Despite Tensions, China Gives Obama Warm Welcome
President Barack Obama has a received a warm welcome in China, despite tensions on issues like trade, human rights, and China’s territorial claims in the East and South China Seas.
Relations between the two countries have been strained, in large part, because of Chinese suspicions that the United States wants to contain China’s growth.
But both sides appeared wanting to accentuate the positive aspects of their relationship.
Chinese leaders welcomed Obama at Beijing airport Monday with an honor guard and red carpet.
Later, Obama addressed business leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Dispelling Chinese suspicions topped his agenda.
“The United States welcomes the rise of a prosperous, peaceful, and stable China. I want to repeat that," the president said. " We welcome the rise of a prosperous, peaceful and stable China. In fact, over recent decades, the United States has worked to help integrate China into the global economy. Not only because it’s in China’s best interests, but because it’s in America’s best interests and the world’s best interests. We want China to do well."
Deepening relations with China, Obama said, will mean more jobs and opportunity for the American and Chinese people. The U.S. leader announced a new agreement to extend the validity of visas for students, businesspeople and tourists.
“Under the current arrangement, visas between our two countries last for only one year. Under the new arrangement, student and exchange visas will be extended to five years. Business and tourist visas will be extended to 10 years,” said Obama.
But the U.S. and China are far from agreeing on thorny issues like human rights, cyberspace, and trade.
Washington and Beijing are pursuing rival trade deals.
Source-VOA
Drug charges against Brazilian footballer Adriano rejected
A judge in Rio de Janeiro has rejected charges of drug trafficking against Brazilian footballer Adriano.
Prosecutors said on Tuesday he had allegedly bought a motorbike and given it as a gift to a known drug dealer in the Rio shanty town where he grew up.
But the judge, Maria Tereza Donatti, said the case was dismissed because there was not enough evidence to uphold the accusations.
Adriano, 32, could have faced a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.
He had denied the allegations, which first emerged in 2010.
Brazilian police said he had bought the motorbike in 2007 and registered it in the name of the mother of drug dealer Paulo Rogerio de Souza Paz, known as Mica.
The bike was used for drug trafficking in one of Rio's shanty towns, or favelas, then controlled by Comando Vermelho (Red Command), a powerful criminal gang.
But the judge said "there was not enough evidence as to the authorship of this crime".
The Brazilian striker had a successful career in Italy, winning titles with Inter Milan. But off-field problems and injuries cut his career short.
He has reportedly been negotiating a comeback with second division French club Le Havre.
No drugs in Robin Williams suicide
Robin Williams was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his suicide, authorities in California have revealed.
The actor, 63, was found dead in his California home on 11 August in what authorities soon ruled a suicide.
A Marin County coroner's report released on Friday found Williams died from asphyxia due to hanging.
Williams, famed for roles in such films as Mrs Doubtfire and Good Will Hunting, had been treated for depression.
The entertainer was last seen alive by his wife on 10 August, and was found dead the following day.
On the morning he was found, the actor's personal assistant became concerned when he did not respond to knocks on the door, authorities say. The assistant entered the room and found Williams dead.
Williams won an Academy Award for his role in Good Will Hunting and starred in films including Good Morning Vietnam and Jumanji.
In the past Williams had talked, and even joked, about his struggles with alcohol and drugs. After his death, his representative said he had also been "battling severe depression".
He had earlier returned to a rehabilitation centre to "fine-tune" his sobriety, the Los Angeles Times reported in July.
In a statement following his death, Williams' wife Susan Schneider said she was "utterly heartbroken" and asked for privacy for the family.
"As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions," she said.
US President Barack Obama paid tribute to Williams, saying he "made us laugh. He made us cry."
"He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most - from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalised on our own streets."
Obama, Republicans Seek Common Ground
Citing the need to get work done in Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama sat down with Republican congressional leaders after their party’s sweep of midterm elections earlier this week.
Going into Friday’s lunch at the executive mansion, the president and Republican congressional leaders stood firm and on opposite sides of at least on one issue, immigration.
With Obama on Wednesday vowing to use his executive authority to reform the system…
“What I am not going to do is just wait. I think it is fair to say that I have shown a lot of patience," said President Obama.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner warned the president not to take such action.
“I have made clear to the president that if he acts unilaterally on his own, outside of his authority, he will poison the well, and there will be no chance for immigration reform moving in this Congress," said Boehner.
In a statement, Boehner repeated that sentiment during Friday’s lunch with President Obama, fellow Republican and likely Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic leaders.
