Highlights from the Print Newspaper edition - Issue No. 403
Updated as of |
Thursday, 15 May 2003
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Up Front
News
Editorial
Special Report
News Analysis
Help Me Harlan
Walking Back
Chiropractic
Overseas People
Overseas News
Overseas Feature
Cayman Net News Daily Comics
News From Our Region
Sports
Sports Summary
With four armed robberies
in the past four weeks, along with a second murder
in West Bay and the shooting of three men in George Town, the
beleaguered
Police Ask for Help
Faced with a recent outbreak of crimes involving firearms, the Royal Cayman Islands Police (RCIP) have appealed to both the Executive Council (ExCo) of the Cayman Islands and the general public for help.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Anthony Ennis (right) briefs media representatives about the recent outbreak of crimes involving firearms as Commissioner of Police, Mr. David Thursfield looks on.
In addition to the three armed robberies in the past month, three more incidents involving guns occurred between last Sunday morning and Tuesday morning, one of which led to the death of a 34-year-old West Bay man (see related story on this page).
The RCIP are urging any persons who might have knowledge of any of the incidents to contact the police or to call Crime Stoppers. "We can not leave policing in the Cayman Islands to the police alone," said Commissioner of Police Mr. David Thursfield at a press conference last Tuesday afternoon as he appealed for the help of the community, "Everyone has a duty, a responsibility to help and not to let the situation deteriorate."
Last Tuesday morning Mr. Thursfield briefed the Executive Council on the latest developments and requested additional funding to bolster the police force in this time of need. "We do not have enough officers or equipment," said Mr. Thursfield, adding, "I was encouraged by the way ExCo received my proposal."
Coming on the heels of a series of armed robberies, including one at Rackam's Pub and Restaurant early last Thursday (8 May) morning, three masked men with firearms and knives robbed Fine Dine-In around 9:20 p.m. Sunday evening. An undisclosed amount of cash and cheques were stolen from the business, which is located at the Islander Complex on Lawrence Boulevard.
The staff on duty for Fine Dine-In complied with the bandits' request for money, and no one was injured.
Although the modus operandi for the theft is very similar to other recent armed robberies, the RCIP is unwilling to draw a link between the crimes at this time.
Early in the morning on Sunday, three men were injured in an incident that occurred in the Washington Boulevard area of George Town. The 911 Emergency Centre received an anonymous call reporting gunshots around 2:10 a.m.
Police and medics dispatched to the scene found one man with a facial injury, and two with lower leg/foot injuries. All three men were transported to George Town Hospital for treatment.
Although not confirmed by the RCIP, the Washington Boulevard shooting appears gang-related in origin. Commissioner Thursfield broached this issue in a press release sent to the local media. "Worryingly, it would appear that the gang rivalry which seemed to subside after causing the premature deaths of young Caymanian men by stabbing, is back with us, now using firearms to intimidate and injure each other."
Assistant Police Commissioner Mr. Anthony Ennis said that even though the RCIP is presently understaffed by officers, they would not be sitting back and waiting for additional funding to be approved. "We're going to do whatever is possible to take control of the streets," he said, "We have highly trained and experienced police officers. They will target those out to cause havoc and instil fear in the community. Our response will be measured and deliberate. We will instil the fear of the law in them."
Mr. Ennis said that the RCIP's short-term strategy to counteract the crime spree would include both covert and overt actions. While obviously not wishing to comment on the former, he said the latter would include an increased visibility of police officers.
To back up the police presence plan, Mr. Ennis said senior officers would also be asked to shore up the "beat" force by working a day in the community. "The generals will be in the field, too," he said, "Even the Commissioner will start this week. Criminals should know them might run into the Commissioner of Police."
Mr. Ennis also said the RCIP will be relentless in their pursuit of the criminals. "There will be no rest until this situation is under control," he said.
Commissioner Thursfield made it clear that the RCIP was willing and able to answer the firearms threat. "Whilst the RCIP routinely polices without firearms, that is not to say that we are unprepared to counter criminal use of them," he said in his press release, later adding, "We are well-equipped with firearms, as well as anywhere in the world."
As a result of the armed robberies, the RCIP is advising business owners to be more vigilant and cautious. "If you have a business that has cash, your property needs to be taken care of a little more than the past," said Mr. Thursfield, "You need to be sensible and more aware of accumulating large sums of cash."
The current crime threat is very serious in Mr. Thursfield's eyes. "If we wish to preserve our way of life here, we have to come to grips with this problem, and we have to come to grips with it right now," he said.
Mr. Thursfield said anyone who had information could call 949-3999, or if they wished to remain anonymous, they could call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477). "The Crime Stoppers calls are answered in Miami, so they won't know who you are," said Mr. Thursfield, adding that callers might also be eligible for a financial reward if the information leads to an arrest.
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Kirkconnells
Assist Gov't with Road Improvements
Minister responsible for Works, Hon. Linford Pierson OBE, JP (third from left), recently met with Kirkconnell family members and government officials at the intersection of Boilers Road and South Church Street to discuss plans for a new sidewalk. Also pictured: (l-r) Gerry Kirkconnell; Capt. Eldon Kirkconnell; Permanent Secretary for the Ministry responsible for Works, Kearney Gomez; Senior Assistant Secretary for the Ministry responsible for Works, Tim Hubbell; and Deputy Chief Engineer for Public Works, Mark Scotland. Leonard Rachel/GIS
Following talks with the Minister responsible for Works, Hon. Linford Pierson OBE, JP the Kirkconnell family has agreed to assist government with much-need road improvements in the Boilers Road area, which is a heavily traveled section of a narrow public road.
Tentative plans call for one way traffic from Walkers Road along Boilers Road while improvements to the South Church Street and Boilers Road intersection include a new sidewalk. "We are grateful that the Kirkconnells acted in their usual community spirit and have agreed to make such a significant contribution to the beautification, as well as improving public safety in such a prominent area of George Town.
"It is extremely pleasing that they have decided to install a sidewalk on a portion of South Church Street and Boilers Road at their own expense," comments Mr. Pierson. He adds that the sidewalk will be a significant improvement to pedestrians and motorists.
Work on the new sidewalk will begin shortly.
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Cayman Islands
Test Case for Cruise Conversion Programme
The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, working hand-in-hand with Cayman Airways, the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), and Carnival Cruise Lines has developed an innovative loyalty program, designed to entice cruise ship passengers who have experienced a wonderful day in the Cayman Islands to consider returning as a stay over guest.
The program uses an ambitious blend of technology and creativity, and is scheduled to begin its three-month test period mid-May, 2003 with in cabin distribution on the six Carnival Cruise Line ships that call regularly in Grand Cayman during that period.
In the testing period two different pieces of collateral will be used a CD Rom (which includes a dynamic multi-media presentation on the Cayman Islands) and a plastic credit card, both of which have an image of the Cayman Islands on the front, including the words 'Welcome Back', and instructions on how to access a special url.
When guests access the url, they will be able to enter a free vacation sweepstakes, sign up for a monthly "Welcome Back" newsletter, access vacation offers available exclusively to past cruise guests, and access the information necessary to book their return trip to the Cayman Islands direct with participating partners.
The unique urls will allow the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism to track interest and demand, so that at the end of the three month test period, informed decisions can be made regarding the future success of the programme.
"Welcome Back" is an innovative programme, designed to bring back guests who have already been exposed to the best kind of advertising available a first hand experience of the Cayman Islands," said Director of Tourism Mrs. Lania Rittenhouse. "It has been made possible by the incredible support of our partners Cayman Airways, CITA, the FCCA and Carnival Cruise Lines and is in itself a testimony to what can be achieved when varying interests in the tourism industry join forces and work together," she concluded.
"The Cayman Islands can no longer afford to ignore these valuable visitors. Research has shown that cruise passengers truly enjoy the beauty and serenity of our beautiful islands, and what better way than to communicate with them directly than with exclusive vacation offers so that they choose to return to our shores in the future?" said the Honourable McKeeva Bush, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Development and Commerce (DoT).
South Korean
President
Roh Moo-Hyun
WASHINGTON: Fedil Mahmud Gharib, a regional commander of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party and number 28 on the United States' 55 "most wanted" list, has been captured, a Pentagon official says.
BEIRUT: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami warned against an escalation of tensions in the Middle East, and called on the United States to remove its forces from Iraq.
RAMALLAH, West Bank: Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmud
Abbas, will hold their first meeting this weekend.
WASHINGTON: South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun pledged to strengthen
ties with the United States and took a tough line on North Korea's
nuclear arms ahead of a summit with United States President George
W. Bush.
BUENOS AIRES: Rumors are
rife in Argentina that former president Carlos Menem will pull
out of this Sunday's presidential runoff election.
HONG KONG: Chinese officials said new SARS infections were on
the wane in Beijing but tougher diagnoses have boosted the caseload
in Taiwan.
LONDON: Washington's policy during the Iraq crisis has harmed its position on the world stage, the leading International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think-tank says.
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News
Another murder in West Bay
Police have launched a murder investigation after the body of 34-year-old West Bay resident was discovered at a location off Reverend Blackman Drive around 8:35 a.m. last Tuesday.
Though the Royal Cayman Islands Police (RCIP) had not released the name or nature of his injuries at press time, Cayman Net News has learned from informed sources that the victim is Mr. Leslie Hydes, and that he had received a gunshot to the head.
This was the second murder in less than two months in West Bay. On 29 March, George Hallmark Ebanks was found stabbed and bludgeoned to death in the district. A suspect is currently in police custody for that crime.
Police are urging any persons who might have knowledge of this incident to contact any police station or to call Crime Stoppers on 1-800-TIPS (8477). Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a financial reward should their information lead to an arrest.
Cayman National's West Wind Branch Manager Eustace Jeffers with Child Month Coordinators Leanora Wynter and Maureen Jervis-Brooks. Between them is a sample of the essay boards that will be on display at all CNB branches.
One of Cayman's leading financial centers will offer a special savings package to youth, during the month of May in support of Child Month 2003.
In a joint effort with the Department of Social Services, Cayman National Bank (CNB) introduced its Mid-Week Money Match programme (an expansion on the bank's Student Saver programme) on Wednesday, 7 May.
