South Korea raises alert with North to 'vital threat
South Korea has raised its alert level to "vital threat" amid indications the North is preparing for a missile test.
At least one ballistic missile with an estimated 3,000km (2,000-mile) range is fuelled and ready for launch, US and South Korean sources say.
Pyongyang has been making bellicose threats against South Korea, Japan and US bases in the region.
The threats follow tough new UN sanctions imposed on North Korea last month after its third nuclear test.
Separately, an initial investigation by the South into a major cyber attack last month that affected a number of banks and broadcasters has said the North is to blame.
North Korea is believed to have completed preparations for a missile launch after it moved two Musudan missiles to its east coast, Yonhap news agency says.
In anticipation, the South Korea-US Combined Forces have raised their alert level to Watchcon 2, to increase surveillance monitoring, Yonhap quoted a senior military official as saying.
North Korea unveiled the Musudan missile during a military parade in 2010 but has yet to test it. There are reports, however, that it may have been sold to Iran and tested there.
The launch could happen "anytime from now", South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told parliament.
A test launch would be a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1718, passed in 2006, which states the North "must not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile".
North Korea has tested intermediate range missiles before and during periods of crisis and tension, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul.
So while another test launch would certainly be seen as provocative, it is unlikely to have any major, short-term military significance unless it goes wrong, our correspondent adds.
He says one key date for a launch could be Monday - the birthday of the North Korean state's late founder, Kim Il-sung.
Yonhap also reported that the South's National Police Agency had raised its state of alert by one level from "attention" to "caution".
It said that patrols had been increased at 770 sites, including at embassies and key underground stations.
Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said his nation was on "high alert", with anti-missile defences deployed in Tokyo as a precaution.
A number of travel agencies in China have reported that tourist trips into North Korea have been suspended.
One travel agent in the north-eastern city of Dandong told Reuters news agency: "All [tourist] travel to North Korea has been stopped from today and I've no idea when it will restart."
The border remains open to commercial traffic.
Meanwhile, an official investigation by the South into last month's cyber attack traced the malicious codes used to six computers in the North.
"We've collected a lot of evidence to determine the North's Reconnaissance General Bureau led the attack, which had been prepared for at least eight months," a spokesman for the Korea Internet and Security Agency said.
The attack on 20 March severely affected the KBS, MBC and YTN broadcasters and operations at the Shinhan, NongHyup and Jeju banks.
Source-BBC
Horsemeat scandal: Dutch uncover large-scale meat fraud
Some 50,000 tonnes of meat supplied by two Dutch trading companies and sold as beef across Europe since January 2011 may have contained horsemeat.
The meat is being recalled where possible, the Dutch authorities say.
There was no evidence that the meat was a threat to human health, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said.
In total, 132 companies in the Netherlands and some 370 more around Europe are affected by the discovery.
The suspect meat was supplied by Wiljo Import en Export BV and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten.
The two companies are owned by one man who has already previously been investigated by food safety officials, the BBC's Matthew Price reports.
The latest find was made as part of EU-wide tests to trace horse DNA in processed beef foods and to detect a veterinary drug used on horses.
The recall covers meat dating back to 1 January 2011 up until 15 February this year, the Dutch food authority said on Wednesday.
Due to the lapse of time, a lot of the meat "may already have been consumed", it added.
Inspectors examining the records of the Dutch trading companies found that the origin of the supplied meat was unclear. As a result it was not possible to confirm whether slaughterhouses had respected procedures.
Some of the suspect meat was also exported to Germany, France and Spain, where authorities have been alerted. The British Food Standards Agency has confirmed that a small number of UK companies may have received products from the Dutch wholesalers.
"It might contain traces of horsemeat, but we don't know for certain at the moment if this is the case," said Esther Filon, a spokeswoman for the Dutch food authority.
"The buyers have probably already processed the meat and sold it on. They, in turn, are obliged to inform their own customers."
All EU member states have been informed of the Dutch discovery, EU spokesman Frederic Vincent told the BBC.
They have been urged to check whether or not processed meat products coming from the plants in question were still on the market, he added.
"The Dutch announcement is a consequence of the investigations which were launched by EU member states a few weeks ago," the EU spokesman said.
"Given the size of the fraud, the Dutch decided to go public with their discovery."
Traces of horsemeat have been found in numerous processed beef frozen meals across Europe.
In February, Dutch officials raided a meat processing plant suspected of mislabelling beef and ordered the withdrawal of suspicious products from supermarket shelves.
Other countries affected included the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.
The EU is set to adopt an Animal and Plant Health legislative proposal in the coming weeks, which includes clauses designed to tackle food fraud.
Source-BBC
Pakistan Gunmen Kill Police Officer Guarding Polio Workers
Officials in northwestern Pakistan say unknown gunmen shot and killed a policeman and wounded another, as they were protecting a team of female polio workers administering vaccines.
Authorities said Wednesday's attack happened in Mardan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No polio workers were harmed since they were inside the home giving polio drops to children when the attack happened.
