VOLUME 9 ISSUE 24

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

Website: www.suntci.com

VOLUME 9 - No. 24

Email: sun@suntci.com

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PDM AGAINST NEW TAXES Government, opposition on taxes collision course

BY VIVIAN TYSON

W

hen Finance Minister Hon. Washington Misick brings the 2013/2014 estimates of expenditure to House of Assembly for passage possibly next month he should go there expecting a total rejection by the opposition.

Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson-led opposition People’s Democratic Movement is not in agreement with new taxes that government has inserted in the Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement (FSC). What the opposition finds even more egregious is the way the taxes were announced to the country.

Addressing a news conference at party headquarters in Providenciales on Friday (June 21), Cartwright-Robinson, declared that the taxes were unveiled after the FSPS got the all clear from Secretary of State Williams Hague, and

Leader of the Opposition Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson (second right) addresses the news conference while looking on from left are Member of Parliament for the Blue Hills Constituency Hon. Goldray Ewing; Opposition’s Appointed Member to the House of Assembly Hon. Clarence Selver and Deputy Opposition Leader Hon. Sean Astwood.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Major port facility Delano Williams Cable and internet planned for bills to increase to run for the UK South Caicos PAGE 9 PAGE 7

Government looking to lower taxes in TCI

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Pdm Against New Taxes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

is now awaiting the stamp of approval from DFID Minister Allan Duncan.

Resulting from the latest fiscal episode, the opposition leader dismissed the Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing Administration as being bankrupt of creativity on ways to bump up revenue. She also tagged the government as disingenuous for not forewarning the country that such taxes were awaiting them up the pike.

To this end Cartwright-Robinson said that the opposition is clear on its intent when the bill comes to the House of Assembly.

“How are we going to vote? We are going to vote no,” Cartwright-Robinson told reporters at the news conference, while blasting government for taking similar fiscal path as the British.

“The government is following suit on the very same path that we criticized the British for over the last three years. Get creative, do real business in getting business into this country and broaden your base. This government is obviously bankrupt of ideas, which is why Hon. Goldray Ewing led our party’s position on having a national symposium,” she said.

“We believe that the business community can also lend to how we can earn monies and earn revenues here in the Turks and Caicos outside of taxing our already small overtaxed base,” she advised.

While government has not stated all the taxes it proposes to impose or raise, the Opposition said there is a one percent increase in Accommodation Tax (already announced); to come on stream on July 1; the introduction of 15 percent Customs Duty also July 1st (already announced); Customs Processing Fees based on CIF – July 1st; General Sales Tax of 6% - October 1st; Communication Tax on Cable and Internet (already announced) – October 1st; Temporary Driver’s License $30(announced this week) – October 1st; and Property Levy – April 1st, 2014.

“The Opposition, when it stood with the Government against the implementation of VAT, made it clear that improved compliance of the existing taxes was the first step to be taken. Roe’s Report correctly stated that as unconventional as the revenue structure was in TCI, it produced strong revenues. The proposers of VAT did say that the $10m to be gained from VAT was from improved compliance.

“We are disappointed that though we did not stand with the Government on the proposal of new taxes in the Anti VAT stance, the Government outlined taxes that were not designed to affect residents but largely the visitors to our shores and are now backtracking from what it said was its strategy,” she said.

She said that the implementation of the 15% charge on Freight and Insurance and the

Stamp Duty can never be considered as having minimal effects.

Commenting at length on the impact of increase in stamp duty, the Opposition leader said: “The stamp duty rates are most impactful on prices under $500,000 (i.e. the homes that are mostly purchased by citizens and residents). In Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay, Middle Caicos and North Caicos, a home under $500,000 currently attracts a 1.8% stamp duty, will now go to 6.5 percent, which is more than 3 times the amount.

“On those islands, TCREA recorded a total of 11 sales for the entire 2012 with the stamp duty at 1.8 percent. What will be the impact on those sales now?

“On Providenciales there are very few homes under $300,000, but the proposed change in stamp duty would mean that a person purchasing a $300,000 home would move from paying $10,800 in stamp duty before July 1 to paying $24,000 in stamp duty after July 1. This, the Minister says is not a significant increase.

“The stamp duty is being increased, as we head, into the summer season, which is already a slow period. The increase in stamp duty will only increase the difficulty with making sales during this period. The notice period is not consistent with any concept of openness and transparency as it was announced less than 30 days before implementation.

The minister says that stamp duty rate has not had any impact, but TCREA sales went from 95 transactions in 2009 to 121 in 2010 (the year of the stamp duty reduction), to 170 in 2011 and 219 in 2012. These numbers are still down from the 342 transactions in 2006 but it shows a clear pattern of recovery. An increase in stamp duty now can only serve to damper the recovery being experienced in the industry.

“The increase in stamp duty, accompanied by the discussion on property tax, a tax on condo owners, the short notice period and the government’s refusal to commit to a roll back by a certain date, only serves to create uncertainty about the future.

“What is necessary to increase the stamp duty collection, is fostering an attitude of stability, certainty and an openness to do business.”

Also commenting on the tax on freight and Insurance, the Opposition Leader noted: “Construction supplies are often purchased in bulk and the entire ship is then chartered, the tax as proposed would increase the cost of building and construction supplies by 15% of both the cost of the ship and the cost to insure, just as we seek to attract new investment and kick start the construction industry.

“We believe that the Minister of Finance’s analysis is flawed when he offered the exam-

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 Office Manager: Dominique Rigby Information Technology and Production Manager: 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.

ple of spreading the 15% over a container of water. The Minister has forgotten that the container is not insured for the cost of the freight but for the value of the goods inside.

We foresee situations where there may be an opting to insure goods and take the risk. This then, we are certain, will see an increase in disputes with Shipping Companies.

“The Minister of Finance announced this Tax measure a little over a month before his Government intends to introduce it on July 1, 2013 and this puts the businessman in yet another inconvenient position.

Asked as to why neither she nor other members of her party commented on the raft of taxes announced by Misick before now, Cartwright Robinson explained that the FSPS was laid on the table of the House of Assembly without the opposition’s knowledge.

She said that her caucus learned about the document through another forum.

“The FSPS has not been brought to the House. It was laid on the table unbeknown to us, because it’s on a total unrelated matter.

We are asking for the FSPS, and we were told that it was laid on the table of the House. It was then that we saw copies of it – the clerk then provided us with it. It wasn’t officially done, because it is to be an item to lay documents on the table, and then the person moving to lay it would actually make a statement that they were moving to lay the document on the table,” she explained.

The Opposition Leader said there are many procedural preaches that will be highlighted in due course. She pointed out that the only difference between VAT and government proposed taxes is that under the new taxes, government would not review business entities’ books.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

Delano Williams switches allegiance from TCI to UK

BY VIVIAN TYSON

W

orld Junior 200m champion and national record holder Delano Williams is switching allegiance from the Turks and Caicos Islands to Great Britain, penning his application on June 3 to the TCAAA, for a release.

But the spring prodigy will have to wait on a response from the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) – the world governing body for track and field – before he can officially cross the floor.

After being narrowly beaten by World 100m champion and Olympic 200m and 100m silver medalists Yohan Blake at the All Comers Meet in Kingston, Jamaica on Saturday, June 8, Williams told a television station that he would be switching allegiance from the Turks and Caicos Islands. Obviously he had made the application to the local athletics body before that race.

His decision sparked a heated debate among the local populace.

Some took to social media sites to tell him off, while others hailed him for what they described as a bold career move.

President of the TCAAA Edith Skippings confirmed that the spring ace had put in an application for switching tracking and field loyalty from his native land to the mother country. She said that while the TCAAA has granted Williams his wishes, he would have to wait on the IAAF for ratification. That response, up to press time, was not received.

“The Turks and Caicos Amateur Athletic Association had received a letter of request from Delano Williams on 3rd June 2013, informing us that he wished to officially transfer his allegiance for international competition from Turks and Caicos Islands to Great Britain. The very next day I called an emergency meeting of the Association to deal with the matter.

After much discussion, we, as the governing body for track and field here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, decided to grant Delano his request pending a few questions that the Association wanted to put to him. The questions were put to Delano, he answered them, and I in turn, sent an email to IAAF, informing them that we are in agreement of the transfer to our mother country,” Skippings said.

Delano Williams Skippings told The SUN that under IAAF rules, someone switching allegiance from country to the next has to wait out a year before allowed to compete for their new country of choice. However, she said it is up to IAAF to make the final ruling on that front.

The IAAF rules of transfer of allegiance stipulate a three year waiting period that can be reduced to 12 months with the agreement of the relevant member federations of the two countries involved or reduce to no waiting time at the discretion of the IAAF. In practice, the 12 month restriction is what applies in the vast majority of cases. Of the transfers reported between 2008 and 2011, only a handful of the little under a 100 athletes had a three-year waiting period. Most had a waiting period of a year and under.

Williams, who moved to Jamaica in 2008, after Hurricane Ike destroyed a section of his school – H.J. Robinson High in Grand Turk, told the Jamaica Gleaner in its April 25, 2013 edition that he had contemplated running for that country. But considering the number of top athletes he would have to compete against to represent it, his best bet would be to switch to Britain.

Williams, after arriving in Jamaica, enrolled in a boarding school for boys - Munro College - and has represented them at the annual ISSA Boys and Girls’ Championships. In 2012, he won the Class One double (100m and 200m), becoming the first non-Jamaican to achieve the feat, which he repeated this year.

“I have had a lot of thoughts about that (switching allegiance to Jamaica), but I have to look at the opportunities. Jamaica has a lot of sprinters and to make the team is really, really hard. It is all about opportunity and where I can make the team and best put Delano forward

on the world stage and on the circuit,” said Williams.

Williams’ desire to switch allegiance was also triggered by what he described as the lack of respect he gets when comes home.

“The way Jamaica shows support to their athletes and worships them, Turks and Caicos doesn’t do that. It is like I am slipping through their fingers, I am in the country like an ordinary person. Jamaican people appreciate me more than Turks and Caicos people right now, as they (Turks and Caicos) don’t know what it is like to have a World (Junior) Champion in the country,” he bemoaned.

The SUN reached out to Williams for a comment on his decision to switch allegiance. However, he said he could not comment at this time, and referred us to the TCAAA. “I don’t think I can comment at this time. You would have to wait until the TCAAA hold their press conference, where they will outline what is taking place,” Williams genteelly said.

In the meantime, Williams told The SUN that he is still with high school coach Neil Harrison. Harrison, however, told a Jamaican television station that come summer the two could part company, since Williams will be attending the University of the West Indies in Kingston, while he will remain at Munro in St. Elizabeth to see about his charges.

He said that Delano wanted him to be his official coach when he turns pro, probably later this year.

But is not an offer he could take up at this time. While in Kingston, Williams is expected to train at the Racers Track Club, home of double World and Olympic record holder Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Major port facility on the cards for South Caicos

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he Turks and Caicos Islands government plans to construct a deep water port in South Caicos aimed at accommodating cruise ships, but Minister of Finance Hon. Washington Misick said the immediate intention is to develop it as a goods and service facility in the interim.

The minister made the announcement while giving The SUN an interview earlier this week.

And while the immediate endeavor for the port is to ferry merchandise, the minister announced that there are cruise interests towards that island and other locations across the TCI. (Government intends to develop the port in South Caicos and) that is with or without cruise.

Cruise ships are always looking for new destinations. We have been in communication with one of them, who have done some work already in South Caicos.

“Based on the plan that was done in mid to late 1990s, it is recommended that a major seaport be located in South Caicos with a series of

mini ports throughout the islands. So that is something that we are most committed to try and follow on. This is mostly focused on the movement of merchandise,” he said.

According to the minister, potential for cruise port for most of the island is endless, and government is open to any interest that may come.

“As it relates to cruise ship port, there are a number of possibilities from South Caicos all the way down to East Caicos, where one can potentially put in a cruise port. The whole situation at the moment is very fluid, so it is hard for me to say (much about it),” he said.

In the meantime, Minister Misick said that government intends to develop a spine road link aimed at providing easier access to especially the Caicos chain with the hope that it paves the way for anchor development on some of those individual islands.

“We are very keen to have some anchor projects on the east end of the islands, that is South Caicos in particular. We will put in a spine road link because I think that opens up the rest of the

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Caicos Islands,” he said.

The finance minister said that he could not say at this time how feasible the spine road link would be, neither could he say when it would likely to come on stream. He noted that though the use of technology the project could become a reality in the near future.

He said also that public/private partnership could play a key role in the development becoming a reality. He pointed out that costing for such undertaking will be another vital component.

“What has happened over the years is that technology has improved, and relatively speaking, it has become more affordable to do certain things. I don’t know how far it is away because we have not had an opportunity to do costing.

“And that is going to depend on costing and who is going to pay for it, and whether we can get it done through some sort of a public/private sector relationship. These are concepts that the government is committed to following through on,” he said.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

Cable and internet bills to increase

BY VIVIAN TYSON

C

ome October 1, consumers should see an increase in their internet and cable bills, while persons of certain professions will be made to pay a profession tax.

This came in the wake of government devising ways to improving the country’s finances so as to offset its overseas debts, recurrent bills and capital projects.

Those measures are in addition to the July 1 implementation of a one percent accommodation tax, and a temporary driver’s license tax, both primarily geared towards tourists in addition to the 15 percent customs tax, the latter which government said would be a short term measure.

Minister of Finance Hon. Washington Misick, who spoke to The SUN on those matters and more, said the revenue-raising measures are all included in the United Kingdom-required Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement (FSPS). The FSPS is now in the hands of the UK Minister responsible for the Department of International Development (DIFID), Allan Duncan, awaiting his approval.

“We have a one percent increase in accommodation tax starting the 1st of July. So accommodation tax has gone from 11 percent to 12 percent. And we have introduced in the legislature, the last sitting or the sitting before a revision of the Stamp Duty Ordinance. We are looking at further revision of the Stamp Duty Ordinance that would capture holding companies, so that they would pay the same rate of taxation as an individual would pay.

“We are looking at profession services tax in

October of 2013. And also increase in communication tax that is for cable and internet on October 1, 2013. We are looking at (implementing a tax) for temporary driver’s license for tourists. If you are renting a car, it’s probably going to cost you another $30 to get a driver’s license that would be issued by the rent-a-car companies.

Those are all in the FSPS,” the Minister said.

The Minister expressed the hope that the majority of taxes now on the books could disappear within the next two years at most and be replaced by more simplified, yet broadbased taxation.

“A lot of the taxes that we pay now, I expect potentially they could disappear. I believe we should look for ways at reducing the burden of taxation and not having so many taxes.

And whatever we end up with should be simple and easy to administer and progressive,” he said.

In the meantime, Minister Misick said that government is searching for ways to offer cheaper and timely government services to the general public, by installing a fully computerized system. He said even though such a system would be expensive to install, his government is committed to the task.

“We are looking at putting an e-commerce platform that would allow people to access passports and other important documents that they need, online. Already you are able to pay some of your bills to government online through your credit card and we are looking at expanding e-commerce. But it would require significantly new investment to build that platform, but that is something that we are committed to doing,” he told The SUN.

INQUIRY INTO THE DEATH OF TEENAGER ADRIAN GIBSON BEING CONDUCTED BY CHIEF MAGISTRATE CLIFTON WARNER

C

hief Magistrate Clifton Warner is presiding over an inquiry into the mysterious death of Turks and Caicos Islander Adrian Gibson.

Gibson was just 18 years old when he died tragically on September 15th 2011 at 9:10am in Nassau, Bahamas.

‘AJ’, as he was affectionately referred to by his family and friends, was a bright young man who graduated from Maranatha High School a few months earlier.

He had many hopes and aspirations to fulfill but sadly they will not be realized.

At the inquiry, Gibson’s family is being represented by lead counsel - Stephen Akinsana and junior counsel - Mark A Fulford of F Chambers A statement from the lawyers said: “To his family and friends he is remembered as a loving, engaging, friendly and non-confrontational young man. He was great to be with and embraced each day of life and chose to see the good in all whom he came into contact with. He was not an aggressive person, he had no enemies. The events leading up to his death are not perhaps entirely clear although he was able to tell his parents where he had been on his weekend before he became unwell and who he had been with. Thereafter, he could not recollect much of how he got home or how he sustained the head injury which was ultimately to cost him his life.”

The statement continued: “What we do know is that from the time he displayed unusual and uncharacteristic behavior, his family put him in the care of a number of healthcare professionals both here in the Turks and Caicos Islands and in the Bahamas. Something went tragically wrong in the chain of events leading to his transfer for specialist treatment to Dr’s Hospital in Nassau.It is hoped that the inquest can provide answers as to whether delay or error had a part to play in his untimely and tragic death. The family hopes to achieve much needed answers to how, when and why Adrian Gibson died.”

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MINISTRY: Finance •Should be able to design, implement and maintain LOCATION: Providenciales LAN/WAN and WIFI links •Should be able to design and implement information security policies for Red Hat Linux and Windows JOB SUMMARY: systems.

IT manager must also be a solutions-oriented specialist •Oversee department-wide efforts to identify and with notable success directing a broad range of evaluate all critical systems. corporate IT initiatives while participating in planning •Work with the IT Team to design and implement and implementing information/security solutions with security processes and procedures and perform cost direct support of business objectives for a secure benefit analysis on all recommended strategies. network design and full life-cycle project management. •Collaborate with consultants to conduct in-depth The post-holder must be able to demonstrate the compliance, vulnerability and penetration testing. capacity to implement innovative programs that drive •Responsible for providing trend analysis to the service awareness and decrease exposure in addition to management team to enable them to make informed developing related IT management policies for decisions regarding resource management.

Customs Administration.

•Responsible for problem escalation to Oracle Development team and third parties as appropriate.

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Analysis, Data Integrity/Recovery, Contingency Planning •Develop curricula and facilitate awareness training for and Risk Assessment. management and employees.

•Works with various Department Mangers to plan, test and implement Contingency and Risk Assessment QUALIFICATIONS: measures developed.

•Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering, Com•Instrumental in developing and implementing Business puter Science, Information Technology or related area.

Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCP & DRP) Plans with •A Master’s Degree in Information Technology or the appropriate Department Managers. related area would be an asset.

•Create company policies and procedures governing •Certification in Project Management corporate security, email and Internet usage, access control, and incident response.

EXPERIENCE •Overlook the maintenance of PCs and Servers and Job-holder must have at least 2 - 3years working ensure minimal downtime thus maximum turnaround time experience with:

•Oracle Database Systems, MS SQL, PL/SQL. •Customs Database Application (ASYCUDA) including installation and configuration.

•Network Security and Penetration Audits along with implementing policies and security awareness •Firewall systems, IPS, IDS and cryptographic systems.

•Windows and Red Hat Linux environment including interaction between multiple platforms, file systems and scripting.

SALARY:$60,000.00 per annum.

Resumes with current contact information must be accompanied by a Cover Letter, two letters of reference (one preferably from a former employer), copies of educational certificates, a Police Certificate and a copy of the Passport photo page. Applications should be addressed to the Office of the Human Resource Directorate, Church Folly, Grand Turk.

Facsimile: 946-1582 or sent by email to: recruitment@gov.tc with the subject line being Information Technology Manager Application. Applications sent by post or brought by hand should have the subject: Information Technology Manager Application clearly marked on the envelopes.

Successful applicants will work in accordance with the Public Service Ordinance.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 4th July, 2013

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JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Government pushing to lower taxes in Turks and Caicos Islands

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he Turks and Caicos Islands is probably the only country in the Caribbean that bases its import duty on the Free On Board or Freight On Board (FOB) system as opposed to the modernized Cost Insurance on Freight (CIF) structure. And government aims to change that.

