Philippines Landslide Kills 25, 100 Missing
Philippines officials say a landslide in a gold mining community on the southern island of Mindanao has killed at least 25 people and left more than 100 others buried under tons of rocks and mud.
Officials say the disaster struck before dawn Thursday near the town of Pantukan. Philippine soldiers are helping dig through the rubble, searching for survivors.
The area has been the site of previous landslides. But officials say miners and their families chose to stay even after they were warned of the risks.
Romney & Santorum Tied In Iowa Caucuses
Social conservative Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney were tied for first place among Republican candidates in the Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2012 presidential election.
Longtime front-runner Romney and a recent favorite, Santorum, have both won 25 percent of the votes. Anti-war advocate Ron Paul is slightly behind at 21 percent.
Santorum's campaign got off to a slow start, but surged in the month leading up to the Iowa caucus. He challenged his main opponent's electability in a post-caucus speech on Tuesday.
Santorum also used his speech to promote his tax code and blame the Obama administration for driving away jobs.
“So we eliminate the corporate tax on manufacturing so we can compete. We take the regulations, every regulation that's over $100 million, and we repeal all those regulations – repeal them all, and there's a lot of them. Under the Bush and Clinton administrations they averaged over 60 regulations over $100 million a year. This administration hit 150 last year. You want to know what is crushing business? This administration is crushing business.”
In a speech from Iowa's capital city, Des Moines, Romney congratulated Santorum and thanked Iowa voters for giving him and his opponents the chance to restore “the heart and soul” of the nation. He also pointed at U.S. President Barack Obama's failure to put Americans back to work.
“I will go to work to get American back to work by making America once again the most attractive place in the world for job creators, the innovators, the investors and jobs, the jobs will begin to flow like they have in the past. I'll keep our tax rates competitive, get regulators and regulations to see their jobs as to encourage enterprise, make sure we open up new markets for American goods, and finally take advantage of the energy resources we have here in oil and gas and coal and nuclear and renewables.”
After a poor showing, Texas governor Rick Perry said in a speech late Tuesday that he will head home to reconsider his presidential bid. He trailed former House speaker Newt Gingrich with about 10 percent of the votes.
“I've decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race.”
Meanwhile, Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann vowed to stay in the race and compete in upcoming primaries, after claiming only about 5 percent of the votes.
Tuesday's caucus results in Iowa will most likely not reflect the eventual presidential nominees for either the Republicans. But the state's caucuses can push weak contenders out of the race, or propel stronger candidates to success in other states during the next several weeks.
Following the caucus on Tuesday, Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas, recapped some of the campaign themes that have distinguished him from his competitors.
He credited his success in Iowa above all to his strong anti-war stand and his desire for the United States to sharply curtail its international commitments.
” We certainly don't need NATO and the U.N. to tell us when to go to war. We have seen a great difference, the majority of the American people are behind us on this whole war effort. They're tired of the war, costs too much money, too many people get killed, too many people get sick. And, the majority, maybe 70 or 80 percent of the American people now are saying, Its time to get out of Afghanistan.”
Paul pledged to press the same issues in the New Hampshire primary election next week, including his call for greater protection of personal privacy, reform of the Federal Reserve system and a return to the gold standard.
Former House speak Newt Gingrich trailed in fourth place with about 13 percent of the vote. He addressed supporters at his Iowa campaign headquarters, stressing his opposition to Paul's anti-war ideas.
“The fact is, his views on foreign policy I think are stunningly dangerous for the survival of the United States. And I think it's a very simple question, which I would be glad, at the next debate, to ask Congressman Paul: If you have a terrorist who is prepared to put on a bomb and wear it as a vest, and walk into a grocery store, or a mall, or a bus, and blow themselves up, as long as they can kill you, why would you think, that if they can get access to a nuclear weapon, they wouldn't use it?”
Former U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman came came in last with one percent of the vote. Huntsman has not campaigned in Iowa. He is pinning his hopes on a good showing in the New Hampshire state primary January 10.
The Democratic Party also held its caucuses. President Obama was unopposed for the party nomination but hosted a live web chat with supporters in Iowa Tuesday night.
