Stock markets fall amid concern over rising prices
Stock markets in Asia and the US have fallen over concerns that rising prices could send the global economy into a slowdown.
US shares saw their biggest one-day drop since 2020 after downbeat earnings reports from some of America's biggest retailers.
Target said unexpectedly high fuel and freight costs had cut into profits, which halved compared with a year ago.
That followed a similarly downbeat update from rival Walmart earlier.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index was 1.8% lower in Asia afternoon trade, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 2.3%.
That came after the S&P 500 index, which tracks shares of a wide swathe of America's biggest companies, plunged more than 4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.5%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 4.7%. The falls added to weeks of declines on US financial markets.
"What people are worried about after seeing Target is, will more earnings [estimates] have to be taken down?" said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital in New York.
"Consumer sentiment is at multi-year lows and tied at the hip with inflation. So people are looking for signs of inflation moderating, and Target did not give them any today."
Target's update sent its shares plunging 25% - the biggest decline in more than three decades.
The announcements from Target and Walmart were closely watched for signs of how consumer spending is holding up in the world's largest economy, as inflation reaches 40-year highs.
Official US government data recently showed retail sales rose a healthy 0.9% in April, but some analysts have warned the figures may be understating signs of slowdown - especially for lower-income families - since they are not adjusted for inflation.
Earlier this year, Amazon reported a surprise drop in online sales in the first three months of the year.
Target said sales at stores open for at least a year were up more than 3% in the three months to May compared to 2021. But executives said as prices rise, shoppers are spending more on essentials and cutting back on discretionary items, such as television sets and apparel.
It warned investors that costs would be $1bn higher than expected this year, driven by fuel and freight. The firm said it did not see supply chain pressures clearing until at least 2023.
Source-BBC
President Rodrigo Chaves says Costa Rica is at war with Conti hackers
The president of Costa Rica says his country is "at war", as cyber-criminals cause major disruption to IT systems of numerous government ministries.
Rodrigo Chaves said hackers infiltrated 27 government institutions, including municipalities and state-run utilities.
The Conti ransomware cartel, which is thought to be run from Russia, has upped its ransom demand to $20m (£16m).
The criminals posted an appeal online to Costa Ricans to "go out on the street and demand payment".
Mr Chaves held a press conference on Monday to outline his "Plan for Implementation of Cyber-security Measures".
He gave no indication that he was planning on paying the ransom, in spite of growing disruption to government departments.
On Wednesday, the Costa Rican Treasury told civil servants that the hack had affected automatic payment services. It warned that they would not be paid on time, and would need to apply for their salaries by email, or on paper by hand.
The ministry said: "Due to the temporary downturn of the institutional systems, the service of issuing certificates regarding the amounts of salaries owed to the civil servants of the Central Administration is suspended.
"All applications received via email or in the windows of the National Accountancy will be attended to once systems are restored."
According to the government, the attacks also affected the country's foreign trade by hitting its tax and customs systems.
The president, who was elected fewer than two weeks ago, declared the incident a "national emergency" and has repeatedly blamed his predecessor for not taking the cyber-attack seriously enough.
The hackers were demanding $10m when the attack started last month.
A government website says that a declaration of a state of emergency allows it, in exceptional cases, to undertake on its own some procedures that would normally require legislative approval.
For example, it allows the government to allocate public funds to deal with an emergency, without previous legislative consent.
"The attack being experienced by Costa Rica at the hands of cyber-criminals, cyber-terrorists, is declared a national emergency," Mr Chavez said, according to local media.
"We are signing this decree, precisely, to declare a state of national emergency across the entire public sector of the Costa Rican state, and allow our society to respond to those attacks as criminal actions."
The Conti hacking group has posted more than 600 gigabytes of government data online, and is threatening to publish more.
It has also posted on its darknet website that it will delete the decryption keys needed to restore the government's computer systems to normality, unless it is paid within a week.
"There is less than a week left when we destroy your keys, we are also working on gaining access to your other systems, you have no other options but to pay us," it threatened.
On its darknet website, Conti writes to the Costa Rican government: "You're forcing us to use terrible methods..."
And "terrible" is the word many cyber-security researchers are using to describe these new tactics the hackers are using to put pressure on the Costa Rican government to pay.
