Syrian Opposition Welcomes US Senator McCain's Visit with Rebels
The Syrian opposition is welcoming what it calls an "extremely significant" visit by influential U.S. Senator John McCain, who made an unannounced trip to meet with rebels inside of Syria.
McCain's aides say he crossed from Turkey into Syria on Monday with rebel Free Syrian Army commander General Salam Idris.
Anas Abdah, a spokesman for the main opposition Syrian National Coalition, explained the importance of the senator's visit given his long-standing calls for greater assistance to the rebels.
"We think this is extremely significant because the senator has always supported the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people and the Syrian revolution since its beginning. He has also fought very hard within his country, in the U.S., for his government to take an active role in supporting the Syrian revolution and also in arming the Free Syrian Army."
Rebel commanders who met with the senator urged the United States to provide them with weapons and ammunition, enforce a no-fly zone against President Bashar al-Assad's air force, and launch strikes against Pro-Assad Lebanese Hezbollah militants in Syria and Lebanon.
The U.S.-based Syrian Emergency Task Force, which supports the Syrian opposition, says it organized McCain's trip, and published several photos showing McCain inside Syria.
The group's executive director said in an interview with CNN that the senator and rebel commanders also discussed ways to "marginalize" extremists that have emerged in Syria, and that the Free Syrian Army assured McCain that any weapons it received would not fall into the wrong hands.
In an interview with U.S. news site The Daily Beast, which first reported the visit, General Idris said McCain met with rebels on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border. Idris said the rebels had come from all over Syria to meet the prominent U.S. lawmaker.
McCain is one of the leading voices in the U.S. Congress calling for increasing U.S. aid to the rebels. His brief visit to Syria makes him one of the most senior U.S. officials to enter the country since the anti-Assad rebellion evolved into a civil war after peaceful protests in March 2011.
The Obama administration has provided non-lethal equipment and humanitarian supplies to the rebels. But it has been reluctant to intervene further, fearing U.S.-supplied weapons could end up in the hands of anti-American Islamist rebels.
Chinese Hackers Steal Australian Spy HQ Blueprints
An Australian broadcaster said Chinese hackers have stolen the blueprints of a new, state-of-the-art spy agency headquarters being built in Canberra.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said the theft was traced to a computer server in China. It says the building plans show detailed information on server locations, security systems and communications cables.
Experts say, if confirmed, the theft will make it easier for Chinese hackers to spy on the activities in the $608 million Australian Security Intelligence Organization building.
The paper, which did not name its sources, says the information was obtained through a cyber attack on a building contractor. It did not say when the alleged attack occurred.
When asked about the report, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the story "inaccurate" and "unsubstantiated," but would not comment further.
"There are a number of unsubstantiated allegations of hacking in the 'Four Corners' report. As the attorney general has stated, neither he or the director-general of ASIO intend to comment further on these inaccurate reports, in accordance with the long-standing practice of both sides of politics not to comment on very specific intelligence matters."
Foreign Minister Bob Carr also said he could not comment on matters of national security. But he insisted the report will have "absolutely no implications" for Australia's cooperation with China, its largest trading partner.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei called ABC's report "groundless," insisting there is no evidence to link China to the alleged attack.
The Greens party, a small but influential group in parliament, has demanded an inquiry into the incident, calling it a "security blunder of epic proportions."
The massive spy headquarters in Canberra is nearing completion, but had already experienced delays and had exceeded its budget in recent months. Some say the alleged security breach could further delay its opening.
Envoy Says Russia Will Send Defense Missiles To Syria
A top Russian diplomat says Moscow will provide Syria advanced air missiles to deter any foreign intervention in the country.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters Tuesday Moscow will send sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft missiles as part of a contract signed several years ago.
Russia criticized the European Union's decision Monday to amend its arms embargo on Syria and allow weapons to be sent to the main opposition Syrian National Coalition, while keeping sanctions against the Syrian government.
Russia said the EU move will hurt efforts to hold a peace conference aimed at ending the country's violence.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed plans to hold such peace talks.
