The UN says Haiti is taking resolute steps towards democracy and stability
With the holding its first round of elections in August this year, to renew the executive legislative and local leadership of the country, Haiti is taking “resolute” steps in renewing its democratic institutions, the top United Nations official for the country told the Security Council today.
Presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report on the work of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which she heads, Sandra Honoré said the country is also moving resolutely towards the re-establishment of institutional balance.
After a prolonged period, the Electoral Council published the results on September 27, according to which there were 10 contenders who won an outright victory for Senate and lower chamber seats. However, 25 electoral districts will require re-elections due to electoral violence.
“Notwithstanding the efforts of the Electoral Council, the Government and the Haitian National Police (HNP), severe acts of violence and some technical irregularities invalidated the August 9 vote in 13 per cent of the country’s voting centres,” she added.
Honoré commended the actions taken by the Electoral Council to address the shortcomings, responding to recommendations from political parties and implement corrective measures.
“To recapitulate therefore, the October 25 polls will include the first round Presidential; second round legislative; as well as the municipal vote, together with the re-runs for the first round legislative vote in the constituencies affected on August 9,” she added.
Further, she pointed out that for the first time in Haitian electoral history, the Electoral Council took punitive action against instigators of electoral violence. Members belonging to 10 political parties were barred from further participation in the elections and 17 political parties were issued warnings for instigating criminal acts and voter intimidation.
Honoré also noted the commitment expressed by the Haitian National Police (HNP) to undertake measures to improve police performance in the upcoming round, to ensure a stable electoral climate.
On a related note, she added that work continues towards the implementation of the HNP 2012-2016 Development Plan, which is now in its final year.
The UN is working towards reshaping its assistance, to acknowledge progress and concentrate its action where criminality affects most the main security indicators, such as homicides and gang confrontations.
“I encourage member States to provide experts in administrative, technical and operational support in the form of Government Provided Personnel as well as specialized teams in key fields of policing, with a view to creating longer-term post-MINUSTAH partnerships among the Haitian National Police, donors and other international partners,” the UN envoy added.
Honoré went on to tell the Council that in order to sustainably transfer such activities and other responsibilities of MINUSTAH, and mindful of the transition process of the Haitian authorities, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended the extension of the Mission for another, and possibly, final year.
“An Integrated Strategic Assessment Mission will be deployed after the completion of the electoral cycle and the installation of a new President and authorities to formulate recommendations for the future presence of the United Nations in Haiti,” she explained.
However, she stressed that for now, despite the near-success of the August 9 polls, the engagement of the UN system, including MINUSTAH and its uniformed components, continues to be required in support of operations, logistics and security in Haiti.
She also specified that despite the substantial budgetary allocations assigned by the Haitian Government, including as largest donor to the UN Development Programme (UNDP)-managed Basket Fund, the financial contributions of Haiti’s international partners continue to be critical for the completion of the electoral cycle.
Persons from the Turks & Caicos Islands Caribbean immigrants nabbed in raids across Florida
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a report today, noting that it held what they refer to as a total of 314 aliens; among them persons from the Turks & Caicos Islands.
The announcement came as ICE announced that a Jamaican man, who was convicted of murder, is among several Caribbean immigrants who are now in custody after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made arrests across Florida over the past month, targeting individuals who they say “pose a threat to public safety.”
Also among the 314 criminals ICE said it held, are people from Antigua, Guyana, the Bahamas, Trinidad, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Others nabbed came from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and the Ukraine.
Highlighting some of the captured immigrants, ICE said officers from its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) held a Jamaican in West Palm Beach who had been sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication and placed on community supervision for a murder that he pleaded guilty to.
There was also a Cuban man convicted of lewd and or lascivious act on a minor and sentenced to eight years of probation.
Both men are lawful US permanent residents, but are awaiting deportation hearings before an immigration judge.
Overall, ICE said over a quarter of the immigrants arrested had criminal records that included felony convictions for serious or violent offences, such as murder, attempted murder, child sex crimes, sex offences, weapons charges and drug violations. Sixteen of them were previously deported but returned to the country.
“As this operation makes clear, ICE is committed to prioritizing convicted criminals and those who are public safety threats for apprehension and removal,” said Marc Moore, field office director for the Miami Field Office of ERO, which oversees all of Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“Our communities are safer today thanks to the hard work of our officers across the state,” Moore added.
The arrests were made in 13 Florida counties.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not say in its report, how many persons from the Turks and Caicos or other individual countries are included among the 314 criminals that it arrested across Florida over the past month.
British MP calls for representation at Westminster for overseas territories
The Conservative MP for Romford in the UK parliament has suggested there should be representation in Westminster for Britain’s overseas territories. Andrew Rosindell, who chairs the Parliamentary British Overseas Territories Committee, said that the onset of devolution meant it could now be argued that home countries such as Scotland have as much autonomy as some territories and dependencies, but they have the advantage of representation in Westminster.
Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference this week, Rosindell said that the French, Dutch, and Danish overseas territories all had elected representation in the respective national parliaments but British territories do not.
He said that not only should representation in the House of Commons be looked at but there was room to consider having members in the House of Lords, which could be easier to bring about. With over 830 members, Rosindell told a panel discussion at the meeting, it was only fair to allow some BOT and crown dependency members of the House of Lords.
The fringe meeting was hosted by the Friends of the British Overseas Territories (FOTBOT), which was created to bring together people from all 16 British overseas territories and to promote, support and increase awareness of them, according to Anthony Webber, a political analyst and independent commentator from the UK’s crown dependency of Guernsey who was at the meeting.
“Times have changed, the world has moved on, devolution has taken place, and it is only right that we should have our say in the British Parliament on matters such as foreign affairs and defence, and indeed any issues which affect us,” Rosindell told CNS. “I feel change is going to come and we need to be putting our own ideas forward about what sort of change suits us best.”
While the BOTs and crown dependencies have mixed opinions about full Westminster representation, Rosindell said he was pleased that at last discussion had started on the issue and that progress could now be achieved in that direction.
He also spoke about the impending referendum in the UK regarding European Union membership, which will have an impact on the UK’s territories, as many of them, including Cayman’s offshore sector, do business within the Union.
Rosindell steered through an amendment in the UK Parliament recently to ensure Gibraltar was included in the referendum process because, like the UK, it is technically in the EU. But the MP believes the other territories should also take part. The territories are all party to various agreements and laws which connect them to the EU via the UK and whatever the outcome of this referendum on Britain’s future in the European Union, the BOT’s will be bound by the result, so, the MP argued, it cannot be right for them to be excluded.
“There are people in all the BOTs and crown dependencies who have passionate views on both sides as to whether their jurisdictions should continue to have a relationship with the EU,” Webber said, as he pointed to the increasing benefit for territories and dependencies to become more involved in the political landscape and the debates in the UK to promote their interests and raise awareness among politicians.
He pointed out that some OT’s and dependencies had stands in the main conference exhibition area at this year’s Conservative conference and in future OT’s should consider a joint stand at these events to promote their cause.
Source-CNS
Caribbean reefs affected by mass bleaching
Reefs in the Caribbean are among the world’s reefs that have been hit by a major episode of bleaching.
Scientists have confirmed that corals in the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific are suffering from the worldwide bleaching episode that is said to be the worst on record as the warming Pacific current, El Nino, increases in strength.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned it may affect more than 38 per cent of the world’s reefs, and kill over 12,000 sq km of reefs. Bleaching happens when corals under stress drive out the algae known as zooxanthellae that give them colour.
If normal conditions return, the corals can recover. But the process can take decades, and if the stress continues, the corals can die.
Reefs are under multiple threats including pollution, over-fishing, sedimentation and damage from boats and tourism.
Man-made climate change also contributes, as the oceans are absorbing about 93 per cent of the increase in the earth’s heat.
Some scientists are warning that spectacular reefs – with branching corals and fan corals – are unlikely to survive changes in temperature and pH by the end of this century. That’s if they are not killed first by other damaging local activities.
The current bleaching episode was predicted by NOAA and confirmed by researchers and citizen scientists in the Caribbean.
Although reefs represent less than 0.1 per cent of the world’s ocean floor, they help support about a quarter of all marine species.
The NOAA says the livelihoods of 500 million people and income worth over US$30 billion.
Now we know that the Turks and Caicos has been voted among countries as having the best dive sites in the world. So how healthy are the reefs in TCI and how problematic would bleaching be to our corals and reefs. It’s a question I put to Mr. Craig Been; a boat captain and dive master of one of the islands dive operations – Oasis Divers.
RTC News wanted to find out with the extreme roughness of the seas last week with the passage of hurricane Joaquin over the Central Bahamas and the effects of the hurricane on the Turks and Caicos Islands, whether there were any adverse damage to the corals.
Meet Ferrari F12 TdF
For the modern automaker, building a fast car — even an absurdly fast car — is rarely the end of the story. Behold the Ferrari F12 TdF, a muscled-up, hunkered-down evolution of the Italian automaker's already monstrous twelve-cylinder F12 grand-tourer. This special edition takes its name from the long-defunct Tour de France endurance motor race, a contest that Ferrari dominated during the 1950s and '60s, and it arives to fill the gap left by the departed 599 GTO. And as its appearance makes abundantly clear, it merges track-readiness and street-legality into one decidedly angry machine.
Of course, power is up; the F12's 6.3-litre V12 hops from an ample 730 horsepower to a more-than-ample 769hp. The goose comes from some racecar-engine bits, including variable geometry intake trumpets, and the car's seven-speed dual-clutch transmission — already lightning-quick — has been upgraded to match; upshifts and downshifts happen 30% and 40% faster, respectively.
