Son of US judge charged with murder in Puerto Rico
The son of a U.S. federal court judge in Puerto Rico is charged with killing his wife in a case that has been subject of intense media coverage on the island all summer.
Pablo Casellas Toro was taken into custody after surrendering in the company of his lawyers and two bodyguards in Bayamon.
He was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and other crimes in the June 17 death of his wife, Carmen Paredes.
She was shot to death in their home in the wealthy San Juan suburb of Guaynabo. Casellas has denied killing his wife.
Casellas is part of a prominent family on the island and is the son of U.S. District Court Judge Salvador Casellas, who was appointed to the court in 1994 by former President Bill Clinton.
Pressure on T&T Prime Minister to fire Jack Warner
Members of the Congress of the People (COP) has renewed pressure on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to take action in relation to Minister of National Security Jack Warner from her Cabinet.
Party officials confirmed the National Council of the party will on Sunday be called upon to pass a resolution calling on the Prime Minister to remove Warner from Cabinet over FIFA allegations against him; the findings of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in relation to a secret US fund account and the question of a police investigation in relation to FIFA allegations.
A resolution, signed by the acting COP chairman Vernon B De Lima, circulated on social network website Facebook yesterday. De Lima confirmed the authenticity of the resolution, to be tabled in his name, and went so far as to say he would resign if it does not pass.
THE RESOLUTION
“Whereas the Congress of the People’s stated position of two years ago was that Mr Jack Warner should not be a member of Cabinet until such time as he is cleared of the allegations that have been made against him by FIFA.”
“And whereas the situation is now worse than it was two years ago since the Court of Arbitration for Sport in its recent written judgment published on its website on the 24th of July of 2012 has said that Mr Jack Warner is a man who cannot be trusted, that he has secret US fund accounts, that he mingles funds periodically and that he is a man ‘who appears to be prone to an economy with the truth’.”
“And whereas Mr Jack Warner is at present under investigation by the Trinidad and Tobago Police.”
“And whereas having regard to the Congress of the People’s stated position about matters of transparency, truthfulness and decency, it must continue to be our position that Mr Jack Warner should not be a member of Cabinet at this time.”
“Therefore be it resolved that the Congress of the People call on the Hon Prime Minister to remove Mr Jack Warner from the Cabinet; failing which the Congress of the People will dissociate itself entirely from the People’s Partnership.”
The developments came as the COP prepares to hold National Executive elections in October.
Newsday
Dominican-U.S. operation nets 1,525Ks cocaine at sea
The National Drug Control Agency, the Navy and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized 1,525 kilos of cocaine near the coast of Saona island Tuesday, one of the biggest drug busts so far this year.
The DNCD said four people were arrested and also seized 15 tanks of gasoline. Part of the drug haul was shown at the 27 de Febrero Naval Base.
The drugs were in 60 bales seized after a pursuit conducted midnight Monday, and ended close to noon yesterday.
In a statemen, the DNCD said three speedboats were seen around 60 miles south of Saona, but fled on spotting patrol aircraft in the area.
In a separate statement, the Navy revealed that the bales were thrown into the sea from two speedboats type "Go Fast" which came to the Dominican coast from the south, whose crew fled once they spotted the operation, prompting an ensuing chase by the Coast Guards cutters Capella and Canopus and two intercept crafts. LI-167 type "ACRUX" and LI-16.
Navy Chief of Staff Edwin Dominici said the chase began at 1:30 yesterday morning and lasted several hours, around 51 nautical miles south of the Dominican coast, adding that it's the third bust at sea in the last 15 days.
England v South Africa: Amla & De Villiers help Proteas draw series
Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers hit half-centuries as South Africa cruised to a seven-wicket victory to tie the one-day series with England 2-2.
Amla stroked a majestic 97 not out and De Villiers cracked an unbeaten 75 after James Anderson (2-41) helped reduce the tourists to 14-3.
England were guilty of poor shot selection in their 182 all out.
Alastair Cook top scored with 51, while Robin Peterson took 3-37 and Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel took two wickets each.
It was fitting it was Amla who helped South Africa level the series, in a summer in which he has dominated the England bowlers.
England's total may have been inadequate but South Africa were wobbling early in their reply after Jade Dernbach induced a Graeme Smith edge to second slip, before Anderson had the nervous Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar caught behind.
However, another assured and classy innings by Amla, complemented by a counter-attacking knock from De Villiers, saw the tourists to a comfortable victory.
After scoring 482 runs in the Test series, which South Africa won 2-0, Amla took his run tally to 335 in the one-day series and 817 for the summer.
England could only blame themselves for posting such a disappointing score in good conditions on a pitch which did nothing out of the ordinary for the bowlers.
The tone was set when opener Ian Bell, who looked in good form, missed a straight one from spinner Robin Peterson in the fourth over.
Ravi Bopara followed soon after when he was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Steyn - meaning he ends the five-match series with an average of 5.5 from his four innings.
