VOLUME 13 ISSUE 14

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

Website: www.suntci.com

VOLUME 13 - NO. 14

Email: sun@suntci.com

Tel: (649) 348-6838

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Fax: (649) 941-3281

www.facebook.com/tcisun

PDM PROUD OF FIRST 100 DAYS

by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief The People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) Government, under the leadership of the country’s first female Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, is extremely proud of its record of achievement during the first 100 days in office.

During a press conference at the Premier’s Providenciales office on Tuesday April 4th, 2017, each of the Cabinet ministers gave detailed accounts of their stewardship and outlined future plans that are designed to stimulate growth and development throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“We came to Office on a mandate of Change and contrary to the new, new and even more destructive PNP, we have hit the ground running,” Premier Cartwright-Robinson said.

Noting that in this upcoming Budget, there will be 100 vacancies and there will be over $60million in projects, the Premier called on Turks and Caicos Islanders “to position yourselves to take advantage of the opportunities”.

She added: “We especially want persons to apply for the 18 new Police and the 10 new Prison Officers and the 8 new Immigration Task Force Officers. We must get serious about national security and protecting our country. I will in a few days announce meetings with local contractors that will be coupled with training for the tendering and bidding process. It is your Government’s role to provide the opportunities: It is up to you to take advantage of them.”

The Premier said that this budget, which will be debated on April 18, 2017 and which will be her first, did not require the approval of the United Kingdom Government.

“The calls to spend wildly and widely were many but this would have affected the cash required to meet this feat. We met a large operating surplus but a challenged Project Program which

PDM Government celebrates first 100 days in office

T

he Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) came with an agenda to bring a change to the Turks and Caicos Islands and they are doing just that. On Tuesday April 4th, 2017 a press conference was held by the PDM Government to celebrate their first 100 days in office. Each Minister gave their first 100 day reports.

Pictured here (L-R) are Hon. Sean R. Astwood- Deputy Premier and Minister of Immigration and Border Control and Employment, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright- Robinson- Premier and Minister of Finance, Trade and Investment, Hon. Edwin Astwood- Minister of Health, Agriculture and Human Services, Hon. Douglas Parnell, Karen Malcolm Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. McMillin Goldray Ewing- Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, Hon. Vaden D. Williams- Minister of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communication, Hon. Josephine ConnollyMinister of Education, Youth, Sports, Culture and Library Services, Mr. Maxovonno Thomas PDM Government’s appointed member to the House of Assembly, Hon. Ralph Higgs- Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture and Hon. Derek Taylor.

saw millions of dollars tied up; monies that should be helping to stimulate the Island’s economy. Immediately your Government embarked on getting tenders out and evaluations was carried out by our dedicated civil servants to the very end of the financial year. An aggressive Budget Circular was issued and Team Finance worked hard to ensure the new dates were met from FSPS approval to New Spend and Capital Program submissions to Challenge Meetings to extra Cabinet Meetings to the eventual laying of the

Budget.”

She said the PDM celebrated the laying of the Proposed Budget 2017/18 and noted the accomplishment of having met all the debt sustainability indicators that were set out in the framework document agreed between the Governments of the United Kingdom and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Budget is projecting a 6.2% increase over last year’s expenditure resting at $267.9million and a projected revenue estimate of $273.5 million

which will be funded through existing revenue streams and a $20 million loan through the CDB or a commercial bank.

To demonstrate how her government hit the ground running, the Premier, whose party was elected on December 15th, 2016, said that on the 22nd December, she chaired a Capital Board Meeting with all Ministers and Senior Government officials present to receive an update on the performance of the capital program for the financial year 2016/17.

Continued on Page 2

Governor concerned about NIB and other boards - Page 5

FortisTCI Launches TCI Business Outlook Conference - Page 7

No more ban on Brazilian corned beef and meat - Page 6

Grace Bay Club recognises staff members - Page 24

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS Continued from Page 1

PDM Proud Of First 100 Days

She added: “A number of projects were earmarked for further consideration and further revamping by the newly elected government. It was noted that during the first nine months only a total of 12 capital projects were awarded and the total committed during this period was only $7.5m. It was then envisaged that during the last quarter of the year that a total of 63 projects costing $17.1, will have to be committed by March 31st, 2017. There was a total of 10 projects that were slated to be cancelled among which unfortunately was the removal of the boat at Governor’s Beach. This project was costed some two years ago at $2.5m but the Government since that time had allocated a mere $700k which was grossly insufficient and could not be used.”

MORE SUPPORT FOR POLICE

The Premier stated that her Government has already met with the Senior Police Officers in Grand Turk and Providenciales, adding that “many ideas were shared and our vision was likewise shared”. She said they have already agreed to provide the Police with much needed equipment, laws and modern tools.

She added: “The purchase of the Carlos Simmons Building (which now houses the Customs Department, on Airport Road, Providenciales) is in support of providing the Police the space needed to house modern crime fighting initiatives and a more strategic approach to crime fighting.

We have already agreed new vehicles, more manpower and a legislative agenda that will see the use of

biometrics, fingerprinting, CCTV and resources to find the best way forward persons entering illegally by sloop. data protection, public order, matters on this issue in a manner that did not Your Government campaigned on addressing communication and a see the benefactors losing any of their growing TCIG’s assets and employing a review of the Police Ordinance. The varied benefits. We are committed to strategy to reduce Government’s rents. latter can be stated with assurances this issue and works will commence We were presented with a year end because this Good Government on the passage of this Budget and decision to invest the monies wisely within its first 100 days has agreed a consultations with all stakeholders will or allow it to go into a savings. It was resume. I will also visit with and meet a strategic decision and we moved a Legislative Agenda.”

“We committed to supporting employees in the hospitality industry further supplementary as there was no the Police and we will do just that with particular emphasis on Hotels budget in place to support the purchase of building already rented and occupied through our own efforts and through and Resorts.”

The Premier explained that by TCIG. We subsequently made the strategic crime fighting and modern tools all enveloped in a national security when they assumed office, there were decision to invest in the purchase strategy. You will already have heard “immediate needs and opportunities” of two buildings that will house our that as Premier I have elevated the that they could not ignore and so, they Customer Care Center bring the change Ministry of Border Control to national were forced to bring two supplementary to services offered by Government security level so as to change the mind appropriation bills to address critical through the Ministry of Border Control set of workers and the public as to the needs at HM Prison and the Home (Labour and Immigration), Road Safety of the Ministry of Home Affairs seriousness of the work of this Ministry Help Program. and Customs. I wish to again thank

“We promised that we would and our commitment to ensuring that we bring the much needed change to expand home help and we did just that,” Team Finance, the hardworking Yaa this Ministry in terms of resources and she said. “We promised that we would McCartney of the AG’s Chambers and address the needs of the Prison and we my Cabinet colleagues who saw the reputation.” are doing just that. We have also to wisdom in saving our Government meet cost for detaining alleged poachers over $380k per year which can be used SERVICE CHARGE and of detaining and repatriating elsewhere against other priorities.”

Regarding the contentious matter of service charge, the Premier said that as Minister of Finance on is seeking applications from suitably qualified candidates for the assuming office, she was advised following positions. The successful applicants must: that the surveys on the matter of ASSISTANT MANAGER/SUPERVISOR service charge provided to employers - Have at least 10 years’ experience in the hospitality industry with at least 5 years’ experience in a supervisory position and employees were low in response - Responsible for Human Resources Management and the overall supervision of all employees and that the Statistics Act had to be - Inventory Controls, purchasing and planning. Perform accounting and banking functions in coordination with employed to obtain responses. the POS system.

“I have had to then revisit this - Managing relations with the cruise lines Shore Excursion Executives. topic and on March 7th had a letter *Remuneration on a profit share basis remitted to the Committee to suspend RESTAURANT CAPTAIN activities until a new budget was Have at least 10 years’ experience in the hospitality industry with at least 5 years’ experience in a supervisory position prepared and mechanisms were put - Be at least 30 years old in place,” she said. “Service charge is - Have a clean criminal record not a political issue and that is why we - Have a valid passport took the approach of bringing a motion - Have previous experience with MICROS POS systems as this caused government to use its - Possess the ability to remain calm in a high stress environment

TURKS HEAD YACHT CLUB

An Open Letter to the Honorable Dr John Freeman, Governor of the Turks & Caicos Islands

The inaugural speech that you delivered to the Turks & Caicos Islands House of Assembly on October 17, 2016 was encouraging to those of us who fully understand the true economic value and importance of inward investment to the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Inward investment is the life blood of the Turks & Caicos Islands and has provided the overwhelming majority of the capital over the last fifty years to create new jobs and improve our schools, roads, police, fire, and medical services. These are public services without which our country could not have prospered. We will continue to need more inward investment capital in the future if we are to continue creating new jobs and expanding and improving the quality of our schools, roads, police, fire, and medical services.

Statements in your inaugural speech seemed to indicate that you comprehend and accept one of the most basic and strategic concepts of international investors and developers; “Good governance earns a good reputation in the wider world. And such a reputation serves in turn to encourage stability and predictability, both of which are conducive to enhanced international investment, including through tourism, and thereby to enhanced prosperity for citizens”.

Presumably you would agree that conversely, poor governance earns a poor reputation in the wider world. And such a reputation serves in turn to encourage the perception of instability and unpredictability, neither of which is conducive to enhancing international investment or development, and ultimately these negative traits will, in our case, diminish prosperity for TCI citizens.

As a well-informed servant of the Queen, you will know that there has been no significant inward investment, almost a suspension of inward investment in the Turks & Caicos Islands since 2008, despite the fact that the countries which have in the past sourced 90% of our investment capital, the UK, Canada and the USA, currently have economies that are booming or robust.

Evidence is quite clear and convincing that it is the perception of poor governance that has deterred and is continuing to deter new inward investment and development in the Turks &

Caicos Islands.

While there is in fact a newly elected democratic Government in the Turks & Caicos Islands (PDM) that appears promising at this time, the very independent Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles remains the same and she appears to answer to nobody.

I need not go into detail illuminating the damages that this country and numerous inward investors have suffered in the past as a response to some of the idiotic, corrupt, incompetent, or reckless decisions or behavior of former Attorney Generals Kurt De Freitas or Huw Shepheard. Too many of these embarrassing incidents are still searchable online to new investors, developers or their legal counsel in the traditional exercise of due diligence.

But I will tell you that many of the publicly exposed conflicts between the current Attorney General’s Office and various investors and developers are definitely continuing to discourage and deter new investment and development in the TCI.

It has become a well-known fact in the international investment community that there is a total absence of “stability and predictability” in the TCI Attorney General’s Office, and by extension the TCI Government.

I know that you will agree with me Governor that the total absence of “stability and predictability” in the Attorney General’s Office or TCI Government multiplies financial risks exponentially for the investor or developer and substantially reduces the attractiveness of the TCI for investment.

In your 2016 inaugural speech you told us, in reference to a previous position you held, that you “have had responsibility for the promotion of trade and investment”. If you are to be the first British Governor in the TCI since 2008 to have any positive impact or success at improving or stimulating trade or investment in the Turks & Caicos Islands you must first correct, repair or replace the critical defect that has effectively thwarted significant investment and development in the Turks & Caicos Islands since 2008; the policies, procedures, management and oversight of the TCI Attorney General’s Office.

Edith Delancy

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Must be willing and able to work flexible hours, including on weekends and Public Holidays, as necessary to meet the challenging needs of the cruise ship schedule and/or reasonable needs of the business

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Have at least 10 years’ experience in restaurant kitchens managing, ordering, preparing and hands on cooking in a supervisory position. Experience in tourism would be an asset.

Be at least 30 years old Have a clean criminal record Have a valid passport Have previous experience with MICROS POS systems

RESTAURANT COOK

-

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Possess the ability to remain calm in a high stress environment

Must be willing and able to work flexible hours, including on weekends and Public Holidays, as necessary to meet the challenging needs of the cruise ship schedule and/or reasonable needs of the business

WAITERS/SERVERS / BARTENDERS/SALES ASSISTANTS -

Have at least 5 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, experience in the tourism would be an asset Possess the ability to remain calm in a high stress environment Be well spoken with English as primary language Have a valid passport Be at least 25 years old Have a clean criminal record Must be willing and able to work flexible hours, including on weekends and Public Holidays, as necessary to meet the challenging needs of the cruise ship schedule and/or reasonable needs of the business

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Have a clean criminal record Have a valid passport Hold a valid certification in CPR and First Aid Have at least 3 years’ experience in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Must be able to swim Must be physically fit and well presented with a trustworthy and reliable disposition Excellent communication, inter-personal and customer service skills with English as primary language Must be willing and able to work flexible hours, including on weekends and Public Holidays, as necessary to meet the challenging needs of the cruise ship schedule and/or reasonable needs of the business

BEACH ATTENDANTS

Preference will be given to documented Turks and Caicos Islanders Written applications only and accompanying CVs/resumes must be addressed to the Manager at the following address: Cee’s Plaza, Suite No. 1 TURKS HEAD YACHT CLUB Church Folly c/o EPIC Corporate & Consultancy Services Ltd. PO Box 86 Phone: 649-946-1570 Grand Turk Fax: 649-946-1571 Turks & Caicos Islands Email: epic@epiccorporate.com

VACANCY

Editor / Journalist / Executive Assistant Duties: Office assistant, front desk. Capable of multi-tasking for busy belonger owned publishing company.

Good command of English language and grammar. Excellent communication and organizational skills.

Ability to source, research, interview and write feature articles. Edit external copy and proofread. Meet strict deadlines. Liaise with clients on social media marketing, update blog and website content. Evaluate strategies, analyze stats, google analytics, SEO, inbound marketing. Sales ability a plus.

Requirements: University degree in related field. At least three (3) years agency experience in editorial writing, editing, publishing, project management, print and digital magazine production, social media strategy, inbound marketing. Must be Apple Mackintosh computer literate with knowledge of: InDesign, PhotoShop, Microsoft Office, Word, Excell, Wordpress, Joomla. References required. Salary compensatory with abilities.

Send CV and current contact info to: Ad Vantage Ltd. info@wwhtci.com.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

Governor comments on the NHIB and review of the statutory bodies

Governor Dr. John Freeman has expressed concern about way some statutory boards have been operating.

Commenting on a recent report on the management of the NHIB by the Chief Internal Auditor, the Governor said that in December 2016, he commissioned the Chief Internal Auditor (CIA) to conduct a review of the management of the NHIB in light of the serious issues involving significant liabilities that had arisen earlier that month. The report by the CIA has since been considered in Cabinet, most recently following receipt of responses from the NHIB.

He stated: “The CIA’s report serves to remind us all of the important responsibilities placed on the Boards of Statutory Bodies, responsibilities

made especially weighty in those and Senior Management as well as instances, such as the NHIB, where Boards recognise their responsibilities the Boards are responsible for very in adequately providing oversight and significant financial resources with management over these entities. contingent liabilities for the public “Board members must be finances. TCIG transfers over $45m prepared to carry out the required and performance each financial year to the NHIB in governance respect of payment of the TCI Hospitals monitoring activities needed to Infrastructure costs, the Treatment ensure effective management of these Abroad Programme and Contributions entities. By extension, CEOs and other for Wards of the State. This accounts Senior Management Officers must be for a significant proportion of TCIG’s prepared to be held accountable for overall expenditure costs and along management shortcomings,” he added.

`The Governor continued: with the contributions of residents across TCI requires prudent “The object lessons from the NHIB are particularly acute: it is not management and accountability.”

The Governor said that given beyond the realm of possibility - as the considerable financial impact I have illustrated - that serious Statutory Bodies can have on the mismanagement of the NHIB or of TCIG budget, it is crucial that CEOs certain other Boards, could cause

Governor Dr. John Freeman a serious run upon the budgetary resources of TCI. The need to address the issues raised as regards the NHIB are evident and are now being taken forward. But I believe they also reinforce the need for a proper review of the Statutory Bodies, especially of those which carry the largest risks, managerial and financial but also reputational for TCI. The Premier and I are committed to setting such a wider review in train as soon as possible.”

Ministry of Education announces registration 2017/2018 for public schools

The Ministry of Education is very pleased to announce a major improvement to the registration process for Infant 1 (4 years old) and Form 1 students at the Public Primary and Secondary levels for the Academic Year 20172018.

As of April 5th, persons wishing to enroll their children in public schools will be able to do so via an online application system. Applications will be accessible via the TCI Government Website at https://www.gov.tc/ministry-ofeducation-youth-sports-and-library-services/.

Parents will be able to complete and submit their child/wards application online.

Additionally, applications will be available at the Department of Education offices’ throughout the country for a short period during the initial stages of the new system.

The registration period has also been extended from three days to one month and will commence April 5 to May 5, 2017.

Parents and Guardians are reminded that the following documents are required for entry into all public schools:

•1 Passport size photo of prospective student •Birth Certificate of prospective student •NHIP Card of prospective student •Immunization/Medical Certificate of prospective student •Proof of Status in TCI (Parents & Prospective Student/s) •Passport Photo Page of Parent/Guardian •Transcripts/Transfer Letter (If applicable) All of the above documents can be uploaded electronically via the online system.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

Ministry of health provides update on measles exposure

On April 1st, 2017, the surveillance team at the ministry received an unofficial report that a crew member from a West Jet flight that flew into the TCI, was diagnosed with measles.

On Sunday, the Ministry contacted the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) requesting confirmation of the information. On Monday, PAHO through contact with the Canadian Public Health Agency confirmed the suspicion of the positive case.

The crew member worked seven (7) flights, one of which flew into the TCI on March 24th, 2017. It was confirmed that the crew member did not deplane, but, because of the contact with passengers, who were visitors in the island, it is necessary for the

surveillance system to be vigilant and extra sensitive to detect any secondary cases early.

The World Health Organization has also confirmed over 500 cases of measles in Europe since January 2017.

Measles is a highly infectious disease accompanied by rash with fever and at least one of these three symptoms: coryza (runny nose), cough and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The rash starts behind the ears and then spreads to the head and neck, followed by the rest of the body.

Other symptoms include small greyish white spots with a bluishwhite center inside the mouth, cheek and throat and body aches. It is spread through droplet infection; coughs and sneezes. The period when a person is infectious and can spread the virus is

Lifting of ban for Brazilian corned beef and other Meat Products

On March 22, 2017, the Services officially lifts the ban.

Department of Agriculture issued The Ministry said in a press an immediate ban on Brazilian statement that through extensive corned beef and other meat products consultation with regional officials in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, originating from Brazil.

The ban, which was intended the Department of Agriculture is to safeguard the health of the Turks convinced that the Brazilian meat and Caicos Islands human population, products, including Brazilian corned specified that all Brazilian corned beef beef are safe for human consumption. and meat products be removed from “It must be noted that our counterparts supermarket shelves. It also placed within the Caribbean Region have a temporary halt on imports of all conducted extensive investigations, Brazilian meat products. including laboratory tests that As of April 7, 2017, the Department assure us of the products’ safety and of Agriculture through the Ministry wholesomeness,” the press release of Health, Agriculture and Human said

within 7 to 10 days of exposure, but can be up to 14 days.

The number one way of preventing measles is through the vaccination with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. This vaccine is offered free of cost at all primary health care facilities.

The Turks and Caicos Islands has maintained high coverage, over 95%, in the MMR vaccine. We have very good immunity in the country.

The last reported case of measles in the TCI was in 1991. Although, we have good immunity, persons who are not protected with the vaccine, are at an increased risk of contracting the virus. The TCI is home to over one million visitors annually; this places the country at risk for importation and re-introduction of measles cases.

To be considered fully protected against measles, the individual must have two doses of the MMR vaccine.

The TCI offers this at ages 1 and 2 years.

Parents who are uncertain about their child’s immunization status should bring their take-home vaccine cards into any primary care clinic to have it checked. Persons who are uncertain of their immunization status may also visit the clinic to determine their status and be vaccinated if necessary.

If you are concerned that you might have been exposed, please contact your health care provider.

For more information please contact a public health nurse at your local Primary Health Care clinic on 338- 5474, 338-5470 or 946-5613 or, you may contact your local health care provider.

Police investigate shooting incident

Detectives of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force have launched an investigation to find the culprit who is responsible for the shooting of two males on Wednesday 5th April 2017 in Providenciales.

Around 2:15 a.m on that date, Police and Emergency Services responded to an area known as the “Trap” in Kew Town after reports of multiple gunshots were heard. Upon arrival, officers met a 27-year-old male laying on the ground screaming in pain with what appeared to be blood and two wounds on his upper torso. He was taken to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre and is in stable condition.

Also, at 2: 20 a.m., police met the

second victim, a 25-year-old male with a wound to his right leg. He told officers that he was approaching the “Trap” area after he heard a loud argument going on, and as he gets closer he heard gun-shots going off. He ran and later realized he was shot. He was taken to the hospital via ambulance were is being treated.

No arrests have been made and investigation is ongoing.

Anyone who may have witnessed this incident or have information that can assist with investigation, Contact the Chalk Sound Police Station at 3385901. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1- 800 8477 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www. crimestoppers.tc.

on organizational plans, financial disclosure and operational performance.

•Ability to work extended hours including nights, weekends, and holidays

Graceway IGA Supermarket invites applications from suitable qualified individuals to fill the listed positions currently held by work permit holders:

General Manager Summary of Duties The position is the general overseer of all aspects of Grace way Supermarkets. This includes providing leadership and motivation to promote the consistent execution of standard practices, policies and procedures. Setting the tone and leading the stores culture/ environment to ensure success in all aspects of customer service, profitability, operations, people development, merchandise presentation and merchandise assortment.

Required Specifications and qualifications •Over ten (10) years experience in supermarket retail and wholesale management with a minimum of five (5) years in a senior management position to include management of individual departments •Experience in company expansion projects with the ability to lead and develop new store concept, design, layout, format and operations.

•Proficient in the understanding of retail and wholesale accounting and good business practices related to documentation and record keeping •Strong current product knowledge of the retail industry and a proven record in the ability to achieve the budgeted financial and operating results, including sales, profitability, and wage percentage •Experience managing and developing the human resources activities, maintain and develop organizational culture, values and reputation in market and with all staff, customers, suppliers, partners and governmental bodies.

•Must have the ability to identify, develop and direct the implementation of business strategy and report to shareholders

Salary rate will commensurate with experience and qualifications

Wine Specialist Summary of Duties: This position is responsible to promote and demonstrate fine wine knowledge throughout the island to increase sales among high profile local restaurants and retail accounts / customers while including managing logistics of wine shipments and consolidations in various wine worldwide countries. Requirements include: Required Specifications and qualifications •Ensue a good range of well priced quality wines is available •Create marketing and sales programs to increase sales •Purchase all wines, spirits and beers from local and international suppliers for Graceway Supermarkets •Create marketing and sales program to increase sales, maintain and develop the established distributorships, create additional exclusive distributorships and representations •Experience in whole sale distribution and retail of wines and spirits is essential •At least 5 – 7 years experience in international procurement of wines and spirits including working at the consulting level with large distributors is required •Previous years of retail, grocery management experience will be an added plus •Must be able to show strong background and understanding of French, Spanish and Italian wines Salary rate will commensurate with experience and qualifications Deadline for submission of applicants is April 7th 2017 Submit to: Graceway IGA Supermarket main office complex or email: hr@gracewayiga.com Please Note: Only short-listed applicants will be contact to attend interviews.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

FortisTCI Launches TCI Business Outlook Conference

FortisTCI has announced the launch of a new, annual business conference that will bring together decision makers, thinkers, speakers from various segments of the local, regional and global economy to discuss ideas and trends impacting businesses today.

The inaugural TCI Business Outlook Conference takes place on Thursday, April 27, 2017 at The Shore Club, Providenciales, under the theme, ‘Future Ready: Opportunities for Business in a Changing Economy’.

FortisTCI is the founding sponsor of the conference, which is co-sponsored

by FLOW TCI, CIBC First Caribbean International Bank, The Hartling Group, The Shore Club, Scotiabank

and Invest Turks and Caicos. The conference is an outgrowth of the annual FortisTCI Plenary Sessions, hosted by the Company since 2008 as a forum to discuss its business strategies and more broadly, economic opportunities within the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“The continued growth of our Plenary Sessions year after year showed us that there is a need to be filled and public support for a national business conference, such as the one we are now launching. We believe the TCI Business Outlook Conference will set the agenda for a lively exchange of ideas that can help to stimulate high-level, nonpartisan discussions around economic growth and social

development in the Turks and Caicos Islands and help us understand global trends,” stated Eddinton Powell, President and CEO of FortisTCI.

Mr. Powell added: “In launching this conference, we are joining some of our Caribbean neighbours who have successfully staged events of this nature and are seeing the very positive impact they have on national discourse, development planning and closer working relationships between public and private sectors.”

TCI Business Outlook Conference will be particularly relevant to public and private sector leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, senior business executives and NGO

leaders who will have the opportunity to engage in thoughtful discussion, network with each other and develop relationships.

There is no admission charge to attend the conference this year. Interested participants are encouraged to register early to book their place, as space is limited.

Registration may be done online at www.tcibusinessoutlook.com.

There are also opportunities for businesses to be involved in the conference via sponsorships at various levels. Further information on sponsorship is also available at the conference website, www. tcibusinessoutlook.com.

Tomiko “Sleepy” Glinton plead guilty to two counts of “acts of corruption”

Mr. Tomiko Glinton, a former Sergeant of Police in the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force appeared in the Supreme Court on Providenciales, on Friday 31st March 2017, where he plead guilty to two (2) counts of “Acts of Corruption” which was accepted by the courts.

In light of this, Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Rodney Adams has terminated his service effective 31st March, 2017 with the

RT&CIPF in accordance with the Police Force Ordinance.

