VOLUME 9 ISSUE 9

MARCH 9TH - MARCH 16TH, 2013

Website: www.suntci.com

VOLUME 9 - No. 9

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SIX SEATS TO BE CHALLENGED Amanda Missick

Delroy Williams

Derek Taylor

Josephine Connolly

Oral Selver

Eddie Astwood

George Lightbourne

and MP for Wheeland, Delroy Williams (PDM); businessman and MP for Grand Turk South, Edwin Astwood (PDM); businessman and MP for Grand Turk North, George Lightbourne (PNP) and Amanda Missick, the former PNP MP for Cheshire

Hall and Richmond Hill.

“I have asked the Court to determine whether in each case, the individual is or is not qualified to be an elected member of the House considering the failure to give notice of the respective charges. The Constitu-

tion provides for a process for challenge in each of these cases in the public interest,” said Acting Attorney General Rhondalee BraithwaiteKnowles.

According to the Acting AG, when Derek Taylor, Josephine Connolly, George Lightbourne , Eddie Astwood and Delroy Williams made their declarations to the Supervisor of Elections for the November 9th 2012 General Election, they failed to declare that they had contracts with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government.

The Acting Attorney General is claiming those five MPs had contracts with Government in the form of a charge to secure the payment to the Crown of a “Belonger Discount” (applicable under the Crown Land Policy) in the event of a sale in pre-

BY HAYDEN BOYCE PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

F

our months after an extremely close general election that returned the Turks and Caicos Islands to self-rule, there could be at least six by-elections in this country shortly.

That’s because the Attorney General’s Chambers has brought legal action six politicians, four from the Opposition People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and two from the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP), after serious concerns were raised about declarations which they made to the Integrity Commission.

The politicians whose cases will be heard in Grand Turk before Chief Justice Edwin Goldsbrough on Thursday March 14th, are former Chief Minister and At-Large MP, Derek Taylor (PDM); prominent businesswoman and At-Large MP Josephine Connolly (PDM); businessman

CFO HUGH MCGARELGROVES RECALLED

TOURISTS ROBBED AND BEATEN

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FATHER BEEN SAYS TCI SEEN AS CHILLING SPOT FOR CRIMINALS

RICHARD SAVORY AND STEPHEN WILSON ARE NOW QCS

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SIX SEATS TO BE CHALLENGED

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scribed circumstances. She said they did not give notice of these charges to the Integrity Commission, as required by section 49(1)(f) of the Constitution.

In relation to Amanda Missick, the Acting AG said that the former Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hill MP failed to make certain declarations on or before Nomination Day (March 1st) for the March 22 by-election in that constituency.

The Integrity Commission issued a press release and an official document saying that Missick filed on March 4th, which was three days late.

The Acting AG stressed: “Separate and apart from the confidential declaration required to made to the Integrity Commission under the Integrity Commission Ordinance by a person in public life, the Constitution requires a candidate for election, on nomination day to make a declaration that he or she is qualified for election and that no disqualification mentioned in section 49(1) of the Constitution applies to him or her. In addition, section 49(1)(f) of the Constitution requires such a candidate to notify the Integrity Commission, prior to nomination day, of the existence of any contract between that candidate and the Government. Failure to so notify the Integrity Commission would result in a candidate being disqualified to stand in an election.”

She added: “Following receipt of copies of the section 49(1)(f) Notices and related correspondence supplied to me by the TCI Integrity Commission and having caused background research to be undertaken in the Lands Division of the Chambers, I have come to the conclusion that I should act under section 50(3) of the Constitution, and today a challenge to the veracity of the declaration made by Ms. Amanda Missick, PNP candidate for the upcoming by-election in the Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hill Electoral District on 22 March 2013 has been filed before the Supreme Court.”

Brathwaite-Knowles said that if the Court determines that Amanda Missick is disqualified she

will not be able to stand for election on 22nd March and the sole remaining candidate, Oral Selver, will be declared elected.

However, on Friday March 8th, a motion was filed in the Supreme Court claiming that Selver, also has Crown Land which he did not declare.

If the court finds that this is true, then Selver will also be disqualified from contesting the by-election and a fresh date for by-elections will have to be set. It could mean that both the PNP and PDM will have to find two new candidates to run.

On Friday, attorney Alvin Garland also filed another motion against Amanda Missick, stating that she should be disqualified to be nominated as a candidate for the by-election and be disqualified from being a member of the House of Assembly because she was late in her submission to the Integrity Commission.

Meantime, the Acting AG said that in the case of Derek Taylor, Josephine Connolly, George Lightbourne, Eddie Astwood and Delroy Williams, if the court finds that they are disqualified, their seats will be vacated and by-elections will have to be called in each of those seats.

“A decision on their disqualification would not prevent them from standing in a subsequent by-election called as a result,” the Acting AG added.

Regarding the two At-Large seats for Derek Taylor and Josephine Connolly, the SUN understands that it will not be a case where Carlos Simons and Oswald Skippings will be automatically elevated to fill those spots because they came sixth and seventh, respectively in the November 12th elections among the At-Large candidates.

Instead, Taylor and Connolly can run again or the PDM can run two different candidates. The PNP will be able to run two candidates to fill those posts and any number of independents can also run. The two persons who get the first and second highest number of votes will then fill those two At-Large spots in the House of Assembly.

According to Section 59 (2) of the new Constitution: “Whenever an elected member of the House of Assembly vacates his or her seat for any reason

other than a dissolution of the House, an election shall be held to fill the vacancy, on such date as the Governor shall appoint by proclamation published in the Gazette within three months, but not less than 35 days, of the occurrence of the vacancy unless the House is sooner dissolved or will be dissolved under section 57(3) within four months of the occurrence of the vacancy.”

Last week, Eugene Otuonye QC, Director of the Integrity Commission said the Integrity Commission has a number of legislative responsibilities concerning the by-election which takes place on 22 March 2013 for the Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hill, Electoral District 7. This includes publication of notices of contracts and interests with Government and making this information readily available to the public of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

He stated that in accordance with Section 49(1) (f) of the Constitution which came into force on 15 October 2012, no person shall be qualified to be an elected member of the House of Assembly if he or she is a party to any contract with the Government and has not, on or before the date of nomination, disclosed in a notice to the Integrity Commission the nature of such contract and his or her interest in it.

Candidates, who will be participating in the forthcoming by-election on 22 March 2013, have submitted notices to the Commission. They were required to do so on or before Friday 1st March 2013, being the nomination date for the by-election. Thereafter, the Commission is required under Section 49(3) of the Constitution to publish any notice delivered to it for the purpose of informing the electorate before the date of the election.

Otuonye stated: “This is a crucial by-election and it is important that the Commission make this information publicly available to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. In doing so, the Commission is fulfilling its primary responsibility under the Constitution which is to promote integrity, honesty and good faith in public life in the islands.”

The Turks & Caicos Islands Telecommunications Commission Awards Digicel TCI with the “Prime” 700 MHz (LTE) Spectrum A

fter a two stage bidding process that ran for approximately 6 months, the Turks & Caicos Islands Telecommunications Commission (‘the Commission”) selected Digicel TCI as the winner to receive the “prime” 700 MHz (LTE) spectrum. Digicel TCI’s application best met the Commission’s requirements, which among other things, required the applicants to state how/when they plan to roll-out LTE (Long Term Evolution) and to outline the benefits that the country should expect to receive from the planned roll-outs.

Digicel TCI, the only carrier to be awarded its preferred 700 MHz spectrum block (i.e. Lower B&C), submitted a bid that exceeded the deployment requirements set by the Commission, and it included a commitment to give back to the country

JAY SAUNDERS by providing: a) free internet service to all public/government schools including both campuses of the Community College, b) subsidized 4G LTE devices and data bundles for all students and teachers in the

country, and c) each public/government secondary and post-secondary school – including both Community College campuses – with a Digital Classroom (“the Classroom of the future”) free of charge.

As the only carrier to receive its preferred 700 MHz spectrum block, Digicel TCI has in essence been endorsed as the carrier with the best plans to roll out the next generation of telecommunications services in the Turks & Caicos Islands.

“We are proud that the Commission felt that our plans for the future of telecommunications in the Turks & Caicos Islands was the most exciting and technically advanced among all the carriers.” stated Digicel CEO, E. Jay Saunders. “Being chosen to lead the way in the roll-out of the next generation of telecommunications services in the coun-

try just a few months after being awarded a 5 year contract to buildout and support the new state-ofthe-art e-government network is a huge endorsement, and it highlights the level of confidence that the market place has in Digicel TCI to be able to not only offer and support the latest telecommunications technologies, but to be able to do so at prices that are affordable.” he further stated.

LTE (Long Term Evolution), is a 4G wireless communications standard that’s designed to provide up to 10 times the speeds of current 3G/4G networks for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, notebooks and wireless hotspots. LTE is designed to provide download speeds of at least 100 Mbit per second and up to as fast as 1 GBit per second.

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LOCAL NEWS

THE DOMINOES ARE FALLING! W

er through official channels that e are living in interesting he was no longer going to be with times, to say the least! us. So Neil Smith, come again!

It seems as if the Governor’s As someone recently pointed tour of duty in TCI will not be out, Mr. McGarel-Groves had a lot extended, the CFO’s tenure here of personal capital at stake in the is being curtailed and the Attorimplementation of VAT. But VAT, ney General will not return to as per his own bankrupt compaTCI! ny was lacking in ideas and imagNow we have known for ination and they have both fallen some that the AG was seriously apart under his leadership. sick. He had to return to the UK So go and rewind the tape Neil on several trips to visit the docSmith. We are not buying what tors there to deal with his ailyou are selling. Every day now, ment! He had been globe-trotyou are seeing that we as a people ting for so long that he could not

BY ROYAL S. ROBINSON, MBE are getting from under your Merestablish sufficient to the UK system to allow him to be treated under their lin’s spell and coming into our own. It has taken NHS system. So what happened is that he used some time to begin to happen, but once that one one of the five places for critical care that was step on the road of a thousand miles has been takavailable for Turks and Caicos Islanders who are en, all hell will break loose before we stop now!

We have had our bump in the road and we referred to the UK for treatment. Life definitely have absorbed the shock. The comatose state is not fair to us.

The man, while he was here as well as away on that we were in, is now gone! Like a mother told sick leave, has been giving bad advice that has ad- her son in Kew some time ago “deceiver, I can versely impacted the people of this country. Now see clearly now”! That is clearly where we are, in his hour of sickness, he is still talking advan- even though it has taken us a long to reach that tage of us. I do not wish sickness on anyone, nor point. Lamb form Over Back, used to say when do I say that the man should not have access to you called him, “I am coming, but I am a long quality care for whatever is ailing him. My only way off”! That long way, is not so long anymore gripe on that matter is that why should it be our and we can see some light at the end of the tunspace that is utilized, nothing more, nothing less. nel! We just have to keep up the fight and our efWe have been saying that these three persons forts will bear fruit!

Now from all of the background chatter that I should leave our shores for good by whatever means necessary, and so they are! And no, we did have been hearing, the FCO came to realize that not put any “ju ju” on him. Apparently he came Governor Todd’s selection was a total lapse in here a sick man, and the extent of his sickness judgment. The man was not ready for prime time! manifested itself on our dime! Be that as it may, If you were to go back and listen to his maiden he will be out of our hair! We will deal with his re- speech here, you would see that he was surprised by his appointment and could not give a rational placement at a later date!

The CFO has until August to complete his ini- reason for his selection!

After the first few days of sheen, the veneer tial contract! We all know that he would have had some vacation to take and so on. It cannot was peeled off and we could see him for what he be right that Mr. McGarel-Groves is leaving in truly was, a pompous, arrogant person, totally abMay, nearly three months before contract conclu- sorbed with himself!

I have said many times that this man is the sion! The parrot can try to spin it whatever way he wishes. We know for sure that it was no co- worst Governor that was sent to us in my livincidence that subsequent to the Premier Dr. Ru- ing memory, starting with Sir Ralph Gray that we fus Ewing’s letter he had to visit the UK and the shared with The Bahamas! I suppose that he has news came through the grape vine at first, but lat- taken umbrage with my characterization, and has

Turks and Caicos Sun Suite # 5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 946-8542 Fax: (649) 941-3281 Email: sun@suntci.com Read us online at www.suntci.com Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden Boyce Senior Editor: Vivian Tyson Office Manager: Dominique Rigby Distribution Manger: Kelano Howell Design by Design2pro.com The Turks and Caicos SUN is a subsidiary of The SUN Media Group Ltd. We are committed to excellence in journalism, educating and informing our readers, serving and satisfying our advertisers and assisting in the overall development of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

been trying to fight dirty as they say, but his days are fast coming to an end as well.

I know that the British are masters in the art of saving face, but no amount of face-saving can help Governor Todd. He has exceeded his authority in a number of ways and has cost the TCI people a lot of unnecessary money by taking advice from the likes of McGarel-Groves and Shepheard. But one day, we will have our day in Court, and they will all be held into account for the atrocities them have meted out to the people of this country!

Their time is fast approaching, while our beacon is just about to be lit! We will no longer be feeling our way in the dark. We can now see through the glass, clearly! There is not going to be any stopping us from attaining the goals that we have set for ourselves. The road may be rough, but in the end, we will be able to say, “It ain’t easy, but it is worth it”! * Royal Robinson was a former Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Health under the Progressive National Party administration.

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Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement to finish this week

BY VIVIAN TYSON

G

overnment should complete hammering out its Fiscal and Strategic Police Statement by the end of this week so that it could be ready in time for the new budget year, which begins on April 1.

Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, told a post cabinet press briefing last Friday, March 1, in Providenciales that the document should be ready in a week, and so, government would need to piece the different elements together s as to come up with an overall credible revenue stream.

“As you know, the decision has been taken not to implement Value Added Tax, we now have to go a review of our Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement that will indeed seek to align our projected revenue with our expenditures.

“We hope to have this Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement completed within the next week, so that we

could then begin the process of the budget preparation, so that we can have a timely presentation of the budget to the House of Assembly,” Ewing said.

Now that the imposition of Value Added Tax is off the table for the 2013/2014 budgetary year, government would now be looking to find other means of revenue-raising methods to satisfy the increase demands of across-the-board programmes, some of which have been woefully underfunded or pushed on the backburner waiting to be funded.

The Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement could include a one percent raise in accommodation tax and one percent increase in cruise ship passenger head tax. It could also drag vacation home rental into the tax net. The successful raise in revenues by the government could be the panacea for the non-return of VAT. After Britain decided that VAT

was the way to go and dismissed the newly-elected government’s recommendation of an alternative revenue-raising method, the Rufus Ewing administration vowed that it would not play any part in the tax’s implementation, having had the backing of civil Turks & Caicos and their parliamentary colleagues across the floor.

And so, for the first time in the country’s history on January 17, this year, government and the opposition along with the business sector made a public coalescing to show unity against what they describe as the bad-for-business tax.

Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing and his Opposition counterpart, Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, indicated that they would bond to get rid of VAT, as the UK Government doubled down on the tax’s implementation.

However, in an unexpected twist, the Britain announced last week that it was no longer interested in

imposing the tax at this time. The reason given was that the people of the country were against it.

Now that the British government has made an unexpected 180 on the implementation of VAT, the Rufus Ewing administration is now being saddled with the daunting task of chiseling a credible and sustainable revenue-raising framework that would not only ensure enough money to maintain the public sector but also to repay the $260 million DIFID loan. But the premier said that he and his team are up to the task.

In the meantime, Dr. Ewing said that at the next sitting of the House of Assembly, government would be taking supplementary bills to undertake the Education Review in the TCI, the procurement of new pumps for the reverse osmosis plant in Grant Turk, to replace the faulty ones there, and also to fund the Human Rights Commission Office and the Integrity Commission.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER HUGH McGAREL-GROVES BEING RECALLED

BY HAYDEN BOYCE PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

C

hief Financial Officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Hugh McGarel-Groves will be leaving his post before his contract expires in September this year.

Impeccable sources told the SUN that McGarel-Groves, who was appointed in September 2011 for two years, is being recalled.

The reasons for the decision were not available up to the time of writing this report, but two weeks ago Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing wrote a letter to UK Secretary of State William Hague requesting that McGarel-Groves, Governor Ric Todd and Attorney General Huw Shepheard be recalled.

McGarel-Groves, who replaced the first CFO Caroline Gardner in September 2011, reportedly has had an adversarial relationship with certain key members of the former British Interim Administration. His relations with the local business community and the elected Government have been no less stormy.

A chartered accountant, McGarel-Groves, was appointed to the TCI by the Department for International Development (DFID).

He is one of the main architects and proponents of the introduction of Valued Added Tax (VAT) in the TCI. The controversial tax which was originally scheduled to be implemented here from April 1st 2013, has since been be put on hold.

Meantime, in the House of Commons on January 30, 2013, two MPs Glyn Davies and Michael Ellis asked the Secretary of State for International Development when it is expected that the Turks and Caicos Islands Government will attain a sustainable budget surplus.

The Minister for DFID, Alan Duncan replied: “In 2010, the annual deficit in the Turks and Caicos Islands was £40 million and rising. To address

Premier Rufus Ewing this unacceptable state of affairs, DFID appointed a Chief Financial Officer to oversee the island’s finances, and we now expect a sustainable surplus to be attained from this year onwards.”

The report of a sustainable surplus is at stark odds with the projections that have been given by finance authorities here in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Governor’s spokesman Neil Smith confirmed that Mr Hugh McGarel-Groves’s contract as Turks and Caicos Islands’ (TCI) Chief Financial Officer (CFO) ends on 4 May 2013.

