NFL keeps tight rein on 100 match balls for Super Bowl 49
The NFL will keep a tight rein on more than 100 footballs available for use by the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots in Super Bowl 49.
The league's championship spectacular will unfold today under the cloud of 'Deflategate', a probe into whether the Patriots purposely used under-inflated footballs to gain an advantage in their playoff rout of Indianapolis.
Dean Blandino, the NFL's head of officiating, said this week that the Super Bowl footballs would be tested before the big game for correct pressure -- as he believes was done properly in the Colts' game at Foxborough.
Before a typical NFL game, 12 balls per team are brought to the officials' locker room where they are tested to ensure they are properly inflated and otherwise meet requirements, then are stamped by the referee.
For the Super Bowl, each team gets 54 footballs. All were handed over to the NFL on Friday by the teams, who were able to practise with and prepare them.
The man in charge of them until Sunday's game is Chicago Bears equipment manager Tony Medlin, who will bring the balls to officials for pre-game inspection, after which they will be turned over to the ball boys.
"He's been doing this for a long time," Blandino said.
The procedure is standard for the Super Bowl, although Blandino said there were some "additional security measures" laid on that he didn't specify.
"Not quite Stanley Cup," he said, in reference to protection for the NHL's famous trophy, "but there will be additional measures".
The increased number of balls used for the Super Bowl is also standard procedure, Blandino said.
"During the first half, we rotate footballs in as much as possible, because then those balls are used for charity and the NFL auction," he said. "That's something that's been in place for many years at the Super Bowl."
On Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell promised a "thorough" investigation into how some of the footballs used by New England in their AFC Championship win over Indianapolis came to be under the minimum pressure required by the league.
Source-AFP
Bravo walks out on Test
All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has announced his retirement from Test cricket after four years in the wilderness and just weeks after being sacked from the One-Day squad.
The 31-year-old has played 40 Tests but had not suited up for West Indies since December 2010, when West Indies toured Sri Lanka.
He was recently axed as One-Day captain and dropped from the team for the tour of South Africa and the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.
In a statement late Friday, Bravo said he had already informed the West Indies Cricket Board of his decision to retire from Tests, but said he had made clear his desire to continue playing One-Day Internationals and Twenty20s.
"Over the years, with the greatest enthusiasm, I have done my best with the deep awareness that I am ultimately representing the people of the game," Bravo said.
"I recognise that this is a difficult time for all of us. Our people of the region have seen and enjoyed great cricketing days but we will not return to glory until we agree to go forward with our love for the game and the respect of the administrators, players and the public."
Bravo made his international debut back in 2004 in an ODI against England and developed into the region's leading all-rounder at one stage.
He came to be known for his effervescent medium pace and a brilliant outfielder, with a safe pair of hands, and effecting batting down the order.
Overall in Tests, he compiled 2,200 runs at an average of 31 with three centuries -- with a best of 113 against Australia in 2005.
He bagged 86 wickets at an average of nearly 40.
The Trinidadian was appointed captain of the ODI team in 2013, replacing Darren Sammy. He then played a key role as players' spokesman on the controversial abandoned tour of India last October, where he frequently clashed with the West Indies Cricket Board and players' union, WIPA.
He was subsequently dropped for the One-Day tour of South Africa and the World Cup, prompting claims of victimisation from several quarters.
Bravo said he had tasted both success and "the devastating pain of defeat" during his career but had also accumulated "joyous memories".
"I have experienced the exhilarating joy of victory and the devastating pain of defeat. The joyous memories will remind me of what we are capable of achieving. I want to be part of that mission," Bravo said in the statement.
"I thank the cricketing fraternity for their support and look forward to serving you with determination and the pride of being a West Indian."
Bravo recently signed a year-long retainer contract with the WICB.
Source-CMC
T&T PM may reshuffle Cabinet amidst corruption scandal
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was up to yesterday said to be considering a Cabinet reshuffle in light of the witness-tampering allegations involving Attorney General Anand Ramlogan.
Ramlogan is under criminal investigation following allegations of an attempt to pervert the course of justice.
Persad-Bissessar will make a statement on the matter tomorrow at 4 pm at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.
