Moontown

Gayle PERTH, Australia (CMC):

West Indies captain Chris Gayle defied a side strain to smash a typical whirlwind 44, but his efforts proved in vain as Western Australia plunged to a 29-run loss to Trinidadian Kieron Pollard’s South Australia in the Twenty20 Big Bash yesterday.

The left-handed Gayle, the tournament’s star attraction, belted five fours and three sixes off just 29 balls as Western Australia could muster just 167 all out off 19 overs, in pursuit of 197 for victory at the WACA.

Gayle’s fireworks came after his West Indies counterpart Pollard had also taken centre stage with a pugnacious 31-ball 45 as South Australia raised 196 for six off their allotted 20 overs, batting first on losing the toss.

However, both West Australia and West Indies were left with a worry after Gayle retired hurt with a side muscle strain on 40 at 60 without loss in the fifth over of the innings.

He returned in the 16th over with his side struggling at 150 for six, but added just four runs from eight deliveries before falling at 166 for eight to a fine catch by wicketkeeper Graham Manou, running almost to third man to snare a top-edge.

Pakistani leg-spinner Shahid Afridi, who finished with splendid figures of four for 19, captured the last two wickets in the 19th over to end Western Australia’s challenge.

Dazzling innings

Gayle had earlier seemed poised to produce another dazzling innings, reminiscent of his 70-ball century in the recent Test at the WACA, when he reeled off a number of sensational strokes to give the innings a frenetic start.

He clattered two fours and a six in the second over that cost 15, but appeared to injure himself attempting to cart the fifth delivery from medium pacer Mark Cleary out of the ground.

Despite the discomfort, Gayle unleashed a furious assault on Cleary in his next over. He smashed the first ball over mid-wicket for six, hit the second over long-on for four before dumping a half-volley over long-off for a spectacular six.

He edged the final delivery of the over for four as the over cost 22 and propelled Gayle to 36 and Western Australia to 54 without loss.

When he finally limped out of action, Western Australia quickly lost their way, garnering just 43 runs from the next 39 balls with three wickets tumbling.

Earlier, the 22-year-old Pollard rallied South Australia after they slipped to 77 for four in the 10th over. The big-hitting right-hander clobbered four fours and two sixes and shared two critical partnerships to ensure his side’s revival.

He posted 40 from 31 balls for the fifth wicket with Mark Cosgrove, who slammed 42 from 29 balls, and then added a frenzied 60 off 26 balls for the sixth wicket with Cameron Borgas, who finished unbeaten on 34 from 16 balls. (Jamaica Gleaner)

The Gleaner continues to look at the plight of journalists the world over after the Committee to Protect Journalists reported that up to December 1, 136 journalists were sitting in jail cells worldwide and 68 had been killed in 2009. China, Iran and Cuba recorded the highest number of journalists in prison. We will continue to highlight those who have had their rights denied.

Adolfo Fernández Saínz, Patria

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

In March 2003, Cuban state security agents raided the Havana home of Fernandez Saínt, correspondent for the independent news agency Patria, and then arrested the journalist. He was tried under Law 88 for the Protection of Cuba’s National Independence and Economy in April. In June of that year, Cuba’s highest court, the People’s Supreme Tribunal, upheld his conviction and his 15-year prison sentence.

Alfredo Felipe Fuentes, freelance

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

Fuentes, an economist by training, began working for the Cuban independent press in 1991. On March 19, 2003, he was arrested after a raid on his home in the city of Artemisa. The next month, the freelance reporter was convicted of violating Article 91 of the Cuban penal code, which imposes harsh penalties for acting against “the independence or the territorial integrity of the state.” A judge in western Havana province handed him a 26-year prison sentence.

Normando Hernández González, Colegio de Periodistas Independientes de Camagüey

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

Hernández González was arrested in March 2003 as part of the massive crackdown on Cuba’s dissidents and independent press. The director of the news agency Colegio de Periodistas Independientes de Camagüey was sentenced the following month to 25 years in prison under Article 91 of the penal code.

Juan Carlos Herrera Acosta, Agencia de Prensa Libre Oriental

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

In March 2003, Herrera Acosta was arrested during the massive crackdown on Cuba’s dissidents and independent press. A Cuban court sentenced him a month later to 20 years in prison under Law 88 for the Protection of Cuba’s National Independence and Economy.

