Stars light up Jazz & Blues in Jamaica
As 2013 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival moved towards its final crescendo at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium on Friday night, the likes of Michael Bolton, Mary J. Blige and Etana made sure that patrons received more than their money's worth at the music event.
The diverse presentations took the audience on an awe-inspiring journey that has become synonymous with the international show.
From reggae, soca to blues, soulful classics and R&B, time was not sufficient to explore the depths of the music catalogue that the main acts possess.
Matching the success of last year's staging that saw Celine Dion gracing the stage was a difficult task to accomplish, but the organiser's choice to host the legendary Bolton fared well with the audience, most of whom are loyal fans of his music.
Bolton made the presence of Celine Dion felt with a duet he did with singer and songwriter Kelly Levesque.
The two did a rendition of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli's The Prayerthat electrified the stadium and sent it into ear-piercing screams and shouts of approval.
If one had not seen Kelly onstage, the voice of the blonde, slim-built singer could be mistaken for that of Dion.
The two went on to do How Can I, among others, to the delight of Bolton's fans. Two outfits later and with a skilful saxophonist, Michael Lington, who kept the audience adequately entertained, Bolton unleashed his hit factory on patrons, who never grew weary of singing along with him.
sheer brilliance
Multiplatinum-selling artiste Mary J. Blige unmasked the challenge of performing after Bolton and closed the show with sheer brilliance and class.
Her interactive set with fans underscored why she continues to connect with an audience through her music.
She seduced fans with her powerful vocals as they willingly sang word for word on most of the tracks she performed.
She brilliantly transitioned into her hits from the '90s to present, and showed why she is the only artiste to register Grammy wins in R&B, rap, gospel and pop.
A liberated reggae princess, whose infectious vocals generate a mesmerising presence onstage, is embodied by Etana, who made a strong entry on to the Jazz and Blues stage with her song Free.
On the heels of launching her Betta Tomorrow album in February of this year, Etana wasted no time to introduce new material to fans that happily welcomed her songs and listened intently as they sought to catch the messages.
Of course, she could not deliver her set without Wrong Address, and the intent of her message was not lost as she preached a Betta Tomorrow and Jah Jah Blessing.
Barbadian-born saxophonist Arturo Tappin could not be contained throughout his 40-minute set that saw him jumping into the crowd to create a more personal interaction with music lovers.
He gave everything and showed he had more in the tank as he performed songs such as Everythingby Ne-Yo and Pitbull.
He had the crowd going while doing Vybz Kartel's Ramping Shopand Sizzla's Dry Cry before he covered Damian Marley's Affairs of the Heart and Popcaan's Only Manwith his saxophone.
--Jamaica Gleaner
Venezuela jail closed after more than 60 died in riot
Venezuelan prison minister Iris Varela has announced the closure of the jail where more than 60 people died in a riot on Friday.
Ms Varela said the female wing of the Uribana prison near the city of Barquisimeto had already been cleared.
She also called on male inmates to stop rioting.
Violence between rival gangs is common in Venezuela's overcrowded jails. More than 300 people were killed in 2012, according to a local rights group.
Gang warfare
Ms Varela did not say how many people had died in the riot, but a hospital director Ruy Medina said he had counted 61 bodies in the morgue.
Earlier, local media had reported that the security forces were still not in full control of the prison.
Mr Medina, the director of the Hospital Central Antonio Maria Pineda, said 120 people had been injured.
Ms Varela said officials had decided to clear the prison of all inmates to "close this chapter of violence".
She said soldiers had been sent to the prison to search prisoners for weapons after reports that rival gangs were preparing for a fight.
According to Ms Varela, the prisoners were alerted to the impending raid by news reports and lay in wait for the National Guard, attacking them as they entered the Uribana penitentiary.
She said most of the victims had been killed with home-made weapons and rudimentary knives.
However, Mr Medina had earlier said many of the bodies at his hospital's morgue had gunshot wounds.
Vice-President Nicolas Maduro said there would be a thorough investigation into the riot, led by Venezuela's Prosecutor General and the President of the National Assembly.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles blamed the violence on "incompetent and irresponsible government".
Venezuelan human rights activist Carlos Nieto Palma told BBC Mundo Uribana prison was among the most dangerous in the country and suffered from overcrowding.
There has been a series of deadly prison riots in Venezuela.
Last year, the security forces took almost three weeks to regain control of La Planta prison in the capital, Caracas, after inmates rioted in protest at a planned transfer to another jail.
The prisoners said they feared for their lives if they were moved to other already overcrowded jails.
According to the non-governmental Venezuelan Prisons Observatory (VPO), in 2012 more than 50,000 inmates were housed in prisons built to hold 14,000.
--BBC
Apple eclipsed by Exxon Mobil as most valuable company
Apple has lost its crown as the world's most valuable publicly traded company after its shares continued to fall.
Oil company Exxon Mobil has regained the top slot after Apple shares fell 2.4%, following a 12% drop on Thursday.
Apple, which posted disappointing iPhone sales figures on Wednesday, has seen its shares fall 37% since their record high last September.
