Mexico drops out of Miss Universe over Trump tirade
Mexico has dropped out of the Miss Universe pageant over co-owner and US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s “racist” remarks about Mexican migrants, as Latino anger toward the outspoken tycoon boils over.
Trump’s comments about migrants have outraged Latin Americans and the Hispanic community in the United States.
Losing a Latin American contestant is a big setback for Miss Universe as the pageant is hugely popular in the region, where victory is a source of national pride that can spark street celebrations.
The governments of Mexico and Venezuela have both lacerated Trump. While Venezuelans are weighing their participation in Miss Universe, Mexico has pulled the plug.
“It’s a shame that because of his racist comments we lose what the contest has promoted and represented during so many years, which is an atmosphere of harmony and peace among nations,” former Miss Universe and Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant director Lupita Jones wrote on Twitter late Monday.
On Tuesday, she told Radio Imaginen: “Beyond a beauty contest, a crown, what’s important is to protest in some way to defend the pride and name of all Mexicans.”
Colombian pop star Shakira joined the chorus, writing on Twitter that Trump’s comments were a “hateful and racist” attempt to divide Americans.
US television giant NBC, which co-owns the pageant, and Mexican broadcaster Televisa both announced on Monday that they were severing ties with Trump, meaning they will not air the show.
Trump hit back at Spanish-language US channel Univision on Tuesday, filing a $500 million lawsuit over the company’s decision not to broadcast the July 12 Miss USA pageant.
In a rambling campaign announcement on June 16, Trump lashed out at Mexico and Mexican migrants, saying that they were bringing drugs, crime and “rapists” to the United States.
The Mexican government denounced Trump’s remarks as “prejudiced and absurd,” while Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called the real estate mogul a “thief.”
Source-AFP
Cricket: The Patriots beat Tallawahs by 119 runs
The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots bounced back from yesterday’s defeat in the Hero Caribbean Premier League with a comprehensive victory over the Appleton Estate Jamaica Tallawahs. A brilliant 82 from the Patriots’ Evin Lewis set up a target of 200 and the ever impressive Sheldon Cottrell saluted his way to figures of 3-15 as the home side won easily against the 2013 CPL champions.
Opening the batting with Martin Guptill, Lewis recorded his highest T20 score and his first significant contribution for the Patriots. Having impressed last season with the Red Steel, these runs for his new side will have delighted the young batsman.
The openers had made 71 in just over seven overs when Guptill became the first wicket when he shuffled across his crease attempting to work Rusty Theron to mid-wicket. He missed and the ball struck his pad as he was dismissed LBW having made 35 off 25 balls.
Lewis kept on going, bringing up his half century with a brilliant drive for six that was clubbed back over the bowlers head. Lewis combined with his captain, Marlon Samuels, as the two men put on 72 runs at 10 an over. For once it wasn’t Samuels that looked the most fluent of the Patriots batsmen as Lewis was brutal on anything that was short. Perhaps his best shot was the six he pulled in front of square off Jerome Taylor.
Samuels never really got going and he was happy to just give the strike to his young partner. In attempting to run the ball down to third man for a single, Samuels was caught by the keeper off the bowling of Andre Russell.
Lewis looked like he was all set to make his first Twenty20 hundred when Shahid Afridi set off for an ambitious single only to see the opener run out for 82 off 45 balls. That brought Carlos Brathwaite to the crease and once again he made some quick runs. His tournament strike rate is over 200 and once again he was finding the boundary on his way to 36 in 18 deliveries, his highest T20 score.
Brathwaite should have been dismissed in the 19th over when Horace Miller dropped an easy chance in the deep, and that mistake allowed the big all-rounder to guide his side to 199-5.
The Tallawahs began their chase knowing that success or failure could well rest in the hands of Chris Gayle. Having made successive undefeated half centuries in his two previous innings, he was the man in form. It was not to be as Sheldon Cottrell dismissed him with a full delivery that Gayle swiped at and missed.
While the loss of their captain would have been hugely disappointing for the Tallawahs, there was still the batting available to chase down this total. Cottrell had other plans as he picked up the wicket of Chadwick Walton, giving him a chance to pull out his salute celebration for the second time in two overs.
Chris Lynn could well have departed next ball if not for a remarkable piece of good fortune. The Australian batsman inside edged the ball which appeared to clip the stumps on the way past. The stumps were left intact and the ball raced away for four.
The required rate for the Tallawahs was getting out of control by the end of the Powerplay with the Jamaican side just 37-2 off their first six overs. Things only got worse when Mahela Jayawardene was run out for nine.