Weight is down, as well. Ferrari's engineers picked apart the none-to-portly F12 and managed to excise close to 250lbs, bringing curb weight down to a very svelte 3,351lbs.
Outside, an array of aerodynamic enhancements — including a huge front splitter, a longer and taller rear spoiler and 'Aerobridge' pieces behind the front wheels — nearly doubles downforce at 124mph. Steering is tightened with the fitment of 8% wider front tires and a clever rear-wheel-steering setup.
Ferrari claims the car will bolt from zero to 62mph in 2.9 seconds and will require just 1.3 seconds more to crack off a lap around the company's Fiorani test track than the 949-horsepower LaFerrari. Top speed is something beyond 211mph.
Naturally, exclusivity is part of the deal. Ferrari plans to build a scant 799 examples of the F12 TdF. Pricing is unannounced, but you can expect an easy 40% premium over the standard F12, which in the US starts at about $320,000. Provided you're on the list, that is.
By Matthew Phenix
Source-BBC Auto
Lexus builds a driveable paper car
The most experienced and revered members of the Lexus production lines — the black belts of of the car-building world — are known as takumi. These are the masters of their respective trades, be it paint or engine-assembly or wood veneer, and one of the tests of takumi's manual dexterity, says Lexus, is the making of a folded-paper cat using only the non-dominant hand. It's an impressive little party trick, to be sure, and that kind of fine motor skill, applied to the task of building a car, can yield impressive results.
To celebrate the takumi (and that origami kitty), Lexus engaged a team of five designers and modellers from UK-based LaserCut Works and Scales and Models, supported by the packaging-material maker DS Smith, to build the Origami Car, a full-size, almost-fully-functional replica of the IS sport sedan.
The car is comprised of a steel and aluminium frame and 1,700 laser-cut sheets of corrugated cardboard — fully recyclable, of course. It features a complete interior, working doors, functioning headlights and rolling wheels. There's even an electric motor in there. Yes, the cardboard IS is more than just the box it came in: It's a driveable electric car. (Just steer clear of rain clouds.)
Working from digital 3D model of the IS, the team divided the project into sections — main body, dashboard, seats, wheels and so on. Each section was then digitally rendered as 10mm-thick “slices” and that data was then fed into a laser cutter. Each of the car's 1,700 pieces got its own sequential reference number, which the team followed as they assembled the layers using a water-based wood glue — a process that took three months to complete.
The team admits there were some false starts. “The seats took a few attempts to get just right and the wheels required a lot of refining," said Ruben Marcos, Scales and Models Company founder and director. "Once we could see the physical pieces taking shape, we could identify where we needed to make improvements – as with anything, there were some elements of trial and error, but as we had all the resources we needed in-house, this made the changes easier to produce.”
Lexus officially unveiled the cardboard IS on 8 October at the Grand Designs Live home-improvement show at the NEC in Birmingham, UK.
A present, there are no plans for production.
Source-BBC
Netgear router exploit detected
A security researcher in the US has said his Netgear router was hacked after attackers exploited a flaw in the machine.
Joe Giron told the BBC that he discovered altered admin settings on his personal router on 28 September.
The compromised router was hacked to send web browsing data to a malicious internet address.
Netgear says the vulnerability is "serious" but affects fewer than 5,000 devices.
Mr Giron found that the Domain Name System (DNS) settings on his router had been changed to a suspicious IP address.
"Normally I set mine to Google's [IP address] and it wasn't that, it was something else," he said.
"For two or three days all my DNS traffic was being sent over to them."
This means that the attacker could have tracked what websites Mr Giron was visiting, or even redirected him to malicious sites had they chosen to do so.
He has decided to turn off the router and not use it for the time being.
The vulnerability itself has been documented by security researchers at Compass Security and Shellshock Labs in recent months.
"Is it serious? Yes it definitely is," said Jonathan Wu, senior director of product management at Netgear, one of the top three router brands in the US.
"Because whenever anybody gets access to your router, they can alter settings to direct traffic to places you don't want it to go to."
However, Mr Wu added that attackers would have to get access to the network first and then guess the admin password.
Mr Giron thinks that in his case, access was gained because his router settings had been configured so that they could be accessed remotely.
Source-BBC
Bieber back on top for rare third time
Justin Bieber has become only the fourth music artist in UK history to have the same single to hit number one on three separate occasions.
He returned to the top spot with What Do You Mean after being knocked off last week by Sam Smith's Bond theme.
The only other songs to reach number one three times are Frankie Laine's I Believe, Guy Mitchell's Singing The Blues and Pharrell Williams' Happy.
This week's number one album was a new entry from Rudimental.
