WADA sets up unit to investigate "serious" doping matters

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) yesterday set up an independent investigation into the “serious” allegations of widespread doping in Russian athletics.

The commission will be led by Richard Pound, a former head of the agency and a leading and longstanding member of the International Olympic Committee, said a WADA statement.

WADA has acted following a series of German television documentaries which said Russian athletes were systematically given banned substances at international competitions.

Russian officials have strongly denied the accusations.

The commission will seek to establish “if there have been any breaches of World Anti-Doping Code or International Standard processes or rules” including by WADA-accredited laboratories, athletes, coaches, trainers and doctors, said the statement.

It will “explore whether sufficient evidence exists that could lead to sanctions against any individual or organisation under rules of the World Anti-Doping Code”.

Richard McLaren, a leading expert on international sports law and a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), will also sit on the commission.

WADA president Craig Reedie said the commission would analyse the documentaries and information received “separately” by the agency.

“If it is found that there have been violations or breaches of the rules, WADA will ensure that any individuals or organisations concerned are dealt with in an appropriate fashion under the World Anti-Doping Code,” said Reedie.

“The commission will be given the resources it needs in order for the investigation to be carried out thoroughly,” he added.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) welcomed the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announcement.

The IAAF ethics commission is also looking into the allegations.

“The IAAF takes this opportunity to reiterate its full support of the WADA investigation,” said IAAF president Lamine Diack.

“Our primary concern must always be to protect the integrity of competition in support of the vast majority of clean athletes, and we look forward to working with WADA to this end.”

An IAAF statement said the ethics commission will also “ensure all matters of concern are thoroughly and rigorously examined”.

The treasurer of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Valentin Balakhnichev, and Diack’s son have stepped down from their positions while the corruption and doping allegations are investigated.

Balakhnichev is also the president of the Russian Athletics Federation, while Diack’s son Papa Massata Diack has been working for the IAAF as a marketing consultant.

Diack has stepped down after allegations of possible corruption linked to the attribution of the 2017 world athletics championships, which was handed to London ahead of Qatar.

Both Balaknichev and 50-year-old Diack deny the respective allegations.

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WADA sets up unit to investigate "serious" doping matters

Lawmen investigate retired teacher"s suicide

The St Andrew Central police are probing the circumstances which led to a senior citizen, who is also a retired teacher, committing suicide on Sunday.

Information reaching our news desk is that sometime after midday on Sunday, a relative stumbled upon the body of 71-year-old Noel Carney inside his Kingston 20 home.

The police were subsequently summoned to the scene.

Reports are that he was found hanging from a leather belt that was tied to a staircase.

On arrival of the police, the scene was processed and Carney’s body removed and transported to the morgue.

Investigations are ongoing.

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Lawmen investigate retired teacher"s suicide

School Board chairmen to investigate noncompliance of principals in training programme

Latest News

Monday, December 30, 2013 | 9:58 PM

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Board chairmen of public primary and secondary schools Monday (December 30) gave an undertaking to ascertain why principals of their schools have not been responding favourably to capacity building interventions being led by the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL).The interventions form part of NCEL’s Effective Principals’ Training Programme and are aimed at improving outcomes at schools, several of which are deemed to be underperforming.At a meeting at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, Manchester Monday, school board chairmen from more than 30 schools across the country expressed disappointment with the actions of their principals and gave a commitment to conduct their own investigations to determine what may have contributed to their non-compliance. They also indicated that they would be providing feedback to NCEL in the coming days as it is expected that their principals will become compliant by the end of January 2014.The board chairs were summoned to the meeting following Education Minister Ronald Thwaites’ recent declaration to Parliament that the ministry would take steps to ensure that principals were compliant with required NCEL training programmes.Addressing the school leaders, Principal Director of NCEL, Dr Maurice Smith asserted that the Board Chairmen had a crucial role to play in improving student achievement and emphasized that they must insist on accountability at all levels. “The voice of the Board Chairs is critical to the process. We must make sure all of us are accountable. We cannot go back to our schools and classrooms doing the same thing,” said Dr Smith.Since the middle of 2012, NCEL has been offering its Effective Principals’ Training Programme to leaders of primary and secondary schools, the ministry said. However, a significant number of principals have not been completing the programme of work.According to Dr Smith, 107 of 196 principals as at September this year had not satisfied the requirements with respect to either the Leadership Development Action Plan or the Portfolio. Despite several attempts, including letters from the Chief Education Officer only 30 of the 107 principals had complied. Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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School Board chairmen to investigate noncompliance of principals in training programme