José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández, Grupo de Trabajo Decoro

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

Izquierdo Hernández, a reporter in western Havana for the independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro, was sentenced in April 2003 to 16 years in prison for acting “against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state” under Article 91 of the penal code. Following an appeal the next month, the People’s Supreme Tribunal Court upheld his conviction. In 2009, he was being held at the Guanajay Prison in his home province.

Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, Grupo de Trabajo Decoro

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

Several state security agents raided Maseda Gutiérrez’s home on the second day of the March 2003 crackdown on Cuba’s dissidents and independent press. Following a closed-door summary trial the following month, the reporter was charged under Article 91 of the Cuban penal code for acting “against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state” and Law 88 for the Protection of Cuba’s National Independence and Economy and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In June of that year, Cuba’s highest court, the People’s Supreme Tribunal, dismissed his appeal.

Pablo Pacheco çvila, Cooperativa Avile-a de Periodistas Independientes

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

On March 19, 2003, state security agents raided the home of Pacheco çvila, a reporter for the local independent news agency Cooperativa Avile-a de Periodistas Independientes, in central Ciego de çvila. He was convicted in April under Law 88 for the Protection of Cuba’s Independence and Economy for committing acts “aiming at subverting the internal order of the nation and destroying its political, economic, and social system,” and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Fabio Prieto Llorente, freelance

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

Prieto Llorente, a freelance reporter in western Isla de la Juventud, was arrested in March 2003 during the massive crackdown on the Cuban independent press. In April of that year, a local court sentenced him to 20 years in prison for violating Law 88 for the Protection of Cuba’s National Independence and Economy.

Omar Ruiz Hernández, Grupo de Trabajo Decoro

Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

Ruiz Hernández, a reporter for the Havana-based independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro in the province of Villa Clara, was arrested on March 19, 2003, during the massive crackdown on the island’s dissidents and independent press. He was sentenced in April to 18 years in prison for acting “against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state” under Article 91 of the Cuban penal code.

Oscar Sánchez Madan, freelance

Imprisoned: April 13, 2007

In early 2007, Sánchez Madan was detained twice and warned to stop working for the independent press after he covered a local corruption scandal and social problems in western Matanzas province, where he lived. He was arrested in April 2007 and, after a one-day trial, Cuban authorities convicted him of “social dangerousness”. The reporter was handed the maximum prison sentence of four years.

Albert Santiago Du Bouchet Hernández, Havana Press

Imprisoned: April 18, 2009

Police arrested Du Bouchet Hernández, director of the Havana-based independent news agency Habana Press while he was visiting relatives outside Havana. Officers alleged that the journalist was shouting anti-government slogans in the street. In May, Du Bouchet Hernández was convicted in a summary trial on charges of “disrespect” and distribution of enemy propaganda, and sentenced to three years in prison.

Adnan Hassanpour, Aso

Imprisoned: January 25, 2007

Security agents seized Hassanpour, a journalist and former editor for the now-defunct Kurdish-Persian weekly. Aso, in his hometown of Marivan, in Kurdistan province, according to news reports.

A Revolutionary Court convicted Hassanpour in July 2007 of endangering national security and engaging in propaganda against the state. The journalist was sentenced to death. A court of appeals overturned the death sentence in September 2008 and ordered a new trial on charges of ‘working for outlawed parties’ and espionage. In November, a trial court convicted Hassanpour on the new charges and re-imposed the death sentence.

Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand, Payam-e Mardom

Imprisoned: July 1, 2007

Plainclothes security officials arrested journalist and human rights activist Kaboudvand at his Tehran office, according to Amnesty International and CPJ sources. He was being held at Evin Prison in Tehran.

Authorities accused Kaboudvand, head of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and managing editor of the weekly Payam-e Mardom, of acting against national security and engaging in propaganda against the state, according to his organisation’s website. A Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced him to 11 years in prison.

Mojtaba Lotfi, freelance

Imprisoned: October 8, 2008

A clergyman and a blogger, Lotfi was arrested by security forces on a warrant issued by the religious Clergy Court in Qom. Authorities accused him of publishing the views of Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who had criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s positions.

Authorities did not specify particular articles or publications in which the views were supposedly cited. Lotfi was convicted of several charges, including spreading antistate information, and sentenced to four years in prison, according to news reports.

