April 27 - May 3, 2013
World News
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Letta set to become Italy’s new prime minister Bolivian children are taught that regaining access to the sea is a patriotic duty
Bolivia takes Chile sea dispute to international court BOLIVIA has filed a lawsuit against Chile at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to reclaim access to the Pacific Ocean. Bolivia lost access to the coastline in a 19th Century war with Chile, leaving it landlocked ever since. Chile says Bolivia’s demand has no historical or legal basis. The two countries have had limited diplomatic relations since 1978, and previous attempts to negotiate the redrawing of the border have failed. Speaking in The Hague, Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said his nation had demanded that Chile negotiate in good faith with Bolivia “a swift and effective agreement that grants it [Bolivia] fully sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean”.
Bolivian President Evo Morales said he had decided to file the suit after “listening to the Bolivian people”. He had earlier expressed his confidence that Bolivia would regain its access to the sea, saying: “We’re going to win this battle because we’re right.” Reacting to the news, Chilean Interior Minister Andres Chadwick ruled out any dialogue. “If they want to talk about Chile’s maritime sovereignty, no. No dialogue is possible,” he said. The borders between the two neighbours date back to the 1904 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, signed after Bolivia lost 400km (250 miles) of coastline to Chile during the War of the Pacific (1879-1884).
Florida woman allegedly carjacked on first date IT WAS a first date she’ll never forget. Nimeha Milien was left shocked when a romantic evening allegedly ended with her suitor pulling out a gun and jacking her car. The Florida 21-year-old, who celebrated her birthday on Monday, said she feared for her life as the night took a dramatic turn for the worse. “I’m glad I’m alive ... because I want to be able to make a difference in this world. If I’d died that night, I wouldn’t have done anything,” she told WPBF. Milien said she agreed to meet Donald McGee, 19, on Friday night after he started to send her text messages. Despite having never met him before, she picked him up at the intersection of Sheridan St. and 68th Ave. in Hollywood, where he asked if they could go back to her place. Refusing, she instead drove to the Ocean Inlet Park in Palm Beach County, where they went for a romantic stroll. Following a “normal” time, she dropped him off at a Wendy’s on Boynton Beach Blvd. so his brother
Nimeha Milien had never met Donald McGee before their first date Friday night.
could pick him up. But, on stopping the car, McGee allegedly took out a .380-caliber Kel Tec handgun and ordered her out — jumping into the driver’s seat and speeding away. Milien ran to a gas station, where a customer said he’d chase McGee as she called 911. Cops caught up with McGee on I-95 and trailed him for eight miles — catching him when he got the vehicle stuck in dirt and grass on a ramp.
ENRICO Letta appears set to become Italy’s new prime minister, after being asked by President Giorgio Napolitano to form a broad coalition government. The appointment of Mr Letta, currently deputy leader of the centreleft Democratic Party, could see the end of two months of parliamentary deadlock. An inconclusive general election in February left the country in political limbo. Mr Letta said he would aim to change the course in Europe on austerity. “European policies are too focused on austerity which is no longer enough,” he said, following the closed-door meeting with the president in Rome. The 46-year-old also said he had accepted the post knowing that it was an enormous responsibility and that Italy’s political class “has lost all credibility”. Mr Letta must now form a cabinet that can win cross-party support and a vote of confidence in parliament, possibly this weekend. Factions from across the political spectrum, including former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s rightwing People of Freedom Party (PDL), have indicated that they are ready to form a coalition under a figure like Mr Letta. However, Mr Berlusconi’s party
Enrico Letta’s first job will be to put together a cabinet.
and the Democratic Party (PD) differ on a number of issues. PDL National Secretary Angelino Alfano warned that his group would not take part in a government unconditionally. Mr Letta, once a member of the former centre-right Christian Democrats, is seen as moderate of the left. His uncle, Gianni Letta, has been Mr Berlusconi’s chief-of-staff for 10 years. ‘FORCED MARRIAGE’ A broad political alliance would again make Mr Berlusconi a major influence. This awkward coming together of bitter rivals is seen as the only way to end the parliamentary
stalemate and put an administration in place, says the BBC’s Alan Johnston in Rome. So the mild-mannered Enrico Letta must set out now to piece together a coalition government of the broadest possible kind. An arrangement drawing in parties from across the political spectrum is seen as the only way to break the parliamentary deadlock. But this will throw together the most awkward partners. Mr Letta’s administration will draw his own leftwing Democratic Party (PD) into alliance with its bitter rivals led by Silvio Berlusconi on the right. Some PD supporters may well not be able to stomach that prospect.
President Obama to daughters: If you get a tattoo, I’m getting one too PRESIDENT Obama and the First Lady have come up with a crafty strategy to prevent their daughters from getting tattoos — and it banks on the girls thinking their parents are deeply uncool. “What we’ve said to the girls is, ‘If you guys ever decide you’re going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo. In the same place,’” Obama said with a smile. “And we’ll go on YouTube and show it off as a family tattoo.” “And our thinking is that might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that’s a good way to rebel,” he added. During the interview that aired Wednesday on NBC’s “Today,” Obama also laughed off a recent gaffe made by his wife — calling herself a “single mother” in an interview. “As somebody who has stumbled over my lines many times – I tend to cut my wife or anybody some slack when it comes to just slips of the tongue,” Obama said. But he acknowledged that “there’s no doubt that there have been times
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are counting on reverse psychology to prevent Malia (left) and Sasha (right) from getting inked.
where Michelle probably felt like a single mom.” “When I was running for the U.S. Senate, when I was running for President, there were times where I wouldn’t see her for a week and she was still working and had to look
after the girls,” he said. “So she definitely, I think, understands the burdens that women in particular tend to feel if they’re both responsible for child rearing and they’re responsible for working at the same time.” (Nydailynews.com)