Mr. Glinton will be sentenced in May 2017.

Commenting on this matter, Adams stated, “This week has been a very unusual week in the life of the RT&CIPF with the placing of three (3) officers on administrative leave and the termination of service of one (1) officer.

However this sends a clear message to each

member of staff that allegations of dishonesty and wrong doing will not go unnoticed and will be addressed expeditiously by the Force. You the public deserve professional service from us that are entrusted with the responsibility to serve and protect you as our customers. I wish to reassure you our customers that we will continue to work hard at serving you and do our best to keep the TCI as a safe place to live, visit, work and do business.”

SOLARISLAND ENERGY LTD

Landscape laborer required

Seeks RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT COORDINATOR TO OVERSEE VARIOUS PROJECTS (PV, WIND, BIOMASS) IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS AND REGIONALLY.

A professional landscape company on Providenciales is seeking to recruit a landscape laborer to join our team. The successful candidate must have the following experience and skill set;

CUMULATIVE 25 YEARS WORK EXPERIENCE IN ALL 3 SECTORS A MUST. SALARY CAPPED AT $60K/ANNUM INCLUSIVE OF ACCOMODATION. BELONGERS ONLY NEED APPLY APPLICATIONS TO INFO@TRAIL.TC CLEANERS WANTED MUST BE FLEXIBLE WITH HOURS AND HOLIDAYS STARTING WAGE IS MINIMUM WAGES APPLICATION TO: TRAIL ENTERPRISES LTD. EMAIL: INFO@TRAIL. TC CALL: 649-431-2617.

Min 3 years experience in landscape maintenance Responsible for weeding, pruning, trimming all plants on property Must have good knowledge of gardening techniques and ability to apply pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers properly Responsible for the upkeep and general maintenance of properties Ability to maintain and repair irrigation systems

BIM PROJECT ARCHITECT We are looking for a qualified BIM Project Architect, minimum 5 year’s experience, to spearhead and be responsible for the Revit transition, with a proven background in BIM to assist in the development and deployment of in-house Revit processes, BIM standards adherence and digital team support. You will be working alongside the Development Team’s Architect, Civil, Structural and MEP Engineer providing one to one project trouble shooting and thus strong communication skills are paramount. It will largely be project focused where your core responsibility will be to implement BIM/ Revit for the project, therefore familiarity with family creation, worksets, scheduling and overall competency in Revit are essential, as is experience in the delivery process at a construction detailing level. You will be undertaking audits of BIM models and content creation as well as assisting in development of core documentation such as BEPs and EIRs. A history of solid Revit use in the industry is required as is an in-depth understanding of complex modelling, parametric families and worksets, demonstrating proverbial Revit and AutoCAD excellence is essential. Preferably you will have an architectural background and strong experience with Navisworks and Dynamo.

Salary circa US$60,000 depending upon experience.

Position open to all qualified TCI nationals.

Please submit applications to: Veronica Rigby, The Regent Ltd, P.O. Box 124, Regent House, The Regent Village, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tel: (649) 9465126; Fax (649) 946-5191; Email: ronnie@habgroup.com.

Interested Belongers must also submit copies of their application to the Commissioner of Labour & Work Permit Board Zone 2. Closing date for application is 21st April 2017.

Willingness to perform laborious tasks Self motivated and industrious applicants need only apply Ability to follow directions and accomplish everyday jobs promptly $7.75 per hour Deadline for Submission of application April 14th, 2017 Please submit applications with references and relative experience to: Ms. Edith Cox Suite 200 ‘’Graceway IGA Main Office Complex Leeward Highway or by emailing to maintenancedept@khcapital.com Please Note: Only short- listed applicants will be contacted to attend interviews

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

Report from April 5th Cabinet meeting

His Excellency the Governor, Dr John Freeman, chaired the 10th meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, 5 April 2017, at the Hon. Hilly Ewing Building, Providenciales. All Ministers were present.

At this meeting Cabinet:

· Received an up-date by His Excellency the Governor on the National Health Insurance Board (NHIB) following the Board’s response to the report on the NHIB by the Chief Internal Auditor and agreed that the Hon. Minister of Health would prepare a paper setting out actions to be taken to address the recommendations in the report for consideration at the next meeting of Cabinet. In the light of the report on the NHIB, Cabinet agreed that a review of all the TCI statutory bodies should be carried out at the earliest opportunity and approved as a matter of policy an immediate moratorium in accordance with the Public Finance Management Ordinance on any significant budgetary proposals (such as the payment of increments, whether budgeted for or not) and on any proposals to change existing or create new policies, projects and procedures of a financial nature (whether budgeted for or not) in respect of all TCI statutory bodies in accordance with the Public Finance Management Ordinance whilst a substantive review

is undertaken of the financial and governance structures within all TCI statutory bodies;

· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve a public consultation document about the proposed reinstatement of daylight saving in TCI for a widespread stakeholder consultation exercise on the proposal to be carried out for a period of one month;

· Approved for public release the TCI Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Guidance Notes for the administration in TCI of the global standard on Automatic Exchange of Financial Information in Tax Matters;

· Agreed that a policy should be drawn up as a matter of priority on the issue of duty concessions for imported agricultural equipment;

· Received an information paper prepared by the Premier’s Office on a proposed national strategy on the rehabilitation of offenders and on the introduction of preventative initiatives for youths at risk of involvement in criminal activities;

· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the National Honours and Awards Committee for a period of one year with effect from 5 April 2017: Mr Oliver Mills, Chairman Mr Duke Delancy, Member Mr Samuel Handfield, Member

PROVO GOLF CLUB Provo Golf Club is seeking suitable applicants for the following position: LABOURERS Candidates must be physically capable of performing hard manual labour outside on a daily basis to be able to carry out duties which involve grass cutting, tree trimming, removal of brush and weed, general cleanup of debris and garbage from the company properties. Assist with irrigation and small construction installation projects which includes manual trenching and digging. Previous experience is preferred. Candidates must be willing to work holidays and weekends when required.

Wages starts at $6.50 per hour.

Please submit applications to: Veronica Rigby, Provo Golf Club, P.O. Box 124, Regent House, The Regent Village, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tel: (649) 946-5126; Fax (649) 946-5191; Email: ronnie@ habgroup.com.

Mr Albert Capron, Member Mrs Medline Mills, Member Mr Sonny Forbes, Member Bishop Clarence Williams, Member

· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the National Insurance Board with effect from 5 April 2017: Mr Samuel Swann, Chair (5 years) Mr Ezra Taylor, Member (3 years) Ms Sharon Been, Member (3 years)

· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointment to the Board of the TCI Airports Authority for a period of 3 years with effect from 5 April 2017: Mr Conroy Smith, Member

· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve an amendment to the Casinos (Inspectors) Regulations to clarify that inspectors should monitor and enforce the terms of any conditions applied to licences issued under the Casinos Ordinance;

· Received an up-date from the Minister of Home Affairs about the works and conditions at HM Prison on Grand Turk.

Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.

Turks and Caicos Sun Suite#5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 348-6838 Fax: (649) 941-3281 Email: sun@suntci.com Read us online at www.suntci.com Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden Boyce 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.

PROVO WATER COMPANY LTD. We are currently seeking a qualified Turks & Caicos Islander to fill the position of Pipe Fitter: REQUIREMENTS: o Minimum of 5 years experience in waterworks and piping networks. o Must be available for emergency maintenance calls on evenings and weekends according to rotational schedule.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: • Hot, dusty and wet conditions including open and confined spaces • Active roadways and associated traffic noise levels • Remote locations JOB DESCRIPTION: The Pipe fitter is responsible for installing, repairing and maintaining pipes, fixtures and other plumbing used for water distribution in residential, commercial and industrial connections.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE TO: 1.Fill pipes or plumbing fixtures with water or air and observe pressure gauges to detect and locate leaks.

2.Reads and follows installation plans and establish the sequence of pipe installations.

3.Measure, cut, thread and bend pipe to required angle, using hand and power tools or machine such as pipe cutters, pipe threading machines and pipe bending machine.

4.Use hand or powered tools to excavate trenches and ditches 5.Cut openings in structures to accommodate pipes and pipe fittings, using hand and power tools.

6.Repair and maintain plumbing, replacing defective washers, replacing or mending broken pipes.

7.Attend Emergency callout when necessary.

8.Carry out all other duties as directed by the Supervisor.

Salary Range: US$ 12.00 - $15.00 per hour

Interested Belongers must also submit copies of their application to the Commissioner of Labour & Work Permit Board Zone 2. Position currently held by a work permit holder. Closing date for application is April 24, 2017.

All applications must be submitted April 18th, 2017.

Turks & Caicos Islanders need only apply.

Office Manager PROVO WATER COMPANY LTD. P.O. Box 39, Grace Bay Road Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Fax: (649) 941-8310 Email: K.Clarke@provowater.tc

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

Deputy Premier Sean Astwood visits Cayman Islands to explore immigration system

In an effort to familiarize himself with issues, trends and new initiatives in territories similar to our own, Deputy Premier and Minister of Border Control and Employment, Hon. Sean R. Astwood made a recent visit to the Cayman Islands.

During the visit Hon. Astwood had the pleasure of engaging Her Excellency Helen Kilpatrick CBE, Premier and Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Alden McLaughlin MBE JP, and Deputy Governor His Excellency Hon. Franz Manderson who, along with TCI’s Deputy Governor Hon. Anya Williams, played an instrumental role in facilitating the mission.

The two day itinerary provided opportunities for in depth and fact finding discussions with the Chief Office (Acting) for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr. Michael Nixon, Chief Immigration Officer (Acting), Mr. Bruce Smith and his team, as well as Inspector and Commander of the Joint Marine Unit Mr. Leo Anglin.

Topics deliberated included, but were not limited to, immigration policy initiatives and the role of Immigration in the Caymanian society, operation of work permit boards and processing of work permits, border control enforcement and intelligence,

passports, regional agreements, responding to customer service demands and the Cayman Island’s endeavours to incorporate the use of technology more, into the work of the Immigration Department.

Reflecting on the visit, Astwood said; “The opportunity to learn about similar immigration systems and to exchange ideas with fellow colleagues was very beneficial and enlightening.

The kinship between our two countries was very evident throughout our discourse and it was evident that not only did we have an opportunity to learn from them, but our Caymanian counterparts also benefited by learning of some of the things that we do well here in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

He added: “It is my hope that these types of exchanges occur more regularly, even at operational level given that they provide a unique opportunity for cross fertilization of ideas and the establishment of working relationships that have the potential to yield rewards long after the face to face meetings have taken place.”

In addition to meetings, site visits were made to the Joint Marine Unit, which included a boat ride on one of several vessels in the Unit’s fleet, as well as unscheduled visit to Health

Cayman Islands Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin (left) Deputy Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands Hon. Sean Astwood (centre) and Mrs. Clara Gardiner, Permanent Secretary City where a number of Turks and Caicos Islanders have been referred for medical treatment.

The Deputy Premier’s delegation included former Permanent

Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Clara Gardiner OBE and Head of Secretariat, Ms. Cynara John. The team returned to the Islands on Sunday, March 26, 2017.

Personal Insurance COMMERCIAL BANKING MANAGER Job Grade: A84 Annual Salary: $79,650 – $134,400 The Commercial Banking Manager manages the Bank’s Commercial Department to achieve profitable growth at acceptable risk in loans, deposits, and other commercial services. The incumbent also provides service to customers who meet the Bank’s Scotia Service and Complaint Resolution Standards.

Key Accountabilities 

Manages the Bank’s conventional credit portfolio at an acceptable level of risk while adhering to Bank’s policies and procedures;



Manages growth of the Bank’s Commercial business and contributes to the overall profitability;



Direct the effective management of customer relationships and provide high quality customer service;



Contribute to the Bank’s productivity and service;



Effectively supervise and develop subordinate staff to fill the needs of the Department and long term requirements of the Bank;



Execute the Department Compliance responsibilities as reflected in the Branch Services and Procedures Manual.

            

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Requirements 

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Excellent knowledge of Commercial Banking Products and services, including working knowledge of the systems, routines and operating procedures; Excellent credit skills and sound judgement, as demonstrated through his/her previous track record and experience; Excellent risk assessment and analytical skills; Excellent accounting and financial analysis skills; Knowledge of completion and registration/renewal policies and procedures for security documents, and of procedures and standards for correspondence and credit returns; Excellent coaching skills and knowledge of training resources made available by the Bank for use by self and subordinates; Superior industry knowledge with areas of specialization where required; Superior communication skills (oral and written); Good understanding of commercial management systems; Knowledge and understanding of the commercial and retail products used or of potential use to commercial customers and prospects; Sales Management skills; Ability to develop and maintain mutually beneficial banking relationship with clients; Leadership and supervisory skills; Graduate Degree and/or work equivalency.

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Ask for a quote!

Call 331-3195 or 941-3195 or visit cgigroup.com

Scotiabank offers a highly competitive compensation and benefits package with tremendous opportunities for personal and professional growth to the successful candidate.

Please submit applications no later than April 21, 2017 to: Joranda Lightbourne – Human Resources Department Scotiabank (Turks & Caicos) Ltd. P.O. Box 15, Cherokee Road Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands

COLONIAL INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED. Suite 3D-A, Courtyard Plaza, Leeward Highway, Providenciales Tel. (649) 941 3195 www.cgigroup.com A member of Colonial Group International Ltd. insurance, health, pensions, life

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APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

The PDM’s Ball and Chain Dear Editors,

In times gone by, it was not uncommon to restrain the movements of a jailhouse prisoner by attaching an 18” eighty-five pound steel ball and a 24” length of steel chain to his ankle. The ball and chain significantly reduced the prisoner’s mobility and ensured that wherever he went, he went there slowly, too slow to make any practical progress at getting away. In addition, the ball & chain served to identify the individual as a prisoner in the event of an escape.

In the TCI the prisoners have been developers and investors, the steel chain has been the former PNP Government and the steel ball has been and continues to be the Attorney General’s Office.

The PNP Government and the Attorney General’s Office working in conjunction as ball and chain during the 4 year PNP administration, effectively “restrained the movements” of investors and developers and prevented them (the prisoners) from making any “practical progress”. If you question this statement pounder these facts; In December of 2012 a story appeared in a local TCI newspaper stating; “Development revived on West Caicos”. Governor Todd, commenting on the development, said, “I am glad that the government and the various parties involved in this transaction have reached a deal that will enable this project to re-start. The re-start of the development is a further vote of confidence in TCI and in the current investment policy of the TCIG.” Subject to this review, the developer

looks to start work in 2013 with a view to opening the hotel as soon as possible.

That was December 2012. This is April of 2017, where is that development?

A July of 2014 story in the Caribbean Journal posted the story “A $100 million hotel project is coming to the Turks and Caicos Islands”. The development agreement for the “Third Turtle Resort and Marina,” which would be located in Turtle Cove in Providenciales, was signed at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. That was July 2014. This is April of 2017, where is that development?

In April of 2015 Premier Rufus Ewing announced an agreement with Desarrollos Hotel Group to build a 124 room hotel, resort, casino and spa in the Grace Bay area and the Ritz Carlton Hotels Co. LLC would manage that property. That was April 2015. This is April of 2017, where is that development? Have they broken ground? No?...have they said when they are breaking ground?

And these 3 examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

Ask Chad Archibald about his conflicts with the Government and Attorneys General’s Office and the project he is trying to develop on Grand Turk.

Ask the developers of Sail Rock on South Caicos about their conflicts with the Government and Attorney General’s Office and the project they are developing on South Caicos.

Ask the operators of the Caicos Conch Farm on Providenciales about their 5 years of conflicts with the

INSTALLER Under the direction of the Managing Director, Perimeter Protection the Installer assists in the installation of protective shutters, impact windows & doors, screens, laminates and other perimeter products. This is not an entry level position. Specifications of the role include: General duties and responsibilities: 1.Installing and testing a variety of protective products 2.Delivery of products to sites 3.Cleaning and proper care of tools 4.Troubleshooting problems 5.Executing routine inspections and maintenance on perimeter protection products 6.Complying with all rules and regulations of The Security Centre Ltd. as well as those of the clients; and executing duties in accordance with the Company’s Rules & Regulations 7.Performing other duties as assigned by the Management Team.

Qualifications / Experience: 1.Minimum 5 years’ experience in basic carpentry preferably in the installation of windows and doors 2.High school leaving certificate 3.Ability to work on own initiative 4.Proficiency in use a variety of manual and power tools 5.Ability to read blue prints 6.Clean driver’s license Requirements: Applicants must exhibit a clean, tidy and neat appearance at all times. Must be professional, pleasant and courteous, as well as selfdisciplined and mature. Travel to the Sister Islands may be necessary.

A clean police record and drivers license is required.

The successful applicant will receive health insurance, pension, two weeks’ paid vacation and uniform /equipment.

Salary range is KYD10.00 to KYD12.00 per hour commensurate with experience and abilities.

Caymanians, Cayman Status holders or residents with a right to work legally should submit a detailed resume to employment@security.ky.

Closing date: 7th April 2017 All applicants treated in strictest confidence

Attorneys General’s Office and the fish farming project they have been prevented from developing on Provo.

There are far too many readily recognizable examples of the TCI Attorney General’s Office and PNP Government failing to act in good faith toward investors and developers to be ignored by new prospective investors and developers.

These negative incidents, and many others that might be described as Government bad-faith, are now attached to the PDM as the new Government via the Attorneys General’s Office, just as securely as an 18” eighty-five pound steel ball and a 24” length of steel chain. And it’s too big and heavy for new investors and developers to miss.

And you should not expect prospective investors and developers to distinguish between a PNP and PDM Government. Outsiders will presume that the Government in our country is like the Government in their own country; no matter which party is in power status quo usually prevails. Unfortunately in the TCI, maintaining status quo will risk discouraging and deterring new prospective investors and developers and continue having negative financial consequences for a significant number of existing investors and developers that are very likely to respond with unnecessary and costly litigation that is likely to be paid for by the TCI taxpayer (you & me).

The TCI Attorney General’s Office routine practice of allowing second-rate London law firms to siphon away millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars of our hardearned TCI taxpayer dollars for legal fees in ridiculous lawsuits rather than negotiating, compromising and resolving

conflict issues is down-right irresponsible and stupid.

If the PDM intends to follow the PNP and allow the Attorney General’s Office to continue the negative and unproductive practice of creating adversarial relationships that deter investors and chase developers away, the PDM should expect to see the same amount of new development occur in the next four years that occurred in the last four years….none. Lots of tire kickers, but few buyers if any.

Allowing the Attorney General’s Office to continue to practice a “scorched earth policy” against investors and developers will cause the PDM to spend their entire four year term dragging around a steel ball and chain while putting out fires and trying to explain the lack of new investment in the TCI, rather than creating jobs and improving the quality of life for Turks & Caicos Islanders.

The new PDM Government would be well advised to adopt a strategy of reconciliation, negotiation, compromise, support and team work with investors and developers in lieu of the Attorneys General and former PNP Government’s combative style of litigation, arbitration, obstruction and defiance. That PNP strategy deterred and discouraged new investors and developers over the past four years while burdening our fragile economy with excessive fee notes from lawyers.

The PDM now have the opportunity to lead or follow. The choice is theirs.

Yours sicnerely Edith Delancy

WATERLOO HOTEL MANAGEMENT LTD

Alexandra Resort, Blue Haven Resort & Marina and the Beach House

The Turks and Caicos Collection is looking for a hospitality expert who can advise the CFO on all Financial matters of the group.

GROUP FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Reporting to the CFO, the Group Financial Controller will require extensive experience in hospitality Finance, in both branded and non-branded properties and in diverse locations.

•Must have 5 or more years’ experience managing the finance functions in hospitality operations, for different target groups with a strong background in the allinclusive offerings; •Extensive accounting experience with a thorough knowledge of preparing month end journals, the closing process, preparation of budgets, forecasts and cash flows; •Maintenance of financial ledgers and accounting processes, preparation of monthly P&L and balance sheet, ensuring that appropriate systems and internal controls are implemented and maintained; •CPA Certification (CA, CGA or CMA); •and the must have the ability to work in USA. Interested persons may contact our Corporate HR department by submitting your resume with qualifications and experience to: cgibbons@wihl.com Please also submit a copy of your completed application to our local labor department.

Closing date April 21st, 2017

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

TCI’s New Beginnings Kingdom Ministries networks with Kingdom Truth University of Florida

New Beginnings Kingdom Beginnings Kingdom Ministries, Int’l Ministries, International, is a – School of Ministries has been fully licensed religious organization in functioning, training and teaching in the Turks and Caicos Islands, whose various areas in Christian Education founder and CEO is Apostle Dr. Ruth to help assist and enhance the Ariza. spiritual growth and development of

As a licensed ministry, its the Body of Christ.

Memorandum & Articles consist of We are now proud to more than just religious gatherings; announce our recent networking with it also consist of many other KINGDOM TRUTH UNIVERSITY societal entities such as educational of Jacksonville Florida, an institutions, rehabilitation centers, ACCREDITED INSTITUTION. centers for the youth and elderly, just On Friday, March 17th, an to name a few. official launching ceremony was

For the past seven years, New held at New Beginnings Kingdom

Ministries, Int’l – House of Bethel, Grand Turk, to affirm the networking of both Institutions.

The President of Kindom Truth University, Dr. Cyclyn Mobley, was in attendance, along with the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Clotilda Charles.

During the ceremony, Dr. Ruth Ariza was officially instated as the PROVOST of Kingdom Truth University Turks and Caicos Campus.

We are also proud and excited to announce that 18 students from

Turks and Caicos Islands, our first set of students, will be graduating with AN ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE in BIBLICAL STUDIES in Jacksonville Florida. Baccalureate Service will be on, Friday , May 19th and Kingdom Truth University Graduation Exercise, will be on Satuday, May 20th, 2017.

As an established and fast growing institution, we invite you to enroll and be a part of this most honourable institution. For more information, please email us on Email Address: ktulife.org

Page 14

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

Enid Capron Primary School students tour airport fire station

Terminal and Fire Station Tours are always a delight at Providenciales International Airport.

This week the Turks & Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) had the opportunity of hosting two groups of students from the Five Cays based, Enid Capron Primary School.

Kindergarten classes of 33 students and the second group of 29 students toured the airport with a main focus on the airport based

Fire Department. Fire Station tours provide the unique opportunity to meet firefighters and learn about what they do in case of an emergency. The firemen were proud to demonstrate their drills and even suit up in full fire gear for the students to see their equipment in action.

Class tours were led by teachers Evelyn Joazil and Jasmin Malcolm. Each tour was accompanied by three volunteer parents and three TCIAA representatives to manage the

groups of preschoolers. All persons roll” in order to keep themselves had the wonderful opportunity of and their family safe by shouting watching the firemen spray the “Fire” and running away from danger. water hose and even tour the fire These basic tips go a long way in trucks. While at the fire Station each keeping the community on a whole group looked on in amazement as the safe.

Fire crews are always on aircrafts took off and landed on the airside. high alert at the airport and are

These tours are available to ready to respond to an incident even schools or even community groups during tours, however it is always on a prearranged and pre-approved important for us to give back to our basis. It is important for children to community and make time for little lean of the basics of “stop, drop and minds whenever possible.

ECPS PRESCHOOLERS group shot

ECPS Fire tips

ECPS PRESCHOOLERS group shot

ECPS learn fire gear

ECPS receive Firefighter booklets

ECPS Students meet JetBlue Captain

ECPS Students watching fire drills

ECPS Volunteer driver

ECPS students touring Fire Truck

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 15

TCI Turks & Caicos Islands

A forum to promote understanding of the global economy, and the challenges and opportunities for businesses in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Date

Who Should Attend

• Thursday, April 27, 2017

Time

• 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Venue

• The Shore Club

This conference will provide insights for key stakeholders in all sectors of the economy including: • • • • • • •

Government Private sector Investors Educators NGOs Community leaders Citizens and residents of the TCI

Learn more at: www.tcibusinessoutlook.com

Founding Sponsor: Co-sponsored by:

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

Melasma

By Dr. Marsha Barnett

During the reproductive years, many women develop dark brown patches on the face most commonly on the cheeks, nose, chin and forehead.

This is usually a chronic skin condition that tends to wax and wane but in the majority of cases, does not completely resolve. It is called melasma. Men can be affected as well, but 90% of cases are seen in women, and because it is on the face, most times females find the condition aesthetically unacceptable.

What Causes Melasma?

Like most things, genetics plays a role in predicting who will get melasma. Persons with darker skin types such as people of African, Asian and Indian descent are more likely to be affected than Caucasians. If other family members have melasma, you are also more likely to develop this condition as you get older.

The exact mechanism by which melasma develops is not entirely clear. It occurs when the color or pigment-making cells in the skin (melanocytes) produce too much color. Persons with skin of color are more susceptible as our melanocytes are already very active but also very easily stimulated. The most common melasma trigger is sun exposure. In

Dr. Marsha Barnett fact, just a small amount of sun exposure can make melasma return after fading and that is why melasma is often worse in the summer. A change in hormonal levels such as during pregnancy or whilst taking oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy can also trigger melasma. For some women, it resolves after pregnancy or after stopping the hormones but for many, it persists even after the trigger has been removed.

How’s It Treated?

Melasma can be treated with a variety of creams, some of which can be purchased over the counter and a few that require prescriptions. Many times, dermatologists use creams and serums that contain acids such as kojic and glycolic acid to help lighten and smooth the dark areas.

Vitamin C applied to the skin in the form of creams or serums and even in combination with these acids can help improve the pigmentation in the area.

