Bill Cosby loses appeal as court rules criminal prosecution can proceed
A Pennsylvania appeals court has rejected Bill Cosby’s attempt to throw out his criminal case because of what he called a decade-old deal not to prosecute him.
The mid-level state superior court ruled Monday that the criminal sex assault case against Cosby can proceed, prompting the district attorney to press for a preliminary hearing date.
Cosby, 78, is facing trial over a 2004 encounter at his home with a then Temple University employee who says she was drugged and molested by the comedian. Cosby says they engaged in consensual sex acts.
Former prosecutor Bruce Castor has said he promised he would never prosecute Cosby and urged him to testify in the woman’s 2005 civil lawsuit. The release of that testimony last year led a new prosecutor to arrest him.
Cosby’s lawyers were considering whether to respond to Monday’s ruling, a spokesman said. He could potentially appeal again to the state supreme court, but it’s unclear if that would delay the case.
Curry suffers knee sprain, faces two-week layoff
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry faces at least two weeks on the sidelines after suffering a sprained right knee, the NBA champions confirmed yesterday.
Curry limped off the court during Sunday’s victory against the Houston Rockets, plunging Golden State’s hopes of defending their NBA crown this season into uncertainty.
The reigning league MVP underwent an MRI exam yesterday to determine the exact nature of the injury.
The Warriors later confirmed Curry had suffered a grade one medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee.
“He will be re-evaluated in two weeks,” the Warriors statement said.
The news means Curry will miss Wednesday’s Game Five against the Rockets, where the Warriors, who lead the Western Conference series 3-1, will attempt to clinch victory.
Curry, meanwhile, rallied against the gloom with a message to wellwishers on Twitter.
“Thanks 4 all the prayers & messages. Can feel all the positive energy. God is Great! All things considered I’m Gonna be alright! #DubNation,” Curry wrote.
ICC slams West Windies
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has criticised the actions and comments of several West Indies players following their World Twenty20 final win over England in Kolkata earlier this month.
There had been reports prior to the tournament that the team were on the verge of withdrawing from the event as part of a long-running pay and contract dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Prior to lifting the trophy, West Indies captain Darren Sammy gave an emotional interview on the Eden Gardens outfield where he thanked Keith Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada and a key member of the Caricom heads of government umbrella body, but accused the WICB of “disrespecting” the team.
The ICC, in a statement issued yesterday after a board meeting at its Dubai headquarters congratulated the WICB on an “unprecedented treble” that saw the West Indies also win the Women’s World Twenty20 final and the boys Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in February.
But the ICC said it had given “very serious consideration” to bringing Code of Conduct charges against several West Indies players for “inappropriate” and “disrespectful” comments that “brought the event into disrepute”.
“The board acknowledged an apology by the WICB but was disappointed to note that such behaviour had detracted from the success of what was otherwise a magnificent tournament and final,” the ICC statement read.
British astronaut runs marathon in space
British astronaut Tim Peake ran a marathon in space in record time yesterday, strapped into a treadmill on the International Space Station (ISS) as thousands ran the London Marathon below.
Peake opened the race by counting down in a video message as runners waited at the start line in the British capital.
He then joined them 400 kilometres above earth on a simultaneous feat on board the space station, wearing weights on his body to counter the zero gravity conditions.
“Hello #London! Fancy a run?” Peake wrote on Twitter before the race, accompanied by a photograph of London from above.
He followed up with a message sent after he completed the marathon, in which he noted that while he had run the 42 kilometres, the International Space Station had travelled almost 100,000 kilometres.
“Congratulations to everyone in #LondonMarathon; #teamastronaut,” he wrote. “Gonna sleep well tonight!”
Windies all-rounder blasts all-rounder boss
World Twenty20 winner Dwayne Bravo blasted the West Indies cricket President David Cameron as “immature”, “arrogant” and “small-minded” yesterday as the crisis engulfing the Caribbean team deepened.
The thrilling T20 win over England in Kolkata on Sunday has been overshadowed by the reopening of old wounds between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over contracts and salaries.
Bravo backed Darren Sammy’s emotional outburst after the final when the captain blasted the board as “disrespectful” for failing to even supply proper shirts for the tournament and for the protracted salary row which rumbled on to the very start of the competition.
Sammy also claimed that no senior figures from the WICB had congratulated the team on their triumph.
All-rounder Bravo said Sammy was right to criticise the board but saved his venom for Cameron.
“The president is immature and small-minded,” 32-year-old Bravo told Trinidad TV station, CNC. “He is just an arrogant guy.”
Bravo backed Sammy’s accusations over the poor preparation which saw the team manager having to go in search of playing shirts which would have players’ names and numbers printed on the back.
“We have always had problems with our contracts but the board doesn’t negotiate with the players. They deal with (players union) WIPA.
“But only one of the 15 players in India are with WIPA. We are not happy with what we are getting. The players are hurt and we need to put a stop to it.”
Bravo was the captain of the West Indies team when they cut short a tour of India in 2014 over a contractual dispute.
