Signs of recovery, growth in tourism, says Bahamas PM
Noting the growth in tourism towards the end of the last quarter in 2011, Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham projected that the industry would see even greater improvements this year in the region.
We begin 2012 with the hope that this year will mark a distinct point of recovery and return to sustained growth for tourism in our region,” he said during the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Caribbean Marketplace event on Sunday night at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in The Bahamas.
“We believe that early signs of improvement are evident. In The Bahamas, we saw a robust uptick in arrivals since November last. By a number of measures, this past December was particularly good for the fourteen major Nassau and Paradise Island hotels.
“For the second year in a row since the Great Recession, room occupancies, average daily rates and room rates were up last year. Perhaps most encouraging has been that visitors are spending longer periods with us and reporting improved levels of customer satisfaction.”
Ingraham said the successes in tourism are partly due to the steps that the government took to revamp the tourism product during the slowdown. He was referring to the redevelopment of the Lynden Pindling International Airport, which is a part of a $410 million three-phased upgrade and expansion project; the Airport Gateway Project; the Nassau harbour dredging project; the New Providence Road Improvement Project, among other infrastructural upgrades.
“Our infrastructural improvement campaign has had a double benefit. We are putting in place critical infrastructure that will have long term value. Secondly, we are creating employment and business opportunities during recessionary times. This has offset some of the fall-off in private sector activity,” Ingraham said.
The prime minster also noted that the $52 million harbour dredging project was repaid from incremental cruise passenger taxes in two years. He added that the incremental spending by new cruise passengers alone exceeds $40 million per year.
The harbour dredging project also produced the material needed to expand cargo port facilities at Arawak Cay. The port, which is still under construction, is expected to be operational by March.
Already cargo is being shipped to Arawak Cay instead. Ingraham noted that the removal of commercial cargo traffic from Bay Street will further enhance the ambiance of Nassau. Additionally, Ingraham said the completion of the historic straw market, which was destroyed by fire in 2001, has also added to the attractiveness of Bay Street.
“This essential work in the downtown area is being accomplished through strong a partnership between the public and private sectors. We have a renewed appreciation for this partnership, and the trend of rebranding hotel associations as hotel and tourism associations hints at a newfound appreciation for wider partnerships beyond hotels and throughout the region,” Ingraham continued.
In addition to the work in New Providence, Ingraham said necessary upgrades and infrastructural development is continuing in the Family Islands, to ensure that those islands are also well-positioned to benefit from the turnaround in the global economy.
By Krystel Rolle
Courtesy of Nassau Guardian
Eurozone Chief: Greek Economic Reform is ‘Off Track’
Eurozone finance ministers' chief Jean-Claude Juncker says the interest rate on new Greek government bonds has to be lower than the 4 percent bondholders are demanding.
Juncker said Tuesday it is clear that Greece's economic reform program is “off track.” He urged Greece to reach a deal with private investors within days.
Greece faces default when its bonds held by banks and other private investors come due in March. It has proposed swapping the old bonds for new ones at a 50 percent loss in value for the bondholders.
The investors are balking at EU finance ministers' insistence that the interest rate on the new bonds be no higher than 3.5%.
The debt swap and lower interest rate could save Greece more than $129 billion, but negotiations have so far failed.
Greece is seeking a $168 billion bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund — its second bailout in two years. But European leaders say they will not approve the rescue package without a Greek deal on the private debt relief and more spending cuts and tax hikes, which have caused outrage from Greek citizens.
EU Bans Iranian Oil, Freezes Central Bank Assets
The European Union has banned new purchases of Iranian oil and frozen the assets of Iran's central bank as part of a Western campaign to pressure Tehran to suspend controversial parts of its nuclear program.
EU foreign ministers agreed to the new sanctions Monday in Brussels. Their decision allows member nations with existing contracts for Iranian oil to honor those purchases until July 1. The grace period is meant to help major buyers such as Greece, Spain and Italy find alternative sources of supply before the full ban takes effect.
