Haitian prostitute stabs Canadian man in Boca Chica
A Canadian man was nearly killed in the resort town of Boca Chica this week after a Haitian prostitute repeatedly stabbed him in the chest, Diario Libre reported.
According to the article, Jacques Thibodeau received about 20 stab wounds late Thursday night during an altercation with a prostitute. One of his lungs was punctured during the fight, causing doctors to fear for Thibodeau’s life.
The woman attacked Thibodeau after he confronted her after allegedly stealing his wallet and his laptop while leaving his apartment. The Police are searching for her and her alleged accomplice.
Canadian tourist commits suicide
A Canadian tourist took his own life when he dove into the beach at the Bahia Principe Hotel (east), after taking 85 sleeping pills, the National Police precinct announced Thursday last week.
In a preliminary report cited by outlet listin.com.do, the Police said the coroner certified that Erik Nikolai Sargin, 54, died by drowning.
In a letter found in the hotel room written in English, the victim says he was depressed and was planning to commit suicide during two years for reasons of debts and disease, among other issues.
The note also reveal how the foreigner planned to take his own life, "taking 85 sleeping pills and diving into the water,” fearing only that, “someone would rescue and revive me."
An empty bottle of 10mg Cipralex pills and other unspecified medications were also found in the room. The Canadian national was scheduled to return to his country on the same day of the tragedy.
Saring’s body was sent to the regional Forensics Dept. at San Pedro de Macoris for autopsy.
Dominican Republic national sentenced to life in prison in the US
Dominican Republic national Jose Ruiz has been sentenced to life, after being convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 33-year Rolando Fuentes.
Ruiz, whose sentence makes him eligible for parole, was also convicted on weapons charges, for which he’ll serve an additional 4 to 5 years.
Prosecutors said early morning on July 25, 2009, Ruiz gunned down Fuentes because the victim had shot his father in the neck, in a crossfire in the convict’s house in which the victim's brother - Orlando Fuentes – was mortal wounded and the Dominican’s father was severely injured in the neck.
Fuentes later pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and illegal possession of a firearm for which he was sentenced to 7 years in prison, plus three years probation.
WICB rejects Grenada’s request for venue change
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has rejected a request from the Grenada Cricket Association (GCA) for a possible change in venue for next month’s three One Day international matches between Zimbabwe and West Indies carded for Grenada.
The Grenada Cricket Association says it had written to the WICB requesting that it considers a new venue for the games in light of General Elections scheduled February 19th.
However the WICB says its decision to leave the matches in St George’s was based on a report from the Royal Grenada Police Force.
“The board of directors accepted the recommendation that the matches should be hosted in Grenada based on the written report received from the Grenada Commissioner of Police…,” said WICB’s letter to sports minister Patrick Simmons following a board meeting in St. Lucia over the weekend.
“We confirm that the matches scheduled for Grenada will remain schedule in Grenada”, the letter further stated.
Zimbabwe’s tour of the Caribbean, February 22nd to March 20th, comprises two Tests, three One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals.
The ODI’s are planned for the National stadium in St George’s but the association was suggesting a possible switch to Antigua.
Police Commissioner Willan Thompson has given the assurance that adequate security will be in place for the games.
“Be advised that the Royal Grenada Police Force will provide adequate security for players and patrons for all matches to be hosted by the Grenada Cricket association in conjunction with the West Indies cricket board,” Commissioner Thompson said in a letter to the sports minister.
CARIFTA media accreditation fee
The Association of Caribbean Media Workers Association (ACM) on Monday welcomed news that organisers were re-considering a US$100 accreditation fee for media workers covering the 42nd Junior CARIFTA Games in The Bahamas.
ACM released a statement late Monday saying the fee can hinder media coverage of an event that attracts significant public attention and says a public announcement should be made that the fee had been withdrawn.
Media practitioners have quoted organisers of the March 29 to April 1 games as saying the fee is applicable for a March 11 accreditation deadline.
“This imposition deviates from longstanding regional and international practice and has the potential to inhibit the work of the regional media in covering an event which attracts significant public attention,” said the statement from ACM, the umbrella body for media associations in the region.
“We believe, if implemented, imposition of the fee could have serious, negative implications regarding issues of freedom of information and media freedom”.
The proposed accreditation fee was considered a financial burden to sports journalists and had sparked protest among the region’s media.
Every year, media workers from Caribbean, including Suriname, Haiti and Belize, descend on the games’ venue to report on the prestigious four-day event.
ACM notes that the proposed fee was coming on top of exorbitant costs of intra-regional travel, accommodation as well as vast differences in exchange rates between nations.
The Junior CARIFTA Games, which have produced World record holders and Olympic Champions, are considered one of the best development meets in world athletics.
Obama Vows Action on Climate Change
President Obama said in his inaugural speech that he will make climate change a priority in his second term.
The president said failing to address the global warming threat would betray the world's children, and all future generations.
Mr. Obama acknowledged that some people do not believe human activity such as burning fossil fuels is causing the Earth to heat up. But he said no one can avoid the consequences of a warmer planet, including drought, fires and stronger storms.
The president said the United States must lead the transition toward sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Many Republicans and others who oppose Mr. Obama's policies say the U.S. economy cannot afford to move away from traditional fossil fuels. They cite theories that global warming is a part of the natural cycle of climate change.
However, environmental groups cheered the president's commitment to action on climate change.
The Sierra Club said the president's remarks were heartening. It says global warming is a pressing challenge for the entire world.
The Natural Resources Defense Council says Mr. Obama's sentiments should be read a call for action on environmental issues.