This is the latest in a series of attacks on people working on the United Nations-backed vaccination campaign in Pakistan. Last December, gunmen killed nine polio workers across the country. Several more have been killed in attacks since then.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, including the one Wednesday, but in the past, the Taliban has indicated violent opposition to the vaccinations and accused health workers of being spies. There also are rumors in Pakistan that the vaccinations are meant to make Muslim children sterile.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio is endemic. The problem is worst in the tribal regions, where Islamist militants are most active.
Syria Leads G8 Talks Agenda
Britain and France are expected to continue their push to arm the Syrian opposition in its civil war against President Bashar al-Assad when G8 foreign ministers gather for talks Wednesday in London, but there are no signs of a major policy shift.
North Korea's threats of war will also be high on the agenda of the meeting, a preliminary gathering ahead of the annual Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland.
Members of Syria's civilian opposition are also in London, and are due to meet with some of the ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his British and French counterparts.
Britain and France have advocated amending or lifting a European Union arms embargo on Syria to support the rebels. Russia and Germany oppose such a move, arguing it could allow weapons to fall into the hands of Islamist militants and fuel a regional conflict.
The foreign ministers will also discuss how to respond to North Korea, which has been threatening to attack the United States and South Korea and on Tuesday warned foreigners to evacuate the South to avoid being caught in a war.
The Group of Eight also plans to consider how to move forward from last week's failed talks on curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the ministers would also discuss Burma, Somalia, cyber security and how to prevent sexual violence in war zones.
Obama Budget Proposes Changes to Social Security, Taxes
President Barack Obama is proposing a $3.77 trillion U.S. government budget for 2014 that he says is "a fiscally responsible blueprint for middle class jobs and growth."
Speaking at the White House, Obama said the budget would adjust how Social Security benefits are calculated and change taxes for corporations and the wealthy.
"But if we're serious about deficit reduction, then these reforms have to go hand-in-hand with reforming our tax code to make it more simple and more fair so that the wealthiest individuals and biggest corporations cannot keep taking advantage of loopholes and deductions that most Americans do not get," the president said. "That is the bottom line."
The proposal fails to satisfy members of both parties, with Obama admitting that parts of his budget were not "optimal" but rather a "compromise."
The budget plan intends to reduce the deficit by nearly $2 trillion during the next decade, through a combination of new revenues and budget cuts. It includes a minimum 30 percent tax on people making $1 million or more a year.
Competing budget plans have been passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate, setting the stage for contentious negotiations.
Republicans are opposed to raising more government revenue, after a deal with Democrats earlier this year that increased income-tax rates on wealthy Americans. And lawmakers in the president's Democratic Party are angry over his suggestion to switch to a modified formula to measure inflation, which will lower annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients.
Obama will host a group of 12 Republican lawmakers at a private dinner at the White House Wednesday night to discuss his budget proposals.
CIG’s Ritz trouble rolls on
RC Cayman has filed a second legal action against the Cayman Islands Government regarding the dispute over the sale price of the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. The new owners of the resort, which is fighting for government to honour the transaction, has filed an application for Judicial Review seeking a legal decision over instructions to the chief valuation officer (CVO) to get another valuation of the hotel after the sale. The hotel reportedly received a letter from the CVO on 22 March saying it was re-valuing the price, despite the previous agreement between the new owners and the valuation officer.
RC Cayman is seeking a decision from a judge that there was already a binding agreement on the resort value for stamp duty purposes in the sum of US$181.5 million and government is bound by that earlier agreement and that it does not have a right to come up with a new value. RC Cayman, which was also the creditor on the hotel formerly owned by Michael Ryan and a collection of his companies, purchased the Ritz at auction for US$177.5 million.
Since then, former premier McKeeva Bush made a public announcement that he believed the hotel was undervalued and the new interim government has continued to question the value, despite its own valuers having agreed a price.
The new owners are hoping the courts will find that the “interference by the Premier and the Government of the Cayman Islands with the valuation process was and is unreasonable, capricious and politically motivated, and therefore unlawful”, the firm states in the latest legal action as it seeks to have the sale, which took place more than six months ago, transferred.
RC Cayman maintains that neither the minister of finance nor the chief valuation officer are entitled to make further valuations of the property as a result of an existing prior agreement regarding the value made by the CVO, the fact that the hotel was sold at public auction, the delay to announce the second valuation and that it was only taken subsequent to, and in retaliation for, the action taken by RC Cayman earlier to get the hotel transferred.
“The decision was taken for political reasons and/or as part of the unlawful and corrupt scheme to make the Plaintiffs liable for the debt of Ryan and/or his companies, which they had allowed to go unpaid during the duration of their government as set out in Cause G 087 of 2013,” RC Cayman says in the action filed in the Grand court on 27 March.
