Caribbean Times 75th issue - Wednesday 23rd March 2016
Caribbean Times 75th issue - Wednesday 23rd March 2016
Caribbean Times 75th issue - Wednesday 23rd March 2016
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Informative, reliable, enriching!<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> A n t i g u a a n d B a r b u d a<br />
Vol.6 No.75 $2.00<br />
BRUSSELS BOMBINGS<br />
KILL AT LEAST 34<br />
Islamic extremists struck<br />
Tuesday in the heart of Europe,<br />
killing at least 34 people<br />
and wounding scores of<br />
others in back-to-back bombings<br />
of the Brussels airport<br />
and subway that again laid<br />
bare the continent’s vulnerability<br />
to suicide squads.<br />
Bloodied and dazed travellers<br />
staggered from the airport<br />
after two explosions – at<br />
least one blamed on a suicide<br />
attacker and another reportedly<br />
on a suitcase bomb – tore<br />
through crowds checking in<br />
for morning flights. About 40<br />
minutes later, another blast<br />
struck subway commuters<br />
in central Brussels near the<br />
Maelbeek station, which sits<br />
amid the European Commission<br />
headquarters.<br />
Authorities released a<br />
photo taken from closed-circuit<br />
TV footage of three men<br />
pushing luggage carts, saying<br />
two of them apparently<br />
were the suicide bombers<br />
cont’d on pg 2
2 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
cont’d from pg 1<br />
and that the third – dressed in<br />
a light-coloured coat, black<br />
hat and glasses – was at large.<br />
They urged the public to contact<br />
them if they recognized<br />
him. The two men believed<br />
to be the suicide attackers apparently<br />
were wearing dark<br />
gloves on their left hands.<br />
In police raids across<br />
Brussels, authorities later<br />
found a nail-filled bomb,<br />
chemical products and an<br />
Islamic State of Iraq and the<br />
Levant flag in a house in the<br />
Schaerbeek neighbourhood,<br />
Editor’s Note<br />
Dear readers, advertisers, and<br />
well-wishers,<br />
As has been previously stated,<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Times</strong> is on a<br />
thrust to improve every facet<br />
of its operations. A number of<br />
changes have already been implemented.<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Times</strong> believes that<br />
it is only fair we keep you our<br />
clients abreast of important<br />
developments and contact information.<br />
There are specific<br />
departments and teams now allocated<br />
to ensuring that when<br />
you advertise with, or buy, <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
<strong>Times</strong> it is exactly the<br />
most informative, reliable, and<br />
enriching experience available.<br />
To this end we ask you<br />
to send:<br />
Pertinent news items to<br />
news@caribbeantimes.ag.<br />
Advertisement inquiries to<br />
ads@caribbeantimes.ag.<br />
Letters to the editor to<br />
editor@caribbeantimes.ag<br />
the state prosecutors’ office<br />
said in a statement.<br />
In its claim of responsibility,<br />
ISIL said its members<br />
detonated suicide vests both<br />
at the airport and in the subway,<br />
where many passengers<br />
fled to safety down dark tunnels<br />
filled with hazy smoke<br />
from the explosion in a train<br />
pulling away from the platform.<br />
European security officials<br />
have been bracing for<br />
a major attack for weeks and<br />
warned that IS was actively<br />
preparing to strike. The arrest<br />
Friday of Salah Abdeslam,<br />
a key suspect in the Nov. 13<br />
attacks in Paris, heightened<br />
those fears, as investigators<br />
said many more people<br />
were involved than originally<br />
thought and that some are<br />
still on the loose.<br />
“In this time of tragedy,<br />
this black moment for our<br />
country, I appeal to everyone<br />
to remain calm but also<br />
to show solidarity,” said Belgian<br />
Prime Minister Charles<br />
Michel, who announced<br />
three days of mourning in<br />
his country’s deadliest terror<br />
strike.<br />
“Last year it was Paris.<br />
Today it is Brussels. It’s the<br />
same attacks,” said French<br />
President Francois Hollande.<br />
Belgium raised its terror<br />
alert to the highest level, shut<br />
the airport through <strong>Wednesday</strong><br />
and ordered a city-wide<br />
lockdown, deploying about<br />
500 soldiers onto Brussels’<br />
largely empty streets to bolster<br />
police checkpoints.<br />
France and Belgium both reinforced<br />
border security.<br />
Medical officials treating<br />
the wounded said some victims<br />
lost limbs, while others<br />
suffered burns or deep gashes<br />
from shattered glass or suspected<br />
nails packed in with<br />
explosives. Among the most<br />
seriously wounded were several<br />
children.<br />
The bombings came barely<br />
four months after suicide<br />
attackers based in Brussels’<br />
Molenbeek district slaughtered<br />
130 people at Paris<br />
nightspots, and intelligence<br />
agencies had warned for<br />
months a follow-up strike<br />
was inevitable. Those fears<br />
increased following Abdeslam’s<br />
arrest in Molenbeek,<br />
along with police admissions<br />
that others suspected of links<br />
to the Paris attacks were at<br />
large.<br />
A high-level Belgian judicial<br />
official said a connection<br />
by Abdeslam to Tuesday’s<br />
attacks is “a lead to pursue.”<br />
The official spoke on condition<br />
of anonymity because<br />
the investigation was ongoing.<br />
Officials at the airport<br />
in the Brussels suburb of<br />
Zaventem said police had<br />
discovered a Kalashnikov<br />
assault rifle and an explosives-packed<br />
vest abandoned<br />
at the facility, offering one<br />
potential lead for forensic<br />
evidence. Bomb disposal experts<br />
safely dismantled that<br />
explosive device.<br />
Shockwaves from the attacks<br />
crossed the Atlantic,<br />
where city and airport officials<br />
at several U.S. cities<br />
increased security force deployments<br />
and raised security<br />
levels.<br />
A U.S. administration official<br />
said American intelligence<br />
officers were working<br />
with European counterparts<br />
to try to identify the apparently<br />
skilled bomb-maker or<br />
makers involved in the Brussels<br />
attacks and to identify<br />
any links to bombs used in<br />
Paris.<br />
The official, who wasn’t<br />
authorized to speak publicly<br />
on the investigations and<br />
demanded anonymity, told<br />
cont’d on pg 3<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Times</strong> is printed and published at Woods Estate / Friars Hill Road. The Editor is Dr.<br />
George Brathwaite. Contact: <strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Times</strong>, P.O Box W2099, Wood Estate / Friars Hill Road,<br />
St. John’s, Antigua. Tel: (268) 562-8688, Fax: (268) 562-8685. Website: www.caribbeantimes.ag
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 3<br />
cont’d from pg 2<br />
The Associated Press that at<br />
least one of the bombs at the<br />
airport was suspected to have<br />
been packed into a suitcase<br />
left in the departures hall.<br />
Three intelligence officials<br />
in Iraq told the AP that<br />
they had warned European<br />
colleagues last month of IS<br />
plans to attack airports and<br />
trains, although Belgium<br />
wasn’t specified as a likely<br />
target. The officials, who<br />
monitor activities in the IS<br />
stronghold of Raqqa, said<br />
Brussels may have become a<br />
target because of the arrest of<br />
Abdeslam.<br />
One of the officials – all<br />
of whom spoke on condition<br />
of anonymity because<br />
they were not authorized to<br />
talk about their knowledge<br />
of IS operations – said Iraqi<br />
intelligence officials believe<br />
that three other IS activists<br />
remain at large in Brussels<br />
and are plotting other suicide-bomb<br />
attacks.<br />
European leaders already<br />
struggling to cope with a<br />
wave of migration from the<br />
war-torn Middle East said<br />
they must rely on better anti-terrorist<br />
intelligence work<br />
to identify an enemy that<br />
wears no uniform and seeks<br />
the softest of targets. They<br />
emphasized that Europe must<br />
remain tolerant to Muslims as<br />
they seek to identify the ISIL<br />
needles in that ever-growing<br />
haystack. (National Post).
4 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Accused thief heads<br />
to May Assizes<br />
Deborah A Parker<br />
A young man from Buckleys<br />
Village had his matter of house<br />
breaking and larceny committed<br />
to the May Assizes when he appeared<br />
before Magistrate Ngaio<br />
Emanuel.<br />
Sometime last year, Denzil<br />
Peters is said to have broken into<br />
a dwelling house and stole electronic<br />
items to include a laptop<br />
and a television set.<br />
Peters has indicated that he<br />
intends to follow a particular<br />
course of action, that is to admit<br />
guilt to the offence. This is likely<br />
to have his matter fast-tracked.<br />
Peters, without legal representation,<br />
is currently on remand at<br />
Her Majesty’s Prison.<br />
Alecia Mc Pherson<br />
A Bathlodge man was<br />
convicted on a charge of<br />
larceny when he appeared<br />
yesterday at the St. John’s<br />
Magistrates Court.<br />
Alecia Mc Pherson<br />
Arden Orville Ferris aged 32 of Freemans<br />
Village appeared at the St. John’s<br />
Magistrates Court yesterday on a charge of<br />
unlawful possession of cannabis.<br />
On Saturday 19 th <strong>March</strong> at about 11:30<br />
p.m., police officers and members of the Antigua<br />
and Barbuda Defence Force on duty<br />
in the Freemans Village area, became suspicious<br />
when the defendant was seen carrying<br />
a bag pack.<br />
A search was carried out on Ferris and a<br />
Drug possession charge for Jude<br />
Alecia Mc Pherson<br />
Vere Jude, one of the individuals<br />
that were jointly<br />
charged for allegedly putting<br />
roaches in the food bought<br />
from the Home Town Chinese<br />
Restaurant located in<br />
Jennings, appeared at the St.<br />
John’s Magistrates Court on<br />
a separate charge.<br />
Jude had to answer the<br />
charge of unlawful possession<br />
of 1.3 grams of cannabis.<br />
On <strong>March</strong> 19, police officers<br />
were on mobile patrol<br />
in the Bolans area when they<br />
became suspicious of Jude’s<br />
actions as he was seen standing<br />
on the roadside.<br />
Resulting from a search<br />
on his person, were two<br />
small zip locked bags containing<br />
what appeared to be<br />
an illicit substance.<br />
“Officer a little herb me<br />
just buy down the road” was<br />
his response when cautioned<br />
The defendant was<br />
caught on surveillance camera<br />
committing a felonious<br />
act when on Tuesday <strong>March</strong><br />
15 th at about 8:00 p.m. he<br />
went into the B and J Supermarket<br />
located in Bathlodge,<br />
and picked up one bottle<br />
of Magnum Tonic and one<br />
bottle of Daguiar’s Coffee<br />
Cream.<br />
He proceeded to place<br />
Freemans Village man ordered to<br />
pay fine for unlawful drug possession<br />
number of small transparent sealed plastic<br />
bags containing cannabis were found in the<br />
bag pack.<br />
He was taken into custody. There were 10<br />
bags weighing 19.6 grams and had an estimated<br />
street value of EC $190.<br />
Ferris was arrested and charged for the<br />
unlawful possession of the control drug. He<br />
pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted<br />
and ordered to pay a fine of $600<br />
forthwith. In default of payment, Ferris will<br />
serve six months in prison.<br />
about the drug. Jude was arrested<br />
and taken to Bolans<br />
Police Station. This matter<br />
was also adjourned to be<br />
heard in court when his other<br />
matter is also heard in May.<br />
Case of man accused of damaging<br />
officer’s gold chain adjourned<br />
Deborah A Parker<br />
A St. Paul’s man in in trouble following an incident<br />
with a police officer. Reports are that both the accused<br />
and the lawman were among persons who had gone on a<br />
cruise several months ago. Reportedly, the two got into an<br />
altercation, and during a physical struggle, a costly gold<br />
chain which the officer wore on his neck was damaged<br />
and thrown to the ground. The accused was subsequently<br />
charged with malicious damage. The accused man appeared<br />
before Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel. The matter was<br />
however adjourned until May 3.<br />
Bathlodge man pays fine for stealing<br />
both in his pants waist.<br />
He was confronted by the<br />
supervisor when he attempted<br />
to walk out without paying.<br />
The virtual complainant<br />
called the Police and made a<br />
report.<br />
The defendant was held<br />
until Police arrived where a<br />
search was conducted on his<br />
person and the two alcoholic<br />
beverages were found secured<br />
in his pants waist.<br />
He pleaded guilty to the<br />
charge and was convicted<br />
and ordered to pay a fine of<br />
$500 forthwith; in default of<br />
payment, he will serve three<br />
months at HMP.<br />
The defendant is known<br />
to the court for offences of a<br />
similar nature.
