Usain Bolt beaten by Yohan Blake in 200m at Olympic trials
Usain Bolt was beaten by Yohan Blake in the 200m final at the Jamaican Olympic trials - the world record holder's second loss to his rival in 48 hours.
Blake stunned Bolt in the 100m final on Friday and he repeated the feat over the longer distance, finishing in 19.80 seconds, 0.03secs ahead of Bolt.
World 100m champion Blake edged into the lead near the turn, then burst past his training partner for the victory.
"I'll have to figure out what I did wrong and work on it," said Bolt.
The sprinters' next meeting is expected to be at the London Olympics.
Blake, 22, had been quicker in Saturday's semi-finals, running 19.93secs, while Bolt won his heat in 20.26secs.
They are the fastest two men of all time over the distance and their battles are set to be one of the highlights of the Games.
In the women's 200m, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won in a personal best of 22.10secs to add to her earlier success in the 100m.
She will be joined in the squad for London by Sherone Simpson and two-time defending Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown.
Spain easily wins Euro 2012 final
Just like clockwork, Spain's "tiki taka" passing game tore Italy apart.
The World Cup champions controlled the play Sunday in the European Championship final, as they usually do. They moved the ball up the field with short pass after short pass, as they usually do.
But, incredibly, they also managed to score a whopping four goals, something they don't usually do.
It all added up to a 4-0 win over Italy and a third straight major soccer title for Spain.
"We won being true to our playing style, and by moving the ball the way we moved it we knew how to take charge of the match," said Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the team's captain. "What we do is difficult but we make it look easy."
Casillas and Spain striker Fernando Torres also made their own histories. Torres became the first man to score in two European Championship finals, and Casillas played in his record 100th victory in international soccer.
Spain's other goals on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium came from David Silva, Jordi Alba and Juan Mata.
"We were superior to Italy," said midfielder Xavi Hernandez, perhaps Spain's most influential player over the last four years. "We played a complete game and perhaps the best of the entire European Championship. We made history."
Four years ago at Euro 2008, Spain ended a 44-year drought of major titles, beating Germany 1-0 in the final to start a run that has been unmatched by any other team in history.
Although they lost to the United States in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup in 2009, snapping a record 15-game winning streak, the Spanish have been nearly impossible to beat in competitive matches.
A year after that game against the Americans, Spain opened the 2010 World Cup with a loss to Switzerland. But they then went on a tear, winning their next six games to finally claim a World Cup title and undoubtedly shed for good the "underachiever" tag.
In all that time since Euro 2008, Spain has won with flair, using its short passing game -- dubbed "tiki taka" by the Spanish media and adopted by the team -- to dazzle scrambling opponents.
"Tonight, there was no contest," Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said. "They were too superior, so the bitterness at losing this final is only relative."
Against Italy, Spain was the favorite, but was also primed to be beaten after being held to a 1-1 draw by the Italians in their opening Group C match. Spain, which has been experimenting with a lineup that excludes a recognized striker, needed a penalty shootout to reach the final after a 0-0 tie with Portugal in the semifinals.
"They've been playing at a very high level for years," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "And even though they didn't use any traditional striker, they were able to give weight to their attack."
The controversial lineup, which Spain coach Vicente del Bosque again employed on Sunday, is akin to playing in the Super Bowl without a running back. Sure, you can still score touchdowns, but you give up on the chance for a game-breaking play.
Still, the midfielders and the defenders got the job done in the first half. Silva headed in a high shot in the 14th minute off a pass from Cesc Fabregas. And Alba added another in the 41st, picking up a beautiful through ball from Xavi and shooting past Buffon.
"The game was ours after the first goal, but the truth is that we played one heck of a game," Fabregas said.
Italy's task was tough enough with 11 players, and it became impossible with only 10 after the 64th minute. All its substitutes were used when midfielder Thiago Motta, who had only been on the field for seven minutes, was taken off with an injury.
Torres, who came on for Fabregas in the 75th minute, then added the third goal with a relatively easy finish and Mata really put the game away in the 88th, knocking in a pass from Torres.
"The second goal by Jordi hurt them, and then the third finished them off," said Casillas, who made a point-blank save on a shot from Antonio Di Natale at the start of the second half and twice tipped crosses out of danger just before the Italians could get their heads to the ball.
With every save, and of course with every goal, the huge group of Spain supporters cheered and screamed. The red-shirted fans dominated one corner of the stadium, filling up more than six sections of the Olympic Stadium. On the opposite side, the blue-clad Italians were far outnumbered, with dozens of empty yellow seats poking through the mass of supporters.