When Lynn also fell to the excellent Cottrell for 20, the required rate was more than 13 an over with the best of the Tallawahs batting back in the dugout. From that point onwards the result was never in doubt as wickets continued to tumble.
Afridi, who has had limited success in the tournament to date, bowled a maiden on his way to figures of 2-10 as he, and fellow wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (4-23), took a stranglehold of the middle overs of the Tallawahs’ innings from which they could not escape.
The Tallawahs crumbled to 80 all out as the Patriots secured victory by a massive 119 runs.
Haitians forced from Dominican Republic
Beltha Desir wanders aimlessly around the front of the school where she has taken refuge, holding tight to her 10-month-old child, the only family member with whom she was deported.
Desir, a Haitian woman, had lived for 10 years in the Dominican Republic, but immigration officers arrested her a week ago and sent her to the border, along with her Dominican-born baby.
Since June 17, when a registration programme for undocumented migrants ran out in the Dominican Republic, more than 17,000 people have poured across the border into Haiti, although the Dominicans insist those who have left did so voluntarily.
“They told me: ‘Go back to your country. Go find President Michel Martelly, we have no more need for Haitians. Whether you have papers or not, go home,'” she said.
She was detained in the city of Neyba where she worked, and didn’t have time to tell her husband, who works only 50 meters (55 yards) away.
“I have three children, but the two biggest are with their father. They are five and six. How can they understand I am no longer with them?” she asked, with tears welling up in her eyes.
Disoriented, she said she can hardly sleep.
“It’s been six days since I have seen my children and husband. He does not even know I’m here in Haiti. I couldn’t even speak with him because he doesn’t have a telephone,” she said.
Repeating just one of the racist insults she suffered during the journey to the border, she said authorities told her “that Dominicans are of a different blood, and that I should go and find my blood in Haiti.”
Beside her is Rose Hippolyte, who has suffered the same discrimination.
“When they see a Haitian, the Dominicans say ‘Look at that pig, that Haitian devil,'” said Hippolyte, whose face is worn by years of work in the sugarcane fields.
“They treat us like animals. Sometimes, when you sit next to a Dominican, the person will move away so that you understand that he doesn’t want your skin to touch his,” she said.
In halting Creole — the result of having spent only the first four years of his life in Haiti — Francky Dorseli confirmed the abuse.
“The Dominicans mistreat the Haitians. They insult us each day, even sometimes the police.”
The 43-year-old, who was deported alone, has had no news from his wife and four children.
Just like Desir, Dorseli and all the others who have taken refuge in the community school in the small town of Fond Parisien, Hippolyte wasn’t allowed to bring anything with her from home.
“I’ve worked since 1981 cutting sugarcane. I haven’t earned much but I have managed to build myself a small home,” said the 52-year-old, who arrived in the Dominican Republic at age eight.
“Everything remains there, I have nothing left. The pastor’s wife gave me this dress to change into,” she said, smoothing the fabric over her thighs.
The meager donations from the religious community and sporadic distributions from NGOs and ordinary citizens are not enough to provide the refugees with decent living conditions.
Dressed in dirty clothes that are often too large, several dozen children play jacks using pebbles. They gathered on a concrete slab under the absent-minded gaze of the tired women.
There is no water and no electricity. For two weeks, no doctor has passed through to see the families.
Nonetheless, not one of the refugees wants to return to the Dominican Republic to face a barrage of insults and attacks. Living again in their original country, they hope to be able to bring their families to Haiti and live without depending on charity.
“I was a supervisor in a textile factory and also a supermarket cashier,” Desir said.
“I do not want money or food but a job to be able to bring my children and my husband here so we can live together peacefully,” she said.
Source-AFP
Efforts being made to ease tension between Guyana and Venezuela
The United Nations is prepared to intervene in the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela as Caribbean countries seek an amicable solution to the issue on Friday.
Guyana’s President David Granger, who has called on CARICOM leaders to “strongly” condemn the decision by Caracas to disregard a 116 year-old agreement regarding their borders, said that the offer was made during bilateral talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.
Granger told reporters that he had also indicated to Ban that the Good Officers Process which Guyana and Venezuela had started a few years back has been exhausted.
“We have informed him that the process is more and less exhausted and he has indicated his willingness to appoint a mission to come to Guyana and we have told him that the situation now is that the dispute has gone beyond Guyana/Venezuela and it has now contaminated relations with the entire Eastern Caribbean. It is becoming regionalise” Granger said.
