IMF will not pay wage bill
THERE will be no accommodations for public sector wages under a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement in Jamaica, says resident representative Dr Gene Leon.
This is because “an IMF loan does not provide money for salaries, it does not provide money for basic schools, and it does not provide money for roads”, Leon said. “It is to ensure that the country... can continue to meet international transactions.”Generally, the aim of the IMF is to ensure economic stability and to ensure there is enough financing to facilitate the continuation of international trade, stated Leon on Friday at a forum hosted by the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Education Institute.
Developing a “parallel track” that will take care of growth and an increase in public sector wages is the only way to address the incompatibility of the impending IMF agreement with an increase in salaries, said the Institute’s president ,Danny Roberts.
“We need to find alternatives,” he said. “We cannot borrow ourselves out of a crisis.”
This would be Jamaica's latest agreement in a 39-year stretch of borrowing from the IMF.
The last meeting required the completion of the Jamaica Debt Exchange and the sale of Air Jamaica before an agreement could be reached.
These “prior actions” increase the likelihood of the success of any programme that would be given to the island, Leon said.
Similarly, “we have some prior actions for this programme that have not yet been discussed and agreed upon”, he further stated, indicating that an agreement might not be reached until next year.
In the meantime, the Government should either reprioritize spending or increasing revenue.
“[Public sector] wages constitute 50 per cent of Jamaica's revenue,” he said, adding that the necessity of this 50 per cent and how it can be reduced if it is found that the amount is unnecessary should be considered.
And while the percentage of wages to overall expenditures is high in Jamaica compared to other countries globally, “we are focused on wages because that’s the easiest thing to tackle, but wages represent one element of the problem”.
“What we have is a structural problem. We need to fix the structure.”
A wage freeze, therefore, will only provide the Government with more time but does not solve the problem, he said.
Another secondary school stabbing - victim stabbed in leg
A form Five student in Trinidad remains hospitalised after he was stabbed with a knife by another student at school yesterday.
The student was stabbed once to the leg and was rushed to hospital for treatment. Up to late yesterday evening a 16-year-old student remained in police custody in connection with the stabbing incident.
According to police reports, at about 8.45 am, two male students, an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old began arguing over a school bag. The younger student, according to police, pulled out a knife and stabbed the older teen.
Police were told two days before, the older student complained his books were thrown out and his bag was stolen by the younger student. The older boy went to the 16-year-old and demanded he return his bag and a fight started during which the older boy was stabbed.
Eyewitnesses say a third student saw the fight and intervened to stop the younger student from beating the older one.
Last week a student in Grenada was stabbed to death by another student. The deceased will be ladi to rest next week. The female student charged with this crime has been remaded to prison and will face the court next month.
Bolt undecided on long jump
Olympic 100 and 200 metres champion, Usain Bolt, appears to be having second thoughts about competing in long jump events as he had earlier suggested. Bolt, currently on a short trip to Brazil, said he does not want to risk a serious injury that could keep him from defending his sprint titles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"The plan is (to compete in the) long jump maybe before the Olympics, but I have talked to my coach a little bit and he's shown some concern about the fact that long jump can bring some problems to the knee," Bolt told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro.
“We will sit down and evaluate if we want to do it”.
Bolt, who became the first man to successfully defend the 100- and 200-metre titles at the London Olympics, has been going back and forth about whether he will try competing in either the long jump or the 400 in Rio.
Earlier this month, Bolt said his aim was to go for a three-peat of his Olympic sprint titles in Rio, but a couple of days later he said the long jump and the 400 were not out of the question.
"Because if I do it, I may jeopardise my opportunity to come to Rio, so I may not do long jump,” said the 26-year-old who holds the world record in the 100 and 200. It concerns me. We will look over and see if it is possible."
Bolt began his two-day trip by visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue, then took a helicopter tour over Copacabana Beach, Sugar Loaf mountain and Maracana Stadium, which is being renovated for next year's Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.
"Construction in full Usain Bolt speed ahead of World Cup football” he said on his Twitter account and also posted a photo of the stadium.
Bolt also visited a local athletics facility, met with young Brazilian athletes and received Rio's key of the city from Mayor Eduardo Paes.
Lakers shut down Kobe Bryant (sore foot) for rest of preseason
Kobe Bryant, his preseason work complete, will sit out until the games matter.
The Los Angeles Lakers announced Wednesday that their All-Star guard will be shut down for the remainder of the preseason with a sore right foot. The Lakers have preseason games against the the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. Bryant will be re-evaluted before the Lakers begin their 2012-13 regular-season schedule by hosting the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 30 at the Staples Center. The decision to shut Bryant down will give him nine days of rest between the injury and L.A.’s season opener.
