42-year-old McAllen Bright of Kew Town, Providenciales charged
After an in-depth investigation by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF), the charges of Burglary, Theft and Handling Stolen Goods have been laid against 42-year-old McAllen Bright of Kew Town, Providenciales.
The charges are relating to an incident, which is alleged to have taken place on Saturday November 30, 2013 at a home in Kew Town, Providenciales.
Bright appeared before the Chief Magistrate Clifton Warner in the Magistrate’s Court Number One in Providenciales yesterday (Tuesday December 03, 2013) where he entered a not guilty plea to all charges.
Bright was later released on one thousand five hundred dollars bail and is scheduled to appear in the Magistrate’s Court on Thursday March 20, 2014.
Police Report for December 3rd & 4th,2013
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are investigating a number of incidents reported between Tuesday December 03, 2013 and Wednesday December 04, 2013 within the districts of Providenciales, including:
• (1) Theft: Early investigations revealed that during the commission of this theft, a green 24 inch bicycle was stolen.
• (1) Burglary: Initial investigations revealed that during the commission of this Burglary, a sofa, microwave, passport, television receiver, a quantity of meat and one black Toshiba flat screen television were stolen from a home in Glass Shack. Investigations are continuing.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are investigating a number of incidents reported between Tuesday December 03, 2013 and Wednesday December 04, 2013 within the districts of Grand Turk, including:
• (2) Burglary: Early investigations revealed that a Breezy Brae home was broken into. A black 32 inch LG television and a red colored queen size comforter set were reported stolen. An educational institution was also broken into and a sum of cash was reported stolen. Investigations continue into these matters.
If you have any information about any criminal activity, please call 911 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1-800-8477. Tips can also be submitted anonymously in English, French or Spanish on either www.crimestoppers.tc or on Facebook as a fan of Crime Stoppers Turks & Caicos. Crime Stoppers tips are received in the USA.
DDME launches Community Volunteer Programme on Volunteers Day Dec 5
This Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) is observing this year’s International Volunteers Day, December 5, 2013 with the launch of the department’s “Communities United in Response to Emergencies” (CURE) a Volunteer Programme aimed at introducing professionalism and international standards to the local volunteer community.
December 5 is commemorated by the United Nations each year in observance day of the power and potential of volunteerism. CURE is a first in the Department’s efforts to professionalise, standardise and coordinate highly trained disaster volunteers island-wide. This programme is aimed at harnessing the power and passion of residents to ensure our communities are safer, stronger and more resilient. CURE Volunteers will be registered by the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies locally under the Disaster Volunteer Programme.
The objectives of CURE are:
· To provide emergency services to communities in the event of a disaster.
· To train volunteers in order that they can provide emergency shelters and rescue when responding during a disaster.
· To build the infrastructure to efficiently place volunteers in the right place at the right time.
· Represent a mutual aid resource that can be utilised island wide.
The role of the volunteers will be more than just responding to incidents or disasters; they will participate in training opportunities, exercises, and group meetings. They will also play a vital role in the safety of people, properties and communities in times of emergency and disaster.
DDME is inviting individuals who are interested in volunteering to sign up as a CURE Volunteer on December 5 at the following locations: Grand Turk the Anglican Dillon Hall and on Providenciales at Graceway IGA between 10:00am and 2:00pm. If you are unable to sign up on that date visit one of our offices in Grand Turk or Providenciales or your local District Commissioner’s office in one of the sister islands.
Volunteerism is generally considered a humane activity and is intended to promote good or improve the human quality of life. In return, this activity can produce a feeling of self-worth and respect. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education or emergency rescue. Others serve on an as needed basis. When you volunteer, you are offering your time and resources, without pay, to help a person or cause.
GRACE BAY BEACH IS BEST IN THE WORLD
Grace Bay Beach retaining its position as second to none, has once again copped the most prestigious and fiercely vied for title as World’s Best Beach.
This was the announcement amongst roars of applause at the World Travel Awards Grand Final Gala, held at the magnificent La Cigale Hotel in Doha Qatar last evening, which brings to an end the 2013 World Tour in honour of the 20th Anniversary for the World Travel Awards.