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 5<br />
Three charged for allegedly<br />
putting roaches in Chinese food<br />
Alecia Mc Pherson<br />
Vere Jude, aged 24 of<br />
Grays Farm, Niki Nicome<br />
aged 33 of Bolans, and Roshorna<br />
Crump aged 21 also<br />
of Bolans all appeared at<br />
the District B court yesterday<br />
jointly charged for public<br />
mischief, false pretence,<br />
and larceny.<br />
It was alleged that the<br />
three accused disseminated<br />
rumours about the food they<br />
purchased from the Home<br />
Town Chinese Restaurant<br />
calculating to cause wide<br />
spread alarm.<br />
Reports are that the three<br />
Executive chefs from some of Antigua’s<br />
leading 5 and 4 star resorts as<br />
well other culinary institutions have<br />
come together to assist the Gilbert Agricultural<br />
and Rural Development Center<br />
(GARD Center) in the planning and<br />
execution of its 2 nd annual Farm-to-Table<br />
luncheon, slated for Saturday 16 th ,<br />
April, <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
On board to assist the non-profit institution<br />
are: Executive chefs Sylvain<br />
Hervochon of Jumby Bay Resort, Andrew<br />
Baxter of Galley Bay Resort, and<br />
Colleen Simpson of the Schools Meals<br />
Programme and owner of Ola’s Catering<br />
Service.<br />
The chefs, along with others expected<br />
to come onboard, are lending their<br />
expert knowledge and experience to<br />
creating an innovative and delicious<br />
three course menu consisting of an appetiser,<br />
entrée and dessert.<br />
Working closely with participating<br />
accused visited the Home<br />
Town Chinese Restaurant<br />
located in Jennings Village<br />
at about 6:45pm on <strong>March</strong><br />
19 th and purchased two orders<br />
of fried rice.<br />
They sat down to eat and<br />
later claimed to have discovered<br />
a number of roaches<br />
in the food.<br />
They then showed the<br />
food to the agents of Home<br />
Town Chinese restaurant.<br />
Reportedly, the accused<br />
further demanded<br />
EC $1,600 to rest the matter<br />
which, the virtual complainant<br />
handed them immediately.<br />
They all complained<br />
about feeling sick and so<br />
called for the Emergency<br />
Medical Services (EMS).<br />
The EMS arrived shortly<br />
afterwards, and examined<br />
the defendants who then<br />
refused further medical assistance<br />
and left the establishment.<br />
However, apparently, it<br />
was all an act put on by the<br />
three accused as discovered<br />
by the restaurant’s surveillance<br />
footage.<br />
This footage revealed<br />
the defendants throwing<br />
farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture,<br />
a variety of fresh, in-season produce<br />
will be paired with a selection of<br />
meats, poultry and fish to create the<br />
menu. Together with their capable<br />
teams, they are also assisting with onsite<br />
logistics to ensure proper delivery<br />
and presentation of the food.<br />
Executive Director of GARD Center<br />
in commenting about the executive<br />
chefs’ involvement says: “I am very<br />
happy for the critical contribution that<br />
the executive chefs are making to this<br />
year’s Farm-to-Table luncheon.<br />
“With their input, I know that we<br />
have raised the bar, and I am confident<br />
that we will deliver an event that will<br />
be hugely successful.<br />
“Our patrons can expect to enjoy a<br />
wonderful afternoon of food and entertainment<br />
and can be assured that their<br />
palettes will be satisfied given the varied<br />
selection of delicious dishes that<br />
roaches in the food.<br />
They were all later arrested<br />
on suspicion of committing<br />
the unlawful act<br />
after Zhong Lin, the proprietor<br />
of the restaurant went<br />
to the Bolans Police Station<br />
and made a report which the<br />
police investigated.<br />
No pleas were taken and<br />
no evidence was given in<br />
this case.<br />
The matter has been adjourned<br />
for trial in May.<br />
The proprietor was given an<br />
order by Health Inspector<br />
personnel to close down the<br />
restaurant.<br />
Top chefs lend a helping hand<br />
the chefs have in store.”<br />
The Farm-to-Table luncheon takes<br />
place on Saturday 16 th April, at the Gilbert<br />
Agro Heritage Center at Mercers<br />
Creek, where lunch will be served from<br />
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.<br />
Along with the luncheon, a number<br />
of activities will take place including a<br />
food sampling booth by the Fisheries<br />
Department, sampling booths of locally<br />
made sweets and condiments by local<br />
entrepreneurs, live pan music, and a<br />
Chinese auction.<br />
The event is a major fundraiser<br />
for the Gilbert Agricultural and Rural<br />
Development Center in its on-going<br />
efforts to provide training to marginalised<br />
and at-risk youth. Many of such<br />
youths are school drop-outs looking for<br />
a second chance at becoming functional<br />
and contributing members of society.<br />
The public is therefore asked to lend its<br />
full support to this worthy endeavour.
6 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Government continues to receive kudos<br />
for country’s economic turnaround<br />
Joanna Paris<br />
The Antigua and Barbuda Labour<br />
Party-led administration continues to<br />
receive positive reviews for its ability<br />
to stabilise the nation’s economy and to<br />
lessen the amount of criminal activities<br />
occuring in the country, in less than 24<br />
months of assuming the government.<br />
According to Prime Minister, the Hon.<br />
Gaston Browne, various international<br />
entities have commended and continue<br />
to commend the government for its accomplishments<br />
to date.<br />
Browne suggested that the country<br />
is now “a beacon of good governance”.<br />
“The fact that <strong>issue</strong>s of migrant smuggling<br />
have been brought under control,<br />
<strong>issue</strong>s of crime and violence and drug<br />
trafficking have been lessened, the level<br />
of cooperation that we have extended.<br />
Even the <strong>issue</strong> with Ayoushe, we<br />
took the position that we would make<br />
Joanna Paris<br />
Prime Minister and Minister<br />
of Finance and Corporate<br />
Governance, the Hon.<br />
Gaston Browne, on Tuesday,<br />
tabled the International<br />
Banking Bill <strong>2016</strong> before the<br />
House of Representatives.<br />
In his explanatory memorandum,<br />
the nation’s leader<br />
indicated that the provisions<br />
in the legislation were similar<br />
to those which were<br />
passed last year in the Eastern<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> Central Bank<br />
(ECCB) Banking Act 2015.<br />
Browne explained that<br />
what the government is now<br />
seeking to do is to harmonize<br />
the country’s offshore<br />
him a persona non grata and get him<br />
out of the country.<br />
In addition, individuals that we<br />
have good intelligence on and who<br />
have been involved in narco-trafficking<br />
we have also made persona no grata,<br />
we get them out of the country. Why<br />
do you think that the country is so cool<br />
right now? asked the Prime Minister<br />
rhetorically.<br />
Prime Minister Browne was also<br />
high of praise for the law enforcement<br />
officers whom he described as being “at<br />
the top of their game.” He further applauded<br />
them highlighting that: “They<br />
have been heavily commended by top<br />
officials in various countries both in<br />
and out the region and, it is all part of a<br />
process to clean up the country and the<br />
country’s image.”<br />
The nation’s leader is adamant<br />
that various legislative changes will<br />
banking legislation with a<br />
domestic one.<br />
Prime Minister Browne<br />
further mentioned that Antigua<br />
and Barbuda has been<br />
considered a “tax haven”<br />
for many years, which have<br />
caused the country to be<br />
“blacklisted” by many international<br />
bodies and states,<br />
therefore continuously damaging<br />
the reputation of the<br />
country.<br />
He added that this outstanding<br />
<strong>issue</strong> has also affected<br />
corresponding banking<br />
relationships. “What<br />
this bill is seeking to do is to<br />
also strengthen the regulatory<br />
framework. Now we all<br />
know what happened with<br />
the Stanford debacle and we<br />
are still suffering from that<br />
situation up to today.<br />
“It is still fresh in the<br />
minds of many individuals<br />
and we have to take some<br />
blame bearing in mind that<br />
the regulatory framework in<br />
the country at the time was<br />
not strong enough and we<br />
are now going the extra mile<br />
to strengthen regulations in<br />
this bill … to make sure that<br />
some of the mistakes in the<br />
past, do not happen again,”<br />
the Finance and Corporate<br />
Governance Minister explained.<br />
Browne pointed out that<br />
Prime Minister, the Hon. Gaston Browne.<br />
be made from time to time so that the<br />
country can adopt international standards.<br />
“Unfortunately we are not powerful<br />
enough to set the standards; we<br />
are not even powerful enough to resist<br />
them. So if we can’t set them and we<br />
can’t resist them, then we have to adopt<br />
them”, Prime Minister Browne said<br />
logically.<br />
Debate begins on International Banking Bill <strong>2016</strong><br />
the International Banking<br />
Act will be consistent with<br />
the domestic Act so that they<br />
can be no claims of inconsistency<br />
where the payment<br />
of taxes by offshore banks is<br />
concerned.<br />
“Another provision of<br />
this act, Mr. Speaker, is to<br />
ensure that going forward,<br />
that these offshore banks<br />
pay some level of taxation.<br />
“So you will see that<br />
within the bill, Mr. Speaker,<br />
that the first $10 million dollars<br />
in profits attracts about<br />
2.5% taxation, because we<br />
are determined that the offshore<br />
financial sector must<br />
cont’d on pg 7
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 7<br />
Parliament adjourns to give<br />
parliamentarians more time to review bills<br />
Joanna Paris<br />
Parliament adjourned<br />
earlier than scheduled on<br />
Tuesday just after the Leader<br />
of the Opposition, the Hon.<br />
Baldwin Spencer, rose to<br />
make his contribution to the<br />
debate on the International<br />
Banking Act <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
Prior to Spencer taking<br />
his place on the floor, the<br />
mover of the Bill, Prime<br />
Minister and Minister of Finance<br />
and Corporate Governance,<br />
the Hon. Gaston<br />
Browne outlined the explanatory<br />
notes with reference to<br />
the Bill.<br />
However, when it was<br />
Spencer’s turn, the Leader<br />
of the Opposition cited<br />
that members of the House<br />
did not have enough time<br />
cont’d from pg 6<br />
make a contribution to the development<br />
of the country,” emphasised the country’s<br />
leader.<br />
He further stated that the country has<br />
to pay to regulate the industry and also<br />
pay officials at the Financial Regulatory<br />
Services Commission (FSRC), who he<br />
commended for the work done in the<br />
preparation of the act.<br />
“We believe that by the end of this year<br />
after we would have passed the International<br />
Banking Act, Mr. Speaker, that we should<br />
collect perhaps in the region of $12-$15<br />
million dollars and as we eliminate Personal<br />
Income Tax (PIT), we have to make sure<br />
that we find other revenue streams to plug<br />
that gap and this is one such initiative.<br />
“It gets even more exciting, because<br />
where as they were precluded from loaning<br />
to review the legislation,<br />
which he indicated was also<br />
lengthy.<br />
“I do feel that Members<br />
of Parliament should be given<br />
enough time to review the<br />
legislation and to contribute<br />
more adequately to the debate.<br />
I therefore do not see<br />
the need for us to rush this<br />
bill”, explained Spencer.<br />
Spencer expressed that<br />
his party agreed with the Bill<br />
in principal and added that<br />
the regulations were necessary<br />
