VOLUME 11 ISSUE 07

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

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VOLUME 11 - NO. 07

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PNP AND PDM DEBATE JOBS ROTARY EYE EXAMINATION AT ENID CAPRON: The Rotary Club of Providenciales is on the move again to preserve the sight of the young. On Thursday (February 20, 2015) Club members visited the Enid Capron Primary School in Providenciales to carry out a series of eye tests on students who may have been experiencing vision problems.

They also brought glasses in case there were immediate needs. President Bloneva Greene said that the club plans to visit other islands in the TCI chain in the coming weeks, to conduct more eye testing and eyewear distribution. Dr. Julian “Jules” Petrucci of Menzies’ Optometry conducted the eye examinations. He said that he has been working with the Rotary Club for the past six years doing the examinations. Dr. Jules is pictured here performing examination on a student.

Photo By Vivian Tyson

W

ith general elections due next year and political campaigning revving up, the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP) and the opposition People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) have been embroiled in a raging debate about creating jobs for Turks and Caicos Islanders.

On Thursday February 19th, Premier Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing issued a press release calling on businesses to hire more Turks and Caicos Islanders, but this was quickly dismissed as a political gimmick by Opposition Leader Hon. Sharlene Cartwright-

Teenage student stabbed - Page 10

FSC Review made public - Page 7

Robinson.

Premier Ewing noted that in 2014 the TCI has experienced unprecedented growth in tourist arrivals, improving from just over 1 million in 2013 to 1.4 million in 2014.

He also said that the Turks and Caicos Islands Government’s revenue has also experienced significant growth in 2014, adding that these indicators spoke “well of the level of economic growth in the Turks and Caicos Islands”.

According to the Premier: “This is in advance of the many proposed major

development projects that are soon to be implemented. However, I am still not satisfied that the level of economic growth is being felt sufficiently at the level of the local business community and the average Turks and Caicos Islander. Even though there has been a reduction in unemployment since my Government took office, there is still vast underemployment and many qualified willing and capable Turks and Caicos Islanders are still without jobs, and many of those employed are not in positions relative to their level of qualifications, expertise and

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experience, and this is unsatisfactory.

I am therefore calling on the vibrant tourism hospitality sector and hoteliers to give our Turks and Caicos Islanders opportunities for meaningful gainful employment, and I am also calling on the Immigration and labour departments to continue stepping up their efforts and enforce policies that will ensure that Turks and Caicos Islanders are given first priority and fair opportunities for employment in our vibrant labour market.”

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Immigration Minister concerned about radar failure - Page 11

PDM to celebrate 40 years in June - Page 8

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Continued from Page 1

PNP AND PDM DEBATE JOBS

But Opposition Leader Hon. Cartwright-Robinson said the Premier, through his press release, is demonstrating that “he is not fully cognisant of the executive authority vested in him as the leader of the elected Party forming the Government”.

She said: “The Premier’s position is weak and is meant to mislead our people in a staged one sided fight where he has everything at his disposal to correct the ills that he has just stumbled upon after 2 years. If the Premier is serious about this issue he will carry out the labour skills audit, install a comprehensive labour database, re-institute the understudy endorsement stipulation that was abandoned under his government, create a more effective Labour Department and stop the issuance of work permits as a revenue earner.

These are all issues that we have raised time and time again over the past two years. We have also spoken to the serious issue of underemployment especially among our returning students. It continues to pain us that students returning from Government sponsored studies overseas are often not employed in their areas of study even in the Public sector where vacancies exist.”

The PDM Leader said the Premier, with his executive authority, must “create policies that ensure our people who are able to work are employed”.

She added: “We are also calling on the Premier to release the statistics publicly on which he based his statement that unemployment has gone down since his Party came to Office. We are eager to see the statistics to date since 2012. The

Premier can fix these issues but have ignored the unemployment and underemployment issues for years.

The injustices that many employees face is public knowledge and we are calling on the Premier to desist from making such weak statements and to use the executive authority that the people gave to him and his Government.”

Meantime, in his press release, Premier Ewing said he wanted to recognize the efforts of those businesses in the hospitality and allied industries that continue to employ and train Turks and Caicos Islanders.

“To them I would say well done and don’t stop there, for there is more to be done to ensure that Turks and Caicos Islanders employed within your establishments receive fair opportunities for promotions and fair compensation, comparative to

that which any foreign worker would have otherwise received had they been employed in those positions,” he said. “However, the efforts of other establishments leave much to be desired, and I am therefore putting those operators on notice: This practice of overlooking my people stops here and it will no longer be business as usual. Moving forward, I will expect your efforts to employ, train, retain, promote and pay Turks and Caicos Islanders to be genuine, earnest, strategic and meaningful, and this expectation applies to all businesses, public, private and statutory. With the major economic growth and development of these beautiful by nature Islands, Turks and Caicos Islanders must be in the forefront as beneficiaries and empowered to rise to the upper echelons of businesses within their own country.”

Turks and Caicos Islands leads Caribbean in economic growth St. Kitts and Nevis and Turks and Caicos were the fastest-growing small economies in the Caribbean last year, both reporting growth of 4 percent, the Caribbean Development Bank said Wednesday.

“They each experienced accelerated growth of 4 percent or higher,” CDB Director of Economics Justin Ram said from Barbados in a live-streamed conference.

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Granada reported economic growth of between 1 percent and 3 percent last year, he said.

Dominica and Jamaica each registered an expansion of less than 1 percent, though they

managed to exceed forecasts.

“Preliminary estimates indicate that the regional recovery continued in 2014, with growth estimated at 1.3 percent, this was lower than what was originally predicted,” Ram said.

He attributed the disappointing performance to the threat of natural disasters and the decline in prices of major commodities.

He said the drought the Caribbean region experienced in December 2013 “severely affected agriculture sector” in several countries.

The CDB’s plans for 2015 include strengthening its efforts to promote economic growth and job creation, with emphasis on the energy sector and renewable energy projects.

“Sustained economic growth is important because it has the potential to improve the lives of the more than 16 million men, women, and children living in our region,” CDB President William Warren Smith said during the conference.

He said a successful normalization between the United States and Cuba would mean a significant change for the region, expanding the tourism market and boosting exposure for local commodities.

CDB members are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks and Caicos.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE WORKSHOP TO BE HELD IN GRAND TURK NEXT WEEK The Leader of the Opposition’s Office together with the Public Accounts Committee will be hosting the first ever PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE WORKSHOP on February 23 - 24, 2015 at the House of Assembly in Grand Turk.

The purpose of this Workshop is really two fold and seeks to educate on the importance of this House Committee and its work in providing critical oversight to ensure improved Audits and secondly to provide a more relaxed atmosphere in which the Accounting Officers and Members of PAC can interact. All Accounting Officers are

expected to be in attendance together with members of the Public Accounts Committee.

We are pleased that the Governor’s Office has provided the funding for this important initiative and we are therefore able to secure the services of Mr Philip Aylett who is currently leading the charge to form an Association of Commonwealth Public Accounts Committees. Mr Nigel Hearnden of the Audit Committee together with myself as Chair of the PAC will also be assisting in the facilitation of the Workshop and in the delivery of the various topics.

On Day 1, there will be a brief Opening Ceremony at 9am during which time HE The Governor and HE The Deputy Governor will present on critical areas. His Honor the Speaker will also be on hand to greet the Workshop. This Opening will be carried live over Radio Turks and Caicos.

There will be Presentations on the following topics: The Importance of Good Governance; The Role Of Accounting Officers; The Roles of the National Audit Office, Public Accounts Committee, Internal Audit Department and the Audit Committee; PAC Hearings; How To Prepare for

PAC Hearings; The Role of Parliament in Financial Oversight and Curbing Corruption. There will be a period for Feedback and Questions.

On Day 2, there will be sessions for Accounting Officers and PAC members participation only and will include a Mock Hearing in which there will be role reversal between PAC members and Accounting Officers.

We are looking forward to a productive two days and are convinced that this Workshop will aid us all in the importance of our respective roles.

We expect to have a meaningful and productive few days.

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Review of the Financial Services Commission made public

Governor Peter Beckingham presented a Review of the Financial Services Commission to its Chairman, Sir Eroll Allen, and Director Kevin Higgins on 10 February. The Review was commissioned by the Governor’s Office and conducted by Steve Johnson, a former Treasury official and adviser to Overseas Territories.

Commenting on the Review the Governor said: “I am grateful to Mr Johnson for conducting a thorough and wide-ranging examination, consulting both the FSC, business and government. I am pleased he has found the FSC fit for purpose, and in better shape than it used to be. But he also highlights areas where more work needs to be done, and change made, notably in the FSC’s governance and management practices. There are some other important areas for the Board to examine, including resources and consultation with business and government. I look forward to discussing with the Board all the recommendations, and agreeing how they might be implemented.”

The following is the Executive Summary of the Review: 1.1 The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has been on a long journey of development. The FSC’s Board, Management and Staff deserve credit for what has been achieved.

But there is still work to be done, and change necessary. This Review makes a number of recommendations.

Reinforcing the Board and setting direction.

1.2 Priority should be given to appointing an additional nonexecutive director to the Board who has insurance expertise (the principal financial services business sector in TCI) to enrich expertise and spread the workload.

1.3 Drawing together existing internal FSC planning processes into an annual business planning exercise would assist the Board in setting direction. And the decision making process would be improved if well structured papers were routinely circulated to Board members in advance of Board meetings, following best practice in other financial services regulators.

Developing leadership and talent management

1.4 As the FSC has grown in size, a heavy burden has fallen on the Managing Director. A Deputy Managing Director should be appointed to provide greater space for developing leadership and talent management of FSC staff. This would be consistent with the structure adopted by other financial services regulators in the region.

1.5 The Managing Director, his Deputy (if appointed) and a full complement of Heads of Department should work together as a senior leadership team - with support from an external coach - to break down silos and encourage a more collegiate culture.

1.6 Information should be cascaded from the leadership team to other members of staff.

Developing and using staff experience

1.7 The FSC has achieved a creditable increase in the experience

of its staff. The Bank and Trust Department stands out as an example of increasing experience whereas retaining experience in the Insurance Department has been more challenging. It is a cause for concern that the Head of Insurance post has been vacant since July 2013.

1.8 To maximise the use of existing skills and to encourage staff to develop, managers at all levels must be willing to delegate, with senior managers leading by example.

There is a perception, both inside and outside the FSC, that there is currently insufficient delegation. An assessment of the current practice on delegation of responsibility should be an early priority for the senior leadership team. Identifying resource requirements and improving resource allocation.

1.9 The development of an improved business planning process would help the FSC determine the resources required to deliver its objectives, and the annual publication of a business plan would help the FSC to demonstrate that resources are utilised economically and efficiently.

Managing perceptions on fee levels and remaining competitive

1.10 There is perception amongst some in the industry that fees charged by the FSC are high. Although there are some examples of particular fees charged by the FSC being higher than those charged in some competitor jurisdictions within the region, they generally compare favourably.

1.11 This perception may be influenced by fee increases that have been introduced in recent years. The FSC could improve the management of fee increases by undertaking a review of fees every three to five years, including a comparison with fees charged by competitor jurisdictions.

Securing efficiencies 1.12 Staff numbers at the FSC needed to increase to improve the effectiveness of the Commission.

Much of the increase to the current complement of 68 is accounted for by the recruitment of frontline supervisors, but the size of the operational support function has also grown considerably. This is due in part to the recruitment of additional staff to undertake data entry duties in respect of the KRegistry and various databases. This work should be brought to fruition and efficiencies secured.

Board fees and staff costs 1.13 Fees paid to FSC nonexecutive directors for attending Board meetings are modest at $2,000 per meeting. There is a case for a measured increase, within affordability limits, to appropriately compensate existing non-executive directors and to help attract new directors in the future.

1.14 The FSC has generally been successful in recruiting staff both locally and from some other regulators in the region, but higher compensation may need to be offered in some cases.

A broad comparison of staff costs between different jurisdictions has its limitations, but suggests that

FSC staff costs are being contained.

Reserves

1.15 The Financial Services Commission Ordinance requires the FSC to hold reserves to ensure that financial resources are available to deliver regulatory objectives. The FSC’s reserves are within the range observed across financial services regulators in other Caribbean Overseas Territories.

1.16 The Ordinance also sets the formula and mechanism for calculating and transferring funds due to the Government. Payments due must be made by the FSC within the timescale specified in the Ordinance to set a positive example to the financial services industry on compliance.

least annually to develop the existing dialogue between the FSC and the Government.

1.19 The FSC should consider increasing the frequency of meetings with the industry to quarterly also to build on existing engagement.

1.20 The consultation process with the industry and other interested parties could be improved further by adopting a standard template for consultation documents. Adding a prominent link to live consultations to the front page of the FSC’s website would help to ensure that all parties were aware of consultations and the deadline for responses.

1.21 Providing a web link to a description of the FSC’s enforcement process and publishing the total value of penalties imposed would further improve transparency.

Building on existing consultation processes

Developing international cooperation

1.17 The FSC has rightly jealously guarded its independence, but the FSC’s approach may, on occasions, have over-compensated for potential risks to the integrity of any regulator.

1.18 The FSC should have quarterly meetings with the Minister of Finance and the Governor should consider inviting the FSC to brief Cabinet at

1.22 The FSC has developed a network of co-operation agreements with other regulators and has worked with a range of international bodies. The forthcoming review by the IMF and World Bank under their joint Financial Sector Assessment Programme will be an important milestone for the FSC and for TCI.

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PDM to celebrate 40 years in June PDMs from all over the Turks and Caicos Islands will descend on the Nation’s Capital, Grand Turk to celebrate its 40th Year of existence from June 4 – 7th, 2015.

According to a press statement from the party, there will be a number of activities that all ages can join in and the National Chairman will be releasing details of the activities within the next few weeks.

Formed in 1975, the PDM is the longest serving Political Party in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It went on to become the first Party to form the Government under the Ministerial System of Government making its Leader and one its founders, the Late JAGS McCartney, the first Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Over its 40 years, it has met with immeasurable successes and many of its achievements will be highlighted and celebrated.

This year’s dates include the anniversary date of the Junkanoo Club incident and we will ensure those unsung heroes are on hand to be celebrated. We are so happy that in our 40th year, the majority of those active participants are alive and those that are alive will be allowed to share accounts of their involvement.

In preparation for its 40th Birthday, it was agreed late last year that the Party will increase its presence around the Islands by traveling especially to the Islands to visit its base and the people of these Islands generally. The Party’s Leadership has therefore put in place a full schedule to travel around the Islands which includes Walk Throughs and worshipping with different congregations.

It began its Walk Through in Middle Caicos with the Party Leader, All Island Candidate Hon Derek

Taylor, Seat Care taker for Middle and North Caicos Ashwood Forbes and the 2nd Vice Chairman Patricia Eke. On January 24th, 2015 PDM representatives visited with residents in all the settlements. It will continue its visits in Conch Bar and then onto North Caicos.

Also during the month of February, visits were made to Party Stalwarts in the Backsalina area of Grand Turk and persons were thanked for their support over the 40 years.

Grand Turk South representative, Hon Edwin Astwood said that “it is always a pleasure to hear from these stalwarts and fighters. It reminds us of the great people on whose shoulders we stand.”

Deputy Party Leader Sean Astwood said, “I am encouraged by the words of encouragement given to us as young people who want to make a difference and to serve. We remain committed to the cause for which this Great Party was formed and we will forge ahead.”

Party Leader, Hon Sharlene Robinson said that this initiative is also “ a means of rallying that PDM spirit that so many remain committed to and to hear the older people in JAGS’ constituency speak with pride. I am excited about this 40th year and I am more excited about what is in store. We are looking forward to an exciting time in June. As the roots of the Party were planted in North Backsalina, efforts will continue there and on the Island of Grand Turk while we travel around the Islands”.

On Sunday, February 22, 2015, members of the Party will again join the communities of Middle Caicos in one of its Worship Services.

HAB MANAGEMENT LIMITED Position: Storeroom Clerk

HAB Management Limited is seeking suitable applications for the following position:

Function: Responsible for storage and issuance and posting of all food,

beverage and disposables, as well as cleanliness, security, inventory control, stock rotation and safety procedures in storerooms.

Skills Required: Communication skills, computer literacy, working

and applying mathematical concepts.

Duties:

· Issue goods from storeroom in accordance with hotel requisition procedures. · Assist with maintenance of the storeroom par levels. · Sign all delivery notes/invoices containing stores stock on appropriate stamp. · Maintain clean, safe and organized storeroom and work area. Follow general cleaning schedule set by Purchasing Manager including, but not limited to cleaning of floors, walls and shelving of all storerooms, walk-ins and freezers. · Rotate stock. Notify purchasing manager and F&B Manager of dead stock, slow moving stock, items with short shelf life and spoilage. · Maintain quality control standards as set by the company. · Assist in the deliveries of stock to kitchens if necessary. · Follow all SOPs at all times and notify Purchasing Manager of any deviations immediately. · Other duties as determined necessary by the company from time to time.

Qualified Belongers need only to apply Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience Interested persons can contact our Human Resources Department no later than February 27, 2015 @ (649) 946-5050 Ext. 1050 Email: humanresources@gracebayclub.com Fax: (649) 946-5758 P.O. Box 128 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, British West Indies

BUTLER Main Duties

•Must be able to provide personalized and detailed service to guests in a highly proficient manner.

•Assist with guests schedule, appointments and other services as needed.

•Maintain the operations of the household and/or executing special request, running personal errands and other related duties for guests.

•Perform housekeeping duties.

Requirements

Minimum of five (5) years related experience as a Butler working with high net-worth guests. Must have professional mindset and the utmost discretion. Detail oriented with exceptional organizational skills. Applicants must have strong communication skills both written and verbal. Good presentation and a pleasant, friendly personality required. Flexibility with hours and scheduling required. Salary $14,400.00 per annum.

Interested applicants should contact Veronica Rigby via email by March 9, 2015 at ronnie@habgroup.com or by fax 649-946-5191. Only persons selected for an interview will be contacted by email or telephone to schedule an interview.

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Cabinet statement for February 18th meeting His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday 18th February 2015 at the Hilly Ewing Building on Providenciales.

All Ministers were present except Hon. Minister of Government Support Services.

At this meeting Cabinet: • Advised HE. the Governor to approve the Children (Care and Adoption) Bill 2014, Domestic Violence Bill 2014 and the Family Law (Guardianship, Custody and Access to Children) Bill for introduction at the next sitting of the House of Assembly; •Advised HE. the Governor to issue an order under the Employment Ordinance increasing the statutory national minimum wage rate by 25% (of $5.00 USD which is $1.25 USD) to $6.25 USD per hour effective 1st April 2015; •Approved the Animal Health (Standards for Management of Bottlenose

Dolphins) Regulations; Delancy (member); • Approved the • Advised HE. the appointment of Mr Alden Governor to approve the Durham to the Board of Domestic Financial Services Directors of the Turks Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill and Caicos Islands Ports 2015 for introduction at the Authority. Mr. Durham next sitting of the House of will fill the membership Assembly. The Bill limits position left vacant on the the imposition of the tax to resignation of Mr. Desmond outgoing money transfers Wilson; only and increases the rate •Noted the of tax to 12%; recommendations of the •Advised HE. the Procurement Board on Governor to approve the award of the following a Memorandum of contracts; Consultancy Understanding with the (Investment Promotion Cooper Jack Development Expert) for the Turks and relating to the construction Caicos Islands Government, of a new hotel resort and Business Reform Strategy residential development and Refurbishment Works on Cooper Jack Bay, to the Morgue Building, Providenciales, Turks and Grand Turk; Caicos Islands; •Approved the re•Approved a letter of appointment of the following understanding with the members to the National Carnival Corporation Honors and Awards outlining procedural matters Committee; Dr. Linda for the administration of the Williams (Chairman), Mrs Infrastructure Fund; Agnes Swann (member), Mrs •Advised HE. the Karen Missick (member), Mr Governor to approve the Conrad Howell (member), supporting documents and Mr William Clare (member), forms developed to facilitate Mr Llewlyn Handfield the administration of the (member) and Mr Oneal Governments Investor

Blue Heron Aviation is seeking an: Field Superintendent Aviation Security to complete its portfolio of services to its corporate jet clients, the individual must hold the following qualifications and have had previous experience within an airline environment.

Minimum Qualifications: •High School Graduate •Police Academy Graduate or •Military Training •Firearm training •Basic Microsoft Office skills •Fraudulent Document training •Explosive Detection training •Previous Air Carrier experience is mandatory.

