Roommate thriller tops US box office
Low-budget thriller The Roommate was the top film at the North American box office over the weekend, though takings were hit by the Super Bowl.
The film, starring Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester as a college student obsessed with her roommate, took $15.6m (£9.6m) between Friday and Sunday.
3D underwater adventure Sanctum opened at second place with $9.2m (£5.7m).
Box office takings were generally down as cinemagoers chose to stay in for the Super Bowl, America's biggest TV event.
Females under the age of 21 - the demographic least likely to watch the game in Texas - accounted for two-thirds of The Roommate's audience, according to its distributor.
Though panned by critics, the thriller nearly made back its $16m (£9.9m) production budget in its opening weekend.
No Strings Attached, a romantic comedy starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, fell to three, while Oscars front-runner The King's Speech climbed one place at four.
Seth Rogen action comedy The Green Hornet completed the top five, with last week's number one film - Anthony Hopkins thriller The Rite - dropping down to six.
This week's Top 12 films grossed $75m (£46.3m) in all - down 18% on last weekend, acording to box office analystrs Hollywood.com.
The figures are also down 24% on the same weekend last year, when romantic drama Dear John topped the chart ahead of James Cameron's Avatar.
1. The Roommate - $15.6m
2. Sanctum 3D - $9.2m
3. No Strings Attached - $8.4m
4. The King's Speech - $8.3m
5. The Green Hornet - $6.1m
Source: Hollywood.com
Garfield dethrones Firth at Evening Standard awards
Colin Firth's seemingly unstoppable run of success during awards season took a stumble on Monday when he was beaten to a best acting prize by Andrew Garfield.
Garfield was honoured at the Evening Standard film awards for his roles in The Social Network and Never Let Me Go.
Kristin Scott Thomas was named best actress for her role in French film Leaving, while Peter Mullan's Glasgow-set drama Neds won best film.
Actor Stephen Mangan hosted this year's awards, held at the London Film Museum.
Garfield beat both Firth's Oscar-tipped performance in The King's Speech and Riz Ahmed for his role in suicide bomber satire Four Lions.
In The Social Network the 27-year-old plays Facebook's co-creator Eduardo Saverin, while in Never Let Me Go he is the object of both Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley's affections.
Accepting his award in a filmed message, he said: "I really, really appreciate it and intend to let this spur me and provide more fuel for my fire."
The actor is playing Spider-Man in a new film that focuses on the formative years of the comic book superhero, set for release in 2012.
Accepting her award in a video message, Kristin Scott Thomas said: "I always felt a bit guilty about going off and making French films, and getting this tonight has made me feel you're not too cross with me."
In Leaving, she plays a married woman who embarks on an illicit affair with her builder.
Neds, a study of violent youth in 1970s Glasgow, beat Mike Leigh's Another Year and animated movie The Illusionist in the best film category.
Mullan, who both directs and stars in the film, said his nomination alongside Mike Leigh and Jacques Tati made his award "one of the great, great compliments".
Yet its lead actor Conor McCarron missed out on the most promising newcomer prize, which went to director Ben Wheatley for his comic drama Down Terrace.
The film, which stars real-life father and son Robert and Robin Hill as patriarchs of a criminal family, mixes brutal murders with gritty humour and is largely set inside a small house in Brighton.
Roger Allam won the Peter Sellers comedy award for his role as a smooth adulterer in Tamara Drewe.
Among others, Allam thanked his co-star Gemma Arterton for dealing with their bedroom scene "with enormous grace".
The Alexander Walker Special Award, named after the London Evening Standard's late film critic, went to Dark Knight and Inception director Christopher Nolan for his contribution to cinema.
The technical achievement award, meanwhile, went to Gareth Edwards for his low-budget movie Monsters.
The British film-maker, whose next project looks set to be a Hollywood remake of Godzilla, created its alien creatures on a computer in his bedroom.
The best screenplay award was presented to Clio Barnard for The Arbor, an original dramatisation of the late playwright Andrea Dunbar's short life on a housing estate in Bradford.
Barnard accepted the award from actress Lesley Sharp, who made her screen debut in the 1986 film Rita, Sue and Bob Too, written by Dunbar.
Elsewhere the best documentary prize went to director John Krish for A Day in the Life: Four Portraits of Post-War Britain.
The awards were judged by six film critics, including the Evening Standard's Derek Malcolm.
"Despite our admiration for The King's Speech... the jury felt that Peter Mullan's Neds deserved our prize this year," said Malcolm.
"An original drama of great skill, power and human sympathy, the film reflects directly on the present as well as the past in which it is set."
Bank in Antigua told to pay up
The High Court in Antigua has ordered that 400 former employees of the Stanford Financial Group (SFG) should be paid their retirement funds by the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Bank (ECAB), which was formerly owned by disgraced financier Allen Stanford under the name Bank of Antigua (BoA).
The law firm Richards and Company, which represents ECAB, has since advised the former employees and their beneficiaries that cheques would be ready for collection from Wednesday..
