The police in Jamaica have launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to a fire at the St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Andrew early Sunday. Damages estimated at J$100,000The blaze was put out by firefighters from the Half-Way-Tree station. Damage has been estimated at J$100,000.The church’s pastor, Rev Father Donald Chambers, said he did not wish to speak directly to the matter as it was under investigation but said that he and members of his congregation were saddened by the incident. Altar damagedThe police report that early morning fire damaged the altar at the popular church, resulting in the morning service being moved to the church hall.The communications arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force reported that around 1:20 am on Sunday a clergyman who lives on the property was awoken by the security guard on duty who reported that the altar, linens, vestments, and items close by were on fire.
Feel violated and abused“We feel violated and abused, but we realize this is part of life. We have to ride the tide and get to the root of it. I told the congregation, “Listen, we are people of faith, we walk by faith and not by sight, so whatever happens, the church exists not because of a building, it exists because of the faith of the community’,” Chambers said.
This Saturday, February 23rd, the city of Tamarac in South Florida, will host the One Tamarac Multi-Cultural Festival. Dubbed as a, “free festival celebrating the many faces and voices which make up our community,” the event will take place at the Tamarac Sports Complex, with legendary Jamaican reggae band, Inner Circle, booked as the headline performance. Inner Circle is a Grammy award winning band known as the “Bad Boys of Reggae”. A noteworthy moment during the band’s career is playing at the historical 1978 One Love Reggae Peace Concert in Jamaica, which featured Bob Marley as he sought to bridge Jamaica’s political divide. That same year, the group’s hitmaking streak began when their “Everything Is Great” album landed on the Top 20 list in the U.K., and graced the Top 10 charts in France. The album was produced under Chris Blackwell’s Island Records. In the 90’s, Inner Circle also achieved success with its hit single “Bad Boys”. The song went #1 in Europe and was selected as the theme song for Fox TV show Cops, which led it to become the #1 most played reggae song across the globe. By 1993, Inner Circle secured the Grammy for Best Reggae Album for “Bad Boys”. The single resurfaced as a hit when it was used as the track title for the Bad Boys movie series, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The band’s “Summer Jammin” was also featured on the soundtrack of Beverly Hills Cop III, starring Eddie Murphy. Members of Inner Circle also founded recording studio, Circle House Studios, based in Miami, which is today a leading music house responsible for being the birthplace of Pharrell Williams’ most popular song to date, “Happy”. Over the last 20 years, the band has toured the world extensively, and remains a major player on the music scene through its collaborations with popular new acts, such as Snoop Dogg, Chronixx, Flo Rida and Pitbull. While Inner Circle will undoubtedly be an unforgettable part of the One Tamarac Multi-Cultural Festival, attendees can also expect other memorable performances. True its multicultural theme, the city’s lineup also includes Latin band, Fondo Blanco, and Aloha Islanders, a Polynesian dance group. The One Tamarac Multi-Cultural Festival will cater to the entire family. Food trucks, a cultural exhibition area, children’s zone, and fireworks are also on the agenda. Gates will open at 4pm, and the event is scheduled to end by 8pm. For more information on the One Tamarac Multi-Cultural Festival, visit Tamarac.org.
Osun Babes coach Liadi Bashiru has toldbusybuddiesng.com that their match on Wednesday against Confluence Queens is a must win for both sides, hence it is expected to be very tough.Although the Omoluabi Babes are riding on a five match unbeaten run which dates back to their Matchday 6 encounter against Delta Queens, Coach Bashiru has insisted that they are as wounded as their struggling Matchday 11 opponents from Kogi State who are yet to taste victory since drawing at home against Adamawa Queens on Matchday 7.“If they are wounded lions we are also wounded lions because I could remember the last time we went to their place we lost three goals to nothing so it’s like a revenge game and we are putting everything to make sure we get the maximum three points. They will need the points also to move them up the ladder so it’s a must win for both sides so we are not joking with it.”According to Coach Bashiru, “hardwork, unity and determination” has brought them this far and they hope to continue in this stride so that they can achieve their Super Four aim.“The girls are really willing to continue from where they stopped the last time. When we look at where we are on the table, we have to continue to work harder,” Bashiru added.Osun Babes are third in Group B of the NWPL with 17 points, while Confluence Queens are three points behind in fifth place.Audio Playerhttps://www.busybuddiesng.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Bashiru-July-12.mp300:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.RelatedAndrew HjulsagerJune 30, 2017Similar postNWPL Matchday 11 Review: Three Away Wins Recorded As Super Four Takes ShapeJuly 13, 2017In “Nigeria”Pescara Calcio vs Atalanta BergamascaJune 30, 2017Similar post
Related2018 CHAN Qualifier: Nigeria’s Ambassador to Benin Welcomes The Super EaglesAugust 12, 2017In “Africa”2018 CHAN Qualifier: Benin Republic Pip Nigeria 1-0 In CotonouAugust 13, 2017In “National Team”AUDIO: Benin Would Have Natural Pitch Advantage, Says Super Eagles Assistant CoachAugust 11, 2017In “Africa” Video Credit: Twitter.com – Nigeria Super Eagles Nigeria is seeking to make its 3rd appearance in the Championship for African Nations (CHAN), following the CHAN Eagles failure to qualify for the first two editions before winning bronze in 2014 and getting knocked out in the group stage in 2016.The 2018 CHAN would take place in Kenya From January 11 to February 2.