Every Wednesday during the month of May, youth under the age of 18 will have a chance to open an account for a minimum of $10. The Bank will match any deposit made; for example, if $25 is deposited, the bank will match it with $25, for a total deposit of $50. "This should teach them the importance of saving money that may benefit them later", says Child Month Co-ordinator Maureen Jervis-Brooks.
Following is a list of requirements for all children who wish to apply for a student saver account, which can be opened at any CNB location.
Mid-Week Money Match Regulations
In order to participate, the student must deposit $10 $50 on a Wednesday during the month of May.
Both the combined initial deposit and matched funds must remain in the account for at least one year.
Account holders who deposit at least $5 per month over a one-year period will receive a special gift from Cayman National Bank.
In addition, CNB has agreed to display more
than 75 entries from the Child Month Essay Competition, which
ended March 31. Members of the public may view the essays at all
of the bank's five locations throughout Grand Cayman and the Sister
Islands during the month of May.
For more information on Child Month activities or to receive an
official Child Month calendar, call 244-3446, 244-3610 or 244-3629.
For information on how to open a Student Saver account, contact
a customer sales and services representative at Cayman National
at 949-8300.
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Teachers Become
Technology Specialists
Jonathan Tibbetts of East End Primary discusses his project with instructor Lloyd Spruill.
Margaret Jackson receive a gift from IBM and Cayman Data Systems for being the first VIE to complete an Integrate Project. Herbert Crawford, coordinator of the ITALIC project and Lloyd Spruill, the Teacher Universe instructor congratulate her.
Due to excellent planning efforts of the Ministry of Education and Cayman Data Systems, an IBM affiliate, sixteen educators from Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac are well on their way to becoming Certified Technology Integration Specialists. Reaching this milestone is a part of the Ministry's ongoing ITALIC project, Improving Teaching and Learning in Cayman.
This aspect of ITALIC trains a total of
thirty-six educators throughout Cayman in a Teacher Universe professional
development course, geared to train teachers to use Integrate
Online, a powerful series of approximately twenty-five online
interactive courses. The first sixteen of the thirty-six selected
educators have completed a minimum of thirty hours online and
have submitted an Integrate Project. The training, which occurred
May 6-8, was their culminating experience. They were taught to
lead their fellow teachers to integrate the use of technology
into all curricular areas, thereby enhancing teaching and learning
in all classroom experiences.
Students become more engaged in their learning when they use computers
and other technologies in their classrooms. Learning becomes more
exciting to them. The thirty-six VIE's (Very Important Educators)
are learning to lead all educators in Cayman to create standards-based,
student-centered, technology-rich lesson plans.
This first group of VIE's who have completed their training include Earl Alexander, Dewayne Bennett, Herbert Crawford, Rafael Daniels, Josephine Ebanks, Mexiann Grant, Michael Havlin, Margaret Jackson, Pedro Lazzari, Latasha Miller, Bernadine Mills, Barbara Peace-Ebanks, Pat Sparling, Fred Speirs, Nicole Thompson, and Jonathan Tibbetts.
They will begin training their fellow teachers in August. The second group of VIE's will also receive their train-the-educator training in August.
Members of the public are reminded of closed seasons for the fishing of conch, lobsters, whelks and turtles, effective May 1. The following is a list of regulations that all fishermen and watersports operators must observe to avoid being penalised.
CONCH
Closed season: 1 May through 31 October. No one may take conch
from Cayman waters during these months. No one may purchase, receive
or possess conch taken from Cayman waters during these months.
WHELKS
Closed season: 1 May through 31 October. No one may take whelk
from Cayman waters during these months. No one may purchase, receive
or possess whelk taken from Cayman waters during these months
LOBSTERS
· Closed season: 1 March through 30 November. No one may
take lobster from Cayman waters during these months. No one may
purchase, receive or possess lobster taken from Cayman waters
during these months.
· Open season catch limit: Three per person or six per
boat per day, whichever is less.
· Size limit: Six inch tail minimum size. Only spiny lobster
(P. argus) may be taken.
TURTLES
· No one may disturb, molest or take turtles in Cayman
waters without a licence from the Marine Conservation Board.
· Possession of turtle eggs is prohibited.
· For licensed fishermen, closed season runs from 1 May
through 31 October.
PENALTIES
Violation of any of these laws is an offence carrying a maximum
penalty of Cl$500,000 fine and one year in jail. Upon conviction,
forfeiture of the vessel or other equipment may also be ordered.
For further information contact the Department of Environment:
Phone: 949-8469, Fax: 949-4020, Cayman Brac: 926-0136, Little
Cayman: 926-0135, VHF: Channel 17
By Lois Blumenthal Bat Conservation Coordinator National Trust for the Cayman Islands
Very rare and found only on Grand Cayman Island, this Brown Bat (Eptisicus fuscus) may share a roof or bat house roost with the more common Velvety Free-tailed Bats. It consumes about 1,000 insects per night.
Anyone planning to remove bats from their roof should do so within the next few weeks, or postpone the exclusion until mid-November. Bats living in roof spaces are insect-eating Velvety Free-tailed Bats, and each one consumes about 1,000 flying insects every night. Simple multiplication shows that this represents literally tons of insects.
Though there are ten species of bats in the Cayman Islands, only insect-eaters roost in buildings or bat houses. They should not be confused with fruit bats, which are much larger and use different habitats.
Velvety Free-tailed Bats bear only one young
per year and give birth during the first week of June. Baby bats
(called "pups") are unable to fly for several months.
They remain behind while their mothers go out to feed on mosquitoes,
moths, beetles and other insects. Often people first notice that
the bats are in their roofs during the summer when these noisy
pups are present.
When the mother bats return in the quiet early morning hours,
the pups become very excited and squeaky. This is not the time
to exclude the bats from the roof, because the pups cannot fly
yet, and would be left behind to die, or sometimes, in desperation,
wiggle their way into the rooms below. It is impossible to safely
remove bats between June 1st and mid-November.
Velvety Free-tailed Bats are tiny, high-flying and very speedy! They are important in the control of mosquitoes and other flying insects. These bats have lost much of their natural habitat and many of them have found homes in human roof spaces. Bats do not pose a health threat to people and do not chew wood or wires and will not damage homes in any way, but their droppings may eventually cause an odour problem, so they may require to be humanely moved along, at the proper time of year.
Bats will move readily into bat houses, and presently there are over 40 bat houses island-wide, thanks to the support of Caribbean Utilities Co Ltd (CUC). These serve the dual purpose of helping to provide an artificial habitat for these valuable bats, and keeping them from trying to re-enter roofs. This programme is one of the most successful in the world, with complaints about bats in the roofs noticeably declining, and with most bat houses occupied by large colonies of bats.
Truly Nolen and Bug Busters, two companies
who specialize in helping people solve bat problems agree, "Our
methods work with flying bats. Until the young bats learn to fly,
there is no way to safely remove them from the roof." Attempts
to plug the holes that bats are using can backfire and force bats
to enter the living quarters of people as they try to find a way
back outside.
While most bats living in roofs and bat houses are Velvety Free-tailed
Bats, Grand Cayman's endemic Brown Bat, (sometimes inexplicably
called the "Big Brown Bat") also uses these spaces.
The Brown bat is very small with a body no bigger than a child's
thumb. It eats many crop and garden pests and is found only on
Grand Cayman and nowhere else in the world.
"Bats are not a threat to people, but many folk harbor a
deep-seated fear of these little creatures" said Dr. Mat
Cottam, Environmental Programmes Manager for the National Trust
"I would recommend that anyone who is interested in bats,
or afraid of them, contact Lois for more information about bats
and their benefits."
The Bat Conservation Programme includes a slide show which can be adapted to all ages, from pre-school to adults, and features unusual full-colour pictures of Cayman's bats as well as bats from all over the world. If you would like to volunteer to help present this Programme in classrooms, please contact Lois 947-2248 or call the Trust at 949-0121 ext. 27.
The National Trust Bat Conservation Programme provides free information and advice about removing bats from buildings humanely and permanently. This procedure is cheap, easy and effective and can be done from mid-November through the end of May. The Programme also provides free bat house plans, sells ready-made bat houses and will inspect your property to see if a bat house placement is feasible.
Visit the Trust office off Court's Road for free information sheets.
Writers and Poets receive their rewards
Cayfest Poetry & Short Stories Contest winners collect their gift certificates from Managing Director of Hobbies & Books, Mr. Billy Adam (at right). Featured from left are: Charles Bush, 1st Adult Short Stories; Ravena Powell, 1st Youth Poetry; Dawn Kingshott, Hobbies & Books Sales Representative; Kamela Murugesu, 1st Youth Short Stories; Alice Andrews, 2nd Youth Poetry and Short Stories and Ashvin Murugesu, 1st & 2nd Children Poetry. The presentations were made at Books By The Bay in Grand Harbour.
Community Cleanup of Grand Cayman a Success!
Close Brothers Ltd. employees and their children taking time to collect litter in support of Earth Week. (For More Photos Click Here)
Cleanup day for Grand Cayman took place on 26 April when over 550 people came out in full force to clean up our island on both land and sea.
Staff from the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) gave out over 800 garbage bags to participants of the Chamber of Commerce 6th Annual Roadside Cleanup. Everything was found from cans, bottles and food wrappings to frying pans and shopping carts.
"Littering is a widespread problem and all of the items that were found could have easily been placed in a disposal bin or at the landfill 'drop-off' facility," comments Director for DEH Roydell Carter.
He adds that DEH has placed several waste bins in public places around central George Town, at beaches and in busy areas in each district. "People really need to consider the negative environmental impact they are having on our country and stop the illegal practice of littering. During the year, the DEH will step-up its efforts to curtail this indiscriminate activity," he concludes.
Many schools and business also cleaned up their grounds, planted trees or began recycling programs in honor of Earth Week.
Activities were organized by the DEH, the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, National Trust of the Cayman Islands, the Department of Environment (DoE) and the Cayman Islands Tourism Association.
"We're very pleased that so many people came out and pitched in to cleanup our island. We also thank the Department of Tourism, British Airways, Royal Bank of Canada, Hurley's Entertainment, Ritz-Carlton and Evian for their sponsorship," comments Education and Promotions Officer for DEH, Shannon McKenzie. She adds however, that she hopes to see a greater number of sponsors for next year's activities.
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Editorial
Responsibility and Respect for Life
While progress has enveloped these Islands to make it a world leader in the area of finance, it has sometimes failed to exert its influence on other aspects of our society.
