Haiti PM has high hopes for Canada aid
Haiti’s Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe has expressed optimism that the Canadian Government will review its decision halt new aid projects in his country.
Lamothe comments came after he held talks with Canada’s International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino yesterday.
In January, Fantino announced that Canada would discontinue new aid projects in Haiti while it conducted a review of the programme.
The announcement came two months after Fantino visited the earthquake-ravaged country and revealed that he was disappointed with the lack of progress.
However, as he emerged from yesterday’s meeting, which was also attended by representatives of various international donor agencies, Prime Minister Lamothe says no formal agreements have been reached.
However, he says he remains hopeful that some decisions will be taken at next month’s donor-coordination conference in Port-au-Prince.
Guatemala judge suspends trial of former military ruler
A judge in Guatemala has suspended the trial of former military ruler Efrain Rios Montt.
He was being tried for a counter-insurgency plan that killed more than 1,700 members of the Ixil indigenous group in 1982.
Judge Carol Patricia Flores said she was following a directive from the country's Supreme Court.
Mr Rios Montt, who ruled Guatemala between 1982-1983, denies the charges.
Judge Flores ordered the legal process to be set back to November 2011, before the retired general was charged with war crimes.
"I am not doing this because I want to, but because it has been ordered by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court," she said.
The 86-year-old has been on trial since March.
He faces charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the killing of 1,771 indigenous Mayans during his 17-month rule in 1982-1983.
Prosecutors said Gen Rios Montt wanted to wipe out the indigenous group, which he suspected of supporting rebel fighters.
The proceedings were expected to last months, with hundreds of witnesses, since the prosecution admits there is no evidence directly linking Mr Rios Montt to the killings.
The former general abandoned politics in 2012, after serving in Congress for a number of years.
He has been under house arrest since his immunity from prosecution was lifted at the end of his term.
Mr Rios Montt is also facing charges over the forced displacement of 29,000 indigenous Guatemalans as part of what human rights groups have called his "scorched earth" policy.
An estimated 200,000 people were killed or went missing during Guatemala's 36-year civil conflict, which ended in 1996.
Mr Rios Montt's 17 months in power are believed to have been one of the most violent periods of the war.
Source-BBC
Argentine football fans assault players after cup exit
Dozens of fans of the Argentine football club Huracan have stormed the club's changing rooms after a training session and assaulted some players.
They also stole players' belongings and damaged their cars outside the stadium in Buenos Aires.
The masked fans carried out the attack after a disappointing result.
Second division Huracan had been knocked out of Copa Argentina by first division opponents Godoy Cruz on penalties on Wednesday.
"We were in the showers after Thursday's training session when the disguised fans stormed the rooms and threatened the players," said coach Jose Maria Llop.
He said some of the players had been beaten.
"When we left the stadium, we found out eight cars had been damaged," he added.
The club's president, Alejandro Nadur, said the fans had come in two buses and entered the stadium.
"What they did would not have been justified, even if we had lost 15-0 to Godoy Cruz," he said.
Extra police on duty for London Marathon
Hundreds of extra police officers will be on duty at the London Marathon later in a bid to reassure runners and spectators after the Boston bombings.
More than 35,000 runners are due to take part in the race, which starts in Blackheath, south-east London.
A 30-second silence will be held at the start line for the three people killed and more than 170 others injured by the bombs at the Boston Marathon on Monday.
The Met Police says 40% more officers will be on duty than last year.
The force said that it had reviewed security plans after the Boston attacks and that the extra officers would be used for "for reassurance patrols".
The marathon route, which is lined by hundreds of thousands of spectators each year, finishes near Buckingham Palace, passing some of London's most recognisable landmarks, including Tower Bridge and Big Ben.
Ch Supt Julia Pendry, who has headed marathon security for five years, has said this year's police operation is "about making sure that people who come to London on Sunday feel safe when they are in the city".
She said more search dogs would be deployed and urged marathon spectators to keep their belongings with them to avoid sparking security alerts.
But she added: "There is no link between the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon and there is no change to the threat level at this time to London."
Mr Bitel said the race organisers were happy with how the build-up to the race had gone.