Responsibilities: •Provide direction and leadership to a small team of highly qualified Officers •Provide world class safety and security to high end net worth individuals from various different countries •The ability to offer excellent customer service skills on a daily basis •Creating and promoting plans to ensure the safety and security of expensive assets.

•Setting up rostering systems to ensure regular patrols of the facility and apron areas, acting as a visual deterrent as well as looking for any damage to the building so it can be reported •Ensuring that any threat of unauthorized access to said facility and assets is negated.

•Concise reporting of daily tasks •Assisting in the evacuation of passengers in emergency situations •Assisting in the creation and maintenance of the SMS plan Skills Must be physically active, capable of working extended periods of time and capable of first class customer service delivery within a specialized high net worth environment.

Miscellaneous All Applicants are subject to a Substance Abuse test prior to employment as well as producing a valid Police Certificate of Character.

Salary commensurate with experience.

Interested individuals can send inquires no later than February 25th, 2015 to: Email: info@misickstanbrook.tc; or Fax (649) 946) 4734.

Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC)policy.

At a teleconference meeting of Cabinet on February 9 2015 Cabinet agreed that: •Advised the Governor to approve a Cable route survey to MONET Cabling to conduct a cable route survey within the exclusive Fishing Zone (FZ) to the TCI; •Advised the Governor to approve a lease to Toscana for an extension of the accreted land comprising of a total of 0.68 acres; noting that terms and conditions would apply; •Advised the Governor to approve a maintenance dredging license to Turtle Cove Marina for maintenance dredging of the entrance to the Turtle Cove marina, noting that the license was being approved in accordance with the current provisions of the Law as amended.

Ministers will provide more information on these matters in due course.

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

Blue Heron Aviation is seeking an:

Aircraft Flight Dispatcher to complete its portfolio of services to its corporate jet clients, the individual must hold the following qualifications and have had previous experience within an airline environment.

Minimum Qualifications: •05 O-Level / IGCE/CXE Examination (including English Language) •02 A-Levels •Certified Airman Dispatcher license issued by the FAA or an EASA course based on ICAO Doc 7192-AN/857 leading to a school certificate attestation.

•2 years in an Operational Control enviornment •Emergency Response Training from a reputable Air Carrier and or Training facility Responsibilities: •Has joint responsibility with the captain for the safety and operational control of flights under his/her guidance.

•Authorizes, regulates and controls corporate flights according to government and company regulations to expedite and ensure safety of flight.

•Analyzes and evaluates meteorological information to determine potential hazards to safety of flight and to select the most desirable and economic route of flight.

•Computes the amount of fuel required for the safe completion of flight according to type of aircraft, distance of flight, maintenance limitations, weather conditions and minimum fuel requirements prescribed by federal aviation regulations.

•Prepares flight plans containing information such as maximum allowable takeoff and landing weights, weather reports, field conditions, NOTAMS and many other informational components required for the safe completion of flight.

•Prepares and signs the dispatch release which is the legal document providing authorization for a flight to depart.

•Monitors weather conditions, aircraft position reports, and aeronautical navigation charts to evaluate the progress of flight.

•Updates the pilot in command of significant changes to weather or flight plan and recommends flight plan alternates, such as changing course, altitude and, if required, enroute landings in the interest of safety and economy.

Skills Must be articulate and capable of first class customer service delivery within a specialized high net worth environment.

Miscellaneous All Applicants are subject to a Substance Abuse test prior to employment as well as producing a valid Police Certificate of Character.

Salary commensurate with experience.

Interested individuals can send inquires no later than February 25th, 2015 to: Email: info@misickstanbrook.tc; or Fax (649) 946) 4734.

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LOCAL NEWS

14-year-old Raymond Gardiner student stabbed in neck A 14-year-old Raymond Gardiner High School student, who was stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver, was released from the hospital this past week, while the 16-year-old accused pleaded guilty to wounding charges and is now awaiting sentencing.

An eyewitness, who described the incident as “chickens coming home to roost”, said that fights amongst Raymond Gardiner High School students are nothing new, but the situation has been kept under wraps to maintain the school’s burnishing image.

“The brawl was ugly. It involved about 37 people, including adults, some of them parents. I must say, at first they tried to separate the students but ended up becoming part of the fight. It was like Wrestlemania or a bar fight,” the eyewitness said.

The incident reportedly took place on the North Caicos school compound on Friday (February 13) during school hour. Police described the stabbing implement as a “sharpened screwdriver”. Reports are that a 15-year-old started the incident.

It is reported that the 15-year-old, for unclear reasons, started the disturbance. It was however,

quickly broken up by a group of parents that were on the compound at the time. The boy involved in that incident, it is understood, were escorted off the compound.

Another melee broke out not long after the initial one, during which the 14-year-old received a stab wound to the next and had to be rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. He was treated in North Caicos.

The 16-year-old was reportedly arrested sometime after the incident and charged with wounding. He was taken before the Providenciales Magistrate’s Court on Thursday (February 19, 2015) before Magistrate Jolyon Hatmin, where he pleaded guilty. The boy who is currently out on bail, could be sentenced on March 17 .

The SUN understands that other charges against students at the institution are pending, since a police sergeant, who was in the process of breaking up the scuffle was assaulted by students.

The charges could either stem from assault on a police to resisting arrest, or both.

The incident has triggered a series of meetings at the Ministry of Education and Department of

Immediate opening PAYROLL MASTER/GENERAL CASHIER Requirements: •Experience at a property of similar size as a Payroll Master/General Cashier •Experience with Timesaver and ADP Software an asset •Experience handling and balancing cash transactions from various outlets and preparing daily deposits •Experience with handling Change, Floats & Petty Cash Transactions as asset •Must be able and willing to work all days and shifts Duties: •Full Payroll Cycle processing for Biweekly payroll for two Resort Properties, based on current payroll information and all Personal Action Forms received within the resorts; present to the Financial Controller for control, approval and signatures •Keeping all employee data updated in payroll software system •Balance and prepare daily cash deposits for entire resort and coordinate daily delivery to bank with service; provide all departments with change as needed from main resort float •Manage Petty Cash and Monthly Float checks Salary $31,500.00 per annum but commensurate with experience & education, not including service charge ACCOUNTANT Requirements: •Minimum two year’s experience at a property of similar size as an accountant •Post secondary degree or equivalent qualification by experience.

•Resort and Strata Accounting experience •Sound training in all areas of accounting from A/P, A/R, General Ledger, Credit.

Collections, Audit. Inventory control, Payroll, Budgeting, Costing, P & L preparation and analysis, etc.

•Advanced knowledge and skills in computer systems, most specifically, Excel Spreadsheet Solutions •Demonstrate understanding of interdepartmental relations and expectations in the luxury hotel market.

•Sound knowledge if American Accounting Plans •Willingness to complete a variety of tasks as assigned by Financial Controller •Must be able and willing to work all days and shifts Duties: •Preparing and posting of various General Ledger entries each month with appropriate backups as well as assist with preparation of monthly financial statements for final review

by Financial Controller for Management Company and Strata Corporation.

•Prepare monthly reconciliation of balance sheet accounts for Management Company and Strata Corporation.

•Assist/Coordinate with Cost Controller and Department Managers on monthly reports submitted for month end; reviewing and ensuring accuracy on inventory counts, variances are investigated and resolved, all shop prepaid reports are accurate, invoice submissions are completed, etc.

•Prepare of bi-weekly payroll entries for the resort from reports received from Payroll Master and make necessary accruals, if ending of payroll is different from ending of accounting period.

•Prepare and balance NIB and NHIP reconciliation on time for monthly submissions. This includes coordinating with Human Resources, Payroll Master and NIB/NHIP on ensuring numbers are all correct and current in ADP and submission.

•Ensure that cash reconciliation between PMS system and physical deposits is maintained

by Income Auditor and verifying all variances are being followed up and resolved in a timely manner.

•Ensuring that credit card reconciliation between PMS system, shift 4, and bank account is maintained and any variances are being followed up in a timely manner.

Starting salary $36,000.00 per annum but commensurate with experience & education, not including service charge Interested applicants should apply to Regent Palms, Human Resources Department by submitting an updated resume, or by emailing to marjorie.dorsett@regenthotels.com no later than Friday, February 26, 2015.

Education levels, as the authorities seek to hammer out a resolution to determine the fate of other boys who were involved in the free-for-all. The meeting are also to institute security mechanism at the institution aimed at ensuring safety for all and resolving disagreements amongst students before they escalate into physical confrontations.

Community meetings are also planned, where the authorities are expected to get feedback from parents and other members of the community as to the way forward following.

In the meantime, the eyewitness said that educators at the institution have expressed concern for their safety, drawing reference to the guiltypleading student, who managed to smuggled the weapon on school property without being detected.

“A lot of teachers there are becoming fearful for their safety, because they don’t feel sure that they many not become the next stabbing victim.

It is somewhat sad that you send your children to school to learn and get a good education, and you later hear either that they are the victim of an attack or that they injured someone. What are you to do as a parent?” the eyewitness said.

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 11

LOCAL NEWS

Immigration Minister concerned about radar failure to detect Haitian sloop Minister of Immigration and Border control Hon. Don-Hue Gardiner ahs expressed about the failure of the coastal radar to detect a Haitian sloop carrying an undisclosed number of illegal Haitians onTuesday February 17th.

On that date a sloop which could have held 30-40 persons, came ashore on Providenciales at approximately 2 a.m. At least four of the illegal immigrants were apprehended but Gardiner wants a probe into the incident.

“It is a matter of some concern to me that this vessel was not identified by our coastal radar station, which has previously enjoyed significant success in helping us track suspicious vessels, to apprehend, and to send home, hundreds of would be illegal immigrants from Haiti over the past two years. It is a disappointing to have this fine record tarnished in the manner. I will, of course, be investigating why this happened and will report further on this at a later time - our focus for the moment must understandably be upon the pursuit of those who arrived here illegally,” Gardiner said.

He said that TCI immigration and police officers will continue to search of the local area for these illegal migrants which will see them apprehended and repatriated in due course.

Requirements:

The boat in which it is believed that a number of Haitian migrants appeared early Tuesday Morning “I would take this opportunity to thank our immigration and police officers for their work in swiftly catching these four people, who will help us with our enquiries before being repatriated. This search for others will clearly include those areas of the TCI which are already home to legal Haitian migrants and further afield across the Islands,” Gardiner said. “Both the TCI Governor and I have made several representations to the Haitian authorities, including their Consul-General here in the TCI, to do more to prevent their nationals travelling here illegally. We will continue to maintain this pressure.”

Residents in the Five Cays community told The SUN that at about 4.a.m. to 5:30a.m. On Tuesday they heard what sounded like persons running through their premises, and

Cook de Tourant

•Demonstrate understanding of the technical culinary skills for assigned area (all kitchen work stations.)

•Post secondary degree or equivalent qualification by experience •Must have previously worked as a Cook d’tourant for a minimum 3 years in a luxury resort •Experience with, and are comfortable preparing a variety of different cuisines in a fine dining environment •Understand the importance of consistency •Knowledge of food preparation techniques and health/safety requirements •Must be able to work all days and shifts

Duties Include:

•Prepares all food items, sauces, soups and hot entrees in accordance with recipes, menus, portions and presentation specifications •Coordinates completion of menu items with server •Sets up breakfast, lunch and/or dinner workstations.

•Produces all menu items ensuring the right quantity and highest standards of quality •Working the floor during special events •Rotate all foods and correctly fill out production charts.

Starting salary at $25,000 per year not including service charge.

Spa Therapist/Technician Requirements: •Diploma in massage therapy or equivalent.

•Prior experience in a 5-star luxury environment.

•Extensive knowledge of Eastern style massage, wraps, facials and other treatments.

•Proficiency in English.

•Must be able and willing to work all days and shifts Duties Include: •Providing spa treatments to resort guests and day spa guests.

•Maximize the revenue of the department through massage and retail product sales.

•In addition to performance of the essential functions, this position may be “required to perform a combination of support functions Starting salary $5.50 per hour not including service charge, commission and tips.

Interested applicants should apply to Regent Palms, Human Resources Department, Monday through Friday, and bring along an updated resume, or by emailing your resume to marjorie.dorsett@ regenthotels.com, no later than end of day Friday, February 27th, 2015.

woke up later to find a boat on the beach in the vicinity of the Felix Morley Community Centre in that community.

When The SUN visited the scene, the red, white and blue staff-less boat was seen on the beach near to which pieces of clothes were strewn. Pieces of garments, small packs of biscuits and what appeared to jugs used to store fresh water, were also seen in nearby thickets.

An investigator lamented the pressure under which the police will have to work to capture the illegal migrants, seeing that they have no idea how many persons turned up on the boat.

“For sure we will find some of them, but it will be impossible to find all of them because we do not know how many came, and that is dangerous, because only God’s knows what they came here with.

“They could come here with guns, drugs, and God forbids, diseases. But once they blend in the community it will always going to be hard to find them, because there seems to be this strict culture of silence within the community,” the officer said.

Investigators said also that it appears the wooden boat was equipped with an outboard engine because members of the marine division removed a fuel pump from the inside rear of the vessel, adding that it had not mast.

Residents in the community have been forming their theories as to why the boat operators chose their community to make landfall.

“I think that these guys who operated the boat know the Turks and Caicos to an extent that they know where to land the boat, at what time of the night without being detected, and I think they were assisted by persons on land,” said one two men who came on the scene while the police tried to gather clues.

Haitians, whose country is listed as the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, often make treacherous voyages to the TCI, risking their safety in rickety boats in search of a better life. However, over the years, many have lost their lives during the two to three day journey.

We are currently seeking a qualified applicant to fill the position of Stevedore

REQUIREMENT:

•Minimum of 3 years experience in Stevedoring work.

•Must be in good health to meet the demands of physically challenging work.

•Must be available for emergency calls and be able to work at nights and weekends.

•Must be Crane Inspection and Certification Bureau certified (CICB) in Basic Safety and Riggings •Must be able to speak fluent English language STEVEDORING WORK AT THE PORT OF PROVIDENCIALES AND/OR THE PORT OF GRAND TURK:

•Tie-up and release of ship shore lines.

•Discharging of containers from ship.

•Back loading of empty containers.

•Discharging cement/blocks from ships.

•Discharging of bulk aggregate and sand from ships.

•Assist in Loading of full container loads (FCL) onto trucks.

•Stocking palletized cargo.

•Stocking empty units/containers.

•Disposal of garbage and debris from ships and port facilities.

•Assist with the maintenance and cleaning Equipment.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE TO: •Discharge and Backload all vessels •Mooring and Unmooring of all vessels •Carry out all other duties as directed by the Supervisor Salary Range: US$10.00 per hour All applications must be submitted by March 15th, 2015.

Human Resources Manager Provo Stevedoring Ltd. P.O. Box , South Dock Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Fax: (649) 946-4828 Email: cagreene@provostevedoring.com

Page 12

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

Highlights of the National Primary School Spelling Bee Championship Jenna Hatmin was crowned champion of the National Primary School Spelling Bee Championship held at the Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa on Friday (February 13,

2015). Jenna, a student of the International School of the Turks and Caicos Islands, emerged the winner ahead of 13 other competitors. The following are photo highlights of the event.

Minist rest of

Michael Goldberg, who and wife Nancy are the main sponsors of the TCI Primary School Spelling Bee championship, share lens with this year’s champion Jenna Hatmin

Judges

Jabriel Williams (foreground) of Shining Stars Michael Goldberg (partly hidden at centre), main sponsor of the TCI Primary School Spelling Bee competition, congratulates Jenna Hatmin for winning the 2015 seizes a photo op with the participants National Primary School Spelling Bee Championship.

Both made it to the final (from a field of 14 schools

A beam (right) for win

Marilyn Robinson-Beresford of Caribbean Diamond Residence presents Oneil Chung of International School of the Turks and Caicos Islands with an award. Chung’s charge – Jenna Hatmin – emerged the 2015 TCI Primary School Spelling Bee champion

Michael Goldberg, who along with his wife Nancy, sponsors the TCI Primary School Spelling Bee competition hands out trophies to some of the participants

Participants in this year’s National Primary School Spelling Bee competition display their trophies

Jenna event

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 13

LOCAL NEWS

Jenna Hatmin (left) of the International School of the Turks and Caicos Islands and ter of Education, Youth and Sport Hon. Akierra Missick (foreground) joins in with the Jabriel Williams of Shining Stars manage to strike smiles while battling each other for the Spelling Bee title the audience to congratulate the spellers

s (from left) Cheryl Foreman, Maurice Ingham and Orlando Tyndall

Tanya Swann of Beaches Turks and Caicos presents Jabriel Williams with the runner-up trophy

ming Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Library Service Hon. Akierra Missick presents Jenna Hatmin (centre) and her coach Oneil Chung with the Premier’s Cup nning the 2015 Primary School Spelling Bee Championship

a Hatmin, the 2015 TCI Spelling Bee champ, share lens with main sponsor of the Michael Goldberg, who presents her with a Mac laptop computer and a printer

Pronouncers (from left) Shelaine Been, Kordell Forbes and Cynclair Musgrove

Michel Goldberg presents coaches with gift bags

Page 14

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS

NOTICE

Qualified, current and experienced PADI DIVE INSTRUCTOR needed for busy outdoor adventure school, who will be responsible for developing new scuba programs for our hotel/villa partners and camps.

Regulation 7 of the Physical Planning (Development Permission)

Requirements:

Regulations, 1990

-Minimum 4 years teaching experience in the Turks and Caicos, DSD’s up to Dive Master level -Current STCW and Boat Captains License and able to service outboard engines -Underwater photography and videographer essential, as will also be responsible for managing and refreshing all social media outlets -Must enjoy being part of a Team and be able to work 6 days per week, and Holidays -Valid TCI driver’s license -Must be able to operate, maintain and repair ScubaPro dive equipment -First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor qualifications, and Emergency Responder certification -Experience independently guiding kayak, SUP and snorkel ecotours and private boat charters -Pay starts at $1400/month

An Application, REGISTERED 12045, by Turtle Cove Marina for development of Dredging and Reef Relocation, has been submitted to the Department of Planning for consideration of Development Permission on Turtle Cove Channel on Providenciales. The application as submitted seeks planning consideration for Manually removing to approximately -9FT MSL, relocating, and stabilizing the rubble and coral, which will be cemented together within reefs balls, to placed +/- 60FT diameter reef site.

Anyone wishing to make representation(s) may do so in writing to the Director of Planning, South base, Grand Turk or through the Department of Planning, Downtown, Town Center Mall, Providenciales, within twenty eight (28) days of publication of this notice.

Please email surfsidetci@gmail.com to apply.

AUTO TECH IS SEEKING FOR A DOMESTIC WORKER WILLING TO PAY $5.5 PER HOUR 6 DAYS A WEEK APPLICANT MUST BE FLEXIBLE TO WORK ON HOLIDAYS AND OVERTIME INTERESTED: CALL 432-2323

THE LANDING SEEKS

CARAMBOLA RESTAURANT

SEEKS Is seeking 2 Labourers - $5.50 per hour 1 COOK 2 Domestic Workers To work 6 days per week $5.50 per hour Salary $6.00 per hour With at least 2 years experience Interested persons in commercial cleaning should contact 941-8122 Contact 346-9884

DOMESTIC WORKER WANTED

LAPELS SUPER SUDS AUTO SPA

DIANA JONES Gardner Needed 4 - Days a week Salary negotiable Contact - 241-6190 MERVIN JENNINGS

Salary $5.50 per hour Must be hardworking and reliable, Interested person should contact 246-8422

The Solid Rock Apostolic Ministries International

GAS STATION PUMP ATTENDANT

Service Station in Provo requires a Gas Pump Attendant to work six days per week $5.00 per hour Call (649)941-5189

THREADS LTD

SEEKS 2 Tailors 2 Dressmakers Must have atleast 20 years experience Salary based on commission

Contact 242-7211

KADEEN AGENCY ON BEHALF OF ITS CLIENT

Salary $5.50 per hour

1 Chef 1 Kitchen Helper Must be able to speak English and French Salary negotiable Contact 344-8224

Seeks 1 License Minister 1 Teacher Salary negotiable Contact 243-6416

ABOVE THE REST CLEANING SERVICE

Dated February 4, 2015

SEEKS Car Wash Attendant Salary based on experience Contact 941-4663 or lapelstci@tciway.tc

Wanted

Cleaner/Helper Salary of $5.00 per hour.

