VOLUME 10 ISSUE 7 by The SUN Newspaper

MARCH 8TH - MARCH 15TH, 2014

VOLUME 10 - No. 7

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BUSINESS LICENCES TO BE INCREASED Website: www.suntci.com

Email: sun@suntci.com

Tel: 649-946-8542

Fax: 649-941-3281

www. twitter.com/suntci

BY HAYDEN BOYCE PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

usinesses in the Turks and Caicos Islands, many of whom are experiencing tough ﬁnancial times, will soon have to pay more for their business licences. That’s because the cash-strapped Turks and Caicos Islands Government last week approved the restructuring of the Business License Fee Schedule, effective 1st July 2014. According to a document obtained by The SUN, Government current yields $2.2million from business licences, but under the proposed rates it wants to earn $4.4million. The document revealed that professional attorneys who now pay $5,400, will have to pay $10,000 if they have less than 5 employees, $20,000 if they have between 6 and 10 employees and $30,000 if they have more than 11 staff. There were 15 business licence renewals in that professional lawyers category in 2013, yielding $81,000 in revenue. Government expects to get $360,000 from them with the increase. Real estate agencies now pay $3,400, but this will increase to $5,400. Nurseries, daycare and child care services, educational and training services will increase from $300 to $540, while customs brokerage, immigration brokerage and delivery services will jump from $300 to $675. Business licences for doctors and vets will remain unchanged at $2,700, while dentists have increased from $1000 to $2700 and funeral homes from $675 to $2000. Optometry, chiropractic, physiotherapy and laboratory services will all increase from $300 to $2700, while pharmacies will move from $300 to $540. The licence for property development will increase from $5400 to

Former Premier Mike Misick readmitted to Real Estate Association PAGE 6

MORE THAN 500 EMPLOYEES GRADUATE FROM SANDALS CORPORATE UNIVERSITY. Over 500 Beaches Resort employees graduated from manent Secretary to the Premier, Mr. Wesley Clerveaux, the Sandals Corporate University (SCU) on Thursday, Feb- President and COO of the American Hotel & Lodging Eduruary 20th 2014 at the resort grand ball room. Hosted by cational Institute (AHLEI), Mr. Robert Steele III and SCU’s Beaches’ David Ellis and Romell Phillips, the afternoon Vice President and registrar, Mr. Mark Fredrick. Also in atevent saw a large crowd. Among those in attendance were, tendance was Dr. Phillip Brown - Group Director, Human Deputy Premier, Honorable Akierra Missick, Leader of the Resources, Training and Service Standards (HTSS) at SanOpposition, Honorable Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Per- dals Resorts International. $10,000 per year, while property management will be up from $675 to $100 per unit and strata management services from $675 to $1350. Event planning and coordination will move from $300 to $1000 and provision of tourism services will be $1350, up from $300. Hotels now pay between $675 and $13,500, but under the proposed structure they will pay $50 per room, while

apartment rents which now pay between $300 and $4000, will have to pay $300 per unit. Motor vehicle sales companies will pay $2700 instead of $1350, and internet service providers have a slight increase from $1350 to $1500. Telecommunications services have increased from $300 to $3000, cruise port facilities from $300 to $15,000, shipyard and marinas from $300 to

$3000, airline charter operations from $300 to $1000, ground handling services from $300 to $4000, Fixed Based Operations from $300 to $10,000, designated restaurants and cafes from $675 to $1500, bars from $300 to $540, designated bars from $675 to $1000, catering and private chef services from $300 to $675, mobile food sales

Update on Robbie Been murder

Increase in gun licence applications

Speaker Robert Hall wants UK to knight Belongers

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from $300 to $675, sea food processing from $300 to $1000, duty-free shops from $300 to $1500. Wholesale liquor importers will remain at $2700, as will importers other than liquor. Barber shops, tattoo parlours, tailor shops and beauty salons will increase from $300 to $540, while clean-

ing, maid and janitorial services will move up to $400 from $300. Laundromats and auditoriums will increase from $300 to $1000, cinemas from $300 to $200, gyms and ﬁtness centres from $300 to $540, gaming and casinos from $300 to $1500, golf courses from $8,100 to $10,000, air conditioning and refrigeration from $300 to $1000, landscaping and nursery from $300 to $1350, drilling services from $300 to $1000, dredging

and mining from $300 to $2700, garage services from $300 to $1000 and aviation refueling services and distilleries from $300 to $1500. A note on the document said that if approved, the new rates will apply to new applicants. “We estimate an additional $300,000 from new applications and increase in number of renewals resulting from the implementation of an aggressive compliance programme,”the

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

document added. Last week Cabinet agreed on the reclassiﬁcation of the ‘Miscellaneous Category’ and streamlining and expansion of the ‘Reserved Category’. Those non-TCI businesses which are licensed under existing law and are affected by these changes will be grandfathered in. All licenses issued between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2014 will be given an extension of their validity until 30th June 2014.

Governor and Premier take strong stance against crime G

overnor Peter Beckingham and Premier Dr. Rufus Ewing have both made strong statements against crime, following the execution-type murder of Robbie Been. In a press release the Governor said: “ I was saddened and shocked to hear of the murder of Mr Been this week. I am in touch with the Acting Commissioner about the investigation and I hope that the Police will be successful in arresting the guilty party quickly. TCI needs to show that criminals cannot get away with abhorrent acts of this sort.” Governor Beckingham added: “I discussed the 2013 crime ﬁgures with the Police Commissioner before they were released. We are obviously concerned about the increases, although we took some comfort from the fact that TCI levels of crime and violence are comparatively low against many other Caribbean islands. “But there is clearly room for improvement and the Commissioner and I will continue to meet regularly to look at ways of ensuring – not least with more resources - TCI’s reputation re-

Governor Peter Beckingham

Premier Dr. Rufus Ewing

mains high as a safe destination for tourists, and secure for its citizens. There is no room for complacency.” Premier Ewing decried the few recent acts of violent crimes that have been committed in the community of Providenciales, making it clear that “it will not be tolerated” and that law enforcement and the judicial system must “throw the book” at the offenders.

The Premier condemned Been’s killing as being “cowardly” and “brutal”. He added, “Even though we still boast one of the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean, these recent incidents of violent crimes, are totally unacceptable. Not only are we destroying the lives of our citizens, we are also potentially destroying the reputation of our beloved country in the international arena and dam-

aging our bread basket tourism industry all at the same time. As Premier, I will ensure that the necessary resources at our disposal are made available to ﬁght crime and in this vein I am calling on the Governor, the Commissioner of Police, the Judiciary and on you, the residents of our islands, let us all do our part and work together in the prevention and detection of crime and the conviction of the offenders. Together we must ensure that our country remains the safe haven that it is known to be.” The Premier encouraged members of the community who have information that may assist the Police in their investigations, to come forward. He added: “My Government continues to beseech the UK Government to also do their part in the ﬁght against crime.” Premier Ewing extended condolences and deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the late Mr. Robert Been Sr. on behalf of the Government of The Turks and Caicos Islands and said “May God be your source of strength during your period of bereavement. Our country grieves with you”.

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The Code of Conduct on conflict of interest as applicable to Hon. Members of the House of Assembly BY EUGENE OTUONYE – DIRECTOR OF THE INTEGRITY COMMISSION

ecent press reports which have come to the attention of the Integrity Commission suggest that there may be some confusion concerning some provisions of the Code of Conduct for Persons in Public Life (the Code) and in particular how its provisions on conflict of interests apply to Hon. Members of the House of Assembly. The Commission has been in correspondence with the Deputy Speaker concerning the specific concerns she raised as to her own position. Given that these concerns have become a matter of public debate, the Commission feels it would be useful to clarify matters for the benefit of the public. 1. The purpose of the Code, and indeed of the Commission, is not to catch people out, but rather to help persons in public life to raise the standards of integrity in the Islands. Although the Code was formulated and published after public consultation in the Islands, its provisions are not set in stone but are kept under constant review by the Commission and are subject to be amended as practical circumstances may warrant. The Commission therefore welcomes constructive suggestions as to its practical out-workings and how best it may be improved. 2. It is important to note that the Code, as it relates to conflict of interest, was drafted after taking into account, the unique challenges of small islands environment of TCI, its antecedent history and the need to ensure the protection of the decision-making integrity of the relevant public bodies (including the House of Assembly) and to secure public confidence in them. For this reason, the provisions of the Code on conflict of interest are deliberately detailed and fairly comprehensive. 3. It is not possible for the Commission to prescribe in advance an exhaustive list of situations in which a Member of the House of Assembly should or should not abstain from any debate and or vote. Neither can the Code be reasonably expected to provide a hard and fast rule on how to identify, avoid and or manage all circumstances of conflict of interest. However, the Code and its Appendix B, provide a unique and useful frame-

work to guide and inform public bodies (including the House of Assembly) in the formulation or revision of their internal rules and regulations on conflict of interest. 4. Accordingly, and consistent with parliamentary best practice and commitment to good governance, it is expected that the TCI House of Assembly should, under its Rules and Standing Orders, address in more practical terms, the issue of conflict of interest and have its Hon. Members be governed thereby. In this regard, and as a matter of principle, it is unreasonable and fraught with inherent danger to the democratic process, to expect the Commission to advise individual Hon. Members on every issue of conflict of interest that arises or may arise in the House. This is a matter best suited for the House to deal with, assisted by its officers which include its legal adviser. 5. At the end of the day however, it is the ultimate responsibility of the Hon. Members to order their own private lives in such a way as to avoid criticism and to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict. In each case, the Hon. Member must ask himself or herself not only whether the private interest would affect how he or she participates in the debate and or voting, but whether that interest might create a reasonable suspicion in fair minded members of the public that this might be the case. In most cases, it is a judgment call that the Hon. Member will have to make. That is why they are Honourable Members. Where the Hon. Member has made a decision honestly and in good faith, even where an alternative course may have been arguable, then that Member need not be concerned that the Commission or the House of Assembly will fault him or her for an honest and diligent attempt to comply with the Code or any House Rules or Standing Orders which have been informed by or have like effect as the Code on conflict of interest.

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.

6. Finally, on the specific episode of declaration of conflict of interest by the Deputy Speaker, the Commission confirms and endorses the position which its Director had taken on the matter, namely that the Hon. Josephine Connolly ought, in the circumstances, to declare her interest and abstain from participating in the debate (including chairing the relevant Committee) and voting. The Commission is aware that in doing so, the Director was merely endorsing similar position earlier taken by the Hon. Opposition Members of the House of which the Deputy Speaker is a part. 7. The Commission however regrets that this highly commendable stance on a conflict of interest matter, which the relevant Hon. Members and the Deputy Speaker have taken, appears to have been overshadowed by the criticism of the Code and the Commission in and outside of the House.

Former Premier admitted to Real Estate Association T

he Turks and Caicos Islands Real Estate Association has formally approved the membership of former premier Michael Misick to become a practicing member agent, President of the association, Robert Greenwood conﬁrmed to The SUN. Greenwood said Misick’s membership was admitted during a meeting of association executive members meeting on Thursday, March 6. “The Turks and Caicos Islands Real Estates Association, as of March 6, 2014, approved by vote of its broker council and the executive council, the application of Mr. Misick, and have done so in accordance with our rules, regulations and ethics,” Greenwood said. He told that SUN however, that Misick’s membership is provisional since he would have to sit and pass a real estate exam, to justify that he has adequate knowledge of the real estate industry, adding the association has standard requirements that all applicants must become aware in order for them to become members. “As with any new member, this is a provisional membership until such time that he has completed our training course and ﬁnal examinations. The Real Estates Association has stan-

Former Premier Michael Misick dard requirements for all individuals applying to become practicing agent members,” he said. Greenwood stated that Misick met all the prerequisites to be admitted by the association, pointing out that he met all the requirements. “And as the date that the application was reviewed, the applicant met these requirements, therefore, his membership has not been unreasonably withheld, and, as with any newly-approved agent member, we wish Mr. Misick the

very best in his real estate career,” Greenwood said. The SUN understands that individuals within the ranks of the industry expressed concern that granting Misick an approval could be risky for the industry at this time as a result of his pending court case. However, Greenwood insisted that the association has an established process to follow, and at the time when his application was approved, the former premier met them all. “Under the Turks and Caicos Real Estate’s rules and regulations and code of ethics, there is a distinct process, and that process, if once approved, he has a period of time to review the Turks and Caicos Real Estate training manual that has everything to do with the real estate industry within the Turks and Caicos Islands, and sit an examination. “Once that examination has been set and passed, he then is able to be an agent member, practicing with the ﬁrm that he has hands in. The manual is provided and the educational process is provided, and that member has to pass that test to show that they are understanding of the industry that they are into,” Greenwood said.

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Ralph Higgs says Tourist Board cooperated with DEMA on Fish Fry issues BY VIVIAN TYSON

he Tourist Board has spent at least $11,000 to accommodate the tourism hit – Thursday Fish Fry – and proposed to spend another $1,000 even when steps were being taken by the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs to evict the event from the Bight Park, according to letter said to have been penned by the Board’s Head Ralph Higgs and addressed to DEMA boss Kathleen Wood, which The SUN managed to obtain. Higgs said in the letter, which was crafted on February 3 – the same day DEMA issued the eviction notice - that most of the DEMA concerns were addressed, including a noise nuisance complaints by some citizens living near the Lower Bight venue. DEMA gave the Tourist Board until March 5 to ﬁnd a new home, since it would not allow the Fish Fry to continue owing to a myriad of agreement breaches. They include non-payment of fees for the park, noise nuisance, vendors dumping used cooking oil and used charcoal and its ashes on vegetation and the inadequate cleaning of the venue which DEMA said is the responsibility of the Tourist Board. But Higgs stated in the letter that he was appalled that DEMA decided to close down the event in the face of those concerns were being addressed, plus the level of contribution that the board had made and continued to make while it occupied the venue. The following is the response letter from Higgs to Wood: “Dear Mrs. Wood: “I wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 03 February, 2014, on the referenced subject matter. Before I seek to address the concerns raised therein, I must register how shocked and disappointed I am by the decision taken to evict the Fish Fry from the Bight Park effective 04 March, 2014. “I trust you would agree Mrs. Wood, from the very beginning of the Fish Fry 31 January, 2013, I sought to establish and maintain an open dialogue with you and your department on all issues relating to the Fish Fry. I have in a proactive way reached out to you to discuss up keep of the park, wear and tear, security and how we may make contributions to DEMA to cover these areas, notwithstanding the Tourist Board not having sufﬁcient budget to cover the weekly amounts referenced in your letters. On the subject of funding (2. c.), you always advised that you would let us know how to make a payment to DEMA, as you did not want it to be paid in to the TCIG’s general fund as DEMA would not receive it. “We have sought guidance from you as recent as last month on how to make a contribution of $1000.00 towards electricity, but todate, have not gotten this guidance. You were also made aware that the Tourist Board spent some $11,000.00 (Eleven Thousand Dollars) to install power, lights, benches etc. to ready the Park for the Fish Fry event. “To your point (2. a.) of disturbing residents in the community, you were aware of some of the measures we have taken to address the concerns raised by a few disgruntled neighbors; most notably Mr. Eric Levine. I personally met with Mr. Levine to discuss the Fish Fry and his concerns associated with the noise, as he perceived it.

Kathleen Wood

Ralph Higgs

“In February of last year following a meeting Mr. Levine and I exchanged phone numbers; I invited him to call me anytime the music from the Fish Fry got to the level he claimed was invading his home. We agreed that I would visit his house, along with a mutual friend, Mr. Stanley Bassett to get a sense of the noise level being emitted by the Fish Fry. “I have not heard from Mr. Levine since concerning the Fish Fry. I have had a number of conversations with Chuck and Barbara in connection with the Fish Fry in the ﬁrst months of the event ( Feb/March 2013), we arrived at an understanding regarding orientation of speakers and sound levels, the Board has abided by this as far as possible and I have not heard anything from Chuck or Barbara since. In fact, we have not received any complaints from anyone else including DEMA with regards to noise at the Fish Fry. “On the subject of up keep of the Park (2. b.), you may recall that we have always remained mindful of the importance of keeping the park and in a presentable state. You would attest to efforts made to ensure that the vendors comply with our demands to do so. “These efforts included having you joined us at a meeting with the vendors to educate them on their responsibility to keep the park clean. We have sought your support in holding the vendors accountable every step of the way. I have personally walked you through the Park highlighting those areas of concern to us. “In addition to having a cleaner stationed at the event every Thursday night, we have another cleaner that would do a walk through every Friday morning following the event to ensure that the Park and surroundings areas are cleared (2. d.). In addition to that, before going to the ofﬁce on Fridays, I would drive by the Park to be sure that it is in an acceptable state. “There were Friday mornings when I called you from the Park to highlight concerns and there were one or two times when you called me on a Friday mornings to point areas where you thought our cleaner may have over looked; in every case we attended to your observations swiftly. While I accept that we may not have delivered fully on our MOU, I doubt you would disagree that we tried and that we have lived up to the spirit of the said agreement. “The Fish Fry has far exceeded everyone’s expectation in terms of popularity by our

visitors, residents, vendors and taxi drivers. It has been a source of positive exposure for TCI, week after week via social media, Travel Trade publications and in fact, CNN has given it coverage. To disrupt the Fish Fry now would create a void for the hundreds of tourists who attend the event from and get a chance to mix and mingle with TCI residents and be exposed to our cuisine, culture etc. Cancellation of the event would also upset the 10 or 12 local restaurants that have been able to, for the ﬁrst time on an evening, in any meaningful way, sell their goods and services to tourists. Taxi drivers would be disappointed as they have been able to pick up much needed business transferring our guests to and from the venue. Our local performers and entertainers (some time including primary school children) who are engaged on Thursday nights at the Fish Fry would no longer have this audience. “Finally Mrs. Wood, on the issue of a permanent home for the Fish Fry, we have identiﬁed a plot of land in the Bight area near the Straw Vendors’ Market and have been working with government on ways to have it secured and developed as the future home of the Tourist Board and the Island Fish Fry. I am afraid however, that this could not possibly happen before the relocation deadline you have given us. “Before closing, it would be remiss of me not to thank you for allowing the Tourist Board to use the park over the last 12 month, enabling us to introduce the Fish Fry and turn it into a very well loved event. However, the paradox is that this notice of eviction from the park ensures the death of the event as the park is the only suitable venue for the Fish Fry on the island at this time. “Thanks again. “Sincerely, “Ralph L. Higgs Director of Tourism. “Ccs: Hon. Dr. Ewing - Premier and Minister of Tourism Wesley Clerveaux – P. S. Tourism Susan Malcolm – P. S. Environment and Home Affairs Dr. Kingsley (Been) – Chairman / Tourist Board.” Just this week Premier Ewing weighed in on the controversy, issuing a statement that the Thursday Fish Fry would not end, and in fact would continue at its current venue until otherwise.

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Massive increase in applications for firearms licences BY VIVIAN TYSON

here has been a marked increase in members of the public applying for firearms because they believe that their safety could be compromised at anytime, according Chief Firearms Officer for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, Superintendent Darron Williams. Williams made the declaration while speaking at a news conference called by the police on Wednesday (February 26) to release the 2013 annual crime statistics, at the police headquarters on Providenciales. “As a firearms officer, I see numerous applications for firearm, so people are more concerned about (the preservation) of their lives, hence the increase number of applications for firearms,” Williams noted, while decline the media’s invitation to divulge the number of new applications, the sum of the increase or the total number of persons that are current holders of firearms in the TCI. He said that guns were used in most robberies committed in 2013, noting that probably all of those weapons are illegal. He said some of the weapons used to commit those crimes were high powered rifles, including AK47s. “Most robberies in the Turks and Caicos Islands are committed with the use of firearms, and we can assume and we would know that most of these illegal firearms are illegal firearms on the streets. That is the challenge for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. We have a lot of illegal firearms on the streets. When I talk about illegal firearms,

Superintendent Darron Williams I am talking about assault weapons for example AK47s and probably AR15s also. “These are weapons that are very deadly and they can cause a lot of damages and injuries and death. So we are appealing to the public, if you have any information on anyone with illegal firearms, please let the police know. It is very important that we know and it is very important that we try our best to get these illegal firearms off the streets. “Most of the robberies occurred in business places, and so persons can give descriptions of these weapons, and that is how we are able to know that we have this problem on the street,” he said. He said that the police recovered 11guns last year, which he said were obtained from the illegal holders most during police spot checks. Last year we confiscated about 11 firearms. These were guns that were taken from persons during stop and

search and most of these persons went before the court. Some cases are completed and so forth. These firearms, when they are seized and are held in our armory, we disposed of them in the most appropriate way. In the meantime, Williams has pointed out that it is not a guarantee that a license would be granted when an application for a firearm is made. “I would like to take the opportunity of briefly go through the process for firearm license. There are a lot of responsibility comes with having a firearm, and if you are awarded a license for firearm. People will give various reasons why they believe they need a firearm. We take all those reasons into consideration. ‘Some people believe that having one bad day or somebody steal something from their car justifies their reasons for having a firearm. We look at all the factors of in terms of people that are applying for firearms. We look at your thought level; we look at your justification. If you justification for having a firearm is convincing enough, then we can sit down and debate over it,” he said. He added: “To apply for a firearm you first have to address the commissioner of police. We would then send out to you a set of requirements that you need to fulfill in order to process the firearm license. After that process is done we would inspect your property and ask you a few questions in regards to the use of a firearm. The application then goes before a committee that makes recommendations to the commissioner. The commissioner is not bound to accept the recommendation of the committee.”

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

TCIG ADOPTS NEW “NO PURCHASE ORDER, NO PAYMENT” POLICY

he Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment has announced a new “No Purchase Order, No Payment” policy which becomes effective on April 1, 2014. According to a press release from Ms. Athenee Harvey, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment, the Ministry is urging all vendors and providers of goods and services to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG), to take note of the new policy which aims to improve internal controls over outstanding bills and ensures the timely payment and clearance of debts. “As of April 1, 2014, when the “No Purchase Order, No Payment” phase of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government procurement policy takes effect, all financial commitments for goods and services on behalf of TCIG must be made using a valid purchase order,” Harvey said in the release. “Vendors are also expected to include a valid TCIG Purchase Order number on all invoices to avoid delays in processing and payment. Suppliers of goods and services to TCIG should not, under any circumstances, accept verbal or written orders from any official of TCIG unless these orders are accompanied by a signed copy of a valid TCIG Purchase Order.” Harvey added that any transaction with TCIG that does not follow this procedure will not be processed and payment will not be made. She said that iIn addition, as a part of the new “No Purchase Order, No Payment” policy, all providers of goods and services will be required to re-register as a vendor with TCIG using the new forms now available at the Accountant General’s Office. To register, all providers of goods and services to TCIG must provide a valid business license with their registration forms. “These measures will be strictly observed and there will be no exception,” Harvey said.