"In terms of our preparations, it's all gone well, obviously there were some additional security issues following Boston, but that seems to be bedding down and the message of reassurance to runners has been very well received," he said.
He said he was looking forward to "a brilliant day" with a "fantastic looking line-up of stars running the race".
Celebrities taking part include singer Katherine Jenkins, BBC newsreader Sian Williams and former Strictly Come Dancing champion Harry Judd, of pop band McFly.
Source-BBC
China quake kills scores in rural Sichuan
A powerful earthquake has killed at least 160 people and injured at least 5,700 in China's rural south-west, officials say.
The 6.6-magnitude tremor sent people fleeing from buildings across Sichuan province, which was devastated by a massive quake five years ago.
Villages close to the epicentre in Lushan county were left in ruins.
The rescue operation is being hampered by collapsed roads, broken telephone lines and regular aftershocks
Thousands of troops have been sent to Sichuan, and Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in the area.
"The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours since the quake's occurrence, the golden time for saving lives," Mr Li was quoted as saying by Xinhua state news agency.
Rescuers have been able to pull some bodies and survivors from the rubble of devastated villages.
There have been at least 710 aftershocks, further damaging buildings and leaving them dangerous.
Power and water supplies have been knocked out in Lushan county.
The quake struck at 08:02 local time (00:02 GMT) on Saturday, with the China Earthquake Administration categorising it as a 7.0 magnitude, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) reporting it as 6.6.
Its epicentre was 115km (70 miles) west of provincial capital Chengdu, according to the USGS.
A square outside the Lushan county hospital has been turned into a triage centre, with dozens of people being treated in tents.
State broadcaster CCTV showed images of bloodied people being treated in tents.
One injured man told the channel: "We still live in our old house, the new one is not ready yet. Our house just collapsed. Everything collapsed."
The quake was measured at 12km below the surface - a shallow depth that usually indicates extensive damage.
CCTV footage suggested entire villages around the epicentre had been flattened.
Source-BBC
Syria crisis: US steps up aid to rebels at talks in Turkey
US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced a doubling of US aid to Syria's rebels and told a Friends of Syria meeting its members were committed to a peaceful transition.
Mr Kerry told the meeting in Istanbul that the US would provide Syrian rebels $123m (£81m) in new, non-lethal aid.
He said President Barack Obama was committed to a "democratic, unified, post-Assad Syria".
More than 60,000 have died in the two-year uprising against Bashar al-Assad.
'Transitional government'
Mr Kerry also announced that all aid from the 11 countries known as the Friends of Syria would now be channelled through the Turkey-based Free Syrian Army group headed by Gen Salim Idris.
The meeting in Istanbul brought together the foreign ministers of countries opposing the government of President Assad.
Mr Kerry said the meeting had brought significant advances.
He said: "The situation in Syria is horrific. It is horrible." He accused the Assad government of "using ballistic missiles against innocent people" and "using his air force to rain down terror on the people of his country".
Mr Kerry said Mr Obama had instructed him to step up efforts with the opposition and that the Friends of Syria were committed to a "mutually consented transitional government and then an elected new leader".
The rebels have been pushing for military supplies and insisted in Istanbul that any weapons they received would not "fall into the wrong hands".
The US and EU have so far refused to supply the rebels with weapons.
The Western allies are concerned that they may end up in the hands of Islamist extremists inspired by al-Qaeda.
Before the Istanbul talks, the main opposition expressed its frustration with the lack of support, urging allies to act more decisively.
In a statement quoted by the AFP news agency, the Syrian National Coalition said: "It is the moral imperative of the international community, led by the Friends of Syria, to take specific, precise and immediate action to protect Syrian civilians from the use of ballistic missiles and chemical weapons."
It also called for "surgical strikes" on positions it alleged were being used by Syrian government troops to fire missiles.
Both Damascus and the rebels accuse each other of using chemical weapons.
UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon has recently announced an investigation into the allegations, and a team of UN-led experts is now in Cyprus awaiting permission to enter Syria.