Granger said during the meeting he informed the UN Secretary General that rather than improving, the security situation in the Eastern Caribbean, the situation is deteriorating and that he expects the UN Secretary General to play an important role in helping to reduce the “level of tension and to support Guyana in having that obnoxious decree withdrawn”.
Ban speaking at a news conference later said that the Un was prepared to use its good office to assist in finding a solution to the matter that arose after President Nicolas Madura in May announced a decree that includes all the Atlantic waters off the Essequibo Coast.
While President Granger was holding bi lateral talks with several Caribbean leaders on the issue, at least two regional prime ministers – Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica and his St Vincent and the Grenadines counterpart, Dr Ralph Gonsalves – were holding talks with Venezuela’s Executive Vice President, Jorge Arreaza.
Prime Minister Gonsalves, who is expected to brief his colleagues when they meet in caucus later on Friday, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) “it is very serious” while Skerrit acknowledged an uphill task in reaching a resolution.
“We are still working on a final solution to this matter,” he said.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, who met with Granger, said Port of Spain had expressed full support for its Caribbean member state, describing the decree by Maduro as “unilateral.
“Trinidad and Tobago fully supports Guyana with respect the border dispute with Venezuela,” she said, adding that her administration had offered to assist “in any way.
“We pledge our support to Guyana in this matter, we have always supported Guyana in the border dispute and we will continue to do so,” she said adding that Port of Spain had indicated also a willingness to help Georgetown in its oil exploration “because of our long history in that industry”.
She said while Port of Spain “understand in some regards the constraints of the President of Venezuela, but our understanding with our expert in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that this decree is in violation of international law…and therefore if we are looking at the legality of it we do not support the issuing of the decree….
She said while Trinidad and Tobago is in full agreement with the call by Granger for a withdrawal of the decree “we are saying there may be room for dialogue we are prepared to assist in that regard as well.
“Trinidad and Tobago has offered and will in fact speak both with Venezuela and Guyana with a view to having dialogue, as to whether the venue will be x or y nation that is to be determined …
“But it may well have reached the stage beyond dialogue, but I always feel there is room for dialogue and that is the offer we have made for dialogue to continue. We have had good relations with Guyana as we have had good relations with Venezuela and I think we are well poised to have further discussion on this matter.
“I know the United Nations Secretary general Ban Ki-moon has indicated his view to Guyana on the matter, I know that the S G of the Commonwealth has also indicated their view,” she said, noting that the decree also had implications for Trinidad and Tobago.
“The decree does change certain boundary points to the detriment of Trinidad and Tobago,” she said.
Source-CMC
Caribbean Nationals among 69 convicted criminal immigrants arrested in US
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) agency says a number of Caribbean nationals have been arrested among 69 convicted criminals during a three-day “targeted enforcement effort” in New Jersey.
ICE said officers from its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested the immigrants in a sweep of major New Jersey cities, such as Lakewood, Jersey City, Newark, Trenton, Cherry Hill, Paterson, Secaucus and Elizabeth.
Without identifying them, ICE said the arrestees were from the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
The other nationalities were Afghanistan, Albania, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, South Korea, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia, United Kingdom and Uruguay.
Of the 69 taken into custody by ERO, ICE said 51 met the agency’ highest priority level due to felony convictions or participation in a criminal street gang.
An additional 18 arrestees met the second level of priorities for enforcement due to serious or multiple misdemeanor convictions, ICE said.
It said many of the criminals taken into custody had prior convictions for serious or violent offenses, including child sexual assault, child abuse, aggravated assault, battery, driving under the influence (DUI), weapons and “significant drug possession or distribution convictions.
“The results of this targeted enforcement operation underscore ICE’s ongoing commitment to public safety and the enforcement of priorities set by DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary Jeh Johnson in November 2014,” said John Tsoukaris, field office director of ERO Newark, New Jersey.
“When we focus on the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens we contribute immediately to making our communities safer. Because of the tireless efforts and teamwork of ICE officers, along with our law enforcement partners, there are 69 fewer criminal aliens in our neighborhoods.”
ICE said all 69 were “arrested administratively for being in violation of immigration law,” adding that all are being held in ICE custody pending immigration removal proceedings or removal from the United States.
Some of those arrested during this operation included a Dominican Republic man convicted of attempted criminal sexual contact of a minor; another Dominican Republic man convicted of aggravated assault and promoting prostitution; and a Haitian man convicted of felony burglary, felony theft, and two felony drug convictions.
In fiscal year 2014, ICE said it conducted 315,943 deportations nationwide. It said 85 per cent of individuals removed from the interior of the United States had previously been convicted of a criminal offense.
