New York Stock Exchange suspends trade after glitch
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has suspended trading on all shares for technical reasons, but says there is no cyber attack.
The NYSE said it would provide more details as soon as possible. All open orders would be cancelled, according to Reuters.
The Nasdaq index reported no technical issues and said it continues to trade NYSE-listed stocks.
The Wall Street Journal website is also experiencing technical problems.
"We're currently experiencing a technical issue that we're working to resolve as quickly as possible," a NYSE spokeswoman said in a statement.
"We will be providing further updates as soon as we can, and are doing our utmost to produce a swift resolution, communicate thoroughly and transparently, and ensure a timely and orderly market re-open."
However, in a tweet later the NYSE said the problem was an internal technical issue, not a cyber attack. The White House said that President Barack Obama had been briefed.
US markets were down before the halt in trading, which started just after 11:30am ET, as a fall in Chinese markets added to concerns about its impact on global economic growth.
One trader on the NYSE floor, Mark Otto, of J Streicher & Co, told Reuters: "It's under control. We're just waiting for word. There's no sign of panic at all.
"We're waiting to hear word on if there's going to be a reopening, and when it is or any more details."
Meanwhile, the WSJ.com site and United Airlines reported technical difficulties on Wednesday.
WSJ.com went down completely earlier in the day, but there was a partial recovery at about midday. A message on the website's homepage read: "WSJ.com is having technical difficulties. The full site will return shortly."
United Airlines has also reported that a computer error has forced it to ground its flights in the US for the second time in recent weeks. The carrier blamed a "network connectivity issue" for the latest fault.
Eurozone sets 'final deadline' for new plan
The eurozone has given Greece until Thursday to present new proposals to secure a deal with creditors, and has called a full EU summit for Sunday.
The eurozone had expected Greece to submit fresh plans on Tuesday after its voters rejected a deal in a referendum, but no new proposals were tabled.
The European Parliament in Strasbourg is now debating Greece.
European Council President Donald Tusk told MEPs there were only "four days left" to reach agreement.
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras is also addressing the parliament. He was greeted by boos and cheers as he entered the chamber.
On the referendum, he said the Greek people "stood up and were counted - we have to listen to what they said."
But he said detailed proposals were being drawn up to bring about agreement with Greece's partners on resolving the debt crisis.
On Sunday, a meeting of all 28 members of the EU will be held - a day after the new Greek proposals are expected to be discussed by the eurozone finance ministers.
In Brussels, Greece has been given an ultimatum: either there will be a deal or Greece and its banks face the prospect of going bust on Monday, the BBC's Chris Morris reports.
EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told the BBC's Today programme that Europe wanted to stop Greece falling out of the euro.
"The Commission does not want a Grexit. Grexit would be a terrible failure and we are fighting to avoid it."
But, first, he said proposals must come from the Greek side.
"They know what they have to do, they know what we expect".
Speaking at a news conference late on Tuesday, Mr Tusk said a Greek bankruptcy and the collapse of the Greek banking system would affect the whole of Europe, and that anyone who thought otherwise was naive.
He said this was now the "most critical moment in the history of the eurozone".
French President Francois Hollande said: "It's not just the problem of Greece - it's the future of the European Union" that is at stake.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he wanted a "socially just and economically viable agreement".
"The process will be fast. It starts in the coming hours with the aim of concluding it by the end of the week, at the latest," he said.
Source-BBC
Asafa Powell ready to claim World title
Heavy lies the head that wears the crown, they say, but Asafa Powell doesn't seem to mind at all - he wants the crown!
With question marks surrounding sprint king Usain Bolt and an army of Americans led by Justin Gatlin ready to storm the throne at next month's World Championships in Beijing, Powell thinks he's the man to defend Jamaica's seven-year sprinting reign.
It's a challenge that Powell is relishing as he gears up for a 100m showdown against Nesta Carter, Mike Rodgers and Jimmy Vicaut at tomorrow's Meeting Areva Paris Diamond League, ahead of next week's clash with Gatlin and Tyson Gay in Lausanne.
"I think I'm the (country's) best chance heading into Beijing at this point," Powell told STAR Sports in Paris.
"I don't know what's going on with Usain (Bolt) but all the other (Jamaican) athletes would have to do something extraordinary for me to consider them to be going to China to compete for the gold medal."
Criticised in the past for not living up to expectations when it mattered and lacking the assurance and drive of his rivals, Powell is preaching a new sermon these days.
"I have been in the sport for a very long time and a lot of persons have doubted me, but I still remain strong and focused and continue to put in the work."
Only Gatlin has gone faster than Powell this year, with the Jamaican twice dropping 9.84 this season, unbeaten in his eight starts to date. The last time Powell went unbeaten in his first eight races of the season was in 2010.
"People overlook a lot of things, and consistency is one of the main things. Not many athletes have been in the sport for over 10 years and have managed to stay on top," Powell argued.
"The season has been going according to plan. I have been running well in these first few track meets and I think I would have gone faster if the conditions were great in all races," said Powell, whose 9.84 win in Jamaica last week was his fastest time ever at the National Senior Championships.