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LOCAL NEWS

House Speaker Hon. Robert Hall calls for Turks and Caicos Islanders to be knighted BY VIVIAN TYSON

peaker of the House of Assembly Hon. Robert Hall is calling on inﬂuential British representatives to the Turks and Caicos Islands consider recommending someone from these islands for knighthood since there are many of his countrymen who are deserving of such a title. Speaking during the installation ceremony of the country’s ﬁrst local and female attorney general Hon. Rhondalee BrathwaiteKnowles, in the House on Thursday, March 6, Hall intimated that not only is the TCI is deserving of having a local knight, but the country needs to have indigenous magistrates, judges and chief justice. “I would like to see the day when Turks and Caicos Islanders become magistrates and judges, and I hope that in my lifetime I will see a chief justice from the Turks and Caicos Islands. And I want to beat the drum that I have been beating for a long time; while Turks and Caicos Islanders have received their MBEs and the OBEs, there isn’t one Turks and Caicos Islander as yet to receive the highest (honour) of knighthood. “I am not talking about Robert Hall, because I don’t deserve that, but there are prominent Turks and Caicos Islanders, who sweat blood and toiled to build this land, and I am calling on all concerned to make sure that that is set right,” he said.

Speaker of the House of Assembly, Robert Hall. Hall noted that when it comes to knighting individuals from the British Overseas Territories, the Turks and Caicos Islands appears to be the stepchild. “I believe that every other dependent territory has someone there who has been knighted. Now, I am not talking about the late Sir. Richard Ground, although he was welcomed, but I dare say he was not quite one of us. So I hope that would soon be ﬁxed,” he said. The House speaker said that the installation of Brathwaite-Knowles as attorney general should bring a sense of pride to Turks and Caicos Islanders, since she is someone who rose through the ranks to attain the highest legal ofﬁce in the land. “I hope that all from the Turks and Caicos Islands joined in this

sense of pride today, and for the new attorney general, it is well deserved. And I know that she will do well. Let me be the first in this setting to offer congratulations to our new and first Turks and Caicos Islander, first lady to become attorney general of the Turks and Caicos Islands. I am so proud to the extent of being overjoyed, because when I consider where we came from to arrive at this point in time, it must be a source of great pride and great rejoicing,” Hall said. In the meantime, Hall explained that the Turks and Caicos Islands has come a far way, and islanders should acknowledge and celebrate its many achievements. “I have listened to so many of the talk shows and sometimes the things I hear about these beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands and our people, I think they are talking about somewhere else. Because while we are far from being perfect, when you consider in 1976, when the ministerial system was first introduced, that 12-mile stretch Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales had nothing. You would have passed a lone fisherman fishing for bone fish. “Today, because of the efforts of successive governments, it is being transformed into the envy, basically, of the world. That beach has been declared the number one beach in the entire world for the third time. We ought to be proud,” he said.

CHICKEN POX IN GRAND TURK PRIMARY SCHOOL

our children from Ona Glinton Primary School in Grand Turk were seen with Chicken Pox by the Ministry of Health Primary Health Care Department on 3rd March 2014, according to a Government press release. The press statement said that the environmental Health Officer for Grand Turk visited the school on the morning of Monday March 3, 2014 and the principal of the affected school is following the prescribed protocol of ensuring that children are sent home and only return to school when the doctor gives a medical certificate to state that they are well enough to return to school. “Unfortunately this is the time of year when we experience outbreaks of Chicken Pox in TCI and the region, but the general thought from PAHO (the Pan American Health Organization) is that the number of cases seen in TCI does not warrant immunization against the disease, also it may be better for children to develop natural immunity to the disease,” the Government statement added. Chickenpox is a very contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). It causes a blister-like rash, itching, tiredness, and fever. Chickenpox can be serious, especially in babies, adults, and people with weakened immune systems. It spreads easily from infected people to others who have never had chickenpox or received the chickenpox vaccine. Chickenpox spreads in the air through coughing or sneezing. It can also be spread by touching or breathing in the virus particles that come from chickenpox blisters. There are several things that can be done at home to help relieve the symptoms and prevent skin infections. Calamine lotion may help relieve some of the itching. Keeping fingernails trimmed short may help prevent skin infections caused by scratching blisters. Acetaminophen or Panadol can be used to help relieve fever from chickenpox. “The general advice is that all children suspected or diagnosed with Chicken Pox are seen by the doctor and sent home on sick leave until they are well,” the press release said.

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LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Huge market for stolen items in TCI BY VIVIAN TYSON

here is a healthy market for stolen goods in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Acting Superintendent in charge of Crime, Ira Baptiste. Speaking at a news conference at the police headquarters in Providenciales on Wednesday (February 26), the crime investigation boss said that because there is a wide market for stolen goods, when burglars steal items they have little problem getting them sold. “Persons buying stolen goods is a serious problem because there is a market for it in Turks and Caicos. Somebody would go through your house or store, they take the items to Kew Town or the Bight, easy sell,” he said. Baptiste explained that the penalty for handling stolen goods is far more severe than that of actually stealing the item, and so the person receiving the goods – if caught and convicted – gets a harsher sentence than the person who actually steals the item. “For handling stolen goods the sentence is 14 years; for burglary it is seven or five years – lesser sentence. But the handling is the main problem that we face in Turks and Caicos,” Baptise said. He said though that persons not coming forward to give statements of a crime, even when they tell po-

lice that they witnessed a crime, is is one of the many hurdles investigators from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force face on a daily basis. Baptiste said that the culture of silence that ostensibly being developed in the Turks and Caicos Islands could pose a serious problem for the management of crime in this country. “The problem we face in CID is lack of witnesses. You would get a report of a robbery; you respond to the scene and someone would call us and say, ‘officer, come here. I see what happened but I am not going to court’. It is a problem for us because without these statements you can’t get persons charged. People would see what is going on but they don’t come forward and give statement,” Baptiste lamented. He said that many of the persons who engage in burglary do so to sustain their drug addiction habits. He said though that the police are working on developing a strategy to combat that problem and other crimes which is to come on stream in the next few months. In the meantime, Baptiste said that another major problem faced by the police is persons refuse to mark personal items, especially electronics, and so if stolen and recovered, prove difficult to identify. Against background, he also urged persons to create markings

Acting Superintendent in charge of crime Ira Baptiste or record the serial numbers on their electronic items, since in the event of them stolen and recovered; those records would be the things that would make them identifiable. “Another problem we have is persons not marking their property. We did some search warrants

and recovered laptops, televisions and other electronic items. People (victims) come to look at them at the station but they have no markings on the items. And so it is difficult for them to recover the items,” he said. Baptiste said also that another problem faced by the police is properties equipped with close circuit television cameras having no tape in them. “You go to the property and you ask the supervisor for CCTV tape, and when they open the machine, no tape. It defeats the purpose. If you are going to have CCTVs make sure that they have tapes in the machines. Sometimes they have tapes in the machines, and the quality is black and white, very poor quality; you can’t see anything. So if you are going to get CCTV, please get proper equipment that can assist us in solving these crimes,” he said. The top investigator also urged persons to ensure that their properties are well lit to repel criminals from prey. “Thieves live darkness, so I am appealing to members of the public to please have their property lit properly, because if the thieves came to a property and the property is lit, they are going to go somewhere else; if the place is dark then they are going to proceed (to carry out their acts there),” he said.

HUNDREDS CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE IN THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY SECTOR

ver 250 representatives from the country’s leading industry along with their friends and families gathered last Thursday at Regent Palms to celebrate excellence in the tourism and hospitality sector at TCHTA’s 6th Annual Star Awards. The event which is acknowledged across the country as the ultimate tourism accolade, recognises excellence in product and service and has continued to live up to patrons’ expectations as always being an awesome night of appreciation and celebration. With over 160 nominees submitted to auditors KPMG patrons waited in anxious anticipation as Star Awards’ “House MCs” EJay Saunders and Takara Bain announced the winners. For the second year The Sands at Grace Bay took home the award of “Ambassador of the Year” when its employee Delroy McIntosh defeated 10 other nominees in the category. Vivienne Parker of Ocean Club walked away with the “Supervisor of the Year” award, Marlenys de la Cruz of Gansevoort TCI was named “Housekeeper of the Year” and Alexandre Andrege of Grace Bay Club won the “Employee of the Year” award. For the ﬁrst time in the event’s history two nominees Michelle Parker of Beaches TCI and Paul Zaguiree of Grace Bay Car Rentals shared the coveted award of “TCHTA’s Shining Star”, Martin Davises of Parrot Cay Resort and Grace Bay Club’s Wolfgang von Weiser shared the award of “Chef of the Year” and Mona Beeson of The Sands at Grace Bay and Grant Noble of Parrot Cay Resort also shared the award of “Hotelier of the Year’’. Evette Hall of Seven Stars

Resort walked away with the “Heart of Hospitality” award, Lofton Thomas of Parrot Cay Resort walked away with the award of “Manager of the Year” and West Bay Club’s Fitzroy James defeated other nominees to win “Bartender of the Year” award. The “Hotel of the Year” award went to both Grace Bay Club and Parrot Cay Resort, Yoshis Sushi Bar and Mango Reef Restaurant shared the award of “Restaurant of the Year” and the “Allied Member of the Year” award went to Times of the Islands. The award “Entertainer of the Year” went to David Bowen who produces and manages TCHTA’s popular cultural event Maskanoo and “Taxi Driver of the Year” was won by Kendal Handﬁeld, who was also the lucky winner of the Star Awards Rafﬂe, winning 2 returned tickets to New York compliments Delta Airlines. TCHTA’s Executive Director Stacy Cox, who along with her team also received Awards from the TCHTA’s Board of Directors for their contribution to the industry said, “It’s been another exceptional year for tourism in TCI and presenting these awards are our chance to recognise some of our members, employees and individuals who go that extra mile to increase standards across the industry. I’m delighted to be a part of yet another successful event which has truly grown in its 6 years of existence and will only get better and bigger. We would like to encourage corporate TCI to continue to support the nominees because they are the “engine” that keeps our economy going and recognising their contribution through gifts of appreciation is just a small display of our gratitude.”

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Three found guilty in school fee racket BY VIVIAN TYSON

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hree persons, Sheila Bain, Lorne Jean Mary and Dellerise Bottex, charged with collecting cash from members of the Haitian community in exchange for getting their children into government schools were found guilty for theft and conspiracy to steal when they appeared in the Supreme Court in Providenciales last week. Lorne Jean Mary has been sentenced to 12 months on top of the 18 month pre-trial custody, while Bottex and Bain will be sentenced during the week of March 23. The money taken from the victims ranged from $400 to $4,000 of a single victim. Bain was charged with 11 counts of theft and one count of Conspiracy to steal. Bottex, a former secretary of the Clement Howell High School, was charged with three counts of theft and one count of conspiracy to steal, while Mary was charged with 12 counts of theft and one count of conspiracy to steal. Bain was convicted on nine of the 11 counts. Mary was convicted on three of the 12 counts of theft but was found not guilty on the conspiracy charge. Bottex was convicted only on the conspiracy charge. The prosecution alleged that between Friday, April 1, 2011 and Friday, September 30, Bain, Mary and Bottex conspired to obtain money from various persons in the Providenciales community with the intention of permanently depriving them by falsely representing to the victims that they could get their children into Turks and Caicos Islands Government schools once a fee has been paid to them.

The three denied the charges during the two-week long case, during which a number of persons, including some of the victims, Ministry of Education officials as well as representatives from the Clement Howell High School administration testified. Bain was found guilty of fleecing Yvonette Meme of $4,000. She would also found guilty, this time with Mary for collecting $2,750 from Jean Max Saint Cyr. Both were also found guilty of collecting $1,175 from Daniel Mieses and Elecilia Mieses. Bain was also found guilty of swindling Jean Innocent of $500, Marie France Sainvil of $400 and Roselande D’aout of $400. Mary was also found guilty for ripping off Guerline Lume Peirre Louis of $500. Some of the victims testified that after expressing that they were finding it hard to get their children in public school, the three promised to help them for a fee. They were asked to submit various documents, including passports and birth certificates, which they said should be accompanied by the requested cash. However, they said that weeks, which turned into months after submitting the documents and paying the cash, they received no news at all from the fraudsters, who they said at one point tried to hide from them. And when they eventually got a hold of them, they asked them to wait a bit longer because their applications were being processed. However, the victims told the court that three never delivered on their promise. Bain was represented by Laura Maroof; Bottex was represented by Oliver Smith; while Jean Mary was represented by Ashwood ‘Nash’ Forbes. High Court Judge Her Honour Joan Joyner presided over the matter.

LOCAL NEWS EU HOUSING PROJECT INVITES BIDS FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF HOMES

he European Union Housing Project has issued an invitation to Contractors in the TCI and the Caribbean to tender for the Design and Build of new low cost homes for residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands who have still not recovered from the 2008 Hurricanes, Hanna and Ike. The Disaster Recovery Board which oversees the project is hoping to attract bids that will see innovative approaches to constructing low cost housing. “We are looking for design and construction which incorporate energy saving approaches such as the use of solar water heating; and designs which take advantage of the constant breeze in the TCI to keep the new homes cool” says Project Manager Sue Breetzke. “The Beneficiaries are persons with low incomes, so we are looking not only at the design and construction costs but also at any cost of living savings to the person who will live in that home.” This is the third tender to be advertised by the Project with the two previous contracts for repairs to damaged homes scheduled to commence by the end of March. In all 124 applicants were deemed eligible for funding. Categorised into four priority groups, the most vulnerable applicants will receive help first. The total number of homes to be built will depend on the costs of the construction. For more information on the tender please contact the EU Housing Project office on 649338-3509.

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TURKS AND CAICOS POST CABINET MEETING STATEMENT H is Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday 6 March 2014 at the Hilly Ewing Building, Providenciales. All Ministers were present except Hon. Akierra Missick. At this meeting Cabinet: • Advised HE. the Governor to allocate $102,000 from the National Forfeiture Fund to the Money Laundering Reporting Authority established under the Proceeds of Crime Ordinance for the development and creation of a National Risk Assessment; • Advised HE. the Governor to approve, on the recommendation of the Money Laundering Authority, that the Proceeds of Crime Ordinance be amended to safeguard funds being retained for third parties in escrow that are within the National Forfeiture Fund; • Granted approval for the appointment of the following persons to serve on the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board; Stacey Cox, Alvin Parker, Adrian Williams, Dethia Russell and Takara Bain; • Noted the historical context of applications for Archaeological Exploration and Salvage Licenses within the Turks and Caicos Islands and mandated the development of a National Policy with procedures to address current and future applications of Archaeological Exploration. In addition, it was agreed that the Ofﬁce of the Premier would convene a working group to develop a national policy and in so doing would consider elements of the UNESCO Convention governing underwater exploration and salvaging of wrecks; • Approved a request from the Minister of Finance for the Supplementary Appropriation for Financial Year 2013/14 (No.2) and agreed that the draft Supplementary Appropriation Bill proceed to the House of Assembly for endorsement in accordance with Section 25 of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Ordinance 2012; • Received a report from the Minister of Border Control and Labour regarding the status of PRC applications approved but not taken up owing to the

suspension of PRC applications in February 2010. Cabinet agreed that in cases where the PRC had been approved prior to the commencement of the Immigration Regulations (amendment) 2012 that the approval should be honoured. Applicants will have until 30th June 2014 to raise the matter with the Ministry; • Approved amendments to the Turks and Caicos Islands Building Code to bring the code into line with international best practice in this area; • Approved the restructuring of the Business License Fee Schedule (effective 1st July 2014) including reclassification of the ‘Miscellaneous Category’ and streamlining and expansion of the ‘Reserved Category’. Those non-TCI businesses which are licensed under existing law and are affected by these changes will be grandfathered in. All licenses issued between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2014 will be given an extension of their validity until 30th June 2014. Details of the revised Fee Schedule will be issued by 1st May 2014; • Approved, effective 1st April 2014, amendments to the Customs Tariff (General) Order 2010 to allow a reduction in import duty on pleasure craft, other marine vessels and row boats to 12% and that of commercial fishing vessels from 30% to 10%; • Discussed the civil service employment and benefits policy working group that would include individuals from Deputy Governor’s Office, Human Resource Directorate, CSA, PSC and others that would be tasked with inter alia, strategies for the recruitment, retention and promotion of Turks and Caicos Islanders in the civil service and their benefits such as gratuity v performance award bonuses and other allowances. The Governor and Premier will elaborate more on the initiative in upcoming press briefings; • The Cabinet agreed that Mr Seamus Day should be appointed the (unpaid) adviser on Sir Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room alternative energy initiative for the Minister of Government Support Services and the Government as a whole. Mr Day will continue his liaison with the Carbon War Room following the recent decision of the Government to join the initiative.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

CLASS AFLOAT SAILS TO TURKS AND CAICOS ABOARD THE MAJESTIC TALL SHIP SØRLANDET

fter 7 months at sea, 40 Class Afloat students will be arriving in Turks and Caicos on March 9, 2014 aboard the majestic tall ship SS Sørlandet, the world’s oldest operating fully-rigged tall ship. With the guidance of a dedicated team of academic faculty and professional mariner crew, the high school and university students from North America, Europe and Africa set sail in August 2013 from Ontario, Canada on the voyage of a lifetime. Students attend classes aboard the Sørlandet, while sailing to over 20 ports of call on 4 continents where they experience local cultural traditions, visit historic sites, participate in voluntary service projects and engage in exciting outdoor activities. Among other ports, this year’s itinerary has included visits to the Azores, Spain, Morocco, Canary Islands, Senegal, Cabo Verde, Barbados, Curacao, Costa Rica and Cuba. The school will be visiting Provo from March 9 – 13, with the ship anchoring in Sapodilla Bay. “Class Afloat has not been in Turks and Caicos for quite a few years, so our students are excited about this port. Highlights of our stay will include a visit to Caicos Conch Farm, events with local youth, and, of course, exploring this beautiful island,” says Shipboard Director, Jennifer Williams. Upon departure from Turks and Caicos, the Sørlandet’s voyage continues with a stop in Bermuda and then a 24-day Atlantic Crossing to France, Scotland and Amsterdam, before arriving in Norway in May where a graduation ceremony will celebrate the completion of the students’ incredible nine-month voyage of adventure and learning. Class Afloat welcomes applications from students worldwide. Spaces are available for the 2014/15 school year. More information about Class Afloat is available at www.classafloat.com. The Sørlandet is a 210-foot Class “A” fully-rigged tall ship built in Norway in 1927 and recently fully-restored. The oldest operating fully-rigged tall ship in the world, Sørlandet sails with a professional mariner crew of ten. Nine months of the year it is a home and classroom for Class AfloatWest Island College International, a private school offering fully accredited senior high school and university programs while sailing to over 20 ports on four continents. Class Afloat is based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS UK launches new project to safeguard rights of children in Turks and Caicos Islands and other British dependencies in the Caribbean

ritain has launched a three-year project aimed at safeguarding children in four of its remaining dependencies in the Caribbean. The project launched on Friday with the assistance of the United Nations children’s organisation, UNICEF, will focus on the most disadvantaged children and deal with the range of issues they face while growing up in the British Overseas Territories of Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, and British Virgin Islands The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) is funding the $3million project to develop new legislation, policies and programmes for children while reviewing government spending to improve the conditions of children and families. The project is expected to tackle a range of problems facing children in the islands, including rampant child sexual abuse, ofﬁcials suggested. But UNICEF’s Eastern Caribbean representative Khin-Sandi Lwin said the project will go be-

yond issues of child sexual abuse and help develop “political and community-level support to participating governments to design, develop and implement robust child safeguarding policies and practices.” The funding will be used to generate “the upto-date and reliable data needed to plan properly for children; develop sound national laws, policies and programmes for children; as well as determine how best to budget scare national resources to improve the conditions of children and their families,” according to a UNICEF statement. “There are very difﬁcult deep problems facing children and we won’t solve them with one project or two projects, but it will take a lifetime commitment to improve the safeguarding of children. A lot of work has been done to raise awareness of the problems and we must continue,” said Dr Mary Thompson, Social Development Adviser for Britain’s development agency DFID.

Thompson said she had already witnessed a readiness to confront some of the problems faced by children, such as child sexual abuse, and expected the new partnership to go a long way towards creating a more positive environment for children in the overseas territories to grow up in, according to UNICEF. Montserrat’s Governor Adrian Davis said the DFID-UNICEF collaboration was a “sound one which should deliver tangible results to children across the territories”, the statement added. Premier Reuben Meade said UNICEF gave both a governmental and personal commitment to ensuring the project’s success, urging a “total national partnership” to safeguard the interest of children. “These issues have to be tackled as a broad based partnership so let us in the broadest possible partnership take forward this project as our own. DFID, UNICEF, our local organisations, including the church, our social clubs and a range of government organisations must be on board.”

GIVE TEACHERS THE RESPECT AND APPRECIATION THEY DESERVE, SAYS DEPUTY PREMIER

eputy Premier, Hon. Akierra Missick wants more respect and greater appreciation to be given to teachers. Addressing the congregation at one of the four Ecumenical Services to be held for the commencement of Education Week at the Faith Tabernacle on Sunday Marc 2, 2014, Hon. Missick stated, “The theme ‘Promoting Education through Teacher Appreciation’ is one that the Government and Ministry strongly support because it emphasizes our commitment to nation building via education,” and that, “When we speak of the Promotion of Education through Teacher Apprecia-

tion we think about taking the time to thank those persons who gave of themselves and their service to nation building.” The teachers were recognized for their perseverance during the difﬁcult times and in addition to thanking their hard work and dedication, the Ministry has also committed to endeavor to expose teachers to best practices in instructional delivery, classroom management and professional development. These efforts will help to ensure that educators have the skills necessary to maximize time in the classroom environment and that our youth are equipped with

Deputy Premier and Minister of Education Hon. Akierra Missick

the tools and skills to enable effective interaction and communication at all societal levels. In celebration of Education week, a theme song was composed by Mr. Garﬁeld Gurley and Mr. Jamaine Reid, Music Teachers at the Clement Howell High School and sung by students. This is just one of the highlights for the activity-packed week planned. The week’s activities include four Ecumenical Services held, one each in the Islands of Grand Turk, Providenciales, South Caicos and North Caicos, a Primary School Science Quiz Competition and culminates and a Fortis Sponsored Science Fair.