Source-BBC
ROOSEVELT SKERRIT CONGRATULATES NICHLOS MADURO
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has offered his personal as well as official congratulations to Venezuela’s newly elected President, Nicolas Maduro on his recent victory at the polls, calling it “well deserved”.
“In many respects, this has brought closure to the process of rejuvenating Venezuela and Venezuelans, following the loss of your late revered leader, President Hugo Chavez,” the prime minister wrote in a letter to Maduro.
Calling Chavez a true visionary, the Prime Minister noted that Chavez endorsed Maduro to lead the influential South American nation prior to his untimely death.
Prime Minister Skerrit is known to have enjoyed a close personal relationship with President Chavez.
“The Government and people of the Commonwealth of Dominica stand in solidarity with you and your new administration. We are committed to working in furtherance of the policies and philosophy for Venezuelan and hemispheric development, as enunciated by the late leader and yourself over the years,” Skerrit wrote.
He noted that ALBA and Petro Caribe have withstood “the test of time and have been a marked success in building regional unity and cooperation” and said Dominica will continue to support these initiatives.
China Tells Japan to Cool Tensions in East China Sea
China is accusing Japan of increasing tensions over a groups of disputed islands.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying Thursday called on Japan to stop scrambling fighter jets over the East China Sea.
The spokesperson said, "We believe the Japanese side should not be sending out more aircraft but show more sincerity and take practical steps to work hard with China to find a way to appropriately manage and resolve the problem through dialogue, talks and consultations."
Japan said Wednesday it had scrambled fighter jets 306 in the 12-month period ending in March in response to Chinese planes approaching the islands - twice as many as it had in the previous 12 months.
The islands, known as Di-ao-yu in Chinese and Sen-kaku in Japanese are uninhabited.
Last September, Tokyo nationalized the islands, which have been the focus of a decades-long dispute.
Provo Church Softball league in full swing
The Provo Church Co-Ed League that started on the 6th of April 2013 with a total of six churches is creating a buzz in Providenciales.
Churches that are apart of this years league are the Methodist Church, St. Monica's Church, Jericho Baptist Church, Abundant Life Ministries, Paradise Baptist Church, Bethany Baptist Church and Prophecy Church.
Since the league has kicked off other churches are asking to join the prestigious league.
RTC Sports has gathered that on April 6th 2013, St. Monica's Church won their first game by forfeit over Methodist, the other two games for the day were rained out.
On April 8th, Prophecy Church beat Paradise Baptist Church 9- 1 while
St Monica's Church defeated Abundant Life 10-8.
Then on the 12th April Bethany Baptist won by forfeit over Methodist
while Jericho Baptist defeated Prophecy 16-10.
Abundant Life defeated the Methodist church on Monday 15-6 while
Prophecy 5 had a close shave over Monica's 4.
Games will continue at the National Stadium with the Jericho Baptist taking on Paradise at 6:30 and Bethany challenging Prophecy at 8:15.
Venezuelans Vote for Chavez Successor
Polls have closed in Venezuela where voters made their choice Sunday for the South American country's next president, after the death of former president Hugo Chavez last month.
After a brief and bitter campaign, the divided, oil-rich nation waits for electoral authorities to announce the victor in the race between Mr. Chavez's hand-picked successor Nicolas Maduro, who is acting president, and challenger and opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, began the campaign with a double-digit lead in the polls that shrank considerably in the lead-up to the election.
Capriles is a 40-year-old state governor who lost to Mr. Chavez by 11 percentage points in last year's presidential election. He accuses Maduro and the Chavez government of doing little to solve Venezuela's economic problems, food shortages and soaring crime rate.
Maduro touts his working-class roots and says the middle-class Capriles cannot identify with the poor. Maduro says he will continue what he calls the Chavez revolution, which supporters say used oil wealth to lift millions out of poverty.
Mr. Chavez died last month after a two-year battle with cancer.
He was a staunch socialist who was first elected president in 1998. He earned the enmity of the United States and others for such policies as nationalizing major companies and courting world leaders like Cuba's Fidel Castro, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.
The opposition accused him of becoming a dictator, but he was revered by many of Venezuela's poor.