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LOCAL NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
MINISTRIES AND PERMANENT SECRETARIES TO BE REDUCED CONT’D
Continued from Page 1
“There are lots of problems with the administration of Government and indeed there are too many ministries and too many Permanent Secretaries. The Permanent Secretaries are not doing what I regard as a proper PS job, so we are doing this so that the PS will hopefully become a more strategic person and have more time to think and
execute. So ultimately it’s a question of structure, efficiency and productivity,” Stanley added. The current Permanent Secretaries are: Border Control & Labour - Clara Gardiner; Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Beatrice Fulford; Environment and District Administration - Mary Harvey; Finance - Delton Jones;
Health and Human Services - Judith Campbell; Home Affairs and Public Safety - Denise Saunders; Office of Public Service Management Susan Malcolm Trade, Tourism and Communications Arthur Been Works and Housing - Desmond Wilson The Chief Executive said the Permanent Secretaries already have been
notified about the restructuring and reorganization plans. However, because the initiative is now in its formative stages, he could not say as yet which ministries and which permanent secretaries will be kept or cut. Stanley said that all the PS jobs will be advertised, and that they will be even looking to recruit persons who are not presently in the public sector. He said that there are many intelligent and qualified persons in the Turks and Caicos Islands who should be given the opportunity to apply for top Government jobs and prove their worth.
Guests of The West Bay Club Adopt a Potcake Found After the Hurricane A FAMILY VISITING The West Bay Club, a luxurious, intimate boutique resort on the world renowned beach of Grace Bay, received two unexpected visitors: Hurricane Irene and a new family pet. Sue Panno Shepard, who is involved with ground and air rescue in her hometown in New York State, explored the island of Providenciales with her family immediately after Hurricane Irene swept the island. During that time they came across a litter of "potcakes", the name given to local, homeless dogs in the islands of the Caribbean. The locals provided homes to the strongest and healthiest newborns but one very weak puppy was left behind. Sue and her family took him in. Because of that, they had to extend their stay at The West Bay Club so proper care, including a visit to the local veterinarian for much-needed treatment and vaccinations could be provided. The local vet, in conjunction with the local potcake rescue program, was most helpful in
providing free care and the documents necessary to adopt and transport the puppy to his new home. He went from being abandoned to finding a loving new family in just a few days. "There are so many things to see and do in Providenciales, but Sue and her family took it a step further by getting involved with rescuing a potcake in need of help and a new home. We are delighted when our guests become involved with the community and find a new adventure here. It was impossible not to fall in love with this little guy when Sue and family showed him off. I am told when they found him it was love at first sight. The puppy rescue and the fact that we had minimal damage were two big blessings Turks & Caicos received from the Hurricane," said Dane Underwood, Managing Director of The West Bay Club. Anchored on the peaceful, western end of the Turks and Caicos' most famous attraction, Grace Bay
Beach, The West Bay Club features large, luxuriously-appointed ocean-front suites with spacious living areas, full kitchens or kitchenettes and outdoor terraces to enjoy the direct ocean views and cooling breezes. The West Bay Club offers a range of amenities, including a poolside restaurant and bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, free use of the Hobie Cat and other non-motorized water sports , a well-equipped fitness center, complimentary wireless Internet throughout the resort, a manager's reception on Wednesday evenings and a kitchen stock-up service prior to guests' arrival to name a few. The West Bay Club suite types include one, two and three-bedroom penthouses with breathtaking views of the famous white sands and aquamarine waters of Turks and Caicos. The family-friendly resort is ideal for any type of island getaway, including group events, weddings, honeymoons and corporate outings
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2011
Local
SEPTEMBER 23RD - SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2011
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2011
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2011
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Grand Turk
Commissioner wants Police Force to be more proactive
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
COLIN FARQUHAR, COMMISSIONER of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, wants his organisation to change from being a reactive police force to being a proactive police and to be more service- oriented. In an interview with The SUN, Farquhar said: “The way I look at it is that TCIG has essentially hired a security police service and what we are supposed to do is provide that umbrella of safety and security. The public requests and demands certain services and it is up to us to provide that service. We can do that by being a little more effective and efficient than we have been. We have to remember that the public is our client and we have to engage with our clients and have an understanding of what our clients want and need and also when the public calls us and makes a complaint, there is a duty on us to keep that person informed of the investigation. It is not a matter of just going there, conducting the initial investigation and then walking away. You need to keep those persons informed throughout the whole process and that will be a real key to our progress.”
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
Commissioner of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, Colin Farquhar
Farquhar said he has been working on securing better accommodation and equipment for the Force. “The better accommodation you can put people in the better their morale will be and they will be much more able to engage. In addition to that, one of the things I’ve also done is moved some
people around,” he said. “If a person has a family in Grand Turk and they’ve been working in Provo, if it is good for the organisation and the person that we move them back to Grand Turk, then why not. We’ve done some of those initial transfers which I think have been very beneficial to the organisation and the police officers and their families.” The Commissioner said he also plans to make the police uniforms more “functional”, by adding features that would clearly identify police officers, especially those in khaki. He also plans to change the shoes from those with leather soles to rubber soles that are more “operational-ready” and which are used by international police forces. Farquhar, who is on secondment from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said he will also be improving the vehicle fleet. “When I started around March, we had about 50 percent of the vehicles on the road, but now we have around 68 percent on the road. We are definitely improving. Our mechanic has now done up a really good preventative maintenance programme so every few weeks they go in for maintenance,” he
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LOCAL NEWS
said. “There is a need for new vehicles. We did a survey and an assessment and if we had all of the vehicles that we wanted, we would probably add about 50 to the fleet, but that’s just not going to happen. So we looked at it a little more critically and we identified that we need probably 19 vehicles, but even 19 vehicles is going to be a real challenge right now, but what we’re looking at is putting a business case forward and we’re just trying to finalise that.” The Commissioner said that instead of looking to buy the vehicles from the US, they want to purchase them locally. “We want to go to local dealers and see what we can work out. We are looking at three of four vehicles every three or four months and try to rebuild our fleet that way. But one of things we also have to do is look at our older fleet and determine when we are going to retire them. So it is not just a matter of adding to the fleet but also looking at which one we are going to decommission and get out of the fleet,” he added.
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LOCAL COMMENTARY NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
THE BAHAMAS: TOUGH TIMES NOW, BETTER PROSPECTS AHEAD
By Sir Ronald Sanders
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Following a slowdown resulting from the global financial crisis, economic hopes in the Bahamas are now pinned on a revival of tourism through the development of a massive new project funded by China The economy of the Bahamas is experiencing tough times and its recovery is strategically reliant on the success of a massive Chinese-funded tourism project that broke ground in February. Developers of the $3-billion project say it will bring 430,000 new visitors to the Bahamas annually, create 8,000 permanent jobs and contribute $1 billion to the economy in new spending in 2015. The new project, known as Baha Mar, will need to deliver on all its promises to lift the Bahamas economy out of the doldrums into which it sunk in the wake of the 2008-09 global financial crisis that hit it harder than the many hurricanes the chain of islands has suffered over the years. The project itself is also mired in controversy because of the government’s agreement to allow the majority of the construction workers to come from China as a condition of the $2.4 billion in funding from the Export-Import Bank of China. Measured against their neighbouring Caribbean countries, the people of the Bahamas are well off, with an annual per capita income of $18,932. Yet unemployment rates rose dramatically to 14 percent in 2009, up from 9 percent in 2008, as the two main legs of the economy collapsed. Tourism, which contributes more than 40 percent of the country’s GDP, declined by 10 percent in 2009, and the financial services sector also took a beating, primarily from the demands of the OECD. Foreign direct investment also fell by a significant 30 percent, causing a sharp contraction in domestic activity. Meanwhile, central government debt as a percentage of the country’s GDP has been growing steadily since 2006. The government had hoped to bring the figure down, but a fall in revenues following the global financial crisis prompted increased borrowing, and debt had risen to 47 percent of GDP by the end of June 2010. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed concern that unless the government institutes new revenue measures and sells some state-owned enterprises, the debt-to-GDP ratio could reach 55 percent by 2015. Introducing new revenue measures is easier said than done, however. At the last general elections in 2007, the Free National Movement of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, with 49.86 percent of the popular vote, only narrowly beat the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) with 47.02 percent. Popular discontent has grown with the economic decline over the past three years. Now that Ingraham faces a general election (due by May 2012), he would be signing his own
political death warrant if he introduced new taxes on the population at this time. The Bahamas has never had personal income tax or value added tax (VAT), since successive governments have studiously avoided them. Undoubtedly, the PLP opposition would exploit popular emotion by opposing the introduction of these taxes, both of which the IMF has recommended. Compared with their Caribbean neighbours, Bahamians are quite well off, and yet unemployment rose dramatically in 2009 after the collapse of both tourism and financial services This is why, in February, the Bahamas government turned to the unpopular sale of 51 percent of the state-owned Bahamas Telecommunication Corporation (BTC) to the British conglomerate, Cable & Wireless (C&W), which owns telecommunications companies in several Caribbean countries. Ingraham said in December that C&W had “the economies of scale and the purchasing power to give strong support to BTC in an aggressive competitive environment”. Compared to the introduction of direct taxes on the population, selling a controlling interest in BTC for $210 million was the lesser of two evils. The government said the proceeds of the sale would be used to pay part of the national debt. While this would comply with the urgings of the IMF, the sale offended national pride, since BTC has been owned by the state and managed by Bahamians for over 45 years. The PLP said that it “cried shame” on the government for “giving the most valued public asset away for pennies”. There have also been angry public demonstrations not witnessed in recent times. The government has been clearly rattled by the protests, particularly when the union representing BTC employees joined the demonstrations claiming that 30 percent of local workers would be sacked by the new C&W management. The claim of dismissals at BTC coincided with the government’s agreement to allow 79 percent of the workers on the Baha Mar tourism project to come from China at a time when Bahamian unemployment has reached levels not seen for decades. And yet, with foreign investment having collapsed, the Chinese funding was a godsend, particularly as China State Construction and Engineering Corp., the largest construction company in China, is investing $150 million of its own money in the enterprise. It is reported that some $400 million in contracts has been set aside for Bahamian firms and more than $50 million worth has already been awarded to Bahamian companies for work on a Baha Mar commercial village. But any revenues to the government from this project – which is owned substantially by the Sudanborn Sarkis Izmirlian, whose company has substantial holdings in the Bahamas – will not flow significantly
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Turks and Caicos Sun Suite # 5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 946-8542/ (649) 241-1510 Fax: (649) 941-3281 Email: sun@suntci.com Read us online at www.suntci.com
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden Boyce Senior Editor: Vivian Tyson Web Designer: Patrina Moore-Pierre Graphics Editor: Joleen Grant Office Manager: Dominique Rigby Distribution Manger: Kelano Howell Advertising and Marketing ManagerPatrina Moore-Pierre
The Turks and Caicos SUN is a subsidiary of The SUN Media Group Ltd.
We are committed to excellence in journalism, educating and informing our readers, serving and satisfying our advertisers and assisting in the overall development of the Turks and Caicos Islands. until 2015. Meanwhile, the country’s fiscal position remains problematic, leading Ingraham to reduce his overall salary as prime minister and to cut the pay packages of cabinet ministers and members of parliament. Cuts of 2.6 percent have also been made to the budgets of government departments and agencies, and the government has tightened up on revenue collection with the hope of garnering more income without applying additional taxes. Unless the government succeeds in attracting large-scale investment and expanding tourism, tax reform will force itself up the government’s priorities whoever wins the election At present, the government’s revenues are heavily dependent on taxes on international trade. After some reluctance, the Bahamas is joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), but this will require it to lower import tariffs which will significantly reduce tax receipts. In this context, unless the government succeeds in attracting large-scale investment and expanding tourism, tax reform will force itself up the government’s priorities whichever political party wins the next election. It can be reasonably assumed that this matter will not be addressed before 2012. Regarding its financial services, the country has been forced to deal with its image as a ‘tax haven’, which has made it a target of both the OECD and the US government. Though the Bahamas government has complied with the OECD requirement that it signs at least 20 tax information exchange agreements, especially with OECD countries, it is still under pressure to strengthen the regulation and supervision of the financial sector. This strengthening is taking place but the government has yet to find the money to set up new regulatory agencies. In short, the country’s income from financial services has declined in recent years and this situation is unlikely to improve against a determined effort by the OECD to see an end to offshore financial centres. The next few years will be tough for the Bahamas as it tries to improve its prospects, but it has an open attitude to foreign investment and the skilled workforce needed to secure a better future. Reform, particularly in taxation, will be required and necessity might make that bitter pill easier to swallow. • (Sir Ronald Sanders is a consultant and former Caribbean Ambassador to the World Trade Organization)
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2011
LOCAL NEWS
Elections still on course for next year, says new Governor By Vivian Tyson
After the milestones set out by the British Government are reached, then elections will follow. Those were the reiterated reassurance by new governor His Excellency Ric Todd, in whose honour the Providenciales Chamber of Commerce hosted a cocktail reception on Monday, September 19. The challenges of reaching the milestones, according to Governor Todd, are great and cannot be managed alone by Government, which is why the private sector will have to work in tandem with the administration to achieving them, since the success of the country depends on the success of private enterprises. “Now, meeting those milestones is an enormous amount of work, mainly but not entirely for the public sector. That is why I want to work closely with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, and I look, in a sense to everyone in the public sector to share with me the work of meeting the milestones. “However, as we all know, nothing in life is just of the work of the public sector because the
prosperity of these islands depends on business community. So, therefore, while I want to meet the milestones, and while I do want to move towards elections next year, I have three sort of other aims, which are not just short term – they are short term, (but) they are also going to the medium term. The three main planks for prosperity, the Governor said, are: resuscitating the economy; be open and transparent and; making the public sector more effective. “We have to keep on making the economy work better, and that is partly a job of government. And I, of course, will do every that I can and we can, to create the conditions for business, and to try to attract this sort of sustainable investments which these islands need. “And I think the way you do that is by being open and direct and by negotiating fairly. So, everything that happens must be known to everybody because that is the only way to bring about confidence. I really want the Government of the TCI to be transparent. I want the TCI to be the most open and transparent government in the Caribbean, partly because I think good government is open government; partly because I want public servants to be proud of what
2012 Census Launch in Turks and Caicos Islands The TCI Government takes another major step towards improving the social and economic landscape of the country with the national launch of the 2012 population and housing census. The official launch is scheduled for Tuesday October 11th in a ceremony at the Life Centre on Old Airport Road, Grand Turk. It will mark the start of public sensitization and education ahead of the commencement of the 2012 census in January next year. The launching ceremony will be addressed by HE the Governor Damian Roderic Todd. There
will also be remarks by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Delton Jones, Chair of the Consultative Forum Lillian Misick, Forum Member Dr. Linda Williams, and the Director of Economic Planning and Statistics Kathleen Forbes. The ceremony will also feature a presentation of the census jingle, logo and slogan. The 2012 census, which will be conducted by the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, will help government build and improve on social and economic policies which deal with critical issues such as health care, education, unemployment and sustainable development.
they do. “And they will feel proud of what they do if they are implementing clear procedures in an open manner, and they are telling people the truth. Because after all, my conviction is, people want to be told how things really are. They want to be told what their options are, and they want to have a say in what the decision is,” Governor Todd said. Governor Todd added: “Now, the only way you can do that is by explaining what the problem is and what might be done. So, I will approach my job in an open and transparent way. I will really want to hear what people say, and I really want to ask questions and listen to the answers.” According to him, while attempting to make the public service more effective, it also has to be sustainable and affordable. “That means we have to work out how much money we want to raise in taxation and where we are going to spend the money which we have raised, in the most effective ways,” Governor Todd pointed out, while emphasizing that a sustainable and effective public sector is about making difficult choices.
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Former Bahamian police officer on $1.1 million drug charges
LOCAL NEWS
By Vivian Tyson Sun Senior Editor
A SIBLING PAIR of former Bahamian police officers is among ten persons charged with a multimillion dollar drugs bust on Saturday September 11 at South Dock, Providenciales and have been remanded in custody when they appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on Monday (September 19). The men have been identified as George William Young, who has been listed as the captain of the boat and his brother Ronald Young, who has been said to be the chief mate of the vessel. The chief mate is in
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
charge of the ship's cargo and deck crew, and also the safety and security of the ship. The SUN has learnt that George William Young was a military officer in the United States and police officer in the Bahamas, while Ronald Young was a police officer in the Bahamas. Investigators are still working to establish whether or not there is a link between the alleged drug smugglers and the drowning of ten illegal Haitians, who were trying to reach land when their rickety boat capsized. Initial reports are that, it appeared that the six men and four women were loaded on the wooden craft in
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Turks and Caicos Islands waters after travelling on a bigger boat from their native Haiti. According to the police, investigators seized 425 pounds of marijuana after a search was conducted on the vessel, which was disguised as a cargo boat that originated in Haiti and destined to the Turks and Caicos Islands. The police have determined that the drug has a street value of about $1.1 million. The vessel from which the drug was seized has the words “Sweet Charlotte” inscribed on it. The ten men were charged with
attempted fraudulent evasion of a prohibited goods, possession of cannabis and possession of cannabis with intent to supply or transfer. When they appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on Monday, all ten men pleaded not guilty to the charges. At the same time, the prosecution requested that the matter be transferred to the Supreme Court, since the three-year sentence that each accused would be slapped with, if found guilty in that court, would fall short of the proportionate penalty for the drug quantity drug seized. The Magistrate Judge Clifton Warner spared no hesitation in granting the prosecution its wish, and as a result, remanded the men in custody until November 4, when their case is expected to come up for mention in the Supreme Court.
PROVO WATER COMPANY LTD. We are currently seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of
PIPE FITTER
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JOB DESCRIPTION: The Pipe fitter is responsible for installing, repairing and maintaining pipes, fixtures and other plumbing used for water distribution in residential, commercial and industrial connections.
MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE TO: 1. Fill pipes or plumbing fixtures with water or air and observe pressure gauges to detect and locate leaks. 2. Reads and follows installation plans and establish the sequence of pipe installations. 3. Measure, cut, thread and bend pipe to required angle, using hand and power tools or machine such as pipe cutters, pipe threading machines and pipe bending machine. 4. Use hand or powered tools to excavate trenches and ditches 5. Cut openings in structures to accommodate pipes and pipe fittings, using hand and power tools. 6. Repair and maintain plumbing, replacing defective washers, replacing or mending broken pipes. 7. Attend Emergency callout when necessary. 8. Carry out all other duties as directed by the Supervisor. Salary Range: US$ 12.00 - $15.00 per hour
All applications must be submitted by October 6th, 2011. Turks & Caicos Islanders need only apply. Office Manager PROVO WATER COMPANY LTD. P.O. Box 39, Grace Bay Road Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Fax: (649) 946-5204 Email: L.Handfield@provowater.tc
Move investment stumbling blocks – Fenimore
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
By Vivian Tyson SUN Senior Editor
NEWLY-ELECTED PRESIDENT of the Providenciales Chamber of Commerce, Tina Fenimore, is calling for the removal of what she described as stumbling blocks to enhance investments in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In an interview with The SUN on Monday, September 19, during a welcome cocktail reception for His Excellency, Governor Ric Todd, held at Hemmingway’s Restaurant in Grace Bay, Fenimore, who returned to the helm of the Chamber executive after a few years hiatus, said despite the economic downturn affecting the world, things could have been better if previous governments and the relevant agencies had not dropped the ball on inward investments. New President of the Providenciales Chamber of Commerce Tina Fenimore (seated at centre) is “You want me to be totally flanked by Wendy Hill, Treasurer (left) and Deandrea Hamilton, the new Secretary. Standing from honest, don’t you? That is the only left are advisors David Fenimore, Allan Hutchinson, John Hartley, Ron Shaw, Governor Ric Todd way I know how. There are investors and another advisor Paul Coleman. Missing from the photo are Immediate Past President Tanya Lightbourne-Parnell and Vice President E. Jay Saunders. Photo: Vivian Tyson out there (that) we could bring, and will bring, and have brought, to our Fenimore opined. enough ammunition to make the case shores. And what do you think As of her response to the new to Government Todd that measures happened? (Some lost interest) taxes that recently came on stream, need to be implemented to halt the because the people – the powers that Fenimore responded: “I don’t feel exodus, and therefore stabilise be -who should do, have not done. good at all. I came out very strongly commerce somewhat. Those stumbling blocks must be put about it. Hey, let’s not even go there,” In the meantime, Fenimore said out of the way. Let’s get on with she said. her organization, going forward, business,” she insisted. The Chamber President also plans to partner with the Tourist Fenimore declared that if the pointing out that the organisation has Board, Hotel and Tourism proper procedures to enhance inward successfully secured meeting dates Association as well as the National investments were put in place, the raft with the new governor, the Advisory Trust, so as to foster sustainable of taxes that have been slapped on Council, CEO for the Civil Martin development and a bonding businesses and consumers may not Stanley and the Consultative Forum, relationship. have taken place, since enough during which she intends to hammer Meanwhile, Fenimore said she revenues would more than likely, be out a digestive business framework. plans to be the best president in the raised for Government to meet their Fenimore told The SUN that a history of the Chamber, while at the obligations, rather than resorting to data compilation to determine how same strive to make the body the best austerity measures to do so. many people have left the country in such entity in not just the Caribbean “We would not have to be talking recent time is currently in gear. This but also the world. “I love to dream about taxes if they would just look at, she said would give the Chamber big,” she said. and take care of what we have,”
Ulysse Jean Deluis is seeking
1 DOMESTIC WORKER Salary $5 per hr Please contact: 242 5773
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Positive Trend Continues at Fortis TCI Limited
LOCAL NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
INVESTING IN AND DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES
FORTISTCI LTD RECENTLY announced the promotions of eight employees including seven Turks and Caicos Islanders who all assumed their new roles on September 01, 2011. Ingrid Forbes joined Fortis TCI’s Human Resources team in 2008 but has now taken on a new role as Purchasing and Logistics Officer in the Materials Management department. Aisha LaPorte is now Manager of Financial Services after starting with the Company in 2008 as Supervisor of Financial Accounting and Reporting. Fortis TCI’s new Superintendent of Lines is Walter Wilson. Walter started with the Company in 2000 and worked in the Operations department as Supervisor, Lines. Scholarship recipient Alvejes Desir joined the Company in 2006 as a Meter Reader. After completing his studies in the USA earlier this year, Alvejes returned to Fortis TCI Ltd as Electrical Technician III and now joins the Production and Engineering team as Plant Control Supervisor. Anthony Williams is the new Manager of Site Services and Security and worked previously in the Plant Operations department as Plant Control Superintendent. Anthony joined the Company in 1985.
Ingrid Forbes – Purchasing and Logistics Officer; Aisha LaPorte – Manager of Financial Services Catherine Buena – Director of Financial Services and Risk Management and Warren Madden – Manager of Materials Management Back Row – Left to Right: Walter Wilson – Superintendent of Lines; Anthony Williams – Manager of Site Services and Security; Denior Handfield – Lineman Foreman and Alvejes Desir – Plant Control Supervisor
New Lineman Foreman Deniro Handfield joined Fortis TCI Ltd in 2006 and worked for the past 5 years as a Lineman in the T&D Construction department. Warren Madden, the new Manager of Materials Management at Fortis TCI
Ltd, worked as Purchasing and Logistics Officer in the Materials Management department and has been with the Company since 1988. Catherine Buena has been promoted to Director of Financial Services and Risk Management.
Catherine worked in the Financial Services department as Manager, Financial Services after joining the organisation in 2008. “This is an important milestone in the careers of these individuals as they step into roles with additional opportunities and challenges, said Judy Missick, Fortis TCI’s Human Resources Director. As we work to help them transition into their new positions, we know they will continue to deliver unmatched performance as they maintain their dedication and commitment to Fortis TCI’s values.” Ms. Missick added, “Investing in and developing talent is critical to sustaining and improving Turks and Caicos’ workforce and here at Fortis TCI Ltd we focus on leadership from within since these individuals already have a vast knowledge of the company, its people, its values and goals. These employees continue to display hard work and dedication year after year; truly deserving the recognition and responsibility of their new positions. They are not only our employees, but our greatest asset and we will continue on the strategic path of relentless staff development and capital investments to ensure service reliability and complete customer satisfaction.”
Community Outreach
Page 11
Governor Ric Todd continues
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
In keeping with his stated commitment to regular interaction with people throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands, new Governor His Excellency Ric Todd traveled to North and Middle Caicos today (Thursday September 22nd) for his first engagement with residents of the two islands. The Governor, accompanied by District Commissioner Mr. McLean Handfield, met staff and students at schools on North Caicos, including Raymond Gardiner High, Hubert James Primary, and Adelaide Oemler Primary. Governor Todd underscored TCIG’s commitment to agriculture in North Caicos by visiting both the government farm and private farms on the island.
LOCAL NEWS
On Middle Caicos, the Governor and District Commissioner Dottis Arthur held a community meeting at the Community Centre in Conch Bar and toured the Lorimers, Bambarra and Conch Bar settlements. In his swearing in speech on September 12th Governor Todd said: “I will be visiting all the islands in the coming weeks. I want to see the issues people are facing, listen with respect to their views and take these into account when policies are debated and when we take decisions. I am sure what matters is not how people seem or look but how they think and what they do.”
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
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SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Come and join our winning team!!! Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages and Spa, the only 6 Diamond all inclusive property in the Caribbean and its authorized Recruitment Agencies are inviting applications from suitably qualified Turks and Caicos Islanders for the following vacant positions.
Applicants must have a clean police record and a good command of the English language both written and spoken. In addition candidates must be able to work nights, public holidays and week-ends. The Resort thanks everyone for their interest in advance and advises that only short listed applicants will be contacted for an interview. ACCOUNTS AND COST CONTROL DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Assistant Cost Controller Accounts Receivable Clerk Accounts Payable Clerk Requirements include but are not limited to: • Book keeping or accounting qualification • Experience in cost control or Accounts would be an asset The rate for the positions listed above is $7.00 to $13.00 an hour.
PHOTOSHOP DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Assistant Photoshop Manager/ Supervisor Requirements include but are not limited to: • 2 years experience in field
The salary for the positions listed above is $15,000.00 to $30,000.00 per annum. FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Front Office Manager Requirements include but are not limited to: • Three years managing two or more Concierge desk • Excellent customer service skills • Ability to multitask and give the guest more than he or she expects The salary for the position listed above ranges from $25,000 to $40,000 per annum Airport Representative Requirements include but are not limited to: • Physically Fit • Ability to lift 50 lbs. • Excellent Customer service skills
The salary for the position listed above ranges from $25,000 to $40,000 per annum CONCIERGE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Concierge Manager Requirements include but are not limited to: • Three years managing two or more Concierge desk • Excellent customer service skills • Ability to multitask and give the guest more than he or she expects The salary for the position listed above ranges from $30,000 to $40,000 per annum OFFSITE PROPERTIES REQUIRES:
Administrative Assistant Requirements include but are not limited to: • Experience in administrating a construction and property a management operation The rate for the position listed above is $8.00 to $13.00 an hour.
THE GROUNDS DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Supervisor • Experience in Horticulture • Physically Fit • Ability to manage a diverse team
The rate for the position listed above is $6.00 to $10.00 an hour.
WATERSPORTS DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Lifeguard Requirements include but are not limited to: • Ability to Swim • First aid/ CPR Certification Deck Hand Requirements include but are not limited to: • Ability to Swim • Knowledge of a boat and its handling operations The rate for the positions listed above is $7.00 to $10.00 an hour
Boat Captain Requirements include but are not limited to: • Experience managing a crew over 5 persons • Ability to Swim • Knowledge of a boat and its handling operations
The salary for the position listed above is $20,000.00 to $29,000.00 per annum. SPA DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Assistant Spa Manager Requirements include but are not limited to: • Knowledge or certification in Dermalogica Brand an assist • Ability to sell service and product • Ability to meet targets and sales quotas
The salary for the position listed above is $20,000.00 to $30,000.00 per annum. • Therapist • Cosmetologist • Hair Braider Requirements include but are not limited to: • Ability to sell service and product • Ability to meet targets and sales quotas
The rate for the positions listed above is $6.00 an hour plus commissions ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Tennis Pro • 2 years’ experience as a pro • Ability to teach skills to guest of all age groups • Willingness to promote and sell tennis classes • Additional skills which allow flexibility to utilized in other areas in Entertainment The rate for the position listed above ranges from $6.00 to $10.00 an hour.
DJ or DeeJay: Requirements include but are not limited to: • Knowledge of mixing and scratching • Ability to teach skills indicated above to guest • Willingness to promote and sell the Scratch academy product • Additional skills which allow flexibility to utilized in other areas in Entertainment Senior AV Technician/ AV Technician Requirements include but are not limited to: • Experience Dee Jay with ability to use turntables and digital • Ability to set up and breakdown sound system for an event • For Senior Tech supervise a team, conduct inventory and ensure equipment is maintained in a good working order. The rate for the positions listed above is $6.00 to $9.00 an hour.
LAUNDRY DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Assistant Laundry Manager Requirements include but are not limited to: • Physically fit o Previous experience in commercial Laundry an assist The salary for the position listed above is $15,000.00 to $20,000.00 per annum. GIFTSHOP DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Gift Shop Manager Requirements include but are not limited to: • Experience managing more than 4 outlets • Maintain par levels in inventory • Ensure daily, week, monthly and yearly Sales targets are met The salary for the position listed above is $25,000.00 to $40,000.00 per annum.
Supervisor Gift Shop Requirements include but are not limited to: • Maintain par levels in inventory • Ensure daily, week, monthly and yearly Sales targets are met The rate for the position listed above is $6.00 to $9.00 an hour. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT REQUIRES: Painter Sewage Plant Operator Requirements include but are not limited to: • Physically Fit • Ability to carry out labour intensive task
The rate for the positions listed above is $5.00 to $6.00 an hour.
HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT REQUIRES:
Housekeeping Supervisor • Supervises and may participate in housekeeping services including cleaning, mopping, scrubbing, sanitizing the floors and other surfaces as well as the refinishing, waxing and polishing of floors, tile work and other various floor and wall surfaces in stairways, hallways, restrooms, offices, laboratories, recreation and locker rooms. The rate for the position listed above is $7.00 to $10.00 an hour
Applications giving full details of qualifications and experience should be sent to: mmvaughn@grp.sandals.com or Fax to: 941-4870 Attn: M McClean-Vaughn The Human Resources Department Beaches Turks and Caicos P.O. Box 186 Lower Bight Road and
The Labour Commissioner Labour Department Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands
nd should reach not later than October 7th 2011 Otherwise, please call for additional information tel # 649-946-8000 ext 4138
Page 13
Air Service Regulation a disgrace
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
By Vivian Tyson SUN Senior Editor
A NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT. That is how many are describing the local Air Transport Regulation, which governs the licensing of air transport in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The regulation is 60 years old, having put into force on July 17, 1953, and can be found in the Jamaica Gazette of the Civil Aviation Act of 1949. The introduction of the order read: “In exercise of the powers conferred upon the Governor by section 13 of the Civil Aviation Act, 1949, as extended to Jamaica (including the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands) by the Colonial Civil Aviation (Application of the Act) 1952, the following Regulations are, with approval of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, hereby made: - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Airport Authority (Licensing of Air Services) Regulations, 1959, and shall come into force on the 17th day of July, 1959.” Another section of the Regulations read in part: “…the Colony means the island of Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands.” Jamaica has been an independent nation since August 6, 1962, eleven years after the Regulation was issued, and has overhauled their air transport regulation several decades ago and has also been making regular upgrades. The Regulation also governs the long ago defunct British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) - the British state airline that operated from 1939 until 1946, and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. BOAC started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways. Following a 1971 Act of Parliament, BOAC was merged in 1974 with British European Airways Corporation (BEA) to form British Airways. The Civil Aviation Act of 1946 led to the demerger of two divisions of BOAC to form three separate corporations: • BOAC - for Empire, North American and Far East routes • British European Airways (BEA)
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
- for European and domestic routes • British South American Airways (BSAA) - for South American and Caribbean routes In July 1949, British South American Airways was remerged into BOAC. However, on March 31, 1974, both the BOAC and BEA were dissolved and their operations merged to form British Airways. This, according to some aviation industry players, means that the Turks and Caicos Islands is operation on a licensing system that need urgent revamping. When contacted, Director for the Turks and Caicos Islands Civil Aviation Authority, Tom Swann, told The SUN that attempts in the past at modernizing the Air Transport Licensing Regulation had fail, but in the very near future efforts would be made again to have it upgraded to meet modern day standard. “I can say that there has been attempts in the past to do so (upgrade the Regulation), and we will certainly try to advance Regulations and to bring it more in line with modern day regulations,” Swann said. According to him, there are many parts contained in the existing Regulations that are still relevant to today’s aviation industry, and going forwards, those sections would more that likely be retained. “Those are sound regulations; it’s just certain parts which would need to be overhauled, and as I mentioned, there are plans afoot to do that,” Swann said. While he believes that a new Regulation could soon begin to hammer out, Swann said he did not want to tag it to a start-up timeframe, since some issues with persons relevant to the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) will need to sort out first. Earlier this month, Air Turks and Caicos successfully filed a public hearing request in a bid to bar SkyCruise – a prospective new airline – from operating in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Swann opined that had some of the aviation regulations been dealt with in the past; some of the issues that came out during the hearing would not have emerged.
LOCAL NEWS
INTERISLAND AVIATION SERVICES GROUP
TWO LABOURERS - Should be able to work shifts, physically capable to do hard manual labour and lift heavy equipment. AIRCRAFT MECHANICS- Experience working on piston and turbopropeller aircraft. Responsible for inspecting, servicing, repairing and testing aircraft, engines and related systems as directed. Read, understand and work from aircraft maintenance manuals and specifications. Salaries commensurate with experience.
ONE (1) FLIGHT ATTENDANT Five (5) years or more experience. Willing to work flexible hours. Proficient in word, power point and excel: 90 words per minute crew quality data entry. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Manage over all safety, crew coordination briefing paper work and in flight entertainment. Instill quality Customer Service in front line position. Salary commensurate with experience. All positions require the following: • Excellent command of the English language – reading, writing and speaking. • Good communication skills and team player • Detail oriented & organized individual • Ability to work shifts, early mornings, late nights, weekends and Holidays. • Clean police record • Able to work under pressure Belongers need only apply. Interested person should apply to HR@flyairtc.com or via fax to HR Department 649-946-4040.
NO PHONE CALL PLEASE. QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED FOR INTERVIEW.
Page 14
THE NEW TRIUMVIRATE – WHERE ARE WE GOING? LOCAL NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
By Royal S. Robinson, MBE
THE PREVIOUS TRIUMVIRATE is history now and there is a new team in town now with the swearing in of the new Governor, H. E. Damian “Ric” Todd. At least in these early days, there seems to be a change in emphasis on some items of importance. From all indications, the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Martin Stanley is more open to listening to the views of the Civil Service and taking them on board to make a better environment in which work and productivity can take place. We have to get out of the “square peg in a round hole” syndrome. In order for that to happen, there must be greater emphasis on training public servants to perform the tasks that are required of them. Yes, in some Departments there is a surplus to requirement situation, but that has to be rectified by a proper programme of skills training to fit persons for the world of work and worth! Persons in mid-careers must be strongly encouraged to participate and perform at upgrading their academic abilities at the Community College at least, so that they can bring something to the table. It is not just good enough to say that you are a Turks and Caicos Islander and are thereby entitled to a job for which you are not qualified. So with purpose driven education, we can all be better and more productive in the work-place. Mr. Delton Jones, PS Finance and the new CFO, Mr. Hugh McGarel-Groves must know and understand by now that you cannot just tax your way to a budget surplus! There is a dwindling jobs market in the private sector and therefore the tax base is shrinking! That means that the volume of revenue generated will have to come from a smaller and smaller pool of persons and businesses. We have as a country reached the elastic limit and to put further pressure on us, the silver chord certainly will break! There is now new job opportunities and people are leaving. This translates into apartments being empty, small businesses closing, more and more persons defaulting on their loans because the money that they used to make is not there anymore and people are making tough choices of survival! It seems from what Governor Todd had to say at his swearing-in and his actions immediately following, if really reflective of what his tenure will bring, then we have a chance of survival. However, we cannot rest on one speech and one action and think that the current directional drift in the country and economy will immediately stop! Turks and Caicos Islanders had no input into what the “milestones”
Royal S. Robinson, MBE
for elections would be. We do have the ability to agitate for these milestones to be reached in a very timely manner as well as the public being kept in the loop as to the progress being made to accomplishing the various objectives! The former Governor promised that he would start the process of updating the public as to the position of these milestones and what needed to happen to put each one behind us. To date, we have not seen anywhere published, the various timelines so that we can get a sense that things are really happening and that there is some real light at the end of the proverbial tunnel! I do not know what the agenda of the new Governor is, but high on his list of priorities must be a plan to stimulate our stagnant economy and encourage job growth. I have said it on more than one occasion that in order for the tax
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
system that is currently being imposed on us has any chance of success, people must be working and more persons must be resident in the islands to increase the tax base because if that does not happen, the “Pope” cannot pray enough to generate the revenue that would be require to keep this country from falling off the cliff and become a basket case! I see that the Governor has said that the Permanent Secretaries should take the lead in the decisionmaking process with respect to their Ministries. But reality dictates that Permanent Secretaries do not create policies, but follow and carry them out. To fundamentally change their role would be a significant sea change that I do not feel that they are equipped to do. Permanent Secretaries do not have to adhere to a timeline for the delivery of results because they do not have a Constituency that they have to report to if they fail to deliver the goods. Most of the mind set has been to push paper from nine to five and if it works, then so be it! The political directorate is an animal of a different stripe and there cannot be a public servant replacement for that. However well-intentioned some would be, they do not dance to the same tune! Permanent Secretaries are best suited to respond to Ministerial direction and fill in the blanks as they are the repositories of a significant amount of information and can help to direct traffic as to what has worked before and what has failed.