Minister of Finance Hon. Washington Misick told The SUN during an interview that as part of customs reform, the country would be moving towards the CIF system through tax reform after a receiving expert recommendation from a blue ribbon commission on taxation, which is to set up by the beginning of the fall.

He said the new legislation which could come into effect between sometime next year and 2015, should modernize and simplify the country’s tax code, drive down cost and foster greater compliance.

“We expect that the blue commission should be in place by September. We are moving towards modernizing the tax system, including the customs via customs reform. Everywhere else in the Caribbean customs is based on CIF. Turks and Caicos, I believe, is the only place – and I may be wrong – where duties are

based on FOB, which is without insurance and freight (cost). As a part of customs reform we are moving towards CIF,” the finance minister pointed out.

It does not take legislation to put the CIF system into place, but the finance minister said that he would not introduce it at this time since it would drive up the cost of goods, and his administration is looking for a cheaper way to raise revenue trough the tax code.

As such, he said CIF would not be included in the 15 percent customs duty fee which is to be introduced in this year’s budget. The 15 percent customs duty fee, according to Misick, would be a short term measure.

“We did not include CIF at this time because the intention is to reduce the customs rate as a part of the Blue Ribbon Commission. We expect the customs rate will come down and then it would be a more appropriate time to introduce CIF. To introduce CIF at the moment would actually cause the price of a basket of goods to go up.

“And so, this is a short term measure – the 15 percent (tax on imported goods) is more palatable because it should not really add any significant cost to a basket of goods for the household,” Misick explained.

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He said based on projections government should raise about $4.5 million for the 2013/2014 budget from the proposed new tax.

After the announcement by government of the revenue measure, some in the community have expressed concern that it would spiral the cost of especially goods out of control.

Explaining the measure the finance minister said: “A 40-foot container coming in from Florida or wherever, gets to Providenciales.

The freight is $4,000. There is no insurance on it – insurance is optional. That’s the choice of the importer whether he wants it insured or not.

So let us leave the insurance out for now.

“The container is landed here and cost $4,000. Fifteen percent (charged on freight amounts to) $600. You have got thousands of items that you consider a container full of soft drinks. If you start to spread the cost of $600 over literally thousands of cases of soft drinks, it works out to be in some cases, less than one cent per item. And it generates about $4.5 million dollars for government, which goes a far way in reaching our revenue target.”

In the meantime, the finance minister is cautioning unconsciona-

Minister of Finance Hon. Washington Misick ble merchants against using the opportunity to jack up their prices. He said that since price control is not an option by government, it would be up to the consumers to be vigilant in seeking out the merchants who offer the most reasonable price. He said the tax measure would result in negligible adjustment which should be barely noticeable at the cash register.

“If anybody feels that they should hike the cost of goods inside their store by 25 percent; that is called price gouging, and it is something that is despicable and should not happen. The cost of goods on the shelf in a supermarket or anywhere else should go up imperceptibly because this is an extremely small measure that we are taking to enhance our revenue and it is a short term measure,” he said.

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• You should exhibit culinary talents by personally performing tasks while leading the staff and managing all food related functions.

• You should work to continually improve guest and employee satisfaction while maintaining the operating budget.

• You will supervise all kitchen areas to ensure a consistent, high quality product is produced.

• You will be responsible for guiding and developing staff including direct reports.

• You must ensure all safety, sanitation and food standards are achieved.

Requirements • Good communication skills, both verbal and written.

• Extensive knowledge of menu development, insight into cost and wage control.

• Thorough knowledge of food products, standard recipes and proper preparation.

• Ability to supervise a large diverse staff compliment.

• 5-10 years experience in an upscale fine dining restaurant and hotel environment.

Salary for this position will commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Email CVs to: anytimeaircond@yahoo.com or call 649-241-5542

Belongers need only apply.

Please Submit Applications to: P.O. Box 622 Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands and/or Hospitality622@gmail.com

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 11

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

LOCAL NEWS

Provo Airport Terminal expansion ahead of schedule

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he $10 million, 72-week Providenciales International Airport expansion programme has moved ahead of schedule according to John Smith, Chief Executive Officer for the facility.

“To date we are slightly ahead of schedule, it is well on budget as well. We hope to move it forward very swiftly. The car park area has been fully excavated and we are moving rapidly,” Smith said.

Smith said that the project should finish by the fourth quarter of 2014 and ready before the start of the winter tourism season. He said work will be focused on the terminal building itself, which he said should result in minimal discomfort to passengers.

On completion the airport would be expanded from 54,000 square feet to about 92,000 square feet.

“We are now going into the area that one can describe as one that will require more disruption management than any other area – the extension of the terminal itself. We have built a corridor so to speak, which is going to be fully lit and air conditioned, to ensure that we minimize the disruption

and discomfort to the passengers as they travel,” he said.

The TCIAA CEO said that the airport should accommodate a 10-year growth capacity, which is seen as up to five percent.

“We got a maximum 1,000 passengers come through the airport (on a daily basis) currently. We are looking at three and a half to five percent growth in the next 10 years, so we can accommodate that as well,” he said.

He said on completion of the terminal building the Airports Authority will be looking to stretch the peak traffic window which is currently four hours.

In designing a terminal one of the things you look into is to ensure that your utilization is maximized, and utilization of the terminal is maximized by spreading over a more extended period of time that is in a four-hour window, that we currently have. That is managed through slot management as opposed to dumping everyone into your destination at the same time. And we must thank the stakeholders – the airlines – in working closely with us in managing that,” he said.

On completion upgrade will be made to the domestic area, ex-

tension in the arrival area, redundancies in the carousels, extension in the car parking facility, a new drainage system, a full backup power system and increase and introduction of more amenities befitting that of the destination.

Smith noted also that pumps will be installed at the facility that will address 25 years worth of flooding.

He noted however, that there will be no jet bridges but covering from the elements will be built.

“We don’t have any jet bridges on this go round, but what we do have is a covered area airside to facilitate that,” he said.

He said that more than 90 percent of the airport expansion workforce is local, which the TCIAA ensured was etched in all its contract clauses.

“The Airports Authority prides itself on having a local involvement clause in it (contract). The local involvement clause states that local involvement must be in excess of 75 percent. I can safely say to you and demonstrate that it is in the 90 odd percent and we will never drop below that,” Smith said.

In the meantime, Smith said that the control tower at the facility could be relocated as the air-

John Smith port undergoes future expansion.

He also dismissed claims that it is not high enough.

“The tower is not low by international standard because the tower is designed to adequate sight of line coverage for the aerodrome.

As we proceed with our master plan - we are in the process now of revising our master plan – it is fair to say with every possibility that we have to relocate the tower to a different location,” he said.

Page 12

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Construction industry to bring back full economic impact and create jobs, says Washington Misick

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he country should not feel the full effect of the economic turnaround until later this year/ early next year when the construction industry is cranked up once again, this according to Finance Minister Hon. Washington Misick, during an interview with The SUN. The ďŹ nance minister said that there are a number of projects on the table that government is actively pressing the green light on, and as soon as certain obstacles have been hurdled, the country should begin to reap the spinoffs.

Misick said that once the construction industry begins to rev up again, there should be demand in a number of areas, which he said would stimulate not only industry-direct jobs, but also spinoff ones. “ I don’t think you are going to see the full impact of the turnaround (of the economy) until the construction activities really start again, both in terms of the jobs that are directly related to construction but also the spinoff.

“Because once the construction industry really starts to power again you are going to ďŹ nd demand both in terms of goods and services but also for rental accommodation and everything else.

If you remember when the island starts to slow down, it took a while for things to hit bottom, and so it is going to take a little while to build back momentum,â€? the ďŹ nance minister said.

Minister Misick explained that one of the main delaying factors for the projects was that some of them have gone into redesigning mode mostly for expansion reasons. “I can tell you the number of projects that we are satisďŹ ed with that are fully funded; some of them are being redesigned so that they are improved. Places like West Caicos, for example, I think there is no question about the ability for the developers to move forward and complete that project. The issue there for example is that they are redesigning the entire project, including the marina, to make it larger and being able to accommodate bigger boats or yachts. So there is a

Royal West Indies Resort ROYAL WEST INDIES RESORT, is looking for motivated proactive individuals to join its ‘Resort Team’ and contribute to this growing Condominium Resort. Candidates MUST want to actively participate in creating an excellent and professional guest experience. Ć´ -"#063&3 Ć´ ("3%&/&3 Ć´ )064&."/ REQUIREMENTS: Ć´ .645 TQFBL &OHMJTI BOE UIF BCJMJUZ UP XSJUF BOE SFBE &OHMJTI Ć´ "CJMJUZ UP NBJOUBJO QPPMT BOE IPU UVC DIFNJDBMT BOE NBJOUFOBODF JTTVFT related to same Ć´ 'JU BOE BCMF GPS IFBWZ MJGUJOH Ć´ 1FSTPOBMJUZ TVJUFE GPS UIF IPUFM JOEVTUSZ Ć´ .VTU CF DVTUPNFS GSJFOEMZ Ć´ 8JMMJOH UP XPSL TQMJU TIJGUT IPMJEBZT BOE XFFLFOET Ć´ *SSJHBUJPO TZTUFNT Ć´ (SFFU BOE FTDPSU HVFTUT UP SPPN Ć´ .POUIMZ IPVTFLFFQJOH JOWFOUPSZ Ć´ %BJMZ SFQMFOJTINFOU PG SPPN JUFNT BOE SFTUPDLJOH PG DMPTFUT Ć´ %BJMZ DMFBOJOH PG CVJMEJOHT Ć´ .VTU CF BCMF UP XPSL PO XFFLFOET BOE QVCMJD IPMJEBZT GENERAL MAINTENANCE Ć´ .645 TQFBL &OHMJTI BOE UIF BCJMJUZ UP XSJUF BOE SFBE &OHMJTI Ć´ "CJMJUZ UP NBJOUBJO QPPMT BOE IPU UVC DIFNJDBMT BOE NBJOUFOBODF JTTVFT related to same Ć´ 'JU BOE BCMF GPS IFBWZ MJGUJOH Ć´ 1FSTPOBMJUZ TVJUFE GPS UIF IPUFM JOEVTUSZ Ć´ .VTU CF DVTUPNFS GSJFOEMZ Ć´ 8JMMJOH UP XPSL TQMJU TIJGUT IPMJEBZT BOE XFFLFOET Ć´ ,OPXMFEHF PG XBTUF XBUFS USFBUNFOU QMBOUT Ć´ ,OPXMFEHF PG $PNNFSDJBM -BVOESZ &RVJQNFOU JODMVEJOH QSPQBOF TZTUFNT Ć´ "JS $POEJUJPOJOH TZTUFNT 'JSF "MBSN TZTUFNT %PNFTUJD 8BUFS TZTUFNT including Water Heaters WAGES $6.50/HOUR All resumes and applications must be forwarded to: 3PZBM 8FTU *OEJFT 3FTPSU 1 0 #PY 1SPWJEFODJBMFT 5VSLT $BJDPT *TMBOET You may also fax to:

lot of preparation work that is going on now that we won’t see the results of until late this year or next year,� the minister continued.

In the meantime, Minister Misick said that while the country is waiting for those projects to breathe life back in the industry and by extension the economy, government is now being tested to ďŹ nd creative ways to cough-up interim jobs for its people, and is actively doing so. “The challenge has been to satisfy the short term expectation of the voters by creating jobs, and I still think that has been a challenge. And that has been the focus of my life every morning that I get up, and I think we are close to being able to achieve that. “Delis cay is one of those projects that government has agreed to work with the bank and making sure that we extent or enter into development agreement with new investor that may want to come to the table and buy the facility from the bank. As you know, Dellis Cay is in receivership and the back is actively marketing it,â€? he said.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 13

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

LOCAL NEWS

Police search for breakthrough in Dominican woman’s murder

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he Dominican Community has been plunged into mourning after police recovered the body of missing 30 year-old Damaris Gomez Martinez in bushes in the Crystal Bay area of the Millennium Highway on Providenciales on Sunday, June 16.

The SUN learned that the body was in a state of decomposition. A statement from the police confirmed the body to be that of Gomez Martinez.

Gomez Martinez is the sister of TCI Weekly News reporter Daisy Handfield.

A police source said that the autopsy revealed that the woman died courtesy of a stab to the neck.

“The Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police have confirmed the identity of the body of a female that was found along Millennium Highway in Crystal Bay, as that of 30-year-old Damaris Gomez Martinez. Damaris Martinez, who was originally from the Dominican Republic, resided in Providenciales,” the statement said in part.

The police, who are following several leads, said that a friend of Martinez reportedly last saw her at the Ports of Call plaza in Grace Bay on Mon-

day night June 10 – the day she went missing.

After not seeing their sister and daughter for about two days, family members got worried and reported the matter to the police. They later mounted posters across the island as they intensified their search for their loved one.

Their worst fear was realized after learning that the female body found along the Millennium Highway was that of the missing woman. The body was reportedly first recovered by a jogger, who saw it in nearby bushes a few yards from the road at about minutes past 6 a.m.

“We are worried. Are they trying to kill the Dominicans women here?” a woman asked, referring to cases of two Dominican women murders in recent time. About five years ago, the body of a Dominican woman was found at the side of the road adjacent to the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex. The body was partially burnt. One man was charged but was later acquitted.

About three years ago, another woman was shot during a robbery at the Sailing Paradise Restaurant in Blue Hills. About four persons were charged in the matter and their case is pending.

The police said that a post mortem examination was conducted on Wednesday, June 19, but

the results would not be revealed until after the family was notified.

However, up to press time, the police did not officially release the cause of death. They police said that investigations are ongoing and is hoping for a breakthrough soon.

“The Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police are still investigating the circumstances that have led to the death of Martinez. Investigators are appealing to the public who may have seen Martinez the night of Monday June 10th, 2013 or have any information concerning this incident to contact the Criminal Investigation Department by calling 941-4448 extension 81843 or 81837 or use the untraceable, anonymous Crime Stoppers Miami number at 1-800-(TIPS) or 1-800-8477. No names or numbers are requested and only the information provided is passed on to the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police. Please visit our web site at www. tcipolice.tc or www.crimestoppers.tc for more information,” the statement said.

The SUN learned that persons are already being questioned in the matter, among them, Gomez Martinez former boyfriend, who works at a prominent hotel on Providenciales. However, a police source said he is not considered to be a suspect at this time.

NOTICE OF SALE BY PUBLIC AUCTION Scotiabank (Turks & Caicos) Ltd. of Cherokee Road, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands hereby gives notice of its intention to sell by Public Auction the following properties pursuant to its power of sale as registered Chargee under the Registered Land Ordinance of the Turks and Caicos Islands: 1. Parcel 60900/190 Leeward Going Through, Providenciales. Comprising of single storey main residence and a single storey two bedroom guest house. The main house provides four bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen. The guest house provides two bedrooms, one bath, living and kitchen area.

Registered Proprietors: Sonovia Darshann Gardiner 2. Parcel 60003/08 North West and North Central, Providenciales comprising of a single storey residential home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and a laundry room. Some commercial amenities are available nearby; however, the downtown area is readily accessible via Millennium Highway which is accessed via a paved road leading from the subject estate.

Registered Proprietor: Alan James Percy 3. Parcel 10401/115 East Suburbs, Grand Turk comprising of two- two bedroom and one bedroom apartments and one- one bedroom, one bathroom apartment.

There is a derelict lean-to addition and cistern at the rear of the property.

Registered Proprietor: Coralene Lou Phillips 4. Parcel 60802/39 The Bight and Thomas Stubbs, Providenciales comprising of 0.65 acres of undeveloped land. The Subject property is steeply sloping down towards the Lower Bight and benefits from distant ocean views from elevated southern section.

Registered Proprietor: Jay Leonard Steinberg 5. Parcel 60611/67, Norway & Five Cays, Providenciales, Comprising of 0.21 acres of Undeveloped land. The subject property is a corner parcel with access along the south east/south west boundaries and is located just off the South Dock road.

Registered Proprietor: Anisha Crishell Ewing 6. Parcel 60506/26 Blue Hills and Stamers Run, Providenciales, Comprising of 1.90 Acres of a well elevated undeveloped inland lot. The land is zoned as a Low Density Residential (3 units per acre) and can be located by taking the Thompson Cove road North off the Leeward Highway.

Registered Proprietor: Moriba Atiba Baker 7. Parcel 60002/355 North West & North Central, Providenciales, this property forms part of the Phase Two of the Priton Homes affordable housing scheme which consists of an extensive residential estate. This residence has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room and open living areas.

Registered Proprietor: Jameka Lashawn Williams The auction will be held at the offices of Scotiabank (Turks and Caicos) Limited, Grace Bay Branch, Providenciales at 10 o’clock in the morning on Friday the 28th day of June 2013.

A reserve price will be fixed on all parcels. A deposit of 10% is due immediately upon all accepted bids.

Terms and Conditions of Sale by Auction are available by request from Scotiabank Collections Department (649) 339-7100.

Page 14

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

ELITE SECURITY SERVICES

LOCAL NEWS

Ona Glinton’s Janelle Tennant tops GSAT results

SECURITY OFFICERS HOUSEKEEPER Responsible for household management, child care, pet care, elder care, household accounts, cleaning, assistance with guests and business entertaining, cooking with ability to follow special dietary requirements, Must have CPR training, own transport, ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays or live in as needed. Salary commensurate with experience.

debbyclaire@gmail.com

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

BY VIVIAN TYSON

Needed with at least four years experience in the security industry.

Salary negotiable

Please contact

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WOODS CONTRACTUAL SERVICES

J

anelle Tennant of the Ona Glinton Primary School in Grand Turk is the top Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) student for 2013 with an overall average of 92.07.

In fact, Ona Glinton captured the three top spots in this year’s exam sitting. dJanelle’s school mate Amrita Rampersaud secured the second spot with an 88.28 overall average, while Miranda Archbold seized third place with an 88.02 overall average. This means that the top three students this year are females.

Emerson Bataille of Community Christian Primary in Providenciales prevented an Ona Glinton female foursome shutout, with an overall average of 87.72 for fourth place, a mere .22 points separating himself from Dahanda Pluviose, who scored 87.50.

Divesh Aswani of Precious Treasures in Providenciales secured sixth place with an average of 87.41. Briann Gardiner of Adelaide Oemler Primary School in North Caicos grabbed seventh place with an 86.90 average. Ashley Agenor of Oseta Jolly Primary School in Providenciales took eight place, scoring 85.86, followed by Caitlin Lewis of Provo Christian School, who scored an average of 85.17 for ninth place, while Zaria Ingham B.E.S.T. Institute scored an overall average of 85.09 for 10th place. dJanelle emerged the top Mathematics student scoring 95.33 percent. Dahanda was second with 94.33 percent.

Joshua St.Michael Meghoo of Adelaide Oemler Primary in North Caicos was third with a 93.33 average. dJanelle was named top English student, scoring 93.50 percent. Zaria Ingham of B.E.S.T. Institute ended second with 91.50 percent, while Divesh Aswani of Precious Treasures rounded off the top three with 91.00 percent.

In the area of Science, dJanelle also topped that category with 87.69 percent.

