Solemn goodbye for TNT 1st President
Many persons among them parents and guardians with their children filed pass the casket of Sir Ellis Clarke, TT’s first President, to pay their respects and be part of a historic occasion.
The mood at the rotunda of the Red House was solemn with only the strains of classical music punctuating the quiet atmosphere.
Karen Brooks brought her five-year-old son to the viewing. She told Newsday she had downloaded information on Sir Ellis to share with him. While her son had no memory of the man whose coffin he passed, Brooks was overcome with emotion and her eyes became glassy. She paused to compose herself and said, “I wanted him to be here to have the experience.” Brooks herself said she had fond memories of Sir Ellis.
Larry Joseph of Chaguanas brought his daughter Selisha, 11 years. “I wanted to see the first President. I wanted to offer my condolences,” she said. Joseph said he wanted his daughter to see what a state funeral was about. She also wanted to see the rotunda of the Red House. Joseph said he had never been in the rotunda and took the opportunity to visit for the first time. (The area is closed to the public and has been this way following the 1990 coup.) Sue Charles brought nine year-olds Stephanie Hernandez, Alisha Edinburgh and Tishana Jack.
Lawrence Samuel said he brought his son Adam, because Adam was a history student and wanted to be part of the experience.
“I find it is a good thing to remember in the future and for them to see it,” Samuel said.
Hart Edwards, chairman of the TT National Commission for UNESCO, and former permanent secretary, Ministry of National Security said he wanted to pay tribute to a great “son of the soil”.
He said Sir Ellis was a “tower of power and man of the people. He exemplified the best that we have and are.” Former government minister Lindsay Gillette said Sir Ellis was a great President and he saw him many times in the Catholic church. “He was a pillar of strength in the Catholic church.”
Consultant cardiologist Dr Rasheed Rahaman said his visit was in recognition of Sir Ellis’ role in the development of the country.
“He was a true patriot, a good role model. I came primarily to be part of it and recognise that.”
Gwenyth Brizan, of Maryland, said she felt blessed and privileged to be “part of a historic event” and had to sign the condolence book. She left TT in 1964 and recently returned for Christmas. Brizan extended condolences to the Clarke family. Ernie Downing also said he felt a “great part of history”. He said Sir Ellis did a lot for laws in TT and his death was a sad day. “I wish politicians would follow in his footsteps instead of talking and not working.” Students from schools around Port-of-Spain took time to view Sir Ellis’ casket. Among them was South East Port-of-Spain students Shenika McAlister and Symoi Mottley. they said, “we came to see the first local governor general, and president and pay our tribute.”
Sir Ellis, 93, died on December 30. He will be buried today.
Debit, credit card fraud racket busted in Jamaica
FOUR men are now in police custody following investigations by detectives from the Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID) into a major debit and credit card fraud racket.
A 24-year-old man, who police said worked for a major bank, was last week arrested by OCID detectives on suspicion of conspiring with a fraud gang to pin debit cards that were fraudulently produced. He is expected to be questioned today.
"The cards were then used at various merchants to make purchases. Cards belonging to one bank but fraudulently pinned with another bank’s details were allegedly found in the man’s possession," said the police in a statement late last night.
OCID detectives said that further investigations led them to the arrest of a 22-year-old man from Montego Bay, St James.
He was allegedly found with several debit cards belonging to bank customers who had already fallen victims to cloning and had lost several hundred thousand dollars. He is further alleged to have fraudulently pinned those cards.
The detectives said that increased card fraud in western Jamaica led them to arrest two men of Green Island, Hanover addresses. One of the men is said to be a student at the University of the West Indies.
These two men were allegedly found with credit and debit card manufacturing equipment, including:
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One credit/debit card reader which is used for fraudulently encoding numbers on the magnetic strip of cards;
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One Embossing machine, used for placing numbers on the plastic of fraudulently made credit cards;
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Lists of credit card numbers belonging to customers of various banks;
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One laptop computer used with the card reader to encode cards;
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Fraudulent Florida driver’s license;
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Fraudulent Visa card suspected to have been made by the two men.
The two are also accused of recently cloning the card of a foreign visitor to Jamaica. Charges totalling US$8,000 were then made to the card at various merchants in western Jamaica.
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com
Group buying: Fad or future Facebook?