Taking them out of that comfort zone, no matter how wellintentioned has little chance of succeeding! It is therefore a prerequisite for good and productive government and governance that we return as expeditiously as possible to elected and representative government! There are some realistic things that this new Governor has to embark on immediately. He must set a Legislative agenda that starts with the Boundaries Commission Ordinance and continue on with new Voter Registration and Regulation, amend the Representative of the People’s Bill, amend as appropriate, the Integrity Legislation, review the Ministerial Code of Conduct that was done during the last elected government to ensure that all items are in concert with other pieces of Legislation. I see that an additional Legislative draftsperson is being recruited and I hope that that person would be given the task of addressing those issues that I have highlighted and more! I just hope that he/she is not sent on a fishing expedition with no end in sight. We are at a point of teetering over the edge of destruction as a country and that trend must be arrested and now! We cannot wait any more on experimenting on things that have no real relevance to our way of life or how the economy in small-island emerging states work. Taxation certainly is not the panacea for us! The current crop of advisers know nothing else and should be gotten rid of!
Page 15 SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
LOCAL NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
Backpacks could damage children’s spines
Dr. Zavitz adjusts the backpack of one of the students during his demonstration
By Vivian Tyson SUN Senior Editor
A NUMBER OF students in the Turks and Caicos Islands could end up with damaged spines if closer attention is not paid to how they carry their backpacks and how much the weight carried in them. This was disclosed by renowned Canadian chiropractor Dr. Craig Zavitz, who visited the Oseta Jolly Primary School in Blue Hills on Wednesday (September 21) to educate students and teachers on how to prevent back pains, which is said to be the leading and most expensive ailment the world over. “Eighty-five percent of the people
Dr. Zavitz demonstrates an exercise move to the students
on our planet suffer from back pains. It causes more disability on our planet, than diabetes, heart disease and hypertension all combined. It causes more human suffering, and it costs more to treat than all of those, yet it is largely preventable through education and exercise,” he said. Study shows, according to Dr. Zavitz, that at least fifty percent of children worldwide have been diagnosed with back pains, while the number among adults is about 85 percent. Dr. Zavitz, who operates locally out of the Grace Bay Chiropractic and Laser Clinic located at the Neptune Court in Providenciales, said the two primary problems that lead to back
Immediate opening
DINING ROOM MANGER
The Dining Room Manager will oversee the daily operation of P23 fine dining restaurant; Plunge casual outdoor restaurant and bar, Green Flamingo bar and In-room Dining. Requirements: • Minimum of 6 years management experience in food and beverage, including fine dining • Post secondary degree or equivalent qualification by experience • Strong knowledge of a variety of cuisines and wines/beverages • Strong understanding and proven track record of operational controls and sales • Proven ability to train and develop team members • Ability to take initiative while working effectively in a team environment • Excellent organizational skills • Passion for luxury food and beverage service; positive and cheerful attitude with high energy • Computer skills (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) plus knowledge of POS systems • Must be able to work all shifts and days
Duties include: • Supervises, trains and coaches staff to meet Regent standard of luxury and ensure The Regent Experience for guests. • Participates in development of business strategies for food & beverage outlets aligned with business objectives for maximizing revenue and guest satisfaction. • Participates in development of budgets and monitors status regularly to ensure achievement of financial targets. • Assists in developing and implementing marketing and promotions to increase business and revenue. • Works closely with culinary team to create and implement menus consistent with guest expectations and Regent standards of luxury and quality. Interested applicants should apply to The Regent Palms, Human Resources Department, Monday through Friday, and bring along an updated resume, or by emailing your resume to mdorsett@regenthotels.com no later than September 30, 2011
Students show-off a spine-flex demonstration
Dr. Zavitz demonstrates how the spine works
pains in children are backpacks which are overloaded and those that are incorrectly worn. According to him, parents should not purchased leather backpacks since they are much heavier than nylon and other types. He also discouraged parents from allowing their children to overload their bags, while at the same time ensure that they are worn correctly. Rather than allowing children to wear backpacks extended down their lower backs, he said parents should ensure that they wear them adjusted as close to the shoulders as possible, to foster proper posture “Based on body weight, there is a certain maximum you should be carrying. My focus now is on the education of students because they need to start off young and develop these lifestyle habits and to grow straight,” Dr. Zavitz said. He told The SUN that after arriving in the Turks and Caicos
Islands, he realized that not much teaching was on chiropractic and the prevention of back pains. “So, I made it my personal mission for this fall, to teach every single student on Provo exactly what we had done here today,” he said. Dr. Zavitz has also initiated a fitness programme for schools dubbed ‘Straighten Up Turks and Caicos”, which he said is geared towards a healthier body. He said the three-minute spinal health programme is designed to let children feel and look their best. The programme is divided into three quick sessions: The Stars, which is for warming up; the flying Friends, which is for posture; and the Core Balance, which is used to wrap up the session. Last year, Dr. Zavitz introduced similar education into the work place, and through the programme a number of persons were diagnosed to have been suffering from back spinal injuries and were treated.
ELECTRICIAN
TURKS AND CAICOS WATER COMPANY LIMITED is seeking a suitably qualified individual to fill the following position. Only candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be considered.
Duties Responsible for all general electrical maintenance and repairs of electrical problems. Must be able to operate electrical and control systems, generators and SWRO equipment in excess of 200 HP. Must be able to inspect various electrical systems and equipment for proper functioning. Proficient in diagnosing problems concerning PLCs and analog control circuits. Complete daily tasks as outlined by Supervisor. Complete maintenance request work orders on a timely basis. Performs all weekly, monthly and other scheduled preventative maintenance programs. Actively pursue new tasks or jobs when assigned work is completed.
Requirements Must have eight years experience and certification as an Electrician. Must have strong troubleshooting skills in order to diagnose and repair electrical problems. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office. Should have great oral and written communication skills. Work with minimal supervision. Applicant must be drug free, have a valid driver’s license, reliable transportation and clean criminal record. Position requires the successful applicant to be willing to work swing shift hours, including holidays and weekends. Position requires for the successful applicant to be on standby for 24 hours call out emergencies.
The wages for this position is $8.00 per hour. Interested applicants should contact Veronica Rigby via email by October 10, 2011 at ronnie@habgroup.com or by fax 649-946-5191. Suitable applicants will be contacted by email or telephone to schedule an interview.
Page 16
Massive efforts to restore and re-launch Beaches Turks & Caicos
LOCAL NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
OFFICIALS AT BEACHES Turks & Caicos Resort Villages and Spa have undertaken massive efforts to restore and re-launch the leading “luxuryincluded” resort for its highly anticipated October 6th grand open. Giving an update on repair work, Chairman of Sandals Resorts International, Hon. Gordon “Butch” Stewart said every effort was being made to meet the deadline for reopening early October and to also reduce the effects of the closure of the hotel on the surrounding communities. He said approximately half of the workforce, who were entitled to paid leave were given the opportunity to take leave while the others were now working in various capacities in the effort to repair and re-launch the hotel. In addition, Mr. Stewart said some 20 local contractors has been engaged to assist with various aspects of the effort to fully restore the property, to the high standards that guests have come to expect. Noting the importance of the hospitality industry to the economic
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
The resort suffered some damage after the recent hurricane
life of the Island, he said Beaches prided itself in being an active part of the community and would endeavour to play its part in the national recovery effort. The Sandals Chairman said Beaches intended to increase the current compliment of eleven hundred workers by just over one hundred and
The Turks and Caicos Islands National Board is seeking a suitably qualified applicant for the post of
HUMAN RESOURCE & ADMINISTRATION MANAGER at its Head Office in Grand Turk.
twenty permanent employees in various categories. Accordingly, he said, the hotel’s human resource team was now inviting and processing job
applications. Increased employment at Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages and Spa and a major marketing blitz are part of an enormous effort to reposition the resort and help to mitigate the economic fallout resulting from its closure, following damage caused by Hurricane Irene. This will include fourteen chartered flights filled with travel agents from North America and Canada who will have two nights full exposure to the facilities of the resort to better enable them to promote this premier vacation spot. In addition to boosting the level of staff at the facility, Mr. Stewart said a major marketing thrust was now underway to restore occupancy for the re-opening of the Resort and to maintain the projected inflow of guests for the fall season.
Lamount restaurant
Two LabourerS
Should be able to work shifts, holidays & weekends, physically capable to do hard manual labour and lift heavy equipment. Salary $6.50 per hour Please contact 339-4100
Responsibilities Include: Reporting to the Deputy Director Corporate Services, the Human Resources & Administration Manager is generally accountable for availing a human resource management infrastructure, related institutional policies and support systems which facilitate the attraction, management, development and retention of the human resources required to effectively achieve the stated objectives of the Turks and Caicos Islands National Insurance Board. This position is also responsible for working with management to prepare and implement staff annual training plans and recommending, where appropriate and in accordance with policies, financial support for persons who undergo training. The applicant should also be able to provide advice to the executive team on the full range of HR issues.
Required Experience & Qualifications This position requires: - A minimum of five (5) years experience in a similar corporate position in any or combination of any of these types of organizations: merchandising, hospitality, public administration of financial services. - A Masters Degree in Human Resource and Industrial Relations. The incumbent should also have solid competencies in: - Negotiations - Human relations - Communications - Compensation - Performance Appraisal - Highly motivated, and results-oriented - Dynamic team player, committed to problem solving - Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills The successful candidate will be appointed subject to the completion of a three month probationary period. The Employment Terms and Salary are negotiable. Interested applicants should contact the Deputy Director Corporate Service for further information at the following address: National Insurance Board Hon. Hilly Ewing Building Leeward Highway Providenciales Telephone Number (649) 941-5806\5906
All applications along with detailed curriculum vitae must be addressed to the Director, National Insurance Board, Waterloo Property Development, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands to reach no later than October 3, 2011.
IMMEDIATE OPENINGS Manager of Travel Industry Sales
The Manger of Travel Industry Sales is a key part of our U. S. based sales team, responsible for group and leisure sales. May be based on South Florida or NYC area. Requirements: • Proven Post secondary degree or equivalent or equivalent qualification by experience • Strong written and verbal skills with documented responsibility for promotions, sales and marketing. • Proven success in luxury travel/hospitality sales, with established relationships with top luxury tour operators, travel agents, incentive houses, and meeting planners • Must have experience selling luxury Caribbean properties and understand wholesalers, FIT and high-end travel agency professionals. • Able and willing to work all days and shift Interested applicants should apply to The Regent Palms, Monday through Friday and bring along an updated resume or by emailing mdorsett@regentexperience.com, no later than September 23, 2011.
National Stadium falling into grave disrepair
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
LOCAL NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
The National Stadium was built primarily to host the 2007 Carifta Track and Field Championships (file Photo)
HEAD OF THE SPORTS Commission, Alvin Parker said his organization is searching for funds to upgrade the four year-old National Stadium, which he said has gone into further disrepair following the passage of Hurricane Ike in 2008 – just a year after it was built. The National Stadium was built primarily to host the 2007 Carifta Track and Field Championships after the TCI was charged with the responsibility of anchoring the event. Parker said the further disrepair of the stadium was as a result of wear and tear from recent sporting activities at the facility and not the recent passage of Hurricane Irene.
“A lot of it (wear and tear) happened through high school sports. During that time almost every day we had the facility being used for that month between February and March this year. So that was how much of the damage occurred,” Parker said. He told The SUN that recently Mondo – the company that laid the synthetic track – evaluated the damage of the running track and said it would cost approximately $12,000 to repair it. Parker is hoping that his organization, the Turks and Caicos Amateur Athletics Association (TCAAA) and the Engineering and Maintenance Services (EMS) would
WANTED
ONE GARDENER
to work 6 days per week 7 am to 2:30 pm. Contact Management at 941-3312 or 231-4363. The Proprietors, Strata Plan No. 38 (The Grandview on Grace Bay)
KENNETH FORBES SEEKS
1 DOMESTIC WORKER Salary $5.00 per hour 5 days per week Contact 246-2253
Page 17
pool their resources together and cover the cost. However, he said the Sports Commission would have to wait until about sometime in October to determine whether or not such proposal is feasible, since his understanding was that the EMS was going through a period of changes. “In October when all the dust clear, and if EMS does merge with our planning and with the TCAA having a new executive body, we could go back to the table and see if we can do that again. One of the things we were planning on doing is to put on a fundraiser – a track day – to raise some money that way. We know waiting around for money to come directly from TCIG to do that, that will not happen” Parker said. Parker said in order to cut costs in the Sports Commission’s maintenance of the facility, it oftentimes partner with the Football Association, who
Head of the Sports Commission, Alvin Parker
used its staff to cut the grass and perform other manicure work of the facility. He said repairs to the facility have been done since Ike. Work, he said, was done on sections of the perimeter fence and on the roofs of buildings 1 and 5 of the compound. Some of the bleachers stands have also been salvaged and returned to use. “Two of the bleachers out of eight that were damaged, we cut some damaged parts off and put them to use. Some of them which seated 150, will now seat 70. The booth that house the officials on the field, we are trying to revive that,” Parker said, noting also that the public address system and one of the flood lights are still down. He said that would be addressed when the hurricane season is over. Parker said he is hoping that by March of next year, when the schools will be having their sports that most of the repairs would be completed.
Eagle Claw Security Ltd “No job is too big or too small”
Email:ecs@tciway.tc Phone: 649 941-4429 Fax: 649 941-5573
Security Alarm Technician/Security Officer Position Summary: To provide 24 hour electronic Security alarm service for homes and business to protect facilities from unlawful intrusion and criminal acts. To ensure public safety through effective design, installation and servicing of CCTV, Security & Fire Alarm System, Access Controls Home Automation. Minimum Education and Experience Requirements: High School Education plus specialized Training in Electronics fundamentals able to read and understand building construction site and electrical drawing plus ability to understand a variety of electronic manuals and determine interface requirements for various systems. Additional courses in GE, DSC, Ademco Security Systems. Four (4) years experience as an Alarm System Installer/Technician. To level that you can program Alarm Panels and Trouble shoot quickly and effectively.
TCI doctor gets World Cup call
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
TCI MIGHT NOT be taking part in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but the country is still being represented. The sport’s biggest tournament kicked off in New Zealand earlier this month with the final due to played on October 23 And flying the flag for the TCI is InterHealth Canada’s orthopedic consultant, Joe LeMoine, who is based at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre in Provo. Dr LeMoine is the Canadian national side’s team medic and will be seen in action by a worldwide audience of billions. “This is the Olympic Games of rugby and it’s a huge honour to be involved”, said Dr LeMoine, who flew to New Zealand this week. “It’s obviously a great feeling to represent your country and I also see it as representing the TCI too. “Having been the Canada team doctor for the 2007 World Cup in France, I know how huge the event
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
InterHealth Canada’s orthopedic consultant, Joe LeMoine
the knock-out stages. He explained: “My job is to work with the medical team assessing players’ fitness and looking at injuries, advice on training routines and generally ensuring the players stay in one piece. “There’s a lot of traveling to be done and so it’s not all glamour and I am also attending a big sports injury conference at which I will be picking up new skills and techniques to bring back to the TCI.” He added: “Whether you injure yourself on the beach at Grace Bay or in a Rugby World Cup game, there’s no difference, and at InterHealth Canada we can offer the
Page 19
LOCAL NEWS
very best in orthopedic treatment and care.” Despite being one of the tournament outsiders, Canada made a decent start with victory over Tonga. But they came back down to earth with a heavy defeat at the hands of France. “We are in a tough Group A alongside two of the favourites in New Zealand and France”, explained Dr LeMoine. “But we fancy our chances against Japan and we’ve already beaten Tonga. “So you never know what might happen, although one thing is certain, I’ll be proudly sporting my TCI rugby shirt at ever opportunity.”
is and I’m really looking forward to being part of this special occasion.” Dr LeMoine, who is also Canada’s Winter Olympic team doctor, will face a hectic schedule as the Maple Leafs look to progress to
Employment Opportunity
Office Administrator Position Description Small company seeks to employ a pleasant and energetic Office Administrator to perform functions in the front office. Successful applicant will be expected to perform Receptionist/Administrative, Sales and Accounting related duties. The successful applicant should possess the following: Qualifications:
• Applicant should have at least an AA degree in Business, or related field • At least five (5) years work experience, with a minimum of three (3) years in Accounting related field • Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, and QuickBooks Minimum Requirements: • Strong organizational skills and able to multi-task • Customer service oriented • Strong leadership and analytical skills • Reliable, excellent attitude and work ethics • Ability to work on own initiative, with minimum supervision Applicants should submit resumes to: Attn: Human Resource Manager Ref: Office Administrator Email: recruiter1004@yahoo.com
Belongers neeD only aPPly.