to improve the offshore<br />
banking sector.<br />
He also mentioned that<br />
there was a part of the Bill<br />
which speaks to special taxation<br />
provisions; this was<br />
highlighted in the physical<br />
bill but was not explained in<br />
funds and funding projects on the island,<br />
this act now gives offshore banks the opportunity<br />
to participate in funding projects<br />
on the island, in a regulatory environment”.<br />
Prime Minister Browne noted that the<br />
FSRC consulted widely with their partners<br />
who understand that if the jurisdiction remains<br />
as a tax haven as it is perceived, it<br />
will also mean “bad business for them”,<br />
since they too will experience problems<br />
in getting corresponding banking relations<br />
and without these relationships ‘then clearly<br />
you won’t have a bank”.<br />
He explained too, that through consultations<br />
to banks have agreed to the provisions,<br />
since they will evidently increase<br />
their businesses. He added that this all<br />
forms of the government’s plans and goals<br />
to become fully compliant with international<br />
standards.<br />
the explanatory memorandum.<br />
The Leader of the Opposition<br />
also stated that the Bill<br />
seeks to address several fundamental<br />
<strong>issue</strong>s in the banking<br />
sector, which should be<br />
adequately revised and researched.<br />
“There ought not to be a<br />
mega rush on a Bill like this.<br />
We should get the opportunity<br />
to examine it properly”,<br />
Spencer reiterated.<br />
Members of the government<br />
side including Prime<br />
Minister Browne, Sir Robin<br />
Yearwood, the Hon. Steadroy<br />
‘Cutie’ Benjamin, the<br />
Hon. E.P. ‘Chet’ Greene, the<br />
Hon. Molwyn Joseph, and<br />
the Hon. Asot Michael, at<br />
various times during the opposition’s<br />
stance, visibly expressed<br />
their dissatisfaction<br />
with Spencer’s explanation<br />
of calling for more time.<br />
Prime Minister Browne<br />
mentioned that in his view<br />
the opposition has had “more<br />
than enough time to review<br />
the Bill, given the early adjournment<br />
of Parliament last<br />
Tuesday”.<br />
Nonetheless, Speaker of<br />
the House, Sir Gerald Watt,<br />
fairly accessed the situation<br />
by agreeing that the Bill “is<br />
indeed a large one”, and that<br />
a number of persons on the<br />
government side were absent<br />
from the House. Sir<br />
Gerald expressed the view<br />
that such an important Bill<br />
should have the input of all<br />
members of the House.<br />
The Speaker of the<br />
House, however, left the final<br />
decision in the hands of<br />
Prime Minister Browne and<br />
his colleagues on the government<br />
side.<br />
After discussions, they<br />
collectively agreed to give<br />
more time for persons to review<br />
the International Banking<br />
Bill <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
The meeting of the<br />
House of Representatives<br />
was subsequently adjourned<br />
until the morning of Tuesday,<br />
29 th <strong>March</strong>, at 9:30.<br />
The Opposition Leader<br />
will speak first on that<br />
day, continuing from where<br />
he stopped during Tuesday’s<br />
sitting.
8 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Tourism Cadet Corps engages in fun walk and hike activity<br />
It was a fun and educational<br />
trip for the <strong>2016</strong> Tourism<br />
Cadet Corp students<br />
who engaged in their first<br />
out-door activity since the<br />
start of the <strong>2016</strong> installation.<br />
The group of approximately<br />
60 students engaged<br />
in a fun walk and hike activity<br />
last Saturday.<br />
The trek took them along<br />
the main highways of the<br />
western end of the island,<br />
and along the main roads<br />
of Perry Bay, and Hatton,<br />
then diverting to the off-road<br />
which leads to Deep Bay.<br />
Following the excursion,<br />
the students - inclusive of<br />
Cadet Corp trainers and<br />
volunteers - proceeded to<br />
hike the historical Fort Barrington.<br />
There, they were enlightened<br />
on the facts of the tourist<br />
attraction.<br />
Although the event was<br />
not a competition, cadets<br />
With the Easter holidays just days<br />
away, the Police have <strong>issue</strong>d a number<br />
of precautionary measures to help<br />
make the season an incident free one.<br />
First to begin with, the police are<br />
appealing to the general public to be<br />
very mindful of their surroundings,<br />
and pay close attention to what goes on<br />
around them.<br />
Pay close attention to suspicious<br />
people and vehicles, and be ready to<br />
report any suspicious activities to the<br />
police.<br />
Members of the public are advised<br />
against carrying around large amounts<br />
of cash on their person, as well as do<br />
not display large amounts of cash in the<br />
public. Beware of “Pickpockets” and<br />
Jahren Philip from the Antigua<br />
Grammar School and<br />
Tinma Phillip from the Pares<br />
Secondary made it a fight to<br />
the finish and were the first<br />
to reach to the Deep Bay<br />
Bridge.<br />
Mr. Elroy Daley, Manager<br />
of the Lifeguard and<br />
Beach Safety Division within<br />
the Ministry of Tourism<br />
took the opportunity to share<br />
the best practices of beach<br />
use with the cadets.<br />
The fun walk and hike<br />
forms part of many planned<br />
events to aid in familiarising<br />
the cadets about the country’s<br />
tourism product in a fun<br />
and interactive way.<br />
Police <strong>issue</strong>s caution ahead of Easter holidays<br />
“Bag-snatchers”.<br />
Try and avoid walking alone in remote<br />
areas, especially late at nights.<br />
Persons are asked to be extremely<br />
cautious when utilising ATM Machines<br />
at nights during the holidays. The police<br />
are also warning not to readily<br />
accept assistance from strangers, especially<br />
if you have encountered difficulties<br />
while using the ATM’s.<br />
The police are also reminding members<br />
of the public that usually around<br />
this time of the year; criminal elements<br />
will try to pass off counterfeit currencies<br />
in exchange for goods and services.<br />
The general public is therefore<br />
advised to be extremely cautious when<br />
carrying out monetary transactions, especially<br />
at nights or in poorly lit areas.<br />
If you have to leave home, ensure<br />
that your windows and doors are properly<br />
locked and secured.<br />
Always ensure that you properly<br />
lock and secure your vehicles. Do not<br />
leave valuable items in plain view,<br />
which will attract thieves to break into<br />
your vehicles.<br />
Do not park your vehicles in remote<br />
areas during the day, as well as avoid<br />
parking in poorly lit areas at night.<br />
Meanwhile, the police have adopted<br />
a zero tolerance approach towards<br />
members of the public who have the<br />
tendency of engaging in criminal activities,<br />
fights and overconsumption of<br />
cont’d on pg 9
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 9<br />
Committee chairman confident of success in referendum<br />
The chairman of the National Coordinating<br />
Committee spearheading<br />
the public education campaign on the<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> Court of Justice (CCJ), Dr.<br />
Clarence Henry, Tuesday expressed<br />
optimism that Antigua and Barbudans<br />
would support efforts to delink country<br />
from the London-based Privy Council.<br />
Addressing the 40th Annual District<br />
Conference of the Pentecostal<br />
Assemblies of the West Indies – Antigua<br />
and Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis and<br />
St. Maarten, Henry said Antigua and<br />
Barbuda cannot be railroaded by the<br />
shackled mindset of those harbingers<br />
of maintaining the relics of colonialism<br />
and imperialism.<br />
Henry said that the campaign is providing<br />
citizens with arguments from<br />
both sides so as to help them make a<br />
determination of “facts from fiction”<br />
and to make an informed choice in the<br />
referendum that will follow the campaign.<br />
“We have been approached by the<br />
Privy Council and the CCJ with materials<br />
to assist in this process,” he told the<br />
religious group, adding “our campaign<br />
is one of transparent/determined education<br />
of our people, since on referendum<br />
day, there is a requirement of twothirds<br />
majority of votes cast in order to<br />
effect change.<br />
“This is a huge challenge, but I am<br />
confident it can and will be achieved,”<br />
he said.<br />
cont’d from pg 8<br />
alcohol that results in disorderly conduct<br />
and drunkenness in public places.<br />
Anyone found to be engaged in<br />
fights or carrying abroad any offensive<br />
weapon, which includes firearms,<br />
knives, cutlasses, scissors, etcetera,<br />
will be arrested charged. These persons<br />
will not be considered for bail,<br />
and will be held in custody until the<br />
Henry said he was urging the religious<br />
groups “to take a more active role<br />
in fighting for the heart and soul of this<br />
nation, where truth, transparency and<br />
real development are promoted, and<br />
the church takes a more active role in<br />
the spiritual wellness/wellbeing of our<br />
nation”.<br />
In his presentation, henry sought to<br />
allay the fears of the religious community<br />
of some concerns raised by sections<br />
of the population regarding the<br />
independence, funding and capability<br />
of the CCJ, which was established in<br />
2001 to replace the Privy Council as<br />
the region’s final court.<br />
The Trinidad-based court also functions<br />
as an international tribunal interpreting<br />
the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas<br />
that governs the 15-member<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> Community (CARICOM)<br />
grouping.<br />
Antigua and Barbuda wants to join<br />
Barbados, Guyana, Belize and Dominica<br />
as the <strong>Caribbean</strong> countries that have<br />
so far joined both the original and appellate<br />
jurisdictions of the CCJ.<br />
Regarding the referendum, henry<br />
said that at least two of three legislative<br />
amendments will go before parliament<br />
for adoption, indicating that at present<br />
the referendum provisions in the Constitution<br />
are not sufficient to undertake<br />
the referendum.<br />
“As a consequence, the necessary<br />
amendments must be undertaken. Dr.<br />
next possible court date.<br />
Likewise, the police are appealing<br />
to the motoring public to exercise caution<br />
when utilizing the roads over the<br />
holidays. Anyone found driving in a<br />
careless, reckless or dangerous manner<br />
or under the influence of alcohol<br />
will be arrested and charged. The full<br />
cooperation of the general public is<br />
therefore anticipated in this regard.<br />
Ambassador Dr. Clarence Henry<br />
(Francis) Alexis has indicated that the<br />
drafts will be ready and submitted to<br />
the Attorney General by midday tomorrow.<br />
The draft will seek to make the<br />
Constitutional Amendment Bill an Act,<br />
as well as modify the Representation of<br />
the People Act and the Referendum Act<br />
to suit the purposes of the referendum.”<br />
Henry said that the referendum is<br />
similar to general elections, with the the<br />
ballot paper used having to be simple,<br />
user-friendly to the voter and should reflect<br />
the voting culture of the country.<br />
“There will be no nomination of<br />
candidates or references to candidates<br />
in the referendum. In this case, there is<br />
no candidate’s name, there is a question.<br />
The ballot paper has to ask the<br />
voter whether or not they approve the<br />
Bill.”<br />
Henry told the religious group that<br />
while Barbados, Guyana, Belize and<br />
Dominica have adopted the Court in<br />
its appellate jurisdiction, “the time has<br />
come for Antigua and Barbuda to embrace<br />
the CCJ as the final Appellate authority.<br />
“The destiny of our nation and the<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> is in our hands. Let’s understanding<br />
this; let us not play with it,” he<br />
added. (CMC).
