NEW DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS APPOINTED IN TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS
The Governor announced on 10 March the appointment of John Masters as the new Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Masters will take up the position on April 27, 2015, following the departure of his predecessor JoAnn Meloche in early February. A qualified Barrister, he has 27 years post admission qualification experience in UK, Australia and the Cayman Islands.
“I am pleased to announce the appointment of John Masters to this important post,” said Governor Peter Beckingham, who approves all senior public appointments in the Territory. “He brings with him a wealth of experience, and I hope his skills will enhance the work of the prosecutions department within the overall criminal justice system.”
Speaking about his appointment, Mr Masters said: ““I am extremely proud and honoured to be entrusted with such an important role and look forward to serving the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands as their Director of Public Prosecutions.”
The DPP role was advertised locally, regionally and internationally. It attracted a field of 11 applicants, with five candidates shortlisted for interview by a panel which included the Governor, Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, and Wendall Swann from Swann & Swann Attorneys at Law.
Bermuda defeats the TCI in Rugby
Bermuda ran in seven tries in a one-sided North American and Caribbean Rugby Championship victory over Turks and Caicos Islands.
Dan Cole and Durnferd Davis scored two tries each, while Paul Dobinson, Tom Healy and Roedolf van der Westhuizen also crossed in a thoroughly dominant display, and Patrick Calow, making his debut at fly-half, added 20 points with the boot.
It took Bermuda just 36 seconds to get their first points on the board, Cole crossing in the corner after the forwards turned the ball over straight from the kick-off.
The score set the pattern for the day, with Bermuda completely in control up front, forcing TCI into infringing at the breakdown almost every time they got the ball.
The game ended with Bermuda winning 55 to 3.
PM calls for end to discrimination, violence against women, girls
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller is urging Jamaicans to end all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
Her call comes as the world celebrates International Women’s Day today under the theme: “Empower Women, Empower Humanity: Picture it!”
According to Simpson Miller, Jamaica has made considerable progress towards empowering women through improved access to quality education and training and improved participation in high-level decision-making.
She says there has also been progress in facilitating the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, expanding health care and services for women and girls and through poverty reduction programmes, among many other initiatives.
The prime minister also pointed to Jamaica’s ranking in a recent International Labour Organization Survey which found that island has the greatest proportion of women managers and business leaders.
March observed as Social Work Month
March each year is observed as, Social Work Month this is an opportunity to promote the value of social work around the world and to turn the spotlight on the profession and highlight the valuable contribution of Social Workers make to society.
The theme for 2015 is “Social Work Paves the way for Change. We are the Changers.”
The Department of Social Development and Gender Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Home Affairs, join in on this annual occasion. World Social Work Day will be celebrated on the 19thMarch, 2015.
In celebration of Social Work Month, the Department of Social Development and Gender Affairs will be hosting a variety of activities throughout the Islands:
Volunteer Day will be held at the Wellness Center & Special Needs, Provo Children’s Home (March 21, 2015). “Become a Social Worker” Presentations will be held between March 16 – 27, 2015 and there will be a special Social Worker Retreat.
Governor Beckingham in his latest blog payed tribute to Women in the TCI
HE Governor Beckingham in his latest blog payed tribute to Women in the TCI on Sunday.
Mr. Beckingham added that he’s pleased that the Turks and Caicos will be joining in those celebrations.
He stated that “We have a great deal to be proud of In politics, our country’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport is Akierra Missick. Her position as Minister of Youth is most apposite, as she hit the political stage in her early 30s. Two of her Ministerial colleagues are of course The Hon Porsha Stubbs Smith, Minister of Tourism, the Environment and Culture, and the Hon Amanda Misick, Minister of Government Support Services, and the Honourable Sharlene Robinson who leads the opposition. So there is certainly no shortage of female firepower on the front benches of the House!
