* Valero received non-binding interest for plant
* PetroChina could offer $350 million for Aruba -sources
* PetroChina in talks with Venezuela to supply plant-sources
PetroChina Company Limited (PetroChina) is an oil and gas producer and seller in the People’s Republic of China. The Company operates in four segments: Exploration and Production, Refining and Chemicals, Marketing, and Natural Gas and Pipeline. The Company is engaged in a range of petroleum and natural gas related activities,...
By Janet McGurty and Charlie Zhu
NEW YORK/HONG KONG, May 9 (Reuters) – PetroChina Co Ltd is in talks to buy Valero Energy’s shuttered refinery in Aruba, sources said, the latest move by China’s oil giants to take advantage of a global refining downturn to beef up supply.
PetroChina, Asia’s largest oil and gas producer, has made a string of overseas refinery acquisitions in the past few years to strengthen its global refinery foothold and boost its trading and marketing capabilities.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Valero said it had received a non-binding indication of interest for the 235,000 barrel-per-day Aruba plant for $350 million plus working capital, but did not identify the interested party.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said the approach had been made by PetroChina. It was the second time in two years the Chinese company had discussed the purchase of the plant, which is located near Venezuela, China’s fourth largest crude supplier, sources said.
A local media website, Amigoe, reported that PetroChina signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Aruba on April 30, 2012, but details of the deal had not been made public yet due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Petrochina was not immediately available for comment.
Chinese oil giants, which have been suffering heavy refining losses at home due to state-controlled oil products prices, are pushing into the overseas refining sector to optimise their refinery operations and maximise the value of crude they produce overseas, energy bankers and analysts say.
Sinopec Group, parent of Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec Corp , signed a deal with Saudi Aramco earlier this year to build a new 400,000 barrels a day (bpd) oil refinery in Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, its first overseas refining project.
“They hold the concept of building a global trading business. The concept is it allows them to get cheaper crude to China,” James Hubbard, head of Asia oil and gas research at Macquarie, said of Chinese oil firms’ overseas refining strategy.
VENEZUELA LINKS
PetroChina has said it wants to double its global trading and marketing of oil — including crude oil and refined fuel — to 8 million barrels a day by 2015 from 2010 levels.
PetroChina bought a 50 percent stake in chemical group Ineos’ European refining business last year for $1 billion, its third overseas refinery deal after acquisitions in Singapore and Japan for more than $2 billion combined.
Sources said PetroChina has reached a deal with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to supply the Aruba plant with heavy crude.
“PetroChina has a presence in the Venezuelan upstream. This is related to them looking for an upgrader for that heavy crude,” said John Auers, a refinery specialist with Houston-based Turner Mason.
The Aruba plant has two fairly new coker units to handle the heavy Venezuelan crude as well as recently upgraded hydrotreating capability, sources familiar with the refinery said.
This would allow PetroChina to semi-process heavy crude and then ship the product to China for finishing in the mainland refineries there, which can only run lighter grades.
Venezuela is currently supplying 460,000 barrels of oil per day to China, and is set to increase its shipments to 1 million barrels per day by 2015, according to government officials.
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), parent of PetroChina, and PDVSA are also building a $9 billion joint refinery on China’s southern coast in April, paving the way for more Venezuelan oil to flow to the world’s second-largest oil user.
China has become a major partner of President Hugo Chavez’s government, supplying billions of dollars in credits, some of which are being canceled with crude shipments from the South American OPEC member.
WEAK REFINING MARGINS
The Aruba refinery has been idled at least twice in the past few years, most recently earlier this year, due to poor profit margins that have plagued refiners in Europe, the Caribbean and on the U.S East Coast.
Earlier this year, over 2 million barrels of refining capacity were threatened with closure across the Atlantic Basin, driving up gasoline prices on the U.S. East Coast as supplies to the region looked short ahead of the U.S. summer driving season.
But in recent weeks buyers have begun to emerge to snap up plants at low prices, with Delta Air Lines buying Conoco’s Pennsylvania refinery and oil trading companies Vitol Group and Gunvor Group purchasing two European refineries.
