OXON HILL, MD– Eight young super spellers beat the dictionary to be crowned co-winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in what officials said was a first since the U.S. word contest started in 1925. After a marathon session stretching into early Friday, the contestants simply could not be separated. Each winner received a $50,000 prize and a trophy – and they coined their own word for their joint success, “octochamps.”

“We’re throwing the dictionary at you, and, so far, you are showing the dictionary who’s boss,” the bee’s pronouncer, Jacques Bailly, told the finalists. The competition started on Tuesday with 562 word whizzes from across the nation, U.S. territories and six other countries: the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. Officials say that while there have been co-champions in the past, there have never been eight. The final round that started on Thursday night was televised live across the United States.As the tension mounted, the young scholars worked out the correct order of vowels and consonants in words such as bougainvillea, a type of climbing plant; aiguillette, braided loops hanging on a military uniform shoulder; and pendeloque, a diamond or gemstone cut in a pear shape.(Reuters)…[+]

The Manchester police were last night hunting taxi operator Shawn McPherson, who is accused of chopping his infant son to death and wounding the boy’s mother yesterday morning. He is believed to have set his car on fire following the incident, and law enforcers in the parish are theorising that he has jumped to his death into a sinkhole in the community of Ramble, close to Porus, where he grew up.

Ramble is also one of the routes where he operates his taxi. Head of the Manchester Police Superintendent David White said that yesterday a team from the Jamaica Fire Brigade went to the sinkhole to see what they could uncover, but they were not successful because they needed additional support. He said that today they will be continuing their search with assistance from the Jamaica Defence Force.

Police report that about 6:30 am yesterday, McPherson had a dispute with his child’s mother at their home on McKinley Drive in Mandeville, resulting in him chopping and wounding her and their eight-month old son, Roshane.(Jamaica Observer) …[+]

Washington– Tobacco control measures, particularly those to ensure smoke-free indoor public and work spaces, must be urgently stepped up in order to protect the health of the people of the Americas, says the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), regional branch for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Tobacco use has a major impact on health, killing one person every 4 seconds globally, and one person every 34 seconds in the Americas. This accounts for a total of 8 million deaths worldwide each year, with almost 1 million in the Region. Over half of lung cancer cases are related to tobacco, as are almost half of the cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The campaign for this year’s World No Tobacco Day (31 May), “tobacco and lung health”, focuses on how tobacco endangers lung health all over the world, and the importance of implementing effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption and exposure.   “Tobacco is a threat to the lung health of everyone, not just smokers,” said Dr Hennis, Director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at the Pan American Health Organization. “Every single death related to tobacco use or exposure is preventable. However, while the use of tobacco is declining in the Region, the pace of action to reduce tobacco use continues to lag behind global and regional commitments,” he added.

In order to reduce the threat of tobacco, countries must take urgent action to step up the implementation of the tobacco control measures outlined in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which are reinforced by the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. “The implementation of these measures, particularly those relating to smoke-free indoor workplaces, public places, and public transport; implementing large health warnings, as well as the provision of services for those looking to quit tobacco, are vital to ensuring a smoke-free Americas,” said Rosa Sandoval, Regional Advisor for Tobacco Control at PAHO.   (PAHO/WHO)…[+] 

Seven South Korean tourists have died and another 21 people are missing after a boat sank on the Danube river in Hungary’s capital, Budapest. Thirty South Korean tourists and three tour guides, as well as two Hungarian crew, were on the tour boat when it collided with another vessel.

The incident occurred just after 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Seven people have been rescued, and a massive search operation is continuing on a river swollen by heavy rainfall. The rain had led to strong currents on the Danube, and rescue teams say there is little hope of finding more survivors. It was not immediately clear which vessel was responsible for the collision, a rare incident on the Danube where navigation is busy but generally safe. A criminal investigation has been launched.(BBC)…[+]

A Mara­bel­la man, ac­cused of burn­ing the hands of a three-year-old boy and hit­ting him, was warned to have no in­ter­ac­tion with the in­fant as he was grant­ed bail yes­ter­day. Mar­cus John, who has been in cus­tody for more than a month, was grant­ed $60,000 ap­proval bail with a cash bail al­ter­na­tive of $15,000 when he reap­peared in the San Fer­nan­do Mag­is­trates’ Court.

