EU bank may not fully repay UK until 2054
Billions of euros of British taxpayers' money could remain locked into an EU bank for more than thirty years after Brexit, the UK has been warned.
Alexander Stubb, vice president of the European Investment Bank - in which the UK is a 16% shareholder - said it would not be fully repaid until 2054.
He described Brexit as a "travesty" but denied the move was a punishment.
The UK has 3.5bn euros (£3.1bn) of capital at the bank and a House of Lords report said the UK's investment could be worth 10.1bn (£8.9bn) euros taking into account reserves and profits.
Established in 1958, the EIB uses capital provided by EU countries to make loans at low rates, often for major infrastructure projects.
All 28 EU nations are shareholders in the Luxembourg-based bank, with the UK being the largest alongside Germany, France and Italy.
Mr Stubb, a former prime minister of Finland, told the BBC that the UK's money could be tied up for decades in after it leaves the EU in 2019.
"Everyone on both sides of the negotiating table agree that we have to pay back the 3.5 billion euro, basically in cash, and that will happen over a long period, up until 2054, because that's when the loans are amortised."
He insisted that no-one in the bank wanted to "punish" the UK for leaving and actually wanted to "alleviate the pain" of Brexit.
"I have a British heart pumping, I am married to a Brit, my children have dual nationality and I think Brexit is one of the biggest travesties that we have seen in the modern era," he said.
"So I will do everything in my power to alleviate the pain, but the economic facts are just such that there are no winners in Brexit - apart from perhaps a few lawyers. Unfortunately, we will see this in the coming years."
The BBC's Ross Hawkins said Today had heard how delays in authorising new loans while the UK remains part of the EU could see fewer social homes built.
One housing association, Stonewater, said it may build around 300 fewer homes because its application for £100m to build new properties had ground to a halt.
Its executive director John Bruton told the programme: "The Bank has been waiting for assurances from the UK government before the application can be progressed."
Source- BBC
Puerto Rico five weeks post-storm
Conditions in Puerto Rico are still heartbreaking more than five weeks after Hurricane Maria wrought devastation, with the lack of power and clean water compounding chronic conditions, medics say.
Doctor Kevin Munjal, assistant professor of emergency medicine, and nurse Stacey Conklin were part of a team from Mount Sinai Health System who worked 12-hours a day, seven days a week in tents, living on military-style MREs in Fajardo, in Puerto Rico's hard-hit east.
When the generator in the local hospital failed, medics had to "bag" patients by hand who were on ventilators, said Conklin, after the team returned from a two-week mission treating more than 1,600 patients.
Health conditions included lacerations on people who cut themselves with machetes or chainsaws while trying to clear debris, dropped generators on their feet or sustained kerosene burns.
"People would tell us that for them to get to the main road, they were having to chop their way through to get out," Munjal told AFP.
The lack of clean water means that viral and bacterial illnesses, such as conjunctivitis, norovirus and gastrointestinal infections, spread easily through people living in close quarters in shelters, they said.
Not only were there medication shortages, but the lack of power made long-term care difficult at home for those with chronic conditions.
"If we can get power back to the people I think that will end up solving a lot of the issues," said Munjal. "Power and clean water will do more for health outcomes than more medical tents."
He said he was moved by a woman in her 60s in considerable knee pain as a result of osteoarthritis.
"She has to stand in line everywhere to get the basic essentials, she was on the 16th floor of a building without power, so she had to go up 16 flights of stairs and down," Munjal told AFP.
"Stories like that, really, I think break your heart."
While an emergency prescription assistance program helps patients without insurance, others are falling through the gap if they have lost work and need to spend precious resources on food and clean water.
The US government has come under fire from Democrats who say the response has been woeful since Hurricane Maria hit the US territory of 3.4 million on September 20, two weeks after Hurricane Irma.
As team leader Conklin said she saw first-hand the huge logistical problems facing federal responders in a fluid disaster-response where communications were a challenge without adequate phone service.
"I think honestly that folks were doing the best that they can, but whether people realise that or not is a whole different story," she told AFP.
Around 75 per cent of customers are still without electricity and clean water is still scarce in many areas.
"You have to wonder, if you had a state in the United States that went 36 days without power," said New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday after a one-day visit. "People would be outraged."
Source-AFP
House Republicans approve budget resolution, clearing way for tax reform
House Republicans narrowly approved the Senate-passed budget resolution, clearing a procedural hurdle and allowing the House of Representatives to take up tax reform.
The bill passed 216 –212, with all Democrats and some Republicans opposing the measure. Speaker Paul Ryan cast a rare vote in favor of the measure, highlighting the significance of the vote.
A group of New York Republicans opposed the bill out of concerns about potential changes to state and local tax deductions in the GOP tax reform plan to be formally proposed down the line.