As a nominee in the World’s Leading Beach Destination Category, the world-reknown beaches of Grace Bay was one of nine hopefuls for the coveted title in the October 2013 voting season of the World Travel Awards. Among them were the romantic shores of Cancun, Mexico, the DECO allure of South Beach in Florida and the azure waters along the coastline of Zanzibar, Tanzania in East Africa. However, it was the crystal turquoise waters and pristine white sandy shores of our multi-award-winning Grace Bay Beach that rose to be the best of the best.
Not to be outdone, and also walking away as one of the world’s best, was The Regent Palms Resort, which brought home the title of World’s Leading Hotel Spa 2013, and ending a three year-long record for Mardan Spa in Antalya, Turkey, and it was no surprise when Beaches Resort and Spa received World’s leading All Inclusive Family Resort Brand, a title they have held for fourteen years since 1998, with the exception of 2009 and 2010.
Premier and Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, Hon. Dr. Rufus Ewing remarked, “I am indeed proud as the Premier and Minister of Tourism with the awards that our spectacular Grace Bay Beach has received over the years. We as a people and as a country have done a lot to promote the Tourism product that we have to offer here in the Turks and Caicos Islands and it is fitting, and indeed rewarding, that the accolades received are from the very agencies that we are dependent upon to sell our destination to the world.
As we continue push our product as a world class high-end luxury tourist destination, my government has begun the development of policies and legislation to also diversify our tourism industry towards medical tourism as well as eco-tourism. Our state of the art medical facilities and the unspoilt beauty of the marsh lands and cave systems make this a very real possibility. So we are really excited about things to come and I must recognize and congratulate The Regent Palms, Beaches Resort and Spa, and all other nominees who were winners in the different categories throughout 2013, for their contribution in building and maintaining our hospitality sector and thus ensuring that Turks and Caicos is Beautiful by Nature, not just to us, but to the world.”
The World Travel Awards, dubbed the “Oscars of the Travel Industry”, recently held voting for the nominees in the World’s Best categories for the crème de la crème of airlines, resorts, beaches and all other sectors of the Tourism industry.
The Turks and Caicos Islands took home the title in the WTA World’s Leading Beach category in 2012 and held its position this year, making it the seventh win in this category. The country also boasts five distinctions in the Caribbean’s Leading Beach category, the most recent being awarded at a Gala event in September 2013 at Sandals Grande Resort and Spa in Antigua.
Recognition of the Turks and Caicos Islands as a world-class luxury tourism destination was also received, with some of our top Resort and Spa Brands being nominated in other major World Leading categories. The Grace Bay Club was nominated in four major categories, World’s Leading All Suite Hotel, World’s Leading Luxury All Suite Hotel and World’s Leading Hotel Residences. In addition to The Regent Palms vying for the title won, it also received nominations for World’s Leading Luxury Resort and World’s Leading Spa Resort.
Other nominees were Parrot Cay Resort and Beach Villa 2 at Amanyara for World’s Leading Spa and World’s Leading Villa, respectively.
TCI Officials in Jamaica for Comprehensive Disaster Management Conference
A delegation of senior Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) government officers are in Jamaica to attend the 8th Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM), which starts today December 2, and will run until the 6th, in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Minister of Government Support Services, Hon. George Lightbourne; Deputy Permanent Secretary, Government Support Services, Mr. Russell Cox; Dr. Virginia Clerveaux, Director, DDME and Mr. Brian Been, from the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board will be taking part in the sessions. On December 5th 2013, Dr. Clerveaux will chair the session on “Social Investment for Disaster Resilience”.
The annual CDM Conference is the Caribbean’s premier event on Disaster Risk Management. It is also regarded as the regional forum of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) global platform organised by Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in collaboration with its partners, the Conference provides a unique opportunity for facilitating networking among disaster risk management practitioners, Donors, NGOs, personnel from all levels of Government and the private sector, scientists and social science researchers, members of civil society and other CDM Stakeholders. It is also structured to promote good practice, share ongoing research and chart the way forward for the advancement of CDM in the Caribbean.