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 60003/58 North West & North Central, Providenciales, this property forms part of the Phase One Priton Homes affordable housing scheme. This residence has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room and open living areas. Registered Proprietor: Mario Larese 2. Parcel 60905/123 Leeward Going Through, Providenciales. The property is located on Castle Road on land two tiers behind the Mansion condominium development. This residence comprises of a detached single two bedroom, two bathrooms, one living/dining room, and one kitchen and laundry room. Registered Proprietor: Colin Whittingham & Avril Joan Whittingham 3. Parcel 60003/8 North West & North Central, Providenciales. This property forms part of the Low Cost Government Housing Development, known as Belglade Gardens. This residence is a single storey building that consists of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living/ dining area and laundry room. Registered Proprietor: Alan Percy 4. Parcel 60003/45 North West & North Central, Providenciales. This property forms part of the Phase one Low Cost Government Housing Development, known as Belglade Gardens. This residence is a single storey building that consists of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living/dining area and laundry room. Registered Proprietor: Deka Williams & Roland Cadeau 5. Parcel 10404/145 East Suburbs, Grand Turk. The property is a residential corner lot consisting of a single storey building comprising a private residence in part and a bar & restaurant operation. The residence comprises two bedrooms, bathroom, living/dining area, shared kitchen with restaurant. The bar and restaurant comprises open floor area, gaming room and male & female washrooms. There is also a detached gazebo. Registered Proprietor: Arthur Mcdonald Swann 6. Parcel 60714/159 Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hills, Providenciales. The property is located in the Richmond Hills Villas development. The land has a two storey detached duplex apartment building and accessorial site works. The building consist of a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment on the upper floor and a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment on the lower level. The building shares a large swimming pool and two tennis courts. Registered Proprietor: James Roland Pickett & Ellen Pickett

7. Parcel 60503/145 Blue Hills & Stamers Run, Providenciales. The property is located within a residential sub-division positioned off the Millennium Highway. The property comprises a part single storey and two-storey building. The accommodation comprises two ground level units plus an open floor area which can be used for business purpose. An incomplete upper section at the front of the building is arranged as a two bedroom apartment with lots of potential. Registered Proprietor: Sharon Elizabeth Rigby 8. Parcel 61105/62 Blue Hills & Stamers Run, Providenciales. The property is a rectangular shaped vacant lot located in a relatively undeveloped area where most development has occurred near the beach. The land is an attractive corner lot on Curlew Drive in the third tier from the beach and has relatively good elevation. Registered Proprietor: Titus Deboer 9. Parcel 10401/241 East Suburbs, Grand Turk. The property is located within a residential subdivision on Breezy Brea Road of Breezy Brea, Grand Turk. The subject property consists of a single storey-family dwelling house with five bedrooms, three bathrooms and large kitchen and living areas. The property also includes a detached cabana and swimming pool. Registered Proprietor: Derek Antonio Rolle 10. Parcel 60804/88 The Bight and Thomas Stubbs. The property is centrally located near to Beaches Turks & Caicos in the main Grace Bay area and is in walking distance of the Grace Bay Beach. The property is a block of apartments built as an income producing investment which consist of four apartments that include two 2-bedroom apartments and two 1-bedroom apartments. Registered Proprietor: Michelle Swann 11. Parcel 60707/81 Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hill, Providenciales. The subject property comprises of a vacant lot which lies to the south of Leeward Highway within a residential sub-division. The land is partly overgrown by native vegetation. Any development of the land will have excellent views of Cheshire Hall Creek. Registered Proprietor: Michael R. Fenimore 12. Parcel 10104/42 North East Suburbs, Grand Turk. The property is located on Lighthouse Road, North Ridge Grand Turk and sits on .31 acre. The properties consist of an inland parcel of land which supports a single-storey residence with beautiful landscaping. The dwelling home comprises three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, kitchen and large living areas. Registered Proprietor: Lorraine M. E. Kenlock-Bovell and Weston E.L. Bovell

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 March 2014. 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.

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MARCH 8TH - MARCH 15TH, 2014

SPHINX ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION COMPANY LTD Is looking for qualified person to fill the position of

EAW TECHNICIAN Qualified person should have atleast 10-15 years in the set up installation and repairs of EAW professional speakers, preferably EAW KF 850 Z speaker, and KF 760 line array speakers Salary $7.00 per hour

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Restaurant Maitre D’

• Minimum of 5 years experience in similar position. • Must be computer & P.O.S system literate. • Wine knowledge & bar skills essential. • Experience in F.O.H training a bonus. • Job requires a six days work week including weekends & public holidays. • Pay based on experience & education.

Dishwasher

Must be willing to work weekends & public holidays. Job includes washing pots as well as general cleaning duties. Pay is $6 per hour.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

CALL US AT 9468542 FOR THE BEST ADVERTISING RATES IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS ADVERTISE WITH THE TCI SUN CALL 9468542 FOR SPECIAL RATES

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

Ashtrom responds to claims by new West Caicos developers A

shtrom Construction, the firm that was carrying out the general development of the West Caicos resort project when the worldwide financial meltdown occurred, is claiming that its name is being maligned by new developers, Apex. John Wildish, the one of the local Ashtrom principals wrote a letter to The SUN expressing his outrage over the contents of the letter, saying that while Ashtrom was involved in the construction of the West Caicos project, it was Turquoise Construction, with which it was affiliated, that had did most of the work there, saying also that they took the job only after the previous contractors were had been fired for doing a bad job. The following is the Ashtrom response: “After reading the article titled ‘New Developers of West Caicos luxury Hotel project spend nearly 100M to correct construction faults’, in the article Mr. Jonathan O’Dea mentioned Ashtrom construction and Israeli contractors, and we at Turquoise Construction are writing you so as to clarify certain points concerning West Caicos. “1) The contractor at the time on West Caicos was not Israeli or Ashtrom but instead Turquoise Construction a local company in which Ashtrom is involved. “2) Mr. O’Dea explains that “the entire marina will have to be demolished and rebuilt”, but failed to clarify that Turquoise Construction had nothing whatsoever to do with the design or construction of this marina, it was built in its entirety by another contractor long before Turquoise set foot on West Caicos. “3) Mr. O’Dea states that “there are a whole bunch of worker houses that were there from

John Wildish

when the Chinese and Ashtrom were there, those need to be cleaned up they can never be used again”, this is not really accurate the truth is these ‘worker houses’ were in fact a temporary housing solution that should have been removed in 2009.

POLICE WARNING: ‘DO NOT GET CAUGHT WITH STOLEN GOODS’

he Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force is reminding the public that purchasing property from unlicensed individuals can be unwise, particularly now with the number of stolen items on the streets. Police Public Relations Ofﬁcer Audley Astwood is advising the TCI public to ask questions ﬁrst and do some inquiries before making any questionable purchases. “Burglars are interested in cash and are anxious to get stolen items off their hands. Do not get caught with stolen goods. When electronic items are traced or shut down through the technology now available, it will be your loss. In addition, a person could be charged for handling stolen goods if found in pos-

session of stolen items, whether it be jewellery or electronic items, even if it seems like a legitimate purchase. Maximum penalty for this offense is 14 years,” he said. Police are asking persons to be on the lookout for anyone selling jewellery, ﬂat screen TVs, laptops and smartphones. These are some of the type of items that were mainly stolen in burglaries over the last several weeks. Persons who want to make inquiries on items that may be stolen can contact the Criminal Investigation Department by calling 941-4448 extension 81843 or 81837 Persons can also contact any Police station or post throughout the Turks & Caicos Islands if they suspect someone of selling stolen items.

“4) After explaining the 2008 Lehman collapse, Mr. O’Dea states “The development was further stalled that year when hundreds of Chinese workers demanding back wages were accused of detaining Israeli contractors at the site”, this is again not accurate, the truth is when Leman collapsed the whole development came to a standstill because LHDC could not honor its contract and pay Turquoise or any of its contractors what it owed them, and this created a major crisis in that the workers on West Caicos had to be demobilized and sent home. “Now, some of Chinese workers got very concerned and excited as they had paid airline tickets and the like to get here and rightfully felt they were not being treated fairly in being sent back home so quickly. The truth is after determining that Logwood was not going to be of any real help Turquoise met with the government and we resolved the matter, settling with the workers and paying to get them back to their respective countries at a cost of over 7 million US$ to us, and the truth is we did this for some of the other contractors and sub-contractors workers who got caught in this terrible situation. This was not mentioned by Mr. O’Dea who instead states says this situation ‘further delayed’ the whole development? “5) We would like to point out that no mention was made in the article of the fact that Turquoise Construction Co. took out a statutory demand against Logwood (LHDC) in 2010 as Turquoise was owed tens of millions of US$ and the court upheld this action and put Logwood (LHDC)into liquidation in 2012. We at Turquoise Construction appreciate your printing this so as to clarify this situation.”

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Police question suspects in Robbie Been’s murder BY VIVIAN TYSON

rime Sleuths from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, up to press time, were interviewing a number of persons of interests who they believe could assist them in their investigations to solve the brutal gun murder of popular local businessman Robert “Robbie” Been on Tuesday night (March 4). The 47-year-old Been was shot multiple times while getting ready to drive from the back of his establishment at the Turkquoise Point Plaza in Grace Bay, Providenciales. Up to press time, no motive was established for the killing. A police source said, however, that based on probing so far, robbery has been ruled out, but was not willing to say whether or not Been was targeted. According to crime scene spent shell markings at the area, 13 rounds were ﬁred, but the police will use ballistic testing to determine whether or not all the bullets came from the same gun. A van which was believed to have been used in the shooting was found in a bushy area in Grace Bay. Special Constable Audley Astwood, Media Liaison Ofﬁcer for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said that the police are looking for at least two culprits arising from the gun-slaying. “Multiple units from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are working very hard to solve this crime, and we are questioning a number of persons and thus far no one has been arrested,” Astwood said. Explaining how the police got to learn of the incident, Astwood said: “On

Robert “Robbie” Been. Tuesday) at about 7:57p.m., 911 received a call about multiple gunshots being heard in the vicinity of Sand Castle Road in the Grace Bay area. Police officers and emergency personnel responded immediately to that area, which was Turquoise Point Plaza. “Police immediately cordoned off the area and preserved the crime scene. While that was going on, we had other officers dispatched to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where 47 year-old Robert Been was brought to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre in a private vehicle, and he was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. The doctors tried to revive Mr. Been but were unable to do so, and he was pronounced dead at 8:30p.m.” The SUN understands that Been was in the process of taking a nephew home from his liquor store and bar establishments when the criminals struck. Reports stated that he and his wife, a Guyanese teacher, were about to enter the car in which his nephew was already seated, when at least one man dressed in all black emerged from nearby bushes and opened fire.

Been was struck before he could react. The criminals were said to have boarded a nearby waiting motor car, which sped from the scene. Been’s car was also riddled with bullets during the attack. His terrified wife, who ran back to the building during the attack, notified one of his sons who was inside one of the stores, who responded by driving his father to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead. The news of the businessman’s attack, attracted a throng of curious onlookers at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, and when news came that he succumbed to his injuries, many of the persons broke down in tears. In the meantime, Astwood is calling for calm while the police investigate the incident. He also called on those who may have knowledge of the incident to come forward and tell what they may have seen or heard. “I would urge the public to remain calm and allow the police to gather the facts in this matter. If you know anything no matter how small or insignificant (you may think) it might be, to contact your local police station, any police officer or Crimestoppers at 1800tips,” he said, adding that Crimestoppers will be offering a reward for information leading to a capture of those involved. The businessman’s death, in the meantime, attracted outrage not only on the street but also in the social media sphere. A number of persons have poured scorn on what they described as the senseless murder of the businessman.

MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR WOMEN, SAYS HON. AMANDA MISSICK

hile much has been gained, there is still much to be done to honour women as the “weavers of the fabric of our society”, says Minister of Home Affairs, Gender Affairs, Hon Amanda Missick. “We must honour them as mothers, home makers, nurturing and praying for the family unit. We must honour them as the head of corporations, guiding and developing strategies of multi-million dollar companies,” she said in a message to mark International Women’s Day. “We must honour them as Priests leading congregations in the spiritual ministry. We must honour them as Doctors and Educators caring for and shaping the minds and socials skills of our children. We must honour them as Political Leaders shaping our society for progress and prosperity far into the future. Women have successfully sacriﬁced and struggled to inspire change and gain respect as equals in the home, the work place and especially in the political arena in the Turks and Caicos Islands and we today have females as Deputy Premier, Deputy Governor, Attorney General, CEOs and Entrepreneurs in our society.”

NAVA JEWELERS LTD, dba JEWELRY, world renowned jewelers and retail sellers of signature brand jewelry and jewelry related products, with a chain of affiliated jewelry stores and outlets throughout North America, the Caribbean and Worldwide, is now accepting applications/resumes from suitably qualifies persons as:

JEWELRY SALES SPECIALISTS, SUPERVISORS AND MERCHANDISERS, JEWELERS, PRECIOUS STONES BRAND QUALITY CONTROL CLERKS, SALES CLERKS, and/or ASSOCIATES At the Company’s prestigious retail Jewelry sales and Jewelry related merchandise sales Store located at the Carnival Corporation’s Grand Turk Cruise Center, South Beach, Grand Turk. Requirements: • A sound educational background and a minimum of five (5) years jewelry sales and general merchandising experience, in the case of Supervisors, Precious Stones and Brand Quality Control Clerks and two (2) years in the case of Sales Clerks and Associates, together with a proven and unblemished track record of employment in a highly trusted related field of employment and/or business. • A positive and disciplined attitude and aptitude toward work in a customer service oriented business. • Excellent communication, inter-personal and customer service skills. • A trustworthy, dependable and honest disposition. • Must be willing to work flexible hours including weekends and holidays and irregular cruise ship schedule. • Clean criminal record. • Unblemished employment history. • All candidates must be proficient in the English written and spoken word.

Suitable candidates that do not meet the above requirements who, in the sole discretion of the Company’s management team, demonstrate a clear willingness to embrace the Company’s in-house training initiatives and established standard operating policies and procedures, may be eligible for recruitment in exceptional circumstances. Preference will be given to documented Turks and Caicos Islanders. Interested persons may submit their applications and resumes, via e-mail to: resume@effyjewelery.com, via fax to: 2127308887, or hand deliver the same to any senior member of the company’s staff at its store, commonly known as Jewelry located at Suite No. 2, Building 1, Grand Turk Cruise Center, South Beach, Grand Turk.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Phone:649-946-1128

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Attorney General Rhondalee Knowles visits Clement Howell High School BY VIVIAN TYSON

he Clement Howell High School can claim the distinction of being the ﬁrst school in all of Turks and Caicos Islands to be visited by new Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee BrathwaiteKnowles. The chief attorney visited the Blue Hills school on Monday, March 3 – the second day of Education Week - where she met with third, fourth and ﬁfth formers, whom she engaged in discussions on, among other issues, careers, the students’ role in a law-abiding and productive Turks and Caicos Islands , and also to explain what her job as attorney general entails.

Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee Brathwaite Knowles gets the attention of trio of females students of the Clement Howell High School during her ﬁrst public appearance since being appointed Attorney General last week.

Clement Howell High School students appear attentive as they listen to Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee Brathwaite Knowles Brathwaite-Knowles told The SUN after her rendezvous with the students, that she chose Clement Howell High to make her ﬁrst public appearance because she believes that more than ever, pupils at the institution need as much motivation as they can get and resources to draw from.

“It is the largest school, and because of the recent troubles that have been happening here, I thought the students ought to know from the attorney general that I was aware that there are issues at Clement, and I want to make, as a ﬁrst step in this new role, and as a Turks and Caicos

Islander, to come to Clement Howell High School ,so that they would know that any one of them could be the attorney general and to accomplish a high goal or any goal that they set for themselves. I actually wanted to have a set of frank discussions with them,” she said.

The issues the attorney general spoke of were the recent breaching of the security system by a group of men with weapons – at least one of them, according to teachers and security personnel, was sporting a ﬁrearm. As a result of the security infringement, teachers staged a twoday sick-out last week, triggering the intervention of the Ministry of Education and the police, to have several meeting to hammer out procedures to better assure the security of teachers and students at the institution. In the meantime, the attorney general said that she was pleased with the level of interactions by the students, who she said were frank with her during her presentation to them. She pledged to support the school in whatever way she can with the intention that students there get the opportunity to play their rightful part in society. She told The SUN that she was encouraged by the students’ tenacity to tap into her expertise, a situation she said demonstrated that they have an inclination not only to learn but also to ﬁnd out what level of contribution they may be able to make in, especially the Turks and Caicos Islands society. “I thought it (the session) went alright. I am happy with the level of participation. The fact that boys and girls were willing to step out of their comfort zone and to ask questions; to come forward and to speak up and so on is good. And they gave the right answers, so I am very pleased with the opportunity, and I will try to be back,” she said. The attorney general was accompanied by Permanent Secretary in the Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services, Cheryl-Ann Jones.

TCIG launches 21st Century Management Course BY VIVIAN TYSON

s a thrust to boast performance across all departments, the Turks and Caicos Islands Government has embarked on a public service management training initiative dubbed 21st Century Management Course. The series of courses are being conducted by Christine Ramoutar, Human Resource Manager for Training and Development for the Public Service. Under the initiative several pilots were run last year, but the first batch of participants for this year graduated on Tuesday, March 4, at the Department Environment and Maritime Affairs. Ramoutar told The SUN that the programme all leaders, and the group that took part in the latest staging came from numerous government departments, including the Coastal Radar Station; the Attorney General Chambers; Gaming; Finance, Investment and Trade Ministry; the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution; Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Education; the Labor Tribunal; Ministry of Agriculture; Customs; and the Department of Social Services. “This is a very important programme. This is the first of the first group for this year. We already ran three pilot groups last year, and we are going to be cascading this programme from the top deputy secretary level to supervisory layer by building the leadership and management capabilities, so that there is a level of consistency in terms of the ap-

proach to leadership and management across the public service, and also inﬂuencing others to perform well,” Ramoutar said. She said that of the 13 participants who sat the course, eight completed all four and a half days of the course. The others, she said did not complete due to work-related issue, but will complete at a later date when the next match of participants is chosen. “This course is the ﬁrst of its kind in the TCIG, because it is a holistic, comprehensive leadership management development programme. It looks at several platforms of development, starting with the personality types and personality preferences. After that we look at managing self and managing others, that involves self awareness and self management. We then look at managing people – that is the second platform. Day three we explore employee learning and effective service performance management. On day four, we look at organization, transformation and change,” Ramourtar said. She added: “The course itself is very comprehensive because it looks at a fusion of management leadership principles as well as organizational behavior and psychology. We have integrated a lot of elements from emotional and social intelligence. We looked at the ego man and anti-personality preference principles to underpin this course, and in that way, that makes it holistic.” She said, too, that the course is programme is designed to achieve organizational goal with the

aim of providing better service to the public. “We are building a leadership layer and a leadership that has a heightened sense of awareness of self and others and the impact of the leader in terms of influence others, positively to achieve organizational goals and build a higher level of service performance because we are the public service. “Everything is tied to performance and performance management because it is through leaders that teams execute, and in order to execute well, leaders ought to have an understanding of what motivates people, how their style influences the performance of teams and how their management knowledge, by their technical skills, positively impact and underpin performance through-out the organization,” she said. In the meantime, Patrick Boyle, Director of Reform and Political Strategy in the Governor’s Office said that the 21st Century Management Course is a TCIG programme jointly initiated by the Deputy Governor Her Excellency Anya Williams. The training will help people to look to their personal development, and it is absolutely critical that people have access to good training and development like this. The Deputy Governor has also launched the opening of the Training Unit and HR Directory of the public, which is long overdue, and Christine has led this training programme as the training manager. And I think it is embryonic, I think there is still more work to be done to get the unit well established,” he said.

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BEST Institute is the 2014 Primary Schools Science Quiz champ B

EST Institute of Providenciales is the 2014 champion of the National Primary School Science Quiz that took place at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Complex in Providenciales on Monday, March 3, turning back the challenges of 10 other schools across the Turks a Caicos Islands. Ianthe Pratt also of Providenciales ended in second place, while Charles Hubert James Primary of North Caicos ended in third position. The victorious BEST Institute team collected a number of prizes, including tablets, and the winning trophy.

Kirnae Rigby, one of the BEST Institute team duo, said that early preparations were a bit challenging, but as time went on the team became more confident that their preparation could guarantee them the title, and so, they came out and executed well to took home the trophy. “I feel very good winning. It is my first time entering the quiz competition. At first the preparation was very hard, but we studied and studied, and as we went along, it became much easier, and at the end of it we became very confident and we told ourselves, ‘we got this, we can win

Rachael Taylor (left) of LIME presents the 2014 Primary School Science Quiz competition champion BEST Institute with the winning trophies. Accepting the pieces of silverware are co-coach Elizabeth Simmons and student Danielle Smith. At third from left is Louise Garland-Thomas, who is a member of the school’s board of governors.

Rachel Harvey presented the second place trophy to the Ianthe Pratt Primary School which is coached by Keron Brown-Ellington (right)

Reigning Miss Turks and Caicos beauty queen Snwana Adams presents to third place Charles Hubert James Primary

this quiz competition’,” she said. Co-coach Elizabeth Simmons, who teaches grade four, could not hide her joy at winning the title. She explained that due another of other activities that the school had to deal with, preparation for the competition started late. “I am feeling elated for the students and for the school. The preparation was a difﬁcult one, we had a lot of extra-curricular activities and so whenever we found a spare minute or two, that is when we got together and get things going, but it was really, really a challenge. We started preparation about two to three weeks ago, and our hard work paid off,” Simmons said. Moderator Louise Garland Thomas said that contest was one of terriﬁc spirit and intense competition and she lauded the schools for their level of preparation. She also congratulated the sponsors, which include Rubis, LIME, Digicel, Islandcom, Grants Enterprises and Provo Water for coming on board this year. The other schools that took part in the competition this year are Oseta Jolly, Enid Capron, Adelaide Oemler, Mills Institute, Provo Christian School, Shining Stars, Iris Stubbs Primary and Wesley Methodist School. Pastor Pedro Williams of the Jericho Baptist Church was the quiz master.

