Iranian oil revenues 'drop 45%' because of sanctions
Iranian oil revenues have fallen around 45% in the last nine months because of Western sanctions, a leading Iranian politician says.
Gholam Reza Kateb, an MP on the national planning and budget committee, said the country's economy as a whole was in trouble.
In a further sign of the crisis, the oil ministry has stopped selling fuel to some airlines over unpaid bills.
Oil exports account for a majority of the Islamic republic's revenue.
Mr Kateb said the steep export drop was revealed in a parliament report by Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi.
"On the basis of the report, oil sales are down 40% and income has dropped 45% in the last nine months," Mr Kateb told the semi-official Isna news agency.
In recent weeks, the oil minister has insisted that Iran has successfully bypassed oil sanctions.
Meanwhile, a number of airlines have been forced to cancel their flights, the BBC's James Reynolds reports.
The national carrier, Iran Air, continues to operate, he adds.
While the dispute is expected to be resolved in the coming days, the flight cancellations are a clear sign of the problems facing Iran's economy, our correspondent says.
The exports are vital and have kept the religious government in money and power, he says.
The rial has reportedly lost more than 80% of its value since 2011 because of US-led trade sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme.
The US and EU accuse the country of aiming to build nuclear weapons. Iran, meanwhile, insists that it simply wishes to develop nuclear power stations.
International sanctions on Iran include a UN embargo on arms exports and nuclear technology as well as EU bans on most financial transactions as well as the purchase of crude oil. The US prohibits almost all trade with Iran.
Last month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sacked the sole woman in his cabinet, Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi, after she blamed the sanctions for causing medicine shortages.
--BBC
Banks to pay $8.5b for foreclosure abuse
Dominican Republic poor region upbeat on major gold find
San Juan de la Maguana province (west) took the biggest step in the country’s mining development after gold and copper was discovered in its depressed territory, which will create new jobs in the corridor called Las Tres Palmas, that links the communities La Escandalosa, El Romero and Loma Los Comíos.
In fact, the people of La Higuera, a neighboring village, are already reaping the benefits of full employment, said mining director Alexander Medina, quoted by newspaper Listin Diario.
Canadian miner GoldQuest/Inex, which holds the exploration concession in the ??San Juan area, reported finding the gold and copper deposits which have been listed as the country's biggest mineral discovery in the last 20 years, and the world’s largest in 2012.
GoldQuest/Inex has spent US$ 3.5 million in 33 drillings in an area north of the city of San Juan totaling 13,720 meters, with expectations of favorable results, with US$21 million already raised from investors.
It estimated around 315,000 ounces of gold just at La Escandalosa Sur in May last year, but analysts have noted that the resources could exceed 1.0 million ounces.
There’s still no official report on the resources at El Romero because the miner awaits a study of the reserves and the concessionaire’s compliance with regulations of Canada’s Securities Exchange Commission.
Medina revealed that studies conducted by the Mining Agency in 1967, and a geochemical study which cost US$5.0 million by Gold Fields from 2000 to 2004, found prospects and "anomalies" which led to the first discovery at La Escandaloa. " GoldQuest continued working in El Romero, which is the site of the major discovery. We're talking around 200 meters of copper-gold mineralization and the area still continues toward Los Comíos."
HTC profits slump 90% on strong competition
Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC has reported a slump in profits as it continues to suffer at the hands of rivals Apple and Samsung.
Unaudited net profit in the fourth quarter was T$1bn ($34m; £21m), down more than 90% on the T$11bn the firm made a year ago and below analysts' expectations. Revenue was T$60bn.
The firm suffered from launching no big products in the period, analysts said
This is the fourth quarter in a row that HTC profits have fallen sharply.
'Hard to beat'
This is in contrast to rivals Apple and Samsung, which have profited from the release of the iPhone 5 and Galaxy models.
Despite expectations for a flagship new model, codenamed M7, this year, analysts said HTC could struggle to catch its rivals.
"The first three months of this year will be better than the fourth quarter [of 2012], which was really bad, but HTC's earnings might not have bottomed [out] in 2012 if its flagship M7 sales disappoint this year," said Birdy Lu at Daiwa Capital Markets.
"The new phone could have a first-mover advantage for one or two months before Samsung launches its Galaxy S4 in April, but in the long run, it's difficult to beat Samsung's phones."