Source-CMC
Greek Vote on Austerity Measures Is a Tossup
It remains unclear whether Greeks will vote for more economic austerity to get crucial European bailout funds or reject EU demands and risk being thrown out of the eurozone.
Surveys going into Sunday's referendum showed the vote was too close to call.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged voters to reject the conditions, which include more tax hikes and spending cuts. He said a "no" vote would give Greeks a better negotiating position with European Union finance ministers.
He and many Greek citizens said they had suffered enough from earlier EU demands that have cost them jobs and sharply lowered their standard of living.
Greek cabinet members and Syriza party officials met Tsipras in Athens Saturday afternoon.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told the Spanish El Mundo newspaper that what the creditors were doing with Greece "has a name — terrorism." He said they wanted a "yes" vote on accepting more austerity measures "so they could humiliate the Greeks."
Varoufakis said he was sure an agreement with the creditors would be reached because "failing to agree would be too costly for both sides."
"If Greece crashes, a trillion Euros [the equivalent of Spain's gross domestic product] will be lost," he said. "It's too much money, and I don't believe Europe could allow it."
But those in the "yes" camp said Greece had no choice but a European future. Being forced out of the eurozone means Greece would have to go back to using the old currency, the drachma — money that some outside Greece could refuse to accept.
Austria's Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said in an interview posted Saturday in online newspaper Die Presse that Europe would hardly suffer if Greece left the eurozone, but Greece would feel consequences.
"For Europe, this would be easy to manage economically. For Greece, it would indeed be considerably more dramatic," Schelling said, adding fears of widespread poverty sweeping Greece were overstated.
He said Greece would have to negotiate a new aid program, no matter the outcome of the referendum.
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of Germany, Greece's biggest creditor, said in a newspaper interview that a Greek exit from the Eurozone might only be temporary.
The week leading up to Sunday's referendum was a miserable one for most Greeks.
Banks put strict limits on withdrawals to avoid running out of funds, although ATMs ran out of cash several times. Supermarkets were fast running out of basic foods. Storekeepers were reluctant to restock shelves because of the uncertainty of how they would be able to pay for the supplies.
Greece defaulted on a $1.8 billion loan payment to the International Monetary Fund on June 30 when European finance ministers refused to extend its economic bailout.
The Europeans accused Athens of refusing to make any more economic reforms, while the Greeks said they felt enslaved by their creditors.
Tsipras said Friday a "no" vote would give Greece a chance to "live in dignity in Europe." He addressed a rally of 25,000 people supporting a "no" vote in central Athens, with one poster reading, "On July 5, We Are Writing History / No Vote."
Source-VOA
Clinton Accuses China of Stealing US Government Information
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday accused China of stealing commercial secrets and "trying to hack into everything that doesn't move in America."
Speaking at a campaign event in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, the former U.S. secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York said China is "stealing huge amounts of government information" as it looks for advantages.
She said the United States needs to remain fully "vigilant" about China, which she said is establishing military installations that threaten countries the United States has treaties with, such as the Philippines. She was referring to Chinese construction projects in the contested South China Sea.
After speaking at the event, Clinton marched in a Fourth of July parade in nearby Gorham, New Hampshire.
In late June, the U.S. director of national intelligence said China was the "leading suspect" in the investigation into the massive cyber theft of U.S. federal employee data.
The comments by James Clapper marked the first time a U.S. official had pointed a finger at China in connection with the data breach.
"You have to kind of salute the Chinese for what they did," Clapper told an intelligence conference in Washington, referring to the difficulty of the operation.
A later statement by Clapper's office confirmed the comments, while stressing "the U.S. government continues to investigate" the hack.
The U.S. has not openly accused the Chinese government of being behind the digital attack on the Office of Personnel Management, but various officials have said they are increasingly convinced this is the case.
The U.S. has blamed China for a series of high-profile cyber attacks on U.S. government and business entities in recent years. China has strongly rejected the allegations.
Federal Bureau of Investigation officials believe as many as 18 million current, former and prospective federal employees were affected by the data breach.
The hackers are believed to have accessed not only basic personnel information but also extremely sensitive data found in federal background checks.
Source-VOA
Taylor Swift Buys Fans Tickets to Her Dublin Concert
Taylor Swift once again made her fans' dream come true. The "Shake It Off" singer offered two disappointed fans from South Africa free tickets to her Dublin concert after they missed her Hyde Park show at British Summer Time in London on Sunday evening, June 28.
The fans, DJ Stephanie and her boyfriend Joe Crann missed the concert after their British Airways flight from Amsterdam to Heathrow was delayed. They made it to London but only managed to enjoy the last three songs.