To begin the meeting, President Obama struck a conciliatory tone and emphasized the need to work together.
“I think they are frustrated by the gridlock. They would like to see more cooperation. And I think all of us have the responsibility, me in particular, to try to make that happen," said Obama.
The president noted he is interested in good ideas, regardless of what party they come from, to build on the country’s economic momentum. He cited an unemployment rate that has dropped to 5.8 percent - the lowest in six years.
In a statement issued after the lunch, Boehner also named jobs and the economy as a top priority of the American people.
Earlier, Obama repeated possible areas of common ground with congressional leaders including on infrastructure and trade.
“…whether that is putting people back to work through stronger manufacturing here in the United States, and selling more to countries around the world, one of the major topics that we are going to be discussing during my Asia trip next week," said Obama.
But after the more than two-hour meeting, there were no public remarks from the president or congressional leaders.
Lawmakers heard from top U.S. military commanders - who briefed them on the fight against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria.
President Obama on Friday authorized the deployment of an additional 1,500 non-combat troops to Iraq to help train local forces. In a statement issued after the lunch, the White House said the president requested another $5.6 billion to support the strategy against the Islamic State.
The president also called for Congress to approve emergency funding for another fight - this one against Ebola in West Africa. Both issues, along with passing a budget, remain top priorities in the coming weeks, as Obama and a new Congress try to forge a new way forward.
Source-VOA
Dead baby left inside woman’s womb at Trinidad hospital
Pain and anguish have again visited the doorsteps of a Tobago family, with the death of a baby in her mother’s womb.
The full-term baby would have been given the name of Harmony Hope.
Twenty-five-year-old Kai Duncan said the dead baby was left inside her overnight, and she was given an injection to sleep. The family intends to take legal action.
Duncan said she arrived at the Scarborough General Hospital carrying a healthy baby last week Monday at 7:00 pm, but was told by doctors at 10:00 pm she and her baby had a 50/50 chance at survival.
“I find he taking a little too long to deal with the baby and deal with me, so I say ‘doctor what do you mean a 50/50 chance’. He said yes, a 50/50 chance, you will have to fly down in Trinidad and your kidney could come out, and the baby could either live or die,” Duncan said.
The distraught woman added that she waited for hours in pain for the delivery of her baby, but it was too late.
“He carry me to do a next ultrasound again. When I did the ultrasound again the baby was never moving.”
She said all medical personnel left her in the operating theatre alone, she was later moved back to the maternity ward with the dead baby still inside her.
“They take me from the theatre and carry me after two hours. I stay in the theatre, they take me from the theatre and carry me back in the room where I was with the baby, a dead baby inside of me, and inject me with a needle and telling me this injection is an injection to put you to sleep.”
Last week Tuesday morning, another doctor approached her on the ward, questioning her about the whereabouts of her baby.
“In the morning time a next doctor come in, he say you lost the baby? I said yes, and he ask me where the baby is, and I said the baby is in me still.” She said it was only then she was rushed to the emergency room where she delivered her stillborn child.
The family said when they visited the Scarborough mortuary on Monday to have an autopsy performed on the child they were told the autopsy was already performed. In addition, the family’s medical file could not be found.
“My personal doctor told us that he could not answer the questions we were asking him, because he don’t have the file and there is no file.”
When asked to comment on the matter, Medical Chief of Staff Dr Nathaniel Duke said an investigation into the matter has been launched by the Quality Department of the Tobago Regional Health Authority. He insisted the medical records for the family were not lost, but sent to be copied for the investigation to commence.
Source-Trinidad Express
Scotiabank to close several branches in the Caribbean
Canada’s Scotiabank has announced plans to shut or shrink 120 branches, largely in Mexico and the Caribbean, in a bid to save CAN$120 million (One Canadian dollar =US$0.87 cents) annually.
The bank said it would close down 35 of its 200 branches in the Caribbean and would sever 1, 500 full-time employees, including 500 from its international operations.
“In some of these (Caribbean) countries, we are just over-branched and we have to size it to the economic realities of these economies,” said Scotiabank chief executive officer, Brian Porter.
Porter said that the bank’s revenue growth has been encouraging outside Canada, but profit has not jumped as much he would like.
“The frustration for us across the international footprint is we’ve had very solid asset growth over the last three or four years, and not all of that has dropped to the bottom line,” he said, adding that the bank still has plans to grow in the region
Scotiabank said the closure of the Caribbean branches were due “to the prolonged economic recovery and continued uncertain outlook” and that it had started restructuring initiatives “in order to improve the speed and quality of service it provides its customers, to reduce costs in a sustainable manner, and to achieve greater operational efficiencies.