10 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Richard Branson discusses solutions for<br />
Sargassum Seaweed with OECS Ministers<br />
Montserrat is participating<br />
in a meeting with entrepreneur<br />
and philanthropist<br />
Sir Richard Branson this<br />
week on Moskito Island.<br />
Hon. Minister of Trade and<br />
Environment Claude Hogan<br />
and Chief Fisheries Officer<br />
Alywn Ponteen joined colleagues<br />
from the British Virgin<br />
Islands, Anguilla, Dominica,<br />
Antigua & Barbuda<br />
along with leading scientists<br />
and experts from around the<br />
world to discuss the ongoing<br />
<strong>issue</strong> of Sargassum Seaweed<br />
which is affecting the <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
and the very important<br />
tourism industry. It is a high<br />
stakes event involving the<br />
UK’s FCO with expectations<br />
of immediate solutions to<br />
stem the problem to include<br />
making a business from Sargassum.<br />
Branson is working with<br />
the OECS to develop a regional<br />
strategy to be implemented<br />
locally by member<br />
states. The OECS is acting as<br />
the technical moderator for<br />
the conference along with<br />
On <strong>March</strong> 9 <strong>2016</strong> the German Government<br />
and the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Community<br />
have agreed to extend their joint<br />
programme, “Renewable Energy and<br />
Energy Efficiency Technical Assistance<br />
(REETA)”. The REETA Programme<br />
aims at strengthening, at the regional<br />
and national level, sustainable development<br />
within the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Community<br />
through the increased use of renewable<br />
energy technologies and increased energy<br />
efficiency in the building sector.<br />
Under this new phase of the German-<strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
cooperation, the German<br />
Government is providing 3 Million<br />
Euros to support the institutional and<br />
technical requirements for improving<br />
the financing environment for sustainable<br />
energy projects within the Region.<br />
The latest contribution brings to 8,02<br />
Million Euros, the total support by the<br />
German Government under the REETA<br />
BVI technicians and Branson’s<br />
own team of environmentalists.<br />
“Sargussum seaweed<br />
is a threat to tourism,<br />
the livelihood of fishers and<br />
the marine environment,”<br />
Hogan noted.<br />
“Finding a strategy which<br />
we can action locally is the<br />
dominant theme of the conference.”<br />
The environment ministers<br />
of Montserrat, the BVI,<br />
Anguilla and Antigua have<br />
been asked to champion the<br />
project to work with Branson<br />
and his Virgin Unite charity<br />
to find solutions to the problem.<br />
Minister Hogan said<br />
they have identified some<br />
of the main <strong>issue</strong>s but no<br />
single solution has yet been<br />
formulated. “One of the bullets<br />
is public education and<br />
information on Sargassum,”<br />
he said. There’s also the use<br />
of Sargassum as an animal<br />
feed.<br />
Branson has also shared<br />
that energy must be given<br />
to conserving seafood<br />
and managing the catches<br />
of lobster in particular. According<br />
to Minister Hogan,<br />
the investor is willing to pay<br />
for his methods to be implemented<br />
and he has already<br />
agreed a marine project for<br />
Montserrat.<br />
The billionaire who<br />
owns Moskito Island, along<br />
with nearby Necker Island<br />
in the British Virgin Islands<br />
has more than 400 companies<br />
under his Virgin Brand.<br />
Many of these companies,<br />
including Virgin and Virgin<br />
Holidays are in the travel industry.<br />
Moskito Island is part<br />
of the Virgin Limited Edition<br />
franchise, which features<br />
three villas and can house<br />
up to 22 guests for exclusive<br />
use according to the website.<br />
German government and CARICOM in joint REETA program<br />
Programme.<br />
REETA builds on the foundation<br />
of the CREDP Project, which has been<br />
implemented by GIZ between 2003 until<br />
<strong>2016</strong>, and is based in Guyana at the<br />
CARICOM Secretariat. The programme<br />
focusses on five priority areas including<br />
policy, private sector development and<br />
participation, regional model projects,<br />
financing of energy infrastructure and<br />
capacity development.
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 11<br />
C&W Business to offer Cisco Collaboration<br />
as a service over its MPLS networks<br />
C&W Business, a division<br />
of Cable & Wireless<br />
Communications Plc<br />
(CWC), announced on<br />
Monday that it will offer<br />
Cisco® Unified Communications<br />
as a Service over its<br />
multiprotocol label switching<br />
(MPLS) network to its<br />
customers across the <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
and Latin American<br />
region.<br />
The C&W Business<br />
portfolio will also include<br />
the Cisco Hosted Collaboration<br />
Solution (HCS) for<br />
the Contact Center. C&W<br />
Business will become the<br />
first supplier in the <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
and Latin America to<br />
offer a contact center in the<br />
cloud, which represents a<br />
more agile, efficient, flexible<br />
and scalable contact<br />
center solution.<br />
Cisco HCS is a next-generation<br />
unified communications<br />
and collaboration<br />
platform for partners who<br />
want to offer unique Cisco<br />
collaboration technologies<br />
using hosted and managed<br />
models.<br />
By consuming collaboration<br />
services from the<br />
cloud, organizations have<br />
the flexibility to choose the<br />
collaboration applications<br />
specific to their requirements.<br />
Cisco HCS will be hosted<br />
at the C&W Business<br />
data centers and will be delivered<br />
to customers over<br />
C&W Communications’<br />
world-class, SIP-enabled<br />
fiber IP (terrestrial and<br />
submarine) fault-tolerant<br />
networks, covering over<br />
48,000 kilometers of fiber<br />
across the <strong>Caribbean</strong> and<br />
Latin American region, allowing<br />
C&W Business to<br />
deliver highly secure and<br />
reliable data, voice and video<br />
services efficiently to its<br />
customers.<br />
C&W Business will offer<br />
customers:<br />
Cisco’s Unified Communications<br />
and Collaboration<br />
solutions, which<br />
include voice and video<br />
communications, mobility,<br />
messaging, presence, and<br />
contact center. These services<br />
also enable web and<br />
videoconferencing.<br />
Access to cloud-based<br />
resources in a fast and easy<br />
way so customers can mobilize<br />
faster than with traditional<br />
models.<br />
Predictable per-user<br />
monthly costs without having<br />
to incur upfront capital<br />
expenditure investments.<br />
Ability to easily scale<br />
service levels up or down to<br />
address seasonal needs.<br />
Deployment of different<br />
license types to individuals<br />
across work groups or departments<br />
as required.<br />
Elimination of the costs<br />
and problems of equipment<br />
maintenance and software<br />
upgrades.<br />
In addition, existing Cisco<br />
collaboration customers<br />
can migrate their “on<br />
premises” solution into this<br />
cloud and maintain their investment<br />
in licensing.<br />
C&W Business is a Cisco<br />
Gold Certified Partner<br />
with specializations in Advanced<br />
Collaboration Architecture,<br />
Advanced Data<br />
Center Architecture and<br />
Cisco Managed Service<br />
Provider, among others.<br />
Supporting Quotes<br />
Daniel Peiretti, SVP<br />
Product Development,<br />
C&W Business:<br />
“In today’s changing<br />
world, multiple organizations<br />
are demanding new<br />
and more efficient ways to<br />
collaborate, improve user<br />
productivity and enhance<br />
customer experiences. By<br />
partnering with Cisco, we<br />
are further empowering our<br />
customers by delivering<br />
and managing a cloud services<br />
solution to meet their<br />
needs. We are pleased to<br />
have Cisco’s endorsement<br />
and excited to be implementing<br />
the first Cisco HCS<br />
for Contact Center in the<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> and Latin America<br />
and bring CCaaS and<br />
UCaaS across the region.”<br />
Gustavo Sorgente, Central<br />
America, <strong>Caribbean</strong> and<br />
Northern countries of South<br />
America – CANSAC- Cisco<br />
“Cisco HCS delivers the<br />
advantages of Cisco’s collaboration<br />
solutions, with<br />
the financial, operational,<br />
and strategic benefits associated<br />
with cloud services.<br />
Now, C&W Business will<br />
be able to offer collaboration<br />
tools to their customers<br />
in the region in a subscriber-based<br />
service that is cost<br />
effective and in a highly secure<br />
environment.”<br />
Informative, reliable, enriching!<br />
Think you have a good news story; did you witness<br />
anything that is news-worthy; did you take that<br />
valuable picture; things happening in your community<br />
but there is no outlet or voice for you? You can<br />
earn just by telling your story.<br />
Call <strong>Caribbean</strong> <strong>Times</strong> at (268) 562 8688<br />
Email: editor@caribbeantimes.ag<br />
Or news@caribbeantimes.ag<br />
Reach us now with that breaking news!
12 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
AN EYE ON AGRICULTURE<br />
Agriculture needs a change in attitude and direction<br />
It is often said that if you<br />
fail to plan you plan fail and<br />
perhaps one of the most difficult<br />
problem confronting<br />
agricultural administrators<br />
in Antigua and Barbuda is<br />
effective management and<br />
implementation of developmental<br />
programs.<br />
From a historical perspective,<br />
the production of<br />
food was a peasant-oriented<br />
activity with very little<br />
institutional and financial<br />
support. Up to the 1960’s a<br />
thriving export market operated<br />
by plantation owners<br />
dominated agriculture<br />
production with a small domestic<br />
sector ill equipped<br />
to satisfy the local market<br />
demands for food. Unfortunately,<br />
things have changed<br />
but not for better.<br />
Fast forward to today and<br />
this thriving agricultural export<br />
sub-sector has turned<br />
into a high food importation<br />
market while local production<br />
is unable to provide regular<br />
supplies of high quality<br />
produce in sufficiently large<br />
volumes and at competitive<br />
prices. The efforts to improve<br />
the performance of<br />
the agriculture sector have<br />
only shown modest progress<br />
while the full potential for<br />
the successful production<br />
and marketing of agricultural<br />
products have yet to be<br />
realized.<br />
The high and steadily<br />
growing rate of food imports<br />
from extra-regional sources<br />
and increasing competition<br />
on the international markets<br />
for safe food at affordable<br />
prices have cause the<br />
government of Antigua and<br />
Barbuda to adopt a policy of<br />
Food and Nutrition Security.<br />
It is therefore imperative<br />
that agricultural technicians<br />
formulate policy guidelines<br />
that will form the basis for<br />
planning, developing and<br />
executing specific action<br />
programs and projects in the<br />
agricultural sector.<br />
It is the Ministry of Agriculture<br />
failed import substitution<br />
initiatives of the past,<br />
characterized by trade barriers<br />
coupled with production<br />
and marketing inefficiency,<br />
which have led to this new<br />
policy prescription of food<br />
and nutrition security. However,<br />
the poor performance<br />
of agriculture reflects the<br />
simple fact that Antiguan<br />
and Barbudan farmers have<br />
not received the institutional<br />
support from the ministry<br />
through its programs and<br />
projects. Agriculture is still<br />
unable to compete effectively<br />
for labour and budgetary<br />
allocations against the<br />
strong demand from tourism<br />
and the service sector.<br />
Project preparation is<br />
clearly one of aspects of<br />
By Ainsworth Grant<br />
agricultural development<br />
or planning. If agriculture<br />
is to assume a significant<br />
role in the national economy,<br />
it must do so through<br />
greater efficiency in the use<br />
of its available financial resources.<br />
Identifying national<br />
agricultural development<br />
objectives, selecting priority<br />
areas for investment and<br />
mobilizing resources are<br />
essential elements of any<br />
policy framework. However,<br />
achieving this is still an<br />
important challenge for our<br />
agricultural administrators.<br />
There is an urgent need<br />
for the Ministry of Agriculture<br />
to improve its institutional<br />
capacity to collect, record<br />
and analyse production<br />
and marketing data, which<br />
is critical for the planning<br />
process going forward. For<br />
most agricultural development<br />
activities, careful<br />
project preparation base on<br />
production and marketing<br />
information is essential to<br />
ensure efficient use of available<br />
resources. Unless projects<br />
are carefully prepared in<br />
substantial detail, inefficient<br />
or even wasteful expenditure<br />
is almost sure to result.<br />
Training of agricultural<br />
technicians in the area of<br />
management should form<br />
part of the ministry’s agriculture<br />
developmental strategy.<br />
Their capacity to prepare,<br />
analyse and manage<br />
projects must be enhanced.<br />
Technicians in important<br />
planning positions, continually<br />
underestimate the time<br />
and effort needed to prepare<br />
suitable and sustainable<br />
projects. However, management<br />
training for technicians<br />
will help in the change in attitude<br />
towards the ministry’s<br />
developmental goals. The<br />
change in direction can only<br />
be achieved if policy-makers<br />
recognize the need to change<br />
the image of agriculture.<br />
Editor’s Note: The<br />
opinions expressed in this<br />
Op-ed are those of the author<br />
and do not necessarily<br />
reflect the views of <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
<strong>Times</strong>.
