'Twilight' leads at holiday box office
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" was No. 1 again with $64 million during the five-day holiday stretch that began Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Daniel Craig's adventure "Skyfall" came in at No. 2 with $51 million.
Steven Spielberg's Civil War saga "Lincoln," starring Daniel day-Lewis, finished third with $34.1 million.
"Rise of the Guardians" was No. 4 with $24 million for the weekend and $32.6 million since opening Wednesday. "Life of Pi" was No. 5 with $22 million.
Source-Associated Press
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Twilight-leads-at-holiday-box-office-4065564.php#ixzz2DIPcvToB
Larry Hagman: Dallas to go on without JR
The new series of TV drama Dallas is to be rewritten to reflect the death of actor Larry Hagman, who played scheming oil tycoon JR Ewing.
Hagman, whose role as the stetson-wearing villain made him a global star in the 1980s, died on Friday aged 81.
He was on board when a new version of the show appeared earlier this year.
A statement from UK broadcaster Channel 5 said: "Dallas is midway in production on season two and this sad news will be incorporated into the storyline."
Hagman featured in a promotional video shot on the first day of filming for the new series and posted last month. The next season makes its premiere in the US on the TNT network on 28 January.
The show was resurrected in the summer, more than 20 years after the original ended, with Hagman starring alongside other original actors including Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray.
Gray was at Hagman's side when he passed away on Friday and described him as "my best friend for 35 years".
"He was the Pied Piper of life and brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented and I will miss him enormously," she said. "He was an original and lived life to the full."
Ken Kercheval, who played Cliff Barnes, said the pair had "a great deal of fun" acting out their on-screen rivalry in the 1980s.
"That sparring back and forth, I think that's what kept the show going for as long as it did because everybody had to wait and see who was going to win and who was going to lose," he told BBC 5 live on Sunday.
"JR was not a nice man. He was terrible. He was quite the opposite of Larry. Those characters are always fun to play and he played it to the hilt. Larry was one of a kind, he really was."
Michael Preece, who directed more than 60 episodes of Dallas and was a friend of Hagman, said the actor was always a pleasure to work with.
"Well, he was perfect," he told the BBC News channel. "Between Patrick Duffy, Linda Gray... they were all like directors.
"Larry did direct a lot of episodes, and you'd stage a scene, they would just stage it for you, he was terrific. And you try to get most of his work before lunch, because he was better in the morning - but he was great to be around, it was like a family."
Another original cast member, Victoria Principal, who played Pam Ewing, said Hagman had been "bigger than life, on-screen and off".
"He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him," she said.
During its original incarnation between 1978-91, Dallas was one of the CBS network's top-rated programmes and was watched by an estimated 300 million people in 57 countries.
Hagman's forthright biography Hello Darlin' detailed his youthful drug-taking exploits and revealed the extent of his 50-year battle with alcoholism.
Even on the hardworking set of Dallas, he consumed five bottles of champagne a day for years and was finally diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver in 1992.
Three years later he had a liver transplant and kept a photo of the organ donor above his mirror.
Despite this, Hagman continued to drink secretly until a further life-saving operation in 2003 forced him to stop.
Source-BBC
Charlie Sheen Paid Lindsay Lohan to cover tax debt
During their bonding period, we're told Lindsay and Charlie talked about everything -- and at one point, Lindsay mentioned her ongoing tax problems.
We're told Charlie offered to cut her a check then and there to get the IRS off her tail, but Lindsay refused.
Fast forward to last week -- sources close to Lindsay tell TMZ, Lindsay's biz manager received a check from Charlie for $100,000.
We're told Lindsay was blown away by Charlie's generosity -- and immediately applied the money to her outstanding tax bill.
TMZ broke the story ... Lindsay allegedly owed Uncle Sam $233,904 in unpaid taxes for 2009 and 2010 -- but thanks to Charlie, that number's nearly been cut in half.
As we reported, Lindsay's slated to earn over $2 million the end of this year -- but who knows where that's going.
TMZ
Cuba cancels charter firms’ flights
The Cuban government has suspended, effective Tuesday, operating permits for charter flights to the island with two of what is considered to be the “more important and recognized” agencies of this type in South Florida.
Havanatur Celimar, the Cuban state agency that administers and regulates the operations, said the Miami-based Airline Brokers and C&T Charters will be affected.
Vivian Mannerud, owner of Airline Brokers, said the suspension was the result of a “re-evaluation of flights in the market, as well as other topics.