Granted, there are certain cultural phenomena that one should take pride in and cherish. The key, however, is to decipher which elements of society may properly be termed 'cultural', and which are in fact merely remnants of the past. While the former ought to be endorsed, those aspects of society illustrative of the Cayman Islands at an earlier stage of development should give way to changes that reflect the advancement of our country.
One case in point is the humane treatment of animals. In the last fifty years, organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have taken a stand to ensure that animals be protected, whether from endangerment, cruelty or neglect.
In Cayman, many people have great love for animals. Nevertheless, a large stray population exists, leaving many animals to fend for themselves. Stray or barking dogs are often poisoned, an insidious and all too common practice in this country. Cows can be seen tethered to trees with barely any room to move, and horses sometimes die from strangulation due to improper securing. The small size of the country tends to magnify the problem, and to proliferate the idea that some change is required.
With regard to stray dogs, there is a definite concern, not only for the animals themselves, but also to the potential threat that exists to humans when dogs are left to run wild. In the early eighties, packs of dogs caused such annoyance to visitors and residents alike that Government implemented a campaign to capture and destroy the animals.
Today, many people still allow their dogs to roam unleashed through neighbourhoods, where they frighten many, bite some, and breed puppies that the owners don't want.
The Humane Society works diligently to find homes for unwanted animals. Fundraisers and the help of volunteers have significantly improved the plight of these animals on the island, nevertheless, the Society must still face the limitations of a finite amount of space and money.
Caribbean nations have generally differed from North American and European nations when it comes to animals. For instance, North Americans have tended to regard their domestic dogs and cats as part of the family, bringing them inside the home, while Caribbean pets are often kept outdoors.
Such cultural customs as keeping a pet outdoors should not warrant objection, but if pet owners also allow their pets to rove the streets , adversely affecting the lives of one's neighbours, issue must be made with this irresponsible, discourteous practice.
If change is to be brought about, it must begin with education. For those who grew up without pets, sympathising with animals may be difficult. Others may not have any interest in becoming animal lovers. One must recognise, however, that despite one's preferences, there is no room in any advanced society for unnecessary cruelty to animals. For that reason, apathy must be discarded, and irresponsible pet ownership condemned.
Moreover, people must become aware of the connection between the mistreatment of animals and potential aggression to human beings. As famous humanitarian and winner of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize Dr. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) put it, "Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea of worthless human lives."
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Special
Report
Anti-terror exercise begins in three US cities
By Shaun Waterman
WASHINGTON (UPI) More than 8,000 officials from more than 120 federal state and local agencies in Seattle, Chicago and Washington last Monday began a five-day, $16 million exercise designed to test the nation's readiness to respond to multiple terror attacks that use weapons of mass destruction.
The exercise, simulating a radioactive "dirty
bomb" explosion in Seattle and the covert release of a biowarfare
agent in Chicago, is being coordinated by the new Department of
Homeland Security and the US State Department from an operations
center in a hotel in northern Virginia.
The exercise is designed to test the ability of federal, state
and local authorities to respond to a two-pronged attack
described by officials as a plausible scenario by a fictional
foreign terror group dubbed Glodo, the Group for the Liberation
of Orangeland and the Destruction of Others.
Details of more than 800 separate developments referred
to by the event planners as "stimuli" are contained
in a 200-page script. Representatives of the 121 federal and other
agencies involved sitting together in the northern Virginia
center feed the "stimuli" back to their colleagues,
who then react as they would do in a real emergency.
At 3 p.m. EDT Monday, the simulated "dirty bomb" explosion was staged near Tully's Coffee in downtown Seattle. A small explosion kicked the event off, and burning cars and a wrecked bus were employed as props to test the readiness of emergency personnel.
On Tuesday, health officials in Chicago and Vancouver began "seeing" the simulated results of the clandestine release over the weekend of aerosolized bubonic plague microbes in several locations, with a sudden influx of "virtual patients" reporting flu-like symptoms.
Critics have questioned the value of the exercise, pointing out that officials at the state and local level charged with responding already know the nature of the attacks, and have had time to plan and practice their response.
But planners say that many of the details about the attack are being held "close to the vest," and will be injected into the action unexpectedly. Their responses, dubbed "free play" by the planners, will be watched closely.
"That's the performance we want to see," Theodore Macklin, from the Office of Domestic Preparedness in the DHS, told United Press International.
"We're watching the free play very closely," he went on. "Every agency has plans, policies, procedures and protocols to deal with catastrophic events in the United States," he said, but added that some are better prepared than others.
"That's the purpose of the exercise, to find those gaps in planning and policy, fill those gaps now, while we have the opportunity, the luxury if you will of finding out where those gaps exist prior to a real world event."
In Chicago, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have to interview some of the 1,300 "patients," played by volunteers, to try and work out the type of agent used and the site or sites where it was released.
"Even though they may know (the broad nature of the attack), these players are not going to just, as robots, walk through this exercise," said Michael D. Brown, undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response at the DHS.
"They will test their own systems. ... Observers will try to analyze at what stage did the public health system kick in ... At what point do (health officials) start noticing that they have this sudden influx of (patients with) flu-like (symptoms)."
Participants, even though they know certain details in advance, will have to earn that information in real time, explained Macklin.
"They will work through their epidemiological investigation ... If it takes a certain amount of time to do a diagnosis, then there will be an observer or a controller there that will look at that task and make sure it's performed in accordance with the amount of time it would take."
In Seattle, officials do not know the type or quantity of the radioactive isotope used in the dirty bomb.
"That's the type of information that has to be earned in the free play by the responders," said Macklin.
Planners have also created a number of unexpected events, which officials will learn of only as they unfold, and have to respond to. In Washington, for instance, the police department received reports of rioting demonstrators near the White House.
Officials have also created another wild card in the form of a fake 24-hour news channel, dubbed VNN for Virtual News Network.
"There are certain things that we have not told the participants about, but we can throw in through the Virtual News Network," said Brown. Planners will use VNN to create "at least theoretically," Brown stresses the kinds of problems that would be caused by the mass panic a real attack would likely provoke.
Officials also will give interviews and make statements to VNN.
"We're going to check on ourselves,"
said Chad Kolton, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman.
"One of the things we want to learn is how well we communicate
with the media."
The participants pretending to be reporters are clearly expected
to be convincing. Guidelines for journalists covering the exercises
ask them to take care to identify themselves as real journalists
before speaking to officials or planners.
Brown says that internal communication is also one of the most important things the exercise will test.
"We are testing to see how well we communicate internally within the Department of Homeland Security, how well we communicate with our outside partners ... How do we communicate with the state and local folks ... There is a quite vast array of interoperable communications here that we'll be testing to see how we do," he said.
State and federal government agencies from Canada are taking part in the exercise, and at least one other country, Mexico, is sending observers, according to the State Department.
"What may appear to be a domestic terrorist incident has vast international implications in many different ways," said Thomas Hastings of the department's office for the coordination of counter-terrorism.
The exercise will require officials to consider a wide range of problems, like the impact on international trade, communications and stock markets, as infected Americans travel abroad and start turning up with symptoms at foreign hospitals.
"We're going to see a worldwide crisis," bigger than the one provoked by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, said Hastings.
State Department participants will prepare guidance for embassies overseas about what they should say to the public and to their host governments and advise senior officials how to respond to "stimuli" from other countries, such as the withdrawal of landing rights to US aircraft by nations panicked at news of the plague outbreak.
The exercise will also involve local firms in both Chicago and Seattle.
"A number of private sector organizations have been invited to participate as observers, and their feedback will be sought on how the actions that we take in response will have an impact on them," said Kolton.
Starbucks, for instance, the Seattle-based coffee giant, will be watching, primarily, one employee said, to monitor the process that might result in a decision-making process that would be required to evacuate their headquarters.
Although officials at the DHS, Health and Human Services, and the Justice Department will take part personally, they will not be working round the clock as they would do in reality.
"Everyone in the DHS and I believe the other Cabinet agencies will be playing themselves," DHS spokesman Brian Roehrkasse told UPI. But he said in the White House there will be "several senior officials that will be monitoring the situation and making role playing-type decisions," in place of the president, national security advisor and communications director.
Macklin said the DHS would provide a report card for the nation after the exercise was over, but would have to strike a balance "between reporting the results of the exercise and not providing a road map for the adversary."
He said there would be immediate feedback meetings in all three venues, followed by a conference next month in Washington involving all the principle participants. A full evaluation would be completed by the end of September, he said.
This week's exercise is the culmination of many weeks of preparation, Macklin added. Preliminary exercises in Chicago and Seattle had already helped them refine their emergency response plans, he said.
In an effort to avoid public panic, Seattle residents were warned in the days leading up to the exercise that they might come across police and firefighters dressed in what appear to be space suits going through the motions of checking for radiation from the mock "dirty bomb."
"Residents may see people working in
pairs, dressed in hazardous materials suits simulating the collection
of environmental samples in these neighborhoods," Mayor Greg
Nickels' office said in a statement. "Fliers informing residents
and businesses are being distributed in these areas to ensure
citizens understand the activities are exercise-related, and no
cause for alarm."
Officials said the timing of the exercise was good because the
national emergency response apparatus was already under pressure
as a result of the tornados that have recently struck the Midwest.
"We could not have timed this better," Brown said, describing it as a great opportunity to assess the structures Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and other officials were putting into place as the new department was being stood up.
TOPOFF2, as the operation is called for "top officials" is the second congressionally mandated exercise to test the nation's readiness. The first, in May 2000, involved a biological incident in Denver and a chemical one in Portsmouth, N.H. Ridge told reporters last week that valuable lessons were learned from it, including that "multiple control centers, numerous liaisons, and an increasing number of response teams only complicated coordination." He said participants also realized that "threat information and a common threat picture need to be shared in a timely manner."
Why Spain's PM Aznar supported the war
By ROLAND FLAMINI, UPI International Editor
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar
WASHINGTON (UPI) - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's scheduled visit to the White House Wednesday is his fourth meeting with President Bush since January - the same number as British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
If Blair has emerged as the Bush administration's No. 1 ally in the U.S.-led campaign against international terrorism - Bush's "little drummer boy," in the words of one columnist - Aznar is Bush's fife player, and can claim the second place in the "coalition of the willing."