Exxon became number one in 2005, traded places with Apple during 2011, and had been number two since early 2012.
At the close on Wall Street, Apple had a market value of $413bn (£261bn), against Exxon's of $418bn.
The tech giant has been hit by fears over its future growth, despite record profits.
Although the firm said on Wednesday that it had sold more iPhones (47.8 million) and iPads (22.9 million) in the final three months of last year than in any previous quarter, investors and analysts had expected yet more.
On Thursday, about $50bn was wiped off Apple's value after the biggest daily drop in the firm's stock in four years.
Apple is also facing fierce competition from rivals like Samsung, which accounted for one in four of all mobile phones shipped worldwide last year, according to Strategy Analytics.
Apple's share price rose sharply following a revival under Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, which came about first in computers and then the iPod music player, and was then followed by the iPhone and iPad.
Apple's shares were worth as little as $3.19 in 1997 when it faced the possibility of bankruptcy, and reached a record $702.1 on 19 September.
European banks to repay early ECB loans
Some of the banks in Europe that received billions in cheap loans to keep them afloat during the eurozone debt crisis are to repay them early.
The European Central Bank (ECB) said that 278 eurozone banks will repay 137.16bn euros ($185bn; £117bn) of three-year loans they borrowed.
The money, lent in December 2011 and February 2012, will be paid on 30 January, it added.
The loans were made when many feared that the eurozone would break apart.
It lent the money amidst fears that Greece, which needed two international bailouts, could default on its huge debts. At the same time, many investors thought the huge economies of Spain and Italy may be next to require international assistance.
On Friday, the head of the European Central Bank said that the 17-nation currency, which dates back to 1999, had effectively been relaunched during the past year.
"If one has to find a common denominator... for defining why 2012 is going to be remembered, I think one would say it's the year of the relaunching of the euro," Mario Draghi said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"All the indices point to a substantial improvement of financial conditions."
The ECB has forecast that eurozone economic growth in 2013 will be between minus 0.9% and plus 0.4%.
Mr Draghi said: "Are we satisfied? I think to say the least, the jury is still out. Because all in all, we haven't seen an equal momentum on the real side of the economy and that's where we will have to do much more."
St Lucia UK tourist visits up, US down
Tourism officials say there was significant improvement in some St Lucia key markets during 2012 including the United Kingdom, despite the recession and increase in the Air Passenger Duty (APD).
However they lament a decline in arrivals in the United States market primarily because of a 20 per cent loss in airlift from North America.
But they expect the matter to be addressed with the impending arrival of a new carrier by the md-year.
Director of Tourism Louis Lewis reported a six per cent increase in the flagship United Kingdom market, "in spite of the Summer Olympics, a recession in Europe and the UK’s Air Passenger Duty”.
He said the Canadian market described as a star performer, was up seven per cent for the sixth consecutive year and shows serious potential.
"The United States market declined by five per cent part of that attributable to a 20 per cent decrease in airlift, although demand for St. Lucia there remains strong. 2013 is starting off on a good note with major operators already seeing double digit growth in the first two weeks in January."
Lewis said he expects the situation to be further improved with “an announcement to be made shortly of the introduction of a new air carrier” even as he acknowledged that the cost of airlift remains a challenge with St. Lucia having little control over that situation.
However Lewis has expressed concern over an average two per cent decline in visitor expenditure.
The cruise sector was down eight per cent cruise lines re-programmed vessels in the summer months. Yachting on the other hand grew by the same percentage and appeared promising for 2013.
--CMC
Wall Street shares top recent records on investor confidence
Wall Street has continued to break recent records on the back of stronger economic data and better profits news from corporate America.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes of major US companies closed at their highest since late 2007.
US homes sales data and profits growth at household goods giant Procter & Gamble underpinned investor confidence.
"The bottom line is that corporate America is doing exceptionally well," said JP Morgan strategist Joe Tanious.
But analysts also pointed to recent data from China and Germany, and Japan's pledge to stimulate its economy, as helping to propel shares upwards.
European banks said they would repay the European Central Bank much more than expected of the loans the bank gave them during the financial crisis, another positive factor.
The S&P edged up 8.14 points, or 0.54%, to 1,502.96, the first time it has closed above 1,500 since 10 December, 2007.
The Dow Jones rose 70.65 points, or 0.51%, to 13,895.98. The was its highest since 31 October 2007.
News that sales of new homes in 2012 were the highest since 2009, sparked hopes that the US housing market turned a corner last year.
"Economic data in the US has been trending higher, albeit modestly. Things are incrementally better," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial.
Thomson Reuters data released on Friday showed that of the 147 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings, 68% exceeded analyst's expectations.
The S&P 500 has advanced 5.4% so far this month, and the Dow is up 6%, prompted many market experts to raised their end-of-year target for the two indexes.
Pentagon laying off 46,000 staff
The US defence department says it has begun laying off most of its 46,000 temporary employees, as automatic defence budget cuts loom in March.
Deputy Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said the Pentagon was acting "because we're running out of time" to absorb potential changes to their budget.
$50bn (£32bn) in cuts are due this year under the so-called fiscal cliff.
