Black Immigrant Daily News

News

Justice Joan Charles. –

THE trial judge hearing the civil claim filed against maritime attorney Nyree Alfonso and two others by the Port Authority (PATT) over the controversial procurement of the MV Superfast Galicia read the riot act to attorneys on Friday, saying she will not be entertaining any process that does not follow the rules of court.

On Friday, Justice Joan Charles admonished parties at the start of the day’s hearing of the lawsuit. She said she received extraordinary correspondence from one of the parties without going into details.

Charles said there have been objections by all the parties in the case, from time to time, but they (the parties) must abide by the court’s rulings. “I will not engage in any process that would provide fodder…”

Completing his testimony on Friday was former transport minister Stephen Cadiz.

Cadiz held the transport portfolio in the People’s Partnership coalition government from 2010-2015.

Also testifying from Gibralta was Richard de La Rosa, director of shipping agent, Astralship who testified for InterContinental Shipping Ltd (ICSL) and its managing director John Powell.

The authority has sued Alfonso, ICSL, and Powell, alleging that while Alfonso was working for the port, she appointed Intercontinental Shipping Ltd as her agent to tender for the contract.

Intercontinental, the agents for the Superfast Galicia, won the bid.

The claim alleges Alfonso benefited financially from the $148 million paid to Intercontinental for the Galicia. Alfonso has already testified at the trial.

The claim against her is that she reviewed the case for terminating the authority’s arrangements for the Government Shipping Service with the owners of the MV Warrior Spirit and identified the MV Superfast Galicia as the preferred replacement.

The lawsuit filed against the three seeks damages for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by Alfonso while she was working for the Port Authority as an adviser, to help them source a vessel to replace the Warrior Spirit on the inter-island seabridge.

She has denied that ICSL or Powell ever acted as her agent in the authority’s tendering process to find a suitable cargo vessel for the inter-island route during the time the Warrior Spirit was to go into dry dock.

She also said she was only on a six-month contract to assist the port to help identify/locate a party/vessel for the route during the dry-docking period of the Warrior Spirit, but not “bring it here or operate it.”

The lawsuit against Alfonso, Powell, and ICSL was filed shortly after the Superfast Galicia contract was canceled in April 2017. The decision led to daily delays in the ferry service before the government eventually bought the Galleons Passage to service the seabridge.

Cadiz was questioned about the tender for the vessel to service the seabridge but said his job was not to get involved in the award. That, he said, was for the authority and the Central Tenders Board. He said he could not provide answers about the charter-party arrangements.

Cadiz agreed that in finding a suitable vessel for the seabridge, safety was the first priority. He said there were concerns about the Warrior Spirit which was considered to be “unsuitable for the run.”

In his testimony, de la Rosa said the Galicia was the front-runner in the procurement process because it was the most readily available vessel among four that were identified for the route. De la Rosa was also questioned about his business relationship with Powell and said he questioned him about his company’s capacity to partner, insisting that Alfonso was not involved. “She’s a lawyer. No offence to her, but she doesn’t have the capacity (to operate a vessel on the sea-bridge).”

De la Rosa will again testify on Friday.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

– Advertisement –

Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre says his administration has taken ‘decisive action’ to ensure that the costs of everyday items like retail cooking gas, petrol, and price-controlled goods do not escalate to the levels seen throughout the region.

In this regard, Pierre, also responsible for Finance, disclosed that the government had spent $9 million to subsidise cooking gas to date.

On his Facebook page, the Castries East MP observed that the move had presented ‘exorbitant price increases’.

Pierre explained that the subsidised 20 and 22-pound cooking gas cylinders cost $45.27 and $49.79, respectively.

– Advertisement –

“Without the subsidies by the government, the retail prices for the 20 and 22-pound cylinders of cooking gas would cost 72.90 and $80.18, respectively,” he explained.

In addition, he observed that the government had sacrificed more than $22 million in potential revenue collection on petroleum imports to keep retail fuel prices low.

According to Pierre, for the first time, during this fiscal year, for the period, July 4th – July 24th, 2022, importers of petroleum products had to be refunded $1 million to fully offset the negative excise tax incurred due to high imported prices.

“This was to allow for lower retail prices,” the Prime Minister stated.

In addition, Pierre noted that price-controlled goods are 6% cheaper due to the government’s decision to suspend the service charge amidst rising global inflation.

He said flour, rice, and sugar import costs have significantly increased on the international market, and the government has absorbed the increase of $9.8 million.

Pierre also pointed out that Government pensioners have each received a $500 direct deposit from the government to supplement and strengthen their spending power in the face of rising consumer prices.

– Advertisement –

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Le Guadeloupéen Teddy Riner remporte ce dimanche le Gand Slam de Budapest. Ce week-end il faisait son grand retour en compétition individuelle. 

