VOLUME 10 - No. 35
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
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IGA TAKES OVER ISLAND PRIDE
IGA Graceway has signed a long-term lease with the Butterfield Group to operate the former Island Pride Supermarket in Downtown, Providenciales. The new supermarket will open in the spring of 2015 and Graceway will become the anchor tenant for the Downtown plaza. Edith Cox, Finance Director of the Graceway Group, said: “The new store is intended to serve the local communities in and around the Town Centre, including Kew Town, Five Cays & Blue Hills. With lower prices on new lines of products, shoppers will be encouraged to return.” General Manager of Graceway, Mr. Ken Burns, described in more detail what customers can expect: “The Graceway Downtown store will offer big savings, excellent quality and a range of superb special buys.” He said that by reducing the number of alternative products and by concentrating on offering the best value items, Graceway will provide outstanding value to customers in a format not seen before in the islands. “Our ‘Dollar Smart’ programme will offer money saving opportunities on everyday items” said Mr Burns. “And while we are keen to emphasise the convenience and value offered by the new store, we will not compromise on Graceway’s traditional standards.” The extended retail space will house a full range of everyday groceries, fresh produce, Deli and Bakery items, household goods, frozen food, pet foods and more. The premises will be extensively renovated and refurbished to provide shoppers with a bright fresh shopping experience, consistent with that of its sister stores in the Graceway Group. Mr Warren Forde, Vice President of the Butterfield group commented “While we are sad to say goodbye to Island Pride, we are excited to welcome Graceway to the plaza. This is a significant step in the development of the site and one guaranteed to lift the Downtown area”. The Butterfield group will be further developing the Town Centre Mall Plaza with increased paved parking and improved drainage by the spring of 2015. Graceway has been operating in Providenciales for over 16 years. In 1998, against the odds, Graceway acquired the then First Choice Supermarket which was in receivership, and turned it into a world class facility – the Graceway IGA which has over the years received many accolades and in 2008 was named Caribbean Retailer of the year. In keeping with the high end development in the Turks and Caicos Islands and responding to the need to for gourmet, organic and specialty foods, Graceway opened it’s Gourmet store in the heart of Gracebay in 2009. Despite economic conditions in the islands, Graceway is once again demonstrating its commitment to the Turks and Caicos by entering into a Long Lease with Butterfield Gold to operate the former Island Pride Supermarket. The Graceway Brand will certainly enhance the Downtown area of Providenciales when this new store opens in early 2015. Continued on Page 2.
CONSTITUTION TALKS. Former Premier Michael
Misick makes one of many proposals during the Constitutional Committee Public Consultation at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Complex in Providenciales on Thursday (September 18, 2014). Parliament recently approved a Constitutional Committee after concluding that the 2011 Constitution does not serve the interest of the people. The Constitutional Committee is mandated to travel around the country to collect views from individuals to form the proposed new constitution that government hopes to present to the United Kingdom before the end of the year.
Former Premier wants referendum on Constitution by Vivian Tyson Former premier Michael Misick is calling on government to hold a referendum on what kind of relationship the Turks and Caicos Islands people want to establish with the United Kingdom going forward. Commenting on, and making recommendations to the Constitutional Commission, at that body’s Providenciales leg of its country-wide consultations, Missick labeled the current
Convicts call for Appeals Court special sitting – Page 7 Opposition wants immigration status for youth – Page 8
Constitution an insult to the Turks and Caicos Islands People, and strongly urges leaders to consider calling the referendum. “We have to take this exercise seriously, and I think if we take this exercise seriously, then the public will take it seriously. Somehow we have to let the public know that it is not going to be an exercise of futility, but it is going to be an exercise with real change. “There should be a report with a draft constitution, and also a question determining our
Keith Burant: I should have kept my temper – Page 9
relationship (with the United Kingdom). This has never been done before, but it is time that it is done. Because the fundamental question is, what type of relationship do we want (with the United Kingdom)?” he said. He said that while the constitutional report is important, it should be accompanied by a draft constitution and the question of what future the country should have with the United Kingdom. Continued on Page 2.
New Beginning School of Continuous Education gets overhaul
– Pages 13, 24&25
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LOCAL NEWS
IGA takes over Island Pride
Continued from Page 1.
In addition to providing a high quality product and world class facilities for residents and visitors to the Turks and Caicos Islands, Graceway, since its inception has demonstrated its commitment to its community through its many contributions to education, sports and other worthy causes in the TCI. Since 2003, it has supported the Graceway Sports Center, which carries its brand and which has been able to offer many programs to children, because of the Graceway Sponsorship. Over the years Graceway has sponsored many local sporting teams, including Team TCI CARIFTA 2007 and Commonwealth Games 2010, and contributed to other regional and
international meets. Last year, Graceway was recognised by the Ministry of Education for its contribution to education. Indeed there are contributions to schools across the Turks and Caicos, including sponsorship of the CXC online Pilot Program and our British Collegiate Scholarship Program where we currently have 6 local students on fulltime scholarship through to their A level Course of study. Graceway congratulated its first two Graduates this year after studying at the Collegiate for seven years. Graceway through partnership with its customers, makes a monthly contribution to the various Charities across the islands. An Average of $35K is contributed to charities through this front end initiative on an annual basis.
Graceway credits its success to its hard working and dedicated staff . We look forward to serving our customers across Providenciales, and remain committed to the TCI The Butterfield group began its’ humble beginnings in 1968 with Drs. Albray Butterfield Sr., and his wife Rosita Butterfield and over the years they have grown to be the largest local developers and entrepreneurs starting and acquiring a number of businesses. The Butterfields have been involved in politics, serving in the Legislative Assembly for numerous terms, shaping the development of this country for which they have both received various awards, including the MBE and Mr. Butterfield, the CBE, for their service and dedication to the local community; socially and economically.
Their main focus of support has been in the area of education to both public and private institutions, including, but not limited to the British West Indies Collegiate, The Turks & Caicos Islands Community College and The Clement Howell High School. Mrs. Butterfield also sponsored the Annual Spelling Bee Competition in the primary schools for many years and they have both offered partial scholarships and assistance to numerous individuals pursuing tertiary education. Today, while they keep a watchful eye on their businesses, they have opted to give their primary focus and attention to their spiritual calling through the Faith Tabernacle Church of God, which they built and donated to the community along with the Victory In Christ Radio Station (VIC 96.7FM).
Former Premier wants referendum on the Constitution Continued from Page 1.
Members of the Constitutional Committee recording some of the recommendations made by the attendees.
Scrap CFO Legislation now! by Vivian Tyson Many of the persons in attendance at the Providenciales leg of the Constitutional Commission public consultation are calling for the scrapping of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Legislation, inserted into the 2011 Constitution under the Interim Administration between 2009 and 2012. The CFO Legislation gives the chief financial officer, which is an appointed position, the ultimate say on matters of finance, even if the elected House of Assembly votes otherwise. Under the CFO Ordinance, the chief financial officer has the right to override any decision made by the finance minister, if he or she is not in agreement with it. Until the CFO approves the parliamentary budget, it cannot go anywhere. But some members of the audience were not happy with that piece of legislation, and want it ripped from the Constitution. Among those who were most vocal were former premier Michael Misick and former deputy premier and finance minister, Royal Robinson.
Robinson said that the CFO should not have overriding powers on the decisions voted on by the legislature. “That part of the constitution by itself should be eliminated, full stop. You can’t have me raising money to meet the expenses of the country, and then one white man determines that that money is not going to be spent on the things that the people of the country elected you to represent them on as not important. And of course, it is the people’s money. If you want to have somebody with oversight, the oversight committee is already in the House of Assembly. It already has oversight persons,” Robinson asserted. He added: Under the ordinance, the CFO has overarching powers over every tom, dick and harry who has been elected, and who became ministers in the government. Even when the House votes on a particular area of appropriation he can then determine that it is unimportant and he can determine that this should be out of the budget.” He said that the FCO portion of the Constitution should be eliminated and then Parliament should repeal
the ordinance. “You can’t have that in this day and age in terms of the processes and procedures in the country. So that particular portion should be out of the Constitution – one; and then number two – the legislation that supports that should be repealed. “So that must be taken seriously into consideration, because even if we repeal the legislation and it is still in the Constitution, they can come through the backdoor and do it again. So, you take it out of the Constitution first and then you repeal it,” Robinson instructed. Misick agreed with Robinson that since a great portion of the money raised by government is from taxpayers, who vote to elect the parliament, their money should be managed by the government and not a British-appointed Chief Financial Officer. “All of the money that is being made in this country comes from taxpayers. But yet still we also have a CFO, which sits in cabinet, which is also unconstitutional, because, according to our Constitution, he is not a member of the cabinet,” Missick noted.
“In my view, there is nothing in this Constitution that makes sense, and I believe that the Constitutional Commission should have started with a blank sheet. It is an insult to the Turks and Caicos. We should ask ourselves the same question that Scotland is asking; do you want to remain as a colony with no powers or do you want independence. “And based on the answer from that question, it will determine what kind of constitution we have. And that question can only be resolved by a referendum by the entire people,” he said. He noted that the passage of the proposed new constitution into law will be based on whether the UK approves of its contents, but it would be tough to reject the will of the people through a referendum. “So while I support this exercise, I believe if we continue on this exercise, with the commission giving a report to the parliament, the parliament may endorse the report, the report then goes to the United Kingdom, and especially if the report is not consistent with what their aims are - and it probably wouldn’t be - the report would be dead on arrival,” Misick warned. He added: “And so, coming out of this exercise we have to give the general public an opportunity to exercise their democratic right by determining whether they want to remain a British Colony or whether they want to become independent. “And out of that answer, then we can draft a constitution that is ours and embrace it. It (Constitution)) presupposes that we can’t govern ourselves, when it is our indelible right to govern ourselves.” Meanwhile, Daniel Malcolm, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee said that it would be tough to vote on a referendum on the Constitution, saying that it would be easier to hold a referendum on items in the document. “From a personal observation, I think it may be difficult to have a referendum on a whole constitution; that is just my observation. We should hold a referendum on whether or not we should move into certain stage. The Constitution has many items; some people might agree with some, some people might disagree with some,” he said.
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
by HAB Group
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SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
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LOCAL NEWS
Convicts call for Appeals Court special sitting
Some persons who should have had their conviction cases heard in the justconcluded Turks and Caicos Court of Appeal is calling for a special sitting during the month of October so they would be able to disembark the limbo train. Among those demanding that a singular session be convened are Bernard Coalbrooke, Daniel Been, Odessa Williams and Darrison Nash – the four men who were convicted in the Royal Bank of Canada robbery on Friday December 16, 2011. The Court of Appeal, which ended its sitting last week (Thursday, September 18, 2014), had an abbreviated session owing to the fact that courtroom they normally use was occupied with a special Supreme Court matter. The trio of judges – Chairman Edward Zacca, Elliot Mottley and Ian Forte, announced that even though setting was
pared, the body would not return to the Turks and Caicos until either early or mid January, 2015. In response to the announcement, the men penned a letter expressing their disgust with the justice system. The men said that they are not buying the explanation that their matter was delayed because of another matter taking place in the Supreme Court because they believe that there are other places, apart from that designated room, that the court could have been held. They blame some of the movers and shakers in the local justice system for not making enough effort to ensure that an alternative venue was secured so that the full slate of the matters could have been heard. “Nonsense, there are more than one court (that) can be used. This is a willful act of the judicial department where they are using these alibis to keep us in
custody, and we don’t need any bail, what we need is justice. We need to go before the Court of Appeal at the earliest day,” the men said in the letter. The four were arrested between January 13 and 18, 2012, for the robbery. They complained however, that they were made to hole up at Her Majesty’s Prison in Grand Turk for one year before being charged on February 1, 2013, and later convicted on February 20, 2013. They said that they made application for appeal in the Supreme Court on March 13, 2013, and was told that the bundle would not be ready until they applied for bail. On Bail they said they were given a bundle each. “The date was set for the Appeals Court hearing on August 8, 2014, and was pushed back for further dates of the 10th and 11th September, 2014. But we were told at the last minute that the matter was put off until January 2015.
We believe that someone is deliberately pushing back the date and we know who that person is,” the letter said. The men labeled their matter as “discrimination, injustice, and a violation of their constitutional and human rights. They said that they would take their matter to overseas human rights organizations, such as the United Nations. Two security guards were attacked and shot in the daring daylight Royal Bank of Canada robbery. One of them 58 year-old Haitian National Guillaury Wilfred - later died. The other guard subsequently recovered from his injuries. The two security guards were surprised by a couple of gunmen as they were in the process of making a cash drop-off at the bank. The gunmen opened fire on them before making off with an undetermined amount of cash. The four were later fingered by the police as the men behind the robbery.
Police revamps Community Policing and Cold Case Unit
Commissioner Colin Farquhar of the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) is pleased to announce the promotion of Inspector Hilton Duncan to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) as the officer in charge (OIC) of the Community Policing Program. Commissioner Farquhar stated, “ASP Duncan’s previous experience will certainly help in his new role.
“ASP Duncan will be the programme manager and as such will assist the Divisional Commanders in implementing the various police programmes, i.e. Community Beat Officers Program, School Liaison Officers, School Patrols, DARE, and community and business meetings. ASP Duncan will work closely with Public Relations Officer, Special Constable Audley Astwood to help communicate our
various initiatives through social media. I am extremely pleased to make this announcement today.” Commissioner Farquhar also announced the reinstatement of Inspector Daniel Miller to the RTCIPF. Inspector Miller will be assigned to the Cold Case Unit. Commissioner Farquhar said, “Inspector Miller’s previous experience as the OIC of the Case File Quality
Assurance Unit will be extremely helpful in meticulously reviewing these unsolved files. Inspector Miller was selected to work exclusively on the unsolved files. He cannot and will not be reassigned to any other duties. His complete focus will be on these files.” The Cold Case Unit was established in September 2011 by Commissioner Farquhar.
RBC ROYAL BANK (BAHAMAS) LIMITED is presently considering applications for:
Relationship Manager – Business Banking Turks & Caicos Islands
The successful candidate should possess the following qualifications: • 3 or more years banking experience • ABIFS/AICB Diploma or a degree in banking or a related field would be an asset • Previous experience as a Lending Officer is mandatory Required Skills • Negotiating/Selling Skills • Problem Account Management • Knowledge of Financial Analysis and risk assessment • Critical Thinking • Time Management • Relationship building/Planning/Organizing/Closing Sales • Effectively manage risk • Impact and Influence • Ability to manage multiple priorities • Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills • Microsoft Office Proficiency (Outlook, Word, Excel) Responsibilities Include: • Responsible for retaining and growing relationships with Business Banking (BB) clients, contributing to the strategic priorities of Sales Volume and Revenue Growth and improving the Client Experience. • Responsible for the on boarding of products and services for existing and new clients, identifying, referring and fulfilling on new opportunities as appropriate, promoting collaboration amongst Business Banking relationship team and partners. • Providing direct support to Business Banking clients with all lending and non-lending activities. • Developing a strong knowledge of client’s operational requirements in order to provide financial solutions (primarily Cash Management and Deposit Solutions) that add value to the customer’s needs and goals, while driving revenue growth. • Providing credit and sales support for Relationship Manager (RM) to enable the identification, planning and delivery of solutions for client and prospect needs. • Effectively supports the RM with their assigned portfolio of accounts and participation in all aspects of portfolio credit management including, but not limited to, preparation of annual reviews at an acceptable level of risk and assisting with the compilation of documentations required in the origination/booking of deals. Responsibility and accountability for final sign off will rest with the RM with regard to the completion of BBTR/RAF. • Being the service champion for BB clients including coordination of the service team, focusing on ensuring the client experience in delivered effectively through appropriate service partners. • Acting as the Problem Resolution champion leveraging appropriate partners to resolve client concerns. A competitive compensation package (base salary & bonus) will commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications. Please apply by October 3, 2014 to: Assistant Manager, Recruitment & Employee Development Human Resources, Bahamas Regional Office, RBC Royal Bank (Bahamas) Limited P.O. Box N-7549, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas Via fax: (242) 322-1367, Via email: bahcayjp@rbc.com
Fine Dining Restaurant Manager Requirements: • Certification in Food & Beverage Management • A minimum of 4 years experience operating a luxury a la carte restaurant • Experience in quality and efficiency initiatives • Must be able to work with different types of people, meet challenges with a positive attitude and live the standards of our organization. • Responsible for ordering and receiving food and beverage shipments. • Maintain food and equipment inventories, and keep inventory records. • Responsible for hiring and training restaurant staff • Evaluate employees and conduct shift line ups and restaurant cost controls • Micros Administrative Knowledge Required. • Certified Departmental Trainer • Extensive knowledge of wines from around the world (Sommelier educational training would be an added advantage) • Expertise in fine wines and knowledge of Wine Spectator’s Award Process. • Ability to conduct Wine Training / tasting and pairing with food. Qualified Belongers need only apply. Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience Interested persons can contact our Human Resources Department no later than September 30th @ (649) 946-5050 Ext. 1050 Email: humanresources@gracebayclub.com Fax: (649) 946-5758 P.O. Box 128 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, British West Indies
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LOCAL NEWS
Opposition wants immigration status for undocumented youth
The opposition Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) is calling on the House of Assembly to urgently create a special category and conditions to address the growing number of young people living in the Turks and Caicos Islands without immigration status. The Sharlene Cartwright-Robinsonled opposition appears so serious about the matter that it has planned to present a member’s motion on the topic at the next sitting of the House of Assembly on Monday (September 22, 2014), when a number of bills, including the Immigration Bill, are expected to be presented for debate and passage.
The opposition, through the resolution, said that there are a number of young persons born to foreign nationals and have lived in the Turks and Caicos Islands all their lives but have no status. It said that the TCI government has invested in most of these persons’ education up to the secondary level. But even after such investment, they are unable to hold down a job because of their immigration status, since they are not eligible for work permit or Permanent Residence Certificate. It said that many of the youngsters have regarded the Turks and Caicos
Islands as their home and would like to complete their assimilation process by obtaining some form of status. The opposition in its motion, has described the matter as urgent, and explained that it decided to mount the motion since it was not sure as to whether or not the governing Progressive National Party’ (PNP) Immigration Bill. The Immigration Bill, according to the House Order Papers, will be seeking to address a number of matters including: Acquisition of Islander status as a right and by grant; Islander Status card;
Revocation of that status card/Island status; Whether an immigration officer will be able to grant leave to enter; Exemption for members of crew or and persons in transit; Entitlement to enter; Appeal against officer’s refusal to give leave to enter; Immigration facilities as ports; Fingerprints and photographs; Restriction on residence; Restriction on engaging in gainful occupation; application for Permanent Resident Status/whether or not government should grant it; Endorsement on PRC of names of spouse and children; and duration of Permanent Residence Certificate.
Governor welcomes Turks and Caicos constitutional review
The cross party review of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Constitution was welcomed by His Excellency the Governor Peter Beckingham on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. His remarks came the day after the first public ’town hall’ meeting on the Islands’ capital Grand Turk was convened by the Constitutional Review Committee chaired by Daniel Malcolm. “I am very pleased that Islanders have this opportunity to have their say about
the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2011,” said Beckingham. “I would encourage everyone to attend the public meetings on this very important subject to ensure that they have the opportunity to make their input, and I look forward to receiving the report in due course.” The Committee welcomes private meetings with Churches, Civic Groups and other associations. Appointments can be made with the Commission by
ALEXANDRA RESORT & SPA is inviting applications for the following position:
Hospitality Financial Controller We are seeking to employ an experienced Hospitality Financial Controller who will be reporting to the CFO. Responsibilities and essential job functions include but are not limited to the following: • Execute and/or coordinate general accounting and related activities • Supervise the operations of the accounts office and Night Audit. • Management of the finance function and overseeing the finance team. • Prepare End of Month journals and conduct the Closing process. • Assist in the installation of any new software - document retention, inventory management, payroll, POS. • Preparation of budgets, forecasts and cash flows • Maintenance of financial ledgers and accounting processes • Preparation of Monthly P&L and Balance Sheet • Ensuring that appropriate systems and internal controls are implemented and maintained • Overseeing the Payroll process Qualifications: • CPA Certification (CA, CGA or CMA) • 3 to 5 years of relevant experience in hospitality financial management • Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Visual One and IQware accounting software • Verbal and written English and good interpersonal skills • Capacity to plan and organize work • Analytical skills and problem solving capacities Salary for this position will commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Please Submit Applications to:
cgibbons@wihl.com A copy should also be submitted to the TCI Labour Department. Submissions to be no later than September 26th, 2014 Belongers need only apply.
contacting Tracey Parker, on +1 649 3383759, or +1 649 232-1472 or emailing tiparker@gov.tc. The Committee invites and welcomes written submissions before its deadline of Tuesday, 30 November 2014. Submissions can be emailed to: tcicrc2014@gov.tc, tcicrc2014@gmail. com, or hardcopies dropped off at the House of Assembly, Grand Turk, the Office of the Premier, Hon. Hilly Ewing Building, Providenciales or the District
Commissioners’ Offices throughout the Islands. The Committee is required to complete all consultation and to produce a final report by Saturday, 15 November 2014. The committee members are chairman Daniel Malcolm, secretary Tracey Parker, Don Hue Gardiner, Akierra Missick, Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, Sean Astwood, Carlos Simons and Ashwood Forbes.
HAB MANAGEMENT LTD.
HAB Management Ltd is seeking applicants for the following positions:
BARTENDER
Job Description This is an enhanced position and requires a bubbly personality as well as some guest services experience. The successful candidates should be well versed in bar service and drink preparation. Requirements Candidates should have four years or more experience as a Bartender. Candidates will be required to solicit guests drink orders from around the pool and on the beach area and deliver drinks to guests when needed. Plan and maintain bar inventory. Maintain cleanliness of all workplace areas that apply to the bar. Candidates will be required to be able to multi-task and assist at front desk when necessary. The candidates will also be required to work cohesively with co-workers as part of a team. Must be able to speak, read and write in English and understand verbal and written instructions. Good presentation and a pleasant, friendly personality required. Salary is $12,000 per annum.
HOUSEKEEPERS
Job Description Candidates will be required to clean and prepare guest rooms and public areas by meeting established standards of cleanliness and propriety to assure guest satisfaction. Requirements Candidates should have four years or more experience as a Housekeeper working at an upscale resort. Candidates must have knowledge of proper cleaning techniques. Maintain positive guest relations at all times. Candidates will also be required to work cohesively with coworkers as part of a team. Must be able to speak, read and write in English and understand verbal and written instructions. Good presentation and a pleasant, friendly personality required. Salary is $12,000 per annum.
