Haiti law firm protests Martelly’s PM pick
A Haitian law firm is urging the legislature to investigate President Michel Martelly's new pick for prime minister over allegations he committed crimes as a justice minister.
The International Bureau of Lawyers says it has filed a petition with lawmakers asking them to investigate nominee Bernard Gousse.
Human rights groups have accused Gousse of persecuting supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
They allege he is guilty of false imprisonment and being an accomplice to murder during his time as justice minister in the interim government that took office after a violent rebellion in 2004 drove Aristide out of Haiti.
The law firm announced its appeal to lawmakers yesterday.
New body to improve prison conditions in Caribbean
Rajkumar Ramroop was appointed to serve as Public Relations Officer of the newly formed Caribbean Association of Corrections (CAC) at a meeting at the Blue Horizon Hotel in Barbados, July 4 –8. Ramroop is also the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Officers Association.The new association had its start in 2007 and 2008 in Nassau, Bahamas, where the first Caribbean Corrections Summit was held. Ramroop was then elected to serve as the interim PRO.
Last week’s meeting ratified the regional body with member states signing off on the CAC constitution.
There were three days of intense discussions on the constitution. Countries that participated included British Virgin Island, Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica, Jamaica, St Lucia, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
The association’s motto is “a stronger voice towards greater co-operation in corrections by pursuing excellence through discipline, dedication and hard work.” The CAC will serve as a regional and international lobby group, speaking with one voice on the welfare and the development of member states.
One of the aims is to unite all Caribbean correctional/prison officers regardless of race, sex, and age, religious or political affiliation into a common body. Another aim is to make representations and recommendations to governments and other appropriate bodies on matters affecting Caribbean correctional/prison officers and to advise and seek advice on the formulation and review of Caribbean correctional/prison officers’ programmes and policies. Finally, the association will also seek to promote the advancement of training and development and to harmonize entry level standards for Caribbean correctional/ prison officers.
members of the executive include:
President - Kenneth Elliot (Jamaica)
1st Vice President - Donald Connell (Barbados)
2nd Vice President - James Seaman (British Virgin Island)
Secretary General - Alfreda Skinner-Rolle (Bahamas)
Assistant Secretary - Vanrea Armaly (Bahamas)
Treasurer – Leslie Campbell (Jamaica)
Assistant Treasurer - Jeffery Sherman (Bahamas)
Public Relations Officer - Rajkumar Ramroop (Trinidad)
Assistant Public Relations Officer - Chris Felix (St. Lucia)
Training and Development Officer - Ryan Phillips (Barbados)
Assistant Training Officer - Joseph Douglas (British Virgin Island)
Assistant Training Officer – Jeffrey Edmond (Dominica)
Sergeant of Arms - Kevin Browne (Guyana)
PNP criticizes government on IMF delay
The People’s National Party is criticising the Jamaican government’s management of its programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the government announced yesterday that the review of the programme has been delayed.
The review was scheduled for June.
The Opposition is calling for Finance Minister Audley Shaw to make say when the review will be done.
The Opposition spokesman on finance Dr. Peter Phillips says the Government should also give a clear statement of the status of Jamaica's current relationship with the IMF.
Dr. Phillips also wants Mr. Shaw to outline the consequences for the Budget and the cost to Jamaicans of the failure to meet certain IMF obligations.
The Open 2011: Amateur Tom Lewis shares lead with Bjorn
English amateur Tom Lewis and Danish veteran Thomas Bjorn lead the 140th Open Championship after the first round at Royal St George's.
Bjorn, 40, fired a five-under 65 on Thursday morning and was joined late in the day by the 20-year-old Lewis.
The pair lead by one from 47-year-old Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover and American debutant Webb Simpson.
Northern Ireland's 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell and countryman Darren Clarke, England's Simon Dyson and Germany's world number three Martin Kaymer were in a large group on two under.
World number one Luke Donald struggled on the greens as he carded a one-over 71, the same score as second-ranked Lee Westwood and US Open champion Rory McIlroy.