Champions for Christ takes Fortis Science top prize BY VIVIAN TYSON

hampions for Christ are still celebrating their Fortis Turks and Caicos Islands National High School Science Fair project competition with the creation of an insect repellant labeled ‘Nature’s Touch’ – extracted from Neem Tree. The event took place at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex between Wednesday and Thursday. Holy Family, whose project was using ﬁsh skin to create ornamental designs, placed second, while H.J. Robinson, whose display was the creation of soap from indigenous plants’ extract and is able to use in both fresh and salt water. Lakier Grant, who spoke to The SUN on behalf of Champions for Christ, said that she and her team mates were elated at hearing their schools’ name being announced as the Science Project winner. She also expressed the hope that the powers that be would seriously give their project more thought with the intention of commercially developing it. I feel excited, a feel a rush of adrenalin going through my body right now, hearing our school’s name being

The victorious Champions for Christ School of Excellence is the 2014 winner of the Fortis National High School Science Fair Project Competition. Members of the victorious team are seen here with the winning trophy and medal collected from Allan Robinson, Fortis’ Vice President for Customer & Corporate Services announced as the winner. We came here and represent and we hope that the Ministry of Education and environmentalists take our project further and help TCI,” Grant said. Raymond Gardiner copped two titles - the Science Creative Arts Competition and the Science Graphic Arts Competition, while West Indies Brit-

ish Collegiate emerged champions of the Quiz Competition. Talisha Simons, Fortis’ Head of Communication, said that she was impressed with the level of science displays and believed that this year’s presentations were the best so far. “I think the Science Fair was wonderful this year. We had more

participants this year; their projects were deﬁnitely up a few notches from last year and the previous years, and they were ready to compete. I thought it was wonderful, and I am ecstatic about the next one,” Simons said. For his part, Director of Education Edgar Howell, said that preparation for next year has begun and the department, working with Fortis, will be seeking to improve the event for next year. He said also that attendees at the two-day event were overly impressed with not only the displays but the way in which the students were able to explain and analyze their respective work. He said their analyses of the projects proved that they were the ones with the creative ideas. “Some of the comments coming through from people who had seen the projects especially, they loved how the students were able to express themselves, and that indicated to them at least, that the students did the work themselves, they understood the analysis, they were aware of the scientiﬁc process. And so, we are gaining momentum. I think it is going to be even more exciting for the next year,” Howell said.

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Longstanding Oseta Jolly Primary teachers honoured BY VIVIAN TYSON

Five longstanding Oseta Jolly Primary School teachers, including Principal Rachel Handfield, were honoured by students and staff of that institution on Monday, March 3, at the school. Handfield and her four colleagues have collectively served Oseta Jolly Primary for 96 years so far. The four other teachers honoured are Cecilia Ashton for 23 years of service; Vinette Forbes for 19 years of service and Vice Principal Heartlyn Wright and Diana Dean for 18 years of service each. Handfield has 18 years of service under her belt as well. The teachers received the royal treatment on their day. They were chauffeured on campus in an SUV before being ushered by white-gloved male students to their red carpet seating. They were then entertained by performances from the students of the school, and listen to tributes read about them, before being showered with gifts. On hand to present some of the Gifts were Marco Frank, General Manager of Amanyara Resort, Delleriece Hall, Marketing Manager for LIME and Beryl Charles of Blue Haven Resort. Guest speaker Dr. Beatrice Fulford, former director of education and Head of the Public Service

Commission, charged the teachers to continue to serve their profession well. She told them that the coming years are just as important as those they already served. “As honourees, where do you go from here, having experienced this set of gratitude, this outpouring of appreciation; this jubilant celebration? Alternatively I asked, what impact does this day’s event, one-off celebration have on you? The wisdom of your individual and collective years would suggest to you that this is not the end of the road,” she said.

She reminded the honourees that now that persons got to know more about them, expectations on and off campus could be changed. She said that people would now both expect as well as appreciate them a lot more. “The wider society, hopefully, will come to recognize your worth and value your contribution for the development of our country. So I suggest you used today’s ceremony to bridge what have already transpired throughout the years that you have already spent at the school or even in education, for that matter, with the years that are yet to come,” Fulford said. In the meantime, the LIME representative assured the Oseta Jolly Primary family that the telecoms company will honour its commitment to partner with LIME for the foreseeable future, having first forged an alliance in 2005. LIME later gave all staff members individual gift certificates. A wall of honour bearing the framed photograph of the five teachers was later unveiled. Edgar Howell, Director of Education, as well as PTA President Blossom Simmons brought greetings on behalf of their respective entities. Former LIME boss, Drexwell Seymour was also invited to make a presentation.

Beatrice Fulford, Head of the Civil Service Association addressed the Oseta Jolly Primary School event

Students observe the event

Student from the Oseta Jolly Primary School perform a dance number

Cecilia Ashton (left) collects a plaque from Delleriece Hall of LIME for 23 years of service to the school

Beryl Charles (right) of Blue Haven Resort, presents a plague to Vinette Forbes for her 19 years of service to Oseta Jolly Primary School

Blossom Simons (right), President of the Oseta Jolly Primary School PTA presents Heartlyn Wright with a plaque for her 18 years of service

Former CEO of LIME Drexwell Seymour presents a plaque to Diana Dean for 18 years of service

Marco Frank, General Manager of Amanyara Resort, presents Principal for the Oseta Jolly Primary School Rachel Handﬁeld with a plaque for her 18 years of service

The school choir renders an item

The ﬁve honourees display their plaques as well as gifts

The newly unveiled Wall of Honour in support of five longstanding teachers. From left – Beryl Handfield of Blue Haven Resort, Marco Frank, General Manager Amanyara Resort, honouree Vinette Forbes, honouree Cecilia Ashton, honouree, honouree Diana Dean, Director of Education Edgar Howell, honouree and principal for the Oseta Jolly Primary School Rachel Handfield, Vice Principal and honouree Heartlyn Wright and Marketing Manager for LIME Delleriece Hall

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KIERRA “KIKI” SHEARD “Indescribable” [Verse 1:] From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea Creations revealing Your majesty From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring Every creature unique in the song that it sings All exclaiming

Who imagined the sun and gave source to it’s light Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night None can fathom [Repeat Chorus] [Chorus 2:] Unconquerable, unchangeable, You’ve seen the depths of my heart and You love Me the same, You are amazing God You are amazing God

[Chorus:] Indescribable, uncontainable, You place the stars in the sky and You know Them by name, You are amazing God All powerful, untamable, awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly [Repeat Chorus] Proclaim, You are amazing God [Verse 2:] Who sees lightning bolts and tells them where they should go or Sees heavenly store houses laden in snow

[Vamp:] You are amazing God [x5]

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FUN&GAMES

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News

CARIBBEAN

Cayman Islands private sector criticises new UK policy

Cayman’s largest private sector representative organization and one of its largest attorneys associations on Friday criticized United Kingdom proposals aimed at making public the list of individuals or companies that benefit from registered financial entities in the islands, according to a report in the Caymanian Compass newspaper. “We should not infringe on legitimate privacy by embarking on an untested and unchartered path which is inconsistent with any global standard and which certainly does not exist in competing jurisdictions,” Chamber of Commerce President Johann Moxam wrote in a letter last week about the issue to government’s Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton. “In order to work properly and achieve any semblance of its objective, such a proposal for a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership would need to be universally applied by all jurisdictions,” said Alasdair Robertson, Maples and Calder partner and president of the Cayman Islands Law Society. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said last year that it was his intention to make such a list public in Britain and the Mother Country has “suggested” that its territories, including Cayman, follow suit. Overseas Territories Minister Mark Simmonds said during a visit to the Cayman Islands last year that such a move would ultimately be a local decision. The registry of so-called “beneficial ownership” contains reporting requirements that have existed

in the Cayman Islands for more than a decade, but are currently only accessible via a court process that can be lengthy and expensive. The U.K.’s proposal would make names of those profiting from any financial entity in the Cayman Islands open for anyone to view at any time. “It is disturbing and regrettable that Cayman is being put under political pressure by competing jurisdictions and political leaders to go one step further than everyone else, which draws the inference that we are doing something wrong and should be the only ones to make such a change,” Mr. Moxam said. The law society noted in its lengthy evaluation of the issue, that Cayman is already compliant with international tax and financial information reporting standards and that Cayman’s finance-related businesses are already required to obtain beneficial ownership data under the territory’s anti-money laundering laws. In addition, many objectives of Mr. Cameron’s beneficial ownership proposal and earlier initiatives from the U.K.-based Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development are the same. In any case, Mr. Robertson said such a register – even if it is implemented for all countries on Earth – could have grave impacts on the financial services industry. “The proposal for a publicly accessible register will ultimately undermine competition and innova-

tion, and will likely have disastrous consequences on global capital markets and the ability to secure financing,” Mr. Robertson said, giving the law society’s views on the U.K. plan. Moreover, Mr. Robertson said, there would be cost implications for setting up and maintaining such a public reporting system “disproportionate to the perceived benefit.” The law society president said those proposing the beneficial ownership reporting plan might not comprehend how financing and investment occurs in modern markets. Most investment funds are operating through a nominee, representing a number of owners who change rapidly. “The complexities presented by such structures would inevitably lead to non-compliance,” Mr. Robertson said. Finally, the need to synchronize reporting efforts across the globe would be daunting, at best, Mr. Robertson said. “In essence, each public registry system will need to be able to ‘talk’ continuously with the systems in every other jurisdiction, otherwise the system and its objective fails,” Mr. Robertson said. Last Friday was the deadline for all public comments on the beneficial ownership proposal to be submitted to the Cayman Islands government. Government officials have said they would use that information to inform their answers to the U.K. government on whether Cayman would seek to implement a public register of beneficial ownership.

LIAT to axe unprofitable routes as part of financial shakeup

RIDGETOWN, Barbados – The regional airline, LIAT, says it will take “decisive action” to deal with unprofitable routes as the Antigua-based airline seeks to make its operations financially variable. “We have been trying, before going the harsh route, to persuade people to invest. We have met with a number of governments and Prime Ministers... we have expressed to them that we will have no other option but to cut the service,” LIAT chairman Jean Holder told a news conference on Thursday evening. “I think we have reached the point, after a lot of challenges, where we need to do as we say that we will do. That may after all be more effective than the persuasion route,” Holder said after a meeting of the shareholder governments. “We’ll have to take a very hard look at our current schedules and the profitability of our current routes. We have brought in some experts to assist us in looking more deeply into the route analysis issues, but it is clear that LIAT cannot continue to provide

essential social services to 21 countries in the Caribbean on a daily basis, offering close to 1 000 flights weekly, and only four countries put any funds into this operation,” said Holder. Holder said that this would involve reshaping the routing system in a way that would ensure there is no longer an abundance of social routes at the expense of commercial operations. In October 2012, then chief executive officer of LIAT, Ian Brunton, had warned that the cash-strapped airline would soon be dropping at least eight routes deemed to be consistently unprofitable. He said that the situation would only change if the airline, whose major shareholders are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was able to secure some kind of support from affected governments. Holder said that the company has taking the stance that it needs to be more professional and implement the changes needed to keep the airline on an even keel.

LIAT Chairman Jean Holder St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who is also chairman of shareholder governments, told reporters he had been putting public pressure on his counterparts across the region, particularly from those countries that beneﬁt considerably from the operations of the airline. “We’ve not been putting the same pressure on Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada because I know he has just come into ofﬁce... and is trying to sort himself out... We give him a break, but he too has to come to the table,” said Gonsalves.

He said that the existing contributing countries were not immune to the ravages of the global economic meltdown but, since 2008, had been demonstrating their commitment to the region. “Despite the stresses and strains, we have come up with significant monies and I am sure that that is a factor which some governments, who have not put in, will bear in mind. “But I also think that because some governments have [received] a free ride for such a long time... it’s always better for someone to have a free ride that for them to pay for the ride,” Gonsalves said. The prime minister said Holder and acting chief executive officer Julie Reifer-Jones had made presentations to the meeting which outlined a plan for sustainable recovery of the airline, as well as an immediate programme for implementation. LIAT said it would employ an expert to assess the unprofitable routes which would not only entail cutting, but rescheduling or reviewing them.

CARICOM concerned over developments in Ukraine

EORGETOWN, Guyana – The 15-member regional integration grouping, CARICOM< Wednesday said it was ‘deeply concerned” at the ongoing political developments in Ukraine and called for an end to the tensions to prevent possible bloodshed. “The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is deeply concerned by the recent developments in Ukraine and calls on all parties involved, to act with self-restraint and responsibility in order to reduce tensions and avoid destabilisation in that region,” the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said in a statement. It said CARICOM “supports the people of Ukraine in their efforts to settle their differences peaceful-

ly, and calls for the respect of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “In this regard, the Community also calls for the use of international mediation and/or negotiations, to address security and human rights concerns in Ukraine, under the auspices of the United Nations. “The Caribbean Community will continue to monitor developments within Ukraine and hopes for peace and calm as political and economic stability are restored within that country.” The United States and Russia are expected to hold talks on easing East-West tension over Ukraine on Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet face-toface for the ﬁrst time since the crisis escalated, after a conference in Paris attended by all ﬁve permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. NATO and Russia will hold parallel talks in Brussels amid concerns that a standoff between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea could still spark violence, or that Moscow could also intervene in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday defended Russia’s actions in Crimea, a strategic Black Sea peninsula that is part of Ukraine but used to be Russian territory, and said he would use force only as a last resort.

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Fred Mitchell tells Myles Munroe ‘Don’t mess with me’ T

he Bahamas Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell warned Dr Myles Munroe “not to mess” with him, charging that “just because someone sits on a pulpit and hides behind theology does not give them the right to make vile, slanderous statements”. Speaking with the press, Mr Mitchell said it is Dr Munroe’s right to disagree with anything he says, but to attack him and impugn his character is not only wrong, but goes against the principles of Christianity. “Someone of that standing should be careful how they express themselves in public. First to mis-characterize what was said to the extent that it looked as if they didn’t read what was said and certainly did not understand what was said and then more speciﬁcally to make these ad hominem vile, disgusting, almost obscene comments about me personally. I take violent objection,” Mr Mitchell said. “That is my only issue. I spoke to Bishop Simeon Hall this morning and I said to him that it doesn’t matter to me who you are or where you say it, you do not have the right to make these kind of vile innuendos, slanderous statements and then hide behind theology and say that gives you the right to do so. If you are going to have civil discourse, then let’s have a civil discourse and say ‘I disagree with that, I don’t stand for that, that is against my moral beliefs’...you can say whatever you want just keep all this personal violence out. That’s it, but when you do that you can expect that I am going to respond in kind, I do not care who you are, where you stand, I am going to respond to it.

Dr. Myles Munroe

Foreign Aﬀairs Minister Fred Mitchell

“I want people to look at me. I am not blinking on this at all. It don’t matter to me whether you agree or disagree with what I say, that is your right, this is a free society, just don’t impugn in a personal way. If you do that then I only have one response and that is to answer in kind,” he added. Mr Mitchell said he believes Dr Munroe’s comments were a personal attack on him because when former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham made similar statements, Dr Munroe was “silent as a lamb.” He said: “Here you have a man going on the pulpit and saying this man is disqualified for the job he now has because of his views, not because of the content of his character, not because he is disqualified from office. You know he goes through the great extent to say, ‘I respect him and this and that and all the rest of it, but his views disqualify him from going further’ and that’s fine too, that’s honest commentary. Just don’t go beyond that and start impugning me personally.

“That is where you cross the line and I said that to his friends, all of them who called me up, I said you tell him for me, that that is my position on this matter, do not cross the line and become personal. “Why you pick me to attack, when Ingraham spoke, you were silent like a lamb. It was made personal when he called my name. I have some evidence and I have seen some other things and I don’t want to take it from where it is, my view is equal and opposite. If it goes further I know what to do to defend myself. It is not about his views, the point is do not make it personal.... I took Christ as my personal Saviour when I was nine years old, but if the preachers don’t know Christ I can show them where Christ is and I can show them the path to Christ. Christ taught tolerance, you must take care of the poor, you must not judge other people, you must do unto others as you would have them do unto you; all of these values. “Now if they are lost and don’t know their way, I can show them the way and that is my views on this, just don’t mess with me. Do not mess with me.” Mr Mitchell said he is not sure where the conversation on Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights will go in this country but where it does “will be for civic activists to decide”. His comments came after Dr Munroe said in other media reports that Mr Mitchell should keep his LGBT comments to himself because they do not “represent the majority of the convictions of the Bahamian people”.

Bermuda’s debt reaching $2billion T

he Bermuda Government will pay more than $310,000 per day in interest on its growing mountain of debt in the coming ﬁscal year, according to the Royal Gazette newspaper. And despite the $70 million of cuts in public spending announced yesterday, next year’s Budget will run a projected deﬁcit of $267 million, meaning that the net debt will continue to rise. By the end of the next month, Bermuda’s net debt will total $1.77 billion — equivalent to nearly double the Government’s total annual revenue. At the end of March 2015, the net debt is projected to have climbed to nearly $2 billion. Interest payments are expected to total $113.5 million in 2014/15, making it a bigger budget item than Public Works, National Security, or the Finance Ministry. Mr Richards said in his Budget statement that Government would

draw from the Sinking Fund to pay off $120 million of debt that was due to mature in May and June of this year. That will reduce interest costs by around $7 million. Last year, the Island raised $750 million on the international bond markets, and a further $50 million in the Bermuda dollar market, in order to take advantage of low interest rates and meet borrowing needs for several years. “Last year Government set up debt related targets, or rules, that were appropriate for an economy the size of Bermuda’s,” Mr Richards said. “These rules committed Government to keep public debt at such levels that the net debt/GDP ratio would not exceed 38 percent. “Additionally, Government recognised the desirability of achieving a net debt/revenue ratio that would not exceed 80 percent and a debt service cost/revenue ratio that would be below 10 percent. These

were targets we would work toward over the medium term. “As at 31 March 2014, the net debt/GDP ratio will be 32 percent, the net debt/revenue ratio will be 199 percent, and the debt service cost/revenue ratio will be 16 percent. There is much work to do to bring them in line with our targets.” Revised estimates for the year ending March 2014 show that revenue exceeded estimates by $21.4 million. However, expenditures were $32 million more than planned, prompting Mr Richards to emphasise the need for greater efﬁciency. Some of the cost overruns had occurred as a result of the massive bond issuance. Others, Mr Richards said, “have occurred as a result of inertia and inadequate budgetary controls within the Government”. “This is clear evidence that the old corporate culture in some ministries of Government, the absence of strict-

SEVERAL CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES NAMED IN US MONEY LAUNDERING REPORT

ASHINGTON D.C., United States – The United States has named several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries as major money laundering states whose financial institutions engage in currency transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds from international narcotics trafficking. In its just released “2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report,’ the US State Department listed Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize and Haiti as among major money laundering countries and jurisdictions around the world. In addition to these CARICOM countries, the other Caribbean islands named are the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. The report also notes that countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Brazil, Russia, France, Canada as well as the Dominican Republic, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands had been designated major money laundering countries The report which describes the steps taken during the previous year by the governments of nearly 90 countries, to reduce illicit narcotics production, trafficking, and use, as well as money laundering and financial crimes, said that the “complex nature of money laundering transactions today makes it difficult in many cases to distinguish the

proceeds of narcotics trafficking from the proceeds of other serious crime. “Moreover, financial institutions engaging in transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds of other serious crime are vulnerable to narcotics-related money laundering.” Washington said that “this year’s list of major money laundering countries recognizes this relationship by including all countries and other jurisdictions, whose financial institutions engage in transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds from all serious crime”. The report also notes that Caribbean countries like the Bahamas, Belize, Haiti and Jamaica had been classified as major drug-transit countries. The State Department defines a major drug transit country as one “that is a significant direct source of illicit narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances significantly affecting the United States; or (B) through which are transported such drugs or substances”. It said that apart from the Caribbean countries, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela were identified and notified to Congress by the President on September 13, last year.

ness and accountability as it relates to budgets, has not yet been squeezed out. “Surely, some expenses are more difficult to project than others — financial assistance and the Bermuda Hospital subsidy for example have increased to support families in need — nevertheless the problem remains.” Revenue is forecast to rise 3.4 percent in 2014/15. The bulk of the increase is down to Customs duty, projected to rise by $25.7 million, or 14.7 percent. Additionally, Mr Richards said: “The biennial adjustment of Government fees will be increased by about five percent for most fees and the anticipated increased yield should be $2 million-3 million.” The projected budget deficit of $267 million will be down by $64 million, or 19.4 percent, compared to 2013/14. “So we are moving in the right direction but much more work is required,” Mr Richards said.