“As his contract approaches its end he will be working from both the UK and TCI,” Smith said.

“His contract end date was agreed before Premier Ewing wrote his letter to Foreign Secretary William Hague and is completely unrelated to that correspondence. His successor will be announced in due course.”

Responding to Smith’s release, Premier Ewing stated: “I am indeed encouraged by the official press release by Mr Neil Smith stating that

the Chief Financial Officer Mr. Hugh McGarrel-Groves will no longer be the Chief Financial officer of the TCI as of May 4th.

Mr. Smith made a specific effort to indicate that the CFO’s departure was due to the expiration of his contract on May 4th of this year, a date that was supposedly previously determined and supposedly unrelated to the requests made from the Turks and Caicos Islands Premier for his withdrawal. If this statement is indeed factual, then the CFO would have been departing our shores some four and a half weeks following the previously intended April 1st launch of the Value Added Tax program with whose development he was integrally involved.”

The Premier added: “His (McGarel-Groves) absence would have removed the oversight that would have been required from his office during the 1st phase of the implementation of an undertaking as significant as this project was. This would have indeed demonstrated a significant level of irresponsibility on the part of those whose offices were responsible for crafting this project as well as its implementation plan and further justifies the position taken by the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands to stand together against VAT. I wish to state that my government will welcome the opportunity to engage in productive and mutually beneficial dialogue with Mr. McGarrel-Groves’ successor to the better interest of our people and nation on the whole. I will however make it clear that my government will continue to ensure that the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands will continue to be heard and will continue to be the primary stakeholders in any major decisions on a national level, as we are the ones who are left to bear all burdens at the end of the day”.

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LOCAL NEWS

Government orders hospitals bosses to turn over documents

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he Rufus Ewing administration has order InterHealth Canada – company that runs the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre in Providenciales and the Coburn Town Medical Centre in Grand Turk – to provide it a series of document for review, so that government could make changes where necessary.

The two hospitals which have been operating under a cloud of controversy since their opening early 2010, have been accused of not providing satisfactory service to the public, and to that end, there has been a chorus of calls for a review of every facet of its operation.

Among the documents requested by government are: A listing of all contracts and subcontracts awarded by InterHealth Canada TCI since the hospital’s started operation in 2010, including the costs and duration of contracts and recipients; Procuring contracts; Listing of all staff employed by the hospitals, their salaries staff, allowances and other benefits; The expatriate to local employment ratio at the institution; and Their fee schedule Ewing said that the documents were to be forwarded to govern-

ment before it meets with the contract team on March 12.

Of significance, some of the things that we asked for, that we will be seeking and asking InterHealth Canada to provide to us – before the formal contract management team meeting scheduled for March 12 – are as follows, “We would like for them to provide to us a listing of all contracts and subcontracts awarded by the hospital since the hospital started operation in 2010, including the costs and duration of contracts and to whom those contracts were awarded. And they should also provide to us with their procedures for procuring contracts. We also asked for the fee schedule for the various services that are being offered by the hospital.

“We also ask for a listing of all staff employed by the hospital, including the salaries staff, the allowances and other benefits – and whether or not those staff are on local terms or whether or not they are on work permit, because we are of the view that there should be much more opportunities for Turks and Caicos Islanders, who are qualified, willing and able to be employed in the hospital sector,” Ewing said.

Premier Ewing noted that the review was not only to delve into the

hospitals’ operation but also to figure out whether or not Turks and Caicos Islanders were getting their fare shake when it comes to awarding of contracts and employment at the sites.

“We will use this as a basis for identifying where those positions are, and from the Ministry of Health’s standpoint, and the contract management team, to ensure that our people can capitalize on the opportunities there at the hospitals.

And to also ensure that there is value for money in employing persons in the various positions that they are employed.

Commenting on the fee schedule, Premier Ewing noted that under the current contract, government was to receive a percent of what he described as third party payments.

Third party payments are paid self employed persons or by private insurance.

“The government, according to the contract should receive 50 percent of the payments from third party payments. And there is no specific record of how these are being delivered or transferred to government,” he said.

In the meantime, Premier Ewing said that he met with the government side of the Contract Management Team and the Clinical Services Board in an attempt to craft a policy

TOURISTS ROBBED IN TURTLE TAIL

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ourists who were staying at a villa in Turtle Tail were robbed and beaten last week and had to be airlifted to New York.

According to sources, the around 8pm last Wednesday the tourists were watching television when three men entered the villa through the glass sliding door downstairs from the beach.

A make tourist was hit over the head and his female companion was pushed down to the ground

to make the necessary amendments to the contract.

“We did not meet with the full Clinical Management Team nor the Clinical Services Review Board, we met with the Turks and Caicos Government’s side of both of those boards, because we thought it important for the Turks and Caicos Government to sit with its various membership and devise strategy and plans as to what we would like, and how we would like to go about regulating and managing hospitals under the hospitals contract,” he said.

In the meantime, Premier Ewing blasted Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright Robinson for what he said was a misleading of the public pertaining to the auditing of the hospitals.

“Contrary to the leader of the opposition, comments made in the last press conference, stating that the former minister of health, Amanda Missick misled the public about the financial audit; the financial audit of the hospitals has started. The financial audit is due to be completed by the end of March. And so, I would like to correct that statement made by the Hon. Leader of the Opposition. We did not mislead anyone,” Ewing said.

He said, too, that the final report of the financial audit hinges on the completion of the clinical audit. He said, however, that the terms of reference for the clinical audit would be drafted by the Clinical Services Review Board. He said the audit should be ready by early may.

with enough force that her hip is broken in two places. They were tied up and duck tape was put over their eyes.

The robbers apparently proceeded to take the man’s wallet and went to an ATM to try to withdraw money. When unsuccessful in getting any money they began kicking them demanding for the correct PIN number. Sometime after 9pm the three men left and stole their rental car as well. The husband was able to get free and he went over to 5 Little Cays where he got some help from other guests.

Since then, security in the area has been intensified.

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LOCAL NEWS

Cheshire Hall by-election can make or break TCI, says PDM Leader try’s finances and create jobs for Islanders.

“When our PDM government left office, we left this country in improved states and our reputation remained intact regionally and internationally.

It is time to regain our country’s stellar reputation that was envied by many, and lost in recent years. It is time to take this country in the right direction,” she charged.

She noted that even though the international financial crisis played a debilitating role on the TCI economy, the country could have been on better footing had the previous PNP administration been more prudent.

“Yes there has been, and still is to some extent, an international financial meltdown, due to no fault of our own; but there has also been millions of dollars wasted by, and al-

PDM Leader Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson (right) and fellow Member of Parliament Josephine Connolly acknowledge the crowd on stage in front of a banner display the image of candidate for the Cheshire Hall constituency Oral Selver

L

eader of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) has underscored to the people of Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hill, the importance of how they will vote come March 22, to elect the next Member of Parliament for that constituency.

Speaking at the party’s “Destiny Rally” on Friday, March 1, at its headquarters downtown Providenciales, to reintroduce Oral Selver - the PDM standard-bearer for the constituency - party leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson told the crowd that they would be the ones to decide not only who the next MP from that constituency is going to be, but also the next government for the Turks & Caicos Islands.

She told them that their votes could be a watershed moment for the making or breaking of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“Constituents of Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hill, there is no way that I, or anyone else can overestimate your importance to the future of our Beautiful By Nature country at this very critical time. You are the ones that will decide, come March 22, 2013, whether your country is run by a PDM government, or a PNP government.

“My party and I are convinced that we have the way forward for our Turks and Caicos Islands.

To get us out of this disastrous financial position that we have found ourselves in still, all because of the usual disappointing legacy of a PNP Term,” she said.

Cartwright-Robinson used the opportunity to boast about her party’s past legacy, telling the crowd that if given the opportunity again, a PDM government led by her would restore the coun-

legedly misappropriated by the governments that succeeded the last PDM government. This, of course, remains now, a matter for the Court but we have to look to a mature Government – to leadership that is experienced, proven and tried - to a team of individuals who have shown themselves as leaders already in their lives,” the PDM leader urged.

She chided the governing Progressive National Party (PNP) for displaying what she claimed has ineffective leadership.

“The PDM knows and hurts over the fact that there are still too many of us unemployed and going to bed hungry and in darkness. There must be a real effort and not lip service to creating jobs and ensuring that everyone who is able to work can. From Day

one we will aggressively seek to move this economy (forward).

“We must know who is unemployed and what skills they possess. We must make getting people to work a priority. We must partner with the private sector to secure jobs and to market this country as open for business. We can no longer tax a shrinking base,” she asserted.

In recent time there has been calls for the increase of the country’s population to support businesses in the TCI and by extension expand the economy. However, while the party leader is in support of this motion, she said that such move should be done in a conscientious manner.

“We must increase our population responsibly and ensure we take care of the unemployed first.

Then we cannot forget those who are also under-employed, those who feel stuck in their jobs, unable to move up and underrepresented. We promise you a new and improved Labour and Immigration (department) with adequate resources to carry out its true function. We cannot continue to ignore the issues that affect us on the job.

“A PDM Government will, as a matter of urgency, meet with the private sector in the Tourism and Business sector to hear your views and ideas – map out a plan together with our vision to move this economy. We must work with the Financial Services sector, the Fishing and Agricultural Sector,” she noted.

She added “We must ensure investors feel welcomed and that we reduce the red tape. We must create avenues for new investment and for the expansion of existing investments. We must move this economy and reintroduce TC Invest and Team TCI and go out and get fresh monies.”

Page 10

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Asylum-seeking Cubans could know fate soon

BY VIVIAN TYSON

S

ixteen illegal Cubans, who were apprehended by local authorities in October at a home in Discovery Bay, Providenciales, may know in a few days as to whether or not they will be granted asylum, as government is expecting a reply from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Minister for Border Control and Labour Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner, said that members from the UNHCR came to the TCI and interviewed the Cubans, and promised to sent their recommendation as early as possible. And, his government was now awaiting the proposal.

“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is assisting us with doing the interviews, and they should be making the report to us in the next several days. And it is based on that report the competent authorizes here will them make their decision as to whether or not the request for asylum is merited,” Minister Gardiner said.

Expecting to be faced with more of that kind of incident in the future, Minister Gardiner said that ministry personnel underwent interview training of refugees, so that, if and when confronted with similar matters in the future the compe-

tence would be readily available.

“We, until now, have not had the expertise in house, and last week there was, indeed, some training going on and there would be further training on interview tactics and other aspects of dealing with asylum claims. And based on that going forward, we would be able to handle them more expeditiously in house, but until then we will rely on the expertise of the United Nations, and we are grateful for their assistance,” the minister stated.

Minister Gardiner added: “The training is something that the United Nations have done in other countries and territories around the world, and basically, it is to be able to, even in talking and interviewing generally, because a person may not necessarily know that he has the right and opportunity to make a claim for asylum.

“And so, the training would allow the persons who do the interviews to pick-up, as to whether or not there is someone at risk here, and we need to delve deeper into whether or not there is a legitimate claim or a possible legitimate claim for asylum. It involves largely how we pick up persons who may not want to make a claim – because they don’t even know that they could.

How do we detect that, and then fol-

low through, or in the cases, where persons had made claims, to handle the interviews, to ensure that their claims for asylum are indeed proper.”

The Cubans, who arrived in the Turks and Caicos Islands by go fast boat sometime between the summer and fall, were held by the authorities on October 2, at what appeared to be a well-organised dwelling in Discovery Bay, and taken to the detention centre on that island. And while steps were being made to have them deported, the Cubans reportedly filed for asylum.

Police and immigration officials believe that they were taking steps to enter the United States, using the Turks and Caicos Islands as a transshipment point, in what they claimed was a busted human trafficking ring. Six of the Spanish-speaking individuals were released into a domestic setting because four of them were children and two of them were their mothers.

One of the asylum seekers - Estela Milanes Salazar - is said to be the mother of multimillion dollar baseball star for the Oakland Athletics, Yoenis Céspedes Milanés. Yoenis Céspedes Milanés has been named by immigration officials as the main bankroller behind the scheme.

In January this year, High Court

Judge, Her Honour Margaret Ramsay-Hale, ordered that the remaining 10 Cubans be released from the detention centre on condition, after their attorney George Missick made an impassioned plea to the court on their behalf. Misick told the court that one female member of the 10, suffered a miscarriage after failing to get the necessary medical attention at the facility.

The office of the Director Public Prosecution (DPP), at the time, argued against releasing the Cubans on the grounds that they could board another boat and depart the jurisdiction.

Prosecutor Adrian Higgings, told the court that some of the Cubans could have been in the country from as early August of 2012, and only filed for asylum after they were held. He stressed that not all asylum-seekers were legitimate, which could be the case for the Cubans.

In her ruling, Ramsay-Hale stated that prior to their application for asylum; the Cubans could be treated as prisoners, and even though their application for asylum may not be authentic, once they make such application, one must appreciate that the dynamics of their immigration status changed, and so, they should have been treated differently.

She then asked that they be paired into three groupings, with each batch reporting to the police station once a week until their asylum case is heard. Another condition was that they came up with a cash pot of $20,000 as surety.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 11

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LOCAL NEWS

Quincy Thomas turns himself in to police Q

unicy Thomas was ordered remanded in custody when he appeared in the Providenciales Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, March 6, a day after he turned himself in to authorities from being on the run for nearly two months.

Thomas, who the police said was wanted for the alleged molestation of 10 year-old family member, went into hiding after a report was made to the police on or about January 19 this year. Despite a number of dragnets set-up by the police to snare him, Thomas still managed to evade the long arm of the law.

However, on Monday, March 4, he gave himself up to the police and was later slapped with child molestation charge of unlawful carnal knowledge. He appeared in the Providendenciales Magistrate’s Court two days later, and was remanded in custody by Acting Chief Magistrate Joynen Hatmat, until March 13, when he will again appear.

After the police placed an all point bulletin for the capture of Thomas, who apparently disappeared after the alleged act was committed; the public took special interest in the matter constantly calling the media to find out whether or

not Thomas was captured.

At a news conference held by the police high command recently to update the country of the crime situation, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Rodney Adams, after being asked of Thomas’ whereabouts, said that the police had reason to believe he was still in the country. He told journalists that he believed his officers were making attempts to close in on him.

An officer close to the investigations said it was the belief that the accused child turned himself in after sensing that the law was closing in on him.

Miss Tci Universe 2013 Book Drive: Promoting Literacy T

he Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization (MTCUBO) believes that literacy is crucial to the success of individuals in both their career aspirations and their quality of life. For MTCUBO, it is more than a basic reading ability, but rather an indication of how people use written information to function in society.

Strong literacy skills are closely associated to the probability of having a respectable job, decent earnings, and access to training opportunities. Individuals with weak literacy skills are unfortunately more likely to be unemployed or, if employed, earn low income, offer ir-

regular working hours or poor working conditions.

With the promotion and advancement of literacy within the Turks and Caicos Islands on its platform, directors of the Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization will host its first book drive March 16th 2013, 8:00am to 3:00pm, at the Graceway IGA Supermarket on Leeward Highway, Providenciales. All books donated will benefit the public libraries throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands.

According to MTCUBO President and Managing Director Kazz Forbes, it is vital that emphasis be placed

on the promotion of literacy. “Literacy is fundamental for learning in schools. It has an impact on an individual’s ability to participate in society and to understand important public issues and it provides the foundation upon which skills needed in the labour market are built.”

“Technology and the science behind it permeates all aspects of our lives, from how we work and communicate to what we shop for and how we pay our bills. The complexity of today’s world means that individuals need to have some level of proficiency in reading, mathematics and science in order to understand

and participate fully in economic and social life.

A population’s literacy skills also have a bearing on how well a country performs economically. The world we live in today is vastly different from that of a generation ago. Technological change has transformed the way in which work is done; competition in many industries is global in nature. These changes have, in turn, brought rising skill requirements. Countries that are successful in endowing their populations with strong skills are usually in a better position to meet the economic challenges of operating in a globalized information economy.”

The Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Beauty Organization will not only host a book drive on March 16th, but will continue efforts to bringing awareness to the importance of literacy.

Page 12

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Amanda Misick says she can debate Oral Selver

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

hird time candidate for the Cheshire Hall constituency Amanda Missick, said that while She has nothing to prove to opponent the Peoples Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Oral Selver - she would be willing to engage him in a debate If the people are desirous of one.

Misick was responding to a barrage of questions from reporters who clamored for a post-nomination reaction on Friday, March 1.

Missick, from whom the High Court snatched the seat and called for fresh elections, after third party candidate and third place finisher, the People Progressive Party’s (PPP) Dr. Edward Smith was ruled ineligible. She won the seat head of Selver 394 to 364 – by 30 votes. Smith polled 58 votes.

Two days before the nomination, Selver challenged Missick to a debate on the issues affecting the constituency. But Misick noted that

while she owes commitment to the people of the constituency, she was under no such obligation to Selver.

“I have nothing to prove to him.

I have proven myself to the people of Cheshire Hall already. This is my third time (representing the people).

He (Selver) needs to prove himself.

One clean-up campaign cannot get the job done, so he should go and prove himself to the people.

If the people of Cheshire Hall want a debate, I would do so. I am not afraid. I deal with issues every day. I have been dealing with this since 2007. I represent the people of Cheshire Hall. I don’t play that; I represent them, they know that,” she charged.

Asked by journalists what sets her apart from Selver, Misick noted: “I am the better candidate. I have a proven track record. And they are talking about trust. Can the people of Cheshire Hall trust the unknown? You have to trust the known,” she argued.

