Record number of visitors for Christmas and Carnival seasons in St.Kitts
Tourism Minister Marsha Henderson has welcomed the record number of people visiting St. Kitts-Nevis for the Christmas and Carnival seasons saying “this growth reflects the resilience and allure of St. Kitts and Nevis as a leading Caribbean destination.
“Visitors and returning nationals are drawn to our unique combination of cultural celebrations, natural beauty, and warm hospitality. We are excited to share this special time with so many travelers during the Christmas and Carnival season,” she added.
Official figures released here show that from December 14 to 25, the twin-island Federation welcomed 8,335 airline passengers aboard 265 flights, the highest number of passengers recorded for this period in recent years.
The 2024 figures show significant growth compared to the same period in previous years, highlighting a steady recovery and surge in interest in St. Kitts and Nevis as a top-tier holiday destination.
This year’s air arrivals surpassed the 7,492 recorded in 2023 and the 6,334 arrivals in 2022 and also reflect significant progress from the 2,937 passengers recorded in 2021.
Tourism officials say the 2024 total exceeds pre-pandemic numbers recorded in 2017, which saw 7,813 passengers, and 2018 and 2019, which recorded 7,773 and 8,069 passengers respectively.
“This growth signals a resurgence of interest and confidence in St. Kitts and Nevis as a premier travel destination during the holiday season,” they said, noting that the Christmas Season, coupled with the highly anticipated Sugar Mas Carnival, has been a major attraction for visitors, featuring vibrant street parades, calypso and pageant competitions, and traditional folklore performances.
Henderson said that the islands remain ready to welcome even more visitors and provide unforgettable experiences, noting that last Thursday, six cruise ships docked here, bringing a total of 11,334 passengers.
She said the “remarkable visitor numbers are a testament to the growing appeal of St. Kitts as a leading Caribbean destination. The combined excitement of the Christmas and Carnival celebrations provides a unique opportunity to showcase our culture, hospitality, and breathtaking landscapes.”
The Ministry of Tourism said the influx of visitors also presents significant economic opportunities for the island with vendors, taxi operators, and tour guides benefitting as a result.
The ministry added that in addition to the cruise ship passengers, St. Kitts is experiencing high hotel occupancy rates and a significant number of returning nationals, all contributing to the vibrant holiday and Carnival celebrations.
Source-CMC
3-DAY PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST
Forecaster: Dr. Holly Hamilton
Five Cays Wounding Report
Officers of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Serious Crime Unit were at the scene of a shooting incident at Five Cays, Providenciales.
Preliminary reports state at around 10:40 am today (26/12/2024), the Police Control Room received a report that gunshots were heard at a location in Five Cays, Providenciales.
On arrival at the location, Officers observed one male with what appeared to be gunshot wounds on his body lying on the roadway. Emergency Medical Technicians
responded to the scene and transported the male to a medical facility.
Information received that the suspect was clad in a black shirt and black pants. A further update will be provided as more information becomes available.
The RTCIPF asks the public to notify the closest police station, 911, the Serious Crime Unit at 231-1842, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 to provide any information on illegal activities anonymously.
Additionally, individuals are encouraged to download the Crime Stoppers P3 app to share information.
