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  • UK gov’t blocks Kanye West from London music fest — BBC

    UK gov’t blocks Kanye West from London music fest — BBC

    LONDON — In a high-profile decision that has sent ripples through the global entertainment industry, the United Kingdom government has barred controversial American rapper Kanye West from entering the country to perform as a headliner at London’s Wireless Festival, multiple sources confirm. The move comes in response to widespread public fury over a series of virally spread antisemitic comments the rapper made in recent months, according to public broadcaster BBC.

    West, who had lined up a three-night headline set at Finsbury Park’s July iteration of the popular festival as a key stop on his planned European comeback tour, submitted his formal entry application to UK authorities on Monday. Within 24 hours, the Home Office, the UK government department responsible for border control and public safety, rejected the request on official grounds. A spokesperson for the Home Office told the BBC that the refusal was issued because the government determined West’s presence in the UK would not serve the public good.

    The cancellation of West’s planned appearance marks one of the most significant institutional consequences the rapper has faced for his repeated inflammatory remarks targeting Jewish communities. Industry observers note that the decision signals a growing global intolerance for hate speech in the entertainment space, as event organizers and governments continue to grapple with balancing artistic expression and public accountability.

  • Rose Gardens advances through training, employment opportunities with Project STAR support

    Rose Gardens advances through training, employment opportunities with Project STAR support

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Local community development initiative Project STAR has marked a key milestone in its three-year work in Rose Garden, announcing that over $1.8 million in startup funding has already been disbursed to local small-scale entrepreneurs through its targeted nano-grant program. The update was shared at a recent community town hall held in the heart of the Rose Garden neighborhood, where organizers and residents gathered to review progress, address unmet needs, and outline next steps for the long-term development project.

    Unlike traditional cash aid programs, Project STAR’s nano-grant initiative is built on an integrated support model that combines financial backing with end-to-end business training, one-on-one mentorship, and ongoing hands-on guidance, according to Akieme Wilson, the project’s business development and financial inclusion officer. The program is designed to walk aspiring local entrepreneurs through every stage of launching a sustainable micro-enterprise: from refining initial business concepts and calculating operating costs to identifying target customer bases and building long-term viable business models. Grant funding covers the cost of essential tools, equipment, and raw materials that many residents could not afford upfront, turning untested ideas into fully operational small businesses.

    Residents across Rose Garden have already begun to see tangible changes from the program. During the town hall, organizers highlighted the story of a local skilled tradesperson who previously had to rent workspace and equipment from external workshops to complete client jobs. After receiving the nano-grant to purchase his own tools, he can now operate independently, cut down on job delays, and keep a larger share of his earnings rather than paying for third-party access.

    Project STAR first launched its intervention in Rose Garden three years ago in direct response to priorities identified by residents themselves: persistent high unemployment, fractured local family structures, and a lack of targeted development opportunities for young people. Wilson emphasized during the meeting that the project’s progress has always been community-led, noting, “The transformation underway didn’t start with us, it started with you” — a reference to the way residents helped shape every program and intervention to fit local needs.

    All efforts fall under Project STAR’s broader social and economic development framework, which addresses interconnected issues from parenting support and family stability to workforce readiness and sustainable income generation. Skills and job training remain the backbone of the initiative. To date, more than 130 Rose Garden residents have completed the project’s job readiness programming, which includes intensive two-week skills bootcamps, specialized production workforce training, and local job fairs hosted in partnership with Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

    More than 100 of those trained participants have already secured permanent employment, with many sharing stories of life-changing impact. One participant, who has worked at a local hotel for nearly three years, described her participation in the program as transformative, saying it gave her the confidence and stable income to support her children independently.

    Still, project leaders acknowledge that significant challenges remain. Kelly Griffith, Project STAR’s training and employment lead, noted that many residents still face persistent barriers including difficulty navigating workplace stress, preparing for job interviews, and retaining long-term employment. To address these gaps, the project has expanded its support services through partnerships with local agencies including the National Council for Drug Abuse and Restorative Justice, which now offer specialized training in stress management, conflict resolution, and emotional resilience for participants.

