Beyonce’s Super Bowl Performance Lambasted by Rudy Guiliani
It looks like a new Beyontroversy is brewing.
Beyonce's Super Bowl 50 performance Sunday night has been the talk of the town and former Rudy Guiliani is weighing in on it – going as far as to calling it to an “attack” on police officers.
On Monday morning's episode of Fox & Friends, the former New York City criticized the appearance, which featured references to the Black Panther Party and late civil rights activist Malcolm X.
“This is football, not Hollywood, and I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive," he said.
During her performance of her new song “Formation,” Beyonce's backup dancers wore black berets over afros reminiscent of those worn by the Black Panthers, and formed an X, which some viewers interpreted as a callout to Malcolm X.
"What we should be doing in the African-American community, and all communities, is build up respect for police officers, and focus on the fact that when something does go wrong, okay, we’ll work on that," Guiliani continued. "But the vast majority of police officers risk their lives to keep us safe.”
Giuliani went a step further by asking for "decent, wholesome entertainment" for future halftime shows, criticizing the former Destiny’s Child frontwoman for using the Super Bowl stage "as a platform to attack the people who put their lives at risk to save us."
Beyonce's halftime performance followed the Saturday release of her thought-provoking music video for "Formation," which contained imagery of the ills plaguing inner-city communities.
Rihanna Shares Behind-the-Scenes Video About the Making of "Work"
Rihanna is offering fans a behind-the-scenes look into her latest single, "Work" featuring Drake.
In the 90-second clip, Rihanna hangs in the studio while unveiling her creative process for the tune. The singer dons her Puma sneakers and a cozy grey sweatsuit while her assistant Jenn Rosales attempts to sing along to the track. At one point, Rih goes inside the recording booth and gives the middle finger to the cameraman.
"Work" currently sits at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs while her latest album, ANTI, occupies the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
Zika concerns could see Kenya withdraw from Rio 2016 Olympics
Kenya could pull out of this summer's Rio Olympics if the Zika virus in Brazil reaches "epidemic levels", says the head of Kenya's Olympic committee.
The outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in South America is being linked to severe birth defects.
Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a global public health emergency.
Kipchoge Keino said: "We are not going to risk taking Kenyans there if this Zika virus reaches epidemic levels."
Brazilian authorities insist there will be no risk to athletes and spectators, except pregnant women, when the Rio Games take place in August.
The International Olympic Committee says it is in "close contact" with organizers, while Olympic venues will be inspected daily in the lead-up to and during the Games.
Source-BBC
Andy Murray's wife gives birth to a girl
Tennis star Andy Murray's wife Kim Sears has given birth to a girl, who is thought to have arrived on Sunday night.
The couple were married in Murray's home town of Dunblane last April and announced the pregnancy in the summer.
Shirley Erskine, Andy Murray's grandmother said she was delighted at her great granddaughter's arrival.
In the run-up to last month's Australian Open, Murray, said his family would be a "priority".
The world number two made it clear that he would have cut short his first grand slam of the year and flown home if the baby had arrived earlier than expected.
He said: "My child is more important to me, and my wife is more important to me, than a tennis match.
"It's a big change for me and my wife, but that's the current priority and I'll see after that.
"I have no idea how that will change things. I still love tennis."
Source-BBC
Rocky Year Ahead for Nigeria Amid Oil Price Crash
The global fall in the price of oil has rattled the economies of many petroleum producers, and Africa’s oil king Nigeria is no exception, with analysts predicting a rough year ahead.
The fortunes of Africa’s largest economy have long been intertwined with the price of oil. But analysts are worried as crude prices have fallen to $35 per barrel from their peak of over $100 a barrel in 2014.
Bismarck Rewane, chief executive of Lagos-based advisory firm Financial Derivatives Co., said, “Impact of fall in oil price is, to put it mildly, catastrophic, in the sense that, in terms of magnitude, huge, in terms of preparedness to deal with the magnitude, totally ill-prepared.”
Nigeria produces over 2 million barrels per day, making it Africa’s largest producer of crude.
