TCIG’s Lands Division visits the National Land Agency, Jamaica
A delegation from the Attorney Generals Chambers Lands Division returned from a study tour where they observed the modern integrated Land Registry, Cadastre and Estate Management systems of the National Land Agency (NLA), Jamaica on Thursday, 30th April 2015.
Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI), with its fully registered and digitised cadastre of land, was among the leaders in the region in Land Registration and Mapping. However, over the past two decades, TCI has not made much progression from its digitised base layers.
The next step for TCI is the implementation of an integrated web-based system for land administration, which would lead to a more efficient service for conveyancing and better land management. This would allow for e-conveyancing, electronic document tracking, digital access to property sales data, automated lease management, among other thing.
Members of the TCI team included Commissioner of Lands, Tatum Clerveaux, James Fritz and Gervin Simmons, Director (acting) and Assistant Director (acting) of the Survey & Mapping Department respectively, Naomi Been and Ketietta Simpson, Assistant Registrar and Registry Clerk of the Land Registry respectively, and Shaaban Hoza, Chief Valuation Officer, Valuation Department.
Leading the delegation Mrs. Clerveaux stated; “The NLA study tour is part of the Lands Division’s initiative to examine a range of IT solutions available to improve land administration and management in the TCI, due to the similarities in the organisational structure, practices and procedures, and advances made in automated land administration.
“The NLA was selected as one of two jurisdictions that the Lands Division will explore the IT options available for improving property registration and their potential impact on existing registration policies and procedures; as well as to identify an appropriate solution for the local context. Our team will visit Cayman or Bermuda this year to observe their operation.”
Mr. Simmons added; “We were provided with the unique opportunity to engage in an educational work exchange, interact with Jamaican colleagues and understand how the Divisions of the NLA interface through a firsthand look at the Land Registry, Parcel Data Management and Estate Management systems currently in place. “
BEACHES TURKS AND CAICOS GOES PLATINUM
Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Villages and Spa has joined an elite number of organizations in the world in achieving the highest level of EarthCheck Certification.
In attaining Platinum, Beaches Turks and Caicos has been recognized for having consistently demonstrated their commitment to host communities and high standards of environmental care, over a period of ten years or more.
Rather than opting for the easier path of simply collecting “green badges”, Beaches Turks and Caicos chose a more meaningful approach to sustainable tourism. This involved using EarthCheck science-based software and tools to measure the effectiveness of their environmental and CSR practices.
Each day for the past decade, has seen all Beaches staff adhere to an internationally recognized standard of Best Practice. They have reported their environmental footprint to EarthCheck annually and permitted independent auditors to verify the credibility of their environmental and social claims.
“The Sandals Group is committed to providing Luxury Included holiday experiences for our guests while minimizing the environmental and social impacts associated with our operations explained Managing Director Donald Dagenais.” These include, freshwater and energy conservation; recycling and reuse programs for solid waste and wastewater treatment systems; eliminating the use of hazardous substances; reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; preservation of land and fragile ecosystems; focused community development and cultural relations; and the employment of qualified local personnel in keeping with our existing human resource policies. The environmental focus within our hotels also includes programs to minimize noise pollution and hazardous emissions where these are identified within our operations” Mr. Dagenais concluded.
A number of key indicators such as energy and water consumption, total waste production, and community commitment were measured and benchmarked against their peers. This provided a competitive picture of efficiencies and performance and identified where room for improvement remained.
“There are no short cuts and no ways to buy your way in to the top spot,” explained EarthCheck CEO Stewart Moore. “Rather, this took everyone at Beaches Turks and Caicos a great deal of hard work and commitment over many, many years to achieve.”
“They’re well ahead of most governments and industry players globally as a result of their efforts and serve as a leader in the field of sustainable practices. Their operations serve as an excellent example for how to gain buy-in from key stakeholders, achieve an excellent ROI, and increase asset effectiveness over time,” Moore concluded.
For economies reliant on travel and tourism, EarthCheck’s benchmarking data provides the only historical record of the global environmental impacts of the industry over the past 12 years. More importantly, it rates the effectiveness of industry efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG) and conserve natural resources at a project-by-project level.
