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The Lunch Time Edition Of The Big Stories- Observer Radio 91.1fm

A security helicopter flies over Sanaa during an operation in December.

(CNN) — A man described as “one of al Qaeda’s most dangerous members” was arrested in Yemen, the Yemeni military, an embassy official and state-run news agency Saba said.

Mohammed Abdu Saleh al-Haudali, 35, is “one of the most dangerous terrorists wanted by the security forces,” according to a Yemeni military Web site, citing a security source.

Al-Haudali was arrested Wednesday in the village of Deer Jaber in the Bajel district, northeast of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, said Mohammed Albasha, spokesman for the Yemen Embassy in Washington.

Al-Haudali exchanged fire with security forces before his arrest, Saba reported, citing Hodeidah province security officer Abdul-Wahab al-Radhi. However, the Yemeni military site quoted the security source as saying al-Haudali was caught when he attempted to open fire on authorities.

In addition, Albasha told CNN, Mohammed Ali Al-Henk, “a wanted al Qaeda operative,” was captured in the Arhab district north of Sanaa.

Yemeni air forces have raided al Qaeda hideouts in Sanaa along with Abyan and Shabwa governorates, killing dozens of al Qaeda suspects, Saba reported. It did not say when the raids took place.

Following the raids, the Interior Ministry told its offices to raise security alerts and tighten defense procedures nationwide in anticipation of operations, Saba said.

The arrests come after a Nigerian man allegedly attempted to detonate an explosive device on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, December 25. Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack.

Suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab spent time in Yemen, sources have said. His father, Umaru AbdulMutallab, contacted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria several weeks ago to report his son had “become radicalized,” and had gone to Yemen to participate in “some kind of jihad,” a family source said.

A federal security bulletin obtained by CNN says the explosives used in the incident were obtained in Yemen.

A U.S. government official said that between August and October, extremists in Yemen were discussing operations and mentioned a person called “the Nigerian.” The source said that U.S. intelligence officials also had a partial name for the person: Umar Farouk.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) says it has collected GUY$8 billion (US$40 million) in taxes this year, surpassing the target set for 2009.

GRA Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur said the increase in revenue was due to a number of measures including those aimed at dealing with the smuggling of fuel and vehicles.

Sattaur said there had also been a marked increase in corporate taxes which is a direct result of the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

“When compared to last year there has been a massive increase over the collection for last year… (and) that by itself speaks volume about the effectiveness of our tax administration and the measures we have put in place this year to curb many of the loop holes that exist in tax administration over the years,” he said.

Sattaur said another major achievement is the computerisation of motor vehicles licenses resulting in the detection of more than 500 illegal vehicles. He said the reduction in the smuggling of fuel also improved revenue collection.

But he said of major concern to the GRA is the continuous erosion of the tax base by self employed professionals including doctors and lawyers.

He said the GRA would be implementing several new initiatives to deal with the situation in the New Year.

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – The new cabinet of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit will be sworn in on Monday, in a ceremony expected to be attended by leaders from some Caribbean countries, according to a senior government official.

Secretary to the Cabinet, Felix Gregoire said Wednesday that Monday has been declared a public holiday and that the “glittering occasion” will be held at the Windsor Park Stadium.

President Dr. Nicholas Liverpool will administer the oath to the members of the new cabinet, whose names and portfolios are yet to be made public.
Skerrit’s Dominica Labour Party (DLP) won a third consecutive general election, when it trounced the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) by an 18-3 margin on December 18.

The UWP has said that its members would boycott the new parliament, complaining that the election, monitored by observer teams from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), had been riddled with various irregularities.

Both the OAS and the CARICOM Observer Teams have said they were pleased with the conduct of the polls with the OAS saying “the environment in which citizens exercised their franchise was peaceful and without incident.

“There were no reported instances of intimidation of voters or any other serious irregularities,’ the OAS said, while the CARICOM team noted “the process was transparent and the secrecy of the ballot was respected.

“The Mission believes that the outcome of the election was a true reflection of the will of the people,” the CARICOM Observer Team added.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – The leaders of Dominica’s two main opposition parties have held talks with the Prime Ministers of St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines concerning alleged irregularities in the December 18 general elections in their country.

The leader of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP),Ron Green, and the leader of the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP), Judith Pestaina, were part of a three-member delegation from the newly formed Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) that travelled to St. Kitts seeking an audience with the leaders from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The OECS leaders were here to sign a treaty to establish an Economic Union among the nine-member sub regional grouping.

Green and Pestaina said they met with Prime Minister Stephenson King of St. Lucia and his St. Vincent and the Grenadines counterpart, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.

Green told reporters that the election which the ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) won by a convincing 18-3 margin should be declared null and void based on a number of irregularities including the payment given to more than 4,000 Dominicans residing overseas to come home to vote in the election.

