Fire Aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
More than 2,200 passengers were to be flown from The Bahamas back to Baltimore after a fire broke out aboard a Royal Caribbean ship on Monday.
The fire did enough damage that the rest of the cruise was cancelled the company said.
The fire that began at 2:50 a.m. was extinguished about two hours later with no injuries reported. A cause wasn't immediately known.
The Grandeur of the Seas, which left Baltimore on Friday, never lost power and was able to sail into port in Freeport, Bahamas, Monday afternoon. It had been planned to be a seven-night cruise.
Royal Caribbean said on its website and through social media that executives met with passengers in port and that the cruise line was arranging flights for all 2,224 guests on Tuesday. It said passengers will receive a full refund of their fare and a certificate for a future cruise.
Aboard ship early Monday, the captain announced that passengers needed to go to their muster stations.
Passenger Mark J. Ormesher, a native of England, who lives in Manassas, Virginia, said he and his girlfriend smelled acrid smoke as they went to their muster station, the ship's casino. The crew quickly provided instruction.
Passengers calm
"This encouraged calm among the passengers," Ormesher said. Passengers were required to remain at their stations for four hours, he said, and the captain "provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe."
Ormesher, who is 25 and on his first cruise, said the air conditioner had been shut off, and as the hours passed and the ship got hot, bottled water was distributed. The crew and passengers remained calm, and helped those who needed it.
In Freeport, Bahamas, passenger Andrea Sanders of Washington DC, said she slept on the deck with hundreds of other passengers as smoke billowed out of the stern of the ship. "I was terrified with it being my first cruise," Sanders told The Freeport News as she ate lunch in port.
Royal Caribbean said all guests and 796 crew were safe and accounted for. Spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in an email that the company was arranging 11 different charter flights for passengers. Photos show a substantial area of the stern burned on several decks of the ship, the length of about three football fields.
The company in a statement on its website said it is "deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests' vacation. We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation."
Carnival Corp also had trouble with fire aboard one of its ships earlier this year.
The 900-foot Triumph was disabled during a February cruise by an engine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving thousands of passengers to endure cold food, unsanitary conditions and power outages while the ship was towed to Mobile, Alabama. It remained there for repairs until early May when it headed back to sea under its own power .
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet that it will join the United States Coast Guard in investigating the fire on the Grandeur.
Martinez said in a news release that a cruise aboard the Grandeur of the Seas set for May 31 has been cancelled so the ship can be repaired.
Source- AP
Cayman Islands gets new premier
The Governor of Cayman Islands has officially appointed People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) leader Alden McLaughlin as the territory’s new premier.
Following last Wednesday’s general elections, which gave the opposition PPM nine out of the 18 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly, one short of an absolute majority, McLaughlin made former short-term premier Juliana O'Connor-Connolly speaker of the Assembly, giving him the necessary majority that he needed to form a government.
Governor Duncan Taylor announced on Tuesday that O'Connor-Connolly had agreed to join the PPM, thus negating a potential constitutional objection as to whether the PPM commanded a clear parliamentary majority.
“I was today informed that the Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, MLA, JP has joined the People’s Progressive Movement. This, in effect, gives the PPM a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly,” said Taylor. “I subsequently received a recommendation from all the elected members of that party as to who they would wish to be appointed Premier.”
He said that in line with their recommendation, and under Section 49(2) of the Constitution, he had appointed McLaughlin as premier of the Cayman Islands.
“I would like to congratulate the new premier on his appointment,” the governor added.
McLaughlin was scheduled to hold a press conference later on Tuesday to reveal the make-up of his Cabinet.
In the meantime, his parliamentary position was further strengthened on Tuesday with the acceptance of a Cabinet post by independent member Tara Rivers, who broke the stranglehold enjoyed by former premier McKeeva Bush on his district of West Bay.
The political status quo in the Cayman Islands was shaken up at the end of last year with the arrest of then premier Bush on suspicion of fraud and corruption. He has since been formally charged with two counts of misconduct in public office, four counts of breach of trust by a member of the Legislative Assembly, and five counts of theft.
One week after his arrest on December 11, 2012, Bush was ousted from office when Cayman Islands lawmakers passed a vote of no confidence in him, which led to a split of the UDP and a subsequent minority government in the territory.
Just one member of the breakaway faction of the UDP that voted against Bush in the vote of no-confidence, O’Connor Connolly, was able to retain her seat in last week’s election.
CARICOM and US sign trade and investment framework agreement
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the United States signed a trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) on Tuesday in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
CARICOM chairman, Michel Martelly, the president of Haiti, and Joseph Biden, the vice president of the United States, signed on behalf of the two sides.