For travellers the world over, it’s good to know there’s a credible body keeping track of sustainability claims. The EarthCheck logo represents travel and tourism’s efforts to come together and take meaningful steps to address the serious challenges faced by the planet.
Cabinet of the TCI holds their 13th Meeting
His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the 13th meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday 6th May 2015 at the Hilly Ewing Building on Providenciales.
All Ministers were present except; Hon. Minister of Border Control and Labour;
At this meeting Cabinet:
• Noted a number of waivers to the Procurement Ordinance made in accordance with Section 21(1) and Section 21(12) of the said Ordinance. These include purchase of vehicles for Vector Control and additional chemicals to assist in stopping the spread of Dengue and Chikungunya and PPE and medical supplies to assist in preventing the threat of Ebola;
• Noted a report from the Premier confirming that a TCI Canada Friendship Working Group has been established. The purpose of the Working Group is to work in partnership with the Canadian Government to develop inter-governmental strategic policies to serve the mutual interests of both Countries. A delegation from TCI headed by Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner, Minister of Border Control and Labour will travel to Ottawa on 26th May 2015 to advance discussions in areas such as, Finance and Taxation, Law Enforcement, Parliamentary Engagement, Public Private Partnerships (PPP), Trade and Commerce and Education;
• Advised HE. the Governor to make an order under the Telecommunications Tax Ordinance 2009 to vary the rate on such taxes as are associated with voice services over fixed lines from twelve per centum zero per centum;
• Advised HE. the Governor to approve amendments to the Business Licensing (Amendment) Regulations 2015 and Business Licensing Order, Section 29. The amendments remove the categories of Financial Brokerage and Financial Services on the basis that these categories are currently regulated by the Financial Services Commission;
•. Advised HE. the Governor to approve an application by Caribbean Cruisin’ Ltd granting permission for them to operate in a Restricted Business Category in accordance with the Business Licensing (Amendment) Regulations 2014. Caribbean Cruisin’ Ltd is a company that provides Ferry services on the island of Providenciales;
• Expressed concern about the level of non-compliance within the reserved and restricted business license categories and requested that the Revenue Commissioner establish a Task Force to develop a strategy to increase compliance with Business Licensing requirements. The strategy to include regular reporting to Cabinet;
• Advised HE. the Governor to approve the re-appointment of the following members to the Physical Planning Board for the period 1st May 2015 to 31st March 2016; Burkley Malcolm, Chairman; Rico Smith, Vice Chairman; Marvin Simmons, Member; Russell Garland, Member; Director of Planning; Director, Department of Environment and Marine Affairs and Director, Disaster Management and Emergencies. The appointments are made in accordance with Section 4 (2) of the Physical Planning Ordinance 2009;
• Advised HE. the Governor to approve the appointment of the following members to the Water and Sewage Board for the period 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2016; Permanent Secretary, Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, Chairman; Chief Environmental Health Officer, Ex-Officio Member; Chief Engineer/ Director PWD, Ex-Officio Member; Director of Planning, Ex-Officio Member; Director of Environment and Coastal Resources, Ex-Officio Member; Chief Economist, Ex-Officio Member; Energy and Utilities Commissioner, Ex-Officio Member; Alan Dickenson, Member; Emerson Hall, Member. The appointments are made in accordance with Section (3-8) of the Water and Sewerage Ordinance;
• Advised HE. the Governor to approve the appointment of the following members to the Tourist Board for the period 1st May 2015 to 30th April 2016; Don Gardiner, Chairman; Crystal Greene, Deputy Chairman; Wayne Garland, Member; Brenda Lightbourne, Member; Lloyd Stubbs, Member; Jayne Hutchinson, Member; Lasheko Seymour, Member; Shirmay Pratt, Member; Bianca Harvey Garland, Member; TCHTA Representative;
The Police Badgers will take on the GT Stallions in the PABA finals
THE Police Badgers shot the Five Cays Knights out of the building last Friday night to set up a showdown in the PABA finals against the defending champions the GT STALLIONS.
The Police Badgers won their final two games against the Five Cays Knights in the semi finals. The Badgers went to the semi finals for the past two years but never made it to the finals.
