The approval rating of Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding is staying stable despite the Caribbean nation’s economic struggles, the BBC reports. Nearly half – 47 percent – of people who took the survey think Golding is doing a good job, according to the Jamaican Gleaner poll. His administration recently made the controversial decision to ask for aid from the International Monetary Fund, and Golding has also imposed a freeze on the wages of public workers. But Golding has “earned” his approval rating because of his achievements in the past, a pollster told the BBC.  Goldman’s Jamaican Labor Party is coming up on its second year in office.

Usain Bolts to Record 100 Meters
Jamaican Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt logged a Mercurial  9.58 seconds in the 100 meters in Berlin Sunday to surpass the 9.69 he set in winning gold at the Beijing Games last year. Former world record-holder Asafa Powell clinched a second medal for Jamaica as he finished third in 9.84. “I was feeling good after the semis. I knew it was going to be a great race and I executed it,” Bolt, 22, told reporters. “It’s a great time, a great feeling. I feel good in myself and I knew I could do it. There was a big build-up, great atmosphere. It wasn’t going to be an easy race but I had a perfect start and just went from there. I came out here to do my best, and I did what I had to do. There’ll be no partying for me ahead of Tuesday. I’ll rest up as always, I need to rest up for the 200 meters.” Defending 100-meter champ, American Tyson Gay, finished second in 9.71 seconds, third fastest time ever and 6/100ths better than his previous personal best. “I ran the best I could. I just wanted to give my best tonight, it wasn’t enough but I’m happy to have the national record,” he said. “I knew I had to put out a championship performance. I gave it my best and that’s all I could do.”
Korean Upsets Tiger
In perhaps the biggest upset in professional golfing history, Korea’s Y.E. Yang came from behind to yank the 91st PGA Championship from world’s No. 1 player, defeating Tiger Woods in a suspenseful finish at Hazeltine National. It was a nail-biter, indeed. The 37-year-old Yang, ranked 110th, clearly understood what a tremendous upset it was to beat the world’s top golfer. “This might be my last win as a golfer,” said Yang, “but it sure is a great day. It means the world right now.” With the come-from-behind victory, Yang deprived Woods of his 15th major. It also keeps the Tiger from Jack Nicklaus’s 18 by the end of next year. Prior to Sunday, Woods had never lost a major after starting the final round with the lead. “I played well enough to win the championship,” Woods said. “I did not putt well enough to win the championship today. I didn’t get it done on the greens, and consequently, I didn’t win the tournament.”

Group Names the Happiest Places on Earth
It looks like some of the happiest places on earth have nothing to do with Disney. According to recently released report, Costa Rica, in Central America, ranks No. 1 as the happiest and greenest place in the world. The nation is followed by the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, two countries in the Caribbean, in a report released by the New Economics Foundation, a group based in England. Rounding out the top 10 are Guatemala at No. 4, followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Brazil and Honduras. Life expectancy, happiness and a small environmental impact were factors that contributed to the rankings. So, while the United States ranks high on life expectancy and happiness, its large ecological footprint made the country land at No. 114 on the list out of 143 countries.

Nigerian Writer Awarded
EC Osondu, a writer from Nigeria, is the winner of this year’s Caine Prize for African Writing and will receive $16,000. The honor, which is also referred to as the African Booker, is given each year to an African writer for a short story that is published in English, reports the BBC.  It’s named after the an ex-chairman of Booker plc, Sir Michael Caine. Osondu’s short story, “Waiting,” describes “the dislocating experience of being a displaced person,” from a child’s point of view, one of the judges said. Osondu was born in Nigeria and moved to New York to attend Syracuse University where he studied writing. In 2006, he received an honor, the Allen and Nirelle Galso Prize for Fiction, for another one of his stories, “A Letter from Home.” He is currently teaching literature at Providence College in Rhode Island, the BBC reports.

Billion People are Hungry

There are currently one billion people worldwide suffering from hunger, according to numbers from the United Nations. The world’s struggling economy only made matters worse, pushing the number up by 100 million people to its highest level ever according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “It’s the first time in human history that we have so many hungry people in the world. And that’s a contradiction, because a lot of the world is very rich despite the economic crisis,” said FAO spokesman Kostas Stamoulis. In addition world’s safety could be jeopardized. “The silent hunger crisis – affecting one-sixth of all humanity – poses a serious risk for world peace and security,” Jacques Diouf, an FAO official told the BBC. “We urgently need to forge a broad consensus on the total and rapid eradication of hunger in the world and to take the necessary actions.” Most of the world’s hungry, about 642 million people, live in the Asia-Pacific region and 265 million live in sub-Saharan Africa, leaving only 15 million people in developed countries are suffering from hunger. Higher food prices, higher unemployment rates and lower pay are all factors resulting in the increased amount of hungry people. Governments worldwide should look towards increasing their respective nation’s agriculture sector as a solution, Diouf said. “Investment in agriculture must be increased because for the majority of poor countries a healthy agricultural sector is essential to overcome poverty and hunger and is a pre-requisite for overall economic growth.”
Jamaican Sprinter’s Home Burglarized

Gold medal winning Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s home was burglarized last week, according to police. Bolt was competing in the Czech Republic at the time of the incident, which took place during the early morning hours of last Wednesday, reports AFP. The thieves stole about $1,000 in electronics from his Kingston area home. Sadeke Bolt, Bolt’s half brother, was in the home sleeping at the time of the robbery and was the one who reported the crime to police.