Deadline for receipt of resumes is september 30, 2011
ASSoCiAted Building ContrACtor Seeks
1 lABourer Salary $60.00 3 days per week Contact 231-0770
TROPICAL IMAGING/ BRILLIANT is looking for the following talented people:
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
Experienced in all aspects of high end digital photography and workflow, plus several years practice in creative wedding, portrait and commercial photography. Self-motivated, willing to work weekends and holidays you must also be a customer service fanatic. Email all resumes/links to ceo@tropicalimaging.com
Page 20
CIBC FirstCaribbean welcomes a new CEO
LOCAL NEWS
CIBC FIRSTCARIBBEAN International Bank has a new CEO. Monday, September 12 was the first official day on the job for the company’s new leader, Douglas “Rik” Parkhill. Mr. Parkhill took over the running of the region’s preeminent financial services institution from John Orr, who has returned to CIBC in Toronto. Michael Mansoor, Chairman of FirstCaribbean International Bank, first announced Mr. Parkhill’s appointment in May this year. Mr. Parkhill joins CIBC FirstCaribbean from its parent company, CIBC, where, in his most recent assignment, he was the Managing Director and Global Head of CIBC’s Capital Markets Sales and Cash Equities in that company’s Wholesale Banking unit, based in Toronto. Rik Parkhill has more than 20 years of experience in the global financial services industry, serving clients in Canada and around the world. Before joining CIBC in 2008, he was co-CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Michael Mansoor described Mr. Parkhill as “a seasoned financial services executive - known as a skilled leader and
TCI Services Ltd
SALES CLERK NEEDED Starting wage $6.00 an hour Job requirements: Food handlers permit. Experience in food prep. Must have own vehicle. Computer skills- Word Perfect and Excel Excellent interpersonal skills, 3 character references required , must be available day times, evenings, weekends and Holidays. BELONGER NEED ONLY APPLY. Send Resume to Mrs Simmons at msimmons@tciway.tc Closing date: October 3,2011.
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Mr. Mansoor & Mr. Parkhill
for having a strong employee and client focus”. Mansoor added: “He has the right combination of leadership and industry experience to lead our bank at the current stage of our company's development and in the present economic environment.” He also described Mr. Parkhill as
someone with the correct combination of “global financial services experience and leadership capabilities to make him an ideal successor for the CEO position at CIBC FirstCaribbean.” Mr. Parkhill notes that he is eager to get to know the region and immerse
himself in the culture of doing business in the Caribbean. He lists as among his priorities visiting as many of the bank’s clients, partners and employees as he can in the coming weeks. He added: “despite the ongoing challenges facing the economies of the region, and indeed the world, there is still considerable scope for growth for our company. We intend to position ourselves to work alongside our clients to ensure they in turn are positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that are sure to present themselves as the recovery of the world economy progresses. It’s an interesting and exciting time to be here”. Mr. Parkhill is based at the company’s headquarters in Barbados. CIBC FirstCaribbean is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean serving over 500,000 accounts in 17 markets, through 3,400 staff, across 100 branches and offices. The bank offers a full range of market-leading financial services in: Corporate and Investment Banking, Treasury Sales and Trading, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Small Business and Credit Cards.
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LOCAL NEWS LIFESTYLE
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LOCAL NEWS
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On Monday, September 19, the Providenciales Chamber of Commerce held a welcome cocktail reception in honour of new Governor His Excellency Damian Roderick “Ric” Todd, at the Hemmingways Restaurant on the Sands Resort property in Grace Bay. The event brought out a number of businesses individuals from various enterprises. The individuals got the opportunity to mingle with the governor and share ideas. They were also addressed by the Governor. The new executive of the Chamber of Commerce was also officially introduced to the gathering. The following are photo highlights of the event.
Tina Fenimore, the new President of the Chamber of Commerce addresses the gathering New Chamber President, Tina Fenimore and newlyinstalled Governor Damian Roderick “Ric” Todd
Blythe Duncanson (second right), the Weekly News Editor-in-Chief, his wife Stephanie Duncanson (right) and Tina Fenimore (second left) exchange pleasantries with Governor Todd
Catherine Brown and Beth Atkins
Christa Rechorn of the Free Press chats with Governor ‘Ric’ Todd
From left – Keith Burrant, Pierre Magnier and John Hartley
Marilyn Cooper and Kent Soukup
Governor Todd addresses the audience
Members of the Chamber’s new executive
Ethlyn Gibbs (right) and Tina Fenimore
From left – Phillip Rushbrook, John Phillips and Vernon Ellis
A section of the gathering at the welecome reception for new Governor, Damian Todd
From left – Thorn Capron, Luciano Santos and Allan Hutchinson
Andrew Harper and Allan Hutchinson
From left – attorney Robert D’Arceuil and Michael Mowatt of IslandCom
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Stay tuned next week for more past papers
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Maroon 5
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Moves like Jagger Moves Like Jagger Maroon 5 (Verse 1] Just shoot for the stars If it feels right Then aim for my heart If you feel like And take me away, make it okay I swear I'll behave You wanted control So we waited I put on a show Now I make it You say I'm a kid My ego is big I don't give a sh*t And it goes like this [Chorus] Take me by the tongue And I'll know you Kiss me till you're drunk And I'll show you You want the moves like jagger I've got the moves like jagger I've got the mooooooves... like jagger I don't need try to control you Look into my eyes and I'll own you With them the moves like jagger I've got the moves like jagger I've got the mooooooves... like jagger [Verse 2] Maybe it's hard When you feel like you're broken and scarred Nothing feels right But when you're with me I make you believe That I've got the key So get in the car We can ride it Wherever you want Get inside it And you want to steer
But I'm shifting gears I'll take it from here And it goes like this [Chorus] Take me by the tongue And I'll know you Kiss me till you're drunk And I'll show you
You want the moves like jagger I've got the moves like jagger I've got the mooooooves... like jagger I don't need try to control you Look into my eyes and I'll own you With them the moves like jagger I've got the moves like jagger I've got the mooooooves... like jagger [Bridge] You wanna know how to make me smile t Take control, own me just for the nigh ret sec my re sha I And if You're gonna have to keep it Nobody else can see this So watch and learn I won't show you twice Head to toe, ooh baby, roll me right And if I share my secret You're gonna have to keep it Nobody else can see this And it goes like this [Chorus] Take me by the tongue And I'll know you Kiss me till you're drunk And I'll show you You want the moves like jagger I've got the moves like jagger I've got the mooooooves... like jagger I don't need try to control you Look into my eyes and I'll own you With them the moves like jagger I've got the moves like jagger I've got the mooooooves... like jagger
R.E.M. SPLITS AFTER MORE THAN 30 YEARS
In an annoucement posted Wednesday on the band's website, R.E.M. said that they have all "decided to call it a day as a band." Made up of Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills, the trio wrote, "We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and or astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." An assistant at R.E.M.'s manager Bertis Downs office in R.E.M. in 2008 Athens, Ga., confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that the R.E.M. was indeed calling it quits. "During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, 'what next'?," Mills wrote on the website. "We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together." He continued, "We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. ... We made this decision together, amicably and with each other's best interests at heart. The time just feels right." Stipe seconded his bandmate's thoughts, saying that, "all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way." Buck shared his thoughts with the fans on the site, writing, "I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it's only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of the club: watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world." R.E.M. formed in 1980, which included original member Bill Berry, in Athens and made several notable albums, some of which include 1986' Lifes Rich Pageant and 1991's Out of Time. The band's biggest single remains "Losing My Religion," which was off Out of Time. Berry left the band in 1997, with the band continuing to release more albums and perform. The band released its latest album, Collapse Into Now, earlier this year. The band released its latest album, Collapse Into Now, earlier this year. R.E.M. also reissued their classic album, Lifes Rich Pageant, in early July on CD and a limitededition vinyl. The set also come with a 19-track bonus disc of unreleased songs, The Athens Demos, which were recorded more than 20 years ago.
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WikiLeaks chief Assange condemns memoir
LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lashed out at a British publisher for releasing drafts of a long-awaited memoir without his approval, saying he did not author the book or get the opportunity to check it. British publisher Canongate announced that the book, billed as an "unauthorized autobiography," will go on sale in stores and online. Canongate — which paid the 40-year-old Assange for the rights to the memoir last year — said that Assange began working with a ghostwriter on the book, but later backed out and tried to cancel his contract. The publisher said that since he had not repaid his advance, it had decided to publish the first draft that the WikiLeaks founder delivered to the publisher in March. But in a statement released to The Associated Press, Assange disputed that account, accusing the publisher of "profiteering from an unfinished and erroneous draft." "The events surrounding its unauthorised publication by Canongate are not about freedom of information —
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
they are about old-fashioned opportunism and duplicity — screwing people over to make a buck," Assange said in the statement. According to Assange, he did not give a copy of the 70,000-word manuscript, written by Andrew O'Hagan, to Canongate. Instead, it was handed over by O'Hagan's researcher "for viewing purposes only" and was
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never intended for publication, he said. "This draft was a work in progress. It is entirely uncorrected or fact-checked by me," Assange said. Although Assange said in the beginning he hoped his memoirs would be "one of the unifying documents of our generation," he later became doubtful and said that with the lawsuits against him he couldn't focus on writing. In December, he said that he didn't want to write a book, but had been forced into the deal to pay his legal bills and keep WikiLeaks afloat. He said the deal would bring in $500,000 from Canongate and $800,000 from Knopf. Assange said that in May he agreed with Canongate to draw up a new contract and restructure the book, but the publisher later ignored those discussions and kept its decision to publish the first draft a secret from him. WikiLeaks and its silver-haired frontman shot to worldwide prominence with a series of spectacular leaks of secret U.S. material, including the publication of about 250,000 classified State Department cables. Assange has gained global fame as
the face of WikiLeaks, but also has fallen out with many former allies, and with media partners, which had helped edit and publish the site's trove of secret documents. Canongate said the book traces Assange's life from his Australian childhood through his time as a teenage computer hacker to the founding of the secret-spilling website. It said the book is, "like its author, passionate, provocative and opinionated." Canongate publishing director Nick Davies said the WikiLeaks chief should be pleased with the result. "He has been portrayed as this Bond villain or a character from a Stieg Larsson novel ... but what comes through here is this very human portrait of Julian, warts and all," he said. "He's a warmer character than a lot of people will be expecting." Assange is out on bail and living at a supporter's mansion in eastern England as he awaits a judge's decision on whether he will be extradited to Sweden to face those allegations. A ruling is expected within weeks.
'HOUSEWIVES' STAR TAYLOR Arnold Schwarzenegger writing Memoir ARMSTRONG DETAILS ABUSE
In her first interviews since her husband's suicide, "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Taylor Armstrong is detailing abuse she claims she suffered from her spouse, including punches, pulled hair and death threats. Armstrong spoke to TV show "Entertainment Tonight" in a story airing on Wednesday, and she appears on daytime talk show "Dr. Phil" on Thursday to discuss her plight that culminated in Russell Armstrong hanging himself at home in August, only weeks before a new season of the show debuted on Sept. 5. In an excerpt posted on "Entertainment Tonight's" website, Armstrong tells the show's Nancy O'Dell that Russell Armstrong physically abused her "maybe 20 times" throughout their marriage. "The first time he ever really harmed me physically, I was pregnant with Kennedy (their daughter), and he grabbed me by the throat and held me up against a wall," Armstrong said. The reason, she said, was because she had cooked his kids a pizza, but hadn't served them vegetables along with it. From there, the assaults escalated, but he would wait until the two were alone, perhaps in their car. Armstrong said her husband would hide his abuse by grabbing or hitting her head so that any welts would be covered by her hair. "Russell was very careful about how he would do things," she said. Taylor Armstrong is a key member of the show about wealthy and pampered women living in posh Beverly Hills. Her marriage troubles with Russell Armstrong were expected to be a key story in the second season that was taped earlier this year. But on Aug. 15, Russell Armstrong was found dead at home, age 47. The show debuted as planned, but with a new segment in which the other cast members, excluding Taylor Armstrong, talked about his suicide. "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,"
Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to tell his story. The actor and former California governor is writing an autobiography that will touch upon his recent breakup with Maria Shriver while also covering his childhood in Austria and his careers as a bodybuilder, action star and politician. "This book will not be a tell-all," a source tells PEOPLE. Schwarzenegger, 64, will work on the book, tentatively titled Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, in between shooting scenes for his next film The Expendables 2, with Sylvester Stallone. “He has been keeping notes and working on the book for over a year,” his spokesman Adam Mendelsohn tells PEOPLE. “He didn't want to write his autobiography while he was governor.” Adds Jonathan Karp of publisher Simon & Schuster: “Nobody has a life story even close to his. Truly, Arnold is one of the most fascinating figures of our time.”
Taylor Armstrong with her former husband Russell
which airs on the Bravo cable network, has continued to run with Taylor appearing in episodes that show her having a nervous breakdown as her marriage collapses. But tape of Russell has been edited out. Taylor filed for divorce in July, but until now she has not spoken in any interviews. On "Entertainment Tonight," she details a final blow to her eye that led to her estrangement from Russell. That punch fractured bones in her face, and medical tests showed damage in her brain. "When I finally showed him the MRI, he just put it down and started to cry," Armstrong said. "I think it was him having to come to terms with the fact this had gone on far too long. She said she did not speak out during the marriage because she loved her husband and did not want him to go to jail. But now, she said that she hopes her story helps other women who are suffering abuse from their own husbands.
Sheen set to keep on making cash on 'Two and a Half Men' You can kill off Charlie Sheen's Two and a Half Men character, saying he was shoved from a Parisian subway platform, only to explode "like a balloon full of meat." You can replace him with (an occasionally pants-less) Ashton Kutcher, and spend the better part of a Sheen-free season premiere quite literally spitting on his memory. And yet, like some sort of cockroach - one perhaps with a Twitter account and an exceptionally strong liver - Sheen is set to continue making money off his Two and a Half Men debacle. Sheen sued Warner Brothers to the tune of $100 million US earlier this year over wrongful dismissal from Two and a Half Men. The (inexplicably) popular show made Sheen the (inexplicably) highest paid actor on TV. And the L.A. Times now reports Sheen is set to win a settlement in his suit against the studio. Reps for Warner Bros. denied any deal in an interview with the Times, but insiders on the case tell the paper that Sheen stands to receive an immediate $25 million from Warner Bros.
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FUN & GAMES
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Cayman Islands shaken by 3 deadly shootings described as assassinations SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
The wealthy British territory of the Cayman Islands has been shaken by a spate of rare, deadly shootings blamed on drug gang rivalries. Gov. Duncan Taylor says the murders of three young men in the West Bay community of Grand Cayman over the last five days are "shocking and intolerable." The islands' police department has increased the number of uniformed and armed police officers in the community. Top law enforcers were meeting Monday to discuss other ways of responding to the uptick in crime. Duncan says officials are exploring "every possible way, within the law" to tackle the violence. The tiny offshore tax haven is located about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Cuba. Describing one of the incidents, Police Chief Superintendent John Jones described how a police patrol officer had been answering an unrelated incident when an obviously injured man staggered up to the police car and opened the door, saying he had just been shot. As the officer was transporting the gunshot victim, who had been shot four times, to the Cayman Islands Hospital, the wounded man told him his friend had also been shot and was still in a nearby area. When police went to that area, they found an 18-year-old male in the driver’s seat of a white Toyota van. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Mr. Jones said he was “barely alive” when police arrived, but died very shortly afterwards and was pronounced dead
at the scene. Mr. Jones described Monday night’s killing, and three earlier fatal shootings in West Bay, as “assassinations”. All four victims who have been killed this week were shot in the head. Police said the latest shooting may be related to the three killings in West Bay area of Cayman , but said it was too early to say definitively if that was the case. “There are connections between the individuals who were victims of this shooting and with certain people affiliated to gangs or groups in the West Bay area,” Mr. Jones said. “Given the timing, so close to the other three shootings that we’ve had, we think there is a strong possibility that it may be connected. “To have four murders in such a short period of time is unprecedented for the Cayman Islands,” Mr. Jones said.
ST JOHNS, Antigua – Former Ukranian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko has been in jail since 2009 for a series of financial crimes, but fresh attempts by the US government to seize his assets around the world has dragged Antigua’s name afresh into the money laundering scandal. The US government has moved to seize a portion of an estimated US$250 million in allegedly illicitly obtained by the former Ukranian prime minister and supposedly secreted in bank accounts located across the world including in Antigua, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, and Guernsey, according to reports. However, liquidators of the
defunct European Federal Credit Bank are trying to block the US government's move. The US Justice Department has been ordered to provide more specific information about its efforts to seize the money linked to Lazarenko and his associates and crimes committed in the 1900s. The Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom has also filed suit in the Washington federal district court. Attorneys representing these two entities say the Justice Department has not explained how the money it is seeking is tied to Lazarenko's alleged crimes. They also want details about the specific crimes the money is linked
Gov. Duncan Taylor says the murders are "shocking and intolerable."
Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden said he was angered that people were now sending police photographs that had appeared on social media like Facebook, of victims of the killings holding firearms. “We are inundated now with various photographs, various emails, various bits of information extracted from social media, pictures of individuals holding guns. Now, if we had this information before that, I’m very certain we could make some interventions and saved some lives,” Mr. Bodden said. He said police were pushing for legislation under which they could prosecute people for brandishing firearms in photographs. “We want legislation to be enacted that those individuals prove, the burden of proof is shifted for them to say I was not holding a real firearm... We want to be able to charge them and deal with them because they are the individuals causing the havoc here in the Cayman Islands,” he said. Meantime, the Cayman Islands is recruiting about 50 new officers, including 20 armed police, to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force to help combat the rising gun crime. The new recruits will be paid from an additional $4.6 million in funding released by the government last week, following meetings between the police commissioner, the governor and government officials to address the rise in armed robberies in Cayman. The spate of fatal gang-related shootings in the past week has added more impetus to increase the size of the police
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service. Governor Duncan Taylor, speaking at a joint media briefing with Police Commissioner David Baines on the steps of the Government Administration Building on Monday afternoon, said the reinstatement of the funding, which had been cut from the RCIPS budget over the past two years, meant that police had already put extra officers on the street and was being used to pay for overtime for police. Police this week began recruiting just under 50 more officers to the police service, including 20 armed officers and 12 detectives for surveillance and investigation, a move that may take a few months to complete, Commissioner Baines said. Additional forensics officers are also being recruited to the crime scenes unit. Commissioner Baines said he also planned to introduce a new unit of police officers with “higher trained public order capability” who could be armed with tasers and larger batons, and who would be tasked with closing down areas where police are seeing additional criminality. “You drop in as a team and you control the ground and it’s to stop that free movement of individuals in some of the areas that are vulnerable... because of the high number of suspect individuals or criminal individuals who live in that community where they garner support from their own community, who see the police presence as an unfortunate presence rather than a supportive element,” he said.
