Mexico Knights Templar leader 'Loya Plancarte captured'
Mexican forces have captured one of the country's most wanted drug lords, officials say.
Dionicio Loya Plancarte, known as El Tio (The Uncle), was one of the leaders of the Knights Templar drug cartel in western Michoacan state, officials say.
The government had a 30m-peso ($2.2m; £1.3m) bounty on his head for drug and money-laundering crimes.
Troops were deployed to Michoacan earlier this month after vigilantes clashed with gang members.
The vigilantes accuse the government of not doing enough to protect locals from extortion and violence.
Armed with high-powered weapons, they have pushed out the Knights Templar from some of their strongholds in the Tierra Caliente region.
The army was sent in to restore order and disarm the so-called self-defence forces.
However, many have refused to lay down their weapons until the cartel's main leaders are captured.
Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong lauded the arrest of Mr Loya Plancarte.
"He was detained thanks to the work of our intelligence team, the work of our federal agencies which have shown that you can achieve results when you work this way."
Referring to the self-defence groups, he said: "It is not through violence that you can stop [gang members] and detain them, but through the institutional work of the Mexican government, to restore peace to the Mexican people."
After Mr Osorio's speech to legislators in Mexico City, the federal government announced that it had signed an agreement with vigilante leaders to deploy the groups temporarily and as needed.
SOURCE-BBC
LIAT new plane grounded due to mechanical problem
The regional airline, LIAT, Monday confirmed that one of its new aircraft had developed mechanical problem forcing it to be taken out of service.
The airline said the French-made ATR had developed a “steering defect” while taxing at the V C Bird International Airport.
It said as a result, the plane, Flight LI 775 which was due to travel to St Lucia and Trinidad “was moved to the ramp where it’s being examined by the company’s maintenance staff and will undergo the necessary repairs before being returned to service”.
The airline said that passengers on the affected aircraft were being accommodated on other LIAT services.
LIAT, whose principal shareholder governments are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, recently obtained a multimillion-dollar loan from the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to re-fleet its aging fleet with the French-made ATRs.
SOURCE-Caribbean Media Corporation
Brazil-funded port inaugurated in Cuba
Brazil and Cuba have inaugurated the first phase of a deepwater sea port, a rare large foreign investment project on the Caribbean island.
The $957m (£577m) overhaul of the port of Mariel, in the west of the capital, Havana, is being financed by Brazil.
It is in the heart of a special economic development zone to which Cuba hopes to lure foreign investment.
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford on the island says the upgrade of the port is the biggest project there for many years.
She adds it marks a major new point in terms of foreign investment, which had been highly limited in Cuba.
The new container terminal is equipped for larger ships passing through an expanded Panama Canal.
It was inaugurated by the Brazilian and Cuban presidents.
"Brazil is proud to partner with Cuba in this, which is the first container-terminal port in the Caribbean with the capacity to integrate into the inter-oceanic logistical chain,'' Brazil's Dilma Rousseff said in Mariel.
Her counterpart, Raul Castro, added: "This container terminal, and the powerful infrastructure accompanying it, are a concrete example of the optimism and confidence with which we Cubans see a socialist and prosperous future."
This first phase was financed largely by the Brazilian development bank BNDES and built by the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.
The terminal will include a rail and highway support network, and replace Havana as Cuba's most important port.
The sleepy town of Mariel, 45 km (28 miles) west of Havana, is best known as the launch point for a mass exodus in 1980, when about 125,000 Cubans left over six months.
A Cuban government decree establishing the special economic zone there includes significant tax and customs breaks for foreign and local companies.
The Caribbean island hopes it will help to increase exports and create jobs.
SOURCE-BBC
MPs to vote on scrapping anti-protest law in Ukraine
Ukraine's parliament is expected to vote on plans to scrap a new anti-protest law in a special session called over the ongoing unrest in the country.
President Viktor Yanukovych has offered to repeal the legislation, but it is unclear whether MPs will back him.
Opposition to the law has helped fuel deadly clashes between anti-government protesters and police.
Parliament is due to tackle other opposition demands, such as an amnesty for arrested activists.
Mr Yanukovych offered an amnesty only if protesters cleared barricades and stopped attacking government buildings. So far, there has been no sign of protesters leaving the streets.
He made the concessions during talks with the three opposition leaders on Monday.
Meanwhile, top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton has brought forward a planned visit to Ukraine by 48 hours and will now arrive on Tuesday for meetings with Mr Yanukovych and opposition leaders.
She said she was "alarmed" by reports on Monday that the government was preparing to introduce a state of emergency.
Multiple reports had suggested that the government was intending to invoke a state of emergency, but officials later said they had no such plan.
Activists continue to occupy Kiev's central square and government buildings in a number of Ukrainian cities, saying they will not leave until Mr Yanukovych resigns.
The president began the latest round of talks on Monday evening with Fatherland leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Udar (Punch) chief Vitali Klitschko, and nationalist leader Oleg Tyahnybok.
He repeated an offer to Mr Yatsenyuk to assume the post of prime minister, which Mr Yatsenyuk formally turned down.
In a statement on the presidential website, Justice Minister Olena Lukash was quoted as saying that the "liability of the government" would be discussed in parliament on Tuesday.
