Gay replaces Gatlin for the Jamaica Invitational
American sprinter Tyson Gay has been added to the line-up of the Jamaica International Invitational, replacing compatriot Justin Gatlin, who was forced to withdraw due to other commitments.
Gatlin was earlier announced to compete in the 100m at the May 9 meet set for the National Stadium.
However, the organisers of the event were informed that the 9.77 seconds man will no longer be available, since he will be focusing on the April 23-25 Penn Relays and the May 2-3 IAAF World Relays in The Bahamas instead.
Gay's last appearance at the Jamaica International Invitational was in 2013 when he won the 100m in 9.86 seconds.
He is expected to face the likes of Americans Ryan Bailey and Walter Dix, with Jamaicans Nesta Carter and Nickel Ashmeade also confirmed for the meet.
Source-CMC
Mayweather & Pacquiao will be penultimate fight
Floyd Mayweather says he will fight just once more after next month's clash with Manny Pacquiao because he no longer enjoys the sport.
The unbeaten American's 2 May fight with Pacquiao is the fifth of a six-fight contract with broadcaster Showtime.
And Mayweather, 38, says the "fun" has gone out of boxing, which he now regards as "a job".
He added: "I don't enjoy it like I once did. My last fight is in September."
Mayweather took part in an open training session before telling reporters the Pacquiao bout at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas would see two fighters "meeting at the pinnacle of our careers".
The fight is expected to be the richest in boxing history.
He added: "He's a future hall-of-famer. I am a future hall-of-famer."
WBA and WBC champion Mayweather is unbeaten in 47 professional fights, while his 36-year-old opponent has lost five and drawn two of his 57 fights.
After his defeat of Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007, Mayweather relinquished his WBC light-middleweight title, only to come out of his brief retirement in July to announce his fight with Britain's Ricky Hatton.
Mayweather also retired in 2008 but returned 21 months later in May 2009 to fight Juan Manuel Marquez.
The welterweight fight with Pacquiao has been the subject of on-off negotiations for six years and pundits say it will define who was the greatest fighter of the era.
Britain's Amir Khan has said he hopes to fight Mayweather - although he has also pledged to meet compatriot and IBF champion Kell Brook in the next 12 months and faces former light-welterweight world champion Chris Algieri on 30 May.
Former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton - beaten by both Mayweather and Pacquiao in his career - says Khan's style would trouble Mayweather, if the Bolton boxer did become the American's final fight.
He said: "Amir is boxing with a lot more discipline lately, he's in and out and he's not getting involved. I think that type of style will cause Floyd massive problems.
"But, when you're the best, pound-for-pound, like Floyd Mayweather - and Amir's as big a name as is out there, he's beaten pretty much everyone - he might be forced to fight Amir Khan."
Source-BBC Sports
Iran’s Leader Dismisses US Congressional Role in Nuclear Deal
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran is in talks to reach a final nuclear agreement with six world powers, not with U.S. lawmakers.
Rouhani's remarks on Wednesday were an apparent reaction to developments Tuesday in Washington, where President Barack Obama pledged to sign a bill that would subject the agreement to U.S. congressional review.
In a speech to thousands of Iranians in the northern city of Rasht, Rouhani described tensions between the White House and U.S. Congress as an "internal issue."
"Our partner is not the U.S. Congress or the Senate, our partner is a group called ‘5+1,’" Rouhani said, according to the Associated Press. The group includes the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia plus Germany.
Rouhani also reiterated his stance that Tehran will not sign a final nuclear deal unless all sanctions are simultaneously lifted.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a measure Tuesday after a bipartisan compromise that calls for a 30-day review period and for the president to certify every 90 days that Iran is living up to the deal curbing its nuclear activity. Sanctions levied by Congress immediately would be reimposed in case of a violation.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he is confident about reaching a final agreement with Iran, after Obama agreed to sign the congressional measure.
Kerry spoke before a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in Germany that was expected to include discussion on the negotiations, which yielded a framework nuclear deal earlier this month.
"We are confident about our ability for the president to negotiate an agreement, and to do so with the ability to make the world safer," Kerry said.
On Tuesday, Obama said he would sign a bill now in the U.S. Congress that would subject any final nuclear deal to congressional review with a possible vote to approve or reject the agreement.
The bill now goes before the full House and Senate for approval.
Source-VOA
Cuba Welcomes Removal From US Terrorism Sponsor List
Cuba is praising President Barack Obama's decision to remove the Caribbean island nation from Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Josefina Vidal, Havana's chief diplomat for U.S. affairs, issued a statement Tuesday welcoming Obama's "fair decision to take Cuba off a list that it never should have been included on."
