VOLUME 16 ISSUE 22

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

Website: www.suntci.com

VOLUME 16 - NO. 22

Email: sun@suntci.com

Tel: (649) 348-6838

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Fax: (649) 941-3281

www.facebook.com/tcisun

BACK TO NORMAL Hotels to reopen from July 6th, airports from July 22

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by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

fter experiencing two months of curfews and lockdowns that crippled the economy, the Turks and Caicos Islands will start rolling back to normal from next week when all retail businesses including hair salons and barbershops can reopen, followed by hotels on July 6th and airports for regional and international travel from July 22nd, 2020.

Premier and Minister of Finance Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson made the announcement in the House of Assembly on Friday, May 29th, 2020, when she outlined a phased reopening of the country which was shut down in late March because of the COVID-19 virus.

“Whilst we accept that the virus is here and that we may have slowed the spread, we equally recognize that we cannot stay locked away forever and must be prepared for the real fact that there could be an outbreak,” the Premier stressed.

“I believe that once testing which is now available in country, once widened, we will see a spike in numbers and I want us to be prepared for this. This is why we must move with urgency but with care.

I say with all sincerity that whilst TCIG coffers equally suffer, we cannot reopen phases without a plan to give us the best chance of building on our early gains and at the peril of our people’s lives. It is not an easy decision but it is a necessary and important, and yes, a right decision.”

Premier Robinson added that assessments will be carried out at the end of each phase in order to determine whether it is safe and adequate measures are in place before consideration/ recommendations can be made to move to the next phase.

“We reserve the right to roll back as well if there are indicators saying that it should be,” she stressed.

The phased reopening will be as follows:

(JUNE 5TH - JUNE 22ND, 2020) * Extending of retail businesses to reopen; must strictly adhere to Standard operating protocols for retail business issued by the

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Commissioner Botting condemns fire AT Police HQ

ire officials were called to the Police Headquarters early Friday, May 29, 2020, to battle massive flames after a call to the Police control room that three cars were set on fire in an apparent arson.

The facts are that around 2:50 a.m., an individual(s) entered a fenced-in parking lot and set fire to the cars.

Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said, “Two of the three cars that were

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destroyed at the Police Headquarters came into our possession recently and were involved in an investigation. They were already processed and we had no further investigative requirements for them. The third car was a personal vehicle of an officer”.

Commissioner Botting added, “An attack on the Police Force is an attack on the community and it is unacceptable. We will be conducting an extensive investigation to locate

and take action against those responsible through our CCTV system that is in place. I would like to appeal for any person in the community who does have information about this incident - anything at all – no matter how small to contact Crime Stoppers on 1-8008477 or call 911”.

There were no injuries reported in this incident.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Hon. Hilly Ewing passes

ormer Deputy Chief Minister Several glowing tributes of the Turks and Caicos Islands, were paid to Ewing during a sitting Hon. Hilly A. Ewing passed away of the House of Assembly on Friday, on May 26th, 2020. He was 90.

May 29th.

He is survived by his wife A statement from the Mrs. Jane Ewing, six sons including People’s Democratic Movement former Premier Dr. Rufus Ewing and (PDM) of which Hon. Ewing was current Minister of Home Affairs deputy leader, stated: “Supported Goldray Ewing, seven daughters and loved by his community of Hon. Hilly A. Ewing and several grandchildren and Blue Hills this fighter from High determination, perseverance, great grandchildren.

Rock rose to power through service, humility and pride.

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 2

Conserve Energy & Save!

Install energy-efficient compact fluorescent or LED bulbs. They give off less heat and use as much as 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs.

Further information and energy conservation tips are available on our website: www.fortistci.com

www.fortistci.com | 649-946-4313

Page 2

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

BACK TO NORMAL

Continued from page 1

Ministry of Health

of the mode of transmission, and individuals adhering to social distancing.

* Church services, weddings, funerals, burial grounds, and social gatherings to have 10 attendees, * Church services, weddings, funerals, with proper attendance logs to be burial grounds, and social gatherings kept, outdoor and “drive in” options to have 25 attendees, with proper being encouraged, while ensuring attendance logs to be kept for formal that social distancing and face gatherings, outdoor and “drive-in” covering are adhered to, persons options being encouraged, while must remain in their vehicles during ensuring that social distancing and the conducting of the services. The face covering are adhered to, persons limit of 10 attendees is for building must remain in their vehicles during capacity. the conducting of the services. The limit of 10 attendees is for building •*Real Estate property showing, capacity. adhering to standard operating procedures issued by the Ministry of •* Extension of Emergency Powers Health. and curfew to 21 June 2020. * Non-contact and non-team sports, * Continued phased re-opening of personal sport/fitness training, to the Civil Service, managed by the be allowed; A non-contact is a sport Deputy Governor. Continued phased in which the players are physically re-opening of Statutory Bodies, separated such as to make it nearly managed by their respective boards impossible for them to make physical and management teams. contact during the course of a game. * Sunday business closures remain the * Licensed daycare centers and child same however recreational activities home carers. Licensed daycare would be permitted. centers must strictly adhere to standard operating protocols for *Visitation to facilities such as Her daycare and child care services issued Majesty’s Prison, the Detention by the Ministry of Health before Center, Children’s Home and opening/ with daycare services being wellness centers should remain subject to strict enforcement. restricted unless deemed necessary.

Any visitation should be undertaken * Personal service businesses on with extreme caution and utilisation appointment only, e.g. Barbers and of strict social distancing, hygiene Hair Salons; Must strictly adhere to measures and use of PPE such as standard operating protocols for masks. barbers and salons issued by the Ministry of Health.

(JULY 6- JULY 22, 2020) * Sunday business closures remain to the same however recreational activities would be permitted. * Visitation to facilities such as Her Majesty’s Prison, the Detention Center, Children’s Home and wellness centers should remain restricted unless deemed necessary.

Any visitation should be undertaken with extreme caution and utilisation of strict social distancing, hygiene measures and use of PPE such as masks.

(JUNE 22ND - JULY 6TH, 2020) * Essential travel be allowed for residents ordinarily residing in family islands outside of Providenciales to be allowed to travel, and allow to return, with proper travel logs being maintained by the proprietor

Full re-opening of local Economy; all businesses and activities adhering to established protocols.

•*Hotels and Churches. * Sporting events and contact sports.

•*Dine in restaurants.

of strict social distancing, hygiene measures and use of PPE such as masks. * Social distancing of 6 feet between persons, enhanced hygiene measures such as frequent handwashing and cleaning as well as use of face coverings in public spaces will be required during all phases.

(JULY 22, 2020) * Reopening of Regional International Borders.

and

* Visitation to facilities such as Her Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson Majesty’s Prison, the Detention Center, Children’s Home and * Sunday closure of businesses will wellness centers should remain remain. restricted unless deemed necessary, until December 31, 2020. Any * The closure of the Cruise Port is visitation should be undertaken extended to August 31, 2020 and with extreme caution and utilisation its re-opening remains subjected of strict social distancing, hygiene to guidance from the CDC, Cruise measures and use of PPE such as Industry and the Ministry of Health. masks. * The power to order self-isolation, to * Social distancing of 6 feet between shelter in place, for screening and persons, enhanced hygiene measures the duty to provide information will such as frequent handwashing all remain in place. and cleaning as well as use of face coverings in public spaces will be * The application to Justice of the required during all phases, until Peace, the authority to apprehend, December 31,2020. This will be physical distancing protocols. kept under review by the Ministry of Health however it is anticipated * Schools will remain closed until 26 that these measures will be June and will break for summer on required for the foreseeable future this day. and will become the new normal.

Enforcement of these measures * The social gathering ban will be will require enforcement by the lifted and a restriction of 10 persons Environmental Health Department in Phase 2 a and 25 in Phase 2b will along with relevant powers to do so be imposed. under the Public and Environmental Health Ordinance. * Attendances at weddings will continue to be restricted to 10 Meantime, the Premier noted that persons in Phase 2a and 25 in Phase a number of provisions will be 2b. included in regulations, such as: * The restriction of domestic travel •*The mandatory wearing of mask/ will be relaxed under the Ministry of face covering.

Health’s guidelines.

* Casinos, Bars, and Discos. * Gyms, Spas, and Fitness Centers. * Domestic reintroduction.

Travel-gradual

* Visitation to facilities such as Her Majesty’s Prison, the Detention Center, Children’s Home and wellness centers should remain restricted unless deemed necessary.

Any visitation should be undertaken with extreme caution and utilisation

*Work remotely from home should * Activities on public beaches remain remain where possible and should restricted to 10 persons practicing remain until the last phase. social distances and no alcohol should be permitted. * Business times – blanket closure of all business at 8p.m. * Power to requisition any building, ship or aircraft and to requisition * Small business-remove restriction of essential services are both extended four persons at a time and allow the to 21 June 2020. businesses to determine the capacity but ensuring the social distancing is * The power to stop, detain and arrest maintained. and well as the penalty for spreading false information remains in place.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Hon. Hilly Ewing passes Continued from page 1

Compassionate, loyal and and Caicos Islander. That image is steadfast. These are just some of the one of representation, service and words that can be attributed to the commitment to building a modern legacy and life of the Late Former Turks and Caicos Islands. It is here Deputy Chief Minister Hon. Hilly A. that we pay homage and respect Ewing. He has fathered a generation to his lasting legacy. Hon. Ewing of patriots in his immediate family towers among men fulfilling that and inspired a generation, a hard sought after quality of being community, an island, a country.” able to walk amongst Queens

The tribute added: “His and Kings but never loosing the image hangs high in the heart, common touch. But more than soul and minds of every Turks this he was a man of faith. A man

with strong beliefs and spiritual conviction to do what was right in the sight of God. For these reasons we bask in his greatness.”

“He is listed as one of the many early political pioneers that stuck to the belief that Turks and Caicos Islanders must be at the forefront of political, economic and social advancement. As a pioneer for the empowerment of our people we commit ourselves today to deepen

and carry forth his legacy.

“Those of us who knew him in the PDM are honored to have laboured in the vineyard of service with him to lift up, empower and represent our people and country.

His story is a legendary and concretely cemented in the halls of the PDM and in history books of our Nation. A fighter, patriot, and friend. His memory lives on.”

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 3

Page 4

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

The health and safety of our customers and staff remain our top priority during this time, and we thank you for your patience as we work together to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Please be advised that Provo Water Company's Grace Bay Office on Grace Bay Road will re-open to customers on Monday 11th May from 9.00am to 2.00pm Monday to Friday. The following precautions will be taken:•

Covid-19 Regulations requires every person in a public space to wear a face mask.

•

Each customer must sanitize his/her hands upon entering the payment centre.

•

Only one (1) customer at any time will be allowed to enter our payment centre.

IT IS THE LAW

Our Customer Service Department will continue to serve customers from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Customers seeking to establish a new service, reconnection, account changes or queries can contact Customer Service Department at 649-946-5202 or email customerservice@provowater.tc for assistance.

Staff will remain available for emergency assistance, please call

649-231-0705

to report a fault, broken water line

or outage.

We are encouraging customers to utilize our

My Account Portal

either via our website or at https://provo-

myacct.smartgridcis.net to view water bills, make payments, view water usages and update account details.

Customers can continue to make payments via our payment vendors:•

CIBC First Caribbean, Scotia Bank and RBC Caribbean

•

Graceway IGA stores during their hours of operation.

We appreciate your cooperation with these pro-active measures that will remain in place until further notice.

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 5

LOCAL NEWS

Boat party attendees and others warned by Police

By Todeline Defralien

Persons who have been staging and attending boat parties and others who breach the COVID-19 Regulations will be investigated and prosecuted, Commissioner of Police, Trevor Botting said.

Following numerous reports of individuals hosting boat parties with multiple attendees and carrying alcoholic beverages to local beaches, (both unlawful activities during the current State of Emergency) the commissioner is urging the public

to avoid complacency. guide and encourage compliance

Botting told The SUN, with the regulations and, where “Officers of the RT&CIPF continue necessary and proportionate, to work tirelessly to protect the officers may investigate and seek communities of the Turks and Caicos to prosecute those who breach the Islands through this challenging regulations. I urge the public to period when COVID19 continues avoid complacency and support to impact on the people of the TCI. policing, health and all of those Clearly, given the scale of the issues, people who are working hard to policing relies on the support keep our communities safe.” and cooperation of the public to Meantime, Botting stated demonstrate personal responsibility that the impact of the virus is and behave responsibly.” not over, so everyone must work

He added: “Where breaches together and comply with the of the regulations are known to the regulations that are in place to keep Commissioner of Police, Trevor Botting Force, officers will seek to advise, the public safe.

Police investigating two same-day shootings

The Royal Turks and may have witnessed this Caicos Islands Police Force is incident to please call 911 investigating two shootings or confidentially call Crime that occurred hours after Stoppers at 1-800-8477. each other on Providenciales Later that day, Police on and Grand Turk and Grand Turk were called to the Providenciales on Thursday, area of Orea Alley after calls May 28th, 2020. to 911 that shots were fired,

Police public relations shortly before 10:00 p.m. officer Takara Bain said that Officers were shortly after 6 p.m., Thursday, dispatched to a home where May 28th, 2020, a male bullets entered a window. was shot on Aviation Drive, There were no injuries Providenciales and taken to reported in this incident. the Cheshire Hall Medical The Royal Turks and Centre. His condition was Caicos Islands Police Force unknown up to press time. is asking that anyone with

This is an active information can contact 911 investigation and the RTCIPF or anonymously call Crime is appealing to those who Stoppers on 1-800-8477.

Police on the scene at a shooting along Aviation Drive

Windsong Resort Liaison Officer Windsong Resort, Stubbs Road, Providenciales seeks to fill the position of liaison officer to coordinate between our Management company, Strata Owners, Owner’s Representatives, Property Management and Corporate Offices. In this role, you will act as the liaison between all our entities to streamline operations, resolve issues, improve communication, and generally ensure that the relationshipis as beneficial as possible.

Liaison Officer Duties and Responsibilities •Maintain Thorough knowledge of the Managementbusiness, as well as an understanding of how that impacts the other entities of contact.

•Monitor, Coordinate, and Communication strategic objectives of the business.

•Collaborate and communicate successfully with other entities outside of the business •Collect, analyze, and utilize data and feedback to identity opportunities to improve the relationship between the management company and the other entities.

•Compile reports about particular incidents, events, or updates about important issues for the business and thoroughly communicate with all entities.

•Provide detailed explanations of budgetary information and financial statements, including a working knowledge of all financial protocols and systems.

•Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual operating reports and communicate the results to executive teams and owner’s Representatives.

•Promptly respond to incidents and other events as necessary •Transform strategic plans into tactical initiatives.

Liaison Officer Requirements and Qualifications •College Degrees in hospital Management or accounting preferred •5+ Year of experience in a related role in the last 10 years •Effective communicator, ability to offer innovative solutions to high net worth Individuals.

•Ability to establish and nurture beneficial business relationships •Self- motivated with a willingness to take initiative and solve complex problems •Analytically and Mathematically minded toanalyze data and create necessary reports •Proficient at reading, writing and speaking English •Ability to travel to and work within the United States •Notary Public License •Thorough working knowledge of Opera Hospitality Software, Micros Food and beverage software, QuickBooks Accounting Software, and Microsoft Office.

Salary $9.00m per hour plus service charge commensurate with experience. Please send resume via email at hr@windsongresorts.com 649-946-3766 or by fax 649-941-7719 by 21/5/19. All Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview. This is currently a vacant position. Prospective and qualified applicants who are Belongers are asked to send copies of your applicants to the Labor Board.

Shooting on Grand Turk, Orea Alley

Windsong Resort Purchasing Manager Windsong Resort, Stubbs Road, Providenciales seek to fill the position of Purchasing for our Management Company, Strata Owners and Strata Corporation. In this role, you will be required to source products and materials, analyze bids coordinate logistics.

Duties and Responsibilities.

•Maintain through knowledge of the purchasing and bidding process.

•Receive, Record and inventory deliveries •Coordinate shipping and delivery to resort •Collect and analysis bids •Develop and Maintain a purchase order system •Offer innovative solutions when products are not readily available •Prepare reports and communicate the results to the Executive Team and Owner’s Representatives.

•Compile takeoffs based on current inventory and blueprints •Evaluate Specifications and recommend alternatives.

Requirements and Qualifications •Minimum 5-year experience in international purchasing and logistic for luxury hotel.

•Experience in the takeoff and bidding process •Must be able to work in South Florida and occasionally on site •College degree helpful •Must be proficient in reading, writing and speaking English.

•Good working knowledge of computer estimating, AutoCAD, QuickBooks & Microsoft.

•Valid driver’s license with clean driving record •Self-motivated with a willingness to make initiative and solve complex problems •Ability to thrive in a fast-paced and sometimes high-pressure environment.

Salary $9.00m per hour plus service charge commensurate with experience.

Please send resume via email at hr@windsongresorts.com 649-946-3766 or by fax 649-941-7719 by 21/5/19. All Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an interview. This is currently a vacant position. Prospective and qualified applicants who are Belongers are asked to send copies of your applicants to the Labor Board.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

No laws in place for nopayment of rent, says Premier mortgages and we’ve asked landlords well. I’ve had occasions where one or to work with tenants, but you would two were reported and we were able

The Turks and Caicos always remember that even as I to assist, not financially, but assist Islands government does not have presented the stimulus (package) the landlord in getting through with any legislation in place that allows and I said to persons to pay where banking services to be able to defer individuals not to pay rents during you can or pay something, because mortgage payments so that they can the COVID-19 pandemic. at the end of the day persons will be relaxed.”

According to Premier Hon. say you’re not helping me if my She continued: “I want to Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, bills are going to pile up at the end be abundantly clear that there is government has been working with of the three months,” the Premier nothing that government has in tenants and landlords to work with said during a national address at her legislation to allow persons not to banks to extend curtesy to customers Providenciales office on Wednesday pay rents and we’ve asked you to by allowing waver of payments for May 20th, 2020. pay where you can, but you can flag mortgages.

Premier Robinson said it up to the Trade Department and

“Persons would recall that people must also remember that see where consumer protection may I spoke to landlords and one of the landlords do have obligations as well. come in.” reasons as well is that we sought to “That’s not the case for water In addition, the Premier work with banks about extending and that’s not the case for light, encouraged people of Turks and courtesy to customers by allowing because we made arrangements for Caicos to pay their bills where they waiver of payments for mortgages is payment plans. In terms of landlords, can to avoid being billed. to address exactly this situation with we have no legislation to protect “I want to encourage you landlords as well. We do know that tenants and we have to also remember to please, even with water and light there are landlords that don’t have that landlords do have obligations as where we’ve arranged for extended

By Todeline Defralien

TURKS TELECOM & FIBRE SOLUTIONS LTD. Location: Regent House West, Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands

FIBRE OPTIC TECHNICIAN Responsible for installation and maintenance of fiber optic networks in commercial and residential settings.

KEY DUTIES + RESPONSIBILITIES •Installations, troubleshooting, and maintenance of all fiber optic systems to ensure full functionality.

•Conducting regular inspections of the systems with the aim of locating and repairing any defects detected during the inspections •Ability to work safely on overhead (heights) and underground fibre networks.

•Ability to use hand and power tools competently and safely.

•Ability to maintain and interpret records of daily work logs and fiberoptic network design maps •Ability to operate communication devices and company vehicles in accordance with company policies •Ensure all company health and safety guidelines are adhered.

•Perform other related tasks as assigned.

REQUIREMNETS •1-3 years’ experienced preferred •Certified Fibre Optic Technician •Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.

•Valid driver’s license.

•Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office applications •Ability to work extended hours including evening/weekend (overtime) as needed.

Resumes must be accompanied by a cover letter and two reference letters (One preferably from a former employer). Applications should be address to The Director, Human Resources, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands and sent to TTFSLtd@gmail.com This position is new Applicants who are Turks and Caicos Islanders can send copies of their resume to the Labour Board.

SALARY: To Be Determined APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 5th, 2020

Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson. payments let me say to you that you will be billed. Yes you will be billed we didn’t say that it was a suspension of collecting bills. We have to be open and honest with persons, because you still owe that bill, it’s just that what we’ve arranged for you is extended payment and no disconnections,” she said.

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 7

LOCAL NEWS

Family files $10million wrongful death lawsuit in Long Island woman’s death at Club Med

The family of a Long Island woman found strangled to death at a Club Med on Turks and Caicos in 2018 has filed a $10 million wrongful death lawsuit.

According to a report from NBC New York, the son and husband of Marie Kuhnla filed the lawsuit after hiring private investigator Eddie Dowd, who looked into the mysterious death. He said that it didn’t appear that Kuhnla had walked to the location where her body was found, bruised in a clump of bushes away from the resort. The medical examiner later determined she had been manually strangled.

“She was not walking to that location. What happened is that she was either murdered there and dumped there, or she was murdered somewhere else and dumped there,” Dowd said. He was brought on by the family after they said they were stonewalled from the very beginning by Club Med and Turks and

Caicos Island Police.

Rick Kuhnla, Marie’s husband, said it didn’t seem like anyone was taking the investigation very seriously, or were doing much to find his wife’s killer.

“They just wanted to sweep it under the rug. It’s the easiest way to answer that,” Kuhnla said.

“We want to know what happened, and we want justice for my mom,” said the couple’s son, Rick Kuhnla Jr., who lives in California. “We couldn’t get her body back for two months and by then, it was so decomposed, we couldn’t view it.”

Rick Kuhnla, Marie’s husband, said it didn’t seem like anyone was taking the investigation very seriously, or were doing much to find his wife’s killer.

“They just wanted to sweep it under the rug. It’s the easiest way to answer that,” Kuhnla said.

“We want to know what happened, and we want justice for my mom,” said the couple’s son, Rick Kuhnla Jr., who lives in California. “We couldn’t get her body back for two months and by then, it was so decomposed, we couldn’t view it.”

Abe George, the family’s attorney, said that Club Med “failed to take the requisite action to keep Marie safe,” and said that it “absolutely” was a murder.

The lawsuit also names the hotel guest Kuhnla’s friends said was last seen with her, Frank Yacullo – a former Club Med employee. The court papers accuse Yacullo of killing Kuhnla, and Club Med of covering up the crime.

“I had nothing to do with this,” Yacullo, who lives on Long Island, told the I-team when reached by phone. “I had no interaction with her besides going to the pool.”

A spokesperson for Club Med

Marie Kuhnla was killed while staying at Club Med in Turks and Caicos Islands. said they can’t comment on pending legal matters, but added that “the safety and security of all of our guests and staff is our highest priority.”

Kuhnla’s husband said it seems like someone has “so far” gotten away with murder, and isn’t entirely confident that’s going to change any time soon.

“We’re not totally convinced that will ever happen,” Kuhnla said, while admitting he knows the legal process will be lengthy. The husband and father has decided to move on with his life and sell his Long Island home, moving to California to be closer with his son, and hope for justice together.

Hospital building significant upgrades to provide high dependency care: Governor Dakin

The Turks and Caicos Islands Individual rooms at the hospital are being Hospital is building significant converted, newly arrived ventilators upgrades in their ability to provide high installed and trained on, much increased dependency care if there is a spike in oxygen production is being procured positive cases of COVID-19. and more staff employed. Some staff are

Governor Nigel Dakin in an arriving on individual contracts but the Instagram post on Sunday May 24th, key group is coming from Cuba,” he said, revealed that recently individual rooms adding that he signed the contract with at the hospital are being converted, Cuba this week. newly arrived ventilators installed, The Governor noted that staff, much increased oxygen production is top end medical equipment (provided being procured and more staff are being by TCIG, UK and philanthropy) and employed. converted space at the hospitals provides

Dakin added that further a responsible response for citizens and specialist hospital capacity is needed future visitors alike. as TCI removes restrictions, if the He added: “Doing this as a small virus starts to spread, Government can island state, as the whole world has been realistically provide proper healthcare. competing for very limited resource in a

“Building a significant upgrade dog-eat-dog environment, has been an in our hospital’s ability to provide almost epic undertaking for all involved High Dependency Care is underway. - my respect to those in our Government,

Health Ministry, Hospital and UK who took on the challenge.”

The Governor praised the people of Turks and Caicos Islands for their discipline of flattening the curve.

“Because those in TCI demonstrated great national discipline in what has become known as “”flattening the curve”, the virus didn’t grip us, as it did others. That was a clear win. The virus is presently suppressed but it’s not gone or if it’s gone we can’t prove it. Before we open the country fully we need to have delivered two upgrades in our health capacity. To do anything other than that would be reckless,” he explained.

Dakin stressed that the delivery of an on island testing capability has been far from easy.

“Not only does it require equipment and crucially consumables

Governor Nigel Dakin procured overseas it requires prepared specialist laboratories, trained staff (in this case virtually), international calibration and certification. The Premier and I were told by the Minister of Health that concluded yesterday. I look forward, along with all on the Island, to see that roll out next week. Testing in large numbers is the prize,” he said.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

Employer obligations with regards to layoffs

The Ministry of Immigration, a further fine not exceeding $100 for Citizenship, Labour and Employment every day or part of a day on which the Services in collaboration with the offence has continued.

Labour and Employment Services

“Employers are to note that if in particular, would like to remind you terminate a work permit holder employers of their obligations and during the period of airport closure, employees of their rights with regards you are still responsible for the to Lay-offs and short–time. individual until it is reasonably possible

In a press statement, the for that person or persons, to leave the ministry stated: “We are conscious of country,” the statement continued. the economic strain that the Covid-19 “Employers must also ensure that they pandemic has placed on the business are in full compliance with section 106 community in the Turks and Caicos (2) of the Employment Ordinance, by Islands and the world at large. However, ensuring that their employee/s are still Employers are hereby reminded that in housing until they depart the Turks any change to salary and benefits must and Caicos Islands. be communicated to staff.

Employers do not have the

Failing to communicate or authority to release a work permit come to an agreement means that the holder to take up employment with current contract takes precedence.” another employer. This is an offence. A

The press released added: “We permit status can only be changed by are aware of persons being laid-off or the Director of Immigration, the Work work hours being decreased i.e. placing Permit Board or the Commissioner of staff on short-time. Employers are not Labour and Employment Services, for allowed to force staff to take leave persons to reside or engage in gainful unless it is in line with section 8. (4) of occupations respectfully. These Permits the Employment Order, which states: are also issued with conditions or “An employee who fails to take vacation restrictions, as set out in the Permit.” with pay within six weeks after it

Self-employed, and employed becomes due shall lose his entitlement persons are reminded of their to such vacation.” obligation to adhere to the conditions

The public is further reminded of their Work Permits as imposed by that in accordance with Section 102 (d) the Immigration Board. Anyone who of the Immigration Ordinance 2018 fails to comply with the conditions Revised, it is an offence to remain within contained within their Work Permits the Turks and Caicos Islands beyond in accordance with Regulations 35 and the time permitted by an Immigration 42 commits an offence and is subject to Officer. prosecution.

A person commits an offence

The ministry said full and is liable on summary conviction to adherence to the conditions is expected a fine of $10,000.00 or to imprisonment and if persons have any questions with for a term of two years, or to both; and regards to their employment rights or if the offence is a continuing one, to status in the Turks and Caicos Islands,

BUTTERFIELD GOLD GROUP OF COMPANIES POSITIONS AVAILABLE All positions are held by Work Permit Holders Butterfield Gold One (1) Painter Minimum of three (3) years’ experience as a painter Prepare walls and other surfaces for painting by scraping, using sandpaper, removing old paint.

Fill cracks and holes with appropriate material (e.g. plaster) Mix paint and other materials to prepare the right color or texture Paint surfaces according to instructions with various tools Apply varnish and other finishes.

Any other assigned duty Wages: commensurate with experience starting from $9.00 per hour.

One (1) Domestic worker General cleaning the Town Center mall windows and offices Wages: starting from $6.50 per hour One (1) Domestic Worker All aspects of cleaning & other domestic duties including preparing meals for the Owner Applicant must be of excellent character and work ethics.

Be able to work independently Applicant must be willing to work flexible hours Salary from $350.00 per week Location: 23 Parade Ave, Providenciales Coral Quarry Two (2)Mechanics The employee is responsible for the repair and maintenance of all company equipment/machinery, and to ensure minimum downtime

please contact hotline numbers as follows: Persons in Grand Turk, South Caicos, Salt Cay and Ambergris Cay, please call 649-348-2372 and persons in North & Middle Caicos, Parrot Cay, Pine Cay and Providenciales, you are asked to call 649-348-3085.

As stated previously, work permit holders whose employment has been terminated and cards cancelled, will need to make travel arrangements immediately through the tourist board email address:travel@ turksandcaicostourism.com Please provide the following information at the time of registration: Name Number of Persons in your travelling party Contact information Country of origin/destination

The Employment Services Department is also encouraging all Belongers who are unemployed to register with the department. By you registering, the department will assist in finding suitable employment and ensure that your NHIP benefits continue.

You may register in person at the office or via email at jobregistration@ gov.tc by submitting your resume along with a copy of your Belonger and NHIP card. If you have any questions, please the hotline number at: 649-348-9340

The Ministry, Immigration Department and the Labour and Employment Services Department, would like to thank everyone in advance for their full cooperation and compliance.

Turks and Caicos Sun

Suite#5, Airport Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands Tel: (649) 348-6838 Fax: (649) 941-3281 Email: sun@suntci.com Read us online at www.suntci.com Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Hayden Boyce Graphic designer Information Technology and Production Manager: Kelano Howell Todeline Defralien Reporter

The Turks and Caicos SUN is a subsidiary of The SUN Media Group Ltd. We are committed to excellence in journalism, educating and informing our readers, serving and satisfying our advertisers and assisting in the overall development of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

of same through proper coordination of the preventative maintenance program.

Must have least 10 year’s experiences Must have the ability to lift and move up to 100lbs Must have vision abilities; close vision, color vision, peripheral vision and depth perception.

Applicants must have knowledge of occupational hazards and safety precautions applicable to the trade. Must have the ability to communicate effectively The employee will be exposed to fumes or airborne particles, extreme heat, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration, moderate to loud noise levels. To be exposed to outside weather conditions.

Applicants will be exposed to hazardous work environments.

Salary: $15.00 per hour One (1) Truck driver Delivering raw/building materialsInspect vehicles for mechanical items and safety issues and perform preventative maintenance.Must have clean drivers licence and Police Record with have at least ten years’ experience.

From $12.00 per hour according to experience Location: South Dock Road Only Belongers apply for these positions. Application forms available from Butterfield Gold Human Resource Department.

Only applicants selected for interview will be notified.

Submit applications to by June 2, 2020 Submit applications to: Butterfield Gold Ltd., Human Resource Department 23 Parade Ave Providenciales Turks & Caicos Islands Tel: 649-946-4211 Labour Commissioner, Labour Department Providenciales Turks & Caicos Islands

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 9

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Page 10

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

Cuban medical staff to arrive in TCI within two weeks

Medical staff from Cuba will be arriving in the Turks and Caicos Islands within the next two weeks, Premier Sharlene Robinson said.

“We are equally happy to report the impending arrival of Cuban medical personnel within the next two weeks and the critical hospital upgrade works to commence next week. These gains are important as we reopen the local economy and then our borders,” she told the House of Assembly on Friday, May 29th, 2020.

“We are pleased that there is in country testing and that an amended national testing strategy will soon be completed and announced which will include the use of multiple PCR Machines procured and the critical role of private sector.”

Minister of Health Hon. Edwin Astwood said the Cubans

will be here for an initial period of “For the past 3 months, my three months.

Ministry’s COVID-19 response focus

“ If it needs to be extended, has been on mitigating against the request would be made the spread of this coronavirus, prior to end of the period. Their contact tracing of suspected cases, professional spectrum ranges from developing of the in-country physicians, nurses, Public Health testing capabilities, and increasing Nurses, Technicians, and one the capacity of health facilities to administrator,” he said. treat severe patients, developing

Cuba has sent more 100 protocols for re-opening, and health care workers to assist providing recommendations for Caribbean countries in the fight the Phased re-opening of the Minister of Health Hon. Edwin Astwood against the COVID-19 virus. country,” he said during the House supplies, export restrictions, and

Those countries include of Assembly on Friday, May 29th, limited transportation capacity Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. 2020. due to the decrease or absence in Vincent and the Grenadines, “In addition, amid the air travel, this Government, The Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. constraints to global supply Turks & Caicos Government, thus Kitts and Nevis and Grenada. chains due to the COVID-19 far, has effectively responded to

Meantime, Hon. Astwood pandemic, and when governments COVID-19 and are ensuring thatour said the Ministry of Health throughout the world are facing Health Care systems have the continues to place all Covid-19 considerable challenges to support capacity to Identify and Treat both activities as priority, only giving their populations, and with a high current future respiratory illnesses, immediate consideration to demand and low availability of especially those due to SARS-CoV-2 emergency to medical situations. essential medical outbreaks.”

NGOs launch joint initiative in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Local NGOs mobilised to see how together they can make a difference in the lives of those severely impacted during these unprecedented times – sharing resources and knowledge, and ultimately providing support to persons in need without discrimination.

Over the coming weeks and months, the group “NGOs Together” will be rolling out several initiatives across the Islands in order to help alleviate some of the impact of COVID-19 within our community including:

•Public drive for food/essential items •Food Vouchers •Staple boxes with essential items •Locally produced Face Masks for distribution •Sponsor A Family The following organisations form NGOs Together, in association with the Human Rights Commission: •Food for Thought •The Salvation Army

•Soroptimists International •Turks & Caicos AIDS Awareness Foundation •Turks & Caicos Red Cross •United Way Turks & Caicos •ECG Youth Centre/Turks & Caicos Youth Foundation

Donations can be made to any of the organisations listed above and together your donation will help those in need through a fair and nonjudgmental process.