Source-BBC
Peru-Chile border redrawn by UN court at The Hague
The United Nations' highest court has redrawn the maritime boundary between Peru and Chile after an acrimonious dispute between the two neighbours.
Judges at The Hague awarded Peru parts of the Pacific Ocean but kept rich fishing grounds in Chilean hands.
At stake were 38,000 square kilometres (14,670 square miles) of ocean and some of the world's richest fishing grounds.
In 2008, Peru asked the International Court of Justice to rule on the matter, saying the border was not legally set.
In its non-binding ruling, the UN court gave Peru around 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 square miles) and control over a further 28,000 square kilometres (10,800 square miles) of ocean currently in international waters.
It also said that the maritime border should start from the same point on the coastline as it does now.
Peru wanted the boundary to extend roughly south-west, perpendicular to the point where the two countries' land border meets the ocean.
But Chile insisted it should extend from the coast parallel to the equator. It cited treaties agreed in 1952 and 1954 which it said had settled the maritime boundary on that basis.
Both countries have pledged to abide by The Hague ruling.
Chilean President-elect Michelle Bachelet said she "regretted" what she called a "painful loss" for her country, but promised she would work to "implement the ruling gradually".
Her Peruvian counterpart, Ollanta Humala, said "Peru is pleased with the outcome" of the court decision, and would "take the required actions and measures immediately for its prompt implementation".
SOURCE-BBC
Egypt army backs Sisi as presidential candidate
Egypt's top military body has given its approval for armed forces chief Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to run for the presidency.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) said: "The people's trust in Sisi is a call that must be heeded as the free choice of the people."
Security sources say he will resign and announce his candidacy within days.
Field Marshal Sisi led the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi in July, following mass protests against him.
An election must take place by mid-April. Correspondents say Field Marshal Sisi would be likely to win, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people backed his candidacy at a rally in Cairo, after the field marshal said he wanted to gauge "public demand".
At the same time, almost 50 people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters demanding Mr Morsi's reinstatement.
Referring to the field marshal, the alliance led by Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday that the opposition protests showed "the people want the execution of the murderer" and not to "appoint the murderer as president".
On Monday, the Scaf held an hours-long meeting to discuss "the demands of the people" for Field Marshal Sisi's candidacy.
During the meeting, interim President Adly Mansour announced that he had promoted him from general to the army's top rank, reportedly as a final honour before he stands down.
The state news agency Mena later reported that the Scaf had unanimously "endorsed" Field Marshal Sisi to run for president.
The state-run al-Ahram newspaper also said his chief-of-staff, Gen Sedky Sobhy, had been chosen to replace him as head of the armed forces.
A senior military official told the AFP news agency that the field marshal would step down and announce his run within days. He wanted to "unite the people, restore security and Egypt's international standing", the official added.
On Sunday, speculation that the field marshal would stand intensified after Mr Mansour said presidential elections would be held before parliamentary elections, switching the order laid out in last year's transitional "road map".
The 59-year-old former military intelligence chief was appointed head of the armed forces and defence minister by Mr Morsi in August 2012.
TCIG Governor & Minister of Border Control makes joint statements
TCIG met with Haitian Authorities this week in an effort to seek solutions to the uncontrolled illegal immigration from Haiti, a statement issued jointly on by His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, and the Hon., Ricardo Donhue Gardiner, Minister for Border control and Labour said.
His Excellency the Governor and the Minister of Border Control and Labour expressed sympathies to the Government and people of Haiti for the 17 lives lost on Christmas Day.
They also told Consul Karlo Pelissier that the TCI Government does not believe that enough is being done to stem the flow of illegal migrants, pointing out that some $1.2 million had been spent on interdiction and repatriation in 2013. The Governor and Minister also called on the Haitian officials to regularize travel and identity documentation for Haitians living in the TCI.
Expressions Return to RTC
Radio Turks and Caicos welcomed the return of the radio talk show Expressions on Fridaymore than a year after it went off air. The show will be aired on Mondays, Wednesday’s and Fridays and will be hosted by Rev Conrad Howell. Governor Peter Beckingham was a special guest on Friday’s show.
On Monday the Deputy Premier will make an appearance at 11am.
NHIB to take to the airwaves
The National Health Insurance Board (NHIB) says it intends to take to the airwaves in the near future to explain to the public how residents can qualify for coverage.
A spokesperson disclosed on television recently that employers must bring contributions for all employees up to date and must register their employees.
There is still no word on coverage for non-employed persons. However, as stated in the Throne Speech, the government has promised that the plan would be expanded to cover all residents.
The cost of healthcare in the TCI is reportedly consuming some 40% of government’s annual budget.
Anger Management Training A Success
On Tuesday four prisoners graduated from Anger Management training, part of Her Majesty's Prison Service's rehabilitation efforts. A total of six prisoners qualified for the certificates, however two were earlier released from Prison and will receive their certificates later.
The Anger Management sessions run by Reverend John Malcolm from the National Drug Unit, are key to the rehabilitation strategy at the Prison. Two additional workshops are planned for January 28, 2014 with an adult session commencing in the morning and a Juvenile session commencing in the afternoon.