Fred Hammond to Release Secular Love Music; T. D. Jakes, Too
Grammy Award winning artist Fred Hammond is doing something unconventional! He’s decided to make a love song album. Not about God per se, but about a woman. He recently informed his fans and audience members that he is dealing with love in a whole new light, with a little jazzy twist.
Speaking of love and music, T.D. Jakes will release the second installment of the “Sacred Love Songs’ series, inspired by movie, “Jumping the Broom.”
The album will be out in stores May 31 and is sure to catch a heart on fire. The music features work from R&B and Pop artists as well as a little church.
Look for both projects real soon.
Daddy Yankee Accused Of Stealing #1 Song 'Rompe'
An artist in San Miguel, Mexico has filed a lawsuit against rapper Daddy Yankee over claims that he stole the hit song "Rompe."
Plaintiff David Moser filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, claiming that Daddy Yankee stole the song, which was originally written as "Anoche" in 1998.
Moser's track received airplay in Mexico City and was allegedly used as the basis for Daddy Yankee's song "Rompe."
"Rompe" became a huge commercial success and went to #1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart, for over three months.
"The infringing song and plaintiffs songs are substantially similar, because they coincide melodically, rhythmically and harmonically," the lawsuit reads.
Daddy Yankee and his label El Cartel are accused of copyright infringement.
Moser is seeking at least $150,000 in damages, along with his share of profits from the sales of the song.
Recruitment begins in the TCI
The Turks and Caicos Basketball Federation is presently recruiting Turks and Caicos Islanders Basketball Players.
The recruitments will be selected from all islands to participate in training for the Caribbean Basketball Confederation in Nassau Bahamas on July 26th 2011.
RTC Sports understands that practice will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7.p.m and also on Saturdays at 5.30 a.m at the Gus Lightbourne Sports Complex.
TCI to get assistance in responding to TB
The TCI Ministry of Health is strengthening its capacity with assistance from PAHO (the Pan American Health Organisation) to help the country better handle any future outbreak of tuberculosis, also known as TB. PAHO has arranged for a consultant, Dr. Ward Schrooten to provide technical assistance in the areas of surveillance, treatment, management and containment of the disease.
The consultant will meet next week with Ministry of Health primary care staff and InterHealth Canada clinical staff who are involved with diagnosis and or treatment of tuberculosis.
The meeting will:
- Review tuberculosis cases and current systems for surveillance and contact tracing
- Discuss screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of tuberculosis cases, and
- Discuss mandatory requirement for the protection of patient information and confidentiality
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Judith Campbell, in welcoming the support said:
“We will be able to review our response to recent cases of TB in the Turks and Caicos Islands including the H.M. Prison, and examine ways to further strengthen our systems and procedures. We are indeed grateful to PAHO for arranging this assistance and to CAREC to which Dr. Schrooten is attached.”
Dr. Ward Schrooten will visit the TCI from 31st May to 3rd June and will meet Ministry of Health Primary care staff and InterHealth Canada clinical staff on Providenciales and Grand Turk.
Tuberculosis is a disease of the lungs whose main symptoms are a chronic cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss. It is highly contagious and, left untreated, can be deadly.
St Lucia police accused by British media of bungling rape case
While at home St Lucia police have been praised by some for their crime fighting efforts, abroad they are under heavy fire. The May 10 alleged gang rape of two British students at Grand Anse beach has been spurring interest around the world.
The UK press has been buzzing with news of the incident. One particular story on Yahoo! News caught the STAR’s attention. It was an article on May 18 from the Associated Press and was written by a local journalist entitled “6 St Lucian men charged with raping 2 UK women.” In the piece, the journalist quoted an “official” who said the men have been charged. The journalist went further to say a police statement said six men were arrested and were to be brought before the courts later this month.
The story went viral and even evoked calls for a boycott of St Lucia. Unfortunately, the information in the piece was contrary to what was being revealed on island.
Both the Acting Police Commissioner and the Acting Police Commissioner in charge of Crime and Intelligence, Vernon Francois and Frances Henry respectively, took to the airwaves to announce that although several men were in custody assisting with the investigation, given the time of night the incident occurred and the fact that the men were said to have worn masks, posed significant physical identification issues. It was against this backdrop police said the investigation would center around forensic and DNA evidence. While in custody, samples were taken from the men. Francois was quick to note that although samples were taken from the men, it is no indication of guilt. Both cops said until the results of the forensic evidence are received, no charges can be laid.