Should you be interested in learning more, or wanting to volunteer, please contact

the group on + 1-649-3489015 or +1-649-242-4570 or NGOsTogetherTCI@gmail.com

The group embraces the ethos that together we can make a difference. With the help of likeminded individuals and organisations we can better help those suffering hardships during this time. Despite our individual mandates and missions we aim to work in unity to serve our community and help as many as we can, those in need of support during this time.

Premier gives update on COVID-19 EMPLOYEE STIMULUS PACKAGE and payments; $5.5million approved

The COVID-19 Stimulus Programme database has registered 4,610 approvals for payments in the amount of $5.5million, as of 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 28th, 2020; Premier and Minister of Finance Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson announced.

However, she said, of that over 4000 dispersed.

“The Compliance Folder has approximately 1,900 files, 750 of which are being actively managed and another 1,150 is yet to be cleared. The Ministry has doubled the complement of personnel in the Compliance Tier to 30 to ensure that the folder is cleared quickly and that you receive the much need money without further delay,” the Premier told the House of Assembly on Friday, May, 29th, 2020.

“Those are the files, that are close to being approved but may need one document to progress it to the approved status.

The Compliance Tier has been contacting persons over the last week via emails and for those who have been contacted already, we encourage you to respond to them as quickly as possible. If you do not

respond, we have asked the team to call applicants within two (2) hours of originating the email contact.”

She added: “You will (already) have a general idea of what you did and did not include in your submission. So do not wait until you get a call to start to put your documentation together. Create your file and have it prepared for when the email is sent out. It will take no more than 5 minutes to upload the excluded records into your file and as soon as you do so, the officer will see that you have added something and can approve your submission, or notify you otherwise.”

SEVERAL PERSONS DON’T HAVE STATUS CARDS She said the Government has learnt that quite a number of citizens do not have their status cards for one or more reasons, but added that government is keen to get this much needed relief to those persons, so Cabinet has agreed that in the place of a status card, an applicant can use one of two options, to provide a copy of his passport plus a copy of the birth certificate of one TC

Islander parent or a copy of his birth certificate plus a copy of the birth certificate of one or both TC Islander parents.

In addition, she said, Cabinet has agreed, that for the purpose of processing the benefit, officers as part of the processing procedures can accept an expired passport, if presented, along with a birth certificate of the applicant’s TC Islander parents. We have also asked that the processors utilize the Immigration database, in the extreme cases where an applicant cannot supply a status card or meet the fill requirement of the options.

“Government employees assigned to this program are working really hard to ensure that the payments are made. Cabinet’s recent decision to accept multiple alternative to proving status is an indication of the whole of Government’s commitment to deliver this program. The database now registers 13,740 submissions. As perplexing as it was to find out that there were over 2,200 files submitted between Friday and Monday last; of which 1,800 are possible duplicates, we understand that you

took a chance to resubmit. Yes, the dreaded duplicates again; but they will be reviewed along with those documents that received a first level decline and those in compliance. The Government, has every intention to utilize, the funds allocated for this benefit and as announced several times is considering a second tranche of assistance for other sectors impacted,” the Premier stated.

“You were advised that the EMPLOYEE submissions would cease on May 25, 2020 at 4:00p.m. This was done after the database activity for submissions for the last two weeks have wanted. And it was felt that persons wanting to apply would have already submitted; but we still needed to give notice. It is important to note that if any applicant has applied before and got a reference number, they should not apply again. You must be tired of hearing me talking about the duplications but it is a necessary evil. If there is something wrong, someone from the Compliance Team will contact the individual. I asked the Team to explain for my benefit how the Compliance and Declined features work in the database.”

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 11

LOCAL NEWS

Governor Dakin’s father-in-law passes in Barbados Ralph “Bruggadung” Johnson, a prominent Barbadian businessman and father of Amanda Dakin, the wife of Governor Dakin, passed away in his native Barbados earlier this week. He was 80

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, in her tribute to the outstanding Barbadian, said Johnson was a “very successful post-Independence industrialist” of Barbados and would have led the way in exporting locally-made products into the Eastern Caribbean and beyond, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Harris Group of Companies.

“Certainly, thanks to his creativity, leadership and hard work, Harris Paints is today a household name, not just in Barbados, but across the Eastern Caribbean.

But for all his successes as a manufacturer, you cannot chronicle his life’s journey without pausing to consider his considerable achievements in, and contribution to, sports in this country,” Mottley said.

She noted that for more than two decades, starting in 1986, he sat as a member of the board of the National Olympic Committee and was a principal architect in the founding of the local lottery, from which sports was always a major beneficiary.

He was also president of

the Barbados Yachting Association, the Barbados Squash Rackets Association, the Caribbean Area Squash Rackets Association and the Caribbean Yachting Association., and in his younger days, he played basketball, football, water polo and squash and was also known as an avid motor racing competitor, with his colleagues in the Barbados Rally Club describing him as a spectacular driver, Mottley said.

She added: “His business success and love for sports no doubt contributed to the name Harris Paints being associated with several teams in a variety of sports as the sponsor.

It was this long and distinguished contribution to sports and business that led to him being awarded the Gold Crown of Merit in 1997.

Above all those though, ‘Bruggadung’ was Bajan — and you could not miss it in the way he interacted with others. He was Bajan by name and by nature and anyone who knew him knew that what you saw was what you got with him.

I extend deepest sympathy to the Johnson and Straker families — his wife Isabelle; children Jason, Jade, James, Tracy and Amanda; brother Paul Johnson and sisters Lady Straker, Rosemarie Smith and Diane Primo.”

In his tribute to his fatherin-law, Governor Dakin, stated that between Johnson and his family, he (Dakin) “came to love the Caribbean

not because of the sun or the sea but because of its people”.

Governor Dakin said: “He helped me understand a great deal.

Ralph loved people. He was a natural entrepreneur who instinctively knew relationships made the difference.

He was an “Everyman”. He didn’t pull his punches in the boxing ring or metaphorically in later life, but in being transparently his own man, I can’t recall anyone who didn’t love him at best, or respect him at worst (but 95% loved him). He was enormous fun to be around, he supposedly didn’t care what people thought about him (he had no ego) but cared a great deal about other people. He had that gift of being able to be both the centre of attention, in the moment, while giving loads of space to others to be themselves. He took sport extremely seriously but never himself.”

Governor Dakin said he has been in more cocktail parties than he wished and has never seen anyone who was able to enter a room (with no fanfare or introduction) and in the end have so many people gravitate towards them.

“He had rock star qualities,” the Governor added.

“Ralph came from a family who had lived in Barbados for hundreds of years. For those that understand the economic structure in Barbados his roots were very (very)

Ralph “Bruggadung” Johnson, modest. He wasn’t from the “Planter’ class - far from it. He got a big break by passing an academic exam to get to Harrison College. He was a self made man built from a position that was anything but privileged and everything about personal agency,” the governor continued.

“The thought that young Ralph Johnson would have the Prime Minister of Barbados pay tribute to him on the day he died would have been unimaginable to him. Ralph was a Bajan to his core - he knew no other. Our family, and Barbados, lost something special yesterday.

Farewell Bruga!”

Statistics Department releases 2019 vital statistics report

The Department of Statistics is pleased to release the results of the above named report and bulletins.

fluctuated over the period 2001 to 2019, with the highest number of deaths (125) being recorded in 2017. It must be pointed out, that Vital Statistics Report 2019 included in these deaths for the period under consideration are

The Vital Statistics Report Haitian nationals who drowned in for 2019 highlights the estimated TCI waters as well as other visitors population and other vital who would have died while in the indicators, such as births, deaths, TCI. marriages and divorces for the A total of 415 marriages period 2001 to 2019. The reports were registered in 2019 compared show that the mid-year population to 464 marriages in 2018. of the TCI was estimated at 41,360 and 42,953 in 2018 and 2019, NB: It should be noted that respectively. It also highlights this publication gives an that the Turks and Caicos Islands account mainly of events recorded 487 live births in 2019, that physically occur and was which was 7.0 percent higher than recorded in the TCI. the 455 births recorded in 2018.

The number of deaths Births Bulletin 2020 (1st

Quarter) The Births Bulletin highlights that the Turks and Caicos Islands recorded 104 births during the first quarter of 2020. 52.9 percent of live births were males and 47.1 percent were females. A comparison of births by nationality of the mother for the first quarter reveal that 29.8 percent were to TCI nationals, 52.9 percent of the live births were to Haitian nationals and the remaining 17.3 percent were to other nationalities. The majority of births for the first quarter of 2020 were from mothers in the 30 to 34 age group.

Trade Bulletin 2020 (1st Quarter)

CARL AND MARJORIE SIMMONS Of South Dock Road in Providenciales Is seeking the services of a HOUSEKEEPER General Duties: Cleaning and maintenance of the residential dwelling to include meal preparation and service Basic requirement: Experience in a similar role is necessary as well as the ability to speak and write English fluently Starting Salary is $6.50 per hour for six days a week Please Contact (649) 331-5396 or email msimmons@tciway.tc to arrange an interview or send copies of application to the Labour Board Application Deadline: June 16th, 2020.

This position is currently held by a work permit holder #195244

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDER STATUS APPLICATION

(SECTION 4(3)

OF THE

TURKS

AND

CAICOS ISLANDER STATUS ORDINANCE)

TAKE NOTICE THAT I, NIGEL DAKIN, GOVERNOR OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS IN EXERCISE OF THE POWERS CONFERRED IN ME BY SECTION 6(4) OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDER STATUS ORDINANCE INTEND TO GRANT A CERTIFICATE OF TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDER STATUS TO MR. WESLEY AMADO RILEY BY VIRTUE OF MARRIAGE TO A TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDER.

The Turks and Caicos Islands Merchandise Imports totaled approximately $120.6 million for the first quarter of 2020, representing an increase of 3.4 percent when compared to the same period in 2019. Exports from the Turks and Caicos during this period were valued at $1.3 million when compared to $2.8 million during the first quarter of 2019. This resulted in an overall merchandise trade balance of approximately ($119.3) million during the first quarter of 2020.

For more information, please visit the Department of Statistics’ website, www.gov.tc/ stats to view these reports.

Page 12

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

2020 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON MESSAGES challenge – the annual Atlantic hurricane season. This season is predicted to be more energetic than the last.

Preparation started last November. Shelter inspections throughout the islands were completed early; and repairs to almost all shelters are now complete. We have also ensured that all approved shelters will have standby generators.

The Department for Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) has procured and prepositioned relief items throughout the islands; giving us the ability to quickly mobilize any relief efforts.

We have made upgrades to the 911 system that will allow for better communications throughout the islands. Those responsible for Satellite communications have been carrying out regular testing.

This is part of our redundancy plan, in case of a nationwide or multi-island communications

failure, like the one we had in 2017.

The UK is ready to take action if needed. The Royal Navy recently completed exercises, on and around TCI, in preparation for hurricane season. These exercises involved the ships RFA ARGUS and HMS MEDWAY, as well as Merlin and Wildcat helicopters and specialist personnel. These assets stand ready to deploy if needed. The Royal Marines that have been with us on Island have also been helping, behind the scenes, helping us review all the lessons we collectively learned from IRMA and MARIA. A Table Top Exercise is planned for early June to test our processes as will a Communication Exercise test our ability to communicate.

One of the benefits of COV19 is that our NEOC is being used twice a week and those involved are well practiced in managing an emergency. Our National

Security Secretariat has become a good vehicle to help manage a coordinated cross Government approach.

Government is preparing.

We are being proactive, not reactive. You know this drill TCI; you’ve been through this many times before – it’s now your turn to be equally proactive. We all know what we must do to be prepared. In addition, we must each continue following the Ministry of Health’s guidelines; a hurricane at time of pandemic will complicate an already complicated situation. Wear a facemask or covering in public and continue good hygiene practices like washing your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.

of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic, which is heavy with uncertainty, we now have to brace ourselves for a potentially active hurricane season. Preparedness is key especially now that the new normal requires very stringent safety precautions and limited social interaction while we wait for a viable cure.

The Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies, each year launches Premier Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson their Hurricane Preparedness Message from Hon. Sharlene strategy and awareness campaign C a r t w r i g h t - R o b i n s o n , and this year is no different.

Premier of The Turks and The DDME’s focus message for Caicos Islands Hurricane Preparedness Month 2020, “Disaster Don’t Plan

The Atlantic Hurricane Ahead! You Can Be Proactive Not season which runs from 1stJune Reactive!” is an important one. It to 30th November is predicted is important that we mitigate risk this year to be “above normal” in and amply prepare ourselves for tropical activity. As this nation a worst case scenario even if in along with the world tries to reality, we are spared. cope with the lasting effects

Let us not take for granted our blessings in previous years which has allowed us to recover quickly from such devastation.

Instead let us learn from the experiences of hurricanes, Hannah, Ike, Irma and Maria.

If those storms have taught us anything, it is that the Turks and Caicos Islands is not invincible; however, we can survive even the strongest storms if we make the necessary preparations.

As Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands and as a resident who endured those past storms with you, I urge us all to pay attention to the advice of the department and ready ourselves as early as possible.The Turks and Caicos Islands Government is not taking any shortcuts for the protection of its people and have already begun rolling out its hurricane preparedness and

risk reduction plans; but you must also do your part to prepare.

Assemble your emergency preparedness kits, create your household evacuation plans, stay informed on the latest updates from the DDME and brace and reinforce your homes for possible impact. We hope for the very best, but we must prepare. May God and His mercies spare us as a people.

In all things I encourage us to remain calm, don’t panic; simply prepare. We have been fortunate through the years to be spared from complete destruction by God’s grace and through taking the necessary steps to prepare. We are all in this together, so let us prepare together for a safer tomorrow.

God bless us all and God bless these beautiful by nature Turks and Caicos Islands.

residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands we are indeed in challenging times; and prayer must be followed by works. We ask for God’s protection in preparation for the upcoming 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season on 1st June, under the theme “Be Proactive Not Reactive”

What makes this year different? We are fighting a pandemic, whilst forecasters are predicting an above normal season with a possibility of 14 to 18 named storms. New protocols Hon. Ralph Higgs will be established to better suit Message from Hon. Ralph our situation and ensure safety.

Higgs Minister of Tourism, My Government, through Environment, Heritage, the Department of Disaster Maritime, Gaming, and and Emergency Management Disaster Management (DDME) continues to take a comprehensive approach to Fellow citizens and disaster management, through

partnership with key agencies.

The DDME has a team working concurrently to ensure hurricane preparation is underway even as we fight COVID-19. This is true multi-hazard risk management and I applaud the team for their efforts along with other behind the scene frontline workers.

Preparedness through awareness is critical and involves all of us playing our respective parts. As we engage in our preparedness remember; hurricanes are hazards and the disaster is when we are overwhelmed. So let us reduce the likelihood of a disaster or being overwhelmed, by having hurricane plans in place. Even if it is a page, stating what we would do or where we would go in the case of an emergency.

My Government continues to ensure that early warning systems, emergency communication systems, and physical shelters are in a state of readiness. Our resilience depends on preparedness, as a household, as a community, as a nation.

During this time of COVID 19 lockdown, I implore you, sit with your family or call your staff, develop a plan. If you already have, review or update existing plans. My Ministry will engage business operators on business continuity plans to facilitate a faster return to normalcy after the impact of a hurricane.

The Department of Disaster and Emergency Management will roll out an education and awareness campaign and virtual training,

Governor H E Nigel Dakin

Message from His Excellency Nigel Dakin Governor of The Turks and Caicos Islands

“From March we have been dealing with a disaster; a pandemic. Some have described that as ‘a hurricane without the wind’. TCI did a great job and your self-discipline and resilience has so far paid off. Now, as we go into the second half of 2020, we face another more predictable

Let’s be prepared, and let’s stay healthy.

God bless these beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands.

Continued on page 13

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 13

LOCAL NEWS Continued from page 12

ensuring we are aware and alert.

Be informed, visit their website at gov.tc/ddme/or like the DDME Facebook page, remember they

are the official Turks and Caicos Islands Government lead agency for Disaster Management.Let us play our part, plan now, do not

wait! As preparation will protect property and most importantly save lives.

May God continue to the

bless and preserve the Turks and Caicos Islands as we enter the 2020 Hurricane Season.

break records!”Added to those predictions is the fact that for all intents and purposes we will be grappling with the COVID 19 pandemic and the protocols of social distancing, presenting a double challenge for us a region.

In the face of these warning- what do we do? Should we cower in fear? No! We know that we live in a highly susceptible region. We know that each year we brace for possible hits between June 1st and November.

We know! And since we do, we adapt the watch words:

Be prepared, Be Alert, Stay Aware! Each year as we get ready for the season, we ought to become more vigilant, more resilient, more ready! As our theme says: More Proactive Not Reactive!

Citizens and residents of the Turks and Caicos are no strangers to facing emergencies and disasters! Over the past decade we have seen an integrated approach to Comprehensive Disaster Management, led by our Department for Disaster Management and Emergencies

(DDME). Annually, we talk of a multi-hazard approach and this year we must navigate whilst mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 and Hurricane preparedness simultaneously.

COVID restrictions challenged our preparedness this year. While the social activities have scaled back somewhat due to social distancing we continue our training and awareness through the use of social media and invite participation on many platforms, to ensure that we cover as much of our population as possible.

In being proactive, we continue to urge persons to have their family disaster plans ready. Have family drills and ensure that every family member is aware of what to do in case of an emergency. It is expected that given COVID 19, shelter management will be a challenge.

Make your home as safe as possible, clean debris, purchase your hurricane shutters and most of all follow the advice of the DDME.

I encourage all to listen

to official reports from the DDME, as it is the official body for the dissemination of national emergency information channeled through our local radio station and other established and credited sites.

Take a moment to go through your check list ensuring that safety kits are stocked and accessible, check your batteries, your hurricane supplies and ensure you are prepared. Do all you can to keep your family and staff as safe as you can.

Resilience is a key watchword for us as a nation and as a Ministry we are committed to developing a culture of preparedness. We pray for an uneventful season, but that if impacted we are able to respond efficiently reduce the level of dislocation and rebound speedily.

May God continue to preserve us and the rest of our regional partners.

Be Prepared! Proactive not Reactive! May God bless our ‘Beautiful by Nature’ Turks and Caicos Islands.

to prevail throughout the Hurricane season and which will impinge on emergency response activities such as evacuation, public shelters, relief and healthcare.

While it is true that the sudden outbreak and rapid spread of the novel COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the startup of some of the usually flurry of preparation and training activities that precede the start of the Hurricane Season, I assure you that the DDME and its partner stakeholders are ready for Mr. Mike Clerveaux. to respond to this season, within Message from Mr. Mike the limits of our expectations and Clerveaux - DDME Deputy resourcing.

Director (Acting)

This confidence in our response capacity is borne out My Fellow Turks Islanders, of the value added that we are

While the Turks and Caicos obtaining from past investments Comprehensive Islands continue to grapple with towards Disaster Management in a multithe novel challenges and unique hazard scenario.

Kudos to the opportunities posed by the impact and response needs of COVID-19, I TCI government and disaster stakeholders for take this opportunity to assure you management the foresights that have made that the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies these investments possible and has activated its preparedness, the DDME anticipates that such emergency response and recovery foresight will continue inform, mechanisms that are intended to facilitate and drive our disaster protect your lives and livelihoods management needs going forward.

Rest assured that disaster during what meteorologists are risk management planning is a predicting to be a very active continuous process at the DDME Hurricane Season and which is and along with our partners, expected to be officially confirmed preparation for the 2020 Hurricane

by NOAA on May 21.

I have no doubt that the season began even before the end response of the government and of the 2019 Season. Some aspect people of the TCI to threats during of our preparation are informed this Hurricane Season will prove by external resources such as more challenging than in the recent the annual Hurricane Season past because of the COVID-19 predictions made by NOAA on response issues that are anticipated May 21 each year, but we have

endeavoured to undertake these activities that we can as early as we can. Let us all be reminded that while the Government of the TCI through the DDME provides leadership and resourcing for managing disaster, disaster management is everybody’s business.

As such my fellow Turks Islanders, remain vigilant in ensuring the protection of your lives and livelihoods.

With warmer than usual surface water conditions expected in the North Atlantic, scientists are predicting that the 2020 Hurricane Season will see about 16 named storms, 8 of which will developed into hurricanes, and 4 of the forecasted hurricanes will become “major hurricanes” of category 3 and higher. This means, as a nation we need to ensure that we are in a constant state of readiness in an event of impact.

Here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, we are not strangers to hurricanes. We have had our hits and misses over the years and while we are grateful for the misses, we have learned important lesson from the hits, and these lessons have significantly contributed to the building of our resilience capacity.

We have learned that the TCI government and the DDME alone cannot ensure your safety from hurricanes, or for that matter, any kind of hazard impact. Your input through proactive planning and taking necessary steps for protecting your households and communities are important

ingredients to our overall success as a disaster-ready nation.

As we venture forward into yet another Hurricane Season, let us constantly be reminded that this one will be different from any other that we have seen in our lifetime.Our response actions will be superimposed on the requirements for halting the pain and suffering associated with the spread of COVID-19.

Let us all be mindful of these requirements and what they will mean for our hurricane response. If for instance our homes are not appropriate for shelter in place, is there an alternative to going to public shelters which might be challenged to maintain social distancing while protecting the public.

Recognize that your emergency kit must now be upgraded reflect COVI-19 precaution requirements – masks, sanitizers etc. Begin to think of household measures to protect the elderly and most vulnerable to these dual hazards.

Fellow Turks Islanders, these are challenging times and an active hurricane season will only amplify these challenges, but let us remember that we are in this together. Let realize that through our collective and individual actions we will prevail and will be in a position to take away important lessons that will enhance future resilience capacities. While we cannot control the winds we can direct the sails through our actions or inactions.

Mrs. Cherylann Jones

Message from Mrs. Cherylann Jones, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage, Maritime, Gaming and Disaster Management Be prepared! Be Alert! Stay Aware! Be Proactive NOT Reactive:

The Pundits declared that the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season commencing 1st June, will be an above average one!

‘Don’t look now!” was one waring- “the 2020 season could

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LOCAL NEWS

Beaches Upsurge Philanthropic Spirit

All-Inclusive resort increase its philanthropic efforts during COVID-19 Pandemic Beaches Resort, the leading All-Inclusive resort in Providenciales, may be closed but the hotel’s philanthropic reach and contribution to the Turks & Caicos community during the COVID-19 pandemic is still very active.

This week, the resort and its employees took to the streets to host a much-needed clean-up.

Over 34 Team Members donated their exercise hour on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, to collect nearly 140 bags of garbage between Lower Bight, Royal Avenue and the public beach access road as well as the picnic area adjacent to the Key West Village.

Beaches Resort is no stranger to The Bight community clean-up initiative, and its Green Team has been active through the years in keeping that neighborhood clean, while sensitizing its members on the importance of a clean environment

to the tourism product.

Beaches General Manager, Jamie McAnally, who joined the group in the early morning cleanup, said that he is incredibly proud of the team, especially during this challenging time and he applauded their commitment to not only the resort and its mandate, but also to The Bight community.

“I am very proud of the team and the contribution they have made to this clean-up, it’s good to know that even during this challenging time they still have the heart and the spirit to do something good for the community.”

McAnally continued, “The condition of the public beach access road and picnic area was quite disheartening, and in dire need of care, the amount of garbage collected in that small area was immense. As a community, we have

to do better to protect this beautiful distributing the donated items to island. So, I encourage beachgoers the families that are most affected to ‘pack out what you pack in’ and on Providenciales as well as the leave the area clean for others to sister islands. enjoy.”

“The community clean Beaches Resort has been up and the meaningful donations increasing its philanthropic show that the resort is keen on reach since the beginning of the playing its part to taking care of COVID-19 pandemic and has and improving the community. assisted its 1,800 plus team members We have been working closely with food and financial support to with the local charities, who know soften the economic downfall that the grounds and can identify the has affected so many people in the families that are most affected by Turks and Caicos Islands. the economic downturn of this

Additionally, the resort has pandemic,” McAnally continued, been an active contributor several “We are excited to say that we have locally run charitable organizations. donated over 15 thousand pounds Over 15 thousand pounds of of food items to their pantries and food items have been donated to we have seen our donations going charities such as The Salvation Army, to areas where they are needed the TCI Red Cross, The Soroptimist most. I am glad that we are able to Club, The Provo Children’s make a difference through those Home and The Catholic Mission. organizations.”

These organizations assisted with

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Judicial interference and violation of separation of powers in TCI, says Ariel Misick, QC and arbitrary exercise of power by singling out the plaintiffs in the constitutional motion, who are the

There has been interference defendants in the SIPT trial, Misick with the judicial process in the Turks argued that there was no urgent and Caicos Islands and a violation need to make Regulation 4 (6) and of the separation of powers doctrine there was no basis on which to during the making of a new piece believe that the administration of of legislation which proposes that justice would be threatened in the judges and magistrates can sit and trial went up to or beyond June hear cases outside this country, says 22nd.

Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick

In addition, he said no one’s

During a constitutional life was in danger and the trial would challenge which is being heard by not come to an end in the absence Her Ladyship Tanya Lobban-Jackson, of Regulation 4(6) and the judge Misick questioned the actions of could still consider the evidence Governor Nigel Dakin and Andrew taken over the last five years and the Mitchell, QC, the prosecutor in evidence to be given. the SIPT trial, in the making of In creating Regulation 4 (6) the Emergency Powers (Covid-19) the prosecution “got everything (Court Proceedings) Regulations it wanted at the expense of the 2020, specifically Regulation 4 (6) plaintiffs whose rights were which states that “the courtroom marginalized. shall include any place, whether in He also relied on the principle or outside the Islands, the judge or that provisions may be expressed magistrate elects to sit to conduct to be of general application, but the business of the court”. are not intended to be of general

There is a school of thought application, adding that the test that this particular provision appears is an objective one and the judge to have been drafted solely to target would have to look to see whether the SIPT trial, as with the exception the persons likely to be impacted are of their trial judge, Mr. Justice Paul limited to a particular individual or Harrison, who has returned to his group, or whether it is equally the native Jamaica, no other judge or case that it may apply to a broad magistrate is “outside the Islands”. segment of the community.

“Not even the legislature In relation to Regulation 4(6) (House of Assembly) has the right he said it is the plaintiffs’ submission to contravene the Constitution by that it is targeted at them and the making unlawful legislation,” said criminal proceedings which they Misick, adding that attempts to attending and not directed at the interfere with the judicial process community at large. may be direct or indirect, and that To support his contention, it is very rare for any attempt at Misick said that Regulation 4 (6 )is interference to be direct. not necessary to achieve the general

He argued that Governor legislative purpose for which it is Nigel Dakin does not have the stated to be made, namely to ensure power to extend the courts’ that the administration of justice jurisdiction outside of the Turks and including the enforcement of orders Caicos Islands, even in a case of an and access to justice is carried out emergency, noting that the governor so as not to endanger public health surprisingly by-passed the new during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Mabel He told the court there are Agyemang, who is the country’s two methods by which criminal chief judicial administrator and trials are to be conducted during the conferred certain powers to Mr. pandemic, so as to avoid danger to Justice Harrison to ensure that courts public health; one of by video and can sit outside of Turks and Caicos audio link and the other is by having Islands. the trial adjourned.

“Dealing with the “If the trial were to be Constitution itself, you would look adjourned it would not endanger in vain to find any provision which public health and if it was to be confers jurisdiction on the Supreme adjourned, justice could still be done Court or judge to abroad,” said because the trial would continue Misick, who is being assisted by following the end of the pandemic.

Selvyn Hawkins, also of the lawfirm The plaintiffs as defendants are Misick & Stanbrook. not in custody. They are all on bail

Misick also told the court and it is not a jury trial, so there that shortly following the making of is no suggestion of the jury being the regulations, “before the ink was contaminated or forgetting the dried” on the new legislation, the evidence which they might have prosecution led by Andrew Mitchell heard previously, so there is no submitted proposals to Mr. Justice peculiar risk either to public health Paul Harrison, who is hearing the or to the administration of justice SIPT case, suggesting that he should in the adjournment of the trial as continue the trial from Jamaica. one of the measures applicable to all criminal trials during the pandemic,” “IRRATIONAL AND Misick stated.

ARBITRARY EXERCISE OF POWER” PROSECUTION DOESN’T WANT ADJOURNMENT

Noting that Regulation 4 (6) is a contravention of the He argued that the SIPT Constitution and an irrational Prosecution, which is a part of the

by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Executive, does not want the trial to be adjourned during the pandemic and in order for them to have their wish, a different legislative purpose and legislative measure is required to facilitate that wish. That legislative measure is Regulation 4(6), he said.

Misick stressed: “Regulation 4 (6) was never intended to be of general application and my learned friend (Andrew Mitchell, QC) cannot and in good conscience and with a straight face tell you (the judge) that it is meant to be of general application. Any such statement or submission is belied by the facts.

All judges and magistrates are fulltime appointments, including Mr. Justice Harrison who is not a part time judge. Leaving Justice Harrison aside for the moment, all of the judges are resident within the jurisdiction of the court and there is no need for any of them to be conducting trials while sitting abroad. The reference to the Court of Appeal is not necessary if this was to be a general application because the Court of Appeal already has the power under the Constitution to conduct its proceedings outside of the jurisdiction.”

He continued: “The airports are closed and there is no question of any of the judges leaving the jurisdiction and want to conduct trials sitting abroad. Mr. Justice Harrison has elected to remain resident in Jamaica and come to the Turks and Caicos Islands when the court is in session or when he is trying the case. That is his choice and no one blames him for that. At the time of the making of Regulation 4 (6) it was known by all concerned, including the prosecution, the attorney general and the governor, that he (Judge Harrison) was in Jamaica and would not be able to travel to TCI to conduct the trial from this jurisdiction.”

“It was also known by all concerned that Harrison had adjourned the trial until June 22nd, 2020. At the time of the making of Regulation 4 (6) the prosecution had already expressed a wish to accelerate the resumption of the trial ahead of the June 22nd date. The proposal to conduct trial by remote sittings as developed by the Chief Justice and submitted to the Bar Council did not envisage a judge sitting outside of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Before the ink was dried on the regulations creating including 4 (6),the prosecution made proposals to invoke Regulation 4 (6).”

NEW LAW UNDERMINES PUBLIC HEALTH OBJECTIVE

Misick said it is known from the Attorney General’s skeleton arguments, that she, the governor and the prosecution were concerned that the plaintiffs would seek to use the pandemic to delay the continuation of the trial.

“So the effect of Regulation 4 (6) is to provide an opportunity for the prosecution to seek to reverse the decision of Mr. Justice

Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick

Harrison to adjourn the trial...It is a clear indication of the executive and legislative preference that the trial not be adjourned during the pandemic,” he continued.

“Far from 4 6 being in support of the stated objective of giving powers to the Chie Justice to make rules and directions to avoid danger to public health, it undermines that objective because it removes from the Chief Justice, assuming she has jurisdiction, the power to regulate how, when and where a judge may sit abroad while conducting proceedings. That power is given to a judge; and that judge in mind is Mr. Justice Harrison. It is inconceivable that any other judge was in the mind of the governor when he made Regulation 4 (6), and so, applying the objective test, the only proceedings likely to be affected by Regulation 4 (6) is the SIPT trial.”

Misick stressed that the only persons likely to be affected

by Regulation 4 (6) in terms of their trial being conducted by a judge sitting abroad are the plaintiffs in this case.

“They and their trial have been singled out by Regulation 4 (6). It is not possible to come to any other conclusion. In making that submission, it is not necessarily an aspersion on the mindset of the governor, the attorney general or anyone else involved. They may genuinely believe that facilitating the resumption of the trial is the right thing to do, but that is not the point...The question is, was it the right thing? Was it the constitutional thing to do?

Misick asked the judge to find that Regulation 4 (6) is not constitutionally valid and violates the plaintiffs’ rights to protection of law.

He told the judge: “If you were to find that the Supreme Court or a judge has no power to sit abroad or if you were to find that Regulation 4 (6) violates the principles of separation of powers and the principle against ad hominem legislation, that would be a violation of the plaintiffs’ rights to protection of law. They have a right that their trial from start to finish be conducted only in accordance with the law. The protection of law is supported under Section 1 (a) of the Constitution.”

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Powers that be, it is time to act!

I don’t usually take to social care system is not able to handle and media on national issues but I have preparations to ready this system prayed before deciding to release my have been extremely slow. thoughts and I believe in my heart The other issue which that it is not right that I sit in silence doesn’t seem to be a concern to those any longer. decision makers is the mental health

I am most concerned that of our people. While we protect there seems to be no urgency on the the one, we create the other. We part of decision makers to prepare for, have many who are on significantly set a date for and open our borders. reduced income, no income but It appears that those in authority are still employed and those who have far removed from the reality that the already been terminated due to the majority are facing. economic crisis we are in.

Maybe it’s because those People are experiencing making decisions are not impacted increased levels of anxiety and by the closure of our borders. They despair. I tip my hat to the continue to receive full salaries and Department of Mental Health and employment benefits so there’s no Substance Abuse for their efforts thus haste on their parts to do anything. far. If you know someone silently If they were to be impacted in the suffering, please get them the help same way as others they would they need immediately. approach this differently because Furloughs /layoffs and the old adage “he who feels it knows redundancies are everywhere. it” is true. Before anyone decides to Companies have no alternative attack my post, please read this in its when there’s no money coming in entirety. and they have reached the end of

The health of our people is the 8 week period allowed by law paramount. Health is also mental for temporary layoffs. Redundancies health. We have two issues at play are now the legislated next step. We here. Many feel that remaining need temporary legislation to protect closed means protecting our people employment in the long term. It from a widespread increase in is better to remain an employee COVID-19 cases which our health without pay than to be terminated

with no chance of employment in the near future.

