Donald Trump to run for president in 2016
Property billionaire Donald Trump has announced he will run for the White House in the 2016 election.
Mr Trump, a Republican, has never run for the party's nomination before, but has often talked about it.
"I am officially running for president of the United States and we are going to make our country great again," he told supporters at New York's Trump Towers on Fifth Avenue.
He said his fortune would allow him to be an effective president.
"Our country is in serious trouble. We don't have victories anymore," he said.
"When was the last time anyone saw us beating, let's say, China in a trade deal?
"They kill us. I beat China all the time."
Donald Trump is actually running for president. Few people expected it to happen - he's gone through the motions many times before - and his political rants up until now have been roundly derided as a joke. But this time he actually said the words, and he seems like he means it.
With campaign staff in key early voting states and a net worth he puts at more than $8.5bn, he has the resources to roil the Republican presidential field.
Mr Trump is polling high enough to get a spot on the stage in the forthcoming Republican debates, and he's already proven a willingness to take swings at his opponents. Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio "don't have a clue", he said in his announcement speech. "How are these people going to lead us?" he asked.
If he says that enough times during a debate - or in a multi-million dollar television advertising spree - a lot of people are going to stop laughing and take notice. And that's probably just what Mr Trump wants.
Mr Trump expressed support for gun rights and said he would protect US government programmes like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
And he said he would "immediately terminate" President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration, which would save undocumented migrants from deportation.
"Sadly, the American Dream is dead", Mr Trump said.
"If I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and strong than ever before. We will make America great again."
He becomes the 12th Republican to declare, with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Florida's former governor Jeb Bush among the early frontrunners.
Pakistan Troops Cross Border to Rescue Wounded Afghan Soldier
In a demonstration of increased security cooperation, Pakistan's military says its troops crossed the border Tuesday and went 600 meters inside Afghanistan to rescue an Afghan soldier who was critically wounded in a firefight with “terrorists”.
The Pakistan military’s media wing says “Afghan authorities requested for evacuation and treatment of [a] soldier, Pakistani troops quickly responding to [the] Afghan request evacuated injured soldier to a hospital” on the Pakistani side of the border. "
The cross-border action took place in eastern Afghanistan opposite to the Pakistan tribal territory of Bajur and the Afghan solider is under treatment in hospital in Khar, the region’s administrative center, the statement reads.
Afghan authorities have not yet commented on the incident.
Taliban insurgents have recently increased attacks on Afghan security forces.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have increased border security cooperation in recent months while political relations have expanded. The two countries share 2400-kilometer mostly porous border.
Fake goods worth US$60m seized operations across C’bean
The international police organisation (INTERPOL) says car parts, fuel, food, detergent, cigars, shampoo, and steel were among fake goods worth nearly US$60 million seized in a two-week operation across the Americas and the Caribbean.
Code-named Maya II, INTERPOL said more than 2,000 interventions by police, customs, investigators and Intellectual Property (IP) units were carried out at key locations including markets, border control points and shops across 19 countries and territories.
INTERPOL said the operation was coordinated by its Trafficking in Illicit Goods and Counterfeiting unit.
Investigations carried out by national authorities led to the identification and dismantling of several organised crime networks, as well as entire businesses selling counterfeit goods, INTERPOL said.
In the Dominican Republic, where deforestation is an increasing problem, INTERPOL said authorities seized more than 100 bags of charcoal at the Haitian border, in addition to identifying and closing down two illegal factories manufacturing laundry detergent.
A shopping centre in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic capital, was also found selling fake goods along with genuine brands after their supply chain had been infiltrated by organised crime networks.
A bootleg distillery was also shut down, and tests on the illegal alcohol seized during the raids showed it to contain potentially lethal additives.
“The Dominican Republic’s involvement in Operation Maya II through NCB Santo Domingo underlines our commitment to combat all forms of transnational crime, to protect citizens and society for a safer world,” said Major General Manuel Elpidio Castro Castillo, head of the Dominican Republic National Police.
In Cuba, the police, in their first operation targeting counterfeit goods, seized hundreds of fake boxes ready to be filled with fake brand-name cigars.
It said other examples of seizures include counterfeit rifle scopes in Canada; fake electrical goods in Trinidad and Tobago; video game controllers in Mexico; and jeans and T-shirts in Curaçao.
“The success of this operation is a result of the dedication and commitment of the involved countries, particularly those who took part in these specifically targeted actions for the first time,” said Michael Ellis, head of INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Illicit Goods and Counterfeiting unit.
