Moontown

Both sides had previously lost to table-toppers the West Indies, but England went through as the second qualifier on superior run-rate after rain robbed this Group D shootout of a winner.

That meant Ireland, who’ve flown the flag for non-Test nations in recent years, paid dearly for their 70-run defeat by the hosts on Friday when they were skittled out for a record tournament low of 68.

Crucially, rain meant Tuesday’s match failed to reach the five-overs-played minimum in the second innings for a result to be declared, with Ireland 14 for one off 3.3 overs when the game unable to resume at the cut-off time of 2159GMT.

It was tough on Ireland, who had given themselves a shot of qualifying and more glory in the Caribbean, having beaten both Bangladesh and Pakistan out of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, by restricting England to 120 for eight.

But for England, who made 191 against the West Indies only to lose by eight wickets after a downpour left the home side with a target of 60 in six overs here on Monday, the rules and the rain had turned in their favour.

England captain Paul Collingwood, who’d fumed about the Duckworth-Lewis method for rain-affected matches after Monday’s loss, said: “I guess the rain’s come around today (Tuesday) at a time that’s got us through to the next stage.

“It didn’t help us yesterday but today I guess it’s helped us a little bit,” the all-rounder added. “It could have got quite close.”

In another twist, former Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan top-scored for England, with 45, the left-hander repairing the early damage, as he had done with a 55 against the West Indies.

No other England batsman made more against Ireland than Luke Wright’s 20, with South Africa-born Kevin Pietersen (nine) and Collingwood (nought), both falling cheaply.

But this time it was Ireland captain William Porterfield who was left feeling frustrated by the weather.

“If the rain hadn’t come we were pretty confident chasing down 120 that we could knock it off,” Porterfield said. “But it’s just one of those things,” he added, his reaction in contrast to Collingwood’s fury on Monday.

Porterfield though was proud of the way his side had performed following their embarrassing start.

“The way we came out today, after Friday’s disappointment, was great. If we can take that into every game, we’ll go places.”

Ireland’s Australia-born paceman Trent Johnston took one wicket for 14 and seamer Kevin O’Brien two for 22 while teenage left-arm spinner George Dockrell conceded a mere 19 runs from his full quota of four overs.

As against the West Indies, England lost the toss and found themselves being sent into bat.

They struggled to 49 for four as Johnston and Dockrell choked off the supply of runs.

But Morgan, in a stand of 41 with Wright, revived the innings with some typically innovative shots before his 37-ball knock featuring five fours ended in the last over.

England can now look forward to starting their Super Eight campaign against either defending champions Pakistan or Australia in Barbados on Thursday.

Eugenie Blanchard, who lives on the French island of Saint Barths, won the title after Japan’s Kama Chinen died on Sunday, just a week short of her 115th birthday, the Gerontology Research Group said.

Blanchard was born on February 16, 1896, the group said.

For the past 20 years, she has been living at the Bruyn hospital in Saint Barts and her nephew Daniel Blanchard told AFP that the woman known as “La Douchy” — a Creole word for candy — still had a zest for life.

“Because of her age, she had to be hospitalised but she still loves having a glass of champagne, at least on her birthday,” Blanchard said in 2008.

France holds the European record for longevity, with an impressive number of centenarians including Jeanne Calment who lived to the ripe old age of 122 years and 164 days.

Chinen lived on Okinawa in Japan’s far south, a sub-tropical island whose inhabitants are well known for their robust health into advanced age.

“Though confined to a wheelchair in her later years, Chinen still enjoyed the wonders of nature and being outside,” Guinness World Records said in announcing her death earlier Tuesday.

Chinen’s reign as the oldest living person began on the death of US woman Gertrude Baines, who passed away in September 2009. (Caribnet)

The Universal Postal Union, one of the UN’s specialized agencies, said late Monday it had informed the United States and France that they could now release mail destined for Haiti.

The resumption would mark a partial resumption of international mail services for the first time since the January earthquake ravaged much of the country’s national institutions, including the post office.

“The resumption of postal exchanges with the international community is essential because millions of Haitians living abroad have been longing to send aid to their compatriots, who were affected by the catastrophe,” said Edouard Dayan, UPU director general.

Full resumption of mail exchanges between Haiti and other countries is expected soon, according to UPU. The agency is building a 600-square meter (6,400 square foot) structure in an industrial park near the airport in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The structure will operate as an international mail exchange office.

The 7.0-magnitude quake, according to some estimates, killed between 250,000 and 300,000 people, and devastated much of the nation’s infrastructure.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) — As US banking regulators move to clean up the financial mess in Puerto Rico and put the island’s ailing economy back on track, another major local lender, First BanCorp, could emerge as a blip on the takeover radar.

In such a case, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-biggest and the most international lender, could turn out to be the perfect suitor as it already owns a 10 percent stake in Firstbank and is familiar with the bank’s operations.

A buyout of Firstbank would position Scotiabank as a leading force in the island’s banking industry, second only to Popular Inc, said Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Michael Diana in a note titled “Time to Sell to Bank of Nova Scotia? Could Be.”

Firstbank, which lost $275 million in 2009 and a further $107 million in the first quarter of this year, is exploring the possibility of raising about $500 million.

Macquarie Capital analyst Sumit Malhotra said if the financial health of Firstbank worsens, Scotiabank would have the opportunity to participate in additional consolidation.