We The Generation, the band's second album, includes tracks with Ed Sheeran, Bobby Womack, Ella Eyre and Lianne La Havas.
It took over the number one slot from Disclosure's Caracal, which slipped down to number eight.
Sheeren's X, which has been around for 68 weeks, is once again back in the top five, sitting at number two.
Editors' fifth studio album, In Dream, is a new entry at number five.
Bieber's What Do You Mean was the most streamed track of the week, with 2.91 million listens in the past week.
The Canadian pop star was in the news this week after photos of emerged of him naked on holiday. His lawyers have demanded websites remove the pictures, citing an invasion of privacy.
The UK singles chart saw R City's Locked Away, featuring Adam Levine, rise one place to number two, while Sam Smith's Writing on the Wall slipped to three.
A new entry into the top 100 was Alone No More by Philip George and Anton Powers, which reached number four.
The top five was completed by Ellie Goulding's On My Mind.
Top five UK singles
1) What Do You Mean-Justin Bieber
2) Locked Away-R City ft Adam Levine
3) Writing's On The Wall Sam Smith
4) Alone No More- Philip George & Anton Powers
5) On My Mind-Ellie Goulding
Blatter fights ban amid FIFA turmoil
FIFA president Sepp Blatter appealed against the 90 day ban that forced him out of office, his lawyers confirmed Friday, as world football’s sleaze-tainted governing body headed into months of turmoil over how to find a new leader.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) became the latest regional body to demand an emergency meeting of the FIFA executive after the suspension of Blatter, UEFA president Michel Platini and FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke.
The row over Blatter’s suspension took a fresh twist on Friday as FIFA’s ethics watchdog rejected the 79-year-old’s claims he was not allowed to give evidence before he was banned, saying he was given “all his rights”.
Blatter’s lawyers confirmed they had filed an official appeal and asked for further hearings with the ethics committee.
The New York Times earlier reported that Blatter had complained that he only found out about his suspension after it was made public.
But ethics committee spokesman Andreas Bantel said Blatter had been given the chance to put his case on October 1.
Platini, hit with the same suspension on Thursday, also “had the very same rights” at an interview on the same day, Bantel said.
Platini also plans to appeal against his 90-day suspension.
The Frenchman is a leading candidate in FIFA’s presidential election in February, alongside South Korean tycoon Chung Mong-Joon who was banned from football activities for six years in the ethics committee purge.
Blatter, who has led FIFA since 1998, was provisionally banned by the ethics watchdog as Swiss prosecutors investigate him for criminal mismanagement.
The crisis at FIFA has been building since May, when US authorities announced charges against 14 officials and sports marketing executives over bribery allegations amounting to more than $150 million.
Asia’s powerful football chief Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa wrote to acting FIFA president Issa Hayatou calling for an emergency meeting of the body’s executive committee.
“These are exceptional circumstances and that is why we need the meeting. Only together will we overcome these difficult times,” Al Khalifa said, according to a statement from the AFC.
The German and English federations have made similar calls. A FIFA spokeswoman told AFP Hayatou was expected at Zurich HQ on Tuesday and would discuss the matter with committee members.
Some senior FIFA members have suggested the meeting could discuss postponing the election to replace Blatter, currently slated for February 26.
Blatter, a 40-year veteran of FIFA, is still in Zurich, home of the organisation’s headquarters, a source close to him told AFP.
We’re cooked if we fail on climate change – IMF Chief
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Wednesday that failure to take urgent action on global warming will condemn humanity to the same fate as the Peruvian poultry that so many delegates to the group’s annual meeting are enjoying this week in a country famed for its cuisine.
“If we collectively chicken out of this we’ll all turn into chickens and we’ll all be fried, grilled, toasted and roasted,” said Lagarde.
Her comments came in a panel discussion involving World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, UN climate talks executive secretary Christiana Figueres and economist and climate expert Nicholas Stern.
Lagarde and Kim argued strongly for removing subsidies on fossil fuels that are worth more than $5 trillion a year and on the immediate need for carbon taxes so that the burning of fossil fuels can fund clean energy replacements.
But they both acknowledged it’s a big challenge.
“We have been trying to help countries remove fuel subsidies,” said Kim, which inevitably means higher prices at the gas pump. “Politicians don’t like it when taxi drivers and truck drivers block the streets.”
Questioned about whether the world’s governments can make the necessary shift to clean energy to prevent catastrophic climate change, Figueres said that while pledges from 146 countries submitted ahead of December’s climate talks in Paris are not enough to bring greenhouse gases down to acceptable levels, she believes closing the gap is “entirely doable.”
The world’s finance ministers and central bankers were beginning to arrive in Lima for the joint annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF that run through Sunday.
The lending institutions hold their annual meetings away from their Washington headquarters every three years. The last time such a meeting was held In Latin America was in 1967, in Rio de Janeiro.