VOLUME 12 - NO. 14
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
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NEW RULES FOR WORK PERMITS AND PRC By Todeline Defralien
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ew rules will be put in place for persons applying for work permits and permanent certificates (PRC) in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In an interview with The SUN, Minister of Immigration, Labour and Border Control Hon. Donhue Gardiner said these changes are designed to make it easier for Turks and Caicos Islands to take their rightful place in the workplace, while at the same time addressing a number of irregularities in the system. Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner said one of the major new features will be how to deal with the grants of work permits, such as what needs to be in an advertisement when putting an advertisement in a newspaper for a work permit. “For example, the salary needs to be there, any other benefit that comes with the job needs to be there, it needs to be approved by the commission of labor before it is placed so that whole advertising process has been overhauled for the grant of a labor clearance.” He added: “There are certain things that the Ordinance requires the Immigration Board to take into account before it actually grants a work permit. We start at section (26), (27) and (28) of the Immigration Ordinance it sets out what the board would have to take into account before they would grant a work permit. The details of the job description and salary package, the details of the proposed employees background qualifications and experience, the details of any application that has been received from a Turks and Caicos Islander. In the past they didn’t have to do that. The Immigration Board would not know whether they’re a Turks and Caicos Islander that applied for the Job. Now it’s a requirement that the employer has to say to them who all have applied and even the advertisement when they go out the advertisement must say in it itself that belongers should also send copies
David Smith spared 8 more years in jail - Page 5 NIB pays out $116Million - Page 7
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Chef Minister of Anguilla Visits TCI for Health Tour
hief Minister of Anguilla Victor Banks recently led a delegation from his country to the Turks and Caicos Islands. They are interested in doing a health law and improving their Health and insurance system and they came to investigate the Turks and Caicos Islands National Insurance and
of their application to the Immigration Board and to the Labor commissions so that they can be cross-referenced.” Gardiner noted that where there are trade organization such as the Electricians Association and Bar Association, before the board issues a work permit in those areas they must consult with that association before they are able to grant a work permit. He also announced that when a person applies for a work permit, they must pay an application fee that is going to be 10% of the work permit fee or $150 or whichever is higher. After the application has been approved then they must pay the
National Health Insurance plan and how they work. The Anguilla Chief Minister also held talks with Premier Dr. Rufus Ewing. The visiting delegation also toured the hospital to see what services were basically provided and how they can improve their system.
balance. “What that does is that it prevents government being lax in giving people their refund, so it takes care all of that and so that is one of the things that we wanted to do but then we also wanted to make sure that the application fee was such that people would not be making frivolous applications. For example, the application fee for someone who works as a lawyer the work permit fee is $9,500 so the application fee on that would be $950.00 which is 10% and once the application has been approved you’ll have 21 days within to pay. If you do not pay within that 21 day period
From L-R (Finance Minister Hon. Washington Misick, Minister of Health, Education & Social Development Hon. Evans McNiel Rogers, Chief Minister of Anguilla, Victor Banks Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing and Deputy Premier and Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services Hon. Akierra Missick)
then the law says that the approval is withdrawn and the application is considered as haven been refused,” Gardiner added In regards to PRCs he said they have increase the age from five to seven so anyone who would have come to the islands before seven years old once they’ve turned eighteen and if they’ve gone through the school system they would qualify for the grant of a PRC. “If come after that age and you would have had a freelancer’s work permit for a number of three years than you would again qualify for a grant of what we call a PRC. Continued on Page 2
PDM starting rallies - Page 12 Finger printing system at airports - Page 10
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
LOCAL NEWS
NEW RULES FOR WORK PERMITS AND PRC So even if you come to the islands after seven years old, you wouldn’t qualify for a PRC you’d qualify for a freelancers work permit. That means you would be able to work for anybody you want to and after three years of that than you qualify for a grant of PRC.” He added: “One of the major things to is that persons who have had investments already, existing investments under the old law those person were not qualified, but under the new law existing persons with existing investments of a million dollars and more they would qualify for a grant of PRC as well. The time frame for PRCs is still ten years except if you would have gotten it through an investment then it’s less.” Gardiner said this one month delay in processing work permits, PRCs and labour clearances will not affect the business community. “What we’ve decided to do with them is that we’ve decided persons who need a work permit or persons whose work permit is expired what we will do is there’s not going to be any enforcement actions against any person in that category. Persons who need to travel who may need a visa to reenter the country we’ll facilitate their travel to the country
in a one way ticket and if they need a visa we’ll make sure that they have a visa or whatever documentation they need to travel to the islands, but we still have open the applications for temporary work permits and persons can still get those. But this law provides that if you’ve had a temporary work permit you cannot get a full work permit until 90 days after the temporary work permit is expired. We’ll not be enforcing that in the case of persons who would have been brought in during the period of the suspension, so for people who would have come in for the period of the suspension and if they have a temporary work permit during that period we would not hold them to that 90 day rule.” He said, “Anybody that is born in the country, what we’ve decided is that persons who are born in the TCI and if their parents had legal status at the time that they were born, that those children would be entitled at the age of ten years old, some of them will be entitled to permanent residency and if their parents are on a PRC they will be entitled to Belonger status at ten years old.” He added: “The difficulty is what happens between 0-10 years old, what we hope is that in those
Minister of Border Control Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner cases those parents would actually be able to have their children endorsed on their work permits so that they can than stay here but once a child h
as been here for ten years old their automatically entitled to a grant of PRC. In some other cases the grant of Belonger status.”
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APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
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APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
Chief Justice refuses application to jail David Smith for 8 more years
Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale refused an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions, John Masters to jail David Smith for an additional eigh years for defaulting on a payment. “Although the Confiscation Order has not been satisfied, given that the defendant can execute/has executed such documents as would allow the Trustee appointed by the Court to receive all the amounts available to him in satisfaction of the Order, I don’t think it would be a proper exercise of the Court’s discretion to commit him to prison for failing to pay and I refuse the application for a warrant to commit him to prison to serve a further 8 years in default of payment,” the Chief Justice said in a judgment handed down on Thursday, April 8th. The Crown applied for a warrant to commit the defendant to prison for a further 8 years as the Confiscation Order remains unsatisfied. The defendant, in response, applied for a variation of the Confiscation Order. Under s 31 of the Proceeds of Crime Ordinance (POCO), a defendant may apply to vary an order on the grounds that the amount available to the defendant is inadequate. The section provides for the amount stated in the Order to be varied to that sum which the Court finds is available to the defendant under section 16. The Chief Justice stated: “It is plain that the Confiscation Order sets out the benefit of the defendant’s criminal conduct and is in the sum which is recoverable under s. 15 of POCO. In my judgment, however, the Order is not consistent with the provisions of the Ordinance, notwithstanding it was made by the Court in terms which were agreed by the Crown and the defendant. In particular, the Court, in my judgment, fell into error in making a confiscation order with respect to the cash gifts made by the defendant to various persons and political parties which are set out in paragraph 4 of the Confiscation Order.” She added: “While the Ordinance defines property as including money, in the case of tainted gifts the language of section 10 make it clear that what is there being considered is not cash. Section 10 provides that a gift is made if the defendant transfers property to another person for a consideration whose value is significantly less than the value of the property at the time of the transfer. S 9 provides that the gift is tainted if it was made by the defendant at any time and was of property which was obtained by the defendant as a result of or in connection with his general criminal conduct. Money is not property that can be transferred at an undervalue and is, in my view, not captured by the section. The language in section 10 can be contrasted with the language used
David Smith
DPP John Masters
Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale
Oliver Smith
in section 74 (12) of the Criminal Justice Act 19888 (UK) which was being considered by the Court in Abbas Kassimali Gokal v Serious Fraud Office [2001] EWCA Civ 368 to which the DPP referred the Court, which provides that the circumstances in which the defendant is to be treated as making a gift “include those where he transfers property to another at an undervalue.” Teh Chief Justice noted that in our law, a gift does not include property transferred at an undervalue. It is defined as property transferred an undervalue, she said. “The order was not, however, challenged on appeal and cannot be set aside by this Court. I will say, however, that the cash gifts, while undoubtedly representing the benefit to the defendant of his criminal activity, are not realisable assets and, as such, there are no amounts available to him in respect of them to pay any amount of the $8,475,000 recoverable under the Order. The DPP in the course of his submissions suggested that the cash gifts were sums available to the defendant but as the sums are not debts due to him by the persons who received the monies, I am unable to accept his submission.” She noted that the real property identified in the Confiscation Order is subject to various orders for sale made on the application of the Attorney General. The value ascribed to the Chalk Sound property in the Order was the sum of $1,350,000 being the price the defendant paid for the land, but the amount realized by the Attorney General in a sale of that property was only $575,000 of which $20,000 was paid to the defendant’s wife under a prior agreement. The other properties, being land in Chalk
Sound with a value of $450,000 and in Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hill with a value of $185,000, were also valued at the price paid to acquire them. In 2015, the Trustee appointed by the Court, having considered recent valuations obtained by the Crown, sought and received permission to sell those properties for $150,000 and $ 185,000 respectively. “In the circumstances, it is plain that the amount available to the defendant from the sale of these properties is inadequate to meet the benefit of $1,985,000 which is identified in the Order, $ 1,410,000 of which remains unpaid as the value of the remaining property assets is only $335,000,” the Chief Justice added. David Smith, was the mastermind behind the OLINT Ponzi scheme which defrauded thousands of investors of an estimated $220,000,000 between the years 2003 and 2008. The base of operations for the scheme, which began in Jamaica in 2003, moved to the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2006. It collapsed in 2008 and in 2010, the Applicant was convicted on his own plea in the Turks and Caicos Islands Supreme Court of two counts of conspiracy to defraud investors in his TCI entities, OLINT TCI and TCI FX and two counts of conspiracy to launder the criminal proceeds so arising. He was sentenced to a total of 6 ½ years’ imprisonment and made subject to a Confiscation Order which required him to pay $20,919,950.53 or serve a further 8 years imprisonment in default of payment. Subsequent to his conviction, he consented to being extradited to the United States. In the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, he was convicted on his own plea of guilty to 4 counts
of wire fraud, 1 count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 23 counts of money laundering. Pursuant to a plea agreement negotiated with the assistance of Counsel, he was sentenced to 10 years on the divers charges of money laundering within the United States and a further 20 years for wire fraud. The US Information to which the Applicant pleaded guilty charged that he had obtained investor funds by making false representations about investor gains on the OLINT website and that conspired with others to launder millions of dollars of the criminal proceeds so arising through divers US financial institutions in the state of Florida and that he transferred or caused to be transferred millions of dollars invested by clients in the various OLINT entities into his personal bank accounts there, contrary to the laws of the United States. At the end of his term of imprisonment in 2015, the United States Government made an application for him to be extradited from the Turks and Caicos as a fugitive offender to commence his sentence of imprisonment in the United States. Under the terms of his plea agreement, the time spent in the TCI is to count against the time to be served in the United States. The extradition request was challenged by the Applicant in the proceedings before the Chief Magistrate. In a decision published on 18 June 2015, the Chief Magistrate discharged the Applicant in respect of the wire fraud charges on the ground that wire fraud was an offence not known to TCI law but ordered that he be extradited on the money laundering charges for which he had been convicted.
䘀伀刀 䄀䰀䰀 夀伀唀刀 䄀䐀嘀䔀刀吀䤀匀䤀一䜀 一䔀䔀䐀匀 䌀伀一吀䄀䌀吀 ⠀㘀㐀㤀⤀ⴀ㌀㌀㤀ⴀ㔀㠀㜀㤀 漀爀 䔀䴀䄀䤀䰀㨀 猀甀渀䀀猀甀渀琀挀椀⸀挀漀洀 䄀昀昀漀爀搀愀戀氀攀 刀愀琀攀猀 簀 䠀椀最栀 瘀漀氀甀洀攀 琀爀愀昀昀椀挀 簀 刀攀氀椀愀戀氀攀
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APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
I Can’t Wait !!
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
NIB Celebrates 24 Years, Pays Out $116.5 Million in Benefits by Walter F.L Gardiner Director / CEO, NIB
On reflecting on the critically important role that the NIB has played over the past 24 years in the lives of the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, newly appointed Director/ CEO of the National Insurance Board, Mr. Walter Gardiner, has released some overwhelmingly important statistics to the public that the NIB has paid in excess of 116.5 million dollars in benefit payments in the TCI since its inception in April 1992. April 6, 2016 marks the 24th anniversary of the country’s social insurance programme and, in looking back on the introductory
Pension Type
years, Mr. Gardiner commented: “The NIS legislation today is undoubtedly the best pieces of social protection legislation ever implemented in the TCI. Introduced under an extremely dark cloud of suspicion, mistrust and bitter opposition from employers, employees and the self-employed alike, convincing the general public to “buy in” was a very difficult sell at that time as this was the very first time that monies were mandatorily deducted from the salaries of their employees. It was not an easy task enforcing compliance as the majority of persons viewed us at that time as just another form of taxation guised as social security to put monies
# of Recipients
into the coffers of government to abuse and borrow from. Indeed, we received strong resistance from many self employed persons; large and small employers, who refused to pay unless prosecuted, threatened to reduce staff or close business- even petitions from the then Chamber of Commerce that an introduction at that time would prove to be a deterrent to potential investors.. Indeed, many predicted that we would fail because we were managed by young, inexperienced personnel. However, today, we have certainly proven our worth to the people of the TCI and have earned their confidence, trust and admiration for the social and financial protection that we have
Total Amount Paid
Retirement Pension
971
Non Contributory Old Age Pension
221
Survivors Pension
178
8,901,841
Invalidity Pension
95
6,845,975
Disablement Pension
29
2,577,141
Death Benefit
8
1,822,220
Constant Attendance Allowance
3
126,842
Total
51,596,052 15,873,154
1,505
87,743,225
Mr. Gardiner further revealed that the institution paid out a total of $28,778,835 in the remaining short term benefits as follows: Benefit Type
Total Amount Paid 1992- Feb 2016
Maternity Allowance
1,337,920
Maternity Grant
2,499,200
Injury Benefit
1,637,139
Medical Expenses
76,961
Sickness Benefit
10,555,807
Funeral Grant
1,580,978
Retirement Grant
894,021
Travel Expenses
77,459
Survivors Grant
90,547
Death Grant
28,800
TOTAL
These payouts combined means that the NIB has been responsible for the distribution of $116,522,060 within the local economy since its inception. On behalf of the Honourable Minister, C. Washington Misick, the Board of Directors, Management and Staff of the NIB, we say Happy 24th Anniversary to all our contributors and beneficiaries as we look forward to continue providing you excellent social insurance coverage.
provided these past 24 years and will continue to provide in countless years to come. Literally, thousands of people depend on us, but more importantly, thousands of people can depend on us”, commented Mr. Gardiner. Mr. Gardiner reported that as at March 2015, the reserves of the NIB excess of $191 million. The institution currently collects $27 million annually in contribution income and provides over $13 million annually in benefit payments. To date the programme has paid out $87,743,225 in long term pensions since its inception and currently supports 1,505 persons with long term pensions as follows:
Incident at HM prison Grand Turk On 6 April, 2016, a brief incident of concerted unrest occurred within one part of the prison accommodation area. The incident commenced at approximately 11:00am, however a safe and swift conclusion was negotiated by approximately 11:45am. According to a Government statement, incidents where unrest occurs are considered very seriously by prison authorities. The Prison Superintendent has met with those involved to explore some of the underlying causal factors. As is normal procedure, he is now reviewing all of the available relevant information. “We are aware that unconfirmed and inaccurate information has been reported by sections of the media and this can and does increase stress and worry for families and friends of those in custody. The Superintendent is keen to assure that this incident was resolved amicably and without any requirement for force. Normal prison routines were very quickly restored.,” the government statement added.
$28,778,835
Family robbed by two men at Northwest Point On Thursday April 7th at 1:44pm, a robbery involving tourist including children occurred at the North West Point area of Blue Hills, Providenciales; the furthest northern point on the island. According to police spokesman Kevin Clarke, the two culprits, one brandishing a gun are described as both being slim with dark complexion. They got away in the tourist light
green 2004 Nissan March rental car licence plate number 8205 along with jewelry, Iphone, Go-Pro Camera and a wallet. “If you were in that area during that time today and may have seen what occurred or have seen the Nissan March on or before 1:44pm please contact the Police. If this vehicle is seen, please contact the Police immediately as the occupants may be armed and dangerous,” Clarke said.
Police are urging anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1-800-8477 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www.crimestoppers.tc, Chalk Sound Police Station 338-5901. The information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter page.
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
LOCAL NEWS
$5,000 bond for visa applicants to TCI
Persons who require visas to visit the Turks and Caicos Islands will now be required to post a bond of US$5,000 (five thousand dollars). This was revealed by Minister of Immigration, Labour and Border Control, Hon. Donhue Gardiner who told the SUN that this tougher measure was necessary because the visa system was being abused by some people.
He explained: “We’ve had people who got visas for others and after they spent their time and we ask about them leaving, persons would say to us ‘Well that’s your problem. You’re Immigration you should go and find them’. What we’ve been trying to do by doing it this way is to say that ‘Ok we give you a visa, you sign a bond if the person hasn’t left within the period of
time that they were given to stay then we’ll enforce the bond which means that persons would have to pay that $5,000.” The Minister of Border Control said that by enforcing this law they hope that they will get persons interested in making sure that people who they invite here that they leave when the time is expired.
AA to launch direct service to JFK American Airlines (AA) will be adding another flight to their notable selection of flights to Providenciales (PLS). This summer, AA will launch nonstop service between JFK and PLS with their Boeing 737-800. Passengers can now travel to New York on American Airlines with nonstop and as of July 2nd passengers will be able to
travel direct on a seasonal weekend flight that will operate on Saturdays and Sundays. Direct flights are now available for sale online as of April 3rd, 2016. The weekly service will travel to Providenciales (PLS) on Saturday and arrive at approximately 8:08pm then depart for New York (JFK) the following day, Sunday at approximately 8:45am.
The seasonal flights will be available from July 2-August 21, 2016, and November 5, 2016 -March 5, 2017. “The increased flight with an evening arrival on Saturday is very much welcome. This gives us the opportunity to spread the flights out over a longer period of time and receive the passengers during our down time.” said
Lavern Reynolds, TCIAA Terminal and Marketing Manager. American Airlines currently offers flights from Charlotte (CLT), Miami (MIA), Dallas (DFW) and Boston (BOS) direct from PLS. As a leading airline in the Caribbean, American Airlines currently operates more than 160 daily flights to 32 destinations within the region.
Turks and Caicos Sun Suite#5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 339-5879 Fax: (649) 941-3281 Email: sun@suntci.com Read us online at www.suntci.com Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden Boyce Office Manager: Dominique Rigby Graphic designer Information Technology and Production Manager: Kelano Howell Todeline Defralien Reporter
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. t
Provo Water Company Press Release Water Systems & Infrastructure Upgrades
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, April 2016: Provo Water Company is in the process of replacing all commercial meters, district bulk meters, and residential meters. The meter replacement is part of an island-wide infrastructure upgrade that is expected to be completed by Summer 2016. There will be a short service disruption of only few minutes to residential connections as the meter is swapped out. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience but assure you that the upgrades will result in improved services at no additional cost to our customers. Please contact us on 649-339-9282 for additional information. “For questions regarding your account please call Customer Service Department on 649-339-9282 or email at customerservice@provowater.tc “ PROVO WATER COMPANY LTD. 197A Grace Bay Road PO Box 39 Grace Bay, Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands British West Indies Tel: 649 339-9282 Fax: 649 946 5204 Email: customerservice@provowater.tc
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Finger printing system at airports to be enforced in TCI By Todeline Defralien A mandatory finger printing system will soon be enforced at airports in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Minister of Immigration and Border Control Hon. Donhue Gardiner announced. In an interview with The SUN, Gardiner said the Immigration Department is in the process of having the equipment installed. “We hope by the end of the summer, by September, that will be fully functioning because we’ve had a number of problems with persons who have been deported coming back and we can’t really identify them,” he said. “We’re going to be looking at doing some of the smaller flights initially until we have it all sorted out but I expect that by the fall of this year we should have it up and running fully.”. Hon. Gardiner also disclosed that DNS testing will be done in Turks and Caicos Islands. “We actually require persons to provide DNA testing; for example if you want to get your children endorsed on you PRC then we would require DNA testing in those cases. Under the previous law if you said you were a Belonger it’s up to the government to prove that you are not. Under this law, it says that if you say you are a Belonger than it’s up to you to prove it. That is a major change and so that is now required because from some
Fingerprinting machine countries we’ve found that we can’t rely on the birth certificates because a lot of them are actually forged.” A number of Caribbean countries are moving towards mandatory finger printing. Barbados has deferred plans to introduce new immigration policies that would have Barbadians fingerprinted when leaving and entering the island from April 1 this year. The Barbados Immigration Department said that “accordingly, until further notice, no passengers, whether Barbadian or non-national, will be required to be fingerprinted”. Acting Chief Immigration Officer Wayne Marshall said the decision to defer the start of the biometrics screening programme was taken to allow the department more time to re-examine some of the issues, especially the legal ones, raised in the public arena, both orally and in writing, and to increase public awareness about the initiative.