About 70 percent of government revenue comes from crude sales, while the National Bureau of Statistics says petroleum makes up 69 percent of exports. That reliance on petrodollars puts Nigeria in a vulnerable position when the price plunges, said Dolapo Oni, Ecobank’s head of energy research.
“Oil is basically government’s main source of revenue of running the economy, or running its budget, and that really drives investment into the economy," Oni said.
President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on promises to provide jobs and cut down on corruption. He recently proposed a budget that’s about 25 percent larger than last year and includes numerous investments in infrastructure.
Source-VOA
UN Warns of Crisis as Syrian Forces Squeeze Aleppo
The United Nations warned Tuesday that if pro-government forces in Syria succeed in encircling the strategic city of Aleppo then up to 300,000 people could be cut off from humanitarian aid.
In an assessment of the situation in Aleppo, the U.N. said the Aleppo offensive has already cut rebel supply lines between the eastern part of the city and the Bab al-Salam crossing on the Turkish border.
Further advances into the city could send another 100,000 to 150,000 civilians fleeing Aleppo.
The World Food Program said Tuesday it is distributing urgently needed meals to 21,000 people who fled Aleppo to A'zaz, just south of the Turkish border.
Pro-government forces have pounded their way toward Aleppo during the past week in their effort to crush rebels who have been fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime for more than five years.
“If that happens, the rebel momentum will be gone,” said Omar Lamrani, a military analyst for Stratfor, geopolitical intelligence firm based out of Texas. “If Aleppo were to fall, it would highlight how dire the situation is for the rebels throughout the country.”
Russian warplanes have been relentlessly bombing northern Syria for days, forcing U.S.-backed and other rebel forces to take shelter in tunnels and blast craters.
Source-VOA
Digicel Play subscribers top 10,000 mark
Telecommunications company Digicel says subscribers to its home entertainment service, Digicel Play, has surpassed the 10,000 mark mere months into its launch.
In a press release on Sunday, the company said that the milestone was “a testament to the quality and strength of the service”.
“We are very excited and encouraged by the feedback we are getting from customers who have been enjoying superfast streaming and the best picture quality in cable TV in Jamaica, as well as cool features like pause, forward and rewind of live TV, multi-screen and picture in picture. We would like to thank them for being a part of the Digicel Play family and encourage them to keep the feedback coming,” said John Suranyi, CEO for Digicel Play for the Caribbean and Central America.
“The overwhelming number of requests we continue to get from customers who want to sign up for our service shows that Jamaicans are eager and ready for better quality home entertainment — which is exactly what Digicel Play is delivering with our state-of-the-art all-fibre network,” he added.
Bahamas police seize millions in drug bust
Bahamas police say they have seized more than four million US dollars in cocaine after searching a container at the Freeport Container Port on Sunday.
They said the 161 packages of the drugs were found after a team of law enforcement officers including the police, Bahamas Customs and their US counterparts, acting on a tip-off, searched the container and discovered five black duffle bags.
A police statement said that the drugs had a street value of US$4.5 million and that “no arrest was made in this matter”. It said “active police investigation is ongoing”.
Meanwhile, police said that they have seized a quantity of guns and ammunition in separate operations over the weekend.
They said in one instance, four people, including a woman ”believed to be part of a major firearm trafficking ring” ,were arrested and that nine illegal handguns along with a large amount of ammunition and several bulletproof vest is were seized.
“The Royal Bahamas Police Force has renewed their appeal to citizens to collaborate with the police in removing illegal weapons from the hands of criminals in The Bahamas. The public is also being asked to contact the police with information regarding the whereabouts of any illegal firearm,” the police statement added.
Source-CMC
Miss Alexandria Missick appointed to Director of Legal Services at Fortis
FortisTCI is pleased to announce the appointment of Miss Alexandria Missick to Director of Legal Services within the Executive Services Division. The appointment was effective on Monday, January 11, 2016.
