Pharrell’s Grammys hat attracts $10,500 in auction
Pharrell Williams is selling the much talked about hat he wore at this year's Grammy Awards.
The item, listed as "Pharrell Willams' mountain hat", attracted a bid of $10,500 (£6,301) within 24 hours of being put online.
The profits of the sale will go towards the producer's charity From One Hand To Another.
The charity raises funds for seven to 20 year olds living in at risk communities throughout America.
The 40-year-old tweeted: "We started my hat auction at $200 (the price I paid for it) and it's already up to over 10K?"
So far, there have been 11 separate bidders and 64 bids on the hat, with the auction coming to a close on 2 March.
The description of the item says that it was designed by Vivienne Westwood and that "the hat comes with a letter of authenticity."
Pharrell performed at the Grammys with Stevie Wonder, Nile Rogers and Daft Punk and also played at the Brit Awards.
The singer's number one single Happy, taken from Despicable Me 2 has been nominated for best song at this year's Oscar awards.
He also recently announced that he will release a new solo album next month.
The new album, which will be called G I R L, will be Pharrell's second record in eight years and is set to be released on 3 March.
His debut solo project, In My Mind, came out in 2006.
Source-BBC
Wolf of Wall Street triggers $25m legal action
The producers of Oscar-nominated film Wolf of Wall Street are being sued for $25m (£15m) by a former stockbroker who claims he has been depicted as a "depraved" drug-fuelled criminal.
Andrew Greene has filed court papers in New York claiming the character Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff is based on him.
Mr Greene worked at Stratton Oakmont, the brokerage house founded by Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Paramount and Red Granite Pictures have not commented on the case.
Mr Greene said his name was used in Belfort's memoir, on which the film is based.
In the movie, Rugrat Koskoff - nicknamed for the toupee he wears - assumes significant control at Stratton Oakmont following Belfort's resignation.
The role is played by actor PJ Byrne in the motion picture.
In the claim, Mr Greene said he worked at Stratton Oakmont between 1993 and 1996 as the head of the firm's corporate finance department and a member of the board of directors.
He alleges the film-makers - including director Martin Scorsese - changed the character's name from "Wigwam" to "Rugrat".
The papers, printed in The Hollywood Reporter, said: "The motion picture contains various scenes wherein Mr Greene's character is portrayed as a criminal, drug user, degenerate, depraved, and/or devoid of any morality or ethics."
Mr Greene has said he did not consent to his image, likeness and characterisation being used in Wolf of Wall Street.
He has also claimed the movie contains libellous statements that have "permanently damaged" him by portraying him as a "criminal and drug user with misogynistic tendencies.
In one scene, the claim states, "investigators ask whether his hair is real. Characters are also seen attempting to grab the toupee."
"Mr. Greene's character is shown doing cocaine on company premises during business hours in another scene," it adds.
The film has been a major box office hit and has been nominated for five Oscars, including best picture and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio.
Brazil Plans Massive Security Operation for World Cup
Brazilian authorities say more than 150,000 security personnel will be deployed across the country during this year's World Cup football tournament.
Officials on Thursday briefed reporters and coaches from 25 of the 32 teams competing in the tournament in June and July.
One-hundred 50-thousand public security personnel will be diverted to World Cup duty, helped by 20,000 private security officers.
Military officials say the army also would be called on if needed to keep law and order.
Brazil is spending more than $800 million for security at this year's matches.
More than 1-million demonstrators turned out for anti-government protests during last year's qualifying games in Brazil.
McIlroy, Rose, Stenson out of WGC World Match
World number seven Rory McIlroy was beaten at the 19th hole by American Harris English in round two of the WGC World Match Play in Arizona.
McIlroy won three holes on the trot to lead by one, but a six at the first extra hole handed victory to English.
The top-ranked man in the field, world number three Henrik Stenson, lost 4&3 to 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.
US Open champion Justin Rose, the final Englishman left in the event, lost at the 20th hole to veteran Ernie Els.
McIlroy, runner-up in 2012, played some sparkling iron shots in the closing stages against 24-year-old English, who comprehensively beat Lee Westwood 5&3 on day one.
When McIlroy's tee shot at the par-three 16th rolled to within four feet for a birdie he seemed certain to progress into round three but English holed a downhill birdie putt at the 17th.
At the first extra hole McIlroy found thick rough with his tee shot and a similarly hazardous spot for his third, as English calmly recorded a par four.
"It was just unfortunate," McIlroy lamented. "I played pretty well for the most part. But he played really solid and didn't really do much wrong, didn't really give me anything. So the more consistent player won."
Four-time major winner Els, 44, was two up after four against Rose but found himself one behind as they left the 16th green.
However, Rose bogeyed the 17th and at the second extra hole took two shots to escape from a greenside bunker, with Els chipping from a precarious spot on the edge of the trap to set up a winning birdie.