Employers have tried but imagine your own situation, no income and you continued paying bills from the cash you had, at some point the cash runs out. This is not unique to TCI. We see this happening globally. However, I believe that we are best positioned to tap into a niche market that we have always catered to and get some revenue generating in this country so that people can remain employed,

By Sheba Munkoff-Wilson albeit on less income as it will be a while before we see the level of different economic model and mass arrivals experienced in recent years. tourism. I believe we are positioned

The luxury travel industry to lead the way but we’re allowing is our market niche. We need to fear to cripple us. It’s time that move swiftly to get private FBOs the Government, Opposition and operational with travel protocols private sector stakeholders come to in place. We need to market this the table and collaborate in the best country as open for luxury travel. interests of our country.

This category of tourist will be the We cannot afford to continue ones ready to travel immediately as as is. Those who feel secure in their they have the resources to do so. If employment because they continue we master the reopening for private to receive full pay, ask yourself where flights we will establish our own that revenue comes from. How best practices in preparation for much longer do you think the bed reopening our international airport. of roses will last? TCIG revenues are

We need to chart our own dwindling and we have not seen course and stop waiting for our anywhere near the worst. Powers neighbors next door. They have a that be, it is time to act.

Hearsay evidence can be allowed in civil cases, says Andrew Mitchell, QC

by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Queen’s Counsel Andrew Mitchell says civil courts now accept hearsay evidence in affidavits, therefore the one sworn by Principal Crown Counsel Ms. Clemar Hippolyte should be allowed to stand in the ongoing legal challenge to a new law which proposes that judges and magistrates can sit and hear cases outside the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mitchell made this assertion before Madame Justice Tanya LobbanJackson on Thursday, May 14th, 2020, during a legal challenge in the form of an originating summons, to the validity of one of the provisions in the new Emergency Powers (Covid-19) (Court Proceedings) Regulations 2020, by defendants in the ongoing Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) trial.

Mitchell, the lead prosecutor in the SIPT trial and who is representing the Attorney General along with fellow SIPT prosecutors Quinn Hawkins and Kate Duncan, cited the Evidence Special Provisions Ordinance chapter 207, Part ,4 to support his argument and in response to Ariel Misick, QC, who is acting on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Quoting the Evidence Special Provisions Ordinance extensively, Mitchell said that in civil proceedings evidence should not be excluded on the grounds that it is hearsay and nothing in this part should affect the admissibility of evidence admissible apart from this section.

The section states: “In estimating the weight (if any) to be given to hearsay evidence in civil proceedings the court shall have

regard to any circumstances from which any inference can reasonably be drawn as to the reliability or otherwise of the evidence.

to strike anything out, would do so by reference to the Evidence Special Provisions Ordinance and therefore you would have regard, when going through the affidavit to determine (2)Regard may be had, in particular, whether the provisions of that law to the following— would permit the Attorney General (a)whether it would have been to continue to rely on it.” reasonable and practicable for

Responding to Misick’s the party by whom the evidence point that he would not object was adduced to have produced if the affidavit was re-sworn by the maker of the original Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee statement as a witness; Brathwaite-Knowles, QC, Mitchell (b)whether the original statement said this suggests that it is not the was made contemporaneously content that Misick is challenging, with the occurrence or existence but merely the fact that Clemar has of the matters stated; sworn it on behalf of the AG. (c)whether the evidence involves

Mitchell: “To make such multiple hearsay; comments as ‘observations by the (d)whether any person involved affiants are egregious’ without had any motive to conceal or reference to the current state of the misrepresent matters; law, is itself to be deprecated. My (e)whether the original statement learned fiend (Misick) speaks to the was an edited account, or was duty of candour, you ladyship may Queen’s Counsel Andrew Mitchell made in collaboration with think that the affiant has done no Queen’s Counsel Mitchell another or for a particular more than set out facts, understood continued: “If on the other hand, purpose; to be the position, and if they were Your Ladyship finds that there is (f)whether the circumstances in challenged, and nothing my learned evidence to undermine a hearsay which the evidence is adduced friend has said suggests that they are assertion by the affiant, Your as hearsay are such as to suggest challenged, then your ladyship may Ladyship may be less inclined to an attempt to prevent proper feel that she can properly, given the place great weight on such a clause, evaluation of its weight.” provisions of the Evidence Special sentence or paragraph in the affidavit.

Provisions Ordinance, proceed Drawing all of those points together,

Mitchell then invited Judge to admit this evidence with the my learned friend (Ariel Misick, Lobban-Jackson to recognise that caveat, we accept it, that it is hearsay QC) can’t invite you to disregard it the failure of Misick to even refer evidence, and that your ladyship can unless he can satisfy the provisions to the Evidence Special Provision therefore bring to hearsay evidence, of the unreferenced Evidence Special Ordinance, “is itself perhaps the issue of weight in the context Provision Ordinance. If, therefore he indicative of the strength which of the statutory provisions., such fails in his application to have you you (the judge) should rely on that for instance, if there is no disregard it, Your Ladyship then has the Evidence Special Provisions challenge to what is said about the to consider whether it is sufficient Ordinance. background and history as to how for these purposes or are you to order

Mitchell added: “In our the Regulations as a whole came that the affidavit, the content of respectful submission, the starting about, Your Ladyship may use that which is not the subject of challenge, point is that Clemar Hippolyte to such extent as she considers it has to go through being re-sworn by affidavit is admissible and that the relevant to the decision she has to the AG as he has suggested, when judge in taking a red pen through it make.” that would become unnecessary.”

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New law for remote judges ‘shrouded in secrecy’, Attorney General should explain Hippolyte’s affidavit be withdrawn and replaced by one which satisfies the requirements of the law.

A prominent lawyer in “In a matter of this nature, the Turks and Caicos Islands has where the Attorney General as the described as “shrouded in secrecy”, a guardian of the plaintiffs’ rights, is new law which proposes that judges made a defendant to vindicate those and magistrates can sit and hear cases rights, it is not good enough for the outside this country; and he argued affidavit to be sworn by someone that the local Attorney General who has no knowledge of the facts,” should be called up to explain all the Misick stated. “It is not the case circumstances surrounding how the that the evidence surrounding the legislation came into existence. making of Regulation 4(6) is known.

Queen’s Counsel Ariel It is shrouded in secrecy....The correct Misick said it “it is not good enough” person to have sworn this affidavit that Attorney General Rhondalee would have been the Attorney Brathwaithe-Knowles, QC, delegated General who has a duty of candour the responsibility of swearing an in proceedings of this nature, to put affidavit about the new legislation the full facts before the court.” to a junior attorney in her chambers, Principal Crown Counsel Ms. Clemar “SEPARATION OF POWERS LAW Hippolyte, who he said has no VIOLATED” knowledge of the facts encompassing the new Emergency Powers Misick told Her Ladyship (Covid-19) (Court Proceedings) Lobban-Jackson that she would see Regulations 2020, which were made from the proposals that were put

by Governor Nigel Dakin. forward by the Chief Justice Her

Misick said Hippolyte’s Ladyship Mabel Agyemang, that affidavit is pregnant with hearsay, there was nothing in them that is adding that it does not meet the equivalent to Regulation 4(6). criteria prescribed under the Rules of He added: “Then suddenly the Supreme Court Order 41 rule 5 when the Regulations came out, (1) which restricts the contents of an Regulation 4 (6) appears; and one affidavit unless the person is able on of the central grounds on which their own knowledge to prove such. this originating summons is based,

Misick, who is being assisted is that Regulation 4 (6) violates by attorney Selvyn Hawkins, also the separation of powers doctrine, of the lawfirm Misick & Stanbrook, therefore it is critical in these made the observations on proceedings to ascertain the full truth Thursday, May 14th, 2020, during surrounding how it was proposed, a legal challenge in the form of an who proposed it, who had a say in originating summons, to the validity it, and how it was resolved. There is of one of the provisions in the new nothing in the evidence which tells regulations, by defendants in the you anything about Regulation 4 ongoing Special Investigation and (6).”

Prosecution Team (SIPT) trial.

Misick noted that particularly

Regulation 4 (6) provides in cases like this which were brought that “the courtroom shall include by an originating summons, the any place, whether in or outside plaintiffs would have the right to the Islands, the judge or magistrate cross-examine whoever made the elects to sit to conduct the business affidavit in order to solicit facts and of the court”. information to support their case.

Legal analysts said this “There would be no point in particular provision appears to have calling Ms. Hippolyte to be crossbeen drafted solely to target the examined on her affidavit because SIPT trial, as with the exception of she can’t help,” Misick added. “She their trial judge, Mr. Justice Paul doesn’t even state the source of Harrison, who has returned to his her information, and my learned native Jamaica, no other judge or friend (Andrew Mitchell, QC) never magistrate is “outside the Islands”. addressed that. She never stated

Under the Supreme Court where she got the information from, Ordinance, the jurisdiction of the so the plaintiffs are not able to make Supreme Court is expressed to be further enquiries to establish from “within the islands”. Whilst the the source, the facts and matters Constitution provides that the Court which they believe are relevant. of Appeal can sit outside of the Of course, it is a matter for you territorial boundaries of the Turks (the judge) whether you admit the and Caicos Islands, there is no such evidence, and if so, what weight you provision enabling the Supreme attach to it.”

Court to do so.

Misick told the judge that

The case is being heard via one of the powers available to her is video-link by Supreme Court Judge to completely strike out the affidavit, Her Ladyship Tanya Lobban-Jackson. but he is not asking for that.

Andrew Mitchell, QC, the He called for the affidavit to lead prosecutor in the SIPT trial, is be “re-sworn by someone who is able representing the Attorney General, to give evidence from facts within along with fellow SIPT prosecutors their own knowledge” and told the Quinn Hawkins and Kate Duncan. judge that if she would like to give

Meantime, Misick told the that direction, even at this late stage, court that because of the importance he would not object. of the matter, the Attorney General Misick noted the Attorney should have been the one making the General should not have been taken affidavit. He therefore suggested that by surprise by his application to

by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

have the affidavit re-sworn, because immediately after the affidavit was received by his law firm, its defects were brought to her attention by correspondence in which he told her it did not satisfy the Supreme Court rules.

In that letter, he stated that the exception to this rule is only when the affidavit is sworn to be used in interlocutory proceedings, but he noted these proceedings are not interlocutory and as such, no exception to the rule is supported.

The Queen’s Counsel said he pointed out to the AG that Hippolyte’s affidavit did not disclose or exhibit the sources from which she deposed the facts stated.

His letter also said that Hippolyte “casually and scandalously” referred to the proceedings to which the plaintiffs in this action are defendants as the corruption trial involving the plaintiffs, and that the reference to the trial and the defendants in such a way is clearly designed to cast a negative perception on the character of plaintiffs in this action and should be struck out in accordance with the Supreme Court rules.

ATTORNEY GENERAL DEFENDS AFFIDAVIT

Misick said that instead of considering the points made in his letter, a response came back from the AG’s Chambers “with indecent haste” saying that they do not accept the contents of his letter, nor his assertion that Hippolyte’s affidavit was somehow in breach of the Supreme Court rules.

He told the court that the AG’s letter stated that everything that was set out in the affidavit was a matter of public knowledge.

According to Misick, in Hippolyte’s affidavit she said she was duly authorised by the Honorable Attorney General to respond to the affidavit that was sworn by Mark Fulford, because the AG is “currently busy in Cabinet and His Excellency the Governor in seeking to plot a course” during the CIVID-19 pandemic and instructed her to respond to the issues raised in the originating summons.

Misick told the court: “No one is suggesting that she (Hippolyte) could not have prepared the affidavit for the Attorney General to sign, but what she cannot do, irrespective of how busy the Attorney General is, is swear an affidavit from facts of which she is not personally aware.”

‘AFFIDAVIT CONTAINS EGREGIOUS ASSERTIONS’ He noted that Hippolyte also said the purpose of the affidavit is to set out factual matters in response to the issues that were raised. While pointing out significant areas of Hippolyte’s affidavit which he said “go to the heart” of the originating summons, Misick noted that the Principal Crown Counsel also stated: “The new Chief Justice was also

considering strategies to enable the judicial branch of government to do its work and she decided to consult the stakeholders.”

Misick told the court: “She (Hippolyte) can’t give evidence of her own as to what strategies the Chief Justice was considering, nor can she give evidence as to what the Chief Justice was seeking to ensure.

At most, she could have identified communication and state the source of that communication.”

He also pointed to another section of the affidavit where she said “enabling provisions were therefore required to empower the Chief Justice”. He said Hippolyte is not able to give evidence as to what enabling provisions were required, and that is clearly a matter of opinion.

Misick revealed that in another paragraph, Hippolyte said “it was considered necessary to give the Chief Justice wideranging authority”. However, he said, Hippolyte does not say who considered it necessary to give the Chief Justice wide ranging authority.

Also in the affidavit, she stated that “one of the issues which caused some reflection was whether the Chief Justice could authorize a judge to sit somewhere other than in the designated courts of Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands .... it was considered that this may not have been within the remit of the Chief Justice who was making the powers”.

Queen’s Counsel Misick said Hippolyte gave no indication of who considered it and who thought it was necessary, adding that the only person who can give such evidence would have been the Attorney General and/or possibly the Chief Justice.

He also noted that in another section of her affidavit, Hippolyte purports to give expert evidence on Cayman Islands law, but she is not an expert on that.

The Queen’s Counsel also told the court that in another paragraph in the affidavit which he described as a “very egregious assertion of fact of which she is unable to sear the truth of”, Hippolyte stated that “all of the above were considered by the Attorney General and the Chief Justice at the time when the legislation was made”.

He argued that she cannot say what the AG and CJ considered, as she was not part of their discussions.

Equally as egregious, he added, was when she said: “Whilst the corruption trial was in mind, and when the regulations were made, it was only one of the many issues that needed to be addressed by the Executive”.

“She is not able to say what were the issues that were addressed when the regulations were made, or whether this was one of them, the only one or others. All she can do is point to the regulation, and that’s a matter for your (the judge’s) interpretation.”

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LOCAL NEWS

Attorney General’s Chamber criticised for not producing important documents the Chief Justice who consulted with various entities by the AG was not provided with a copy of those

The Attorney General’s representations and is therefore Chambers in the Turks and Caicos not in possession of the same.

Islands has been strongly criticised He said the AG’s Chambers for failing to produce important stated that communication documents relating to the making between the Attorney General and of a controversial new piece of Chief Justice is confidential and legislations which proposes that also attracts privilege. judges and magistrates can sit and However, Misick told the hear cases outside this country. court that any public authority

The admonition came when any of its actions or decisions from Queen’s Counsel Ariel Misick, are challenged, are under a duty who is representing defendants in of candour to fully disclose all the ongoing Special Investigation relevant matters to the decision and Prosecution Team (SIPT) trial under challenge. in a challenge to the validity of a “That duty is heightened particular provision in the new when it is alleged to be a breach Emergency Powers (Covid-19) of a fundamental right involving a (Court Proceedings) Regulations balance between the public interest 2020, which were made by and the rights of the individual.

Governor Nigel Dakin last month. The reason for this heightened

Regulation 4 (6) provides application of the principle is that “the courtroom shall include that it is for the court to decide any place, whether in or outside whether the right balance has been the Islands, the judge or magistrate struck and the court is not able to elects to sit to conduct the business discharge its obligation unless all of the court” and it is believed that of the relevant facts are before the this particular provision appears to court and by relevant, I obviously have been drafted solely to target mean relevant to the decision the SIPT trial, as with the exception making,” he argued. of their trial judge, Mr. Justice Paul Misick said it is for the Harrison, who has returned to his Attorney General to give full native Jamaica, no other judge or disclosure of all the facts and the magistrate is “outside the Islands”. reasons that underline Regulation

The list of documents 4 (6) unless there was good reason which Misick is requesting includes on the grounds of national security all correspondence to and from the or some other cogent reason for Attorney General Hon. Rhondalee not doing so.

Brathwaite-Knowles, QC, and any “This is a case that involves person who made representation the work of the court and there or whose views were solicited or could be no national security obtained in relation to the making reasons for not doing so, and of Regulation 4 (6) and should also indeed, to be fair to the Attorney include all statements made by General, she does not allege that,” the Attorney General in the House he added. of Assembly when that body was Misick, who is being assisted asked to confirm the Regulation. by attorney Selvyn Hawkins, also

He told the judge, Her of the lawfirm Misick & Stanbrook, Ladyship Mrs. Tanya Lobban- said the plaintiffs in this case are Jackson that an opportunity was entitled to the fundamental right given to the Attorney General to of protection of law and the court make disclosure and the response is required to approach it with a was that the Attorney General did high degree of intensity. not undertake any consultation “The obligation of courts personally and that nowhere in in the United Kingdom as well as Hippolyte’s affidavit was any such the courts here...both courts are consultation mentioned and that required to conduct an inquiry the Regulations were made for the and be satisfied themselves as to most part, on the instructions of whether a human right, particularly

by Hayden Boyce Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

PROVO GOLF CLUB Provo Golf Club is seeking a suitable applicant for the following position: LABOURER Potential candidates must be physically capable of performing hard manual labour outside daily, carry out duties which involve removal of brushes and weeds, grass cutting, tree trimming, general cleanup of debris and garbage from the company’s property, assist with irrigation and small construction installation projects which includes manual trenching and digging. Candidates must be willing to work public holidays and weekends when required. Previous experience is preferred.

Wages start at $6.50 per hour.

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

Interested Belongers must also submit copies of their application to the Commissioner of Labour & Work Permit Board Zone 2. Position currently held by work permit holder.

Closing date for application is June 8th, 2020.

one involving the application of justification and proportionality is met, and that cannot be done where the court is not seized of all of the full facts, and that is why it is important for all the public authorities to observe the duty of candour. So in our challenge to the process of disclosure, you will see how that it was completely discarded,” he continued.

Having received the affidavit of the Attorney General via Clemar Hippolyte, a request was made for documents that could possibly in the possession or control of the Attorney General.

Misick stated: “The law is this. If you had it, it you have it or you have a right to acquire it, you must disclose it. Now if it is not in your possession you still have a right to disclose it and if it is no longer in your possession, then that becomes a question of production but not a question of disclosure.”

The fact that the AG does not intend to rely on certain documents is not a reason not to disclose them, adding that the AG’s response to his law firm suggests that there are documents that exist that have not been disclosed.

“All of these documents are in the possession of the Government. It doesn’t matter which department it is in. The only question is (a) does the document exist, and (b) is it relevant. And for these purposes, it is not permissible to try and divide the government into its different constituent parts to avoid discovery.

“It is worth noting that these proceedings are not brought against the Attorney General as head of her department. They are brought against her as representing the entire Turks and Caicos Islands Government. Just because there are inter-departmental correspondence between the Attorney General, or coming to or from the Attorney General’s Chambers, does not necessarily mean that they are subject to legal professional privilege..

He said Hippolyte has “avoided the listing stage of the process and pretended that there

is no obligation to list” and that is not to be condoned.

“It is all the more important that the Attorney General is the guardian of the plaintiffs’ rights, so she should be seeking to uphold the law to protect those rights, and in proceedings where they are seeking to vindicate those rights, it is wholly unacceptable not to follow the procedure by giving the list of documents requested that are clearly in the possession of the government on dubious grounds.

This court cannot exercise its mandate, and would be deprived of crucial information and material on which it would have to consider whether there was a violation of the plaintiffs’ rights,” Misick told the court.

He said what normally happens in disclosure, is that a party will give discovery by way of lists and will set out a list of all of the relevant documents which are or have been in their custody and possession and all of the documents have to be set out.

“The only document that does not have to be included in such a list are documents which are completely irrelevant, and the test or relevance is not whether the person intends to rely on the document or whether it is helpful to that person. It would also be relevant if it helps to advance the case of the person seeking discovery or would put him on a chain of inquiry which would lead to that result,” Misick explained.

“Once the list has been provided, the person giving discovery can then indicate which of the documents disclosed in the list they object to producing on one of the permissible grounds, for example, public interest, immunity or legal professional privilege, but the documents themselves must be disclosed. They are not required to produce documents which fall within the exception, but they must disclose them and if there is a dispute about whether the document ought to be produced or not, that matter has to be resolved by the court.”

Magnolia Restaurant Location: 76 Sunburst Road, Turtle Cove, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands DISHWASHER POSITIONS AVAILABLE -wash pots and pans in a speedy efficient manner during dinner service -dish pit duties including loading/unloading dishwasher. Drying plates and cutlery -garbage runs to skip -general kitchen cleaning duties including after service clean down of all work prep areas & floors -weekly deep clean of kitchen including ovens, grills, extractor hood and refrigeration -Pay $8.00 per hour (up to 60 hours per week) -Must be in good physical health as the work is very demanding -Police clearance required plus 2 professional and 2 personal references PLEASE ONLY BELONGER APPLICANTS Drop your resume or send via email to: magnoliaprovo@live.com and drop a copy at the Employment Services office.

Applications accepted until June 10th, 2020

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 19

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS AND PANDEMIC MITIGATION Dear Customers, Every year, the Caribbean is faced with tropical cyclones that sweep across the Atlantic Ocean and take aim for the Caribbean with no indication as to where they will make landfall or what damage will be caused. Indeed, frequently, many of these systems form within the Caribbean. This year is particularly unique because we are simultaneously faced with an ongoing pandemic – COVID-19. Nevertheless, we must not be distracted from the importance of preparing our families, homes, and businesses for what is projected to be an active hurricane season. Preparation is paramount.

Over the past several months, hurricane preparedness activities at FortisTCI have required innovative and outside-of-the-box thinking. Working from home procedures still in place, and face-to-face meetings suspended as a matter of health and safety, meant that a different approach to business continuity and disaster preparedness would be required this year leading up to the 1st of June.

I am pleased to say that despite the added challenges, the Business Continuity Management Team and Hurricane Committee are fully functional and have completed several critical tasks, including a virtual hurricane drill to test readiness. The company has also updated its hurricane protocols with special considerations to address COVID-19 concerns. These are the actions that an ISO 22301 certified organization like ours must take to stay ahead of business interruption risks from hurricanes, pandemics, and other natural disasters.

As a critical and essential service provider, FortisTCI recognizes that electricity is fundamental to maintaining communications, to the production of water, to keeping food supply chains and medical facilities going, and to facilitating security within the country. We understand the responsibility to minimize operational disruption to customers. These are the reasons why we take preparation, resiliency, and sustainable seriously.

This has certainly been no easy feat in the midst of actively responding to coronavirus.

I applaud the men and women of FortisTCI for their steadfast commitment to going the extra mile, ensuring that the company continues to provide a high level of reliability and a high level of support to our customers during these unprecedented times. In addition, we continue to collaborate with Government and other key stakeholders on lessons learnt from Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Finally, I cannot overemphasize how important it is for every person, family, and business to have a plan starting now. If you already have an emergency plan, take the time to review it and make any necessary changes. Familiarize yourself once again - with the planand make sure that it includes an evacuation route and a list of emergency contacts. I also encourage you to consider how COVID-19 may impact those plans and the need for supplies.

Hurricane season is here, and the goal is to be ready. We can never be too prepared for any natural disaster that lies ahead. So, let us all make sure we have hurricane plans in place and that we are actively taking steps to prepare today.

We are hoping and praying for the best, but we are preparing for any eventuality.

Eddinton Powell

President & CEO, FortisTCI

2017 Winner

Allied Member of the Year

BCMS 681102

www.fortistci.com | 649-946-4313 |

Page 20

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

Learning About Lupus

May is Lupus Awareness Month.

It is a disease that is relatively common in the Caribbean yet many of us are unfamiliar with the condition.

Lupus is an autoimmune condition that can affect almost every system in the body and can range from being very mild with occasional symptoms to a severe life-threatening condition with difficult flares.

The immune system is geared towards protecting the body from invaders such as viruses and bacteria.

In an autoimmune condition, the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake. This can damage many parts of the body, including the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain. Whilst there are forms of lupus that affect only the skin, usually when speaking of lupus, doctors are referring to the systemic lupus where the internal organs are also involved.

What causes Lupus and who’s at risk?

The cause of lupus is unknown and anyone can get lupus. It is however most commonly seen in women and is 2-3 times more common in women of African descent such as Afro-Caribbean and African American women than Caucasians. It’s also more common in Hispanic, Asian, and Native American women. Additionally, women of African and Hispanic descent are more likely to have severe forms of lupus.

to person. Some of the more common ones are fatigue, recurrent fevers, pain or swelling in joints, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes and chest pain on deep breathing. Lupus is also notorious for causing dermatology issues such as hair loss, facial rashes (most often across the nasal bridge in the shape of a butterfly) and mouth ulcers. Many persons with lupus have worsening of their symptoms with sun exposure and in times of great emotional stress.

Persons with lupus may have episodes of relative normal health interspaced with the development of symptoms. This is called a lupus flare and can be mild or severe. Additionally, different symptoms can present at different times throughout the course of the disease.

How is Lupus diagnosed?

The diagnosis of lupus takes into account the presence of a number of variables ranging from antibody blood tests, the clinical picture of the and history of the illness and in the patient and so on. Further investigations such as skin and kidney biopsies are sometimes required. Because there isn’t one specific test for lupus and the disease presentation is so variable, the diagnosis isn’t always clear cut. It sometimes takes months or even years for the features to be present in order to clinch a diagnosis of lupus in a patient!

How is Lupus treated?

What are the symptoms of Lupus?

Lupus can have many symptoms, and they differ from person

There is no cure for lupus, but medicines and lifestyle changes can help control it. The goals of the treatment

plan are to prevent flares, treat flares when they occur, reduce organ damage such as joint erosion and kidney disease and help balance the immune system and reduce overall inflammation.

People with lupus often need to see different doctors depending on the organs affected. Therefore, an integrated approach is many times required with a patient seeing a rheumatologist, dermatologist, cardiologist, kidney specialist and even nutritionist depending on the presentation of the illness in that particular patient.

An effective treatment plans is based on your primary care doctor coordinating care between your different

By Dr. Marsha Barnett health care providers and developing a treatment plan to fit your needs. You sun avoidance in persons who are should report new symptoms to your photosensitive also helps to reduce flares. doctor right away so that your treatment plan can be changed if needed.

How can I cope with Lupus?

Most treatments for lupus are anti-inflammatory or immune regulating.

Having lupus can be scary. It is These drugs are often taken on a regular important to take an active role in your basis for many affected patients. Drugs treatment and learn about the condition such as steroids fall in this group and as being able to spot the warning signs can have many side effects which of a flare can help you prevent them or must be monitored for. Newer, more make the symptoms of a flare less severe. expensive drugs are also available It is also important to find ways and the armamentarium in the fight to cope with the stress of having lupus. A against lupus in increasing. Of course, healthy, balanced diet full of greens and drugs specifically geared at treating the omega 3s, exercising and finding ways to affected organs such as joints, heart or relax may make it easier for you to cope. kidneys will also need to be employed A good support system is also helpful. according the presentation and severity of the illness in each patient. *Dr. Marsha Barnett is a general At this time, no research shows that practitioner who also specialises alternative medicine can treat lupus. in dermatology. For questions or However, supplements that are known comments, please contact her at to reduce inflammation such as ginger drmarshabarnett@gmail.com or at and omega 3 fish oils have been reputed Associated Medical Practices - 946to be beneficial. Stress reduction and 4242 All Declarations are confidential documents. Please DO NOT submit your completed Declaration form through a third party, or via electronic or surface mail.

Persons who have filed a Declaration during calendar year 2019, will NOT be required to file in 2020.

Schedule 1 below details allSpecified Persons in Public Life (Declarants) who are required to file a declaration.

MEDIA RELEASE May 28, 2020 The Integrity Commission wishes to inform the public and, in particular, to remind the Specified Persons in Public Life (Declarants), as set out below and in Schedule 1, that they must file their Declarations of Income, Assets and Liabilities, as required by Section 39 of the TCI Integrity Commission Ordinance.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the filing of declarations, will take place, on an on-going basis, over the next few months.

All Declarants are required to deliver their completed Declaration forms, along with the relevant supporting documents, in person, at an office of the Commission,BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Declarants will be contacted individually, with a specific date, time and location, for delivery of declaration forms.

Specified Persons in Public Life include the following: •All Specified Persons in Public Life who made their last filing on or before June 30, 2018.

•All persons who are appointed to Statutory Boards, effective April 1, 2020, or thereafter.

•All Specified Persons in Public Life who are appointed, within the TCIG Government, effective April 1, 2020, or thereafter.

•All persons who are no longer sitting members of Statutory Boards, as at March 31, 2020.

•All persons who have resigned their posts, or whose contracts have not been renewed, within the TCIG Government, are required to file within 90 days of the end of their tenure.

•All other persons who are considered Specified Persons in Public Life, but who would not have been aware of their obligation to file, under section 39 the Integrity Commission Ordinance.

Declaration Forms are available integritycommission.tc.

on

the

Commission’s

website

at:

www.

The offices of the Integrity Commission are currently open, from Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily.

For any inquiries about an appointment, please call 946-1941 or send an email to complianceofficer@integritycommission.tc All members of the public visiting our Offices MUST wear a FACE MASK and observe SOCIAL DISTANCING. There will be no exceptions to the above arrangements.

For those declarants who fail to attend their scheduled appointment, please be mindful of the following: A failure, without reasonable cause, to file a Declaration is a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment for 1 year, or a fine of $15,000, or both. In addition, the Commission is, among other things, obligated to publish the fact of such failure in the Gazette.

SCHEDULE 1 (Section 2) SPECIFIED PERSONS IN PUBLIC LIFE 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12 13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22 23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

Members of the House of Assembly Members of Cabinet Deputy Governor Permanent Secretaries Under Secretaries/Deputies Secretaries (or post of equivalent rank) Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the House of Assembly Chief Financial Officer Chief Auditor Accountant General Complaints Commissioner Chief Economist Chief Statistician Chief Medical Officer Heads of Department Director and Deputy Director of Planning Director and Deputy Director of Surveys and Mapping Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Deeds Registrar and Deputy Registrar of Lands Director and Deputy Director of Education Director and Deputy Director of Immigration Collector and Deputy Collector of Customs Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Lands Chief and Deputy Chief Valuation Officer Deputy Heads of Departments, where the Head of Department is not called a Director Deputy Attorney General Crown Counsel Clerk of Courts Registrar and of Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court Supervisor of Elections Members of the Public Service Commission Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner and Officers at or above the rank of Superintendent Special Advisers (Inserted by L.N. 64/2012) Members and Staff Members of the Integrity Commission Chairman, Executive Officers, Directors, Deputy Directors and Members of any body referred to in paragraph (d) of the definition of “public body” in the Ordinance Any person who has a statutory duty to record the minutes of meetings of a commission, statutory board, public authority or other body referred to in item 34 who signs the entity’s books and is involved in its business and affairs Any person who acts in an office referred to in this Schedule for a continuous period of six months or more.

(Amended by Ord. 1 of 2009 and 15 of 2010, L.Ns. 7/2012, 29/2012 and 64/2012 and s. 6(1) Turks and Caicos Constitution Order 2011)

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 21

LOCAL NEWS The road to recovery requires collaboration and empathy “He who feels it knows it more.” – Bob Marley

The Turks and Caicos Islands, like most countries have been closed since March and while some businesses have been allowed to open, there are many other businesses that remained closed. How are these employers and employees expected to survive? “He who feels it knows it more.”

While the health of a nation must always be a priority for a country, but given that the only industry is tourism, there must be a balance between the economy and health otherwise we will face multiple issues in our country.

We do not know if tourists will come to the islands if we open, however, we will not know if we do not try.

Other countries in the Caribbean have set a tentative date for the opening of their international flights allowing visitors to plan their trips. Where do you think those tourists will go?

I know many people are saying do not open yet due to the fear of an outbreak of the virus. However, this fear can be eliminated if we implement the proper protocols in place. There are perhaps many other unknown cases in our country too, but we don’t know if people have not been tested.

Do you notice that most people who are advocating for the delay of the opening of the international flights are persons who are getting their full-time salary monthly?

Yes, the Government runs the country but in a crisis state like this, everybody needs to get involve in the development of a recovery plan. The Government does not know everything

and cannot do everything. This recovery plan requires collaboration and empathy.

Empathy

First, let me take this opportunity to commend those companies in the private sector who continue to provide some sort of compensation to the employees even though they are not getting any income.

This act alone is one of empathy. Unfortunately, not all of us are able to do like what others are doing because we have cash flow issues.

However, what some of us can do is perhaps offer words of encouragement to individuals. Of course, this will not pay their bills but during this time people will be faced with many emotional issues as a result of the loss of a job and the uncertainty.

There are some of us who are landlords and have obligations with the bank. If you are in a position to reduce what you charge for rent, please do so. If you cannot, then allow your tenants to pay in multiple payments.

The parliamentarians and the civil servants are getting paid 100% of their salary. There are people in the private sector who are literally not getting any money. I personally believe some empathy needs to be in place and the international flights should be allowed to come to TCI. This is the main source of income for many of us. It is not our fault that the relevant equipment is not in place.

Milano Diamond Gallery is interested in hiring persons to fill the position of Sales person, Sales Manager Salesperson The successful candidates will be responsible for providing customer service and selling high end jewelry Candidates for Sales Person requirements: •At least 4 passes at CXC including maths and English •Good Communication skills •Friendly and able to work in a team •Sales experience would be an asset Sales Manager The successful candidate will work to ensure an increase in store sales.