GOVERNOR CHAIRS FSC MEETING.

is looking for a

BOOK KEEPER Rate $8.00 per Hour

941-4575 Turtle le Cove M Marina SEEKS KS

SHI

$10/hour

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Required to work 7 days/week (Weekends and Holidays may also be required)

Applicant must have his own tools and at least 10 years experience All applicants must apply by July 15, 2013

Contact

243-9968

Precious Treasures’ Divesh Aswani was second with 86.15 percent, while Kevin Missick of Wesley Methodist School was third with 86.15 percent.

Emerson Bataille of Community Christian and Bradley Louis of Shining Stars in Provenciales jointly topped the general paper category with 94.00 percent. There was a four-way tie for third with dJanelle and Omar Garland Ona Glinton, Carrick Astwood-Tull of Precious Treasures and Briann Gardiner of Adelaide Oemler Primary all ending on 90.00 percent.

The GSAT Prize-giving ceremony will take place between July 1 and July 7. On Grand Turk, the prize-giving ceremony will take place on July 1 at the Methodist Church. On Tuesday, July 2, the event moves to South Caicos, where it will be held at Mont Olive Baptist Church.

North and Middle Caicos will jointly host the event on Wednesday, July 3, at Horse Stable Beach. The Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex in Providenciales will host the final graduation on July 4.

Each event begins at 10 a.m.

Responding to the success of her charges, Gwuen Harvey, Principal for the Ona Glinton Primary remarked: “Ona Glinton Primary contributes its success to the commitment of hard work and dedication of staff, pupils and parents. These efforts are crowned by the blessing of God almighty, who is first in all that happens in this institution.”

This is part of his regular dialogue for this body for which he has a regulatory responsibility. He thanked Board for their he Governor met the work and their valuable full Financial Services contribution.

Commission (FSC) Board Governor Todd went on led by Chairman Erroll Al- to say that financial serlen on Grand Turk today. vices play a significant role in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) he shares COUGAR HOLDINGS LTD their desire to further develop the sector here.

“The global backdrop is challenging,” said. “But as the Prefor immediate start he mier set out in his corMust speak good respondence to Prime English & have Minister Cameron in a clean driving the run up to G8 Sumlicence. mit, the TCI is deter$6.00 per hour, mined to be a high quality jurisdiction, 6 days per working with partners week. including the UK, and Please call 946 5701 its overseas territories to arrange interview. and crown dependen-

T

Interested persons contact

Jananelle Tenant

REQUIRES

LABOURER

cies, to be at the forefront of efforts to raise global standards of transparency.

“Our financial services industry, the TCI Government and the FSC must work together to build a strong, high quality and well regulated sector that works together to promote itself both home and abroad.

“This will require careful co-ordination, skills, hard work and funding, but the sector of growth for the TCI must include international insurance and trusts.

“My constitutional and regulatory role should be seen not as opposing or limiting the financial services industry, but rather be seen as its biggest a supporter – building sustainable well governed financial services business here is in everyone’s best interest.”

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 15

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

Turks and Caicos Showcased as Ultimate Honeymoon Destination L

ast week, The Turks and Caicos took center stage at the Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida as the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board partnered with NBC6 South Florida and American Airlines for the Ultimate Honeymoon Sweepstakes 2013. This marks the Turks and Caicos’ second year as a destination partner with NBC6 South Florida on the campaign; which is in its sixth year running.

The aim of the promotion is to directly reach consumers interested in travel, destination weddings, and honeymoons, while they are in the planning stages of this milestone event. Marketing Executive for the Tourist Board, Oneika Simons-Rigby noted, “Destination weddings and honeymoon getaways are a major market for us, with many of our properties offering special packages and service providers catering everything involved in the event planning, from food and décor selection to your choice of priest. This has always been a promising market for us and one that we have seen continuous growth in for the last 10 years.

The Turks and Caicos brand was showcased tremendously throughout the extensive multi-media campaign that included television advertisements and promos, as well as a live interview with NBC6’s Roxanne Vargas on “6 In The Mix”, direct marketing, on-line marketing, and social media.

The Ultimate Honeymoon campaign launched in March, 2013 and will run until the end of June, 2013. Phase two of the campaign saw couples submitting essays or photos for a competition, from which four finalists were revealed. NBC6 viewers were then given the opportunity to vote for their favorite amongst the finalists. The winning couple will receive a seven night honeymoon getaway at The Somerset on Grace Bay, the primary partner of the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board for this year’s campaign, inclusive of food and beverage along with other amenities for a total prize package worth more than $15,500. The prize package is redeemable over the next 12 months.

“In addition to airfare and accommodation prizes, the winning couple will also enjoy a wonderful evening at our weekly Island Fish Fry and excursions to North and Middle Caicos,” say Simons-Rigby. “In all our promotions we do our best to incorporate the family islands, so that our visitors may discover the hidden secrets that lay beyond Providenciales.”

Marketing the destination at the NBC6 Travel Expo for the destination were Oneika Simons-Rigby and Oehleo Higgs, Senior Public Relations Officer for the Tourist Board. Also participating in the campaign and expo were representatives from destination such as Mexico and St. Lucia, as well as other luxury brands, namely, the Turnberry Isle Miami and Harley Davidson.

TRADE WIND INDUSTRIES LIMITED (“the Company”) NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to the Companies Ordinance and the Company’s Articles of Association, that an Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at the offices of Saunders & Co, Town Centre Building, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands at 10:00 am on Thursday, 11 July 2013 in order to consider and if deemed appropriate.

1. Appoint and remove directors and officers to the Board of Directors of the Company, and accept the resignation of directors, if appropriate.

2. Present the accounts for the Company, if applicable, or dispense with the same.

3. Appoint auditors to the company, if applicable, or dispense with the same.

4. Ratify acts undertaken by the company, if applicable.

5. Instruct the company’s secretary to file the annual returns.

John Hartley - Chairman c/o SAUNDERS & CO. Post Office Box 257 Town Centre Building Town Centre Providenciales TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS

LOCAL NEWS DDME ANNOUNCED SAND DISTRIBUTION LOCATIONS

T

he Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies would like to advise the public that as part of the TCIG preparation for the 2013 Hurricane Season, the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs has offered a maximum of ten (10) bags of sand per household.

The agency deems this as sufficient to offer individual household protection from flooding. Sand may be collected from the following locations.

• Providenciales at the National Environmental DEMA Office Centre on Providenciales • Grand Turk at the Red Cross (Sand Bags).

Location to be decided • North Caicos at the Kew Community Centre, Kew; Adelaide Omeler Primary School, Bottle Creek • Middle Caicos at the District Commissioner’s Office Yard, and on • South Caicos at the library yard near to the Regatta Village On Salt Cay sand will be distributed house to house For further information please Contact: • Salt Cay: The District Commissioner’s Offices on Salt Cay, North, South and Middle Caicos • Providenciales: DEMA Office, and the Department of Disaster and Emergencies and on • Grand Turk: Red Cross and the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies.

Page 16

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS FISHING LICENCES UP FOR RENEWAL JULY 31

T

he Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA) would like to remind the public that all fishing licences are up for renewal on July 31.

All applicants are advised that under Section 6 of the Fisheries Protection Ordinance, Commercial Fishing Licences are restricted to Belongers ONLY. Non-Belongers will not be granted a Commercial Fishing Licence or a renewal of a Commercial Fishing Licence.

Foreigners wishing to engage in commercial fishing must be licensed as an assistant, sponsored by a Belonger, who is the holder of a Commercial Fishing Licence. Applicants for an Assistant’s Licence must submit proof of a clean Police Record. Persons convicted of offences against the Fisheries Protection Ordinance will not be granted an Assistant’s Licence. Furthermore, a Belonger must be on-board every commercial fishing vessel during operation.

All residents are eligible to apply for a Sport Fishing Licence for personal consumption.

Any questions regarding fishing licences should be directed to DEMA at 941-5122.

Rick Waugh announces his retirement from Scotiabank, Brian Porter to take on role of President and CEO S

cotiabank Chief Executive Officer Rick Waugh today announced his intention to retire as CEO effective November 1, 2013 after 10 years in the role and 43 years with the Bank. He will remain a Director of the Board and assume the role of Deputy Chairman of the Bank until January 31, 2014.

The Board of Directors has appointed Brian Porter to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer effective November 1, 2013. Brian was appointed to the role of President on November 1, 2012, and just prior to that was Group Head, International Banking, overseeing all of the Bank’s personal, small business and commercial banking operations in more than 55 countries outside of Canada. Brian was also Scotiabank’s Group Head of Global Risk Management and Treasury. He joined Scotiabank in 1981, and has held a variety of other management positions, including Deputy Chairman of Global Banking and Markets.

“Rick Waugh has guided Scotiabank through a period of tremendous growth, generating exceptional returns for shareholders and employees during some very turbulent times. His focus on customers, diversification, emerging markets and risk management along with his strong values, has shaped the growth and direction of the Bank over the last ten years,” said John Mayberry, Chairman of the Board.

The Board expressed its confidence in Brian Porter appointing him President in November 2012.

Mayberry added, “We are pleased to take the next step in succession today by confirming him in the role of President and CEO effective November 1, 2013. Brian has a tremendous range of experience across the Bank, including the critical role of Chief Risk Officer. The Board is confident in Brian’s ability

Scotiabank’s CEO Rick Waugh (L) and President Brian Porter ( R) announce November 1, 2013 as date of transition. to continue to produce strong results and build on the straightforward and proven business model that has worked so well for customers, shareholders and employees.”

“I want to congratulate Brian Porter on his appointment to President and Chief Executive Officer,” said Rick Waugh, CEO, Scotiabank. “He has had an exceptional career at Scotiabank. Brian and the management team bring the right experience, values and culture to ensure our Bank’s continued success.”

“It is a distinct privilege to have been entrusted with the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, and I would like to thank the Board of Directors and Rick Waugh for their confidence in my ability to continue to deliver superior, consistent and predictable results for all of our stakeholders,” said Brian Porter,

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 17

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

LOCAL NEWS

HM Prison opens new female unit H

er Majesty Prison’s new female unit was officially declared operational on Monday June 17, 2013

by Minister for Environment and Home Affairs Hon. Amanda Misick.

The Unit delivers improvements in the facilities previously provided for female prisoners at HM Prison, moving from cellular accommodation to a designed community and support style accommodation. The improved design ensures that female offenders have a communal based residential area which better supports offender rehabilitation.

The old accommodation was limited in the facilities allowed, due to design and the Prison Ordinance. The new accommodation whilst still providing security, enhances opportunities in regards to purposeful activities, peer led support groups, health and fitness and focused interventions in a pro social environment. The unit also better facilitates the visits of agencies and support groups providing interventions and support for the incarcerated females.

Accommodation planning is central to the Ministry’s priorities as a structured way of dealing with increasing Prisoner population. The new Female unit is part of a phased approach in the Pris-

Minister for Environment and Home Affairs Hon. Amanda Misick cuts the ribbon to the new Women’s Unit at Her Majesty Prison on Monday June 17, 2013. on’s strategy for prisoner accommodation.

Superintendent Ian Sargent expressed his gratitude to the Ministries of Environment and Government Support Services; the Prison Maintenance Manager Llewellyn Williams and the prisoner maintenance crew “worked extremely hard in making the unit possible”.

Minister Misick congratulated the Prison staff for their dedication and commitment.

Members of Staff and Senor Officers from HM Prison and the Ministry of Environment and Home Affairs pose for photographs after the official opening on the Female Unit at the prison.

She noted: “It gives me great pleasure to commission the new female wing at Her Majesty’s Prison. One of the major priorities of the Prison is to ensure that those in custody have suitable accommodations, coupled with an effective rehabilitation program.

“The Management Team of the Prison must be commended for their insight, leadership and strategic forward planning initiatives which has led, not only to a new improved Female Unit, but also the relocation of the Juveniles to

a more appropriate area that is in alignment with International Conventions. You did a fantastic job despite the financial and human resource constraints”.

The opening of the new Female Unit follows other recent accommodation improvements at HM Prison including newly refurbished facilities for juvenile offenders at HM Prison.

Other attendees included the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Home Affairs Mrs. Susan Malcolm.

RegulaƟon 7 of the Physical Planning (Development Permission) RegulaƟons, 1990 An applicaƟon, registered as PR-11178 by Leeward Limited, has been submiƩed to the Department of Planning, to remove and replace an exisƟng coastal groyne structure with associated beach nourishment along Pelican Beach in Grace Bay.

An a the struc

Anyone wishing to make any representaƟon(s) may do so in wriƟng to the Director of Planning, South Base, Grand Turk, or through the Department of Planning, Downtown, Town Center Mall, Providenciales within twenty eight (28) days of publicaƟon of this NoƟce.

Anyo repr wriƟ Plan or t Plan Cent with publ

NoƟce dated: May 31, 2013

NoƟ

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LOCAL NEWS

Digicel Group Records 8% Revenue Growth In Its Full Year Results D

igicel, the best value mobile operator in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific, reported ongoing strong financial performance for the year ended 31 March 2013.

Digicel Group – which operates in 30 markets throughout the Caribbean, El Salvador and the South Pacific – reported revenues of US$2.78 billion which represents an 8% year on year increase in revenues. EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was up 11% year on year to US$1.2 billion for the full year with the most recent quarter contributing US$318 million.

With subscribers up 1% to 12.9 million across Digicel Group’s 30 markets worldwide, performance has been strong with revenue growth driven in particular by Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname. As Digicel continues to roll out 4G networks based on HSPA+ technology and to expand the range of smartphones

it offers, data and value-added services revenues stood at 23% of service revenues – up from 20% for the prior year quarter.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Group CEO, Colm Delves, said: “We are very pleased with the continued growth we are seeing across our markets and with the customer response to the rollout of our 4G networks. We will continue to focus on growing our ICT/Business Solutions portfolio and on driving data usage across our customer base. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to our dedicated staff and loyal customers and to assure them of our continued commitment to best value, service and network and to growing our communities.

Key achievements in the period include: Launch of 4G services based on HSPA+ in the British Virgin Islands, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago – and LTE in Antigua & Barbuda

• Completion of the integration of the Voila business and network in Haiti • ICT/Business Solutions revenues increased by 94% for the year and now represent 3% of services revenues • Issuance of a total of US$1.3 billion of Digicel Group Limited senior notes due 2021 at 6% with the proceeds being used to refinance existing notes and for general corporate purposes After 12 years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has over 12.9 million customers across its 30 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the title sponsor of the Digicel Ca-

ribbean Cup. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.

Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti and Papua New Guinea which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.

IMMEDIATE OPENING FITNESS INSTRUCTOR Requirements: • Prior experience as a fitness trainer in a high end environment with experience in both personal training and teaching classes.

• Certification(s) in fitness instruction, personal training, pilates etc.

• High level of personal fitness with ability to demonstrate proper usage of equipment and proper exercise techniques.

• Very energetic person with commitment to ensuring high levels of guest satisfaction.

Duties Include: • Create and provide consistent professional fitness classes and personal training sessions in accordance with spa protocols and accepted certification practices.

• Provide instruction on safe usage of fitness equipment.

• Care for and maintain fitness equipment.

• Actively promote the spa, treatments, services and retail as well as any promotions or discounts.

• Assist in areas of the spa operation as requested by management.

• Must be able and willing to work all days and shifts • Starting salary $6.00 per hour not including service charge

• Must be able and willing to work all days and shifts.

Duties Include: • Impeccable maintenance of grounds and landscaping.

• Ability to identify areas for improvement and keeps abreast of latest trends in regards to plants, irrigation, landscape maintenance and chemical applications.

• Ensuring proper utilization and maintenance of equipment.

• Managing overall cleanliness of work, storage and space areas.

Starting salary $35,000 per annum, not including service charge Waste Water Plant Requirements: • Minimum 2 years prior experience in the Waste Water plant of a luxury hotel property.

• Knowledge of water testing and reading sample results.

• Proficiency with hospitality operating systems.

• Strong organizational and time management discipline with ability to multi-task.

• Solid judgment and ability to resolve conflicts effectively.

• Must be able and willing to work all days and shifts Duties Include: • Take water samples and provide testing for sediment amount, chlorine and ph.

• Ability to make adjustments to the plant equipment pending outcome of testing results.

• Washing down of all floats, sidewalks, equipment and railings on a daily basis.

• The technician will also be required to fill the chlorine feeder with the proper amount of tablets as needed.

• Responsible to do all checks and repairs on plant equipment to include air compressors, pumps and filter equipment.

• Ensure that proper backwashing is done on a regular basis or as needed.

• Required to legibly record all discrepancies and testing information on a daily record log.

Starting salary $7.50 per hour not including service charge

Landscaping Project Manager Requirements: • Minimum of 5 years experience in managing the landscaping department of a 5 star Luxury Caribbean Resort.

• Post secondary degree or equivalent qualification by experience • Expert knowledge of Zone 9 Caribbean landscaping.

• Vast knowledge in horticulture, native plant species and chemical usage towards the prevention of plant disease and insect control.

• Must have extensive experience with Irrigation systems and landscape maintenance.

• Must have strong supervisory skills and demonstrated experience managing a grounds department.

• landscaping, tool safety, chemical usage and operation of lawn equipment.

Interested applicants should apply to Regent Palms, Human Resources Department, Monday through Friday, and bring along an updated resume, or by emailing your resume to marjorie.dorsett@regenthotels.com no later than Friday, July 5, 2013.

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Career Opportunity: Grace Bay Club is looking for candidates that have the requirements listed along with an outgoing professional manner. They love to work with different types of people, meet challenges with a positive attitude and live the standards of our organization. Their management style is one that balances a commitment to people and their development with business/financial accountability and delivers an exceptional guest experience.

SPA SUPERVISOR/ THERAPIST

• Display, effectively communicate, and hold all employees accountable to our Company Credo. Goals and mission.

• Complete in-house orientation program, which includes all policies and procedures as per the manual and employee handbook.

• Complete all training provided by The Grace Bay Resorts.

• Have complete knowledge of all Spa services, packages, promotions and retail products presently offered by the Spa. .

• Present a well-groomed, professional appearance. You must be in full uniform at all times while on property or at a work-related event.

• Be punctual and prepared for your day.

• Assist in all spa activities including staff meetings, educational events, workshops, inventory or promotions.

• Manipulation of schedules to optimize the guest’s time and Spa experience, as needed.

• Managing several different tasks at once.

• Assure quality control for all guest areas of the Spa. • Maintain accountability for all subordinate spa employees, to include quality control for all guest and employee areas.

• Conduct line-up sessions in a professional, timely and effective manner.

• Have working knowledge of Spa ordering procedures to assure spa staff have products and guest supplies as necessary.

• Have a working knowledge of all Spa menu items, packages, group functions and special promotions.

• Correct and or contact the proper department to address any immediate problem related to the mechanical function of the spa.

• Have a working knowledge of all Spa related job functions and responsibilities.

• Have a thorough knowledge of Micros • Ensure that all treatments have the proper coverage and resource availability.

• Complete various reports, i.e. Time and Attendance Reports, daily activity reports, line-up notes, customer complaints, etc.

• Provide on- the-job training to any new and current employees as needed, or as directed by Spa Management.

• Follow up with guests while in the spa who present any negative feedback regarding any portion of the spa.

• Recognize, correct and be proactive with any guest complaint or concern, then handle it within a timely manner.

• Recognize and correct any safety hazard within a timely manner.

• Clearly communicate daily events to other Supervisors or Management through a daily Supervisor Log and verbally as needed.

• Assist any other members of the Spa family as needed.

• Other duties and special projects as needed and assigned by Resort Management.

• Attend resort morning operations meetings, rooms division and arrival meetings.

• Attend Manager’s cocktail reception.