“The results show the extent of the challenge faced by every country in combating the spread of fake and illicit goods, and INTERPOL will continue to support their efforts in dismantling these networks and bringing those involved to justice,” Ellis added.
INTERPOL said the operation was supported by the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC).
It said countries and territories which took part in Operation Maya II included Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Canada; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Curaçao; Dominican Republic; El Salvador; Honduras; Jamaica; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Puerto Rico; St. Lucia; Trinidad and Tobago; United States and Venezuela.
Cuba and Trinidad sign bilateral investment agreement
A bilateral cooperation accord has been signed between the chambers of commerce of Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago to exchange information on investment opportunities.
President the Cuban Chamber of Commerce Celia Labora and her Trinidadian counterpart Catherine Kumar signed the documents on Thursday.
The accord will allow Trinidadian business people to access all the information related to the Cuban market and its new prospects for foreign investment.
The agreement will also give access to details about the Special Development Zone in the Cuban western Mariel Harbor and the portfolio that contains over 200 investment projects valued at over US$8-billion.
Source -CMC
Selena Gomez Gets $3 Million From Pantene Endorsement Deal
Selena Gomez is more than happy to be the new face of Pantene hair care. Not only is the "Hotel Transylvania 2" voice actress stoked because she is a fan of the brand, but also due to the amount of money she gets for her endorsement. An industry source told E! News that Selena got paid around $3 million a year for being the new face of Pantene.
The brand of hair care products took to Instagram on Monday, June 15 to announce that the 22-year-old actress became its new spokesmodel. Pantene posted a picture of Selena smiling ear to ear while flaunting her flawless brunette hair. A caption for the picture read, "Proud to work with this strong, beautiful woman. We'll do gorgeous things together. #SelenaXPantene #StrongIsBeautiful @selenagomez."
Selena also posted a picture of her flaunting her flawless tresses on Instagram. Sitting on a big block of T letter, the "Behaving Badly" actress looked gorgeous in a white tube dress while making over-the-shoulder gaze. She captioned it, "I am so happy to announce my new partnership with Pantene! #SelenaxPantene #strongisbeautiful @pantenehair.
Selena admitted that she had been a fan of Pantene. "I've always loved using Pantene, so it's a dream come true to be the brand's newest ambassador. Not only because Pantene stands for strong, healthy hair but also because it encourages women to be their best selves," the "Love You Like a Love Song" songtress said in a press release. "My style is constantly evolving and I love to take risks, so I'm always changing my hair style. I rely on Pantene to keep my hair strong and healthy so I can take on each day with confidence."
On the previous day, Selena shared a sneak-peek video of her photo shoot on Instagram. She didn't give much information about the photo shoot but wrote, "Another BIG announcement tomorrow..... stay tuned!" in a caption for the video. It came to be known that her photo shoot was for Pantene.
Source-AceShowbiz
DIGICEL BUSINESS WINS AVAYA’S BEST PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD
Digicel, the region’s leading Business Solutions provider, recently won the highly coveted, Avaya Caribbean-wide Project of the Year award thanks to its ICT and Unified Communication platform deployed at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Barbados.
Digicel Business’ winning project involved upgrading the entire network at the hospital utilising Avaya’s solution which ensured a faultless migration from the hospital’s legacy network to the state-of-the-art Avaya platform. The product has greatly improved communications at the hospital, provided a high level of redundancy and reducing the hospital’s costs. In addition, the new system provides doctors with the ability to access the hospital’s PACS (Patient Archiving and Communication System) for patient information so that they can make critical decisions in a more timely manner.
Digicel Barbados Business Solutions Director, Martin Keogh, said; “We are thrilled to have been acknowledged with the award for Best Project of the Year for our ICT solution deployed in QEH in Barbados. QEH now has one of the most advanced, scalable, durable and highly available systems in the Caribbean – fitting for an institution of its calibre. The team worked really hard to deliver a state of the art telephony product that delivered greater efficiencies and reduced costs. This project is a benchmark in terms of the significant benefits to be made from deploying tailored solutions from Digicel Business. Furthermore, it was indeed a pleasure to work with the QEH team and we look forward to working with them on future projects.”
