in these events is getting better.
"I am just delighted to get another win."
WTA Championships: Petra Kvitova beats Victoria Azarenka
Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova clinched the WTA Championships with a battling 7-5 4-6 6-3 victory over Victoria Azarenka in Istanbul.
Kvitova swept into a 5-0 lead but a resurgent Azarenka forced her to dig deep to earn the opener before winning the tussle for the second set.
But Kvitova recovered from 0-40 adrift in the first game of the decider, broke in the next and did not look back.
The victory moves the Czech ahead of Maria Sharapova to second in the world.
"When I started this season we didn't have a goal," Kvitova said after her win.
"We just wanted to improve my game and now I am number two and Wimbledon champion. It is just a dream."
The 21-year-old will also take home $1.75m (£1.1m) in prize money after rounding off an excellent season with a clean sweep of her round-robin matches en route to the final.
It is her sixth title of the season, equalling the haul of Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki - the one woman ahead of her in the rankings.
Kvitova defeated Azarenka in the Wimbledon semi-finals and in the Istanbul final, just as in SW19, she started at a terrific pace that gave the Belarussian no time to settle.
Kvitova slapped away a winning forehand return off Azarenka's very first serve and another down the line sealed a break at the first opportunity for 2-0.
Azarenka seemed dazed and resigned to the loss of the opener as Kvitova, with her fierce forehand firing, ripped through her fifth successive game with a combination of touch and power.
But an extraordinary change of momentum then threw what had seemed a foregone conclusion into doubt.
The early fluency had seeped away from Kvitova's game as she suffered a break to love in the ninth game, before Azarenka served out to achieve parity.
But, while not fully recovering her initial form, Kvitova ground out back-to-back games to stop the comeback and take a 53-minute opener on her fifth set point.
The second set proved a far more even fight as Azarenka continued to attack Kvitova's wavering serve.
After a break by Azarenka in the third game was immediately cancelled out by her opponent, the Belarussian broke again before pulling two games clear with a determined hold.
It was a lead she clung to for the rest of the set, and a dipping forehand that just touched the line - and survived Kvitova's challenge - closed out the 10th game and levelled the match at 1-1.
The momentum swung decisively back in Kvitova's favour in an enthralling first two games of the final set, however.
A scream of delight from the left-hander greeted an improbable service hold in the opening game of the set, before Azarenka was left clutching her face in horror after pushing the ball long at break point down in the second game, with an open court in front of her.
Kvitova, who became increasingly animated as she closed in on victory, was rarely threatened on her serve thereafter and her opponent dumped a backhand volley into the net on match point to give the Czech the title after nearly two and a half hours.
Former Colombian rebel elected mayor of capital, Bogota
A former left-wing rebel has been elected mayor of the capital, Bogota, as Colombians vote in local elections.
Gustavo Petro, 51, a former guerrilla with the defunct M-19 movement, won 32% of the vote after running a "zero corruption" campaign.
His main opponent Enrique Penalosa, the favoured candidate of former President Alvaro Uribe, conceded after polling 25%.
During a violent campaign, 41 candidates were killed nationwide.
Mr Petro said his win showed that reconciliation was possible in Colombia, which is plagued by violence from left-wing guerrillas and right wing death squads. Thousands die each year in Colombia's armed conflicts, which are fuelled by cash from the illegal narcotics trade.
"Bogota has chosen as its mayor a son of the peace process of 1989," Mr Petro said in his acceptance speech. "Bogota is saying yes to reconciliation, yes to peace."
He was given amnesty after serving two years in jail for his involvement in the M-19 group.
Five years ago, his denunciations as a senator of close ties between national and regional politicians and right-wing death squads spurred the so-called "parapolitics" scandal that has landed more than 60 politicians in prison for crimes ranging from criminal conspiracy to murder.
Last year, Mr Petro helped uncover a bid-rigging scandal in Bogota that has landed its previous elected mayor, Samuel Moreno, in jail facing corruption charges.
The voting in the capital was part of nationwide regional and municipal elections, with 32 governorships and more than 1,100 mayoral and municipal council post being contested.
Authorities and electoral watchdog groups reported relatively few voting irregularities.
Govt “surprised” by Carnival’s last-minute cancellation
A race is now on to find a replacement ship following the last-minute cancellation of Carnival Cruise Lines, Government said today.
The cruise line announced on Wednesday that it would only visit the Island once next year, instead of an expected 12 times.