Also in the stands were several heads of state. Italian Premier Mario Monti, along with other EU leaders, had said they would not travel to Ukraine for the tournament because of the politically tainted jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. But that didn't stop him from attending the final in Kiev.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also attended the match, and got to watch as his players celebrated with confetti and fireworks when they lifted yet another major trophy.
"I don't believe it," said Alba, who has played only nine matches for Spain, "but little by little it is sinking in."
Tiger Woods wins AT&T to pass Jack Nicklaus record
Tiger Woods passed Jack Nicklaus on the all-time PGA Tour victory list as he won the AT&T National in Maryland.
The former world number one secured his 74th American Tour win by two shots from runner-up Bo Van Pelt after carding a final round of 69.
It means that Woods has won more PGA events than any golfer bar Sam Snead, who recorded 82 victories on the Tour.
The win was Woods's third of the year, and followed his victory at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio last month.
Overnight leader Brendon De Jonge had a nightmare round of six over par to finish in a share of 11th on one under.
Woods, who began the day one shot back of the Zimbabwean, took advantage and went two under for an eight-under-par total.
And when Woods and fellow American Van Pelt both bogeyed the 16th, it was all square with two holes remaining.
But Van Pelt fell apart, dropping a further shot at each of the final two holes, allowing Woods to seal victory by two strokes with a pair of pars.
Van Pelt was level for his final round to finish second on six under, one clear of Australia's Adam Scott.
England v Australia: Hosts ease to win in second ODI
England produced a polished all-round performance to beat Australia by six wickets in the second one-day international and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
A disciplined bowling display restricted the tourists to 251-7 after they had won the toss and chosen to bat on a good track at The Oval.
England were gifted a flying start to their reply by some erratic bowling from Mitchell Johnson, and Ian Bell led from the front with a composed 75.
Ravi Bopara saw England to within two runs of their target with an increasingly confident 82 before Eoin Morgan finished the job with 26 balls to spare.
The win was England's eighth in a row in one-day cricket, equalling a record they have achieved three times before. If Alastair Cook's men can complete a 5-0 whitewash of the Australians they will become the number one side in the world and be the first country to simultaneously top the rankings in all three forms of the game.
Resounding though the victory ultimately was, the match could have taken a different course if a key decision had gone Australia's way.
After Michael Clarke had bowled Bell with his first ball to break a partnership of 90 with Bopara, he thought he had secured another wicket two balls later when Morgan was given out lbw by umpire Richard Illingworth.
The Dubliner, England's hero with 89 not out off 63 balls in Friday's series-opener at Lord's, immediately sent for a review and was reprieved when Hotspot appeared to reveal the faintest of inside edges.
Morgan did not put a foot wrong thereafter as he and Bopara ruthlessly finished off the demoralised tourists to the delight of a partisan Oval crowd.
England's target would have been all the more challenging without another fine display from a bowling attack without a weak link.
Steven Finn made an early breakthrough when quick-scoring opener David Warner - after a pair of trademark thumps to the boundary - mis-timed a pull shot and sent the ball looping straight to Bell at square leg.
Peter Forrest, preferred to Steve Smith in the batting line-up, was then brilliantly caught one-handed by Craig Kieswetter down the leg side.
Shane Watson carried the fight to England with some typically powerful strokeplay, riding his luck along the way to a half-century.
Dropped in the gully by Jonathan Trott on eight, he successfully reviewed an lbw dismissal on 40 and would have been run out for 47 but for an errant throw from Bell.
An inspired piece of captaincy from Cook accounted for this opposite number as Clarke got a faint nick to Bopara's third ball and was snared behind.
Bopara and Graeme Swann put a strangle on the Australia scoring in the middle of the innings, with only 24 runs scored in 10 overs. And Watson, clearly feeling the need to accelerate, tried to dispatch Swann into the stands but could only pick out Finn at deep midwicket.
George Bailey, who took 53 balls to reach 20, only needed a further 20 balls to bring up his fifty in a useful stand of 78 with David Hussey.
The duo took the score past 200 in the 44th over before David Hussey was run out by a brilliant piece of athleticism from Finn and Bailey was castled by a pitched-up delivery from Bresnan.
Matthew Wade could only make six but Lee came to Australia's aid with a typically robust cameo, dropped twice by Morgan at long-on on his way to an unbeaten 20 off 11 balls.
When England replied Johnson, playing international cricket for the first time since November, over-stepped twice in his first two overs with the resulting free hits both dispatched to the boundary, by Cook and Bell.
Clint McKay broke through with a delightful delivery, which swung in to the left-hander and trapped him plumb in front of the stumps.
Jonathan Trott made 17 before giving his wicket away in uncharacteristic fashion as he was bowled off an inside edge trying to leather the ball into the stands.
