Bergerboyz launches “togetherness” for 2010
The Bergerboyz Kadooment Band has launched its 2010 presentation with “Togetherness”. The band has five section,Unity, Youth, Life, Love; only female section and Wisdom. Bergerboyz is targeting 500 people and you can join up at their band house in Pelican Village. Contact Mr. Michael Knight [Band Leader] at [246] 237-6231, or email: michael@bergerboyz.com. You can also log on the the official Bergerboyz website: www.bergerboyz.com for additional information on the band and event listing.
Click images to view costumes.
2010 Bergerboyz Ladies Sections - Togetherness
2010 Bergerboyz Gents Sections - Togetherness
2010 is arguably the best Bergerboyz presentation ever. Judge for yourself, you can also view the complete costume displays on www.bajafuhlife.com.
Young Spirits first Band out for Kaddoment 2010
Trevor Nicholls lead the charge for Crop Over 2010 by launching his Kids Kadooment band on Saturday April 17th. He launched his band in a simple outdoor setting with specially invited guest which included rival band leaders Betty West, Gwynith Squires and Reggie Cave.
The Band, Young Spirits – Ribbon of Hope, has seven sections. Click the following link to view all costumes.
The second band launching in April will be Berger Boyz which will be on Friday April 23rd.
SMOKE MONSTER
PARIS — The Icelandic volcano that has kept much of Europe land-bound is far from finished spitting out its grit, and offered up new mini-eruptions Saturday that raise concerns about longer-term damage to world air travel and trade.
Facing days to come under the volcano’s unpredictable, ashy plume, Europeans are looking at temporary airport layoffs and getting creative with flight patterns to try to weather this extraordinary event.
Modern Europe has never seen such a travel disruption. Air space across a swath from Britain to Ukraine was closed and set to stay that way until Sunday or Monday in some countries, affecting airports from New Zealand to San Francisco. Millions of passengers have had plans foiled or delayed.
Activity in the volcano at the heart of this increased early Saturday, and showed no sign of abating.
“There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight,” Icelandic geologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told The Associated Press on Saturday. “The activity has been quite vigorous overnight, causing the eruption column to grow.”
Scientists say that because the volcano is situated below a glacial ice cap, the magma is being cooled quickly, causing explosions and plumes of grit that can be catastrophic to plane engines, depending on prevailing winds.
In Iceland, winds dragged the ashes over new farmland, to the southwest of the glacier, causing farmers to scramble to secure their cattle and board up windows.
With the sky blackened out and the wind driving a fine, sticky dust, dairy farmer Berglind Hilmarsdottir teamed up with neighbors to round her animals and get them to shelter. The ash is toxic – the fluoride causes long-term bone damage that makes teeth fall out and bones break.
“This is bad. There are no words for it,” said Hilmarsdottir, whose pastures near the town of Skogar were already covered in a gray paste of ash.
The island’s lead economist noted that the island was no closer to a revival of demand in tourism, international business and financial services
Economists have predicted that economic recovery for the Barbados would lag behind the return to growth of its developed country trading partners and this reality is presenting a sobering problem for montary authorities on the island.
The review of Barbados’s economic performance for the first three months of this year released yesterday by Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Dr DeLisle Worrell has revealed that the island is yet to return to positive growth as its gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by less than 1% over the period. The last time Barbados witnessed positive GDP growth was in September 2008 when the economy grew by just over 1%.
In outlining Barbados’s economic picture, the island’s lead economist noted that the island was no closer to a revival of demand in tourism, international business and financial services, and of manufacturing and agricultural exports, despite the economic recovery now underway in Barbados’ international source markets and trading partners.
“The industrial countries from which we derive the demand for our exports and services are now reporting real growth, and the US has at last recorded a month of net employment gain in March. However, the spillover to increased demand for Barbados’ output is not yet evident. In the meanwhile, financial constraints on government and business remain very tight,” reflected the central bank head.
“Until the demand for Barbados’ exports and services picks up once more, there is no good alternative to the current strategy of modest external borrowing, judicious help for the foreign exchange sectors and continuing measures to protect the most vulnerable,” he added.
In November 2009, University of the West Indies economics lecturer and former Central Bank of Barbados economist Dr Winston Moore predicted that Barbados’s exit from the recession would be very slow and the economy would show flat growth over 2010 based on the lag effect experienced by small island states in the wake of the economic recovery by the developed countries. At that time, he predicted that Barbados would not return to growth until 2011, which he forecast would be around 2%.
Barbados can still boast $1.3 billion in net international reserves, equalling roughly five months worth of import cover according to Dr Worrell. However, he noted that this tourism high season failed to supply the customary “first quarter surge” of foreign exchange for government coffers. The economist attributed this to the heavy discounting offered by tourism accommodations and attractions on the island meant to woo more visitors to the island. While the marketing ploy managed to drive up demand by increasing long-stay visitor arrivals by 2% for January and February in contrast to the same period for 2009, it also led to lower average spend by the visitors. As a result, noted Dr Worrell, tourism receipts were insufficient to provide the anticipated foreign exchange boost.
In fact, the central bank governor noted that of the foreign exchange earning sectors, only garment and chemical manufacturing showed any significant growth – improving by 122.7% and 110% respectively. The sugar, beverages and tobacco and wooden furniture industries marked double digit declines; while none of the remaining traded sectors exhibited more than a 2% growth.