Hossein Derakhshan, freelance

Imprisoned: November 2008

The exact date of Derakhshan’s arrest was unknown, but news of his detention first appeared on November 17, 2008, on Jahan News, a news website close to the Iranian intelligence apparatus. At the time, Jahan News reported that he had confessed to ’spying for Israel’ during the preliminary interrogation.

Derakhshan started blogging after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

In November, the BBC Persian service reported that Derakhshan’s family had sought information about his whereabouts and the charges he faced and expressed concern about having very limited contact with him.

Mahdi Hossein-Zadeh, Hambastegy

Imprisoned: June 2009

Hossein-Zadeh, a journalist for the economic section of the reformist newspaper Hambastegy, was arrested in mid-June, according to Mouj Azadi, a reformist news website.

Hossein-Zadeh was being held at Tehran’s Evin Prison. He faced espionage allegations in late year, according to Mowjcamp, a news website supportive of the defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Look out for more on the Woes of Journalism in the days to come.

RICE AND LENTILS PEAS; CHICKEN PELAU

MACARONI PIE; SHEPHERD’S PIE

BAKED CHICKEN; BAKED PORK

BBQ SPARERIBS; MIXED VEGETABLES

FRIED STEAK FISH; GRILLED STEAK FISH

LAMB STEW; FISH GRAVY

TOSSED SALAD; COLE SLAW

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:

The wait-time for the return of checked bags to passengers who were aboard ill-fated American Airlines Flight 331 is now estimated at 60 days.

In a release yesterday, the airline said it would be providing an international standard of care for the recovery and return of checked luggage and personal effects through a company specialising in this process.

“Recovered items will be cleaned, sanitised and returned to passengers. A team will be working initially, including engineers and recovery experts, to complete this sensitive project, which may take up to 60 days,” the airline said.

Two-year probe

AA said it has been returning carry-on bags over the past three days. In addition, US$5,000 has been provided to each passenger to assist while their bags are detained.

In the meantime, investigations into the cause of the crash of the 737-800 aircraft, which had 148 passengers and six crew members aboard, could last up to two years, says head of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby. The JCAA is leading the inquiry.

“Some of the investigations take much longer,” he noted.

“When we put all our findings together, we will do a draft of a final report to all the parties involved in the investigations,” he told The Gleaner, erasing all hopes the process would end any time soon. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
A passenger swipes his Jamaica Urban Transit Company Smartcard on a bus in downtown Kingston yesterday. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Taxi and private bus operators across the island spent late yesterday in meetings trying to craft their response to the Government’s decision to approve a 20 per cent fare increase come January 16, and to freeze the new fare for two years.

The taxi and bus operators had requested a 30 per cent fare increase and baulked at the recommendation of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) that they be granted an 18 per cent hike.

Transport Minister Mike Henry yesterday announced that he decided to add two per cent to the OUR’s recommendation, based on what he said was the looming increase in the tax on petroleum products.

However, this has failed to satisfy the taxi operators, whose initial reaction to the announced increase has been disappointment.

Late yesterday, executives of the Jamaica Association of Transport Owners and Operators (JATOO) were meeting to discuss the announcement, but the initial indication was that its members would reluctantly accept the Government’s decision.

Most other taxi groups seemed to be awaiting the signal from JATOO before announcing their reaction.

No to two-year freeze

However, an obviously dis-appointed Dane Miller, president of the St Ann’s Bay Taxi Association, told The Gleaner that while he could understand the 20 per cent increase, the two-year freeze would not fly.

“I know the commuters can’t afford more, but I wonder if the transport minister knows that taxi operators will be paying more for gas, tyres, spare parts and lubricants next week,” Miller said.

“I don’t understand the approach of this Government which don’t call us in to talk. It just tells us its decision and imposes it on us. That can’t work,” Miller added.

He was supported by Wicliffe Addison, president of the Port-more branch of the Jamaica Transport and Taxi Association.

“The 20 per cent might be fair but the two-year freeze is a no-no because inflation keeps climbing,” Addison told The Gleaner.

In its release yesterday, the transport ministry noted that the 20 per cent increase would not apply to persons using the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) bus service.

Henry also defended his decision not to approve any other fare increase until 2012.

