US Tightens Security Ahead of CIA Torture Report
U.S. diplomatic facilities and military installations overseas are under increased security Tuesday as the Senate prepares to release a long-awaited report detailing the CIA's interrogation methods since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The 6,000-page report is said to detail such extreme interrogation techniques as confinement in small places, sleep deprivation and waterboarding, which simulates drowning. Obama administration officials have been so concerned about possible violence against U.S. interests that Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Senate Intelligence Committee chair Diane Feinstein last week about the potential backlash.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Monday "prudent steps" have been taken to boost security at U.S. facilities in the event of violent protests.
Obama banned so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" after he took office in 2009. Earnest said the president believes it is important for the American people to have as clear a look as possible into exactly what happened.
The Senate report will be the first public documentation of the CIA's alleged use of torture on al-Qaida suspects during the so-called War on Terror. Those who have seen the report say it alleges the CIA misled lawmakers and the White House on how useful the techniques were in getting information.
Source-VOA
150 Arrested in California During Police Killings Protests
More than 150 protesters were arrested in California overnight after shutting down a major freeway and stopping an Amtrak train as nationwide demonstrations against police use of deadly force on minorities continued for a third night.
Hundreds of people marched through the college town of Berkeley for a third night a row on Monday, local media reported.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Daniell Hill said several hundred people stormed onto Interstate 80 in the town near San Francisco late Monday, snarling traffic in both directions.
Protesters threw rocks and other objects at officers, Hill said. More than 150 people were arrested, mostly for resisting or obstructing an officer, he added.
Earlier, dozens of protesters stopped an Amtrak train in Berkeley by lying on the tracks or sitting on a sofa placed across the line.
No injuries were reported in either incident.
Source-VOA News
Haiti most corrupt country in Caribbean
Haiti is the highest ranked Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country on the 2014 Corruption Perception Index released by the German-based Transparency International (TI).
TI, which promotes itself as the global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption, said the Index gauges business and political activities in 175 countries, globally.
Eight of the countries named in the report are from the Caribbean with Haiti being ranked 161.
Guyana is the second highest ranked Caribbean country at 124 while Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica share position number 84th.
Barbados is the least corrupt CARICOM country, according to Transparency International, which placed the island at 17th in the world.
The other Caribbean countries ranked by Transparency International are Bahamas at 24th, St Vincent and the Grenadines 29th, Dominica at 39th and Cuba at position 63.
“Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don’t export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries,” Transparency International noted.
Source-CMC
Buju seeks early release
Grammy winning Jamaican reggae artiste, Buju Banton, who was convicted on cocaine trafficking charges in 2011, has filed a motion in court in an attempt to secure an earlier release date, according to a report in a Florida newspaper.
The Tampa Bay Tribune reports that Buju, whose given name is Mark Myrie, filed his own motion from prison asking to be released early based on a recent change in federal drug sentencing guidelines.
Buju is currently serving a mandatory ten-year sentence for his conviction on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
He is scheduled to be released in 2019.
Source-CMC
Dominica Labour Party wins 15-seat victory
The Dominica Labour Party (DLP) has recorded a historic feat by winning a fourth consecutive term in office.
The DLP won the 8 December 2014 general election with fifteen (15) out of 21 constituencies while the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) won six (6) seats.
The DLP won the following seats;
1. Castle Bruce Constituency by 154 votes,
2. Grand Fond Constituency by 12 votes,
3. Cottage Constituency by 836 votes,
4. Portsmouth by 1032 votes,
5. Soufriere by 506 votes,
6. Paix Bouche by 916 votes,
7. Vieille Case by 902 votes,
8. Roseau Valley by 102 votes,
9. Petite Savanne by 673 votes,
10. La Plaine by 154 votes,
11. Mahaut by 397 votes,
12. Grand Bay by 1060 votes,
13. Salybia by 729 votes,
14. Colihaut by 484 votes,
15. St Joseph by 197 votes
The United Workers Party won the following seats;
1. Roseau North by 578 votes,
2. Roseau Central by 45 votes,
3. Roseau South by 243 votes and
4. Salisbury by 304 votes
5. Marigot by 636 votes and
6. Wesley by 132 votes
The Dominica Labour Party is headed to Benjamin’s Park in Portsmouth to celebrate the victory.