All applications must be submitted by March 15th, 2015.

Human Resources Manager Provo Stevedoring Ltd. P.O. Box , South Dock Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands Fax: (649) 946-4828 Email: cagreene@ provostevedoring.com

Looking for A Domestic Worker To take care of three children and take care of the house Salary $5.50 per hour Contact 941-8714

Is looking for one Handyman with experience in performing various task in a number of arrears, must be able to work without supervision, and sometime long hours

Salary $9.00 an hour Interested persons contact Tel: 231-6565

PORT ATLANTIC Glamour Girl CONSTRUCTION

Is seeking employment for the following: 1 Labourer Salary $5.00 per hour Interested candidate may contact 346-6622 for further details regarding employment.

Seeks 3 Hairdressers - $6.00 per hour 2 Barbers - $6.00 per hour 1 Domestic Worker -$5.00 per hour Interested person should contact 347-2707

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 15

LOCAL NEWS

Regent Palms Celebrates 10th Year Anniversary

THE OASIS HOUSE 1 Line Chef 1 Commissary Chef Must be able to work weekends and holidays Must have atleast 10 years experience Current experience in a high-volume production or commissary facility is a must Contact 432-0221

said, “Regent Palms Regent Palms, a leader in the Hartling Turks and Caicos Hospitality Industry, 10th anniversary is a tremendous announced today that February 19, milestone for the company. Over the 2015 marks the company’s 10th year past ten years, we’ve always looked anniversary of its operations. A number for better ways to do things, whether of festivities are planned throughout it’s by implementing a new way to look the day honoring the employees who at our guest needs and expectations or have contributed so greatly to the through our unique training program success of the organization. for new hires. We’ve pioneered a true Ten years ago, Stan Hartling partnership with our staff and we and his partners opened what would set the bar only by what we believe rapidly become one of the leading defines greatness. I am immensely resorts in the Caribbean, Regent proud to be leading a team of people Palms. With the vision primarily who strive for perfection every day focused on innovation, on hiring the and relentlessly work to build the best absolute best staff, and delivering brand in the Caribbean, and deliver 100% customer satisfaction, Regent incredible service to our owners and Palms remains a leader in the guests.” industry, celebrating today with a Hartling added, “To Regent slew of accolades throughout the years Palms employees, owners and guests including World’s Best Spa Resort, - past, present and future, it has been a wonderful decade of achievements. and Caribbean’s Leading Resort.

Chief Executive Officer Stan I thank you for your dedication and

loyalty, and to your commitment of achieving excellence. We’ve done amazing things together, but the best is still yet to come.”

Regent Palms Turks & Caicos, opened in 2005, is the epitome of timeless sophistication in the Caribbean. With colonially inspired design, the Regent Palms transports guests to a classic island experience with 72 oceanfront suites featuring panoramic views, luxurious and spacious accommodations and highly personalized service. Located on the famed Grace Bay Beach, the regal entrance to the Regent Palms makes way to high-end retail shops, an infinity pool and swim-up bar, the al fresco award-winning Parallel 23 restaurant, chic event and meeting space, croquet lawn, tennis courts, and complimentary water sports on white sand beaches.

Alexandra Resort & Spa is inviting suitable applications for the following position:

Duties

HOUSEKEEPER

•To clean all areas of the hotel thoroughly to ensure excellent standards of hotel cleanliness •Deliver excellent customer service at all times •Service all bedrooms and corridors in line with company’s policy •Provide information to guests on request •Complete tasks such as flipping mattresses, cleaning curtains and dusting.

Qualified Belongers need only apply.

General Manager The applicant must possess the following: •Preferably 5 years experience as an international Hotel General Manager •Experience managing hotel or resort operations for different target groups •Extensive F&B operations •Extensive Owner Relations experience •Extensive business development experience •Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management or equivalent required - MBA degree desired •Fluency in four languages Belongers need only apply.

Please Submit Detailed Application to: cgibbons@wihl.com A copy should also be submitted to the TCI Labour Department.

Submissions to be no later than February 14th, 2015

Page 16

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS

Clement Howell High gets $16,600 from Ladies Hat Luncheon

By Vivian Tyson

Senior Sun Editor The Ladies Hat Luncheon – a fundraising committee formed about two years ago to raise funds for worthy causes – has donated $16,600 to the Clement Howell High School in Providenciales to assist with teaching upgrade.

The administration and teaching body has agreed to use the funds to purchase whiteboards for the classroom, replacing existing dilapidated ones.

Minister for Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services Hon. Akierra Missick, who was on hand to accept the cheque, expressed her delight that the body sought to donate to the Clement Howell High School.

“Let me say thank you to the Ladies Hat Luncheon organisation for Selecting Clement Howell High School to be one of their beneficiaries at the fundraiser that was held here at Fire and Ice Restaurant in Blue Haven, Providenciales.

“The principal and the staff there decided that they will purchase whiteboards for the classrooms. So that is a very worthwhile initiative that would allow our students the opportunity to have boards that are

Hazel Rush (third from left), Pauline Barclay (fourth), Lydia Fischer (eight from left) and Charlotte Chapman (10th from right) present Minister for Education, Youth, Sport and Library Services Hon. Akierra Missick (fifth from left) with the display cheque. Sharing in the moment are Kadean Cunningham (third from right), Principal for the Clement Howell High School; Claudette Dean (second left), Vice Principal along with students. clear and able to provide them with the learning experience that they should have at our schools,” the minister said.

Hazel Rush, committee member of the Ladies Hat Luncheon, said that the almost-three-year-old organization was created to primarily raise funds for the construction of a new Catholic church on Providenciales and the school that it operates, but later morphed into supporting the public school system.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT Gansevoort Turks + Caicos is a contemporary luxury full service boutique resort on Grace Bay Beach. We are looking for driven and energetic professionals with Five Star experience and who are committed to achieving excellence by ensuring Five Star standards and services are continuously delivered.

Owner Relations Manager Responsible for maintaining excellent relationships and communication with luxury condo owners to ensure the long term business relationship is successful and is the single point of contact for all owners. This includes regular review of revenue accounts, expenses, statements, booking of reservations, communication to keep owners up to date on their investment and its management. The position requires someone with proven people management skills and experience trouble shooting problems, property management experience, purchasing, inspection, public relations and project management. This individual is self motivated and will deal with all owner communication, issues, requests and questions as well as manage the annual general meeting. They are the owner’s liaison with the hotel and the development company, providing training for staff and providing feedback and input on hotel products and services in development or under review as well as the strata budget.

•Minimum 4 years experience in Owner Relations in luxury condo hotel •Skilled in Opera PMS and extensive knowledge of OVOS contracts •5 years knowledge of hotel operations and systems •10 years plus management, communications and/or training/coaching experience •Exceptional communications skills – written and oral, conflict resolution experience, presentation & training skills at senior/executive level competence •Excellent skills in MS Office Professional suite •Knowledge of Rental Management Agreement, strata bylaws

Spa Therapist

•Must hold CIDESCO or CIBTAC certification. Previous knowledge of SPASOFT/ SALONIRIS and MBO software is preferred.

•Must be a graduate from an accredited university with extensive experience of at least 5 years with a reputed hotel/ chain or a luxury/Boutique Spa in massage, face therapy and nails.

•Must have advanced knowledge of holistic therapy such as Reiki, Shiatsu, Thai Massage, lymphatic drainage, reflexology, bamboo therapy concepts that relate to the well being of all guests in a spa environment.

•Must be certified esthetician and massage therapist.

•Must have: good communication skills, flexibility to work hospitality shifts, PC skills, be a Team Player, self-motivated, punctual, professional.

•Must speak and read English. Preferred with Asian/Gulf countries work experience.

•Fluency in MS office specially Microsoft excel, outlook.

Salary: Commission based

Interested applicants can contact our Human Resources Department, Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm on (649)941-7555. E- Mail cover letter outlining your interest and supporting experience in a particular position along with your Resume or C.V. to hr@wymara.com

“We started this a couple of years ago to raise funds for the building of the new Catholic church, then we moved into raising funds for the Holy Family Academy School. So it has been two to three years since we are doing these fundraising efforts,” Rush said.

She added: “Last year we opened up to the public school system because we heard that there was a need – the overcrowding in Clement Howell High School, and the facilities needed upgrading. So we thought how great it

would be for us to assist. We have done some successful events in the past, and we thought this year – last November – would open it up to the public schools.”

Hazel Barclay, a member of the committee, said that more than 140 persons attended last year’s event, and from the looks of things, it is shaping up to be a sold-out event this year.

“We had over 140 people, and we think that we are going to have a sell-out way before the actual date, which is soon to be announced. It is in November, but we are not quite exactly sure when it would be yet,” Barclay said.

Meanwhile, Olivia Grant, fifth form student at the Clement Howell High School said that the students were really thankful for the gesture.

“We are very thankful and I think that it would benefit us a lot. I thought it was a great idea, whoever thought of it, and want to show how much we appreciate it. We hope that they would raise more funds to go towards education because it is important to our children,” she said.

The Ladies Hat Luncheon is normally held in November. The categories for judging at the event are, among other areas, best hat, best ensemble and most creative design.

Funds are raised primarily from ticket sales and silent auctions.

HAB MANAGEMENT LTD HAB Management Limited is a seeking suitably qualified individual to fill the following opening. Only candidates who meet the minimum requirements will be considered.

SECURITY GUARD Job Description

Responsible for implementing and enforcing security measures in order to provide maximum protection to the lives and properties of the company, employees and guests. Responsible to guard, patrol and monitor company premises to prevent theft, violence or infractions of rules.

Main Duties

•Maintaining a safe and secure environment for all guests and employees.

•Must be trained in self defense and security operations.

•Document reports of daily activities and irregularities that occur on premises in logbook.

•Inspect and adjust security systems, equipment and machinery to ensure operational use.

•Responding quickly to emergency situation.

Requirements

•Must have five years or more experience as a Security Officer. Law enforcement/ security experience preferred.

•Excellent oral and written communication skills are required.

•Must be computer literate and have working knowledge of CCTV systems and software.

•Must be willing to work a variety of day/night and weekend shifts.

•Able to be on feet for long periods of time.

•Excellent people skills.

•Professional, neat, clean cut appearance is necessary.

•Clean driver’s license.

The salary for this position is $15,000.00 per annum, commensurate with experience, training and education. Interested applicants should email resumes by March 2, 2015 to ronnie@habgroup.com or submit by fax 649-946-5191. Only persons selected for an interview will be contacted by email or telephone to schedule an interview.

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 17

Kaziah Burke murder trial begins March 3

Kaziah Burke was gunned down on the night of Saturday April 13, 2013, while in the process of making purchase at the Uncle Dough’s Restaurant on the premises of the New Era Petrol Service Station on Airport Road The high profile Kaziah Burke murder trial, which almost end the career of one of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ most decorated officers, is set to begin on March 3, 3014.

Cortez Simmons has been accused by the police as the trigger man.

The pretrial hearing place took place in the Providenciales Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 17, 2015, where the prosecution and the defense initiated their submissions before Her Ladyship Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale.

Police charged Simmons with the murder of 25-year-old Avis Car Rental sales representative Kaziah Burke, who was gunned down on the night of Saturday April 13, 2013, while in the process of making purchase at the Uncle Dough’s Restaurant on the premises of the New Era Petrol Service Station on Airport Road.

The incident almost ended the career of decorated top brass Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police officer, Deputy Commissioner Rodney Adams.

The Integrity Commission charged Adams with interfering in the matter, after investigators initially fingered his son, Roderick, in the homicide and his superiors allegedly told him not to intervene. He was however, acquitted by a seven member mixed jury in November 2014.

The police has since dropped

the charges against Rico Adams, after an eyewitness in the matter, Dorell Williams, declared that he was not the shooter. The young Adams has since commenced litigation against the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force for wrongful imprisonment, among other charges.

Simmons’ trial, which is set to last at least two weeks, is scheduled to take place in Providenciales. The pre-trial hearing was held in camera, meaning that the public was not allowed to sit in. Simmons’ presence was not required at that proceeding.

Medical from the Emergency Medical Services, on arrival, administered first aid to Burke, before and during transfer to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre. Further efforts were made to resuscitate him at the medical facility, but unsuccessful.

He was reportedly pronounced dead at about 9:07p.m. The police questioned a number of persons in the matter, including Simmons and Adams, both of whom they charged initially, before subsequently dropping the charges against Adams.

No known motive has been established for Burke’s killing.

Angela Brooks, Acting Director of Public Prosecution (DPPP), said that Trinidadian Evans Welch is to lead the prosecution. Local attorney Alvin Garland is set to lead the defense in the matter.

Page 18

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS

Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages and Spa, the only 6 Diamond all inclusive property in the Caribbean is inviting applications from suitably qualified Turks and Caicos Islanders. Applicants must have a clean police record and a good command of the English language both written and spoken. In addition candidates must be able to work nights, public holidays and week-ends.

The Resort thanks everyone for their interest in advance and advises that only short listed applicants will be contacted via text advising them that they have secured an interview at our monthly job fair.

This month’s featured position Butler Coordinator/Administrator.

Job responsibilities / Duties: •Manage special requests and orders •Update Memo board •Mange the guests preferences process •Schedules team members in time clock •Follow up in Butler guests requests •Responsible for the amenities kits •Responsible for inventory •Any other duties assigned by management Education & Experience: •High school Diploma or equivalent •Excellent Customer service skills •Computer Literate Please forward your resumes and certificates held by February 27th 2015 to secure an interview date and time. Feel free to drop your resume in our secure resume drop-box at the Service Gate, or email it to mmvaughn@grp.sandals.com, or fax to 649 946 4870.

There are also vacant positions available both Management and Line in the following Departments and we are inviting Belonger applicants:

• Accounting • Bars • Concierge • Dining Room • Engineering • Environmental Health & Safety • Front Office • Grounds • Housekeeping • Kids Camp

• Kitchen • Laundry • Photoshop • Projects • Security • Stewarding • Training • Travel and Loyalty Department • Watersports

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page 19

LOCAL NEWS

Time to start stretching out and warming up!

The

7th Annual FortisTCI Spring Fun Walk & Run is happening on Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 5:30 a.m.!!!!!!

FREE* *Breakfast *Games

*T-Shirts

*Registration

*Giveaways *Prizes

Registration forms available at the Leeward Office or request them by email at dkrzanowski@fortistci.com

www.fortistci.com | 649-946-4313 | P.O.Box 132 1030 Leeward HWY, Providenciales, TCI

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

PROPERTIES FOR SALE LOCAL NEWS OFFERS IN WRITING ARE INVITED FOR PURCHASE OF THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES BEING SOLD BY PRIVATE TREATY UNDER POWERS OF SALE CONTAINED IN A MORTAGE LONG BAY-PROVIDENCIALES 1.Parcel 61113/59- Long Bay Hills. Single Storey Residence.

3-bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Price $150K 2.Parcel 61112/ 52 Long Bay Hills.

2 Residential Buildings.

Single Storey Residence - 2 bedrooms, one bath, kitchen and living area.

Guest house- 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and kitchen. Price $95K 3.Parcel 61105/65 Long Bay, Providenciales, comprising of a vacant lot on 0.9 acres of land in Long Bay area. Price $65K LEEWARD-PROVIDENCIALES 1.Parcel 60900/194 Leeward Going Through. 2 Residential Buildings.

2 storey building- Upper Floor-3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, Lower Floor-3 rental units.

Single Storey building- 3 apartments each comprising of 1 bedroom,1 bathroom, 1 kitchen/dining/ living room area.

Price $240K 2.Parcel 60900/73 Leeward Going Through, Providenciales comprising of 0.40 acre of land on which a two storey three bedroom, two bathroom concrete structure. Price $260K 3.Parcel 60900/147 Leeward Palms, The main building comprised of a 3 bedrooms, 2 bathroom 1 kitchen, living, dining and laundry room. The guest house consists of two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen. Price $400K THE BIGHT & THOMAS STUBBS- PROVIDENCIALES 1.Parcel 60807/90 The Bight and Thomas Stubbs. 3 Residential Buildings.

Main house - 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1 kitchen and 1 dining room.

Guest House #1 - 2 bedrooms, 1 bath Guest House#2 - 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom and 1 garage. A pool lounge and swimming pool. Price $495K 2.Parcel 60809/188 The Bight & Thomas Stubbs. Single family residence.

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen and living area. Price $150K 3.Parcel 60809/168 The Bight & Thomas Stubbs. Single Storey Residence - 4 bedrooms, 3- bathrooms, 1- kitchen, 1- living area, 1-laundary room. Price $320K CHESHIRE HALL & RICHMOND HILL- PROVIDENCIALES 1.Parcel 60715/308 Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hills. Single storey residence.

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 living/dining area and kitchen. landscaped grounds, front and rear decks, concrete surfaced driveway and parking.

Price $300K 2.Parcel 60718/159 Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hill,. 2 -Residential buildings.

Main residence-3 bedroom 2 bathrooms, 1 living and 1 kitchen.

Two-storey-apartment building; 1 # 3 bed 2 baths unit, 1# 2 bed, 2 bath unit, 5# 1 bed, unit and 2# efficiency units.

Price $600K 3.Parcel 60805/15/K4, Cheshire Hall and Richmond Hill, Comprising of a 3 bedroom townhouse in phase 2 of the Flamingo Park. This unit consists of kitchen, living and dining room, 2 full baths and 1 part bath. The communal facilities includes a pool, gazebo, lounge area, paved parking, landscaping, 4 tennis courts and boundary fencing/walls. Price $350K 4.Parcel 60720/20 Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hill, A single storey residential, comprising of 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen, living room, and an incomplete bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Price $330K FIVE CAYS PROVIDENCIALES 1.Parcel 60604/20 Norway and Five Cays.

Single storey residence comprising of 3-bedrooms, 1-bathroom, kitchen/dining area and living room.

Listing Price $95K .

2.Parcel 60609/23 Norway and Five Cays. Located on South Dock Road. Two story residence comprising of 4-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, family room, Office & Storage.

Listing Price $600K 3.Parcel 60610/129 Norway & Five Cays. The property comprises of a 3-bedroom home and a one bed room unit. Listing Price $170K 4.Parcel 60611/67 Norway & Five Cays, comprising of a vacant lot on 0.2 acres of land in the Five Cays.

Listing Price $25K 5.Parcel 60602/123 Five Cays Settlements. Comprising of 0.30 acres of land with a 2-storey residential building. Comprising of a 2-bedrooms, 2-bathroom a kitchen, and living, dining and laundry room.

Listing Price $220K INTERESTED PERSONS MAY CALL 232-3488 OR 339-7088 BETWEEN 9:00 AM AND 4:40 P.M. MONDAY TO FRIDAY

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

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Page 22

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS

STAFF VACANCY – CREDIT CONTROL OFFICER Applications are invited from interested and suitably qualified individuals for the position of Credit Control Officer, FortisTCI, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands.

Description •To ensure customer receivables are collected in a timely manner according to policy.

•To provide prompt and efficient customer service in a proficient manner.

Main Duties •Continuously communicate with customers via phone, email or other means to ensure collection of company receivables.

•Identify customer connections for interruption of service according to Policy.

•Post reconnection fees to customer accounts for all services that were reconnected due to non-payment.

•Negotiate and follow-up on Payment Plans requested by customers.

•Review and propose disconnected services for termination according to Policy.

•Escalate high risk and long term disconnected account files to Debt Collection Specialist in a timely manner for further collection efforts.

•Process customer applications for installation of service.

•Attend to customer telephone calls and written queries in a timely manner.

•Ensure customer file data is accurately updated and maintained.

•Identify accounts for adjustments and write offs according to policy.

•Log customer complaints as received in the Company’s Customer Complaints Database.

•Greet all customers in a professional manner.

•Coordinate with supervisor to ensure adequate coverage during busy times and absences.

•Other responsibilities which may be assigned.

Academic/Technical/Management: Experience and Qualifications: •Must possess High school diploma with passes in English, Math and Accounts.

•Associate Degree in Business is preferred.

•Knowledge of Microsoft Excel is essential

Core Competency Skills: •Matured, trustworthy, individual with sound educational background.

•Excellent team player with team building skills.

•Excellent written and oral communication skills.

•Ability to deliver to strict deadlines and to work under pressure.

•Goal-oriented and self-motivated.

Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications Deadline for submission of applications (inclusive of a cover letter, resume and a FortisTCI application form) is March 6, 2015:

Dr. Kellie-Ann Evans-Hall Manager, Human Resources FortisTCI Limited P. O. Box 132, Providenciales Email address: hrapplications@fortistci.com or khall@fortistci.com Fax: 649-946-4532

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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LOCAL NEWS

CAICOS ROYALE CASINO OPENING NEXT WEEK

By Todeline Defralien

Approximitly Seventy-five(75) locals will be employed at the island’s newest casino, Caicos Royale, when it opens in March.The casino, which is located in the Turtle Cove area, will actually have a soft opening next Thursday February 26th, when the public will get a sneak preview of what the new gaming facility has to offer.

Casino owner Rhynie Campbell revealed that the bottom floor of the casino is about Fiftyonehundred (5100) sq foot and consists of 3 phases,Phase one consists of the first phase which is the casino, the second phase consist of Smokey’s Restaurant owned by Smokey’s and the third phase which is in construction is the MIP( Most important persons) rather than VIP(Very important persons). He said “ We are doing the layouts and drawings as we speak and hopefully withen the next couple months it should be finished.”

Campbell said that about two million dollars was spent so far on the casino which will occupy 15 thousand square feet of space when it is fully complete.

Games will include Black jack, Craps, Roulette adding new games which are very popular in America and North Ameraca such as Four-card poker, Threecard poker, Let it ride, Pie Cow, Backarat, and last but not least Caribbean Stud. Campbell said that the casino will be marketed as an additional attraction

and activity for the thousands of tourists who come to the country.

“We wanted to increase the games here in the TCI because we have persons coming from abraod as well and we more want to focus on a tourist market than to just exploit with our local people,” Campbell said.

“If your betting $100.00 dallars you can win up to $50000, on the tables. On the machines we will have a high limit area you can win up to $75000 and different games will have different jackpots. When you walk through those doors you will be treated as a guest with courtesy and drinks are free once your sitting at our tables and gambling on the tables,” he added.

Campbell said that the casino will have three times more locals than expats and 70-75 jobs in total.

“We are hoping that when we open our doors more locals will come in and see the service we have and what we are trying to provide and the confidence to know were not an over-night business. We are here to stay. I want to bring in someone that will do continuous dealers training so we can continiue to train our locals,” he added.

“Job wise I’m focused on the locals, but gaming business wise I’m focusing more on the tourists,” Campbell said.

Campbell, who created history in 2007 when he won nearly a million dollars in the first World Poker Tour’s Turks and Caicos Islands Poker Classic, said:

Rhynie Campbell, owner of Caicos Royale Casino “It was a very expensive investment. I didn’t just came here and set this casino over night it started back in May so for the last 7 – 8 months I’ve put together a lot of money we are now at $1.5 to $2million dollars and I’ve put together a very strong group of persons that are my partners and I want to start this project and grow it to something bigger and better,” he said.

CNN reports Grace Bay Beach as second in world winter destination

Respected United States network television CNN has listed the Turks and Caicos as the second best beach destination on the globe for winter travelers.

CNN said that the awards are based on popular travel site, Trip Advisor’s quantity and quality of traveler reviews for beaches gathered over 12 months. The network said that the Turks and Caicos was beaten into second spot by Baia do Sancho on the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha.

CNN said that for the second

year in a row, the golden crescent hugged by rocky cliffs has earned the number one spot on the global list. The Grace Bay Beach has also retained its number two ranking on the Travelers’ Choice beach in the world.

Despite its second global position, the Turks and Caicos beat the likes of Italy, Spain and the Philippines. It also tops other Caribbean neighbors Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Here are TripAdvisor’s top 10 beaches in the world: 1. Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha,

Brazil; 2. Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos; 3. Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa, Italy; 4. Playa Paraiso Beach, Cayo Largo, Cuba; 5. Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Spain; 6. Anse Lazio, Praslin Island, Seychelles; 7. White Beach, Boracay, Philippines; 8. Flamenco Beach, Culebra, Puerto Rico; 9. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Australia; 10. Elafonissi Beach, Elafonissi, Crete, Greece.

In recent years, the Grace Bay Beach has been featured as amongst the preferred beach for international

travelers. But in most cases it holds pole position. Almost every year for the past seven years, the Grace Bay Beach has topped the world at the World Travel Awards Gala event. The World Travel Awards is dubbed the Oscars of the Travel Industry.

Turks and Caicos has also been voted amongst the top barrier reefs in the worlds over the years, sizing with much larger counterparts such as Australia and Hawaii. It is said to be the second the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean region.

World Travel Awards returns to TCI

The World Travel Awards, dubbed the Oscars of the travel industry by the Wall Street Journal, is returning to the Turks and Caicos Islands with the Caribbean & North America Gala Ceremony downed to be held at Beaches Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa on October 15, 2015, the London-based organization announced on February 19.

“The ‘Oscars of the travel industry’, World Travel Awards has announced Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa has been selected to host the World Travel Awards.

Hundreds of industry leaders are expected to gather at the world-class resort for the event, which will take place on October 17th, 2015,” the entity announced.

The World Travel Awards said that it chose Beach Turks and Caicos Resort and Spa

to host the event for, among event.

“I am delighted World other attributes, its eclectic Awards will be ambience and Caribbean Travel profile. The last time the returning to Beaches Resorts, World Travel Awards was and in particular to Beaches held in the Turks and Caicos Turks & Caicos. The team at Islands was in 2012, having the resort allowed us to host hosted the grand gala two one of our most successful events ever when we last times two times before.

“Beaches Turks & visited in 2012 and I look Caicos is the perfect host forward to being reunited for the ceremony, offering with our friends there later in four magnificent villages, 2015,” Cooke said” He added: “We are boasting the architecture and ambiance of Italy, France, the thrilled to welcome our Caribbean and Key West; a friends and industry leaders 12-mile beach lapped by clear to the beautiful Beaches turquoise waters; and some of Turks & Caicos where they the industry’s leading event will enjoy the Luxury Included facilities in the Caribbean,” experience, as well as our the statement further said. newest addition, the Key West World Travel Awards Luxury Village.”

President Graham Cooke has The WTA said that expressed his elation about Beaches Resorts is no stranger, the event returning to the TCI. having been recognised as the He said that 2012 was the World’s Leading All Inclusive most successful staging of the Family Resort Brand for the

past 17 years, while parent company Sandals Resorts International claimed the title of World’s Leading All Inclusive Company for an unprecedented 19th time in 2014.

Nominations for the Caribbean & North America Gala Ceremony will close on February 28th, while voting will open on March 2nd.

Hailed by the worldwide media for its role in identifying and rewarding excellence in the travel sector, World Travel Awards celebrates its’ 22nd anniversary in 2015 and is acknowledged as the ultimate travel accolade.

World Travel Awards Gala Ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities in the travel industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries, and

international print and broadcast media.

WTA’s said that its official list of worldwide media partners includes: International Herald Tribune, CNBC Arabiya, National Geographic Traveller, eTurboNews, Breaking Travel News, Khaleej Times, Trav Talk, Trade Arabia, TTN, Travel Daily News, Focus on Travel News, Travel Daily News, Publituris, Passport Magazine, Travel & Leisure China and Xenios World.

This global media partner network has a monthly readership of 1.5 million and a TV audience reach of 90 million.

A total of 192 different TV channels and publications attended WTA events in 2011, including live broadcasts by CNN and Bloomberg.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS

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FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

Page B-1

VOLUME 11 - NO. 07

$1.00

CARIBBEAN NEWS/ WORLD NEWS AND SPORTS/BUSINESS SECTION B Website: www.suntci.com

Email: sun@suntci.com

Tel: (649) 339-5879

Fax: (649) 941-3281

www.facebook.com/tcisun

Obama: No accident economy improving under his watch President Barack Obama speaks at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in Washington, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015

W

ASHINGTON — Taunting heading into the 2016 elections. He Republicans, President Barack said the party’s belief in “middle class Obama on Friday said it’s “not economics,” including his health care an accident” that the economy is law, has spurred economic growth and improving under his watch and chided job creation.

GOP critics for “doom and gloom” “I just want everybody to predictions that haven’t come true. remember that at every step as Obama said he welcomed the we made these policies, made this attention Republicans have been progress, we were told by our good giving to the middle class, “but so far friends the Republicans that our at least the rhetoric has not matched actions would crush jobs, explode the reality.” deficits and destroy the country,” he In a speech to the Democratic told the partisan crowd. “If we were National Committee’s winter meeting, actually to look at the evidence, it’s Obama gave a rousing defense of pretty clear who’s theory of how to his economic policies and promoted grow the economy and make sure his agenda as the right policy and American people are prospering, political prescriptions for Democrats which theory works. We know their

Obama said, “then you can’t put ideas don’t work.”

With the economic recovery forward proposals that give more tax showing signs of taking hold, breaks to folks who are doing the best.”

Democrats and Republicans have While Obama said he was willing to turned their attention to improving hear Republican ideas for helping the wages for working class Americans. middle class, he also argued that the While incomes have increased best way for Republicans to prove modestly recently, they hardly make their commitment was by supporting up for decades of paycheck stagnation. his call for a higher minimum wage.

Both sides, however, have distinctly “The shift in rhetoric different views of how to boost wages. that they’re engaging in is good if it Democrats want increases in the actually leads them to take different minimum wage, while Republicans actions,” he said. call for fewer regulations and taxes Following his remarks, Obama was on business to free more capital that to attend a Democratic fundraiser could be used for wage growth. with 25 supporters paying $33,400 to “If you are serious, if you are really attend. troubled with income inequality,”

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

WORLD NEWS LOCAL NEWS CARIBBEAN NEWS

Accused in US sniper’s murder faked schizophrenia

A psychologist testified in court on Friday that the man charged with murdering U.S. Navy sniper Chris Kyle and another man on a Texas shooting range two years ago has been faking schizophrenia and knew what he did was wrong, media reports said.

Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is accused of shooting Kyle, whose best-selling autobiography was turned into the hit movie “American Sniper, and Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield at the range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth.

Defense attorneys, who have not disputed that Routh repeatedly shot the two men in February 2013, are seeking to have Routh declared innocent by reason of insanity.

On Friday, psychologist Randall Price testified for the prosecution in a rural court in Stephenville, a day after a forensic psychiatrist for the defense told the jury that he found Routh had paranoid

schizophrenia and showed signs of psychosis that could not be faked.

The Dallas Morning News quoted Price as saying: “He (Routh) did know what he was doing was wrong, and he did it anyway.” Routh has been faking schizophrenia and knew what he did was wrong.

Price testified Routh does not meet the state’s legal definition of insanity but has a paranoid personality disorder made worse by his heavy drug use, the reports said.

Closing arguments in the case are expected as early as Monday. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The trial has focused renewed attention on Kyle, who is considered by many in his home state of Texas a hero, and on the movie “American Sniper,” which has been nominated for six Academy Awards, Former Marine Eddie Ray Routh enters the court after a break during his capital murder trial in Stephenville, Texas February 19, 2015. including best picture.

dog fired from force US preparing to sue Police after biting 2 people Ferguson police over charges of racial bias

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to sue the Ferguson, Missouri, police department over allegations of racially discriminatory practices unless the police force agrees to make changes, CNN reported on Wednesday.

The network, citing sources, said the Justice Department would not charge the white Ferguson police officer involved in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown last August but was expected to outline allegations of discriminatory Ferguson police tactics.

The department would file suit if Ferguson police did not

agree to review and change those tactics, CNN reported.

The shooting of Brown last August by officer Darren Wilson led to months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and galvanized critics of the treatment by police and the U.S. criminal justice system of blacks and other minority groups.

A St. Louis County grand jury decided last year not to prosecute Wilson, who has since left the Ferguson police force. The Justice Department has been conducting probes of the shooting and the operations of the Ferguson police force.

Justice Department spokesman

Peter Carr declined to comment on the CNN report.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who is preparing to leave office, said earlier this month he hoped to complete the civil rights investigation of the shooting before he steps down.

CNN said the potential Justice Department lawsuit could include allegations that police targeted minorities in issuing minor traffic infractions and then jailed them if they could not pay the fines.

It reported the agency would seek court supervision of changes taken by Ferguson police to improve its dealings with minorities.

The retired dog will now live with DiBlasi.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — A Florida police dog is being kicked off the force after biting a doughnut shop worker and an officer in separate incidents.

Officials say 4-year-old Renzo had been with the Coconut Creek Police Department for more than a year. The Belgian Malinois bit an officer in November while tracking a suspect. Last week, he burst out of a patrol car and bit a Dunkin’ Donuts worker in the calf.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1JtxY9e) reports Renzo and Officer Carl DiBlasi went to the doughnut shop Feb. 11 to meet a police sergeant. The sergeant approached the patrol car and began to pet Renzo. The dog lunged at her and DiBlasi struggled to restrain him. Renzo broke away and bit the worker who was nearby.

Multiple suicide bombings in Libyakill at least 45

TRIPOLI, Libya -- Multiple suicide car bombings struck an eastern Libyan town, killing at least 45 people on Friday not far from a main base of the Islamic State group’s Libyan offshoot. The group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it came in retaliation for recent Egyptian airstrikes that avenged the beheading of 21 Christian hostages by Libyan Islamic State militants.

The massive bombings rocked the town of Qubba, which is under control of the country’s internationally recognized government and about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Darna - a stronghold of Libya’s Islamic State branch. In a statement posted on social networking sites, the group said two of the “Caliphate’s knights” carried out the bombings, targeting what they described as a Libyan army operations room.

The deadliest bombing was carried by an attacker who rammed an explosives-packed ambulance into a gas station where motorists were lined up, army spokesman Mohammed Hegazi said.

“Imagine a car packed with a large amount of explosives striking a gas station; the explosion was huge and many of the injured are in very bad shape while the victims’ bodies were torn into pieces,” Hegazi said.

Two other bombers detonated

vehicles next to the house of the parliament speaker and the nearby security headquarters in Qubba.

“They wanted to hit two birds with one stone,” Hegazi said.

The death toll was expected to rise.

Two security officials say at least 45 people were killed. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. Government Spokesman Mohammed Bazaza put the death toll at 42.

The Islamic State group, however, claimed there were only two suicide bombings; pictures posted by the group showed two masked suicide bombers dressed in black prior to the attacks. The discrepancy in the number of bombings could not immediately be reconciled.

The elected Libyan government and parliament announced a seven-day mourning period.

The bombings underscored the turmoil that has consumed this North Africa country. They came a week after a video was released showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians at the hands of Libya’s Islamic State group branch. The brutal slayings prompted Egyptian airstrikes on Darna and raised concerns that the extremist group has spread beyond the battlefields of Iraq and Syria and established a strategic foothold less than 500 miles from the southern tip

of Italy.

Libya has become engulfed in violence and chaos four years after the country’s 2011 uprising in which longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s was ousted and killed. The country is now split between two rival parliaments and governments; the elected and internationally recognized parliament has been forced to relocate to the eastern city of Tobruk near the Egyptian border because the capital, Tripoli, has been overrun by Islamic and tribal militias. Meanwhile an older pre-election parliament, supported by the militias, has remained in Tripoli and declared itself legitimate.

As the violence has escalated dramatically across the country since last summer, hundreds of thousands of Libyans have been displaced, diplomats have fled and embassies have been shuttered. The fighting has left entire cities and towns in ruins. Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi, is also under the control of Islamic militias, with government forces fighting to reclaim it.

Libya’s armed conflict took a dramatic turn for the worse late last year when militants loyal to the Islamic State group - which controls about a third of Iraq and Syria - took over at least two coastal cities.

Egypt has joined Libya’s foreign minister in pressing for a United

Nations Security Council resolution to lift a U.N. arms embargo on Libya and pave the way for international intervention, similar to the U.S.-led campaign in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State group.

But the United States and Britain, two of the most powerful Security Council members, rejected the call, saying Thursday that the chaotic country needs a national unity government first.

Bombs kills dozens in al-Qubbah

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

Page B-3

WORLD NEWS LOCAL NEWS

ISIS is finally taking a fall against global opposition The terrorist group in the Middle East, most commonly referred to as ISIS, has been rapidly expanding and fortifying its existence since it declared itself an Islamic State in June 2014. For a while, there appeared to be no end in sight for the organization’s rise to power, but it seems they’re beginning to crack.

Last month Kurdish forces gave ISIS militants their worst loss yet when they drove them out of the town of Kobani in northern Syria. After the victory in Kobani, Kurdish forces joined the Syrian rebels and reclaimed over 200 villages in the surrounding area.

ISIS suffered 1,000 militant casualties – it’s most yet since the spur of its most recent rampage.

This defeat for ISIS has disrupted supply lines between its westernmost territories and its core stronghold in eastern Syria. Not only is ISIS struggling to keep itself running across its occupied domain, but the extremist is reported to be making strategic withdrawals from the town of al-Bab, one of its strongholds in the west. The residents there have noticed a thinner military presence.

The stress of the battle in Kobani caused different ethnic groups within ISIS to turn on

each other. Bari Abdellatif, an alBab resident who has since fled to Turkey, said that the internal dissension resulted in the deaths of at least two senior figures. An activist group out of Raqqa, Syria, says that several miltants have been killed after accusations of treachery and spying.

While this shift cannot yet be called a turning point, it is a step in the right direction in the world’s quest for peace against ISIS. Have something to say? Let us know in the comments section or send an email to the author.

You can share ideas for stories by contacting us here.

ISIS struggling to keep itself running across its occupied domain

Teen neighbor arrested in road-rage killing of Vegas mother LAS VEGAS (AP) - Police took an important step toward solving the mystery surrounding the road-rage killing of a Las Vegas mother outside her home, arresting a teenage neighbor who had a history with the family that reached a boiling point the night of the shooting.

Erich Nowsch, 19, was arrested on suspicion of murder Thursday after SWAT teams surrounded his home a block away from the residence of victim Tammy Meyers. Detectives believe Nowsch was the gunman, but he has not been formally charged, Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Tomaino said.

Tomaino said police are seeking a second suspect.

Police and the family of the victim have characterized the case as a roadrage altercation that escalated into the deadly encounter a week ago. The exact circumstances of the fight are unclear, but the family knew the suspect, said Robert Meyers, the victim’s husband.

He said his wife helped nurture Nowsch, giving him money and food and urging him to dress properly.

“We know this boy,” Robert Meyers said. “I couldn’t tell you this before. He knew where I lived. We knew how bad he was, but we didn’t know he was this bad.”

The case has received significant attention since police initially said Meyers was killed by an angry driver

A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department photo shows a suspect in the fatal shooting February 12, 2015 of Tammy Meyers in Las Vegas being taken into custody in Las Vegas, Nevada February 19, 2015. who followed her home after she gave her teenage daughter a driving lesson.

She was removed from life support on Valentine’s Day as police hunted for a suspect, and donations for her funeral costs quickly poured in to a fundraising site.

The sympathy morphed into skepticism and the fundraising site was shut down after police revealed that Meyers was not followed home and instead dropped her daughter off and picked up her 22-year-old son, armed with his 9mm handgun, to try to confront the driver who had frightened her earlier.

They went looking for the driver, followed the vehicle and eventually went home. The silver car then showed

up outside the Meyers home and a shootout occurred, police said. The mother was shot in the head.

Brandon Meyers, 22, said this week that he fired back to protect his family.

“Everyone can think what they have to think,” he said at a Tuesday night vigil. “I did it for a reason. And I’d do it for anyone I love.”

Melissa Mours, who lives next door to the suspect, said several people showed up at her neighbor’s house this week and knocked on the door, including at least one Meyers family member.

It’s still not clear if Nowsch was driving the car involved in the altercation. Mours said she didn’t

think he had a car or drove.

Earlier, as authorities worked to coax the suspect into surrendering, a distraught Robert Meyers arrived and tried to get close to the home that police had surrounded.

He walked past the yellow police tape, but a police officer stopped him and tried to calm the man down.

“It’s OK,” the officer could be heard telling him.

“No it ain’t OK!” the husband shouted back, his voice breaking up.

The officer asked Meyers to step back behind the yellow tape, and he stormed off past reporters.

“Are you all happy? You made my wife look like an animal,” he told reporters. “There’s the animal, a block away!”

Meyers said outside his home later Thursday that his wife spent countless hours “consoling this boy.”

“She fed him, she gave him money, she told him to pull his pants up and be a man,” he said.

Neighbor Brian Atkinson said he was awakened around 11:30 a.m. by bullhorns and the sound of a helicopter as police showed up to arrest Nowsch.