Stenson, who in November became the first man to win the European Tour's Race to Dubai and US PGA's FedEx Cup in the same season, was playing in the second round for the first time, having suffered first-round exits in his four previous appearances at the tournament.
But he failed to recover after going three down after four holes to Oosthuizen, who had an eagle and four birdies in the match.
Northern Ireland's former US Open champion Graeme McDowell, who came from three down with three to play to beat Gary Woodland in round one, produced another fine comeback to defeat Hideki Matsuyama on the final green.
World number 22 Matsuyama, who had seven birdies in his 3&2 first-round victory over former world number one Martin Kaymer, won the first two holes against McDowell with a birdie and an eagle.
The lead was still two after the 14th but McDowell holed impressive birdie putts to win the 15th and 17th and level the match, before winning at the last with a par.
This year's event is missing three of the world's top four players in Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson.
Ireland embarrass poor Windies in T20 opener
IRELAND inflicted a surprising and historic six-wicket win over world champions West Indies in yesterday's opening encounter of the two-match Twenty20 (T20) International series between the teams at Sabina Park in Kingston.
As both teams cast their eyes on match practice ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh next month, the West Indies won the toss and took first strike on a glossy, dark-hued batting surface which suggested a bit of preparation moisture.
After losing openers Dwayne Smith and Christopher Gayle following a brisk start, the uninspired-looking hosts were restricted to a paltry 116-8 by Ireland, one of the minnows of international cricket.
Guided by Ed Joyce’s unbeaten 40, the Irish reached 117-4 with five balls to spare.
Scores: West Indies 116-8 (20 overs); Ireland 117-4 (19.1 overs). The loss was particularly embarrassing for the West Indies, given that Ireland, who were invited to play in the recent Regional Super50 tournament, were badly beaten by territorial teams Guyana and Jamaica.
Ireland have tasted victory against the West Indies before in unofficial One-Day encounters. In the late 1960s the Irish were said to beat the West Indies on a tour of the United Kingdom, and they pulled off a similar feat, beating the Caribbean men in a 50-over practice game in Ireland in 1995.
Yesterday, the coach of the winning team, Phil Simmons — a former West Indies opener — told reporters after the game that it was “a big confidence builder to come into the backyard of the world champions” and pull off a first-ever T20 win over the Caribbean outfit.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy said the loss was “very disappointing, but just a bump in preparation”, while adding that his team is “going to bounce back” in tomorrow’s second and final T20 game.
Earlier, the left-handed Gayle, returning from injury, top-scored with 18 as several batsmen appeared to find timing difficult due to the slow-paced nature of the Sabina pitch, especially early in the match.
Marlon Samuels, also coming off an injury lay-off, contributed 16, while Lendl Simmons (16), Andre Russell (15), and Smith (14), all got starts but failed to carry on.
Medium pacers Alex Cusack and Kevin O’brien ended with identical figures of 2-17 for the Irish. In reply, the visitors, helped by the departure of much of the pitch moisture as the afternoon sun belted down, shrugged off an early scare to comfortably reach the target.
Andrew Poynter supported Boyce with a knock of 32. West Indies wrist-spinner Samuel Badree took 2-18 off four overs, while highly rated off-spinner Sunil Narine had 1-16.
After tomorrow’s T20 game at Sabina Park, the teams will turn their attention to the lone One-Day International game of the tour on Sunday, at the same venue.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Canada Wins Fourth Straight Olympic Gold in Women's Hockey
Canada's women's ice hockey team has won its fourth straight Olympic gold medal, beating the United States, 3-2, in an overtime thriller in Sochi.
Marie-Philip Poulin scored the winning goal eight minutes into overtime Thursday at the Bolshoi Ice Dome, forcing Canada's fierce North American rival to settle for silver.
A furious Canadian comeback sent the game into overtime. Trailing 2-0 early in the third period, Canada tied the game on late goals by Brianne Jenner and Poulin. Poulin's equalizer came after Canada pulled its goalie, giving it an extra shooter on the ice.
The U.S. won gold in women's ice hockey when the sport debuted at the 1998 Nagano Games. Canada has since won each of the four finals, beating the United States for the gold in 2002, 2006 and now 2014. Canada also beat the U.S., 3-2, in a preliminary round game in Sochi.
Also Thursday, Adelina Sotnikova won Russia's first-ever women's Olympic figure skating gold medal in stunning fashion, upsetting defending champion Kim Yuna of South Korea.
The 17-year-old Sotnikova posted a score of 224.59, 5.48 points ahead of Kim, the silver medalist. Italy's Carolina Kostner took bronze.
Kim was bidding to become just the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic titles after Norway's Sonja Henie, a triple winner between 1928 and 1936, and Germany's Katarina Witt in 1984 and 1988.
Russia's Soknikova Wins Gold in Figure Skating
Adelina Soknikova won Russia's first-ever Olympic figure staking gold medal in stunning fashion Thursday, upsetting defending champion Kim Yuna Thursday at the Sochi Games.