The 22-year-old Northern Irishman, carrying a huge weight of expectation following that stunning eight-shot victory at Congressional, got off to a nervous start and dropped two shots in his first three holes but fought back to play the last 15 in one under.
Bjorn, who blew a three-shot lead with four left to play when the Open was last played at the same venue in 2003, went out in 33 in a gentle morning breeze, which had dropped by the time Lewis came into the closing stretch, and picked up four birdies in five holes from the 12th before bogeying the last.
Lewis, who was named after Thursday's playing partner Tom Watson, hails from the same Hertfordshire town - Welwyn Garden City - as six-time major winner Nick Faldo.
And he showed similar qualities over the first round, which included four straight birdies from the 14th.
Lewis won the British Boys' Championship at Royal St George's in 2009 and shot rounds of 63 and 65 to finish three shots clear of the field in Local Final Qualifying at Rye.
A birdie two at the 240-yard par-three third was followed by further birdies at the long seventh and then the eighth as he steamed to the turn in three-under 32.
Dropped shots followed at 11 and 13 as at last it seemed the course was about to bite him back.
But Lewis still had something left in the tank with that sensational run of birdies which turned day one of the 140th Open Championship on its head.
"I don't even know what's happened out there," he told BBC Sport. "I didn't realise I'd made birdies from 14-17, when you're in the zone I guess you don't really notice but I'm thrilled to bits with the first round."
Lewis and Watson received a standing ovation walking up the 18th and the younger man said: "I didn't know if it was for me or the other Tom, all I needed to do was make sure I got up and down from the right side of the green and it was excellent, we don't get that for amateur golf or anywhere in the world for golf so I'm thrilled the fans are there."
Asked about his lack of preparation time for the event, Bjorn, only in the tournament as a replacement for injured Vijay Singh, said: "I decided to come down here and take it as a bit of a joyride really, if I did get in.
"You want to play in these championships and when I got in on Monday it gave me a bit of a boost.
"It might have done me a little bit of good just to get that kind of distance to it - and maybe enjoy it a little bit more."
Jimenez, meanwhile, was a model of consistency as he rolled in four birdies and went round the par-70 course without a single bogey on his card.
The Spaniard led the 2009 Open at Turnberry after a 64 on the opening day and although he could not quite match that effort, his performance was certainly good enough to give him hopes of bettering his best finish of third place a decade ago.
Afterwards, Jimenez spared a thought for former Open champion Seve Ballesteros, who died in May, but insisted it was now time for the game of golf to move on.
Images of Ballesteros are on display all around Royal St George's and he said: "The tribute to Seve here is very nice because we miss him, and he did so much for golf all through his life, and we have to thank him for what he did for golf.
"It's nice to make that tribute for him, but now I think is a moment also to start to concentrate on the golf tournament and keep moving on, because if not, you cannot play."
BBC
Sammy: I Deserve My Place
West Indies captain Darren Sammy says he deserves his place in the current side based on the strength of his bowling, and is eyeing a world top-five spot for his side in four years' time.
The all-rounder's place in the regional squad has repeatedly come under scrutiny since he took up the post as skipper last November, but he held his own with the ball in the recent series against Pakistan and India.
"I think I have justified my selection as a bowler in the team. My batting has obviously not been up to scratch. It's something I have to work on," ESPN Cricinfo quoted the 27-year-old as saying.
"If I look at my Test record it is okay. In every team somebody will always be the fall guy. So far it's always been me. It's tough luck on Kemar (Roach) [who was left out for the India Tests].
"At the end of the day the selectors pick the team. What's good is that we have competition for spots in the bowling department."
The right-arm medium pacer finished with seven wickets in the three-Test series against India, including a best haul of four for 52 in the opening Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
In the two-Test series against Pakistan, Sammy claimed 10 wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the opening match in Guyana that helped bowled the Windies to a 40-run victory.
Powell wary of Bolt
Despite backing himself to take gold at the World Championships in Daegu, world leader in the 100m event Asafa Powell remains wary of World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt.
Bolt, despite holding the record over the distance, has looked in sluggish form so far this season, clocking a personal best of 9.91 at the Diamond League in Rome, where he beat Powell, before equalling the time in Ostrava. In the meantime, it is Powell who has grabbed the headlines, especially having blasted to a world-leading 9.78 in Lausanne two weeks ago.
