U.S. deports 3,414 Dominicans in 2013, beats the 3,245 in 2012
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 3,414 Dominicans in 2013 –including 62 women- after serving sentences in U.S. jails accused of various crimes, compared with the 3,245 escorted back in 2012.
The ex-convicts served sentences for drug trafficking , murder , assault, theft, forgery, fraud , rape , kidnapping, extortion, money laundering , arson, domestic violence and other federal crimes.
The returnees were brought to the country in 22 flights on planes leased by ICE , which landed at Las Americas Airport from the US.
Prior to arriving in Dominican Republic the aircraft also land in Central American countries to hand over the groups of deportes.
Britain to provide aid to St Lucia and St Vincent
Britain is providing EC$1 million for vital emergency humanitarian support to St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia following the widespread destruction and deaths caused by a low level trough system late last month.
Britain said it would provide essential drugs and medical supplies as well as water and sanitation equipment.
It says the support will be delivered through the Pan American Health Organisation.
The UK Minister of State for International Development, Alan Duncan, is visiting the region, and is meeting with the prime ministers of the two affected countries to discuss the humanitarian situation and reconstruction needs.
American Hustle among Producers Guild nominees
Crime caper American Hustle and space drama Gravity are among the 10 movies up for the Producers Guild of America's version of a best picture prize.
12 Years a Slave and Nebraska are also nominated for its 'outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures' award.
The Butler and Coen brothers movie Inside Llewyn Davis are notably absent from the 10 films, one of which will collect the prize on 19 January.
The guild's decision comes six weeks before the Oscars on 2 March.
In the last six years, the recipient of the PGA's top award has gone on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards.
Argo, which took the main prize at last year's ceremony, was also the top dog at the 2012 Oscars.
Eight of the 10 films nominated by the Producers Guild last year went on to be nominated in the Academy Awards' best picture category.
Other cinematic releases in contention include Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street and Tom Hanks thriller Captain Phillips.
Fact-based Aids drama Dallas Buyers Club, Spike Jonze's oddball romance Her and Saving Mr Banks, in which Tom Hanks also appears, round out the PGA shortlist.
But there is no place for August: Orange County, a darkly comic family drama starring Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, or Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom biopic starring Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela.
Despite this, US producer Harvey Weinstein - whose company is distributing both films as well as the Dame Judi Dench drama Philomena - remained upbeat about their Oscar chances.
"We've been so lucky," he told the BBC on Friday, saying the films he is handling had a "great showing" in both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations.
"It is Bafta and the Academy [of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] that count the most. Let's see what happens there."
"This is a big year," Weinstein added. "There's a lot of great movies, probably the best in a long time. I think the whole race is wide open."
Bafta - the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - announce the nominations for their 2014 film awards on Wednesday.
Source-BBC
Busta Rhymes hops on Differentology
American rapper Busta Rhymes is featured on the remix of Trinidadian soca artiste Bunji Garlin's song Differentology.
The original version of Differentology was released for the 2013 Trinidad Carnival.
It became a huge hit throughout the Caribbean.
The remix, produced by electro dance maestros Major Lazer, has done well on the American and British club scene.
Differentology won the 2013 Soul Train Music award for Best International Performance and MTV Iggy's Song of the Year.
The track was distributed through VP Records.
NY judge nixes 50 Cent's bid to toss sex video lawsuit
Rapper 50 Cent has lost a bid to end a Florida woman's lawsuit over a sex video posted online with him edited into it as a wig-wearing narrator.
A New York judge rebuffed the rapper's request to dismiss Lastonia Leviston's claim in a ruling made public Thursday. Lawyers for both sides haven't returned calls seeking comment.
The lawsuit concerns a videotape Leviston made with a boyfriend in 2008. The judge's decision says the boyfriend later provided the tape to 50 Cent without Leviston's permission.
The rapper used the footage to make a video featuring himself as a character named Pimpin' Curly.
He says he wasn't responsible for the video's 2009 release. But he says it was legally fair to use the images.
The woman's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Source-AP
Drake May Have Stolen Lyrics On His Collaboration With YG
The most Googled rapper may have to search for an explanation soon after veteran California MC Rappin’ 4-Tay accused Drake of stealing his lyrics. According to Tay, Drake pilfered lyrics from Tay’s song “Playaz Club” for his verse on YG’s “Who Do You Love”.
The majority of Drake’s “Who Do You Love” verse is original lyrics but there are quite a few that bare an uncanny resemblance to the lyrics on Tray’s “Playaz Club”:
Drake on “Who Do You Love”
She got a buddy name OJB and now you know the deal
We turnt up in the studio late night
That’s why the songs that you hear are comin’ real tight
OVO crew, n*gga, thought I told you
If you a player in the game, this should hold you
And man shout my n*gga Game he just rolled through
Eatin’ crab out in Malibu with no boo
A lot of fools puttin’ salt in the game
Until these women get the notion that they runnin’ the game
Rapping 4-Tay on “Playaz Club”
I got a h*e named Real de Real
She got a buddy named SP 12, now, you know the deal
We getz freaky in the studio late night
That’s why the beats that you hear are comin’ real tight
Somethin’ to roll to, somethin’ to stroll to
If you’s a playa in the game this will hold you
Mo money mo money for the bank roll
Stick to the script don’t slip in the nine-fo
A lot of fools put salt in the game
Till when these women get the notion that they runnin’ the game, huh
Tay’s “Playaz Club” was released on his 1994 album Don’t Fight The Feeling. The West Coast legend made his allegation of Drake’s stealing ways known on his personal Twitter account and even attempted to contact Drake through the use of social media platform.
Source-AllhipHop
Two Women Allegedly Robbed And Ran Over A Man For Jay Z Tickets
These Jay Z ticket prices may cost more than an arm and a leg for some. According to court documents, two women stole tickets to Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail concert from a man selling them on Craigslist and then ran him over.