The 17-year-old Soknikova posted a score of 224.59, 5.48 points ahead of Kim, the silver medalist. Italy's Carolina Kostner took bronze.
Kim had been bidding to become just the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic titles after Norway's Sonja Henie, a triple winner between 1928 and 1936, and Germany's Katarina Witt in 1984 and 1988.
Also Thursday, France swept the medals in an event for the first time at the Winter Olympics. Jean Frederic Chapuis won the gold medal to lead the French in skicross. Arnaud Bovolenta took silver and Jonathan Midol captured bronze.
Skicross is often considered part of freestyle skiing because it incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle.
This was the sixth podium sweep at the Sochi Games, adding to four by the Dutch speedskating teams and one by the U.S. men's slopestyle ski squad.
Elsewhere, Norway won the Nordic combined team competition for its 10th gold medal, the most thus far at the Sochi Games. The Norwegians finished third in the ski jump, but cross-country specialist Magnus Mon made up the difference in the first leg of the 20-kilometer pursuit race.
Germany took silver and Austria bronze.
OECS public servants assured no salary cuts
Public servants across the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have been given the assurance that there will be no cuts in their salaries while the governments battle the effects of a current global economic downturn.
The decision came out of last weekend's meeting between sub-regional Public Sector Unions and OECS Heads of Government held in St.Kitts, chaired by St.Lucia's Prime Minister Kenny Anthony.
The meeting was held against the backdrop of a query from the opposition United Workers Party as to whether the Government was preparing to lay off approximately 200 public servants by the end of March, as it seeks to bring the islands massive debt under control.
However, in response the government indicated that it had no such plans.
Mary Issac President of the Civil Service Association (CSA), who just returned from the talks said that trade union representatives adopted a position that there will be no salary cuts for civil servants at this time."The Prime Ministers and Trade Union representatives met to consider challenges that we are face with in the sub-region.It was a very fruitful meeting as it gave up the opportunity to consider an eight point stabilization and growth plan and the trade unions and Prime Ministers agreed to form a partnership on the way forward," she said.
She said several other issues were tabled for discussion and the parties agreed to a series of follow up meeting to ensure that the decisions arrived at in St.Kitts are implemented.
Issac said the CSA was not in a position to confirm the validity of the UWP's query that 200 workers to be laid off, but said that to its knowledge it has not heard from the government of any such plans.
Word of the lay-offs came on the heels of the decision of the Barbados government to sack at least 3,000 civil servants, as a means of reducing its current accounts deficit.
Source-CMC
Government reiterates that Bank of Bahamas is safe
The Bahamas government has again sought to reassure nationals that it was not interfering in the operations of the Bank of Bahamas (BOB) in which it has 65 per cent majority share holding.
“The Government does not control or interfere in the management of BOB. The Government is aware, however, that the Bank has already made a number of positive changes to its policies, practices and management structure which will prove beneficial to the Bank as it moves forward.
“Moreover, additional improvements to the governance of the bank will be made in due course. In the meantime, however, all customers and the public alike can rest assured that the Bank of The Bahamas is sound, that its fundamentals remain strong, and that it has the full backing of the Government,” the Perry Christie administration said in a statement.
The statement comes less than a month after it issued a similar statement telling Bahamians that their funds were safe and that there was no need for fear or concern.
In the new statement, the government again told customers that they “have no reason to be concerned. “Their money is safe and secure. Indeed there is no greater support that any bank can have than the backing of the sovereign government of the country. The Bank of The Bahamas has that backing. Indeed the Government has just recently demonstrated that commitment and support,” it said.
Like the previous statement, the Office of the Prime Minister gave no reason why the statement had been issued about the Bank of the Bahamas, but last December, managing director Paul McWeeney in his report accompanying the finances for the quarter ending September 2013, noted that overall weakness in the economy, coupled with an “anaemic outlook” continues to negatively influence financial results.
Source-CMC
Shell in $2.6bn Australia asset sale
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell its Australian downstream business to oil trading firm Vitol for $2.6bn (£1.6bn).
The sale includes Shell's refinery in Geelong, 870 service stations, its bulk fuels and chemicals unit and part of its lubricants business.
However, Shell's aviation business is excluded from the deal.
Shell is looking to dispose off assets as part of a strategy that will see the company "changing emphasis" in 2014.
The asset sales also come at a time when its profits have been declining.
Last month, Shell posted 'clean' profits - which strip out the impact of oil price movements - of $2.9bn for the October-to-December quarter, down from $5.6bn during the same period a year ago.
"Australia remains important to Shell, but we are making tough portfolio choices to improve the company's overall competitiveness," Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Shell said in a statement.
Recent disinvestments by Shell include the sale of refineries in the UK, Germany, France, Norway and the Czech Republic.
The firm has also offloaded its downstream businesses in Egypt, Spain, Greece, Finland and Sweden.
Shell said that majority of its downstream staff in Australia will continue to work under its new owner.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close within this year.
Source-BBC