Cuba lashes out against U.S. fines on foreign banks
The Cuban government has denounced what it called the “unjust and illegal” multi-million dollar fines the U.S. government slapped on two foreign banks for violating Washington’s sanctions on the island.
The U.S. actions show that its “ferocious persecution of financial and commercial transactions by Cuba and those with legitimate relations … has only changed but has hardened,” a Foreign Ministry official said in a statement.
The British-based HSBC bank agreed to pay $1.9 billion to the U.S. government last week to settle accusations that it laundered drug money through its Mexican and other branches, and violated U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba.
The next day Washington announced that Japan’s Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ bank had agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle what the Cuban statement called “a supposed violation of the unilateral sanctions of the United States against various countries, including Cuba.”
Under the trade embargo, banks cannot move Cuban funds through U.S. financial institutions or handle U.S. dollar deposits for Cuban entities or citizens. Cuba is subject to other sanctions as well because it is on the U.S. list of countries that support international terrorism.
Venezuela's Chavez 'conscious' says VP Nicolas Maduro
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is conscious but in a "delicate and complex situation" after a cancer operation in Cuba, his deputy says.
Vice-President Nicolas Maduro said he had seen the president twice in the past two days.
The 58-year-old president has been in power since 1999 and was elected for a fourth term in office in October.
He is due to be sworn in for a new term on 10 January, but it is unclear if he will be able to attend ceremony.
But Mr Maduro angrily denounced speculation the president's health was failing.
Earlier, Venezuelan cabinet ministers prayed for Mr Chavez's recovery during a Mass at the presidential palace in Caracas.
Official New Year celebrations were called off after Mr Maduro announced the president had suffered new complications.
Speaking in Havana, Mr Maduro said he had visited Mr Chavez in hospital twice since arriving on Saturday.
"We have faith in God and in the doctors that Hugo Chavez will continue to make progress and sooner or later will emerge from this complex and delicate post-operative state he is in," he told the Latin American satellite network Telesur.
But he gave very little further concrete information about the condition of the president, who underwent his operation on 11 December.
He said Mr Chavez gripped his hand "with gigantic force" as they spoke, discussing political matters, the economy in Venezuela and the swearing-in of new governors following regional elections.
He denounced what he called right-wing media rumours about Mr Chavez's health as the work of "mentally ill" people, saying they were inventing and manipulating information without respect for Mr Chavez or his family.
Earlier this year, the president said he had been cleared of a cancer diagnosed in 2011 and was fit to serve out his six-year term.
But on 11 December, he went through his fourth cancer operation in Cuba.
There are also many questions about what will happen on 10 January when Mr Chavez is due to be re-inaugurated, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Havana, adding that it is now three weeks since Mr Chavez has been seen or heard from.
National Assembly head Diosdado Cabello recently said that the swearing-in ceremony would be delayed in the case of Mr Chavez's absence.
But the opposition says such move would be unconstitutional.
The Venezuelan constitutions states that a new election should be called in 30 days should the president not be fit enough to attend his inauguration, the opposition argues.
Thirteen Colombian Farc rebels 'killed in air strike'
At least 13 members of Colombia's largest rebel group, the Farc, have been killed in an air strike, the Colombian military says.
The air force bombarded a rebel camp in north-western Antioquia province on Monday and has since found 13 bodies.
The military has been continuing its attacks on the left-wing rebels at the same time as the government is engaging them in peace talks in Cuba.
The next session is scheduled in two weeks time.
The Farc called a temporary unilateral truce at the start of the peace talks and urged the Colombian government to do the same.
But Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon called the truce "incoherent" and said there would be no let-up in operations against the Farc.
Key suspect
Air Force officials said Monday's air strike near the town of Chigorodo had seriously weakened the 5th Division of the Farc.
They said that among those injured in the attack was a rebel known as Mayerli, who is wanted on suspicion of involvement in the 2009 killing of 19 soldiers in Antioquia.
In its heyday in 2001, the Farc had some 16,000 fighters, but military operations and desertions have halved their number.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has set a deadline of November 2013 for an agreement to be reached with the rebel group.
He said the peace process had to be a matter of months, not years.
The last peace talks broke down in 2002 after the government accused the rebels of using a demilitarised zone they were granted as part of the negotiations to regroup and retrain.
Juvenile inmates escape from Peru prison
Thirteen inmates have escaped from a juvenile detention centre in Peru.
The youths staged a riot at the prison, in Lima, as the guards prepared to celebrate the New Year.
The warden of the jail has been fired and several guards transferred pending an investigation.
Among those on the run is a 17-year-old serving time for a double murder who had been moved to the centre after he was recaptured following an escape from another prison.
