Nearly 260 Haitian migrants picked up at sea in Bahamas
Almost 260 Haitian migrants were apprehended by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) on Tuesday and crammed under makeshift shelters in the front and middle sections of the 198-foot HMBS Bahamas, anchored 18 miles off the Exuma chain.
The vessel became a temporary holding facility last night for the 257 Haitian migrants, who were picked up by the RBDF in two separate apprehension exercises throughout the day.
And as the sun set Tuesday, the RBDF vessel P-49, which brought 93 of the migrants to the HMBS Bahamas, set out to attempt to apprehend another Haitian vessel sighted the same afternoon.
The media were given rare access to the apprehension exercise on Tuesday and rode with the RBDF more than 40 miles south of New Providence to where HMBS Bahamas was anchored and holding the migrants.
Aboard HMBS Bahamas 37 women sat separate from the men toe to toe, back to back and side to side under a shelter mid-ship, put up by the RBDF to prevent the women from receiving direct exposure to the sun.
At the front of the ship 127 men were arranged similarly, but under a much larger shelter where they sat talking amongst themselves.
Most of them seemed healthy and calm as officers with side arms stood watch over them.
Commanding officer of HMBS Bahamas, Clarence Dean, said that group of 164 migrants was comprised of young individuals, with two individuals under the age of 18.
“What we noticed was most of the migrants onboard were under the age of 30,” Dean said, “very young individuals.”
He added that their vessel, a 40-foot Haitian sloop, was sighted Monday morning near the Ragged Island chain and apprehended several hours later.
“At about 11 o’clock [Monday] night a boarding team was dispatched some 18 miles west of Elbow Cay in the Exumas and they apprehended a Haitian sailing vessel,” he said.
The migrants were found to have set sail from Haiti four days before being picked up by the RBDF. That particular Haitian vessel was only hours from making landfall somewhere on the southern point of New Providence, according to Dean.
The 40-foot Haitian sloop had no food or water onboard when it was apprehended and RBDF officers said the boat was so crammed with people that they hung from every inch of it. When they were brought onboard the HMBS Bahamas RBDF personnel fed them and gave them fluids after they had gone four days without eating or drinking.
Only a few minutes after reporters boarded HMBS Bahamas, vessel P-49 arrived with 93 more migrants picked up near Salina Point, Acklins.
The men and women who were separated aboard P-49 sat between each other’s legs in order to have them all fit aboard. Some men were also seated on the front of the vessel (not meant for passengers).
After P-49 was moored alongside HMBS Bahamas, the migrants were taken off one at a time, thoroughly searched and put amongst the other 164 already aboard
The second apprehension consisted of 76 women and 17 men and this time they seemed to be of varying ages. There appeared to be a boy as young as 12 being searched by officers and a man nearing in his 60s trudged off slowly after he was patted down.
As the media left HMBS Bahamas, another RBDF vessel was en route to HMBS Bahamas with immigration officers to process the migrants.
Dean said the third vessel that was yet to be apprehended was expected to be picked up late Tuesday night. HMBS Bahamas was expected to bring the 257 migrants to New Providence on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Caribbean teachers in a quandary in New York
Hundreds of teachers who left the Caribbean several years ago to work in New York are now in a quandary, since they were misled when recruited by New York City schools.
A BBC Caribbean report stated that promises of “green cards” (legal permanent residency) have gone unrewarded, they say -- which means their children and spouses cannot work.
Reports of possible lay-offs in the city's teaching service have added to their fears, according to education correspondent of the New York Daily News, Meredith Kolodner.
Kolodner told BBC Caribbean that the teachers had previously stayed quiet because of fears over their immigration status. Most of the teachers are from Guyana, Jamaica, and the Eastern Caribbean.
The New York Department of Education has not commented on the teachers' claims so far.
Protesters defy police at rally in Trinidad
Public servants in Port of Spain, Trinidad, defied the police and risked arrest on Tuesday when they formed a human barricade at the public entrance of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and later converged near the Parliament's entrance at the Red House, even as the government announced its final offer to the union for the settlement for the period 2008-2010.
The Trinidad Express reported that, while the government has indicated it will not budge from this offer, president of the Public Service Association (PSA) Winston Duke is adamant that his members will not accept it.
The new offer includes consolidation of cost of living allowances and other benefits, which the workers flatly rejected. Duke said that his membership will continue its protest even during the carnival celebrations and will not stop until their demands are met.
