EU provides additional €500,000 in humanitarian aid to Dominica
The European Union is providing an additional €500,000 in humanitarian aid to Dominica, following the severe destruction caused by Hurricane María last month.
On September 18, María, a category 5 hurricane, hit Dominica leaving more than 70,000 people in need of urgent relief.
“We aim to increase our support to families who are displaced and living in collective centres or with host families since the hurricane, and are in need of shelter, food and water,” said Androulla Kaminara, ECHO's Director of Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The additional aid will provide immediate shelter and household material for 5,000 vulnerable families in Dominica. Shelter kits, as well as housing repair materials, training and technical support will be provided to the most vulnerable whose homes have been damaged.
”The EU has been committed since the very beginning to support Dominica after the tragedy. We are now committed to further assist Dominica in early recovery and reconstruction,” said Daniela Tramacere, EU Ambassador to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
This additional humanitarian aid complements an initial grant of €250,000 which was allocated last month to alleviate the affected population's most urgent needs.
Source-CMC
Hurricanes dent profits at insurance giant Munich Re
One of the world's biggest insurance firms has said it will take a loss in the third quarter because of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Munich Re expects the hurricanes that ravaged parts of the US and the Caribbean to cost it €2.7bn (£2.4bn) owing to major loss expenditure.
The firm, which insures other insurance companies, said estimates were "still fraught with considerable uncertainty".
The insurer now projects a "small" profit for 2017 because of the claims.
"High losses from severe natural catastrophes are part and parcel of our business," said Joerg Schneider, chief financial officer of Munich Re. "We will continue to offer our clients full reinsurance capacity."
Mexican earthquakes and other disasters will take overall losses for the quarter to about €3.2bn.
Munich Re is not the first major insurance company to see its profits dented by the hurricanes.
Swiss firm Zurich Insurance this month estimated the three hurricanes would result in about $700m (£529m) in claims for the quarter, with losses expected to reach about $620m.
Swiss Re projects that claims from the hurricanes coupled with the earthquakes in Mexico may reach up to $3.6bn.
Source-BBC
Venus Wiliams knocks out Garbine Muguruza to reach semi-finals
Venus Williams beat Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza in straight sets to reach the last four at the WTA Finals, ending the Spaniard's hopes of finishing the year as world number one.
The American, 37, won 7-5 6-4 in Singapore to secure second place in the White Group behind Karolina Pliskova.
Czech Pliskova had already qualified, but ended the round-robin stage with a 6-3 6-1 loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
Williams will play Caroline Wozniacki or Caroline Garcia in the semis.
Denmark's Wozniacki has guaranteed a semi-final place with two wins, and will win the White Group with victory over French eighth seed Garcia on Friday.
World number one Simona Halep of Romania then takes on Ukraine's fourth seed Elina Svitolina, with both women still able to reach the semi-finals heading into the final group matches.
Source-BBC
NFLPA invites Colin Kaepernick to next meeting with league owners
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is expected to be invited to the next meeting between the NFL Players Association and the league's owners, a league spokesman said Wednesday.
NFL Spokesman Joe Lockhart said the invitation had been offered by the NFLPA and not the league, but that "we look forward to him joining the conversation." The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday in Manhattan.
Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL owners on October 15, alleging that they colluded to keep him from earning a roster spot for this season. He did not attend a meeting on October 17, despite receiving an invitation from Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins.
Kaepernick got national attention last season when he chose to kneel during the national anthem before games. He said he was protesting social injustice.
Source-ABC
Trump slams Democrats for helping to fund dossier
President Donald Trump lashed out at Democrats on Wednesday after a lawyers for Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee acknowledged helping fund the infamous dossier of alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“I think it's a disgrace,” Trump said. “It's a very sad commentary on politics in this country.”
On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that Marc E. Elias, a lawyer who represented both the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained the Washington-based investigative firm Fusion GPS to conduct research.
In August, ABC News reported that Fusion GPS was paid during the heated Republican primaries by a still unknown Republican and then later worked for Democrats, all of whom wanted to dig up dirt on Trump and plant negative news stories, according to political operatives.
The identity of the initial Republican funder of the dossier, however, remains a mystery.
Republican House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes approved a subpoena earlier this month that would force the bank handling finances for Fusion GPS to open up its books, which could force the identity of that initial client into public view.