Candidates should have as a minimum qualification For Sales Manager: •At least ten years in the fine Jewelry Industry with at least 5yrs experience in a similar position •Diploma and or Certificates in Gemology related field •Excellent communication and administrative skill and a strong sense of responsibility •Willingness to work weekends or additional hours when required Based on experience salary will start at $2500 a month plus commission, this position is currently held by a work permit holder All candidates must be willing to work with an irregular cruise ship schedule Candidates for all positions must be friendly and able to work with a team and also speak excellent English, while proficiency in other languages will be considered a plus Applications can be submitted to vonette@milanodg.com, Milano Diamond Gallery, Grand Turk Cruise Center 946-2276 Please also submit a copy of your application to TCI work permit board

There are still ways and means of getting people to their country if they get sick. It has been two months now and all relevant protocols and sourcing of equipment should have been done by now.

Again, he who feels knows it.

If the parliamentarians and the other relevant authorities who are making these decisions were not getting a full salary, I am quite sure the approach would have been different.

I do empathize though with the relevant civil servants who are doing their best to process the stimulus applications. It must be an arduous and lengthy task.

As I mentioned on my radio show, I believe this delayed process could have been avoided if we got the employer involve in the processing of these applications. We should be able to trust the employer which leads me to the next element of this article which is collaboration.

Collaboration

One of the keys to recover in any situation is through collaboration.

I know that the Government has collaborated with the Utility, Telephone and Water companies to ensure that there are no late fees as a result of not paying on time. This is a great example of collaboration.

Another form of collaboration is for the Gov’t to embrace and engage the relevant stakeholders no matter what side of the fence you think they are on.

By Drexwell Seymour

There are some bright minds in this country locals and expats.

There is no need to rely on one set of stakeholders in the tourism industry and there is no need to consult only with well-known supporters of a political party.

It is noted that several Caribbean countries have listed their intended dates for the reopening of the international flights. Governments throughout the Caribbean should collaborate on combating this virus and providing a plan on the road to recovery.

I tell you one thing if we don’t collaborate, then we will continue to be like what we were before where everybody were just looking out for themselves. Furthermore, if other countries or organizations have a plan in place, then why reinvent the wheel.

This is indeed an opportunity for the Caribbean to collaborate.

Conclusion The road to recovery is a complex one due to the uncertainty, fear and the financial impact that many of us have encountered. However, we can simplify the recovery plan by collaborating with the right people and empathizing with others.

RECRUITMENT DIRECTOR OF FINANCE POSITION

We are recruiting a Director of Finance responsible for overall management of all accounting, purchasing, and MIS functions, including, but not limited to, safeguarding all assets, strategic planning/ budgeting, and compliance with internal controls and procedures.

To provide functional guidance to the Executive Committee and Department Heads, interact with the resorts legal counsel, insurance companies and auditors to effectively control the assets of the business and to provide business support. Salary is based on experience and qualifications.

•Director of Finance Suitable candidates must have a relevant degree plus recognized accounting qualification, ACA/CPA with 15 years post qualification experience at Finance Director/CFO level •Must have at least 5 years’ experience in the hospitality industry at Finance Director/CFO level •Must possess strong background in internal/external audit •Must have extensive experience with Strata Corporation management at Executive Committee level.

•Must possess a strong IT & HR background •Must have extensive knowledge of Visual 1 software •Must be fluent in English Salary Range $70,000 to $90,000 per annum Position currently held by a work permit holder ONLY CANDIDATES MEETING ABOVE REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS WILL BE CONTACTED Candidates should apply via e-mail at info@ santralmanagement.com for consideration. Prospective applicants who are Belongers kindly send copies of your application to the board and the Employment Services Department.

Application deadline: June 15, 2020

Page 22

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

Looking out for Turks and Caicos Islands workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

by E. Jay Saunders Deputy Leader of the PNP

Hello Turks & Caicos. I trust you all are well and continuing to keep safe during this pandemic. This is a tough time for all, but together, and with God’s mercy, we will get through this.

It is said that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the steepest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The United Nations (UN) predicts that between April – June of this year, approximately 195 million full-time workers globally will lose their jobs.

Unfortunately, outside of the 50 persons that the media said that Seven Stars Resort is lying off, we don’t know how many Turks & Caicos Islanders will be out of work by the time this pandemic is over.

It is disappointing, but not surprising, that seven plus weeks into the shutdown of the economy, that the Government doesn’t know how many persons have lost their jobs to date, or what a worst-case scenario will look like for our labour force.

And if Government does know, it would be even more disappointing that it hasn’t had an open and frank discussion with the public about the short and medium term impact on employment, particularly for Turks & Caicos Islanders, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or to go over with the public its plans to minimize the impact to the labour force.

For the Government not to have the unemployment figures this late into the lockdown, or to have it and not share it with the public, shows that it’s ill prepared to govern during a crisis. And unfortunately, between super storms and global pandemics, crisis maybe the new norm.

Warren Buffett famously said cautiousness that the Government that “[a] rising tide floats all boats….. is using for the lifting of the curfew [but] when the tide goes out you and the re-opening of the economy. discover who’s been swimming naked”.

Seven weeks into this lockdown, Many persons suffered and there is no excuse for the country’s is suffering needlessly because the labour force, especially Turks & Caicos Government chose to manage the Islanders, to be swimming naked – i.e. disbursement of the “stimulus” checks to be unsure of whether they will be on its own, rather than do it through employed, unemployed, or under- the business community, which would employed when the economy re-opens. have been far more efficient, and

During the Government’s 30th persons would have had the relief funds April National Address on COVID-19, it by the latest end of April. gave the impression that barring any Admittingly, there is a lot of major increase in positive cases, that political goodwill, especially in an the economy would be fully opened in election year, that comes with persons June. picking up their cheques from the

So, by now, 10 days before Government Treasury or seeing funds the start of June, the Government deposited into their bank accounts should know how many persons will from the Government, but the risk of be returning to jobs when the economy disbursing the funds in this manner re-opens. Without this key information, is what we see happening right now – how can it formulate a sound plan for i.e. the huge number of request for the getting everyone back to work as quickly “stimulus package” is overwhelming the as possible?

Government’s systems and processes,

Like many other countries, the resulting in persons not receiving the Government should mandate that work funds on time. permit holders who have recently lost It was predicted that this was their jobs, return home. The obvious going to happen, and if politics was put downside to this is that it will very aside, and the Opposition advice sought quickly reduce the country’s population, (for example, I have the IT background but the upside is that it will also have and experience to be able to oversee the dual benefits of: such a project), I’m confident that the 1.reducing for the pressure on majority of persons would have received critical products and services, the funds by the target date of the 4th which will help fight off shortof May. term inflation, and

The Government is in the 2.reducing the need for Turks process of gradually lifting the curfew & Caicos Islanders to compete and re-opening the economy, and while for jobs at a time when jobs doing so, I encourage them to enact will be in short supply. When bold labour policies that reshape the job the vast majority of Turks & market in a way that it favors Turks & Caicos Islanders are fully back Caicos Islanders. to work, the Government can

It is the right of a people to resume the issuance of work have the resources and opportunities permits. And when that process of their country benefit them first and starts, it should be managed with foremost, and the COVID-19 pandemic the same deliberate and measured has given the Government a unique

E. Jay Saunders - Deputy Leader of the PNP opportunity to turn this right into a reality.

The fact that there is no plan to do so is disturbing. It is the Government’s call to invite the Opposition to the table for joint discussions about the best way to re-open the economy, and in order to avoid another fumble like the delay in getting the “stimulus” payments paid out to persons in need, I am calling on them to do so.

I trust that during the Premier’s next Press Conference, we will hear of her Government’s plans to ensure that when the economy re-opens, that Turks & Caicos Islanders are given first preference when it comes to jobs and business opportunities. This matter is too important for the Government to leave to chance.

I pray that God continue to bless our beautiful by nature country, and that he, in his infinite wisdom, continue to see us through these trying times.

Does our political system promote equality?

By Oliver Mills

In a strict sense, a political system comprises all the institutions of government, guided by a political philosophy which outlines what that system stands for with respect to its citizens. It also upholds the laws and traditions of the society, and indicates the constraints that exist on the abuse of power and authority, and protects the rights of its citizens.

A political system gives hope to the country, aims to develop it to the fullest and in the interest of everyone equally. The progress of the society and the welfare of its people depend on the fairness of the political system in catering to the interest of all.

And what is equality? It is facilitating an environment where opportunities and benefits are available to each citizen equally, according to his or her needs, and shaping policies and programmes that make these deliverables possible.

In light of the above, can it be said that the Turks and Caicos Islands political system promotes equality?

The point is, that many of us do not feel that our system of politics treats people equally. And they do not blame the politicians directly. Where the concerns arise is when various Boards or Committees are appointed. Here it is felt that

when decisions are considered about requests by particular persons for certain opportunities to be realised, that prejudice and spite take over from making decisions rationally, and in the country’s interest.

Many persons who could benefit if given opportunities, are not considered. Or, aspersions are cast against deserving individuals,instead of considering the merits of a request.

This causes people to believe that their aspirations are being blocked, and that the system is neither fair nor equal, particularly when others are given positive considerations which appear to be not properly deserved.

Some of us tend to think that decisions about who should get what, and when, are based on religious affiliation, friendship, other social group membership, or in another sense, on the basis of politics.

The point is that decision making in the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to those who are connected, are never based on the ethics of a case. The blockers and stoppers, and those with a price always seem to be the ones at the wheel determining things. In this kind of atmosphere, equal consideration does not stand a chance.

There was an episode when an individual who applied to upgrade herself, was denied on the grounds that a previous person was

not successful. In another instance when a position was applied for, by an interested person, it was denied and the reason given was that this person would not stay on the job. On another occasion it is said that when a local person applied for a post, she did not receive a reply, although she was highly qualified.

The point is, that personal feelings against someone seem to over-ride honest decision making. And often, those making the decisions are not really equipped to do so. A gap opens up between the value of the individual to the country, and not wanting to help another to advance based on narrow, selfish reasons.

This mindset does no promote equality of opportunity, or foster the opportunity for equal consideration.

In our island group, the prejudices of our history are very much alive, which go against the promotion of the equality of the individual on his or her own home turf. There still exists an attitude in some islands that they are privileged over others, although no objective basis exists for this. The feeling is that certain events should only be held in particular islands because of “so and so.” If this is challenged, a big uproar results. No place for equal opportunity to be equal here.

When we look at the economy of each island, its contribution to

the national cake is not reflected in the size of the slice it should receive.

And equal consideration does not appear to be given when considering investment possibilities. Instead, the old tales are still spun about investors’ preference for a particular island, when what is important is the quality of negotiations, and the effective selling of the possibilities and assets of competing others.

Again in recent decades, social and economic equality in the Turks and Caicos Islands has widened, so that we seem to be heading for a society based on “haves and have nots.” This is not nice, since it could create social groups which feel left out, or not valued, which could later impact our cultural stability resulting in a challenge to our value system.

Our political system seems to be generating further inequality, with seemingly more candidates for office coming from somewhat elitist, and socially and economically favoured backgrounds. This could create in others the disposition that although they might wish to compete in the arena, their circumstances could cancel out these aspirations.

Equality, and feelings of acceptance in the society represent a plus for democracy and social cohesion. Our political system should seek to promote these as our cardinal virtues.

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 23

LOCAL NEWS

Lest We Forget

It is a well-known fact that the Most Excellent Honorable James A. G. S. McCartney, was the first Chief Minister (later designated as Premier) of the Turks & Caicos Islands, serving from 1976 until his unfortunate, tragic death on May 9, 1980.

And, each year since 1990 (?), the life and times of the late Most Excellent Honorable Mr. McCartney (herein after JAGS) is celebrated in what has become known as “National Heroes Day” (now back to JAGS McCartney Day holiday.

Because JAGS was the first local Turks and Caicos Islander head of government, in modern times, and because he was so young at the time of his ascension to this position, he deserves all the accolades bestowed on him.

However, what is always overlooked, or, perhaps, deliberately omitted, is that JAGS, being the Robin Hood like leader which he was, had surrounded himself with his “Merry men,” a group of young persons who were loyal to him and to the cause for which he fought and died – internal self-government and eventual separation from the list of what is now called “British Overseas Territories.”

From all accounts, JAGS was instrumental in forming what was known as the Titans Sports Club. And as he began to hold discussions with many of the young men who were associated with the Club, he began to talk about their futures, the political situation of the TCI within the colonial British system and about how they could play a role in extricating their country from the long tentacles of the exploitative, oppressive British colonial system.

Unfortunately, apart from some anecdotal stories and some remembrances of a few individuals, this group of “McCartney’s Merry men” have been omitted from the annals of TCI history, forgotten during the national celebrations and festivities associated with the occasion.

It is my intention in this article, and in subsequent ones, to draw attention to those not-so-young persons now, who were instrumental in supporting JAGS and assisting in laying the foundation for Ministerial, democratic Government in the Turks

and Caicos Islands.

It is my considered view that this group of persons should be honored, respected and given their rightful places in the annals of our country, at the side of their fearless, fallen Leader, the Most Excellent Honorable Mr. McCartney.

For as JAGS now belongs to the pages of history, no one person, organization or group, other than JAGS’ immediate family, deserves more to invoke the name of this fallen Hero more than those who fought by his side for the advancement of our country.

In a list of important events, it is generally agreed that the most pivotal incident, leading up to the constitutional changes culminating in Ministerial Government in the TCI, was the Junkanoo Club Uprising. The Junkanoo Club was the place where the members of the Titans Cricket Club and the so-called “Black Power Boys: would gather to relax, cool their heels (so to speak), hold discussions and strategize.

From what I have been able to garner, on the fateful night, only about 15 or so members of the organization were present at the Club. And it was here that the most important document, a Treaty, if you will, was signed by JAGS and the then Governor of the TCI and witnessed by, at least, one of those present.

These young persons, for the most part, did not hail from what was considered the higher echelons of TCI’s class-oriented society. They were the offspring of TCI’s proletariat class, influenced by JAGS’ ideology of inclusion, dignity and respect for all human beings. Consequently, they were the backbone of the Organization, engaging in activities which, to some, might have been untoward and downright “criminal” at times. Their cause, however, was a just cause!

Unfortunately, there is a paucity of historical data from which information on the activities of the Black Power Movement may be gleaned.

And because many of the activities of the Organization were anti status quo, those who were in positions of authority saw the group as a nuisance and a menace to society.

Yet, some of the same persons who were so vehemently opposing the Group, were direct beneficiaries of the Constitutional changes which brought about Ministerial, democratic government in the country.

And this while most of the actual participants linger in anonymity and obscurity, struggling to eke out a normal existence in the midst of plenty. This is shameful.

By Lee Ingham Understandably, any individual or group which confront of Assembly adopt a Resolution or and challenge the status quo will have Proclamation especially for these to violate norms, policies and laws of persons (lest me forget). the ruling elite.

But given that general elections

History is replete with will be taking place in the very near examples of such justified challenges. future, we should all demand that ALL For example, those men who dumped those seeking political office commit the British tea into Boston harbor to doing just that. In the meanwhile, serving as a catalyst for the American it is my intention to submit these Revolution and independence, names to the National Honors Awards Ghandi’s “satyagraha” challenging Committee for recognition.

British imperialism in India and Due to my lack of knowledge eventual independence, King’s Civil relative to this period, I have relied on Rights Movement in the United what I consider to be rather reliable States and Mandela’s anti-apartheid sources. However, this list might be Movement in South Africa, to name a incomplete because of the paucity few. of data and also because some want

But in all the above cases, to remain anonymous. Too many of the struggle was long and difficult, them have already left us. Let us not but also in all cases, the outcomes wait another minute before we give were justified in that the rights of them their rightful places at JAGS’ the people and democratic inclusion side!!! were brought about. As I see it, there So, here are some names: is no question that such was the case in the TCI. Therefore, those who Kathleen Williams (a rare female in the were instrumental in bringing about group) this significant revolution in the TCI Clyde Coalbrooke deserve to be recognized for their Terrence (Shiny) Smith contribution in this important effort.

Raymond (Conch Boy) Jennings Since there are no historical accounts, Earle (Super C) Ingham I have relied on some persons who Franklyn (Lucky) Freites were directly involved and some who Kenneth (KC) Carter (deceased) were only tangentially involved.

Butch (Pork Chops) Simmons Arguably, these persons might not rise David (Spiker) Malcolm (deceased) to the level of “National Hero” status Robert Basden (deceased) as defined by the National Honors Victor (Bottieman) Morris (deceased) Awards Committee, but certainly it is Allan Parker about time for them to be honored by Hubert James (deceased) their country for the sacrifices which Colin (Looks) Gibson (deceased) they made and from which we now all Oswald R. (Cuds) Williams benefit. Perhaps future generations will Robert Williams (deceased) recognize and honor them differently. Albert Williams

Since all the Legislatures since Clayton Gardiner (deceased) 1976 have NOT seen it fit to honor Byron Skippings and recognize this heroic, courageous Charles Garland group of fellow countrymen, by Lionel Saunders (deceased) Proclamation, the least that I think we Franklyn (Taffy) Seymour (deceased) can do is insist that the House John (Johnnie) Missick, Jr. (deceased)

Addendum to “Lest We Forget”

In a recent article entitled “Lest We Forget,” Raymond (Conch Boy) Jennings I argued for formal recognition, by the Legislature Earle (Super C) Ingham of the TCI and by the National Awards Committee, Franklyn (Lucky) Freites for those persons who were associated with the Kenneth (KC) Carter (deceased) Most Excellent Honorable James Alexander George Butch (Pork Chops) Simmons Smith McCartney (JAGS), prior to his becoming the David (Spiker) Malcolm (deceased) country’s first Chief Minister and deservedly first to Robert Basden (deceased) be awarded National Hero status.

Victor (Bottieman) Morris (deceased)

Along with a list of names, here is what I Allan Parker wrote in the final paragraph: Hubert James (deceased)

Due to my lack of knowledge relative to Colin (Looks) Gibson (deceased) this period, I have relied on what I consider to be Oswald R. (Cuds) Williams rather reliable sources. However, this list might be Robert Williams (deceased) incomplete because of the paucity of data and also Albert Williams because some want to remain anonymous. Too many Clayton Gardiner (deceased) of them have already left us. Let us not wait another Byron Skippings minute before we give them their rightful places at Charles Garland JAGS’ side!!!

Lionel Saunders (deceased) So, here are some names: Franklyn (Taffy) Seymour (deceased) John (Johnnie) Missick, Jr. (deceased) Kathleen Williams (a rare female in the group) Well, subsequently, I have learned of several Clyde Coalbrooke others who were associated with JAGS Terrence (Shiny) Smith through the Junkanoo Club and/or the

Black Power Movement. The names of these persons appear below, and yet the list might not be complete. As memories fade, this begs the question for proper documentation and public recognition for ALL those who, tangentially or intricately, were involved in these historic events leading up to democratic, Ministerial Government in the TCI. Audrey Ewing Beatrice (Bea) Gardiner Dorothy (Dar) Smith Clarke Verleria Kennedy Houseman Dudley (Kinky) Smith Charles (Chuckles) Saunders (Deceased) Keith (Eggnose) Robinson Rupert (Spaddy Boy) Gardiner Donnie (Par) Smith Leroy James Alexander (Tung) Williams Norman (BooYa) Parker Charles (G Bread) Williams Linda (Cow4boy) Prospere Velma Carter (Deceased)

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

PROVO GOLF CLUB

WHEN SHOULD I WEAR GLOVES

Provo Golf Club is seeking a suitably qualified individual to fill the following opening. Only candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be considered.

GOLF PROFESSIONAL JOB SUMMARY •Provide competent golf instruction to members and guests.

•Run Golf Clinics for larger groups needing instruction.

•Assist with organizing charity golf events at PGC. •Fully co-ordinate group events from start to finish.

•Assist with tournament sales and set up.

•Assist with a variety of other Golf Professional duties at PGC. REQUIREMENTS •Must have membership in PGA of America or Canada.

•Strong computer skills using Microsoft Word, Excel and Publisher.

•Minimum (2) years or more experience as a Golf Professional.

•Proven organizational skills.

Remuneration for this position will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

WEARI NG GLOVES I N PUBLI C CAN EASI LY LEAD TO THE SPREAD OF GERMS, I NCLUDI NG THE VI RUS THAT CAUSES COVI D- 1 9

THE USE OF GLOVES IN PUBLIC IS NOT RECOMMENDED Using gloves while shopping, driving, and holding door handles is not recommended.

Prolonged use of gloves and unintentional touching of

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

the face or cellphone will lead to contaimination and possible spread of COVID-19 and other germs

THE USE OF GLOVES FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE BUSI NESSES I S RECOMMENDED

Interested Belongers must also submit copies of their application to the Commissioner of Labour & Work Permit Board Zone 2. Closing date for application is June 15th, 2020.

Some businesses may require the use of single use gloves by their staff for food or drink preparations.

Graceway Supermarkets is seeking a suitable qualified candidate to fill the position of

Commercial Buyer Summary of Duties To drive customer availability and choice of products withpredetermined parameters. Constantly looking to improve our ‘first cost by buying’ better. Develop and implement a trading plan to drive revenue while offering excellent value to customers. Work to improve buying and stock management processes.

Required Specifications and qualifications •5+ years of experience with progressive purchasing experience •Commercial negotiation experience essential •Demonstrated Multi-site stock management required •Multi-Vendor Management •Comprehensive understanding of Microsoft Office and industry standard purchase software platforms and programs •Drives quality improvement initiatives with the vendors that are consistent with customer expectations •Must be able to understand supply chain optimization •Understand how to integrate perpetual stock management system into legacy systems •Clear communicator with proven commercial acumen •Demonstrates ahigh level of financial integrity

GLOVES ARE MANDATORY WHEN DEALI NG WI TH PERSONS SI CK WI TH COVI D- 1 9 Healthcare workers and persons caring for ill relatives at home who have COVID-19

MUST wear gloves.

Gloves should be safely disposed after use. Gloves used after caring for sick family at home should be

placed in a

bag before disposing in the trash.

THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COVI D- 1 9 The best defence against contracting COVID-19 is to continually practice preventative measures.

Wash hands frequently

Avoid large

Maintain 6ft of social

Use face masks or face

gatherings/crowds

distance in public

coverings in public

Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Deadline for submission of applicants is June10, 2020 Submit to: Graceway Supermarket main office complex, Leeward Highway Email: hr@gracewayiga.com Please note: Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted to attend interviews. Belongers only need apply

CALL THE HEALTH HOTLINE IF YOU HAVE FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS SUCH AS COUGH OR FEVER

Corona Virus Hotline 649-333-0911 OR 649-232-9444 EMAIL: COVID19@GOV.TC WEBSITE: WWW.GOV.TC/MOH/CORONAVIRUS

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 25

HOW TO PAY YOUR FORTISTCI BILL

Dear Valued Customer, As the COVID-19 situation continues to unfold, FortisTCI wants you to know that we are here for you.

We are following our robust business continuity plans, and our employees are working around the clock to keep the lights on.

For those working to keep their bills as current as possible, we are offering more ways to pay while our customer service centers are closed.

My Online Account

The online customer web portal is accessible 24 hours a day and allows you to monitor your daily consumption, view your account balance, and pay your bill using a credit or debit card.

To register, log onto www.fortistci.com, select the ‘My Online Account’ tab, and click ‘register now’. You will need your meter number and account number.

Pay Online Using a Local Bank

If you bank with FirstCaribbean, ScotiaBank, or RBC, you can pay your bill online using their online bill payment option. You must register through your bank and should speak with a bank representative for more information. Payments are posted within 48 hours.

Payment by Cash or Check

Customers who cannot pay online using a credit card, debit card, or their bank account, can pay their bills by check or cash at the following authorized payment agent locations: • Provo – Any Graceway Supermarket location • North & Middle Caicos – At BETCO (Bernie Handfield), Bottle Creek • South Caicos – At Seaview Market, Stubbs Road • Grand Turk - National Company Services (NCS), Cees Building, Church Folly Road

Payment options for Grand Turk and Salt Cay customers will be announced shortly.

Customers are reminded to adhere to all curfew stipulations as outlined by the government and should only access the above essential service locations at times prescribed in the law. If utilizing an authorized pay agent to make a bill payment, have your bill on hand at the time of payment.

Questions? Email or Call for Account Updates

If you have questions or need account information, you can email us at customerservice@fortistci.com, or call 649-946-4313. Our customer service representatives are available Monday to Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Sincerely, FortisTCI 2017 Winner

Allied Member of the Year

BCMS 681102

www.fortistci.com | 649-946-4313 |

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

The position has a salary range of US$15,000-$17,500 per month, and will be commensurate with the applicant’s qualifications and experience.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY Do you aspire to build a thriving hospitality career at one of the leading luxury resorts in the Caribbean?

Are you a self-motivated, talented team-player, interested in joining a dynamic team?

The Amanyara Resort invites all suitable candidates to apply for the following positions: *GENERAL MANAGER •Possesses a proven track record of successfully managing a luxury hotel’s overall operation.

•Will ideally possess a strong sense of urgency, personal initiative and determination, be able to drive sales and exceed expectations of both team members and guests.

•Represents Aman brand in all leadership actions.

•A strong leader that can create a motivating work environment, develop team members and deliver results while upholding all brand quality standards and maintain budgeted revenues and expenses.

•Functions as the primary strategic business leader of the property with responsibility for all aspects of the operation, including guest and employee satisfaction, human resources, financial performance, sales and revenue generation and delivering a return on investment.

•Portrays the Aman brand service strategy and brand initiatives with the objective of meeting or exceeding guest expectations and increasing profit and market share.

•Active involvement with the local community and building strong relationships with local officials, businesses, and customers is required.

•Remains current with industry trends and monitors strengths and weakness of competition; explores new business opportunities; develops business plans designed to maximize property customer satisfaction, profitability, and market share.

•Executes business plans designed to maximize property customer satisfaction, profitability, and market share; verifies that property business plans and employees are aligned with business strategies.

•Works closely with Sales and Marketing team to develop revenue generating strategies for property; identifies new business leads, develops tailored sales approach, and actively pursues leads with Sales and Marketing team.

•Must possess a solid knowledge of food & beverage, strong wine knowledge and creativity; preferably a minimum of five years’ experience with a diversity of Food and Beverage management positions.

•Creates succession plans for future job openings; actively supports the staffing process; verifies effective work processes, systems and teamwork are in place to maximize individual and overall property performance.

•Serves as a passionate brand advocate and verifies that the intent of the brand is pulled through in the guest experience; communicates a clear and consistent message regarding property and the Aman brand goals to employees, property leadership team, and owners.

•Reviews business related data such as market share, financial performance, inventory, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction.; analyzes business information to proactively address changing market conditions; verifies that property operates within budgetary guidelines, and achieves profit margin goals; uses business information to identify indicators of product and service successes and opportunities for improvement; integrates business information into business plans.

•Interacts with guests and other customers on a frequent basis to obtain feedback about their experiences on property; utilizes guest/customer feedback to recognize excellent employee service performance and improve service deliveryinvolving oneself in the local community, and by developing strategic alliances with local officials, businesses, and customers; anticipates needs of large groups or high profile guests in order to deliver flawless service Requirements: •Masters’ degree in Business Management, Hospitality Management or similar.

•Minimum of 10 years’ international resort experience in management roles; including remote locations •Must have experience creating and analyzing budgets, P&L’s, and financial reports •Very strong managerial, leadership, communication and organizational skills •Must be able to handle multiple priorities on a regular basis •Ability to create momentum and foster organizational change •Proven ability to lead and develop a multicultural team •English proficiency in oral and written is a must. Other languages would be a plus.

*RESORT MANAGER Strategic: •Manages the relationship between real estate owners and resort management •Builds and maintains a strong relationship between resort owner, resort management and corporate office •Lives the brand ethos and promotes the philosophy of the brand in all professional interactions •Ensures luxury product positioning is maintained as per corporate brand standards Operations: •Manages a dynamic international team of hospitality individuals to achieve highest standards of service and quality at all times •Analyses and prepares annual long-term budgets, monitors income statements, variance reports, identifies market trends, and control costs •Adheres to internal audit processes and procedures. Ensures effective reservation process which maximizes revenue •Ensures physical operations are maintained to company standards by conducting inspections of grounds and buildings •Maximizes the profitability of the resort •Works endlessly to ensure the hotel exceeds guest and employee satisfaction •Trains, mentors and coaches department heads and employees to ensure a high performance team is maintained •Maintains strong positive relationships with all travel industry partners •Understands and implements requirements from regulatory agencies and service providers •Deputizes for General Manager in his absence Sales & Marketing: •Attracts new residents/guests by marketing resort features. Obtains referrals from current residents/guests or via corporate marketing campaigns •Practice revenue management as per company policy to maximize occupancies and promote growth in ARR •Explains advantages of services and location relative to high end real estate product •Conducts market surveys and analyses within region and competitive set •Travels to promote and sell product when needed and be able to communicate in several languages •Maintains and grows luxury travel trade contacts Requirements: •Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Hospitality Management or Business Administration.

•Minimum of 8 years’ international resort experience in management roles; including remote locations •Must have experience creating and analyzing budgets, P&L’s, and financial reports •Very strong managerial, leadership, communication and organizational skills •Must be able to handle multiple priorities on a regular basis •Ability to create momentum and foster organizational change •Proven ability to lead and develop a multicultural team •English proficiency in oral and written is a must. Other languages would be a plus.

The position has a salary range of US$9,000-US$11,500 per month, and will be commensurate with the applicant’s qualifications and experience. *POND CLEANER Requirements: •Physically fit and ability to perform manual labor •The ability to deliver service aligned with resort standards.

•Must be proficient in English Salary based on experience: $6.25 to $7.50 per hour, plus service charge For further information on the above positions please contact us by using the details below.

Candidates must be available to work 6 days a week, weekends, and holidays.

Positions marked with * are currently held by a work permit holder. However, qualified belongers are encouraged to send a cover letter & resume with the following attachments: Valid Police Record, Passport Bio Page, Proof of TCI status i.e. PRC, Belonger Status Card or Naturalization Certificate.

Human Resources Amanyara Resort Northwest Point, Providenciales E: amanyarahrassistant@aman.com Prospective applicants are also asked to send copies to the Labour Board, Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Insight Ltd Location: #5 Eddie Laporte Plaza, Academy Ave. Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking a Server Duties: Take orders, answer question about the menu and take payments Salary is $7.50 per hour Please contact 399-9000 This position is currently held by work permit holder Applicants who are Turks and Caicos Islanders can send copies of their resume to the Labour Board

Location: Dockyard, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking a Labourer Duties: Cleaning outside the property with sweeper, pick up yard waste and collect leaves, dispose of trash, clean windows, and door frames.

To work 5 days a week Salary $6.25 per hour Please Contact 342-1944 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder

Mary Cunningham

PROVO BODY SHOP

#195224

Location: Blue Hills, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Domestic Worker Sweeping the house, mopping the floor, clean bathrooms, toilets, kitchen, living room, laundering sheets, towels and personal clothing and other house work.

Willing to work 5 days per week Salary is $6.50 per hour Please Contact: 241-2123 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Belongers are encouraged to send copy of resume to the Labour Board

#195224

HS LTD.

Island Drywall Finish

#195227

Location: #31 Kew Town, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking three (3) Auto Body repair men Duties: Remove damaged body parts, including bumpers, fenders, hoods, grilles, and trim Must be able to paint a car completely To work 5 days per week Salary is $9.00 per hour Must have more than 5 years experience Please Contact: 243-6492 These positions are held by Work Permit Holders Interested Turks and Caicos Islander applicants must send a copy of their resume to the Labour Board #195228

Page 27

HS Ltd is seeking a suitable applicant for the following position: HOUSEKEEPER Responsibilities: The successful applicant will be responsible for the general cleaning of the company’s property performing such duties as dusting, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, restroom cleaning etc. The applicant will also be responsible for any other duties assigned regarding general cleaning of the property.

Requirements: The successful applicant must be able to work with little to no supervision, must have knowledge of proper cleaning techniques, must be able to speak, read and write in English and understand verbal and written instructions, should be physically fit, hardworking and reliable.

Starting wages: $6.50 per hour Please submit applications to: Veronica Rigby, HS Ltd, P.O. Box 124, Regent House, The Regent Village, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tel: (649) 946-5126; Fax (649) 946-5191; Email: ronnie@habgroup.com Interested Belongers must also submit copies of their application to the Commissioner of Labour& Work Permit Board Zone 2. Position currently held by a work permit holder. Closing date for application is June 8th, 2020.

ROYAL WEST INDIES RESORT, is looking for motivated proactive individuals to join its ‘Resort Team’ and contribute to this growing property and brand.

Candidates MUST want to actively participate in creating an excellent and professional guest experience. _____________________________________________________________________

•Greet and escort guests to room •Daily replenishment of room items and restocking of closets •Daily cleaning of buildings •Must be able to work on weekends and public holidays Wages: $7.50

WASTE WATER MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN

Gardener •MUST speak English •Water, feed, prune and trim plants and trees •Mowing lawns, weeding gardens and keeping walkways clear of debris and litter.

•Knowledge of landscaping equipment such as mowers, trimmers and leaf blowers •Install, weed and maintain plants and weed shrubs •Apply pesticide/insecticide to plants and trees as necessary •Ability to lift heavy object •Ability to work flexible hours

•Knowledge of Activated Sludge Process WWTP systems and process control.

•Knowledge of lift station grinder pumps, control panel, sensors and float switches.

