Somalia 'air strike kills foreign al-Shabab militants'
A huge air strike in al-Shabab-held southern Somalia has killed at least six people, including some foreigners, eyewitnesses have told the BBC.
The strike destroyed two vehicles in a convoy in an area known as K60 because it is around 60km (35 miles) south of the capital, Mogadishu, they say.
It is not clear who carried out the strike.
Al-Shabab recently announced it was joining al-Qaeda and is said to have some 200 foreign fighters.
The BBC's Mohamed Dhore in the capital says the blast is far bigger than any carried out by Kenyan forces which have recently moved into some of the areas of southern Somalia controlled by al-Shabab.
Eyewitnesses say it was heard 150km away.
The US military, which has a military base in neighbouring Djibouti, has previously carried out drone strikes in Somalia.
It has also launched air strikes against alleged al-Qaeda militants in the country.
Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohammed Ali on Thursday called for air strikes against al-Shabab as long as civilians were not harmed.
He was speaking at a major conference in London to discuss ways of ending two decades of conflict in Somalia.
But at the same event, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that air strikes were not a good idea and there was no reason to believe anyone was considering them.
"That air strike is not from our end," Kenyan army spokesman Col Cyrus Oguna told the AFP news agency.
Al-Shabab has cordoned off the site of the attack and has not yet commented.
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that some of those killed appeared to be of European or Asian origin.
But some local media are reporting that one of the dead was a prominent Kenyan jihadist.
GOVERNOR THANKS PEOPLE OF TCI FOR PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC MEETINGS
His Excellency Governor Ric Todd would like to thank the several hundred people who attended his public meetings across the Turks and Caicos family islands over the past few weeks.
The series of six public meeting concluded at the Gustavus Lightbourne Sports Centre, Providenciales, last night Wed, 22 Feb 2012. Other meetings were held in Grand Turk, Salt Cay, and North, Middle and South Ciacos throughout January and February.
The purpose of the meetings was twofold. Firstly, the Governor believes that the people of the TCI should be given an opportunity to hear directly from him about the work of the Interim Administration. He promised at his inauguration to meet more regularly with the people across all of the Islands. Secondly, given the importance of the Interim Administration’s milestones, that he should update the people in person about the good progress being made.
While the Provo meeting was perhaps the most boisterous of the six sessions, the Governor believes that the meeting was extremely worthwhile, providing him with an opportunity to respond directly to questions about the economy, immigration, the transfer of £10m from the NIB, and, of course, progress against the milestones.
“I believe that it is important that during my term as Governor that I try to develop meaningful two way communications with the widest possible variety of stakeholders including politicians, party officials and supporters, community leaders and private individuals from across the TCI,” said Governor Todd.
“While the various parties involved might not agree with each other’s positions, I am determined that we can and do meet to discuss issues of mutual concern in a respectful and constructive fashion. Amongst the excitement and exuberance of last night I genuinely believe that good progress was made towards achieving this and improving the quality of our ongoing dialogue.”
During last night’s meeting the Governor took the opportunity to reemphasise the importance of achieving a fiscal surplus by March 2013 and how this was an essential first step towards bringing down and eradicating the Islands’ debt which currently stands at $189m. To achieve this he accepts that recent tax rises affect those on lower incomes the most, but points to many reason to be more optimistic about the economy, citing expansion at the airport, Digicel’s newly announced $8.5m investment in the country, record visitor numbers and a sound plan to reduce the running costs of Government.
The Governor recognised the concerns of people at all the meetings over the issues relating to becoming a TCI Belonger. He expressed his confidence that the Consultative Forum led public consultation, which has been extremely well supported, will produce positive proposals acceptable to Islanders over the next few weeks and months which will establish a clear, simple, transparent pathway to achieving citizenship. Other immigration related issues, such as work permits, will be addressed through the creation of the five new ministries in the TCI Government.
He also clarified that all British Officials and advisors present in the Territory are paid for by the UK and not the people of the TCI; that the Police Marine Unit is up and running.
MARCH MADNESS FOR CIVIL SERVANTS
RTC can reveal that the majority of the 400 civil servants who applied for the Civil Service Severance Scheme package should be issued with their cheques next month.
