TOUGHER REQUIREMENTS FOR LEGAL FIREARM HOPEFULS
Assistant Superintendent of Police Darron Williams says that it won’t be business as usual as it relates to the re-issuing and new firearm licences.
Williams in a recent interview said: “We have enhanced the process because we see the need for it. We just don’t want to give people firearm licenses without ensuring that they are aware of the safety aspects of it and what the law says about drawing your firearm on someone, or the use of force with firearms. So, we have put a new process together, on the approval of the Commissioner of Police. That is currently on the table,”
In the meantime, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police is reminding licensed firearm holders that their license should have been renewed by the 31st December 2011. According to the police, holders who failed to immediately take the necessary steps to update their license, since technically they are carrying an illegal weapon and “can be in serious trouble with the law”.
There are approximately 208 licensed firearm holders in the TCI and about 30 applications in the processing stages.
Additionally, Superintendent Williams said that the applicant must demonstrate your knowledge of safety handling for firearms with a firearm’s instructor of the police department, because the issue of firearm licenses is a serious matter, that carries criminal liability, hence those with responsibility for issuing them must be certain and convinced that the individuals applying are persons that can be considered fit.
He further pointed out that even after all the requirements for application are met, there is no guarantee that a license would be granted. He said, too, that if the holder of a firearm’s license failed to adhere to any of the stipulations, the license will be in jeopardy of be revoked and the firearm seized.
PADGETT DUE TO RETURN TO TCI
Richard Padgett, a property developer and best known for his involvement in the Third Turtle project in Providenciales, is due back in court in April.
Padgett was one of the first individuals to be charged by the SIPT and his attorneys confirm that Mr. Padgett who is alleged through his company Oceanpoint Developments, paid more than $1m to former deputy Prime Minister Floyd Hall and his Progressive National Party during attempted construction of the Third Turtle Club in the Providenciales.
Sara Teasdale, of Pannone, will be defending Mr. Padgett.
It is understood Mr. Padgett and eight other people, including Mr. Hall and three other ex-ministers, will appear before court again to face various charges including money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the TCI Government.
The charges against Mr. Padgett relate to alleged payments uncovered by a Commission of Inquiry in 2009, led by Sir Robin Auld, the UK’s former Lord Chief Justice of Appeal, and concern the Third Turtle Club and Spa.
Mr. Padgett had previously stated that he was putting the scheme up for sale, saying he had “no more energy” to continue after spending more than $20m on the project.
FC Porto 1 Man City 2
Substitute Sergio Aguero hit a dramatic late Europa League winner as Manchester City came from behind to beat holders Porto in the first leg of the last 32.
City trailed to Silvestre Varela's close-range effort following a powerful run and cross by Hulk.
But the visitors impressed and deservedly equalised when Alvaro Pereira deflected Yaya Toure's cross into his own net off his shoulder.
They sealed victory when Aguero tapped home following Toure's cross.
On a memorable night for Roberto Mancini's side at the Estadio do Dragao, the Premier League leaders did not look like a team of players who felt sorry for themselves as they returned to the continental stage for the first time since being denied a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League by Napoli and Bayern Munich.
Porto keeper Helton was much busier than Joe Hart before half-time with the Brazilian producing two excellent saves in the space of a minute to deny Micah Richards and Samir Nasri.
Winning the Premier League remains City's main priority but Mancini said on the eve of the tie that he is keen for City to make a strong impression in the Europa League.
His players certainly did that in Portugal.
The City manager backed up his words by naming a strong side which included a recall for Mario Balotelli following a four-match domestic suspension.
In addition, younger Toure brother Yaya was also in the side for the first time since 3 January after the Ivory Coast international returned as a losing finalist from the African Cup of Nations.
But Porto are anything but European lightweights and, after weathering an early City storm, the 2004 Champions League winners edged in front in the 27th minute when the dangerous Hulk delivered a low cross for Varela to poke home from close range after poor marking in the City defence.
City responded immediately with Nasri producing the pass of the match to leave Balotelli clean through with only the keeper to beat.
However, he was denied by another glorious save by Helton - the 33-year-old diving full-stretch to keep out his rasping effort which was heading for the net.