WAITER/WAITRESS
Job Description Applicants will be required to greet and take food and beverages orders from restaurant guest, serve the orders and accommodate guest requests. Applicants will be required to serve guests’ promptly and according to established restaurant standards, policies and procedures.
Requirements Must have a minimum of three years experience working in a restaurant. Must have a strong working knowledge of dining room procedures, policies and EPOS System. Applicants must be a customer service advocate, maintaining a high level of customer service standards. Maintain a friendly, cheerful and courteous demeanor at all times. Perform other duties as assigned, requested or deemed necessary by management. Applicants must be willing to work varied shifts, split shifts, nights, weekends and holidays as required by management. Applicants will be required to work on a full time basis. Must be able to walk, stand or stoop for the duration of shift (at least 8 hours). Applicants must be able to understand/speak/read/write English proficiently. All applicants must be hardworking team players. Wages for this position is commensurate with experience and training. Wages starts at $6.00 per hour. Interested applicants should contact Veronica Rigby via email by September 29, 2014 at ronnie@habgroup.com or by fax 649-946-5191. Only persons selected for an interview will be contacted by email or telephone to schedule an interview.
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LOCAL NEWS
Keith Burant: I should have kept my temper by Vivian Tyson Businessman Keith Burant has accepted he was wrong to have gone off on the deep end with the police during the Queen’s Birthday Parade event at his Meridian Rugby Field in Grace Bay on June 16 (2014), but said his actions were provoked by the a number of bad moves on the part of the lawmen, including punching holes in the field. The businessman said that the police asked his permission to use the field for the parade, but before he granted them the request, he had laid out certain ground rules. But he said the police broke most of them, which precipitated his fury. Burant said he was also denied his designated parking spot, which helped fuel his anger. Burant was charged with assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and using indecent language and obstruction. This was after he used his vehicle to block the road leading to the field, preventing dignitaries, including His Excellency Governor Peter Beckingham and Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services Hon. Akierra Missick from entering the compound. The court was told that when Burant was asked by the police to remove the vehicle he
After the incident, Burant explained to the media what had triggered his actions. “It is a question of getting a little upset [about] how the field was being used and a bit of overreacting, and I am just sorry what had happened. I have a lot of respect for the police, and I should have kept my temper,” he said. He continued: “The police asked to use the field and certain conditions were put on there and they breached most of them. When I opened the field up for them in the morning I told them that I would be back at the end of the day to lock it up, and when I arrived at the field I was not allowed entrance to the field, consequently I parked my car where they said they didn’t want me to park it. And when Keith Burant we had a discussion with the police officer, things got a little broadsided them with a string of bit heated. expletives. It was also reported “I have a lot of respect for the that he refused to comply when police, they do a hard job, and I the police attempted to restrain acted poorly that day, but I am him. just going to get on with it,” he When he appeared in Court said. on Tuesday (September 16, Burant added that there 2014) for trial, Burant pleaded was some level of distortion as guilty to the assault, resisting to what had taken place during arrest and using expletives the confrontation, even though to a police officer. The Crown admitted to have been on the informed the court that the wrong end. charge of obstruction was “I think that there is a lot of withdrawn. conjecture as to what was said
Public warned to be vigilant against crimes of opportunity The Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force is urging the public in Providenciales to be vigilant after three separate incidents in a three day period over the weekend. (Friday September 12th to Monday September 15th 2014). The incidents all involving crimes of opportunity. The first reported incident over the weekend occurred in the Grace Bay area on 09/12/2014 at 10 p.m. A 33-year-old male and a 31-year-old female were approached by an unknown male who demanded all of their money. The suspect took a sum of cash from the victims and fled. The suspect was described as a black male around 5ft 10inches, large built with dreadlocks and wearing all black with nothing covering his face or eyes. The second reported incident occurred on 09/14/2014 at 2:57 a.m. outside a home along Norway Road in the Kew Town area. The suspect, a dark male dressed in all black, placed what appeared to be a firearm to the victim’s head and demanded him inside the victim’s home. The suspect then took a cellphone and some documents before fleeing. The third reported incident occurred at a business place located along Airport Road on 15/09/2014 at 1:58 a.m. Two male suspects brandishing what
appeared to be firearms entered the rear door of the business place and demanded valuables. The suspects took a Samsung Galaxy phone from a 21-year-old male and a white handbag containing documents and a sum of cash from a 46-year-old female. Both suspects then fled the scene. No one was injured. One of the suspects was dressed in all black clothing. The other was dressed in black and red clothing. One of the suspects was also described as being short in height and the other as tall and slim. Police offer these suggestions to consider if you become a victim of such an incident: • If someone tries to rob you, do not resist. Give up your property – not your life. • Call 911 immediately following the incident. • Do not talk to anyone about the incident until law enforcement arrives. • Do not discuss the amount of money or items taken with anyone other than law enforcement. • Try to recall as much as you can about the suspect’s appearance to include estimated age, race, height, weight, hair, complexion, scars, marks, tattoos, clothing. • If a vehicle is involved, try to note make, model, colour, plate number and any other distinguishing marks.
out there. Certainly, I was a little upset about the fact that the Rugby Club had given the police consent to use the field, and when I went to park where I usually park I was denied entrance and was given a bit of a hard time when I went to move my vehicle. “It was a long day, been out in the hot sun for a long time, and I probably wasn’t in the best of moods when I noticed that holes had been punched in the ground; our irrigation system is pretty sensitive. It was just a combination of factors. I probably said something that I shouldn’t have,” he revealed. Asked as to the reason behind him pleading guilty, Burant said: “Probably just to resolve the matter in an expeditious fashion. I am happy that everything has been resolved and I hope that everybody can move on with their lives.”
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 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.
Keith Burant gets 30-day probation Keith Burant was tapped with a 30-day probation when he appeared in the Providenciales Magistrate’s Court Two on Tuesday (September 16, 2014) to answer to charges of assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, indecent language and obstruction. The charges arose after a Queen’s Birthday Parade confrontation on June 16, 2014 at the Meridian Field Burant, who owns the field, and police officers after he refused to remove his vehicle that was blocking the pathway to the field. Because of the blockade, dignitaries including His Excellency Governor Peter Beckingham and Deputy Premier Hon. Akierra Missick, experienced lengthy delays entering the field, to participate in the day’s events. Magistrate Jolyan Hatman handed down the sentence after Burant changed his original not guilty plea, when he first appeared in court on July 11 (2014), to guilty. One of the charges – obstruction – was withdrawn by the Crown. The court heard that police officer Donald Pierre, who was at the scene trying to find the driver of the venicle, saw a Caucasian man, who later turned out to be Burant, with keys in hand approaching the automobile. When Officer Pierre asked Burant if he was the driver, he began hurling expletives at him.
“F… you! Do you know who I am?” Burant said, according to court documents. He continued to curse the officer even while being warned of prosecution. The court also heard that Burant pointed his finger at the officer and said again, “F… you! I gave you permission to use the field.” During his rant, the court was told that Burant poked the officer in the chest with his finger. At that moment, other officers standing nearby, rushed to Pierre’s aid, restrained Burant and placed in a police vehicle. He was then asked to produce his driver’s license, and later warned of pending charges, he reportedly said: “I don’t care. Your boss will hear about this.” When he first appeared in court, George Missick was Burant’s attorney. Oliver Smith represented him this time around. Smith, who spoke on Burant’s behalf for almost half hour, told the judge that it was his first offense and that he was an upstanding citizen of the community. After hearing the representation by Smith, Magistrate Hatman handed down the sentence. The court ruled that if the businessman does not keep the “Queen’s Peace” within the next 30 days, his probation could be revoked. He was sentenced under the Probation of the Offenders Ordinance.
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
LOCAL NEWS
Education Department blamed for untapped Community College scholarships by Vivian Tyson The Education Department and the Ministry of Education were under great scrutiny at the Community College Foundation Stakeholders’ meeting on Tuesday (September 16, 2014) at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Complex, after it was discovered that government had offered 50 scholarships to that institution, but only 42 were taken up. But while a number of students in attendance said that they were unaware of the scholarship offerings, a prominent Education Department employee revealed: “I was hearing of the scholarships to the community college for the first time, and I work in the Education Department. I have never seen not even a flyer about these things.” For her part, Bridgette Newman, a member of the Board of Governors at the Community College, and who was a member of the panel, said that she does not believe the Ministry of Education is doing enough to promote education in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Newman said that it is unbelievable that students do not want to pick up the scholarship opportunities when they present themselves, since a number of them are struggling to come up with tuition monies. She said that when scholarships are offered and there are no takers, it appears that students are refusing educational opportunities, which is not the case. The college itself came in for some level of examination as well. Some in the audience believed that it is not catering to certain disciplines
From left – Keno Forbes, member TCI Community College Foundation; Bridgette Newman, Community College Board of Governors member; Claudette Munroe-Clare, Chairman for the TCI Community College Foundation; Lee Ingham, President of the Community College; and Samuel Forbes, Vice President of the college. including marine biology. However, Professor Lee Ingham, President of the college, said that some new areas of A section of the audience at the Community College Stakeholders’ meeting. study should come on stream next year. In the meantime, Keno Forbes, a academic offerings. that people know there is a community member of the panel, highlighted “The issue that stands out most, college on this island (Providenciales),” the fact that since the TCI is a small and as chairman of the board, it is Munroe-Clare said. territory with just over 30,000 people; it something that I expected to hear, and She added: “We are looking to see would be difficult to offer a programme that is the matter of marketing. The that the college population becomes which caters to one or two students. college needs to brand itself as we go strengthened. We are looking to the Claudette Munroe-Clare, Chairman forward. We have already started from community to help us achieve our for the Community College Foundation, a board’s perspective. When I came to fund-raising goals. Yes, money is which is the fundraising arm of the the board, I realized that there was important, but it is not all about money institution, said that the issue that no signage, nothing pointing you to and fundraising. It is about showing stirred the most impact is marketing where the college was located. And that you care, approaching, seeing in of the college so that the public can since I came to the board, that is what what ways you can help, volunteering be better aware of the institution’s the board has done; to put a mark so here and there.”
tcig continues improvement by investing in educators On Friday 12th September, 2014 a pilot group of five school leaders completed ‘The 21st Century Principal’ course. The four-day learning experience was a spin-off of TCIG’s management development programme entitled ‘The 21st Century Manager.’ The new course aimed to develop the management and leadership capabilities of principals in Grand Turk. The participants represented public and private education institutions.
Following the course completion, they were presented with certificates by Mr. Mark Greenway, Director-Human Resources. Ms. Tamera Robinson, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Education Youth and Sport, gave gifts of books entitled ‘The Principal’s Companion.’ She stated; “This training is another building block in the process of improving and reforming the civil service. As well as, the Ministry of
is seeking applications for
FOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENTS
• 3-5 years experience as a customer Service Agent. • Qualified in but not limited to customer Service Agent servicing Delta, Us Airways and Air Canada.
FOUR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS
1. Five (5) years or more experience. 2. Willing to work flexible hours. 3. Proficient in word, power point and excel: 90 words per minute. 4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 5. Instill quality Customer Service in front line position. 6. Manage over all safety, crew coordination briefing and paper work and in flight entertainment.
NB: Belongers need only apply. Interested applicants should apply to HR@intercaribbean.com or call 946-4181
Education’s goal of retooling principals for management in the 21st Century.” The manual was the key resource for the course design and development. Following are the topics which the class covered: • The Many Roles of the Principal • The Art of Human Relations • Building Emotional and Social Intelligence Competencies • The Ego Mind and Negative Leadership Behaviours to Control
• Understanding, Planning and Implementing Change at School • Enhancing teacher Growth through Supervision • Building a Collaborative School Culture • Working Effectively with Parents and the Community • Making a Difference for Students • The Discipline Gap • Reducing School and Cyber Bullying
is seeking
TWO AIRCRAFT CLEANERS
Duties include cleaning the interior and exterior of aircrafts. Must be able to work in confined spaces and lift weight as required. Salary $7.00.
CASHIER
1. Five (5) years or more experience. 2. Willing to work flexible hours. 3. Proficient in word, power point and excel: 90 words per minute. 4. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 5. Instill quality Customer Service in front line position. Belongers need only apply. Interested applicants should apply to HR@intercaribbean.com or via fax to HR Department 649-946-4040. No phone calls please. Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
Page 11
LOCAL NEWS
Local company wants to pitch national ID development to government Biometrics TCI Identity Management Services, a local company that develops, among other things, national identity cards, is hoping that government has a change of heart and accepts its proposal to create a machine-readable national identity card system so as to promote greater record-keeping of all persons within our shores. McKoy Ewing, developer of the card system explained that three cards have been proposed – Green for Belongers, red for work permit holders and orange for Permanent Residency Certificate (PRC) holders. Ewing said that Biometrics TCI Identity Management Services had a meeting with government on August 15, where the idea of developing a national identity card was pitched. He said however, that the rendezvous was suspended indefinitely. He said that the national identity cards would have
One of the proposed cards that Biometrics TCI Identity Management Services is looking to develop for the Turks and Caicos Islands. covered a number of issues such as medical history, including allergies, types of medication one might be on; criminal Information; Immigration Information such expiration dates on all work permits or a particular individual, PRC card holders Belongers, also including
nationality and finger print Information . Ewing said that the issuing of the cards would be supported by the provision of portable card readers, which would be distributed to the various government departments to enable them to read the cards when holders present then for
GENERAL MANAGER POSITION Applications are invited for the General Manager position at a Providenciales FBO. An individual with leadership, customer relations, and results focused abilities is required to oversee all aspects of the FBO operations.
Responsibilities will include: • Developing new business plan with capital requirements and anticipated performance • Establishing and servicing customers base, and developing customer relations • Ensuring that National & International regulations and safety procedures are establishing and maintained • Responsible for financial management of base including forecasting, budgeting and expense control Essential criteria for this position: • Superior industry knowledge of commercial and private aviation • Minimum of 10 years experience as an FBO general Manager • Proven track record in controlling all aspects of the business including line operations and facility management • An excellent track record in aviation safety monitoring and training • Verifiable track record of excellent customer service skills • Proven experience in managing fuel inventory • Strong experience in dealing with Regulatory authorities • Be willing to work extended and anti social hours Remuneration package commensurate with experience
Please submit a letter of application and resume to marsha@misickstanbrook.tc on or before 01st October, 2014
business or commit a violation. Among the government departments Ewing said would be outfitted with the machines are Immigration – both office and field; the Road Traffic Department, all police patrol vehicles, and also ambulances. He said that Biometrics TCI Identity Management Services would develop the cards in conjunction with its overseas partners, which he said has a track record of successfully undertakes such venture. He said that even tough government has explained that it had initiated the process of developing a similar system, it is not losing hope that the administration would reconsider and make Biometrics TCI Identity Management Services its national ID system developer. He said that the company will be pursuing a meeting with the cabinet to further pitch its idea. “The company Biometrics
TCI Identity Management Services and its affiliates from abroad were trying to secure an appointment for an audience with the premier and his cabinet to propose and demonstrate how a national identity card system would work for Turks and Caicos Islands. “But was told that the Minister for Border Control (Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner) was looking at implementing something that was on the books for sometime, which will take care of border control Issues, and that there was no need for anything at this time as far as a national identity card system for Turks and Caicos Islands. Biometrics TCI Identity Management Services’ mission is to preserve, reserve and maintain a balance for the greater and common good of the people and communities of our Beautiful By Nature, Turks & Caicos Islands,” Ewing said through an email.
Professional Maintenance Company seeking the following skilled technician
Refrigeration Supervisor • Five (5) years experience in industrial refrigeration for commercial cold storage as well as commercial air conditioning systems. Must hold technical certificates for both. • Fluent in Microsoft excel, word and office • Technical knowledge in plumbing, electrical and mechanical works, certificates required. • Installation of new equipment including refrigeration compressors, evaporators and condensers, ability to repair all large commercial cold storage • Supervision and development of daily routines of refrigeration maintenance staff. • Development and production of maintenance budgets, including parts and equipment orders. • Development and implementation of preventative maintenance schedules • Ability to complete tasks swiftly, good problem solving skills is a must. • Experience in the commercial cold storage / maintenance industry preferred. • Installing and repairing components such as Copeland discuss compressors, motors, condenser units, evaporators, switches and copper lines for 404A gas, refrigerant oil • Daily monitoring, checking and overhauling commercial cold storage refrigeration systems, diagnosing faults and repairing/replacing defective components • Experience with Danfoss refrigeration computerized controls • Required to be on call 24 hours, must be able to work nights, weekends and holidays. Please submit applications via email at maintenance@khcapital.com by Sept 27th 2014
Landscape laborer required A maintenance company on Providenciales is seeking to recruit a landscape laborer to join our team. The successful candidate must have the following experience and skill set; • Min 3 years experience in landscape maintenance • Responsible for weeding, pruning, trimming all plants on property • Must have good knowledge of gardening techniques and ability to apply pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers properly • Responsible for the upkeep and general maintenance of properties • Ability to maintain and repair irrigation systems • Willingness to perform laborious tasks • Self motivated and industrious applicants need only apply • Ability to follow directions and accomplish everyday jobs promptly $7.00 per hour Please forward all applications via email to maintenancedept@khcapital.com
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
LOCAL NEWS
TCI gets many World Travel Awards regional nominations
by Vivian Tyson Voting is now open for the Caribbean and North America leg of the World Travel Awards Gala Ceremony to be held in Anguilla on October 25th, and the Turks and Caicos Islands has secured a number of category spots. For the first time the TCI has been shortlisted for the Caribbean’s Leading Airport Lounge, with the standardbearer being the VIP Flyers Club at the Providenciales International Airport. It will jockey against the likes of Big Banana’s Club 17°61° Executive Lounge at the VC Bird International Airport, Antigua; Club MoBay, Sangster International Airport, Jamaica; SXM Executive Lounge, Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten; and The Graycliff Divans Lounge, Nassau International Airport, Bahamas. The Grand Turk Cruise Center has once again secured a spot to compete for the Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Port for 2014, pairing with Aruba, Barbados Port, Ocho Rios, Jamaica and The Bahamas. Grace Bay Beach in Providenciales is leading a strong field in the category of the Caribbean’s Leading Beach Destination for 2014. The TCI are the current holders of that title. Some of the other
destination looking to unseat the TCI are: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda; Aruba; Cane Garden Bay (Tortola, British Virgin Islands); Dominican Republic; Half Moon Bay (Antigua); Montego Bay (Jamaica); Negril (Jamaica); and Trinidad & Tobago. Grand Turk will be looking to secure the much sought-after Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination title. But it will have to contend with an impressive field led by Jamaica, who won the title last time around. Other competitors in those categories are Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Grand Cayman, St Lucia, St Thomas, The Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago. The Turks & Caicos Islands will also be seeking the take home the coveted title of Caribbean’s Leading Destination for 2014. Others in that category are, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, St Barts, St Martin, St. Lucia, The Bahamas, Tobago, US Virgin Islands. The Turks & Caicos is locked in the category of Caribbean’s Leading Dive Destination 2014, along with Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and The Bahamas. The TCI is also seeking to go after the Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Destination for 2014 title, along with
Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Nevis, St Barts, St Lucia, St Martin, St Vincent & The Grenadines and The Bahamas. Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board for 2014 is another title that the TCI is seeking to claim, ahead of Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts, The Bahamas and Tobago. The Caribbean’s Most Romantic Destination is another title that TCI will be seeking to secure for 2014.It will face stiff competition from Jamaica, St Barts, St Martin, The Bahamas, Tobago, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands. A number of local resorts will also be vying for titles at this year’s event. Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa will vie in the Caribbean’s Leading All Inclusive Family Resort for 2014 category. Point Grace will be seeking to capture the Caribbean’s Leading All Suite Hotel for 2014 award, and along with Parrot Cay, the Caribbean’s Leading Boutique Hotel for 2014 as well. Beach House Turks and Caicos
has been selected to compete for the Caribbean’s Leading Boutique Resort for 2014. Parrot Cay and the Regent Palms are vying for the Caribbean’s Leading Hotel for 2014. For the Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Suite for 2014 category, Grace Bay Penthouse Suite, Grace Bay Club; Penthouse Three Bedroom Ocean Front at The Regent Palms; and the Presidential Suite and the Somerset are the Turks and Caicos Islands representatives. The Meridian Club is the sole competitor in the Caribbean’s Leading Private Island Resort 2014 category, Grace Bay Club and Seven Stars Resort, are the local representatives in the Caribbean’s Leading Resort for 2014. Beach Villa 2 at Amanyara will be the TCI standard-bearer in the Caribbean’s Leading Villa 2014 category. Seven Stars Resort is drafted to compete for the title of Caribbean’s Most Romantic Resort for 2014. Parrot Cay and the Regent Palms will vie for the title of Caribbean’s Leading Spa Resort for 2014, while Olympic Destination Management Company, will represent the country in the Caribbean’s Leading Destination Management Company 2014. The World Travel Awards celebrates its 21st anniversary this year.
First quarter report shows significant boost in tourist revenues
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) recorded a budget surplus according to the latest quarterly budget statement issued today Friday, 12 September, 2014. The quarterly report records savings in Government expenditure, as well as a significant boost in tourist revenues in the first three months of this financial year (April-June 2014). Minister of Finance, Washington C. Misick said: “Government revenues continued their strong performance in the beginning of this year. “We cannot become complacent, as these revenues are subject to external factors, such as weather,
although the second quarter should continue this positive trend.” Governor H.E. Peter Beckingham said: “This performance clearly shows the importance of the luxury tourism market to the Turks and Caicos, which was bolstered by the harsh winter in North America a few months ago. “I am confident that the Premier’s new tourism strategy will play its part in communicating our unique offer to our markets.” Key statistics from the Turks and Caicos Islands 2014/15 budget report for Quarter 1 (April, May and June 2014):
PO Box 329, Graceway, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies Tel 649 441 5638 Website www.provoprimary.com PART-TIME DANCE/DRAMA TEACHER REQUIRED FOR IMMEDIATE START Applicants must hold a degree or PGCE in a performing arts related discipline and have experience of teaching young children. CARETAKER/JANITOR We also require a Caretaker/Janitor to work in our school between 7.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. Applicants must be hardworking, dependable and trustworthy and be able to provide excellent references (including a police check). Good working knowledge of English is essential. Please send or email letter of application, resume, and contact details together with the names and phone numbers of two referees to the Principal at the above
address.