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 13<br />
Look at the way you treat me<br />
By Jacqueline Wetherill<br />
Look at the way you treat me, search your heart and you will see.<br />
I felt pain and died for you, yet still you do what you want to do.<br />
Would you sacrifice your life for a child, tell me would it be a lie?<br />
I have given you grace, love and faith, I had to endure, they spat in my face.<br />
Look at the way you treat me.<br />
The wicked things they did to me, my blood was shed on Calvary.<br />
“Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” as my mother stood by, wondering why they were<br />
doing this to her child.<br />
Kunta Kinte in Roots didn’t have more blows than I did,<br />
as they shouted again, “Crucify Him!”<br />
The pains, the tears that I have gone through,<br />
I did it, my children, to let you know I love you.<br />
Look at the way you treat me.<br />
Think about my love, think about my goodness,<br />
think about my grace that brought you through.<br />
If it had not been for me, the LORD,<br />
on your side tell me where would you have been, tell me.<br />
When trouble overwhelms your soul, who can you turn to but Me? I am the I<br />
am, I am a miracle- working God.<br />
Honor me, honor my word, honor my commandments,<br />
just give the honor and respect.<br />
Look at the way you treat me.<br />
Some people behave as though God doesn’t exist.<br />
Only when they’re in trouble, there is a God.<br />
God is real and He always prevails.
14 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Yesterday was World Water Day<br />
“World Water Day is an international<br />
observance and an opportunity to learn<br />
more about water related <strong>issue</strong>s, be inspired<br />
to tell others and take action to<br />
make a difference. Today, almost half of<br />
the world’s workers - 1.5 billion people -<br />
work in water related sectors and nearly<br />
all jobs depend on water and those that<br />
ensure its safe delivery. Yet, the millions<br />
of people who work in water<br />
are often not recognized or protected by<br />
basic labour rights. The theme in <strong>2016</strong><br />
— water and jobs — is focusing on how<br />
enough quantity and quality of water<br />
can change workers’ lives and livelihoods<br />
- and even transform societies<br />
and economies.” UN Water<br />
Fortunately in Antigua & Barbuda<br />
jobs within the water profession are well<br />
protected by standard labour laws. The<br />
APUA Water Business Unit employs<br />
over 150 water professionals. This Business<br />
Unit houses a vast variety of fields<br />
from plumbing to engineering. In celebration<br />
of World Water Day we would<br />
like to highlight a few critical areas.<br />
The APUA Water Lab<br />
The Water Lab houses five employees<br />
who are the guardians of water quality.<br />
The Water Lab is responsible for water<br />
quality testing at distribution points and<br />
all Reverse Osmosis plants, wells and<br />
surface water sources. The lab technicians<br />
are also responsible for testing water<br />
distributed at all ports of entry. The<br />
water is tested for chemical parameters<br />
and microbiological presence. Any areas<br />
of concern are flagged for immediate<br />
attention/ correction and subsequently<br />
retested for quality assurance.<br />
The APUA Water Lab is currently working<br />
towards achieving International Lab<br />
Accreditation.<br />
The Hydrology Department<br />
Hydrology is the study of water;<br />
its movement, distribution and quality.<br />
Hydrologists are responsible for the effective<br />
planning and sustainable use of<br />
water. Our Hydrologists at APUA are the<br />
backbone of water intelligence in Antigua.<br />
This power team of four are responsible<br />
for:<br />
Locating and selecting aquifers<br />
Well Drilling<br />
Sustainability assessment of aquifers<br />
Mapping<br />
Collecting & Monitoring of Well areas<br />
Rainfall analysis<br />
Water course assessments<br />
Water Operations<br />
Water Operators are the heartbeat<br />
of the APUA Water Business Unit. Our<br />
Water Treatment Operators are unseen<br />
but greatly appreciated for their vigilance<br />
and hard work. They are located at our<br />
surface water treatment plants and are responsible<br />
for:<br />
- Operating the equipment, motors,<br />
and pumps used in the treatment,<br />
purification, and disinfection of water.<br />
- Monitoring raw water quality.<br />
- Calculating water treatment chemical<br />
dosages.<br />
- Performing a variety of maintenance<br />
and repair work on plant facilities and<br />
equipment<br />
The APUA Water Business Unit also<br />
has Transmission and Distribution Operators<br />
who have the great responsibility of<br />
making sure that water gets to where it<br />
needs to go. They have to know where<br />
every pipe and valve are located, as well<br />
as have a great understanding of our intricate<br />
water system. Among a great host<br />
of responsibilities this group has the tremendous<br />
task of transmission and distribution<br />
line repair, replacement and ensuring<br />
the proper operation of all parts of the<br />
APUA Water system.<br />
In celebration of World Water Day<br />
we commend the APUA Water Business<br />
Unit employees for being the guardians<br />
of clean, potable water in Antigua & Barbuda.<br />
We recognize and salute the importance<br />
of their role in delivering one of<br />
life’s necessities.
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 15
16 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 17<br />
cont’d on pg 18
18 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
cont’d from pg 17
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 19<br />
Obama’s remarks in Havana (Part 1)<br />
President Castro, the people of Cuba,<br />
thank you so much for the warm welcome<br />
that I have received, that my family<br />
have received, and that our delegation<br />
has received. It is an extraordinary honor<br />
to be here today.<br />
Before I begin, please indulge me. I<br />
want to comment on the terrorist attacks<br />
that have taken place in Brussels. The<br />
thoughts and the prayers of the American<br />
people are with the people of Belgium.<br />
We stand in solidarity with them in condemning<br />
these outrageous attacks against<br />
innocent people. We will do whatever is<br />
necessary to support our friend and ally,<br />
Belgium, in bringing to justice those who<br />
are responsible. And this is yet another<br />
reminder that the world must unite, we<br />
must be together, regardless of nationality,<br />
or race, or faith, in fighting against<br />
the scourge of terrorism. We can -- and<br />
will -- defeat those who threaten the safety<br />
and security of people all around the<br />
world.<br />
To the government and the people of<br />
Cuba, I want to thank you for the kindness<br />
that you’ve shown to me and Michelle,<br />
Malia, Sasha, my mother-in-law,<br />
Marian. “Cultivo una rosa blanca.” In his<br />
most famous poem, Jose Marti made this<br />
offering of friendship and peace to both<br />
his friend and his enemy. Today, as the<br />
President of the United States of America,<br />
I offer the Cuban people el saludo de<br />
paz.<br />
Havana is only 90 miles from Florida,<br />
but to get here we had to travel a great<br />
distance -- over barriers of history and<br />
ideology; barriers of pain and separation.<br />
The blue waters beneath Air Force<br />
One once carried American battleships to<br />
this island -- to liberate, but also to exert<br />
control over Cuba. Those waters also<br />
carried generations of Cuban revolutionaries<br />
to the United States, where they<br />
built support for their cause. And that<br />
short distance has been crossed by hundreds<br />
of thousands of Cuban exiles -- on<br />
planes and makeshift rafts -- who came<br />
to America in pursuit of freedom and<br />
opportunity, sometimes leaving behind<br />
everything they owned and every person<br />
that they loved.<br />
Like so many people in both of our<br />
countries, my lifetime has spanned a time<br />
of isolation between us. The Cuban Revolution<br />
took place the same year that my<br />
father came to the United States from<br />
Kenya. The Bay of Pigs took place the<br />
year that I was born. The next year, the<br />
entire world held its breath, watching our<br />
two countries, as humanity came as close<br />
as we ever have to the horror of nuclear<br />
war. As the decades rolled by, our governments<br />
settled into a seemingly endless<br />
confrontation, fighting battles through<br />
proxies. In a world that remade itself time<br />
and again, one constant was the conflict<br />
between the United States and Cuba.<br />
I have come here to bury the last remnant<br />
of the Cold War in the Americas.<br />
I have come here to extend the hand of<br />
friendship to the Cuban people. I want<br />
to be clear: The differences between our<br />
governments over these many years are<br />
real and they are important. I’m sure<br />
President Castro would say the same<br />
thing -- I know, because I’ve heard him<br />
address those differences at length. But<br />
before I discuss those <strong>issue</strong>s, we also<br />
need to recognize how much we share.<br />
Because in many ways, the United States<br />
and Cuba are like two brothers who’ve<br />
been estranged for many years, even as<br />
we share the same blood.<br />
We both live in a new world, colonized<br />
by Europeans. Cuba, like the<br />
United States, was built in part by slaves<br />
brought here from Africa. Like the United<br />
States, the Cuban people can trace their<br />
heritage to both slaves and slave-owners.<br />
We’ve welcomed both immigrants who<br />
came a great distance to start new lives in<br />
the Americas.<br />
Over the years, our cultures have<br />
blended together. Dr. Carlos Finlay’s<br />
work in Cuba paved the way for generations<br />
of doctors, including Walter Reed,<br />
who drew on Dr. Finlay’s work to help<br />
combat Yellow Fever. Just as Marti wrote<br />
some of his most famous words in New<br />
York, Ernest Hemingway made a home<br />
in Cuba, and found inspiration in the waters<br />
of these shores. We share a national<br />
past-time -- La Pelota -- and later today<br />
our players will compete on the same Havana<br />
field that Jackie Robinson played on<br />
before he made his Major League debut.<br />
And it’s said that our greatest boxer, Muhammad<br />
Ali, once paid tribute to a Cuban<br />
that he could never fight -- saying that he<br />
would only be able to reach a draw with<br />
the great Cuban, Teofilo Stevenson.<br />
So even as our governments became<br />
adversaries, our people continued to<br />
share these common passions, particularly<br />
as so many Cubans came to America.<br />
In Miami or Havana, you can find places<br />
to dance the Cha-Cha-Cha or the Salsa,<br />
and eat ropa vieja. People in both of our<br />
countries have sung along with Celia<br />
Cruz or Gloria Estefan, and now listen to<br />
reggaeton or Pitbull. Millions of our people<br />
share a common religion -- a faith that<br />
I paid tribute to at the Shrine of our Lady<br />
of Charity in Miami, a peace that Cubans<br />
find in La Cachita.<br />
For all of our differences, the Cuban<br />
and American people share common values<br />
in their own lives. A sense of patriotism<br />
and a sense of pride -- a lot of pride.<br />
cont’d on pg 20
20 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
CDB funds training for food service professionals in Dominica<br />
BRIDGETOWN – As the Government<br />
of Dominica focuses on enhancing<br />