Porto gave the visitors a lesson in passing but Hart, despite conceding, was rarely tested by the hosts.
Mancini's side continued to ask questions of the home defence after the interval with the impressive Richards rattling the outside of Helton's post after drilling a low powerful effort following a powerful 50th-minute run.
Five minutes later City were level.
Toure tried to pick out Balotelli with a long ball forward but his pass hit Pereira on the shoulder and the ball flew past Helton into the net.
There was a touch of fortune about the goal but few inside the ground could say that City did not deserve the equaliser.
The game was niggly throughout with Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir forced to produce a flurry of yellow cards as tempers threatened to boil over.
But just as the match looked to be heading for a draw, Aguero scored a dramatic 84th-minute winner, six minutes after coming on, when he turned Toure's low cross over the line to spark scenes of jubilation among City's travelling support.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said: "I think that we played a good game, we played very well. In the first half we had three or four goalscoring chances. We were really unlucky.
"In the second half we played very well. We played as we know. We had seven, eight chances to score and we didn't give any chances to Porto, which is important because Porto is a top team.
"I think we won the game very well. We had more chances to score than them."
UK and France sign nuclear energy agreement
The UK is to sign a deal with France to strengthen co-operation in the development of civil nuclear energy.
The government says it reiterates the UK's commitment to nuclear energy "as part of a diversified energy mix".
The coalition says the agreement will create a number of commercial deals in the nuclear energy field, worth more than £500m and creating 1,500 UK jobs.
Defence will also be on the agenda as PM David Cameron and President Nicolas Sarkozy hold a summit in Paris.
An announcement about joint development of a future unmanned aircraft is also expected.
'Joint framework'
"This joint declaration will signal our shared commitment to the future of civil nuclear power, setting out a shared long term vision of safe, secure, sustainable and affordable energy, that supports growth and helps to deliver our emission reductions targets," a statement from Downing Street said.
The two governments will work together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "to strengthen international capability to react to nuclear emergencies and establish a joint framework for cooperation and exchanging good practice on civil nuclear security".
The move comes 11 months after the tsunami in Japan which wrecked the nearby the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leaking radioactive material into the air and sea.
UK and French public and private sector bodies in the civil nuclear power industry will also work more closely in a number of areas.
These include education and training; research and development, and security.
"As two great civil nuclear nations, we will combine our expertise to strengthen industrial partnership, improve nuclear safety and create jobs at home," said Mr Cameron.
Eight sites
Last June, ministers announced plans for the next generation of UK nuclear plants.
The government confirmed a list of eight sites it deems suitable for new power stations by 2025, all of which are adjacent to existing nuclear sites.
The sites are: Bradwell, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa, Anglesey.
And earlier this month the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the first nuclear reactors to be built in the country since 1978.
Asian shares up on recovery hopes amid positive US data
Asian markets have risen on hopes of a recovery in the US after the world's biggest economy reported better-than-expected jobs data.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.9%, South Korea's Kopsi gained 1.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 1%.
On Thursday, data showed new claims for unemployment benefits in the US fell to their lowest level since March 2008.
As a result, US shares closed at their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
The Dow Jones index of leading companies closed up 1% at its highest level since May 2008, while the tech-based Nasdaq index climbed 1.5% to its highest level since December 2000.
Allaying fears
Some of the biggest economies in Asia such as China, Japan and South Korea rely heavily on exports to boost their growth and the US is one of the key markets for their goods.
However, the high rate of unemployment in the US has not only hurt growth in its economy, but also hurt demand for Asian goods.
A recovery in the jobs market is seen by most economists as key to an overall US economic recovery.
Analysts said that, given its impact on consumer confidence, US jobs data was also closely monitored by Asian firms.
"It is among the top two or three factors that exporters in the region look at," Arjuna Mahendran of HSBC Private Bank told the BBC.
"When we started the year, economists were unanimous in their opinion that it will be a weak job recovery, but the statistics have belied that so far."
Mr Mahendran added that a sustained recovery would help the region's exporters to grow.