    Upcoming additions to the program’s training roster include new courses in customer service, administrative support, and caregiving, which were delayed from earlier rollout plans and are now on track to launch in the near future. From the project’s inception, young people have remained the central focus of its long-term development strategy.

    Griffith highlighted progress on the “High School Pathways to Success” initiative, which supports fifth and sixth-form secondary students through career exploration camps and hands-on business simulation activities. Project STAR has already formed a partnership with Kingston Technical High School and is working to expand these connections to additional local educational institutions. The project also prioritizes early youth entrepreneurship exposure, partnering with Junior Achievement Jamaica to deliver foundational business training to school-aged participants, teaching them how to turn their own ideas into working ventures from a young age.

    The town hall closed by reinforcing the project’s core philosophy of community co-creation: Rose Garden residents are not passive recipients of aid, but active partners and co-creators of the progress the neighborhood has seen over the past three years. “These interventions are already creating real impact: strengthening local business ideas, encouraging grassroots innovation, building youth awareness of career pathways, and supporting sustainable income generation,” Wilson said, closing by noting that this progress is “only the beginning” of what the Rose Garden community can achieve together.

  • Wireless music fest cancelled after Kanye West barred UK entry

    Wireless music fest cancelled after Kanye West barred UK entry

    LONDON – Organizers of the UK’s high-profile Wireless Festival, which was scheduled to welcome Kanye West (now legally known as Ye) as a headlining performer this July, announced Tuesday that the entire event has been scrapped, following a decision by British immigration authorities to bar the controversial American rapper from entering the country. The confirmation of the cancellation came via an official statement posted to the festival’s Instagram account, where organizers explicitly cited the Home Office’s entry ban on Ye as the direct cause of shutting down the event. In the wake of the sudden cancellation, organizers confirmed that every ticket purchased for the festival will be fully refunded automatically, with no extra action required from holders. The ban and subsequent cancellation come after a wave of global backlash triggered by a series of unapologetic antisemitic remarks made by West in recent months, which have seen the rapper dropped from multiple industry partnerships and shut out of major public events across multiple continents.

  • Former Migos rapper Offset wounded in shooting

    Former Migos rapper Offset wounded in shooting

    In a shocking incident that has sent ripples through the global hip-hop community, Grammy-nominated rapper Offset — best known as one third of the iconic Atlanta rap trio Migos — is recovering in a South Florida hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound near a Seminole Tribe casino, multiple entertainment and law enforcement sources have confirmed.

    The 34-year-old artist, whose legal name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was in stable condition and receiving close medical observation at a facility in Hollywood, Florida, according to a spokesperson who spoke to celebrity news outlet TMZ. Law enforcement from the Seminole Police Department confirmed to Agence France-Presse that a shooting did occur in the area during the evening of Monday, though officials declined to publicly confirm the identity of the person struck by gunfire, consistent with ongoing investigative protocols.

    Witness accounts shared with TMZ paint a sudden, jarring picture of the incident: just moments before the shooting, Offset was in good spirits, smiling and engaging with fans who had approached him at the casino property.

    The shooting marks another devastating chapter of gun violence tied to the Migos collective, which permanently disbanded in 2022 following the fatal shooting of founding member Takeoff. Takeoff, 28 at the time of his death, was killed in a shooting at a private event in downtown Houston, Texas, a tragedy that cut short the life of one of the genre’s most promising young stars.

    Migos first catapulted to mainstream fame in 2013 on the back of their viral breakout hit *Versace*, which received a career-changing co-sign from global superstar Drake when he remixed the track. The trio went on to cement their status as 2010s rap royalty, collaborating with Drake again on the 2018 hit *Walk It Talk It*, and scoring their first Billboard Hot 100 number one single in 2016 with the cultural touchstone *Bad and Boujee*.

    Outside of his music career, Offset has long been in the public eye for his high-profile relationship with fellow chart-topping rapper Cardi B. The couple, who share three children together, finalized their split in 2024 after several years of on-again, off-again public separation.

    As of Tuesday, no further details have been released about potential suspects, motives for the shooting, or the exact extent of Offset’s injuries beyond the confirmation that he is in stable condition.

