Attorney General to file lawsuit against Jack Warner
Attorney General, Anand Ramlogan, is planning to take action against former minister Jack Warner for statements made during the recent local government election.
According to a pre-action protocol letter, dated November 12 and filed in the Civil Court Office on Friday, Ramlogan is taking issue with the statement made by Warner concerning properties reportedly owned by the Attorney General.
The pre-action protocol letter, filed by attorney-at-law Kelvin Ramkissoon, said Warner’s words, in their “natural and ordinary meaning”, were understood to mean that, among other things the Attorney General owned properties which represent or were purchased with ill-gotten gains derived from the monetary proceeds of corruption and that Ramlogan used his brother’s name to disguise the true identity of the ownership of the alleged properties and avoid disclosure requirements of the Integrity in Public Life Act.
The pre-action protocol letter said Warner’s statement had caused citizens to think unfavourably of the Attorney General.
“This may have the real potential of such citizens failing to vote for, or to vote against, the political party of which he is a member,” the letter stated adding that Warner’s words had “injured and distressed”, causing Ramlogan to “suffer great pain and anguish”.
The letter noted Warner failed to produce any evidence to substantiate his claims, which were designed to gain a political advantage for himself and his party.
Warner has been given seven days to respond and failure to do so will result in legal proceedings being commenced against him.
This is yet another legal challenge against Warner who has already been sued by Glenn Ramadharsingh, Member of Parliament for Caroni Central, Local Government Minister, Dr. Suruj Rambachan, as well as expelled Independent Liberal Party (ILP) councilor Faaiq Mohammed.
Source-CMC
Legal action against UK, France and Netherlands
Vincentian Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has told Britain’s Observer newspaper he instructed law firm Leigh Day to bring a case against the UK, France and the Netherlands for reparations for slavery. With the backing of the 15 Caricom heads of state, Gonsalves believes the case could be heard in the international court of justice at the Hague.
Historian Prof Bridget Brereton told the T&T Guardian there is a “very compelling moral and legal case for Britain and other countries to pay reparations for slavery and the slave trade,” but noted: “The difficulty will be conceptualising how reparations should be made.” In St Vincent, the reparations committee is seeking the establishment of a development fund as opposed to payments paid to the individual descendents of victims.
“As far as I understand, no one is calling for a single transfer of money,” said Brereton, “they firstly want Britain to make a full apology for the crimes and then a fund for education.
Asked how T&T’s experience of slavery compared to the rest of the Caribbean, Brereton said T&T should be considered separately. Whereas Trinidad had a relatively short experience of plantation slavery—50 years, from 1780 to 1830—Tobago’s was considerably longer, as the island was first established as a Dutch slave colony in the 1600s and recolonised in 1763 by the British.
Whereas the last census in Trinidad showed 38 per cent of the population self-identifying as Afro-Trinidadian, Tobago’s African ancestry is closer to 100 per cent.
Brereton put the case for reparations in human terms as well as fiscal. “In addition to bringing people to the Caribbean against their will, they were enslaved as lifelong slaves and hereditary slaves—the children of an enslaved mother inherited her condition, and of course there were no wages,” she said.
Speaking about the lasting effect, she referred to the “huge legacy of damaging race myths and stereotypes, ideas about colour, shade and blackness that continue to this day. Massive social disadvantages that descendants of slave had to face in the 19th and 20th century.” On the economies of the Caribbean she said: “Slavery promoted skewed economic development. The focus on the export of plantation crops created an imbalanced economy.”
Khafra Kambon of the Emancipation Support Committee told the T&T Guardian the process of setting up a reparations committee in T&T had begun but was not finished. Since the meeting of Caricom heads of state in June, at which it was agreed that all 15 countries would appoint their own reparation committees, there have been two stakeholder meetings involving preliminary discussions, attended by representatives from academic institutions and the government.
Asked what form reparations should come in, Kambon said that was a matter for further down the line. Right now, he says, the “critical thing is that people accept reparations in principle and that we get our society to understand why it is necessary.” Kambon supports the Caricom agreement and, in anticipation of a long court case, he said extensive research was being carried out in all 15 member states into the specific impacts of slavery in each country.
“A lot of people don’t have a proper idea of the loss brought about by slavery,” he said, “not just the the cruelty but the impact on society and human beings. That period reshaped the world in terms of economic power, psychology and in human and material terms. A tremendous amount of research has to be done to make a case. Each country has to research its own experience.”
Asked about the likelihood of securing victory in such a complex historical matter, Kambon pointed to reparations to the Jews of Europe after the Holocaust as a precedent. The creation of the state of Israel was part of the compensation to Jewish Holocaust survivors and victims. Similar states in West Africa, established as homelands for emancipated slaves—Liberia and Sierra Leone—do not, however, receive the funding and global economic partnerships that Israel does.
Asked why Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac had refused to apologise for Britain and France’s roles in the slave trade, Kambon said: “An apology is an admission of guilt which opens the door for payments, so instead they say they deeply regret their state’s involvement but justify it by saying slavery was legal at the time.” He pointed to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams’s support for reparations, saying: “People have a sense of justice.”