Market sentiment was also lifted by hopes that a bailout deal between Greece and eurozone leaders may be finalised early next week.
An approval of that deal would see Greece get a130bn-euro (£110bn; $170bn) bailout package that would help it avoid a potential default.
Like the US, the eurozone is one of the biggest markets for Asian goods, and stability and growth in the region is important for Asian exporters.
There have been fears that a Greek default would dent confidence in the region and hurt its growth further.
Analysts said that despite the recent differences between leaders from Greece and other eurozone countries, a deal was likely to be reached soon.
"It's a long, hard struggle, but the general view is that, eventually, there will be some solution because a Greek default is not in the interests of the eurozone members such as Germany," said Philippe Gijsels of BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets.
Some analysts said that fears of a global impact of a Greek default were subsiding.
"People are increasingly of the opinion that, although Europe will continue to have flare-ups, it's not likely to become a calamity for the world economy," said Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management.
General Motors unveils record profits for 2011
US carmaker General Motors made record profits in 2011 but unveiled huge losses in its European operations.
The firm made a profit of $7.6bn (£4.85bn) over the year, up 62% from 2010.
However, it lost $700m in Europe, which includes its UK Vauxhall plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton, and made a $100m loss in South America.
The firm, which faced bankruptcy two years ago, saw sales rise 7.6% last year to more than 9 million vehicles.
Much of its growth came from North America, where profits more than tripled to $7.19bn in 2011.
GM has announced it will give up to $7,000 each in bonuses to 47,500 eligible workers across the world - compared with $4,300 a year ago.
In 2008, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and received a $50bn bailout from President Barack Obama's administration, with the US government now owning 32% of the firm.
In the UK, the firm has about 4,500 staff, making the Vauxhall Astra van, estate and hatchback models.
General Motors' chief financial officer, Dan Ammann, said: "Behind the scenes, we are working hard to eliminate complexity and cost throughout the organisation to increase margins in all of our regions and return Europe and South America to profitability."
However, he did not disclose whether this would mean job cuts.
Some analysts were disappointed that GM failed to give a detailed forecast for 2012.
"A lack of guidance leaves GM shares shrouded in the thick fog of macro-uncertainty," said Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley.
Patents: Apple wins over Motorola in 'slide-to-unlock' ruling
Apple has won a patent dispute against Motorola Mobility regarding a "slide-to-unlock" feature on smartphones.
The judgement marks Apple's first patent victory over Motorola in any part of the world.
Patent consultant Florian Mueller said the ruling could affect patent disputes involving Android device makers worldwide.
Motorola said it planned to appeal and the judgement would have "no impact" on supply or future sales.
A spokeswoman for the Motorola said: "Today's ruling in the patent litigation brought by Apple in Munich, Germany, concerns a software feature related to phone unlocking in select Motorola devices sold in Germany.
"Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales."
Apple said it would not be commenting on the decision.
'Global battle'
Motorola Mobility is in the process of being acquired by Google, and most of its handsets run on the search firm's mobile operating system, Android.
The Android system is Apple's closest rival in the mobile market.
Mr Mueller, a patent expert who has in the past consulted for Microsoft, described the ruling as a "very significant win for Apple against Android".
"After Google closes the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the Apple-Motorola Mobility dispute will soon gain importance transcending that of the global battle with Samsung," he said.
While this decision relates solely to activity in the German market, the decision could potentially help Apple with other patent disputes in other parts of the world, Mr Mueller added.
"Apple is already asserting the slide-to-unlock patent in different jurisdictions against all three leading Android device makers and might use it against even more of them going forward."
The patent in question - EP1964022 - relates to the process of unlocking a smartphone by simply swiping a finger from one area of the screen to another.
A second patent ruling, which covers a method of scrolling through pictures in a photo gallery on mobile device, was also due on Thursday but was postponed by the court.
Stanford saw Antigua as "Crown Jewel", jury hears
The former Sir R. Allen Stanford, the man US federal prosecutors accuse of a $7 billion investor scam through certificates of deposit in an offshore bank, saw his adopted country of Antigua and Barbuda as a “crown jewel.”