Lawmakers made a last-minute deal on 1 January to put them off for two months, but the ultimate outcome is undecided.
Mr Carter said he was directing each military service to produce detailed plans by 1 February on reducing short-term spending.
He also said the Pentagon could force its 800,000 civilian employees to lose one day of work per week without pay from April, in a move that would save $5bn.
The Pentagon and other parts of the US government face across-the-board cuts on 1 March, with an estimated $500bn decrease in the defence budget over 10 years.
The US defence department unveiled a strategy in early 2012 designed to accommodate at least $450bn in Pentagon cuts over the next decade, as the country winds down the Afghanistan war.
The automatic reductions due in March would be in addition to these savings.
North Korea warning follows nuclear threat
North Korea has warned of "substantial and high-profile important state measures", days after announcing plans for a third nuclear test.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made the statement during a meeting with top security officials, state media said.
The reports did not give details of what the measures might entail.
North Korea has issued a series of warnings since the UN tightened sanctions against the country this week over a recent rocket test.
On Thursday, the North said it would proceed with a "high-level" nuclear test in a move aimed at the US, its "arch-enemy".
A day later, it promised "physical counter-measures" against South Korea if it participated in the UN sanctions regime.
North Korean state media reported on Sunday that Mr Kim had "advanced specific tasks to the officials concerned".
The latest warning came after Rodong Sinmun, a state newspaper, carried an essay on Saturday saying that a nuclear test was "the demand of the people".
"It is the people's demand that we should do something, not just a nuclear test, but something even greater. The UN Security Council has left us no room for choice."
North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests in the past, in 2006 and 2009. It has given no time-frame for its third test.
The UN resolution, passed on Tuesday, was proposed by the US and backed by China, North Korea's closest ally and biggest trading partner.
It was a response to a rocket launch in December that the US, Japan and South Korea say was a test of banned long-range missile technology.
The three-stage rocket put a satellite into space in what was Pyongyang's first successful test of such technology.
The UN resolution pledged "significant action" if North Korea carried out a third nuclear test.
Australian state of Queensland braces for flooding
The Australian state of Queensland is on alert for flooding in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Oswald.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated as heavy rain continued to fall on Sunday, with the towns of Gladstone and Bundaberg preparing for the possibility of major floods.
The bad weather is forecast to move towards the state capital, Brisbane, and the state of New South Wales.
Two years ago, flooding in Queensland left 35 people dead.
On Sunday, Australian media reported that authorities had pulled the body of an elderly man from the water at Burnett Heads, north-east of Bundaberg.
Two other people were reported missing, including a man who disappeared after trying to cross a creek in Gympie, north of Brisbane.
Six tornadoes have already hit the Bundaberg region, tearing off roofs and injuring 17 people.
The BBC's Nick Bryant reports from Sydney that the river in Bundaberg is already above the flood levels witnessed in 2010, and meteorologists fear it could rise another metre, reaching levels not seen in 70 years.
The council is expecting some 300 homes and businesses to be inundated.
In Gladstone, to the north, 400 properties have already been evacuated.
Sandbags are also being handed out in the state capital Brisbane, where bay areas are especially vulnerable from tidal surges.
Severe weather warnings are in place from central Queensland to the New South Wales border.
--BBC
Aung San Suu Kyi tells of fondness for Burma army
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said she is still "fond" of her country's army, even though it kept her under house arrest for 15 years.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, she told presenter Kirsty Young her Buddhist faith had helped her defy Burma's dictatorship, and later face them when taking a seat in parliament.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner's father, Aung San, is considered the father of modern Burma, and founded its army.
The BBC interview took place in Burma.
During the programme, which was recorded at her home in December, Ms Suu Kyi admitted: "It's genuine, I'm fond of the army.
"People don't like me for saying that. There are many who have criticised me for being what they call a poster girl for the army - very flattering to be seen as a poster girl for anything at this time of life - but I think the truth is I am very fond of the army, because I always thought of it as my father's army."
She explained that while the army had done "terrible" things in Burma, she hoped it would redeem itself.
And in a first for the programme, Ms Suu Kyi picked a record - Green, Green Grass Of Home by Tom Jones - that she had never heard before, because her personal assistant had recommended it.
She said: "I asked her which piece of music she'd like to choose and she said the Green, Green Grass Of Home.
"And she explained to me when she was working as a doctor in England it used to remind her of Burma - and I hope I like it."
Political prisoner
Ms Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest before Burma's 1990 election.
She had returned to the country from the UK to nurse her mother, and was held after giving a speech to crowds of half a million during protests and political unrest.
Ms Suu Kyi had been living in the UK with her husband, the academic Michael Aris, and their two sons. Mr Aris was refused a visa to visit her before he died of terminal cancer in 1999.
The interview also includes her feelings about her relationship with him and how they dealt with the Burmese government's refusal to allow them to see each other.
Political prisoner Ms Suu Kyi was not released until shortly after the November 2010 polls that formally ended military rule.
Her party has now rejoined the political process and secured a small presence in parliament after winning by-elections in April 2012.
--BBC