Sentence for Costa Concordia captain upheld over 2012 shipwreck
The prison sentence against the former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner for his role in the deadly 2012 shipwreck was upheld on Tuesday by an Italian court.
Both Francesco Schettino, who was commanding the ship when it hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio, killing 32 people, and the prosecutor had appealed against the 16 years and one month sentence handed down last year.
But the Florence appeals court upheld the term.
Schettino was found guilty last year by a different court of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his passengers in one of the highest-profile shipping disasters in recent years.
US Issues Travel Warning for Europe
The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning alerting U.S. citizens to the to the risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe, targeting major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and transportation.
The Travel Alert that expires on August 31, 2016 states that "the large number of tourists visiting Europe in the summer months presents greater targets for terrorists planning attacks in public locations, especially at large events."
In particular, the warning draws attention to the European Soccer Championship from June 10 – July 10 and the Tour de France cycling race which will be held from July 2 – 24 in France, as well as the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day event in Krakow, Poland, between July 26 and July 31, which is expected to attract up to 2.5 million visitors.
Although European authorities continue to take steps to assure public safety and disrupt terrorist plots, the State Department urged U.S. citizens to exercise vigilance when in public places or using mass transportation.
Brussels was targeted by Islamic State terrorists in March, with 32 people killed in bombings that hit the city's airport and metro. IS also attacked Paris in November of last year, killing 130 people.
T&T minister gives assurances as another warning of ISIS attack emerges
Education officials were Monday giving students assurances that their security would not be compromised as a second voice note emerged in Trinidad and Tobago warning of an attack on secondary schools here.
Education Minister Anthony Garcia has denounced the latest security threat describing it as the work of deranged minds trying to destabilize the country.
He said he had been given an assurance from National Security minister that the students should not panic and that school will resume as usual on Tuesday. Monday is a public holiday here.
Last week, security officials were investigating the authenticity of a recording that warned of bombings that would occur at some of the shopping malls across the island. One person has since been taken into custody after police said he had phoned in a threat last Thursday.
In this latest recording, the voice warns that “there will be no CXC examinations on Wednesday and there will be no school for any secondary school students on Wednesday.
The Barbados-based Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has said that six Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exam (CAPE) and three Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams are scheduled for June 1.
Women in Sports
In Celebration of Mother’s Day, the Women in Sports (WIS) will host their second annual Mother/Daughter Walk on Saturday May 14, 2016.
The purpose of the walk is to encourage fitness, practicing healthy lifestyles between Mother and Daughter which is a gift that is invaluable to everyone. We believe that when you encourage or motivate mothers to practice fitness you are helping her to open a door to better health (both physically and mentally).
Everyone is invited to participate in this event, as we show our love for our Mothers. If you do not have a daughter, adopt a daughter for the day and be a blessing. This is also a great opportunity to ensure Mother’s Health and well-being by keeping them active and physical, so daughters this is an excellent way to get our mothers off the couch and get moving.
The walk will commence from the Pond Street Gazebo at 5:30 a.m. to Governors Beach. Upon arrival, there will be an array of healthy foods, fruits and drinks, prizes and surprises to be won.
Proceeds from this event will be geared towards a swimming program for boys and girls, to commence during the summer holiday.
Registration fee: $5.00 Mothers, $1.00 Children
Paris Attack Suspect Abdeslam Charged With Terror Crimes
The man believed to be the last surviving member of the terror gang that killed 130 people in Paris five months ago, was formally charged in a Paris court Wednesday with murder, kidnapping, and using bombs and deadly weapons, his name isa Salah Ab-deslam.
Abdeslam is believed to have had a leading role in planning and preparing for the Paris attacks on Nov. 13. Suicide bombers armed with automatic weapons attacked a sports stadium, a concert hall and nightspots in the French capital, firing on those around them before detonating their explosives-filled vests.
Abdeslam had been on the run since November, but was arrested last month in Brussels — four days before bombings that killed 32 people in the Belgian capital, at an airport terminal and aboard a subway train.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attacks in both Paris and Brussels.
A French lawyer representing Abdeslam, Frank Berton, said his client is a broken man.
Media accounts said Abdeslam wore a suicide vest on that fateful Friday night, along with his brother and other gunmen, but apparently changed his mind at the last minute, discarding the explosives that were meant to kill him before fleeing. He is thought to be the only survivor among the gang that attacked Paris; all the others either blew themselves up or were killed by police.
Russia Asks UN for Sanctions on 2 Syrian Rebel Groups
Russia is asking the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on two Syrian rebel groups, one of which has been heavily involved in peace talks.
Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Tuesday accused Jaish al-Islam and Ahrar al-Sham of being "closely connected" to Islamic State and al-Qaida.
Jaish al-Islam is a top member of the Western- and Arab-backed High Negotiations Committee, which the U.N. set up last year to try to work out a political solution to the Syrian civil war.
A senior member of Jaish al-Islam told the French news agency AFP that it was actually Russia that was responsible for terrorism in Syria, with its airstrikes on rebels and ties to President Bashar al-Assad.
The other rebel group named by Russia, Ahrar al-Sham, is one of Syria's strongest Islamist groups and is aligned with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
T&T Gov’t says it will not enter into agreement with IMF
The Trinidad and Tobago government says it will not enter into any structural adjustment programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but defended its decision to have advisors from the IMF and the World Bank assist it deal with reviving the economy of the oil-rich twin island republic.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert, speaking in Parliament on Monday, said “we are not in any standby arrangement and under this PNM (People’s National Movement) administration, under the leadership of Dr Keith Christopher Rowley, there will be no standby arrangement with the IMF”.
Opposition legislators have criticised the eight-month-old government of seeking to hoodwink the population and enter into an agreement with the Washington-based financial institution as the country deals with a significant decline in revenue as a result of the drop in oil prices on the world market.
Antigua PM says no plans to move LIAT
Prime Minister Gaston Browne says no decision has been taken regarding the re-location of the Antigua-based cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT, to Barbados.
He said the Barbados Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy, may have been “misinformed or he spoke out of turn” if he is the source of a report that a decision had been taken on the matter.
“I know that Minister Sealy suggested that a decision has been taken to move LIAT’s headquarters, but that is not so. Perhaps he is either misinformed or he spoke out of turn, but the reality is there has been absolutely no discussions about moving LIAT’s headquarters,” Browne is quoted in the Wednesday edition of the Antigua Observer newspaper.
LIAT's main shareholders are the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines and there have been speculation in the past that a shift in the airline’s headquarters would make much more sense financially for the airline that is grappling with its finances.
More resources to help fight Zika virus
Caribbean countries being affected by the mosquito born virus Zika may soon be in line for assistance after the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group Wednesday agreed to allocate resources to help fight the virus.
Zika is linked to microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with underdeveloped heads and brains.
ACP Secretary General, Dr Patrick Gomes, told a news conference at the end of the two-day ACP Council of Ministers meeting that “on the Zika virus, an allocation is going to be made so that we can contribute to how that can be addressed because it is affecting the tourist industry, it is affecting also the conditions of health”.
He, however, said that a determination has not been made regarding how much will be allocated to fighting the virus.
“A fixed amount has not been decided as yet but that is being programmed and it will have to take into account other allocations that are being made,” Gomes said.
Speaking to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) on the sidelines of the meeting, Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith said the fight against Zika is important to the Caribbean region not just because of its impact on the tourism industry, but also the health problems that might not be obvious immediate.
The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) said the region continues to wrestle with Zika and that there has been an increase in locally-confirmed cases of Zika in countries and territories around the Caribbean.
CARPHA executive director, Dr James Hospedales, in a video update on the virus in the Caribbean region late last month, said the problem with Zika, which was originally described as a “mild disease’ now appears to be causing an increase in two rare health situations.
He said the virus appears to be the main agent for spreading the issue of babies being born with small heads and the neurological problem called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
He said regarding the spread of the virus there were factors not in the region’s favour.
“We have the very susceptible population that has not met this virus before, we have widespread aedes ageypti mosquitoes, we have a lot of travel in and out of the region. There is another factor, in many of our countries in the next two months the rainy season will begin and that will increase the possibility of breeding of the mosquito,” he added.
Last month, the head of the United Nations health agency issued a new warning on the virus, saying that “the more we know the worse things look.”
Three men jointly charged with Conspiracy to Rob
Earlier on (Wednesday 27th April 2016), Investigators of the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force jointly charged and Cautioned three males, Reginald ages 30, Almon 31, and Fritz-32 years old with Conspiracy to Rob in relation to a report that was made on Sunday 10th April 2016.
That Sunday, officers responded to the Sunny Foods Supermarket located on South Dock Road Providenciales, where during the robbery a male was shot multiple times on his back by three masked men. The men then got away with an undisclosed amount of money.
The trio was later arrested on suspicion for the offence.
They were taken to the Magistrate’s court where they were not allowed to enter a plea.
They are remanded into custody until Friday 3rd June 2016 for a sufficiency Hearing.