Zimbabwe parliament speaker claims Mugabe has resigned
Robert Mugabe has resigned as the leader of Zimbabwe after more than 30 years in power, according to a statement read by the speaker of the country's parliament.
The speaker read a letter reportedly from Mugabe, in which he said he was resigning immediately and voluntarily in an effort to ensure a "smooth transfer of power," according to the Associated Press. The announcement was met with widespread cheers from lawmakers.
His reported resignation comes amid heightened political tensions in the country.
Mugabe, 93, was placed under house arrest by the military several days ago.
Zimbabwe's military is believed to have taken charge of the country earlier this month.
The first signs of a military takeover emerged Nov. 14 as armored vehicles were deployed near the capital, one week after Mugabe fired his longtime ally Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and accused him of scheming to take power, including through witchcraft.
The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe issued an advisory that night, urging all employees to stay home the next day and warning American citizens there to shelter in place "as a result of the ongoing political uncertainty."
Zimbabwe's army addressed the country on state-run media on Nov. 15, vehemently denying speculation that it was a coup d'etat and assuring citizens that Mugabe and his family were "safe and sound."
On Nov. 17, Mugabe made his first public appearance since the alleged house arrest. He delivered a speech at a university graduation ceremony in the country's capital, Harare.
His resignation marks a major turning point in Zimbabwe's history. He became the country's first prime minister in 1980 after the end of British colonial rule over the country, formerly known as Rhodesia, in southern Africa. He became president in 1987 and had ruled the country since then.
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Missing Argentine submarine may run out of oxygen soon, navy says
The search for a missing Argentine submarine is entering the "critical" stage, the country's navy said today.
The ARA San Juan, which is carrying 44 crew members on board, was last heard from last Wednesday. Searchers continued today to search an area of over 186,000 square miles in the Atlantic Ocean off Argentina where it is thought the San Juan vanished.
Assuming the ship surface before its last-known communication last Wednesday, tomorrow would mark its seventh day underwater and oxygen will soon be running out, an Argentine navy spokesperson said today.
Weather conditions have been rough in the region, hampering the search. Conditions are expected to improve Wednesday and be excellent for searching. But the window of good weather is narrow: Conditions will again worsen on Thursday.
Four thousand people from seven countries are working around the clock on the search efforts, the navy said.
The submarine went missing while traveling from a base in Ushia, Argentina, on South America’s southern tip, to its home base of Mar del Plata, farther north. It was last heard from about 275 miles off the San Jorge Gulf in southern Argentina, according to the navy.
In Mar del Plata, relatives of the missing sailors congregated and waited for updates on Monday.
Twice, Argentine navy officials have dashed hopes some sign of life may had come from the vessel -- once on Saturday, and then again on Tuesday.
A brother of a machinist on the submarine suddenly interrupted an interview with ABC News today to say he had to tend to the wife of the machinist, Fernando Mendoza.
"I have to run," said the brother, Carlos Mendoza, on Monday. "My sister-in-law just fainted in her room in the base."
Marcela Tagliapetra, a relative of another sailor aboard the submarine, said she felt despair.
“We are waiting for good news so we can have something to celebrate,” she told ABC News Monday. “We are going to get it. We are sure that we are going to get it.”
Turks & Caicos Receives Trucks From Overseas Territory
Premier of the Turks & Caicos islands, the Hon. Sharlene Cartwright Robinson turned over three twin cab trucks to various Ministries today outside the NJS Francis Building in Grand Turk.
The trucks were donated to the Turks & Caicos islands by our sister overseas territory Gibraltar, and will be used as apart of the restoration taking place between Providenciales & South Caicos.
The Premier who tested the stick shift truck, in front of Hon. Goldray Ewing the Minister for Infrastructure today said that she so grateful to the Government of Gibraltor for the three SSangyoung Sports trucks.
Premier Robinson
Hon Ewing the Minister for PWD as was grateful to receive one of the trucks as its a start to the rebuilding process.
Minister for PWD, Hon. Goldray Ewing.
The Director for PWD, Xavier Malcolm was also on hand for the receiving of the vehicles. He spoke to RTC News after the presentation.