• Mentor spa staff as well as persons chosen in the Labor Mentoring Program.

• Attend spa yield meetings.

• Coordinate spa upgrades and renovations.

• Create spa SOP • Offer lateral service to other departments when needed and when available.

• Create spa promotions and coordinate the mktg.

• Monitor spa daily/ monthly revenues.

• Handle spa commission payroll.

• Minimum of 15 hours per week in spa treatments is required Qualified Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Kitchen Helper

Requirements: • Assist with Food & beverage service • Receive and store supplies • Stock cupboards, refrigerators and salad bars • Clean food preparation and storage areas • Assist with food preparation • Work with minimal supervision Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Restaurant Servers / Wait Staff

Job Overview: Qualified individuals should have a minimum of 3 years restaurant experience. Individuals must possess strong work ethics; have a working knowledge of fine dining steps of service, and the ability to provide our guests with an outstanding dining experience. Servers should be industry professionals with excellent food and wine knowledge.

Job Requirements: • Responsibilities include setup, organization and cleanup of service areas.

• Responsible for staying current with daily menu items and changing wine lists.

• Must be able to work as part of a motivated, high energy team that takes pride in their work.

• Lifting of trays loaded with food, plates and glassware required.

• Responsible for responding to any situation at any given time in a professional and courteous manner.

This may include answering any questions posed by guests • Stack, lift and carry trays in a systematic and safe manner • Clean and retrieve tables in a neat, timely and professional manner.

• Receive, process, and present all food and beverage orders according to Grace Bay Club standards • Responsible for using suggestive selling techniques, when appropriate and doing so in a courteous manner to up sell and in turn increase the average check Qualified Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Domestic Worker/Housekeeper

Job Requirements: • Ensure the cleanliness of all hotel areas • Assist in all Housekeeping responsibilities, cleaning of all guest rooms, stocking amenities and linens • physical stamina and mobility including ability to reach, kneel and bend • ability to lift, push and pull required load (usually about 30lbs) • Ensure inventory is used properly and in supply at all times • Possess knowledge of proper cleaning supplies and chemical handling Qualified Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Storeroom Clerk

Job Requirements: • Uses hand truck to move, convey, or hoister shipments from shipping and receiving platform to storage or work area • Properly rotates, prices and stores incoming merchandise • Accurately issues all store room merchandise to all departments • Maintains cleanliness of all storeroom, freezers and coolers • Maintains security in storerooms • Assists with inventories • Receives and processes all hotel packages • Processes all accounting invoices

• Reports problems and shortages to purchasing manager • Adhere to all Sanitation and Safety Standards and Guidelines • All other duties as assigned Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Labourer

Job Requirements: • Operate, maintain and repair the property’s heating, ventilation air conditioning and refrigeration systems • Perform Laundry and Kitchen services • Perform preventative maintenance on the hotel’s systems • Pool cleaning, chemical testing, adding chemical as required • Maintain the proper use, cleaning, maintenance and storage of all tools.

• Responsible for cleaning grease traps, lift stations, checking & treatment of sewage treatment plant Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Executive Sous Chef

Duties and Responsibilities • Demonstrate a participative supervisory style which promotes effective use of subordinates calculating added value profit return against time and resources invested.

• Meet all company and statutory requirements with regards to food hygiene and employee health & hygiene.

• To remain alert to potential threats to life, safety and security of employees and guests, with particular emphasis being placed on fire prevention, training / awareness, evacuation and emergency procedures.

• To show a positive attitude at all times and promote mutual respect within the Kitchen and through all departments.

• To ensure budgeted food costs are met by structured, conservative buying and produce utilization.

• To keep up to date records for compliance with health & safety regulations.

• To assist the F&B Director to monitor department’s performance against budget and GSTS, communicating feedback and providing appropriate support/action where necessary.

• Help to maintain appropriate levels of staffing, according to business levels and help to ensure staffs are motivated to deliver consistently high levels of guest service.

• To be responsible for the day to day running of the kitchen.

• To assist the F&B Director in the maintaining of food cost percentage through control in wastage, purchasing, storing, portion control.

• To assist the F&B Director in implementing and carrying out the departmental training needs.

• To check mis en place is ready and is to the required standard for service.

• On a daily basis check with the function sheets and liaise with the F&B Director to the duties needed to be carried out that day.

• To be responsible for the writing of menus in the F&B Director’s absence.

• To act in accordance with all Health & Safety and Hygiene regulations and to adhere to the Company’s Health &Safety policy.

Job Requirements • Minimum 5 years experience as Executive Chef.

• Extensive knowledge of International food including Asian, Indian as well as Mediterranean.

• Qualified first aid trainer.

Qualified Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience

Interested persons can contact our Human Resources Department no later than July 1st 2013 @ (649) 946-5050 Ext. 1050 Email: veronica.clare@gracebayclub.com Fax: (649) 946-5758 P.O. Box 128 Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies

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Make Carambola Grill and Lounge Your First Choice for Catering this year!

Graduation Prom Dinners & Birthday!

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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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Kim Kardashian, Kanye West’s Baby Name “Definitely Does Not Start With a K” D

are to be different! Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s baby name of choice has been a hot topic since the moment the 32-year-old reality star announced in December that she was pregnant. And now that the tot is here -- Kardashian gave birth five weeks early on June 15 -- speculation is at a fever pitch.

So far, the proud new parents are keeping mum on the mystery and have yet to publicly comment (or tweet) about their bundle of joy. But one thing is certain: Their daughter’s name is not, as rumors have suggested, a “K” name (a la mom Kim, dad Kanye, grandmother Kris, and aunts Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie).

“They’re not quite ready to announce the name yet,” a source close to the couple tells Us Weekly exclusively. “But the name definitely does not start with a K, despite all the rumors that have been out.” (Some reports claim incorrectly that the baby’s name is Kaidence Donda West; the middle name is a nod to West’s late mother, Dr. Donda West.)

“Everybody is doing great,” the insider adds of the happy family.

K

KIM KARDASHIAN AND KAYNE WEST “The baby is so sweet. Kanye is in love. Kim’s real due date was July 12 -- Kanye’s mom’s birthday. That warmed his heart.”

Of course, the rapper, 36, isn’t the only one who’s smitten with his newborn baby girl. Kardashian’s sister Khloe, 28, couldn’t help gushing about her niece on

Twitter just one day after the tot made her debut.

“I cannot even begin 2 describe the miracle that is now a part of our family,” she wrote on Sunday, June 16. “Mommy/baby are healthy & resting. We appreciate all the love.”

Tell Us: What should Kim and Kanye name their baby girl?

Media reporter Howard Kurtz to leave CNN for Fox News M

edia watchdog Howard Kurtz, host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” for 15 years, said Thursday that he’s jumping to Fox News Channel.

Kurtz will host another Sunday morning media criticism show to replace the current “Fox News Watch.” He’ll also appear as an on-air analyst across the network during the week and write a column for the network’s website on social media news and industry trends.

His jump comes less than two months after Kurtz was interviewed on his own show to apologize for and explain a series of mistakes he had made in a story about basketball player Jason Collins, who had announced he was gay. Kurtz said the incident did not play a role in his exit from CNN, that the timing of it and his contract renewal were coincidental.

“The folks at CNN have been nothing but gracious to me during my 15 years of hosting `Reliable Sources’ but this is a chance to create a new franchise and play a larger role,” he said.

Michael Clemente, Fox’s executive vice president of news, called Kurtz “the most accomplished media reporter in the country” and said his addition would bring greater depth to the

SAMSUNG BUYS A MILLION COPIES OF JAY-Z’S ALBUM FOR GALAXY SMARTPHONE OWNERS

network.

Kurtz, a longtime media reporter at The Washington Post, began as a panelist for the show when it started in 1992 with Bernard Kalb as host. Kurtz took over as host in 1998. CNN, in a statement, thanked Kurtz and wished him well. “Reliable Sources” will continue with a variety of hosts in the next few months, which is how TV networks often test possibilities before choosing a successor.

Kurtz had written a column for The Daily Beast saying Collins had hidden a previous engagement to a woman, when in fact Collins had talked about it in a Sports Illustrated story and television interview. Kurtz acknowledged being too slow to correct the mistake and making an inappropriate comment about playing “both sides of the court” in a video story.

The Daily Beast and Kurtz announced they were parting ways on the same day the mistake came to light.

Kurtz said he is comfortable he will have editorial independence at Fox and that the network would not have hired him without being comfortable with his style of media criticism.

“I have had occasion to criticize every employer I have

worked for, including The Washington Post and CNN, and I don’t see any reason for that to change if it is warranted,” he said.

His last “Reliable Sources” will be June 30 and Kurtz begins at Fox the next day.

Fox said that Jon Scott, current host of “Fox News Watch,” will be an anchor for the network’s specials unit. Scott also hosts “Happening Now” weekdays from 11am-1pm.

Kurtz spent 29 years at The Washington Post in various capacities. He became the media reporter for the paper in 1990 and wrote the weekly Media Notes column, which was widely read throughout the industry. Kurtz joined The Washington Post in 1981, after being hired by Bob Woodward, and went on to serve as a justice department and congressional reporter, New York bureau chief and deputy national editor before covering the media beat as a reporter, columnist and blogger.

A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the author of five books, including “Media Circus,” “Reality Sho”w and the New York Times bestseller “Spin Cycle,” Kurtz has also contributed to a number of magazines ranging from Vanity Fair to New York.

anye West’s new album “Yeezus” might have leaked and spread across the Internet before the performer wanted, but Jay-Z has a more strategic plan to get his upcoming album out to the Web before the official launch.

On July 4, his new album “Magna Carta Holy Grail” will be released, but not through the usual online and physical music stores. It will be released to a million people who didn’t even know they had bought the album -- that’s because Samsung has bought it for them.

One million Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and Galaxy Note II owners will get the album 72 hours before it is available to everyone else. Starting on June 24 users will be able to download the “Magna Carta Holy Grail” app via the Android Google Play Store then on July 4 if you were among the million chosen the free album will appear in the app for your listening pleasure.

Samsung says that the million chosen will have to have already download the app. The app will only be compatable on the select Galaxy S3, S4 and Note II phones and won’t work on other Android phones, says Samsung. The company hasn’t released numbers on how many of those three phone models have been sold, but in May it announced it had sold 10 million of its new Galaxy S4. For those who aren’t selected to get the full album, the app will also have an “unprecedented inside look into the album, personal stories and inspiration.”

Samsung has reportedly paid $5 for each album, totaling $5 million for the exclusive. It also means Jay-Z has sold a million copies before the public has heard a note of it.

But since the Samsung marketing deal was announced on Sunday night during the NBA Finals over 5 million people have heard a teaser of the album. A video which ran first during the basketball event and then was posted to Samsung’s YouTube channel, which shows Jay-Z collaborating with others in the studio, has made its way across the Facebook and Twitter. As of today, 5.3 million people had watched it via YouTube.

The sharing of that video and the app is all part of the strategy.

“The Internet is like the wild, wild west. We need to write the new rules,” Jay-Z says in the video. Owners of the app, though not the album, will be able to share it with other Galaxy S phone owners via Facebook, Twitter and S Beam, Samsung’s tap-to-share feature.

Some fear that it will lead to illegal downloading and sharing of the album as only those with specific Galaxy phones will have access to it on July 4.

However, Jay-Z seems to be very clear on those ramifications.

“The idea is to finish the album and drop it,” Jay-Z says in the video. “Giving it to the world at one time and letting them share it and it goes out.”

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Provo Primary School Summer Programme See www.provoprimary.com for details or call 441 5638 or 431 6327 Age?

How Much?

What?

When?

What Activities

Toddler Taster

July and August 8.30AM 10.30 or 12:00PM

Summer Fun Camp

July and August 8.30AM 12.00PM

2-5 yr olds

$30 per session or $125 week

&ƵŶ ĂĐƟǀŝƟĞƐ͕ ǁĂƚĞƌ ƉůĂLJ͕ ďŝŬŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ďĂŬŝŶŐ

Summer Camp

1st July – July 12th 8.30AM 12.00PM

6 + yr olds

$30 per session or $125 week

DƵƐŝĐ͕ ĚƌĂŵĂ͕ ĚĂŶĐĞ͕ ƐƉŽƌƚƐ͕ &ƌĞŶĐŚ͕ ĂƌƚƐ ĂŶĚ ĐƌĂŌƐ͕ ƐǁŝŵŵŝŶŐ͕ ĮĞůĚ ƚƌŝƉƐ ĂŶĚ ŵŽƌĞ

Hockey Camp

1st – 5th July 8:30AM 12.00PM

6 + yr olds

$40 per session or $175 week

KŶ Θ Žī ƌŝŶŬ ƌŽůůĞƌ hockey ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶƐ͕ ǀŝĚĞŽ ƚƌĂŝŶŝŶŐ Θ ŶƵƚƌŝƟŽŶ classes

Math & MindUP

1st – 12th July 12:30AM – 1.30PM

6 + yr olds

$10 per session or $45 week

>ĞĂƌŶ ŚŽǁ ƚŽ ĨŽĐƵƐ your mind and ƉƌĂĐƟƐĞ LJŽƵƌ ŶƵŵďĞƌ ƐŬŝůůƐ

Designed as an $10 14 mths per hour ŝŶƚƌŽĚƵĐƟŽŶ ĨŽƌ to ƉƌŽƐƉĞĐƟǀĞ 2 yr olds Toddler/Preschool ĨĂŵŝůŝĞƐ ƚŽ ŐĞƚ ƚŽ know our school

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GOVERNMENT VACANCY JOB TITLE: PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

DEPARTMENT: Governor’s Office MINISTRY: Governor’s Office LOCATION: Grand Turk

• An Associate’s Degree in Business Administration or related field.

• A Bachelor’s Degree in the field of Business Administration or any related field would be an asset.

• Three (3) years’ on the job experience

JOB SUMMARY: This role is focused on fully supporting His Excellency the Governor by providing a first class personal assistant service. He/she will also provide an efficient and responsive administrative and secretarial service to H.E the Governor by helping him to manage and prioritize his time.

SALARY: $40,000 per annum Telephone Allowance: $1,200 per annum

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

SPECIAL CONDITIONS:

•Manages and maintains His Excellency the Governor’s diary.

•Coordinates travel and accommodation requirements and ensures arrangements are in place for H.E the Governor that matches his requirements.

•Keeps and maintains an accurate record of expenditure.

•Tracks and follows up on requests from Ministers, Senior Officials and members of the General public.

•Organizes and stores paperwork, documents and computer-based information.

•Manages H.E the Governor’s calendar and schedule.

•Maintains and supports the IT infrastructure in the Governor’s Office.

•Filters general information, queries, phone calls and invitations to H.E the Governor by redirecting or taking forward such contact as appropriate.

•Performs any other administrative duties as determined by H.E the Governor.

•Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Security Clearance is required to hold this position. Applicants must be willing to undergo the assessment process.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES: •High level of written and oral communication skills.

• Effective leadership and interpersonal skills.

•A team player with good problem solving and time management skills.

• An extensive knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Resumes with current contact information must be accompanied by a Cover Letter and two letters of reference (one preferably from a former employer) as well as copies of educational certificates and a copy of the Passport photo page. Shortlisted candidates must submit a Police Certificate.

Applications should be addressed to the Office of the Human Resource Management Directorate, Church Folly, Grand Turk. Facsimile: 946-1582 or sent by email to: recruitment@gov.tc with the subject line being: Personal Assistant, Governor’s Office. Envelopes should have the subject: Personal Assistant, Governor’s Office clearly marked on the front.

Successful applicants will work in accordance with the Public Service Ordinance.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 5th July, 2013

GOVERNMENT VACANCY JOB TITLE: CORPORATE SERVICES MANAGER DEPARTMENT: Governor’s Office MINISTRY: Governor’s Office LOCATION: Grand Turk

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE: • An Associate’s Degree in Business Management or equivalent.

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Human Resource Management or equivalent area would be an asset.

• Three (3) to five (5) years’ experience in a managerial capacity.

JOB SUMMARY: The Corporate Services Manager in the Governor’s Office is responsible for ensuring the smooth function and operation of the financial, human and physical resources of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the TCI. He/she will ensure FCO guidance; norms and best practices are followed in relation to financial reporting and administration, estate management, Human Resources and procurement.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

SALARY: $40,000 per annum Telephone Allowance: $1,200 per annum

SPECIAL CONDITIONS: •Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Security Clearance is required to hold this

•Manages the FCO’s allocated budget/account and financial services effectively and efficiently. Leads on returns, checks and management information.

•Manages the FCO’s estate in the TCI including residential accommodation for UK staff and ensures it is safe, secure and fit for purpose. Leads on lease negotiations and project management.

•Manages the FCO procurement of goods and services for the Governor’s Office, monitors delivery and arranges payments.

•Manages the FCO Human Resource systems at the Governor’s Office. Leads on induction, health & welfare and administration of staff data.

•Oversees chevening scholarships, assists with disaster preparedness and inward visit logistics.

•Performs any other job related duties.

and two letters of reference (one preferably from a former employer) as well as copies

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES:

Governor’s Office. Envelopes should have the subject: Corporate Services

•Demonstrated understanding of corporate service systems.

•Well-developed financial management skills.

•Excellent oral and written communication skills with sound interpersonal skills.

• Strong administrative capability.

•Good organizational, team playing and time management skills.

Manager, Governor’s Office clearly marked on the front.

position. Applicants must be willing to undergo the assessment process. .

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: Resumes with current contact information must be accompanied by a Cover Letter of educational certificates and a copy of the Passport photo page. Shortlisted candidates must submit a Police Certificate.

Applications should be addressed to the Office of the Human Resource Directorate, Church Folly, Grand Turk. Facsimile: 946-1582 or sent by email to: recruitment@gov.tc with the subject line being: Corporate Services Manager,

Successful applicants will work in accordance with the Public Service Ordinance.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 5th July, 2013

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

News CARIBBEAN

Regional countries to lobby London on airline passenger duty tax

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RIDGETOWN, Barbados– Caribbean diplomats in the United Kingdom (UK) are gearing up to lobby the British government for an ease in the airline passenger duty (APD), a tax which Caribbean countries say seriously affect their tourism industries.

Tourism and International Transport Minister Richard Sealy said the Caribbean diplomats have secured £40,000 (One British pound = US$1.57 cents) to assist them in this effort.

Sealy, who recently visited the United Kingdom to the UK to meet with stakeholders in the tourism industry, said the funds were sourced from a UK-based Jamaican Building Society to assist the High Commissioners in their fight.

He also said the APD Steering Group of which Barbados’ High Commissioner was a member, was fully on board with the initiative.

“High Commissioner (Hugh) Arthur is fully engaged along with the High Commissioners from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Lucia, among others, who are definitely keen and re-energised to engage the British Government. They will also be a £40,000 public campaign as part of the effort,” he added.

The APD, instituted in 1994, is a British environmental tax aimed at offsetting aviation’s carbon footprint. In its initial stage, it was set at £5 (US$7.85) per person.

Regional governments have been lobbying London to remove the tax, which they said negatively affect the growth of the tourism industry since the Caribbean has been placed in a band that makes travel to the region much more expensive than travelling from London to the United States.

Last year, a number of leading international airlines, including British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic urged Osborne to suspend the planned APD pending the outcome of an independent study of the economic effects of such a tax rise.

The airlines said that the eight per cent increase introduced in April last year would reduce passenger numbers and hinder the UK’s economic recovery.

