FIFA Jack Warner Spellbound After Meeting Obama

“I was able to see his daughter play football, they call it socer,on the lawns of the White House. I saw where he (Obama) dines with his family, where he holds his press conferences …..I am spellbound,” he said.

Trinidad Express reports that FIFA President Sepp Blatter and  FIFA vice president Jack Warner were treated to a tour of the White House before sitting down and having a gentleman’s chat with Obama. This chat discuss issues of tertiary education, ‘sports and the US bid to host the 2018 World Cup.’

2009 Top 10 Caribbean Vacation Destinations

 The Caribbean islands in particular are amongst islands in general where millions of tourists descend each year to relax and enjoy its beauty, ambience, weather, culture and adventure, including choosing them for weddings and honeymoons. Caribbean islands  boast of one of the world’s top vacation/travel destinations. In its listing for 2009, Squidoo lists Barbados at No.3.

Top 10 Vacation Destinations In The Caribbean To Go In 2009 # 3 Barbados 

Barbados is a comparatively flat island situated in the easterly Caribbean Sea just to the north of Trinidad. There is a glitzier, more sophisticated feel to Barbados than most other Caribbean islands, it also features some of the best hotels and resorts in the Caribbean that makes the island to one of the top 10 vacation destinations in the Caribbeans to go for a honeymoon.

Jacksons For Jamaica Reggae Sumfest 2009

Thirty-four years after performing for a massive crowd at the National Stadium in St Andrew, two of the ‘Jackson Five’ will return to Jamaica for Reggae Sumfest 2009, the event organisers have announced.

Tito and Jackie Jackson will grace the Reggae Sumfest stage for the first time since their brother, King of Pop Michael Jackson’s death, and the Summerfest Production chairman, Robert Russell, said there was a strong possibility the group’s other members, Marlon and Jermaine, will share the limelight.

Tribute to Jackson

The deal, which was brokered by New York journalist Vinette Pryce, a friend of the Jacksons, has been dubbed a major coup by the promoters who had taken a decision to dedicate the entire show to Michael after his sudden death on June 25.

Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Found In Three World Regions

Swine flu resistant to Roche Holding AG’s antiviral drug Tamiflu has been detected in at least three world regions, raising concern the pandemic virus is developing immunity to the medicine, health officials said.

The drug-resistant cases “need to be watched,” though recommended use of Tamiflu hasn’t changed, said Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.The H1N1 virus is infecting a younger population than seasonal flu and causing potentially fatal complications in otherwise healthy people ages 30 to 50, pregnant women and those with asthma, diabetes and obesity, the World Health Organization said.

“The possibility of an anti-viral resistant strain emerging is a serious consideration,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at the conference. “To date, anti-viral medications have proven effective against the disease in most cases.”

Standford Investors Sue Antiguan Government

A group of R. Allen Stanford-run business investors sued the government of Antigua and Barbuda, claiming the Caribbean nation helped the financier engineer an alleged $7 billion fraud scheme.

In a lawsuit filed today in a U.S. Court in Houston, seven investors say the island government received money in exchange for helping the financier conceal the financial condition of the Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd.

“Antigua is sovereign but not above the law,” the investors said in their complaint. “It became a full partner in Stanford’s fraud, and reaped enormous financial benefits from the scheme.”

US Airways To Start Philly Flights To Barbados

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US Airways says it will begin adding flights to Barbados from Philadelphia International Airport, beginning Oct. 1.

Philadelphia’s dominant carrier said it would begin with four flights a week there (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday), then offer daily flights for the winter season, beginning Dec. 19.

Caribbean Second Ponzi Scheme By American Revealed

www.caribbeannetnews.com

Details are emerging of how an American banker, accused of operating a multi-million dollar scheme which he fronted as the Millennium Bank of St Vincent and the Grenadines, spent the money he allegedly swindled from investors on expensive property and on the upkeep of his wife and mistresses.

Documents submitted by prosecutors show that William Wise, 58, did not make any investments with the money he received from investors.

Instead, it has been alleged, he used as much as US$7 million to buy an estate in the Caribbean island where the offshore bank was said to be based; spent US$1 million on wine; US$40,000 a month on interest for a private plane; paid US$12,000 weekly to his wife; and gave an unknown number of female companions between US$6,000 and US$10,000 every month.

Former Guyana First Lady Shares Story Of Domestic Violence

www.caribbean360.c0m

Varshnie Singh is proof that domestic violence can happen to anyone and take almost any form.

The Former First Lady of Guyana shared with a St. Maarten audience on Saturday her ordeal as a victim of what she termed “institutionalised” or “high-tech” violence – nearly a decade of verbal and emotional abuse in her marriage to Guyana President Barrat Jagdeo before the marriage ended in 2007.

Singh was guest speaker at anti-violence and woman’s advocacy group Peridot Foundation’s annual lecture against intra-relationship violence.

Zimbabwe $950m Loan From China

    Zimbabwe has won 950 million dollars in credit lines from China, the largest loan secured by the new government, boosting the country’s global appeal for funds to rebuild its shattered economy.

“While I was away, government through Finance Minister Tendai Biti also secured lines of credit from China totaling 950 million dollars (672 million euros),” said Tsvangirai, who returned to Harare at the weekend from a three-week tour to Europe and the United States.

Tsvangirai said the tour was an “overwhelming success” in re-engaging Zimbabwe with foreign donors and that the first formal engagement in seven years with the European Union had led to a commitment of 150 million dollars.