The signing ceremony took place following a meeting between CARICOM heads of government and the US vice president in Port of Spain.
The agreement is expected to drive strengthened trade and investment ties between CARICOM and the United States, as it would serve as a mechanism for the two sides to develop practical strategies on a wide range of trade, investment and economic cooperation issues. This is seen as essential to spurring economic development and diversification of the region, and to contributing to improvement in the well-being of citizens.
The implementation of the agreement will be executed under the mechanism of the CARICOM-US Trade and Investment Council, which will be led by a nominee of the CARICOM chair and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
The TIFA, which is the result of a revision of an agreement signed in 1991, takes account of the multilateral trading environment created by the WTO, as well as changes in the regional environment brought on by the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
An initial action agenda, which is annexed to the agreement, sets out areas for attention, which include matters relating to the WTO; bilateral trade and investment arrangements; cooperation in regional and multilateral areas; support for regional integration; cooperation to promote and respect fundamental labour rights, social protection, and workforce development; and the facilitation of trade and investment opportunities.
In addition, the agreement establishes the framework for the discussion of issues to address the digital divide through the promotion of innovation and the dissemination of technology for increasing competitiveness, job creation, economic development and trade, as well as for discussing US trade and investment-related legislation which have extra-territorial impact. Specific examples of legislation in this regard are the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and the New US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
There are also other issues of critical importance to CARICOM, particularly with respect to export development, which through engagement with representatives and officials of the United States administration and the Congress, mutually acceptable outcomes would be achieved.
Among the issues of critical and urgent importance to CARICOM are the threat faced by CARICOM exports of rum in the US market and the US/Antigua and Barbuda cross-border gambling services dispute.
In addition, the agreement will allow for monitoring of developments in the context of the US president’s 2013 trade policy agenda.
Signing of the revised TIFA also signalled the formal launch of the revitalized Trade and Investment Council (TIC) which would be essential for CARICOM and the US to engage in the areas mentioned. A first meeting of the United States-CARICOM Trade and Investment Council under the revised TIFA is envisioned before the end of 2013.
Crime down 11 percent in Bahamas, says police chief
Crime in The Bahamas decreased by 11 percent between January 1 and May 27, 2013, compared to the same period in 2012, according to statistics released by Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade on Monday.
There were 4,763 crimes reported during this period last year compared to 4,238 reported this year.
According to Greenslade, violent crimes are down in all categories except attempted rape, armed robbery, which rose by five percent, and attempted robbery, which increased by 33 percent.
Crimes against the person increased by one percent and crimes against the property decreased by 13 percent.
Murders were down by 13 percent; attempted murders were down by 60 percent and rapes decreased by 10 percent.
There were 49 murders recorded this year so far compared to 56 this time last year.
There were four attempted murders to date, compared to 10 this time last year.
Police recorded 37 rapes so far this year and 41 rapes last year this same time.
The number of reported attempted rapes went from one case up to May 27, 2012 to 11 cases during the same time this year.
There were 457 armed robberies so far this year compared to 436 this time last year.
Robbery is down by four percent with 147 reported so far this year compared to 153 in the same period last year.
There were nine attempted robberies this time last year and 12 recorded for the year so far.
Burglary is down 24 percent; housebreaking is down 25 percent; stealing is down three percent; stealing from a vehicle is down 11 percent and stolen vehicle matters are down 16 percent.
Shopbreaking went up eight percent.
Careless
Greenslade said he believed that Bahamians have become careless as a people.
“We have turned away from some of the things that have always worked for us in this country and I fear that we are paying the price now for it,” he said.
“[I say] careless meaning disrespectful; careless meaning treading on the rights of other people.
“In a country where we should be socialized and we should act as decent human beings, we act, I daresay many of us, like animals.
“Anyone that can take a knife, turn to another person’s child and stick it into that person’s body, not just once or twice, but many times over, goes home and sleeps, cannot be like you and I.”
With a rising murder rate, the commissioner said the statistics should not give comfort to anyone.
“It doesn’t give me any comfort, it shouldn’t give them any comfort,” he said.
“There are far too many persons whose homes are broken into every day.”
He noted that there are too many crimes being committed in the country.
Courtesy of Travis Cartwright-Carroll of Nassau Guardian
Boko Haram Chief Says Nigerian Offensive Failing
The leader of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram says his forces are beating back a military offensive aimed at stopping the group's four-year insurgency.
