Arab League: Snipers Still Threaten Syrian Cities
The Arab League chief says snipers and gunfire remain a threat in Syrian cities, despite the presence of League monitors.
Speaking in Cairo Monday, Nabil El Araby called for an immediate cease-fire in Syria. He said Syria's military has withdrawn from inside cities, but that snipers are still killing people and making it difficult to distinguish who is shooting whom.
The Arab League has sent monitors to Syria to check on its compliance with a League plan for peace after a nine-month crackdown on anti-government protests. The plan requires the Syrian government to remove security forces and heavy weapons from the streets, start talks with the opposition, free political prisoners and allow monitors into the country.
El Araby said 70 monitors are in six Syrian cities, with 30 more monitors to join them soon. He said the monitors have secured the release of about 3,500 prisoners in Syria so far.
Activists say more than 150 people have been killed across Syria since the observers began their mission last week. On Monday, security forces killed at least three more civilians in Homs and the town of Douma, near Damascus.
Also Monday, Reuters quoted the director of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying that army defectors captured dozens of security force members by seizing two checkpoints. Rami Abdelrahman said the operation took place in northern Idlib province. It was not immediately clear how many people were killed or captured by anti-government forces in Monday's attack.
The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have died in Syria's violence since March during a crackdown on protests inspired by the Arab Spring democracy movement. The government of President Bashar al-Assad claims armed terrorists are driving the revolt.
Syrian authorities, under increasing international pressure, agreed last month to allow the Arab League monitoring mission. The deal required the government to give monitors freedom of movement through most of the country except for sensitive military sites.
Iran's rial slides against US dollar on fresh sanctions
Iran's currency has continued to slide against the US dollar after the United States imposed fresh sanctions targeting its central bank.
According to media reports, the rial was being traded at 17,800 to the dollar by money changers in Tehran.
The US has threatened to take action against foreign financial institutions dealing with the Iranian central bank.
The central bank's website showed the exchange rate as 11,180 rial to one US dollar.
Gayle sparkles on field once again, but Thunder lose
Opener Chris Gayle hit another half-century and his West Indies compatriot Fidel Edwards took two wickets, but their Sydney Thunder team lost by five wickets to Hobart Hurricanes in the Twenty20 Big Bash League yesterday.
Playing at Bellerive Oval, Jamaican Gayle top scored with 53 off only 33 balls in a total of 138 for eight off 20 overs after Sydney Thunder won the toss.
Left-hander Gayle's innings contained five sixes and two fours before he was second out with the score 91 in the 14th over, after sharing a partnership of 53 in 7.5 overs with Sean Abbott, who made 39.
Barbadian fast bowler Edwards then bowled former Australia opener Phil Jaques without scoring in the third ball of the innings and also removed fellow opener Jonathan Wells for 29, but spurred by an unbeaten 41 of 32 balls with five boundaries from former England batsman Owais Shah, Hobart Hurricanes triumphed with eight balls to spare.
Edwards ended with two for 33 off four overs, while Gayle had a solitary over which cost 16 runs without taking a wicket.
On Friday, Gayle slammed 75 against Melbourne Renegades, who won by six runs.
The win was the fourth in as many matches for Hobart Hurricanes, who are at the top of the table on eight points. Sydney Thunder are on four points, also from four matches.
Senegal Music Star Youssou Ndour Running for President
World-famous Senegalese music star Youssou Ndour has officially entered the presidential race in his country.
Ndour said Monday on the television station he owns that he will challenge President Abdoulaye Wade in the February election. The 52-year-old singer had announced in November he was taking time off from music in order to focus on politics, saying he had founded a new movement called “Fekke Maci Boole,” meaning “I am engaged” in the local Wolof language.
Ndour — named by Time magazine in 2007 as one of the world's 100 most influential people — has long used his music to deliver political messages. He has also emerged as an outspoken critic of President Wade.
The 85-year-old president is seeking a controversial third term, despite a constitutional two-term limit. Mr. Wade's supporters say he can run because the law was not in effect when he was first elected in 2000.
Senegal's Constitutional Court has yet to rule on his eligibility.
Tunisia Seeks Guarantees to Extradite Former Libyan PM
Tunisia's visiting president says his country would extradite former Libyan prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi to Tripoli to face charges of abuse of office, if Libya would guarantee his physical safety and a fair trial.
President Moncef Marzouki told a joint news conference with Libyan leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil that the ex-prime minister could be handed over for trial in Libya “after establishing a democratic state and civil institutions.”
Mahmudi fled across the border to Tunisia soon after Moammar Gadhafi's rule collapsed in August. Tunisian courts have twice approved Libya's extradition request for the former leader, who is fighting against it on the grounds that he applied for refugee status in Tunisia.
Amnesty International has urged Libya's neighbor not to extradite Mahmudi, saying he risks being subjected to “serious human rights violations.”
