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
Wal-Mart reports fall in quarterly profits
The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has reported a 22% drop in quarterly profit and given a weaker-than-expected earnings forecast for the coming year.
Net income for the three months to 31 January fell to $4.4bn (£2.6bn) from $5.6bn a year earlier.
Wal-Mart said tough winter weather, cuts to government benefits and higher taxes contributed to the fall.
Wal-Mart's UK supermarket business, Asda, said like-for-like sales fell 0.1% in the final quarter of 2013.
Wal-Mart said reduced food-stamp benefits had been partly behind its lower profits, along with competition from heavy discounting during the holiday season.
Comparable sales at its US stores fell by 0.4% in the three-month period. Wal-Mart's total revenue for the quarter rose by 1.4% to $129.7bn.
Wal-Mart said it expected net sales this year would grow at the lower end of its earlier forecast of 3%-5%.
Its earnings forecasts for this year also fell short of analysts' forecasts. Wal-Mart expects profits to be between $5.10 and $5.45 per share, against expectations of about $5.54.
Chief executive Doug McMillon said he would "innovate to improve productivity" to keep prices low.
He added: "We will invest aggressively in e-commerce and increase our small store rollout in the US, as we have done in several other countries, to deliver value and convenience."
The retailer would keep focusing on providing "supercentres" and smaller stores closer to customers' homes, he said.
In the UK, while Asda's underlying sales fell 0.1% in the final quarter of the year, the supermarket said they were up 0.5% over 2013 as a whole.
The UK's major supermarket chains struggled to boost sales over the Christmas period, coming under fierce competition from discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl, and from more upmarket offerings from Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.
Asda's chief executive, Andy Clarke, said that 2013 had been a "tough year".
"There's little doubt that the UK retail market is undergoing significant and permanent structural change," he added.
"Though the economy is showing signs of recovery, it is still susceptible to shocks and the benefit is not yet being felt right across the country."
Source-BBC
BAE Systems shares down 10% on lower earnings forecast
Shares in BAE Systems have dropped 10% after the defence group announced a big fall in profits in 2013 and said earnings would decline this year.
Pre-tax profits for the year fell by two-thirds to £442m, down from £1.2bn in the previous year, reflecting one-off impairment costs of £865m.
The group blamed "challenging market conditions" and cuts in the US defence budget for the slump in profits.
It forecast earnings per share would be 5% to 10% lower this year than in 2013.
The impairment charge reflected not only reduced defence spending by the US government, but also increased financing costs.
Sales in 2013 were up 2% at £18.2bn.
"Overall, the group delivered a solid performance in 2013, against the background of reduced government spending," said chief executive Ian King.
BAE said the US government was targeting savings of £450bn from defence budgets over a 10-year period.
"As certain areas of spending were protected from these reductions, such as military personnel accounts, the budgets funding much of the US defence industrial base are likely to be disproportionately impacted," it said.
In the UK, the company said its business was "in good shape and the outlook remains stable", and was benefitting from a number of large long-term contracts.
But investors focused on the US cuts and, in particular, the projected earnings fall this year.
"Awful headline figures from BAE Systems," said Jordan Hiscott at Gekko Global Markets.
"As western governments withdraw their military assets and needs from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, defence cuts could become more prevalent in the sector."
On Wednesday, BAE announced an agreement with Saudi Arabia over the rising cost of a long-running Eurofighter Typhoon jet deal.
Saudi ordered 72 Eurofighters in 2007 for £4.5bn, but the contract faced obstacles over escalating costs. BAE did not disclose the details of the deal.
Source-BBC
Clashes Break Out in Kyiv Despite Truce
Witnesses in the Ukrainian capital say at least 33 people were killed in clashes that erupted between anti-government protesters and police Thursday, hours after President Viktor Yanukovych announced a truce with opposition leaders. The European Union announced sanctions against Ukrainian officials.
The coordinator of the protesters' medical service, Oleh Musiy, was quoted as saying that 70 to 100 people were killed in Kyiv on Thursday.
Some of those killed were reportedly shot by government snipers.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry, meanwhile, reported that three police officers were killed Thursday. It said more than 50 police personnel had been hospitalized during the day, 30 of them with gunshot wounds. The ministry also said that protesters had captured 67 policemen.
Earlier this week, clashes that erupted after riot police swarmed a makeshift protest camp in Kyiv left 28 people dead.
The White House said in a statement Thursday that it was "outraged by the images of Ukrainian security forces firing automatic weapons on their own people." It called on President Yanukovych "to immediately withdraw his security forces from downtown Kyiv and to respect the right of peaceful protest," while urging protesters to "express themselves peacefully.
The White House also urged the Ukrainian military "not to get involved in a conflict that can and should be resolved by political means."
Ukraine's Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko said in a televised statement Thursday that police had been issued "combat weapons" to protect citizens and property from attacks, as well as for self-defense and to "free hostages."
He called on "extremists" among the protesters to hand over their weapons and called on opposition leaders to "disassociate themselves" from "the radicals."
European Union foreign ministers agreed Thursday to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials deemed responsible for orchestrating the violence in Kyiv. After holding an emergency meeting in Brussels, the EU officials said the measures would include visa bans, asset freezes and restrictions on the export of anti-riot gear to the Ukrainian government.
Three EU foreign ministers (France's Laurent Fabius, Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Poland's Rodoslaw Sikorski) are in Kyiv, where they met with President Yanukovych to discuss the crisis.
Mr. Yanukovych and the leaders of anti-government protests had agreed on a truce Wednesday. A statement on President Viktor Yanukovych's website said it is aimed at "ending the bloodshed and stabilizing the situation...in the interests of social peace." It did not provide details.
Hours before the truce was announced, the president fired his army chief and Ukraine's military declared a nationwide crackdown on what it called "extremist groups." Mr. Yanukovych -- the target of the protests -- offered no explanation for the dismissal.
In announcing the "anti-terrorist" operation, the Interior Ministry said protesters elsewhere in the country had overrun government arms depots and seized weapons and munitions. Local media quoted officials as saying they fear those stockpiles are being transported to the capital for use by protesters trying to force Mr. Yanukovych from power.
Security service chief Oleksandr Yakimenko said Wednesday that municipal buildings, security offices and arms depots had been raided around the country. He said 1,500 firearms and 100,000 rounds of ammunition had wound up "in the hands of criminals" over the previous 24 hours.
Anti-government protests have been building for weeks, with activists calling for Mr. Yanukovych's ouster after he backed away from a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
In Moscow, the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin was sending his human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, to Ukraine to mediate talks between President Yanukovych and the opposition. According to the Kremlin, the step was taken at the Ukrainian president's request.
Source-VOA
Obama to Host Dalai Lama at White House
U.S. President Barack Obama will meet the Dalai Lama Friday at the White House, prompting a statement of "serious concern" from China.
The White House said late Thursday that Mr. Obama is meeting the Dalai Lama "in his capacity as a respected religious and cultural leader."
A statement said the U.S. supports the Dalai Lama's so-called "middle way" approach of neither assimilation nor independence for Tibetans in China.
China's foreign ministry quickly urged the U.S. to cancel the meeting, calling it a "gross interference" that will "seriously damage" U.S.-China ties.
Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous "splittist" who has encouraged a wave of self-immolations by Tibetans. He denies the charge.
The U.S. recognizes Tibet to be a part of China. While Washington does not back Tibetan independence, it is concerned over what it says is the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibetan areas of China.
The White House calls on China to reopen talks with the Dalai Lama or his representatives with no preconditions.