“First, their travel was paid and second their expenses, money was put in their pockets to come to Dominica,” he told reporters.

He said that many of those Dominicans had arrived on the day of the elections “voted and left the next day”.

He said the police in some instances provide security for those overseas Dominicans.

“Gross abuse of the democratic process and that is why we say the elections were fraudulent and for all practical purposes we can say the elections in Dominica on the 18^th of December 2009 were bought”.

The UWP has said that its members would boycott the new parliament as part of their protest against the results of the election that was monitored by observer teams from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Both the OAS and the CARICOM Observer Teams have said they were pleased with the conduct of the polls, with the OAS saying “the environment in which citizens exercised their franchise was peaceful and without incident.

“There were no reported instances of intimidation of voters or any other serious irregularities,’ the OAS said, while the CARICOM team noted “the process was transparent and the secrecy of the ballot was respected.

“The Mission believes that the outcome of the election was a true reflection of the will of the people,” the CARICOM Observer Team added.

But the DFP leader told reporters that she did not share the position of the observer teams and also indicated that her party, which failed to win a seat in the last two general elections, was now in the process of rebuilding.

“We had to put our foot in the door and we really did not expect to win,” she told reporters, adding that the main supporters of the party had drifted to the camps of the two main political parties there over the years.

“So we went into this thing with our eyes open,” she added.

The MRD said that the new poll should be held within 18 months under new terms and conditions that include an updated voter registration and the implementation of voter identification cards.

The First, Second & Third Edition Of The Big Stories- Observer Radio 91.1fm

Chase Collegiate School of Connecticut fulfilled their vacation dream staying unbeaten in the 10th Annual Gillian Brazier Basketball Shoot-Out.

Playing their usual patient set offences, Chase paced the rough and muscular Big Banana Express 30-19 at the half, and finished their Tuesday night’s work at the JSC Sports Complex 66-57.

Onyesonam Nolisa continued to dominate the scoring by posting a game high 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and 7 block shots to her stats. Nolisa was aided by Savannah Holness with 22 points and 8 rebounds.

For Big Banana Lady Express, Amanda Edwards’ high score of 23 points and 3 steals were not enough to salvage any pride. Sonya Baptiste chipped in with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

In the second game of the night, St Kitts crept from behind at the half 21-27, to overtake the defending champions, Lady Vipers, in the last 10 minutes of play to explode with a 58-38 victory at the final whistle.

For Lady Vipers, Kebra Nanton shot 11 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and Anique Rhodes contributed 10 points in a losing effort, ending an ironic and certainly agonizing four-game losing streak for the defending champions.

With some last minute aggressive effort, St Kitts took control of the game through Shacarma Warner with 21 points, and Diana Palmer 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals to finish with a 3-1 record.

As such, St Kitts will face off with Chase Collegiate in the championship game on Wednesday night, December 30, at the JSC Sports Complex.

Before that, Big Banana Lady Express will match up with the Wadadli Wildcats for third and fourth places.

There will also be a three-point shoot-out involving two members of each competing team.

Awards will be presented at the end of the championship game and will include the Most Valuable Player, Most Outstanding Rookie of the Tournament, Most Points, Most Rebounds, Most Assists, Most Block Shots and Most Steals.

The tournament is mainly sponsored by Hutchinson (Antigua) Ltd, APUA, FirstCaribbean International Bank, Harney Motors Ltd, Subway, GiGi Industries Ltd, Stitch World and Photo Shack.

UK-based actress Julie Hewelett and Dr Alvin Edwards reviewing the script for a scene in the drama series Paradise View which begins airing January 4th at 8 pm on ABS television. (Photo by Laura Hall)

Paradise View, a 10-part drama series produced by HAMA Productions which deals with issues of HIV and AIDS, will be distributed across the region by the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partners on HIV/AIDS.

The series will begin airing on ABS Television in January, making it the first among broadcasters in the region. ABS television is one of the 30-member stations of the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partners on HIV/AIDS.

The partners unite broadcasters from across the Caribbean in a coordinated response to the region’s surging pandemic.

Inspired by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s call to action under the Global Media AIDS Initiative, this partnership creates a structured framework for sharing information and resources among broadcasters that will significantly expand HIV/AIDS-related programming and public education activities across the Caribbean.

The CBMP was launched in May 2006 at a regional summit meeting of media executives on HIV/AIDS, organised by the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Paradise View features a local cast, along with UK based actress Julie Hewlett, dealing with social issues in a way that is designed to entertain and inform its audience.

ABS Television Station Manager Trevor Parker says ABS TV has been actively involved with the CBMP “Live Up” Campaign and sees the broadcasting of Paradise View as the continuation of its commitment to support programming that extends the HIV/AIDS message.

Paradise View will be shown nightly at 8 pm on ABS television starting Monday.