Trinidad And Tobago

On a night when England, Spain and Paraguay were celebrating their qualification for soccer's 2010 World Cup in South Africa and a night when Argentina crashed to yet another defeat, the U.S. did just enough to stay in the hunt. A second-half goal by midfielder Ricardo Clark off an astute pass by Landon Donovan earned the American team a 1-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain and propelled it to the top of its qualifying group. The victory left the U.S. with 16 points, three more than second-place Honduras, which was playing Mexico in a later game Wednesday in rain-swept Mexico City.

The U.S. and Canada men's volleyball teams both remained unbeaten in pool play Wednesday, advancing to Friday's semifinals of the NORCECA Olympic qualifying tournament at Long Beach State. The U.S. knocked off Mexico, 25-23, 25-19, 25-14 as expected, but Canada stunned an uncharacteristically sloppy Cuba, ranked fifth in the world, winning in straight sets 25-21, 25-17, 25-21. To keep its Olympic hopes alive, Cuba will have to beat Trinidad and Tobago in Thursday's quarterfinals, likely setting up a meeting with the U.S. in the semifinals.

In the first game of the afternoon doubleheader at the Oakland Coliseum, Trinidad and Tobago defeated Honduras, 3-1, in a bright, wide-open match. Jerren Nixon opened the scoring, beating two defenders during a 20-yard run before slipping the ball past Honduran goalkeeper Milton Flores in the 36th minute. Nixon created the second goal four minutes later, sending a sharp crossing pass in from the left that fellow forward Stern John side-footed into the net from close range.

Cuba's men's volleyball team had little trouble with Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday, needing less than an hour to roll to a straight-set victory and advance to a semifinal showdown with the unbeaten U.S.  in the NORCECA Olympic qualifying tournament at Long Beach State. Cuba -- which won, 25-18, 25-13, 25-16 -- will play the U.S. in Friday's second semifinal at 8 p.m. Canada, which is also unbeaten, will meet Puerto Rico in the first semifinal at 6. Puerto Rico beat Mexico in its quarterfinal Thursday.

So much for the vote of confidence. With Mexico needing no worse than a runner-up finish in the eight-team CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament to secure a place in this summer's London Games, Coach Luis Fernando Tena is already facing questions about his future should that fail to happen. And that was before his team took the field Friday. But Tena had reason to breathe easier after Mexico overcame a slow start, riding Marco Fabian's hat trick to a 7-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago in the first round of group play before a Home Depot Center crowd of 8,521.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will visit Trinidad and Tobago Nov. 1-3 as one of 10 stops on a Caribbean tour scheduled to begin Oct. 9 in Belize, the Ministry of Information said Thursday.

The U.S. and Canada men's volleyball teams both remained unbeaten in pool play Wednesday, advancing to Friday's semifinals of the NORCECA Olympic qualifying tournament at Long Beach State. The U.S. knocked off Mexico, 25-23, 25-19, 25-14 as expected, but Canada stunned an uncharacteristically sloppy Cuba, ranked fifth in the world, winning in straight sets 25-21, 25-17, 25-21. To keep its Olympic hopes alive, Cuba will have to beat Trinidad and Tobago in Thursday's quarterfinals, likely setting up a meeting with the U.S. in the semifinals.

Banking and government offices will be closed or services curtailed in the following countries and their dependencies this week because of holidays: * Monday: Argentina, Bermuda, Colombia, Egypt * Tuesday: Algeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay * Wednesday: Eritrea * Thursday: Greenland * Friday: Colombia, Croatia, Finland, Republic of Congo * Saturday: Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Switzerland * Sunday: Andorra, Canada, Congo, Estonia, Latvia, Macao, Philippines, Venezuela Source: Thomson

Hello from the Group of Life, where for a spell Wednesday, you could wager on whether Wayne Rooney will play for England today as a late-game substitution. Yes, or no. "Yes" provided more wagering value.

On a night of soccer upsets, the U.S. on Wednesday suffered its first World Cup qualifying loss on the road to South Africa 2010 when it was beaten, 2-1, by Trinidad and Tobago at Port of Spain, Trinidad. Mexico came within inches of also being upset and of finding itself on the verge of World Cup elimination before securing a vital point in a 2-2 tie with Canada at Edmonton. Meanwhile, Cuba, which had been routed, 6-1, by the U.S.