More than 400 delegates are expected to attend the 8th CDM Conference which will be held at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa under the theme CDM for Resilient Development: A Good Investment.
IT’S A DOLLHOUSE FOR TCI TOP MODEL 2014!
Organizers of the 2014 TCI Top Model Contest & Fashion Extravaganza are on the hunt for its next fashion darlings! And, to this effect, they will be holding a Contestants and Fashion Models Search for next year’s themed event: The Dollhouse!
The TCI Top Model Contest & Fashion Extravaganza is an event where beauty, fashion and drama collide to create an evening of true opulence and glamour. This hotly anticipated event is expected be more extravagant than before, with a bevy of prizes, surprises and guest appearances.
But before the May 2nd 2014 event date, the Search is on for The Face of the Turks & Caicos’ preeminent title – TCI Top Model 2014! The Contestants and Fashion Models Search will take place on dual islands on Saturday, January 25th, 2014. In Providenciales, the search will take place at TCI Football Association National Academy on Venetian Road from 10AM to 12NOON. In Grand Turk, the search will be held at the Victoria Public Library on Front Street from 10AM to 11AM.
Potential Contestants must be aged 16 to 24 before May 1st 2014. All females must be 5’6” or taller without heels (bring 4” heels), arrive in a tank top or t-shirt with fitted jeans or shorts and wear minimal to no make-up. Potential male models must be 17 or older at the date of the search, be 5’11” to 6’2”, waist 28” to 34”, and must wear fitted clothing. All are asked arrive with photographs (need not be professional), identification (ID: valid passport or drivers license) and a positive attitude!
For the first time this year, organizers are accepting juniors – aged 10 to 15 boys and girls. All juniors and persons under 18 years must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
Since its exception in 2009, past winners and TCI Top Model alums have gone on to sign modeling contracts, featured on the cover and in magazines such as Times of the Islands, Destination Turks & Caicos, Discover Turks & Caicos, Turks & Caicos Magazine, Profile Magazine, NuWoman Magazine, Nirvana magazine, Trinidad Express and Flaunt Tobago to name but a few. They have also done ad for Digicel TCI, L’ete, Caicos Express, Kier’s Hairapy, Saint George Fashion House, Tremm Jocale, 3MJayEssence, Double R Media, CayLight and GranHawk. Models have also rocked the runway, most recently during New York Fashion Week Spring Summer 2014 presentations for some of the worlds emerging and established fashion designers. What is more, Uptown Magazine, an American publication will feature Washanda Registre and Samantha Etienne, TCI Top Models 2012 & 2013 respectively – on the cover and in an editorial spread of their 2014 Weddings & Travel issue, which was shot at the Regent Palms Resort on Providenciales.
Courtney Robinson, Director of Production for the TCI Top Model Contest & Fashion Extravaganza, said: “Organisers of the TCI Top Model Contest strive each year to outdo itself with a great production for our audience and partners. In so doing, we work tirelessly to provide those that are participating, whether contestants, models or designers - the necessary information, training, tools, grooming and guidance they’ll need in the business that is fashion. It is with hope that they take on board all that is learned and make their Turks & Caicos fashion dreams a world realty.”
Rescue operation as boat with Haitian migrants capsizes
A rescue operation is under way in the Bahamas, after a 12m (40ft) vessel carrying Haitian migrants ran aground and capsized.
The US Coast Guard said about 100 migrants were clinging to the hull of the overturned boat.
Up to 30 people may have died in the accident which occurred on Monday near Staniel Cay, a Bahamas official said.
Haitian migrants often head to the Bahamas or pass by on their way to the United States.
The US Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamian Defense Force were at the scene.
A spokesman in Miami said the rescuers had dropped life rafts, food and supplies to the survivors.
Thirteen Haitians survivors were rescued by helicopter, he said.
It is not clear whether the migrants were heading to the Bahamans or if their final destination was the US.