  • Ian Sweetness and Ti’a Smith team up for ‘I’m in Love’ remake

    Ian Sweetness and Ti’a Smith team up for ‘I’m in Love’ remake

    For Jamaican singer Ian Sweetness, admiration for legendary reggae artist Beres Hammond has burned for more than 50 years, stretching all the way back to the 1970s when Hammond was building his reputation with soul-infused rockers like the iconic hit *I’m in Love*. That long-running appreciation has now come to fruition, as Sweetness has teamed up with fellow vocalist Ti’a Smith to deliver a fresh take on the classic track for Philadelphia-based label Wildfire Records, helmed by producer Earl Messam.

    The original version of *I’m in Love*, which first hit airwaves in 1979, was produced by iconic Jamaican producer Joe Gibbs. It quickly became a breakout hit, holding the number one spot for multiple consecutive weeks on the official top 20 charts of Jamaica’s two competing leading radio broadcasters, Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation and Radio Jamaica. For Sweetness, taking on such a beloved, well-known track was no small undertaking.

    “It is a tough tune, and I decided to just do it over, but with a lady vocalist. We did our best to do Beres’ work justice because he is an artist I deeply respect,” Sweetness explained of the collaboration. The new reimagined version of *I’m in Love* is featured on *Champions In Action*, a 2025 compilation album released by Wildfire Records that gathers new work from a roster of contemporary reggae artists.

    The 1979 hit marked a pivotal early moment in Hammond’s decades-long career, foreshadowing the string of successful releases that would cement his status as a reggae legend. In the pre-dancehall era of his career, Hammond balanced uptempo rockers with soulful ballads including *One Step Ahead* and *Got to Get Away*. When his career exploded into mainstream acclaim throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with smash hits such as *What One Dance Can Do*, *Putting up Resistance*, and *Step Aside*, Sweetness’ admiration only grew deeper.

    “What draws me to Beres’ work is how he sings with such raw, authentic soul. I have always been attracted to any art or artist that carries that kind of genuine soul and energy,” Sweetness said.

    Raised in East Kingston, a neighborhood that was a core hub of Jamaica’s iconic vibrant sound system culture, Sweetness cut his teeth in an environment that nurtured reggae talent from an early age. Hammond is not the only legendary reggae figure to shape his artistic style: he counts iconic fellow Jamaican singer Dennis Brown as another major influence, and previously cut a cover of Brown’s classic take on *Ain’t That Loving You* for Messam as well.

  • Kamla says process used to re-appoint Caricom SG could have long term effects for Trinidadians

    Kamla says process used to re-appoint Caricom SG could have long term effects for Trinidadians

    A deepening rift has emerged within the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom) over the controversial reappointment of Secretary-General Dr Carla Barnett, with Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar launching a fierce public campaign demanding full procedural transparency and threatening ongoing pushback against the regional bloc until her demands are met.

    Persad-Bissessar has labeled the process that led to Barnett’s second five-year term as a “surreptitious and odious” affair that carries lasting consequences for the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean nation that contributes 22% of Caricom’s total annual operating budget. In a public statement published to her official Facebook page, the prime minister reiterated her call for the regional integration body to open its books on the reappointment, stressing that her administration will offer no reprieve to Caricom or its secretariat until the matter is resolved in a fully transparent manner.

    “This is not a routine administrative appointment. It shapes the trajectory of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy, national security, regional integration progress, and foreign policy over the next five years, which means it directly impacts the well-being of every one of my citizens,” Persad-Bissessar wrote. “I will pursue this issue mercilessly, relentlessly, and unapologetically in public until we get the transparency that we are owed.”

    The controversy first came to a head at Caricom’s heads of government summit held last month in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis. Shortly after the meeting closed, Caricom chairman and St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew announced in a short official statement that Barnett had secured the required majority of votes from regional leaders to earn reappointment.

    But Trinidad and Tobago has pushed back hard against the outcome, asserting that the country was deliberately excluded from the closed-door deliberations that led to the vote. Port of Spain also confirms that two other member states, Antigua and Barbuda and The Bahamas, were similarly absent from the talks.