So much for the vote of confidence. With Mexico needing no worse than a runner-up finish in the eight-team CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament to secure a place in this summer's London Games, Coach Luis Fernando Tena is already facing questions about his future should that fail to happen. And that was before his team took the field Friday. But Tena had reason to breathe easier after Mexico overcame a slow start, riding Marco Fabian's hat trick to a 7-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago in the first round of group play before a Home Depot Center crowd of 8,521.

BILL ERWIN Character actor got Emmy nomination Bill Erwin, 96, a veteran character actor remembered for his role as Arthur the bellman in the 1980 fantasy film "Somewhere in Time" and his Emmy-nominated guest appearance on "Seinfeld," died Wednesday at his home in Studio City of age-related causes, his son Mike said Friday. Erwin had a long-running career in film, television and theater with dozens of roles in episodic TV. He was nominated for an Emmy Award as outstanding guest actor in a comedy series in 1993 playing the cranky Sid Fields in a "Seinfeld" episode titled "Old Man. " He also had roles in the TV series "Growing Pains," "Gunsmoke," "Highway to Heaven," "Perry Mason," "The Golden Girls," "Twilight Zone," " Zane Grey Theater," "Who's the Boss?"

A judge has ordered Trinidadian authorities to investigate allegations that the island's prime minister promised state resources to a radical Islamic group in exchange for supporting his 2002 campaign. The order came after Yasin Abu Bakr, the charismatic leader of the militant group Jamaat al Muslimeen, alleged in an affidavit that Prime Minister Patrick Manning offered him state lands, educational facilities and the promise to drop charges of damaging government property during a deadly coup attempt in 1990.

On a night when England, Spain and Paraguay were celebrating their qualification for soccer's 2010 World Cup in South Africa and a night when Argentina crashed to yet another defeat, the U.S. did just enough to stay in the hunt. A second-half goal by midfielder Ricardo Clark off an astute pass by Landon Donovan earned the American team a 1-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain and propelled it to the top of its qualifying group. The victory left the U.S. with 16 points, three more than second-place Honduras, which was playing Mexico in a later game Wednesday in rain-swept Mexico City.

So, is the U.S. in soccer's World Cup next year in South Africa? Is it all over but the shouting? "No, I don't think we're in yet," U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber said Saturday night, after playing a pivotal role in helping the U.S. defeat El Salvador, 2-1, in Sandy, Utah. "Obviously, it's a huge three points for us. I think we needed to get this win, and we did. Trinidad is the next game, and if we can get three points there we'll be a little bit closer." The U.S.-Trinidad and Tobago game is today (3:30 p.m., ESPN Classic)

Attack, attack and then attack some more. Those were Mexico Coach Javier Aguirre's exact and unequivocal instructions to his players ahead of Wednesday night's key World Cup qualifying match against Trinidad and Tobago at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The players listened, and the result was one of the liveliest and most entertaining games staged in that neck of the woods in quite some time. Mexico emerged victorious, 2-1, to put itself back on course for a trip to South Africa next year.

The strongest earthquake to hit the Caribbean in more than three-quarters of a century rattled buildings in Trinidad and Tobago early today, but little damage and no injuries were reported, authorities said. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale and said it struck at 2:17 a.m. There were no immediate reports of damage to Amoco oil-drilling platforms off Trinidad's southeast coast.

Police officers from Britain's Scotland Yard are being dispatched to the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago to help fight rising crime, the government said. The Ministry of National Security said 39 British officers would arrive next month for two-to-three-year stints working alongside local police. The energy-rich republic of 1.1 million people has seen high homicide rates and kidnappings in recent years. Officials blame drug traffickers and gangs.

Four police officers in Trinidad allegedly hijacked a smuggling boat at gunpoint and stole 1,000 endangered birds and monkeys, along with 400 pounds of wild animal meat, authorities said Tuesday. The boat had sailed from Venezuela carrying more than 500 bull finches, 300 picoplat songbirds and an assortment of monkeys -- all crammed into tiny cages piled up on the craft, officials said. The illicit load was estimated to be worth about $500,000.

On a night of soccer upsets, the U.S. on Wednesday suffered its first World Cup qualifying loss on the road to South Africa 2010 when it was beaten, 2-1, by Trinidad and Tobago at Port of Spain, Trinidad. Mexico came within inches of also being upset and of finding itself on the verge of World Cup elimination before securing a vital point in a 2-2 tie with Canada at Edmonton. Meanwhile, Cuba, which had been routed, 6-1, by the U.S.