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Tokyo, Japan (CNN) — Anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune testified in a trial Monday that he had no intention of hurting anyone when he protested Japan’s whale hunt.

The New Zealand activist from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, standing trial in Tokyo District Court, said that he believed bottles of butyric acid he threw at the Shonan Maru 2 whaling ship were non-toxic and would not harm anyone.

Bethune faces five charges, including assault against whalers and trespassing into a whaling vessel.

He pleaded guilty last week to all charges but assault. If convicted, Bethune faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars.

At Monday’s hearing he tearfully described the January collision between the Shonan Maru 2 and the Sea Shepherd’s multi-million-dollar speedboat, the Ady Gil. The crash sunk the Ady Gil, which Bethune captained.

Weeks later, Bethune jumped aboard the Shonan Maru 2 and attempted to make a citizen’s arrest of the captain. He was arrested and brought back to Japan to face criminal charges.

In court last week, Bethune admitted to all the charges, except for assault.

“I admit that I boarded the Shonan Maru, but I believe that I have good reason to do so,” he said. “I admit that I fired the butyric acid, but there were additional circumstances that we will discuss in court.”

Prosecutors say the butyric acid burned two crew members of the Japanese whaling fleet, but Sea Shepherd calls it a harmless, albeit rancid, liquid. Butyric acid is found in rancid butter and vomit.

Bethune’s case is the first time a Sea Shepherd activist has been tried in a Japanese criminal court in the group’s long-running battle with Japan’s whalers in the icy waters of the Antarctic.

Japan annually hunts whales in the Antarctic, despite a worldwide moratorium on whaling, under the loophole that a country may legally do so if its purpose is scientific research.

Sea Shepherd has claimed the science argument is a sham, noting that the whale meat then gets sold in Japanese markets and served in restaurants.

A verdict is expected June 10.

(CNN) — BP reported problems controlling the undersea well at the heart of the largest oil spill in U.S. history and won a delay in testing a critical piece of equipment in March, according to documents released Sunday.

“We are in the midst of a well control situation on MC 252 #001 and have stuck pipe. We are bringing out equipment to begin operations to sever the drillpipe, plugback the well and bypass,” Scherie Douglas, a BP regulatory advisor, told the district engineer for the U.S. Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service in a March 10 e-mail.

In a follow-up e-mail to the district engineer, Frank Patton, Douglas reported the company wanted to get a plug set in the well before testing the blowout preventer, the massive device used to shut down the well in case of an emergency.

“With the give and take of the well and hole behavior we would feel much more comfortable getting at least one of the two plugs set in order to fully secure the well prior to testing BOPs,” she wrote.

When Patton told BP he could not delay a test any longer than it took to bring the well under control, the company won a postponement from David Trocquet, the MMS district manager in New Orleans, Louisiana, the documents show. Trocquet ordered BP to make sure its cement plug was set up and to verify its placement, according to his reply. The messages do not indicate how long the test was postponed.

The exchange was among the documents released Sunday by leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is looking into the disaster that killed 11 workers aboard the drilling platform Deepwater Horizon and uncapped a gusher that is now fouling the northern Gulf of Mexico. BP has been unable to activate the well’s blowout preventer since the explosion, resulting in up to 19,000 barrels (798,000 gallons) spewing into the Gulf every day.

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” BP Managing Director Bob Dudley said those questions are being addressed by an investigation led by the Coast Guard and the MMS, which oversees offshore oil drilling. BP, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and oilfield services company Halliburton have blamed each other for the disaster

“There were issues of well control, signs out there, and there are strict procedures that are written,” Dudley said. Those procedures allow the rig owner “to walk through well control,” he said.

“That’s what the investigation will take minute by minute,” he said. But he said the failure of the well’s blowout preventer is a “very troubling” issue that will have repercussions throughout the oil industry.

“It is the piece of equipment that is not expected to fail, and that’s going to have implications for everyone around the world,” Dudley said.

BP’s design of the well has also come under scrutiny in the New Orleans hearings held by MMS and the Coast Guard. BP drilling engineer Mark Hafle testified Friday that he made “several changes to the casing designs” to address problems with the well’s cement walls and leaking drilling fluid. But he said the problems had been addressed.

“No one believed there was going to be a safety issue with pumping that cement job,” he said.

Halliburton performed the cementing work on the well, and Halliburton worker Christopher Haire told the New Orleans hearings Friday that BP kept changing the dimensions of the well’s casing. Meanwhile, BP’s investigation “raised concerns about the maintenance history, modification, inspection, and testing” of the blowout preventer, committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-California, reported earlier this month.