Antigua caught up in money laundering scandal to.
Lazarenko was convicted in California as part of a money laundering conspiracy. He was sentenced to over eight years in prison in 2009. Most of the charges did not however stand up to trial and appeal. In 2008, the appellate judge upheld 8 counts while dropping other 6 counts. The counts upheld were: one count of conspiracy and seven counts on money laundering. The six counts dropped included five counts of wire fraud and one count on interstate transportation of stolen property. The court decided to vacate the sentence and remanded him for resentencing on the 8 counts that were upheld.
Former Ukranian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko
Murder rate in The Bahamas surpasses 100
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NASSAU, The Bahamas --Suggestions that the Royal Bahamas Police Force is “overwhelmed” by the increase in the levels of crime and criminality in some parts of the country are not only inaccurate, but also unfounded, Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade said Monday. Mr. Greenslade said further efforts to characterize crime – especially violent crime – in New Providence as a “Bahamas problem” are also unfounded. The Police Commissioner said statistics show that New Providence (87 per cent) of the 101 murders and Grand Bahama (7 per cent). Two hundred and eighty-two of the 324 guns confiscated off the streets of The Bahamas came from New Providence and the southwestern Bahamas. “This is not a Bahamas problem, but a problem in New Providence,” Mr. Greenslade said. “You will note that in most parts of The Bahamas things are just fine. New Providence is the hot spot for want of a better word and these matters are not concentrated in just one little area of New Providence, these are spread all over.” Mr. Greenslade said the Royal Bahamas Police Force has developed a series of strategies designed to fight crime in certain “hot spots” in New Providence and indeed the entire Bahamas.
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Bahamas Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade
He said some of those initiatives have already borne fruit in New Providence, perhaps not at the pace many would like, but that “we have had successes.” “Hot spots” include areas in the Grove Division and southeastern and southwestern Divisions. Fifty-four of the 101 murders committed in The Bahamas have occurred in these districts. (Eighteen each). The Grove Division includes Yellow Elder, Ridgeland Park (both sides) and Coconut Grove. The Southeastern Division comprises Pinewood Gardens, Bamboo Town
IMF RECOMMENDS VAT FOR DUTCH ST. MAARTEN PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – The International Monetary Fund ( IMF) has suggested that a Value Added Tax be introduced in St. Maarten as part of a changes aimed at revamping the country’s tax system. Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto said the IMF has also suggested that the rates for income and profit tax be lowered, and that the country syncronise its currency policies with Curaçao. Shigemoto, according to the Daily Herald newspaper, said while government "definitely takes heed" of these recommendations, they needed to be placed in the political reality of the day. "We need to decide what we are doing with dollarization versus a common currency. The IMF did advise that we first take care of the majority of the issues they presented before going over to dollarization. So in essence they think we can dollarize, but not just yet,” he stated. Citing concerns about the amount of products imported into St. Maarten and Curaçao, the IMF mission said more work is needed on revitalizing the economy. "What the IMF found encouraging and comforting is that the issues as presented were not a surprise to anyone they spoke with and each Minister and Ministry could elucidate on plans to address most of the issues. This demonstrates that the government is on the right track," Shigemoto stated further. The IMF mission will present its final report today to authorities in St. Maarten and Curaçao.
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and the Deep South while the Southwestern Division includes Carmichael Road, Golden Gates, Sunshine Park, up and beyond Gladstone Road. “This speaks to a much bigger issue which is an issue that cannot be Police-centric,” Mr. Greenslade added. The Police Commissioner said while Year-to-Date (YTD) statistics show that the men and women of the Royal Bahamas Police Force have done a “remarkable job” in removing many of the large numbers of illegal weapons “from the hands of bad people.” He said while the murder rate has jumped over last year’s count (the count was 101 as of mid-afternoon Monday, September 19), members of the Police Force have removed 324 illegal firearms from the streets as of September 19, an increase of 77 over the same time frame in 2010, while 5,679 rounds of ammunition were also confiscated. This is an increase of 928 rounds over 2010. Illegal firearms (70 per cent) and knives (14 per cent) were used to commit 84 per cent of the 101 murders committed in The Bahamas as of Monday, September 19. Mr. Greenslade said the Force’s ability to remove those 324 illegal weapons from the streets – the majority of them in New Providence – has helped to decrease the number of gun-related incidences. “We are a professional
organisation (consisting of) welltrained, professional people who come to work everyday with a commitment to serve the Bahamian people to the best of our abilities and we have done that and will continue to do that and so I get a little concerned when I am asked about being overwhelmed,” Mr. Greenslade said. “Statistics would show that the Royal Bahamas Police Force is a very productive organisation, fulfilling its mandate, and I am very pleased that our plan for fighting crime in the country is being followed and that officers are performing well. “We are not overwhelmed (and) we continue to do what the law allows us to do,” Mr. Greenslade added. Mr. Greenslade said the abuse and use alcohol, drug consumption and drug trafficking are “fuelling to a large extent, lots of the problems we are having.” “We can try to side-step that as much as we like, but that is the stark reality,” Mr. Greenslade said. “Far too many of our young people are using illegal drugs, more particularly marijuana and drinking alcoholic beverages. “It is not unusual for any of us to observe a young person, male and female, walking the streets with not just one beer, but two. Something is terribly wrong and we have slipped badly. That is not a police-centric problem,” Mr. Greenslade added.
Nearly $1m in drugs seized in The Bahamas
The police hauled in nearly $1 million worth of marijuana last Sunday during an early morning drug bust that ended when one of the suspects was injured during a shoot-out with officers. Police said they recovered 954 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $954,000. Officers intercepted a go-fast boat, off the coast of Andros shortly after midnight, police said. Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) Commander Superintendent Robert Sherman-Young told reporters that the suspect who was shot had to be transported to Princess Margaret Hospital, where he was detained in stable condition. He was one of four Bahamians traveling on the vessel. Meanwhile, police escorted the remaining three suspects and their boat, which was stuffed with the drugs, to the Police Marine Harbour on Bay Street. They arrived sometime around noon. The suspects were taken into custody while the drugs were processed by DEU?agents. According to Sherman-Young, police found more than 120 packages of marijuana on the boat. As officers off-loaded the drugs, ShermanYoung noted that it was one of the biggest busts all year. He said police received information about the boat shortly after midnight and immediately launched into action. "The U.S. Coast Guard and DEA helicopters were dispatched and they were able to locate the vessel," he said. "And as a result we launched vessels from Nassau, the defence force vessel and the police nortech vessel. Both vessels intercepted the boat in the Tongue of the Ocean in the area of Andros around 12:30 a.m." He said the suspects attempted to evade capture and shot at the police in a bid to escape.
Police said they recovered 954 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $954,000. (File photo)
The police returned fire, hitting one of the men in his arm and also hitting one of the engines on the vessel. Police believe the men were transporting the drugs from Jamaica. This latest bust came one month after officers from DEU were involved in a high-speed car chase that ended with the suspect's truck crashing into a wall on Prospect Ridge and the seizure of 500 pounds of marijuana. The drugs are worth $500,000 on the streets. Just days before that bust, police in Grand Bahama netted approximately $1.2 million worth of cocaine in a shipping container which they said originated in Peru and was destined for Toronto, Canada. Police found two large duffle bags containing taped square packages they suspected to be cocaine inside the container.
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LOCAL NEWS CARIBBEAN NEWS
St Vincent Opposition says Government will not last five years
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent - The main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) no longer believes that the Dr. Ralph Gonsalves Unity Labour Party (ULP) administration will fall within one year of its third term in office. But NDP president and Opposition Leader, Arnhim Eustace, on Sunday told radio listeners that his party still believes that Vincentians will vote again before 2015, when elections are constitutionally due. “The NDP doesn’t believe that the government will last five years,” Eustace said of the ULP administration, which began its third term in office last December. “We said so from the beginning (that) we would be campaigning,” Eustace added. The NDP recommenced its “normal political campaigning” last Thursday with a town hall meeting in Owia, the first of series of such activities. Eustace said residents of that North Windward community were concerned about arrowroot, the latest crisis in relations to bananas, and the closure of the fisheries complex recently opened there. “A lot of their concerns have to do with agriculture and joblessness in the area,” Eustace said, adding that the NDP had not had any public meetings for some time and had already decided to have town hall meetings toward the ends of September. “There are a lot of issues in the country that needs discussing and which we have been airing on talk radio and so on, we have decided now to spread out some more and back to town hall meetings.” The NDP’s town hall meetings come even as the ULP announced that it would have two political rallies every month until the end of the year. Further, a post by a ULP Member of Parliament on a social networking website, suggest that the party might be preparing for early elections. “It’s been eight months after the election and
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you need to see us back on the road. We need to touch flesh and see each other eye to eye and talk face to face,” Julian Francis, ULP general secretary said of the rallies. He further said that his government was “not delivering maximum as we expect in certain areas but (is) still touch on all subject areas.” The ULP last December scored a one-seat victory in the 15-member Parliament. Asked if he believed that the ULP was preparing for early elections, Eustace said, “I am not in a position to say that. They would have been guided by their own thinking in that matter. “Our objective is to remove the government from office in the normal manner in less than the five-year period. I was working on one year but it doesn’t seem that that will materialise now. But we will continue to work but we don’t expect it (the government) to last,” said Eustace, who was prime minister for five months ending March 2001. “We have a very serious economic situation in this country and we have a number of issues which I the need for resolution is going to involve some austerity on the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And that is going to bring a lot of pressure on the political apparatus in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “We cannot continue to have negative grown year after year, to have fiscal deficit ballooning out of control as we have now and not find ourselves in difficulty in the not too distant future,” Eustace said. “We believe that a lot of pressure is going to come down on the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and that will lead to elections,” Eustace said. “..The fact remains that the debt has been ballooning out of control and sooner or later we just will not be able to make payments. Our revenue is running much lower than our expenditure and you end up by borrowing more and more and then borrowing become unsustainable at some point in time.,” he added.
TRINIDAD PRIME MINISTER DEFENDS HER VISIT TO US WHILE COUNTRY UNDER STATE OF EMERGENCY
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – She said she had first Prime Minister Kamla Persad intended to be in the United Bissessar defended her brief States for seven days visit to the United States where attending various meetings she addressed the special “(but) I made the decision and United Nations Conference on opted to go for one day. Non-Communicable Diseases “I do not think my (NCDs) as well as attending a absence from the country for women’s conference on one day will in any seriously Monday. impact on the governance. In Persad Bissessar said she deed I am not indispensible, had been aware of the criticism there are others who can hold of her visit given the fact that the ship of state in my Trinidad and Tobago has been absence,” she told reporters. under a state of emergency A government statement (SOE) since August 21. issued here late on Monday Trinidad Prime Minister Radio and television talk said that Persad Bissessar Kamla Persad Bissessar shows, as well as other critics was curtailing “her scheduled have condemned the decision seven day visit to the United by the Prime Minister to leave the country, which Nations General Assembly to one day, in order to is also under a five hour curfew. They have also ensure that the country continues to receive her been critical of the decision by President George undivided attention”. Maxwell Richards to leave the country on his it noted that the Prime Minister’s seven day annual vacation after having signed the visit would have included meetings with US proclamation imposing the SOE. Secretary of State,. Hillary Clinton, British Prime “I am not surprised at the comments, I had to Minister, David Cameron, the launch of the think long and hard in making the decision to go UNDP Human Development Report on Citizens at all,” Prime Minister Persad Bissessar told Security in Trinidad and Tobago, and a formal reporters upon her return from the United States reception hosted by United States President and following the 24 hour visit. Mrs. Obama.
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
JAMAICA SECURES MORE THAN ONE MILLION AIRLIFT SEATS FOR UPCOMING WINTER TOURIST SEASON
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Director of Tourism and chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), John Lynch, says Jamaica has already secured 1,050,000 airlift seats into the island this winter tourist season, which begins on December 15. This, he said, reflects a three per cent increase over the number secured last year. But while Lynch said the initial target was for 1.2million seats, he is still satisfied with the numbers thus far. "We would have liked at least 1.2-million seats for winter, but what we have is adequate to give us growth," he told the Observer yesterday at the 21st annual Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) now underway at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James. According to Lynch, the airline seats could further increase as more Spanish visitors come to Jamaica given the direct flights being offered by Copa Airlines out of 58 cities in North, Central and South America. And, although the airline will initially offer only two weekly flights into Montego Bay as of December 11, Lynch said indications are that this will be increased shortly thereafter. "We want to develop Copa to daily service and they are willing to do this as soon as possible," Lynch said. He explained further that special emphasis is being placed on marketing Jamaica to the Latin American region now that those nationals have access to direct flights into Jamaica. "Latin Americans often say they would love to come on vacation in Jamaica but with a family of four having to pay US$600 for the United States visa they just couldn't afford to come," he said. He added further that "with direct flights from there they no longer have that hassle. In fact, Lynch said this coming winter Jamaica could see a doubling of the number of Spanish visitors from the 6,000 who visited between January and May. The winter tourist season ends in April. According to Lynch, Latin America has become a primary part of the growth strategy for Jamaica. So much so there are plans for the Jamaican government to ease the visa restrictions for nationals from some Latin American countries to travel to the island. And with the largest contingent of Latin American tour operators and media at this year's JAPEX, Lynch said Jamaica's tourism sector will start seeing the benefits almost immediately with expectations of an increase by December when a number of chartered flights are scheduled to arrive from several Latin American gateways. According to Lynch, not many airlines are willing to fly to a destination without revenue support as fuel accounts for some 30 per cent of the operating cost. Jamaica is, however, only providing marketing support to Copa Airlines. In the meantime, the tourism director said Jamaica continues to make steady progress in its traditional markets as it gets ready to kick off its advertising campaign in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, where Jamaica has been able to secure additional airlifts through US Airways and Air Tran. "Canada also continues to grow," Lynch said. The JTB, Lynch said, is also looking to tap into the Russian market in a significant way now that the way is being cleared for more airlift from out of that region. This year's JAPEX, which concludes tomorrow, includes 136 representatives from 98 buyer companies along with 248 participants from 91 supplier companies. The three-day event gives Jamaican properties and attractions a chance to promote their products to travel agents, tour operators, wholesalers and trade media from the Americas and Europe.
World shocked by US execution of Troy Davis
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SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Troy Davis may be dead, but his execution Thursday, September 22 in the American state of Georgia has made him the poster boy for the global movement to end the death penalty. World figures, including Pope Benedict XVI and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, human groups and commentators urged the execution to be halted -- but to no avail. On Wednesday Davis was put to death by lethal injection for the 1989 killing of off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail despite doubts being raised over the conviction. The execution sparked angry reactions and protests in European capitals -- as well as outrage on social media. "We strongly deplore that the numerous appeals for clemency were not heeded," the French foreign ministry said. "There are still serious doubts about his guilt," said Germany's junior minister for human rights Markus Loening. "An execution is irreversible -- a judicial error can never be repaired." The European Union expressed "deep regret" over the execution and repeated its call for a universal moratorium on capital punishment. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc had learnt "with deep regret that Mr Troy Davis was executed," her spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told Agence-France Presse. '"The EU opposes the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and calls for a universal moratorium," she said.
People hold placards during a demonstration in Paris against the execution of Troy Davis.
"The abolition of that penalty is essential to protect human dignity." Amnesty International condemned the execution in a statement. "The U.S. justice system was shaken to its core as Georgia executed a person who may well be innocent. Killing a man under this enormous cloud of doubt is horrific and amounts to a catastrophic failure of the justice system," Amnesty said. In Britain's Guardian newspaper, Ed Jackson, reporting from Jackson, Georgia, before the execution took place, gave 10 reasons why he believed the death sentence for "a man who is very possibly innocent" should be commuted. Most of his argument concerned doubts about the conviction -- seven of the nine key witnesses to the murder of MacPhail later recanted their evidence - but his final reason concerned the manner in which Davis was put to death. "Even if you set aside the issue of
Davis's innocence or guilt, the manner of his execution tonight is cruel and unnatural," Jackson wrote. "If the execution goes ahead as expected, it would be the fourth scheduled execution date for this prisoner. In 2008 he was given a stay just 90 minutes before he was set to die. Experts in death row say such multiple experiences with imminent death is tantamount to torture." In the right-of-center Daily Telegraph, Tom Chivers said the death penalty was "barbaric" and far more likely to be used against black people than white. But the main thrust of his argument was that there were serious doubts over the conviction. "If you are pro-death penalty, you should be shouting twice as loud as the rest of us about the imminent murder of Troy Davis," Chivers wrote. "Otherwise, you can't claim to be supporting a stark but necessary act of
Number of new graduate students down for first time since 2003 WASHINGTON - New student enrollment at U.S. graduate schools fell in 2010 for the first time since the fall of 2003, according to a report released on Thursday. The decrease came despite a more than eight percent increase in applications, said the report from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board. The survey -- conducted annually since 1986 -showed the number of first-time grad students fell 1.1 percent from fall 2009 to fall 2010, though applications increased 8.4 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2018, 2.5 million more jobs will require advanced degrees, according to CGS President Debra Stewart. "The decline in first-time enrollment ... is a concern given changing demographics and the need
for more students from all groups to pursue graduate degrees so that America will have the talent needed to remain competitive," Stewart said in a statement. The authors of the CGS/GRE report said last year's decline was driven entirely by a drop in parttime graduate enrollment, which declined 8.5 percent. Approximately 1,950 U.S. colleges and universities offer graduate programs, according to the CGS/GRE survey. The 655 of these institutions which responded to the survey received nearly 1.77 million applications for graduate programs beginning in fall 2010. Of those applications, about 741,000, or 42 percent, were accepted, but only about 445,000 students enrolled for the first time in graduate programs for the fall term in 2010.