Unfortunately for the dapper, conservative Spanish politician, the political fallout in Spain for Aznar's strong belief in the righteousness of the U.S. cause is also second only to Blair's. Record-size anti-war demonstrations filled the streets of Spanish cities and anti-Americanism surged to unprecedented levels.
During the U.S.-led Iraq offensive Aznar's personal ratings slipped to their lowest (19 percent at one point) while members of his own party protesting the war battled with riot police in the streets of Madrid and Barcelona.
Now, analysts are forecasting significant losses for his right-of-center Partido Popular - Popular Party - and big gains for the anti-war, opposition socialists in key regional and municipal elections on May 25, which are expected to give an indication of how Spaniards will vote in the national polls in 18 months' time.
The war may be over but sentiment against the United States remains high. Dirt was recently thrown at the U.S. ambassador's car. An invitation to an American Embassy function, normally a hot ticket, is now more likely to be refused. When Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz gave himself up recently, the leading Madrid paper El Pais ran the story, but the picture expressed better than 1,000 words its view of the war. It showed Aziz sitting comfortably in the Oval Office with a smiling Ronald Reagan.
One reason why Aznar emerged as such a strong supporter of the Bush administration's Iraq offensive, the analysts say, is Spain's own four-decade fight against ETA, the armed wing of the Basque separatist movement. Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna bombings and assassinations have claimed more than 800 victims since its campaign for an independent Basque state began in 1968.
Aznar won his first election as prime minister partly on the promise to take a tough line against separatist Basque militants - and his election for a second term two years ago after making good on that commitment. In the past five years the Spanish authorities have arrested several leading ETA terrorists. They have also gone after ETA's wide network of covert support in the Basque region.
This week, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that more than 1,000 candidates in the Basque region could not be elected to local office under a new law that bars political groups and individuals with suspected ties to terrorists from taking part in elections.
The ETA experience convinced Aznar that terrorism can only be effectively confronted through international action. Its practitioners must be shown that there is nowhere to escape to. Seen from this perspective Bush's offensive against the rogue states - the axis of evil - made sense to the Spanish prime minister.
On Tuesday in New York, Aznar called on the United Nations to draw up a "general list" of terrorist organizations, comparable to the list maintained by the U.S. State Department. The United Nations has a standing committee on terrorism, but the world organization has so far failed to agree on a definition of terrorism, still less to draw up a list of terrorists.
Some observers were surprised at the strength of Spain's commitment to the U.S. war. But when the Iraq issue first created the diplomatic stand-off between the Bush administration on the one hand and France and Germany on the other, Aznar faced a hard choice. He could join forces with Paris and Berlin, or align himself with Washington.
Despite its size, Spain is not a front-rank player in the European Union. It is a relative newcomer to the international community after almost four decades of near-total political and economic isolation during the Franco regime from 1939 to 1975. Still reeling from its own civil war, Spain stayed out of World War II, and so almost alone in Europe lacks the shared experience of the most momentous event of the 20th century.
This isolation conditions Spain's relations with other European countries, and some Spanish analysts maintain that Aznar's government has tended to balance this situation with a closer relationship with the United States. Or as one senior Spanish official put it recently, "Aznar prefers to be lectured by Bush and Powell to being bullied by Chirac and Schroeder."
Not that there is much personal warmth between Aznar and President Bush. Aznar is stiffly formal. Even some of Aznar's friends concede that he is usually as expansive as a tightly furled umbrella. Bush's approach is more rough and ready, especially during his weekend meetings at the Crawford ranch. According to reliable sources in Madrid, Aznar has complained to close associates that at Crawford Bush is liable to rest his feet on the table - an Aznar no-no - and to interrupt working sessions with accounts of how much he likes to run for exercise.
But as a Spanish conservative Aznar is closer ideologically to Bush than to the socialist Gerhard Schroeder, and even to the more pragmatic Jacques Chirac.
Some political insiders in Madrid offer two further, and somewhat cynical reasons why Aznar joined the coalition of the willing. First: he has declared that he does not want to serve another term, and was therefore unconcerned about the negative political fallout. The PP may have other ideas; but the PP counts for little. It is Aznar who will designate his successor as leader, and he will do it in his own time.
Second: For a long time, Aznar was convinced that there would be no war, and therefore the anti-war opposition would simply run out of steam. By the time he realized that the Bush administration actually wanted war, the bandwagon was traveling too fast for him to get off - even had he wanted to.
President Bush's unlikely Middle East vision
By CLAUDE SALHANI
WASHINGTON (UPI) - With President Bush's announcement of a U.S.-Middle
East free-trade area, optimists might be fooled into believing
that peace may at last be looming on the Middle East's horizon.
Add to that two other important recent developments that have brought about renewed hope to the area: the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq and the publication of the Middle East "Road Map," and indeed, one might well be led into believing that peace in the Levant is suddenly about to break out.
Delivering a commencement speech to graduating students at the University of South Carolina on Friday, Bush outlined his vision for what he termed "A time of historic opportunity" for the Middle East.
The president proposed the establishment of a "U.S.-Middle East free-trade area within a decade to bring the Middle East into an expanding circle of opportunity, to provide hope to the people who live in that region."
Promising to "work with our partners to insure that small and midsize businesses have access to capital," the president said, "replacing corruption with free markets and fair laws, the people of the Middle East will grow in prosperity and freedom."
"Reforms in the Middle East area are gaining influence and the momentum of freedom is growing. We have reached a moment of tremendous promise and the United States will seize this moment for the sake of peace."
To which I have to say the president will need a magic lamp with a very powerful genie in order to make all that happen within 10 years.
True, regime change has been established
in Iraq, but the president's desire to replace "corruption
with free markets and fair laws," in the rest of the area
is a very tall order, indeed.
While truly an honorable intent, bringing about transformation
of this magnitude will prove far more difficult to achieve than
convincing the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
that freezing settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories
is a prerequisite for peace. Sharon has already voiced objection
to 14 points in the "road map," and said he would not
move forward on the peace proposal until his meeting with Bush
in Washington scheduled later this month.
Or, for that matter, pacifying Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the fundamentalist
Islamic groups in Gaza and the West Bank, without risking an all
out Palestinian civil war if Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian
prime minister, attempts to disarm them, as he is expected to.
Introducing positive change in Iraq might prove easy enough to
do seeing that institutions will have to be established from the
ground up. Following the void left by the Baath party's disappearance,
the entire country's infrastructure has collapsed and will need
to be rebuilt. With much hard work, that can be achieved, and
Iraq could possibly be remodeled along Western and more democratic
free-market guidelines. Maybe.
But how do you go about reforming the corruption
of Egypt's floundering bureaucracy and colossal corruption, which
starts at the very top and winds its way down to the lowest government
functionary? Even though Bush praised the "efforts of leaders
like President (Hosni) Mubarak."
Or for that matter, how do you change Syria's Baath Party dominance
over commerce and every other socio-economic aspect of the country?
How do you go about radically altering Saudi
Arabia's lethargic educational system and quasi-feudal system?
(Bush also praised Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.)
For the moment, the "heat" is on, and in view of what
transpired in Iraq, the collective Middle East leaderships are
quaking in their shoes, fearing that regime change - courtesy
of the U.S. military - could also happen to them. But just how
realistic is this new American dream? Any Middle East veteran
will tell you, nothing ever turns out as planned. That is simply
the way of the Mideast.
Most Arab governments will tell Washington what it wants to hear
- that they are amicable to positive change and eager for democracy.
But I would not bet on it.
First, the American vision of establishing a Jeffersonian democracy in Iraq will prove to be a far more difficult procedure as the intricacies of Iraq's complex political society begin to emerge. With Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites all vying for power, the interim American administration in Iraq will soon realize just how difficult that job truly is.
And while Damascus, understandably worried by recent events in Iraq, acquiesced to some American demands and pressures, they are a long way from adopting a free-market economy, accepting a multiparty political system or allowing for a free press - all the steps needed to help them participate in a free-trade pact in partnership with the United States. Not to mention a lot of other countries in the region.
Yes, there might be the one or two exceptions - Bahrain or maybe Qatar, as the president likes to point out - but it will take much more than wishful thinking to bring about these needed changes in the Arab world.
The president mentioned the progress in "... a free and democratic Afghanistan." Yet, today, non-governmental organizations are finding it harder than ever to operate there under deteriorating security conditions.
President Bush said, "some believe that democracy or freedom in the Middle East is impossible."
It is not that I think it is impossible, it's just that it will take a few decades more before a Middle East free-trade zone transforms itself into a mirror of the European Union or the North American Free Trade Agreement.
I hope that I am wrong in my analysis.
Return
Help Me
Harlan
Sex without intimacy is too uncomfortable
Harlan Cohen
Dear Harlan,
I've always had a girl in my life, but I've had trouble keeping
them because of the fear I have of the next level. See, most of
them think that I'm not a virgin, but I am. I want to have sex
with them, but I'm afraid that I'll be less experienced than they
are and won't be able to see my end of the bargain through.
Should I ignore this or act on my desires?
Scared to React
Dear Scared,
As a rule, sex should never be about bargains, coupons or hourly
rates.
It seems that you've been doing exactly what you've desired. You desire to be comfortable with your partner, and these situations have all been uncomfortable. Why they have all been uncomfortable might have something to do with your being too afraid to be honest, which happens to be one of the most attractive qualities a woman looks for in a man (that and doing laundry). Had you only been more honest with past girlfriends (and done some laundry), these women would have probably stuck around. Your secret fear would have only made them want you more.
Your problem isn't the sex -- it's the intimacy. Intimacy is the purest and the richest part of a relationship. Sex without intimacy is like a chocolate-chip cookie without the chocolate chips. It's missing the richest part. Until you can take a partner by the hand, look her in the eyes and share feelings that scare you to the core, it's not right. Until you can open up, there will be something missing.
In the future, forget about the act of sex. Work on the act of being honest. Be vulnerable. Open up emotionally. Then, should you experience true intimacy, the physical part will occur more naturally. It will all feel much more comfortable. Then the rest will happen on its own. And if it does happen, please, ALWAYS be safe (use protection).
Dear Harlan,
My girlfriend and I have been dating for more than two years.
We are both Christians. Over the years, we have gone pretty far
on the physical level, but no sex until marriage. We have broken
up twice because of guilt felt over being physical. This is hers,
not mine.