Western powers accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian energy program, a charge Tehran denies.
The leaders of France, Germany and Britain urged Iran's leaders “immediately to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities,” saying they will “not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.” In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama said the new sanctions demonstrate once more the international community's resolve to address “the serious threat presented by Iran's nuclear program.”
Tehran furiously denounced the decision. Senior lawmakers repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital pathway for global oil supplies. The deputy head of parliament's national security committee said any disruption to Iranian oil exports “definitely” will lead to the Strait's closure.
Last week, British Prime Minister David Cameron joined the U.S. in warning Iran against closing the waterway, situated at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with British and French warships, entered the Gulf without incident on Sunday.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the EU economic sanctions “illogical and unfair.” He said the world's long-term need for energy means it is “not possible to impose sanctions on Iran,” with its huge resources of oil and gas.
Another lawmaker predicted the embargo will have “no impact” on the Iranian economy because Iran will find other customers for its oil. Iran is heavily reliant on revenue from oil exports. The EU has been the second largest market for Iranian oil after China.
The 27-nation European bloc and the United States have been tightening unilateral measures on Iran in recent weeks in response to Iranian moves to accelerate uranium enrichment.
The U.S. imposed sanctions Monday on Iran's third largest bank, making it harder for Tehran to access the world's financial system. The U.S. Treasury Department said Iran's Bank Tejarat is accused of aiding the country's nuclear weapons program, including moving tens of millions of dollars to help a state-run agency acquire uranium.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the EU embargo Monday, saying unilateral sanctions will not help revive negotiations between Iran and six world powers on the Iranian nuclear program. Those talks have been on hold for a year, but Lavrov said he is hopeful they will resume soon.
Russia and China supported several rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran, but they oppose further measures, saying all parties should focus on negotiations. Moscow and Beijing both have close economic ties to Tehran.
US: Republican Candidates Debate Again in Florida
The race for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination is now focused on Florida and its January 31 primary election.
Polls say the top two candidates seeking to defeat President Barack Obama in November are former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives. Gingrich has the momentum after last week's upset victory over Romney and two others in another southern state, South Carolina.
Of the other two candidates, former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania calls Gingrich “erratic,” and Romney a “moderate,” not a conservative. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas says polls show he would do better against President Obama among young voters than any of his three opponents.
All four met in Tampa Monday for another debate.
Gingrich defended his four years as House speaker while Romney pointed out that Gingrich resigned for ethics violations when he lost the support of many of his fellow Republicans.
Santorum called himself the true conservative while Paul says he would not firmly rule out a run as a third party candidate if he loses the Republican nomination.
Syria Rejects Arab League Call for Power Transfer
Syria has rejected a new Arab League initiative for President Bashar al-Assad to step down and allow the formation of a national unity government.
The plan agreed to by Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo Sunday requires Mr. Assad to transfer power to a deputy and allow the formation of a unity government with the opposition within two months. The country's new leaders would be responsible for organizing parliamentary and presidential elections under Arab and international supervision.
Syrian state media denounced the plan Monday as a “flagrant” violation of Syrian sovereignty. Qatar said the Arab League will ask the United Nations Security Council to support the initiative.
European envoys at the United Nations swiftly hailed the plan. Germany's U.N. ambassador welcomed it as a potential “game changer.”
The Security Council has been blocked for months over Syria, with Russia and China maintaining that any moves in the U.N. body against Mr. Assad would be the first steps toward regime change by force, as happened in Libya last year.
Also Monday, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels approved additional sanctions on Syria, imposing travel bans and asset freezes on another 22 people and eight companies linked to the Assad government.
The Syrian uprising against Mr. Assad's 11-year autocratic rule has become increasingly militarized in recent weeks. In the latest unrest Monday, Syrian rights activists say army defectors killed five pro-Assad troops in a battle in the central province of Homs. They say government security forces also killed at least 10 civilians in operations against centers of protest around Syria.