In a video released to news agencies, Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau says Nigerian soldiers encountering militants have run away and thrown down their arms in flight.
Shekau called on like-minded Islamists in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria to join the fight to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.
The video shows the militant leader dressed in camouflage with an AK-47 rifle beside him. The comments are his first since the start of the military's offensive against Boko Haram on May 15.
Thousands of troops have been deployed to three northeastern Nigerian states where President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency.
The military says it has captured more than 100 Boko Haram militants, killed others, and destroyed many of the militant group's camps. However, the claims are impossible to verify because of blocked roads and the fact that phone lines in the region are not working.
Boko Haram launched its insurgency against the government in 2009. Boko Haram related violence, including deaths by Nigerian security forces, has killed more than 3,000 people.
US Drone Strike Kills Top Pakistani Taliban Commander
Pakistani officials say a suspected U.S. drone strike has killed the number two commander of the Pakistani Taliban, in what would be a major blow to the militant group.
Officials say Waliur Rehman was among at least six people killed Wednesday by the strike in the lawless North Waziristan region of northwestern Pakistan.
Security sources say an unmanned aircraft launched missiles into a house in a village near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. The area along the Afghan border is a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants.
Taliban sources denied reports that Rehman was hurt in the strike.
The U.S. government had offered up to a $5 million reward for information leading to Rehman's location, while Pakistan's government had a $500,000 bounty on him.
Pakistan expressed concerns about the attack, saying such strikes are counter-productive, kill innocent civilians and violate national sovereignty.
This is the first drone strike since Pakistan's May 11th general election, in which the use of the unmanned aircraft was a controversial topic.
Incoming Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called the drone strikes a challenge to his country's sovereignty.
U.S. President Barack Obama indicated last week he is scaling back the drone strike program.
Hurricane Warning Issued for Mexico's Pacific Coast
A hurricane warning has been issued for a portion of Mexico's coast as Tropical Storm Barbara nears hurricane strength in the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm is expected to become a hurricane before it reaches land.
Barbara's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 100 kilometers per hour. It is centered about 115 kilometers south of Salina Cruz, Mexico, and is moving northeast at about 13 kilometers per hour.
The hurricane warning covers an area in the Gulf of Tehuantepec from Puerto Angel to Barra de Tonala.
The storm, which would become the first hurricane of the year, is forecast to bring heavy rains and a storm surge of more than one meter.
National Heroes’ Day 2013 Message Delivered By H.E Governor, Ric todd
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends. Just over 33 years ago JAGS McCartney died. I was student when he died. Many here were not born in May 1980. If he were here now he would not be a particularly old man, not yet 70. This reminds us just how young he was when he died and how much he did in his short life.
“The memory and inspiration of his life and work are still with us. Strongly with us. This should inspire us as we think about our theme - acknowledge the past; build the present; celebrate a fantastic future.
“We are here today to honour his memory and to celebrate National Hero’s Day. We do him neither injustice nor disrespect when we say that he was at times controversial in his life. Not everyone agreed with him. My understanding is that he did not mind that.
“Today is an occasion to stop and think. To step back from daily life. To step back from the political discussions and sometimes strife that we have. We should not think about the latest media storms. Rather we should ask ourselves what legacy do we want to continue from the life and work of JAGS McCartney.
“JAGS McCartney held important office on TCI. But it was not this that made him so influential. What made him influential was that he inspired and drove and led thought. He was open to ideas. The things he did and experienced developed those ideas. He thought and he made people think. He followed Winston Churchill’s advice: ‘Give up your safe anchor and set sail on the troubled seas of thought’.
“We could honour his memory by thinking about TCI, past, present and future. How did we get to where we are today? We are where we are a result of decisions made; actions taken; actions not taken. The choice made and the choice not made. Doing nothing is a choice. TCI should seek to understand, acknowledge and think about the past. For if a country does not honestly acknowledge its past it cannot build it present on firm foundations nor set its path for the future.
“Speakers have highlighted the need for national unity. This requires thought too. What sort of country is TCI? What are the values of the people of TCI? What do the people of TCI want this country to be? What sort of Government do the people of TCI want? In dealing with these questions TCI should set sail confidently on the troubled seas of thought.
“TCI is blessed by nature and with its people. And the future for TCI will be what the people of TCI choose it to be. In suggesting that National Hero’s Day is a day for thought I also leave you with the words of another hero, from a different country. Karol Wojtyla - Pope John Paul II. ‘Do not be afraid’, he said. People of the TCI, do not be afraid.”
