PM to cut Canada visit short
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller will be truncating her official four day visit to Canada to return to Jamaica given the tropical storm now threatening the island.
Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips, making a statement in Parliament today, said the prime minister was expected in the island later this evening.
Simpson Miller, who engaged in talks with the Canadian government over the last two days, was originally expected to return to the island on Thursday.
Today Dr Phillips said she was "cutting her visit short" to return to take charge of the current hurricane preparations.
-JA.Observer
Jamaica braces for Sandy, which could ruffle South Florida later in week
A strengthening Tropical Storm Sandy, set to slam Jamaica on Wednesday as a dangerous and drenching Category 1 hurricane, also could bring foul weather to South Florida later in the week.
While Sandy’s most damaging winds were expected to remain offshore, forecasters said its sprawling outer bands could brush closely enough to put the Florida Keys and Southeast Florida under a tropical storm watch, possibly as early as Tuesday night. As Sandy churns through the Bahamas Thursday and Friday, it could spin off 25- to 35-mph winds, with gusts to 50 mph, as well as pounding, beach-chewing waves and fast-moving thunderstorms along much of the South Florida coast.
The impact could be considerably worse in Jamaica and eastern Cuba, both under hurricane warnings for the late-season storm. In Kingston, where gray clouds were darkening the sky at midday, the capital city’s streets were jammed with traffic as residents rushed to stock up on food, fill gas tanks and pick up children at schools ordered closed early.
In the northeastern parish of Portland, resident Ryan Amos joined neighbors in stocking up on canned goods and other emergency supplies. He was bracing for a direct hit from a storm that forecasters said could dump six to 12 inches across much of the mountainous island, with 20 inches or more in spots — volumes that have triggered deadly river overflows, flash floods and mudslides in past storms.
“Portland has a tendency to have massive floods throughout the parish,” Amos said. “The sense that I am getting is that people fear that this storm is going to hit us directly and no one is taking any chances.”
At 5 p.m., the National Hurricane Center said the storm, with maximum sustained winds of about 50 mph, was centered about 260 miles south-southwest of Kingston. Sandy, crawling north-northeast at 6 mph, was expected to pass over Jamaica on Wednesday, possibly as a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds, and remain a hurricane as it hits eastern Cuba later that night.
The government of Cuba issued a hurricane warning for much of eastern Cuba including Guantanamo. Tropical storm warnings were posted for Haiti and the Central and Southeastern Bahamas, where the worst weather was expected to kick up Thursday.
Though its “dirty side” and strongest winds will be well out to sea, forecasters said South Florida also will feel at least some ripple effect from the storm, with the impact depending on how large Sandy’s wind field grows and how close it tracks to South Florida.
From there, Sandy’s future is less certain, said NHC forecaster Todd Kimberlain, with computer models at the moment split on whether it turns harmlessly out into the cooler Atlantic as a broad “extra-tropical’’ storm or veers more toward the upper East Coast as a major and potentially damaging “nor’easter” storm. The official track calls for the path out into the Atlantic.
Jamaica hasn’t been hit directly by a hurricane since Gilbert in 1988 but the island has endured a string of damaging and deadly strikes over the last decade, including a battering close call from Ivan in 2004 and impacts from tropical storms in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Sandy’s projected track across the middle of the island could expose the waterfront capital city to damaging storm surge and the government warned residents in low-lying areas to prepare to evacuate. The island’s two major airports were also ordered closed by Wednesday morning.
Jamaica’s Meteorological Service also advised fishermen who spend months camping on Pedro Cays, small islands off the southern coast, to evacuate. But not everyone listened.
One woman who fishes on the Cays said only about four of approximately 100 residents had evacuated. But boats had been secured in the harbor and residents were taking refuge in ramshackle wooden shacks waiting for the storm to pass. In Haiti, puddles were already developing in the streets of flood-prone Les Cayes but the government wasn’t yet anticipating ordering the large-scale evacuations conducted during Tropical Storm Isaac.
Rain was expected across much of the country, including in rural communities in the northwest, where the ground is already saturated and more rain could isolate communities and ruin crops.
Edgar Celestin, a spokesman with Haiti’s Office of Civil Protection said the operations center would be activated Wednesday.
“We are following developments,” he said.
Miami Herald correspondent Daraine Luton
IMF talks continue in line with timetable in Jamaica
Finance and Planning Minister Dr. Peter Phillips said there is no delay in the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government was proceeding in accordance with the timetable originally set out.
“It is also the case that the essential outlines of the programme to be concluded with the Fund have been settled and we are at the point of discussing the contents of a draft letter of intent,” Dr. Phillips announced in Parliament today.