its hospitality sector and improving opportunities<br />
for tourism investment, it is<br />
driving initiatives to provide best-practice<br />
training for local food service businesses.<br />
From <strong>March</strong> 21 to 23, <strong>2016</strong>, 30<br />
Environmental Health Officers and representatives<br />
from Dominica’s Micro,<br />
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises<br />
(MSMEs) will participate in the ServSafe<br />
Food Safety and Training Workshop,<br />
conducted and funded by the <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
Development Bank (CDB).<br />
“CDB supports the Government of<br />
Dominica as it focuses on the importance<br />
of food safety and the role it plays in<br />
economic development. We are pleased<br />
to be collaborating with the Ministry of<br />
Health to deliver this workshop, specially<br />
designed for local food service<br />
professionals through the internationally<br />
and regionally recognised ServSafe<br />
Food Safety Programme,” said Edward<br />
Greene, Division Chief, Technical Cooperation<br />
Division, CDB.<br />
The ServSafe Programme is an accredited,<br />
United States-based educational<br />
course that provides comprehensive<br />
training for food service professionals.<br />
It is accepted throughout the <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
region and recognised as a fundamental<br />
certification for food handlers.<br />
During the three-day workshop, participants<br />
will explore food safety principles<br />
and techniques such as cleaning and<br />
sanitation; Hazard Analysis and Critical<br />
Control Points; methods of thawing,<br />
cooking, cooling and reheating food;<br />
safe food preparation; and time and temperature<br />
control. At the end of the workshop,<br />
participants will take the ServSafe<br />
Food Protection Manager Examination.<br />
Successful participants will receive the<br />
ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certificate,<br />
which is valid for a period of<br />
five years. Participants will also develop<br />
action plans to upgrade the food safety<br />
practices at their establishments, with<br />
the help of certified ServSafe Instructors.<br />
The Ministry of Health in Dominica will<br />
help participants implement these plans.<br />
The <strong>Caribbean</strong> Technological Consultancy<br />
Services Network (CTCS),<br />
managed in the Bank’s Technical Cooperation<br />
Division, will oversee the delivery<br />
of the workshop.<br />
“CTCS was specifically designed<br />
to help CDB fulfil its commitment to<br />
enhancing the capacity of MSMEs<br />
throughout the <strong>Caribbean</strong> Region. This<br />
workshop is one way in which we continue<br />
to turn that commitment into action,<br />
to boost the livelihoods of our Region’s<br />
entrepreneurs,”said Mr. Greene.<br />
Workshop facilitators are Julie-Ann<br />
Laudat of JAL Training and Consultancy<br />
Services, a company based in Antigua<br />
and Barbuda and Lionel Michael,<br />
Chief Health Inspector of the Ministry<br />
of Health in Antigua and Barbuda. Both<br />
Laudat and Michael are trained and certified<br />
ServSafe Instructors and Proctors.<br />
The ServSafe Food Safety and Training<br />
Workshop in Dominica follows successful<br />
pilots run by CTCS in Antigua and<br />
Barbuda, Montserrat and Guyana over<br />
the past two years. The workshop, a technical<br />
assistance intervention, aligns with<br />
CDB’s strategic objective to promote<br />
broad-based economic growth by providing<br />
support to private sector development,<br />
which aims to enhance the viability<br />
of MSMEs.<br />
cont’d from pg 19<br />
A profound love of family.<br />
A passion for our children, a<br />
commitment to their education.<br />
And that’s why I believe<br />
our grandchildren will look<br />
back on this period of isolation<br />
as an aberration, as just<br />
one chapter in a longer story<br />
of family and of friendship.<br />
But we cannot, and should<br />
not, ignore the very real differences<br />
that we have -- about<br />
how we organize our governments,<br />
our economies, and our<br />
societies. Cuba has a one-party<br />
system; the United States<br />
is a multi-party democracy.<br />
Cuba has a socialist economic<br />
model; the United States is an<br />
open market. Cuba has emphasized<br />
the role and rights of<br />
the state; the United States is<br />
founded upon the rights of the<br />
individual.<br />
Despite these differences,<br />
on December 17th 2014,<br />
President Castro and I announced<br />
that the United States<br />
and Cuba would begin a process<br />
to normalize relations<br />
between our countries. Since<br />
then, we have established diplomatic<br />
relations and opened<br />
embassies. We’ve begun initiatives<br />
to cooperate on health<br />
and agriculture, education<br />
and law enforcement. We’ve<br />
reached agreements to restore<br />
direct flights and mail service.<br />
We’ve expanded commercial<br />
ties, and increased the capacity<br />
of Americans to travel<br />
and do business in Cuba. And<br />
these changes have been welcomed,<br />
even though there are<br />
still opponents to these policies.<br />
But still, many people on<br />
both sides of this debate have<br />
asked: Why now? Why now?<br />
There is one simple answer:<br />
What the United States<br />
was doing was not working.<br />
We have to have the courage<br />
to acknowledge that truth. A<br />
policy of isolation designed<br />
for the Cold War made little<br />
sense in the 21st century. The<br />
embargo was only hurting the<br />
Cuban people instead of helping<br />
them. And I’ve always believed<br />
in what Martin Luther<br />
King, Jr. called “the fierce<br />
urgency of now” -- we should<br />
not fear change, we should<br />
embrace it.<br />
That leads me to a bigger<br />
and more important reason<br />
for these changes: Creo en el<br />
pueblo Cubano. I believe in<br />
the Cuban people. This is not<br />
just a policy of normalizing<br />
relations with the Cuban government.<br />
The United States of<br />
America is normalizing relations<br />
with the Cuban people.
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 21<br />
Suriname eases visa regime to boost tourism<br />
PARAMARIBO - In an effort to<br />
boost its new emphasis on the tourism<br />
sector, the government of Suriname has<br />
recently abolished the requirement for<br />
a visa to enter the country from an additional<br />
13 countries, including China,<br />
India, Indonesia and Turkey, four of the<br />
world’s most populous nations. The nine<br />
other countries are from Latin America.<br />
The list does not include any African<br />
or Arab countries. However, to visit Suriname,<br />
citizens of these countries must<br />
purchase a tourist card, which costs US<br />
$35 at the Johan Pengel International<br />
Airport. The tourist card isn’t available at<br />
the official border crossing posts between<br />
Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana,<br />
which is an inconvenience for some travellers.<br />
Moreover, the immigration and<br />
customs processing to enter Suriname<br />
PORT AU PRINCE - Haitian<br />
lawmakers Sunday night<br />
rejected economist Fritz Jean<br />
as the country’s new prime<br />
minister, sending the provisional<br />
Government in the<br />
French-speaking <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
Community country into a<br />
state of uncertainty.<br />
Jean, named by Interim<br />
President Jocelerme Privert,<br />
needed at least 60 of the 119<br />
members of the Lower House<br />
to support his nomination. But<br />
HAVANA – Global money transfer company<br />
Western Union has announced plans to<br />
extend its money transfer services to Cuba.<br />
The move will allow persons worldwide to<br />
send remittances into Cuba within minutes.<br />
It comes a week after the US government<br />
relaxed some trade policies that will allow financial<br />
institutions to do more business with<br />
Cuba and will also allow some categories<br />
from Guyana at the South Drain Ferry<br />
Terminal is a long and arduous ordeal<br />
that can take up to three hours.<br />
The Parliament of Suriname is expected<br />
to soon pass legislation to govern the<br />
tourism industry. Suriname, once isolated<br />
from the non-Dutch speaking world, has<br />
in the past decade propelled itself closer<br />
to the English-speaking <strong>Caribbean</strong>, Latin<br />
America and Asia. Concluding bilateral<br />
air agreements with key countries has<br />
when the vote was taken on<br />
Sunday evening he received<br />
38 votes with 36 against, with<br />
one legislator abstaining.<br />
“Mr Prime Minister, 38<br />
deputies voted in favour to<br />
your general policy statement,<br />
as the majority required<br />
in terms of section 158 of the<br />
1987 amended Constitution is<br />
at least 60 votes, which constitutes<br />
the absolute majority,<br />
required your general policy<br />
statement is rejected.”<br />
The vote leaves President<br />
Privert without a person to<br />
run the Government’s day-today<br />
affairs and he also failed<br />
to get support for the new<br />
Provisional Electoral Council<br />
(CEP) that is needed to organise<br />
the twice-postponed presidential<br />
runoff vote now tentatively<br />
scheduled for April 24.<br />
President Michel Martelly<br />
left office on February 7<br />
without any successor being<br />
elected, and last week Sandra<br />
of Cuban nationals to earn money in the US<br />
without defecting.<br />
In a statement, Western union said it expects<br />
to activate money transfer services in<br />
Cuba by end of the second quarter of <strong>2016</strong>.<br />
The company says once services are activated<br />
in Cuba, receivers will be able to pick-up<br />
their funds from more than 490 agent locations<br />
across each of Cuba’s 16 provinces.<br />
been very slow for Suriname, and the<br />
country’s national airline, Surinam Airways<br />
(SLM), is a loss making enterprise.<br />
The government is now looking to<br />
privatize SLM. The modernisation and<br />
expansion of the Johan Pengel International<br />
Airport is still incomplete. Suriname,<br />
which the New York <strong>Times</strong> referred<br />
to as “South America’s hidden treasure”,<br />
is slowing working to develop and improve<br />
its eco- and cultural tourism product.<br />
More recently, Suriname has been<br />
promoting its tourism product in Holland,<br />
Belgium and now Germany. However,<br />
there is little or no promotion in North<br />
America, and the <strong>Caribbean</strong>. Airlift is a<br />
major problem facing Suriname’s unique<br />
and excellent tourism product. (<strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
News Now).<br />
Haitian legislators reject nominee for PM<br />
Western Union to extend services to Cuba<br />
Honore, the top UN envoy for<br />
Haiti, told the United Nations<br />
Security Council that Haiti<br />
was at a “critical juncture”<br />
in consolidating its democracy<br />
and the next few weeks<br />
would be decisive.<br />
Jean had been nominated<br />
and then sworn in at a ceremony<br />
at the National Palace<br />
in the hopes that his experience<br />
and reputation as an<br />
economist and former governor<br />
of Haiti’s central bank<br />
would overcome objections<br />
from opposition lawmakers.<br />
In his inaugural speech on<br />
Sunday, he told lawmakers<br />
that the new Government “is<br />
committed to providing to all<br />
institutions involved in the<br />
electoral process the necessary<br />
means for achieving the<br />
objectives. (Jamaica Observer).