“Certain synergies within the Puerto Rico franchises as well as the acquisition of the Virgin Islands franchise would make a deal attractive to Nova Scotia at the right price,” analyst Amanda Larsen of Raymond James told Reuters.

If First Bancorp fails to raise common equity, Scotiabank could be able to buy out the company at a “bargain price,” Larsen said.

US regulators seized three Puerto Rican banks on Friday and sold their deposits to other banks, costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) insurance fund $5.3 billion — one of the largest hits from the banking crisis.

The FDIC sold $5.6 billion in deposits of R&G Financial Corp to Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, a unit of Scotiabank, under a loss-sharing agreement.

“Right now our focus is on the integration of the operations and assets that we have purchased of R&G Premier Bank,” Scotiabank spokeswoman Ann DeRabbie said.

“If any other opportunities present themselves we will review them at that time.”

Firstbank did not reply to an email seeking comment.

Scotiabank has an aggressive international strategy, which also augurs well for another foreign deal for the banking giant.

“The (R&G) announcement will increase our market share to about 9 percent and is consistent with Scotiabank’s international strategy to grow incrementally to scale in target markets,” Scotiabank’s Chief Executive Rick Waugh said in a statement.

The deal comes after Canada’s second-largest bank, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and No.4 Bank of Montreal recently announced deals to buy the assets of failing US lenders, folding regional branch networks into the growing retail franchises of the Canadian brands.

The latest deal also catapults Scotiabank, which already had a century of existence in the island, to a major banking position, and it will not be a surprise if it tries to bulk up further with a buyout of Firstbank.

An accounting scandal weakened many of Puerto Rico’s biggest banks, beginning in 2005, making it difficult for the FDIC to find local buyers for their troubled assets, people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

But most buyers from outside Puerto Rico were reluctant to gain exposure to an island that has been in recession since 2006 and with an unemployment rate of 16 percent.

First BanCorp has been battered by a precipitous decline in value of residential and commercial real estate in Florida and Puerto Rico in the wake of the financial crisis.

However, when speculation about the FDIC moving in to close troubled lenders was growing, analysts expected that Firstbank might use the opportunity to raise capital and participate in the consolidation.

That did not happen.

“They can raise money, but I think it will be difficult and probably more expensive than it had been. There is not a possibility of an accretive acquisition out there,” analyst Joe Gladue of B. Riley & Co said.

Macquarie Capital’s Malhotra said while the current picture for banks in Puerto Rico is not very pretty, it appears that Scotia is taking the “long view” and it has clearly benefited from banking sector rationalization in other international markets in which it operates. (Caribnet)

HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) — Cuba has approved the development of golf courses, marinas and other real estate projects by foreign investors to boost the communist-run island’s tourism industry, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said on Tuesday.

The measure appears to open doors to foreign companies that have long-pending proposals to build at least 10 golf courses on the Caribbean island, where there are now only two.

“With the objective of developing regions that today are virgin, a policy was approved that permits real estate development associated with tourism, fundamentally golf courses, marinas and other complementary tourist investments,” Marrero told a news conference at Cuba’s annual International Tourism Fair.

Marrero said the Cuban government was in advanced negotiations with “several potential foreign partners” to build golf developments.

The first professional golf tournament in Cuba after Fidel Castro seized power in the 1959 revolution took place in 1999 at a newly completed golf course on the grounds of the former Dupont family property in the resort town of Varadero, Cuba. AFP PHOTO

Golf is seen by cash-strapped Cuba as a way to attract more tourists to the island, and more with money. Last year, 2.4 million tourists visited, but they spent 12 percent less than in 2008, according to government statistics.

Even with the decline, tourism brought in more than $2 billion last year, or about 20 percent of Cuban’s foreign exchange income. Marrero said just over a million people visited Cuba in the first four months of 2010.

Cuba once had a dozen golf courses, but almost all were eliminated after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power.

Havana has a nine-hole course used mostly by diplomats and foreign business officials, and the beach resort of Varadero, 85 miles east of the capital has an 18-hole course.

The proposed courses would include construction of luxury condos and homes, which has been a major sticking point in getting approval by the government.

Cuba prohibits foreign ownership, so golf course developers have proposed they be given long leases for their projects.

The government permitted the construction of a handful of condominiums in association with foreign companies at the end of the 1990s, most of which were sold or rented to foreigners.

Dozens of luxury hotels also have been built in joint ventures with international hotel chains.

A huge marina is being built at Varadero with the hope that U.S. sailors will one day make the 90-mile trip across the Straits of Florida to Cuba.

Americans are generally banned from visiting Cuba due to the 48-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the island, but legislation is pending in the U.S. Congress to lift the ban.

Marrero did not offer other details about the new policy, but said the official regulations would be published soon.

The new businesses “will permit the beginning of another stage for development of Cuban tourism … in areas with tourist potential that still aren’t exploited,” he said.

The 450-strong contingent treated more than 8,300 Haitians and vaccinated some 21,000, removed tonnes of rubble from devastated homes and opened roads since arriving in late January, it said.

Four members of the detachment were killed on April 16 when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area near Haiti’s border with the Dominican Republic.

The troops left Haiti for Spain aboard the amphibious ship “the Castilla.”

The January 12 earthquake in Haiti killed some 220,000 people and left the capital Port-au-Prince in ruins. (Caribnet)