The New York Times reported Sunday that BP documents indicated the company had “serious problems and safety concerns” with the rig’s well casing and blowout preventer for months. Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who leads an Energy and Commerce subcommittee, said he has seen documents that confirm the Times report.

Other witnesses at congressional hearings into the spill have raised concerns as well. Stephen Stone, a laborer on the doomed rig, told the House Judiciary Committee last week that the Transocean crew had to stop drilling four times in the space of 20 days because of the loss of drilling “mud” — “either because the underground formation was unstable, or because drilling too quickly caused the formation to crack,” he said.

And Doug Brown, the rig’s chief mechanic, told the Judiciary Committee that cuts to Deepwater Horizon’s engineering staff left the crew with a backlog of preventive maintenance to perform. When they complained, he said, “We were always told, ‘We will see what we can do.’ “

Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair told his congregation Coke prefers to face justice at home

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Reputed gang leader, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, is prepared to face a local court rather than make a deal with the United States authorities where he is wanted on drugs and gun running charges, Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair has said.

Bishop Blair, who also chairs the Peace Management Initiative, told his congregation at the Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre on Sunday that he had met with Coke, 41, the leader of the notorious Shower Posse gang twice, prior to his visit to Tivoli Gardens with Public Defender Earl Witter on Tuesday.

“If I go back to Wednesday, two weeks ago, I received a call and I went to Jamaica House (Prime Minister’s Office). I was requested by the government to go into Tivoli Gardens to see if I could negotiate the surrender of Mr Coke,” he said, adding that he also met with officials of the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) to get their approval.

Bishop Blair told the congregation that he got the approval from both parties and waited until he was given permission by ‘a contact’ to go in to see Coke.

“I spent two hours with him. I came out, thank God, safely; I can’t tell you what I saw, but just imagine what I saw.

“At that time the place was already fortified and the officers were preparing to go in I begged of them, please if you go in remember there are innocent lives that must be saved,” Bishop Blair said.

He said he was still in negotiations with Coke, who faces life imprisonment in a United States jail if he is convicted of the charges, when the women of  Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town, took to the streets in support of the wanted man, setting up huge barricades as the security forces seemed to watch helplessly from the sidelines.

“The negotiations went on until Saturday. I got a call from the security forces who gave me the permission to go back to Mr Coke, with an offer from the United States Government that he turn in himself in,” he said.

“He (Coke) feels, or he felt at that time, that his best bet was to wait on the rulings of the court because he felt that the Jamaican courts would treat him better than the American courts, and that’s where it ended up until Saturday evening when the security forces decided to go into Tivoli Gardens,” Bishop Blair said.

But instead of turning himself in, Coke evaded the security forces and gunmen, who were paid as much as J$100,000 (US$1,137) daily to defend Coke, fought running battles with the security forces resulting in the death of at least 73 people.

Last weekend, Witter offered to assist Coke to surrender, if he chooses, to the security forces.

For the first time Witter has used his position to appeal to Coke, who is believed to be on the run, to surrender, stating there has been enough bloodshed in the process of seeking to execute a warrant for his arrest.
“He himself, one assumes, is aware of the existence of this warrant, if, as has been suggested that if he entertains any reasonable fears that by surrendering directly to the security forces any harm or hurt may come to him or that his life may be placed at risk, Blair and I are willing to facilitate the process,” Witter said.

“There is nothing backdoor about that. Our intention is to ensure that he is peacefully released to the custody of the security forces,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education is advising that schools in Kingston and St. Andrew will be open on Monday with the exception of some institutions located in the volatile West Kingston area.

According to a release from the Ministry, the Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town high schools, as well as all adjoining primary, all-age, junior high, infant and basic schools, will remain closed until further notice.

Parents are being urged to use their discretion to decide whether it is safe for their children to attend school, or to engage in other school-related activities.

The Ministry has also recommended that parents of students, who live in affected areas, to consider carefully, on a day-by-day basis, whether the risk level is low enough for their children to travel safely to and from school.

In relation to examination arrangements for schools in Kingston and St. Andrew for Monday, the ministry said that arrangements had been made to accommodate the students.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) said it is developing a welfare plan, which will address the needs of children affected by the police/military operation in West Kingston.

Deputy Director General at ODPEM, Richard Thompson, said that the agency has contacted the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in an effort to assist the children.

He informed that the plan will include a psychosocial component, as some of the children might have counselling needs based on what has happened.

