PM Gonsalves seeks to discuss CAL fuel subsidy
Vincentian Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves is now seeking talks with the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led coalition People's Partnership administration in Trinidad, over the fuel subsidy Port of Spain provides to the national carrier Caribbean Airlines (CAL).
Gonsalves says he wants to engage in discussions, not a fight with Trinidad and Tobago sine he has now received a legal opinion on the matter .
Gonsalves contends that the fuel subsidy given to CAL contravenes the treaty governing the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to which both countries belong.
St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica are the main shareholders of the regional airline, LIAT, and Gonsalves, who is chair of LIAT shareholder governments, said the legal opinion supports his view that the subsidy contravenes the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
CMC
Shorty Guzman's 'security chief' arrested in Mexico
The Mexican military says it has captured the man accused of being the security chief for Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, Mexico's most wanted drug lord.
A military spokesman said Jonathan Salas was arrested without a shot being fired in north-western Sinaloa state.
Three helicopters and at least eight navy vehicles surrounded Mr Salas.
Last year, the governor of Sinaloa mistakenly announced that Mr Salas, who is also known as The Ghost, had been killed in a clash with the Navy.
Mexican prosecutors accuse Mr Salas of being the man tasked with guarding Joaquin Guzman, the fugitive leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
Joaquin Guzman, known as "El Chapo", or "Shorty", was arrested in 1993.
But he has been in hiding ever since he escaped from his maximum-security prison in a laundry basket in 2001.
The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $5m (£3.2m) for information leading to Shorty Guzman's arrest.
Mr Salas was detained on Saturday near the town of Costa Rica in Sinaloa state.
Sinaloa Governor Mario Lopez Valdez has not commented yet on the arrest.
In March 2012 he had told local media that Mr Salas had been shot dead by Marines.
State prosecutors later denied Mr Salas's death saying that he had escaped the clash with the military alive.
Colombian drug lord' alias Pichi arrested in Panama
A Colombian man suspected of leading a drug cartel in the city of Medellin has been arrested in neighbouring Panama.
The man, known as Pichi, was arrested in a joint operation by the Panamanian and Colombian police. His real name as not yet been released.
He is accused of leading a drug gang known as The Office and is suspected of ordering the murder of nine people in the city of Medellin last December.
The motive behind that killing is believed to be gang-internal rivalry.
'Murderous gang'
He is also wanted in connection with the murder of two counter-narcotics police officers in Medellin.
Sergio Castro and Franklin Moreno, who had been investigating The Office, were shot dead in Medellin in July 2012.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos congratulated the police on alias Pichi's arrest via his Twitter account. "A good hit", the president tweeted.
He also thanked Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli for his country's help in the arrest in the capital, Panama City.
Alias Pichi is suspected of having taken over the leadership of The Office after the arrest in August of the gang's previous leader, alias Sebastian.
At the time, Colombian Defence Minister, Juan Carlos Pinzon, said the gang had "killed more people than any other criminal network in Colombia in the last 10 years".
On 31 December 2012, police found nine bodies in a luxury home in Envigado, on the outskirts of Medellin.
Among them was a man suspected of working as a hitman for The Office.
Because there were no signs of forced entry, police suspect the murder may have been carried out by someone attending the party at the house, or someone known to the revellers, possibly a gang-internal settling of scores.
Colombia has requested the extradition of alias Pichi from Panama.
Peru, Chile and Bolivia hit by floods after heavy rain
Torrential rain has been causing havoc along the Pacific coast side of South America, with flooding causing the deaths of at least six people in Peru.
In the southern city of Arequipa, thousands of people were left without electricity and drinking water.
In Chile, some four million people were hit by cuts to water supply blamed on landslides in San Jose de Maipo, 30 miles (48 km) south east of Santiago.
The landslides contaminated two rivers supplying the capital's water plants.
The Aguas Andinas water company said it expected to bring the water supply back to normal by Sunday afternoon.
Last week, even Chile's Atacama desert, one of the driest places in the world, suffered with heavy rain.The authorities in Peru declared a state of emergency in Arequipa.
The national meteorological service said that the bad weather brought down the equivalent of three months of rain in about seven hours.
"There are no records of an event of this magnitude", the local director of the service, Sebastian Zuniga, told the Andina news agency.