Asked about her actions leading up to the March 22 poll, Misick said: “Lots of work; hard work; door to door, reassuring my people that I am their choice, and will remain their choice. They know what they are getting; they don’t know who is trying to get in there.”

She said that her work on the ground so far has been showing nothing but positive feedback, which is the same song that the PDM has been singing.

In the meantime, Premier and PNP Leader Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, has highlighted that the people of Cheshire Hall have a tremendous responsibly in their hands come March 22, to shape the future of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“This is an awesome responsibility because, in addition to electing Amanda Misick, who is indeed the people’s choice for Cheshire Hall/ Richmond Hill, you are also electing a government, or keeping a govern-

ment in power. A government who has delivered for you in the past, and is showing that they can deliver for you now, and represent you now; and there is no need to change.

“The economy is going to do well, the people are going to do well; there’s hope for the future, and so, stick with what you know and just stay the course. So, you cannot make your decision purely on Amanda not being your candidate because you don’t like her, but you also have to factor in whether or not you want the PNP Government in power or out of power,” Ewing said.

While not ready to predict a victory margin, Ewing said that after gauging the sampling barometer, he was comfortable with the feedback they have been getting on the ground.

“We have a way of measuring where we are, and we know exactly where we are. We did it the last time and we will do it again. In Cheshire Hall, our prediction was quite close the last time based on the numbers that we ran every day, and based on our numbers now, we are marking ourselves even harder this time around.

We know we are going to win, and a win is a win,” Ewing argued.

TO RECEIVE SUN NEWS ALERTS TO YOUR COMPUTER OR MOBILE DEVICE, PLEASE EMAIL US AT SUN@SUNTCI AND WE WILL ADD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 13

MARCH 9TH - MARCH 16TH, 2013

LOCAL NEWS

Richard Savory, Stephen Wilson added to local QC list

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he number of Queen’s Council lawyers in the Turks and Caicos Islands now stands at five, after two of the country’s most outstanding barristers – Richard Savory and Stephen Wilson were added to the elite group - joining Ariel Misick, Carlos Simons and Conrad Griffith.

The swearing-in ceremony, which took place on Monday, March 4, inside the Supreme Court, along the Leeward Highway in Providenciales, was presided over by Chief Justice Edwin Goldsbrough. His Excellency Governor Ric Todd presented the QC’s Patent Letters to the two, after they were sworn in by the chief justice.

Savory, the father of three, has been practicing law since 1980, when he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. He then migrated to the Turks and Caicos Islands where he began his work as an attorney in 1981, in Grand Turk. In 1989, Savory & Co., which he founded, relocated its principal office to Providenciales.

Savory, a former president of the local Bar Council, is a founding member of the TCI Education Foundation – the charity that owns the British West Indies Collegiate High School.

Wilson, who was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1990, joined McLeans – now Bishops – where he became a partner in 2003.

In 2006, the father of two joined Miller Simons O’Sullivan, with which he parted company in 2012, to join Graham Thompson and Co., as the partner in charge of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

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Newly appointed Queen’s Council attorney, Richard Savory (left) displays his certificate presented to him by Governor Ric Todd, at right.

Stephen Wilson accepts his QC certificate from Governor Ric Todd

The two inductees thanked many persons who they said had assisted them along the way.

Among the individuals were Arial Misick QC; Carlos Simons QC and Conrad Griffith QC. Governor Todd, during his brief remarks, quipped about the perks that being a governor could yield, which he included being an official

in the swearing-in of QCs. He then offered his best wishes to the two on behalf of the Her Majesty the Queen and the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

High Court Judges, Joan Joyner and Margaret Ramsay-Hale also took part in the officiating ceremony.

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Page 14

MARCH 9TH - MARCH 16TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Turks and Caicos Independent Business Council comments on Valued Added Tax SEAN ROLAND FORBES

3478349

B

arack Obama recently said that “A good compromise is like a good sentence or a good piece of music. Everybody can recognise it. They say, ‘It works.

It makes sense.’ ” With the UK’s recent decision to set aside VAT in the TCI, it appears as though compromise and common sense have prevailed. Stakeholders from every TCI sector can assume that they are finally being listened to. But while this is a welcomed first step, all TCI citizens and residents must remain vigilant…as the Governor has stated, VAT is sitting on his shelf waiting to be implemented if and when it is deemed necessary.

This must be the next step in the VAT struggle…to see the end of the poorly drafted VAT Ordinance that was rushed into law prior to last November’s elections. This poorly written Ordinance should not be left to sit on the Governor’s shelf, hanging over our heads. VAT remains a square-pegged British solution for our round-holed economy.

And while we welcome the compromise expressed in Minister Simmonds’ recent letter, a few irregularities in that letter should be noted: It seems as though the FCO and DFID would welcome the idea of TCIG working to solve a problem within the framework of the Constitution. Instead of criticising the Private Members’ Bill, it seems as though Mr. Simmonds would welcome the well-informed Parliamentary debate and vote that took place in the House of Assembly on Feb 1st.

For the first time in the history of the TCI, it seems as if a Governor will not be assenting to a Bill passed in the House.

The Repeal Bill still sits on his desk, and per our Constitutional right we must now ask on what grounds was the Governor’s assent withheld? Has the matter been referred to the Secretary of State which would be the next step?

As we know, the VAT Commencement Order was never signed. This was pointed out by anti-VAT groups on numerous occasions when the Implementation team published deadlines on registration (as of the end of January, only 5 companies had registered). Technically, it appears that the VAT Commencement Order (for the registration provisions) should have preceded any VAT registration.

In response to Mr. Simmonds’ recent letter, Premier Ewing has rightly stated that “there will always be the real threat that VAT can be implemented by the stroke of a pen, without the need for further debate. I am firm in my conviction that on the question of VAT the only fair solution is for the Ordinance to be repealed, thus removing once and for all the possibility of taxation without representation” And as Opposition Leader Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson stated, “We celebrate this historic unity of Government, Opposition and business community.

The firm stance of the business community and the House of Assembly (together with the failure of businesses to register) made this feat possible.”

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 15

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LOCAL NEWS

Parents accused of breeding gangster children

BY VIVIAN TYSON

L

orna O’Gilvie, the grandmother of Jermaine Fulford Jr. - the Clement Howell High School student who was seriously injured by student thugs on the school grounds – is calling for parents to play greater roles in their children’s lives so that they don’t grow up to become undesirables and menaces to society.

Fulford was set upon by a group of fellow students shortly after morning devotion on Monday, February 25 – four days before his birthday – and beaten. He was about to go to his class, when the incident took place, The SUN learned.

He was said to have been attacked with rocks and other makeshift weapons that the boys could find. Reports coming out of the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre are that Fulford suffered internal organ damage, and as a result, spent almost five days nursing his injuries at the institution.

His grandmother said that Fulford was released from hospital last Friday, March 1, but doctors have not given him the all-clear sign to return to school, because his condition was still delicate from the attack.

“A couple of children ganged him. Somebody kicked him first,

Lorna O’Gilvie and when he fell, the others jumped him. And while he was down one of them picked up a rock and threw it in his belly area. The doctors said the rock damaged his liver, so that he was passing blood with his urine.

“I don’t like what is happening at the school. I think the school needs to find ways to deal with the children who have this type of (violent) problems, because it had to be something from home,” O’Gilvie said.

She told The SUN that the Monday, February 25 incident was the second time that fellow students had attacked Fulford, having as-

sailed him a few weeks ago, while he was on his way to school in the Five Cays school bus.

“At that time he sustained minor injuries,” O’Gilvie explained.

Despite the near death incident on her grandchild, O’Gilvie said that she was not bitter with the management of the school, even though she would like to see measures put in place at the institution to curb the open displays of hooliganism there.

“I don’t think the school is really to blame, but they need to bring in teachers or somebody who can help the children, because if they have a problem from home, and they bring it in the school, it is not only going to be my grandchild (that will be hurt); it is going to be someone else’s children sooner or later,” she warned.

The distraught grandmother said that she was happy that her son, who is in fifth form, would be leaving the institution in a few months, and is crossing her fingers that the ugly incident does not repeat itself.

During a news conference on Friday, March 1, Deputy Premier and Minister in charge of Education, Youth and Sport Hon. Akierra Misick, said that steps were being taken to augment the security mechanism at the school.

“We are still working with our

security company that services the school. And we are trying to get more officers to patrol around the premises, because, again, this incident took place away from the front gate where the security officers are stationed. Everything takes money and everything takes time. And as we prepare our budget for the upcoming financial year, that’s one of the area in which I will be fighting for – to have an increase in expenditure,” Misick said.

She indicated that at the end of March, her ministry would begin is education consultation, at which time an overall review of the education policy, staffing and set-up of schools would be placed under the microscope.

“We are doing a holistic review to not just the education policy but also staffing and the set-up of schools, in which we would how many security officers we should have and how proactive they should be within the schools. Because at the end of the day, it is a school, not a prison, and we do not really want the security officers patrolling necessarily to keep children in line, because we would hope that our children would come to school to take part in a centre of learning and not a centre of violence,” Misick said.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

RBC bandits sentenced

BY VIVIAN TYSON

F

our men accused of robbery and attempted murder at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) on January 13, 2012, received 13 and 14 year sentences when they appeared in the Supreme Court this past Monday, March 1, before Her Ladyship, Justice Joan Joyner.

Bernard Coalbrooke was sentenced to eight years for robbery and seven for attempted murder, but could only serve seven years since the sentences are to run concurrently (at the same time). His partners in crime – Daniel Been Jr., Darrison Nash and Odessa Williams were each sentenced to seven years for attempted murder and six years for robbery. They, too, will have their sentences run concurrently, and so, they could sPend six years in jail.

The criminal quartet was found guilty by a seven member mixed jury comprising four men and three women on February 20. They were charged for robbing Dwain Fulford of $75,000 in cash, which belonged to C.A.M Money Transfer. Fulford was shot and injured during the incident.

In court, Oliver Smith, who represented Been and Coalbrooke spoke glowingly on their behalf. He said that Been had only one brush with the criminal justice system prior, when was given a relatively short

Prison wardens march the four men from the Supreme Court in Providenciales sentence for marijuana possession a few years earlier. He said the 23 yearold fourth-form high school dropout earned his living from construction work. Smith told the court also that Been was now a family man, having fathered a son, who will celebrate his 1st birthday on March 23.

On Coalbrooke, Smith told the court that the 22 year-old had dropped out of high school in third form to take up “steel-man trade” in a bid to assist his family. He said that his client was employed by Johnston International in the capacity of a steel worker until the construction company folded about two years ago. He notified the court that

Coalbrooke has a seventeen and a half month child to care for, and so a long stretch would not do him well family-wise.

Ashwood Forbes, who represented Williams, told the court that before the January 13 incident, the 20 year-old had no previous contact with the criminal justice system. He said the arrest and subsequent court case disrupted the former Clement Howell High School Student gainful employment at Grace Bay Club Resort, where he worked as a security officer. Forbes begged for a short sentence so that his client could reintegrate into society.

Lara Maroof, who represented

the 21 year-old Nash, who she said worked as a deliveryman, before his January 19, 2012 arrest, told the court that her client was of previously good character, since he had no conviction against his name.

All three lawyers, who noted that they were mindful of the nature of the charges against their clients, asked Justice Joyner to not only run the sentences concurrently, but to used part of her deliberation to consider time already spent by the men, who they said were on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison in Grand Turk, from the time of their arrests.

Before handing down judgment, Justice Joyner reminded the court that under the law, attempted murder attracts a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while for robbery the maximum sentence under the law is 10 years. She said that all the factors, including the planning of the crime, and the fact that the $75,000 was not recovered. Justice Joyner said that it was hard to distinguish the level of involvement by each individual in the hold-up. She said that while she could disregard Been’s marijuana possession charge, she could not discount Coalbrooke’s four previous convictions, which included burglary.

She said that the chief mitigating factor during her deliberation was the men’s ages.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 17

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LOCAL NEWS

TCI perceived as chilling spot for criminals

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

here is a perception among expatriate criminals and others that the Turks & Caicos Islands is a place that provides safe haven for lawbreakers, this according to Rector at the St. Monica Anglican Church , Ft. Bernard Been, who was speaking at the Law Enforcement Church Service on Sunday, March 3, at the Providenciales church.

Ft. Been drew several references to support his argument during the service, including that of American fugitive Colton Harris-Moore, who goes by the name the ‘Barefoot’ Bandit. The Barefoot Bandits stole boats, small planes and automobiles to travel across state lines or into other countries.

He reminded the audience that when Harris-Moore was finally caught in the Bahamas, after flying there in a stolen plane, told investigators that he intended to go to Cuba to throw authorities off his trail and proceed to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Ft. Been also drew his listeners’ attention to a social commentary piece penned by Jamaican rapper Baby Cham, which stated that after criminals committed election crimes, they would hitch a play ride and “chill over Turks”.

“People have the perception that they can come and hide out after committing crimes. People come here illegally, set up illegal business. It happens on Grace Bay and not just in Five Cays.

People believe that they are above the law (in Turks & Caicos). We must practice honesty,” Ft. Been urged.

Turning to law enforcement, the Anglican cleric acknowledged that there are a number of good

Ft. Bernard Been officers in the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and honest, hard-working immigration officers. Conversely, he said that there are a few bad ones, who, through their actions, give the public a negative view of the organizations.

“We have allowed the bad apples to spoil the whole bunch. (It appears that) this is a place where anyone can come in and do what they please. People fall in line when there is consistency. There should not be one set of laws for a particular set of people. We have got to do something that causes everyone to fall in line. I see a TCI that we make people fall in line,” he said.

Ft. Been also challenged the police force to be the best in the world. He argued that such can be

achieved when they do not show partiality. He said that colleagues who break the law should face its full force, just like members of the public.

The preacher also chided the Fishing Department for allowing unscrupulous persons to bleach certain part of the fishing area in the TCI in order to trap lobsters. The bleaching, Ft. Been claimed, have rendered the spots depleted of its fish stock, and could take between 50 and 60 years to be restored.

He also lashed out at expatriates who he asserted were using the country for what they can get out of it, but have no real love or commitment for its good. On the flip side, he said there were those who genuinely want to see the Turks and Caicos Islands flourish, and stressed that those persons should not be hindered from playing their part.

He said that the community also has a part to play in the Turks & Caicos Islands being a lawful country. One way this could happen, according to the man of the cloth, is for people to stop hiring persons who come here illegally.

He also warned persons against purchasing items they are not sure about, from persons who could be deemed shady. Father Been said that people are allowed to continue breaking in homes and steal their contents because there is a market for them it in the community.

He also used the occasion to congratulate Opposition Leader Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson for siding with the government on certain matters critical to the development of the country. He also urged both sides to take a retreat to hammer out strategies beneficial to the Turks and Caicos Islands’ forward movement.

Turks and Caicos Islands National Insurance Board The following persons in Grand Turk are herby requested to appear before a National Insurance Inspector in Grand Turk before March 15, 2013

Turks and Caicos Islands National Insurance Board Anthony O’Neil Adams Austin Dickenson / Aussie’s Car Wash Lillymae Seymour Ferguson Williams Carl Christopher Robinson Trevor Misick Carmedia Higgs Dizzy Donkey Culsoir Louima Sunilda Aracena Eridania Rolle Etienne Leblanc/ One Love Café Sumar Ingham Stanley Ariza Roger Harvey / Roger’s Tire Shop Hosea Simms/ Mercedes Beauty Salon Yves Joseph James Richard Fulford Jennifer Rose Ann Williams Johanna Josefina Mata De Pena John Glinton John Glenn Hanchell Joseph Benjamin Smith

Ramona Ruiz Raquel Williams Kwame Odinga Smith Jon Tatem Leroy Anthony Dunbar Lucille Dorothea Been Nathan Smith Nadreno Simmons Mil’S Variety Store Robert Lightbourne Sherman «Chubby « Misick Antonio Feliz Caravjal William James Edith Mesa «John’s Ocean View Bar» Trevor Watkins Robert Forbes Jnr. Aubrey Capron Barbara Lightbourne / E Nine’s Take Out Restaurant Beverly Harvey Carlos Salvador Clifton Harvey Oscar Carter / Big O Taxi

Richlene Pierre Emans Laguerre Franklyn «Frankie» Virgil Gerardo Rosa Rose Marie Pierre Griselda Padilla Gustave Orange Robert Branche Filo Fradeus Jacques Delusma Mikey Watson Jason Francis Jean Acquissa Jeany Ettiene Jeury Guerrero Vargas Joacius Michel Juan Ferreras John (Mack ) Garland Joseph Pierre Jacqueline Smith «Blue Bar» Juan Martinez Toribio Justina Hanchell Keith James

Mercedes Simms Kevin Forbes Mikey Watson Kirk Graff Lucien Romilus Manuel Royer Marie Been Martin Polanco Perez Dale Robinson Edwin Glinton Ester Oriol Anthony «Pickle Duck» Swann Zoroya Medina Abraham Pena Andrew Miller Barber Shop Derek «Khaki» Astwood Darono Forbes Gesner Pauyo Kigoma «Sonny» Williams Jack Cole Jean Acquissa Jerzey Kolodziej Jevry Vargas

Page 18

MARCH 9TH - MARCH 16TH, 2013

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL NEWS

Three strikes you’re out rule put on hold

BY VIVIAN TYSON

T

he three strikes you’re out rule that the Ministry of Education is pursuing will remain on ice until the completion of the National Consultation on Education, because there is no alternative institution to house troubled students at this time, this according to Education Minister Hon. Akierra Misick.