Source-Star Sports
Contributor -ANDRé LOWE
Brown wins 100m in season-best time in Hungary
World and Olympic sprint champion Veronica Campbell Brown ran a season’s best 10.99 seconds (-1.2m/s) to win the 100m A race at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Budapest, Hungary, today.
Campbell Brown, who was third in both sprint finals at the recent JAAA National Senior Championships in Kingston, beat American Tianna Bartoletta in a close finish with the runner-up clocking 11.18 seconds.
Source-Jamaica Observer
St Lucia to table legislation to make CCJ final court
The St Lucia Government says it will soon table legislation that will allow for the island to make the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) its final court, replacing the London-based Privy Council.
Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony said that St Lucia has a provision in its Constitution that is identical to a provision of the Constitution of Dominica, which used that measure to join the CCJ that was inaugurated in 2005.
‘St Lucia has an identical provision but it makes reference to a section in the constitution which we believed was wrong. In other words there is an error in the section.”
Anthony said that St Lucia has a law that allows the Attorney General to refer questions to the Court of Appeal for an advisory opinion in constitutional matters.
“I think we are the only country in the Caribbean with that law and it is a very useful devise. So we approached the Court of Appeal and asked them for a determination as to whether there was, they agreed with the Government there was an error.
“By a 2-1 majority, the Court of Appeal agreed there was an error and …I have read the dissenting judgement and I can’t agree with it not because we are championing the cause but purely on the reasoning contained in that dissenting judgement,” said Anthony, a former law lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI).
He said armed with the opinion from the court he has formally written to the British Government “advising…that the Government of St Lucia wishes to delink from the Privy Council in pursuant of the requirements of that section.
“Now what will happen next, I anticipate that when we go to Parliament with the legislation to seek to delink St Lucia from the Privy Council, the opposition or other elements who feel wedded to the Privy Council for all kinds of reasons for which I will not explore…will likely want to take the matter to the court again”.
Prime Minister Anthony said while he has no objection or problem with the move by the opposition, his administration would go ahead and table the legislation.
“Our Constitution requires a 90-day period between laying and the debate and once the constitutional process is completed meaning that the legislation has gained the approval of Parliament for which we must have a two-third majority, then I would expect that the persons who are opposed to the delinking will want to approach the court.
“We don’t have no problem with that, it will be interesting to get the Privy Council to pronounce on the findings of the Court of Appeal whose decision is not binding, it is only persuasive because it is nothing more than an advisory opinion.
“So that’s where we are and I am assume the next few months will be interesting in that regard,” Anthony said.
In March this year, Dominica became the first member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to join the CCJ in both its Original and Appellate jurisdictions.
Dominica joined Barbados, Belize and Guyana that have signed on to both the Appellate and Original jurisdictions of the CCJ that also functions as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chagauaramas that governs the 15-member regional integration movement.
Most of the other Caribbean countries are signatories to the Original jurisdiction.
Sir Dennis Byron, the second Caribbean national to head the Trinidad-based Caribbean court said he is certain that within a year, not only will Jamaica be added to of the full membership of the court, but also Trinidad and Tobago and the other islands in the sub-regional OECS.
“All the countries have agreed to be on board because when they signed the treaty establishing the court they entered into that arrangement and they went further than that, they have all put money to fund the operation of the court so they are fully on board in that respect.
”What they have not done is abolish appeals to the Privy Council. That is one thing that has not been done and as far as my crystal ball suggests that within the next year or two the countries will be on board,” he said as the court celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
Bill Cosby admitted he gave woman drugs before sex
U.S comedian Bill Cosby admitted he obtained sedatives with the intent of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with, court papers from 2005 show.
The unsealed files, obtained by the Associated Press news agency, show Mr Cosby made the admission in a sex abuse civil case brought by a woman.
That case was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006.
Mr Cosby, now 77, is facing a series of sexual assault accusations dating back decades. He has denied the claims.
Mr Cosby has never been criminally charged.
The documents came to light after the AP went to court to compel the release of the documents. Mr Cosby's lawyers tried to stop the release of the papers, arguing it would embarrass their client and reveal personal information.
'I gave her Quaaludes. Then we have sex'
In his 2005 testimony, Mr Cosby admitted that he obtained Quaaludes in the 1970s, with the intent of giving it to women he wanted to have sex with.
The case was brought by Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University - the Philadelphia college with which Mr Cosby was once closely associated.
The comedian said he had given the sedatives to at least one woman and "other people".
Later in the deposition, he said: "I meet Ms T (another woman whose name was redacted to preserve her anonymity) in Las Vegas. She meets me back stage. I give her Quaaludes. We then have sex."
His lawyers said that at least two of those accusing the comedian had knowingly taken the sedative.
Mr Cosby also admitted to offering money to Ms Constand, and other women who had made allegations, in the form of educational trusts.
Testifying later in the case, Mr Cosby said that he had given Ms Constand one and a half pills of the over-the-counter antihistamine drug Benadryl.
