Chechen Suspected in Istanbul Attack, but Questions Remain
Responsibility for Tuesday's Istanbul airport attack is centering on one key suspect: Akhmad Chataev, a man with a long history of involvement in jihadist activities, beginning in Chechnya and ending in Syria.
At least 44 people were killed and more than 230 others wounded Tuesday when three men attacked Ataturk airport, Turkey's largest, first opening fire with automatic rifles and then detonating bombs attached to their bodies. Turkish officials say they believe the attack was carried out by Islamic State fighters.
The three suicide attackers who carried out the devastating attack in Istanbul were nationals of Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Western news agencies reported Thursday, quoting a senior Turkish official.
The identities of the bombers have not been made public. However, Turkish media named two Russian nationals from the North Caucasus region as having been involved in the attack.
Gunmen in Bangladesh Open Fire, Take Hostages at Restaurant
Police in Bangladesh say gunmen have attacked a restaurant in the diplomatic zone of the capital, Dhaka, and have taken around 20 hostages.
The U.S. State Department confirmed on Twitter that a hostage situation is taking place at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic enclave. It urged people to take shelter and monitor the news.
Bangladeshi police say 8 to 9 gunmen entered the restaurant in the upscale Gulshan area around 9:20 p.m. Local time Friday. They say several foreigners are among those still trapped inside.
Police cordoned off the area around the restaurant and exchanged gunfire with the attackers, who set off explosives. At least one policeman was killed in the fighting.
The head of Bangladesh's elite anti-crime force, Benazir Ahmed, said police are "trying to talk to the attackers. We want to listen to them about what they want."
A bakery employee who escaped the attack has told reporters the gunmen shouted "Allah Akbar" (“God is the greatest”) prior to taking hostages.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. has accounted for all Americans working at the U.S. mission in Dhaka.
Bangladesh has seen a series of attacks in recent months, mostly targeting bloggers, atheists and religious minorities. Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, or AQIS, has claimed responsibility for many of the attacks.
CARIBBEAN TOURISM ORGANIZATION, CARIBBEAN HOTEL & TOURISM ASSOCIATION ISSUE STATEMENT ON BREXIT
THE CARIBBEAN (June 30, 2016) - The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), representing the region's public and private sector tourism interest, recognize and respect the will of the majority of voters as reflected in the outcome of the British EU referendum. The extent to which the decision by UK voters to opt out of the European Union will affect travel to and from our region remains to be seen.
The severity and longevity of exchange rate fluctuations is an immediate concern. Caribbean tourism industry stakeholders should monitor this, given its potential impact on travel planning and travel package agreements.
Concerns have been raised about the impact on travel visas, affecting UK-EU travel to and from the Caribbean. A resolution on this matter will take some time to address and prior to that the existing Schengen visa protocols remain in effect.
The broader implications on travel demand and tour operator agreements, airline traffic and movement, international trade, as well as UK and EU financial and technical support to the region, in particular to its protectorates, are all yet to be determined and will take some time to resolve.
CTO and CHTA are planning a detailed webinar briefing for their respective members titled Brexit and Caribbean Tourism: Possible Implications, for Thursday, July 7, 2016 at 10 a.m. Facilitators will include David Jessop, a consultant to the Caribbean Council and investigative journalist and columnist whose work is featured regularly throughout the Caribbean media; and Mark Tanzer, CEO for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
CTO and CHTA will continue to monitor the situation and potential impact on the Caribbean and share relevant information with members to better understand the ramifications on our industry and the region's economies so we may all plan accordingly.
Brazil impeachment vote to follow Olympics
BRASÍLIA, Brazil (AFP) – Legislators will vote on removing Brazil's suspended president Dilma Rousseff from office just days after the Olympic Games end in Rio, the Senate president said Thursday.
The vote will take place between August 25-27 after a final debate, Renan Calheiros -- who is overseeing Rousseff's impeachment trial in the upper house -- told journalists in the capital Brasilia.
That will provide a few days' breathing space after the end of the August 5-21 Olympics, the first ever to be held in South America.
The Senate had originally considered August 16 for the impeachment vote before moving the date to August 22, which was also rejected as too close to the Games, amid fears that political tensions would ruin the atmosphere.
