Injured Nadal draws inspiration from Ronaldo
Rafael Nadal is drawing inspiration from the Brazilian soccer great Ronaldo as he returns from an injury.
With Ronaldo watching, Nadal won the Brazil Open on Sunday for his first title after a seven-month layoff caused by treatment of his left knee. Nadal said Ronaldo is "an example" to be followed because of his determination to rebound from a series of career-threatening knee injuries.
Despite winning again, the Spaniard is still bothered by his knee and said he is far from fully recovered, although he hopes the victory will mark a new beginning in his career.
"Ronaldo is an example to a lot of people because of all that he was able to achieve despite what he had to go through with all the knee problems in his career," Nadal said. "He is definitely an example to me. He's an example of determination and hard work."
Ronaldo overcame three serious knee operations. The former Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan forward won two World Cups with Brazil and holds the tournament's career scoring record with 15 goals.
"He was unstoppable, one of the best players of all time despite all the bad luck he had with the knee," Nadal said.
The Spaniard was out of action since last year because a torn and inflamed tendon in his knee, an injury he says is improving.
"I didn't have so many problems, I never needed the surgeries," Nadal said. "But I can imagine how hard it must have been for Ronaldo with the complicated surgeries that he had to go through."
Nadal beat former world No. 3 David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-2, 6-3 to win his 51st title and first since beating Novak Djokovic last June for his seventh French Open championship.
The Brazil Open was Nadal's second tournament since his return. He played at the VTR Open in Chile the week before, losing the singles and doubles final. The final in Brazil was only his eighth singles match since the comeback.
Nadal looked far from his best in his first two tournaments and said that the knee injury still limited him physically.
"There are days that the knee still hurts and it's very complicated," he said. "I need some time to keep improving and become more competitive again. Let's see how it goes."
The 11-time Grand Slam champion admitted the level of the competition in Brazil was not as high as in other tournaments.
Nadal will play another clay-court tournament in Mexico this month and hopes to be fully fit by the French Open. He hopes to play at Indian Wells, Calif., next month but hasn't made a decision.
"We are thinking day to day, week to week," the 26-year-old said. "We'll see how I feel before making a decision on where I'll be playing in the near future, it will depend on how the knee improves."
Girlfriend's mom: Why did he do this?
The family of Oscar Pistorius' slain girlfriend wants answers, her mother told a Johannesburg newspaper as the country waited to hear for the first time why prosecutors believe the iconic athlete murdered Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times on Valentine's Day morning.
June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp's mother, told the Times in a front page interview: "Why? Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?"
"Just like that she is gone," the paper quoted her as saying in what it described as an emotional telephone interview. "In the blink of an eye and a single breath, the most beautiful person who ever lived is no longer here."
Pistorius, who remains in custody in a red-brick, one-story police station in Pretoria, is set to return to court Tuesday for the start of his bail hearing. That hearing will be the first opportunity for the prosecution to describe evidence police gathered against the 26-year-old double-amputee runner and the reasons why he was charged with murder.
Pistorius' family denies he committed murder though has not addressed whether he shot her. When word first emerged about the killing there was speculation in the local media that Steenkamp had been mistaken for an intruder in Pistorius' home.
Steenkamp's funeral will also be held Tuesday in her hometown of Port Elizabeth on South Africa's southern coast, her family said. It would be a private ceremony at a local crematorium, closed to the public and media.
Steenkamp, a blonde model, law graduate and reality TV contestant, died last week of multiple gunshot wounds inside Pistorius' upscale house in a gated community in the eastern suburbs of the capital, Pretoria.
Police said they arrived in the predawn hours of Thursday to find paramedics trying to revive Steenkamp. Police said she had been shot four times. A 9 mm pistol was recovered from the scene and Pistorius was arrested and charged with murder the same day.
"All we have is this horrendous death to deal with ... to get to grips with. All we want are answers ... answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this," June Steenkamp said in the Times.
Prosecutors said in Pistorius' first court appearance Friday that they would pursue a more serious pre-mediated murder charge against the Olympian and world's most high-profile disabled athlete.