At least two bodies were found in a car that was buried in mud after a road collapsed.
Torrential rain has also fallen over most regions in neighbouring Bolivia.
Nearly 9,000 people are said to have been affected and crops lost to the rain.
Last week, Brazil announced it would send 500 tonnes of rice to aid Bolivians hit by the natural disaster.
Pope Benedict XVI in shock resignation
Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of this month after nearly eight years as the head of the Catholic Church, saying he is too old to continue at the age of 85.
The unexpected development surprised governments, Vatican-watchers and even the 85-year-old's closest aides.
The Vatican says it expects a new Pope to be elected before the end of March, ahead of Easter.
Papal resignations are not unknown, but this is the first in the modern era.
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says the news has come "out of the blue", and that there was no speculation whatsoever about the move in recent days.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is quoted as saying he was "greatly shaken by this unexpected news".
A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that even the Pope's closest aides did not know what he was planning to do and were left "incredulous". He added that the decision showed "great courage" and "determination".
The brother of the German-born Pope said the pontiff had been advised by his doctor not to take any more transatlantic trips and had been considering stepping down for months.
Talking from his home in Regensburg in Germany, Georg Ratzinger said his brother was having increasing difficulty walking and that his resignation was part of a "natural process".
He added: "His age is weighing on him. At this age my brother wants more rest."
'Incapacity'
At 78, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was one of the oldest new popes in history when elected.
He became Pope in April 2005 following John Paul II's death.
He took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades - the scandal of child sex abuse by priests - was breakingIn a statement, the pontiff said: "After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.
"I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.
"However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to steer the boat of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.
"For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is."
A German government spokesman said he was "moved and touched" by the surprise resignation of the pontiff.
"The German government has the highest respect for the Holy Father, for what he has done, for his contributions over the course of his life to the Catholic Church.
"He has left a very personal signature as a thinker at the head of the Church, and also as a shepherd."
There is a clause in Church Canon Law saying that a papal resignation is valid if the decision is made freely and manifested properly.
Preparations for bi-elections
The Turks and Caicos Island’s Supervisor of Elections Mr. Dudley Lewis has advised that preparations for the by-election starts with the issue of a writ by the Governor.
This happens within 35 days of receiving notice from the Judge indicating that the seat has been vacated. The Writ will specify the day and place of nomination of candidates which should be no less than 14 working days after the writ has been issued.
The date of the by-election will be no more than 21 days from the date of nomination. That means by-elections could be held by the last week in March. If By-Elections are to be held before March 31st, the 2012 Electors register will be used. If the By-Election is held after March 31st, the new register will be used.
The Elections Office will employ additional staff for each polling station, and increase the number of polling areas. Electors will not be required to return to the Presiding Officer for verification of signature on the ballot. Instead they will deposit the marked ballot in the boxes provided - to ensure the secrecy of their vote.
Employers MUST allow electors reasonable time for voting. Electors are reminded that proof of identification is required. These include the TCI Status Card, passport, NIB Card, NHIP Card or Drivers License.
Crown Land in the TCI
The Government has resumed its allocation of Crown Land for residential purposes - effective from today. The Lands Division in the Attorney General’s Chambers announced its resumption alongside a call from the Crown Land Unit for applications to purchase of 104 parcels of land in Providenciales.
The parcels, which range in size up to 0.38 of an acre are priced from just over $13,00 and rising up to $18,000. They are for residential development only. The lot sizes are consistent with the new guidelines on the size of residential allotment of crown lands.
These first allocations are in Northwest and North Central Providenciales, to the immediate west of the Millennium Heights Housing Development. Allocations are being made on a First Come First Served basis.
The allocation of crown land was discontinued in 2008 following allegations of widespread mis-appropriation of Crown Land assets. A TCI Belonger discount of 25 percent of the Open Market Value has also been applied.
Misick released on bail
First, a statement issued this morning by the Governor’s Office in relation to the former Premier Michael Misick. He is in prison in Brazil pending the outcome of extradition proceedings instigated by the British Government in association with TCIG.
The statement says that reports of the release of Mr Misick on bail are not true and he remains in custody. A check was made this morning through the British Consulate who contacted the prison where Mr Misick is confined.