Bell planted Watson over his head for six and brought up his half-century with a supremely confident on-drive over midwicket for four.
With England is cruise control, Clarke decided to introduce his own slow left-arm bowling into the attack and the decision paid instant dividends as his first ball skidded past Bell's bat and knocked down his middle stump.
At that point, a second-ball dismissal for Morgan could have shaken England, but after being saved by the Decision Review System, the left-hander rediscovered his usual panache on route to 43 off 40 balls.
After a nervous start, Bopara cut, pulled and drove his way to a fine 82, only to fall at the death attempting a suicidal single.
By then, however, England were home and hosed and the hosts will be looking to wrap up the series in Wednesday's third match at Edgbaston.
Michael Phelps beats Ryan Lochte in 100m butterfly final at US trials
Michael Phelps won the 100m butterfly final at the US swimming trials in Omaha as rival Ryan Lochte missed out on Olympic qualification for the event.
Phelps started slowly but caught Tyler McGill to win in 51.14 seconds - the world's fastest time this year.
McGill takes the second Olympic spot, while Phelps can now race in eight events in London.
It completed a treble of wins for Phelps over Lochte, though Lochte does not usually compete in the discipline.
Phelps was less than satisfied with his pace, but was at least pleased to have proven his ability to continue competing in multiple events.
"It shows that I can do the kind of event programme like this at a high level again," he said.
McGill took second in 51.32secs, with Lochte close behind in 51.65secs.
Phelps finished first in the 200m individual medley final and the 200m freestyle final, earlier in the trials, while Lochte beat Phelps in the 400m individual medley final and also won the 200m backstroke final.
Phelps set a world record in 2008 when he won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and 14 in total, plus two bronze.
Missy Franklin, 17, is set to become the first US woman to swim in seven events at the Games after she won the 200m backstroke in 2:06.12.
"I felt really strong. It really hurts so bad at the end but if it doesn't then you're not doing it right," she said.
"I can't believe I have seven events. It's so overwhelming but so exciting at the same time."
Blake beats Bolt in 100 meters
World champion Yohan Blake stunned World record-holder Usain Bolt in the 100 metres final at the Jamaica Olympic Trials Friday night.
Blake clocked a world-leading 9.75 seconds to finish ahead of Bolt who recovered from a terrible start to post 9.86 seconds, while Asafa Powell was third in 9.88 seconds.
Women’s Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also posted a world-leading time of 10.70 seconds to win that even.
The time was a new national record. (CMC)
Jamaica Government to increase property tax
The Governmet of Jamaica has given the clearest signal yet that property tax is to be increased.
The tax is the biggest source of revenue for local authorities, but compliance from property owners has traditionally been low.
Local Government Minister Noel Arscott, yesterday indicated that the cost of providing services such as garbage collection and street lighting has increased, so the Government needs to collect more.
Making his contribution to the Sectoral Debate, Mr. Arscott announced that the property revaluation exercise will be completed this fiscal year
He says the new rates will be applied during 2013/2014.
This will coincide with plans to increase the level of tax compliance by property owners from 51 to 65 percent.
RJR
VAT System in St.Lucia delayed!
The implementation of the Value Tax System in St.Lucia has been delayed by one month. Instead of the September 1st target date, the tax will be introduced on October 1st 2012.
Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Dr. Kenny Anthony made the announcement on Tuesday during the second reading of the VAT bill at the first sitting of the house of assembly since the budget presentation in May.
He says the purpose of the postponement is to prepare St.Lucians physiologically and otherwise for the tax system albeit the possible loss of revenue during the period.
Leader of the Opposition Stephenson King claims the announcement is testament to his contention more time is needed for the VAT office to crystallize issues in the
VAT bill, the administration of the tax regime and the wide ranging public education campaign. King backs calls allegedly made by members of the Chamber of Commerce for a six month implementation process.
He argues the intricacies of the system and meticulous accounting requires detailed planning.
But Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony says despite some unease the private sector supports tax reform.
He says the Chamber’s anxieties have been addressed and the business community has been co-operating with the state on the implementation process.
The VAT bill which was passed in the House will be debated in the upper house at the next scheduled meeting of the Senate on July 10th 2012.
HTS
Texas county to assist St Kitts-Nevis with law enforcement
The police chief in Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Adrian Garcia, has pledged his department’s support to assist St Kitts and Nevis in the area of law enforcement.
Garcia met and held discussions with St Kitts-Nevis Commissioner of Police, C. G. Walwyn, who was on a visit to Texas.
Garcia and Walwyn are both master peace officers licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education (TCLEOSE).