Bryant suffered the foot injury during Sunday’s loss to the Kings.
Bryant strained the foot when accidentally making contact with a Kings opponent, as opposed to being kicked.
The level of concern here for Lakers fans should remain at zero. The biggest key for a veteran L.A. team during the preseason was to get an early look at how Bryant and Pau Gasol would mesh with new center Dwight Howard and new point Steve Nash. Howard’s rehabilitation from back surgery came together just in time to give the quartet the opportunity to play together before wins and losses count. That game, Sunday’s loss to the Kings, hinted at the success and domination that will come if all four can remain healthy. Nash and Gasol fed Howard with lobs, Bryant and Howard ran some pick-and-roll and Nash and Howard combined to push tempo on numerous occasions. Bryant and Howard combined for 40 points, Gasol added 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Nash had five assists. There wasn’t much missing from the October night for a team that looks poised to make a run at playing in June.
Bryant, 34, appeared in five preseason games for the Lakers, posting averages of 20.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 26.8 minutes per game. One of the league’s more durable superstars, he appeared in 58 of L.A.’s 66 games last season, averaging 27.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
Ajax beat Manchester City 3-1
Manchester City's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage suffered another crushing blow with a comprehensive defeat at Ajax.
Samir Nasri slotted City ahead against the run of play in Amsterdam, but Siem de Jong equalised for Ajax with a low finish just before half-time and Niklas Moisander headed them in front.
Christian Eriksen made it three with a strike that deflected off Gael Clichy.
Defeat leaves City bottom of Group D with one point from three games.They host Ajax on 6 November and Real Madrid on 21 November before finishing at Borussia Dortmund on 4 December.
Dortmund lead the way on seven points, one clear of Real and three above Ajax. The top two advance to the last 16.
City fell at the first hurdle last season - their Champions League debut - and look set to suffer the same fate this time round.
They can point to the difficulty of being drawn alongside the champions of Spain, Germany and the Netherlands - but their seeding will not improve until they reach the knockout stage.
City's Abu Dhabi owners are unlikely to look happily on such a return for their lavish investment, and the team's shortcomings have rarely been exposed as cruelly as they were in Amsterdam ArenA.
Ajax started the match in a manner evoking memories of their glorious past, when a side featuring Johan Cruyff won three European Cups in the early 1970s.
A fourth arrived in 1995 with the help of current coach Frank de Boer and his largely home-grown team contrasts sharply with City's expensively assembled squad.
They pass and move with pace and flair, forming combinations all over the pitch and attacking fluidly from wide or through the middle.Ajax dominated the opening 20 minutes and signalled their intent when Eriksen shot narrowly wide after neat work from Daley Blind and Lasse Schone.
Blind - the 22-year-old son of former Ajax great Danny - continually raced forward from left-back and Ricardo van Rhijn was similarly effective on the opposite side.
But Eriksen was the most prominent threat and he again went close having shimmied past a leaden-footed Gareth Barry.
If one criticism could be levelled at Ajax it was that they were not challenging City goalkeeper Joe Hart, and punishment arrived.
Micah Richards advanced on the right and found James Milner, who fed Nasri to clip a crisp strike past Kenneth Vermeer.
The hosts were suddenly subdued and Vermeer prevented Richards doubling their advantage as City began to exert control.
But with half-time in sight, Roberto Mancini's men switched off and De Jong met Van Rhijn's cross with a crunching first-time effort.
Sergio Aguero was foiled by Vermeer in the opening moments of the second half and that save proved crucial. Shortly after, Moisander got away from Joleon Lescott and glanced home Eriksen's corner.
Mancini swiftly replaced Lescott with the more attack-minded Aleksander Kolarov, yet it seemed to further disrupt City's flow.
Ajax were now full of confidence and Shone was able to rob Barry before Eriksen went past Vincent Kompany and beat Hart via a significant deflection off Clichy.
Hart saved his side's blushes when one-one-one with Tobias Sana, while Mancini introduced Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli in attack.
Edin Dzeko, Nasri and Sergio Aguero all had chances to keep City's hopes alive, but Ajax held on comfortably for their first home win against English opposition since 1980.
Olympic medals stolen from Alex Partridge and Hannah Macleod
Olympic rower Alex Partridge says he is devastated after he and hockey player Hannah Macleod had their London 2012 bronze medals stolen.
They were out celebrating with other Team GB members in the capital after a Buckingham Palace reception on Tuesday when the medals went missing.