They said that as a result of the increase, a family of four flying from the UK to the Caribbean would have to pay close to £400 in taxes. In 2005 such a family would have paid a total of £80 in taxes.

Sealy also said it was “good to hear” that the region was “making noise” on the APD and its impact on travellers.

“We don’t expect the APD to go away but at the same time, we can’t just go silent on the issue and we have to enlist some more partners because this thing is much larger than a tourism issue,” he added.

While commending the High Commissioners for taking the lead in this effort , Sealy said that the West Indian and immigrant populations, who played an integral role in the development of the British economy, were affected by the APD. “They (British Government) cannot just ignore the cries from these people that are performing a significant part of the lifeblood of their nation.

“It is important from a tourism point of view especially for Barbados, because (Britain) is our major source market, but it is also important for those many Barbadians and others who are living in that society who are affected want to come home to visit a sick relative or to attend a funeral.”

“I am not saying that the ticket should be tax free, but it (the taxes) should be within reach,”. Sealy said

Cayman Islands very rarely denies permanent residence and citizenship

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ayman Islands immigration-related boards denied grants of Caymanian Status or permanent residence nearly 14 per cent of the time since the start of 2012.

That’s according to figures produced by the Immigration Department through March 2013. The numbers don’t necessarily indicate that grants of residency and status are approved the other 86 per cent of the time, since a number of applications are deferred or delayed for various reasons.

According to the Caymanian Compass newspaper, Between January 2012 and March 2013, immigration data show there were 2,537 applications for permanent residence, the right to reside in Cayman for the rest of one’s life, and Caymanian status, the Cayman Islands equivalent of ‘belonger status’ or local citizenship.

During the same period a total of 353 of those applications were outright refused.

The highest rate of refusal occurred in the last quarter of 2012, when 131 out of 679 applications were turned down. The lowest rate of refusal happened in the third quarter of 2012, when just nine per cent of those applications were refused.

The latest figures available from the Immigration Department, for January through March, show 459 permanent residence and Caymanian status applications were received. Sixty-five of those applications were refused, while another 54 were delayed.

The total number approved is difficult to determine exactly, because some of the delayed applications may have been heard again in the same quarter and so counted twice. However, even if all 54 were heard twice in the same period, it would appear that more than 275 applications were granted in the one three month period.

There are actually a number of different types of permanent residence and Caymanian status awarded by the immigration boards. The vast majority of those statuses awarded between January and March can be broken down into five categories; residency based on marriage to a Caymanian, residency based on eightplus years in the Islands, variation of a permanent resident’s status, Caymanian status based on naturalisation and Caymanian status based on marriage.

The type of application most often refused by the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board during the first quarter were residency applications for

those who had stayed in Cayman for eight-plus years. Those refusals accounted for 34 per cent of all the applications turned down during the period.

BACKLOG CLEARING The huge backlog of permanent residence applications that plagued the Cayman Islands in the years following 2004’s Hurricane Ivan now seems to have nearly disappeared.

According to immigration records, in 2007 there were more than 3,500 people working in the country “by operation of the law” – which means they were awaiting decisions on permanent residence applications or on appeals of work permits that had been denied.

By 31 March of this year, less than 600 people were being afforded that status.

The newspaper reported figures on permanent residence grants between September 2008 and November 2011 as well.

The majority of the residence grants between September 2008 and thus far in November 2011 went to spouses of Caymanians (1,558). Those applications are rarely declined, having been approved more than 80 per cent of the time since September 2008.

Applications for permanent residence from foreign individuals who worked in Cayman for eight years and applied in their own right to stay here were declined 60 per cent of the time between September 2008 and November 2011. According to Immigration Department figures, 1,414 people were granted permanent residence as a result of those applications, and 2,099 were refused during the period.

The overall number of applications for permanent residence declined sharply between July 2009 and November 2011, when compared to applications made between September 2008 and June 2009.

Comparatively few people of independent means, including wealthy retirees, have applied for grants of residence. According to immigration figures, a total of 68 people of independent means have been granted residence within the past three years and another seven wealthy retirees have been granted leave to remain.

Fewer than 50 people in the past three years have been approved to legally reside here as the dependant of a Caymanian; it is not clear whether that figure includes children. A total of 333 people were granted the right to remain and work as a dependant of a permanent resident-holder.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

Veteran lawyer against ST Lucia joining CCJ, saying some Caribbean judges are not financially independent and morally strong C

ASTRIES, St. Lucia– A member of the St. Lucia delegation that attended the constitutional talks leading to the island’s political independence from Britain more than three decades ago, says he is “dead against” breaking ties with the London-based Privy Council.

Attorney Evans Calderon, one of two surviving delegates to the talks more than 34 years ago, told a local newspaper that he also believes that in order to join the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the island would have to stage a referendum.

“You cannot change to the Caribbean Court of Justice without a referendum,” he said, adding “I am dead against changing the Constitution from what it is to what they want it to be by a simple act of parliament”.

The CCJ, established in 2001 to replace the Privy Council as the region’s final court, serves also as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the 15-member regional integration grouping.

It has both an original and appellate jurisdiction but while most of the CARICOM member countries are signatories to the original jurisdiction, only Barbados, Belize and Guyana as signatories to the appellate jurisdiction.

In the newspaper interview, Calderon also re-

acted to a May 24 opinion by the OECS Court of Appeal that a reference in a section of the St. Lucia Constitution requiring a favourable vote by three-quarters of members of Parliament or a simple majority by national referendum to break with the Privy Council was a “typographical error.”

The opinion, which was delivered by Chief Justice Janice Pereira and supported by Justice Louise Blenman, also affirmed that St. Lucia was party to the agreement establishing the CCJ on Feb 14, 2001. The third judge on the panel Don Mitchell disagreed.

Calderon a practising lawyer for almost 50 years and a senior member of the ruling St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) at the time of the independence consultations said “if it were an error, the British government would have seen the error a long time ago”.

He said whatever is in the Constitution was subject to agreement between the British and St. Lucia delegation and is advising the present government to seek an opinion from the Privy Council on the particular sections of the Constitution which, in the minds of the St. Lucia and other OECS governments are posing difficulties to the process of joining the CCJ. The veteran attorney was adamant that

Cayman Islands gets first female governor T

he Cayman Islands will receive its first woman governor in history later this year as current Governor Duncan Taylor heads off to an ambassadorship in Mexico.

Helen Kilpatrick, a director and acting permanent secretary in the United Kingdom’s Home Office for the past eight years, will switch over to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office to take up the post here starting in September.

And in case anyone doubted the UK’s commitment to repair the Cayman Islands’ financial situation, Mrs. Kilpatrick is a chartered Cayman Islands first female governor public accountant.

“I look forward to working in a constructive partnership with the newly elected government to ensure a safe, successful and sustainable future for the Cayman Islands,” Mrs. Kilpatrick said Tuesday.

Mrs. Kilpatrick joined the UK Home Office in 2005 as the director-general for finance and corporate services. Recently, she acted as permanent secretary and accounting officer.

She has also worked in local governments in the UK, in West Sussex County Council as deputy chief executive and as treasurer of the Sussex Police Authority. She also served as treasurer for a number of London bureau councils.

Mrs. Kilpatrick has two children, a son and a daughter.

the Privy Council remains as the island’s final court.

“I would prefer the Privy Council to the CCJ. The judges in the OECS know everybody. Our judges are not financially independent and morally strong,” he said, noting also that the CCJ/Privy Council issues were essentially a conflict of values between lawyers trained at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and those trained in Britain.

Asked whether he would be part of an initiative to maintain the provisions of the Constitution regarding the Privy Council, Calderon said he would contribute his knowledge and expertise if called upon to do so by any organized group.

But the veteran lawyer and former government minister seemed to suggest that the current approach to breaking ties with the Privy Council was part of a general decline in standards of the civil service.

He said the civil service “started going down” when contract appointees, rather than career civil servants, filled top positions and also when the emphasis changed from hard work as the prime qualification for promotion to academic degrees.

He said it had appeared to him that some of the lawyers pushing for the CCJ were doing so to get jobs

COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY TO PROBE DEATH OF WALTER RODNEY

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EORGETOWN, Guyana – On Thursday, Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon made the announcement, stating that it will be an “uphill struggle” for the Commission to come to a conclusion because several suspected key players are no longer around.

They include former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) electronics expert Sergeant 4141 Gregory Smith who had allegedly planted the bomb-in-walkie-talkie that blew up on Rodney’s pelvic region on June 13, 1980 on John Street near the Georgetown Prison.

Smith died of cancer several years ago in French Guiana where he had gone to live under the name of Cyril Johnson a few days after the incident.

WPA executive member, Dr. Rupert

Roopnaraine welcomed the announcement but acknowledged that it would not be easy.

“I think it’s going to make the work of the commission more difficult, not just Gregory Smith but there are other witnesses who would have been able to assist the commission but I don’t know whether or not you are going to be able to find any of them for one reason or the other,” he said.

Government has not yet named the commissioners. Roopnaraine hoped that the WPA and Rodney’s family would be consulted by government about the terms of reference for the probe team. “It’s long overdue and I wish it well and I hope that there will be action following the announcement,” Roopnaraine added.

POLICE ON HIGH ALERT AS GANG VIOLENCE FLARES IN JAMAICA

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INGSTON, Jamaica- Police in the Corporate Area have been placed on high alert following an upsurge of crime in the eastern end of the city.

The cops in the division have been investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Milton Cunningham, 72, who was killed when heavily armed gunmen invaded his home in the community of Rae Town.

Cunningham’s murder took place just two days after his son, Kwami Cunningham – a reputed gang leader, was gunned down in Downtown Kingston.

Kwami, was linked to several murders and shootings in the East Kingston area.

The police believe his killing has sparked a wave of violence and the death of his fa-

ther has only added fuel to the explosive situation in the area.

The upsurge of violence in east Kingston coincides with the release statistics from the police force, which have revealed that murders, shootings and other serious crimes are up in the city.

According to the latest statistics, 481 persons have been killed between January 1 and June 15 this year.

In his contribution of the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Wednesday, National Security Minister, Peter Bunting said the Government has been taking steps to lay the foundation of a sustained pushback against criminal activities. He said the long-awaited anti-gang legislation is to be tabled in Parliament next week

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

US Coast Guard helps seize 1,500 pounds of cocaine in Caribbean Sea S

AN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The United States Coast Guard along with the Royal Netherlands Navy has seized 1,517 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of about US$24 million, from a go-fast vessel in the Caribbean Sea. In a statement on Wednesday, the Coast Guard said as a result, three smugglers from the Dominican Republic have been detained.

The sea-interdiction stemmed from an “international multi-agency law enforcement effort” in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force.

The Coast Guard reports that on June 11, the crew of a marine surveillance aircraft detected three men aboard a suspicious go-fast vessel “loitering,” about 105 nautical miles south southeast of Ponce, Puerto Rico.

The Coast Guard alerted the Royal Netherlands Navy HNLMS Holland Offshore Patrol Vessel that was also on patrol.

On being detected, the suspected smugglers “began to flee the area at a high rate of speed and jettisoned multiple bales of suspected contraband overboard.”

“With the HNLMS Holland’s boats

in pursuit, the smugglers came to a full stop,” it added. “The US Coast Guard LEDET proceeded to board the suspect vessel and detain the three men onboard.”

“Our local, federal and international partnerships are making a difference to stem the flow of drugs into Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as far as possible and bring those responsible to justice,” said Coast Guard Capt. Drew Pearson, Sector San Juan commander.

Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, US Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, said, “these arrests and multi-kilogram seizure are a clear indication of the success of the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative.

“We will continue maximizing all of our combined resources to investigate and prosecute those who in flagrant disregard of our laws and way of life try to smuggle illegal contraband into our area of jurisdiction,” she said.

Since May 21 last year, the US Coast Guard – under Operation Unified Resolve, in partnership with regional law enforcement authorities in the Caribbean seized over 31,000 pounds of cocaine and 8,500 pounds of marijuana during 18 law enforcement interdictions

The Bahamas featured in US Report On Forced Labour And Sex Trafficking B AHAMAS is still a destination, source, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking, according to a US state department report.

The country was classified as a “Tier 2” on the State Department’s 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report.

The report noted that while the government was making significant efforts, the country does not comply fully with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

It stated: “The government made tangible progress over the past year, implementing a victim-centred approach to addressing human trafficking.

The government achieved results in the proactive identification and assistance of trafficking victims and launched its first prosecution under its human trafficking law.”

The report noted that there has not been a reported conviction of a trafficking offender.

It read: “Migrant workers are especially vulnerable to involuntary servitude in The Bahamas, particularly the thousands of Haitians who arrive in The Bahamas largely voluntarily to work as domestic employees, labourers, and in agriculture.

“Other large, vulnerable, migrant

worker communities are from China, Jamaica, and the Philippines. Children born in The Bahamas to foreign-born parents do not automatically receive Bahamian citizenship and face potential discrimination and vulnerability to trafficking due to their statelessness. Groups especially vulnerable to sex trafficking in The Bahamas include foreign citizens in prostitution or exotic dancing and local children under 18 engaging in sex with men for basics such as food, transportation, or material goods.”

Recommendations listed include: “Prosecute, convict, and punish trafficking offenders with jail time; use the new victim identification and referral protocol to identify more potential victims of forced labour and forced prostitution from within vulnerable groups and provide them with appropriate protection and assistance; make efforts to involve independent interpreters when conducting inspections of migrant worker labour sites, and conduct private interviews of workers to enhance their ability to speak openly and ensure their rights are protected; and ensure funding to NGO partners is adequate to provide appropriate assistance for human trafficking victims as outlined in the protocol.”

BARBADOS GOVERNMENT INTRODUCING RENEWABLE ENERGY LEGISLATION

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RIDGETOWN – The Barbados government says it will soon introduce legislation to facilitate renewable energy generation on the island.

“We expect, within the next few months, to have the legislation passed for independent power producers,” said Energy Minister Darcy Boyce, adding “we’ve done this in consultation with the Barbados Light and Power (BL&P) because we do have to maintain the [standard] of the grid in this country”.

Speaking at the launch of Barbados’ first Solar Carport and Electric Vehicle Charging Station Boyce said all efforts were being made to ensure that the BL&P supported this policy.

He said that the renewable energy efforts would include a project which would see retrofitting of public buildings.

“We also intend to make sure that we reduce our use of energy by being more efficient throughout the country and Government is leading the way with that, with a number of projects we have got funding for from the Global Environmental Facility and the European Union.

“This grant is to help us take some of our major government buildings and renovate them to make them more energy efficient… and to use the roofs of those buildings to generate solar power…to reduce the cost of government’s electricity bill,” he added. (CMC)

Barbados Commissioner of Police sent on early retirement B arbados Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin has been sent on “administrative leave with immediate effect on the recommendation of the Police Service Commission to the Governor General that he be retired in the public interest”.

Sources close to the Royal Barbados Police Force confirmed the development, but absolutely refused to offer any details, or answer any questions.

However, a source close to the commissioner explained that “he has been sent on administrative leave and that Assistant Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith had been temporarily elevated to the top spot.

It is understood that this latest development within the administration of the force, could be in relation to several documents that were recently presented to the Police Service Commission containing a number of allegations against Dottin.

In another section of the press over the weekend it was reported that the commission had excluded the commissioner from the process now underway of selecting a deputy commissioner to replace the retired Bertie Hinds.

Hinds departed the force last year after a running battle with Dottin that reports said spanned almost the entire decade since they took over the two top posts upon the retirement of then commissioner Grantley Watson.

In the meantime, Opposition Leader Mia Mottley has described as “unprecedented,” the manner in which Police Commissioner Darwin Dottin was sent on leave pend-

ing his retirement in the public interest.

Media reports said that the Police Service Commission (PSC) took the decision on Monday and has since named Assistant Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith to act as interim head of the police service.

“In my view it is an assault on one of the key institutions that is required to protect our democracy and our people. It is disconcerting that the people of Barbados would learn of this development as an unsourced story on radio.

“Both the Prime Minister and the Attorney General have a duty to come urgently and explain to the people of Barbados no later than today Tuesday why the Commissioner has been so shabbily treated after the Force was showered with praise only last week for a job well done,” she said in a statement.

Dottin, 63, has been head of the police service here for the past nine months and Mottley said the announcement of his removal was unprecedented in the history of modern Barbados.

“This is another aspect of the rapidly emerging Barbados with a type of leadership to which we are not accustomed and which we cannot fathom”.

Mottley said the planned national consultation on the economy scheduled for June 27, should also be used to discuss “ the alarming rate of decline at all levels and in all spheres in the country.

“Bajans simply feel that Barbados today is on the wrong track and moving in the wrong direction,” she said in her statement.

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News W

RLD

Brazilian protests surge again after bus fare victory

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massive crowd of demonstrators swelled around an iconic church in the heart of Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, shouting things like “down with corruption” and “I can live without the World Cup.” Outside the Candelaria Church, organizers called for protesters to march peacefully as they listed a wide variety of demands directed at the South American country’s government.

The demonstration comes a day after a movement that started as a protest against a 9-cent increase in bus fares scored a major victory.

Both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro agreed to roll back the prices on bus and metro tickets.

But will it be too little, too late?

The movement has galvanized people across the country who say they’re fed up with high taxes and a lack of services -- like health and education -- while the government spends billions on preparations for the 2014 World Cup. “Fundamentally, people are on the streets because they have very different demands, but they don’t have a forum for expressing them and for being heard. And the bus fares were just one of these many many different things,” said Alessandra Orofino, one of the protest organizers.

Orofino said she hoped this week’s protests will mark a turning point in Brazil, where democracy is still relatively young.

“I think that what government hasn’t understood is that there will be no single demand that will calm people down, per se. I think fundamentally, if they don’t open up, if they don’t become more transparent and truly welcoming of participation, people will continue to demonstrate,” Orofino said. “It might be for now. It might be in the future, but this isn’t going to go away until we have a democracy that works.”

Protesters say the poorest are being short-

Protestors in Brazil changed while the government spends the large bills on new stadiums and glitzy infrastructure for the soccer competition Brazil is hosting next year and the Olympic Games coming in 2016.

They complain that corruption is driving up the costs.

The country’s investment in those projects includes money for health and public transportation, Deputy Sports Minister Luis Fernandes has said.

“There is absolutely nothing contradictory between organizing a World Cup and investing in health and education,” he said.

An elite National Force, made up of specially trained firefighters and police officers, will deploy to states hosting the games, the Ministry of Justice said late Tuesday.

The government has stressed that the force’s mission is to mediate and not repress.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told peaceful protesters Tuesday that their message was being heard.

She praised them as active participants in democracy and said her government is committed to “social transformation.”

Police for the most part stood back, and the

atmosphere grew festive and loud, with throngs singing and beating drums.

Hidden in the peaceful multitudes were bands of rowdies who kicked down doors and broke windows, looted shops and tipped over cars and set them on fire.

They left a trail of rubble down the protest routes.

While asking police to back off from peaceful protesters, Rousseff has condemned “isolated and minor acts of violence,” telling police to confront them “with vigor.”

For nearly two weeks, tens of thousands of Brazilians marched through the streets night after night.

Crowds originally protesting bus fares grew into multitudes decrying social injustice on Tuesday, as broad avenues filled to capacity for blocks.

The protests come amid the soccer Confederations Cup tournament, a friendly array of matches, in which the host country, Brazil, plays against a small group of national teams from around the globe. The cup serves as a precursor to the World Cup. The majority of marchers are young and well-educated.

Matheus Pires, a university student and one of the organizers, says public transportation should be free -- especially in expensive, sprawling cities like Sao Paulo.