Mr Beckingham then turned his attention to our Judicial and Legal positions. Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles is the first female Attorney-General of Turks and Caicos, and was honoured by being made Person of the Year by the Weekly News newspaper. Our new-ish Chief Justice, Margaret Ramsey-Hale, is also the first woman to hold that key office of our country, and our deputy Public Prosecutor is the youthful Angela Brookes, who I hope might in the next year or so return for a short spell to the UK to work with the Crown Prosecution Service there.
As if that isn’t sufficient evidence of how extraordinarily well-placed we are in demonstrating the achievements of women, our Public Service is ably lead by my Deputy, the Hon Anya Williams, a former Permanent Secretary, and her senior management team has a majority of women, including the heads of Finance, Health and Environment. The heads of a number of our Statutory bodies, including the Public Service, Human Rights (both chair and director) and Complaints are also lead with authority by ladies of distinction who have served our islands for many years.
Continuing HE said that the TCI is in an excellent place, as far as the promotion of women to senior positions are concerned, although of course there is never room for complacency.
We should all be justly proud of the women I have mentioned, as well as several others, like Edith Cox at IGA and Evelyn Adams at the Do It Centre, in senior positions in business. But I know that they would all insist that we should also celebrate the contribution of thousands of other women in our islands, who work more anonymously, educating our children, running our healthcare centres, supporting the big resorts, protecting our borders, and bringing up the next generation.
Most appropriately I am delighted that the Attorney-General has accepted my invitation to write a “guest blog” this month, describing her visit to London to represent our country at some important, international legal events. Watch this space!
International Women’s Day 8th and 14th March, 2015
The Department of Social Development and Gender Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Home Affairs, will join the rest of the world on March 8, in celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) under the theme “Make it Happen”.
International Women’s Day is a global celebration marking the economic, political and social achievements of women.
This year the International Women’s Day Committee (IWD) has organized activities that will be held throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands. All women, men, boys and girls in the Turks and Caicos are invited to be a part of this grand occasion as we celebrate women of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Women play an important role in every aspect of civil society and are therefore the life line in the TCI. Let us join hands to celebrate in unity and love as we ‘Step out, Step up and Make it happen’ in the lives of women throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Minister for Environment and Home Affairs the Hon. George Lightbourne in his address, saluted women and vowed that he and his Government will do all possible to ensure that women rights are protected.
On Saturday, March 14, at 10:00am the Grand Turk Community will host its second annual Sporting and Cheerleading competition at the Parade grounds, featuring women from all walks of life. There will be live performances by students from the various schools in Grand Turk. There will be activities such as relays, tug of war, and sack races.
Bangladesh shock England to reach World Cup quarter-finals
Bangladesh knocked England out of the World Cup on Monday sparking scenes of wild celebration for the Asian whipping boys' millions of long-suffering fans and widespread derision for the game's inventors.
Mohammad Mahmudullah smashed 103 to become the first Bangladesh player to make a World Cup century while brother-in-law Mushfiqur Rahim made 89 as the Tigers clinched a nail-biting 15-run win to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
They had to recover from being eight for two to post a challenging 275 for seven after being sent in to bat in overcast conditions.
England, needing a victory to stay afloat after winning just one of their previous four Pool A matches, were bowled out for 260 as seamer Rubel Hossain claimed four wickets and wicket-keeper Rahim held four catches.
Ian Bell made 63 but England slipped to 163 for six before Jos Buttler (65 off 52 balls) and Chris Woakes (42 not out) briefly revived their hopes with a 75-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Kerry Calls for US War Powers to Fight IS
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Congress to approve President Barack Obama's war powers request during testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Wednesday
"Our nation is strongest when we act together -- and we simply cannot allow this collection of murderers and thugs to achieve its ambitions," Kerry said, noting that the Islamic State militant group has captured large portions of land in Iraq and Syria threatening "the death or submission of all who oppose it" and "the incitement of terrorist acts across the globe."
Key members of Obama's national security team testified before a Senate committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday, fielding lawmakers' questions about the presidential request to use force against Islamic State militants.
Obama last month proposed an authorization of force that would last three years with limits on the use of ground troops, barring them from sustained, long-term offensive ground combat.
