VOLUME 9 ISSUE 10

MARCH 18TH - MARCH 25TH, 2013

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AMANDA WINS COURT CASE Chief Justice will rule on other MPs cases on April 9th

Amanda Missick, the PNP candidate for the March 22nd by-election in Cheshire Hall/Richmond Hill, sharing a moment with jubilant supporters

BY HAYDEN BOYCE PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

A

manda Missick won her case in the Supreme Court on Friday March 15th and she will be the Progressive National Party’s (PNP) candidate for the decisive March 22nd by-election in the Cheshire Hall/ Richmond Hill constituency.

However, five Members of Parliament: former Chief Minister and AtLarge MP, Derek Taylor (PDM); prominent businesswoman and At-Large MP Josephine Connolly (PDM); businessman and MP for Wheeland, Delroy Williams (PDM); businessman and MP for Grand Turk South, Edwin Astwood (PDM); businessman and MP for Grand Turk North, George Lightbourne (PNP), will have to wait

until April 9th to know whether they are sitting in the House of Assembly illegally and whether they too will have to face by-elections.

In a hushed, packed and expectant courtroom, Chief Justice Edwin Goldsbrough sided with legal arguments advanced by her attorney Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick, who was assisted by his son Jamal Misick, and ruled that Amanda Missick is qualified to run in the by-election which will determine if the PNP retains the government or the balance of power shifts to the PDM. The PNP won the November 9th 2012 general election by a slender 8 to 7 margin, but for the second time in just over four months, Amanda Missick will have to face-off against the PDM’s Oral Selver Missick, who

she defeated by 30 votes (394 to 364) because the seat was declared null and void by High Court Judge Madame Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale who ruled that the 58 votes received

by Dr. Edward Smith of the People Progressive Party (PPP), interfered with the outcome of the election result.

The Chief Justice’s ruling in Missick’s favour ended days of legal wrangling and nerve-wracking suspense on the part of officials and supporters from both sides of the political divide.

Three cases were originally brought before the Chief Justice. The first was by Oral Selver who claimed that Amanda Missick was disqualified for nomination because of her failure to declare a charge over land

she obtained from the Crown.

The second case was by Amanda against Selver claiming that Selver was not qualified because of a Crown lease that Selver had.

The third was the case by the Attorney General against Amanda and five MPs claiming that in the case of Amanda she failed to disclose her crown charge in respect of the upcoming by election, and in the case of the others, they failed to disclose Crown charges in respect of the 2012 general elections.

When the matter first came before the Chief Justice on Thursday, Amanda and Oral withdrew their respective cases against each other and that left only the case brought CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

VOTE FOR AMANDA MISICK ON FRIDAY MARCH 22ND AND KEEP THE PNP IN GOVERNMENT. THE PNP IS LOOKING OUT FOR YOU! SECURE YOUR FUTURE. LET’S CONTINUE THE PROGRESS TOGETHER. PAID AVERTISEMENT

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AMANDA WINS COURT CASE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

by the AG. The case by the AG against Amanda Missick was heard first and the arguments put forward by her lawyer Ariel Misick, QC, were that a Crown charge is not a contract which had to be disclosed and even if it was, Amanda had already disclosed her Crown charge as part of the general elections in November 2012.

The Queen’s Counsel also argued that although Amanda made a filing on March 4, three days after Nomination Day, she did not have to make a fresh disclosure when she was nominated for the March 22nd by-election in 2013 because the by election was part of the general election.

The court was referred to Section 63(3) of the Elections Ordinance which provides that a by-election which has been avoided by the court is deemed to be part of the previous general election. Therefore, the court ruled that the AG’s case against Amanda cannot succeed because she was not obliged to make a new disclosure in respect of the by-election, because she had done so at the general election.

CHIEF JUSTICE RULING In his ruling, the Chief Justice stressed: “ Section 63 (3) of the Elections Ordinance (Ordinance 14 of 2012) describes the resultant by-election as being „deemed to be held as part of the last general election held preceding the issue of the writ . Given the agreed fact that the first defen-

dant (Amanda Missick) had disclosed this interest in question for the purposes of that general election and that her position had not changed in the interim I find that she was not, strictly, required to file a further notice to the Integrity Commission for the purposes of the by-election.”

He added: “Repeat filing was the position taken by the Integrity Commission. I do not need to decide whether the first defendant (Amanda Missick) made a conscious decision not to follow the advice of the Commission on principle or whether this unfortunate situation arose through oversight. It is perhaps necessary, though, to make clear that this decision is confined to by elections arising from a successful challenge by Petition to an election. It does not extend to a by election resulting from other reasons such as resignation or other disqualification. Nor will it assist a candidate in such a by election who was not previously a candidate who had given notice under section 49 (1) (f) of the Constitution, or any candidate who had not subsequently reported any change.

Given those constraints it is easy to see why the best advice a prospective candidate could be given and should heed would be, through abundance of caution, file a further notice. One only needs to examine the present situation the first defendant finds herself in to come to the conclusion that the simple, albeit non-mandatory, step of confirming in a further notice that her interest as previously declared had not changed, would have been a worthwhile investment. It is, per-

haps, worth going further and pointing out a consequential effect of this decision. A candidate will remain bound by his or her original notice at the post petition by election should he or she choose to stand again. The possibility therefore exists of being caught inadvertently or otherwise, by any change that may have occurred between the two events.”

Meantime, the court has not yet decided whether a Crown charge is a contract because the Chief Justice is waiting to hear arguments from attorneys representing the other defendants.

That decision cannot have any effect on Amanda’s case as the court’s decision is that even if a Crown charge is a contract, Amanda has already disclosed her interest.

Following the court’s ruling, Supervisor of Elections Dudley Lewis cautioned the public against the publishing of false information about the withdrawal of any candidate. Under section 75(1) (b) of the Elections Ordinance, it is an offense to publish false information against any candidate in an effort to win votes for another. Section 75 (1) (b) states: “Every person who before or during an election knowingly publishes a false statement of the withdrawal of a candidate at such election for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of another candidate shall be guilty of an illegal practice and shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine of $2,000 and be incapable during a period of five years from the date of conviction, of being registered as a voter or of voting at an election.

Amanda Missick says the PDM is power hungry

BY VIVIAN TYSON

C

andidate for the Cheshire Hall constituency Amanda Missick has described as “power hungry” the fashion through which her opponent the Peoples Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Oral Selver was trying to unseat her.

Giving her thoughts after the Supreme Court had awarded her victory against the Attorney General Chambers and the PDM who had asked the court to look into whether or not she had filed her declarations in time for the March 22 polls, Missick accused the PDM of seeking power the ill-advised way.

“It is simply that persons want to get in there for the wrong reason - power hungry. It has nothing to do in wanting to represent the people of Cheshire Hall. I know that for a fact. I can see that, it is displayed every day. If you are in something for the good of it, or you have this country’s best interest at heart, there is no way you are going to put the country through this – all the setbacks and all the fussing and fighting.

“So, if you really care, if you are thinking country, there is no way you are going to put your country through this foolishness. All Amanda is going to focus on now is winning the seat and give of my best to my country and my people,” she said.

She told The SUN that she felt

Amanda Missick speaking at the PNP rally at the headquarters on Saturday night God was on her side through-out the trial, and so, she did not feel threatened of losing.

“I thank God, first of all, for the victory in this case. And it just goes to show that when God is for you, who can be against you. God’s knows that I am the person who is good for the job in representing the people of Cheshire Hall. He knows that I have the best interest of the people of Cheshire Hall at heart, and I have been doing my best in representing them, and I will continue to do that, going forward. Right now, my focus is going to be what’s going to happen next Friday, the 22nd (of March), and I am going full speed ahead,” she asserted.

Misick noted that for the court to yank the seat from her after winning by the books was unfair to her, and believed that some of the her constituents going to the polls could going there with that belief in the back of their minds.

“I honestly believe it was unfair to me, and I am quite sure many persons feel that way also. “When the constituents heard that I was being dragged through the courts again, most of them were very upset and disappointed because of the fear of losing good representation was to the forefront of their minds,” she noted,” Misick said.

She told The SUN that she walked into the courtroom with

faith, and so, it was not a surprise to her when she won the case.

“I have faith because I know that I hadn’t done anything wrong. I kept saying to the media that I had not done anything wrong. I did file on two occasions, so I know there was nothing against me. Procedures were set to be followed,” she said.

In the meantime, Misick said that she has been encouraged by the feedback that she has been getting off the ground from the voters in the constituency, describing it as positive.

Misick told The SUN that this time around, she would be putting the victory margin beyond doubt, by carving out an even larger margin than the 30 voters that she won at the November 9, 2012 general election.

She said that she received tremendous support from party’s hierarchy and lower rank members throughout the court process, and is grateful for the support.

The Cheshire Hall seat won by Missick at the November 9 polls 394 to 364 over Selver, after the court ruled that third party candidate, the People Progressive Party Dr. Edward Smith, who is a United States citizen, was improperly nominated by virtue of him not relinquishing his U.S. citizenship before being nominated. Smith polls 58 votes and Selver believed that Smith was not in the race the outcome could have been different.

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Premier Dr. Rufus Ewing says UK system is corrupt T

urks and Caicos Islands Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing has accused the United Kingdom of being corrupt and has defended statements he made at the recently held Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting in Haiti where he criticised Britain’s treatment of this country.

In a ministerial statement delivered in the House of Assembly in Grand Turk last Friday, Premier Ewing said British officials were abusing the findings of the Sir Robin Auld Commission of Inquiry report to tarnish and criminalise many persons in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Premier stated: “Any system in which high officials of Government such as the Secretary of State and the Governor can prejudice the minds of Judges as to one’s guilt or innocence is a potentially unfair system. Mr. Speaker, any system in which persons who ought to be politically neutral, intentionally or strategically communicate and disseminate information as facts that may influence the judiciary or electorate is indeed corrupt. Corruption is the use of the power of your office to gain an advantage that you would have never ordinarily gained. Mr. Speaker, I am using the power of my office at this time in my Ministerial Statement to respond to the Secretary of State in indirect manner so as to expose the corruption that is taking place in the name of Good Governance.”

Last week, a letter signed by UK Secretary of State William Hague said that Premier Ewing misrepresented the position of Turks and Caicos Islands to CARICOM. The Premier had also written to Hague calling for, among other things, the recall of Governor Ric Todd, Chief Financial Officer Hugh McGarel-Groves and Attorney General Huw Shepheard.

In questioning the timing of Hague’s response, the Premier stated: “Sir Robin Auld, who in the words of Rt Hon. William Hague, a Greatly respected former Lord Justice, presided over a commission of inquiry as the sole judge and concluded that there was a “high probability of systemic corruption among Ministers, members of the legislature and public officials” in the then TCI Government. This information is widely known, as the documents are readily available to the public.

Mr. Speaker, it however never ceases to amaze me

Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing how as a people we are constantly reminded as to the allegations of corruption of by the last PNP Administration and reminded at specific and opportune times; and I cite two examples- the press release by the His Excellency The Governor one day before the November General elections and secondly the press statement by the Secretary of State one day before the General Elections, reminding the people of this country about the corruption of the past PNP Administration.”

He added: “Here again yesterday another expected, but coincidental in its timing, letter by the Secretary of State reminding us that “as we are all aware, the previous PNP government left behind a chaotic situation including-through incompetence, abuse of power and corruption-rapidly deteriorating public finances”. Yet another very powerful statement 2 days before a most important election court case and a week before a scheduled By-election. Mr. Speaker, it is also very interesting that Sir Robin Auld, stated that there was a “high probability of systemic corruption” but this designation has indeed evolved to a verdict of “abuse of power and corruption” by

the Secretary of State in his letter of March 12, 2013 and by statements from the Governor in the past, without a verdict from the TCI Courts. Mr. Speaker, there are many persons in the TCI who are currently being accused of wrong doings as they were alleged to have engaged in corrupt acts who despite these many allegations, should be considered innocent until proven guilty by our courts.”

The Premier said he cannot speak for every Turks and Caicos Islander, as to whether they are ready to see an independent Turks and Caicos Islands, since the answer to that question can only be obtained through a referendum.

He said, however, that he is “convinced that, now more than ever, Turks and Caicos Islanders are more in favor of independence, mainly because of the breakdown in the relationship or so called partnership between TCI and the UK and their appointed officials and their confidence that we, through elected Government, can more loyally and justly serve the better interests of our country and people”.

Premier Ewing added: “The Secretary of State made clear his full confidence in the Governor, this level of confidence, I am sure is not shared by all of the members of this house or the people of the TCI. As Premier of The Turks and Caicos Islands, I have had the privilege of representing our country at the recent Caricom 24th Intersessional Meeting in Port Au Prince, Haiti. This meeting was indeed an historic one for several reasons.

The first being that it was the first congress of its kind to be held in Haiti, the second reason being that it was the first opportunity that our democratically elected government had to re-establish and re-affirm our ties with our sister states within the region after a period of absence of three years and the third reason being that it was the first time that our country was granted audience to address the Heads of State of the Caricom territories. My address shed light on the plight of our people over the preceding 3 years under the Interim Regime and a direct request was made to the body to keep the events taking place in our nation under review. This led to the generation of the subsequently issued Communiqué from the community.”

IMPORTANT PUBLIC NOTICE THE PUBLIC IS URGENTLY ADVISED THAT MRS. PATRINA MOORE-PIERRE AND MS. JOLEEN GRANT ARE NO LONGER EMPLOYED BY THE TURKS AND CAICOS SUN AND ARE THEREFORE NOT AUTHORISED TO CONDUCT ANY BUSINESS, INCLUDING THE SOLICITING OF ADVERTISING OR COLLECTION OF FUNDS, ON BEHALF OF THE SUN NEWSPAPER OR ANY OF ITS SUBSIDIARY PUBLICATIONS OR AFFILIATED COMPANIES.

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LOCAL NEWS

Caribbean will not lose oil aid from Venezuela following the death of Hugo Chavez

BY MARIANELA JARROUD

V

enezuela will keep in place the regional energy integration policies promoted by the late president Hugo Chávez if he is succeeded by acting president Nicolás Maduro, experts on regional relations told IPS. It will do this in spite of the growing internal economic difficulties that could complicate the country’s ability to maintain external cooperation commitments.

“It’s possible that Venezuela might reduce aid to other countries in order to deal with internal problems, but not if it risks losing its regional and international influence and leadership role,” Sébastien Dubé, an expert in political science at Chile’s Diego Portales University, told IPS. Dubé said he had no doubt that if Maduro wins the presidential elections on Apr. 14, as expected, there will be continuity in Venezuela’s foreign policy and especially its external energy cooperation.

Maduro’s rival will be Henrique Capriles, the governor of the central state of Miranda, who was defeated by Chávez in the Oct. 7, 2012 elections.

Analysts predict that the wave of grief over the 58-year-old Chávez’s death from cancer on Mar. 5, and the strong majority support that he enjoyed, will carry his chosen successor, vice-president Maduro, into office – bar surprises.

“Maduro will want to maintain the geopolitical influence that Chávez’s leadership brought to Venezuela,” Dubé said, pointing out that Maduro was foreign minister from 2006 until January this year.

In his view, “the strong ideological focus of the Venezuelan government indicates that if implementing its political strategy means continuing to run a fiscal deficit, so be it.”

Regional energy integration was one of the key focuses of Chávez, who governed the South American oil-producing country since 1999.

By means of the policy of energy integration and cooperation promoted by the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), Chávez distributed energy in the region in order to boost the development of the countries that had the most difficulty paying their energy bills.

The foremost example is the Petrocaribe energy alliance, created in 2005 and involving 18 countries to which Venezuela supplies up to 185,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude.

Petrocaribe offers financing for up to 50 percent of the value of the oil, payable over 25 years at an interest rate of two percent.

The Petrocaribe programme extended new benefits to more countries than came under the San José Pact, signed in 1984, under which Mexico and Venezuela jointly supplied oil on preferential terms to 11 Central American and Caribbean countries.

In the view of economist Manuel Riesco, of the National Centre for Alternative Development Studies (CENDA), Chávez, “as a good soldier and exceptional disciple of (independence hero Simón) Bolívar, gave due importance to a key element of state developmentalist strategy in Latin America: regional integration.

“Integration is inevitable in Latin America, partly to compensate for the enormous gravitational attraction exerted by our giant neighbour to the North (the United States), which constantly draws our countries individually into its orbit,” he said.

It is also essential “in order to create the conditions to be able to compete in the global market of the 21st century, made up of huge market-states with hundreds of millions of people,” he added.

Turks and Caicos Sun Suite # 5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 946-8542 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 Offic e Manager: Dominique Rigby Distribution Manger: Kelano Howell Design by Design2pro.com 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.

Over the last decade, Venezuela has also signed special energy cooperation agreements with Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. In addition, a partnership was formed between PDVSA and Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil company, to build the Abreu e Lima Refinery in Brazil.

Thanks to high oil prices, Venezuela “may have provided relief for the countries of Latin America that had preferential access to its crude, but it remains to be seen whether this policy is sustainable over time,” according to economist Alfonso Dingemans, who has a doctorate in Americas studies from the Institute of Advanced Studies of the University of Santiago.

Only time will tell whether Venezuela’s poCONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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Authorities investigate escape of illegal Cubans

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police as well as the Immigration Department have commenced investigations into how 16 illegal Cubans awaiting the decision of their asylum applications managed to leave the country undetected.

The Cubans, which included four children, were held at a home in Discovery Bay, Providenciales in October and taken to the detention centre. Six of them - the four children and their mothers were later released in a domestic setting.

While preparation was being made for the repatriation, the Cubans filed for asylum, saying that they would be punished if returned to the communist island. When they went to court in January, then Acting Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale released them on the basis that their statuses in the country had change from illegal entrants to asylum seekers.

In granting their release, she recommended that a $20,000 bond be posted as surety and that they should report to the police station three times a week until the outcome of their asylum hearing.

The Turks and Caicos however, woke up on Monday (March 11) to the news that the Cubans boarded a boat and departed our shores for the United States, where they reportedly reached and receive by family members. Reports reaching The SUN are that they might have left the country between Saturday and Sunday – days when they were not required to report to the police.

On Thursday afternoon, the Government Information Service issued a report that the authorities have commenced investigations on the matter.

“Details surrounding their departure from the islands are sketchy and are currently being investigated by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, the Immigration and Customs Departments and other relevant agencies. Due to the sensitive nature of this incident, TCIG must en-

sure that the outcome of this investigation is not jeopardized,” the reports said in part.

In the meantime, George Missick, the attorney representing the Cubans said that he found out on Monday evening that the Cubans had left the country and said he learned of further details in the media. He explained that now that the Cubans have left, their application for asylum becomes irrelevant, further noting that since they were never charged, their leaving the jurisdiction could not be classified as absconding bail.

“They were never charged with any crimes here in Turks and Caicos – they were awaiting repatriation to their home country by the Immigration Department. Before that happened, they made application for asylum. Those applications were pending, which means that if the UNHCR perhaps had come back and advise the government that they were entitled to refugee protection, then it would be up to the government to grant them some sort of status here in the country or choose not to follow that recommendation, which would open up another avenue of appeal for them here in the Supreme Court,”Misick explained.

He said that the crown can now seek to have the bond posted on their behalf forfeited. The bond, The SUN understand, was posted by the family members of multimillion dollar baseball star Yoenis Céspedes Milanés, through a United States law firm and agents of the Oakland Athletics player.

