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Let’s Play Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Part 2 Gameplay/Walkthrough Islands 3-4 – Video

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Let #39;s Play Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Part 2 Gameplay/Walkthrough Islands 3-4
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Let's Play Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Part 2 Gameplay/Walkthrough Islands 3-4 - Video

Greek Islands: readers' tips, recommendations and travel advice

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More travel tips

Picture postcard

While on holiday in Kalkan, we heard about a tiny Greek island called Kastellorizo (Meis in Turkish) a mile or two off the Turkish coast in the eastern Mediterranean. So we went to Kas to catch the ferry to the island and were met by the most stunning, colourful harbour, which was like a picture postcard. The island is about five square miles and most of the action is around the harbour with its bars and tavernas. Strolling around the unspoilt village was wonderful. Historically the island has been in the hands of the Turks, French, Italians, British and Greeks, and there is a small museum to visit.

We hired a water taxi, which took us to an isolated beach where we were deposited with the promise of a pickup in time for the ferry back. Four of us had a couple of hours there swimming totally alone. It was absolutely magical, and sure enough the water taxi returned to deliver us back to the harbour as promised. What an unforgettable experience.

Alan Simpson, Berkshire

Wartime memories

A day trip on Crete to little-known sites with no entrance fees and few tourists. From Rethymnon take the road to Armeni to explore the Minoan cemetery, more than 200 chambered passage graves in a grove of olive and oak trees. Nearby is a tiny bakery, where we drank peach tea and ate cheese and spinach pies, tiny apple pies and mushed grape desserts in the sunshine. Next we drove to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery by the sea at Souda Bay then headed farther west for the German war cemetery on a hillside known as Hill 107 at Maleme, the site of early fighting in the battle for Crete where the German invasion began in May 1941. Next to the entrance is a small caf with a huge collection of Second World War memorabilia inside and out.

Rosemary Wyeth, Wiltshire

Asklepion is one of the many sights of historical interest on Kos. Photo: AP

Island to island

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Greek Islands: readers' tips, recommendations and travel advice

Cook Islands ratings affirmed at 'B+/B'

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Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'B+/B' issuer credit ratings on the Cook Islands. The outlook is stable. The Transfer & Convertibility assessment remains 'AAA'.

"The ratings affirmation Islands reflects the Cook Islands' moderate average income level and modest government debt burden," Standard & Poor's credit analyst Craig Michaels said. "However, vulnerabilities associated with the country's weak policymaking culture and institutional settings constrain the ratings. Despite recent improvements, we believe the government can further strengthen institutional checks and balances in order to safeguard its past gains in fiscal consolidation."

In addition, the Cook Islands economy is vulnerable to the impact of cyclones and changing tourism preferences on its major revenue earner, the tourism industry. Further moderating the ratings are the country's lack of monetary policy flexibility and data deficiencies that constrain our analysis of the Cook Islands' external position.

We project Cook Islands' real per capita GDP growth to average 3.6% over 2014 to 2016, partly reflecting further expected declines in its population. Emigration is high in the Cook Islands, averaging 1.5% of the population annually during the past 17 years. Although the Cook Islands' integration with the Australian and especially New Zealand labor markets gives the Cook Islands a valuable alternative for its citizens, it does constrain prospects for the economy to diversify into higher value-added areas. However, we expect moderate further increases in tourist arrivals to support economic growth, with tourism remaining the primary economic activity in the Cook Islands. Income is high compared to that of peers, with GDP per capita estimated at US$21,000 in the year ended June 30, 2012.

In our base-case scenario, we project general government debt will rise by an average 3.3% of GDP annually over 2014 to 2016, with net debt expected to average 22% of GDP over the same period. General government interest expenditure to revenues is estimated to be a low 1.0% on average between fiscal years 2014 and 2016, reflecting the concessional and long-term nature of current borrowings. The Cook Islands' increasing debt is mainly because of water and sanitation investment, although ongoing shortfalls in infrastructure and basic services will continue to limit fiscal flexibility. And while government debt remains low, a large portion of this debt is exposed to foreign currency movements.

We equalize the local currency rating with the foreign currency rating, reflecting the Cook Islands' absence of both monetary policy flexibility and a domestic capital market, and its use of the New Zealand dollar. The transfer and convertibility assessment for the Cook Islands is 'AAA', which also reflects its use of the New Zealand dollar.

Mr. Michaels added: "The stable outlook balances the Cook Islands' sound economic growth prospects and low level of government debt, against the challenges it faces in overcoming weak political and institutional settings and infrastructure shortcomings."

We would lower the ratings if a weakening in global economic conditions reduces tourism sector receipts and, in turn, worsens the government's finances. A weakened commitment to uphold past fiscal gains through high operating spending, resulting in its debt burden rising by significantly more than we currently expect, could also bring pressure on the ratings.

Improvements in the sovereign creditworthiness could come with sustained gains in policymaking stability and effectiveness, evidenced by the reduction of sizable data deficiencies, and progress in increasing economic opportunities for residents.

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Cook Islands ratings affirmed at 'B+/B'


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