Said Transport Minister Terry Lister: “We were surprised to only learn of the cancellations on Wednesday. This has put us in a unfortunate position for next year, because it will be difficult to find suitable replacement ships at such a late date."
He continued: 'We are extremely disappointed by this late notification by Carnival Cruise Lines, but we will make every attempt to fill some of the empty berths with ships from other cruise lines. It is highly unusual for cancellations to occur so close to the beginning of the season."
Cruise ship applications are usually finalised a year to 18 months in advance of actual sailings, a Government spokesman said.
The 12 Carnival cruises for 2012 were approved in late 2010.
Carnival was notified of the approval soon after they applied for the berths.
Transport officials are now “attempting to gain clarification from Carnival concerning the late notice of cancellations while also working to find alternative ships for the available slots”, the spokesman added.
Source-royalgazette
Sir Clifford resigns
AFTER 15 years of service as Governor General of Barbados, Sir Clifford Husbands demits office tomorrow.
The sudden announcement of his retirement came in an embargoed statement issued by the Cabinet Office yesterday for release today, which also said the “retired High Court Judge, the Hon. Elliot Belgrave, will act as Governor General from Tuesday, November 1, until further notice”.
Sir Clifford, 85, has served since 1996 as this country’s sixth representative of Her Majesty The Queen.
He is, however, only the second Governor General to retire from the post after Sir Hugh Springer in June 1990. The other four before him all died in office.
Well informed sources say Sir Clifford’s decision to step down comes on account of failing health. They also say he had indicated to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart on more than one occasion this year his intention, but had been asked by Stuart to hold on until now.
With his departure, speculation is now rife about who would be a suitable replacement. Several names have been thrown into the mix, including Austin Sealy of the International Olympic Committee; Jean Holder, the current chairman of LIAT; and former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Philip Greaves.
At the same time, the debate persists over the retention of the monarchial system of Government, with noted jurist Sir Feederick Smith telling THE NATION in a recent interview that he believed the current system should die with the Queen.
However, just a few days ago Prime Minister Stuart joined with other Commonwealth leaders at their meeting in Perth, Australia, in unanimously agreeing to changes that will ensure that sons and daughters of future British monarchs have equal right to the throne – an indication that Barbados intends to stick to the monarchy, at least for now.
Sir Clifford, a product of the Parry School and Harrison College, has had a long and distinguished legal career. He studied law at the Middle Temple, Inns of Court, in Britain and qualified as a barrister in 1952.
After returning home, he practised law privately before being appointed to act as Deputy Registrar in 1954, later taking up several legal positions in the English-speaking Caribbean.
On his return to Barbados in 1960, he took up duties as assistant to the Attorney General and legal draughtsman. He was also appointed Director of Public Prosecutions in 1967 and elevated to a Queen’s Counsel in 1968.
He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court in 1976, and promoted in 1991 to Justice of Appeal, completing his tenure in 1996. He also acted as Chief Justice and as Governor General prior to acceding to the latter position.
He was awarded the Gold Crown Of Merit in 1986 and a Companion Of Honour in 1989. He received the highest national honour in 1995 when he was made a Knight Of St Andrew.
His last major official act was to present the Queen’s Birthday Honours to six deserving Barbadians in September. (JS/KJ)
Tourism’s dynamic duo gets awards
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and Director of Tourism, John Lynch have come in for high praise from the hierarchy of the World Travel Awards for their exceptional guidance of Jamaica’s tourism industry and for ensuring that the destination remains on the forefront of world tourism. Bartlett and Lynch were presented with the Caribbean Destination Achievement Award at the 2011 World Travel Awards Caribbean & The Americas Gala on October 19, 2011, for their outstanding work in spearheading the growth of the tourism sector during the global economic recession.
In a citation which was read prior to them receiving the prestigious award Bartlett and Lynch were lauded for their innovative approach and astute leadership in ensuring growth in the tourism sector despite what has been described as the most challenging economic period in modern history. The citation in part read “virtually every strata of every industry in the world has faced unprecedented challenges, with many high-profile names unable to survive in this brave new world of austerity. Inevitably, the travel and tourism industry has mirrored the effects taking place in the wider macro-economy. However, during these times Jamaica has seen great organisations, led by great leaders, come good in the face of adversity.”
The citation continued that “these two individuals possess an unparalleled thirst for reinvention, coupled with the ability to get things done, that they have played crucial roles in helping their nation’s tourism industry navigate the global downturn with its head held incredibly high. “Over the past two years alone, the number of international tourism arrivals to their island has risen 12.9 per cent—an especially impressive figure given the challenges in its main source markets. Fundamental to the success is the volume of repeat business, for as they say in these parts: once you go, you know.”