However, while his excellent physical conditioning and strong times so far this season have boosted his confidence, he is quick not to underestimate his compatriot, who he believes can pick things up at any time.
"I have the fastest time for the season and I think a lot of people would say I'm the favourite," Powell told Sportingalert.com following another strong showing last weekend at the Aviva meet in Birmingham, where he cruised to 9.91 to equal Bolt's best.
"But everyone knows that Bolt is the defending champion so I think a lot of people are looking for him as well.
"Bolt is the biggest threat. He can just pop out at any time and run fast."
However, Powell could also be aided by the fact that American rival Tyson Gay, another strong favourite for a medal, will be out of contention for the World Championships, having pulled out of the American trials with a hip injury.
Badminton players off to training stint in UK
TWO of Barbados’ Badminton senior national players will be attending a training camp in England as they prepare for the upcoming Caribbean Badminton Championships.
Kevin Wood and Dave Forde will take part in the Liba Training Camp which begins on the 18th July and will run for two weeks. This is the second consecutive year both players will be attending the training camp. The camp, whose coach is Lee Jae Bok from Korea was the England national coach, will prepare players for various competitions in preparation for the Olympic Games in England 2012.
Wood and Forde will be preparing for the Caribbean Badminton Championships (CAREBACO), 2011 which is being hosted by Barbados between the August 28 to September 3, 2011. Wood leaves on the July 16 to meet Forde who is completing a six week training camp in Malaysia.
The Barbados Advocate caught up with Wood yesterday and he noted that both Forde and himself were looking forward to the camp, which he described as being of a very high quality. He also added that the Barbados Badminton Association has an ongoing relationship with one of the managers of Liba, Peter Biby.
“He [Biby] is a regular visitor to Bim and he is very involved with badminton. Most of the time we are going to England is through him. We are both covering the costs ourselves because the association can’t afford it with CAREBACO around the corner. We are speaking to the BOA to see about recovering some of the money for the venture,” said Wood.
Lee Jae Bok is a former Korean single, doubles and mixed champion, and has over 40 years of playing and
coaching experience in both Asia and Europe. Jae Bok has worked as the former Korean national coach, former English national coach, English National Team Coaching Advisor and former British Olympic Coach. (PH)
Jeter surprised All-Star no-show caused commotion
Derek Jeter(notes) says he’s surprised his no-show at the All-Star game caused such a commotion.
The Yankees shortstop became a lightning rod this week as talk about his absence kept building. Jeter’s decision to rest his sore right calf rather than head to the desert stirred up fierce debate, even among his loyal fans in New York.
That was something of a shock to Jeter, who explained last Friday that it would be prudent for him to sit out and rest up for the second half. Jeter got his 3,000th career hit the next day.
It seemed to be a non-issue at the time,” Jeter said before starting Thursday night’s game in Toronto. “I hadn’t heard a word about it until someone told me it was all over the TV on Tuesday.”
“I guess I was surprised. Surprised is the best way to put it, about the coverage. I understand the disappointment, I get that. I understand fans are disappointed but like I told you guys, I was disappointed I didn’t get the chance to go play,” he said. “This was the decision I felt was best for our team for the second half of the year. But yeah, I was surprised at the coverage.”
Jeter spent 21 days on the disabled list with a strained calf before returning to the lineup July 4 and playing the next six games. He headed into the break in style, going 5 for 5 and reaching 3,000 hits with a dramatic home run in Saturday’s win over Tampa Bay.
So when All-Star action opened two days later without Jeter, people noticed. Jeter had been elected by fans to start for the American League—Yankees closer Mariano Rivera(notes), recovering from a sore triceps, was among several big names not in Phoenix.
“I think it’s too bad that Jeter in particular is not here, because of what he accomplished over the weekend,” Philadelphia Phillies chairman Bill Giles, the honorary NL president, said at a Monday news conference, “and I think it is a bit of a problem and baseball should study it.”