A number of prescription creams can be given by a doctor and may be used alone or in combination to improve your results. However, some of these creams should not be used over long periods of time and may have unintended side effects if used inappropriately. As such, you must check with your doctor at Melasma intervals when using them.

As an adjunct to your creams, with sunscreen and other creams yield a dermatologist may be able to offer best results. in-office treatments such as chemical peels and microdermabrasion.

Maintaining Your Results

Chemical peeling uses the application of acids to the skin to lift or Melasma can be stubborn, taking peel the outer layers of the skin, with a few months of treatment to see subsequent improvement in skin tone improvement. After your melasma and texture. The skin usually appears clears, you may need to keep treating smoother, more evenly toned and your skin. You can also help prevent more youthful following a peel. Many your melasma from returning by types and strengths of chemical peels wearing sunscreen consistently and are available for different skin types. avoiding the sun whenever possible.

The type of peel should be tailored for The best thing to use is a sunscreen each individual and selected by your with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) physician. of 30 or more, and zinc oxide and/or

Microdermabrasion can also titanium dioxide to physically limit the be used to help improve melasma. effects of the sun’s rays on your skin.

Microdermabrasion utilizes vacuum Apply sunscreen 15 minutes before suction and an abrasive material going outside and when doing outdoor to exfoliate the top layers of the activities, its best to reapply every two skin. Minimal to no recovery time is hours. needed after microdermabrasion and the procedure can be paired with a *Dr. Marsha Barnett is a general chemical peel to improve the results practitioner who also specializes garnered from either by itself. However in dermatology. dramatic results are not generally seen For questions or comments, please or expected after one or two treatments. contact at drmarshabarnett@ Multiple treatments in combination gmail.com

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 17

LOCAL NEWS

Caicos Express expands to the Dominican Republic

The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) along with aviation partner Caicos Express is pleased to announce the addition of the Dominican Republic to their growing airline schedule as of Friday, April 7th, 2017.

As part of Caicos Express’s commitment to expanding routes, the airline will be adding flights to Santiago and Santo Domingo of the Dominican Republic. The flights to Santo Domingo will be available on Mondays and Fridays with the inaugural flight departing Friday, April 7th ,2017.

Flights to Santaigo will depart Providenciales on Thursdays and Saturdays commencing Saturday, April 8th 2017.

These biweekly flights will be an easy flight

on 50 minutes to Santiago and 1hour and 10 minutes to Santo Domingo on a Beechcraft 1900 airplane.

Operations Manager, Stephane Menelas stated, “We are a very proud of what we have built and accomplished over the years. I think that we have passion for aviation and also the ability to listen to the consumer to give them what they demand.

This has lead us to follow the market and commit to offering excellent service to the people that support us and we thank them so much for their loyalty.”

Caicos Express has been growing rapidly, as they initially offered only domestic service within the Turks and Caicos Islands. This Airline currently offers flights to Haiti and now after carefully studying the market, they have expanded

Caicos Express into the Dominican Republic. This will offer more connectivity and competition to the route for the benefit of passengers. A number of flights are also available by charter request to several Caribbean destinations, such as Cuba.

Growing steadily upwards is one of the goals of Caicos Express as they offer safe and flexible carriage. Flights are currently available for sale as persons can book online at www.caicosexpress.com or call their reservations desk at 649-941-5730.

25th annual kite flying competition set for Easter weekend

Bring your kite out for some fun and friendly competition on the beach this Easter weekend as the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board presents the 25th Annual Kite Flying Competition.

The much anticipated event will span the holiday weekend, with competitions held on Saturday, April 15th at Governor’s Beach in Grand Turk and at the Iris Stubbs Primary School in South Caicos, then on April 17th (Easter Monday) the festivities will continue at The Bight Park in Providenciales and at the Horse Stable Beach in North Caicos.

The annual kite flying competition has become a signature community and family event during the Easter holiday weekend

“The Tourist Board looks forward to another year of friendly community competition, goodwill and community spirit that the Annual Kite Flying Competition has created over the years,” says Oehleo Higgs, Senior Public Relations Officer.

“We encourage our residents and visitors of the various communities, as well as corporate and civic groups, to come out and enjoy a good day of family fun.”

The Annual Kite Flying

SOKOL LTD. A Private Villa (1) Housekeeper

Job Summary: To ensure standards of cleanliness, hygiene and tidiness are maintained throughout the villas. Must be able to evaluate and ensure guest satisfaction and report and solve any guest problems immediately. Setting and maintaining standards of service commensurate with the standing of the villas. Managing a stock control and ordering system to ensure availability of stock and cost control to maintain costs to a minimum.

Qualifications 5 years minimum Housekeeper and customer service experience required Strong organizational skills required The ability to lift heavy objects and stand for long periods of time Great customer service skills Applicant must meet all the requirements, additional skills a bonus. Salary commensurate with experience Send resume to info@saunders.tc

Competition continues to display the traditional art of kite making and kite flying--a pastime for many local children and a treat for visitors to the destination. Now in its 25th year, the signature event is expected to be most exciting. With the valued support from corporate sponsors, this year’s event will include the annual Easter Egg Hunt, face painting, and giveaways, as well as lots of food and drinks on sale by local non-profit organizations.

Kites entering the annual competition must be handmade and registered with the judges prior to taking flight. Kites in all classes

must fly for at least 5 minutes. Kites flown in last year’s competitions will be disqualified from entry. Prizes and trophies will be given for The Smallest Kite, The Largest Kite, Best Company Kite, Best Traditional Kite and the Best Overall Kite.

Children and adults are welcome to fly non-competition kites throughout the day and beyond the competition period.

For more information regarding the 25th Annual Kite Flying Competition, contact the Tourist Board office in Providenciales at (649) 946-4970 or in Grand Turk at (649) 946 2321.

Premier Contracting Services is seeking suitably qualified applicants to fill the following positions: Electric Lift Truck Maintenance Engineer As the Lift truck Maintenance Engineer you will be responsible to provide proactive support to all battery/hydraulic operated lift trucks and cleaning machines. You will be required to ensure all systems are functioning and repair as necessary. Complete planned and reactive maintenance to ensure safety and reliability of equipment 24/7. Provide detailed reports for all works completed and ongoing to operations manager. Excellent communication skills are a requirement. Those with vocational college electrician’s diploma will only be considered.

Experience in the following areas is required for this position; •Diagnose malfunctioning systems, apparatus, and components of all battery operated equipment, using test equipment and hand tools, to locate the cause of a breakdown and correct the problem.

• Inspect all electrical systems and hydraulic and mechanical components to identify hazards, defects, and the need for adjustment or repair.

•Advise management on whether continued operation of equipment could be hazardous.

•Test electrical systems and continuity of circuits in electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures, using testing devices to ensure compatibility, reliability, efficiency and safety of system.

•Working knowledge of complex battery powered electrical systems and electronic controls with ability to diagnose and resolve issues.

•Repair and maintain multiple hydraulic and mechanical components.

•Experience with welding and fabrication a must •Working knowledge of electronic lpg kitchen equipment.

•Ensure inventory of parts is kept up to date.

Salary $18,000 US to $23,000 US per annum dependant on experience. Staff accommodation option is available. If staff accommodation is not accepted no compensation will be provided.

A bonus of up to 10% is achievable dependant on manager’s review Deadline for Submission of application April 14th, 2017 Please submit applications with references and relative experience to: Ms. Edith Cox Suite 200 ‘’Graceway IGA Main Office Complex Leeward Highway or by emailing to maintenancedept@ khcapital.com

Please Note: Only short- listed applicants will be contacted to attend interviews

Page 18

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

TCI Drug Prevention Foundation annual Masquerade Ball set for May 5th

By Todeline Defralien

Turks and Caicos Drug Prevention Foundation will be hosting its annual Masquerade Ball on Friday May 5th, 2017 at The Courtyard at The Shore Club, Long Bay.

The aim of this event is to raise money to build a Half Way House for recovering addicts.

The Turks and Caicos Drug Prevention Foundation works along with the Turks and Caicos Government on trying to provide some assistance for them.

Dierin Longmire, President of the Turks and Caicos Drug Prevention Foundation, said they host this event every year to raise funds to start helping those individuals who are suffering from alcohol, drug addiction and the ones that are constantly going in and out of jail.

She added: “We’re hoping that we can raise some good funds here, we have a lot of silent auctions because it’s really important that we start moving on this Half Way House. We’ve started construction and the foundation has been dodged and we will start pouring this week so I am really happy that things are moving. We really need to

get a hold of some funding because we’re still $300.000 short from getting this house completed.”

Longmire whose been working with the Drug Unit since 1995 stated that every year the event gains more and more support from the TCI community and they are very grateful for the support from everyone.

“We have a live band, raffles, mask will be provided for individuals, entertainment by Prime DJs, Harbor Heights and host of the event is O’Brien Forbes, there’s going to be very limiting speaking, we want everyone to come out and enjoy the buffet and we’re offering two free drink tickets and we just want everyone to have a really great time,” she said.

Longmire stressed they are hoping to raise exactly $300,000 more from this year’s event and she thinks that once this house starts going up she hopes that those who are well off will take a look and donate some larger funds.

Meantime she added: “Work started on the Half Way house three weeks ago, the materials are coming in and the constructions are going on but we can only go to certain points and we’re hoping that e get on the roof

Dierin Longmire President of the Turks and Caicos Drug Prevention Foundation with the funds that we have. I don’t know exactly when the whole project will complete because that will all depend on the funding.”

Longmire pleads to the

community to come out and support this great initiative. Tickets are up for sale and interested persons can contact Dierin Longmire on telephone number 246-2526 for tickets.

Professional Maintenance Company seeking the following skilled technician Maintenance technician Maintain the day-to-day operations and to assume responsibility for maintaining the physical assets of the properties under the direction of Premier Contracting Services Ltd. Duties, Experience and Skill set required •Five (5) years experience in industrial refrigeration for commercial cold storage as well as commercial air conditioning systems. Must hold technical certificates for both.

•Ability to supervise and coordinate several maintenance technicians while completing numerous simultaneous jobs •Fluent in Microsoft excel, word and office •Technical knowledge in plumbing, electrical and mechanical works, certificates required.

•Installation of new equipment including refrigeration compressors, evaporators and condensers, ability to repair all large commercial cold storage •Supervision and development of daily routines of refrigeration maintenance staff.

•Development and production of maintenance budgets, including parts and equipment orders.

•Development and implementation of preventative maintenance schedules •Ability to complete tasks swiftly, good problem solving skills is a must.

•Experience in the commercial cold storage / maintenance industry preferred.

•Installing and repairing components such as Copeland discuss compressors, motors, condenser units, evaporators, switches and copper lines for 404A gas, refrigerant oil •Daily monitoring, checking and overhauling commercial cold storage refrigeration systems, diagnosing faults and repairing/replacing defective components •Experience with Danfoss refrigeration computerized controls •Required to be on call 24 hours, must be able to work nights, weekends and holidays.

Deadline for Submission of application April 14th, 2017 Please submit applications with references and relative experience to: Ms. Edith Cox Suite 200 ‘’Graceway IGA Main Office Complex Leeward Highway or by emailing to maintenancedept@khcapital.com Please Note: Only short- listed applicants will be contacted to attend interviews

Sailrock Contracting Limited – General Superintendent •General Management and Supervision of Superintendent team, Skilled Trades, and Operators and coordination with Project Management and Ownership Responsibilities: •Organize, coordinate, and oversee superintendent team and skilled trades in achieving construction objectives •Read drawings, perform layout, and plan work on project site •Prepare and submit requisitions and contracts for procurement and approval •Develop four week look ahead schedule and monitor progress •Deliver consistent, high-quality construction work product, and comply with industry and local standards •Coordinate with Construction Manager on all scheduling, skilled trade, and materials management •Manage tool and material inventory as required and assess needs •Adhere to safety policies and procedures •Be available on or off hours as needed for field management and issues •Assess current and future facility needs in conjunction with Ownership and Management Qualifications: •Ten plus years of site superintendent work and management of construction project Salary Range: •$70,000 - $80,000 yearly Please submit applications to Prasan Kale: •Drop off: W104 Venture House, Grace Bay, Providenciales •Fax: (312) 376-2056 •Email: PKale@cmkdev.com Interested Turks and Caicos Islands must also submit copies of their application to the TCI Work Permit Board.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 19

LOCAL NEWS

Turks and Caicos Islands welcomes Governor General’s Cup Caribbean Air Rally 2017

A fleet of vintage aircrafts will converge at the JAGS McCartney International Airport on April 3, 2017 as aviation enthusiasts from around the globe visit the destination for the launch of the eighth edition of the Governor General’s Cup Caribbean Air Rally.

The Governor General’s Cup Caribbean 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 in the region. The purpose of the Air Rally is to promote the beauty, safety and the advantages of flying in the Caribbean, and through their coverage via various media outlets highlight

the region as an ideal destination for General Aviation. The International Air Rally also provides training to junior pilots through their Mentoring Program, sponsored by Bombardier.

The Governor’s Office will host an evening cocktail for the pilots and the Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture will host a welcome reception at the Bohio Resort where the Caribbean Air Rally will have its official start declared on Monday, April 3rd. The crew will enjoy a full day’s tour to some of the historical sites and touristic attractions on Grand Turk before departing to the island of Anguilla on Wednesday, April 5th.

Minister of Tourism, Hon.

The Caribbean Air Rally pairs the art of aviation with the beauty of the Caribbean destinations

MANAGER OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY Plan, direct and oversees the activities of the Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Management programmes at FortisTCI; to create a safe working environment focusing on reducing loss and liability towards its human resources and the environment.

Main Duties  Provide strategic leadership and direction of the department by administering environment, health and safety initiatives and policies.  Assure the continued improvement in implementing EHS programmes while maintaining compliance with all corporate and statutory regulations.  Chair and provide staff support to assigned internal committees that help develop the EHS mission, policies and goals/ objectives.  Oversee the department’s daily operations, work plan; review and evaluate work methods and procedures; meet with staff to identify and resolve problems.  Responsible for seeking vendors EHS supplies and authorizing procurement.  Examine the company’s sick loss reports through Human Resources Department to ensure loss are not due to non-compliance.  Monitor relevant international associations, attend and participate in related professional meetings, and workshops keeping abreast of new trends and innovations in the field of Environmental, Health and Safety services.  Develop an effective crisis management communication plan with readiness and response capabilities consistent with company disaster manual.  Prepare and submit EHS related monthly and quarterly reports to the Director EHS.  In the event of incidents, conduct thorough investigations and timely reporting to management.  Conduct periodic Safety Audits and Inspections to ensure compliance with EHS related regulations, industry best practices and corporate policies and procedures.  Implement control measures to minimize Safety and Occupational Health hazards and Environmental risks.  Establish policies, procedures, programmes and activities geared towards attaining ISO 18001 and 14001 compliance by March 31,

A fleet of vintage aircraft converged on the runway during the Caribbean Air Rally Ralph L. Higgs commented “The Turks and Caicos is in a unique position that allows us to celebrate the culture and love of aviation with the unparalleled beauty of our islands and our people.

We are pleased to be a part of such an esteemed aviation event and look forward to hosting the upcoming Caribbean Air Rally.”

The Governor General’s Cup Caribbean Air Rally will visit the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent & The Grenadines, St. Eustatius, and St. Croix before returning to the Turks and Caicos Islands on April 14th for the grand finale and award ceremony in Providenciales. The Caribbean Air Rally will receive international broadcast on television in North

America.

To date, over 500 pilots and aviation enthusiasts have travelled across Canada, the USA, the Caribbean and Latin America in what is usually 13 days of adventure.

The Caribbean Air Rally is presented

by Aviation Connection, a non-profit organization and official trustee of the Canadian Governor General’s Cup, and made possible by the support of participating Caribbean island’s Tourist Board Offices and Airport Operations.

For more information about this event, or to see media highlights from last year, kindly visit: www. airrally.com.

2018; ensure proper training, roll-out and valuation is conducted.  Ensure that proper documentation of incidents; establish proper record keeping and maintenance of EHS files.  Promote EHS awareness through the Company’s newsletters, website and other modes of communication.  Ensure consultants and contractors comply with the Company’s policies and procedures on EHS.  Any other duties assigned by the Director EHS and Senior Vice President of Operations from time to time. Overall point person for identified ISO Certification program; Minimum Requirements:  4 yrs. BSc and Master’s degree in the field of engineering, safety or environmental or a related science; or  Five or more years’ experience in safety or environmental areas with certification; and,  Experience in the management of ISO 14001 and/or ISO 18001 systems and programs.  Computer literate, including Microsoft Office Suite program.  Current and valid Turks & Caicos driver’s license  Manage and direct a diverse and comprehensive environmental service program  Plan, organize, direct and coordinate the work of staff.  Delegate authority and responsibility.  Analyze and assess programs, policies and operational needs and make appropriate changes. Applies practical and technical knowledge to complex issues and solves problems.  Ability to effectively communicate with management and staff to coordinate, implement, and maintain safety, training and environmental programs and procedures.  Ability to interpret technical standards and legal requirements for safety, training and environmental matters to ensure company compliance at all times.  Ability to meet strict deadlines without compromising quality.

Compensation is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Deadline for submission of applications (inclusive of a cover letter, resume and a FortisTCI application form) is Tuesday April 11, 2017 to: Mr. Avi Adams Manager, Human Resources FortisTCI Limited P. O. Box 132, Providenciales Email address: hrapplications@fortistci.com and aadams@fortistci.com

Page 20

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

cases and provide technical evidence.  Assist with informational presentations for both internal and external customers on power diversion.  Any other duties as may be assigned.

SENIOR REVENUE PROTECTION INVESTIGATION OFFICER Description This position has responsibility for investigating and reporting cases involving power diversion and billing fraud and is required to receive and respond to intelligence regarding fraud and suspected power diversion. The Senior Revenue Protection Investigating Officer is also responsible for regularly examining meters to determine whether or not evidence of tampering exists and is responsible for examining electrical wiring connecting meters to building circuits and external power lines with a view to ensuring compliance with industry safety standards and detecting incidents of fraud and power diversion.

Main Duties  Prepare power theft reports and analysis as requested.  Work closely with the Transmission & Distribution Team to ensure that confirmed cases of power diversion is disconnected from the service line.  Work closely with the Administrative staff to investigate accounts with suspicious decreases in consumption.  Work closely with the Royal TCI Police Force during the investigation and prosecution of power diversion.  Assist with conducting meter audits throughout all service territories.  Recommend service connection upgrades where the service is susceptible to power diversion or inaccurate billing.  Recommend and participate in efforts to reduce non-technical losses.  Seek various means of gathering evidence in order to build case files.  Collect and preserve evidence including statements, photos and test results which may be used in court.  Effectively represent the Company in Court in power theft related

Academic/Technical/Management: Experience and Qualifications:  Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering or Engineering Technology.  Working knowledge of metering systems.  At least 6 years’ experience in utility services or related field.  A minimum of 3 years investigative experience.

Core Competency Skills:  High level of direct customer contact requiring excellent written and oral communication skills.  Must possess high ethical standards.  Police Record should be in good standing.  Knowledge of country laws and company policies and procedures applicable to illegal use of electricity.  Knowledge of safety practices and procedures.  Familiar with GPS and Mapping systems.  Goal-oriented and self-motivated to apply needed initiative.  Ability to work under pressure and in environments that may be adverse.  Ability to speak multiple languages would be an asset.  Valid Driver’s License is required.  Proficient in Microsoft Word & Excel.

Compensation is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Deadline for submission of applications (inclusive of a cover letter, resume and a FortisTCI application form) is Tuesday April 11, 2017 to: Mr. Avi Adams Manager, Human Resources FortisTCI Limited P. O. Box 132, Providenciales Email address: hrapplications@fortistci.com and aadams@fortistci.com

requested work from initial contact to completion of as-built information in the mapping system.  Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Senior VP of Operations.

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF ELECTRICAL PLANNING & ENGINEERING & ENERGY DELIVERY Description  To provide leadership of the T&D Design Section in the safe and efficient design of the transmission and distribution system to meet current and future customer needs.  To provide leadership in strategic planning of substation requirements, construction, operation, and maintenance  To provide leadership of the Line and Technical Sections of the company in the safe efficient construction, operation and maintenance of the transmission/ distribution systems in order to achieve a safe and reliable supply of electricity to customers.  To provide leadership of distributed generation in the safe efficient construction, operation, and maintenance  To understand the corporate vision, successfully gain support for and implement that vision.

Main Duties  Responsible for supporting the enterprise in all areas of electrical engineering and design.  Responsible to supervise and lead the T & D Design and engineering; substation development, project management, commissioning, and maintenance; and North & Middle Caicos Operations.  Responsible for developing and maintaining T&D system computer based technical modeling  Responsible for planning, scheduling and implementing of resources for T&D projects.  Responsible for the timely and cost-effective completion of line work to achieve a safe, reliable and sufficient supply of electricity for customers.  Responsible for overseeing the distribution standard and substation committee.  Responsible for distributed generation  Responsible for proving direction and leadership to the Electrical units of The Company.  Responsible for determining the need for new equipment, tools, and materials.  Responsible to assist in annual budget preparation and ensure that spending is justified and within budget  Responsible for troubleshooting the electrical system for power restoration and improved reliability.  Responsible to ensure that the electrical system mapping database is maintained  Responsible for development of policies and processes that track customer

Academic/Technical/Management: Experience and Qualifications:  A Degree in Electrical Engineering and 7-10 years post-graduate experience in an electric utility environment  Hold an MBA degree  Minimum 10 year experience in senior management positions within the utility industry.  Excellent written and oral communications skills.  Excellent team player with proven team building skills.  Ability to deliver to strict deadlines.  Self-motivated, solution oriented and positive in outlook Abilities and Skills:  Excellent team player and team building skills  Good analytical skills  Excellent written and oral communication skills  Ability to deliver to strict deadlines and to work under pressure  Ability to build strong trust relationships and maintain positive relationships internally and externally  Ability to communicate clearly the work priorities and direction of the departments  Ability to lead change processes, strong project management and time management skills  Solid numerical and budgeting skills  Must be goal oriented and self-motivated  Must possess strong, organisational, multi-tasking, analytical and problem solving skills.  Must have a solid working knowledge of MS Office software programs, including MS Word, Excel,PowerPoint, and various databases.

Core Competencies- May be obtained upon request.

Compensation is commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Deadline for submission of applications (inclusive of a cover letter, resume and a FortisTCI application form) is Tuesday April 11, 2017 to: Mr. Avi Adams Manager, Human Resources FortisTCI Limited P. O. Box 132, Providenciales Email address: hrapplications@fortistci.com and aadams@fortistci.com

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Page 21

Catfish Nuggets

8

Seafood Medley

PRICES GOOD WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

$

1 lb bag

3

4/$

12

Raw Shrimp

1 lb pkg. 30/40 ct

Tyson Cornish Hens

2 pack

$

Half Butt/Shank

9

$

10

$

00

15

Smoked Ham

Cello Carrots

5 lb

Gold Ripe Pineapples

Ataulfo Mangoes

7 2/$

6

2/$

5

4/$

Grape Tomatoes

1 lb

Florida Oranges

4 lb

Red Apples

Premium

4 2/$

8 2/$

4/$

2

5

2/$

350 ml

2

$

Saltfish

1 lb bag

9

2/$

Nature’s Best Salmon

1 lb pkg

7 $

Idaho Potatoes

8 lb

2/$

Yellow Onions

3 lb

8 $

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES.

Barcelo Rum Anjeo

of Wine!

(12 bottles mix or match)

9 2/$

6 2/$

6 2/$

20% Off Full Case

Clementines

2 lb bag

Cantaloupes

Gala Apples

3 lb

3/$ 7 5 prices effective saturday, april 8 thru sunday, april 16, 6 2017 - 8 days of savings!

Spare Ribs

Single Slab Frozen

$

2/$

Chicken Leg Quarters

10 lb bag

11

30

00

Smoked Ham

Or 84¢ lb

Bananas

3 lb bag

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

2 lb pkg

6

2/$

Sweet Meadow Chicken Franks

12 oz pkg

Aberdeen Bacon

12 oz pkg

lb

$ 00 $

1

Smoked m Picnic Ham

Whole

Open Regular Business Hours Easter Sunday 7 am to 10 pm.

Reminder: No Alcohol Sales Good Friday, y, April p 14 and Easter April 16, 2017.

Sundayy Apr pril ill 1 6, 2 6, 017.

Page 22 APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

3

2/$

4

$ 99

Essential Everyday Spread

45 oz ctn

6

7

2/$

2/$

Essential Everyday Cheese Singles

12 oz pkg, Individually Wrapped Slices

Sunny D Assorted

64 oz

La Yogurt

5.3 oz, Selected Varieties

5

5

7 3/$

5 6/$

4/$

BumbleBee Tuna

5 oz can, In water or oil

$

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise

30 oz

2/$

4

24 oz btl

Hunt’s Ketchup

Essential Everyday Waffles

12.3 oz pkg

4

3

8

Colgate Toothbrush

1 ct

Close Up Toothpaste

6 oz

Colgate Toothpaste

4 oz

2/$

Dawn Dish Liquid

21.6 oz btl

2/$

10

24 pack, .5 ltr

2/$

6

Hawaiian Red Punch

128 oz

2/$

Niagara or Nestle Water

9 $

2/$

Shoppers Value or Essential Everyday Ice Cream

128 oz, Selected Varieties

32 oz btl

Gatorade -Lemon Lime/Punch/ Orange Only

128 oz btl

4 2/$ 10 2/$ 4 2/$

$

$

$

39

Comfort Zone Box fan

20”

7 2/$

10

Awesome Paper Towels

Essential Everyday

8 roll

2/$

11

Essential Everyday Foam 3 Compartment

25 ct

2/$

8

Suavitel Fabric Softner

50 oz, All Varieties

2/$

10

Xtra Laundry Detergent

Equaline Mouth Rinse

1 liter

12

75 oz

2/$

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES.

