Pope Francis acknowledges backlog of cases
Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that the Vatican has a 2,000-case backlog in processing clerical sex abuse cases and says criticism of the slow pace was justified.
The pope added that more staff are being added and insists the Vatican is "on the right path."Francis was making his first comments about the criticism levelled at the Vatican's handling of sex abuse cases by Marie Collins, an Irish abuse survivor who resigned from Francis' sex abuse advisory commission in March.
Collins quit because of what she said was the "unacceptable" level of resistance within the Vatican to implementing the group's proposals to better care for victims and protect children from priests who rape and molest them.
Speaking to reporters while flying home Saturday from a trip to Portugal, Francis called Collins "a great woman" and said she was "a bit right" to complain about the slow pace in processing cases.
"Marie Collins was right on that point. But we are on the right path, as there were 2,000 cases backlogged," he said.
Francis didn't respond to the other issues raised by Collins, including the refusal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — which handles abuse cases — to create a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for paedophile priests.
Instead, he focused on explaining why cases can take so long to process.
To improve efficiency, he said he had added more staff to the congregation and that talks were underway about providing more regional help to bishops to ensure their cases are properly documented before they arrive at the Vatican for review.
He denied he had ever agreed to a request for clemency from a paedophile priest
Associates skeptical Comey cleared Trump in Russia investigation
Associates of James Comey are highly skeptical that the former FBI director told Donald Trump he was not under investigation in the Russia probe as the president claimed in a letter firing Comey.
While it is conceivable there was a misunderstanding on Trump's part, the sources said Comey would never have cleared Trump with the investigation still underway.
"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau," wrote Trump Tuesday in a letter informing Comey of his termination.
Comey, a former United States attorney and deputy attorney general, is known to speak in a deliberate manner. It would have been highly inappropriate to discuss an active investigation and sources close to Comey said he knows better than anyone that one never knows how a probe will end until it's over.
When acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe was asked by the Senate Intelligence Community Thursday about Trump's characterization, McCabe declined to say whether the president was given assurances.
"I will not comment on whether the director and president had that kind of a conversation," McCabe said.
Asked if it "would have been wrong" for Comey to inform a person that he was not under investigation, McCabe said, "We do not typically answer that question."
McCabe also pushed back on White House assertions that the agency’s rank and file lost confidence in Comey. "I can tell you also that Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI and still does to this day," McCabe said.
McCabe told senators that the firing of Comey has not affected his agency's investigation into whether Donald Trump's associates colluded with Russian officials to influence last year's presidential election, and McCabe promised to speak up if there is any effort by the White House to impede the wide-ranging probe.
"The work of the men and women of the FBI continues despite any changes in circumstance," he said, calling the Russia probe "a highly significant investigation," despite White House claims to the contrary.
Changing explanation for Comey firing, Trump says it was his decision
A few days after firing FBI Director James Comey, President Donald Trump offered a pointed evaluation of Comey's character and insisted that the determination was made before an evaluation of him by the Department of Justice.
"Look, he's a showboat. He's a grandstander," said Trump in an interview with NBC's Lester Holt. "The FBI has been in turmoil. You know that. I know that. Everybody knows that. You take a look at the FBI a year ago -- it was in virtual turmoil. Less than a year ago. It hasn't recovered from that."
Trump portrayed the decision as his alone, despite the initial administration depiction of the dismissal as one that came based on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
"I was going to fire Comey," said Trump. "My decision."
The changing explanation of the decision to fire Comey comes amid word that Rosenstein was so upset with the White House for pinning the firing of Comey on him Wednesday that he was on the verge of resigning, an administration source told ABC News.
The White House initially said Rosenstein's recommendation was the reason Trump fired Comey.
Microsoft warns, cyber-attack over the weekend a wake-up call
A cyber-attack that has hit 150 countries since Friday should be treated by governments around the world as a "wake-up call", Microsoft says.
The computing giant said software vulnerabilities hoarded by governments had caused "widespread damage".
The latest virus exploits a flaw in a version of Microsoft Windows first identified by US intelligence.
There are fears of further "ransomware" attacks as people return to work today Monday.
A statement from Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith on Sunday criticised the way governments store up information about security flaws in computer systems.
"We have seen vulnerabilities stored by the CIA show up on WikiLeaks, and now this vulnerability stolen from the NSA has affected customers around the world," he wrote.
"An equivalent scenario with conventional weapons would be the US military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen."
The spread of the virus slowed over the weekend but this could be brief, experts have warned. More than 200,000 computers have been affected so far.
Many firms have had experts working over the weekend to prevent new infections. The virus took control of users' files and demanded $300 (£230) payments to restore access.
Commonwealth observers say Bahamas election was “peaceful and credible”
The chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the recently concluded general election in the Bahamas, has commended the country for the peaceful and orderly manner in which they exercised their right to vote on May 3 in the advanced polls and on election day on May 10.
Issuing the Group's interim statement, the chair of the group, Hannah Tetteh said the overall conclusion was that the election was peaceful and credible and the will of the people was decisively expressed with a high voter turnout.
In the Group's statement, issued on Friday evening, she praised the conduct of members of the police force.
“We were impressed with the high level of technological preparedness and the manner in which they had considered every single aspect of the electoral process that could be supported by the police. It is a model of best practice that ought to be recommended across the Commonwealth.”