One of the asylum seekers, Estela Milanes Salazar is the mother of Yoenis Céspedes Milanés.

One of the illegal Cubans is the mother of Yoenis Cespedes, of the Oakland Athletics, who according to ESPN, was in a great mood Tuesday, and for good reason, because he had just come back from Miami, where he had seen his mother for the first time since he defected from Cuba in 2011.

Cespedes told ESPN that his mother, Estela Milanes Salazar, and 11 family members left Cuba more than a year ago and had been trying to get

to the United States ever since.

Speaking through his interpreter, Oakland coach Ariel Prieto, Cespedes was vague about the journey, but he said it included stops in the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos.

ESPN quoted a report in the Turks and Caicos SUN which reported last October that the group had been arrested as illegal immigrants and sent to a detention center. Cespedes said he “finally learned they had been released and allowed to travel on to Miami over the weekend”, but according to law enforcement officials in Turks and Caicos Islands, they were not “released”.

“It would appear as though they left here by speedboat, but our investigations are continuing,” an official told The SUN. Last October, investigations by The SUN reveal that Cubans may have been coming through the Turks and Caicos Islands for quite some time, using a location here as their temporary base and then moving through The Bahamas and other countries and then landing in Florida.

Back then, a speed boat carrying several illegal Cubans was detected by the new coastal radar. Police were notified and tried to intercept the boat which took them on a long, high-speed chase that ended up at a house on a canal in the Discovery Bay area. The two-engine, unregistered speedboat, was equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking device and had several containers of fuel on the inside.

Among those on the boat were a seven-monthold baby and her 17-year-old mother. The baby, along with three other minors were being cared for by a Cuban doctor who is legally employed in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

According to sources, when police and immigration officials carried out a further search of the property at Discovery Bay, they found that other Cubans were already living at the house. One of the illegal immigrants reportedly even told law enforcement officials that she was living in the Turks and Caicos Islands illegally for more than three months.

The huge water-front mansion which was occupied by the illegal Cubans is being rented out by a property management company that is owned by two brothers from a prominent Turks and Caicos Islands family.

The United Kingdom and the United States of America issue negative advice about crime in Turks and Caicos Islands B

oth the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) have issued warnings to persons travelling to this country, about the increase in robberies in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The UK’s travel advice to its citizens state that most crime tends to be as a result of opportunistic burglary and theft, although an increase in the incidence of more serious robberies has been reported recently.

The US Embassy in Nassau said armed robbery continues to be the primary criminal threat facing U.S. citizens in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A statement dated March 13, 2013, from the US Embassy stated: “Within the last few weeks, the Embassy has received increased reports of armed robberies of U.S. citizens in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. In light of this situation,

the U.S. Embassy advises U.S. citizens living in or visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands to remain cautious and vigilant with regard to their personal safety and security.

In the past few weeks, two armed robberies of U.S. citizens have occurred in the Grace Bay area, and a third in a private residence. Police in Providenciales have informed the Embassy that they are undertaking active preventative measures to avoid further incidents of this type.

Armed robbery continues to be the primary criminal threat facing U.S. citizens in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

The current UK travel advice for citizens travelling to the Turks and Caicos stated: “The level of crime on Providenciales, the first point of arrival into the Turks and Caicos Islands for most visitors and the territory’s economic hub, is higher than on the other islands where in-

cidences of serious crime are rare.

Most crime tends to be as a result of opportunistic burglary and theft, although an increase in the incidence of more serious robberies has been reported recently. There have also been a number of armed robberies. Victims of robberies may suffer injuries if they resist. You are advised to safeguard your possessions irrespective of which island you visit and to take normal precautions to ensure your personal safety. You should avoid carrying large amounts of cash and other valuables and take particular care to safeguard your passport, as this cannot be replaced locally. Use hotel safety deposit facilities to safeguard passports and valuables.”

Regarding the Security Message for US citizens from the U.S. Embassy, Governor Ric Todd said: “The Turks and Caicos Islands benefits from one of the lowest levels

of crimes anywhere in the Caribbean. I am reminded of this whenever I speak to my fellow Governors of the other UK Overseas Territories in the region when they describe how their biggest concerns are often crime related. That said, there have been a very few serious incidents in recent weeks involving US citizens, and that is why they have issued this notice to their citizens. After speaking to the Premier about this matter yesterday, I have reminded the US authorities of the low level of crime in this territory. We must all do what we can to support the sterling efforts of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force in preventing and solving all crimes.

Indeed, they only recently reported on falling crime levels here in TCI. We can all do our part by reporting suspicious behaviour, highlighting any concerns and using crimestoppers also.”

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LOCAL NEWS

Deputy Commissioner of Police Brad Sullivan leaves in May

BY VIVIAN TYSON

D

eputy Commissioner Brad Sullivan is to leave the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force in two and half months time, while his superior Commissioner Colin Farquar’s twilight year with the local police body is 2015.

Commissioner Colin Farquar

Deputy Commissioner Brad Sullivan

The SUN learnt that on February 27, this year, His Excellency Governor Ric Todd brief cabinet on the tenure of the two Canadian top cops and about the programmes that they had put in place from the standpoint of crime-ďŹ ghting and succession at the highest level.

Cabinet was told that Commissioner Farquar recently submitting a 2013/14 Senior Management Succession Plan to the Governor. As a result, the Governor asked him to extend his contract until March 31, 2015. Cabinet was also told that Deputy Commissioner Brad Sullivan will extend until May 31, 2013 as a transition period but his contract is expected to end at that time.

In the meantime, Rodney Adams, who until recently was assistant commissioner of police, has been appointed Acting Deputy Commissioner since December 2012. He is expected to continue as the Acting Commissioner under the direct mentoring and monitoring of Commissioner Farquar.

Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Rodney Adams

Senior Superintendent Kendell Grant

The SUN understands that the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force will begin its quest for a new top cop through advertising in the autumn of 2014, to select a suitable candidate in time for installation as soon as Commissioner Farquhar’s contract ends in March 2015.

Governor Spokesman, Neil Smith told this newspaper that Sullivan has provided excellent service to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force since both he and Commissioner Farquar arrived in the Turks and Caicos early 2011.He pointed out however that the locals within the ranks of the force must be able to take its reins and directed it in the desired manner, and so the

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force, over the past two years, has been grooming them to do so. “Deputy Sullivan has provided exemplary service in his role; however, local leadership and ownership must occur,� Smith said.

Sullivan – a 35-year veteran of the Canadian Mounted Troop, and his superior, Commissioner Colin Farquar took control of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force in March, 2011.

In their ďŹ rst news conference held at the Chalk Sound Police Station, they promised to raise the policing level in the Turks and Caicos Islands to international standard by addressing the personal and working environmental needs of its men and women.

Both however, faced a series of backlash from the ofďŹ cers under their watch, who accused them of autocratic management style, blaming them also for not heeding to the wisdom of local long-serving ofďŹ cers. On a number of occasions ofďŹ cers from varying tiers of the force contacted the print and electronic media complaining of ill-treatment by their superiors.

In response however, the top cops noted that some of the ofďŹ cers who were rooted in their old ways refused to accept the changes aimed at modernizing the entity, hence them complaining about their superiors at every turn in the public’s sphere.

In recent months, however, those complaints appeared to have died down, which could mean that the rank and ďŹ le may have adapted to the changes and were happy or may have grown numb to the alleged ill-treatments.

In the meantime, it has long been speculated that two of the local cops in the running for the top job are Acting Deputy Commissioner Adams and Senior Superintendent in charge of operation Kendell Grant. Grant, in recent time, has been referred to by his colleagues as a rising star in the force.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 9

MARCH 18TH - MARCH 25TH, 2013

LOCAL NEWS

Accommodation tax will increase to 12 percent as part of Government’s revenue improvement measures C

abinet has decided to increase accommodation tax from 11 percent to 12 percent, broaden the accommodation tax to other services and plug a loophole in the Hotel and Restaurant Taxation Ordinance on the definition of premises for board and lodging.

This was among the decisions which emerged from a cabinet meeting which was held at the NJS Francis Building on Grand Turk on Wednesday March 13, 2013.

According to a Government press release, Cabinet decided to consider at its next meeting, draft legislation on stamp duty rates and increased accommodation tax with a view to the changes taking place on 1 July 2013, and commissioned both further work and consultation on broadening of accommodation tax to other services; and plugging a loophole in the Hotel and Restaurant Taxation Ordinance on the definition of premises for board and lodging.

The press release said Cabinet also agreed first, to put to the House of Assembly a minor techni-

cal change in terms used in legislation relating to money laundering; and second, that the Governor should approve the coming into effect of interrelated previously agreed legislation on companies and the proceeds of crime and regulations concerning Anti Money Laundering and Prevention of Terrorist Funding, non-profit organisations and companies fees.

Cabinet also approved two contracts on fencing and well drilling relating to the construction of a new reverse osmosis plant on Grand Turk and discussed a paper on the Medium Term Outlook of the Port Authority. It underlined the role of ports in the development of TCI; looked to the new Port Authority Board to play a key role in this; and agreed the importance of drawing up a strategic plan for the development of ports on TCI. Cabinet further agreed to return to this subject at a future meeting and to recommend to the Governor that he appoint Ms Denika Been as Secretary of the Port Authority Board; It also confirmed its commitment to the cre-

Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick wins case against the Attorney General before the Privy Council in England

BY HAYDEN BOYCE PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

P

rominent Turks and Caicos Islands Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick secured a stunning victory at the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) on Wednesday March 14th, 2013, when British law Lords dismissed an appeal that was brought by Attorney General Huw Shepheard, the Civil Recovery Unit and the Registrar of Lands over the recovery of unpaid stamp duty and penalties in relation to sale of the private island of Emerald Cay. In the case which was heard before Lord Hope, Lord Kerr, Lord Reed, Lord Carnwath and Sir John Chadwick who delivered the judgment, the Privy Council found that the Registrar of Lands operated outside of the law in dealing with the stamp duty issue surrounding Emerald Cay, once owned

by American billionaire Tim Blixseth and which is located off Silly Creek and Chalk Sound, on the island of Providenciales.

Queen’s Counsel Misick, who was instructed

by Sharpe Pritchard, was the lawyer for Ross Richardson, the Trustee in Bankruptcy of Yellowstone Club World, a company owned by Blixseth and which had interests in Emerald Cay. Lawyers for the Interim Government were Queen’s Counsel David Phillip and Patrick Patterson, instructed by Edward, Wildman and Palmer.

On March 12, 2011 the Attorney General, on behalf of the then Interim Government, commenced proceedings against (amongst others) Emerald Cay Ltd for recovery of unpaid stamp duty and penalties. The Government obtained judgment in those proceedings on June 21, 2011, then the case went before Mr. Justice Martin on June 7th 2011.

By an order made on June 9th, 2011 Judge Martin ordered that the Registrar of Lands remove the

Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick restriction and register the charge. The Attorney General appealed that order and it went before the Court of Appeal comprising Justices Edward Zacca, Elliott Mottley and Richard Ground who dismissed the appeal on January 26 2012 and affirmed the order of the Supreme Court.

The issue raised by the appeal before the Privy Council was whether the Registrar was wrong to register a restriction, under section 132 of the Registered Land Ordinance, against property in respect of which the Government claimed an interest in respect of unpaid stamp duty.

According to the 19-page judgment, it was submitted on behalf of the Attorney General, that it was immaterial that the Government may have been wrong to assert, in its application for the entry of a restriction, that it had an interest in the land comprised in title 60400/219.

The judgment stated: “The relevant questions were (1) the extent of the Registrar’s power to register a restriction and (2) whether, on the facts known to her, it was lawful for her to have exercised that power. In relation to the first of those questions the appellants rely exclusively on sec-

ation of a strong and effective Exchange of Information Unit in the Ministry of Finance and agreed that the appropriate level of resources for the Unit would be agreed in the budget round and heard a briefing from GU-MED on the progress to date in its development of a medical university on TCI. It repeated TCIG’s full support to the project, notably in the area of licensing, accreditation and regulation. Cabinet was also briefed by the Human Rights Commissioner, Mrs Doreen Quelch-Missick. Cabinet welcomed the Commission’s activities and underlined its support for the work of the Commission and the need for it to receive appropriate funding. It noted that changes were required to the Ordinance on the Human Rights Commission, asked for work to be completed on this and agreed to consider draft legislation at a future meeting; According to the release, Cabinet noted the importance of maintaining a full record of the assets held by TCIG and a proper policy on the continuing recording and control of these assets. It endorsed a proposal from the Minister of Finance to spend up to $80,000 on acquiring a software system to improve work to this end, supported the proposal from the Deputy Premier, Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, for a National Consultation on Education to be held before the end of the Financial Year; considered the key elements of the draft Financial Strategy and Policy Statement (FSPS) and agreed that further should be done as quickly as possible to finalise the FSPS.

tion 132(1) of the Registered Land Ordinance: it is not said that this is a case in which section 132(3) has any application. It is accepted that the power conferred by section 132(1) is discretionary: “... the Registrar may... make an order ... prohibiting or restricting dealings with any particular land ...” (emphasis added). But it is pointed out that the discretionary power may be exercised “for any ... sufficient cause”; and that it may be exercised by the Registrar of her own motion: “... without the application of any person interested in the land ...”. Those propositions are not in dispute. But, on the facts as presented (and, in particular, in the absence of any evidence from the Registrar herself), it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that, in this case, the Registrar did not exercise the power conferred by section 132(1) of her own motion: she exercised that power on the basis of the application that was made on behalf of the Government.”

The judges added: “ In exercising the power on the basis of the application that was made on behalf of the Government - and in making Entry No 5 on the register - the Registrar must be taken to have accepted that the Government was entitled, by virtue of the interest in the land which it claimed, to prohibit any dealing with the land comprised in title 60400/219. The Board (judges of the Privy Council) can see no escape from the conclusion that the Registrar did not, in fact, ask herself whether there was any sufficient cause other than the claim made on behalf of the Government - which should lead her to enter a restriction.” “ In reaching that conclusion the Board rejects the submission, made on behalf of the appellants, that the restriction entered comprises two distinct limbs: (A) a statement that “The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands claims an interest under the Stamp Duty Ordinance in whole of the above-mentioned parcel as more fully set forth in the Application to Enter a Restriction dated 19 May 2010” and (B) an order, made under section 132(1) of the Ordinance, by which the Registrar “prohibits any dealing with the parcel until the full amount of stamp Duty on the sale of the parcel from Worldwide Commercial properties Ltd to Emerald Cay Ltd on 14 August 2006 has been CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Page 10

MARCH 18TH - MARCH 25TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Government suspends granting new casino licenses T

he Turks and Caicos Islands Government has announced plans to suspend the granting of new casino licenses until it modernizes the existing legislations to suit international standard and also streamline the way locals gamble.

Hon. Washington Misick, Minister for Finance, made the announcement while making his contribution in the House of Assembly on Thursday, March 14. He said that the TCI gaming industry is under severe threat because the legislation that governs the industry is outdated, and potential investors have been refusing to pump money into the local economy until the gaming laws are updated.

“One of the things the government is considering doing is putting a moratorium on any new licenses until we would have had an opportunity to have a review of the entire industry. The practices around the gaming industry are archaic and we are getting complaints from established jurisdictions such as Las Vegas. Any recognized operator in a place like Vegas will not sanction the operation of a casino in the Turks and Caicos because of the lacks and archaic legislation.

What you have to remember is that gaming is regulated by Gaming Authority. As you know there are no casinos attached to hotels. There are a couple of applications (for setting up of casinos at hotels), I believe. I think one of them has to do with the Third Turtle Inn property, where I believe, there is an MOU with the government and with that company, to use its best

endeavors to procuring casino license – there may be others.

“In fact, the Interim Administration signed three Memorandums of Understanding with potential hotel investors, which include the operations for casinos once an application has completed processing, according to the Casino Ordinance,” Misick said.

He told the House of Assembly that a paper was prepared and presented before cabinet this week. He said a copy of the document was earlier couriered to the Attorney General’s Chambers for its recommendation.

Recently, the gaming inspectorate, along with the Ministry of Finance prepared a cabinet paper and we are currently awaiting an opinion from the AG (Attorney General) chambers. The moratorium is requested to facilitate a full assessment of the gaming industry. Upon completion of the assessment, a detailed order would be submitted, highlighted proposed recommendations that would be used to inform an extensive policy for regulating and managing the industry into the future of which we will make sure that the opposition have full participation in arriving at what that should be.

At the moment, I think we can all agree that the helter skelter way that gaming is taking place on the islands is not in the best interest of the social fabric or in the best interest of the economy of the islands. Anywhere you go, from Britain to Buenos Aires, the type of gaming

machines, for example in bars, are not the same ones that you use in casinos,” the finance minister revealed.

He also stressed the importance of regulating the system so that it does not devour locals in their quest to cash in on the lures of the machines.

“All I can say to you is that there has to be a lot of work to be done to try to regularize the industry. And there are some social issues that we may have to deal with as well, as it relates to the industry, because we do have people, at the moment, (placing their) baby-milk money in the machines, and somehow, we have to take a responsible position on what we need to do regulate. And believe you me; this is not an easy issue. I am hoping that we can have more clarity on this as soon as possible.

He said the government would be working to make the make the moratorium as short as possible so that the business of the country as it relates to the gaming industry could get back on track.

“On how long the moratorium will be, we want to make that as short as possible, because we are aware that there are people who have their businesses to operate, and who may have invested money, and who are looking to have a clear steer from the government about not only the direction into but their chances of actually being licensed. We don’t expect this to be a long and drawn out process,” he said.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 11

MARCH 18TH - MARCH 25TH, 2013

LOCAL NEWS

$10 million Provo Airport expansion to begin under a month

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he $10 million phase two expansion of the Providenciales International Airport could commence under a month, and work will be carried out by Dolman Import and Export Ltd., according to its Chief Executive Officer John Smith.

Smith told The SUN that work should be completed within an 18-month period subjected to the unforeseen, such as hurricanes. He said that in the interest of passenger comfort, priority would be paid to areas such as the departure lounge. He said also that in order to bring disruption of service at the facility to a minimal, a huge chunk of the work would be done outside of peak house and after dusk.

During a post cabinet meeting on March 1, Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing said that cabinet approved the $10 million contract signed between the Airports Authority and the Dolman Import and Export Ltd., and work should commence soon.

“The extension of the Providenciales International Airport development was approved to the tune of $10 million contract that was awarded a company to extend the airport. This extension will indeed, also come with a government plan to developed a full master plan of the Providenciales International Airport with the view of also developing a new state-of-the art terminal facility the next five or 10 years out.

“This will indeed enable us to cater to the capacity that we hope to attract over the next few years. This is a significant development for us

John Smith here in the Turks and Caicos that would be able to provide jobs for individuals who are looking for jobs in the construction sector in the short term,” Ewing said.

Dolmen Import and Export Ltd, which is owned by locals, is the construction company which built the Our Lady of Devine Providence Catholic Church in Providenciales.

In July 2012, the Airports Authority used a news conference to announce the commencement of phase two of the project. The expansion will include the spreading out of existing terminal building and the construction of a larger car park.

On completion, according to the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority, passengers will be able to enjoy expanded check-in counter areas

Payless Warehouse Ltd Is seeking for

SECURITY GUARD Must have minimum of 5 years experience in the related area.

Must Patrol industrial and commercial premises to prevent and detect signs of intrusion and ensure security of doors, windows, and gates.

Must be able to answer alarms and investigate disturbances.