The Cabinet last underwent a reshuffle on September 4, 2013, which saw Jamal Mohammed and Christlyn Moore being relieved of their ministerial portfolios.
There is a provision for 31 senators, all to be appointed by the president: 16 on the advice of the prime minister, six on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and nine at the discretion of the President.
At present all 16 positions to be selected by the Prime Minister are filled.
However, the Prime Minister has the authority to revoke the senatorial appointments as she sees fit.
Yesterday, an unconfirmed, anonymous e-mail was circulated to the media purporting to be names tipped for senatorial appointments.
The e-mail read that attorney Larry Lalla was tipped to head to the Ministry of Legal Affairs. Last week Lalla’s named surfaced as the replacement for Ramlogan.
Businessman Yasid Gilbert, the e-mail read, is to be appointed junior Minister of Finance.
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Rudy Indarsingh, the e-mail, said, is expected to join Labour Minister Errol Mc Leod to assist with trade union negotiations.
Activist Philip Edward Alexander is to be in line for Communications Minister, while Congress of the People member Ashaki Scott is tipped to be the Minister in the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development.
Vasant Bharath, the e-mail read, is to remain only with the Trade and Industry portfolio because he is to be given a constituency to work in the upcoming general elections.
United National Congress Youth Arm chairman Nicholas Morris is to be Minister in the Ministry of Sport, the e-mail said.
Reliable sources told the Sunday Express that up to last night Persad-Bissessar had not met with either Ramlogan or National Security Minister Gary Griffith.
The allegation against Ramlogan is that six days before attorney David West was appointed director of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), the Attorney General asked him to withdraw his witness statement in a defamation lawsuit relating to the failed extradition involving Section 34 applicants Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh.
West has reported Ramlogan to the police.
Ramlogan has categorically denied the allegations that were first exposed exclusively in last week’s Sunday Express.
Griffith, however, found himself in the middle of the scandal for a telephone call he made to West on December 19, 2014.
It was during the conversation, the Sunday Express learned, that Griffith told West that he was told to find out if he (West) had “pulled back a document”.
Griffith, sources said, was unaware that the document he was referring to was a witness statement until being told so by West.
West told Griffith the document (witness statement) was filed in the High Court and he was not going to withdraw it.
Griffith, Sunday Express learned, admitted to West that he did not know what document he was told to find out about.
As a result of Griffith’s phone call to West he has been listed as a witness in his (West’s) statement that was handed over to acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams on Thursday.
Persad-Bissessar has described the allegation against Ramlogan as very serious and troubling.
In an interview with the media during the tea break of Parliament on Friday, Persad-Bissessar said the people of the country came first, above any friendship, and she will do the right thing in dealing with the scandal involving Ramlogan and Griffith.
“I want to give the assurance that I will do what I think is right because it is the right thing to do, as I have always done. There will be no friendship or friends or family or partisan interest but instead I will be looking at what is to be in the interest of the people of T&T,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Source-Trinidad Express
Castro issues Guantanamo Bay demand
Cuba has demanded the US hand back the Guantanamo Bay military base before relations with Washington are normalised.
In a speech, President Raul Castro also called for the lifting of the US trade embargo and Cuba’s removal from a terror list.
Last month the two countries announced a thaw in relations, agreeing to restore diplomatic ties. They were severed in 1961.
High-level talks were held last week.
A Congressional delegation arrived in Havana to begin negotiations aimed at reopening embassies in the two countries’ capitals.
Meanwhile, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared to signal his approval for the political rapprochement.
Cuba’s state-run newspaper published a letter on Tuesday in which he wrote: “We will always defend co-operation and friendship with all the people of the world, including with our political adversaries.”
He wrote that although he did not “trust the policy of the US”, it did not mean he rejected a “peaceful solution to conflicts”.
Summit takes up anti-hunger plan for the Caribbean
A new plan to combat hunger in the Caribbean and Latin America presented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is being considered for adoption at a summit of the region’s leaders that ends here on Thursday.
On Tuesday, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva presented the new regional Plan for Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication by 2025 at summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
“This proposal is a tool to help CELAC countries design national plans to transform their commitment to eradicating hunger and extreme poverty in the region into a reality,” said Graziano da Silva, later adding, via social media, that CELAC leaders were considering the plan.