“We are working though to see how best we can deal with that as well,” Thompson said, noting that the Jamaica Red Cross will be carrying out a similar programme.

“We want to look at that, we want to look at the psychosocial component. Everyone will be affected psychologically by what happened, but children are more affected when things like that happen,” he added.

CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – The St Lucia government says citizens will benefit from the decision to award licenses to a number of telecommunication companies to operate on the island.

Communications Minister Guy Joseph said that 10 new licenses had already been issued for a number of services including broadband internet, and cable television.

He said while the new services are likely to come on stream within a six to 12 month period, there will be major changes in the local telecommunications landscape.

He said he was also confident that St. Lucians would be signing up with one of the new companies given “the technology that it is planning to deploy”.

“But briefly part of the plan is to provide you with a St. Lucia number and if you are in the US or anywhere you can use it at a flat rate. Companies often propose attractive packages especially targeting the Diaspora and I am waiting to see which of these services on offer materialises,” Joseph said.

He dismissed suggestions that there St. Lucia has reached market saturation adding that there were enough players in the telecommunications sector to allow for adequate competition.

At present, there are two main players in the local market and Joseph said that it is always possible for them to make public statements which suggests that they may be at odds but privately meet to agree to a price that they are both comfortable with.

“I am not saying that this is what is happening but there is always that possibility when two players exist, but when there are a few more players on the ground it truly liberalises the market because everyone one would have to compete at a level that would enable them to bring in the type of service which would accommodate the limited number of customers available locally,” he said.

Meanwhile, St Lucia will host an Information and Communications Technology [ICT] road show from Tuesday, as part of the 21st anniversary celebrations of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU).

The organisers said the road show has been developed to raise awareness among stakeholders of the innovative approaches possible and necessary for the effective use of ICT in government, business and social development.

(CNN) — At least 106 people have died after a tropical storm battered Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador over the weekend, officials in those countries reported.

Guatemala was hit hardest, with at least 83 deaths, nearly 112,000 people evacuated and more than 29,000 living in temporary shelters, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom said in an address to the nation late Sunday.

The devastation has been widespread throughout Guatemala, with mudslides destroying homes and buildings and burying some victims. At least nine rivers have dramatically higher levels, and 13 bridges have collapsed, the nation’s emergency services said.

Classes have been canceled this week throughout the nation.

In Honduras, where 14 people have died, President Porfirio Lobo declared a state of emergency Sunday.

Nearly 3,500 people have been evacuated from their homes and nearly 3,300 are living in shelters, the Honduran emergency agency said Monday. More than 140 homes have been destroyed, and an additional 700 have been damaged, the Permanent Commission for Emergencies reported.

The situation in El Salvador, where nine people died, was improving Monday, officials said. The rain stopped Sunday afternoon, and river levels were beginning to diminish, officials said. Classes nationwide remained canceled, however, until further notice.

More rain was possibly forecast for Monday, though, and Salvadoran officials said they were closely monitoring the situation.

Agatha was demoted from a tropical storm to a tropical depression Saturday night and lost its status as a depression Sunday evening.

It was the first named storm of the Pacific hurricane season. The Atlantic hurricane season starts Tuesday.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Lawyers representing Christopher “Dudus” Coke, wanted in the United States on drugs and weapons charges, were heading back to court on Monday in a bid to block his extradition.

Chief Justice Zailia McCalla is hearing the application filed by Coke’s attorneys who are seeking leave to challenge the decision of the Justice Minister Dorothy Lightbourne to sign the extradition request.

The matter had been postponed two weeks ago after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had indicated that he had been served with a summons minutes before the hearing was scheduled to begin.
Attorney Don Foote, one of Coke’s lawyers, said that he expects a ruling will be made today.

Efforts by the police to execute the warrant on Coke have resulted in the death of more than 73 people in the West Kingston constituency where gunmen loyal to Coke, the reputed leader of the notorious Shower posse gang, gave engaged the security forces.

Coke faces life imprisonment in the United States if he is convicted of the charges.

Meanwhile, the police said they were questioning nine persons who were detained on Sunday in the upscale community of Kirkland Heights as they continue their search for the Coke.

The authorities said that the autopsies of those killed during the gun battle with the security forces will begin on Monday. Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington said that measures have also been taken to have relatives identify some of the bodies in the morgue.

“We have photographed all of them, we are going to display them in the communities, we are going to set up an information hub where we will display them and give relatives the opportunity to help us with the names of the individuals,” he said.