Spokesman for the Governor’s Office, Neil Smith, made the announcement during yesterday’s media briefing in Providenciales.
Smith also stressed that Government would endeavor to hold on to staff members that are deemed talented and useful to the fortification of the sector. He said, too, that Government could refuse applications from those who it deems too expensive to let go, since the administration was operating on a tight budget.
About 700 of the little over 2,500 civil servants had applied for the package.
Allegations were also rife that a number of persons, who opted against accepting the package, were pushed to take it on the basis that their chance of retention in the sector could be tenuous. It is articulated that the move was being spearheaded by department heads.
But Smith reiterated that, while he was unaware of such practice, stressed that the programme was designed as a voluntary scheme and not a compulsory severance scheme, and as such, no one should be forced to accept it
He stated that the majority of those who accepted the offer would receive what he described as “life-change packages” that would allow them to transform their lives for the better, since they would receive two year’s salary. The campaign to chop the civil service came about as Government seeks to cut costs and balance the budget in order to pave the way for fresh elections that would return the country to local rule, after the UK fired both the Government and Opposition while scratching parts of the Constitution.
Jamaica beat Cuba 1-0
The Reggae Boyz got their preparation for their upcoming 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign off to a good start by defeating Cuba 1-nil in the first-match of their two-game friendly internationals at the National Stadium tonight.
Debutant Jorginho James of Kingston College scored the lone goal five minutes from the end.
He scored just three minutes after he was introduced into the game.
It was Jamaica’s first victory in their last five international friendly games.
Jamaica and Cuba will also play a second game, this time at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Friday, beginning at 7:30 in the evening.
The team will then travel to New Zealand where they face that region's powerhouse on February 29.
The Reggae Boyz open their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign on June 8 at home against Guatemala
Santorum, Romney in Fierce Battle for Republican Nomination
U.S. Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has attacked rival Rick Santorum as a political insider prone to big government spending.
Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, is in a battle with Romney for frontrunner status in the bid for the Republican presidential nomination. The nominee will take on President Barack Obama, A Democrat, in November's general election. Romney is a former governor of Massachusetts.
Speaking at an event Thursday in Arizona — one of two states holding primaries next week — Romney said his team is “the American people,” not the “insiders in Washington.”
The two men are running neck-in-neck in Michigan — the other state with a primary next Tuesday. Last week, some polls showed Santorum with a significant lead there.
In Arizona, polls show Romney ahead of Santorum. However, in polling nationwide, Santorum continues to have a clear lead, with nearly 34 percent support over Romney's 28 percent.
Fellow contenders Newt Gingrich, a former House of Representatives speaker, and Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, trail far behind.
A week after the primaries in Arizona and Michigan , voters in an additional 10 states head to the polls in what is known as “Super Tuesday.”
Diplomats: ‘Friends of Syria’ May Demand Entry of Aid Within Days
Diplomats say a group of Western and Arab-led nations gathering in Tunis to discuss Syria's worsening unrest may issue a demand for Damascus to allow the delivery of foreign humanitarian aid to hard-hit areas within days.
The officials say participants in Friday's “Friends of Syria” meeting are likely to call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to order an immediate stop to his crackdown on an 11-month uprising, so that the aid can be delivered. Representatives of more than 70 nations and international organizations will attend the gathering, among them U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Ahead of the meeting, the United Nations named its former secretary-general Kofi Annan as a joint U.N.-Arab League envoy on the Syria crisis. It said his mission will be to end the violence and promote a peaceful resolution.
Tunisia's presidential spokesman said Thursday his government will propose a peacekeeping force to resolve the Syrian crisis.
It is not clear if the Friends of Syria will announce any punitive measures in the event that Syria rejects their demands. Residents of the central Syrian city of Homs say food, water and medical supplies are running dangerously low after almost three weeks of relentless bombardment by pro-Assad forces surrounding the opposition protest hub.
Russia and China have said they will not attend the Tunis meeting. Both powers have repeatedly blocked the U.N. Security Council from taking action against the Syrian government, saying the Council should not take sides in a domestic conflict.
Speaking on a visit to London on Thursday, Clinton said Syrian opposition forces resisting the government crackdown “will somehow, somewhere find the means to defend themselves as well as (to) begin offensive measures.” She did not elaborate.