• The Turks and Caicos Islands Government’s finances showed an operating surplus of $30.8 million. • Hotel and Restaurant tax the second highest revenue generator increasing from $11,393,000 in the same period last year to $15,005,000 in 2014/15 • Recurrent expenditure six per cent below budget estimates, showing the impact of improved public finance management and procurement processes. • The Turks and Caicos Islands Government’s total outstanding debt as of June 30 2014 is $205.2 million; including the $179m UK guaranteed Minister of Finance Washington C. Misick
is seeking
TWO DOMESTIC WORKERS Responsible for cleaning and general upkeep. • Ability to work shifts, early mornings, late nights, weekends and Holidays. • Clean police record. • Able to work under pressure. Salary $6.00 per hour
Belongers need only apply.
Interested person should apply to HR@intercaribbeanairways.com via fax to HR Department 649-946-4040 No phone calls please. Qualified candidates will be contacted for interview
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
Page 13
LOCAL NEWS
Flight Centre, Sandals Foundation gives New Beginning School $50,000 plus facelift by Vivian Tyson Students who attend the New Beginning School of Continuous Education were smiling from ear to ear after seeing their Five Cays, Providenciales learning facility transform from a rundown, ill-equipped compound to a majestic facility equipped with spanking new learning apparatuses and amenities. The $50,000 plus transformation was made possible through the kind collaboration between the Sandals Foundation and the Flight Centre, a Canadian travel retailer. Renovation of the building which involves painting, outfitting with over a dozen computers, construction of a new staircase that enables easier access to the building and a new bathroom including a shower, planting of flowers, and formation of an unpaved parking lot. Greg Dixon, President of Flight Centre, told reporters at the official opening on Monday (September 15, 2014) that his company has been a proud supporter of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the wider Caribbean for some time now. He said that each year when his Flight Centre stages a major conference in a Caribbean destination, funds are raised among delegates, and the total sum amassed is matched by his company. He said the total sum is then used to bankroll a local project. “This is the second time we have been in Turks and Caicos; we have done some other works in the community. This (school’s renovation and outfitting) was the project that made the most sense for this trip to Turks and Caicos. We are contributing $50,000 to Turks and Caicos and some of that money is going to the school and the Sandals Foundation is providing the labour,” Dixon said. He added: “When the Sandals Foundation started about five years ago, we have seen the need within the people of our organization to not only send people down to the Caribbean but to try and contribute to the communities of the Caribbean. So it makes perfect sense that we partner with the Sandals Foundation to do that. I think it is fantastic, it’s beautiful, the renovation is very good.”
Representatives of the Flight Centre, The Sandals Foundation, and Colin Bascombe, Principal for the New Beginning School and students of Continuous Studies share lens at the new school sign shortly after the opening of the school. Heidi Clarke, Director of Programmes for the Sandals Foundation said that not only has Flight Centre been a huge supporter of Caribbean tourism but it also gives back to the community. “Every time they come they want to choose a project that they think is going to have an impact, so this was the project that was chosen at this time. They work alongside us because of course we are on the ground. “What we have done here is not just a matter of building and aesthetics and infrastructure, but it is a matter of continuing the relationship with the ministries, with the school, to look at teacher training, to look at what the children need going forward, and really make sure that the school has a marked impact here in the Turks and Caicos Islands,” Clarke said. For her part, Hon. Akierra Missick, Minister for Education, Youth, Sport and Library Service, said that the refurbishing of the facility has shown what private/ public sector partnerships can achieve. The minister said that she will now be looking to see what kind of agreement can be worked out between the school and the ministry as to whether New Beginning can assist in lessening the overcrowding at the Clement Howell High school, by accommodating some of students from institution there. “What we are now looking forward to do, and speaking with Mr. (Colin)
Turks & Caicos Water Company d.b.a. Provo Golf Club ASSISTANT GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT The candidate should have advanced knowledge of agronomy and turf grass management practices, a working knowledge of golf course construction principles and a thorough understanding of the rules of the game of golf. Only persons with a minimum of five (6) years experience on a golf course with two years experience as a second assistant will be considered for the position. Salary commensurate with experience, training and education. Interested applicants should contact Veronica Rigby via email by September 29, 2014 at ronnie@habgroup.com or by fax 649-946-5191. Only persons selected for an interview will be contacted by email or telephone to schedule an interview.
Bascombe (principal), knowing that he can hold more students, is to see how we can alleviate some of the overcrowding at one of our high schools in Providenciales, and utilize these vocational subjects that are being taught at the institution,” she said.
Counseling provided Missick said that students coming to New Beginning School of Continuous Education, and who may have behavioral issues or need extra time and attention, could benefit from the counseling that is provided there. Bascombe, who has been at the helm of the 11-year-old institution for the past eight years, said that the institution caters to school dropouts and at risk students between the ages of 12 to 18. “I don’t think I have words to express how much it means to us, in that, if you had seen the before and seen the after, you would understand why I am at a loss for words. We are so grateful that Sandals Resorts and Flight Centre could have come on stream and do all this work,” he said. He said that the new environment should serve as a fillip for the students’ self esteem. Samuella Laurent, a second year student, and who said she wants to become either a doctor or a nurse, told the media that she was overly
impressed with the overhauling of her school. “This is amazing that the school has changed. It is just looking nice and awesome. I am now looking for new teachers, new subjects, more opportunities,” she said. Rosecarnell Parker, who has been attending the institution since 2011, was also impressed with her new environment. “I feel grateful for what they have done with the school. I am really thankful. It is pretty and I like the work that they have done to the classes and thankful for the computers that they donate,” she said. The school went into the summer break with 27 students. The tuition cost to attend New Beginning is $300 per term. Students recommended by Social Development do not pay to attend. Boscombe said that when the school originally opened it was to accommodate teen moms, but it has since evolved into taking in other students, even attracting those that failed to find space regular schools. He said that in addition to offering technical subjects, the school also offers academic subjects, and prepares students for CXCs. Boscombe said that the school is also supported by a number of civic organizations in the community such as Paradise Baptist Church, the Salvation Army and the Anglican Church Women of St. Monica’s.
ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY & ANTI- MONEY LAUNDERING SPECIALIST A local law firm is seeking an Associate Attorney who possesses an Upper Second Class Honours Law Degree and holds a minimum of 10 years of practical experience in civil, property, family, probate and corporate/ commercial matters. Experience in the Court and knowledge of Rules of Court will be an asset. Some duties will include assisting other attorneys with various matters, conducting research and preparing legal opinions, case management, conveyancing, corporate/commercial matters and work as an instructing attorney. The successful candidate must be someone who is able to work with little to no supervision, and be very organized with excellent communication and inter-personal skills. The candidate must have specialist qualifications and experience in Anti-Money Laundering and will be the law firm’s Money Laundering Reporting and Compliance Officer. Knowledge of dispute resolution and office management will be an asset. Salary will be commensurate with experience. Please send in cover letter with curriculum vitae to P.O. Box 499 Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands or via email to lawfirmrecruitmenttci@gmail.com
Page 14
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
LOCAL NEWS
Amanyara opens Peaceful Place Learning Centre at Oseta Jolly
Children sport happy faces as they enjoy the new facility.
Department but also from grade one to grade six. This is not just a library; when you think of a library, you think of basically, books. This is a learning centre because a lot of the materials are digital, and we are going to be making use of the computers to advance our students. “We are going to integrating technology into a lot of what we do, and the teachers will also benefit from the technology in this room. We are going to be having numerous training sessions for our teachers in order to build their skills and develop them in order for them to do their job more effectively,” Handfield said. Missick, for her part, said that the resort has been involved in education and
other undertakings in the area for quite some time, and her ministry is looking to forge even more partnerships with the entity. “I heard about this initiative a few months ago through Marco and Michel Neutilings, and they were excited to partner with the Oseta Jolly Primary School here in Blue Hills, as their resort is also in Blue Hills. But also to strengthen the private section and public sector connection that the two entities have,” she said. Hon. Cartwright-Robinson thanked the resort for what she described as its spirit of giving. “There is nothing like watch people give back; the only thing that is better is you giving back yourself. So I want to say thank you to Amanyara for appreciating the value of partnering of education. A lot of the times we look at corporate TCI, and we believe that it is all about turning the economy and creating jobs. But I believe the biggest investment we can make is in our future. At the end of these (children) are our leaders (of tomorrow).I have a sneak peak of inside there, and I am one of them who believe that pretty, clean places create a conducive environment for learning,” Cartwright – Robinson said.
TCA HANDLING is seeking
Julissa Beauty Salon
by Vivian Tyson The Oseta Jolly Peaceful Place Learning Centre – a digital and hardcopy library – officially unveiled on Tuesday (September 16, 2014) at the Blue Hills school and witnessed by a number of persons, including Minister for Education, Youth, Sport and Library Service Hon. Akierra Misick, Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson and MP for Blue Hills, Hon. Goldray Ewing. The learning centre is a gift from the secluded luxury Amanyara Resort also located in Blue Hills. Marco Franck, General Manager of Amanyara, said that the resort has decided to, in addition to support smaller scale work, provide something more tangible and long-lasting. “You can paint as many bathrooms as you want, and you can donate as many playgrounds as you want but there is no long term change, no strategy, no real vision to that. So we put in a digital component because that is the way of the future whether you like it or not,” he Franck said. Franck said that Amanyara will not only build the learning centre but also ensure that it gets the latest possible
upgrades. “We have a programme in place which will provide continuity moving into the future. So it’s not just donating something and then you just disappear. There is a lady here that has been brought in by us, she is a librarian and will conduct training for three schools. “Another gentleman, who was brought in a couple of months ago, was brought in to assist through different UK sources, maybe supplying us with used books and additional online learning for teachers. So it should be an ongoing programme. The actual physical space, which actually looks very nice and colourful, is probably only 10 percent of where we
TRULY NOLEN
WANTED
Is looking for
Marco Franck, General Manager of Amanyara. At right: An area of books and soft cushion seats.
ONE Two DOMESTIC experienced WORKER Pest control technicians
Much be able to work on call as well as regular working hours and holidays Contact 946-4272 or 231-0195
AUTO TECH seeks
One Receptionist One Salesperson Salary $5.00 per hour Must be able to work on Saturdays from 8-3 and Monday-Friday from 8-5
Contact 432-2323
wish to go with it,” Franck said. Rachel Handfield, Principal for the school said that words could not express the joy felt by her and the entire school population. She said that the resort has been a strong supporter of the school. “Amanyara Resort is a very strong support of Oseta Jolly Primary School. They have also committed to supporting our infant playground also, and a few other projects have been identified for this school year. So we are looking forward to the continued support from the Amanyara Resort,” she said. She said that Peaceful Place Learning Centre will help us to address some of literacy challenges at the institution. “…Not just for the Infant
TWO DOMESTIC WORKERS Responsible for cleaning and general upkeep.
Salary $6.00 per hour.
• Ability to work shifts, early mornings, late nights, weekends and Holidays. • Clean police record. • Able to work under pressure.
TWO LABOURERS
Should be able to work shifts, physically capable to do hard manual labour and lift heavy equipment.
Salary commensurate with experience.
Salary $5.00 per hour Interested persons should contact Genara Rigby 241-2430
Premier Contracting Services Seeks
ONE cleaner Salary $5.00 per hour Contact 231-3617
Belongers need only apply. Interested person should apply to HR@intercaribbeanairways.com or via fax to HR Department at 649-946-4040 No phone calls please. Qualified candidates will be contacted for interview
LIFE CHANGING LIQUOR STORE seeks
ONE LABOURER
Salary $5.00 per hour 6 days per week
Contact 242-5773
SECURITY AGENTS
• Must have completed secondary education • Willing to work shift pattern including weekends, holidays and over-time • MUST be fluent in the English Language • Clean Police record
RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Screening and searching passenger bags • Searching aircraft • Guarding aircraft
Submit application along with photograph to: General Manager, TCA Handling Town Centre Mall, Providenciales
HALFMOON DEPARTMENT STORE
(Located upstairs building adjacent to sweet T’s)
Is looking for
Sales Clerk
With computer and pricing skills
Interested persons please contact 345-7876
Seeks
One Salesperson/ Cleaner Salary
$5.00 per hour
Contact
#342-7995 South Caicos ECO CONSTRUCTION seeks
1 STEEL WORKER
Salary $6.00 per hour 6 days per week
Contact 244-9390
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
Sandals Foundation opens wellness centre at Enid Capron Primary by Vivian Tyson The Sandals Foundation opened a $3,000 wellness centre at the Enid Capron Primary School. Heidi Clarke, Director of Programmes for the Sandals Foundation said that the facility is equipped with a shower, a bed, improved plumbing, air conditioning and filing cabinet for record-keeping. “Sandals Foundation believes in providing the best infrastructure for the schools we work with, so we have been working with Enid Capron for years now, and really had a fantastic partnership. One of the most important things in school is health and wellness, and a school of this size with so many children. “We also want to isolate a child immediately when they are sick. If you see that they have fever or something, in the class and not feeling well, you would want to take them out and make them comfortable at that same time. “You don’t want them to sit up and wait for their mother, if
Enid Capron students Darcobica Stubbs (second left) and Isias St. John assist (third left) Heidi Clarke (left), Director of Programmes for the Sandals Foundation and Sophia Hamilton-Garland in cutting the ribbon to the Enid Capron Primary School Wellness Centre.
Heidi Clarke, Director of Programmes for the Sandals Foundation share a conversation with (from left) Codney Capron, Sonji Stubbs, Tyrese Quelch and Sauriah Mills, inside the wellness centre. they are late or whatever they have to do because they are at work. I think you want to have a facility like this, where a child can lay down comfortably if they have to be there for a hour or so, and having people who can take care of them,” Clarke
said. “Giving her reaction to the gift, Acting Principal Sofia Hamilton Garland said: “We feel blessed today knowing that Sandals Foundation has considered our children’s welfare. We are happy to know
that we now have this room to accommodate our students that may not be feeling well, until their parents were able to come and collect them from us. “We have never had a wellness centre before. What we did was, we had persons on
the compound that assisted the teachers if a child was ill. We would contact the parents, and if it is a major injury we would take the child to the hospital immediately. If it is minor the parents would come to get their children.”
Ministry of Health educates TCI on Caribbean Wellness Day
Ministry of Health is promoting Caribbean Wellness Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). This day is celebrated annually on the second Saturday in September throughout the Caribbean Region. It is geared at increasing awareness and promoting activities to address the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which continues to severely impact the health, economy and development of the region. The theme “The Heart of a Healthy Workplace is a Productive Workforce”
helps to recognize the threat posed by NCDs, CARICOM Heads of Government outline key strategies to prevent, control and reduce NCDs through the life course. This includes the need to increase physical activity in the entire population, especially in the workplace. The Ministry of Health and Human Services joins CARICOM in their efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle and eradicate NCDs. The Ministry recognizes that all individuals have a responsibility when it comes to healthy living and want to encourage individuals
to make a least one lifestyle change. These changes can include but are not limited to: • Walking, running or swimming for 30 minutes a day • Reducing your salt intake • Eating five servings of fruit and vegetables • Not smoking • Reducing your alcohol consumption An invitation is extended to all of Government, Private Sector and Faith Based Organizations to join us by being a part of our Corporate Competitions
which will be held on October 4, 2014 in Grand Turk at the Parade Grounds and October 18, 2014 in Providenciales at the National Stadium starting at 10.00 am. Activities will include Hula Hoop Competition, three leg race, sack race, needle and thread and tug-a-war, just to name a few. Research has shown that there is evidence that a healthy lifestyle can prevent diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, strokes and up to half of all cancers. Add life to your life by making lifestyle changes.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC AUCTION SALE is seeking applications for
Two Public Area Supervisors • Responsible for the flow of passengers through the operation bases. • Management and lifting of passenger baggage and personal effects.
ONE Driver
• 5 years or more experience in this position. • Valid TCI drivers licence. • Any experience in aviation would be an asset. Salary commensurate with experience. NB: Belongers need only apply. Interested person should apply to HR@intercaribbean.com or via fax to HR Department 649-946-4040. No phone call please. Qualified candidates will be contacted for interview
First Caribbean International Bank (Bahamas) Ltd as Chargee pursuant to the Registered Land Ordinance hereby gives Notice that it will cause to be sold by Public Auction the following scheduled properties outside the offices of: MCKNIGHTS Attorneys at Law, 46 Salt Mills Plaza, Grace Bay, Providenciales 10:00 am Thursday, 25 September, 2014 60003/92 North West & North Central Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
60811/20 Reef Lane, Long Bay Hills Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
The property is located in Belgrave Gardens, Phase one of the Priton homes residential estate. The property supports a Model A which comprises a three bedroom, two bathrooms with open plan kitchen/living/dining area built in or around 2008 on 0.25 ac.
A vacant residential property comprising a three bedroom dwelling with two bathrooms and open concept living area. Gross enclosed floor area approximately 1,003 square feet on 0.25 acres.
Registered Proprietor: WendyAnn Steer
Registered Proprietor: Ianthe Penditha Outten . (deceased)
A reserve price will be fixed. A 10% deposit will be required after successful bid.
Terms and Conditions of Sale by Auction are available on request from MCKNIGHTS (649) 941 2330/cell: (649) 331 7250/email: peter@mcknights.tc
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SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
LOCAL NEWS
FortisTCI makes special delivery to Ona Glinton Primary School students
Adopted by FortisTCI through the Company’s Adopt-a-School Program, on Friday, September 12, 2014, Ona Glinton Primary School received hundreds of school supplies for their students. This donation was made to ensure that the students have all they need to excel in their studies this school year. FortisTCI representatives from the Providenciales and Grand Turk office locations delivered the items, including; bags, pencils, erasers, crayons, notebooks, pencil sharpeners, and colored pencils. The Company hopes that the donation will leave all students better prepared in the classroom. Commenting on the occasion, Ona Glinton Primary School’s Vice Principal Ms. Rhoda Williams said, “We’re very thankful for this gift from FortisTCI. It cannot be said enough, that it is so important for students to have adequate supplies both in school and at home, and it also helps when teachers know that their students have proper materials to complete their assigned tasks.” In total, approximately 300 bags filled with supplies were distributed to students with the help of the Ona Glinton staff. The children eagerly lined up to receive their bags and quickly went to class to put them to
Students of the Ona Glinton Primary School looking through their goodies from FortisTCI. use. Teachers and students alike were grateful for the supplies as it meant that every student would have what they need daily. Vice President of Customer & Corporate Services Allan Robinson said, “FortisTCI is proud to be a part of the Grand Turk Community, and we are happy when we can give back like this. Supplying these students with tools to aid in their learning experience, allows them to stay focused on their
education and other important day to day activities. This is something that FortisTCI lives to be a part of.” Through the Adopt-a-School Program, this is just one of the initiatives planned by FortisTCI this year for Ona Glinton. Through careful communication with school officials and the Department of Education, FortisTCI looks forward to this continued partnership during the remainder of the 2014-15 school year.
WIV launches its website www.wiv.tc
In an effort to provide more information and helpful resources for our customers, WIV is pleased to announce the launch of its fully-featured website www.wiv.tc which will give customers access to all the information they need to know about WIV Cable TV & Home Broadband services. Along with getting general information, customers will be able to send messages to customer care, download the WIV application form to apply for service, find answers to the most frequently asked questions about WIV’s services and signup for the WIV newsletter. WIV currently provides the Turks and Caicos Islands with the best digital cable TV packages and fastest home broadband. The company was acquired by Digicel Turks and Caicos in April 2014 and is currently undergoing numerous upgrades to its broadband and digital cable TV infrastructure, which will see greater choice, quality and value in broadband and cable TV services for customers across TCI.
HAB MANAGEMENT LTD HAB Management Limited is a seeking suitably qualified individual to fill the following opening. Only candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be considered.
Chief Financial Officer/Compliance Officer Required Qualifications: • Minimum Masters degree in Business Administration from reputable institution • CA/CPA required, additional certification in Business Information Systems desired • Minimum of 15 years experience in finance with exposure to global initiatives impacting financial industry compliance. • Minimum 5 years experience in the implementation and monitoring of compliance regulations and anti-money laundering initiatives. • Minimum 7 years executive management experience • Must meet the Compliance Officer certification requirements of the Financial Services Commission Qualified applicants must be of good moral character and reputation; must have excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt to a flexible working environment; must be a team player with excellent supervisory skills and an excellent work ethic. Salary range: $40,000 - $80,000. Salary will be based on qualification and experience. No phone calls
Applications should be addressed to: Attn: Brian Trowbridge Hallmark Trust Ltd. P.O. Box 656 Providenciales Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI Or you may Email: btrowbridge@hbtl.tc or Fax: 649-946-5316
SECURITY GUARD Job Description Responsible for implementing and enforcing security measures in order to provide maximum protection to the lives and properties of the company, employees and guests. Responsible to guard, patrol and monitor company premises to prevent theft, violence or infractions of rules. Main Duties • Maintaining a safe and secure environment for all guests and employees. • Must be trained in self defense and security operations. • Document reports of daily activities and irregularities that occur on premises in logbook. • Inspect and adjust security systems, equipment and machinery to ensure operational use. • Responding quickly to emergency situation. Requirements • Must have five years or more experience as a Security Officer. Law enforcement/ security experience preferred. • Excellent oral and written communication skills are required. • Must be computer literate and have working knowledge of CCTV systems and software. • Must be willing to work a variety of day/night and weekend shifts. • Able to be on feet for long periods of time. • Excellent people skills. • Professional, neat, clean cut appearance is necessary. • Clean driver’s license. The salary for this position is $15,000.00 per annum, commensurate with experience, training and education. Interested applicants should email resumes by Sept. 29, 2014 to ronnie@habgroup.com or submit by fax 649-946-5191. Only persons selected for an interview will be contacted by email or telephone to schedule an interview.