While the nonbinding budget plan would add $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, all but the most strident deficit hawks voted for the measure, abandoning traditional GOP orthodoxy for their once-in-a-generation effort to rewrite the tax code using reconciliation -- the process which allows for a simple majority vote in the Senate in lieu of a 60-vote threshold for passage.
President Donald Trump has made that argument, pitching the possibility of tax reform to members this week as he rallied support for the budget resolution.
“He said, ‘Tom, just hold your nose, close your eyes and vote yes,’” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said of Trump’s message in a phone call last Sunday. “I think that’s how a lot of guys are approaching it.”
After their failed efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this year, political considerations also trumped longstanding policy concerns for some members of the party.
“There wasn’t a win in health care and the base is frustrated,” Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., told ABC News. “If there isn’t some sort of win I think there will be repercussions in 2018.”
Republicans will release the details of their tax plan next week, and hope to send the measure to the Senate by Thanksgiving.
Source- ABC
Some JFK assassination records released, others under further review
The National Archives released more than 2,800 previously classified or redacted records related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy Thursday evening, but will withhold some of the records due to national security concerns, according to a memo from President Donald Trump.
The documents related to the investigation into Kennedy's murder -- consisting of files from the CIA, the FBI, the Defense and State departments and other agencies -- were scheduled to be released 25 years after the passage of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. The law called for the records to be made available based on the approval of the president.
Trump issued a memo to the heads of executive departments certifying the declassification Thursday, but also noted that some expressed reservations and therefore ordered that federal agencies be given 180 days to re-review whether certain documents related to national security require continued redaction or withholding.
The 2,891 records that were released were posted on the National Archives' website, with more expected to be made public following the continued review.
The vast majority of records related to the assassination -- roughly 88 percent -- have been available since the late 1990s, with an additional 11 percent of the documents released, with redactions, since then.
Thursday's cache includes some of the remaining files and some of the redacted portions of previously released documents.
Source-ABC
Tiger Woods expected to plead guilty to reckless driving
Tiger Woods is expected to appear in court Friday afternoon to plead guilty to reckless driving and agree to enter a diversion program following his arrest in May on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Police said the golfer was found asleep at the wheel in a running Mercedes in Jupiter, Florida. The car was stopped in the right lane and partially in the bike lane. Woods, who allegedly had extremely slow and slurred speech, "stated that he did not know where he was," according to the police report. "Woods had changed his story of where he was going and where he was coming from. Woods asked how far from his house he was."
Woods had two painkillers, two sleep drugs, and the active ingredient for marijuana in his system when he was arrested, according to reports.
Source-ABC
Cardi B shuts down rumor about Beyoncé collaboration
Cardi B fans have been in heaven this week with speculation about their favorite artist recording with Beyoncé. Sorry to break it to you, though -- the “Bodak Yellow” rapper denies the collaboration.
Engineer Michael Asby ignited the rumors when he posted a photo on social media of a music file featuring Cardi B and Beyoncé's names. But Cardi tells Billboard she has no knowledge of the song, or the engineer.
“I don’t even know why people are making those speculations,” she says. “I don’t know that man.”
Cardi did record with Nicki Minaj and Migos for a new track titled "Motor Sport" which dropped Friday. She also confirms she's recording a song with Kehlani, saying “Yes, it’s so beautiful…Oh, Kehlani! I love her. She’s such a sweetie.”
Source-ABC
Eminem donating proceeds from “Lose Yourself” lawsuit win to hurricane relief
Eminem is donating the settlement from a copyright lawsuit involving one of his classic songs to assist victims of recent hurricanes.
Slim Shady was awarded $415,000 in court this week for unauthorized use of his Oscar- and Grammy-winning number-one hit, “Lose Yoursel,f” from 8 Mile, and he’s donating the proceeds to hurricane relief, Variety reports. The New Zealand National party was found guilty of copyright infringement for using a song similar to “Lose Yourself,” titled “Eminem Esque,” in a 2014 election campaign.
In 2003, “Lose Yourself” became the first rap single to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also earned Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance.
Eminem was been very active in hurricane relief, and has raised an additional $444,000 in conjunction with the e-commerce firm, Stock X.
Source-ABC
Weather in the TCI for Thursday & Friday
GENERAL SITUATION: A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS THIS MORNING THEN QUICKLY MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS BY TONIGHT.
SPECIAL WARNINGS: BEACHGOERS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR MODERATE RIP CURRENT ALONG NORTH AND EAST COAST BEACHES.