Refineries have seen a combination of weak demand as well as rising fuel costs — especially for plants that receive crude from Europe and West Africa — hit profits in recent years.
Aruba also faces higher costs relative to U.S. plants on the Gulf Coast because it uses fuel oil to power its units. U.S. refiners have benefited from a growing supply of cheap natural gas that reduces operating costs.
It was a day of celebration, history and cultural extravagance at the Clan Carthy Primary School in Kingston, on Tuesday (May 8), as the institution hosted its Caribbean Cultural Exposition, aptly dubbed ‘Caribbean Explosion’.
Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, addresses students of the Clan Carthy Primary School in Kingston, during the opening of the school’s 'Caribbean Cultural Exposition,' held on Tuesday.
The Deanery Road School was alive with excitement and energy, as the students and teachers showcased aspects of the Caribbean’s cultural legacy through dance, music and poetry. There were also several booths displaying information on the history of the various countries in the region, including Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados and Guyana.
Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, who brought greetings during the event’s opening ceremony, told the students that they share a special historical and cultural bond with the many citizens across the region.
“In the big Caribbean sea, we are not alone. All around the Caribbean, there are people just like us, just like you. We have many friends and many bonds (across the region), despite the fact that we live in different lands and are separated by the Caribbean Sea,” he said.
Rev. Thwaites further told the students that they must welcome the opportunity to learn as much as they can about their neighbours and “brothers and sisters” across the Caribbean.
In his remarks, Director of Culture in the Ministry of Youth and Culture, Sydney Bartley, told the students that they have a lot to be proud of as citizens of the Caribbean.
“Caribbean children can take on anybody in the world. We are creative and very talented in the Caribbean. When the Olympics begin in August, we are going to ‘mash it up’ and take the (Caribbean) to the world,” he said.
Mr. Bartley also used the opportunity to share an aspect of Jamaican culture with the students, by leading a spirited dance of the ‘Dinki Mini’ as he exited the stage.
Meanwhile, Retired teacher, Joan Davis Williams, who gave the keynote address, encouraged the students to use their gifts and strengths as Caribbean people to change the world.
She further encouraged them to emulate good habits and to follow the positive aspects of the Jamaican and Caribbean culture, and to avoid the things that hold them back from being their best.
“I want you, at all times, as Caribbean people, as people of Clan Carthy Primary school, to shine perpetually. I need you to take the good habits from people around you and to shine in a positive way,” she urged.
“You must shine with excellent behaviour…You must be an example to others and ignite the flame in others,” Mrs. Davis Williams added.
To further drive home her point, Mrs. Davis Williams, who is also a motivational speaker, held up two big East Indian mangoes to the audience. She explained that the mangoes are a symbol of the beauty and uniqueness of the Caribbean, but also explained that they represented something deeper.
After explaining that the bigger and prettier mango was not real, but actually made of plastic, she told the students that they must strive to be genuine and real in their everyday lives.
“I want my Caribbean people and my Clan Carthy students to be real. You don’t have to try to imitate anybody in a negative way. I do not want you to only look as if you are persons of quality, but you must be persons of quality and substance,” she said.
“Be honest, be decent and do not only behave well when your teachers are watching. They say a man’s character is best judged by what he does when he thinks nobody is looking,” Mrs. Davis Williams said.
By Athaliah Reynolds-Baker, JIS Reporter
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MAY 8TH 2012 (CUOPM) – The Barak Obama Administration in Washington, D.C. is putting an additional US$606,000 into the fight against crime in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Brimstone Hill Cannons
The new funding comes under an amended letter of agreement concluded on Friday, May 4, 2012 by Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, Mr. Christopher Sandrolini and St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister The Right Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.
A United States Embassy release said the United States has now committed US$2,851,000 in direct bilateral assistance to St. Kitts and Nevis since the 2009 launch of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.