    Speaking to Trinidad and Tobago’s parliament last month, the country’s Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Sean Sobers stressed, “I state clearly for the official record: Trinidad and Tobago was never invited, by email, phone, or in person, to the meeting where this decision was taken.”

    Persad-Bissessar, who departed the Basseterre summit before the heads of government retreat on neighboring Nevis where the vote was held, confirmed that Sobers sent an official letter to Drew on March 25 formally registering Trinidad and Tobago’s objection to Barnett’s reappointment.

    The core of Trinidad and Tobago’s complaint centers on procedural violations of Caricom’s governing rules. Persad-Bissessar explained that the reappointment was never added to the provisional agenda for the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, was never discussed during open plenary sessions, and was only addressed during the restricted retreat, from which official representatives of Trinidad and Tobago and other member states were barred.

    “This process raises serious questions about a deliberate effort to circumvent established rules and push through Barnett’s reappointment through improper channels,” the prime minister said. She added that under Article 24 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the Conference of Heads of Government must formally consider and approve all Secretary-General appointments, a requirement the current process failed to meet.

    In pursuit of clarification, the Trinidad and Tobago government sent two additional official letters on March 31, 2026: one addressed to Drew, and a second directly to Barnett. The letters request granular details including when the reappointment was added to meeting agendas, what communications were sent to all member states, whether governments were notified of the outcome after the summit’s joint communiqué and closing press conference, and whether any draft decision was circulated confidentially after the retreat. The government also asked for an explanation for any secrecy surrounding the process, noting that preserving member states’ trust in Caricom’s procedural rules and collective decision-making system is critical to the bloc’s function.

    On the same day, the Permanent Secretary at Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs sent a separate formal request to Janice Miller, Chef-de-Cabinet in the Office of the Secretary-General, seeking clarification and supporting documentation related to the reappointment. That letter pointed out that past reappointments, including the 2016 selection process, fully followed established procedures, with all decisions properly recorded and reflecting the input of all heads of government. The Permanent Secretary emphasized that the 2026 process appears to deviate significantly from Caricom’s agreed rules of procedure.

    As of the publication of Persad-Bissessar’s latest statement, the Trinidad and Tobago government has yet to receive any response to its requests. “The people of Trinidad and Tobago fund nearly a quarter of Caricom’s budget. They deserve transparency, accountability, and full respect for the rules all members agreed to follow,” Persad-Bissessar added.

    Barnett first took office as Caricom’s eighth Secretary-General on August 15, 2021, after being unanimously appointed by regional leaders for her first term.

  • ‘Road to destruction’

    ‘Road to destruction’

    Against the backdrop of a heated debate over extended tariff waivers for imported eggs, the head of Jamaica’s leading egg farming advocacy group has issued a stark warning about the long-term economic dangers of excessive dependence on foreign agricultural imports, calling for intentional, values-aligned collaboration to strengthen local food production.

    Mark Campbell, president of the Jamaica Egg Farmers’ Association (JEFA), delivered his remarks at the 2025/2026 University of Technology (UTech) Western Campus Seminar hosted at Montego Bay’s Sea Gardens Beach Resort. The event, centered on the theme “Bridging Minds, Building Futures: Igniting Innovation through Collaboration”, featured Campbell’s analysis of how collective action can advance Jamaica’s agricultural sector, titled “Feeding the Nation Together: The Role of Collaboration in Advancing Jamaica’s Agricultural Sector”.

    In unflinching remarks, Campbell argued that the allure of cheap imported food masks devastating long-term consequences for developing economies like Jamaica. “I fundamentally and without apology submit that the road of importation is broad, beautiful and enticing but it is the road that leads to destruction for a nation,” he told attendees. He explained that excessive importation funnels wealth to foreign producers, trapping local farmers in low-income subsistence operations that perpetuate poverty. This dynamic, he added, is a core driver of the persistent economic gap between wealthy developed nations and lower-income developing countries.

