IMC/SportsMax Acquires Premier League Rights In Caribbean
International Media Content Limited (IMC), parent company of SportsMax Limited, has been awarded the live audio-visual broadcast rights for all 380 Barclays Premier League (BPL) football matches per season for seasons 2013/14-2015/16 in the Caribbean.
"We are extremely pleased that IMC has invested in our live broadcast rights in the Caribbean. IMC, via SportsMax, is currently our live broadcast rights partner and has provided excellent coverage of the Barclays Premier League for the past 10 years," said Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore.
"We look forward to further developing our working relationship with SportsMax as they continue to deliver a premium offering that will showcase the Barclays Premier League to our Caribbean fans."
President & CEO of SportsMax Limited, Oliver McIntosh, says the announcement is "great news".
"This is great news for both the company and fans of the Barclays Premier League in the Caribbean that IMC has been awarded the rights for the BPL through the 2015-2016 season," he said.
"For 10 years now, SportsMax has provided coverage of the BPL, this season increasing the number of matches we show to five each weekend and ensuring that all BPL matches each weekend are broadcast.
"Our coverage has attracted many new fans of the BPL across the Caribbean as SportsMax has enhanced coverage with its SportsMax Zone programme and media partnerships promoting the BPL. We look forward to three more excellent years," McIntosh stated.
Cissy Houston releases the $20 Million Inheritance to Bobbi Kristina
Bobbi Kristina is nearly home free to play with her $20 million inheritance.
Grandmother Cissy Houston has backed off her stronghold of Whitney Houston’s money and giving the singer’s only child what she wants.
After the singer passed, Cissy and Pat Houston filed legal papers to keep the 18 year old from spending the money irresponsibly and too soon.
The court ruled that she would receive the funds in three different waves: 10 percent when she turns 21 (that’s a nice $2 million), a bit under 20 percent at the age of 25 ($4 million to set up for adulthood), and the remainder after she turns 30 ($16 million).
Sounds reasonable enough.
However, the case has been dismissed since Bobbi and Cissy couldn’t reach an agreement, reports TMZ. But Whitney’s original plans for the payout have gone unchanged.
Source-TMZ
Terry Callier, US soul jazz singer, dies at 67
Chicago-born singer-songwriter Terry Callier, who collaborated with Massive Attack and Beth Orton, has died at the age of 67.
Callier, who began his career at 17 when he signed to Chess records, recorded his final album in 2009.
Hidden Conversations was written and produced with Bristol collective Massive Attack.
He also worked on Orton's Mercury prize nominated album, Central Reservations. Callier died in hospital in Chicago.
The news was confirmed by record label Mr Bongo, which worked with him on six albums between 2001 and 2009.
His funeral will take place on 3 November in his home city and a memorial is planned for London. The date is yet to be announced.
Many musicians have taken to Twitter and YouTube to pay tribute to the jazz and soul musician.
Orton shared a YouTube video with fans, saying: "This was one of the best nights of my life. Such a privilege and joy - RIP dear Terry Callier."
Tim Burgess of The Charlatans posted: "The world has lost another beautiful voice. Rest in peace Terry Callier."
Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody posted a video of Callier's track Ordinary Joe, saying: "Terry Callier RIP. A great soul-folk legend. A sad day."
David Buttle, founder of Mr Bongo, wrote on the company's website: "I first worked with Terry when recording him at the Jazz Cafe in Camden, London in the late 90s. This was a spiritual home for Terry's fans; most nights that he played you could hear a pin drop when he sang and many people passed out, overwhelmed by the light that shone from him."
Callier was born on 24 May, 1945.
He grew up singing alongside soul singers Jerry Butler, Major Lance and Curtis Mayfield.
"That was a dynamite neighbourhood. All of us were doo-woping at the time in different groups," Callier wrote on his MySpace page.
He released his first single Look at me now in 1963.
Callier released three jazz-funk albums in the 1970s but in the 1980s, he left music behind after he was granted custody of his only daughter Sundiata, and re-trained as a computer programmer.
"When I got custody of my daughter I had to give up music to raise her properly, she needed me and the music business just didn't seem like a viable option at that point," Callier said, although he continued to perform.
His music career was resurrected in the early 1990s when his Chess/Cadet recordings were re-discovered by acid jazz fans in the UK.
He sang vocals on Massive Attack's single Live With Me, which was released in 2006.
Glen Washington Earns A Second Grammy Nomination
Veteran reggae artiste Glen Washington is celebrating his second Grammy nomination.
The artiste was last nominated in 2004 for his studio effort called Wanna Be Loved and now for his latest album Glen Washington Masterpiece.