E-day in TT
Voters will go to the polls in Trinidad and Tobago on 24 May.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced the date on Friday, nine days after he initiated the dissolution of the country’s parliament.
There has been much debate and speculation in the ensuing days over Manning’s unprecedented move.
Since then the main opposition parties, the United National Congress (UNC) and the Congress of the People (COP) have been in talks about forming an alliance to contest the polls.
Nomination day has been set for 3 May.
Prime Minister Manning is seeking a fourth term in office.
In the last election in 2007, his People’s National Movement (PNM) won 26 of the 41 seats.
Candidate selection
The three main parties have been going through a process of selecting their candidates for the election.
That’s also a high-pressure process as sitting candidates are not guaranteed that they will defend the seat in the election.
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| Will Persad-Bissessar make it a double by also becoming TT’s first woman prime minister? |
This past week much attention was focused on Mr Manning’s PNM and party stalwart Dr Keith Rowley, over whether he would be allowed to defend his seat.
Dr Rowley, who was replaced as a cabinet minister in 2008, and is considered as a likely successor to Mr Manning, has had differences with his party leader.
The opposition UNC has had a period of internal wrangling over the leadership of founder and former prime minister Basdeo Panday.
That on the one hand led Winston Dookeran, to break away and form the Congress of the People Party (COP).
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| Dookeran split from the UNC to form the COP |
In January Mr Panday lost a bitter party leadership battle to Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Shortly thereafter she also replaced him as the UNC’s parliamentary opposition leader.
Mr Panday, who was deselected from running in the seat he had won under the UNC, has said that he’s considering contesting the polls as an independent candidate.
He is targeting a constituency currently held by his former UNC ally and party chairman Jack Warner.
Coming out of talks on Friday, the UNC and COP parties said they had committed to compaigning jointly, but no accord was signed.
source:bbc.com
U.S. Pledges To Re-Engage Caribbean
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Friday the United States is reengaging with the Caribbean region after drawing down its presence following the 9/11 terror attacks.
At a regional security summit in Barbados, Gates said President Barack Obama`s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative sends a strong signal tof this re-engagement.
Speaking at a joint news conference Friday with seven Caribbean government and defense leaders, Gates said he`s impressed by the innovative approaches being taken to promote collective security through the initiative.
Following what he called a `very productive` meeting to discuss furthering those efforts, Gates lauded the Caribbean nations` work toward marshalling limited resources to address common threats such as narco-trafficking and violent crime.
These challenges touch U.S. shores as well, and demand that regional nations mount a united front to confront them, Gates said during a joint news conference with Barbadian Prime Minister David Thompson.
Gates conceded that the drug trafficking problem has worsened here due to the success of the Merida Initiative and Mexico`s crackdown on drug cartels there.
`Narco-trafficking is a problem for the hemisphere as a whole,` he said, `and wherever you put pressure, the traffickers will go where there is less resistance and where there is less capability.`
Going forward, Gates said he would like to see broader efforts to connect the regional security system here with efforts under way outside the Eastern Caribbean. This includes efforts by the French, Dutch, Colombians, Peruvians and U.S. Southern Command`s Joint Interagency Task Force.
The secretary praised Barbados as a strong U.S. security partner and a leader in promoting security cooperation in the Eastern Caribbean.
`The United States stands steadfastly with you as you pursue long-term solutions to these problems,` Gates said after meeting with the defense ministers.
Much of that support is provided through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative that President Barack Obama proposed last April during the Summit of the Americans in Trinidad and Tobago.
The initiative has been built with extensive input from Caribbean nations with a central role for the regional security system, Gates noted today, all aimed at helping regional governments face up to transnational threats.
The $45 million the United States has committed to the effort this year will help improve regional maritime patrol and interdiction capabilities and domain awareness and provide for additional joint training and exercises, he said.
Gates said details about how these funds will be allocated are being hammered out by technical working groups, with one convened today in Washington.
He emphasized that regional nations will be the ones to help determine how the funding can be most effective. The United States already has committed three interceptor boats and communications equipment, but Gates said he heard suggestions today about the need for more law enforcement training and the stand-up of major crimes units.
However, Gates emphasized that the Caribbean initiative represents more as it provides a comprehensive approach to regional security. Its scope extends beyond military and security assistance to address equally critical components of the region`s economic and social stability.
The initiative aims to provide, `not just improved security capabilities to confront immediate threats, but also development assistance in hopes of addressing the root causes of regional problems, such as the lack of educational and employment opportunities, particularly for youth,` Gates said. `That is a strategy we strongly support.`
Fifteen Caribbean Basin nations are included in the security initiative: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
source: caribworldnews
Traffic ease for World Cup
THE TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS for the International Cricket Council’s World Twenty20 will be less than those which were in place for Cricket World Cup.
Police public relations officer, Inspector David Welch, gave this assurance yesterday during a Press conference with Operations Inspector with the Traffic Department, Ronald Stanford, at police headquarters, Roebuck Street, The City.
Barbados is one of four territories selected to host games; the others are Guyana, St Kitts and St Lucia. Barbados will be the host venue for warm-up matches between April 27 and 29, and the Super Eight matches at Kensington Oval from May 5 to 9, while the finals will be held on May 16.
“We have put a plan in place which will provide a safe environment for patrons and safely manage traffic,” said Stanford.
He said there were some restrictions in place, such as Fontabelle being made into a one-way from two hours before the matches at Kensington Oval.
