Publication Of Notices Issued by Commission for Politicians.
The Integrity Commission has compiled and published register of government contracts and interests declared by political candidates.
In accordance with Section 49(1)(f) of the Constitution which came into force on 15 October 2012, a person may be disqualified from being appointed as a member of the House of Assembly if they are a party to any contract with the Government and has not disclosed in a notice to the Integrity Commission the nature of such contract and his or her interest in it.
In the run up to the elections which take place on 9 November 2012, The Integrity Commission has a number of legislative responsibilities concerning the publication of information and making this readily available to the public of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Candidates have therefore been submitting notices to the Commission and were required to do so by no later than 25 October 2012, the date for close of nominations. Thereafter, the Commission is required under Section 49(3) of the Constitution to publish any notice delivered to it for the purpose of informing the electorate before the date of the election.
The Commission has therefore compiled this information on a register which is now available and accessible on the Commissions page of the government website: www.gov.tc. This has been utilised on a temporary basis until such time as the Commissions website is fully operational. In addition, the Commission will make further arrangements for the register to be more widely available and will also have the register open for public inspection at its offices situated in Waterloo Plaza, Waterloo Road, Grand Turk.
Eugene Otuonye QC, Director of the Integrity Commission stated that “it is extremely important that this information is publicly available to the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. In doing so, the Commission is fulfilling its primary responsibility under the Constitution which is to promote integrity, honesty and good faith in public life in the islands”.
Integrity Commission Issues Guidance Note on Loans
The Integrity Commission is issuing further guidance to the political parties ahead of General elections. Under Section 82 of the Political Activities Ordinance 2012 (the Ordinance), the Governor, in consultation with the Integrity Commission has issued a Guidance Note to all Political Parties and Candidates to clarify the circumstances in which a loan or other transaction may be regarded as being on commercial terms.
The detailed guidance note also sets out what constitutes a permissible lender and how records of loans or other credit facilities should be recorded and reported to the Integrity Commission by parties and candidates. The guidance note is now available and accessible on the Commissions page of the government website: www.gov.tc. This has been utilised on a temporary basis until such time as the Commissions website is fully operational.
Eugene Otuonye QC, Director of the Integrity Commission stated that “ The Commission has worked closely with the Governor in compiling this guidance note, which provides clarification to the parties and candidates as to the circumstances in which they must record and report loans and other credit facilities to the Commission”.
Provision of this and other guidance notes is part of the Integrity Commissions commitment to assisting and providing guidance on a number of matters covered under the Ordinance.
Obama, Romney tied in polls before election
US President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney remain essentially tied in national polls just two days from the election on Tuesday.
According to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday, Obama leads Romney with 48 percent to 47 percent in support from likely voters. In the same poll released two weeks ago, the two candidates were deadlocked at 47 percent each.
The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted November 1-3 of 1,475 likely voters, including 443 cellphone-only respondents, and has a margin of error of plus-minus 2.55 percentage points.
The results were essentially the same with the latest Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll released on the same day. The Washington Post/ABC News poll showed the two candidates deadlocked at 48 percent among likely voters, and for the first time this year, the two were tied among independents, with 46 percent apiece. Before this poll, Romney had been consistently ahead with these potentially critical voters. The new results were gathered from interviews conducted from October 30 to November 2, among a random sample of 1,809 likely voters, and have an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
Consistent with the two polls, a Politico/George Washington University battleground tracking poll also put the two in a dead heat, with Obama and Romney each gaining 48 percent support. The poll was taken from October 29 to November 1, and interviewed 1,000 likely voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Obama and Romney are focusing their energy and resources in a handful of swing states with just two days to go before Americans go to voting stations to elect the country's next president.
China on orange alert for blizzards
China on Sunday continued to warn against blizzards, hiking the alert to the second-highest level on snowstorms that are expected to hit northern regions over the next few days.
On Sunday and Monday, heavy snow will hit central and eastern parts of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern and western parts of Hebei Province, and most parts of Beijing, with some regions seeing snowstorms reaching 30 mm, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.
The center at 6 a.m. issued an orange alert following a blue alert on Saturday, the weakest on China's four-tier color-coded warning system for blizzards.
Meanwhile, rain, sleet and snow are forecast to fall in most parts of north China, regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, and some parts of northeast China from Sunday to Tuesday.
The center also issued a blue alert on a cold snap in east China, which is expected to bring gales and drop temperatures by 6 to 8 degree Celsius in Inner Mongolia's east and most eastern costal areas over the coming two days.
Economists predict rebound, but warn of risks
Economists quizzed for a new survey have cautioned against external and policy risks that may ruin a widely expected pick-up in China's growth in the last quarter of 2012.