Anyway, recently we have been going pretty far physically. Today,
I checked her e-mail and read a letter from her friend. My girlfriend's
original e-mail was attached. She explained that she will always
have impure thoughts, and since thinking about sexual activity
is just as sinful as doing it, we might as well do it. Her friend
responded that she should give "us" up and focus more
on religion. So I deleted the e-mail.
If my girlfriend and her friend talk, the
e-mail might be brought up, and we could end up breaking up again.
Should I admit I deleted it?
Gone Too Far
Dear Gone Too Far,
A loving boyfriend would come clean and admit the truth. A loving
boyfriend would offer to talk to a religious leader with his girlfriend.
A loving boyfriend would use this e-mail situation to bring his
girlfriend and him closer, not trick her into doing something
she might regret for the rest of her life. But the truth is that
you're not acting like a loving boyfriend, which is probably why
she's broken up with you before. And it's also probably why she'll
break up with you again, deleted e-mail or not.
The days of the Bulk Carriers (Part 1)
Will Jackson
Many were the men who rose to the position of officers on those ships. In fact, the company started their own marine school right in Grand Cayman where officers were trained, and also in New York the school operated sometimes. Soon, there were Caymanian men out there as masters, Chief mates and 2nd and 3rd mates. The same went for engineers, from chief right down. There were stewards and cooks who started on the job as, mess men and gallery men, and raised themselves to high positions.
Caymanians may not sufficiently thank the National Bulk Carrier for the many favors that were shown to them during more than thirty years of employment. Actually the company ended up with much larger ships than they had ever had; when one thinks of such ships as Universe Leader, universe Commanded and Universe Defiance by their times being the largest ships plying the ocean. These were called the universe Tank Ships.
The families of the Cayman Islands seamen may also express their gratitude to the good life they enjoyed, far above anything their fore parents ever knew. Money hardly was a problem to the conservative house wife, with her husband out there; of course if she chose to live lavishly that was a different story book to read from, like some men worked out there for years, ending each vacation, and starting each new contract right where they were financially when they had their first employment. But on the other hand many families got themselves into nice little homes with modern furnishings, while their children could obtain even college education.
Even the Government was strengthened in the finances better than all the years of struggles to meet the public demands. By the time that the National Bulk began to trim down, and do away with their ships, most seamen had already retired from sailing and were able to find jobs at home. Many of them would enter into employments of their own making.
Construction workers were in great demand, many being imported form foreign; with the tourist trade taking shape in the Islands there was plenty to do by way of employment, and the men would be happy just to be sleeping in their own beds at night, eating from their own tables surrounded by their own immediate family.
During those years of high operations by
National Bulk, Caymanians reached the pinnacle of their sailing
glory. They earned more money than they had ever earned before,
except for those men who sailed on American flag ships, controlled
by American Unions. A union of sorts had been formed in Grand
Cayman called, Global Seamen Union but did not prove a whole lot
of good to anyone of the seamen, it was restricted to the company's
generosity in how they would treat an individual and was more
profitable perhaps to the men who settled in to run the show.
Most seamen were satisfied with their salaries and their working
conditions on the ships, but grumbled about their daily bread
using the chief steward as their lashing stake on the various
ships. It depended on the steward and this cooks to operate a
happy ship.
The men traveled the world over, far and near; paid to see strange places, and enjoyed what they termed, a good time in such places as Brazil, from whence quite a few married wives, Japan a seaman's paradise, and the Philippines; lots of other countries to which the men loved to visit. Of course, don't read me as saying that all seamen were good-timers, by no means was that so. There were some serious minded men out there, men to whom $20 or $40 dollars meant a whole lot, and rather than making frequent trips ashore in poets at night they just remained onboard, looking forward to a joyful home-coming day when their money would be well spent, shared with their lovely families.
It was such men who helped most in raising the countries economy, helping their own beloved home land to move up the industrial ladder. More and more banks opened their doors in Grand Cayman because there was much money here, Hotel started to spring up like wild flowers; tourist from all over came to our shores. National Bulk Carriers has gone into history, but the effect of their splendid goodness to these islands remains. Mr. Ludwig who started the ball rolling with a couple of T 2 tankers forming one of the world's largest shipping Co. and Mr. Southwell who brought Caymanians into the show, have both gone to their quiet rest, but their names live on with us. Without doubt the BULK was Heaven's way of remembering the islands that time forgot. He hath founded it upon the seas, and by the sea have these islands, under God, drawn financial stability soaring far above poverty, which pervaded the lives of the fore fathers. To God be the glory, Great thing he hath done!
Will Jackson
Seafarer and noted
Caymanian Historian
Return
Chiropractic
Piriformis Syndrome
Dr Jemal Khan,
Chiropractor
The piriformis is a tiny muscle located deep in the buttock, underneath all the glute muscles. Piriformis syndrome is often misdiagnosed because it can mimic other problems such as disc herniations, which also present with leg pain.
The piriformis muscle is found between the sacrum and the greater trochanter of the femur, which is the big, bony "bump" on the outside top of the thigh. The sciatic nerve usually passes underneath the piriformis muscle, but in approximately 15% of the population, it travels through the muscle. Injury that causes swelling or spasm of the piriformis muscle irritates the sciatic nerve, resulting in sciatica. The 15% of the population with an aberrant course of the nerve through the muscle are particularly predisposed to this condition.
Piriformis syndrome is diagnosed primarily
on the basis of symptoms and on the physical exam. There are no
tests that accurately confirm the diagnosis, but X-rays, MRI,
and nerve conduction tests may be necessary to exclude other diseases.
Generally patients complain of a deep aching in the buttock and
thigh on the involved side. This pain is often aggravated by sitting,
squatting or walking. The patient may notice that the affected
leg is often externally rotated (toes point out) when relaxed,
such as when lying face down on the bed with your feet over the
end of the mattress. Often the right leg is affected after driving
a long distance if the foot has been in external rotation while
depressing the gas pedal. This can also be a source of lower back
pain.
Piriformis syndrome may be a result of faulty spinal or foot mechanics,
gait disturbances, poor posture or sitting habits or any other
factor that could cause that muscle to function abnormally. The
pain syndrome is often associated with overuse of the piriformis:
athletics, heavy work, or prolonged sitting. Traumatic causes
are also reasonably common, including automobile accidents, falls,
and penetrating wounds to the area.
The piriformis muscle originates on the
sacrum, consequently it can be directly influenced by faulty spinal
or pelvic mechanics. Fortunately, specific chiropractic adjustments,
postural changes, and/or orthotics can easily rectify this. If
your feet are contributing to the situation, your
chiropractor may recommend orthotics, or different shoes.
In addition a number of stretching exercises for the piriformis, hamstrings and hip extensors may help decrease the painful symptoms and return your range of motion. Your chiropractor may also recommend the application of ice, heat, deep tissue massage, electrotherapy, and acupuncture to enhance healing. A comprehensive treatment program will be developed for your individual situation by your chiropractor.
Dr. Jemal Khan,
Chiropractor
Cayman Chiropractic Clinic
Return
Overseas
People
Farrakhan Foundation fights men's cancer
By AL SWANSON
Nation of
Islam leader
Louis Farrakhan
CHICAGO (UPI) - Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is creating a prostate cancer foundation bearing his name to mark his 70th birthday.
Farrakhan was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1985 and in April 1999 survived a long hospitalization at Howard University Medical Center in Washington for complications caused by radiation seed treatment.
The cancer, now in full remission, was a
life-changing event for the fiery Farrakhan who moderated his
disparaging views of whites after undergoing an ecumenical epiphany.
At a dramatic 1999 news conference three days before Christmas,
Farrakhan ended a 10-month sabbatical declaring himself back "from
death's door."
"I'm back from the dead," he said in a speech that called on religious leaders of all faiths to "bring an end to war and bloodshed."
Farrakhan had undergone three years of hormonal suppression treatment before having radiation seeds implanted in 1994 to halt the spread of the disease. More radioactive seeds were implanted in 1997 after doctors found a microscopic nest of cancer cells in the seminal vesicles.
Farrakhan scheduled a news conference on Saturday to announce the launch of the Louis Farrakhan Prostate Center Foundation at a health fair at Mosque Maryam that will include free prostate cancer pre-screening for all eligible men.
The first 100 men taking pre-screening blood tests that detect PSA - prostate-specific antigen - levels at a mobile unit provided by the National Prostate Cancer Coalition will receive a free hair styling.
The National Prostate Cancer Coalition said about one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes. The disease will kill 32,000 men this year.
"I would encourage black men in particular, when you reach 40 years and even a little before, not to fear the prostate examination," Farrakhan said. "Every male should get examined because if you find out you have it and you have caught it in its early stage, you can win your battled against cancer.
"The longer you delay in finding the truth, and acting on it, the less chance you have of survival," he said.
Weekend events under the theme "The Farrakhan Years, Yesterday, Today and Forever - The Legacy" end with a black-tie birthday benefit gala Sunday at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.
Polish
bishop faces prison for drunk driving
Monsignor Andrzej Sliwinski
WARSAW (AFP) - A Polish bishop faces two years in prison for drunk driving, police said in Elblag, the northern Poland town where his diocese is located.
The bishop, Monsignor Andrzej Sliwinski, caused an accident while driving in a drunken state, with 0.8 grams of alcohol in his blood, and now "risks two years in prison", police spokeswoman Alina Zajac told AFP.
He was due to be questioned on Monday, she said.
His car bumped into two others when leaving the town. No one was injured in the accident.
Poland's alcohol limit for drivers is 0.2 grams.
Veteran
Brit rocker Elvis Costello to wed Canadian singer Diana Krall
British singer/musician Elvis Costello (L) and Canadian jazz pianist Diana Krall talk with other musicians before the start of the show during the 18th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in New York, 10 March 2003. Elvis Costello and the Attractions are one of the nine being inducted into the Hall of Fame. AFP PHOTO/Timothy A. CLARY
TORONTO (AFP) Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall and British rocker Elvis Costello plan to marry, her father said in an interview published Friday.
Krall's "Live in Paris" won a Grammy award in February for best jazz vocal album. She met Costello at last year's Grammy awards ceremony, the National Post said.
"They are engaged. But where the marriage is going to be, I don't have any idea," Diana's father Jim Krall told the newspaper.
He said he had no further details about the wedding, but said he was "very happy" about the news.
Krall, 38, is a native of Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Costello, 48, announced in November he was splitting from his wife of 16 years, Cait O'Riordan.
