Breaking soul ties

TAMPA BAY, Fla. – The NHL’s worst team only five years ago, the Avalanche completed its journey to the top of the hockey world Sunday night, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 21 years. The Avalanche, which won the series in six games and dethroned the two-time defending champion Lighting, completed a tour de force postseason. It never trailed in any of its four series, never dropped consecutive games and went 16-4. And the clinching win was its 10th come-from-behind victory, tying a league record. The Avs received second-period goals from center Nathan MacKinnon and winger Artturi Lehkonen. The third period was 20 minutes of high drama … most of it produced by the Avalanche. As the Avs created chance after chance, Tampa Bay had no shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of the period and only two through 16 minutes. The Lightning’s first premium third-period chance came with 6:32 left when Darcy Kuemper slid laterally to stop a … [Read more...] about Colorado Avalanche beats Tampa Bay, 2-1, in Game 6 to win Stanley Cup

THREE MEN AND A HEADACHE For allegedly evading questions and lying to senators during a Senate inquiry into corruption at the state penitentiary, Bureau of Corrections legal division chief Fredric Santos (left), New Bilibid Prison medical officer Ursicio Cenas and documents section chief Ramoncito Roque are cited for contempt and ordered to be detained on Thursday. —PHOTOS BY LYN RILLON AND RICHARD A. REYES MANILA, Philippines–There are other money-making ventures for corrupt officers at New Bilibid Prison aside from the payoffs for hospital passes and good conduct time allowances, according to a former official of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). The other schemes include allowing prisoners to bring in women, run a 24-hour gambling operation and let in contraband under the cover of a construction project, said Rafael Ragos who served as Bilibid officer in charge from November 2012 to March 2013. What started as a Senate inquiry into the good conduct law, Republic Act No. … [Read more...] about Bilibid flesh trade, 24-hour gambling bared

- A + A (June 28): Half way to the point when Hong Kong will officially be enveloped by China, Beijing is not just calling the shots politically, but in vast swathes of the city’s US$344 billion economy. From the stock exchange to brokerages, construction projects to the retail sector, Chinese state-controlled firms are increasingly dominating, taking market share away from the local tycoons and British trading houses that thrived under the final decades of UK rule. Those behind the growing Chinese influence view Hong Kong’s economy as stagnant, slow to embrace the technology-driven, new economy industries that have been catalysts for growth on the mainland. Chinese enterprises have been handed more political power in the city, including a recent revamp of the electoral system that reduced the influence of local businesspeople and added greater representation for state-backed companies. “Hong Kong has come to a crucial crossroads,” said Simon Lee, a Hong Kong … [Read more...] about Chinese firms are dominating key parts of Hong Kong’s economy