Pentagon Announces New Troop Deployment to South Korea
The Pentagon has announced the deployment of an additional 800 troops to South Korea, along with combat tanks and other military hardware, as Washington seeks to counter any regional threats from North Korea.
Tuesday's deployment announcement came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Washington with his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se. Kerry used the meeting to assure Yun of Washington's commitment to South Korea's nuclear defense, in his words, "so that we are prepared to face any threat."
Kerry said the two diplomats are "deeply focused on the challenge of North Korea, particularly with events that have taken place in recent weeks" in Pyongyang.
His comments appeared to reference a recent political purge that included the execution of the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The killing in December of Jang Song Thaek, a powerful member of the politburo, is seen by some Western analysts as a move by Kim to consolidate power, and by others as evidence of political instability within the North Korean hierarchy.
A Pentagon statement said elements of the 1st Army Battalion from Ft. Hood, Texas will deploy to two locations in South Korea by February 1, in what a spokesman described as part of an ongoing shift of U.S. military power toward East Asia.
Source-Voice Of America
Israel Seeking to Extend Peace Talks Beyond April Deadline
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon says Israel is looking for a framework to extend peace talks with the Palestinians beyond the April deadline.
Yaalon said Tuesday it is clear there are big gaps with the Palestinians that are not new; but, he said it is definitely in Israel's interest to continue the talks and stabilize relations.
The State Department says extending the nine-month deadline set last July is an option; but, it says the focus remains on getting a framework agreement before the end of April. Officials say both Israeli and Palestinian leaders remain engaged and committed.
Before leaving Jerusalem Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry said he is making progress towards peace. He said a framework would be a "significant breakthrough," but would not meet his goal of a comprehensive deal by April.
Israelis and Palestinians are accusing each other of sabotaging peace efforts. Israel says the Palestinians hail terrorists just freed from prison as heroes and have not recognized a Jewish state. Palestinians say Israel continues to build Jewish settlements in lands that would be part of a future state.
Source-Voice Of America
EMA fines Petrotrin $20M in Trinidad
The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) has fined State-run Petrotrin $20 million for breaching the terms of its certificates of environment clearance (CEC) by its allegedly poor response to the December 17 oil-spill at La Brea that ruined marine-life, beaches and communities on Trinidad’s south west coast.
Petrotrin has agreed to pay the fine which the EMA said would be used for various remediation steps at the oil-spill site.
EMA chairman, Dr Alan Bachan, held a news conference yesterday at the EMA office, Elizabeth Street, St Clair, with fellow directors Michael Rooplal, Dr Rai Ragbir and Gayatree Badree- Maharaj.
The EMA said Petrotrin was fined for failings in its response after the oil-spill, but that it is outside of the EMA’s remit to punish Petrotrin for the oil-spill itself, but said that any affected resident might sue Petrotrin under the common law for say the tort offence of nuisance.
Petrotrin president, Khalid Hassanali, yesterday told Newsday the EMA’s $20 million fine was harsh. He said, “In respect to the measures we have taken in respect of the environment and in respect to the persons and communities affected, I do find it is a bit harsh.”
In a statement issued at the news conference, the EMA said that last Friday it had served two notices of violation (NOV) on Petrotrin for violation of the EMA Act.
These breaches include Petrotrin’s failure get approval for its methods of disposal of oil-spill waste; failure to promptly report all accidents, emergencies and spills; failure to comply with health and air-monitoring requirements; and failure to submit a complete written report of the incident.
“Petrotrin, in response to the EMA’s action, made representations to the EMA and admitted to the violations articulated in the respective NOVs,” said the EMA statement. “A consent agreement was entered into in which Petrotrin was fined a sum of $20 million. The monies would be used towards the assessment, remediation and rehabilitation of the impacted sites...”.
The statement listed 12 examples of activities that the $20 million would be used to pay for to counter the effects of the oil-spill.
Source-CMC
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Ex-Miss Venezuela Murdered in Robbery
A former Miss Venezuela-turned-soap opera star and her ex-husband have been found shot to death in the South American country in an apparent robbery attack.
Authorities say the bodies of 29-year-old Monica Spear and her 39-year-old former husband were found in their car, along with their 5-year-old daughter, who survived the Monday night attack but was injured in the leg. Venezuelan authorities said the little girl was in stable condition after being treated for her injuries.
The car was discovered on the highway between Venezuela's major port city of Puerto Cabello and the city of Valencia. Spear was reportedly vacationing in Venezuela, with local media reporting the car had broken down before the attack.
Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with armed robberies, carjackings and kidnappings commonplace.
Spear was crowned Miss Venezuela in 2004 and went on to appear in several soap operas on the U.S.-based Telemundo network, including her most recent -- "Forbidden Passion."