Must be able to Monitor and authorize entrance and departure of employees, visitors, and other persons to guard against theft and maintain security of premises.

Must be able to operate detecting devices to screen individuals and prevent passage of prohibited articles into restricted areas.

Interested applicants should apply to

paylesstci@gmail.com Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Salary commensurate with experience Belongers Preferred

and self check in facilities, additional bathroom facilities, larger retail space for shops and restaurants, and improved medical amenities.

The TCIAA disclosed that the expansion will nearly double the size of the terminal to better accommodate the 500,000 passengers who pass through the airport each year, since the expansion in capacity will increase from 51,462 to 92,321 sq ft.

The second phase of work will be done in three stanzas. The first will include the construction of a new traffic circulation system, an extension to the existing west car park, and extension of the departure Lounge. The second phase will continue with the extension on the international check-in area, security check point as well as the arrivals hall.

The third and final phase will include the domestic departures and arrivals area, completion of car park and aesthetics, including water features.

Tender for the project went out in October 2012. A preliminary bidding was held and the number was chiseled down to four – Jaca TCI, Dolmen, Turquoise Construction and North Star Ltd. The preliminary process looked at, among other things, the bidder’s capacity and the ability to successfully carry out the job. It is understood that of the four, Dolmen was the lowest competing bidder.

Airports Authority said at the launch of phase two back in the summer that the terminal expansion project would not only offer better facilities for passengers, also but provide it with the room to expand over the next 15 years.

Quality Supermarket Ltd Is seeking for

Distribution Center Assistant • Must have minimum of 5 years experience in Foodservice Distribution • Must have Foodservice knowledge • Must have strong organizations skills • Degree from a recognized university • Specialized in Foodservice Industry Interested applicants should apply to quality@alliedcaribbean.com Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.

Salary commensurate with experience Belongers Preferred

Page 12

MARCH 18TH - MARCH 25TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

The luxurious Residences by Grace Bay Resorts to start construction soon

BY VIVIAN TYSON

D

eveloper Mark Durliat of the Grace Bay Club fame has announce that he will be venturing into exclusive residential developments with the planned construction of the Residences by Grace Bay Resorts, which is to start soon.

The Residences by Grace Bay Resorts, which is located on Grace Bay Beach is approximately four miles west of Grace Bay Club. It is described by its developers as a low density three single family exclusive luxury world-class homes to be sited in the vicinity of the Gansevoort Resort.

The 6,000 square-foot stand-alone villa developments, each carry four bedrooms and five bathrooms, will be branded and managed by Grace Bay Club. Security and its location, according to the developers, will also make the development a winner. Each of the homes also includes own private pool, own private garage and check-in facility. Fitness centre will be part of the long lists of private amenities.

Durliat explained that in addition to the opulence that the development will offer, the elements that would make the Residences by Grace Bay Resorts stand heads and shoulders above all else in the local industry will be that the human capital and services offered to Grace Bay Club clients would be extended to its owners and clients.

He pointed that owners and clients at the Residences would get the same level of service that is being offered at Grace Bay Club, including concierge and culinary service, including private chef.

Developer Mark Durliat introduces his new project -Residences by Grace Bay Resorts “On arrival they would check in to one of our concierge libraries, and with that, they would get a key and signing privileges at this hotel here

(Grace Bay Club). Imagine that they own a home on the beach all to themselves and they want to come to Grace Bay Club and enjoy the facilities and services here, they need only sign when they do.

“They go back to their home; we bring to them any and all services that we offer here to the customer. So, it is an extension of what we do here at Grace Bay Club, and taking it to the residential sector,” Durliat explained.

He said that the Residences was designed for persons who have historically been looking for a home in the Turks and Caicos Islands to purchase but are challenged by the idea of having of having to go through the various hoops of construction.

“So what we are trying to do here is to create an environment where owning a home in this country can be completely hassle-free, but more importantly, can be linked to an operation that has the services and amenities like here, at Grace Bay Club; for instances a customer at our residential property will be like a customer at Grace Bay Club.

“Grace Bay Resorts, as an operating brand and management company and developer here in the country is intending to embark new direction that would add to our existing offering to the market, and the idea here is to brand and manage single property residences here in the country,” he noted.

Durliat said construction could begin in the next six month and should take a year before completion. Each home would cost $3.7 million.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 13

MARCH 18TH - MARCH 25TH, 2013

LOCAL NEWS

Drexwell Seymour appointed new chairman of NHIP and Clayton Been his deputy W

ith the Vision of ensuring that the National Health Insurance Plan is feasible and workable in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Executive Drexwell Seymour accepted the appointment of Chairman of National Health Insurance Board.

The appointment made by the Minister of Finance is for three years. Mr. Seymour General Manager of LIME will be joined by Deputy Chairman Mr. Clayton Been.

The National Health Insurance Plan was established in 2009 in the Turks and Caicos Islands with its goal to facilitate the provision of accessible, affordable and quality health care services to all its beneficiaries as specified in the ordinance.

Mr. Seymour said his vision is to ensure that National Insurance Plan is feasible and workable for its clients. “I do not want to see any increase in rates but rather find ways and means to reduce the health care expenditure” Since the construction of the 2 hospitals and the implementation of NHIB, the country has seen a significant decrease in overseas treatment abroad. “I would like to continue to work with the Board to ensure we can further reduce this cost by utilizing the regional pro-

ing

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Clayton Been

Drexwell Seymour

viders and to encourage more treatment locally”.

The newly appointed chairman said he wants to ensure that the vision of the TCIG government is implemented, that vision he said includes the plan of extending benefits to persons who are unemployed but registered at the Labor Office.

“The NHIP is a great plan for the TCI but it is important that we promote and increase the awareness of this Plan.”

The public will be more informed and much focus will be on

Educating the public on the services provided and benefits. “There are a number of success stories that need to be made public and much misunderstanding about NHIP. One which is NHIP and InterHealth Canada are separate entities.”

He said there are individuals who include the cost of InterHealth Canada as a cost of NHIP; this he said is totally misleading. A certified public accountant Mr. Seymour believes that his appointment by the Minister was based on his back ground in accounting. Mr. Seymour worked at

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both KPMG and Price Waterhouse, locally and in Canada. He has also served on other boards such as TCI Invest and National Insurance Board.

Mr. Seymour is married to Joanna Seymour and together they have 5 children.

Mr. Seymour’s has as his Deputy former manager of Inward Investment with TCInvest , Mr. Clayton Been.

Mr. Been is a senior executive with over two and half decades of corporate and operational management experience in economic development and corporate restructuring. He is an Innovative leader and motivator with sound convictions, values, morals and business ethics.

Other members of the NHIP Board are Mr. Wilbur Caley who was acting chairman from the time the first chairman Mr. John Smith resigned ; Dr. Sam Slattery, Madeline Mills, Beverly Williams the three are original board members. Also on the Board are Representatives from InterHealth Canada and National Insurance Board. There are also ex officio members such as: Permanent Secretaries of Health and Finance; and the Chief Medical Officer.

Page 14

MARCH 18TH - MARCH 25TH, 2013

6HDJDWH 0DQDJHPHQW

LOCAL NEWS

SEEKS

One Domestic Worker To work six days per week Salary $5.00 per hour

Contact number 941 5497.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Air Turks And Caicos: New Aircraft Means More Flights And Lower Fares W

ith the recent addition of two 15 passenger Beech 99 Airliners to its fleet, Air Turks and Caicos announced that it has increased the number of flights offered on its domestic routes while simultaneously lowering the fares. Chairman Lyndon Gardiner explained that the Beech 99 is more economical to operate than the 30 passenger Embraer Brasilias that currently make up the bulk of the fleet, while still offering the safety of two pilots, comfortable cabins and sufficient cargo capability.

‘With the downturn in the economy, there are simply not enough people traveling to sustain domestic operations with the Embraers. Rather than try to consolidate passenger numbers by reducing the flight frequency we decided to make

the investment in the Beech 99. This allows us to both increase our frequencies and reduce airfares at the same time. We are now operating a return trip between Provo and Grand Turk about every two hours,’ said Gardiner.

Service to Grand Turk has been increased to 7 round trip flights per day.

South Caicos, which the airline had been considering dropping due to its very low passenger numbers, now has one flight per day from Provo and Grand Turk. Gardiner hopes that the new schedule and lower fares will help to stimulate the ailing economy.

Under the new fare structure, fares start from as low as 109.00 round trip between Providenciales and Grand Turk and only $99.00 for South Caicos.

Alonzo Malcolm appointed Director of Road Safety A

SEAN ROLAND FORBES

347-8349

lonzo Malcolm has been named the new Director of Road Safety, it was announced by Deputy Governor the Hon. Anya Williams.

Malcolm joined the civil service in 1988 as a Constable in the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force and was later appointed to the Immigration Department in 1990 before being promoted to the posts of Assistant, Deputy and later Director of Immigration in 2008. He has over 20 years experience in the civil service and served most recently as the Director of Housing from 2011 until his present transfer.

The Director of Road Safety post was vacated over two years ago and was subsequently filled by the temporary appointment of former retired Permanent Secretary Mr. Joseph Swann, whilst the recruitment process was facilitated.

The Ministry of Environment and Home Affairs welcomes Mr. Alonzo Malcolm to the post of Director of Road Safety and is confident that he will use his experience to propel this department for-

QUEEN’S COUNSEL ARIEL MISICK WINS CASE AGAINST THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BEFORE THE PRIVY COUNCIL IN ENGLAND CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

duly paid”. It is plain that the subject of the verb “prohibits” is “The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands”: the restriction cannot be read in the sense that it is the Registrar who is the subject of that verb. And, given that the text of the restriction follows, without material variation, the text of the restriction applied for in the Government’s application dated 4 June 2010, that is unsurprising.”

The judgment continued: “ If the Registrar did not, in fact, ask herself whether there was sufficient cause - other than the claim made on behalf of the Govern-

Alonzo Malcolm ward.

A Government press release stated: “This position is an important and strategic one within TCIG as it deals with the challenging issues of safety on our streets, regulation of taxi drivers, ensuring adherence to vehicle registration and licences, combating the issue of illegal jitney cab operators as well as continuously reviewing and enacting legislation to ensure public safety.”

ment - which should lead her to enter a restriction, then her decision to do so was flawed in law. For the reasons that Mr. Justice Martin and the Court of Appeal have given, there was no basis for the Government’s claim that it was entitled to an interest in the land comprised in title 60400/219; and no basis upon which the Government was entitled to prohibit dealings with that land until the full amount of the stamp duty payable on the transfer from Worldwide Commercial Properties Ltd to Emerald Cay Ltd had been made.” “ It was submitted on behalf of the Attorney General that the fact that the Registrar’s decision to enter a restriction was reached on a flawed basis is not fatal to the validity of the restriction. It is said that, on the material which was before CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

Bad motorists causing anxious moments for ambulance drivers

BY VIVIAN TYSON

P

aramedics attending and returning from emergency scenes are complaining that they are having a torrid time accessing a clear path, especially along the Leeward Highway in Providenciales, as unscrupulous or naïve motorists are refusing to get out the way.

The situation is so problematic that the Ambulance Service is planning a public awareness campaign in the media to sensitize the driving public on the issue.

Last Friday (March 8) the Ambulance Service and the Police Department, represented by its spokesman Audley Atwood held a news conference to highlight the potential hazard.

Paramedic Viktoria Kerkorian explained at the news conference that a lot of motorists just simply refused to get out the road when they hear sirens and that has been creating anxious moments for the ambulance crew.

“We are noticing that while responding to certain calls, it can be a little bit frantic, and we are having to actually yell in the microphone and asking people to move out of the way because they are not aware of what to do when an ambulance comes. A lot of people that live here are from areas don’t know what to do when they hear an ambulance.

“So, unfortunately, we are having people that are purposely ignoring the ambulance because they just decide that we are not important, they are in a rush themselves, and we are actually having people really don’t know what to do. And

From left Viktoria Krikorian, Audley Astwood and Patrick Riel then you are having other people that are not moving out of the way again, because they literally don’t know, because they are from countries that don’t have ambulances, and the reason they know what to do is because they have seen movies,” Krikorian said She noted also that the problems faced are not only when medics are on their way to scenes but also when they are returning as well. And while cognizant of the crimes involved, Krikorian said medics do not have the time, when travelling to a scene, to pen license plate numbers.

“There are some legality, unfortunately, associated with it, but we just don’t have time to be sitting there writing license plates down and doing things like that on the way to the actual calls. When you are in the back with the patient and trying to move left, move right and holding for people, as a paramedic in the back, we are not strapped down, ourselves. We are trying

CONTACT CHLOE ZIMMERMANN 232-4030

to provide patient care. And it can be very scary in the back with your partner coming to an actual halt.

And, also, when you are in the back you are not an extra set of eyes to be up there with your partner, saying ‘watch out for this person’ and ‘watch out for that person’ or yelling in the microphone. Our drivers have to basically navigate as quickly as possible, trying to help us as much as they can from the back. They are driving with one hand, and yelling on the mike on another hand. That is basically not very safe,” she said.

For his part, head paramedic Patrick Riel told the news conference that these incidents occur each time that the ambulance responds to a call.

He said that as a result of other motorists not getting out of the way in time, there have been minor accidents involving the ambulance and those motorists. He explained that when such an incident occurs, the patient suffers, because police would now have to come to an accident scene.

In the meantime, Astwood is reminding the public that not allowing free passage to emergency vehicles can attract a penalty of a $360 ticket. He said also that drivers could face another set of charges, including driving without due attention and reckless driving.

Astwood also asked motorists to turn down their car stereos when driving, since the police have received reports on Grand Turk that a motorist turned up his car sound system so loud that he could not hear the siren of the emergency vehicle that was coming behind him.

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LOCAL NEWS

National Insurance Made Simple “Looking Back At the NIS – How It All Began 21 Years Ago” proved to be extremely difficulty amidst determined hostility. Staff received their fair share of insults, threats and even minor physical abuse from some. Many refused to register and some intentionally submitted inaccurate information regarding their names, salaries and dates of birth.

Notwithstanding the resistance, within our first year of operation we were successful in registering 541 employers, 4,969 employees and 630 self-employed persons.

BY: WALTER F. L. GARDINER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OPERATIONS

‘A SEED IS SOWN’ April 6, 2013 marks the Turks and Caicos Islands National Insurance Programme’s 21st Anniversary! But we almost did not make it.

In 1988, the Turks and Caicos Government (People’s Democratic Movement) under the ministry of Honourable Wendal Swann, then Minister for Social Services, agreed that there was indeed a need for a programme to provide social and economic protection for employed persons who suffered loss of income as a result of sickness, invalidity, industrial accidents, pregnancy, retirement and death of the bread-winner.

In 1989, Executive Council accepted a feasibility study conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Consultant, Mr. Michael Jenkins, and subsequently entered into an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide the necessary technical, legal and administrative assistance required for the planning and designing of such a programme.

Thus, the twelve-month project TCI/90/001, aimed at implementing a National Insurance Scheme for the Turks and Caicos Islands’ working population and their families commenced in February of 1991.The ILO appointed Mr. Demetrius Pelekanos (now deceased), former Director of the Cyprus Social Security and expert in Social Security legislation and administration as Chief Technical Advisor; Dr. Giovanni Ferrai as Actuarial Consultant; Mr. Harry Grebby as Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Consultant to ensure the full computerization of the operation prior to opening; and Training Consultant Mr. Clifford Gittens, Former Director Barbados NIS, . Mr. Trevor M. Cooke was appointed first Director of National Insurance by the Honourable Wendal Swann to understudy Pelakanos.

‘THE PEOPLE OBJECT’ Governments changed in 1991, and the introduction of the Scheme appeared to be in limbo as there was widespread opposition to the Scheme from employers, employees and the self-employed alike. Many petitions were forwarded to Government and numerous anti-national insurance articles published in local newspapers. Some employers viewed the NIS as an added tax on their already-hurting operations and threatened the Government, vowing to “close shop” and relocate else-

THE COLLECTION OF CONTRIBUTIONS

NIB Original Staff: Standing (l-r) Walter Gardiner, Peter Quelch, Consultant Clifford Gittens, Eileen Been, Trevor Cooke Sitting (l-r) Laureen Williams, Clarita Smith, Paula Roberts- Myers, Shonia Thomas- Been, Bernadette Williams where, reduce staff or reduce wages if the NIS law was passed; some employees felt that the NIS was “just another Scheme for Government to raise funds for Government”; whilst some self-employed persons questioned the necessity of NIS because they possessed adequate private health insurance.

‘GOVERNMENT SAYS “YES”’ Nevertheless, despite tremendous pressure and intense controversy the Progressive National Party agreed with the previous Government and continued with the introduction of the Scheme, appointing Honourable Michael Misick as the first Minister of National Insurance.

In October 1991, Mr. Walter F. L. Gardiner was appointed Deputy Director to assist the Director in the implementation, promotion and administration of the Scheme and in particular: • Ensure that all employed persons and employers were registered • Ensure the timely collect of all contributions due and prosecution of all defaulters • Ensure the timely and accurate payment of benefits; • Public Relations; and • Recruiting and training of staff.

Together, Trevor and I were at that time, the youngest executive management team in the region and many predicted that the Scheme would fail because of our lack of experience in the industry, giving it six months maximum to ‘flop’. Indeed, it was extremely difficult at that time recruiting staff as NIS was considered unsafe employment.

But collectively as a team, we would prove them all wrong.

RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING In December 1991, we engaged our Secretary, Mrs. Eileen Been, followed by the recruitment of an additional twelve members of staff in January 1992 in preparation for the registration deadline of February 15, 1992 and collection of contributions on April 6, 1992.

Mrs. Marie Smith - Accountant,Mrs. Shonia Thomas-Been - Junior Accountant, Mr. Delton Jones - Manager, Provo Office, Mrs. Paula Roberts-Myers - Benefits Officer, Mrs. Clarita Smith - Cashier, Ms. Bernadette Williams - Cashier, Ms. Sharon Lewis - Cashier, Ms. Joyanna Williams - Cashier, Ms. Joanne Glinton - Cashier, Mr. Peter Quelch - Compliance Officer, Mr. John Godet Compliance Officer, Ms. Laureen Williams Officer Driver.

In April 1992, the Minister appointed the first Board of Directors: Eustace Brooks, Chairman, Peter Savor, Member, Earle Malcolm, Member, James Malcolm, Member, Carlos Simons, Member, Hon. Chief Secretary Mark Forrester, Member and Hon. Financial Secretary Austin Robinson, Member.

During the first year, training was intense and included 9 overseas attachments for members of staff including the Director and Deputy Director as we absorbed all we could from the consultants to ensure the smooth introduction of the Scheme on April 6th.

REGISTRATION But

the

registration

process

The collection of contributions commenced on April 6, 1992 with offices in Grand Turk (in the first Franklyn Misick Building), Providenciales (on the top floor of the first Walkin Marine Building), and in South and North Caicos (in the District Commissioners’ Offices). Despite the increase in late payment penalties from 3% to 10% per month, many employers and self-employed persons resisted and refused to pay, resulting in the prosecution of the first of several cases in 1993.With increased public relations and compliance efforts, we actually surpassed (and continued to surpass) the actuarial projections for the first year by collecting $2.9 M in contribution income.