22 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Deadly explosions rock Brussels airport and subway<br />
Rob Ford dies after<br />
fight with cancer<br />
TORONTO — Rob Ford, the<br />
pugnacious, populist former mayor<br />
of Toronto whose career crashed in a<br />
drug-driven, obscenity-laced debacle,<br />
died Tuesday after fighting cancer,<br />
his family says. He was 46. Ford rode<br />
into office on a backlash against urban<br />
elites. He cast an image sharply<br />
at odds with Canada’s reputation for<br />
sedate, unpretentious politics.<br />
His tenure as mayor of the country’s<br />
largest city was marred by revelations<br />
about his drinking problems and<br />
illegal drug use. He was repeatedly<br />
videotaped and photographed while<br />
intoxicated in public. His statements<br />
and actions became nightly fodder for<br />
TV comedians and an embarrassment<br />
to many of the suburbanites he championed.<br />
Nevertheless, he was later<br />
elected by a landslide to a city council<br />
seat. (Politico).<br />
BRUSSELS - Bombs tore through<br />
the main airport for the Belgian capital<br />
and a subway station in central Brussels<br />
on Tuesday, a day after authorities said a<br />
suspect in the Nov. 13, 2015 Paris terror<br />
attacks possibly the bomb-maker was<br />
likely loose in the city.<br />
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria<br />
(ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks,<br />
saying its extremists opened fire<br />
in the airport and “several of them” detonated<br />
suicide belts. The posting in the<br />
group’s Amaq news agency said another<br />
suicide attacker detonated in the metro.<br />
It claimed the attack was in response<br />
to Belgium’s support of the international<br />
coalition arrayed against it. At least 36<br />
people were killed in what Belgian federal<br />
prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said<br />
were “terrorist attacks” in the city, which<br />
has been on high alert since the Paris carnage<br />
last year.<br />
At least one suicide bomber was behind<br />
the two explosions at the airport. A<br />
U.S. official told CBS News that at least<br />
16 people were killed and dozens injured<br />
in the blasts in the departure hall at Brussels<br />
Airport. Belgian media reported that<br />
gunshots were heard, and shouting in Arabic,<br />
before the explosions.<br />
Two sources confirmed to CBS News<br />
KIEV - A Ukrainian pilot<br />
has been found guilty in<br />
Russia of charges relating<br />
to the deaths of two Russian<br />
journalists. Nadiya<br />
Savchenko was sentenced<br />
to 22 years in jail after being<br />
convicted of directing<br />
artillery fire which killed<br />
them in eastern Ukraine in<br />
June 2014.<br />
She burst into a folk<br />
style protest song in the<br />
courtroom as she was finally<br />
pronounced guilty after<br />
the judge’s two day reading<br />
of the verdict.<br />
She denied all the<br />
charges and her case has<br />
become internationally<br />
notorious. Ukraine would<br />
never recognise the “so<br />
called” verdict, President<br />
Petro Poroshenko said,<br />
describing the trial as “infamous”.<br />
In a statement he<br />
added that he was ready to<br />
exchange Savchenko for<br />
two Russian soldiers detained<br />
in Ukraine for “their<br />
participation in the armed<br />
aggression” against the<br />
country.<br />
Savchenko has become<br />
a national hero elected<br />
as a Ukrainian MP while<br />
in detention and scuffles<br />
were reported in the courtroom<br />
after members of a<br />
that a Kalashnikov assault rifle was found<br />
in the terminal, and there were reports<br />
that an unexploded explosive device was<br />
also found in the airport. About an hour<br />
after the explosions at the airport, there<br />
was a blast at the Maelbeek Metro station<br />
in central Brussels, very near the U.S.<br />
Embassy and European Union headquarters.<br />
The Metro system was shut down.<br />
All flights in and out of Brussels Airport<br />
were cancelled, and all public transport<br />
in the Belgian capital was also shutdown.<br />
Eurostar trains in and out of Brussels<br />
from the rest of Europe were also cancelled<br />
Tuesday. Belgian Interior Minister<br />
Jan Jambon raised the nation’s terror<br />
alert to its maximum level in the wake of<br />
explosions at the airport, indicating authorities<br />
believed a terrorist attack to be<br />
imminent. (CBS News).<br />
Ukrainian pilot given 22-year sentence<br />
Ukrainian delegation unfurled<br />
a national flag.<br />
Her lawyer, Nikolai<br />
Polozov, told journalists<br />
that she would “not appeal<br />
against this illegal verdict”,<br />
in which Savchenko was<br />
also found guilty of illegally<br />
crossing the border into<br />
Russia and the attempted<br />
murder of civilians. “She<br />
is an iron person, she has<br />
an iron will,” Mr Polozov<br />
said, according to AFP<br />
news agency. (BBC).
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 23<br />
Tuesday’s Sudoku Solution<br />
S U D O K U<br />
CROSSWORD<br />
Across<br />
1. It may be found in runes<br />
6. Inbox clogger<br />
10. Fitness facilities<br />
14. Political sphere<br />
15. Sheltered bay<br />
16. Saintly sign<br />
17. Typesetting units<br />
18. Space<br />
19. Words that pass bills<br />
20. Start of some advice to<br />
chew over<br />
23. Fed. agency renamed in<br />
2003<br />
24. Works on a wall?<br />
25. End to Taiwan?<br />
26. Heel<br />
29. FAA ally<br />
31. Tie tightly<br />
33. ‘’Groovy!’’<br />
35. Second-largest land animal,<br />
briefly<br />
37. Retreat from the heat<br />
38. Part 2 of the advice<br />
42. Concern of 23-Across<br />
43. Rattle the rafters<br />
44. Purpose of many vacations<br />
45. Late-night TV name<br />
46. Totally absorbed<br />
50. Plastic piping<br />
51. ‘’I approve the motion!’’<br />
53. Pharmaceutical pioneer Lilly<br />
55. Word with spoon or cup<br />
56. End of the advice<br />
60. Summit<br />
62. Foxx of TV and film<br />
63. Like some wits or cheeses<br />
64. Wall Street signal<br />
65. Tennis champ Nastase<br />
66. Cut into bits<br />
67. Holiday happening<br />
68. Took in visually<br />
69. Discontinued<br />
Down<br />
1. Mealtime face-saver<br />
2. Prepare, as incoming students<br />
3. Judge’s break<br />
4. Jiffy<br />
5. Student’s safety net<br />
6. Close examination<br />
7. Deficient<br />
8. Professed<br />
9. Office missives<br />
10. Marine fish prized for its<br />
roe<br />
11. Gets without charge?<br />
12. Heady brew<br />
13. Help wanted notice?<br />
21. Path of Discovery?<br />
22. ‘’The Bathers’’ painter<br />
27. Has one’s nose to the grindstone<br />
28. Spanish couple?<br />
30. Distinct variety of a species<br />
32. Slipknot formation<br />
34. Not merely ready<br />
36. English king who won at<br />
Agincourt<br />
38. Certain Eastern European<br />
39. Gossipy newsman on early<br />
radio<br />
40. Like some advice<br />
41. Greenbacks<br />
42. Leading Dada painter<br />
45. Recently<br />
47. Imminent<br />
48. Longtime tenor, Jan<br />
49. Pounded down firmly<br />
52. Uncanny<br />
54. Knocker’s reply, perhaps<br />
57. Vehicle’s connecting rod<br />
58. Patsy created by Jim Davis<br />
59. Flimsy<br />
60. Pecs neighbors<br />
61. Common legume
24 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
HOROSCOPE<br />
ARIES (<strong>March</strong> 21-April<br />
19). Your charisma comes<br />
from attentiveness. Because<br />
you’ve such a powerful life<br />
force now, it energizes whatever<br />
it settles on. And the<br />
people you focus on feel like<br />
the most important ones in<br />
the world.<br />
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).<br />
You may be working or living<br />
alongside someone, but<br />
are you really connecting<br />
with this person who is so<br />
vital to the outcome of your<br />
week, if not your life? Turn<br />
off the distractions and really<br />
focus in.<br />
Today’s weather forecast<br />
Antigua and Barbuda<br />
Showers in the morning, then partly<br />
cloudy in the afternoon.<br />
High - 82ºF/28ºC<br />
Low - 75ºF/ 24ºC<br />
Wind: East 19 mph<br />
Sunrise 6.09 am; Sunset 6.19 pm<br />
Tuesday’s Crossword Solution<br />
TAURUS (April 20-May 20).<br />
When you say the right thing<br />
to the right person, your project<br />
will take off like wildfire.<br />
That’s why you need to start<br />
talking in a very positive way<br />
about all you want and all<br />
you are doing.<br />
GEMINI (May 21-June 21).<br />
It’s had rocky moments, but<br />
rest assured, the relationship<br />
sector of your life will ultimately<br />
bring fulfillment.<br />
Your heart will be healed by<br />
one who understands your<br />
needs and answers them with<br />
complementary needs.<br />
CANCER (June 22-July 22).<br />
Your temper is a teakettle in<br />
a library. You want to be effective<br />
enough to make some<br />
nice drinks, but you don’t<br />
want to be too noisy about it.<br />
To avoid sounding off, let off<br />
a little steam at a time.<br />
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The<br />
same belief that once made<br />
you feel secure now makes<br />
you feel trapped. Maybe this<br />
wasn’t always a stifling influence,<br />
but it is now, so throw<br />
off your mental chains.<br />
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22).<br />
Physical labor is favored and<br />
you have the high energy necessary<br />
to do more than you<br />
could have last week. You’ll<br />
apply your strength to improving<br />
your surroundings or<br />
earning some kind of bonus.<br />
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).<br />
You will finally get a reward<br />
that was a long time in coming,<br />
and this is probably a result<br />
of what you’ve tolerated<br />
for years. Precious and beautiful<br />
pearls are made from irritating<br />
grains of sand.<br />
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-<br />
Dec. 21). If you look behind,<br />
you’ll fall behind. So look<br />
ahead, lean into the future and<br />
know that you are uniquely<br />
equipped to make the most of<br />
what’s coming up. This is just<br />
the beginning.<br />
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-<br />
Jan. 19). You’ll be inclined<br />
to follow your muses, not<br />
the chants of your audience.<br />
However, today it just so happens<br />
that the thing you want<br />
to do makes your crowd happy<br />
too, so you both win!<br />
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb.<br />
18). It may be necessary to<br />
rearrange your schedule or<br />
cut back your workload in<br />
order to make the time for a<br />
loved one who really needs<br />
you right now. Do what it<br />
takes to make relationships<br />
strong.<br />
PISCES (Feb. 19-<strong>March</strong><br />
20). As you follow your spiritual<br />
curiosity, new people and<br />
places welcome and enrich<br />
you. Soon you’ll be reconciling<br />
the religion of your youth<br />
with your present awareness<br />
of life.
