Honduran Accord Permits Ousted Leader Zelaya’s Return
An accord has been reached that will allow ousted Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya to return to his homeland, and for Honduras to regain entry to the Organization of American States.
Mr. Zelaya reached the deal with his successor, current President Porfirio Lobo. Both men smiled and shook hands Sunday as the pact was signed in Cartagena, Colombia, in a deal that brokered by Presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia.
Mr. Zelaya was deposed in 2009 by the military after he allegedly tried to change the Honduran constitution to remain in power. The OAS, a Washington-based group of 35 nations in North and South America, subsequently suspended Honduras. But now it says it will move to readmit the Central American nation.
After Zelaya's overthrow, the U.S. and the OAS failed in their efforts to persuade an interim government to restore him to power. Honduras subsequently went ahead with the previously scheduled November 2009 elections and Mr. Lobo won.
The U.S. and other countries restored ties with Honduras after the election. But Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua and Ecuador opposed Honduras' readmission to the OAS unless Mr. Zelaya was allowed to return from his exile in the Dominican Republic without facing the threat of being jailed.
The deal calls for his safe return to Honduras, and allows him and his supporters to participate in the country's political affairs, including as a party in the scheduled 2014 elections.
Militants Attack Karachi Military Base, 4 Killed
At least four people have been killed in an intense battle inside a military base in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
Police say 15 to 20 militants attacked the Mehran naval aviation station late Sunday, armed with guns and grenades. A raging fire and a cloud of smoke could be seen over the base soon after the attack began, and witnesses nearby heard gunfire and several explosions coming from inside.
A spokesman for the Pakistani navy said the fight continued for hours after it began. He said the dead include at least two naval staff members. At least nine other people have been injured in the fighting.
Another spokesman said at least one maritime surveillance airplane had been destroyed. The plane had recently been given to Pakistan by the United States.
It is notable that a large group of well-armed militants were able to infiltrate a heavily-guarded military installation far away from the Taliban-stronghold in Pakistan's northwest tribal region. It has been reported the militants attacked from three sides of the base.
No one has yet claimed responsibility, but suspicion is falling on Taliban militants who have pledged to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in Pakistan earlier this month.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack Sunday, calling it a “cowardly act of terror,” and said it would not deter Pakistan's government or its people from fighting terrorism.
Authorities and witnesses say scores of commandos were sent into the base to battle the attackers.
Karachi is Pakistan's economic hub and its largest city, with roughly 16 million people. It has been plagued by criminal, sectarian and militant violence.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence this month since U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 in a compound not far from the capital, Islamabad.
Statement from the FCO consultation team
In a release sent to RTC News from the FCO team, the members state that 'We are very grateful to everyone who attended the public meetings across the Turks and Caicos Islands this week.'
In the release the Director also mentioned that 'We have heard your views very clearly and we can confirm we will invite a representative delegation from the TCI to meet Minister for the Overseas Territories Henry Bellingham in London to discuss changes to the draft constitution.' We hope to host the meeting next month.
The delegation will include a representative from the Consultative Forum, the Advisory Council, the Political Parties and the Church.
We have been very clear that we came to TCI to take note of your views on the draft constitution. We heard the people of Providenciales when they called for a public meeting. And we have now heard and heeded the calls of so many people in the Islands who want to speak directly to the Minister about this important issue.
PDM Leader Doug Parnell in an interview today stated that he was pleased and looks forward to such a meeting.
FCO phone-in session on the draft Constitution
The FCO team will take part in a live radio phone-in on Radio Turks and Caicos on Friday 20 May as part of the consultation on the Draft Constitution.
Callers will get a chance to comment or ask questions on the final recommendations submitted in March by Constitutional and Electoral adviser to the FCO Ms Kate Sullivan.
The show takes place from 5pm to 7pm and will be broadcast live on Radio Turks and Caicos via the Internet on www.rtc107fm.com.
Callers wanting to speak to the team should ring either 1900 222 2007 or 339 4782. These numbers will be linked to 4 different lines for the purpose of handling a large amount of calls.
This morning the FCO team said:
“We’re very grateful to everyone who has attended and contributed at the public meetings this week.
In the meetings so far, we have heard clearly the strong feeling that the draft constitution has created and we will be reporting this back quickly and accurately to Henry Bellingham when we return to the UK. We are already giving consideration to possible changes to the draft to present to the Minister.
