Email probe starts in Trinidad
A team of six police officers have been appointed to investigate purported emails, the contents of which, were read out in Parliament on Monday by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley during his no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her Government.
This was revealed yesterday by Deputy Commissioner of Police Mervyn Richardson who confirmed that copies of the alleged emails were handed over to him by PM Persad-Bissessar.
The emails, described as bogus by members of the Government during debate on the no-confidence motion, contain conversations allegedly between Persad-Bissessar and senior members of her Cabinet, about the Section 34 issue.
“The investigation is in full flight and a team has been assembled,” Richardson said. “They are working as we speak.” Richardson said the team is comprised of officers pulled from various arms of the Police Service including the Fraud Squad and Cyber Crimes Unit.
Asked whether it would have been more prudent, in the interest if transparency, to secure the services of international investigators, DCP Richardson said he is confident the integrity of the investigation will not be compromised.
“My gut feeling and I speak here as a career police officer, is that we here in Trinidad and Tobago are the best persons to police Trinidad and Tobago! That is manifested by what is happening now. We have been having good results,” Richardson said. Richardson said it was too early to determine whether the Cyber Crimes Unit would be incapable of conducting an investigation.
Not wanting to give a time frame for completion of the investigation, Richardson said he is nevertheless hoping it could be wrapped up, in the shortest possible time.” He said no one has been interviewed and no electronic items seized by police, for analysis, from those implicated in the alleged email ring.
Asked if Rowley could be charged for failing to report to police evidence of a potential crime, in that by his own admission in Parliament, Rowley said he had these emails — one of which allegedly carried threats on the life of a reporter — for six months, Richardson said: “You’re asking me to assume the role of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).”
“To say that Dr Rowley may be charged for an offence of failing to report...I will not be doing that. The investigation will reveal these things in the fullness of time.
Whether Dr Rowley has committed a breach of the common law or the law or whatever, I can’t say. That is not for me to say. I would seek advice as we go along in this matter,” the senior officer said.
Source-Newsday
Assault on Qusair Intensifies Ahead of Hezbollah Speech
Syrian anti-government activists say Syrian troops have launched the heaviest barrage of gunfire yet in a week-long battle to re-take the strategic town of Qusair from rebel fighters.
The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday that the barrage of shelling and rocket fire on the main roads of town is at its most intense since the offensive began last Sunday.
The rebels are fighting to hold Qusair as a means of protecting their supply lines to Lebanon.
Saturday's assault on Qusair by Syrian forces and fighters from Lebanon-based Hezbollah comes ahead of a key speech later in the day by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. The speech marks the anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. The anniversary is marked each year as a major military victory.
On Friday, Russia said the Syrian government has agreed in principle to attend a proposed international conference on ending the civil war and setting up a transitional government.
But a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday it is not possible to set a date yet because it is not clear yet who will speak for the Syrian opposition.
Russia and the United States have proposed opening the peace conference next month in Geneva. A senior U.S. State Department official confirmed to VOA that Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet Monday in Paris on the latest plans for the talks.
More than 80,000 people have been killed and several million displaced since the start of the rebellion against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad more than two years ago.
The State Department says involvement in Syria by Lebanese-based Hezbollah militants risks dragging Lebanon into a foreign war. Fighting this past week between backers and opponents of the Assad government killed 23 people in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli.
France begins first stage of Mali military withdrawal
France has begun the first major stage of its military withdrawal from Mali, four months after sending troops to push Islamist rebels out the north.
A convoy of lorries left a French base outside the capital, Bamako, on its way south to Ivory Coast.
France began withdrawing some of its 4,000 troops from the country in April.
They plan to gradually hand over to the Malian army and a UN peacekeeping force, which will deploy in July ahead of planned nationwide elections.
Saturday's withdrawal comes just two days after Islamist rebels targeted an army barracks and French-run uranium mine in neighbouring Niger, killing 21 people. French special forces helped Nigerien soldiers end a hostage siege at the barracks on Friday.
It is not known if the attacks will affect French troop deployments.
'Surplus to requirements'
The French intervention in Mali in January was prompted by Islamist rebels' increasing control of the north and their advance further south towards Bamako.
The militants had taken advantage of weak central government after a coup in March 2012 and the inability of Malian forces to secure territory. Major towns such as Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu fell, and a strict form of Islamic law was imposed.Within weeks of launching their offensive, French and Malian soldiers, backed by fighter jets and helicopters, forced the rebels out of urban areas. However, some fighters retreated to hideouts in the mountains and desert, from where they have launched isolated attacks.
