Happy New Year from the Office of the Premier
Dear All,
As we enter the year 2014, we must first of all give thanks to the almighty God for his goodness, mercies and blessings for bringing us this far in the journey of life. As a people we have much to be thankful for and much more for which we need to continue our prayers and trust and faith in God.
My government look forward to a healthy working relationship with you with sharing of information and exchange of ideas via this medium and others in the new year.
I take this opportunity on behalf of the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands to wish all residents of Turks and Caicos and the wider Caribbean a prosperous, healthy and God filled 2014.
Sincerely,
Dr. The Honorable Rufus W. Ewing, MBBS, DM, FRCSEd, FACS, MPH, MP
Premier
Turks & Caicos Islands
10 Most Interesting People of 2013
Well! 2013 has come and gone and so we look back at 2013 for the 10 Most Interesting People of 2013 and how they got into the top 10.
The list was compiled with the help of media experts and politicians celebrating the end of the year.
1. Kazz Forbes
Young Mr. Forbes assembled a top notch team along with the backing of corporate sponsors which he used to rebrand the Miss Turks and Caicos Universe Pageant. SGFH played a focal role in showcasing the glitz and glamour of the Sizzling Six ladies who vied for the crown.
2. Chef Nik
Nikita Skippings burst onto the local scene with an energy and infectious smile that quickly became his brand. His hit television show was soon followed by his restaurant. Crackpot Kitchen has become a household name, thanks to Chef Nik's innovation and charismatic personality.
3. Sonia Bien-Aime
This trail blazer has racked up frequent flyer miles as she represented the Turks and Caicos Islands as one of the few female executives of FIFA. The ever eye-catching wife and mother is the epitome of "Mrs. Turks and Caicos"!!
4. Willandra Elliott
This teen ambassador has represented her country at home and abroad as the Junior Minister of Tourism. Job well done by the young beauty.
5. Delano Williams
This rising star needs no comparison to others of his ilk. We followed our Golden Boy on You Tube at the World Games. We cheered when he signed a NIKE contract. He has put the Turks and Caicos Islands on the fast track.
6. Snwazna Adams
Miss Turks and Caicos Universe 2013 represented us at the Miss Universe Pageant in Russia. This high school teacher is a role model for aspiring beauty queens.
7. Adelphine Higgs Pitter
This hard working Lady Boss was promoted as General Manager for a resort on Grace Bay! A wife and mother, she balances that with her role as Operations Manager of her family funeral home services. Lovely local lady!
8. Darnell Hanchel
After responding to a promotion during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October 2012, she was diagnosed with the dreaded disease. This strong woman fought and conquered her battle. She now is an avid advocate for Cancer Awareness.
9. Dexter Landy
This Officer and a Gentleman moonlights as a sexophonist. His musical talent is taking him to exotic locales such as Parrot Cay as well as other local joints.
10. Ryesha Higgs
This young ingénue has already gained exposure on the international stage. Blessed with beauty and brains, she dances into the hearts of all her audiences with passion and grace. She commanded the runway as a model and a dancer in TCI Top Model as well as other events.
OTHERS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2014
Kadrica Hamilton
Having launched her fashion design in 2013, she is poised to become a household name.
Chrystal Charles
With a voice that commands any stage, she rocks and rolls like a modern day Diva.
Renau Destine
This up and coming photographer is making a name for himself at fashion shows and other glamorous events.
Joan Sutton
Already a published author of Social Studies textbooks, this young historian has a wealth of knowledge that she shares about our history. We can learn so much about our past from her!
So what do you make of the selection?
N Korean leader Kim Jong-un hails execution of uncle
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has spoken of the "elimination of factionalist filth" in his first public reference to the execution of his once-powerful uncle last month.
In a new year message broadcast on state TV, he said "resolute action" had strengthened the country's unity.
North Korea announced on 13 December it had executed Chang Song-thaek after convicting him of "acts of treachery".
The move raised concerns of instability in the secretive nuclear-armed country.
North Korea's new year messages are closely scrutinised by South Korea and other regional powers for clues to Pyongyang's policy goals.
Kim Jong-un said action to "eliminate factionalist filth" within the ruling Workers' Party had bolstered the country's unity "by 100 times".
"Our party's timely, accurate decision to purge the anti-party, anti-revolutionary elements helped greatly cement solidarity within our party," he said.
Mr Kim also accused South Korea and US of being "warmongers", working "frantically" to bring nuclear weapons to the peninsula.
An accidental conflict, he said, could trigger "an enormous nuclear catastrophe".
He called for the strengthening of North Korea's defence capabilities, adding that the country's dignity and the people's happiness depend on "the gun barrel".
Mr Chang was married to the sister of late leader Kim Jong-il, and is believed to have mentored Kim Jong-un when he succeeded his father in 2011.