“They were calling his name and telling him to come out. That they had the house surrounded and they weren’t going to hurt him,” said Atkinson, a 57-year-old former police officer. “They told him they weren’t going to go away.”

New York school districts to stop asking about immigration status

NEW YORK - School districts in 14 New York counties have agreed to stop inquiring about the immigration status of prospective students and their guardians, the state attorney general said on Thursday.

Twenty school districts had illegally asked for items including copies of Social Security cards and the disclosure of visa status in their enrollment material, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.

“Schoolhouse doors must be open to all students in our diverse state, regardless of their immigration status,” Schneiderman said. “More than 30 years after the Supreme Court guaranteed a free public education for undocumented children, we must do

everything we can to uphold the law and ensure equal access for all our students.”

Requiring the disclosure of citizenship and immigration status by students or their guardians can discourage undocumented students from enrolling, impeding their access and right to public education, Schneiderman’s office said.

In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution undocumented immigrant students were guaranteed under the right to a free elementary and secondary public education.

The attorney general’s office investigation into the affected school districts followed an October article in The New York Times that said several districts had unlawfully inquired about immigration

status, the Times said.

An initial New York State Education Department review of school district enrollment policies focused on four districts in the New York City metropolitan area that had recently seen an influx of unaccompanied minors from Central and South America.

The attorney general’s office expanded its investigation after receiving complaints about districts from around the state that were unlawfully making immigration inquiries.

In addition to removing immigration-related questions from enrollment materials, the affected school districts must provide training to personnel about proper enrollment procedures.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS WORLD NEWS

Bill O’Reilly’s 1982 Falklands War stories called into question Was the “No Spin Zone” forged in a war zone?

Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly has repeatedly claimed on air that he saw combat while covering the 1982 Falklands War. Now this story is coming under question, just as NBC News anchor Brian Williams’ story about being aboard a helicopter that sustained enemy fire in Iraq had earlier this month.

“I was in a situation one time in a war in Argentina in the Falklands, where my photographer got run down and hit his head and was bleeding from the ear on the concrete, and the army was chasing us,” O’Reilly said on air April 17, 2013.

During the broadcast, O’Reilly recounted how he saved his colleague’s life by carrying him to safety, while dutifully reporting for CBS News.

“I had to make a decision, and I dragged him off,” he said. “You know, but at the same time I’m looking around, trying to do my job. But I figured I had to get this guy out of there, because that was more important.”

But David Corn, Washington bureau chief at Mother Jones, published a report on Thursday alleging that O’Reilly was nowhere

near the fighting between the United Kingdom and Argentina.

O’Reilly’s former colleagues at CBS News apparently told the leftleaning magazine that no American correspondents reached the war zone.

In fact, they say, O’Reilly and the U.S. Press Corps were 1,200 miles away, in Buenos Aires.

“Nobody from CBS got to the Falklands. I came close. We’d been trying to get somebody down there. It was impossible,” said Bob Schieffer, CBS News’ lead Falklands War correspondent at the time. “For us, you were a thousand miles from where the fighting was. So we had some great meals.”

Another longtime CBS journalist, Susan Zirinsky, who managed CBS’ war coverage from Buenos Aires, does not remember what O’Reilly did in Argentina but said the military junta prevented American journalists from reaching the islands.

O’Reilly invoked his time as a war correspondent several times over the years to show that he understands “life-and-death decisions” and is “not easily shocked.”

In 2008, responding to an attack from journalist Bill Moyers, O’Reilly said, “I missed Moyers in the war zones of [the] Falkland conflict in Argentina, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland.

I looked for Bill, but I didn’t see him,” O’Reilly said.

Shortly after the allegations appeared on the Mother Jones website, O’Reilly called Corn’s article “a piece of garbage.”

“It’s a hit piece,” O’Reilly said

in a phone interview with Politico’s On Media blog. “Everything I said about what I reported in South and Central America is true. Everything.”

O’Reilly says he never claimed to have stepped foot on the Falkland Islands while covering the war.

“I was not on the Falkland Islands, and I never said I was. I was in Buenos Aires,” he explained. “In Buenos Aires we were in a combat situation after the Argentines surrendered.”

The Fox News host called Corn a “liar” and “despicable guttersnipe.”

In response, Corn told On Media that O’Reilly was hiding behind namecalling and refusing to account for valid inconsistencies between his war stories and reality. “He said he was in the war zone during the Falkland Island conflicts — the conflict was in the Falkland Islands, it was not in Buenos Aires,” Corn said to the Politico blog. “He covered a protest after the war was over in Buenos Aires. I don’t think that’s a reasonable definition of a combat situation. If you look up ‘combat situation’ in the dictionary, it’s not ‘an ugly protest.’’

Corn also said he gave Fox News and O’Reilly more than nine hours to address the allegations before making them public.

Colorado residents are first to ask feds to block legal pot

Mason Tvert, spokesperson for the Council on Responsible Cannabis Regulation, talks during a news conference in reaction to the announcement that a federal lawsuit is being filed on behalf of two Colorado citizens by a Washington D.C.-based group to shut down the state’s $800-million-a-year marijuana industry DENVER — Colorado already is being sued by two neighboring states for legalizing marijuana.

Now, the state faces groundbreaking lawsuits from its own residents, who are asking a federal judge to order the new recreational industry to close.

The owners of a mountain hotel and a southern Colorado horse farm argue in a pair of lawsuits filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver that the 2012 marijuana-legalization measure has hurt their property and that the marijuana industry is stinky and attracts unsavory visitors.

The lawsuits are the first in a state that has legalized recreational or medical marijuana in which its own residents are appealing to the federal government to block pot laws.

“It is a bedrock principle of the United States Constitution that federal law is the supreme law of the land,” said David Thompson, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

The lawsuits are also the first to claim that federal racketeering laws allow them to win damages from pot businesses that flout federal law. The plaintiffs have not specified amounts they would seek.

Experts say the racketeering approach is a new

one.

“If these lawsuits are successful, it could be devastating for the industry,” said Sam Kamin, a University of Denver law professor who helped craft Colorado’s pot regulations. “But it will be very difficult for the plaintiffs to prove damages directly attributable to the marijuana industry.”

Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman released a statement saying she would “defend the state’s marijuana laws and our clients” if the lawsuits go to trial.

Marijuana legalization supporters say that states are free to stop enforcing certain drug laws, as long as they don’t try to overrule the federal Controlled Substances Act. “Colorado has every right to stop punishing adults for using marijuana,” said Mason Tvert, who ran Colorado’s legalization campaign and joined about a dozen other legalization supporters who marched to the state Capitol on Thursday. They carried signs saying, “Regulation Works!”

One legalization backer, Democratic state Rep. Jonathan Singer, said the pot industry has boosted tax coffers and hurt the black market.

“The sky hasn’t fallen. We’re doing the right thing,” Singer said.

Technically, federal law making pot illegal for any purpose remains in effect in the 23 states that have authorized its use for people with certain medical conditions. However, it’s not clear how far the federal government can go to compel states to enforce drug laws.

For nearly 20 years, the U.S. Department of Justice has said that marijuana is illegal and that the federal government can enforce even smallpossession crimes. However, U.S. authorities have left most enforcement to the states, saying they focus on larger drug crimes.

One of the lawsuits came from the owner of a Pueblo County horse farm, Hope Reilly, who said Thursday that she’s “been horrified” to see a marijuana cultivation facility go up next door.

“This land means a great deal to me,” said Reilly, who says the pot facility mars “spectacular views” of the Rocky Mountains.

Also suing is the owner of a Holiday Inn, who argues that a pot shop opening nearby is keeping away families.

“Marijuana businesses make bad neighbors,” the lawsuit says. “They drive away legitimate businesses’ customers, emit pungent, foul odors, attract undesirable visitors, increase criminal activity, increase traffic, and reduce property values.”

The owner of the pot shop being sued by the hotel said Thursday he had no idea his neighbor even opposed his license. He said the hotel owner did not appear at public zoning hearings.

“It’s kind of silly,” said Jerry Olson, owner of Summit Marijuana, which hasn’t yet opened.

Nebraska and Oklahoma also are suing Colorado for legalizing marijuana in 2012. Nine former heads of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed a brief Thursday with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the two states.

Colorado’s pot law “impinges on the interests of all citizens and the United States in a uniform and coherent national drug policy,” the brief says.

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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WORLD NEWS LOCAL NEWS

South African President says he’s not racist

Cape Town (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday denied that he was a racist and assured white people that they should not fear being “chased” out of Nelson Mandela’s “Rainbow Nation”.

The president also said that a new law preventing foreign ownership of land in South Africa applied only to agricultural properties and not to private residences.

Zuma was reacting to concerns raised by some white South Africans after he told a rally of his ruling African National Congress that all the country’s troubles began when the first white settlers landed more than 300 years ago.

“South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white,” he told parliament, quoting the ANC’s Freedom Charter, which was adopted during the fight to end the white racist system of apartheid.

Breaking away from his written speech in response to debate on his state of the nation address last week, he said: “We are a rainbow nation, nobody will chase you away. There should be no fear.”

But, he said, he would never stop talking about history because South Africa’s children should know the

South African President Jacob Zuma, answers questions arising from the debate on his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week at the parliament in Cape Town on February 19, 2015

country’s past to ensure that mistakes While not dealing with the EFF’s were not repeated. demands that he repay some of the Zuma’s off-the-cuff remarks won $24 million in taxpayer money spent enthusiastic applause. on “security upgrades” to his private It was a redemption of a kind for residence, Zuma did address their the president, who has been under fire complaints that too much of South over the past week since security forces Africa’s wealth remains in white hands were called into parliament to evict 20 years after the end of apartheid. lawmakers who disrupted his annual “Inequality is still staring us in the address by accusing him of corruption. face. Census 2011 informed us that He said the government was the income of households has hardly committed to freedom of speech and changed and that the income of white pledged that the cutting of mobile households is still six times more than phone signals in parliament ahead of that of black households.” his address -- a move which infuriated The black majority also owned reporters and opposition lawmakers -- just three percent of the Johannesburg would never happen again. stock exchange, he said, pledging to - ‘No reason to get angry’ “deracialise the economy”.

Addressing the uproar in Zuma also addressed concerns parliament for the first time, he called that planned land reforms limiting the for all parties to preserve the dignity of size of farms to enable redistribution the national assembly, saying “I see no of agricultural land to blacks would reason why we should get angry”. create a food crisis in the country.

Radical lawmakers of the Quoting statistics claiming that Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), just 100 farmers produce 70 percent who led the disruption last Thursday, of South Africa’s food, he said: “We are remained silent and seated throughout taking these actions precisely because his speech. the fate of too many is in the hands of But their leader, Julius Malema, too few.” has pledged to confront Zuma again An “inclusive and scientific over alleged corruption when he process” would ensure “that nothing is returns to parliament for presidential done that will prejudice food security question time on March 11. in the country,” he said.

Dentist charged in death of patient getting 20 teeth pulled “In the Dental Commission proceeding, multiple HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A dentist has been charged in the death of a patient who became expert witnesses testified that Dr. Patel followed the unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled and standard of care,” Krag said. “The state’s seeking of criminal charges is contrary to this evidence and several implants installed.

Rashmi Patel turned himself in Tuesday at the inconsistent with the decision of the Commission not Enfield Police Department and was charged with a to revoke his license.”

The commission said in a report that Patel misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence, police “ignored” signs that Gan, of Ellington, was in distress, including the drop in her oxygen saturation, changes said. Patel has offices in Enfield and Torrington.

The charges came a year after Patel’s patient in the color of her face and hands and wheezing Judith Gan died at a hospital on Feb. 17, 2014. and gurgling sounds. The commission said Patel, State dental regulators concluded that Patel failed who lives in Suffield, also ignored warnings from to adequately respond when Gan’s oxygen levels his dental assistants that Gan was in danger and dropped dangerously low as she was consciously continued with the procedures. sedated in the middle of the tooth extraction and When one of Patel’s assistants yelled that Gan was “flat lining,” Patel tried to revive Gan while implant procedures in his Enfield office that day.

Patel, who posted $25,000 bail, has denied any the assistant called 911, according to the Dental wrongdoing in his treatment of Gan. Commission’s report. Gan, 64, was rushed to a “Dr. Patel disputes the charges and urges that hospital, where she was pronounced dead. the charges be dropped,” his attorney Paul Knag said The commission also found that Patel should not have attempted to perform so many procedures in a statement Wednesday.

Gan’s death and other incidents prompted the on Gan in one office visit given that her medical State Dental Commission in December to suspend history included a heart attack six months before Patel’s license pending a months-long review of his the visit, two strokes within the last two years and practice and permanently ban him from performing medication that could have affected her response to the sedation. conscious sedation.

But, Krag said, the commission did not revoke Patel also violated care standards in December 2013 when another patient under conscious sedation Patel’s license.

Dentist Rashmi Patel, who has been charged in the death of a patient who became unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled to have teeth extracted inhaled a piece of gauze called a throat pack, which was designed to protect him from swallowing foreign objects, the commission found. The patient began flailing, his blood pressure spiked and he was rushed to a hospital but recovered.

A lawyer for Gan’s husband has said a lawsuit against Patel is planned.

TWO PASSENGERS TRAINS COLLIDE Two passenger trains collided in Switzerland on Friday, causing injuries and disrupting commuter routes into Zurich, police and rail operator SBB said.

One of the trains derailed in the accident in Rafz, a small town near the German border around 30 km (18 miles)

from Zurich, at 6:45 a.m., Zurich cantonal police said. Five people were injured, one of them seriously, it said.

Newspaper 20 Minuten had earlier cited a member of the emergency services as saying as many as 49 people were thought to have been hurt

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CARIBBEAN WORLD

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWSNEWS CARIBBEAN

NEWS NEWS

16 die in Haiti carnival accident

At least 16 people were killed and 78 injured early on Tuesday when a singer on a Carnival float hit an overhead power line in Port-au-Prince, setting off a stampede by bystanders, officials said.

The tragedy in Haiti’s capital prompted the government to cancel the last day of Carnival - the raucous celebrations preceding the start of Lent - and to declare three days of national mourning.

Amateur video of the 2:48 a.m.

(0748 GMT) accident posted on YouTube showed a large flash as the high-voltage power line caught a popular singer known as Fantom atop the float as it passed near the presidential stand, which was packed with spectators.

Most of the victims were trampled to death in the ensuing panic after the singer struck the power cable, witnesses said.

Fantom, part of the hip-hop band Barikad Crew, was among the injured and was in stable but serious condition

in a hospital, according to one of his Paul, who was accompanied by friends. government ministers, artists and first Prime Minister Evans Paul held lady Sophia Martelly. a news conference to announce the “We are all Haiti.”

The prime minister said the cancellation of Carnival and three days of mourning. government and Carnival organizers “We are telling the people of Haiti would hold a silent parade to remember the dead, with marchers dressed in that we must be in solidarity,” said

white as a sign of mourning, at 5 p.m.

(2200 GMT).

President Michel Martelly expressed his “sincerest sympathies” to the victims in a Twitter message and Sophia Martelly visited hospitals that were treating the injured.

Haiti’s rambunctious three-day annual street parade coincides with other Mardi Gras celebrations around the world and attracts large nighttime crowds eager to witness competing bands atop highly decorated floats.

At Brazil’s Carnival, three men were electrocuted on Tuesday when they pushed a float toward a parade ground and it struck a high-tension power cable in the Nova Iguaçu suburb of Rio de Janeiro, police said.

A sun on the float made of wire touched the power line and sent a fatal electrical charge through the metal frame of the decorated platform, police said. Authorities canceled Carnival festivities in the district after the accident.

Warning against illegal use of laser light on aircrafts PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad and Tobago government has warned residents in an area close to the Piarco International airport to desist from using laser lights on aircrafts, warning that the authorities would adopt a zero tolerance of such actions.

The authorities said that on Monday, a Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flight 460 “was hit in the cockpit of the aircraft with the beam of a laser light”, about 2.5 miles short of the airport. It said another CAL plane was also affected by laser light. “ The pilots of both aircraft reports the light source emanated from the Kelly Village area which is on the approach path to Piarco.

“The National Operations Centre (NOC) in its

role for air coordination intergrates its operation down in one of our energy sectors or oil and gas with CAA. installations the phathom of the catastrophe cannot Constant surveillance has revealed the citizens be imagined”. of Kelly Village, St. Helena and Bamboo Village are The authorities said that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service with the support of the NOC breaking the law.

“Internationally this irresponsible behaviour “would be adopting a zero tolerance of such actions and wanton disregard for the law has been deemed and strongly advise that anyone found conducting and borders on terrorist activity, as the perpetrators this illegal act will receive the full brunt of the law. are affecting the landing procedures of an aircraft “The NOC will continue to monitor this situation and placing the passengers, other aircraft and the and with all agencies in a combined effort to bring it members of the public on the ground in very grave to an immediate stop.” danger.”

The authorities warn that persons found guilty The NOC warned of the possible disaster that of committing such acts would be, on summary would occur “if one of these aircraft affected by the conviction, fined TT$10,000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 stupid act of these personnel on the ground goes cents) and imprisonment of one year.

Caribbean to benefit from new ACP study

BRUSSELS – Caribbean countries are to benefit from a disaster preparedness study launched by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group that offers a comprehensive view of the various risks faced by member countries, as well as valuable efforts to reduce them.

The ACP Compendium of Risk Knowledge, financed by the 10th European Development Fund under the IntraACP Cooperation envelope for Disaster Risk Reduction, show that disaster risk

in ACP countries is considerably higher than in other regions.

The study found that 12 countries from Sub-Saharan Africa and one from the Caribbean were amongst the 20 most-at-risk from disasters in the world.

The report also notes that over a long period of time, ACP countries on average will lose US$6.9 billion annually from disasters, representing 2.3 per cent of their total gross domestic product (GDP).

“This compendium is telling us that disaster

risk management is not the same thing as disaster management.

While countries in the ACP have had good experience in managing disaster events in the past, it is now time that we start to proactively reduce the underlying drivers of these risks, to stem this growth of human and economic losses.

“I believe that political leaders, policy makers and practitioners should use this compendium to understand their risks so that they can

judge wisely how best to address them,” said ACP Secretary General Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni.

Head of Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, Susanne Mallaum, said the study helps in a practical manner to understand the real nature of risks that countries in the ACP regions face. “ Reducing disaster risks is at the heart of what we need to do to build the resilience of

vulnerable populations, “in our view it is better to promote sustainable invest in risk reduction development and than disaster recovery”. address climate The report, cochange,” said Mallaum, authored by Lezlie C. Faced with these Morinière and Luis Zimmerman, growing risks, the Sanchez cutting edge report also highlights uses innovative actions by science and case studies ACP member countries to map overall risk in and communities to Sub-Saharan Africa, reduce these risks, and the Caribbean and the the benefits of this Pacific Islands. proactive approach to The ACP Secretariat managing risks, instead here said the report is of managing disaster released to inform the main agendas of 2015 events.

President of the of what it would take Jerry Town Farmers’ to protect sustainable Association in Jamaica, development in ACP Veronica Gordon, said countries.

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TURKS & CAICOS SUN

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CARIBBEAN LOCAL NEWSNEWS

Caribbean Court of Justice defends methods of informing regional public

The Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Appeal (CCJ) has described as “inaccurate” complaints that it had published a judgment in the media before it had been communicated to the litigants and their legal representatives.

CCJ President Sir Dennis Byron said much to his surprise counsel in a case involving an application for extension of time to file a notice of appeal against a judgment of the Court of Appeal of Barbados which had been delivered on 15th May 2014, continued to complain “even in open court that the Court published its judgment of 25th November 2014 in the media before it had been communicated to the litigants and their legal representatives.

“The allegation is not accurate.

It was also in my view inconsistent with the courtesy, respect and civility that should characterise the relations between senior members of the Bar and the Bench.”

Sir Dennis said since July, 2012, consistent with its vision to provide the Caribbean Community with a judiciary

which is “accessible, fair, efficient and innovative” the Court has been adopting measures in keeping with the spirit of promoting access to justice.

He said currently, there are four different publications from a hearing; namely: a reasoned judgment, a judgment summary, a media release and a popular press summary for the CCJ Corner project.

“It is a pity that counsel should be wedded to ancient practices which do not give the public adequate information about the work of the Court in a timely manner,” Sir Dennis added.

He told the Court that what actually occurred is that on the 25th November 2014 the parties appeared by video conference before the Court in response to a summons to attend for the delivery of judgment.