The detention centre was built to house 370 inmates, but currently there are about 1,000 youths incarcerated there.
Police said they were continuing to search for the escapees.
Rape victims anger at police in Barbados
Two British women who helped free a man, who police accused of raping them in Barbados, have expressed outrage after the island's commissioner said he was happy with the investigation.
Dr Rachel Turner, of Hertfordshire, and Diane Davies, of Anglesey, were raped within days of each other in 2010.
Barbadian Derick Crawford, 47, was charged with the rapes, but the case was dismissed this month.
Police Commissioner Darwin Dottin said the case was investigated thoroughly.
In his first public comment on the case since it was dismissed, Commissioner Dottin told a press conference on Friday that the Royal Barbados Police had reviewed on the files on the case and there was "nothing that would keep me awake at night on the matter".
He suggested that Dr Turner and Mrs Davies may not have recognised the attacker because he was a "different race".
Dr Turner, 30, who grew up near Letchworth, Hertfordshire, and holds a research post at the University of the West Indies, and Mrs Davies, 63, of Valley, Anglesey, waived their right to anonymity to voice their concerns.
They do not understand why the police kept insisting on Mr Crawford's guilt long after they told them he was not the attacker, and when there was no forensic evidence linking Mr Crawford to the crimes.
Dr Turner told the BBC she was "almost speechless" at the response by Commissioner Dottin to the womens' concerns.
She said it was "preposterous and so insulting" to suggest that she would not recognise her attacker.
Dr Turner said she was concerned that the police did not seem interested in finding the attacker.
Mrs Davies said: "It is incredulous he can make these claims (that the investigation is thorough). Darwin Dottin needs to find the man who did these rapes and apologise to myself and Rachel."
After the dismissal of the case against Mr Crawford, who spent 18 months in jail, said he would be seeking compensation after being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
At a news conference in Barbados, Mr Crawford said he was coerced into making a confession.
--BBC
Blazers overcome Anthony's 45, spoil Amare's debut
Amare Stoudemire stood up from the bench and the fans rose with him, a booming ovation filling Madison Square Garden as Stoudemire walked to the scorer's table to enter a game for the first time this season.
The cheers turned to boos just a few minutes later when the Knicks couldn't stop the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers overcame Carmelo Anthony's season high-tying 45 points and spoiled Stoudemire's season debut, beating New York 105-100 on Tuesday night.
Stoudemire finished with six points on 3-of-8 shooting and one rebound in 17 minutes off the bench in his return from knee surgery. He said he nearly shed a tear with the loud appreciation the fans showed him when he checked in, but he couldn't give them anything to keep the cheers going in the first half.
"I felt good,'' Stoudemire said. "The game felt like it was going 100 mph that first half. Had a couple of easy-looking shots, open shots, just a little bit rusty, wasn't able to knock those down. But the second half was better than my first half. Hopefully my second game will be better than my first game.''
Nicolas Batum scored 26 points, rookie Damian Lillard had 21 points, six assists and five rebounds, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Portland, which avenged a 121-79 loss here last March 14.
"When we came last year, that was the biggest loss of my career. Down 42, that was real embarrassing,'' Batum said. "The only thing on my mind when I came in was just put (down) the stat sheet from last year. That was my motivation for tonight.''
Anthony shot 14 of 24 and nearly led the Knicks back from 19 points down after missing two games with a knee injury, but the Trail Blazers had too many options.
J.J. Hickson scored all of his 18 points in the first half as Portland won for the third time in four games.
Source-AP
Stanford holds off Wisconsin 20-14 in Rose Bowl
Shayne Skov and Zach Ertz believe every game in Stanford's improbable football renaissance led the Cardinal to midfield at the Rose Bowl.
That's where Usua Amanam made the interception that stopped Wisconsin's final drive with 2:30 to play in a grind-it-out game. That's where Kevin Hogan grinned broadly as he took the final snap on Stanford's first Rose Bowl victory in 40 years.
And it's the spot where the once-struggling team from a school better known for brains than brawn raised the West Coast's most coveted trophy after a 20-14 victory over the Badgers on Tuesday night.
"There's a sense of accomplishment, because we got somewhere we hadn't been yet," said Skov, who made eight tackles while leading Stanford's second-half shutout. "If you looked at our goals at the beginning of the season, this was on top of the list, and we got it done. We're extremely satisfied."
Stepfan Taylor rushed for 89 yards and an early touchdown, while Hogan passed for 123 yards, but Stanford (12-2) won the 99th Rose Bowl with a shutdown effort by its defense. Although Stanford didn't score many style points against the Badgers, the Cardinal could celebrate because they didn't let Wisconsin score any points at all after halftime, holding the Badgers to 82 yards.