Miss Missick obtained her Bachelors of Law with Honors from the Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, United Kingdom. She obtained her Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from The College of Law, London. Miss Missick’s previous professional experience includes serving with Scotiabank (Turks & Caicos) Ltd. as Manager of Compliance & Legal Services and Manager of Human Resources. In her new role as Director of Legal Services at FortisTCI, Miss Missick will be responsible for the effective and efficient management of the legal function, provision of legal advisory services, providing support to the Board of Directors, ensuring effective management of all legal and contractual risks and overseeing the work of outside legal counsels.
FortisTCI President and CEO, Eddinton Powell said, “This appointment is consistent with the maturity of the organization and with our policy of identifying and recruiting high quality local talent at every level within the Company. We have complex local and international stakeholders and reporting obligations, including capital markets. This is a key position, and with Alexandria’s educational background and professional experience, we are confident that she will serve the Company well. We are pleased to welcome her to the FortisTCI team.”
Miss Missick is the current President of the Compliance Association of the Turks & Caicos Islands and is the former Secretary of the Banker’s Association of the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Soroptimist International Evening a great success
This past Friday February 5, 2016 the members of Soroptimist Club of Grand Turk hosted its main fundraising event under the theme” A night of Culture: Food, Dress and Entertainment”.
The event was well supported by members of the community of Grand Turk, in attendance were many senior officials of government and the community. The moderator for the evening was Ms. Angela Freites.
There were a number of dishes representing a majority of the nationalities residing in Grand Turk, such as Jamaica, Guyana, Nigeria, Barbados, Haiti, Dominican Republic, USA, Philippines, Cayman, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands, and the evening’s musical entertainment was provided by Mr. Dudley Been.
Following the opening prayer by Sister Agnes Kendal, President, Alexa Cooper-Grant in her welcoming remarks enlightened the audience on the history of SI Grand Turk, noting that Soroptimism (the longest serving women’s organization in the TCI), was introduced to these islands in 1978 by Mrs. Ena Collymore-Woodstock, who was at the time President of the Caribbean Area Network (known today as SICN) and Magistrate of the TCI. In 1979 the first Soroptimist club was chartered on the Island of Grand Turk under the leadership of Mrs. Cynthia Astwood the first President and the Patron of the Soroptimist Daycare center, and is still today a very active member of SI Grand Turk.
President Alexa spoke on the importance of this fundraising initiative, noting that all proceeds raised will be used for the much needed repairs to the Day Care center building which has sustained roof damages during the passage of Hurricane Ike in 2008. She mentioned that the pre-school (Ena Woodstock Preschool), named in honor of founding member Mrs. Woodstock, operated well over 30 years, catering to the underprivileged children in the community of Grand Turk. Despite the closure of the preschool, much strides are being made to repair the building.
The Entertainment for the evening was centered around culture. There was a demonstration by the moderator who is also a Culture Officer at the TCI Tourist Board, on the significance of the ‘Duster and Florida Water’ in the TCI, and also a display of the National Dress. She highlighted the colors in the national dress and explained the colors each island represents. Mention was also made of the brainchild of the national dress, Mr. David Bowen and Ms. Valarie Jennings-Forbin. There was also a Nigerian fashion and dance performance depicting the dress of our African sisters. The performances from other nationalities such as Jamaica, Haiti and the TCI were thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd. We were honored with the presence of Little Ms. Summa Jam 2015- Renee Myers, who also performed a skit entitled ‘The Salt Raker Man’.
The evening was one spent embracing culture through the three pillars; Food, Dress and Entertainment. There were giveaways complimentary of Lime TCI and Sister Michelle Fulford-Gardiner.
In moving the vote of thanks, President Alexa expressed thanks to the many persons for donating the various dishes and special thanks to Mrs. Jenny Canahan of Osprey Beach Hotel for her generous donation of various dishes for which we were grateful. Thanks were also expressed to our fellow sister Soroptimist for their participation in helping to make the evening a very successful one. Lastly, special thanks was given to the audience for being participative and supportive of the International Evening, and she encouraged them to continue to support our future fundraising initiatives of the club and assured them that their contributions are very much appreciated and vital to the sustainability of our continuing community based projects.