The EU says it will evaluate the state of those proposed talks and consult with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before any actual arms shipments take place. That decision will come before August 1st.
Mali Presidential Vote Set for July 28
Mali will hold a presidential election on July 28, as the West African country tries to recover from its ongoing political crisis.
The poll would be the first since soldiers overthrew President Amadou Toure in March 2012, which allowed Islamist militants to seize control of the north.
French-led forces have driven the militants back but Mali's government faces multiple challenges with the upcoming poll. Fighting in the north has displaced hundreds of thousands of Malians, and Tuareg separatists are now in control of the key northern city of Kidal.
The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday it will support voter registration efforts in camps for Malian refugees in Burkina Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Algeria.
Mali's current leader, interim President Dioncounda Traore, has said that neither he nor any member of his government will run in the presidential poll.
Mali's interim government says campaigning for the election will begin July 7 and end on July 26. If no candidate wins an absolute majority, a run-off vote will take place August 11.
Da'ville arrested for assaulting his wife
Lover rock singer Da'Ville was released from the American Nassau County Fourth Precinct in New York yesterday after allegedly assaulting his wife.
The 35-year-old singer, whose given name is Orville Thomas, was arrested on Thursday and charged.
A man, who gave his name as Sergeant O'Conner at the Nassau County Court, confirmed that the singer attended the 9:00 am session. He is scheduled to return on June 24.
In a telephone interview with the Jamaica Observer, Jae Brown-Thomas — the singer's wife — confirmed the incident. She said calling the police was her last option.
"I am not trying to bash my husband but at the same time, what happened was wrong," she said.
Brown-Thomas, who manages her husband through Fashozy Records, said she has always led a private life as they were always a private couple.
"I still love my husband and I want everyone to know we are going through a rough time," she said.
"I had no choice in action. My husband is a big, tall man," she said. She said they both needed time to resolve it. Da'Ville started his professional career as part of the vocal group ARP. He went solo in 2003.
Three years later, he scored one of his biggest hit with Always on My Mind.
Schoolboy killed over girl
An argument over a girl has left a Form Three student of the Waterloo Secondary School dead after he was stabbed several times by a Form Five student. Renaldo Dixon, 14, of Bagna Trace, Chase Village, Chaguanas, died during emergency treatment at the Freeport Health Centre after he was stabbed three times and his wrist slit by a 16-year-old fellow student. Another student was cut on the neck when he tried to part the fight. The suspect, a Form Five student, who was supposed to be writing the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) history paper, has been detained. Police also recovered the knife used in what they said was a premeditated attack.
According to reports, Dixon and the girl were sitting on a bench around 10 am when the other boy attacked him. Students said the boy was supposed to write the CSEC history paper but did not show up for the exam. Instead he waited at the school until recess. School was dismissed after the incident except for those who were writing exams. But Form Five students who remained behind said the sight of pools of blood along the corridor haunted them while they wrote the exams. “We are not afraid to come back to school but it was traumatising to see how someone so young could lose their life like that,” one student said while leaving the Carapichaima school. He said there had been a stabbing before and the school had been given metal detectors but they had not been used for some time.
Exactly how a boy was able to enter the school with a knife was one of the questions on the mind of Dixon’s traumatised mother, 34-year-old Camille Taitt. “I sent my child to school this morning thinking he was going to come back home but he didn’t come back home. “He said: ‘Mommy, can I get pie to carry to school?’ I took it out and gave it to him. He said: ‘Well, Mommy, later,’ and that was it,” Taitt said while being consoled by a relative. She said the school called after 10 am but by the time she arrived at the health centre he was already dead. Taitt said the fatal blow was dealt to her son’s shoulder, which doctors measured at four centimetres wide. She said she did not know her son’s attacker nor did she know if he had any trouble at school.
