AP Features, June 16th, 2007
HAITI: 5 soccer players return home after going AWOL in New York
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ Five Haitian soccer players of the country's World Cup-bound national youth team who mysteriously disappeared during a stopover in New York returned home Friday, the government said as it announced a probe into the embarrassing incident.
Haitian Sports Minister Fritz Belisaire did not say whether the five teens, who were among 13 of the team's 18 players who went missing, were being punished or if they would be dropped from the team's roster for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in South Korea.
Five other players flew from Haiti to New York on Thursday to join the rest of the team, Haitian consul general Felix Augustin told The Associated Press. All arrived Friday in South Korea to play an exhibition tournament ahead of the World Cup.
The team, all under 17 years old, missed its original flight on Wednesday when the 13 players disappeared during an overnight stopover in New York. They all returned by Thursday and were reunited with their teammates.
No motive has been given for the apparent desertion but Belisaire said Haitian authorities were investigating claims that adults helped the youngsters flee.
GRENADA: Cheated US investor accuses prime minister of complicity in fraud
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (AP) _ A cheated American investor has accused Prime Minister Keith Mitchell of taking US$1 million (euro750,000) in kickbacks from a former Grenadian ambassador-at-large convicted of leading an international mail fraud scheme.
Government spokesman Barry Collymore dismissed the accusation Friday and said corruption allegations stemming from Mitchell's relationship with fraud ringleader Eric Resteiner were coordinated by his political opponents.
A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York by Charles Howland of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, claims Mitchell received cash payments from the German-born Resteiner, who is serving a seven-year sentence at a federal prison in Rhode Island.
A former security director for Resteiner, Timothy Bass, testified in a deposition that the then-ambassador made two payments of at least US$500,000 (euro375,500) to Mitchell _ including one transaction in June 2000 that he secretly filmed at Resteiner's residence in Switzerland, according to documents filed with the U.S. lawsuit.
The complaint alleges Mitchell "knowingly shared in the spoil of an enormous pattern of fraud perpetuated by Resteiner on plaintiff."
Allegations that Resteiner bribed the prime minister for a diplomatic passport first surfaced in April 2004, when the Miami-based online newsletter OffshoreAlert reported that Mitchell accepted US$500,000 (euro375,500) from the businessman.
CARIBBEAN: US House votes to put off passport requirement for North America land-sea travel
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. Congress is moving to postpone until June 2009 a requirement that Americans use passports for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
The delay follows a torrent of complaints about vacation-ruining delays by the U.S. State Department in issuing the documents.
The House passed the 17-month delay Friday after a major Senate committee approved it a day earlier.
The State Department has been flooded with applications since new rules went into effect in January that would require passports for air travelers returning from the same destinations. The resulting backlog has caused delays of up to three months for passports and ruined or delayed travel plans of thousands of people.
In response, the government last week temporarily waived a passport requirement for air travel, provided people could demonstrate they had applied.
According to government estimates, about 6 million Americans will need formal documents to travel to the Caribbean, Canada or Mexico by air or sea. The estimated need for land crossings is more than four times that: 27 million Americans over the next five years. Those numbers do not include the regular year-to-year demand for passports.
CUBA: 30 percent of adult islanders are now overweight, new government study says
HAVANA (AP) _ Cubans are no strangers to the battle of the bulge.
Waistlines have expanded since the economic crisis of the early 1990s eased on the communist-run island _ so much so that 30 percent of adults are now overweight, a newly released government study reveals.
Some people outside Cuba hold on to a stereotype of malnourished Cubans waiting in lines for a few potatoes, but there is ample evidence to the contrary in Havana, where bulging waistlines are stuffed into snug skirts or peek through too-tight guayabera shirts.
"People eat lots of things like pizza and bread that fill you up, but put on a lot of weight," said Lucia, a plump housewife who did not want her last name used, saying she was embarrassed about her weight and uncomfortable talking publicly about something as political as food.
"If you want to go on a diet it's hard because vegetables and fruits cost a lot," she said.
In Cuba, as elsewhere, "obesity and excess weight represent a serious public health problem," causing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart troubles, said the study by Cuba's Nutrition and Food Safety Institute.
Released by state media this month, the 2004 study focused on urban areas, where three-quarters of Cubans live.
CUBA: Health minister says Moore's 'Sicko' show 'human values' of communist system
HAVANA (AP) _ Cuba's health minister said Friday that American filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko" highlights the human values of the island's communist-run government.
Moore flew to Cuba in March to obtain health care for three ailing Sept. 11 rescue workers as part of the documentary, which calls for an overhaul of America's health care system. The trip has been the subject of a U.S. federal investigation for possible violations of the U.S. trade embargo restricting travel to Cuba.
Speaking to reporters at a Havana event, Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer did not say if he had seen the movie or was simply relying on snippets that have aired on international television. "Sicko" debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but does not open in U.S. theaters until June 29.
Still, Balaguer said that in "Sicko," "Moore explained his reasons why those patients were attended to in our country," adding that Cuba is "always open to cases, that, from a human point of view, need our public health services."
He said the film does not serve to "promote" Cuban health care, but conceded "there can be no doubt this documentary by a personality like Mr. Michael Moore helps promote the profoundly human principles of Cuban society."
Most Cubans receive free care and housing and enjoy heavy subsidies on basic food, transportation and utilities.
BASKETBALL: US Virgin Islands plan ceremonies to salute native son Duncan
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) _ The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands is planning celebrations to honor native son Tim Duncan for helping the San Antonio Spurs win their fourth NBA title in nine years.
"We are truly proud of Tim Duncan, the Spurs' common denominator, who leads his team by examples of discipline, dedication and diligence," Gov. John deJongh Jr. said in a statement on Friday. "We will plan appropriate ceremonies to show our appreciation."
Duncan, the team's leading scorer averaging 22.2 points per game in the playoffs, grew up on the island of St. Croix and has long been one of the biggest celebrities in the three-island U.S. territory of 110,000 people.
Although he was largely absent offensively on Thursday, Duncan helped San Antonio cement itself among the league's greatest franchises with an 83-82 win and four-game sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA finals.
Duncan was a basketball phenom for St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School on St. Croix before going on to star at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Spurs made Duncan the first overall pick in the 1997 draft, and he helped the team win its first NBA title in 1999.
CRICKET: First day of West Indies-England 4th test abandoned because of rain
CHESTER-LE-STREET, England (AP)_ The first day of the fourth test between England and West Indies was abandoned Friday without a ball being bowled because of heavy rain
Umpires delayed the start and then made a further inspection at 12.30 p.m. (1130 GMT) when play was called off for the day at the Riverside Ground, England's most northerly test venue.
Play could also be delayed Saturday morning with rain again forecast.
England is seeking a 3-0 series victory after winning the first and third tests. West Indies is looking for its first victory in 19 test matches.
Swing bowler Matthew Hoggard returns to the England team after injury while West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy is doubtful because of a groin injury.