10

Cottonelle or Quilted Northern Bath Tissue

12 roll

2/$

4

Top Job Bleach

prices effective saturday, april 8 thru sunday, april 16, 2017 - 8 days of savings!

Essential Everyday Milk

Gallon, Assorted

Tropicana Punch

59 oz, Assorted

4

2/$

21

3

2/$

46 oz

All Liquid Laundry Detergent

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

PRICES GOOD WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

Hill Medium Eggs

$

4

13.50 oz

Badia Coconut Milk

48 oz btl

2/$

10

Kellogg’s Cereal

Essential Everyday Vegetable Oil

2/$

4

Goya Coarse Corn Meal

21.5 oz Rice Krispies, Froot loops, Apple Jacks or Frosted Flakes

$

11

Maxwell House Coffee

30.6 oz ctn

10 $

Malta Morena

24 ct

64 oz btl

Essential Everyday Cranberry Juice Cocktail

24 oz

5/$

5

Distinction Evaporated Milk

410 gram

6

4

2/$

Parmalat UHT Milk

32 oz, All Flavors

18 ct

7

$

2/$

3/$

Riceland Rice

20 lb bag

2/$

Robin Hood Flour

5 lb

2/$

4

Mueller`s Ready Cut Macaroni

Jack Frost Sugar

4

16 oz pkg

4 lb

Open Regular Business Hours Easter Sunday 7 am to 10 pm.

Reminder: No Alcohol Sales Good Friday, April 14 and Easter Sunday April 16, 2017.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017 Page 23

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

The Grace Bay Club recognises staff members in their first quarter T

he Grace Bay Club Resort hosted their first quarter staff award ceremony to recognise those who have performed well in the first quarter of the year.

The event was held at the Grace Bay Club Resort on Thursday April 6th, 2017 where nine staff members where recognised for jobs well done.

Awarded in Front of House were Ralph Pierre – F&B Grill and Godfrey Williams – Personal Concierge, Back of House were Ronis Jean Michel – Housekeeping and Janine Malcolm – F&B Pastry, Leader of the Quarter was Edward Delancy – Engineering, TripAdvisor winners were Godfrey Williams (Gold), Berguomy Zirin (Silver), Garth Brown (Bronze), the Biggest Loser winner was Lisa Shaw-Rowe, 2nd place Leola Rolle and 3rd place Latavia Smith.

In an interview with the SUN, Sheba Wilson Director of Human Resource for the Grace Bay Club Resort said, “We’re here to celebrate our

winners who are from the Front of House operation and also those employees who the guests don’t have direct contact with, but they’re an integral part of our overall operation.”

Wilson said the Leader award is a combination of both Supervisors and Managers and that is chosen by the Senior Leadership Team.

“We do this every three months and at the end of the year we would choose the winners for the Employee and Leader of the year,” she said.

She added: “Each quarter of the year we have our staff awards where we recognise our employees for hard work, consistency of their performance and its based really on the guest reviews, whether it came in via TripAdvisor or guest comment cards or a review that each of our guest does online after they would have left us.”

Also awarded were persons who lost significant amount of weight in the Grace Bay Club’s first biggest looser competition and overall

180 pounds were lost among 16 employees. Three winners were recognized and were given cash prizes the grand prize was $1,000 cash, second place winner $400 and $200 for the third place winner.

The winner for the Quarter Mr. Edward Delancy Assistant Director for the Engineering Department told the SUN, “It feels good, I had no doubt that I could do it this time because with my team being behind me I got their back and they got my back so we can accomplish it all. This is the first time I’ve been nominated and I’ve been working at the Grace Bay Club for three years now and it’s been great and the advice I would give to persons inspiring to win this award I won today is to work hard, work with each other because you can’t do it by yourself you’re going to need somebody so work together and you’ll be good to go.”

The following are photo highlights from the award presentations.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 25

Catfish Nuggets

8

Seafood Medley

PRICES GOOD WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

$

1 lb bag

3

4/$

12

Raw Shrimp

1 lb pkg. 30/40 ct

Tyson Cornish Hens

2 pack

$

Half Butt/Shank

9

$

10

$

00

15

Smoked Ham

Cello Carrots

5 lb

Gold Ripe Pineapples

Ataulfo Mangoes

7 2/$

6

2/$

5

4/$

Grape Tomatoes

1 lb

Florida Oranges

4 lb

Red Apples

Premium

Or 84¢ lb

4 2/$

8 2/$

2

4/$

2/$

5

Bananas

3 lb bag

2

$

Saltfish

1 lb bag

9

2/$

Nature’s Best Salmon

1 lb pkg

7 $

Idaho Potatoes

8 lb

2/$

Yellow Onions

3 lb

3/$

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES.

of Wine!

(12 bottles mix or match)

9 2/$

6 2/$

6 2/$

20% Off Full Case

Clementines

2 lb bag

Cantaloupes

Gala Apples

3 lb

7 5 prices effective saturday, april 8 thru sunday, april 16, 6 2017 - 8 days of savings!

Spare Ribs

Single Slab Frozen

$

2/$

Chicken Leg Quarters

10 lb bag

11

30

00

Smoked Ham

Whole

Open Regular Business Hours Easter Sunday 7 am to 10 pm.

Reminder: No Alcohol Sales Good Friday, y, April p 14 and Easter April 16, 2017.

Sundayy Apr pril ill 1 6, 2 6, 017.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

2 lb pkg

6

2/$

Sweet Meadow Chicken Franks

12 oz pkg

Aberdeen Bacon

12 oz pkg

lb

$ 00 $

1

Smoked m Picnic Ham

We Believe Bel e iie e ve v in Se Service,, Val Value a ue & Tru Trust ust s

OPEN 7AM TO 10 PM, 7 DAYS A WEEK

Page 26 APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

3

2/$

5/$

4

$ 99

IGA Spread

45 oz ctn

7

2/$

6

2/$

IGA Cheese Singles

Sunny D Assorted

64 oz

La Yogurt

5.3 oz, Selected Varieties

5

7 3/$

5 6/$

2/$

4

Gatorade -Lemon Lime/Punch/ Orange Only

32 oz btl

2/$

4

Mueller`s Ready Cut Macaroni

16 oz pkg

4/$

Red Baron Pizza

23.02 oz, Selected Varieties

8

9 $

$

Shoppers Value or Essential Everyday Ice Cream

128 oz, Selected Varieties

8

12

Equaline Mouth Rinse

1 liter

Colgate Toothbrush

1 ct

Colgate Toothpaste Max

6 oz, Max Fresh , Max Clean or Max White

Colgate Toothpaste

4 oz

2/$

All Liquid Laundry Detergent

46 oz

2/$

Dawn Dish Liquid

21.6 oz btl

2/$

10

24 pack, .5 ltr

Niagara or Nestle Water

4 2/$ 10 2/$ 4 2/$ 7 2/$

prices effective saturday, april 8 thru sunday, april 16, 2017 - 8 days of savings!

IGA Milk

Gallon, Assorted

Tropicana Punch

59 oz, Assorted

12 oz pkg, Individually Wrapped Slices

2/$

4

Hunt’s Ketchup

Distinction Evaporated Milk

5

24 oz btl

5 oz can

IGA Tuna in Water

6

2/$

50 oz, All Varieties

2/$

5 2/ 88¢

VMI Adult Hangers

10 ct

5 2/$

10

$

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES.

Plastic Cups

22 oz

8 roll

Essential Everyday Awesome Paper Towels

$

10

Cottonelle or Quilted Northern Bath Tissue

12 roll

2/$

4

Top Job Bleach

128 oz btl

2/$

8

Suavitel Fabric Softner

Arm & Ham or Arrid Solid Deodorant

2.6 oz

10

2/$

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

PRICES GOOD WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

Hill Medium Eggs

18 ct

7

3/$

4

2/$

410 gram

$

Parmalat UHT Milk

32 oz, All Flavors

2/$

10

Kellogg’s Cereal

21.5 oz Rice Krispies, Froot loops, Apple Jacks or Frosted Flakes

5

$

128 oz

Hawaiian Red Punch

4

IGA Vegetable Oil

10

$

30 oz

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise

75 oz

Xtra Laundry Detergent

48 oz btl

2/$

6

Robin Hood Flour

5 lb

2/$

4

20 lb bag

Riceland Rice

4 lb

Open Regular Business Hours Easter Sunday 7 am to 10 pm.

Reminder: No Alcohol Sales Good Friday, April 14 and Easter Sunday April 16, 2017.

Jack Frost Sugar

We Believe in Service, Value & Trust

OPEN 7AM TO 10 PM, 7 DAYS A WEEK

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017 Page 27

Page 28

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

Congratulations Ruth and Devon!

FortisTCI congratulates Ruth Forbes on her recent promotion to Senior VP of Corporate Services and Devon Cox on his recent promotion to Senior VP of Operations. “Great leadership is indispensable to the success of any organization. Ruth and Devon have performed with outstanding leadership, abilities, and dedication to duty at FortisTCI, helping this company achieve new heights.We are proud of their contribution.

-FortisTCI President and CEO Eddinton Powell

www.fortistci.com | 649-946-4313 | 1030 Leeward HWY, Providenciales, TCI

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 29

HEALTHY

LIFESTYLE Active lifestyle linked with healthier blood pressure in African-Americans

African-Americans are less likely to develop high blood pressure if they’re physically active throughout the week, according to a new study of people living in Jackson, Mississippi.

African-Americans who reported getting the ideal amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity at the start of the study were about 24 percent less likely to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, years later compared to those who weren’t active, researchers found.

They write in the journal Hypertension that African-Americans have the highest rate of high blood pressure of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. The condition is tied to health conditions such as heart attack, stroke and kidney disease, and to premature death.

“If you’re African American, your odds of developing hypertension is pretty high,” said lead author Dr. Keith Diaz, of Columbia University Medical Center in New York. “If you’re worried about hypertension or high blood pressure, one of the things you can do to prevent it is physical activity

and exercise.”

While physical activity is considered a key tool for preventing poor health, the researchers write that evidence of its effectiveness in preventing high blood pressure among African-Americans was lacking.

The 1,311 African-Americans in the study were all participating in the Jackson Heart Study. When they enrolled in the study, none of them had high blood pressure.

Their physical activity levels were recorded when they first entered the study between 2000 and 2004, and they were reexamined for high blood pressure between 2005 and 2008 and again between 2009 and 2013. Half the people in the study were tracked by the research team for at least eight years.

High blood pressure is typically diagnosed when the top number reaches 140 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and the bottom number reaches 90 mmHG. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends people keep their blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg.

About half of the participants were diagnosed with high blood pressure over the course of the study.

Compared to people who hadn’t been taking part in physical activities at the start of the study, those who were getting an intermediate amount (less than 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise) were 16 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure later, the researchers found.

Those getting 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise or at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise were 24 percent less likely to have developed high blood pressure than people who didn’t exercise.

The most beneficial type of exercise was physical activity from sports and exercise - not from home- or work-related tasks like housekeeping or physical labor.

Diaz told Reuters Health that physical activity related to work at home or on the job may not increase heart rates enough or for a long enough period of time to be beneficial.

Dr. Ernesto Schiffrin, a

spokesperson for the AHA, said a good suggestion is for people to do something like taking brisk walks to meet the 150 minute minimum.

“So it’s 30 minutes most days of the week,” said Schiffrin, who wasn’t involved with the new study but is physician-in-chief at Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

Exercise should be used in conjunction with other recommendations, he said, including a healthy diet and low salt intake.

“These are not difficult to implement,” said Schiffrin. “Managing time of course is important and more or less difficult for some people, but the benefits are probably huge.”

The researchers caution that the study’s findings are limited. For example, participants may have inaccurately reported their amounts of physical activity. Additionally, the findings are drawn from a single population of people in one U.S. community, and their exercise habits were only measured at one point in time.

Overweight, obese young men at increased risk of liver disease

Young men who are the Center for Digestive Diseases at overweight or obese have up to double Karolinska University Hospital in the risk of normal-weight peers for Stockholm. developing liver disease later in life, a The study team analyzed large study in Sweden suggests. records for 1,220,261 men who had

If the young men also had physicals when they were drafted type 2 diabetes, their risk of having into the Swedish army between 1969 liver disease by the time they reached and 1996 and were 17 to 19 years old middle age was as much as 3.3 times at the time. Using national health higher, researchers report in the registries, the researchers followed journal Gut. the men until 2012.

Past studies have shown that They grouped men according diabetes raises risk for liver disease to BMI, which is measured as and liver cancer, but the current kilograms per square meter. Normally, study indicates that having a high a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is body mass index (BMI), a measure considered a healthy weight, while of weight relative to height, is a risk 25 to 29.9 is overweight, 30 or above factor on its own. is obese and 40 or higher is what’s

“A high BMI early in life in known as morbidly obese. In the men is associated with an increased current study, researchers reduced risk of developing severe liver the healthy range to BMIs between disease later in life, and this cannot 18.5 and 22.5, and used men in that be explained by a high alcohol group as the basis for comparisons consumption or viral hepatitis,” lead with all the others. study author Dr. Hannes Hagstrom When the men were drafted, told Reuters Health by email. the average BMI was 21.5, and just

“Also, this risk was highly 100,000 men were in the overweight increased in those men who contracted range and 20,000 qualified as obese. type 2 diabetes during the follow-up, But rates of obesity differed across independent of the baseline BMI,” the original enlistment period, the said Hagstrom, a researcher with researchers note. In 1969, about 6

percent of men were overweight and less than 1 percent were obese, but by 1996, 12 percent of young men were overweight and almost 3 percent were obese.

Over the follow-up period, 5,281 men developed severe liver diseases, including cirrhosis and liver failure, and 251 were diagnosed with liver cancer.

When compared to men with BMIs less than 22.5 at baseline, the risk of severe liver disease increased as BMIs went up: men in the overweight category had about 50 percent increased risk of liver disease and obese men had a twofold increased risk. Excluding men with a diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease from the analysis raised the risk associated with obesity slightly higher still.

“Although we cannot know for sure, we speculate that these men had or developed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and that this in some cases led to severe liver disease,” Hagstrom said.

When they looked at liver cancer, the researchers found that men who were overweight at baseline

had about a 60 percent increase in risk, while the risk was more than tripled for men who were obese.

Hagstrom said physicians should know overweight and obese teenage boys are at an increased risk for future severe liver disease, and that intervention early in life likely is necessary to reduce this risk.

“Obesity is an important risk factor for a number of types of cancer.

Liver cancer is one of those,” Karen Basen-Engquist told Reuters Health.

“This study shows that even obesity in early adulthood is associated with later risk. It’s important for us to try to maintain a healthy weight all through our lives,” said BasenEngquist, director of the University of Texas MD Anderson’s Center for Energy Balance in Cancer Prevention and Survivorship in Houston.

Basen-Engquist, who was not involved in the study, said doctors and researchers need to keep getting that message out because a lot of people aren’t aware of the link between obesity and cancer. “A lot of people know about smoking and cancer, but they don’t think about obesity and cancer risk.”

No new antidepressants in sight despite growing need, experts warn

It is likely to be at least 10 years before any new generation of antidepressants comes to market, despite evidence that depression and anxiety rates are increasing across the world, specialists said.

The depression drug pipeline has run dry partly due to a “failure of science” they said, but also due to big pharma pulling investment out of research and development (R&D) in the neuroscience field because the profit potential is uncertain.

“I’d be very surprised if we were to see any new drugs for depression in the next decade. The pharmaceutical industry is simply not investing in the research because it can’t make money from these drugs,” Guy Goodwin, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, told reporters at a London briefing.

Andrea Cipriani, a consultant psychiatrist at Oxford, said such risk aversion was understandable given uncertain returns and the

approximately billion dollar cost of developing and bringing a new drug to market.

“It’s a lot of money to spend, and there’s a high rate of failure,” Cipriani said.

Treatment for depression usually involves either medication, some form of psychotherapy, or a combination of both. But up to half of all people treated fail to get better with first-line antidepressants, and around a third of patients are resistant to

relevant medications.

DEPRESSION RATES RISING

The experts said that since the current generation of SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) antidepressants - including Eli Lilly’s blockbuster Prozac - are widely available as cheap generics, there is reluctance among health services to fund expensive new drugs that may not be much better.

Page 30

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAMME OFFERING FOR 2017/2018 Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for admissions into the following programmes at the TCICC for the semester commencing Tuesday, August 29, 2017.

Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences (NAS): 1. “A” Levels: o Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Information Technology (Grand Turk Campus) 2. Associate Degree: Two-Year Associate Degree in: o Environmental Science (Grand Turk Campus) o General Studies (Sciences) with concentration in any three of the following: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Information Technology (Grand Turk Campus) o Marine Biology (Grand Turk Campus) 3. Special Program: o Clinical Nursing (Grand Turk Campus) Faculty of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA): 1. “A” Levels: o Law, Psychology, Sociology (Grand Turk Campus) 2. Associate Degree: Two-Year Associate Degree in: o Criminal Justice (Grand Turk Campus) o General Studies (Humanities) with concentration in any three of the following: Economics, Govt. and Politics, Law, Sociology (Grand Turk) o Paralegal Studies (Grand Turk Campus) o Performing Arts (Music) (Grand Turk Campus) o Social Work (Grand Turk Campus) 3. Bachelor Degree: Two/Four Year Bachelor’s Degree in: o Social Work (Grand Turk Campus) Faculty of Business Administration (BAD): 1. Certificate: One-Year Certificate Program in: o Business Studies (Both Campuses) 2. “A” Levels: o Accounting, Business, Economics (Both Campuses) 3. Associate Degree: Two-Year Associate Degree in: o Business Studies (Both Campuses) o Public Sector Management (Grand Turk Campus) 4. Bachelor Degree: Two-Year Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with concentration in: o Accounting o Finance & Management o Human Resource Management o Marketing Faculty of Computer Engineering and Mathematics (CEM): 1. “A” Levels: o Computer Science, Information Technology, Mathematics (Both Campuses) 2. Associate Degree: Two-Year Associate Degree in: o Computer Studies (Both Campuses) o Computer Electronics Engineering Technology (Grand Turk) o Electrical Engineering Technology (Grand Turk Campus) 3. Bachelor Degree: Two-Year Bachelor’s Degree with concentration in: o Information Technology o Management Information Systems Faculty of Education and Training (EDT): 1 Associate Degree: Two-Year Associate Degree in: • Early Childhood Education (Both Campuses) • Primary Education (Both Campuses) • Secondary Education: o English/Social Studies, Math/Computers, Math/Business, Computer/Business, Music English/Math/Social St. (Both Campuses) o Math/Science (Grand Turk Campus) 2 Bachelor Degree: Two-Year Bachelor’s in: o Early Childhood Education (Both Campuses) o Primary Education (Both Campuses) Faculty of Technology Education (TED): 1. Certificate: One-Year Certificate Program in: o Construction, Carpentry and Joinery (Both Campuses) 2. Associate Degree: Two-Year Associate Degree in: o Automotive Engineering Technology (Grand Turk Campus) o Architectural Design and Building Technology (Both Campuses) 3. Special Program: o Industrial Engineering Technology (Both Campuses) Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM): 1. Certificate: One-Year Certificate Program in: o Hospitality Studies (Both Campuses) 2. Associate Degree: Two-Year Associate Degree in: o Culinary Arts (Provo Campus) o Tourism Management (Both Campuses) 3. Bachelor Degree: Two-Year Bachelor’s Degree with concentration in: o Hospitality Management o Tourism Management and Entertainment In Collaboration with the University of the West Indies, School of Continuing Studies Two-Year Certificate (Both Campuses): Administrative Corporate Secretaryship Administrative Professional Secretaries Human Resource Management School Administration Short Technical/Vocational Programmes/Courses for skill development Duration: 6 Weeks Accounting Information System, Business Communication (Theory & Practice) Cake Decorating Conversational Spanish Customer Service, Dining Room Management English as a Second Language Introduction to Building Services, Introduction to Estimation and Costing Mixology PRC Courses (TCI Studies and English) Restaurant Operation Team Building

Duration: 60 contact hours AutoCAD, Automotive Maintenance, Surveying Students may also access one semester courses of their choice from any Associate Degree programme and obtain credits.

Applicants for the Associate Degree must satisfy the following minimum requirements: Five GCE or CXC subjects including English A and Mathematics at the General Proficiency Level with Grads I, II, and III or GCE Grades A, B, C. Students without CXC/GCE Mathematics and English must complete the College Foundation Math: MTH1110 and MTH1120, and ENG1111 and ENG1122 (at additional cost) For the Certificate Programmes, the minimum of three GCE or CXC subjects, one of which must be English at General Proficiency level 1, 11, & 111 or GCE Grades A, B, C. Students applying through the Mature Student Entry policy should be twenty one (21) years or older with relevant experience in specific areas of interest. Note that students may be required to complete a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) portfolio.

For the Bachelors Degree, the minimum of an Associate Degree from the TCI Community College or another recognized institution.

The deadline for applications is May 31st 2017. Any application received after this date would be deemed as LATE. Applications should be fully completed and then submitted to the Registrar, TCI Community College, P O Box 236, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands or to TCI Community College, Providenciales Campus for the attention of the Registrar. An application fee of $25.00 should accompany the application form. Late application fee is $50.00 For further information contact: Grand Turk Providenciales Telephone: (649) 946-1163 Telephone: (649) 941-3210 Fax: (649) 946-1661 Fax: (649) 941-8380 Email: tcicomc@tciway.tc Email: pvtci@tciway.tc

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAMS AND FEE STRUCTURE COST OF PROGRAMMES/COURSES OFFERED BY THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE – 29th August 2017 A. SHORT COURSES Courses are for fifteen days for two hours per day (except for AutoCAD, Automotive Maintenance & Surveying). Credits earned could be transferred into the College programmes.

Students may audit the courses and not participate in the examination. Students should indicate at the commencement of the course whether or not the course is being audited. No credit will be given for those courses which are audited.

B. ONE SEMESTER COURSES Courses run from September – December, January – May; concentrated summer semester May – early July.

C. FULL TIME PROGRAMMES Two years, two semesters per year for the majority of the programmes. Some programmes are for five semesters with compulsory summer courses during the first year. Additionally students may access summer courses from May – early July.

TUITION FEES ARE AS FOLLOWS A. Short Courses Courses which require the use of laboratory facilities $400 per course Courses which do not require the use of laboratory facilities $300 per course Cake Decorating $500, Mixology $450 (these include cake tools, alcohol, etc. needed) B.

One Semester courses CXC and Upgrade Computer modules Associate Degree/GCE “A” level

$150 per course $250 per course $360 per course

C.

Full Programmes (two Semesters) Sept – Dec; Jan- May; Annual Fees Semester Fees TCI Nationals/ Certificate

$1,000 $500 Resident Associate Degree/A-Level $2,000 $1,000

Bachelor’s Degree $4,000 $2,000 Non- Nationals Certificate $1,500 $750

Associate Degree $2,500 $1,250

Bachelor’s Degree $5,000 $2,500 Overseas Students Certificate $3,000 $1,500

Associate Degree $5,000 $2,500

Bachelor’s Degree $8,000 $4,000 Student category Courses

D. OTHER PROGRAMMES UWI Advanced Certificates $2,000 $1,000 OTHER FEES Application Fees $25.00 Late application $50.00 Registration Fees $25.00 Late registration $50.00 Transcripts $30.00 for initial transcript and 50% discount for others when applying for multiple transcripts.

Facility fee $40 (ALL STUDENTS PAY THIS ANNUAL FEE) Transportation Fee $50.00 per month (Grand Turk) Graduation Processing Fee $50.00 (prospective graduates ONLY) NB:

ALL FEES ARE PAYABLE AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION. Fees are subject to change.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 31

We hire smiles!!!

Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Villages and Spa, the only 6 Diamond All-inclusive property in the Caribbean is inviting applications from Turks and Caicos Islanders for the following vacant positions. We hire the personality and train the individual.

Applicants must have a clean police record and a good command of the English language both written and spoken. In addition candidates must be able to work nights, public holidays and week-ends. The Resort thanks everyone for their interest in advance and advises that applicants will be contacted for an interview via Text Message.

The Concierge Department requires:

The Grounds Department requires: ✓ ✓ Reports to:

✓

Supervisor Grounds Man

Agent

Reports to:

Grounds Manager

Concierge Manager

Grow and propagate plants; cultivating, and harvesting horticultural specialties, such as trees, shrubs, flowers, mushrooms, and other plants.

The Concierge Agent serves as the guest’s liaison for hotel services. Functions are an extension of the front desk with emphasis on the personalized services. Assist the guests in inquiries concerning the hotel or offpremises attractions, facilities, services or activities.

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Supervisory certification and experience leading a grounds team (Supervisor only) • Physically fit with the ability to lift over 30 lbs.

• No allergies to chemicals • Minimum 2 years’ experience in a related position.

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Associates Degree preferred; • Minimum two years’ work experience in a similar or comparative position’ • Computer literate with computer application and software i.e. Windows/Excel/Access/ Outlook. Ability to input and access information from a computer and to adapt to new computer technology.

These positions are currently held by Work Permit Holders.