Partridge's medal was inside a blazer which was taken in the early hours.
The 31-year-old told BBC Sport: "It's very, very upsetting. It would mean everything to me to get them back."
Partridge, whose bronze in the men's eight followed a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, added: "I worked for 12 years of my life to try to achieve something at the Olympic Games and that's what I've got to show for it.
"While we were out and dancing away, I noticed I'd misplaced my blazer. In the morning I thought one of the other Olympians must have picked it up by accident, but no-one had it."I always say to people it's not about the medal, it's about the journey but I guess you don't appreciate the value of it until it's not there
"It was only when I picked up my 16-month-old daughter from nursery it really dawned on me. If it doesn't come back she won't see everything I worked for, which was a representation of being in the best British Olympic team and possibly the best Olympics ever."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said it was investigating reports of an Olympic medal and blazer being stolen from an event in Mayfair, although the force had yet to be contacted about a second stolen medal.
"It was believed the items were taken between midnight and 5am on Wednesday, 24 October. No arrests have been made. Inquiries are ongoing and the property is still outstanding," he said.
Olympic and Paralympic stars had earlier been invited to the palace to mark their achievements along with the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Duchess of Cambridge, Prime Minister David Cameron and London 2012 chief Lord Coe.
Henley-based Partridge and 28-year-old Macleod used their Twitter accounts to appeal for information about the missing medals.
"Someone else might have it right now and if they do, I'd really appreciate having the medal back and the blazer, which had two pins on it representing the silver medal in Beijing and taking part in London 2012," said US-born Partridge.
Macleod, who hails from Boston in Lincolnshire, was a member of the women's team who beat New Zeland to secure a medal.
Rory McIlroy eyes US & European double at BMW Masters
World number one Rory McIlroy will continue his bid to top the money lists on the European and United States tours at the BMW Masters in Shanghai.
He has a US$1.91m lead over Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour, but can be overtaken by both Justin Rose and Branden Grace on the Europe tour this week.
Luke Donald became the first man to win both money lists in one year in 2011. The field at Lake Malaren includes 11 of Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team, as well as captain Jose Maria Olazabal.
Of the side that came from behind to win 14½-13½ at Medinah, Spaniard Sergio Garcia is absent, while the Republic of Ireland's Padraig Harrington and Australian Marcus Fraser are the only two of the Race to Dubai's top 30 not in Shanghai.
England's Rose and South African Grace could both overtake McIlroy with victory in China, with the Northern Ireland player on guard after finishing second on the European money list in two of the last three years.
"It would be good to knock that off and try and do what Luke did last year and win the money list on both tours," said the 23-year-old.
"I've got a big run left in my year with four tournaments in the next five weeks, so I would like to finish off the season as well as I can.
"I've got Justin and Branden right behind me and there is still some big-money events still to play, so I've four events left and if I do play well in those four events hopefully I can achieve that goal."
If McIlroy finishes outside the top seven, a top-two result would see Rose take over at the top of the Race to Dubai.
Rose, who won the European Tour title in 2007, is drawn with McIlroy and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood in the final group.
Tom Cruise sues tabs for 'abandoned' headlines
Tabloid headlines that "falsely trumpeted" in bold letters that Tom Cruise "abandoned" his young daughter should cost the publisher $50 million, the actor's lawyer said Wednesday.
The magazine covers appeared on Life & Style and InTouch in the weeks after Cruise divorced actress Katie Holmes, with whom he shares 6-year-old daughter Suri, according to a defamation lawsuit Cruise filed against the publisher in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
"Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri," Cruise lawyer Bert Fields said. "She's a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has 'abandoned' her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible."
Fields said he sent two letters informing the publisher that the headlines were false and demanding retractions, but he was refused in each case.
"These serial defamers are foreign-owned companies with their global headquarters in Hamburg," Fields said. "They take money from unsuspecting Americans by selling their malicious garbage. Having to pay a libel judgment may slow them down."
Bauer Publishing Group, which publishes both magazines, responded to CNN's request for a reponse with "no comment."
The July 30 Life & Style cover read "SURI IN TEARS, ABANDONED BY HER DAD," under a photograph of Suri appearing to have tears in her eyes while in her mother's arms, the suit said.
The story inside explained she was crying "as a result of Suri being upset over not being able to take a puppy home from a pet store," the suit said.
The complaint also includes a September In Touch cover that read "44 DAYS WITHOUT TOM ... ABANDONED BY DADDY ... Suri is left heartbroken as Tom suddenly shuts her out and even misses her first day of school... HAS HE CHOSEN SCIENTOLOGY OVER SURI FOR GOOD?"