“You can’t go to hospital; you can’t see your friends; you can’t go to school; you can’t go to work,” he said, describing how much the city’s residents rely on mass transit.

Lowering fares, he said, would prove that the government was listening.

But it’s too soon to know whether it will bring an end to protests or fuel further and more far-reaching demands.

NSA head and lawmakers defend US surveillance programs W

ASHINGTON - The head of the National Security Agency said U.S. surveillance programs had helped disrupt more than 50 possible attacks since September 11, 2001, as sympathetic members of Congress also defended the use of the top-secret spying operations.

In the first public hearing dedicated to the programs since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed them this month, members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee showed little will on Tuesday to pursue significant reforms.

Instead, both U.S. officials and lawmakers spent hours publicly justifying the phone and Internet monitoring programs as vital security

tools and criticized Snowden’s decision to leak documents about them to media outlets.

General Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA, said Snowden’s leaks had inflicted “irreversible and significant” damage on national security.

“I believe it will hurt us and our allies,” Alexander told the House intelligence panel, which helps oversee the vast surveillance efforts.

Snowden’s disclosures have ignited a political furor over the balance between privacy rights and national security, but President Barack Obama and congressional leaders in both parties have backed the programs and no significant effort has emerged to roll them back.

While critics have blasted the

surveillance as government overreach without enough independent oversight, proposed legislative remedies discussed so far have focused on tightening rules for contractors and making the secret court that approves warrants for surveillance more transparent.

“People who are skeptical of the program have no understanding of what the program is,” U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the intelligence panel, told reporters after the hearing.

Alexander told the panel the monitoring was not “some rogue operation,” and defended it as legal, closely supervised and crucial to defending Americans.

“I would much rather be here today debating this point than trying

to explain how we failed to prevent another 9/11,” he told the committee in his second public appearance before Congress since the programs were exposed.

“In recent years these programs, together with other intelligence, have protected the U.S. and our allies from terrorist threats across the globe to include helping prevent ... potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11,” he said.

Alexander said at least 10 of those plots involved U.S. targets or suspects in the United States.

Alexander promised to give classified details of all of the foiled incidents to the House and Senate intelligence committees within 24 hours.

Sean Joyce, deputy FBI director, offered information on two of the cases - a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange and a conspiracy to give money to a Somali militia designated by the United States as a terrorist group.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

WORLD NEWS OBAMA JOB APPROVAL TUMBLES, AMERICANS SPLIT ON SPYING: POLL

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resident Barack Obama’s job approval rating fell sharply over the past month—from 53 to 45 percent, according to a new CNN poll. Fifty-four percent of Americans disapprove of the job he’s doing, also up from 45 percent, the survey found.

Sixty-one percent disapprove of the way he’s handling government surveillance of Americans in the aftermath of a series of dramatic reports about National Security Agency spying, while 35 percent approve.

Obama’s early second term has been buffeted by a series of controversies— not just about the NSA surveillance, but also allegations of misconduct at the IRS and government spying on reporters. The president was expected to address those issues in a new interview with Charlie Rose, which airs Monday night.

What about Edward Snowden, who says he revealed the government’s secret to expose abuses? Forty-four percent approve of what he did, while 52 percent disapprove. Should the U.S. government attempt to bring him back to U.S. soil and prosecute him? Fifty-four percent say yes, 42 percent say no.

Even as the economy picks up steam, the poll found that Obama’s disapproval rating on that issue has ticked up steadily over the first six months of the year, from 51 percent in January, to 54 percent in April, to 57 percent in June.

Is Obama honest and trustworthy?

Fifty percent say no, up from 41 percent in mid-May, while 49 percent say yes, down from 58 percent.

Americans are sending mixed messages on the NSA surveillance controversy—43 percent say Obama has gone too far in restricting civil liberties in the name of national security, 38 percent agree with him that he’s found the right balance, and 17 percent say he hasn’t gone far enough.

At the same time, 51 percent say the administration was right to collect the telephone records of Americans. Forty-eight percent say it was wrong.

Approval soars to 66 percent regarding the government’s snooping on personal information over the Internet. Thirty-three percent say it was wrong. (CNN’s question phrasing might have something to do with that. “The government reportedly does not target Internet usage

by U.S. citizens and if such data is collected, it is kept under strict controls.”)

Still, it’s not because people don’t think it hasn’t happened to them: 62 percent told CNN they thought the government had collected and stored data about their personal telephone and Internet. Thirty-four percent say they did not think so.

Does the federal government pose an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of American citizens? A whopping 62 percent say it does, up from 56 percent the last time the question was asked, in February 2010.

The survey had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

WikiLeaks Assange fears US to stay on in London embassy L

ONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will not leave the sanctuary of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London even if Sweden stops pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he fears arrest on the order of the United States.

In an interview with Reuters and others to mark the one-year anniversary of taking refuge in the cramped diplomatic building, Assange said he remained hopeful he might be able to leave but offered little evidence to suggest he would be finding new living quarters anytime soon.

“I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t leave,” he said. “(But) my lawyers have advised me I shouldn’t leave the embassy because of the risk of arrest in relation to the risk of arrest and extradition to the United States.”

When asked whether he would remain inside even if Sweden dropped the investigation against him, Assange said: “That’s correct.”

Assange chose his words carefully in the interview, which was conducted last Friday under embargo. In a wide-ranging discussion behind

Julian Assange drawn white net curtains, Assange hailed Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency who made revelations about U.S. surveillance programs, as a hero [ID:nL5N0EQ3CH].

He also railed against the United States, Britain and his native Australia and talked about his case with semi-legal expertise.

Assange, 41, fled to the Ecuadorean Embassy last June to avoid extradition to Sweden, which wants to question him about allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies.

He says he does not want to answer the allegations in person because he believes Sweden would hand him over to the U.S. authori-

ties, who would try him for helping facilitate one of the largest information leaks in U.S. history.

WikiLeaks began releasing thousands of confidential U.S. documents on the Internet in 2010, embarrassing the United States and, according to some critics, putting its national security and people’s lives at risk.

Ecuador has granted Assange political asylum and allowed him to shelter in its embassy, but Britain has made it clear he will be arrested if he tries to leave the embassy, which is heavily guarded by police.As Assange spoke, at least four policemen ringed the embassy.

Assange said he initially thought he might be holed up in the em-

bassy, a diplomatic facility in one of London’s swishest areas, for up to two years. In the interview he did say how much longer he expected to stay in the embassy but said his original timetable was still a fair estimate.

But when asked whether he was worried about that the situation could drag on much longer, he conceded it was a possibility.

“Left to its own devices that is a risk, left to fate that is a risk,” he said. “There have been other cases, similar deadlocks for political refugees in embassies, that have gone on for dozens of years. However, we don’t intend to leave the situation to fate.”

Assange, who looked pale, complained of a lack of sunlight, saying there was a risk that people in his circumstances could develop rickets.

He said he worked 17-hour days, exercised to try to keep healthy and currently was working on a song about “the new politics that has come about as a result of the Internet and media distortion” with a popular Latin American musical group.

All females chosen for jury in Zimmerman case S

ANFORD, Fla. — After nine days of questioning, a jury has been chosen for the trial of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin.

The jury of six women will decide whether Zimmerman, 29, is guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin, 17, in a case that captured the nation’s attention last year.

Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said as the jury was settled, “This is probably as critical if not more critical than the evidence.”

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

The neighborhood watch volunteer says he killed the teen in self-defense after being attacked.

Prosecutors say Zimmerman confronted Martin because he was African American.

After jury selection, Nelson reconvened a hearing on on whether voice experts will be allowed to testify about who was

heard during a neighbor’s 911 call screaming for help that night.

In an unusually involved process, an initial group of 211 people filled out juror questionnaires, which were then read by lawyers and Circuit Judge Debra Nelson.

They chose who would make it to the next round for individual questioning in open court.

Only after questioning 58 people about their exposure to coverage of the case did lawyers narrow the group to 40 people for traditional juror questioning.

O’Mara and Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda both said they wanted to make sure someone who had already rached a conclusion about Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence would not make the cut. Such a “stealth juror,” they said, would hurt both sides.

“It’s devastating to the case to have a juror who has an agenda,” O’Mara said. Such a rogue ju-

ror, he said, would cause people would lose faith in the system.

Thursday, O’Mara questioned the remaining 40 potential jurors about what they thought of Florida’s stand-your-ground law, claiming self-defense and taking the law into your own hands.

O’Mara told the prospective jurors that they could not make a decision out of sympathy and would have to be comfortable finding Zimmerman not guilty despite the loss to Trayvon’s family.

Wednesday, de la Rionda spent nearly six hours questioning more than a dozen jurors about several topics, including whether it is right to judge people based on their clothing and race and whether people should take the law into their own hands.

“We are here to seek justice,” de la Rionda said to the group.

“This is your opportunity to live the Constitution.”

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WORLD NEWS

India sets up elaborate system to tap phone calls, e-mail I

ndia has launched a wide-ranging surveillance program that will give its security agencies and even income tax officials the ability to tap directly into e-mails and phone calls without oversight by courts or parliament, several sources said.

The expanded surveillance in the world’s most populous democracy, which the government says will help safeguard national security, has alarmed privacy advocates at a time when allegations of massive U.S. digital snooping beyond American shores has set off a global furor.

“If India doesn’t want to look like an authoritarian regime, it needs to be transparent about who will be authorized to collect data, what data will be collected, how it will be used, and how the right to privacy will be protected,” said Cynthia Wong, an Internet researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The Central Monitoring System (CMS) was announced in 2011 but there has been no public debate and the government has said little about

how it will work or how it will ensure that the system is not abused.

The government started to quietly roll the system out state by state in April this year, according to government officials. Eventually it will be able to target any of India’s 900 million landline and mobile phone subscribers and 120 million Internet users.

Interior ministry spokesman K.S. Dhatwalia said he did not have details of CMS and therefore could not comment on the privacy concerns. A spokeswoman for the telecommunications ministry, which will oversee CMS, did not respond to queries.

Indian officials said making details of the project public would limit its effectiveness as a clandestine intelligence-gathering tool.

“Security of the country is very important. All countries have these surveillance programs,” said a senior telecommunications ministry official, defending the need for a large-scale eavesdropping system like CMS.

“You can see terrorists getting caught, you see crimes being stopped. You need surveillance. This is to protect you and your country,” said the official, who is directly involved in setting up the project. He did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The new system will allow the government to listen to and tape phone conversations, read e-mails and text messages, monitor posts on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and track searches on Google of selected targets, according to interviews with two other officials involved in setting up the new surveillance program, human rights activists and cyber experts.

In 2012, India sent in 4,750 requests to Google Inc for user data, the highest in the world after the United States.

Security agencies will no longer need to seek a court order for surveillance or depend, as they do now, on Internet or telephone service providers to give them the data, the government officials said.

George H.W Bush doesn’t think enough Bushes were in the White House, Jeb says I

n an interview with Matt Lauer ahead of the opening of George W. Bush’s presidential library in April, former first lady Barbara Bush was asked how she felt about her son Jeb, the former governor of Florida, being a possible presidential candidate in 2016.

“We’ve had enough Bushes,” Barbara Bush replied bluntly.

Her husband doesn’t agree, at least according to Jeb. In an interview that aired on Sunday’s “This Week with George

Stephanopoulos,” Jeb Bush, who served two terms as governor of Florida, was asked what his father thought about his potential candidacy.

“What about your dad?” ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked the former Florida governor. “Has he offered you any advice? Does he think you should run?”

“I think we’ve got a split ballot amongst the Bush Sr. family,” Jeb Bush, 60, said with a laugh. “Pretty sure that’s the case.”

Jeb’s brother, former President George W. Bush, has said he thinks Jeb should run for president.

Jeb, considered among several early contenders for the Republican nomination in 2016, has not ruled out a run for the White House, but says he won’t decide until at least 2014.

“My thinking is not to think about it for a year,” Jeb Bush said last month. “Life teaches you that you need to make decisions in the right time—not too early, not too late. ... I’ll check in maybe a year

from now, 15 months from now, something like that.”

Earlier in the ABC interview, Jeb was asked about his 89-year-old father’s failing health.

“I think it was hard at first for my dad to transition to being immobile,” Jeb Bush said. “[But] I think he’s found the right balance. I think he’s in a good place, he’s mentally alert, he’s funny as all get out. He’s spiritually in a place that we should all envy. He’s more comfortable with his age. And that makes me happy.”

ITALIAN COURT SAYS KNOX MURDER ACQUITTAL HAD INCONSISTENCIES

MOTHER IN UPSCALE NEW YORK SUBURB INDICTED AS MARIJUANA DEALER

R

N

OME - Italy’s top court said it had ordered a retrial of American Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend in the murder of British student Meredith Kercher because their acquittals contained “shortcomings, contradictions and inconsistencies.”

Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito were initially found guilty of killing the 21-year-old Leeds University student in 2007 during what was described as a drug-fuelled sexual assault, but both were cleared on appeal in 2011.

In March of this year, Italy’s top appeals court overturned the acquittals and ordered a retrial of a sensational murder case that has prompted harsh criticism of the Italian justice system.

Explaining its reasons on Tuesday, the Court of Cassation said the judges in the appeals case had underestimated the evidence against the two accused, assessing clues one by one and not stepping back to view the big picture.

The one person still in jail for

the murder, Ivory Coast-born Rudy Guede who is serving a 16-year sentence, may not have committed the crime alone, and the possibility that Kercher was killed during a group sex game would need to be re-examined, the Court of Cassation said.

Kercher’s body was found with more than 40 wounds, including a deep gash in the throat, in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, in central Italy, where both were studying during a year abroad.

Knox, now 25 and living back in the United States after four years in an Italian jail, has consistently denied involvement in her roommate’s death.

Sollecito’s lawyer, Giulio Bongiorno, said: “If there was an erotic game then there needs to be a search for the other people involved, who are certainly not Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox,” news agency Ansa reported.

Kercher’s lawyers, who have described the acquittal as “contradictory and illogical,” have welcomed the plan for a retrial.

EW YORK - A mother of three in an upscale New York suburb was indicted on Tuesday on charges she ran a sophisticated marijuana operation, federal law enforcement officials said.

A federal grand jury indicted Andrea Sanderlin, 45, of Scarsdale, New York, a suburb 20 miles outside of Manhattan, said Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and other officials in a media release.

Law enforcement agents seized 2,800 marijuana plants and a large quantity of dried marijuana worth an estimated $3 million from a Queens warehouse. Sanderlin is accused of operating the facility which had state-of-the-art lighting, irrigation, electrical and ventilation systems and cost more than $9,000 a month to run.

“There’s really no difference whether you’re a suburban mom growing marijuana in a warehouse in Queens, or a cartel member making cocaine in the jungles of Colombia,” said agent James Hayes,

Jr. of the Department of Homeland Security.

Sanderlin’s lawyer, Joel Winograd, was not immediately available for comment. If convicted, she faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to $10 million in fines.

After the mother of three was arrested last month, New York City tabloids compared her lifestyle living in a Spanish-style mansion, driving a Mercedes SUV, horseback riding in equestrian gear - to the storyline of “Weeds,” a television series about a suburban mom who becomes a pot dealer.

“Sanderlin could have focused her talents on building a legitimate business enterprise to support her family and serve as a role model for her children,” Lynch said in the statement.

“Instead, she allegedly chose to inhabit the shadowy underworld of large-scale drug dealers, using drug proceeds to maintain her family’s facade of upper middle class stability,” the prosecutor said

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WORLD NEWS

New Iranian president promises moderation T

EHRAN, Iran - Iran’s newly elected president showcased his reform-leaning image Monday by promising a “path of moderation” that includes greater openness on Tehran’s nuclear program and overtures to Washington. He also made clear where he draws the line: No halt to uranium enrichment and no direct U.S. dialogue without a pledge to stay out of Iranian affairs.

Hasan Rowhani’s first post-victory news conference was a study in what may make his presidency tick.

Rowhani may be hailed as a force for change, but he also appears to carry a deep and self-protective streak of pragmatism. He knows he can only push his views on outreach and detente as far as allowed by the country’s real powers, the ruling clerics and their military protectors, the Revolutionary Guard.

Many of Rowhani’s statements reflected these boundaries, which could later expand or contract depending on how much the theocracy wants to endorse his agenda.

When he appealed to treat “old wounds” with the U.S., he also echoed the ruling clerics’ position that no breakthroughs can occur as long as Washington is seen as

trying to undermine their hold on power. Rowhani’s urging for greater “nuclear transparency” as a path to roll back sanctions was also punctuated by a hard-liner stance: No chance to stop the uranium enrichment labs at the heart of the stalemate with the West and its allies.

Rowhani spoke eloquently about a “new era” on the international stage but avoided direct mention of the sweeping crackdowns at home since the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

At the end of the news conference, a spectator — whose identity was not immediately known — yelled out for the release of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest for more than two years. Rowhani smiled but made no comment.

“You can make any kind of promises you want,” said Merhzad Boroujerdi, director of the Middle East Studies program at Syracuse University. “At the end of the day, it’s the ruling clerics that decide whether they go anywhere.”

There is no doubt, however, that the overall tone of Rowhani’s remarks resonates well in

the West. The White House and others have already signaled cautious hope that Rowhani’s presence could open new possibilities on diplomacy and efforts to break the impasse over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program after four failed negotiating rounds since last year.

Even so, the Obama administration won’t welcome Rowhani’s election with any new nuclear offer.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. is open to new nuclear talks with Iran. But Washington and its international partners first want a response to an offer of sanctions relief for Iranian nuclear concessions they presented in April.

“The ball is in Iran’s court,” Psaki said Monday in Washington.

If nothing else at the Tehran news conference, the contrast was vivid with Ahmadinejad and his hectoring style.

“We are on a path of moderation. ... We have to enhance mutual trust between Iran and other countries,” Rowhani told journalists. “We have to build trust.”

Rowhani appeared to borrow phrases from another cleric-president, reformist Mohammad Kha-

Hasan Rowhani’s tami, who preceded Ahmadinejad and opened a range of social and political freedoms that have been largely swept aside in the lockdown atmosphere of recent years.

“The basis of politics is constructive interaction with the world,” said Rowhani, wearing a white turban and surrounded by violet flowers — the signature color of his campaign. “Circumstances have changed in the world by this election. ... The new atmosphere will definitely be turned into a new opportunity.”

Many questions remain, though. Rowhani sidestepped the issue of Iran’s close alliance with Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying only that the efforts to end the civil war and restore stability rest with the “Syrian people.”

US cites Russia and China among worst in human trafficking W

ASHINGTON - An annual U.S. State Department report on Wednesday cited Russia and China among the world’s worst offenders in fighting forced labor and sex trafficking, which could lead to U.S. sanctions, prompting angry rebuttals from Moscow and Beijing.

The report said Russia had failed to provide systematic safeguards for victims of trafficking. China, it said, had done too little to outlaw all forms of trafficking and punish perpetrators.

The U.S. designation drops Russia and China, already often are at odds with Washington, in the same category as North Korea and Iran.

The State Department ranks countries according to the efforts they make to fight human trafficking. Russia, China and Uzbekistan all fell to the lowest level, Tier 3.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the report used “unacceptable methodology” grouping countries according to their degree

of sympathy with Washington.

“In fighting organized crime, including countering trafficking, Russian authorities will never follow instructions worked out in another country, let alone fulfill conditions presented nearly in the form of an ultimatum,” it said.