The former employees had been engaged in a two-year battle to receive their retirement benefits.
In June 2010, the claimants sued BoA and SFG Limited asking that the monies be made available to the beneficiaries or their representatives.
A High Court document dated February 3, 2011, shows that BoA, now ECAB, has been instructed, under a consent order, to pay the employees who contributed to the fund.
Following the SFG’s collapse in 2009, Stanford and four of his top executives, as well as former Antiguan bank regulator Leroy King, were indicted on nearly two dozen counts of fraud and money laundering in what prosecutors termed a US$7.2 billion Ponzi scheme on investors.
Stanford, 60, had been set to go on trial on January 24, but U.S. District Judge David Hittner agreed last month to delay its start until Stanford is treated for several medical problems that are affecting his mental competency.
Source:CMC
Egypt unrest: New call by protesters to oust Mubarak
Protesters on Cairo's central Tahrir Square have called for a new push to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, two weeks into their campaign.
Thousands of people still occupy the square but their lines have been gradually pushed back by the army, keen to get traffic moving again.
Talks have achieved little and there is no sign of Mr Mubarak resigning now.
As normal life resumes around them, the protesters risk sliding into irrelevance, a BBC correspondent says.
To try to escalate the situation on the ground, in order to exert more pressure, would almost certainly risk colliding with the army, the one national institution that is widely respected, Jim Muir reports from Cairo.
That is the dilemma now facing the protesters, made all the more acute by their fear that if they stand down now, they may face retribution from a vengeful establishment, our correspondent says.
On Monday, the government announced a pay rise of 15% for public sector workers - some six million employees. Economic losses caused by the protests are estimated at $310m a day.
Inspired by the success of a similar popular uprising in Tunisia, the protesters have sought to dislodge Mr Mubarak after 30 years in power, blaming him for the country's economic problems and accusing his government of corruption and repression.
Nearly 300 people have been killed across Egypt in the unrest which began on 25 January, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) researchers.
Philippines army head in corruption claim 'suicide'
A former Philippine military chief who had recently been accused of high-level corruption has died in an apparent suicide.
Retired General Angelo Reyes is thought to have killed himself with a single gunshot wound to the chest.
In recent weeks, a Congressional inquiry has been hearing allegations of how General Reyes embezzled more than $1m (£620,000) from state funds.
Allegations of corruption often blight the poorly-paid, badly-equipped army.
Early on Tuesday morning, witnesses saw General Reyes arrive in a cemetery in Manila.
They said he went to his mother's grave, then sent his children back to the car, before a single shot rang out.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.
General Reyes was an influential figure - as well as being head of the armed forces under President Estrada, he then went on to hold various government posts.
But recently he has been making headline news in a different way.
A former military budget officer told a Congressional hearing that several key army figures, including the general, had siphoned off enormous amounts of money for their own personal gain.
General Reyes is accused of getting more than $1m when he left his post - the amount allegedly had to be converted from Philippine pesos into dollars because it was too bulky to carry.
Corruption allegations against the uniformed forces are nothing new, although they rarely involve this amount of money.
Aung San Suu Kyi party seek Burma sanctions talks
The party of veteran Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said it wishes to discuss how international sanctions might be eased.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) said it was seeking meetings with Western nations on how to modify sanctions on the country.
Responsible investment guidelines could ease economic hardship, it argued.
Western states led by the US and EU have maintained sanctions in response to the Burmese junta's abuses.
Ms Suu Kyi's release from house arrest in November after Myanmar's first election in 20 years rekindled debate over the effectiveness of the measures.
She herself has called for greater foreign investment in her country, which she says has been "left behind".
"The NLD calls for discussions with the United States, the European Union, Canada and Australia with a view to reaching agreement on when, how and under what circumstances sanctions might be modified in the interests of democracy, human rights and a healthy economic environment," the NLD said in a statement.
After winning a resounding victory in Burma's 1990 election, the party was kept from power by the junta.
It was deemed an unlawful association last month because it had refused to register for the most recent election, which it rejected as undemocratic.
Opposition plans more protests in St Vincent
The main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in St Vincent and the Grenadines said on Monday that it will move its protest to outside the office of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on Tuesday, after the government postponed to March 3 a meeting of Parliament, during which legislators are expected to make controversial changes to the nation’s laws.
The Unity Labour Party (ULP) government has proposed changes to the criminal procedure code that will see citizens needing the permission of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before initiating private criminal complaints.
The government also wants to amend Section 51, 3 and 4 of the Representation of the Act, which hold politicians accountable for their utterances and actions during election campaigns.
The NDP says that the administration is changing the laws out of fear that pending court rulings could see the fall of the one-seat majority government, which was returned to office for a third term in December.
Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace said on radio on Monday that he was informed that a meeting of Parliament scheduled for Tuesday had been postponed until March.
The NDP had planned to picket Parliament on Tuesday.
