World Lens: Serena Williams takes home the Australian Open title; Australian sneaks pigeons in his pants. See pics. 

Thefts, Murder Cramping Jamaica Business
Employee theft, along with Jamaica’s high murder rate, is being looked at as reasons why the country ranks low in business worldwide. Jamaica has dropped down eight slots in the global business competitiveness ranking to number 86. The rankings were done by the World Economic Forum. According to the group, 22.4 percent of people who responded to a survey believed crime and theft to be huge obstacles for business in Jamaica. There were 1,611 people killed in the nation; the second highest figure ever. The second major obstacle is bureaucracy.  Jamaican officials expressed their frustration with the matter. “Don’t ask me to grow an economy. Don’t ask me to grow investment and expand employment in an atmosphere where crime is posing such a deterrent to that process,” said Karl Samuda, the nation’s minister of industry, investment and commerce. “If we do not address this as a matter of urgency, then the kind of reports and the ratings that we are seeing will not improve.” Some people in the inner city are taking away jobs from their community, because their criminal activity is scaring investors away, Samuda said.

Somali Pirates Get $3.2 Million Ransom
After hijacking a Ukrainian ship carrying weapons in September, Somali pirates will reportedly be receiving a ransom worth $3.2 million, reports BBC. The 20-person crew of the MV Faina were held for months while the pirates negotiated with officials. The ship was headed to the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was hijacked. The Kenyan government says the weapons on the ship, including 33 T-72 battle tanks, rocket launchers and smaller arms, were indeed theirs; however an invoice said the weapons were headed to Sudan next. The ship should be released sometime Thursday.

Serena Williams and sister Venus took their third doubles title at the Australian Open and eighth Grand Slam title as a combination Thursday, defeating Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, who lost 6-3, 6-3 as they dodged a flurry of zingers at the net. “I just wouldn’t want to face them too much. They are ferocious,” Serena said of her taller sister’s fireballs. And she ought to know, because the dynamic duo have faced off against each other seven times in Grand Slam singles finals. “She’s covering the whole net. At one point today, I literally stood back and she took care of everything,” Serena said.

Serena Williams took a stride toward a fourth Australian Open and 10th Grand Slam title and this morning, taking out Russian Elena Dementieva in a dominating 6-3, 6-4 victory. “I haven’t moved like that for a while, so I was a little shocked,” she said. Williams, the second seed, would continue her odd-sequence string of victories at the Australian Open, having won 2003, 2005 and 2007. After beating Russians in two successive matches, the 27-year-old will face another one in the final. No. 3 Dinara Safina played No. 7 Vera Zvonareva in the second semifinal.

Three-time Australian Open champ Serena Williams fought off the blazing sun and a powerful early surge by Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova to advance to the semifinal round. Williams struggled early on as the sun scorched the court, but a 10-minute delay, at which time the roof was closed to shut out the 107-degree heat, was all she needed to rejuvenate and take the quarterfinals 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. “I was in like an out-of-body experience,” Williams said of the heat. “I was in a lot of trouble. I just relaxed. I just wanted to fight and at least play three sets.” Her victory shattered the prospect of an all-Russian party at the semis. “Me against the Russians, I guess,” she said following the match. Her next opponent is Elena Dementieva, a gold medalist who whipped Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2 in Wednesday’s earlier match. “I just have to keep playing well and just go for two more,” said Williams, who won the Australian title in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Tennis great Serena Williams, who’s still in the running for a fourth Australian Open title, knows just how to tick off Andy Roddick, another court phenom who remains in the battle for a championship trophy. On her Web site, Williams lists a win over Roddick as one of her career highlights. She goes on to say that she clobbered Roddick 6-1 back in the day when they were both junior players in Florida. “She won’t give me a rematch,” snorted Roddick at the Australian Open on Sunday. “I told her it wasn’t fair. When we were 10, I had to literally run around in the shower to get wet. She was bench-pressing dump trucks already at that time. I told her that yesterday and she got a good laugh. Any chance she gets she just does it to get under my skin and she does it very successfully.” He also says that Williams never beat him by the score she alleges. “The score gets better for her also. She’s good at not letting the truth get in the way of a good story sometimes. I think it was 6 4. The score gets better for her also.” Williams said she doesn’t remember Roddick being rail thin. “Andy was a fit guy,” she said. “But like I said, he was always trying to get muscles like mine, get more developed. I guess it hasn’t happened yet.” Earlier today, Roddick upset No.-3 seeded Novak Djokovic, who wilted in the heat at the Melbourne, Australia tournament. Williams advanced Monday, but only after 13th-seeded Victoria Azarenka retired due to heatstroke. The 27-year-old Williams will now face Svetlana Kuznetsova, an eighth-seeded Russian, in the quarters today. Kuznetsova advanced when her opponent dropped out due to injury.

Serena Still Hanging in Australian Open Three-time Australian Open champ Serena Williams has advanced to  face No. 8-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the quarterfinals after he opponent withdrew Sunday after an apparent battle with heatstroke. Victoria Azarenka, the 19-year-old from Belarus, started the match strong, defeating the normally powerful Williams 6-3 in the first set. “I feel so bad; she was playing so well,” Williams said in a brief interview with Australian television. “She can’t risk it, so I hope she did the right thing. She’s obviously playing really well and has so many other Australian Opens out there for her.” Azarenka began to cry, covered her face with her left hand as she walked toward the net and retired from the match. Williams was there to meet her as the crowd cheered supportively. Azarenka was then helped off court, still distraught, by two officials. No details of her condition were immediately available, although the tournament director, Craig Tiley, said that she had been ill the night before.

It’s a Philly Affair in Memphis Former 76ers guard Lionel Hollins, who took over as head coach of the Grizzlies after replacing another former Sixer Marc Ivaroni, attempted to have two other former Philadelphia Sixers join him on the bench as coaches: Johnny Davis, a former Sixers coach, and Maurice Cheeks who was Hollins backcourt mate back in the day and the most recently fired Sixer head coach. Initially, Cheeks indicated that he would join Hollins, but he recently declined the offer. “But he decided he wanted a little more time to himself,” Hollins said. “I certainly understand that. He’ll have opportunities later.” The Philadelphia Daily News reports that Hollins said he wanted two experienced men with him ”who will have huge responsibility, who have the right to stop a practice and coach because they know what to look for. I’m not egotistical. I know basketball, but I also know the value of having good people around you.”

Serena Advance in Australian Open
Serena Williams, who has won the Australian Open in alternate years since 2003, had a 6-3, 6-2 win over Yuan Meng of China in 75 minutes in the next match on center court. Williams endured excruciating heat and blinding sun at one end of the court. She let several service tosses drop during one game before shortening her motion, costing her some speed.

NFL Veteran Found Dead
Ten-year NFL veteran Shane Dronett, who was a member of the Atlanta Falcons’ 1998 Super Bowl team, was found dead at his home on Wednesday. He was 38. Officers were called to Dronett’s home near Atlanta on Wednesday morning in response to a possible suicide, according to a statement from the Gwinnett County Police Department. Police spokesman Illana Spellman confirmed Dronett’s body was found at the residence. The medical examiner’s office was examining the body to determine the cause of death. Dronett played at the University of Texas and was a second-round pick by Dan Reeves and the Denver Broncos in 1992. “As a coach, your players are your extended family, and anytime you lose someone it is like losing a loved one,” said David McWilliams, who coached Dronett at Texas and is now director of the Longhorn Letter Winners Association. “I will always remember Shane’s wry smile, his laughter, and the fact that he seemed so full of life. He was a great player, and was one of those rare guys who even liked practice. “It is a shock and a tragedy to lose someone so young.”