The sheriff noted that both he and Walwyn have been trained and served with Harris County.
Garcia has pledged the full support of the Harris County Sheriff's Department in a sister agency partnership with the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force.
Garcia heads the largest sheriff’s office in Texas and the third-largest in the United States. He is a native Houstonian who chose public service as a profession and became an officer with the Houston Police Department in 1980.
At HPD he patrolled neighbourhoods, investigated violent crimes, developed community-policing initiatives and worked to strengthen the relationship between residents and law enforcement. In 1994, Houston Mayor Bob Lanier appointed Garcia as the Houston Police Department’s Liaison to the Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office. In 1999, Mayor Lee Brown promoted him to director of the Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office, where he served until 2003.
Garcia was elected to the Houston City Council in 2003 and he chaired the council’s public safety and homeland security committee. In 2007, Mayor Bill White appointed him mayor pro-tempore.
During his time on council he helped create the Centralized Gang Intelligence and Enforcement Division and amend the city budget to provide funding for a Real Time Crime Center of the Houston Police Department. He also led the effort to reduce overuse of ambulance service by helping to create Care Houston, a case management initiative.
He returned to his law enforcement roots in 2009 as the newly elected sheriff, providing the leadership needed to restore the public’s confidence in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the direction and resources necessary to bring the HCSO into the 21st century.
Garcia is accomplishing these goals based on the fundamental principles that have guided his career and his life: hard work, honesty and public service. He credits his wife Monica, his daughter Nina, his parents and other family members for inspiring him to serve.
As sheriff of Harris County, Garcia oversees an operating budget of approximately $420 million and a workforce of about 4,000 law enforcement and civilian employees.
The sheriff has put into place new technological systems that allow for the tracking of reported crime in Harris County in real time, a new Gang Suppression Unit, strengthened Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness programs, a Graffiti Abatement Program using inmate labour, increased participation in federal task forces, strengthened internal accountability systems, the first-ever executive leadership training conference, employee recognition ceremonies, and operating cost reduction initiatives that have brought spending for the Sheriff’s Office under control.
Recognizing the value of community partnerships, the sheriff has developed numerous community outreach and partnership initiatives to keep Harris County safe, as well as programs to reduce recidivism within the inmate population.
Canada to set up military support hub in Jamaica
Jamaica and Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a Canadian military operation support hub on the island.
The MoU was signed in Kingston by portfolio minister, Peter Bunting, and Canada’s National Defence Minister, Peter MacKay, on Tuesday.
The establishment of the operational support hub (OSH) in Jamaica will provide a legal framework that enables the Canadian government, through its military forces and other government departments, to provide logistical support to routine operations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.
This support will be strengthened by the collaboration, co-operation and assistance of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).
In his remarks, Bunting said the government of Jamaica is honoured to be a part of the effort, which enables both governments to combine and effectively utilise scarce human and material resources to offer peacekeeping and humanitarian services.
He said the establishment of the operational hub will also enable the Canadian government, through its military forces, to provide support for special disaster relief operations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.
Bunting noted that the longstanding and close relationship between the governments and militaries of both countries made it a natural choice for Jamaica to be selected as host of the OSH.
“We feel privileged to be host of this support hub, as it is our understanding that this is one of only six across the entire world,” he said.
The minister also recognised Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Antony Anderson, and his team for the “tremendous” work they have been doing, and cited the “two-way” relationship between Canada and Jamaica.
“The relationship is such that it’s not only Canada contributing to us in Jamaica and the JDF, but Jamaica also provides useful support, useful expertise… in other training efforts, which are conducted jointly, either here in Jamaica, in the region or in Canada,” he said.
For his part, MacKay said the MoU is a “historic” agreement, which builds on a long and highly successful history of partnership and co-operation between both countries.
He noted that Canada recognises that the security of the Caribbean is very much linked, not only to that of the broader western hemisphere, “but to our own security as well."
“We know that a concerted and timely response to those in need after earthquakes and hurricanes and weather incidents is critical. In fact, it’s fair to say that the ability to respond quickly is very often what contributes to the saving of lives and the lessening of suffering,” MacKay said.
With the MoU, Canada will secure access to existing airports, seaports and other logistics support facilities in Jamaica that will allow Canada to respond rapidly to regional crises when they occur.
The MoU outlines operational procedures that will be followed to activate the OSH in Jamaica.
MacKay, who was on a two-day visit to Jamaica, has also toured the Canada-funded infrastructure at Up Park Camp, which includes the Joint Information and Operations Centre (JIOC), the foreign student accommodations for the Jamaican Military Aviation School (JMAS), which Canada has been instrumental in establishing, and the location of the future facilities that will be used for aviation deployment and training.