ICC slams Windies
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has criticised the actions and comments of several West Indies players following their World Twenty20 final win over England in Kolkata earlier this month.
There had been reports prior to the tournament that the team were on the verge of withdrawing from the event as part of a long-running pay and contract dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Prior to lifting the trophy, West Indies captain Darren Sammy gave an emotional interview on the Eden Gardens outfield where he thanked Keith Mitchell, the Prime Minister of Grenada and a key member of the Caricom heads of government umbrella body, but accused the WICB of “disrespecting” the team.
The ICC, in a statement issued yesterday after a board meeting at its Dubai headquarters congratulated the WICB on an “unprecedented treble” that saw the West Indies also win the Women’s World Twenty20 final and the boys Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in February.
But the ICC said it had given “very serious consideration” to bringing Code of Conduct charges against several West Indies players for “inappropriate” and “disrespectful” comments that “brought the event into disrepute”.
“The board acknowledged an apology by the WICB but was disappointed to note that such behaviour had detracted from the success of what was otherwise a magnificent tournament and final,” the ICC statement read.
Curry suffers knee sprain, faces two-week layoff
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry faces at least two weeks on the sidelines after suffering a sprained right knee, the NBA champions confirmed yesterday.
Curry limped off the court during Sunday’s victory against the Houston Rockets, plunging Golden State’s hopes of defending their NBA crown this season into uncertainty.
The reigning league MVP underwent an MRI exam yesterday to determine the exact nature of the injury.
The Warriors later confirmed Curry had suffered a grade one medial collateral ligament sprain in his right knee.
“He will be re-evaluated in two weeks,” the Warriors statement said.
The news means Curry will miss Wednesday’s Game Five against the Rockets, where the Warriors, who lead the Western Conference series 3-1, will attempt to clinch victory.
Curry, meanwhile, rallied against the gloom with a message to wellwishers on Twitter.
“Thanks 4 all the prayers & messages. Can feel all the positive energy. God is Great! All things considered I’m Gonna be alright! #DubNation,” Curry wrote.
Bill Cosby loses appeal as court rules criminal prosecution can proceed
A Pennsylvania appeals court has rejected Bill Cosby’s attempt to throw out his criminal case because of what he called a decade-old deal not to prosecute him.
The mid-level state superior court ruled Monday that the criminal sex assault case against Cosby can proceed, prompting the district attorney to press for a preliminary hearing date.
Cosby, 78, is facing trial over a 2004 encounter at his home with a then Temple University employee who says she was drugged and molested by the comedian. Cosby says they engaged in consensual sex acts.
Former prosecutor Bruce Castor has said he promised he would never prosecute Cosby and urged him to testify in the woman’s 2005 civil lawsuit. The release of that testimony last year led a new prosecutor to arrest him.
Cosby’s lawyers were considering whether to respond to Monday’s ruling, a spokesman said. He could potentially appeal again to the state supreme court, but it’s unclear if that would delay the case.
North Korea Preparing New Medium Range Missile Launch
South Korea's Yonhap news agency says North Korea is preparing a second launch of a new, powerful mid-range missile capable of reaching U.S. military installations in the Pacific.
Yonhap says it learned from an unidentified government official that the military "is picking up signs which indicate" that the North will launch the Musudan "in the near future."
But a spokesman for South Korea's Defense Ministry said the ministry had no such intelligence to confirm Yonhap's story.
The Mu-sudan is based on an old Soviet submarine launched ballistic missile design that the North converted to be fired from a mobile land-based launcher. It has a range of anywhere between 3,000-4,000 kilometers, which includes the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.
Pyongyang test launched a Musudan missile on April 15, the birthday of Kim Il Sung, the country’s first president and grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. South Korean and U.S. officials say the launch was a failure.
North Korea claimed Saturday it conducted a submarine-launched ballistic missile test personally supervised by Kim Jong Un.
Venezuelans Surprised by Rolling Blackouts
Venezuelan residents were hit by surprised darkness yesterday Monday by rolling four-hour blackouts that the government says will last 40 days, in response to a drought that has rendered hydroelectric power plants nearly useless.
President Nicolas Maduro's government announced power rationing on Monday in 18 of Venezuela's 24 states. The capital, Caracas, has been spared.
But residents complained to news media that they were not warned of the cutoffs, leaving homes with refrigerators full of spoiled food and businesses with no way to complete electronic transactions.
Maduro's government says the El Nino weather phenomenon has caused the power shortages, but his critics blame economic mismanagement and the currently low price of oil on which the Venezuelan economy depends.
Maduro has put in place some power-saving measures such as shorter work weeks and a time zone shift to make more use of daylight. He has also encouraged people to stop blow-drying their hair and ironing clothing, until the power shortage is over.
20,000-plus “illegal” Jamaicans costing Trinidad millions
Trinidad and Tobago’s former national security minister is claiming that there are over 20,000 undocumented Jamaicans in the twin-island republic who are a burden on the country and costing government to lose out on half billion dollars every year.
And, says Gary Griffith, the Keith Rowley administration must not be intimidated by “any foreign political party” in its efforts to safeguard its security and economic resources.
His comments came on the heels of criticism in Jamaica and calls for a boycott of Trinidadian products, after Immigration officers at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad refused entry to 12 Jamaicans last month. Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses had explained that the Jamaicans who tried to enter the country on March 21 were sent back home because they were likely to become a charge on the public purse.
However, Jamaica’s Opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, Anthony Hylton, called on the Andrew Holness-led government to take the matter before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Griffith contended that many Jamaicans refuse to leave the country after gaining entry under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) free movement regime, and end up benefitting from state resources and getting jobs, or contributing to Trinidad and Tobago’s crime problem.