In the past, ransomware crews have attacked public bodies and local governments, but it is rare to see such a disruptive attack on a state.
It's also unprecedented to see such aggressive threats and direct appeals to Costa Ricans to "take to the streets".
The hackers also claim to have operatives on the inside of government - which may be unlikely but further piles the pressure on the president.
In some ways it all reads like desperation.
Conti has probably put a lot of work into its attack and it looks like it may come away empty-handed.
But it is also another terrible reminder of the power criminal hackers can wield, even against governments.
Conti is a prolific Russian speaking ransomware group responsible for many high-profile hacks.
In May 2021, the group carried out a "catastrophic hack" of the Irish Health Service.
On 6 May, the US offered a $10m reward for information about the group's leadership.
It blamed Conti for the cyber-attacks which hit Costa Rica.
Source-BBC
Ukraine invasion could cause global food crisis
Russia's invasion of Ukraine could cause global food shortages in the coming months, the UN has warned.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war had worsened food insecurity in poorer nations due to rising prices.
The world could face famines that last for years if Ukrainian exports are not restored to pre-war levels, he added.
The conflict has cut-off supplies from Ukraine's ports, which once exported vast amounts of sunflower oil as well as cereals such as maize and wheat.
This has reduced the global supply and caused the price of alternatives to soar. Global food prices are almost 30% higher than the same time last year, according to the UN.
Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Mr Guterres said the conflict "threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine".
"There is enough food in our world now if we act together. But unless we solve this problem today, we face the spectre of global food shortage in the coming months," he added.
He warned that there was no effective solution to the food crisis without reintegrating Ukraine's food production, as well as the fertiliser produced by Russia and Belarus, into the global market.
Mr Guterres also said he was in "intense contact" with Russia and Ukraine, as well as the US and the EU, in an effort to restore food exports to normal levels.
"The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides," he said.
His comments came on the same day the World Bank announced extra funding worth $12bn (£9.7bn) for projects addressing food insecurity.
The move will bring the total amount available for such projects to more than £30bn over the next 15 months.
Russia and Ukraine produce 30% of the world's wheat supply and - prior to the war - Ukraine was seen as the world's bread basket, exporting 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports.
But since Russia launched its invasion in February, exports have collapsed and prices have skyrocketed. They climbed even further after India banned wheat exports on Saturday.
The UN says around 20 million tonnes of grain are currently stuck in Ukraine from the previous harvest which, if released, could ease pressure on global
While the number of people facing food insecurity had been growing even before the invasion, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, accused Moscow of making a difficult situation even worse on Wednesday.
"Russia has launched a grain war, stoking a global food crisis," Berlin's top diplomat said. "It is doing so at a time when millions are already being threatened by hunger, particularly in the Middle East and Africa."
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the world faced the "greatest global food security crisis of our time" which had been exacerbated by what he called Russian President Vladimir Putin's "war of choice".
TCI LOSES POLITICAL GIANT, HON. LEWIS ASTWOOD
On Friday, 13th May, the Honourable Lewis Astwood, former government minister in the JAGS McCartney administration passed away after a long battle with illness. His family has announced his passing and are asking for your consideration and kindness at this time as they grieve the loss of their dear loved one.
Honourable Astwood has left loved ones such as former Deputy Premier, Honourable Sean Astwood; former Labour Commissioner, Joan Astwood, former Member of Parliament, Cheryl Astwood-Tull; and former RTC on-air personality and manager Audley "Dre" Astwood.
RTC Robert Hall dedicated a social media post reminiscing on the good times with and kindness of the beloved Hon. Lewis Astwood. He said that on Friday when he hosted Expressions, viewers and listeners would have heard him speak of Honorable Lewis Astwood and his generosity.
He said if your mind tells you to say or do something, it's best for you do it and he is happy that he did speak of Hon. Astwood as he was informed later that day of his passing.
Hon. Hall also mentioned in his post that he met the late Hon. Astwood in the mid-'70s and particularly as he and J.A.G.S tried their best to recruit Hon. Hall to join the PDM but that was not meant to be.
He continued to say that Hon. Astwood was a person who gave more than he received from his party and his country. Reminiscing on his generosity, Hon. Hall remembered how Hon. Astwood would even take a television out of his house and give it to those whom he thought needed it.