Premier of the TCI, Hon. Rufus Ewing National Heroes Day Message 2013
Fellow countrymen, once again, we gather here today, at the National Heroes Memorial of the Hon. James Alexander George Smith McCartney. Along with my family, permit me to lead in our celebration of this year's National Heroes Day. Each year, we gather to remember also the greatness of all Turks and Caicos Islanders who through their sweat, blood and very lives have also lead us forward by attaining the liberty we as a people today enjoy.
But today is not solely for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice of life for democracy. Today we also commemorate those who are still with us, having faithfully served our flag, whether recognized or not by history, and have continued to do so with dignity and patriotism for the sake of this and future generations. We celebrate together, as we have done over the last 30 years, with national pride, overflowing joy and the unity of purpose.
We venerate our hero and those who have made significant contributions and yet to be recognized, because they are the exemplars of love and devotion to our beautiful by nature islands. May we learn from them how to overcome the obstacles to a better future. My people, many a struggle lies before us and our work to build this nation has only just begun. Let us never hesitate to stand up and overcome ingrained practices that inhibit progress. Let us together aspire to a prosperous life, and be resolute in our purpose until this dream is realized for all Turks and Caicos Islanders. Let us remember that it is our duty as citizens to contribute, in whatever way we can, to achieve the attainment of the common goals of nationhood through economic prosperity and social reform. My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, our current time calls for our cooperation and selfless service to our fellowmen without expecting anything in return but the rewards of a rich legacy for our children and thier children. In the coming year the National Honours and Awards Committee will enable the recognition of Turks and Caicos Islanders who have distinguished themselves by selfless contribution and dedication to the development of this country, bestowing upon them Our National Honours
I rise on this platform, on this day, not only in the recognition of our past but also to pledge my commitment to you my people, to build this nation, to launch a campaign of nationhood, a campaign to protect our culture and promote national pride for our country, our symbols and our people. There are many nations and many cultures living in the Turks and Caicos Islands. While we welcome and embrace all, we must not permit our culture and our symbols to be overshadowed by any other culture. Those of you who came to live among us in search of a better way of life, or to make this place your home, you too must display your patriotism for this country and love our people and everything Turks and Caicos as you seek to be apart of us. If this country is your future you too must raise our flag and raise our people as we grow this great nation.
Today I am filled with pride as a Turks and Caicos Islander as I witnessed the partiotism displayed by many Turks and Caicos Islanders, who in recognition of the honour of the day, are proudly flying our national colours. Today I declare that this symbol of our people and our nation must not wait until National Heroes Day to be displayed, but that our flag should be flown in front of every Government building, every school and every medical facility as a national symbol. To this end, I have recently tabled a paper to Cabinet to enact a policy making it mandatory for all public buildings, schools and institutions to fly on a daily basis, the flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands as the ultimate symbol our nation's pride.
I call on His Excellency the Governor and the Leader of the Opposition to join with me in building this nation of ours. I extended an invitation to all Turks and Caicos Islanders, in their individual capacities, to the private sector, civil society organizations, non-Governmental organizations, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, the youth and the elderly to join and support this campaign and the enhancement of the sense of nationhood and national pride in all our citizens. In the variant words of Mahatma Gandhi " Be the change that you wish to see....in the Turks and Caicos Islands".
On this occasion, let us all be encouraged to always cherish the virtues of selflessness and service to the nation, that were demonstrated by our hero and those yet to be recognized , a love and vision for our country that was exemplified by JAGS McCartney.
Today we also take this opportunity to honour a woman who has provided selfless service to the Community of the Turks and Caicos Islands and who has been the rock behind our National Hero, Hon. JAGS McCartney, behind every great man there is a great women, and too holds true in the case of Mrs McCartney. The recently established National Honours and Awards Committee under the auspices of the Office of the Premier, hereby honour her with the bestowal of National Honours Award of the Order of Excellence. We also honour her with the establishment of a scholarship in her name in the area of Clothing and Textiles, which is to be administered by the Ministry of Education to be awarded to the best performing student in Clothing and Textiles.
May we as a people continue to serve our beloved country selflessly with dignity and pride and may God bless our Turks and Caicos Islands.
7 Police Officers Killed in Attack in Afghanistan
Afghan officials say suspected Taliban militants have killed seven police officers at a security checkpoint in the southern province of Kandahar.
A spokesman for the Kandahar governor says two men invited by police to eat at the checkpoint picked up weapons after dinner and opened fire.
The two attackers escaped the scene. Police say they were police officers.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the overnight attack.
At least 14 Afghan soldiers and police have been killed this week in militant attacks targeting government security forces.