The BBC's Alex Duval Smith in Bamako says the French intervention has been immensely popular, and most Malians have dreaded the beginning of the withdrawal.
The convoy leaving Bamako for Abidjan is impressive in its size, but the French insist it is simply carrying equipment and vehicles that are surplus to requirements, our correspondent adds.
Tanks and most heavy patrol vehicles will remain in northern Mali for now.
France still has 3,800 troops in its former colony. It says their number will be down to 2,000 by September and 1,000 by the end of the year.
The United Nations' Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma) is to be composed of 11,200 soldiers and 1,440 police officers. The force says it will be deployed to help establish stability and to rebuild the Malian armed forces.
Last week, more than $4bn (£2.6bn) was pledged at an international donor conference in Brussels to fund the Malian government's plan for a "total relaunch of the country".
It includes rebuilding government institutions, repairing damaged infrastructure, organising presidential elections, holding dialogue with rebel groups in the north and stimulating the economy.
Source-BBC
Sweden riots spread beyond Stockholm despite extra police
There has been a sixth night of rioting in Sweden's capital, Stockholm, despite police reinforcements being deployed.
Cars were set alight in poor suburbs inhabited largely by immigrants, although the unrest was reportedly not as serious as on previous nights.
The rioting also spread outside the capital for the first time on Friday, with youths torching vehicles and buildings in two towns.
The US and UK meanwhile warned their citizens to avoid affected areas.
The UK Foreign Office advised people to stay away from large gatherings in the Stockholm suburbs of Husby, Hagsatra, Ragsved, Skogas, and to take care and monitor local reports.
The riots began on Sunday in Husby, a deprived, predominantly immigrant area in the north-west of the capital.
It is believed they were sparked by the death of an elderly man nearly a week before, who was shot by police after he allegedly threatened to kill them with a machete.
On Friday, Stockholm's police force was reinforced by specially trained officers from the cities of Gothenburg and Malmo, both of which have seen rioting in recent years.
Parents and community leaders also toured the streets to reason with trouble-makers, and Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt held an emergency meeting.
Source-BBC
11 Dead in Philippines Clash
Authorities in the southern Philippines say at least 11 people have been killed in a clash between government troops and a Muslim militant gang.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan said seven Philippine marines and at least four members of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group died early Saturday in a firefight on the outskirts of Patikul town on the island of Jolo.
Tutaan said at least nine other marines were wounded in the close-quarters fight.
Abu Sayyaf, long active in the southern Philippines, first appeared in the 1990s and is listed as a terrorist organization by Washington and Manila. It is accused of carrying out some of the worst terrorist attacks in recent Philippine history.
The group, which uses kidnappings and extortion to raise money, claimed responsibility for the 2004 bombing of a ferry near Manila Bay that killed more than 100 people. The group is thought to have fewer than 400 members.
17 Dead in Pakistan School Bus Accidental Blast
An explosion on a school bus in eastern Pakistan Saturday has killed 16 children and one teacher.
A police officer in the city of Gujrat said the 17 victims burned to death when their bus caught fire in the blast. He said several other children were injured and hospitalized.
Earlier reports had said all the victims were children. They were en route to school when the accident took place.
The bus was powered by both natural gas and petroleum. Local police say the fire was caused by a spark from a short-circuit when the driver switched from one type of fuel to the other.
Gujrat is about 200 kilometers southeast of the capital, Islamabad.
Arizona Sheriff Ruled to Unfairly Target Latinos
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that an Arizona sheriff known for his tough policies has been singling out Latinos in immigration patrols and traffic stops.
U.S. District Judge Murray Snow ruled Friday in Phoenix that Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio and his officers unfairly targeted Latino drivers when pulling people over for traffic stops and identity checks.
A controversial Arizona law allows law enforcement officers to randomly stop people and check their immigration status.
Snow said Arpaio was using racial profiling to make law enforcement decisions. He said the evidence demonstrates that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office specifically equated being a Hispanic or Mexican day laborer, as opposed to a Caucasian or African American, with being an unauthorized alien.
The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought last year by a group of Latino drivers who accused Arpaio's officers of using race to decide which motorists to stop. The lawsuit sought no damages, just corrective action.