Hon. Hall also said that the later Minister’s time in the Bahamas exposed him to party politics and the growing pains of a country on its way to nationhood. He came back home and utilized his skills and energy for the betterment of his people and got elected in 1976 under the new constitution and became minister of works and utilities.
Although he was not there for a mighty long time, it was said that despite his personal limitations, his ministry was one of the best-run ministries.
Hon. Hall mentioned that he will always remember Hon. Astwood as a fighter and a man who fought for the betterment of his country. Hon. Astwood then extended his deepest sympathy to the grieving family saying may his soul rest in peace.
DISCHARGING FIREARM REPORT LEADS TO TWO PERSONS ARRESTED AND ONE FIREARM AND AMMUNITION RECOVERED
RTC News is learning that on Tuesday May 17th 2022,the Police Control Room received a report of a firearm being discharged from a red vehicle on the Leeward Highway at around 12:30pm. Responding Police Units subsequently stopped a Red Suzuki Swift a short while later and its two male occupants were detained in connection to that report of firearm discharge.
Later in the afternoon, Officers received information connected to the incident. Detectives, acting on the received, recovered a handgun and ammunition from a location near to the Leeward Highway.
Investigations are continuing into the original incident and the recovery of the firearm and ammunition. The two males remain in Police custody.
Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said, “The reported incident on the Leeward Highway where it is believed that a firearm was discharged recklessly, was responded to by a number of Police Units, including members of the Tactical Unit and Investigations Teams. A short time later, a vehicle was stopped and two persons arrested. A firearm and ammunition were subsequently recovered. I commend the work of the attending officers and those supporting in the Police Control Room for a coordinated and focused response. The officers and the staff of the RTCIPF remain committed and focused on protecting our communities and removing guns from the streets of the TCI.”
DERRICK MILLER, SENTENCED FOR RAPE AND ATTEMPTED RAPE
Alarming, Shocking & Disgruntled is how many are describing the horrific account of what was revealed, where on Thursday 12th May 2022, Derrick Miller, a 48-year-old native of Guyana, was sentenced to 9 years’ imprisonment for two counts of Attempted Rape and 11 years’ imprisonment for six counts of Rape. The sentences are to run concurrently and time spent on remand is to be taken into account.
He had pleaded guilty to all charges before the Supreme court on May 3rd 2022. His guilty plea follows a Police Investigation after an initial report was made to the RTCIPF Safeguarding and Public Protection Unit on May 3rd 2021. The investigation identified further victims and further offending reflected in the number of charges he faced in court.
In addition to the Custodial Sentence, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order was granted by the court until the 12th of May 2032 which places restrictions upon him following his release from Prison.
Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said, “The guilty plea in this case reflects the professional and detailed investigation into this very sensitive matter by the RTCIPF Safeguarding and Public Protection Team and I thank them for their diligence and tenacity. I also want to acknowledge the courage of those victims who came forward and played a significant part in this case.”
Supt Mitcheson, Head of Crime and Public Protection said, “Derick Miller was placed in a position of trust and he abused that trust by preying on those most vulnerable, subjecting them to harm that will have long lasting effects. I wish to praise those victims and witnesses for having the courage to report this matter and see that justice was done. The RTCIPF is committed to dealing with such horrific crimes and have specially trained officers, who work in partnership with Health and Social Care, to support victims throughout the judicial process and beyond. If you are affected by this crime, or any similar crimes, contact the police where you will be treated with dignity, respect and confidentiality.”
Sri Lanka down to last day of petrol adds new Prime Minister
Sri Lanka's new prime minister says the country is down to its last day of petrol as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.
In a televised address, Ranil Wickremesinghe said the nation urgently needs $75m (£60.8m) of foreign currency in the next few days to pay for essential imports.
He said the central bank will have to print money to pay government wages.
Mr Wickremesinghe also said state-owned Sri Lankan Airlines may be privatised.
The island nation's economy has been has been hit hard by the pandemic, rising energy prices and populist tax cuts. A chronic shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation had led to a severe shortage of medicines, fuel and other essentials.
In the capital Colombo, auto rickshaws, the most popular means of transport in the city, and other vehicles have been queuing at petrol stations.
"At the moment, we only have petrol stocks for a single day. The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives," Mr Wickremesinghe, who was appointed prime minister on Thursday, said.