‘SO, HERE WE ARE TODAY’ Today, the Scheme has undeniably developed into the strongest local financial institution in the Turks and Caicos Islands with the last fiscal year’s annual contribution income exceeding $25M with a Fund balance that exceeds 170M along with an annual Total Benefits Payout in excess of 9M. Indeed, we have ‘come a long way’, growing by leaps and bounds and will continue to play a vital role in the social and economic development of these islands by “Changing The Past, and Securing The Future”.

Being blessed with competent and committed Members of the Boards of Trustees and hard working, dedicated members of staff throughout the years have allowed us to reach this very important milestone of 21 years of service today in our nation’s history and I thank all the players from inception to present for their valuable contribution to the Scheme.

May God continue to bless you as we prepare for another 21 years of service to our people.

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LOCAL NEWS CARIBBEAN WILL NOT LOSE OIL AID FROM VENEZUELA FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF HUGO CHAVEZ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

litical and economic circumstances will allow “what has been maintained only by the charisma and leadership of Hugo Chávez to be institutionalised,” he told IPS. “I doubt Maduro has the same political capability to continue developing the Bolivarian programme (of energy cooperation), or that the Venezuelan people would accept all the costs implied,” he commented.

“At some point the costs will become unsustainable,” he said.

In Dubé’s view, in contrast, for a future Maduro administration “to break its commitments would be a sign of failure, which the government will try to avoid at any cost.

“The calculation is that oil prices may rise again,” above 100 dollars a barrel because of growth in world demand, and that would enable Venezuela to keep its agreements intact, “an important factor in maintaining its ties and the influence it has over the countries that benefit from its assistance,” he said.

Dubé said that Chávez’s successor will also face greater difficulties on the domestic front, because of the demands of the Venezuelan public, in an economic environment in which several problems have accumulated, such as a high rate of inflation, the impact of the currency devaluation in February and the loss of purchasing power.

“The scenario in Venezuela is complex,” and that could cause problems for the countries that benefit from its cooperation, he said. “No other country in ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) has the energy or financial capacity to provide the support that Venezuela is giving them now,” he said.

ALBA, which currently has eight full member countries, was formed in 2004 on Chávez’s initiative, and focuses on the struggle for social inclusion and “21st century socialism”.

One of the members, Cuba, could find itself particularly affected by a change of strategy in Venezuela’s integration policy. At present it receives at least 53,000 bpd of oil on preferential terms, as part of a series of bilateral cooperation agreements.

“Aid from the Chávez administration was quite important for the Cuban economy, and the danger is that if that support disappears or diminishes, the island’s economy will take a nosedive again,” Dingemans said.

Riesco stressed that the energy agreements established by the Chávez government were not unilateral subsidies granted by Venezuela to other countries.

For instance, he said, “the favourable but reasonable long-term prices for oil supplied to Cuba are partly compensated by the significant and valuable contribution of Cuban doctors working in Venezuela.”

Dubé said as well that cooperation between Caracas and Havana is mutual, and that both countries will continue to need each other. “In political terms, Maduro needs the strategic, political and ideological support of the Castro brothers (Fidel and Raúl) to maintain his regional influence,” he said.

However, in his view, a victory for opposition candidate Capriles could bring about “a radical change in Venezuela’s foreign policy, realignment with the United States and countries with liberal (free market) economies, and an end to subsidies for Cuba and the ALBA countries.”

Riesco predicted that the policies of integration promoted by Chávez will continue in one form or another, because “they reflect the deepest strategic interests of the region and of Venezuela.”

QUEEN’S COUNSEL ARIEL MISICK WINS CASE AGAINST THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BEFORE THE PRIVY COUNCIL IN ENGLAND CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

her, the Registrar could properly have reached a decision to enter a restriction without relying on the Government’s claim to an interest in the land: “. . . what matters is whether the material in the Registrar’s possession justified the exercise of the power. If it did, the power will have been exercised lawfully”.

Emerald Cay was acquired on August 14 2006 by Emerald Cay Ltd a company incorporated in the Turks and Caicos Islands of which Mr. Timothy Blixseth was the ultimate beneficial owner. The purchase price paid by Emerald Cay Ltd was US $28million, but that the acquisition was structured through a series of agreements in such a way that the consideration stated in the transfer to Emerald Cay Ltd - and on which stamp duty was paid - was US $10million.

Yellowstone Club World LLC, another company of which Mr. Blixseth was the ultimate beneficial owner, was party to one of those agreements. On August 17 2006 Emerald Cay Ltd was registered as the proprietor of the property. On February 18 2009 Mr. Richardson was appointed by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Montana to be the Trustee of the Estate of Yellowstone Club World LLC. On March 5th 2009, as Trustee, he lodged a caution with the Registrar of Lands, pursuant to section 127 of the Registered Land Ordinance, forbidding the registration of dispositions and the making of entries in respect of the property (Emerald Cay) registered under title number 60400/219 without his consent.

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LOCAL NEWS

Virginia Clerveaux appointed to Director of Disaster Management I

n recognition of the importance of effective disaster risk management to the sustainable development of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), Dr Virginia Clerveaux will be transferred to the post of Director of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) from 1 Apr 2013, Deputy Governor the Hon. Anya Williams announced today.

Previously Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Border Control and Labour, Dr. Clerveaux’s transfer presents a sustainable solution to filling this key post and is a role that is more fitting to her skills, background and training as a disaster risk management expert.

This move is consistent with measures in Government to rationalize government services and to ensure that priority leadership positions are filled by qualified local personnel going forward.

Dr Virginia Clerveaux Both the Director and Deputy Director of DDME positions fell vacant a year ago and due to issues surrounding recruitment, TCI Government enlisted the assistance of the Jamaican Government, which provided two seconded disaster ex-

perts who not only managed the unit during this interim period, but were successful in carrying out various simulation exercises, training programs and attracting significant donor funds and stocks for the department during the last financial year.

Dr. Clerveaux is the only expert person within the CDEMA Participating States who hold a PhD specifically in Disaster Management and has received eight academic awards and recognitions for outstanding achievements and contributions to society. She holds a PhD in Disaster Management from Gumma University in Japan, an M.Phil in Geography and a BA (Hons) in Geography and Public Administration from the University of the West Indies and a Certificate in Business Continuity Management. She is a trained teacher with demonstrated effectiveness in presentation and communi-

cation. Dr has authored numerous conference/scientific papers, technical reports and peer reviewed journal articles and co-authored several books chapters. She holds membership in the TCI Red Cross, and the International Tsunami Society.

She has accumulated extensive applied experience in the field of Disaster Management nationally, regionally and extra-regionally and has previously not only served the TCI Government as Deputy Director of DDME, but has also worked as the Disaster Manager for the British Red Cross-TCI following the passage of Hurricane Ike in 2009 and at the regional level, was appointed to the post of Senior Programme Officer at the CDEMA Coordinating Unit of CARICOM, headquartered in Barbados Prior to her appointment as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of GSS and then later Border Control and Labour (BCL).

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LOCAL NEWS

ARTHUR BEEN

RUSSELL COX

TAMERA ROBINSON

Three New Deputy Secretaries Appointed T

hree Turks and Caicos Islanders have been appointed as Deputy Secretaries in the Turks and Caicos Islands Government.

Next to Permanent Secretaries (PSs), the Deputies are the second most senior civil servant in each ministry and often have to deputize for PSs in the event of their absence from duty.

The three new Deputy Secretaries are: • Arthur Been – Ministry of Finance, Trade and Tourism • Tamera Robinson – Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture • Russell Cox – Ministry of Government Support Services Arthur Been began employment with TCIG in

1991 as an Indirect Tax Officer and has held several positions throughout Government during the last 20 years, including the: Under Secretary Finance, Permanent Secretary Trade and Tourism and most recently the Director of the Trade in the Ministry of Finance.

Tamera Robinson also having 20 years experience in Government began her career with TCIG in 1988 as a Secretary, before becoming a teacher in 1996 and most recently an Education Officer in the Ministry of Education primarily responsible for Private Schools.

Russell Cox joined the civil service in 1993 as a Teacher before becoming a senior Architectural Technician in the Public Works Department in

2003, and most recently Head of Building Design and Technology Studies at TCI Community College.

Commenting on this appointment Deputy Governor Hon. Anya Williams said: “All of these persons bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience to their new roles. They in all cases have dedicated over 20 years of service to TCIG and I am sure will do quite well in helping to fulfil the mandate of their respective ministries.

I take this opportunity to congratulate them on their new appointments and to wish them every success in helping TCIG further improve its service to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

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National High School Track The 2013 National High School Athletics Championships which was held at the National Stadium in Providenciales between Sunday, March 10 and Tuesday, March 12, saw a number of creditable performances, especially by

Jeremy Thompson of the Marjorie Basden High School attempts to clear the bar in the high jump event

previously unknown students. Clement Howell High emerged the winner of this year’s championship. The following are photo highlights of the event.

Colby Jennings of Majorie Basden clears the high jump bar

Champion jumper Edwin Forbes makes the winning leap in the high Walky Jeanty of HJ Robinson High races to the finish line in the 800 Boys 15 and Under event

The lanky Stenry Jean of HJ Robinson High clears the bar in the high jump event

jump event. Forbes cleared the bar at 1.80m

Kadine Delphin of the Clement Howell High School canters to the finish line ahead of the pack in the Girls 17 and Under 800m event

Ishmael Louis Raymond Gardiner High attempts to clear the bar in the high jump event

The 800 Girls 17 and Under event event

Athletes compete in the 800 Boys 15 and Under event

Girls 20 and Under 800m event. Desir won the event in convincing fashion

Randy Rigby of the Clement Howell High School spreads eagle as he is about to cross the finish line in the Boys 800m 17 and Under event

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and Field championship

Darly Francois (left) of HJ Robinson High takes the Class 2 Boys 200m race

Colby Jennings(second left) of the Majorie Basden High School races to the finish line ahead of his competitors in the Boys class 4 Boys 200m event

The Boys 17 and Under 800m event

Junior Fils-Aime (second right) of the Clement Howell High School races to the line ahead of the field in the Boys Class One 200m race

Clement Howell has the first baton change in the Girls mile relay

Phiginie Desir (second right) of the Raymond Gardiner High School leads the pack in the Luke Cox of HJ Robinson shows his class in the Boys 20 and Under 400m race as he sails towards the finish line with little competition

Leonardia Rolle won Holy Family’s first ever gold medal after she outclassed the field in the Class 2 Girls class 200m

Heley-ann Sauver of Raymond Gardiner High School dashes for the finish line ahead of the field in the Girls Class 3 200m event

Minister for Education, Youth and Sport Hon. Akierra Misick could not hide her glee after presenting champions the Clement Howell High School with championship trophy, as children and teachers celebrate.

The Class 4 Girls 200m was intense

Star girl Akia Guerrier landed the 800m Girls Medley. Guerrier ran that race unattached, as her British West Indies Collegiate Team was pulled from the race by the school administration, on the final day

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Taylor Swift

I knew you were trouble Once upon time A few mistakes ago I was in your sights You got me alone You found me You found me You found me I guess you didn’t care And I guess I liked that And when I fell hard You took a step back Without me, without me, without me And he’s long gone When he’s next to me And I realize the blame is on me Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in So shame on me now Flew me to places i’d never been Till you put me down oh I knew you were trouble when you walked in So shame on me now Flew me to places i’d never been

Now i’m lying on the cold hard ground Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

Flew me to places i’d never been Now i’m lying on the cold hard ground Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

No apologies He’ll never see you cry Pretend he doesn’t know That he’s the reason why You’re drowning, you’re drowning, you’re drowning

When your sadest fear comes creeping in That you never loved me or her or anyone or anything Yeah

And I heard you moved on From whispers on the street A new notch in your belt Is all I’ll ever be And now I see, now I see, now I see He was long gone When he met me And I realize the joke is on me

I knew you were trouble when you walked in So shame on me now Flew me to places I’d never been Till you put me down oh I knew you were trouble when you walked in So shame on me now Flew me to places i’d never been Now i’m lying on the cold hard ground Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

I knew you were trouble when you walked in So shame on me now Flew me to places i’d never been Till you put me down oh I knew you were trouble when you walked in So shame on me now

I knew you were trouble when you walked in Trouble, trouble, trouble I knew you were trouble when you walked in Trouble, trouble, trouble!

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GOVERNMENT OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS BASIC NEEDS TRUST FUND SEVENTH (BNTF 7) PROJECT CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR: REVISION & UPDATING OF THE POVERTY REDUCTION ACTION PLAN (PRAP) REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands (GOTCI) has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards the cost of financing the BNTF 7 Project and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under a contract for which this invitation is issued. Payments by CDB will be made only at the request of GOTCI and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement. The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than GOTCIshall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.

Basic Needs Trust Fund Office (BNTFO), the Executing Agency, now wishes to procure consultancy services for the revision and updating of the Poverty Reduction Action Plan (PRAP).

The objective of the consultancy is to review and update the BNTF 7 PRAP which provides the mechanism for targeting poor communities linked closely to wider national policies and development priorities and strategies aimed at reducing poverty. This will be achieved through the review of the Government’s National Socio-economic Development Strategy (2008-2017); Medium Term Socio-economic Development Framework (2008-2010); National Development Strategy 2011 and other credible data sources; conduct of interviews with a wide range of key stakeholders including government officials, NGOs and community groups; and the development of specific actions for BNTF interventions supported by an implementation plan and results framework. The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period of eight weeks.

BNTFO now invites interested eligible individual consultants to submit Expressions of Interest indicating qualifications and experience required to provide these consultancy services.

Consultants shall be eligible to participate if: (a) the persons are citizens or bona fide resident or residents of an eligible country; and (b) in all cases, the consultant has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country.

Eligible countries are member countries of CDB. In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to qualifications and experience on similar assignments. All information must be submitted in English. Further information may be obtained from the first address below between the hours of 9:00a.m and 4:30p.m. Mondayto Friday.

Two hard copies of the Expressions of Interest must be received at the first address below no later than 12:00 noon on Wednesday the 27th of March, 2013 and one copy must be sent simultaneously to CDB at the second address below.

The sealed envelope containing each submission should include the name and address of the applicant and shall be clearly marked, “Expression of Interest- Consultancy Services forthe Revision and Updating of the PRAP - TCI”.

Following the assessment of submissions, the most technically capable and appropriately experienced applicant will be invited to negotiate a contract to provide the consultancy services. GOTCI reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not short-listing any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.

Address 1 Ms.Salace Richardson Project Manager, BNTF c/o Department of Economic Planning and Statistics South Base Grand Turk Turks and Caicos Islands

Address 2 Mrs.Darran Newman Belgrave Portfolio Manager, BNTF Social Sector Division Caribbean Development Bank P.O. Box 408 Wildey St. Michael BARBADOS Fax: +246-426-7269 Email: bntf@caribank.org

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FUN&GAMES

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News CARIBBEAN

New work permit policy is flexible, says Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie

N

ASSAU -- Prime Minister Perry Christie said he expects some business owners to say they can no longer operate in The Bahamas because of the government’s impending changes to its immigration policy, and added that while the move will give Bahamians more jobs, the changes are not set in stone.

Christie said he has an open door policy for business owners and investors who have questions about the government’s work permit policy or a legitimate reason why foreign workers should be hired over Bahamians in key areas.

Earlier this week, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell said the government plans to stop granting work permits for maids, housekeepers and laborers within a year.

He said that category makes up the bulk of work permit applications at the Department of Immigration. The government is also pledging greater scrutiny of work permits beyond domestic helpers and residential laborers.

Christie stressed that his government would not impose any policies that would derail economic growth and recovery. However, he said his administration is grappling with high unemployment while issuing thousands of work permits for jobs Bahamians can fill, which is the basis for the policy change.

“We know that we must do nothing to cause any kind of reduction, any kind of halt to the progress we are making,” he told The Nassau Guardian yesterday. “We know that we are going to act responsibly, and so therefore it is not a question for us of intending to make decisions that are harmful to the economy or will cause the economy to go into a tailspin. That is something we know we will avoid because we must.”

Prime Minister of The Bahamas Perry Christie Christie welcomed public discourse on the work permit issue but said focus must be put on long term national development and ensuring Bahamians are involved in more aspects of the economy.

“It is good for the concerns to be expressed in the way they are being expressed,” he said. “I expect some people to announce that they can no longer do business, but there comes a time in a country when I think a great effort has to be made to stimulate thought and reflection on where we ought to be going.

“We have an obligation that was based on the consultation we had with the Bahamian people who supported us to do our very best to integrate into meaningful positions in our economy as many Bahamians as we possibly can. And we know we must do it collaboratively and not imposing it upon people.

“To those areas where people have protest-

ed to me I will make the necessary inquires and if there is something we have to fix, I will fix it.”

He added that those who have concerns over the policy should speak to him before making assumptions.

“We are partners and I would expect that if a minister of the government makes a particular point that they regard as harmful, if they are unaware of what he is intending by making the point, then they should speak to the minister or myself with a view of getting full clarification,” he said when asked about concerns from the hotel sector.

After Mitchell’s announcement, President and Managing Director at Atlantis George Markantonis said officials at the hotel are “very concerned” by the looming change. He said the current foreign staff complement at the hotel is “critical” to Paradise Island’s success.

Robert ‘Sandy’ Sands, senior vice president of administration and external affairs at Baha Mar, called for more clarity on the work permit issue.

Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney called the government’s plans “extreme” and lacking in foresight.

Christie said he had a recent meeting with Markantonis, who outlined Atlantis’ growth and contributions to the economy. He added that he did not think the impending work permit changes would harm Atlantis’ operations.

The prime minister also acknowledged that there are legitimate concerns over delays in work permit processing. He said he promised to look into work permit delays for a particular restaurant franchise and see what resolution he could bring to the matter.

St Vincent Government says US$80 million needed to complete international airport K

INGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says his administration intends to raise US$80 million this year to complete the US$280 million international airport.

Prime Minister Gonsalves told Parliament that the funds would be raised from loans, land sales and departure taxes.

Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Finance, said an international commercial bank, which

he did not identify, has approved US$5.498 million to finance the control tower.

“We’ve reached the stage where we are identifying what we are doing to complete what,” he said, noting that the bank had also approved in principle another US$3.5 million for equipment.

He said US$30 million is needed to acquire the equipment.

“So, if the numbers seem a little elevated from what they were before, [it is] because it involves

more equipment,” he told lawmakers.

Gonsalves said that when he attended the funeral of former Venezuela president Hugo Chavez in Caracas last week, the ALBA Bank said the last US$10 million of a US$50 million loan would be available next month and a further US$10 million is expected from the PetroCaribe initiative.

Gonsalves is estimating that EC$4.5 million (One EC dollar =

US$0.37 cents) would come from departure taxes.

Gonsalves criticised his detractors who said the US$80 million would not have been raised.

“And I have seen it plastered all about that they don’t know it is going to be raised. Well, it is not just a question of where there is a will there is a way; but you use your creative juices, your creative faculties, as we have done at every occasion, and we get there.

And we are in the final leg.”

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

Cayman Islands political candidates questioned on secret society memberships A

political issue that can often be heard bubbling under the surface of Cayman Islands politics entered the public domain during a recent debate held at the University College of the Cayman Islands.

Five candidates were asked whether they should be required to declare their membership in private groups “that are often deemed secret” prior to running for office.

At present, Cayman’s Register of Interests Law requires political candidates and elected politicians to declare all directorships, whether they are compensated or not. However, membership in organisations such as the Masonic Lodge, often referred to as the Freemasons, is not disclosed.