YOHAN BLAKE IS BACK!
During yesterday’s Sports Watch show, sports anchor Donavan Fulford asked the question where is the Beast, Yohan Blake?
Well, the 2011 World Championships 100m winner Blake believes he has overcome his fear of getting hurt again after opening his season with a 21.33-second clocking in the 200m at UWI Invitational last Saturday.
“To be honest, we are human and it did (the fear of injury affected me). But thank God I have people who have been working with me and I got over that. My mind is set on the goal at hand, which is the Olympics. So I am happy,” he told the Jamaican press.
Blake, joint second-fastest man of all time in the 100m and the 200m with 9.69 seconds and 19.26 seconds, is trying to come back from major hamstring injuries suffered in 2013 and 2014.
“Me and coach Mills have been doing some really good work on the track trying to get back the form in place which is going really well. So I am just working on that,” he noted.
Blake, 26, who became the youngest World champion at 21 years old, finished second behind his Racers Track Club teammate Warren Weir with 21.23 seconds at the UWI Invitational.
China was Largest Market for Panama Papers Law Firm
Still on the Panama Papers but this time in China!
A massive data leak from a Panamanian firm has revealed that from relatives of the founding father of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong, to current leader Xi Jinping, offshore holdings are common place among the families of China's ruling elite.
Among the more than 11 million documents are details about the offshore holdings of relatives of at least seven current and former Politburo Standing Committee members, a powerful political body in China, and the grandson-in-law of the founding father of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong.
On Wednesday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists said that Chinese leaders’ relatives who have offshore holdings include: the brother-in-law of President Xi Jinping; the son-in-law of Standing Committee member Zhang Gaoli; a brother of former Chinese Vice President and the daughter of former Premier Li Peng.
The ICIJ also said its analysis of leaked records indicates that by the end of 2015, Mossack Fonseca – the law firm at the center of the document dump – was collecting fees for more than 16,300 offshore companies from China and Hong Kong, accounting for 29 percent of its business worldwide.
Hong Kong is the company’s busiest office in Asia and the world.
Putin denies Panama Papers' claims of corruption in inner circle
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied any "element of corruption" after the Panama Papers claimed his cellist friend Sergei Roldugin ran a $2-billion offshore empire, adding that his own name is not in the documents.
Putin also claimed that United States officials were behind the journalistic investigation, citing a tweet from WikiLeaks.
He boasted that the investigation had tried and failed to find any compromising information on his own financial dealings.
"They combed through these offshore accounts. Your humble servant is not there. What is there to talk about?" Putin said, referring to himself, speaking at a televised forum for regional media held in Saint Petersburg.
Those working on the Panama Papers instead took "some friend of the Russian president" and suggested his activities have "an element of corruption," Putin said.
"What element of corruption? There is none at all," he insisted.
"WikiLeaks has shown us now the fact that officials and official organs of the United States stand behind this," Putin added.
WikiLeaks wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that "US govt funded #PanamaPapers attack story on Putin via USAID."
Putin warmly defended his friend Roldugin as a "brilliant musician" and philanthropist.
Two cases of Zika virus confirmed in St Lucia
Health officials here have confirmed two cases of the Zika virus.
Results from the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)yesterday Wednesday said one male, 25 and a female, 28, both from Castries, tested positive for the mosquito borne virus.
St Lucia had until now, managed to remain Zika virus free.
Last month, CARPHA reported that at least 15 countries in the region reported cases of the virus.
CARPHA executive director, Dr James Hospe-dales, in a video update on the Zika virus in the Caribbean, then said the problem with Zika, which was originally described as a “mild disease’ now appears to be causing an increase in two rare health situations.
He said the virus appears to be the main agent for spreading the issue of babies being born with small heads and the neurological problem called Guillain-Barré syndrome or (GBS).
New report says the number of Caribbean nationals with diabetes has tripled
A new World Health Organization (WHO) report says the number of Caribbean nationals living with diabetes has tripled since 1980, adding that one in 12 inhabitants live with diabetes in the Americas.
On Wednesday, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said diabetes is currently the fourth-leading cause of death in the hemisphere, following heart attacks, strokes and dementia.
The health organisation says if current trends continue, experts estimate that nearly 110 million people in the region will have diabetes by 2040.
The first Global Report on Diabetes from WHO is being launched this week in Geneva and Mexico City as part of the 2016 World Health Day campaign, which is dedicated to diabetes.
The WHO report highlights the urgency of stepping up efforts to prevent and control diabetes, particularly through public policies that support healthy lifestyles and by ensuring that health systems are able to promptly diagnose, treat and care for people with diabetes.
“The best way to prevent diabetes is for people to follow a healthy diet, avoiding ultra-processed foods and sugary beverages that are high in calories and low in nutrients, and to engage in regular physical activity to help maintain a healthy body weight,” said PAHO’s Dominican-born director Dr Carissa F Etienne.
Preventing diabetes, however, “is not just an individual responsibility,” Etienne noted.