“At this time, Airline Brokers is trying to ascertain whether other providers of charter flights to Cuba can accommodate all the passengers affected by this cancellation,” he said in a statement to customers.
“Airline Brokers will contact you or the travel agency where you bought your ticket. If you cannot be accommodated on another flight, your ticket will be refunded at the same agency where you paid for it,” he added.
Mannerud said Airline Brokers is “making all possible arrangements in the quickest possible way to help accommodate all the passengers.”
Airline Brokers has a long history of chartered flights to the island. Just a few days ago, it coordinated the shipping of humanitarian aid sent to people affected by Hurricane Sandy in eastern Cuba.
It said it also worked with the Archdiocese of Miami and the Cuban Catholic Church in the transportation of hundreds of parishioners during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI on March 26-28, which included the celebration of Masses in Santiago de Cuba and Havana.
Airline Brokers said it operates seven flights a week from the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports to the cities of Havana and Cienfuegos. It is one of eight companies that organize charter flights to Cuba.
C&T Charters operates charter flights to Havana and Camaguey from air terminals in Miami, Chicago and New York.
Its owner, John H. Cabañas, reportedly has close contact with the Cuban government. The agency has provided its services uninterruptedly since June 1991. It has offices in Miami, the Keys in Florida and New York.
Airline Brokers and C&T Charters are the only US companies that organize travel for special pilgrimages.
Drug abuse control commission to discuss Regional Trade
The region’s leading drug control officials will meet here this week to examine the impact of the illicit drug trade in the region and how to respond more efficiently to threats.
The Organisation of America States (OAS) said the 52nd Regular Session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) takes place from November 28 to 30.
Costa Rican President, Laura Chinchilla Miranda, will offer opening remarks, as that country assumes the presidency of CICAD for the period 2012-2013.
During the meeting, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza will report to the Commissioners on the ongoing development of the report on the drug problem in the Americas, which was mandated by the heads of state at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena in April 2012.
The Commission will review a new set of evaluation procedures, standards and criteria for the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), the OAS’s instrument for assessing the efforts of Member States in dealing comprehensively with the global drug problem.
The OAS said the new instrument recasts the process within the framework of the Hemispheric Drug Strategy, approved by the General Assembly in June 2010, and its Plan of Action, 2011-2015, adopted a year later.
The Commission will also take a “hard look” at the increasing toll of organized crime on public security, the rule of law, the economy and civil society, as well as the latest trends in the production and trafficking of illicit drugs, money laundering and corruption, the OAS said.
“To offset the drug trade’s damage, the Commission will examine how a social integration policy can create channels for former drug users to rejoin their communities as productive members; how drug treatment courts can be adapted to deal with drug dependent offenders as an alternative for incarceration; and how the public health system can address the new priorities introduced by rising substance use,” the statement said.
Part of the three-day meeting will focus on CICAD’s future operations, as well as reports from Executive Secretary Paul Simons and CICAD’s expert groups.
CICAD is the Western Hemisphere’s policy forum for dealing with the drug problem.
Farrakhan calls for new education system in Grenada and the region
Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Chicago-based Nation of Islam (NOI), wants Grenada and other Caribbean countries to pay greater attention to youth, including the type of education young people are receiving at school.
He has pointed to the danger of restlessness among youth in many countries, including Greece, Spain and Egypt, that has led to street protests.
“Young people are revolting,” Farrakhan said on Saturday at a public lecture in St George’s.
It was his first visit to Grenada and forms part of a Caribbean tour that has now taken him to Barbados.
While in Grenada, Farrakhan met Governor General Sir Carlyle Glean; Prime Minister Tillman Thomas and his deputy Nazim Burke; and opposition leader Dr Keith Mitchell.
He also visited a secondary school and several agricultural projects, including the Nutmeg Receiving Station at Gouyave, St John.
Farrakhan, 79, described Grenada as “a very beautiful island.”
However, one of his concerns is the relationship between youth and older citizens.
“Disconnect is going on right here in Grenada” between the two groups,” Farrakhan said.
He called for the establishment of a “new education system.”
“You have to build an education system that teaches your children the value of who they are,” he advised. “The black contribution to civilization must be taught in schools.”
During his presentation at the Grenada Trade Centre, Farrakhan condemned the mistreatment and abuse of women; championed the need for greater black economic empowerment; and appealed for deeper Caribbean integration.