FORECAST FOR THURSDAY
WEATHER: MOSTLY SUNNY AND WINDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS MAINLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY TURNING FAIR AND A BIT COOL AT NIGHT
WINDS: NORTHWEST TO NORTH 15 TO 20 KNOTS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, 15 TO 25 KNOTS IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS, SOUTHWEST TO WEST 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, 5 TO 8 FEET IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS AND 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE TURKS & CAICOS.
FORECAST FOR FRIDAY
WEATHER: MOSTLY SUNNY AND WINDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS MAINLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY TURNING FAIR AND A BIT COOL AT NIGHT
WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, 15 TO 20 KNOTS IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS AND EASTERLY 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE TCI
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE NORTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS AND 4 TO 6 FEET IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK: A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CENTERED NEAR THE EAST COAST OF NICARAGUA IS PRODUCING DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
CLOSE PROXIMITY TO LAND IS LIKELY TO LIMIT DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM FOR THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE OF 10 PERCENT FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION THROUGH 48 HOURS AND A MEDIUM CHANCE OF 50 PERCENT THROUGH 5 DAYS.
Twitter bans RT and Sputnik ads amid election interference fears
Twitter is banning two of Russia's biggest media outlets from buying advertising amid fears they attempted to interfere with the 2016 US election.
The ban on advertising from Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, and all linked accounts, was "effective immediately".
US authorities say both act as "a platform for Kremlin messaging".
The social media giant will donate an estimated $1.9m (£1.4m) made from the outlets into research on Twitter's use in "civic engagement and elections".
Twitter said the decision "was based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 US election and the US intelligence community's conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government".
The statement, published on the social media platform's blog, continued: "We did not come to this decision lightly, and are taking this step now as part of our ongoing commitment to help protect the integrity of the user experience on Twitter."
The decision has provoked an angry response in Russia, with the country's foreign ministry accusing Twitter of bowing to pressure from the US intelligence services, saying the move was "another aggressive step" aimed at blocking Russian media in the US.
It added "retaliatory measures" would follow, according to RIA Novosti news agency [in Russian],
Meanwhile, responding to the allegations, RT's deputy editor-in-chief Kirill Karnovich-Valua said the outlet "has never been involved in any illegal activity online, and that it never pursued an agenda of influencing the US election through any platforms".
His comments followed those of RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, who used Twitter's own platform to accuse the social network of pushing them to "spend big" during the election.
Twitter is one of a number of companies keen to show they can self-regulate after it was found that Russian-backed groups were exploiting its ad platform.
Russia has repeatedly denied claims that it interfered in the 2016 elections. US intelligence services accuse the country of trying to sway the vote in Donald Trump's favour in various ways, including by spreading fake news and hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) networks in order to undermine rival Hillary Clinton.
The allegations have sparked an investigation into possible links between Russia and Mr Trump, led by special counsel Rob Mueller, a former FBI director.
Mr Trump denies there was any collusion.
Source-BBC
Commissioner gives crime statistics for this quarter
In keeping with a commitment made last year the Commissioner of Police James Smith today released some limited crime data for the second quarter of the current year to RTC News, covering the period 1st July up to and including 30th September 2017. In releasing the date the CoP stated:
"My Force is committed to continuing our efforts to combat crime in the country and bring offenders to justice. We have not been able to release our second quarter figures for this year as quickly as we would have wished, following on from the disruption caused by hurricane Irma and it is also necessary to note that whilst we have great confidence in most of the data, some very limited crime reported in September may not be 100% up to date. Any anomaly will be rectified when we are fully operational again.
I am pleased to report that in the second quarter of this year (July, August, and September), we recorded a total of 477 crimes. When compared to the same period last year this means a reduction of some 215 crimes ( a 31% reduction). If we compare to the same period for 2015/16 then the reduction is some 311 less crimes ( a 40% reduction). This is a continuing downward trend over the last two years. For the first six months of 2015/16, we recorded 1597 crimes, for the same period in 2016/17 we recorded 1368 crimes and for this year over the same period we have recorded 937 crimes, a decrease of 660 offences over the first six month period two years ago. This is a significant achievement and means that in the first six months of this year overall crime is down 33% compared to the first six months of last year, and 42% down on the same period two years ago.
Clearly, we are delighted with this, but we are not complacent. We know things can change quickly and we continually assess our deployment profile to match the intelligence we receive or the change in crime patterns. In the next week or so I will release more detailed data and will also include some significant statistics on the arrests we have made and charges preferred against serious criminals.
However, at this point, I can report that persons have been arrested and charged with the most recent Murder of Mr. John PENN and in another case for conspiracy to commit robbery involving tourists at the Regent Palms and at The Royal West Indies this year. We are determined to bring serious criminals to book and prevent as many acts of criminality as we can. I am extremely grateful for the hard work done by all officers and staff particularly working in very challenging conditions, they deserve the credit for this success and I commend them for their efforts," added the Commissioner.