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
Caribbean Food and Wine tickets almost sold out by Vivian Tyson Promoters of the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival said that tickets for this year’s event, slated for November 6 to 8, have been going phenomenally well. Tony Garland and Wolfgang Vonweiser, members of the executive committee, speaking at the launch of the fourth annual event at the Blue Haven Resort in Leeward, Providenciales, said that the team of celebrity chefs and winemakers have already been selected for this year’s event. “This year is the prelude to our fifth anniversary next year. So we are excited to raise the bar in preparation for 2015,” Garland said. Vonweiser said that the majority of the tickets have already been sold. “We are 85 percent sold out. We have a couple of tickets left, so if you want to come, if you want to participate, book early. Tickets are going very quickly. The guest chefs this year will be David Lefevre, Leah Cohen and Hans Peter Haider. They will be complemented by the finest chefs on Provo, as well as the finest winemakers. Duck Pond Cellars will introduce wines from its new property in Washington State. For the first time the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival will feature organic wines from Benziger Family Winery in California. Chris Benziger, one of the founding family members of the winery, will attend the event to pitch his slate of wines. Cuvaison Estate Wines of Napa
Robin Janse, F&B Manager at Blue Haven; Nandini Chandrasekara, F&B Coordinator at Seven Stars; Lauren Callighen, Executive Chef at The Regent Palms; Anthony Garland, Co-chairman of Caribbean Food & Wine Festival; Wolfgang von Weiser, Group Director of Food & Beverage, Grace Bay Resorts and Ajay Vyas, Executive Assistant Manager - Food & Beverage, Grace Bay Club. Valley will also be represented through its president Jay Schuppert. Blue Haven Resort, which opened last year, will take part in this year’s event for the first time. The Caribbean Food and Wine Festival kicks off with cocktails at Fire and Ice Restaurant at Blue Haven Resort, followed by a welcome dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. On November 7, there will be the gourmet safari, which begins with cocktails at Grace Bay Club, followed by dinner at Coyaba Restaurant, Seven Stars, the Regent Palms and ending at Gansvoort. Earlier in the day will be the Women of Wine Luncheon to
start at 1 p.m. at Beach House. November 8, will be the food and wine pairing to be held at West Bay Club starting at 11 a.m. and at 3 p.m. there will be the Island Street Food Fair along the Grace Bay strip in the vicinity of Jai’s Jewellery. The evening will culminate with “Dinner with the stars” at Grace Bay Club beginning at 8 p.m. Garland said that due to the tremendous feedback that the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival has been getting, the organizers plan to extend the number of days next year. “For this year we are going to stick to the three days and next year the plan is to expand,” Garland said. He said of the reservations received so far,
20 percent are from overseas. Many of those persons, Garland said, booked immediately after last year’s staging. He said that the level of intimacy that the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival has established between guests, the winemakers and the chefs has set it apart from similar events held other parts in the Caribbean. “The other festival, you are looking at hundreds of people, and what is lost there is the intimacy, the opportunity to speak to Chef Lauren or Chef Wolfgang, or even some of our visiting chefs and winemakers. We don’t want to lose that intimacy of our event. We want to keep that boutique approach,”
Garland said. Ajay Vyas, one of the organizers, said that the event attracted a number of travel writers, which have been giving the destination a great deal of highlight. “We have been voted among the top five food and wine festivals in the Caribbean, which might not give us the immediate impact, but this is how all the big festivals started; that is how the location becomes popular. We are having a food and wine festival which used to be a gourmet safari just four years ago. Now we have a three-day event with about eight participating restaurants. So, it is growing,” Vyas said.
FortisTCI receives final results from renewable energy interconnection study
A leading commercial and industrial engineering solutions company, Leidos Engineering, LLC (Leidos), recently completed a Renewable Energy Infusion Study for FortisTCI (FTCI), the energy provider in the Turks and Caicos Islands. FortisTCI President & CEO Eddinton Powell said, “We are now one step closer to understanding how and at what level we can integrate renewable energy into our electricity grid. We know that in the future renewable energy will play a role in the energy mix of the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is important that these studies precede any implementation so that we can make the best decisions for our customers, for the Country and the Company. No new forms of generation should reduce the safety and reliability of service, or increase the cost” The study, commissioned in early 2014, was undertaken to determine the total capacity of intermittent renewable energy that FortisTCI can safely integrate into the electricity grid without compromising system stability. The final report, completed in August 2014, focused on (non-base load) photovoltaic (PV), often referred to as solar, and wind distributed generation (DG) installations on Grand Turk and Providenciales. The study was limited
FortisTCI is now working to position itself to accept customer-owned solar energy on the electricity grid by the middle of 2015. to these two locations, as a result of the small size of the electricity systems on the other islands. The assessment included both utility scale as well as small capacity (for example, 3 kW) systems. In the report, Leidos has made a number of recommendations. They include: • Setting the upper limit of renewable DG, to a maximum of 4.15 MW in Providenciales and 0.34 MW in Grand
Turk. • Setting infusion of renewables on each distribution feeder to no more than the feeder minimum load to avoid system voltage issues. • Prohibit DG on Grace Bay feeder five because of its impact on operating voltages, unless there are additional system upgrades or improvements. These are just some of the recommendations made in the report. In
addition, Leidos recommends, setting all consumer DG interfaced with the current grid, at existing individual demand (electricity consumption) or less. The study went on to reveal that it is possible to achieve higher DG penetration, but only with significant investment and upgrades. The report read, “additional analysis is recommended to confirm technically and economically: 1) Altering the generation dispatch and (or) increasing the spinning reserve to provide more margin for system contingencies with DG. 2) Add substation and (or) line regulation to provide more voltage control of the T&D system and take advantage of the available capacity.” Additionally, according to Leidos all DG installations should follow already established international interconnection standards set by professional associations such as, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Suggested standards include; IEEE 1547, IEEE 929 and UL1741. FortisTCI is now working to position itself to accept customer-owned solar energy on the electricity grid by the middle of 2015. In order to achieve this goal, it will require FortisTCI and the Turks and Caicos Islands Government to work together to set proper interconnection and metering standards.
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
LOCAL NEWS
TCIG Spotlight Program recognizes Disaster Recovery Team
As part of her regular series of public recognition for good practice in the Turks and Caicos Islands civil service, the Deputy Governor, and head of the public service, Anya Williams, turns her spotlight for September on those who were in the front line of the recovery effort after Tropical Storm Cristobal: “I would like to record the Government’s thanks and appreciation to the Disaster Recovery Team that worked tirelessly throughout late August to address the recovery
efforts on the islands of Providenciales and especially North Caicos,” said Williams. “This was a real joint effort with contributions from various departments and agencies, including personnel from the Ministry of Government Support Services, as well as colleagues and co-workers from Environmental Health, Emergency Medical Services, Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies, the Crown Land Unit and the District Commissioners’ Offices.
“Everyone involved went beyond the call of duty and worked long hours in uncomfortable conditions to ensure that the concerns of those affected and the wider public were addressed, including building a new access road in North Caicos and drilling 14 drainage wells in very short order. “Their commitment was exemplary, and certainly worthy of this public recognition of their commitment to their careers and our citizens.”
Premier attends cto state of the industry conference in usvi
Dr. the Hon. Rufus W. Ewing, Premier and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, left the Country this past weekend to join other Tourism Ministers and Leaders from the Caribbean Region in attending the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) State of the Industry Conference 2014 in St. Thomas of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI). The week-long event, held annually, is the industry’s biggest event of the year where tourism specialists and academics, Ministers and policy makers, come together with the key stakeholders, tourism professionals and strategic planners from both the public and private sectors to discuss issues and identify solutions as a part of their mapping of the road way for the sustainable
growth of the tourism industry for the future. This much anticipated event, held under the theme: Realizing the Vision: Positioning Caribbean Tourism for Major Change, attracted some 350 participants, and featured speakers of international and regional acclaim on a wide range of topics, best practices and formidable strategies that will be critical to growth of Caribbean economies. Among those topics discussed this year was the Diversification of the Tourism Product to Secure Year-Round Business and Private-Public Partnerships and its Implications, two key components that Premier Ewing has long promoted in his Tourism and Strategic National Agenda for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Masonic Lodge continues long-standing community donations
Soroptimist International of Grand Turk, and the Ena Woodstock Preschool were the recipients of a monetary donation from the District Grand Lodge of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands this past June. A contribution the Lodge has continued to make to the Club in recent years to assist them with the preschool’s regular upkeep. The preschool, named for Mrs.
Ena T Woodstock, the Founder of the Club and a former Magistrate of the Turks and Caicos Islands, stands as a Long-term project of Soroptimist International of Grand Turk. Recently with some unexpected setbacks, the preschool had to be closed to undergo necessary repairs. In thanking the District Grand Lodge, Soroptimist Club member Sabrina Williams said, “The Club
is extremely happy to receive this Lodge of England, Freemasonry is one donation that will assist with financing of the world’s oldest and largest nonrepairs and other bills associated with religious, non-political, fraternal and charitable organizations that teaches the School.” The Ena Woodstock Preschool has self-knowledge and expects members to benefited from this contribution for uphold the highest of moral standards. They also teach a concern for people, the last three years, a handover this year, made on behalf of the Lodge care for the less fortunate and help for by Assistant District Grand Master those in need; they live by values based on integrity, kindness, honesty and Oswald M. Simons. As defined by the United Grand fairness.
BUTTERFIELD GOLD GROUP OF COMPANIES
POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Butterfield Gold One (1) Driver/ Chauffeur Must have clean drivers license and Police Record Applicant must chauffeur Owners seven days a week on call including holidays. One (1) Painter Minimum of three (3) years work experience in the painting trade Wages: commensurate with experience starting from $7.00 per hour Island Pride Fuel One (1) Gas Attendant Good oral and written skills, no experience necessary. Knowledge of basic mechanically skills would be an asset. Knowledge to maintain gas pump machines would be an asset. Wages: $6.50 per hour Only Belongers apply for these positions Application forms available from Butterfield Gold Human Resource Department. Only applicants selected for interview will be notified. Submit applications to by September 2, 2014 to: Butterfield Gold Ltd., Human Resource Department Town Center Mall Providenciales Tel: 649-946-4211
J & D Office Supplies requires a
Certified COPIER TECHNICIAN For all Brands Please email resume to jdofficesupplies@tciway.tc J & D Office Supplies requires a
Sales Clerk
Experience in Quick Books Point of Sale Please email resume to jdofficesupplies@tciway.tc
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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ENTERTAINMENT
Nine contestants face off at first Miss Teen TCI pageant The event of the summer is finally here, as the nine contestants of the 1st Annual Miss Teen Turks and Caicos competition prepare to showcase their personality, poise, finesse, grace and charm during three days of exciting activities that will conclude on Saturday, September 27, 2014 at the Williams Auditorium, Providenciales at 8 p.m. The “flawless ladies”: Davetria Robinson, Miss Teen East Caicos; Mary Fulford, Miss Teen Grand Turk; Mitiana Simons, Miss Teen Middle Caicos; Liéacha Smith, Miss Teen North Caicos; Joanna Previl, Miss Teen Parrot Cay; Alicia Duncanson, Miss Teen Pine Cay; Uxslene Andre, Miss Teen Providenciales; Shanaz Gardiner, Miss Teen Salt Cay; and Malique Ferrette, Miss Teen West Caicos have been training for two months and are all equally ready to wear the crown. Organizers say they have put together a series of activities and events that they hope will leave a lasting impression on attendees. According to Oehleo Higgs, President and Creative Director of the Miss Teen Turks and Caicos Organisation Inc. (MTTCO), “We hope to accomplish a production that is filled with drama, awe and excitement; similar to what we usually see when watching Miss Universe or Miss America on television. We want to audience to feel fully immersed in the experience as they cheer their favourite contestant along.” On Saturday, September 20, 2014,
The nine contestants in the Miss Teen Turks and Caicos pageant scheduled for September 27th at the Williams Auditorium. the Miss Teen Turks and Caicos contestants will display their strength and fitness in the first ever “Wrightfully Fit’s Miss Teen Turks and Caicos Lifestyle and Fitness Competition” at Long Bay Beach (Shore Club) starting at 11 a.m. The winner of this non-judged, special category will be announced at the grand finale. On Friday, September 26, 2014 all roads lead to the Bight’s Children Park as the contestants join the Department of Youth Affairs for a Grand Motorcade. The general public is invited to join the contestants’ float and to bring their
flags, rags and dress in their national colours. The motorcade starts at 10 a.m. from the Miss Moonies Parking Lot in Long Bay. Finally on Saturday, September 27, 2014 the public is invited to attend the Miss Teen Turks and Caicos Final Competition and Coronation Night as MTTCO presents, “Summer Solstice – The Hottest Day of Summer”. Hosted by the dynamic Angelourdes Toussaint and David Ellis, the night will see the nine radiant contestants vie in National Costume, Talent, Swimwear and Evening Gown
Competitions before being cut to the Top 5, who will then move on to the Final Question. Doors open at 7 p.m for preentertainment, cocktail hour and redcarpet photos. The main event begins at 8 p.m. with an explosive opening number. The festivities will wrap-up with an after party at Zanzi Lounge featuring Prime DJs among other entertainment. The first crowned Miss Teen Turks and Caicos queen will compete at the Miss Teen Universe pageant scheduled for February 1 – 7, 2015 in Guatemala.
AIRPORT PLAZA UNIT #4
333-6695 or 243-3706 or 345-3439
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TURKS & CA
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
LOCAL NEWS
One of the guests at the function mingle with students from the institution.
Leader of the Opposition Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson (left), Edgar Howell (centre) - Directo Education and Dara Thomas – Education Officer, discusses education matters during the event.
Flight Centre, Sandals Foundation overhaul New Beginning School o Continuous Education The New Beginning School of Continuous Education underwent at $50,000 plus renovation thanks to the efforts of Flight Centre – a Canadian travel sales retail travel agency through the philanthropic arm of the Sandals/Beaches chain – the Sandals Foundation. The school, located in Five Cays, Providenciales, which caters to teen moms and at risk children, Minister for Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services Hon. was officially opened on Akierra Missick speaks at the event. Looking on are Greg Dixon, Monday (September 15, President of Flight Centre and Heidi Clarke, Director of Programmes 2014). for the Sandals Foundation. The following are highlights of the event.
Students of the New Beginning School of Continuous Education, their principal Colin Bascombe (second right), rep school sign
Member of Parliament for the Five Cays constituency in Providenciales Hon. Sean Astwood (left) and Colin Boscombe share a light moment.
A guest admires the refurbished beauty parlour room of New Beginning School of Continuous Education.
One of th
AICOS SUN
SEPTEMBER 20TH – SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2014
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From left – Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services; Colin Boscombe – Principal for the New Beginning of Continuous Education; Greg Dixon – President for Flight Centre; Heidi Clarke, Director of Programmes for the Sandals Foundation share in the ribbon-cutting ribbon to officially opening the new and improved New Beginning School of Continuous Education.
or of
of Students of the New Beginning School of Continuous Education and their Principal Colin Bascombe, representatives of Flight Centre and the Sandals Foundation, share a photo op moment shortly after cutting the ribbon to officially open the school.
Joy Field-Ridley (right) share in a light moment with Hon. Akierra Missick (left) – Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services and News4 Reporter Zoya Faessler share a light moment.
Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services Hon. Akierra Missick (centre) and Greg Dixon, President of the Flight Centre listen attentively as Elanor Finfin-Krzanowsky explains the refurbishment of the school.
presentatives from Flight Centre and the Sandals Foundation, are photographed beside the newly-erected
he classrooms outfitted with brand new desktop computers.
Elanor Finfin-Krzanowski (right), Head of Public Relations at Beaches Turks and Caicos introduces Greg Dixon (centre) and his Flight Centre team to the newly-refurbished New Beginning School of Continuous Education.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Nina Daculuri performs her last official act as Miss America 2014.
Miss New York Kira Kazantsev in swimwear.
Miss Oklahoma Alex Eppler competes in the Evening Wear.
Miss Massachusetts Lauren Kuhn competes in the Evening Wear competition.
Miss New York Kira Kazantsev competes in the Evening Wear.
Miss Florida Victoria Cowen competes in the Evening Wear.
Miss Iowa Aly Olson competes in the Evening Wear competition.
Miss Ohio Mackenzie Bart performs a ventriloquist act.
Miss America Pageant 2015 is Miss New York Kira Kazantsev Miss New York Kira Kazantsev won the Miss America pageant Sunday night, with the help of a red plastic cup. For her talent performance, Kazantsev sang Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” while sitting cross-legged on the stage and banging a red plastic cup on the floor. That immediately touched off a furor on social media networks, where many were critical of her performance. But Kazantsev said she was inspired by the 2012 movie “Pitch Perfect” in which Anna Kendrick’s character auditions for an a capella group by performing rhythmically with a cup. She also said she did it to show future contestants they can win the Miss America pageant by performing whatever talent routine they like, regardless of what others think of it. “The reason why I chose to do that talent is I wanted every single little girl in America to be able to see that you can do that talent — you can do whatever talent you want on national television — even with a red cup — and still be Miss America and have the time of your life,” Kazantsev said. “I literally in that minute and 30 seconds had the most fun I’ve ever had, and that’s because I stayed true to myself and I did what I wanted to do for my talent, no matter what everybody else told me, and it paid off. I’m very happy about it.” Kazantsev, who named combating sexual assault in the military as the issue about which she would want female U.S. Senators to press their male counterparts, won a $50,000 scholarship with which she plans to attend law school. She also plans to speak out against domestic violence
during her yearlong resign as Miss America. Her victory marked the third year in a row that a contestant from her state has walked away with the crown in the nationally televised pageant. Kazantsev received the crown at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall from outgoing Miss America — and Miss New York — Nina Davuluri Kazantsev will begin a schedule this week that will see her travel 20,000 miles a month. The first runner-up was Miss Virginia Courtney Paige Garrett. Other top 5 finalists were Miss Arkansas Ashton Jo Campbell; Miss Florida Victoria Cowen; and Miss Massachusetts Lauren Kuhn. Miss North Dakota, Jacky Arness was chosen by her peers as Miss Congeniality. For three hours Sunday night, America got a different look at Atlantic City. The Miss America pageant presented an upbeat view of the city where it began in 1921. It featured Atlantic City visuals
Miss New York Kira Kazantsev poses for photographers during a news conference after she was crowned Miss America 2015. At right Kazantsev sings and performs a cup-tapping routine.
iconic
including its beach, Boardwalk, the Steel Pier, Black Fish Pier near Brigantine, and the Atlantic City Beach Patrol station. “Atlantic City is facing a challenging economic climate and our hearts go out to all of those who have lost their jobs,” said Sam Haskell III, CEO of the Miss America organization. “We hope that our Miss America telecast ... will generate great interest for Atlantic City on a national scale as we showcase their beautiful beaches and Boardwalk.”
Miss Alabama dances ballet in the Talent competition.
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The top five contestants hold hand and await the final results during the Miss America 2015 Competition.
Miss Virgina Courtney Paige Garrett sings opera in the Talent competition.
Miss Florida Victoria Cowen dances during the talent portion of the Miss America 2015 pageant.
Miss Ohio Mackenzie Bart Miss Tennessee Hayley Lewis competes in the Evening Wear. competes in the Evening Wear.
Miss Virginia Courtney Paige Garrett competes in the Evening Wear.
Miss Mississippi Jasmine Murray competes in the Evening Wear.
Miss Massachusetts Lauren Kuhn plays the piano during the talent portion of the competition in New Jersey.
Miss Nebraska in competes in the Evening Wear.
Miss Kentucky Ramsey Carpenter competes in the Evening Wear competition.
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China prosecutor approves arrest of Jackie Chan’s son on drug charge
BEIJING – Chinese prosecutors have approved last month’s arrest of Jaycee Chan, son of kung fu movie star Jackie Chan, after a suspected drugs offence, the state-owned Beijing News reported on Wednesday, meaning he can now be formally charged. The younger Chan, a 32-year-old actor and singer, was arrested in Beijing after testing positive for marijuana and police said they found 100 grams of the drug at his home. President Xi Jinping said in June that China would “harshly crack down” on narcotics, state media reported. Action and comedy star Jackie Chan, 60, served as a goodwill spokesman for the
Jackie Chan and his son, Jaycee, in 2008. China National Anti-Drug Committee in 2009, state media reported, promoting anti-drug
education. China has detained a string of other mostly B-list
celebrities in recent months on drug-related charges, cases that have been publicized widely in both state and social media. They have included movie and television stars, film directors and a prominent screenwriter. Drug-related crimes carry harsh penalties in China including death or life imprisonment in serious cases. A lawyer told the Beijing News the younger Chan, if found guilty, could be jailed for about three years. Illegal drugs, especially synthetic substances like methamphetamine, ketamine and ecstasy, have grown in popularity in China in tandem with the rise of a new urban class with greater disposable
Police: Protocol followed in detention of actress
LOS ANGELES – Police said Monday they followed proper protocol when they demanded identification from an actress and her boyfriend while investigating a 911 call alleging lewd conduct in a parked car. Actress Daniele Watts, who appeared in “Django Unchained,” says she was unjustly handcuffed and detained Thursday after refusing to provide identification and walking away from officers responding to a report of lewd conduct in a car along Ventura Boulevard. Watts said in an interview Monday that she and her boyfriend, Brian Lucas, were kissing in the car and fully clothed, with nothing improper going on. She and Lucas wrote about the incident on Facebook and posted photos of a crying Watts in handcuffs. Lucas said he suspects that onlookers assumed Watts to be a prostitute and him a client because she is black and he is white. Los Angeles police Lt. Andrew Neiman said citizens are required to identify
Actress Daniele Watts and Brian Lucas speak during an interview with KABCTV in Los Angeles. themselves if requested to do so by an officer who has reasonable suspicion to believe an offense may have been committed. In this case, he said, reasonable suspicion was created by the 911 call, and Watts and Lucas fit the description and location described by the caller. Celebrity website TMZ posted audio of the exchange between Watts and police. Neiman and Bill McCoy, a
spokesman for the couple, say the audio is authentic, though its origin is unknown. On the recording, a police sergeant is heard telling Watts, “Somebody called, which gives me the right to be here, so it gives me the right to identify you by law.” Watts can be heard responding in frustration. She was detained until police determined no crime was committed. Neiman said it is unlikely
that a recording of the 911 call will be made public. The results of the LAPD’s internal investigation of the matter, which could take several months, are also unlikely to be released, he said. Watts said the officer’s demeanor was an emotional trigger for her. “He was not abusive,” she said. “He was not overtly racist.” But she did feel as though she was singled out even though she hadn’t done anything wrong. She said she is speaking out about the incident in hopes of furthering a discussion about “questions that give us clarity about the nature of our being in this society.” “I can understand how people would say that I’m being a drama queen and that I created this situation for publicity,” she said. “To a certain degree, you can say they’re correct in that if I’m going to be in the public eye, I’m going to stand up for what I believe in, and I don’t believe I committed any crime where I deserved to be in handcuffs.”
Leonardo DiCaprio named UN Messenger of Peace
UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Ban Kimoon has appointed Leonardo DiCaprio as a United Nations Messenger of Peace to help promote global action on climate change. Ban told a news conference Tuesday that the American actor “is not just one of the world’s leading actors” but he has “a longstanding commitment to environmental
causes.” DiCaprio established a foundation in 1998 with a mission to promote the Earth’s last wild places and build a more harmonious relationship between humanity and the natural world. The secretary-general said DiCaprio will address Tuesday’s climate summit, where he expects some 120
world leaders. DiCaprio said he was honoured by the role and that he feels “a moral obligation to speak out at this key moment in human history” about the threat of climate change. The 39-year-old “Wolf of Wall Street” star founded an environmental foundation in 1998. He joins 11 other prominent world figures who advocate on behalf of the
American actor Leonardo DiCaprio U.N. as Messengers of Peace, including Stevie Wonder, Michael Douglas, George Clooney, Brazilian author Paulo Coelho and conductor Daniel Barenboim.
income. A commentary published Wednesday in the Global Times, a popular tabloid published by the official People’s Daily, said celebrities should not expect leniency from the government or the public after sex or drug scandals. “Western celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Hugh Grant were embraced by fans again after they were hit by scandals, causing an illusion among Chinese entertainers that they could be as lucky as Bryant and Grant,” the commentary said. “However, Chinese entertainment figures are subjected to higher standards of morality than their Western counterparts.”