Of the five candidates participating in the recent UCCI debate, only one, Wayne Panton, a People’s Progressive Movement candidate in Bodden Town, said he was a member of the Masonic Lodge, although “to the discontent of the membership” he said he had not attended a meeting in years.

“If there are potential conflicts in relation to directorships which relate to interests with government, yes [those should be declared],” Mr. Panton said. “I don’t see that there’s a need to go beyond that.

“In relation to the Masonic Lodge and things

of that sort, I don’t see what bearing that has ... any more than it has with somebody who is Rotarian or a Lion or anything like that.”

Calling the societies “secret” in the 21st Century information-driven world may be a bit of a stretch. The district Grand Lodge of the Freemasons in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, for example, has its own webpage defining Freemason as “a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols”.

The website contains the names of some of the group’s leading members and also a phone number to contact for those seeking more information.

“You will find that freemasonry is not a secret society at all; proudly and publicly tracing its heritage back hundreds of years,” the website states.

“We take good men and make them better. Freemasonry is a lifelong commitment to improving the individual, and by extension therefore, the environment and communities within which we live.”

Mr. Panton echoed the sentiment: “Anybody who understands what the lodge is, it’s about improving people, improving their character. That’s all it is.”

However, those browsing the political literature available in the public domain will quickly

PM of Dominica wins legal fight over dual citizenship R

OSEAU, Dominica — The prime minister of Dominica on Monday won a four-year legal battle over whether his French citizenship disqualified him and his education minister from running for office under the Constitution of the small, eastern Caribbean country.

Two members of the opposition United Workers Party had filed suit challenging whether Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and Education Minister Petter Saint Jean had the legal right to run in the December 2009 election, claiming the pair had French passports and that they had thus sworn allegiance to a foreign country.

Skerrit and Saint Jean were both born in Dominica, but their mothers had French citizenship and they acquired it through them.

Both men declined to say whether they had French passports but denied ever swearing allegiance to another country.

Opposition members Ronald Green and Maynard Joseph first filed suit in Dominica, but the court dismissed their case.

The judge ruled that they failed to prove the prime minister and his minister had French passports and the courts had no authority to make them prove otherwise.

Maynard and Green appealed to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme

Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit Court, which upheld the lower court on Monday in a unanimous decision. Anthony Astaphan, the lead counsel for Skerrit, said the government was happy the case was finally over.

“We are very, very happy for the decision,” Astaphan said. “This was a dishonest campaign of the UWP and the Dominica Freedom Party.

It was all a political machination of the opposition.” Challenges over the citizenship of a political figure have become common in the Caribbean, where many people acquire passports in other countries so they can travel abroad to work or go to school. In one of the best known cases, in March 2012, President Michel Martelly of Haiti displayed his Haitian passport on national television to quell rumors that he had become an American citizen and given up his Haitian citizenship.

find that membership in such “secret societies” is often discussed during campaigns such as this submission from the Australian website, the Age: “In Britain [in 2001-2002, some interest has been expressed about the role of the Freemasonry in the police force and judicial system. No skeletons have been unearthed, but the matter was considered serious enough to warrant examination by the House of Commons home affairs committee.”

In the Cayman Islands context, Deputy Premier Rolston Anglin said the discussion of secret society disclosures wasn’t a major issue.

“Am I a member of a lodge? No, I’m not a member of a lodge,” Mr. Anglin said. “Whether a person is a member of a lodge or not, it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in my opinion. Let’s deal with public policies; what’s going to be best for education, best for health services ... best to build this community.”

The other three candidates who participated in the debate, the Coalition for Cayman’s Roy McTaggart and Jacqueline Haynes, as well as the PPM’s Marco Archer, said they were not members of any Masonic lodge or “secret society”.

“I don’t even think I’m even allowed to be in the lodge,” Ms Haynes joked, although it does appear from the Freemasons website that only men are allowed as members.

Dominican Republic to inspect mine shipments S

ANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A Canadian joint venture operating one of the world’s largest gold mines and the government of the Dominican Republic reached an agreement Friday to inspect the company’s exports, ending a standoff that halted a shipment valued at nearly $12 million.

The agreement between Barrick Pueblo Viejo and Dominican customs officials comes as the government tries to pressure the joint venture to renegotiate its royalty agreement and turn over more of its profits.

Customs agents detained the shipment of 6,000 ounces of gold and 30,000 ounces of silver on Wednesday at an airport in Santo Domingo. Fernandez said the company would not allow the cargo to be inspected, telling agents that the seals could not be broken until the shipment reached its destination.

He also said some of the information on their documents appeared to be incorrect.

Customs Director Fernando Fernandez announced after meeting with Barrick officials that an agreement had been reached and the shipment could be inspected as early as Monday.

Barrick Pueblo Viejo’s director of government relations, Mexico Angeles, said the government was

seeking additional information about the shipments and the company would provide it. “Everything was straightened out,” he said.

In addition to information on this shipment, Fernandez said he had wanted more details about the approximately 14 previous ones that the company made between November and March.

The mine venture is 60 percent owned by the Barrick Gold Corp. of Toronto and 40 percent by Goldcorp Inc. of Vancouver. The companies last year reopened the Pueblo Viejo after investing nearly $4 billion, the largest direct foreign investment ever in the Dominican Republic.

In recent months, Dominican lawmakers and President Danilo Medina have called on the company to renegotiate the royalty contract signed in 2009. The company has said it is a legally binding contract but it is willing to discuss measures to help the Dominican Republic with its budget deficit.

Under the contract, Barrick Pueblo Viejo has estimated it will pay about $7 billion over the estimated 25-year life of the mine to the government. In addition, it has spent more than $4 million to clean up contamination left behind by the previous operators of the mine.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

High court judge calls for review of Barbados drug laws A

ttorney General and Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite admitted yesterday to having had doubts about whether Barbados was winning the drug war.

He was speaking at the opening of a National Consultation on the Anti-Drug Plan that later heard a High Court judge recommending the legalising of certain drugs for personal use.

Brathwaite lamented what he said was the widescale use of marijuana.

“Now it is not just the boys on the block [smoking marijuana] but the girls on the block too. If you go to football games across Barbados, it is almost the norm. There was a time when the boys used to hide but now boys and girls openly smoking.

“There was a time I thought we were losing this fight when I used to see marijuana being used openly in communities but I am not sure how I feel about it this morning,” he said.

Brathwaite also said it would be difficult to access assistance without a plan and his major concern was saving the youth.

Addressing the consultation at lunch, Justice Randall Worrell said the drug laws needed to be reviewed.

Barbadian High Court Judge Randall Worrell “ This might cause a little indigestion but I think we have to look at being realistic. Drug laws would have to be reviewed to decriminalize drug use and possession for personal use.

That is the approach that is being taken in other parts of the world,” the judge told participants at the Amaryllis Beach Resort, Hastings, Christ Church.

Worrell said such an approach would ease

some of the congestion plaguing the court system.

“Do we really want to clog up the criminal justice system? Alternatives to incarceration should also be implemented for low-level and non-violent drug related crimes. These are things we have to look at if we are going to set up a drug treatment court,” he said.

Worrell added that drug dependency should be viewed as a public health issue rather than a criminal one.

“Do we have treatment programmes outside of the criminal justice system developed for people who are dependent on drugs but have not committed a crime?

“If you say a drug treatment court relates to ones who have committed a crime, what about the ones who are drug dependent who have not committed a crime?” he queried.

The judge said it was necessary for Barbados to improve its institutional capacity to deal with everyone who was drug dependent, whether criminals or not. This, he said, might result in catching some people before they got into the criminal justice system.

Cops involved in Tax evasion shooting death of costing Bermuda Caribbean youth named millions in several lawsuits H N EW YORK – The two New York police officers allegedly involved in the shooting death of a 16-year-old Caribbean youth have been named in several federal lawsuits ranging from civil rights violations and false arrests, according to court documents released here.

The court documents show that Sgt. Mourad Mourad was slapped with three lawsuits while he was a plainclothes cop on Staten Island, New York, and Officer Jovaniel Cordova had two while serving at Brooklyn’s 70th Police Precinct.

The documents show the lawsuits allege civil rights violations, including illegal stop and search and false arrest.

Prosecutors later dismissed all but one of the arrests against the six plaintiffs, and the criminal cases were sealed.

Last Saturday, police said that 16 year-old Kimani “kiki” Gray, whose mother is Jamaican and father Guyanese, was shot dead by undercover police in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, sparking three consecutive days of riot in the predominantly Caribbean district.

Police claimed that Kimani had pointed a gun at the two plain clothes officers, but family members and eyewitnesses disputed

that claim.

Police said they have arrested more than 50 people as a result of fights between law enforcement officials and angry youths following Kimani’s killing.

The NYPD said Mourad and Cordova have been placed on desk duty while the department and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Gray’s death.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said Gray was shot after he pointed a .38-caliber revolver at the sergeant and police officer, who had approached a group of youths on the street.

One eyewitness said she saw the shooting from her apartment window and that the teen did not have a gun in his hand.

But NYPD’s Internal Affairs investigators said she had previously told them that she couldn’t see what the kids were doing “from the angle I was at”.

Earlier this week, Gray’s mother, Carol Gray, denied reports that her son was a member of the Bloods street gang, adding, however, that he wasn’t “everybody’s angel.

“Any time a group of kids get together, they call it a gang,” she said.

AMILTON, Bermuda – The Bermuda government is losing almost 10 % of its estimated revenue for the financial year to citizens dodging their payroll tax obligations.

According to Caribbean Media Corporation reports, a Finance Ministry spokesperson said the government is looking for US$85 million in unpaid taxes, which is the total amount of unpaid tax receivables more than 90 days old at the end of 2012.

The bulk of the figure, which does not include social insurance contributions, comes from unpaid payroll tax and represents almost 10 per cent of governments estimated $871 million revenue for the coming financial year.

The Ministry of Finance official blamed a tax culture for the failure of some to pay taxes, adding that a downturn in the economy in recent years had also had an impact.

This problem existed before the economic shift in 2008 but has certainly been magnified in recent years, the spokesman said, adding that it is true that there are some taxpayers who simply are not able to meet their obligations due to the financial predicament they are in, but there are also others who choose not to and will do everything possible to beat the system.

The administration of debt col-

lection is time-consuming and costly. However, every effort is made to contact delinquent taxpayers, make arrangements to settle the outstanding debt and if necessary, proceed with court action, the spokesperson said.

The official also warned that tax dodgers could face a jail sentence for non-payment, and that government is prepared to enforce the full penalties allowed within the current legislative framework.

Those convicted under the 1970 Contributory Pensions Act can be jailed for up to six months and fined US$10,000.

Finance Minister Bob Richards recently acknowledged that many businesses were struggling to pay off their tax bills in a timely fashion because of an ongoing, fouryear recession.

He said officials were willing to work with companies in arrears, but would also hunt down tax dodgers in a bid to collect funds.

He said that had the US$85 million been paid on time, governments cash flow would have improved considerably, reducing its need for borrowing.

The government’s debt ceiling is being extended to US$2.5 billion, and US$331 million will have to be borrowed to cover the cost of running the country over the next 12 months.

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News W

RLD

Pakistan Government Steps Down

I

SLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s fragile democracy reached a milestone on Saturday when the government stepped down at the end of its five-year term, setting the stage for elections due to take place by mid-May. The action was a first in a country where the powerful military has regularly ousted civilian governments, either directly through coups or indirectly through constitutional maneuvers, and it offered hope that the parliamentary system was maturing.

Still, a faltering economy and widespread militant violence have left many Pakistanis grumbling about the lack of tangible dividends from democracy, and the governing Pakistan Peoples Party, whose performance has been widely criticized, will face a strong challenge from the opposition leader, the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

In a televised address to the nation that was heavily steeped in his party’s history, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf defended his government’s record. Talks with the opposition over the formation of a caretaker administration, which would run the country until the elections, were continuing, he said.

A peaceful transfer of power to a new government would be a political victory of sorts for President Asif Ali Zardari, the party co-chairman, who has confounded regular predictions of the demise of his government over the past five years.

A good showing by his party in the election may

help him win re-election when his terms expires next September. (Pakistan’s president is indirectly elected by the national and regional assemblies).

Recent polls indicate that the party of Mr. Sharif, who was ousted in a military coup in 1999, is the favorite to win the vote. A Gallup poll in February gave his party 27 percent support, with the Pakistan Peoples Party running a distant second.

Since analysts say he is unlikely to muster an outright majority, a range of ethnic, regional and religious parties could hold the balance of power in determining a coalition government.

Other personalities and factors are also expected to play a role. The cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who has campaigned heavily against corruption and in opposition to American drone strikes, hopes to eat into Mr. Sharif’s support base in Punjab Province, which accounts for over half of the 272 elected seats in Parliament.

The former military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has vowed to return from exile on March 24 to contest the election, even though he faces criminal prosecution in court cases related to his rule between 1999 and 2008.

And Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri, a charismatic preacher who led thousands of supporters into central Islamabad for a protracted sit-in last January, says he will help ensure the integrity of the election.

In a crucial development, the army chief, Gen.

Egypt vigilantes hang 2 thieves in public C

AIRO — Egyptian vigilantes beat two men accused of stealing a motorized rickshaw, stripped them half-naked and hung them by their feet in a crowded bus station in the Nile Delta on Sunday, according to security officials. Both men died.

A witness said some in the crowd of about 3,000 people who watched the lynchings egged them on with chants of “kill them!”

The lynchings came a week after the attorney general’s office encouraged civilians to arrest lawbreakers and hand them over to police.

It was one of the most extreme cases of vigilantism in two years of sharp deterioration in security following Egypt’s 2011 uprising. The worsening security coupled with a police strike prompted the attorney general’s call for citizen arrests last week.

The scene was emblematic of the chaos that is sweeping the country, mired in protests over a range of social, economic and political problems and with security breaking down to frightening proportions.

The state-run newspaper Ahram reported on its website that the two men were dragged in the street after being caught “red-handed” trying to steal a rickshaw.

It said they were beaten but alive before they were hung.

Witnesses claimed the men had kidnapped a girl inside the rickshaw, but that she escaped unharmed.

A photographer who witnessed the scene told The Associated Press that some in the crowd of around 3,000 threatened to kill him if he took pictures of the lynching.

He said that women and children in the crowd watched the men being hung by their feet, and that some even chanted in support of the lynching.

Residents also threatened to lynch another two men accused of being involved in the rickshaw theft.

Photographs from the scene show the two men hanging upside down from a rafter in their underwear at an open-air bus station in the town of Samanod, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of Cairo. They appear badly beaten. Some initial reports said they were hung from a tree but photos from the scene showed it was a rafter.

Other photographs show the men then lying on the ground dead in their underwear, with ropes around their feet. Their bodies are covered in dirt, bruises, blood and lacerations as a group of angry looking men gathered around them. One man in the crowd grasped a knife in one fist and another held up a bloodied wooden stick.

Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, has emphasized that he fully supports the elections, and there are few indications that the military is backing any one party.

“The military is apparently standing aloof and letting the battle be fought among politicians, which is a rare thing and a healthy one,” said Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.

The often stormy relationship between Pakistan and the United States has been relatively placid in recent months, although widespread public hostility toward Washington may be mobilized for political gain.

Last week, Mr. Zardari and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran held a ceremony to commemorate the start of construction in Pakistan of a gas pipeline between the two countries, which has been bitterly opposed by the Obama administration and could, if completed, lead to economic sanctions against Pakistan.

Analysts, however, say the pipeline will take years to complete, and the ceremony may have been dictated by political considerations.

“Perceived or real defiance of American power is perceived to be a plus in Pakistan,” Mr. Mehboob said.

The political system last week was gripped by speculation about the identity of the caretaker prime minister, who will lead an interim administration in the prelude to the elections.

CHINESE LEADERS PROMISE TO TACKLE CORRUPTION AND WASTE

B

EIJING — China’s newly installed president and premier resolved Sunday to tackle corruption — a key frustration among the Chinese — as the country completed its once-adecade leadership transition.

At the close of the annual session of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, party leader and President Xi Jinping, 59, pledged his government would “resolutely reject formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance, and resolutely fight against corruption and other misconduct in all manifestations.”

To win back public trust, Premier Li Keqiang, 57, promised a cleaner, more efficient government, where the law “holds a sacred place in society no matter who you are,” he said.

Beijing will cut official spending on banquets, foreign trips and cars, reduce the government payroll, build no new offices or guesthouses and “establish a sound mechanism so officials are unable to and dare not to practice corruption,” Li said.

But Li offered no direct response to calls by some NPC deputies, academics and members of the public to force officials and their families to disclose assets.

On the recent allegations of Chinese army-backed hacking against U.S. businesses and other organizations, Li said, “We should not make groundless accusations against each other” but instead work to improve cybersecurity. He repeated Beijing’s argument that China is also a major victim of hacking attacks.

More broadly, Li stressed that “common interests will far outweigh any differences” between the USA and China.

The National Party Congress session saw its nearly 3,000 handpicked delegates vote in single-candidate “elections” for the top state jobs that, in reality, had been decided years ago by the ruling Communist Party and were confirmedat a major conclave in November 2012.

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WORLD NEWS

Zimbabwe moves toward elections after vote on Mugabe’s powers N

ORTON, Zimbabwe - Zimbabweans look set to endorse a new constitution curbing the presidency, early results showed on Sunday, in a step toward elections to determine whether Robert Mugabe adds to three decades in power.

While the vote on the constitution, which will limit the number of times a president can serve, was largely free from violence, police raided an office of Mugabe arch-rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and arrested five people.

Early results posted outside polling stations showed voters had overwhelmingly backed the new document as expected, although polls were marked by low turnout. Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai, rivals in the election expected in the second half of this year, had backed the new constitution.

After a violent and disputed vote in 2008, Mugabe was pushed into a power-sharing deal with Tsvangirai, who made the referendum a condition of that deal.

The new charter would set a maximum of two five-year terms for the president. The limit will not apply retroactively, so Mugabe could rule for another two terms.

Presidential decrees will also require majority backing in the cabinet, and declaring emergency rule or dissolving parliament will need the approval of two-thirds of lawmakers, changes that will take effect after the next election.

Mugabe, who has led since independence in 1980 and is Africa’s oldest leader at 89, has been accused of violence against opponents and under-

mining the cabinet and parliament.

While ordinary Zimbabweans appeared relieved by the peaceful vote, talk of elections was mixed with concern about a possible return to violence that has marred polls since 2000.

“This is a big step I tell you but we now need to clean our dirty and violent politics,” said Edgar Tazivei in the affluent Twinlakes suburb.

More than two million people voted, compared to six million eligible, said electoral official Rita Makarau. Results were being verified and officials have five days to announce them.

Local radio said most people voted in favor of the draft constitution. Results at one polling station near Norton, 48 km west of Harare, showed 91 percent of voters backed the charter.

Israeli premier names new defense minister J

ERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed on Sunday a hardline former military chief as the country’s new defense minister.

Moshe Yaalon, a former army commando, has said Iran’s suspect nuclear program is Israel’s top security concern, though he has been vague about whether Israel might carry out a military strike on Iran. He also has voiced skepticism about the chances for reaching peace with the Palestinians.

Yaalon, widely known by his nickname “Bogie,” was Israel’s military chief from 2002 to 2005.

He oversaw Israel’s army operations during the bloody years of the second Palestinian uprising when Palestinian bombers killed Israeli civilians and Israel’s army conducted military incursions into Palestinian cities.