The disclosure came from a lawyer and former U.S. Customs Agent Thursday, who testified in defense of Stanford. The defense opened its case yesterday, a day after the prosecution rested, and called its first of 27 witnesses, Patrick O’Brien, to the stand. O’Brien served with Stanford during the late 1990s on a committee charged with reforming banking laws in the Caribbean nation of Antigua, where Stanford owned the largest bank. O’Brien told jurors and the court that Stanford wanted to make Antigua the “crown jewel” among Caribbean nations for providing financial services and even loaned the island’s government the money to fund the committee.
He said the vision and effort yielded new laws and a new regulatory body in Antigua, and Stanford was named to its board even though he owned an institution it was charged with overseeing.
AG AND THE BILL
The integrity commission bill was a hot button issue as it revealed yesterday who should under law be able to make declarations and as Attorney General Hue Shepheard explained on the Governor is exempt, thus meaning himself and the CEO of the TCI can be called to give evidence or face the commission.
He added that the governor is in the TCI as a representative of the queen and holds that responsibility as is observed in the UK and the laws are clear on what the Governor can and cannot adhere to in the Turks and Caiocs Islands.
This clarification has left to query whether it was under these principles that former Governor Richard Tauwhare operated under while installed as Governor of the TCI but has his signature affixed to several of the now controversial deals that have been placed under public scrutiny while ruling over the former Premier Michael Misick administration.
Tuesday’s meeting also debated and supported amendments to the Integrity Commission Ordinance and accompanying Schedules. The amendments, among other things, change the filing requirements that apply to persons in public life; give the Commission and the Governor more flexibility in administering the Ordinance; and lower the threshold for the value of gifts that must be declared.
One of the Schedules carries a list of the “Persons in Public Life” who are required to file returns, and the Commission has asked these persons to review and submit comments on the amendments.
The Agriculture Bill 2012 provides for the establishment and operation of a Department of Agriculture, and the appointment of a Director and staff to manage and administer the Department. Government expects the agriculture sector to meet more of local food demand, reduce dependence on imports, and create employment, as part of its role in the ongoing recovery and future economic growth of the TCI.
The Forum also voted to support the related Control of Animals Bill 2012 which transfers responsibility for the control of animals, including the provision of pounds, from the Environmental Health Department to the new Department of Agriculture.
Payroll tax cut: US Congress reaches deal
A US congressional panel has reached a tentative deal on extending a payroll tax cut, ending weeks of uncertainty.
The $150bn (£95.69bn) deal extends the tax cut until the end of 2012.
Both houses of congress are expected to approve the extension - which will affect 160m workers - by the end of the week.
Agreement came after Republicans dropped calls for spending cuts to offset the expense, and Democrats put aside requests for other tax breaks.
The payroll tax sparked an impasse in Congress at the end of 2011.
The new deal is expected to provide workers with an extra $40 every two months.
The joint House-Senate panel has also agreed to extend unemployment benefits as part of the deal.
"We have reached an agreement and we're moving forward," said Republican Representative Dave Camp, who headed the negotiating committee.
Mr Camp said there were some technical details outstanding which would be sorted out by staff aides.
Extending the cut, which was originally passed in 2010, was part of a wide-ranging jobs plan launched by President Barack Obama in September 2011.
But the Republicans had opposed the plan as it had wanted spending cuts to pay for the tax reduction in order to avoid an increase in the federal debt.
Republicans had wanted to reduce the extension of unemployment benefits from 99 weeks to 59 weeks. The White House wanted a 79-week extension as a compromise - but the deal agreed is 73 weeks in states with the highest numbers of unemployed people.
Although particularly states where unemployment is a key issue - such as Rhode Island and Nevada - will actually see more generous measures than under current law.
The Republicans also dropped a condition that potential recipients of unemployment benefits must be drug-tested first.
Another condition which was dropped was the requirement for those on low incomes who claimed child tax credit to possess social security numbers if they wanted government cheques.
However, under the terms of the tentative deal, there would still be a 2% point cut in the payroll tax which pays for federal social security pensions.
It would also renew benefits worth an average of $300 a week for the long term unemployed.