This is their first year in the finals.
The Stallions are trying to set up their legacy as the only team in the PABA to get a three peat. The showdown will take place next Saturday at the Gus Lightbourne Sports Complex at 7 pm sharp.
Clippers in uncharted territory as serious championship contenders
The Los Angeles Clippers have been many things during their star-crossed history, but they have never been the best team in the NBA.
They've been the worst team. They've been a middling team. They've been a team on the rise. They've been a playoff team. They've even been a championship-contending team in recent years. But they've never been the favorites to win it all.
After becoming the first team to claim three wins in the conference semifinals on Sunday with a 128-95 win over the Houston Rockets, the Clippers are not only one win away from reaching their first-ever conference finals, but they have catapulted themselves into the status of championship favorites in some circles for the first time ever.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Clippers currently have the best chance to win the championship at 35.8 percent. Next on the list is the Golden State Warriors at 25.7 percent. The Warriors currently find themselves down 2-1 in their semifinal series against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Most sports books still have the Warriors as favorites to win the championship, but the Clippers aren’t far behind them now at 4-to-1 odds, and they would supplant them on Monday if Memphis took a 3-1 series lead. The Clippers were given 18-to-1 odds at the start of the postseason, seventh in the league, and dipped as low as 28-to-1 after falling behind 3-2 in their first-round series with the San Antonio Spurs.
But the Clippers found themselves as they faced elimination against the Spurs. Talk to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, and they view that series as more of a graduation after four years of being together than simply a first-round series win. They learned what it took to comeback from being down 2-1 and 3-2 in a series and having to win must-win games on the road. They learned how to close out a defending champion in a classic Game 7 and in the process how to trust each other in a way they never had before.
“It gives you a sense of being battle-tested,” Blake Griffin said. “When you play a team like the Spurs in the first round and come out like that, it kind of gives you that feeling of accomplishment to the point of being down 2-1 early on the road, winning two games at their place. It just kind of gives you confidence as a team, but really the whole season has led up to this point. I think we realize as a team what we're capable of when we play the right way. It's just a matter of coming out and playing the right way.”
The Clippers aren’t just playing the right way now. They’re playing like a dominant team on a mission to do something special this season. After splitting the first two games of their semifinals series at Houston without Paul, they have defeated the Rockets by 33 and 25 points respectively in Los Angeles, representing two of their three largest margins of victory in postseason history. They also became the first team since the 2001 Lakers to win consecutive playoff games in a series by at least 25 points.
They’re playing with the kind of confidence and swagger Rivers has tried to instill in them from the moment he came on board last season. Before every game, he tells them they are the best team in the NBA. Before his first meeting with the team last season he mapped out a championship parade route and told them to envision themselves taking that drive in June. Before this season he gathered them together in a suite when the Los Angeles Kings raised their Stanley Cup championship banner and told them to envision themselves raising their own banner.
“I think we can finally see what he was talking about,” said Glen Davis, the only player on the Clippers roster who has won a championship. “Doc has always been preaching about the way we need to play in order to win a championship, and I think we can finally see it. I think beating San Antonio woke us up. I think the Spurs woke up this sense of urgency we’ve always had inside of us, and now it’s paying off against the rest of these teams.”
Davis won a championship and played in two NBA Finals in Boston with Rivers as his coach. As much as Rivers and Davis can talk about playing like a champion, it wasn’t until the Clippers dethroned a champion that they truly realized what it takes to become one.
“You see glimpses now,” Davis said. “Everyone is starting to believe now, and when everyone starts to believe, they start to do whatever they need to do for the team, and that’s what it’s all about -- sacrificing yourself for the next guy -- and I think that San Antonio series opened our eyes to the way we’re supposed to play.”
While most of the headlines in this series have revolved around Hack-a-Howard and Hack-a-Jordan, intentional fouling is doing nothing more than delaying the inevitable for Houston. The Rockets look as lost against the Clippers as the Clippers looked against the Spurs when they met in the playoffs three years ago. It didn’t look like they were playing the same game at times, which has often been the case in this series as the Clippers have led in the second half of every game by at least 13 points.