In a statement initially given only to The Associated Press and two South African reporters over the weekend, Arnold Pistorius, Oscar's uncle, said the prosecution's own case would show there was no murder.
"We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation," Pistorius' uncle said, "and that the state's own case, including its own forensic evidence, strongly refutes any possibility of a premeditated murder or indeed any murder at all."
The bail hearing, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, will be the first time both the prosecutors and defense will show their hands about the evidence involved in the killing, said Stephen Tuson, an adjunct law professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
"There will kind of be a little trial within a trial," Tuson said.
Due to the gravity of the charges, Pistorius' defense lawyers will present their case first, trying to argue that their client is not a danger to the public and won't try to flee to avoid trial, Tuson said. They'll also have to show that he won't try to intimidate witnesses, nor pose a risk of sparking public unrest, the professor said.
The defense does have the opportunity to put Pistorius - who broke down and wept in his first appearance in court - on the stand to offer testimony on his own behalf. That likely won't happen, as prosecutors would then be allowed to ask him potentially incriminating questions, Tuson said.
Typically, defense lawyers read a prepared statement in court instead.
From there, prosecutors will offer their own version of events, likely bolstered by testimony from the lead investigator in the killing, Tuson said.
Pistorius has been in custody in Brooklyn police station in Pretoria.
His agent told the AP that there is no way to predict if he will ever run track again.
"For me it's too early to comment," Peet Van Zyl said. "I think it's still a huge shock and tragedy that took the world by surprise so I can't comment on that one (Pistorius' future career) or give any timeline to that at this point in time."
---
Caribbean leaders, U.S. attorney general to meet in Haiti
When Jamaican officials snubbed a group of young Haitian soccer players who visited two years ago on the heels of a deadly cholera outbreak in their quake-torn homeland, a revolted Marguerite Rigaud immediately went into action.
In a matter of days, the Pétionville restaurateur had thousands of Haitians marching through the streets of Port-au-Prince protesting the boys’ mistreatment by a fellow Caribbean nation.
“I couldn’t believe that another black nation would do this to a sister nation. I found it revolting,” Rigaud said.
The rare demonstration of Haitian unity illustrated the disconnect that exists between Haiti and its Caribbean neighbors.
This divide, which goes beyond language and history, has made Haiti an outsider in the 15-member Caribbean Community regional bloc known as Caricom. But there will be an opportunity to mend fences when Caricom meets for the first time in Haiti on Monday and Tuesday.
As chairman of Caricom for a six-month term, Haitian President Michel Martelly will host Caribbean leaders as well as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for a round of talks on crime and security, regional trade and other matters.
“What this will do is push Haiti further into Caricom,” said Ambassador Earl Huntley, head of the Caricom office in Haiti.
But Rigaud isn’t so sure. “I personally don’t see the benefits of Haiti being in Caricom,” she said. “There is a big hypocrisy there. We in Haiti are 10 million people and we are an important market for them. But no matter where we go, we are badly received; we need to have a visa.”
The two-day gathering comes as Martelly attempts to raise his unlucky nation’s profile on the international stage, and Caribbean observers debate the future of the bloc as it prepares to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its formation in July.
But it has been an uphill battle for Haiti to feel like a full-fledged member of Caricom, which is comprised mostly of English-speaking former British colonies.
With the exception of the Bahamas, no Caricom country has an embassy in Haiti, and only Turks and Caicos, an associate member, has regularly scheduled flights here.
Meanwhile, Caricom’s biggest priority — allowing for the free movement of goods, services and skilled labors throughout its member states — doesn’t fully extend to Haiti. There are still restrictions on the movement of Haitian nationals.
“In assuming the chairmanship of Caricom, the Haitian government wants to show its willingness to integrate,” said Duly Brutus, Haiti’s ambassador to Caricom and the Organization of American States.
In its quest to strengthen political, economic and diplomatic relations with fellow Caribbean nations, Haiti will be pushing several issues, Brutus said. Among them: identifying possible commercial exchanges with Caricom countries to boost trade.