Reacting to the criticism for the first time, Jeter shrugged off his decision to stay home, referring to words of support he received from Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.
“The last I checked, the head official of baseball had no problem with it,” Jeter said.
Manager Joe Girardi said it was “unfair” to question Jeter’s choice.
“Sometimes, to me, people are quick to judge,” Girardi said. “They’re not inside of his body and know exactly what’s going on. That can bother people but he’ll move forward and he’ll be fine.”
With the memories of his magical 5 for 5 performance Saturday against Tampa Bay still fresh, Jeter’s certainly not letting the debate get him down.
“It was one of those days that will stand out at the top or near the top of all the days that I’ve played,” Jeter said. “That was one of those days that are few and far between. To add that all together, it goes without saying that’s a day I can’t forget.
“Besides playing in a World Series, I can’t remember being as happy.”
EU bank stress test results due
The European Banking Authority (EBA) is set to publish the results of stress tests of 90 banks across Europe later.
The tests are designed as a financial healthcheck and aim to ensure banks have sufficient capital to withstand difficult economic scenarios.
Some say the tests are not strict enough, despite changes made after only seven out of 91 banks failed last year.
On Wednesday, German bank Helaba said it expected to pull out of the stress tests to avoid public failure.
It said it would have passed the test if regulators counted a debt-equity hybrid, called "silent participation", as a capital reserve, but the EBA, having initially said it would accept this, then changed its mind.
The bank said it was not allowing the EBA to publish its data and therefore expected to be excluded from the tests.
Last year, both Irish banks tested, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank (AIB), were given a clean bill of health. But just months later, AIB needed a government bail-out.
The ratings agency Standard & Poor's has suggested the latest tests could still have been more severe.
"We consider that the European Banking Authority has pitched its stress scenarios at a level that attempts to be sufficiently tough to reassure markets, but not so stringent as to suggest material capital shortfalls," the agency said in a note.
"We consider that a moderately harsher scenario would add greater value in terms of assessing the resilience of the European banking sector."
Francis Fitzherbert-Brockholes, a banking and capital markets partner at law firm White and Case, also questioned the terms of the tests.
"Although the tests are apparently more robust now, they still do not assume a sovereign debt default, only a sovereign debt downgrade," he said.
'Cancer of uncertainty'
Up to 15 banks are expected to fail the stress tests this time round, which regulators hope will persuade investors that the EU is coming clean about the extent of its banks' problems.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said the most important thing about the stress test results is that they should include enough detail about the risks to which individual banks are exposed so that the banks' creditors know the risks they are running.
"The cancer for the banking system is the uncertainty about which banks are weakest - because if there's a sense that some banks are at risk of going bust, but it is not clear which, the rational response of any creditor is to shun them all," he said.
Italian Senate passes austerity package
The Italian Senate has passed a tough austerity budget, including cuts of 48bn euros ($67bn; £42bn) over three years.
The lower house must also adopt the measures in a vote on Friday. Correspondents say that is likely.
Italy has one of the largest debt mountains in the eurozone and wants to avoid any need for a bail-out.
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has said Italy is on the front line of the eurozone's economic difficulties.
Italy raised 2.97bn euros ($4.2bn; £2.6bn) through a sale of 15-year government bonds on Thursday, but had to offer a 5.9% rate of return - an all-time high for such bonds.
'Monster' threat
BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt, in Rome, says both the government and the opposition know that Italy is under fierce scrutiny by the markets due to its large debts.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked Italy to ensure "decisive implementation" of spending cuts.
In a report, the IMF said Italy must make efforts to reduce public debt, maintain the stability of its financial sector and introduce structural reforms to boost growth.
The package was put to parliament ahead of schedule, amid concerns that Italy may be the next country to be hit by the eurozone's debt crisis.
Opposition parties voted against the package but agreed not to delay it, so as not to prolong uncertainty in the markets.
It passed by 161 votes to 135 in the Senate on Thursday.
Italy's Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti hopes his package will cut the deficit to zero by 2014 from this year's 3.9% of gross domestic product.
He said in parliament that, without the budget, ''the monster debt from our past will swallow up our future''.