Police Report for September 05th, 2013
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are investigating a number of incidents reported between Wednesday September 04th 2013 and Thursday 05th September 2013 within the districts of Providenciales, including:
• Two (2) Burglaries, during the commission of these crimes, one (1) black Samsung Galaxy 4 Cell Phone, one (1) Gray Toshiba Laptop, a green bag containing (1) red Sail Kite, one (1) blue mini Laptop and two (2) Snorkel Gear, 250cc Electrical Generator and one (1) 19 inch Samsung Plasma television were stolen.
• One (1) Attempted Burglary, during the commission of this crime a window was broken.
• One (1) Theft, during the commission of this crime a gold chain was stolen.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are also investigating an incident reported between Wednesday September 04th 2013 and Thursday 05th September 2013 within the districts of Grand Turk:
• One (1) Theft, during the commission of this crime a quantity of bicycle tryes were stolen.
Arrest
A 41 year old male of Five Cays was arrested on Suspicion of Handling Stolen Goods in relation to a Burglary which occurred on Thursday August 01, 2013.
Sentence
Nineteen year old Derek Hamilton Jr. pleaded guilty to the offence of Unlawful Carnal Knowledge before Justice Joan Joyner yesterday (Wednesday September 04, 2013) where he was sentenced to twelve (12) months suspended sentenced for eighteen (18) months.
TCIG Cabinet Meeting for September 4th 2013
His Excellency the Governor, Ric Todd, chaired the 19th meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday 4 September 2013 at the House of Assembly Building on Grand Turk.
All Ministers were present. When the meeting convened, it was agreed that prayer be offered by the Governor on the occasion of his last Cabinet meeting.
At this meeting Cabinet:
· Heard a presentation by Mr Gary Brough of KPMG on the Turks and Caicos Islands Hospitals Actual Clinical Costs audit. Cabinet underlined both the importance of health policy and that the clinical costs of the healthcare contract were a significant element of TCIG spending. It considered in detail the issues highlighted by the KPMG audit. It agreed that the Minister of Health would, in the first instance, arrange to pass to the Contract Management Board a number of issues and areas for concern which Cabinet discussed and highlighted. It further agreed to hold a further discussion on the basis of feedback from the Contract Management Board and a paper from the Minister of Health either at its next meeting or the first meeting in October;
· Agreed to a proposal from the Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture that Mr Quinton Elry Lightbourne be appointed Chairman of the Higher Education Advisory Board (HEAB). It noted that he was currently a member of the HEAB and further agreed to keep under review and consider in due course whether to appoint an additional member to the Board to take the position vacated by Mr Lightbourne;
· Considered a paper from the Minister of Finance about the draft Development Agreement with Beaches and agreed that, subject to the clarification of one issue, the Governor should sign the Agreement;
· Taking account of further advice from the Attorney General, following the 18th meeting of Cabinet on 21 August, returned to its discussion of a proposal from the Minister of Border Control and Labour for an amendment to Immigration Regulations to permit Permanent Residence Certificates to be granted to certain categories of investors. Cabinet reaffirmed its approval for the policy intention of the Regulations and considered its provisions and clauses in detail, in particular those relating to definitions and controls. It asked the Minister and the Acting Attorney General to bring back to the next Cabinet a final draft of the Regulations, which would also highlight those few issues remaining for Cabinet’s decision;
· Noted and welcomed that the contract of the Chief Financial Officer, Mr Stephen Turnbull, is extended to 31 March 2016.
Further information on the issues addressed by Cabinet will be provided by Ministers in due course.
Cabinet noted that the Premier would be away from the islands on official duty from 6 – 15 September attending the mid term-meeting of the Heads of Overseas Territories on Gibraltar and that the Hon Akierra Missick, Deputy Premier, would be Acting Premier for this period.
The Governor thanked all his Cabinet colleagues for the opportunity to work with them.
Cabinet will hold its next meeting on 18 September 2013.
Premier's Ministerial Statement at the 8th Sitting of the House of Assembly
Mr. Speaker, members of this Honorable House, my fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, a pleasant good morning. I would like to thank my almighty God for his goodness and mercies and the strength to carry on, for he is my light and my salvation.