The home base Super Eagles of Nigeria took a team walk on the streets of Benin Republic, ahead of their 2018 CHAN qualifier against The Squirrels.Lead by Head Coach, Salisu Yusuf, the CHAN Eagles took a walk away from their Benin Royal Hotel base, as the team gears up preparation for today’s game against Benin.
Related Super Eagles of Nigeria captain, John Mikel Obi has returned to the pitch after a four-months injury lay off, in time for Nigeria’s crucial world cup qualifier next month.Mikel Obi featured for 90 minutes in Tianjin TEDA 2-0 home loss in the Chinese Super League game against Hebei CFFC on Monday.185 – No outfield player for Chelsea took longer to score their first Premier League goal than John Obi Mikel (185 games). Patient. pic.twitter.com/yh8NAVYX6q— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 6, 2017The 30-year-old, who underwent a hip injury surgery in April, Nigerian move to the Chinese Super League to join Tianjin TEDA after 12 years with Premier League giants, Chelsea.Hopefully, Mikel Obi will stays fit for the Super Eagles, as the Gernot Rohr led team face Cameroon in next months double legged all important 2018 World Cup qualifier.
Real Madrid Superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo has raised fresh doubts over his future at the Santiago Bernabéu by declaring, “I don’t want to renew my contract.The Los Blancos have won just six of their 10 games so far following a not too bright start to the season and suffering their second loss in just four days last night as they were humbled 3-1 by Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League.The Portuguese international insists he does not want to renew his contract at Real Madrid after the match, Ronaldo was clearly unable to contain his frustrations.He said “I have four years left on my contract. I don’t want to renew, I’m fine.”The interviewer then pressed the matter further, asking, “Are you sure?” The 32-year-old bluntly replied, “I don’t want to renew”.Related
StumbleUpon Related Articles Share Submit Ukraine gambling bill enacted by President Zelensky August 11, 2020 Parimatch named official betting partner of OMEGA league August 3, 2020 Parimatch hails top talent of inaugural ‘Universal Sports & Games Hackathon’ August 14, 2020 Share Three of the leading Eastern European-focused gambling operators will be represented in a Betting on Football 2017 session exploring new opportunities in the CIS and beyond.Parimatch chief executive Sergey Portnov, BetOlimp chief operating officer Alexey Sinyushkin and Favbet chief executive Nikos Halikias will be joined on a market profile panel (3 May) at #bofcon2017 by a trio of experts from the region.Dražan Planinić, the sportsbook managing director for virtual games, sportsbook and lotteries provider NSoft, and Paruyr Shahbazyan, chief executive for the globally-renowned Bookmaker Ratings, will also be sharing their insight on the crossover between the different jurisdictions in Eastern Europe and how local sports organisations are approaching partnerships with the bookmakers.Shahbazyan commented: “At Bookmaker Ratings, we are proud to have delivered honest reviews to punters since 2011. In Russia, the landscape is a bit more complicated, given that Roskomnadzor is determined to limit the number of licensed bookmakers, and has recently stepped up its efforts to block Western European operators from targeting its national consumers. We are looking forward to sharing our insight on the current situation at Betting on Football 2017.”Portnov said: “It is clear that many markets out east are now moving towards the standards set by western Europe with regard to clearer regulation – even if tax rates remain contentious – and that will also inevitably lead to greater revenues in the years to come.”Halikias added: “It is particularly interesting for us to discuss the current situation in Russia, given that Favbet was one of the many Eastern European focused operators restricted access to the market by Roskomnadzor. We are looking forward to sharing knowledge about regulation changes in Russia and some of the other Eastern European countries on a high level panel at Stamford Bridge.”This highly-anticipated #bofcon2017 session will be moderated by Dan Iliovici. Formerly an executive manager for Rombet, the association which protects the interests of the growing number of operators that engage in land-based and online gambling activities in Romania, Iliovici was recently confirmed as president of the country’s national gambling office and regulatory body, the ONJN. He will be overseeing a new legislative framework, introduced in 2015, which opened the national market and made it more attractive to international operators.Alongside Romania, the session will also deliver updates on two of the most populated countries in Eastern Europe, Russia and Poland. Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor awarded a handful of online gambling licences in the summer of 2016, but continues to monitor the likes of Winline, 888.ru and Leon.ru with strict payment-processing regulations and taxes on wagers.Over the last few years, under instruction from the Russian government, Roskomnadzor has blocked IP and payment-transaction services to numerous European operators including Unibet and BwinParty, which were deemed to be illegally targeting its national consumers. Just last month, BetVictor confirmed the suspension of its Russian betting services.Meanwhile, EnergyBet described the situation in Poland as “highly restrictive and hostile” upon withdrawing from the market. Just a few days later, William Hill followed suit, citing the refusal to amend a 12% online gambling turnover tax which is “unworkable for international operators” and appears to be designed to create favourable conditions for the state-owned Totalizator Sportowy.Click here to visit the event website and buy your Betting on Football ticket todayThe full agenda is available @ http://sbcevents.co.uk/betting-on-football-2017/agenda/
FSB selects Glenn Elliott as new COO August 12, 2020 Related Articles Share Share StumbleUpon XLMedia completes takeover of 101GreatGoals.com July 17, 2020 Submit Nektan ceases trading on London AIM May 18, 2020 London AIM-listed mobile gambling specialist Nektan Plc has today confirmed the departure of Leigh Nissim as its Chief Executive Officer.Issuing a corporate update, Nektan governance detailed that Nissim will officially leave the business this coming August, with founder and Non-Executive Director Gary Shaw retaking the firm’s CEO position on an interim basis.Nissim a former IGT and GTECH executive joined Nektan in May 2016, replacing former leader David Gosen who had departed the company five months prior to Nissim’s appointment.Taking over the leadership of Nektan, Nissim was charged with spearheading the mobile specialist’s commercial initiatives and further transitioning the business from a ‘white label’ operator to a B2B solutions and services provider.Updating investors, the Nektan board detailed that it had begun its executive search for Nissim’s replacement, with an appointment expected to be made in the coming months.Nektan governance further highlighted that the company was in advanced discussions with regards to concluding its next round of funding, the details of which it expects to announce in due course.
LeoVegas hits back at Swedish regulations despite Q2 successes August 13, 2020 StumbleUpon Spelinspektionen reminds operators of AML responsibilities July 2, 2020 Betsson outrides pandemic challenges as regulatory dramas loom July 21, 2020 Share Industry retention and customer loyalty solutions provider Enteractive has confirmed the appointment of former Cherry Group CEO Fredrik Burvall to its Board of Directors.Burvall joins Enteractive’s corporate advisory having stepped down as CEO of industry games and systems developer Cherry Group last January following ten-years’ service as a leadership executive.Enteractive CEO Mikael Hansson commented on the board appointment: “Fredrik has an impressive track record within the betting and gaming industry, and his addition to our Board of Directors is a major coup for us.“During his time with Cherry, he oversaw major acquisitions across all of the group’s business areas, and delivered strong financial results. The rest of the team and I look forward to working alongside Fredrik in what is an exciting period of growth for the company.”Burvall joins Enteractive as the company seeks to launch new products to market and expand its client base with betting and gaming.“I’m thrilled to have begun a new chapter of my career with Enteractive, one of the industry’s leading providers of player retention solutions,” said Burvall.“We have big ambitions to grow the company’s international footprint with our unique and personal offering, which helps operators reactivate churned players and keep them engaged.“Most operators are focusing on taking in new customers, but forget to focus on the existing customer base, especially the inactive players. I believe that re-activation will be the next big thing in iGaming especially now more markets are being re-regulated and taxed locally.“Operators probably don´t know what a gold mine they are sitting on. I am sure Enteractive with their IPRs and player retention solutions will be a major player helping operators develop and maintain high margins.” Share Related Articles Submit