Since the magazines are displayed at supermarket checkout lines, "millions of people each day must see their covers which feature screaming headlines in huge, brightly colored letters that are typically of a false, lurid and titillating nature, and that are often entirely unsupported by the stories buried in the magazines' interiors," the suit said.
"Tom doesn't go around suing people," Fields said. "He's not a litigious guy. But when these sleaze peddlers try to make money with disgusting lies about his relationship with his child, you bet he's going to sue."
Cruise will "undoubtedly" donate any judgment proceeds to charity, Fields said. "He always has."
CNN
AEG wants e-mails banned from Michael Jackson trial
Michael Jackson's mother sat quietly in court on Wednesday watching as her lawyers fought loudly with attorneys for AEG, the concert promoter she accuses of contributing to the pop star's death.
They argued over who leaked e-mails to a reporter that revealed the promoter had doubts about Jackson's health and his ability to be ready for his "This Is It" concerts several months before his death.
"MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," AEG executive Randy Phillips wrote in a March 5, 2009, e-mail, the day Jackson announced the tour plans. "I (am) trying to sober him up."
The judge must decide if she will exclude those e-mails from the wrongful-death suit filed by Katherine Jackson and her son's three children against AEG.
Jackson died of an overdose of a surgical anesthesia in combination with sedatives on June 25, 2009, according the the Los Angeles County coroner. Dr. Conrad Murray, who was hired to be Jackson's personal physician as he prepared for the shows, was found guilty last year of involuntary manslaughter in his death.
The Jackson suit contends that AEG contributed to the pop star's death by pressuring him to prepare even though the promoters knew he was in a weak condition and by its hiring and supervision of Dr. Murray.
The judge overseeing the case sealed those documents. AEG filed a motion accusing the Jacksons and their lawyers of leaking them to Los Angeles Times reporter Harriett Ryan, who used them for a story she published in September.
"It is clear that only one entity could have done it," AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said. The cache of e-mails, which the reporter shared with AEG, have "certain unique characteristics" that prove they were given to the Jackson lawyers by AEG as part of discovery in the wrongful-death lawsuit, Putnam said.
AEG asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos to punish the Jacksons by not allowing them to use those e-mails in next year's trial when they try to prove the promoter is liable for Michael Jackson's death.
"He has accused 10-year-old Blanket Jackson," Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle said, pointing to Putnam. "What's the idea, that Blanket Jackson got some documents and copied them and somehow walked them from Calabasas to Harriet Ryan?"
Jackson lawyers denied anyone associated with their legal team or their clients leaked the e-mails, even suggesting AEG lawyers may have done it themselves as a set up.
"They could have easily disclosed all of these documents with zero punishment from the court," Boyle said.
Ryan has refused to disclose her sources, although Howard Mann -- who was once Katherine Jackson's former partner in a book venture -- has acknowledged that he gave the reporter a box of documents for her story.
Days after the e-mails were published, AEG dropped its claim against a Lloyds of London underwriter for a $17.5 million insurance policy for Michael Jackson.
The insurer contended AEG hid Jackson's health problems and failed to respond to repeated requests for his medical history when applying for insurance for the 50 shows scheduled for London's O2 Arena.
The Michael Jackson estate, which controls Michael Jackson Company LLC, is still pursuing the insurance payout.
Perry Sanders, who is Katherine Jackson's personal attorney, told the judge that the Jacksons had no motive to leak the e-mails.
"Like we would go and blow up our own case against Lloyds of London?" Sanders said. "Our client and all the plaintiffs in this case are actually the ones who would receive the money."
Sanders also noted that AEG had failed to disclose the e-mails to the Lloyds of London lawyers despite a legal requirement to do so.
While publication of the e-mails might have made AEG look bad, they were "extremely negative against Michael Jackson," painting him "as a basket case," Jackson lawyer Deborah Chang said.
"It's much more negative about Michael Jackson than it is about AEG, by far," Chang said.
The Jackson lawyers accused AEG of using the e-mail issue as a way to delay the wrongful-death trial.
"They've been very successful in tying us up completely and I am sure they are giggling about it back in the office," Boyle said.
AEG previously convinced the judge to delay the trial, which was set for last month, until next April.
"This case is so strong that we very stringently argued this case should have gone to trial in September," Sanders said. "The only people that seem to be trying to keep this case from going forward are the defendants."
The anger and passion between the six Jackson lawyers and AEG's Putnam was evident with personal charges of bad ethics flying from both sides in court Wednesday.