The body’s clout with trade matters was apparent Sunday when the foreign ministers met with the international candidates vying for the director’s general job with the World Trade Organization after they flew in to lobby Caricom’s support.
Meanwhile, merchants who usually line sidewalks were nowhere to be found on Sunday, and the route to their hotels was lined with flags of the Caricom countries.
At the Karibe hotel, where the summit will take place, artisans were setting up an exhibit of their work, and at Oasis, presidential security was making final arrangements for a state dinner on the final night, sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism.
Haiti also hopes to benefit from the Caribbean’s tourism expertise as it seeks to reclaim its place as a leading tourism destination in the region.
“It should be remembered that during the 1950s and 1960s,” Brutus said, “Haiti was the second tourist destination in the region after Cuba.”
But for the region as a whole, regional transportation and trade, as well as crime and security, are expected to top the agenda. Holder will discuss the latter, which had become a vexing problem for many island economies, as they experience unprecedented hikes in violent crime.
Other issues expected to be raised include immigration. Both the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos have been besieged by illegal Haitian migration.
“From the perspective of the Turks and Caicos, it’s really more about our capacity to absorb some Haitian nationals,” said Premier Rufus Ewing, whose British-dependent territory is among the bloc’s five associate members.
“They represent a significant portion of our workforce, our most ready and economic source of labor,” Ewing said. “But we want to address our immigration policies, controlling illegal immigration and the recruitment of skilled laborers.”
Albert Ramdin, OAS assistant secretary general whose native Suriname is also a member of Caricom, said Martelly’s chairmanship represents an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Haiti and other Caricom members.
Martelly has asked Caricom to adopt French as an official language. A report on the costs of adding French and Dutch, spoken in Suriname, will be presented.
Haiti, Ramdin said, should seize the opportunity to not just “synthesize, but convince Caricom leaders of what role Haiti can play in the Caribbean.”
While Caricom leaders have long paid homage to Haiti’s slave revolt, which resulted in Haiti becoming the first black republic in the Western Hemisphere, many observers have questioned the extent of leaders’ commitment to the country.
“I accept that Caricom as a relatively poor region, cannot provide the financial assistance that developed countries can but it should have done, and be doing, much more in terms of scholarships, diplomatic support in international organizations,” said Reginald Dumas, a former Trinidad and Tobago ambassador who served as U.N. special advisor to Haiti.
For Daly Valet, editor of Haiti’s Le Matin newspaper, it’s a matter of finding a mutually beneficial relationship.
“We need Caricom and Caricom needs us more. I don’t really think our Caribbean neighbors get that,” he said. “The sun will rise again in, and for Haiti.”
Source-Miami Herald
Chavez back in Venezuela
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery.
Chavez's return was announced in a series of message on his Twitter account, saying "we will continue our treatment here."
"We've arrived once again in our Venezuelan homeland. Thank you, my God!!" the first of the three messages said. They were the first messages to appear on Chavez's Twitter account since Nov. 1.
"I'm clinging to Christ and trusting in my doctors and nurses," Chavez said in another tweet. "Onward toward victory always!! We will live and we will triumph!!"
Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that Chavez at arrived at 2:30 a.m. and was taken to the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in Caracas, where he will continue his treatment.
Chavez also thanked Fidel and Raul Castro, who have overseen his treatment in Cuba, and thanked his country's people "for so much love."
Chavez's return to Caracas came less than three days after the government released the first photos of the president in more than two months, showing images of him smiling alongside his daughters. The government didn't release any images of Chavez upon his arrival in Caracas.
US lawmakers visit Cuba
A bilateral delegation of American lawmakers led by Sen. Patrick Leahy is heading to Cuba for two days of meetings.
The trip is the first to the Communist-run island by high-level U.S. politicians since President Barack Obama's re-election in November.
The visit comes a year after another group of legislators led by the Vermont Democrat came to Cuba and met with Cuban President Raul Castro.
They also visited jailed American subcontractor Alan Gross, whose 15-year sentence has frozen relations between the Cold War enemies.