“It's an intangible thing,” Rivers said. “You've got to believe. You really do. And I think our guys do. They've done it all year. They really have. But it's just that I think right now, honestly, they just have great focus. They're not thinking about it, a lot of stuff, but doing their jobs and trying to win the game. There's no stuff. It's just they're just really focused right now, and we've got to keep them that way.”
Before playing the Spurs in the first round, the Clippers were given a sheet of paper with the names of all the writers and analysts who picked them to lose. After the series was over, Rivers told his team to keep that chip on their shoulder moving forward. They may be the favorites in some circles now, but they still feel like the underdogs.
“After the [Spurs] series my dad said, ‘You know what? When you all play Houston, they’re still not going to pick you,'” Austin Rivers said before the Western Conference semifinals. “'And if you beat them, when you play the Warriors, they’re still not going to pick you. And if you beat them, and make it to the Finals and play the Cavs, they’re still not going to pick you.' People are not going to pick us. For whatever reason, people don’t like us. That’s fine. It just keeps motivating us.”
Source-ESPN
Age of Ultron still ruling US box office
Avengers: Age of Ultron has topped the US and Canada box office for a second weekend, taking $77m (£50m) - more than five times the earnings of its closest rival, action comedy Hot Pursuit.
The poorly-reviewed buddy movie, which stars Reese Witherspoon and Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, made $13.3m (£8.6m) to take second place.
The Avengers sequel has now taken $313m (£203m) in just 10 days in the US.
It is the joint second fastest film to pass $300m, tying with The Dark Knight.
The first film in the Avengers series, which features Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow, reached that mark in just nine days in 2012.
Warner Bros admitted Hot Pursuit's opening weekend total was "a little lighter" than it had hoped, with the studio having estimated takings of $18m (£11.7m) or higher.
"Critics were very tough on Hot Pursuit," said Paul Dergarabedian from box office analysts Rentrak.
"It was a formula [that] for whatever reason didn't resonate with the critics, and I think that had an impact on its box office."
Mr Dergarabedian added: "Ultron is just so big, it's such a behemoth, it's hard for a newcomer to get attention."
That should all change next week though, when Mad Max: Fury Road and Pitch Perfect 2 open.
Blake Lively's fantasy drama The Age of Adaline was this weekend's third placed film with takings of $5.6m (£3.6m), while Furious 7 took $5.2m (£3.4m) in fourth place.
The action blockbuster, starring Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker, has earned $1.5bn (£970m) globally to date.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 completed the top five with takings of just under $5.2m (£3.4m).
Source-BBC
CARICOM's Chair met in Martinique for CARICOM Discussions on Climate Issues
Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie (centre) met French President Francois Hollande (left), and addressed a meeting on climate change on Saturday morning, May 9, in Martinique in his capacity as CARICOM Chair.
The meeting comprised discussions with the French President to advance the policy position of CARICOM on climate change, ahead of the “Paris 2015” 21st Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change scheduled for Paris during November and December of this year, which will seek a new international agreement on climate.
CARIBBEAN-FRANCE REGIONAL SUMMIT ON PREPARATION AND MOBILISATION FOR THE 21ST SESSION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (UNFCCC)
OPENING Remarks BY Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie Prime Minister of The Bahamas and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM
Salutations
It is my pleasure to address the opening session and participate in this Regional Summit on Climate Change.
Mr President, I am in the pleasurable position of being able to welcome you on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to the Region even as you are in France.
Let me thank our hosts here in Martinique for the excellent arrangements they have put in place on this beautiful island to create an atmosphere conducive to productive discussions.
Mr President
Small island developing states have championed the phrase “1.5 to Stay Alive”! On the basis of scientific evidence many have called for a reduction in the level of greenhouse gases so that mean global temperatures will not to exceed 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
The evidence of the impact of climate change in our region is evident.
Grenada saw a three hundred percent loss of GDP as a result of one storm! We see on average across CARICOM a 2-5% loss of growth in the region due to the responses to hurricanes and tropical processes which occur annually.
For The Bahamas which has eighty percent of its land mass within one meter of mean sea level, climate change is an existential threat to our land mass. Indeed that is the story across the region.
