Jamaica lose 66-68 to Uruguay in FIBA Americas Champs

Sport

BY SANJAY MYERS Observer staff reporter myerss@jamaicaobserver.com Saturday, August 31, 2013 | 1:56 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela — Jamaica put in a battling display on Saturday but mistakes at critical moments against Group A opponents Uruguay saw them losing 66-68 in the dying seconds of the FIBA Americas Championship game at the Poliedro de Caracas.Forward Samardo Samuels led Jamaica with 19 points from 6/13 shooting along with six rebounds. The lively point guard Akeem Scott, who played over 36 minutes, was 4/7 from three-point range to end with 18 points. He also had four steals and two assists.Uruguay’s centre Esteban Batista led all scorers with 22 points. After defeat to Canada on Friday, the Jamaicans now have a 0-2 record from their opening two matches. The Jamrockerz have a break on Sunday before clashing with Puerto Rico Monday at 1:00 pm Jamaica time. On Tuesday, Jamaica will close out the preliminary phase with a 7:00 pm clash with Brazil. The top four countries in each of the two groups advance to the second round. The four semi-finalists automatically qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.

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Jamaica lose 66-68 to Uruguay in FIBA Americas Champs

Uruguay meeting discussing population and development agenda beyond 2014

REPRESENTATIVES from Jamaica and 29 other countries in the region are now gathered in Montevideo, Uruguay, to discuss a proposed regional agenda beyond 2014 at the first session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The meeting, which opened yesterday, had among its participants Uruguayan President José Mujica; executive secretary of the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena; and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin.The meeting is being jointly hosted by the Uruguayan Government, ECLAC and the UNFPA.The meeting is being held amidst observations that although recent decades have seen an increase in well-being in the region — with major progress made in areas such as child mortality, life expectancy, gender equality and recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and migrants — the region has many challenges remaining in terms of equality.The proposed regional agenda has two main focuses: equality and a human rights approach. It also provides follow-up to the Programme of Action of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994.Launched by ECLAC and the UNFPA, it identifies the priority themes that should be included in this agenda in the future.“The proposal is based on the review of the ICPD Programme of Action in the region, which showed progress has been made in fulfilling the agreements made in 1994 thanks to policies and measures implemented by national governments (albeit with major differences among them),” ECLAC said yesterday.The document states that the region must focus on seven thematic areas if it is to tackle future population challenges and step up the mainstreaming of such issues in economic and social development policies and programmes.“These areas are the rights and needs of children, adolescents and young people; ageing, social protection and socioeconomic challenges; gender equality; gaps in universal access to sexual and reproductive health services; international migration and protection for the rights of all migrants; territorial inequality, spatial mobility and environmental vulnerability; and the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples,” ECLAC said in a release yesterday.It also underscores the need for the “region’s specific characteristics” to be “considered as they influence the relationship between population and sustainable development processes.”“These include the region’s major territorial heterogeneity, its cultural complexity and diversity, social, gender and ethnic inequality, weak institutions, rapid progress through demographic transition phases and the relative abundance of natural resources,” ECLACD added.“Inequality must be at the heart of any attempts to tackle all issues involved, as its persistent nature affects population behaviour and demographic trends, which in turn widens gaps in the exercise of rights. This underscores the urgency of equality for growth and growth for equality,” the commission emphasised.

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Uruguay meeting discussing population and development agenda beyond 2014

Uruguay profile

11 April 2013 Last updated at 10:13 ET Uruguay has traditionally been more affluent than other countries in South America, and is known for its advanced education and social security systems and liberal social laws.

It was the first nation in Latin America to establish a welfare state, maintained through relatively high taxes on industry, and developed a democratic tradition that earned it the sobriquet “the Switzerland of South America”.

But economic and political turmoil, in particular left-wing urban guerrilla attacks in the early 1970s, led the government of the day to suspend the constitution and launch a period of repressive military rule that lasted until 1985. Uruguay is still struggling to come to terms with the legacy of those years.

The Montevideo Carnival is seen as Uruguay’s main cultural event of the year Continue reading the main story Politics: The Broad Front coalition came to power in the 2004 elections and won a second mandate in 2009Economy: Uruguay is recovering from economic upheaval in 2002, brought on by recessions in Brazil, ArgentinaInternational: Relations with Argentina have been strained over a Uruguayan paper mill on the banks of a border river

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Since the restoration of democratic government, successive governments have liberalised the economy. Colonial towns, beach resorts and a year-round mild climate have contributed to a growing tourist industry, and the economy has benefited from offshore banking.

But a dependence on livestock and related exports has left Uruguay vulnerable to ups and downs in world commodity prices. Recessions in Brazil and Argentina – its main export markets and sources of tourists – propelled the country into economic crisis in 2002.

Payouts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a restructuring of foreign debt encouraged a fragile recovery. But the recession left many Uruguayans living in poverty and prompted thousands of younger people to leave.

Most Uruguayans are of European origin – chiefly Spanish and Italian. The country has a large middle class and is largely free of serious income inequality. But the minority who are of African or mixed European-indigenous descent form a higher proportion of its poorest people.

In the 19th century Uruguay’s newly-won independence was followed by a prolonged and ruinous conflict between two political factions – the land-owning Blancos (whites) and the urban Colorados (reds).

The historic quarter of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay’s oldest town, is a World Heritage Site

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Uruguay profile

Uruguay to host regional population meeting

News

Monday, August 05, 2013

THE Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will host the first meeting of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Montevideo, Uruguay.The August 12-15 conference will be opened in the presence of the presidents of Uruguay and Ecuador, José Mujica and Rafael Correa, respectively; ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena; and executive director of UNFPA, Babatunde Osotimehin.The meeting will be attended by official delegations from most ECLAC member-countries and associate members, as well as by senior international officials, experts in population and representatives of non-governmental organisations.ECLAC said the main purpose of the event is to examine 20 years of the region’s progress in implementing the objectives of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development — held in Cairo in 1994 — as well as identifying “key measures for strengthening its implementation and tackling emerging population challenges for the region beyond 2014.”The priority themes to be discussed will include the rights and needs of children and young people, the opportunities and consequences of population dynamics, gender equality, reproductive and sexual rights, international migration, territorial inequality and environmental vulnerability, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendent peoples.At the end of the meeting, it said delegates are expected to adopt a series of agreements on the priority themes for implementing the Programme of Action beyond 2014.

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Uruguay to host regional population meeting