T&T gov't launches attack on criminals following 19th murder in 2014
These include to find the sources of the spill; to monitor the clean-up and assessment of the environmental impact of the spills by State bodies; to establish a Shoreline Clean-up and Assessment team to survey damage; to assess the fate of the oil and the effectiveness of the clean-up; to identify priorities for sampling and monitoring the impact of the spill; to determine which detailed studies are to be done; to do studies to get data to determine the impact of the spill on fisheries, invertebrates, benthic ecology and wetlands; to monitor their subsequent recovery and discuss the fate of unrecovered oil left to bio-degrade; to develop a long-term Remediation and Rehabilitation Action Plan; and to plan how to minimise the impact of any future spills.
The statement said while some have criticised the EMA’s treatment of the incident, the EMA is constantly assessing the environmental impacts so as to create new steps to rehabilitate and restore the affected sites. Further any course of action by the EMA must be supported by accurate findings, even as the EMA continues to gather new details.
Bachan said it is too soon to spell out specifics as to how all these measures would be carried out, such as whether local or foreign expertise would be used.
Energy Minister, Kevin Ramnarine, last night at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, after a National Security Council briefing told reporters he knew of the EMA’s actions. “The EMA is an independent authority and you know they have their job to do and we respect what they do and the action taken is well within the Environmental Management Act, and Petrotrin will comply with whatever the EMA decides,” said Ramnarine.
He said he was told of Petrotrin’s suspension of 12 employees who were part of the shift at the Pointe-a-Pierre jetty on the early morning of December 17, the scene of the first oil spill.
“I am also advised that some more suspensions may be coming,” said Ramnarine. “And the suspensions were primarily from a precautionary point of view to ensure the integrity of the investigation. The suspensions are with full pay and the suspensions will not be deemed as any disciplinary action against those persons suspended.” He said investigations continue at Petrotrin around the spill.
The coalition People’s Partnership government Tuesday announced an all out attack on criminal elements in Trinidad and Tobago as the island recorded its 19th murder in just seven days.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, speaking to reporters after a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) said that she was re-affirming her administration’s commitment to dealing with the crime situation.
"As Prime Minister today I re-affirm my commitment to our citizens that whatever we have to do to defeat criminals within the law, wherever they hide we will do it.
“I will not allow and evil and violent minority to continue to inflict harm, fear and tragedy on the lives of our citizens. Where ever you hide, whoever your accomplices are and whatever you believe you have done with impunity we will find you and you will be punished”.
She said at the meeting it was decided with “immediate effect, the Commissioner (of Police Stephenson Williams) has advised that all leave has been restricted in Trinidad and the Tobago Police Service so we can have all hands on deck in the fight against crime.
“This means all officers from the top to the bottom. There is to be a greater collaborative effort between the police and the Defence Force to maximize the use of all their resources in this matter.”
Persad Bissessar said that she would no longer tolerate excuses for failure by the protective and security forces, adding “violence by a very small minority is eating away at the freedoms and peace that the majority has a right to enjoy.
“A murder is not simply a murder. Violence is not simply violence,” she said, adding that “at no time can crime be considered acceptable and the recent spike in violence and murders has made the situation completely intolerable”.
Police Tuesday reported the latest three murders were committed in Arouca, east of Port of Spain, and in Cedros, in south Trinidad.
In Arouca 38-year-old Hezekiah Mark was shot and his body dumped in a drain opposite the house where he lived.
Police are also searching for the killers of Krishna Ramdeen, 63, and his wife Radha, 57, after their son discovered their bodies on the ground floor of their house.
The woman had been suffocated with a plastic bag and it is uncertain how Krihsna died, but police said there was blood everywhere.
Last year the country recorded 405 murders and Prime Minister Persad Bissessar said she would not be fazed by the fight against criminals adding “we will face them head on and we will win.
“The government and people of Trinidad and Tobago are demanding results now and therefore they must see results now,” she said.
On Monday, a senior member of the government said he was in favour of the resumption of hangings and Prime Minister Persad Bissessar said that legislation had been brought to Parliament, but did not find support with the opposition.
“Until such time as the opposition sees it fit to give that support we cannot implement the death penalty in that manner to save us from the various court cases, like the Pratt and Morgan” where the London-based Privy Council ruled that a delay in excess of five years or more would constitute 'cruel and inhuman treatment' contrary to the Constitution of Jamaica.
“That is a parliamentary challenge which we continue to have dialogue on. I know many people in the country believe the death penalty can be the panacea for dealing with murders but there are some who are not of that view and they see it as a plaster on a sore…”
SOURCE-CMC
19 murders in 7 days
The brutal chopping death of Cedros couple Krishna and Radha Ramdeen and the equally brutal shooting of Arouca resident Hezekiah Mark — who was killed in the presence of his young son — have pushed to 19, the number of murders committed in the first seven days of this year.