•General knowledge of hydraulic loading, D.O and settlement testing with the ability to carryout extended rise tests.

•Knowledge of tertiary treatment systems including filters, pumps, automated backwash systems and controls.

•Be able to record and keep excellent log reports as part of a maintenance program.

•Overall general maintenance issues as well as civil engineering.

Salary: $18,304 Per Annum POOL & BEACH ATTENDANT Requirements: •MUST speak, read and write English •Ability to maintain pools and hot tub chemicals and maintenance issues related to same •Provide high customer service at all times as per the resort standard •Arrange pool loungers and tables on pool deck •Clean area of any debris, dirty plates, cups and glasses •Check landscaped areas around the pool for litter and debris •Unload, clean and place lounge chairs on beach •Rake area, pick up debris and trash & place umbrellas in sand near lounge chairs.

•Maintain pool and spa water chemistry by conducting water chemical tests in compliance with health department standards.

•On a daily basis ensure highest water quality, sanitary conditions, optimum pool performance and record all test results and adjustments in a detailed log.

•Must be able to work split shifts, weekends and public holidays Houseman •Must speak English •Must be customer friendly

Labourer Requirements: •Check on a daily basis all general areas of the common property – lights, pathways, walls, floors, railings, woodwork and any other area within the property •Clean, disinfect and touch up paint the public area bathroom by the pool area •Clean and oil external brown room doors & bannisters daily and as required •Touch up paint and any damaged walls within the common area •Keep pathways clear of debris and litter •Ability to lift heavy objects •Ability to work flexible hours Wages $6.50/hr These positions are currently held by work permit holders Prospective & qualified applicants who are Islanders can send copies of their applications and resumes to the email address noted below or to the Labour Board.

All resumes and applications must be forwarded to: Royal West Indies Resort P.O. Box 482, Providenciales Turks & Caicos Islands You may also fax to: (649)946-5008

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

Protesters torch Minneapolis T

hick smoke hovered over Minneapolis on Friday, hours after cheering protesters torched a police station that officers abandoned as a third night of violent protests flared over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Police evacuated the 3rd Precinct station, the focus of many of the protests, late Thursday to protect employees, a spokesman said. Livestream video showed protesters entering the building, where intentionally set fires activated smoke alarms and sprinklers. President Donald Trump threatened

action, prompting a warning violence.”

Dozens of fires were als nearly 200 businesses were dam across the U.S., fueled by outrag

A liquor store is burnt during protests near the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, A protester carries a U.S. flag upside, a sign of distress, next to a burning building Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis.

A protester gestures in front of the burning Police Department on Thursday, May 28,

A woman yells at a sheriff’s deputy during a protest following the death of George A protestor sprays graffiti on a wall near the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, Floyd at the hand of Minneapolis police officers, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis.

Police officers walk through a cloud of tear gas, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in St. Protesters angered by the death of a black man torch a Minneapolis police Paul, Minn. station that the department abandoned.

Frame from video provided by Darnella the neck of a handcuffed man who was Minneapolis.

Protestors demonstrate outside of a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, Protestors demonstrate outside of a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Protestors demonstrate outside of a bur

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 29

police station in violent night from Twitter for “glorifying

so set in nearby St. Paul, where maged or looted. Protests spread ge over Floyd’s death, and years

of violence against African Americans at the hands of police.

Demonstrators clashed with officers in New York and blocked traffic in Columbus, Ohio, and Denver.

Trump threatened to bring Minneapolis “under control,” calling the protesters “thugs” and tweeting that “when the

looting starts, the shooting starts.” The tweet drew another warning from Twitter, which said the comment violated the platform’s rules, but the company did not remove it.

Trump also blasted the “total lack of leadership” in Minneapolis.

g 3rd Precinct building of the Minneapolis , 2020, in Minneapolis.

A protestor douses her face with milk after being exposed to tear gas fired by police, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night.

A protestor faces off with two police officers using less-lethal ammunition in their weapons, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night.

Law enforcement officers amassed along Lake Street near Hiawatha Ave.

Police move through an area during demonstrations Thursday, May 28, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Protests over the death of George Floyd, the black man who died in police custody broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night.

Protestors demonstrate outside of a burning liquor store near the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Protestors enter a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Frazier, a Minneapolis officer kneels on s pleading that he could not breathe in

rning fast food restaurant, Friday, May.

Protestors watch as police in riot gear walk down a residential street, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third The National Guard is in Minneapolis, following a night of unrest that saw protesters torch a police station that the department abandoned. straight night.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LOCAL NEWS

Memorial Day weekend draws crowds and triggers warnings T he Memorial Day weekend marking the unofficial start of summer in the U.S. meant big crowds at beaches and warnings from authorities Sunday about people disregarding the coronavirus social-distancing rules and risking a resurgence of the scourge that has killed nearly 100,000 Americans.

Meanwhile, the White House broadened its travel ban against countries hard hit by the virus by saying it would deny admission to foreigners who have recently been in Brazil.

Sheriff’s deputies and beach patrols tried to make sure people kept

their distance from others as they soaked up the rays on the sand and at parks and other recreation sites around the country.

In the Tampa area along Florida’s Gulf Coast, the crowds were so big that authorities took the extraordinary step of closing parking lots because they were full.

In Missouri, people packed bars and restaurants at the Lake of the Ozarks, a vacation spot popular with Chicagoans, over the weekend. One video showed a crammed pool where vacationers lounged close together without masks, St. Louis station KMOV-TV reported.

In Daytona Beach, Florida, gunfire erupted Saturday night along a beachside road where more than 200 people had gathered and were seen partying and dancing despite the restrictions. Several people were wounded and taken to the hospital, authorities said.

“Disney is closed, Universal is closed. Everything is closed so where did everybody come with the first warm day with 50% opening? Everybody came to the beach,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a Sunday news conference, referring to crowds in the

Daytona Beach area.

On Georgia’s Tybee Island, the beach was filled with families, bicyclists, beach chairs, games, swimmers and more. On a main drag, people lined the sidewalk at Wet Willie’s, a chain bar that sells frozen cocktails. Most stood close together — not nearly 6 feet (2 meters) apart — and none wore masks.

But at a nearby grocery store, staff members handed customers gloves and a number to keep track of how many people were inside at a time. Shoppers had their own masks.

A runner passes along a mostly empty beach, Saturday, May 23, 2020, in Belmar, N.J.

A shooting that erupted at a Florida beachside road where more than 200 people gathered and were seen partying and dancing despite pandemic restrictions on Saturday night left several people injured.

A woman rides her bicycle on the boardwalk at Coney Island during the current coronavirus outbreak, Sunday, May 24, 2020, in New York, during the Memorial Day weekend, which marks the traditional beginning of summer.

Chairs stand with the prescribed Cocoa Beach, Fla., is packed with safety distance on a beach of G’hren Memorial Day beachgoers on on the island of R’gen, Mecklenburg- Saturday, May 23, 202 The beaches Western, Germany, Friday, May 22, are open for business again during 2020. the coronavirus epidemic.

Darien Foxx, of Virginia, sun bathes on the back of his car while he waits on the rest of his party to check into a hotel amid the coronavirus pandemic, Saturday, May 23, 2020, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In this Saturday, May 23, 2020, photo, Gov. Ralph Northam and Tori Bloxom, of Onancock, Va., take a selfie as the governor visits the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Va., to see for himself how crowded the beach was.

Muslim women perform during an Eid al Fitr prayer despite concerns of the new coronavirus outbreak, at a mosque in Lhokseumawe in the deeply conservative Aceh province, Indonesia, Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Muslims offer the Eid al Fitr prayer despite concerns of the coronavirus outbreak at Al Mashun Grand Mosque in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, May 24, 2020.

People gather on the beach for the Memorial Day weekend in Port Aransas, Texas, Saturday, May 23, 2020.

People utilize the Echo Park Lake People take a walk and relax at the recreation area Saturday, May 23, Naviglio Grande canal, in Milan, Italy, 2020, in Los Angeles during the Sunday, May 24, 2020. coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis delivers his blessing from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Sunbathers lie in an area marked by cordons of ropes and wooden stakes to enforce social distancing measures in La Grande Motte, southern France, Sunday, May 24, 2020.

This aerial photo shows Muslims performing during an Eid al-Fitr prayer despite concerns of the new coronavirus outbreak, at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh in the deeply conservative Aceh province, Indonesia, Sunday, May 24, 2020.

People practice physical distancing as they enjoy the warm weather at Mooney’s Bay Beach in Ottawa, People relax at the Naviglio Grande Ontario, Saturday, May 23, 2020, canal, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, May during the coronavirus pandemic.

24, 2020.

Pro golfer Billy Hurley III, left, and others stand after returning to the White House from his Trump National Golf Club with President Donald Trump, Sunday, May 24, 2020, in Washington.

San Francisco Police Auxiliary Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) volunteer David Flynn offers face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus at Dolores Park in San Francisco, Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Sunbathers catch the last rays of evening light, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Saturday, May 23, 2020, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 31

LOCAL NEWS

Mills Institute pays tribute to Symaderia Karioka Like the star of the morning .His bright crown adoring .They shall shine in their beauty, Bright gems for his crown Symaderia you are like the star that lights up our lives.

We will miss you on the playground We will miss you on sports day We will miss you in concert when you

show us your talent in dance But most of all we will miss your hugs your smile and touch You are gone but not forever we know we will see you again There is a place in our heart where you will always be.

From: Ashanescafe (your friend ) and Teacher scafe.

Hi Symadria! I will never forget when you were in my class for K2. You were quiet but you were very bright, kind and hardworking. I felt so sad in regards to what happened to you..You will always be remembered! I know that you are already in heaven with God.Remembering your wonderful and gentle soul will forever remain in our hearts. May you rest in peace!

We will be missing you Symadria Love, Mrs.Jhonna

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family of this sweet, compassionate and talented girl.

May her beautiful soul rest in peace.

Her memories will be cherished forever.

Love always, Mrs. Ruby

Page 32

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

ENTERTAINMENT Little Richard laid to rest at Alabama alma mater

Little Richard performs at Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, NY.

Little Richard was remembered not just as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer but a man of generosity and faith at a memorial service at his alma mater where he was laid to rest Wednesday.

Mourners gathered at Oakwood University to pay their respects, many wearing face masks and standing a few feet apart at the outdoor service at the school’s cemetery.

“What I really remember about Richard was not his stage performances, which were certainly formidable, but what I remember most about Brother Richard, not Little Richard, but Brother Richard, was his incredible kindness and his generosity to people,” said university President Leslie Pollard, who knew Little Richard personally.

“I remember those of us riding around with him in Los Angeles, and he’d have money in the trunk of his car. Why he had money in the trunk of his car, only he knew, but he would take money out and give it to homeless people,” Pollard said. “He was a very generous and giving person.”

He also spoke of the thoughtfulness of the singer, who throughout his career sold more than 30 million records and notched a string of hits including “Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly Miss Molly” and “Keep a Knockin’.”

“Once Richard met you and he knew you, he never forgot you,” Pollard said. “He remembered your family, your mother, your father, your sisters, your brothers, whose birthday was it ... He had a genuine interest in people.”

Richard died on May 9 following a battle with bone cancer at 87.

His pastor, James Owens, said he rebaptized the legend a year ago.

“We thank you, Lord, that he gave his life to you,” he said. “We are so thankful that now he is buried, being laid to rest on these hallowed ground of the historic campus of Oakwood University, where so much of African American talent has come out of, including his own. And we thank you, Lord, for his desire to share the word, to use his fame, to spread the name of Jesus Christ.”

Born Richard Penniman, Little Richard was one of rock ‘n’ roll’s founding fathers who along with Chuck Berry and Fats Domino helped shatter the color line on the music charts and brought what was once called “race music” into the mainstream. His hyperkinetic piano playing, coupled with his howling vocals and hairdo, made him an implausible sensation — a gay, black man celebrated across America during the buttoneddown Eisenhower era.

Disney, SeaWorld announce plans for Florida parks to reopen

SeaWorld and Walt Disney World will reopen in Orlando, Florida, in June and July after months of inactivity because of the coronavirus pandemic, under plans approved Wednesday by a city task force.

The proposals will now be sent to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for final approval.

The plan calls for SeaWorld to open to the public on June 11. Disney plans a tiered reopening, with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom opening on July 11, followed by Epcot and Hollywood Studios on July 15. Last week, Universal Orlando presented its plan to reopen on June 5. That plan also has been approved by the Orlando task force, which sent its recommendation to the governor.

“We are developing a series of ‘know before you go’ communication vehicles and our objective is to reinforce our health and safety messages to guests before they arrive on our property so they are aware and prepared for the new environment,” Disney’s senior vice president of operations, Jim McPhee told the task force.

He also said the parks would open with limited capacity, but he didn’t specify the number of guests who would be allowed in initially. In a statement, the company said attendance will be managed through a new system that requires advance reservations for park entry.

Earlier this month most of Florida’s counties entered a modified Phase 1, reopening restaurants and retail at limited capacity. South Florida, which has been hardest-hit by coronavirus cases, was added to Phase 1 earlier this week.

DeSantis has said he’s eager to get businesses reopened and is expected to approve plans to reopen the theme parks, which are major pieces of Florida’s tourism industry.

Disney World also plans smaller, soft openings prior to July 11, but no specifics were provided.

Brandy Bocchino of Powdersville, South Carolina,

guests watch a show near a statue of Walt Disney and Micky Mouse in front of the Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, part of the Orlando area in Fla. had booked a trip to Disney several months ago for the week of July 11 for her daughter’s dance competition.

The competition was canceled but Bocchino held onto the date in hopes Disney would reopen.

“We were very excited to read of the July 11 opening,” she wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “Must have had a little pixie dust flowing when we booked those dates!”

She said she feels comfortable going to Disney and being in crowds.

“I have worn either a surgical or N95 mask every day since the beginning of March this year due to the pandemic. Wearing a mask is just something that I am used to, so I will be happy to don one if it means I get to hop on the back of a mountain banshee and yell “Sivako,” she said. “I really got the sense that they had listened to all of the experts and are trying to continue their business in the safest way possible.”

SeaWorld is planning an employee appreciation event on June 10 before opening to the public the next day, said Interim CEO Marc Swanson.

When Disney Springs, a complex of restaurants and shops near Disney World, reopened, the company formed “social distancing squads,” which McPhee said have been popular with guests.

He said they are “a dedicated team of highly energetic and informative cast

members who are committed to engaging and inspiring our guests to follow the appropriate guidelines.”

Both parks said they will require guests and employees to wear face coverings and social distancing will be enforced throughout their properties.

Guests and employees also will undergo temperature checks before entering the parks. Disney employees will be required to conduct temperature checks before heading to work, McPhee said. They’ll also undergo temperature checks at the park, he added. Fever is one of the virus symptoms.

Fireworks shows, character meet-and-greets and parades will be suspended to meet social distancing requirements, McPhee said.

An inspection team from Orange County visited SeaWorld and Disney on Tuesday to see whether proposed plans would be in compliance with guidelines recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials from the parks told the task force.

Orlando Mayor Jerry Demings said he has sent letters of endorsement for opening the theme parks to the governor’s office.

Earlier this month, Shanghai Disneyland became the first of Disney’s theme park resorts to reopen, with severe limits on the number of visitors allowed in, mandatory masks and temperature checks.

Japan reality show ‘Terrace House’ halts production after star’s death

Japanese reality TV show “Terrace House” has suspended its production for the 2019-2020 season after the sudden death of a 22-year-old cast member, it said on its website.

Hana Kimura, a professional wrestler and star of the latest season of the popular Netflix reality TV show, died on Saturday, according to World Wonder Ring Stardom, the professional wrestling organisation that represented Kimura.

Local media reported that a suicide note was found at her Tokyo home, as she struggled with a wave of online harassment.

Her apparent suicide has shocked fans around the world and raised immediate soul-searching over cyber-bullying.

“We have decided to suspend the production of Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020. We take this issue very seriously and would like to continue to respond earnestly,” the show said on its Twitter account.

Shortly before her death was reported, Kimura posted a photo of herself with her cat on Instagram, with the caption, “I love you. Live a happy, long life. I’m sorry.”

The latest series is shot in a luxury house in Tokyo, and

Kimura’s social media accounts had been bombarded with comments portraying her as a villain.

Japanese government officials promised to step up anticyber-bullying measures in response.

The unscripted reality show featuring three men and three women living under the same roof has gained an international following since being streamed on Netflix from 2015.

The series originated on Japan’s Fuji TV in 2012 and is now co-produced

by Fuji and Netflix.

The show was once suspended in the wake of the

The Netflix logo is seen on their office building in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 16, 2018. coronavirus pandemic in April, then resumed airing this month.

After Kimura’s death, the season’s upcoming episodes, which were set to air this week and next, were again put on hold.

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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ENTERTAINMENT

Perry’s studio moves toward reopening while industry waits

Tyler Perry is planning to make his Atlanta-based mega studio one of the first domestic filming grounds to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. But while Perry is looking to restart production in July, other studios in Georgia and beyond are anxiously waiting for Hollywood’s green light.

“We’re taking the lead from our production partners,” said Frank Patterson, president of the sprawling Pinewood Studios, located in suburban Atlanta. The studio has been home to big-budget films such as “The Avengers: Endgame” and “Ant-Man” along with the television show “The Walking Dead.”

“There’s not one place in the industry that’s making the decisions about when we get back to work,” he continued. “There are a lot of stakeholders. We’re working with the task forces of the studios and the guilds, unions and the associations.

Just listening to everyone and making certain that when the industry decides it’s time to go back to work, that Pinewood Studios will be ready.”

Georgia has become known as the Hollywood of the South with a surge of film and TV productions companies and several studios opening up over the past several years. The entertainment industry shuttered productions in March because of safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. With Los Angeles County still under stay-

at-home orders and production shutdown, some are looking to Georgia as a possible destination to film.

After Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared that nonessential businesses in the state could reopen in late April, Perry emerged with a strategic plan to reopen his massive 330-acre studio, which has become a production powerhouse rivaling Hollywood’s best.

Perry believes he’s ready to move forward at Tyler Perry Studios to produce his own content such as the BET series “Sistas” and “The Oval.” The Hollywood Reporter obtained a 30-page production protocol document to cast, detailing Actor-filmmaker and author Tyler Perry poses health measures from testing in for a portrait in New York. their hometown, traveling on a between industry stakeholders about Perry-arranged private jet and doing work safety protocols have been another rapid test. ongoing for nearly two months,

Many in the industry want to and he wouldn’t be surprised if “we see how Perry’s protocol will unfold. figured out a way to return in the fall.”

The Screen Actors Guild said in a He said there’s “immense pressure” statement that it’s uncertain when to get the whole industry back to production will return. work, but the health of actors and

“You’re going to have some crew is the priority. discomfort at first that’s eventually “From a business point of broken by those who just want to view, if we were to jump the gun and kind of get back to the way things start working, and we haven’t figured were,” said Kevin Hart, who filmed out how to do it safely, it might cost several projects in Atlanta including everyone in the long run,” he said.

“Night School” and “Jumanji.” The “It would be a bad business decision actor-comedian said he would be and bad human decision. ... That’s willing to fly from his home in Los why we’re moving a little bit more Angeles to Georgia to film if it’s a carefully and slowly than everybody “plan that we vetted out.” wants us to.”

Patterson said conversations

Some in the industry’s

Tracee Ellis Ross debuts her singing voice in new film ‘The High Note’

Tracee Ellis Ross plays a singing superstar in her new feel-good movie “The High Note,” but the actor said the film has nothing to do with her famous mother, Diana Ross.

“I understand the questions,” Ross said in an interview. “I welcome the questions. It’s really fine. But the answer to all of them is no.”

The movie, which will be released on home video-on-demand platforms on Friday, gives Ross her long-awaited chance to sing on screen.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she said. “It was one of my childhood dreams.

My biggest dreams that turned into one of my biggest fears, and understandable fear, because of who my mom is.”

Diana Ross, 76, rose to fame in the 1960s as the lead singer of Motown Records’ vocal group the Supremes, one of the world’s bestselling female groups in history, and later had a successful solo career.

Tracee Ellis Ross said she also was attracted to the film’s message of resilience and pursuing one’s dreams. The movie follows Ross as singer Grace Davis along with her personal assistant, played by Dakota Johnson, and manager, portrayed by Ice Cube, as they navigate the music industry.

Rapper and actor Ice Cube said he molded his character after an array of managers he has interacted with throughout his career.

“You just take pieces of each one and make your own guy,” he said. “But that’s the funniest kind of manager to play. A dude who thinks he’s the star.”

Johnson said she was grateful the film could be released to viewers at home while most movie theaters remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If there’s any opportunity to give a little bit of joy or escapism or entertainment in this time, then I’m happy to do that,” she said.

workforce are willing to take a risk, while others have a more careful stance.

“I think people are more willing to take the chance of getting sick than the chance of losing their house or getting behind on bills,” said Shauna Galligan, a veteran stunt double whose credits include “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Insurgent” and “The Walking Dead.” She’s returning to work next month as a stunt coordinator for an independent film in Alabama.

“I know a lot of my friends in L.A., they’re taking the precautions,” Galligan said. “I don’t know anybody that would not take work at this moment because of it. I think everybody is ready to take that risk and get life back to normal.”

Actress Wynn Everett understands the collective urgency, but she would rather play things safe.

“I really I love the work, but my main work is my family,” said Everett, who has made appearances on NBC’s “This is Us” and “House of Lies.” “I’m excited to go back when we go back to work. But I know, my priority right now is my kids and the safety of our family and the health of that.”

Along with Perry’s studio, other studios in Georgia have implemented their own health and safety plans, but are waiting to see if they coincide with the rest of the industry. Perry declined an interview request.

CBS is TV’s most-watched network for 12th year in a row

The winner, and still champion, is CBS.

The Tiffany network finished the traditional television season, which ended last week, as the most-watched broadcaster for the 12th consecutive year, the Nielsen company said.

CBS has won 17 of the last 18 years, the lone exception coming when Fox topped the chart at the height of “American Idol.”

CBS has won for so long the distinction has lost much of the meaning it had when the streak began. Broadcast networks no longer dominate the television landscape as they used to and, with streaming and cable networks a big part of the mix, TV doesn’t effectively turn out the lights in the summer the way it once did.

Nielsen’s rankings also don’t reflect streamed viewership of given programs outside of a seven-day window in which they were first telecast.

NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” ranks as the mostwatched regular program of the year, back in the fall when sports were on television. “NCIS” was the most popular scripted series for the first time since the 201213 season, with “Young Sheldon” as the top-rated comedy.

Three of the four top networks lost viewership compared to last season, which isn’t unusual in this era of more entertainment choice.

CBS averaged 7.58 million viewers in prime time, down 15 percent from last season, Nielsen said. Second-place NBC averaged 6.5 million viewers, down 10 percent from last year and fourth-place ABC had 5.4 million, down 4 percent.

Fox was up 17 percent to 6.3 million, primarily because the network had a package of Thursday night NFL games in the fall that it didn’t have the season before. Fox’s ratings were also juiced by showing the Super Bowl in February.

Heading into the quieter summer, CBS won in prime time last week, averaging 4.1 million viewers. NBC was second with 3.6 million viewers, Fox had 2.88 million and ABC had 2.85 million. Univision had 1.5 million viewers, ION Television had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 810,000 and the CW had 680,000.

Fox News Channel led among the cable networks, averaging 3 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC had 1.8 million, CNN had 1.35 million, TLC had 1.25 million and HGTV had 1.21 million.

ABC’s “World News Tonight” led among the evening newscasts, averaging 9.6 million viewers last week. NBC’s “Nightly News” had 8.5 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 5.8 million.

For the week of May 18-24, the top 20 television programs, their

networks and viewership: 1. “The Masked Singer,” Fox, 9.01 million.

2. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 7.64 million.

3. “The Voice” (Tuesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 7.55 million.

4. “NCIS” (Tuesday), CBS, 6.74 million.

5. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” ABC, 5.97 million.

6. “FBI” (Tuesday), CBS, 5.62 million.

7. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 5.47 million.

8. “Man With a Plan,” CBS, 5.43 million.

9. “The Voice” (Tuesday, 8 p.m.), NBC, 5.17 million.

10. “NCIS” (Wednesday), CBS, 4.92 million.

11. “Mom,” CBS, 4.84 million.

12. “S.W.A.T.,” CBS, 4.83 million.

13. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 4.71 million.

14. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 4.47 million.

15. “Holey Moley,” ABC, 4.44 million.

16. “FBI” (Wednesday), CBS, 4.42 million.

17. “FBI: Most Wanted,” CBS, 4.4 million.

18. “Ultimate Tag,” Fox, 4.35 million.

19. “MacGyver,” CBS, 4.32 million.

20. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (Tuesday), Fox News, 4.31 million.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MEDICAL DIRECTOR

POSITION SUMMARY:

This is a managerial position, which has departmental-wide responsibility for activities and direction of the Operations Department, which includes the NHIP Emergency Overseas Treatment Programme. It provides technical leadership to the Case Management and Claims Management teams.

The Medical Officer formulates policies and procedures to enhance the impact of the department; monitors patients overseas to assess their progress and report to the Chief Executive Officer; verify the eligibility of all claims, ensure staff are properly supervised and trained, customer concerns addressed; and appropriate, cost-efficient health care services with best medical practices in place are provided to NHIP Beneficiaries.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES • Manages the medical aspects of the NHIP Emergency Overseas Treatment Programme; • Manages all aspects of the Operations Department, inclusive of all staff assigned to the department.

• Manages and develops the Operations Department’s Budget with the view of ensuring that the Department’s expenditure remains within or below the budgeted ranges.

• Develops policies, procedures, standards, and controls for effective management of the Operations Department.

• Ensures statistics are collected from InterHealth Canada Limited (TCI Hospital) and the private providers as required by management and for actuarial and other health-related assessments.

• Liaises with the NIB to identify number of employment injury and occupational disease cases.

• Enforces appropriate cost-reduction strategies and recommends initiatives in the management of patient’s care; • Prepares Quarterly Performance Reports and Trend Analysis.

• Recommends and monitors systems and procedures to facilitate achievement of objectives within the area of responsibility.

• Verifies and signs-off on overseas provider claims in order to ensure veracity of claims as well as conducts value for money audits.

• Advises on the adjudication of claims by beneficiaries in special circumstances, outside the scope of usual and customary benefits, including overseas claims.

• Makes recommendations to the Board on policy decisions, such as but not limited to reimbursement and accreditation standards in line with the Health Practitioners Board or other authorized Agency.

• Conducts sample surveys of health care providers and facilities to derive baseline data on the availability, quality of services offered, the capacity and readiness to meet the demands of the NHIB. • Coordinates activities and provides advice to the NHIB team charged with the specification and costing of the service benefit package and in the development of provider payment systems.

• Convenes and takes the lead in meetings and other mechanisms aimed at defining criteria for inclusion in the NHIB Provider Network, as well as developing norms and protocols for quality assurance utilization reviews,

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

access to overseas care, and modifications (inclusion and exclusion) of items in the benefit package.

• Collaborates with other members on the NHIB team in the design and implementation of activities related to accreditation of health providers.

• Collaborates with other members of the NHIB team in defining and developing contractual agreements with local and overseas providers for services within the benefit package.

• Assists in the development of detailed terms of reference and procedures for the activities of the NHIB Medical Review Committee.

• May perform other duties as assigned by the immediate supervisor or any other person authorized to give instructions or assignments.

• Any other duties deemed appropriate and consistent with the position, professional qualification and skill set as directed by the Chief Executive Officer.

MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED: • Principles, practices and techniques of medical case management • Principles and practices of strategic, long-term business planning • Principles and practices of effective management and supervision • Good Problem-Solving Skills • Excellent Human Relations/communication and interpersonal skills • Strong written, oral and presentation skills • Computer literacy and knowledgeable/proficient in the main processing, spreadsheet and presentation graphics programmes.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE: • Medical Doctor with at least 7 years’ experience; full time practitioner in primary care and hospital settings with the necessary competencies to effectively respond to the challenges of the job.

• Graduate Degree in Business or related field.

• Business Management Experience • Knowledge of the NHIB Ordinance and Regulations • Current (Good Standing) Registration with TCI Health Practitioners Board and other professional/regulatory body as appropriate.

• Experience with health insurance operations such as member of a medical review panel will be an asset.

Salary Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience scale $82,200 to $89,310.00 per annum.

All Applications should be addressed to: Sheena Smith-Yip National Health Insurance Board Salt Mills Plaza Providenciales Turks and Caicos Islands British West Indies Email: recruitment@tcinhip.tc Please ensure the application clearly demonstrates how you meet the noted qualifications as applicants will be screened based on the information provided.

We would like to thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those who are selected for an interview will be contacted. `Deadline for submission is June 15, 2020

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 35

RAFAEL CASTILLO

Maclean Robinson

Heywood McIntosh

Location: Bay Road, Wheeland, Blue Hills, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking a Domestic Worker Must be able to do general cleaning, speak English, honest and trustworthy To work 5 days a week Salary is $250.00 weekly Please Contact: 243-4580 / 244-5274 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interested Belongers must submit their application to the Labourer Board

Location: 38B Leeside Avenue, Long Bay, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Domestic Worker Must be able to do general household cleaning, honest and hardworking To work 5 days per week Salary $6.25 per week Please Contact: 241-6277 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interested Turks and Caicos Islanders are encouraged to apply directly and submit a copy of their application to the Labour Board

Location: 41 Jupa Sound, Morris Street, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking a Domestic Worker Must be able to do general cleaning, speak English, honest and trustworthy Must be able to work 5 days a week Salary is $7.00 an hour Please Contact: 245-3339 / 241-0113 This position is new Interested Turks and Caicos Islanders are encouraged to send a copy of their application to the Labour Board

#195241

Sharper Image Location: Airport Hotel Plaza, Providenciales Is seeking one (1) Barber Utilize clippers, combs, rushes, scissors, and blow-out guns to style and cut hair To work 6 days per week Salary $7.00 per hour Please Contact: 232-6695 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interest Turks & Caicos Islander applicants must send a copy of their resume to the Immigration Board on Airport Road in Providenciales

3 Kings Construction

Location #2 Hampton Lane Bay Road Blue Hills, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking (2) Labourer Duties: Perform tasks involving physical labour and cleaning at work sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types and a variety of other equipment and instruments To work 6 days a week Salary is $250.00 each week Please Contact: 244-3319 This position is new Interested Turks and Caicos Islanders are encouraged to send a copy of their application to the Labour Board #195219

All Stars Bar & Restaurant

Location: Two-Story Building next to Sweet T’s upstairs, Downtown, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Cashier Duties: Welcoming customers, answering their questions, taking orders and ringing up sales To work 5 days a week Salary is $6.50 per hour Please Contact: 344-0775 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interested Turks and Caicos Islanders are encouraged to send a copy of their application to the Labour Board

EL Construction

POSH SALON Location: Five Cays Rd, building 7, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands The salon is need of the following: •2 stylist •2 braiders •2 nail techs •1 Esthetician All positions require cosmetology and or esthetician certificate from accredited institution, and work portfolio.

Job duties: Hair, nail, and or skin care procedures. Training benefits.

Please Call 649-345-8631 for inquiries or email keisher46@yahoo.com.

These positions are New / Commission base salaries/ 3 day minimum week/ 9am - 6pm Interested Belongers must submit their application to the Labourer Board

CHAM-B GROCERIES

#195238

GRACE BAY MEDICAL CENTER

Location: Neptune Plaza, Providenciales TCI Is seeking to employ a Registered Massage Therapist Requirements and Duties: •Provide Massage Therapy for injured patients •Minimum of 6 years working at a Wellness Centre •Post-Secondary degree or equivalent •Ability to provide preventative care •Be proficient in Therapeutic Massage •Ability to assess range of motion and muscle strength Monthly salary $2800.00 to $4000.00 depending on experience BELONGERS ONLY NEED TO APPLY The position is currently held by a work permit holder Email: cynthia@gracebaymedical.com phone: 649-941-5252 fax: 649-946-8243

TWANZ CONSTRUCTION

Location: South Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Labourer Duties: to work in store stocking groceries, cleaning the store, and cutting meats To work 6 days per week Salary: $ 6.25 per hour Please contact Sherlock Forbes at 231-2781 This position is currently held by a work permit holder Interested Turks and Caicos Islanders are encouraged to send a copy of their application to the Labour Board

Location: South Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Labourer To work 5 days per week Duties include cleaning yard and assisting with construction work Salary: $6.25 per hour Please Contact Branford Hall at 243-1051 This position is currently held by a work permit holder Interested Turks and Caicos Islanders are encouraged to send a copy of their application to the Labour Board

B & B Services

Bugaloo’s Conch Crawl

Location: Grace Bay Village Lot #3, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Maintenance Technician Duties: Conducting scheduling repairs, maintaining inventory, and developing preventative maintenance procedures and will be a jack-of-all-trades, maintaining buildings A & B apartments and the office area, cleaning and providing minor repairs on AC units & Laundry machine.

Salary $8.00 per hour To work six days a week Please Contact: 243-8471 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Turks & Caicos Islanders should also send copy of their application to the Labour Board #195230

Location: Building #58, South Dock Road, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is Seeking: 1 Painter Duties Include: Preparing painting surfaces by washing walls, repairing holes, or removing old paint.

Mixing, matching, and applying paints and other finishes to various surfaces.

Providing decorative and faux finishes as the project requires. Handling planning and prep work in an efficient manner.