I wish to take this opportunity to extend birthday wishes to both the Hon. Leader of the Opposition and the Hon. Deputy Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I woke up this morning with a heart burdened with questions as to whether or not I should carry on. Mr. Speaker, as per the usual, I asked my Lord for strength, guidance, wisdom and determination, and because of those I am here standing before you in this honorable House this morning.
Mr. Speaker, the past few weeks of duty in the Office of Premier of this country have been a reality check. You see Mr. Speaker, I was taught all my life to be honest, to be law abiding, to play by the rules as these are the best of policies to which one should adhere to safely see oneself through life. Mr. Speaker, to some extent these guiding principles are true, but in the current socioeconomic and political context of our beloved Turks and Caicos Islands, these qualities do indeed at times appear to be pointless and are the constant root causes of frustration as the rules are not in our favor. Mr. Speaker the rules that I am referring to are the constitutional rules of this country which give the Governor the uncensored power to do whatsoever he pleases. Mr. Speaker, if these powers were consistently used in the interest of Turks and Caicos Islanders to better their lives we may not have a problem. The difficulty, Mr. Speaker, is if government plays by these current rules, it would be to our detriment as we would not be serving the best interest of our people. What is unfair is, if Turks and Caicos Islanders attempted to challenge the status quo, it would also be to their detriment, so essentially we can't win for losing. However Mr. Speaker I am a fighter. I am a leader and if I am going to die I would prefer to die trying and challenging the status quo.
Mr. Speaker, we came to government, elected by the people to improve their lives and well-being, not just economically and socially but also, more importantly, to improve their lives democratically. Mr. Speaker, the people of these islands elected us to make decisions in their best interest, to represent them, but the government of the people is having some of the most difficult times, being bound by chains and whipped when we try to break free in the interest of the people.
Mr. Speaker, the economy of the Turks and Caicos Islands has shown many positive signs of growth, as evidenced by our GDP which has grown by 3.4%, there are also major investments such as the Shore Club and the West Caicos development that were stalled and are now well on their way towards initiating activity. Very soon other developments like Dellis and Ambergris Cay will come along, and with new interested investors engaged, I am very optimistic that this economy will rebound completely. However, Mr. Speaker this growth must be to the betterment of the lives of our people who must be able to capitalize on the opportunities that would be presented to them. Mr. Speaker, the only way we can guarantee this in an environment of unfair competition is by strengthening our Belonger preference policies as we grow and diversify our economy and as we streamline and make more efficient, our business and labour policies. Mr. Speaker, we are about leveling the playing field not making it uneven. Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell my Turks and Caicos Islanders that we are mandated to empower them through protection of reserved categories of business and capital and investment facilitation and that we shall do. I can let the EU know now, that if the EDF grant of 15 million which is intended to improve and streamline business practices, has as its goal the removal of Belonger reserve categories as a trade off, then they can keep their money as this will not happen under my watch at this time in our current economic state.
Mr. Speaker, Tourism is our main industry and it has served us and continues to serve us well even during to downturn in the economy. However, we are vulnerable to economic shocks and unless we diversify our economy we would always remain vulnerable and at high risk of not being able to withstand economic downturns. Mr. Speaker that is why we have begun the process of facilitating other industries, such a manufacturing and processing, and identifying trading partners for the importation of raw materials to serve these industries. Mr. Speaker our neighbours of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas and other Caricom countries in close proximity may serve well as trading partners and allies, so too do other first world countries like the US and Canada. Mr. Speaker the diversification of our economies into the manufacturing and processing industry will, in addition to boosting the economy, create jobs and promote Turks and Caicos internationally with goods labeled " Made in the Turks and Caicos", these results all having an overall impact of lowering the cost of goods and cost of living.
Mr. Speaker, we are continuing to venture internationally to promote these islands to investors in an effort to encourage more new investments and major infrastructural developments. Mr. Speaker on September 22nd, I will be one of the key note speakers at the KPMG Miami Infrastructure conference where I will be presenting three key major infrastructure investment opportunities, namely the Phase 2 Providenciales Airport expansion with new international arrival and departure areas, the East Caicos Mega Port and Resort Facility and the Caicos Causeway. These projects we see as life changing projects for these islands that will bring economic prosperity and sustainability and diversify our bread basket.