This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder (note however more than one is required). Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

The Entertainment and Kids Kamp Departments require: ✓ ✓ ✓

✓

Dancer Player Kids Counselor

Reports to:

Reports to: Director of Entertainment To engage the guests and their children to participate in activities, attend shows and special guest events. Part of the responsibility as an Entertainment and Kids Kamp staff is to create lasting memories while on vacation.

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Minimum of 4 CXC certifications.

• Customer service experience These positions are currently held by Work Permit Holders (note however more than one is required).

Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

The Butler Department requires: ✓ Reports to:

The Junior Butler position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder (however more than one is required).

Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

The range for these positions is $6.25 to $13.00 per hour

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • High School diploma / certificate • Knowledgeable about inventory / accounting • Understand ordering and receiving processes The Junior Concierge position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder (however more than one is required).

Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

Agent

Reports to:

Front Office Manager

Represents the company throughout the guest’s stay, ensures guest satisfaction by meeting and exceeding their expectations. To work closely with all department to ensure that Guests receive friendly, efficient service from the point of arrival until departure. To deliver the highest level of professional and exemplary customer service to all guest. To conduct themselves with unquestioned integrity at all times while coordinating guest entire vacation experience through a seamless process. Ensuring the delivery of genuine service that enhances every vacation experience.

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • High School graduate • Computer literate • Excellent Customer Service Skills This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder (note however more than one is required). Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

The Spa Department requires: Spa Therapist

The Housekeeping Department requires:

Spa Manager

The Spa Therapist is responsible for the comfort of the guests of the spa while performing treatments. Direct all efforts toward guest satisfaction achievement of Spa standards, and profit maximization. As part of the Spa Team it is imperative to work harmoniously to achieve the highest standard of service.

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Must have a valid License/Certificate in your field of expertise; This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder (note however more than one is required). Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

The Photoshop Department requires: ✓ ✓

To maintain an effective and detailed control on the movement of beverage items/guest supplies, from ordering to placement in rooms. Maintains standards of quality and presentation and assists with guest services. To work closely with Concierge and Housekeeping to ensure that Guests receive friendly, efficient service from the point of arrival until departure in regards to stocking and restocking of rooms, assistance with luggage, location of amenities, delivery of WOWs, and TLC calls, to assist in the Concierge when needed.

✓

Butler Manager

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Passed the on the job training certification for Butler and activing pursuing final accreditation • Physically fit with the ability to lift over 30 lbs.

• No allergies to chemicals

Reports to:

Concierge Manager

The Front Office Department requires:

Junior Butler (formally Room Service Server/Waiter)

Under the guidance and supervision of the Butler Manager within the scope of established Sandals Resort & Spa policies, the Junior Butler (formally Room Service Server/Waiter) will ensure that all aspects the room service orders and general delivers operations are performed accordingly.

✓

Junior Concierge (formally Mini-Bar Stocker)

Underwater Photographer Photographer

✓ ✓ ✓

Houseman Room Attendant Public Area Cleaner/Attendant

Reports to:

Executive Housekeeper

The Room Attendant assumes primary responsibility for guestroom cleaning and servicing. The Housemen are responsible for delivering clean linen and clearing dirty linen from Room Attendants’ trolley. The general maintenance of all corridors and walkways on assigned floor/section are also the responsibility of the Housemen. The Public Area Cleaner/ Attendant is responsible to service all other areas and offices.

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Physically fit with the ability to lift and bend.

• No allergies to chemicals or dust • Minimum 2 years’ experience in a related position.

These positions are currently held by Work Permit Holders (note however more than one is required).

Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

Reports to: Photoshop Manager Responsible for the photographic experience, including the flow of guests through the photography, selection and purchase process

✓

Linen Room Attendant

Reports to:

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Certification in the field of Photography • Sales experience and able to meet quotas • Two (2) years’ experience in a similar position • Dive certification (Underwater Photographer)

Executive Housekeeper

To maintain order and cleanliness in the linen room and to assist with all of the activities related to the linen room, to record all items received and issued.

These positions are currently held by Work Permit Holders (note however more than one is required).

Recruitment to fill these positions is underway at this time.

The range for these positions is $6.25 to $7.25 per hour plus commissions

Standard Specifications: Qualifications and Experience: • Physically fit with the ability to lift and bend.

• No allergies to chemicals or dust • Minimum 2 years’ experience in a related position.

This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder.

The range for these positions is $6.25 to $8.00 per hour

Applications giving full details of qualifications and experience should be sent to: mmvaughn@grp.sandals.com or placed in the secure drop box at the service gate or Fax to: 941-4870 Attn: M McClean-Vaughn The Labour Commissioner Labour Department Providenciales

and

The Human Resources Department Beaches Turks and Caicos P.O. Box 186 Lower Bight Road

and should reach not later than April 14th 2017

Page 32

Marjorie Basden FULLY FURNISHED NAIL SALON BOOTH AVAILABLE IN AIRPORT HOTEL PLAZA AVAILABLE APRIL 10TH CALL 946-4701

Is seeking a Labourer in South Caicos To work 5 days per week Salary $6.25 per hour Contact # 946-3662

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

ELCIE HINSON

Is seeking Domestic worker To work 3 days per week Salary $6.25 per hour Contact #345-2576

#589296

CONEY’S CONSTRUCTION

HUNGRIA CRESENT MARTINEZ

Is seeking Carpenter and Painter To work 6 days per week Salary $8 per hour Contact # 332-1247

SEEKS 1 Domestic Worker Salary $160.00 2 days per week Contact 241-7043

#589291

JULIEN LOUIS OF THE TRINITY SHOP

Is seeking a Cashier To work 6 days per week Salary $9.00 per hour Please Contact 341-0929 #589288

MESHELLE JENNINGS Of Grand Turk Is seeking a Labourer To work 6 days a week Must be able to work Holidays and Weekends Wages starting at $6.50 per hour BELONGERS WILL BE GIVEN FIRST PREFERENCE Please contact 332-9059 Between the hours of 9:00am and 4:00pm Monday-Friday

MBA CONSTRUCTION

Is seeking a Labourer To work 6 days per week Salary $6.25 per hour Contact # 649-242-3450 #589285

#589287

MAJESTIC TOURS & TRANSPORTATION

ISLAND DRILLING

Is seeking a Driver To work 3 days a week To be employed at the minimum wage Contact # 649-231-7901/649-343-3840

Is seeking to fill the following position: Paving Foreman Grade Foreman Mechanic Send resume to: islanddrillingltd@gmail.com

#589290

WANTED Peterly Pierre Grand Turk Salary $6.50 per hour 5 days per week Contact 243-5023

BAYSIDE CAR RENTAL

In Grand Turk Is seeking a Labourer Must be willing to work 6 days per week Salary $6.50 per hour Please Contact (649)941-9010 THIS POSITION IS CURRENTLY HELD BY A WORK PERMIT HOLDER #589291

LIGHTBOURNE LIVINGSTON

An Insurance Brokerage Firm is seeking an Account Representative for Sales and Administration, with the responsibility for Data Processing, Client Servicing and Policy Documentation.

Computer Certification will be an asset along with any Insurance Qualifications or Experience in related fields.

Is seeking a Kitchen helper To work 6 days per week Minimum wage $6.25 per hour Contact# 244-4398

Kindly send resume to:Human Resource Manager P.O. Box 355 Providenciales Or via Email to cagsterling@gmail.com

#589293

TAURAIN JAMES

SHOW'S BAR

MBA CONSTRUCTION

Seeks to employ a Labourer at his place of Business in Overback Grand Turk To work 6 days a week Salary $200.00 per week Contact Taurain at Tel No. 246-7943

IS SEEKING 3 BAR MAIDS 6 DAYS A WEEK SALARY $6.25 PER HOUR CONTACT 241-6542

SEEKS 1 Gardiner To work 6 days a week Salary $6.50 per hour Contact 242-3450

GLAMOUR GIRL

Is seeking a Sales Rep

Must be available day times, evenings, weekend and holidays.

BELONGER NEED ONLY APPLY Email resume to -msimmons@tciway.tc before April 21, 2017.

DOMESTIC WORKER

JOB VACANCY

TCI SERVICES LTD Starting wages $6.50 per hour Job requirement- should have food handlers permit, computer skills-word perfect/excel.

Excellent interpersonal skills, 3 character reference required and valid drivers license.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

Is seeking 1 Nail Technician, ($8.50 per hour) 1 Barber, ($8.50 per hour) 2 Hairdressers ($8.50 per hour) 1 Helper ($6.25) per hour To work 7 days per week Contact # 347-2707 Receipt #589300 #589300

GRUSHINKA SEYMOUR

Is seeking Labourer To work 6 days per week Salary $6.25 per hour Contact #341-0029

#589299

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LAWRENCE TALBOT

Is seeking a Domestic Worker To work 5 days a week Salary $6.25 an hour Contact: 243-2919

JOCK WILLIAMS

Is seeking to employ Labourer in Grand Turk To work 5 days per week Salary $6.50 per hour Work hours 9am-4pm Mondays to Fridays Contact # 341-1968

KAMALA ROBERTS

Seeks to employ a Labourer on the Island of Grand Turk To work 5 days a week Salary $175.00 per week Please contact Kamala at Tel. No. 441-4005

HANDY-PRO MAINTENANCE LTD

Is seeking a Maintenance Personnel To work 6 days a week/ on call Salary $10.00 per hour Persons must be multi skilled Please email: handypro@tciway.tc

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

CARIBBEAN WORLD

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

NEWS NEWS

The Bahamas has the Caribbean’s most productive VAT, says IMF

The Bahamas has the most productive Value-Added Tax (VAT) regime in the Caribbean, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) paper holding out its ‘low rate, broad base’ structure as a model for the entire region.

According to the Tribune newspaper, a ‘working paper’ on tax administration reforms in the Caribbean found that the Bahamas’ VAT productivity/efficiency even exceeded the average across OECD member states, plus European and Asian nations.

The paper’s author, Stephane Schlotterbeck, measuring ‘productivity’ as the ratio of actual VAT revenues collected to potential collection if all domestic consumption was taxed at the same rate, found that the Caribbean average was “slightly below” international standards.

“It ranges from 0.36 in St. Lucia to 0.79 in the Bahamas, with an average of 0.54 in the region compared to 0.55 in OECD countries, 0.59 in Europe, and 0.64 in Asia and Pacific,” Mr Schlotterbeck found.

“A low productivity ratio indicates erosion of the tax base, exemptions, excessive zero-rating, concessional rates, evasion, and weak enforcement.”

The Bahamas’ high VAT productivity rating likely results from its ‘low rate, broad base’ model, which has to-date avoided the “excessive” exemptions and zero-rating treatments granted to numerous goods and industries by other Caribbean countries.

It also reflects the ‘newness’ of the Bahamas’ VAT regime, and the

fact that unscrupulous businesses and registrants have yet to develop sophisticated evasion and underreporting techniques.

The IMF paper indicated that the Bahamas’ VAT structure, which the Christie administration ultimately accepted following extensive lobbying by the private sector, was a model that the rest of the Caribbean should look to.

Noting that the Bahamas’ VAT rate was half that in many other Caribbean nations, the paper said: “The recent Bahamian experience indicates that introducing a broad-based VAT with minimum exemptions allows for the application of a lower tax rate (at 7.5 per cent compared to 15–17 per cent in the rest of the region).”

The IMF paper and its author also found that the Government’s total tax revenues, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), rose by 4.4 percentage points after VAT’s first full year compared to preimplementation.

“In the Bahamas, total revenue collection increased by 39 per cent between fiscal year 20132014 (prior to VAT introduction) and fiscal year 2015-2016 (after one full year of VAT operations),” the IMF paper said.

Those two years were chosen because VAT was introduced on January 1, 2015, half-way through the 2014-2015 fiscal year, meaning the latter was not suitable for comparison purposes.

The IMF paper also disclosed that the Bahamas’ enjoys one of the best on-time VAT filing compliance

rates, with 75 per cent of its 6,710 tax-paying registrants hitting the payment deadlines.

Only Bermuda, Dominica and Grenada, with VAT on-time filing compliance ratios of between 80-81 per cent, were shown as performing better than the Bahamas, with this nation well ahead of the 62 per cent regional average.

However, the IMF paper said the Bahamas’ Department of Inland Revenue, as the central tax administration authority, had the second highest population-to-staff ratio in the Caribbean.

It revealed that only Haiti, where there is 8,600 persons for every tax administration staffer, had a higher ratio than the Bahamas’ 2,549 persons per tax officer.

The IMF paper effectively sets out a ‘road map’ for the Bahamas on what not to do with its VAT regime, setting out many of the challenges the Government and Department of Inland Revenue will likely face, and how this nation can learn from the experience of other Caribbean nations.

Warning against the granting of widespread VAT ‘exemptions’ and zero-rated treatment, the paper said: “In a number of countries, the expansion of zero-rated domestic supplies of goods and services has contributed to building up a large volume of VAT credits, including in the retail sectors.

“This has increased the number of refund claims and put tax administrations under pressure to refund the credits within acceptable periods (good practice is 30 days). In

many cases, the turnaround time for reimbursing VAT credits exceeds 90 days, and quite often it is not monitored at all.....

“In Trinidad and Tobago, VAT refunds have been temporarily suspended due to an insufficient budget. Refund delays and related cash flow issues have been the primary reasons for granting VAT exemptions to investors.”

The IMF paper suggested the deferment of VAT on capital goods imports, such as machinery and equipment, plus raw materials and spare parts, rather than use exemptions.

“VATs have been effective in terms of mobilising additional tax revenues since their introduction in Caribbean countries,” the IMF paper said.

“The VAT has proven to be more effective than the consumption taxes it replaced. However, its contribution should have been much greater. On average, an increase of 20 per cent of VAT productivity for the region would represent an increase of 2 per cent of VAT revenues in terms of the GDP.

“Initially intended to be a broad-based, single rate tax, the VAT’s legislation has deviated from these objectives. Zero-rating of domestic supplies, generous exemptions, lower rating of tourism activities and low registration thresholds have affected its performance negatively and compromised administrative efforts.

This paper argues that, instead of eliminating the VAT, the objective should be to strengthen it.”

Caribbean American congresswoman calls on region to oppose Trump’s immigration policies

NEW YORK – Caribbean Enforcement (ICE) agency, the American Congresswoman Yvette D. immigrant was “already on a plane,” Clarke has called on the Caribbean being deported to his native Trinidad community in the United States to and Tobago. strongly oppose the Donald Trump “If we don’t stand up and administration’s immigration policies. speak out, our families will be torn

“The way in which this apart,” the congresswoman warned. administration is terrorizing the “Is that the United States we need? We immigrant community, we need to need to get on Twitter, we need to get speak up,” said Clarke, the daughter on Facebook, we need to fight back. of Jamaican immigrants, as she “My job is to get him delivered the keynote address at (President Trump) out of office as soon the 25th anniversary celebration as possible,” she said to loud applause. of the Brooklyn, New York-based “Impeachment is on the way.”

Progressive Democrats Political Last month, Clarke Association (PDPA), headed by her condemned Trump’s revised executive mother, Dr. Una S.T. Clarke, the first order barring entry to the US for the Caribbean-born woman to be ever predominantly Muslims nationals of elected to New York City Council.

Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria

“Tearing families apart is not and Yemen. what this country is about,” added She said the revised Muslim the Congresswoman, who represents ban “remains as unconstitutional the 9th Congressional District in – and unwise – as its predecessor,” Brooklyn. “We need to speak up.” claiming that Trump’s “basic

Clarke told the Silver Jubilee philosophy of divide-and-conquer gala event that an unidentified “panic attempts to deny the promise of person” had called her over the America to people across the world weekend, stating that a relative was based on their practice on religion.” being “shipped to Georgia.”

Acting Brooklyn District

But Clarke said that, by the Attorney, Eric Gonzalez, who also time she was able to reach officials spoke at the Silver Jubilee celebration, at the US Immigration and Customs also expressed concern

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke about stepped up efforts by the Trump administration to deport Caribbean and other immigrants.

“I see the fear,” said Gonzalez, who was born in Puerto Rico and resides in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. “People rightly fear ICE agents coming to court.

“My office will do anything to protect immigrants,” he added, disclosing that he is currently recruiting a number of immigration attorneys to “make sure there are no deportation issues.

“What we’re concerned about is fairness, about justice,” Gonzalez said.

Besides Gonzalez, a number

of New York City officials and immigration advocates have reported that they are seeing and hearing about an increasing number of ICE agents in courtroom, waiting to deport immigrants who might have fallen afoul of the law.

When, for example, Nevisian Floyel Stapleton appeared recently in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York for a routine hearing in his misdemeanour assault case, he was stunned to be met by US federal immigration agents as he left the courtroom.”

But even as legislators and immigrant advocacy groups express outrage over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced the expansion and modernization of a program to deport immigrants, including Caribbean nationals, in US federal correctional facilities.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said the Institutional Hearing Programme (IHP), announced by Sessions last Thursday, identifies removable criminal immigrants who are inmates in federal correctional facilities.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

Jamaican Shamique Simms is the new Caribbean’s Next Top Model

Shamique Simms is the Caribbean’s Next Top Model (CaribeNTM) 2017.

The finale of CaribeNTM took place on Monday April 3rd and this year’s competition ended in dramatic fashion, as two contestants tied for second place – Samantha West from Trinidad and Nkechi Vaughn Guyana.

It was, however, the 5 foot 9 Jamaican who won the judges over with her grace and natural beauty, as well as her ability to work the camera no matter the setting or theme. This season’s competition was held against the backdrop of the enchanting ‘spice isle’ of Grenada, and whether she was covering herself with oil for the infamous ‘jab jab’ shoot or getting artistic in an underwater shoot, Simms’ versatility and raw modelling talent led her to the top position.

Along with the title of being the Caribbean’s Next Top Model, Shamique was also awarded US$25,000 in cash; an international modelling agency contract with Mint Model Management, NY; a cover feature and editorial spread in SHE Caribbean magazine; and the latest generation iPhone from Flow.

“FLOW congratulates Shamique on her much deserved big win” said Wendy McDonald, Senior

Director Communications, for the Caribbean. “Last year we welcomed the opportunity to partner with CaribeNTM as we saw this as a unique platform to provide exposure of young Caribbean talent both in front of and behind the camera. For us this is not just a competition but it is an investment in the development of the Caribbean fashion industry and our capacity to create local content that is on par with international standards.

Additionally, it provides our viewers with unmatched access to local and regional content.”

The third season of The Caribbean’s Next Top Model, presented by FLOW, premiered on January 30th exclusively on FLOW 1 with 17 fresh-faced ladies from all across the Caribbean. This season, Flow customers were able to watch the drama unfold ‘on the go’ for the first time via the FLOW ToGo app or watch and re-watch any episode via FLOW On Demand, ensuring they never missed a moment of the excitement.

Congratulating the winner, as well as each of the participants, the CaribeNTM co- executive producer, host, judge and former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam said: “Shamique competed amongst our toughest field of aspiring models

Shamique Simms, Winner of Caribbean’s Next Top Model 2017 yet, and always maintained her focus throughout the competition. More than any other participant, Shamique entered the competition with a clear understanding of what is required of her in the modelling industry. She consistently grew throughout the competition and it is this combination of preparedness and dogmatic

Statement from former Bermuda Premier Dr. Ewart Brown on Commission of Inquiry

I issue this statement in expectation of the release of the Commission of Inquiry report, which was due to be delivered to the OBA Government.

When the Commission was first introduced to us, it was clear that it was being established as a tool of the OBA government.

Its very composition reflected the historical racism of colonial Bermuda.

In 2016, the steadily decreasing Black population of Bermuda remained a majority of the population. Yet, the Commission included only ONE Black member and was not represented by a single Black learned member of the Bermuda Bar.

That, in my humble opinion, was an insult to the Black community. Visually, it was quite a disgusting spectacle — Black people being called before White masters to answer for some presumed skulduggery. It was truly reminiscent of the worst days of our history in Bermuda.

The major purpose of the Commission, contrary to its stated raison d’etre, was to create a cloud of uncertainty over the PLP by subjecting former PLP leaders to a court-style inquiry into matters that were eight or nine years old. There was no look into ANY history of the UBP/OBA activities at all.

We should all agree that violations of Financial Instructions should not be dismissed as unimportant, but

they did not start with the PLP, and they did not end with the PLP. Violations are regrettable, and should be corrected. But, I do not believe that they needed to be explored via a Commission of Inquiry at a cost of over $1 million to the Bermuda taxpayer.

Some might recall that when this issue was raised during my tenure as Premier of Bermuda, I suggested that if there was to be a review of past conduct, it should cover the immediate past 14 years of the UBP/OBA administrations and the most recent 14 years of PLP administrations. It seemed only fair, but was not to be. After all, that would not aid the OBA in the General Election!

Instead we have been treated to a circus with consequences, where former Black ministers and civil servants were questioned in a style more reminiscent of a court prosecution.

It was a shameful display!

Before any relevant evidence was even discussed, Chairman Evans made the summary judgment and headline that the events at Port Royal Golf Course were “straightforward fraud”!

So, unfortunately, what we will receive from the COI will not be balanced, because it was not conceived in a spirit of fair play, and it was not conducted in an atmosphere of impartiality.

Simply put: The COI was contrived to cast aspersions on the character of past PLP administrations in order to influence the upcoming

Former Bermuda Premier Dr. Ewart F. Brown election. The themes associated with Black people — suspected criminality and corruption — will be memorialized in print by the report. There will be no surprises.

I can reasonably predict that I will be castigated as will others. Bermuda will join Caribbean neighbors to our South in having Black governments accused of possible criminal activity, while White-controlled governments sip tea and plan for casinos and sailing spectacles that include Black people, for the most part, in serving and entertainment capacities. It is a sad day in Bermuda.

But, it is also another day when this OBA Government will show its wicked hand for everyday people to see — another day when we can resolve that we will not be deterred by those who accuse us and people we know of the very venality they themselves possess. We must resist, Bermuda, confident that history will tell our true story and that God will be our supreme witness.

perseverance with respect to her diet, fitness, mental strength and positive outlook that gave this “chocolate” beauty, as she was fondly called by her fellow models, the edge.”

While there is only one winner, FLOW would like to congratulate all the participants and finalists of Season 3 of the Caribbean’s Next Top Model.

Caribbean’s Next Top Model (#CaribeNTM) is produced Starfish Media Ltd. and hosted by Miss Universe 1998, Wendy Fitzwilliam.

It is a reality television competition based on the original production America’s Next Top Model, and the America’s Next Top Model format, created by Tyra Banks and licensed by CBS International.

It follows the stories of aspiring young women seeking to launch a career in the competitive world of modelling. Fitzwilliam hosts Caribbean’s Next Top Model as head judge, accompanied by judges: international photographer, Pedro Virgil and Caribbean fashion pundit extraordinaire, Socrates McKinney.

For Season 3, CaribeNTM combed more than 30 Caribbean territories and narrowed more than two hundred (200) applicants down to seventeen (17).

Guyanese man kills wife and buries her near home

GEORGETOWN –– It surely must have taken someone with a certain level of coldbloodedness to daily tend to a garden that is just next to the spot where one’s murdered wife is buried.

But that’s exactly what Mibicuri farmer, Sunildat Balack, apparently did for almost a year.

When police went to the spot where 44-year-old Balack said he had buried Lilwantie Balack, it was observed that the alleged killer had planted a row of bora plants about a foot from the area.

There is speculation that the farmer had cultivated other crops at the same spot during the months that Linwantie Balack lay buried there.

On Friday, police unearthed a skull and a few bones from a six-foot-deep grave, which was located about 100 metres from the couple’s Lot 117 Mibicuri North, Black Bush Polder home.

But they found no clothing with the remains. This indicated that the killer dumped his victim naked into the makeshift grave he had dug on his two-and-a-half-acre farm.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said yesterday that police will be taking DNA samples from the slain woman’s relatives, and these samples, along with others from the remains, will be sent to a laboratory in Brazil.

He indicated that the suspect is likely to appear in court tomorrow.

The farmer’s 21-year-old lover has since been released.

Police said that Sunildat Balack, also known as “Red Man”, had confessed on Thursday to strangling Linwantie Balack, called “Darling”, and burying her in the family’s backyard.

He had reportedly committed the act on September 6, 2016, when the couple had argued about her wanting to go to the United States.

To cover his tracks, the alleged killer reportedly told neighbours that Linwantie, was on holiday in the US.

Just about three months ago, the suspect brought home “a girl”, and he told neighbours that “Darling nah come back, that she tek somebody over deh.”

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

Grieving Haitians go into lifetime of debt to fund funerals

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Aspasie Tanis lives hand-to-mouth on the edge of eviction in the best of times, scraping out a living selling packets of spaghetti and cookies outside her lowslung concrete shack in Haiti’s capital.

Now the death of her father by stroke threatens to send her into a lifetime of debt.

The distraught single mother is frantically seeking loans from friends and pastors to pay for the cheapest funeral on offer. Hospital morgue officials say her father’s body will be dumped in a pauper’s grave unless her struggling family forks over a relative fortune of just over $1,000.

“I’ll never be at peace if he isn’t buried properly,” Tanis said quietly after transferring her father’s corpse to a cut-rate private morgue.

Her anxiety is shared by many in Haiti, where two out of three people live on less than $2 per day and burying the dead is a predatory business. While funerals are costly in any number of countries, Haitian undertakers get away with charging rates that exceed what most citizens earn in a year.

Along the capital’s bustling Rue de l’Enterrement, established morticians and unlicensed freelancers engage in a daily bidding war for new customers while telling bereaved families that anything less than their set packages can be seen as a lack of respect for the dead.

Teams of entrepreneurs, including videographers and brass bands who lead street processions, stand ready to rack up funeral bills with families who are frequently illequipped to pay for any of it. There

competing to claim a finder’s fee of 10 percent that mortuaries dole out to intermediaries.