We know that many people want a return to the 2006 constitution, and that they are concerned about the changes to the voting system and increases in the Governor’s reserved powers. But if there are more suggestions that people have, we encourage them to get in touch with us on Friday.”
The team will hold the last public meeting on the Island of South Caicos today. Consultation on the draft Constitution will continue until the 28th May via email submissions to the team.
Advisory Council met on May 18th
The Advisory Council met on Wednesday 18 May at the NJS Francis building, Grand Turk.
The Council engaged in discussions with the visiting FCO team on constitutional reform in the TCI. Members offered recommendations for amendments to various provisions in the latest draft, including the balance between the powers of the governor and elected officials, the governor’s discretionary powers, the institutions to protect good governance, the electoral system and dual citizenship, and the term ‘Belonger’ to describe a TCI national. The FCO team led by Ian Hendry, Overseas Territories Constitutional Advisor to the FCO, assured Councilors that their recommendations and concerns would be reported faithfully to Ministers in London.
The Permanent Secretary, Education and members of the Education Board updated Council on the development of new policy guidelines to govern the Scholarship programme. The new guidelines tighten loopholes in the current programme and streamline other aspects including the list of accredited Universities.
Council considered an update from the Ministry of Border Control and Labour on the priorities in its business plan for 2011/12. Council noted that
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a new PRC recovery task force was being established to clear the current backlog (of PRC and existing naturalization/registration applications), but Council advised the Ministry that
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the current moratorium on new PRC applications should not be lifted, until revised criteria for PRC were set in place. Proposals will be presented to the Advisory Council for consideration on 15 June.
Council also welcomed the development of clear published criteria to be applied to applications for visas, and the other work in progress to tighten up the visa issuing process, including making more use of the existing legal provision that visas should be applied for and issued at UK posts overseas rather than in the TCI.
The Council also welcomed an update from the Labour Commissioner on the proposals for setting up of a new Employment Services Department within the Ministry to bring together all employment related services, including labour clearances and work permits, and the development of a long term Employment Strategy for the islands. They expressed concern at the current numbers of unemployed Belongers, and asked in particular about the employment prospects for returning graduates. The Labour Commissioner indicated her department could assist when unemployed Belongers came forward to register, by providing counseling, job placement, and CV writing. It was noted that the resourcing of this important work was currently under review as part of finalising the Ministry's business plan in the light of the public sector reform programme.
Police charges 32 year old
On Thursday 19th May 2011 Police in Providenciales have charged Sirano Hunt a 21 year old male Turks & Caicos Islander and Fredicia Harvey a 26 year old female Turks & Caicos Islander for Possession of a Control Drug namely Cocaine, Supplying a Control Drug namely Cocaine and Attempted Fraudulent Evasion.
D/SGT. Calvin Chase, Police Press Liaison Officer in the Criminal Investigation Department of the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force, said the charges are in connection with the seizure of three kilos of suspected Cocaine found in a cooler at the Providenciales International Airport on Tuesday 17th May 2011.
The street value of the suspected Cocaine is $60,000.00 USD.
They are schedule to appear in The Providenciales Magistrate's Court # 1 on Wednesday 25th May 2011 at 9.00am.
Dominican Republic's capital on alert for cholera
Health authorities in the Dominican Republic have issued an alert in parts of the capital, Santo Domingo, amid suspected cholera cases.
The health ministry has ordered increased monitoring and urged people to take extra care with hygiene.
Some 16 people are in hospital with suspected cholera.
The Dominican Republic has had 14 cholera deaths in recent months, while more than 4,500 have died in neighbouring Haiti since late 2010.
Monitoring has been stepped up in 17 mainly poor neighbourhoods of Santo Domingo.
Like Haiti, the Dominican Republic had not had a confirmed case of cholera in more than a century until the outbreak began in October.
The Dominican Republic tightened its border controls and stepped up health checks to try to stop cholera from spreading from Haiti soon after the first cases were reported.
The first case in the Dominican Republic was detected in November and the first death in January.
Brazil: Amazon rainforest deforestation rises sharply
Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has increased by almost six times, new data suggests.
New satellite images show deforestation has increased from 103 sq km in March and April 2010 to 593 sq km (229 sq miles) in the same period of 2011, Brazil's space research institute says.
Much of the destruction has been in Mato Grosso state, the centre of soya farming in Brazil.
The news comes shortly before a vote on new forest protection rules.
Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira says there is cause for alarm and has announced the setting up of a "crisis cabinet" in response to the news.
