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
Bolt commercial sparks debate
Jamaican sprint sensation, Usain Bolt, is receiving stark criticisms following his role in an overseas commercial where he plays the role of a woman.
Telecommunications company, Virgin Media, created the commercial to advertise their new broadband Internet service.
In the 40-second advert, Bolt is seen playing multiple roles in a 'Virgin Media household' as a baby, mother, grandfather and teenage boy, all of whom could be seen using the advertised product.
But the athlete's role as the mother however, has received some harsh reviews, while others find it entertaining.
"I hope it pays, cause he will never live it down," a Facebook user commented.
This is the athlete's third commercial with the popular telecommunications company.
Lance Armstrong wants hearing in bonus money fight
Lance Armstrong is still fighting a Texas company that wants to recoup about $12 million in bonuses he was paid for winning the Tour de France while secretly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Court documents filed in Dallas this week show that Armstrong has asked a judge to stop an arbitration panel from considering whether Dallas-based SCA Promotions should be able to recover its money.
The company tried proving Armstrong used steroids and other drugs and doping methods back in 2005, but ultimately agreed to pay him in a 2006 settlement.
In a motion filed Monday, Arm-strong's attorneys say there's "no authority under Texas law" for arbitration. They've asked a judge for a hearing.
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and given a lifetime ban from sports in 2012.
Source-AP
Spain in talks to resolve row in Panama Canal dispute
The Spanish government is in talks with Panama to try and resolve a row over the expansion of the Panama Canal.
Spain's public works minister Ana Pastor will fly to Panama this weekend, following a meeting between diplomats on Friday.
Work began on the expansion of the shipping hub in 2009, but it has gone over-budget by $1.6bn (£1bn).
The group behind the project, led by Spain's Sacyr, has threatened to halt work unless the extra money is paid.
Sacyr's chairman Manuel Manrique will also fly to Panama to join in the negotiations.
The building group, known as the Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), is made up of Spain's Sacyr, Italy's Salini Impreglio, Belgium's Jan De Nul, and Panama's Constructora Urbana.
It is in the process of constructing a third lock which will allow bigger ships to pass through.
It gave a 21 day deadline on 30 December to the Panama Canal Authority to make the extra $1.6 billion payment. If it doesn't, GUPC says it will stop work on the expansion plans.
A spokesperson for Spain's foreign ministry said: "Panama is a country that is close and friendly towards Spain, and we share the desire and interest to find a solution as soon as possible".
Spain's ambassador to Panama, Jesus Silva, added that all stand to lose out if the contract fell through.
On Thursday, Panama's President Richard Martinelli threatened to demand that the building consortium fulfil its contract to expand the canal.
The president said: "I will go to Spain and Italy to demand these governments take moral responsibility."
Construction is due to be completed in June 2015, nine months behind schedule. The overall cost of the project now expected to be $5.2bn.
Building work is now focused on the creation of a third set of locks to accommodate ships that can carry 12,000 containers. The largest ships currently able to navigate the Panama Canal carry 5,000.
The Panama Canal handles 5% of the world's maritime trade.
Source-BBC
Latin & Caribbean Economy to grow by 3% in 2014 according to IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is forecasting that economic growth in the Latin America and Caribbean region, which includes Belize, will amount to 3% during 2014, according to a report released earlier this week.
It said that during 2013, the region’s economy grew by 2.7%. Of note is that latest statistical information from Belize authorities indicate that for the first nine months of 2013, the country’s economy has lagged well behind this regional average, at less than half-a-percent.
The Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) reported national GDP expansion of a mere 0.4% for the first 9 months, with certain key sectors – including petroleum and agriculture – reporting challenges in production.
The IDB report said that on the regional front, “The year now coming to a close was marked by an external context that did not encourage a strong economic performance in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
It added that, “The high degree of volatility that rattled international financial markets and the fall in prices for basic goods took a toll on the region’s GDP growth, which averaged 2.7 percent.”
It went on to say that, “In 2014, the growth forecast for the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole is 3.0 percent.”
IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno said in his year-end report to the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors that, “a less favorable external environment, along with weak external demand over the mid-term and latent risks in international financial markets, will require the region to accelerate growth without depending on the external conditions that helped us in the past decade.”
Moreno added that, as a consequence, increasing potential output over the medium term through reforms focusing on bottlenecks that are restricting growth in productivity, internal savings and investment is a priority.
According to the IDB president, the Latin America and the Caribbean region needs to invest more in infrastructure, given the gap that exists in that area between the region and the world’s richest and most dynamic countries.
“Besides modernizing their highways, ports and airports, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean must improve infrastructure and logistical services in order to lower transaction costs and make their industries more competitive,” he said.
The IDB’s last approved loan for Belize (December 2013) is a $1 million facility for works on the George Price Highway, from Belmopan to Belize’s western border with Guatemala, at Benque Viejo del Carmen.
Source-Amandala