The 35-page dossier, prepared by a former British spy and Moscow station chief named Christopher Steele, alleges the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians, and includes uncorroborated, salacious allegations about Trump himself, which he has repeatedly denied.
Between June 2015 to December 2016, the Clinton campaign paid Perkins Coie $5.6 million in legal fees, according to campaign finance records examined by the Washington Post. And since since November 2015, the DNC paid the firm $3.6 million in “legal and compliance consulting.” It is not possible to know how much of those funds were passed on to Fusion GPS.
As Trump fumed, Democrats defended the campaign and the committee. Former Clinton campaign spokesperson Brian Fallon said the Democrats did nothing wrong.
“I think it's important to remember that opposition research happens all the time in the campaign,” Fallon said on CNN.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said the content of the document is more important than the circumstances behind its creation.
“It’s important to know who paid for it,” Swalwell told ABC News. “But it is also important to know if what’s in the dossier is true.”
Source-ABC
Las Vegas shooter's laptop missing its hard drive
A laptop computer recovered from the Las Vegas hotel room where Stephen Paddock launched the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was missing its hard drive, depriving investigators of a potential key source of information on why he killed and maimed so many people, ABC News has learned.
Paddock is believed to have removed the hard drive before fatally shooting himself, and the missing device has not yet been recovered, sources told ABC News.
Investigators digging into Paddock’s background also learned he purchased software designed to erase files from a hard drive, but without the hard drive to examine it is impossible to know if he ever used the software, one source said.
The absence of substantial digital clues has left investigators struggling to piece together what triggered Paddock to kill 58 innocent concertgoers and injure more than 500 others on October 1.
Authorities are examining every aspect of Paddock’s life — from his family, friends and associates to his travel patterns, health and finances. So far, a motive has been elusive to investigators.
The frequent gambler, described as a loner, spent months amassing his arsenal, staying under the radar with no one suspecting he would turn to extreme violence.
His finances did not appear to be a problem and Paddock had settled any debts he had with casinos shortly before the attack, a source said
Meanwhile, Bruce Paddock, a brother of Stephen Paddock, was arrested in California Wednesday morning on suspicion of possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.
A felony complaint alleges that between January 2014 and August 2014, Bruce Paddock possessed over 600 images of child or youth pornography.
When the investigation started Bruce Paddock was a transient and couldn't be located, the police said, but he was recently found in North Hollywood, where he was arrested.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office filed one count of possession of over 600 images of child pornography and 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, police said.
Bruce Paddock is being held at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Metropolitan Detention Center; his bail was set at $60,000, the police said.
It’s unclear whether Bruce Paddock has obtained a lawyer.
Source-ABC
Judge rules Mary J. Blige must continue paying estranged husband
Mary J. Blige reportedly must continue temporary spousal support payments to Kendu Issacs, but her estranged husband won't receive as much as he's asked for.
While a judge ordered the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul to keep paying $30,000 a month to Issacs, his request to increase the payments to $65,000 a month was dismissed, according to The Blast.com
As previously reported, Issacs asked for the increase because he is now unemployed, while Blige is profiting from new music she’s released about their breakup, which Isaacs calls “divorce songs” -- “Love Yourself” and “Set Me Free" -- from her Strength of a Woman album.
Isaacs claimed Blige can afford to pay him $65,000 a month because she supposedly has $275,000 per month available for support payments. Blige’s legal team argued that amount is based on her royalties, and says Isaac isn't entitled to it, according to The Blast.
The divorce proceedings are ongoing, and the judge says the financial issues will be discussed further during the trial.
Blige and Isaacs married in 2003, and she filed for divorce in 2016, citing “irreconcilable differences.” At that time, Isaacs requested $100,000 per month in support.
Source-ABC
Suge Knight drops Chris Brown lawsuit following legal threat
Suge Knight has reportedly dropped his lawsuit against Chris Brown, stemming from a 2014 shooting in Los Angeles.
Knight was shot seven times in the incident at the 1OAK nightclub, where Breezy was performing at a pre-MTV Video Music Awards party. Suge sued Brown, charging the singer was responsible for poor security at the venue that allowed gunmen to fire multiple shots.
The Death Row Records founder is stopping his action after being threatened with a counter lawsuit for malicious prosecution by Brown’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, according to TMZ.
Sources say no money was exchanged.