Asked whether the case might damage the relationship between T&T and the UK and Europe, he said: “There is something very wrong in a relationship where someone who has done wrong doesn’t want to correct that wrong. It exposes a flaw in the relationship.
“By international law, as long as the effects of the wrong—a crime against humanity—remain, and those who benefited in the past continue to benefit, then there is a legal case.
Source-TCT Guardian
Calypsonians happy with return to Dimanche Gras in TNT
President of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (Tuco) Lutalo Masimba says calypsonians are happy with the return of the Calypso Monarch final to Dimanche Gras. He said that is exactly what they had asked for. The decision was announced by National Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman Allison Demas last week at the launch of Carnival 2014.
Last year, the Calypso Monarch finals took place on the Thursday before Carnival. Masimba said the NCC had been looking for an event for Dimanche Gras night and Tuco had offered the finals of its competition. “We were responding to a vibration from calypsonians and the general calypso-loving public,” he said, adding that the public preferred the final to be staged on Carnival Sunday.
“It is still a Tuco event and it still maintains its integrity,” Masimba said when asked if there would be changes to the format. “Tuco will do what it can in terms of marketing the art form and tents, calypsonians must do their best to market themselves.”
Digicel extends aid to typhoon victims
Habitat for Humanity T&T has announced an extension of Digicel Trinidad Ltd UWI-SPEC text-to-donate programme to send humanitarian assistance to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Subscribers to the Digicel network can continue to send texts to 11910, to deduct $10 from their accounts in favour of Habitat’s sister organisation in the Philippines. HFH Philippines is leading Habitat for Humanity’s international response.
A major fund-raising campaign has been launched on the Web site: www.habitat.org. Habitat Philippines plans to distribute 50,000 home-cleaning kits and 30,000 home-repair kits in the first stage of the emergency. The organisation will also build 10,000 homes as part of its response plan.
Portland fishermen land rare 900-pound sunfish in Jamaica
After battling a huge fish for more than one and a half hours, two Portland fishermen landed the catch of their life and brought ashore a monster-sized sunfish, which is probably unknown to Jamaica’s waters.
The sunfish, which is being seen by some local fishermen for the first time, is without scales and weighed about 900 pounds. It was caught off the coast of Boston Bay in the parish, shortly after 10 am today.
"It was a difficult fight," said Desmond Phillips, one of the fishermen who helped in capturing the rare catch. "It was difficult bring the fish to the surface, and even more challenging to get the monster (fish) into the boat. When I realized what it was that we had caught, I said to my partner, Michael Grant, who is the boat captain, maybe we should release it. But Grant insisted that we should take it to shore," he continued.
Shocked by the sight of the usual fish, Phillips remarked: "At first I thought it was an alien and I was somewhat frightened.”
Phillips, who has been fishing for the better part of 10 years, said the size of the fish made it almost impossible for he and his partner to put it into the small canoe they were in. But after nearly an hour, they finally got the monstrous fish inside the canoe.
"After a lengthy period, and with water flooding into the boat, we finally brought it into the boat and set sail for Bryans Bay,” he told The Jamaica Gleaner.
And as news spread about what was initially referred to as “alien fish”, dozens of curious persons including motorists and other passers-by, converged along the beach at Bryans Bay to view the large fish, which by then was tied to a tree.
Source-Go-Jamaica
Brazil says Amazon deforestation rose 28% in a year
Brazil says the rate of deforestation in the Amazon increased by 28% between August 2012 and last July, after years of decline.
The government is working to reverse this "crime", Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said.
Activists have blamed the increase in destruction on a controversial reform to Brazil's forest protection law.
Last year Brazil reported the lowest rate of deforestation in the Amazon since monitoring began.
The provisional statistics from August 2012 to last July suggest that the area suffering deforestation was 5,843 sq km (2,255 sq miles), compared to 4,571 sq km (1,765 sq miles) in the previous 12 months.
The 28% rise interrupts a period of declining deforestation which began in 2009. However, it still remains the second lowest annual figure for forest loss in absolute terms.
The worst year on record was 2004, when 27,000 sq km of forest was destroyed.
Monthly data from several scientific institutions had suggested the deforestation rate might be on the rise.
Brazil banker Henrique Pizzolato flees to escape jail
An ex-director of the Brazilian state-run bank Banco do Brasil who has been convicted in a major corruption trial has fled the country to avoid jail.
Henrique Pizzolato, who also has an Italian passport, said in a letter he had fled to seek a fair trial in Italy.
On Friday the Brazilian Supreme Court issued 12 arrest warrants in connection with the case.
Eleven defendants have surrendered, including the chief of staff of ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Last year, the Supreme Court convicted 25 politicians, businessmen and bankers over the "Mensalao" (big monthly allowance) case.
The scheme that used public funds to pay coalition parties for political support during the government of President Lula came to light in 2005.
President Lula was not implicated in the case.