Mr Cosby has yet to comment on his released testimony.
Source-BBC
Minions fend off Terminator challenge at UK box office
The latest Terminator movie posed no threat to the Minions, who remain top dog at the UK and Ireland box office.
The Minions film made £6.23m in its second weekend in cinemas, comfortably besting the £3.79m Terminator: Genisys made in its first four days on release.
There was better news for Amy, Asif Kapadia's film about Amy Winehouse.
The £519,000 it took between Friday and Sunday, according to its distributor, saw it record the biggest ever opening weekend for a British documentary.
Minions, a spin-off starring the diminutive yellow henchmen from the Despicable Me films, has now made almost £21m at UK and Ireland cinemas.
That benchmark is unlikely to be reached by Terminator: Genisys, despite the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to his signature film franchise.
The time travel-based action film was quickly followed into cinemas by another sequel, Magic Mike XXL, that also failed to challenge an existing box office champ.
Channing Tatum's follow-up to his 2012 male stripper comedy could only manage fourth place in this week's chart, one place behind Jurassic World.
Amy, in contrast, left its UK distributor jubilant after enjoying the best opening for a non-concert film documentary since Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11.
"We are delighted that audiences have chosen to celebrate the life of the truly talented musical icon," said Hamish Moseley of Altitude Film Distribution.
The continued appeal of so-called 'event cinema' is evidenced further down this week's chart by the presence of the Royal Opera House's Guillaume Tell.
Sunday's live relay of the production, whose opening night had audience members booing over at a controversial rape scene, occupies eighth place, having generated takings of £114,673.
Ernst Dolce charged for Carrying Firearm
After a thorough investigation by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, (RTCIPF) the charge of Carrying Firearm has been laid against 26-year-old Ernst Dolce relating to an incident, which took place on Monday, 29th June 2015 in the Lower Bight area.
Ernst Dolce was taken before the Chief Magistrate Clifton Warner in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Wednesday 01st July 2015) on that Carrying Firearm charge.
Dolce was not required to enter a plea until the day of his Sufficiency Hearing in the Supreme Court. The Chief Magistrate has scheduled the date for that Sufficiency Hearing for Friday 07th August 2015 in Grand Turk.
Police make an arrest in Burglary – Chalk Sound
Police detectives have arrested a 50 year old male of Airport Road on suspicion of Burglary, which occurred on Friday 26th June 2015 in Chalk Sound, Providenciales
Two Dynex flat screen televisions were reported stolen during that Burglary and police are seeking the public's assistance in recovering those televisions.
Police are also warning the public about the dangers of buying goods from persons off the street.
Anyone found in possession of any of the Dynex flat screen televisions will be arrested for handling Stolen Goods and could face a maximum of 14 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the 50 year old man arrested for suspicion of Burglary remains in police custody where he is expected to be charged for Burglary later this week.
Anyone who may have information pertaining to this Burglary is asked to call police on 941-8083 or Crime Stoppers in Miami on 1-800-8477.
Police shun idea of hiding information; promised new methods in dealing with media
Not enough information coming from police on various criminal acts perpetrated including rapes, home invasions, robbery sprees and violent attacks. The Police Commissioner, James Smith responded to Magnetic Media concerns about this absence of information.
Police Commissioner James Smith: “That is not the way I am used to operating, and I don’t think it is the way the Turks and Caicos Islands Police are used to operating because we have to protect the scene of a crime, we have to protect the confidentiality of evidence that we gathering, we have to protect the identity of witnesses and victims until we are at a point that is either appropriate or safe to that (information) out. I think we come at this from a slightly different angle and that is not to say there is not more that could be done and Audley (Astwood, Press Liaison) and I are discussing methodologies of being more proactive with you guys. We are not scared to engage the media, we are not frightened to tell you things but we are cautious that we don’t undermine our professional investigations and the right of people not to be thrust into the media if they don’t need to be.”
I clarified that the question was not aimed at getting closer to crime scenes, but getting closer to crimes solved and how the no stream of information could be hurting police and public relationships.
Deandrea Hamilton, Magnetic Media: “It seems insensitive to the residents of an area or people who could be potential victims they just feel a lack of concern by police…
Police Commissioner James Smith: “I hear all of that and let’s try to get better at that and I think Audley (Astwood, Press Liaison) is the man to lead on that course…”
CID Superintendent Wayne Jones: “I don’t want you to think we are trying to hide things from you as media because we would like to use you as much as possible to put things out there for us but one thing we have to be mindful of is that we have to be very careful of what we give to you also because you have to bear in mind that other than the listening public who are listening to your broadcast on a daily basis, we have the criminals who are listening to find out what you are saying or what we as police officers are giving in information and know about a particular crime. That is why we have to be very careful on some of the things we give to you…”
In recent days police have been more forthcoming with press releases including information on the arson attack at the Five Cays Police Station, where a man was held for questioning; the graduation of Superintendent Kendall Grant from the FBI College and a gun arrest in The Bight on Monday night.