Mr President France will serve as the President of the Conference of The Parties (COP21) when it convenes in Paris in the winter.
Today’s gathering is a good idea. We have met with your counterparts from the United States and China. We found a strong commitment on their part to a successful outcome in Paris. This meeting also deepens relations between France and the Caribbean.
Mr President
The Caribbean Community reiterates to you as the incoming President of COP 21, the urgent need to close the gap between the mitigation pledges by major emitters and the level of effort required to decrease the global average temperature.
Any Paris outcome must include the following essential elements:
clarity on ambitious targets for developed countries, including a long-term goal for significant emission reductions by these countries;
clarity on the adaptation measures and resources required to facilitate and enhance the sustainable development plans and programmes in small developing countries and thereby significantly reduce the level of poverty in our developing countries;
clarity on measures and mechanisms to address the development challenges associated with climate change, sea level rise and loss and damage for small islands and low-lying coastal developing states
clarity on how the financial and technological support both for mitigation and adaptation will be generated and disbursed to small developing countries.
Further it must be recognised that the existing widespread practice of using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita as the primary basis for access to resources, simply does not address the reality of the vulnerability of our countries.
We take particular note of the agreements with the Green Climate Fund in line with meeting the pledge of securing US$100 billion per year by 2020.
In seeking to find ways to live up to the financial obligations, we stress however that the most vulnerable countries must not be penalized through tax systems which would further impact our services based economies. The particular references to taxing international maritime and air transport we find particularly troubling.
I invite to you to continue to give this climate change issue and the wider financial issues the highest priority and to lend your nation’s considerable international clout, and the personal prestige of your office and its clout to conclude a satisfactory and binding agreement in Paris in the fall. History will not judge us kindly if we fail.
As a result of the impacts of climate change, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre which spearheads the technical work for CARICOM on this issue estimates the cost of global inaction in the sub-region to be approximately US$ 10.7 billion per year by 2025 and that this figure could double by 2050.
Mr President we through you, urge Parties that have made pledges towards the initial capitalization of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to enter into their contribution agreements with the GCF as soon as possible and scale up their contributions in line with the pledge for US$100 billion per year by 2020.
For the region, climate change magnifies the growing concerns regarding food security, water scarcity, energy security and the resource requirements for protection from natural disaster.
Another significant threat is linked to the projected impact of climate change on public health, through an increase in the presence of vectors of tropical diseases, such as malaria and dengue, and the prevalence of respiratory illnesses.
These diseases will affect the well-being and productivity of the workforce of the sub-region and compromise the economic growth, competitiveness and development potential of the Caribbean Community. Heat Stress is also an issue Mr President that France can identify with as a result of the unprecedented heat wave which had an enormous adverse social, economic and environmental effect such as the death of thousands of vulnerable elderly people across Europe in 2003.
Mr. President the region is not fully able to adapt to or mitigate the loss and damages associated with climate change induced processes.
Our situation is rendered especially urgent in the face of information that ocean acidification, sea surface temperatures and sea levels are already rising. These processes particularly sea-level rise will therefore irreversibly change the geography and ecology of many coastal states and territories. It has been projected that responding to these factors can have particularly disastrous consequences causing a perpetual recession in each of the CARICOM Member States for a significant period as our infrastructure, built environment, settlements and economic well-being are concentrated in coastal areas prone to flooding and inundation.
The region’s challenge associated with the on-going Climate Change negotiations is that even if the goal to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2°C is achieved, the Caribbean will experience severe adverse impacts for which stronger programmes of adaptation would have to be implemented.
We most strongly advance the view that in this current situation the global architecture on Climate Change needs to be redesigned to also facilitate and promote the development of developing countries. As a Region of small developing countries, regional policy makers have generally acknowledged the significant role of multilateralism. On that basis the Region is prepared to work for and is optimistic that, at the COP21, the appropriate actions would be taken to establish a new framework for global cooperation on Climate Change. At the very least, such a framework should address the basic requirements for the survival of the Small Island and Low-Lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS).