Must be able to work 5 days a week Salary: $7.00 per hour Please Contact: 231-5361 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interested Turks and Caicos Islander applicants must send a copy of their resume to the Labour Board

Location: Five Cays, next to the Fish Plant, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking a Kitchen Helper - Able to work flexible shift including weekends and holidays - Able to lift heavy objects, organized and able to work in a fast pace environment To work 5 days a week Salary is $8.00 an hour Please Contact: 332-5646 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Applicants who are Turks and Caicos Islanders can send copies of their resume to the Labour Board

#195229

Fresh Fish Ltd

Location: Sam’s building Downtown, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking a Supervisor Duties: Positive and disciplined attitude and aptitude toward work in a customer service oriented business. Excellent communication, inter-personal and customer service skills Trustworthy and reliable disposition Salary is $6.50 per hour To work 5 days a week Please Contact: 241-5678 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Applicants who are Turks and Caicos Islanders can send copies of their resume to the Labour Board

#195235

K2 Construction

Location: 30 Dock Yard Kewtown, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Seeking employment for the following: 2- Masons - $9.00 per hour 2- Carpenters - $9.00 per hour 1 – Painter -$9.00 per hour Duties: Install structures and fixtures, such as windows and molding. Measure, cut, or shape wood, plastic, and other materials.

Duties: Prepares surfaces prior to beginning work. Fabricates, alters, repairs, and maintains walls, sidewalks, street curbs, floors, bathroom showers, sink counters, partitions, manholes, and other related structures or surfaces. Lays blocks or bricks following blueprints, plans, or drawings.

Duties: Mixing matching, and applying paints and other finishes to various surfaces Must be able to work 5 days per week Position is vacant and Belongers are encouraged to apply Please contact: 246-4008 All application must be submitted through Labour Department

Florice Forbes Location: 215 Blue Hills, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking (1) Labourer Duties include general cleaning Must be able to work 5 days per week Salary is $6.25 Per Hour Please Contact: 247-7819 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interested Belongers must submit their application to the Labourer Board #195236

WILCA LTD Location: Unit 12 La Vista Azul, Turtle Cove, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking an INSURANCE ADJUSTER First time Work Permit Nature of position: Qualified Candidates must have Recognized Loss Adjusting Qualification, must hold an Engineering or Construction Degree and have International Experience.

The Candidate must also have a minimum of 25 years Adjusting Experience and must also have Catastrophe Adjusting Experience.

The applicant must have a Drivers License and a Clean Police Record. This position is Commission based remuneration.

Interested Persons should submit resume and references to Unit 12 La Vista Azul, Turtle Cove, Providenciales

Romana Williams

Lyndon Robinson /Wet-Spot Bar Location: 85 Five Cays, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Bar Maid Duties include preparing alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages for bar and patrons.

Interacting with customers, taking orders and serving and drinks To work 5 days a week Salary is $6.50 per hour Please Contact: 231-8448 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interested Belongers must submit their application to the Labourer Board #195242

Rochelle Vanalstine

Job Location: Wheeland, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Babysitter •Duties: To care for a child that has difficulties with speaking. To clean after the child (clothing, bottles etc) •Second language is preferred (Spanish) •Must be able to keep the child for days/ week during business travels To work six (6) hours per day / 6 days a week Salary is $6.50 per hour Please send resumes to: rrwilliams7989@gmail.com Belongers need only apply This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interested Turks and Caicos Islanders are encouraged to send a copy of their application to the Labour Board

Is seeking a Domestic Worker/Caregiver In Grand Turk Person must be reliable and trustworthy Individual will be required to work from 8am – 5pm Monday to Friday and occasionally on Saturdays Salary is $500.00 monthly Please Contact Rochelle Vanalstine on 331-1979 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Interest Turks & Caicos Islander applicants must send a copy of their resume to the Labour Board

Rejouvenance Spa LTD

Mary Cunningham

Location: 71B Man O War Rd, Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Seeking Out Call Spa/Massage Therapist Duties: Available to work 6 days a week including weekends and holidays, must own a vehicle in excellent working order with clean license Requirements: 5 years experience as a therapist with spa rated 4Stars or above with relevant International Beauty and Massage Therapist Degree and certification on IPL laser must have excellent written and verbal communication Salary: $6.75 per hour plus commission Position currently held by work permit holder Qualified candidates should send a resume to: frontdesk@rejouvenance.com or contact 649-432-7546 Applicants who are Turks and Caicos Islanders must submit their application to the Labor Board #195231

Location: Blue Hills, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Is seeking a Labourer Cleaning outside the property with sweeper, pick up yard waste and collect leaves, dispose of trash, clean windows, and door frames.

Cares for garden on a daily basis Willing to work 5 days per week Salary is $6.25 per hour Please Contact: 241-2123 This position is currently held by a Work Permit Holder Belongers are encouraged to send copy of resume to the Labour Board #195224

L. P Contractor Location: Complex Center, Leeward Highway, Turks and Caicos Islands Is seeking two (2) Mason Duties: Layering building materials such as bricks, concrete, tiles and other construction materials Is seeking two (2) Electricians Duties: Assemble, install, test, and maintain electrical or electronic wiring, equipment, appliances, apparatus, and fixtures, using hand tools and power tools.

Is seeking one (1) Carpenter Duties: Able to construct and repair building frameworks and structures such as stairways, doorframes, partitions, and rafters made from wood and other materials Also capable of installing kitchen cabinets, siding, and drywall Salary is $10.00 an hour , Must be able to work 6 days a week Please Contact: 345-8326 The Mason positions are currently held by Work Permit Holder and the other positions are new positions. Applicants who are Turks and Caicos Islanders can send copies of their resume to the Labour Board

Page 36

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

HEALTHY

LIFESTYLE Fourth child in Washington has coronavirus-related illness

A child in the Pasco, Washington, area has been diagnosed with a multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, an illness associated with COVID-19, said the Benton Franklin Health District.

The Tri-City Herald reports it’s one of four cases of the syndrome identified in Washington state and the first in the Tri-Cities area.

The child is under 10 and is hospitalized.

No additional information has been released to protect the family’s privacy.

Children diagnosed with the illness are healthy before developing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease.

Parents are advised to watch for symptoms such as fever or headache, abdominal pain with or without diarrhea, fatigue and respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, said Dr. John McGuire, chief of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Summer unlikely to curb coronavirus pandemic growth: study

The higher summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere are unlikely to significantly limit the growth of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Princeton University study published Monday in the journal Science.

Several statistical studies conducted over the past few months have shown a slight correlation between climate and the novel coronavirus -- the hotter and more humid it is, the less likely the virus is to spread.

But the findings remain preliminary, and much remains unknown about the exact relationship between climate and COVID-19.

The Princeton study does not rule out the correlation entirely but concludes that the impact of climate on the spread of the virus is “modest.”

“Our findings suggest, without effective control measures, strong outbreaks are likely in more humid climates and summer weather will not substantially limit pandemic growth,” the study said.

“We project that warmer or more humid climates will not slow the virus at the early stage of the pandemic,” said Rachel Baker, a postdoctoral research associate in the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI).

While climate, particularly humidity, plays a role in the spread of other coronaviruses and the flu, the study said a more important factor is the absence of widespread immunity to COVID-19.

“We do see some influence of climate on the size and timing of the pandemic, but, in general, because there’s so much susceptibility in the population, the virus will spread quickly no matter the climate conditions,” Baker said.

Baker said the spread of the virus seen in countries such as Brazil, Ecuador and Australia indicates that warmer conditions do little to halt the pandemic.

“It doesn’t seem that climate is regulating spread right now,” Baker said.

Without strong containment measures or a vaccine, the coronavirus may continue to infect a large proportion of the world’s population, the researchers said, and only become seasonal later, “after the supply of unexposed hosts is reduced.”

“Previously circulating human coronaviruses such as the common cold depend strongly on seasonal factors, peaking in the winter outside of the tropics,” said co-author Bryan Grenfell, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at PEI.

Pandemic puts up to 86mn children at risk of poverty The economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic could push as many as 86 million more children into poverty by the end of 2020, a joint study by Save the Children and UNICEF showed Wednesday.

That would bring the total number of children affected by poverty worldwide to 672 million, an increase of 15 percent over last year, the two aid agencies said in a statement.

Nearly two-thirds of those children overall live in subSaharan Africa and South Asia.

But the pandemic-

driven increase is expected to occur mainly in Europe and Central Asia, according to the study, which is based on World Bank and International Monetary Fund projections and population data from some 100 countries.

“The scale and depth of financial hardship among families threatens to roll back years of progress in reducing child poverty and to leave children deprived of essential services,” UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore is quoted as saying in the statement.

With immediate

and decisive action, “we can prevent and contain the pandemic threat facing the poorest countries and some of the most vulnerable children,” added Save the Children head Inger Ashing.

They are “highly vulnerable to even short periods of hunger and malnutrition -potentially affecting them for their whole life,” she warns in the statement.

The two organizations call on governments to rapidly expand their social security systems and school feeding to limit the effects of the pandemic.

Patrons under plastic: Restaurants get creative in virus era

Dining at a table where each person is enclosed by a clear plastic shield might look and sound futuristic, but it could be one way for some restaurants to reopen. It also might help out if your companion orders escargots, heavy on the garlic.

The prototype plastic shields are known as the “Plex’eat,” and they resemble big clear lampshades suspended from the ceiling. They are being showcased temporarily at H.A.N.D., a Parisian restaurant seeking a way to reopen its dining room as coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.

As restaurateurs around the world seek to resume in-person dining amid the pandemic, they want to adhere to social distancing rules while also trying to serve as many customers as health and safety measures will allow.

Some are putting mannequins at every other table to put some space between the actual customers, like at Augustas and Barbora, a restaurant in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

Some of its faux diners are dressed casually, while others look as though they are at a ball.

The clothes showcase the work of local fashion designers.

“We want to fill the space with fun things,” said owner Patrikas Ribas.

Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Simasius called the initiative a “perfect match of communal spirit and creativity working side by side.”

In Hofheim, Germany, the Beef’n Beer is using large teddy bears seated at some tables to keep diners properly spaced apart. They also ensure a cozy,

A man and a woman demonstrate dining under a plastic shield Wednesday, May 27, 2020 in a restaurant of Paris. less-sterile atmosphere.

At Amsterdam’s Mediamatic restaurant, the owners have erected small glass houses that surround each table, served by waiters in protective shields.

While many restaurants offered take-out and delivery during the health crisis to keep generating at least some income, such practices are less common in France, although Michelin starred chefs such as Alain Ducasse have started doing takeout service.

Owners are seeking solutions that will coax back customers while also easing their anxiety about catching the virus.

Mathieu Manzoni, the director of H.A.N.D, said he thinks the plastic shields are a “pretty, more poetic” solution for restaurateurs who fear that social distancing could cut their capacity by half or more.

“There is a bit of a panic,” Manzoni said.

Makers of the Plex’eat

say they have received more than 200 preorders around the world, including from France, the U.S. and Japan.

Designer Christophe Gernigon said he got the idea after visiting a store in Bangkok “with three individual domes with chairs where people would sit and listen to music.”

He merged the idea with the large face shields that have proliferated since the pandemic began, although there is no filtration system to keep any viruses from spreading.

Being French, there’s a version for more intimate dining, of course: a dome that cocoons its occupants in romantic isolation from the rest of the room.

Among other revamped restaurants across Europe:

At El Salamanca, a Barcelona beachfront restaurant known for paella, menus are gone and customers use their smart phones to scan a QR code to consult what is on offer.

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

CARIBBEAN WORLD

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 37

CARIBBEAN NEWS

NEWS NEWS

Cayman Islands Premier steadfast on keeping borders closed

While some Caribbean countries like Aruba, Antigua and St. Lucia are considering reopening their borders to tourists as early as next month, Cayman will not be going that route.

“I don’t believe that many tourists are going to want to come to a place which is rampant with COVID-19 and where hordes of people are sick and dying, and that’s what opening our borders at this time is likely to bring us,” Premier Alden McLaughlin said Friday as he commented on the news of regional borders being reopened.

Both Aruba and St. Lucia have announced tentative reopening of their borders for inbound travel in June or July.

While Cayman is projected to reopen its borders on 1 Sept., the premier said earlier this week that even that date is “not looking good”.

Cayman’s borders have been closed since March.

The closure followed the announcement of the country’s first COVID-19 case, an Italian cruise ship passenger who was brought on island suffering a cardiac emergency in late February.

He was treated at Health City Cayman Islands where he later tested positive for the virus.

He was a passenger aboard the Costa Luminosa cruise ship.

As of Friday, Cayman’s COVID-19 cases stood at 129.

Of those cases, 67 are active – of whom 12 are symptomatic and 55 are asymptomatic – 61 have recovered, and one, the Italian tourist, has died.

On Friday evening, the RCIPS announced that two of its uniformed officers had tested positive for the virus.

McLaughlin, addressing the planned reopening from regional partners at the daily COVID-19 press briefing, said “each country will have to make their own decisions based on their own particular circumstances and their assessment of the risks and the situation at the time”.

Border reopening plans for other Caribbean islands include various stipulations, such as COVID-19 clearance certificates for inbound passengers.

Some countries, like Hong Kong, have also installed temperature-testing equipment at its airport.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Lee has said testing of temperatures will not be an effective way of tracking potential COVID-19 cases, but it can be of some help later on in the pandemic.

“There are some diseases in which [temperature screening] is a lot more valuable. So, if, for example, we were going to put in temperature monitoring at the airport, I wouldn’t be at all resistant because it’ll have use in in the future certainly, even if I think that the relative use of it at the moment is limited,” he said.

McLaughlin, touching on the issue of temperature testing, agreed with Lee’s assessment on the ineffectiveness as he pointed to the statistics which show a majority of Cayman’s positive COVID-19 cases have been

Premier Alden McLaughlin. asymptomatic, meaning they did not have fevers.

He added, “The reality is that at this point, there is nothing out there that is sufficiently reliable to be able to say that you should allow someone into your country without any real risk.”

Cayman also is planning to implement antibody testing, which would determine if someone has already had COVID-19. The polymerase chain reaction testing that is under way at the moment shows if a person currently has the virus.

The premier said that, for the foreseeable future, anyone who comes to Cayman, whether they are Caymanian, permanent residents or work-permit holders, or they own a place here, they will have to be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days.

“We cannot risk introducing what may well be a much more virulent strain of the virus in Cayman; that would be absolutely disastrous,” he said. (Cayman Compass)

The Bahamas Gov’t to borrow $1.3 billion The Minnis all countries of the region, and administration will seek indeed the world, are facing parliamentary approval to similar fiscal situations and borrow $1.3 billion in the in almost every instance they 2020/2021 fiscal year, which are responding with expanded starts July 1. deficit funding to meet critical In his budget COVID-19 health care needs, communication today, Deputy to expand their social welfare Prime Minister and Minister of spending, to keep their people Finance Peter Turnquest said employed, and to keep their the fiscal deficit is budgeted economies stable. at some $1.3 billion, or “While we have sought 11.6 percent of GDP for the to trim where we could, our upcoming fiscal year. driving ethos has been to do all

“This is the largest we can to support Bahamians deficit to be incurred by any and to maintain as much government in the history of employment and economic The Bahamas,” he noted. activity as we can over the near

“This is indeed a term. ” testament to the monstrous Turnquest said the impact Hurricane Dorian and corresponding government COVID-19 have leveled back debt level is expected to rise to to back on our small, open nearly $9.5 billion, equating to economy. Almost uniformly, roughly 82.8 percent of GDP.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest.

Test kits worth $264,000 still unused in Bermuda

More than $260,000 worth of coronavirus test kits bought from the Cayman Islands have never been used, the health ministry has said.

The 12,000 kits, flown to the island from London on April 24, were part of an order placed by the Cayman Islands from a supplier on South Korea, but sold on to Bermuda at a cost of $264,000.

A spokeswoman explained that regular supplies from Britain meant that the tests — which had not been given emergency use authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration at the time they were bought — had not been needed so far.

She said last week: “We have not yet used these kits here in Bermuda.”

The spokeswoman added that donated kits from the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office, which already had FDA emergency use authorisation, arrived “so regularly that we haven’t had a need to use them yet”.

She said: “These are the kits the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory have used from the start and for continuity will continue to use.”

It was confirmed last month that Public Health England was expected to provide about 2,000 test kits a week to Bermuda.

David Burt, the Premier, said in statement to the House of Assembly last Friday that the kits delivered to the island and paid for by the UK’s conflict, security and stability fund had to that point included 15,000 PCR — polymerase chain reaction — tests.

Government House said today that the number of separate PCR tests that the UK has supplied to Bermuda, paid for by that fund, now stands at more than 18,000.

The health ministry spokeswoman explained that the tests bought from Cayman were made by a company called Seasun Biomaterials.

She added that when the South Korean coronavirus detection kits were bought by Bermuda they “were not FDA-approved, yet were under review”.

The spokeswoman said: “They subsequently received FDA EUA approval on April 27.

“In this instance, had we waited for the FDA EUA approval, we wouldn’t have been able to secure them.

“We trusted the South Korean approval, which then the USA approved.”

The Cayman Compass reported on April 8 that the UK Overseas Territory had received a shipment of 165,000 test kits bought by its government from Seasun Biomaterials, with a further 35,000 tests on their way via London.

It said: “The overall cost of the 200,000 kits was US$4.4 million, or US$22 per kit, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor.

“The Cayman Islands Government is picking up the bill for half the cost, while local philanthropist Susan Anne Olde donated the other half.”

The newspaper reported the next day that an agreement was reached for Bermuda to buy a chunk of the order.

Alden McLaughlin, the Cayman premier, told the Cayman Compass: “We have well in excess of what we need.

“We bought 200,000 because that is the smallest amount they were prepared to sell.”

A Bermuda Government spokeswoman said later that talks to finalise the size of the order continued and that when the kits arrived “they will need to be validated with our equipment to ensure we can use them”.

Mr Burt said on April 19 that 10,000 test kits bought from the Cayman Islands would arrive on an air-bridge flight from London on April 24.

Page 38

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

CARIBBEAN NEWS

The Bahamas AG to appeal citizenship ruling

The Office of the Attorney General plans to appeal a Supreme Court ruling, which found that anyone born in The Bahamas to either a Bahamian mother or father is entitled to citizenship at birth, regardless of the parents’ marital status.

This contradicts the longstanding requirement that children born in The Bahamas out of wedlock to Bahamian men and foreign women must wait until 18 to apply for citizenship.

The ruling could impact the immigration status of many people in The Bahamas.

“The matter is not fully completed but in our view the matter has sufficient public importance to warrant an immediate application,” Attorney General Carl Bethel said yesterday.

In his ruling, Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder said the legal position “must be that every person born in The Bahamas after July 9, 1973, shall become a citizen of The Bahamas at the date of his birth if at that date either of his parents is a citizen of The Bahamas, irrespective of the marital status of the parents at the time of birth”.

Justice Winder’s ruling hinged on whether Article 14(1) of The Bahamas constitution is

applicable when interpreting Article 6 of the constitution.

Article 6 provides that: “Every person born in The Bahamas after 9th July 1973 shall become a citizen of The Bahamas at the date of his birth if at that date either of his parents is a citizen of The Bahamas.”

Article 14(1) reads: “Any reference in this chapter to the father of a person shall, in relation to any person born out of wedlock other than a person legitimated before 10th July 1973, be construed as a reference to the mother of that person.”

According to the ruling, government attorneys argued that “the clear interpretation of Article 14(1)…is that it applies to any provision that is capable of including the father”.

However, Justice Winder concluded that Article 14(1) should not be applied to Article 6.

“Article 6 was clearly intended to be expansive, as reflected in the opening words, ‘every person’,” his ruling reads.

“Article 6 was intended to afford an automatic right to citizenship in circumstances where one parent was a Bahamian citizen.

The application (or misapplication) of Article 14(1) to Article 6 would take away that opportunity from the

child born out of wedlock to access citizenship where one of his parents may be Bahamian.”

Winder’s ruling sided with the view expressed in 2013 by the Constitutional Commission, chaired

by Sean McWeeney, QC, of which Bethel was also a member and signed the final report.

The commission noted that Article 6 is not meant to be discriminatory, but has been erroneously interpreted to result in discriminatory effects.

A 2016 referendum to address this matter and others concerning the ability of Bahamians to pass on their citizenship to children and spouses was overwhelmingly Attorney General Carl Bethel rejected by voters.

Under the proposed change A similar exercise in 2002 to the constitution, a Bahamian was also rejected. father of a person born outside While Justice Winder’s ruling of wedlock, after the coming into spoke clearly to the issue of the right operation of the amendment, would of a child born in The Bahamas out of have been able to pass his citizenship wedlock to a Bahamian father and a to that person subject to legal proof foreign mother, he did not come to a that he is the father. conclusion regarding the applicants

Had the referendum been in the case, who include children successful, it would also have allowed purportedly born to Bahamian men for a Bahamian woman to pass her out of wedlock to Jamaican and citizenship on to her child born to a Haitian women. foreign husband in a foreign country.

The matter was adjourned to It would have also allowed women to July 29, 2020, with Justice Winder pass on citizenship to their spouses, citing the need for proof of paternity as Bahamian men are able to do. to make a determination.

Businessman, doctor, technician found with rifles and kilos of cocaine in Tortola apartments

Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards today denied bail to a trio found with more than $1.7 million worth of cocaine, a quantity of ammunition, two firearms and $2,768 cash at two apartments on Tortola.

Businessman Korrey Stoutt — a USVI native with Belonger status — was charged alongside Dominican Republic natives Jordy Vargas and Dr Yamell Medina Acosta.

Stoutt was charged with ‘Possession of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct’, and ‘Landing Without Leave of an Immigration Officer’ but pleaded not guilty to those offences.

Stoutt was further charged with Breach of Curfew. He pleaded guilty to that offence.

The businessman, in the meantime, was also jointly charged with the two other accused persons for Possession of a Controlled Drug With Intent To Supply To Another, Unlawful Possession of an AR15 rifle, possession of 10.736 kilograms of cocaine, and possession of a Nato 5.56 rifle With An Obliterated Serial Number.

They all pleaded not guilty when they appeared before the Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, May 27.

Allegations

The court heard that on Saturday, May 23, police spotted Stoutt driving during curfew hours; heading to an apartment in Hannah’s Estate on Tortola.

He was reportedly

intercepted and members of the police Armed Response Unit were summoned to assist before Stoutt was asked to exit the vehicle.

He was informed that he was in violation of the ongoing curfew, as well as other Immigration-related offences.

“I have been here all the time. I never left, I’ve been sick.

I just lay low,” he reportedly responded.

Incriminating passport records?

where another search was also conducted.

Stoutt claimed he did not live at the apartment in Hannah’s Estate.

However, the two accused Dominican Republic natives who resided there allegedly refuted that claim and pointed officers to his room which had a photo of his wife, and contained some more of his belongings.

The court heard that a search commenced into his room and upon entering the room, Stoutt took a small grey bag containing travelling documents and a key to a Mercedes Benz and handed it to the police.

A bible containing the aforementioned cash was also found.

“That’s mine,” the accused businessman allegedly said.

While examining his passport, police reportedly retrieved a boarding pass bearing his name and the date, March 7, 2020. The boarding pass was from Tortola to the Dominican Republic.

A further examination of his passport revealed that the last recorded stamp of travel was an exit stamp from the Dominican Bricks of cocaine Republic to Puerto Rico on May 7.

It is also alleged that a

Police informed him cargo bag containing a number that the BVI’s ports of entry of bricks suspected to be cocaine were closed during that time. was found next to his bed. He Further investigations, therefore, was reportedly asked who the commenced into the matter. bag belonged to, and he replied: “I have nothing to say.”

Gun found at first The other two residence defendants were also asked about the drug find, but they

It is alleged that he was replied: “I don’t know anything taken to his Fort Hill residence, about that.” where a search warrant was A further search executed. During the search, a uncovered a clear vacuum-sealed firearm was allegedly found. bag with a brick suspected to be He was also taken to his cocaine and a container with an apartment in Hannah’s Estate automatic rifle inside.

‘I’m not resigning’, says Trinidad National Security minister

National Security Minister Stuart Young says he will not resign amidst calls for him to do so as a result of the controversy surrounding the visit of Vene¬zuela Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to Trinidad.

Speaking during the Ministry of Health’s virtual news conference yesterday, Young pointed to inaccurate media reporting as the driving force behind calls for his resignation.

Rodriguez, who is sanctioned by the US, Canada and the European Union, visited Trinidad on March 27. She arrived here on a PDVSA plane— which is also sanctioned by the US.

The US Embassy has since stated Rodriguez is subject to travel sanctions that are binding on all Rio Treaty parties, and T&T is a party to the treaty.

Young addressed the issue at a Senate sitting on May 13 and was quoted in the Express as saying he spoke with US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Joseph Mondello, and the issue of the breach of the Rio Treaty did not come up.

Mondello responded in a statement, disclosing he did in fact raise concerns with Young about Rodriguez’ ¬visit and T&T’s obligation under the Rio Treaty.

With questions being raised as to the conflicting information coming from Young and Mondello, Young issued another statement, saying his comments in the Parliament were misconstrued because he never said the ambassador did not raise the Rio Treaty, but that the ambassador did not ¬specifically speak to breaches of the treaty.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses has since weighed in on the issue, saying T&T recognises Nicolas Maduro and not Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s president and is not bound by the Rio Treaty and the travel restrictions imposed on Rodriquez.

Calls have, however, come from various quarters for Young to resign, including in a Sunday Express ¬editorial dated May 17.

Asked during the news conference yesterday whe¬ther he intended to resign, Young said he sees no ¬reason why he should.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

No rent holiday ‘Time to end lockdown, says in Jamaica The Bahamas Opposition leader

With the government expected to bring to Parliament today a resolution to extend the state of public emergency put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis called on the Minnis administration to end lockdowns, and gave early notice that the official opposition will not support an extension.

The state of emergency allowed the prime minister as the competent authority to impose a 24-hour curfew and weekend lockdowns to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The Nassau Guardian understands that a 14 to 30-day extension was being considered yesterday.

“I don’t know if we can support any more of these lockdowns,” Davis said.

He added, “It and of itself is not the answer. That has to be accommodated by many other things and we don’t seem to have those other things to make a lockdown effective.

“I think the Bahamian people are responsible enough that once they understand it, they will do it. So, you don’t have to force them.”

Asked if he was calling for the end of the restrictions, Davis replied, “Yes.”

Governor General C.A. Smith declared a state of public emergency in The Bahamas on March 18. It has been extended twice already.

It is currently set to expire

Tenants in Jamaica who may be taking advantage of stalled eviction proceedings because of scaled-down operations at the island’s courts will soon have their “day of reckoning”, warns chairman of the Rent Assessment Board Rose Bennett-Cooper.

According to the Jamaica Observer, for the past three months she’s been working with tenants and landlords to find amicable solutions to the problems spawned by COVID-19, the global pandemic which she said has “significantly impacted the landscape of landlord and tenant” [relations].

“You have circumstances where the tenant doesn’t have the money and the landlord needs the money and cannot afford to not be paid. Those are the hard situations where the landlord is the one that ends up just having to ‘hug up’ the problem,” Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader she told the Jamaica Observer, yesterday. “Because Philip Brave Davis. here is the rub: You can’t get an eviction during this we are having now, given the low period because the process that you have to undergo number of new cases, the decrease to get that eviction is pretty much on hold.”

To evict a tenant a landlord first has to serve in COVID hospitalizations, the him with a notice of eviction, wait for that notice to decrease in the number of ICU expire, and then — if the tenant refuses to leave — beds, the system is performing go to court to get a court order. well,” she said.

But operations have been scaled down

“And we would certainly share that information with in court across the country, a ripple effect of the the prime minister to guide his Government’s measures to curtail the spread of timetable for reopening of the the virus that has so far infected more than 500 Jamaicans and left nine people dead. country.

Bennett-Cooper pointed out, however, that

Since the state of this hold on evictions will eventually come to an emergency was declared, the prime minister has imposed a end and bad tenants should not see it as a free pass.

“I don’t want my saying that the system is short-lived national grocery- now somewhat stalled as it relates to evictions to be shopping schedule, a five-day an encouragement to bad tenants who say, ‘Oh, we complete lockdown and a curfew. got an eviction holiday,’ because that is not so,” she

The curfew mandates that stressed. residents only leave their houses She anticipates that once the courts are back for essential trips to places such as the grocery store, pharmacy or gas to some level of normal operations eviction cases will be fast-tracked. Bennett-Cooper also cautioned station.

The prime minister has tenants that COVID-19 should not be viewed as an relaxed restrictions and extended opportunity to stop paying rent, thus allowing that hours of operation for some debt to simply pile up.

“A day of reckoning is coming, and it businesses in recent weeks. doesn’t make sense to put yourself in that position.

You don’t want to say, ‘Hip hip hooray, COVID has allowed me the opportunity to not pay rent for a while, and it’s going to take the landlord a very long time to be able to get back the money and evict me because the court process is going to be bogged up when they reopen,’” she cautioned. There are also security missions,” the Coast statement. implications, she explained, for the credit rating of Guard said in a statement on The seizure of just individuals who develop a history of not honouring Sunday. under 2,000 kilograms of their debts. “If you end up with this kind of bad

For 62 days it was cocaine, worth $60 million, credit, the day may come when you want to buy your house or get a mortgage and this kind of deployed to the western was done in conjunction history may have an impact on that. So it’s not an Caribbean Sea as part with an armed helicopter encouragement to persons to think of this as a rentof Operation Martillo, a squadron and Panamanian law free holiday,” she added. “multinational detection, enforcement, according to the

As the local economy reels from the effects monitoring, and interdiction statement. of COVID-19, layoffs and job cuts have left many operation that consists of While deployed on unable to cope.

Incomes have shrunk or dried up 20 participating nations the mission, the Escanaba also completely while expenses such as rent remain the working together to counter rescued four people from a same. transnational organized crime disabled boat that had become

Bennett-Cooper cited anecdotal cases in networks and illicit trafficking stranded in 14-foot seas about which both tenant and landlord have lost their in the waters along Central 100 miles north of Colombia, jobs and the homeowner needs the rent to cover America,” according to the the statement said. mortgage payments; or retirees who were relying on rent to survive are now faced with unemployed tenants who are unable to pay.

She has been offering a range of suggestions, encouraging them to find solutions that work for

Vision of the Seas has listeners. both sides. These include, for tenants who are able, been docked here since Tuesday He said that his paying the rent in advance to help out their landlord and could remain there until government is expecting the who may be faced with a challenge. She has also Thursday, as the government results of those tests by Thursday suggested to landlords, who have had no issues with administer COVID-19 tests on morning. tenants in the past to allow late payments or defer the 356 Vincentians.

“They may even come payments for up to three months and then resume

“A certain number were back today, this evening, so based on a mutually agreed payment plan. Some tested negative on the rapid test you are not going to have any have taken that suggestion on board, she said, but and those disembarked. I was disembarking until probably as of June the three-month grace period will be up advised by the Health Services tomorrow [Thursday] of the and rent will again be due. But with the economy Committee that they were put general body because that PCR not yet fully reopened and many poeple still laid into quarantine. But everybody test, which is the gold standard. off, or surviving on less income, it is unclear how has been tested PCR and those They will tell us if anybody has landlords and their tenants will go forward from tests would have been done to go into government appointed there. yesterday [Tuesday] afternoon quarantine or into isolation or to

It appears, though, that finding an amicable sometime before 4 o’clock to go home to be quarantined for solution is better than trying to fight it out in court.

Trinidad,’ Gonsalves told radio the 14 days,” Gonsalves said. at the end of this month.

Asked yesterday whether the prime minister had indicated plans to extend the restrictions, Davis replied, “Last time y’all asked him about me, he said he don’t listen to Brave Davis…

“You would expect that we would be in contact with each other at least to talk ourselves through this, but he’s the competent authority, and so he doesn’t need any advice because he is the competent authority.”

Davis said lockdowns and curfews are “not sufficient”.

“If you’re locking down, it has to be accompanied by other things like testing, contact tracing, isolation,” the opposition leader said.

“We don’t know what they’re doing. What is the rate of their testing? We have less than 300,000 persons on this island.

Why have we not tested them all by now? Or at least a significant amount of them?”

The Ministry of Health said yesterday that 2,026 people have been tested in the country to date.

There have been 100 confirmed cases; 43 are active (six of whom are hospitalized), 46 have recovered and 11 have died.

Speaking at a press conference last week when the number of cases was 97, Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis, health advisor to the prime minister, said The Bahamas was recording progress in the fight against COVID-19.

“Given the trajectory that

Coast Guard crew returns to Boston after $60 million Caribbean cocaine bust

The crew of the Coast Guard vessel Escanaba returned Saturday to their home port in Boston after a two-month excursion to the Caribbean where they worked with an international antidrug smuggling operation and seized nearly 2,000 kilograms of cocaine, according to Coast Guard officials.

The Escanaba is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter with a crew of 100 that regularly engages in “maritime enforcement and homeland

Vincentians on cruise liner test positive for COVID-19

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves confirmed that 29 nationals on board the cruise liner, Vision of the Seas, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that has killed more than 351 000 and infected 5.6 million others worldwide.

Speaking on the stateowned NBC Radio confirmed media reports in Trinidad and Tobago that the nationals from St Vincent and the Grenadines, who are among 356 being repatriated, had tested positive for the virus after taking rapid tests.

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CARIBBEAN NEWS

NEWS

Protesters torch Minneapolis police station in violent night

MINNEAPOLIS — Thick smoke hovered over Minneapolis on Friday, hours after cheering protesters torched a police station that officers abandoned as a third night of violent protests flared over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Police evacuated the 3rd Precinct station, the focus of many of the protests, late Thursday to protect employees, a spokesman said. Livestream video showed protesters entering the building, where intentionally set fires activated smoke alarms and sprinklers.