The Year in Entertainment 2024: Those we lost
Here's a look back at those in the entertainment community we lost in 2024:
January
January 4 — Glynis Johns, Mary Poppins actress, 100
January 13 — Joyce Randolph, The Honeymooners actress, 99
January 20 — Norman Jewison, director of Moonstruck, 97
January 29 — Sandra Milo, 8½ actress, 90
January 29 — Hinton Battle, Tony winner, 67
January 30 — Chita Rivera, Tony winner, 91
February
February 1 — Mark Gustafson, co-director of Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, 64
February 1 — Carl Weathers, Rocky actor, 76
February 5 — Toby Keith, country music singer, 62
February 27 — Richard Lewis, stand-up comedian, 76
March
March 15 — Joe Camp, Benji creator, 84
March 16 — David Seidler, Oscar-winning screenwriter, 86
March 21 — Ron Harper, Planet of the Apes actor, 91
March 30 — Chance Perdomo, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star, 27
April
April 5 — Cole Brings Plenty, Yellowstone actor, 27
April 10 — O.J. Simpson, football star and former murder suspect, 76
April 12 — Eleanor Coppola, wife of Francis Ford Coppola, 87
April 18 — Mandisa, American Idol contestant, 47
May
May 2 — Susan Buckner, Patty Simcox in Grease, 72
May 5 — Bernard Hill, played Captain Edward Smith in Titanic, 79
May 9 — Roger Corman, film director, 98
May 16 — Dabney Coleman, 9 to 5 actor, 92
May 23 — Morgan Spurlock, Super Size Me documentarian, 53
May 25 — Richard M. Sherman, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" writer, 95
June
June 11 — Tony Mordente, West Side Story actor, 88
June 20 — Donald Sutherland, actor, 88
July
July 1 — Robert Towne, screenwriter, 89
July 11 — Shelley Duvall, The Shining actress, 75
July 12 — Dr. Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist, 96
July 13 — Shannen Doherty, Charmed actress, 53
July 13 — Richard Simmons, fitness instructor and TV personality, 76
July 18 — Bob Newhart, stand-up comedian and actor, 94
August
August 14 — Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence actress, 94
August 15 — Peter Marshall, Hollywood Squares host, 98
August 18 — Phil Donahue, talk show host, 88
August 21 — John Amos, Good Times actor, 84
September
September 9 — James Earl Jones, actor and EGOT winner, 93
September 26 — John Ashton, Beverly Hills Cop actor, 76
September 27 — Dame Maggie Smith, actress, 89
September 28 — Kris Kristofferson, singer and actor, 88
September 30 — Gavin Creel, Tony winner, 48
September 30 — Ken Page, voice of Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 70
October
October 16 — Liam Payne, One Direction member, 31
October 25 — David Harris, Cochise in The Warriors, 75
October 29 — Teri Garr, Tootsie actress, 79
November
November 2 — Jonathan Haze, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, 95
November 3 — Quincy Jones, legendary record producer, 91
December
December 2 — Kyle Birch, rising West End actor, 26
TNT Prime Minister disappointed in murder toll for 2024
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has expressed disappointment that the murder toll for this year has crossed 600.
“I am very disappointed in the out turn where once again in this small nation, frequent killings see us, for the second year straight, recording over 600 deaths attributed to widespread violence,” Rowley said in a statement posted to social media on Thursday.
“The unacceptable high level of violent crime in the country has attracted the consistent attention and not inconsiderable resources of the state,” said the Prime Minister who added that more work needs to be done in several areas to curb the crime rate.
“It was my hope and genuine expectation that the ongoing national effort against violent crime, particularly murders and other violent assaults, would have seen a visible reduction in number as we go forward.”
He said despite significant efforts of the national security agencies, criminals continue to operate without fear of detection and certainty of timely, dissuading punishment.”
Rowley appealed to the police to make criminals uncomfortable with “penetrating detection methods.”
“The government will continue to provide full support to the police and other agencies and encourages all stakeholders from the home to the courthouse to provide no safe harbor and comfort to the criminal element which believes that it can plan, execute and terrorize the nation with impunity.”
To the population, Rowley said, “To those who know and are doing or saying nothing, stop normalizing criminal conduct in your social life, and to those who share the proceeds of violent criminal conduct, stop encouraging or shielding your family members and friends who are engaging in criminal conduct.”
Concerning the Judiciary, he said, “To those in authority who are responsible for dispensing justice, stop pretending that criminals are the victims who deserve only mercy when by their heartless, lawless behavior they are to receive firm punishment as prescribed by the law as enacted in anticipation to cover the various destabilizing practices.”
The Prime Minister also promised the government’s continued full support for the police and urged the police, the Judiciary, and the population to work together with the government to bring crime under control.
“We as a nation cannot get the upper hand of criminal conduct which has evolved to become a major public health issue at this time. We will all need to do more and even do differently if we are to keep violent criminal conduct where it belongs,” he noted.
Source-CMC
CARICOM to continue collaboration with stakeholders in 2025
Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in her message to mark the end of the year says that throughout 2024, the regional body remained focused on supporting efforts to deepen Regional Integration and improve the welfare of the Region’s citizens.
According to Barnett, under the decisive leadership of the Conference of Heads of Government, many of the Region’s key priorities were advanced.
“Food and Nutrition Security was boosted through the 25 by 2025 initiative; there were efforts to improve Air and Maritime Transportation in the Region and advance implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and initiatives to stem the worrying issue of Crime and Violence.”
“We continued to take advantage of opportunities in regional and international fora to advocate for decisive climate action by the international community to keep temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. We also called for urgent attention to honour commitments made to provide climate financing. The Bridgetown Initiative and implementation of the multilaterally agreed Multidimensional Vulnerability Index remain critical to ensuring that CARICOM Small Island and Low-lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS) receive the resources needed to increase and sustain resilience.”