Misick, who was speaking at a post cabinet news briefing on Friday, March 1, said that there was no logical reasoning behind kicking students from school when there is no other educational safety net mechanism in place to catch them.

She told the news briefing that steps were being made to open up a juvenile facility in Grand Turk, while at the same time, scouting Providenciales to find alternative learning programme for the at risk teens.

“It (three strikes you’re out rule)

is not in effect yet. That is what we would like to promote during the national consultation, because the problem with the three strikes you’re out role is that there is no alternative educational facilities that these students can attend.

“But what we are looking at now, as the government; we are having the development of the juvenile detention centre in Grand Turks, and to have it facilitate the programme.

We are also looking at the New Beginning School in Five Cays, to see if we can have other at risk students attend there,” Misick outlined.

The Education Minister said that a segment in Education Week was to be used to stage a seminar on critical incident management, which she said was geared especially for the teachers at the troubled Clement Howell High School. She said from that meeting, government would endeavor to create a handbook on crit-

ical incident management, aimed at providing teachers with the knowhow to more effectively respond to brawls on school compounds and also to manage at risk learners.

She said that that the National Consultation on Education would last for a month, since it earmarked to tackle the education policy, scholarship policy, the education ordinance and a holistic approaching to developing a new high school in Providenciales.

The need for a juvenile detention centre in the Turks and Caicos Islands has become critical as a result of the number of violent incidents that have been taking place, especially at the Clement Howell High School on Providenciales.

In the latest such report, a fifth former was hospitalized for four days after he was attacked by a group of fellow students just after devotion on Monday, February 25. Family members told The SUN that the

boy sustained a bruise liver, causing him to pass blood with his urine.

In December, a group of thugs invade the institution during school hours, in search of students who were said to have been involved in a fight with other pupils said to be members of a gang aligned to hoodlums. As a result of the incident, a number of students had to seek medical attention for psychological and emotional trauma. There were also reports of shots being fired during the incident, but police later denied such allegation.

In the meantime, Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright Robinson, during a rally at her party – the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) Headquarters in Providenciales on Friday, March 1, commended the media for exposing the problems in our schools, stating that these reports would sting the authority into action, to find solutions to the problem.

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Highlights of Law Enforcement Church Service in Provo T

he St. Monica Anglican Church in Providenciales and the St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Grand Turk were venue on Sunday, March 3, for the Law Enforcement Church Services. The Deputy Governor Her

Excellency Anya Williams, Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, Deputy Governor Hon. Akierra Misick, Border Control and Labour Minister Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner, Home Affairs Minister Hon. Porsha

The same service will be held at Saint Mary’s Pro Cathedral at the same time with the Gov and other officials attending along with the same govt depts including the Prison. The Police Band in action at the St. Monica Anglican Church

Rector at the St. Monica Anglican Church, Ft. Bernard Been

Stubbs-Smith, Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Deputy Opposition Leader Hon. Sean Astwood, and Opposition Member Hon. Josephine Connolly were in attendance. Support-

ing their police colleagues were the Immigration Depart, Customs, Road Safety, Planning, Fisheries, Maritime, Coastal Radar and Fire Services. The following are photo highlights of the event.

Dignitaries and police officials at a section of the church

Members of the Fire Department were also in attendance

Members of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force radiate smiles during event

A female bunch of Royal Turks and Caicos Police take time out for THE SUN camera

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Education week parade E

ducation Week kicked off on Friday, March 1, with a parade from CIBC FirstCaribbean on Leeward Highway to the Island Pride Supermarket Parking Lot, down town Providenciales. This year, a number of corporate

bodies took part in the march. The walk culminated with a stage presentation, attended by Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing, and Education Minister Hon. Akierra Misick. The following are photo highlights of the event.

The march from CIBC First Caribbean Bank to down town Providenciales kicked o Education Week

Hundreds of student took part in the Education Week March from CIBC FirstCaribbean along the Leeward Highway to down town Providenciales on Friday, March 1

This year, several corporate entities, including Digicel, Fortis TCI, LIME and Amanyara Resort took part in the Education Week Parade. Each entity sponsored one of the Government institutions

Clement Howell High School Students display their banner during the parade

Oseta Jolly Primary School students display Amanyara Resort and LIME banners - an acknowledgment of their sponsors

Maranatha High School students march with their Scotiabank banner. Scotiabank sponsored that school on the parade

Fortis TCI managers and employees join in the Education Week Parade

The Turks and Caicos Islands Marching Band also took part in the parade

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Demi Lovato

“Heart Attack” Puttin’ my defences up ‘Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that I think I’d have a heart attack

Puttin’ my defences up ‘Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that I think I’d have a heart attack [x3]

Puttin’ my defences up ‘Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that I think I’d have a heart attack [x3]

Never put my love out on the line Never said yes to the right guy Never had trouble getting what I want But when it comes to you, I’m never good enough

Never break a sweat for the other guys When you come around, I get paralyzed And every time I try to be myself It comes out wrong like a cry for help

When I don’t care I can play ‘em like a Ken doll Won’t wash my hair Then make ‘em bounce like a basketball

It’s just not fair Pain’s more trouble than love is worth I gasp for air It feels so good, but you know it hurts

The feelings are lost in my lungs They’re burning, I’d rather be numb And there’s no one else to blame So scared I’ll take off in a run I’m flying too close to the sun And I burst into flames

But you make me wanna act like a girl Paint my nails and wear high heels Yes, you make me so nervous That I just can’t hold your hand

But you make me wanna act like a girl Paint my nails and wear perfume For you make me so nervous That I just can’t hold your hand

You make me glow, but I cover up Won’t let it show, so I’m

You make me glow, but I cover up Won’t let it show, so I’m

You make me glow, but I cover up Won’t let it show, so I’m Puttin’ my defences up ‘Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that I think I’d have a heart attack [x5]

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ENTERTAINMENT

American Idol Top 10 Revealed!

T

he auditions are finished, Hollywood Week is over, the sudden-death rounds are done and “American Idol” finally set its top 10 on Thursday night (March 7).

For the guys, Lazaro Arbos, Paul Jolley, Burnell Taylor, Curtis Finch Jr. and Devin Velez made the cut. On the ladies’ side, Kree Harrison, Candice Glover, Janelle Arthur, Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb earned the five available slots.

Perhaps the evening’s biggest surprise was that the pool of finalists was kept to just 10. With the talent assembled in the semifinals — and given the show’s history of playing with the numbers — speculation was that a few Wild Cards would be let through during the episode. But producers promised 10 and they delivered 10, leaving several worthy contestants out in the cold.

Among the singers left behind were Zoanette

Johnson and Charlie Askew, both of whom made strong impressions — for one reason or another — during their abbreviated “Idol” runs.

But they, along with the rest of the singers who didn’t make the cut, technically have one more shot to make the “Idol” summer tour: Ryan Seacrest announced at the close of the show that the closest runner-up male and female will compete in a sing-off next week for a chance to make the tour, with America deciding the winner. So, technically, there is still a chance Zoanette could be visiting your town (if she doesn’t link up with the touring production of “The Lion King” first).

The reveals themselves made for some awkward television. The contestants were seated in a holding room backstage, and when their name was called, they walked down a hallway, up a set

of stairs and onto the “Idol” stage, where they surprised the studio audience and the judges. The delayed gratification sucked all the excitement out of the announcements, and the contestants were asked to sing victory songs, which were mostly padding for an already drawn-out episode.

Jolley was the first singer through to the top 10, followed by Taylor, Finch, Velez and Arbos.

Arthur was first through for the girls, followed

by Glover, Miller, Holcomb and Harrison.

A reported 39 million votes were cast this week for the finalists, Seacrest announced, a tally he said was 10 million higher than at this point last year in the competition.

Of course, that could have something to do with the SuperVote function introduced this season, which allows fans to cast 50 online votes at once for their favorite contestants.

Rihanna says she wants a kid in the near future P

op princess Rihanna looks breathtaking on ELLE U.K.’s April cover, and she’s opened up quite a bit in the pages inside: Rih got candid about her on-again boyfriend Chris Brown, her plans for the future and the constant stream of selfies she uploads to Instagram.

“Stay [her new single] is a story about having love that close and wanting it to last forever,” Rihanna told ELLE. “You don’t have that feeling with everybody so when you have it you don’t want to let go of it. I would definitely say that he [Chris Brown] is the one I have that kind of relationship with.” The singer also explained the foundation of their relationship: A great friendship. “Right now that’s just what we want, a great friendship that’s unbreakable,” she said. “Now that we’re adults we can do this right.

We got a fresh start and I’m thankful for that.”

Hmm ... Sounds as if Rih’s taking a

RIHANNA page from Beyonce’s guide to happiness, in more ways than one.

In describing her future dream plans, the 25-year-old confessed it’s not all private jets and lavish parties.

“I will probably have a kid,” she said.

“And I’m praying I can go on vacation for a good month. And I’ll have set some things up so I don’t have to tour for the rest of my life, even though I love touring. I want health and happiness in five years. I want

to be healthy and happy.”

In the meantime, pre-baby Rihanna isn’t shy about sharing her questionably healthy habits for the world to see. The pop star updates her Instagram account almost every day, sometimes several times a day. In recent months, her photos have mostly been of herself smoking weed, hanging at strip clubs, spending time with Brown and posing nearly naked.

“Well I instagram everything about my life,” Rihanna told ELLE, “whether it’s smoking pot, in a strip club, reading a Bible verse - how crazy, I know!

- or hanging out with my best friend, who happens to be Chris.”

But even if public scrutiny be damned, there’s one person whose opinion Rihanna values most -- her mother. “I’m not afraid of any person in this world but her. I’m terrified of her!” she said. “She called me two days ago and reeled me in about two naked pictures Melissa [her best friend] put up on Instagram - a sneak-peek from a photo book she’s making about me. My mom, she went crazy on me. I was like embarrassed. I felt like I got my ass whupped in front of my class in school! She said, ‘This was like a private moment and you’re just parading this around.’ She humbled the f--k out of me.”

Caption: Rihanna graces the cover of ELLE U.K.:

Justin Bieber getting better after collapsing at London gig C

anadian teen pop star Justin Bieber tweeted that he was “getting better” after collapsing on stage from shortness of breath during a performance in London and being rushed to the hospital on Thursday.

Bieber’s spokeswoman, Melissa Victor, told Reuters that the singer had fainted on stage at his concert at London’s O2 arena and had been taken backstage where he took a 20 minute break and was given oxygen by doctors.

Bieber, 19, returned to the stage after the break and his representatives said he was OK. Victor said the “Boyfriend” singer ignored doctors orders and returned to the O2 Arena stage to finish the performance.

The singer tweeted to his 35 million Twitter followers following the incident, “thanks for everyone pulling me thru tonight. best fans in

the world. figuring out what happened. thanks for the love.”

His manager, Scooter Braun, told audiences at the arena after the singer’s collapse that Bieber was “very light of breath, the whole show he has been complaining,” in amateur videos posted on the Internet.

Bieber had not been suffering from any health issues prior to the show, the spokeswoman added.

Fans quickly began circulating the hashtag “#justintakeabreak” on Twitter after news of his collapse spread on the social network.

This is not the first time Bieber has collapsed on stage during a performance. He previously suffered a concussion during a concert in Paris last June after falling into a glass wall.

Bieber’s London leg of his sold out “Believe”

world tour hasn’t been without its problems.

On Tuesday, the first of his four nights at London’s O2 Arena, Bieber angered fans by turning up on stage nearly two hours late, blaming technical issues for his delayed performance.

Media outlets also reported that the singer, who celebrated his 19th birthday in London last week, tried to take 14-year-old Jaden Smith, son of actor Will Smith, to a club, where he was turned away, along with Bieber and his entourage.

Bieber took to Twitter and Instagram to vehemently deny the reports that he tried to take underage Smith to a club, saying instead that he was forced to leave the venue when the club’s security guards club behaved aggressively towards his fans who were lined up outside.

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Enid Capron Primary School students visit IGA S

ixty two students from the Enid Capron Primary School visited Graceway IGA during their Career Day. The children toured the various departments and the processing area.

According to IGA manager Ken Burns, one of the highlights for pupils was the freezing freezer.

Commenting on the visit, Principal Rachel Taylor stated: “Thanks to the management and staff for hosting the students and to the Taxi Association for providing the transportation. This is indeed a true reflection of partnership in education. The tour on Tuesday March 5th was really a follow-up of their Health Science topics taught

earlier in the year as they learnt about fruits and vegetables and the various food groups. Special Thanks to our Guidance Counselor Ms. Niclair Parker who organized the day of activities for the students and teachers.”

Here, some of the pupils are pictured enjoying the IGA tour.

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FUN&GAMES

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News CARIBBEAN

Ten percent pay cut for Bermuda Cabinet ministers

H

AMILTON, Bermuda – Bermuda’s MPs have passed a resolution giving cabinet ministers a 10 per cent pay cut effective April 1.

“It’s more symbolic than substantive,” conceded Premier Craig Cannonier, noting that the overall saving was relatively small.

“But in our present economic and fiscal circumstances, it’s the right thing moving forward.”

The Premier’s salary will decrease from $168,069 to $151,262 a year, for example, while the Deputy Premier’s pay goes from $125,491 to $112,942.

Other Ministers in the House will drop from $112,046 to $100,841. The same pay is set for Ministers serving in the Senate.

However, the Resolution stipulates that Ministers serving full-time in the Senate shall be granted a salary of $112,046 from January 1, 2013 until March 31, 2013.

Part-time Ministers are entitled to $50,421 as of April 1.

In the House of Assembly, Shadow Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert questioned how Mr Cannonier could set the date for April 1 when, at the December swearing-in of his new Cabinet, the Premier had promised to cut ministerial salaries “effective immediately”.

Mr Cannonier said that the resolution had to be brought before the House first.

Shadow Finance Minister Da-

vid Burt commended Mr Cannonier as “a very nice guy”, but the MP for Pembroke West Central added that as of November, 2012, Cabinet cost Bermuda taxpayers $114,941 a month, and it cost $133,316 a month as of January. Come April, he said, it would stand at $119,983 a month.

Mr Burt added: “I have a challenge with the Premier getting up saying that Cabinet members will take a ten percent pay cut, effective immediately — and then backdating Ministers in the Senate and not backdating the pay cut.”

The cut in ministerial salaries was pledged by Cannonier when he was sworn in as Premier following the victory of the One Bermuda Al-

Premier of Bermuda Craig Cannonier liance (OBA) in the December 2012 general election .

The House also recently authorised raising the national debt ceiling from US$1.45 billion to US$2.5 billion before the country’s coffers ran dry.

The OBA, founded in May 2011, inherited a national debt of US$ 1.4 billion from the previous administration of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) .

Unemployment among Bermudians now stands at 10 per cent

Former St Vincent prime minister calls for Opposition Leader to step down K

INGSTOWN, St Vincent – The founder of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) and former prime minister Sir James Mitchell has again called on Arnhim Eustace, the man he handpicked to succeed him as leader of the party, to step down.

“My party needs to re-evaluate itself. It needs to understand in all honestly where they are,” Sir James, who retired from politics in 2000, said of the NDP, which he founded in 1975.

“When the people keep rejecting you and have rejected you three times at the polls, be careful. It sends a clear signal to you. And, the party has to understand first of all and fundamentally, there is a difference between leadership of a party and leadership of the Opposition,” he said on a local television programme on Sunday.

“Leadership of the opposition is a constitutional position decided on by the majority of the members,” he added.

Former Prime Minister of St. Vincent Sir James Mitchell

Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace

Sir James has made several calls for Eustace to step despite the party re-electing him and Eustace recently told journalists that “the leadership is not for sale.”

“We have a constitutional process in the New Democratic Party, which we stick to, in respect of

leadership,” he added.

Sir James noted that in Barbados, Owen Arthur led the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to an electoral defeat last month and did not seek the position of Opposition Leader.

“He (Arthur) is still leader of the party. We need to understand that difference and we need to really go forward,” Sir James said.

Sir James relinquished the leadership of the NDP following the political unrest here in April 2000 and the agreement with then opposition leader Dr. Ralph Gonsalves that the country should go back to the polls ahead of the constitutional deadline.

Eustace, who took over as prime minister and head of the NDP, led the party into the March 2001 election, where it was trounced by Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party by a 12-3 margin.

The results were similar in 2006 but the NDP narrowly lost the 2010 poll by one seat.

Bahamian man arrested for attempted smuggling $1.2million out of USA W

EST PALM BEACH, Florida – The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) agency says a Bahamian man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle about US$1.2 million to the Bahamas.

On Saturday, the ICE said the charge results from an investigation conducted by US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and other security officialis.

According to court documents, Rohan Spicer, 31, traveled from the Bahamas to the United

States by boat, arriving on Monday.

HSI agents said they observed Spicer transfer items from the rear of his sport utility vehicle onto the boat on Wednesday.

When Spicer completed a CBP Vessel Entrance or Clearance Statement he declared that he was transporting household goods and speakers. The ICE reports that Spicer’s boat was interdicted and boarded about six nautical miles east of the Palm Beach Inlet.

At that time, ICE said Spicer advised the officers

that he was en route to Freeport, Grand Bahamas and he was in possession of about US$20,000.00 in US currency “that he had failed to declare one hour earlier at the Port of Palm Beach.”

A Customs border search of the vessel and cargo led to the discovery and seizure of about US$1.2 million in cash, packaged in US$50,000 bundles of various dominations.

The immigration agency said the cash was hidden within merchandise, stereo speakers and luggage discovered aboard the vessel.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

Haitians testify about prisons in Baby Doc case P

ORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Two men testified before a threejudge appeals panel Thursday that they were imprisoned in ghastly conditions for months without charge under the government of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.