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Troy Davis
justice. You're just a fan of killing people in general. There are words for people like that. None of them are nice." On social media, many users predicted the execution would encourage a new civil rights movement to spring up. American novelist Hari Kunzru commented that on the issue of capital punishment the U.S. was isolated from much of the rest of the world "So I wake up to hear they executed Troy Davis. Wonder if most Americans realize how far out of step they are with international norms." And entertainer Vincent Tucker remarked that campaigners should continue their campaign despite Davis's death. "It's one thing to fight for Troy Davis when he was alive but the key question now is will you STILL fight for his cause after his death?"
The number of new doctoral students grew 1.5 percent from fall 2009, while the number of master's and graduate certificate students dropped 1.6 percent. Overall, roughly 42 percent of all first-time graduate students in fall 2010 were men and 58 percent were women, continuing a decade-long trend of more women entering grad school than men. Business, engineering, and social and behavioral sciences accounted for the largest numbers of applications in 2010. Among first-time graduate enrollees in fall 2010 whose citizenship was known, some 84 percent were U.S. citizens or permanent residents and 16 percent were temporary residents. Enrollment for U.S. graduate students and permanent residents fell 1.2 percent, but international or temporary resident enrollment in U.S. graduate schools rose 4.7 percent, reversing a decade-long trend of lower international rates. White students accounted for more than six out of ten, or 63 percent, of U.S. citizen and permanent resident first-time enrollees in fall 2010.
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UK to pay victims over 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre LOCAL NEWS WORLD NEWS
Britain said Thursday it will offer compensation payments to the families of people killed and wounded on Bloody Sunday, a nearly 40-year-old massacre by British paratroopers in Northern Ireland that fueled Irish Catholic support for the IRA. Thirteen people were killed and 14 wounded on Jan. 30, 1972, in Londonderry when the soldiers opened fire on a Catholic crowd demonstrating against Britain's detention without trial of Irish Republican Army suspects. Britain compounded local fury by hastily ruling that the soldiers, none of whom were wounded, were responding to IRA attacks and targeting gunmen. Last year, Prime Minister David Cameron apologized after a 12-year
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investigation found that the soldiers were not under attack and fired without justification on unarmed civilians, many of whom were fleeing or aiding wounded. Britain's Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday it has written to lawyers representing the Londonderry victims' families seeking terms for financial payments. It offered no details of potential payouts. "We acknowledge the pain felt by these families for nearly 40 years, and that members of the armed forces acted wrongly. For that, the government is deeply sorry," the ministry said in a statement. Peter Madden, a Belfast lawyer who represents many of the victims' families, said negotiations would open
soon with the British government to put a price both on the lives lost and maimed and on the damage caused to victims' reputations by the British Army's "shameful allegations" that they were armed IRA members. But some families immediately rejected any offer of financial compensation, stressing they want criminal prosecutions of those who opened fire. Nobody has ever been charged over the 13 killings. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, authorized by former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the immediate build-up to the Good Friday peace accord of 1998, was empowered to find the truth behind the British Army's worst act of violence in Northern Ireland. Families of the dead had demanded such a
Americans freed from Iran enjoy family reunions
U.S. hiker Josh Fattal, center, is greeted Wednesday in Muscat, Oman, after Tehran released him and Shane Bauer on bail, months after convicting them.
MUSCAT, Oman — Two Americans released from an Iranian prison spent their first full day of freedom Thursday in seclusion, enjoying a joyous reunion with their families in the Gulf State of Oman after being held for more than two years accused as spies. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer arrived late Wednesday night in Oman under a $1 million bail-forfreedom deal and were embraced by relatives. "Everybody is really happy to be together right now," Bauer's brotherin-law Nate Lindstrom told CBS in an interview. Lindstrom was not in Oman with the families but said he had spoken to his wife, Bauer's sister Nicole, from there on Thursday morning. He said his wife had not spoken to her brother in two years and was relieved to finally be with him again, enjoying catching up. There was no word on when the two would return to the U.S. The families were on the tarmac to greet the two when they arrived Wednesday at a royal airfield near the main international airport in Oman's capital, Muscat. At about 20 minutes before midnight Wednesday, Fattal and Bauer — wearing jeans and casual shirts — bounded down the steps from the blue-and-white plane. The men appeared very thin and pale, but in good health. "We're so happy we are free,"
Fattal told reporters in a brief statement before leaving the airport. "Two years in prison is too long," Bauer said, adding he hoped their release from prison will also bring "freedom for political prisoners in America and Iran." Iran's Foreign Ministry said that the pair's release was a gesture of Islamic mercy and a response to calls for their freedom by world leaders such as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The release capped complicated diplomatic maneuvers over a week of confusing signals by Iran's leadership. Although the fate of Fattal and Bauer gripped America, it was on the periphery of the larger showdowns between Washington and Tehran that include Iran's nuclear program and its ambitions to widen military and political influence in the Middle East and beyond. The release came on the eve of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's previously scheduled address Thursday to the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial meeting. The two, along with American Sarah Shourd, were detained in July 2009 along the Iran-Iraq border. They always maintained their innocence, saying they were only hiking in Iraq's relatively peaceful Kurdish region
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U.S. hiker Shane Bauer is embraced by fiancée Sarah Shourd.
and might have accidentally wandered into Iran. While in prison, Bauer proposed to Shourd. She was released a year ago under similar terms and was with the families in Oman to greet the two. Last month, Fattal and Bauer were sentenced to eight years in prison each for illegal entry into Iran and espionage. American and Omani officials did not disclose details about the Americans' plans and when they may head home. After Shourd was freed last September, she stayed for days in Oman before she flew to United States. "Today can only be described as the best day of our lives," said a Wednesday statement from their families. "We have waited for nearly 26 months for this moment and the joy and relief we feel at Shane and Josh's long-awaited freedom knows no bounds." "We now all want nothing more than to wrap Shane and Josh in our arms, catch up on two lost years and make a new beginning, for them and for all of us," the statement added. Obama called it "wonderful, wonderful news about the hikers, we are thrilled ... It's a wonderful day for them and for us."
probe for decades. The investigation led by English judge Lord Saville produced a 5,000page report based on evidence from 921 witnesses, 2,500 written statements and 60 volumes of written evidence. It cost nearly 200 million pounds ($300 million). Saville gave the ex-paratroopers, now in their 60s and 70s, broad protections from criminal charges as well as anonymity in the witness box, citing the risk that IRA dissidents might target them in retaliation. However legal experts say wiggle room remains for prosecutions and, more likely, civil lawsuits against the retired soldiers, particularly those who were found to have lied during their testimony.
YEMEN’S SALEH RETURNS FROM SAUDI AS BATTLES RAGE Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned to Sanaa on Friday after more than three months of medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, even as his forces were battling dissident troops in the capital. Saleh's surprise return was announced by state television. He arrived by plane in Sanaa at 5:00 am (0200 GMT), an airport source said. The 69-year-old Saleh, who has since January faced massive street protests demanding he step down, was hospitalised in Riyadh on June 4, a day after being badly wounded in a bomb attack on his Sanaa compound. It was not clear if his homecoming presaged a yielding to demands since January that he step down or plans to reassert his authority over an increasingly divided country. His return came as his forces fought dissidents loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in Sanaa for a sixth straight day, with more than 100 people killed in the surge of violence that erupted on Sunday. Both sides are backed by rival tribesmen, with witnesses saying the fighting on Friday was concentrated in the capital's northern Al-Hasaba district but was also raging in other neighbourhoods. On Thursday, Al-Hasaba became the theatre of bloody clashes between gunmen loyal to powerful dissident tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, from the same tribe as General Ahmar, and followers of Saghir bin Aziz, a tribesman allied to Saleh. After dying down during the night, the fighting resumed at dawn Friday. Witnesses reported shelling and machine-gun fire in Al-Hasaba, and tribal sources said Saleh's forces were bombarding the district with mortars. An Ahmar tribal source said four people were killed in Al-Hasaba, while medics reported two people killed when a shell smashed into Change Square, epicentre of anti-Saleh protests in the centre of Sanaa.
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Ahmadinejad revives nuclear fuel swap offer
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday said Tehran would stop producing 20 percent enriched uranium if it is guaranteed fuel for a medical research reactor, seeking to revive a fuel swap deal that fell apart in 2009. "Any time they can guarantee us this sale ... we will stop 20 percent enrichment," Ahmadinejad told a small group of reporters in New York, where he is attending a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. "Whenever these assurances are given, we will do our part," Ahmadinejad said. "We will cease domestic enrichment at the 20 percent level. That's all. But we will continue the building of new power plants." Tehran's refusal to halt enrichment has provoked four rounds of U.N. sanctions on the world's No. 5 oil exporting state and tighter U.S. and European Union restrictions. Ahmadinejad touched on the issue of the sanctions, acknowledging they had hit the Iranian economy but denying they had had a devastating impact. "At the end of the day, sanctions do have an effect, we never maintained that they had no effect whatsoever," he said. "But they do not have a decisive effect." Western nations suspect Iran is trying to use its nuclear program to develop atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic has denied the charge, saying it wants to produce nuclear energy. Tehran plans to build 19 new
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1,000-megawatt nuclear power plants to meet growing electricity demand. Iran recently began shifting enrichment centrifuges to an underground bunker near the holy city of Qom as part of a push to triple output capacity of higher-grade enriched uranium, a development Washington called "troubling." Western analysts say that Iran's drive to produce 20 percent enriched material puts it closer to the 90 percent threshold suitable for atom bombs. Iran says it needs the material to fuel a Tehran research reactor it says helps in treating hundreds of thousands of cancer patients. A tentative pact brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, in 2009 to exchange Iranian low-enriched uranium (LEU) for higher-refined fuel from abroad collapsed after Iran backed away from its terms. The fuel swap plan was envisioned by the West as a way to reduce mistrust and help pave the way for broader talks on Tehran's nuclear program but subsequent discussions have revealed major differences standing in the way of reviving any such deal. Western diplomats have made clear they want Iran to send out most of its low-enriched uranium -potential weapons material if refined further -- as part of any fuel swap. Iran has made equally clear it is not prepared to part with more LEU than it agreed to under the original
plan even though its stockpile has more than doubled in the intervening period. Analysts and diplomats believe the original deal fell victim to Iran's internal power rivalries as
Ahmadinejad's rivals -- who have only grown stronger since the deal was first outlined -- raised new conditions which proved unacceptable for the West.
PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD ISSUE COMING TO A BOIL AT U.N. Confronted with the prospect of a Palestinian bid for full U.N. membership, U.S. President Barack Obama issued a sharp rebuke Wednesday to those pressing for statehood -- a rebuke likely to bring criticism from the Arab world. "Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the U.N.," Obama said, addressing delegates at the 66th annual session of U.N. General Assembly. "If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now." The United States has vowed to block a Palestinian membership application should it reach the Security Council, but is likely eager to head off a scenario that would involve an American veto -- a move widely seen as unpopular across the Middle East. One year ago, I stood at this podium and called for an independent Palestine," Obama added. "I believed then -- and I believe now -- that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own. But what I also said is that genuine peace can only be realized between Israelis and Palestinians themselves." A year later, despite extensive U.S. efforts, "the parties have not bridged their differences," Obama said. The American president met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and declared the bonds between their two countries "unbreakable," a move likely to play well at home in an increasingly volatile U.S. political landscape. Though Netanyahu was not in attendance at the General Assembly during Obama's speech, he called the U.S. position a "badge of honor," and has pushed for a resumption of talks, beginning in New York and continuing in Ramallah and Jerusalem. Peace negotiations broke down last year.
Obama uses aging bridge in push for jobs plan
President Barack Obama sought on Thursday to ratchet up pressure for congressional approval of his $447 billion jobs plan, taking his pitch to the backyard of his two top Republican foes and using an aging bridge as a prop. In the latest stop on what has become a "pass this bill" tour, Obama stood on the banks of the Ohio River to tout his package for reducing high unemployment, and warned Republicans against letting election politics delay action. Republicans mocked Obama's trip to the Brent Spence Bridge, a dilapidated span between Ohio and Kentucky, as political theater. They have given Obama's jobs plan a cool reception and oppose tax hikes on wealthier Americans that would pay for it, but have voiced a willingness to consider some of his ideas. Obama pointed to the bridge, which links the home states of House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and has been declared "functionally obsolete," as justification for new spending on the nation's infrastructure.
US President Barack Obama
The Democratic president, whose 2012 re-election hopes hinge heavily on his ability to revive the economy, made clear he had chosen the backdrop in order to make a political point and put the two top Republican lawmakers on the defensive. "Part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell are the two most powerful Republicans in government," Obama told a campaign-style rally. "They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help us pass it."
"Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge," he said to cheers. "Pass this jobs bill right away. Obama's trip to Ohio, a battleground state in presidential elections, was his latest to drum up support for the jobs plan he unveiled this month. Polls show many Americans skeptical it will do much to curb 9.1 percent unemployment. The visit also kept up a White House offensive to sharpen his reelection campaign message -- that Republicans care more about shielding the rich from higher taxes than making important investments. A majority of Americans disapprove of Obama's economic stewardship and his opinion poll numbers have eroded amid worries the country could slip back into recession, with fresh jitters exposed on Thursday as global stock markets slumped. McConnell, a Kentucky lawmaker, criticized Obama for using the bridge as a political stunt. Republicans have said Obama must agree to loosen restrictions on how infrastructure money is spent at the local level before Congress will consider further spending.
"I would suggest, Mr. President, that you think about ways to actually help the people of Kentucky and Ohio, instead of how you can use their roads and bridges as a backdrop for making a political point," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "If you really want to help our state then come back to Washington and work with Republicans on legislation that will actually do something to revive our economy and create jobs. And forget the political theater," he said. But Obama also used his Cincinnati event to chide McConnell personally for having said in the past that his top priority was to make sure Obama was a one-term president. "I've got news for him," Obama said. "The next election is 14 months away, and I'll be happy to tangle some time down the road. But the American people right now don't have the luxury of waiting to solve our problems for another 14 months." The 47-year-old bridge funnels traffic from two interstate highways, suffers from overcrowding and has been on the list for renovation for years.
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NATO sees end to Libya mission within 90 days
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NATO said on Thursday it was confident it could conclude its mission in Libya before the end of a 90-day extension agreed this week, and called on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi to surrender. The Western military alliance, which has bombed Libya since March, has continued to hit holdout positions of Gaddafi loyalists since the leader was toppled a month ago. NATO's 28 member states agreed on Wednesday to extend the operation's mandate by 90 days. It had been due to expire on Sept 27. NATO's commander for Libya, Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, said the activities of pro-Gaddafi forces were now confined to three isolated areas and they were no longer able to coordinate action. "I am highly confident that we can complete this mission well within the limits as provided by NATO," Bouchard told a news briefing. Bouchard said the campaign of air strikes and naval patrols would
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SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Anti-Gaddafi fighters patrol the entrance of the besieged desert town of Bani Walid
continue as long as a threat remained to civilians. NATO launched its campaign after the U.N. Security Council authorized military action in March to protect Libyan civilians. While pro-Gaddafi forces were now confined to the areas of Bani
Walid, Sirte and Al Fuqaha, they still possessed multiple rocket launchers, heavy machineguns, surface-to-air weapons and tanks, Bouchard said. "It behooves us to continue to look for those where required and ensuring they are neutralized," Bouchard said.
Sparks fly as US and Pakistan spar over Afghan bloodshed
The United States and Pakistan inched closer to open confrontation on Thursday, the top U.S. military officer accusing Pakistan's intelligence agency in the strongest terms yet of involvement in violence against U.S. targets in Afghanistan. Admiral Mike Mullen called the Haqqani militant network a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's powerful ISI intelligence service, which he said supported the group's attack last week on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, a blow to U.S. efforts to bring the Afghan war to a peaceful end. Pakistan's interior minister swiftly rejected the U.S. accusations of Islamabad's links to the Haqqanis, one of the most feared insurgent groups operating in Afghanistan. The minister, Rehman Malik, also warned against a unilateral U.S. ground attack on the Haqqanis, who are based in Pakistan's ungoverned tribal territories. "The Pakistan nation will not allow the boots on our ground, never. Our government is already cooperating with the U.S. ... but they also must respect our sovereignty," Malik said in an interview with Reuters. The harsh words appear to represent a new low in U.S.-Pakistani relations, which had barely begun to recover from the unannounced U.S. Special Forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in May. The tensions could have repercussions across Asia, from India, Pakistan's economically booming arch-rival, to China, which has edged closer to Pakistan in recent years. A complete break between the United States and Pakistan -- sometimes friends, sometimes adversaries -- seems unlikely, if only because the United States depends on Pakistan as a route to supply U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and as a base for unmanned U.S. drones. Washington does not want to see further instability in the nuclear-armed country. But support in the U.S. Congress for curbing or conditioning aid to Pakistan is rising rapidly. And Mullen, CIA Director David Petraeus and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have all met their Pakistani counterparts in recent days to demand Islamabad rein in militants.
Mullen, who appeared with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said U.S. aid to Pakistan "needs to be conditioned" on Pakistan's cooperation against militants. But he said the United States had to be careful about the conditioning as well. "I think we need to continue to stay engaged. And I don't know when the breakthrough is going to take place ... We need to be there when the light goes on," Mullen said. A separate Senate committee voted on Wednesday to make economic and security aid to Pakistan conditional on its cooperation in fighting militants such as the Haqqani network. Mullen, who is about to step down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been a defender of U.S. engagement with Pakistan and has met more than two dozen times with his Pakistani counterpart, General Ashfaq Kayani. The Haqqani network is one of three allied insurgent factions fighting U.S.-led NATO and Afghan troops under the Taliban banner in Afghanistan. In earlier testimony, Mullen said "the Haqqani network ... acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's InterServices Intelligence Agency." "With ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted (a September 11) truck bomb attack, as well as the assault on our embassy," Mullen said. Insurgents struck the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and nearby NATO headquarters on September 13, killing at least seven people and wounding 19. Of the Haqqanis, Mullen said, "We also have credible intelligence that they were behind the June 28 attack against the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul and a host of other smaller but effective operations." Malik, the Pakistani minister, issued a flat denial of such accusations. "If you say that it is ISI involved in that (embassy) attack, I categorically deny it. We have no such policy to attack or aid attack through Pakistani forces or through any Pakistani assistance," he told Reuters. The U.S. accusations underscore mounting exasperation in the Obama administration which is struggling to put an end to the long war in Afghanistan.