Claiming a breach of human rights and damages for the delay in registering the title to the property, for the infringement and what it described as the unconstitutional acts of the CVO, the premier and minister of finance and the Government of the Cayman Islands, RC Cayman is pulling no punches in the dispute.
RC Cayman states clearly in the legal document that the valuation of the property for stamp duty purposes was expressly agreed between Simon Watson of Charterland Ltd and the CVO on 15 October 2012, just ahead of the sale at US$181,500,000, less the value of the chattels, which was confirmed in writing the next day.
“The Agreement was a legally binding agreement which the Minister of Finance was not entitled to depart from, having delegated the function of adjudication of stamp duty to the Chief Valuation Officer pursuant to section 5 of the Stamp Duty Law,” RC Cayman states.
Despite now facing two law suits over the issue, cabinet members said at last Thursday’s press briefing that they had an obligation to the tax payer to check the value as they did not believe it could have fallen so much from its value of some $400 million just a few years ago. The ministers said the new valuation was being conducted to address the questions which have arisen since the sale.
The value of the resort, however, was impacted significantly by the more than $200 million debt hanging over it and, according to the new owners, the lack of investment in the hotel since its completion more than seven years ago, among other issues.
With the legal action now rolling on, this looks like another costly courtroom drama that will be paid for by the public purse and fall into the laps of the next cash strapped administration to deal with.
Jamaica to Receive $200 Million More from IMF
Jamaica is set to receive some US$200 million more in financial assistance under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, than initially anticipated.
A statement by the lending agency on Monday, April 8, noted Jamaica’s progress in the implementation of the economic programme thus far, and the Government’s efforts to complete the prior actions and structural benchmarks.
“On the basis of this progress, Fund management will submit to its Executive Board a 48-month arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in the amount of SDR 615 million (about $958 million, or 225 per cent of quota), with the recommendation that it be approved,” the statement said.
This is more than the US$750 million that was previously agreed under the Staff Level Agreement in February.
“Since the conclusion of a staff-level agreement with the Jamaican authorities in February on an economic programme that can be supported by the Fund, the authorities have submitted documentation to the IMF to confirm that all prior actions have been met. In addition, the Fund has engaged with the authorities and its development partners on the financing for the programme, including through important contributions from the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank,” the IMF statement said.
It is expected that the IMF Board meeting will take place by the end of April, wherein the deal will be approved.
Source- JIS
Europe's largest regional airline to pay APD for limited time to highlight 'punitive tax
Flybe is offering to pay Air Passenger Duty on behalf of customers for a limited time to highlight the 'punitive tax'.
It will pay the tax for new bookings made online from Friday April 5 until Tuesday April 9 for travel from October 27 to October 25 2014. The 'tax rebate' effectively lowers one-way fares by £13, and by £26 on return UK domestic fares.
Flybe will also be presenting a petition to the Chancellor of the Exchequer calling upon him to introduce a fair deal for UK domestic aviation and is asking customers to show their support by signing the petition on their webiste.
Managing director Andrew Strong said: "The entire aviation industry was disappointed that, in the face of compelling evidence, the Chancellor did nothing in last month's budget to lower UK APD which remains the highest in Europe.
The move follows last month’s Budget where the Chancellor failed to cut the UK’s air taxes, leaving them the highest in Europe.
By giving passengers an equivalent ‘tax rebate’, Flybe is highlighting just how much APD adds to the cost of flying in the UK, indicating how punitive the tax is not only to those travelling for leisure but also for those conducting business so necessary to the country’s economic success and development.
Source-WUC
St. Vincent: US 80 million still needed to complete Airport
Despite the need for more funds to complete the Argyle International airport in St.Vincent, Tourism Minister Cecil “Ces” McKie believes the tourism sector will get a significant boost once work is completed on the facility.
He says the the ministry anticipates between 190,000 and 250,000 tourist arrivals by air annually within the first two years of the airport’s completion.
Currently, the country gets, on average, 80,000 visitors annually via air transportation, he said.
According to the minister, construction is “progressing on schedule,” with the terminal building expected to be completed by the end of the year and “the strip and other amenities will be completed early next year the latest.”
“I am very confident that will be realized,” said the tourism minister, referring to the US$80 million still needed.
He said nationals in the Diaspora are excited about the international airport, primarily because “people outside are more familiar with the hassles of getting home.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has assured Vicentians that international standards are being maintained in the facility's construction according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines.
Beres to get keys to Miami
Jamaican lover's rock singer Beres Hammond is to be presented with the key to the city of Miami on Sunday, May 26.
The presentation will take place during a break in the proceedings at the annual concert Best Of The Best set for the Bayfront Park, Biscayne Boulevard, downtown Miami.
Hammond will be presented with a congressional proclamation by Congresswoman Frederica S Wilson, for his many musical and philanthropic contributions over the last three decades. The key to the city will be presented by Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones.
The singer is also part of the line-up for the show which comprises reggae, dancehall and soca artistes including Freddie McGregor, Beenie Man, Sanchez & Cocoa Tea among others.