The two women, identified as Denitra Sherrelle Green and Cessica Desha Darden contacted the seller on December 15th, 2013 and organize to meet for the tickets at a Starbucks on 1801 Durham. The man told police that when he leaned in to the women’s vehicle, with Green driving and Darden in the passenger, Green began to drive off and carried the man in the process. After much struggle, he fell out of the car window and was subsequently ran over by the car. The two women also had Darden’s baby in the back seat.
After the man and his girlfriend identified the two women from an array of photos, Darden and Green were arrested at Jay Z’s December 19th stop at Houston, TX’s Toyota Center in the same seats as on the stolen tickets.
Doctors say the man suffered a broken right hand, broken left arm, broken right leg, a torn right knee and severe road rash to his face and body.
Source-AllhipHop
Schumacher fans hold birthday vigil for injured driver
Fans of Michael Schumacher have held a vigil outside his hospital to mark the injured F1 legend's 45th birthday.
Schumacher's family said in a statement they had been moved to tears by the "incredible sympathies" shown by the Ferrari fans who gathered outside the clinic in the French city of Grenoble.
They said they were "utterly overwhelmed" and "deeply grateful".
The driver is in a medically induced coma after suffering head injuries while skiing in the French Alps.
He remains in a stable but critical condition, his manager has said.
The German champion, who retired in 2012, had been skiing off-piste when he fell and hit his head on Sunday. His helmet cracked on impact after hitting a rock.
Supporters held a one-minute silence outside the hospital on Friday afternoon.
Ferrari - the racing team with which Schumacher had 72 of his 91 F1 wins - said in a statement that it wanted to send him very special wishes for his birthday as he tackled "the most important fight of his life".
Members of Ferrari clubs in France and Italy travelled to Grenoble to mark the birthday of the most successful driver in Formula 1 history.
Doctors confirmed on Tuesday that Schumacher had shown signs of improvement, but was still "not out of danger".
They ruled out giving a prognosis for his condition in the coming days and months.
But it is medically possible for someone to spend several weeks in an induced coma and make a full recovery.
Source-BBC
Rafael Nadal survives scare in Doha
World number one Rafael Nadal was given a sterner test than expected as world number 162 Peter Gojowczyk took him to three sets before giving way 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the Qatar Open semi-final.
Nadal lost 12 of the first 13 points before losing the opener, but came back strongly in the second.
German Gojowczyk kept battling however and broke Nadal's serve early in the decider before he was overwhelmed.
Nadal will play France's Gael Monfils in Saturday's final.
Monfils beat Germany's Florian Mayer, who knocked out Britain's Andy Murray in the second round, in the day's second semi-final 6-3 6-2.
Although the world number 31 has lost eight of his 10 meetings with Nadal, both Monfils's victories came in previous editions of the Doha tournament.
Nadal admitted that he may be vulnerable to another defeat after undergoing fresh treatment on his long-standing knee complaint during the brief break between seasons.
"I need to play much better to have a chance tomorrow," he said.
"If I don't improve my level of tennis, my level of rhythm, and play more inside the baseline my chances of winning will not be big.
"I never win a title in the first week of the season, and tomorrow I have another opportunity."
The Australian Open, the opening Grand Slam of the season, begins in Melbourne on 13 January.
Source-BBC
Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova to make Brisbane final
Serena Williams proved too strong for Russian Maria Sharapova as she ground out a 6-2 7-6 (9-7) win to make the Brisbane International final.
The world number one landed just 40% of her first serves, but was more accurate with her groundstrokes, shaking off the dogged Sharapova in the tie-break.
An erratic Victoria Azarenka overcame former world number one Jelena Jankovic 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the other semi-final.
Roger Federer beat Marinko Matosevic 6-1 6-1 to make the men's last four.
The top-seeded Swiss was detained for just over 57 minutes by Australia's Matosevic and will play France's Jeremy Chardy next.
Kei Nishikori of Japan will play Lleyton Hewitt in the other semi-final after wins over Marin Cilic and Marius Copil respectively.
Despite sharing a schedule with perennial crowd favourite Federer and Australian veteran Hewitt, it was the meeting between Sharapova and Williams that was given top billing on the Friday's order of play by the Brisbane organisers.
Sharapova has not beaten Williams since 2004 and trails 15-2 in their head-to-head meetings, but, after missing much of the second half of 2013 to sort a long-standing shoulder injury, there were plenty of positives for the Russian and new coach Sven Groeneveld.
In their first on-court meeting since exchanging barbed comments on each other's personal lives last summer, the world number four applied pressure to Williams's serve, breaking four times, and struck the ball aggressively throughout.
Williams, after cruising through the first set, had to find another gear when she came under pressure at 3-1 down in the second set.
The American met the challenge with deep, powerful returning which reclaimed the break and recovered a second for 4-4.
Sharapova showed that her steely streetwise court craft and steely competitive edge had not been dulled by her absence as she saved a match point in the tie-break with a shrewd play at the net.
But the booming but uncharacteristically wayward serve of Williams eventually proved decisive as she closed out with her seventh ace.
Earlier in the day, Azarenka, who lost four of her last five matches in 2013 following defeat in the US Open final by Williams, made a poor start to her semi-final, surrendering her serve to Serbia's Jankovic at the first three times of asking.
After failing to salvage the first set, the Belarusian world number two faced three break points in the opening game of the second, but a stooping half-volley winner saw off the danger and shifted the momentum of the match.
As Jankovic struggled in the heat, Azarenka surged to the brink of victory. But the strain showed again on the 24-year-old's serve at the end of the match as she conceded serve with a double fault at 5-2 up, before finally sealing her place in the final two games later.
Source-BBC