After winning the Orange Bowl two years ago and losing the Fiesta Bowl in overtime last season, Stanford earned its first conference title and its first trip to the Granddaddy of Them All in 13 years, which is what most Pac-12 players really want.
"We've been in BCS games the past two years, but neither of those mean as much as this one did," said Ertz, the tight end who had three catches for 61 yards. "This is the one we play for every year. It shows Stanford is here to stay."
The Cardinal finished with 12 victories for just the second time in school history - and the second time in the last three years during this surge begun by Andrew Luck and coach Jim Harbaugh. Many Pac-12 observers expected a sharp decline at Stanford this season, but coach David Shaw and Hogan achieved something even Harbaugh and Luck couldn't manage.
"We knew this was going to be a battle, and we wouldn't expect it any other way," Shaw said. "We know it's going to be tight, it's going to be close, and we're going to find a way to win. That's the way it's been all year."
Stanford clamped down on the Big Ten champion Badgers (8-6), who lost the Rose Bowl in heartbreaking fashion for the third consecutive season. Montee Ball rushed for 100 yards and his FBS-record 83rd touchdown, but Wisconsin managed only four first downs in that scoreless second half.
With impressive defense of its own, Wisconsin still stayed in position for an upset in the one-game return of Hall of Fame coach Barry Alvarez, who was back on the Badgers' sideline in his red sweater-vest seven years after hanging up his whistle.
"This group of kids has been through a lot, and they competed extremely hard against a very high-quality team," said Alvarez, who nearly pulled off a stunner while bridging the gap between coaches Bret Bielema and Gary Andersen. "We've played three very good football games (at the Rose Bowl). These guys played hard. In fact, most people would like to get here once. But we just didn't get it done."
Kelsey Young took his only carry 16 yards for a score on Stanford's opening possession, and Taylor scored on the second drive after a big catch by Ertz. Wisconsin kept the Cardinal out of the end zone for the final 51 minutes, holding them to three points in the second half, but Stanford's defense didn't need any more help in the Cardinal's eighth straight victory.
When Bielema abruptly left Wisconsin for Arkansas after winning the Big Ten title game, Alvarez agreed to coach his fourth Rose Bowl before handing off his program to Andersen, who met with Alvarez on the field before the game. But the Badgers' third consecutive January in Pasadena ended in much the same way as the last two: With the offense failing to get the late score the Badgers desperately needed.
"This stings just as much, because we fell extremely short when we had the opportunity to win," Ball said. "We had numerous opportunities to capitalize on big plays, and we fell short. ... This is not the way we want to be remembered. Speaking for the entire senior group, this is not the way we wanted to go out."
Curt Phillips went 10 for 16 for 83 yards passing and that crucial interception for Wisconsin, doing more with 64 yards on the ground. Jordan Fredrick caught his first career TD pass right before halftime, but no Badgers receiver had more than Jared Abbrederis' three catches.
And though Ball became the first player to score touchdowns in three Rose Bowls, the powerful back fell short of Ron Dayne's career Rose Bowl rushing record, swarmed under by waves of tacklers from one of the toughest defenses in the nation - a defense that shut down the top-ranked Ducks in mid-November to pave Stanford's path to Pasadena.
"They're a good football team, but we have a very good defense," Ertz said. "They stopped Oregon when no one said it could be done. That shows the unity we have on this team. We're never going to quit."
Wisconsin was the first five-loss team to make it to Pasadena, losing three overtime games and making the Big Ten title game only because Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible. The Badgers then steamrolled Nebraska to become the first Big Ten team in three straight Rose Bowls since Michigan in the late 1970s.
With the Rose Bowl filled with fans wearing the schools' near-identical cardinal-and-white gear, Stanford went up 14-0 on Taylor's 3-yard TD run just 8 1/2 minutes in. Wisconsin briefly got rolling behind Ball, who rushed for 296 yards in his first two Rose Bowls.
Stanford stopped James White inside the 1 on fourth down early in the second quarter after a touchdown run by Ball was wiped out by a holding penalty, but Ball scored on the next drive. The Badgers then mounted an 85-yard drive in the waning 2 1/2 minutes of the first half, with Phillips' 38-yard run setting up Fredrick's short TD catch to trim Stanford's halftime lead to 17-14.
After halftime adjustments, both defenses dominated the scoreless third quarter, allowing just three combined first downs.
Wisconsin's personal foul on a fair-catch punt return finally sparked the Cardinal early in the fourth quarter. Stanford got inside the Wisconsin 5 before stalling, and Jordan Williamson's short field goal put the Cardinal up by six points with 4:23 to go.
The Badgers got to midfield, but Phillips threw behind Jacob Pedersen, and Amanam easily made the pick.