The first sentences were only handed down at the end of 2012.
Nearly a year later, on Friday, the Supreme Court issued the first 12 arrest warrants.
Pizzolato, an ex-marketing director of Banco do Brasil, was the only one who did not turn himself in.
He was sentenced to more than 12 years in jail for money laundering, embezzlement and active corruption.
His lawyer released a letter from Pizzolato and said he hoped to get another trial, free of media pressure in Italy..
JP Morgan agrees to $4.5bn mortgage settlement
US investment bank JP Morgan has agreed to pay $4.5bn (£2.8bn) to investors who lost money on mortgage-related securities during the financial crisis.
The settlement is with 21 major institutional investors.
Mortgage-related investments were a major factor in the crisis, which began in 2007 with the collapse of the US housing market.
Last month JP Morgan agreed a separate, preliminary $13bn deal with the US government over mortgage securities.
As part of that deal $5.1bn would go to settle charges that the bank misled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the housing boom. That settlement was the biggest ever by a US bank.
Now, 21 institutional investors that put money into more than 300 residential mortgage-backed securities are to be reimbursed by the bank.
The securities in question were issued between 2005 and 2008 by JP Morgan and Bear Stearns - a bank which it took over during the financial crisis.
"This settlement is another important step in JP Morgan's efforts to resolve legacy related... matters" stemming from mortgage-related securities, JP Morgan spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli said in a statement on Friday.
Friday's deal still has to be accepted by trustees for the trusts that hold the securities.
A final settlement with the US Justice Department is expected to be announced soon.
Mortgage-backed securities were sophisticated financial products created by many investment banks in the run-up to the financial crisis.
These special bonds contained a mix of investments but at their heart were supposed to be risk-free home loans.
When the housing bubble burst, the value of these assets fell sharply and the credit markets seized up. The balance sheets of many US and European banks, including those in the UK, became toxic and they had to be bailed out by their governments.
What JP Morgan is alleged to have done was sell the mortgage-backed assets knowing full well that many of the home loans were in fact very risky.
Boeing leads order books race in Dubai
Airlines in the Gulf have placed a number of high-value plane orders on the first day of the Dubai Air Show, with US giant Boeing a major winner.
Dubai-based Emirates airline placed an order for 150 of Boeing's new 777 mini-jumbos, in a $76bn (£47bn) deal.
Other orders from Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Lufthansa for some 109 of the new 777, previously codenamed 777X, brought its sales total to $95bn.
Emirates has also ordered 50 Airbus A380s, in a deal worth $23bn.
The airline is already the biggest customer of the A380 and the new deal will bring its total orders for the plane to 140.
And local rival Etihad Airways has also announced a firm order for 87 Airbus aircraft - some 50 A350 XWBs, 36 A320neo aircraft and one A330-200F as part of its fleet modernisation strategy.
The deal - valued at $19bn - includes options for 30 more planes.
Boeing said its 777 mini-jumbo sales represented "the largest product launch in commercial jetliner history by dollar value".
"The response to the 777X has been astounding," Boeing chairman James McNerney added at the official launch of the new plane in Dubai.
The 777 will come in two models, one seating 350 passengers, and another seating 406 people.
Boeing's new aircraft is designed to compete with the largest version of Airbus's A350 in the mini-jumbo market.
European rival Airbus has launched a campaign for a minimum standard seat width of 18 inches on long trips, as it seeks to draw the focus of airlines to what it says will be the 777's narrower seats.
Meanwhile, Airbus will be looking to sell more of its A380 super-jumbo aircraft, the world's biggest passenger aircraft, which is facing a potential cut in production unless some more orders are secured.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has visited the airshow site, with the UK competing with France for a potential 60-plane fighter jet deal with the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Cameron welcomed the Airbus orders from Emirates and Eithad Airways, as well as the news that Rolls-Royce had won a $5bn order from Etihad Airways to supply Trent XWB engines for the 50 Airbus A350s.
"This is a great day for the British aerospace industry," he said. Earlier, Airbus had said the order from Emirates would protect 2,500 jobs at its UK bases in Flintshire and Bristol.
Government to sell 20% in Air New Zealand
New Zealand's government is to sell a 20% stake in national carrier Air New Zealand, leaving it with a 53% holding.
Trading in the airline's shares was halted on Monday following the government's announcement.
Based on the last trading price of NZ$1.65 per share, the 20% stake is valued at 363 million New Zealand dollars ($302m; £187m).
The sale will help the government's target of raising NZ$5bn to trim public debt and spend on infrastructure.
The Air New Zealand stake sale is part of a programme of asset sales by New Zealand's government, which has so far raised NZ$3.6bn.
Those funds came from the sale of government stakes in power companies Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power. Another stake sale, in power company Genesis Energy, is scheduled for next year.
As the government will retain a 53% stake in Air New Zealand after the sale, it will still have the power to appoint the majority of the airline's board of directors.
The New Zealand government became a majority shareholder in Air New Zealand in 2002, when it stepped in to save the carrier from collapse.