JOB DESCRIPTION DIRECTOR OF PORTS Reporting Officer: Minister/Board of Directors Supervises: N/A
Salary Grade: 8 Date of Appointment:
The Ports Authority of the Turks and Caicos Islands is seeking an outstanding professional for the role of Director of Ports. Overview The Ports Authority of the Turks and Caicos Islands is a self-supporting public statutory body established in 2008 for the management of maritime affairs. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: The Director of Ports will provide leadership and direction to enable the Port to achieve sustained growth. The position will be responsible for developing and executing the strategic plan for revenue, profitability, and growth of the Port. He/she will oversee Port operations to ensure efficiency, quality, service, and cost-effective management of resources and personnel. Specific tasks, in no particular order, encompass: •Developing, executing, and updating a multi-year strategic plan to increase revenue, profitability, and organizational growth •Ascertaining new business opportunities outside the Port’s existing geographic and vertical markets •Initiating and closing new business deals by developing and negotiating contracts and integrating contract requirements with business operations •Building, developing, and managing a corporate and operational senior leadership team capable of executing desired business strategies; maintain a management personnel succession plan for all operations •Building and maintaining strong relationships with current tenants/users and potential future tenants/users; including operators of businesses on Port property •Building and maintaining strong relationships with the Port’s represented employees including general service and maritime employees •Establishing and maintaining stakeholder relationships; serving as the Port’s liaison for other key relationships with stakeholder groups locally and internationally •Working with international bodies •Collaborating simultaneously with a wide variety of business/economic sectors •Identifying internal organic growth opportunities and ensuring that existing assets are being optimally utilized •Support financial and operational objectives •Promoting the Authority through local, regional, national, and international entities •Reducing environmental impacts on protected species or habitat •Reviewing (for approval) operating summaries and detailed reports (as required) for presentation to the Board of Directors •Supporting operating initiatives for improvements in safety, quality, cost, and employee relations •Evaluating performance of managers for compliance with established policies and objectives of the Ports Authority and contributions in attaining objectives •Leading and directing the processes that monitor, measure, evaluate, and report on performance •Monitoring and reporting on industry trends; leveraging industry best practices and applying these to internal systems and processes Qualifications and Experience The minimum qualifications required for this position include a Master’s degree from a recognized institution of higher learning plus a minimum of 10 years of senior management experience. Previous management experience should be in business organizations or public agencies involved in Property Development (commercial, public, and retail), marketing, and/or the Port/Maritime industry.
Barbados Opposition Leader Mia Mottley criticised the move and told legislators that the measure was flawed and would be challenged in the court. “You cannot take fingerprints from April 1. Against which data base would you be assessing these fingerprints?” she asked. “There is no data base to assess these fingerprints against. This is in the estimates, over two million dollars (one Barbados dollar = US$0.50 cents) to spend and then secondly what are you going to do when a Barbadian citizen says I am not giving you my fingerprints. Where are you going to deport them to? You can’t deport your own citizens. So if you can’t deport them, you then criminalise your citizens,” she told Parliament as she made her contribution to the 2016-17 Estimates on Expenditure and Revenue. She said the measure would make “criminals of all good people who are frightened about the breach of privacy of their fingerprints”. Barbadian attorney and social activist David Comissiong wrote to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart calling on him to outline the reasons for introducing the new immigration policies. In his letter, Comissiong said that he had also written to the minister responsible for immigration Darcy Boyce and the former Chief Immigration Officer Erine Griffith on
the issue but to date has received no response. In his letter, which was made available to the media, Comissiong said that he had been informed that the Immigration (Biometrics) Regulations 2015 were made by Prime Minister Stuart in his capacity as minister responsible for immigration. Last month, former Attorney General Dale Marshall questioned the wisdom in having Barbadian nationals leaving or returning to the country be subjected to being fingerprinted. Marshall said that the new measure was a “mindless adherence to international dictates”. The acting chief immigration officer said that all legal procedures previously undertaken in adopting the Immigration (Biometric) Regulations, 2015 will be revisited, and any irregularities found corrected. He said the review is taking place in collaboration with the Solicitor General’s Chambers and the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel. Marshall noted that the benefits of fingerprinting were national in scope and included enhancing the level of national security; identifying individuals travelling with fraudulent identification documents; strengthening border control; reducing crime; improving investigation of crime; and preserving the high international ranking of the Barbados passport.
He/she must have proven experience in dealing with public sector processes. Candidate should have depth of understanding and experience in working with government and administrative processes. This unique individual must be able to quickly garner confidence, respect, and trust with all internal and external stakeholders. There should be evidence of leadership skills along with the ability to mentor and develop organizational skills. The successful candidate should be a creative and innovative thinker regarding new projects and new roles of the Port, but seeking counsel as necessary. He/she should have highly developed and sophisticated negotiating expertise. Required Attributes Candidates considered for the Director of Ports role should possess a strong combination of the following attributes: Change agent experience to move the organization to a high-performance organization. A passion for port real estate and land development. Strong acumen for developing a strategic plan. A bias for action/sense of urgency and outside-the-box thinker. Experience interfacing with government entities and working with multiple clients. Proven ability to resolve complex problems positively and professionally. Highly developed business, governmental, and relationship development acumen and leadership. Experience in mentoring and developing staff. Board presence and the ability to proactively communicate with fellow Board members. High awareness, sensitivity, and empathetic disposition as it relates to staff, culture, and community. A demonstrated track record of unquestioned integrity and ethics. Proven experience in driving and growing a business. Demonstrated ability to form, lead, and develop high-performing and accountable teams. A strong work ethic, energetic, and highly engaged. A broad understanding of the transportation service/maritime industry. Strong organizational skills in order to balance a large group of diverse projects simultaneously for a large multi-user base. Stellar interpersonal, communication (written and verbal), and presentation skills. Strong analytical skills with a solid understanding of finance and economic issues. Other Requirements: 1.Fluent English 2.Willingness and ability to travel by air, land and sea. 3.Qualified Belongers, either living in the TCI or abroad, are encouraged to apply. 4.Willingness to work outside normal office hours as needed from time to time Salary and Allowances: Salary is $105,900 annum. Application Procedure Interested persons should submit a resume, along with their contact information, cover letter, two letters of reference (one preferably from a former employer), copies of educational certificates, a Police Certificate and a copy of the Passport photo page. Applications should be addressed to: Chairman, Ports Authority of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands and can be delivered to the Turks and Caicos Islands Ports Authority, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands or emailed to: boardsecretary@ports.tc by the deadline date. The subject line in the email should read “Director of Ports”. Envelopes should have the subject “Director of Ports” clearly marked on the front. Deadline: April 22, 2016 We thank all applicants for their interest. However, only persons selected for an interview will be contacted.
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
Tobacco control law commences The Tobacco Control Law came into force in the Turks and Caicos Islands from April 1, 2016. This new law is designed to protect the population of the Turks and Caicos Islands from the harmful effects of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke and regulate the distribution, sale and manufacturing of tobacco products. In order to comply with the law the public should be mindful of the following: All persons engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, exporting, distributing or selling tobacco products must obtain a license within the first nine months of the law coming into force Do not sell tobacco products (including toys and candy resembling tobacco products) to minors Do not engage in tobacco advertising, promotion or sponsorship
Tobacco companies must disclose the contents of tobacco products and information about the health effects of their products Do not display tobacco products in such a way that it is visible to the public Do not use tobacco vending machines or sell tobacco in a way that a customer may handle the product without assistance of a clerk Do not sell a smoked tobacco product as an individual unit, unless the product is individually labelled as required Packaging and labelling of all tobacco products must have big, visible graphic health warnings and no misleading descriptors (such as light or mild, etc.) Do not smoke in an enclosed public place, enclosed workplace, or public conveyance, including places listed below: 1. Government buildings 2. Hospitals and medical facilities 3. Airports
4. Hotels, motels, inns (with the exception of areas for smoking, 15 to 25 ft. radius) 5. Reception rooms, lobbies or areas where the public have access 6. Public owned facilities rented out for events 7. Meetings and interview rooms 8. Corridors, toilet areas, stairways and elevators 9. Public lounges and canteen areas 10. Bars 11. Clubs 12. Restaurants 13. Pool halls 14. Schools 15. Government vehicles 16.Vehicles used for public transport 17.Areas designated for public transportation 18. Shops and shopping centres 19. Cinemas 20. Public parks 21.Sporting complexes such as stadiums, ballparks, basketball courts etc. 22. Workplace facilities 23. A public places where tables and chairs are provided for customers
to consume food purchased from an on-site service 24. Any other facilities that are accessible to the public. A manager, owner or lessee of a place listed above must post signs prominently on the premises or public conveyance, stating that smoking is not permitted in that place or public conveyance.
The laws will be enforced by Public and Environmental Health officers, Customs officers and Police officers who will have the power to enter any public place in which tobacco products are sold, manufactured, stored, transported, received, distributed or supplied and conduct inspections or investigations. For further information about the Tobacco Control Ordinance contact the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Department at: 338-3613 in Grand Turk, 338-4737 in Providenciales and 338-6301 in South Caicos or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TCIDMHSD.
Ministry of Tourism welcomes the Governor General’s Cup - Caribbean Air Rally The Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture and the Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board is pleased to announce a partnership with the Governor
General’s Cup - Caribbean Air Rally 2016. On April 11, 2016 the JAGS McCartney International Airport will come alive as aircraft enthusiasts from around the globe bare down on
its runway. It is expected that an air armada of 35 aircrafts with 80 crew members will visit the islands. The Governor General’s Cup Air Rally is an annual event covered by major international aviation and travel magazines. Since its inception in 2001 the International Air Rally team has put together one of the largest International Air Rallies on the region. To date, over 500 pilots and aviation enthusiasts have travelled across Canada, USA, the Caribbean and Latin America in what is usually 13 days of adventure. For the fourth time, the Air Rally will launch from the shores of Grand Turk, where a number of students from various primary institutions will enjoy a tour of the aircrafts. The International Air Rally’s goal is to facilitate, encourage and increase the movement of private aircraft to various destinations whilst
promoting the destination. Minister of Tourism, Hon. Porsha Stubbs-Smith commented “I am proud to be a part of this event which not only promotes and celebrates the art of aviation but also our beautiful shores. The island of Grand Turk has played a vital part in the race for space during the 1960’s and today this only reaffirms its strategic location as a spring board to new trends. My Ministry is pleased to be a part of such an initiative that is now gaining momentum regionally.” This year, the Air Rally is being covered by the most popular aviation show: ‘The Aviators TV’, who will broadcast a full episode to over 60 million viewers globally. The delegation will depart the Beautiful by Nature Turks and Caicos Islands on April 13th 2016 enroute to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; as they race for the Governor General’s Cup.
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
LOCAL NEWS
PDM starting public meetings
The People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) will be taking its first tour around the Islands in a series of Public Meetings. Hon Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, Party Leader says, “We are committed to using any and all public forum to ensure that our people are aware of the real issues facing us as a people and to hear our Party’s position on the issues. We are excited about what we as a Movement can and will do when we are returned as the next elected Government.” She added: “This governing PNP has failed to deliver for the people and we will show the people how we will ensure people centered development and progress. We are therefore encouraging persons on all of Islands to come out and hear how we intend to set this country in the right direction. This series of meetings is the first and will be closely followed by a series of Town Hall Meetings where we will sit and hear from you, the people as well as to discuss moving our country forward with you, our people at the center.” THE SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS: Monday, April 11, 2016
Press Conference @ 10am Party Headquarters,
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Providenciales PUBLIC MEETING 7:30pm King’s Road, Bottle Creek, North Caicos
Saturday, April 16, 2016
PUBLIC MEETING 7:30pm Party Headquarter’s Grounds, Grand Turk
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Salt Cay
Friday, April 22, 2016
PUBLIC MEETING 7:30pm Down Town, Providenciales
Monday, April 25, 2016
PUBLIC MEETING 7:30pm Conch Ground Bay, South Caicos
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Middle Caicos
PDM Leader Hon. Sharlene Robinson
Crown land unit ballot selections
Notice is hereby given to each of the persons having submitted an application to the Crown Land Unit, in response to the TCIG Notice inviting applicants for Crown Land for residential purposes within the Residential Scheme No. PLS002 in Block 60811, situated at The Bight and Thomas Stubbs, Providenciales, and bordered on the north by the Leeward Highway, on the south by Block 61110,
on the east by Block 61112 and on the west by Block 60810. According to a Government statement, seeing that there are more valid applications than there are lots available, the Director will conduct a ballot selection for the allocation of the thirty six (36) residential Crown Land parcels advertised. This notification to conduct ballot selections is therefore published in order to satisfy
ROYAL WEST INDIES RESORT ROYAL WEST INDIES RESORT, is looking for motivated proactive individuals to join its ‘Resort Team’ and contribute to this growing Condominium Resort. Candidates MUST want to actively participate in creating an excellent and professional guest experience. •GENERAL MAINTENANCE •HOUSEMAN •GARDENER •LABOURER •POOL & BEACH ATTENDANT
Requirements: •MUST speak English and the ability to write and read English •Ability to maintain pools and hot tub chemicals and maintenance issues related to same •Fit and able for heavy lifting •Personality suited for the hotel industry •Must be customer friendly •Willing to work split shifts, holidays and weekends. •Knowledge of waste water treatment plants •Knowledge of Commercial Laundry Equipment including propane systems •Air Conditioning systems, Fire Alarm systems, Domestic Water systems including Water Heaters •Irrigation systems •Greet and escort guests to room •Monthly housekeeping inventory •Daily replenishment of room items and restocking of closets •Daily cleaning of buildings •Must be able to work on weekends and public holidays Wages $6.50/hour
All resumes and applications must be forwarded to: Royal West Indies Resort P.O. Box 482, Providenciales Turks & Caicos Islands You may also fax to: (649)946-5008
the requirement of Schedule 2, Part A — Clause 10, of the Crown Land Ordinance 2012. The ballot drawings will be conducted at the Gustavus Lightbourne Auditorium in Providenciales on April 29, 2016 commencing at 10:00 am. All persons selected will be asked to produce additional documentation to the Crown Land Unit to support eligibility
requirements. Please be reminded, written comments regarding any omission and or the eligibility of any of the applicants must be received by the 15th April 2016, and all submissions should be addressed to Director of Crown Land, Crown Land Unit, Butterfield Square, Downtown, Providenciales by mail, or by Fax to (649) 946 1145, or by e-mail to sbrown@gov.tc or cgodet@gov.tc.
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
New charity launched to provide breakfast to children in government schools Photo by Kelano Howell
On Tuesday 5 April 2016, under the stars at the Palms Resort & Spa, Karen and Jeanne Savory welcomed many key members of the business community, government Ministers, and family to their newly founded charity’s first event. The event was intended to make the charity’s presence known and encourage corporate sponsorship for its worthy cause. Food for Thought was founded by Karen and Jeanne in order to provide free breakfast to all children in the government schools. The first phase, due to begin in September, is to provide a healthy breakfast on every school day to the government primary schools in North, Middle and South Caicos and Salt Cay. The charity has already partnered with Caicos Express
Airways, Lew 1 Shipping and Quality charity to raise over $6,500 at its first Food Center to bring the food items in event. Karen and Jeanne would like to thank and transportation. In the beautiful setting of the everyone who attended and gave their courtyard at the Palms guests at the support to this important programme. event were treated to a welcome glass “We truly appreciate the strong show of champagne, generously donated by of support we have received right off the Wine Cellar, along with endless the bat as we start our charity Food tasty hors d’oeuvres and sweet treats for Thought. This fantastic evening, kindly provided by The Palms, while completely sponsored by the Palms listening to wonderful live music by Resort, was very encouraging. A Craig Archibald. heartfelt thank you to Karen Whitt In addition to watching a and her team who made our first event short presentation about the charity so special.” and listening to passionate words of “We estimate that it will encouragement and support offered cost about $200 per child per year to by the Deputy Premier and Minister implement our programme. Funds for Education the Honourable Akierra raised tonight are a great start towards Missick, attendees participated in a our target. We have also had many silent auction and raffle – helping the businesses expressing their interest in
getting involved and supporting Food for Thought. We are very excited by the response so far.” Food for Thought would like to thank the following kind contributors to their launch party: The Palms Resort & Spa, The Wine Cellar, Caicos Express Airways, Turks Head Inne, Jennifer Maude Designs, Caicos Corral, Point Grace, Nautique Sports, Tangled Hair Salon, Atabeyra, Mermaid Photography, Le Comptoir Francais, Goldsmith’s, Provo Golf Club, Da Conch Shack, Caya Hico Media, Craig Archibald, Maria, James, Chris, Chandra, Roxann, Richard and Robin. If you would like to learn more about or donate to Food for Thought please email foodforthoughttci@gmail. com. Photo by Kelano Howell
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
LOCAL NEWS
My Autism Journey
by Angela Williams-Valerio Parent / President of Ashley’s Learning Center There have been thousands of articles, books, statistics and theories about autism in just the last decade. So if you’re interested in what is autism, the causes or lack thereof, you will not be short of finding information and if I do talk about it I would only be providing research. But what I would like to do is share my Autistic Journey with you and the challenges we face right here in our own Turks and Caicos. Whose Report will you believe? It was that time, time to take Ashley to the Doctor and have my worst nightmare confronted. I took her to the pediatrician here in Provo and explained all the behaviours that I had noticed at home. The excessive hand washing, running in the middle of the road, not wanting to be touched, no fear of danger, not speaking, poor eye contact and the most devastating behavior to me was the hands over her ears, as I knew that was a sign of a person with some disability. The Pediatrician recommended that Ashley go off to see a pediatrician neurologist. I fasted, I Prayed whilst preparing for this trip. I took Ashley to Miami Children’s Hospital where they did a full evaluation and the whole works, with endless questions about our family’s medical history. I felt like I was going
Angela Williams-Valerio with her daughter Ashley to diagnose her myself. I was hoping to hear the words, Ashley is normal. At the clinic after Ashley was assessed, we waited in a small room for the doctor. Dr. Tozan came in and bounced a ball back and forward to Ashley whilst he gave her age appropriate commands. He played with a few stuffed animals with Ashley and then said, “Mom, Dad Ashley has
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TUESDAY MAY 10th 2016 10:00AM – 2:00PM MARGARITAVILLE RESTAURANT Positions Available Senior Steward Store Clerk Barbacks Waiters /Servers
Kitchen Helpers Bussers Runners Stilt Walker / Mascot
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Autism. There is no test, treatment or medication I can give her that will change that. You just need to get her help that will to teach her how to cope.” I managed to strengthen my voice loud enough to ask him, “Will she ever be able to read or count?” He looked at me and said, “You shouldn’t worry about her education. You should worry about her tying her shoe lace or making up her bed that
should be your dream.” I couldn’t move at this point, all the answers, and hope that I was looking for “Never Came”. That dream the doctor told me I should have was too small for a mother to have for her daughter. We were handed the diagnoses on a sheet of paper and reading materials on Autism. I left numb, broken, alone and depressed, as if my world had just ended. As I was driving on I-75, I could not see the traffic ahead, for my tears had clouded my eyes. I was trying not to blink so that my children would not see me crying. But I had to do just that. Just as I would have to face reality, I had to blink. I needed to see what was ahead of me. My daughter’s future, dreams were no further than her shoe lace; that was the hardest words for me to accept. As I managed to reach the hotel, I asked my husband to take the boys to the pool. Ashley and I cried ourselves to sleep; both of us crying but for different reasons. The next morning when I woke up, I noticed how my salted tears had dried on Ashley’s forehead and arms. So I went into the bathroom and started to cry again. I immediately heard a soft voice from within saying “whose report will you believe”. My tears began to dry. My energy returned. I got up with a different belief and with a different voice in my head. Now my autism journey had begun.