Although seen as the second-most important figure in the country, he was dramatically removed from a special party session by armed guards and stripped of all his titles.
The state news agency KCNA later said he had admitted at a military trial to trying to overthrow the state, and had been executed immediately.
Analysts said one theory for Mr Chang's downfall was that he was too keen an admirer of China's economic reform.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula technically in a state of war.
About 28,500 US troops are deployed in South Korea to help deter North Korean aggression.
Celebrations around the world as 2014 arrives
With fireworks, dancing and late-night revelry, millions around the world welcomed 2014 on Tuesday, gathering for huge displays of jubilation and unity as the new year arrived.
Dubai, a Persian Gulf city known for glitz, glamour and over-the-top achievements like the world's tallest skyscraper, sought to break another record by creating the largest fireworks show.
In Ukraine, anti-government protesters hoped to set their own record for the most people to sing a national anthem at the same time.
The Dubai skyline was a canvas for a dazzling 30-minute show capping off with six minutes of fireworks that engulfed the city's man-made, palm-shaped island, with its fronds and trunk shimmering in thousands of lights.
Organisers had promised that the fireworks would form a flying falcon, sunrise and United Arab Emirates flag. It was not immediately clear if the promised designs or world record had been achieved.
In total, the extravaganza was slated to include half a million fireworks from 400 firing locations synchronized by 100 computers, said Barrett Wissman, co-chairman of IMG Artists, which was managing the event. The company also organized the grand fireworks for the Atlantis hotel opening on Dubai's Palm Island in 2008.
The spectacle erupted at midnight at the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, and moved to the city's sail-shaped Burj Al-Arab hotel before ending at the Palm.
"It is really mind-blowing the size of this," Wissman said of the display.
The fireworks display was slated to surpass the current world record held by another Gulf Arab state in just the first 60 seconds. Kuwait has held the record since last year, when it fired more than 77,000 fireworks in a display lasting more than an hour.
Guinness World Record officials were on hand to measure the scale of Dubai's event, which needed to be longer than five minutes to qualify.
KIEV, UKRAINE
On Kiev's main square, at least 100,000 Ukrainians sang their national anthem in a sign of support for integration with Europe. The square has been the scene of massive pro-European protests for more than a month, triggered by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to ditch a key deal with the European Union.
LONDON, ENGLAND
Britain planned to welcome 2014 with a mixture of futuristic fireworks and torch-lit tradition. For people in London, the New Year offered the opportunity to taste the fireworks.
The city's mayor — in conjunction with telecommunications company Vodafone — said this year's explosive display would come packed with peach-flavoured snow, edible banana confetti and orange-scented bubbles, allowing people to feast with more than just their eyes. The multisensory display will also include scratch-and-sniff programs, LED wristbands and fruit-flavoured sweets.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
In Sydney, Australia, fireworks organisers expected to set off 7 metric tons (7.7 US tons) of pyrotechnics in 12 seconds in a display that sprayed from the sails of the Sydney Opera House and the city's harbour bridge.
"It filled up the whole sky," said Mona Rucek, a 28-year-old tourist from Munich, Germany.
AUKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Closer to the International Dateline, New Zealand concluded 2013 with its own fireworks that erupted from Auckland's Sky Tower while cheering crowds danced in the streets of the South Pacific island nation's largest city.
TOKYO, JAPAN
In Tokyo, five priests at the Zojoji temple used ropes to swing a wooden pole against a large bell, sounding the first of 108 gongs to mark the New Year. Simultaneously, "2014" lit up in white lights on the modern Tokyo Tower in the background.
Juji Muto said he was curious to hear how the bell sounded. The 75-year-old retiree said he wishes every year for good health.
BEIJING, CHINA
China planned light shows at part of the Great Wall near Beijing and at the Bund waterfront in Shanghai. The city of Wuhan in central Hubei province called off its fireworks show and banned fireworks downtown to avoid worsening its smog.
ROME
Pope Francis used his year-end prayer service of thanksgiving to urge people to ask themselves: Did they spend 2013 to further their own interests or to help others?
The pontiff asked people to reflect if they used the past year to make the places where they live more liveable and welcoming. Citing Rome as an example, Francis said the city is full of tourists, but also refugees.
PHILIPPINES
More than 260 people had been injured by firecracker blasts and celebratory gunfire in the Philippines, a nation marking the end of a year of tragic disasters, including a November 8 typhoon that left more than 6,100 dead and nearly 1,800 missing.
"Many here are welcoming the new year after losing their mothers, fathers, siblings and children so you can imagine how it feels," said village chief Maria Rosario Bactol of Anibong community in Tacloban, the city worst hit by Typhoon Haiyan. "I tell them to face the reality, to move on and stand up, but I know it will never be easy."