The former colonized countries of the Caribbean and Africa, which are now independent nations, have flags and anthems, which are “symbols without substance,” Farrakhan charged.
“Economic power is not in your hands,” he said, cautioning that indebtedness to the “blood suckers” at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund is “another form of slavery”.
In the case of Grenada, he urged more investment in nutmeg and other agricultural products.
“All kinds of industry can come from nutmeg,” said Farrakhan, who also underscored the commonalities of the various religions, including Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
All religions, he said, “are trying to do a great work for God,” but confusion among them is “orchestrated by Satan.”
Farrakhan also preached the importance of forgiveness, with special reference to the Grenada events of 1983 that resulted in death of former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and other Grenadians.
He said the events left a “gaping wound.”
But arriving in Grenada to an airport named after Maurice Bishop is an indication that “a healing is beginning to take place,” said Farrakhan.
He said the NOI also is in a healing process over the 1965 assassination of its former member, Malcolm X.
Malcolm’s assassins, Farrakhan said, were black but the hands behind the killing were white.
He admitted to a fallout with Malcolm X when disagreement arose with the late NOI founder, Elijah Muhammad.
But Farrakhan said Malcolm X, whose mother was Grenadian Louise Norton Little, was his mentor and teacher.
“Malcolm X inspired me greatly,” said Farrakhan, who was born 1933 in the United States to Caribbean parents
Caribbean ports prepare for added demand from expanded Panama Canal
Ports in the Caribbean are reportedly rushing to prepare for potential spin-offs from the expansion of the Panama Canal.
The Bahamas has said that its port is among those in Jamaica and Cuba, which are either expanding, or have plans to expand.
Some Caribbean port managers say they hope to receive “post-Panamax” ships and become a transhipment hub that will supply smaller ports with feeder vessels.
CANA reports that others say they are simply bracing for increased feeder traffic. “Panamax” is the term for the size limit of ships going through the Panama Canal.
Caribbean slow to benefit from trade pacts
Despite the preferential trade agreements between the Caribbean and other countries over the years, the region is still slow to reap the benefits.
Furthermore, Minister of Industry, Small Business and Rural Development Denis Kellman said those agreements have not resulted in more exports for the region.
Adding that most Asian countries were successful in developing an export diversification strategy and decreasing their reliance on imports, Kellman suggested that Barbados adopt some of those countries’ best practices.
“The successful development of a country usually involves accelerated growth of new activities in sectors such as manufacturing and non-traditional agriculture, along with services,” he said.
“Despite trade preferences, and some might say because of them, the Caribbean’s integration into the world economy has been slow and compares poorly with some Asian countries with similar levels of integration, which they have created some 30 years ago,” said Kellman.
“In other words, while these unilateral preferential trading arrangements were established as developmental tools to stimulate and diversify Caribbean exports, anticipated results have not been forthcoming,” he added.
Kellman added that according to a recent report from the World Bank and Organization of American States (OAS) in collaboration with CARIFORUM governments, the Caribbean share of world trade was declining while countries such as Thailand’s and Malaysia’s were increasing.
“Weakness in access and poor infrastructure, together with poor labour productivity, has resulted in relatively high production cost compared to those of Asian countries.
“It nevertheless acknowledged that trade liberalization and enhanced market access have not been sufficient to expand trade in many low-income countries,” he said.
His comments came during the FINPYME Export Plus roundtable discussion on best practices for export at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill School of Business last Thursday.
Knicks Get Back on Track With Win
The Knicks gladly took what they got on Sunday, when they notched a 121-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden.
"It was better," said center Tyson Chandler of the defense. "I thought we got back to our principles. We've still got to turn it up more, but it was a lot better than the last time."
Achieving "better" wasn't asking all that much. After all, the team was coming off a pair of unsightly losses in which it allowed 114 and 131 points to Dallas and Houston, respectively. The stretch—the Knicks' first two-game regular-season losing streak since before coach Mike Woodson took the reins in March—saw the team statistically fall into the bottom half of the league's defenses. Just a week before, they were the NBA's top-rated defensive unit.
Unlike in the past two losses, the Knicks' offense made up for the defensive flaws. They again got a spark from Carmelo Anthony (game-high 29 points), who tallied 15 in the opening period by hitting his first six shots. It marked the third time in four outings he'd scored at least that much to start a game.
The effort gave the Knicks (9-3) a 32-22 lead after one before the clubs played out an identical 32-22 second quarter to put the Knicks up 64-44 at half.