“The plan was developed by FAO – with support from the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – at the request of CELAC governments.”
“It is based on four broad pillars: strategy coordination at the national and regional levels, with a special focus on gender issues; sustainably ensuring access to safe and nutritious foods; widening school feeding programmes with a priority on addressing all forms of malnutrition, from under-nutrition to obesity, and; tackling the challenges posed to food security by climate change,” it added.
The plan seeks to identify and establish links that can generate “virtuous circles of development,” said the food agency, citing as an example linking family farming with school feeding programmes.
According to the FAO, Latin America and the Caribbean represent the only region in the world which has collectively achieved the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015.
The FAO also said the region is set to reach the more stringent World Food Summit goal of halving the total number of undernourished people.
Source-CMC
Whitney Houston's daughter in medically induced coma
Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of the late Whitney Houston, was placed in a medically induced coma Saturday after being found unresponsive in a bathtub full of water, CNN is reporting.
Brown, 21, "was not breathing" when a man identified as her husband and a friend found her at about 10:25 am inside her town house in Roswell, Georgia, police said.
They reportedly called 911 and performed CPR until public safety officers arrived and took over.
She was taken to hospital where she is said to be alive and breathing.
Nobody knows what caused Brown's unresponsiveness, police spokeswoman Lisa Holland said, but it is being considered as a medical incident at this time. She said investigators had found nothing to indicate it was drug- or alcohol-related.
The police spokeswoman noted one oddity in the case: "Her mother died in the very same manner."
It was three years ago February 11 that Brown's mother, renowned singer Whitney Houston, was found dead -- in a bathtub -- in The Beverly Hilton, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammy bash there.
An autopsy later revealed that she'd drowned face down in "extremely hot water".
Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray to win fifth Australian Open title
Novak Djokovic proved too strong for Andy Murray as he won a fifth Australian Open title in a punishing final.
The Serb, ranked number one, came through 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-0 in three hours and 39 minutes.
It was a third win over British number one Murray in a Melbourne final and brought him an eighth Grand Slam title.
Murray, 27, has now won two of the eight Grand Slam finals he has played in, having lost all four in Australia.
"I would like to congratulate Novak - it is a fantastic record and thoroughly deserved," said Murray.
"It is probably my most consistent Grand Slam throughout my career but I just haven't been able to win."
Murray, who underwent back surgery towards the end of 2013 and was playing in his first Grand Slam final since winning Wimbledon earlier that year, added: "I'm closer than I was a few months ago.
"I'll try to come back next year and have a slightly different outcome in the final."
The Scot, who will return to fourth in the world rankings on Monday, had chances in each of the first three sets of the final but ultimately lost his way and his temper as Djokovic won 12 of the last 13 games.
Djokovic, a week younger than his opponent, did look vulnerable at times, hurting his hand in a fall and appearing to struggle with an ankle problem early in the second set.
There were some concerned looks to coach Boris Becker in the stands. He stumbled on more than one occasion and required some energy-boosting fluids at a break down in the third set.
Murray later admitted he had been "distracted" by the Serb's apparent physical issues and, just as at the US Open last September, he could not keep pace with Djokovic in the closing stages.
Source-BBC
Nigerian Military Repels Boko Haram's Attack
Nigeria's military said its forces have repelled a second attempt in a week by Boko Haram fighters Sunday to take over the key northeastern city of Maiduguri.
Military officials said the attack, which started about 3 a.m. (0200) GMT, on Maiduguri was contained, more than 12 hours after Boko Haram laid siege to the city from four different roads.
Heavily-armed gunmen set off explosives as they tried to enter the city, several residents said.
The officials said many militants were killed during the fighting in the capital of Borno state. Several civilians also died. A hospital source reported eight bodies had been brought in from the fighting.
Separately, a suicide bomber killed seven people in Potiskum, the economic capital of neighboring Yobe state, while two blasts -- one also carried out by a suicide bomber -- killed five people in Gombe city to the south.