He said this include a programme and timetable for pension reform. Important structural benchmarks for tax reform, including improvement to tax administration, and the legislative framework regarding tax reform have also been settled.
Dr. Phillips said the white paper setting out the government’s comprehensive policy stance on tax reform has been considered by Cabinet and further work is being done prior to it being laid in Parliament in November.
The Minister said, however, that there are some important technical issues which remain to be finalized.
“The primary issue centres upon the shared view that given the generally precarious conditions within the world economy and the risks that this negative outlook entails for indebted and vulnerable economies such as ours, there is a need for us to construct buffers for such eventualities,” Dr. Phillips said.
“Discussions regarding such buffers continue and we are exploring issues regarding the possibility, for example, of additional debt initiatives such as debt for assets swaps with public sector bondholders and debt for nature swaps,” he added.
However, he said the government was not considering a second debt exchange.
Explosions, Fire Reported At Sudan Arms Factory
A huge fire was reported early Wednesday following explosions at the site of an arms factory near Sudan's capital Khartoum.
News reports quote witnesses as saying they heard explosions late at night before the fire broke out.
Initial media reports said the site of the incident was the Yarmouk ammunition factory.
The reason for the explosions is not yet clear and there are no immediate reports of casualties.
The Sudanese military has not made any statements yet on the matter.
Obama, Romney Push to Win Over Undecided Voters
With two weeks until the election, President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney are making a final appeal to voters who still have not made up their minds.
Polls show the presidential race tied, and winning support of uncommitted voters, especially in so-called swing states, is crucial.
During a rally Tuesday in Florida, one of those states that could decide the election, President Obama accused Mr. Romney of changing his mind on major issues, including the operation to kill Osama bin Laden. He called Mr. Romney's Monday night debate performance a “severe outbreak” of “Romnesia” .
Mr. Romney told a crowd of supporters in Las Vegas, Nevada that attacks on him are not a political agenda. He said after four debates, including one vice presidential debate, the Obama campaign is “taking on water” while his campaign has been energized by the debate and is “full steam ahead.”
Both campaigns claim their candidate won Monday night's debate, which focused on foreign policy. But some major opinion polls say President Obama was the winner.
PRESIDENT OBAMA:
“During the debate, he said he didn't want more troops in Iraq, but he was caught on video saying it was unthinkable not to leave 20,000 troops in Iraq, troops that would still be there today. Last night, he claimed to support my plan to end the war in Afghanistan. I'm glad he supports it, but he's opposed to a timeline that would actually bring our troops home. Early in this campaign, he said he'd do the opposite of whatever I did in Israel, but last night I reminded him that cooperation with Israel has never been stronger. (applause) Last night, he said he always supported taking out Osama bin Laden, but in 2007, he said it wasn't worth 'moving heaven and earth' to catch one man. Now, we've come up with a name for this condition. It's called Romnesia. ”
MITT ROMNEY:
“We can handle two more weeks of the attacks coming from Barack Obama, but we cannot handle four more years of what he's given us. I mean, can you handle four more years of 23 million Americans looking for a good job? Can you afford four more years of housing prices going down and hitting bottom? Would you like to have four more years of the doubling of the gasoline prices you're paying?
Russian Opposition Activist Charged With Plotting Riots
Russian investigators say they have charged an opposition activist with plotting riots, based on evidence from a pro-Kremlin television documentary.
Russia's Investigations Committee formally brought charges against Leonid Razvozzhayev, a senior leader of the Just Russia party. A committee spokesman, Vladimir Markin, says Razvozzhayev turned himself in Sunday in Ukraine and admitted to involvement in organizing mass disturbances in Russia.
“Razvozzhayev explained in detail how, together with Sergei Udaltsov, Konstantin Lebedev and other people, they prepared the organization of mass disturbances on the territory of the Russian Federation. In that same document (confession), he reported that the same people were involved in the mass disturbances on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square on May 6. What is also important is he indicated that the funding was carried out by Givi Targamadze.”
But Razvozzhayev's supporters, among them opposition lawmaker Illya Ponomaryov, say he was kidnapped while in Ukraine, smuggled back into Russia and tortured into confessing.
“He (Leonid Razvozzhayev) was certainly kidnapped in violation of all international agreements and all international conventions. I have serious grounds to suspect that this so-called confession was obtained under torture.”
The Kyiv office of the U.N. refugee agency confirmed Monday that Razvozzhayev disappeared after registering with the agency last week.
Razvozzhayev was featured in a pro-Kremlin documentary in which he and other activists appeared to plan mass riots and a coup in an effort funded by Georgian politician Givi Targamadze.