“The judgment was delivered in open court in the presence of the party’s representatives who had formally entered their appearance.

In accordance with the time saving practice which has developed, the Court

Task force to tackle bad driving in Bermuda

Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell HAMILTON, Bermuda — The Bermuda government is to establish a task force to tackle what it terms the island’s “deplorable” road safety record.

“Within the next two weeks, I will be calling and visiting people to be part of the working group,” Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell said, as he announced after a road safety summit aimed at finding immediate measures to counter the island’s culture of bad driving.

“It will be done as soon as possible. The members will have to be identified — we don’t want it to be too large. I think there are some obvious selections we can make from today.”

Crockwell, who is also Tourism Minister, confirmed that legislation allowing police to administer breath tests at the scenes of accidents would be introduced at the upcoming parliamentary session.

“It won’t be random spotting —

that would bring into the conversation a lot of other challenges,” he said.

There have been 89 road deaths since 2008, compared with 41 murders, including 29 gun- or gang-related killings.

Last year, 138 serious injuries were caused by collisions on the roads.

Bermuda, a 21-square-mile British Overseas Territory, has 138 miles (222 km) of private roads and 140 miles (225 km) of public roads, many of them narrow and twisting.

The official speed limit is 35 kilometres per hour (about 21 miles per hour) although few drivers stick to it. A third of the 65,000 population owns a car.

The summit, which Crockwell called a catalyst for change, brought together various stakeholders including the Bermuda Police Service, the Bermuda Health Council, insurers, the Road Safety Council and the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

pronounced the order and indicated that the parties would get the reasons soon if they had not already received them.

“The practice which was followed is that the judgment had been sent to the Registrar in Barbados by email with the expectation that a hard copy would have been delivered immediately after judgment was pronounced. This did not occur until two days later by which time the Court had already sent the judgment by email to the litigants.”

Sir Dennis since then the Court has modified its protocols on judgment issuance to ensure that in future the litigant’s legal representatives will receive an electronic copy of the judgment under confidential cover prior to its delivery in open court.

“The judgment and executive summary were uploaded on the Court’s website on the same day of delivery and the press release was also issued on the same day. All of this occurred after the pronouncement of the judgment in open court in the presence of the litigants attorneys.

“The administrative error which resulted in the failure of the counsel for the applicants to receive the hard copy immediately on delivery in Court is regretted.”

He said it is unfortunate that this matter has been raised in open court, “because as soon as he found out that the complaint had been made” he telephoned the attorney “to tender apologies and explained the process and indicated that measures were being adopted to ensure that this did not reoccur”.

Sit Dennis said the attorney in question “graciously accepted the apology and indicated that the fact of the telephone call satisfactorily closed the matter”.

Meanwhile the CCJ has dismissed the application filed by Systems Sales Limited on January 12, this year for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal.

The CCJ also ruled that “the applicant shall not institute any further proceedings in this case without leave of the Court”.

More Jamaican women use contraceptives KINGSTON, Jamaica – The National Family Planning Board (NFPB) says more Jamaican women are using contraceptives.

It said that the most recent statistics show that 85 per cent of women have used a contraceptive method and up to 88 per cent use it regardless of educational level. The data also show that 73 per cent of women in a union are using contraceptives.

NFPB Director of Prevention and Outreach, Marion Scott, said that the increase in the use of contraceptive methods is a result of women becoming more aware of the options available to them.

“There is more access to information about contraceptives, about the availability and where they can get them. With the user fees being eliminated at clinics, they are also provided free to women. In addition to that, women have become more empowered over time in terms of planning their families and recognising the economic impact of having too many or having unplanned children,” she said.

In the 1970s, there was an average of 4.5 children per woman, and the most recent figures indicate that the numbers have shrunk to 2.4 children per woman.

Friday marks the end of Safer Sex Week held under the theme “‘Condom + Contraceptive Keep You Protected” that the NFPB said underscores its message of dual protection against sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.

Scott said while the Board recommends the use of condoms along with pills as reliable contraceptive

contraceptives methods, it is also advocating the use of longer-acting injectables.

“We are trying to push the injectables, which last for three months, that we feel are more suitable for young people who are on the go. For those who want to space their children, there is the implant that lasts for five years.”

She said during the week long observance, there had been several interventions including free HIV testing and contraceptive distribution.

“We have been doing a lot of work in reaching those communities and they are heavily populated and they are also where we are likely to see our high birth rates,” Scott said, noting that special focus is also being placed on teens, in order to reduce the incidence of pregnancies among them.

She said that while there has been a decline in the number of babies born to adolescents, the rate is still too high.

Statistics from the 2008 Reproductive Health Survey show that there were 72 births per 1,000 women in the 15-19 age group, down from 112 births per 1,000 women in 1997.

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LOCAL NEWSNEWS CARIBBEAN

Barbados Some missing Government defends children being used as sacrifices immigration policy

Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Adriel Brathwaite.

Barbados government legislators have defended the immigration policy of the island despite a recent ruling by the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice awarding a Jamaican national a substantial amount of money for being denied entry.

Debating the Immigration (Amendment) Bill, the legislators urged immigration officers not to be intimidated by travelers who sought to subvert the island’s immigration policy.

Attorney General and Home Affairs Minister Adriel Brathwaite, who has warned of non-nationals going “underground” in a bid to evade authorities, said that the CCJ ruling may have affected some immigration officers who are feeling intimidated.

“They should not and cannot execute their responsibilities looking over their shoulders worrying about whether or not Barbados will be sued.

Therefore, CARICOM has offered some guidance in terms of this issue of the automatic six months entry into Barbados. The Solicitor General’s chambers has offered some guidance, [and] I know we’ve had some discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Brathwaite said.

Brathwaite said ”notwithstanding the court ruling no one can determine the national security concerns of the country.

“We have a responsibility as the elected members of Parliament and part of our responsibility is to secure our borders and, therefore, we should not water down what we do because we are afraid of what people might say outside the region, in the region about being sued.”

“I am saying and I am encouraging them when individuals come in front of them, do not be afraid to interrogate them. Yes, there is a six months automatic entry, but you must ask the questions.

How can you determine whether or not a person is

able to provide for himself if he says he’s here for three weeks? How can you determine if he’s able to provide for himself.”

Brathwaite said the government would also not tolerate any attempt to intimidate immigration officers.

“We will not tolerate that. We will not tolerate the abuse of our immigration officers and they must be able to go about their duties fearlessly and we would provide whatever mechanisms to make sure they are protected,” he said.

Brathwaite said that the authorities were also moving to stamp out the practice of foreigners seeking immigrant status not keeping appointments with the Immigration Review Committee, sometimes on the advice of their lawyers.

He told legislators that the amendment to the Immigration Act was aimed mainly at combating passport fraud, and the government was moving in the direction of introducing biometrics with regulations providing for individuals to be subjected to facial or retina scans and fingerprinting so the authorities could be satisfied that the subject was who they claimed to be.

Finance Minister Chris Sinckler, who also contributed to the debate said even though he supports efforts “When I hear this policy about CARICOM, about free movement of persons and all of these things, even though I am a regionalist, I know that with great power comes responsibility. Even though I give up some my sovereignty under CARICOM, I still have a responsibility to protect the citizens of my country and protect the visitor too.

“Some persons may be coming for things that are not necessarily wholesome. They, too, might be exposed to things that they might have not been exposed to if they had not tried to engage in mischief. “ I know as a former immigration officer that almost on a daily basis there is always some mischiefmaker who is secreting themselves in a country and engaging in illegal acts, and immigration has to be going for them. The department has to be using physical resources, human resources and financial resources going after people. There are people who find ways to bypass security, get into the country and then you have a lot of problems with them,” he said.

The Finance Minister said “if the Immigration Department had to issue a press release every time they encounter someone they had to intercept or go for in that regard and to deport, they would have to be a press release in the paper every minute of the day.

“That is the reality. Many Barbadians are unaware of this because they are not exposed to it at that level. I know the Minister of Immigration is aware because he has to deal with it on a daily basis, but the average citizen is not. We must be aware of the challenges these people have to deal with,” he added.

in Jamaica

A senior church leader claimed that some of the cases in which children have gone missing could be linked to underground organisations carrying out satanic practices.

The clergyman, Errol Rattray, president and CEO at Errol Rattray Evangelistic Association, said religious leaders in Jamaica have received reports that the practice of blood sacrifice or satanic sacrifices was being carried out in Jamaica.

“Based on our (church leaders’) knowledge some of those children who have gone missing are being used for satanic sacrifices,” said Rattray, who has more than 30 years under his belt as a religious leader in Jamaica.

Another clergyman who asked that he not be named said the claim should not be ignored as the Bible speaks about the issue.

“The Bible says people should not to be ignorant of the devil and his devices,” said the religious leader, who pointed out that there was a dark side that exists in society that a number of Christians were fearful of speaking about.

An Assistant Commissioner of Police George Quallo, when contacted by the Jamaica Observer, said he had no knowledge of the reported acts.

“I cannot speak for other areas, but as far as I am aware we (police) in Area 4 have no knowledge of such practices,” said ACP Quallo.

Statistics presented last month by the Office of the Children’s Registry showed that 90 per cent of the 1,984 children who were reported missing in 2014 had returned home.

Evangelist Rattray, meanwhile, said that based on the satanic practices some of the children who have gone missing will never be recovered.

“Many of the children who have gone missing will never return home because they are being targeted by these organisation,” Rattray told the Observer in a telephone interview.

A number of religious leaders in the country, according to Rattray, have launched a ‘spiritual war’ to tackle the evil that is operating in the country. The Christian community, he added, was praying against the evil practices, but stressed that other Jamaicans need to get on board.

At the same time, the clergyman urged Jamaicans to use the season of Lent, which started yesterday (Ash Wednesday), to fast and pray against attacks on the nation’s children, corruption, and the many other ills which have been holding back the Jamaican society.

He said he felt that the period of Lent was an opportune time for leaders and Jamaicans, overall, to raise their voices in prayer to call for divine intervention to deal with the spiralling crime problem and also to reduce the number or cases of children going missing.

Machel wins 7th Road March title

Machel Montano has successfully defended his Road March title, placing first and second in the annual Carnival competition. Montano, who also won the Power Soca Monarch last Friday, placed first with his song Like a Boss, which played 390 times at judging points across the country and second with his power soca song Erupt, which played 37 times. Groovy Soca Monarch Olatunji Yearwood placed third as his song Ola was played 22 times.

In a release, the Trinbago Unified Calypsonian Organisation (Tuco) said Montano’s win, though by a large margin, was surpassed by the song Palance in 2010 by J.W and Blaze and

Fantastic Friday by Super Blue in 2013.

Montano has won the competition seven times. The record for most Road March wins belongs to deceased calypsonian Lord Kitchener, who won the competition 10 times. Montano ranks fourth in terms of number of wins.

Montano told CNC3 he was happy to secure another win, noting it was not the first time more than one of his songs had finished in the top three.

He said Like Ah Boss was actually made for the 2014 Groovy Monarch title but they decided to hold it back because they felt Happiest Man Alive would bring it and it didn’t.

“…So we always like to keep a bullet in the chamber just in case yuh know, because we really want to succeed, not on a competition level but we want to even compete with ourselves and make sure that we could do the best thing for the country to smile, to make everybody smile and share that happy moment…”

The results for Downtown Carnival competition were also released by Portof-Spain Mayor Raymond Tim Kee. Ronnie and Caro’s Ah Come Back Home (Large Band), Mas Passion’s Maskerade (medium) and Rosalind Gabriel and Village Promotions’ A Tribute to Cito Velesquez (small) were the winners. Tim Kee expressed

his appreciation to mas bands and spectators for participating in Carnival, saying mas had “come back” to downtown. He said the number of bands passing the South Quay judging point had doubled from last year, with big bands such as Tribe and Island people making a return.

He also praised collaborative efforts between the National Carnival Commission (NCC), corporation and former National Security Minister Gary Griffith for the return of mas to downtown. “We were successful, more spectators and the stands were filled more than at other judging points,” Tim Kee said.

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LOCAL NEWS ENTERTAINMENT $ REWARD $ REKONPANS $ RECOMPENSA $ For information that leads to the arrest and charge of the person(s) responsible for the fatal stabbing of 19 year old KENLEY WALTERS between 2:00 am and 3:00 am, Saturday, 27 December 2014 in Club 2005, Downtown Providenciales.

Pou enfòmasyon ki mennen nan arestasyon chaj moun ki responsab sak su yo tye ak kouto a age 19 ane KENLEY WALTERS a 2:00 ou 3:00 du matin, Samdi, 27 Desanm 2014 nan Club 2005, Downtown Providenciales.

Por información que conduzca al arresto y cargo de la persona (s) responsables del apuñalamiento mortal del joven de 19 años KENLEY WALTERS entre 02 a.m.- 03 a.m., sábado, 27 de diciembre 2014 en el Club 2005 en el área de Downtown Providenciales.

KENLEY

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BUSINESS &

BUSINESS &NEWS TECHNOLOGY LOCAL NEWS CARIBBEAN

TECHNOLOGY

Oil steadies above $60, U.S. rig count expected to fall

Brent crude oil steadied above $60 a barrel cents at $51.19. The contract expires on Friday.

Trading was quiet in Asian hours as China and on Friday as expectations of falling U.S. rig count other countries were closed for the Lunar New Year numbers outweighed concerns about oversupply.

The number of rigs drilling for oil in the holiday.

Jeffries Futures analysts said a rise in oil prices United States fell to its lowest since August 2011 on falling rig numbers would be premature. last week.

“Although the market could receive another “A further sharp decrease in the oil rig count is expected ... which points to declining U.S. oil pre-weekend boost from a plunge in rig counts, we production in the second half of the year,” said will reiterate a substantial lag time of months before Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch in a note to the rig numbers begin to force a leveling in output,” they said. traders.

Expectations of continued oversupply were “This does nothing to change the considerable oversupply on the oil market in the short term, supported by rising production levels from top oil however,” he added. exporter Saudi Arabia.

Barclays oil analyst Miswin Mahesh said U.S. crude inventories rose 7.7 million barrels to 425.6 million barrels last week, rising for a exports from Saudi Arabia could reach 9 million sixth straight week to record highs, data from the barrels per day next year as it focuses on protecting Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed market share.

“It is uniquely positioned relative to other oil on Thursday.

Stockpiles of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) producers in a highly competitive market,” he said.

U.S. crude at the Cushing oil hub in Oklahoma rose In Libya, three car bombs killed 40 people in the eastern city of Qubbah on Friday, days after the most in six years, the EIA said.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 for April were up Egyptian air strikes on Islamic State militants there.

Libya’s oil output has almost completely 50 cents at $60.71 by 1430 GMT (09:30 a.m. EST), having hit an intraweek low of $57.80 during the collapsed, falling to less 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 1.6 million bpd before the country’s 2011 previous session.

U.S. crude for March delivery CLc1 was up 3 civil war.

Hack gave US and British spies access to billions of phones U.S. and British spies hacked into the world’s biggest maker of phone SIM cards, allowing them to potentially monitor the calls, texts and emails of billions of mobile users around the world, an investigative news website reported.

The alleged hack on Gemalto, if confirmed, would expand the scope of known mass surveillance methods available to U.S. and British spy agencies to include not just email and web traffic, as previously revealed, but also mobile communications.

The Franco-Dutch company said on Friday it was investigating whether the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain’s GCHQ had hacked into its systems to steal encryption keys that could unlock the security settings on billions of mobile phones.

The report by The Intercept site, which cites documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, could prove an embarrassment for the U.S. and British governments. It opens a fresh front in the dispute between civil liberties campaigners and intelligence services which say their citizens face a grave threat of attack from militant groups like Islamic State.

It comes just weeks after a British tribunal ruled that GCHQ had acted unlawfully in accessing data on millions of people in

Britain that had been collected by the NSA. A spokesman for GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters) said on Friday that it did not comment on intelligence matters. The NSA could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Intercept report (bit. ly/19E0KUK) said the hack was detailed in a secret 2010 GCHQ document and allowed the NSA and GCHQ to monitor a large portion of voice and data mobile communications around the world without permission from governments, telecom companies or users.

“We take this publication very seriously and will devote all resources necessary to fully investigate and understand the scope of such sophisticated techniques,” said Gemalto, whose shares sunk by as much as 10 percent in early trading on Friday, following the report.

The report follows revelations from Snowden in 2013 of the NSA’s Prism programme which allowed the agency to access email and web data handled by the world’s largest Internet companies, including Google, Yahoo and Facebook.

SURVEILLANCE The new allegations could boost efforts by major technology firms such as Apple

Inc and Google to make strong encryption methods standard in communications devices they sell, moves attacked by some politicians and security officials.

Leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have expressed concern that turning such encryption into a mass-market feature could prevent governments from tracking militants planning attacks.

Gemalto makes SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards for phones and tablets as well as “chip and pin” bank cards and biometric passports. It produces around 2 billion SIM cards a year and counts Verizon, AT&T Inc and Vodafone among hundreds of wireless network provider customers.

The Intercept, published

by First Look Media, was founded by the journalists who first interviewed Snowden and made headlines around the world with reports on U.S. electronic surveillance programmes.

It published what it said was a secret GCHQ document that said its staff implanted software to monitor Gemalto’s entire network, giving them access to SIM card encryption keys. The report suggested this gave GCHQ, with the backing of the NSA, unlimited access to phone communications using Gemalto SIMs.

Citigroup cut CEO Corbat’s pay by 10 percent to $13.1 million in 2014

Michael Corbat Citigroup Inc cut Chief Executive Michael Corbat’s pay by about 10 percent in 2014, a year in which the bank’s profit nearly halved due to higher legal costs and a slump in bond trading.

Separately, the bank said its consumer banking head, Manuel Medina-Mora, would retire in June.

The announcement comes at a time when Citi is pulling out of consumer banking in a number of countries, including Japan and Egypt, as it looks to cut persistently high costs.

Citi, like other big banks, has been cutting costs to boost profit as low interest rates and new regulations crimp revenue growth. But these efforts have been overshadowed by multibillion-dollar fines and higher costs for technology and compliance.

Corbat earned an estimated $13.1 million in 2014, including deferred shares worth about $3.49 million based on the stock’s Thursday close. He earned $14.5 million in 2013.

Deferred stock makes up 30 percent of Corbat’s bonus pay under Citi’s compensation plan, which was overhauled two years ago amid shareholder pressure.

Bank of America Corp cut Chairman and Chief Executive Brian Moynihan’s pay by 7 percent in 2014, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

In contrast to Moynihan and Corbat’s smaller pay packages, JPMorgan & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon earned $20 million in 2014, unchanged from a year earlier. His pay package included a first cash bonus in three years.

Medina-Mora joined the Wall Street bank in 2001, when Citigroup bought Mexican lender Banamex.

The unit has been beset by multiple problems in the last few years, including fraudulent loans and rogue trading.

US fines Takata for not cooperating on defective air bag probe The United States is fining air bag maker Takata Corp $14,000 per day for failing to cooperate fully with the government investigation into the company’s defective airbags, the U.S. transportation secretary said on Friday.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued two orders late last year requiring Takata to provide documentation and other material relating to the agency’s investigation of defective air bags made by Takata.

“Takata has not fully cooperated with the investigation,” Fox said in a statement.

“Safety is a shared responsibility and Takata’s failure to fully cooperate with our investigation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he added.

“For each day that Takata fails to fully cooperate with our demands, we will hit them with another fine.”

The NHTSA has said at least 7.8 million cars are potentially affected by defective air bags made by Takata.

The agency is trying to determine whether Takata air bag inflators made between 2000 and 2007 were improperly sealed. Bags inflating with too much force potentially could spray metal shrapnel at occupants.

They have been linked to four deaths and resulted in several lawsuits.

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WalMart boosts minimum wage to $9 an hour

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said it would raise entry-level wages to $9 an hour, a 24 percent increase from the U.S. minimum wage that some employees now earn, succumbing to longstanding pressure to pay its workforce more.

The world’s largest retailer said the increases would cost it $1 billion and impact 500,000 employees, or about 40 percent of its workforce, although the hike falls short of what some labor groups have been agitating for.

The move comes amid a growing debate in the U.S. over the widening gulf between the rich and low-income workers. Wal-Mart has been a prime target of critics who say its low-wages and inflexible scheduling are a big part of the problem.