Public Works Department Director, Xavier Malcolm
PS for the Ministry for Home Affairs, Mrs. Clara Gardiner, OBE was grateful to receive one of the trucks on behalf of the DDME department in Providenciales. Mrs. Gardiner added that much work still needs to be done by the team and stated this will assist in the continuing restoration work.
PS for the Ministry for Home Affairs, Mrs. Clara Gardiner, OBE.
The department of planning still has a lot of work to do following the restoration of the TCI after Irma & Maria, and so the Director of Planning Danier Lightbourne received the final key from Premier Robinson.
Mr. Lightbourne also expressed gratitude for the vehicles.
Director of Planning, Danier Lightbourne.
The first vehicle will be shipped to South Caicos this week.
DOMUS SEMO SANCUS (DSS), A TCI FINTECH COMPANY NOMINATED FOR INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS
Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, 28th September 2017 – Domus Semo Sancus (DSS), a Turks & Caicos
Islands financial technology startup created by E. Jay Saunders, has been nominated for 4 A-Team 2017
RegTech (Regulatory Technology) awards for its Enhanced Due Diligence Cognitive Search and Crime
Prevention Tool SafetyNet.ai (www.safetynet.ai). The categories in which DSS were nominated are:
- Most innovative use of KYC software for client on-boarding
- Most innovative use of AI in regulatory compliance solution
- Most innovative cloud-based regulatory solution
- Most Innovative compliance as a service solution
The RegTech Awards have been designed to acknowledge those companies who are creatively finding
solutions to help with regulatory challenges. DSS is the only company from the Caribbean that was
nominated, and one of only a few companies with multiple nominations. The awards ceremony will take
place in New York City on the 16th November 2017 during the RegTech Summit for Capital Markets. Headline
speakers for the event include Thomas Dunlap, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs and Julia Bardmesser,
Global Head of Data Integration, Deutsche Bank.
E. Jay Saunders, Chairman and CEO, DSS will demo SafetNet.ai at the summit during the RegTech Showcase
event and he will also form part of the panel discussing the topic “Applying innovative technologies to
manage risk and improve onboarding, KYC and AML”.
Other nominees for the 2017 RegTech Awards include industry veterans Accenture, BearingPoint,
Bloomberg, Deloitte, IBM, KPMG, LexisNeixs, Oracle, PWC, and Thomson Reuters. “The industry that our
clients operate in is ever changing and the risks for them are high.” stated E. Jay. “Our clients put a lot of
faith and trust in us, and that’s why we spend a lot of time and effort to ensure that SafetyNet can help
them mitigate risk at a local and global level. To have SafetyNet recognized by the A-Team is a great honor.”
he further commented.
REOPENING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
As a result of the passage of hurricanes Irma on 7 th September and Maria on 21 st September, 80 percent
of public schools suffered damages affecting approximately 4,014 students. Immediately following the
passage of the storms, the Government engaged the services of a local engineering company as well as
an international engineer NGO group - UK SARAID to conduct a detailed assessment of the structural
integrity of all public schools. The degree of damages to public schools ranged from minor to severe,
but all were certified structurally intact. However, given the extent of the damages in two of our schools
and the potential noise impact associated with the construction environment coupled with the potential
risk to our students, the Government decided to relocate all students from the Oseta Jolly Primary and
the Eliza Simons Primary into alternative temporary locations.
Providing a safe learning environment is paramount and returning students to a state of normalcy by
getting students back to school is a priority of the Government. We appreciate that parents have been
very understandable during this difficult time and we ask for your further patience. The Government
devised a three-prong approach which will be implemented simultaneously to return our students to
school.
Strategic Approach 1
As can be appreciated, the senior students such as Forms 4 and 5 in the high schools and the Grades 5
and 6 in the primary schools should be preparing for examinations. As such, it is critical to return these
students to the classroom. Priority will be given to these classes in schools which were heavily
impacted.
Strategic Approach 2
While these students are settling in their schools, the Ministry of Education will continue with the needs
assessment and fine tune its plans to usher the remaining students into school within the following
week(s). This would entail, but will not be limited to, completing minor repair works to existing
infrastructure at the schools thus making more classrooms available, or finalizing plans for alternative
spaces for our students.