In the Cedros incident, a man who yesterday went to assist his parents in operating their mini- mart and bar, got the shock of his life when he found his father and mother’s bodies with multiple chop wounds. Last night, the entire village was mourning the death of the well-known couple.
The couple, Krishna Ramdeen, 62, and Radha Ramdeen, 57, were found dead inside their Fullerton Village, Cedros house. Police said at about 8.30 am, Ravi Ramdeen, 27, went to his parents’ home to assist in opening the businessplace White Diamond Bar. He called out to his parents, but got no answer.
Ramdeen later entered the house and went into his parents’ bedroom where he found his father’s body on the bed with chop wounds to his face and hands. On the floor, next to the bed, was his mother’s with a plastic bag placed over her head and an electrical cord tied around her neck. Both her hands bore chop wounds with the left being almost severed.
Although a motive was not yet determined by police, relatives believe a robbery gone bad may have led to the couple’s murder. The couple’s other son Rakesh Ramdeen, 40, of Dolsingh Street, Fullerton Village, told Newsday his parents lived alone and he last spoke with them on Monday afternoon. Rakesh described his parents as genuine individuals who did not have any enemies.
“If my mother cook and people are liming in the bar, she would give them food. She would offer them anything she cooked. They were very good people. My father was a very sickly man. He suffered a stroke nine years ago,” Ramdeen said.
Scores of curious onlookers gathered in front of the home and businessplace of the murdered couple while Supt Harry, Insp Granger, Sgts Mahabir and Richardson and other officers interviewed several persons.
The couple’s daughter Rannee Ramdeen, 39, who lives not far from her parents, was inconsolable. As she screamed, Cpl Phagoo of Cedros Police Station hugged her. “God saw everything. He will give us justice. Mammy and daddy...allyuh gone and leave me!” she cried.
Her brother Robin Ramdeen, 41, of Cunupia called on the authorities to have police and soldiers patrol the rural district. The bodies were later removed to the Forensic Science Centre, St James where autopsies are expected to be done today. No arrest has been made.
Man killed in front son in an unrelated incident, while in the midst of making breakfast for his ten-year-old son yesterday morning, 35-year-old Hezekiah Mark was attacked and gunned down by two armed men who stormed his Arouca home.
Police reported at about 7.45 am, Mark of Hillview Drive, Arouca, was at home with his ten-year-old son, when two gunmen stormed the house. After a loud confrontation with Mark, the men opened fire on the 35-year-old father — in full view of his son.
Police said Mark, out of fear for his life and in an attempt to lure his attackers away from his son, ran to the back of the home onto Sunset Drive. However, at that very moment the attackers opened fire again, hitting Mark several times about the body.
The injured man then fell into a drain at the back of his house, while his attackers went to ensure that their victim was indeed dead by pumping more bullets into his body. They then ran off.
Residents of the area notified the police, and a party of officers from the Arouca Police Station, the Northern Division Task Force and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, including Senior Superintendent John Daniel, Senior Superintendent David Abraham, and Sergeant Pitt visited the scene. Both Sunset Drive and Hillview Drive were cordoned-off and crime scene investigators swept the area, recovering several spent shells in the process.
By: LAUREL V WILLIAMS and ALEXANDER BRUZUAL of NEWSDAY
Panama Canal Authority proposes end to dispute
The Panama Canal Authority said Tuesday that it wants to end a stand-off over the expansion of the canal by splitting construction costs with the international consortium that was threatening to halt work unless the authority came up with US$1.6 billion in extra funding.
The authority said Tuesday that it would pay US$183 million and Grupo Unidos por el Canal would put in US$100 million to continue work for at least two more months while a long-term solution is negotiated.
The Spanish-led consortium would have to withdraw its threat to halt work on the canal by January 20. The consortium, which has said it has run out of cash to fund construction, offered no immediate response to the authority's offer.
The consortium is formed by Spain's Sacyr Vallehermoso, Impregilo of Italy, Jan De Nul of Belgium, and Constructora Urbana SA of Panama. It says unexpected problems with the quality of material supposed to be used to make cement spawned massive overruns, and blamed the canal authority for carrying out insufficient geological studies before work began.
They haven't accept the proposal or rejected it," canal administrator Jorge Luis Quijano said after meeting with consortium representatives. "At least we're talking and on their part there's a will to follow through with this."
Tuesday's meeting was the first between the authority and the consortium. The authority met Monday with Spain's public works minister, who said the consortium wanted to work out the dispute within the terms of its contract with the canal administrator.
The claimed cost overrun is roughly half of Grupo Unidos por el Canal's original US$3.2 billion bid to build a third set of locks. Each side has said the other is responsible for the added costs. The canal authority claimed the business consortium was unjustly trying to force it to pay by threatening to halt work.