Agronomist Alix Fils-Aime described his time at the Fort Dimanche prison in the 1970s, saying most of the people held with him were tortured and killed. ‘‘I was able to hear people being beaten, dragged in the hallway, and I could hear women screaming as they were being forced to have sexual relations with the guards,’’ he said.

The other plaintiff, Robert ‘‘Boby’’ Duval, told about how he was lucky to eat a bowl of grits once a day while locked up in the same prison.

He added that up to 40 prisoners in a single cell shared a bucket as a toilet.

The case of Haiti’s former ruler known as ‘‘Baby Doc’’ has surprised many in Haiti in recent weeks as it gains traction in what has long been a sluggish and dysfunction legal system. The weekly hearings in the country’s main courthouse have been packed with journalists, human rights activists and observers from embassies.

Duvalier unexpectedly took the stand a week ago as he defended his 15-year rule following three earlier no-shows. The former ‘‘president for life’’ characterized the era as a better

Former Haitian President Rene Preval speaks with journalists after attending a closed hearing at the courthouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Thursday, March 7, 2013. Preval testified behind closed doors Thursday as authorities try to revive the investigation into the longunsolved killing of the country’s most celebrated journalist Jean Dominique. Preval, who served from 1996-2001 and from 2006-2011, was serving the first of his two terms as president when the crusading journalist was shot to death outside Radio Haiti. time for Haiti and said he took action against abuses.

The court had called on Duvalier to be available for further questions, but he didn’t show up Thursday. His main attorney said this week that the 61-year-old had checked into a hospital for an unspecified illness.

Duvalier was charged with human rights abuses and embezzlement after his surprise return to Haiti in 2011 following 25 years in exile.

But a lower court judge ruled

that Duvalier should face only the charges for financial crimes because the statute of limitations on the alleged rights abuses had expired.

That decision was appealed by lawyers for both Duvalier and his alleged victims.

The case slowly made its way through the legal system, and appeared dormant, until it reached an appellate court judge in January. The appeals court can reinstate the human rights abuse charges, pursue

the financial crimes charges, or drop both. The case could also go to a trial.

Defense attorney Reynold Georges said he was confident that Duvalier would be cleared of the charges.

The appeals court is to hear more testimony next Thursday.

In a separate court case Thursday, former President Rene Preval testified behind closed doors as authorities tried to revive an investigation into the long-unsolved killing of Haiti’s most celebrated journalist.

Preval showed up early in the morning before spectators or journalists could see him enter the court and he left several hours later, declining to discuss what he told the investigative judge seeking to build a criminal case in the April 2000 slaying of Jean Dominique.

Preval, who was president in 19962001 and 2006-2011, then headed to the Venezuelan Embassy to pay his respects following the death of President Hugo Chavez.

Preval was serving his first presidential term when Dominique was shot to death outside Radio Haiti-Inter, where he worked. Preval and Dominique were friends and political allies who opposed the Duvalier and military dictatorships.

Dominique was 69 at the time of his death and his slaying was later the subject of ‘‘The Agronomist,’’ a 2003 documentary by Jonathan Demme.

FRIEND OF PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE SPENDS WEEK IN BARBADOS JAIL

GRENADA PRIME MINISTER NAMES CABINET FOLLOWING LANDSLIDE VICTORY

B

S

RIDGETOWN, Barbados – High-society interior designer James Archibald, who is a friend of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and was a guest at their wedding, was recently arrested at Barbados’ Grantley Adams International Airport for having a pistol barrel in his luggage and subsequently spent a week in the island’s jail.

Archibald was held when his bag set off metal-detectors in Barbados, where he had touched down to change planes on his way back to Britain from Mustique – where shortly before he had been among the well-heeled villa owners who welcomed Prince William and his pregnant wife Kate on their winter break.

The 50-year-old Englishman, a longtime friend of the Duchess’ family, had disassembled the air pistol barrel before securing it in a locked case.

He explained to authorities that it could not be fired, but was remanded to HMP Dodds, described in a Daily Mail report as “a razor-wired compound on the former colony, which featured in a reality TV show on ‘The world’s toughest jails’”.

Archibald, who had been travel-

ling with his wife Nicki, spent a week behind bars before appearing in court and pleading guilty to carrying a firearm in a public place “without lawful authority”. He was fined £1,660.

He told The Mail on Sunday: “It was just the barrel of an air pistol that I use for target-shooting.

“I rather naively assumed that since it was not operational, and it was in my locked luggage, it wouldn’t be an issue. But under Barbados law, they rate even a part of a firearm as a weapon.”

When asked about his time behind bars, he said: “At first, there was a hostile atmosphere. There was even thought that I might be an undercover drug enforcement agent.

“But I made a couple of friends.

I’d never seen the inside of a prison before. I won’t forget it. There’s no way that I want a repeat performance.”

Archibald and his wife own an elegant five-bedroom villa in Mustique. He opened an office in the island in 1999 and his company, James Archibald Designs, has refurbished or built more than half of the island’s luxury mansions.

T GEORGE’S, Grenada – Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell has named an 11 –member Cabinet two weeks after his New National Party (NNP) swept the polls in Grenada.

“The biggest challenges were who to leave out for the time being,” Mitchell said as the members of his Cabinet were sworn into office during a public ceremony at the National Stadium on Sunday that was also attended by Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran.

Mitchell’s cabinet is smaller than that of his predecessor, Tillman Thomas, and does not include retired school teacher Clifton Paul who defeated the former prime minister as well as Tobia Clement, a lecturer at the St George’s University here who defeated former finance minister Nazim Burke in the February 19 general election.

Mitchell said that the two legislators as well as Yolande Bain-Horsford will receive additional allowances for their constituencies and

be briefed weekly by a specially appointed Cabinet Committee.

Mitchell told the ceremony that it is possible that those who were not given ministerial portfolios would be included in future cabinets reiterating “the decision about who to leave out was very painful for me “It is quite possible that people who serve as back benchers today can be full-fledged ministers in the not too distant future”.

Prime Minister Mitchell said his new administration understands its priority is to secure jobs and help create an environment that will create more jobs and assured the nation that within the first 100 days the foundation of his plan for economic expansion will become clearer.

Mitchell, who led a government here for 13 years before he was defeated in 2008, said that his administration would pursue a robust foreign policy, expand cooperation with South and Central American, Asia and Africa and that all bona fide investors would be welcomed in the country.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

CARICOM approves energy policy G

EORGETOWN, Guyana – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have given the green light to a Regional Energy Policy that will guide the 15-member grouping in its pursuit of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

A Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat statement issued here, said that approval was given at the “historic” meeting of the CARICOM Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED) in Trinidad and Tobago over the last weekend.

“For more than a decade, the policy, which was mandated by the CARICOM Heads of Government, was under formulation and review,” The Secretariat said.

“The goal of the policy is the fundamental transformation of the energy sector of CARICOM through

the provision of secure and sustainable supplies of energy in a manner which minimizes energy waste in all sectors. Targets towards such efficiency have been set in the policy.

The document will now be presented to the Heads of Government of CARICOM for endorsement.”

Dominica’s Energy Minister Rayburn Blackmoore, who chaired the meeting, described the adoption of the policy as “historic, bearing in mind this year marks 40 years since the oil crisis.

“We recognise therefore from a collective standpoint if we are to really realise economic development there must be something deliberate by way of a policy direction,” he said, adding there is a need to develop the energy sector to reduce the cost of energy.

Blackmoore said that the policy document in itself takes into account the efforts of all member states and “it will provide a road map with specific timelines which will serve as a guide for member states”.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Energy and Energy Affairs Minister Kevin Ramnarine said approving the policy was a “very significant achievement for COTED” while his Jamaican counterpart Phillip Paulwell acknowledged that there was a lack of regional unity in the energy sector.

“We have set the stage now for a sustained focus now on solving our energy problems. The first energy crisis occurred some 40 years ago and we as a region have not been able to resolve that. Until we have cheaper sources of energy, we will not get

our region to advance as quickly as it ought to and this policy is seeking to do just that,” Paulwell said.

Belize Minister with responsibility of Energy, Joy Grant said that she was happy that the meeting had approved the policy that would set outer bounds of “what we have to do”.

“This is a very good start… I see this as a really great day. Moving from this day onward, we will now be able to implement what we have been talking about for so long…,” she said.

The meeting also discussed matters such as the development and implementation of the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS), the management if energy information systems, and the development of geothermal energy, the Secretariat added

Guyana Government hints at early poll G

EORGETOWN, Guyana – President Donald Ramotar has accused the opposition parties of using their one seat majority in the National Assembly to derail legislative democracy as the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) hinted at the possibility of calling a snap general election in Guyana.

“We see that reality happening now in the first instance to elect the Speaker and deputy speaker, they took them both… every area we see them doing these things, passing bills that are unconstitutional,” President Ramotar told a ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the death of former president Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the founder of the ruling party on Sunday.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who also addressed the ceremony, told supporters “we must

reach out to have more citizens casting their vote for the PPPC at the next elections whenever they might be – whether they might be tomorrow or next year or whether we run the full course of five years.

“We have suffered much during the last 16 months,” he added.

In the 2011 general election the Alliance for Change (AFC) and the grouping, A partnership for National Unity (APNU) that also includes the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), won 33 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly.

President Ramotar said the unconstitutional nature of the opposition’s actions in the National Assembly was recently vindicated when the Chief Justice ruled that the National Assembly has no authority to reverse the rights of a mem-

ber, a reference to moves by the opposition to prevent Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee from speaking in parliament.

Rohee himself told the event that he is confident that the PPPC would triumph and regain outright control of the 65-seat National Assembly in fresh general elections.

“Not only will we win the executive power, we will win the majority in parliament; that is where we want to regain our strength and we are committed to working towards that,” he said.

“We made some errors in the last elections and since then we have taken steps to correct those errors that we made. We are big enough to recognize the mistakes we made and we are big enough to correct those mistakes that we made,” said Rohee.

St Lucia PM appeals to public servants to end wage dispute C

ASTRIES, St Lucia – Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony appealed to public workers to accept his government’s four per cent wage increase and prevent the island from “any further hardship” as workers stayed away from their jobs for higher salaries.

“Our country does not need mayhem, confusion and disagreement at this time, our people need to get together, we have a crisis on our hands to deal with and it is critical and crucial that we come together deal with it, but very clearly it has to be a shared responsibility across the board,” Anthony said.

The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (CCIA) called for an end to the industrial action by public servants urging both parties to return to the negotiating table.

“This move we believe is correct and positive, as differences of this sort are best resolved through dialogue, proportionality, tolerance and understanding of the interests of all concerned,” said CCIA executive director Brian Louisy.

The public workers last week began their industrial action in support of the Trade Union Fed-

eration (TUF) over demands for increased salaries and wages that the government said it cannot meet.

Their actions have crippled the public service and schools for a second consecutive week and on Monday, the regional airline, LIAT, briefly suspended flights in and out of the George F. Charles Airport on the outskirts of the capital because of the lack of fire services.

Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony said that the country could only afford a four per cent wage hike for the 2010-2012 triennium while the TUF is sticking to its demand for a 9.5 per cent increase or six per cent with stipulated conditions.

Prime Minister Anthony who addressed the nation Wednesday and called for the impasse to go before arbitration, was again appealing for good sense to prevail, and for public servants to understand that their actions would hurt the entire country.

Monday he reiterated that the island’s finances were in serious problems and that “for the very first time the Caribbean Development Bank

has listed us as a country in the danger zone, in the zone of others in unsustainable debt levels we are in danger unless we take corrective action.

“It may be difficult for our people to understand how serious our situation is, maybe statements that have been made in the past have then to doubt the veracity of what the government says, but we are not the only ones saying it, our financial institutions are pointing to the dangers that face us at this time,” he said.

Anthony said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed an assessment of the national economy and is exceedingly concerned.

Despite the plea, the TUF said it expects the action by the workers to continue on Tuesday and that workers would meet on Wednesday to discuss the way forward.

Last week, Anthony said that the government would need an estimated EC$42 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) to meet the four per cent wage hike bill adding that this could also lead to reduction in expenditure for services to the population.

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RLD

Job gains bolster US economy, unemployment at 4-year low

U

.S. employers stepped up hiring in February, adding a greater-than-expected 236,000 workers to their payrolls and helping to push the jobless rate to a four year-low in a bright signal on the economy’s health.

The data from the Labor Department on Friday showed the economy gaining traction despite the blow from higher taxes and deep government spending cuts.

“This was a strong number and one of those rare cases where we were firing on all cylinders,” said Jacob Oubina, a senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

The jobless rate fell to 7.7 percent, the lowest since December 2008, from 7.9 percent in January.

The decline reflected both gains in employment and people leaving the labor force.

The upbeat report, which showed broadbased job gains, was another sign of the econo-

my’s fundamental health, and it added fuel to a rally in U.S. stock markets that had already propelled the Dow Jones industrial average to record highs.

At the same time, the dollar strengthened and the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose sharply.

Economists had expected a gain of just 160,000 jobs. Nonetheless, the data was not so strong as to deter the Federal Reserve in its efforts to foster even faster economic growth by buying bonds, a policy known as quantitative easing.

“We’re in a sweet spot of sorts with the data showing a more robust recovery, which supports stocks and the dollar, yet not quite strong enough to declare an end to quantitative easing,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington.

Although December and January’s employ-

ment data was revised to show 15,000 fewer jobs added than previously reported, details of the report were solid, with construction adding the most jobs since March 2007 and increased hours for all workers.

Job gains in February were well above the 195,000 monthly average for the three months through January.

Despite the pick up in hiring, the pace of gains is still below the roughly 250,000 jobs per month that economists say is needed on a sustained basis to significantly reduce unemployment.

With fiscal policy tightening, Fed officials are likely to remain leery of withdrawing their support for the economy too soon. A 2 percent payroll tax cut ended and tax rates went up for wealthy Americans on January 1. In addition, $85 billion in federal budget cuts that could slice as much as 0.6 percentage point from growth this year started on March 1.

The central bank is buying $85 billion in bonds per month and has said it would keep up asset purchases until it sees a substantial improvement in the labor market outlook.

Buckingham Palace officials say the Queen will resume her royal duties next week after a brief illness.

O

fficials said Friday that the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, plan to attend a Westminster Abbey service Monday to mark Commonwealth Day with another event scheduled later in the week.

The 86-year-old monarch was hospitalized overnight on Sunday for treatment of gastroenteritis. It was her first hospitalization in a decade.

Queen Elizabeth II left the London hospital where she’d been treated for the symptoms of a stomach infection Monday, following a brief and rare hospitalization.

A smiling Queen walked unassisted out of King Edward VII Hospital Monday afternoon before saying goodbye to staff. She was then driv-

RUSSIA WON’T TELL ASSAD TO GO, SEES FLEXIBILITY AMONG HIS FOES

R

ussia will “absolutely not” tell Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down to end the civil war and make way for a political transition, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments published on Friday.

The remarks to the BBC were a reiteration of Moscow’s position that Assad’s exit must not be a precondition for a negotiated solution to the two-year-old conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people.

Asked whether there was a chance that Russia would tell Assad he should step down for the

en away in a motorcade. “The queen has left the King Edward VII’s Hospital having been admitted briefly as part of the assessment of symptoms of gastroenteritis,” the palace said in a brief statement issued after her release.

The Queen was hospitalized Sunday over an apparent stomach infection that has ailed her for days, a rare instance of ill health sidelining the long-reigning monarch. Buckingham Palace said the 86-year-old had experienced symptoms of gastroenteritis and was being examined at London’s King Edward VII Hospital – the first time in a decade that the Queen has been hospitalized.

The symptoms of gastroenteritis – vomiting and diarrhea – usually pass after one or two days, although they can be more severe in older or oth-

erwise vulnerable people. Dehydration is a common complication.

The illness was first announced Friday, and the Queen had to cancel a visit to Swansea, Wales, on Saturday to present leeks – a national symbol – to soldiers of the Royal Welsh Regiment in honour of Wales’ national day, St. David’s Day. She instead spent the day trying to recover at Windsor Castle, but appears to have had trouble kicking the bug.

sake of a peace agreement, Lavrov replied: “Absolutely not. You know that we’re not in the regime-change game.”

“We are against interference in domestic conflicts. And this is our position, which should be of no surprise to anyone,” he said, according to an English-language version of his comments posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry website.

Lavrov said Assad had repeatedly said he was not going to leave.

“All those who get in touch with him know that he is not bluffing, and that he is prepared to discuss any issue - among the Syrians.”

Russia has blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions meant to push Assad out or press him to end violence, a position that has set it against Western and Arab nations which say he must leave power.

Lavrov said he saw signs of flexibility.

“I’m glad that the latest discussions and the latest gestures from the opposition, and statements from some of those who support the opposition, hint that they would be prepared to start negotiations with some negotiating team without asking President Assad to step down,” he was quoted as saying.

Lavrov spoke before a visit to London next week for the first meeting under the auspices of a new “strategic dialogue” between Russia and Britain. Syria is among the issues on the agenda for the talks on Wednesday between the two countries’ foreign and defense ministers.

The Kremlin and the U.S. government have spoken recently of the need to step up efforts to end the war and start a political transition but several meetings - including one in London on Thursday between senior Russian and U.S. diplomats - have brought few signs of progress

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with nurse Anne Jenkins (R) as she leaves King Edward VII hospital, in central London March 4, 2013.