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
History of Kingdom Restoration Center
by Apostle Ruth Ariza
Born out of the vision of NEW BEGINNINGS KINGDOM MINISTRIES, INT’L, Apostle Ruth Ariza felt the need to establish, KINGDOM RESTORATION CENTER, a place where Substance Abuse and Mental Abuse individuals can come and find help. A 12 Step Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Programme was put in place, which main focus is to cater to the needs of persons seeking a solution to their addictions and for them to find a new avenue to get help. The first meeting for KINGDOM RESTORATION CENTER was held on Saturday, September 18th, 2010 at 7:30 pm which was attended by 7 persons looking to break their addictions to either drugs or alcohol. It was during that first meeting that we learnt how important it was to have started such a programme and at the same time provide a hot meal for persons who while using, had not eaten for days. The Official Launching of KINGDOM RESTORATION CENTER was celebrated, June 17th, 2011 with a special service held at NEW BEGINNINGS KINGDOM MINISTRIES, INT’L , Off Waterloo, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands with Guest Speaker Pastor Floyd Forbes, a past drug addict, of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. As a part of the Launching Celebration, the Programme Managers visited H J Robinson High School, they were also interviewed on
EXPRESSIONS, a local radio show hosted by Mr. Robert Hall, and they also had the opportunity to give out pamphlets in the community of Grand Turk on DRUG AWARENESS. Since the Official Launch in 2011, we have had a restructuring of our Board Members, and our Board Members are now as follows: Apostle Ruth Ariza – CEO/Founder, Gordon Joseph – Programme Manager, Marlon Clementson – Programme Manager, George Coleman – Member. Over the past four years, we have done more community work and outreach in various areas of Grand Turk, with our most recent activity in Christmas of 2015 where a Christmas Dinner and Fellowship was prepared for in West Road and North Back Salina (The Garden). Both activities were very successful as it helped with SUBSTANCE ABUSE AWARENESS on a greater scale. As we move forwarded, we look forward to establishing a good relationship with the Court System, and the Prison System. We endeavour to help and assist the Prison System with the rehabilitation of inmates during incarceration and after. On Friday, 1st April at 11am. Our 12 Step Programme was officially launched at Her Majesty Prison located in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands. The short 1 Day Summit was chaired by Apostle Ruth Ariza, the Founder and C.E.O. of Kingdom Restoration Center. The Superintendant of the prison , Mr. Steve Barrett was in attendance, and was very pleased and encouraged by
the presentation of the Programme, which was stated during his address and presentation. The Key Note Speaker was Apostle H. Daniel Wilson of K.A.N.I. ( Kingdom Apostolic Network International) of Chicago Ill. U.S.A. along with his wife, Pastor Beverly Wilson, He brought a very soul searching and inspiring address to persons present, which included 12 of the inmates. Mrs. Carolyn Dickenson of Gender Affairs, Turks Island Government, was also in attendance, and brought words of encouragement to the inmates and greetings. Other persons in attendance were Assist. Superintendant Mr. Grant, who brought the Vote of Thanks
and Mr. Clyde Green – Prison Rehabilitation Unit, who spoke words of encouragement as well. Before the closing of the short ceremony, The Working Team of Kingdom Restoration Center was officially presented headed by Apostle Ruth Ariza. The following names are members of the Working Team : Marlon Clementson, Gordon Joseph, George Coleman, Justus Forbes, Patrick Dobney, Desmond Brooks, and Carline Campbell. Our overall goal is to partner with Her Majesty Prison and The Social Welfare Ministry of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and also to help TRANSFORM AND RESTORE LIFES WITH COMPASSION.
10.Stays aware of global and national market trends and the changing needs of MSME sector. 11.Encourages businesses to utilize the various programs offered by the CED. 12.Assist in the continued development of CED’s strategic plan. 13.Refers clients to other resources and professionals when necessary. 14.Travels throughout the islands to deliver services to MSMEs, as well as occasionally work evenings. 15.Performs other job related duties as assigned.
Knowledge Skills and Abilities
BUSINESS ADVISOR REQUIRED Organizational Description
The CED is a non-profit organization which supports potential and existing entrepreneurs with business consulting in a variety of business start-up and management topics, as well as the provision of targeted training programs.
Business Advisor Job Description
Reports directly to the CED Director, the Business Advisor works directly with start-up and existing entrepreneurs to diagnose business health, provide guidance on business operations, provides confidential, one-on-one counselling and coaching in all areas of business, including market feasibility, business planning, financing, marketing, peer to peer mentoring and human resource development. The Business Advisor will also assist in implementing the TCI Governments Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Program.
Essential Functions
1.Provides business counselling at the CED office or at the site of the MSME business. 2.Provides technical assistance to MSME clients in research and development of business plans, marketing plans, loan proposals and related business development requirements. 3.Provides advice and assistance in the establishment and maintenance of business and financial records, in compliance with relevant regulations, guidelines and standards. 4.Liaise with Invest TCI staff and other relevant parties on matters to meet the objectives of the TCI Government MSME Program. 5.Utilizes Centre data base to document client activity in an accurate, timely and comprehensive manner, and utilizes the data base software to manage business caseload and produce reports. 6.Develops, promotes, coordinates and delivers business management training programs in a variety of topics. 7.Collaborates with public and private sector stakeholders to achieve the objectives of the CED. 8.Participates, as assigned to promote local business and economic development within various sectors. 9.Communicates with the business owners in a professional, patient, ethical and sincere way.
1.Highly customer service oriented. 2.Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with small business owners in a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community. 3.Ability to develop business plans, marketing plans, financial strategies and business loan proposals. 4.Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. 5.Knowledge of the 2015 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Ordinance and related Regulations. 6.Knowledge of sound, practical business practices of MSME operations. 7.Ability to gather data, compile information and prepare reports. 8.Knowledge of banker expectations of the small business owner. 9.Knowledge of basic business accounting and software such as QuickBooks. 10.Skill in the use of Microsoft Office and related applications. 11.Skill in dealing with business owners and their staff. 12.Skills in assessing business training needs, whether the assessment methods are formal or informal. 13.Ability to develop and deliver educational programs and/or workshops. 14.Skills in relating to the business owner and adult learner. 15.Ability to analyse situations or market needs, and communicate these effectively.
Minimum Job Requirements
1.Completed Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration or Entrepreneurship from an accredited institution. 2.Minimum of one year’s experience related to the essential functions specified. 3.Past or current business ownership/management experience . 4.Experience in counselling and/or advising small businesses . 5.Small business finance/banking experience is preferred. 6.Holder of a valid driver’s license.
Salary: $45,600 to $48,000 per annum based on qualifications and experience,
To Apply: Submit applications before April 15, 2016 to: Chairman, CED Board of Directors, Unit B203, Graceway House, Leeward Highway, Providenciales, Email: cedtci@gmail.com, Phone: 231-1233
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TURKS & CAICOS SUN
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
LOCAL NEWS
$1,457 donated to HJ Robinson High School from local fundraiser By Todeline Defralien Members of the communities all over the Turks and Caicos Islands are doing all they can to help give back to the HJ Robinson High School in Grand Turk. Over the weekend young local entertainers Chrystal Charles and Andy Williams better known as DJ Shakes hosted a fundraiser to give back to the HJ Robinson High School with a family fun day in the nation’s capital Grand Turk. The purpose of this event was to give back to the capital Grand Turk and the first school in the Turks and Caicos Islands HJ Robinson high school which was burnt down early this year. Organizers of the event are working towards getting a lighting system as well as a public address system for the school. The family fun day included face painting for the children, bouncing castles, music, games and so much
more. The adult section consisted of food, drinks, games and entertainment with performances by V6 Band, TESS and TCI Most wanted Dj Shakes will be on the 1s and 2s. A sum of $1,457 was presented to the High School on Monday April 4th, 2016 by one of the Organizers of the event Chrystal Charles. In an interview with The SUN Charles said, “It feels very rewarding to me as an artist and more importantly as a past student of the school to assist in the betterment and security of its future. I presented Mr. Missick from the PTA, the money and gave a few remarks, the outburst of cheers and clapping was an amazing feeling and I knew that they appreciated it. She added: “The event did not go anywhere near as planned actually because of many different draw backs but the concert portion and sale of food and drink drew enough of a crowd that we were able to make that amount in that short amount of time where we
Chrystal Tess Charles were able to reach the mark needed for the Lighting System. Personally I would love to continue to work with the PTA to accomplish their next goal
of a PA system for the School’s Auditorium, and I’m sure that other entertainers and community will do what’s in their power to assist.” “The Community came together when the call was given to assist, I must commend Huntley Forbes Jr, Ludwina Fulford, Pastor Julia Adams, Peach Caley, Lillian, Odette, Irvin Coalbrooke and Teachers Temard Butterfield, Crissy Simons, Ms. Cole who came out and assisted right away being called on the day of. Also thank you to the Unique Creations, The Palms Resort, Gilleys Enterprises, DJ Shakes, V6 Bandboyz, Subtronic Sounds, L32, Carpe Dream Inc, Premier Ewing, Kyle Smith and businesses of GDT for donating in some form or the other,” Charles stated. Charles said she is humbled by the organizing experience as well as the outreach and impact that it has made and as entertainers they do hope to be of continuous assistance to the schools around TCI.
TRAINEE NEWS REPORTER The Turks and Caicos SUN newspaper is looking for a Trainee News Reporter. We are seeking a motivated, energetic, creative and aggressive individual who can think and perform outside the box. The successful candidate should be able to develop story ideas and gather information for the newspaper and newscasts, have sound interviewing and writing skills, a great work ethic, and a can-do attitude. If you have the passion and natural curiosity to dig into the how and why of issues, we want you! Proficiency in English and the ability to type quickly are a must. This is an excellent opportunity for a young Turks and Caicos Islander to join the most advanced and leading media organisation in the country, and learn side by side with some of the very best in the business. Send your resume with a cover letter to Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Hayden Boyce at haydenboyce@suntci.com
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
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LOCAL NEWS
Invest Turks & Caicos
Job Title: Market Support Officer
Reporting to: Vice President - Marketing and Promotion Location: Invest TCI offices - Providenciales Job Summary:
Graduate degree in a relevant discipline such as marketing, IT, economics, business or a related field.
Experience and Knowledge: Essential: •Experience in using social media to market products and activities. •Significant experience in researching and writing various documents, including reports and pamphlets •Financial management experience
The Market Support Officer will be responsible for a number of functions to ensure the marketing and operational elements of Invest Turks and Caicos function effectively. Desired: •Experience in web development and maintenance and in using The role will support the Vice President Marketing by conducting web tools such as SEO. market research to provide relevant information to prospective •Experience in destination and/or investment marketing. investors and will ensure that the website is actively managed to •Experience of using social media programmes such as LinkedIn remain current, accurate and comprehensive. The office holder and Twitter. will receive all inquiries at the website and either respond directly or send the request to the appropriate officer and ensure prompt Skills: follow up. 1.Commercial awareness. The Market Support Officer will also carry out research and prepare 2.Creativity. internal and external materials, including value propositions, 3.Writing and presentational skills. which provide relevant information to attract investors to the 4.Attention to detail. country. 5.Communication and interpersonal skills. 6.Use of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook Another key role will be to support the Vice President Small and Medium Enterprise in the operation of the Micro, Small and Personal Qualities: Medium Enterprise (MSME) Programme, to be operated by Invest Turks and Caicos. This role will include data and records collection 1.Open and engaging demeanor. and liaison and follow up with partner organisations. 2.A multi-tasker. 3.Ability to generate and share ideas. Key Duties and Responsibilities: 4.Hands-on approach. 5.Willingness to take personal responsibility. 1.To contribute to the development of the Invest TCI website 6.Able to win trust and personal credibility. and other social media outlets and ensure they are populated, 7.Persistence and personal resilience. maintained and continually refreshed. 8.Attention to detail. 2.To track and present quarterly website statistics and 9.Willingness to understand the values associated with small consumer data. communities. 3.To support the development of a range of marketing materials in print, CD etc including business guides, Other Requirements: investment guides, investor prospectuses and ensure they are well delivered through to the market. 1.Fluent English 4.To distribute generic promotional material on TCI, using all 2.Willingness and ability to travel by air and sea. appropriate channels. 3.Driver’s license 5.To collaborate with the TCI Statistics department and other entities to ensure that the Agency has a full range of Salary and Allowances: statistical data and reports on the website that can be 1.Negotiable in a range of $43,060 to $52,470 based on qualifications utilized by investors in their decision making process. and experience, plus appropriate allowances. 6.To troll the internet to identify websites that carries TCI data and ensure that this data is up to date and accurate. Application Procedure 7.To maintain an up to date portfolio of media clip boards, Interested persons should submit a resume, along with their contact literature and pictures of all current, past and future information, cover letter, two letters of reference (one preferably marketing paraphernalia from a former employer), copies of educational certificates, a Police 8.To liaise with inter-governmental groups to ensure the accuracy of marketing messages, materials and Investment Certificate and a copy of the Passport photo page. incentive messages. 9.To conduct research, as required, to assist the Investment Applications should be addressed to Invest Turks and Caicos Agency, Managers to identify potential investors from TCI’s target Unit 2D Courtyard Plaza, Leeward Highway, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. They can be delivered in person prior to sectors for investment opportunities. 10.To support the Vice President SME in the effective running the deadline date or emailed to investturksandcaicos@gmail.com. The subject line in the email should read “Market Support Officer”. of the MSME programme through the collection of data Envelopes should have the subject “Market Support Officer” clearly and maintenance of records, and other support as and marked on the front. when necessary. 11.To contribute to the Strategic Plan and Budget annually. 12.Any other relevant activities or duties as required by the All applications must be received by 12 noon on Monday, 18 April 2016. We thank all applicants for their interest. CEO However, only persons selected for an interview will be PERSONAL SPECIFICATIONS contacted. Education and qualifications: Essential:
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LOCAL NEWS
Immigration Policies: Are We Paying Attention?
By A TCI Patriot
I would probably be the last person to complain about TCI Belongers expressing concerns about any issue of importance in this country; especially when we consider our traditional passive attitude towards most things. However, what troubles me about our concerns for certain issues is our timing to speak out about them and our lacklustre interest in investigating the facts, figures and implications before they have an opportunity to impact our lives. One such example of our lacklustre attitude to be abreast of important issues is the many pertinent concerns related to labour and immigration. First and foremost, there is a traditional saying which states “Knowledge Is Power”; but I often wonder if enough of us grasp this concept when it comes to being informed. We cannot simply rely on our cultural attitudes, fears and hearsay conversations to form opinions on immigration policy. We need to read the proposed policies, reason its merits and
loopholes and then voice our concerns. The impact of Immigration policies on our small country is too severe for us not to be properly informed. We need to pay more attention to the immigration laws and policies as a nation. When a proposed immigration and labour policy opens the door for foreign labour in this country; it raises a number of questions. Firstly, is the importation of labour denying a Belonger a job or delaying an opportunity for a potential job. Secondly, are the labour and employment policies creating an economy which gradually decreases our dependency on expat labour? Thirdly, if we have had a consistent shortage of labour in the last few decades in this country, why are many belongers still calling for the creation of more jobs? Moreover, it is fair to state that the demand and supply of foreign labour in this country has placed a heavy burden on the immigration department to police the movement of people in this country, regulate status and determine who becomes Belongers, and how they become Belongers. Are we paying
attention? Are we paying attention to impact of granting more Belonger status to permanent residences on our franchise? Let us be honest, in a country where the majority of the population is indigenous to that country; the process of naturalization might not be a big issue. However, in a country such as ours, in which the citizens are outnumbered or nearly outnumbered by expats, expanding the franchise recklessly could ‘open Pandora’s box’. Are we paying attention to the fact that although the qualification for citizenship is enshrined in most countries constitution; ours is established in an immigration ordinance subject to the legislature policies or political interest which might not be in the best interest of the country? Should members of parliament have the final say over who should become belongers of this country or should that decision be made by the people through a direct referendum. For example, when the FNM government had proposed amending
the Bahamas citizenship law as it relates to the granting of citizenship to the male spouse of Bahamian women, they had to put it to the people of the nation in referendum. Simply put, should citizenship or ‘Belonger status’ be governed by an Ordinance (subject to legislative amendments) or should it established as an article in our Constitution? Are we paying attention? A new immigration law is about to take effect in this country. Did you read the bill before it was past? Did you attend any discussion of the bill or participate in any domino table or family table conversations on its implication? Did you seek to understand your elected representative position on the bill? I am hoping we start paying attention to immigration policies or our country’s policies and laws in general because in the twenty first century, ‘knowledge is not power anymore’; the use of knowledge is power. On the bright side of things, if indeed the new bill has provisions contrary to our interest, it is a bill and bills can be written and then re-written or repealed.
Launch of National Tree Restoration Strategy for TCI Government Caicos Pine Recovery Project partners officially handed over the National Tree Restoration Strategy to Turks & Caicos Islands Government on Wednesday, 6 April 2016. Part of a long-term partnership between the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the expert-written strategy was presented formally to the Ministry of Tourism, Environment & Culture, and launched into practice. The Strategy documents the best practices for the conservation of the National Tree after two years of intense research on the unique ecosystem it supports, expanding on field and laboratory research dating back to 2007. The research has yielded important information on the biochemistry and ecology of the Caicos pine and has even revealed possible new species of fungi and insects to science. Protocols developed during this work direct how Caicos pine habitat restoration will be carried out from seed collection,
propagation, field planting, to habitat management. “The National Tree Restoration Strategy will guide the Turks & Caicos Islands in the longterm protection of Caicos pine, the National Tree, which is an important part of Turks & Caicos history and culture.” says Honourable Porsha Stubbs-Smith, Minister of Tourism, Environment, Culture and Heritage. The Strategy is one of the most important outputs of the Caicos Pine Recovery Project’s phase “Pine Forests: Mitigation for Climate change and Invasive Species” funded by the UK Government’s Darwin Initiative through the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund and the John Ellerman Foundation. The Honourable Minister went on to express profound thanks and appreciation to the team for their hard work and dedication over the past 2 years and further noted her interest in working with them on future projects.
PROVO GOLF CLUB BARTENDER Provo Golf Club has an immediate opening for an experienced Bartender who is service oriented and can provide exceptional service to guest promptly and courteously, serving guests with an upbeat attitude and who is great at juggling tasks. Position Description Responsible for preparing drinks for guest and serving them in a professional manner. The successful candidate should be well versed in bar service and drink preparation. Requirements Must have 3 years or more experience preferably in hotel food and beverage industry. Must have a strong working knowledge of the bar and EPOS system. Excellent oral and written communication skills required. Must be willing to work a variety of day/night and weekend shifts. Excellent people skills in order to communicate well with guests and staff. Good presentation and a pleasant, friendly, bubbly personality is required. Wages for this position starts at $8.00 per hour commensurate with experience. Interested applicants should contact Veronica Rigby via email by April 22, 2016 at ronnie@ habgroup.com or fax 649-946-5191. Only persons selected for an interview will be contacted by email or telephone to schedule an interview.
COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST A Company based in Providenciales wishes to employ a Communication Specialist. The Communications Specialist will be under the direction of the Communications Director and will be mainly responsible for all administrative work, including designing online media and marketing events, arranging meetings with academic book publishers as well as performing basic media relations tasks such as answering questions on the books, essays and articles published, maintaining media contact lists, composing press releases and organising social media blitz worldwide. Successful applicant will be judged on previous success rate and must be self-motivated to complete all tasks at hand with a positive and respectful attitude. Salary commensurate with experience. Application must be submitted to: Employment Department F Corporate & Management Services Limited Tel 649-339-6275 Fax 649-333-7777 Email oa@fcorporatemsl.com
Barista Promotes coffee consumption by educating customers; Knowledge of selling coffee and coffee grinding and brewing equipment, accessories, and supplies; preparing and serving a variety of coffee drinks, along with pastries and baked goods. French and English speaking. Computer skills a must Baker: Preparing pastries, cakes, breads, and other baked goods is the responsibility of the Baker. Required to have at least 3 year min experience in 5 star luxury property, knowledge of 5 star cuisine. Proven track record in luxury property with multi out-let experience. Able to organize and have leadership qualities. Diploma in Baking and International 5 star Resort and Caribbean experience a must. French and English speaking Qualified Belongers need only apply -mail: crustbakerytci@gmail.com
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A REWARDING CAREER WITH COMO HOTELS & RESORTS STARTS TODAY!! At COMO, we create experiences worth re-living, experiences that inspire guests to travel and live differently.
PARROT CAY BY COMO HAVE THE FOLLOWING VACANCIES
Job Title: Job Summary
Regional General Manager
The General Manager is responsible for achieving optimal guest satisfaction and a good working environment to attain all set objectives. To achieve this, the General Manager should run the hotel in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures and Policies as set out by the company. The General Manager shall see to the implementation of optimal and attractive products and services required to address the hotel’s target groups, based on pre-agreed marketing plans and budgets. The General Manager shall ensure the correct production and distribution of information and promotion materials as agreed to. Guard the efficiency/productivity and the company results: Draw up plans and budget concepts (revenues, costs, etc.); Safeguard the realization, tracing and adjustment of deviations; Developing improvement actions, carry out costs savings; Guard/ controlling of cost price; Delivering of data and proposals for the budgets and investments; Safeguard quality of operations (internal & external audits); Manage the various Department Heads Coordinate planning of Department Heads and Assistant Managers with regard to time-tables, work schedules, employment of employees within the different services; solving of bottle necks; Coordination of the execution of activities via instructions to the Heads of Departments/ Assistant Managers, supervision of the execution; Determination of the workforce, recruitment and hiring of new staff, supervision of sufficient introduction, execution of performance reviews and training of staff. Be accountable for responsibilities of department heads in their absence; Implement the SOPs optimally in the hotel and act as a flag ship establishment for the brand. Prepare a monthly financial reporting Ensure an adequate administration, for the outgoing and incoming invoices, for the payment of invoices and for drawing up periodical management data. Justify deviations and differences. Other tasks Handling complaints. Other reliable to the above mentioned, tasks in order of the executive; Handing over opinions and beliefs, decisions etc. to the executives; Leading various internal and external meetings; Supervise the fulfillment of the regulations of the employment Correct use of Company’s corporate identity. Maintain contacts with public authorities Other Managerial Positions: Hotel Manager Recreation Manager Asst. Recreation Manager Executive Housekeeper Room Service Manager Executive Chef Regional Chief Engineer Beach House Manager Hotel Financial Controller
All Managerial position requires you to reside on the Island of Parrot Cay: OTHER POSITIONS K9 Dog Handler Restaurant Manager Clinical Massage Therapist Turndown Housekeeping Attendant F&B Server Banquet Server Resort Butler Guest Services Supervisor Head Baker Recreation Attendant
Chef de partie Accountant Private Estate Attendant Yoga/Pilates Instructor Wood Carver Housekeeping Supervisor Commis Chef Seamstress A/C Technician Private Estates Housekeeping Supervisor
Laundry/ Kitchen Tech Spa Receptionist Spa Attendant Spa Therapist Bartender Engineering Inventory Manager Commis de Cuisine Kitchen Steward
Salary for this position will be paid base on qualification and experience. Please note that all application must be submitted with a valid Police Record, two reference letters from previous employers or a notary public and current educational certificates. Must be willing to relocate. Only suitable candidates will be contacted for an interview. Forward your resume to the Human Resources Department at the following address: Parrot Cay Resort and COMO Shambhala P.O. Box 164 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Ph: (649) 946 7788, Fax: (649) 946 7749 Email: careers.parrotcay@comohotels.com
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Leading the
Green-Energy Revolution
C.O.R.E.
Customer Owned Renewable Energy
Uses customer owned Solar PV systems up to 10 kW in size for residential customers Commercial customers can use Solar PV systems up to 60 kW in size Net billing arrangement—Get credit for the avoided cost of generation Interconnect with the FortisTCI grid
U.O.R.E.
Utility Owned Renewable Energy
FortisTCI covers installation, maintenance, and ownership of the rooftop Solar PV system and customers rent their rooftop space to FortisTCI Receive a credit for your roof space depending on the size of the Solar PV system (up to 10kW for residential and up to 60kW for commercial) Interconnect with the FortisTCI grid
Visit us for details about how you can participate in our Solar Energy Programs!!
Energy for Environment. Energy for Good.™ www.fortistci.com | 649-946-4313 | P.O. Box 132 1030 Leeward HWY, Providenciales, TCI
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Highlights of Food For Thought charity launch F
ood for Thought is a great initiative that was launched on Tuesday April 5th where they hosted a charity event at The Palms for the purpose of providing breakfast for local schools in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Karen and Jeanne Savory are the master minds behind this great initiative and partnering with Caicos Express Airways. Breakfast will be provided in the Primary Schools in
North, Middle, South Caicos and Salt Cay and is looking to feed about 270 children in the first phase for 180 days. Organizers will be hosting a public fundraiser on May 21st, 2016 and will also be relying on corporate sponsorships and hopefully be the choice of corporate responsibility programs. The following are photo highlights of the event.
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LOCAL NEWS
Royal Daughters of the King Arise, and Shine!
T
he Bethany Baptist Church at 250 Bay Road, Wheeland, Providenciales was abuzz with activity on March 29th to April 1st, 2016 when the women of the Turks and Caicos Islands Baptist Union Women’s Missionary Band met for their 28th annual Women’s Conference, under the theme: ‘Royal Daughters of the King Arise, and Shine!’. Theme Scripture passages were 1 Peter 2:1-9, and Isaiah 60:1, while the theme song was ‘I’m a Child of the King’. The Conference days were started at 6:30am with Prayer Meeting, followed with Workshops involving the topics: ‘Health Check – Living the Royal Life’, by Dr. Denise Tannent Brathwait, Chief Medical Officer, ‘Women of Grace Displaying Royal Etiquette’, by Ms. Blyth Clare, Tourism Training Officer,
and ‘Legal Matters Relating to Women’, by Mrs. Sherlene Cartwright Robinson, local Attorney and Leader of the Opposition. General Sessions were held in the form of Evangelistic Services in the evenings. Speakers for these sessions were: Rev. Derek R. Hamilton, Pastor of the Bethany Baptist Church, Deaconess Comelita Handfield, and Deaconess Agnes Swann, both of Providence Baptist Church. Each Speaker challenged attendees to take a hard look at the theme, and to make the necessary lifestyle changes in order to display qualities of true Daughters of the King. During the Evangelistic Service on Wednesday, March 30th, there was a special time for recognition of hard-working, faithful Women who
has served the Women’s Missionary Band in their various local groups, and on the Executive Body of the Turks and Caicos Islands Baptist Union Women’s Missionary Band. The following Sisters were honoured: Ivy Williams, Flxie Forbes, Jenderlyn Forbes, Ivasa Forbes, Mary Outten, Rosilee Robinson, Voinel Grant, Hilda Robinson, Thelma Lightbourne, Yvette Gardiner, Winefred McIntosh, Amelia Been, Lothie Harvey, Annis Campbell, Floreta Gibbs, Maglin Hamilton, and Nell Gardiner. These sisters from all over the Turks and Caicos Islands has served their local groups well, and we recognize that the rewards that they’ve receive here on earth cannot compare to the rewards they would receive in heaven. We salute them, and thank
God for their contribution to the work of Kingdom building. On Thursday, March 31st during the Evangelistic Service a tribute, followed by a moment’s silence, was given on behalf sisters of the mission who has departed this life, and has gone on to their final reward: Sisters Carol Lightourne, Chrisada Johnson, Girle Garland, Mary Estella Neat, and Emerald Johnson. On Friday, April 1st at 8am a Prayer Breakfast was held in honour of past Director of the Women’s Missionary Band - Sis. Withlean Williams. This time of appreciation and reflection was reminiscent of the days of Sis. Williams’ sterling leadership. The conference ended with what is termed ‘The Calling of the Churches’ – a concert-styled celebration.
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LOCAL NEWS
6th Annual Wine Cellar Golf & Fishing Tournament cocktail reception Highlights O
rganisers of the annual Wine Cellar Golf Golfing and Fishing Industry in the Turks & & Fishing (WCGFT) Tournament held a Caicos. This year’s awardees are: cocktail Reception at The Palms on Wednesday Golfing: Tim O’Sullivan Emer O’Sullivan 30th March, 2016. Fishing: Lamuel Johnson Wilbert The reception was for sponsors of the “Hammerhead” Stubbs WCGFT and is an event the WCGFT Committee The WCGFT is a not-for-profit charity started last year as a way of saying “thank you event hosted every year with all proceeds for your continuous generosity and support”. donated to the Edward Gartland Youth The highlight of the evening was Centre and another local charity (this year the awards ceremony where awardees were is Provo Sailing Club) at equal portions. The caught completely by surprise. Like last last 5 Tournaments have raised $113,000.00 year, organisers chose four persons from the to help the different youth-oriented charity TCI Community who they feel have made organizations. a significant and lasting impression on the Below are photos from the reception
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HEALTHY
LIFESTYLE
Poverty to blame for most youth homelessness worldwide
In most cases, poverty is the main reason children and teens worldwide end up homeless or living on the streets, according to a new review of past research. About 40 percent of youths reported poverty as the main reason they were homeless, according to the report in JAMA Pediatrics. Family conflict and abuse were also among the most commonly reported reasons for living on the streets. The findings should make policymakers "think hard about what they can do about these issues," said senior author Paula Braitstein, who is affiliated with the University of Toronto and based in Kenya. The researchers say societies often classify homeless youths as
juvenile delinquents, which results in exclusion, criminalization and oppression. Until now there had been no large reviews of data on why youths end up on the streets, they write. Braitstein and her colleagues used data collected from 49 studies with a total of 13,559 participants from 24 countries, including 21 developing countries. No one was older than 24. Thirty-nine percent of participants cited poverty as their reason for homelessness. About 32 percent reported family conflict as their reason for being on the streets, and about 26 percent cited abuse. When the researchers examined countries by economic status, poverty was the main reason for youth
homelessness in developing countries and family conflict was the main reason in developed countries. While delinquency is often blamed for youth homelessness, only 10 percent of participants said that was what caused them to be homeless. It was the least-cited reason. And even that 10 percent figure might be an overestimate, because youth are more inclined to report behavioral problems than abuse as a reason for living on the streets, said Dr. Colette Auerswald, of University of California Berkeley–University of California San Francisco Joint Medical Program. "We need to focus on having an appropriate safety net for kids who do fall through the cracks because of
poverty or abuse," said Auerswald, who co-wrote an editorial accompanying the new study. "The kinds of solutions that these children, adolescents and young adults need are not adult solutions," she said. "Tailoring them for a mini-me or smaller size . . . doesn’t work." Instead, she would like to see homeless youth served in programs offering university-style housing, where they would be looked after, fed and not threatened with eviction. Braitstein told Reuters Health that governments need to take responsibility for the care of their children. A lot of children "end up turning to the streets because they have nowhere else to go," she said.
India steps up fight against Florida pledges better health care cigarette firms over health warnings for poor children to settle lawsuit
India's health ministry has ordered government agencies to enforce a new rule for bigger health warnings on cigarette packs, stepping up a fight against the country's $10 billion cigarette industry that has shut down its factories in protest. The health ministry's action highlights a growing conflict between the tobacco industry and the federal government which wants manufacturers to cover 85 percent of a cigarette pack's surface in health warnings, up from 20 percent. India's biggest cigarette maker ITC Ltd, part-owned by British American Tobacco, has not implemented the government order, saying it contradicts a parliamentary committee's recommendation for warnings to cover half a cigarette pack. K.C. Samria, a joint secretary in the health ministry, wrote to government departments on Monday to ensure strict implementation of the new rules, letters seen by Reuters showed. "The implementation of the rules requires strong support," Samria said, adding bigger warnings would create awareness about the ill effects of tobacco use. Smoking kills about 1 million people in India each year, according to researchers at BMJ Global Health. The rules will also apply to imported cigarette packets, as well as those being sold at duty-free shops at Indian
airports. The tobacco industry has said the new rules are impractical and create ambiguity as the parliamentary panel's report had called for warnings to cover half the packs' surface area. The panel's report is not binding on the government. ITC and its rival Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, which is a partner of U.S.-based Philip Morris International, shut factories on Friday in protest. The Tobacco Institute of India estimated the production halt costs the industry $53 million a day. ITC has said it is currently not ready to print bigger warnings on its packs. Godfrey has said it has started preparatory work to print new warnings. ITC said it did not have any immediate comment on Tuesday. Godfrey could not immediately be reached for a comment. A health ministry official said the directives on health warnings were clear and it would not bow down to the industry's "pressure tactic" of shutting the factories. "The ministry has handled industry pressure well, it is a commendable step," said Amit Yadav, director, southeast Asia region at Framework Convention Alliance for Tobacco Control, a group of more than 350 organizations.
A man smokes a cigarette along a road in Mumbai, India,
Florida officials will boost access to health and dental care for poor children in settlement of an 11-year-old class-action lawsuit, the groups behind the legal action said on Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in 2005, accused Florida officials of failing to pay doctors enough for treating 2 million children with governmentsupported health coverage, adding that this discouraged physicians from providing their services. The settlement calls for Florida to increase payments to physicians who treat poor children and sets benchmarks for preventative and dental treatment to be met over five years, according to the Philadelphia-based Public Interest Law Center, which represented the plaintiffs. Florida health officials and attorneys for the plaintiffs, among them the Florida chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics, were ordered to negotiate a settlement after a U.S. district judge in December 2014 found Florida fell short of federal standards for providing healthcare to poor children. Nearly 80 percent of children with government-supported healthcare in Florida were never able to see a dentist, the judge said in his ruling. The agreement marks a "significant step forward in improving access to medical care" for poor children in Florida, Tommy Schechtman, president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement. An official of the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration could not be reached for comment late on Tuesday. The settlement must still get final approval from a judge.
Marianela Luna (R) of Miami passes her newborn son, Jeremiah Jose Pinell to nursing assistant Linda Hibbert in the Maternity Unit of Holtz Children's Hospital, part of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami
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LOCAL NEWS
CARLTON L. HIGGS
WANTED
In South Caicos Seeks a 1 Domestic Domestic Worker Worker Salary $6.50 per 5 days a week hour $ 6.25 per hour 6 days per week Phone number: Contact 244-2088 247-2075
For All you advertising needs contact TCISUN at 339-5879 Or email – sun@suntci.com
TRULY NOLEN
Is looking for a Pest Control Technician With over 5 years experience Interested person can contact 946-4272 or 231-0195
ISLAND VIBES TOURS
The Aquatic Restaurant & Bar
Seeking two Bar Maid Salary $6.25 per hour Location: King Road, North Caicos One position is new and one currently held by work permit holder. Islanders wishing to apply should also send copies of their application to the work permit board
IVAN FASHION & CLOTHING SEEKS Purchasing Agent 6 days per week Salary $6.25 per hour Contact 231-6153
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CARIBBEAN NEWS
NEWS NEWS
Rufus Ewing, premier of the Turks and Caicos, leaves after speaking to media in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa on May 26, 2014. A federal NDP government should push to make the islands of Turks and Caicos Canada’s 11th province, suggests a proposal that will be put forward at the party’s national convention in Edmonton this weekend. Resolution 1-92-16, supported
by a group of Ontario riding associations, notes Canada could develop the islands into an “affordable tourism industry for all Canadians.” It calls on party members to engage with lawmakers and citizens of Turks and Caicos Islands,
Turks and Caicos as Canada’s 11th Province? NDP May Debate Idea and the British government — the archipelago of 40 small islands is a British overseas territory — to join Canada. This resolution is one of dozens released Tuesday which will be prioritized Friday morning before a fuller discussion takes place on the convention floor. Ex-Conservative MP advocated idea Former Conservative MP Peter Goldring has long pushed to have the Islands become Canada’s 11th province. In 2013, Turks and Caicos premier Rufus Ewing poured cold water on the idea after a meeting with Goldring and others in Toronto. Ewing said at the time he
NDP leader condemns attempts to burn down party headquarters The leader of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), Arnhim Eustace, said Tuesday night that there had been attempts to burn the party’s headquarters, Democrat House, in the heart of the capital. Eustace in a radio broadcast said that the NDP, which is challenging the results of the December 9 general elections which it lost by an 8-7 margin, “abhorred” the development. He told radio listeners that the attempts to burn down the building were made sometime late Monday and early Tuesday. “Our staff discovered broken fragments of glass as well as burnt out bottle tops from what appears to be vanilla essence bottles. From the appearances, attempts were made at starting a fire at three different doorways,” Eustace said. He said that on discovery of “the worrying evidence”, the executive members of the party as well as the police were immediately notified. “The police came and are now conducting their investigations. We await the conduct of these investigations, and a speedy, efficient and professional conclusion that will lead to arrest(s) in this matter.” Eustace said that the NDP makes “no broad assumptions as to who may want to have our headquarters burnt down” but noted that the attempts at arson follow “a recent history of mysterious fires within the city and surrounding areas and the fact that there has been no significant breakthroughs in any of them”. Since the beginning of this year, there has been an attempt to firebomb VINLEC, the state-owned electricity company. Further, fire destroyed a large quantity
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Flag of building materials at the public works storage facility in Arnos Vale. Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has suggested that the fire was an act of arson, but no arrest has been made. Eustace also noted that the attempts to burn the NDP’s headquarters took place on the day that the court refused an application by the government to throw out two NDP petitions as improperly filed. “It might be significant or mere coincidental that the attempt apparently took place hours after a court ruling in the elections petitions case, and our declaration to move forward with the challenge to the results,” Eustace said. He said that in his public comments Tuesday, he made reference to newly discovered information that could significantly affect the case and that the party was preparing documentation in that regard. “In this era of heightened political tension, we call on all of our friends and supporters to be eternally vigilant,” Eustace said.
wasn’t eager “to jump from one mother’s nest to another mother’s nest.” But when he visited Ottawa in 2014 to meet with then prime minister Stephen Harper, Ewing told reporters he wasn’t “closing the door completely” on the idea. Before retiring from federal politics last June, Goldring called Turks and Caicos “a work in progress” during his final speech in the Commons. It’s actually an idea that has been kicked around for nearly 100 years. In 1917, former Prime Minister Robert Borden was given the brush-off when he tried to persuade Great
Britain to let Canada annex the tropical paradise. In 1974, an NDP MP’s private member’s bill proposing annexation also failed. Thirty years later, all three parties in Nova Scotia voted unanimously to invite Turks and Caicos to join the province, should the Caribbean islands ever want to become part of Canada. According to The Globe and Mail, the Turks and Caicos Islands sent a “serious offer” to discuss joining Canada in the 1980s, but it was “politely ignored” as politicians focused on the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement instead.