However, shipments of petrol and diesel using a credit line with India could provide fuel supplies in the next few days, he added.
Mr Wickremesinghe said the country's central bank would have to print money to help meet the government's wage bill and other commitments.
"Against my own wishes, I am compelled to permit printing money in order to pay state-sector employees and to pay for essential goods and services. However, we must remember that printing money leads to the depreciation of the rupee" he said.
He also proposed selling off Sri Lankan Airlines as part of efforts to stabilise the nation's finances. The carrier lost 45 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($129.5m; £105m) in the year ending March 2021.
In recent weeks, there have been large, sometimes violent, protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family.
Last week, the president's elder brother Mahinda resigned as prime minister after government supporters clashed with protesters. Nine people died and more than 300 were wounded in the violence.
Source-BBC
COLLABORATIVE TRAINING SESSIONS WITH ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FACILITATED BY THE DPP AND POLICE
During the months of April and May, the training Unit from the Office of the Director of Public prosecutions, headed by Deputy Director, Dr. Angela Brooks and her team members, Senior Public Prosecutor Mrs. Shatelia Hall-Greene and Public Prosecutor Tamika Grant, partnered
with the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force in providing essential training to the Enforcement Officers of the Physical Planning Department, both on Grand Turk and Providenciales.
The training exercises were focused on the offences that are captured in the Physical Planning Ordinance, providing the Enforcement officers with the tools necessary, thereby enabling and equipping them to execute their duties competently and effectively.
At the conclusion of the training sessions, the Enforcement Officers participated in an in person mock trial which replicated real life scenarios in the Magistrate Court. This exercise gave the Officers the opportunity to utilize all that they had learned during the training. The Deputy Director of the Physical Planning Department, Mr. Toriano Williams said that he was grateful for the training afforded to his Officers and has already witnessed an improvement in the number of tickets issued by his department.
Grenada's Opposition critical of registration process, calls for fixed election date
The main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for a fixed election date in Grenada as it criticised the operations of the Parliamentary Elections Office (PEO) and the decision by the authorities to provide a 24 –hour window for the registration of voters ahead of the June 23 general election.
NDC leader, Dickon Mitchell, appearing on a social media programme hosted by the party on Sunday, said the announcement last Saturday night by Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell disclosing the election date giving voters just one day to ensure that they are registered, undermines democracy on the island.
Prime Minister Mitchell told supporters of his ruling New National Party (NNP) that he had already asked Governor General, Dame Cécile La Grenade, to dissolve the Parliament on Monday, May 16 and to issue the writ for the polls on Tuesday.
“In other words, only one day you have to try to register, if you ain’t register yet. I warned you already, I warned you, I warned you,” he said, adding that the publication of the writs would be made on Wednesday, May 18, with Nomination Day being Wednesday June 1.
But Mitchell, an attorney who is leading the NDC into a general election for the first time, told the programme “an election is a very serious issue, it determines the shape of the country often not just for five years but for generations to come.
“It is a little unfortunate that obviously only 24 hours essentially in terms of a working day have been given to citizens who have not yet registered to be registered and I am sure they are displeased about that given that the election date is June 23.
“I certainly think that some more time could have been afforded to citizens who are not registered to be registered. It probably speaks to the mind-set of the incumbent. Democracy, the rule of law, the right to participate in elections should be something that should be amplified and our citizens should be given as much opportunity as possible to be able to take part in it,” Mitchell said.
“That is part of the reason why we have championed things like you need to have fixed dates for elections so that citizens are well aware in advance what the likely date is going to be, when the cut off period for registration is to be etc rather than playing games and engaging in suspense and often times putting citizens at a disadvantage”.
Mitchell said that the NDC, which governed the island from 2008 to 2013 and previously from 1990 to 1995, had also been critical of the PEO, saying “it has not functioned properly and at the standard citizens of Grenada deserve”.
He said many people had taken time off from their jobs and travelled to the registration offices, only to find it closed, or the technology not functions to allow them to complete their registration.
“And against that backdrop given only Monday for persons who are not registered to be registered in my view is rather unfortunate…(but) we know the vast majority of Grenadians are registered, I want to call and urge our citizens to make use of that very sacred and fundamental right to vote.