A postmortem will also be done on the body of Keith Clarke, who was shot under controversial circumstances at his house in Kirkland Heights last Thursday.

The local human rights group, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) said it would provide an independent pathologist to observe the postmortem.

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Grenada says it will establish a Centre of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with the assistance of the Indian government.

“We hope that the ICT Centre of Excellence will be the nerve centre for the OECS (organization of eastern Caribbean States), where we can have hundreds of our young people being trained on the latest technology; not just in the use of computers but also in software development right here in Grenada,’’ said the Minister with responsibility for Information and ICT, Arley Gill.

“That’s one critical service we believe we can sell and provide to the rest of the region,” she added.

India is to provide equipment for the centre and Gill said that it would help the island move towards a “knowledge-based economy”.

Investment Project Manager with the Grenada Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) Sonia Roden, said the ICT Centre of Excellence would offer a range of training programmes in keeping with the island’s national development thrust.

“An ICT Centre is critical for the country’s development. Almost everything you do, you use ICT,” she added.

(CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled this week’s scheduled meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Israeli government officials said Monday. The two leaders were slated to meet Tuesday during a visit by Netanyahu to Washington.

Netanyahu also decided to cut short a visit to Canada and return to Israel, according to an e-mail statement from his media adviser.

Netanyahu’s cancellation of the meeting came in the wake of international condemnation of Israel after Israeli soldiers stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid intended for Palestinians in Gaza, leaving at least nine people dead in the resulting violence.

Israel claimed it was defending itself, with the Israel Defense Forces saying the soldiers’ lives were in danger after they were attacked with “severe physical violence, including live fire, weapons, knives and clubs.”

Several nations, however, have condemned the military action and called for an investigation.

Obama spoke on the phone with Netanyahu Monday morning, according to a statement from the White House press office. He “said he understood the prime minister’s decision to return immediately to Israel to deal with today’s events … (and) agreed to reschedule their meeting at the first opportunity.”

Obama “expressed deep regret at the loss of life in today’s incident, and concern for the wounded,” the statement noted. He “also expressed the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances around this morning’s tragic events as soon as possible.”

Netanyahu and Obama were set to discuss, among other things, the recently completed U.N. conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, according to an earlier statement from the Israeli government.

The final document released by participants in the month-long conference, which ended Friday, called for a 2012 conference of all Middle Eastern states to move forward on a 1995 proposal for a nuclear-free Mideast. The document also called on Israel to sign the treaty and place “all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards.”

Israel is not a member of the NPT and has neither confirmed nor denied that it has a nuclear weapons stockpile.

The Israeli government said in a statement the conference’s document is “deeply flawed and hypocritical” and said it “ignores the realities of the Middle East and the real threats facing the region and the entire world.” The statement also complained that Israel is singled out in the document and Iran, which is a signatory to the NPT, is not mentioned.

The United States signed onto the document, but Obama National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones said the U.S. government has “serious reservations.”

WASHINGTON, CMC – Secretary General of the Organization of American States, (OAS) José Miguel Insulza, Monday underscored the importance of the “World Summit for the Future of Haiti” that begins in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

He said that the two-day summit had the objective of creating permanent ties of solidarity between the international community and the earthquake-devastated Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

“The commitment of the countries and international organisations with the Haiti Reconstruction Plan and with the strengthening of the Haitian democratic system is an urgent effort that cannot be delayed and that everyone must develop in coordination with each other for the benefit of the Haitian people.

“From this point of view, the meeting in Punta Cana reflects the interest that the governments of America and Europe have in the plans designed to help the government of President Préval work to lift the country from the huge setback brought about by the January 12 earthquake.”
At the Punta Cana meeting, convened by the governments of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and by the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, a full review will be made of all projected plans and of the funds collected in the last months to help Haiti, in order to set deadlines and concrete objectives that define in an orderly way the future of this international effort.

On January 12, a powerful earthquake devastated Haiti, killing an estimated 300,000 people and leaving more than a million others homeless.

The OAS Secretary General praised the initiative to convene the meeting that arose during the last Summit of the Rio Group and Latin America and the Caribbean held in Mexico.

“The  road towards the development of the Caribbean nation cannot wait, which is why hopefully the Punta Cana summit will allow for a definition of a strategy of solidarity with this country that establishes a timeline and the political and technical aspects of international assistance.”
The review of the Plan of Action for the Reconstruction of Haiti is the main objective of the Punta Cana meeting, which is to be attended by numerous heads of state of the region and of the European continent.