Trinidad PM calls crime a national crisis
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has described the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago as a “national crisis” and how vowed that his administration will seek to enact legislation to deal with criminal activities with or without the support of the opposition. “We invite the Opposition to join us in the battle against the criminals and with or without them, we are going to go ahead and pass that law,” Rowley said, making reference to the amendments to the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) and Interception of Communications bills in order to give the SSA greater scope, authority and ability to get involved in collecting information about people who are intent on committing crimes. Addressing a special convention of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) here on Sunday, Rowley, said that so far this year, 122 people have been murdered and if left unchecked the murder toll would reach 500 by year end. “I am putting it to you today that that level of unacceptable conduct is a national crisis,” he said, telling party supporters that the opposition legislators were opposing the plans to amend legislation to give the security agency more powers to deal with crime. He said the legislation was the same that the People’s Partnership brought in 2010 and passed with the support of the then PNM opposition. Rowley said his six month old administration was prepared to do what is required to deal with the crime situation, adding that the problem of the low detection rates was high on the government’s priority list. “You cannot have a detection level, in the face of a killing spree like this, of nine, 10, 12 per cent. The
criminals know that the odds are in their favour. We have to improve that. “People who want to kill people can find a variety of ways to do it and we, as a government, we have a responsibility if we can’t get into their minds and the intelligence, we have a responsibility to find the people who are doing these things and put them where they belong,” he said. Rowley dismissed reports that nothing has been going on in the government since it came to power on September 7 last year, telling supporters his administration would not be “jumping up and down and waving flag”. He warned that his government was prepared to prosecute members of the Kamla Persad Bissessar led People’s Partnership government on the multibillion dollar Point Fortin Highway after indicating that it would ask the Integrity Commission to investigate the former government on the project. Last Friday, the Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General, Stuart Young, told Parliament that the former government provided a multibillion dollar contract to a Brazilian company to construct a highway here. “Government’s intention to request that the Integrity Commission investigate this travesty as there appears to be a breach of section 24 of the Integrity in Public Life Act, as persons performing their functions and administering public resources for which they were responsible, did not do so in a cost-effective or efficient manner. “In fact, on the face of it, Contract Addendum No. 2 has the distinguishing features of a conspiracy which may require the attention of the law enforcement agencies,” Young added.
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Opposition calls on Cameron to tackle British tax havens
The leader of Britain’s main opposition party called on government on Tuesday to tackle tax havens, saying it was time British Prime Minister David Cameron stopped allowing “the super rich elite dodge their taxes”. After leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm how the world’s rich and powerful used secretive offshore company structures to stash their wealth, Cameron has come under pressure to clamp down on tax evasion in British-linked territories. Cameron has so far been silent on the release of the so-called Panama Papers, declining to comment on the naming of his late father and members of the ruling Conservative Party among the list of clients who used the law firm, Mossack Fonseca. On Monday, his spokeswoman said it was a “private matter” when asked whether the leader’s family had money invested in offshore funds set up by his father. The government has promised to investigate the leaked data. Leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, called
on Cameron to do more. “There cannot be one set of tax rules for the wealthy elite and another for the rest of us,” Corbyn said at the launch of Labour’s campaign for local elections next month. “The unfairness and abuse must stop. So I say this to the government and to the chancellor (finance minister), no more lip service, the richest must pay their way.” Corbyn said Britain had a “huge responsibility” as many tax havens are British overseas territories, like the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, or Crown Dependencies, such as Jersey or the Isle of Man. In 2013, Cameron put tackling tax avoidance at the heart of Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron leaves his agenda when hosting a G8 summit, Number 10 Downing Street in London, Britain especially in some of Britain’s former March 21, 2016. colonies, which increasingly rely on a the battle is far from won and are combination of tourism and revenues demanding that the British leader from shell companies and trusts which stamp British control over its overseas often hide wealth. territories, most of which are self Three years later, some governing. opposition lawmakers say the release According to media which have of the Panama Papers show that seen Mossack Fonseca’s files, more
Study shows tighter regulations needed to save corals of the Caribbean
A study by the University of Queensland (UQ) has found that new science-based fishery regulations are needed if coral reefs are to have a future in the face of climate change. The new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences argues that science should be used to revise current fisheries practices for herbivorous fish in the Caribbean. It shows that Caribbean coral reefs are experiencing mounting pressure from global warming, local pollution and overfishing of herbivorous fish. An international team, led by University of Queensland researchers, has found that tighter fishery regulations are needed to preserve corals of the Caribbean. Researcher Dr. YvesMarie Bozec from UQ’s School of Biological Sciences, said herbivorous parrotfish were needed because they eat seaweed, which can smother coral and prevent corals from recovering. “While several countries in the Caribbean have taken the bold step of banning the fishing of parrotfish, including Belize, Bonaire, Turks and Caicos Islands,
Following coral bleaching warnings, regional climate experts Dr David Farrell and Dr Cedric Van Meerbeeck are adding to the caution calls. parrotfish fisheries remain in much of the region,” Bozec said. The research team analysed the effects of fishing on parrotfish and combined this with an analysis of the role of parrotfish on coral reefs. “We conclude that unregulated fisheries will seriously reduce the resilience of coral reefs,” Bozec said, adding “however, implementation of size limits and catch limits to less than 10 per cent of the fishable stock provide a far better outlook for reefs, while also allowing the fishery to persist.” The ci-author of the study,
Professor Peter Mumby from UQ’s School of Biological Sciences, said a number of countries wanted to modify their fisheries to reduce impacts on reefs. “What we’ve done is identify fisheries’ policies that might help achieve this,” Professor Mumby said, adding “ultimately, the more we do to maintain healthy coral reefs, the more likely it is that fishers’ livelihoods will be sustained into the future. “We already know that failure to maintain coral habitats will lead to at least a threefold reduction in future fish catches,” Professor Mumby said.
than half of the 200,000 companies set up by the firm were registered in the British Virgin Islands, where details of ownership do not have to be filed with the authorities. The Financial Secrecy Index puts the British Virgin Islands 21st out of 92 countries ranked according to their secrecy and scale of their offshore financial activities. But Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general and Conservative chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, said that preventing overseas territories from running their own financial services would push criminality elsewhere. “I think the government has a responsibility towards encouraging overseas territories to find legitimate ways of economic development and the financial sector is undoubtedly such a legitimate method,” he told BBC radio, adding that people only use tax havens if their own systems were “onerous”. “The best way of ensuring that ... people do not want to go to the BVI is to provide the right environment domestically.”
Private sector body calls on Jamaicans to boycott TT goods Jamaicans are being urged to boycott goods from Trinidad and Tobago in the wake of reports of an increase in the number Jamaicans be denied entry into the twin island republic. President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) William Mahfood, says the boycott should be implemented until Trinidad and Tobago honours its obligations under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. Mahfood was speaking in the aftermath of the latest denial of entry for Jamaicans into the twin island republic on Saturday. “We need to stand up for our own rights as a country and we need to say to Trinidad , if you don’t allow us access to your country, whether it is to freely move within CARICOM (Caribbean Community) then you won’t have access to our market.” Mahfood says he has already been in touch with Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith said I’m going to speak with the government and I am going to push for us to use the leverage which is our market as the way to get that freedom of movement or we will cut off our market from access to their goods.” Mahfood’s appeal follows recent incidents in which Jamaicans were denied entry to Trinidad and Tobago. The first incident took place on March 22, while on Saturday 13 other Jamaicans who were denied entry on Friday, returned home. In the wake of these developments,Johnson-Smith has called on the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago as well as Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to improve facilities for holding persons entering the country. Jamaica is the fourth largest market for goods from Trinidad and Tobago and buys approximately US$500 million of goods from the twin island republic.
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Trinidad establishes sex offender’s registry Trinidad and Tobago has been mandated by the court to give established a registry for sex offenders, notification. This information will but National Security Minister be maintained in a registry to be Edmund Dillon said it would only be accessed by authorised officers and available to the police. investigators in the Trinidad and Dillon told legislators Friday Tobago Police Service only,” he told that the registry was established on Parliament. December 22 last year by the Trinidad He said the police were now and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). engaged in a training and sensitisation “This electronic registry is exercise with respect to operation of the intended to maintain a report of the registry and accessibility to it, as well particulars of sex offenders who have as restructuring staff requirements to
facilitate its requirement. “Full implementation of the sex offender’s registry and the accompanying station sex offender registry across all nine police divisions will be implemented by June 2016.” Dillion said he did not believe that it would be better to have public access to facilitate the protection of children, saying “I believe it is designed for police information only and not for the public”. Flag-of-Trinidad-and-Tobago
Police make arrest in connection with murder in Haiti
St. Kitts Flag
Opposition Leader wants disclosure on security expenses at PM’s private residence Opposition Leader Dr. Denzil Douglas is calling on Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris to disclose how much money was spent on beefing up security at his private residence. Speaking on a radio programme here Tuesday, Douglas reiterated a call for the establishment of the Public Accounts Committee. He said the recent ruling by the Constitutional Court in South Africa calling on President Jacob Zuma to repay millions used on upgrading security at his private residence, makes it even more imperative that there should be transparency on the issue in St. Kitts-Nevis. “We want to ensure that a similar situation does not arise where the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis is taken to Court in order to force him to repay government money which he has spent to improve his private home,” Dr. Douglas told listeners to Freedom FM radio. Douglas, who lost the last general election to the Harris-led coalition administration, said there was need to know just how much money was spent on beefing up security at the private residence of the prime minister. “We know that monies have been spent but because we do not have the benefit of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament we cannot call for the receipts and the accounts of the government monies spent on the improvement of Timothy Harris’ home,” said Dr Douglas. “We believe that if the facts are brought clearly to us and we can prove that government funds have actually been used to upgrade Dr Harris’ private home, then of course we will press in a similar way for these monies to be repaid to the taxpayers of this country.” He said institutions that have been established to ensure there are checks and balances on governance were not functioning. Prime Minister Harris has not yet responded to the call by Dr. Douglas.
The National Police of Haiti (PNH) says law enforcement officials have arrested 35 people including five for the murder of four police officers and three for lynching three disabled women last week. PNH deputy spokesman and the Principal Inspector, Garry Desrosiers, said the 35 individuals arrested are accused of various crimes including: criminal conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and kidnapping simulation and rape. Last week, the Defense National Network of Human Rights (RNDDH) in a report noted that the police officers were killed during the period January 3, 2015 to March 18 this year. It said that 34 police officers were shot and one died as a result of a knife attack. It said five inspectors were among those killed while 37 others
were also injured during the organisations and groups period. representing disabled people Desrosiers said that said that the three women, who the PNH had been actively were deaf and dumb, had been investigating the murders and lynched after being taken for that three members of a gang “witches”. were arrested during the police They said the women sweep for allegedly murdering were only seeking a place police agents Jean Ralph Coq to sleep in the zone of Haut and Johnson Jean Pierre in Damier, area near Cabaret April and November last year. and have since launched an He said two others were appeal to the authorities to arrested in connection with the ensure respect for the rights of murder of police officer David disabled people in the country. Dumé on February 12, this year They have also called and murdering police officer for justice and compensation Wagnac Warrior on December for the families of three women, 19, 2015. whose names they gave as Desrosiers said that Jésula Germain, Vanessa Prévil three people were arrested in and Monique Vincent. Cabaret in connection with the Secretary of State for murder of the three women last the Integration of Persons with week and that other suspects Disabilities, Gérald Oriol Jr. were being sought. has condemned the murders. Hundreds of people took to the “This is unthinkable in streets last Friday to protest our society that such crimes be the murder of the three disabled committed” he said, noting that women. one of the women was three Several human rights months pregnant.
St. Kitts-Nevis raises salary cap for corporate income tax St.Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The private sector has found favor with government’s decision to raise the salary cap for tax reporting to EC$90,000. This takes effect June 1, 2016. The new cap means any portion of salary over the $90,000 per annum threshold is subject to 35% corporate income tax. Immediate past president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce entrepreneur Damion Hobson told WINN FM that since 2014 the business community had consulted with the Ministry of Finance to lobby
for salary cap increase. He said using calculations which took into account inflation and other key economic indicators, the CIC made representation which showed the salary cap which had been $75,000 for over 20 years, should really have been $120,000. He said then Minister of Finance, former Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas had agreed to a cap of $90,000. Due to the election activities early in 2015, however, the issue became stuck when the government changed hands. “We wrote to the Prime Minister [Dr. Timothy Harris]
and said this is still pending; the legislation has not been passed yet to support it and we were told last week that Cabinet had approved the increase to $90,000.” Hobson said the business sector would take the matter back to government as they feel the cap is still not high enough. He said the private sector has to offer incentives to hire the best of the best of Kittitians and Nevisians living abroad. Having to pay high corporate income tax puts a strain on companies and also prevents them from recruiting top talent, Hobson pointed out.
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NEWS
David Cameron Profited From Father’s Offshore Fund British Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted to having a stake in his father’s offshore trust fund after previously denying his involvement. Speaking to the U.K.’s ITV News on Thursday, Cameron said he and his wife, Samantha Cameron, owned 5,000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, the offshore trust fund established by his late father, Ian Cameron. Blairmore Investment Trust, a multimillion-pound offshore fund that never paid any taxes in Britain, was named earlier this week in the leak of millions of documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, known as the Panama Papers. The prime minister said he sold the units, which were worth £30,000, in January 2010 and paid
income tax on the dividends from the units. He said there was a profit on the units, but it was worth less than the capital gains tax allowance. Cameron said he did not pay capital gains tax on the units. “I sold them all in 2010 because I was going to become prime minister,” he said. “I didn’t want anyone to say you’ve got other agendas, other interests, all the rest of it.” Cameron initially said his father’s trust was a “private matter” and said his family “do not benefit from any offshore funds.” When asked about the fund by a journalist in Birmingham, U.K. on Tuesday, the prime minister replied: “I own no shares, no offshore trusts, no offshore funds, nothing like that. And, so that, I think, is a very clear description.”
During the interview on Thursday, the prime minister also said he received a £300,000 inheritance when his father died, but added that criticism of his father is not justified. “There are many other unit trusts like it, and I think it’s being unfairly described and my father’s name is being unfairly written about,” he told ITV News. Shortly before ITV News published its article, the hashtag #CurseDavidCameron emerged on Twitter. Below are some of the tamer offerings. A number of other high-profile international figures, including soccer star Lionel Messi, actor Jackie Chan, Heather Mills and Simon Cowell, were named in the leaked documents. Iceland has named a new prime minister after Sigmundur David
South African court rejects Winnie’s claim to Mandela rural home A South African court ruled Thursday that Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, has no rights to his rural home. The court in Mthatha town dismissed Madikizela-Mandela’s claim to the Qunu property, where the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 is buried. The couple divorced in 1996 and Mandela, who died in 2013 aged 95, did not mention Madikizela-Mandela in his will. Mandela bequeathed his estate, worth roughly $4.1 million, to his third wife Graca Machel, family, staff members, schools that he attended and the African National Congress, the movement that fought white minority rule and now governs South Africa. Madikizela-Mandela challenged the will, saying she acquired the Qunu property when Mandela was jailed during whiteminority rule and was entitled to the home in line with local custom. “The family is grateful that this
a woman passes the rural home of the late former president Nelson Mandela in Qunu, South Africa. A South African court ruled Thursday, April 7, 2016 that Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has no rights to his rural home. Mandela’s third wife Graca Machel was the main beneficiary saga has now come to a close,” Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, a grandson of Mandela, said in a statement on behalf of his family. He said he hoped MadikizelaMandela will make “peace with the judgment and desist from any further actions” that might be seen as disrespectful of Mandela’s wishes. Mandela’s longtime
lawyer and an executioner of his estate, George Bizos, said Mandela, not his ex-wife, had acquired the property in Eastern Cape, his home province. “They were not on speaking terms at the time, while the house was built,” the human rights lawyer said in an interview with eNCA, a South African media outlet.
New York City sued by students and parents over school violence Nearly a dozen students encounter far fewer incidents of and their parents have filed a class- school violence than black and action lawsuit against New York Hispanic students,” the lawsuit City claiming public schools are said. It also claimed that younger so dangerous that it has deprived students, disabled students and them of their constitutional right gay, lesbian and transgender to an education. students are targeted more The federal complaint, frequently for abuse. filed in Brooklyn on Wednesday New York has the nation’s against the U.S. Department largest public school system, with of Education, asserted that the 1.1 million students in some 1,800 “staggering” level of violence in city schools. schools disproportionately affected The children who are minority students. plaintiffs in the case suffered “The violence knows bullying or attacks by other few boundaries, except that, on students and in some cases by average, white and Asian students their teachers, the lawsuit said.
The parents and their children, who were not identified by name, accused the education department of failing to enforce regulations aimed at addressing violence between students or between teachers and students. Students who report such incidents often experience retaliation from their schools, the lawsuit said. In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he shared the concerns of all students and parents about safety in New York City schools but maintained that conditions have improved in recent years.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron addresses students at Exeter University April 7 Gunnlaugsson resigned over the Panama Papers. Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, the minister of fisheries and agriculture, replaced Gunnlaugsson after it emerged that the former prime minister and his wife owned an offshore company that hid millions of dollars in investments in three Icelandic banks that collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.
Former U.S. tax judge charged with cheating on her tax returns A retired U.S. tax judge and her husband have been charged in Minnesota with cheating the government of $400,000 in taxes in a scheme that treated personal spending such as jewelry, pilates classes and overseas vacations as business expenses, prosecutors said on Monday. A federal grand jury indicted Diane Kroupa and Robert Fackler on charges of tax evasion, obstruction of a tax audit, conspiracy and making and subscribing false tax returns, the U.S. Attorney for the district of Minnesota said in a statement. “As a former tax court judge, Kroupa dealt regularly with individuals who cheated on their taxes, which makes these allegations particularly troubling,” Richard Weber, chief of criminal investigations for the Internal Revenue Service, said in a statement. The couple, who live in Minnetonka, Minnesota, are scheduled to appear in federal court in Minneapolis later this week, prosecutors said. In 2003, Kroupa was appointed to the Washington-based U.S. Tax Court, which hears disputes between taxpayers and the IRS. She retired in 2014. Kroupa, 60, and Fackler, 62, who worked as a political consultant and lobbyist and ran a business called Grassroots Consulting, conspired to cheat on their taxes between 2004 and 2012, according to the indictment against the couple. During that time, they filed much of their personal spending as business expenses for Grassroots Consulting, prosecutors said. Those bogus tax deductions included vacations to such destinations as the Bahamas, Greece and Thailand; jewelry and clothing; spa and massage fees; pilates classes; wine club fees; rent and utilities for a home they leased in Maryland; and similar costs for their principal residence in Minnesota, the indictment stated. The couple is also charged with failing to disclose on their taxes some $44,520 that Kroupa received from a sale of land in South Dakota and with making a false claim of financial insolvency to avoid a tax bill. Kroupa and Fackler could not be reached for comment late on Monday. They each face a maximum sentence of more than 20 years in prison if convicted.
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Clinton, Sanders turn spiky ahead of New York primary
Hillary Clinton, stung by a string of losses, is testing a new line of attack against rival Bernie Sanders ahead of New York’s Democratic primary: sharply questioning his credentials and suggesting he lacks expertise to implement his campaign pledge to break up big banks. Meanwhile, a Super PAC, an outside funding group, supporting Clinton’s presidential bid, has circulated comparisons between Sanders and divisive Republican front-runner Donald Trump. The two-pronged attack, ahead of New York’s nominating contests on April 19, focused on Sanders’ wideranging and policy-heavy interview with the New York Daily News. The Super PAC, Correct the Record, circulated a mash-up of television pundits criticizing Sanders’ perceived missteps in the interview, quoting one calling it “almost Trumpian.” In an email to supporters, a senior Clinton campaign aide said “even on his signature issue of breaking up the banks” Sanders had been “unable to answer basic questions”. The email included a transcript of the
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders shakes hands with supporters at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 6, 2016 full interview. “If you are going to be a single-issue candidate, at least know your single issue,” Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said on Twitter. “After reading the NYDN interview today, I feel like someone should ask HOW after every one of these declarative sentences in Sanders
stump,” spokesman Jesse Ferguson posted Tuesday on Twitter. Sanders has made reducing income inequality and breaking up “too-big-to-fail” banks central to his presidential campaign, blasting Clinton for money she received for speeches to banks and accusing her of being too closely tied to the financial industry.