The Essex batsman was elevated to number three in the absence of the injured Jonathan Trott, but his dismissal was one of a man shorn of any confidence as he edged a routine delivery behind while standing rooted to his crease.
Cook and Jonny Bairstow repaired some of the damage, putting on 55 for the third wicket, but, as they started to regain some momentum, they were separated.
Bairstow was beginning to dominate the Proteas bowling when he went to 29 with a lovely pull for four off Morne Morkel, but the Yorkshire youngster got carried away next ball when he flicked one deep into the leg side and watched with horror as he picked out Justin Ontong on the boundary.
It was a poor way to lose a wicket, and almost as bad as Eoin Morgan in the next over.
The Irishman came running down the track to part-time bowler JP Duminy and hit the ball straight to Amla at mid-off.
England's only hope of a big score rested with their skipper, but Cook was guilty of poor shot selection himself as he drove a full toss straight back to another occasional bowler in Du Plessis.
From there, wickets tumbled regularly as England struggled to form any good partnerships - Craig Kieswetter and Chris Woakes offering the only resistance with 33 runs each.
It appeared the total might be enough when Anderson and Dernbach exploited some early movement in South Africa's reply, but once Amla and De Villiers took control there was only going to be one winner.
Usain Bolt may play for Manchester United in charity game
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says sprint legend Usain Bolt could play for the club in a charity match next year.
Six-time Olympic champion Bolt, 26, has joked he wants a trial at the club.
"It's interesting he says he'd like to play in a charity game," Ferguson told Inside United, the club's magazine.
"It could be brilliant and next year, when we play Real Madrid's Legends again, there could be opportunities to bring him up and see how he does."
Bolt, who won 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold at both London 2012 and Beijing 2008, is a big fan of the club and was paraded at Old Trafford before United's 3-2 win over Fulham.
The Jamaican sprinter called on supporters to convince Ferguson to sign him for the club as he showed off his London 2012 medals.
Bolt has previously attended United's Carrington training ground where he gave former player Cristiano Ronaldo tips on his sprinting.
"He's a bit of a character and a big United fan," Ferguson said.
"The people from these small islands, like Dwight Yorke from Trinidad & Tobago, they all play football and he probably played at school level or youth level or something like that. It'd be nice to get him up here, I think it'll be good."
Source-BBC
Cowboys most valuable NFL team at $2.1 billion
The Dallas Cowboysare the first American sports franchise worth more than $2 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
The NFL's most valuable team for the sixth consecutive year, the Cowboys saw their overall worth increase 14 percent to $2.1 billion. That's about $1 billion higher than the average NFL team value, $1.11 billion, up 7 percent.
Only Manchester United of the English Premier League, at $2.24 billion, is more valuable than the Cowboys, according to Forbes' surveys. And Man U's owners, the Glazer family, also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are $1.033 billion, 18th in the NFL.
New TV contracts, the collective bargaining agreement signed last year that will last a decade, and higher premium seating revenue contributed to the increases. Every franchise except the Cincinnati Bengals increased in value; the Bengals stayed the same at $871 million, which ranks 26th overall.
With new stadiums in the works for the Vikings and 49ers, their values skyrocketed. Minnesota had a 22 percent increase to $975 million, while San Francisco moved up 19 percent to $1.175 billion.
Jimmy Haslam III bought the Cleveland Browns this summer for $1 billion, $13 million more than the value Forbes placed on the team, which ranks 21st.
Shahid Khan purchased the Jacksonville Jaguars for $770 million in January. Forbes values them at exactly that - the least valuable franchise in the league, $10 million less than the St. Louis Rams.
Rounding out the top five are New England ($1.635 billion), Washington ($1.6 billion), the New York Giants ($1.468 billion) and Houston ($1.305 billion).
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Source-: www.forbes.com/nfl
Sharapova beats Bartoli to reach US Open semi-finals
Third seed Maria Sharapova recovered to beat Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli and reach the semi-finals of the US Open.
Play resumed on Wednesday with the 2006 champion trailing 4-0 in the first set, which she proceeded to lose 6-3.
But Sharapova took the next two sets 6-3 6-4 to set up a last-four encounter against top seed Victoria Azarenka.
Italy's Sara Errani beat compatriot Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-4 to set up a semi-final against either Serena Williams or Ana Ivanovic.
Three-time champion Williams plays 12th seed Ivanovic later on Wednesday.
Sharapova said: "The rain break gave me a few hours to think about things. I came out so flat yesterday. She's so tough and she was on fire. I'm so happy to get back to the semi-finals."
Not since her third-round loss to Flavia Pennetta at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago has Sharapova lost a three-set match, winning 12 out of 12 this season.
And the initial signs were not good for Bartoli as Sharapova won the first two games after the resumption, which was again twice delayed by showers.
But Bartoli held her nerve to clinch the first set before her Russian opponent was forced to save four break points in the third game of the second.