Forecasts for the economy's fourth-quarter growth made recently by 40 economists from domestic and foreign financial institutions averaged 7.7 percent, according to survey results released by Securities Market Weekly.
Growth in the world's second-largest economy declined to 7.4 percent in the third quarter, as exports dropped sharply on weak external market and the government tightened its policies to cap the runaway property market.
Nevertheless, the economists' projected figure would send the economy's full-year growth rate for 2012 to 7.7 percent, exceeding the government target of 7.5 percent.
Respondents to the survey also predicted the fourth quarter would see higher growth rates for fixed-asset investment, retail sales and exports, the three key growth drivers.
In spite of the upbeat sentiment, they warned that the deteriorating external environment, inadequate domestic policy support and worsening financial status of local governments and enterprises are the three major risks for the economy.
The economists were generally cautious toward recent easing policies introduced in economies such as the European Union and the United States, as effects of previous easing have fallen short of expectations.
Instead of boosting jobs, monetary easing will continue to hike their fiscal stress, while putting pressure on China's exports, according to Zhu Haibin from J.P. Morgan China, one of the 40 economists surveyed by Securities Market Weekly.
Meanwhile, the economists ruled out the possibility of interest rate cuts in the fourth quarter, and predicted a 50/50 chance of cuts in the amount that banks are required to put in reserves.
Authorities have been slow in relaxing monetary policies for fears that a similar stimuli like the 4-trillion-yuan (635 billion U.S. dollars) package in the 2008 crisis would lead to a rebound in inflation and the property market.
The central bank has so far twice slashed benchmark interest rates and the reserve ratio for banks this year in a bid to shore up growth.
The economists also forecast a stronger yuan as a result of global easing measures, estimating that the yuan's value against the U.S. dollar will strengthen to 6.28 by the end of 2012.
Moreover, full-year growth of the consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, was projected at 2.7 percent, far lower than the government target of 4 percent for 2012, the survey showed.
Chinese amateur, 14, qualifies for Masters
Guan Tianlang is an eighth-grader from China who barely weighs 125 pounds and doesn't hit the golf ball far enough to reach some par 4s. The next stop for the 14-year-old prodigy will be the Masters, where he will tee it up with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson at Augusta National.
Guan completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, making a 5-foot par putt on the final hole at Amata Spring Country Club for a one-shot win that earned him an invitation to the Masters.
"I'm really excited about it," Guan said after closing with a 1-under 71. "I will be training maybe a little bit harder and got some more power for that because I'm still growing right now. So it will be great fun."
He is believed to be the youngest male to play in a major championship. Andy Zhang of China, who trained at a golf academy in Florida, was 14 years, 6 months when he qualified for the U.S. Open last summer at The Olympic Club. Guan would be about a month younger.
Just two years ago, Woods was playing in the HSBC Champions pro-am at Sheshan International in Shanghai when Guan was in a group of juniors who played with him on the par-3 17th hole. Woods was amazed that day, not only at the polished swing of a 12-year-old, but the poise Guan showed at performing on such a stage - more than a thousand people in the gallery, an audience that included Woods, a 14-time major champion.
Even with a spot in the Masters on the line, Guan didn't flinch.
Pan Cheng-tsung of Taiwan, the second-ranked amateur in Asia, made par on the 18th hole for a 65 that left him one shot behind. Guan, the youngest player at the Asia-Pacific Amateur, hits the ball only about 250 yards off the tee, and even a 3-wood for his second shot left him short of the green. Guan had made bogey twice on the 18th during the tournament.
"I think about it a little bit at the last hole, but I'm trying not to get it in my mind," Guan said, referring to the Masters invitation. "So just want to focus on my game. I got a little bit nervous on the last putt because that's the winning putt. But I just do my own routine and everything is good."
He rolled in the final stroke with a belly putter, which he began using in June because he feels more stable over the putts.
Guan's choice of putter is sure to draw more attention to the debate over the club, which is anchored to the body. The U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club are close to announcing a decision on whether to ban such a putting stroke.
For now, it's another amazing feat for the eighth-grader at Zhi Xin Middle School in Guangzhou.
Guan started playing when he was 4, going to the golf course with his parents. He goes to California for about three months during the year, staying with relatives in Los Angeles and San Diego to train. He first got attention last year at the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego when he won his age division (11-12) by 11 shots.
He was invited to play in the China Open in April, making him the youngest competitor in a European Tour-sanctioned event.
Luis Suarez is Liverpool's Lionel Messi, says Brendan Rodgers
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers described Luis Suarez as his side's equivalent of Lionel Messi after the striker's display against Newcastle.
Suarez, 25, scored a delightful equaliser against the Magpies and was a constant threat during the 1-1 draw at Anfield.