Source-Dominica Vibes News
FBI official says 'no attribution' to North Korea in Sony hack probe
A senior FBI official said on Tuesday that the agency has not confirmed widely held suspicions that North Korea is behind the unprecedented cyber attack on Sony's Hollywood studio.
"There is no attribution to North Korea at this point," Joe Demarest, assistant director with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cyber division, said while speaking on a panel at a cybersecurity conference sponsored by Bloomberg Government.
The comment casts at least some doubt on the widely held belief that North Korea has definitely been determined to be the culprit in the massive attack on the Hollywood studio, leaving room for other theories to emerge.
Cybersecurity researchers who have analyzed the malicious software used in the attack say that technical indicators suggest North Korean hackers launched the attack. People close to separate investigations being conducted by Sony and the government have told Reuters that North Korea is a principal suspect, yet a North Korean diplomat has denied that his nation is involved.
Demarest also said that there has been no confirmation of government involvement to date, though he did not elaborate.
FBI spokesman Joshua Campbell said the agency is continuing its search for the attackers but had no additional information.
Demarest's brief comments were the first public remarks by a senior FBI official about its investigation into the unprecedented attack on U.S. soil. Hackers stole vast quantities of data, then used malicious software to wipe data on computers, shutting down much of the Sony Corp unit's network for more than a week.
FBI representatives plan to meet with Sony employees on Wednesday to provide them training in cybersecurity practices, Campbell said.
Source-Reuters
US Supreme Court rejects BP's oil spill challenge
The US Supreme Court has rejected oil giant British Petroleum's (BP) legal challenge to a compensation deal over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
It means BP will have to make the payments that stem from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
BP argued that the deal meant it could fall prey to inflated or bogus compensation claims.
The settlement agreement has no cap, but BP initially estimated that it would pay roughly US$7.8 billion to compensate victims.
It now says it can no longer give a reliable estimate for how much the deal will cost.
Windies name World Cup 30
The West Indies Cricket Board Selection Panel yesterday named the 30-man provisional squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup to be played in Australia and New Zealand in February and March 2015.
The squad includes several players who are yet to play at the One-Day International level.
These are left arm seamer Kenroy Peters; Imran Khan, the experienced leg-spinning allrounder; off-spinner Ashley Nurse; 19-year-old fast bowler Marquino Mindley; Evin Lewis, the 22-year-old left-handed opener and Jonathan Carter, the left-hander from Barbados.
West Indies will play in Pool “B” in the preliminary round of the 11th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup. They will do battle alongside defending champions India, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe.
Before the tournament West Indies will have warm-up matches against England and Scotland.
Full Squad: (Barbadian players in bold) – Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Imran Khan, Leon Johnson, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Marquino Mindley, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kenroy Peters, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor.
West Indies Match Schedule
Monday, Feb 9: warm-up vs England – SCG, Sydney (day/night)
Thursday, Feb 12: warm-up vs Scotland – SCG, Sydney
Monday, Feb 16: vs Ireland – Saxton Oval, Nelson
Saturday, Feb 21: vs Pakistan – Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Tuesday, Feb 24: vs Zimbabwe – Munaka Oval, Canberra (day/night)
Friday, Feb 27: vs South Africa – SCG, Sydney (day/night)
Friday, Mar 6: vs India – WACA Ground, Perth (day/night)
Sunday, Mar 15: vs United Arab Emirates – McLean Park, Napier
Man arrested after dawn raids in Bermuda
Police staged an early-morning swoop in three parishes today as the hunt intensified for those responsible for the murder of Prince Edness on Sunday.
As a result, a 20-year-old Southampton man is in police custody and another man is still being sought by police.
A police spokesman said: “We would like to apologise to all the affected neighbourhoods that may have been inconvenienced as a result of our activity.
“We would also like to thank members of the public who have worked with the police and encourage continued community assistance to bring the offenders to justice.”
Armed police were present in force in the area of Shelton Road, Devonshire, and Curving Avenue, Pembroke, at about 6am. There was a similar action in Southampton.
Mr Edness was murdered on Sunday at about 8pm after being chased to a residence in the area of South Avenue and Sunnyside Park in Southampton. Early responders from the Bermuda Police Service took up pursuit, but the chase was abruptly ended when the gunmen turned fire on an officer, disabling his vehicle on Middle Road.
In keeping with a new initiative that began in September, when Police targeted drugs at a Deepdale residence, members of the Police Community Action Team fanned through the surrounding areas to keep residents informed.