Established funeral homes want authorities to rein in freelance morticians who cut into their business.

But nothing has been accomplished by the state to tame the uncontrolled market, and licensed parlors reluctantly rent out their morgues and viewing rooms to get a piece of the barely cheaper packages offered Relatives damage the coffin with the remains of a family member, right before burial at the national by self-styled undertakers. cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They damaged the brand new coffin in order to prevent it from

“This business has gotten being stolen and the body dumped out into the ground crazy. More unlicensed people with are even mourners-for-hire for those When Simeon insisted that nothing to offer get into it every single who want the social prestige of a big the cheapest package was about day,” said Zenith Funeral Home and sendoff. $1,000, Tanis and her unemployed Morgue owner Marie Lamercie Louis

“I can provide people to cry, brother passively accepted add-on Dorville, whose priciest package roll on the ground, whatever you services like a funeral video and didn’t offers embalming, metal caskets, want,” chuckled Joseph Jacques press to find out how much another interment and other features costing Simeon, director of the General morgue would charge them while they over $7,000. The median cost of a Hospital’s morgue department. He sought cash for a funeral package. funeral in the United States is $7,180, acknowledged to an Associated Press While many Haitians pool according to the most recent figures reporter that he gets a cut from the resources and seek funeral expenses by the National Funeral Directors funeral packages families agree to from relatives living overseas, there’s Association. when they arrive, shaken, at his office. no shortage of grief-stricken families Haitians are largely resistant

A 2012 report by the Brazil- who sell possessions or take out high- to cremation due to religious and based Igarape Institute indicated that interest-rate loans, in part due to deep cultural traditions. funeral costs in Haiti average about traditions for open-casket funerals Jean Pierre Mercelien, an $5,000 per household and interest and social pressures to bury loved 18-year-old who is learning how to rates up to 150 percent were charged ones with a splash. upholster casket linings, is one of the by moneylenders and morticians.

“This is particularly true latest recruits to Haiti’s byzantine

“In some cases we see poor for poorer people and for people in burial business. families paying significantly more for rural areas where social pressure “It’s a good living because mortician services than middle-class is stronger,” said Carine Roenen, there will never stop being new families because they are less informed director of Fonkoze Foundation, a customers,” he said matter-of-factly about options and don’t believe they non-profit working with Haiti’s in a yard with men building wooden have the room to negotiate the costs,” biggest microfinance institution. caskets and decorating them with said researcher Athena Kolbe, a co- Pitchmen often start hustling cushions and aluminum handles. author of the report. as soon as word gets out there’s been Business is booming on Rue

The bereaved Tanis, who used a death in a family. Fly-by-night de l’Enterrement even though there’s what little savings she had to try and hearse drivers, prying neighbors and little space left in the crowded capital keep her father alive, appeared highly even hospital physicians will bring to entomb the dead. vulnerable to influence. bereaved families to undertakers,

Barbados health minister worried at high level of hypertension, diabetes

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — A national consultation for the development of the National Strategic Plan for Health 2017-2022, began on Monday with Health Minister John Boyce warning that end-stage renal failure is a growing public health problem in Barbados, driven primarily by the high levels of hypertension and diabetes in the population.

Boyce said that the treatment of hypertension and diabetes combined accounted for 58 per cent of expenditure by the Barbados Drug Service last year.

The consultation, which will run until Friday, brings together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well as nongovernmental organisations, to map the way forward for health care in

Barbados.

Boyce, quoting a 2015 report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), said that while Barbados spent an estimated BDS$64 million (One Barbados dollar =US$0.50 cents) annually treating cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, the total cost was about BDS$209 million annually, due to missed work days, low productivity and reduced workforce participation.

He said this represented about two per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Boyce said that with one in three adults in Barbados being hypertensive and one in five diabetic, non-communicable diseases were

Barbados Health Minister John Boyce firmly fixed as major causes of morbidity and mortality.

The health minister told his audience that he envisioned a comprehensive and responsive plan

which would meet the present and future needs of Barbadians, given the existing challenges.

He also stressed the importance, going forward, of timely and accurate health information as the basis for policy formulation and evidence-based decision-making.

“At all levels of the Ministry of Health, we need to cultivate a culture of collecting, analysing and using information about the population, the services provided and health outcomes.

“With a rigorous system of monitoring and evaluation in place, we will be better able to measure the level of service performance and quality improvement, from both the perspectives of effectiveness and coverage,” he told the conference.

Caribbean nationals facing deportation under new US immigration policy

NEW YORK – When Nevisian Floyel Stapleton appeared in a Manhattan Criminal Court in New York for a routine hearing in his misdemeanour assault case, he was stunned to be met by US federal immigration agents as he left the courtroom.

“I didn’t know they were there.

They were in plain clothes. They had no badges, and they arrested me when I was walking out of the courtroom.

They just asked my name and they arrested me,” 39-year-old Stapleton told the New York Daily News from

an immigration detention center in Hudson County, New York.

“They are trying to deport me.

The situation sucks,” he adds.

Stapleton’s arrest on February 21 by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents comes amid a growing debate about whether immigration agents should be allowed in New York City’s 31 courthouses at all.

US President Donald J. Trump has promised a surge in immigration enforcement, creating an atmosphere of fear among many of New York’s

immigrant communities that extends to the courtroom.

The New York Office of Court Administration (OCA) has confirmed only two arrests by ICE in city courthouses since mid-February.

But ICE agents have also been spotted in court on three other occasions, inquiring about certain defendants or lingering in arraignments.

“The Chief Administrative Judge and other senior court administration officials are closely monitoring the appearance of ICE agents in our court facilities,” OCA

spokesman Lucian Chalfen said, noting the small number of “verified” ICE appearances.

“Since we began monitoring the situation, we have verified five interactions with defendants in New York City court facilities, resulting in two arrests,” he added.

Stapleton was convicted multiple times for selling drugs and domestic violence. He told the New York Daily News paper that ICE attempted to deport him in 2007 but released him for reasons that were unclear.

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NEWS

US fires missiles at Assad airbase, Russia denounces ‘aggression’

The United States fired cruise Lago, where he was meeting Chinese missiles on Friday at a Syrian airbase President Xi Jinping. from which President Donald Trump “Even beautiful babies said a deadly chemical weapons were cruelly murdered in this very attack had been launched, the first barbaric attack,” he said of Tuesday’s direct U.S. assault on the government chemical weapons strike, which of Bashar al-Assad in six years of civil Western countries blame on Assad’s war. forces. “No child of God should ever

In the biggest foreign suffer such horror.” ssad’s office said Damascus policy decision of his presidency so far, Trump ordered the step his would respond by striking its predecessor Barack Obama never enemies harder: “This aggression has took: directly targeting the Syrian increased Syria’s resolve to hit those military for its suspected role in a terrorist agents, to continue to crush poison gas attack that killed at least them, and to raise the pace of action to that end wherever they are.”

70 people U.S. officials said that the

That catapulted Washington into confrontation with Russia, which strike was a “one-off” intended to deter has military advisers on the ground future chemical weapons attacks, and aiding its ally, President Assad. The not an expansion of the U.S. role in Kremlin denounced the strikes as the Syria war. illegal.

The swift action is likely to

“Years of previous attempts be interpreted as a signal to Russia, at changing Assad’s behavior have all as well as to countries such as North failed and failed very dramatically,” Korea, China and Iran where Trump Trump said as he announced the has faced foreign policy tests early in attack from his Florida resort, Mar-a- his presidency, that he is willing to

told Reuters the death toll was seven. use force.

“This clearly indicates the Syrian state television later said nine president is willing to take decisive civilians were killed in villages near action when called for,” U.S. Secretary the base. There was no independent of State Rex Tillerson told reporters. confirmation of civilian casualties.

“I would not in any way attempt to extrapolate that to a change in our RAISING STAKES IN THE SKIES policy or our posture relative to our “President Putin views the military activities in Syria today.

There has been no change in that U.S. strikes on Syria as aggression against a sovereign state in violation status.”

The strikes could cheer of the norms of international law Assad’s enemies, after months when and on a made-up up pretext,” said Western powers appeared to grow a Kremlin statement. “This step by increasingly resigned to his staying in Washington will inflict major damage power. But opposition figures said an on U.S.-Russia ties.” isolated assault on a single target was U.S. officials said they had taken still far from the decisive intervention pains to ensure Russian troops were not killed, warning Russian forces in they have sought for many years.

“One airbase is not enough. advance and avoiding striking parts There are 26 airbases that target of the base where Russians were civilians,” tweeted Mohammad present.

Russian television showed Alloush, a senior rebel official. George Sabra, a prominent opposition craters and rubble at the airbase and politician, told al-Hadath TV: “The said nine aircraft had been destroyed. suspended truth is that militarily, if it is limited Moscow to this strike, then it has no meaning.” communication with U.S. forces The view was shared by Meheyedine designed to stop planes colliding over Akkari, a Syrian refugee living in a Syria.

A Russian frigate carrying tent in Lebanon, who told Reuters TV he expected the U.S. strikes to have cruise missiles sailed through no effect on the war: “It is like giving the Bosphorus Strait into the the Syrian people who are bleeding a Mediterranean Sea, although there painkiller, but they will still continue was no indication it was directly in response to U.S. action. to bleed until the last drop.”

The Syrian government and Several Western allies of the United Moscow have denied that Syrian States described the U.S. strikes as forces were behind the gas attack, but a proportionate response to Assad’s Western countries have dismissed suspected use of poison gas. A number their explanation - that chemicals of countries said they were notified in leaked from a rebel weapons depot advance but none had been asked to take part. after an air strike - as not credible.

Iran, Assad’s other main ally,

The Syrian army said the U.S. attack killed six people at its airbase denounced it.

Syrian officials and their near the city of Homs. It called the strike “blatant aggression” and said allies also said they did not expect the it made the United States a “partner” attack to lead to an expansion of the of “terrorist groups” including Islamic conflict.

State. Homs Governor Talal Barazi

KFC to curb antibiotic use in the chickens it buys

Yum Brands Inc’s U.S. KFC chain plans to curb the use of antibiotics in its chicken supply, making it the last of the big three chicken restaurants to join the fight against the rise of dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs.

KFC, the second-biggest U.S. chicken chain by sales after privately held Chick-fil-A, is giving its U.S. poultry suppliers until the end of 2018 to stop using antibiotics important to human medicine.

Some 70 percent of antibiotics vital for fighting infections in humans are sold for use in meat and dairy production and medical researchers have concerns that overuse of those drugs may diminish their effectiveness in fighting disease in humans.

McDonald’s Corp’s roughly 14,000 U.S. restaurants last year stopped serving chicken raised with antibiotics considered important

to human medicine. Its Chicken KFC in the United States and its McNuggets are a top seller and the 4,200 restaurants supplied by some change put pressure on the rest of 2,000 domestic chicken farms, said Hochman. KFC’s antibiotic policy the industry to follow.

Chick-fil-A is going a step is set on a country-by-country further, vowing in 2014 to switch basis, he added. Yum spun off its to poultry raised without any KFC-dominated China division in antibiotics at all by the end of 2019. November.

Given its stature, KFC had ‘GREAT NEWS FOR FRIED been the focus of several antibiotic CHICKEN LOVERS’ reduction campaigns by consumer, health and environment groups in addition to a coalition of British Vijay Sukumar, chief and U.S. shareholders with more food innovation officer for KFC than $2 trillion in assets under U.S., said the new policy applies management. throughout the bird’s full life cycle,

“We recognize that it’s a which includes the hatchery where growing public health concern,” chicks are sometimes injected with KFC U.S. President Kevin antibiotics while still in the shell.

Hochman told Reuters on Thursday.

Using data from a 2017

“This is something that’s WATT PoultryUSA survey, the important to many of our customers Natural Resources Defense and it’s something we need to do Council (NRDC) estimates that to show relevance and modernity more than 42 percent of the U.S. within our brand,” Hochman said. chicken industry is either under

The policy applies only to an antibiotics stewardship pledge

or has already converted to responsible practices.

KFC’s new policy will likely move the number even higher, said Lena Brook, a food policy advocate at the NRDC, who noted that the estimate includes “raised without antibiotics” pledges as well as “raised without medically important” antibiotics pledges from producers like Tyson Foods Inc, Perdue Farms and others.

“It’s great news for fried chicken lovers, and most importantly it’s great news for public health,” Brook said. “Their commitment is one that we’ve been waiting for.”

Human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a grave threat to global health and are estimated to kill at least 23,000 Americans each year, although a recent Reuters investigation found that many infection-related deaths are going uncounted.

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U.S. pedestrian deaths surge, experts see tie to cellphones

U.S. pedestrian deaths rose sharply for the use suggests a connection.

The replacement of flip phones by None of the other factors typically affecting smartphones has also increased the risk, said second year in a row in 2016, according to a study released on Thursday, a trend experts said mirrors pedestrian deaths - such as population growth, Charlie Klauer, a lead researcher at the Virginia increased driver cellphone use and distracted driving. yearly miles driven and walked in the United States Tech Transportation Institute.

Last year saw an 11 percent rise in pedestrian - tracked the rise as closely as cellphone use.

“Smartphones are much much harder to deaths over 2015, making it the largest increase in Retting said wireless data use on cellphones use ... and they are far more capable,” Klauer said. the 40 years that national records have been kept, has shot up dramatically, with 2014-15, the most “Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook: All of it makes according to officials with the Governors Highway recent period for which numbers are available, them very dangerous.”

Distracted drivers can also be difficult to Safety Association, which represents state highway seeing a doubling of the amount of mobile data used in the United States and a 45 percent increase in the catch. While 14 states ban all handheld cellphone safety offices and commissioned the research. use while driving, 32 only prohibit texting, forcing

This followed a 9.5 percent increase in 2015. number of multimedia messages sent.

The study’s author, Richard Retting, called the A 2016 U.S. Department of Transportation officers to prove drivers seen holding or touching results “frankly quite startling,” adding that “there’s study showed that, while overall numbers for phones were not doing something else, said Kara clearly something happening. This is not a one-off.” cellphone use in 2014 and 2015 remained relatively Macek, a spokeswoman for the governor’s association.

Retting said that he viewed the surge as largely flat, the rate of drivers holding up phones and using Results among states were mixed in the attributable to cellphone use, saying that while it their hands to manipulate them had more than survey. While 34 saw an increase, 15 states and the was statistically difficult to rule out other causes doubled since 2009, and among the youngest drivers District of Columbia saw decreases, and Maine saw entirely, the coinciding rise in deaths and cellphone had more than quadrupled. no change.

Scotland’s leader won’t call unilateral independence vote

UNITED NATIONS — take next.”

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she put Sturgeon says Britain’s prime forward compromises “but we minister is doing nothing to haven’t had any sign from the break an impasse over Scotland’s U.K. government that they want future after Brexit, but she ruled to meet us halfway.” out holding a referendum on Independence is a longindependence without the British cherished goal of Sturgeon’s government’s support.

Scottish National Party, but

Prime Minister Theresa pushing for a new referendum is May has rejected Sturgeon’s a major political gamble for the request for a legally binding vote 46-year-old leader. on independence within two years. Sturgeon said an Sturgeon could ignore her and independent Scotland should call a consultative vote, but she be a member of the EU, but told The Associated Press in an there is uncertainty about how Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon interview that a new referendum quickly it could reapply and listens after addressing a United Nations “should be on the same basis as regain membership. If Scotland conference, Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at the last referendum in Scotland, is inside the bloc and the rest of U.N. headquarters which was by agreement and the U.K. out, that could threaten consensus.” the currently frictionless border that “the fact that Donald Trump

Britain as a whole voted between England and Scotland. owns golf courses in Scotland does in June to leave the European “Scotland and England not mean that if I disagree with Union — but in Scotland, the should always trade freely with him on a matter of policy or a vote was 62-38 percent to remain. each other,” Sturgeon said. “It’s matter of principle that I will not That has reignited the issue of in our mutual benefit. But I want say that.” independence, which had seemed that as well as trade within the “But I would seek to operate in to be settled after Scots rejected a (EU) single market because that a way that is respectful and break with the United Kingdom is so important to Scotland’s constructive,” she said. in a 2014 referendum. interests.”

“What I’m very keen to

Sturgeon says the Sturgeon, who has been stress is that regardless of who decision to leave the EU has a critic of Donald Trump, said occupies the office of president changed things fundamentally, she would agree to meet the U.S. or first minister at any given and Scottish voters must not be president and try to build on time, the relationship between forced out of the bloc against their the already strong relationship Scotland and the United States is will. between Scotland and the United a strong one,” Sturgeon said. “It’s

She wants a referendum States. very longstanding. It spans family, to be held between the fall of 2018 But she also said she culture, business, and part of our and spring of 2019, before Britain strongly believes it’s important purpose here in the United States leaves the European Union but “to stand up and champion values is to strengthen, to build on that when details of the divorce are that we hold dear and not allow relationship.” clear. Scotland’s Edinburgh-based a diplomatic silence to get in the That relationship, she parliament has backed that call, way of doing that.” said, is “more important than any but May says now is not the time Trump’s mother came transient policy disagreements for another vote. from Scotland’s Western Isles and between the governments of the Speaking Wednesday he has often touted his Scottish two countries.” during a trip to the United States ancestry. His corporation owns According to U.S. census to drum up support for Scottish golf resorts in Scotland. figures, there are 10 million businesses, Sturgeon said May’s But Sturgeon revoked Americans with Scots or Scotsposition is “not a sustainable one.” Trump’s honorary status as a Irish ancestry, Sturgeon said,

“Simply saying, ‘Now is business ambassador for Scotland “but surveys repeatedly show not the time’ only takes you so in 2015 after he proposed a ban that there are around 30 million far before you have to answer the on Muslims entering the United people in America who claim to question, well when is the time?” States — and she told the Scottish have Scots ancestry.” she said. “I might put forward the parliament in November that she “That says to me there timescale I think makes sense, stood by that criticism. are 20 million people who are not and if she doesn’t agree with that Sturgeon said she has no Scottish in America but would like then we should discuss what the objection to the golf courses and to be Scottish. So that’s a massive alternative might be. I’ll set out welcomes U.S. investment. opportunity for us to build on,” in due course the steps I intend to She stressed, however, she said.

Three airliners in near-misses with drones at London’s Heathrow

LONDON — Three planes narrowly missed colliding with drones near London’s Heathrow Airport in the space of three weeks last year, underscoring increasing concerns about the devices being used near aircraft, a report Friday said.

The report by the U.K. Airprox Board, which catalogs air safety incidents, offered new details on the close calls that took place in October and November. In the most unusual incident, the pilots of an A320 passenger plane descending into Heathrow noticed a gadget with multiple arms and rotors passing below the plane’s right wing at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters).

“Was that a drone?” the pilots exclaimed.

“At 10,000 feet!”

The separation between drone and plane was just 100 feet (30 meters) vertically and 200 meters (656 feet) horizontally. The pilot said there was no time to react, the report said.

While actual collisions are rare, the number of near-misses has increased dramatically in recent years as the popularity of drones has grown. There were 70 near-misses between objects identified as drones and aircraft in 2016, compared to 29 in 2015 and six in 2014, the board said.

The A320 incident was one of three nearmisses involving planes near Heathrow in the February report. In the other two cases, the board said it was either good luck or divine providence that no serious accident had taken place.

Drones must not be flown above 400 feet (120 meters) in Britain. Owners must be able to see them at all times and avoid planes, helicopters, airports and airfields.

Trump donates first-quarter salary to National Park Service

President Donald Trump, who made a fortune in real estate before running for political office, has decided to donate his first-quarter salary of $78,333 to the National Park Service, the White House announced on Monday.

During the presidential campaign, Trump said he would donate his $400,000 annual salary if he were elected.

“That’s no big deal for me,” he told a townhall style meeting in September 2015.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, whose agency oversees the 100-year-old protector of 417 national parks, monuments and other sites, said he was “thrilled” at Trump’s decision.

“We are going to dedicate and put it against the infrastructure on our nation’s battlefields,” Zinke said, appearing alongside White House spokesman Sean Spicer at a daily briefing. “We are about $229 million behind in deferred maintenance on our battlefields alone,” Zinke said.

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WORLD NEWS

Firearm-related hospitalisations cost U.S. billions

Just the initial hospitalizations for firearm-related injuries in the United States cost an average $735 million per year, with the government picking up a large portion of the tab, researchers say.

Medicaid and Medicare pay 41 percent of the total, and private insurers another 20 percent, the study authors report in American Journal of Public Health.

“Firearm-related injuries are at the heart of one of the most heated political discussions in the United States, yet there is surprisingly little scientific research available on the subject,” said lead study author Sarabeth Spitzer of the Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

“It is important for all parties involved in these discussions to have a clear understanding of the monetary cost of these injuries and where the financial burden falls,” she told Reuters Health by email.

In 2014, firearms caused about 33,700 deaths and 81,000 nonfatal injuries in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. homicide rate is seven times higher than that of other developed countries, and the gun homicide rate is 25 times higher, Spitzer and her coauthors note.

To get a conservative estimate of the costs of firearm injuries, the researchers analyzed data from the largest U.S. database of inpatient hospital care. They focused on emergency treatment of firearm injuries that led to hospital admission, excluding readmissions for an older injury or patients who were treated but not admitted.

Between 2006 and 2014, about 267,000 patients were admitted for firearm-related injuries, and inflation-adjusted costs totaled $6.61 billion. Average costs per admission ranged from $19,600 for self-pay patients to $30,900 for Medicaid patients.

The injury patients were overwhelmingly male across all payer groups.

Patients insured by Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for the poor, stayed in the hospital for an average three days longer than others and had injuries that were more likely to have been caused by assault.

Patients covered by Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people over age 65, were more likely to have selfinflicted injuries and privately-insured patients had more unintentional injuries.

About 43 percent of all hospital admissions were in the South, which also had the highest proportion of self-pay patients.

The Northeast had the lowest proportion of admissions with 16 percent.

Of the inflation-adjusted $6.6 billion costs during the study period, Medicaid paid $2.3 billion, or 34.8 percent; Medicare paid $0.4 billion, or 6 percent; private insurers paid $1.32 billion, or 34.8 percent; and self-pay individuals paid $1.56 billion or 23.6 percent.

Homeland Security announces steps against H1B visa fraud

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced steps on Monday to prevent the fraudulent use of H1B visas, used by employers to bring in specialized foreign workers temporarily, which appeared to fall short of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises to overhaul the program.

A White House official said Trump may still do more on the program.

Trump had promised to end the lottery system for H1B visas, which gives each applicant an equal chance at 65,000 positions each year.

Lobbyists for businesses who rely on H1B visas, commonly used by the tech sector, had expected Trump to upend the lottery in favor of a system that prioritized workers who are highly skilled and would be highly paid in the United States.

The lottery for fiscal year 2018 opened on Monday without changes.

The start of the lottery was seen by those watching the issue as the unofficial deadline for the Trump administration to enact H1B visa reform, and the failure to meet that deadline signals that Trump’s promised overhaul of the system may be off

U.S. Department of Homeland Security emblem is pictured at the National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) located just outside Washington in Arlington, Virginia the table or long delayed.

“More oversight is a good start, but employers can still use the program legally to depress wages and replace American workers. That falls short of the promises President Trump made to protect American workers,” said Peter Robbio, a spokesman for Numbers USA, a Washingtonbased group that advocates for limiting immigration into the United States.

The Trump administration has taken other steps to crackdown on H1B visa abuse, such as issuing a Justice Department warning to employers and announcing plans to increase transparency on applicants.

“These are important

first steps to bring more accountability and transparency to the H1B system,” a White House official said.

“The administration is considering several additional options for the president to use his existing authority to ensure federal agencies more rigorously enforce all aspects of the program.”

Tech companies rely on the program to bring in workers with special skills and have lobbied for an expansion of the number of H1B visas awarded.

Proponents of limiting legal immigration, including Trump’s senior adviser Stephen Miller, have argued the program gives jobs that Americans could fill to foreign workers at a less expensive cost.

The measures announced

by DHS on Monday focus on site visits by U.S. authorities to employers who use H1B visas.

In future site visits, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agents will investigate incidents where an employer’s basic business information cannot be validated; businesses that have a high ratio of H1B employees compared with U.S. workers; and employers petitioning for H1B workers who work off-site.

Drug dealers in Spain use fake bananas to transport cocaine

MADRID — Spanish police have arrested two men for allegedly transporting large quantities of cocaine inside fake bananas.

Spain’s civil guard made the arrests Sunday after an investigation was started in November when agents discovered the drugs in a

shipment of bananas.

Among the real bananas, police found 57 fake bananas made of resin that were stuffed with 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) of cocaine. Another 10 kilograms (22pounds) of cocaine were hidden inside the flaps of the cardboard boxes that carried

the fruit.

The police bust took place in the coastal cities of Valencia and Malaga.

The two men charged with trafficking drugs and belonging to a criminal organization are Spanish.

Police say they are investigating a third man, who is Italian.

Spanish matador gored in throat by bull

A Spanish matador has undergone surgery on deep puncture wounds in his throat and leg after being gored by a bull at Madrid’s famed Las Ventas bullring.

Daniel Garcia Navarrete was knocked off his feet after being gored in the leg by the 460 kg (1,014 pounds) bull, who then went for his throat as he lay on the ground covering his face.

Las Ventas officials said the injuries were 15cm deep in

the throat and 10cm into the leg.

The animal tossed Navarrete around the ring before other matadors came to his rescue and warned the animal off in an incident witnessed by more than 10,000 people at Spain’s largest bullring.