Russia, it said, would retaliate against any sanctions.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Washington “should take an objective and impartial view of China’s efforts, and stop making unilateral or arbitrary judgments of China”.

China, she told a briefing, “has achieved remarkable progress in fighting domestic and transnational trafficking”.

The U.S. report acknowledged that China had taken some steps, such as vowing to work with international organizations and increasing public awareness, but said it also continued to perpetuate the problem in hundreds of its own institu-

tions.

“Despite these modest signs of interest in anti-trafficking reforms, the Chinese government did not demonstrate significant efforts to comprehensively prohibit and punish all forms of trafficking and to prosecute traffickers,” U.S. officials wrote.

The report said China’s one-child policy and preference for sons had reduced the number of women in the country, generating demand for women as brides or prostitutes.

Russia’s government “had not established any concrete system for the identification or care of trafficking victims, lacking any formal victim identification and referral mechanism,” although there were some “ad hoc efforts,” the report said.

The findings are likely to further complicate relations between the United States and the two countries, already strained by the handling of the civil war in Syria and cybersecurity, among other issues.

Palestinian PM quits after three weeks P

alestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah offered his resignation nearly three weeks after he accepted the job, two Palestinian government sources said Thursday.

It’s not clear whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will accept the resignation.

Sources said Hamdallah made the because of interference by Abbas with the prime minister’s duties.

Abbas named Hamdallah, president of a West Bank university, as his new prime minister on June 2 and asked him to form a new Cabinet.

Hamdallah replaced Salam Fayyad, who had led a caretaker government since Abbas accepted his resignation in April.

Fayyad’s decision to step down was viewed as a step toward the possible establishment of a

unity government between the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas.

Hamdallah is a British-educated linguist and longtime academic. He became president of An-Najah National University in the West Bank city of Nablus in 1998 and was finalizing his departure from the post after he accepted the prime minister’s job.

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usiness B AND

O TGold hits two-and-half ECHN

LOGY

year low as Fed flags end to easy money

G

old plunged to its lowest in more than 2-1/2 years on Thursday, with investors exiting in droves after the U.S. Federal Reserve gave its most explicit signal yet that it plans to bring the era of easy money to an end.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economy was expanding strongly enough for the central bank to begin slowing the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year.

Losses picked up momentum after bullion broke through its April low at $1,321 an ounce, a key support level, knocking it to a low of $1,285.90, down 4.5 percent and its weakest since September 2010.

Spot gold was down 4 percent at $1,296.60 an ounce at 10:54 a.m. ET, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down $77.20 an ounce at $1,297.00.

“Precious metals, in particular gold and silver, are losing their status as a viable asset class to hold,” Viktor Nossek, head of research at Boost ETP, said. “The macroeconomic backdrop shows that the U.S. is recovering, Europe is restructuring and Chi-

na is rebalancing.”

He added, “Risk assets further out probably have more appeal because they have an underlying income stream that backs them up. Investors are pre-empting the view of global stabilization by selling precious metals.”

The ultra-loose monetary policy brought in by the Fed to boost U.S. growth, which kept interest rates at rock bottom levels while stoking concerns about inflation, was a major factor fuelling a more than decade-long bull run in gold.

Indications that the policy was nearing an end have helped push prices down more than 20 percent this year after 12 straight years of gains. Gold is now firmly in bear market territory, more than 30 percent below its record high of $1,920.30 an ounce, set in September 2011.

“There’s always been an expectation that there’s inflation lurking around the corner with QE being instigated by the West, but it has never materialized,” Nossek said. “The idea of pent-up inflation is not only dissipating, but is nowhere to be seen.”

Swiss bank UBS early on Thursday slashed its one-month target

price for gold to $1,250 from $1,425 previously and its three-month forecast to $1,350 from $1,500, citing the Fed’s move.

“This creates an increasingly difficult environment for gold,” it said.

“Slowing Fed asset purchases, with the end now potentially in sight, higher yields, a stronger dollar and continued improvements in the economy are significant obstacles that perpetuate an already very weak investor sentiment.”

Physical gold demand in India, the world’s biggest consumer of the metal, remained lackluster on Thursday despite a 4 percent drop in Indian gold prices, in sharp contrast to the response seen in April when spot prices plunged. Gold in rupee terms remains well above its April lows.

Silver was the biggest faller among the precious metals, sliding more than 6 percent to a session low at $19.68 an ounce, its weakest since September 2010. The metal was later down 6.1 percent at $20.02 an ounce.

Spot platinum was down 2.5 percent at $1,375.24 an ounce, while spot palladium was down 4.1 percent at $665. 72 an ounce.

New Heinz owners shake up management after takeover H

.J. Heinz Co announced the departure of 11 executives on Thursday in a management shakeup less than two weeks after its new owners, 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), closed their $28 billion acquisition.

The world’s largest ketchup maker revealed a new management team of 11 executives, nine of whom are already with Pittsburgh-based Heinz.

“This announcement demonstrates the power and potential of meritocracy at work here at Heinz,” said Bernardo Hees, who recently became chief executive officer after leading Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW.N), another 3G investment.

Two of the new executives have ties to 3G, a private equity firm co-founded by Brazilian financier Jorge Paulo Lemann.

One is Paulo Basilio, whose appointment as chief financial officer was announced on June 7, when the deal closed. The other is Eduardo Pelleissone, who joins as executive vice president of operations from America Latina Logistica.

3G co-founder Alex Behring is also a co-founder and

A variety of Heinz products are seen at a convenience store former CEO of America Latina Logistica, a Brazilian logistics company.

H.J. Heinz said successors for vacant business unit president roles will be named shortly.

FACEBOOK INTRODUCES VIDEO ON INSTAGRAM

N

EW YORK — Facebook is adding video to its popular photo-sharing app Instagram, following in the heels of Twitter’s growing video-sharing app, Vine.

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said Thursday that users will be record and share 15-second clips by tapping a video icon in the app. They can also apply filters to videos to add contrast, make them black and white or different hues.

“This is the same Instagram we all know and love but it moves,” he said at an event held at Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters.

Vine, which launched in January, has 13 million users and lets people create and share 6-second video clips. Instagram has 100 million users, up from 20 million when Facebook bought the company more than a year ago. If users like it, Facebook’s move could propel mobile video sharing into the mainstream.

To use the video feature, Instagram users can tap on the same camera icon they use to snap photos. A new video camera icon will appear on the right side. Tap it and a screen with a red video button will let you record clips of sunsets, kids running in parks or co-workers staring at their computer screens.

The app will record as long as your finger is on the red button or for 15 seconds, whichever comes first. Not unlike Vine, taking your finger off the button will stop the recording, allowing you to shoot the scene from a different angle or record something else altogether. Once you have 15 seconds of footage, you can play it from the beginning and post it on Instagram to share with others.

Given Vine’s popularity, “it is perhaps more surprising that Facebook has not introduced video for Instagram sooner.

There is no doubt Twitter will move quickly to up the ante on Vine and this could undercut Facebook’s efforts with video on Instagram,” said Eden Zoller, principal consumer analyst at Ovum, a technology research firm.

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BUSINESS AND T ECHNOLOGY

Lloyds Bank to return to private hands

SALES OF EXISTING US HOMES RISE MORE THAN FORECAST

H

ome sales and prices continued to climb in May, according to an industry trade group report which raised the prospect of a new housing bubble unless there is a significant increase in home building.

“The home price growth is too fast, and only additional supply from new homebuilding can moderate future price growth,” said Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. He said there needs to be a 50% increase in home building.

May sales data from the group shows the median home price jumped 8% from the previous month to $208,000. While month-to-month price swings are not unusual, the year-over-year rise is now 15%, and prices are at levels last seen in the summer of 2008, just before the meltdown in financial markets caused by the bursting of the housing bubble.

The Realtors report had the strongest year-over-year price increase since October 2005, near the height of the housing bubble. And it marked the 15th straight month of annual price increases, the first time that happened since May 2006.

Other readings on home prices, including one from S&P/Case-Shiller, have also shown big jumps in prices recently, with Case-Shiller showing the biggest gain in seven years.

Home prices have been driven higher partly by a drop in foreclosures. Only 18% of home sales in the month were so-called distressed sales, which typically sell at a discount to market prices.

Those sales include homes in foreclosure and so-called short sales where sellers get less than they owe on the mortgage.

That matches the lowest percentage of distressed sales since the Realtors started tracking that measure in 2008 in the wake of bursting of the housing bubble.

A year ago 25% of sales were distressed sales.

Overall sales rose 4% from April and 13% from a year earlier to an annual rate of 5.18 million homes in the month, the highest sales pace since November 2009.

There are differences between this run-up in prices and the housing bubble that preceded the financial crisis, said Gary Thomas, the Realtors’ president.

“The boom period was marked by easy credit and overbuilding, but today we have tight mortgage credit and widespread shortages of homes for sale,” he said. The improved housing market and mortgage rates still near record lows, despite a recent rise in rates, is pulling buyers back in the market faster than it’s prompting sellers to put homes on the market. Buyer traffic 29 percent above a year ago, but the supply of homes for sale is actually down 10%.

That’s caused homes to sell much more quickly -- only 41 days on the market on average in May, about a month faster than a year ago, with nearly half the homes being sold in less than a month.

The warnings about prices rising too fast was a stark change from the Realtors position during the heyday of the housing bubble, when the statement from officials generally cheered the steady rise in prices.

T

he Chancellor, George Osborne, has used his annual Mansion House speech to the City to announce the government is preparing to sell its stake in Lloyds Bank back to private investors.

Mr Osborne said Lloyds 39%-owned by the government was in a good position and investor interest was growing.

On RBS, in which taxpayers have an 81% stake, he said he would look at whether to split the good bits from the bad.

His speech comes on the same day as a major report into the banking sector.

The chancellor also announced

that the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, is to become Lord King.

The chancellor’s speech echoes the findings made by the Banking Standards Commission earlier on Wednesday, which said that Lloyds was better placed to return to the private sector and that RBS could be split into two.

Lloyds is already planning to float 631 branches under the TSB brand at some point next year.

This is known as Project Verde, and follows the order to sell them by the European Commission.

A deal for the branches to be bought by the Co-op Bank fell through in April.

Reacting to Mr Osborne’s speech, shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, said: “On Lloyds, we are clear that the taxpayer needs to get its money back but following the collapse of branch sales to the Co-op Bank it’s vital that we have a new strategy from the government to boost competition on the high street.”

Mr Osborne said that Lloyds shares were “trading at around the price where selling would reduce the national debt” and said he was actively considering options for sales of Lloyds shares.

He said he had no pre-fixed timescale or method of disposal.

Google asks Intelligence Court to let it release data G

oogle Inc. asked the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for permission to publish the aggregate numbers and scope of national security requests it receives from the U.S. government.

The filing with the secret court, which issues warrants for collecting foreign intelligence inside the U.S., is the latest effort by Google to ease restrictions on disclosing the information the government has asked for under the surveillance program code-named Prism.

Google, along with other technology companies, including Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc., is seeking greater latitude to disclose information about the government requests for user data collected by intelligence agencies.

“We have long pushed for transparency so users can better understand the extent to which governments request their data --

and Google was the first company to release numbers for National Security Letters,” Niki Fenwick, a spokeswoman for Google in Washington, said in an e-mail. To promote greater transparency, the company is seeking “to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately,” she said.

Google is seeking a declaration from the court that would allow it to release the statistics without violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, according to the filing, which was provided by Google.

The role of private companies has come under scrutiny since Edward Snowden, a computer technician who did work for the National Security Agency, disclosed this month that the agency is collecting millions of U.S. residents’ telephone records and the com-

puter communications of foreigners from Google and other Internet companies under court order.

Prism traces its roots to warrantless domestic-surveillance efforts under former President George W. Bush. According to slides provided by Snowden, Prism gathers e-mails, videos and other private data of foreign surveillance targets through arrangements that vary by company and are overseen panel of judges who work in secret.

Google, based in Mountain View-California, asked the FISA court to affirm it has “the right under the First Amendment to publish, and that no applicable law or regulation prohibits Google from publishing,” statistics on the requests, including the total number of users or accounts implicated by the requests, according to the filing.

IMF urges repeal of illdesigned US cuts T

he International Monetary Fund urged the United States on Friday to repeal sweeping government spending cuts and recommended that the Federal Reserve continue a bond-buying program through at least the end of the year.

In its annual check of the health of the U.S. economy, the IMF forecast economic growth would be a sluggish 1.9 percent this year. The IMF estimates growth would be as much as 1.75 percentage points higher if not for a rush to cut the government’s budget deficit.

The IMF cut its outlook for economic growth in 2014 to 2.7 percent, below its 3 percent forecast published in April. The Fund

said in April it still assumed the deep government spending cuts would be repealed, but it had now dropped that assumption.

Washington slashed the federal budget in March, adding to the drag on the economy created by tax increases enacted in January.

The IMF said the United States should reverse the spending cuts and instead adopt a plan to slow the growth in spending on government-funded health care and pensions, known as “entitlements.” The Fund would also like the United States to collect more in taxes.

“The deficit reduction in 2013 has been excessively rapid and ill-designed,” the IMF said. “These cuts should be replaced with a

back-loaded mix of entitlement savings and new revenues.”

The IMF warned cuts to education, science and infrastructure spending could reduce potential growth.

While the Fund said total debt across all levels of government would likely decline after 2015, public finances are nevertheless on an unsustainable path due to an aging population and higher spending on health care.

“Now our advice is not just to slow down (budget cuts),” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a news conference.

“Our advice is also to hurry up: hurry up with putting in place a medium-term road map to restore long-run fiscal sustainability.”

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Sports LOCAL

Teachers, AFC in Bugaloo’s Beach soccer final

Action from the Beach Soccer League

B

oth finalists of the Bugaloo’s Men’s Beach Soccer League finished off the regular season with comfortable wins last Saturday as the Teachers defeated the COE boys 14-3 and AFC Academy blanked the Sharks 10-0.

Both finalists could have been forgiven for taking it easy as they prepare for next Saturday’s showdown but this was not the case as both teams put in string performances ahead of the championship decider. Fred Dorvil led the attack for the teachers scoring eight goals, Robert Hamilton added five more and Kacey Smith also got on the score sheet.

Wilkins Sylvain (2) and Adner Davilmar found the back of the net for the COE boys who have yet to win a game this season. However, after only narrowly losing 6-4 to the Sharks in their last encounter they will feel that they have a chance of a shock win in next week’s third and fourth play-off.

AFC Academy became the only team to keep a clean sheet this season as they beat SWA Sharks 10-0.

Herby Magny was impressive scoring six goals, combining well with play-maker Fitzgerald Norvius. Jensen Joseph (2), James Rene and Rodney Davilmar also found the back of the net in the win.

Technical Director Matthew Green was impressed with the level of play. “It has taken some time for the teams to adapt to playing Beach Soccer as it is a very different game from regular football. As it is basically a non-contact sport there is more influence on skill, especially shooting.

We obviously have some very talented players and I see no reason why we could not compete on the

world stage more evenly that we can at 11-a-side. The final promises to be a

very closely fought game. AFC Academy have been undefeated all season,

but the Teachers have a very strong team so it could go either way.”

Tciaa Developing North Caicos Football: I

n its thrust to develop football across the country, The Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIAA) has kick-started a programme in North Caicos, involving many of the children on that island, including the students at Adelaide Oemler Primary School. Matthew

Green, Technical Director for the TCIFA said that the programme is going well, as the kids are responding positively to the training, and in short order they will be a force to reckon with in Turks and Caicos Islands Football. Photo shows Adelaide Oemler students in training.

North Caicos Football Programme

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL SPORTS

LeBron James leads Heat to second straight NBA championship with Game 7 victory over Spurs M

IAMI – They plopped themselves on the edge of the stage, under a hail of NBA championship confetti. Dwyane Wade cradled the Larry O’Brien Trophy. LeBron James held the Finals MVP award.

This was the plan three summers ago, a unification of two mega-stars (well, three, but we’ll spare discussion of that for the time being) and a run of championships they might start piecing together here in South Florida. The clumsy announcement of “The Decision,” the obnoxious pep rally prediction of “not four, not five, not …” titles, the entire sense of entitlement had made this team so easy to root against and, in the end, produced the very fire of criticism that drove it to these heights.

For LeBron, it was 37 points and 12 rebounds. For D-Wade, 23 and 10. Miami 95,

The Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade, right, holds the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy as LeBron James holds his Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award after Game 7 of the NBA basketball championship game against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, June 21, 2013, in Miami. The Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to win their second straight NBA championship produces giddiness from critics. Legacy is constantly being defined and rede-

Miami Heat fans cheer during the first quarter of game seven in the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at American Airlines Arena.

San Antonio 88, four games to three, second straight title for the Heat.

And so there they sat in a shared state of euphoria trying to look around and soak it in, wearing goofy hats and broad smiles borne of challenges met as much as championships won. It’s funny how the journey turned out to be more important than the destination.

“Oh man, man, man,” Wade said. “This is sweet.

This is the sweetest one by far because of everything we’ve been through.”

“The vision that I had when I decided to come here is all coming true,” LeBron echoed.

There’s probably never been a team this great, a duo this dominating, that’s been so ripped apart. Each loss delivers doubt. Each failure

fined, debated and re-debated – especially on LeBron, despite the fact that he’s just 28 years old.

Heavy is the head that calls himself the King, and, so, yes, that’s all part of it.

The Heat bring it on themselves at times. But if it’s fair to demand so much from those given so much, then let them have their moment when Wade rises up through sore knees in such a critical stage. When James simply takes the game over in the moments that demand greatness.

Both produced nights built not simply from natural ability but from hours and hours of work and toughness, both physical and mental. Wade never made his knees an excuse, never sat, never stopped. He just kept pushing and push-

ing, even pleading with them, he said, to give him one more night.

“I told them, I said, ‘Listen, both of you guys, y’all give one more great game,’” Wade laughed at his conversation with his knees.

And there was LeBron, draining jump shots – making five of his 10 3-pointers – because the Spurs worked so hard to keep him off the blocks and out of the paint. This was long the weakest part of his game, a skill acquired rather than a strength he was born with.

This was forever his effort in the gym, offseasons and off days.

When you’re making shots like that, LeBron was

Miami Heat’s LeBron James gestures to a teammate during the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of their NBA Finals basketball playoff in Miami, Florida June 20, 2013. asked, you’re totally unstoppable.

“Yeah, I am,” he said with a laugh. “You said it … I just trusted all the work that I put into my game. And to be able to come through for

your teammates in the biggest moment on the biggest stage makes me more satisfied than anything in the world.”

This was a moment for these two. And not the moment maybe they expected.

Oh, winning consecutive titles was always the plan, always the inevitable they figured.

Only the entire thing has been tougher, harder, meaner than they could have foreseen.

Nationally, fans didn’t embrace this marriage the way they thought. Locally, a super team excited the city, but this was still a fan base that saw thousands bail out of Game 6 with 30 seconds remaining, no faith in their heroes.

And especially across this last month, back-to-back seven-game slugfests, the road to the title was tighter than ever. They needed every ounce of muscle to fight through Indiana. They needed a miracle comeback to

he’s absolutely wrong. This was the toughest championship right here.

“I mean, everything we’ve been through this postseason, we were down 1-0, we tied it. We were able to take a lead, but then we were down. We were scratching for our lives in Game 6, down five with 28 seconds to go.”

Given the choice, they’d probably prefer to sweep their way to the title. But in the long run, this is what these two covet. Validation.