The American Civil Liberties Union has praised the ruling. Latino civil rights organizations also praised the ruling and said they looked forward to seeing reforms implemented in the sheriff's office. Arpaio, who won re-election in November, has not commented but is expected to appeal.
Arizona lies on the U.S. border with Mexico and is often at the center of discussions on immigration policy.
May 27, TCI Celebrates National Heroes Day 2013
National Heroes Day will be celebrated throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands on Monday, May 27, 2013.
The Department of Culture, in collaboration with the Honors and Awards Committee, will mark the day with a Wreath Laying Ceremony in honor of the Late, Hon. J.A.G.S. McCartney, the first Chief Minister and National Hero of these islands.
The ceremony will take place at the J.A.G.S. McCartney Memorial Site in Grand Turk beginning at 8:30am.
His Excellency Governor Ric Todd, Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing and Leader of the Opposition Mrs. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, are among those expected to attend and bring greetings.
The Culture Department has issued an invitation to all members of the community to attend the ceremony. All guests are to be seated by 9:00am.
Turks & Caicos Reservations partners with Prime Sports Medicine to Develop Medical Tourism
Turks and Caicos Reservations – a locally based vacation booking service, focused exclusively on the Turks & Caicos Islands, today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Prime Sports Medicine (PSM) to bring more patients seeking overseas surgery to the Turks and Caicos. The partnership will make travel planning to the destination a simple and informative process, opening the door to the high quality, affordable treatments and procedures available from PSM, which are often priced at less than a third of the same procedures in the US.
Here’s Damen Bovie with more on this medical partnership.
Damen Bovie: Having booked thousands of vacations to the destination over the past four years, locally-based Turks and Caicos Reservations is now helping the world-renowned sun, sand and sea destination expand into this new market segment, which the World Travel and Tourism Council estimates has grown to be a $6 trillion business annually.
"We’re thrilled to leverage our years of experience booking vacations to the Turks and Caicos Islands for patients looking for high-quality treatments in a tropical paradise. Whether travelers are looking for a small inn, full-service beachfront resort, or luxury villa experience for their pre- or post-surgical care, we'll have them covered, and can offer appropriately-based rejuvenation package options as well," said Val Kallie-cha-ran, founder of Turks & Caicos Reservations.
The island-based partnership makes planning and having an overseas surgery in Turks and Caicos a very attractive and accessible alternative, particularly to Canadians who sometimes face long wait times for their surgery, as well as patients in the US where procedures can be very expensive.
Dr. Joe LeMoine of Prime Sports Medicine remarked “we’re pleased to be able to offer patients wanting to come to Turks and Caicos for major and minor ar-thro-scopicsurgery of the knee and shoulder, to have the ability to engage with local health travel specialists that can give them first-hand information and book accommodations for themselves and their support group, as well as soft - activities they can enjoy while on the island.
The Turks and Caicos Reservations team offers a first class service, the agents are extremely professional and are 100% dedicated to customer service -- all the qualities we pride ourselves on; so it was without hesitation that we wanted to work with their team," he said.
This is Damen Bovie for RTC News.
OPPOSITION OBJECTS TO GRANT OF BEACH ACCESS TO PRIVATE ENTITY
The leader of the opposition, Hon Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, has responded to a response to a question tabled by the Opposition at a recent House of Assembly Meeting, where the Premier informed the people of these Islands that an application had in fact been received for the grant of another beach access on the Grace Bay strip.
Hon Robinson in a press release to RTC News today, said a visit to the area was made by herself and Hons. Goldray Ewing and Delroy Williams in an attempt to better understand the matter at hand with regards to access to the beach on that Strip. She said they were also able to visit a paved area which they were informed was improved, allegedly without Planning’s Permission and which may be offered as an alternative access to the beach. They however noted with concern that the area dwindled into a foot path.
Mrs. Robinson said last week, the Official Opposition, wrote to the relevant TCIG authorities, including the Department of Planning, the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs and the Office of the Premier, to state their objection to the grant of the Beach Access located between the Verandah and Beaches to a private entity.
“The Opposition believes that no beaches are private, but also that it is not in the best interest of our people to grant another beach access to another private entity. We have recommended in the same correspondence that titles to beach accesses should be vested in the National Trust for the enjoyment of and also the protection of these areas for current and future generations,” Hon Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson said.
She said the opportunity was also used to interact with and hear some of the concerns of the straw vendors in the area and that the opposition will be making representations on their behalf.