Cuba presented 26 Jamaican students with scholarships to use at colleges and universities in the Communist nation as part of the 2009-10 Cuban Scholarship Program, reports the Jamaican Information Service. Gisela Garcia Rivera, Cuba’s Ambassador to Jamaica, gave out the awards in a ceremony in Kingston last weekend. With the scholarships, students will be able to study subjects in the fields of medicine, architecture, pharmacy, physical education, sports and humanities. “I felt very grateful for the opportunity because without it I don’t know how I would have been able to study medicine, because it is a lot of money, so I’m very thankful and looking forward to going to Cuba and doing my best and making everyone proud.” Jodi-Ann Jones, one of the recipients told JIS. According to a Cuban official, since the program was started in 2005, the Cuban Embassy has “processed 824 applications from Jamaican applicants and we have awarded 253 scholarships to students studying higher courses.” Jorge Crespo, who leads the Cuba/Jamaica Collaboration Unit, also said that it was hard choosing scholarship winners. “We would really like to have the capacity to give more scholarships to all those candidates meeting the requirement but to date it is not possible,” he said. There are at least 50,000 foreign students now studying in Cuba, reports JIS.

SOUTH AFRICAN MINE FIRE KILLS 36 
In South Africa, a fire in an underground mine killed 36 illegal miners over the weekend. “The bodies of 35 criminal miners have been brought to surface at the shaft during the past weekend by fellow criminal miners,” a statement from Harmony Gold’s Eland mine, Africa’s third largest gold producer, read. In just the last two weeks, 300 miners have been arrested in the Free State province. Local authorities will investigate to see if the bodies of any more miners are underground, reports the BBC. In the same mine, five bodies were recovered two weeks ago. Two years ago, 25 illegal miners lost their lives in another fire, the news service reports.

JAMAICA SEES FIRST SWINE FLU CASES
Jamaica has seen its first cases of swine flu, according to the Caribbean nation’s health ministry. While the two residents tested positive for the virus after returning from a visit to the United States, they have since recovered, reports the BBC. Those who’ve had contact with the infected have also been tested and were found to be healthy. Other Caribbean islands, including Cuba and the Dominican Republic have also seen the virus pop up.

Jamaica Plane Hijacking Ends

In Jamaica, an armed man who got onto a Canadian plane and held members of the crew hostage Sunday night was captured by the nation’s troops Monday morning, according to a Jamaican official. More here.

Senegal Frees Men Convicted of Homosexuality
An appeals court in West Africa’s Senegal, threw out the homosexuality convictions of nine men and ordered that they be released immediately. Homosexuality is illegal in the mostly Muslim nation. The men, who were members of a group fighting HIV and AIDS were arrested in December and convicted in January of “indecent conduct and unnatural acts,” reports the BBC.  They had been sentenced to serve eight years in jail. Lawyers for the men argued that the men had not been caught in the act and that the case against them was weak, according to reports. When the sentences were announced in January, they were the harshest ever given for homosexuality.

Plane Carrying Black Lawmaker Fired On in Somalia

Days after U.S. snipers shot and killed three Somali pirates during their rescue of a U.S. captain, the plane carrying U.S. Rep Donald Payne (D-NJ) was fired on as it was leaving an airport in Somalia, reports CNN. But Payne was unharmed in the incident. “We understand that his plane was fired on … as he left … but that they have left safely and that no one was hurt,” a spokeswoman from his office said. Read the rest.

Jamaica Sees Deadly Easter Weekend
Between last Thursday and Easter Sunday, 11 people were killed in Jamaica, according to the nation’s police. Among the deaths are a 14-year-old girl and a 57-year-old store owner who were shot in connection with a disagreement over a mineral spa, reports the BBC. In total, during the month of April, there have been 33 murders in the island nation. In 2008, Jamaica saw more than 1,600 murders.

Woods Loses Bid for Fourth Green Jacket
The final hour of the 2009 Masters at Augusta National Sunday provided just the fireworks that the event needed to shatter its reputation as a lackluster tournament with few exciting highlights. But, it was the undercard that stole the show, as Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods battled it out in a final round of a major for the first time in eight years. Mickelson tied a Masters record with a 30 on the front nine to get into contention, but Woods caught him with three birdies over the next four holes and put the crowd of thousands on the edge of the green. Sadly, however, the tourney ended with far less fanfare as Mickelson faded, settling for a 67 and leaving him five strokes off the lead. Woods also fizzled, bogeying the final two holes for a 68 and wrapping up a shot behind Mickelson to finish another shot back. By the time the major ended, Angel Cabrera had become the first Argentine to win the green jacket at Augusta National.
Bolt Blew Herb as a Kid, Paper Says World-record-holding sprinter Usain Bolt smoked dope as a youngster, he told a publication Sunday. “In Jamaica, you learn as a child how to roll a joint. Everyone here has tried it. I did too –  but I was real young then,” Bolt was quoted by the online publication Bild. “My family and my friends don’t smoke and I don’t hang out any longer with people who smoke.” Three-time Olympic gold medalist, who set world records in the 100 and 200 meters at the Beijing Olympics and was part of the Jamaican team that broke the world mark in the 400-meter relay, made the admission in an interview published online Sunday. One of Bild’s reporters says he met Bolt at a disco in Kingston, Jamaica, and that the sprinter drank Guinness mixed with Red Bull.

In the face of the nation’s economic struggles, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding has decided to take a pay cut of 15 percent, reports the BBC.  Golding announced his move in a speech to the country, where he also asked for other Jamaican Parliament members to take a 10 percent cut in their salaries. The salaries of government workers will also be frozen “at the levels which obtained on March 31^st [2009],” Golding announced. His announcements comes just as the Caribbean nation is about to make its 2009/2010 budget public.