On May 19 another article from the AP appeared on Yahoo! News under the title “St Lucia police now say no charges in rape case.”
The article stated: “Police on the Caribbean island of St Lucia say they wrongly announced that six local men have been charged with raping two British women.”
“Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Frances Henry says investigators are still interviewing several suspects in connection with the incident and no charges have been filed. The Thursday [May 19] announcement comes a day after a police statement said six detained men had been charged.”
The STAR did not receive any information from the police regarding the men in custody being charged in connection with the rape.
Speaking to Francois on Tuesday May 24, the Acting Police Chief is outraged by the negative publicity the police force is getting. He denies that either he or Henry issued any statement saying the men were charged.
Therefore, “to conclude the police botched the case is based on a journalist’s misinformation. We have already spoken out on the investigation and where the investigation is at the moment. We are awaiting forensic results before we proceed. We have not botched, bungled or dropped the ball in this matter. We have to have evidence before we can charge anybody and bring them before a court of law,” said the Ag police chief.
Attorney General Lorenzo Rudolph Francis has also been weighing in on the issue. He told the STAR, “The AG’s Chambers is extremely disappointed by the level of unprofessionalism of some journalists. They need to be cognizant of what they write or say in the media, especially when it impacts our tourism industry. Their information must be factual and accurate and they must verify and obtain facts from reliable sources before putting any information out, especially on the internet.”
“The statements are reproduced by various media outlets without those outlets themselves verifying the information because they assume it is accurate. They assume the journalist did their research and investigations and the results are credible. People in general have to be more responsible with the information we disseminate.”
NOT PERFECT’... But Bolt ends nine-month break with 100m win
Usain Bolt shook off a nine-month lay-off to prove he was back as he beat rival Asafa Powell to win the 100-metres at the Golden Gala here yesterday.
Bolt had to grit his teeth and drag back his Jamaican compatriot over the last 20 metres before winning in 9.91 seconds.
Powell recorded 9.93 seconds for the runner-up spot with Christophe Lemaitre of France third in 10 seconds flat.
"It was not perfect, but I'm very happy. It could have been better, but I'm now looking forward to my second race (of the season)," said Bolt.
"The important thing was that I got the win. It's good for confidence and the season."
It was far from a vintage performance from the new muscular Bolt, who clearly looked bigger and stronger than before his lay-off.
But after so long out he displayed admirable determination to chase down Powell and win when he looked set for defeat.
Bolt was slow out of the blocks and when Powell streaked clear in mid-race it looked all over.
But the 24-year-old stretched his giant legs and ate into Powell's lead, pipping him to the line.
"The difference is that Usain ran his race and I also ran his race. I didn't stay relaxed or focused," complained Powell.
The women's double super-clash between world champions Sanya Richards (400m) and Allyson Felix (200m) turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.
Richards's long lay-off — she didn't compete at all last year -- showed as she trailed in fifth in 50.98 in the one-lap event, while Felix won by more than half a second in 49.81 from Botswana's Amantle Montsho.
However, in the 200m both seemed to be suffering a bit from fatigue as they were put in the shade by their rivals.
American Bianca Knight won in 22.74sec from Olympic bronze medallist Kerron Stewart of Jamaica and Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the Bahamas in third.
Felix was fourth in 22.81 with Richards one place behind in 22.88.
Ethiopia's Imane Merga cemented his status as favourite for the World Championships in Daegu as he won the 5,000m in 12:54.21, beating Kenya's Isaiah Koech, who set a personal best, into second.
British world and European champion Phillips Idowu won the men's triple jump with a leap of 17.59m, beating former world and Olympic champion Christian Olsson of Sweden into second.
Italian long-jumper Andrew Howe brought the house down and got the biggest cheer of the night, even more so than Bolt, by winning the 200m, his secondary event, in 20.31.
World champion Maryam Jamal, the former Ethiopian born Zenebech Tola but now running for Bahrain, took the women's 1,500m in 4:01.60 with Olympic champion Nancy Lagat a disappointing fifth.
In the women's 100m hurdles Lolo Jones almost repeated her Olympic disaster as she hit a hurdle.
Leading in Beijing she hit the last hurdle and stumbled and fell over the finishing line, but out of the medals this time she managed to stay on her feet, although she didn't finish, as Olympic champion Dawn Harper won in 12.70.