Mr. Speaker, as a government, in addition to expanding this economy and providing jobs, a task that we are feverishly doing, we are also obligated to providing educational opportunities and adequate an educational environment for our people. Therefore Mr. Speaker, I would love to take this opportunity to welcome all of the school children back to school and congratulate them on their achievements that brought them to this level in their educational endeavours. Likewise, I would like to congratulate and thank those deserving parents, and teachers, for their hard work and support of all of those students whose academic achievements were outstanding. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the Ministry of Education and the Education Department for the provision of scholarships and educational opportunities for our students. Mr. Speaker, there were also a number of organizations such and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, The Baptist Union, The Rock of Jesus Ministries and others who made provisions for school supplies, scholarships and financial support, I thank these organizations and individuals and encourage them to continue to give back to their community as we raise this nation.
Mr. Speaker, the return to school in terms of readiness has been challenging and we as a government stepped up to the plate to address those challenges and for this I thank my Minister of Education and her team, however, there were challenges that we were unable to solve but not for lack of trying. Mr. Speaker, the matter of the over-crowding of the Clement Howell High School is still of grave concern for our government. We have tried to secure both capital and recurrent expenditure funding so as to split the Clement Howell High School as a short term measure to relieve the over-crowding, whilst we prepare for the building of a new high school facility in the medium to long term. But Mr. Speaker this did not come to fruition. Mr. Speaker the British Government's focus is on using our surplus to pay down loans whilst our people suffer and are deprived of educational opportunities. Mr. Speaker, as a Government we are motivated to find solutions to our financial challenges to meet the basic needs of our people. But whilst we are forced to raise taxes to meet loan obligations and provide educational and social services for our people, the British government continues to drain our purse with unchecked expenditure being incurred by the Civil Recovery Team and SIPT. Mr. Speaker, this situation is unbearable and just unacceptable. Mr. Speaker, I am hereby holding the AG and the Governor accountable for these actions and am calling on them to give account and justification for funds that we could be using on our children, sending them to school in proper and healthy environment. And Mr. Speaker whilst on the topic of health, likewise the hospitals which are another possible source of concealed internal hemorrhage, will be put in check, also providing funds that can be used more effectively either in healthcare or elsewhere. Mr. Speaker, our Cabinet yesterday had a presentation of the Interim Hospital Audit and an action plan has been devised to address the issues being highlighted in the interim audit. This healthcare situation will be fixed.
Mr. Speaker, I have made public my dissatisfaction with the recent actions by the outgoing Governor to make a strategic re-appointment of the Attorney General despite the objection of myself, my government, the Leader of the Opposition and the People of the Turks and Caicos Islands. I have taken the liberty of outlining my reasons for my stance on this issue and I am asking all Members of the House of Assembly to join together with one voice on this issue.
Mr. Speaker and Members of this Honorable House, may God continue to bless you and bless these Turks and Caicos Islands. I thank you.
Kanye West Bank $3 Million For Performing At A Kazakhstan Wedding
When you are Kanye West, you can collect $3 million for a short performance at a wedding.
Last weekend the G.O.O.D. Music rapper traveled to Kazakhstan to perform at a wedding last weekend.
Yeezy was invited by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to perform at his grandson’s wedding.
According to TMZ, Kanye West was paid a whopping $3 million to perform on Saturday night at the Almaty’s Hotel Royal Tulip.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev is accused of being a dictator and is rumored to be worth billions of dollars.
Shaggy And Ne-Yo “You Girl” Tops Billboard Digital Chart
Shaggy is gearing up to release his new album “Out Of Many, One Music” on September 24.
The reggae star is already enjoying some success with the second single off the album “You Girl” featuring R&B singer Ne-Yo.
“You Girl” debut at No. 1 last week on Billboard’s Digital Reggae Singles chart after selling 4,216 copies.
The track was produced by Sly and Robbie, Sting International and Steven ‘Lenky’ Marsden.
The album Sly and Robbie presents Shaggy “Out Of Many, One Music” will see appearances from Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Beres Hammond, Konshens, Jimmy Cozier, Cocoa Tea, Joe, Ne-Yo, Tessanne Chin, Peetah Morgan, Tarrus Riley, Chronixx and Samira.
US box office scores record summer
The US box office hit a record $4.7bn (£3bn) over this summer with a 10.2% increase in revenue from last year.