The White House praised the move, pointing out that 17 states have already moved to boost their minimum wages above the federal level of $7.25 an hour and renewing its call on the Republican Congress to boost the wage on a national level.

“But given their recalcitrance on this because Republicans keep blocking it, we’re going to continue to keep making progress in other ways,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters.

Chief Executive Doug McMillon, who took the post about a year ago, told reporters on a media call that he wanted Wal-Mart to be a “ladder of opportunity” for workers and that the

Walmart Logo investments in wages would ensure employees are “highly engaged in our business.”

Investors, worried about the bottom-line implications even after the retailer reported better-than-forecast profits, pushed Wal-Mart’s shares down 2.9 percent to $83.77 in afternoon trade, making it the biggest decliner on the Dow Jones Industrial average .DJI. The company acknowledged that the wage bumps would dent profits this year but said they would improve customer service over the longer term, addressing issues that have in part been blamed on low wages, as well as a paucity of workers at its stores.

‘WAR FOR TALENT’ Wal-Mart said its hourly fulltime and part-time workers will earn at least $9.00 an hour, or $1.75 above the current federal minimum wage, starting in April. That will increase to at least $10.00 an hour by Feb. 1, 2016

the National Employment Law Project, said in a statement.

The step by the world’s largest retailer may nevertheless prompt other low-wage employers to follow suit, some analysts said. “Wage increases could be imminent for other companies,” Cowen and Company analyst Oliver Chen said in a note.

In fact, Wal-Mart’s wage hike follows similar moves at other consumer goods companies. A year ago for workers now on its payroll.

Gap Inc (GPS.N) set its minimum at The increase will mainly affect $9 an hour and pledged to raise that to Wal-Mart’s lowest-paid workers. The $10 in 2015. And more recently, Panera average hourly wage for full-time Bread Co (PNRA.O) told investors this workers will rise to $13 from $12.85 month that it was paying higher wages this year, while the average for part- across the board, citing a “war for time workers will rise to $10 from talent.” $9.48, Wal-Mart said.

Wal-Mart’s $1 billion program Labor groups welcomed Wal-Mart’s includes changes to staff training to decision as a delayed step in the right help workers advance their careers. It direction. said it was working on a scheduling “For years Walmart has kicked system that would make it easier for and screamed that raising wages was employees to set their hours, targeting not a feasible business model,” AFL- another longtime complaint of labor CIO President Richard Trumka said in activists. a statement. “Workers everywhere are McMillon did not disclose how glad to see Walmart change their view.” much average wages would increase Others reiterated their call for it to next year but expressed confidence the pay least $15 an hour, which they say investment would eventually pay off represents the minimum “living wage” with increased traffic to its stores. for U.S. workers.

Wal-Mart also reported a better-thanThe changes by Walmart “are expected fourth-quarter profit, helped inadequate for the hundreds of by lower U.S. gas prices, which put thousands of employees who struggle to more money into consumers’ pockets support themselves and their families,” and led to increased trips to Wal-Mart Christine Owens, executive director of stores.

Yahoo Courts Mobile App Makers with New Tools

Yahoo doesn’t just want to transform suites of tools for mobile app developers last year. itself into a mobile company. It also wants to get its Playing a starring role in Yahoo’s strategy is technology and ads into hundreds of thousands of Flurry, a mobile analytics and services company that Yahoo acquired last year. independent apps, too.

Flurry’s free analytics services are already The company announced a new suite of tools Thursday for mobile app developers, including better embedded in 630,000 apps, giving Yahoo a foot in analytics and modules that let app makers show ads the door to peddle the other offerings it announced sold by Yahoo and promote their wares on Yahoo’s 34 Thursday, such as Yahoo search results and instream ads, which developers can use to bring in sites and apps.

The suite, unveiled in San Francisco at the revenue from their users.

Yahoo said that developers who include its ads company’s first developer conference, is Yahoo’s bid to win the hearts of mobile app developers, whose in their apps would keep 60 percent of the revenue. software is the largest growth area in what is fast Simon Khalaf, vice president of Flurry products, becoming the dominant way that consumers globally said that mobile growth is accelerating globally and are accessing the Internet. becoming a vital part of consumers’ daily lives as well Yahoo’s chief executive, Marissa Mayer, told as the economy.

The mobile technology industry generated the roughly 1,000 developers at the conference that the average American smartphone user spent 177 revenues of almost $3.3 trillion worldwide in 2014 and is responsible for 11 million jobs, according to a minutes on mobile every day.

At Yahoo, she said, “mobile went from being a Boston Consulting Group study cited by Mr. Khalaf.

So-called phablets — large smartphones that hobby within the company, with 50 people working on it, to a quarter of our company.” Elaborating at a resemble small tablets — are leading the way, he said. news conference later in the day, she said, “This is “It’s your television, it’s your radio, it’s everything you about taking some of what we’ve learned and making need in one form factor.” it more broadly available.”

Yahoo is essentially seeking to build a large Yahoo’s courtship of developers echoes recent network of third-party apps where it can distribute efforts by other leading tech companies, including its ads, much as it has done on the desktop web. In addition to so-called native ads, which resemble the Twitter and Facebook, which announced their own

Yahoo’s chief executive, Marissa Mayer content around them, the company is beginning to offer video ads to mobile app developers through its recent acquisition of BrightRoll.

“It’s really a platform that lets you monetize,” said Prashant Fuloria, senior vice president of advertising products at Yahoo.

The offerings pose a clear challenge to Twitter, Facebook and Google, which are all competing to get their services and ads into the millions of independent apps that are available for smartphones.

Sony sees 25-fold profit jump by 2018

Sony Corp aims to boost operating profit 25-fold within three years by growing its camera sensors and PlayStation units, its chief executive said, outlining a strategy that could see the company exit the cut-throat TV and smartphone sectors.

CEO Kazuo Hirai said on Wednesday the Japanese consumer electronics firm would no longer pursue sales growth in areas such as smartphones where its has suffered

competition from cheaper Asian rivals York.

“The strategy starting from as well as industry leaders like Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics. the next business year will be about Sony would instead focus generating profit and investing for its spending on more profitable growth,” Hirai told a briefing, adding businesses such as camera sensors, that Sony’s units would be given videogames and entertainment as greater autonomy to make their own it seeks to return to growth after business decisions. forecasting for this financial year its Asked about the TV and mobile sixth net loss in seven years. phone units, Hirai said he would not The comments, made just as “rule out considering an exit strategy”, the Tokyo market was closing, helped Sony’s clearest statement to date Sony’s shares rise 1.4 percent in New about the possibility of selling or

finding partners for these struggling units.

Sony is in the midst of a restructuring that has so far seen it sell off its personal computer division and spin off the TV business. It has also axed thousands of jobs.

Sony shares have risen more than 80 percent over the past year as investors applauded the restructuring, which accelerated since Hirai appointed Kenichiro Yoshida as his chief strategy officer in late 2013.

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LOCAL NEWS BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY

American Express Violated Antitrust Laws, Judge Rules A federal judge ruled on Thursday that a longstanding practice by American Express aimed at keeping customers from using other forms of payment violates United States antitrust laws.

The fees that American Express charges merchants are routinely higher than those of Visa, MasterCard, Discover and other credit card companies. But Amex prohibits any merchant that accepts its cards from encouraging customers to pay with lower-cost cards.

In a 150-page opinion, Judge U.S. Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Nicholas G. Garaufis of Federal Eastern District of New York wrote that District Court for the Eastern American Express had created “an unlawful District of New York wrote that restraint on trade.” Credit Chester Higgins such a practice constituted “an Jr./The New York Times unlawful restraint on trade.” He said he would determine a remedy then discriminate against them later. when our card members choose to The ruling was another pay with American Express.” setback in what is proving to be a Credit card fees are largely bad month for American Express. hidden from consumers, but they Last week, it announced that are incorporated into the prices its partnerships with JetBlue of most goods and services. The and the retailer Costco would be result is a pricing system that ending. Amex was the only card many consumer advocates believe that Costco accepted beyond debit is unfair because it effectively cards. American Express stock forces poorer consumers, who pay has suffered, and shares slipped with cash or “plain vanilla” cards 1.7 percent, to $78.40, after the to subsidize affluent holders of announcement of Thursday’s premium rewards cards. ruling.

The inability of merchants Amex released a statement to encourage lower-cost forms saying it was “disappointed” with of payment, Judge Garaufis the ruling and would appeal. The wrote, creates “an environment company said the disputed rules in which there is nothing to offset for merchants actually increase credit card networks’ incentives competition rather than stifle it — including American Express’s by protecting Amex cardholders incentive — to charge merchants “from anti-consumer practices, inflated prices for their services. including at the checkout counter, This, in turn, results in higher such as being told to pay with costs to all consumers who another card.” purchase goods and services from “Eliminating these protections,” these merchants.” the company continued “would Merchants across the inhibit consumers’ choice to pay country express delight over the with their preferred payment judge’s decision. method and allow merchants who “Today’s ruling is one step have agreed to honor our cards to forward to bringing badly needed

competition and transparency to the entire credit card industry,” the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group of retailers, restaurants, gas stations and other consumer businesses, said in a statement. “Allowing retailers to ask consumers to use a less expensive card will result in lower prices for consumers and a fairer market for the fees merchants currently pay to accept credit and debit cards.”

Jeffrey I. Shinder, an antitrust lawyer who represented three retailers — Ikea, Sears and Crate & Barrel — that testified against Amex in the case, predicted that the decision would give merchants greater clout to negotiate more favorable agreements with Amex, including cheaper fees.

“All consumers will benefit from that,” Mr. Shinder said.

Some merchants, he predicted, might decide to offer discounts for paying with cheaper brands, like Discover, and in that way charge people paying with American Express a higher price.

But whether businesses will want to risk alienating a subset of customers who are very attached to their rewards cards by introducing what might appear as a two-tier pricing system remains to be seen.

“It is a good question as to whether merchants are going to do this or not,” said Mr. Shinder, managing partner of the firm Constantine Cannon’s New York City office. “But I can tell you that from Amex’s testimony, it has signaled that it is definitely afraid of the competitive pressure that this will put on its pricing model.”

Thursday’s ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed in 2010 by the Justice Department and attorneys general in 17 states after an inquiry of so-called anti-steering policies used by the major credit card companies.

Japan Display in talks with Apple to build iPhone screen plant

Japan Display Inc is considering building a plant to supply smartphone screens for Apple Inc and is negotiating with the U.S. company for investment in the project, a person familiar with the situation said on Friday.

The Japanese screen maker aims to be the primary supplier of high-tech screens for Apple’s wildly popular iPhones, the person told Reuters.

Global iPhone sales, notably in China, have surged to make Apple the most profitable company in history.

Japan Display wants Apple to shoulder much of the expected 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion) investment in the plant, which aims to be in operation next year, the source said on condition of anonymity as the talks remain confidential.

The Japanese company said in a statement that it was constantly pursuing opportunities to strengthen its competitiveness, including building a new plant. “No formal decision has been made

regarding any matter that we need to disclose,” it said.

The most likely site for the plant is in Ishikawa, central Japan, the source said. It would have a capacity greater than an existing facility in Mobara, southeast of Tokyo, which makes 50,000 of the 1.5 by 1.85 metre sheets a month for iPhone 6 screens and other uses, he said.

Japan Display Chief Executive Shuichi Otsuka said last year that the company needed a new plant as it was reaching capacity at Mobara.

The company, formed in a government-backed deal in 2012 from the ailing display units of Sony Corp, Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd , has endured a rocky spell since its listing in Tokyo last year.

But Japan Display this month reported a rebound to profit from two quarters of losses, boosted by demand from Apple and Chinese smartphone makers, in stark contrast with Japanese competitor Sharp Corp’s shrinking panel business.

Samsung Buys LoopPay, a Competitor to Apple’s Mobile Wallet Samsung, the South Korean technology giant, announced Wednesday it had acquired LoopPay, a mobile payments company, signaling its interest in controlling smartphone-based purchases.

The move comes just months after the release of Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payments product, which allows consumers to buy things with little more than a wave of a smartphone.

Though it has been available for only a handful of months, Apple Pay has gained significant traction with retailers and consumers. Whole Foods, the high-end grocery store, said it had processed thousands of Apple Pay transactions. Apple has also persuaded dozens of credit card issuers to sign up to support Apple Pay. LoopPay, however, believes its reach will extend far beyond that of Apple Pay. LoopPay’s underlying technology relies on a magnetic transmission sent from a user’s phone to a merchant’s payment terminal, mimicking a credit card swipe. The technology, according to LoopPay, can be accepted in more than 90 percent of existing point-of-sale terminals. It is unclear if LoopPay will work on chip-and-pin terminals, which use a more secure form of credit card technology and are being widely phased in this year.

Apple Pay relies on near-field communication technology, which Apple says is available at approximately 220,000 American locations.

“We are excited to take our relationship with LoopPay to the next level, by bringing consumers a mobile wallet solution that is not just safe and reliable, but also widely accepted at more locations than any competing service,” David Eun, executive vice president of Samsung’s Global Innovation Center, said in a statement.

LoopPay will work across many Android smartphones, of which Samsung is one of the world’s largest manufacturers. That is in contrast to Apple Pay, which works only on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones, and will soon work on the coming Apple Watch.

Nasdaq nears all-time highs as exuberance yields to reason

The NASDAQ MarketSite electronic billboard is seen in Times Square in New York As the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closes in on the all-time high it reached in March 2000, investors are facing a market that barely resembles the go-go era of 15 years ago.

Valuations, as measured by what investors are willing to pay for the last 12 months of earnings, are an eighth of what they were at the peak of the dot com bubble, when the Nasdaq hit an intraday record of 5,132 before falling more than 63 percent in 12 months.

Dividend investors, too, now routinely hold large positions in technology companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, and Oracle, a decision unthinkable in the growth-focused days of 2000 but now common thanks to mountains of corporate cash and changes in tax policy that have been favorable to dividends.

Should the Nasdaq set a new record soon, as many expect - the index remains about 4 percent below its highest point after gaining nearly 15 percent over the last 12 months - its catalyst won’t be irrational exuberance, fund managers and analysts say.

Instead, three key factors underpin the Nasdaq’s 125 percent rise over the last five years: the Federal Reserve’s ongoing policy of near-zero interest rates that has made equities more attractive than bonds; the maturation of technology companies; and the rise of Apple Inc, a company that didn’t appear among the largest 20 companies by market value in the index 15 years ago and now represents more than 10 percent of its weight.

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Uber Expands Funding Round by $1 Billion

Uber, the ride-hailing service, likes to trumpet its popularity with consumers. Their fervor is surpassed, perhaps, only by investors’.

Facing overwhelming demand from institutional investors, Uber has expanded its Series E round of venture financing by $1 billion, according to documents filed Wednesday with the Delaware secretary of state, bringing the total capacity for the round up to $2.8 billion.

The move, which was confirmed

by Uber, occurred just weeks after the company closed a $1.2 billion round of financing. At the time, Uber said it had left capacity for about $600 million in additional strategic investments, according to a Delaware filing. The company is incorporated in Delaware and based in San Francisco.

But the appetite for a piece of Uber has proved to be greater than the company had imagined. The $600 million was quickly oversubscribed, and Uber decided to raise the amount.

Baidu, the Chinese Internet giant, accounts for part of the additional investment beyond the $1.2 billion round.

The most recent expansion is on top of some $4 billion Uber raised, including a recent $1.6 billion round of convertible debt financing from the

An Uber driver in Brooklyn. The rapidly growing ride-hailing service plans to strengthen its European operations and enter the Asia-Pacific region. clients of the private wealth arm of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank previously confirmed.

Uber’s $40 billion valuation, extraordinary by any private technology company’s standards, remains unchanged since the company announced the first part of the round in December. Uber is one of the most richly valued private technology startups, second only to Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer.

“The participation we have seen in Uber’s Series E underscores the

Obama Economic Report Focuses on Income Inequality

WASHINGTON — President changes made incomes grow fast Obama on Thursday stepped up enough to double in 25 years. his efforts to define which economic The second, from 1973 to 1995, problems need urgent attention — and they label “The Age of Expanded what kind of attention would work — if Participation.” While productivity not under his administration, then the growth slowed, profits flowed next. increasingly to the highest earners.

The 2015 Economic Report But an even-faster flow of women into of the President released Thursday the work force lifted family incomes focuses squarely on the challenges of enough to obscure those developments. rising income inequality and stagnant The third, from 1995 to 2013, they wages for average families. The need call “The Age of Productivity Recovery.” for “middle-class economics,” not any Thanks to Silicon Valley, technological near-term push to shrink government change accelerated output per worker debt and deficits, dominates its 414 once again. But the benefits were offset pages. by continued income inequality, driven The report offers prescriptions partly by rising rewards for the bestthat Mr. Obama has made familiar, educated workers and falling rewards even as Republicans block some, for the least-educated. like spending programs financed by At the same time, the increase tax increases on the affluent, while in women entering the work force Democrats object to others, like new stalled while “labor force participation” international trade deals. by men continued its long-term decline.

But with an eye toward shaping The reduction in workers — which debate through the 2016 presidential holds down family incomes and the campaign and beyond, it offers an economy’s potential at the same time — expanded rationale for those steps in threatens to grow worse as more baby light of what White House advisers boomers retire, stop paying income call three distinct phases of recent taxes and draw Social Security and economic history.

Medicare benefits.

The first, from 1948 to 1973, “This is the big-picture challenge they call “The Age of Shared Growth.” we’re trying to overcome as an Innovations that emerged from the economy,” said Jason Furman, who is great mobilization required by World chairman of Mr. Obama’s Council of War II made worker productivity soar. Economic Advisers.

Income inequality shrank, in part, The White House argues that as Mr. Obama argued in one recent recent improvements in growth (to 2.8 interview, because labor unions percent from 2.1 percent over the last were stronger and corporations felt two years), hiring (average monthly greater commitment to community. It job gains of 260,000 jobs in 2014, up was also an era when the American from 199,000 the year before) and economy faced almost no international budget deficits (reduced to 2.8 percent competition. of the gross domestic product in 2014, A surge of working women from 9.8 percent in 2009) make a focus expanded the labor force. All of those on “middle-class economics” possible.

confidence investors have in Uber’s growth,” Nairi Hourdajian, the head of global communications at Uber, said in a statement.

Even in Silicon Valley’s recent venture capital environment, where hundreds of millions of dollars and high valuations seem much easier to come by, Uber remains an anomaly.

The company has raised close to $5 billion in private financing since it was founded in 2009, and it appears in no hurry to introduce itself to the public markets.

Uber is likely to need full pockets to continue its rapid growth.

The company is working to expand UberPool, its ride-sharing initiative that links multiple passengers heading toward the same destination and lets them split the cost.

Uber has also said it intends to bolster its European operations and push into the Asia-Pacific region.

It can expect to meet opposition.

Uber faces stiff resistance from taxi and limousine interests in countries like Spain, Germany and Belgium, among others, and will probably need to spend heavily to market itself to win favor with locals.

To do well in China, the world’s most populous country, Uber will probably have to spend heavily to take on services like Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache, China’s two largest taxi-hailing services, which recently announced plans to merge. That deal, if completed, would give the two services more than 90 percent of the market.

Meanwhile, Uber’s largest United States competitor is also raising money.

Lyft, identified by its signature pink mustache logo, is trying to raise at least $250 million in private capital, with participation from at least one previous investor, the Alibaba Group of China.

800,000 people using HealthCare Sent Incorrect Tax Data Tax return forms WASHINGTON — About 800,000 taxpayers who enrolled in insurance policies through HealthCare.gov received erroneous tax information from the government, and were urged on Friday to hold off on filing tax returns until the error could be corrected.

The Obama administration, under heavy pressure from congressional Democrats, also announced that it would give several million people more time to buy health insurance so they could comply with federal law and avoid tax penalties.

The incorrect insurance information is used in computing taxes. Consumers can expect to receive corrected data in the first week of March. With the new data, officials warned, some taxpayers will owe more and some will owe less.

Officials said they did not know why the error had occurred.

Democratic lawmakers pressed hard for the Obama administration to open a “special enrollment period” around tax filing season for Americans who only then realize they face penalties for failing to purchase health insurance last year. Andrew M. Slavitt, the No. 2 official at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the period would last from March 15 to April 30.

When the regular open enrollment period ended Sunday, the Obama administration sent an email to consumers that said: “If you don’t sign up for health insurance today, you

won’t be covered this year. So if you haven’t submitted your application and enrolled yet, this is your last chance.”

