Basseterre, St. Kitts – The St. Kitts Tourism Authority is pleased to report that St. Kitts is welcoming guests as normal, having sustained only minimal damage during the passage of Hurricane Earl well to the north of the island on Monday morning, August 30.
As St. Kitts was not directly hit by the storm, vacationing on the island was only temporarily impacted while the storm itself was passing. Visitors are now all reported to be safe and returning to normal vacation experience activities. Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport and the island’s Port Zante cruise pier were reopened early Tuesday morning and are conducting business as usual. Some power lines were down during the storm, but power has since been restored to all areas of the island. The storm brought the usual downed trees and road side debris, all of which is being cleared. Beaches remain in good condition. There has been no significant damage to hotels and all remain open for business. One of St. Kitts’ leading restaurants, Marshall’s, experienced both wind and water damage and is expected to be closed for repairs temporarily. The owner told the Tourism Authority that he will take the opportunity to make significant improvements to the venue for the winter season.
“We are fortunate that Hurricane Earl passed us so far to the north, as this was potentially a very dangerous storm,†said Senator Ricky Skerritt, Minister of Tourism & International Transport. “Following a thorough, island-wide assessment, I am pleased to report that all visitors are safe, the island’s tourism product remains well intact, and clean-up efforts are nearly complete in affected areas. We are back to business as usual on island.â€
Caribbean Carrier, a 1962-built, 23,784 dwt vessel associated with Piraeus-based Seabulk Shipping, was under attack.
A patrol aircraft from the Japanese Maritime Self Defence unit based at Djibouti noted a skiff with seven suspected pirates on board.
The Japanese alerted the Esbern Snarre, a Danish warship, which launched its helicopter to intercept the skiff.
On sighting the helicopter the pirates threw their weapons overboard and surrendered. The Danish helicopter was joined by another chopper from an Italian ship.
Subsequently, the USS Kauffman boarded the skiff and found a ladder similar to those used by pirates as well as other materials indicative of piracy, including spent and unspent ammunition.
Esbern Snarre was also involved in an incident on Saturday. According to NATO, a distress call was received from a Panama-flagged vessel that was reporting it was under attack.
When Esbern Snarre and the US carrier Winston Churchill arrived at the scene, the vessel and a second, Norway-registered, ship were under attack.
On seeing a helicopter sent out by Esbern Snarre, the pirates fled toward the Somali coast but they stopped when warning shots were fired.
Their skiffs were then boarded. Danish defence minister Gitte Lillelund Bech told a Danish news agency that there was not enough evidence to prosecute and the suspects were released.
Mrs Lillelund Bech added that neither the American nor Danish forces actually saw the pirates open fire on the two ships.
Sales grew by J$74.75 million or 32 per cent relative to the 2009 nine-month period, J$38.4 million of which was generated by a supermarket, JRG Shoppers Delite, which Jamaican Teas said was newly acquired and commenced operations in March.
JRG is described as a retailer of household and consumer products. Its cost and sales and administrative expenses, combined were greater than sales, resulting in an operating loss of J$600,000 in the supermarket’s first three months of business as a Jamaican Teas subsidiary.
Admin costs double
The Jamaican Teas group, however, grew operating profit by more than J$5 million or 10 per cent to J$56 million, but ended the review period with lower net profit, resulting from a doubling of administrative costs, from J$20 million to J$42 million, plus J$3.5 million of translated foreign exchange losses, compared to a J$25-million gain in 2009.
The forex losses resulted from a more than four per cent appreciation of the Jamaican dollar.
Net profit of J$50.4 million or 71 cents per share at 9M 2009 fell 32 per cent to J$34.4 million or 24 cents per share in the current period as a result. Earnings per share are calculated on 142.66 million units outstanding at June. At listing in July, outstanding shares rose to 167.828 million units.
No Tax
Jamaican Teas paid taxes of J$17.5 million year to review date, but expects to be freed of corporate income tax liabilities over the next five years – a concession granted to companies listed on the nascent junior stock market.
Jamaican Teas is largely in the business of tea manufacturing for the Jamaican and export markets, with about 40 per cent of sales overseas. Its main brands are Tetley and Caribbean Dreams.
Sales of its core manufacturing products rose 16 per cent relative to the 9M 2009 period
Having debuted on the market at J$3.37 per share, the stock is now selling at J$3.50, valuing the company at J$587 million.
Its book value of J$371 million (book value per share: J$2.21) is up J$100 million in the nine months from September 2009.
The JRG acquisition has helped to boost the group’s total assets to J$744 million – J$826m with receivables IPO, which was booked post quarter in July – compared to J$307 million at September 2009.
Total liabilities increased by J$18 million, from J$36 million to J$55 million, mostly due to inherited payables of J$16 million from the supermarket operation.
Source: Gleaner
CaribWorldNews, QUEENS, NY, Weds. Sept. 1, 2010: A 24-year-old tennis player with roots in the Caribbean has moved on to the second round of the U.S. Open, which got underway in Flushing, Queens on Monday, Aug. 30th.
Gael `La Monf“ Monfils got past the big-serving American Robert Kendrick in his opening round match, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, to advance to the next round.
The 5-set match was a dog-fight throughout, but got controversial as the match was coming to a close. The controversy happened at 4-4 in the final set with Monfils serving. The Frenchman appeared to clip the ball before it landed out. The chair umpire gave the point to Monfils, which sent Kendrick into a tirade. The American lost his next service game and the match along with it.
Addressing the pro-American chants for first round opponent and Californian, Monfils, commented after his win: `I love USA, so for me it doesn`t matter. I can share with them because I love the USA. For me it was more of a distraction, was more to relax and enjoy a bit, maybe to think about something else. So for me, it was great.`
Monfils` parents are both from the French Caribbean though he was born in Paris, France. His father, Rufin, a former football player employed as an agent for France Telecom, comes from the island of Guadeloupe while his mother, Sylvette, comes from the island of Martinique, France and is a nurse.
The 6 ft. 4 inch Monfils considers Arthur Ashe to be his favorite player. He was coached by countryman and former ATP pro Thierry Champion (since September 2004) but they parted company in September 2006. Nevertheless, Monfils`s fitness trainer is still Rémi Barbarin. Monfils announced a partnership with a new coach, Tarik Benhabiles, in May 2007. However, for the 2008 season, Monfils has hired Roger Rasheed as his coach.
He has tattoos on both wrists, and giant wing tattoos on the lower half of his back. He is fond of listening to music, particularly R&B and has said if he did not play tennis, he would play basketball. He is a huge fan of NBA team Denver Nuggets and his favorite basketball player is Carmelo Anthony. Monfils is also a fan of football and
his two favorite football clubs are Arsenal F.C. and Paris-Saint Germain. He lives in Nyon, Switzerland.
Source: CARIBWORLD
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