Crime & Incident Report for 1st week in January
0
0
1
702
4007
Tripple M FM
33
9
4700
14.0
96
800x600
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
JA
X-NONE
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;}
The Royal Turks & Caicos Police are investigating a Burglary, which was reported on Monday January 07th, 2013 at 1:08AM.
A male of Five Cays told officers that he secured his home on Sunday January 06th, 2013 at 10PM and returned on Monday January 7th, 2013 at 1AM to discover that his home was broken into. Missing was jewellery and a Play Station game. Investigations are ongoing into this matter.
***
The Royal Turks & Caicos Police are also investigating a Burglary, which was reported on Saturday January 07th, 2013 at 11:28AM.
A male of Juba Sound told officers that he secured his home on Saturday January 05th, 2013 at 8:30AM and returned at 6PM to discover that his home was broken into. Missing was a quantity of colognes and clothing. Investigations are ongoing into this matter.
***
The Royal Turks & Caicos Police are also investigating an Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm incident which occurred in Five Cays. This incident was reported on Saturday January 05th, 2013 at 10:40PM.
A male told officers that he was at his home when he was assaulted by a male known to him after an exchange of words. The complainant was struck with a metallic object and is now recovering from a non-life threathening injury. Investigations are ongoing into this matter.
***
The Royal Turks & Caicos Police are also investigating a Burglary, which was reported on Friday January 04th, 2013 at 11:30AM.
A male of Five Cays told officers that he secured his home on Thursday January 03rd, 2013 at 11PM and returned on Friday December 04th, 2013 at 8AM to discover that his home was broken into. Missing was a Louis Vuitton laptop bag containing a Dell laptop and a British Passport. Investigations are ongoing into this matter.
***
The Royal Turks & Caicos Police are also investigating an Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm incident which occurred in Five Cays. This incident was reported on Friday January 04th, 2013 at 11:46PM.
A male told officers that while driving along a road in Five Cays, a vehicle had blocked his passage. He exited his vechicle to speak to the driver when he was assaulted by several males unknown to him. The complainant was struck about his body and is now recovering from a non-life threathening injury.Investigations are ongoing into this matter.
***
In Grand Turk’s Magistrate’s Court, On Friday 4th January 2013 a 36year old male, Timothy Pierre, of Grand Turk was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after pleading guilty for Burglary and 6 weeks imprisonment for malicious damage to property.
On Friday 26th December 2012 as a result of information received, officers visited a home located in Cork Tree, Grand Turk. While making checks around the building officers noticed a male figure trying to escape from inside the home. The male who was captured and later identified to be Timothy Pierre. He was found with properties belonging to the homeowner in his pockets.
According to Police Public Relations Officer, Audley Astwood: “The Police Department is grateful to the good citizen who saw this offence being committed and contacted the police immediately.” He continued,“I wish to encourage other people to report any crime that they witness occurring within their community. If you wish to remain anonymous, utilize the Crimestoppers’ website which offers rewards for information that leads to an arrest.” Both sentences for Timothy Pierre will run concurrently.
***
Also on Thursday January 03rd, 2013 in the Magistrate’s Court, Drexwell Wilson of Grand Turk, pled guilty to the offence of Burglary and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.
This was in connection with a report made on December 7th, 2012. On Tuesday November 20th, 2012, a home located on Pillory Beach Grand Turk was secured by its owners. Upon checking the home on Friday December 07th, 2012 it was found to be burglarized and a quantity of items stolen.
***
Also in the Magistrate’s court on Thursday 3rd January 2013 a female, Vanessa Carter of Grand Turk pled guilty to the offences of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm.
On Saturday December 01st, 2012 it was reported that Vanessa Carter entered the home of another female as a trespasser and began to cause a disturbance and as a result she assaulted the owner of the home. Carter was sentenced to 8 weeks imprisonment.
***
In Grand Turk Magistrate’s Court, on Thursday January 03rd, 2013, Dave Morris of Grand Turk received a 12 month suspended sentence for the offence of Abstracting Electricity.