President Donald Trump threatened action, prompting a warning from Twitter for “glorifying violence.”

Dozens of fires were also set in nearby St. Paul, where nearly 200 businesses were damaged or looted. Protests spread across the U.S., fueled by outrage over Floyd’s death, and years of violence against African Americans at the hands of police.

Demonstrators clashed with officers in New York and blocked traffic in Columbus, Ohio, and Denver.

Trump threatened to bring Minneapolis “under control,” calling the protesters “thugs” and tweeting that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The tweet drew another warning from Twitter, which said the comment violated the platform’s rules, but the company did not remove

Trump also blasted the “total lack of leadership” in Minneapolis.

A visibly tired and frustrated Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made his first public

appearance of the night early Friday at City Hall and took responsibility for evacuating the precinct, saying it had become too dangerous for officers. As Frey continued, a reporter cut across loudly with a question: “What’s the plan here?”

“With regard to?” Frey responded. Then he added: “There is a lot of pain and anger right now in our city. I understand that ... What we have seen over the past several hours and past couple of nights here in terms of looting is unacceptable.”

He defended the city’s lack of engagement with looters — only a handful of arrests across the first two nights of violence — and said, “We are doing absolutely everything that we can to keep the peace.” He said National Guard members were stationed in locations to help stem looting, including at banks, grocery stores and pharmacies.

The Minnesota State Patrol arrested a CNN television crew early Friday as the journalists reported on the unrest. While live on air, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was handcuffed and led away. A producer and a photojournalist for CNN were also taken away in handcuffs.

The Minnesota State Patrol said the journalists were among four people arrested as troopers were “clearing the streets and restoring order,” and they were released after being confirmed to be media members.

CNN said on Twitter that the arrests were “a clear violation of their First Amendment rights.”

Firefighters worked Friday to contain a number of blazes as National Guard troops blocked access to streets where

businesses had been damaged.

They marched side by side and block by block as they expanded a perimeter around a heavily damaged area.

Protests first erupted Tuesday, a day after Floyd’s death in a confrontation with police captured on widely seen citizen video. In the footage, Floyd can be seen pleading as officer Derek Chauvin presses his knee against him. As minutes pass, Floyd slowly stops talking and moving.

Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard at the Minneapolis mayor’s request.

The Guard tweeted minutes after the precinct burned that it had activated more than 500 soldiers across the metro area. A couple dozen Guard members, armed with assault-style rifles, blocked a street Friday morning near a Target store that has sustained heavy damage by looters.

The Guard said a “key objective” was to make sure firefighters could respond to calls, and said in a followup tweet that soldiers would assist the Minneapolis Fire Department. But no move was made to put out the 3rd Precinct fire. Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Tyner said fire crews could not safely respond to blazes at the precinct station and some surrounding buildings.

Earlier Thursday, dozens of businesses across the Twin Cities boarded up their windows and doors in an effort to prevent looting, with Minneapolisbased Target announcing it was temporarily closing two dozen area stores. Minneapolis shut down nearly its entire lightrail system and all bus service through Sunday out of safety concerns.

NASA chief “all in” for Tom Cruise to film on space station

Tom Cruise poses for photos during a red carpet event for the movie “Mission: Impossible - Fallout” at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing, China.

NASA is rolling out the International Space Station’s red carpet for Tom Cruise to make a movie in orbit.

The space agency’s administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said before Wednesday’s planned launch of two NASA astronauts aboard a SpaceX rocket that Elon Musk’s company is already getting customers eager to blast off.

Cruise is one of them.

Bridenstine said he’ll leaving it to Cruise and SpaceX to provide the mission details.

“I will tell you this: NASA has been in talks with Tom Cruise and, of course, his team, and we will do everything we can to make it a successful mission, including opening up the International Space Station,” he told The Associated Press.

Asked about Cruise filming on the space station, Musk told “CBS This Morning,” “Actually, I think that remains to be seen. We are supportive and I think NASA is supportive of anything that captures the imagination of the public.”

Bridenstine said the whole reason NASA created “this commercial marketplace” is so SpaceX, Boeing and other private companies can attract customers besides the U.S. government.

That will drive down costs to American taxpayers, he said, and increase access to space for all types of people — celebrities included.

“I don’t admit this very often ... but I was inspired to become a Navy pilot because when I was in elementary school, I watched the movie ‘Top Gun,’” the 44-year-old Bridenstine said.

Cruise starred as Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the 1986 film. A sequel is due out later this year.

”The question is, ‘Can Tom Cruise make a new movie that inspires the next generation Elon Musk.’ And if he can do that, then we’re all for it.

NASA is all in,” Bridenstine said.

Boston Marathon canceled for 1st time in 124-year history

Organizers canceled the Boston Marathon on Thursday for the first time in its history, bowing to the social distancing requirements of the coronavirus outbreak and ending a 124-year run that had persisted through two World Wars, a volcanic eruption and even another pandemic.

The race, which draws a field of 30,000 and already had been postponed from April 20 to Sept. 14, will be replaced by a virtual event in which participants who verify that they ran 26.2 miles (42.2 km) on their own will receive their finisher’s medal.

“It became clear as this crisis

developed that Sept. 14 was less and less plausible,” Mayor Marty Walsh said at a news conference outside City Hall, where runners traditionally gather for a pre-race pasta dinner.

“This is a challenge, but meeting tough challenges is what the Boston Marathon is all about,” Walsh said, invoking the response to the finish line bombings seven years ago. “It’s a symbol of our city’s and our commonwealth’s resilience. So it’s incumbent upon all of us to dig deep, like a marathon runner, like we did in 2013, and keep that spirit alive.”

Although the title of Boston

Marathon champion is contested by a few dozen elite athletes, the field includes more than 30,000 recreational and charity runners, with as many as 1 million people lined up along the course trek from Hopkinton to Boston’s Back Bay. That presented organizers with a social distancing problem that won’t be solved by the fall.

“There’s no way to hold this usual race format without bringing large numbers of people into close proximity,” Walsh said.

“While our goal and our hope was to make progress in containing the virus and recovering our economy, this kind of event would not be

responsible or realistic on Sept. 14 or any time this year.”

The longest-running annual marathon in the world, the Boston Marathon began in 1897 when 15 men drew a starting line in the dirt in Ashland and headed for the city to commemorate the first modern Olympic Games the previous year. In 1918, the format was modified to a relay due to World War I; the 2013 race was stopped when two bombs exploded at the finish line, several hours after the winners had finished but while many recreational runners were still on the course.

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Four Minneapolis officers fired after death of black man

Four Minneapolis officers involved in the arrest of a black man who died in police custody were fired Tuesday, hours after a bystander’s video showed an officer kneeling on the handcuffed man’s neck, even after he pleaded that he could not breathe and stopped moving.

Mayor Jacob Frey announced the firings on Twitter, saying “This is the right call.”

The man’s death Monday night was under investigation by the FBI and state law enforcement authorities. It immediately drew comparisons to the case of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in 2014 in New York after he was placed in a chokehold by police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe.

In a post on his Facebook page, Frey apologized Tuesday to the black community for the officer’s treatment of the man, who was later identified as 46-year-old George Floyd, who worked security at a restaurant.

“Being Black in America should not be a death sentence. For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a Black man’s neck. Five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you’re supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense,” Frey posted.

Police said the man matched the description of a suspect in a forgery case at a grocery store, and that he resisted arrest.

The video starts with the shirtless man on the ground, and does not show what happened in the moments prior. The unidentified officer is kneeling on his neck, ignoring his pleas. “Please, please, please, I can’t breathe. Please, man,” said Floyd, who has his face against the pavement.

Police did not immediately respond to a request for Chauvin’s service record. News accounts show he was one of six officers who fired their weapons in the 2006 death of Wayne Reyes, whom police said pointed a sawed-off shotgun at officers after stabbing two people.

Chauvin also shot and wounded a man in 2008 in a struggle after Chauvin and his partner responded to a reported domestic assault.

Protesters filled the intersection Tuesday evening in the street where Floyd died, chanting and carrying banners that read, “I can’t breathe” and “Jail killer KKKops.”

People gather and pray around a makeshift memorial, Tuesday, May 26, 2020, in Minneapolis, They eventually marched about 2 1/2 near the site where a black man, who was taken into police custody the day before, later died. miles to a city police precinct, with

Floyd also moans. One of but said the cause of death was some protesters damaging windows, the officers tells him to “relax.” The pending. a squad car and spraying graffiti on man calls for his mother and says: Floyd had worked security the building.

“My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, for five years at a restaurant called A line of police in riot gear everything hurts ... I can’t breathe.” Conga Latin Bistro and rented a eventually confronted the protesters, As bystanders shout their concern, home from the restaurant owner, firing tear gas and projectiles. Some one officer says, “He’s talking, so he’s Jovanni Thunstrom. protesters kicked canisters back breathing.”

He was “a good friend, person toward police. Some protesters

But Floyd stops talking and and a good tenant,” the restaurateur stacked shopping carts to make a slowly becomes motionless under told the Star Tribune. “He was family. barricade at a Target store across the the officer’s restraint. The officer does His co-workers and friends loved street from the station, and though not remove his knee until the man is him.” steady rain diminished the crowd, loaded onto a gurney by paramedics.

Ben Crump, a prominent tense skirmishes stretched late into Several witnesses had gathered on civil rights and personal injury the evening. a nearby sidewalk, some recording attorney, said he had been hired by Experts on police use of the scene on their phones. The Floyd’s family. He called firing the force told The Associated Press that bystanders become increasingly officers “a good first step on the road the officer clearly restrained the agitated. One man yells repeatedly. to justice” for Floyd but said the city man too long. They noted the man “He’s not responsive right now!” Two must “fix the policies and training was under control and no longer witnesses, including one woman deficiencies that permitted this fighting. Andrew Scott, a former who said she was a Minneapolis unlawful killing to occur.”

Boca Raton, Florida, police chief who firefighter, yell at the officers to Minneapolis Police Chief now testifies as an expert witness check the man’s pulse. “Check his Medaria Arradondo said the in use-of-force cases, called Floyd’s pulse right now and tell me what it department would conduct a death “a combination of not being is!” she said. full internal investigation. Police trained properly or disregarding

At one point, an officer says: did not identify the officers, but their training.”

“Don’t do drugs, guys.” And one man attorney Tom Kelly confirmed he “He couldn’t move. He was yells, “Don’t do drugs, bro? What is is representing Derek Chauvin, the telling them he couldn’t breathe, that? What do you think this is?” officer seen with his knee on Floyd’s and they ignored him,” Scott said. “I

The Hennepin County neck. Kelly declined to comment can’t even describe it. It was difficult medical examiner identified Floyd further. to watch.”

North Korea’s Kim, in first appearance in weeks, vows to bolster nuclear ‘deterrence’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted a meeting to discuss the country’s nuclear capabilities, state media said on Sunday, marking his first appearance in three weeks after a previous absence sparked global speculation about his health.

Ruling Workers’ Party officials wore face masks to greet Kim as he entered the meeting of the party’s powerful Central Military Commission, state television showed, but no one including Kim was seen wearing a mask during the meeting.

Amid stalled denuclearization talks with the United States, the meeting discussed measures to bolster North Korea’s armed forces and “reliably contain the persistent big or small military threats from the hostile forces,” state news agency KCNA said.

The meeting discussed “increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country and putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation,” adopting “crucial measures for considerably increasing the firepower strike ability of the artillery pieces,” it said.

Kim has made an unusually small number of outings in the past two months, with his absence from a key anniversary prompting speculation about his condition, as Pyongyang has stepped up measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Korea says it has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but South Korea’s intelligence agency has said it cannot rule out that the North has had an outbreak.

Victim in police encounter had started new life in Minnesota

Before he died after being pinned for minutes beneath a Minneapolis police officer’s knee, George Floyd was suffering the same fate as millions of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic: out of work and looking for a new job.

Floyd moved to Minneapolis from his native Houston several years ago in hopes of finding work and starting a new life, said Christopher Harris, Floyd’s lifelong friend. But he lost his job as a bouncer at a restaurant when Minnesota’s governor issued a stay-at-home order.

On Monday night, an employee at a Minneapolis grocery store called police after Floyd allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.

In widely circulated cellphone video of the subsequent arrest, Floyd, who was black, can be seen on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back while Officer Derek Chauvin presses him to the pavement with his knee on

Floyd’s neck. The video shows Chauvin, who is white, holding Floyd down for minutes as Floyd complains he can’t breathe. The video ends with paramedics lifting a limp Floyd onto a stretcher and placing him in an ambulance.

Four officers were fired Tuesday; on Wednesday, Mayor Jacob Frey called for Chauvin to be criminally charged. Frey made no mention of the other three officers, who were also at the scene.

Police say Floyd was resisting arrest, but Chauvin’s lawyer has declined to comment and the other officers have not been publicly identified.

Floyd, 46, grew up in Houston’s Third Ward, one of the city’s predominantly black neighborhoods, where he and Harris met in middle school. At 6 feet, 6 inches, Floyd emerged as a star tight end for Jack Yates High School and played in the 1992 state championship game in the Houston Astrodome.

Yates lost to Temple, 38-20.

Donnell Cooper, one

This undated handout photo provided by Christopher Harris shows George Floyd. of Floyd’s former classmates, said he remembered watching Floyd score touchdowns. Floyd towered over everyone and earned the nickname “gentle giant.”

“Quiet personality but a beautiful spirit,” Cooper said.

His death “definitely caught me by surprise. It’s just so sad, the world we’re living in now.”

Floyd was charged in 2007 with armed robbery in a home invasion in Houston and in 2009 was sentenced to five years in prison as part of a plea deal, according to court documents.

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WORLD NEWS Miami mom faked son’s abduction, faces murder charge

US revokes Hong Kong’s special status as anger grows over China law

The United States has revoked Hong Kong’s special status under US law, opening the way for the city to be stripped of trading privileges, as Washington accused China of trampling on the territory’s autonomy.

The decision came as China’s rubber-stamp parliament was set to vote Thursday on a new Hong Kong security law, a move that has triggered renewed protests.

Under legislation passed last year to support Hong Kong’s This photo provided by Miami-Dade Corrections and pro-democracy protesters, the Rehabilitation shows Patricia Ripley.

US administration must certify

A Miami woman faked her son’s abduction that the city still enjoys the after trying to drown him twice, with witnesses freedoms promised by Beijing rescuing the boy from a canal the first time, and when it negotiated with Britain the second attempt ending in the boy’s death, to take back the colony.

“No reasonable person officials said Saturday.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine can assert today that Hong Fernandez Rundle said Patricia Ripley, 45, is facing Kong maintains a high degree attempted and premeditated murder charges and of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” said being held in jail with no bond.

The boy, Alejandro Ripley, 9, was autistic Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and nonverbal. He was found floating in a canal adding the trade hub “does not continue to warrant” its special Friday.

In an interview Saturday, Fernandez status. determination Rundle said Ripley apparently tried to drown her The son an hour earlier at a different canal but nearby means that Hong Kong could trading privileges -residents heard yelling and rescued him. Then, lose Fernandez Rundle said, Ripley drove her son to including lower tariffs than the mainland -- with the world’s another canal.

“Unfortunately when she took him to largest economy.

Donald the second canal, and there was no one there,” President Fernandez Rundle said in an interview with The Trump will ultimately decide Associated Press. “She tried it once, and people which actions to take, said rescued him. He was alive. He could have stayed David Stilwell, the top State alive. She intended, from all the facts of the case, Department official for East Asia.

“The steps will be to kill him.”

Fernandez Rundle said an autopsy was considered and they will be as being done on the boy Saturday to determine if he targeted as possible to change had other injuries or perhaps had something toxic behavior,” Stilwell told reporters, in his system. She said no decision has been made while acknowledging it was yet on whether prosecutors will seek the death unlikely Beijing would change course. penalty.

He said the United

Fernandez Rundle also noted that because the boy was nonverbal, he could not have told States did not want to hurt the his initial rescuers what had happened with his people of Hong Kong, adding: “This decision was made by the mother.

“He can’t say anything to his rescuers. We talk government in Beijing, and not about children being voiceless. This is another by the US.” National level of voicelessness. He was incapable of saying China’s People’s Congress is expected that ‘mommy put me in the water.’”

The father, Aldo Ripley, broke down in Thursday to take another step on tears after a bond court hearing. Between sobs, he said, “We love Alejandro, and we got aggrieved with whatever they said about my wife. It’s not real.”

Rupert Murdoch’s

The lawyer, Nelson Rodriguez-Varela, said Australian flagship media he was gathering a legal team “so she has the group News Corp announced opportunity to vindicate her good name” and Thursday it will stop printing asked the public to reserve judgment for when more than 100 regional and more information comes out. local newspapers, blaming a

“There is obviously a great deal of support collapse in advertising made for her,” he said. “By all accounts, she has been worse by the coronavirus an excellent mother, an excellent person, a great pandemic. family as you can see from the people who are The decision comes here.” after News Corp announced

Miami-Dade police department says the on 1 April it was temporarily mother first claimed she was ambushed by two halting printing of around 60 black men who demanded drugs and took her community newspapers and is cellphone, tablet and son, before fleeing Thursday expected to cost hundreds of night, prompting an Amber Alert in the area south jobs. of Miami.

The company said the

The boy’s body was pulled out of a golf bulk of its regional and local course canal early Friday as police continued to papers would shift to digitalinterrogate the woman. only publishing by 29 June,

An arrest affidavit says she provided with 76 papers moving online “conflicting statements,” and finally was confronted and 35 other titles closing with testimonies of witnesses and video footage permanently. showing the first attempt to push the boy into the The move echoes a canal.

the security law that would ban secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference -- a step that Hong Kong activists say abolishes basic freedoms.

- Bipartisan support China’s treatment of Hong Kong has provoked rare bipartisan support during the divisive tumult of the Trump administration and ahead of November’s presidential election.

“The United States must take a stand against China’s crackdown in Hong Kong,” the campaign office for Democratic rival Joe Biden said, welcoming Pompeo’s announcement.

Hong Kongers are now waiting to see how the decision will affect the city.

The Hang Seng Index on the city’s stock exchange was down 1.8 percent around lunchtime.

Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy activist who has lobbied for trade sanctions, said Beijing could not expect foreign countries to ignore what is happening to such an important global trade hub.

“Hong Kong is not just a Chinese city, it’s a global metropolis where the international community is a stakeholder,” he told reporters.

But Holden Chow, a proBeijing lawmaker, said Beijing’s national security laws would make the city safer for businesses after last year’s unrest.

“The United States should not intervene in our internal affairs and should stop intimidating us,” he said.

- Anthem law Washington’s decision came as fresh protests broke out in Hong Kong on Wednesday -- this time over another controversial proposed law

that criminalizes insults to the national anthem with up to three years in jail.

Police surrounded the city’s legislature where the bill was being debated, fired pepper ball rounds at protesters and arrested more than 300 people, mostly for unlawful assembly.

“It’s like a de facto curfew now,” Nathan Law, a prominent pro-democracy advocate, told AFP. “I think the government has to understand why people are really angry.”

China is determined to avoid a repeat of massive protests last year, triggered by an unsuccessful bid to fast-track extraditions to the mainland, in which the Hong Kong legislature was trashed by demonstrators.

- Growing unrest Under the “one country, two systems” model agreed before the city’s return from Britain to China, Hong Kong is supposed to be guaranteed certain liberties until 2047 that are denied to those on the mainland.

The mini-constitution that has governed Hong Kong’s affairs since the handover obliges the territory’s authorities to enact national security laws.

But an effort to do so in 2003 was shelved after huge protests by Hong Kongers.

China is motivated by fear of a younger Hong Kong generation that “does not agree with the political system of the Communist Party,” said Hua Po, an independent political commentator based in Beijing.

“If they lose control over Hong Kong, the impact on the Chinese mainland will be huge,” Hua said.

Beijing has been infuriated by Hong Kongers -especially football fans -- booing the national anthem to signal dissatisfaction with China.

News Corp to stop printing more than 100 Australian papers global trend in the troubled media industry, as falling readerships and the continued rise of Google and Facebook eats into media advertising revenues.

News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller said the permanent changes had been brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, which had impacted the sustainability of local publishing.

“Print advertising spending which contributes the majority of our revenues, has accelerated its decline,” he said in a statement.

“Consequently, to meet these changing trends, we are reshaping News Corp Australia to focus on where consumers and businesses are moving.”

The company said the changes would “regretfully lead to job losses” but more than 375 journalists would continue covering community and regional news.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that there were previously about 1,200 people employed in News Corp’s Australian regional and community division.

Papers in nearly every state and territory will be impacted by the decision, including dozens in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

The announcement follows a series of media closures, including national wire AAP, which is due to shut down within weeks unless a last-ditch buyout bid can save it.

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WORLD NEWS

White House imposes coronavirus travel ban on Brazil

President Donald Trump on Sunday further limited travel from the world’s coronavirus hotspots by denying entry to foreigners coming from Brazil, which is second to the U.S. in the number of confirmed cases.

Trump had already banned certain travelers from China, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland and, to a lesser extent, Iran. He has not moved to ban travel from Russia, which has the world’s thirdhighest caseload.

Trump had said last week that he was considering limiting travel from Brazil.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany cast the step announced Sunday as another “decisive action to protect our country” by Trump, whose management of the crisis has come under sharp scrutiny.

The U.S. leads the world with more than 1.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and a death toll that is expected to surpass 100,000 later this week, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil, now Latin America’s hardest-hit country, is second, with more than 347,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths. Third on the list is Russia, with more than 344,000 reported cases and more than 3,500 deaths.

The White House did not immediately respond to queries about whether a travel ban would be imposed on Russia.

“Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil do not become a source of additional infections in our country,” McEnany said.

Filipe Martins, who advises Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on international affairs, said the U.S. was treating Brazil as it had other populous

countries and suggested the news media were overplaying Trump’s ban.

“By temporarily banning the entry of Brazilians to the U.S., the American government is following previously established quantitative parameters that naturally reach a country as populous as ours,” Martins tweeted. “There isn’t anything specifically against Brazil. Ignore the hysteria from the press.”

Bolsonaro has downplayed the coronavirus by repeatedly calling it a “little flu” and insisting that closing businesses and issuing stay-athome recommendations will ultimately cause more hardship by wrecking the economy.

Bolsonaro fired his first health minister for going against him and backing restrictions put in place by Brazil’s governors. His second minister also resigned after openly breaking with Bolsonaro over widespread prescription of the antimalarial drug chloroquine for coronavirus treatment.

Trump said in an interview broadcast in the U.S. on Sunday that he had completed a course of a related drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a line of defense against becoming infected.

Bolsonaro’s approach has mirrored that of Trump, who in the early days of the outbreak sought to downplay the severity and suggest the few cases that existed in the U.S. would “just disappear.” After agreeing to encourage Americans to practice social distancing, Trump began to say the “cure can’t be worse than the problem itself.” He has been aggressively pushing governors to allow businesses to reopen and traveling more himself.

Meanwhile, the number of cases in Brazil has continued

President Donald Trump points during a “Rolling to Remember Ceremony,” to honor the nation’s veterans and POW/ MIA, from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House, Friday, May 22, 2020, in Washington. to surge, pushing hospitals in multiple states to the brink of collapse and causing the Amazon city of Manaus to bury people in mass graves. The pace of deaths has been accelerating and, with a peak still approaching, the country has only an interim health minister.

Brazil has more than 360,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to health ministry data released Sunday night, meaning it trails only the U.S. in the Johns Hopkins University tally. Experts consider it a vast undercount due to insufficient testing. The ministry reported more than 22,600 deaths.

The White House said Sunday it plans to donate 1,000 ventilators to Brazil.

The ban on travel from Brazil takes effect late Thursday.

As with the other bans, it does not apply to legal permanent residents. A spouse, parent or child of a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident also would be allowed to enter the country.

The restrictions also do not apply to trade between the U.S. and Brazil.

Heat, water woes and coronavirus: India’s perfect storm

Bollywood stars and political leaders have urged Indians to wash their hands to protect against coronavirus but that’s a pipe dream for slumdwellers like Bala Devi, now sweltering through a summer heatwave.

The 44-year-old widow and her family of eight are among tens of millions of people facing months of torrid weather while stuck at home, in lockdown, without regular access to clean water to keep cool and wash.

“It is so hot the children keep asking for water to drink.

How can I give them water for washing their hands when we don’t have even enough water to drink?” Devi said at her cramped home in New Delhi.

“Every drop of water is a luxury

for us. We can’t afford to spend it on bathing,” she told AFP, pinching her nose at the waft of clogged drains as unwashed children milled around her.

Outside it is around 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) but her onebedroom tenement house has just an improvised ceiling fan to keep its occupants cool.

There is a piped water connection but the supply is extremely erratic and a pump connected to the groundwater mostly spews air. Her family uses a common public toilet and their “bathroom” is a bucket behind a curtain.

“If we can’t wash and clean and there is filth everywhere, obviously the virus will attack us, but what can we do?” asked Devi’s neighbour

Anita Bisht.

“Already our children are falling sick,” she added, her half-naked toddler hanging from her arms.

- Liquid gold Even before the coronavirus pandemic, water was in short supply for the 100 million people living in India’s urban slums.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has listed water infrastructure as a key priority, promising to reach 145 million rural households by 2024.

But currently roughly a third of the country’s 1.3 billion people cut back on washing and bathing during summer as taps run dry.

Where the virus has put democracy on hold

As it spreads across the globe, the novel coronavirus has brought with it another crisis: postponed and canceled elections worldwide.

Some politicians fear that encouraging people to go to the polls will hasten the circulation of the virus. Some politicians seem to be using this moment to entrench their power. We can’t yet know the full impact this moment will have on democracy.

This list was compiled by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

Australia: Local elections, scheduled for September, postponed for 12 months.

Austria: Municipal elections, postponed indefinitely.

Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea: General elections, postponed indefinitely.

Argentina: Municipal elections, scheduled March 2020, delayed to September 2020 or further.

Armenia: Referendum, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Bolivia: Presidential election, scheduled May 2020. To occur before August 2.

Cameroon: Local by-election, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Canada: Municipal and provincial elections, May 2020. Postponed until May 2021.

By-elections in British Columbia, Victoria, Rossland and Lytton, postponed indefinitely.

Referendum in Kamloops, postponed indefinitely.

Lac La Ronge Indian Band, Council Elections, postponed indefinitely.

Chile: Referendum, scheduled April 2020.

Postponed to October 2020.

Colombia: Local elections, scheduled April 2020.

Postponed indefinitely.

Czech Republic: Senate by-elections, scheduled March 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Dominican Republic: Presidential election, scheduled May 2020, postponed until July 2020.

Ethiopia: Parliamentary elections, scheduled August 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Falkland Islands: Referendum on creating a single constituency, scheduled March 2020, postponed until September 2020.

France: Municipal elections, scheduled March 2020, postponed until June 2020.

Gambia: By-election, scheduled March 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Germany: Municipal elections, scheduled March-September 2020, postponed until November (at the earliest).

Ghana: New Patriotic Party primary elections, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Gibraltar: Referendum on abortion, scheduled March 2020, postponed indefinitely.

India: Council of States elections, scheduled March 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Indonesia: Regional elections, scheduled September 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Iran: Parliamentary elections (second round), scheduled April 2020, postponed until September 2020.

Isle of Man: Local elections, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Italy: Referendum on lawmakers, scheduled March 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Municipal elections, scheduled May 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Kenya: Local by-elections, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Kyrgyzstan: Local elections, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Latvia: Local snap elections, scheduled April 2020, postponed to August 29.

Libya: Municipal elections, scheduled April 2020, postponed to June 2020.

Maldives: Local council elections, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Mexico: Local elections in Coahuila and Hidalgo, scheduled June 2020, postponed indefinitely.

Montenegro: Local elections in Tivat, scheduled April 2020, postponed indefinitely.

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MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

LIFE STYLE

Sex workers’ hands tied under virus lockdowns

The bondage chairs and polished metal whipping tools sit gathering dust on a quiet street near London’s trendy Shoreditch neighbourhood -- and Madame Caramel is not pleased.

The coronavirus lockdown has punished the London dominatrix, whose Hoxton Dungeon Suite has stood silent for weeks.

“In regards to the dungeon, completely stopped, zero percent, no income whatsoever, and in regards to Madame Caramel as a professional dominatrix it is exactly the same,” said the red-haired self-proclaimed “femme domme”.

“The one-to-one... is gone, just the online stays,” she told AFP. - ‘Can’t do in-person’ In Europe’s red-light capital Amsterdam, sex work is due to officially resume in September.

Prostitution in the Netherlands is legal and regulated, which allows for more support and structure during the coronavirus lockdown.

But many sex workers in Britain and beyond are now moving online to make ends meet.

Fellow London dominatrix Mistress Evilyne found success on the largely X-rated entertainment platform OnlyFans, which has grown in popularity since it was founded in 2016.

She said a relatively successful OnlyFans account can bring in about £800 ($1,000, 900 euros) a month, and is often supplemented with content on other sites, such as Clips4Sale or iWantClips.

“Obviously I can’t do inperson meets anymore,” Evilyne said.

She works out of her small flat in southeast London, where chains, whips, gags and other BDSM (bondage, domination, sadomasochism) apparatus lie unused beneath her bed.

Madame Caramel’s Hoxton Dungeon Suite near London’s trendy Shoreditch neighbourhood has stood silent for weeks.

But she said many clients are still asking about in-person sessions, despite the risks and government advice for people to socially distance by two metres (six feet) at all times outside the home.

“There are so many people who are emailing every dominatrix I know, including myself, asking for sessions at the moment who are just totally disregarding the fact that we need to stay safe,” Evilyne said.

- ‘Urgent need’ -

the English Collective of Prostitutes.

“If you’ve got three children at home running around, it’s very hard to do online work,” she said.

Support groups such as the UK Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM) have set up hardship funds to help “sex workers in urgent need”.

“It shouldn’t be up to us and up to sex workers themselves to organise their own way out of this,” said Watson, who urged the government to do more.

weeks, sex worker “Medroxy”, one of the organisers, told AFP. Meanwhile in Europe’s capital Brussels, sex workers are relying on donated parcels of essentials to survive.

Dolores, 60, who has worked in the industry for 42 years, said she now relies on the small paper bag full of essentials such as toiletries that is supplied by a charity grocery store.

It is distributed by a sex workers’ collective, the Union of Sex Workers Organised For Independence (UTSOPI), whose volunteers make drop-offs every Wednesday.

“If I didn’t have the parcel, I don’t know what I would do,” said Dolores, who also helps with deliveries.

Belgian law prohibits third-party activities such as renting out rooms for use by prostitutes or managing a brothel, but regional regulations vary widely.

Even though prostitutes are liable for income tax, Maxime Maes, a coordinator for the collective, said most sex workers are not registered to pay taxes.

“All these people do not have access to everything,” he said, noting they missed out on unemployment support and other government welfare.

- ‘Fear of contact’ -

Britain counted about 72,000 sex workers -- 32,000 of them in London -- in 2016, according to a government report.

Prostitution is legal in Britain but various related activities such as solicitation are not, so thousands are operating in the shadows and lack access to government support and protections.

Although some may have found a way to make money online, many have been left “doing what they can” during the lockdown, according to Laura Watson, a spokeswoman for

- Charitable support Similar initiatives are springing up globally after the pandemic pushed over half of the world’s population into some form of confinement.

In Warsaw, a group of men and women in the industry set up a fundraiser to help buy essentials during lockdown.

It began as a donation-based system, but eventually allowed contributors to access content.

They raised £3,000 in two

Back in Britain, sex workers registered as self-employed are eligible for government hardship grants.

Both Mistress Evilyne and Madame Caramel have applied to receive funds during the lockdown.

Despite an approaching easing of Britain’s lockdown, uncertainty about how willing people will be to go back to their old habits in a world filled with a new, dangerous disease leaves sex workers apprehensive.

From producer to wearer -- lifecycle of the humble face mask

The humble mask has become a universal symbol of the new coronavirus pandemic and a crucial means of limiting contagion.

But where do they come from? Where are they mandatory?

What do they cost and where do they end up?

Lack of familiarity is evidenced by the number of people who wear them in unorthodox fashion -- under the chin or with the nose uncovered.

Further afield, in Iraq, AFP witnessed some shoppers leaving a store passing their masks on to those about to go inside...

masks both in stores and on public transport -- the latter requirement is now in force in France.

At the outset of the pandemic, French authorities indicated facial protection was not necessary -- stocks were in any case in short supply.

“With globalisation we got carried away thinking there would always be (trade) flows between countries. With this crisis we found everyone turned in on themselves,” Stephane Billon, a health affairs economist, told AFP. Costly cover

Mind the production gap Contrasting cover-up rationales

Rules... and reticence

Supply has been a major

Wearing a mask has In around 50 countries, problem -- the bulk of production been quite common in much wearing a mask is currently being Asian in origin with China of eastern Asia since the SARS mandatory nationwide. Others producing around 50 percent of epidemic of 2002-2003 made it a require one in some zones and still global stocks of surgical varieties. “daily, recreational, personalised” others simply recommend using With the pandemic item, says medical anthropologist one. starting in China, the country felt Christos Lynteris.

In the United Arab bound to distribute on home soil

In Japan, wearing surgical Emirates, eschewing one means a first. style masks is common in winter fine of around $200 while in Chad “Once the need for and spring, both as a means of the punishment is arrest and up to masks in China exploded our protecting oneself and others from 15 days in jail. subcontractor firms in China no infection.