Their lead was never in serious jeopardy, but the Knicks came out of the break slow—which seems to be turning into a habit—and had to withstand a swift 13-3 Pistons run to open the third. A layup by Brandon Knight brought the Pistons within eight, 77-69, with three minutes left in the third period.
The Knicks finally began breaking away when they exploded from behind the arc. Steve Novak hit two of the team's 17 three pointers to close the quarter. "It had to be a game where they couldn't get to the three-point line, and they did," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said.
The play that iced the game ended up being a dunk. Off a steal, J.R. Smith (15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) drove the length of the floor before feeding a trailing Chandler, who threw down a thunderous slam to extend the Knicks' lead to 95-78 and awaken what had been a sold-out, yet sleepy-sounding Garden.
After winning, the Knicks turned their attention to their new next-borough neighbors: the Brooklyn Nets. The clubs were set to square off Monday for the first time, a makeup of what would've been each teams' season-opening contest had it not been for superstorm Sandy.
The Knicks acknowledged looking forward to the game but played down a sense of a rivalry. Raymond Felton, for example, has pointed out that he shares a birthday with Nets star Deron Williams and has played against his friend dating back to junior-high AAU days. Jason Kidd is so close with Williams that they discussed potentially signing with the same team in July during free agency. And that was before Williams won gold with Anthony and Chandler in the London Games. Ronnie Brewer has three close ex-teammates who play for Brooklyn.
"A rivalry comes through playoffs and hard-fought games—not a team moving and two teams being good the same year," Chandler said. "But it's a divisional matchup and an opportunity for us to get a full-game [standings] lead. The city's definitely going to get pumped."
Bolt ranks record IAAF Athlete of the Year Award above all
The world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, is in the history books. And in his own words, his latest accomplishment ranks among his most treasured.
A man of many records, Jamaican sprinting icon Bolt created another first yesterday afternoon when he became the only four-time winner of the IAAF World Male Athlete of the Year (AOY) Award, at the IAAF Awards ceremony inside the Pullman Skipper Hotel in Barcelona, Spain.
Multi-talented American sprinter Allyson Felix was named World Female Athlete of the year, an auspicious coincidence, nine years after herself and Bolt made their first trip to the IAAF Awards ceremony in Monaco as bright-eyed recipients of the Rising Star Award.
In a big night for Jamaican athletics, Bolt's coach, Glen Mills, also walked away with the Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award.
Bolt, the world-record holder over 100m and 200m, scorched the competition at the London Olympic Games to become the first man to successfully defend 100m and 200m Olympic titles, before leading Jamaica to a world-record blitz in the 4x100m relay.
Bolt also helped himself to the Samsung Diamond League 100m title as another spellbound season of 'Bolt-mania' came to a close.
Bolt told The Sunday Gleaner during a one-on-one interview shortly after the ceremony that this award is the one that really matters to him.
"This is the biggest one. The first one was great, but having defended my titles and doing so much this season is such a wonderful feeling and it ranks number one without a doubt," said Bolt, comparing his latest coup to the other three AOY awards.
"I definitely feel good to be awarded for the fourth time, especially coming from the IAAF because it's from the athletes and so on, so for me it's an honour and it's bigger than any other award you can get," Bolt said.
He noted that he never doubted topping the award, despite the seemingly tough decision between himself and Olympic champions and world record holders Aries Merritt (110m hurdles) and David Rudisha (800m).
"It was a tough field definitely, but I wasn't too surprised. I worked hard this season, did a lot and proved to the world that I am still the best, so I am not surprised," Bolt said, adding that he hopes to keep the streak going until he retires.
Extremely grateful
Felix was also elated, expressing gratitude for her first award, which follows a triple gold medal performance at the London Olympics (200m, 4x100m and 4x400m).
"I am extremely grateful, my heart is filled with gratitude and I'd like to thank you for this huge award," Felix said.
It was a Caribbean sweep in the World Rising Star Award category, with Olympic javelin champion Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago and The Bahamas' Anthonique Strachan, the World Junior Championships double sprint champion, taking the male and female prizes, respectively.
Rudisha won the Male Performance of the Year award for his 1:40.97 world record run at the Olympics, while the world record-breaking USA women's 4x100m team won the female equivalent.
Merritt won the Inspirational Award, while Lyn Ventris and Robert Lida were the female and male World Masters Athletes of the Year awardees.