"Suarez's goal was brilliant and he has been fantastic for us," Rodgers told Sky. "He is a world-class striker.
"He plays the false nine role like Messi does at Barcelona."Newcastle centre-back Fabricio Coloccini was red-carded for an 84th minute challenge on Suarez, who has scored seven goals in his last nine league matches.
Rodgers told BBC Sport: "Seeing it again I think it was a [red card]. The intent, it was a naughty challenge.
"I don't think there was a great deal of contact there, if I am being honest, but the ball had gone.
"Once you see the replays, he deserves to go for that. People talk about diving but I have seen a lot worse going on in the game this season going unpunished.
"It was probably frustration from Fabricio Coloccini because Luis Suarez was unplayable. I thought he was outstanding."
Liverpool had gone behind to a Yohan Cabaye strike against the run of play before Suarez levelled for the Reds after the break.
"We are disappointed we couldn't get the win because it was the very least we deserved," added Rodgers.
"We had enough chances in the game to have won it but I have no complaints.
"Once we get a number of other players that can fit the profile and the model of our game, when we dominate games like that and finish the chances it will be great for us."
--BBC
Lakers: No pressure on Steve Nash
Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown thinks it's possible Steve Nash will only be out a week because of the fracture to his left leg but that the team isn't putting pressure on him to rush back.
"You obviously hope he's back as soon as possible," Brown said Sunday after the team's shootaround. "But the one thing you don't want to do, you don't want to compromise his long-term health for him coming back quicker than he should. So, (trainer) Gary Vitti and the staff are on top of it. We'll just wait and play it out from there."
Nash suffered a small fracture to his fibula in a collision with Portland rookie Damian Lillard on Wednesday night. He missed the Lakers' 105-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, when the Lakers dropped to 0-3 for the first time in 34 years.
"We got capable guys that can step up and fill his spot and that's what we're going to have to get," Brown said. "Obviously Darius (Morris) is going to get some minutes so it's going to help his growth and (Steve) Blake is going to get a chance to play with the starting group, so we'll be able to see what he's going to be able to bring to the table and we'll just go from there."
The Lakers host the 0-2 Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
Nash, 38, said he was "hopeful" to play in the Clippers game, and Brown had said the point guard had "made progress" in the days following his injury. That was before the team knew about the non-displaced fracture at the head of Nash's fibula, an injury fully revealed Saturday in an MRI.
The two-time NBA MVP joined the Lakers last June for his 17th NBA season, agreeing to a three-year, $27 million contract in a sign-and-trade with Phoenix.
No Doubt apologize to Native Americans for Wild West video
The Pop band No Doubt was forced to remove a new Wild West-themed music video and issue an apology after getting complaints from the Native American community, saying its intention was "never to offend, hurt or trivialize" their culture or history.
The Southern California band - made up of lead singer Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young - posted an apology on their official website on Saturday following the release of their latest video for the single "Looking Hot."
"As a multi-racial band our foundation is built upon both diversity and consideration for other cultures. Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history," the band said.
The video, which debuted on Friday, featured Stefani dressed in tribal garments as a Native Indian princess captured by Young and Dumont dressed as cowboys, while Kanal played a tribe chief who rescues Stefani.
Some users took to social media platforms to criticize the band's use of tribal imagery, leading No Doubt to remove the video online, adding that "being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are."
"Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people ... We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video," they said.
"Looking Hot" is the second single from No Doubt's latest album "Push and Shove," their first studio release in a decade. The band initially rose to fame in the early 1990s in the new wave ska-punk scene and crossed over into pop with hits such as "Don't Speak" and "Just A Girl."
--Reuters
Paris Masters: David Ferrer beats Jerzy Janowicz in final
David Ferrer clinched his title of 2012 by beating Jerzy Janowicz in the Paris Masters final.
Spaniard won his maiden Masters event with a 6-4 6-3 win against Poland's Janowicz, the first qualifier to make the Paris final in eight years.
Fourth seed Ferrer was too consistent for the world number 69, who had beaten five players from the top 20, including Andy Murray, in reaching the final.
Ferrer will play in the ATP World Tour Finals starting in London on Monday. He has been drawn in a group with Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro and Janko Tipsaravic while Janowicz is now set for a place in the world's top 30 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Janowicz had the first break point in the ninth game but wasted it by sending a forehand into the net and when he sent another forehand long in the next game it allowed Ferrer take the opening set.
The Pole hit back in the third game of the second set, breaking for 2-1 when he successfully challenged a Ferrer forehand that was called in, but he committed a number of unforced errors allowing Ferror to break straight back.
Janowicz tried to pressure his opponent but Ferrer had too much experience and he wrapped up the win after one hour 27 minutes.
"I was very nervous because it was my chance to win a first Masters title but somehow I knew this time was my turn," said the Spaniard.