The Senior Officer there confirmed that Mr Misick remains in custody.
The Governor’s senior spokesman Neil Smith said the position remained that Mr Misick was provisionally arrested under the authority of the Supreme Court in Brazil on the basis of a lawful request - and the formal request for his extradition had been made through the proper channels.
This matter remained in the hands of the Brazilian authorities.
The Attorney General issued a statement claiming Michael Misick’s continuing assertion that he is being held in Brazil illegally was not true.
Huw Shepheard says the provisional arrest was authorized by the Supreme Court in Brazil on the basis of a lawful request. The formal request for Mr Misicks’s extradition had now been made through the proper channels. The AG said there had been continued statements, comments and speculation about the Michael Misick case.
He and others were free to make any public statements they wished, subject to the laws of contempt of court. The SIPT and he did not have the same freedom. Neither intended to use the media as a forum to explain or dispute Mr Misick’s version of the SIPT's contacts with his solicitors, or to comment on the evidence against him.
No prosecuting body in any properly conducted jurisdiction would do this. He added:” We are accountable to the court of trial and until then, we will not make any public statements that could prejudice those proceedings.”
Meanwhile, since RTC broke the story in the AM newscast, the Governor & the AG as stated above, that RTC carried in the story in error which was on the contrary; RTC's Anchor and News manager Lynnette Thomas stood by her sources who stated that the story was factual & accurate.
Following that story the Press has been calling on the AG to apologize to team RTC, the following is an excerpt from TCI Sun: The post of Attorney General carries awesome responsibilities and tremendous power. Above all else, it also comes with an inherent and solemn obligation to be truthful and to execute the duties of that office fairly and without fear or favour.
However, in what appeared to have been unbridled anxiety, a seemingly overzealous rush to judgment and apparent disappointment with the news that Mr. Misick was indeed released from jail, Mr. Shepheard told a silly and reckless untruth which essentially discredited the state-owned Radio Turks and Caicos and veteran broadcaster Lyn Thomas, who first broke the story. Moreover, his lie amounted to conduct which fell exceedingly short of what is well expected from his high office.
Jonathan Gardiner describes TCI's Judicial system
Jonathan Gardiner, a well known churchman in the TCI, has today described the TCI’s judicial system as ‘shambolic’ and says it has recently provoked an onslaught of public criticism.
Most of the criticism was long overdue, fair and reasonable says Mr Gardiner. The Attorney General and the President of the Bar Association, however, had come running to its defense, with less than subtle threats of fines and imprisonment. Those threats, in turn, had rightfully caused even wider public indignation. In a criminal justice system that was adversarial, with a prosecution and defense on opposite sides, an independent judiciary was critical, but at the top of most lists of criticisms were grave concerns about the independence of the local judiciary.
There was a perception that there was little distinction between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the SIPT, the former legislature, the Governor and the local judiciary. There was a perception that the criminal justice system had been compromised, having been sewn up to ensure convictions of the SIPT’s targets, regardless of the evidence of actual guilt or innocence.
The full text of Mr Gardiner’s letter is on our RTC Website and the case in detail he lays out against the country’s criminal justice system.
LIME'S CEO is stepping down
Telecommunications Company LIME has announced that its Chief Executive Officer, David Shaw is stepping down after four years leading the company. Mr Shaw, who has overseen the transformation of LIME, will remain with the business for the next six months to facilitate a smooth handover of responsibilities.
Tony Rice, Chief Executive of LIME’s parent company, Cable & Wireless Communications, will take over the leadership of the business, working with LIME’s regional executive team. Cable and Wireless Communications recently announced its intention to focus on the Caribbean and Central American region, after electing to sell other international operations. Mr Shaw today thanked his colleagues for their support during his time in charge. He said LIME had achieved a great deal during the past four years. The business was fighting back in Jamaica. In the Bahamas it was well positioned to face up to competition and was competing strongly in its other markets. The business was more focused than ever on delivering to customers. He looked forward to seeing the business continue being the driving force in connecting the Caribbean. His successor Tony Rice said David Shaw had managed LIME’s Caribbean business through a period of unparalleled and prolonged economic challenges for the region - and difficult market conditions. He had strengthened the business and delivered critical transformational initiatives.