Panama has estimated the full expansion programme will cost US$5.2 billion, with the new, wider locks allowing the 50-mile (80-kilometre) canal to handle ships far larger than those that can now navigate the century-old waterway.
Officials have most recently said the work should be finished by June 2015. Officials say the overall expansion work is 72 per cent finished, with the locks themselves at 65 per cent.
Source-AP
Former TCI Premier, Michael Misick, Charged In The TCI
Former TCI Premier, Michael Misick, was charged with conspiracy to bribe and appeared at the Magistrate’s Court in Grand Turk today , Tuesday, 7 January 2013.
Michael Misick’s bail application was initially rejected by the Magistrate, before being accepted on appeal by the Turks and Caicos Supreme Court later this afternoon. As he was unable to meet the bail conditions this evening, he has been remanded in custody in Her Majesty's Prison in Grand Turk. If he meets the bail conditions before Monday, 13 January 2014, he could be released earlier.
Michael Misick was arrested December by 2012 by Brazilian Federal Police acting on a provisional arrest warrant. The TCI Special Investigation and Prosecution Team, who then submitted formal extradition papers in January 2013, sought Misick’s arrest. He arrived in TCI Tuesday, 7 January 2014.
In due course an application will be made to add his case to the Information against his co-accused, who are scheduled to face trial in the Supreme Court from 7 July 2014.
There are 11 other defendants who face plea and direction hearings in the TCI Supreme Court this week on related charges, and who are scheduled to face trial on 7 July 2014.These are: Floyd Basil Hall; McAllister Eugene Hanchell, Lillian Elaine Boyce, Jeffrey Cristoval Hall, Clayton Stanfield Greene, Thomas Chalmers Misick, Lisa Michelle Hall, Melbourne Arthur Wilson, Quinton Albert Hall, Earlson McDonald Robinson & Norman Saunders Jnr.
Further, co-charged developer Richard Michael Padgett has already pled guilty to bribery and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and will be sentenced on 31st March 2014.
PREMIER EWING WELCOMES THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MISICK
Following rumors and speculations of Misick’s return, current Premier Dr. Rufus Ewing in a release to RTC news confirmed the arrival of Michael Eugene Misick today which states:
“The Office of the Premier can confirm that Former Premier, Michael Eugene Misick has arrived in the Turks and Caicos Islands, following extradition from Brazil as requested by the UK Government and the Special Investigation & Prosecutions Team (SIPT).”
The Premier, Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, was officially informed on Monday morning by H. E. Governor Peter Beckingham, of the impending arrival of the Former Premier, and upon receiving confirmation of Misick’s arrival earlier today, Premier Ewing had this to say, “I welcome the return of Premier Misick to the Turks and Caicos Islands, the home that he loves, and to his family and friends, who have all been praying for his safe return.
Premier Misick will be processed and I trust that through the will of God, fairness and justice will prevail and the Rule of Law will be executed in a manner that is fair, respectful and transparent as it upholds his basic Human Rights.”
The Premier was met by an overwhelming amount of supporters, on-lookers and well-wishers today as he entered the Magistrate Court following his arrival.
Extradited Michael Misick arrives in Turks and Caicos Islands
The Governor’s Office of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) confirms the arrival of Premier Michael Misick at the JAGS McCartney International Airport, in the capital Grand Turk, this morning, Tuesday, 7 January 2014.
“The UK Government welcomes the arrival of former Premier Michael Misick in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to face a number of serious charges relating to corruption and maladministration during his time in office. They are most grateful to the Brazilian authorities for their swift handling of TCI’s extradition request.
“It is important for the people of TCI, a UK Overseas Territory, that the rule of law is respected and due process is followed. It will now be down to the TCI Courts to consider Michael Misick’s case as well as that of 14 others charged with similar offenses.”
In 2008-2009 Sir Robin Auld led a Commission of Inquiry, which found there was “a high probability of systemic corruption in government and the legislature and among public officers in the Turks & Caicos Islands”.
In the wake of this Inquiry, UK Ministers instructed then Governor Gordon Wetherill to suspend parts of the Constitution that led to the setting up of an Interim Administration.
In 2010 a Special Investigation and Prosecution Team was set up to look into the corruption allegations. It comprised of up to 33 ex-UK police investigators and prosecutors, at its height, working along the TCI authorities.
Over the next three years, many reforms took place to stabilize finances, improving the public sector and the economy.
Elections were then held in 2012 to return TCI to elected government rule. The UK continues to support the TCI, including a loan guarantee of up to US$260million and technical assistance for reform programs.
Currently, 14 people have been charged, 10 of whom are in Court this week for a Plea and Directions Hearing with full trial planned for July 2014.
Once former Premier Michael Misick was implicated in the investigations, he fled but was subsequently arrested in Brazil last December under an Interpol provisional arrest warrant. TCI sought the extradition from Brazil and this has now been granted.