Yaalon also prepared Israel’s military for the country’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

He did not support the decision to remove Israel’s military installations and settlements from the Palestinian territory, and retired shortly before the withdrawal took place. After retiring, Yaalon briefly served as an expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

For the past four years, Yaalon served as both vice premier and strategic affairs minister in Is-

Moshe Yaalon rael’s outgoing government. In those positions, Yaalon was a member of Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet, which dealt with sensitive matters and

played a leading role in monitoring Iran’s nuclear program.

Israel believes that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon — a charge that Tehran denies. Netanyahu has repeatedly hinted that Israel might strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if it concludes that international sanctions and diplomacy have failed to curb the Iranian nuclear program. Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran a mortal threat, citing Iranian calls for Israel’s destruction and its support for anti-Israel militant groups.

“The most dangerous threat today is the nuclear threat on the part of Iran, which is working to achieve regional hegemony,” Yaalon said in a recent interview. “It is impossible to deal with the Middle Eastern instability without dealing with this threat.”

“It must be at the top of our priorities,” even ahead of the conflict with the Palestinians, he said in the interview. “We need to prepare for defending ourselves.”

Yaalon has been vague about whether Israel would strike Iran on its own. He is believed to favor military action only if it is coordinated with the U.S. The topic is expected to be high on the agenda when President Barack Obama visits Israel later this week.

US soldier accused of Afghan killings faces “sanity” review S

EATTLE (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier charged with killing 16 civilians, most of them women and children, near his Army post in Afghanistan is set to undergo a medical review on Sunday to determine his state of mind at the time of the killings and ability to stand trial.

The review, known in the military as a “sanity board,” will be conducted by three doctors at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, and will be completed by May 1, according to a U.S. Army spokesman.

Prosecutors are seeking the death

penalty against Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan who is accused of gunning down the villagers in cold blood during two rampages through their family compounds in Kandahar province last March.

Army prosecutors say Bales, a 39year old father of two, acted alone and with “chilling premeditation” when, armed with a pistol, a rifle and a grenade launcher, he left his base twice in the night, returning in the middle of his rampage to tell a fellow soldier: “I just shot up some people.”

The shootings marked the worst case of civilian slaughter blamed on a rogue U.S. soldier since the Vietnam War and further eroded strained U.S.-Afghan relations after more than a decade of conflict in that country.

Defense lawyers have not set out an alternative theory of what happened on the night of the shootings, but have focused on Bales’ fragile mental state.

Bales’ lead civilian attorney John Henry Browne said in January that government documents showed Bales had been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress dis-

order (PTSD) and a brain injury before his deployment in Afghanistan in 2011.

After hearing preliminary evidence in November, military judge Colonel Jeffery Nance determined that Bales should face a court martial, which is due to begin in September.

At Bales’ arraignment in January, Browne’s team entered no plea and told Nance they were preparing a possible “mental health defense.”

Nance said such a defense would require a formal psychiatric evaluation, and ordered a sanity board review.

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WORLD NEWS

Venezuela to probe Chavez cancer poisoning accusation V

enezuela will set up a formal inquiry into claims that the late President Hugo Chavez’s cancer was the result of poisoning by his enemies abroad, the government said.

Foes of the government view the accusation as a typical Chavez-style conspiracy theory intended to feed fears of “imperialist” threats to Venezuela’s socialist system and distract people from daily problems.

Still, acting President Nicolas Maduro vowed to open an investigation into the claims, first raised by Chavez himself after he was diagnosed with the disease in 2011.

“We will seek the truth,” Maduro told regional TV network Telesur. “We have the intuition that our commander Chavez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted him out of the way.”

Foreign scientists will be invited to join a state committee to probe the accusation, he said.

Maduro, 50, is Chavez’s handpicked successor and is running as the government’s candidate in a snap presidential election on April 14 that was triggered by the president’s death last week.

He is trying to keep voters’ attention firmly focused on Chavez to benefit from the outpouring of grief among his millions of supporters. The opposition is centering its campaign on portraying Maduro, a former bus driver, as an incompetent who, they say, is exploiting Chavez’s demise.

“Let’s take the president (Chavez) away from the political debate out of respect for his memory, his family, his supporters,” opposition candidate Henrique Capriles’ campaign chief Henri Falcon told reporters.

Polls from before Chavez’s death gave Maduro a lead over Capriles of more than 10 percentage points. Capriles lost to Chavez by 11 percentage points in October last year.

ACCUSATIONS FLYING In an increasingly acrimonious campaign, both sides on Tuesday accused each other of planning violence.

The opposition displayed photos circulating on the Internet showing an assault rifle and a pistol being held up to a TV screen that was broadcasting Capriles’ face.

They also said there were indications of plans to attack Capriles when he was scheduled to register his candidacy on Monday. In the end, aides went instead.

Government spokesmen repeated accusations that opposition activists planned to disrupt Maduro’s campaign.

Trying to discredit Capriles, they also waved photos of a plush New York apartment they said belonged to him, and copies of university documents that they said showed he never completed a law degree.

Capriles, a 40-year-old business-friendly regional governor running for the opposition’s Democratic Unity coalition, is trying to disassociate Maduro from Chavez in voters’ minds.

“He’s attacking Nicolas Maduro, saying Nicolas is not Chavez,” senior Socialist Party official and Maduro’s campaign chief Jorge Rodriguez said.

“Of course Nicolas isn’t Chavez. But he is his faithful, responsible, revolutionary son. All these insults and vilification are going to be turned into

In Brazil, a mix of racial openness and exclusion R

IO DE JANEIRO — Many Brazilians cast their country as racial democracy where people of different groups long have intermarried, resulting in a large mixed-race population. But you need only turn on the TV, open the newspaper or stroll down the street to see clear evidence of segregation.

In Brazil, whites are at the top of the social pyramid, dominating professions of wealth, prestige and power. Dark-skinned people are at the bottom of the heap, left to clean up after others and take care of their children and the elderly.

The 2010 census marked the first time in which black and mixed-race people officially outnumbered whites, weighing in at just over 50 percent, compared with 47 percent for whites. Researchers suggest that Brazil actually may have been a majority-nonwhite country for some time, with the latest statistics reflecting a decreased social stigma that makes it easier for nonwhites to report their actual race.

It is a mix of anomalies in Brazil that offers lessons to a United States now in transition to a “majority-minority” nation: how racial integration in social life does not always translate to economic equality, and how centuries of racial mixing are no guaranteed route to a colorblind society.

Nearly all TV news anchors in Brazil are white, as are the vast majority of doctors, dentists, fashion models and lawyers. Most maids and doormen, street cleaners and garbage collectors are black. There is only one black senator and there never has been a black president, though a woman, Dilma Rousseff, leads the country now.

A decade of booming economic growth and wealth-redistribution schemes has narrowed the income gap between blacks and whites, but it re-

mains pronounced. In 2011, the average black or mixed-race worker earned just 60 percent what the average white worker made. That was up from 2001, when black workers earned 50.5 percent what white workers made, according to Brazil’s national statistics agency.

Brazil recently instituted affirmative action programs to help boost the numbers of black and mixed-race college students, though both groups continue to be proportionally underrepresented at the nation’s universities. They made up just 10 percent of college students in 2001, and now account for 35 percent. Those numbers probably will continue to rise because of a new law that reserves half the spots in federal universities for high school graduates of public schools and distributes them according to states’ racial makeup.

Still, black faces remain the exception at elite colleges.

Nubia de Lima, a 29-year-old black producer for Globo television network, said she experiences racism on a daily basis, in the reactions and comments of strangers who are constantly taking her for a maid, a nanny or a cook, despite her flair for fashion and pricey wardrobe.

“People aren’t used to seeing black people in positions of power,” she said. “It doesn’t exist.

They see you are black and naturally assume that you live in a favela (hillside slum) and you work as a housekeeper.”

She said upper middle-class black people like her are in a kind of limbo, too affluent and educated to live in favelas but still largely excluded from high-rent white neighborhoods.

“Here it’s a racism of exclusion,” de Lima said.

votes for us,” he said.

Tuesday was the last day of official mourning for Chavez, although ceremonies appear set to continue. His embalmed body was to be taken in procession to a military museum on Friday.

Millions have filed past Chavez’s coffin to pay homage to a man who was adored by many of the poor for his humble roots and welfare policies, but was also hated by many people for his authoritarian style and bullying of opponents.

Though Maduro has spoken about combating crime and extending development programs in the slums, he has mostly used his frequent appearances on state TV to talk about Chavez.

The 58-year-old president was diagnosed with cancer in his pelvic region in June 2011 and underwent four surgeries before dying of what sources said was metastasis in the lungs.

Maduro said it was too early to specifically point a finger over Chavez’s cancer, but noted that the United States had laboratories with experience in producing diseases.

“He had a cancer that broke all norms,” Maduro told Telesur. “Everything seems to indicate that they (enemies) affected his health using the most advanced techniques.”

Maduro has compared his suspicions over Chavez’s death with allegations that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in 2004 from poisoning

by Israeli agents.

The case echoes Chavez’s long campaign to convince the world that his idol and Venezuela’s independence hero Simon Bolivar died of poisoning by his enemies in Colombia in 1830.

MAN DETAINED OVER NYC WOMAN’S DEATH IN TURKEY

A

NKARA, Turkey — Turkish police on Sunday detained a man wanted for the killing of a New York City woman in Istanbul, an official said.

The suspect, identified by authorities only as Ziya T, had been on the run since the body of Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two boys, was discovered last month.

Authorities said Sierra died of a fatal blow to the head. She had traveled to Turkey to explore her photography hobby. She went alone after a friend who was supposed to join her canceled for financial reasons. Her body was found hidden near the city walls on Feb. 12, days after her family reported her missing.

The suspect was detained in Hatay province, near Turkey’s border with Syria, Gov. Celalettin Lekesiz said. He gave no further detail about the arrest or the man’s identity.

Turkish news reports have described the man as a homeless scrap paper collector who used to hang around Istanbul’s ancient city walls.

The man was expected to be taken to Istanbul for questioning and to face possible formal arrest and charges.

Reports said police identified Ziya T. as the main suspect in the case after DNA samples taken from his two brothers and a sister matched those found beneath Sierra’s nails. Police would not confirm these reports, saying the investigation is ongoing.

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WORLD NEWS

Pope wades into crowd before 1st window appearance V

ATICAN CITY — Breaking with tradition, Pope Francis delivered off-the-cuff remarks about God’s power to forgive instead of reading from a written speech for the first Sunday window appearance of his papacy.

He also spoke only in Italian — beginning with “buon giorno” (Good day) and ending with “buon pranzo” (Have a good lunch) — instead of greeting the faithful in several languages as his last few predecessors had done.

His comments and humor delighted a crowd of more than 150,000 in St. Peter’s Square, drawing cheers and laughter.

But Francis did tweet in English and other languages, saying: “Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me. “ Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said it was likely Francis, at least for the moment, given the off-the-cuff style, was sticking with Italian, a language he’s comfortable with. Lombardi left open the possibility that other languages would be used in the appearances with the public in the future.

In just five days, Francis’ straightforward, spontaneous style has become immediate hallmark of his papacy.

Earlier Sunday, he made an impromptu appearance before the public from a side gate of the Vatican,

Pope Francis startling passers-by and prompting cheers, before delivering a six minute homily — brief by church standards — at the Vatican’s tiny parish church.

Before he entered St. Anna’s church to celebrate Mass, he heartily shook hands with parishioners and kissed babies.

After Mass, Francis put his security detail to the test as he waded into the street just outside St. Anna’s Gate.

As the traffic light at the intersection turned green, Francis stepped up to the crowd, grasping outstretched hands. The atmosphere was so casual that several people even gripped Francis on the shoulder.

A few minutes later as the traffic light turned red, Francis ducked back inside the Vatican’s boundaries to dash upstairs for the window appearance from the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.

The studio window was opened for the first time since Francis’ predecessor, Benedict XVI, gave his last

Indian police arrest 6 over Swiss tourist’s rape N

EW DELHI — Indian police said they arrested six men Sunday in connection with the gang rape of a Swiss woman who was on a cycling vacation in central India.

A police officer in Gatia district of Madhya Pradesh state said the men all admitted to the crime. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Police say the woman and her husband had camped out in a forest in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh when they were attacked by a group of men Friday night. They say that the couple were robbed and beaten, and that the woman was gang-raped.

The woman, 39, was treated Saturday at a hospital in the nearby city of Gwalior and was released later that day, police said.

The attack came three months after the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student aboard a moving bus in New Delhi, the capital, set off nationwide protests, sparking a debate about the treatment of women in India and highlighting the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them.

window blessing on Sunday, Feb. 24.

Four days later, Benedict went into retirement, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years.

The crowd was cheering wildly when the white curtain at the window of his apartment was parted, and Francis appeared, but fell into rapt silence when he began to speak.

Some people’s eyes welled up. Many people waving the blue-and-white flags of Argentine, the homeland of the world’s first Latin American pope. Some people help their children aloft or on their shoulders to get a better look.

Said Ivana Cabello, 23, from Argentina: “We are so proud. He is Argentine, but also belongs to the rest of the world.”

Angela Carreon, a 41-year-old Rome resident originally from the Philippines, estimated the crowd was twice as big as for Benedict’s last appearance on Feb. 28.

“I think he looks like John Paul II. I hope he is like him,” she said. “He has a heart.”

Francis, the first pope from Latin America, was elected on March 13. He has been staying in a hotel on the Vatican’s premises until the papal apartment in the palace is ready.

Hundreds of extra traffic police were deployed Sunday morning to control crowds and vehicles, for it was also the day of Rome’s annual marathon.

Bus routes were rerouted and

many streets were closed off in an attempt to channel the curious and faithful up the main boulevard from the Tiber river to St. Peter’s square.

Giant video screens were set up so the huge crowd could get a closeup look at Francis, and dozens of medical teams were on hand for any emergencies.

After the Mass, the pope stepped out jauntily from St. Anna’s Church and waved to a crowd of hundreds kept behind barriers across the street, and then greeted the Vatican parishioners one by one. One young man patted the pope on the back — an indication of the informality that has been evident from the first moment of his papacy.

“Francesco! Francesco!” children shouted his name in Italian from the street. As he patted one little boy on the head, he asked “Are you a good boy?” and the child nodded.

“Are you sure?” the pope quipped.

In his homily, Francis said the core message of God is “that of mercy.” He said God has an unfathomable capacity to pardon and noted that people are often harder on each other than God is toward sinners.

Edgardo Chapur, 42, an Argentine in Rome for first time, said it was very “emotional” to come to St. Peter’s Square to listen to Francis.

“It’s fantastic for us. I think it can change a lot of things in Argentina.

It gives us hope,” he said. “It has given us new strength.”

Ahmadinejad Ribbed

by Clerics for Hugging Chavez’s Grieving Mom I

ranian clerics have slammed conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for “clowning around” when he gave a consoling hug to Hugo Chavez’s grieving mother, a violation of the country’s strict Islamic rules about touching women.

Iranian media ran photos of Ahmadinejad embracing the woman and crying at Chavez’s funeral, raising the ire of the country’s powerful clerics who called the hug “forbidden,” according to translations by The Associated Press.

Under the laws of Iran, a theocracy governed by religious clerics and Islamic law, touching an unrelated member of the opposite sex is strictly taboo.

“Touching a non-mahram (a woman who is not a close relative) is forbidden under any circumstances, whether shaking hands or touching by the cheek,” said Mohammad Taqi Rahbar a cleric from the country’s religious center Qom, according to the AP. Touching a women, even “an older woman is not allowed … and contrary to the dignity of the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

Another cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad Yaz-

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad giving a consoling hug to Hugo Chavez’s grieving mother di, Iran’s former judiciary chief, called the president’s weepy hug “clowning around,” which failed to “protect the dignity of his nation and his position.”

Ahmadinejad and Chavez were friends and allies thought generally considered pariahs by the United States and much of the international community. After the Venezuelan president’s death last week, Ahmadinejad sent a letter of condolence, calling Chavez a martyr and predicting his resurrection.

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usiness B AND

O T Samsung Galaxy S4 blitz may ECHN

LOGY

prompt Apple rethink

S

amsung’s newest, feature-packed Galaxy S4 may put pressure on Apple Inc to accelerate its pace of smartphone design and venture into cheaper devices - both departures from usual practice.

The latest Galaxy, unwrapped with much fanfare in New York on Thursday, out-does the iPhone in most technical aspects. But the challenges it encapsulates run deeper than just a simple specifications comparison.

“It would be overstatement to say Apple is far behind,” Charles Golvin, analyst with Forrester, said, but it does need to note the quickening pace of competitive devices being released.

“If anything, what Apple needs to respond to is the cadence of their own releases, probably a completely new design every two years and a sort of speed bump every year is not an adequate cadence for Apple to remain at the forefront of smartphone innovation today.”

Samsung’s apparent ability to go toe-to-toe with Apple on cutting-edge smartphones may prompt the U.S. titan to finally make its own assault on the lower-end of the market that it has famously stayed away from -- not least to get into untapped markets like China and India.

Many analysts now say Apple has to respond in force to Samsung and other rivals that are grabbing attention. Much of Wall Street is now looking ahead to the next iPhone, but expectations are muted.

WHO MADE THAT CELLPHONE?

“W

e wanted to do a dazzling demonstration,” Martin Cooper says of the day in 1973 when he stood outside the Manhattan Hilton and fiddled with an object that was nearly the size of a child’s boot. “I had this thing with push-buttons on it, and I was talking into it,” he remembers. A crowd gathered around him on Sixth Avenue, gawking as he demonstrated how to make a call from the sidewalk — with no phone booth and no wires.

After the stunt, Cooper — who was head of the communications-systems division at Motorola — met with journalists inside the Hilton. The first cellphone, weighing more than two pounds, had all the sex appeal of a doorstop. Still, it was a triumph of engineering. To prove that the phone wasn’t an elaborate fake, he handed it around. One reporter called Australia and was astonished when her mother’s voice

Once the darling of Wall Street, Apple has in six months seen its shares fall 30 percent from a high of $705. Its Maps software was panned for inaccuracies; its once-reliable financial results, that rarely failed to surpass Wall Street estimates, missed analysts’ expectations.

IN A RUT Apple appears stuck in an iPhone product cycle, with a new phone typically launched in the second half. In past years, the iPhone has gotten a complete redesign only every two years.

Brian White, analyst with Topeka Capital Markets, who views the Samsung Galaxy S4 as a refresh and “not a game changer,” said smartphone technology is now improving so fast that timetables put Apple at a disadvantage.

More importantly, White said, Apple needs to broaden its portfolio and play in more smartphone categories as the high-end market could soon be saturated, and get into new categories such as the oft-rumored television or a smart watch.

“They have all the components of the magic potion, which is the hardware-software ecosystem,” he said. “All they need to do is take that potion and put it in a different segment of the iPhone market.”

While many on Wall Street believe the quickest way to penetrate fast-growing markets like India and China is a cheaper iPhone, the risk is that a cheap iPhone would cannibalize demand for

came out of the plastic-covered device.

“I have a mantra that people are naturally, fundamentally and inherently mobile,” Cooper says.

While working on car phones, he imagined a world in which people would carry the devices on their bodies — and he liked to joke that “when you were born, you would be assigned a phone number.” That idea seemed wildly futuristic in the 1960s, when car phones needed 30-pound batteries. But by the early 1970s, “the electronics had improved,” he says. “We could get by with a small battery and very small parts, and you could actually carry the phone with you.”

It would be another decade before you could actually buy one.