22 new charges for U.S. WikiLeaks suspect
The U.S. Army Wednesday notified Pfc. Bradley Manning, a prime suspect in the WikiLeaks case, that he now faces 22 more charges in connection with allegedly downloading secret information from computers in Iraq.
The most serious new charge alleges that he aided the enemy by making this information public. That charge is punishable by death. A news release from the Army said the prosecution team "has notified the defense that the prosecution will not recommend the death penalty," but technically it is up to the commander overseeing the case to make the final decision about the death penalty.
All told, Manning, a military intelligence analyst from Oklahoma, now faces a total of 34 charges in the case, including:
-- Wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet
-- Theft of public records
-- Transmitting defense information
-- Transferring classified data onto his personal computer
-- Disclosing classified information concerning the national defense.
Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, would not comment on the new charges, but posted a statement on his blog Wednesday evening:
"Over the past few weeks, the defense has been preparing for the possibility of additional charges in this case."
U.S. military officials have said that Manning is the prime suspect in the leak of many thousands of classified documents that ended up on the WikiLeaks website. However, WikiLeaks is not mentioned in the charge sheets.
Last August, Coombs said he'd seen no evidence tying Manning to the WikiLeaks case.
Even though the investigators filed the new charges, there are still several legal steps that would be taken before any decision will be made on which charges, if any, Manning would actually face in a court-martial.
One of those steps involves determining Manning's mental capacity. That step is expected to take two to six more weeks.
Manning is currently being held in the brig at Quantico Marine Base south of Washington, D.C. There has been a push by friends and supporters to have the rules about his confinement conditions eased. They say his confinement, in a one-man cell with only one hour a day outside of the cell for exercise, is unfair.
AG: Machel has my vote for Soca Monarch
ATTORNEY General Anand Ramlogan says he would not be surprised if Machel Montano wins tomorrow's International Power Soca Monarch final and walks away with the $2 million prize offered by the Government.
"I wish him the very best of luck. He certainly has my vote," Ramlogan said while speaking in the Senate on Tuesday night as he introduced the Miscellaneous Provisions (Remand) Bill at the Red House, Port of Spain.
He recalled, on Monday night, he had the "good fortune" of attending Montano's concert, "The Return", at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.
Ramlogan described as a "very moving moment" the scenario when Montano brought on to the stage the world "king and queen" of calypso, Slinger Francisco, better known as "The Mighty Sparrow", and McArtha Linda Sandy-Lewis, better known as "Calypso Rose", respectively.
He recalled cutting out pictures of the two calypso icons to stick in his copybook with flour paste while he was in primary school. He noted they were honoured by Montano in front of almost 35,000 fans, and Calypso Rose broke down in tears.
Ramlogan pointed out what Montano did was demonstrate respect for elders and "a kind of caring and compassion that is sadly lacking in the youths" in this society.
"The extent to which Mr Montano was able to do that and to send a message that as a superstar and an icon...that this is what he stands for, I salute Machel Montano...for that gesture and for the powerful message it sends, and I say he is indeed worthy of emulation, and I hope that others will lead by example to mentor and set an example for our youths," Ramlogan said.
Montano returns to the Power Soca Monarch competition after a protracted absence.
Opposition Senator Fitzgerald Hinds, in his contribution, pointed out Montano had been seen in the company of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the United National Congress (UNC) "frequent times". He added there were some citizens who were saying the artiste had been sponsored by the Prime Minister and the UNC and was a "liming friend" with Persad-Bissessar.
The Government members raised their voices in objection to this statement.
Dr. Conrad Murray Trail Gets Delayed by Judge
Dr. Conrad Murray, charged in the death of Michael Jackson will have to wait a while longer for his trial after a judge on Wednesday postponed opening statements until May.
Dr. Murray consented to the postponement after his attorneys and prosecutors said they could be ready for his involuntary manslaughter trial by then, a transcript of a closed session meeting shows.
“It is only acceptable to me if this is not strung along over a long period of time,” Murray told the judge, according to the transcript. “I don’t want to lose my constitutional right to speedy trial.”
The Houston-based cardiologist, who has been seeking a speedy trial because of financial difficulties, told Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor he understood the delay was necessary to allow both sides to better prepare for trial.
PM says Trinidadians will hang opposition for not supporting 'hanging bill'
Minutes after Trinidad and Tobago House Speaker Wade Mark announced the government's death penalty bill had "failed", Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the population would "hang the PNM" for not supporting the legislation.