Films such as Iron Man 3, Man Of Steel and Despicable Me 2 helped boost numbers, despite a summer of flops including The Lone Ranger, After Earth and The Wolverine.
An unusually large number of summer releases also saw cinema attendance rise by 6.6% to about 573 million.
Iron Man 3 was the biggest hit of the summer, taking $408.6m (£263m).
Although a portion of the record revenues can be attributed to rising ticket prices - which increased on average by 27 cents (17p) - industry figures have attributed the growth to a packed summer of films.
John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, said the bumper takings were a clear sign of industry strength.
However, he suggested studios were jamming too many blockbuster releases into too narrow a summertime window.
"A few of those films suffered because of the congestion," he told Associated Press.
"In January and February of this year, we had very little product and we had very few big budget movies. Maybe one of the takeaways of the summer is: We've got a whole bunch of movies, let's spread a few of them out a bit more and take advantage of the whole calendar."
But Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian said the situation was unlikely to change as Hollywood studios traditionally capitalise on the school holidays in the summer months to target the widest audience possible.
Some of the unlikely hits of the summer included lower budget horror films The Purge and The Conjuring, as well as comedies This Is The End and We're The Millers.
While The Lone Ranger - which cost more than $215m (£138m) to make - was the biggest flop taking just $88.4m (£57m) in the U.S.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on Raindance jury
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is on the jury of this year's Raindance Film Festival, which celebrates independent film from around the world.
Assange, who has been in Ecuador's embassy in London for more than a year, will have DVDs of the films in competition delivered to him.
Other judges include British actor Jason Flemyng, Portishead singer Beth Gibbons and author Robert Rankin.
The festival takes place in London from 25 September to 6 October.
"We choose our jurors because they are interesting people," Raindance founder Elliot Grove told the BBC at Tuesday's festival launch in the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square.
"I think five or 10 years from now, if you are studying anything to do with social media, the Wikileaks story will be a test case of how to manage that," he said.
Assange walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in London in June 2012, when his appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning on accusations of sex crimes was turned down.
"Julian - like many of the film makers and judges - will be unable to attend," Grove added. "Fortunately he has a residence not far from where we are sitting to which we will drop off the DVDs."
Assange himself will be portrayed on film by Benedict Cumberbatch in the forthcoming thriller The Fifth Estate, which has its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday.
Syrian shorts
Now in its 21st year, this year's Raindance Film Festival will host more than 300 feature length films, shorts and documentaries from more than 50 countries.
Screenings include Wayland's Song, Richard Jobson's thriller about an ex-soldier dealing with physical and mental scars on returning from Afghanistan; and Earthbound - starring Rafe Spall as a man who believes he is an alien from another planet hiding from intergalactic bounty hunters.
A new addition to the line-up this year is Web Fest - two days devoted to films made for portable screens.
The festival will close with The Machine, a sci-fi thriller starring Toby Stephens and written and directed by Caradog W James.
Five documentary shorts, shot during the conflict in Syria will also be screened, including one from a director who was later kidnapped.
"One of the filmmakers emailed this morning and told me he managed to escape at sunrise this morning," Grove said. "He had been kidnapped in Aleppo. I can't identify him, he fears for his life and is in hiding."
He added: "We chose the Syrian shorts because they were extremely passionate personal statements and very relevant."
Full details of the films in competition and the judges are on the Raindance Film Festival website.
Source-BBC
Sir Elton John wins first Brits Icon award
Sir Elton John has won the first ever Brits Icon award, in a gala concert which marked his stage return after surgery for appendicitis.
The musician was presented with the prize by his friend, singer Rod Stewart, who described him as "the second-best rock singer ever".
Sir Elton said he was "flattered" by the award, given to artists who have had a "lasting impact" on UK culture.
He also played several of his hits, including Your Song and Tiny Dancer.
Students from the Royal Academy of Music, where Sir Elton trained, joined him on stage to play Home Again, from his new album Diving Board, while Stewart duetted with his "dear mate" on the closing song, Sad Songs (Say So Much).
The concert was attended by the likes of Liz Hurley and Gary Barlow, while video messages were played from President Clinton, Ringo Starr and tennis legend Billie Jean King, for whom Sir Elton wrote Philadelphia Freedom.