“The millions in funding have gone into a wide range of security programs to combat transnational crime and hence, increase the safety of Kittitians and Nevisians,” the Embassy said.
It said the new funding from this agreement will cover four areas.
US$200,000 will go towards enhancing the professional skills of St. Kitts and Nevis’ law enforcement, through the purchase of equipment, training, and the mentoring of St. Kitts and Nevis personnel by U.S. Government experts.
Under the area of Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption, US$192,000 will be devoted to expanding the capabilities of St. Kitts and Nevis to operate a prison system that is safe, secure, humane, and in conformance with international standards.
The United States will also help to enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities of corrections officials to manage a correctional system that contributes to public safety, combats transnational crime, reduces recidivism rates, and provides the prisoners with opportunities for reform and rehabilitation.
An additional US$131,000 will be dedicated to strengthening counternarcotics control capabilities in St. Kitts and Nevis. Under this programme, the United States will continue to offer training and equipment to enhance the ability of law enforcement to conduct investigations and interdict illicit trafficking.
US$83,000 will be provided for the fourth area of cooperation – combating Money Laundering and Financial Crimes. This funding will go into increasing training, technical assistance, mentoring and equipment for Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), the judiciary, prosecutors, and bank regulatory bodies.
CBSI is a partnership between the United States and the countries of the Caribbean under which it is agreed to share the responsibility for implementing common vision for a safer, more prosperous Caribbean region.
Under CBSI, the United States and the Caribbean partners have pledged to seek durable security solutions through sustainable programs over which regional partners take eventual ownership.
Launched by President Barack Obama in 2009, CBSI has been the vehicle through which the United States has committed US$139 million to the region to reduce illicit trafficking and increase citizen security.
The Trade Policy Unit continues to assist Member states to prepare their positions for the CARICOM Canada negotiations. The Unit recently assisted member states to consult with relevant stakeholders on Cultural Co-operation and Innovation. Stakeholders were informed of the negotiating issues on these subjects in order to identify areas of concern and interest with respect to the Draft Texts. Their inputs were elicited on technical assistance, capacity building needs and priorities which should be taken into account in the ongoing negotiations for a Trade and Development Agreement with Canada. One-day consultations were held in Antigua/Barbuda, St. Kitts/Nevis and Dominica. Practitioners in the subject areas and public sector agencies which impact on the implementation of trade agreements participated in the meetings.
The information obtained from the sessions will be utilised to prepare an OECS position which will include priority areas for technical assistance in Culture and Innovation, co-operation activities for performing arts, publishing, and innovation and the categories of cultural professionals and practitioners that require training. The sessions were convened in collaboration with the respective Ministry of Trade and the CARICOM Office of Trade Negotiations and funding was provided by the Hub and Spokes Project. Consultations will be held in Saint Lucia and Grenada in May.
The CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement will contain the rules which will govern trade in goods, services and agriculture products between CARICOM and Canada.
Trade perspective to be included in development strategy and relations with other countries
The Trade Policy Unit submitted a chapter to be included in the revised OECS Development and Growth Strategy. The Unit provided information on the strategic objectives, targets, development gaps and short and medium term strategies. The OECS Growth and Development Strategy is a document that will provide the blue print for the region’s development for the next five years. It will be used by development partners, member governments, private sector, civil society and the Secretariat in order to get information on the OECS vision, strategies and programmes in areas such as education, health, manufacturing, agriculture, creative industries and environmental/sustainable development. The Strategy which is expected to be completed by 2013 will be submitted to Heads of Government for approval.
The Unit will provide information on OECS trade relations with Martinique and Guadeloupe which will be included in a dossier that will be submitted to Heads of Government in order to assist them in deciding how to pursue closer relations with the French outermost regions of Martinique and Guadeloupe. The French regions formally expressed an interest to become associate members of the OECS and this has been welcomed by the Heads of Government.