Source-AP
Beyonce defends using Challenger disaster audio in song
Singer Beyonce has defended using audio recordings from the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster in a track from her recently released album.
The pop star has been criticised for using clips of an ex-Nasa public affairs officer on her XO track.
"My heart goes out to the families of those lost in the Challenger disaster," the singer said in a statement.
The song, she continued, "was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones".
The use of the recordings, she said, was intended "to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you.
"The songwriters included the audio in tribute to the unselfish work of the Challenger crew with hope that they will never be forgotten."
XO, one of the 14 songs on Beyonce's self-titled new album, was written and produced by Ryan Tedder and Terius Nash.
Seven astronauts died on 28 January 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch.
The XO track begins with a recording of Nasa's former public affairs officer Steve Nesbitt referring to "a major malfunction" on the day of the tragedy.
June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of Challenger commander Dick Scobee, told ABC News she was "disappointed" that footage from an "emotionally difficult moment" had been used in the song.
Retired Nasa astronaut Clayton Anderson was also critical of the singer, calling the sample "simply insensitive, at the very least".
The former Destiny's Child member was born in 1981 in Houston, home to America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
In 2011, she recorded a special greeting for the Atlantis shuttle crew, telling them they "inspire all of us to dare to live our dreams".
Iron Man 3 tops 2013 box office
Comic book blockbuster Iron Man 3 was the highest-earning film of 2013 around the world.
The film, in which Robert Downey Jr reprises his role as billionaire crime-fighter Tony Stark, made $1.2bn (£734m), according to online movie tracker Box Office Mojo.
Animated comedy Despicable Me 2 came in at number two with global takings of $918m (£555m).
In the third slot was The Hunger Games: Catching Fire which made $795m (£480m).
Variety noted that the top 10 includes eight sequels or reboots, two original properties and three that were animated.
Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron's 3D film about astronauts adrift in space, is at number seven having made $653m (£395m) since it was released in October.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug also made a late entry into the top 10.
The second instalment in the big screen Hobbit adaptation, directed by Peter Jackson, has topped the north American box office since the film was released in mid-December.
The full top 10 is:
1 Iron Man 3 - $1,215m
2 Despicable Me 2 - $918m
3 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $795m
4 Fast & Furious 6 - $788m
5 Monsters University - $743m
6 Man of Steel - $662m
7 Gravity - $653m
8 Thor: The Dark World - $629m
9 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - $614m
10 - The Croods - $587m
Source: Box Office Mojo
According to other industry statistics, the north American box office is projected to reach $10.9bn (£6.6bn) this year - representing its largest ever take, surpassing 2012's total takings of $10.8bn (£6.5bn) by more than $100m (£60m).
But the estimated number of tickets sold remains similar to last year. The National Association of Theatre Owners projects the actual number of tickets sold in 2013 will remain at 1.36bn, the LA Times reported.
Ticket-price inflation and pricier 3D and Imax movies helped lift revenue to an all-time high even as attendance failed to match its peak, it said.
Britney Spears dazzles critics in Las Vegas
Pop star Britney Spears has received rave reviews for the opening night of her Las Vegas residency on Friday.
"Spears stomped into town with a 21-hit salute," wrote Marco della Cava in USA Today, noting the show "artfully melded spectacle with stagecraft".
MTV's Sophie Schillaci highlighted the "larger-than-life production, blaring beats and rapid-fire dance moves".
But the LA Times' Mikael Wood observed: "She was wearing a microphone, though it wasn't clear she was using it."
"The singer appeared to be lip-syncing for the majority of her performance.
"That went for high-energy dance numbers such as Womanizer as well as slower-paced ballads like Perfume," said Wood, who went on to praise the event's "elaborate razzle-dazzle".
"The vast majority of the show was lip-synced," agreed Keith Caulfield in Billboard.
"Only occasionally were any seemingly live vocals heard [and] there was a certain thrill in actually hearing Spears breathing into the microphone - however infrequent."
Despite that, Caulfield praised the "non-stop hits bonanza" and pointed out that the tightly-choreographed Gimme More gave Spears "a moment of Vegas redemption" after her infamously lacklustre performance of the song at the MTV Awards, held in the city in 2007.
Britney: Piece Of Me is named after the 32-year-old's tabloid-baiting hit single from 2007.
A retrospective of her 15-year pop career, the 24-strong setlist includes hits such as Toxic, Scream and Shout, Womanizer and Baby ...One More Time, with only two songs culled from her recent, under-performing Britney Jean album.
Among the crowd on opening night were fellow pop stars Katy Perry, Adam Lambert, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus, who posted several pictures of herself enjoying the show on Twitter.