However, she said, her son and the girl were close friends. “I know he had a friend but to be honest with you, I don’t know if she was his girlfriend. I met her at school for a parents’ day. We talked and I talked to her mom as well. “If it was that the girl chose Renaldo over him, it will have a problem. I cannot say because he never came home and complained to me.” She said one of her biggest challenges was to let her younger children know of his death. “My children are by my brother. I haven’t told them anything yet, except for the big one. “The other two don’t know. They are seven and three years old. How am I going to tell them their brother is not coming home?” She pleaded with the Government to reinstate corporal punishment in schools and called on parents to take an interest in their children’s lives before someone else is murdered through school violence. “You can’t predict what they are going to do but you can talk to them. I talk to my children every day. You can talk to them, let them know what is right and wrong. “Find out what is going on with them, go to their schools, inquire what is going on with them because something had to lead him to this.”
The Education Ministry’s communications management adviser Alicia Busby said in a release the ministry would be providing counselling for the school’s staff and students as well as Dixon’s parents. She said: “The ministry’s Student Support Services Division has dispatched a team and is co-ordinating counselling for students, teachers and parents.“The Minister of Education, on behalf of the ministry, expresses his sadness and heartfelt condolences to the parents, family, classmates, students, teachers, friends and other loved ones. May God be with them at this time.”
Civil Recovery Team’s cash to date shows a dramatic increase of nineteen and a half million dollars
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Civil Recovery Programme today released a report, indicating that cash recovered or agreed to be paid to date, is to the tune of nineteen, point five million dollars, compared to this period last year.
You will recall that The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Civil Recovery Programme began its work in December of 2009 to regain the assets of the TCI taxpayers that were obtained improperly. An account of this extensive maladministration was detailed at length in Sir Robin Auld's Commission of Inquiry report.
The Law firm Edwards Wildman was appointed after a competitive tender, to work closely with the Attorney General and the TCI Government to pursue these cases.
Today, Mr. Laurence Harris, the deputy managing partner with Edwards Wildman, provided RTC News with an update on the scale of the civil recovery programme. Here he outlines the progress on recoveries and lays out the likely timetable going forward, noting they have now opened 62 case files, an increase on last year's figure of 51.
As RTC’s Damen Bovie reports, the work of the Civil Recovery Programme’s report, covers a wide range of matters, some well-known from the Commission of Inquiry Report; others not identified by the Commission of Inquiry and some which have only come to light since then.
Damen Bovie:- Mr. Harris says these claims cover the recovery of land, damages, or both. He says as well as claims for corruption and fraud, they have claims for breach of contract, for unjust enrichment, for recovery of unpaid Stamp Duty and for other civil causes of action.
"This time last year we had recovered nearly $2.4m in cash and around 900 acres of land. Both of those figures have risen very substantially over the last twelve months. The cash already paid to the Government, or agreed to be paid, has now risen to $19.5m and land recoveries are now 2,508 acres.
"And there is still much to do. Although several claims have concluded, we are awaiting judgments on two significant cases, and several more are still yet to go to trial. We have claims for many millions of dollars in damages and for well over a thousand of acres of land, all still to be heard by the TCI Courts.
"Inevitably we understand that much of the short term focus on the programme is on how much cash has come in, particularly given the difficult financial circumstances the TCI finds itself in. We appreciate that short term cash helps with the immediate issue of balancing the books and we are doing our very best to collect as much as we can. However, the much more valuable long term asset is the land that has been recovered,” Mr. Harris told RTC News
Thedeputy managing partner also told RTC News that this land holds the key to help the Turks and Caicos Islands generate long term revenues, through sharing profits with developers.
“As well as giving the Government an opportunity for a higher degree of ongoing control over how land is used, this approach allows the people of the TCI to share in the long term value of the land. Used this way, the land recovered is worth a very large amount of money - quite possibly over $100m - assuming it is used for long term partnerships. Of course, the job of the civil recovery programme is just to get the land back into the Government's hands - it is for the Government to decide what to do with it. But we hope that the very substantial value that is intrinsic to the land we have recovered, will be understood as bringing real long term opportunity to TCI,” he said.