This morning, operations began in Shelton Road, off Happy Valley Road, before proceeding towards Curving Avenue, where the road was shut to traffic for a period.
Meanwhile, in the Seymour Drive area of Southampton, off Middle Road, a team of officers have been on foot to communicate with residents.
Police are advising residents Island-wide to come forward with any information that may assist in the case, no matter how irrelevant it may seem.
Source-The Royal Gazette
Ministry of Education Prepares for 18th Annual National Academic Awards
On October 28th 2014, the National Academic Awards Council on External Examinations accepted the recommendation of the Sub-Committee for the list of awardees that will be recognized at the 18th Annual National Academic Awards Ceremony. The Ministry accepts the recommendation of this committee and congratulates all the students on a job well done.
The basic criteria guiding their selection is that each student had to pass Mathematics and English A as a part of a minimum of five (5) subjects passed over four external examination sittings; two in fourth form and two in fifth form.
One hundred seventeen (117) students from eight secondary schools around the country qualified to be recognized at this year’s ceremony. Twenty-seven more students qualified to be recognized this year as opposed to the total from last year. Our students are therefore working to attain the new standard and this is very encouraging.
The performances of the students will be recognized in five (5) award categories. They are as follows:
Presentation 1 - Student’s passing 5 to 9 subjects (86 students)
Students passing 10 or more subjects (26 students)
Presentation 2 - Students Passing English A and Mathematics
Presentation 3 - Best Performing Student By Category (Business, Foreign Languages, Hospitality, Humanities, Science, Technical/Vocational Education, Prevocational/Career Development Education (3 students))
Presentation 4 - Students Attaining 5 or more General 1’s or A’s at one sitting
Presentation 5 - Best Performing Students – (the recipients of National Scholarships)
The honour of hosting this year’s ceremony goes to Wesley Methodist School on the strength of the performance of Leroy Penn. He amassed fourteen passes over the period of his eligibility. Natalia Williams of the H.J. Robinson High School captured second place and third place goes to Devonte' Smith of British West Indies Collegiate.
Worthy of recognition are Natalia Williams of the H.J. Robinson High School and Krischan Cox of Marjorie Basden High School who earned positions on the CXC Regional Merit Lists. The lists highlight the top ten performers that sat examinations in the entire region in the various subjects for a particular sitting. Natalia Williams tied for tenth position in Food and Nutrition out of ten thousand one hundred fourty six (10,146) students. Krischan Cox tied for seventh position in the subject Building Technology : Woods out of a total of two thousand three hundred eighty (2,380) students.
Students from Government schools sat examinations in thirty (30) subjects; up from twenty-nine the previous year, the additional subject was Economics. Out of thirty (30) subjects sat twenty three (23) subjects had pass rates between 70 % and 100 %. While Mathematics did not fall into that category the pass rate improved to 54.72%.
Generally we continue to perform exceptionally well in the practical areas, the Pure Sciences and Business Studies. In the practical areas, with the exception of Visual Arts which was already attaining 100% passes, Building Technology: Construction and Woodwork, Technical Drawing, Food and Nutrition, Clothing and Home Economics Management all improved upon last years pass rate. Collectively, the pass rate for the subjects was 92.84%
In the Business area, Principles of Business, Office Administration, Electronic Document Preparation and Management and Information Technology all improved upon last years pass rate. Collectively, the pass rate for the area was 88.71%.
When we add the performances of students from non-government schools, which continue to show improvement in the quality and quantity of the passes earned, clearly and undeniably, our schools despite their challenges are making strides in the right direction. They are accomplishing it through hard work and dedication, and anchored on the guidance, encouragement and wisdom of dedicated and committed teachers and parents. This is a trend that the National Council hopes will be the norm for the majority of students attending our educational institutions around the country.
While this is encouraging, what is also undeniable is that there is still room for improvement. As a result, on our end, we will continue to take initiatives geared towards encouraging our students to strive to continue to improve the quality of their results.
In closing, the National Academic Awards Council congratulates all of the awardees that will be recognized at this year’s ceremony. We also encourage the administrations of the various schools, in conjunction with their teachers and supported by parents to continue to foster an environment that encourages students to strive for excellence.
Further, the Council extends an invitation to the public to join us at the Wesley Methodist School, in Providenciales on Friday, December 12th at 10:00 am as we recognize the accomplishments of our students.