Obama informed Congress of his decision earlier in the day, after a State Department review concluded that Cuba "has not provided any support for international terrorism" in the last six months and given the U.S. assurances that it does not intend to in the future.
Congress has 45 days to overrule the president's decision through a joint resolution, but lawmakers cannot stop it unless both chambers approve a joint resolution, a move that is highly unlikely.
Many of Obama's fellow Democrats hailed his decision and some experts said it was long overdue.
The fugitives include Joanne Chesimard, wanted in the slaying of a New Jersey state trooper in the early 1970s.
Republican U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, another Cuban-American lawmaker from Florida, accused Obama of "capitulating to dictators.''
The United States first placed Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1982, due to communist island's support for leftist separatist groups such as FARC in Colombia and the Basque armed group ETA in Spain. But Havana is now sponsoring peace talks between FARC and the Columbian government, and has distanced itself from ETA.
Obama's action came just days after he met with Cuban President Raul Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama, the first face-to-face meeting of leaders of the two countries in more than 50 years.
Washington and Havana have held several rounds of talks since the two leaders announced last December that they planned to resume normal diplomatic relations, bringing an end to hostilities stemming from the Cold War.
Iran, Sudan and Syria remain on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Source-VOA
EU Accuses Google of Abusing Its Internet Search Dominance
The European Union is accusing Google of abusing its dominant position in Internet searches, alleging the American technology giant is violating the 28-nation bloc's antitrust laws.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Wednesday Google, which controls 90 percent of Internet searches in Europe, has systematically favored its own comparison-shopping product in its general search results pages, stifling competition. Vestager said such practices harm consumers by offering them fewer choices.
In a statement, the company said while Google is the most dominant search engine, Internet users have numerous ways to search for information and that "allegations of harm, for consumers and competitors, have proved to be wide of the mark."
Vestager said "if the investigation confirmed our concerns, Google would have to face the legal consequences and change the way it does business in Europe."
"Our investigation so far has shown that when a consumer enters a shopping-related query in Google's search engine, Google's comparison shopping product is systematically displayed prominent at the top of the search results," Vestager said. "This display is irrespective of whether it is the most relevant response to the query.''
Google has 10 weeks to officially respond to the allegations.
Source-VOA
China Economic Growth Hits 6-Year Low
China's economy grew at its slowest pace in six years last quarter, according to data released Wednesday, raising fresh concerns over the condition of the world's second largest economy.
Growth declined to 7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, down from 7.3 percent in the previous quarter. That is the slowest quarterly growth rate since early 2009 during the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
China's ruling Communist Party has set a modest target of 7 percent growth for 2015. While that rate of expansion would be among the fastest of any major economy, it would be China's slowest pace in a quarter of a century.
Reacting to the figures, a spokesman for China's National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday that Beijing expected the slowdown. He said the government attributes this to "sluggish global economic recovery" and "ongoing structural reforms," according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
"The new impetus is showing momentum, but in general it is still small in size although it grows fast," said NBS spokesperson Sheng Laiyun. "We still are relying on a traditional growth engine, and that is declining and has huge impact on our economy in the short term. We are in transition between the old and new growth models and we face the pressure of an economic downturn."
Chinese leaders have tolerated moderately slower growth, as they guide the country away from a trade- and investment-driven economy toward a more sustainable model based on domestic consumption.
If the economy slows too quickly, this could lead to a loss of jobs, which could create social and political instability in the nation of 1.35 billion people.
Responding to the slowdown, Chinese leaders have cut interest rates twice in recent months. It is not clear whether they will pursue more aggressive measures to further stimulate the economy.
Source-VOA
Obama Meets With Maduro, Other Latin American Leaders
Cuban President Raul Castro was not the only Latin American leader to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Americas Summit in Panama.
Obama met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who wants the U.S. to lift sanctions recently slapped on seven senior Venezuelan officials accused of human rights abuses tied to anti-government protests last year in Venezuela.
Maduro often criticizes the U.S. for what he says is meddling in his country's affairs, and even accuses the U.S. of trying to overthrow his government.
The Venezuelan president described his meeting with Obama as "frank" and "serious." He said after meeting with Obama that there was now a "possibility" of exploring "a path to relations with respect, which is fundamental."
Venezuelan presidential aide Teresa Maniglia said on her Twitter account that there was "a lot of truth, respect and cordiality" at the meeting, which Obama administration officials said lasted only a few minutes.