It was reported by TCU on Monday 18th, July 2012 that between February 2nd, 2010 and Monday 18th, July 2012 Mr. Morris abstracted electricity from a disconnected meter box near his home on Hospital Road.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association & House of Assembly of the Turks and Caicos Islands to host a two-day joint seminar
0
0
1
396
2261
Tripple M FM
18
5
2652
14.0
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
JA
X-NONE
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
The enduring commitment to ensuring the good governance of the Turks and Caicos Islands will be bolstered by a two-day joint seminar, run by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association & the House of Assembly next week, starting 7th January.
The purpose of this Post-Election Seminar is to help familiarize locally elected politicians with parliamentary practices and to better understand the Practices and Procedures of the House of Assembly. It will do so by bringing in experienced parliamentarians from similar sized Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. They will discuss and advise on various issues with their TCI counterparts.
The Delegation will be led by the Speaker of one of the world’s oldest parliaments, the 1,000 year old Isle of Man’s Tynwald, The Honourable Stephen Rodan and its Clerk Roger Philips.
The pair, from this self-governing UK Crown Dependency, will be joined by Minister Joe Bossano from Gibraltar, which, like the TCI, is another of the UK’s 14 Overseas Territories. Mr. Bossano previously visited the TCI in Nov 2012 as Head of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Election Observer Mission. Here’s Chris Jarrett with more on this story.
REPORTER:- The CPA delegation will meet the Speaker of the TCI House of Assembly, the Premier, the Leader of the opposition, other Ministers and politicians. In addition, members of the Cabinet, Permanent Secretaries and Constitutional bodies, notably the Integrity Commission, will also be participating.
Five specific elements have been arranged as the focus for the visit: the 2012 Public Finance Management Ordinance and Regulations; Women in Parliament; Ministerial Responsibility: “The Role and functions of Ministers, Giving direction to their Ministries”; Plenary Sitting - How to use Questions/motions/plenary procedures/scrutiny of legislation; Committee Matters - What expectations to have of a Public Accounts Committee; what other scrutiny Committees might produce; committee resources.
Acting Governor Anya Williams says the seminar will be an excellent way for the new Government to reacquaint itself with goodwill, experience and support of the UK’s other Overseas territories, Crown Dependencies and the wider Commonwealth. The Acting Governor added that it was a practical example of how the UK was continuing to support the ongoing development of the TCI. She said there was genuine international warmth and affection towards the TCI and a real desire to put the previous maladministration truly behind it - and to become one of the most accountable and transparent democracies in the Caribbean.
This is Chris Jarrett for RTC News.
Venezuela calls pro-Chavez rally on inauguration day
Venezuela's authorities have urged President Chavez's supporters to join a major rally on Thursday, when he is due to be sworn in for a fourth term.
Mr Chavez, in hospital in Cuba after cancer surgery, is unlikely to attend.
But Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Diosdado Cabello said many heads of state would be in Caracas to show their support.
The Catholic Church says ministers risk violating the constitution and the opposition have called for protests.
The opposition insist new elections should be called within 30 days if Mr Chavez is unable to take the oath on 10 January.
The 58-year-old Venezuelan leader, who has been in power since 1999, has not been seen in public since his latest operation last month, and government officials have acknowledged that he has suffered complications caused by a lung infection.
The president's condition was "stable", Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a televised statement late on Monday.
Predicting a major pro-Chavez demonstration, the speaker of the assembly appealed to opposition leaders to act responsibly on Thursday and warned: "We will stop any attempt to destabilise the government".
"There will be a big gathering here in Caracas on 10 January. All of Venezuela is going to come to Caracas and be in front of the Miraflores (Presidential) Palace. The people will be on the streets," Mr Cabello said. Earlier, the Venezuelan Catholic Church said it would be a morally unacceptable violation of the constitution to allow Mr Chavez to remain in power after missing his inauguration.
The head of the Venezuelan Conference of Bishops, Diego Padron, said Mr Chavez had to attend his inauguration when his term ended on 10 January.
"It is not our job to intervene publically, but in this case the good of the country and the defence of ethics are at stake. To alter the constitution to attain a political objective is morally unacceptable," added Monsignor Padron.
The assembly speaker hit back, insisting that the government "had always respected the constitution and would continue to do so".
"We believe the call made by the Bishops' Conference today is aimed at the sectors of the opposition and the high echelons of the Church who took active part in the 2002 coup attempt (against President Hugo Chavez)," he said.
Diosdado Cabello was re-elected as speaker on Saturday.