Group buying websites enjoyed massive growth in 2010 grabbing new customers and the headlines as the sector's biggest player, Groupon turned down a reported $6 billion offer from Google in early December.
But how will Groupon and its rivals fare in 2011? Is this a recession-led fad, driven by cash-strapped consumers desperate for a bargain? Or will the sector spawn a Facebook of the future and revolutionize our buying habits the same way social media has transformed communications?
In their "Top 11 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2011," trendwatching.com says group buying sites are "springing up everywhere," and are "here to stay."
And Doug Aitken, managing director of Hong Kong-based ValuUp, thinks there's nothing remotely faddy about group buying websites.
"It brings offline and online together in a very unique way, which banner ads simply don't do. It's definitely opening people's eyes up to the way e-commerce can be transactive," Aitken said.
Group buying websites like ValuUp, and the more familiar bigger brands like Groupon and LivingSocial offer discounts of up to 90% to subscribers depending on how many sign-ups they attract for a given product or service.
Aitken founded ValuUp in June 2010 and has around 10,000 subscribers.
Being in one of the world's leading financial centers, getting good deals is "kind of in the nature of people here," Aitken says of Hong Kong.
The challenge for ValuUp in 2011 will be to make the site more "social" Aitken says.
"We're seeing a lot of consumer fatigue. People are used to seeing deals and they don't really share anymore."
Mobile applications could remedy the situation, he thinks, by integrating "local-based tools with real-time deals."
Aitken says the existing group buying model clearly works, but challenges remain.
Daniel Latev, manager of non-store retail research at Euromonitor International expects the sector to grow in 2011 saying that even the market leaders like Groupon and LivingSocial are "barely scratching the surface of e-commerce" in some markets.
"Currently these (businesses) have very little penetration. For example, after Groupon's international acquisitions, the site reported to have 13 million subscribers, which is well below the number of online consumers," Latev said.
He also expects the scope of offers available to consumers to expand in the year ahead.
"Currently the majority of the offers are for services such as restaurants, or entertainment and as the scope of products expands the business generated through these will grow," he said.
Another key to success in 2011 will be the "continuing convergence of retail and communication channels," Latev says.
"Consumers do not necessary want to purchase goods through Facebook, but many smaller stores have found their traffic and sales increasing after integrating some social tools such as the Facebook "Like" button," he said.
It's a tactic that a very big store, Walmart put to good use in October last year, when they launched their CrowdSaver app in Facebook which triggered a deal offering 18% off a plasma TV if 5,000 people clicked on the "Like" icon.
According to Walmart it took less than 24 hours for the deal to be activated.
Latev is also predicting increasingly tailored services to subscribers.
"We expect that sites will also evolve to offer more targeted offers through more sophisticated technology which allows recipients to indicate types of offers they like or don't like," Latev said.
Chicago-based Groupon ended 2010 announcing that it had raised $500 million in financing and will surely be looking to expand its reach abroad in 2011 -- 29 countries and counting.
For ValuUp, the ambitions are more modest for now, but no less challenging as they seek to build on their early success.
They're understandably tight-lipped on the details of their 2011 strategy -- given they already have around 20 competitors in the region -- but Aitken is looking to take the existing model forward while accommodating different demographics and different clients.
"At the end of the day we have to separate ourselves from the larger players -- we don't have the largest database in Hong Kong. But we've got a good niche of quality subscribers that resonate with the type of people that we are trying to offer deals," Aitken said.
Crops, coal and steel inundated by Australia's flooding
Major flooding across eastern Australia is putting a squeeze on the region's farmers, destroying crops and cutting off routes to market.
"Across the state ... agricultural and primary producers in particular are really feeling the impact of the flood waters," CNN's Phil Black reported Thursday. "A lot of agricultural producers have suffered major crop loses -- vegetable producers, fruit growers, as well as grain growers and sugar cane growers."
Those farmers who haven't lost their crops are having trouble getting them to market over washed-out roads, bridges and rail lines. The flooding also has affected the global transport of commodities such as coal and steel out of Queensland.
The Fitzroy River crested at 9.2 meters (about 30 feet), or more than 2 meters (7 feet) over flood stage, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. It's expected to remain above the "major flood" level for another week.
The forecast calls for isolated rain, which isn't expected to change the situation much.
"Here in Rockhampton, it is residential areas, some small businesses that have very much felt the impact of these rising flood waters," Black reported.