The bill required a special three-quarters majority to be passed, which the government did not have.
The Trinidad Guardian reported that it was the first major legislative defeat for the nine-month old People's Partnership (PP) government. All 11 opposition People's National Movement (PNM) MPs voted against the measure when the vote was taken shortly before 3 pm. Point Fortin MP and former foreign affairs minister, Paula Gopee-Scoon was absent.
"This will be a very short sitting," opposition leader Keith Rowley said, as he made his way to the chamber, shortly before the scheduled 1.30 start. It ended just over an hour later.
Persad-Bissessar assembled most of her 29 MPs in a committee room for a news conference.
"The PNM voted against hangings today," she began. The prime minister said the opposition kept shifting the "goalposts" during the debate and was never going for the Bill, which was introduced to allow the State to resume hanging. She added that the PNM strategy was deliberate. It was flawed and intentional, she said.
Meanwhile, according to BBC Caribbean Report, Kamla Perad-Bissessar has vowed to keep up the pressure on criminals.
Although, losing the critical death penalty vote on Monday, .she said that does not mean she'll be giving up the fight against crime.
Drug submarine sighted in Caribbean waters
There's more lamenting in the Caribbean over a decision by the British government to scale down its naval presence in the region,
A BBC Caribbean Report stated on Tuesday that the Antigua and Barbuda National Security Minister, Dr Errol Cort, says recent sightings indicate just how serious the drug trafficking problem remains in the Caribbean.
He says the ongoing clampdown on drug networks in Mexico has resulted in an increase in drug trafficking especially in the waters of the southern and north-eastern Caribbean.
He revealed that quite troubling "for the first time in the history of the north-eastern Caribbean" a semi-submersible submarine used to ship illegal drugs has been spotted in the area.
It is not known what became of the submarine.
Cort called for more regional collaboration and a greater involvement of American, French and Dutch navies that still have a presence in the region, to combat the drug traffickers.
St Lucia also considering resumption of hanging
The leader of the opposition in St Lucia has responded to an invitation from the prime minister to work with the government to remove obstacles to hanging.
BBC Caribbean reported that Prime Minister Stephenson King issued the invitation as the government seeks solutions to a growing murder rate. The report stated that King believes St Lucia can follow Trinidad and Tobago's example in working toward a bipartisan approach to making it easier to carry out hangings.
But Opposition Leader Kenny Anthony says the legal impediments are more onerous in his country -- requiring a special majority as well as a referendum to overcome Privy Council restrictions.
The last hanging in St Lucia took place in 1995, and since then eight convicts have had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Rihanna, Ciara Fight And Make Up On Twitter
First, she flogged members of the media in her video for her current single "S&M," then she went all scorched-earth on censors in the U.K., who changed the title of that song to "Come On" without her knowledge and earned a fierce rebuke for their efforts. (Rihanna personally vowed to have the title changed back ... and, less than a week later, it was.)
And on Friday, she turned her wrath upon Ciara, after the singer dared dis RiRi during an appearance on E!'s "Fashion Police" with Joan Rivers.
"I ran into [Rihanna] recently at a party. She wasn't the nicest," Ciara told Rivers. "It's crazy, because I've always loved and respected what she's done in fashion. It wasn't the most pleasant run-in."
Of course, things were about to get a lot less pleasant. Soon after Ciara dared speak her name, Rihanna took to her Twitter account to strike back brand-new rival ... in less than 140 characters.
"My bad, Ci, did I forget to tip you," Rihanna wrote, including the hashtag #howrudeofme for extra spite.
Of course, that earned a response from Ciara, who wrote, "Trust me, Rihanna, you don't want to see me on or off the stage."
Rihanna replied first with a taunt ("U gangsta huh? Haaa" (link and then, after thinking about it for a minute, went for the jugular, making fun of Ciara's recent sales woes by writing, "Good luck with booking that stage you speak of."
Ciara tried to laugh off the slight, while Rihanna, perhaps feeling a twinge of remorse after vivisecting her latest foe, posted an apology: "Ciara baby, I love you girl! You hurt my feelings real bad on TV! I'm heartbroken! That's why I retaliated this way! So sorry!"
Ciara accepted RiRi's apology and suggested the two work out their problems "in person." Rihanna has yet to respond.
Source: mtv