He faces a difficult test to win another term in the November election. The nation's economy has recovered sluggishly from the 2007-2009 recession, leaving many voters questioning his leadership.
Iran nuclear crisis: Sanctions 'beginning to bite
The US has said threats by Iran to restrict Gulf shipping in the event of further sanctions shows international pressure is having an effect.
The State Department said sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme were starting to bite and that Iran was trying to create a distraction.
Iran has conducted 10 days of exercises near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, test-firing several missiles.
Its currency is at a record low, but it has denied sanctions are to blame.
The UN Security Council has already passed four rounds of sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment.
Highly enriched uranium can be processed into nuclear weapons, but Iran denies Western charges that it is trying to develop them.
Tehran says its programme is peaceful - it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity to meet growing domestic demand.
The US has also sanctioned dozens of Iranian government agencies, officials and businesses over the nuclear programme.
The government in Tehran has dismissed the latest measures announced in the wake of a critical IAEA report in November.
US President Barack Obama signed into law the US bill targeting Iran's central bank on Saturday. It enters into force in six months' time.
Since then, however, the Iranian national currency, the rial, has lost about 12% of its value - trading at about 17,200-18,000 rials to $1.
Earlier on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called for "stricter sanctions" and urged EU countries to follow the US in freezing Iranian central bank assets and imposing an embargo on oil exports.
'Mock' exercises
Speaking to journalists, the State Department's Victoria Nuland said Tehran was feeling increasingly isolated because of the sanctions.
"Frankly we see these threats from Tehran as just increasing evidence that the international pressure is beginning to bite there and that they are feeling increasingly isolated and they are trying to divert the attention of their own public from the difficulties inside Iran, including the economic difficulties as a result of the sanctions," she said.
Meanwhile Pentagon spokesman George Little responded to Iranian warnings to keep an aircraft carrier out of the Gulf, saying the Navy was operating within international law and had no plans to pull warships out of the region.
Iran has been holding a series of naval exercises in the Gulf, and on Monday said it had successfully test-fired a surface-to-sea Qader cruise missile, a shorter range Nasr and later, a surface-to-surface Nour missile.
A medium-range surface-to-air missile was successfully launched on Sunday, Iranian media reported.
Iran has conducted 10 days of exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's traded oil passes.
Tehran said on Monday that "mock" exercises on shutting the strait had been carried out, although there was no intention of closing it.
The BBC's Iran correspondent James Reynolds says Iran is using the exercises to try to show that it owns the Gulf and has the military capability to defend against any threat to its dominance.
But, says our correspondent, few believe Iran would carry out its threat to shut the Strait of Hormuz as to do so would be considered too economically, politically and possibly militarily damaging for Tehran.
New Hamphire Next State to Hold Nominating Contest
Following the Iowa caucuses, the focus of the U.S. presidential campaign will shift to the next state to hold its nominating contest, the northeastern state of New Hampshire.
Polls show that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney holds a commanding lead among Republicans in the January 10 contest, with more than 40 percent support, averaging 22 points ahead of his closest challenger, U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas.
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich places third.
Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who was President Barack Obama's ambassador to China, campaigned in New Hampshire instead of Iowa. He places fourth in polls.
Texas Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann plan to bypass New Hampshire and instead focus on South Carolina, a southern state that holds its primary on January 21. Polls show their support in New Hampshire in the low single digits.
After New Hampshire and South Carolina, the next states to hold contests will be Florida on January 31 and Nevada on February 4.
And in early March, a number of states hold contests on what's called “Super Tuesday” to further narrow the field of hopefuls.
Japanese Prime Minister Vows Tax Reforms in 2012
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says reforming the debt and disaster-stricken country's social security and tax system is the most important item on his 2012 legislative agenda.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday marking the start of the new year, Prime Minister Noda said he will soon submit a proposal to parliament that would double the country's consumption, or sales, tax by 2015.
Growing public criticism of the tax hike proposal has already prompted nine members of Mr. Noda's Democratic Party of Japan to quit in protest. The DPJ says it is necessary to help pay for rising social security costs in the rapidly aging country.