Mexico probes Miley Cyrus show over flag-whipping
US pop star Miley Cyrus has caused a stir in Mexico after getting whipped on a giant fake buttocks with the country’s flag during a concert, prompting an official investigation. A video shows the provocative singer bent over as two singers whip her mock backside with small flags, including one in the distinct green, white and red colours of Mexico, on Tuesday in the northern city of Monterrey. The Bangerz Tour 2014 concert coincided with Mexico’s independence day festivities and the video made waves across local media. A spokesman for the interior ministry said the probe was launched Wednesday at the request of the Nuevo Leon state congress, which accused Cyrus of desecrating the flag. The spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “the company that brought her here would be sanctioned, not her” because it was the organizer’s responsibility to agree with Cyrus the content of the concert. The fine could amount to $1,270, although the legislature also called for 36-hour jail time. The show at Monterrey Arena was promoted by a firm named Zignia Live.
Apple: U2 album accessed by 33 million users
NEW YORK – Apple Inc. says 33 million iTunes account holders have accessed U2’s free album. The company issued a statement Monday from Senior Vice President Eddy Cue with the first usage numbers for the surprise “Songs of Freedom” release by the company. Applegave the album to 500 million iTunes account holders last week during the company’s iPhone 6 unveiling news conference. Cue called the number recordbreaking, but did not elaborate. The figure includes customers who downloaded the album from their iCloud account, streamed it or used iTunes’ radio player to hear it. Apple paid the Irish rock band for a five-week exclusive window during which the album is only available to its customers.
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Singer Robin Thicke says was high during ‘Blurred Lines’ breakout year
LOS ANGELES – R&B singer Robin Thicke said he was high on painkillers and alcohol in 2013 when “Blurred Lines” became a hit, and he exaggerated his contribution to writing the song, according to court papers filed on Monday. Thicke, 37, said in a deposition in April that he had been largely absent during the composition of “Blurred Lines,” due to being under the influence of opioid painkiller Vicodin mixed with alcohol. “I had a drug and alcohol problem for the year and I didn’t do a sober interview. So I don’t recall many things that I said,” Thicke said in the deposition. He added that he was no longer taking Vicodin. The song was created by R&B artist and producer Pharrell Williams, who said in deposition two days before Thicke’s that he had composed the melody and written the lyrics for the hit, and that Thicke had “embellished” the origins of the song. The previously sealed depositions were filed in Los Angeles federal court on Monday in connection with a lawsuit by the estate of late soul singer Marvin Gaye against Thicke
Singer Robin Thicke performs Get Her Back at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas and Williams, accusing them of stealing from the Motown legend’s 1977 song “Got to Give it Up.” Thicke’s attorney Howard King said in a statement on Monday that the release of the deposition was aimed at “diverting attention from
the obvious weakness of their legal claim.” Representatives for Williams did not respond to requests for comment. While Thicke and Williams both denied any similarities or copyright infringement of Gaye’s work, Thicke, a music producer and singer, said he was “envious” of Williams creating the song that would become his breakout into the mainstream pop industry. “The biggest hit of my career was written and produced by somebody else, and I was jealous and I wanted some of the credit,” Thicke said. The singer caused a sensation with a raunchy performance of Clooney won best actor in a drama at the 2012 Golden Globes. “Blurred Lines” at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards with Miley Cyrus and was nominated for three Grammy awards this year, including record of the year for “Blurred Lines.” As the song became more popular, Thicke said, “I started kind of convincing myself that I was a little more part of it than I was.” The deposition sheds light on a tumultuous year for Thicke, in which he separated from his actress wife US actor, director and producer George Clooney is to Paula Patton, which he referenced receive an honorary award at next year’s Golden Globes. while being questioned. Organisers said the 53-year-old would be given its Cecil B DeMille award for “his outstanding contributions both in front of and behind the camera”. Clooney was being recognised “as much for his global humanitarian efforts as he is for his accomplishments in the entertainment industry,” the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) said. 2015’s awards take place on 11 January. Recent recipients of the DeMille award, named after the famed producer of The Ten Commandments, include Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and the late Robin Williams. Woody Allen was honoured at this year’s event, though the actor and director did not travel to Los Angeles to collect his accolade. Clooney is no stranger to the Golden Globes, Roger Goodell have come under having been previously honoured by the HFPA for his intense public criticism for its performances in The Descendants, O Brother Where handling of the Rice case. Art Thou and Syriana. CBS Sports Chairman Sean The former ER star and Hollywood heartthrob McManus said last week that the is expected to tie the knot shortly with human rights change in the broadcast reflected lawyer Amal Alamuddin. events. “We thought journalistically and from a tone standpoint, we needed to have the appropriate tone coverage,” he told “Sports Illustrated” last week. CBS pulled several pre-game items including a comedy sketch. Goodell initially suspended Rice, a Pro Bowl player, two games for punching his then fiancee in an Pop star Taylor Swift, who has adopted a sexier look Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino on red carpets, was named People magazine’s bestelevator. dressed celebrity of the year on Wednesday. Goodell suspended Rice Swift led the annual unranked list of the top 10 bestindefinitely last week after dressed celebrity style icons that also included Oscarsurveillance footage was published winner Lupita Nyong’o, singers Jennifer Lopez and showing Rice knocking his now Rihanna and actresses Emma Stone and Emma Watson. wife unconscious with a punch. Rising starlets Chloe Grace Moretz and “Mad Men” Goodell said the NFL had not actress Kiernan Shipka tied for a spot on the list, seen the video when it handed rounding out the 11 honorees. down its punishment to Rice, who Swift, 24, opted for figure-hugging ball gowns, was also cut by the Ravens after the cropped tops with skirts, sequined mini dresses and footage was released by celebrity most recently at the MTV Video Music Awards, a website TMZ. derriere-skimming Mary Katrantzou alphabet romper The criticism has led the NFL to that she told the magazine “was a risk.” The singer apologize and toughen its domestic described her own style as “feminine, leggy and everviolence penalties. changing.”
George Clooney to receive honorary Golden Globe
CBS drops Rihanna from ‘Thursday Night Football’ after rebuke
LOS ANGELES - A battle between television network CBS and singer Rihanna over the use of one of her songs for its “Thursday Night Football” program escalated on Tuesday when CBS said it would drop it from its marquee prime-time show. The decision came after the 26-year-old Barbadian singer took to Twitter to rail against the network for its decision to scrap the song last week along with other planned content as the network focused on the NFL’s growing domestic violence scandal. CBS said on Tuesday it will open the show with original theme music. “CBS you pulled my song last week, now you wanna slide it back in this Thursday,” the Grammy winner said, punctuating the Tweet to her 37.2 million followers with an expletive. “Y’all are sad for penalizing me for this.” Neither CBS nor Rihanna directly acknowledged that the singer’s past history as a victim of domestic violence played a role in the decision. She was assaulted by singer and then-boyfriend Chris
Brown on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards and a picture of her severely bruised face became a emblem of domestic abuse and violence against women. The CBS Corp-owned network, which won the rights to broadcast eight NFL games in primetime on Thursdays this season, did not use Rihanna’s version of “Run This Town” by rapper Jay Z as part of its planned opening segment last week in a game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead of the song, the network covered the indefinite suspension of former Ravens running back Ray Rice for domestic abuse and an essay on domestic violence among other content. CBS said on Tuesday it was changing the format of the opening. “Beginning this Thursday, we will be moving in a different direction with some elements of our ‘Thursday Night Football’ open,” CBS said in a statement. “We will be using our newly created ‘Thursday Night Football’ theme music to open our game broadcast.” The United States’ most popular sport league and its commissioner
Singer Taylor Swift leads People Magazine’s best-dressed list
‘No Good Deed’ defeats ‘Guardians’ at theatres
LOS ANGELES — It took a murderous Idris Elba and a pair of dolphin buddies to defeat “Guardians of the Galaxy” at movie theatres. The Sony thriller “No Good Deed,” which stars Elba as an escaped convict and Taraji P. Henson as the innocent he terrorizes, opened on top of the box office with $24.5 million, according to studio estimates. And Sony wasn’t surprised. “It’s a movie that we really loved
and felt that it was going to win,” said Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer. “You have to give it to the cast in Idris and Taraji. Their chemistry together is fantastic.” The film nearly doubled its reported budget in its first week of release, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak. “It’s the first brand new, post-summer release to really catch on,” he said. The Warner Bros.’ feel-good film
“Dolphin Tale 2” debuted in second place with $16.5 million. The familyfriendly story stars Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd reprising their roles from the 2011 original. “Guardians” slipped to third place with $8 million in ticket sales. The Marvel space adventure, which held the No. 1 spot for four weeks, is the topgrossing film of the year domestically, collecting more than $300 million in North America and $600 million
worldwide. Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” finished fourth with $4.8 million, followed by the Fox comedy “Let’s Be Cops,” which collected $4.3 million. Fox Searchlight’s crime drama “The Drop,” which stars Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini, opened in sixth place with $4.2 million — an impressive showing given it only played in 809 theaters.
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FUN & GAMES
Cheshire Hall Medical Centre Providenciales TCI Position: Associate Engineer (IM&T Department) Education Required: Academic Degree. Industry-specific qualification or Technical level in computer, business or quantitative field such as: Computer Science, Business, Operations, Mathematics or Education Experience: A minimum of 2 years experience within an IT related role Job Summary: • Operates and maintains in-house applications; assists in planning and conducting migrations and upgrades; assists in database-specific technical assignments. Project assists in the area of documentation management. • Assists in network evaluation, analysis, conceptualisation and implementation of in-house network infrastructure. Monitors network and ensures its proper operation • Train and provide training materials on IM&T systems including HIS and Telehealth. • To investigate and resolve general, often complex, issues and queries from users of InterHealth Canada IT systems, and to manage and maintain InterHealth Canada IT infrastructure. Remuneration packages will be based on qualification and experience. Preference will be given to qualified B.O.T.C -Turks and Caicos Islands and persons with Belonger Status. Please address your resume showing qualifications and experiences to: Recruitment@interhealthcanada.tc Deadline: 3rd October 2014
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NEWS
Barbados PM gives thumbs up for Caribbean leadership project
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados –Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has described the Caribbean Leadership Project’s Leadership Development Programme for senior civil servants as being critical to the region’s development. He made the comments recently while hosting an evening of culinary and musical delights at the Barbados Defence Force for participants of the third module for cohort three of the programme, which had as its
theme: Serving Our People, Country and Region. Stuart pointed out that two countries in the Caribbean had already celebrated 50 years of independence, two others would join them soon and a few others would follow not long after. He said the golden anniversary would be realised as a result of strong public services across this region. “We will only make another 50 years if we have strong public services across this region and we are only going to have strong public services
if we have strong and effective leadership at critical levels,” he stated. The prime minister said he had interacted closely with many of the senior civil servants in Barbados who graduated from the programme and was impressed with their outlook and attitude. Canada’s high commissioner to Barbados, Richard Hanley, said significant achievements had been made so far in the programme, which would transform the Caribbean. He disclosed that 48
persons had already graduated from the programme and that the number would increase to 72 very shortly. He congratulated the participants for committing to become a part of a new generation of Caribbean leaders, saying a better region would be created, which would improve the lives of citizens. Hanley added that Canada looked forward to working with Barbados and other Caribbean countries to build on their past successes and to work towards Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart an even better future.
Another no confidence motion filed against St Kitts government
Puerto Rico customs seize counterfeit iPhone 6 phones SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field operations officers and import specialists seized in late August two fraudulent iPhone 6 cell phones among other counterfeit phones and cell phone accessories, infringing the intellectual property rights of Apple and Samsung. The various courier consignments inspected by CBP officers at the San Juan Air Cargo facility, revealed other fake products such as two Samsung Galaxy phones, and 319 iPhone cellphone panels. “Counterfeiters have the audacity of selling fakes even before the new branded product makes its official unveiling,” stated Marcelino Borges, director of field operations in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. “Our CBP field operations officers will continue to target and seizes imports of counterfeit and pirated goods, and enforce exclusion orders on patentinfringing and other IPR goods.” Consumers seek and purchase particular brands of products, believing that such brands have an intrinsic guarantee of their quality. Without a brand to protect, counterfeiters just seek to produce superficial quality products and take advantage of the loyalty that consumers have for a branded product. Poor quality products end up destroying the reputation of the copied brand, when it becomes impossible to distinguish the real product from a counterfeit. CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive IPR enforcement Counterfeit iPhones 6 and Samsungs. programme.
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Nearly two years after filing a motion of no confidence in the administration of Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas, opposition legislators have filed yet another motion. The opposition grouping, “Team Unity” has confirmed that the new motion had been filed by its leader, Dr. Timothy Harris. It follows a similar motion filed in December 2012 by Opposition Leader Mark Brantley and yet to be debated in the Parliament. Opposition legislators since December 11, 2012 submitted the motion of no confidence to the Speaker, Curtis Martin, for inclusion on the Order Paper. The legislators, including former deputy prime minister Sam Condor, filed a motion in the court in a bid to force the parliament to debate the motion. In February, both the government and opposition claimed victory after a High Court judge delivered a 70page ruling in the latest twist to the motion of no confidence. The High Court ruled that the original motion filed by the opposition legislator would be allowed to continue against Martin.
The other defendants, including Prime Minister Douglas and members of his Cabinet, have been removed as parties to the originating motion. The Court ruled that there was no evidence Prime Minister Douglas or his ministers had prevented the Speaker from having the motion tabled. In August, The St. Luciabased Eastern Caribbean Appeal Court stayed the judgment of all proceedings in the motion of no confidence matter in favour of the Speaker, according to a statement issued by his attorneys. They said the the Speaker had been found to have met the required threshold. “The Honourable Speaker appealed the first instance judgment to the Court of Appeal on a variety of different grounds. The stay was granted on the basis that the appeal filed by the Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly ‘has met the required threshold’ under the law. “The legal threshold includes the finding by the Justice of Appeal that the Speaker’s intended appeal has real prospects of success at the hearing of the appeal,” the attorneys said in the statement.
Doctors: stop politicising of treatment of Chikunguyna
KINGSTON, Jamaica, The Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA) Monday called for an end to the politcising of the measures being taken to deal with the mosquito borne Chikungunya virus. “The health of the people is the priority for all stakeholders. We must stand as one and play our part in the eradication of Chikungunya fever. The Jamaica Medical Doctors
Association will remain at the forefront of the fight against these viral illnesses and in providing information to the public,” the JMDA said in a statement. So far Jamaica has recorded 25 confirmed cases of the virus whose main symptoms are fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain , joint swelling, or rash. The JMDA said that while
it commended the health authorities here for dealing with the virus, the Ministry of Health needed to enhance its response to prevent a fullblown epidemic. JMDA President Dr. Alfred Dawes said the similarity of the symptoms with dengue fever and influenza had caused confusion among the population. “We accept the challenges in testing all reported cases of
Chikungunya. Chikungunya, dengue and the flu are in the majority of cases self-limiting and respond to conservative treatment. As such testing all patients for Chikungunya is not practical and will not add much to the treatment plan in the majority of cases.” Dawes said the public education campaign must be intensified. “Vector control is a major component of the fight against
Chikunguyna as the aedes aegypti mosquito is endemic to Jamaica and transmits both Chikunguyna and dengue. Closer collaboration between the parish councils, Ministry of Health and Jamaicans from all walks of life in clearing drains and other breeding sites of the mosquito is needed,” he said. Dr. Dawes said it was also important for the measures to deal with the virus are not politicised.
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CARICOM formalising recommendations to deal with Ebola, Chikungunya GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM) says it is formalising recommendations to deal with any possible incidence of the Ebola virus and is also improving efforts to respond to the Chikungunya epidemic. A CARICOM statement said that chief medical officers and other technical health experts from CARICOM member states met via video conference to rationalise the region’s response to the two diseases. The meeting was convened by the
CARICOM Secretariat in collaboration Ebola transmission has occurred,” the with the Trinidad-based Caribbean statement said. It said the meeting also discussed Public Health Agency (CARPHA). “Among draft proposals that were the “urgent need to put in place isolation fleshed out at the meeting was the facilities and resources to permit barrier achievement of the core competencies management of suspected or affected cited in WHO’s International Health cases of Ebola”. Meanwhile, the Director of the Pan Regulations. Discussions additionally focused on the need to urge a calm but American Health Organisation (PAHO), prudent response when applying the Dr Carissa Etienne, who has ended World Health Organisation’s (WHO) a visit to Guyana, has assured that recommendation with regards to there was a very low death rate from the Ebola virus – no restrictions on Chikungunya, despite the significant travel and trade in areas where the illness and disability it causes.
Trinidad security minister dismisses accusations of police force militarization
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Minister of national security, Senator Gary Griffith, has denied accusations that he is moving towards militarising the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) and encouraging police officers to operate outside of the law. Griffith stated that those who have made these accusations must be unaware of the existing checks and balances that are enshrined in the constitution of Trinidad and Tobago in relation to the TTPS, which ensure that the organisation cannot be militarised by any politician. This pronouncement came on the heels of statements articulated by certain political parties, calling on the police commissioner to rein in elements of the police who are operating as jury and executioner in treating with youths in various communities in Trinidad and Tobago. Griffith viewed these statements as unjustified in accusing and condemning police officers of wrongdoing, especially without due process being allowed to determine the facts. He said such comments are indeed unfortunate as they describe police officers as “jury and executioner”, which means that those who are making such accusations are saying that they already consider the police to be guilty in all cases when they shoot someone, whilst totally eliminating the possibility that criminal elements have now lost all respect for authority and by them shooting indiscriminately, it means that the police may now be forced to defend themselves, hence the reason for the increase in fatalities at the hands of the same police. The national security minister emphasized that at no times are members of the police service encouraged to act as “jury and executioner” as some
Trinidad’s Minister of National Security, Senator Gary Griffith. would want the public to believe. He stated that any such rogue behaviour by law enforcement personnel will never be encouraged under his watch. The minister pointed out that the reality now faced in the country is that the criminal elements have no respect for authority; as such, they demonstrate no qualms at indiscriminately shooting at police officers. The result is that the police are forced to defend themselves even more now than ever, resulting in an increase in fatalities at the hand of the police. Griffith highlighted the statistics of police officers shot, injured and killed for the years 2012 – 2013 and January 1 – September 11, 2014: These statistics show that an at average of every five days over the last
terms of… brining us out of the situation we are presently in, we were hoping for gut showers this month and we continue to hope that maybe if not this month then maybe next month, but so far we haven’t received any,” Rodrigues said, adding “our surface water reservoirs remain empty…”. He said the arrangement with SEMBCORP is now the main source of water and that APUA is looking at other options should the drought
Port-Au-Prince - Haiti has received a large shipment of treatment packets to help it deal with an outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus known as chikungunya amid a rainy season expected to result in a surge of new cases in the country, officials said. The treatment kits provided by medical aid group Direct Relief include oral rehydration packs, mosquito spray and the pain reliever acetaminophen for a disease that has sickened tens of thousands of people in recent months. Haiti is receiving 6.1 million Defined Daily Doses, considered enough to treat one million people. Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly and Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaume announced the delivery at a ceremony in Cite Soleil and said the kits would be distributed to treatment centres around the country. Haiti has had more than 65 000 suspected cases of chikungunya this year, according to the Pan American Health Organisation. Health authorities have said many cases in the country have likely gone unreported since so many people do not have access to health care. The neighbouring Dominican Republic has reported more than 430 000 cases. Chikungunya has spread rapidly throughout the Western Hemisphere since the first locally transmitted case was documented in late 2013. After emerging in the Caribbean, it has since reached the United States and parts of Central and South America.
two-and-a-half years, a police officer was shot at, which could very well lead to officers returning fire. Griffith noted that this harsh reality faced by law enforcement officers – being shot at and at times killed in the line of duty – was not at all condemned by the MSJ or the opposition. He said the MSJ’s unchecked statements can only serve to undermine and demoralize the hardworking officers of the police service who are constantly being trained in all aspects of policing, so they can better serve citizens and ensure the minimum “use of force policy” when interacting with the public. Additionally, it may very well cause an officer to stay his hand when under fire because of these unwarranted attacks and accusations, and those few seconds in contemplating can lead to the loss of his life and even of those who he was trying to protect. The minister is of the view that public figures should be more careful in their public utterances in relation to matters of national security, as they can cause panic, fear and other negative reactions by members of the public, both locally and abroad. He again urged all politicians to avoid politicizing crime and matters relating to national security. He said the time has come for politicians to view matters of KINGSTON, Jamaica – Less than 24 national security as the most neutral of hours after it announced an immediate ban all national issues, free from politics, as on the importation of electronic cigarettes, crime affects us all. Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson said Griffith reminded that the ministry he plans to meet with stakeholders amid of national security is committed to suggestions that some concessions could providing the necessary resources to be granted. equip law enforcement agencies to deal An e-cigarette is a battery-powered with and eliminate the scourge of crime vaporiser, which simulates tobacco while, at the same time, encouraging smoking, by producing an aerosol that public confidence in the TTPS so as to resembles smoke. create a better relationship with the On Monday, the Ministry of Health citizenry. advised Jamaica Customs to immediately cease clearance of electronic cigarettes already in the island and halt importation of the item. The decision was criticised by cigarette distributor Carreras, which said that the stance taken by the Ministry would impact thousands of Jamaicans and businesses. But Dr. Ferguson said the decision was made by a technical team and based on all continue. the factors involved, it will be reviewed. “The continuing drought is having “Persons must be given adequate time an impact on our ground water to deal with the present situation and resources, which means that the water (concerning) any question of permit they tables are falling and as we continue to should have adequate time and public pump we have to pump less because if information before it is done. we continue to pump at that rate, what “Therefore my decision is that after is called sea water intrusion will take consultations with the Permanent place…and damage the wells. Secretary, my Chief Medical Officer and “So we are monitoring the situation, my director (and) we will withdraw the we are looking at other sources of position until further notice,” Dr. Ferguson water as we go forward,” he said. said.