AGREEMENT SIGNED TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN CARIBBEAN

ENEVA, Switzerland – The International police organization (INTERPOL) has signed an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling in the Caribbean and other places. Signed on Wednesday by INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and IOM Director General William Lacy Swing, the agreement “formalises the already strong working relationship between the two organizations,” According to INTERPOL, key elements include information exchange, in particular relating to travel fraud, border management technology and operations, capacity building and training for police and migration officials, and implementing joint projects to address human trafficking and migrant smuggling. “IOM and INTERPOL have a long history of collaboration in the field of border and migration management,” said IOM director General William Lacy Swing. “This agreement will allow us to deepen that partnership to advance matters of common interest through increased collaboration, consultation and information exchange,” he added. “It will also provide a foundation for the development of future projects which will benefit from joint INTERPOL and IOM expertise.” The agreement will help global efforts identify the individuals and organized crime networks behind human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Cayman Islands police force frustrated by vehicle issues T

hirteen brand-new police vehicles that arrived in the Cayman Islands about a month ago had not hit the streets as of Tuesday because they were not released to the department. However, those new vehicles are just a few leaves in the forest as far as the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service’s overall need for new equipment, according to information sent to the Caymanian Compass. “The present police fleet consists of 126 vehicles; 65 percent of them have reached their service life, some of the vehicles are as old as 1998,” a statement from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service said, in response to Compass questions about the police patrol car fleet. About 20 of the old patrol cars are due to be decommissioned, or placed out of service, according to RCIPS Chief Inspector Raymond Christian. Some of the remaining patrol vehicles, mostly Chevrolet Impalas, have required major repairs, including new fuel pumps and oxygen sensors, to keep them functioning. A total of 17 vehicles were purchased in the latest transaction. The 13 vehicles now on island have not been “handed over to the RCIPS yet,” according to Chief Inspector Christian. “The outfitting of those vehicles with sirens, decals etc., should be completed this week,” Mr. Chris-

A police car from the Cayman Islands Police Force tian said. “We don’t have a cost of total equipment. We have sought the costing from the ministry, but we have not received it yet.” The other four patrol vehicles are still en route to the Cayman Islands. “Apparently, the snow storms in the U.S. delayed delivery,” Mr. Christian said. Mr. Christian acknowledged that there had been rumors about “bad gas” from the government fuel depot being responsible for the loss of some of the police vehicles. “None of the present ﬂeet lost a motor because of bad fuel,” Mr. Christian said. Replacement police vehicles have not kept up with attrition rates. Eleven new Dodge Chargers, one of which was totaled in a crash, were received by the department in 2011.

The RCIPS has been one of the hardest-hit government departments by what internal auditors described as a fleet of run-down vehicles. The audit identified “a growing fleet of dilapidated vehicles, most of which are attributed to the Department of Environmental Health, the Health Services Authority and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.” “These entities’ vehicles consume over 50 percent of the Department of Vehicle and Equipment Services’ time and budget,” the Internal Audit report from June 2013 stated. This situation raised another issue concerning government vehicles – one the police service has often dealt with - that is, whether purchasing a new vehicle would be more cost-effective than repeatedly repairing old models. For instance, the audit cited one instance where government spent $16,000 repairing a 1994 Toyota Coaster in 2011, including new paint and body repairs. The car was 17 years old at the time. Another $12,000 was spent for parts and labor on a 2005 Hyundai Matrix in 2012, when buying a comparable new model would have cost about $20,000. “The monies spent may have been better used to offset at least 50 percent of the costs of brand-new vehicles of similar characteristics,” the Internal Audit report stated.

State Department report says Jamaica largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States W ASHINGTON – The United States says Jamaica remains the largest Caribbean supplier of marijuana to the United States and Caribbean islands and that even though cocaine and synthetic drugs are not produced locally, Jamaica is a transit point for drugs trafficked from South America to North America and other international markets. But in its just released “2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report” the US State Department said Jamaica continued to make “slow but steady progress” in combating narcotics trafficking, corruption and organized crime in 2013. It said success stories included the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Anti-Corruption Branch, which continued to make progress in eliminating corrupt and unethical police officers; the National Forensic Sciences Laboratory, which showed dramatic improvement in its ability to process crime scene ballistic evidence; the JCF Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force, which significantly reduced Jamaica lottery scam operations that targeted retirees and the elderly in the United States. Washington said the Financial Investigation Division of the Ministry of Finance that, with new organization and leadership, ramped up its efforts to curb money laundering and

seize criminally-acquired assets and also praised the Independent Commission on Investigations, which was successful in establishing its legal authority to prosecute police officers who illegally injure or kill citizens in the course of their duties. “The momentum of progress gained within Jamaica’s law enforcement agencies, however, is being obstructed by the inability of prosecutors and the courts to keep apace and secure prompt convictions. The United States will therefore continue to support efforts to reform and strengthen Jamaica’s criminal court system,” the report noted. The report noted that in 2013, drug production and trafficking were both enabled and accompanied by organized crime, domestic and international gang activity, and police and government corruption. It said illicit drugs were also a common means of exchange for illegally-trafficked firearms entering the country, exacerbating Jamaica’s security situation. Drugs flow from and through Jamaica by maritime conveyance, air freight, and human couriers, and to a limited degree by private aircraft. “Drugs leaving Jamaica are bound for the United States, Canada and other Caribbean nations. However, marijuana and cocaine are also traf-

ficked from Jamaica into the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Jamaica is emerging as a transit point for cocaine leaving Central America and destined for the United States, and some drug trafficking organizations exchange Jamaican marijuana for cocaine.” The report notes that factors that contribute to drug trafficking include the country’s convenient geographic position as a waypoint for narcotics trafficked from Latin America; its lengthy, rugged and difficult-to- patrol coastline; a high volume of tourist travel and airline traffic; its status as a major transshipment hub for maritime containerized cargo; inadequate educational and employment opportunities for at-risk youth who engage in crime; and a struggling economy that encourages marijuana cultivation in rural areas. Washington said that while the government and law enforcement authorities are committed to combating narcotics and illicit trafficking, their efforts were only moderately effective in 2013 because of a lack of sufficient resources; corruption; an inefficient criminal justice system; and the inability of lawmakers to adopt meaningful legislation to combat corruption and gangs. Lawmakers increased their discussion of loosening Jamaica’s law pro-

hibiting the personal use of marijuana, the report stated. It said that an estimated 15,000 hectares (ha) of marijuana is grown in all 14 parishes of Jamaica, generally in areas inaccessible to vehicular trafﬁc on small plots in mountainous areas and along the tributaries of the Black River in Saint Elizabeth parish. The police and military, supported by the United States, employed teams of civilian cutters to cut growing plants, seize seedlings and cured marijuana, and burn them in the ﬁeld. But the report noted that because Jamaican law prohibits the use of herbicides, only manual eradication was conducted in 2013. Eradication of marijuana decreased in 2013, with the destruction of 247 ha of growing cannabis, 1.9 million seedlings, and 285 kilograms (kg) of seeds – down from 711 ha, 2.58 million seedlings and 785 kg of seeds destroyed in 2012. The report noted that while Jamaica prohibits the manufacture, sale, transport, and possession of MDMA (ecstasy) and methamphetamine, and regulates the precursor chemicals used to produce them, precursor chemicals continued to move through Jamaica to Central America last year and were concealed in shipping containers that passed through the Port of Kingston.

THIS YEAR WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CARNIVALS EVER FOR TRINIDAD

inister of The Arts and Multiculturalism, Lincoln Douglas, has hailed Carnival 2014 as “one of the most successful Carnivals we have had, if not the most successful Carnival we have had”. Douglas was speaking at a post-Cabinet media conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. Questioned on the complaints from spectators, masqueraders and vendors about Carnival in the capital city, Douglas said Carnival was not confined to Port of Spain alone. “Carnival itself seems to breed a lot of people who complain and so we have usually a lot of criticism which I think are all in good taste,” he said. He said there were Carnival celebrations in 52 regions nationwide and there was a significant increase in participation. “From my perspective where I sit and stand and

where I travelled around the country I see an increased participation in Carnival,” he said. He said from this as well as a security and ﬁnancial standpoint, Carnival was a success. He said there was proper management of the funds and there was no debt incurred. He praised all stakeholders involved in making Carnival a success, adding that all events and shows were successfully produced. Douglas said there were issues to look at in terms of copyright and the parade route and these will be ironed out before Carnival 2015. The contentious Socadrome, he said, did provide some “issues” to look at and new approaches for Carnival will be examined. He said the National Carnival Commission (NCC) has engaged the services of trafﬁc and transport engi-

neers to study the route problem and ﬁnd solutions. Douglas also disclosed that a review in the incentives for prizes will be looked at. Questioned if this meant an increase for Trinidad and Tobago Uniﬁed Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO), Douglas reiterated that the entity receives an annual subvention and was free to allocate its prize monies. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar interjected at the media conference that TUCO receives an annual subvention of $9 million and there would be a consultative process in collaboration with various stakeholders with respect to how monies are allocated. Commenting on TUCO’s request for increased funds, Persad-Bissessar said, “It cannot be with the greatest of respect that on the eve of the event that the request is made”.

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News W

RLD

Putin rebuffs Obama as Ukraine crisis escalates

resident Vladimir Putin rebuffed a warning from U.S. President Barack Obama over Moscow’s military intervention in Crimea, saying on Friday that Russia could not ignore calls for help from Russian speakers in Ukraine. After an hour-long telephone call, Putin said in a statement that Moscow and Washington were still far apart on the situation in the former Soviet republic, where he said the new authorities had taken “absolutely illegitimate decisions on the eastern, southeastern and Crimea regions. “Russia cannot ignore calls for help and it acts accordingly, in full compliance with international law,” Putin said. Ukraine’s border guards said Moscow had poured troops into the southern peninsula where Russian forces have seized control. Serhiy Astakhov, an aide to the border guards’ commander, said there were now 30,000 Russian soldiers in Crimea, compared to the 11,000 permanently based with the Russian Black Sea ﬂeet in the port of Sevastopol before the crisis. Putin denies that the forces with no national insignia that are surrounding Ukrainian troops in their bases are under Moscow’s command, although their vehicles have Russian military plates. The West has ridiculed his assertion. The most serious east-west confrontation since the end of the Cold War - resulting from the overthrow last month of President Viktor Yanukovich after violent protests in Kiev - escalated on Thursday when Crimea’s parliament, dominated by ethnic Russians, voted to join Russia. The region’s government set a referendum for March 16 - in just nine days’ time. European Union leaders and Obama denounced

moves in the U.N. Security Council, was more cautious, saying that economic sanctions were not the best way to solve the crisis and avoiding comment on the legality of a Crimean referendum on secession.

GUERRILLA WAR?

Pro-Russian supporters gather near a Ukrainian military base in the village of Perevalnoye outside Simferopol, March 7, 2014. the referendum as illegitimate, saying it would violate Ukraine’s constitution. The head of Russia’s upper house of parliament said after meeting visiting Crimean lawmakers on Friday that Crimea had a right to self-determination, and ruled out any risk of war between “the two brotherly nations”. Obama announced the ﬁrst sanctions against Russia on Thursday since the start of the crisis, ordering visa bans and asset freezes against so far unidentiﬁed people deemed responsible for threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty. Japan endorsed the Western position that the actions of Russia, whose forces have seized control of the Crimean peninsula, constitute “a threat to international peace and security”, after Obama spoke to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. China, often a Russian ally in blocking Western

Second baby possibly cured of HIV A

second baby born with the AIDS virus may have had her infection put into remission and possibly cured by very early treatment with antiretrovirals — in this instance, four hours after birth. Doctors revealed the case Wednesday at an AIDS conference in Boston. The girl was born in suburban Los Angeles last April, a month after researchers announced the first case from Mississippi. That was a medical first that led doctors worldwide to rethink how fast and hard to treat infants born with HIV, and the California doctors followed that example. In another AIDS-related development, scientists have modified genes in the blood cells of a dozen adults to help them resist HIV. The results give hope that this approach might one day free at least some people from needing medicines to keep HIV under control. That study was published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine. The Mississippi baby is now 3½ and seems HIV-free despite no treatment for about two years. The Long Beach, Calif., baby is still getting AIDS medicines, so the status of her infection is not as clear. A host of sophisticated tests at multiple times suggest the California baby has completely cleared the virus, said Dr. Deborah Persaud, a Johns Hopkins University physician in Baltimore who led the testing. The baby’s signs are

Virologist Dr. Deborah Persaud ran sophisticated tests on both children in her lab at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. different from what doctors see in patients whose infections are merely suppressed by successful treatment, she said. “We don’t know if the baby is in remission ... but it looks like that,” said Dr. Yvonne Bryson, an infectious disease specialist at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA who consulted on the girl’s care. Doctors are cautious about suggesting she has been cured, “but that’s obviously our hope,” Bryson said. Most HIV-infected moms in the U.S. get AIDS medicines during pregnancy, which greatly cuts the chances they will pass the virus to their babies. The Mississippi baby’s mom received no prenatal care and her HIV was discovered during labour. Doctors started the baby on treatment 30 hours after birth, even before tests could determine whether she was infected. The LA baby was born at Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach, and “we knew this mother from a

previous pregnancy” and that she was not taking her HIV medicines, said Dr. Audra Deveikis, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the hospital. The mom was given AIDS drugs during labour to try to prevent transmission of the virus, and Deveikis started the baby on them a few hours after birth. Tests later conﬁrmed she had been infected, but does not appear to be now, nearly a year later. The baby is continuing treatment, is in foster care “and looking very healthy,” Bryson said. The Mississippi girl was treated until she was 18 months old, when doctors lost contact with her. Ten months later when she returned, they could ﬁnd no sign of infection even though the mom had stopped giving her AIDS medicines. Bryson is one of the leaders of a federally funded study just getting underway to see if very early treatment can cure HIV infection. About 60 babies in the U.S. and other countries will get very aggressive treatment that will be discontinued if tests over a long time, possibly two years, suggest no active infection. “These kids obviously will be followed very, very closely” for signs of the virus, said Persaud, who described the Los Angeles case at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston.

The EU, Russia’s biggest economic partner and energy customer, adopted a three-stage plan to try to force a negotiated solution but stopped short of immediate sanctions. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded angrily on Friday, calling the EU decision to freeze talks on visa-free travel and on a broad new pact governing Russia-EU ties “extremely unconstructive”. It warned that Moscow would retaliate against any sanctions. Senior Ukrainian opposition politician Yulia Tymoshenko, freed from prison after Yanukovich’s ouster, met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dublin and appealed for immediate EU sanctions against Russia, warning that Crimea might otherwise slide into a guerrilla war. Brussels and Washington rushed to strengthen the new authorities in economically shattered Ukraine, announcing both political and ﬁnancial assistance. The regional director of the International Monetary Fund said talks with Kiev on a loan agreement were going well and praised the new government’s openness to economic reform and transparency. The European Commission has said Ukraine could receive up to 11 billion euros ($15 billion) in the next couple of years provided it reaches agreement with the IMF, which requires painful economic reforms like ending gas subsidies.

MOM, DAD, DAUGHTER ACCUSED IN $7M SHOPLIFT SPREE

HICAGO -- A father, mother and daughter from a posh Chicago suburb stole $7 million in merchandise during a decadelong shoplifting spree — traveling to stores nationwide and targeting dolls, toys, cosmetics and other valuables — according to a federal complaint released Wednesday. The three were arrested earlier this week at their $1.3 million Northbrook home after returning from a three-day trip through Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, where authorities say they shoplifted from stores. Working in tandem, the family traveled from their Chicago-area residence to hit businesses in multiple states, including Maryland, Tennessee and Florida, according to the 20-page complaint. Branko Bogdanov, 58, Lela Bogdanov, 52, and their 34-year-old daughter, Julia Bogdanov, are charged with one count each of interstate transportation of stolen property. They made initial appearances Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, but did not enter pleas; they’ll be held at least until a detention hearing next week. Someone who answered a phone at their Northbrook residence declined any comment Lela Bogdanov frequently donned a long black skirt with large compartments sewn on the inside during the alleged shoplifting binges and was caught on surveillance cameras leaving some stores with her skirt looking notably fuller than when she entered, the complaint says. Standing in orange jail clothes Wednesday in federal court, Lela Bogdanov wiped away tears as U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason explained her rights. She followed the proceedings through a Romani interpreter. An unnamed cooperating witness bought many of the stolen items — which included everything from American Girl dolls and Furby robotic toys to coffee and steak knives — at the Bogdanov home, then sold them online through eBay, the complaint says. On their own, Bogdanovs directly sold more than $690,000 in merchandise through eBay, the complaint says.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Scottish leader calls on all Brits to back independence S

cottish leader Alex Salmond called on all Britons on Tuesday to back his campaign for an independent Scotland to help create a northern economic counterweight to stop London from sucking the life out of the rest of the country. In his first speech in London this year, Salmond said life in the United Kingdom had become increasingly unbalanced with regional centres suffering as London dominated the economic landscape and rising numbers of people relying on food handouts. Salmond is battling a concerted effort by London to prevent a “yes” vote at a Sept. 18 referendum by undermining his Scottish National Party’s central case that oil-producing Scotland could be a prosperous nation. In an appeal to Britons, Salmond said there was a growing realisation that wealth and opportunities were too concentrated geographically and socially and an independent Scotland could help by building its economy and keeping strong ties in the UK. “After Scottish independence, the growth of a strong economic power in the north of these islands would benefit everyone - our closest neighbours in the north of England more than anyone,” Salmond told a packed New Statesman event in a hall in Westminster, the heart of UK politics. “There would be a ‘Northern Light’ to redress the influence of the ‘dark star’ - rebalancing the economic centre of gravity of these islands.”

CURRENCY WAR The debate over independence has focused largely on the ﬁnancial impact of Scotland ending a 307-

Scottish leader Alex Salmond holding a copy of his manifesto for his country’s independence from the UK year tie to England although both sides have started to make more emotional appeals as opinion polls show the trailing nationalists gaining ground. An Ipsos-Mori poll this week showed 32 percent support for independence, 57 percent against and 11 percent undecided. British Prime Minister David Cameron last month in a speech dubbed a “love-bombing” urged residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland to lean on Scottish friends and family to stick with the UK as they were best and strongest together. Salmond used his London platform to stress that Scotland, with 8 percent of the UK’s population and 9.5 percent of its GDP, could be a prosperous, independent country but it would still retain close ties with the rest of the United Kingdom. He wants Scotland to keep the pound in a currency union with the rest of the UK, continue to

have Queen Elizabeth as monarch, and retain its membership of the European Union. “Scotland will not be a foreign country after independence, any more than Ireland, Northern Ireland, England or Wales could ever be foreign countries to Scotland,” said Salmond, sporting a tie with small motifs of Scotland’s white-and-blue Saltire flag. “We share ties of family and friendship, trade and commerce, history and culture, which have never depended on a parliament here at Westminster, and will endure and flourish long after independence.” But a row over Scotland using the pound has taken centre stage in the escalating debate, with the three main UK parties joining forces to rule out a currency union, saying if Scotland walks away from the UK, it walks away from the pound. Salmond has refused to outline a Plan B, accusing the UK government of bluffing, but this has led to some financial heavyweights such as Standard Life and Royal Bank of Scotland voicing concerns about uncertainties over the currency, regulation and tax in the event of independence. By contrast, the heads of airlines British Airways and Ryanair say independence would be good for business as Scotland would cut air passenger tax. Despite lagging in polls, Salmond said he believed a “yes” vote was possible, refusing to speculate otherwise and predicting Scots who did not usually vote would show up. “This referendum is not about politicians ... the best people to make decisions about Scotland’s future are the people who live and work in Scotland,” Salmond said.

Syria to miss deadline to destroy 12 chemical arms sites S

yria will miss a major deadline next week in the program to destroy its chemical weapons production facilities, sources at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said on Thursday. Syria declared 12 production facilities to the OPCW and has until March 15 to destroy them under a deal agreed with the United States and Russia. Damascus has already missed several deadlines laid out in the agreement. “That will definitely be missed,” said an official involved in discussions with Syria, referring to the March 15 deadline. The official, who asked not to be identified, said there were seven “hardened” aircraft hangars and five underground facilities. “None of them have been destroyed at the moment,” the official said. Syrian officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Damascus agreed last year to destroy all chemical weapons facilities and surrender 1,300 metric tons of toxic agents to a joint OPCW/United Nations mission. It has until June

30 to eliminate its chemical weapons program completely. The deal averted U.S. missile strikes threatened by Washington after an August 21 sarin gas attack killed hundreds of people in the outskirts of the capital. Syria missed a February 5 deadline to ship all chemicals abroad for destruction and is weeks behind schedule. It has increased the handover of poisonous agents, including a shipment of mustard gas this week, but will not meet a March 30 deadline to neutralize all the chemicals overseas, sources at OPCW said. That process was already supposed to have started on board the U.S. MV Cape Ray, a cargo ship outﬁtted with special chemical neutralization equipment. But only a quarter of the so-called priority 1 chemicals, the most dangerous ingredients for chemical weapons, have been relinquished, ofﬁcials said. DEADLINES IGNORED Syria is not taking the deadline for the destruction of production facil-

ities seriously, another source at the OPCW said on Thursday. “They are not doing things in the timeframe they promised they would,” the source said. “The process is in volatile waters.” The latest comments in The Hague, where members of the OPCW are meeting until Friday, came after sharp criticism of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Powers. A Syrian request to convert for peaceful use some of the facilities declared under its weapons program has already been rejected, because Western governments fear they could easily be re-converted for military use. Damascus proposed “sealing” the sites with cement, the sources said, but that idea was dismissed by several Western diplomats at an OPCW executive council meeting this week. “Destroyed means destroyed,” the second source said. “Why should a country that used chemical weapons against its own people be given special privileges?”

Syria has missed almost every deadline of the agreement reached last year, which is being jointly overseen by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning OPCW and the United Nations. The OPCW said Syria will have shipped out roughly one third of its chemical weapons by the end of this week. “You can say they have upped the momentum and shipped out nearly a third, or you can say they haven’t given up two-thirds of the stuff they should already have sent out of the country,” one OPCW source said. Missing the June 30 deadline would have serious political implications, with Washington and Moscow having both invested diplomatic credibility in the chemical weapons elimination process, brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The international community is footing the bill for the complex operation involving ships from the United States, Norway and Denmark, Chinese and Russian security, an Italian port and commercial destruction facilities in Britain and Germany.

CARNIVAL PASSENGERS SEEKING COMPENSATION OVER DISABLED SHIP

bout three dozen passengers who sailed on the ill-fated Carnival Triumph cruise ship that drifted at sea for days are hoping to collect thousands of dollars apiece as a result of lingering medical and mental problems they say were caused by their nightmarish experience. Their lawsuit, the ﬁrst to go to trial since the February 2013 cruise, is being vigorously defended by Miami-based Carnival Corp., which contends the passengers cannot show such problems as kidney stones, post-traumatic stress disorder and scratchy throats are linked to unsanitary conditions or the ﬁre that disabled the engine. Passenger Debra Oubre, of Friendswood, Texas, who said she has worked in cruise line shore operations and has enjoyed a dozen cruises, said she joined the suit to hold someone accountable. “Many of us, if not all of us, were physically or emotionally hurt,” she said. “I just want the truth to be told.” Testimony wrapped up Wednesday, and the judge said he would take written closing arguments and issue a decision later on whether the passengers deserve any damages.

