Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on Raindance jury
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is on the jury of this year's Raindance Film Festival, which celebrates independent film from around the world.
Assange, who has been in Ecuador's embassy in London for more than a year, will have DVDs of the films in competition delivered to him.
Other judges include British actor Jason Flemyng, Portishead singer Beth Gibbons and author Robert Rankin.
The festival takes place in London from 25 September to 6 October.
"We choose our jurors because they are interesting people," Raindance founder Elliot Grove told the BBC at Tuesday's festival launch in the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square.
"I think five or 10 years from now, if you are studying anything to do with social media, the Wikileaks story will be a test case of how to manage that," he said.
Assange walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in London in June 2012, when his appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning on accusations of sex crimes was turned down.
"Julian - like many of the film makers and judges - will be unable to attend," Grove added. "Fortunately he has a residence not far from where we are sitting to which we will drop off the DVDs."
Assange himself will be portrayed on film by Benedict Cumberbatch in the forthcoming thriller The Fifth Estate, which has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday.
Syrian shorts
Now in its 21st year, this year's Raindance Film Festival will host more than 300 feature length films, shorts and documentaries from more than 50 countries.
Screenings include Wayland's Song, Richard Jobson's thriller about an ex-soldier dealing with physical and mental scars on returning from Afghanistan; and Earthbound - starring Rafe Spall as a man who believes he is an alien from another planet hiding from intergalactic bounty hunters.
A new addition to the line-up this year is Web Fest - two days devoted to films made for portable screens.
The festival will close with The Machine, a sci-fi thriller starring Toby Stephens and written and directed by Caradog W James.
Five documentary shorts, shot during the conflict in Syria will also be screened, including one from a director who was later kidnapped.
"One of the filmmakers emailed this morning and told me he managed to escape at sunrise this morning," Grove said. "He had been kidnapped in Aleppo. I can't identify him, he fears for his life and is in hiding."
He added: "We chose the Syrian shorts because they were extremely passionate personal statements and very relevant."
Full details of the films in competition and the judges are on the Raindance Film Festival website.
Source-BBC
Sir Elton John wins first Brits Icon award
Sir Elton John has won the first ever Brits Icon award, in a gala concert which marked his stage return after surgery for appendicitis.
The musician was presented with the prize by his friend, singer Rod Stewart, who described him as "the second-best rock singer ever".
Sir Elton said he was "flattered" by the award, given to artists who have had a "lasting impact" on UK culture.
He also played several of his hits, including Your Song and Tiny Dancer.
Students from the Royal Academy of Music, where Sir Elton trained, joined him on stage to play Home Again, from his new album Diving Board, while Stewart duetted with his "dear mate" on the closing song, Sad Songs (Say So Much).
The concert was attended by the likes of Liz Hurley and Gary Barlow, while video messages were played from President Clinton, Ringo Starr and tennis legend Billie Jean King, for whom Sir Elton wrote Philadelphia Freedom.
The star, wearing red sequinned shoes, received a standing ovation as he accepted the gold Brits trophy.
Holding it aloft, he remarked: "They've even made it sparkly on the bottom, which you know I love".
He dedicated the award to writing partner Bernie Taupin, "who I wouldn't be here without", as well as the "Women's Institute and you, the fans".
Andy Murray beats Denis Istomin to reach quarters in US Open
Andy Murray beat Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in the first New York night session of his US Open title defence to set up a quarter-final against Stanislas Wawrinka on Thursday.
The Briton was irritated by a number of bad line calls and struggled for consistency on a windy evening, but was not seriously threatened in a 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 6-4 win. Murray, 26, was given prime-time billing on Arthur Ashe Stadium and duly delivered the expected victory to reach his 17th Grand Slam quarter-final.
However, it was hard going over three hours and seven minutes after he let a winning position slip in the first set, and it was 11.44pm local time (04:44 BST) by the time he punched away the winning volley.
He will next face ninth seed Wawrinka on Wednesday after the Swiss upset fifth seed Tomas Berdych 3-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"I wanted to just try and get through the match," said Murray. "In the end it was difficult conditions. It was extremely windy.
"With the way he plays, he hits the ball pretty big and flat on both sides, strokes pretty low, hard at times to control. He made it very difficult for me.
"With the way the third set ended up going, I was just very happy to get it done because he had chances at the end of the third set to go ahead."
Murray could only show the quality that has brought him the US Open and Wimbledon titles in occasional bursts against Istomin as both men struggled in the conditions.
Three forehand errors from Murray handed Istomin a chance to serve for the opening set, but when the Scot broke back immediately it seemed as if the world number 65 had missed his opportunity.