His hits include "Alison" and "Watching the Detectives."
Return
Overseas
News
Seven die in Egyptian building collapse, toddler survives
By Lamia Radi
Egyptian children play in front of the rubble of the six storey building that collapsed in Cairo 04 May 2003. AFP PHOTO/Marwan NAAMANI
Sandra Shawqi, a three-year-old toddler, sits besides her wounded father at al-Sahel hospital in Cairo. AFP PHOTO/Marwan NAAMANI
CAIRO (AFP) At least seven people
died when a building collapsed in the Egyptian capital, but a
toddler survived in her dead mother's arms and an elderly woman
was also found alive.
Two of the building's six stories had sunk below street level,
prompting residents to blame Saturday evening's accident on repairs
to a sewage system carried out four years before.
Ten people were still reported missing late last Sunday.
Rescue workers backed by bulldozers pulled seven bodies from the rubble on Sunday after having recovered ten other people alive, including the toddler, Sandra Said Shawqui, and the 62-year-old woman.
Workers found Shawqi, two-and-a-half, alive at dawn on Sunday in the embrace of her mother, Jihan Kamel Habachi, 37, who died shielding her child when the building collapsed without warning, police said.
The elderly woman was found late afternoon, after having spent around 20 hours in the rubble of the collapsed building. Police said she was in good health.
Amid the debris lay a green metal clock, which was frozen at 9:15 p.m. (1815 GMT).
The tragedy in the working-class neighborhood of Shubra also claimed the lives of Hanan Adel Mohamed, 37, and her three children: 12-year-old Aya Adel Sad, Ahmed, 9 and the boys' two-year-old sister Mayyada.
The bodies of two older women Reda Mohamed Hamza, 82, and Atteyat Mohamed Hassan, 63, were also pulled from the debris.
Residents said more might have died had they not been paying condolences to a family in another building in the neighborhood.
Recalling the toddler's dramatic rescue, emergency workers said they heard Shawqi's screams and lifted the rubble till they found her locked in her mother's arms.
They struggled to get the daughter to leave her mother's grip, they said.
"Sandra stretched her arm toward her mother to say goodbye one last time and give her a final farewell," one emergency worker said.
Her father, Said Shawqi, was rescued from the debris, and he was being treated for shock, but two other siblings were still buried and it was not known if they too had survived.
Another eight people were injured, two of them seriously.
The two upper storeys ended up on the remains of the lower ones and the injured were among 10 people who lived in two apartments on the top floor and were rescued before they crumbled as well.
One resident said about 50 people lived in the building.
Four of those injured suffered fractures, and three others suffered from shock.
His head bandaged, Sayed Saleh Osman, 76, grimaced in pain as he lay in a bed at the nearby hospital of Al-Sahel.
"I saw nothing coming. I heard what sounded like a rocket salvo and I felt the floor give way from under my feet and the ceiling collapsed," according to Osman, who has lived in the building for 50 years.
Abul-Ela Ibrahim, a building resident who was not at home when the tragedy occurred, joined other residents in blaming the collapse on repairs to a sewage system carried out by a state-run company in 1999. He said the digging had made the ground so unstable that another neighborhood building had started to tilt, causing authorities to tear down the fifth and sixth floors as a precaution.
Ibrahim's own building was certified as safe, he added.
The prosecutor's office said in an initial report: "The way in which the building collapsed proved there existed an anomaly in the ground."
The Shubra district counts more than five million residents and is one of the most densely populated in over-crowded Cairo.
Such collapses are a frequent occurrence in Egypt, where many buildings are built without authorization or normal checks, while many others have simply fallen into neglect.
UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno
By William M. Reilly,
UPI UN Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS (UPI) Security Council members on Friday, 9 May condemned a siege on the UN mission in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, by militia and students seeking protection from tribes in the violent Ituri region.
The sector commander was wounded slightly in a machete attack, UN officials said. While tense, the situation around the regional headquarters of the UN Organization Mission in the Congo, known by its French acronym, MONUC, had quieted by nightfall, although sporadic gunfire was heard in the area.
Thousands of students and militia stormed the regional headquarters, destroying UN property and causing grave concern at UN, headquarters in New York, said chief UN spokesman Fred Eckhard.
The mob in the already volatile town was dispersed by UN troops, who fired warning shots in the air, but it returned to lay siege to the mission soon after, Eckhard said. Machine guns and light arms were discharged at the regional headquarters and at least one explosion from either a grenade or rocket was heard. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno briefed members of the council on the Bunia situation after they held consultations on the Britain-Spain-US draft Iraq resolution.
Guehenno told members Bunia "is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe," the spokesman said.
"The council members strongly condemned
attacks against MONUC headquarters in Bunia," Ambassador
Munir Akram of Pakistan read aloud from a statement approved by
the envoys, who, "expressed concern over the situation and
called upon all the parties to immediately cease aggression and
acts of violence, especially against the civilian population and
MONUC."
The panel reiterated its endorsement of the Ituri Pacification
Commission and said its work should continue.
Members of the council also commended "the performance by MONUC personnel, in particular the Uruguayan contingent" and promised to monitor the situation "closely."
The council was to take up the issue again on Monday "to decide on effective measures to halt the attacks and the violence," Akram said.
Eckhard said Secretary-General Kofi Annan was "extremely concerned" and had telephoned regional heads of state.
Among the leaders Annan spoke with was President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, "asking for coordination between Uganda and the UN troops there as Uganda pulls out and the UN tries to add additional military resources to the region to replace them," the spokesman said.
The Ituri region, of which Bunia is the chief town, has been the scene of deadly violence between two rival groups vying for control, with five people killed and countless others wounded last weekend alone, despite efforts by the MONUC to enforce a ceasefire.
"Several thousand civilians have sought refuge at the airport where a small UN force is stationed," Eckhard said. "These people have no food, water or sanitation facilitates." In the first attack the UN sector commander was slightly injured when hacked by a machete, and mission vehicles and other property were destroyed. There was no information on any UN casualties in the second attack.
Several armored personnel carriers and a bulldozer were called in from the small contingent of Uruguayan UN troops at the airport to clear the street in front of the regional headquarters, the spokesman said.
Asked whether the situation could be a prelude to the sort of ethnic tensions and slaughter of Hutus and Tutsis that occurred in Rwanda in the 90s, Eckhard replied, "With reference to Rwanda I would have to tell you that, yes, that has been in the minds of some of the peacekeeping department people and political department people who advise the Secretary-General on the Congo.
"There is concern that the situation could turn very badly and I believe that the Secretary-General has expressed his concerns to the Council," he said.
Fighting in the region between Hema and Lendu militias started after the Ugandan army's withdrawal on May 6 and has continued daily, mostly near the airport, affecting civilians gathered there.
While the Lendu control the town, the Hema were two miles (3 kms) outside.
The more than 700 Congolese national police sent to Bunia were unable to provide any real security and reportedly have dispersed, Eckhard said.
MONUC has about 625 Uruguayan troops in Bunia and was sending an additional 50, its total reserve force.
Asked whether the troops were enough to guarantee peace, the spokesman said, "We'd have to get a military assessment on that, but I think it's probably safe to say in light of the things that are happening most recently, including today, that it does not look like a sufficient number of soldiers to guarantee security for that region."
Mauritania
President,
Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya
NOUAKCHOTT (AFP) Mauritania's President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya was nominated to run for a third term in office in a poll set for November, his party spokesman said.
The Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), led by Ould Taya, appointed the incumbent president as its candidate to contest the first round of the election on November 7.
The decision was taken at the end of an extraordinary congress that lasted three days. Taya has ruled Mauritania since 1984 when he took power in a coup. He was elected president in a multi-party poll in 1992 and was re-elected in 1997. The leader will now run for a third six-year mandate.
Ould Taya won the last election in the first round after the vote was boycotted by the radical opposition party.
Moulaye El Hassan Ould Jiyid, head of the small Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Agreement (PMRC) has also announced his intention to stand in the presidential vote.
British MP suspended for Iraq link snaps back
British MP George Galloway addresses a crowd at Mersyside TUC's May Day Celebrations at Central Park in Wallasey, Liverpool. AFP Photo by Paul Barker
By AL WEBB, United Press International
LONDON (UPI) - Member of the British Parliament
George Galloway, facing accusations that he had received up to
$600,000 a year in payments from Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq,
struck back last week for a "grotesque" suspension
from Britain's ruling Labor Party that could ruin him politically.
Labor General-Secretary David Triesman announced that Galloway
- a leading critic of the war despite the position of his party
leader, Prime Minister Tony Blair - had been suspended immediately
and indefinitely. The move followed complaints that the parliamentarian
had brought the party "into disrepute by behavior that is
prejudicial or grossly detrimental to the party," Triesman
said.
Party leaders who forced the inquiry also were angry over Galloway's own accusation, broadcast over an Arab television station in Abu Dhabi, that Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush had attacked Iraq "like wolves."
The maverick politician reacted with fury.
He soon told a British Broadcasting Corp. reporter in a vehement
interview: "You must accept that unless we're going to have
a Parliament of poodles ... and follow-the-leader politics, people
must be free to speak their mind whether they agree or not."
And in a flurry of interviews Wednesday, he insisted that the
allegations against him were "completely unjust" and
that the suspension from the Labor Party, of which he had been
a member for 35 years, was "tantamount to political exile."
"I have been suspended from the Labor
Party for the words that I speak, for the things that I believe
in," he said. "It is really grotesque that someone can
be suspended from the party for speaking against a war."
Galloway said he had "embarked upon a considerable legal
undertaking to prove in court the falseness of the allegations
against me," but that "this case will now run in parallel
with a kind of kangaroo court."
But one Labor source told United Press International that Galloway
had "dug his own hole, and he'll have to lie in it. The Prime
Minister's own case has been made, with the success of the war
effort, and George Galloway's antics service only to underscore
that success."
The source said the Galloway case would have no effect on Blair himself. "George is way off on a wing (of the Labor Party) by himself. And he's going to get very lonely out there. He's no longer a worry to anyone but himself."
Galloway had raised political eyebrows over his several visits to Baghdad as Saddam Hussein's guest and his open support for the Iraqi president even as U.S.-led coalition forces were massing for the war that would depose him.