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and Letters of Intent (LOIs) inked with Ochsner Health Systems, Payson Center and World Trade Center
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Haitian delegation that participated in the 2012 World Cultural Economic Forum in New Orleans, led by Minister of the Interior, Thierry Mayard-Paul, returned home from a very productive visit, having signed LOIs and MOUs for development partnerships with three renowned multinational and regional organizations. Minister Mayard-Paul inked preliminary agreements for cooperation with Ochsner Health Systems, the World Trade Center New Orleans and the Tulane Payson Center for International Development.
“Our meetings in New Orleans were exceptionally rewarding and gratifying,” said Mr. Mayard-Paul. “We are solidifying valuable partnerships with outstanding agencies that will help advance our goals for building a stronger, more resilient Haiti under the umbrella of Katye Pam Poze, Haiti’s community-based decentralization program.”
According to Mayard-Paul, Ochsner, which has been a reliable partner to Haiti since the earthquake, is interested in establishing a relationship with Haiti’s Justinien hospital and the Ecole Polytechnic De Mayaya La Victoire, allowing Ochsner physicians and medical students to provide health services in and around Cap-Haitien. “Ochsner plans to implement a recurring medical mission to Haiti, supported by United States board-certified physicians,” he said. “They expect to launch their first mission this year.”
The MOI also plans to include Ochsner as a key health services partner within KPP, to help strengthen capacity building through training, and access to basic services through regional health centers and hospitals, in order to increase coverage throughout the country. “The Government of Haiti is seeking to enhance healthcare services available to Haitians by encouraging and supporting Ochsner and others to contribute to the health and well-being of the people of Haiti throughout the country,” added Mayard-Paul.
In signing the agreement with Tulane’s Payson Center, the Minister of the Interior emphasized that in its post-earthquake recovery process, the Republic of Haiti faces many challenges for which the Payson Center can provide meaningful solutions. “The Center is interested in providing its well-known expertise and experience in legal system reform, affordable housing and higher education, through a public-private partnership with the Government of Haiti,” said Mayard-Paul. The minister pointed out that Payson showed special interest in introducing online learning within the education module of Katye Pam Poze (KPP).
In addition, Tulane expressed an interest in also providing technical assistance/collaboration in waste water management, given its expertise in this particular area and the importance of this service to Haiti and KPP. “All of this is aligned with Haitian priorities,” highlighted Mayard-Paul, who reiterated that he was “greatly encouraged to find a long-term partner who shares the government’s vision of increasing access to basic social infrastructure and services through a ‘bottom-up’ approach so that, in the end, people would have no need to migrate out of their communities and into urban areas. This is the cornerstone of KPP and the government’s National Decentralization Agenda,” added Mayard-Paul.
During the delegation’s visit with the World Trade Center New Orleans, Mayard-Paul, met with Jessica Steverson, Marketing Director of the World Trade Center and they discussed the ways in which they could partner to “bring to life” the myriad of energy, agriculture and maritime investment opportunities available in Haiti. “Louisiana and the Gulf South region have many companies with the knowledge and capacity to develop these critical areas,” assured Mayard-Paul. During the discussion both parties agreed to work on building investment opportunities and establishing reciprocal trade missions between the two regions.
Of special significance to Mayard-Paul and the Haitian delegation was a meeting with the city of New Orleans including Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu, who successfully led the efforts to rebuild the city and restore thousands of jobs following Hurricane Katrina.
“Mayor Landrieu’s rebuilding efforts set a viable model for Haiti to learn from,” remarked Mayard-Paul. “Looking at New Orleans’ regional economy, it is clear it has begun to diversify, spearheading growth in knowledge-based industries. As a result, entrepreneurship in New Orleans has spiked dramatically post-Katrina. With jobs a pressing need in Haiti, this is a valuable take-away from our visit.”
The City of New Orleans welcomed the idea of partnering with the Ministry of the Interior and the Government of Haiti by providing technical expertise and support in different fields that enable building back a better Haiti, as well as facilitating other investment opportunities identified by the minister.