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WORLD NEWS

UN votes for sanctions on North Korea despite threats T

he UN Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to impose tougher sanctions on North Koreaover a forbidden nuclear test explosion, just hours after the totalitarian state threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the U.S. and other “aggressors.”

The council voted 15-0, with no debate, to adopt a resolution drafted by the U.S. and China in the aftermath of the Feb. 12 underground blast.

“Our warnings were not heeded,” said Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council’s rotating presidency.“Now the choice is for the DPRK to make,” he said referring to the country by its official title, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “Now other interested parties must behave responsibly,” he added.

The new United Nations sanctions target “illicit activity” by North Korean diplomats, bulk transfers of cash by North Koreans, and banks and companies funneling cash or materials to support the country’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.

The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said that if North Korea conducts another test, the Security Council would “take further significant measures.”

North Korea “will exercise the right to a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors and to defend the supreme interests of the country,” a foreign ministry statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency said today. It warned the UN “not to make another big blunder.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney respond-

ed today that the U.S. is “fully capable” of dealing with any North Korean threat and said that nation “will achieve nothing by threats or provocations.”

North Korea has issued nuclear warnings in the past, although it has yet to demonstrate the ability to put a nuclear device on a ballistic missile.

“We take all North Korean threats seriously enough to ensure that we have the correct defense posture to deal with any contingencies that might arise,” Glyn Davies, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, said today after testifying to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“It will be long journey,” to remove North Korea’s nuclear threat, China’s UN Ambassador, Li Baodong, said after the council vote. The top priority for the international community now is to defuse tensions, “bring down the heat” and focus on a diplomatic solution to the North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, he said.

China’s enforcement of sanctions is crucial, said Davies. China “remains central to altering North Korea’s cost calculus,” he said in testimony.

“Both geography and history have endowed the People’s Republic of China with a unique —- if increasingly challenging -— diplomatic, economic, and military relationship” with North Korea.

“Close U.S.-China consultations on North Korea will remain a key locus of our diplomatic efforts in the weeks and months ahead as we seek to bring further pressure to bear on North Korea and, over the longer term, seek genuine diplo-

matic openings to push forward on denuclearization,” Davies told the Senate hearing.

Implementation by China has “been the Achilles heel” of past council resolutions on North Korea, Michael Green, senior vice-president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, wrote on the blogshadow.foreignpolicy.com.

“Rather than pat itself on the back and use the international community’s outrage as leverage to get the North back to the table (a mistake made after the 2006 and 2009 sanctions), the Obama administration should keep at China to implement the new sanctions in terms of specific actions,”wrote Green.

China’s support for the sanctions may reflect its mounting frustration with North Korea after the Feb. 12 nuclear test held in defiance of both the UN and the Chinese government.

The resolution includes bans on equipment used to make chemical and nuclear weapons, front companies for the country’s weapons programs and importation of yachts, racing cars and jewelry for the regime’s elite, and obliges UN member-states to stop any North Korean ships or planes suspected of carrying supplies for weapons programs.

Diplomatic steps to impose new sanctions on North Koreabegan after the country tested a three-stage ballistic missile last year and intensified immediately following the nuclear test that showed the country is assembling the building blocks for a nuclear-armed ballistic missile that could reach as far asHawaii.

US arrests Bin Laden spokesman A

man described as a spokesman for Osama Bin Laden has been arrested and will be tried in New York City, the US has confirmed.

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith was captured within the last week in Jordan, Congressman Peter King said on Thursday.

Mr Abu Ghaith is Bin Laden’s sonin-law and played a role in plotting the attacks of 9/11, US officials said.

Bin Laden was killed in a May 2011 raid on his hideout in Pakistan by a team of US commandos.

Mr Abu Ghaith is scheduled to appear in a federal court on Friday on charges of conspiracy to kill United States nationals.

“Sulaiman Abu Ghaith held a key position in al-Qaeda, comparable to

SULAIMAN ABU GHAITH the consigliere in a mob family or propaganda minister in a totalitarian regime,” said FBI Assistant Direc-

tor-in-Charge George Venizelos in a statement.

“He used his position to threaten the

United States and incite its enemies.”

A teacher and mosque preacher in Kuwait, Mr Abu Ghaith was stripped of his Kuwaiti citizenship after 9/11.

Justice department officials say Mr Abu Ghaith served alongside Bin Laden from May 2001 to 2002, speaking on behalf of al-Qaeda and warning that attacks similar to 9/11 would continue.

Specifically, on 12 September 2001, Abu Ghaith appeared with Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to warn the US that a “great army is gathering against you” and called upon “the nation of Islam” to do battle against “the Jews, the Christians and the Americans,” according to court records.

He was reportedly smuggled to Iran sometime in 2002.

Eric Holder clarifies policy on drone attacks on U.S. soil A

ttorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday that President Barack Obama would not have the authority to order a drone to kill an American citizen on U.S. soil who was “not engaged in combat.”

In a two-sentence letter to Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, Holder said he had heard Paul

wanted to know if the president could use a drone to kill an American outside of an emergency situation.

“The answer to that question is no,” Holder wrote.

He was responding in part to Paul’s extensive critique of a letter the attorney general sent to the

senator, which was made public on Tuesday. Holder said then that drone strikes against Americans on U.S. soil were not anticipated, but he did not rule them out in circumstances similar to the September 11 attacks in 2001.

On Wednesday, Paul spent nearly 13 hours speaking on the Sen-

ate floor in an attempt to block the confirmation of John Brennan as the next CIA director in protest at the use of drones in targeted killings.

The Obama administration has increasingly used drone strikes to target militants overseas, particularly in Pakistan and Yemen.

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WORLD NEWS

Obama signs Violence Against Women Act W

ASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama signed into law Thursday the Violence Against Women Act, formally ending a battle fought in Congress in the last year over controversial changes to the act.

In a public ceremony in Washington, Obama said this year’s legislation expands an act that has altered the culture surrounding domestic violence in America.

The bill extends federal aid to gay, immigrant and tribal victims, while adding services for its original beneficiaries and a large voting bloc: women.

Accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, who first introduced the act as a senator 19 years ago, Obama emphasized the bill’s new services.

“We’ll expand them to

President Obama signs Violence Against Women Act cover even more women, because this is a country where everybody should be able to

pursue their own measure of happiness and live their lives free from fear, no mat-

ter who you are, no matter who you love,” Obama said.

The Senate passed the

Senate confirms Brennan as new CIA director T

he Senate on Thursday confirmed John Brennan as the Obama administration’s next director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The Senate voted 63-34 in favor of Brennan, overcoming Republican Senator Rand Paul’s attempt to slow the White House counter-terrorism advisor from becoming the next head of the CIA. Paul, who spent nearly 13 hours

speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, was irate about the reluctance of President Barack Obama’s administration to declare that “targeted killings” of American citizens on U.S. soil were unconstitutional.

Attorney General Eric Holder then clarified the administration’s policy on Thursday and said that Obama would not use his authority to order a drone to kill an American

on U.S. soil who was “not engaged in combat.”

Holder initially declined to declare the targeted killings would be unconstitutional, saying that there could be situations, similar to the September 11 al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, in which such killings might be appropriate.

Ted Cruz, another Republican senator who tried to slow Brennan’s

bill on a bipartisan 78-22 vote. The House passed it, 286 to 138. White House support for the legislation, which originated in the Senate, was made clear at an early stage.

A primary concern of conservative opponents of the bill had been a provision that changes tribal law to allow tribal courts to try nonnatives. Opponents said the change might be unconstitutional. A recent proposal from some House Republicans removed the tribal provision, along with services for lesbian, gay and transgender victims of domestic violence and other contentious language. A dispute that had been shaping up between the most conservative Republicans and their more moderate colleagues was cut short by a move from Speaker John A. Boehner to skip internal debate and bring the legislation to the House floor, where it passed with Democratic and Republican votes.

confirmation, said that under questioning, Holder would only declare that such killings were inappropriate, but he eventually acknowledged they would be unconstitutional.

Paul’s 13-hour speech was the latest twist in a convoluted confirmation process that delayed Brennan’s Senate confirmation for weeks.

The nomination became a vehicle for Republicans and some Democratic critics to pressure the White House to disclose sensitive government records. These included emails and documents related to targeted killings and the administration’s response to the attack last year on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.

Zimmerman Stuns Court Waives Right to Stand Your Ground Hearing in Trayvon Martin Case G

eorge Zimmerman’s attorneys stunned court observers when they waived their client’s right to a “Stand Your Ground” hearing slated for April that might have led to a dismissal of the charges in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin a year ago.

However, the defense lawyers didn’t say whether they would waive the immunity hearing outright. They left open the possibility for that hearing to be rolled into Zimmerman’s second degree murder trial. Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch captain in his Florida subdivision, shot and killed the teen, who was visiting a house in the area.

The move allows the defense more time to prepare for the trial this summer, but also raises the stakes.

Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground”

law entitles a person to use deadly force if he believes his life is threatened, and absolves them of an obligation to retreat from a confrontation, even if retreat is possible.

In recent weeks, the Zimmerman defense has suffered several legal setbacks. Judge Debra Nelson has ruled in favor of the state that Zimmerman’s bail conditions should not be loosened, and that Trayvon Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump was not required to sit for a deposition about his interactions with the state’s most important witness, a young woman who was the last known person to speak with Trayvon Martin before his death on February 26 2012.

It was the defense’s legal maneuvering which put Judge Nelson on the bench in this murder trial. Last summer Zimmerman’s team successfully argued that the previous judge, Kenneth Lester,

was unfit to preside over the trial after a caustic bail ruling where he blasted Zimmerman for misleading the court about his financial situation.

Zimmerman contends that he shot and killed the 17-year-old Martin after the teen confronted him as he walked to his father’s girlfriend’s house.

Were Judge Nelson to have accepted his account under Stand Your Ground, all criminal proceedings would have immediately stopped, and Zimmerman would have walked free.

But another unfavorable ruling by Nelson could have been interpreted by jurors as a sign of guilt.

Waiving the hearing could also prevent the prosecution from picking apart Zimmerman’s testimony.

Before the April hearing was waived, Zimmerman’s defense set out to attack the credibility of witness 8, arguably the key witness in the upcoming trial.

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Chavez body to be put on permanent display C

ARACAS, Venezuela -- Hugo Chavez’s body will be preserved and forever displayed inside a glass tomb at a military museum not far from the presidential palace from which he ruled for 14 years, his successor announced Thursday in a Caribbean version of the treatment given Communist revolutionary leaders such as Lenin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s acting head of state, said Chavez would first lie in state for “at least” seven more days at the museum, which will eventually become his permanent home. It was not clear when exactly he would be moved from the military academy where his body has been since Wednesday.

A state funeral was held Friday and attended by more than 30 heads of government, including Cuban President Raul Castro and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, and former Rep. William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, will represent the United States, which Chavez often portrayed as a great global evil even as he sent the country billions of dollars in oil each year.

“We have decided to prepare the body of our ‘Comandante President,’ to embalm it so that it remains open for all time for the people. Just like Ho Chi Minh. Just like Lenin. Just like Mao Zedong,” Maduro said.

He said the body would be held in a “crystal urn” at the Museum of the Revolution, a stone’s throw from Miraflores presidential palace.

The announcement followed two emotional days in which Chavez’s supporters compared him to Jesus Christ, and accused his national and

Hugo Chavez international critics of subversion.

A sea of sobbing, heartbroken humanity jammed Venezuela’s main military academy Thursday to see Chavez’s body, some waiting 10 hours under the twinkling stars and the searing Caribbean sun to file past his coffin. On Thursday night, Castro and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica visited the viewing site.

But even as his supporters attempted to immortalize the dead president, acountry exhausted from round-the-clock mourning began to look toward the future. Some worried openly whether the nation’s anointed leaders are up to the task of filling his shoes, and others said they were anxious for news on when elections will be held. The constitution mandates they be called within 30 days, but the government has yet to address the matter.

“People are beginning to get back to their lives. One must keep working,” said 40-year-old Caracas resident Laura Guerra, a Chavez sup-

porter who said she was not yet sold on Maduro, the acting head of state and designated ruling party candidate. “I don’t think he will be the same. I don’t think he has the same strength that the ‘comandante’ had.”

At the military academy, Chavez lay in a glass-covered coffin wearing the olive-green military uniform and red beret of his paratrooper days and looking gaunt and pale, his lips pressed together. In a nod to the insecurity that plagues this country, mourners had to submit to a pat down, pass through a metal detector and remove the batteries from their mobile phones before they entered.

As they reached the coffin, many placed a hand on their heart or stiffly saluted. Some held up children so they could see Chavez’s face.

“I waited 10 hours to see him, but I am very happy, proud to have seen my comandante,” said 46-yearold Yudeth Hurtado, sobbing. “He is planted in our heart.”

Government leaders had been

largely incommunicado Wednesday as they marched in a seven-hour procession that brought Chavez’s body from a military hospital to the academy. They finally emerged before the cameras Thursday but offered no answers.

Asked when an election would be held, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said only that the constitution would be followed. He continued to refer to Maduro as “vice president,” though he also said the rest of the government was united in helping him lead the country.

The foreign minister also struck the defiant, us-against-the-world tone the government has projected, which some critics fear could incite passions in a country that remains on edge.

“They couldn’t defeat him electorally, they couldn’t assassinate him, they couldn’t beat him militarily,” Jaua declared. “Chavez died as president ... Chavez died the leader of his people.”

Just hours before the 58-year-old president’s death on Tuesday, Maduro expelled two U.S. diplomats and lashed out at opponents at home and abroad. He implied that the cancer that ultimately killed Chavez was somehow injected into him by his enemies, a charge echoed by Ahmadinejad.

While Maduro is the clear favorite over likely opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, the nation is polarized between Chavez supporters and critics who hold him responsible for soaring inflation, a growing national debt and a jump in violent crime.

Opponents have also questioned the government’s allegiance to the rule of law, arguing that Maduro is not entitled to become interim president under the 1999 constitution.

They have also criticized the defense minister, Adm. Diego Molero, for pledging support for Maduro’s candidacy despite a ban on the military taking political sides.

Heart Attack killed Chavez, who said he didn’t want to die C

ARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez died of a massive heart attack after great suffering and inaudibly mouthed his desire to live, the head of Venezuela’s presidential guard said late Wednesday.

“He couldn’t speak but he said it with his lips ... `I don’t want to die. Please don’t let me die,’ because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country,” Gen. Jose Ornella told The Associated Press.

The general said he spent the last two years with Chavez, including his final moments, as Venezuela’s president of 14 years battled an unspecified cancer in the pelvic region.

Ornella spoke to the AP outside the military academy where Chavez’s body lay in state. He said Chavez’s cancer was very advanced when death came but gave no details.

Ornella did not respond when asked if the cancer had spread to Chavez’s lungs.

The government announced on the eve of

Chavez’s death that he had suffered a severe new respiratory infection. It was the second such infection reported by officials after Chavez underwent his fourth cancer surgery in Cuba on Dec. 11.

Venezuelan authorities have not said what kind of cancer Chavez had or specified exactly where tumors were removed.

During the first lung infection, near the end of December, doctors implanted a tracheal tube to ease Chavez’s breathing, but breathing insufficiency persisted and worsened, the government said.

Ornella said that Chavez had “the best” doctors from all over the world but that they never discussed the president’s condition in front of him.

The general said he didn’t know precisely what kind of cancer afflicted Chavez, but added: “He suffered a lot.”

He said that Chavez knew when he spoke to

Venezuelans on Dec. 8, three days before his final surgery in Cuba, that “there was very little hope he would make it out of that operation.”

It was Chavez’s fourth cancer surgery and previous interventions had been followed by chemotherapy and radiation.

Ornella echoed the concern of Vice President Nicolas Maduro that some sort of foul play was involved in Chavez’s cancer.

“I think it will be 50 years before they declassify a document (that) I think (will show) the hand of the enemy is involved,” he said.

The general didn’t identify who he was talking about, but Maduro suggested possible U.S. involvement on Tuesday. The U.S. State Department called the allegation absurd.

Maduro, Chavez’s self-anointed successor, said Chavez died Tuesday afternoon in a Caracas military hospital.

The government said Chavez, 58, had been there since returning from Cuba on Feb. 18.

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usiness B AND

O T Facebook redesigns site ECHN

LOGY

to offer richer feeds

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acebook Inc. (FB) revamped its News Feed to include bigger photos, sorting by topics and a more consistent design across devices as the world’s most popular social network ramps up efforts to make money from content. The upgrade to Facebook’s main stream of photo, text and video updates is available to a limited audience starting today. The company said it’s also redesigning advertising that accompanies the flow of information, making it “richer” and more “immersive.”

Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has been adding services and features in a push to make money from people who log onto the social network from laptops and handheld devices.

In the fourth quarter, mobile revenue made up 23 percent of total ad sales as the number of users on smartphones and tablets outpaced desktop users.

“As the world changes, the composition of News Feed changes as well,” Zuckerberg said at

the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. “We think there’s a place for a personalized newspaper that can bring these things together.”

Slowing revenue growth and a slump in the stock after the market debut have ratcheted up pressure on Facebook to find new ways to generate sales.

Content attracting attention from friends will be more prominent on the site as well. Users will also be able to filter feeds by category, such as music, events, photos, and content they follow on the service. Advertising will probably be added to these specialized feeds over time, Zuckerberg said.

“This design reflects the evolving face of your news feed,” Zuckerberg said. “It’s designed for the way that we’re all sharing today and the trends that we see going forward.”