“The bank intends to record a restructuring provision of approximately CAN$148 million in the fourth quarter. The majority of the restructuring provision relates to employee severance charges in the bank’s Canadian banking and international banking divisions and will affect people at all levels of the organisation.”
The statement said “in international banking, the charges are primarily for closing or downsizing approximately 120 branches, which will allow us to focus on high-growth markets, minimise branch overlap, and realise synergies resulting from recent acquisitions.”
Scotiabank made a record CAN$6.7-billion net income in 2013.
“TOURISM IS KEY…UNLOCK ITS POSSIBILITIES” SAYS PREMIER
My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, the month of November marks the official start of our Tourist Season, and it is with a profound sense of gratitude and thanks to God, that despite the many challenges facing the world and the world’s economies, it is with perseverance and fortitude we are blessed to usher in, what is projected to be, yet another remarkable year in Tourism and tourist arrivals to the shores of these beautiful islands.
Tourism remains a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounting for more than 50% directly and indirectly, and employing over 32% of our nation’s population. Thanks to this well-developed industry, our tourist arrivals rose 10% from 968,000 visitors in 2012, to just over 1 million in 2013 and these figures are projected to be far surpassed this year, as visitor arrivals for the first quarter of 2014 boasted an astounding 41% over the same period in the previous year.
Our continued growth speaks of a well-developed industry that has proven to be robust and resilient to the effects of the failing world economies and continues to support our economy and to appeal to travelers, largely from North America, Europe and the Caribbean.
Our unique product which goes above and beyond the sun, sand and sea, is a portfolio of high end luxury condo hotels, vacation villas and amenities and a diversity of natural attractions, people and local culture across our archipelago of islands that delivers on our promised values of total visitor satisfaction. It is estimated that there will be a further $600 million in hotel, condo and marina investment injected into our economy over the next two years. It is on the solidity of the performance and projections of our vibrant tourism industry that the Standards & Poors Credit Rating Agency rated us as a BBB+ with a stable outlook most recently.
While we must recognize and appreciate the success of our tourism industry, and celebrate the thousands of employees who serve our many guests, we cannot afford to become complacent or take our industry for granted. There has evolved today a new era in Tourism, and we must prove to be agile and adaptable in our efforts to meet the ever-changing needs of the traveler.
In 2013, the traditionally slow months of June, July and August showed the highest increase for the year in stop-over visitors over the same period in 2012 and this trend is now extending into the lowest months of September and October, as we introduce new programmes and initiatives to attract visitors to our shores. The once clearly defined seasonal tourism, to which we are accustomed, is slowly evolving to be a year-round cycle, and this is excellent news for the many businesses and households that thrive on this industry. But this paradigm shift brings with it different travelers with different expectations than before, which challenges us to do things differently than we did before.
We have indeed been blessed to experience continuous growth in tourist arrivals, especially in the face of the fiercely competitive travel destination market, but we can no longer merely talk about sustainable tourism. If we are serious about retaining our position as a formidable destination of choice, we must be ready to continuously rethink and redesign our strategic approach to tourism, as manifested in our efforts to meet the needs our guests as well as our efforts to capture the attention of the modern-day traveler.
We are therefore challenged to be accountable as a Government, as a country and as a people, to don our social responsibility to do our utmost to protect and develop our tourism product. Towards this end, we are currently preparing a revised National Tourism Strategic Plan which will be the framework for the sustainability of the industry and guide the nature of development and policies for the future. But there is also a need for each of us to also play our part in keeping our beautiful islands clean of refuse and free from pollution and communicable diseases that can also be major deterrents for visitors.
We are challenged to break free of our comfort zones and be innovative in our approach to the modernization and relevance of our industry. We must seek to develop a framework of cutting-edge technological networking, secured financial resourcing and responsible product diversification that will deliver sustainable economic growth and stability while building our resilience to the many environmental, health and social threats in border security, natural disasters, diseases and other health issues that threaten economies the world over, especially in small island developing states.
Tourism in these beautiful by nature Turks and Caicos Islands must continue to stand apart from the rest, in offering the finest in seven-star luxury and culturally rich experiences for our visitors while promoting the safety and security of guests and residents alike. We must continue our efforts in promoting responsible sustainable economic growth and development for the preservation of nature’s gift of earth, to ensure that we, and generations to come, benefit from the natural aesthetics of this stunning archipelago of islands that we call home.