Some Triumph passengers testified on Carnival’s behalf Wednesday, including James Ede, of Houston, who said the crew kept them well-informed and provided plenty of water. “I got almost a little tired of people saying, `How can I help you?”’ Ede said of the crew. According to Carnival, at least nine other Triumph lawsuits are pending in South Florida federal court, including a proposed class-action that seeks to represent all of the roughly 3,000 passengers aboard the ship. Attorneys involved in the current trial say its outcome could affect what happens in these other cases, although the legal claims are somewhat different. The Triumph left Galveston, Texas on Feb. 7, 2013, for a four-day cruise highlighted by a stop in Cozumel, Mexico. After departing Cozumel, a fire broke out at about 5 a.m. in the ship’s engine room Feb. 10. It left the ship without engine power and most of its electricity, forcing passengers to endure human waste running down hallways, limited water supplies, noxious odours and extreme heat. After about five days in the Gulf of Mexico, the ship was finally towed to Mobile, Alabama., and the weary, bedraggled passengers disembarked Feb. 14.

Carnival sought to make amends by offering each passenger a $500 check, a voucher for a future cruise, refunds of most on-board expenses and reimbursement for transportation, parking and so forth. For many of the passengers, those offers were an insult and multiple lawsuits were ﬁled seeking millions of dollars in damages. In the current trial, Judge Graham has ruled that passengers cannot collect punitive damages and may only get damages for past and future medical costs that are conclusively linked to what happened on the Triumph. Many of the 33 passengers involved in the trial complain of lingering emotional issues such as PTSD, anxiety and depression; some have physical ailments they blame on squalid conditions, including leg pain, diarrhea, upper respiratory problems and even aggravated hemorrhoids. Most of the passengers are seeking $5,000 in damages a year from Carnival for the rest of their lives, claiming they will need continuous medical monitoring because of what happened aboard ship. They want the money in lump sums based on government tables estimating their life expectancies.

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World tourism industry emerges from downturn T

he outlook for the global travel industry looks brighter for 2014 as European economic recovery and rising consumer conﬁdence are prompting holidaymakers and businesses to loosen their purse strings again. Growth is still unevenly spread across regions, according to comments from the industry’s biggest trade fair in Berlin this week, with some destinations such as Egypt, China and Thailand facing a tough time due to political turmoil, security concerns or stricter regulations. Current tension between Russia and Ukraine also poses a risk to growth this year but overall, the number of international tourists is set to increase by 4 to 4.5 percent after reaching a record of almost 1.1 billion in 2013, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said. “We think that this (growth) will be consolidated again in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and beyond,” Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the UNWTO told Reuters. “It will not be 5 percent every year, but the important thing is that growth is consolidated.” The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday that 2014 had got off to a strong start, with travel demand accelerating from last year thanks to stronger growth in advanced economies and emerging market regions.

Angela Brav, head of hotelier InterContinental’s (IHG.L) European business, said she started seeing a real uptick in the fourth quarter of 2013 and that has continued: “GDP is forecast to improve, unemployment is getting better and business optimism in Europe is high,” she said at the ITB travel fair. Paulo Salvador, chief marketing ofﬁcer of World Hotels, which groups together almost 500 hotels in 65 countries, said the year had started off especially well in North America and Brazil, while growth was slower in Asia.

BOOM IN GREECE Holidaymakers are spending more on their vacations, going for higher-quality or more frequent trips abroad. Some destinations are beneﬁting from a weakening of their currencies, which have made travel to the Caribbean or Dubai cheaper for tourists from Europe. London-listed tour operator TUI Travel (TT.L)(TUIGn.DE) said last month bookings so far this year had been especially pleasing from Germany and Britain. Greece was in demand and travel ﬁrms TUI, Alltours and DER Touristik reported a double-digit jump in German bookings for the coming summer travel season.

Tourism is the biggest earner for Greece, accounting for about 17 percent of its output and 20 percent of employment. The government has said it expects the number of visitors to its country to jump to 17 million this year after slipping 5.5 percent to 15.5 million in 2013. Some tour operators said Greece and Spain’s Canary Islands were beneﬁting from the uncertain situation in Egypt, where the recent bombing of a coach carrying Korean holidaymakers across Egypt’s Sinai peninsula fanned security concerns and prompted some countries, including Germany, to advise their citizens not to travel to the area. Egyptian tourism minister Hisham Zaazou told Reuters at the ITB that security concerns could dent holiday bookings for the Easter holiday season, a “prime time” for the country’s tourism sector, which provides a livelihood for millions and the government with much-needed foreign currency. The ﬂare-up of violence comes as North African countries like Egypt and Tunisia still struggle to regain the trust of holidaymakers scared off by the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region in 2011. But while arrivals to Egypt as a whole were still 35 percent below the

2010 level last year, not all areas seem affected by the latest crisis. Red Sea resort Soma Bay, across the Gulf from the Sinai peninsula, is offering perks like free upgrades or extra rounds of golf but has not had to grant massive discounts to bring in guests, marketing director Mohamed Fawzy said. “Easter bookings are at about 75 percent right now, which is normal,” he said. Asian destinations also appeared to be having a tougher time bringing in tourists. German tour operators such as DER Touristik reported that bookings for Thailand, where protests have rocked the capital city of Bangkok, were also sluggish. “The situation in Bangkok is really impacting the number of travelers,” Holger Taubmann, Senior Vice President Distribution at Amadeus IT Group (AMA.MC), told Reuters. The number of visitors travelling to China slipped by 3.5 percent in 2013, which one tour operator said was related to pollution becoming a major concern for travelers. At the same time, the Chinese surpassed the Germans as the top spenders on international travel in 2012 and preliminary ﬁgures point to a further 28 percent rise in spending by the Chinese in the ﬁrst three months of 2013.

Western countries alarmed as Libya slides towards chaos W

estern countries voiced concern on Thursday that tensions in Libya could slip out of control in the absence of a functioning political system, and they urged the government and rival factions to start talking. Two-and-a-half years after the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddaﬁ, the oil-rich North African state is struggling to contain violence between rival forces, with Islamist militants gaining an ever-stronger grip on the south of the country. “The situation in Libya is very worrying,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters on the margins of a conference in Rome to discuss the Libyan crisis. He said the uncertain security position, especially in the south, worsened an unstable political situation which required Libyan political forces to come together to reach a solution. “We are asking the Libyans to talk to each other and to ﬁnd a stable solution,” he said. The conference in Rome was overshadowed by the crisis in Ukraine, with a hectic round of bilateral talks at the margins culminating in a 40-minute meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan at the Conference on International Support to Libya in Rome March 6, 2014. But with violent disputes between rival tribal factions disrupting exports of Libyan oil, the lack of a stable political foundation is causing growing concern for energy-hungry western countries, several of which were involved in overthrowing the Gaddaﬁ government. “It’s incredibly important for the simple reason that oil is clearly a key driver of the economy,” said Hugh Robertson, a junior minister in Britain’s For-

eign Office. “As long as the economy remains depressed that means there are a lot of young people in Libya for whom there is no real viable future inside a new democratic state of Libya.” The weak government in Tripoli is struggling to control well-armed former anti-Gaddafi rebels and Islamist militias, while parliament was stormed by protestors at the weekend who blamed the politicians for the growing chaos. Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdulaziz pointed to the difficulties of creating a stable political culture in a country that had only recently gone through a civil war after four decades of authoritarian rule. “We do not deny that we have political struggles and problems,” he said. “We suffer from the absence of a regime. Libya was kidnapped for more than 40 years. Political parties were forbidden under the former regime.” But he said that stability and security could not be the responsibility of Libya alone, which was fundamentally weaker than neighboring states in North Africa and the Middle East. “We suffer from the inexistence of institutions, and that’s what makes us different from Tunisia and Egypt,” he said.

GADHAFI SON EXTRADITED TO LIBYA N iger on Thursday extradited to Libya one of Moammar Gadhafi ’s sons, Saadi, who fled as his father’s regime crumbled in 2011 and who was under house arrest in the desert West African nation ever since, the government in Tripoli said. The authorities said Saadi Gadhafi — one of the deposed Libyan leader’s eight children — will be treated “in accordance with international law.” A Libyan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Saadi arrived in the early hours on Thursday at the Tripoli airport and was transferred to a prison in the capital. Shortly after the news broke, photographs circulated on social media

Saadi Gadhaﬁ showing Saadi in a blue prison uniform while Libyan guards were shaving his hair and beard. Saadi was known for his love of professional soccer and a playboy lifestyle. His brief career in Italian football ended after a failed drug test. He headed Libya’s Football Federation and was also the former head of the country’s special forces.

Like most of Gadhafi loyalists and ex-regime officials, Saadi is wanted for his role in curbing protests against his father’s rule and the killing of protesters. But unlike his brother, Seif al-Islam, who was groomed to be Gadhafi ’s successor, Saadi is not sought by the International Criminal Court. Seif al-Islam is held by a militia in the western Libyan town of Zintan, which refuses to hand him over to the central government for trial. With Thursday’s extradition, Saadi joins Seif al-Islam as the only two of Gadhafi ’s children currently in Libya. At least three of Gadhafi ’s sons were killed during the uprising while the rest of the children sought asylum in neighbouring Algeria, along with Gadhafi ’s wife and Saa-

di’s mother, Safiya. The mother, a sister and two brothers, were granted asylum in Oman in 2012 and moved there from Algeria. Niger had previously refused to comply with Libyan requests for Saadi, saying that once he was back home, he might be killed. There have been tensions between the two African nations and while Libya has criticized the presence of Gadhafi loyalists in Niger, Niger has expressed concern about “the terrorist threat” posed by the lack of security in southern Libya, near its own border. The elder Gadhafi ruled Libya with an eccentric brutality for nearly 42 years before he was ousted by an uprising in August 2011. He was captured and killed in October, along with his son Muatassim. Killed earlier in the civil war were younger brothers Seif al-Arab and Khamis.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Suspected Russian spyware Turla targets Europe, U.S. A

sophisticated piece of spyware has been quietly infecting hundreds of government computers across Europe and the United States in one of the most complex cyber espionage programs uncovered to date. Several security researchers and Western intelligence officers say they believe the malware, widely known as Turla, is the work of the Russian government and linked to the same software used to launch a massive breach on the U.S. military uncovered in 2008. Those assessments were based on analysis of tactics employed by hackers, along with technical indicators and the victims they targeted. “It is sophisticated malware that’s linked to other Russian exploits, uses encryption and targets western governments. It has Russian paw prints all over it,” said Jim Lewis, a former U.S. foreign service officer, now senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. However, security experts caution that while the case for saying Turla looks Russian may be strong, it is impossible to confirm those suspicions unless Moscow claims responsibility. Developers often use techniques to cloud their identity. Public talk of the threat surfaced this week after a little known German anti-virus firm, G Data, published a report on the virus, which it called Uroburos. The name is from a string of text in the code that may be a reference to a Greek symbol depicting a serpent eating its own tail. Experts in state-sponsored cyber attacks say that Russian government-backed hackers are known for being highly disciplined, adept at hiding their tracks, extremely effective at maintaining control of infected networks and more selective in choosing targets than their Chinese counterparts.

“They know that most people don’t have either the technical knowledge or the fortitude to win a battle with them. When they recognize that someone is onto them, they just go dormant,” said one security expert who has helped victims of state-sponsored hacking operations. A former Western intelligence ofﬁcial commented: “They can draw on some very high grade programmers and engineers, including the many who work for organized criminal groups, but also function as privateers.” Russia’s Federal Security Bureau declined comment as did ofﬁcials at the Pentagon and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On Friday, Britain’s BAE Systems Applied Intelligence - the cyber arm of Britain’s premier defense contractor - published its own research on the spyware, which it called “snake”. The sheer sophistication of the software, it said, went well beyond that previously encountered - although it did not attribute blame for the attack. “The threat... really does raise the bar in terms of what potential targets, and the security community in general, have to do to keep ahead of cyber attacks,” said Martin Sutherland, managing director of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence.

NATO NATIONS TARGETED Researchers with established security companies have been monitoring Turla for several years. Symantec Corp estimates up to 1,000 networks have been infected by Turla and a related virus, Agent.BTZ. It named no victims, saying only that most were government computers. Hackers use the Turla spyware to establish a hidden foothold in infected networks from which they

can search other computers for data, store information that is of interest and eventually transmit it back to their servers. F-Secure, a Helsinki-based maker of security software, first encountered Turla last year while investigating organizations attacked, according to chief research officer Mikko Hypponen. He also declined to name victims. “While it seems to be Russian, there is no way to know for sure,” said Hypponen. Security firms that are monitoring the threat have said the operation’s sophistication suggests it was likely backed by a nation state and that technical indicators make them believe it is the work of Russian developers. European governments have long welcomed U.S. help against Kremlin spying, but were infuriated last year to discover the scale of surveillance by America’s National Security Agency that stretched also to their own territory.

AGENT.BTZ Security experts say the stealthy Turla belongs to the same family as one of the most notorious pieces of spyware uncovered to date: Agent.BTZ. It was used in a massive cyber espionage operation on U.S. Central Command that surfaced in 2008 and is one of the most serious U.S. breaches to date. While Washington never formally attributed blame, several U.S. ofﬁcials have told Reuters they believed it was the work of Russia. Hypponen said Agent.BTZ was initially found in a military network of a European NATO state in 2008, but gave no details. F-Secure is credited with naming that piece of malware in 2008, though researchers believe it was created already in 2006.

Venezuela marks Hugo Chavez’s death anniversary as protests drag on

year after President Hugo Chavez’s death, Venezuela is mired in economic crisis and daily anti-government protests, and for many people Wednesday’s pompsoaked anniversary of his passing was a time for genuine sadness and nostalgia. Venezuelans mourned their late revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez on Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of his death. Chavez inspired fierce loyalty among the country’s poor, many of whom benefited from his Socialist revolution, but alienated the middle class, who have now risen up against his successor, Nicolas Maduro. (Rodrigo Abd/Associated Press) Even Venezuelans in the opposition said the Chavez days were preferable to the food scarcity, inflation and crime gripping the country now, and the deep feelings held by Chavistas for the late leader were evident.

Still, the big crowd gathered at the capital’s parade grounds for a celebration of Chavez was smaller than a year ago for the observance after he died of cancer on March 5, 2013. “This isn’t like an anniversary; it’s like we’re mourning,” said Gledis Hernandez, 43, who took her daughter and niece to the memorial parade in Caracas. She said Chavez gave her an apartment when her home was washed away in ﬂoods, but “right now we’re living in a sad situation.” Outside the parade grounds, vendors hawked Chavez T-shirts, pins and hats. Visitors were given a newspaper upon entering the area with the headline “Chavez lives!” on the front and a cardboard cutout of Chavez riding a bike tucked within. Inside, tanks and soldiers paraded before a waving President Nicolas Maduro and military jets screamed overhead. The military parade, attended by Chavez friends Bolivian President

Evo Morales, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Cuban President Raul Castro among others, kicked off a 10-day commemoration. Afterward, they headed to a ceremony at Chavez’s hilltop mausoleum to be followed by the television premier of an Oliver Stone documentary called My Friend Hugo. ‘It’s been 15 years of keeping our mouths shut, 15 years and the people can’t take it anymore’- Maria Cortez, community organizer Maduro used the parade and a speech later at the mausoleum to bash the United States as the “imperial power of the north.” He called Panama’s government a “lackey” and announced he was breaking off relations with that country because it asked for the Organization of American States to discuss the situation in Venezuela. Maduro considers the OAS to be dominated by Washington. “We don’t accept the interven-

tionism of anyone, because our international policy is a policy of peace, of cooperation, of respect, of the anti-imperialist Latin American union,” Maduro said. Maduro has reached a stalemate with the political opposition. His administration shows no sign of crumbling, but he appears unable to stop the daily student-led protests that the government says have left 18 dead. Instead, he moves ahead with a peace effort the opposition calls farcical while his foreign minister rebuffs offers for outside mediation. Inflation in Venezuela hit 56 per cent last year, slashing the buying power of the poor who Chavez lifted above the poverty line using the state’s oil profits. Simple grocery shopping has become a daily odyssey as residents hunt for scarce items like flour, cooking oil and toilet paper, and wait hours in line when they’re lucky enough to find them.

HILLARY CLINTON AGAIN BLASTS PUTIN AFTER HER HITLER REMARK

OS ANGELES — Russian President Vladimir Putin is a tough but thin-skinned leader who is squandering his country’s potential, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday, a day after she likened his actions on the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine to those of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. Clinton, a potential 2016 presidential contender, warned during her a speech at the University of California, Los Angeles, that “all parties should avoid steps that could be misinterpreted or lead to miscalculation at this delicate time.” Putin has said he was protecting ethnic Russians by moving troops into Crimea. Clinton said Tuesday at a closed fundraising luncheon in Long Beach that Putin’s actions are similar what happened in the Nazi era in Czechoslovakia and Romania. “Now if this sounds familiar, it’s what Hitler did back in the ‘30s,” Clinton said, according to the Press-Telegram of Long Beach. “Hitler kept saying, ‘They’re not being treated right. I must go and pro-

tect my people.’ And that’s what’s gotten everybody so nervous.” Responding to a question submitted at the UCLA talk, Clinton said she was not making a comparison although Russia’s actions were “reminiscent” of claims Germany made in the 1930s, when the Nazis said they needed to protect German minorities in Poland and elsewhere in Europe. “The claims by President Putin and other Russians that they had to go into Crimea and maybe further into eastern Ukraine because they had to protect the Russian minorities, that is reminiscent of claims that were made back in the 1930s when Germany under the Nazis kept talking about how they had to protect German minorities in Poland and Czechoslovakia and elsewhere throughout Europe,” she said. “I just want everybody to have a little historic perspective. I am not making a comparison, certainly. But I am recommending that we perhaps can learn from this tactic that has been used before,” she said.

Clinton said Putin is trying to “re-Sovietize” the periphery of Russia but is actually squandering the potential of his nation and “threatening instability and even the peace of Europe.” In recent days, some Republicans, including Sen. John McCain have criticized the Obama administration’s policy in Ukraine. Clinton echoed President Barack Obama’s assessment that Russia’s intervention was a violation of international law, and she said she supported the administration’s call for Russia “to refrain from the threat or use of force.” Kathryn Stoner, a Russia expert at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, said she considered Clinton’s comparison between Putin and the tactics of Nazi-era Germany “a bit of a stretch,” in part because Putin “doesn’t look like he is intent on spreading across the Ukraine and permanently occupying this area.” In a delicate diplomatic situation “I don’t think it’s helpful on either side to say things like this, but in these crises it happens,” Stoner added.

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usiness B AND

T O ECHN

LOGY

US job growth offers upbeat sign for weather-beaten economy U .S. job growth accelerated sharply in February despite the icy weather that gripped much of the nation, easing fears of an abrupt economic slowdown and keeping the Federal Reserve on track to continue reducing its monetary stimulus. Employers added 175,000 jobs to their payrolls last month after creating 129,000 new positions in January, the Labor Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate, however, rose to 6.7 percent from a ﬁve-year low of 6.6 percent, as Americans ﬂooded into the labor market to search for work. “It reinforces the case for the economy being stronger than it’s looked for the last couple of months,” said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services in Boston. “It makes life easier for the Fed and feeds into continuing the tapering process.” The report also showed the largest increase in average hourly earnings in eight months and the payrolls count for December and January was revised up to show 25,000 more jobs created during those months than previously reported. Investors on Wall Street cheered the report and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index reached a fresh intraday record high before falling back to trade little changed. The dollar lifted off a four-month low against a basket of currencies, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped to a sixweek high, putting it on course for its biggest weekly rise in three months. Interest rate futures showed that traders ramped up bets on the Fed hiking rates a bit sooner than had been previously thought. They now point to a 53 percent probability of a rate hike in June 2015. Unusually cold and snowy weather has disrupted activity in much of the United States for months, and a few economists had begun to speculate that the U.S. central bank could reconsider its plan to wind down its bond-buying stimulus. With snow and ice covering densely populated areas during the week employers were surveyed for February payrolls, Wall Street had braced for a

much weaker report. Economists had forecast nonfarm payrolls rising by only 149,000 jobs. The weather, however, did have an impact. It cut into the length of the average workweek, which hit its lowest level since January 2011 and led to a drop in a measure of total work effort. But economists expect a reversal as soon as this month. “The economy will defrost in the spring and heat up in the summer,” said Michelle Meyer, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. “We should see solid gains in job growth in coming months.” The smaller survey of households from which the unemployment rate is derived showed 6.9 million people with jobs reported they were working part-time because of the weather. That was the highest reading for February since the series started in 1978. It also showed 601,000 people could not get to work because of the weather, the highest level for February since 2010. Economists said job growth in February would have been as high as 200,000 if not for the weather. Payrolls averaged about 205,000 new jobs per month in the ﬁrst 11 months of 2013, but that ﬁgure dropped to just 129,000 for December, January and February.

GROWTH SLOWDOWN TEMPORARY Fed ofﬁcials, from Chair Janet Yellen on down, view the recent economic weakness as largely weather-related and temporary, and have suggested it does not meet the high bar they have set in terms of what it would take for them to stop scaling back their bond-buying stimulus. The Fed has already reduced its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion at each of its last two meetings, and a similar reduction is expected when ofﬁcials next meet on March 18-19. But the weather is not the only factor behind the lull in activity. Businesses are working through a huge pile of unsold goods accumulated in the second half of 2013, which means they have no incentive to place new orders with manufacturers.