“There was blood on his neck and a hole in his thigh,” one spectator said.

“The bull was shaking him about like a rag doll.”

Navarrete, from the

southern Spanish city of Jaen, was hurriedly carried away by the other matadors and underwent surgery on Sunday.

He was resting in hospital on Monday, the Las Ventas bullring said in a statement.

Bullfighting is a centuries-old tradition in Spain and remains popular, but some local authorities have clamped down on fights amid a growing animal rights movement against the practice.

Repeat offender who killed New York policeman sentenced to life

A New York City man was packed the courtroom for the sentenced to life in prison without sentencing at state Supreme Court parole on Monday for gunning down in Manhattan, as Howard slouched a police officer in 2015, a murder that silently in his seat. particularly incensed city officials, “The shooting of a New York who said the repeat offender should City police officer is in many ways have been in jail at the time of the an attack on the entire community,” killing.

Judge Michael Obus said before

Tyrone Howard, 32, was handing down the sentence to convicted of killing Officer Randolph Howard, whom he described as an Holder, a crime that took place soon “extremely dangerous individual.” after Howard was sentenced to Howard declined to address treatment on a drug charge despite a the courtroom during the hearing. long history of offenses. At the time As he was led away in handcuffs, the of shooting, he also was a suspect in officers stood and clapped. a gang-related murder.

“Rot in Hell!” screamed a

Dozens of police officers female relative of Holder as Howard

left the courtroom.

The killing unfolded in October 2015 after Howard shot repeatedly into a crowd of people on an East Harlem street and then stole a bicycle at gunpoint.

He quickly ran into Holder and his partner, who were responding to the report of the shooting, and then shot the officer.

Howard was convicted on six charges, including first-degree murder, aggravated murder and robbery.

Howard had numerous drug and robbery arrests dating back to when he was 13 years old, Assistant

District Attorney Linda Ford told the court. Since that first arrest, Howard had spent no more than a year at a time out of prison, Ford said.

“This life of crime culminated in the events of October 20, 2015,” Ford said.

In the drug case prior to Holder’s shooting, Howard had been sentenced to a rehabilitation program as part of a plea bargain for selling crack cocaine. But he never completed his treatment.

After the shooting, his punishment in that case was changed to 12 years in prison.

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WORLD NEWS

‘El Chapo’ prison conditions worst in U.S., says lawyers

Held without access to sunlight able to speak to his family to arrange or his relatives, Mexican drug lord payment or discuss potential attorneys, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is under Gelernt said. more restrictive captivity than any

“The need to continually seek other U.S. prisoner and it is difficult to relief from the draconian jail conditions mount a defense, his court-appointed will distract Mr. Guzman and his lawyers said on Thursday. lawyers from defending against the

Mexico extradited Guzman, charges,” she said. who is the head of Sinaloa Cartel, to

In a filing on Wednesday to New York in January, a few hours U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan of before U.S. President Donald Trump the Eastern District of New York, took office. Guzman, who escaped from Guzman’s lawyers said the strict two Mexican prisons and was a key confinement puts Guzman at risk of figure in a bloody drug war, is seen as Mexico’s top drug lord Joaquin ‘’El Chapo’’ Guzman is escorted as he arrives at Long Island MacArthur psychological damage, and that he airport in New York, U.S., January 19, 2017, after his extradition from Mexico a flight risk by the U.S. government. may already be “hearing non-existent

Guzman is restricted to his investigate cases of alleged improper under the worst, most restrictive sounds.”

New York City cell for 23 hours a day, treatment of prisoners, regardless of conditions of any prisoner currently U.S. prosecutors have argued with the lights on at all times. He has who the prisoner is or what they may detained by the United States that such tough measures - called one hour of exercise in a small interior have done,” Amnesty International’s government,” Administrative Measures Gelernt said.”Even Special cage with no access to fresh air or Americas Director Erika Guevera- convicted prisoners held in the - are needed to prevent Guzman sunlight, Amnesty International said Rosas said in a statement. notorious federal Supermax in Colorado from communicating with his cartel in a letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney Guzman, who sold oranges as are allowed to watch television in their cohorts still running the multinational Andrea Goldbarg dated March 28. a child before turning to the drug trade cells, exercise outside where they can trafficking organization, and to prevent

Saying that Guzman’s captivity in the 1970s, has not been allowed speak with other inmates, and speak repeats of his two Mexican prison appeared to be “unnecessarily harsh” to speak to his wife or other family with their families. Mr. Guzman enjoys escapes. and in contravention of minimum members. The conditions of captivity none of these benefits.”

In his most recent escape in U.N. standards for the treatment of exceed any other mainland U.S. prison, The U.S. confinement 2015, Guzman walked out of prison prisoners, the human rights group has including the super-secure Colorado conditions, especially restrictions on through a mile-long highly engineered requested access to his cell to verify the prison known as Supermax, public communicating with family members, tunnel from his cell, a sign of the huge conditions. defense attorney Michelle Gelernt said. mean it is tough for Guzman to contact influence he was able to wield even

“We will continue to

“Mr. Guzman is being held private lawyers because he is not from behind bars.

White female cop facing trial for killing black man says race not a factor

A white police officer facing a manslaughter trial next month for fatally shooting an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after his vehicle broke down said race was not a factor and that the man’s own actions caused his death.

In an unusual appearance on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday, officer Betty Shelby insisted her actions, captured on videotape, were driven entirely by the behavior of the man she shot, Terence Crutcher.

Although the footage showed Crutcher, 40, had his hands in the air as he stood beside his car in a roadway just before Shelby shot him, she said the video fails to show clearly that he suddenly reached into the vehicle in what she believed was an attempt to grab a weapon.

It was that move, and his repeated failure to heed her commands, that led Shelby, 42, to use lethal force.

“What I based everything on was his actions, his behaviors,” she said. Shelby acknowledged, however, that Crutcher was not being aggressive.

Oklahoma Police Officer Betty Shelby

However, she also said she perceived Crutcher as reaching into his car for what she feared was a weapon, and also suspected that he was high on the hallucinogenic stimulant PCP, or phencyclidine, a suspicion born out by autopsy results.

“I saw a threat and I used the force I felt necessary to stop a threat,” she told CBS.

No firearm was found on Crutcher or in his vehicle.

Shelby has been charged with first-degree manslaughter,

punishable by at least four years in prison in Oklahoma.

Prosecutors say she escalated the situation and overreacted.

The case has stoked simmering anger among those who see racial bias in U.S. policing.

In videos provided by Tulsa police, Crutcher can be seen with his hands in the air shortly before he was shot.

“I don’t know what Officer Shelby was thinking when she pulled that trigger,” Tiffany Crutcher, the victim’s twin sister, told “60 Minutes.”

“What we saw on that video is what my dad always taught us to do if we were pulled over by a police officer.

Put your hands in the air and put your hands on the car. And my brother did what my father taught us,” she said.

Shelby, who is on unpaid leave, said she regretted Crutcher’s death but that he was to blame.

“I have sorrow that this happened, that this man lost his life. But he caused the situation to occur,” she said.

“So in the end, he caused his own” death, Shelby said.

Pink diamond auctioned for record $71.2M in Hong Kong

HONG KONG — A stunning 59.6 carat diamond known as the “Pink Star” sold for $71.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction Tuesday in Hong Kong, setting a new world record for any diamond or jewel, according to the auction house.

The oval mixed-cut diamond smashed the $60 million pre-sale estimate set by Sotheby’s when it went on the block.

The sale comes three years after the gem was sold at an even higher price at another Sotheby’s auction in Geneva. That deal later fell apart after the buyer defaulted.

The gem is the largest flawless fancy vivid pink diamond ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America.

Three telephone bidders competed for the stone during five tense minutes of bidding.

The crowd in the packed auction room applauded when it was sold for a hammer price of $63 million , not including the buyer’s premium.

Sotheby’s Asia Chairwoman Patti Wong said the winning bidder is Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook

“We’re very happy,” Wong said. “I know there was a lot of talk about the economy in China not being as positive as it was a few years ago,” but the results from its jewelry auction Tuesday, which included nearly 200 other lots, were very strong, she said.

Wong said the company is not worried about another default because the bidders were vetted and have longstanding relationships with Sotheby’s.

“We’re very, very confident that all three bidders had the financial capability, and of course the buyer definitely had the financial capability,” she said.

Until now, the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction was the “Oppenheimer Blue,” which fetched 56.8 million Swiss francs (then $57.6 million) last May. The previous world auction record for a pink diamond was $46.2 million for the 24.78 carat “Graff Pink” in 2010.

Sotheby’s decided the time was right to bring the diamond back to the market because of rising demand from wealthy Asian buyers.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Tupac Shakur bigger in death than life

Tupac Shakur’s recording career lasted just five years before he was murdered in 1996, but it is the rapper’s influence from beyond the grave that was celebrated when he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday.

Arguably bigger in death than he was in life, Shakur will be only the sixth rap act to be voted into the Hall of Fame in its 30-year history.

The Hall of Fame described him as “an international symbol of resistance and outlaw spirit, an irresistible contradiction, a definitive rap anti-hero.”

That is a big claim for the Harlem-born son of two Black Panther activists who spent time in jail for assault and released just four albums before being killed at age 25 in a driveby shooting in Las Vegas that has never been resolved.

Rap too has evolved, becoming the second most popular music genre in the United States after rock, reflecting and challenging social inequities in its lyrics and music videos, and inspiring symposiums at prestigious universities such as Harvard.

Shakur has sold 75 million albums, mostly from seven posthumous releases, and although his sales figures will never match those of 21st century hip hop kings like Drake, Kanye West and The Weeknd, his influence remains profound.

“For anyone who is serious about learning about hip hop, there are certain people whose music you have to deal with and Tupac is one of those people. You can’t say you are knowledgeable about hip hop if you don’t know about Tupac,” said Todd Boyd, professor of cinema and media studies at the University of Southern California.

Boyd was one of the academics who first created the study of hip hop culture in the American university system in the early 1990s when it was often demonized by politicians for promoting violence and misogyny.

He said Shakur had an emotional energy that distinguished him from many of his contemporaries and transcended his skills as a rapper or a lyricist.

“When you listen to Tupac, you feel something. He has a strong

Mel B’s estranged husband controlled her millions: ‘She never knew where her money was’

Mel B and her estranged husband in happier times

Mel B showing one of the many bruises she sustained from beatings by her husband

Melanie “Mel B” Brown was Brown claimed that before a the breadwinner in her relationship TV appearance following her Dancing with estranged husband Stephen with the Stars finale in November Belafonte, but he wielded total 2007, Belafonte choked and slammed control over her finances, a source her against the floor while she got tells PEOPLE. ready at home. She said he would

“She never knew where her abuse her whenever she saw career money was or how she could get to it,” success in any way, noting that “when the source says, adding, “He set up something good would happen for me, the account, put the accountants in he would beat me down to let me place; she literally never knew where know that he was in charge.” her money was.”

In July 2012, Belafonte

The source says that with allegedly accused Brown of flirting Belafonte, 41, in control, he would with R&B singer Usher while she have Brown do “anything that would taped X Factor. Brown claimed earn him a bit of money.”

Belafonte “flew into a rage,” punching

As the couple goes through her in the face and splitting her lip. the process of divorcing, Mel’s To cover up the injury when lawyers will be bringing in a forensic she returned to set, Brown says she accountant to sort through the told people who questioned her that finances, the source says. she’d had an allergic reaction to

The singer and TV personality, shellfish. The crew then had a doctor 41, filed for a temporary restraining give her an unnecessary steroid order Monday against Belafonte, injection intended to treat an allergic claiming that he beat, threatened and reaction. exploited her throughout their nearly The couple’s marriage came 10-year marriage. He has denied the under fire in late 2014 after the allegations. star was hospitalized for two days,

“Mel kept turning up with then appeared three days later on bruises,” the source tells PEOPLE. the finale of the U.K. version of The “Everyone said, ‘Are you OK?’ and she X Factor with what appeared to be just kept coming up with excuses.” bruises.

Belafonte has been ordered X Factor producer Simon by authorities to leave the family’s Cowell attempted to procure legal Los Angeles home and to stay away and financial advice for Brown at the from Brown and her three daughters: time, a source tells PEOPLE. Phoenix, 18, Angel, 10, and 5-year-old Brown tried to leave Madison.

Belafonte several times, she said

In documents related to the in the documents. But he allegedly order, Brown details the years of threatened to destroy her career their troubled relationship, with the by releasing sex tapes and take her first alleged incident occurring five children. months into their marriage.

emotional impact that I think speaks to the fact that here was a guy who, in my mind, was going perhaps to be a better actor than rapper, had he lived,” Boyd said.

Shakur’s “appearance” in a hologram at the Coachella music festival in 2012 sent sales of his music soaring. He has also been the subject of several documentaries, a Broadway play, a June movie release “All Eyez on Me” and an upcoming TV series on Shakur and his friend-turned-rival Tupac will be only the sixth rap act to be voted into the Hall of Fame in its 30-year history Biggie Smalls.

“Everybody loves a mystery. parents, between people and That’s a huge part of the mythos that governments. What he talked about surrounds his death, that it’s unsolved,” still resonates with the human said Richard “RJ” Bond, who in condition,” Bond said.

March released “Tupac Assassination: Boyd said Shakur does not The Battle for Compton,” his fifth need induction in the Rock Hall of documentary about Shakur.

Fame to confer legitimacy, although

Other than his murder, the the honor is nice for his fans.

Los Angeles film maker believes “When you listen to hip hop people gravitate toward Shakur’s even these days there is still a great music today because his observations deal of reverence for him. And for about politics, the media, the police any member of the community who is and relationships are still relevant. young enough not to have been alive

“His themes are timeless when he was around, to go back to his and universal. He talked about music now is very important to them,” relationships between sons and Boyd said.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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BUSINESS &

TECHNOLOGY

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 phone aims to dispel the Note 7 failure

NEW YORK — Samsung seems to be playing it safe —at least with its battery — as it unveils its first major smartphone since the embarrassing recall of its fire-prone Note 7.

The Galaxy S8 will come in two sizes, both bigger than comparable models from last year. To maximize display space, there’s no more physical home button. The S8 also sports a voice assistant intended to rival Siri and Google Assistant.

But battery capacity isn’t increasing, despite the larger sizes, meaning more breathing room for the battery. Samsung had pushed the engineering envelope with the Note 7 battery, which contributed to spontaneous combustions. That recall cost Samsung at least $5.3 billion.

Though many customers remain loyal, any further misstep could prove fatal.

The phone, announced Wednesday in New York, will come out April 21. The standard-size S8 will cost about $750 and the larger S8 Plus about $850 — both about $100 more than comparable iPhones and rival Android phones.

“That’s a big bet that its phones will justify a higher price, whereas it could have used these new phones as a way to drive higher sales after a couple of years of stagnation,” said Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research.

ABOUT THAT BATTERY

Samsung has blamed the Note 7 fires on multiple design and manufacturing defects in its batteries.

Inspectors concluded some of the batteries were too small for their capacity, putting pressure on the internal structure.

The company says phones will now go through multiple inspections, including X-rays and stress tests at extreme temperatures. And Samsung no longer is trying to squeeze a lot of battery power in a small space. The S8 Plus model, for instance, has 3 percent less battery power than the Galaxy S7 Edge, but the phone itself is 12 percent larger.

Samsung says software and chip improvements mean the new phones will still last all day.

BIGGER, TALLER SCREENS

The S8 phone’s display measures 5.8 inches diagonally, compared with 5.1 inches on the S7. The S8 Plus will be 6.2 inches, compared with S7 Edge’s 5.5 inches and the Note 7’s 5.7 inches. Samsung is getting rid of the “Edge” distinction and bringing curved sides to all S8 phones.

Samsung has also made it easier to look at apps without scrolling as much. It enlarged the screen by minimizing the frame, or bezel, surrounding the display; gone is a horizontal strip with the home button

at the bottom. Instead, Samsung is embedding a virtual home button in the display and moving the fingerprint sensor to the back. In addition, both S8 models are taller than their predecessors, but widths are roughly the same. That makes them easy to hold in one hand.

VOICE ASSISTANT

The new Samsung Galaxy S8, left, and Galaxy S8 Plus mobile phones are displayed in New York. The Galaxy S8 features a larger display than its predecessor, the Galaxy S7, and sports a voice assistant intended to rival Siri and Google Assistant.

Samsung claims its new voice assistant, Bixby, will do much more than rivals from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon. For one thing, Samsung says Bixby will be able to handle any smartphone task currently with the broader digital ecosystems managed by touch. When viewing a from Google, Amazon or Apple,” photo, just say “send this to Bob” to Forrester analyst Thomas Husson pull up messaging options and contact said. information for the Bobs you know.

Bixby will also offer information OTHER FEATURES on books, wine and other products scanned with the phone’s camera.

The front camera is getting a boost to 8

But there’s a major caveat: megapixels, from 5 megapixels, while Bixby will work only with selected the rear one stays at 12 megapixels.

Samsung apps, including the photo As with previous models, the S8 is gallery and messages, along with water and dust resistant and features Google Play Music. Not all touch a memory card slot to supplement 64 commands will have voice counterparts gigabytes of built-in storage, which is right away. Other apps will be able to higher than the base models of most adopt Bixby, but Samsung has had a rivals. The S8 will get an iris scanner mixed track record in getting other to let people unlock the phone by companies to support its home-brewed looking at it ; the feature was new in functions, such as an “Air View” the ditched Note 7 phone. feature for showing pop-up previews Samsung will include of content. Never seen it? Exactly. premium earbuds from AKG, a brand

“I think the brand will it acquired when it bought Harman struggle to compete in the longer term International.

Ralph Lauren to cut jobs, close flagship Fifth Avenue Polo store

Ralph Lauren Corp said it would cut jobs and shut its flagship Polo store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, among other office and store locations, as part of a cost-cutting plan.

The luxury retailer also said its e-commerce business would move to Salesforce.com Inc’s cheaper and more efficient Commerce Cloud platform.

Ralph Lauren had said last year it was building an in-house global e-commerce platform.

The New York-based retailer also said on Tuesday that it would integrate its products from the Fifth Avenue store into the Ralph Lauren men’s and women’s flagship stores on Madison Avenue and its downtown locations.

Ralph Lauren said it expects to incur about $370 million in charges

Ralph Lauren’s flagship Polo store in Midtown Manhattan, on Fifth Avenue, New York City and save about $140 million from the Ralph Lauren, like other new measures, which are part of a luxury brands, has been struggling as Americans spend lesser on apparel cost-cutting plan announced in June.

The retailer did not specify and accessories, resulting in falling how many jobs it would cut. sales in the last seven quarters.

Ralph Lauren said in June it The company’s margins have would cut about 1,000 jobs and close also taken a knock as department 50 stores to lower costs and revive stores discount heavily to get rid of excess inventory. sales growth.

Ford recalls F-250 pickups that could roll while in park

Ford Motor Co is recalling about 52,600 F-250 pickup trucks sold in the United States and Canada because the vehicles could roll after the driver moves the automatic transmission lever into park position, the company said.

The recall, the third announced by Ford this week, affects 2017 model year F-250 vehicles powered by 6.2-liter gasoline engines and built in its

Louisville, Kentucky, truck plant, it said in a statement.

Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, also said it was unaware of any injuries or accidents associated with the latest issue.

The company said on Wednesday it was recalling 211,000 vehicles in North America to replace potentially faulty side door latches.

Ralph Lauren’s lower-end Polo and Lauren brands are facing competition from fast-fashion retailers such as H&M and Inditex’s Zara.

Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren will continue to “explore new retail concepts, including Ralph’s Coffee, and develop new store formats that connect the brand to loyal and new customers,” the company said.

“These are important actions we are taking to continue our evolution and deliver on the Way Forward commitments we made in June,” said Jane Nielsen, chief financial officer.

“We are looking carefully at the way consumers are shopping online and believe that shifting to the [new digital] platform will allow us to create a bestin-class solution more efficiently in all of our markets around the world.”

Another recall involves 230,000 vehicles that present a fire risk in the engine compartment.

Ford said it had reports of 29 fires related to that issue but no injuries.

The Dearborn, Michiganbased automaker had previously recalled nearly 4 million vehicles for door latch issues in six separate announcements since 2014, including 2.4 million vehicles recalled in late 2016.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

WORLD NEWS BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

Facebook to use photo-matching to block repeat ‘revenge porn’

Facebook Inc is adding tools to make it easier for users to report so-called “revenge porn” and to automatically prevent the images from being shared again once they have been banned, the company said.

“Revenge porn” refers to the sharing of sexually explicit images on the internet, without the consent of the people depicted in the pictures, in order to extort or humiliate them. The practice disproportionately affects women, who are sometimes targeted by former partners.

Facebook has been sued in the United States and elsewhere by people who said it should have done more to prevent the practice. The company in 2015 made clear that images “shared in revenge” were forbidden, and users have long had the ability to report

posts as violating the terms of than 150 women’s safety service. organizations and decided it Beginning on needed to do more, Antigone Wednesday, users of the world’s Davis, global head of safety largest social network should at Facebook, said in a phone see an option to report a picture interview.

A specially trained as inappropriate specifically because it is a “nude photo of me,” group of Facebook employees will provide human review of Facebook said in a statement.

The company also said each reported image, Davis said.

The process to prevent it was launching an automated sharing requires process to prevent the repeat repeat sharing of banned images. Facebook to retain the banned Photo-matching software will pictures in a database, although keep the pictures off the core the images are blurred and only Facebook network as well as off a small number of employees its Instagram and Messenger have access to the database, the company said. services, it said.

Users who share Prosecutors and lawmakers “revenge porn” may see their have also sought ways to prevent accounts disabled, the company the spread of “revenge porn,” seeking additional penalties for said.

Facing criticism, a practice that they said has the company last year met ruined careers and families and representatives from more even led to suicide.

Air travel demand up in February, despite US travel restrictions

Global demand for air travel rose 4.8 percent in February, thanks to lower fares and improving economies, with no major impact from an attempted U.S. travel ban, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday.

Tourism bodies have warned that travel to the United States could slow this year due to a perception that it is less welcoming to travelers than before.

“Although we remain concerned over the impact of any travel restrictions or closing of borders, we have not seen the attempted U.S. ban on travel from six countries translate into an identifiable traffic trend,” IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement on Thursday.

Middle Eastern carriers, among the most affected by the attempted travel restrictions, saw demand rise 9.5 percent in February, said IATA, which represents nearly 265 airlines accounting for 83 percent of global air traffic.

De Juniac also repeated criticism of the way in which

Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at La Guardia Airport in New York authorities brought in new fires in the cargo holds of restrictions on electronic devices passenger planes as a result of larger than a smartphone from the ban. passenger cabins on flights from Overall, capacity in certain countries without first February increased 2.7 percent, consulting the airline industry. leading to the load factor - a

“The introduction of measure of how full planes are restrictions on the carry-on of rising 1.6 percentage points to large electronic devices was 79.5 percent. IATA said that was a missed opportunity and the the highest-ever level recorded result was a measure that cannot for a February. stand-up to the scrutiny of public Falling fares have put confidence in the long term,” he pressure on airline earnings in said. recent months and IATA said Europe’s aviation it estimates fares have dropped regulator on Wednesday voiced by more than 10 percent in real concern over the risk of battery terms over the last year.

Forty percent of Americans more cautious with email after election hacking

Forty percent of Americans say they are more cautious about what they write in emails since last year’s cyber attacks against the Democratic Party, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday.

The March 11-20 opinion survey showed that a sizable minority of Americans made personal changes to how they interact online following the hacking of emails during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, which were later published by WikiLeaks and other entities.

Among respondents, 45 percent said they had changed their online passwords since the hacks.

U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russia orchestrated the disclosure of the emails to embarrass the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and help Republican Donald Trump win. The emails also led to the ouster of Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Moscow denies the allegations.

Concerns about online security crossed party lines, with 43 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of Republicans saying they had been more cautious about personal email since the election hacking.

“It makes you start to wonder how secure anything is as far as your own privacy,” said Delene Rutledge, 67, a retired teacher in Indiana who participated in the poll. “And yet I’m not the greatest at coming up with great passwords - I’m not sure it would make any difference.”

Despite concerns about digital privacy, only a small percentage of Americans said they had started protecting themselves online in other ways within the past month.

Five percent of adults said they had begun using secure messaging services like Signal, WhatsApp or Wickr.

Some 16 percent said they had placed tape over the camera in their computers to block any unwanted spying, a tactic advocated by Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and FBI Director James Comey.

Twenty-one percent said they had switched off the tracking capabilities of their internet browsers, while 17 percent changed their user ID on social media networks like Facebook or Twitter and 10 percent unplugged smart TVs or other internet-connected devices when not using them.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. It included 3,307 American adults and had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 2 percentage points.

Brazil lawmakers vote to regulate Uber, other apps

Brazil’s lower house of Congress voted on Tuesday to give cities greater power to regulate ride-hailing app Uber and other transportation apps, paving the way for local governments to charge taxes, require insurance and pension benefits for drivers.

In a symbolic vote, a majority of lawmakers approved the main text of the bill and voted on specific items that still need to be cleared

in the Senate. One of the approved amendments would require cities to authorize Uber services.

That amendment, which makes ride-hailing services a public interest activity, could interrupt Uber services in cities that lack regulation, Daniel Coelho, one of the lawmakers in charge of drafting the legislation, told reporters after the vote.

Uber said in a statement that the bill proposes “a backward law

that does not seek to regulate Uber, but to turn it into a taxi (operator).”

The company added it expects the debate to continue in the Senate to “ensure that the voice of millions of people in Brazil who wish to have their right of choice is heard.”