Peter Mawer, Parliament's commissioner for standards, has ordered an inquiry into documents published by The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London allegedly showing that Galloway had received up to $600,000 a year in cash from Saddam Hussein.
The politician has threatened libel action against The Telegraph, but the newspaper said Wednesday that "no libel proceedings have as yet been served" on it.
A statement by the Labor Party said its deputy general secretary, Chris Lennie, would conduct a "thorough" investigation of Galloway's activities and statements and that sanctions available to the party range from a written warning to outright expulsion.
Blair's party chiefs appeared particularly
incensed by the Abu Dhabi interview, which one said "seemingly
invited other Arab nations to fight against the British army,"
whose 45,000 troops were instrumental in driving Saddam Hussein's
forces from southern Iraq, particularly in the early days of the
fighting.
Galloway has been a leading critic of the coalition war in Iraq.
In the buildup to the conflict, he was one of the most vociferous
of the scores of parliamentarians in Blair's own party who voted
against military action.
The Prime Minister gained parliamentary approval for the war - but Blair and some of his Cabinet ministers conceded after the conflict was over that, had the vote gone against them, they would have been forced to resign from government.
But Galloway was undeterred. "This is an illegal, immoral, dirty invasion of another country which is stirring up hatred and bitterness against us around the world," he said at the time.
As for inciting other Arab nations to fight against the coalition, he insisted "I don't think they need much incitement from me."
Zimbabwe
opposition leader calls for election re-run
Morgan Tsvangirai
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AFP) Zimbabwe's main opposition leader on Sunday 11 May demanded a re-run of last year's disputed presidential poll, urging thousands of party supporters to take to the streets in support of that call.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader
Morgan Tsvangirai made the call at a rally in the country's second
city of Bulawayo, attended by an estimated 20,000 people, an AFP
reporter witnessed.
"What the MDC wants to do is for people to go on the streets
in numbers. And if we go on the streets (President Robert) Mugabe
will know it's over for him," Tsvangirai said.
He did not set a date for the protest. "The
dates for the mass action will be announced soon," he said.
The call comes at a time when international efforts are gaining
momentum to resolve the political deadlock in the southern African
country between Tsvangirai and the MDC, and Mugabe.
This week three African presidents - Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Bakili Muluzi of Malawi - visited Zimbabwe.
The trio held talks with Mugabe and Tsvangirai in a bid to break the current deadlock between the two political opponents.
The MDC leader has consistently called for a re-run of last year's presidential election, which Mugabe won. The MDC is mounting a legal challenge in the country's courts.
Mugabe, however, says he will only talk to the opposition about the country's political and economic problems if Tsvangirai and his party recognise him as a duly-elected president.
In March the MDC held a widely-followed job stay-away in protest over alleged misgovernance, which Tsvangirai Sunday called a demonstration of "people power".
He said the MDC would continue to call for stay-aways as a way of keeping up pressure against the 79-year old Mugabe and his government.
The opposition party blames the government for economic and social hardships in the country. Inflation in Zimbabwe is currently at 228 percent, and there are critical shortages of fuel, food and cash.
"I urge you all Zimbabweans to come out in numbers when the call for demonstrations comes," Tsvangirai said.
The opposition leader says the MDC supports the need for dialogue with Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).
Caricom ministers hope for good US relations
Caricom Secretary-General Edwin Carrington
Caricom Ministers are hoping relations with the United States remain undamaged, despite their non-support of the recent war on Iraq. A communiqué issued by the ministers this past weekend said they hoped "these differences of opinion (would) not lead to prolonged tension or damage to the excellent relations which the CARICOM democracies share with these major partners."
The ministers again emphasised the urgent need to heal the rifts in international relations and called upon all states in the region to rely on the strength of diplomacy in reconciling differences without rancour or retribution, as they wrapped up the Sixth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) in Kingstown, St. Vincent on May 9th.
They urged focus on the future and emphasised the urgency of implementing a comprehensive programme for the reconstruction of Iraq, giving priority to the humanitarian plight of the Iraqi people and ensuring that the United Nations play a central role in the rebuilding process.
The Chairman of COFCOR, Mr. Louis Straker told the gathering in his feature address that it was in the collective self-interest of the Community's Member States to seek out partnerships for peace and security. "As small open economies we stand to suffer greatly from international discord of a military or economic kind. We must however stand firm on principle and speak out against evils, wherever they exist," Mr. Straker, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and minister of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said.
Caricom Secretary-General, Mr. Edwin Carrington, said, "The Caribbean Community, as a grouping of small states and an integral part of the international community, must continue to rely heavily on the United Nations, the primacy of international law, and adherence to international obligations for the protection of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and the furtherance of its interests."
Also in attendance at the just concluded meeting were Mr. Frederick Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service Foreign Affairs and the Public Service of Bahamas; Mr. Godfrey Smith, Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belize; Mr. Elvin Nimrod, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Affairs of Grenada; Mr. F.O. Riviere, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Marketing of Dominica; Mr. S.R. Insanally, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guyana; Mr. Joseph Phillipe Antonio, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Haiti; Mr. K.D Knight, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Jamaica; Dr. Timothy Harris, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Education, St. Kitts and Nevis; Sen. Mr. Julian R. Hunte, Minister of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation, Saint Lucia; Ms. Maria Levens, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Suriname; and Sen. Knowlson Gift, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago.
2nd June
is nomination day for BVI elections
Nomination day for candidates will be 2 June the British Virgin Islands, Supervisor of Elections Ms. Juliette Penn announced last Friday during a media briefing on the 2003 general elections held at the Central Administration Complex.
Ms. Penn provided a brief overview and definitions of the local electoral districts (9), the territorial electoral district (1) and the polling division and polling stations (19). She also explained the re-definition of electoral boundaries.
Several officers will be in charge of ensuring the efficiency of the elections process, such as Returning Officers responsible for an entire district and the counting of ballots; Presiding Officers responsible for each polling station and Poll Clerks responsible for assisting the presiding and returning officers.
The Supervisor of Elections is not officially aware of which candidates will be contesting which seats until the Governor issues the Writs of Election, which direct the Returning Officers to proceed with the nomination of candidates.
The Elections Supervisor pointed out that
there are party candidates contesting district and Territorial
at large seats and independent candidates contesting district
and Territorial at large seats. His Excellency Governor Thomas
Macan announced on 28 April the date of
Monday 16 June, 2003 for general elections to be held in the British
Virgin Islands.
British
Virgin Islands domiciled hedge fund files for chapter 11 protection
By Philip Morton,
Investors
Offshore.com
The BVI-based Lancer Offshore hedge fund has filed for Chapter 11 protection, the first time that a hedge fund has ever done so, according to reports.
The United States and the British Virgin Islands share jurisdiction over the Lancer Offshore Fund, as it has offices in New York but is registered as an offshore hedge fund in Tortola.
Chapter 11 protection is designed to protect US companies from their creditors whilst they reorganise. However, amid growing concerns that securities fraud has taken place, observers have suggested that the chances of the fund reorganising are becoming increasingly slim.
The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (FSC) filed an application to place the two parent companies of the hedge fund, Lancer Offshore, and the Omnifund, into administration at the beginning of this month. According to reports, a hearing on the application has been put back until May 30 whilst objections are filed.
However, if the bankruptcy applications are successful, investors in the fund could see losses of around $850 million.
Citing complaints made by investors over the administration of the hedge fund, the BVI FSC explained that: 'The Commission is of the opinion that the defendants are carrying on or are likely to be carrying on business in a manner detrimental to the interests of its investors.'
Texas Rangers' Rafael Palmeiro hits 500th homer
The Texas Rangers' Rafael Palmeiro greets fans after hitting his 500th career home run during a game against the Cleveland Indians at the Ball Park at Arlington Texas. The Cuban-born Palmeiro became the 19th baseball player to reach 500 career home runs. AFP PHOTO/Matt ROURKE
ARLINGTON, Texas (AFP) Rafael Palmeiro, one of the most consistent power hitters in baseball history, on Sunday joined the exclusive 500-homer club with a three-run blast off Cleveland's Dave Elder in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The 38-year-old Palmeiro became just the 19th player to reach the plateau but the second this season. Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs hit his 500th homer on April 4.
"It's just a great accomplishment," Palmeiro said. "I never thought when I started playing this game that I would reach this milestone. I guess when you first start, you don't really think about numbers.
"You just want to make it as a player and have a career. I've worked very hard and I've been very fortunate that I've been able to play this long."
Texas manager Buck Showalter said: "It
was just an honor to be a part of it. He's worked hard to accomplish
this. To see this happen for him is very touching for everybody
in our dugout."
While Palmeiro never had the "monster" power season
that nearly all the other members of the 500-homer club enjoyed,
almost no one has been as consistent a deep threat.
"He's just not a guy who draws a lot
of attention to himself," Showalter said. "His substance
is his style, not his style being his substance. He's just a guy
who goes to the post for us every day."
Palmeiro, who has 10 homers this season, has hit at least 35 in
each of the last eight seasons, a streak surpassed in history
only by Jimmie Foxx who did it nine straight years.
Since 1993, only Sosa and Barry Bonds one of four members of the 600-homer club have hit more.
"Obviously, I've hit 500 home runs, so I belong in that club," Palmeiro said. "But when you talk about names like (Mickey) Mantle and (Babe) Ruth and (Ted) Williams, I'm not as good as they ever were. Those were the greatest of all time.
"I've just been able to string together some good years and been healthy. But I don't put myself in with some of those guys."
The former Gold Glove Award winner hit his first 25 homers for the Chicago Cubs, who traded him in 1988 because they felt he lacked power. He hit 182 with the Baltimore Orioles and his last 293 with Texas.
Los Angeles' Fred McGriff could be the next player to reach the plateau. He has 483.
Rossi beats arch rival Biaggi in Spanish GP
Moto GP World
Champion, Valentino Rossi of Italy (front) followed by his compatriot
Loris Capirossi takes a curve during the motorcycle Grand Prix
of Spain 11 May 2003, in Jerez. Rossi won the race while Italian
Max Biaggi took second place and Australian Troy Bayliss
finished third.
AFP PHOTO/ Pierre-Philippe MARCOU.
JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain (AFP) Italian Valentino Rossi, on a Honda, won the Spanish MotoGP here Sunday with compatriot and fellow Honda racer Max Biaggi and Australian Ducati rider Troy Bayliss finishing a respectable distance behind.