The escalating tension between the two candidates, who for months refrained from criticizing one another outright, comes after Sanders took Wisconsin on Tuesday to notch six of the last seven contests for the Democratic nomination. Sanders continues to trail Clinton in the pledged delegates they need to win the nomination ahead of the party’s July convention in Philadelphia. Clinton sees New York, a state that she represented as a U.S. senator for eight years, as home turf. Sanders, now a U.S. senator from Vermont, has reminded voters he was born and raised in New York. Clinton’s campaign headquarters is there. “Look, I think I know the state a lot better. I have a lot of recent experience,” Clinton told CNN on Wednesday. In the same interview, Clinton said she was “appalled” by statements Sanders made to the New York Daily News about gun manufacturer liability and said it was “unclear as to whether he understood how Dodd-Frank works,” referencing a Wall Street reform law.
Judge dismisses Kesha’s bid for release from recording contract
U.S. singer Janet Jackson (R) and her then boyfriend Wissam Al Mana pose for photographers as they arrive to attend the Giorgio Armani Autumn/Winter 2013 collection at Milan Fashion Week, in this file picture taken February 25, 2013
Janet Jackson pregnant? Singer halts tour to plan family Hinting at a possible pregnancy, Janet Jackson announced on Wednesday that she was halting her “Unbreakable” world tour because of a “sudden change” in her plans for a family. “We’re in the second leg of the tour, and there actually has been a sudden change,” Jackson, 49, said in a video selfie posted on her Twitter account. “My husband and I are planning our family, so I’m going to have to delay the tour. Please if you could try and understand that it’s important that I do this now. I have to rest up, doctor’s orders,” Jackson said. Jackson, who has no children, did not clarify whether she was pregnant, hoped to become pregnant, or was planning to adopt. Her representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Wednesday’s cryptic
announcement followed a delay in December in Jackson’s “Unbreakable” world tour when she announced she had to undergo unspecified surgery. A month later, she denied rumors that she had cancer. Jackson, the fiercely private youngest child of the famed Jackson singing family, married her third husband, Qatari businessman Wissam al Mana, in 2012. The tour, Jackson’s first in four years, was launched in August 2015. The second leg was due to begin in Las Vegas in May and play multiple dates in the United States and Canada through August. Jackson, who looked happy and wore a white collared shirt in the video, said she has not forgotten her fans and will continue the “Unbreakable” tour as soon as she can. She thanked her dancers, band, crew and fans for their love, support and loyalty.
A New York judge on Wednesday threw out pop star Kesha’s legal bid to scrap her recording contract with Sony Music and her producer, Dr. Luke, whom the singer has accused of rape and other forms of abuse. Kesha, 29, last month appealed New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich’s decision to refuse to release her from a six-album contract with Sony, after the singer filing a sexual assault lawsuit against Dr. Luke in 2014. Kornreich found in February that Kesha was free to record for Sony with other producers, without interference from Dr. Luke, a decision the performer said was akin to slavery. Without deciding on the veracity of Kesha’s allegations, including that she had been drugged, raped and emotionally abused by Dr. Luke, Kornreich ruled on Wednesday that most of the singer’s claims did not constitute valid causes of action to nullify a contract under New York law. In her dismissal order, Kornreich also ruled that the wrongdoing alleged by Kesha occurred outside the court’s jurisdiction and that her complaint of sexual assault was barred from legal review by the statute of limitations. Neither representatives for Kesha, whose full name is Kesha Sebert, nor Dr. Luke, born Lukasz Gottwald, could immediately be reached for comment. The producer has previously denied Kesha’s allegations of rape and emotional abuse. Kornreich also took issue with Kesha’s claim that the sexual violence she alleged was motivated by her gender, an argument the judge found spurious. “Every rape is not a gendermotivated hate crime,” Kornreich wrote. Kesha said on her verified
: Singer Kesha arrives at the 2014 MTV Music Video Awards in Inglewood, California August 24, 2014 Instagram page earlier this week that she had been offered a release from her contract, but only “IF i were to lie.” “I would have to APOLOGIZE publicly and say that I never got raped. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS behind closed doors. I will not take back the TRUTH. I would rather let the truth ruin my career than lie for a monster ever again,” the singer posted. The case sparked the #FreeKesha campaign on social media, with supporters saying they had delivered more than 400,000 signatures on petitions asking Sony to release Kesha from her contract. Taylor Swift has donated $250,000 to Kesha, while Adele, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande have also voiced their support for the singer.
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World food prices edge up in March, still down 12 percent year on year
A worker carries a sack of soybeans at a food wholesale market in Shenyang, Liaoning province January 13, 2011 World food prices edged up in March, as sharp rises in sugar and vegetable oil more than offset a plunge in dairy prices, the United Nations’ food agency said on Thursday. Food prices are near a seven-year low after four consecutive annual declines, and are expected to be dragged even lower this year by slowing growth in the global economy. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar, averaged 151.0 points in March against a downwardly revised 149.5 points in February. March’s reading is the highest so far this year, but food prices on international markets were still almost 12 percent lower than a year earlier, FAO said. Expectations of a larger sugar production deficit and reports of more raw sugar being used to make ethanol in Brazil drove sugar prices up 17.1 percent to their highest since November 2014. Vegetable oil prices jumped 6.3 percent, propelled by surging palm oil prices on prolonged dry weather in Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s main producers. The dairy price index fell to its lowest level since June 2009, led by plummeting butter and cheese prices. FAO gave its first forecast for world cereals output in 2016-17 at 2.521 billion tonnes, which would be 4 million tonnes lower than last year but still the third-highest on record. Large inventory levels and relatively sluggish global demand are likely to keep market conditions for staple food grains stable for at least another season, FAO said. The slight forecast decline in world cereals production is largely due to expectations that wheat output will be some 20 million tonnes lower than last year, at 712.7 million tonnes. The decline is mostly due to smaller plantings in Russia and Ukraine, which have both been hit by dry weather. Global cereal utilization is expected to rise only modestly but still exceed production, leaving world stocks 3.9 percent lower annually at 611 million tonnes.
TURKS & CAICOS SUN
APRIL 9TH, 2016 – APRIL 16TH, 2016
Texas executes man who killed boy and drank his blood
A south Texas man who bludgeoned and slashed to death a 12-year-old boy, mutilated the corpse and then drank the blood of his victim was executed on Wednesday at the state’s death chamber in Huntsville, a prisons official said. Pablo Vasquez, 38, was put to death by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m., the official said. The execution was the sixth in Texas this year and the 537th since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the most of any state. About four hours before the planned execution, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to halt the proceedings. Lawyers for Vasquez has launched the last-minute appeal, Pablo Vasquez, 38, is seen in an undated saying their client had been picture released by the Texas Department denied a fair punishment because of Criminal Justice. Vasquez, a south Texas prospective, qualified jurors in his man who bludgeoned and slashed to death trial had been dismissed if they a 12-year-old boy, mutilated the corpse had sympathies against the death and said he drank the blood of his victim is set to be executed on... penalty. The lawyers had Cardenas, was found under metal previously said Vasquez had sheets in the Texas border town mental health problems and of Donna in 1998. The arms were suffered from learning disabilities. missing from the corpse, which The victim, David had no skin on the back and a
hole in the back of the head, court papers filed by Texas said. The incident raised worries at the time about occult rituals, which were stoked when prosecutors produced a taped confession in which Vasquez, then 21, admitted to killing the boy and drinking his blood because voices from the devil told him to do so. Cardenas, trying to fit in with a group of teenagers and Vasquez, was hanging out with the group near a mobile home, when he was attacked. Police later received tips of a murder and found the decaying and mutilated body of the 12-yearold, the court papers showed. Prosecutors said Vasquez hit the victim on the head with a pipe and cut his throat. They also said he stole some jewelry from the victim. “The body was also mutilated after death by some means that caused bones to shatter,” the court papers said. It took the jury about an hour to find Vasquez guilty. A co-defendant, then 15, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on a murder conviction.
Beyonce sues over ‘Feyonce’ knockoffs
Beyonce performs on the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, in this file photo taken June 26, 2011 In her 2008 smash hit “Single Ladies,” Beyonce sang of telling a jealous ex-boyfriend that if he had wanted to commit to their relationship, he should have “put a ring on it.” Now Beyonce is telling a Texas company selling stuff online bearing the name “Feyonce” to put a lid on it. Beyonce, one of the world’s most famous and influential pop stars, on Tuesday sued to stop the sale of dozens of shirts, sweaters,
tank tops, hoodies and even coffee mugs bearing the “Feyonce” name, which she calls too close to her own trademarked name. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Beyonce accused Feyonce Inc and three individuals, all from San Antonio, of “brazenly” selling infringing “Feyonce” merchandise at their website. Among the items is a $14.95 mug with the phrase “he put a ring on it,” which Beyonce
said was intended to call to mind the lyrics of “Single Ladies.” Beyonce, 34, who is married to rapper Jay Z and has won Grammy awards as a solo artist and with Destiny’s Child, said the sale of Feyonce knockoffs confuses consumers and causes her irreparable harm, and that the defendants have ignored her requests to stop. She also said one defendant, Andre Maurice, has gone so far as to file two U.S. trademark applications for “Feyonce,” with and without the accent over the “e.” “Defendants adopted the Feyonce mark to call to mind Beyonce and her famous song,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants’ conduct described herein is intentional, fraudulent, malicious, willful and wanton.” Beyonce’s lawsuit also seeks unspecified damages. It is unclear whether the defendants have lawyers. Maurice, speaking by phone, declined to comment, saying he had yet to review the lawsuit. Beyonce’s law firm, Pryor Cashman, declined further comment. The case is KnowlesCarter et al v. Maurice et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-02532.
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Trump opponents buoyed after front-runner’s Wisconsin loss
Ohio, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, lobbyists and congressional staffers were among those who met with Kasich advisers on Wednesday to discuss what one Republican congressional staffer present admitted was the governor’s “long-shot” bid. He has won only his home state in nominating contests so far. Kasich’s campaign has “a plan going into the convention ... and if the convention goes to a brokered convention, they have a legitimate chance,” the staffer said. The next big test in stopping Trump will be New York, the state he calls home. A Monmouth University poll of New York Republicans released on Monday showed Trump with 52 percent of the state’s support, a huge U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks during a campaign stop at the Sabrosura lead over Kasich at 25 percent, and restaurant in the Bronx borough of New York City, April 6, 2016 Cruz at 17 percent ahead of the state’s Donald Trump’s Republican met in Washington to brainstorm about April 19 primary. rivals were invigorated on Wednesday how they could use obscure procedural Trump held a rally in Bethpage, by the front-runner’s loss in the rules to their advantage when the New York, on Wednesday evening Wisconsin primary and moved quickly party convenes in Cleveland. where he referred only obliquely to his to bolster efforts to block the New York One group trying to defeat Wisconsin loss, saying it “takes guts” to billionaire from capturing the party’s Trump, who has alarmed many run for president and criticizing Cruz presidential nomination. Republican establishment figures for drawing small crowds in the state. Ted Cruz’s emphatic victory with his comments on immigration, The Trump campaign also in Wisconsin on Tuesday night dealt Muslims and trade, was hopeful on announced members of its New Yorkmomentum to his once long-shot bid to Wednesday of a cash infusion to fund based team, including party leaders force a contested convention in July by their efforts. in each of the state’s 27 congressional blocking Trump from amassing enough “Our funders are committed to districts. delegates to secure the nomination. nominating a principled conservative “It’s very important for Trump The U.S. senator from Texas that can win in November and can help to bounce back strong. The sense of his made the case he is increasingly Republicans up and down the ballot,” inevitability is one of his strengths,” viewed as the main Trump alternative said Katie Packer, who is leading the said David Yepsen, director of the by Republicans who cannot bring anti-Trump Our Principals PAC. Paul Simon Public Policy Center at themselves to support Trump as their “They understand that this is a Southern Illinois University. nominee for the Nov. 8 election. long slog now and they are supportive Cruz met with black and Allies of Ohio Governor John of our mission and strategy. I expect Hispanic religious leaders earlier in Kasich, who is positioning himself as that we will have the funds necessary the day in the New York City borough a mainstream candidate who could to execute.” of the Bronx. emerge from a contested convention, U.S. Senator Rob Portman of “The men and women of
UK’s Cameron urges young Britons to vote against Brexit
Prime Minister David Cameron urged young Britons on Thursday to make sure they vote in a June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union, warning that leaving the bloc would hit them the hardest. With public opinion evenly split, youth voters are expected to play an important role in the referendum outcome because polling shows they are generally more pro-European, but less inclined to vote. Cameron, who wants Britain to stay in the 28-country bloc, was speaking at the launch of a campaign targeted specifically at young voters. “Whatever you do, June 23rd make sure you vote. It is your voice, it’s your future, it’s vital for you, vital for our country,” he said. The intervention is designed to increase voter turnout and thereby boost the prospects of a flagging “In” campaign which has ceded ground to eurosceptics in some recent opinion polls. But polling shows younger voters tend to back the centerleft Labour party and Cameron has endured a difficult few weeks following a budget row, accusations of failing to protect British steel, and questions over his family’s tax
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron addresses students at Exeter University in Exeter, Britain April 7, 2016 arrangements. Low turnout was seen as one of the factors behind a defeat for the Dutch government on Wednesday in a referendum that rejected an EU treaty on deepening integration with Ukraine. Asked about the outcome of that vote, Cameron said there were no direct comparisons with the British referendum. He argued that young people’s job prospects would be disproportionately affected by the economic impact of an EU exit. “You have the most to gain by staying in a reformed European Union and you also have the most to lose if we leave,” he said. Rival “Out” campaigners dismissed that claim, saying that money sent to Brussels under
Britain’s membership terms was adding to the national debt that would have to be paid off by young workers. Eurosceptics were also angered by the government’s decision to spend 9.3 million pounds ($13 million) on a 16-page leaflet setting out “why it believes that remaining in the EU is the best decision for the UK.” “This is not the facts, it is a misleading government propaganda campaign,” said Vote Leave chairwoman Gisela Stuart. The leaflet will be sent to every household in the country and promoted online to meet voter demand for more information on how to cast their ballot, the government said.
Wisconsin resoundingly rejected (Trump’s) campaign,” Cruz told reporters afterward. “Donald has no solutions to the problems that we’re facing.” A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed Cruz statistically even with Trump among Republicans nationally. His recent gains marked the first time since November that a rival had threatened Trump’s standing at the head of the Republican pack. Trump has 743 delegates, Cruz 517, and Kasich 143, according to an Associated Press count. Trump would need to win about 55 percent of the remaining delegates to reach the 1,237 threshold. “We fully expect this to go to Cleveland,” Packer said of the antiTrump effort. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders, a Brooklyn-born U.S. senator representing Vermont, is trying to stage a come-from-behind upset of Hillary Clinton, but will struggle to overcome a large deficit in delegates. Sanders’ big win in Wisconsin, which brought his victory tally to six out of the last seven contests, added to Clinton’s frustration over her inability to knock out a rival who has attacked her from the left. That frustration was on full display on Wednesday when the former secretary of state gave two live televised interviews in which she criticized Sanders. In contrast to a Republican primary season that has been rife with personal insults, the Democrats have largely avoided personal attacks and stuck to policy arguments. But Clinton attacked Sanders for his position on guns and said he lacked a depth of policy understanding.
Boy found with small octopus in throat, police arrest mother’s boyfriend: report A Kansas toddler had a small octopus of the kind used for sushi lodged in his throat, prompting police to arrest on suspicion of child abuse the 36-year-old man who was with the boy at the time, local media reported on Wednesday. The 2-year-old boy’s mother returned to their Wichita home on Tuesday night and found 36-year-old Matthew Gallagher, her boyfriend, performing cardiovascular resuscitation on the child, who was not breathing, television station KAKE reported. Police said the child was rushed to a hospital where doctors extracted a dead octopus with a head 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter that was lodged in the boy’s throat, according to the Wichita Eagle newspaper. The boy, who was listed in serious condition, also had bruises on his face, the newspaper reported. Police questioned Gallagher about the boy’s injuries and later arrested him on suspicion of child abuse, according to the Wichita Eagle. A representative from the Wichita police department and Gallagher could not be reached for comment late on Wednesday.
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WhatsApp toughens encryption after Apple-FBI row The popular messaging service WhatsApp said Tuesday it had implemented “full end-to-end encryption,” a move which steps up privacy but may lead to conflicts with law enforcement agencies. The Facebook-owned mobile application with one billion users worldwide made the announcement following weeks of intense debate over efforts by US authorities to compel Apple to help break into an encrypted iPhone. “WhatsApp has always prioritized making your data and communication as secure as possible,” a blog post announcing the change said. “And today, we’re proud to announce that we’ve completed a technological development that makes WhatsApp a leader in protecting your private communication: full end-toend encryption.” This means that “when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to,” the statement said. “No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not
WhatsApp Logo even us.” Moves by technology firms to implement the kind of encryption where even the companies themselves don’t have “keys” to unlock data have unleashed criticism in law enforcement circles claiming this creates “warrant-proof” spaces for criminals and others. The blog post by WhatsApp cofounders Jan Koum and Brian Acton said encryption is an important tool for its users. “We live in a world where more of our data is digitized than ever before,” they wrote. “Every day we see stories about sensitive records being improperly accessed or stolen. And if nothing is done, more of people’s digital information and communication will
be vulnerable to attack in the years to come. Fortunately, end-to-end encryption protects us from these vulnerabilities.” WhatsApp is reportedly involved in a court battle similar to the one involving Apple, which fought a federal effort to provide assistance in unlocking an iPhone used by one of the shooters in last year’s San Bernardino killing spree. Other reports say WhatsApp and another application called Telegram were used by the perpetrators of the November 13 Paris attacks that left 130 people dead. US Congress is expected to consider legislation which would require technology firms to retain “keys” that could retrieve data in a criminal investigation, with a court order. Similar measures are under consideration in Britain and France. A broad coalition of technology companies and activists have argued against any encryption rules that would allow “special access” for law enforcement, claiming these would be vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers or repressive governments, and threaten security of banking, electronic commerce, trade secrets
and more.
- ‘VICTORY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS’ Tanya O’Carroll of Amnesty International welcomed the move, calling it “a major boost for people’s ability to express themselves and communicate without fear.” “This is a huge victory for human rights, especially for activists and journalists who depend on strong and trustworthy communications to carry out their work without putting their lives at greater risk,” she said in a statement. Koum said in the blog post that the move was “personal,” noting that “I grew up in the USSR during communist rule and the fact that people couldn’t speak freely is one of the reasons my family moved to the United States.” Facebook in 2014 announced it was acquiring WhatsApp for an eyepopping $19 billion in stock and cash. Analysts say WhatsApp is especially popular in some areas of Latin America, Asia and Africa, where it is used in place of official telecom networks.
