Million Dollar Winner for Online Casino
JackpotMadness, part of Jumbo Jackpots of Curacao, has had a record payout on its King Cashalot progressive slot game. The jubilant winner, Tim F. of Jackpot Casino City, scooped a whopping $1,218,306.82.
The King Cashalot Game has been running since July 2004, on the Jackpot Madness network and Microgamming sites. The concept is that the prize money is accumulated from all of the sixty plus sites, continually being topped up until it is finally won in a big jackpot payout.
The massive jackpot payout was welcomed by Francine Haliva of Jackpot Madness, “This is the first time King Cashalot, a relatively new 5-reel 9 payline progressive, has made a player an instant millionaire, exactly what Microgaming imagined when they crafted up the medieval themed game. All Jackpot Madness progressives are popular and highly acclaimed, especially games that have huge payouts in the seven-digit range that add even more excitement for the players. We’re thrilled that King Cashalot can now be included in this realm.â€
Court orders change to wage limit reunification
WILLEMSTAD–The minimum income of 3,000 guilders a month for foreign workers to be able to bring their partners to the Antilles is out of proportion, ruled a judge in Curaçao. He gave the Central Government six weeks to come up with a new arrangement and indications are that the new limit will be set at 1,500 guilders.
The ruling came in an administrative justice LAR procedure against the Justice Minister by a foreign woman who saw a request to extend her temporary residence permit denied. Her foreign husband is legally working on the island, but does not earn enough money.
The income limit in question was still 1,200 guilders a month in 2001, but it was increased to 3,000 guilders at the end of 2003. The idea behind the limit and the increase was to prevent too much pressure on public funds, facilities and services because of family reunification among foreign workers.
The woman received a temporary permit in August 2002, but in July 2004 was told she could not be given an extension because her husband’s salary was not high enough. The woman argued that while her husband only made 528 guilders net per month, if her income from various sources was added their monthly budget came to 2,791 guilders.
The Justice Minister had already proposed in January to reduce the limit to 1,500 guilders, but no decision has yet been taken. The government attorney anticipated such a move, however, arguing that a 3,000 guilder-limit would disqualify 70 per cent of the population.
Government believes 1,500 guilders is reasonable, because 60 per cent of the population would then qualify. The attorney also mentioned that 20 per cent of the population earned 1,000 guilders a month or less and that the lowest paid would normally ssssssssssappeal to public funds most.
The judge ruled that the 3,000 guilder limit was not based on any investigation into family incomes in the Antilles, but was instead based on the amount asked in guarantee from employers. The argument of not overburdening public funds does not justify the 3,000 guilder limit either
Copyright ©1998-2005 The Daily Herald
Latin America in brief: VENEZUELA Leader claims U.S. planning an attack
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Friday that he has documentary evidence that the United States plans to invade his country.
Chávez, interviewed on ABC’s “Nightline,” said the plan is called “Balboa” and involves aircraft carriers and planes. A transcript of the interview was made available by “Nightline.”
He said U.S. soldiers recently went to Curaçao, an island off Venezuela’s northwest coast. He described as a “lie” the official U.S. explanation that they visited Curaçao for rest and recreation.
“They were doing movements. They were doing maneuvers,” Chávez said, speaking through an interpreter.
To prove U.S. intentions to invade Venezuela, Chávez offered to send “Nightline” host Ted Koppel maps and other documentation.
He added: “We are coming up with the counter-Balboa plan. That is to say if the government of the United States attempts to commit the foolhardy enterprise of attacking us, it would be embarked on a 100-year war. We are prepared.”
From Mercury News wire services
Hidden Sponges Determine Coral Reef’s Nutrient Cycle
Marine organisms hidden in caves, such as sponges, play an extremely important role in the nutrient cycle of coral reefs. Indeed they probably play the most important role of all, says Dutch biologist Sander Scheffers. And that is valuable information for nature conservationists who want to preserve the coral reefs.
Marine organisms hidden in caves, such as sponges, play an extremely important role in the nutrient cycle of coral reefs. Indeed they probably play the most important role of all, says Dutch biologist Sander Scheffers. And that is valuable information for nature conservationists who want to preserve the coral reefs.
In order to protect coral reefs it is important to understand how both the reefs and their environment function. Researchers often concentrate on subjects such as physical damage to reefs, the bleaching of coral and coral diseases. Sander Scheffers investigated a lesser-studied subject: the nutrient cycle on the coral reef and the role that organisms living in cavities, such as sponges, play in this.
Underwater camera
To determine the nature and size of this role, Scheffers first of all examined the precise appearance and quantity of these virtually inaccessible caves and their living communities. He did that on the Caribbean island of Curaçao using a special underwater camera. The films shot revealed that sponges were the most important inhabitants, followed by animals such as tube worms, tunicates and bivalves. Together they fill more than 60 percent of the cavities. Further the cavities were found to have a surface area eight times greater than that of the coral reef, as seen from above by divers.
Filterers
And according to Scheffers a larger living surface also means a larger filtering surface. Sponges filter the water. They take up planktonic particles such as bacteria and excrete inorganic nutrients. In turn, these nutrients can facilitate the growth of marine plants and other organisms.
Sponges filter at a phenomenal rate: if the seawater were to remain stationary, the sponges would have completely pumped it away within five minutes, i.e. they would have removed all of the small plankton from it. This is of course not the case, as there is a continuous supply of fresh water into the sea. According to Scheffers, these hidden organisms play a key role in the marine nutrient cycle due to their incredible capacity to convert enormous quantities of organic plankton into inorganic material.
The results from Scheffers’ research have been made available to the personnel from the Marine under water park of Curaçao and have been presented to the local government.