Body camera software being installed, says JCF
The Jamaica Constabulary Force High Command has said the police force has acquired "a few hundred" body cameras which are currently being installed.
In a news release to regional press, the High Command responded to the recommendations contained in the report of the Commission of Enquiry on the security forces' operations in West Kingston back in May 2010, speaking specifically to those relevant to the JCF.
One of the recommendations of the commission, according to the news release, is that the JCF as well as the Jamaica Defence Force, introduce body-worn cameras.
"Since 2005, police forces in many countries have introduced body-worn video cameras to assist in capturing evidence in real-time, to improve the quality of evidence and to provide a mechanism for greater accountability by member of the police forces," the report stated.
"The technology has been tried and tested. Rigorous evaluations have found the body-worn cameras are effective in reducing violence by the police and complaints against the police.
They protect both citizens and police."
Digicel partners with Microsoft
Digicel Business and Microsoft announced today, a partnership in which Digicel will be able to provide its customers with in the TCI and across the region with Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Azure cloud services through its newly-signed Direct Cloud Service Provider program.
This means that Digicel Business customers will benefit from the complete cloud customer experience and can conduct their business from anywhere, on a range of devices by accessing the Microsoft Office productivity suite – Word, PowerPoint, Excel - as well as cloud mail, OneDrive for cloud file storing and sharing, Skype for Business, video conferencing and real-time collaboration – all on a single unified bill and service.
In terms of using Azure, customers can leverage the power of the cloud for basic or advanced workloads, including back-up and storage, running business applications, using advance analytics to improve business operations and accelerating innovation through Internet of Things
“We are seeing tremendous interest in cloud technologies such as Office 365 and the Microsoft Azure Cloud and we are happy to be bringing these services to our customers,” said Garrett Quinn, Group Head of Digicel Business, Caribbean and Central America.
Quinn continues, “Our aim is to always create a positive and seamless customer experience, from the point of sale right through to post-sale engagement. This partnership with Microsoft will allow us to deliver on this commitment, while building stronger relationships with our customers who are safe in the knowledge that all their needs will be covered for a single, set and affordable amount each month.”
Ricardo Agosto, Territory Manager for Microsoft Jamaica, added “At Microsoft our mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. This partnership with Digicel, allow us to take steps together in providing every organization in Jamaica the possibility to take their companies through a digital transformation with technology, empowering them to achieve their goals.”
As a certified Tier 1 Microsoft Cloud Service Provider, customers will also benefit from additional features of Office 365 and Azure, including local on-island support backed by a 99.9-percent uptime, geo-redundancy, disaster recovery and full service custom IT solutions access on one unified bill.
1200 Beaches Resort Employees gets screened for Food Handlers Certification
Beaches TCI continues to promote excellent food and health safety practices through its Environmental Health and Safety Department as this week the all-inclusive resort held its third annual Food Handlers Screening in collaboration with Grace Bay Medical.
The food handlers screening includes the examination of the ears, nose, throat, teeth, scalp and hands to exclude infections liable to be transmitted by food. Beaches EHS Coordinator Shuntal Gibson says that through staff completion of this exercise the resort remains in line with applicable environmental and safety laws and regulations which states that at least once in every calendar year a person carrying on a food business shall at his own expense cause any person engaged in the handling of food to be medically examined.
According to Gibson well-trained food handlers can improve food safety and decrease risks and behaviors normally associated with foodborne illnesses and outbreaks. "It is part of our commitment not only to our guest but to our staff. We see to it that this is carried out annually and that the majority of our staff completes the program to ensure the highest level of health and food safety practices within the resort."
Although the course would only be required for those who deal with the handling, cooking and serving of food, the EHS Department has ensured that persons who do not deal with food directly completed this certification as well.
"Our aim is that everyone in the stewarding, kitchen, dining room, weddings, food and beverage, bar and concierge department be screened.
However, it is very important that at least one person from each department, even those that do not deal with food directly are screened to reduce the possibility of food contamination and exposure to foodborne illnesses even more."
A foodborne illness is a disease resulting from the food spoilage of contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food. Such illnesses range from minor aches and pains to serious and life threatening complications.
Shuntal explained that the 1200 plus staff members that are certified make up more than 80% of the complete staff number. Grace Bay medical Certified Nurse Cynthia Joseph says that this year team members came in impressive numbers as the medical team examined more than 400 team members in the first week.