The former prime minister was the highest-ranking member of Gadhafi's inner circle in detention until Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, was captured by forces loyal to Libya's new rulers in November. Libya insists it will try Seif al-Islam even though it does not yet have a functioning judicial system.
Moammar Gadhafi himself was captured and killed in Libya in October under questionable circumstances.
In a separate development Monday, Libya published a draft electoral law that bans candidates for office who held positions of responsibility under Gadhafi or benefited financially from his rule.
The bill bans former officials from running for office who are accused of torturing Libyans or embezzling public funds, active members of the Revolutionary Guard and opposition fighters who made peace with Gadhafi.
It also gives women 20 seats in the 200-member national assembly. The election is scheduled for June.
National Transitional Council chief Jalil stressed that the proposed legislation is merely a draft and still could undergo changes.
India Opens Stock Market to Foreign Investors as Its Economy Slows
On January 15, India opens its stock markets for the first time to individual foreign investors who will be able to directly buy and sell Indian equities.
Until now, foreign investors could only invest through mutual funds or institutional investors.
New Delhi expressed hope that the move will attract more foreign funds, and reduce market volatility, as well as reverse last year's trend that saw foreign investors pulling out billions of dollars from the Indian economy.
But many economists say the move is not likely to have an immediate impact when the allure of Indian stock markets has faded amid a faltering economy. They say India's economic growth for 2011 will not reach the nine per cent level the government had forecast.
The European debt crisis and sluggish Western economies are blamed for the drop in outside investors, but domestic factors also have played a role. India has been dealing with a series of interest rate hikes, rising inflation and a weakening national currency.
Syrian Civilian Deaths Undermine Arab League Mission
Syrian security forces are said to have killed at least seven protesters Sunday, as an Arab League advisory body called for the immediate withdrawal of monitors from the country. The advisory groups says the observers are failing to prevent government troops from killing civilians.
Four of the deaths Sunday came when troops loyal to embattled President Bashar al-Assad attacked protesters in the Damascus suburb of Daria. Other civilian casualties were reported in Homs.
Activists say more than 150 people have been killed across the country since the observers began their one-month mission last week.
The Arab Parliament – an 88-member committee of delegates from Arab League states – said the violence is continuing to claim many victims, including children. Speaker Ali al-Salem al-Dekbas said monitors should pull out immediately, given the ongoing violence.
The parliament operates separately from the Arab League and its recommendations are nonbinding.
Activists have accused the government of posting snipers on rooftops, an issue that appears to have triggered a dispute among observers on the ground in Syria.
One monitor filmed in Daraa said his group had seen snipers and would ask authorities to remove them immediately or face consequences. But the observer mission's head, Sudanese General Mohammed al-Dabi, later said the monitor seen in the video was making a hypothetical remark and had been misinterpreted.
Dabi, a veteran military intelligence officer, is a controversial figure because he served under Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes allegedly committed in the Darfur region.
The Arab League is scheduled to dispatch additional observers to Syria later this week, and it is not clear what impact the Arab lawmaker's call will have on the planned deployment.
The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since March during a crackdown on protests inspired by the Arab Spring democracy movement. The Assad government claims armed terrorists are driving the revolt.
Syrian authorities, under increasing international pressure, agreed last month to allow Arab League monitors into the country. The deal required the government to give monitors freedom of movement through most of the country except for sensitive military sites.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday the recent violence has left hundreds of people dead or wounded and many others in military custody.
Twelve persons missing from detention centre, off Haitian sloop
On Wednesday 28th December at approximately 3:30 p.m. that the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police intercepted a Haitian sloop approximately seven miles to the North East of French Cay, carrying prospective irregular entrants to the TCI.
"A total of 117 persons were aboard - some 90 males, 21 females and six female children.
In an update to a story carried earlier by RTC news,“A total of 112 of the 117 passengers on the sloop which arrived here on Wednesday have been repatriated so far.
“The children were received Friday by IoM officials in Haiti to be looked after in safety while their families are traced. There were ten children in total rather than the six initially identified.
“It can be confirmed that an illegal Haitian vessel was seen two miles off French Cay on Friday morning, was intercepted, and towed to South Dock. The initial passenger count was put at 135. No children were identified.
“It can also be confirmed that twelve people have escaped the detention centre.
RTC News will have more details on this news item later.
One million visitors to the TCI
The Turks and Caicos Islands celebrated its one millionth visitor this month - and a week of activities will take place across the country to celebrate the milestone.
Tourism partners gathered this week to announce the upcoming special events.
Director of Tourism Ralph Higgs said: “This milestone proves that the Turks and Caicos Islands continue to be a preferred destination for many travellers.
“The week of activities will give us the opportunity to celebrate this special occasion with our1,000,000th and 1,000,001thvisitors, arriving on Grand Turk and Providenciales respectively.”
The third quarter of this year saw a massive 17 per cent increase in cruise and land based arrivals compared to 2010.