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Obama "reiterated" in the meeting with President Maduro that the U.S. is not interested "in threatening Venezuela, but in supporting democracy, stability and prosperity in Venezuela and the region."
Several of Maduro's Latin American counterparts have been critical of the sanctions. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who met with Obama at the summit and is slated to meet with Obama in Washington in June, said Saturday that "unilateral measures and policies of isolation" are "always counterproductive and ineffective."
She said the South American regional block UNASUR supports dialogue to ease political tensions in Venezuela.
President Obama also met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos who said the relations between his country and the U.S. "are at the best level ever."
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, like many of his counterparts at the summit, praised the U.S. president for the push to establish ties with Cuba. He said at the summit's plenary session the "openness to dialogue is charged with promise and possibilities."
Some material for this report came from AP and Reuters.
TI Summa Jam reveals plans for 2015
Organizers of the popular Grand Turk Island Annual Festival, TI Summajam confirmed to RTC's ER on Thursday, that they are finalizing plans for this year’s 3 day cultural celebrations which will take place Thursday, June 25th and Friday, 26th at the Victoria Public Library Courtyard, climaxing on Saturday, June 27th at Summajam Village and the Parade Grounds.
Rita Gardiner told the Connoisseur that this year promises to be another dazzling, dynamic display of culture, music, talent, entertainment, sporting competition, and fun for all ages, this year’s central theme and driving force of the festival will be focused on recognizing and “Holding Up Our Very Own” local talent and will feature:
The Miss Teen Grand Turk Pageant (with the winner representing Grand Turk in the Miss Teen Turks and Caicos Pageant)
The Miss Grand Turk Pageant (with the winner representing Grand Turk in the Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Pageant)
A Junkanoo Rush Exhibition
An Early Morning Jump Up
Horse and Donkey Rides
Greasy Pig Competition
Softball and Volleyball Tournament
Cultural Games
Open Karaoke Contest; and
Live band performances by all Grand Turk Bands
Gardiner told the Entertainment Report that they are hoping that young ladies interested in entering the Miss Teen Grand Turk and Miss Grand Turk Pageants will contact her early; persons interested in participating in any of the events or operating food or vendor booths; and persons / companies interested in sponsoring / supporting any of the events should contact committee members Brenda Lightbourne, Thelma Van Alstine or Rita Gardiner before May 31st.
The PABA 2015 Playoffs have begun in Provo
The top 8 teams will go head to head in the Paba playoffs this weekend.
Friday night’s number 1 seed with 11-2 the Stallions will battle the 8th seed, the 5-8 Hustlerz.
The Stallions are on a mission to win their third consecutive PABA title. New comers Hustlerz will try to make a statement that they are in the league for one purpose and that is to win.
The 10-3 Knights earned the number 2 seed after missing the playoffs last year, Coach Philip Roker and the Knights will take on a very strong Coca Cola Classics team led by Coach Scott Glinton and Captain Ezra Taylor. The Coca Cola Classics ended the regular season on a winning note after defeating the Predators.
RTC Sports has been watching experienced players such as Alvin Parker, Derek Hanna and Mervin Forbes who have contributed to the Classics line up.
On Saturday night, the number 3 seed Police Badgers will take on the Steelers. Coach Alvardo Parker led his young athletic Steelers to a number 6 spot in the playoff.
Game 2 will feature a Predators & Flyer’s matchup. The Predators lost 3 games to end the regular season which left them In the fourth position.
Coach Mike Clerveaux said that his team is ready for the Flyers despite those losses. The Flyers quietly earned the 5th playoff spot with a 8-5 record. Coach Keith Cox and the Flyers knows what it takes to win a championship but can they return to the finals to avenge their loss to the Stallions?
The playoff series is structured out of the best of 3 games and teams will have to win two games in order to advance to the Semi finals.
RTC Sports will have more for you on the PABA Playoffs 2015 on Sportswatch & RTC Sports News.
Destiny’s Child Reunion May Not Happen
Beyonce is all set to get back with her girls Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, but there is a big hitch.
According to reports, B’s father Mathew Knowles owns 1/4 of the group’s name, a fact that could prevent a 10 year reunion.
To get around it, the trio may record an album that has all the parts, but doesn’t use the name Destiny’s Child.
Daily Mail Online reports that none of the ladies want Knowles involved in any way even though he was instrumental in their early success. He also managed their careers individually early on.
They all ended up firing Knowles and Beyonce even accused him of stealing money in 2011.
They could buy him out, but no moves of that nature have been reported.
Source-Allhiphop