"It has been a very busy week for us but Beaches has for the past few years ensured that this exercise is carried out. The results have been impressive and as the program continues we plan to implement even more strategies to prevent food contamination and exposure to foodborne illnesses." She added, "With this exercise, in the event something comes up we are able to inform the talent, send them to the nurses office where they are further examined and if there is anything that contradict proper food safety then that person is treated and put on leave until the concern is rectified, they then need to get do another screening for safety before allowed back on the premises. It is a very complex but necessary process and it ensure safety for all guests and team members alike."
Shuntal says that with new Food and Safety laws in place the next step will be training for staff and proper food handling.
"This will take safety practices a step forward. We have used a method of training called Serve Safe before in the past and we plan to do it again pretty soon."
Food Festival begins today
This weekend the stage is set for 2 days of fun on Grace Bay Providenciales as one of the greatest culinary event is scheduled to commence July 1st through 2nd, 2016.
The Food and Culture Festival promises to be the most anticipated multicultural event throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands and Worldwide so says the man behind the scenes, Chef Nick.
The Opening night that is tonight July 1st, will be held at the Tropicana Show Club which will consist of a Chop Off Challenge, while Nick would not show what's up his sleeves, all we got were lots of entertainment and surprises. That event starts promptly at 7:00pm.
And then on Saturday On July 2nd, it's day 2 of the festival structured and designed for the entire family and is inclusive of every multicultural ethnic group residing in this Country.
Taking after his Dad who was a former promoter and show business man, Nick will transform The Parking Lot area of the Salt Mills Complex in somewhat of a cultural village! That kicks off at 12 noon.
"Culinary traditions and food ways, just like the Anthems or Flags are among the fundamental building blocks of national identity". Says the Chef who has been receiving raving support for this summer event.
The Festival seeks to create tangible, emotional and translational connections through food, music and culture that can be felt even across language barriers added committee member Joanne Missick.
Missick says that the committee is looking forward to seeing the nation converge at both events.
Two Wanted Indian Males Captured
Police informed RTC news that at around 1:00pm today, as a result of a joint operation between RTCIPF Police and the Immigration Task Force, the two wanted Indian males reported by us here on this station were captured at a home in Blue Hills, Providenciales.
The duo, Harwinder SINGH and Kulwinder Kumar CHOPRA arrived on Providenciales on Sunday 19th June 201 from Nassau Bahamas via InterCaribbean Airways flight #JY271 and was in-transit for the Dominican Republic.
After being processed by Immigration and Customs, they were then escorted to the InterCaribbean check-in counter by the airline’s agent. Upon reaching the counter the two were unaccounted for and were not located even after an extensive search.
PRO Kevin Clarke confirmed the capture moments ago and are now arrested and is in the custody of immigration officials.
No word yet on when they will be deported.
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL REVIEWS RECENT CRIMES, ROAD SAFETY, AND PRIVATE SECURITY
The Governor, Peter Beckingham, The Premier, Dr Rufus Ewing, The Minister of Border Control and Immigration, the Hon. Donhue Gardiner, the Police Commissioner and his deputy, and the Deputy Governor and Attorney General attended a meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday, 23 June, in Providenciales.
The Commissioner gave an account of recent criminal activities, and informed the NSC that further investigative teams would be supporting the Police Force in connection with unresolved cases.
The Council discussed the work of the road safety department, and agreed that the Commissioner should commission a study to consider a more joined up IT system across government, which should enhance the work of the Force.
The Council discussed the regulation and control of private security companies and agreed that Cabinet should consider a short paper from the Commissioner recommending measures to implement supervision, along a UK model.
The Council recommended that the matter of drinking & driving provisions of the Road Traffic Ordinance be referred to Cabinet and that the Attorney General draft regulations relating to the apparatus and calibrations for measuring alcohol content in the blood for consideration by Cabinet;
The Council also discussed changes to security at the National Detention Centre, illegal immigration, the use of drones for policing purposes and other issues.
In conclusion, the NSC agreed that a short ordinance about the National Security Council and its Advisory Group should be brought to the House of Assembly, and that a further meeting of the Council and the Advisory Group should be held in July or August.