The star, wearing red sequinned shoes, received a standing ovation as he accepted the gold Brits trophy.
Holding it aloft, he remarked: "They've even made it sparkly on the bottom, which you know I love".
He dedicated the award to writing partner Bernie Taupin, "who I wouldn't be here without", as well as the "Women's Institute and you, the fans".
Andy Murray beats Denis Istomin to reach quarters in US Open
Andy Murray beat Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in the first New York night session of his US Open title defence to set up a quarter-final against Stanislas Wawrinka on Thursday.
The Briton was irritated by a number of bad line calls and struggled for consistency on a windy evening, but was not seriously threatened in a 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 6-4 win. Murray, 26, was given prime-time billing on Arthur Ashe Stadium and duly delivered the expected victory to reach his 17th Grand Slam quarter-final.
However, it was hard going over three hours and seven minutes after he let a winning position slip in the first set, and it was 11.44pm local time (04:44 BST) by the time he punched away the winning volley.
He will next face ninth seed Wawrinka on Wednesday after the Swiss upset fifth seed Tomas Berdych 3-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"I wanted to just try and get through the match," said Murray. "In the end it was difficult conditions. It was extremely windy.
"With the way he plays, he hits the ball pretty big and flat on both sides, strokes pretty low, hard at times to control. He made it very difficult for me.
"With the way the third set ended up going, I was just very happy to get it done because he had chances at the end of the third set to go ahead."
Murray could only show the quality that has brought him the US Open and Wimbledon titles in occasional bursts against Istomin as both men struggled in the conditions.
Three forehand errors from Murray handed Istomin a chance to serve for the opening set, but when the Scot broke back immediately it seemed as if the world number 65 had missed his opportunity.
A bizarre bit of showboating from Istomin, who attempted a between-the-legs shot that was never likely to come off, suggested he too had given up the ghost. Murray had the set on his racquet at 5-3 in the tie-break but a dreadful couple of minutes followed, with Istomin firing a wonderful forehand down the line and the champion offering up three errors.
Having dropped his second set of the tournament, Murray set about snuffing out the danger with a beautiful cross-court forehand winner to break at the start of the second.
He made just two errors off the ground as he dominated the set, and a run of nine from 11 games had him in command at 3-1 in the third.
The sense of irritation lingered, however, and one overrule by the umpire early in the set prompted the Briton to plead: "We have to replay that point? Are you kidding me?"
Istomin remained alive to the situation, keeping the pressure on as best he could, and another Murray slump in game six ended with a backhand in the net that brought the scores level.
At one set all and 3-3 in the third, the match was in danger of developing into a real dogfight but, once again, when tested Murray came up with what was required.
He threw everything into the next game, finally converting his fourth break point with a forehand into the corner, and then produced the shot of the night with a forehand winner after some magnificent scrambling in defence.
There were no more alarms as Murray closed out the set and made his move at 4-4 in the fourth, breaking thanks to a towering shot that caught the wind before Istomin made the decisive error.
Murray pounced to put away a high forehand volley on match point and celebrated with a clenched fist and gritted teeth that spoke of a testing evening's work.
"I think hopefully I'll start playing a little bit better from now on," added Murray.
"I mean, sometimes the first week of a Slam I've played very well, sometimes you maybe feel like there's a little bit of something to lose. I don't know.
"But I'm in the quarter-finals of a Slam. It's not an easy thing to do, and the matches are going to get tougher. I'll have to up my game."
Source-BBC Sports
LIAT hits back at CPL founder
Naive and unreasonable!
That’s how LIAT responded to founder of the Caribbean Premier League(CPL), Ajmal Khan, who described the intra-regional airline’s service as “a travesty” and blamed poor service for having to spend millions of dollars extra to transport teams in the just ended Twenty20 cricket tournament.
In a statement yesterday, two days after Khan made the comments in a front page story in the SUNDAY SUN, LIAT said CPL officials waited until the eleventh hour to contact the carrier concerning the logistics of transporting the teams and crew.
“LIAT looks forward to the CPL becoming a permanent fixture on the West Indies cricket scene, and would be privileged to be part of a transportation solution. However, it is naïve and unreasonable to expect the airline to take on the full responsibility, given such late notice, even under the best of circumstances,” the carrier said.
Source-NationNews