Some authorities have put damage estimates across Australia as high as AUS $2 billion, while Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Friday that the flooding in Queensland will cost "hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars."
The seasonal flooding in the state of Queensland intensified last month after monsoon rains caused rivers to spill over their banks and reach record levels. The floodwaters cover an area the size of France and Germany combined and now stretch into the state of New South Wales.
Images from CNN affiliate Seven Network Australia showed residents traveling down the streets in boats. From the sky, the tops of houses and trees poked out from seas of murky brown water. Snakes whipped about from under the water's surface.
Neil Roberts, Queensland minister for police, corrective services and emergency services, said Wednesday that 1,200 to 1,500 people had to be evacuated in parts of Queensland. Roberts said some residents probably can't return to their homes for at least another week.
He said the recovery could take "many months, and potentially over a year."
World Bank issues yuan-denominated bonds
The World Bank is issuing its first bonds denominated in China's yuan in Hong Kong, joining a growing number of borrowers tapping the new debt market as Beijing gradually promotes its tightly controlled currency abroad.
The World Bank said buyers of its 500-million yuan (US$76-million), two-year bond were mainly Hong Kong-based financial institutions, companies and wealthy individuals.
It said the money will go into its general fund, rather than being raised for a specific purpose.
The yuan is not traded on global currency markets but Beijing has loosened controls and allows Hong Kong banks to use it.
Hong Kong is Chinese territory but has its own currency and a Western-style legal system, and often is used as a site for mainland companies to interact with foreign investors.
Beijing began allowing foreign companies to issue yuan debt last year.
The Asian Development Bank, Caterpillar Inc and McDonald's Corp have sold yuan-denominated debt to finance activities in China.
Buyers of such bonds hope to gain from both interest payments and the growing strength of the yuan, which is rising against the US dollar.
China is set to gain a bigger say in the World Bank after a restructuring last year to boost the voting power of developing countries.
If approved, China will be the third-biggest voting power after the United States and Japan. The World Bank provides low-interest loans and technical assistance to developing countries.
Platform for international banking
Beijing is promoting Hong Kong as a platform for yuan-based international banking.
Hong Kong banks started handling yuan in 2004 and now offer services ranging from deposits to credit cards to trade financing that allows foreign companies to pay Chinese business partners in yuan.
Analysts say Beijing wants to see the yuan, also known as the renminbi, or people's money, become a global currency like the dollar or euro, though that could take years or decades.
Increased use of the yuan abroad could help China by reducing the exchange-rate risks faced by its exporters, who now are paid mostly in dollars.
"There are so many benefits that China can achieve from shifting trade to the local currency," said Credit Agricole economist Darius Kowalczyk.
Borrowing costs for China's government and companies also would decline if foreign investors were willing to buy more yuan-denominated bonds.
In August, McDonald's Corp sold nearly $30 million in yuan bonds to pay to build new restaurants in China.
Caterpillar sold US$150 million in yuan bonds to provide financing for buyers of its heavy equipment.
Also last year, the Asian Development Bank sold US$181 million in bonds to raise money to provide development projects in China.
Source- AP
Dominican Republic back to deporting Haitians
The Dominican Republic has launched its first major crackdown on illegal Haitian immigrants since last year's devastating earthquake, rounding up and deporting hundreds of people in recent days, officials said Thursday.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and have a long history of cross-border tension. Relations improved in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 quake, with the Dominican government providing assistance and serving as a staging ground for the international relief effort. Still, human rights groups complain that Haitians are subjected to bitter discrimination.
The Dominican government, which suspended deportations after the earthquake, resumed anti-illegal immigration efforts this week, stopping and detaining people at checkpoints around the country. In a rare move, checkpoints were also set up outside the capital.
More than 700 Haitians have been deported since Monday and more are expected in coming days, said Ambiorix Rosario, Department of Migration spokesman.
Dominican officials said the crackdown is necessary to stem growing illegal immigration since the earthquake and to prevent the spread of cholera, which has killed more than 3,000 people in Haiti since the outbreak began in October. About 150 have been sickened in the Dominican Republic.
"We are trying to strengthen our immigration controls to prevent Haitian citizens and people of other nationalities from illegally entering our territory," said Sigfrido Pared Perez, director of the Department of Migration. "In no case have we violated anyone's human rights."