However, Sharapova broke to lead 5-3, levelled the match with her fifth ace and broke the Bartoli serve again to lead 2-1 in the decider.
Bartoli broke back only for Sharapova to strike a major blow in the ninth game courtesy of another break, after which she served out for the match.
The 25-year-old Russian kept alive her hopes of a second major title of the year, having completed a career Grand Slam at the French Open in June.
It is the first time Sharapova has reached the last four of the US Open since she won it six years ago and her semi-final is a rematch of this year's Australian Open final, which Azarenka won 6-3 6-0.
Tenth seed Errani , 25, was playing in her third Grand Slam quarter-final of the year while best friend Vinci, four years older, was making her last-eight debut at a major.
The pair have won seven doubles titles in 2012, a haul which includes the French Open, but it was Errani's greater big-match experience that proved decisive.
"It's always hard to play against a friend and it was strange seeing her on the other side of the net," said Errani, who has four singles titles to her name this year.
"I am happy to get to the semi-finals. Can I win the title? I will tell you in three or four days."
NFL donates $30 million for medical research, player safety
The NFL announced a $30 million donation to the National Institutes to Health on Wednesday, the largest in the league’s history, reports NFL.com.
The funding is going to be used at the discretion of National Institutes to Health, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
A release from the league said the money will go to research on “chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE); concussion management and treatment; and the understanding of the potential relationship between traumatic brain injury and late-life neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease.”
Currently, more than 3,400 ex-players and family members are suing the NFL, claiming the league has been negligent in dealing with concussions.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the donation has nothing to do with concussion lawsuit and that the league has been doing research since the 1990′s.
“Well, there’s a lot more work to be done, is the bottom line. There’s a much greater awareness about head injuries and concussions and the importance of treating them conservatively and cautiously,” Goodell said.
Source-SI
Longer working week suggested for Greece
Greece's international lenders have suggested measures including increasing the maximum working week to six days.
It is one of several unofficial proposals to liberalise the labour market and increase government revenue, contained in a paper seen by the BBC.
The proposals were not included in the original bailout agreement signed with the Greek government.
Inspectors from the EU, IMF and European Central Bank, known as the troika, are due in Greece this week.
They are writing a report, due in October, that will decide whether Greece receives its next instalment of bailout funds.
Greece needs the next payment of 31.5bn euros ($39.6bn; £24.9bn) to allow it to continue servicing its debts.
Proposals in the document from the troika included:
- Setting a single rate statutory minimum wage
- Reducing regulatory burdens
- Making work schedules more flexible
- Setting a minimum daily rest of 11 hours
- Eliminating restrictions on the minimum and maximum time between morning and afternoon shifts.
Also, on Wednesday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble ruled out a third package of aid for Greece, but stressed that it would be staying in the eurozone.
"The costs for Greece are already very high and therefore we cannot have a new programme for Greece," he told German radio.
Greece was given a 110bn-euro package in May 2010 and a further 130bn euros in October 2011, along with a 100bn-euro debt write-off.
European President Herman Van Rompuy is due to meet Greek leader Antonis Samaras on Thursday.
Euro bailout
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission - the group of donor bodies known collectively as the "troika" - are examining whether Greece is making sufficient progress towards reforming its public finances.
Greece is currently trying to finalise a package of 11.5bn euros ($14.4bn; £9.1bn) of spending cuts over the next two years.
It is also being asked to put in place economic and structural reforms, including changes to the labour market and a renewed privatisation drive.
The measures are needed to qualify for the next 33.5bn-euro instalment of its second 130bn-euro bailout.
Greece needs the funds to make repayments on its debt burden. A default could result in the country leaving the euro.
Lufthansa cancels flights as crew stage third strike
Lufthansa has cancelled hundreds of flights on Friday as cabin staff stage another one-day strike at Germany's three busiest airports.
The strike was called by the UFO union late Wednesday for Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin airports.
Lufthansa has cancelled short and medium-haul flights but also services to and from Shanghai, Jakarta, Seattle and Los Angeles.
UFO and Lufthansa are arguing over pay and working conditions.
The union represents about two-thirds of Lufthansa's 19,000 cabin crew.
Union leaders are seeking a pay increase of 5% for cabin staff for 15 months, starting from January this year. They said there had been no pay increases for three years.
They also want guarantees that Lufthansa will not outsource jobs or use more temporary workers, as it has in Berlin.
Earlier, Lufthansa spokesman Klaus Walther said that the airline had offered to stop fixed-term contracts and halt the use of temporary staff, but the airline is only proposing a 3.5% rise in salary.
Lufthansa is currently undergoing a 1.5bn euro (£1.2bn) cost-cutting programme to offset rising fuel costs and tackle competition from low-cost and Gulf carriers.
The airline posted a 24% drop in second-quarter profits to 229m euros compared with a year earlier. In May, it announced it would axe 3,500 office jobs.