Strategic Approach 3
The Government is beginning the process of reprioritizing its capital programme, and in many cases has
already commenced the repair work in all impacted schools, with the vision to rebuild stronger, better
schools. The Ministry of Education will remain engaged with parents throughout this process and
provide continuous updates directly and via the media on progress being made to fully return our
students to a state of normalcy.
In keeping with the strategic approach outlined above, and acting on the recommendation from the
Director of the Environmental Health Department, the following public schools throughout the Turks
and Caicos Islands will be open to the specific classes of students as of Monday, 2nd October 2017:
- Doris Robinson Primary - Middle Caicos - All Grades
- C. Hubert James Primary - North Caicos - All Grades
- Clement Howell High - Providenciales - Forms 4 & 5 (report to the Long Bay High for classes)
- Ianthe Pratt Primary - Providenciales - Grades 6 students from the three public primary schools (Oseta Jolly, Enid Capron & Ianthe Pratt)
Please note:
- The Turks and Caicos Islands Community College will resume classes on Tuesday, 10 th October
2017. - Students who attended the Mary Robinson Primary School on Salt Cay will be prioritized for
placement into public schools on Grand Turk.
The Ministry of Education will issue a follow-up release within the coming days to advise of plans to
resume schooling for students of the H. J. Robinson High, Ona Glinton Primary, Eliza Simons Primary,
Marjorie Basden High, Iris Stubbs Primary, Raymond Gardiner High, Adelaide Oemler Primary, Enid
Capron Primary, and the Oseta Jolly Primary.
Recognising that many students and their families may have suffered great personal loss, the Ministry of
Education is relaxing the wearing of uniforms for the remainder of Term 1. Parents are expected to
ensure that their children are appropriately dressed.
Hugh Hefner, Playboy founder and pop culture icon, dead at 91
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner died Wednesday, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. announced. He was 91.
"Hugh M. Hefner, the American icon who in 1953 introduced the world to Playboy magazine and built the company into one of the most recognizable American global brands in history, peacefully passed away today from natural causes at his home, The Playboy Mansion, surrounded by loved ones," Playboy Enterprises, Inc. said in a statement Wednesday night.
Hefner is survived by his wife Crystal and four grown children: Christie, who served as CEO of Playboy Enterprise for more than 20 years; David, Marston and Cooper, the latter of whom currently serves as Chief Creative Officer at the company.
Cooper said in a statement, "My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom."
Cooper added of his father, "He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history. He will be greatly missed by many, including his wife Crystal, my sister Christie and my brothers David and Marston and all of us at Playboy Enterprises."
World's second biggest diamond sells for $53 million
The world's second-biggest diamond has finally found a buyer.
After failing to sell at a Sotheby's auction last year, the 1,109-carat uncut stone has now fetched $53 million in a private sale to luxury jeweler Graff Diamonds.
The seller, Canada's Lucara (LUCRF), recovered the huge diamond from Botswana's Karowe mine nearly two years ago. It named it Lesedi La Rona, which means "Our Light" in Botswana's Tswana language.
Lucara had originally hoped to get at least $70 million for the stone, describing it as the biggest gem quality diamond found in more than a century.
Lucara CEO William Lamb said the price paid by Graff topped the highest bid received in the Sotheby's auction last year. But it falls short of the $63 million Lucara received last year for The Constellation, a smaller 813-carat uncut diamond.
U.K.-based Graff Diamonds has a long history of acquiring the precious stones in multimillion-dollar deals. In 2006, it bought the 603-carat uncut Lesotho Promise at an auction in Belgium for $12.4 million.
"The stone will tell us its story, it will dictate how it wants to be cut," said Laurence Graff, who founded the company in 1960.
Lucara announced the sale of the Lesedi La Rona after the market closed Monday, a day when its Toronto-listed shares slumped 1.7%.
The stock soared in the months following the Lesedi La Rona's discovery, but it has plummeted more than 40% since last year's failed auction.
The only larger diamond previously unearthed was the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan was eventually cut into smaller stones, some of which are now part of British royal family's crown jewels.
Twitter testing out doubling character limit to 280
Twitter announced today that it is testing out increasing its character limit from 140 to 280.
"Can’t fit your Tweet into 140 characters?" the company tweeted Tuesday afternoon. "We’re trying something new with a small group, and increasing the character limit to 280!"