If Mr Chavez does not take the oath of office, the Speaker of the National Assembly should act as caretaker president until new elections are held within 30 days, the opposition say.
In the absence of President Chavez, Mr Cabello and Vice-President Nicolas Maduro are in effect running the country.
Attorney-General Cilia Flores said on Sunday that Mr Chavez could be sworn in at a later date.
--BBC
Mr Chavez is a "re-elected president, not an elected candidate", said Ms Flores, adding that the key date was 7 October when President Chavez was elected for his fourth term.
'PNM will not be bullied into supporting bill'
Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley has said that while the PNM is 100 per cent in support of more autonomy for Tobago, it will not be bullied into voting for the Tobago Bill unless the people are consulted on the provisions contained in it.
Rowley was speaking at a press conference at the offices of the Parliament yesterday where he stated the Opposition's position on the Constitutional (Amendment) (Tobago) Bill 2012 which was laid in the Parliament yesterday. Debate on the Bill is carded to begin next Wednesday.
"We of the PNM, we are no fly by night political party, we are not fearful of any threats or any consequences as threatened by the Prime Minister and we will no participate in any substandard approach to treating with this because the outcome of this legislation will be influenced and impacted by its process, said Rowley.
"In so far as there is a requirement for the PNM votes to advance this, such votes will not be used to advance the UNC's election campaign in Tobago. They could say what they want in Tobago, we believe that the people of Trinidad and Tobago are not stupid," he added.
Rowley said he does not expect any negative reaction from the Opposition's position as the people of Tobago are not stupid.
"We believe the people of Tobago will understand that the PNM is 100 per cent of Tobago getting an improvement in its autonomous arrangements...but that support is not going to come in this form of bullying to pass possibly bad law in an uninformed environment where the outcome good as it may be will be tarnished and stained by the population thinking that we did not understand what the Government had done," said Rowley.
Rowley said the Tobago Bill is a "major position" as it seeks to amend the country's Constitution to fundamentally alter the relationship between Trinidad and Tobago.
He noted that if the Opposition does not support the bill—which requires a three quarters majority—then the bill will go no where.
"The Prime Minister comes to Tobago locks arm with the minority leader, create something that we are seeing for the first time, comes in to the Parliament, shamelessly is praising the minority leader who she is campaigning with as part of her election campaign and is demanding that we her friends on the other side must vote for this creature that she has created," he said.
All of this, he said, was being done just before the THA election.
"I am not aware that the people of Tobago are aware of what is in this (bill) and that is wrong. If it is going to be enacted into law the least the Government was required to do is to let this country know what is in this bill," he said.
--T.E
Honduras police seize $50,000 gold-plated AK-47 rifle
The authorities in Honduras have seized a gold-plated, jewel-encrusted AK-47 assault rifle, complete with two silver magazines.
The gun, estimated to be worth more than $50,000 (£30,000), is believed to belong to drug traffickers.
Following a tip-off, police also found a number of weapons, along with other military equipment and passports.
Two security guards were detained during the raid at a ranch 300km (186 miles) from the capital, Tegucigalpa.
Honduran authorities said the gold-plated rifle had an engraving associated with the Malverde drug gang - which is allegedly connected to Mexico's Zetas cartel.
"It's an exclusive design and a fine carving," said police chief Leonel Sauceda.
More than 30 other weapons were found, including assault rifles, grenade launchers and grenades, night-vision kits, bayonets and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Police also found bullet-proof vests and 11 cars and two car-removal lorries.
Honduras has the highest homicide rate in the world, according to a UN ranking, with nearly 92 killings per 100,000 habitants in 2011.
Cat 'arrested' for break-in at Brazilian prison
A cat has been detained in the grounds of a jail in Brazil with contraband goods for prisoners strapped to its body with tape.
The white cat was apprehended crossing the main prison gate.
The incident took place at a jail in Arapiraca city, 250km (155 miles) south-west of Recife in Alagoas state.
The confiscated items included drill bits, files, a mobile phone and charger, plus earphones The cat was taken to a local animal centre.
The jail holds some 263 prisoners.
A prison spokesperson was quoted by local paper Estado de S. Paulo as saying: "It's tough to find out who's responsible for the action as the cat doesn't speak."
Officials said the items could be used to effect a means of escape or for communicating with criminals on the outside.
The incident took place at New Year, but the photo has only recently been released.
--BBC