"Our objective is to reduce deforestation by July," the minister told a news conference.
Analysts say the new figures have taken the government by surprise.
Last December, a government report said deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon had fallen to its lowest rate for 22 years.
However, the latest data shows a 27% jump in deforestation from August 2010 to April 2011.
Changes in law
The latest data comes amid a heated debate in the lower house of Congress on whether to ease an existing law on forest protection.
Observers expect the issue to be put before the Chamber of Deputies again this week.
Brazil's Forest Code, enacted in 1934 and subsequently amended in 1965, sets out how much of his land a farmer can deforest.
Regulations currently require that 80% of a landholding in the Amazon remain forest, but that falls to 20% in other areas.
Proponents of change say the law impedes economic development and contend that Brazil must open more land for agriculture.
However, opponents fear that in their current form some of the proposed changes might give farmers a form of amnesty for deforested land.
The changes were put forward by Aldo Rebelo, leader of Brazil's Communist Party (PCdoB) and backed by a group in Congress known as the "ruralists" who want Brazil to develop its agribusiness sector.
Annual National Inter High Schools’ Spelling Bee 2011
The Annual National Inter High Schools’ Spelling Bee 2011 will be held on May 19 th,2011 at 9:30 am. at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex, Providenciales.
There are 12 participants for this year’s event. The proud corporate sponsor for this year’s event is Dr. Rosita Butterfield.
The general public is reminded that this event will be aired live on Radio Turks & Caicos and via their website. Tune in for live coverage of one of the most exciting event for this term.
Participants for this year Inter High Schools’ Spelling Bee are:
Samuel Telfort - British West Indies Collegiate
Shelley Fleuridor - British West Indies Collegiate
Jo-Ann Tyson - Clement Howell High School
Rosedana Williams - Clement Howell High School
Ambica Rampersand - Helena Jones Robinson High School
Marcus Wilson - Helena Jones Robinson High School
Kerby Cadeus - Maranatha High School
Maiya Maden - Maranatha High School
Tushae Wilson - Marjorie Basden High School
Shaquant Penn - Marjorie Basden High School
Destiny Handfield - Raymond Gardiner High School
Tervente Williams - Raymond Gardiner High School
Changing Offenders Thinking
The Prison Service has put another programme in place to help prison officers with rehabilitation of offenders prior to their release back into society.
The programme entitled ‘Just Think’ was developed by rehabilitation tutors from the United Kingdom. It is a cognitive based therapy that helps focus the offender on improving his or her thinking skills.
The May 3rd to 13th programme ended with presentation of certificates to participating prison officers from the TCI and their counterparts from the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla who also took part in the training.
“Just Think” is a cognitive based program which attempts to improve offenders thought processes and thinking skills, which is the critical to successful rehabilitation. The completion of this program and the accreditation of the students that attended will have a significant impact on the TCI Governments rehabilitation agenda as it will offer support to sentence management within the prison and allow us to demonstrate effective interventions for those in our care ” stated Ms. Denise Saunders, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Safety before awarding officers with their certificate of competence in delivering “Just Think” to prisoners.
Prison Superintendent, Ian Sargent in addressing the presentation ceremony noted that:
“This course has covered the thinking and behaviour aspect of offender rehabilitation. The trained staff will deliver thinking skills training to prisoners. The core principle is to show prisoners how poor thinking skills can lead to poor decision making and consequences. It then develops the theme to then show prisoners how to develop good thinking skills. Further to this it also empowers our staff to learn and develop professional and relative skills within a custodial setting.”
Lead UK Rehabilitation Tutor, Stephen Bunce congratulated the prison officers on making the experience so rewarding, and said he was impressed with the skills they had developed over the eight day period.
Prison Officers who participated were:
From TCI Prison -
Meshelle Jennings /Senior Officer
Robert Lewis/Prison Officer
Michael Panton/Prison Officer
Lawanda Jennings/ Basic Grade Officer
From BVI -
Paula Watkins/ Prison Officer
Damian Johnson/Prison Officer
From Anguilla -
Shariffa Wallace / Head of Rehabilitation
Tashanta Brooks / Probation Service
UK Course Tutors were Mr. Stephen Bunce – HMPS Intervention Manager and Mr. Simon Drysdale – HMPS National Behavioral Instructor/ Compliance Assessor.
The course began on the 3rd of May with an awareness session to key stakeholders. This demonstrated to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Safety, Governors Office, Parole Board and Visiting Committees the key fundamentals of the Just Think Program.