In a longer blog post, Twitter said it was experimenting with the move "in languages impacted by cramming," which is nearly all of them, save for Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
"We’re hoping fewer tweets run into the character limit, which should make it easier for everyone to tweet," the company wrote.
Twitter noted that it understands its users may have "an emotional attachment to 140 characters," adding "we felt it, too."
"But we tried this, saw the power of what it will do, and fell in love with this new, still brief, constraint," the company said. "We are excited to share this today, and we will keep you posted about what we see and what comes next."
Marc Anthony announces relief effort for Maria-devastated Puerto Rico
Latin pop superstar Marc Anthony has announced the creation of SOMOS UNA VOZ (We Are One Voice), a humanitarian relief initiative that brings together celebrities from sports and entertainment to help Maria-devastated Puerto Rico.
Anthony joined "Good Morning America" live from Miami, Florida, today to make the announcement.
"What we've been able to accomplish in the past 72 hours is put together an alliance," Anthony said. "It's an unprecedented list of artists that combined, we represent 1.3 billion followers. The major announcement is that we actually care and that we're doing something about it."
Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, leaving 100 percent of the island without power. The hurricane was a Category 4 storm with winds of 155 miles per hour when it made landfall on the U.S. territory Sept. 20.
Most of the island is still without power and communication this morning. Friends and relatives in the U.S. are desperate to learn the fate of their loved ones. Anthony also has family living in Puerto Rico.
"Even hearing those stories in my ear, it breaks my heart and this is a reality of what's going on," Anthony said. "You'll be hearing from [SOMOS UNA VOZ] soon with a major announcement coming up in the next week and if anybody's listening, just know that we are coming, just know that we care."
He added, "Families are desperate, but we're here and ready, willing and able."
Marc Anthony and his ex-wife, Jennifer Lopez, announced the creation of the relief effort today.
Funds collected through SOMOS UNA VOZ will be distributed among the American Red Cross, Reach Out Worldwide, United Way and United for Puerto Rico with more beneficiaries to come.
The SOMOS UNA VOZ alliance is working together to rush food, shelter, medicine, power and communications to those in need. Alliance members include Alex Rodriguez, Alejandro Fernandez, Alex Sensation, Bruno Mars, Camila, Chayanne, Daddy Yankee, Ed Sheeran, Edward Norton and many more.
Taliban claims it targeted US defense chief's plane in attack on Kabul airport
The Taliban and ISIS are both taking credit for a rocket attack on Kabul airport early Wednesday just hours after U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis landed in Afghanistan for a surprise visit.
A barrage of up to 40 rounds of munitions hit the airport, including 29 rocket-propelled grenades, according to U.S. military officials.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson Najib Danish said later that three people allegedly involved in the attack were killed by Afghan special forces in an operation close to the airport.
Mattis had left the airport hours before the attack took place. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, also in Afghanistan, was similarly out of harm's way when the rockets hit.
No U.S. personnel were injured, but Afghan Interior Ministry spokesperson Najib Danish said five Afghan civilians were wounded in the incident. Three attackers were killed by Afghan special forces in an operation near the airport, Danish said.
According to media reports, Kabul airport chief Yaqub Rassouli said airplane hangars and some helicopters were also damaged.
A Taliban spokesman tweeted that the attack was aimed at the secretary's plane.
ISIS also claimed responsibility for the rocket barrage.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said at a press conference that his country's special forces are "dealing with" the incident.
Mattis, standing with Ghani, called the attack a "criminal act by terrorists."
"It’s designed to go after generally innocent people to make some sort of statement," the U.S. defense chief said. "This is a classic definition of what the Taliban are up to right now. It defines their approach to how they see their role here and if in fact this is what they have done, they will find the Afghan security forces continuing on the offensive against them in every district of the country right now. So it is what it is, but it’s also the reason why we band together, and we don’t question what we’re doing here.”
This is Mattis's first trip to Afghanistan since President Donald Trump announced a new South Asia strategy that will send an additional 3,000 U.S. troops to the country.
There are approximately 11,000 U.S. forces there now advising and assisting the Afghan military's fight against the Taliban, as well as adding additional firepower to the counterterrorism mission against ISIS and Al Qaeda.
Next month, the U.S. war in Afghanistan will enter its 17th year.