Immigration agents and soldiers were stopping and questioning people as they reached the outskirts of the capital in buses and vans that each day carry people from Haiti to Santo Domingo. Those without the required papers were being loaded up on buses and taken back to the border.
"If I was alone, I'd be back in Haiti, that's my country, but I have three kids and need to work," an unidentified woman told local television station CDN before she was taken on a bus back to the border carrying a small suitcase.
The United Nations estimated before the earthquake that some 600,000 Haitians were living illegally in the Dominican Republic. Dominican authorities say that number has grown to 1 million over the past year, in a country with a population of nearly 10 million. Migrants tend to work harvesting sugar cane, as domestic servants or in other low wage jobs.
Human rights groups criticized the deportations, accusing authorities of stopping and questioning people based on their physical appearance.
"The acting authorities are clearly following a racial profile to decide who should be detained," said Francisco Leonardo with the Jesuit Refugee and Migration Service.
The crackdown also has increased the amount some Dominican border agents are asking for passage, from about $6 to nearly $14, said Davide Sala, an activist with the Jesuit organization.
Human traffickers also are charging more: $135 per person compared with $95, he said.
About a dozen suspected traffickers were arrested this week along with dozens of Haitian migrants, said Francisco Gil, army commander for the country's north region.
Bahamas casinos post revenue declines
Casinos in The Bahamas are reporting revenue declines in 2010 as steep as 18 percent in at least one case, Guardian Business has learned.
Of the three casinos in The Bahamas, Crystal Palace saw the highest revenue drop, down by 18.5 percent or $5 million from $27 million to $22 million, while Atlantis offered only that its “revenue was down a little under 2009” by 8 percent. Officials at Treasure Bay in Grand Bahama said it was still too early for them to give a year-on-year comparison, given it only gained control of the operations in late 2009.
However, like other casinos globally, revenue intake seems to have been affected by certain categories of visitors, with information pointing to the largest fall-off coming not from the high rollers at all -- but those visitors likely whiling away time in the casino.
“Spend for low-end players was down by 25 percent per trip [and] 10 percent for VIP segments, averaging to an 18.5 percent overall decline,” said a statement from Robert Sands, vice-president of governmental and external affairs for Baha Mar, which operates the Crystal Palace casino.
Those low-end players are often times lumped in the discretionary spend category that has been affected by the economic downturn. The falloff in that category has led to sluggish growth in visitor arrivals to tourism-dependent destinations like The Bahamas, and has seen casino chairs emptier than they would have been just three years earlier.
“Our casinos have faced the same world economies as any other,” senior deputy secretary of the Gaming Board Dennis Martin told Guardian Business on Wednesday. “We’ve all had some downturn and things are not as good as they would normally be.
“For instance, Crystal Palace has closed for a period of time [and] all that would have an effect on their gross takings and the rest of it.
“Indeed, they are all planning promotions for 2011 that would help lift sagging revenue. Atlantis locked itself in as the setting for international card tournaments like the annual PokerStars Caribbean Adventure last year and for the next two years to come.”
While it may not be able to attract the kind of high-level events like Atlantis, Treasure Bay is looking to roll out the red carpet to get more players at its tables during the first quarter of 2011.
“We have just dropped $28,000 in mail orders to customers inviting them to Grand Bahama,” said new general manager Craig S. Turner. “The incentives range from instant credit to two and three room nights to attract new and existing customers back. So we are waiting for that to take hold, based on the billing at the end of last year, we’re looking for a number of persons to be coming to the island between now and next month.”
Grand Bahama has been especially challenged with growing its air arrivals over the last two years, with most of its visitor arrival growth coming from cruise arrivals. While that segment is important, those visitors do not hold the key to boosting hotel occupancy and the associated spinoff business essential to the growth of that island’s economy.
Crystal Palace said it will maintain very aggressive incentives and rewards to attract profitable players, focusing primarily on free or discount airfare and free rooms as well.
“As a small casino, [Crystal Palace] is unable to provide the same level of complimentaries and cash back to the scale of the larger gaming companies,” Sands said. “Instead, we focus on soliciting trips from known profitable players who are looking for a smaller, more laid-back and intimate setting, where the service experience is more personalized.”
Republished with permission of the Nassau Guardian http://www.thenassauguardian.com/
Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton may face two more drug charges
Federal prosecutor James Preston is reportedly seeking to lay two more charges against Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton when he is retried next month in Florida.