The secretary-general said great effort was also expended throughout the year by CARICOM leaders and the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) towards the resumption of functional governance and security in Haiti, by ensuring Haitian-led and Haitian-owned solutions to the ongoing crises. Regrettably, the growing insecurity caused by gang violence remains a serious threat to the aspirations and hopes of the people of Haiti, as many thousands of persons continue to be displaced, and are victims of violence and food insecurity.
“In July, the record-breaking Hurricane Beryl severely impacted agriculture, fisheries, communications and transportation in several countries of the Region. However, in the true spirit of Community, our Member States and Regional Institutions rallied to support each other.”
The regional body also signed the CARICOM-African Union Memorandum of Understanding in the latter half of the year to promote the strengthening of economic, cultural, political and fraternal relationships between CARICOM and Africa.
This will also be bolstered by the increased opportunities for trade, investment and tourism between CARICOM and Africa.
“We acknowledge the strong participation of our Member States, International Development Partners, the Private Sector, Labour organisations, the Diaspora, and Civil Society in initiatives to strengthen the pillars of our integration movement. In this regard, for their sterling contribution to the Region, two Community stalwarts, Sir Clive Lloyd and the Honourable Roderick Rainford, were awarded the Order of the Caribbean Community, the Region’s highest honour, at the 47th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.”
Barnett said as the Region seeks to consolidate integration in the year ahead, CARICOM looks forward to continued collaboration with stakeholders and partners, including the CARICOM Committee of Ambassadors and CARICOM Youth Ambassadors, as well as the guidance of the Bureau of the Conference, which will comprise Barbados, Grenada and Jamaica effective 1 January 2025.
“My sincere thanks to all the staff of the Secretariat at our Georgetown Headquarters and our offices in Barbados and Jamaica, for their unswerving dedication to the work of the Community. I wish for all peace, success and prosperity in 2025, and safety during the Season’s festivities.”
Seattle win keeps slim playoff hopes alive
Jason Myers kicked two field goals as the Seattle Seahawks kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 6-3 victory against the Chicago Bears on a rainy Thursday night at Soldier Field.
The win means that the Seahawks now need the LA Rams to lose to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night. That would set up a winner-take-all finale between the Seahawks and Rams next weekend at SoFi Stadium.
Seattle sacked Bears quarterback Caleb Williams seven times, allowed just 179 total yards and grabbed a game-clinching interception in the final seconds.
Myers kicked a 27-yard field goal on the game's opening drive and added a 50-yarder with 21 seconds left in the first half.
Defeat was a 10th consecutive loss for the Bears, with supporters booing the team off and calling for the team to be sold.
Quarterback Williams said: "This is my first year - their frustrations go way longer back than I've been here. My job is to go out there and win games.
"We don't focus on the outside noise. The fans are going to cheer and, maybe, boo sometimes, and you can't react to that. We have a job to do; some days you don't do so well at the job, some days you play a great game."
Source-BBC
S Korean crypto-boss Do Kwon to be extradited to US
South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon will be extradited to the United States from Montenegro over the collapse of two digital tokens - TerraUSD and Luna tokens.
For months, the US and South Korea have been seeking Kwon's extradition, alleging that fraud led to the failure of the company behind the tokens, which sunk some $40bn (£31.7bn) from investors and rocked global crypto markets.
Montenegro does not have extradition treaties with the US or South Korea, so the matter had to be fought in the courts.
The decision marks an end to more than 18 months of rulings and reversals.
"The Minister of Justice, Bojan Bozovic, issued a decision approving the extradition of the accused, Kwon Do Hyung, to the United States of America," the Ministry of Justice announced in a statement,"It was concluded that the majority of the criteria prescribed by law favour the extradition request from the competent authorities of the United States of America," the statement said.
It added that Kwon had consented to be extradited to both South Korea and the United States.
In February, US regulators charged Kwon and his company Terraform Labs with "orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud".
"We allege that Terraform and Do Kwon failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities, most notably for Luna and TerraUSD," US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement at the time.
The US alleged that Kwon repeatedly claimed that the tokens would increase in value, and misled investors about the stability of TerraUSD.
Despite billions in investments, TerraUSD and Luna went into a death spiral in May 2022.
It triggered a sell-off in other major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin.
In September 2022, Interpol issued a "red notice" warrant for Kwon's arrest. He was in Singapore before his business crashed and fled to Serbia before being picked up in Montenegro.