    While Campbell acknowledged that collaboration is theoretically critical to agricultural progress, he pushed back against the hollow, profit-first collaboration that dominates Jamaica’s current market. He called out local intermediaries who prioritize cheap imports over supporting domestic producers, noting that many middlemen operate with a single-minded focus on profit, disregarding national food security and the livelihoods of local farming communities. “With whom shall producers collaborate? Shall we collaborate with those whose sole interest is hinged unto that ‘profit motive’ which says, ‘As long as I can make a profit by importing, I do not care about the local producer or concepts such as food security?’ And that, I tell you, is the mentality of many of the margin gatherers in Jamaica,” he said.

    Campbell went on to outline a clear roadmap for purpose-driven collaboration that centers national food security. He recommended that local farmers build trust-based partnerships with domestic financial institutions to expand access to capital; work closely with academic research centers and regional farmer collectives to share data and boost output; integrate digital and agricultural technology to cut operational costs, improve communication, and boost efficiency; engage with public and private sector stakeholders to unlock new market opportunities; upgrade core infrastructure for quality control, logistics, packaging and cold storage; partner with educational institutions to train farmers in high-value skills like negotiation and business management; and align with climate science organizations to advance climate-resilient, sustainable farming practices.

    Campbell’s broader critique of over-reliance on imports grows out of recent tensions in Jamaica’s domestic egg market. JEFA has publicly opposed the Jamaican government’s plan to extend a duty waiver for imported eggs through the end of May 2026, arguing the policy would undercut local producers still working to rebuild after back-to-back major hurricanes. The tariff exemption was originally set to expire on February 28, 2026, but the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining has moved to extend it, citing ongoing supply disruptions following consecutive major storms.

    When Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, made landfall on October 28, 2025, Jamaica’s egg industry was still recovering from Hurricane Beryl, which hit in 2024. The ministry noted that after Beryl, JEFA projected production would return to pre-storm levels within six months, but that recovery never materialized, leaving persistent supply gaps. Though Campbell did not address the waiver proposal directly during his seminar address to final-year UTech business students, he clarified his position to Jamaica Observer in a post-presentation interview, confirming that local egg production has rebounded substantially in the months after Melissa hit.

  • UPDATE: Second victim dies in Spur Tree Hill crash

    UPDATE: Second victim dies in Spur Tree Hill crash

    A devastating early-morning crash on Jamaica’s Spur Tree Hill has now claimed two lives, law enforcement officials have confirmed. The fatal incident unfolded shortly before 5 a.m. on Tuesday, when a tractor-trailer loaded with cement veered over a steep precipice along the Manchester roadway, rolling multiple times before coming to a stop.

    Both people inside the vehicle were thrown from the cab during the violent sequence of the crash. First responders from the Mandeville Fire Station were immediately dispatched to the accident site to extract the injured victims, who were rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency care.

    The female passenger was pronounced dead by medical staff upon her arrival at the facility, while the driver, 25-year-old Jordan Sterling, was admitted for urgent treatment of his critical injuries. Despite medical interventions, Sterling later succumbed to his wounds, bringing the total death toll from the crash to two.

    Local authorities have not yet released additional details on potential contributing factors to the crash, including road conditions at the time of the incident or whether speed or mechanical failure played a role. Investigations into the exact circumstances of the accident remain ongoing.

  • Hurricane-ravaged Black River Hospital to have operating theatre back shortly

    Hurricane-ravaged Black River Hospital to have operating theatre back shortly

    In the coastal town of Black River, St Elizabeth, Jamaica, recovery efforts following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa are progressing steadily, with a senior regional health authority leader projecting that major rehabilitation work at the storm-ravaged Black River Hospital will be nearly complete within two months.

    Michael Bent, Director of the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), shared the update in an interview with Jamaica Observer last Thursday, outlining a phased timeline for restoring critical services at the facility that once served the region with 150 inpatient beds. When Hurricane Melissa hit, the storm surge between 8 and 14 feet destroyed much of the hospital’s infrastructure, forcing a dramatic reduction in operational capacity. Today, the facility runs on just a third of its original capacity: 35 beds are set up in a temporary field hospital, and an additional 15 beds have been created by converting part of the Emergency Department into an impromptu ward.