However, his legal team led by David Oscar Markus is fighting the new indictment on the grounds that it is not permissible for new charges to be brought on old information and the weapons charge was a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
The Jamaica Observer reported that Markus said that the chief danger raised by a multiplicitous indictment is the possibility that the defendant will receive more than one sentence for a single offence.
Markus is contending that an indictment is multiplicitous if it charges a single offence in more than one count.
The artiste was tried last September on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offence. However, the 12-member panel of jurors was unable to reach a verdict following three days of deliberations. The trial lasted a week in Tampa, Florida.
But should the new indictment stand, Banton will be tried for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offence, and using the wires to facilitate a drug trafficking offence.
Both sides are now awaiting a ruling from the court on the matter.
If convicted, Banton faces up to 20 years' imprisonment. The United States government would also seek to seize the artiste's assets. A date for the retrial will be set soon.
Investors of the bankrupt Royal Reef Resort in North Caicos seek answers
Investors of the bankrupt Royal Reef Resort in North Caicos seek answers in how to recoup their millions of dollars pumped into the project
One of the Investors of the Royal Reef Resort in North Caicos, has spoken out on behalf of fellow investors, who continue to seek answers as to how they can recoup millions of dollars that they've pumped into the project, that has since folded.
Mr. Donald Clarke and his colleagues believe they have been defrauded by Canadian Fred Pratz, who allegedly built the resort.
Mr. Clarke said they have spent many years of trying to get answers to questions and the current status of their life's savings invested in the Royal Reef Resort questions that he says have all gone unanswered.
Mr. Clarke submitted supporting documents to RTC's Expressions in his bid to seek representation from the powers that be.
Clarke also said he has forwarded correspondences on to the government and after three years of frustration and anxiety, still have no co-operation.
Mr. Clarke submitted supporting documents to RTC's Expressions in his bid to seek representation from the powers that be and speaking with host Robert Hall yesterday, he gave his reasons why the Royal Reef Resort went bankrupt.
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Mr. Clarke said he invested $325,000 of his personal funds into the Royal Reef Resort and collectively, all the condo owners, approximately 40 of them, invested about $15-16 million dollars.
Host of Expressions Mr. Robert Hall gave Mr. Clarke the assurance that the supporting documents sent to Expressions, would be forwarded to the Attorney General and the Financial Crimes Unit.
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Mr. Clarke said he too has spoken to members of the Financial Crimes Unit, who he says have been an extremely dedicated and professional staff; however he noted that because Mr. Patz left the country and went back to Canada, it is now an international endeavor to try to bring him back to face justice, which is why he is soliciting the co-operation of the TCI government, the Financial Crimes Unit and anyone who might be able to right the wrong that has been done to him and the other investors in the Royal Reef Resort.
Clarke said the Royal Reef Resort was supposed to be a source of revenue in many respects.
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Mr. Mr. Donald Clarke, one of the Investors of the failed Royal Reef Resort project in North Caicos, speaking on RTC's Expressions yesterday.
Super movie stars vacation in the TCI
Super Stars continue to make the TCI their choice vacation spot.
Zac Efron whom avid movie watchers might recall as the singing teen basketball star who played Troy Bolton in the hit TV movie, High School Musical, doesn't appear to be moping around after his breakup with Vanessa Hudgens.
An article posted on Canadaeast.com, says the 17 Again star was spotted vacationing on Parrot Cay Island in Turks and Caicos, accompanied by none other than Rumer Willis, the daughter of Hollywood stars Bruce Willis and Demi Moore who will model Badgley Misch-kas brand in the spring 2011 campaign.
Sources told the Chicago Sun-Times that Efron, 23, and Willis, 22, were looking "extremely cozy" together - and considering the two were visiting Parrot Cay with the rest of the Bruce Willis family, it looks like Efron is more than just an acquaintance.
Rumer Willis was recently linked to new Glee cast member Chord Overstreet; they attended a party at Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane's house in October.
Efron recently ended his nearly four-year relationship to Hudgens, whom he met on the set of the first High School Musical movie.
Reps for both Efron and Willis insist the two are "just friends."
Well, whether friends or lovers, its always heartening to know that these movie stars see something in the Turks and Caicos that continues to lure them here something that perhaps we here in the TCI, may take for granted.