Kwon was arrested in March 2023 as he tried to board a flight to Dubai at Podgorica Airport, in Montenegro's capital.
In June 2023, he was sentenced to four months of jail in Montenegro having been found guilty of forging official documents.
The former finance officer of Terraform Labs, Hon Chang-joon, was extradited to South Korea in February, after serving four months in prison in Montenegro over fraud charges.
Source-BBC
Azerbaijan says plane hit by 'external interference' over Russia before crash
Azerbaijan's transport minister has said the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on 25 December was subjected to "external interference" and damaged inside and out, as it tried to land in Russia's southern republic of Chechnya.
"All [the survivors] without exception stated they heard three blast sounds when the aircraft was above Grozny," said Rashad Nabiyev.
The plane is thought to have come under fire from Russian air defense systems before being diverted across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan, where it crashed with the loss of 38 lives.
The Kremlin has refused to comment, but the head of Russia's civil aviation agency said the situation in Grozny was "very complicated" at the time and a closed-skies protocol had been put in place.
"Ukrainian combat drones were launching terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz," said Dmitry Yadrov, head of Rosaviatsia, in a video statement posted on Russia's Tass news agency.
"Because of this a 'Carpet plan' was introduced in the area of Grozny airport, providing for the immediate departure of all aircraft from the specified area," he said. "In addition, there was dense fog in the area of Grozny airport."
Later on Friday White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the US had seen "early indications" that the plane may have been downed by Russian air defense, but declined to comment further.
The Washington Post reported that Kirby had said the indications the US had seen went beyond the widely circulated photos of the damaged plane.
Ukrainian presidential spokesman Andriy Yermak has said Russia must be held responsible.
Azerbaijan Airlines said on Friday that a preliminary inquiry had blamed both "physical and technical external interference", without going into details.
However, aviation experts and others in Azerbaijan believe the plane's GPS systems were affected by electronic jamming and it was then damaged by shrapnel from Russian air-defense missile blasts.
The transport minister said investigators would now examine "what kind of weapon, or rather what kind of rocket was used."
The government in Baku has so far avoided directly accusing Russia, possibly to avoid antagonizing President Vladimir Putin.
However, pro-government MP Rasim Musabekov was clear: "The plane was shot down over Russian territory, in the skies above Grozny. Denying this is impossible."
He told the AFP news agency that the plane had been damaged and the pilot had asked to make an emergency landing in Grozny. Instead of being directed to nearby airports, he said it was "sent far away" across the Caspian Sea without GPS.
Flight attendant Zulfuqar Asadov described the moments when the plane was hit by "some kind of external strike" over Chechnya.
"The impact of it caused panic inside. We tried to calm them down, to get them seated. At that moment, there was another strike, and my arm was injured."
Veteran Azerbaijani pilot Tahir Agaguliev told Azerbaijani media that shrapnel had damaged the hydraulics that controlled the plane: "The missile itself did not hit the plane; it was shrapnel from the missile that struck. The missile exploded about 10m (30ft) away, before reaching the plane."
The pilots of the Embraer 190 plane are credited with saving 29 of those on board by managing to land part of the plane, despite themselves being killed in the crash.
Source-BBC
The Year in Entertainment 2024: Top movies at the domestic box office
Animated movies and summer blockbusters dominated the film landscape of 2024. This year, the silver screen took us everywhere from the island of Motunui to the Emerald City of Oz. Here's a look at the top five movies at the 2024 domestic box office:
-The #1 movie at the domestic box office for 2024 was Inside Out 2. The Pixar sequel follows a teenage Riley, who learns how to cope when she gains brand-new emotions, including Anxiety and Embarrassment. The film is also the #1 animated movie of all time at the box office, both domestic and worldwide.
-Deadpool & Wolverine came in second place. The film brought Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine and had him sporting his yellow costume for the first time in film. The superhero flick also holds the record for #1 R-rated movie of all time at the domestic box office.
-It can't help that it's so populer ... lar! Wicked is holding space at third position on the domestic box office chart. The Cynthia Erivo- and Ariana Grande-starring film also earned the record for the biggest weekend at the domestic box office for a movie based on a musical.
-Fourth place went to Despicable Me 4. Those little yellow minions returned with former supervillain Gru to defeat an escaped criminal and his femme fatale girlfriend in the animated sequel.
-Finally, Moana 2 sails into fifth place on the list. The Walt Disney Animation picture reunites Moana with the demigod Maui as they embark on a new journey after Moana is called upon by her ancestors.
Source-ABC