According to the World Travel Awards committee “Jamaica’s has been successful in spearheading the recovery of travel and tourism right across the Caribbean. Its position as a leader in the global tourism arena has been further bolstered after Bartlett was elected to the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, representing the entire Americas region. The future looks exceptionally bright.” They noted that Bartlett and Lynch “must be congratulated for engineering the travel and tourism industry’s success, and for energising successful partnerships between the public and private sectors.”
Source-Jamaica Observer
ECB head says Chinese help for eurozone is 'normal'
The president of the European Central Bank has denied that eurozone countries are going "cap in hand" to China.
On the eve of his departure from the ECB's top job, Jean-Claude Trichet said the move was "absolutely normal".
The head of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) has been meeting Chinese officials in an effort to boost the bailout fund.
Mr Trichet hands over the reins of the ECB to the Italian central banker, Mario Draghi, on Tuesday.
Klaus Regling, chief executive of the EFSF has travelled to Beijing where he is reportedly seeking a pledge of $100bn from China.
China's President Hu Jintao arrived on Sunday in Vienna for a state visit, before the crucial G20 meeting in the French resort of Cannes on 3 and 4 November.
Mr Hu's visit to Europe, his second in a year, comes after EU leaders last week appealed to China to invest in the region's debt rescue fund, to help it overcome a spiralling debt crisis.
But China's Vice-Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao played down hopes of a breakthrough at the G20 summit, insisting investment in the European bailout fund was not on the agenda.
Mr Trichet's tenure at the ECB, will probably be defined by the sovereign debt crisis, although for the first half of his eight years in the job, the eurozone economy grew at a respectable rate, inflation was moderate and the financial system was stable.
In an interview with the BBC's economics editor, Stephanie Flanders, the outgoing ECB chief has now said that Greece should have come under greater scrutiny before it joined the euro.
"With the hindsight they (the governments of the eurozone) should have applied rigorously the rules that existed in the euro area," he said.
Last week, the French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, said Greece should not have been allowed to join the single currency in 2001.
Mr Trichet said when Greece was let into the euro club, there was an atmosphere of "benign neglect".
"The benign neglect, which was the benign neglect of the markets, the benign neglect I have to say also of the governments, individually and collectively, let the thing go."
Some analysts claim the ECB did not respond quick enough to the crisis. Mr Trichet countered such criticism by pointing out that the ECB was the first central bank in the world to provide the financial system with liquidity back in 2007.
Having come to office during a period of relative calm, Mr Trichet hands the baton to Mario Draghi during the eurozone's biggest-ever crisis.
But Mr Trichet told the BBC that, while there is hard work ahead, the crisis can be solved.
"We know where we go, but we have to take into account the storms, and we are in a stormy period at a global level", he said.
Super Mario
His successor will spend his last working day in Rome looking anxiously at the performance of Italian government bonds and bank shares as markets reopen after the weekend.
Amid the turbulence on the Italian financial and political scene, the Bank of Italy is regarded as the one institution that has retained its international prestige.
Known as Super Mario, Mr Draghi has restored credibility to the bank since he took over as governor six years ago, after it had been tarnished by a scandal involving his predecessor Antonio Fazio.
Mr Fazio was accused of insider trading and may still face trial.
Mr Draghi has already warned that the European Central Bank, which has been purchasing massive quantities of Italian government debt in recent weeks, cannot continue to do so indefinitely.
Nato set to conclude its mission over Libya
Nato's mission over Libya is due to formally come to an end at one minute to midnight Libyan time on Monday.
It follows the unanimous vote last week at the UN Security Council to end internationally military operations after seven months.
In March, the council had authorised "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.
The UN mandate came after then leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi launched a deadly assault on protesters.
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Operation Unified Protector was "one of the most successful in Nato history''.
The first missions were flown on the evening of 19 March, as Colonel Gaddafi's forces approached the rebel-held city of Benghazi.
With the help of America's massive military machine, Nato managed to sustain the Libya operation.
Overall, its warplanes flew more than 26,000 sorties, including nearly 10,000 strike missions. More than 1000 tanks, vehicles and guns were destroyed, along with Colonel Gaddafi's command and control network.
Mr Rasmussen said Nato's military forces had prevented a massacre and saved countless lives.
"We created the conditions for the people of Libya to determine their own future," he said.