"I wanted to do an album with a variety of songs with different vibes and melodies and having achieved that we decided to call it Masterpiece," said Washington.
The artiste expressed excitement and a feeling of accomplishment after the announcement.
"I am elated about the nomination, it is a good vibe and a good feeling. I was anticipating something nice to happen because we recorded each song step by step like a project. I told my producers that we should be hitting Billboard with this and we ended up getting nominated for a Grammy.
"Just being nominated for a Grammy is an honour because it shows that they are taking note of my work and getting the Grammy would be the ultimate vibe," Washington said, pointing out that each song on the 17-track album is making its own impact.
"Different songs are making different moves and even songs that I didn't expect to peak are showing that the album is a real Masterpiece. I am getting good feedback," he said.
The Grammy nominee says the key to getting nominated for the coveted award is to create decent material.
"You have to make world songs, songs that people can relate to and use sensible tracks that people can dance to, songs that children can listen to and keep away from the derogatory. Your music should be able to be played right across the board," he said.
The artiste is currently in the United States and plans to embark on a tour of Europe in 2013. The album can be purchased on iTunes and Amazon.com.
Source-Jamaica Gleaner
Buju for court today
IMPRISONED Jamaican entertainer Buju Banton will know today if he will be slapped with an additional five years in prison when he appears in the US District Court in Tampa, Florida.
Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, was ordered re-sentenced on a gun charge following his failed appeal on a 10-year, drugrelated sentence in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
However, despite the threat of additional prison time, Banton’s new attorney Chokwe Lumumba has asked Judge James Moody to reduce his sentence after it was revealed that a female juror had breached federal court regulations by studying the Pinkerton Law during the course of Banton’s second trial.
The law was used by prosecutors to connect him to a firearm, although he was miles away at the time the gun was found in the possession of a co-conspirator who was purchasing cocaine in a government-controlled warehouse in Tampa.
The juror, Terri Wright, has reportedly admitted to a Florida-based media house that she violated federal regulations and researched certain aspects of the case online during the trial to have a better grasp of the issues when deliberation started.
Lumumba refused to speak to the media yesterday and said, via an assistant at his office, that he would be available for interviews after today’s re-sentencing hearing.
Wright’s admission has opened a lifeline for the artiste, and Lumumba has been adamant that his client could seek a retrial or even a dismissal of charges when he files a request for a hearing on the matter before the court.
He may face opposition from the prosecutors in the case who may seek to have the request thrown out and push for Banton to languish for another five years.
However, Banton’s previous attorney David Oscar Markus said that, given the new revelation, his former client has a chance of serving a shorter sentence.
Markus had also written a letter informing Moody that Banton should be given a reduced sentence of five years and a day as he was a first offender, who had the backing of his entire country and has carried charitable works.
“I’m rooting for Buju. He doesn’t deserve 10 years in prison, let alone 15. The jurors violated the judge’s order and that’s why it went from a first vote of 10 to two for not guilty to a conviction. I really hope Buju gets the relief he deserves,” Markus told the Jamaica Observer via electronic mail yesterday.
Banton had requested that he be allowed to remain in prison during the sentencing hearing, but that request was thrown out by Judge Moody.
He is currently listed on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website as inmate number 86700-004 and is being housed at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Miami, Florida, a low-security facility which houses male inmates.
Yesterday, prison authorities removed him from that facility and took him to a holding cell in Tampa to await his fate.
If he manages to escape being slapped with additional time Banton is due to be released on March 1, 2019.
His two co-conspirators, Ian Thomas and James Mack, both had guilty pleas and were sentenced to 51 months each.S
Source-Jamaica Observer
Hotels brace for Sandy fall-off
President of the JHTA Evelyn Smith told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that local hoteliers were closely monitoring the effects of the storm on the US cities as major damage to these markets could have serious implications, even for the upcoming winter tourist season which begins on December 15.
“... It is clear already that this hurricane will have an economic impact on the sector,” Smith told the Observer.
Yesterday, several flights in and out of the resort city of Montego as well as the Jamaican capital, Kingston, were cancelled as the storm bore down on Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey.
Sandy forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets in the United States, while sending coastal residents fleeing for higher ground because of a mix of high winds, heavy rain and a surging wall of water up to 11 feet tall.
Smith, meanwhile, explained that if Americans suffer serious damage from the hurricane they could think twice about going on a vacation, but this would be dependent on whether they were forced to pay a penalty for cancelling their hotel bookings.
She noted further that the closure of airports in Philadelphia and New York — two of the sector’s major feeder markets — has significantly impacted a number of guests who were scheduled to arrive here yesterday.