Brittney Reese edged out American teammate Funmi Jimoh in the long-jump with a leap of 6.94m.
Canada's Dylan Armstrong upset Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland in the shot-put with a throw of 21.60m.
In the men's 400m hurdles Louis van Zyl left the field for dead with a 47.91 beating Britain's David Greene into second with Olympic champion Angelo Taylor down in third.
Kenya's Milcah Cheiywa took the women's 3,000m steeple-chase in 9:12.89 with Ethiopia's Sofia Assefa second and Tunisia's Habiba Ghribi third in an African one-two-three.
And the popular Croatian world champion Blanka Vlasic easily won the women's high jump, clearing 1.95m.
AFP
Fifa president Sepp Blatter under investigation
Fifa has opened ethics proceedings against its president, Sepp Blatter.
The action follows a charge by Mohamed Bin Hammam, his rival in next week's presidency election, that Blatter knew about alleged cash payments.
Bin Hammam and vice-president Jack Warner will also be at Sunday's hearing to answer charges of bribery.
Blatter issued a statement saying: "I cannot comment on the proceedings that have been opened against me. The facts will speak for themselves."
The ethics committee are bound by their rules to investigate any complaint by an executive committee member under article 16 of the ethics code.
Bin Hammam and Warner face allegations from executive committee member Chuck Blazer that they offered bribes at a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union on 10 and 11 May.
A file of evidence claims bundles of cash of up to $40,000 were handed over to members of the CFU at the meeting in Trinidad.
In turn, Bin Hammam is effectively claiming Blatter was aware of some wrongdoing but did not report it, in itself a breach of the code.
The committee, chaired by Namibian judge Petrus Damaseb, will also be under pressure to decide whether Blatter will face any charges or not.
The move to place Blatter, one of the most powerful men in football, under investigtion is the latest twist in an increasingly bitter fight for the presidency of the sport's global governing body.
And it also follows weeks of damging headlines and allegations in the wake of the vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
BBC sports editor David Bond said: "Fifa is now an organisation completely at war. They cannot possibly continue in this way and many people will say they should suspend the presidential election, which takes place next Wednesday.
"Under Fifa's ethics code, they are duty bound, if a member of the executive committee makes a complaint to the ethics committee, to then investigate it.
"So, it may be that the allegations against Blatter don't come to much, and the allegations against Bin Hammam and Warner could be far more serious. Ultimately it seems the evidence against Blatter is only Bin Hammam's word against his.
"It is very difficult to predict exactly what will happen next, but it's hard to see this as anything other than a watershed moment for Fifa.
"It feels like at last the dam is breaking around them. It is a bit like the scene at the end of Reservoir Dogs when everyone has a gun pointed at each other's heads."
Blatter has been president of Fifa since 1998.
Meanwhile, the FA is due to send to Fifa the report they commissioned by barrister James Dingemans QC into claims by their ex-chairman, Lord Triesman, that Warner and three other executive committee members made improper requests during England's 2018 World Cup bid.
It is understood that only the claims against Warner have been corroborated by witnesses.
The claim that Warner asked for financial help to build an education centre has been backed up by Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards, while Dingemans' file also includes an email from Warner to Triesman asking the FA to pay for Haiti's World Cup TV rights.
Clijsters stunned at French Open
There were plenty of excuses available for Kim Clijsters after a stunning collapse in the second round of the French Open against a woman ranked 114th.
In assessing her 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 loss to Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands on Thursday, the second-seeded Clijsters could have pointed to her heavily taped right ankle, which she hurt while dancing barefoot at her cousin's wedding last month.
In recounting how she managed to waste two match points and drop 11 of the last 12 games after leading 5-2 in the second set, the Belgian could have mentioned that she last entered the French Open in 2006, and had played a total of five clay-court matches anywhere since.
And in explaining her 65 unforced errors - 43 more than her opponent made - and 10 double-faults, Clijsters could have reminded everyone that she hadn't competed at all since late March because of that bum ankle and previous injuries to her right shoulder and wrist.
Instead, the winner of the last two Grand Slam titles, and four overall, pointed a finger squarely at herself and an odd crisis of confidence.
"I started doubting a little bit,'' said Clijsters, the French Open runner-up in 2001 and 2003. "When you start doubting yourself on any surface - but for me, definitely on clay - it's the wrong attitude to have.''