Antigua reservoirs remain empty after a year of severe drought conditions
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) says the country is facing a severe drought and that the reservoirs remain empty as the drought conditions persist for the 12th consecutive month. APUA Water Manager Ivan Rodrigues said relief has come in recent days from the 900,000 gallons of water bought daily from the private desalination company, SEMBCORP. “We haven’t had any rainfall in
Haiti gets help for virus outbreak
Jamaica government to review e-cigarette ban
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OAS releases anti-corruption report on St Vincent and the Grenadines
WASHINGTON, USA – The Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) report on the implementation of this treaty in the framework of the fourth round of review of the mechanism, during its 24th meeting held at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, D.C. The report provides a comprehensive
review of the structure, operation and results obtained in the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Director of Audit (DOA), and the Service Commissions Department of the Public Service Commission (SCD), four of the main oversight bodies responsible for preventing, detecting and punishing corruption in the Caribbean country. The review was carried out mainly taking into account the information provided by SVG, as well as the information gathered during the on-site visit conducted,
with the approval of the country in review, in Kingstown in April of this year by a committee comprising representatives of Panama, St Kitts and Nevis and the MESICIC Technical Secretariat, who met with representatives of the governmental bodies and representatives of civil society and the private sector of SVG. The report contains a set of recommendations to be considered by SVG with regard to the bodies reviewed, among which are the following: with respect to the Office of the Attorney General, establish inter-institutional
New Jamaican police commissioner pledges greater accountability
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Newly installed Commissioner of Police, Dr Carl Williams, has pledged to ensure greater transparency and accountability on the part of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), as it works to improve its service and ultimately, engender the trust and respect of Jamaican citizens. “The communities that we serve must come to rely on the police as protectors of their rights. This is the only basis upon which we can build respect and mutual trust between the people of Jamaica and the police who serve them,” he said. Williams was speaking at a change of command ceremony at the Police Officers’ Club on Monday, where he officially took over the reins of the JCF from Acting Commissioner of Police, Glenmore Hinds. The new police commissioner assured that under his leadership, the JCF will “do everything within its power” to respond to citizens’ concerns and ensure that there is accountability at all levels of the JCF. “Our police officers will be held to the highest standards of integrity,” he said. He further asserted that members of the JCF, in pursuing their goal of making Jamaica a safer society, will discharge their duties “with absolute impartiality and with a firm commitment to the rule of law.” “This will assure every Jamaican of their right to equal treatment under the law, and ensure that no citizen is seen as above the law, whether they are a member of the public, a police officer or a public official,” he said. Williams also gave his personal commitment that, under his watch, the JCF will act decisively to remove any member who has “chosen the path of
New Commissioner of Police, Dr Carl Williams (left), accepts the baton from Acting Commissioner, Glenmore Hinds, during the change of command ceremony held last week Monday, at the Police Officers’ Club, St Andrew. corruption”. “The creation of the new Major Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force (MOCA), which combines the best resources of the former AntiCorruption Branch and MOCA Task Force, will strengthen our ability to root out and prosecute those who undermine the mission of the security forces, and who tarnish the reputation of the JCF,” he said. The new police commissioner said work will continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the JCF through the use of technology and intelligence-led policing, noting that each police officer must play his or
her part in “creating a new ethos for policing in Jamaica”. Noting that the responsibility for leadership of the JCF is an “awesome responsibility” and is not a job for the “faint hearted,” Williams thanked the Police Service Commission for entrusting him “with the responsibility to lead the men and women of this organisation that I have served for the past 30 years.” “I am humbled by the confidence that you have placed in me, and accept the outpouring of support as an indication of a national commitment from the people of Jamaica to work hand in hand with the security forces in ensuring the safety of all Jamaicans,” he said.
Barbados to benfit from Chinese donation of LED lights, air-conditioning units BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Barbados has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the People’s Republic of China resulting in the donation of 25,000 LED lights and 1000 air-conditioning units to support the island’s climate change efforts. A government statement said that Energy Minister Darcy Boyce, who signed the agreement with Chinese Ambassador, Wang Ke noted that electricity accounted for a significant percentage of government’s operating costs estimated at more than BDS$100 million (One BDS dollar =US$0.50 cents) annually.
He said that lighting and airconditioning accounted for the majority of electricity usage and costs. In an effort to reduce these recurring expenses, the Energy Minister said government intended to retrofit 75 stateowned buildings with energy efficiency lighting. It is also planned to replace aging and inefficient air-conditioning units which have been identified through energy audits. “It is the view of the government of Barbados that the utilisation of LEDs would reduce the energy consumption, through lighting, by 50 per cent in Government-owned buildings,” Boyce
said, adding that replacing the airconditioning units with more energy efficient models would also assist Barbados in complying with its international obligations to phase out the use of ozone depleting substances. He said the saving as a result of the new Chinese donation is estimated BDS$1.4 million annually. Boyce said that government’s original goal was to attain 29 per cent of electricity generation from renewable energy sources and a 22 per cent reduction in the use of electricity consumption by 2029. He said these goals are expected to be achieved before that year.
coordination mechanisms to assist and ensure that public agencies abide by their legal obligation of requesting the Office of the Attorney General’s legal advice in a timely and correct fashion, particularly in matters involving acts of corruption. As regards the DOA, provide the DOA with the human and financial resources necessary to ensure due compliance with its constitutional and legal duties, chiefly as regards conducting audits and detecting corrupt acts that trigger responsibility for the persons involved therein.
CARPHA denies reports it has stopped testing for Chikungunya
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) says it has not stopped conducting tests for the Chikungunya virus but has instead “scaled up its capability” to meet increased demands. A CARPHA statement said that contrary to media reports, the agency has in fact stepped up its activities in light of the evolving epidemic. CARPHA executive director Executive Director, Dr. C. James Hospedales, said that the agency scaled up its capability to meet the increased demand for testing in the Caribbean. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urged Caribbean countries to eradicate the breeding sites of mosquitoes that transmit dengue and the Chikungunya virus even as it warned of a possible increase in patients suffering from these diseases. Since the start of the year, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have reported nearly 850,000 cases of dengue and 470 deaths from severe dengue.
Dominican Republic officials turn over 14 suspects to US
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Dominican authorities have extradited 14 suspects to the U.S. to face a slew of drug, extortion and fraud charges. The group was turned over to agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday at an air base in the capital of Santo Domingo. The suspects did not contest extradition and are expected to be tried in a federal court in New York. Miguel Medina is a spokesman for the Dominican National Drug Control Agency. He says most of the suspects are alleged members of a gang that was broken up in late May with raids requested by the U.S. Medina alleges that the gang members extorted U.S. victims by phone and also impersonated DEA agents. Three other alleged members of the gang were extradited earlier this year.
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Cop who killed Missouri teen testifies before grand jury The Ferguson, Missouri police officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager has ignited weeks of protests testified Tuesday before a St. Louis grand jury hearing evidence in the case, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Darren Wilson, who has been in hiding since the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, spent nearly four hours telling his version of events to the 12 members of the grand jury who are weighing possible charges against him, the newspaper said on Wednesday, citing a source. The proceedings of a grand jury are
closed to the public and the prosecutor’s office would not confirm the report. The shooting, which took place at midday in a residential neighborhood of the mostly black St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, sparked angry demonstrations that have continued as the grand jury meets. The incident has also prompted fresh scrutiny of police actions around the country, and complaints of racial profiling and police abuse of minorities. Many witnesses have reported that Brown had his hands up in surrender when he was shot. He and a friend were walking down a residential street when the officer drove by and asked the two
to move out of the street, according to police. Wilson has not given his account publicly, but friends of his reported that he was injured in an altercation with Brown, and felt threatened when he shot the teenager. An autopsy showed Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head. Brown’s family, protesters and civil rights leaders have demanded that Wilson be charged with a crime. Many protesters, who refer to Wilson as the “killer cop,” have pledged that there will be widespread civil unrest if he is not charged.
U.K.’s price for keeping Scotland: More autonomy
EDINBURGH – Scotland renewed its 307-year-old vow with the United Kingdom on Friday, but new autonomy is the price England must pay for keeping the marriage. Voters rejected a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom by a comfortable margin of 55% to 45%. British Prime Minister David Cameron helped ensure that outcome by promising the central government in London – one of the most powerful among Western nations – would hand over more power to Edinburgh if voters chose to stay in the union. The question now is how quickly Cameron will deliver on those promises. They include much greater control over spending and taxes, essentially home rule on all matters but for national security and monetary policy. The vote against independence likely provides new job security for Cameron, who avoided going down in history as the prime minister who lost Scotland. The vote had threatened to upend the U.K.’s status in the European Union and NATO, diminish its stature as a world power and inject fresh uncertainty into global financial markets at a time when world economies are in the midst of fragile recoveries. The concessions to Scotland open the door to the other U.K. members – England, Wales and Northern Ireland – who may now seek more powers to manage their own affairs, said Tony Travers, a professor of government at the London School of Economics. “The failure to produce a Yes verdict on this vote is in some ways much more complicated for the U.K. internally than a No because Scotland now has to be
No supporters celebrate their win in the Scottish referendum at the Royal Highland Center on Sept. 19 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Reports state that enough votes against Scottish independence have been counted to ensure victory for the Stay Together Campaign in the referendum, according to election officials. given much more constitutional freedom,” Travers said. That prospect was not lost on Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond, who said during his concession speech Friday: “Scotland will expect these (unionist pledges) to be honoured in rapid course.” Cameron pledged Friday to see that “those commitments are honored.” He also said he was aware that other members of the U.K. deserve a larger say over their own affairs. “This result does definitely not mean business as usual for the U.K.,” said Matt Beech, an expert on British politics at the University of Hull. “We are going to see an incredibly beefed up Scottish
Parliament that really takes very little direction from Westminster.” In Edinburgh on Friday, the offer to give Scottish lawmakers more power was not sufficient to soothe those who had been holding out for full sovereignty. “There’s going to be a period of mourning,” said Ross Colquhoun, cofounder of National Collective, a group of artists and activists who spent more than two years campaigning to make Scotland the 31st country to emerge on the world stage since World War II. “We’re going to try to make sure that people are still engaged with this issue, but it’s going to be a much tougher challenge,” he said.
Wilson’s appearance at the grand jury on Tuesday was unusual. Normally the grand jury, which is typically empanelled for up to six months, meets on Wednesdays each week. But St. Louis County Judge Carolyn Whittington has given the county prosecutor’s office authority to extend the grand jury hearing into the case until Jan. 7, and she also wrote in a court order that the grand jury could “hear evidence or conduct your investigation on whatever days and times are agreeable.” The U.S. Department of Justice is also conducting an investigation into the shooting.
Amnesty: Nigerian police routinely use torture
JOHANNESBURG — Nigeria’s police and military routinely torture women, men and children as young as 12 with beatings, shootings, rape, electric shocks and pliers used to pull out teeth and nails, Amnesty International charged Thursday. Most of those detained are denied access to the outside world and even to visits from family or lawyers, said the new report collated from hundreds of testimonies over 10 years. Amnesty says torture has become so institutionalized in Nigeria that many police stations have an informal OC Torture, meaning “officer in charge of torture.” The indiscriminate and frequent roundups of hundreds of suspects who are tortured in “screening” to find Islamic extremists is more like a “medieval witch hunt,” said Amnesty’s Africa director Netsanet Belay. “Across the country, the scope and severity of torture inflicted on Nigeria’s women, men and children by the authorities supposed to protect them is shocking to even the most hardened human rights observer,” he said. Nigeria’s police force Thursday night denied the charges and complained that Amnesty had not presented it with its findings. The police statement said that since Nigeria came out of decades of military dictatorship in 1994, “the police force has significantly improved on its human rights records, owing largely to training and re-training, community policing, attitudinal change and structural transformation.” The police statement said that the force will investigate Amnesty’s allegations.
Syria: 15 children die after getting vaccinations
BEIRUT — At least 15 children died after receiving vaccinations in rebel-held parts of Syria, and activists said Wednesday that the death toll from two days of government airstrikes in the central city of Talbiseh climbed to nearly 50, a heavy toll even by the vicious standards of the country’s civil
war. The children, some just babies, all exhibited signs of “severe allergic shock” about an hour after they were given a second round of measles vaccinations in the northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, with many suffocating to death as their bodies swelled, said
physician Abdullah Ajaj, who administered the vaccinations in a medical center in the town of Jarjanaz. It was unclear what killed the children, but Ajaj said in an interview via Skype that they all exhibited the same symptoms to varying degrees. He said it was the first time he
had ever seen such symptoms after vaccinations. “There was shouting and screaming, it was hard for the parents. You get your child vaccinated and then you find your child dying, it’s very hard,” Ajaj said. There weren’t enough respirators in the clinic, making the situation even worse, he
added. Video footage from the nearby town of Saraqib, where some of the affected children were from, showed a medic examining a young girl who squirmed nervously, in footage uploaded to social media that corresponded with Associated Press reporting of the event.
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Belgium grants jailed rapist, murderer euthanasia
BRUSSELS — A Belgian man convicted of murder and rape is being put to death. Yet the country doesn’t have the death penalty. Confused? Authorities have granted a request for assisted suicide by the man, who says he’s a menace to society and can’t live knowing that. Even in Belgium, which has one of the broadest euthanasia laws in the world, the decision is raising eyebrows, with some saying it’s proof of a failing justice and health system. Belgium’s justice minister approved Frank Van Den Bleeken’s transfer to a hospital for euthanasia late Monday after doctors agreed his mental condition was incurable, making him the first detainee in Belgium to be put to death for psychiatric reasons. Van Den Bleeken, who was found guilty of murder and rape in several cases, has been locked up for almost 30 years. He wishes to die because he
has no viable treatment options left and cannot control his sexual urges, his lawyer said Tuesday. “He has clearly said that he didn’t want to leave prison because he didn’t want to risk creating further victims,” Jos Vander Velpen said. Seeing himself as a danger to society, he can “no longer live like that,” the lawyer added. He declined to elaborate on his client’s psychiatric condition or to discuss when the medically-assisted suicide would take place, citing his client’s right to privacy. The sisters of one of Van Den Bleeken’s victims, a woman he raped and killed while being temporarily out of prison in 1989, seemed appalled by the decision. “Let him rot in his cell,” the sisters, referred to as only Annie and Liliane, were quoted by Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad as saying.
“All those commissions, doctors and experts concerned about the wellbeing of the murderer of our sister. Nobody has ever shown us that much attention,” they said. Belgium has allowed euthanasia since 2002 for the terminally ill, but the vast majority of cases involve physical illnesses. Carine Brochier, a project manager with the Brussels-based European Institute of Bioethics, said Van Den Bleeken should not be allowed to die but receive proper treatment as would be the case in all other countries. “This is a great failure of psychiatric care and the prison system in Belgium altogether,” said Brochier, who opposes euthanasia. The decision amounts to a “death penalty through the backdoor,” she said. “And now this will set off a race of other convicts seeking to die,” she warned.
African migrants rest after being rescued by the Libyan coastguard after their boat sunk off the coastal town of Garaboly, east of Tripoli.
As many as 700 migrants feared drowned in Mediterranean
GENEVA - More than 700 people fleeing Africa and the Middle East may have drowned in the latest shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, bringing the death toll this year to almost 3,000, the International Organization for Migration said on Monday. In the worst incident, as many as 500 migrants are believed to have died after traffickers rammed their ship off Malta’s coast last week, an event that only came to light this weekend in testimony from two of the nine survivors. The survivors said the traffickers ordered the migrants to change vessels in the middle of the Mediterranean. The migrants refused, leading to a confrontation that ended when traffickers rammed the ship carrying the migrants, IOM spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume told Reuters in Geneva. “Some 500 people were on board Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese. They were trying to reach Europe,” Berthiaume said. “That means that 700 people perished at sea these last days in the
Mediterranean, the deadliest incidents in the space of a few days,” she said. The vessel had set off on Saturday, Sept 6 from Damiette, Egypt, and sank off Malta’s coast on Sept 10th, she said. The U.N. refugee agency also learned of the shipwreck, but said its information was the wreck occurred on Friday. “In all, nine people survived and were picked up boats,” Berthiaume said. IOM officials interviewed two Palestinian survivors who were taken to Sicily, Italy, while other survivors were taken to Malta and to Crete, Greece, Berthiaume said. Four days later, another ship packed with up to 250 African emigrants sank off the Libyan coast, and most of them are feared dead, a spokesman for the Libyan navy said late on Sunday. Some 26 people survived. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said the situation in the Mediterranean was unclear and it was trying to get confirmation of five shipwrecks in all. “At least 500 people have died or are missing in the last three days”, UNHCR spokesman Francis Markus said in an
email. “It was without any doubt the deadliest weekend ever in the Mediterranean,” Carlotta Sami of the UNHCR said. Some 130,000 people have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, compared with 60,000 last year, according to the UNHCR. Italy has received more than 118,000, most of them rescued at sea under its naval operation Mare Nostrum. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and UNHCR special envoy Angelina Jolie visited the naval rescue headquarters in Malta on Sunday, meeting survivors, the agency said in a statement issued on Monday. “Amidst concerns about the sustainability of the Italian Mare Nostrum operation, they also called for increased efforts by European nations to contribute to rescue efforts and reduce deaths at sea,” the UNHCR said. Half of those arriving in Europe by boat are refugees from Syria and Eritrea, according to the agency.
Lawyers due in court in marathon bombing case
BOSTON — Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were due in court for a status hearing on motions that include defense requests to move the trial outside of Massachusetts and delay the trial’s start by at least 10 months. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. was expected to discuss the motions during the hearing on Thursday. Tsarnaev, 21, has pleaded not guilty in the 2013 attack that killed three people and injured more than 260. He could face the death penalty. Prosecutors allege that Tsarnaev and his older borther, Tamerlan, detonated two pressure-cooker bombs near the marathon’s finish line. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a shootout with police several days after the bombings. Tsarnaev’s trial is currently scheduled to begin in November. His attorneys have argued that they need more time to review the large volume of evidence turned over by prosecutors. They say the November trial date would give them about half the median preparation time allowed other defendants facing a federal death sentence over the past decade. The defense argues that the trial should be moved outside the state, citing the emotional impact the bombing had on many local residents. Tsarnaev’s lawyers have also filed motions to suppress physical evidence and electronically stored evidence. Prosecutors have filed a motion asking the judge to order the defense to disclose “mitigating factors” it intends to cite in arguments against the death penalty if Tsarnaev is convicted.
British Muslims plead for hostage under threat
LONDON — British Muslim leaders made a plea Thursday for the safety of a British hostage threatened with beheading by Islamic State extremists in Syria. Alan Henning’s life was threatened in a video released Saturday that showed him in the hands of the extremists who beheaded British captive David Haines and two American journalists. The group says in the video that Henning will be next if Britain doesn’t end its support for U.S. military strikes. The Muslim leaders said in a letter published in the Independent newspaper that Henning is a humanitarian aid worker who went to Syria to help victims of the civil war. The religious leaders and community organizers ask the Islamic State group to “show him some mercy.” They say that under Islamic rules, anyone doing humanitarian work “should be commended and held in the highest esteem” and there is no justification in the Quran for the “despicable” threat against Henning. The letter adds that Henning should be released immediately. It is signed by the leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, the chief imams of many major mosques and more than 100 Muslim activists.
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Australian police: Raids thwarted beheading plot
SYDNEY — Police on Thursday said they thwarted a plot to carry out beheadings in Australia by supporters of the radical Islamic State group. They raided more than a dozen properties across Sydney and were holding six people and have identified the suspected ringleader, officials said. Nine other people were detained but were freed before the day was over. The raids involving 800 federal and state police officers — the largest in the country’s history — came in response to intelligence that an Islamic State group leader in the Middle East was calling
on Australian supporters to kill, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. Abbott was asked about reports that the detainees were planning to behead a random person in Sydney. “That’s the intelligence we received,” he told reporters. “The exhortations — quite direct exhortations — were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country.” ISIL refers to the al-Qaida splinter group leading Sunni militants in Iraq
and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which now calls itself simply Islamic State. “This is not just suspicion, this is intent and that’s why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have,” Abbott said. New South Wales police did not say why nine of the detained people were released, or whether they would face charges later. The raids came just days after the country raised its terrorism threat to the second-highest level in response to the domestic threat posed by supporters
Nearly three million Syrian children not in school
BEIRUT — Nearly three million Syrian children are not attending school due to the civil war raging in their homeland, an international charity group said Thursday, as the country’s intractable conflict threatens to deny an entire a generation of education. Syria’s civil war has killed more than 190,000 people, forced more than 3 million to seek refuge abroad and displaced another 6 million more inside the country. On Thursday, the World Food Program warned it would reduce its food aid to six million Syrians in October because it was running out of money. The report by the Britain-based Save the Children shows the devastating impact the conflict, now in its fourth year, has had on education and the future of a generation of young Syrians. Save the Children said that hundreds of thousands of displaced children are struggling to enroll for school in their host countries and in Syria. Meanwhile, only around half of the country’s 1.5 million refugee children are attending school, the report noted, citing a variety of reasons, including prohibitively high school fees and the need for children to work for their families to survive. Countries like Egypt demand a dizzying array of official papers that most refugee parents do not possess. In Lebanon, there’s simply no space in many schools, with the education system overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of child refugees. Around 80 percent of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon don’t attend school, according to the report. Within Syria, the report estimated that 3,465 schools, or one-fifth of the country’s educational buildings, were
Displaced Syrian boys and girl gather at their refugee camp during the visit of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres and U.N. Development Program Administrator Helen Clark, in Deir al-Ahmar village, near Baalbek city, east Lebanon. either destroyed or damaged, or are they are now, we will be forced to reduce being used for military purposes, the food rations in Syria next month,” said report said. WFP spokeswoman Joelle Eid. Syrian “It is absolutely shameful that the refugees in neighboring countries would obligation to protect schools is not being have their food vouchers reduced or respected in this conflict, endangering cancelled, she said. the lives of innocent children,” said the Eid said the WFP needed $352 organization’s regional director, Roger million to continue its food program for Hearn. Syrians. Their November and December The war has also spawned a massive programs were now also at risk, she said. humanitarian crisis. Syrian refugees rely on the WFP food The World Food Program warned it vouchers for their food security, often will be forced to reduce its food aid to six citing it as the lifeline that keeps their million Syrians in October because it was children from going hungry. Even with running out of money. the aid, most Syrian refugees live in “If funding levels remain the way poverty.