Dr. Dexter James, CEO of the QEH, said; “We want to thank Digicel Business and Avaya for providing us with a high quality product that will ultimately meet all of our needs. The switch from our old system to the new Digicel Business solution was seamless with zero downtime. We expect to see a continuous and marked improvement in our communications across the hospital among medical and administrative staff as a result. The solution delivers reliability and peace of mind, ensuring that we can continue to focus on providing the best medical care for our patients.”
“Our ICT plan is more robust and issues associated with redundancy, back-up and storage are being addressed and resolved as the hospital moves toward Cloud services. General speed of connectivity to the website and email access is unsurpassed – with images being transmitted instantly. I am also looking forward to expanding our new technology to the polyclinics for image access, studies and lab reports and all on a real time basis,” concluded James.
Santiago Aguirre, Channel Director Avaya Latin America and the Caribbean, said; “Congratulations are due to all of our 2014 Avaya Connect Partners of the Year. We are excited our channel partners not only see the value of Avaya’s technology but are highly effective at communicating that value to their end customers. We celebrate our Partners of the Year for being true ambassadors of our technology and harnessing the power of engagement.”
Maritime law enforcement agencies seize near $1 million in drugs in Bahamas
Law enforcement agencies have seized over 985 pounds of marijuana estimated to be worth $1 million and arrested two suspected drug smugglers intercepted in Bahamian waters.
The drugs and suspects were held when officers from the United States Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Office of Air and Marine (OAM) aircrew and Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) tracked a suspicious, 35-foot go-fast vessel, with low lights, about 20 miles southwest of Andros Island on Monday.
After the vessel was intercepted, Bahamian authorities took two men into custody in Andros and seized dozens of sacks containing the illegal drugs.
“These collaborative efforts are crucial in disrupting illicit activity and potential threats,” said William Gibbon, director of CBP’s Miami Air and Marine Branch. “We’ll continue to deter and detect the illegal entry of people, weapons and drugs to secure our maritime borders.”
OPBAT is a joint partnership with the US Drug Enforcement agency, the governments of the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands as well as the US. Coast Guard and CBP to combat drug smuggling to and from the Bahamas.
OPBAT also regularly assists with prosecuting human smuggling and search and rescue cases.
With 1,200 federal agents, 267 aircraft and 283 marine vessels operating from 91 locations throughout the United States, OAM uses sophisticated fleets to detect, sort, intercept, track and apprehend criminals in diverse environments at and beyond US borders.
Source-Caribbean360
Raid on Chicago home over celebrity nude leaks
Newly-released legal documents have revealed a building in Chicago was raided after hundreds of nude photos of female stars were leaked last year.
The FBI seized computers and mobile phones from the home in October, after celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence had pictures stolen - apparently via a hack on their Apple iCloud accounts.
Court papers have identified eight celebrities by their initials only.
The FBI said no charges have been filed at the current time.
Last summer's scandal highlighted the vulnerabilities of cloud computing - which allows personal information to be stored on the Internet and accessed from any device.
The affidavit - a sworn statement to the court - has identified eight celebrities by their initials only: AS, CH, HS, JM, OW, AK, EB and AH.
One of the identified stars learned she was a victim of the leak through the news media. The papers have stated that "all photos were taken with her iPhone and sent through iMessage to her boyfriend".
Actress Jennifer Lawrence has since spoken about the leak. Speaking to Vanity Fair, the 24-year-old said: "It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It's disgusting."
In September, a significant amount of nude and racy photos alleging to be of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Ariana Grande, and other celebrities leaked online.
Source-BBC
Venezuela wants peaceful solution to border dispute
Venezuela Tuesday denied it has any intention of forcibly taking over land it claims to be its own in Guyana and rejected statements from the new administration in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country that it was moving to enforce a recent shift in its maritime boundary.
“It is unacceptable that the new Government of Guyana assume this position with a territory that is subject to controversy, and is also expressly recognized that this sea area is subject to the amicable settlement of the territorial claims, as envisaged in the Geneva Agreement,” Caracas said in a statement.
In a strongly worded statement on Monday, Georgetown said that it “wishes to make it pellucid that Decree No 1787 cannot be applicable to any part of Guyana’s territory and any attempt by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to apply that instrument in an extra-territorial manner will be vigorously resisted by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana”.
The new administration of President David Granger, which has since received the support of the main opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on the border issue, said it plans to formally bring to the attention of the international community what it termed “this aggressive and illegal act by Venezuela”.
Guyana said the decree is a “flagrant violation of international law and is inconsistent with the principle that all States should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other States, large and small.