He also told RTC News that the Civil Recovery Programme remains on course to complete many of its cases by the end of the summer 2013.
Damen Bovie:- Mr. Harris said this year has seen their most intensive period of activity, as many of their cases come to trial. “We have had trials and hearings every month but one so far this year, often more than one a month, and that pace will continue. So far this year we have been involved in seven major hearings or trials since January and after this week, we have four more trials before the end of July. By the time we get to that point we will have completed the majority of our cases - subject of course to any appeals,” he said.
After July, Mr. Harris said they will still have a smaller number of cases which they will be progressing forward and which will probably not reach trial until 2014, unless they settle earlier. “We continue to encourage settlement as a way of bringing matters to an end more quickly, provided the settlement looks to be sensible and appropriate, bearing in mind the size of the claim, and the settlement is consistent with the Government's approach in other cases,” he said.
"We have also been assisting Chambers with non-civil recovery cases for the Government, most notably the Trade Winds claim brought by the owners of the Conch Farm against the Government and the Governor last year. We were delighted that the Court of Appeal agreed with us that the claim should be stayed for arbitration which had been our position all along. We now wait to see whether the Plaintiff decides to bring arbitration proceedings or not. Hopefully they have decided to abandon the claims since those claims are without any legal merit. Certainly so far since the Court of Appeal's decision the Conch Farm owners have not started any arbitration proceedings. If they do so, those proceedings will be very strongly defended,” Mr. Harris added.
"So, in summary:- the civil recovery programme continues to make good progress. We have made a substantial number of recoveries of cash and land; and we expect to make more recoveries over the next few months. Many of our cases will be completed by the end of the summer of this year, whilst a smaller number of cases will continue into next year, as well appeals on the completed cases," said Mr. Harris.
This is Damen Bovie for RTC News.
Cabinet’s meeting for Wednesday 22nd May, 2013
His Excellency Governor Ric Todd chaired the meeting of the Turks and Caicos Islands' (TCI) Cabinet on Wednesday, 22nd May 2013 at the House of Assembly Building on Grand Turk. The Premier and all Ministers were present at the meeting, with the exception of the Deputy Premier who was unwell and sent apologies.
At this meeting Cabinet:
- Discussed the need for a National Protocol Policy. It noted that most governments have in place formal policies and procedures which prescribe the various protocols to be used at official events and when hosting foreign dignitaries, as well as the proper use of the national flag and coat of arms by both government and the private sector. In order to avoid the risk of inconsistency, Cabinet agreed that a comprehensive Protocol Policy and Implementation Handbook should be developed, along with official guidance on the appropriate use of the TCI flag and
coat of arms.
- Heard a presentation from the Turks and Caicos Resort Economic Council (TCREC) on the practice of owners of Condominium Resort properties bypassing resort management companies. TCREC set out that the Condominium Resort model in the TCI is one that provides benefits for TCIG, tourists, owners and the local economy, and that the exclusion of management companies from the letting process could ultimately lead to their withdrawal from such resorts and the resorts changing in status to residences. This in turn would have a negative impact on the economy and TCIG revenues. After discussion Cabinet agreed to invite the TCREC to present to AG Chambers options for amendments to legislation covering the regulation of the letting of Condominium Resort properties. It undertook to consider such draft legislation with a view to passing it to the House of Assembly.
- Discussed a report from the Minister of Finance about the fourth quarter outturn on FY 2012/13. This set out that TCI had achieved a fiscal surplus in 2012/13, which represented significant progress. Cabinet welcomed this and noted that, despite some issues on recurrent revenue, a combination of a small recurrent surplus and a strong non-recurrent surplus meant that $41m was paid into the Sinking Fund at year end. This put TCI in a good fiscal position. Cabinet asked the Finance Minister to publicise the final report on the FY 2012/13.
- Welcomed the information from the Governor that the Secretary of State had approved the FSPS sent to him in April and that formal notice of this would follow in due course.