Mayard-Paul was “humbled and grateful” for the warm reception provided by WCEF and its participants to Katye Pam Poze, Haiti’s innovative “bottom-up” approach to community integration and sustainable development, which is focused on improving delivery of government services, as well as fostering development and job creation by promoting strong community involvement. “KPP has been designed as a holistic community-based program, where the end prize is to improve the quality of life of the Haitian people by enabling safe and prosperous communities right where they live, so they don’t have to migrate to urban centers to look for jobs.”
The Caribbean Employers’ Confederation (CEC) is recommending that regional governments implement emergency employment and apprenticeship programmes as short-term measures to ameliorate the crisis in youth unemployment across the region.
The recommendations were among the measures coming out of the organisation’s annual general meeting held on May 3 at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
The meeting was held as part of the just concluded Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) Annual Business and Workplace Convention and Expo.
Speaking with JIS News after the meeting, CEC and JEF President, Wayne Chen, noted that the confederation has indicated that these measures, though temporary, will allow unemployed young people to further develop their skills while earning an income.
“It is also felt that longer-term measures to address the deficiencies in the educational system have to be addressed if we are going to create globally competitive workforces in each of our respective territories,” he stated.
He said that issues dealing with attitudes necessary for global competitiveness were also raised as concerns that needed to be addressed.
He noted that these issues would be transmitted to the respective governments, labour unions, other partners and the wider populace as areas that need to be tackled.
“Other issues for regional importance, which came up included regionalism, which we feel is weakening and we view with concern the diminished role of CARICOM,” Mr. Chen noted, adding that the Confederation has renewed its commitment to deepen regional integration.
He noted that the aforementioned issues will form part of discussions at the upcoming International Labour Organization (ILO) annual conference to be held in Geneva in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the President said that the CEC, through its member states continue to work assiduously to build capacity in the employers’ organisations with assistance from the ILO, CARICOM and other regional partners.
“We (the confederation) share best practices and best experiences among regions…we believe that the time has come to emphasise regional work, as we have seen where other regions of the world have used their regional bodies to influence global policy and certainly, one of the things that we will be doing with a very sharp focus, is to ensure that global issues of interest to us are placed high on the agenda in the decision-making centres of the world,” Mr. Chen informed.
Antigua and Barbuda; Trinidad and Tobago; St. Lucia; Dominica; Barbados, Suriname and Jamaica were the members present at the annual general meeting. Those absent were Belize, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, Bermuda and Bahamas.
The CEC, founded in 1960, is a regional grouping of employers’ organisations in the Caribbean region. It is dedicated to the development and promotion of good industrial relations practices at the enterprise and macro levels and is committed towards achieving productivity and prosperity for member countries and the region as a whole.
By Kadian Brown, JIS PRO
By LIBARDO CARDONA
Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) – An alleged major Colombian drug trafficker whose paramilitary organization controls coastal and border smuggling routes surrendered to U.S. drug agents in Aruba and was flown to New York, where he faces criminal charges, Colombian authorities said Monday.
Colombian authorities said Javier Antonio Calle Serna was on their list of most wanted men
Jose Antonio Calle was indicted in New York’s Eastern District last year for the alleged international distribution of 25 metric tons of cocaine, money laundering, racketeering and murder, according to a news release the local U.S. attorney’s office issued at the time.
The U.S. government had a $5 million reward out for Calle, who deputy Colombian police director Gen. Jose Roberto Leon said turned himself in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents on Friday in Aruba, off the Caribbean coast of Colombia and Venezuela.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in New York’s Eastern District, Robert Nardoza, said he could neither confirm nor deny Leon’s statement that Calle was flown to New York. Nor would Nardoza discuss why the indictment was not available in the U.S. federal court system’s online electronic database. The DEA also declined comment.
The 43-year-old Calle allegedly heads a violent cocaine-trafficking paramilitary force called “Los Rastrojos,” or The Leftovers.
His brother and alleged accomplice, Juan Carlos Calle, was captured in Ecuador in March and sent to the United States. A $5 million reward had also been offered for him by the U.S. State Department.