Arrivals totalled 204,084, with 78,711 land based arrivals and 125,373 cruise arrivals, while in 2010 the destination welcomed just 174,302 visitors.
Promotional and marketing efforts by the Tourist Board along with the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association, TCI Airports Authority and Grand Turk Cruise Centre are heralded as partly responsible for the rise.
The celebratory week of activities will begin on December 26 at the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association’s (TCHTA) second annual Maskanoo event in Grace Bay.
TCHTA’sassociation executive Stacy Cox said: “We are looking forward to being part of this significant milestone and are honoured to be promoting the week of activities at Maskanoo.
“We’re encouraging everyone attending Maskanoo to visit the Tourist Board’s booth to learn more about the ‘1,000,000 and Counting – 2011’ celebrations.
“TCHTA would like to thank our hotelmembers who will be providing visitors with rum and fruit punch when they arrive at the ProvidencialesInternational Airport on December 27 until December 30.
“We would like to also thank Bambarra for providing rum cakes on these days as well.”
On December 31, the country’s capital will be the first to celebrate as representatives from the Grand Turk Cruise Centre welcome the 1,000,000th visitor.
John Young of the Grand Turk Cruise Centre said: “2011 has been a very active year for the Cruise Centre.
“There have been some remarkable developments as it relates to cruise tourism in TCI, including the recently passed legislation which allows same day marriages for cruise ship passengers.
“We all hope that this new initiative will see us continue the growth and see more cruise passengers returning to enjoy the islands for longer stays.”
Providenciales will then celebrate as it welcomes the 1,000,001st visitor arriving on board JetBlue.
JetBlue,whose inaugural flight to the TCI took place in February 2011, will be providing the lucky passenger with a return ticket to the destination.
John Smith, CEO for the Turks and Caicos Islands Aviation Authority, played a very instrumental role in securing this new service to the destination.
He said: “The Airports Authority is always eager to promote the destination and 2011 has been very rewarding.
“We saw the arrival of Continental Airlines and JetBlue as well as Caicos Express and we look forward to more airlines coming on board.
“Without the demand these flights would not be possible so we thank every visitor to the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
The Delivery of TCIG Services in the Family Islands responses requested by 29 February 2012
This document seeks views on possible changes in the way in which TCI Government (TCIG) services are delivered in the ‘Family Islands’: North, Middle and South Caicos and Salt Cay. In particular it seeks views and comments on the suggestions that:
1) all TCIG services in these islands should be delivered by a single team of public servants led by the District Commissioner (‘one-stop shops’), and
2) TCIG should encourage the creation of informal and unremunerated groups of concerned citizens
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to give advice to the District Commissioner and his/her team,
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to facilitate communication between that team and the community, and
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to encourage a degree of community spirit and self-help.
Background
The above suggestions were made in meetings and conversations during visits to the Family Islands in the summer of 2011 by the current Governor, the previous Acting Governor and others. There were frequent suggestions that:
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the needs of those living in these islands are different to those of Providenciales and Grand Turk,
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these islands are to some extent neglected by TCIG,
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TCIG staff serving in these islands are organised in an inflexible way,
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TCIG staff serving in these islands are not provided with adequate supplies and equipment.
There were particular concerns that some isolated members of the communities on these islands were suffering unduly because of reduced family and other support as a result of the current economic situation.
The above suggestions were subsequently discussed by TCIG Permanent Secretaries who gave them a warm welcome, noting that similar arrangement had existed some years ago and had appeared successful at that time.
An example of a community service which might be encouraged by local initiatives would be a bus service – maybe running twice a day – from the North Caicos ferry terminal through to the Eastern end of Middle Caicos and then back to the ferry terminal, and serving all the key North/Middle Caicos communities on the way. This would help the elderly in particular access shops and other services that are at present an expensive taxi ride away from their homes. It would also provide an inexpensive transport link for tourists and others wishing to visit the two islands. At present there is no organisation that appears ready and willing to investigate the economics of, nor then promote the supply of, such a service.
Questions
TCIG would like to know whether there is general support for the proposals summarised in this document. In particular:
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Do you agree that TCIG services in the Family Islands should in future be delivered through ‘one-stop shops’.
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Do you agree that TCIG should encourage the development of groups of concerned citizens on the islands, with aims broadly as described at ‘2’ above. (Such a group already exists on South Caicos.) If so, how should the members of such groups be chosen and appointed?
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Do you have any other thoughts, comments or advice on these proposals? For instance, should North and Middle Caicos have separate ‘one stop shops’ and advisory groups, or would it be better if there were a stronger team providing services to the residents of both islands?
Responses
Responses to this document should be sent to Tito Lightbourne in the Chief Executive’s Office ( trlightbourne@gov.tc ) by Wednesday 29 February 2012.
Assuming that there is a generally positive reaction to these proposals, a further more detailed consultation document will then be issued in April with a view to implementing the proposals in July 2012.