“In keeping with the wage freeze recently announced in respect of the public sector workforce over the next two years, no further bus or taxi fare increases will be granted for the same period,” Henry said.

He claimed that “the Government was cognisant of the limits to which the consumer - in this case the commuters - could cope with increases in the cost of living, and with a wage freeze being imposed, it was only fair that a similar freeze be imposed on transportation costs”.

According to Henry, “The JUTC’s application and the applicable recommendation from the OUR will be examined by the Cabinet early in the new year, with a decision to be announced thereafter.”

Henry noted that the JUTC last received a fare increase in August 2005, almost five years ago, while the private bus and taxi operators were granted a 25 per cent increase last year.

He said the Government had charged the JUTC’s management to target improved efficiency before any fare increase is considered, and that objective has now been met.

“The company is now in line for the promised (fare increase) consideration,” Henry said, as he indicated that it would cost more to travel on the state-owned buses early in the new year.

The JUTC’s present fares are $50 for adults and $15 for concessionary passengers, inclusive of the elderly, the disabled and school children.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com

Passengers board a Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) bus at South Parade, downtown Kingston, yesterday. JUTC passengers will not be affected by the announced fare increase. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer. (Jamaica Gleaner)

by JUSTIN MARVILLE

BARBADOS’ latest sporting success looks likely to be tainted by yet another drug scandal.

One of the country’s athletes on the triumphant Central American And Caribbean Bodybuilding And Fitness Championships faces a two-year suspension after testing positive for a banned substance during last month’s regional competition in Grenada.

President of the Barbados Amateur Bodybuilding And Fitness Federation, Dr Andrew Forde, confirmed the positive A sample in a telephone interview yesterday with NATIONSPORT.

But the local administrator wouldn’t disclose the name of the athlete or the substance until the ensuing B sample testing and a subsequent hearing was held.

“There is an adverse analytical finding at the CAC Championships as it relates to Barbados,” acknowledged Forde, who also serves as secretary on the medical council of the CAC region in charge of drug testing.

“We can’t disclose any names until the B sample testing which has to be followed by a hearing process and that process should be complete by next month.”

Barbados secured their second successive team championship at last month’s competition giving them a record 27 titles at this level as the most decorated nation in this region.

They also picked up six division titles, including the coveted Mr CAC and Miss Fitness CAC crowns, on the way to winning the championship 71 points clear of their nearest rival.

But even though this latest scenario threatens to rock a sport plagued by previous failed drug tests, Forde reasoned that a guilty result would not have a major effect on the team’s overall standing. He said Barbados would still remain champions even if the country were stripped of the related points.

The local bodybuilding head said there shouldn’t be a huge fallout following this latest situation.

“It is disappointing [though] because we promote drug free sport and we probably have the best drug testing education, but like cycling, track and field and other sports, we must ensure to have a level playing field,” noted Forde.

“[But] something that is done by an individual doesn’t destroy the work done by a triumphant team or a successful administration. One bad result doesn’t negate the big strides we made at the last two CAC Championships.

“We’re still winners of the last two CAC titles and we still have two silvers at the World Youth Games,” Forde added.

The news of the positive A sample comes as Forde is set to organise and develop the structural framework for continental anti-doping education by the next general assembly at next year’s CAC competition in Aruba.

Local bodybuilding has been tarnished by a history of failed drug tests, with eight athletes testing positive for banned substances over the last nine years.

Jeffrey Best was banned for life three years ago after his second doping offence, while former Mr Barbados Roger Boyce received a four-year ban for testing positive for clenbuterol in 2004. (Nation News)

WE’RE TRYING: Hospital director Tennyson Springer says “the hospital has been trying to stave off this situation since 2006.” (FP)

by BARRY ALLEYNE

BE PATIENT!

That’s the advice of director of the Psychiatric Hospital Tennyson Springer to 27 trained nurses at the facility who have not been remunerated for their qualifications.

There have been rumblings from nursing staff who completed training to become qualified registered nurses, but for the last year have toiled at the Black Rock, St Michael institution while being paid as nursing assistants.

But Springer sees light at the end of the tunnel for the concerned nurses, having held three meetings with them, the last being in October, to apprise them of progress on the matter.

“There is no doubt the nurses are being disadvantaged,” Springer admitted yesterday in an exclusive interview.