"If you told me I'd be front row and center on @britneyspears opening night 10 years ago I would've never believed you," she wrote.
Others were less enthusiastic, however.
"Her dancing, touted as the show's linchpin, was lackadaisical and - as has become the norm for Spears - reliant on arm movements," wrote Caryn Ganz in Rolling Stone magazine.
"Spears seemed truly frightened," during the number Slave 4U, Ganz said, "remaining safely on a throne, executing minimal choreography while her dancers did the heavy lifting".
Spears will perform the Piece Of Me show 100 times over the next two years
Source-BBC
One Direction album Midnight Memories tops 2013 artist sales
Midnight Memories, the latest album from One Direction, has overtaken Emeli Sande's Our Version of Events to become 2013's top-selling artist album.
According to the Official Charts Company, the album has sold more than 685,000 copies in the five weeks since its release.
It is the boy band's third album.
Scots singer Sande's album has sold 683,000. Her debut album was the biggest seller of 2012 and has sold more than two million copies to date.
The figures mean no album by a single artist has reached a million sales in 2013, for the first time in more than 20 years.
Official Charts Company chief executive Martin Talbot called One Direction's speedy ascent "a very impressive achievement".
Midnight Memories, the band's third album debuted at number one in the chart, selling more than 237,000 copies during its first week, making it the fastest selling album of 2013.
The record also made chart history in the US, entering the Billboard 200 at number one, making them the only group to have their first three albums top the chart in their opening week.
The One Direction documentary movie This Is Us, directed by Morgan Spurlock, recently became the fastest selling music DVD/Blu-ray in UK history, selling 270,000 copies in its first three days on release.
A full list of the year's top selling singles and albums is due in the new year.
US & Japanese Stocks Soar in 2013
U. S. and Japanese stock markets posted strong gains in 2013, as investors were encouraged by central bank efforts to make it easier to buy homes, equipment and other goods by pushing down interest rates and promising to keep them there for a while.
Japan's Nikkei was up 57 percent in 2013, its best performance in decades. In the United States, the S&P 500 ended the year of trading with a nearly 30 percent gain. The Dow was up 27 percent and the NASDAQ rose 38 percent.
Nick Ventura of Ventura Wealth Management in New Jersey calls Japan's action an unprecedented "global gamble" that has worked, at least so far.
In 2013, the United States saw modest improvements in growth, housing prices and the unemployment rate. Ventura says the improving economy meant fewer wild swings in prices and fewer worried investors.
"Every time there was the slightest pullback in stock prices it was rewarded with a fresh round of buying. So there is a growing confidence in the U.S. recovery and I think that's what really perked up the U.S. economy."
A study published Tuesday by the Boston investment firm State Street shows a significant improvement in investor confidence between November and December. That growing confidence apparently is making investors more willing to take modest risks and buy some kinds of stocks.
The Wall Street Journal reports investors have been shunning complex strategies and are simply seeking stocks with low prices and strong earning potential.
Meanwhile, The Financial Times reports that investments thought to offer a safe haven for money in troubled economic times, like gold and government bonds, saw fewer buyers.
Many analysts predict stock prices will continue to climb in 2014, but at a slower pace.
Investment advisor and author Matthew Tuttle, of Tuttle Tactical Management in Stamford Connecticut says prices will increase, but so will risk.
"We have a 'house of cards' but we don't see the cards toppling really until 2016. We are definitely forming a bubble but that bubble still has a lot of room to grow."
Tuttle says it is crucial that the U.S. Federal Reserve moves gradually and carefully when it reverses the low interest rate policies that spurred rising stock prices.
U.S. markets will be closed Wednesday for the New Year's holiday.
Barclays fined $3.75m after record-keeping failure
Barclays has been fined $3.75m (£2.28m) by a US regulator for allegedly failing to keep proper electronic records, emails and instant messages.
The shortcomings occurred between 2002 and 2012, said the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra).
Finra said the bank failed to preserve data detailing its orders, confirmation of trades, records of accounts and other information.
Barclays did not admit or deny wrongdoing, but agreed to a censure.
It had not prevented the information from being altered or destroyed, said Finra.
The bank also failed to keep attachments to some Bloomberg emails between 2007 and 2010, and failed to retain about 3.3 million instant messages sent using Bloomberg terminals between 2008 and 2010.
Once one instant message with an attachment was processed by the bank, no more could be received that day, Finra said.
Brad Bennett, enforcement chief at Finra, said: "Ensuring the integrity, accuracy and accessibility of electronic books and records is essential to a firm's ability to meet its compliance obligations."
Barclays was fined $435m in July by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for allegedly rigging US energy markets.
It was also warned about a possible £50m fine by the UK-based Financial Conduct Authority in September for a "reckless" deal in 2008 with Qatari investors.