Japan faces a historic level of debt as it continues to recover from last March's earthquake and tsunami — one of the costliest natural disasters in world history.
Mr. Noda promised that authorities would work to decontaminate the area surrounding the earthquake-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. He also vowed that the recovery process would be more transparent to the Japanese public.
“The problem of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima is not only a concern for the residents of Fukushima but to all nations and people around the world. It is fundamental that we provide clear an correct information to the public.”
Last month, the government announced that the plant's nuclear reactors had achieved the stable condition of “cold shutdown” and were no longer leaking substantial amounts of radiation. But it could be years before residents can return to the area.
Prime Minister Noda also said Japan will continue to coordinate with regional powers following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
“The Korean peninsula now faces a very different situation now that Kim Jong Il has passed away. But we will continue along the lines of what we decided last year to do, that is namely: gather more information, coordinate closely with the various nations involved and prepare fully for all possibilities.”
High Level US Diplomat Begins Asia Tour
Senior U.S. diplomat Kurt Campbell has arrived in China, the first stop on a four-day tour that will also take him to South Korea and Japan.
Campbell, the assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs, made no comments on arrival at the airport in Beijing Tuesday, but the State Department had said earlier that he will discuss “a range of important bilateral, regional and global issues, including the latest developments related to North Korea.
The three Asian countries are also close neighbors of nuclear-armed North Korea.
Campbell is the highest-level U.S. official to visit the region since the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is due to visit China next week. His office announced early Wednesday that he will meet with Premier Wen Jiabao for talks that are expected to include North Korea's leadership transition after the death of its longtime leader Kim Jong Il.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted the country's defense ministry Wednesday as saying that Washington and Seoul will soon sign a joint operational plan to counter potential North Korean provocations and will hold regular joint exercises.
The United States, China, South Korea and Japan together with Russia are parties in the stalled six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament.
Pyongyang walked away from the talks in April 2009, but signaled last year that it would like the talks to resume.
One of the obstacles to the resumption of the talks is the continuing tension between the two Koreas. The two countries came to the brink of war in 2010 after North Korea launched an artillery attack on the South Korean island. Seoul also accuses Pyongyang od torpedoing its warship Cheonan earlier that year.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed optimism Monday that this year could be a turning point in the North Korean nuclear dispute. He said that Seoul was ready to resume six-party talks and provide economic assistance to the North, if Pyongyang agrees to suspend its nuclear activities.
New Jamaica PM to be sworn in on Thursday
The governor-general of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allen, on Tuesday received the official results of last week’s general election from the director of elections, Orrette Fisher.
This clears the way for prime minister designate, Portia Simpson Miller, to be formally sworn in as prime minister.
“Following the completion of the official count of ballots cast in the December 29 poll, the director of elections, Orrette Fisher, sent an advisory to Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen, officially notifying him of the political party that secured the majority seats in Parliament. This will now clear the way for the swearing in of the new prime minister,” a release from the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) read.
Simpson Miller is scheduled to be sworn in on Thursday.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica's (EOJ) official count has confirmed that the People's National Party (PNP) won 42 of the 63 seats, with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), securing the remaining 21.
The release noted that all candidates who contested the December 29 poll have four days, following the completion of the official count in each constituency, within which to file for magisterial recounts.
It also stated that returning officers are now required to submit results and returns of writs, along with a report, seven days after the completion of the final count in their respective constituencies. Copies of the writs will be issued to the Clerk of the Houses to facilitate the swearing in of Members of Parliament.
"The Electoral Office will now be focusing its energies on paying the over 30,000 election day workers who served in various capacities on Election Day. It is anticipated that these payments will be completed by the end of January," the release said .
JIS
FAO examines high Caribbean food import bill
THE increasing Caribbean food import bill has led to several public concerns, including the impact it is having on domestic food production.
This is one of the key findings of a study which the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) conducted on behalf of the region.
“As the price of shopping baskets increases and as domestic producers lose market share to imported substitutes, there is increasing public pressure on governments to formulate strategies to lower food imports,” said the findings of the FAO study done in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat as part of a project on Promoting CARICOM/CARIFORUM Food Security.