Eustace said the protest action would still take place outside the Parliament building before moving to Heritage Square then culminating outside the Administrative Complex, which houses the Office of the Prime Minister.
“Gonsalves is backing down because of pressure,” Eustace said, referring to the protest actions, which saw some NDP supporters ramming the gates of the Parliament compound and Gonsalves leaving though a side exit last week.
“Since he (Gonsalves) is not having Parliament, we are carrying the protest to his office,” Eustace said.
He said the proposed changes to the law will infringe on citizens’ rights, adding, “We have been trying to sensitize the public as to the seriousness of these bills.”
He said that some citizens felt that the government will use its parliamentary majority to pass the bills notwithstanding the opposition protest.
“The point is if you allow your rights to be chipped away all the time, there will come a point when you will have none and you have complete dictatorship in this country. And we have to put a stop to that early,” Eustace said.
He said there was already “a lot of nonsense taking place with the DPP”, Colin Williams.
The NDP had opposed Williams’ appointment on the grounds that he was a ULP senator and was a partner in Gonsalves’ law firm.
Williams has discontinued several criminal complaints against Gonsalves, much to the criticism of the NDP and its lawyers, although higher courts have upheld his decisions.
Eustace further said that the time will come when the change in legislation will affect all citizens.
“And you end up with situations like in Egypt and all those places, where hundreds of people lose their lives because when they try to protest, there is so much that the regime has in its favour that people lose their lives,” Eustace said.
“We must bring to people’s understanding what is happening to their rights. The government is changing a bill to protect itself … We can’t continue like this and each time a government does this, you have to protest. You have to make people understand that their rights are being removed,” Eustace said.
“Rights are important. Rights go to peace; they go to our freedom. They go to so much about our lives. We take them for granted but if we live in society where they are removed … in the end that carries us to where Egypt is today. So, let’s stop it now,” Eustace said, referring to the recent political unrest in that country.
Reports say that Gonsalves postponed the meeting of Parliament because of the scheduled visit of a cruise ship to the country.
Former Jamaican police commissioner 'well aware' of Coke-JLP links
Former police commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin said that he was "well aware" of the political manoeuvres of former Tivoli Gardens strongman, Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who is aligned to the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
The Jamaica Observer reported that Lewin, who is being cross examined at the Commission of Enquiry currently underway in Kingston into the extradition of accused drug and gun runner Coke, said he knew that Coke was involved in political campaigns in Prime Minister Bruce Golding's West Kingston constituency.
He also testified that he was not surprised that the government hesitated to sign the authority to proceed, allowing the security forces to arrest Coke, after security minister Dwight Nelson had expressed fears that Coke's extradition could topple the government.
Grenada celebrates 37th independence anniversary
Grenada on Monday celebrated the 37th anniversary of independence from the United Kingdom.
It was under the Eric Gairy administration that the Union Jack was lowered on February 7, 1974, and replaced by the Grenadian flag.
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton joined several world leaders in sending congratulatory message to the government and people of Grenada.
Clinton’s message in part read: "The United States and Grenada are working together on issues of importance of both our nations, from the health of our citizens to the security and stability of our region.
“Our nations co-operate bilaterally as well as through the Caribbean Basin Securities Initiative, the Partnership Framework for HIV and AIDS, the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americans, the Caribbean Youth Empowerment Program and other multilateral institutions.
“The United States is committed to strengthening the ties of friendship between our countries as we face the challenges of our region together."
In a message relayed to the Grenadian Diaspora in New York and London, Prime Minister Tillman Thomas said that the strength of the country will be dependent on how strongly we exhibit a spirit of unity and sincerity.
“Every Grenadian, at home and in the Diaspora, must now find the motivation, the resolve and the courage to shoulder a personal responsibility to move Grenada forward,” Thomas said.
Opposition Leader Dr Keith Mitchell also called on nationals at home and abroad to take the opportunity to renew their commitment to nation building.
“We are confident that one day, we shall be able to stand as a proud people and say yes we have struggled and have travailed and persevered. But through it all and in spite of our differences we have stuck to the task of nation building and now we can be truly and justly proud,” he said.
Jamaica entered into secret agreement with UK and US
Jamaicans have been warned of the dangers of revealing the contents of the "secret” memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the United States and the United Kingdom to fight transnational crimes.
The Jamaica Observer reported that several attorneys, including outspoken commentator, Dr Paul Ashley, and constitutional lawyers, Dr Lloyd Barnett and Bert Samuels, urged caution, with Ashley saying disclosure could damage Jamaica's foreign relations with international partners.
"In the Constitution, if you examine it closely, there is a provision dealing with national security," said Ashley. "No right absolute. It is always subjected to national security, defence, and matters of good order and public health.”
"Therefore, the disclosure has and will have adverse repercussions for Jamaica's future relations in matters of national security with our international partners," Ashley told the Observer.
He said the confidentially of the agreement was fundamental to national security relations in light of the drastic security changes around the world after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.