Activists also say at least 60,000 people gathered in the protest hub of Douma, near Damascus, for the funerals of 11 people killed by pro-Assad forces in recent days. It was not possible to independently verify details of the funeral procession or the casualties because Syria severely restricts independent media coverage in the country.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the top US diplomat for the Middle East would press Moscow on a reported $550 million deal to sell Syria 36 advanced Yak-130 light attack fighter jets. She said Jeffrey Feltman was in the Russian capital Monday and that Syria was “issue number one on his agenda.”
The advanced training aircraft could be used for attacks on ground targets and to train pilots on Syria's more advanced fleet of Mig-29 fighters, which it ordered from Russia in 2007. Moscow is one of Mr. Assad's few remaining allies, and Syria is its top arms customer.
The respected Russian business daily Kommersant first reported the deal.
Meanwhile, the Arab League mission's Sudanese chief, General Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, said violence in Syria declined after league monitors began work on December 26. Speaking Monday to reporters in Cairo, al-Dabi said the observers' job is not to stop the unrest, but to monitor it.
The United Nations says violence linked to the uprising has killed more than 5,400 people. Syria says terrorists have killed about 2,000 security force members since the unrest began.
Ring The Alarm” Producer/Pioneering Reggae Artist Winston Riley Dies
A producer who created an often sampled reggae song died from gunshot wounds over the weekend, in the West Indies.
Producer Winston Riley had been hospitalized since November, after he was shot in the head in his upscale residence in St. Andrew, Jamaica.
Prior to being shot in the head in November, Riley was targeted in August of 2011 when he was shot by unknown assailants.
Before that incident, he was stabbed by and unknown arsonists also burned down his legendary record store, Techniques.
Winston Riley was born west Kingston and rose to prominence in the early to mid 1960′s, as a member of influential Ska/Rocksteady band, The Techniques.
He was also influential in the popularization of Reggae music throughout Europe with hits in the 1970′s.
By the 1970′s Winston Riley was producing early records for a genre of music that would later be identified as Dancehall music.
He produced several hits for the genre including Tenor Saw’s classic “Ring the Alarm,” while artists like Nas, OGC, Busta Rhymes, Biz Markie, Slick Rick and numerous others have sampled his work.
Winston Riley’s son told local media they he had no idea why his father had been targeted.
Jay and Bey to Film A Music Video in Space?
Ok, brace yourself. Hip Hop royalty has decided it’s time to take a leap for the music industry and film a video … in space.
Power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce have already made plans for the future just after they’ve brought Blue Ivy to the world and buying the most expensive toy the world has ever seen – an all gold rocking horse purchased at $614,000, reports MTV News.
They are going to take a suborbital space trip on the Virgin Galactic and film the most monumental videos the music industry has never thought of.
Besides, tickets are only $200,000 a person.
For what song or production this could be for? Your guess is as good as any.
But this is up in the air, no pun intended. If they do pull this off, a space music video in space might be the king of all music videos.
Box Office Report: ‘Red Tails’ Flies to #2 with $19.1 Million
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Red Tails” did far better than expected (by the Hollywood establishment that is.)
In its opening weekend “Red Tails” brought in $19.1 million for a solid number 2 placing at the box office behind “Underworld Awakening” with $25.4 million.
The back story behind “Red Tails” is that Producer George Lucas spent 20 years pursuing the project, and recently revealed he couldn’t get any studio to finance the film because of an all-black cast. He finally decided to put up the money himself, and spent $58 million on the production budget and another $35 in distribution costs.