Wade is a blue-collar kid out of Robbins, Ill. James comes out of hardscrabble Akron, Ohio. For their immense talents and all the glamour of their lives here near South Beach, there is equal parts grit. And getting to display that on this stage will forever be rewarding.

So no, this has never quite gone according to plan. Tougher critics, tougher competition than maybe they predicted in those heady, naïve days when

LeBron James of the Miami Heat celebrates winning Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Arena June 20, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The Miami Heat, led by NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James (2nd-L), won the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 in game seven of the championship series. stave off elimination Tuesday. They needed their own greatness and an unexpected 18 points from Shane Battier to prevail Thursday.

The Heat had just five players score in Game 7 and one of them, Chris Birdman Andersen, had just three points. This was a night when there was no margin other than greatness for Wade and LeBron, not with the Spurs coming and coming.

“Last year when I was sitting up here, I said it was the toughest thing I had ever done,” LeBron said.

“This year, I’ll tell last year

they first teamed up.

To that, even the endless chorus of doubters, they’ll accept.

“Everybody has an opinion,” Wade said. “But without doubt, maybe I’m not here today.”

“Please continue to motivate me,” LeBron said to the media. “I need you guys.”

So there they were, up on a stage, under the confetti, hugging their hardware.

The end result was, again, what they expected. Another title. It was the journey that just happened to turn out sweeter than they could have imagined.

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Sports CARIBBEAN

IAAF backs Jamaica doping ruling

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ONDON -- The doping case involving Jamaican sprint star Veronica Campbell-Brown appears to involve a “lesser” offense of unintentional use of a banned substance, the sport’s world governing body said Wednesday.

The reigning 200-meter world champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist was suspended by Jamaica’s national federation on Tuesday pending an investigation into a positive drug test.

Jamaican officials said Campbell-Brown, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion in the 200, tested positive for a banned diuretic at a meet on the island in May. The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association said she was suspended from competition while a disciplinary panel reviews the case. The Jamaicans said the matter is being handled according to rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations.

“It is up to our member federations to enforce our rules,” IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told The Associated Press in a text message. “Although we would not normally comment on active cases (we) would simply remind media to keep (a) sense of perspective -- all evidence seems to point to this offense being a lesser one.”

The sanction for a lesser offense can be a re-

VERONICA CAMPBELL-BROWN duced penalty -- a suspension of a few months to a year or a public warning -- rather than a standard two-year ban.

Dr. Herb Elliott, chairman of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission, said the banned substance found in Campbell-Brown’s samples at the Jamaica International Invitational was a diuretic. He declined to provide the name of the substance.

Diuretics can be used to mask the use of banned substances.

Under the World Anti-Doping Code, some diuretics are classified as a “specified substance,” a

designation for drugs that might have been consumed without intent to enhance performance.

Athletes can receive a reduced sanction if they can prove how a substance was ingested.

In 2009, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake and three other Jamaicans received reduced suspensions of three months after testing positive for a banned stimulant. Blake won the 100-meter world title in 2010 and finished second behind Usain Bolt in the 100 and 200 at last year’s London Olympics.

The 31-year-old Campbell-Brown has won seven Olympic medals in all.

Campbell-Brown’s manager, Claude Bryan, said the accusation came as a “shock to her” and the sprinter is determined to clear her name.

“Veronica is not a cheat, she has, via hard work and dedication, accomplished a record on the track which is absolutely remarkable,” Bryan said in a statement Tuesday.

He said Campbell-Brown does not accept “guilt of willfully taking a banned substance.”

In addition to her two individual Olympic titles, Campbell-Brown also won gold in the 4x100 relay at the 2004 Athens Games. In London, she won bronze in the 100 and silver as part of the 4x100 relay team.

WICB/WIPA announce joint venture to stage annual player awards ceremony S

T JOHNS, Antigua -- The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) have announced a historic partnership to stage an awards ceremony honouring the best performances by West Indian players, in both regional and international cricket, for the 2012 calendar year.

The leadership of both the WICB and WIPA have been in discussions regarding several joint initiatives, and they have agreed to collaborate on staging this year’s ceremony.

“The WICB had been planning a ceremony to honour the winning team from the ICC T20 World Cup,” said WICB CEO, Michael Muirhead. “It makes good sense from any angle for WIPA and us to stage the 10th anniversary of this event jointly. As part of the overall plan to re-position cricket, we think the collaborative approach is more attractive to the corporate sector and cricket fans. The awards present a fantastic opportunity for the partnership to grow even more.”

This year’s event will be

known as the WICB/WIPA Annual Player Awards Ceremony, and will see fourteen categories of awards presented on the evening, along with a special presentation to the winning West Indies World Twenty20 team members.

Two new awards will also be included among the 14 – the WICB Lifetime Achievement Award and the WIPA Lifetime Achievement Award.

The event will be held during the Trinidad and Tobago leg of the Celkon Mobile Cup on July 4 in Port-of-Spain. It is expected to be broadcast live on regional television stations. Both WICB and WIPA are currently in discussions with potential commercial partners, and expect to make an announcement regarding these discussions in the next few days.

Both WICB and WIPA have agreed to use a part of the net proceeds from the event to fund an initiative that will be for the benefit of past players, and these details will be announced in the near future.

The sale of tickets, both corporate and individual, has already

begun, and WIPA CEO Michael Hall is encouraging the support of corporate Trinidad and Tobago in this regard.

“There has always been tremendous support for the event through the purchase of tables by the private sector, and with the World T20 champions being the honoured guests this year, we are certainly expecting that support to broaden and expand,” Hall commented.

For the past nine years WIPA had staged the awards ceremony on its own through sponsorship support from First Citizens Bank in Trinidad and Tobago. Regrettably First Citizens recently advised WIPA of their inability to continue this arrangement.

“We are extremely grateful to First Citizens Bank for their previous commitment,” said WIPA CEO Hall.

“Through their support, the annual ceremony honouring the achievements of our players has grown in stature with each passing year and we are now able to expand and grow this event on an even larger scale.”

CPL FRANCHISES ANNOUNCE TEAM NAMES

T

he Caribbean Premier League announced the team names and logos for the six participating franchises through a media release on Friday. The inaugural Caribbean Premier League is scheduled to begin on July 30.

Suggestions for the team names were invited through social media and CPL chief Damien O’Donohoe said: “We are thrilled with the final team names and the logos. We believe they are reflective of the character and culture of each country, and I’m sure each team will live up to their name. Our fans had some very inspired suggestions, which were taken into consideration, and definitely contributed to the creative process which resulted in these names.”

The 15-man squads for the six teams were finalised through a draft on June 6. The League features top West Indies players like Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo. Among international players, Ricky Ponting, Muttiah Muralitharan, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Herschelle Gibbs and Ross Taylor have been been signed on by franchises.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Sports W

RLD

Doc Rivers unsure about returning to Celtics as coach after Clippers deal falls apart A

fter talks in a blockbuster deal fell apart over draft pick compensation, Doc Rivers is unsure about returning to the Boston Celtics as coach, league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday.

The Celtics have told Doc Rivers they would still like him to return as coach. (Getty Images) Celtics general manager Danny Ainge informed Rivers of the failed trade talks on Tuesday morning, and reiterated the Celtics’ desire to have him return and fulfill the final three years and $21 million left on his contract, sources said.

Rivers will travel to Boston on Wednesday and discuss his future with Ainge. The Celtics and Rivers plan to reach a final resolution in the next few days, sources said.

The Clippers refused to part with two firstround picks and DeAndre Jordan as part of a package to bring Kevin Garnett and Rivers to Los Angeles. The Clippers had started to waver on the trade in the past few days, inspiring belief among many in the process that the notoriously frugal franchise had grown uneasy about paying Rivers the five-year, $35 million contract that it had negotiated with him, along with a $3 million-plus trade kicker on Jordan’s contract.

The Clippers informed the Celtics on Tuesday morning that they were unwilling to meet Ainge’s price to complete the deal. There were no discussions about probing other ways to complete the deal, sources said.

Kevin Garnett would have waived his no-trade clause to join Rivers with the Clippers. (Getty Images)Nevertheless, there is always an opportunity for the teams to still revisit parameters of a deal until Los Angeles has hired a coach.

This Clippers play was a gamble for Rivers, who has jeopardized his immense popularity in Boston with the bid to be part of a bold deal to go DOC RIVERS to Los Angeles with Garnett.

The Clippers had reached agreement with RivRivers pushed for the Clippers partnership beers in recent days on the five-year contract that in- cause of his desire to bypass a rebuilding process cluded incentives that could have pushed his an- with Boston. As one source tied to Boston ownernual salary near $8 million, league sources said. ship and Rivers said, “You don’t just move on from As much as Rivers wanted the Clippers job, this and act like nothing happened.”

Boston management wanted to use the deal to Rivers has TV broadcast options available to speed up its rebuilding process. Ainge and Rivers him if he steps away from coaching, but he won’t aren’t at odds, sources said. be able to work in the NBA again without the The Clippers plan to return to interviewing Celtics releasing him from his contract. Boston candidates for their coaching job, including Brian will demand compensation out of any team tryShaw, Byron Scott and Lionel Hollins, sources said. ing to hire Rivers in management or coaching.

Gatlin says win over Bolt prelude to bigger things O

lympic bronze medalist Justin Gatlin is not willing to call his surprising 100 meters victory over world record holder Usain Bolt a fluke.

The American sprinter prefers to think of last month’s triumph as the opening act of journey that will bring him and Bolt together again on a much larger stage later this year, he said on Wednesday.

“I would not consider it a fluke,” the 2004 Olympic 100m gold medalist and London Games third-place finisher told a news conference ahead of Thursday’s start of the U.S. championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

“I would consider it a prelude to something better and greater. I want to have faster, greater competitions against him.”

The 31-year-old burst past Bolt in their Diamond League race in Rome last month and hung on for his first ever 100 meters victory over the Jamaican.

Some have called the rare loss a blip in Bolt’s preparations for August’s world championships in Moscow, a race soon to be forgotten.

Not Gatlin.

“I like racing against Usain, (Jamaican world champion) Yohan (Blake) and Tyson,” he said. “It is an adrenaline rush.”

JUSTIN GATLIN It is also a major challenge, especially Bolt.

At 6 feet 5 inches, the lanky Jamaican can rapidly gobble up meters of space, producing times in the 100 and 200 meters many never thought possible.

“Some people probably think it is impossible to beat him when he is at his peak performance,” Gatlin said. “You just have to make sure you make someone like him feel as uncomfortable as possible in a race strategy.

“He is usually clear of the field at 60 meters, so you have got to make sure that when he looks over he can see you at 60 meters and you are still going on with him.”

Their next likely clash will be the world championships in Moscow,

and Gatlin will attempt to set the stage for a potential rematch when he competes in the U.S. championships which double as the world trials.

Only the top three finishers in the cut-throat competition qualify for the worlds, with the 100 meters likely coming down to a showdown between 2004 Olympic gold medalist Gatlin and former world champion Tyson Gay, whom Gatlin edged out for an Olympic medal in London.

“When he is healthy, he is definitely one of the most dangerous sprinters that you can compete against,” Gatlin said of Gay. But it is Bolt who is the man with the target on his back.

“His races are bigger than life. His persona is bigger than life,” Gatlin said.

Six times an Olympic gold medalist, “he is only going to run in big championships very fast,” said Gatlin, who takes pride in his win over Bolt but knows it was not an all-encompassing victory.

“You have to continuously beat someone, especially in our field, to be able to feel like you have really beaten them,” the American said. “A one-off in our field is considered a fluke.”

FORMER NFL STAR CHAD JOHNSON RELEASED FROM JAIL

F

ORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A contrite Chad Johnson apologized Monday for disrespecting a judge when the former NFL star slapped his attorney on the backside in court last week and was released from jail after only a week instead of 30 days.

Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh accepted Johnson’s apology and cut back his jail term for a probation violation to the seven days he had already served since the rear-swatting. Johnson, a flamboyant wide receiver formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, said in court that he’d had time to think about why his flippant attitude was wrong - especially in a domestic violence case. ‘’I just wanted to apologize for disrespecting the court last time,’’ said Johnson, wearing a tan jail jumpsuit with his hands shackled at the waist. ‘’I apologize. I did have time to reflect on the mistakes I made in this courtroom.’’

Johnson walked out of jail shortly after 4 p.m. and was met by his attorney, Adam Swickle, and sports agent Drew Rosenhaus. Johnson told reporters he was thankful to McHugh because she was the first person to get him to slow down and think about the path his life was taking.

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WORLD SPORTS

Woods to rest elbow, skip AT&T National I

n little more than a month, Tiger Woods went from being tough to beat to having a tough time even playing.

Woods said Wednesday that soreness in his left elbow would keep him from defending his title next week in the AT&T National at Congressional, and that he would not compete again until the British Open next month at Muirfield.

This is the sixth straight year that injury has kept him from either playing a tournament or finishing one.

The culprit this time is a strain in his left elbow. The problem first became apparent during the opening round of the U.S. Open last week at Merion, when he was flexing his left wrist or dangling his arm behind his back after shots out of the thick, punishing rough. ‘’I was examined after I returned home from the U.S. Open, and the doctors determined I have a left elbow strain,’’ Woods said on his website. ‘’I have been advised to take a few weeks off, rest and undergo treatment. I’ll be ready to go for the British Open, and I’m looking forward to playing at Muirfield.’’

His injury is a blow to the AT&T National, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. This will be the third time since it began in 2007 that Woods has missed the tournament because of injury - knee surgery in 2008, his left Achilles tendon in 2011 and an elbow injury this year. ‘’Any time you have Tiger in the field, it certainly adds to it a lot,’’ tournament director Greg McLaughlin said. ‘’But we have a very nice field this year and we look forward to a great AT&T National.’’

Woods was not specific about when or how the latest injury happened. He first showed signs of being hurt after hitting shots in the rough during the rain-delayed opening round at Merion, though he told a USGA official it was ‘’fine’’ when he left the course Thursday evening.

R

TIGER WOODS After finishing the first round Friday morning, he said only that the reason he grimaced after shots out of the rough was because of ‘’pain’’ and that he felt it on a few shots. That afternoon, he revealed that he first hurt his elbow at The Players Championship, but he declined to say which round or on what kind of shot.

Woods won The Players Championship on May 12 for the first time in 12 years. It was his fourth PGA Tour win of the season.

Woods picked up those four in just eight starts worldwide, and the win at Sawgrass was his third victory in his last four tournaments. The exception was the Masters, where he tied for fourth, four shots out of a playoff.

But the last two tournaments have produced a surprising outcome.

At the Memorial, where Woods was a five-time winner and the defending champion, he had the worst nine-hole score of his career with a 44 on the back nine that led to a 79 in the third round. He tied for 65th and finished 20 shots behind, his largest deficit for a full-field event. At Merion, he wound up with a 13-over 293, his highest score ever for the U.S. Open and tied for his highest 72-hole score in any major.

Nadal seeded No. 5 for Wimbledon L

ONDON -- Rafael Nadal will be seeded No. 5 at Wimbledon, setting up the possibility of a quarterfinal match against Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray.

The All England Club released the seedings Wednesday for this year’s championships, with the top five in the ATP rankings remaining in their positions.

Djokovic is No. 1, followed by Murray, Federer, David Ferrer and Nadal.

Nadal, who was sidelined for about seven months with a left knee injury after losing in the second round at Wimbledon last year, dropped to No. 5 in the rankings after the French Open, despite beating Ferrer to win the tournament for a record eighth time.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga jumps one spot in the seedings to No. 6, with Tomas Berdych dropping a place to No. 7.

The women’s seedings follow the WTA rankings, with Serena Williams at No. 1.

The tournament starts Monday. The draw will be held Friday.

Ponting to retire from all cricket

Rafael Nadal

icky Ponting, the former Australia captain and one of the greatest batsmen of the modern age, will retire from all cricket in October.

The 38-year-old is currently in England playing county cricket for Surrey but he has said that the Champions League T20 campaign with Mumbai Indians, winners of this year’s IPL, will be his last competitive outing.

“While I’m enjoying my cricket as much as ever, it just feels like the right time to finish playing,” Ponting told the Daily Mail. “My body and mind are in great shape and I know I’m going to really enjoy these last few months before the next stage of life begins.”

Ponting announced his Test retirement during Australia’s home series against South Africa last year, making a farewell appearance in the defeat at Perth. In 168 Test matches he amassed 13378 runs, second only to Sachin Tendulkar, as well as 13704 runs in ODIs, winning three World Cups, two as captain.

In what has turned out to be his final season in Australia, Ponting helped Tasmania to victory in the Sheffield Shield - and finished as the competition’s leading run-scorer - before heading to the IPL. He is scheduled to leave Surrey in July and take part in the inaugural Caribbean Premier League, with the Antigua Hawksbills.

“To win the Sheffield Shield with Tasmania in my last game in Australia played at Blundstone Arena, will forever be a memory close to my heart. It’s one of a lifetime of memories that will become even more special to me in retirement,” he said.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunities that the game of cricket has given to me. I’ve played with so many outstanding people at all levels of cricket with lifelong friendships made.”

Although Ponting struggled in his final Test series, accumulating just 32 runs in three matches against South Africa, uncertainty about Australia’s batting line-up ahead of the Ashes had led to talk of a possible recall.

Ponting appeared to encourage such speculation shortly after arriving in England to join up with Surrey - “I would never say never,” he said in a newspaper interview - but he later clarified

RICKY PONTING that he would not be coming out of retirement. He did however make a return to the dressing room to offer support as Australia went out of the Champions Trophy with defeat to Sri Lanka at The Oval on Monday.

He made 192 on his firstclass debut for Surrey last month, proving his continued appetite for making big scores, but it will be in T20 cricket that he makes his final bow. He is one of the marquee signings for the CPL and will be expected to play his last innings in the blue of Mumbai, despite dropping himself from the team and handing over the captaincy to Rohit Sharma during their run to the IPL title.

He will then begin life as a retired professional cricketer, with promoting an autobiography the first job on his list.

Ponting said he was looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Rianna, and their two daughters, as well as working with their cancer fundraising charity.

“I’m considering a couple of options in the cricket media and I’m very fortunate to have a wonderful group of commercial partners that I will be continuing to work with,” he said. “My autobiography comes out in late October so I’ve also got a couple of busy months on my book tour when I get back. I got a taste for the off field demands of coaching, mentoring and leadership at Mumbai. I’d like to do more of this in the future.

“I’m excited about what lies ahead. We are moving to Melbourne, which will be like a new beginning as a family leading a more normal life. I’ll be able to spend more time with family and friends, play a lot more golf and see more of North Melbourne footy games.

“Rianna and I will continue to build the work of the Ponting Foundation and, with more time on my hands, I’m intending on spending more time with children with cancer and their families

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JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

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When you look Good, You feel good. We make you look good!

10% off

In Celebration of Love and Success LapelsTCI Dry Cleaners and Laundry is offering 10% off ALL SUITS, BRIDAL GOWNS, GRADUATION DRESSES, PROM DRESSES

ONE MONTH ONLY June 6, 2013 to July 6, 2013 COUPON CODE: GRADUATON2013

Only at LapelsTCI Dry Cleaners When you Look Good, You Feel Good LapelsTCI salutes our students and teachers and celebrate with those who are getting married.

Coming August 1, 2013 Buy the TCI SUN and get coupons for CRAZY weekly discounts

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JUNE 26TH - JUNE 29TH, 2013

PUBLISHED BY SUN MEDIA GROUP, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS - TEL: 649-946-8542; FAX: 649-941-3281

TURKS & CAICOS SUN