Despite the expected formal announcement that Nato's mission is over, Western powers were likely to be involved in Libya for some considerable time, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale.
The Security Council decided to end its role, despite a call by Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) for Nato to continue its military action.
The Libyan envoy to the UN had said the NTC needed more time to assess its security needs. But diplomats said that the mandate to protect civilians had been accomplished, and any further security assistance would have to be negotiated separately.
A small team of military advisers remains on the ground to aid the National Transitional Council. US and British experts are also trying to ensure that the surfeit of weapons in the country do not end up in the wrong hands.
Hosni Mubarak trial postponed until end of the year
The next session in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been postponed until late December.
The decision follows calls for the appointment of a new presiding judge to replace Ahmed Refax.
Mr Mubarak, 83, is accused of ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising earlier this year which ended his rule. He denies the charges.
His trial is now due to resume on 28 December, two days after a separate court rules on replacing Mr Refaat.
Lawyers for the alleged victims of Mr Mubarak have petitioned the court demanding that the judge be replaced.
In earlier sessions, Mr Refaat defended the court's integrity and lashed out at critics.
Mr Mubarak, his two sons, the former interior minister and senior police officers - who face a range of charges - were in the Cairo court on Sunday when the judge announced the adjournment. All defendants deny the charges against them.
Riot police have often had to separate anti- and pro-Mubarak crowds who have fought outside the police academy courthouse during the trial.
In mid-August, the judge took the decision to ban live TV coverage, saying he was exasperated by lawyers showing off for the television cameras.
At earlier court hearings, TV images showed Mr Mubarak, who led Egypt for 30 years, in a cage on a sick bed.
Early snowstorm hits US East Coast killing at least six
An unseasonable snowstorm has hit the US East Coast, with some areas of Massachusetts seeing more than 27in (68cm) of snow.
The authorities say at least six people have died in snow-related accidents.
More than three million homes have lost their electricity supply from Maryland to Massachusetts - some residents have been warned they may be without power for several days.
The snowfall eased on Sunday, as the storm headed north from Maine.
It had worsened as it moved north, with states of emergency declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York.
Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit.
Nantucket in Massachusetts experienced wind speeds of 69mph (111km/h), a National Weather Service (NWS) statement said.
A number of deaths were reported in the storm:
- Two people were killed in a crash on an icy road in Philadelphia, while falling snow killed an 84-year-old man in Temple, Pennsylvania
- A traffic accident killed one person in Colchester, Connecticut
- Another traffic accident killed a 54-year-old New York woman
- In Springfield, Massachusetts, a man died when he touched a protective rail surrounding downed power lines
Connecticut Governor Dannel P Malloy cautioned the 750,000 people who were without electricity in his state that the effects of the storm would still be felt after the snowfall stopped.
"If you are without power, you should expect to be without power for a prolonged period of time," CBS News quoted him as saying.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's house was one of the 600,000 suffering power cuts in the state.
'Not even Halloween'
West Milford, New Jersey, about 45 miles (70km) north-west of New York, saw 19in of snowfall, and Hillsboro, New Hampshire, saw 21.5in.
"I can't believe it's not even Halloween and it's snowing already," Carole Shepherd of Washington Township in New Jersey told Associated Press after shovelling her driveway.
In New York City, a new record for October snowfall was set when 1.3in fell in Central Park. Only three other snowy October days have been recorded in the park in 135 years of record-keeping.
Most of the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York's Zuccotti Park saw out the storm.
Nick Lemmin, of Brooklyn, told AP he had "slept pretty well", although fellow protester Adash Daniel headed off after three weeks in the park, saying: "I'm not much good to this movement if I'm shivering."
On Sunday, passengers were stranded for more than seven hours on one JetBlue flight in Hartford, Connecticut.
On Saturday, flights were delayed at Newark airport in New Jersey, which was being lashed by heavy rains and winds.
Amtrak reported massive disruption to train services, including a 13-hour delay for passengers on one train in central Massachusetts.
John LaCorte, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Pennsylvania, told the agency that the last time the state saw a major storm so early was in 1972.
"This is very, very unusual. It has all the look and feel of a classic mid-winter nor'easter," he said.
High pressure over south-eastern Canada had fed cold air south and into moisture from the North Carolina coast.
In New England it is usual for measurable snow to fall in early December.
NWS meteorologist Bill Simpson said temperatures could return to normal by the middle of next week.
"This doesn't mean our winter is going to be terrible. You can't get any correlation from a two-day event," he said.