A bizarre bit of showboating from Istomin, who attempted a between-the-legs shot that was never likely to come off, suggested he too had given up the ghost. Murray had the set on his racquet at 5-3 in the tie-break but a dreadful couple of minutes followed, with Istomin firing a wonderful forehand down the line and the champion offering up three errors.
Having dropped his second set of the tournament, Murray set about snuffing out the danger with a beautiful cross-court forehand winner to break at the start of the second.
He made just two errors off the ground as he dominated the set, and a run of nine from 11 games had him in command at 3-1 in the third.
The sense of irritation lingered, however, and one overrule by the umpire early in the set prompted the Briton to plead: "We have to replay that point? Are you kidding me?"
Istomin remained alive to the situation, keeping the pressure on as best he could, and another Murray slump in game six ended with a backhand in the net that brought the scores level.
At one set all and 3-3 in the third, the match was in danger of developing into a real dogfight but, once again, when tested Murray came up with what was required.
He threw everything into the next game, finally converting his fourth break point with a forehand into the corner, and then produced the shot of the night with a forehand winner after some magnificent scrambling in defence.
There were no more alarms as Murray closed out the set and made his move at 4-4 in the fourth, breaking thanks to a towering shot that caught the wind before Istomin made the decisive error.
Murray pounced to put away a high forehand volley on match point and celebrated with a clenched fist and gritted teeth that spoke of a testing evening's work.
"I think hopefully I'll start playing a little bit better from now on," added Murray.
"I mean, sometimes the first week of a Slam I've played very well, sometimes you maybe feel like there's a little bit of something to lose. I don't know.
"But I'm in the quarter-finals of a Slam. It's not an easy thing to do, and the matches are going to get tougher. I'll have to up my game."
Source-BBC Sports
LIAT hits back at CPL founder
Naive and unreasonable!
That’s how LIAT responded to founder of the Caribbean Premier League(CPL), Ajmal Khan, who described the intra-regional airline’s service as “a travesty” and blamed poor service for having to spend millions of dollars extra to transport teams in the just ended Twenty20 cricket tournament.
In a statement yesterday, two days after Khan made the comments in a front page story in the SUNDAY SUN, LIAT said CPL officials waited until the eleventh hour to contact the carrier concerning the logistics of transporting the teams and crew.
“LIAT looks forward to the CPL becoming a permanent fixture on the West Indies cricket scene, and would be privileged to be part of a transportation solution. However, it is naïve and unreasonable to expect the airline to take on the full responsibility, given such late notice, even under the best of circumstances,” the carrier said.
Source-NationNews
Bravo, Narine back for T&T vs Windwards
Darren Bravo and Sunil Narine returns to the T&T national team, as they leave on Thursday to take on the Windward Islands in two T20 matches in Dominica.
The games are scheduled for September 6 and 7 and the team returns on September 8. Over the last weekend T&T drew a two-match rubber with their Guyanese counterparts in Guyana.
Narine and Bravo were both given time off to deal with personal stuff but returns to begin their preparations.
Making way for them are Nicholas Sookdeosingh and Imran Khan.
T&T is preparing for the Champions League T20 which starts later this month in India.
Manager of the team Omar Khan is happy with the preparations so far.
“So far things have gone well. We had two games on the weekend in Guyana and it was great to see players from both teams play with such intensity.
“We are hoping for more of the same this weekend when we play the Windwards.
“It was good to see the players gel together and begin this very important phase of the preparations.
“This is our last Champions League and the players are very focussed and committed to performing well.”
T&T Squad: Evin Lewis, Adrian Barath, Nicholas Sookdeosingh, Darren Bravo, Jason Mohammed, Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Khesan Ottley, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Rampaul, Sherwin Ganga, Sunil Narine, Navin Stewart, Shannon Gabriel and Samuel Badree.
Staff: Omar Khan (Manager), David Williams (Coach), Kelvin Williams (Assistant Coach), Oba Gulston (Physio) and Dinesh Mahabir (Video).
Windies name women’s squad
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced a 17-member West Indies Women’s squad to begin preparations for a series of One-day and Twenty20 International against England and New Zealand next month.
Right-handed batter Chinelle Henry is the only uncapped player in the squad and left-handed all-rounder Stacy Ann King has been recalled after missing recent engagements.
“Chinelle is a capable player and strikes the ball very nicely. We expect some good things from her in the future. She has been around the Jamaica team for a long time, but she is still very young,” said Chairman of the West Indies Selection Committee Clyde Butts.
Asafa/Sherone doping investigation stalled
The criminal doping investigation into former 100-meter world record-holder Asafa Powell, Jamaica teammate Sherone Simpson and their trainer has been delayed by bureaucratic problems.
Udine prosecutor Andrea Gondolo told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his office has been unable to contact the athletes to ask whether they want to observe the testing of substances sequestered during a police raid in July on their training base in northern Italy.
The athletes can observe the testing themselves or designate a lawyer to do so.