Stephanie later took to Twitter to voice her disappointment over the mishap. "There's nothing like flying halfway across the world to see @taylorswift13 & then @British_Airways delaying the flight so I miss it," so she wrote.
In a follow-up post, she tweeted, "Just landed at Heathrow and @taylorswift13 is about to walk on stage at Hyde Park. Im beyond devastated. There are no words."
When British Airways wrote to offer an apology, Stephanie replied, "@panascape @BritishAirways made the last 3 songs. Plenty of tears were shed today. Absolutely broken. Horrific. Just horrific."
After noticing the tweets, Taylor wrote to her, "@StephanieBe I'm really sorry you missed it but if you can get to Dublin I'll buy you tickets! Sorry to hear about the travel nightmare. :(."
Surprised Stephanie then replied, "Thank you a million times over @taylorswift13 - I need you to know that I am trying everything I can to change my flights & buy new ones."
On the following day, after the couple arrived in Dublin, they shared a snap of some welcome cakes and prosecco along with caption, "In Dublin! Even the staff at @thegibsonhotel are rooting for me. Swifties are the best & they're everywhere."
Source-AceShowbiz
Apple aims for bigger bite of music market
If record companies had their way, the internet would never have been invented. For much of the second half of the 20th Century, music fans who wanted to listen to the latest release from their favourite artist had to make a trip to their local record store to buy an album or single on vinyl, cassette or CD.
However, the mass adoption of broadband in the developed world at the start of the last decade soon destroyed what was a very cosy - and highly profitable - business model.
A generation has grown up illegally downloading music - and many music fans are content to use advertising-funded websites such as YouTube to hear almost any track you can think of.
In 1999 the global recorded music industry raked in $26.6bn - buoyed mostly by sales of highly profitable CDs. But as pirating took off the total slipped to less than $20bn in 2007 and last year was down to just under $15bn, according to industry body IFPI.
The arrival of Apple's iTunes music download store in 2003 made it much easier to legally buy music online, but its growth has stalled as more music fans switch to streaming services such as Spotify.
The transition is similar to the way that many consumers now rent movies online or through subscription services such as Sky or Netflix rather than buying a DVD.
Spotify's jukebox-like service lets users play millions of songs for free with ads in between, or pay £9.99/$9.99 a month without those annoying interruptions.
It will offer users a three-month free trial, after which it will cost the same as market leader Spotify, but with no free tier.
Apple Music will have a crucial advantage over the likes of competitors such as Spotify: it will be pre-loaded on the hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads being used globally via a software update.
That saves Apple from having to do much marketing to promote the service, says Andrew Sheehy, lead analyst at Generator Research.
Rather than aiming to make a profit from music, he says Apple's main aim is to give iPhone users another reason to keep buying its highly profitable devices.
However, the company will use its might in the music business to persuade some big artists to offer some exclusive content - with Pharrell Williams being the first.
His latest song, Freedom, will only be available on Apple Music. Similarly, Taylor Swift will make her music available on the service after pulling it from Spotify last year.
Puerto Rico governor says US territory 'can't pay $72bn debt'
Puerto Rico's governor has said the US territory cannot pay its $72bn (£45bn) debt and is close to defaulting ahead of emergency talks with legislators.
In a TV address on Monday, Alejandro Garcia Padilla said he would seek a moratorium on repayments and form a team to restructure public debts.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the US government has ruled out a federal bailout for the US island.
The self-governing US commonwealth has been in a recession since 2006.
Legislators have to approve a $9.8bn budget on Tuesday, which calls for $674m in cuts and sets aside $1.5bn to help pay off the debt.
Speaking on Monday evening, Mr Garcia Padilla urged the central authorities to grant Puerto Rico the ability to file for bankruptcy, enabling a postponement of debt payments for several years.
"Even if we increase revenues and cut costs, the magnitude of the problem is such that we would not resolve anything given the weight of the debt we're dragging," the governor warned in a TV address.
"The only way we'll get out of this hole is to join forces and agree, including bondholders, to assume some of the sacrifices."
Puerto Rico is currently not eligible to restructure its debts under US bankruptcy code because it is not a municipality.
According to Reuters, the White House said on Monday it would urge Congress to consider a change in the law that would allow the island to declare bankruptcy.
Mr Garcia Padilla earlier admitted the island was close to an economic "death spiral", in an interview with the New York Times.
A report released by international economists hours before the governor's address gave a blunt assessment of Puerto Rico's fiscal problems, saying its debts were unsustainable and needed to be restructured.