- Considered the draft budget for 2013/14 presented by the Minister of Finance, which was in line with the FSPS. It agreed the headline figures for revenue and expenditure, both current and capital, proposed in the budget and analysed the draft budget in the light of the Government's priorities. Cabinet noted that there
were a number of challenges and choices. It agreed to have further intensive discussions over the next week about priorities before finalising the budget at the next Cabinet meeting and forwarding it to the House of Assembly.
- Endorsed a proposal from the Minister of Border Control and Labour for a public consultation on a draft Ordinance to replace the 2004 Employment Ordinance.
It also noted an update from the Minister on work being done on a new Immigration Ordinance. The Minster explained to Cabinet that the outline of draft legislation, which would, inter alia, align legislation on TCIslander status with the provisions of the Constitution, was with AG's Chambers. Cabinet invited the AG to make conclusion of this work and presentation to Cabinet of draft legislation an early priority.
- Agreed the nominations by the Minister of Government Support Services for appointments to the 2013 / 2014 Water and Sewerage Board.
- Agreed to the Minister of GSS's proposal to change the title of the Electricity Commissioner to that of Energy and Utilities Commissioner.
- Agreed that beach access points and community parks be registered as National Parks under the National Parks Ordinance, given their importance to the community, and invited the AG to give this legal effect.
- Approved the introduction of licensing fees on the importation, handling and storage of hazardous materials under the Petroleum Ordinance and invited the AG to draft appropriate changes to regulations and, if required, to propose appropriate changes to legislation.
Further information on the issues addressed by Cabinet will be provided by Ministers during a post cabinet press briefing at 2 o’clock this afternoon at the Tourist Board’s conference room in Providenciales.
Meanwhile, Cabinet decided that its next meeting would be on Wednesday 29 May.
Warning for All Boat Operators
Officers of the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force, Marine Division, are reminding boat operators of the inherent dangers of operating their boats if not properly equipped. Recently the Marine Division has seen a marked increase in the number of calls they are receiving to assist or rescue persons. They have been called to assist persons who have run out of gas, or asked to locate persons who get stranded without any communication or respond to persons who have got caught unprepared for a significant weather change.
The Police encourage you to be prepared by ensuring the following:
- ⎫As the vessel operator you must be licensed and you are responsible for the safety of the vessel and of your passengers.
- ⎫Ensure that the engine is working properly before launching.
- ⎫Ensure that you carry some form of communication, either marine radio or mobile phone and that you inform someone of where you are going and when you will return
- ⎫Check that you are carrying all the compulsory safety equipment and you know how to use it.
- ⎫Know exactly where you are going, how to get there and any navigation hazards that you may encounter.
- ⎫Check the weather prior to launching, and constantly monitor sea conditions to assess if it is safe to continue.
Please visit our web site at www.tcipolice.tc or www.facebook.com/RTCIPF for more information.
Today’s bargain, yesterday’s burglary, car crime or robbery
The Royal Turks & Caicos Police are urging people to make the link between buying stolen goods and fuelling further crime, drug abuse and misery in their community. Officers say that the cheap deals on a watch, jewelry or mobile phone that persons may be offered on the street or at their door, has probably been taken through a local burglary, a theft or a robbery.
In some cases, criminals may have used or threatened violence to obtain the items they are offering for sale. Every criminal act leaves a victim, not only losing their valuables, but that person is left distressed and possibly emotionally scarred. Stolen items may have sentimental value and therefore will be sorely missed and irreplaceable.
Police say by refusing to buy goods that you suspect may have been stolen, you can help stem further crime, deprive drug users of cash and thus force them into rehabilitation. Criminals use money made from dealing drugs to live extravagant lifestyles and fund other serious crimes, such as armed robberies. Don’t become part of a crime ring, make the link and break the chain by refusing to buy stolen goods.
People are urged to report criminals selling stolen goods either directly to police on 941-3327 or anonymously through the independent charity Crime-Stoppers on 1-800-8477.
Please visit Crimestoppers website at www.crimestoppers.tc or our web site at www.tcipolice.tc or www.facebook.com/RTCIPF for more information.