He was al­so warned to stay 150 feet away from the child. The two charges al­leged that on a date un­known in De­cem­ber 2018 and in March 30 this year, he as­sault­ed a child in a man­ner like­ly to cause him phys­i­cal and emo­tion­al suf­fer­ing. John was not asked to plead to the in­dictable charges laid un­der the Chil­dren’s Act by WPC Nicole St John of the Child Pro­tec­tion Unit.

It is al­leged that the child’s hands were held over the lit stove and he was struck in the eye and hit with a ruler on his mouth for be­ing un­able to write a let­ter of the al­pha­bet. One month af­ter his first ap­pear­ance, his preg­nant com­mon-law wife Crys­tal Marchan was al­so charged by St John.(Trinidad Guardian)...[+]

US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said “naval mines almost certainly from Iran” were to blame for the damage to oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier this month. Mr Bolton provided no evidence to support the allegation, which Iran said was “laughable”.

The attacks off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates on 12 May left holes in the hulls of four ships. The incident came amid an escalation in tensions between Iran and the US. Last Friday, US Vice Admiral Michael Gilday said he believed “with a high degree of confidence that this [attack] stems back to the leadership of Iran at the highest levels”.

Mr Bolton, a long-standing advocate for regime change in Iran, echoed the admiral’s words during a visit to the UAE on Wednesday, telling reporters it was “clear that Iran is behind” the attack. “There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind in Washington who’s responsible for this,” he said. “Who else would you think is doing it? Someone from Nepal?” But Abbas Mousavi, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, rejected Mr Bolton’s accusations. “Raising this ludicrous claim in a meeting of those with a long history of anti-Iran policies is not strange,” he told Fars news agency. “Iran’s strategic patience, vigilance and defensive prowess will defuse mischievous plots made by Bolton and other warmongers.”(BBC)…[+]

MEXICO CITY– Mexico issued an arrest warrant for a former chief of Mexican oil company Pemex, government-owned media said yesterday, in the first blow against ex-President Enrique Pena Nieto’s inner circle since a new government took office promising to clean up politics. Citing sources at the attorney general’s office, Mexico news agency Notimex said a judge had ordered the arrest of Emilio Lozoya, who headed Pemex from 2012 to 2016.

A Mexican security source said the reports were accurate. The attorney general’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Lozoya’s lawyer Javier Coello said he had not received any official notification of an arrest warrant. Coello said that after seeing various media reports on the subject he filed an injunction on behalf of Lozoya to get to the bottom of the matter, and requested to be officially notified of whether the warrant exists. “Once the defense verifies if there is actually an arrest warrant, and it knows the contents of the warrant, it will be able to take a legal position to execute an adequate defense,” Coello said in a statement.(Reuters)…[+]

Edward Phillip George Seaga, Jamaica’s fifth Prime Minister and longest serving Member of Parliament, has died. Today was his 89th birthday. He died in a Miami hospital today where he had been receiving treatment for cancer and related complications.

Seaga was the last surviving framer of the Jamaican constitution. At the age of 29, the former prime minister became the youngest person to be nominated to the Legislative Council (later the Senate) where he served for two years before he became a Member of Parliament until his retirement in January 2005.But even after his retirement, he remained active in the public arena, and, later that year, was appointed as a Distinguished Fellow of the University of the West Indies (Mona), whose Research Institute had earlier been named in his honour.

In 2008, he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the University of Technology, Jamaica and two years later he became the institution’s second chancellor after his predecessor, Lord Morris Handsworth, retired. A lifelong sports enthusiast, the former prime minster was chairman of the Premier League Clubs Association, one of Jamaica’s governing football bodies, from its inception until 2010.(Jamaica Gleaner)…[+]

A knife-wielding man has attacked a group of schoolchildren waiting for a bus in the Japanese city of Kawasaki near Tokyo. At least 18 people were injured in a residential area. Two of them, an 11-year-old girl and a 39-year-old man, have died.

A suspect, a man in his 50s, stabbed himself in the neck after his rampage and later died in hospital. Violent crime is rare in Japan and the motive for the attack is unknown. The suspect was holding knives in both hands as he attacked the victims – 16 of whom were schoolgirls. Police later named the victims of the fatal attack as Hanako Kuribayashi, who was in the sixth grade, and foreign ministry official Satoshi Oyama, who is believed to be the parent of another child.

The suspect has not been named. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe condemned the attack, saying he felt “strong anger” against it. “It is a very harrowing case. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the victims and hope the injured recover quickly,” Mr Abe said.(BBC)…[+]