He said the actions of pro-Gaddafi forces were now limited to "tactical, very localized, actions." "We are now at a point that I can only urge regime forces to surrender to bring and end to these activities and to find a peaceful settlement," he said. "Clearly if they opt not to do that and continue to threaten the population we will take all necessary means to bringing that to an end." Bouchard said that based on the reports he had had on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the areas of Waddan, Hun, Al Jufra and Sabha were all under the control of antiGaddafi forces. "I don't think there are too many places in Libya for (Gaddafi) regime forces to go. The majority of the country is under NTC and antiGaddafi control and my assessment of the situation is that these areas are surrounded," he said. Bouchard repeated NATO statements that he had no idea of the whereabouts of Gaddafi himself.
FRENCH COURT FINES WOMEN FOR WEARING VEILS
France's fines on women for wearing the fullface covering niqab veil, imposed for the first time by a court on Thursday, are a "travesty of justice," Amnesty International says. Police have issued several on-the-spot fines since the ban came into force in April but the hearing saw the first two court-issued fines, and the Muslim women vowed to appeal their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights. "This is a travesty of justice and a day of shame for France. These women are being punished for wearing what they want," Amnesty International's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia John Dalhuisen said in a statement. "Instead of protecting women's rights, this ban violates their freedom of expression and religion." The court in the northern cheese-making town of Meaux ordered Hind Ahmas, 32, to pay a 120 ($A163) fine, while Najate Nait Ali, 36, was fined 80 euros. It did not order them to take a citizenship course, as the prosecutor had wanted. The women were arrested when they brought a birthday cake for local mayor and lawmaker Jean-Francois Cope, who is head of President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party that pushed through Europe's first antiburqa law. France is not the only country to try to ban the Muslim full-face veil - Belgium and some Italian cities have similar laws, while other countries are planning to follow suit - so a European ruling could have broad effect. French officials estimate that only around 2,000 women, from a total Muslim population estimated at between four and six million, wear the full-face veils traditionally worn in parts of the Arab world and South Asia. Many Muslims and rights activists say the right-wing president is targeting one of France's most vulnerable groups to signal to antiimmigration voters that he shares their fear that Islam is a threat to French culture.
Facebook F8: Redesigning and hitting 800 million users
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Facebook on Thursday delivered an entirely new profile design, called Timeline; a few new verbs to go with the Like button, such as read, listen, watch, run and cook; and a few numbers as well -- among them 800 million. While the focus of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's keynote at the F8 conference in San Francisco was on the new products, Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek mentioned that Facebook had passed 800 million users. Facebook's chief technology officer, Bret Taylor, confirmed that fact in a news conference after the keynote. But that wasn't before he mentioned during the keynote that more than 350 million people use Facebook on mobile devices each month. Zuckerberg earlier in the keynote also mentioned that in one day recently, Facebook had more than 500 million
users overall, testifying to the fact that indeed, the world's most popular social network's user base is active. It's that user base, of course, that the launch partners taking part in Facebook's new "social graph" apps and Timeline are trying to tap into. More than three dozen partners built apps for the redesigned, sharing-focused Facebook, including heavyweight names such as Hulu and Netflix in video; Electronic
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Arts, Zynga, Disney and Kabam in gaming; Spotify, Mog, Rdio, IHeartRadio and upstart Turntable.FM in music. Noticeably, but not unexpectedly absent, in the music/movies/ TV/books/apps side were Apple and Google -- rivals that Facebook seems to be raising its stakes against. The goal of the new Timeline design and the increasingly sharing-focused
apps is in part to get users to spend more time on Facebook for not only their social networking, but also media consumption. Facebook wants to be the first stop the world goes to in finding music, movies, news, books and even recipes. But while it's competing with Apple, Google and other rivals such as Twitter, it's doing so by making apps outside of Facebook integrate with Facebook, and it's doing so without an app store like iTunes or an app market like Android. In fact, for now, Facebook doesn't plan on having an app store at all. "We're not really planning on having an app store," Taylor said after the keynote. "The main way people find apps is though their friends using those apps. That kind of serendipity is what's driving app discovery and every feature on Facebook, really."
IMF calls on Europe to get act together on debt
Europe needs to "get its act together" and deal with its worsening sovereign debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, warning of the risk of severe repercussions for global growth. The IMF said both Europe's debt woes and a painfully slow U.S. recovery could undermine global expansion, and it warned that without action those economies could tip back into recession. The top economist at the global lender, however, singled out Europe as "a major source of worry" as he released the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook report. "There is a wide perception that policymakers are one step behind markets," IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard told reporters. "Europe must get its act together," he added. Investors have questioned Europe's ability to come up with a convincing solution to its festering sovereign debt crisis, which has rattled confidence and roiled financial markets. The Fund cut its 2011 and 2012 global growth forecast to 4 percent, shaving projections for almost every region of the world and saying risks remained tilted to the downside. Just three months ago it had projected an expansion of 4.3 percent for 2011 and 4.5 percent for 2012. Finance officials from around the world, who gather in Washington later this week for semiannual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, appear to have no clear road map for how to deal with high debt levels and a fragile global recovery. The IMF's message to European leaders was that they should do whatever it takes to preserve confidence in national policies and the euro, and it urged the European Central Bank to lower interest rates if risks to growth persisted.
Standard & Poor's on Monday downgraded its ratings on Italy by one notch and kept its outlook on negative in mounting pressure to cut its debt. Greece on Tuesday pledged to shrink the country's public sector to win more loans from international lenders like the IMF. Greece, which stands at the center of Europe's crisis, is facing increasing pressure from the European Union and IMF to deliver on pledges to slash its deficit. Senior IMF economist Jorg Decressin told reporters Greece's debt problems were "eminently manageable" and its government was fully committed to staying in the euro zone. More broadly, he said it was a "crazy proposition" to even talk about a possible break up of the 17-nation currency bloc because European leaders were fully committed to making the euro area work. Carlo Cotarrelli, the director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, said there was a political will in Europe to support crisis-hit countries, but that policymakers had failed to properly communicate their strategy. He said the "cacophony of voices" from different euro zone states had confused markets with mixed messages. WEAK AND BUMPY RECOVERY The IMF warned that uncertain politics in the United States could threaten recovery there if needed actions to bolster growth in the near-term were not taken. It said a failure by Europe and the United States to act forcefully would undermine financial markets, which would lead to a sharp decline in world trade and capital flows and drag down growth in emerging
and developing economies. The fund cut its growth forecast for the euro zone by nearly half a percentage point to 1.6 percent in 2011 and said growth would likely register just 1.1 percent next year. It cautioned that hasty budget cuts in the United States could further weaken growth, and said the U.S. Federal Reserve should stand ready to ease monetary policy further. The Fed meets on Tuesday and Wednesday and is widely expected to take fresh actions to bolster the U.S. recovery. The IMF shaved its forecasts for U.S. growth to 1.5 percent for 2011 and 1.8 percent for 2012, down from June projection of 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. Japan's economy was forecast to shrink 0.5 percent this year, not quite as severely as previously thought, but to grow just 2.3 percent in 2012. In June, the IMF said Japan would likely grow 2.9 percent next year. The IMF also said prospects for emerging market economies were growing more uncertain, although growth would likely remain fairly strong at about 6.4 percent this year, slowing to 6.1 percent in 2012. Signs of overheating still warranted close attention in emerging market economies, it cautioned. In some countries, higher commodity prices and social and political unrest loomed large, it added. The fund trimmed its forecasts for China and other emerging Asian economies, in part due to slowing global growth. It said it expects China's economy to grow 9.5 percent in 2011 and 9.0 percent in 2012. That's down from its June forecasts of 9.6 percent this year and 9.5 percent in 2012.
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Holiday retail sales expected to be tepid
BUSINESS and TEchNology locAl NEWS
U.S. retailers may see more moderate sales gains this holiday season as persistently high unemployment and steeper gasoline and grocery prices prompt shoppers to think twice about spending, according to early forecasts. Retail sales are expected to rise 3 percent in November and December, a slower pace than the 4.1 percent gains in 2010 and barely more than inflation, research firm ShopperTrak said on Wednesday. The International Council of Shopping Centers suggested that sales at U.S. shopping centers would rise just 2.2 percent, to $449 billion, after a 5 percent increase in 2010. Kantar Retail, which includes online sales in its forecast, said it expects growth of 2.8 percent, half last year's rate. ShopperTrak, which measures foot traffic to stores, said people will head out with a set list of what to buy and spend less time browsing. "People are going to the malls and the stores less frequently, but when they go there, they know what they're after," ShopperTrak Chief Executive Christopher Ainsley told Reuters. That means retailers will have fewer chances to turn browsers into buyers and will be under pressure to offer attractive selections, better instore presentations and more targeted customer loyalty programs, Ainsley said. It could also mean less impulse buying. Foot traffic is expected to slip 2.2 percent as high gasoline prices prompt fewer shopping trips, ShopperTrak
TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Foot traffic is expected to slip 2.2 percent as high gasoline prices prompt fewer shopping trips according to ShopperTrak forecast.
forecast. Retailers are already girding for battle with each other this fall, especially chains whose shoppers are particularly vulnerable to the economy's mood swings. Kohl's Corp's (KSS.N) sales were unexpectedly weak in August and the department store chain plans to boost advertising and "sharpen" its prices this fall. Target Corp (TGT.N) Chief Financial Officer Doug Scovanner said at a conference this month that the discount chain has to compete "vigorously this holiday season for our fair share." J.C. Penney Co Inc Chief Executive Myron Ullman said at that same conference: "We have pulled back
a bit in terms of our expectations." The holiday season can make or break a company's annual results, accounting for one-third of annual sales in many cases. Last year, according to the National Retail Federation, U.S. holiday sales reached $462 billion, up 5.7 percent over 2009, raising hopes the economic recovery was on solid footing. But unemployment has barely budged since then and consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest in a generation. A survey for Reuters this month by America's Research Group found that 27 percent of Americans plan to spend less this holiday season, while 55 percent plan to spend the same. Still, no one is expecting a
bloodbath at the malls. Global Hunter Securities analyst Richard Hastings said back-to-school sales have tracked close to the firm's forecasts and retailers understand the state of the economy and have planned accordingly, being careful about building inventory. Ullman said at the conference that Penney had planned for a better year but that his chain was keeping a tight lid on inventory, lest Penney find itself forced to offer bigger discounts than planned and lose gross margin if shoppers do not show up. ShopperTrak estimates that sales of clothing and accessories will rise 2.7 percent and that lower-end chains will have to offer bargains to compete with discounters. Shares of Macy's (M.N) and VF Corp, (VFC.N) parent of Nautica and The North Face, were each down 2.4 percent in afternoon trading, while WalMart's (WMT.N) shares slipped 1 percent. High-end stores such as Saks Inc (SKS.N) and Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) will continue to have an advantage over their more affordable peers Penney and Kohl's. Sales of electronics will lag other holiday gift categories, rising only 1.2 percent, largely because of the limited number of blockbuster electronic gadgets that will be offered this year, ShopperTrak predicted. ShopperTrak, which gathers data at 25,000 stores in the United States, does not include online sales, restaurants, automobiles or gasoline in its data.
Particles found to break speed of light
An international team of scientists said on correct. Thursday they had recorded sub-atomic "I just don't want to think of the particles traveling faster than light -- a implications," he told Reuters. "We finding that could overturn one of Einstein's are scientists and work with what we long-accepted fundamental laws of the know." universe. Much science-fiction literature is Antonio Ereditato, spokesman for the based on the idea that, if the lightresearchers, told Reuters that measurements speed barrier can be overcome, time taken over three years showed neutrinos travel might theoretically become pumped from CERN near Geneva to Gran possible. Sasso in Italy had arrived 60 nanoseconds The existence of the neutrino, an quicker than light would have done. elementary sub-atomic particle with a "We have high confidence in our results. tiny amount of mass created in We have checked and rechecked for radioactive decay or in nuclear anything that could have distorted our reactions such as those in the Sun, was measurements but we found nothing," he first confirmed in 1934, but it still said. "We now want colleagues to check mystifies researchers. them independently." It can pass through most matter If confirmed, the discovery would A graphic showing a collision at full power is pictured at the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) undetected, even over long distances, experience control room of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) undermine Albert Einstein's 1905 theory of and without being affected. Millions special relativity, which says that the speed pass through the human body every 730 (500 miles) km away, where they were picked of light is a "cosmic constant" and that nothing in the up by giant detectors. day, scientists say. universe can travel faster. To reach Gran Sasso, the neutrinos pushed out Light would have covered the distance in around That assertion, which has withstood over a 2.4 thousandths of a second, but the neutrinos took from a special installation at CERN -- also home to century of testing, is one of the key elements of the 60 nanoseconds -- or 60 billionths of a second -- less the Large Hadron Collider probing the origins of the so-called Standard Model of physics, which attempts than light beams would have taken. universe -- have to pass through water, air and rock. to describe the way the universe and everything in it The underground Italian laboratory, some 120 "It is a tiny difference," said Ereditato, who also works. km (75 miles) to the south of Rome, is the largest of works at Berne University in Switzerland, "but The totally unexpected finding emerged from conceptually it is incredibly important. The finding its type in the world for particle physics and cosmic research by a physicists working on an experiment is so startling that, for the moment, everybody should research. dubbed OPERA run jointly by the CERN particle be very prudent." Around 750 scientists from 22 different research center near Geneva and the Gran Sasso countries work there, attracted by the possibility of Ereditato declined to speculate on what it might Laboratory in central Italy. staging experiments in its three massive halls, mean if other physicists, who will be officially A total of 15,000 beams of neutrinos -- tiny informed of the discovery at a meeting in CERN on protected from cosmic rays by some 1,400 metres particles that pervade the cosmos -- were fired over Friday, found that OPERA's measurements were (4,200 feet) of rock overhead. a period of 3 years from CERN toward Gran Sasso
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 23RD - SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2011
SEPTEMBER 23RD - SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2011
Police are Provo T20 champions
out a catch to Caleb off the bowling of the 2011 Clement Howell High School runner-up Ace batsman Garvin Bruno missed out on valedictorian and top academic achiever at the another century but he engineered Police to graduation, Jawellin Sealey. championship honours in the final of the Provo Jack was stumped by Munesh Bhagwandas, 20/20 cricket competition over the Jaguars, while Baptiste was stumped by Nuwan which was played at the Downtown Ball Park on Bodhinayake off a Caleb bowling. Sunday, September 17. Caleb was the pick of the bowlers, snaring Bruno fell seven run short of the milestone two wickets for 22 runs. Sealey, Bhagwandas when he caught for 93 by Terrence Thomas off and Henry finished with one wicket apiece. the bowling of Winick Caleb. The Jaguars, in their reply, was rocked early, Batting first, the police posted a challenging when Caleb was out for a duck after facing just 197 for the loss of five wickets. Kareem Jack three balls. He was caught by Ian Ganess of the was the second highest run-getter for the Police bowling of Damian Young. Despite the early loss, scoring 38, following by Sabuton John, who the Jaguars soldiered on with Sean Khan and supported with 31 and Ira Baptiste who finished Bodhinayake who kept the scoreboard ticking. on 10. However, the Police bowlers stuck to the task John was caught by Thomas off the bowling and eventually removed Khan for a top score of of Caleb. His fellow opener Mark Henry hardly 57, during which he hit eight 4s and a 6. He was disturbed the scorers, as he was bowled by Henry bowled by John, who put in an all round effort. for 2 runs. Bruno, who batted at number three, The Jaguars innings eventually folded when faced 45 balls for his shotgun score, during which they ran out of overs, with 24 runs in arrears. he clouted eight 4s and six 6s. Khan was supported by Sheldon Henry, who Bruno’s onslaught ended when he holed posted the second highest figure of the Jaguar’s By Vivian Tyson
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innings - 46 - before he, too, fell victim to John, who bowled him. Henry knocked seven 4s and one 6. Bodhinayake closed his innings on 22, when he was caught by Damian St. Ange off a Garvin Bruno bowling. Terrence ended his innings on 14 after being caught be Kevin Morris off the bowling of Terry Hutchinson. Others who contributed to the score were Mark Henry, who was not out on 8, Ian Young who was run out on 3, by Kareem Jack, Marcel Morris, who fell victim to John on 2, Mark Austin, who was caught by Kareem Jack off a Garvin Bruno bowling and Munesh Bhagwandas who was not out on 1. John was the pick of the Police bowlers with 3 wickets for 15 runs off three overs. Bruno was the second wicket-taker with 2 for 27 off four overs, while Young and Hutchinson took one wicket apiece. Bruno collected both the man of the match and man of the series awards. He also collected the award for most runs scored. Baptiste pocketed the award for most wickets, while Sealy topped the Junior Participant tally.