Facebook in January unveiled Graph Search,

designed to make it easier for users to find friends, restaurants, locations and interests based on their social connections. Facebook also is developing a smartphone application that will track the location of users, two people with knowledge of the matter said last month. The app is scheduled for release by mid-March, the people said.

Changes to the News Feed, a feature that’s front and center whenever users log into the social network, haven’t always gone smoothly. The last major revamp to News Feed in September 2011, which changed the design and accessibility of posts, sparked a minor backlash by users who said it cluttered the page. Even as far back as 2006, two years after Facebook was founded in Zuckerberg’s Harvard University dorm room, users protested an update to the feed, saying that a feature allowing other users to track updates was too intrusive.

JC Penney puts disputed Martha Stewart goods on hold N

EW YORK - J.C. Penney agreed on Thursday to hold off on its plan to sell certain Martha Stewart-designed products in its stores at least until an April 8 court date.

Macy’s, which claims the exclusive rights to sell the products, has sued J.C. Penney and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to prevent its rival from selling them.

Justice Jeffrey Oing of New York state Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned a trial over the dispute until April because of attorneys’ scheduling conflicts, and ordered the companies to try to resolve their differences in the meantime.

The adjournment is a blow to J.C. Penney, which has said Martha Stewart is key to its turnaround plan and the products had already been manufactured.

A spokeswoman for J.C. Penney

MARTHA STEWART declined to comment on Thursday.

“Macy’s, of course, will comply with the court’s orders,” said Jim Sluzewski, a spokesman for Macy’s.

MSLO said Martha Stewart, who testified in court on Tuesday, held a “productive conversation” with Macy’s Chief Executive Terry Lundgren before the judge ordered the companies into mediation. “We view today’s actions as a positive step for-

ward,” MSLO said in a statement.

Asked about the conversation, Sluzewski said Macy’s had no comment.

Last week, Lundgren testified that he had not spoken to Martha Stewart since she called in December 2011 to tell him about her deal with J.C. Penney, the night before it was announced publicly. He said he felt “sick” to his stomach and hung up the phone on Stewart.

In testimony on Thursday, Charles Koppelman, who stepped down as chairman of MSLO last year, said the company should have given Macy’s the chance to match J.C. Penney’s offer, but he said he was rebuffed by Martha Stewart and the board.

Last summer, Oing put in place a temporary block that stopped J.C. Penney from selling Martha Stewart-branded home goods in product

categories Macy’s claims it has exclusively, including cookware, bedding and bath.

J.C. Penney then said it would sell Martha Stewart-designed items in those categories under the brand “JCP Everyday” starting this spring.

Earlier this week, as the trial dragged on, Macy’s lawyer Theodore Grossman asked the judge to consider expanding the block to include all Martha-Stewart designed goods in the exclusive product categories.

Under Thursday’s agreement, J.C. Penney will hold off on selling the products until the April court date.

The agreement does not impact J.C. Penney’s plans to sell Martha Stewart-branded window coverings and other product categories not claimed by Macy’s. Those products are expected in J.C. Penney stores in late March or early April.

Fed says tests show 18 biggest US banks in stronger position to withstand sharp recession

W

ASHINGTON -- The nation’s largest banks are more prepared to withstand a severe U.S. recession and a global downturn than at any time since the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve says.

The Fed’s annual “stress tests” showed Thursday that as a group, the 18 banks hold fewer bad loans compared with last year, helped by a stronger economy. The Fed will announce next week

whether it will approve the banks’ plans to issue dividends or repurchase shares.

Under the stress tests’ most severe scenario, the United States would undergo a recession in which unemployment would reach nearly 12 percent, stocks would lose half their value and home prices would plunge 20 percent.

The Fed data show that one of the banks, Ally Financial Inc., would have a much lower capital

buffer against losses than the others under the most severe scenario. But Fed officials wouldn’t say whether that means it would reject Ally’s plans for issuing dividends or buying back shares.

Last year, Ally — the former financial arm of General Motors — was the worst-performing bank in the Fed’s stress tests. It was one of four banks that failed the tests and were not allowed to raise their dividends or repurchase shares.

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BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

White House says unlocking of cellphones should be legal C

ellphone users should be allowed to switch their devices to any mobile carrier, the White House said on Monday in response to an online petition against the recent banning of the practice.

More than 100,000 people signed the petition protesting the ban on switching imposed by the Library of Congress, which took effect in January. At issue is whether cellphone buyers, who get new devices at a heavily subsidized price in return for committing to long-term contracts, should be able to take their gadgets with them when they change carriers.

Many in the telecoms industry argue that cellphones should be “locked” - or prevented from moving freely across networks - because of the massive subsidies that carriers provide, effectively putting the devices in the hands of more people.

The petition argued that preventing “unlocking” reduces consumer choice and resale value of phones, which can cost hundreds of dollars without subsidies from carriers like AT&T Inc, Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

“The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties,” R. David Edelman, a senior advisor for Internet, Innovation, & Privacy to the Obama administration, wrote in the White House’s response.

“This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs even if it isn’t the one on which the device was first activated. All consumers deserve that flexibility.”

The Library of Congress, which among other things is responsible for setting rules and deciding on exemptions related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, said on Monday the issue would benefit from further debate and that its intention was not to supplant public policy discussion.

The Library of Congress got involved late last year during a rulemaking session conducted by the Register of Copyrights, which advises the organization. Unidentified participants in the rulemaking process, a technical, legal proceeding that allows members of the public to request exemptions to the copyright act, raised the issue then.

The Library of Congress subsequently decided that cellphones should no longer be exempted from the relevant section of copyright law, triggering the January ban on “unlocking.”

EU fines Microsoft $732 million in browser brawl M

icrosoft was fined 561 million euros ($732 million) Wednesday for a “serious infringement” of its agreement with European Union antitrust regulators.

“The commission adopted a decision sanctioning Microsoft for its failure to comply with the legally binding commitments which it made to the commission,” said Joaquin Almunia, vice president of the European Commission and the commissioner responsible for its competition policies, at a Wednesday press conference

in Brussels.

Specifically, Microsoft was sanctioned for breaking an agreement that it made with the European Commission, which is the executive body of the European Union, in response to EU antitrust concerns over Microsoft tying its Windows operating system to its Internet Explorer browser. In 2009, the products respectively commanded 90% of the operating system market share in Europe and 55% of the browser market. To settle those antitrust concerns, Microsoft in De-

CHIEF EXECUTIVE AT PANDORA MEDIA TO STEP DOWN

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he chairman and chief executive of Pandora Media, the company behind the popular Internet radio service, announced on Thursday that he would be leaving the company after nine years, on a day when Pandora reported growth and better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year.

Joseph J. Kennedy, the company’s chief since 2004, said he would remain in place until a successor was found. He informed the board at its meeting on Tuesday, and in the earnings call on Thursday gave no reason for his decision other than hinting at the toll of running a technology company for nearly a decade.

“As I approach the start of my 10th year,” Mr. Kennedy said, “my head is telling me it’s time to get to a recharging station sooner rather than later.”

Mr. Kennedy’s tenure illustrates how much Pandora — and streaming music in general — has changed. When he joined the company it was called Savage Beast, and had not developed the music genome technology that allows Pandora to tailor a stream of songs to its users’ tastes.

The service was introduced — and the company renamed — in 2005, and now its

cember 2009 agreed that until 2014, it would create a “choice screen” in Windows for European users, which would allow them to select the browser they wanted. According to EU officials, between March and November 2010, people downloaded 84 million browsers via the choice screen.

But the Wednesday fine against Microsoft was triggered by the company dropping the browser-choice screen in later versions of Windows.

“Although Microsoft did make the choice screen available in March

more than 67 million regular users listen to 1.4 billion hours of music each month.

Pandora dominates the Internet radio market, and has begun to challenge terrestrial radio stations for advertising. But its financial results, released after the close of trading on Thursday, show the challenges the company faces.

Its revenue for its fiscal year, which ended in January, was $427 million, up 56 percent from the year before. For the fourth quarter, it had $125 million in revenue, and an adjusted net loss of 4 cents a share, beating analysts’ expectations by 1 cent.

While the amount of money Pandora earns from advertising on mobile devices, where about 75 percent of its listening takes place, has gradually increased, the rate for its desktop ads has been dropping. Last year, its revenue per thousand mobile listener hours — almost entirely from advertising — rose 9 percent to $23.83, but for all of its users, that measurement fell 8.5 percent to $30.49.

The company’s music licensing costs also remain high, at almost 61 percent of total revenue for the year, a recurring concern for investors.

The rates for the bulk of Pandora’s royalties are set by a panel of federal judges, and last year the company supported a bill, the Internet Radio Fairness Act, that could have resulted in lower rates.

2010, the choice screen was not rolled out as required following the launch of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 in May 2011,” said Almunia. “As a consequence, during more than a year, until July 2012, around 15.3 million users did not see the choice screen as they should have.”

Almunia said the steep fine -which under EU law could have been up to 10% of Microsoft’s annual revenue, meaning $7.4 billion -- reflected both the gravity of Microsoft’s offense and its duration, but was also meant to serve as a deterrent to other businesses. “If companies agree to offer commitments which then become legally binding, they must do what they have committed to do or face the consequences -- namely, the imposition of sanctions,” he said.

US TRADE DEFICIT WIDENS IN JANUARY

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he gap between the value of imports to the US and exports from the US widened in January.

The trade deficit grew to $44.45bn (£29.53bn) in January from December’s figure of $38.14bn, the Commerce Department said.

There was better news on unemployment, with a fall in the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits.

The Labor Department said the number of initial claims for state benefits fell 7,000 to 340,000.

The figure had been expected to rise.

The initial claims news will not affect the week’s most important economic news, which is Friday’s non-farm payrolls figure for Febru-

ary, because the weekly claims figures are for the beginning of March.

Much of the rise in imports came from a 12% increase in imports of oil.

The trade deficit for the whole of 2012 was revised down slightly to $539.5bn, which was 3.6% below the level from 2011.

Analysts said that the trade figures would cut the country’s economic growth in the first three months of 2013.

“The sharp deterioration in trade shaves a bit from the outlook for growth in the first quarter,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago.

“There are signs that domestic demand is firming, which would provide a major offset to weakness abroad.”

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Sports LOCAL

AFC Academy, Net Rockers in 11-a-side women’s football final

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he final showdown of the Women’s 11-a-side football season will see Net Rockers FC play against league champions AFC Academy Strikers in the WFL Cup final next Sunday.

After two exciting semi-finals the two rivals will meet in Sunday’s clash in what promises to be a very entertaining and exciting contest.

Strikers have remained undefeated all season so they may be slight favourites heading into the cup final, but with several players competing in the Inter High Track and field meeting Net Rockers will be looking to take advantage of a few tired legs and defend the cup title which they won in 2012.

Net Rockers had a comfortable passage into the final by defeating Revolution 2-0 courtesy of goals from Jancillia Cox and Madeline Lamour.

Revolution defended resolutely and went into the half time interval at 0-0, however their defence eventually buckled under the strain of repeated Net Rockers attacks who now will face the young Strikers team in the final game of a thrilling season.

However, Strikers will consider themselves lucky to be in the final at all after having to twice come from behind during their epic semi-final encounter with their sister team, AFC Academy Hurricanes which ended in a dramatic penalty shootout.

The game between the two friendly rivals was perhaps the most evenly contested and exciting women’s game in TCIFA history. AFC Strikers dominated the opening exchanges before falling behind to Maiya Madden’s expertly placed header. Madden escaped her marker and guided Gaya Smith’s free kick into the back of the net.

Strikers were soon level as captain Kadine Delphin headed into the top corner from a Yarielca De La Cruz long range free kick. The final minutes of the half were a close affair with both teams creating chances, Delphin had a shot come back off the post and Sarah Cenary went close with two efforts.

The second half continued to be an even af-

Kadine Delphin

Yarielca de la Cruz

fair, however that changed when Lilli Fenelus broke away with the ball and placed the ball past Chrystal Stirling to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.

Strikers responded by adopting a more attacking style of play, as Shinaydine Pluviose was pushed into an advanced midfield role. For the remaining twenty minutes the Hurricanes players defended heroically, thwarting wave after wave of attacks.

However, in the dying seconds of the game Yarileny De La Cruz, lived up to her title as the deadliest marksman in the league as she received the ball from Delphin, turned and blasted the ball into the top corner to send the game into extra time. One could not but feel sympathy for the Hurricanes players who were moments away from a place in the final, but credit must be given to the Strikers players who never gave up hope of finding an equalizer.

Both teams continued to fight hard in the two periods of extra time. Gaya Smith saw her free kick just go over the cross bar and Yarileny De La Cruz had a chance to give her team victory in the

final minute but her shot went narrowly wide.

The final whistle brought up the dreaded penalty shootout which proved to be equally dramatic.

Yarielca De La Cruz scored for the Strikers before Gaya Smith made the scores level. Delphin then had her penalty well saved by Sanadia Forbes and Cenary gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead with a wellplaced spot-kick. Yarileny De La Cruz then missed the target which meant that just one goal would be enough for the Hurricanes but Vanessa Joseph, Jacinda Alfrena and Waldine Pierre all failed to convert their chances.

Shinaydine Pluviose had given Strikers hope as she scored but Alyssa Laing’s miss gave Hurricanes a chance to win the game, but Pierre’s effort was well saved by Stirling. Having had five penalties each the contest headed into sudden death and Guerline Hall calmly slotted the ball home to give the Strikers the advantage and when Stirling saved Sydnee Campbell’s brave effort the tables had been turned and the Strikers had come back from the brink of defeat to book themselves a place in the final.

Majorie Basden past students launch H.O.P.E M

embers of the Marjorie Basden High School, Class of ’95, have united under one banner to lend aid to their beloved home.

Known as South Caicos H.O.P.E, which is their abbreviated motto,“ Helping Our People Excel”, the group recently supplied the Marjorie Basden High school with over $1500 in hot meals for the South Caicos softball team, the Lady Bugs.

The meals were for the Lady Bugs during their (4) day stay in

Providenciales for the 2013 Inter High Schools Softball Tournament.

The current president of H.O.P.E is Mr. Alvin Parker Jr. In a recent interview he gave sentimental insight into the purpose of and drive behind the organization. “We are a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the community of South Caicos.

H.O.P.E. is a compassionate foundation comprised of young professionals, all of whom are graduates

of Marjorie Basden High School.

It’s our collective desire to use our skills, talents and resources to the benefit of the community of the South Caicos community. It’s about assisting in any way we can and improving the community as a whole.”

“Someone paved the way for all of us either directly or indirectly. It is our moral duty to do the same for someone else. Even if you’re not able to organize a group of in-

dividuals, you alone can make the difference in another person life,” reflected Parker South Caicos H.O.P.E Executive Board Members: President Mr. Alvin Parker, Vice President Mrs.Sabrina Hamilton, Community Liaison Officer: Mr. Jovard Glinton, Secretary: Mr. Tomiko Glinton, Treasurer: Mr. Garvin Thomas, Assistant Treasurer: Mrs. Denelta.

Green, Head of Fundraising: Ms. Thronequa Clare.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

LOCAL SPORTS

Team to Carifta could be known by weekend

BY VIVIAN TYSON

A

pproximately 25 athletes will be chosen to represent the Turks and Caicos Islands at the 41st annual Carifta Track and Field Championships to be held in Nassau, Bahamas from March 29 to April 1.

The National High School Track and Field Championship are scheduled to be held between Sunday, March 10 to Tuesday, March 12.

By Friday, March 15, the full team should be chosen.

Minster with responsibility for Sports Hon. Akierra Misick said that plans have been far advanced to have the team ready, even though they have been operating on a shoestring budget.

“The preparation for Carifta in the TCI is organized by TCAAA (Turks and Caicos Amateur Athletics Association). We, at the Ministry of Sports, are trying to assist them in developing an adequate budget for their Carifta funding.

“As traditionally done, the association is raising funds to host the (qualifying) meet in order to pick the excelling athletes, to compete on Turks and Caicos Islands behalf at Carifta. Unfortunately, their budget this year is very tight and their financing is very low. So as a result, the ministry is now working with them in putting a budget together to assist them to go to the Bahamas for the Carifta meet,” she said.

Two of the TCI’s top athletes, Delano Williams and Angelo Garland, who are currently attending Munro College in Jamaica, will parade their skills at Carifta. Williams is the defending champion for the Boys Under 20 200m. He is also expected to compete in the 100m, which he has an excellent shot at winning also. Garland is a long distance runner.

Minister Misick said that she has been keeping in touch with the two promising athletes, and as far as she is concerned, not only their Carifta preparation was going great, but also their future in athletics.

“Mr. Williams is doing very well. He is, I think, going to university come September, and he is being signed under Usain Bolt’s track Club (Racers Track Club), where he will be training with them in Kingston, Jamaica. I think Mr. Garland has a few offers on the table, and so he would decide which one is most appropriate for him to accept,” Misick outlined.

Misick said that her government is hoping, in the medium term, to develop a track season in the Turks & Caicos, so that athletes could get the proper training that would allow them to compete overseas and match skills with their international counterparts.

“What we are trying to do is to ensure that we promote track; promote the field events and push for a proper track season, which would have proper training, coaching and condition-

Delano Williams ing during the off season, so that when the season does start, our students can compete in more international meets than just Carifta, which is held once per year,” she said.

Exciting games in Provo Basketball League I

n the first of three games played in the Provo Amateur Basketball Association on 1st March, at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Complex, G.T. Stallions outscored Customs 58 to 39.

Stallions’ Damon Seymour shot 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assist and 6 steals. He received much assistance from K. Williams, who shot 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assist and 4 steals.