Facebook eyes drone maker to replace satellites to get web to poor countries

acebook is reportedly interested in acquiring a company that makes drones capable of flying at high altitudes for up to five years at a time, to replace satellites. Facebook is reportedly in discussions to acquire the company Titan Aerospace, a manufacturer of drones, for about US$60 million. Titan Aerospace specialises in solar-powered, high-flying drones capable of staying airborne for long periods. The drones, dubbed “atmospheric satellites”, are a cost-effective alternative to orbital satellites. The talks, confirmed by technology website TechCrunch, indicate that Facebook is likely interested in the drones that fly as high as 20 kilometres as part of its internet.org initiative. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took to the stage at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress last month to elaborate on the internet.org coalition’s plans to connect the next five billion

people to the internet in developing nations. The drones could be used to blanket large areas of Africa and other countries with internet access. A source told TechCrunch that Titan Aerospace would be fully committed to the internet.org project post acquisition and that it would start building 11,000 drones for the effort. Titan Aerospace, founded in 2012, has research and development facilities in New Mexico. It aims to create a new type of drone called an “atmostat” that can fulﬁl the role of a nearearth satellite at a fraction of the cost and without the need to be launched into orbit. Zuckerberg has said that Facebook would have long-term involvement with the internet.org project. He also said that Facebook was willing to spend significant amounts of money without a likely return on investment in the near future. “It’s easy to take for granted that most people have access to

the internet, but only one third of the world, 2.7 billion people, currently have access to the internet,” said Zuckerberg in his Mobile World Congress keynote speech. “We’re not on a path to connect everyone right now, unless something dramatic changes.” Mobile internet data subscribers number 1.2 billion in developing nations, far outstripping the 357 million fixed broadband connections in those same countries. That means mobile data outnumbers fixed broadband by more than three times in the developing world. The Titan Aerospace drones could provide an ideal platform for expanding the footprint of mobile broadband, and help Facebook both connect more people and expand its user base in developing markets like Africa. Titan Aerospace did not respond to a request for confirmation.

In addition, the expiration of long-term unemployment benefits for more than one million Americans in December and cuts to food stamps are also hurting spending. As a result of these temporary factors, growth in the first quarter is expected to slow to an annual rate below 2 percent. The economy grew at a 2.4 percent rate in the final quarter of 2013. Economists welcomed the rise in the unemployment rate as a sign of labor market strength, since it was driven by Americans taking up the hunt for work. “Evidently, the potential employees think the economy is improving and there are more jobs to be had,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, Calif. A measure of underemployment that includes people who want a job but who have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs dropped to 12.6 percent, its lowest level since November 2008. Despite the improvement, the labor market is still far from a full recovery. The percentage of working-age Americans with a job, a broad gauge of labor market health, was steady at 58.8 percent last month. It has not risen much since the recession ended nearly five years ago. Job gains last month were fairly broad-based, with private sector payrolls rising 162,000 and government adding 13,000 jobs. Manufacturing saw a seventh straight month of gains in employment, matching the 6,000 jobs gained in January. Construction payrolls, which surprised in January by logging hefty gains, increased by 15,000 last month. There were, however, declines in retail, information and transportation and warehousing employment. Average hourly earnings rose nine cents in February. “This gain, along with a rise in jobs, supports our case for better real incomes in 2014 and, thereby, a better outlook for consumer spending,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

UK INTEREST RATES KEPT AT RECORD LOW

K interest rates have been held at 0.5% for another month, the Bank of England has said. The decision by the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee comes five years after the record low level was first introduced. It is the first rate decision since the bank amended its “forward guidance” policy that linked borrowing rates to unemployment figures. Rates are unlikely to rise before the spring of 2015, analysts believe. The Bank also kept its £375bn quantitative easing (QE) programme unchanged. The half-decade of ultra-low interest rates has seen returns on savings hammered, while mortgage borrowers have reaped the benefits of lower repayments. The committee’s interest rate decision was the first to be influenced by what has been dubbed “fuzzy guidance”, in which the Bank links borrowing rates to the speed at which the economy uses up spare capacity, as measured by 18 indicators. Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said: “The Bank of England clearly wants to nurture recovery and not to risk choking it off by raising interest rates too early or too fast.” The Bank is likely to raise the interest rate to about 1% over the course of 2015, then to 2% by the end of 2016, Mr Archer said. However, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the Bank should resist any pressure to act sooner. “The continued clamour for early rate rises is unwelcome and undermines the benefits of forward guidance to business, consumers and the markets,” said David Kern, the BCC’s chief economist. “Even though we are getting closer to pre-recession GDP levels, this does not mean that the economy is back to normal.”

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Apple loses bid for US ban on Samsung smartphone sales A

U.S. judge on Thursday rejected Apple’s request for a permanent sales ban in the United States against some older Samsung smartphones, a key setback for the iPhone maker in its global patent battle. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, ruled that Apple Inc had not presented enough evidence to show that its patented features were a significant enough driver of consumer demand to warrant an injunction. Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have been litigating for nearly three years over various smartphone features patented by Apple, such as the use of fingers to pinch and zoom on the screen, as well as design elements such as the phone’s flat, black glass screen. Apple was awarded more than $900 million by U.S. juries but the iPhone maker has failed to sustain a permanent sales ban against its rival, a far more serious threat to Samsung, which earned $7.7 billion last quarter. The ruling on Thursday comes ahead of another patent trial set to begin later this month involving newer Samsung phones, and could frustrate any fur-

ther attempt by Apple to bar the sales of those models as well. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the order. In a statement, Samsung said it was pleased with the ruling. “We ... agree with its observation that a few software features alone don’t drive consumer demand for Samsung products - rather consumers value a multitude of features,” the company said. Even though Samsung no longer sells the older-model phones targeted by the injunction request, Apple has argued in court documents that such an order is important to prevent Samsung from future copying with new products “not more colorably different” than the defunct models. Samsung, meanwhile, argued that Apple was trying to target new Samsung phones in order to instill fear and uncertainty among carriers and retailers. Samsung’s phones use the Android operating system, developed by Google Inc. A Northern California jury found that Samsung infringed several Apple patents after a widely watched 2012 trial. Following the trial, Koh reject-

ed Apple’s request for a sales ban, but in November, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered her to reconsider Apple’s evidence of market demand. In her ruling on Thursday, Koh wrote that a consumer survey by Apple likely inflated the value that customers place on the patented smartphone features in dispute. “A multitude of other survey evidence not prepared for the purpose of litigation,” Koh wrote, “indicates that numerous features that were not tested — such as battery life, MP3 player functionality, operating system, text messaging options, GPS, and processor speed — are highly important to consumers.” Apple must demonstrate more than an insignificant amount of lost sales due to Samsung’s copying, Koh wrote, and Apple’s survey is “unpersuasive” evidence on that point. In a separate order, Koh entered final judgment against Samsung for about $930 million in damages stemming the 2012 jury finding of patent infringement. Samsung said it would appeal that decision.

Privacy groups ask regulators to halt Facebook’s $19 billion WhatsApp deal

rivacy advocates have asked U.S. regulators to halt Facebook Inc’s $19 billion acquisition of messaging service WhatsApp until there is a clearer understanding of how the company intends to use the personal data of WhatsApp’s 450 million users. WhatsApp, a service that allows mobile phone users to send each other messages, has had a longstanding commitment to not collect user data for advertising purposes. But there’s no guarantee that that commitment will hold true once the service becomes part of Facebook, according to the ﬁling to the Federal Trade Commission by the Electronic

Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy, both non-proﬁt groups. The complaint asks regulators to investigate the deal “speciﬁcally with regard to the ability of Facebook to access WhatsApp’s store of user mobile phone numbers and metadata.” Facebook, the world’s No.1 social network with 1.2 billion users, generates the majority of its revenue by showing ads that target users by age, gender and other traits. “As we have said repeatedly, Whatsapp will operate as a separate company and will honor its commitments to privacy and security,” Face-

book said in a statement in response to the ﬁling. The FTC declined to comment. Facebook stunned the technology industry last month when it announced its intention to buy the ﬁveyear old WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock. WhatsApp does not show ads on its service, charging some of its users a $1 annual fee to use the service. WhatsApp stores users’ mobile phone numbers, but unlike many online services, it does not collect user names, emails, and other contact information. Despite assurances by WhatsApp and Facebook that the privacy poli-

cies will not change, the groups that wrote the FTC ﬁling note that Facebook has in the past amended an acquired-company’s privacy policies, such as the Instagram photo-sharing service that Facebook acquired in 2012. Regulators must require that Facebook “insulate” WhatsApp user information from access by Facebook’s data collection practices, reads the complaint. “WhatsApp users could not reasonably have anticipated that by selecting a pro-privacy messaging service, they would subject their data to Facebook’s data collection practices,” reads the ﬁling.

Fed chair vows to ‘do all that I can’ to boost weak U.S. economy

ederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen vowed on Wednesday to “do all that I can” to boost a U.S. economy where unemployment is too high and inﬂation is too low. “The economy continues to operate considerably short” of the central bank’s objectives of full employment and stable prices, Yellen said at a swearing-in ceremony at the central bank in Washington. “The economy is stronger and the ﬁnancial system is sounder,” added Yellen, who succeeded Ben Bernanke on February 1. “We have come a long way, but we have farther to go.” The brief comments were a broad reiteration of what she told two congressional committees last month: that the United States appears to be clawing its way back from the 20072009 recession but that the Fed is in no rush to tighten policy. Speaking clear across the country, San Francisco Fed chief John Williams gave a more upbeat assessment of the economy, and suggested that rate hikes could come as soon as next year. “My own view, based on my own forecast, is that it would be sometime around the middle of next year,” Williams told reporters after a speech to students at the University of Seattle. “It could be later or earlier, depending on how the economy does.” Williams said he projects the economy to grow about 2.5 percent this year, slower than he had earlier projected because of the effects

of an unusually cold weather, but fast enough to bring down the unemployment rate to 6.25 percent by year’s end. That is down from a 6.6 percent reading in February, said Williams, who was Yellen’s top researcher when she ran the San Francisco Fed before moving to Washington as Fed vice chair in 2010. Next year, he projected, 3 percent growth will likely bring unemployment down to near-normal levels of 5.5 percent by the end of 2015. Still, he said, because of the lasting damage of the financial crisis to the economy, the Fed may not raise rates all that high, at least at first. “My own view is that we still have significant, if you will, headwinds to the economy over the next several years that are still slowing growth in terms of demand, relative to trend, so that we need a lower real interest rate, fed funds rate, than you would in say, over history,” he said. The views of the policymakers that head the Fed’s 12 regional reserve banks are sometimes at odds with those of the Fed chair in Washington. The differences underscore the challenges Yellen will face in crafting the future of monetary policy as she heads to her first Fed policy-setting meeting as chair, later this month. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, one of the Fed’s most vociferous opponents of its massive bond-buying program, made his differences

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen testiﬁes before the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Aﬀairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington February 27, 2014 with Yellen clear in a speech in Mexico City on Wednesday. “There are increasing signs quantitative easing has overstayed its welcome: Market distortions and acting on bad incentives are becoming more pervasive,” he said of the Fed’s asset purchases, which are sometimes called QE. Yellen has supported the bond-buying from its beginning, though she has also lent her weight to the decision late last year to begin paring the program back, with a view to ending it this year. The program has resulted in a Fed balance sheet of more than $4 trillion and ballooning reserves at

banks, which Fisher and a few others at the Fed worry could fuel future inflation. “The real tools that we are focusing on are how we manage the exit from the current hyper-accommodative monetary policy and how do we make sure ... that we do it in a way that doesn’t allow the current very large and presently non-inflationary monetary base ... from becoming inflationary,” Fisher said following his speech. The world’s biggest economy expanded at a decent 2.4 percent rate in the fourth quarter and has slowed this year due in part to severe weather. The U.S. unemployment rate is down from a recessionary high of 10 percent in 2009, but it remains high and jobs growth is erratic. Inflation, meanwhile, is languishing near 1 percent, about half the Fed’s 2 percent target. “Too many Americans still can’t find a job or are forced to work part time,” Yellen said on Wednesday, underscoring her long-standing focus on the troubled labor market. “I promise to never forget the individual lives, experiences and challenges that lie behind the statistics we use to gauge the health of the economy,” she said. “When we make progress toward our goals, each job that is created lifts this burden for someone who is better equipped to be a good parent, to build a stronger community, and to contribute to a more prosperous nation.”

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Smartphones becoming prime target for criminal hackers Cybersecurity analysts say nefarious forces are increasingly turning their attention to the most personal computer you own, the one you carry everywhere and trust with some of your most sensitive secrets – your smartphone. “Over the last two years or so, we have seen a huge influx” in the number of hackers targeting smartphones, says Roel Schouwenberg, principal security researcher for Kaspersky Labs, a well-known anti-virus firm. Because these devices carry so much of our personal and financial information nowadays – to the point where many of us treat them like digital wallets – hackers are finding ways to gain unauthorized access to them. Most phones have little in the way of security and anti-malware protection. Given the right opportunity, malware creators can breach our email and contacts lists, monitor highly personal communications and capture vital data such as the password we type into our mobile banking app. Tony Anscombe, senior security evangelist for anti-virus provider AVG Technologies, says that one of the most vulnerable aspects is text messaging — also known as SMS, or short message service.

A hacker will send you an unsolicited text under a seemingly legitimate pretense – like a notice from your bank – that may contain a link that if clicked, could download a virus onto your phone. “We’re conditioned, as grown-ups on the internet, to look at our [email] inbox and weed out spam,” says Anscombe. “Are we conditioned in the same way to look at our SMS as we get text messages?” It’s a rhetorical question — Anscombe says that for the most part, consumers are unaware that we are living in an age of increasing cyber-aggression.

CYBER THREAT GETTING ‘EXPONENTIALLY WORSE’ The threat to computing devices overall is getting “exponentially worse,” says Sean Forkan, vice-president and general manager for web security company Symantec Canada. Forkan says that between 1991 – the year of the Michelangelo computer virus – and 2011, Symantec identiﬁed about 200 million different virus deﬁnitions. In comparison, the company found upwards of 200 million in 2012 alone.

“So in a single year, we saw more unique variants of viruses out there than all the [previous] years combined,” Forkan says. “And we expect that to continue this year.” Forkan’s company is in the business of selling anti-virus software, but he’s not the only one sounding the alarm. Mikko Hypponen, the renowned security expert and columnist, has been warning of this trend since at least 2006, when he published an article in Scientiﬁc American called “Malware Goes Mobile.” The “vast majority of mobile malware” is being written for Android phones, say cybersecurity researchers. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) While desktop and laptop computers remain the greatest targets for malware creators, Anscombe says hackers have recently set their sights on smartphones – especially ones running the Android operating system. He says that to ensure the greatest success, hackers zero in on the most ubiquitous platforms. According to reports by both IDC and Strategy Analytics, Android phones – such as those manufactured by Samsung, LG and HDC – had an 81 per cent market share in the third quarter of 2013. “If you look at the rise of any plat-

form or OS, once you get over a certain percentage of adoption, you start to see it become interesting to cybercriminals,” says Anscombe.

ANDROID PHONES A FAVOURED TARGET One of the great selling features of smartphones is the staggering array of apps available for download. But these seemingly innocuous programs can also provide hackers with a pathway into your phone, says Schoewenberg. Not only does Android have the biggest market share, but it is also seen as easier to hack, he says. Android apps are not as tightly regulated and can be installed from both the approved Google Play store and the wider internet. Hackers may ﬁnd ways to introduce malicious code into apps found outside the Google Play store. “What we see right now is an absolutely vast majority of mobile malware is being written for Android,” says Schouwenberg, adding that it’s “pretty close to 100 per cent” of the mobile malware circulating online. He says Apple’s iOS is more “locked down,” but recent events show that it’s not impenetrable.

Credit card customer’s lawsuit raises questions about fraud liability

he case of an Ontario man who was charged more than $80,000 on his credit card for purchases he claims he didn’t make is raising new questions about the security of online and credit card transactions and whether banks are shifting liability for fraud to their customers. Three years ago, Jason Monaco sued the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce after the bank insisted he was responsible for charging the cost of a custom-built race car to his bank-issued Visa card, a purchase Monaco says he never made. Monaco, the founder and managing partner of a Toronto investment relations firm, alleges in his lawsuit that he discovered the charge of $81,276 “during a routine check of his Visa account balance” in June 2010. After CIBC was alerted, the bank ultimately removed a second charge of $4,972 that Monaco also disputed. His lawsuit alleges that although both transactions bore the same fraudulent signature on the transaction receipts, CIBC is holding Monaco responsible for the car purchase because that transaction was completed using a personal identification number (PIN) in conjunction with the card’s embedded chip. FRAUDULENT PIN TRANSACTIONS ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ Monaco declined to speak about the case. Monaco and CIBC have also filed claims against the business where the fraudulent transaction took place. In its statement of defence, CIBC argues that “it is not possible to process a chip and PIN transaction without the Visa card and the confidential PIN.” Steven Murdoch, a researcher with the computer laboratory at Britain’s Cambridge University, disagrees that “chip and PIN” security is impenetrable. “It’s actually quite an old technology — between 15 and 20 years old.” Several years ago Murdoch and his colleagues demonstrated a number of flaws in the system. One allows criminals to use a bit of hardware to fool the card into accepting any random PIN entered on a merchant’s card terminal. That acceptance, and not the PIN itself, is then sent to the bank, making it appear that the correct PIN was entered. “And sometimes as a result, customers are refused a refund,” Murdoch says. “Even though they’ve been the victim of fraud and they have not been negligent.” Murdoch managed to shrink the hardware required to the size of a deck of cards, but he says criminals in France were able to put it on a microchip and embed it on counterfeit cards. CAVEATS AND CONDITIONS But the Ontario lawsuit does more than raise questions about chip and PIN security. CIBC’s lawyers say the caveats in Monaco’s cardholder agreement also make him responsible for the charge.

CIBC says an Ontario man is responsible for more than $80,000 charged to his card for a car purchase he claims he never made, because that transaction was completed using a personal identification number (PIN) in conjunction with the card’s embedded chip. “The primary cardholder is liable for any transactions made on the Visa account” the language reads, “if any cardholder uses a PIN to make the transaction.” CIBC also points to a condition that stipulates cardholders are responsible for all charges until the bank is alerted that a card is lost or stolen. Monaco claims his card was neither lost, stolen nor did he divulge his PIN to anyone. Further, his lawsuit claims that CIBC’s reliance on fine print and an “exclusion of liability clause is unconscionable.” CIBC declined to discuss the case. The bank, along with ScotiaBank, National bank, Royal Bank and TD Canada Trust, also declined to answer specific questions about the lengthy agreements customers implicitly accept by using bank-issued credit and debit cards, or on-line banking services. Interview requests to Bank of Montreal were not acknowledged. A spokesperson for TD offered a general reply that the “spirit” of the bank’s online security guarantee is to cover clients’ losses in case of fraud, adding that the bank looks “at every situation case by case”. A survey of the electronic banking agreements for the big six institutions reveals a variety of conditions imposed on clients. They include requirements such as having the latest anti-virus software on any computer used for banking, and not using a PIN, password or security question that’s too easy to guess. CIBC’s electronic access agreement also makes customers potentially liable if they use software that collects and displays financial information from different sources. One such aggregation service is a popular one offered by Mint.com. CONDITIONS ‘QUITE REASONABLE’ Maura Drew-Lytle, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Bankers Association, says the various conditions aren’t onerous.

“[The banks] are quite reasonable in my opinion,” Drew-Lytle said. “Generally, if they don’t think you have knowingly contributed to the fraud, then chances are you will get reimbursed. Again, it’s case by case. They have to look at that.” Last year, Canada’s six largest banks reimbursed clients some $9 million for fraudulent online transactions. The most recent statistics (2012) on credit card and debit card payouts top half a billion dollars. But the banks don’t provide statistics on the value of fraud they don’t cover, or the number of clients they refuse to make whole. Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments Douglas Melville says he isn’t seeing a significant number of clients complaining about caveat-laden agreements. “I think the bank’s legal departments are going to do what they need to in order to protect the interests of the banks,” Melville says. “If there’s truly no evidence of clients being in some kind of compromising situation like having written down the PIN on their wallet or their card, our experience is that banks have generally been looking after their customers quite well.” Conservative MP James Rajotte, who chairs the parliamentary finance committee, said he was surprised the banks wouldn’t talk about their agreements. “I mean they’re agreements that are easily obtainable, so I would think it would be entirely reasonable to expect they would be willing to discuss those publicly.” BANKS OFFERED BLANKET ASSURANCES Glenn Thibeault, the NDP’s consumer affairs critic, notes that a number of bank and credit card officials recently testified at finance committee hearings into mobile digital payments. He said they offered blanket assurances that clients are protected from electronic fraud losses. “Zero-liability also has 10 asterisks beside it,” Thibeault said. “Zero liability isn’t actually going to be in effect if this is the way banks are doing this.” The debate about what’s reasonable to expect from bank customers in the digital frontier will only become more pointed, said Larry Keating, CEO of NPC, an Ontario firm that helps professionals and organizations secure their computers. He said efforts of cybercriminals to exploit security weaknesses can be brilliant, nasty and difficult for unsophisticated users to completely prevent. “When the bank has requirements in those agreements,” Keating says, “in my mind that hasn’t been resolved as to who will be responsible for what and how. The banks can hold their ground and they’re going to have an enormous public relations issue.”

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REGIONAL

WICB welcomes knighthood for Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts and Richie Richardson

est Indies cricket chief Dave Cameron has welcomed the knighthood for Andy Roberts, Richie Richardson and Curtly Ambrose, describing the three icons as “great servants” of the sport. The trio were knighted for their service to the game on Friday at a ceremony during the lunch interval of the opening One-Day International (ODI) against England at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, reports CMC. “Today is a great day in West Indies cricket. These three great servants of West Indies have been rewarded for their outstanding contribution to their country, to this region and to world cricket,” said Cameron, who was elected West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president in 2013. Sir Anderson, one of the most feared fast bowlers of his time, claimed 202 wickets from 47 Tests in a 10-year career that helped give rise to the West Indies domination of world cricket during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first Antiguan to play Test cricket, Sir Anderson went on to become a West Indies coach, selector and also lead the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA). Sir Richard, widely referred to as Richie, was one of the finest contemporary batsmen, carving out 5,949 runs at an average of 44.39 in 86 Tests and 6,248 runs in 224 ODIs. He is the current manager of the West Indies team. Sir Curtly is one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, finishing an illustrious 98-Test career with 405 wickets at an astonishing average of 20.9.

The three newest cricketing knights, from left Sir Curtley Ambrose, Sir Andy Roberts and Sir Richie Richardson He is currently a bowling consultant for Combined Campuses & Colleges, based at the University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus. “On behalf of the WICB, the cricket-loving public of the West Indies and cricket lovers all over the world I want to congratulate Sir Anderson, Sir Richard and Sir Curtly on their knighthoods and also to thank them for all they have done for this great game,” Cameron said. “We will always remember their outstanding performances, their hard work and loyalty and the entertainment they gave us.” The ceremony was watched by another Leeward Islands and West Indies great, Sir Vivian Richards, who was knighted 15 years ago. Cameron said it was important that the event was hosted at a venue carrying Sir Viv’s name.