Share StumbleUpon SBC Magazine Issue 10: Kaizen Gaming rebrand and focus for William Hill CEO August 25, 2020 The happenstance of bet365 and Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG) releasing results on consecutive days earlier this week rammed home an important message about the dominance of the market leaders in the UK online scene.The numbers were mightily impressive. Total net revenues from the gambling business at bet365 comfortably sailed past the £2bn barrier, up a huge 39 percent on the previous year, and with operating profits totalling £503.9m. Amounts wagered was up 27 percent and active customers rose 35 percent.SBG released scarcely less impressive numbers with group revenue up 38 percent to £516m and total customers rising 31 percent to 2.6 million. EBITDA was up 38 percent to £146m.The figures put to the sword the notion that the UK online gambling market has been exhibiting signs of a marked slowdown in the growth rate. Between them, bet365 and SBG are the UK market leaders – the first is estimated to earn circa 25 percent of its total revenues from the UK while SBG’s results, for now, consist wholly of UK earnings. By comparison, William Hill said its first-half online net revenue rose 5 percent for the period while Ladbrokes Coral said pro-forma revenues rose 14 percent in constant currency terms, though this includes the revenues from Australia and Italy. In UK sportsbook terms alone, the company said UK stakes were up 10 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, at Paddy Power Betfair the recent third-quarter trading statement said that online revenues in Europe (largely UK) were down 3 percent due to tough comparatives with last year (when the Euros were still taking place) and a deteriorating margin.What would appear to be the gulf in performance (and increasingly scale) between the market leaders and the rest of the notional top five or ten operators in the UK throws up some interesting questions about the structure of the market and of the individual constituents.“There are four things these two have in common,” says Paul Leyland, lead partner at gambling consultancy Regulus Partners. “They are held privately, they are UK-based, they have clearly identified a customer segment that they aim at and none of them have been involved in (large-scale) M&A. The key is that none of their competition have all four of these factors in their favour. Some have none.”Football focusMoreover, these factors are likely to remain in place for some time to come. Bet365 is owned by the Coates family while SBG is under the stewardship of private equity house CVC, meaning the managements of both are more focused on the long-term, without the pressure of pleasing shareholders and the short-termism that comes with it.The UK base is important, meanwhile, not for the specifics of geography but because what having a single base brings in terms of cohesion. Both Stoke (bet365) and Leeds (SBG) have become centres of gaming excellence and each have welded together well-rewarded and highly motivated employees.Then there is the clear target audience. It is notable, for instance, that each is highly connected to and visible alongside the English football and while they may be aiming at slightly differing segments within the huge audience for football, they are equally focused and defined.“They know who their customers are,” says Leyland. “You can target them properly. The bigger operators who go for every segment tend to tick every box and miss every target.”The last point, meanwhile, could yet have even greater relevancy in the months ahead. Much of the focus in the sector at present has been about the potential for further M&A in the sector – and this despite the paucity of evidence that the last spate of buyouts and unions have been successful.The jury is still very much out on Paddy Power Betfair, for instance, where new chief executive Peter Jackson aims to complete the job left behind by departing boss and merger architect Breon Corcoran. The evidence of the success of Sportsbet in Australia, relatively free from any merger backwash, in comparison with the still integrating and transitional mothership points to how much M&A can handicap a business.The only cloud on the horizon for either SBG or bet365 comes with the threat of Chancellor Philip Hammond potentially raising gross profits tax in the upcoming budget, potentially to help mitigate the loss of taxes should the ongoing triennial review consultation process end with a £2 maximum stake (and the loss in tax revenues that would come with it).But if the net result of the end of the review process is – as many have suggested – another bout of corporate activity, then bet365 and SBG might yet see a silver lining as the consummation of further deals once again distracts the competition from the real task at hand of trying to close the gap at the top.Football as a key driver for betting firms will be discussed at next year’s Betting on Football conference (20-23 March) at Stamford Bridge. Super Early Bird tickets are now available to buy at www.sbcevents.com Related Articles FSB selects Glenn Elliott as new COO August 12, 2020 Submit Share GVC absorbs retail shocks as business recalibrates for critical H2 trading August 13, 2020