Rebels of the Free Syrian Army have been urging the international community to arm them, but Western and Arab nations have been reluctant to agree, fearing foreign military intervention could make the situation worse.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Obama administration still supports a political resolution of the crisis. But, he said the Assad government's ongoing assault on the Syrian people is “heinous and unforgivable” and will require the United States to “evaluate” its approach “as time goes on.”
Rights activists say at least 40 people were killed across Syria on Thursday, in attacks ranging from mountain villages to areas near Damascus. They say the dead include 13 members of an extended family attacked by security forces in a village in the central province of Hama. The casualty figures could not be independently confirmed.
In other developments on Thursday, U.N.-appointed investigators in Geneva said they have compiled a list of Syrian officers and officials suspected of ordering security forces to shoot unarmed protesters, torture detainees, and shell residential areas. The investigators said Syrian leaders “at the highest levels” should face investigation for crimes against humanity.
The U.N. panel said Free Syrian Army rebels also have committed abuses, including killings and abductions, “although not comparable in scale.” In a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council, the investigators estimated the death toll from the uprising at 6,400 civilians and 1,680 army defectors.
In earlier violence Wednesday, activists reported the killings of at least 74 people, including Marie Colvin, a prominent American war correspondent for Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik. The two were killed and several other reporters were wounded when shells hit a makeshift media center in which they were staying in the Homs district of Baba Amr.
In a video posted online Thursday by opposition activists, wounded French reporter Edith Bouvier said she needs urgent medical attention and asked to be evacuated quickly from Homs. The Syrian government expressed condolences for the deaths of Colvin and Ochlik but denied responsibility, saying the journalists were in the country illegally. Syria does not permit foreign reporters to travel freely and has kept most of them out.
World Leaders Focus on Somalia’s Future at London Conference
World leaders are in London for a one-day conference designed to help stabilize Somalia.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said the conference is not meant to impose international solutions on Somalia. But he said the world will “pay a price” if it fails to help the Horn of Africa nation recover from violence, famine and poverty.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the 40-nation conference that Somalia is at a “critical” point. She said the world must help Somalia establish a stable government while keeping up the pressure on the al-Qaida-linked insurgent group al-Shabab.
Clinton added the international community would not extend the mandate of Somalia's weak transitional government beyond August, saying it is “past time” for Somalia to have permanent, representative leadership.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that before August, Somalia needs a new constitution, a smaller parliament, and presidential and parliamentary elections.
Somalia has endured two decades of civil war and poverty since the fall of its last stable government in 1991. More recently, it has struggled to deal with a devastating famine, as well as pirates and al-Shabab, which is seen as a threat to regional security.
The militants control large portions of Somalia but have been losing ground to offensives by Ethiopian, Kenyan, and African Union troops.
Clinton said the U.S. supports all Somalis who denounce violence, but said Washington is “adamantly opposed” to negotiating with al-Shabab. She said Washington is working to impose sanctions against all who seek to undermine Somali security or who delay the political transition.
She also announced an additional $64 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance for the Horn of Africa.
Gov't of Jamaica spending slashed by $22.3 billion
THE People's National Party administration has slashed the spending plan put forward by the previous government by $22,395,189 billion. The second Supplementary Estimates tabled in Parliament this afternoon shows that the previous $546,797,211 billion budget is now $525,245,740 billion.
Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips had indicated earlier this month that the budget would be revised downward due to the fiscal constraints the country is now experiencing.
Consequently several agencies have seen cuts in their recurrent and capital budgets.
Included in that is a $50 million cut in the recurrent budget of the customs department, a $53.1 million cut in the recurrent budget of the Tax Administration of Jamaica, an over $1.5 billion chop in the recurrent budget of the Police Department and a $102.904 million cut in the recurrent budget of the Department of Correctional Services
New White Paper Aims to Improve Public Accountability
A white paper summarizing proposed new and amended pieces of legislation to guide the future governance of the Turks and Caicos Islands was launched for public review on Monday 20th February 2012.