They have 20 days to respond once contacted.
"The problem has been finding an address to deliver the notification to see if they want to observe the tests, because some of the tests cannot be repeated," Gondolo said.
"But I think we should be able to move forward within a month."
If the athletes cannot be contacted, prosecutors could go to the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association instead.
The Canadian trainer, Christopher Xuereb, was already contacted.
Milton Samuda, a who represents Powell and Simpson, did not respond to emails or calls seeking comment.
Following the hotel raid in July in Lignano Sabbiadoro, where the Jamaicans have been training for years, the athletes and Xuereb were formally placed under criminal investigation for violating Italy's doping laws.
The raid came after it was announced that Powell and Simpson had tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine at the Jamaican championships in June.
The athletes blamed Xuereb, their newly hired trainer, and said new supplements he provided caused the positive tests. Xuereb said he didn't give the sprinters performance-enhancing drugs and suggested he was a scapegoat.
Italy's doping laws include sections for use, administration of banned substances and importation of banned substances.
Administration and importation carry more severe sentences and therefore Xuereb risks harsher punishment, Gondolo said. He added the athletes do not risk prison time.
The confiscated substances appear to be from the United States, according to the containers they were found in, Gondolo said.
Powell and Simpson also risk bans from sports authorities. They have already stopped competing and missed last month's world championships in Moscow.
Source-AP
Australia's economic growth better than forecast
Australia has reported better-then-forecast growth numbers for the April to June quarter, boosted by gains in consumer spending.
Its gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.6% during the quarter, from a year earlier. Compared with the previous quarter, growth was 0.6%.
Most forecasts were for an annual growth closer to 2.5%.
Analysts said the data was likely to see the Australian central bank hold back on easing its policies further.
"This is probably a touch above what the Reserve Bank of Australia was expecting and this would decrease the probability of a near term rate cut," said Matthew Johnson, an interest rate strategist at UBS.
Australia's central bank, which has lowered borrowing costs to a record low in recent months, kept rates unchanged as it met on Tuesday.
Australia's economy, which enjoyed robust growth in recent years, has seen its growth rate slow of late.
One of the biggest drags has been the slowing demand for its natural resources such as iron ore.
The sector has been hurt by a decline in demand from countries such as China, triggering concerns that Australia's economic growth may dip further.
At the same time, other sectors of the economy have not picked up enough speed to offset the slowdown in mining.
Analysts said that while the latest numbers had helped allay some fears of a sharp slowdown, the economy was still under pressure.
Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie Bank, said the latest numbers were a continuation of "this distinctly sub-trend growth that we've seen over the last nine months now".
"It doesn't suggest that the economy is falling into a hole yet, but there aren't really signs that we're going to break out of this rut either."
Oil rises as Obama gets support in Syria effort
Oil rose above US$108 a barrel yesterday as President Barack Obama won the support of the top Republican in Congress for US military intervention in Syria. House Speaker John Boehner said acting against Syria was something “the United States as a country needs to do.” Obama said yesterday that he’s confident Congress will authorise a military strike in Syria.
By midday, benchmark crude for October delivery was up 54 cents to $108.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex floor trading was closed Monday because of Labour Day. Obama is trying to drum up support for military strikes against the regime of President Bashar Assad to respond to an attack in the Damascus suburbs last month that the US says killed at least 1,429 civilians. A vote could come once Congress returns from its summer break, which is scheduled to end September 9.
While Syria is not a major oil producer, it straddles a region that is. The possibility of a wider conflict, one that could interrupt production and shipping routes in the region, has pushed oil prices higher in the past week. Besides the uncertainty over developments in the Middle East, oil prices have been supported as well in recent days by stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from China and the European Union.
Brent, the benchmark for international crudes, was up 81 cents to $115.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
Source-AP
S&P says US lawsuit is 'retaliation' to ratings downgrade
Ratings agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) has claimed the lawsuit filed against it by the US Justice Department was "retaliation" against its decision to downgrade the US credit rating.
The agency was sued in February over its assessment of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis.
The suit alleged that S&P turned a blind eye to risks in the products, and gave them ratings that were too high.
The US government is seeking $5bn (£3bn) in penalties.
In a court filing on Tuesday, S&P, which had previously said the case was without merit, claimed that it was being sued in retaliation for its downgrade of the US credit rating in 2011.
S&P downgraded the US rating in August 2011 one notch from AAA to AA+, amid a standoff in Congress over whether to raise the country's borrowing limit.
It had cited concerns about budget deficits as the reason behind the downgrade.
"Only S&P Ratings downgraded the United States and only S&P Ratings has been sued by the United States," S&P said in the court filing.
The lawsuit is the first to be brought against a ratings agency for alleged wrongdoing connected to the financial crisis.