In the US town of Stillwater, longer had the right to export,”

In contrast, in Europe Oklahoma, the mayor dropped David Guiho of French specialist wearing one has been rare -- in an order insisting on masks in protective equipment group Delta France, the post-revolution spirit shops after some residents, seeing Plus told AFP. of enlightenment means a “citizen an infringement of civil liberties, When Chinese exports presents himself face uncovered threatened store employees. did resume demand was frantic, in public spaces”, anthropologist Austrians have been more leaving major shortages from Italy Frederic Keck told Le Monde. compliant with demands to don and Spain to Egypt.

Given the demand, prices soared -- some 25 times over in Lebanon, according to unions involved with medical imports.

Two firms in South Africa -Sicuro Safety and Hennox Supplies -- found themselves having to explain to competition authorities why they had raised prices as much as 1,000 percent.

In Iraq, “a 50-pack of surgical masks cost between 2,500 or 3,000 Iraqi dinars (around $2.50) before. Today, they cost 30,000 dinars,” Baghdad pharmacist Sayyed Ali told AFP.

Price gouging sparked a welter of counterfeit versions available online -- but there were also thefts of stocks from chemists’ and hospitals.

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BUSINESS &

TECHNOLOGY

SpaceX, NASA delay milestone mission over lightning fears

After a day of suspense, SpaceX’s landmark launch to the International Space Station -- the first crewed mission to blast off from US soil in almost a decade -- was scrubbed Wednesday due to fears of a lightning strike.

With NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley strapped into the Crew Dragon capsule, the launch pad platform retracted and rocket fueling underway, SpaceX made the call to abort.

“Unfortunately, we are not going to launch today,” launch director Mike Taylor said, with about 17 minutes to go until takeoff.

“We had just simply too much electricity in the atmosphere,” NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said later.

“There wasn’t really a lightning storm or anything like that, but there was a concern that if we did launch it could actually trigger lightning,” he added.

This was the case for the Apollo 12 mission, which was struck twice shortly after launch -- losing the use of some non-essential instruments but completing its mission nonetheless.

A rocket and its plume ascending through clouds act as conductors and can trigger lightning at lower levels of atmospheric electricity than what is required for natural lighting.

The delay means a wait of at least a few more days for the first crewed launch on an American rocket since the space shuttle program ended in 2011.

They will try again on Saturday.

If successful, the launch will be the first time the feat has been performed by a privately owned company.

A live video feed showed Behnken and Hurley -- in their futuristic white uniforms

The countdown clock is stopped after the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft was scrubbed at Kennedy Space Center. adorned with the US flag and the logos of NASA and SpaceX -- waiting as propellant was unloaded from the reusable Falcon 9 rocket after the launch was postponed.

The emergency ejection system remained armed until the fuel tanks were emptied, in case of an accidental explosion.

The launch had been scheduled for 4:33 pm (2033 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A. Neil Armstrong and his Apollo 11 crewmates lifted off from the same spot on their historic journey to the Moon.

The mission comes despite shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with the crew in quarantine for the past two weeks.

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump had arrived in Florida to watch, but headed back to the White House once the launch was called off.

- SpaceX win over Boeing Founded in 2002, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has torn up the rules to produce a lower-cost alternative to human spaceflight that has gradually won over skeptics.

By 2012, it had become

the first private company to dock a cargo capsule at the ISS, resupplying the station regularly ever since.

Two years later, NASA ordered the next step: to transport its astronauts there by adapting the Dragon capsule.

“SpaceX would not be here without NASA,” founder Elon Musk said last year, after a successful dress rehearsal without humans for the trip to the ISS. The US space agency paid more than $3 billion for SpaceX to design, build, test and operate its reusable capsule for six future space round trips.

The project has experienced delays, explosions, and parachute problems -- but even so, SpaceX has beaten aerospace giant Boeing to the punch.

Boeing’s NASA entry, the Starliner, is still not ready.

The move by NASA to invest in privately developed spacecraft -- a more budgetfriendly proposition than spending tens of billions of dollars developing such systems itself, as it had done for decades -was begun under the presidency of George W. Bush for cargo, and then under Barack Obama for human flight.

Latvia to launch Google-Apple friendly coronavirus contact tracing app

Latvia aims to become based on technology launched nearly 2 million people at first. one of the first countries to last week by Apple and Google, But its approach aligns launch a smartphone app whose iOS and Android Latvia with a loose coalition of using a new toolkit created operating systems run 99% of European countries - including

by U.S. tech giants Apple and the world’s smartphones.

Germany, Switzerland and Alphabet’s Google to help trace “The developers Estonia - that are working coronavirus infections. believe that reliance on this to make it possible for their

Early success of tracing standard will ensure widespread national apps to ‘talk’ to each apps in countries like Singapore adoption and also compatibility other across borders. and Australia has been patchy over time with contact tracing Like mobile roaming, because Apple’s iPhone does not apps around the world that such interoperability would support their approach to using are also expected to adopt the enable an app to work when Bluetooth short-range radio as a same exposure notification a user travels abroad, giving proxy for measuring the risk of framework,” the app’s governments greater confidence infection. developers said in a statement. to ease travel restrictions

Latvia’s Apturi Covid The app would only without triggering a second (Stop Covid) app is, by contrast, work within the Baltic nation of wave of the pandemic.

Top UN official warns malicious emails on rise in pandemic

The U.N. disarmament chief warned Friday that cyber crime is on the rise, with a 600% increase in malicious emails during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Izumi Nakamitsu told an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the coronavirus crisis is moving the world toward increased technological innovation and online collaboration.

But she said “there have also been worrying reports of (cyber) attacks against health care organizations and medical research facilities worldwide.”

The high representative for disarmament affairs said growing digital dependency has increased the vulnerability to cyberattacks, and it is estimated that one such attack takes place every 39 seconds.

According to the International Telecommunication Union, she said, nearly 90 countries are still only at the early stages of making commitments to cybersecurity.

Nakamitsu said the threat from misusing information and communications technology “is urgent.”

But she said there is also good news, pointing to some global progress at the United Nations to address the threats by a group of government expert who developed 11 voluntary non-binding norms of responsible state behavior in the use of such technology.

Estonia’s Prime Minister Juri Ratas, whose country holds the Security Council presidency and organized Friday’s meeting, said the need for “a secure and functioning cyberspace” is more pressing than ever. He condemned cyberattacks targeting hospitals, medical research facilities and other infrastructure, especially during the pandemic.

“Those attacks are unacceptable,” Ratas said. “It will be important to hold the offenders responsible for their behavior.”

Russia did not attend the informal council meeting broadcast online, which was the centerpiece of Estonia’s council presidency. The other 14 council nations did, along with about 50 other nations that spoke.

Russia’s U.N. Mission said in a statement on its website that it did not attend because Estonia, the U.K. and the U.S. violated “the established practice” that all council members attend informal meetings “regardless of whether they approve or disapprove its topic.”

The three countries did not attend a Russian-sponsored informal meeting on Crimea on Thursday. All three oppose Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

In March, the U.S., U.K., and Estonia accused Russia’s military intelligence of conducting cyberattacks against the government and media websites in Georgia, calling the attacks part of “a continuing pattern of reckless ... cyberoperations against a number of countries” that “clearly contradict Russia’s attempts to claim it is a responsible actor in cyberspace.”

Estonia was the target of a massive threeweek cyberattack during a dispute with Russia in 2007 over Estonia’s removal of the Bronze Soldier Soviet war memorial from the center of the capital, Tallinn. The attack disabled the websites of government ministries, political parties, newspapers, banks and companies.

Since then, Estonia has built its cyber defenses and become one of the most wired societies in Europe and a pioneer in the development of “e-government.” Being highly dependent on computers, it is also highly vulnerable to cyberattack.

Russia has taken on the issue of cybercrime at the United Nations, and won General Assembly approval in December for a resolution that will start the process of drafting a new international treaty to combat cybercrime over objections from the European Union, the U.S. and others. They said it would undermine international cooperation to combat cybercrime.

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WORLD NEWS BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

Hertz files for U.S. bankruptcy protection as car rentals evaporate in pandemic

The more than a century old car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday after its business was decimated during the coronavirus pandemic and talks with creditors failed to result in much needed relief.

Hertz’s board earlier in the day approved the company seeking Chapter 11 protection in a U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware, according to court records. Its international operating regions including Europe, Australia and New Zealand were not included in the U.S. proceedings, the company said.

The firm, whose largest shareholder is billionaire investor Carl Icahn with a nearly 39% ownership stake, is reeling from government orders restricting travel and requiring citizens to remain home. A large portion of Hertz’s revenue comes from car rentals at airports, which have all but evaporated as potential customers eschew plane travel.

With nearly $19 billion of debt and roughly 38,000 employees worldwide as of the end of 2019, Hertz is among the largest companies to be undone by the pandemic. The public health crisis has also caused a cascade of bankruptcies or Chapter 11 preparations among companies dependent on consumer demand, including retailers, restaurants and oil and gas firms.

U.S. airlines have so far

defaults based on missing those lease payments or failing to meet other conditions, such as delivering a timely operating budget and reimbursing funds it has borrowed.

Hertz earlier signaled it could avoid bankruptcy if it received relief from creditors or financial aid the company and its competitors have sought from the U.S. government.

The U.S. Treasury has started assisting companies as part of an unprecedented $2.3 trillion relief package passed by Congress and signed into law.

A logo of the American car rental company Hertz is seen at Bordeaux Airport in Merignac, A trade group representing Southwestern France, February 4, 2016.

Hertz, the American Car Rental avoided similar fates after receiving end of the year in an effort to raise Association, has asked Congress billions of dollars in government around $5 billion, a person familiar to do more for the industry by aid, an avenue Hertz has explored with the matter said. expanding coronavirus relief efforts without success.

On May 16, the board and advancing new legislation

The Estero, Florida-based appointed executive Paul Stone to targeting tourism-related businesses. company, which operates Hertz, replace Kathryn Marinello as CEO. Even before the pandemic, Hertz Dollar and Thrifty car-rentals, had Hertz earlier laid off about 10,000 and its peers were under financial been in talks with creditors after employees and said there was pressure as travelers shifted to rideskipping significant car-lease substantial doubt about its ability to hailing services such as Uber. payments due in April. Forbearance continue as a going concern.

To combat Uber, Hertz had and waiver agreements on the missed Hertz’s woes are compounded adopted a turnaround plan, aiming payments were set to expire on May by the complexity of its balance to modernize its smartphone apps 22. Hertz has about $1 billion of cash. sheet, which includes more than and improve management of its fleet

The size of Hertz’s lease $14 billion of securitized debt. The of rental cars. obligations have increased as the proceeds from those securities Hertz traces its roots to 1918, value of vehicles declined because finance purchases of vehicles that when Walter Jacobs, then a pioneer of the pandemic. In an attempt to are then leased to Hertz in exchange of renting cars, founded a company appease creditors holding asset- for monthly payments that have allowing customers to temporarily backed securities that finance its fleet risen as the value of cars fall. drive one of a dozen Ford Motor of more than 500,000 vehicles, Hertz Hertz also has traditional Co Model Ts, according to the has proposed selling more than credit lines, loans and bonds company’s website.

30,000 cars a month through the with conditions that can trigger

Iranian tanker docks in Venezuelan port, domestic refining rises

The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel to Venezuela has moored at a port serving the El Palito refinery, the oil minister said on Monday, and Refinitiv Eikon data showed a second vessel had entered its waters.

Iran is providing Venezuela with 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and refining components in a move criticized by U.S. authorities as both countries are under U.S. sanctions, according to the governments, sources and calculations by TankerTrackers.com.

Refinitiv Eikon data showed that the tanker Fortune docked at one of El Palito’s berths around 1 a.m. local time (0500 GMT).

Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela’s economy vice president and recently named oil minister, thanked Iran for sending “fuel, additives and spare parts” to increase fuel distribution and boost refinery output in the gasolinestarved country and criticized U.S. sanctions.

“We are fortunate to be able to count on Iran in these times,” El Aissami said from El Palito, calling the Fortune a “symbol of the brotherhood and solidarity” between Iran and Venezuela. “We cannot allow any world power to act like a super-police.”

A second vessel, the Forest, entered Venezuelan waters on Monday and was also heading to El Palito, according to its trajectory

shown on the Eikon data. A third tanker, the Petunia, was approaching the Caribbean.

A senior Trump administration official said earlier this month Washington was considering a response to the shipments. A Pentagon spokesman said last week he was not aware of any military move planned. The first two vessels did not appear to face interference.

Neither the White House nor the State Department responded to requests for comment on Monday, an American holiday.

Venezuela is suffering gasoline shortages due to the nearcollapse of its 1.3 million barrelper-day refining network after years of underinvestment, as well as U.S. sanctions aimed at ousting socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela’s refining network in May increased its joint crude processing rate to about 215,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 110,000 bpd in March, following the arrival of spare parts supplied in flights by Iran’s Mahan Air, according to three people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The 146,000-bpd El Palito refinery is now restarting its fluid catalytic cracker, a key unit for finished fuel production, one of the people said. The 187,000-bpd Puerto la Cruz refinery, which serves Venezuela’s eastern region, remains out of service, the people said.

EasyJet axes almost a third of staff on virus fallout

British no-frills airline EasyJet said Thursday that it will axe up to 4,500 jobs, or almost a third of its workforce, as coronavirus ravages demand and grounds global air travel.

“We are planning to reduce the size of our fleet and to optimise the network and our bases. As a result, we anticipate reducing staff numbers by up to 30 percent across the business and we will continue to remove cost and non-critical expenditure at every level,” said Chief Executive Johan Lundgren in a statement.

The job cuts will impact up to 4,500 of the carrier’s 15,000 staff, a spokesman told AFP. A consultation process will be launched in the coming days.

The COVID-19 outbreak has devastated the global aviation sector, with passenger numbers slumping during lockdown measures as air travel demand evaporates.

EasyJet follows competitors British Airways, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic, which have all slashed staff numbers to save costs.

“We realise that these are very difficult times and we are having to consider very difficult decisions which will impact our people, but we want to protect as many jobs as we can for the long-term,” added Lundgren.

“We remain focused on doing what is right for the company and its long-term health and success, following the swift action we have taken over the last three months to meet the challenges of the virus.”

EasyJet had grounded its entire fleet at the end of March, and currently plans to resume to the skies in mid-June with a limited number of flights.

“Although we will restart flying on 15 June, we expect demand to build slowly, only returning to 2019 levels in about three years’ time,” added Lundgren.

“We want to ensure that we emerge from the pandemic an even more competitive business than before, so that EasyJet can thrive in the future.”

Travellers arriving in Britain will meanwhile face 14 days in quarantine from next month to prevent a second coronavirus outbreak.

The pandemic has battered the air transport sector by all but grounding planes, resulting in layoffs, bankruptcies and rescue plans worldwide -- although Lufthansa is wavering over a nine-billion-euro ($9.9 billion) German state lifeline.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast this week that global airlines will lose some $314 billion (286 billion euros) in 2020 revenues on the back of coronavirus.

EasyJet added Thursday that it would not provide any outlook as a result of the turmoil.

“At this stage, given the level of continued uncertainty, it is not possible to provide financial guidance for the remainder of the 2020 financial year.

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WORLD

SPORTS

Woods and Manning beat Mickelson and Brady in charity match

Tiger Woods and former NFL player Peyton Manning read a putt on the sixth green during The Match: Champions for Charity golf round at the Medalist Golf Club.

Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning held off a late challenge to beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady 1Up in a charity golf match in Florida on Sunday that raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief efforts.

Woods, a 15-times major champion, and two-time Super Bowl winner Manning jumped out to a three-hole lead on the front nine at the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound.

While Woods’s booming drives and Manning’s solid putting saw the pair dominate the early holes, five-times major winner Mickelson and Brady won the 11th and 14th to shave the lead to one.

However, they were unable to force extra holes after Woods delivered a dagger putt on 18 as darkness descended on his home course.

The shot of the day came from Brady on the seventh when he holed out from the fairway just after NBA great Charles Barkley, working as a commentator, had been giving the quarterback a hard time for his ice cold start.

“Shut your mouth, Chuck,” Brady said with a smile.

But Brady, who joined Tampa Bay in March after 20 years with New England, had little time to revel in the moment.

After giving a short speech where he told his wife and kids he loved them the six-times Super Bowl winner then split the seat of his pants while retrieving the ball from the cup.

Woods, who lost to Mickelson in a $9 million winner-take-all challenge in 2018, congratulated Manning and Brady for their performance in the team match play event, dubbed The Match: Champions for Charity.

“We all came together and were able to raise $20 million for those that have been so severely affected,” Woods said.

“I take my hat off to Tom and Peyton.

This is our arena, this is what we do for a living. I couldn’t imagine going on the field and do what they do,” he added with a laugh.

The competition comes 2-1/2 weeks before the PGA Tour plans to resume its season on June 11 at Colonial.

Woods last competed in February and then withdrew from a number of tournaments with a back injury before the PGA Tour decided to cancel a slew of events because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

He has said he is healthy and will be ready to go when the Tour resumes.

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What new for cricket in 2020? Four key questions

The coronavirus may have struck shortly before the English cricket season was due to start but it threatens to have major implications for the game worldwide.

English officials still believe they can fit a full international programme of three-Test series against both the West Indies and Pakistan, as well as one-day internationals with Australia and Ireland, into a season that won’t start until July 1 at the earliest.

But there is now an expectation matches will have to be played behind closed doors, in the short-term at least, as a way of stopping the spread of COVID-19.

That would, however, still allow the England and Wales Cricket Board to honour lucrative broadcast contracts and avoid the nightmare scenario of a completely wiped out season that could cost the organisation £380 million ($463 million).

Below AFP Sport looks at the key issues confronting cricket amid the pandemic.

players,” Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.

“But the best test of that is the West Indian and Pakistan tours of England before we’re due to tour. We hope they go off without a hitch.”

What will cricket look like?

Even if a rescheduled series between England and the West Indies starts in July, the game itself will look very different.

Not only will there be no spectators but wicket celebrations such as ‘high fives’ are set to be banned according to International Cricket Council guidelines issued last week.

Umpires have also been instructed to wear gloves to minimise the risk of infection, with bowlers no longer handing their cap and sweater to officials for the same reason.

Another ‘interim’ measure, which still requires approval at a June vote, would see bowlers banned from using saliva to shine the ball to aid Will teams go on tour? swing, although they will still be allowed to apply their own

West Indies and sweat.

Pakistan, two of crickets less Travel restrictions could well-off major teams, have see two umpires from a home both made encouraging noises nation stand in a Test for the first about touring England, subject time since 1994 when the ICC to health concerns and appear started moving towards neutral to ready to factor a 14-day officials to counter accusations quarantine on arrival in Britain, of bias. because of UK government The ICC’s cricket regulations, into their planning. committee also said last week Matches are set to be played each team should be awarded at ‘bio-secure’ venues such as an additional DRS review per Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl or Old innings.

Trafford that have onsite hotels.

Meanwhile, Chris Broad,

“We are trying to get to the only Englishman on the England early July so that we ICC’s elite panel of referees, may can get the quarantine done,” have to officiate in matches said Pakistan Cricket Board chief involving his son Stuart, the executive Wasim Khan.

England fast bowler.

Australia were meant to What will happen to play three Twenty20s and three the Twenty20 World Cup and one-day internationals in July IPL? An ICC board meeting on but may delay their visit to later Thursday May 28, could see the in the season after seeing how men’s Twenty20 World Cup, the West Indies and Pakistan due to held in Australia from series pan out.

October 18, postponed.

“Obviously we won’t Problems over flying in jeopardise the safety of the 16 teams to Australia may

Former Australia bowler Ryan Harris shines the ball. be reason enough to delay the event by a year.

That would allow the already postponed franchise Indian Premier League, the world’s wealthiest T20 competition, to go ahead in its place.

Manoj Badale, a partowner of the Rajasthan Royals, told the London Daily Telegraph last month: “No IPL (in 2020) would be a big $600 million loss for the global cricket economy.”

South African director of cricket Graeme Smith has called for India’s Sourav Ganguly, a fellow former Test captain, to become the next ICC chairman.

The Proteas, hard hit by the low value of South Africa’s rand, hope to host a threematch T20 series against India in August.

What does this women’s cricket?

mean

for

The women’s game was riding the crest of a wave after a crowd of over 86,000 in Melbourne saw hosts Australia beat India in the final of the T20 World Cup in March, shortly before global sport went into lockdown.

Kobe Bryant’s induction to hall of fame postponed: report

The late Kobe Bryant’s induction into America’s basketball hall of fame has been postponed to 2021, US media reported on Wednesday.

Bryant, who died along with eight others in a helicopter crash in January, was schedule to be inducted into the Massachusetts-based Naismith

Basketball Hall of Fame on August 29.

Former NBA stars Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and six others are also slated to be enshrined next year due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re definitely canceling,” Hall of Fame

spokesman Jerry Colangelo told ESPN on Wednesday. “It’s going to have to be the first quarter of next year. (The board will) meet in a couple of weeks and look at the options of how and when and where.”

Bryant died January 26 at age 41 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California that also

claimed the life of his 13-yearold daughter, Gianna, and seven others.

Bryant was an 18-time NBA all-star, five-time NBA champion and three-time NBA finals MVP in a two-decade career with the Los Angeles Former Los Angeles Laker Lakers.

Kobe Bryant.

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WORLD SPORTS Ex-IAAF chief Diack’s corruption case changed to June 8

The Paris trial of Lamine Diack, the former head of athletics’ world governing body who is accused of accepting millions of dollars to cover up positive Russian doping Lamine Diack tests, has been moved back five days to June 8, a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday.

Originally dues to start in January, then scheduled for June 3, the hearing is set to last until June 18 in the French capital.

The 86-year-old IAAF chief between 1999-2015, is charged with “giving and receiving bribes”, “breach of trust” and “organised money laundering” and is facing a potential 10-year prison sentence for taking bribes to cover up tests showing Russian doping.

The prosecution alleges Diack obtained $1.5 million of Russian funds to help fund Macky Sall’s 2012 succesful campaign for Senegal presidency election, in exchange for the IAAF’s anti-doping arm to cover up offenses by 23 Russians.

Key to those accusations is Diack’s son, Papa Massata Diack, a former marketing consultant for the then-International Association of Athletics Federations (now World Athletics).

Diack junior is accused of playing a “central role” in the network of corruption and is charged with “money laundering”, “giving bribes” and “aiding the receiving of bribes”.

But he has refused to cooperate with French authorities and remains in his native Senegal.

Diack’s former legal advisor, Habib Cisse, is suspected of having acted as an intermediary between the then-IAAF and Russian athletics and having received hundreds of thousands of dollars.

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

MAY 29TH, 2020 – JUNE 5TH, 2020

MLB players disappointed with pay cuts in return plan

Major League Baseball the best most marketable players players are disappointed with potentially look like the bad pay cuts in the latest proposal guys.” from team owners to return Former MLB pitcher from a coronavirus pandemic Dallas Braden saw the move as shutdown, dimming hopes for a a bid to try and split the union 2020 campaign. and make top-paid players look

A revenue-sharing plan bad while doing so. pitched by the league to the MLB “Insulting,” he tweeted.

Players Association on Tuesday “Unfortunately fans will not see reportedly had a harsh reception this as an attempt by the owners from players, with top-paid stars to pit the high $ guys Vs. league taking a larger salary hit than minimum guys. those making nearer minimum “What’s great for the paychecks. owners is not only do they not

“This season is not care about that, they KNOW looking promising,” tweeted fans will view it as the high $ New York Mets pitcher Marcus guys being selfish & not caring Stroman. “Keeping the mind about others.” and body ready regardless.”

The player response

Multiple reports said the came on the same day the Los proposal contained a sliding pay Angeles Dodgers announced scale giving lower-paid talent cost-cutting moves, including about half of a season’s pro-rated salary reductions for all salaries while star players would employees above an unrevealed take a more substantial hit. pay level, higher-paid employees

“We made a proposal taking a larger hit in order to the union that is completely to preserve hundreds of jobs, consistent with the economic according to a team statement. realities facing our sport,” an MLB shut down in midMLB statement said.

March during pre-season games

That’s not how the two weeks before the scheduled MLBPA saw it. start of a six-month 2020 season

“The union is extremely due to the deadly virus outbreak. disappointed,” an MLBPA The latest league statement said. “We’re also proposal, which reportedly far apart on health and safety includes $200 million in playoff protocols.” bonus money, features plans for Milwaukee Brewers an 82-game half-season starting pitcher Brett Anderson pondered in early July after three weeks the motivation behind the of training and finishing in late league’s offer, tweeting: September, although to meet “Interesting strategy of making the schedule a deal would need

New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman to be completed in early June.

Not since a labor dispute shut down the 1994 MLB campaign has no World Series champion been crowned in a season.

“Praying that we get this figured out and back on the field soon,” Stroman tweeted. “It’s hard to put into words how much I miss the game.”

Roland Garros planning for fans not empty seats

Roland Garros chiefs insisted on Wednesday the French Open, delayed until September due to the coronavirus pandemic, will have fans attending even if they still have to abide by social distancing rules.

The claycourt Grand Slam, which should now have been into its first week under its traditional schedule, was pushed back by four months because of the outbreak.

However, tickets bought for the event in its May-June slot were reimbursed rather than transferred, prompting fears the tournament, now due to start on September 20, would be played behind closed doors.

“In the autumn, we will play Roland Garros with an optimum spectator capacity which allows fans to respect social distancing,” JeanFrancois Vilotte, the director-general of the French Tennis Federation (FFT), told AFP.

A working group has already been created consisting of the ministries of sports and foreign affairs as well as Roland Garros officials and health bodies.

“The aim is that there will be spectators but we will have the capacity to organise Roland Garros whatever the option decided, including behind closed doors.”

For the players, “the prize money is very important” as is the eco-system of tennis in France for

The risk of rain is greater in the autumn in Paris.

However, the Philippe Chatrier court at Roland Garros now has a roof, bringing the tournament into line with the other three majors.

“From the start, the objective was to respect the outdoor nature of the tournament,” said Vilotte.

“It is not a closed court, contrary to what exists at Wimbledon, at the Australian Open and even at the US Open where the roofs hermetically seal the stadiums New look: Visitors take pictures of the newly-built roof on the Philippe Chatrier court at Roland to air condition them.”

Garros.

The new roof on Chatrier which Roland Garros accounts for while Wimbledon was cancelled for has 11 metal and canvas sections, 80% of revenue. the first time since World War II. weighing 350 tons each for a total

If fans are to be welcome at The US Open in New York, area of 10,000 square metres. the rescheduled tournament, then due to start on August 24, is still It can cover the sport’s most tickets would have to go on resale. under a cloud with organisers due to famous clay court in 15 minutes,

“We have set ourselves a decide its fate in mid-June. while allowing air to pass through deadline (for resale) ... but you will Officials in Paris have played the sides. not know it,” added Vilotte. down hosting a Grand Slam outdoors The efficiency of the roof,

“It will be an exceptional in a European autumn. which cost 55 million euros ($60.45 tournament anyway,” he said, adding They point to Roland million), was tested during torrential the organisation was working on Garros having eight floodlit courts, rains that lashed Paris a few weeks holding a “postponed tournament” including all three showpiece arenas ago. and not a “downgraded” version.

-- Philippe Chatrier, Suzanne Lenglen “It was baptised,” said and Simonne Mathieu.

Vilotte. “The roof was absolutely not - ‘Roof baptised’ “The point is not to schedule affected by these rains and the water matches late at night but to finish drainage channels worked without

In other words, juniors, the matches started,” said Vilotte, any of them overflowing.” singles, doubles and wheelchair pointing out that night sessions The Suzanne Lenglen court tennis events will still be staged. will not start until the 2021 edition will also have a roof installed in time

International tennis has been when the tournament slips back into for the 2024 Olympic Games. suspended globally since mid-March its usual May-June home.

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WORLD SPORTS

NBA in talks to resume season at Disney World

The NBA is in talks with The Walt Disney Company about restarting its suspended season at Disney World in Florida in late July after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league said on Saturday.

The potential plan would see the league hold games at a single site, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, a sprawling athletic complex inside the Orlando resort that has three arenas, hotels and would allow the league to limit outside exposure.

“Our priority continues Fireworks go off around Cinderella’s castle during the grand opening ceremony for to be the health and safety of all Walt Disney World’s new Fantasyland in Lake Buena Vista, Florida December 6, 2012. involved, and we are working The NBA playoffs were with public health experts first major North American professional sports league to originally scheduled to begin on and government officials on a shut down due to the COVID-19 April 18 and conclude in June. comprehensive set of guidelines pandemic after a player tested

More than half of the to ensure that appropriate positive for the new coronavirus. league’s teams have re-opened medical protocols and Since then a number of other their practice facilities this protections are in place,” NBA NBA players in the 30-team month under strict conditions spokesman Mike Bass said in a league have tested positive, and only in places where local statement outlining the plan. including former league Most and state governments have

In mid-March, with five weeks remaining in its 82-game Valuable Player Kevin Durant of given them the green light. schedule, the NBA became the the Brooklyn Nets.

Fury hopes to ‘give fans what they want’ with Joshua showdown

Tyson Fury said he was eager to give British boxing fans what they want by fighting Anthony Joshua for the undisputed world heavyweight title but he said the duo must focus on their immediate opponents to make such a match happen.

Fury won the WBC title in Las Vegas three months ago with a seventh-round stoppage of Deontay Wilder. Joshua defeated Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr in a December rematch in Saudi Arabia to reclaim his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles.

Joshua’s next fight is with mandatory IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev, but their bout scheduled for June 20 was postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis. Fury will take on Wilder in a rematch later this year.

“If I get knocked out by Wilder, then it won’t be on, will it,” Fury told Sky Sports.

“It’ll be another fight

Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury - WBC Heavyweight Title - The Grand Garden Arena at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, United States - February 22, 2020 Tyson Fury celebrates winning the fight against Deontay Wilder. with Wilder... If he loses to Pulev, so close, but so far. In heavyweight boxing, you can never count your chickens before they hatch, so one fight at a time, one victory at a time.

Fury said a meeting with Joshua had the potential to be the biggest match since Britons

Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno fought in 1993.

“All going well, god willing, we get on the big fight with me and Joshua, the allBritish showdown, and I can give the fans what they want to see, especially the British fans.”

NBA great Ewing out of hospital

NBA great Patrick Ewing has left hospital and is recovering at home after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his son said on Monday.

The 57-year-old Hall-ofFamer was hospitalised last week after announcing he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

However the former New York Knicks star and current Georgetown University coach is now on the mend at home, his son Patrick Ewing Jr. said on Twitter.

“I want to thank all of the doctors and hospital staff

for taking care of my father during his stay, as well as everyone who has reached out with thoughts and prayers to us since his diagnosis,” Ewing Jr. wrote.

“My father is now home and getting better. We’ll continue to watch his symptoms and follow the CDC guidelines.

I hope everyone continues to stay safe and protect yourselves and your loved ones.”

Ewing, who was a member of the 1992 Olympic gold medal-winning “Dream Team”, and also won Olympic

Patrick Ewing has left hospital and is recovering at home after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his son said Monday. gold in 1984, played 17 seasons in the NBA, mostly for the Knicks, earning 11 All-Star selections.

LeBron among US athletes outraged at black man’s death

NBA superstar LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA superstar LeBron James was among the US athletes taking to social media in outrage over the death of a black man in Minnesota after a white policeman kneeled on his neck for several minutes.

Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday as a video showing one of them kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who later died, sparked protests.

Los Angeles Lakers playmaker James contrasted the incident with the kneeling protests of former NFL star Colin Kaepernick in 2016.

Kaepernick was ostracised by the NFL for kneeling during the playing of the national anthem in a protest against police brutality and racial injustice.

“This... ... Is Why,” James posted on his Instagram feed with side by side photos of the white policeman kneeling on Floyd’s neck and Kaepernick kneeling on the sideline.

“Do you understand NOW!!??!!??” James wrote. “Or is it still blurred to you?? #StayWoke”.

Other figures from the sports world speaking out over the Minneapolis incident included Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

“This is murder. Disgusting,” Kerr tweeted.

“Seriously, what the hell is wrong with US????”

Warriors star Stephen Curry lamented yet another death involving an unarmed AfricanAmerican man at the hands of law enforcement.

“I’ve seen a lot of people speak up and try to articulate how fed up and angry they are,” Curry wrote on Instagram.

“All good and well but it’s the same same same reality we live in. George Floyd. George Floyd.

George has a family. George didn’t deserve to die.”

Retired Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson also hit out, saying Floyd had been “clearly murdered.”

“How many times do we have to see black men killed on national television? This has been going on for entirely too long,” Johnson said.

“We need to start seeing black people as human beings and not animals on the street.”

NFL Cleveland Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tweeted: “Worlds honestly sickening.

It really is..... no explanation.”

Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Lawrence wondered how any African-American could feel safe after watching the video.

“DONE BEING QUIET AND DONE BEING ANGRY,” Lawrence tweeted. “HOW CAN WE FEEL SAFE WHEN THOSE MEANT TO PROTECT US ARE KILLIN’ US?!!!! WHEN WILL MINORITIES BE FREE TO BE AMERICANS IN AMERICA!?”

Former US Soccer international forward Taylor Twellman posted the video on Twitter with the message: “When will it stop?! Honestly this is murder in plain daylight.”

Floyd’s death drew comparisons to the 2014 death of Eric Garner, an unarmed AfricanAmerican who died in New York after being placed in a chokehold by police, begging to be released and saying, “I can’t breathe.”

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