Russia Sends Aircraft to Evacuate its Citizens from Syria
Russia says it is sending two planes to Lebanon to evacuate its citizens who wish to flee the conflict in Syria.
A spokeswoman for Russia's Emergencies Ministry (Irina Rossius) said more than 100 Russians were expected to board the planes after traveling overland from Syria. She said Russia is sending the planes so that all Russians who want to leave Syria can do so.
It is not clear whether the flights are the beginning of a longer evacuation operation.
Russia is one of Syria's strongest allies and the move to evacuate its citizens is the clearest sign yet that Moscow may be preparing for the possibility that President Bashar al-Assad's government could fall.
Also Monday, Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a car bombing in Syria's capital Damascus, as well as another car bomb in central Syria that killed at least 30 people.
The United Nations says at least 60,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011.
Earlier Monday, Syria's opposition postponed forming a transitional government. After a meeting in Istanbul, opposition leaders said they have created a five-person committee to consult with opposition forces, the Free Syrian Army and what the opposition called “friendly” countries before making proposals on an interim body.
The Syrian National Coalition was formed in November and has since been recognized by more than 110 countries as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. It is calling for President Assad, who has been in power for 12 years, to step down.
Obama Uses Two Bibles at Swearing-In
When U.S. President Barack Obama took the oath of office Monday, he placed his hand on two Bibles.
The first was the Bible used by former President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, when he took the oath for his first term in 1861. The second Bible was the so-called “traveling Bible” used by slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Junior.
Monday is the official government holiday honoring King who was assassinated in 1968.
President Obama was officially sworn-in for a second term Sunday during a brief, private ceremony at the White House, where he used his wife Michelle's family Bible. Mr. Obama repeated the oath for the public Monday, where he also made his inaugural address.
The presidential term ends on the Constitutionally-mandated date of January 20, which was on a Sunday this year when courts and public offices are closed. Tradition holds that when Inauguration Day is on a Sunday, the president is sworn-in privately and a public ceremony is held the next day.
Monday's swearing-in was the fourth time Mr. Obama took the oath of office.
He was sworn-in twice for his first term in 2009 when the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts, stumbled over one of the words while administering the oath. So the oath was given again one day later.
Mr. Obama is the first president since Franklin Roosevelt to take the oath of office four times. Mr. Roosevelt was elected four times, in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. The law currently limits a U.S. president to two four-year terms.
Also Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden took the oath of office on a Bible that his family has used since 1893.
CFO fires back at PDM Leader
Hugh McGarel-Groves, the Government’s Chief Financial Officer has made a point by point response to last week’s publication of the PDM Opposition Party’s position on Value Added Tax.
He refutes it will increase the cost of living in the Turks and Caicos Islands saying there is a wide range of VAT exempt and zero rated items – the costs of which should remain similar to pre-VAT. Customs duties have been reduced by 10-15% to accommodate the introduction of VAT: exempt items still have reduced duty applied; zero rated items allow business to claim the VAT back from Government. He points out that VAT in the TCI is designed to be a replacement tax mostly - taking over from hotel and restaurant accommodation tax, reductions in customs duties, vehicle hire stamp duty, domestic financial services tax, and telecommunications tax.
Hugh McGarel-Groves says water and electricity are zero rated – meaning that utility businesses can claim back VAT from the government on their costs. This could lead to reduced prices he says.
Education and religious supplies are exempt from VAT and there’s no Value Added on medical or dental bills - but these businesses can also claim their VAT back from Government. However, some sector such as lawyers, accountants and architects will need to start paying tax on their sales and deduct it from their costs.
He refuted the PDM charge that VAT would violate the equity principle in taxation saying income tax saw people paying more tax the more they earned; property taxes took proportionally more the more valuable of a property; corporation tax took proportionally more the larger the businesses profit. VAT was one of the most equal methods of taxation as qualifying businesses regardless of industry sector, and consumers would pay it.
He dismissed the PDM claim that VAT would impact negatively on businesses that did not meet the VAT threshold and stressed the costs to administering the tax were marginal – every well run business should know what its purchase and sales were. Each month the total amount of VAT paid out in purchases is subtracted from that received in sales.
On the charge that introducing VAT had been outside the scope of the Interim Administration Mr McGarel-Groves said the TCI was British Overseas Territory. As a result of the maladministration set out in the Auld report it had fallen off the edge of a fiscal cliff. The UK had stepped in to save it from going bankrupt. The British loan guarantee kept the country afloat and helped the TCI receive a significantly lower rate of interest on its loans, reducing the amount that the TCI will need to repay.
During the time of the Interim Administration it was run by the UK with extensive TCI input. It is now run by locally elected politicians within the framework of the law and the Constitution. The UK fully understands how fragile the recovery and the public finances were in the TCI. This was why, after much discussion and consultation, VAT was proposed to help improve the revenues coming to the public sector in order to maintain public spending.
Earlier RTC News spoke to Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, leader of the PDM about the response of the Chief Financial Officer.
Dema hosts seminars
The Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs will this week host a series of seminars aimed at stakeholders in the TCI water sport industry.
The meetings are intended to assess the current economic challenges facing the industry and to familiarise stakeholders with current policy and legislation. They are also designed to solicit feedback from stakeholders to determine the best way forward in terms of policy review and to seek comments and contributions from stakeholders to guide the preparation of a Terms of Reference for a socio-economic study of the industry.
The meetings will take place on the following days: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 5:00 pm at the National Environmental Centre, Providenciales, Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 5:00 pm, House of Assembly, Grand Turk.The seminars are open to all interested members of the public.
For further information, please contact the DEMA offices at 941-5122 (Provo) or 946-2801 (Grand Turk).