These incidents come two weeks before Nigeria's February 14 general election. Election officials have conceded that voting will be impossible across much of the northeast.
President Goodluck Jonathan faces a stiff challenge from former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari.
Analysts have said Boko Haram will likely make another attempt to take over Maiduguri before that poll. The militant group tried to capture Maiduguri a week ago, but failed.
Despite waves of attacks in the city in recent months, Maiduguri has become a place of refuge for people forced to flee other areas in Borno that have been taken over by the Islamist rebels.
On Saturday, Chadian forces reclaimed the northeastern Nigerian town of Gamboru-Ngala, after a heated battle with Boko Haram that involved a ground and air campaign. Gamboru-Ngala, about 145 kilometers east of Maiduguri, was captured by Boko Haram last year.
A soldier involved in the operation said Chadian forces were working under the African Union agreement for member states to help Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram.
DETAILS RELEASED FOR THE STATE FUNERAL OF THE LATE DR.ROSITA BUTTERFIELD
TCIG today released details on the state funeral of the late Hon. Dr. Rosita Butterfield, MBE former Speaker of the Legislative Council 1991-1993 who passed away on Saturday 10th January 2014 in Nassau, Bahamas.
The State Funeral service will be held at the Gustavus Lightbourne Sport Complex, Downtown Ballpark, Providenciales on Thursday February 5th, 2015 at 10:00am.
Her body will be lie in the State at the House of Assembly from 1:00pm-12:00am Monday 2nd February and from 8:00am-2:00pm Tuesday 3rd February. The House of Assembly Members will view the body between the hours of 3:00pm – 4:00pm on Monday 2nd.
The members of the family will view the body from 4:00pm- 5:00pm, the Nurses Association and other Government Officials from 5:00pm – 6:00pm and the general public from 6:00pm – 11:30pm.
The body will leave the House of Assembly on Tuesday 3rd February at 1:30pm from the JAGS McCartney International Airport to depart for Providenciales at 2:00pm.
The body will lie at the Faith Tabernacle Church, Leeward Highway from 3:00pm Tuesday February 3rd until 9:00am on Thursday 5th February, 2015. Family viewing would take place from 4:00pm – 6:00pm and the Nurses Association and Government Officials from 6:00pm – 7:00pm and the general public from 7:00pm – 11:00pm. On Wednesday 4th February there will be a public viewing from 8:00am - 6:00pm.
The body will leave the Faith Tabernacle Church and will proceed along Leeward Highway to the Gustavus Lightbourne Sport Complex, Downtown Ballpark on Thursday 5th February, 2015 at 9:00am.
All attending members of the public are asked to be seated by 8:45am. The public is further asked to note that persons will not be allowed to enter the venue after 9:00am. The service will be carried live on Radio Turks and Caicos and local television stations.
On Thursday February 5th the following roads will be closed from 9:00 am:
• Down Town section of Leeward Highway
• Butterfield Drive
• Sections of Blue Hills Road and Kew Town
All flags are to be flown half-mast from today until the date of the funeral.
Cabinet Meeting Statement for January 29th,2015
His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired a meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday 29th January 2015 at the House of Assembly Building on Grand Turk.
All Ministers were present.
At this meeting Cabinet:
· Noted the continuing problem with stray dogs across the islands and requested that the Ministry of the Environment and Home Affairs step up their campaign for the control of dogs as a matter of urgency. The Ministry will announce arrangements for the campaign in due course;
· Advised HE. Governor to approve TCI Gazette subscription fees to one standard rate of $200 for email and hard copy subscriptions. Electronic copies of the Gazette will be available to the general public free of charge on the TCIG website;
· Noted the recommendations of the Procurement Board on award of the following contract: Splitting of the Clement Howell High School/ Development of Long Bay High School;
· Advised HE. Governor to approve the grant of a 99 year lease to TCI Toscana GP, Limited, over a portion of the accreted land lying seaward of Parcel 60812/37 & 38 subject to survey and planning restrictions;
· Noted the continued positive financial performance of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government for the period October to December 2014, as submitted in the Third Quarter Financial Report from the Accountant General and approved the publication of the financial report as required by section 46 of the Public Financial Management Ordinance 2012.
Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.