It was not clear whom the group would be meeting with this time around. They were scheduled to arrive Monday.
The delegation also includes Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, among others.
Close finish predicted in Barbados general election
Barbados’ two main political parties are in a statistical dead heat ahead of Thursday’s general election with Barbadians giving the nod to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart over his main challenger, Owen Arthur, according to the latest opinion poll published on Sunday.
The poll by the Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES), published in the Sunday Sun newspaper however indicates that Arthur’s Barbados Labour Party (BLP) still hold a “slight edge” for control of the 30 seats in the parliament.
It said that the BLP had a 37 per cent favourable rating as against 34 per cent for the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) with 29 per cent of the voters either not giving an indication of how they will vote on Thursday or did not know which party would most likely win nationally.
The poll has a margin of error of minus or plus five per cent, indicated however that “the actual outcome of this election is therefore dependent on the behaviour of this “uncertain vote” adding that two possible scenarios emerge, which could be revealed in the new poll which is currently under way”.The poll found that Stuart, who headed the government after the death of then prime minister David Thompson in 2011, had a three per cent lead over Arthur, who is seeking to regain control of the government he lost in 2008.
According to the pollsters, Stuart is liked by 39 per cent of the electorate as compared with 36 per cent for Arthur.
The polls showed that the DLP had been able to narrow a six per cent lead the BLP enjoyed last September to a mere 3.4 per cent, meaning that Thursday’s general elction “is expected to go down to the wire”.
But CARDES is still predicting victory for the BLP and suggesting that despite the late surge by the ruling party, the marginal lead currently enjoyed by the BLP should be sufficient for it to produce the weakest of governments if the trend holds.
The poll conducted last weekend in all 30 constituencies, found that on the issue of whether this was the time for a change of government, 38.9 per cent said yes while 40.5 per cent said no with uncommitted, comprising of those who have not yet made up their minds or would not say which party they would be voting for, accounting for 20.6 per cent.
Bahamas To Introduce a 15% Value Added Tax from July 1, 2014
In its budget for 2012/13, the Bahamas Government has announced that it will introduce a value-added tax (VAT), to broaden the tax base, from July 1, 2014.
The Government explained that VAT is to be introduced to offset the eventual reductions to import duty rates that will accompany the Bahamas’ accession to the World Trade Organization, and to begin to consolidate the territory’s finances.
From July 1, 2014, the Bahamas will apply a 15% VAT to a broad range of goods and services – the median rate in other Caribbean territories that have implemented VAT.
VAT will replace the Hotel Occupancy Tax, but a concessionary rate of 10% will apply to the business of hotels, including food and drink sold on their premises.
Excise duties will fall by around 15% on goods that will be subject to VAT when the regime is introduced.
A zero rate will apply to exports and the international transport of goods and passengers. Exempt goods and services will include:
• Food and agricultural products that benefit from duty-free status under the Tariff Act;
• Other imports that benefit from the same, aforementioned status;
• Health and education services;
• Transfers of leases of land and residential buildings;
• Financial services;
• Social and community services.
VAT filing and payment will be required on a monthly basis, and the VAT threshold will be set at USD50,000 – requiring 3,800 local businesses to register to collect and remit VAT revenues to the Government.
Machel expresses regret to victims of assault outside nightclub
Soca star Machel Montano has apologised to the assault victims involved in the fracas outside a nightclub in Port of Spain in April 2007.
Finally freed from the burden of competition, Montano was last weekend able to take his mind away from the stage and Carnival 2013. The double Soca Monarch winner was found guilty on four charges of assault against Gerard Bowrin, Brandis Browne, Janelle Lee Chee and Russell Pollonais on December 10 last year.
He was also found guilty of using obscene language during the incident which took place outside the Zen nightclub, Keate Street.
Montano, along with songwriter Kernal Roberts, the son of calypso icon Lord Kitchener; Joel "Zan" Feveck, a member of Montano HD Family; and Rodney "Benjai" LeBlanc were all charged with a series of criminal offences arising out of a fracas outside the nightclub.