“Pennsylvania is one of the states which has been doing very well for Jamaica as US Airways feeds out of that area,” Smith said. The impact, she added, has been two-way with some visitors not being able to leave Jamaica as all flights into Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York were cancelled yesterday and this could continue into today.
The JHTA head said individual hotels have been giving guests discounts for the extended stay, while some persons have relocated to less expensive accommodations.
Hoteliers, she said, are closely monitoring the situation to determine their next move should the situation prolong. “We will be monitoring after the storm passes and may discuss and make recommendation to members but it will be an individual property decision as to what happens with their guests,” Smith said.
Occupancy levels in the island’s hotels was about 55 per cent, according to Smith, who noted that this varied from property to property. “Some properties will have 100 per cent occupancy, at this time, while some have 80 per cent and some 20 per cent,” Smith said.
Source-jamaicaobserver
T&T missions on alert in Canada, NY, Washington
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says T&T’s missions in Washington, New York, Miami and Canada have been asked to keep lines open so as to respond to the needs of Trinidadians in the US and Canada in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In a statement yesterday, Persad-Bissessar also called on the national community to join her in prayer for everyone in the path of the hurricane.
The statement added: ‘I am deeply concerned that among those in the path of the storm are thousands of nationals from Trinidad and Tobago, Caricom and the United States who I urge to follow the instructions of emergency personnel and those in authority in order to protect their lives and minimise damage.
“I am confident that the US authorities are well prepared to confront such an impending disaster and will respond appropriately to the exigencies of the situation. This is a deadly storm that has already ravaged the Caribbean, killing 61 people.”
Persad-Bissessar said she also instructed Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran to keep in contact with the relevant officials at the US Embassy in T&T.
She said she too would monitor the path of Hurricane Sandy. “I am also in touch with our own authorities here in Trinidad and Tobago so that if any intervention is required of us this can be quickly implemented," she said.
Caribbean Airlines new plane makes emergency landing
An investigation has been launched into an incident involving one of the new planes recently acquired by Caribbean Airlines.
An ATR 72-600 with 44 passengers and four crew had to return to Piarco International Airport in Trinidad on Friday after a section of the plane’s exterior panelling peeled away.
CAL’s Corporate Communications Manager, Clint Williams, said no one was hurt in the incident. Caribbean Airlines' Chairman Rabindra Moonan says by tomorrow he will get a preliminary report into the incident.
The plane, which was said to be configured to seat 68 passengers and to provide a higher standard of comfort, was added to CAL’s domestic route.
W.U.C
Venezuela: Minister Henry Rangel eyes state governorship
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced that his current defence minister, Gen Henry Rangel, is to seek election as a state governor.
Mr Chavez said the navy commander, Adm Diego Molera, would be his replacement.
Gen Rangel, a close associate of the president, will run for the governorship of Trujillo in state elections on 16 December.
These polls will take place two months after President Chavez was elected for a fourth term.
Mr Chavez comfortably beat his rival Henrique Capriles, albeit with a smaller margin of victory than in the presidential election of 2006.
The December vote will be a test both for Mr Chavez's United Socialist Party (PSUV) and the coalition of opposition parties that threw its weight behind Mr Capriles.
President Chavez said on Monday that Gen Rangel would be the PSUV's candidate in Trujillo after the current governor, Hugo Cabezas, announced he would not seek re-election.
Gen Rangel had been defence minister since January this year.
In 2008, the US administration accused him of "materially assisting" the drug-trafficking activities of Colombia's Farc rebels.
Gen Rangel and President Chavez have repeatedly denied this.
--BBC
Colombia rebel ambush kills six officers, police say
Six Colombian police officers have been killed while on patrol in the south-west of the country in an ambush blamed on left-wing rebels, officials say.
The officers were shot dead in Cauca province by suspected Farc guerrillas, local police said.
The killings come as the Colombian government and the Farc prepare for the next stage in peace talks, due to get under way next week in Cuba.
The talks began earlier this month in Norway but there has been no ceasefire.
President Juan Manuel Santos has said he wants to avoid the mistake of the previous peace talks in the late 1990s, when the rebels were given control of a vast demilitarised zone and used the opportunity to regroup.
The latest peace attempt, the first direct contact in a decade, was formally launched in Oslo on 18 October.
The two sides are due to hold preparatory meetings in Havana next week, with the negotiations proper beginning on 15 November.
The talks are due to focus on five key areas: the end of armed conflict; land reform; guarantees for the exercise of political opposition and citizen participation; drug trafficking; and the rights of the victims of the conflict.
The number of Farc combatants is now believed to be some 8,000, down from 16,000 a decade ago.