The Rastrojos emerged roughly a decade ago from the dissolution of Colombia’s Norte del Valle cartel, and allegedly shipped tons of cocaine northward through Mexico.
The brothers, originally hired guns for Norte del Valle bosses, gained the nickname the “Comba,” short for combatants, as their criminal gang expanded its influence over drug-trafficking routes, corrupting local officials and battling a rival offshoot of the cartel called the “Urabenos.”
The U.S. State Department said Javier Antonio Calle Serna has since 2005 allegedly run “Los Rastrojos” and “been linked to kidnappings, tortures, and assassinations in Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama.”
A former guerrilla fighter, he is believed associated with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and its late nemesis, the far-right United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, both designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, the State Department says on its website.
Colombian police officials say drug traffickers often create alliances of convenience with the countries’ competing illegal armed groups, placing business over ideology.
The March 2011 U.S. press release announcing the indictment of Javier Antonio Calle along with nine other alleged members of Los Rastrojos said that in addition to partnering with Mexican drug cartels to ship cocaine from Colombia to the United States via Mexico, Venezuela and Central America, the organization levied a “tax” on other Colombia traffickers on drug shipments traveling through territory under its control.
That territory includes parts of Colombia’s Pacific coast and the border with Venezuela, Colombian police say. A recent study by the Nuevo Arco Iris think tank that Los Rastrojos coexist in the Colombia-Venezuela border region with criminal organizations including Mexico’s Zetas.
___
Associated Press writer Frank Bajak contributed to this report from Lima, Peru
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Nearly 300 athletes competed at the 25th annual Tri de Spice in Grenada last Sunday at Port Louis Marina. The event doubled as the Caribbean championships and the day started with the sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) and the Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run) triathlons. Athletes came from all over the world including, USA, Canada, UK, Norway, France, Germany, and many of the Caribbean islands to compete for the nearly $20,000 in cash and prizes as well as bragging rights.
Alexandra Consten from Germany won the women’s Olympic distance triathlon, and Ancil Greene from Trinidad won the men’s race. Ancil was also named the Caribbean Champion for the men. Clare Morrall from Grenada, who placed third overall, closely behind some very stiff international competition, won the women’s Caribbean Championship title. The women’s Sprint race was won by Salome Buglass of Trinidad and the men’s by Troy Felix of Grenada. They were both awarded the Caribbean championship title for Sprint Triathlon.
The Republic Bank Right Start Inter-school Triathlon championships took place in the afternoon with almost 200 children, the youngest being only 4 years old. There were 6 different age groups, all doing different distances, some choosing to race individually while others chose to race as a three-person team. The junior school girls category was won by Westmorland while the boys was won by Grenada Montessori and Preparatory School. In the Senior School girls category there was a tie for 1st place between Westmorland and St Joseph’s convent. The Senior School Boys category was won by GBSS. Congratulations goes to the individual winners in each race, Meriah Julien, Stefan Mason, Nixe Ogilvie, Katie Lillie, D’Andre Stephen, Jayden Hyson, Sydnee Steele, Diane Fakhre, River Mitchell, Tilly Collymore, Harper Pickel-Topale. A special mention goes out to Deb Eastwood and the Grenada Youth Adventurers that came with a huge team and did extremely well.
A special thanks goes out to all of our sponsors and supporters especially Deco Industries, taking care of all our T-shirt, tote bag and printing needs, Digicel, the bigger better network, Insurance Consults Ltd, the official insurance of the Tri de Spice, Savvy’s Restaurant and Bar, Republic Bank, sponsors of the Right Start Inter-school Triathlon Championships, and True Blue Bay Resort, the host hotel.
Source: Spice Islander
Bermuda’s national rugby team warmed for their opening NACRA Caribbean Championship game with a 38-33 defeat to USA South in Florida at the weekend.
The Islanders, who take on Cayman Islands later this month, started strongly, pressuring the hosts deep into their own 22 metre area and almost took the lead through David Pringle who was held up just before the try line.