”The Cooperative Republic of Guyana rejects this illegality which seeks to undermine our efforts at development through exploitation of our natural resources off-shore.
“Guyana will continue, undeterred, to access and develop its resources in accordance with the Constitution and laws in keeping with the principles of International Law.”
But Venezuela said that Guyana may have created an artificial crisis over the decree that was issued by the President of Venezuela and which highlighted a widening of Venezuela’s claim to Guyana’s waters and territory.
“Venezuela regrets that an administrative rule directed to organize, with the assistance of the new technologies of information, daily supervision and maritime security within the framework of its unlimited jurisdiction and constitutional exercise which nothing can affect the Cooperative Republic of Guyana – will be exploited to shock and trying to create an artificial crisis, inventing irrational situations against a brother country like Venezuela, using a highly offensive language.”
Venezuela said that the only appropriate channels to resolve this dispute are those of International Law, the Geneva Agreement and continue the Good Officer mechanism under the figure of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
“It is an offense to the libertarian tradition of the people of Simon Bolivar consider imperial clear language that Venezuela is a threat to the region, when, was reflected in the recent Summit of the Americas the unanimous recognition and support of the fraternal peoples of the Venezuelan foreign policy of peace and solidarity.”
But Caracas has maintained its objection to the presence of the oil rig of the US-based ExxonMobil in Guyana waters, with Caracas noting that “the unique and surprising aggression, is that the government of Guyana has allowed such a powerful transnational as Exxon Mobil venture into disputed territory between the two countries, which in no way seeks to address the right to development of Guyana.”
“It is imperative to remember that thanks to the eternal Commander Hugo Chavez, various programmes of cooperation, solidarity and brotherhood such as PETROCARIBE, for stability and energy security of the region were implemented.
“This policy puts into practice humanistic sublime to the people of Guyana principles, has been of great impact and success for true prosperity of our brother Guyanese people, and President Nicolas Maduro and has been continued.
“The new Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana exhibits a dangerous policy of provocation against the Bolivarian Venezuela of peace , supported by the imperial power of a US multinational , Exxon Mobil , which must be rectified in the short term.”
Venezuela said “this unfriendly policy of provocation will be defeated by the force of reality imposed by the foreign policy of peace and friendship between Venezuela and the people of Guyana itself”
“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates its desire for peace feelings and the brotherly people of Guyana, and reaffirms the invitation to his Foreign Minister to an early meeting so through political dialogue between brothers, continue along the path of cooperation and overcoming the historical dispute , which had its genesis in fraudulent actions of former colonial powers against Venezuela”
Prior to the decree, Venezuela had twice written to the local subsidiary of the US-based Exxon-Mobil warning against continued exploration for hydrocarbons in the area. On both occasions, the Guyana government had issued strong objections.
In its latest statement, the Guyana government said that the “land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela, which was defined by the Arbitral Award of 1899 is recognized by all States.
Venezuela also recognized its border with Guyana as settled for over sixty years having also participated in the demarcation of its established boundary which was demarcated in 1905,” the statement said, adding “it is international law that must reign supreme and not the ambitions of a larger State which wishes to trample upon the rights of a smaller country in order to obstruct the sovereign right of Guyana to develop its natural resources”.
Source-CMC
RBS government stake to be sold, chancellor announces
The government plans to sell its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland, Chancellor George Osborne has announced in his annual Mansion House speech.
Mr Osborne said the "decision point" had been reached.
Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney said the phased sell-off "would promote financial stability" and benefit the wider economy.
Mr Osborne also set out more details of the sell-off of the Government's remaining stake in Royal Mail.
Royal Mail employees will share a further 1% tranche in the the firm, while 15% will be placed with institutional investors.
The government provided RBS with a £45.5bn bailout in 2008, paying around 500p a share. The share price currently stands at 354.8p.
The chancellor argued that the sale must be seen as a whole and the share price will increase in subsequent offerings as confidence grows.
Mr Osborne said: "It's the right thing to do for British businesses and British taxpayers. Yes, we may get a lower price than that was paid for it - but we will get the best price possible. For the longer we wait, the higher the price the whole economy will pay."
A review from Rothschild investment bank said that, despite this price gap, taxpayers can expect to make £14bn more than it paid out in bank bailouts if the sale of bank assets and fees already received are taken into account.
RBS has already paid back about £5bn in fees and repayments for insurance systems set up by the government as part of the bailout.