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Regional News
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
June 29 - July 5, 2013
“No one is safe” in the Bahamas – opines Deputy PM
DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said this week the attack on his body guard proves that no one is “safe” from the unrelenting scourge of crime in the country. Speaking to reporters outside of Cabinet, Mr Davis said Bahamians, from all walks of life, need to come together to help in the fight against crime. His comments came after his personal aide, Sergeant Andrew Sweeting, was shot in front of a residence behind Prince Charles Shopping Centre, early Monday morning. Sweeting was shot in the lower abdomen and left palm, during an armed robbery by two assailants. Police have confirmed they are questioning three men in connection with the shooting. The men, ages 23, 36 and 18, all of Nassau Village were taken into custody around noon on Monday. Mr Davis said he spoke with Sergeant Sweeting yesterday
Deputy PM Philip Davis said that Bahamians, from all walks of life, need to come together to help in the fight against crime.
morning. He said he is doing well and is “eager” to return to work. “I have spoken and seen him,” Mr Davis said, “he is in good spirits, he is going to be well. His injuries are not life threatening. Thank God he is still with us today. The incident
doesn’t add anything to our criminal activity and it doesn’t take anything away, but it is still unacceptably high and what it tells us is that none of us are safe from what is taking place in our country today. We must all come together and make a concerted effort to fight the surge of crime we have on our hands.” Mr Davis also confirmed that Mr Sweeting was working at the time of the incident. “I was out of the country,” he said. “The other police aide was travelling with me as he elected to have him go instead, he was at home readying the vehicle to come and get us from the airport and he said he was cleaning the car to come to collect us and that is when the incident happened.” “When I saw him he was ready to get out of bed to come, but he is in good spirits with respect to recovering from the surgeries he just had to correct the issues with his hand and stomach. I doubt he was targeted. His own explanation of the events speak against that.” Investigations into the matter are continuing.
Jamaica announces smoking ban in public spaces DESCRIBING it as the most farreaching piece of public health policy undertaken in recent times, Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson has announced that as of July 15, no smoking will be permitted in public spaces across Jamaica. In making the announcement in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Ferguson said smoking would be banned in all enclosed places, public transportation, workplaces, government buildings, health facilities, sports, athletics and recreational facilities, educational facilities, areas specifically for use by children, and places of collective use such as bus stops. Ferguson told Parliament that the Government had developed a new regulatory framework – the Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations 2013 – and that he used his power as minister to impose the ban. Persons found guilty of violating the law are liable for a fine of $50,000 and/or three months’ imprisonment for the first offence. In the case of a second conviction, persons face up to $500,000 in fines and/or jail time of six months, or up to 12 months’ imprisonment for subsequent offences. The minister told legislators that smoking has been a major contributor to deaths on the island and said smokers are victims of their practices. He said tobacco smoke
From July 15 it will be a criminal offence in Jamaica to smoke in public.
is a toxic mix of more than 7,000 chemicals of which 70 can cause cancer. The minister told fellow legislators that he took his responsibility to deal with the protection of the health of the people of Jamaica seriously. “I am not just anti-smoker, I am rather pro-health,” Ferguson said. He noted that tobacco kills up to half of its users and “is the only industry that kills its best and most loyal and faithful customers”. He said tobacco kills nearly six million people each year, including more than 600,000 non-smokers
exposed to second-hand smoke. He also said approximately 80 per cent of the world’s one billion smokers lived in low- and middle-income countries like Jamaica. The quest to ban smoking in public places gained momentum in the former administration when Rudyard Spencer was minister of health. “He tried his best,” Ferguson said in acknowledging his predecessor’s efforts. Jamaica ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2005.
Haiti’s Sunrise Airways currently operates 19-seat Jetstream 32 EP aircraft on domestic routes within Haiti.
Haiti’s Sunrise Airways plans to expand service to TCI and Jamaica HAITI’S Sunrise Airways is planning to expand its service network to Kingston, Jamaica and Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, the company announced. Sunrise currently operates 19-seat Jetstream 32 EP aircraft on domestic routes within Haiti. “While the Eastern Caribbean has long been well-served by hub operations in San Juan, we here in the West have generally been forced to endure lengthy connections outside the region,” said Philippe Bayard,
President of Sunrise Airways, in a statement. The startup company was established in 2009 before launching its scheduled flights in Haiti last year. “Sunrise Airways aims to change the old paradigm, creating enhanced, more efficient air service options for business and leisure travelers in our corner of the region, while also boosting business development and tourism prospects here in Haiti,” Bayard said. (Caribbean Journal)
Aruba to run solely on sustainable energy by 2020 THE Aruba Tourism Authority the claims that 70 square-mile island is on track to become the world’s first sustainable energy economy and achieve the goal of running on 100 percent sustainable energy by 2020. The Vader Piet Windmill Farm, built in 2009 on the island’s northern coast, consists of ten 180-metre high wind turbines that currently produce 20 percent of Aruba’s electricity. Plans are in progress for a second wind farm, which will double the energy capacity and continue to decrease Aruba’s carbon footprint. In June 2012, Prime Minister Mike Eman and entrepreneur Richard Branson announced a partnership between Aruba and the Carbon War Room, an initiative that seeks to reduce global carbon emission. Promoting the Caribbean Island’s green credentials in a release Tuesday, the ATA said the partnership would transition the island to 100 percent renewable energy while eliminating any reliance on fossil fuels and will create a model for other countries to replicate. The island’s constant supply of sun, eastern trade winds and ocean currents allow for research and field-testing of renewable energy technologies. The islands tourism authority noted that in recent years,
sustainability efforts within the travel industry have progressed from a niche consideration to an industrywide priority; 96% of Conde Nast Traveler readers believe hotels and resorts should be responsible for protecting the environment in which they operate. “The opportunities for renewable development on Aruba are really extraordinary ... Aruba could truly be a model to the world in terms of a sustainable place to live and work,” said Harvard Professor George Baker. Aruba’s private sector is also committed to preserving and protecting the environment, which is evident in the island’s several certified and sustainable hotel and resort properties. EarthCheck, the premier international certification alliance for sustainable travel and tourism, complies with the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 114064 range of standards for greenhouse gas accounting. To date, six resorts on-island are certified by EarthCheck and eight are on the road to achieving certification.