Lawrence Bird’s 23-man squad, which included several debutants, fell behind to a try and conversion but drew level almost immediately. Bermuda spoiled the USA South’s ball and managed to create the turnover with prop forward Jahan Cedenio barging past the opposition’s fly half before rounding the full back to score Bermuda’s first try, which was converted by Ian Henderson.
USA South were next on the scoreboard with another well-worked try but Bermuda were again quick to respond with a try from Bongani Ndlovu, which Shauntino Simons converted to give the scoreline parity.
Henderson added a penalty for Bermuda before USA South added to their score with another converted try.
Moments before the interval, Bermuda’s Andre Landy barrelled his way over the line with Simons adding a touchline conversion to leave the score 24-24 at half-time.
Both teams rung the changes during the break, which effected the flow of the game and the only try of the second period went USA South’s way.
The remainder of Bermuda’s points came from the boots of Henderson and Simons, who struck a 40-metre effort to draw the game level at 33-33.
However, with Bermuda’s Peter Dunkerley in the sin-bin, USA South crossed the line for the only try in the second half in the dying minutes.
Bermuda begin the defence of their Caribbean Championships title against Cayman Islands at the National Sports Centre on May 19.
The Island are scheduled to play four North Zone group games against Cayman and Bahamas; two home and two away. The three South Zone teams are Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad.
This year’s Championship winners will advance as the sole Caribbean representatives in the 2015 World Cup qualifiers to be held in England.
Bermuda, who are 49th in the International Rugby Board’s world rankings, are the top ranked side in the Caribbean.
n Fn Former Wales rugby captain Gwyn Jones is on the Island this week and will be regaling rugby enthusiasts with tales of tries, tours and what it feels like to listen to 70,000 hwyl-filled Welshmen roar you to victory.
Jones is the guest speaker at Renegades Rugby Club’s annual dinner on Saturday night at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dingy Club and as well as describing the highs of leading his nation, the former open-side flanker will touch on what it’s like to have it all snatched away in an instant.
Now a broadcaster with Welsh-language station S4C and the BBC, Jones was just 25 when he suffered an injury playing for Cardiff against Swansea in 1997 that left him paralysed for five days.
A compressed spine meant having to learn to walk again and ending his international career with 13 caps, just as it was getting started.
As well as entertaining the crowd, Jones will also be handing out the club’s annual awards which include several MVP categories.
Source: Royal Gazette
HAVANA (AP) — A railroad upgrade project in Cuba has trains traveling faster and that means more danger for careless motorists and pedestrians, authorities said Monday, reporting 33 collisions involving cars and 47 pedestrians hit last year.
An article in labor union newspaper Trabajadores did not say how many of the vehicular crashes were fatal, but 30 of the people hit by trains died. That alone was about 50 percent more than the 19 deaths from all train-related accidents reported the previous year.
The trend appears to be worsening, with 27 pedestrian accidents in just the first three months of 2012, including 10 fatalities.
This Caribbean island’s state-run media are mercifully free of grisly stories about crashes and violent crime that are common in newspapers elsewhere, and accidents generally go unreported until officials give a yearly tally.
But Trabajadores carried accounts of impatient and inattentive drivers being mowed down, including a motorcyclist who tried to race across the tracks and an animal cart that failed to stop for a passenger train.
Many crossings here lack descending barriers, and not all drivers come to a full stop and look both ways as they are supposed to.
Ronald Bofil, director of rail safety and inspection for the Ministry of Transportation, said a national campaign to overhaul Cuban railroads means the trains themselves are operating more safely, but efforts to improve signaling have not resulted in motorists reforming their own bad habits.
“On the tracks today, the (safety) measures must be extreme. With the current revitalization of the railways, the trains are gradually reaching greater velocities,” Bofil told Trabajadores. “Nevertheless, many drivers and pedestrians ignore the danger inherent in crossing train tracks even when they see the locomotive approaching.”
Bofil also said collisions with free-ranging cattle is a significant problem that joint efforts with the Agriculture Ministry has yet to solve.
He did not give numbers on incidents involving livestock.
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