The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, left, went on sale in 1983 for about $4,000 — and became a symbol of yuppie excess. In the 1987 movie “Wall Street,” Gordon Gekko strolls on the beach at sunrise and snarls into his brick-size phone, “This is your wake-up call, pal.” Soon enough, everyone else would get the wake-up call, too.

the premium version and eat into Apple’s peerless margins.

Apple’s vice-like grip on its ecosystem - with the closely managed app store and its seamless integration with the hardware - is still seen as its biggest strength, one that Samsung is trying to emulate with a larger investment in software and connectivity. The Korean giant is also emphasizing its own mobile “Samsung Hub” rather than the Google Play store that most other Android adopters point to.

The iPhone has seen its sales increase to 125 million in fiscal 2012 from 40 million in fiscal 2010. But in 2012, Samsung became the No.1 in the global smartphone market with 30.3 percent share followed by Apple with 19 percent share.

Samsung’s rapid rise is partly helped by the fact that it bombards the market with close to 40 versions tweaked for regional and consumer tastes, from high-end to cheaper models.

Samsung’s momentum is a major issue for Apple, Ben Reitzes, analyst with Barclays, who is expecting Apple to launch a lower-end iPhone globally this summer.

Apple declined to comment on Friday. But a day before Samsung’s launch, marketing chief Phil Schiller attacked Google’s Android operating system, saying that the majority of its users were stuck on older versions. He also said Apple’s internal research showed four times as many consumers were switching to iOS from Android than vice versa.

EGYPT DECLINES $750 MILLION IMF RESCUE LOAN

C

AIRO — Egypt has rejected an offer of a $750 million rescue loan from the International Monetary Fund, the finance minister said Tuesday, ruling out a fallback on emergency measures.

The emergency credit offer came after delays in finalizing a $4.8 billion loan from the IMF to bolster Egypt’s battered economy and help counter a growing budget deficit.

Negotiations over the larger loan have been stalled during political turmoil in Egypt, which has often deteriorated into violent clashes between protesters and police and widespread unrest in the form of labor and police strikes. The two years of unrest have contributed to a severe economic downturn.

Finance Minister El-Morsi Hegazy said Egypt has started implementing a full economic reform program, entitling it to a larger loan from the IMF, instead of emergency measures. Hegazy insisted that Egypt’s economy is on the path to recovery.

The stopgap loan, part of the body’s Rapid Financing Instrument, would not have been a substitute for Egypt’s multibillion dollar loan request.

The government has invited the IMF back to the country this month to resume talks, but no date has been set. An IMF official said late last month in Washington that the body received Egypt’s revised economic program, which it was studying.

On Tuesday, an IMF official would not comment on the minister’s rejection of the rescue loan offer.

“We are in discussion with the authorities on how best to support Egypt, including on the timing of the next staff visit,” IMF spokeswoman Wafa Amr said in an email.

Over the past months, Egypt’s foreign currency reserves have sharply dropped to a critical level of $13.5 billion, down from $36 billion in January 2011, before the popular uprising that forced longtime President Hosni Mubarak out of office.

Egyptians have been hit by shortages of diesel fuel and rising prices of some basic commodities. Also, the government plans to implement hikes in some taxes as well as reduce fuel subsidies, part of its economic reform plans.

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BUSINESS AND T ECHNOLOGY

Still hope for big fiscal deal with Obama, top Republicans say S

enior congressional Republicans said on Sunday they see a chance for a broad deal with President Barack Obama on deficit reduction and reining in spending on vast government programs like Medicare and one senator signaled potential flexibility on taxes.

Obama, who met with lawmakers of both parties last week, has been calling for more tax increases on the wealthiest taxpayers, coupled with new spending cuts, to help curb budget deficits that have exceeded $1 trillion in each of the past four years.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, and Obama failed to come to terms at the end of last year on an agreement to get America’s fiscal house in order.

Such a deal could include spending cuts, tax reform and curbing spending on costly entitlement programs like the Social Security retirement program and the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.

Speaking on the “Fox News Sunday” program, Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said: “There, by the way, is a chance on a deal. I know

the president is saying the right things. And we have an opportunity over the next four to five months.”

Asked on the ABC program “This Week” if prospects for a “grand bargain” were dead, Boehner said, “I don’t know whether we can come to a big agreement. If we do, it’ll be between the two parties on Capitol Hill. Hopefully, we can go to conference on these budgets - and hope springs eternal in my mind.”

Boehner said that while the United States does not have “an immediate debt crisis” one is looming because entitlement programs are not sustainable in their current form. “They’re going to go bankrupt,” he said.

Asked how long the country had to solve these problems, Boehner said, “Nobody knows where this is. It could be a year or two years, three years, four years.”

Obama has engaged in a couple of weeks of outreach to lawmakers - some have called it a “charm offensive” - but the prospects of a large deficit reduction deal by midyear remained unclear.

Corker underscored the importance of reform in the huge entitlement programs like Medicare.

‘GOOD ENTITLEMENT REFORM’ “I think Republicans, if they saw true entitlement reform, would be glad to look at tax reform that generates additional revenue. And that doesn’t mean increasing rates. That means closing loopholes. It also means arranging our tax system so that we have economic growth.”

Boehner said he has “a very good relationship” with Obama, they are “trying to bridge some big differences” and that he “absolutely” trusts the president.

But Boehner said that if Obama “believes that we have to have more taxes from the American people, we’re not going to get very far.”

“If the president doesn’t believe that the goal ought to be to balance the budget over the next 10 years ... (I’m) not sure we’re going to get very far,” he said.

Obama met last Wednesday with House Republicans and made little headway in persuading them to accept his demand for tax hikes as part of any deficit-reduction deal.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress last Tuesday offered up vastly different plans to slash long-term deficits.

Bullish retail sales bolster SAC affiliate pays economic outlook $600M to settle insider trading charges R etail sales expanded at their fastest clip in five months in February, the latest sign of momentum for an economy facing headwinds from higher taxes and pricier gasoline.

The solid sales came on the heels of strong gains in employment and manufacturing. But the improvement in the economic picture is likely insufficient to compel the Federal Reserve to reduce its monetary policy support.

“Consumers have been less fazed by the increase in taxes than we expected,” said Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh. “Because the labor market has been doing a bit better than we were expecting, people are feeling a bit confident and not cutting back their spending.”

Retail sales increased 1.1 percent, the largest rise since September, after a revised 0.2 percent gain in January, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. That was well above economists’ forecasts for a 0.5 percent advance.

So-called core sales, which strip out automobiles, gasoline and building materials and correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of the government’s measure of gross domestic product, rose a stronger-than-expected 0.4 percent.

The upbeat report helped extend a stocks rally on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average finance/ markets rising for a ninth straight session for the first time since 1996. .N It also lifted the dollar to a seven-month high against a basket of currencies. Prices of U.S. government

debt slipped.

The healthy sales gains came despite the end of a 2 percent payroll tax cut and a hike in tax rates for wealthy Americans at the start of the year.

The stock market rally, rising home prices and steady job gains, which are starting to push wages higher, have helped consumers. Households are also cutting back on saving.

The firming economic tone was also underscored on Wednesday by a survey showing U.S. chief executive officers grew more confident in recovery in the first quarter. However, they remained hesitant to step up hiring.

While employment growth quickened last month, economists say the Fed needs to see a sustained stretch of even stronger job growth to step away from its very easy monetary policy stance. The central bank is buying $85 billion in bonds per month and has said it would keep up its asset purchases until it sees a substantial improvement in the labor market outlook.

“The economy in February is looking solid in employment, manufacturing, non-manufacturing activity, and retail sales,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. “None of this, however, is likely to cause the Fed to change tack in the near term.”

The gains in core sales in the first two months of the year suggested that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the U.S. economy, may only slow a bit from the 2.1 percent annual rate notched in the last three months of 2012.

T

wo affiliates of SAC Capital Advisors, the hedge fund run by billionaire Steven Cohen, will pay more than $614 million in what federal regulators are calling the largest insider trading settlement ever.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged CR Intrinsic Investors with insider trading in 2012, alleging that portfolio manager Mathew Martoma illegally obtained confidential details about an Alzheimer’s drug trial from a doctor before the final results went public and traded on that information. The SEC said Friday that the fund agreed to pay more than $600 million to settle the charges. The parties neither admit nor deny the charges.

The SEC’s complaint alleged that Sidney Gillman, a doctor who moonlighted as a medical consultant, tipped drug safety data and negative drug trial results to Martoma two weeks before developers Elan Corp. and Wyeth made those results public in 2008. Martoma and CR Intrinsic then caused several hedge funds to sell more than $960 million in Elan and Wyeth securities in a little more than a week.

Regulators added SAC Capital Advisors and four hedge funds managed by CR Intrinsic and SAC Capital as defendants, saying they each received ill-gotten gains from the scheme.

“The historic monetary sanctions against CR Intrinsic and its affiliates are a sharp warning that the SEC will hold hedge fund advisory firms and their funds accountable when employees break the law to benefit the firm,” George S. Canellos, acting director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.

The settlement is subject to the approval of a U.S. District Court judge. It does not settle charges against Martoma, whose case is still in litigation.

Also Friday, the SEC settled charges against Sigma Capital Management for $14 million. Sigma allegedly profited illegally from early information about the earnings of two technology companies.

The cases stem from a long-running probe of insider trading by hedge funds, many of which are affiliated with SAC Capital. The government has targeted multiple employees of the Stamford, Conn.-based hedge fund, though no charges have been brought against Cohen.

SAC said in a statement Friday that it is happy to put these matters with the SEC behind it.

“This settlement is a substantial step toward resolving all outstanding regulatory matters and allows the firm to move forward with confidence,” the company said. “We are committed to continuing to maintain a first-rate compliance effort woven into the fabric of the firm.”

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Sports LOCAL

Clement Howell High School wins Inter-High Athletics championship

BY VIVIAN TYSON

C

lement Howell High School regained the Inter-High School Track and Field Champions after topping the tables with 719 points and dethroning last year’s champion Raymond “Green Machine” Gardiner High School, who ended in second place on 650.5 points.

Helena Jones Robinson High, whose students put in some sterling performances over the three days of events, ended in third place with 633.5 points, while Marjorie Basden finished a distant fourth with 201 points. Majorie Basden athletes also gave some excellent performances.

Randy Ford, Head coach for the Clement Howell High team, said that he was satisfied with the performance from his athletes.

“The children came and really put their hearts in it. They gave me four days a week from as early as November (2012), and they really stuck to the task. After months of bad news in the media, you can see that Clement Howell has some lovely children, and they came out and showed us today,” Ford said.

The Clement Howell coach said that he and the team received tremendous support from the school’s administration, as well as parents and main sponsor Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa. “We came here to show that there was a lot of good at Clement Howell; it’s there in track, it’s there in music and drama – a very good school.

And I think this is the start of something great, the kids are showing me a lot of school pride, and it will continue,” Ford maintained.

On the final day, Clement Howell captured the 800m girls under 17 event though Kadine Delphin, the boys under 17 800m through Randy Rigby, the class one 200m boys through Junior Fils-Aime and the relay 4x400m female open.

Other big performances on the final day was the Class 3 girls 200m run by Helyann Sauver of Raymond Gardiner, who blazed ahead of the field to take the race; the under 15 boys 800, which was captured by Walky Jeanty of HJ Robinson; the sizzling 800m under 20 girls event which was won

by Phiginie Desir, who outclassed the field; and HJ Robinson’s Luke Cox, who took the Boys under 20 800m.

Leonardia Rolle won Holy Family Academy’s first ever gold, when she fought her opponents to the end of the line, evoking deafening cheers from the packed stands.

However, the star of the three-day meet would have to be the diminutive British West Indies

Akia Guerrier displays her medals won at the championship

would take part in the Carifta games between March 29 and April1 in Nassau, Bahamas.

“I would think that my chances are about 98 percent of being selected to the team,” she said, noting also that as a result of her performance, she was not ruling out being named champion girl. “I am positively sure that my performance would have done that (make her a hot candidate for champion girl)”

Deputy Premier and Minister of Education Youth Sports and Culture Akierra Missick presenting the winners trophy to officials from Clement Howell High School

Collegiate student Akia Guerrrier, who, on the final day, was forced to run unattached after the school’s administration decided to pull the team, which at one point was fourth in the standings.

Guerrier ended the meet with five medals four gold on the track and silver for long jump.

She captured the 3,000m, 1500m, 400m and the 4x100m. The $x100m was an open event, which would group Guerrier – an under 15 competitor with under 20 athletes.

Interestingly, last year Guerrier competed in the shorter versions of the track events – 100m and 200m, but decided to switch distances this year, and it paid off tremendously for her.

A confident Akia believes that she is in with a glorious shot of being named on the team that

If selected to the Carifta team, Guerrier said of all the races, her best medal bet would be the 400m.

In the meantime, Rolle expressed the hope that her performance for Holy Family would make the Carifta panel take a second look at her, and that in the end she would be able to board the plane to Nassau.

I feel great because last year I didn’t do as I was expected. I came last in my race, but this year I came back to redeem myself. I hope I make it to Carifta; I hope my performance will give me a chance to go. If I happen to go to Carifta, I hope to do my best because the spotlight would be on me because I would be running for the whole Turks & Caicos,” Rolle said.

Eagles, Retrievers win in Sailrock U15 Boys football opener T

he Sailrock U15 Boys League started last weekend and usual the games were of a high standard and competition between the four teams will be fierce.

In the opening games an own goal and a strike from Myrohn Pereira saw the Eagles beat the Grasshoppers 2-0 and goals apiece from Reynaldo Gabriel and Mackenson Cadet saw the Golden Retrievers tie

1-1 with Tigers. The second set of fixtures were both closely contested and high scoring affairs as the eagles and the Tigers fought to a 2-2 draw and the Retrievers outscored the Grasshoppers 7-6.

Pereira was on target again for the Eagles as was Ras Diamond but an own goal and a well placed shot from Jackson Pierre ensured the Tigers received a share of the points.

The game of the day was clearly the fixture between the Grasshoppers and Retrievers which saw thirteen goals being scored.

Wilkins Sylvain (2), Raymondo Carasco (2), Kevin Simon and Watson Alphonse were on the score sheet for the Grasshoppers but goals from Gabriel Diotte (4), Tariq Germeil, Wendy Joseph and Reynaldo Gabriel gave the Retrievers a hard fought win.

Technical Director Matthew Green was pleased with the opening day. “This is a very important league for us as it allows our young boys to prepare for more testing games against several visiting teams that will be coming to our islands throughout the year. The league also allows our coaches to spot fresh talent that could move up into our Center’s of Excellence.”

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL SPORTS

AFC Strikers snatch football double T

he WFL season came to a dramatic end last Sunday as AFC Strikers defeated Net Rockers FC in a penalty shoot-out to claim an impressive double of winning both the WFL League and Cup Championships. The cup final was an excellent advert for the women’s game in the country as the young pretenders took on the seasoned veterans in an open and exciting game.

The opening exchanges were fairly even until the Strikers started to dominate possession with Guerline Hall and Kadine Delphin threatening the Net Rockers defence from wide positions.

However, Net Rockers held firm under the direction of Patrice Senior and the ever reliable Bertha Lee belle who made several important saves.

Despite having the lion’s share of possession, Strikers could not convert their chances and Net Rockers always looked dangerous on the break, a factor which proved crucial late on in the game.

Both teams came out for the second period more determined but Strikers appeared to find their rhythm first and played the more attractive football, however the tenacity and competitiveness of the Net Rockers players meant that Strikers had few clear cut opportunities.

Strikers were eventually rewarded for their territorial advantage when Yarielca De La Cruz scored directly from a corner kick. The ball appeared to be scrambled over the line by several players but the goal was awarded eventually to the young midfielder. Boosted by this goal, Strikers then started to control the game and should have finished the game off but wasted several chances in front of goal.

They rued the missed chance, when in the last minute of the game Jancillia Cox turned and fired home from close range, after poor defending.

The goal evoked wild celebrations from her team mates and forcing the game to go into extra-time.

The extra time period was an even affair as both teams gave their all to try and get the winning goal, but the stalemate could not be broken and the game went into a tense and dramatic penalty shoot-out. Strikers went first as Yarielca De La Cruz saw her fiercely struck shot bounce back off the bar, however Net Rockers did not capitalize on this as Ava Robertson saw her shot well saved

by Chrystal Stirling.

Yarielca De La Cruz

Yarileny De La Cruz

Strikers captain Kadine Delphin then gave her team the lead as her shot was fired into the bottom left corner. Stirling was the hero again as she saved Josul Noel Jeune’s penalty and then the momentum swung the way of the Strikers as Alyssa Laing scored to make it 2-0. Bertha Lee Belle then gave Net Rockers hope by scoring to make it 2-1.

However, after Yarileny De La Cruz made it 3-1, one more miss from Net Rockers would give the Strikers the win. This came as Stirling made an impressive dive to deny Guerline Herilien, much to the delight of her team mates as they began to celebrate a league and cup double.

Head coach James Rene was struggling for

words after the drama had unfolded but complimented the young girls on their victory. “The fact that they were one minute away from winning the final in regulation play and then had to respond to that set back shows just how much they have matured as a team. It was very close today but I think the better team won, but fair play to Net Rockers as they gave 100% out there and gave us a great game”.

Technical Director Matthew Green was pleased with the result but added “the game was exciting to watch and it shows just how far we have come in our women’s programme that we can produce such entertaining football.”

Don’t hold BWIC incident against athletes – Minister Misick

BY VIVIAN TYSON

H

on. Akierra Misick, the minister responsible for sports is crossing her fingers in the hope that the local Carifta Games selection panel does not hold the yanking by the school’s administration of the British West Indies Collegiate team from the National Inter-High School Track and Field Championship against the athletes who did well at the meet.

On Tuesday, March 11 – the final day of the meet – the school’s administration wrenched the team from the meet after it was alleged that one of their students was a victim of an incident orchestrated by two male Clement Howell High School students.

The hauling of the team from competition evoked scorn and condemnation from parents, as well as meet officials, who argued to that the move reckless, unconscionable and inconsiderate, owing to the fact that it could deny a number of the school’s students, who were performing well at the meet to miss-out on being selected for the regional athletics blue ribbon championship.

Minister Misick also joined the chorus of persons, who classified the move as regrettable.

“It was unfortunate that the athletes were unable to run and represent their team. There was a minor incident the previous night, and it kind of escalated with a parent’s report, and the school decided to pull the students because of the incident.

“No one was physically injured, it was just basically the taunting of a student, and unfortunately, British West Indies Collegiate decided to pull the entire team from the competition. It is very unfortunate because their student did very well and they deserved to have their victory today,” Misick asserted.

Misick acknowledged that as a result of the school pulling the team, the selection of the students who did well could be in doubt, which she said was no fault of the athletes.

“Their Carifta trip could be in jeopardy because we have the track and field meets in order to see other students that we are unaware of that can qualify for Carifta. Sometimes you have students that you

know to watch, and TCAAA (Turks and Caicos Amateur Athletics Association) watches those students. But this event allows them to see other students, and this could really affect the other students that would like to go Carifta this year in Nassau,” the minister said.

She is hoping however that, the TCAAA would overlook the incident and choose the students who warrant a place on the team. “ I hope that the TCAAA doesn’t hold it against British West Indies Collegiate, but actually go to the school and see which athletes did well, and also watched those who ran unattached, because one of the young ladies (Akia Guerrier) who ran unattached came first in the relays,” Misick said.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Sports CARIBBEAN

Jetter joins Bolt for Cayman Islands Invitational

A

merican sprinter Carmelita Jeter is the latest track and field ace to join the star-studded lineup for the highly anticipated Cayman Invitational meet.