“That is a right that has been fought for. It is a right that has been won. We are an independent nation, there are many people across the world today who do not have the right to elect, “he added.
Meanwhile, in an open letter to the Supervisor of Elections,, Elvis Morain, the NDC expressed its “ on-going concerns with the management of the electoral process in Grenada, particularly the functioning of sub-offices in some Constituencies.
“These concerns have been repeatedly brought to your attention, directly in meetings between representatives of the NDC, you and your staff, in writing by several of our intended candidates and by reports in the media by party members and the public”.
The NDC warned that “if these concerns are not immediately addressed, it will not be possible to hold free and fair elections in the future, because the electoral process will be compromised.
“As you know, free and fair elections are the bedrock of our democratic system and can only take place if the electoral process is transparent in accordance with the law and there is public trust and confidence in it.
“You are aware of the important role that Registration Officers and their staff at the sub-offices play in the electoral process, from registration of voters and maintenance of accurate, sanitized electoral lists to conducting the poll on election day,” the NDC said, adding that despite repeatedly bringing these It said among the concerns are that names of voters that were objected to and the objections upheld, “have not been purged” from the electoral list.
“Many of these concerns and systemic deficiencies, including the failure to process claims and objections, the registration of people who are not entitled to be registered, assisted by Justices of the Peace and the absence of an accurate, sanitized, updated consolidated list were flagged in the report of the OAS Election Observer Mission dated 14th March 2018. Unfortunately, another election is upon us, and they have not been remedied.
“Being at the core of our democratic system, the electoral process must be such that there is public trust and confidence in it. As it stands now, this required public trust is undermined because these persistent deficiencies and flaws are not being addressed. It is your responsibility to fix these flaws,” the NDC said in its letter.
Source-CMC
St. Vincent green light to virtual asset legislation
The St. Vincent and the Grenadines has become the fourth member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) to approve virtual assets legislation drafted by St. Kitts-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).
The ECCU member countries are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves, who piloted the Virtual Asset Bill in Parliament, told legislators that it was taken “wholeheartedly” from the ECCB and had already been passed into law in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St. Kitt-Nevis.
The law, which garnered bipartisan support, defines a virtual asset as “a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes, and does not include digital representations of fiat currency or security”.
Gonsalves said that under the law, virtual assets do not include digital currency such as the ECCB’s DCash “but other representations of value that you can trade and transfer and buy and sell with…
“A lot of what you would know there would be what we call cryptocurrencies. And that is really the heart of the virtual asset regulatory framework, but there are other things.”
He said that under the law, virtual assets would also include non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
“But the core of what we’re talking about here is the rise of virtual currencies. And we have had in recent years, globally, an explosion in the use of virtual currencies. And we have gone, for example, from when Bitcoin, for example, was created in 2008, digital assets, including cryptocurrencies have seen explosive growth.”
Gonsalves said that five years ago, the market cap for digital assets globally was US$14 billion.
“Today it is three trillion. And over 100 countries in the world are trying to carve out digital currencies, like we have with DCash to create a digital form of a country’s sovereign currency,” he said, adding that the law requires an application process for the registration of a virtual asset business.
It requires relevant information to be provided at the application stage, for due diligence to be conducted on the directors and shareholders of each virtual asset service provider to determine whether or not they are fit and proper to operate such a business.
He said that the legislation is important for SVG, although not many people in the country might be trading with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
The Finance Minister said one part of the reason is the regional nature of the law, in that the ECCU wants to have a standard legislative framework for virtual assets.
“But another reason is that already, given its size, given its rapid growth globally, the usual suspects in terms of international regulation have virtual assets on their radar.
“So the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, which we’re all familiar with, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and across the Caribbean because they’re constantly imposing new regulatory requirements on us, they have expressed their concerns with the unregulated use of virtual assets.”
He said that at the beginning of the year, the United States government issued specific guidance on the use of virtual assets.
“And the FATF has issued a recommendation since October of 2018, in terms of virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, and has stated that virtual assets have become subject to anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing schemes of countries.”
Gonsalves said that digital assets are “the next big thing in terms of finance and commerce globally.
“And it is useful for all of our countries to get out in front of it and regulate proactively rather than waiting, as we have done in the past, for regulations to be imposed upon us from afar,” Gonsalves told Parliament.
Source-CMC