Weekend/Domestic Box Office Jan. 20-Jan. 22
Title/Weeks in Release/Studio/Theater Count/Three Day Weekend Total/Cume
1. Underworld: Awakening (1), Sony/3,078, $25.4 million
2. Red Tails (1), Fox/2,512, $19.1 million
3. Contraband (2), Universal/2,870, $12.2 million, $46.1 million
4. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (5), Warner Bros./2,630, $10.5 million, $11.2 million
5. Haywire (1), Relativity Media/2,439, $9 million
6. Beauty and the Beast (3D) (2), Disney/2,625, $23.5 million, $33.4 million
7. Joyful Noise (2), Warner Bros./Alcon/2,735, $6.1 million, $21.9 million
8. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (6), Paramount/2,519, $5.5 million, $197.3 million
9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (6), Warner Bros./2,485, $4.8 million, $178.6 million
10. The Iron Lady (4), Weinstein Co./1,076, $3.7 million, $12.6 million.
Rikki Jai ready for Chutney Soca Monarch
Reigning Chutney Soca Monarch Rikki Jai (Samraj Jaimungal) paid tribute to the late Sundar Popo in word and song on Friday night and admitted to having started his career with a soca song "deliberately—in order to change society's perception of the Indian man".
Jaimungal was addressing a capacity crowd at Queen's Hall, St Ann's, during his performance at a fund-raising concert entitled, "Vintage Fuh So 7" staged by the Holy Name Convent Past Pupils' Association (HNCPPA).
He said:
"In those days, you couldn't hear an Indian man singing soca. Anytime you heard an Indian man is 'ahhhhhhhaaaaaahhhaaaaaahhhhh!' And that was nice...and people enjoyed all the movies on a Sunday with lovers hiding behind the trees and stuff, but I wanted to change the perception and someone told me: If you don't try to effect change, change will never come. So, I'm happy to have contributed to the change, so that now fellas like Ravi B and Raymond Ramnarine and others having a time in Trinidad with no problems. But before me, there was a little guy from Barrackpore named Sundar Popo and I was taught that we should always show respect and pay tribute to those who came before us..."
Performing Popo's "Scorpion" for the appreciative audience, Jaimungal later defended his decision to enter the Chutney Soca Monarch again this year, after winning a record sixth title in 2011.
He told the Sunday Express after his performance:
"Aside from the fact that it wouldn't augur well for the competition if the reigning champion did not return to defend his title, with the show moving to Port of Spain and all the hype that surrounds that, why would a gold medal sprinter choose not to compete in the biggest race? There are music professionals all around the world who have careers spanning more than half a century and I don't see anyone telling them they should pack it up and stop singing. If my music wasn't relevant, or God forbid my voice was gone, I could understand these detractors, but I am in prime condition right now – back to my winning ways, so they can't beat me no-how and ah going for the Calypso Monarch crown too!"
Jaimungal was the third of four "vintage" performers to grace the stage on the night, which saw encore performances from Timothy Watkins Jr aka "The Baron", Rapso Trio, 3Canal and veteran bard/bandleader, Ronnie McIntosh. Watkins opened the show after humorous introductions from MC Nikki Crosby in her role as "Granny" and delivered classics such as "River of Tears" and "Sweet Soca Man" before rushing off to the opening of the Kalypso Revue Tent in Arima.
3Canal made its appearance after the gold-wearing bard and in no time had the audience singing along to hits like "Sacrifice", "Ben Lion" and its debut smash "Blue". Jaimungal followed after a brief intermission and Mc Intosh closed the show with classics like "How It Go Look" and "Ent".
Jamaican Movie "Green Card" featuring Spragga Benz, Coming Soon!
Dancehall deejay Spragga Benz, will be heading to the big screen in a new movie "Green Card", which is directed by Jamaican-born Cleon James.
"Green Card", is based on Caribbean nationals trying to get to the United States to make a better life ,and living the American dream.
Spragga Benz, plays the lead role as Ricarlo a 'moorish' Rastaman who has a Caucasian girlfriend, but is not very keen about getting married for the papers to obtain his Green card for residency in the US.
No dates are set for the Premiere of the movies.