Tourism is our key and I believe that we can, and must, unlock its possibilities, but we can only do so together. This requires commitment from us all and it requires partnerships with Government, corporations and other organizations for a revolutionary approach to supporting and promoting our tourism industry.
May God continue to richly bless these beautiful by nature Islands.
REMARKS MADE BY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AT THE OPENING OF TOURISM CONFERENCE
“The new vision of the tourism policy for the TCI”.
Colleagues, leaders in the tourism sector, distinguished ladies and gentlemen.
I am delighted to have been asked to extend greetings to you in such an important forum. You will, over the next two days, help to shape the new vision of the tourism policy for the TCI. I say welcome to this Beautiful by Nature Isle to those that are visiting.
I have no doubt that for the foreseeable future, tourism will remain the mainstay of our country’s economy. I am equally convinced that there is much more we can do to improve our product and offering to satisfy and woo our guests. There must be a deliberate plan and course of action concerning this and this is the all important first step. Though we term this a “new vision”, there must remain certain consistencies and determinations without compromise – it must be sustainable; it must be trendy and flexible; we must continue an open dialogue with those whom we cater to; we must attempt to keep their experience unique and exclusive; and extremely important, it must be environmentally friendly.
The greater success of our tourism product depends on these type for guiding and informing us periodically. We must have a continuing dialogue with those to whom we cater and a buy in by all residents who must understand the role we each play in making and maintaining this country as a leading premier destination.
I congratulate the Tourist Board and the Ministry, as well as those of you who consider yourselves stakeholders. You have shown that this is important enough to participate with your presence and ideas.
Apple iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus coming to LIME Caribbean Markets
LIME, the only authorised carrier in the English-speaking Caribbean of the Apple® iPhone® 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, has announced their expected arrival just in time for the holiday season.
Considered globally as the most sought-after smartphones to hit the market, the arrival of this latest innovation in the line of iPhones to LIME Caribbean markets is eagerly awaited.
The roll out of iPhones within the region, courtesy of LIME, starts from mid-November and will be available in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Martin Roos, CEO LIME Caribbean said, “It’s time to upgrade to the biggest advancement in iPhone history - iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus. Once again LIME is pleased to be the carrier of choice to deliver the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to the region. Our aim is to deliver the best handset range, value-packed data propositions and ultimately great customer experience where the customer defines excellence.”
The LIME Caribbean CEO also added, “This collaboration with Apple to provide the world’s most in-demand smartphones for the people of the Caribbean is further evidence of our commitment. We are in an exciting phase of our upgrade journey and the coming of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus also reinforces that.”
iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus feature stunning 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina® HD displays and are packed with innovative technologies in an all-new dramatically thin and seamless design that is still comfortable to hold and easy to use. Both models are better in every way, and include: the Apple-designed A8 chip with second generation 64-bit desktop-class architecture for blazing fast performance and power efficiency; advanced iSight® and FaceTime® HD cameras; and ultrafast wireless technologies.
The new iPhones come with iOS 8, the biggest release since the App Store℠, featuring a simpler, faster and more intuitive user experience with new Messages and Photos features, predictive typing for Apple’s QuickType™ keyboard and Family Sharing. iOS 8 also includes iCloud Drive℠, so you can store your documents and access them from anywhere.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users also have access to the revolutionary App Store, which offers more than 1.3 million apps to iPhone, iPad® and iPod touch® users in 155 countries around the world.
PDM'S SHADOW MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT CELEBRATES WITH NATIONAL TRUST
The PDM Shadow Minister for the Environment on Friday, October 31st, 2014 together with a small group led by the National Trust walked the Bird Rock Point Field Trail.
This activity was preceded by the Official Opening Ceremony at Bird Rock Point in Long Bay, which saw the attendance of various stakeholders including the Hon Leader of the Opposition, Hon Sharlene Cartwright Robinson.
"It is so important that we protect our heritage and our natural environment. For me, it brought back memories of stories told to me by my mother who walked this field trail while playing vital roles in the trade industry of yesteryear. It was certainly a privilege to be a part of the first group to tour this historical site.
I wish to encourage persons to embrace the opportunity and expose our children, residents and tourists to this positive and beautiful part of our history. I wish to remind us all that protecting these sites is everyone's business" says Hon Ewing. " I also wish to extend my very best wishes to the Natural Trust and pledge my support and that of my Party to your continued and sterling efforts to preserve and protect our heritage."
The development of Bird Rock Point is the current project of the Turks and Caicos National Trust. It consists of 111.08 acres of land and is one of the historical sites of the Turks & Caicos Islands.