The Olympic gold medallist, known as the Jet, will join Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt at the event. The announcement Wednesday means both the world’s fastest man and woman will be competing in Grand Cayman on 8 May. Ms Jeter, who won silver at the London Olympics last year, holds the fastest 100 metres time for any female athlete still competing.

Her personal best 10.64 seconds is bettered only by the late Florence Griffith-Joyner’s long-standing world record run of 10.49secs, set in 1987.

Bolt, 26, who took three gold medals at the London Olympics, needs no introduction.

The fastest man in history, his exploits on the track and charismatic personality have made him an international icon who transcends sport.

Jeter and Bolt will be the star attractions among a glittering lineup of Olympic medal winners at the Cayman meet.

Jamaican sprinter Kerron Stewart, 110m hurdler Hansle Parchment, 400m hurdler Melanie Walker

Carmelita Jeter holds three of the top-10 100m times ever run and the Bahamas’ 400m runner Chris “Fireman” Brown are already announced for the event.

Extra bleachers are being brought to the Truman Bodden Sports Complex for the meet in anticipation of a record crowd in excess of 5,000 people.

More than 80 athletes, including Cayman’s finest, will compete in 12 track and two field events during the meet, which is in its second year.

Ms Jeter, who headlined the inaugural event

in 2012, said she was excited to return to Grand Cayman. And she paid tribute to Cayman’s own Commonwealth gold medallist Cydonie Mothersill for organising the event.

“I really enjoyed being part of the inaugural meet that took place last year,” Ms Jeter said. “I was very proud of my friend, Cydonie, for the great job that she and her staff did putting it together. They put on a first class competition and treated everybody in a very welcoming way.”

Ms Jeter holds three of the top-10 100m times ever run. Her 10.64 seconds in 2009 overtook Marion Jones as the second fastest woman in history.

At 33, the California-born sprinter is still one of the world’s fastest.

Besides the silver she won at the London Olympics, she was part of the US 4x100m relay team that won gold and broke the world record by more than half-a-second.

She also took World Championship gold in Daegu, South Korea in 2011.

West Indies beat Zimbabwe in Barbados D

ARREN SAMMY further enhanced his Test cricket certification by passing another stern examination of his character and credentials while the West Indies’ specialist batsmen either got moderate marks or a failing grade yesterday.

The task on the second day of the first cricket Test at Kensington Oval against a modest bowling attack, should’ve been a simple one when the West Indies resumed on 18 for two, replying to Zimbabwe’s first innings total of 211.

But it took Sammy and the equally maligned wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin to perform a rescue act in a record-breaking seventh-wicket stand. This lifted the West Indies from a worrying 151 for six to 307 all out for a handy lead of 96 runs, despite pacer Kyle Jarvis’ career-best haul of five or 54 in 17.2 overs.

In a controlled and commanding counter-attack, Sammy smashed eight fours and four sixes in a knock of 73 off 69 deliveries for his highest Test score in the Caribbean, while Ramdin celebrated his 50th Test on his 28th birthday with a responsible 62, which contained eight fours off 130 balls in 160 minutes.

They shared an entertaining 106run partnership, the best by a West Indian pair for the seventh wicket

against Zimbabwe, in 95 minutes.

At the close, Zimbabwe were already staring defeat in the face at 39 for three in their second innings, 55 runs in arrears with seven wickets in hand.

Sammy was back in the picture as a fielder, leaping in the air to pouch an edge from opener Tino Mawoyo (nine) above his head at second slip from the first ball by the pacy and powerfully-built Trinidadian fast bowler Shannon Gabriel.

Then, when he introduced off-spinner Shane Shillingford, Sammy positioned himself at leg slip and Hamilton Masakadza (1) obliged by turning an off break from the Dominican into the skipper’s hands.

Shillingford, who took two wickets for nine runs in his two overs, completed what turned out to be a satisfying day for the West Indies, who are hunting their fifth consecutive Test victory, by taking a return catch when opener Visu Sibanda (15) got a leading edge as he played across the line.

If the last half of the day belonged to the West Indies, the first session went Zimbabwe’s way as the Caribbean side lost the three key wickets of Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels in the morning session while scoring 126 runs freely to go to lunch in an unsatisfactory po-

sition of 144 for five.

Bravo went for 11, snicking a catch to wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva off Jarvis. Gayle, looking for a substantial score, restrained himself somewhat for 40 with eight fours in 112 minutes before deflecting a delivery which reared off the pitch to second slip Brendan Taylor to give rookie pacer Tendai Chatara a much treasured first Test wicket.

Samuels was his typically silky self in a stroke-filled 51, laced with nine fours and a six off 74 balls before he drove at part-timer Masakadza’s teasing medium pace delivery and was caught by Chakabva.

Samuels’ dismissal on the stroke of lunch was a major setback and to compound the Windies’ woes, the experienced Shivnarine Chanderpaul fell for 26 on resumption, gloving a catch to Chakabva while hooking at Jarvis.

But Sammy quickly assessed the situation when he entered the fray with his team floundering on 151 for six, still 60 runs adrift, to seize the initiative from Zimbabwe.

He was particularly severe on leg-spinner Graeme Cremer, clouting him for four of the five sixes he conceded as his first 16 overs cost 97 runs out of an eventual 20 wicket-less overs for 103 runs.

After the bowler was switched

to the Malcolm Marshall End at the south, Sammy continued to cream him with a pull over wide long-on for a huge six which was followed by his trademark lofted six over long-off to level the scores.

He took a single to see the West Indies into the lead and celebrated by pulling Cremer for another six as his 50, which was studded with five fours and those three sixes, was reached off just 38 balls.

Sammy’s fourth six was hammered straight onto the sight screen as Cremer served up some sub-standard leg spin.

After persisting with Cremer, Taylor brought back his partnership breaker Masakadza and he did the trick following an eventual over in which Ramdin was nearly run out and Sammy was dropped on the deep extra cover boundary by the 36-year-old Ray Price.

Inducing Sammy to cut at a delivery too close to him, Masakadza was rewarded as the ball hit the stumps off the inside edge.

After going to tea on 265 for seven, Shillingford gave Price his first wicket, but Tino Best made 24 off 26 balls with four boundaries, helping Ramdin, who was Chatara’s second Test scalp, to reach his 50 before becoming Jarvis’ fifth scalp after Zimbabwe took the second new ball.

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Sports W

RLD

DORAL, Fla. – Tiger Woods is hitting his stride on a march to the Masters.

W

oods had full control of his game Sunday and never let anyone get closer than three shots until he had locked up his 17th World Golf Championship title. With a conservative bogey that didn’t matter on the final hole, he closed with a 1-under 71 to win the Cadillac Championship.

For the first time in five years, Woods has two wins before the Masters.

It was one year ago at Doral that Woods withdrew after 11 holes in the final round because of tightness in his left Achilles tendon, creating uncertainty about his health and whether he could ever get his game back.

Fifty-three weeks after he relinquished the No. 1 ranking in the world for the first time in more than five years, Tiger Woods dropped to his lowest point since his early days as a professional.

Because of injuries, he had barely played in 2011, was a controversial captain’s pick of Fred Couples for the U.S. Presidents Cup team, competed in just one tournament following a missed cut at the PGA Championship, and produced a mediocre tie for 30th at the Frys.com Open.

Woods was ranked 58th in the world.

It was easily explained away: He had missed so many tournaments, his ranking was bound to slip. He hadn’t won in more than two years, the points from all of those 2009 victories disappearing.

Still, it was a bit jarring to see the player who had been at No. 1 longer than any other fall so far, so fast.

Almost exactly 16 months later, Woods is a strong No. 2 and in position to surpass Rory McIlroy for the top spot, depending on the results of the next several weeks. Woods has won five times in the past year on the PGA Tour, more than anybody in that span, and matched McIlroy’s worldwide victory total during that period.

McIlroy won money titles on both the PGA Tour and European Tour last year and also captured a major championship. Undoubtedly, Woods’ ability to claim a major in 2013 and snap a five-year drought in the game’s biggest tournaments will be closely watched as the rest of this season unfolds.

Tiger Woods is a strong No. 2 and in position to surpass Rory McIlroy for the top spot In the aftermath of his victory last Sunday at Doral, Woods’ accomplishments and their relative arguments have been discussed in many ways, and there has been an interesting bit of reasoning: He’s winning on courses he’s won on previously; therefore his victories are not as impressive.

You could argue it either way, although it is hard to see his abundance of victories -- anywhere -- as a negative.

Woods’ five victories in the past year indeed have come at courses where he had won previously: Bay Hill, Memorial, Congressional (AT&T National), Torrey Pines and Doral.

And it is true that 40 of Woods’ 76 PGA Tour victories have come at seven courses: Torrey Pines (8), Firestone (7), Bay Hill (7), Muirfield Village (5), Cog Hill (5), Augusta National (4) and Doral (4).

At those venues alone, his victory total is just one fewer than that of Phil Mickelson, one more than Tom Watson, six more than Vijay Singh.

Aside from Cog Hill, which is no longer used for the BMW Championship, Woods has played or will play the other six venues in 2013, or about a third of his schedule. He’s now in his 17th year on tour, and his schedule has always been tailored to the courses he likes. Is that a bad thing?

Most of the top players pick and choose their schedule based on venue. Mickelson plays a heavy West Coast schedule because he likes the courses.

He won at the Waste Management Phoenix Open last month; in fact, at each venue he played -- Humana, Torrey Pines, Phoenix, Pebble Beach, Riviera -- he had won previously. Of his 41 victories,

19 have come in West Coast events.

If it is so easy to win on courses you like, why don’t defending champions win more often? Or, why doesn’t Woods capture more tournaments on these very venues?

His win Sunday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship was his first at Doral in six years. He has not won at Augusta National since 2005. He once went five appearances without winning at Muirfield Village. Six times, he’s finished worse than 20th at Bay Hill. Two of the past three years, he’s been worse than 37th at Firestone. Even Torrey Pines, a course he clearly loves, he tied for 44th in 2011 -- the only time he’s been out of the top 10 there.

As successful as Woods has been at these courses, nothing is guaranteed. Showing up doesn’t assure victory. Far from it. You have to bring some game, and Woods’ performance at Doral was his most complete of the five victories since winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

But his win there a year ago didn’t translate to a victory at the Masters; his tie for 40th there was his worst as a pro. His win at the Memorial didn’t morph into a victory at the U.S. Open, where he held a share of the 36-hole lead. And his win at the AT&T National didn’t push him to another victory at the Open Championship, although he tied for third.

Sure, there remain questions about his abilities in the majors; a big test comes up next month at Augusta National. Six of the seven times in his career that Woods has won twice prior to the Masters, he’s won a major that season. It doesn’t mean it will happen this year, but it doesn’t hurt, either.

“I felt that towards the end of last year I was heading [in] that direction where things were becoming better,” Woods said. “I look at the three venues that I won last year, were all three very good golf courses and I think winning at Torrey and then winning here [Doral], have been on some pretty tough tracks.

“That gave me so much confidence heading into the offseason that I was heading in the right direction. Just keep going, keep plugging along, keep working with the things that [swing coach] Sean [Foley] wants me to do, and lo and behold, I’ve had two really good weeks this year.”

Heat win 21st straight, beat Bucks 107-94 M

ILWAUKEE -- Whether this winning streak for the Miami Heat ends with the NBA record or not, Chris Bosh is certain of one thing.

He won’t look back with any regrets. ‘’You have to enjoy it,’’ Bosh said Friday after Heat beat Milwaukee for their 21st straight win. ‘’We don’t want to be in a position where we’re not and then we look back and say, ‘I wish we would have done this. I wish we would have done that.’ We’re having a blast together, which

is most important. ‘’To put some wins together, to have a chance at winning an NBA title and defending an NBA title is very special.’’

LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 28 points, and Miami kept its win streak going, beating the Bucks 107-94.

Only three other teams have won 20 in a row in one season, and the Heat now trail just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33) and the 2007-08

Houston Rockets (22) after moving ahead of the 1970-71 Bucks.

The Heat haven’t lost since they fell at Indiana on February 1st. ‘’I think the biggest thing for our team was watching the Super Bowl and getting away from basketball in a sense and just enjoying each other,’’ Dwyane Wade said. ‘’We got the famous speech from Shane Battier and we’ve been rolling ever since.’’

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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WORLD SPORTS

Bryant out indefinitely after spraining left ankle K

obe Bryant has been playing some of his best basketball since the All-Star break, almost single-handedly pushing the Los Angeles Lakers into the playoff race.

Now he’s facing what may be his toughest opponent of the season.

Bryant is out indefinitely with what he calls the worst sprained ankle of his 16-year career, crumpling to the court with 3 seconds remaining after missing a game-tying shot in a 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

While X-rays were negative, the Lakers sounded pessimistic about Bryant’s chances of playing anytime soon, an especially tough blow with just 16 games left in the regular season and Los Angeles clinging to a half-game lead over Utah for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Bryant tweeted Thursday morning that he was undergoing treatment on his ailing left ankle while watching movie after movie.

“Compression. Ice. Django. Zero Dark Thirty.

This is Forty and 1 hour of sleep,” he wrote. “On to the next.”

Bryant wouldn’t speculate on how long he might be out.

“I’ll just do what I have to do,” the 34-year-old said after limping out of Philips Arena.

Given where the Lakers came from, just making the postseason would be quite an accomplishment. They were 20-26 at the end of January, but have won 14 of 20. That includes a 9-3 run since the All-Star break, with Bryant averaging 30.3 points a game during that span.

The loss in Atlanta snapped a four-game winning streak.

It might hurt longer than a single night.

With the Lakers trailing 94-92, Bryant drove to the baseline and pulled up for a jumper. The ball slid off the rim, and Bryant’s left foot twisted awk-

Kobe Byrant out indefinitely with sprained ankle wardly when it came down on the right foot of defender Dahntay Jones.

No foul was called, but the Lakers star accused Jones of playing dirty, saying he slid underneath the shooter as he was coming down.

“That’s a shot I’m very comfortable taking,” said Bryant, who is averaging 27.5 points a game overall. “You just can’t go under these shooters, man. It’s a dangerous play.”

Bryant scored 20 of his 31 points in the third quarter and the Lakers, who were down 12 at halftime, surged to the lead early in the fourth. Suddenly, they couldn’t make a shot, going 6 of 25 in the final period.

“We all struggled,” Bryant said. “I just tried to will the ball in the basket and hopefully generate some energy for all of us. It seemed to turn for us, but then we all went cold again.”

Devin Harris scored 17 points, Ivan Johnson hit a key basket, and the short-handed Hawks shook off Bryant’s big third quarter for just their second win in eight games.

“I took this one personal,” said Al Horford, who had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Atlanta.

“We had lost a couple in a row. I felt like we really needed this one.”

The Hawks won despite missing starters Josh Smith and Jeff Teague, both out with injuries from a loss the previous night in Miami. Six players scored in double figures and everyone contributed to the victory, at least everyone who suited up.

“That’s the way we have to play,” said Kyle Korver, who hit the clinching free throws after Bryant went down. “When we’re missing guys, we can’t just say, ‘You’re the next-best guy on the team, you take all the shots.’ That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Bryant took a lot of shots for the Lakers — 33 in all — but he made only 11 and couldn’t knock down the one that really mattered.

Then he couldn’t get up.

MLB SUSPENDS TIGERS MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER FOR 100 GAMES Major League Baseball on Friday suspended Detroit Tigers right-handed pitcher Cesar Carrillo 100 games for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Carrillo is among those who allegedly received performance-enhancing drugs from Anthony Bosch, operator of the Biogenesis Clinic in Miami, according to Mlive.com.

Carrillo pitched in 12 games last season for the Tigers’ Single-A and Double-A clubs last season. He currently is on the roster of the Tigers’ Double-A Erie club in the Eastern League.

His suspension will start at the beginning of the 2013 season.

Dominican Republic remains unbeaten in World Baseball Classic M

IAMI -- By virtue of the Dominican Republic’s 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico on Saturday at Marlins Park, the pairings for the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic for the next two days are set.

For the D.R. on Saturday, Indians catcher Carlos Santana homered to lead off the fifth and Pirates left-hander Wandy Rodriguez pitched six innings of two-hit ball to earn the win. Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was voted as the Most Valuable Player of Pool 2. He batted .417 (5-for-12) in the three games and homered in a victory over Italy.

“Let me tell you, it’s an individual thing,” said Cano, who overall in the Classic is hitting .519 (14-for-27) with four doubles, two homers, six RBIs, five runs scored and 24 total bases. “But Puerto Rico didn’t care that we had the Most Valuable Player. What I wanted was to go to the second round. Once we were in the second round, we wanted to go to the third round. You have to view it game by game. That was not only important to me, but important to

all of our players.”

Puerto Rico had one chance to score in the third inning, but Irving Falu was thrown out at the plate on a fielder’s choice grounder to Dominican shortstop Erick Aybar.

Aybar also made a heads-up play in the eighth on a fielder’s choice grounder, helping quell a Puerto Rico rally by getting Martin Maldonado at third for the inning’s second out. Jesus Feliciano then walked to put men on first and second before Pedro Valdes grounded out to Cano to end the threat.

Aybar was in the middle of the action in bottom of the inning, singling with one out, advancing to third on Cano’s single and later scoring on a two-out single by Francisco Pena.

On Thursday night, Aybar also had the pinch-hit single in the ninth inning that helped the D.R. defeat the U.S. Fernando Rodney closed out the win in the ninth for his fifth save of the Classic.

“I’ve been preparing for this since

last year,” said Rodney, the closer for the Rays who had 48 saves this past season, by far the most of his career.

“My plan was to come here and support my country, represent it with my soul and my heart.”

With the two Latin teams in the mix, the bleating of the air horns, congas and festival atmosphere of the games here in Miami will move on to the City by the Bay, which is hosting the Classic championship round for the first time.

The Classic was a big bash this week in south Florida and has been so around the world for the past two weeks. The six games in the bracket here were a huge success, attended by 153,115 fans, 25,846 on Saturday. Overall, including last year’s new qualifying round, the Classic has drawn 788,299 fans.

Japan won the first two Classics, defeating Cuba at Petco Park in 2006, 10-6, and Korea at Dodger Stadium, 5-3, four years ago in an epic battle as the Japanese scored twice in the 10th on Ichiro Suzuki’s tworun single when Korea pitched to him with first base open.

Certainly, there are more stories to be woven in the next three days.

Here this week, the Dominicans and Puerto Ricans ousted Team USA and upstart Italy in games that all came down to the wire. The D.R. came from behind on Tuesday to defeat Italy, 5-4, wiping out a 4-0 deficit. On Thursday in front of a bracket-high 34,366, the D.R. snapped a 1-1 tie with two runs in the ninth off U.S. closer Craig Kimbrel and won, 3-1.

The D.R. is the only team to ever head into the semifinals undefeated. The Dutch team that’s up next beat the Dominicans twice in 2009, knocking them out in the first round. Heading in, that’s the only shadow hanging over their collective heads.

For the Puerto Ricans, after losing to the U.S. on Tuesday, they came from behind with three runs in the eighth inning to defeat Italy, 4-3, on Wednesday night in its first do-or-die game of Pool 2. And then on Friday night, after building a 4-0 lead, P.R. held on to oust the Americans, 4-3.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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