Knight remains in jail awaiting trial on murder and attempted murder charges in connection with a hit-and-run incident in 2015 that killed Terry Carter and injured another man.
Source-ABC
U.S. sales projected to slip in October, despite strong post-hurricane demand
October is on track to be the second-best month of 2017 for U.S. new-vehicle sales, analysts said, partly due to surging demand in states recovering from hurricane damage, though volume is projected to fall slightly from the same month last year.
Forecasts from LMC Automotive, Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds call for a 2 to 4 percent decline in industry sales this month. They estimate the seasonally adjusted, annualized selling rate will be 17.6 million to 17.9 million. While that's a drop-off from September's rate of 18.6 million -- which was the sixth-highest ever -- it would be well above the industry's sales pace in the first half of the year.
"October looks relatively strong for the industry, as evidenced by the nearly 18 million SAAR," KBB analyst Tim Fleming said in a statement. "Sales blew past expectations in September ... and we expect October to keep up some of that momentum. Some of the strength can be attributed to replacement demand that continues in Texas and Florida, but perhaps more importantly, higher incentive spend is playing a role."
Fleming said incentives have risen to 11 percent of average transaction prices -- "an indicator that new-vehicle demand is still contracting, and production cuts could be on the horizon to prevent oversupplies."
Discounts are all but certain to rise further in the coming months, as automakers roll out year-end promotions that typically start in the next few weeks and stretch into early January. J.D. Power, which provides data used in LMC's forecast, projects that incentive spending could rise to an all-time high in November and December.
Incentives averaged $3,901 per vehicle in the first 17 days of October, J.D. Power said, topping the month's previous record, set last year, by $66. At the same time, the industry's average transaction price also set an October record, rising $615 from a year ago to $32,185 and suggesting that the discounts are not eroding profits.
Sweeter deals could help draw consumers who had delayed making a purchase because of the hurricanes back into the market, in addition to others who have been on the fence about buying, said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of industry analysis.
"We expect to see increasingly aggressive incentives offered on outgoing models through the end of the year as automakers look to build on this momentum," Caldwell said in a statement, "so car buyers can likely anticipate some door-buster deals this holiday season."
Automakers are scheduled to report October sales on Wednesday. October has 25 selling days this year, one fewer than it did in 2016. The expected decline for the month also can be attributed in part to consumers having five weekends to shop for vehicles last October but only four in 2017.
Source-AutoNews
CDB approves funding to support geothermal development in St. Kitts and Nevis
The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved the use of USD325,500 by CDB for the benefit of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to identify environmental and social impacts in the design of a geothermal energy (GE) exploratory test-drilling project. The resources, made available through the Canadian Support to the Energy Sector in the Caribbean (CSES-C) Fund, will also assist with the development of a framework to manage project implementation sustainably.
The environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) will support decision-makers in determining how to proceed with project development. The findings will inform:
selection of the best location for exploratory test wells;
project considerations to reduce negative impacts on environmental resources; and
approaches for taking into account social dimensions such as poverty, gender, employment and livelihoods.
Tessa Williams-Robertson, Head, Renewable Energy/ Energy Efficiency Unit, CDB noted, “St. Kitts and Nevis, like the majority of CDB Borrowing Member Countries is seeking to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuel, and improve national energy security and competitiveness by increasing the deployment of sustainable energy options. Of the renewable energy options, it is believed that GE holds the greatest prospect for transforming St. Kitts and Nevis’ energy matrix, directly displacing diesel fuel-based generation.”
“The findings of the ESIA will provide the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis with critical, evidence-based environmental and social baseline data and impact analysis, to inform decisions required for the exploratory test-drilling phase of GE development,” Williams-Robertson added.
The intervention is consistent with the Bank’s strategic objective of supporting inclusive growth and sustainable development within its Borrowing Member Countries. It also aligns with CDB’s corporate priorities of strengthening and modernising economic and social infrastructure and promoting environmental sustainability.
It is also consistent with the Bank’s Energy Sector Policy and Strategy, and Climate Resilience Strategy, as well as St. Kitts and Nevis National Energy Policy (2015) and the Caribbean Community Energy Policy (2013).
The CSES-C Fund was established in 2016 to provide technical assistance over a four-year period. Grant resources of CAD5 million, provided by the Government of Canada to CDB, supports public and private actors in the energy sector in the Bank’s Borrowing Member Countries.
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