"I've never seen anything like it in my career," Jackson lawyer Brian Panish said. "They think they can just smirk around and make these defamatory statements without evidence."
The documents made public in the Times story are not the most damaging to AEG that were uncovered, Boyle told CNN.
"We can assure you that we are in possession of documents that make for an extremely compelling story in the wrongful-death case, and that completely support the plaintiffs' claims," he said.
It was unusual for the 82-year-old Katherine Jackson to attend such a hearing, suggesting the case is also very personal for her.
The revelations from the leaked e-mails including one written by Randy Phillips weeks after Jackson's death in which the president of AEG Live -- the concert-promotion branch of AEG -- called it "a terrible tragedy," but adding "but life must go on."
"AEG will make a fortune from merch sales, ticket retention, the touring exhibition and the film/dvd," Phillips wrote. In fact, AEG Live was allowed to sell Jackson tour merchandise and share in the profits from the documentary "This Is It," produced from rehearsal video.
The e-mails suggest AEG Live's president saw Jackson's problems first-hand the day the pop star was to appear at the O2 Arena to publicly announce the shows.
"MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," Phillips wrote in the March 5, 2009, e-mail to AEG Live's parent company, the paper reported. "I (am) trying to sober him up."
"I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking," Phillips wrote. "He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it is show time."
The promoter blamed London traffic when Jackson was 90 minutes late for the announcement that day.
"He's as healthy as he can be -- no health problems whatsoever," Phillips told CNN two months later to refute reports Jackson's health was threatening the concerts.
The Los Angeles Times story, however, said the e-mails indicated major doubts about Jackson's ability to perform.
"We cannot be forced into stopping this, which MJ will try to do because he is lazy and constantly changes his mind to fit his immediate wants," AEG Live executive Paul Gongaware e-mailed to Phillips.
Jackson's missed rehearsals in June triggered concerns in e-mails that he was slow in learning his dance routines and would have to lip-sync on stage, the newspaper reported.
"MJ is not in shape enough yet to sing this stuff live and dance at the same time," one e-mail from the show's music director read, the paper reported.
A production manager wrote: "He was a basket case. Doubt is pervasive."
A loud warning from show director Kenny Ortega, who worked closely with Jackson on previous tours, came in mid-June, just over a week before his death. Ortega wrote to Phillips that Jackson had "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" and suggesting they bring a "top psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP."
"It is like there are two people there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not wanting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state," Ortega wrote. "I believe we need professional guidance in this matter."
Ortega testified at Murray's trial about his concerns about Jackson's frail condition and missed rehearsals. It resulted in a meeting six days before Jackson's death in which Murray assured the promoters he would have Jackson ready for rehearsals that next week.
An e-mail from Phillips after that meeting said he had confidence in Murray "who I am gaining immense respect for as I get to deal with him more."
"This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig, so he (is) totally unbiased and ethical," Phillips' e-mail said.
Source-CNN
Madagascar 3 steals UK box office
Madagascar 3 has gone straight to the top of the UK box office, earning £6 million in its opening weekend.
The 3D computer-animated comedy beat supernatural horror sequel Paranormal Activity 4 which debuted with £2.5m in ticket sales.
Last week's chart-topper, Taken 2 dropped to number three with £2.3m, while Hotel Transylvania took £1m to take fourth place.
Total earnings for the top 15 films was £15.2m, a 56% rise on last weekend.
Rounding out the top five was the science-fiction action Looper, starring Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt.
There were four new releases in this week's top 15 chart.
The critically acclaimed Beasts of the Southern Wild, starring five-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, was the most impressive performer with £182,000 in box office receipts despite showing at just 28 theatres.
With average ticket sales of £6,493 per screening, it entered at number nine.
Bollywood movie Student Of The Year debuted in 11th place earning £131,000 across 57 locations - an average of £2,300 per screening.
Elsewhere in the chart, Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, which opened the BFI London Film Festival last week was ranked sixth with £741,683, while Ethan Hawke horror film Sinister followed with £711,918 in ticket sales.
At number eight, Harry Potter star Emma Watson's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made just £213,091 in its third week of release.
Completing the top 10 was Disney's Brave which took in £176,827, bringing its total earnings to just under £22m after 12 weeks on the chart.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is the latest in the Madagascar animated series, featuring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith.
The series has been a consistent earner for Paramount films with the first two films in the franchise going on to take more than £20 million each at the UK box office.
UK & IRELAND BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - £6m
- Paranormal Activity 4 - £2.5m
- Taken 2 - £2.3m
- Hotel Transylvania - £1m
- Looper - £781,211
Source: Rentrak