In fact, they will get another last chance. Mr. Slavitt described the special enrollment period as a onetime opportunity, and said it would not be repeated in future years.

Treasury officials said that up to six million people might be subject to tax penalties because they were uninsured in 2014. But health officials said they would help consumers obtain exemptions. Federal officials have authorized more than 30 types of exemptions from the penalty for not having insurance.

Millions of consumers received subsidies, in the form of tax credits, to help them pay premiums for coverage purchased through federal and state insurance exchanges last year. The credits were based, in part, on the consumers’ projected income for 2014 and the cost of a “benchmark plan.”

Mr. Slavitt said the government had discovered that the benchmark premiums were incorrectly reported on forms sent to 800,000 taxpayers, about one-fifth of all the forms mailed out by the federal government.

The error by the federal insurance marketplace is similar to what would happen if an employer reported inaccurate information on wages paid to an employee, or a corporation reported incorrect information about dividends paid to a stockholder.

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Usain Bolt plans to retire in 2017

Usain Bolt plans to retire after the 2017 world championships in London, the record-setting Olympic sprinter told British newspaper The Daily Mail.

Bolt previously had indicated that he would end his storied career after the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

But the six-time Olympic gold medal winner acknowledged to The Daily Mail that his sponsorship commitments have forced him to continue sprinting until 2017.

“That was the initial plan [to retire after the Rio Games],” Bolt told The Daily Mail. “But my sponsor has asked me to go on for another year, to 2017 and London.

“I’ll be doing one event, the 100. I’ve already discussed it with my coach. I can concentrate on that, and on retiring on a winning note.”

Bolt, 28, is the world-record holder in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay.

The Jamaican—who smashed the 100-meter world record with a time of 9.58 seconds in Berlin at the World Championships in 2009—is fairly confident he will still be the man to beat by then.

When asked if he wins in Rio by the Mail, he replies: “Which I will.” He says he wants to protect his legacy.

“I want to be remembered as one of the greatest sportsmen ever,” Bolt said.

Actually, he’s already declared himself to be much more. In 2012 at the London Olympics, after

Six associate players to get a CPL look-in

USA wicketkeeper-batsman Steven Taylor has been selected as one of six Associate players from the ICC Americas region to get a tryout with a Caribbean Premier League franchise in June. The other players were Bermuda wicketkeeper Christian Burgess as well as Canada’s Nikhil Dutta, Nitish Kumar, Farhan Malik and Satsimranjit Dhindsa.

The six players were part of a 14-man ICC Americas development squad that participated in an eightday training camp in Barbados in December. The final six players were decided through performances in practice matches at the camp as well as for their respective national teams.

They will be competing with four West Indies U-19 players in each of their respective CPL franchise squads during the tryout phase in June. Only one player from each group will be given a CPL contract for their franchise for the 2015 CPL season.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity to impress the CPL coaches and players and hopefully prove that North America can be a recruiting ground for the CPL and other first class teams,” Taylor said in a CPL press release. As recently as 2013, Taylor scored 162 off 102 balls in a USA win over Nepal, who will be participating in the next edition of the WCL Championship.

Kumar, Dutta and Dhindsa were all a part of Canada’s squad at ICC WCL Division Two in Namibia last month. Kumar scored the only century at the tournament, 104 off 106 balls in a win over Uganda and was Canada’s leading scorer at the tournament.

Dutta, an offspinning allrounder, and fast bowler Dhindsa contributed eight and six wickets respectively at the tournament while Dhindsa’s handy lowerorder batting saw him top Canada’s averages at the tournament with 108.00 after he was only dismissed once in five innings with a high of 43 not out.

Burgess was Bermuda’s leading scorer at WCL Division Three in Malaysia last October with 166 runs and was the only Bermuda player to score more than 100 runs on aggregate at the tournament.

becoming the first sprinter ever to successfully defend his 100-meter and 200-meter titles, Bolt announced: I’m now a legend, I’m also the greatest athlete to live. I am in the same category as Michael Johnson.

Johnson, the great American sprinter who held the 200-meter record that many said would never be beaten until Bolt broke it at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and then bettered it again in 2009, agrees with Bolt. “Usain Bolt is number one, there’s no question about that,” Johnson said in 2013. “He’s the best that’s ever been.”

After years of dominance in sprinting, many others have also rushed to declare Bolt the best ever. But not all agree. Bruce Jenner, currently better known as being one of the Kardashian clan but winner of the decathlon at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, has said that Bolt is merely the best sprinter ever. “He can’t pole vault, he can’t throw anything,” Jenner said. “That’s an athlete.”

Regardless, Bolt has two more years to try to convince doubters like Jenner. In his Mail interview, Bolt is haunted by his “failure” to break his own 9.58-second record since 2009—and sounds a warning shot that he has still has time to do it. “If everything goes well this season… in my life anything is possible,” he said. “If I can get myself in good shape, it should be wonderful this season.”

He’s already targeted an insane sub-19-second time for the 200 meters.

Usain Bolt

No Bravo and Pollard a huge loss for West Indies

West Indies caption Jason Holder West Indies captain Jason Holder has admitted that the absence of Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo is a “huge loss” to West Indies’ chances at the World Cup. Holder described the decision not to select the pair as “beyond my control” and, in an indication that he did not agree with their dropping, pointed out “I’m not a selector.”

Holder became the youngest captain in West Indies’ history when appointed, aged just 23, in the aftermath of the players’

strike that saw the team abandon time. Yes, I had to think about it. their tour of India. While the It was a delicate time. So I gave it chairman of selectors, Clive Lloyd, some thought and spoke to a few has insisted that neither Pollard players around the dressing room nor Brave were omitted for and made my decision disciplinary reasons or out of any “I’ve seen myself to be sense of vengeance, it is clear that a leader in most teams I’ve put Holder feels that, on ability, they myself into. I’ve led teams before. should be in his team.

I led West Indies Under-19 and “They are two players who I was vice-captain on the West have done well in world cricket,” Indies A team. It’s not something Holder said. “But it’s out of our that I’m fresh to. We’ve been control. Not having them would inconsistent and not played to be a huge loss to any side. But it’s the best of our abilities but we beyond our control and we have to have some world beaters in our accept it and move on.” team. It’s all about putting it all Holder’s authority as captain together.” was further undermined when, One of those “world beaters” during the media conference, is Gayle. But despite Holder’s the team’s press officer took the relative youth and inexperience unusual step of calling a halt - he is 12 years younger and has to proceedings and demanding played 237 fewer ODIs than Gayle journalists ask no more questions - Holder insisted that captaining about Chris Gayle. If the intention him would provide no significant was to avoid any uncomfortable challenges. questions, it succeeded only in “Chris is big player for any making Holder appear like a team he plays for,” Holder said. young man who needed shielding. “He’s a world beater. He’s been a Up to that point, Holder top batsman for us for a number had looked comfortable if a little of years. We just want him to be nervous. Admitting he had taken his normal self and get the best some time to decide whether to out of him. accept the captaincy, he conceded “I have built a relationship that his side’s form had been with some of the senior players. “inconsistent” but expressed Being captain has not been that confidence in the raw ability of difficult thus far. We didn’t do too his squad. well in South Africa but we didn’t “Being captain is a huge have our full-strength team out thing for me. At 22-years-old I there. I have a good relationship was the youngest captain of all with all the guys.”

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No helmet sensors for NFL in ‘15 The NFL will not outfit writing that he “led the project as a players with helmet sensors next member of the league’s Head, Neck season, indefinitely delaying the and Spine Committee.” Guskiewicz implementation of technology that has was unavailable for an interview. been championed by one of the league’s According to Cantu, the NFL own medical advisers as a way to recently commissioned a study of two reduce concussions. of the possible sensor systems: the The decision was confirmed Helmet Impact Telemetry System Thursday to “Outside the Lines” by a (HITS), which uses battery-powered league spokesman, who said the NFL sensors implanted in the helmet’s “will continue to review and analyze the padding, and X2’s mouth guard sensor. research.” The NFL Players Association The HITS system, which was developed said it supported the decision.

by Simbex, a New Hampshire At least 20 colleges -- including biomechanics firm, is marketed to Virginia Tech, UCLA and North consumers by Riddell and is used by Carolina -- employ helmet sensors to 20 NCAA football programs. alert coaches and medical personnel Although the results have not to potentially damaging head trauma. Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril suffered a concussion during Super Bowl XLIX this month. been published, Cantu said the study The sensors show where a collision raised further questions about the occurred and estimate the amount of enough accuracy to provide useful data. reservations as “analysis paralysis.” accuracy of the sensors, particularly force that was generated. A number “For me personally, until the validity “Our view is that while there are when measuring impacts to the of institutions use the technology to issues are further sorted out, it can limitations, it still gives you very facemask and the back of the head. conduct concussion research, much of be argued, I think, that sensor studies useful data,” he said.

The study was performed by Gunter it funded by the government. are fairly preliminary,” Cantu said. “I The sensors’ champions have Siegmund, a biomechanics expert in The sensors could enable would want to know how accurate included Guskiewicz, a former British Columbia. the NFL to answer a number of these devices are.”

Pittsburgh Steelers assistant trainer Some proponents of sensors fundamental questions -- how many But Stefan Duma, who leads who is now senior associate dean for believe that, for years, the NFL has head hits players absorb, the force of Virginia Tech’s Department of the natural sciences at North Carolina. sown doubts about reliability to justify those collisions and where they most Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Guskiewicz, who co-chairs the NFL’s widespread resistance. The NFL frequently occur. In June 2014, Dr. said the reliability of the sensors has Subcommittee of Safety Equipment Players Association also is opposed Kevin Guskiewicz, an NFL adviser and been established for years. Although and Playing Rules, used UNC sensor to the use of helmet sensors in their concussion researcher, told USA Today subject to error, he said, the technology data to persuade the NFL to move current form. In 2012, former Steeler Sports that two companies were “fine- enables on-field personnel to respond kickoffs from the 30- to the 35-yard- Hines Ward told “Outside the Lines” tuning” their devices and that all 32 quickly when a collision occurs and line, a change the league credits for a that the sensors would open up a NFL teams could be using the sensors determine whether it caused an injury. decline in concussions.

“Pandora’s box” by providing data that during the 2015 season.

The system, in use at Virginia Tech, It was unclear what role could be used to remove players from But the technology has been alerts trainers when it detects any hit Guskiewicz played in the NFL’s games or even in contract negotiations. plagued by controversy, resistance measuring at least 98 g forces. Duma decision to delay implementation. On Thursday, the NFLPA indicated from the players and questions the also uses the sensors as the basis for Duma, who in the past has worked it has continuing concerns about the league has repeatedly raised about its Virginia Tech’s football helmet rating with Guskiewicz, said, “Kevin appears confidentiality and reliability of the reliability. system, which is widely used by to have been marginalized or that this data. The union asserted that a recent Dr. Robert Cantu, a Boston consumers. He receives funding from was taken away from him.” He added “field trial” revealed that the sensors neurosurgeon and concussion expert the National Institutes of Health, the that he had no direct knowledge about are “not nearly as useful as had been who serves as an adviser to the NFL’s Centers for Disease Control and the Guskiewicz’s status. hoped and in many cases could not even Head, Neck and Spine Committee, said Department of Defense, among other In an email, the NFL spokesman determine the direction of the forces,” Thursday that he remains unconvinced agencies. referred questions about the helmet causing the study to be suspended. sensors can measure head impact with Duma described the NFL’s sensor initiative to Guskiewicz,

Chris Bosh admitted to Miami hospital for lung tests

Ballance not a one-day cricketer, says Holding

Michael Holding has questioned whether Gary Ballance ‘s last-minute inclusion at No 3 is the right World Miami Heat All-Star Chris Cup call for England after they crashed Bosh has been admitted to a Miamito a spectacular defeat against New area hospital to undergo tests on his Zealand in Wellington. lungs, according to a team spokesman The entire match lasted only 45.4 via reports. Bosh had previously dealt overs as Tim Southee recorded the with abdominal discomfort during Allthird best bowling figures in World Star Weekend but continued with his Cup history and Brendon McCullum planned vacation after the festivities added further hurt with the fastest and events in New York.

World Cup fifty.

Joseph Goodman of the Miami Holding made his comments on Ballance’s World Cup preparations were Herald has more details: Match Point - the original Match hampered by a broken finger Bosh was “under the weather” Point show - which is freely available on Wednesday when he reported to on ESPNcricinfo for every game and he was a surprise inclusion for practice, according to Heat coach Erik Chris Bosh throughout the World Cup as well as England’s opening-day defeat against Spoelstra, and team trainers sent being shown simultaneously live on Australia when England shuffled Bosh to see a doctor. He did not attend whether Bosh was sick in Haiti, Wade the ESPN TV network in USA and the James taylor down the order and practice Thursday and was instead said, “I don’t know if he was sick. I’m dropped Ravi Bopara. admitted to the hospital not a doctor. I just know he wasn’t Caribbean.

“I am not absolutely sure that Jonathan Trott has urged Initial tests on Bosh, 30, were feeling good. He wasn’t coughing or inconclusive, according to a team throwing up, but he just wasn’t feeling they have the right team,” Holding England’s selectors not to panic and spokesman. An independent source good. So I don’t know when it happened. said. “There are guys who I have seen make further wholesale changes. His play for England in recent times who assessment also formed part of the confirmed for the Miami Herald that It could have happened in New York.” the initial tests were on Bosh’s lungs.

A diagnosis of Bosh’s condition should be in this team. Alex Hales - expert analysis which is available on While in New York over the has not yet been revealed, if one OK he hasn’t done a lot but he has the Match Point throughout the World Cup weekend for the All-Star Game, Bosh exists at all. He won Saturday night’s capability of doing a lot better than - part of ESPNcricinfo’s comprehensive World Cup package of video, match complained of pain in his side near Shooting Stars event for the third year some of the guys in this team.

“I am not sure Ballance is a one- reports, analysis and features. his rib cage. He then traveled to in a row played 11 minutes in Sunday’s “You have to make a decision,” Haiti during Carnival with his wife, All-Star Game without appearing in day cricketer. I think he is a fantastic Test batsman…

I am not sure he has Trott said.

“You can’t start chopping Adrienne, and Dwyane Wade and excessive pain, although it’s unclear the right attitude for ODI cricket.” and changing now one you are in the Wade’s wife, actress Gabrielle Union. if he simply toughed it out or saw his Ballance’s World Cup preparations World Cup. You have to select the team Asked on Thursday after practice condition worsen in the days since. were hampered by a broken finger and back the players.

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Chelsea apologise to Metro victim over abuse

Chelsea have issued an Souleymane for the behaviour apology to the man who was of a small number of individuals racially abused by club supporters and their unforgivable action on the Paris Metro on Tuesday towards him. We’re writing to him night, and will invite him to a to apologise and to invite him to come to a game as our guest.’’ match as a guest.

Three men could face life While Mourinho feels bans from football after being “ashamed’’ by the incident, he suspended from Stamford Bridge remains proud to be Chelsea

by Chelsea as part of the ongoing manager after distancing the club from the supporters who racially investigation into the incident.

A commuter, identified abused the man. in media reports as French“We feel ashamed but maybe Mauritian Souleymane S, was we shouldn’t because I refuse to blocked from entering a train be connected with these people,’’ by what appeared to be a group Mourinho said. “I’m connected of fans travelling to the Parc with Chelsea and the many good des Princes for the Champions things this club defends. I left League match against Paris Chelsea in 2007 and I couldn’t Saint-Germain. wait to be back.

“I felt ashamed when I knew “I’d like to make clear, on behalf of everyone at the club, our what happened, but I repeat I’m a disgust at the incident. We were proud Chelsea manager because I appalled by what we saw,’’ a club know what this club is.’’ spokesman said before manager Mourinho also backed the Jose Mourinho began his weekly initiative to bring Mr. Souleymane news conference. to Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese said: “I “The club would also like to apologise unreservedly to think he would watch the game,

he would feel what Chelsea is, because in this moment he maybe has wrong idea of what Chelsea football club is.

“I don’t even know if the gentleman loves football but, for sure, you would love to feel that the miserable people who had this action with him is not Chelsea football club.

“This is not Chelsea. They are not Chelsea. Chelsea is the owner.

Is the board, is the manager, is the players, is the people who works here, is the true Chelsea supporter so, yes, I would support the idea, even not knowing if the gentleman loves football or not.

“I repeat, I feel ashamed at being connected with this sad episode that happened and I have no words, unless you want me to stay here two hours repeating the same thing, because my feeling is the feeling of everyone at this club. We feel very, very sorry about it. We want to fight it, we feel ashamed, and we apologise to the gentleman.”

Chargers, Raiders reveal L.A. plan SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders announced Thursday that they have collaborated on a proposal to build a privately financed, $1.7 billion stadium in Carson, California, that the two teams would share if they relocate to the Los Angeles market.

In a joint statement, the Chargers and Raiders said they have been working for many years in their home markets to find stadium solutions and that they remain committed throughout 2015 to try to seek publicly acceptable solutions to the stadium issues in their current cities.

However, according to the statement, the two teams also will continue to work in Carson to preserve their options in the event that efforts in their local markets fail.

Both teams have kept the NFL committee handling the possible relocation of teams to Los Angeles informed of their efforts.

“We are pursuing this stadium option in Carson for one straightforward reason: If we cannot find a permanent solution in our home markets, we have no alternative but to preserve other options to guarantee the future economic viability of our franchises,” the two teams said in the joint statement.

The agreement was earlier reported by the Los Angeles Times.

A source involved in the negotiations told ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi that the Chargers came to Carson officials first with the stadium proposal nine months ago and that the Raiders later joined the talks, which intensified after St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced plans in January to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood.

The Chargers and Raiders are partnering with a local development group, and will address the project Friday at a news conference near the site of the proposed stadium, a 168-acre parcel of land near the 405 freeway in Carson. The city is 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles and is home to Major

FIFA candidate wants World Cup with 48 teams

The Raiders and Chargers could end up sharing more than a field as a scrambling Derek Carr and defensive tackle Kendall Reyes did in November.

League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy.

The group intends to start a petition drive for a ballot initiative to get voter approval to build the stadium.

This latest development comes a month and a half after an announcement in which a developer and a company operated by Kroenke unveiled plans to build a stadium on land he owns near Hollywood Park.

In addition, a plan for an NFL facility in downtown Los Angeles remains alive. The would-be stadium known as Farmers Field, until recently the leading candidate for the NFL’s return, now becomes a long shot with multiple competitors and no clear team attached.

Los Angeles has not had an NFL team since the Rams and Raiders departed for St. Louis and Oakland in 1995.

The Chargers, the Raiders and the Rams are teams that could potentially relocate to the lucrative Los Angeles market in the near future. All three teams can terminate their leases at the end of the 2015 season.

Luis Figo Luis Figo would consider a bigger World Cup if he is elected to replace Sepp Blater as Fifa president.

Releasing his manifesto at Wembley Stadium, the legendary Portugal midfielder said he would look at increasing the number of teams from 32 to 40 or even 48.

Figo, 42, is one of three candidates challenging Blatter in the election on 29 May. He also proposed sin-bins and reverting to the old offside rule interpretation.

Dutch federation president Michael van Praag and Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein are also in the running to become head of football’s world governing body.

Former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan winger Figo, who played at two World Cups, said on Thursday that the current format could be increased to 40 teams or Fifa could stage two 24team competitions simultaneously on two continents, followed by a knockout phase in one nation.

He said: “Both these options are feasible with an extra three to four days of tournament play. If this expansion were to take place I believe that additional teams should come from non-European nations.

“We not only make sure that we include more countries from across the world, but also enable Fifa to raise significant increased revenues that can be used to invest in the growth of the game globally.”

Figo, the 2001 Fifa world player of the year, also proposes: Spreading half of Fifa’s $2.5bn revenue over four years to associations to fund grassroots football.

Redistributing $1bn of Fifa’s $1.5bn cash reserves to the 209 national federations.

Increased use of technology in the game, using sin-bins for unsporting behaviour.

Reverting back to the previous interpretation of the offside rule, “where a player is judged offside whether directly involved in the play or not”.

Blatter, 78, has been Fifa boss since 1998 and said in June 2014 that he intended to run for a fifth term.

He was criticised for Fifa’s handling of Michael Garcia’s report into alleged corruption during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Page B-24

TURKS & CAICOS SUN

FEBRUARY 21ST, 2015 – FEBRUARY 28TH, 2015

LOCAL NEWS

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