For Customs, Ezra Taylor ended the game with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block. D. Hanna and also shot 10 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal.

In the second game, South Caicos Habour Boys defeated Cobras 81 to 58. Habour Boy’s Emilo Seymour shot 15 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assist and 1 steal. A. Parker shot 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assist, 1 block and 1 steal.

Cobras’ Gino Agenor ended the game with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assist, 1 block, 2 steals. N. Rigby ended with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assist, 3 steals.

In the third game, Steelers got by Knights 98 to 73. Steelers’ Carmon Henry scored a whopping 48 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. He

got able support from J. Forbes, who shot 26 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assist and 7 steals.

Knights’ Tori Deal ended with 24 points, 1 rebound, 4 assist, 2 steals. D. Weydens ended with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three 3 assist.

Two games were played on Saturday, March 2. In the first encounter, Flyers turned back the challenges of the Steelers 82 to 79, with Darado Fulford ending with 31 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. A. Cash supported with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assist, 2 blocks and 1 steal.

Steelers Evens Missick ended the contest with a card of19 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assist, 4 steals. A. John supported with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assist and 5 steals.

In game two, South Caicos Habour Boys clipped Predators 58 to 56, with Jonathan Paul ending with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assist and 1 steals. K. Adams supported with 13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assist and 3 steals.

Predators’ Roger Martinez shot 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. M. Taylor ended with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 steals.

IF YOU WANT YOUR SPORTING EVENT PUBLISHED, PLEASE CONTACT THE TURKS AND CAICOS SUN at 946-8542 or email us at sun@suntci.com with your reports and photos

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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Sports CARIBBEAN

The Bahamas Minister of Sports informs of CARIFTA 2013 readiness

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he Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture the Hon. Daniel Johnson announced the launch of The Bahamas as the number one sporting destination in the region during the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s press conference Thursday, February 28, to inform the public about its CARIFTA Readiness.

According to the Nassau Guardian, he told the gathering that much has transpired in the sporting history of The Bahamas since it last hosted the CARIFTA Games, 11 years ago in 2002.

“While we have not won a CARIFTA Games since 1984, we have produced a number of outstanding athletes at these games who have earned the prestigious Austin Sealy Award.

“They include Maryann Higgs, the country’s first recipient; Laverne Eve, Pauline Davis-Thompson, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and most recently Anthonique Strachan,” said Minister Johnson.

“As you are aware,” Minister Johnson said, “this award is presented to the athlete who has been deemed the most outstanding either in terms of record accomplishment or quality of performance when compared to other top medalists taking part in the CARIFTA games.”

Minister Johnson told the media that the host-

ing of Carifta 2013 provides an opportunity for the youth of The Bahamas, coaches, parents and supportive community to begin The Bahamas’ journey to again becoming a premier sporting entity in the region.

“We have done it before and we can achieve this level of success again,” he said.

“We have the right people, the right talent and the right place to make it happen!”

Carifta 2013 will be held March 29 to April 1, at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre.

Minister Johnson said the stadium, with a seating capacity of 15,000 and a running track that meets IAAF certification requirements, is ready to receive guests.

He said also that adjoining the stadium is a full service track and field facility which has been fully refurbished and has also been certified by the IAAF. “It is important to note that three technical teams have assessed our new and renovated facilities and have confirmed that today they are indeed at World Class standard.

“These agencies include the Beynon Sports Company, a company which has extensive experience in this business and is responsible for laying

tracks in some of the most highly profiled sites throughout the United States, including The University of Oregon’ Hayward Field which has hosted the Olympic trials on three occasions as well as a variety of NCAA, National and Masters Championships.

“Other firms that have favourably assessed these facilities are the IAAF’s technical head and the technical teams from the government of the Peoples Republic of China and those from the Qilu Construction Company who built this lovely stadium,” he said.

Minister Johnson said ticket interest for the games is increasing from both the Bahamian community as well as from sporting enthusiasts from throughout the wider Caribbean and the United States.

He said also that the list of interested international track and field coaches from renowned colleges and universities is also growing.

“Over the ensuing weeks leading up to the games, you will be seeing information on the Sports Centre Redevelopment Project and the work of the National Sports Authority unfolding through documentaries,” he said, noting that it’s all intended to promote the journey to becoming “Numero Uno.”

Blake first big name signing for Doha 2013 – Samsung Diamond League J

amaica’s Yohan Blake, the World 100m champion, will open his 2013 Samsung Diamond League campaign at the Doha 2013 meeting on Friday 10 May. The 14-fixture Samsung Diamond League, the world’s premier global circuit of invitational athletics meetings, will get underway in Doha, Qatar, as it has done in each of its previous three seasons since its creation in 2010.

Blake, who was the 2012 Olympic silver medallist at both 100m and 200m and a member of Jamaica’s World record-breaking 4x100m Olympic winning quartet in London, is the first headline announcement by the organisers of Doha 2013.

IAAF Vice President and Qatar Association of Athletics Federation Chairman, Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, expressed his excitement over Blake’s upcoming appearance: “We are really looking forward to welcoming Yohan in Doha and to see the reigning 100m World champion competing at the Hamad Bin Suhaim Stadium.

“The fourth Samsung Diamond League season will commence once again in Doha and we are aiming to welcome a world-class field. The conditions here are excellent and we are aware that athletes love to compete in Qatar,” stated Al Hamad, who also serves as the Chairman of the Doha 2013 Organising Committee.

23-year-old Blake, who is tied on the all-time

lists with Tyson Gay as the second fastest ever 100m runner (9.69), commented that “this will be my first time in Qatar and I am looking forward to going to Doha, for my first Diamond League appearance on the Asian continent.”

“I have heard about the fast track in Doha and I hope to break the meeting record (9.85 sec, Olusoji Fasuba, 2006). I always want to surprise the audience, everywhere I go.”

“I am the second fastest man in the world at the moment. My ambition is to become the best.

I have to continue working very hard for that.

Anything is possible,” says the Jamaican sprinter whose nickname is “The Beast”.

Blake, the second fastest man ever in the 200m, will head to Asia for his start of the summer season and will run over the longer sprint at the 2013 Samsung Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, China, on 18 May. The man widely known as ‘The Beast’ is looking forward to competing in the Chinese metropolis.

“Returning to China will bring good memories for me. It was in China that I won my first major international medal as a junior athlete at the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships,” reflected Blake.

“Competing in the Samsung Diamond League in Shanghai will afford me the opportunity to once again experience the truly magnificent hospitality of the Chinese people. I am looking for-

ward to returning and competing well at the 200m distance.”

The great potential of Blake, in combination with the proven fast track in Shanghai, should prove to be a fantastic combination for what should be a special night of athletics.

The 23-year-old Jamaican has a 200m personal best of 19.26 and had eight races over the distance under 20 seconds. He is intending to make a serious attempt at improving the meeting record, which currently stands at 19.76 and was set

by Blake’s fellow Jamaican and training partner Usain Bolt in 2009.

2013 SAMSUNG DIAMOND LEAGUE CALENDAR Doha, QAT – 10 May Shanghai, CHN – 18 May New York, USA – 25 May Eugene, USA – 1 Jun Rome, ITA – 6 Jun Oslo, NOR – 13 Jun Birmingham, GBR – 30 Jun Lausanne, SUI – 4 Jul Paris, FRA – 6 Jul Monaco, MON – 19 Jul London, GBR – 27 Jul Stockholm, SWE – 22 Aug Zürich, SUI – 29 Aug Brussels, BEL – 6 Sep

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Sports W

RLD

Michael Jordan applies for marriage license in Florida

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ichael Jordan apparently is going to give marriage another try.

The Hall of Fame hoopster applied for a marriage license earlier today in the Palm Beach County Courthouse. A spokesperson for the clerk’s office confirmed the application for a license, which is good for 60 days. Although the identity of the bride-to-be was not revealed, Jordan became engaged to model Yvette Prieto in December 2011. TMZ has a photo of the couple at the court-

house.

The marriage would be the second for Jordan, who was married to Juanita Vanoy for 17 years before their 2006 divorce. They have three children together and Vanoy received about $168 million in their settlement.

Jordan’s engagement comes days after the Bobcats owner asked a Georgia court to dismiss a paternity suit against him, calling it a “shameless, bad-faith attempt to abuse the

legal system.”

Jordan’s spokeswoman Estee Portnoy released a statement saying: “Public records show that the paternity of the child was established in a prior case in this same court many years ago and that Michael Jordan is not the father.

“He also filed a counterclaim seeking sanctions for the false claims made against him. It is unfortunate that well-known figures are the target of these kind of claims. Michael

Michael Jordan And Fiancee Yvette Prieto Jordan will vigorously defend himself and his reputation.”

Jordan recently turned 50.

Jerry West says Lakers will make playoffs, ‘worst is behind them’ T

he Lakers are still in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, but with 21 games left in the regular season are still close to climbing into the top eight.

Former Lakers star and executive Jerry West, who is currently an executive board member for the Golden State Warriors, thinks the team will land a post-season berth.

“The Lakers are playing better now, especially defensively,” West told the website SportsOnEarth.com on Sunday. “I think they’ll make the playoffs. I think the worst is behind them.”

Injuries have been an issue for the Lakers all season but West noted that it’s not easy to meld stars together as a cohesive unit.

“What people don’t understand is the enormous adjustment you have to make as a player in those situations,” West said. “I was a scorer. Elgin [Baylor] was a scorer and Wilt

Jerry West [Chamberlain], even then, liked the ball. We all had to put everything else aside.”

West also said he isn’t comfort-

able with some of what he sees on the court around the league.

“When I played, I never thought I was better than anyone. Now you

have guys running down the floor, making three-point shots and then holding up three fingers,” West said.

“I have no idea where that comes from. It’s not me. I don’t like it.

“I don’t like players who have to promote themselves,” he continued.

“A guy running around beating himself on the chest -- I don’t know what that’s about. If you’re good enough, you are promoted. I see guys sitting on the bench laughing and they’re down 20. That would never happen with the Lakers. I wouldn’t put up with it.”

One of the teams the Lakers are chasing happens to be the Warriors.

The two teams meet twice before the end of the season.

Currently, Golden State has a four-game advantage but that could be cut in half if the Lakers sweep the remaining games. The Lakers have already won two games this season against the Warriors.

Los Angeles wants to bid on 2024 Olympic Games L

os Angeles has formally notified the United States Olympic Committee of its interest in bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The USOC sent a letter to the mayors of 35 large U.S. cities last month for the purpose of soliciting their interest in being considered as the official U.S. candidate for the 2024 Games.

Los Angeles last held the Olympics in 1984, and the Summer Games were last held in the United States

in 1996, when they were in Atlanta.

“On behalf of the City of Los Angeles, I am pleased to confirm our enthusiastic interest in bidding to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wrote in a letter to the USOC. “We are proud of our city’s sports heritage and tradition, and we stand ready to work with you to bring the Olympic Games back to the United States.”

The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution of support for a

2024 Olympic bid last year. Villaraigosa’s letter to the USOC also included a letter of support from the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, which included signatures from Magic Johnson, Tom Hanks, Olympic gold medalist Janet Evans and AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke.

Leiweke and AEG are currently pushing to build a $1.5 billion stadium connected to an expanded Los Angeles Convention Center in Downtown Los Angeles, which

could be completed as early as 2016.

Also likely to be used as part of Los Angeles’ bid are Staples Center and L.A. Live, AEG’s 27-acre property across the street that boasts 5.6 million square feet of apartments, ballrooms, bars, theatres, restaurants and a 54-story hotel and condominium tower.

Los Angeles held the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984 with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum serving as the first and only twotime stadium host of the Olympics.

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WORLD SPORTS

Dwight Howard says no disrespect meant towards Orlando magic N

EW ORLEANS -- With Dwight Howard set to return to Orlando next week for the first time since becoming a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, the All-Star center wanted to set the record straight regarding remarks he made on his time with the Magic.

Howard told KCAL, a Los Angeles CBS affiliate, in an interview this week: “My team in Orlando was a team full of people who nobody wanted, and I was the leader, and I led that team with a smile on my face.”

“My statement was just to say that our team that I played with in Orlando, we were the underdogs,” Howard said after the Lakers’ 108-102 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night. “Nobody really talked about our team.

It was underrated. Everybody overlooked us for the whole time I was there in Orlando and I hated that. We all hated that. We thrived off that. My comments were never to say anything disrespectful to those guys. Those were my teammates for years. They helped me become the player that I am today and we all got to the Finals because of that.

“I would never say anything disrespectful to those guys and I think a lot of people took that and ran with it, twisted it into a negative thing. I love those guys. We’ve had some great memories and we thrived off people saying that we weren’t going to make it to the Finals, we weren’t going to be a good team. That’s what pushed us.”

That characterization of a Magic team that went to the NBA Finals in 2009 hasn’t sat well with his former teammates, including Jameer Nel-

Dwight Howard son and Rashard Lewis, who both were named to the All-Star team while playing alongside Howard.

J.J. Redick, another former teammate, wasn’t pleased, either.

“I’m not surprised by it,” Redick told ESPNLosAngeles.com Wednesday evening before his Milwaukee Bucks played the Los Angeles Clippers. “I would be more surprised when Dwight starts taking responsibility. That would be the most negative thing I can say, but that’s the truth.

“You can’t take all the credit and not accept any of the blame.”

In the two days since the interview aired, Nelson told the Orlando Sentinel that he was “disappointed” in Howard’s comments, while Lewis said Howard’s comments were “disrespectful.”

“We helped Dwight become the player he was,” Lewis, now a member of the Miami Heat,

Swann out of tour for elbow surgery G

raeme Swann has been ruled out of England’s tour of New Zealand and will undergo surgery on his right elbow in America next week as he faces a battle to fit for the start of the Ashes in July.

The seriousness of Swann’s problem emerged on the first morning in Dunedin when he was left out of the starting XI. James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner, has been called into the squad while Monty Panesar was named in the team for the first Test. Swann’s surgery will take place at the same hospital where Tim Bresnan recently had his elbow operation.

An ECB statement said: “England offspinner Graeme Swann has been ruled out of the current Test series against New Zealand due to a right elbow injury. Swann will travel to the United States next week to have an operation and will then undergo a period of rehabilitation allowing an anticipated return to competitive cricket in the early summer. A further update will be available following the operation.”

Swann, 33, first had surgery on the elbow in 2009 when the surgeon removed 29 fragments of bone but had to leave some in place because of their proximity to the nerves.

Swann has always said how he wanted to

Graeme Swann avoid another operation and hoped to get through the rest of his career but has been forced under the knife again.

Swann needed treatment during England’s warm-up match in Queenstown and admitted his worries in his newspaper column in the build-up to the Test before being left out of the Dunedin match. It was only the fourth time Swann had been left out of a Test and the previous three occasions - twice in West Indies in 2009 and against South Africa, at Headingley, last year - have been for tactical reasons.

Swann was already being carefully managed through England’s one-day commitments and missed the recent 50-over leg of the India trip and the Twenty20s at the start of the New Zealand tour.

told the Sentinel on Wednesday.

“We made a good run. Hell, look at those (conference and division) banners hanging in the stands. They don’t say Dwight Howard on them ...”

Howard said “a lot of people overreacted” to his comments “It was never intended to disrespect or downgrade any of those guys,” he said. “I would always tell them I wouldn’t trade them for the world.

That’s how I viewed it. For the most part, those guys know that. They know who I am and they probably just heard something and people twisted it and turned it in different ways. I’m not that kind of guy. I would never disrespect those guys.

It just kind of got blown out of proportion.”

While Howard may not have wanted his teammates traded, it is widely known that he sought a trade for himself this past summer that ended his career with the Magic after eight seasons.

Nelson, who was once one of Howard’s closest friends on the Magic, said he was disappointed in Howard’s comments.

“At some point, when are you as a man, going to take ownership and stay out of the media in a professional manner,” Nelson told the Sentinel.

“I would be less of a man to comment on certain things that people comment on about me and my teammates. We had a great run as a group, as core guys, and he was a part of it (reaching the 2009 Finals) and for him to say things about anybody in a negative manner, that’s up to him.

“That’s his opinion. If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels.”

RIVERA PLANS TO RETIRE AFTER 2013 NEW YORK -- The great Mariano Rivera is getting set to close his career.

The New York Yankees’ reliever plans to announce this weekend that he will retire after the 2013 season, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because there was no official statement. A news conference was called for Saturday at the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa, Fla. The 43-year-old closer is baseball’s saves leader with 608. He is regarded as one of the best clutch pitchers in history, posting a record 42 postseason saves with an 0.70 ERA while helping the Yankees win five World Series championships. ‘’Greatest closer of all time. No question in my mind,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. ‘’I’ve had the thrill of catching him. I was there when he really burst onto the scene as a dominant setup man and then to see what he did as a closer has been a thrill for me.’’ ‘’It’s really hard to imagine that anyone could do the job he did,’’ he said. ‘’At times it seemed like it wasn’t fair. That’s how good Mo was. He was so dominant.’’

Rivera missed most of last season after he tore a ligament in his right knee while catching fly balls during batting practice. The right-hander was hurt May 3 and had surgery the next month.

Rivera returned home to Panama this week for a personal matter, and was expected to rejoin the team Saturday.

Hank Steinbrenner declined to say what would be announced at Saturday’s news conference. But the Yankees co-chairman said he would like Rivera to remain involved with the team when he does end his playing career. ‘’If he wants to, that would be my preference,’’ Steinbrenner said. ‘’I think he’d be a great influence, even if it’s only at spring training.’’

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