It said that most prominently, many Caribbean governments, private sector and civil society are concerned about rising volumes of food imports from developed economies – particularly where they enjoy the advantage of large production scales, subsidised inputs and/or sophisticated marketing campaigns.
The concern is that these high import volumes “have crowded out regional food production and that the region’s competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis imports has led to losses in employment, food security and rural well being.
The study found that the region spent Bds$8 billion on food imports up to 2008. What is very significant based on data unearthed in the study is that some countries have doubled their food import bill in the space of 10 years. This has also coincided with stagnant agricultural output in some countries.
That 2008 figure has further increased since then.
“The study finds that while the Caribbean continues to produce a large share of several foodstuffs (including fruits, vegetables, pulses, meat, fish, rice and beverages), there are key categories of staples where the region’s food producers have lost competitive market share to cheaper and/or more expensively branded imports,” according to the report.
This loss of market share, it is pointed out, has fed a vicious circle where lower domestic production leads to higher imports, which in turn, affect consumer preferences through the lower priced and often more consistently available imported substitutes.
“These imports further restrict the domestic market and squeeze profit margins for producers,” it added. (JB)
Sir Roland Saunders Wanted by Antigua Police
Sir Ronald Saunders is wanted by Antigua Police for questioning as criminal investigations into the multi-million dollar (IHI) fraud case progressing at what lawmen say is a steady pace. Notwithstanding the recent break in and theft of sensitive documents, at the office that housed the detectives who are working on the said case, police say they are ready to proceed.
According to information coming from the Office of Strategic Communication (STRATCOM), based on the contents of a report that was done by financial forensic investigator Mr. Robert Lindquist, which was corroborated by preliminary police enquiries, the “persons of interest” in the case have been narrowed down to former Prime Minister, now Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament, Hon. Lester Bird, Member of Parliament, Hon. Asot Michael, Patrick. A. Michael & Co. Ltd., Mrs. Gesel Michael, Sir. Ronald Saunders (a former Antigua and Barbuda government ambassador to the united kingdom) and others.
Police say that so far most of the “significant persons” or “individuals of interest,” have already assisted the investigations and presented themselves to the police to be interviewed.
“Against such backdrop and in the Police’s quest to advance this gigantic multi-million dollar criminal conspiracy, the police are making a specific public appeal to Sir Ronald Saunders and requests that he presents himself to the (IHI) detectives to be interviewed. Hence, his full co-operation for the duration of this criminal enquiry will be appreciated,” STRATCOM said.
The department added that all efforts to privately contact Sir Ronald Saunders have proven futile.
“Therefore, Sir Ronald Saunders is being asked to urgently get in touch with Commissioner of Police Mr. Vere Browne, at 1(268) 764-6323 or by email, ( cop@ab.gov.ag ),” STRATCOM said.
Additionally, the department said he can contact detective Superintendent Mr. Nurfield Burnette, at 1(268) 764-2285 as soon as possible.
Lawmen further asks that any member of the public who may know how the police can contact Sir Ronald Sanders, to get in touch with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), at 4623913 or 4623914.
Antiguachronicle.net
IXP for Dominica expected in January
Dominica is expected to have an internet exchange point (IXP) up and running in January, the third in the English-speaking Caribbean, Bernadette Lewis, secretary general of the Caribbean Telecoms Union (CTU), told BNamericas.
At the end of May, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Grenada both launched IXPs. Other countries that have begun discussions on IXPs are St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The launches in Grenada and the BVI are part of the Caribbean regional IXP initiative, spearheaded by the CTU and research institute Packet Clearing House (PCH), both of which donated the initial IXP equipment.
The perceived benefits of having local IXPs include faster and cheaper internet, the encouragement of local content development, hosting and development of e-government.
The importance of having regional IXPs is something that the CTU has been promoting heavily during its ICT road shows carried out during 2011 in 16 countries.
For 2012, road shows are scheduled for Dominica in January), Haiti in April, Grenada in May and Barbados in September, as well as dates to be determined in Montserrat and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Bnamermicas.com