Although the overall impact is not immediately clear, the legislation could increase the cost of the ridehailing app in Latin America’s biggest consumer market.

Brazilian taxi unions and many politicians have accused Uber of unfair competition, triggering protests by taxi drivers in some cities and even attacks against Uber drivers.

Adding to Uber’s woes in Brazil, Spanish rival Cabify earlier on Tuesday announced an investment of $200 million to bolster its participation in South America’s largest country.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

LOCAL SPORTS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 43

TCI Softball Federations observe International Day of Sport for Development and Peace with a double header

The Turks and Caicos Islands Softball Federation will join the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), and sporting organizations around the world in celebrating the “International Day of Sport for Development and Peace” this April 6. This will mark the first year the WBSC and its member countries will observe the Sports peace day and the transformative power that sport has to positively change lives and bridge social gaps.

The Turks and Caicos Islands Softball Federation through its church league will play two very exciting games at the National Stadium on April 6 at 6:30pm, and immediately

following the first game will hold a therefore used to represent positivity brief ceremony. and constructiveness in sport.

The ceremony will include

The TCISF is encouraging brief remarks from the TCISF both the general public and the president and executives. It will also media to support this historic event see pictures taken of the crowd and geared towards promoting peace and all players around the league holding sportsmanship. up white cards to commemorate the Game 1 will feature Jericho day. The Federation will post pictures Baptist vs. Paradise Baptist/Harvest taken with white cards to social media Bible and game 2 will feature Global with the hashtag #whitecard to show United Fellowship vs. Church of God of Prophecy. Game 1 - 6:30pm, Ceremony the TCI’s support of the initiative.

The white card is symbolic - 8pm, Game 2 - 8:15pm. and represents a contradiction to the

The United Nations General red card, which signifies the most Assembly and the International Committee established serious offense that a sports player can Olympic commit. The colour white symbolizes the International Day of Sport for instead purity and peace, and is Development and Peace on August

NOTICE

Regula.on 7 of the Physical Planning (Development Permission) Regula.ons, 1990 An Applica)on, REGISTERED PR. 13036 by Windward Development Ltd. for the development of a Residen.al, Tourism and Marina Community, has been submi8ed to the Department of Planning for considera)on of Development Permission on Ship Yard, Long Bay Hills on Providenciales. The applica.on as submiSed seeks planning considera.on for a Residen.al, Tourism and Marina Community inclusive of ameni.es including Clubhouse Building, Tennis Courts, Marina, Docks, Piers, Restaurant, Bar, Spa, Gym & overwater Structures.

Anyone wishing to make representa)on(s) may do so in wri)ng to the Director of Planning, South Base, Grand Turk or through the Department of Planning, Downtown, Town Center Mall, Providenciales, within twenty eight (28) days of publica)on of this No)ce.

Derek Astwood

Is seeking Labourer To work 5 days per week Salary $6.25 per hour Contact #244-4452

23rd 2013.

In three years, more than 840 projects, held across 180 countries on 5 continents were registered on the www. april6.org platform. As for previous editions, Peace and Sport will present to the IOC and the UN a report with all the events that were organized and registered to celebrate April6 around the world.

The organization Peace and Sport (www.peace-sport.org), under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, was recognized by the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee as the leader for the awareness raising campaign over this important day.

PREMIERE GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION LIMITED Is inviting suitable applications for the following position:

CASHIER KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Tasks

•Compute and record totals of all daily sales transactions.

•Greet customers entering establishments.

•Issue receipts, refunds, credits, or change due to customers.

•Sort, count, and wrap currency and coins.

•Weigh items sold by weight in order to determine prices.

•Calculate total payments received during a time period, and reconcile this with total sales.

•Compile and maintain non-monetary reports and records.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE / QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will possess the following: • Bilingual with 2-3 years of customer service experience • Attention to detail in your job responsibilities • Team Player • Great communication skills.

Salary for this position will be commensurate with qualifications and/or experience.

Please submit Applications to: sales@premiereja.com Submission should be no later than April 21st, 2017 CAICOS OIL LTD. SOUTH DOCK ROAD, PROVIDENCIALES TEL: (649) 941-7872 / 941-7873 FAX: (649) 941-7874 POSITION: TRUCK DRIVER Delivering and offloading of containers and bulk fuel products. Will be required to work weekends and some late evenings. Much hold a clean commercial truck drivers license. Must adhere to all safety precautions. Safety Training will be provided.

WAGES/SALARY: $12.50 per hour Interested persons should submit their resume along with a cover letter to the following: The Manager Caicos Oil Ltd., P.O. Box 653, South Dock Road, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands The deadline for receipt of all applications is April 17th, 2017

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

CARIBBEAN

SPORTS

12-year-old female Jamaican speedster creating waves

KINGSTON – Jamaica may have another sprinting sensation on their hands, after a 12-year-old female athlete posted a record time at the 2017 Boys and Girls Championships over the weekend.

Brianna Lyston left her competitors in her wake to win the 200m race in the Caribbean nation, clocking a time of 23.72 seconds – almost within two seconds of the senior world record set by Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1988 Olympics.

Lyston, who attends St Jago High School in Spanish Town, St Catherine, finished 0.88 seconds ahead of her nearest rival Oneika McAnnuff to win the 200m final, and she showed she’s not bad at shorter distances either.

The budding speed merchant also won the 100m dash on Thursday night in her Under-13 age group at Class Four level, winning the final in 11.86 seconds.

It is little wonder she is being immediately compared to the exploits

of her all-conquering compatriot Usain Bolt.

Despite Lyston’s tender age, her potential as an elite athlete has been known for some time, with her first coming into national prominence as a ten-year-old.

The short-distance runner posted 42.41 seconds in the 300m at the Caribbean Union Teachers Championships in Trinidad and Tobago in 2015 – over a second faster than the time clocked by the winner of the boys’ race.

Lyston is certainly one to watch at future Olympic Games, and she was clearly delighted with her achievement on home soil across the weekend in Kingston.

Setting off in lane four, Lyston wasted little time in establishing a lead over Tina Clayton, her expected rival to first spot sweeping inside four of her opponents on the first bend.

There was no let-up in the home straight, as the Jamaican schoolgirl effortlessly sauntered away

from the rest of the field and managed to demolish the record previously held in Class Four athletics.

Her sub-24 seconds sprint was an improvement on her semifinal time in Heat 2 of the preliminary round, but she had already beaten the previous record of 24.21 set in 2015 by Joanne Reid.

She has some way to go to match the feats of Bolt, but the eighttime Olympic gold medallist was far less advanced as a professional athlete at the same age as Lyston.

As a 12-year-old, Bolt began to show his sprinting potential by becoming the fastest 100m runner at his school Waldensia Primary, but his love for all sports meant it was not until he was 14 that he focused on improving his athletic abilities.

It was fittingly at the same event Lyston has now caused ripples across the world that Bolt won his first annual high school championships medal in 2001, taking silver in the 200m with a time of 22.04 seconds.

Brianna Lyston

Team Bahamas announced for IAAF World Relays 2017

The much anticipated official Team Bahamas has been named for the fast approaching IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2017 to be held in New Providence on April 22 and 23 at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

“We are very pleased with the selection of athletes for Team Bahamas, IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2017,” said Team Manager, Philippa Willie. “We have some familiar names. We have some very big international names and of course we have very talented up-coming athletes who will be first-timers to this event.”

The thirty-two (32) member team consists of twenty Olympians, headed up by The Bahamas’ recently crowned golden girl, Shaunae Miller and seven of the country’s most decorated male 400m champions. Hurdle specialist, Ivanique Kemp, will join CARIFTA qualifiers Wendira Moss and Devine Parker to make up the eight (8) female athletes named to the 4x100m squad.

“With this mix of athletes, The Bahamas is sure to be a viable contender for the Golden Baton. We are very proud of our athletes and hold them in high esteem, knowing that their performance on the track is always A-1. We say a big congratulations to all the athletes participating on Team Bahamas. Go for gold!!”

Team Bahamas Athlete Listing – Relay Pool: WOMEN 4x100m Relay

4x400m Relay

Brianne Bethel Rashan Brown Ivanique Kemp

Christine Amertil Tayla Carter Lanece Clarke

Jermicka McBride Wendira Moss Tamara Myers V’Alonnee Robinson Devine Parker

Tynia Gaither Shaunae Miller Anthonique Strachan

MEN 4x100m Relay Shavez Hart Warren Frazier Adrian Griffith Blake Bartlett

4x400m Relay Stephen Gardiner Michael Mathieu Ramon Miller Christopher Brown

Javan Martin Samson Colebrook Robert Johnson Ian Kerr

Andre Colebrook Elroy McBride Andretti Bain Stephen Newbold Demetrius Pinder Ashley Riley

Management Team Philippa Arnett -Willie – Team Manager Kim Hanna - Assistant Team Manager Fritz Grant - Head Coach Sidney Cartwright - Relay Coordinator Wendell Collie - Coach Ravanno Ferguson - Coach John Ingraham - Coach Rudolph Ferguson - Coach Officials at National Sports Authority and the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2017 are very busy making final preparations for the sporting event set to take place in just a few weeks. BTC has signed on as the title sponsor and other sponsors

are as follows: National Partner: Caribbean Bottling National Sports Authority National Supplier: Bahamas Waste Bahamasair Bahamas Power and Light Restaurants Bahamas Public Institutions: Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Ministry of Tourism Bahamas Amateur Athletic Association National Broadcaster: The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas

The following events will be held in the IAAF Relays Bahamas 2017: 4 x 100m, 4 x 200m, 4 x 400m, 4 x 800m and this year the Relays will see a new and exciting feature in the form of a co-ed 4 X 400 meter race.

The top 8 finishers of the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m, for both men and women, will qualify for the IAAF World Championships in London later this year.

A junior program with athletes from The Bahamas will be held prior to the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2017.

Single session tickets range from $15.00 to $70.00 and can be purchased at the stadium or online. Event t-shirts are on sale at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium and at all Dorsett Tees locations.

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

WORLD

SPORTS

Late run lifts North Carolina to NCAA title

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 45

Federer beats Nadal in straight sets in Miami Open final congratulations to Roger. Amazing start of the season, one of the best comebacks on the tour ever after a long injury.”

Fourth seed Federer, in his 24th career final against Nadal, started slowly, struggling to hold serve in the very first game, but he staved off two break points and settled into a good serving rhythm.

Fifth seed Nadal had his moments but had far greater trouble holding serve than Federer, who would have won more easily had he converted more than two of the nine break point opportunities.

“It was a very intense first set,” Federer said.

“It could have gone either way really and then the second set started slow from both sides.

Eventually I got a few important (points) and played the right way like I have so many times this year,” the Swiss said.

“We’ve had some epic matches over the years,” Federer said to Nadal at the victory presentation.

“In 2005 when I beat you very lucky here in the final I told you you were going to win this tournament and I truly believe you are still going to win this tournament. You’re too good not to.”

Roger Federer of Switzerland kisses the Butch Buchholz trophy after his match against Rafael Nadal of Spain (not pictured) in the men’s singles championship of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center

North Carolina Tar Heels forward Theo Pinson (1) holds the trophy after the win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium

North Carolina made up for last year’s title-decider heartbreak by putting together a late run to overhaul Gonzaga 71-65 in the final of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament on Monday.

Trailing 65-63 with less than two minutes remaining, North Carolina ended the contest with an 8-0 spurt to pull clear of their fellow top-seeded opponents.

The triumph at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona came in sharp contrast to the scenes of utter dejection a year ago when the Tar Heels fell to Villanova on a buzzerbeater in Houston, Texas.

“They wanted redemption,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams told reporters after claiming his third career national title.

“I told my team with three minutes left: ‘If you had told me on the first day of practice that we would be in this position I would have taken it.’

What we had to do was play the last three minutes.”

Justin Jackson converted a three-point play to put the Tar Heels ahead for good with 1:40 left and Isaiah Hicks added a crucial shot inside.

Joel Berry II led the Tar Heels with 22 points in the victory.

“I wanted to see the confetti fall on us,” Berry said. “We came out and competed down to the last seconds but we’re national champions now.”

Gonzaga, from Spokane, Washington, lost for just the second time this season in its first ever appearance in a national championship title game.

Nigel Williams-Goss had a team-high 15 points for the Bulldogs. He put his team on top 65-63 with a jumper but tweaked his ankle in the closing 90 seconds, leading to some missed shots down the stretch.

“He’s such a warrior, he blew out his ankle and was still able to get to his shot,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “The kid is a flat out winner. We got good shots and had the ball where we wanted.”

Gonzaga claimed a 35-32 halftime advantage but North Carolina started the second stanza with an 8-0 run as the teams traded the lead all the way until the Tar Heels pulled away at the death.

Roger Federer clinched his 91st career title when he beat rival Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-4 in the Miami Open final on Sunday.

Federer, peerless this year after returning from a six-month injury absence, broke once in each set for his fourth consecutive victory over Nadal, though the Spaniard still leads their career head-to-head record at 23-14, due entirely to his superiority on clay.

Federer, now a threetime Miami winner, leads 10-9 on hardcourt.

The 35-year-old Swiss, showing no sign of losing his edge, improved to 19-1 this year, winning the Australian Open in five sets over Nadal, and BNP Paribas Open in straight sets over

fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka.

His only loss was at the hands of Russian Evgeny Donskoy in the second round in Dubai.

“What a start to the year.

I can’t believe it. For me the dream continues,” said Federer, who still has a ways to go to match his career-best 35-1 start in 2005.

The result left Nadal a five-times Miami runner-up, after previous final defeats in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014.

“Every three years I am here in this position but always with the smaller trophy,” he observed. “Hopefully I will not have to wait three more years to be in that position fighting again for a title.

“I have to say

Financial adviser pleads guilty to defrauding NBA star Duncan

A prominent wine industry businessman and financial manager pleaded guilty in federal court in San Antonio on Monday to stealing millions of dollars from retired National Basketball Association superstar Tim Duncan.

Charles Banks, 49, faces up to 20 years in prison during his sentencing, due in June. He was indicted by a grand jury of two counts of federal wire fraud on suspicion of bilking the NBA star, court records unsealed in September showed.

Banks pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, regarding an investment he urged Duncan to make in a firm called Gameday Entertainment, which Banks headed.

After the hearing, Duncan, who played his entire NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, told reporters: “I greatly appreciate the work of the Department of Justice and others who have seen the wrongs committed and helped me take action in the hope that others will

Tim Duncan, is a native of the US Virgin Islands never have to go through this.”

According to court documents, Duncan’s losses totaled $13.5 million in investments and loan guarantees made to Gameday, which went out of business this year.

Prosecutors said much of that money went into Banks’ pockets.

Defense lawyers said in court on Monday some of that money has been forgiven by the banks that provided the original loans.

Duncan is also suing Banks in civil court.

Banks is the founder of Terrior Capital, a financial management fund that works in the wine and hospitality industry.

Duncan retired at the end of last season after 19 seasons with the Spurs.

The scam was discovered when Duncan’s ex-wife consulted a financial planner to put together a property settlement for their divorce, court documents said.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

WORLD SPORTS

Warriors clinch NBA’s best record again

PHOENIX — The NBA regular season belongs to the Golden State Warriors — again.

The high-speed Bay Area dynamo needed 42 points from Stephen Curry to hold off the pesky Phoenix Suns 120-111 Thursday night, a victory that ensured Golden State would have the best record in the NBA for the third straight season.

“Yeah, it’s impressive,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We have had a great run.”

The Warriors won their season-best 13th straight game, all of them without the injured Kevin Durant.

Getting the top playoff seed was “a goal that we set going into the season,” Curry said, “to make sure the regular season mattered for us, to clinch that, and we did.”

With Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala resting and Durant one game away from returning from injury, the Warriors prevailed in front of a noisy crowd.

“I think our guys enjoy the position we are in. They know it is a special era that is not going to last forever,” Kerr said. “We have a special

group of talented players at the same time, so we are trying to enjoy every moment.”

Curry scored 23 in the first quarter when the Warriors blew open a 41-18 lead, but the Suns rallied with a 34-17 second quarter and made a game of it from there.

“I think we got mesmerized as a team,” Kerr said. “We were so enamored with what Steph was doing that we kind of stopped playing to start the second quarter.”

Golden State became the first team have the NBA’s best record for three consecutive seasons since the Boston Celtics did it in 1983-84, ‘84’85 and ‘85-’86. The Warriors, Boston — multiple times — and Philadelphia are the only franchises in NBA history to achieve that feat.

The Warriors also are the first team to win at least 65 games in three straight seasons.

Klay Thompson scored 22 for the Warriors, including a critical late 3-pointer.

With the Spurs’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors are 6514, 4 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio.

Golden State has three games to play,

Steph Curry is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry San Antonio four.

The Warriors raced to that 23-point lead after one quarter, but Phoenix outscored Golden State 34-17 in the second quarter to cut it to 58-52 at the break. Golden State led by 13 entering the fourth quarter.

But the Suns, with the worst record in the West and second-worst in the NBA, didn’t fold.

A 10-0 Phoenix run sliced Golden State’s advantage to 104-101 on Ulis’ 20-footer with 5:01 to play.

Curry responded with his eighth and

Klay Thompson is the son of Bahamian Mychal Thompson, who was the number one pick in the 1978 NBA draft, and the first foreign-born player to be selected first final 3-pointer, but the Suns twice cut it to four again — the last at 109-105 after Ulis made a pair of free throws 2:29 from the finish.

Thompson’s 3, only his second in nine tries, made it 112-107 and Phoenix never got closer than five again.

Durant is targeting a Saturday night at home against the New Orleans Pelicans for his return from a sprained MCL and bruised thigh.

Brazil top FIFA rankings for first time in seven years

Tony Romo

Tony Romo to take analyst job at CBS Sports

NEW YORK Tony Romo is trading in his #9 jersey for a spot in the broadcast booth.

The Cowboys quarterback is retiring to join CBS Sports as its lead NFL analyst for the upcoming season.

The length of the deal is unclear, but Romo will replace Phil Simms, who was the network’s lead NFL analyst for 19 years.

Romo will be a part of the network’s “The NFL on CBS” coverage on Sunday afternoons and Thursday nights, alongside Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson.

“When you think about the NFL, two of the most iconic brands are the Dallas Cowboys and CBS Sports,” Romo said in a statement from CBS. “Going from one legendary team to another as I begin the next phase of my career is a dream come true.”

Romo also tweeted about the new gig, saying he’d have to start dressing up.

Romo signed with America’s team as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2003. He started out as the team’s thirdstring QB but eventually ascended to the starting position in 2006.

Romo led the Cowboys to the postseason four times and scored playoff wins in 2009 and

2014. However, during the past two seasons, he only played in five regular-season games because of an injury. Last season, he lost the starting job to rookie Dak Prescott.

At his request, Romo was released on Tuesday after 14 years with the Cowboys.

“We wish Tony and his family nothing but the best. As an organization, we did what he asked us to do in terms of his release, and we wanted to do what was ultimately in his best interest,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement.

“He will leave us with many great memories and a legacy of being, truly, one of the greatest players in Cowboys history.”

Romo signed a 6-year $108 million contract with the Boys that was set to last until 2019. His salary cap in 2017 would have been $24.7 million, according to Spotrac, which monitors player contracts.

That’s the absolute max a team would have had to pay.

Romo’s fellow Cowboy quarterback, Troy Aikman, also pursued a career in broadcast after he stopped playing. But the former quarterbacks will still serve on competing teams, since Aikman is the lead game analyst for Fox Sports.

Five-times world champions Brazil have returned to what they will consider their rightful place at the top of the FIFA rankings for the first time in seven years.

Brazil have enjoyed a impressive revival since Tite replaced Dunga as their national team coach last year, winning all nine matches they have played under his leadership including eight World Cup qualifiers.

They continued their run in March with a 4-1 win in Uruguay and 3-0 win over Paraguay to become the first side to book their place at next year’s World Cup in Russia with four games to spare.

Brazil, who replaced arch-rivals Argentina at the top, previously led the rankings going into the 2010 World Cup where they were eliminated by the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Since then, they have suffered a string of embarrassments, with elimination by Paraguay at successive Copa America tournaments in 2011 and 2015 and their infamous 7-1 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final.

Argentina lost their place after last week’s 2-0 defeat in Bolivia which has left them struggling to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Four of the top five teams in the rankings announcement by FIFA on Thursday, are from South America. Chile are fourth, Colombia fifth and Germany sandwiched in between in third.

FIFA World Rankings list for April FIFA rankings published Thursday (last month’s rankings in brackets): 1. Brazil (2) 2. Argentina (1) 3. Germany (3) 4. Chile (4) 5. Colombia (7) 6. France (6) 7. Belgium (5) 8. Portugal (8) 9. Switzerland (11) 10. Spain (10) 11. Poland (12) 12. Italy (15) 13. Wales (12) 14. England (14) 15. Uruguay (9) 16. Mexico (17) 17. Peru (18) 18. Croatia (16) 19. Egypt (20) 20. Costa Rica (19)

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Sandals Invests Millions in Team Member Development Five years since the official launch of the Sandals Corporate University (SCU), Sandals Resorts International is proud to announce that since 2012 it has invested almost US$11M in Human Resource Training and Development, US$1M of which has gone directly into providing scholarships for team members across the region. This has allowed the pursuit of courses and degrees up to the doctoral level.

Five years after launching the Sandals Corporate University, resort company continues to invest in human capital. opportunities to further their education through high school equivalency, professional certification and degree programmes as well as on the job training.

Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Sandals Resorts International, Adam Stewart, expressed pride at the journey and impact of the SCU since Hundreds of team members at Beaches its launch and stressed the importance of investing in human capital. He said, Turks and Caicos have enrolled with “The success of every company, ours the SCU, with the resort holding the included, is inextricably linked to the distinction of becoming the first resort personal and professional successes of its in the Caribbean to earn the title of team members. Investing in the training, Certified Guest Service Property from development and education of human the American Hospitality and Lodging capital should therefore be a priority in Educational Institute. every company. This is something that can never be taken lightly as this investment The SCU was launched in March goes beyond an employee’s tenure. It is an 2012 with the endorsement of several investment for life! My dad, our Chairman Caribbean Heads of Government and Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart always remarks with a mandate to provide all team on the pride he feels when he travels the members across the region with

Commenting on the company’s history of training and the plans for the next five years and beyond, Stewart said,

world and encounters a former Sandals team member who continues to do well and make his/her country proud by making their own mark in tourism globally. That is the far reaching impact of the training we provide - an investment in people to allow them to achieve their full potential and take care of their families.”

“We have always operated in a culture

Since the SCU’s launch, 4,413 team members across the region have enrolled with the SCU which has in turn issued 9,337 certificates of completion in a variety of disciplines to date. Through partnerships with several local, regional and international institutions, universities and colleges, including the New England Culinary Institute, the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute and the Hotelschool the Hague, to name a few, the SCU has provided both line and managerial staff with the opportunity to pursue hundreds of academic programmes.

learning, Sandals has always been

of training and development, with our main ethos being ‘to hire the attitude and train the skill’. From the informal sessions held in cottages at Sandals Montego Bay when our company started back in the 1980s to crosstraining opportunities and hands-on aware of the importance of training to the development of individuals, families, communities and the industry at large. When we formally launched the SCU it was with a commitment to continuously elevate the level of competency and proficiency of our team members and five years later we’re still delivering on that promise.

We are excited about the years ahead and the amazing programmes we will be introducing!”

FEATURED STUDENTS

Cordero’s Journey Cordero Cash, Acting Supervisor of Entertainment Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Villages & Spa Spend just one minute with Cordero Williams and you will understand just why he’s such a favorite among the team members and guests alike.

Possessing an always upbeat spirit, Cordero is one of several vibrant personalities working in the Entertainment Department at Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa. Cordero has been with Beaches for 11 years, making his debut in the Kitchen Department as a Pantry Chef at the age of 19 and transitioning to the Entertainment Department due to his ability to put a smile on the faces of everyone he meets.

Cordero, who was valedictorian of the Sandals Corporate University’s (SCU) graduating class of 2015 at Beaches Turks and Caicos, says the SCU has greatly assisted in boosting his confidence and attributes his recent promotion to the training and skills learnt through the SCU. Since the introduction of the SCU, he has pursued courses in Professional Communication, Leadership and Customer Service as well as two hospitality supervisory courses with the American Hotel and Lodging Education Institute.

“The courses have helped me a lot, especially with leadership and how to manage my team and how to be a more effective leader. It also boosted my confidence”, he said. Through his appointment as valedictorian , Cordero says the SCU has also helped to develop his writing and public speaking skills.

Jarred’s Journey

Jarred Williams, Sales Assistant Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort Villages & Spa Just 20 years old, Jarred Williams has displayed an eager willingness to acquire more knowledge and this eagerness has seen him obtain 5 certificates through the Sandals Corporate University (SCU) in just 2016 alone.

As a Sales Representative in the Resort Shop at Beaches Turks and Caicos, Jarred has been certified in the Art of Selling, Leadership Development and Professional Communication along with other courses offered by the SCU. Jarred says the courses have helped him to not only be a better employee but a better person - one who has become more efficient in the execution of his daily duties and taking command of any situation.

He said, “The instructors were amazing; they taught well, they were very interactive with the students and I definitely left the courses knowing more.”

For Jarred, SCU has provided him with invaluable experience that he will be able to take with him throughout all his future endeavours. He said, “It shows that the place I work really cares about my education and my growth.’

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

APRIL 8TH, 2017 – APRIL 15TH, 2017

Published by SUN MEDIA GROUP, Turks and Caicos Islands | Tel:649 339 5879 | Fax: 649 941 3281