    According to Bent, the restoration project includes targeted modifications to expand usable space beyond the pre-hurricane layout in some areas. Work crews are enclosing open-air corridors to create new, enclosed bed spaces, a change that will offset a small net reduction in total capacity once all repairs are finished. Bent confirmed that the hospital’s critical operating theatre, a core service for the local community, is expected to be fully operational again within 7 to 10 days, no later than mid-April. All inpatient wards are on track to be reopened and back in service by the end of May, bringing the hospital’s total capacity back up to roughly 135 beds.

    While short-term repairs are moving forward on schedule, the long-term future of the hospital remains tied to a broader climate-resilient redevelopment plan for the entire town of Black River. Bent confirmed that local and national authorities have held initial consultations about permanently relocating the hospital to higher inland ground, as proposed by the national government, but no final decision has been reached, and the full relocation process will take years to complete.

    Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness first laid out the government’s ambitious long-term vision for Black River during his contribution to the 2026/27 Budget Debate last month. He detailed how Hurricane Melissa’s powerful storm surge devastated the town’s historic waterfront, destroyed multiple civic buildings, and left critical public infrastructure severely damaged. In response, the government is not planning to simply rebuild the town as it stood before the storm. Instead, the Urban Development Corporation, in partnership with international development stakeholders, is developing a comprehensive climate-resilient redevelopment plan that separates coastal uses from essential public infrastructure that needs to be protected from future storm surges and long-term sea level rise.

    Under the plan, a new planned urban core will be built on elevated inland ground, well above projected flood and sea level rise thresholds. All of Black River’s core public services, including the hospital, courthouse, municipal offices, police station, tax office, local school, public market, and transport hub, will be consolidated into a single, walkable, flood-safe precinct — a planned civic center the 300-year-old town has never had before. The new development will also include a public town square and civic park, and all new buildings will be engineered to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds, built on elevated platforms, and equipped with modernized drainage, utility corridors, and emergency backup systems to ensure resilience against future climate events.

  • Kintyre shareholders say NYSE plans unaffected by VM legal dispute

    Kintyre shareholders say NYSE plans unaffected by VM legal dispute

    KINGSTON, JAMAICA – Amid ongoing legal proceedings tied to collateral shares involving VM Investments Limited, the controlling shareholder group of Kintyre Holdings (JA) Limited has publicly clarified that its proposed international corporate restructuring and pursuit of a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing remain fully on track.

    In an official statement released on April 2, the group emphasized that it is not a named party to any litigation against VM Investments, even though the current dispute centers on share pledges held by entities connected to the controlling shareholder bloc. The proposed restructuring, the group explained, is limited exclusively to rearranging ownership stakes within the controlling group, and does not alter the operational or corporate structure of Kintyre Holdings (JA) Limited itself.

    To date, the shareholder group has not provided clear guidance on how existing debt obligations tied to the pledged shares will be addressed as part of the proposed reorganization. The statement explicitly carved out VM Investments’ holdings from the restructuring plan, noting that any shares held by VM are bound by separate existing contractual arrangements, outstanding security charges, and the ongoing court dispute – none of which are included in the new international holding structure or the reorganization effort.

    The clarification comes as Kintyre Holdings grapples with a massive $504.58 million outstanding debt, secured by share pledges that were valued far higher when the loan was originated. Currently, Kintyre’s stock trades at roughly $0.35 per share, a steep drop from the valuation that backed the collateral. This sharp decline has created a major gap between the current market value of the pledged shares and the outstanding loan balance, leaving market observers uncertain how much of the total debt will ultimately be recoverable by creditors.

    The shareholder group said the clarification was necessary after recent public comments connected to the legal dispute created widespread confusion about the group’s intentions and role in the process. It added that legal counsel has already been engaged to review recent statements and evaluate potential legal action against parties spreading misleading information.

    Despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the share dispute, the controlling bloc reaffirmed its long-term commitment to building a global investment holding firm with a operational footprint across the Caribbean and Latin America. To back up its confidence in the business, the group pointed to strong recent operating results: the company now holds total assets in excess of $15 million, and posted record-breaking profitability in 2025, marking a solid upward growth trajectory. The group also made clear it will aggressively push back against any attempts to disrupt or mischaracterize its restructuring and listing plans.