“It is because of this, that there are over 20,000 Jamaican Nationals who have done just that, by using the CSME angle to enter for six months, but then refuse to leave after that six-month period.
STAFF OF TCI REVENUE DEPARTMENT UNDERSTUDIES THE OPERATIONS
The team of eight (8) officers from the Revenue Department recently returned from St. Kitts and Nevis on a one-week professional attachment at Inland Revenue Department from April 18th to April 22nd 2016.
This initiative afforded the officers with the opportunity to understudy that jurisdiction's tax operations, develop an understanding of best practices utilized in the various functions of tax administration, enhance capacity building and professional development and forge information sharing and networking relationships.
The team was led by Assistant Commissioner of Revenues, Mrs. Hilda Caley and Mr Ferique Bruce and comprised of two (2) Senior Tax Officers; Brendalee Williams and Khyla Callender, three (3) Tax Officers; Nycaine Cunningham, Natasha Ewing & Lekensay Missick and Carmaine Ariza, Application Support Officer from the Accountant Generals Office.
The attachment commenced with introductions at the opening meeting and presentations from both IRD St. Kitts and TCI Revenue Department. The day concluded with a discussion on SIGTAS and other IT tools. On day 2, officers were assigned to understudy their respective work functions in the morning and regrouped to discuss Program Management and Intelligence, which continued into day 3 when they observed Business Licence Processing and held discussions with the Accountant General.
The Staff visited Nevis Sub Offices on day 4 and concluded on day 5 with an overview and closure meeting with management of the St. Kitts' Inland Revenue Department.
H.E. Deputy Governor, Hon. Anya Williams stated; "I was happy to fund and support the program from the Professional Development Fund, which seeks to improve efficiency and service delivery across Turks & Caicos Islands Government. These programs create opportunities for exposure and information sharing geared at promoting about innovation and change in TCIG's Public Service.
"This is the second such initiative to take place in the Turks and Caicos Islands Revenue Department whereby 8 other officers during the month of March were also able to benefit as well from a similar experience at the Inland Revenue Department in Jamaica. As we seek to build capacity across the civil service and to improve efficiency in our core customer centered departments, these types of initiatives are imperative to our organization."
She added; "We extend our gratitude to the St. Kitts & Nevis Inland Revenue Departments for facilitating this program and we look forward to future partnership opportunities."
The Permanent Secretary of Finance, Mrs. Athenee Basden also expressed gratitude stating; "The Turks & Caicos Islands Revenue Department continues to undergo reform in an effort to strengthen capacity, tax administration and compliance in the Turks & Caicos Islands. The opportunity afforded to the Staff is invaluable and we will continue to support these initiatives."
DIGICEL BUSINESS WINS DOUBLE AT AVAYA AWARDS
Digicel Business recently won two major awards at the Avaya Partner Engage Week ceremony which just wrapped up in Miami.
The ‘Best Sales Person’ award was presented to Selwyn Adams, Business Solutions Senior Engineer for Digicel St. Lucia, while the ‘Best Project of the Year’ award was presented for a combination of four projects completed by the company in Haiti, Grenada, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.
In St. Lucia and Grenada, Digicel Business completed an ICT project to help both governments transform their telephony and connectivity and improve overall service experience while in Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti, the company implemented an Avaya Contact Centre Solution. This fully integrated contact management system allows Digicel to analyse customer query trends in order to resolve them in a timely manner and ultimately improve the overall customer experience.
Avaya’s Managing Director for the Caribbean and Central America, Jose M. Fernandez, lauded Digicel Business saying; “Digicel Business has been an outstanding and consistent partner for the past five years and we would like to congratulate them on this outstanding achievement. These awards exemplify their commitment and dedication to meeting the needs of all of their customers in the multiple lines of business so they can compete successfully.”
Group Head of Digicel Business for the Caribbean and Central America, Garrett Quinn, said; “Improving our customers’ experience using best-in-class solutions is at the heart of everything that we do, and Avaya has been a great partner in helping us to do this over the years. This award is also a testament to the hard work of our team across the region and I would like to thank them for their dedication and commitment to our customers.”
The Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services launched its “TCI Health and Alive Campaign.”
The first activities have already started in the nation’s Capital, Grand Turk.
Health Educator, Aldora Robinson told RTC that all are invited to Grand Turk to “Get Moving.” On Mondays and Wednesdays they will be hosting their Soca Aerobics starting which commenced on the 18th of April 2016, at Ona Glinton Primary School.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Starting on the 3rd of May, the team at the MOHAHS is inviting residents and visitors to join in at 5:30pm for “Walk to Live” (a 5k walk starting from and returning to the Clock Tower).
Physical activity is an essential part of healthy living and one of the best ways to prevent and control non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension and their complications.
The power is in your hands. So Grand Turk “Let’s Get Moving” and “Strive to Stay Healthy and Alive.”
“THE TURKS & CAICOS AIDS AWARENESS FOUNDATION (TCAAF) LAUNCHES INFORMATIVE WEBSITE.”
The Turks and Caicos AIDS Awareness Foundation (TCAAF) has finally launched there long awaited website.
The non-profit organisation founded back in December of 2003 by a group of individuals who lost friends and/or family members to AIDS continues the mission of the organisation to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS, by providing necessary community assistance and participation, to effect positive lifestyle and behavioural changes.
In enforcing the mission to raise awareness, the TCAAF has launched its website on the .com domain at www.tcaaf.com.
The site provides detailed information on, all the charitable and fund raising activities of the Foundation, bios on the Directors and Board members and most importantly, educational particulars on HIV/AIDS.
The team at the foundation told RTC news that they are inviting one and all to visit the website as the Foundation continues its work to eliminate stigma and discrimination in the TCI.