Alaska Air to buy Virgin America for $2.6 billion Alaska Air Group Inc said on Monday that it would buy Virgin America Inc for $2.6 billion in cash to become the top carrier on the U.S. West Coast and compete more effectively with larger airlines. At $57 a share, the deal represents a premium of about 86 percent from Virgin America’s stock price before reports in March that the company was considering a sale. Analysts characterized the price as steep but said the merger would strengthen Alaska Air. “The perception is that they paid a very, very high price,” said Sterne Agee CRT analyst Adam Hackel. However, he said Alaska Air could handle the cost because its strong balance sheet would allow it to raise capital at a low borrowing rate. The merger would help Alaska Air compete against Delta Air Lines Inc and American Airlines Group Inc, which have embarked on major expansions in Los Angeles, Hackel added. The deal appears to end what Alaska Air Chief Executive Officer Brad Tilden called a “hard-fought competition” to purchase the offshoot of billionaire Richard Branson’s London-based Virgin Group, which had become famous for its mood lighting and media-rich entertainment on flights. JetBlue Airways Corp had also made an offer but said in a statement that the price reached a point where it decided to withdraw from the bidding. The Alaska Air deal would create the fifth-largest U.S. airline
unions and pilot leadership were on board with the merger. The Seattle-based company would also have to train pilots and maintenance crews on a new aircraft type from Virgin America’s fleet of Airbus Group SE A320-family planes. Alaska Air currently flies Boeing Co 737s. Alaska Air said it was buying California-based Virgin America to expand in Los Angeles and San Francisco and offer more connections to international airline partners. It would also benefit from Virgin A Virgin America plane is shown on final approach to land in San Diego, California April 4, 2016 America’s corporate contracts and cultafter a decade of mergers that have a Virgin Group website. like status among travelers who work shrunk the industry to a handful of “So there was sadly nothing I for technology companies. companies. The top four control more could do to stop” the Alaska Air deal, S&P Capital IQ analyst Jim than 80 percent of the U.S. travel he said. Corridore said in a research note that market. Alaska Air said it might keep the deal would increase Alaska Air’s Virgin America accounts for using the Virgin America brand in access to transcontinental markets on about 1.5 percent of U.S. domestic some form. the East Coast. flight capacity, while Alaska Air and Because of the deal, Alaska The companies said they its Horizon Air subsidiary account Air plans to slow down its share expected the deal to receive the for 5 percent, Deutsche Bank analyst repurchase program this year and necessary approvals from Virgin Michael Linenberg wrote in a recent probably next, Chief Financial Officer America shareholders and U.S. research note. Brandon Pedersen said on a conference regulators by Jan. 1. Shares of Virgin America were call. Alaska Air Chief Operating up 42.1 percent at $55.27 in afternoon Alaska Air said in a statement Officer Ben Minicucci said he expected trading. Alaska Air was down 5.2 that the deal would generate $225 few antitrust concerns because the two percent, and JetBlue fell 3.4 percent. million in annual synergies once the companies have “minimal” overlap of Branson, whose holding companies are fully merged. It expects routes. company owned 24.9 percent of the one-time integration costs of $300 Bank of America Merrill airline as of March 25, expressed million to $350 million. Lynch, UBS Investment Bank and sadness that Virgin America was The companies face major Cowen & Co were financial advisers changing hands. hurdles in combining, although Alaska to Alaska Air, while Evercore Group The U.S. Department of Air expressed confidence in its ability LLC advised Virgin America. Legal Transportation stipulated he take to tackle them. advisers were O’Melveny & Myers LLP some of his shares in Virgin America It must juggle the contracts of to Alaska Air and Latham & Watkins as non-voting stock, reducing his workers with disparate pay, benefits LLP to Virgin America. influence over any takeover, he said on and seniority. Alaska Air said its
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Facebook expands live video, Facebook drops challenging TV and web rivals support for Blackberry
A picture illustration shows a Facebook logo reflected in a person’s eye, in Zenica, March 13, 2015 Facebook Inc (FB.O) on Wednesday expanded its live video product, Facebook Live, giving the feature prominent placement on its app and rolling out features to make it easier for users to search and comment in real time. The move is the biggest challenge yet by Facebook to online rivals, including Twitter Inc’s (TWTR.N) Periscope livestreaming service, Snapchat’s video features and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube, as well as a potential threat to broadcast television. Live video is becoming a highly competitive feature on social platforms, with companies competing to stream major sports events and exclusive video components from high-profile events such as the Oscar and Grammy awards shows. Advertisers are particularly attracted to video
that reaches a younger audience. Facebook Live, which offers streaming video in real time, was launched last year. On Wednesday, it added features, including a map of video streams around the world, expanded search and filters that echo those on other platforms. Videos can be turned into black-and-white shots, like on Facebook’s Instagram, for instance, and soon users will be able to add doodles, a nod to a feature on Snapchat. Product head Chris Cox hosted a live video session Wednesday to advertise the product, and said Facebook hopes it will be used for everything from intimate family moments, such as a baby’s first steps, celebrityhosted question-and-answer sessions and breaking newscasts. At a Facebook Live launch event in Hollywood on Wednesday, Will Cathcart, Facebook’s vice
president of product, told Reuters that the company has paid some partners to supply video in order to get Live off to a quick start, although he expected media companies would make money from advertising and other services longer term. Time Inc (TIME.N) has been paid to use Facebook Live, a source with knowledge of the partnership told Reuters. Vox Media Inc’s eight brands, which include Vox and Re/code, also have been paid by Facebook, another source told Reuters. Re/code tech news site said Facebook is paying The New York Times, BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post, as well. Thomson Reuters (TRI.N) and Conde Nast Entertainment also will work with Facebook Live, spokespeople said. Thomson Reuters is the parent of Reuters News. Facebook’s app now features Live prominently in the display bar for many users on iOS and Android across 60 countries. While Facebook’s News Feed has long had videos, largely shared from other websites such as YouTube, the company had not heavily pushed its own video products. Its executives have, however, advertised the 1.6 billion-person social media site’s video reach on earnings calls. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told investors in January that 500 million people watch videos on Facebook every day.
Blackberry Blackberry said it is “extremely disappointed” with Facebook’s decision to discontinue support for its app. It means Blackberry users will have to use the mobile version of the website to log on to the social network. It is not clear when this will come into effect. Earlier this month WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, also announced that it would only continue to support Blackberry’s Androidpowered Priv handset. WhatsApp support for Blackberry’s own operating system will end at the end of 2016, the firm said. “We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands,” wrote Lou Gazzola, who works in developer relations at Blackberry, in a blog post. “We have worked hard to ensure our end users have the best experience in light of this decision, and are continuing to search for alternate solutions.” Mr Gazzola urged supporters to take to social media using the hashtag #ILoveBB10Apps. “Hey @facebook and @WhatsApp #ILoveBB10Apps Please don’t kill’em *attempts puppy eyes*” tweeted Jo. “I use BB10 because I wanted an alternative to Android and iOS devices, don’t stop offering people an alternative choice! #ILoveBB10Apps” tweeted Ed Hale. Facebook has been contacted for comment.
Samsung breakthrough could lead to laptops, tablets crammed with more RAM Samsung wants to cram faster and more power-efficient DDR4 DRAM in laptops and hybrids with new memory chips it introduced on Monday. The South Korean company has started mass production of DDR4 memory chips based on the cutting edge 10-nanometer class process. The first 8-gigabit chips will also go into servers. The new DRAM is faster and more power-efficient than DDR4 memory made using the older 20-nm class process, the company claims. DRAM is critical to computing systems. It is where data is temporarily stored as information is being processed. The speed of the memory partly determines how fast data moves through a computer. The new memory chips have a top speed of 3,200MHz,
Samsung’s 10-nm DRAM chips have 8-gigabit capacity faster than the 2,400MHz on the company’s older DDR4 memory chips. Like CPUs and graphics processors, DRAM is also getting more power-efficient as chips get smaller. The new modules will draw 10 to 20 percent less power than DDR4 memory made using the older 20-nm class process.
DDR4 memory first reached servers in 2014, and Samsung sees its faster DRAM helping large-scale server applications. In-memory application processing is a hot trend as it is faster and reduces the amount of data shuffled between storage and DRAM. In-memory databases will become faster with Samsung’s new
DDR4 DRAM. Samsung will make 10nmclass DDR4 memory with capacities starting at 4GB for notebook PCs up to 128GB for enterprise servers. The company didn’t say when it’ll ship the memory, but modules will become available this year. Later this year, Samsung will also introduce 10nm-class mobile DDR4 DRAM for smartphones, which the company says will “solidify its leadership in the ultra-HD smartphone market.” Smartphones are already available with low-power DDR4, also called LPDDR4, so Samsung may be referring to a faster form of DDR4 memory that could fit into handsets. Improvements in the new manufacturing process could make Samsung’s regular DDR4 as powerefficient as LPDDR4.
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FBI trick for breaking into iPhone likely to leak, limiting its use
The FBI’s method for breaking into a locked iPhone 5c is unlikely to stay secret for long, according to senior Apple Inc engineers and outside experts. Once it is exposed, Apple should be able to plug the encryption hole, comforting iPhone users worried that losing physical possession of their devices will leave them vulnerable to hackers. When Apple does fix the flaw, it is expected to announce it to customers and thereby extend the rare public battle over security holes, a debate that typically rages out of public view. The Federal Bureau of Investigation last week dropped its courtroom quest to force Apple to hack into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters, saying an unidentified party provided a method for getting around the deceased killer’s unknown passcode. If the government pursues a similar case seeking Apple’s help in New York, the court could make the FBI disclose its new trick. But even if the government walks away from that battle, the growing number of state and local authorities seeking the FBI’s help with locked phones in criminal probes increases the likelihood that the FBI will have to provide it. When that happens, defense attorneys will cross-
A new Apple iPhone 5C is on display at a Verizon store in Orem, Utah, in this file photo taken September 19, 2013 examine the experts involved. Although each lawyer would mainly be interested in whether evidence-tampering may have occurred, the process would likely reveal enough about the method for Apple to block it in future versions of its phones, an Apple employee said. “The FBI would need to resign itself to the fact that such an exploit would only be viable for a few months, if released to other departments,” said Jonathan Zdziarski, an independent forensics expert who has helped police get into many devices. “It would be a temporary Vegas jackpot that would quickly get squandered on the case backlog.” In a memo to police obtained by Reuters on Friday, the FBI said it
would share the tool “consistent with our legal and policy constraints.” Even if the FBI hoards the information - despite a White House policy that tilts toward disclosure to manufacturers - if it is not revealed to Apple, there are other ways the method could come to light or be rendered ineffective over time, according to Zdziarski and senior Apple engineers who spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI may use the same method on phones in cases in which the suspects are still alive, presenting the same opportunity for defense lawyers to pry. In addition, the contractor who sold the FBI the technique might sell it to another agency or country. The more widely it circulates, the
more likely it will be leaked. “Flaws of this nature have a pretty short life cycle,” one senior Apple engineer said. “Most of these things do come to light.” The temporary nature of flaws is borne out in the pricing of tools for exploiting security holes in the government-dominated market for “zero-days,” called that because the companies whose products are targets have had zero days’ warning of the flaw. Many of the attack programs that are sold to defense and intelligence contractors and then to government buyers are purchased over six months, with payments spaced apart in case the flaw is discovered or the hole is patched incidentally with an update from the manufacturer, market participants told Reuters. Although Apple is concerned about consumer perception, employees said the company had made no major recent changes in policy. Instead, its engineers take pride in the fact that a program for breaking into an iPhone via the web was recently purchased by a defense contractor for $1 million, and that even that program is likely to be short-lived. They said most iPhone users have more to fear from criminals than from countries, and few crooks can afford anything like what it costs to break into a fully up-to-date iPhone.
WTO cuts 2016 world trade growth forecast to 2.8 percent Growth in world trade will come to 2.8 percent this year, lower than a previous forecast of 3.9 percent, the World Trade Organization forecast on Thursday. It expects trade to rise to 3.6 percent in 2017, breaking through 3.0 percent for the first time in six years. Its forecasts are based on economic growth of 2.4 percent in 2016 and 2.7 percent in 2017. Over the past five years, the WTO has regularly revised preliminary estimates downwards because of overly optimistic predictions of economic recovery.
Since the financial crisis, trade has grown roughly in line with global economic growth, rather than twice as fast in the years before the crisis. Risks to its latest forecasts were still mostly on the downside, including a sharper than expected slowing of China’s economy, worsening financial market volatility and exposure of countries with large foreign debts to sharp exchange rate movements. “However, there is also some limited scope for upside potential, if monetary policy
which is already in place succeeds in lifting the euro area,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo told a news conference. Global goods trade grew by 2.8 percent in 2015, based on volume, but in value terms exports slumped by 13.5 percent as a rising dollar and collapsing commodity prices hammered the value of exports in every region. The value of services exports also fell, by 6.4 percent, although that too was exacerbated by the commodities slowdown, as Trucks carrying copper and other goods are seen waiting to enter dry bulk cargo shipping prices fell an area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, in Shanghai in this September 24, 2014 to record lows.
Twitter to stream Thursday night NFL games in 2016 season
The Twitter logo is shown at its corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California April 28, 2015 The National Football League has chosen Twitter as its exclusive global partner for streaming its Thursday night games during the 2016 regular season, the parties said on Tuesday, a deal that could help the
social media site expand its user base. CBS Corp (CBS.N) and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) unit NBC, which won the broadcast rights in February, could also gain more viewers via Twitter, TV executives said. Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) spokesman Brian Poliakoff declined to disclose the financial terms, or elaborate on how the games would be streamed. But technology news website Re/code, citing people familiar with the bidding process, reported that Twitter paid less than $10 million for the streaming rights. The deal comes as sports fans are increasingly relying on the Internet to watch video at the expense of traditional cable and satellite connections. Livestreaming the games would give Twitter a new avenue to attract users as it tries to catch up with rival social networks like Facebook Inc (FB.O), which has over a
billion users. The NFL partnership helps cement Twitter’s position as a destination for live video, said Tom Richardson, president of consulting firm Convergence Sports & Media. “I don’t think it’s going to cannibalize viewership at all,” CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said. “I don’t see people turning off their televisions and watching the game on Twitter.” “The fact that our national commercials are running on the Twitter feed is a big benefit,” he said. An NBC spokesman declined to comment. Twitter will livestream 10 games for free to the more than 800 million people who use its service, as well as non-registered users. Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said users would be able to watch the games “right on Twitter.”
Under the deal, Twitter can sell local ads off the games, but national ads, which make up about 85 percent of the spots during the games, will be sold by CBS and NBC. Twitter outbid a number of companies, including Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) to win the deal, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news. Facebook Inc (FB.O) dropped out of the bidding last week, the report said. Facebook, Yahoo, Verizon and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment. Twitter’s stock hit an all-time low in February after the company said its user growth stalled for the first time since it went public in 2013. As of Tuesday’s close of $17.05, the stock had fallen 26 percent this year.
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Music streaming service Pandora returns to its roots
Pandora Media Inc hopes to go back to the future with the return of cofounder Tim Westergren as CEO and a renewed focus on its industry-leading data trove, built from the listening habits of more than 81 million people. Wall Street is not exactly enthusiastic about the strategy: Pandora’s stock dropped more than 10 percent last week and is trading near its all-time low in the wake of Westergren’s appointment, which squashed talk of a possible sale of the online radio company. Plagued by a business model that forces the company to pay much of its revenue in royalties, and facing brutal competition from Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google, Amazon.com Inc and others, Pandora has failed to turn a profit since its 2011 initial public offering. Yet the recent turn by Pandora to refocus on its technology - a move that Westergren is expected to accelerate - offers some rays of hope, analysts say. Westergren, a former musician, had spearheaded Pandora’s Music Genome Project, a pioneering music categorization system that uses hundreds of characteristics to describe songs and a complex mathematical algorithm to organize them. Pandora aims to use that taxonomy, as well as data about users’ listening habits, to improve its music recommendation and discovery services. While virtually all streaming services make heavy use of data, many academics consider Pandora’s dataset to be superior, citing the proprietary categorization system, how long
Pandora has been in the business, and its large number of monthly active listeners. The Music Genome Project gives Pandora a unique authority as it makes recommendations, said Roger Dannenberg, a professor of computer science and music at Carnegie Mellon University. “The research community thinks of Pandora as having kind of the gold standard,” he said. Pandora was somewhat slow to exploit its data: it did not hire its first data scientist until 2009, leaving its software engineers to dabble with data analysis. The previous chief executive, digital advertising veteran Brian McAndrews, had focused on Pandora’s advertising business and lacked Westergren’s deep ties to the music industry. The new CEO told Reuters he is confident he is the right leader to steer the transformation. “We need an evangelist,” Westergren said in an interview. “I think that founders have a certain connection to the company - it’s in my bones.” Pandora’s data science team now numbers more than 30, and the company has been able to take advantage of the common affinity between math and music in recruiting talent. One of the first fruits of the data effort is Thumbprint Radio, a feature launched in December that studies songs individual users have given a “thumbs up” to in order to create personalized stations for them.
Tim Westergren (top center-left), founder and Chief Strategy Officer, and Joe Kennedy (top centerright), president and CEO of Pandora internet radio, watch as their company begins trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange June 15, 2011 Listeners have made it the favorite songs. second-most-popular Pandora station, But even the best technology with those who use Thumbprint tuning cannot remove the primary hurdle in for about 80 minutes a day, three facing Pandora: the royalties it has to days a week on average, according to pay artists and publishers. the company. Apple and Google can afford to The technical challenge was take losses on their streaming services, not trivial, said Erik Schmidt, a senior in hopes they will drive device sales, scientist at Pandora. With traditional said David Pakman, a partner at Pandora stations, users start by Venrock who co-founded Apple’s music selecting an artist, genre or composer, group. offering insight into what they want to “Unfortunately, I just don’t listen to. Thumbprint provides no such think Pandora is a business,” he said. clues, making it more challenging to Unlike other streaming infer what a listener is in the mood for. services, which have negotiated deals Furthermore, Schmidt added, with record labels to allow listeners Thumbprint cuts across users’ musical to pick songs, Pandora has acted tastes, from classical to metal, which more like a radio station, delivering can make it hard to weave smooth a stream of songs that match a genre transitions between songs. The team or artist but not allowing customers to created three new recommendation make specific selections. algorithms to address the task. As on-demand services catch The company uses machine on, Pandora is now playing catch-up learning to fine-tune other aspects of and negotiating with record labels for its service, down to studying individual the licenses it needs to offer such a users’ tolerance for repetition of their service.
Toyota expands Microsoft partnership in connected vehicle services Toyota Motor Corp is expanding a five-year-old partnership with Microsoft Corp to develop new internet-connected vehicle services for owners and dealers, Toyota said on Monday. The automaker has established Toyota Connected at its U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas, to consolidate its existing connectivity services and serve as the company’s “data science” hub. Microsoft has a 5 percent stake in the venture. The new organization “will make lives easier,” said Zack Hicks, Toyota Motor North America’s chief information officer who will serve as Toyota Connected’s chief executive. Among the services to be developed or expanded under Toyota Connected are insurance coverage and rates based on owners’ actual driving patterns; connected vehicle networks that can share information on traffic and weather conditions, such as icy roads; and information services tailored to a driver’s habits and preferences, including monitoring heart rate, glucose level and other
An attendee works next to the Microsoft logo during the Microsoft Build 2016 Developers Conference in San Francisco, California March 30, 2016 personal health data. “humanize the driving experience The new wireless services while pushing the technology into will use Microsoft’s cloud-based the background,” Toyota said. Azure platform. Toyota launched Toyota Connected also its initial partnership with will consolidate the automaker’s Microsoft in 2011. Ford Motor current initiatives in data Co introduced a similar program analytics, data management and with Microsoft a year ago, and data services for dealers and fleet BMW AG and Nissan Motor Co customers. announced Azure-based services In addition, the new earlier this year. organization will provide support Toyota Connected will for Toyota’s ongoing research in use Microsoft’s cloud technology robotics and artificial intelligence, to develop “predictive, contextual as well as development of selfand intuitive services” to driving cars.
An airplane flies over a drone during the Polar Bear Plunge on Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York January 1, 2015
FAA panel recommends standards for drone flights over people
A Federal Aviation Administration advisory panel on Wednesday recommended that regulators set new rules allowing drones to fly over members of the public if the aircraft meet new standards to minimize the danger of physical injuries from collisions. A report issued by the 27-member panel, which included representatives from the drone, aviation and technology industries, recommended that the FAA limit the risk of serious injury to less than 1 percent but allow drone makers to determine whether their products meet the standard. An FAA official said the agency will consider the panel’s recommendations as it crafts new regulations that could eventually allow commercial drone flights over people, an option that is vital to plans for package delivery services being pursued by online commerce companies Amazon.com and Alphabet Inc’s Google. Commercial drone flights are largely banned in the United States. But the FAA is expected to issue final regulations later this year that would allow limited commercial drone operations. The first proposed rules allowing flights over people would emerge much later, said the FAA official, who declined to provide a timeline.