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party and its coalition partner scored a major victory in a parliamentary election Sunday, possibly propelled by sympathy votes in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Early results in the race for the parliament’s upper house showed Abe’s governing party and its junior coalition partner Komeito securing a majority in the chamber and adding more. The last day of campaigning on Saturday, a day after Abe was gunned down while delivering a speech, was held under heightened security as party leaders pledged to uphold democracy and renouncing violence.

Also Sunday, police in western Japan sent the alleged assassin to a local prosecutors’ office for further investigation. A top regional police official acknowledged possible security lapses that allowed the attacker to get so close and fire a bullet at the still-influential former Japanese leader.

Preliminary vote counts showed the governing Liberal Democratic Party on track to secure a coalition total of at least 143 seats in the 248-member upper house, the less powerful of the two chambers. Up for election was half of the upper house’s new six-year term. With a likely major boost, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stands to rule without interruption until a scheduled election in 2025.

That would allow Kishida to work on long-term policy goals such as national security, his signature but still vague “new capitalism” economic policy, and his party’s long-cherished goal to amend the U.S.-drafted postwar pacifist constitution.

Kishida and senior party lawmakers observed a moment of silence for Abe at the party election headquarters before placing on the whiteboard victory ribbons next to the names of candidates who secured their seats.

In the wake of Friday’s brazen killing, Sunday’s vote took on a new meaning, with all political leaders emphasizing the importance of free speech and their pledge not to back down on violence against democracy.

“It was extremely meaningful that we carried out the election,” Kishida said. “Our endeavor to protect democracy continues.”

Kishida welcomed early results and said responses to COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising prices will be his priorities. He said he will also steadily push for reinforcing Japan’s national security as well a constitutional amendment.

Early results suggested a charter change proposal is now a possibility. The LDP and its junior partner as well as two supportive opposition parties together are certain to secure enough seats needed for an amendment proposal, which requires a two-thirds majority in both houses. The governing bloc already has secured support in the other chamber.

On the final day of campaigning Saturday, party leaders avoided fist-bumps or other close-proximity friendly gestures they used to enjoy with the public — a sign of tightened security following Abe’s assassination during a campaign rally.

Mourners visited the LDP headquarters to lay flowers and pray for Abe as party officials prepared for vote counting inside.

“We absolutely refuse to let violence shut out free speech,” Kishida said in his final rally in the northern city of Niigata on Saturday. “We must demonstrate that our democracy and election will not back down on violence.”

Abe was shot in Nara on Friday and airlifted to a hospital but died of blood loss. Police arrested a former member of Japan’s navy at the scene and confiscated a homemade gun. Several others were later found at his apartment.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, told investigators he acted because of Abe’s rumored connection to an organization that he resented, police said, but had no problem with the former leader’s political views. The man had developed hatred toward a religious group that his mother was obsessed about and that bankrupted a family business, according to media reports, including some that identified the group as the Unification Church.

Abe’s body, in a black hearse accompanied by his wife, Akie, returned to his home in Tokyo’s upscale Shibuya, where many mourners, including Kishida and top party officials, paid tribute. His wake and funeral are expected in coming days.

Nara prefectural police chief Tomoaki Onizuka on Saturday said that problems with security were undeniable, that he took the shooting seriously and will review the security procedures.

Japan is known for its strict gun laws. With a population of 125 million, it had only 21 gun-related criminal cases in 2020, according to the latest government crime paper. Experts say, however, some recent attacks involved use of consumer items such as gasoline, suggesting increased risks for ordinary people to be embroiled in mass attacks.

Even after stepping down as prime minister in 2020, Abe was highly influential in the LDP and headed its largest faction. His absence could change the power balance in the governing party that has almost uninterruptedly ruled postwar Japan since its 1955 foundation, experts say.

“This could be a turning point” for the LDP over its divisive policies on gender equality, same-sex marriages and other issues that Abe-backed ultra-conservatives with paternalistic family values had resisted, said Mitsuru Fukuda, a crisis management professor at Nihon University.

Japan’s current diplomatic and security stance is unlikely to be swayed because fundamental changes had already been made by Abe. His ultra-nationalist views and pragmatic policies made him a divisive figure to many, including in the Koreas and China.

Abe stepped down two years ago blaming a recurrence of the ulcerative colitis he’d had since he was a teenager. He said he regretted leave many of his goals unfinished, including the issue of Japanese abducted years ago by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia, and a revision of Japan’s war-renouncing constitution that many conservatives consider a humiliation, because of poor public support.

Abe was groomed to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. His political rhetoric often focused on making Japan a “normal” and “beautiful” nation with a stronger military through security alliance with the United States and bigger role in international affairs.

He became Japan’s youngest prime minister in 2006, at age 52. But his overly nationalistic first stint abruptly ended a year later, also because of his health, prompting six years of annual leadership change.

He returned to office in 2012, vowing to revitalize the nation and get its economy out of its deflationary doldrums with his “Abenomics” formula, which combines fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural reforms. He won six national elections and built a rock-solid grip on power.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

NewsAmericasNow.com