The White Paper has been approved by the Governor and has been presented to the Advisory Council and the Consultative Forum. It was prepared by the EU funded Legislative Review project team headed by Professor Rose-Marie Antoine which has spent several months with senior government professionals, its advisors, and special interest groups on a wide range of areas, touching all government ministries. The White Paper gives the public an insight into the policy issues involved, analysis of the issues and possible legislative direction being taken and a basis for consultation on these new laws.
The project is expected to address identified deficiencies and gaps in laws which are key to the governance process in the TCI, and develop more efficient and transparent modes of operation for the public sector.
This EU funded Project, and similar exercises being undertaken by the Attorney General's Chambers through its own resources and through UK funded drafters, will help the Turks and Caicos Islands meet one of the key milestones for a return to elected government, that is, the introduction of new Ordinances and amended legislation to address deficiencies in the existing legislative framework. The review and reform exercise should result in new laws which are compatible with the new Constitution and with regional and international treaty obligations.
The Territorial Authorizing Officer for the EU funded Project is the Turks and Caicos Islands, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Chairman of the Project Working Group, Mr. Delton Jones, in welcoming the launch of the White Paper said:
"The Project is an important input to ongoing efforts to elevate public sector management through the institution of a series of political, economic and social development projects aimed at helping to restore the economic viability and good governance of the TCI.
The EU Project is thus one component of a wider initiative of stabilization and development towards a path of greater financial viability and sustainability being undertaken by the TCI Government. We are very thankful to the EU for providing the funding to enable the TCI to engage the services of the very experienced team of consultants to work along with the Working Group to undertake this very important legal review/reform project. I hope the populace would embrace the opportunity to make an input into the final laws through the consultative progress that is integral to the project.”
The key areas targeted for review and reform are:
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Regulation of Healthcare Facilities and Health Professionals
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Trafficking in Persons
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Regulation of Crown Land
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Integrity in Public Life
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Creation of a Fractional Ownership Scheme
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Improvements to the Land Registry
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Juvenile Justice, the Rights of the Child and Adoption
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Family Law and Domestic Violence law
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Public Service Reform
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Environment, including Public Health, Agriculture, Aquaculture and Waste Management
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Immigration
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Labour and Industrial Relations
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Upgrade of the International Financial Sector
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Companies, Commercial Entities and Investment
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Oversight to Implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT)
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Education
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Stamp Duty
The White Paper can be downloaded from the government website
FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION AND INDUSTRY LOOK TO THE FUTURE
The Turks and Caicos Financial Services Commission (FSC) hosted a gathering of the financial services industry, government representatives and its own board on Providenciales on Friday 17 February. The event was entitled ‘Sustainable Development for the Financial Services Sector’ and was aimed at improving communications between all stakeholders in the industry; identifying risks and opportunities for the future; and, highlighting legislative action designed to bolster the industry as it looks to expand.
The ‘Retreat’, characterised as ‘Vision 2015’, included presentations from the Bankers Association, Association of Licensed Trustees, the Insurance Managers Association and the Insurance Association. Areas of concern and ideas for future development were discussed in an open and constructive atmosphere with the intention that the suggestions and priorities will be considered by the FSC for possible inclusion in the FSC Action Plan 2012-16, which it aims to publish shortly. A first draft of the Action Plan was shared with the industry immediately ahead of the Retreat as a basis for consultation during the day.
The attendees received confirmation of the government’s support for the financial services in the TCI and the future development of the industry, and its backing for the FSC’s more proactive approach to compliance. The government emphasised that, for the future success of the TCI financial services sector, it must work hard to demonstrate that it meets with international regulatory standards and best practice. To illustrate this intent the Attorney General detailed the current programme to revise TCI’s legislation, which includes several measures relevant to the financial services industry.
Speaking at the close of the event Kevin Higgins, Managing Director of the FSC said: ‘Today’s event was a great opportunity to gather the FSC, industry representatives and the government in the same room in order to agree the challenges we face, and identifying areas we can move forward on together with the aim of securing the future of financial services in the TCI.’
Governor’s representative from the Governor’s Office, Philip Rushbrook, agreed: ‘The pooling of ideas; agreement of the existing risks to the industry; and the acceptance of the need for collaborative working to address the challenges faced by the financial services sector is vital for the long term future of the industry. I very much hope this will become