"I just happened to be at the right place at the right time," Amanam said. "We were able to kind of seal the game on that one."
Source-AP
WI, Bolt propel region into global spotlight
West Indies rescaled the pinnacle of world cricket for the first time in eight years while sprint superstar Usain Bolt laid claim to legend status by once again attaining the dizzying heights of global stardom, to headline a remarkable year in Caribbean sport in 2012.
Man.Utd 4-0 ove Wigan
Javier Hernandez and Robin van Persie scored twice as Premier League leaders Manchester United coasted past Wigan to preserve their seven-point advantage.
The Mexican striker side-footed the opener after Ali Al Habsi had parried Patrice Evra's shot into his path.
United went 2-0 up when Van Persie turned Ivan Ramis and curled a sublime shot into the far corner.
Hernandez lashed home Van Persie's deflected free-kick before the Dutchman turned in Danny Welbeck's low cross.
United's eighth win in nine league games maintained their grip on top spot in the table at the end of a busy Christmas schedule and provided a fitting way for manager Sir Alex Ferguson to celebrate turning 71 on New Year's Eve.
Wigan, in contrast, appear destined for their annual relegation fight after sliding to 17th place, just one point above the drop zone.
A lively start from United showed their determination to avoid a repeat of last April, when a shock 1-0 defeat at the DW Stadium contributed to them surrendering an eight-point lead to Manchester City in the title race and set Wigan on the road to safety.
The recalled Hernandez was a lively spearhead to United's attack and, after firing his first chance straight at Al Habsi from a narrow angle, he collected a Ryan Giggs pass and drilled into the net, only to be correctly denied by the linesman's flag.
Another sublime delivery from Giggs almost provided Hernandez with a tap-in, but the ball was expertly whipped away from his toes by Maynor Figueroa.
With United in the ascendancy, Al Habsi was the busiest man on the field, saving a free-kick from Van Persie and a deflected drive from Rafael.
But when a corner from the right was never properly cleared, United's pressure finally bore fruit.
Evra picked up Jonny Evans's pass and unleashed a powerful drive, which was pushed one-handed by Al Habsi into the path of Hernandez, who side-footed first time into the roof of the net.
Al Habsi could do nothing to prevent United's second goal, which was down to the individual brilliance of Van Persie.
United almost extended their lead shortly after the restart as Van Persie played Hernandez into space but the striker fired wastefully wide.
Wigan thought they had secured a lifeline when Arouna Kone turned in Franco Di Santo's low cross, but the Ivory Coast striker was ruled to have strayed a fraction offside.
United reacted to the scare with characteristic ruthlessness as Hernandez secured the points with his team's third goal. Van Persie's free-kick rebounded off the wall into the Mexican's path and was expertly drilled past Al Habsi.
A comfortable afternoon for United was complete when Van Persie capitalised on a horrible mix-up in the home side's defence to score his 19th goal of the season. ound by Hernandez inside the area, the former Arsenal striker left Ramis on the floor with a sharp turn and whipped a right-footed shot into the net.
WICB,Hunte hails pivotal year
President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Julian Hunte has described 2012 as “a watershed year in West Indies cricket”.
Hunte said that West Indies cricket was better positioned for the rest of the decade on many fronts and pointed to what he termed as number of historic events in the year
“Most significant is that the West Indies team won the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament and are world champions again after a period of drought,” he said.
“We must recognise and hail the efforts of Darren Sammy and Ottis Gibson, along with team manager Richie Richardson and the senior players in particular.”
Hunte noted as accomplishments the partnerships and agreements the WICB was able to secure and finalise during the year.
He also touched on the launch of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), due to come on stream this year, and the securing of a major television rights deal with Dubai-based TAJ TV.
The WICB has also managed to increase the number of central retainer contracts from 15 to 20, while a large pool of regional players are set to start receiving regional retainer contracts from next year as part of the licensing agreement with sponsors Verus International for the CPL.
“Our women’s team continues to build from strength to strength and are now ready to move into the upper echelons of the women’s international rankings,” he continued.
“Stafanie Taylor was confirmed as the leading player in women’s cricket after she won the ICC Women’s Player-of-the-Year award and now stands alongside Anisa Mohammed, Shanel Daley, Merissa Aguileira and Deandra Dottin as some of the finest female cricketers in the world.”
The WICB president also boasted that the developmental programmes, ranging from the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket to the Sagicor High Performance Centre, were also stronger.
“We have completed the full circle of the foundations of development, it is now for us to remain on course, put in the hard work and reap the rewards and benefits which will follow,” he said.
“We have seen players graduate to the international stage and proven themselves, and we continue to see a host of talent who are successful on the regional scene and who we are confident will step up when the opportunities are provided to them.” (CMC)