He faces up to 10 years if convicted, along with opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov and his aide, Konstantin Lebedev. Authorities launched a criminal probe against the two last week on charges they organized riots in May in Moscow.
Udaltsov was released and ordered to stay in Moscow, but Lebedev is in police custody.
Since starting his third mandate earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed for laws restricting civic freedoms and foreign influence. The lower house of parliament, or Duma, on Tuesday passed a new bill widening the definition of high treason in what critics say is part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.
Current law describes high treason as espionage or other assistance to a foreign state damaging Russia's external security. The new bill expands it to include moves against Russia's “constitutional order, sovereignty and territorial and state integrity.''
The bill, drafted by the Federal Security Service, also changes the interpretation of treason to include activities such as financial or consultative assistance to a foreign state or an international organization.
The bill is certain to pass easily in the upper house before President Putin signs it into law.
Disappointing Corporate Earnings & Worries About Spain Hurt Markets
Disappointing corporate earnings and continuing worries about Spain's battered economy cut stock prices on key European and U.S. exchanges Tuesday. Crude oil prices also declined.
France's CAC-40 and Germany's DAX were down more than two percent at the close, while in New York, the benchmark Dow lost more than 1.7 percent while the S&P 500 fell more than 1.4 percent.
Analysts say the declines follow weaker than expected earnings from major companies like IBM, FedEx, and McDonald's. Chemical company DuPont said it will cut 1,500 jobs after profits declined sharply.
Traders apparently saw the disappointing earning reports as a sign that the economy will slow down, cutting demand for energy. That perception is one reason that oil prices declined in key markets.
Bacterium Could Deliver Vaccine with No Needles
A type of bacterium that forms long-lasting spores could be a vehicle for delivering vaccines without the use of needles.
Simon Cutting, a bacterial geneticist at Royal Holloway, University of London, worked with one of the most intensively studied bacteria, Bacillus subtilis. He discovered that the microorganism's spores could be used to carry into the body substances called antigens that trigger an immune response. He has evaluated this approach using antigen molecules from a number of important disease organisms, including tuberculosis, influenza and tetanus.
The Bacillus-based vaccine can be delivered as a nasal spray, an oral liquid, a capsule or a soluble film.
Cutting notes that because the spores are stable, these vaccines do not require refrigeration. In addition, oral vaccines are inexpensive to produce and easier to store. And because they do not use needles, they are safer to administer, especially in developing countries where the AIDS virus, HIV, is widespread.
Cutting is forming a company to develop the Bacillus vaccine technology.
Fatal Accident in Providenciales claims life of one
In Providenciales on Friday 19 October 2012, a 31-year-old male suffered fatal injuries when the vehicle in which he was a driving collided with another vehicle on the Millennium Highway in Blue Hills.
The passenger of the vehicle in which the victim was driving, the driver and passenger of the other vehicle suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Traffic Officer Pierre explained, “The 911 center was alerted around 10:57pm on Friday to a serious motor vehicle accident on the Millennium Highway, in Blue Hills involving two vehicles. “All occupants of the two vehicles were injured and rushed to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre by ambulance. Sadly one of the passengers succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 3:40am.”
The investigation into the cause of the accident is being lead by the Traffic Division of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police. Name of the deceased is being withheld pending the notification of next of kin.
Anyone who either saw the collision or who has information to call the police at 911 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-8477. Tips can also be left in English, French or Spanish at www.crimestoppers.tc or by becoming a friend of Crimestoppers TCI on Facebook.
Gun man fired shots at vehicle, injuring 1 man
In Providenciales, on Friday (19 October 2012) at 3:00am, a 20 year old man received minor injuries to his upper right arm after a gunman opened fire on a White Truck in which he was a passenger.
It was reported that a lone gunman walked up to the parked vehicle and opened fire, discharging a number of shots. The shooting took place in the vicinity of the Miniature Golf Course on the Leeward Highway.
The gunman was said to be wearing short checkered pants, a white top and white shoes.
According to Sergeant of Police Andy Harry, of the Criminal Investigation Division, “An incident of this nature is one of a serious concern. Gun related offences are serious and we are seeking the public’s assistance and asking that anyone with information or who may have seen any person wearing the described clothing during the night in question to please inform the police.”
The victim was taken to the Hospital where he has been admitted for observation.
The gun man remains at large.
Anyone who may have heard or seen anything is asked to call the police at 911 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-8477. Tips can also be left in English, French or Spanish atwww.crimestoppers.tcor by becoming a friend of Crimestoppers TCI on Facebook.