“It was fitting that the ceremony was staged on a cricket field which carries the name of another great son of the soil – Sir Vivian Richards,” the Jamaican administrator pointed out. Roberts, Ambrose and Richardson received their knighthood at a presentation during the lunch interval of the game held at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Friday. Governor General Louise Lake-Tack presented the three cricketers with their knighthood in a ceremony also attended by Prime Minister Baldwen Spencer. “I am so proud to be in a position to honour some of the best players our island has produced. Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose both taught the world how rapid fast bowling could really be and Richie Richardson showed both leadership as Windies captain and great skill with the bat. Nobody can question his excellent record of wins or the 16 Test centuries he achieved during his career,” said Spencer. Spencer lauded Richardson. “The tenacity Richardson demonstrated in scoring 194 against India in 1989 to help the Windies to a draw, when other great batsmen were struggling, shows the resilience that great cricketers have always demonstrated and the gratitude owed to these great men by the people of our country and the region transcends political divides,” said Spencer. “We can all agree that these men have earned this honour in fine style and players like these show the West Indies and the world how much talent our country has to offer.”

England beat West Indies 2-1 to win series J

oe Root scored his first one-day international hundred as England beat West Indies by 25 runs in a gripping contest to win the series 2-1. Root (107) defied the pain from an early blow on his thumb to put on 175 with Jos Buttler, who fell in the final over for 99 as England piled up 303-6. Root then struck with his third ball as the Windies slumped to 43-4. Denesh Ramdin kept the match alive with a superb 128 before Tim Bresnan bowled him to leave the hosts 278 all out. Wicketkeeper Ramdin had plundered 14 runs off the previous three balls to raise the prospect of a Windies win, but Bresnan found the ideal yorker length to clatter into leg stump to seal the victory. England’s first limited-overs series triumph since February 2013 brought some much-needed cheer to their supporters after the disastrous Ashes tour of Australia. Root, who endured a particularly torrid

time down under, looked overcome with joy and relief when he reached three figures off his 112th delivery. Early in his innings, he had required lengthy treatment to his right thumb after being struck by a Ravi Rampaul lifter. But he ignored the obvious discomfort to work the ball into the gaps for a high-class hundred. Buttler, who successfully overturned a caught-behind decision on 22 off Marlon Samuels, was characteristically explosive, bludgeoning four sixes and seven fours in his 84-ball knock. But he fell agonisingly short of a maiden England century when a leading edge gifted Rampaul the easiest of catches off his own bowling. By then, England had surpassed 300, a total that was always likely to be difficult to chase on a turning pitch, even before West Indies lost two wickets in their first seven balls.

Root’s dream day continued as he bowled Kieran Powell with his third ball, the batsman guilty of an ugly slog across the line. His opening partner Dwayne Smith fell to an equally poor shot as he pulled Stuart Broad straight to deep backward square leg. Ravi Bopara took off from short midwicket to claim a fine catch to remove Darren Bravo for 16 off Moeen Ali, then Lendl Simmons chopped Broad onto his stumps to leave the hosts in disarray on 43-4. Gradually though, they hauled themselves back into contention as first Marlon Samuels (23) and then Darren Sammy (27) offered support to the excellent Ramdin. Running out of partners, Ramdin took matters into his own hands, taking on the England spinners and bringing up his first one-day hundred during a run of three sixes in four balls. Sunil Narine kept up the excitement when he pulled Stuart Broad into the stands, but the England captain gained revenge with

a sharp piece of fielding to run out Narine. Needing 40 off the last 18 balls, Ramdin blasted Bresnan for a six and two fours to reduce the equation to 26 off 15. But after consulting Broad and vice-captain Eoin Morgan, Bresnan came up with the ball to end the match. After being put into bat, England had made a positive start through openers Moeen and Michael Lumb. Dwayne Bravo removed Lumb for 20 and Ben Stokes for nought in successive balls, but Moeen and Root swiftly wrested the initiative back England’s way. Moeen (55) showed sublime touch and timing to score his first ODI fifty but when he and the returning Eoin Morgan fell to the spinners to leave England 116-4 in the 24th over, the Windies sensed a chance. Buttler had other ideas, and together with the courageous Root, laid the foundations for a win that should really have been more resounding than it was. The first of three Twenty20s in Barbados is on Sunday before both teams head to Bangladesh for the World Twenty20.

USAIN BOLT’S LIGHTNING SPEED COULD ALLOW HIM TO FLY ON TITAN

ONDON: Usain Bolt, the fastest man on Earth, is so fast that he could ﬂy like a bird on Saturn’s moon Titan while wearing a wingsuit, according to a new study. The world-record holding sprinter, Bolt, has reached top speeds of 12.27 metres per second, which would be fast enough for him to take off on Titan while wearing a regular wingsuit. Theoretically, the Olympic athlete would then be able to soar above the planet - without any need for propulsion, said researchers at the University of Leicester in the UK. Physics students at the university made the calculations in their ﬁnal year paper for the Journal of Physics Special Topics, a peer-reviewed student journal run by the Leicester University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Titan is Saturn’s largest moon, and has a dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere with a surface pressure almost 50 per cent stronger than Earth’s. As a result, it has long been predicted that humans would be able to lift off into the moon’s atmosphere if they were wearing wing-type

devices on their arms. But now, the students have shown that it would even be possible with a regular wingsuit used by skydivers here on Earth - provided you could get a fast enough run up. To calculate the speed needed, the group factored in: the density of air at the surface of Titan; the acceleration due to gravity; an average wingsuit wing area (approximately 1.4 metres squared); and the ratio of the streamline path of the air above the aerofoil to that below the aerofoil. They found that, for a normal-sized wingsuit, a run up speed of 11 metres per second would be required. While not many people in the world can run at this speed, the fastest sprinters have been shown to reach top speeds above 11 metres per second. Usain Bolt has clocked top speeds of 12.27 metres per second, meaning he would be able to take off as he got to the ﬁnish line of a 100-metre race.

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Sports W

RLD

Lakers suffer worst loss in franchise history

OS ANGELES — The Lakers were the designated home team this time. That meant the Clippers had to put up with looking at all those championship banners and retired numbers that their co-tenant at the Staples Center has had hanging on the wall since the arena opened 15 seasons ago — and weren’t able to cover them up with banners of their own players. Perhaps seeing all those reminders of the Lakers’ decades of success will be an inspiration to the Clippers about 6½ weeks from now, when they head into the playoffs without their intracity rivals — who are in danger of ﬁnishing with their worst record since moving to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1959. Blake Grifﬁn had 20 points and 11 rebounds during three thunderous quarters by the Clippers, who routed the Lakers 142-94 Thursday night to extend their winning streak to a sea-

son-best six games. It was the most lopsided victory ever for the Clippers’ franchise and the most one-sided loss in Lakers history. “Since Day 1, there’s always going to be something to talk about since we both play here in this building. During the game, all the fans were yelling, ‘It’s still a Laker town.’ And it is — no secret,” Clippers point guard Chris Paul said. “But we just have to worry about us and keep playing. It’s going in the right direction. We don’t want to get too high or too low. We just want to try to keep getting better.” Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who have won the teams’ last two meetings by a combined 84 points. The previous record for worst loss by a Lakers squad was set on Jan. 9,

Blake Griﬃn had his 36th double-double of the season in the Clippers’ sixth straight win. 1995, when they fell 129-83 at Portland. The previous worst home loss was on

Feb. 9, 1960, when Boston beat them 129-90. “We got beat by 48. It’s not fun,” Lakers shooting guard Jodie Meeks said. “Regardless of whether it’s a record-breaking performance or not, it is still frustrating. It’s not fun getting blown out at any level, but especially on national TV and in front of the world. We have to have more pride than that. I do not think the Clippers are 48 points better than us.” The Clippers’ have won six of the last seven meetings against their longtime tormentors, including a fourgame sweep last season. “It’s another win,” Paul said. “I mean, we don’t get to subtract a loss from our loss column. This game was more about us and what we do. All we stress in the huddles and the locker room is, don’t play the score. We’re trying to build something. And whatever group is on the ﬂoor, we have to be us. That way it becomes second nature.”

Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Next Fight: Pacquiao Seeking Knockout to Avoid Another Decision M anny Pacquiao, in his upcoming fight against Timothy Bradley, doesn’t want the bout to go to the judges. Pacquiao’s management said that he wants to avoid being part of another controversial decision that handed Bradley a win in their last fight–one that many believed Pacquiao won. “Our objective is to knock Bradley out in the early rounds during the fight to avoid another controversial decision,” Pacquiao’s assistant coach and trainer Buboy Fernandez told The Inquirer Wednesday. Pacquaio and his team are attempting to find ways to cut off Bradley inside the ring when they face off in April, he said. “He (Bradley) loves to run. He doesn’t want to engage as what we saw during their first encounter. We keep on reviewing tapes of his fights with Pacquiao and Ruslan Provodnikov to be able to devise a strategy,” Fernandez added. And Pacquaio has vowed to be more aggressive against Bradley next time around. The report comes as Bob Arum, the promoter for Pacquaio, said that Floyd Mayweather is treating U.K. boxer Amir Khan with disrespect. He said Mayweather’s actions are “a disgrace,” saying he be-

Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines, speaks at a news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014, to promote his upcoming WBO welterweight championship boxing rematch against Tim Bradley. Pacquiao and Bradley’s ﬁrst match on June 9, 2012, was a split decision in favor of Bradley, which ended Pacquiao’s welterweight title reign as well as his seven-year, 15-bout winning streak. Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2 will take place Saturday, April 12, 2014, in Las Vegas. lieves Mayweather will ﬁght Marcos Maidana rather than Khan. There were reports indicating a Mayweather-Khan in recent weeks. “What he has done to Amir Khan is absolutely

disgraceful, whether he ends up fighting him, or he doesn’t,” Arum told the Daily Telegraph. “My feeling is he is not going to fight him, but it’s disgraceful to do that to another human being because you are in a position to do that. Just because he has the power where you can do something like that.” Nevada boxing regulators say Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley will be subject to stepped-up drug and hormone testing before their April 12 rematch in Las Vegas. Nevada Athletic Commission Chairman Francisco Aguilar said Friday the two welterweights will face unannounced pre-fight testing handled by collectors certified by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Plans call for samples to undergo isotope-ratio mass spectrometry to detect exogenous testosterone from outside the body. Aguilar called enhanced pre-fight testing a new normal for boxing and mixed martial-arts. He credited Top Rank promoter Bob Arum with supporting the testing protocol. Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs) and Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KOs) will be fighting for the WBO 147-pound title at the MGM Grand Garden arena. Bradley won a controversial split decision over Pacquiao in June 2012 in Las Vegas.

OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL HEARS DOCTOR’S TESTIMONY

s the girlfriend he shot lay dead or dying in his home, a weeping, praying Oscar Pistorius knelt at her side and struggled in vain to help her breathe by holding two fingers in her clenched mouth, a witness testified Thursday at the double-amputee runner’s murder trial. “’I shot her. I thought she was a burglar. I shot her,”’ radiologist Johan Stipp recalled Pistorius saying. The testimony in high court in Pistorius’s murder trial was riveting and was the first detailed public description of the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, by the double-amputee Paralympic cham-

pion in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day — last year. Pistorius has pleaded not guilty. Minutes after arriving at the scene, Stipp said Pistorius (who Stipp said he only ﬁgured out later was the famous Olympian) went upstairs — the area Steenkamp was shot — and then returned. At that point, Stipp said he was concerned that the gun used in the shooting had not been recovered and that a distraught Pistorius was going to harm himself. The testimony did not address what Pistorius did when he went upstairs. On the ground, Steenkamp had suffered a devastating head wound, Stipp said.

“It was obvious that she was mortally wounded,” Stipp said as he described what he saw at Pistorius’ villa. “I tried to assist her,” said Stipp, a trained medical doctor with years of study. “I tried to open an airway.” Sitting on a courtroom bench, Pistorius bent forward and put his hand over his face, then moved them to cover both ears, as Stipp spoke. He stayed that way for a while, even when one of his lawyers reached back and, in a gesture of reassurance, touched him on the head. Stipp recalled arriving at the scene under questioning by prosecutor Gerrie Nel and also ﬁelded questions from Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux.

“I went near her and as I bent down, I also noticed a man on the left kneeling by her side,” Stipp said of ﬁrst seeing Pistorius and Steenkamp. “He had his left hand on her right groin, and his right hand, the second and third ﬁngers in her mouth.” Stipp, who said he didn’t know the man was track star Pistorius until later, said he tried to help but Steenkamp showed no signs of life. Stipp said he noticed a wound in her right thigh, in her upper arm and in the right side of the head, and there was brain tissue around the skull. “She had no pulse in the neck, she had no peripheral pulse. She had no breathing movements that she made,” Stipp said.

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WORLD NEWS

How Michael Jordan Made $90 Million In 2013 N

ike released the Air Jordan 10 “Powder Blue” retro sneaker on Saturday, 20 years after the first Jordan 10s hit shelves. Like all the Jordan retro releases, this one was highly anticipated and first-day sales hit $35 million. For perspective, in all of 2013, Adidas Adidas sold $40 million in the U.S. of the signature shoes of its top star, Derrick Rose. The Bulls’ current star guard isn’t the only one operating in the shadow of Jordan. Reigning MVP LeBron James is the top seller among current NBA players with $300 million at retail last year for his Nike shoes, according to data tracker SportsOneSource. Jordan crushed those numbers with $2.25 billion in U.S. retail basketball sales in 2013. It has been more than a decade since Michael Jordan last appeared in an NBA uniform, but MJ most certainly has still got it. Jordan made an estimated $90 million last year thanks to the rich partnership he enjoys with Nike. His 2013 earnings eclipsed those of all other retired or current athletes save boxer Floyd Mayweather. It marked Jordan’s biggest earnings year yet in a career paved with monster paydays, which peaked in Jordan’s last season with the Bulls (1997-98) at $80 million. Jordan entered the NBA three decades ago after three years at North Carolina, where he announced himself to the country his freshman year with the game-winning shot in the 1982 National Championship game. Nike saw the marketing potential of Jordan, drafted third overall by the Bulls, and offered him a five-year contract worth $500,000 annually plus royalties. It was a huge sum at the time for a shoe deal, but it was a partnership that would lead both parties to unprecedented heights. Jordan took the court his rookie year in 1984 in a pair of red and black Air Jordans, which matched the Bulls’ uniforms, but did not feature any white per NBA protocol. The league banned the shoes and fined Michael $5,000 every game for wearing them. Nike covered the fines and capitalized on the attention with a commercial with the following voiceover: “On September 15th, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On October 18th, the NBA threw them out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can’t stop you from wearing them.” A marketing juggernaut was born. New Air Jordans followed annually in assorted colors and there have been a myriad of special releases along the way. The retro business makes up about half of the Jordan shoe business today. “Nike has made an art form of unrequited demand,” says SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell regarding the retro releases. “Making sure that there is supply well below demand keeps things fresh.”

Michael Jordan Retail shoe sales for the Jordan Brand in the U.S. grew 11% last year to $2.7 billion, with basketball making up 84% of that, according to Powell. Roughly 50% to 55% of that goes to Nike. If you factor in sales of Jordan apparel, the international Jordan business and sales at Nike stores, the Jordan brand is contributing roughly $2 billion of revenue to Nike, which posted sales of $26 billion over the last 12 months. Jordan, the man, gets a cut of every shoe, hoodie or pair of shorts sold by Nike under the Jordan Brand. We estimate MJ’s take from Nike was at least $75 million last year. “Given that he is the name that launched the brand, you could argue that he deserves more,” says Phil de Picciotto, founder and president of Octagon. “Jordan is the perfect athlete.” One of every two basketball shoes sold in the U.S. last year carried the Jordan brand. Factor in Nike-branded shoe sales into the mix, and Nike has a near monopoly in basketball with market share of 92%, according to SportsOneSource. Adidas (5.5% market share), Reebok (1.4%) and Under Armour UA +0.13% (0.7%) are still searching for answers to Jordan. The Jordan Brand isn’t sitting still. It opened its first Jordan-specific store, Flight 23, this month in New York City, outside of Madison Square Garden where No. 23 tortured Knicks fans for so many years with moments like this legendary dunk or his double nickel return to MSG. MJ still weighs in on designs of new Jordan shoes and suggests players he thinks would be a good fit for Nike’s Jordan endorsement roster, which counts roughly 20 current NBA players, including All-Stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The Jordan Brand also taps players outside of basketball like baseball’s Derek Jeter, Nascar’s Denny Hamlin, boxing’s Andre Ward and football’s Andre Johnson.

Outside of Nike, MJ’s earnings get a boost from long-time endorsement partners Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck and Five Star Fragrances for his cologne line. He’s also added deals with 2K Sports and Novant Health in recent years. In addition, he owns seven restaurants, a car dealership and his most valuable asset, 80% of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats. Jordan used himself as the carrot to help close a Bobcats sponsorship deal with Novant in 2012. Is Michael Jordan still relevant in today’s culture? More than any other athlete if you go by hiphop lyrics — there were references to Jordan in 50 new songs in 2013, according to ESPN The Magazine’s music issue. The next most mentioned athlete was Kobe Bryant at 18, followed by James with 15. Jordan was named the most popular sports figure of 2013 in the ESPN Sports Poll with 4.2% of the vote. Jordan’s Q score, which gauges awareness and popularity, has been tops among sports fans every year since 1991. His 25 million Facebook fans are 43% more than any other U.S. athlete. Jordan’s ownership tenure, first with the Washington Wizards and now with the Bobcats, has been rocky (his motorsports team also shut down last year due to a lack of sponsorship). He has not been able to translate his prowess on the court into the ownership suite in terms of wins and losses. But from a business sense, Jordan might hit another game-winner with his ownership of Charlotte. Jordan became majority owner of the Bobcats in 2010 in a deal that valued the team at just $175 million. Jordan also agreed to put up cash to cover operating losses the team was piling up. But after five straight years of heavy losses, the Bobcats turned an operating profit (earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation) of $7 million last season. The team benefits from the new collective bargaining agreement that reduced the players’ cut of revenues from 57% to 50%. The CBA also tripled the revenue sharing going from the NBA’s haves to have-nots. Charlotte is one of the biggest beneficiaries with revenue sharing that should reach $18 million. NBA teams are also on the verge of a massive cash infusion with new TV deals set to be negotiated this year. The current pacts with ESPN/ABC and TNT are worth $930 million annually and insiders think the next round of agreements will be worth at least twice as much. The value of the Bobcats, which Jordan owns 80% of, was up 30% over the last year to $410 million in Forbes’ latest look at the business of basketball. Mark Cuban thinks every NBA team will be worth $1 billion within 10 years. We estimate Jordan’s current net worth at $750 million. His earnings prowess shows no sign of letting up and should land him a spot on Forbes billionaire list in the coming years.

Brazil in a sweat as 100-day World Cup countdown begins KEY DECISIONS W ith less than 100 days to go before the World Cup starts, Brazil is in the home straight of the countdown and huffing and puffing to complete stadiums, airports, IT networks and public transportation systems. Four of the 12 venues are still not ready and at least two will not be completed until at least April, two months before Brazil meet Croatia in the opening match on June 12. Authorities are also racing against the clock to finish airport terminals and transport systems and to clean up areas around the grounds. Officials at soccer’s ruling body FIFA have expressed concern but can do little more than cross their fingers and hope everything is alright on the night. “I am not a World Cup specialist but I will say this has not been easy for sure,” FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke told reporters in Zurich at the weekend. “I think things will work well but it is also true that whenever you receive something late it becomes a challenge to make it ready in time.” Valcke, the man charged with organizing the tournament, prompted a diplomatic uproar in 2012 when he

said Brazil needed “a kick up the backside”. President Dilma Rousseff replied by vowing this would be “the World Cup to end all World Cups”, a slogan repeated by FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, but others say there are reasons for skepticism. Two of the completed arenas have already shown signs of wear and tear, with part of the roof at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte falling off at the weekend. No one was hurt in the incident. “Only when stadiums are completely ready can you train people to work inside them,” said Jose Roberto Bernasconi, president of the National Association of Architectural and Consulting Engineering Companies. “There are stewards, security, plumbers, ﬁre safety ofﬁcers. When you have 65,000 people inside the ground including kings, presidents, prime ministers, everything has to work. “Remember when Heathrow opened Terminal Five a while back?”, asked Bernasconi of the London airport. “They lost hundreds of bags. “That’s not unusual at the start. These things need to be tested.”

One of the reasons for the late rush is Brazil’s delay in making key decisions. The only country to lift the World Cup ﬁve times, Brazil won the right to host the competition in 2007 but took almost two years before deciding the host cities. It also delayed the building of the infrastructure that is vital not just for the World Cup but also necessary if the South American nation is to keep growing. Brazil has grown hugely over the last decade and more than 30 million people have emerged from poverty to move into the consuming classes. However, experts say not enough money has been invested in the infrastructure needed to keep up with that expansion. At least one airport will welcome passengers in canvas tents because new terminals are not ready. Some host cities will declare public holidays on matchdays in a bid to cut down trafﬁc on already congested streets. Five cities abandoned plans to add bus lanes, underground lines or trams and several scaled back their prom-

ised investment while telecommunications networks and media centers can only be added once the stadiums are complete. “We still have to install all the IT solutions for the media,” said Valcke. “Without IT and without the telecommunications in place in the stadium you will say we are the worst organizers and it was the worst event. “To install the IT in a stadium it needs at least 90 days and we have to work for all the people who have an interest.” There is certainly interest from fans. So far 1.5 million tickets have been sold, more than half of them to Brazilians, a record at this stage. Authorities expect three million Brazilians to travel to see games and another 600,000 foreigners to visit during the month-long jamboree. The hosts have exasperated FIFA, with Blatter recently praying to “God, Allah, whoever” to ensure everything is ready in time, and Valcke once again had to put on a brave face this weekend. “It is very last-minute work but it will work in the end,” Valcke said. “You will have what you expect and the teams will have the best.”

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