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West Indies team grab T20 titles Write off West Indies cricket at your peril. Less than four months in, 2016 is already a year of great celebration and renewal for cricket in the Caribbean. West Indies won the Under-19 World Cup. West Indies won the Women’s World T20. And now West Indies have won the World T20. In doing so, Darren Sammy’s men have become the first team to win two World T20 tournaments, having also triumphed in Sri Lanka in 2012. Those are the facts. The how is all the more extraordinary. Set 156 to beat England and win the championship, West Indies found themselves needing 19 off the last over, to be bowled by Ben Stokes. Marlon Samuels, who had steered the chase, was on 85. But he was at the wrong end. This was all down to Carlos Brathwaite, the allrounder who emerged on the Test tour of Australia just a few months ago. Six. Six. Six. Six. Job done with two balls to spare. The first one was a poor ball from Stokes, down leg, clubbed over deep backward square. Then a length ball slammed down the ground over long-on. Then over long-off. One run needed. Push a single? Why bother when you have the power, like Brathwaite, to crunch another six over the leg side. The West Indies players streamed onto the field in jubilation. They had not only done it. They had done it in style. And all this from a team that, in the weeks before this tournament, was stuck in another pay dispute with their board. But that is for another day. This day was about what happened on the field, and West Indies dominated the first over of the match and the last over of the match. England, along the way, had their own ups and downs, but by taking wickets throughout the chase gave themselves a strong chance of claiming their second World T20 title.
next over, it felt like an anti-climax was brewing. So too when Morgan, perplexed by Badree’s wrong’un, edged to Gayle at slip to leave the total at 23 for 3 in the fifth over. But Badree bowled out, his figures of 2 for 16 impressive, and suddenly it was more of a contest. Root was outstanding in the face of wickets falling around him. He struck seven boundaries and all were from classy, traditional cricket strokes, mostly along the ground, through the gaps. When eventually he innovated, he immolated. On 54 from 36, he fell when he tried to paddle Brathwaite over short fine leg, but in that position Sulieman Benn dived forward to take a West Indies team Celebrates sharp catch low to the ground. But if Brathwaite destroyed balls but besides him, Samuels and West Indies’ fielding was them at the end, Samuels was the one Brathwaite were the only ones to reach universally outstanding. No catches who chipped away at them through double figures. Brathwaite’s final score were dropped, and some of those taken most of the innings. Samuels walked was 34 from 10 balls, not out. Notably, were far from straightforward. Badree, to the crease in the second over of the Root did not bowl an over after taking Brathwaite and Russell were all hard chase, when England had surprised 2 for 9 in his first. to get away. Bravo found three wickets, West Indies by using Joe Root with the West Indies found themselves including those of Stokes and Moeen new ball, and he duly claimed Johnson needing 45 off the last four overs, then Ali in the space of three balls. But the Charles and Chris Gayle in his first 38 off the last three, and 27 off the fifth bowler - a combination of Benn over. Samuels had a mountain of work last two. But Eoin Morgan had left and Sammy - leaked heavily. to do, and he did it, just as he had in himself with Stokes and Root as his Benn’s three overs cost 40 2012. only bowling options, and Stokes could runs and Jos Buttler clubbed him for a Samuels is an enigmatic not hit the mark. Chasing had again pair of consecutive sixes in his 36 off 22 cricketer, one who seems to spend long proved successful for West Indies, who balls, and Sammy bowled just one over periods in hibernation. During those did not lose a toss in this tournament for 14. Sammy finds himself in the times he looks like a Don’t Care Bear. and bowled first every time. strange position of having captained But when he awakes, he is capable You could sense the relief for West Indies to one of their greatest of anything, as he showed during the Darren Sammy, then, when he won triumphs in recent years, but in doing World T20 final in 2012, when his 78 the toss for the 10th successive time in so having almost done himself out of from 56 balls set up the West Indies T20 internationals, and sent England a job. He made only eight runs in this victory over Sri Lanka. Here when he in. Ball one, Samuel Badree skidded tournament and bowled three overs came out of his hibernation, he was a it past the bat of Jason Roy, who was for 31 runs. In three games he neither Kung Fu Panda, clubbing England’s struck on the pad. Not out, sliding batted nor bowled. bowlers and kicking them into the down leg. Ball two, Badree skidded it But frankly, who cares? dust. past the bat of Roy and onto the stumps. Sammy is a dual World T20-winning And he did it with limited Roy had starred with 78 in England’s captain. His men have done what no support. England’s bowling was good. semi-final win over New Zealand, but others in cricket have done. And they David Willey picked up 3 for 20, Liam this was going to be a rather different have given the Caribbean region a hatPlunkett was hard to get away, Adil sort of innings. trick of triumphs in 2016. What a year Rashid cost less than six an over. When Alex Hales flicked for West Indies. Dwayne Bravo managed 25 off 27 Andre Russell to short fine leg in the
Dwayne Bravo calls West Indies Cricket Board ‘most unprofessional’
West Indies Team West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has launched a scathing attack on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) calling them “most unprofessional”. He called the president Dave Cameron “immature”, “smallminded” and “arrogant”, and someone who believes he is at war with his own players. Bravo spoke about the board
during a Skype interview with CNC3, a television network based out of Trinidad and Tobago. Bravo has had a chequered history with the WICB, as he was the captain when the West Indies pulledout in the middle of a One Day International (ODI) series against India in 2014 over player-payment issues and
has not featured in the ODI side since then. He has also been removed as captain of the regional Trinidad and Tobago team in the domestic tournament. Darren Sammy had criticised the West Indies Cricket Board following their win over England in the finals of the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2016. Bravo felt the criticism was justified as they had no support from the board throughout the tournament. “No I am not surprised (by Sammy’s comments), we have had enough as players. Too much times people come down on the players, they questioned our commitment, they questioned whether we were really committed to West Indies cricket or is it just the money. A lot of people don’t understand the things we go through as players dealing with our board. It’s the most unprofessional board to me, Sammy spoke from his heart. There is nothing wrong with Sammy’s speech and I support Darren Sammy 100%”, Bravo said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. “The board refused to listen
to what we have to say. It reached a point where we can’t take it no more and that itself encouraged us to go out there and win despite the challenges we have. Even our own board did not think we were going to win the tournament, we are yet to hear from the president, yet to hear from the CEO, yet to hear from the director of cricket. I mean how can you represent the region, and the people who are supposed to be your bosses and in charge of you don’t even wish you well, don’t even support you.” “So I was not surprised at Sammy’s speech because he spoke from his heart. And it’s something that the Caribbean people need to understand, we’re not happy with the way how our cricket is being run.” Bravo has been an integral part of the T20 side that won both the ICC T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016. He will now take part in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2016 where he will play for the Gujarat Lions alongside Suresh Raina and Brendon McCullum.
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FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - FULL CONTACT MATCH & U12S TAG TOURNAMENT THIS FRIDAY, 8TH APRIL! Join us at the Meridian Field this Friday, 8th April for more awesome rugby action as TCI take on the Bayonne Bombers from the USA! Gates open at 6pm for the U12s TAG Tournament, then warm up for the big game starts from 6.30pm, with Kick Off at 7pm. Entry is FREE! Come down and enjoy the excitement, bring your friends and cheer on TCI in this”Battle on the Field"! In addition to the game, there will be music by DJ Viper, and drinks will be available to buy on the night with all funds raised from drinks sales going towards the TCI Rugby Development Programme. For the U12s Tag, you can bring a team or join on the day! There will be additional competitions for the children including "How far can you kick the ball?". These events are FREE and will be great fun for all the family. Parents are welcome to stay on to watch the TCI v Bayonne Bombers game, which starts at 6.30pm. If you would like to get involved or bring a team for the U12's Tag, please speak with Tom Fielding on 343 6937. THE WORLD FAMOUS TCIRFU TAG RUGBY LEAGUE IS HERE! Head down to the Meridian Field at 6.30pm this Thursday, 7th APRIL to register your co-ed team of at
least six players, including two females, and warm up for the forthcoming Tag rugby action. All is to play for in this fun league. Who will reign supreme? Tag rugby is a non-contact sport for all ages and abilities and is a great way to learn about the game of rugby. New players and teams are always welcome! For more information please contact Nik Hight or Simon Taylor on 231 6065. TCIRFU have a series of full contact matches coming up, with Bayonne this Friday, 8th April 2016 and an international fixture on 30th April 2016 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. If you would like to play in these matches, and to ensure we are fully focused and prepared, please attend Men's Training every Tuesday from 6.15pm to 7.30pm at Meridian Field. Please arrive promptly at 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start. Registration is FREE, and new players are always welcome. For more information please contact Men's Captain Simon Taylor and get added to our WhatsApp group. Brennan Guy joined TCIRFU for a three-month placement from Canada. Brennan is here till April and has already toured around the Islands, including Salt Cay, South Caicos, Provo and Grand Turk, teaching the game of rugby to schools and the attendees of the Youth
Training Programme. If your school would like some complimentary rugby classes, please call Brennan today on 244 8952 and book your FREE “Get into Rugby” session. Don't miss this great opportunity for you and your school to get prepared and ready to compete in the Annual Inter School Tag Tournament on April 16th! Call Brennan today on 244 8952 and get the ball rolling! LADIES' NEWS Ladies' non-contact training continues every Monday at 6pm to 7pm, at the Meridian Field. These sessions are a great way to get fit, have fun and learn about the beautiful game. Sessions are FREE, fun, and new players are always welcome! For more information, please contact Olivia O'Connell to be added to the Ladies email and WhatsApp Group. YOUTH RUGBY NEWS! Youth Training is on every Saturday, at the Meridian Field: 10:30 - 11:30am: Under 8's and 12's, Boys and Girls 11:30 - 12:30pm: Under 15's and 19's, Boys and Girls Sessions are FREE and a whole load of fun! Past youth players who have played rugby with TCIRFU have gone on to gain University scholarships, travel to England, Ireland, USA and Trinidad and Tobago, and represent their country in rugby at an
Turks and Caicos islands very own Kristoff Malcolm is making a very big name for himself as he commits to play hockey at New York University at the ACHA D1 level for the 2016-2017 season being the first native born to play ice hockey at college level. In a Press release issued on Cheyenne Stampede website it said “The Cheyenne Stampede Tier 2 Junior Hockey program is pleased to announce that 95 birth year forward Kristoff Malcolm has committed to play college hockey for New York University at the ACHA D1 level for the 2016-2017 season. Malcolm, a native of the Turks and Caicos Islands, played in 50 games scoring 4 goals and posting 8 assists. Malcolm also took on the roll as the teams go to guy when they needed to make a statement with the gloves off. Malcolm also served as an alternate captain for the squad and was a leader on and off the ice.” Team Owner and General Manager Mark Lantz expressed how very excited they both are to see yet another signing from this year's team. "Kristoff was a very hard working player on and off the ice, always willing to help the team with any team community projects" stated Lantz. "We wish Kristoff the best in his hockey future!" Head Coach Gary Gill had this to say; "We are very proud of Kristoff and all his accomplishments this season. We are honored that he has
committed to ACHA D1 NYU. Kristoff is a very tough young man who can also put the puck in the net. His teammates always come first. I am positive Kristoff will represent NYU both on and off the ice as a model student athlete." Kristoff who hails from the Turks and Caicos Islands, and didn't play his first Ice Hockey game until the age of 16 is very excited to wear the sweater of NYU. Malcolm told The SUN, “I am honored to be accepted at New York University. Initially, I was approached by a N.Y.U. coach at a hockey showcase in Las Vegas and once my 4.0 GPA was confirmed, we began the recruitment process. As a student-athlete, the opportunity to play hockey and attend classes at N.Y.U. is a huge! I love the game of hockey. And it was always my intention to improve my skill to a college level, so that I could benefit from academic scholarships and enjoy the best of both worlds. New York University, which has received All- Academic Honors for having the highest average GPA as a team, has given me that opportunity. Being the first native born to play ice hockey at college level is not just about that. This commitment is bigger than me; this is also a prospect for my country; the Turks and Caicos Islands. And with such advances being made in ice hockey rinks and the relative technologies now available in warmer climates like Florida, I see as opening doors
into Sports Tourism for our country and a pioneering journey for younger Turks and Caicos Islanders who want to transition from roller hockey at the PHL and pursue ice hockey right here within the TCI.” Malcolm added: “Academically, there are even greater possibilities for the T.C.I. A MBA/CPA from a world class Institution such as N.Y.U. gives one credibility, notoriety and the opportunity to network and build long lasting relationships with potentially influential people in the USA and the world at large. Also, I believe my degree would complement the already capable Accountants in the T.C.I. and be able to make meaningful contributions to discussions such as the issue of fiscal/ financial prudence, which is prevalent in the T.C.I. at this time.” “Please allow me this chance to thank Coach Steve Martin, Coach Stan Hartling and the Provo Hockey League for teaching me how to roller skate and setting a sound foundation as a team player and sportsman in pursuing a hockey career. In addition, His Excellency Hon. Peter Beckingham for assisting with my US immigration status, Keith Burant of Meridian Trust for countless advice and guidance in firming my decisions for me and my brother Miguel, as a young man. Dale and Wendy Papke at Ports of Call Resorts for taking me to my first NHL game in Canada,” he noted. Malcolm also wanted to thank
international level. INTER-SCHOOLS TAG FESTIVAL RETURNS - 16TH APRIL 2016! TCIRFU are inviting ALL schools in TCI across the islands to put together a co-ed team of at least six players for this prestigious annual event that brings together the tag rugby talents of the schools across the islands. Last year’s successful tournament saw schools compete from Grand Turk, Provo and North Caicos. This year, we are looking for more Islands to get involved. For more information, please contact Tom Fielding on 343 6937. SUPER SENIOR TOUCH RUGBY EARNS ITSELF A REST the cleats were well and truly dusted off for the recent Super Seniors Touch Rugby sessions. These sessions will return in due course as TCIRFU adjust the playing schedule to accommodate the World Famous Tag Rugby Season. Stay tuned for more information about the re-launch of Super Seniors Touch. In the meantime, please contact Harry Turbyfield on: 333 3080 and let him know how much you would like Super Seniors Touch to return. As always, please "Like" and stay tuned to our Facebook page for up to the minute news and events from TCIRFU. Till next week, thanks for loving rugby, and we look forward to seeing you at the Field!
TCI’s very own commits to Play College Hockey at New York University
Kristoff Malcolm his parents, family members, friends and the TCI community for their contribution and for being his support system. Malcolm is the third player from this year's team to commit to play hockey in College. The Cheyenne Stampede are honored that Kristoff chose the Stampede program for his last year of Junior Hockey and they will miss watching the excitement he brought to the game each and every night and wish him all the best as he starts a new chapter in his hockey dream.
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SPORTS
FIFA ethics committee investigates one of its own members
A member of the ethics committee responsible for rooting out corruption in soccer’s governing body FIFA has himself been placed under a preliminary investigation, the watchdog said on Sunday. Juan Pedro Damiani was being investigated over a possible business relationship with fellow Uruguayan Eugenio Figueredo, one of the soccer officials arrested in Zurich last year, the committee said in a statement. The committee’s chief judge, Hans-Joachim Eckert, had recently become aware of the relationship between Damiani and Figueredo, who is a former head of the South American Football Confederation, the statement said. The committee said it could not give further details on the evidence of the relationship or on why it might be problematic. Damiani told Reuters in Montevideo on Sunday that he broke off relations with Figueredo when the latter
was accused of corruption. “We (had) worked with Figueredo (but) when the (FIFA) issue came to light we immediately ended a professional link,” he said. “My (law) firm is a firm of 60 people, not just me. ... Until May 2015, Figueredo appeared to be a straight person.” The committee statement came after media reports said that possible links between the two had been revealed by documents among the socalled Panama Papers, a huge leak of data by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that were based on files from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Eckert had informed the committee’s chief investigator Cornel Borbely who “has immediately opened a preliminary investigation to review the allegations in question,” the statement said. “Dr Borbely is currently looking into said allegations in order to determine if there is a breach against
The committee has had more teeth since it was split into two chambers, one to investigate cases and another to judge them, in 2012. Damiani, president of Penarol, one of Uruguay’s two most popular teams alongside Montevideo rivals Nacional, has been on the committee since it was originally set up in 2006. He is now a member of the judgment chamber. The FIFA logo is seen at the FIFA headquarters in Figueredo, 83, was one of the Zurich, Switzerland March 18, 2016 seven officials arrested in Zurich in the FIFA Code of Ethics and decide any May in the incident which put the FIFA further measures.” crisis in the spotlight. FIFA is trying to rebuild itself He was extradited to Uruguay after an unprecedented crisis which in December and faces charges of monhas seen several dozen soccer officials, ey laundering and taking kickbacks many of them former FIFA officials, in- to sell media and marketing rights dicted in the United States. for football tournaments and matches The ethics committee itself across the Americas. has investigated and banned a number Uruguayan prosecutors said of leading officials for unethical con- in February that Figueredo had agreed duct, including former FIFA President to hand over more than $10 million in Sepp Blatter and European soccer boss stocks and property in a deal to reduce Michel Platini. his punishment.
New York City bans chewing tobacco at Major League ballparks New York City on Wednesday banned the use of chewing tobacco at sports venues such as Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, joining other cities in discouraging Major League Baseball players from a habit with deep roots in the game. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law an immediate prohibition on the use of smokeless tobacco at sports and recreational areas that issue tickets. Wednesday night’s game at Yankee Stadium was affected. “Our youth nationwide look up to the athletes in that spotlight. With Intro. 1068-A, we are taking a huge step forward to ensure that our youth are not exposed to dangerous practices,” de Blasio said in a statement. The Yankees publicly supported the initiative,
New York Yankees and the Houston Astros during the singing of the National Anthem before the game at Yankee Stadium which follows similar ones passed in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The state of California has a statewide ban due to take effect next year, affecting stadiums in Anaheim, Oakland and San Diego as well. When professional baseball emerged in America
the 19th Century, chewing tobacco was already one of its customs, and the habit remains popular. Professional baseball banned “chew” in the minor leagues in 1993, but it has been allowed at the big league level. The Major League Baseball Players Association has considered any rules to
be a matter for collective bargaining. Some restrictions were added to the collective bargaining agreement negotiated in 2011. Players no longer carry tins in their back pocket nor do they chew during televised interviews, and the union has agreed to help players quit.
The issue took on urgency after Hall of Fame player Tony Gwynn died of salivary gland cancer in 2014 at age 53. Gwynn had said he was convinced chewing tobacco caused his cancer. The players union and MLB are negotiating a new contract as the existing one expires this year.
Gatlin coach to remain as U.S. relay boss for Rio
Sprinter Justin Gatlin’s trainer will remain as U.S. relay coach for the Rio Olympics after officials decided to delay implementing a new policy for the job, USA Track & Field (USATF) said on Monday. Dennis Mitchell had told Reuters in February he stepped down from the position after USATF added a provision that prohibits a person from being the national relay coach if they coach someone with a high likelihood of being part of the relay pool. Gatlin, the world silver medalist at both 100 and 200 meters, is expected to be a key member of the U.S. men’s 4x100m relay team at the Aug. 5-21 Rio Games. Mitchell, who served a doping
ban in 1999, never submitted an official resignation, however, and USATF’s high performance executive committee decided in March to delay the effective date of the change, USATF said on Monday. “Because Dennis Mitchell was selected as national relay coach and approved by the USOC (U.S. Olympic Committee) under procedures that were put in place on September 10, 2014, any new provisions for the national relay coach policy, if enacted, will take effect late 2016,” USATF spokeswoman Jill Geer said in a statement to Reuters. “As a result of the new timeline, Dennis Mitchell will continue to serve as national relay coach through the 2016 Olympic Games, as previously
approved by USATF and the USOC.” Mitchell, 50, has been the U.S. relay coach for men and women events since 2014. His hiring had been controversial because of his 1998 positive test for the banned hormone testosterone. “The WADA (World AntiDoping Agency) code indicates that when an individual has completed their suspension, they are eligible to re-engage in the sport, whether serving as an athlete, coach or in another role,” Geer added. “USATF follows and supports this concept, which is consistent with the policies of other sports (both professional leagues as well as and Olympic sports), and with the U.S. legal system.”
Former U.S. sprinter and present coach of Justin Gatlin, Dennis Mitchell, speaks to reporters at the U.S. Olympic athletics trials in Eugene, Oregon June 21, 2012
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Published by SUN MEDIA GROUP, Turks and Caicos Islands | Tel:649 339 5879 | Fax: 649 941 3281