In addition to Kerry, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The meeting is part of a long process toward any authorization, which would need to clear both the full Senate and House of Representatives.
The U.S. military has been carrying out airstrikes since August in Iraq and since September in Syria as the lead in an international coalition against the militant group that seized large areas in both countries last year.
So far, according to Pentagon data, the coalition has conducted more than 2,700 airstrikes against targets such as artillery and fighting positions, vehicles and storage facilities used by the militants.
The president has said those operations do not need any new authorization and are instead covered by a measure passed following the September 11, 2011 terror attacks.
Some material for this report came from AFP
TCIG TAKES STEPS TOWARD DISASTER PREPAREDNESS THROUGH TSUNAMI EXERCISE
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) will join other localities in the Caribbean as a participant in a Regional Tsunami Response exercise on Wednesday 25th March 2015.
Since 2011, in an effort to enhance the capacity for tsunami response, Department of Disaster Management & Emergencies (DDME) has embarked on proactive approaches towards strengthening Earthquake and Tsunami awareness and preparedness in the TCI. As such, TCI will once again participate in the Joint CARIBE WAVE and LANTEX Exercise on 25 March, 2015.
This two-day exercise will provide:
Allow for multi-stakeholder feedback on Draft National Tsunami Plan
An introductory course to earthquakes and tsunamis
Allow persons to practice problem solving and coordination of services during a tsunami event.
Test Emergency Communication Plans and Systems
Validate the organizational decision making process about Public Warnings and Evacuation procedures
"Our goal this year is for the exercise to provide an opportunity for Emergency Management Organisations to exercise their operational lines of communications, review their response procedures and promote more coordinated tsunami response actions." said Rikardia Pardo, Hazard Mitigation Officer, DDME. "Regular exercising of Response Plans is critical to maintaining readiness for an emergency; this is particularly true for tsunamis, which are infrequent, but high impact events."
As part of this exercise, the DDME will conduct a Tsunami Orientation Exercise on Tuesday and Wednesday, 24-25 March, 2015 at the DDME-PLS Office starting at 8:30am. The principal participants expected to be a part of this exercise are the National Tsunami Focal Point (911), First Responders – (Fire, Police, Emergency Management Services), the National Operations Group, and other key stakeholders with Disaster Management Responsibilities. These persons will receive alert messages using various mediums as part of the regional exercise.
During the simulation exercise all messages being relayed will include ‘EXERCISE EXERCISE’. Should a real event occur, the exercise will be terminated immediately.
Persons/Agencies expected to respond to a tsunami event are encouraged to register to receive alert messages during the exercise at www.caribewave.info.
Turks and Caicos Tourist Board Announces second weekly British Airways Service
The Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board is delighted to announce that British Airways will be increasing flight services from London Gatwick to Providenciales by an additional flight per week commencing 29 October 2015. The service will operate on a Thursday, via Antigua, using a three class Boeing 777 aircraft.
British Airways currently operates one flight a week, on Sundays, from London Heathrow to Providenciales via Nassau, Bahamas. From Sunday 29 March this flight will move from London Heathrow to London Gatwick, via Antigua, serviced by a three class Boeing 777 aircraft.
Commenting on the new flight Colm Lacy, Head of Gatwick Commercial, stated “We are delighted to be announcing increased services to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. On top of the introduction of a Boeing 777 aircraft this summer, our increased services this winter will give passengers increased flexibility and more choice when flying to the island. Customers can enjoy our World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World cabins, whilst enjoying our food and entertainment on-board."
"We are pleased that British Airways acknowledges Turks and Caicos as one of the foremost destination in the Caribbean," said Ralph Higgs, Director of Tourism. “The destination will see increased airlift from Europe as British Airways increases its service to twice weekly from London Gatwick. The upgrade in the flight from a Boeing 767 to a Boeing 777 will also offer increased capacity. Moreover, the new route via Antigua will undoubtedly make the Turks and Caicos more accessible and attractive to potential visitors from the Eastern Caribbean as well; a sign of great things for the future of our tourism market.”