Fatal accidents at sea involving migrants from Haiti, the Western hemisphere's poorest nation, are not uncommon.
In December 2011, 38 migrants were found dead after their boat sank just off the eastern tip of Cuba.
And in 2009, US Coast Guard officials called off their search for about 70 migrants from Haiti whose boat capsized off the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Honduras election: Hernandez has 'irreversible' lead
Honduras' conservative governing party candidate has an unbeatable lead in the country's presidential vote, according to election officials.
They say Juan Orlando Hernandez is five points points clear of his main rival, and that with a third of votes yet to be counted his victory is irreversible.
Second-placed Xiomara Castro has alleged massive electoral fraud and refused to accept the results.
Both presidential candidates claim they have won Sunday's election.
Millions of Hondurans turned out to vote amid high security.
Ms Castro, Libre party candidate and the wife of ousted ex-president Manuel Zelaya, had hoped to become the first female president of Honduras.
Mr Zelaya, who was deposed in a coup in 2009, told reporters there were "serious inconsistencies" in up to 400,000 ballots.
"We are going to defend our triumph at the ballot box and if necessary will take to the streets," he said.
"Until proven otherwise, we hold triumph in our hands."
Hundreds of Castro supporters have already protested in front of the election tribunal providing updates on the results.
Cuba suspends consular services in US over lack of banking
Cuba says it has been forced to close most of its consular services in the United States because no bank will take its business.
The Cuban Interests Section in Washington said the M&T Bank had informed it in July that it would no longer provide banking services to foreign missions.
Havana's diplomatic mission said it had been impossible to find a replacement.
It blamed long-standing US economic sanctions against the communist island.
Officials at M&T Bank did not comment.
Washington and Havana broke diplomatic relations in 1961, but since 1977, they have had "interests sections" in each other's capitals under the legal protection of Switzerland.
Havana also has a Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
The Cuban Interests Section said in a statement: "Despite the numerous efforts made with the State Department and several banks, it has been impossible to find a US or international bank with branches in the US to operate the bank accounts of the Cuban diplomatic missions."
It blamed restrictions derived from the US blockade of Cuba - first imposed by the Kennedy administration in the early 1960s.
Until further notice, said the statement, consular services including passport and visa processing would "only be provided in humanitarian cases and other of specific nature".
It also said it regretted the effects the move may have on family visits, academic, cultural and other exchanges between Cuba and the US.
Tourism sources in the United States say about 350,000 Cuban Americans visit the island every year. They all need an entry visa.
And Cubans without US citizenship must keep their Cuban passports up to date through the interests section in Washington, paying a renewal fee every two years of $200 (£124).
Latvian government falls over Riga supermarket disaster
Latvia's PM Valdis Dombrovskis has announced his resignation, and thereby the fall of his government, over the deadly collapse of a Riga supermarket.
He made the announcement at a meeting with President Andris Berzins.
"Considering the tragedy and all related circumstances... a new government is needed that has the clear support of parliament," Mr Dombrovskis told reporters.
At least 54 people died when the Maxima supermarket collapsed last Thursday.
President Berzins earlier described the disaster as "murder" and called for foreign experts to investigate what had happened.
Mr Dombrovskis met the president for an hour and a half on Wednesday, the Baltic news agency Delfi reports.
President Berzins was quoted by the agency as saying: "I call on all who look to the future to assess their responsibility and act accordingly."
The prime minister's spokesman told Agence France-Presse news agency that "the government takes political responsibility for the tragedy".
Mr Berzins is now considering appointing a new government. Elections are not scheduled until October next year.
The collapse was the biggest loss of life since Latvia became independent from the USSR in 1991.
Police have opened a criminal investigation into the cause of the disaster.
Structural experts have suggested that the supermarket building itself may have been badly designed and so not able to support a garden that was being built on the roof.
After analysing photos, videos and eyewitness reports, one structural engineer suggested there had been numerous design flaws in the roof's supporting beams - including not enough bolts.
Substandard construction materials and corruption are other possible lines of inquiry.