The 27-year-old Clijsters also gave credit to the 20-year-old Rus, who entered the day with a 3-4 career record in major tournaments and only twice before had been to Court Philippe Chatrier - and those visits were as a spectator.
After delivering one of the most surprising tennis results in recent years, Rus acknowledged she was nervous at the outset, perhaps because Clijsters is one of her favorite players, someone she used to cheer for when watching on TV.
"She obviously started building up more confidence, started playing a lot better, and was really kind of putting me on my back foot all the time,'' Clijsters said. "I couldn't really play my aggressive tennis anymore in that third set.''
A similar scenario played out later in that stadium Thursday, except it was the heavy favorite, three-time major champion Maria Sharapova, who appeared to be down and out against an inexperienced kid, 17-year-old French wild-card entry Caroline Garcia, before reeling off the final 11 games to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.
"Look,'' the seventh-seeded Sharapova said, "it could have easily gone the other way.''
She said she had trouble dealing with wind that gusted at upward of 20 mph, making the balls move unexpectedly at times and occasionally kicking up clouds of loose clay into players' eyes.
Those conditions led to this bon mot from Rafael Nadal: "If you play good, seems like much less wind. If you are playing bad, seems like a hurricane.''
The five-time French Open champion wasn't forced to work nearly as hard as he did in getting past John Isner in five sets Tuesday, but Nadal was hardly satisfied after beating 48th-ranked Pablo Andujar of Spain 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
"I am not playing that well,'' said Nadal, who has spent 7 hours, 19 minutes on court. "I am not happy, but I am here.''
He needed to erase eight set points after trailing 5-1 in the third against Andujar, who said he thinks Nadal is "going through perhaps a period of doubt.''
Also reaching the third round were past Grand Slam finalists Robin Soderling and Andy Murray, along with No. 10 Mardy Fish, the last U.S. man in the field. Six seeded men lost: No. 8 Jurgen Melzer of Austria, No. 20 Florian Mayer of Germany, No. 24 Sam Querrey of the U.S., No. 27 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, No. 28 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and No. 32 Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
Miami beat Luol Deng's Chicago Bulls in NBA play-offs
GB star Luol Deng and his Chicago Bulls ended their season with a defeat by the Miami Heat in the NBA play-offs.
The Bulls threw away a 77-65 lead to lose 83-80 as the Heat won game five of their Eastern Conference finals series to seal a 4-1 victory.
The Heat will face Western Conference champions Dallas in the NBA finals - a repeat of the 2006 championship series, which Miami won 4-2.
The best-of-seven series begins in Miami on Tuesday.
The Heat sealed their progress to the finals on the back of an 18-3 run led that was by their big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
James, who missed nine shots in a row before coming to life late in the fourth quarter, led the Heat with 28 points as Miami won four in a row after losing the opening game of the series in Chicago.
The 26-year-old forward left Cleveland to join Miami as a free agent last summer in his search for a first NBA title.
"There's no sense of relief right now," he said. "We've still got work to do. We'll look at this moment, have a little bit of time to go over this, what we just accomplished. But we get ready for Dallas very soon. We don't take for granted this win or take for granted being Eastern Conference champions."
Chicago's Derrick Rose, voted the league's Most Valuable Player for the regular season, led Chicago with 25 points. He had a chance to tie the game from the free-throw line in the final minute but missed his second shot and then a desperate three-pointer at the buzzer was blocked by James.
Deng, who shackled James brilliantly in Chicago's game one victory, had 18 points for the Bulls but made only six of 17 shots.
He is expected to be part of the GB squad that competes in the EuroBasket finals in Lithuania in August.
Bangalore banking on Gayle
Bangalore Royal Challengers captain Daniel Vettori is counting on big-hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle to rebound against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League final qualifier at MA Chidambaram Stadium today.
Vettori said yesterday that Gayle had been "the catalyst'' in guiding them to the knockout stages.
Gayle joined Bangalore as an injury replacement two weeks into the IPL, and helped them qualify for the four-team play-offs as the No. 1 team, but the side lost to the defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the opening play-off on Tuesday.
Gayle scored two centuries and two 50s among 519 runs with a strike rate of 184 in the league phase, but was dismissed for eight by Chennai, who won by six wickets with two balls to spare to secure a place in tomorrow's final.
"We know Chris has played well and he has been the main scorer for us this season, winning so many games for us. We are still confident that we can win games,'' said Vettori.