In the 250cc GP home favourite Toni Elias, riding an Aprilia, risked all on a late charge and saw the strategy pay off as he edged out Italian Honda rider Roberto Rolfo and Frenchman Randy de Puniet of Aprilia.
Italy's Lucio Cecchinello earlier won the 125cc race for his sixth success in 136 races.
The 33-year-old Aprilia rider beat home Steve Jenkner of Germany who tops the overall standings after three races and San Marino's Alex de Angelis.
In the main dish of the day the 120,000 sun-baked fans were treated to a textbook exhibition of racing by the flamboyant Rossi in this third leg of the season.
Lying seventh on the first lap he overtook Loris Capirossi's Ducati by the third lap and then disappeared into the sunshine.
While this was Rossi's second win of the campaign for Bayliss it was a personal milestone as the Aussie stepped onto the podium for the first time after fifth and fourth placed finishes.
Tohru Ukawa won a scrap with Alex Barros for fourth with Makoto Tamada recording his highest finish in sixth.
Among those who failed to finish were Capirossi, South African GP winner Sete Gibernau and Nicky Hayden.
Carlos Checa retired with mechanical problems.
Rossi heads the championship standings by 14 points from Biaggi, who is in turn 16 points clear of Bayliss.
In the 250cc race Elias hit the front early
and then fell back before pulling off a win at the death.
San Marino's Manuel Poggiali looked set for a podium finish and
was in the lead briefly after four laps but finally missed out
as he failed to make it three wins for the season.
De Puniet, who had set a furious pace in free testing and qualifying, also made a push for the front and was leading after 15 laps as he chased down a first career win.
He was still leading after 24 laps but Elias sneaked in right at the end with an opportunistic Rolfo coming up on the rails but just failing to pass him as both flashed past the finish line.
Poggiali's consolation was a fourth place and the overall lead in the standings ahead of Rolfo and de Puniet.
Return
Star wingers
Caucau and Lomu out of Super 12
New Zealand's Jonah Lomu (r) runs over England's Neil Back (bottom) on the way to the try line during a match at Twickenham, West London.
AUCKLAND (AFP) Fiji
winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca confirmed Monday he has played his
last Super 12 game this season after a scan revealed he had a
stress fracture in his leg.
The bad news for his Auckland Blues side came as the Wellington
Hurricanes said All Black superstar Jonah Lomu will not be playing
in their semi-final either.
Caucau started this season superbly for Auckland, bouncing back well from the disappointment of 2002 when he broke his right leg in the opening game against the Hurricanes.
However he began complaining of more problems with the same leg midway through the series, and has been in and out of the Blues starting line-up.
The 22-year-old has also been embroiled in a long-running saga about his international future, which ended when he pledged his allegiance to Fiji after claiming he had been pressured to try his luck with New Zealand.
The Blues play the ACT Brumbies in Auckland on Saturday.
Meanwhile Lomu has been ruled out from returning to rugby this month after a further assessment by All Blacks doctor John Mayhew. The Hurricanes face the Canterbury Crusaders in their semi.
On April 1, the New Zealand Rugby Union announced Hurricanes wing Lomu would take a four-week break after a flare up of his chronic kidney problem.
He was diagnosed as having the rare nephrotic syndrome seven years ago.
Lomu's health has since improved, he has been running, working out in a gym and has a personal trainer.
Mayhew and Professor Ian Simpson, a leading kidney specialist from Auckland Hospital, have been monitoring Lomu's progress.
"He will return when his medical condition allows him and not when the rugby calendar dictates and that is unlikely in the next two or three weeks," Mayhew said.
Kareem continues his medal-winning ways
Kareem Streete-Thompson
Kareem Streete-Thompson earned another appearance on the podium, winning a bronze medal in the long jump at the 62nd Modesto Relays in California this past weekend.
Showing his resolve in less than ideal conditions, Kareem competed against some of the world's best, including Kevin Dilworth (USA) and Erick Walder (USA). Dilworth has competed well in 2003, and has been rated as high as #7 in the world. Walder is a long-time rival and one of the two active long jumpers in the world that has ever jumped further than Kareem.
While winning another bronze medal, his third medal in four meets this year, Kareem knows that success requires determination. "This competition was a lesson in perseverance. Getting to the meet in the Central California Valley was a chore in itself - two long distance flights plus a two-hour bus-drive! However, the major meet problem for all of us was that the officials left the triple jump boards in. This wreaked havoc on the final 6 steps, which are the most critical to jumping well."
Kareem's latest success came on a day he felt off his game. "I felt okay on the day of the meet, and looked forward to a good competition. However, after my first jump it was clear that I was flat. As you can imagine, this is every athlete's nightmare," he said.
As it turned out, feeling 'flat' was actually the onset of coming down with a cold. While it would have been easy for Kareem to take it easy and point to unfavorable conditions, he battled on. Kareem made the best of adversity, and ended up placing third with a jump of 7.83m.
Hussein Al-Sabee (Saudi Arabia) finished first with a jump of 8.04 m, and Roland McGee (USA) was second with 7.97m. Walder finished fourth and Dilworth was sixth. Kareem noted, "With such a talented field entered in the long jump, and noting the winning jump measurements, it was clear that everyone was affected somewhat by the conditions."
"I am now taking a much-needed break from competitions for the next two weeks and will focus solely on training. The major battles lie ahead in June, July and August. My next competition will be either the Prefontaine Classic (May 24th) in Eugene, Oregon, or the inaugural Home Depot Track & Field Invitational (June 1st) in Carson, California."
Beginning this month, you can follow Kareem each week on his website (www.jumpstreete.com) as he pursues excellence and the podium at The World Championships in Paris (August 2003) and The Athens Olympic Games (August 2004).
Triple C trips St. Ignatius in Cable & Wireless Primary School Cricket League
Trisha Meyerhoff bowled well to lead Triple C to a victory over St. Ignatius in the Cable & Wireless Primary School Cricket League.
Mark Evans (left) and Shane Walton laid the foundation for Triple C's win over St. Ignatius.
Triple C made a grand entry to the Cable and Wireless Primary School Cricket League with an impressive 13-run win over St. Ignatius Catholic in a compelling first round match at the John Gray High School on Friday 9 May.
Invited to bat first by Catholic after the more seasoned campaigners had won the toss, Triple C scored a competitive 78 off 14.4 overs. Catholic then folded for 65 in 17.1 overs.
Pacer Dominique Williams bowled opener Nathan Arch for nought to leave Triple C with early problems at three for one but an enterprising second wicket stand of 36 between opener Mark Evans and Shane Walton, stabilised the innings. The left-handed Evans found the boundary on four occasions and cleared it once in an entertaining knock of 29. He executed the pull admirably, stroking the ball with confidence and aplomb.
Walton was more cautious and counted just one boundary in a solid inning of 20. He held the innings together after Evans became another victim of Williams with the score 39 for two. When Walton was caught at the wicket off Olin Monteith, the innings fell away abruptly, the last six wickets tumbling for just six runs, most of them to Dalton Watler Jr. Watler bowled accurately to earn the impressive figures of five for five from 2.4 overs.
Williams took two for 31 from four overs and Olin Monteith three for 22 from four.
Catholic was undermined by incisive medium pace bowling from Trisha Meyerhoff who snatched three crucial wickets for 13 runs off three overs. Her effort could easily have been more destructive but a few catches were spilled off her bowling.
Gary Whittaker also impressed with three for 13 while Darren Conolly took two for 11. Nicholas Moore batted responsibly and displayed good technique, stroking the ball fluently through the off side in a top score of 13 for Catholic.
Police Arrest All-Stars in Cricket Knockout
Ryan Bovell scored 126 to lead the Police to a knockout victory over the All-Stars in local cricket action.
Policeman Ryan Bovell fashioned a magnificent and powerful century to oust All-Stars from the Division One knockout competition in a first round match at the Smith Road Oval, last Sunday 11 May.
A belligerent 126 from Bovell inspired Police to 240 for six off 47 overs. The lawmen then bowled All-Stars out for 190 in 45.2 overs to win by the comfortable margin of 50 runs.
Bovell hardly put a foot wrong after opting to open the batting following a string of poor performances from his side. The return to form of Pearson Best, who struck two consecutive centuries in league play, and the consistency of the captain at the top of the order, has made Police a potent force and a leading contender for the knockout title.
Now Bovell has finally converted one of his excellent starts to a major innings and All-Stars felt the full force of it. The Police skipper smashed two sixes and 11 fours in his 126. He shared an enterprising opening stand with Daniel Morris. who struck three boundaries in a well-played 30. Ricardo Roach, batting at number three stroked three fours in 27, while Best clobbered a six and a four in scoring 29.
Bovell returned to torment All-Stars with the ball as well, finishing with the impressive figures of four for 25 from 10 overs.
All-Stars never posed a serious challenge despite good innings from opener Ugal Sicard and number four batsman Dave Holness. Both fell to Bovell, Sicard for 46 off 64 balls that included three fours and Holness for 33 that included two boundaries. Morris also showed his all around skills, finishing with two for 33 off six overs to follow his innings of 30.
Sport Summary
Colombian
F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya, of Williams BMW.
AFP PHOTO/Antonio SCORZA
Montoya caught speeding in France
DRAGUIGNAN, France (AFP) Colombian Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has been stripped of his licence after being caught driving at 204 kilometres per hour in southern France, police said Monday
The Williams-BMW star was clocked on a radar Sunday afternoon while driving his BMW over the speed-limit on the A8 motorway between Les Arcs and Le Muy south of here.
He was ordered to hand over his driving licence pending a juidicial investigation.
Local officials said that Montoya was facing a two-month suspension from driving in France, but that would not affect his participation in the French Grand Prix.
IOC to look into SARS measures for 2004 Olympics
ATHENS (AFP) The International
Olympic Committee (IOC) will look into ways to cope with Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) ahead of the 2004 Athens Olympics,
the Greek
government said here on Monday.
The IOC executive committee will look into the matter when it meets on Friday in Madrid, Telemachos Chytiris, the government spokesman on Olympic issues told AFP.
"It seems there is a tendency in Europe to stop the entry of residents from high-risk countries," said Chytiris and added Greece would apply all the measures taken by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
"But it will be interesting to see what the IOC will say."Regarding measures to be taken during the Games themselves in August 2004, Chytiris voiced the hope that the SARS problem will be solved by then.
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