Gunmen in Pakistan kill professor who faced blasphemy accusations
ISLAMABAD – Unidentified gunmen on Thursday shot dead a professor of Islamic studies in Pakistan who had faced accusations of blasphemy and threats from colleagues over his moderate views, police said. Blasphemy is a crime carrying the death sentence in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation of 180 million people. The south Asian country is experiencing a spike in the number of cases of blasphemy, which activists attribute to its growing use as a tactic to settle grudges or extort money. Dr Muhammad Shakil Auj, the dean
of the faculty of Islamic Studies at the university in the southern port city of Karachi, had received threats following complaints that his teaching was too liberal, a colleague said. Among the articles the 54-year-old had written was one arguing that Muslim women should be allowed to marry nonMuslim men, the colleague said. On Thursday morning, two gunmen riding a motorcycle fired on the car taking Auj to a function at an Iranian cultural centre in the city, police said. “A bullet pierced through his head, proving fatal,” senior police officer Pir
Mohammad Shah told reporters. “We are investigating the killing. It would be premature to state the motive at the moment.” In 2012, Auj had complained to police that four colleagues had threatened him and sent him text messages accusing him of blasphemy, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Nasir Lodhi. The crime is not defined by law, so anyone can file a case saying their religious feelings have been hurt. Frequently, those accused of the crime who are not lynched on the spot can find themselves jailed indefinitely.
of the Islamic State group. At the time, Abbott stressed that there was no information suggesting a terror attack was imminent. Later Thursday, Attorney General George Brandis confirmed that a person born in Afghanistan who had spent time in Australia and is now working with the Islamic State group in the Middle East ordered supporters in Australia to behead people and videotape the killings. “If the ... police had not acted today, there is a likelihood that this would have happened,” Brandis told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Nigeria: Death toll in building collapse up to 80
LAGOS, Nigeria — The death toll in a building collapse at a televangelist’s church complex in Nigeria has risen to 80, an official said Thursday. Ibrahim Farinloye of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency announced the toll as search operations continued at T.B. Joshua’s Synagogue, Church of All Nations, on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. South Africa has said 67 South African citizens died in the Sept. 12 collapse of a guesthouse at the church complex. Officials have not clarified whether the South African fatalities were among the larger group of 80 dead cited by the Nigerian government. “Search and rescue missions are still continuing after which we will know for sure how many citizens we have lost,” South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, said at a meeting of local government officials in the Johannesburg area. Nigerian government officials have said shoddy construction was a possible cause of the disaster. But Joshua, whose followers across Africa and beyond believe he has powers of prophecy, has suggested Islamic extremists were responsible.
WHO: 700 more Ebola cases emerge in only 1 week
DAKAR, Senegal — The World Health Organization says more than 700 more Ebola cases emerged in West Africa in one week, a statistic that shows the outbreak is accelerating. Just three weeks ago the number of new cases was around 500 for a oneweek period. The number of people believed to have killed is now more than 2,600, an increase of roughly 200 from the last estimate, WHO said Thursday. Most deaths have been in Liberia. The new figures from the U.N. health agency show that the disease is thought to have sickened more than 5,300 people. Just under half of those cases were recorded in the last three weeks. Some 318 health care workers have been sickened, and about half have died. The outbreak has struck Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal.
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Texas executes woman for starving boy, 9
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Texas woman convicted of the starvation and torture death of her girlfriend’s 9-yearold son a decade ago was executed Wednesday evening. Lisa Coleman, 38, received a lethal injection about an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-day appeal to spare her. She was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. CDT, 12 minutes after Texas Department of Criminal officials began administering a lethal dose of pentobarbital.
Coleman became the ninth convicted killer and second woman to receive lethal injection in Texas this year. Nationally, she’s the 15th woman executed since the Supreme Court in 1976 allowed the death penalty to resume. During that same time, nearly 1,400 men have been put to death. Coleman smiled and nodded to several friends and an aunt who watched through a window, thanking them and expressing her love. She also said she loved the other women on Texas’ death
row and urged them to “keep their heads up.” “I’m all right,” she said. “Tell them I finished strong. ... God is good.” She mouthed an audible kiss, laughed and nodded to her witnesses in the seconds before the lethal drug took effect. “Love you all,” she said just before closing her eyes and taking a couple of short breaths. Then there was no further movement. Coleman was condemned for the death of Davontae Williams, whose
emaciated body was found in July 2004 at the North Texas apartment Coleman shared with his mother, Marcella Williams. Paramedics who found him dead said they were shocked to learn his age. He weighed 36 pounds, about half that of a normal 9-year-old. A pediatrician later would testify that he had more than 250 distinct injuries, including burns from cigarettes or cigars and scars from ligatures, and that a lack of food made him stop growing.
14 Nobel Laureates urge Zuma to give Dalai Lama visa
In this file photo, mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, makes a salute after arriving in the court room at a courthouse in Oslo. Breivik, who admitted killing 77 people in Norway last year, was declared sane and sentenced to prison for bomb and gun attacks.
Norwegian mass killer Breivik getting ever more extreme, father fears
OSLO – The father of Anders Behring Breivik, who massacred 77 people in central Oslo and at an island summer camp in 2011, said on Thursday his son’s fascist, anti-immigrant views seemed to be getting ever more extreme in jail. “It’s not nice being the father of a mass murderer,” former diplomat Jens Breivik, 78, told a news conference to launch an autobiography entitled “My Fault?”. He said the discovery that his son was the killer exceeded a parent’s worst nightmares. “I believe he is getting more and more extreme, maybe he will be more dangerous,” Jens Breivik said after his 35-year-old son sent him a rambling letter refusing his request for a first meeting since the murders. Breivik detonated a bomb in central Oslo on July 22, 2011, killing eight,
then took a boat to an island where the ruling Labour Party were holding a summer camp and shot dead 69 more people, mostly teenagers. He was sentenced to 21 years in jail, the maximum in Norway though the term can be extended if there is deemed to be a risk he would commit new crimes. Jens Breivik said as a father, he nurtured only a “small hope” his son would ever show remorse. Anders Breivik’s letter to his father demanded that he should declare himself a fascist as a pre-condition for meeting and also denounced Anders’s grand-parents for failing to side with Hitler’s Nazis who occupied Norway during World War Two. Jens Breivik told Reuters that he feared his son could influence other extremists from jail with his radical right-wing anti-immigrant ideology.
In the book, he agonizes over whether better parenting could have prevented the killings and said he regrets once saying he wished Anders dead. “I was very upset, furious at him for what he had done. I regretted saying that. He should be judged, it’s not up to me to judge,” he told Reuters on a rare visit from his home in France. Earlier this month, Anders Breivik separately wrote a letter in which he indicated he was renouncing violence and willing to apologize but set up a string of conditions including that he should be allowed to set up a fascist party. Jens Breivik has had only intermittent contact with his son since losing a legal battle for custody after a divorce from Anders’ mother when he was four. “I have often felt guilt and responsibility for what he did,” he said.
Johannesburg – Fourteen Nobel Peace Laureates have asked President Jacob Zuma to guarantee the Dalai Lama a visa to South Africa, after the Tibetan spiritual leader was forced to abandon a trip to the country. The Dalai Lama was to attend a summit of Nobel peace prize winners in Cape Town next month, the first-ever meeting of its kind in Africa. But, according to an aide, he cancelled after Pretoria denied him a visa in a bid to avoid angering China, which regards the Buddhist monk as a campaigner for Tibetan independence. “We are deeply concerned about the damage that will be done to South Africa’s international image by a refusal – or failure – to grant him a visa yet again,” the group said in a letter to Zuma. Signatories include Poland’s Lech Walesa, Bangladeshi entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus, Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Northern Irish peacemakers David Trimble and John Hume. The Dalai Lama has applied three times in the last five years to visit the Rainbow Nation of Nelson Mandela. Each time the government has dragged its heels until the trip was called off. Each prior rejection has been met with public outcry by South Africans who see it as a betrayal of the commitment to human rights embraced by their government since the end of apartheid 20 years ago. Two years ago, the country’s top court found that the government had acted unlawfully by dragging its heels on a visa application by the Tibetan until it was too late. China – South Africa’s biggest single trading partner, with twoway trade worth $21 billion in 2012 – regularly uses its economic and political clout to put pressure on governments around the world to limit contact with the Dalai Lama.
Unborn baby of U.S. suspect in Bali suitcase murder gets a lawyer DENPASAR Indonesia - An U.S. woman detained on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in connection with the murder of her mother has retained legal representation for her unborn child, the suspect’s legal team said. Heather Mack, 19, from Chicago, and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, were arrested on Aug. 13 as suspects in the death of Mack’s mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, 62, whose battered body
was found in a suitcase in a taxi outside a luxury hotel. “I’m here to represent Heather’s unborn child,” lawyer Vanessa Favia told reporters late on Wednesday outside the police station where Mack is being detained in Bali’s provincial capital of Denpasar. Favia said Mack was three months pregnant. “I’m here to make sure that she’s
getting proper nutrition and ... all the medical attention she needs, so that she can have a healthy baby in the future,” Favia said. The two suspects have not been formally charged with a crime. Under Indonesian law, charges would follow an investigation that could take weeks. Police in Bali, who last week began interrogating Mack, told Reuters on Thursday, she would not get special
treatment because of her pregnancy. Mack’s own lawyer said the investigation was still going on. “I just hope that public opinion will be held until there’s more evidence and not to judge at this point because it’s a little bit early,” Michael Elkin, Mack’s U.S. lawyer, told reporters at the police station. Asked how Mack was feeling, Favia said: “She’s glad to have her team of lawyers to support her.
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Companies in Europe pledge 100K new youth jobs
VEVEY, Switzerland – Some 200 companies on Thursday pledged to create new work and training opportunities for Europe’s young jobseekers, of which one out of four is unemployed. The alliance of major companies including Nestle and Google aims to create tens of thousands additional jobs — or apprenticeships and internships
that lead to jobs — over the next several years. “We are confident that more than 100,000 opportunities will be given in the coming years, but it should go beyond that,” Laurent Freixe, CEO of Nestle Europe, told reporters at the company’s headquarters. Nestle, the world’s biggest food and drinks maker, is leading the alliance which
includes Adecco, AXA, Cargill, CHEP, DS Smith, EY, Facebook, Firmenich, Google, Nielsen, Publicis, Salesforce and Twitter and White & Case. Freixe said Nestle has created 8,000 of the 20,000 new positions, including paid internships, which it promised to generate by 2016. Europe’s lack of growth while recovering from a crisis over government debt has resulted
in a painful employment rate above 10 percent. Among youth, joblessness is at more than 20 percent and more than twice that in Spain and Greece. Northern countries such as Germany generally fare much better. Unemployment especially among youth is hampering economic recovery in Europe, said Freixe, who is convinced
Users frustrated by Apple iOS update
Apple iPhone and iPad users have taken to social media to express their frustration over installing the company’s latest software update. Many have resorted to deleting photos, videos and other files in order to free up space for the new version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS8, which requires up to 5.8GB of storage. Apple has also removed apps for its new health software because of a bug. One expert said Apple’s updates were often prone to “teething problems”. Some vexed Apple users took to Twitter to express their annoyance, at one point causing the subject to be trending above the Scottish referendum. David Roberts tweeted: “This update would be great... If you didn’t have to delete half of the stuff on your phone just to install it.” Daniel Zennon took a more humorous approach, tweeting: “So Apple put the #U2 album on everybody’s phone and then tell them they don’t have enough space for the #iOS8 upgrade”. This is not the first time Apple users have had trouble with iOS updates. In 2012, the iOS6 update caused some users to lose their apps, and others lost photos and messages when updating to iOS7 last year. As well as requiring a lot of storage, the latest version, iOS8, does not include apps that run with Apple’s new HealthKit service, which is designed to work with third-party wearable health devices. The software was originally scheduled for release in iOS8, but
Apple first showcased the iOS8 in June. has been pulled while Apple works on fixing a bug. David Price, online editor at Macworld UK, told the BBC the issues were not “really a surprise”. “There’s always a rush on the servers on launch day, some delays, and usually some teething problems,” he said. “That’s why we always recommend that people wait a day or two before updating.” Apple users can avoid the need to free up storage space for the latest update by upgrading their software via iTunes on a Mac or PC, instead of through the phone or tablet itself. Additionally, much of the free space required by the update is made available again once the installation process has completed. In a separate development, Apple has taken steps to reassure users that it takes privacy seriously, by vowing that it would not hand over data to government authorities.
competitors who comply with the law. Uber does not,” it said in a statement. For its part Uber welcomed the judge’s decision. “UberPOP is revolutionising transport in cities and beyond by helping to create smarter cities with more transport choices,” the firm said. “Demand is so great all across the country that we expect to double in size by the end of the year and plan to bring Uber to more and more cities across Germany.” Although the temporary injunction against Uber has been
Death count rises due to faulty GM ignition switches
The number of deaths from accidents caused by General Motors’ defective ignition switch has been increased to at least 19, the chief of GM’s victim settlement fund has determined. Ken Feinberg has awarded settlements to 19 families whose loved ones were killed because of GM’s ignition-switch problem. That’s up from the 13 GM and federal safety regulators have previously identified. The death count was expected to rise after more potential victims filed claims. Families of people who died will get at least $1 million. Feinberg, who began accepting applications Aug. 1, will take requests through Dec. 31. As of Friday, 125 people had filed applications seeking compensation for fatal accidents allegedly caused by the defective ignition switches. Feinberg said those applications were either still under review or had insufficient documentation. GM had acknowledged 13 deaths connected to the defect, which can cause ignition switches to turn off when jostled, cutting off power to engines, air bags and other features. The faulty switches were installed in Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions, Pontiac G5s, Chevrolet HHRs, Pontiac Solstices and Saturn Skys, mostly from the 2003-07 model years. GM has recalled up to 2.6 million of those models. Feinberg also said he received 58 applications for compensation tied to accidents that resulted in debilitating injuries and 262 applications in cases the involved less serious injuries. He said that so far he had certified four serious-injury accidents and eight less-serious injuries for compensation.
In an open letter, the firm’s chief executive, Tim Cook, underlined that Apple’s philosophy was “great customer experience shouldn’t come at the expense of your privacy”. The message came as Apple’s iCloud storage service continued to come under intense scrutiny following the leaks of private pictures belonging to celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence. “I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services,” said Tim Cook. “We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will.” The firm also emphasised that protected data stored on devices running iOS8 cannot be handed over to law enforcement agencies, as Apple does not have the option NEW YORK — Microsoft will acquire the maker of overriding a user’s own passcode. of the long-running hit game Minecraft for $2.5 billion as the company continues to invest in its Xbox gaming platform and looks to grab attention on mobile phones. The technology company said it will buy Stockholmbased game maker Mojang in a deal expected to close lifted, the case goes on as part of an in late 2014. Minecraft, which lets users build in and explore ongoing civil lawsuit brought by Taxi a Lego-like virtual multiplayer world, has been Deutschland. There has been mounting downloaded 100 million times on PC alone since its opposition to services such as Uber launch in 2009. It is the most popular online game on which uses smartphone apps to Xbox, and the top paid app for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system in the U.S. connect drivers and customers. Microsoft said it will to continue to make “Minecraft” UberPop is one of several services available across all the platforms on which it is available offered by the firm and has proved today: PC, iOS, Android, Xbox and PlayStation. particularly controversial because it “Minecraft is more than a great game franchise it is uses drivers not directly employed by the company and therefore without an open world platform, driven by a vibrant community professional transportation licenses. we care deeply about, and rich with new opportunities In London, cab drivers launched for that community and for Microsoft,” said Microsoft a day of protests over Uber’s services CEO Satya Nadella. Microsoft expects the acquisition to be break-even in which they claimed broke Transport fiscal 2015. for London rules.
Judge overturns Uber ride-sharing ban in Germany A German judge has overturned a nationwide ban on one of the services offered by the alternative taxi firm Uber. The temporary injunction banned the start-up from offering its UberPop ride-sharing service in the country. Frankfurt Regional Court Judge Frowin Kurth ruled that taxi companies in the country had waited too long to request an emergency injunction. The German Taxi Association, Taxi Deutschland, said that it would appeal. “The taxi industry accepts
that bringing along younger workers fluent in the new digital world can help boost Nestle’s productivity in Europe. “It’s a tough economic environment still and Europe really stands at a crossroad,” said Matt Brittin, Google’s president for business and operations in northern and central Europe. “We need to turn our kids into brilliant digital entrepreneurs.”
Microsoft to buy ‘Minecraft’ maker for $2.5B
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China’s central bank said to inject $81bn into system China’s central bank is said to be injecting 500bn yuan ($81bn; £50bn) into the five biggest state-owned banks to counter slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is reportedly giving each bank a $100bn low-interest loan over three months. The move may be the first of several stimulus measures, analysts say. It is aimed at lifting business confidence and investment following a string of weak economic data.
China’s economy showed more evidence of a slowdown with industrial production and foreign direct investment hitting multi-year lows in August. The five lenders said to be receiving the stimulus are the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications. The move was first reported by local Chinese news website Sina.com. Other
media reports cited a government official and a senior Chinese banking executive. Chinese banking shares traded in Hong Kong rose on the news. Economists say the move may have a similar effect to a 50 basis point cut in China’s reserve requirement ratio, which is the amount of money China’s commercial lenders must deposit with the PBOC. Some also believe the capital injection is meant to pre-empt any
World Bank: Ebola ‘fear factor’ risks economic disaster
Washington – The World Bank warned Wednesday that fear of the deadly Ebola virus is choking off economic activity in West Africa with potentially “catastrophic” results. The “fear factor” is spurring even people unaffected by the disease to pull back on their work activities -- in farming, mining, manufacturing or other areas -- so that they are producing less, earning less and spending less. That is exacerbating the already heavy burden Ebola is exacting on the finances and health systems of the three hardest-hit countries. “If the virus continues to surge in the three worstaffected countries -- Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone -- its economic impact could grow eight-fold, dealing a potentially catastrophic blow to the already fragile states,” the World Bank said. In the bank’s worst-case
possible liquidity shortfall ahead of China’s major Golden Week holiday, which starts on 1 October. Louis Kuijs, China economist at RBS, said policymakers have been under pressure to “take additional, more significant measures to ease the policy stance and shore up growth”. “It increases the money base. If not constrained by caps on loan-todeposit ratios or other administrative regulation, it would increase the banks’ ability to extend credit,” he said.
Whaling meeting votes against Japan’s hunt
PORTOROZ, Slovenia – An international whaling conference already been terribly difficult voted Thursday against Japan’s highly to bear,” said World Bank criticized plans to resume whaling in the Antarctic next year, but Japan President Jim Yong Kim. vowed to go ahead anyway. “But our findings make A resolution adopted at the clear that the sooner we get an adequate containment International Whaling Commission response and decrease the meeting in Portoroz, Slovenia, said level of fear and uncertainty, Japan should abide by an International the faster we can blunt Ebola’s Court of Justice ruling that said that its whaling program is illegal because it economic impact.” The clear slowdown in isn’t for research purposes. Immediately after the resolution economic output due to the disease is hitting government was adopted by a 35-20 vote, Japan finances in countries already announced it will launch a new dependent on support from the “research” program that will resume World Bank, the International whale hunting in the Antarctic in Guinea’s Red Cross health workers prepare to collect the body of an Ebola Monetary Fund and others for 2015. The U.N. court ruling said some victim. “scientific” whaling is allowed under fiscal stability. A key issue, the World Bank very strict conditions, which Japan said analysis, with only slow 2.3 points. The World Bank, however, said, is containing the spread of it would meet. containment of the disease, “We will be providing and submitting economic growth in Liberia said that the mobilization in fear of the disease, which has next year could fall by 11.7 recent days of more resources spurred people and companies a new research plan in the Antarctic percentage points, plunging to fight the disease, which has to cut back economic activities. Ocean so that we implement research The reticence or inability activities starting from 2015,” said Joji the country deep into recession left more than 2,400 people with a 4.9 percent contraction. dead, could mitigate much of of people, even those not Morishita, head of Japan’s delegation. directly affected by the disease, “And all these activities are perfectly In Sierra Leone, the worst- the economic damage. “The primary cost of this to continue in their jobs, is in accordance with international case impact could be 8.9 percentage points lost from tragic outbreak is in human feeding higher prices, falling law, scientific basis as well as the ICJ judgment.” growth in 2015, and in Guinea, lives and suffering, which has incomes and greater poverty.
Senate: China hacked military contractor networks
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate investigators are blaming China for almost a dozen successful hacker breakins of computer networks belonging to Pentagon contractors. A yearlong investigation announced Wednesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee identified at least 50 intrusions since 2012 against unspecified contractors working for the U.S. Transportation Command, or Transcom. It said at least nine breakins were highly sophisticated and blamed those on China’s government. Investigators said China’s military was able to steal emails, documents, user accounts and computer codes. They said it compromised systems aboard a commercial ship contracted by Transcom for logistics routes, and hacked into an airline the U.S. military used. The newly declassified Senate report says defense contractors have generally failed to report to the Pentagon hacker break-ins of their systems as required under their business agreements.
eBay redirect attack puts buyers’ credentials at risk
EBay has been compromised so that people who clicked on some of its links were automatically diverted to a site designed to steal their credentials. The spoof site had been set up to look like the online marketplace’s welcome page. The US firm was alerted to the hack on Wednesday night but removed the listings only after a follow-up call from the BBC more than 12 hours later. One security expert said he was surprised by the length of time taken. “EBay is a large company and it should have a 24/7 response team to deal with this – and this case is unambiguously bad,” said Dr Steven Murdoch from University College London’s Information Security Research Group. The security researcher was able to analyse the listing involved before eBay removed it. He said that the technique used was known as a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack. It involved the attackers placing
A listing for an iPhone 5S contained code that resulted in users being sent to a scam site. malicious Javascript code within product listing pages. This code in turn automatically redirected affected users through a series of other websites, so that they ended up at the page asking for their eBay log-in and password.
Users only had to click the original listing to have their browser hijacked. “The websites the user is being redirected to are almost certainly compromised by the attacker to hide his or her traces,” Dr Murdoch explained.
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Bosses and cash vanish at shoe firm Ultrasonic
Chinese footwear firm Ultrasonic has announced the disappearance of its chief executive and chief operating officer, along with most of its cash. The firm, which is listed in Germany, said that both the men, Qingyong Wu and Minghong Wu, had “apparently left their homes and are not traceable”. At the same time, its cash reserves in China and Hong Kong had been transferred and were “no longer in the company’s range of influence”. Ultrasonic shares immediately fell 79%. The Cologne-based firm said its German holding company still had a “relevant six-figure amount” of money under its control, so it was still able to meet its payment obligations as normal. Ultrasonic’s chief financial officer, Chi Kwong Clifford Chan, and the company’s supervisory board were in talks with authorities and business partners in an effort to clarify matters, the firm said. “As soon as new, reliable facts can be verified, they will be disclosed immediately,” Ultrasonic’s statement on its website concluded. Ultrasonic specialises in the design, production and sale of shoe soles, sandals, slippers, urban footwear and high-end accessories. With several facilities in the People’s Republic of China, it targets the country’s burgeoning middle class. Ultrasonic had been enjoying steadily rising revenues and profits. Revenues had grown nearly 10% to 163.8m euros (£130.7m) over the last five years, while net income had risen nearly 14% to 35m euros.