Roberts was also found guilty on two charges of assault while Benjai and Feveck were found not guilty. Montano will be sentenced on the five charges on February 25.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Express, Montano took time to reflect on the last year and issued an apology to the victims of the incident at the Zen.
"Now that it has all come to an end," he said, "I take the time to reflect and I admit it has been an emotionally demanding year for me, to say the least. I travelled to different continents to record, completed two albums, toured the world and dealt with the unfortunate five-year court case before me. I am grateful to my family, friends, fans and well-wishers for all the support I have received.
"I'd like to express my regret and apologise to the victims and their families for the series of events that have affected their lives over the past few years.
The actions on that day five years ago have produced unintended consequences and for that I am deeply sorry. My hope is that we learn from this unfortunate incident and become pillars in our communities to ensure these calamities never happen again."
Montano expressed humility and wonder in his ability to "still be relevant" in the industry and praised the works of the younger generation of artistes.
Source-Express
Biological 'passports' a MUST for players at 2014 World Cup as FIFA tries to combat doping
Every player at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be required to have a biological profile - sometimes called a biological passport.
Soccer's world governing body, FIFA, is introducing the system as part of the worldwide crackdown on doping. The biological profile is considered one of the best methods to detect the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
In- and out-of-competition tests would be conducted on all participating players.
FIFA medical officer Michel D'Hooghe says FIFA is developing plans to introduce profiling, including a steroid profile through urine and a blood collections at training camps and games.
Biological profiling is considered one of the most effective methods of detecting the use of performance-enhancing drugs and blood boosters like EPO.
EPO was first tested in FIFA competitions at Korea/Japan 2002. FIFA is also developing a hormonal profiling project.
Church ready to pay taxes
The Jamaican church said yesterday it would have no problem paying property taxes, if the Government asked it to pay up, as part of measures preparatory to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) pact.
"Whatever tax the Government feels that is reasonable for us to pay, we'll pay it," said Rev Rennard White, chairman of the powerful Jamaica Umbrella Groups of Churches (JUGC), which represents the large majority of Jamaican Christians.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, White said: "We should pay our fair share like everybody else, and if the Government decides to ask us to pay taxes on property that church buildings are on then so be it."
Currently, respective churches pay tax on all other properties. Yesterday, White was unable to give specific figures, but said that the church's real estate holding is "substantial" — especially those of the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, and Seventh-day Adventist denominations.
The JUGC members are the Church of God in Jamaica, Jamaica Association of Full Gospel Churches (JAFGC), Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC), Jamaica Pentecostal Union (Apostolic) — JPU(A), Jamaica Association of Evangelicals (JAE), and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
White said he was "strongly inclined to believe" that member-churches are up to date with their property taxes.
White's comments followed a press release in which the JUGC called on the Portia Simpson Miller-led Administration to implement other cost-saving measures such as reducing the size of the Cabinet, slashing salaries of MPs, as well as reducing the number of advisors to the Government.
"The JUGC therefore appeals to our Government, as it prepares for the next national budget, to have such actions implemented," said the release.
The JUGC's release comes on the heels of a $16.4-billion tax package announced in Parliament by Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips last Tuesday.
The package, which drew the ire of the Opposition and has been met with general shock and outcry by the public, includes increases in property and education taxes, some Customs duties, as well as on taxes levied against lottery winnings, and telephone calls. It also includes the lifting of $45 billion from the National Housing Trust over a four-year period.
The measure is geared at increasing public revenues to secure an Extended Fund Facility with the IMF, a centrepiece of which is paying down Jamaica's ballooning debt.
Yesterday, while White expressed a willingness on the part of member churches to start paying tax on properties on which their sanctuaries are located, the issue of taxing weekly offerings remained a no-no.
White argued during the interview with the Observer that taxing offerings would amount to double taxation as the givers' incomes would have already been taxed at source.
White was keen to add that the church deduct, and pay over to the State, the required taxes from persons employed by the church.
Source--Jamaica Observer