“But it is not the hospital’s wish to disadvantage its nurses. The hospital has been trying to stave off this situation since 2006. I have shared from day one everything I had in relation to this issue dating back from when the Ministry of Health was first written in 2006,” he added.

The 27 nurses completed the three-year Associate Degree programme at the Barbados Community College, before passing a regional exam to become registered nurses.

According to the director, the problems resulted from changes made to the Nurses Act 2008 and the Public Service Act 2008.

“Because of those two changes we are not able to recruit a general (registered) nurse as a staff nurse at the hospital. The hospital has been fighting to have this matter resolved for a long time,” Springer told the DAILY NATION.

The hospital chief said he had sent correspondence to the Ministry of the Civil Service through the Ministry of Health to have an amendment to the qualification order, so the nurses could be facilitated, but the process has been agonisingly slow.

He noted that though most of the nurses had been quite understanding of the long wait, a few remained extremely disheartened, and had gone as far as contacting Minister of Health Donville Inniss about the matter.

“We have now reached the point (with the Ministry of the Civil Service) where there is some mutual agreement in terms of getting the necessary amendments made to the (qualification) order, and right now, the final piece of correspondence is with the ministry,” Springer said.

The director said that if all went well, the matter should be solved early next year.

Springer said the problems existed because the process of getting the qualification order changed was “a very involved one” . (Nation News)

SOME EAST COAST home owners had to remove large amounts of sand and debris from their properties yesterday.Rough seas pounded the area leaving residents with a tough clean-up job as the waves flooded out some homes.In this Nigel Browne picture, Peter Straker (left) and Robert Hammond assist with the clean-up at one property. (CA)

by CARLOS ATWELL

HIGH WAVES CONTINUE to batter Barbados’ coastline as the island remains under a high surf bulletin and small craft warning.

Nowhere was the effects more evident than along the East Coast yesterday where the water made itself an unwelcome visitor in a few beach houses.

Giselle Roach was staying with friends at one of these beach houses in Cattlewash, St Joseph, called Sand Acres. She was sitting in a chair watching the waves roll in when one of them “rolled” a little too far.

“I was enjoying the view when a wave came into the house. I ran inside then upstairs but I wasn’t afraid,” she said.

Roach said even though the wave washed a load of sand inside and moved a few chairs, it did not carry enough force to scare her although others were “freaking out”.

Carl Rayside, who lives in Airy Hill, St George, but rents a beach house in Cattlewash, is no stranger to the sea paying a call. He said he regularly had to replace the fencing at his beach house every time the sea acted up.

This time the angry waters again took down a part of the fence and deposited debris in the house. The incident so shook up the tenants they vacated the premises and were not available for comment.

However, Rayside and a few friends and family members were present. He said he was waiting to see if things would get worse.

“This is low tide now so it’s too soon to say how much it will cost to repair until high tide comes in and we can get a better view of what the total damage will be. It’s tonight we are worried about,” he said.

The Barbados Meteorological Office repeated its warning with another bulletin yesterday, again warning sea bathers and small craft operators to stay out of the sea as a result of high surf and dangerous rip currents along all coastlines across the island.

Acting deputy director Hampden Lovell said this warning would remain in effect for the remainder of the week due to a further “deterioration” of large northerly swells which were expected to peak at about 15 feet.

In a subsequent telephone interview, he said the conditions were being caused by a series of low pressure systems coming from the north which he said was normal for this time of year due to a cold front moving south from the United States.

Acting director of the Coastal Zone Management Zone, Dr Lorna Inniss, said there should not be a major cause for alarm in terms of coastal erosion.

“I don’t think there is anything different happening although the surf is rather persistent. We will be watching the beaches closely but we expect the beaches will recover due to their natural resilience,” she said.

A small crowd of tourists and surfers had gathered overlooking the “soup bowl” to marvel at the massive waves. However, no one was eager to get into the water.

“Out there is death right now, way too dangerous for surfing,” said Stewart Stoute, who has been surfing for more than 30 years.

He said he last saw waves like those yesterday 20 years ago.

The water looked less turbulent in Bath, St John.

However, looks were deceiving as the lifeguard on duty, who would only give his name as Ron, said one wave washed across the entire beach and moved a garbage skip around 20 feet inland.

Ron said he did not have much problems with people entering the water, except for one man and two children who decided to ignore the many red flags placed along the beach. (CA) (Nation News)