‘Anti-shake’ spoon allows Parkinson’s sufferers to eat soup and ice cream again
An anti-shake spoon is allowing people with frustrating and disabling tremors enjoy their favourite foods once more. The Liftware spoon detects and then cancels out shakes and judders, allowing soup, cereal and other hard to manipulate foods be eaten with ease. The technology, which has been bought by Google, is aimed at Parkinson’s patients and other people with tremors. Uncontrollable shaking of the hand or arm is one of the first symptoms of Parkinson’s. But it can also occur in otherwise healthy people, with four in 100 adults aged 40-plus
The spoon has revolutionary electronics in its handle, which can cancel out shakes by 70 per cent. suffering from an essential the Liftware spoon sense the tremor that when severe can tremor. make eating, drinking and They then move the handle writing extremely difficult. in the opposite direction, to Cutting-edge electronics cancel out the shake. hidden in chunky handle of Similar technology is used
Residents look at a sign with the words “China’s First Cellphone Lane” explaining the use of a lane which separates those using their phones as they walk from others in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. The Chinese city took a cue from a U.S. TV programme and created a sidewalk with a separate lane for those with heads tucked into smartphones, as a reminder not to tweet while walking the street.
Boy gets first proton treatment in Prague
PRAGUE — British boy Ashya King underwent his first proton beam therapy session for a life-threatening brain tumor in Prague on Monday, a week after the 5-year-old boy was flown here from Spain. Ashya’s case caused an international uproar after his parents removed him from an English hospital last month without doctors’ consent and police launched a manhunt to find him. Ashya’s parents, Brett and Naghmeh King, had fought a protracted battle to get him proton beam treatment, which targets tumors more directly than radiotherapy but isn’t yet available for brain tumor patients in Britain. An 11-year-old Czech boy who had the same disease as Ashya and was treated with proton beam therapy offered the British boy some advice. “He can’t say to himself: ‘I’m ill, so I’m not going to do anything,’” Miki Roth told The Associated Press. “He should read or exercise, try to
British boy Ashya King arrives for first proton beam treatment of his brain tumor at Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic. walk, exercise his legs with therapists that visit him.” Miki was diagnosed with medulloblastoma about two years ago. Following surgery, he received radiation therapy at Prague’s Proton Therapy Center. The treatment worked well for Miki, who was in a wheelchair when he arrived
at the center for the first time. He walked on his own after 30 sessions, followed by a year of chemotherapy at Prague’s Motol hospital. Monday’s treatment for Ashya was the first of 30 planned radiation sessions, the proton center said, combined with chemotherapy to be applied at Motol where he was
admitted last week. Spanish police arrested Ashya’s parents on Aug. 30. The parents traveled to Spain to sell an apartment they owned there to raise funds for the Czech treatment privately. They spent a night in jail, but were released after British authorities canceled an arrest warrant.
in cameras to compensate for unsteady hands. The spoon’s creators, at San Francisco-based Lift Labs, say that it puts the dignity and enjoyment back into mealtimes. And that in trials, it cut tremors by more than 70 per cent. A spokesman said: ‘Mealtime brings people together. It is more than a time for nourishing the body, we nourish our spirit and relationships. “A tremor, whether from essential tremor or Parkinson’s disease takes away from this experience, forcing people to focus instead on the basic task of eating”.
Chinese city creates cellphone sidewalk lane
BEIJING – Taking a cue from an American TV program, the Chinese city of Chongqing has created a smartphone sidewalk lane, offering a path for those too engrossed in messaging and tweeting to watch where they’re going. But the property manager says it’s intended to be ironic – to remind people that it’s dangerous to tweet while walking the street. “There are lots of elderly people and children in our street, and walking with your cellphone may cause unnecessary collisions here,” said Nong Cheng, the marketing official with Meixin Group, which manages the area in the city’s entertainment zone. Meixin has marked a 50-meter (165foot) stretch of pavement with two lanes: one that prohibits cellphone use next to one that allows pedestrians to use them – at their “own risk.” Nong said the idea came from a similar stretch of pavement in Washington D.C. created by National Geographic Television in July as part of a behavior experiment. She said that pedestrians were not taking the new lanes seriously, but that many were snapping pictures of the signs and sidewalk. “Those using their cellphones of course have not heeded the markings on the pavement,” she said. “They don’t notice them.”
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Nevis horse race meet marred by false starts
CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – As the action climaxed at the Indian Castle race track in Nevis on Tuesday – National Heroes Day in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis and a public holiday – jockey of the day, Navid Persaud, sat proudly astride Wild Candy with the prestigious Dan Bartlette Memorial Stakes trophy. However, the annual signature event of the Nevis Turf and Jockey Club in recognition of the contributions made by
their own ‘national hero’, the late Dan Bartlette, will not be recorded as one of the best days for the Club. For one, there were too many false starts and numerous delays on the part of the jockeys and, much to the disappointment of the sizeable crowd, a popular band was a no-show, citing issues with the boat. Additionally, the final race was run in the dark and the crowd was forced to
cheer at shadows. In race three of the four-race card and after the frustrations of a few false starts, an exchange of words and the jockeys and horses retreating to the stables, when the race finally got under way, Shaken Shay threatened momentarily but Wild Candy was too far ahead coming down the home stretch and Navid Persaud pelted his Jockey of the day Navid Persaud astride Wild Candy with the prestigious Dan Bartlette Memorial Stakes trophy. whip airborne in jubilation.
FIFA suspends Cayman Islands businessman pending outcome of corruption probe
Cayman Islands -- The head of FIFA’s audit and compliance committee on Monday announced the temporary suspension of Cayman Islands businessman Canover Watson from FIFA’s financial monitoring panel in the North and Central American and Caribbean region (CONCACAF) pending the outcome of an apparently unrelated criminal investigation involving him. According to the head of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee, Domenico Scala, Watson has been relieved of his duties while the investigation continues. “The chairman has decided to temporarily relieve, until further notice, Canover Watson, to whom the presumption of innocence applies, of his duties on the FIFA Audit and Compliance Committee,” a FIFA statement read. “This should not be regarded as routine procedure because
cases like this or of this nature must always be assessed on their individual merits. “After a preliminary clarification of the facts of the case and the allegations of the Cayman Island[s] investigating authorities against Canover Watson, no connection with football and/or his role at association level has been established at this stage.” Watson (43), the former chairman of the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) board is currently free on bail following his arrest last month on suspicion of a number of offences, including abuse of public office, breach of trust, conflict of interest and money laundering in relation to a US$13 million contract awarded in 2010 to a local company said to be acting as an agent of Saint Lucia-based Health Adjudication Systems. The contract for a healthcare card
payment system was awarded in 2010 to AIS Cayman Ltd and, at the time, Watson was not only chairman of the HSA board but also chairman of the nine-member technical committee that evaluated and recommended the AIS bid over a cheaper bid from CMS Cap Management Systems (CMS) of California. According to the relevant tender documents, the total five-year cost of the new system, including set up costs, was US$13.6 million for the AIS bid compared to $12.8 million for CMS. There is some speculation that Watson may have had an undeclared interest in the company that was awarded the contract since one of the offences he is suspected of having committed relates to decisions taken by public officers in which they have a personal interest where those decisions are not disclosed.
West Indies Chanderpaul climbs to third on batting table
DUBAI, UAE – West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul has returned to the top three of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen following a stellar performance against Bangladesh in the second Test in St Lucia, which finished on Tuesday. The West Indies won the Test by 296 runs to win the series 2-0. Chanderpaul scored 84 not out and 101 not out, his 30th career century, to end the series as the second highest run-getter with 270 runs. For his achievement in the St Lucia Test, he was rewarded with a jump of two places that has helped him leapfrog David Warner of Australia and Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka into third position. The batting table is headed by Kumar Sangakkara of
Canover Watson To do so is an offence under the Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Law, carrying a prison term of up to five years. He is also suspected of breach of trust and abuse of public office under the same law, as well as money laundering contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Law. Watson, who is currently on leave of absence as the managing director of a local hedge fund services firm Admiral Administration, part of the Maitland financial group, has not been formally charged and was released on police bail to return on September 29. He is also a director of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange.
West Indies Darren Bravo guilty of Level 1 ICC offence
Rankings for Test Bowlers, West Indies’ fast bowler Kemar Roach has gained one more GROS ISLET, St Lucia the opposition batsmen and place following his six wickets – West Indies player Darren repeatedly failed to heed the in the second Test and is now Bravo has been found guilty umpires’ instructions. Bravo on a career-high ninth position. of a Level 1 breach of the ICC disputed the offence and a formal Left-arm spinner Sulieman Code of Conduct during the hearing was then conducted Benn, who picked up five for fourth and final day’s play in the by ICC match referee Roshan 72 in the second innings, has second Test against Bangladesh Mahanama, with the charge moved up three places to a having initially been brought in St Lucia on Tuesday. career-best 21st spot, while Bravo was found to have by on-field umpires Stephen Jerome Taylor is the biggest breached Article 2.1.8 of the Davis, Richard Illingworth, mover in the latest rankings – ICC Code of Conduct for Players third umpire Marais Erasmus gaining 12 places to claim 40th and Player Support Personnel, and fourth umpire Peter Nero. position. which says: “…Where the facts Mahanama found the player There is no change in of the alleged incident are not guilty and issued a fine of 30 the Reliance ICC Test Team adequately or clearly covered percent of his match fee. Rankings Table, which is Following the hearing, by any of the above offences, headed by South Africa. conduct that either: (a) is Mahanama said: “The umpires However, the 2-0 series win contrary to the spirit of the felt that the player’s behaviour has given the West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul game; or (b) brings the game brought the game into disrepute one ratings point, which has and he was reminded of his into disrepute.” Sri Lanka, who leads South moved it to 75 ratings points, to extend Bravo had been warned responsibilities Africa’s AB de Villiers by 27 while Bangladesh has dropped on several occasions not to respect at all times to both his ratings points. two points to slip to 19 ratings approach and verbally offend opponent and to match officials.” In the Reliance ICC Player points.
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SPORTS Pistorius free to compete, SA Olympic body says
STELLENBOSCH, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius is free to compete for South Africa again, as long as his running doesn’t go against the ruling of the judge. Pistorius, who is to be sentenced next month after being found guilty in the negligent killing of his girlfriend, could compete at any time because the South African Olympic committee has no regulations preventing someone with a criminal record from representing the country. “As he stands right now, he’s free (to compete),” South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee chief executive Tubby Reddy told The Associated Press on Monday.
Pistorius faces years in jail after being convicted of culpable homicide in the killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. However, there is no minimum sentence for the conviction in South African law and the double-amputee Olympian could receive a suspended sentence and no jail time. As long as competing doesn’t go against the ruling of the judge when she decides Pistorius’ sentence next month, he can run for South Africa, Reddy said. Pistorius would only have to meet normal sports qualifying criteria. Reddy dismissed reports of a meeting of SASCOC officials this week to decide Pistorius’ eligibility, saying there was nothing to decide.
Last year, Pistorius was cleared to run overseas after appealing his bail terms, but chose not to while he concentrated on his murder trial. Pistorius’ agent, Peet van Zyl, said competing now was not an option but they would “sit down and take stock” after his sentencing hearing, which starts Oct. 13. “It’s all up to Oscar. He must decide what he wants to do,” Van Zyl said, adding he would only talk with Pistorius about running again after sentencing. “I don’t know what his mindset is now. I will sit down with him. Is he keen or is he not keen?” Pistorius wouldn’t be allowed to run while serving a prison or house-arrest
North Korean team welcomed to Asian Games village
INCHEON, South Korea — First hurdle cleared — the Asian Games organizers raised the right flag for North Korea on Thursday. The South Korean break dancers, however, found themselves working a tough audience. In a hitch-free ceremony, North Korea’s team got its official welcome into the Asian Games’ athlete’s village on Thursday after a series of controversies that nearly scuttled their trip to the regional mini-Olympics being hosted this year by rival South Korea. The North Korean team was treated to jugglers, clowns and a group of break dancers — who received polite, but somewhat awkward, smiles as they stepped down from the stage and tried to get some audience participation from the North Korean delegation. The mere presence of the North Korean team is politically fraught — animosity is high between the Koreas, which are separated by the world’s most heavily armed border and are technically in a state of war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Even so, North Korean football coach Yun Jong Su said he was happy with the arrangements made for his team. “The accommodations are well organized,” he said, adding that when his team isn’t playing or practicing they relax in private or “take walks.” Conspicuously absent from the event are North Korea’s colorful cheerleading
FIFA orders officials to return expensive watches
ZURICH — FIFA’s ethics investigator has ordered football officials to return luxury watches worth more than $25,000 over the coming weeks. FIFA says the Brazilian federation distributed gift bags with the watches at the pre-World Cup Congress to the 28 executive committee members as well as an official with each of the 32 teams. FIFA says that the Brazilians obtained the watches from sponsor Parmigiani for $8,750 each. But an appraisal found that the watches had a market value of 25,000 Swiss francs ($26,600). FIFA says ethics proceedings won’t be launched against officials who return the watches by Oct. 24. The returned watches will then be donated to a non-profit organization or “organizations committed to corporate social responsibility projects in Brazil.”
North Korean women soccer players arrive for the welcoming ceremony. squad, which is made up mostly of women who are trained to dance and sing in unison in support of the nation’s athletes. The cheerleaders have been a big hit abroad — and are particularly popular with South Korean spectators — but Pyongyang decided not to send them because it said Seoul handled discussions about the topic with hostility. According to South Korean reports, Seoul balked at covering their expenses. Flags had also been a major obstacle — although the Asian Games organizers made sure Thursday there would be no
repeat of the London Olympics, when organizers raised the South Korean flag for a North Korean women’s soccer match, prompting the North Korean team to walk off the pitch. North Korea flags are now flying outside their apartments at the athletes’ village. South Korean officials have decided to let the North Korean flag be hoisted in stadiums, sports venues and the athletes’ village, in keeping with precedent from the 2002 Asian Games in Busan and the 2003 University Games in Daegu.
Ronaldinho called ‘monkey’ by former city official
MEXICO CITY — A former public official in the Mexican city where Ronaldinho has signed to play has called the Brazilian star “a monkey.” The comment by Carlos Manuel Trevino Nunez, who was the Secretary of Social Development in Queretaro, was published in Facebook.
sentence, but a fine and a suspended prison term is also an option for the judge. Pistorius and his longtime coach, Ampie Louw, said before Steenkamp’s killing that they wanted to retire together at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Pistorius was the first amputee to compete on the track at the Olympics when he ran in the 400 meters and 4x400 relay at the London Games in 2012. Van Zyl told the AP on Monday that Pistorius hadn’t done any running on the track “for ages” but was regularly working out in a gym. Pistorius’ last competitive race was the 400-meter final at the London Paralympics two years ago, when he retained his title.
“Seriously I try to be tolerant,” Trevino wrote. “But I hate football and the idiotic phenomenon that it produces. I hate it even more because people flood the streets and it takes two hours to get home. All this for a monkey, A Brazilian monkey, but still.” In a statement the club said “racism,
xenophobia ... and other discriminatory practices are a form of violence that should be erased from society.” The club asked the appropriate authorities to take action. Ronaldinho signed for Queretaro two weeks ago and is expected to play his first match this week.
Milan goalkeeper Lopez out for at least 2 weeks MILAN — AC Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a thigh injury. Lopez sustained the injury while attempting to reach Mattia De Sciglio’s goalbound backpass during the closing stages of Sunday’s 5-4 win at Parma. Milan says Lopez has a right thigh injury and will be reevaluated in a couple of weeks. Lopez, who was signed from Real Madrid on a free transfer in the offseason, will miss Milan’s Serie A matches against three-time defending champion Juventus, Empoli and Cesena. He will be replaced either by Christian Abbiati or Michael Agazzi. Milan also says defender Alex is struggling with bruising to a muscle in his right thigh and will undergo tests in the next few days.
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US basketball reigns in Spain, awaits Rio Olympics MADRID – It feels like so long ago, though it’s been only a decade. The U.S. was the three-time defending Olympic champion, but had become a mess of a basketball programme. The Americans had embarrassed themselves at home in the 2002 world championship, and when they haphazardly put together their team for the 2004 Olympics, nobody should have been surprised if they lost. That’s exactly what happened. Puerto Rico blew them out 92-73 in their opener. Now the Americans run perhaps
Condoms hottest item at Asian Games
Seoul – Athletes are snapping up thousands of free condoms being given out at the Asian Games, organizers said Thursday. “We’ve been handing out condoms over the past three days but their daily ration of 5,000 runs out quickly every day,” Choi Hyeung-Dae, a games organising committee official told AFP. “But this does not mean that athletes have already been engaged in bed-hopping. I think most of them just want to keep them as souvenirs”, he said. The condoms are in yellow, opaque wrappers with the games emblem emblazoned on them and some athletes may believe they are badges or other mementos, he added. The Incheon Asian Games, with about 10,000 athletes from 45 countries taking part, start on Friday. Choi said organisers expect to hand out about 100,000 condoms up until October 3, the day before the event closes. Condoms are regularly handed out to athletes at major sporting events. About 8,500 condoms were given when Seoul hosted the 1988 Olympics. The number rose to 50,000 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 150,000 at the 2012 London Olympics.
Danish police charge man in match-fixing case
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish police have charged a 27-year-old man with serious fraud for fixing two matches in Denmark’s second-tier football league four years ago. Prosecutor Per Justesen said Thursday the man, who was not identified, was one of six suspects in a match-fixing scheme involving an unnamed Filipino organization. Four of the suspects are players with Danish club Hvidovre. Authorities have earlier said the 27-year-old man gave the Filipino organization information about one of the two games, which was used to bet on the game. The five others remain preliminarily charged – a step short of formal charges – in the case. Justesen would not say whether they would be formally charged.
the most stable program in the world, gold medalists at both the men’s and women’s, senior and junior levels. Yet Mike Krzyzewski will prepare as if their opener in Rio de Janeiro is as uncertain as the one in Athens. “I think we can lose our next game,” Krzyzewski said. “I mean, that’s the way we prepare because we know how good everyone is.” The Americans are the best, proving that again with a 129-92 victory over Serbia on Sunday to win the Basketball
World Cup. That gave the U.S. consecutive world titles to go with its back-to-back Olympic gold medals. The Americans have won with powerhouse rosters in the Olympics and beatable ones in the worlds, and they could go to Brazil with their best one yet. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul would be welcomed back if they want a shot at a third straight Olympic gold. Kevin Durant and Kevin Love might want to return after pulling
out this summer. And there are plenty of guys on this year’s team who showed they will earn consideration, from tournament MVP Kyrie Irving and fellow guards James Harden, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, to forwards Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried. And don’t forget how much better Derrick Rose could be in two years after struggling during this tournament in his return after missing most of the last two seasons following two knee operations.
China’s tennis champion Li Na set to retire
Wuhan (China) – China’s two-time Grand Slam-winner Li Na is poised to retire, state media reported Thursday, in a move which would bring down the curtains on Asia’s most successful tennis career. The sports channel of state-owned CNTV cited Li’s agency, IMG, as saying the tennis star would hold a briefing on Sunday to announce the news but also said she might make an official announcement on Friday via social media. A separate report by CCTV-5, the sports channel of state broadcaster China Central Television, quoted unnamed insiders as saying Li, 32, will announce her retirement because of injuries on Friday. “According to insiders, Li Na will officially announce her retirement on September 19,” CCTV-5 said on its verified microblog. “She is reportedly retiring because she is unable to continue competing due to her physical condition,” it said. The broadcaster did not give any details about its sources. An employee at the Beijing office of Li’s agency, IMG, told AFP that Li’s manager was in a meeting and unable to confirm. CCTV-5’s report comes after web portal SINA Sports, also quoting unnamed sources, said IMG would hold a briefing on Friday to announce Li’s retirement. The world number six won the Australian Open in January but her season has been troubled by injury and she has been sidelined since late July with a knee problem. She was ranked a career-high second in the world after January’s Grand Slam win, but has slid down to sixth after missing a string of tournaments including the US Open. In July, Li also split with her influential coach Carlos Rodriguez. She initially planned to return at the inaugural WTA Wuhan Open, in
China’s Li Na during a Wimbledon match in southwest London. her home city, which begins Sunday. Officials at the tournament remained tight-lipped on whether she would be playing, with one telling AFP there had been no official confirmation that she had pulled out. Li originally played badminton after being encouraged in the sport by her father who played professionally. However, she switched to tennis after being convinced by her childhood coach. She took a break in her career early on to study journalism at university only to return to tennis. Li became a sporting pioneer in China when she decided to break from the state sports system in 2008 with a group of upcoming players, in a move dubbed by local media “fly alone”. The move meant that Li was able to choose her own coaches and keep most of her winnings rather than give
them to the government. The aggressive baseliner has since became one of the region’s biggest stars when she won the 2011 French Open, becoming the first Asian national to win a Grand Slam singles title. She has become a poster girl for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which has made a concerted push into Asia by organising several new tournaments including Wuhan. Li previously said she considered retiring last year after a dip in form, but following encouragement from Rodriguez, she returned stronger to claim her second Grand Slam. Her agent was forced deny fresh retirement rumours over the summer after a US broadcaster claimed she would call it a day after the China Open in Beijing, which follows the Wuhan tournament.
Chelsea forward to sign new contract Chelsea forward Eden Hazard could sign a new contract within a month and develop into “one of the greatest players of his generation”, according to manager Jose Mourinho. The 23-year-old Belgium international, who joined from Lille in 2012, has three years left on his current deal. “It’s a question of time - one more month - but we will end up with a new contract,” Mourinho said.
“He wants to stay and commit for many years.” The Portuguese described Hazard as a “fantastic” player who is keen to develop - potentially into one of the “greats”. “We think he can and we are very proud that he thinks Chelsea is the perfect environment for him to have that evolution,” Mourinho said. “We have big hopes that he will go from a top player to reach higher
levels.” He was criticised by Mourinho for a lack of defensive awareness after Chelsea were knocked out of last season’s Champions League by Atletico Madrid. However, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Champions’s League Group G match against Schalke at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho said Hazard had since worked hard to develop his game.
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