The ongoing collaboration between one of our Member States, Dominica and France to advance a project in the area of geothermal energy can be replicated. The application of French technology to our natural assets could form the basis for growth of a renewable energy sector in the region. This would bolster our energy security, cut the high energy costs and assist in the global battle against greenhouse gas emissions.
The Bahamas does not have the benefit of geothermal capacity, but we have advanced a National Energy Policy that calls for a minimum of 30% of our energy generation comprising renewable energy by 2033. We have passed legislation this year making grid-tie connection for solar and wind legal. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Carbon War Room which will allow for 20 mega-watts of utility scale solar power throughout our archipelago of islands.
We have also launched a net billing programme for residential and commercial customers, which if maximized will allow an additional 25 mega –watts of solar and /or wind being connected to our grids. Storage technology for solar is critically important to us. The application of French technology in this area would benefit Caribbean countries like The Bahamas and Bermuda.
Mr President, France can be a vibrant development partner to our Community. Such a development would be most welcome, even more so if spurred by a sector that benefits the global family as much as it does our region.
It is my hope that this day will be the one that history will record as the new beginning of a strengthened relationship between France and the Caribbean.
France's Hollande Begins Historic Visit to Cuba
French President Francois Hollande arrived in Cuba late Sunday night, becoming the first French head of state to visit the communist nation.
"I arrive here in Cuba this evening with a lot of excitement," Hollande said after he was greeted at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra and other high-ranking Cuban officials. He plans to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro Monday upon the Cuban leader's return from Italy, which included a visit with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Hollande is the first Western leader to visit Cuba since Castro and President Barack Obama announced last December that they would seek to end more than five decades of Cold War-related bitterness. But, unlike the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba, Paris and Havana have long-established financial ties, with two-way trade worth nearly $400 million.
Hollande's stopover in Cuba is the last stop on a five-nation tour of the Caribbean.
Source-VOA
Caribbean economic growth expected to decline again
Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to decline for a fifth consecutive year, dipping below one percent in 2015, the IMF said in its latest regional forecast.
The IMF’s recently released Regional Economic Outlook for the Western Hemisphere projects growth in Latin America and the Caribbean at 0.9 percent in 2015, down from 1.3 percent last year.
Near-term prospects remain fairly dim for South America, with output contractions projected in three of the largest economies for 2015—Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela—while only Chile and Peru would see a pick-up in growth.
In contrast, growth is projected to be steady in Central America and the Caribbean, and strengthen in Mexico, thanks to lower oil bills for importers and robust economic recovery in the United States.
For 2016, growth in the region is expected to make a modest recovery to two percent.
The IMF said Central America’s economies are expected to benefit from the current external environment, particularly from the U.S. recovery. Growth in 2015 is projected at a solid 4.25 percent, close to last year’s number.
Economic recovery is also expected to continue in the Caribbean, although external, fiscal, and financial vulnerabilities remain high in several economies. In the tourism-dependent Caribbean, growth is projected to improve to two percent, in 2015.
The IMF called on policymakers in the region to ensure sound public finances, especially since downside risks to growth remain prominent. Financial sector vulnerabilities will also need to be monitored carefully given that weaker earnings, tighter funding conditions, and a stronger U.S. dollar are testing borrowers’ resilience.
A key priority for governments is to tackle long-standing structural problems to raise investment, productivity, and potential growth. Improvements in business environments, infrastructure, and education will help to foster more diversified, resilient, and prosperous economies.
Airstrikes Continue in Yemen Ahead of Cease-fire
Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition continued airstrikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen Monday, a day before a humanitarian cease-fire is due to go into effect.
The jets bombed the Saada region near the Saudi border, as well as Taiz in southwestern Yemen and the oil-producing Marib province in the east.
Saudi and U.S. officials announced the cease-fire proposal last week to allow badly needed food, fuel and medicine to reach civilians in Yemen. The Houthis said Sunday they had accepted the plan, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Morocco's military said Monday it was investigating what happened to one of its F-16 jets that disappeared while taking part in the Saudi-led air campaign.
In a statement carried by the state media, the military said the jet was last seen Sunday evening and that a pilot from another jet in the same squadron did not see the pilot eject.
Source-VOA