Mexican female coach hosts local football seminar
In its quest to take female football in the Turks its regional programmes. But now there are more and Caicos to a higher rung, the TCIFA last week than 300 registered female players in the country conducted a Women’s Football Course which was competing in eight junior and senior leagues. hosted by ex-Mexican national team captain and Rodebaugh said she was impressed with the coach Andrea Rodebaugh. TCIFA's women's programme recognizing that Thirty participants attended the four day there is a strong foundation for future development. course which covered a range of topics relating She was pleased with the professionalism of the to women's football. The course focused on association and its volunteer coaches and was the characteristics of female players, technical particularly full of praise for the young players coaching, health and fitness as well as how to saying. market and promote the game. “You can see from just watching them how much The participants were also given an they love the game. They are very enthusiastic, opportunity to work with over forty young players disciplined and have the potential to do very well from the Under 12 and Under 14 Provo Regional in the future," she said. Academies as they conducted training sessions She also hailed what she described as the good and arranged a skills tournament that was won by work that the TCIFA has done so far, saying that: national youth team player Willandra Elliot. "Hopefully the TCIFA can get more support from Technical Director Matthew Green was local communities and schools to further their pleased with the level of participation stating the programmes and help the young people of the TCIFA will continue to push the women's game Turks and Caicos Islands". further. In the meantime, Green calls for full backing "We have made gigantic strides in the women's of the country’s football programme. game in recent years. We have many competitive “We really need the whole country to wake up leagues including the first ever Women's Beach and realize what a big part sport can play in the General Secretary of the Turks Caicos Islands Football Association Soccer league in the Caribbean. Weand have players lives of young people. We Sonia deliberately invited many Fulford-Bien-Aime is calling for more teams to enter the TCI Soccer Scramble to overseas on scholarships, almost twenty qualified people from the education sector to participate be held on Sunday, September 25, at 1:30 pm at Provo Golf Club. female coaches as well as referee's officiating in in the course so that they can spread the word to TCI and Soccer Scramble is an essential thetheir TCIFA fund efforts, both The the men women's domestic leagues. part of all staff andraising students of what opportunities and the public is asked to support the cause by entering a team in the tournament. “Our female players have proved they can do football and other sports can bring to a child,” he “ Thanks all for their support far. However, anything theirtomale counterparts canthus do and, in said.we need a few more teams to sign up for the Soccer Scramble on Sunday, this a viable event,” Bien-Bryan, added that many ways, the female players are leading theto makeTCIFA president Chris Aime said.as it moves forward," Green said. association courses like this and others planned in the near TheTCIFA entry fee cart fee, while the how entrykeen fee for The saidforitmembers has one isof$90 the plus highest future show the nonTCIFA is to make sure members is $135.00. There will also be raffle tickets on sale at $20 each. The first percentages of registered female players in the that all forms of the game are given a chance to prize winner will get a40%). 3-nightGreen hotel added stay in that Miami develop together with 3 days car rental world (approximately andTCIFA $500 towards Thestatistic second as place winner will receive a 2 night at Villaaged 9 and above the is proudflight. of that it shows Practices for stay all girls Renaissance. the association is progressive and ambitious in all are conducted at the TCIFA Academy field on Theofthird prize winner will get 2 round trip Air Turks & Caicos tickets.and Thegames are played aspects the game. Wednesday afternoons fourth prize will be two Coconut Palms donated by Sunshine Nursery valued at He said the female football has been making for U14 (and younger) on Saturday mornings at $250 each, while the fifth place prize will be a $100 Handy Pro maintenance voucher. a great deal of strides in the country since in 2007, 8.30am. Interested contactplayers Sonia in Bien-Aime at 231-1868 for ityour raffle there were fewerpersons than 50 can registered the The TCIFA said is also looking for volunteers tickets today! women's league and also fewer than 30 girls in to help set up programmes in North and Middle
Andrea Rodebaugh conducting the seminar
Some of the participants take time to pose for the camera
Some of the female participants in course
Caicos / South Caicos and assist the Grand Turk Development Officer (Clifford Blake). For further information contact the TCIFA offices on 941 5532 or Matthew Green 231 1860.
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Usain Bolt runs season’s fastest 100 TURKS AND CAICOS SUN
BRUSSELS -- Usain Bolt ran the season's fastest time of 9.76 seconds in the 100 meters at the Van Damme Memorial on Friday and was still upstaged by Jamaican training partner Yohan Blake, who powered his way to the second fastest 200 in history. Blake took Bolt's advice and ran a contained curve before blasting for the line in 19.26 seconds, just 0.07 seconds off Bolt's world record. "I think all the tutoring just stopped," Bolt said, knowing he had probably discovered his toughest challenger at the London Olympics. Amid all the amazement over Blake's time, Walter Dix of the United States became the fourth-best performer in history by finishing second in 19.53 seconds. In the women's 100 at the season's last Diamond League meet, world champion Carmelita Jeter of the U.S. underlined her domination. Veronica Campbell-Brown had a fast start, but Jeter came back and beat her. She finished in 10.78 -- 0.07 seconds ahead of her Jamaican rival. Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia ran the year's fastest
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
Jamaica's Usain Bolt stormed to the fastest 100-meter time of the season, 9.76 seconds.
10,000 meters, winning in 26 minutes, 43.16 seconds. Cheered by 40,000 fans at the King Baudouin Stadium, he took the lead from Kenyan Lucas Rotich with a lap to go. Galen Rupp was third, setting an American record in 26:48. He broke the previous record by a full 11 seconds, set by Chris Solinsky in April 2010. Blake surprised many by winning the 100 world title after Bolt false
started in the final in Daegu, South Korea, three weeks ago. Now he has more than made his mark over 200, where Bolt, the Olympic and double world champion, was long considered a class of his own. "I knew I could do something crazy -- 19.2? I was a bit surprised," Blake said. From lane 7, Blake had the worst start of the nine runners. He bided his time on the curve but was unstoppable
WICB announces ODI & Test squads to Bangladesh
St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board announced the West Indies One Day International and Test squads for the tour to Bangladesh. Denesh Ramdin has returned to both the ODI and Test squads while off spinner Shane Shillingford returns to the Test squad along with rookie opener Kraigg Brathwaite. Keiran Powell, the Nevisian left handed top order batsman has also been included in both squads as well. Carlos Brathwaite, the Barbadian all rounder has received a call up to the West Indies ODI squad. West Indies One Day Squad Darren Sammy – Captain, Adrian Barath, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Kieron Pollard, Keiran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons. WEST INDIES TEST SQUAD Darren Sammy – Captain, Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Keiran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels and Shane Shillingford. Ramnaresh Sarwan is recovering from an injury.
afterward, dipping at the line for a time that seemed only within Bolt's limits. With 19.26, he improved on his personal best by 0.52 seconds. "It was a big surprise for me," Bolt said. By that time, Bolt had done his part. From lane 5, his start was better than his preceding races, but he still needed to fight hard to get even with Nesta Carter. From there, he surged ahead and did what he promised to do -- get the fastest time of the season. Bolt bettered by 0.02 seconds the season's mark set by fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell. "I came here to do it," Bolt said. "I am happy. I got a win and that was needed." In the high jump, Anna Chicherova of Russia beat Croatian rival Blanka Vlasic again. The world champion jumped 6 feet, 8¾ inches and narrowly missed the world record of 6-10¾. In the 100 hurdles, Sally Pearson of Australia saw a perfect season end when she crashed halfway through the race. Danielle Carruthers of the U.S. won in 12.65.
The outstanding matter relating to Chris Gayle’s availability and selection remains unresolved. The WICB Management will submit a report to the Board of Directors after which a conclusive statement will be made. Dwayne Bravo was considered but not selected for the tours. The West Indies will play a T20, three ODIs and two Tests on the one month tour. Full schedule October 7 – 1st warm up – KSOAS October 9 – 2nd warm up – KSOAS October 11 – Twenty20 – SBNCS October 13 – 1st ODI – SBNCS October 15 – 2nd ODI – SBNCS October 18 – 3rd ODI – ZACS October 21 – 25 – 1st Test – ZACS October 29 – November 3 – 2nd Test – SBNCS NCAG – National Cricket Academy Ground, Dhaka KSOAS – Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Narayanganj SBNCS – She-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka ZACS – Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong The Test and ODI squads for the tour of India which follows immediately after the tour to Bangladesh will be announced at a later date.
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Allegations of deal to fix 2012 Olympic boxing medals
SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
BBC Newsnight has uncovered evidence of secret payments of millions of dollars from Azerbaijan to international boxing organisation World Series Boxing (WSB). Whistleblowers say that WSB's chief claimed the money was in return for a guarantee that Azerbaijani fighters would win two boxing gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics. The boxing organiser at the Olympics, AIBA, admits an Azeri national paid $9m (ÂŁ5.9m) to one of their competitions. But they deny any deal to fix medals. Lawyers for the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) told the BBC that any such allegation was "preposterous and utterly untrue". That view was backed by AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, who told Newsnight that the claims were "totally untrue and ludicrous", adding that "WSB is conducted in a totally transparent way". However, he said that AIBA had a zero tolerance policy on corruption and that he would conduct an immediate investigation into the allegations. The AIBA is the international governing body for the sport of boxing recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). World
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Series Boxing, a franchised league of professional boxing, is one of its initiatives. Whistleblowers from inside boxing approached Newsnight with allegations about the Chief Operating Officer of the AIBA's World Series Boxing (WSB), Ivan Khodabakhsh. WSB had run into financial difficulties in America and was in need of funding. 'Medals being sold' The insiders said Mr Khodabakhsh told them that a secret deal had been done to secure funding from Azerbaijan in return for manipulation of the Olympic boxing tournament to guarantee gold medals for Azerbaijani fighters. One insider told Newsnight: "Ivan boasted to a few of us that there was no need to worry about World Series Boxing having the coin to pay its bills. As long as the Azeris got their medals, WSB would have the cash." Another said that Mr Khodabakhsh came in and said: "We are safe now - Azerbaijan came in - we have to give them medals for that." "He was talking about gold medals in London in return for millions of dollars of secret payments," the insider added. "Medals are being sold so blatantly it's amazing."
Novak Djokovic says back injury is not serious
BELGRADE, SerbiaNovak Djokovic says the back muscle injury that forced him to quit his Davis Cup match is not serious but requires rest. He tried to play through the pain Sunday against Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals. But the top-ranked Serb stopped during the second set, sending Argentina to the Davis Cup final against Spain. "Not as serious as we have thought," Djokovic said Monday. "It's a partial rupture of a back muscle that deserves rest." Djokovic skipped Friday's opening singles because of lingering back problems following his victory over Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open final. But after losing the opening set 7-6 (5) against Del Potro, Djokovic fell from pain during the third game of the second set. Djokovic said he may have to skip his next tournaments in China next month — the Shanghai Masters and China Open in Beijing. "I hope I will recover by then," Djokovic said. "Anyway, I won't risk the worsening of the injury and that's why it is hard to predict for how long I will rest." Djokovic said he has never had this kind of back problem. "I carried the injury since the U.S. Open," Djokovic said. "It gradually got worse through the tournament, and I felt sharp pain in the finals." "Luckily for me, I managed to hold on and to survive that fourth set and
Novak Djokovic
win the tournament," Djokovic added. "I came here quite late, and I could not get ready." Djokovic beat Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 in the U.S. Open final for his sixth consecutive win over the Spaniard, including the Wimbledon final, and his third major title this season. He entered the Davis Cup weekend with a 64-2 record. One of those losses came when he quit with a sore shoulder against Andy Murray in the Cincinnati final last month. Djokovic also lost to Roger Federer in the French Open semifinals. Djokovic reportedly is planning to marry longtime girlfriend Jelena Ristic before the new season starts.
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But Mr Khodabakhsh told Newsnight that claims that there was any deal with Azerbaijan were "an absolute lie". "I deny that I have offered anyone two gold medals or have any understanding that anybody else has offered two gold medals to Azerbaijan," he added. AIBA has previously claimed that the money for WSB America came from a private Swiss company, but documents obtained by Newsnight show communications between Mr Khodabakhsh, AIBA executive director Ho Kim and Azerbaijan's Minister for Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov about an investment agreement for a $10m loan. These include an e-mail from Mr Khodabakhsh to the ministry in Azerbaijan with the following request: "Please transfer the investment money soonest possible to the WSB America account." 'Go-between' Newsnight interviewed Mr Khodabakhsh earlier this month in Switzerland, where WSB have offices, and asked him about the source of the money. "The money for WSB America came from an investment company here based in Switzerland," he said.
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Mayweather scores controversial KO
LOCAL NEWS WORLD SPORTS
LAS VEGAS -- Protect yourself at all times. It is the oldest adage in boxing. Victor Ortiz did not do that, and he paid the ultimate price. Floyd Mayweather Jr., who had dominated the first three rounds, looked brilliant in his first fight in 16 months, but that brilliance may be overshadowed by the way he scored a stunning knockout with one second left in the fourth round Saturday night to win a welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Some at ringside called it a sucker punch from Mayweather. Others blamed referee Joe Cortez, who did not have his eye on the action. Whatever you want to call it, Mayweather drilled Ortiz in a triumphant return to the ring. Ortiz was getting tagged repeatedly by Mayweather right hands for most of the fight. Mayweather was making it look oh-so easy, as he usually has during a career that obviously will send him to the Hall of Fame. But in the fourth round, Ortiz found some success. He landed a couple of hard shots that had Mayweather shaking his head, as if say he did not feel them. But then Ortiz drove Mayweather into the corner post. Instead of following up with punches, Ortiz drove his head toward Mayweather's face as if to intentionally head-butt him. Cortez immediately called time and deducted a point from Ortiz. Then the fight turned somewhat surreal. As Cortez was calling time, Ortiz -- seemingly acknowledging his wrongdoing -- hugged Mayweather in the corner and even appeared to kiss him.
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SEPTEMBER 23RD - OCTOBER 7TH 2011
he controversial Round 4 of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz’s boxing match at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 17, 2011. Mayweather won the round and fight with a KO.
Then Cortez waived them back together and they touched gloves. But with Cortez looking away from the fighters, Mayweather unloaded a left hook and a flush right hand to Ortiz's face. Ortiz dropped and was unable to beat Cortez's count as the crowd of 14,687 -- clearly an Ortiz house -- went absolutely wild. "In the ring, you have to protect yourself at all times," Mayweather said. "After it happened, we touched gloves and we were back to fighting and then I threw the left hook and right hand after the break. You just gotta protect yourself at all times." During the lead-up to the fight, Ortiz's trainer, Danny Garcia, had accused Mayweather of using his elbows and being a dirty fighter. But it was Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KOs)
who turned dirty with the head-butt, not Mayweather, who was well within his rights to throw the punches that ended the fight. "Time was in," Cortez said. "The fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal." Mayweather (42-0, 26 KOs) did not have a lot of time to celebrate and was soon questioned about what had happened by HBO's Larry Merchant during an in-ring interview. "He did something dirty," Mayweather said. "His corner said I was dirty, and he did something dirty. All along, his corner was saying I was dirty, but I won the fight." At that point Mayweather's interview with Merchant degenerated. Mayweather began to get into Merchant's face, saying, "I'm going to do you a favor and let you talk to Victor Ortiz, because you've never
NBA to postpone traning camp
The NBA is expected to announce it will postpone of the start of training camp and the opening slate of exhibition games after a negotiating session Thursday in New York between the players union director Billy Hunter and commissioner David Stern ended without a labor agreement or progress toward one soon, league sources said. Stern, according to one source, told Hunter in Thursday's meeting the owners want to reduce the players' cut of basketball-related revenue (BRI) to a figure well below 50 percent. The players were guaranteed a minimum of 57 percent of BRI would be spent on salaries at the end of the last agreement. The players union had offered to reduce their percentage to as much as 54 percent in negotiations to accommodate the owners' contention they lost $300 million last season, with the stipulation that a mechanism would be instituted to reward the players if future revenue increased. The next negotiating session has not been scheduled, but the two sides agreed to contact each other with possible dates to reconvene next week, sources said. Whenever a deal is struck, it is expected to take at least two weeks to write out the complete terms and hash out the finer points. Since the league's lockout began on July 1 with the expiration of the last agreement, a period for free agency and then a training camp, however truncated, also would be necessary before the regular season could begin. Most experts agree a minimum of four weeks is necessary to get it done, making the last week in September the absolute deadline for a deal to be struck before regular
season games would have to be postponed or canceled. Stern acknowledged Thursday that "the calendar is not our friend" when it comes to keeping the NBA season intact. The league is at about the same point as when it postponed training camps in 1998, the only time it lost games to a work stoppage. The decision then came on Sept. 24 for camps that were set to begin Oct. 5. This year, players would be expected to report on Oct. 3. The regular season is scheduled to open Nov. 1, with the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks hosting the Chicago Bulls in the first game. Though both sides have repeatedly said there is still time for a deal that would leave the regular season unaffected, neither would say so Thursday -- with union president Derek Fisher of the Lakers using virtually the same words as Stern about the coming weeks. "I don't have control of that part of it, that would be more of a commissioner Stern, Adam Silver question in terms of logistics of starting the season on time," Fisher said. "I'm not going to try and make a guess on that one. The calendar's obviously not our friend, but we're not going to give up on the process because of the time." Stern said the owners' labor relations committee would talk Friday, and both sides said they hoped to meet again next week. "We'll keep working at it until we figure this thing out, but right now there isn't anything to really report or say," Fisher said. "I don't have any answers to any questions, other than we'll keep working until we find some solutions."
given me a fair shake. You ain't s---." "If I was 50 years younger, I would kick your ass," Merchant, 80, said back to him before turning to Ortiz. HBO will replay the fight next Saturday night at 9:45 ET/PT. Mayweather, who made a minimum $25 million, walked away from Merchant, clearly in no mood to dissect what had happened or to address his overwhelming performance, one which he deserves credit for as he took apart a man 10 years younger than him (Ortiz is 24) while coming off the long, selfimposed layoff. He also faced a significant weight disadvantage. Ortiz, who was making the first defense of the belt he won via decision in a fight of the year candidate with Andre Berto in April, stepped onto the unofficial HBO fight-night scale at 164 pounds. Mayweather was 150 pounds. It made no difference, as Mayweather claimed his seventh world title covering five weight classes. Ortiz was, of course, not happy with what had happened, even if he has only himself to blame for the head-butt that led to the knockout. "I took a break by the referee and I obeyed exactly what I was told," said Ortiz, who made $2 million. "And then, boom, he blindsided me. I'm not a dirty fighter and I apologize for the head-butt. I came to entertain the fans and I think they were entertained. There was a miscommunication with the referee, and neither he nor I are perfect." This is true. But, in the ring anyway, Mayweather sure is.
AUSTRALIA SEEK NEW COACH AFTER NIELSEN QUITS
COLOMBO - Australia coach Tim Nielsen stepped down on Tuesday after his side clinched a test series victory over Sri Lanka, Cricket Australia said. "Tim has been national coach during a period in which we have had a long list of great champions leave the game and has been a strong support for new players coming into the side over that period," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement on the Cricket Australia website (www.cricket.com.au). "I was delighted when he agreed to renew his contract last year and had encouraged him to apply for the new, expanded and redesigned Head Coach role that the CA Board approved last month after the tabling of the Australian Team Performance Review. "However, I have spoken to Tim and understand and respect his decision to now begin a new chapter in his professional life." Nielsen, who has advised CA he is due to take up a new Australian cricket role, took over from John Buchanan in 2007. Last year he was reappointed until the end of the next Ashes series in England in 2013. Sutherland said CA would seek to appoint an interim, acting coach for the upcoming OctoberNovember tour of South Africa while recruiting a new head coach.
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