Tetteh also drew attention to the visibly high number of women electoral workers and commended the spirit of young people during the campaign as well as the number of young candidates participating.
In conclusion, the Group strongly recommended the establishment of an independent election management body with a modern voting and counting system.
Tetteh also drew attention to the visibly high number of women electoral workers and commended the spirit of young people during the campaign as well as the number of young candidates participating.
In conclusion, the Group strongly recommended the establishment of an independent election management body with a modern voting and counting system in preparation for the Commonwealth next general election.
Police recruitment ad attracts more than 2,000 applicants
AN ADVERT seeking experienced police officers to join the Royal TCI Police Force has attracted more than 2,000 applicants from across the region.
Commissioner of Police James Smith shared this news during a press conference at the police headquarters in Providenciales on Thursday, April 27.
He spoke about the recruitment process after one media house alleged that the force had recently recruited dozens of officers from Jamaica.
Commissioner Smith said the jobs were advertised across the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Caribbean, and no one has been recruited yet.
He explained that the force is looking for qualified police officers who are ready to go straight to work; whether from Turks and Caicos Islands or any other country.
"We are at the point now where we are beginning to shortlist these applicants to get the very best into the force.
"Not only does that mean we can get our boots on the ground quickly with experienced individuals, that means that we do not have the financial burden and problem of finding somewhere to house them, somewhere to train them and having to worry about the long training period," he said.
He added that it takes about two years to train police officers and an even longer period to train a marine branch officer.
The Commissioner said: "You first get the basic skills, then you get the specialist skills which you will need to be out on the water in dangerous conditions. It is not an easy business.
"My push is to get the best people as quickly as possible, but completely in line with the TCI constitution which says that we will take the best people for the job."
Hurricane Preparedness Month launched
In AN OPENING ceremony held at the Horse Stable Beach in North Caicos last Friday, May 5, to mark the launch of Hurricane Preparedness Month.
The Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) initiative saw attendance from students and teachers of Adelaide Oemler Primary School, Hubert James Primary School, Doris Robinson Primary School and Helena Jones Robinson High School.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communications, Hon. Delroy Williams, brought opening remarks.
Williams stressed the importance of listening to weather warnings and taking the necessary steps to be prepared for the season.
"As minister, I will do all that is in my power to make sure that this department is up and functioning for this season," he said.
"I encourage you, the parents, and most especially the students that are here, to listen to your parents, follow instructions as they give them to you, be prepared for this hurricane season."
Permanent secretary of disaster management Clara Gardiner also brought greetings to the crowd and encouraged students to ask their parents if they are properly prepared for the hurricane season and offer help.
Director of the DDME, Dr Virginia Clerveaux asked a few questions about hurricane preparedness to ensure that the students were paying attention.
A church service was also held at the Harvest Bible Chapel in Providenciales on Sunday (May 7) to commemorate the month as the Director expressed when she appeared on RTC’s Expressions last week.
A Governor's Hurricane Conference started on Saturday (May 13) and will run through to May 19.
Minister of Home Affairs, Delroy Williams, issued a statement to RTC News this week in which he said that he along with his Government are committed to building capacity within the DDME and by extension, building resilience throughout the entire TCI.
"I have committed in the 2017-18 budget to address the need for a purpose built National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) with warehouse facilities, two snorkel vehicles to traverse flooded roads during emergencies, emergency radio communication upgrade and retrofitting of shelters.
"I am also committed going forward to provide DDME with the requisite human resources that it needs to effectively and timely carry out its duties,” added the Minister.
The Minister along with key members of the DDME and the Ministry will be issuing hurricane messages as we use the month of may as the Disaster Preparedness month, which will be aired on RTC FM.
Bahamas PM to reveal composition of 16-member cabinet
Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has announced plans to reveal the composition of his 16 member cabinet shortly.
On Friday, the chairman of the just elected Free National Movement (FNM) Sidney Collie said the prime minister will assign the portfolios and the new cabinet scheduled to be sworn in today Monday.
According to Collie, as soon as the Cabinet is sworn in , the first meeting will be held on Tuesday.
The new Attorney General, Carl Bethel has already been sworn in.
The Prime Minister, in his address to Turnquest who is the Deputy Prime Minister and Bethel as AG said their appointments are the beginning of the formation of the “people's government,” adding that transparency and accountability were often absent during the past five years but will be restored.
Minnis also said that the “ government will ensure that the public treasury is used for the public good rather than directed toward private interests”.
Grand Turk Fishing Tournament for June
The annual Grand Turk Fishing Tournament game fishing tournament fund raiser will commence on the 16th, 17th & 18th June 2017, at Governors Beach, Grand Turk. The organisers told RTC Sports that they are inviting all from Provo and other island teams to attend!
The Calcutta will be at the Salt Raker Inn, Front Street, at 7PM sharp this Friday 16th June.
Seamus Day added that this is their 5th Anniversary year and would be delighted if any of you can make the journey from Provo to support us. We will have the usual $10,000+ in prizes as well as a huge array of live auction, silent auction and raffle prizes, subsidized fuel etc.
Please let me know if would like to enter so I can ensure you receive the warmest welcome to Grand Turk and that we have the appropriate resources in place to accommodate the numbers.
Please join us, have some great fishing, win some decent prizes and all while supporting a worthy cause.