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 25<br />
ABFA announces <strong>Caribbean</strong> Cup squad<br />
By Carlena Knight<br />
The Antigua and Barbuda<br />
Football Association<br />
(ABFA) has announced its<br />
20-member squad that will<br />
contest in Group 1 of the<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> Cup qualifiers<br />
against Aruba. The match<br />
plays today at the Sir Vivian<br />
Richards Stadium at<br />
7:30 in the evening. The selected<br />
squad is:<br />
Goalkeepers: Molvin<br />
James of Parham FC, Brentton<br />
Muhammad of Greenbay<br />
Hoppers and Daverick<br />
Lockhart of Fort Road FC.<br />
Defenders: Karanja<br />
Mack and Akeem Thomas<br />
of Parham FC, Chavaughn<br />
Phillip of Villa Lions, Aaron<br />
Tumwa of Bromley,<br />
Blaize Punter of Nuneaton,<br />
Zaine Francis-Angol of<br />
Kidderminster and Quinton<br />
Griffith of Charleston Battery.<br />
Midfielders: Calaum<br />
Martin of Leyton Orient,<br />
Eugine Kirwan and Tamarley<br />
Thomas of Greenbay<br />
Hoppers, AJ George of Oxford<br />
United, Duran Martin<br />
of Banbury United, Josh<br />
Parker of Red Star Belgrade<br />
and Rhys Brown of<br />
Aldershot Town.<br />
Forwards: Peter Byers<br />
Wanted<br />
of Sap FC, Javorn Stevens<br />
of Greenbay Hoppers and<br />
Nathaniel Jarvis of Hungerford<br />
Town.<br />
The Technjcal Director<br />
is Rolston Williams,<br />
Assistant Coach Roderick<br />
Williams, Goalkeeper<br />
Coach Irvin Lewis, Manager<br />
Fernando Abraham,<br />
Equipment Manager Jarviel<br />
Simon, and Assistant<br />
Equipment Manager Danny<br />
Benjamin.<br />
A highly qualified registered nurse to live with me for<br />
my personal, loving care in my private home in Bellevue<br />
Heights. She must be single, dis-engaged, no previous<br />
marriages, no kids. Aged 40 - 52. All applicants should<br />
be Antiguans, Dominicans or Guyanese only. Call #461-<br />
4027 between 10am - 11:30 am or 3pm - 6pm.
26 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Half Moon Bay to sponsor Antigua Sailing Week<br />
Antigua Sailing Week is delighted<br />
to announce Half Moon Bay as an official<br />
resort sponsor for the <strong>2016</strong> event.<br />
Replay Resorts, the development company<br />
which owns the property recently<br />
acquired 132 acres of land on 8,000 feet<br />
of oceanfront at Half Moon Bay, including<br />
the site of the former Half Moon Bay<br />
Hotel.<br />
“We couldn’t be more pleased to be<br />
working in Antigua. Wherever we create<br />
destinations we strive to be a strong<br />
part of the community through involvement<br />
and support of local charities and<br />
events and we feel supporting Antigua<br />
Sailing Week is a great first step for the<br />
community to begin to get to know us,”<br />
said Michael Coyle, CEO of Replay Resorts.<br />
“Antigua Sailing Week is an event<br />
The <strong>Caribbean</strong> Football<br />
Union (CFU) yesterday unveiled<br />
the official logo and<br />
announced the kickoff of<br />
the Scotiabank CFU Men’s<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> Cup <strong>2016</strong>. The<br />
first round of the Scotiabank<br />
CFU Men’s <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
that evokes passion and excitement from<br />
the people of Antigua and from all who<br />
attend.<br />
It really puts Antigua on the world<br />
stage and will be a must attend event for<br />
our future hotel guests and homeowners<br />
at Half Moon Bay. We couldn’t be more<br />
excited to be a sponsor of Antigua Sailing<br />
Week this year.”<br />
In executing its sponsorship Half<br />
Moon Bay will be getting involved on<br />
and off the water. The Half Moon Bay<br />
Spectator Boats will set sail on Sunday<br />
24th April from Falmouth Harbour Marina<br />
and head out to chase the races and get<br />
up close to the action.<br />
After snorkelling and lunch the boats<br />
will head back to shore so spectators can<br />
attend the English Harbour Rum Festival<br />
Cup <strong>2016</strong> started yesterday,<br />
Tuesday, <strong>March</strong> 22, with the<br />
participation of teams across<br />
the <strong>Caribbean</strong>. Cuba was at<br />
home to Bermuda, Grenada<br />
hosting St. Maarten, and Anguilla<br />
travelled to Guyana.<br />
For the first round of the<br />
regional championship, the<br />
national teams are sorted<br />
into seven groups. Each team<br />
will host one match and play<br />
another on the road. Rounds<br />
2 and 3 will begin in June<br />
and October, respectively,<br />
of this year. The final round<br />
taking place that afternoon and evening<br />
at Antigua Yacht Club where sailors and<br />
spectators alike will dance the night away<br />
dockside. Tickets for the Half Moon Bay<br />
Spectator Boats can be purchased.<br />
As a major supporter of the event,<br />
Half Moon Bay will also be sponsoring<br />
the Sailing Week Antigua Team (SWAT)<br />
and the Green Team.<br />
As an essential part of delivering<br />
the event off the water the Green Team,<br />
in partnership with non-governmental<br />
organisations Environmental Awareness<br />
Group and Sailors for the Sea, makes<br />
sure the environmental aspects of the<br />
event run smoothly and it will continue<br />
to build on last year’s green initiatives to<br />
ensure a continued reduction of the regatta’s<br />
environmental impact.<br />
CFU announces kickoff of Scotiabank CFU Men’s <strong>Caribbean</strong> Cup <strong>2016</strong><br />
is scheduled to be played in<br />
May 2017, with a host to be<br />
named by the CFU in coming<br />
months.<br />
Scotiabank, title sponsor<br />
of the Scotiabank CONCA-<br />
CAF Champions League and<br />
other CONCACAF championships,<br />
will once again<br />
support sport throughout the<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> region through<br />
the title sponsorship for this<br />
year’s editions of the men’s<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> championship.<br />
The Scotiabank CFU<br />
Men’s <strong>Caribbean</strong> Cup <strong>2016</strong><br />
will qualify <strong>Caribbean</strong> teams<br />
directly to the 2017 CON-<br />
CACAF Gold Cup. Jamaica<br />
is the defending <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
Cup champion after overcoming<br />
Trinidad and Tobago<br />
4-3 on penalty kicks, after a<br />
scoreless draw in the 2014<br />
CFU Men’s <strong>Caribbean</strong> Cup<br />
Final.
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong> c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 27<br />
Villa Primary claims Zone 4<br />
By Carlena Knight<br />
Villa Primary claimed top<br />
honors in the <strong>2016</strong> Zone 4<br />
track and field day. The Westside<br />
school created history by<br />
amassing 331 points to claim<br />
the championship, thereby,<br />
dethroning the 2015 winners<br />
Mary E Piggots. The latter<br />
had 179 points with Cedar<br />
Grove getting 132 points.<br />
The prize giving ceremony<br />
which was held at Villa<br />
Primary on Monday, hosted<br />
By Vanroy Burnes<br />
The Concern Parents, Teachers, Sports<br />
Association (CPTSA) will be hosting its<br />
24 th annual Easter Monday 4+1 road relay<br />
and fitness walk on Monday 28 th <strong>March</strong>.<br />
The event is expected to get on the way<br />
from the starting points at Camp Blizzard<br />
in Coolidge at 6.30 am and end at the Christ<br />
the King High School.<br />
The CPTSA is inviting all groups, clubs,<br />
T N Kirnon, Cedar Grove,<br />
Mary E Piggots, Piggotts,<br />
Victory Center, St. Nicholas,<br />
School for the Deaf, Gospel<br />
Light, Weslyann Junior<br />
Academy, St. Andrews, and<br />
for the first time ever Holy<br />
Potters dominant, Wings fall to Ottos<br />
By Carlena Knight<br />
Potters Steelers continue their dominance<br />
in the third division of the Antigua<br />
Barbuda Basketball Association with 11-1<br />
record. Steelers on Monday night blew out<br />
Jr Pitbulls, 103-57 at JSC Sports Complex.<br />
Alfred Lee led the way in scoring for the<br />
victors with 25 points and 4 steals. He was<br />
assisted by Tyrell Joseph with 19 points and<br />
13 rebounds, Michael Daniel with 17 points<br />
and Jordan Thomas with 11 steals. Danny<br />
Perez of Jr Pitbulls had 8 points while Juda<br />
Ferris grabbed 10 rebounds.<br />
CPTSA Wings continue to struggle in<br />
division three now falling to Ottos Officials,<br />
58-41.<br />
For Wings, Joshua McCurchin scored<br />
11 points and 15 rebounds. He was assisted<br />
by Tyreke Lewis we also had 11 points and<br />
11 rebounds while Dalonte Phillip had 10<br />
points and 14 rebounds. Officials’ Everton<br />
Carroll had 12 points and Anthony Edwards<br />
grabbed 13 rebounds and 4 steals. In the<br />
lone division two match, Flyers 2 defeated<br />
F and G Trading Cuties Ovals Ojays 2, 88-<br />
51.<br />
By Carlena Knight<br />
Antigua Grammar School<br />
(AGS) defeated St. Joseph<br />
Academy, 42-29 on Monday<br />
at the YMCA Sports Complex.<br />
The defending champions<br />
in the Junior Boys division<br />
continue to dominate<br />
the category led by the 2015<br />
Jr. Sportsman nominee, Anthony<br />
Greer with 15 points.<br />
He was assisted by Amani<br />
Brown with 14 points and<br />
Tyreke Lewis with 10.<br />
Academy’s Noel<br />
Knowles had 9 points while,<br />
Teran Zachariah had 8 points<br />
in a losing effort.<br />
Ottos Comprehensive<br />
trounced St. Anthony’s Secondary,<br />
47-16 in the second<br />
Junior Boys match. Lincoln<br />
Weeks was an unstoppable<br />
force with 33 points for the<br />
victors.<br />
Jevonte Valerie of St. Anthony’s<br />
scored 11 in a losing<br />
effort. In the lone Senior<br />
Boys match, Ottos Comprehensive<br />
did away with St.<br />
Joseph Academy, 42-32.<br />
The dynamic duo of<br />
Trinity of Barbuda.<br />
Andolia Webber and<br />
Kaleel Stevens of Villa Primary<br />
were named the top<br />
overall male and female athletes.<br />
The students from Victory<br />
Center and School for<br />
the Deaf were also awarded<br />
for their participation. Along<br />
with the giving out of trophies<br />
and medals, Mr and<br />
Mrs Figgins were honoured<br />
by the Villa Primary School<br />
for their continuous support<br />
to the institution.<br />
Zone 4 Education Officer,<br />
Oneil Michael welcomed the<br />
visiting schools and commended<br />
them on their performances.<br />
He then went on to<br />
commend the organizers of<br />
the event for their hard work<br />
and great execution.<br />
AGS defeats St. Joseph Academy, Otto’s trounces St. Anthony’s<br />
Lincoln Weekes and Javon<br />
Simon had a combined 36<br />
points for Comprehensive.<br />
Michael Barton had 11<br />
points for St. Joseph Academy.<br />
CPTSA hosts 24 th annual Easter<br />
Monday relay and fitness walk<br />
organisations, and banks to take part in the<br />
event. The categories include: U-13, U-20,<br />
U-30 and over 30 years. There is a registration<br />
fee of $20 for adults and $10 for<br />
children under 10 years. All participants<br />
are asked to assemble at the Christ the King<br />
High School before 6.00 a.m. for transportation<br />
to the relay points. The ‘Walk’ will<br />
start at the Christ the King High School and<br />
prizes will be awarded to winners.
28 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g<br />
<strong>Wednesday</strong> <strong>23rd</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
MOHALI - It seems<br />
Pakistan are not short of<br />
Achilles heels lately. New<br />
Zealand aimed an arrow at a<br />
rather famous one - their batting<br />
while chasing big totals<br />
- and came away the victors<br />
to become the first team to<br />
qualify for the <strong>2016</strong> World<br />
T20 semi-finals.<br />
Pakistan, who knew their<br />
hopes of staying alive in the<br />
World T20 depended heavily<br />
on a favourable outcome<br />
tonight, looked a chase of<br />
181 in the eye and blinked.<br />
Sharjeel Khan’s enterprising<br />
cameo had set them up.<br />
He himself had struck ten<br />
boundaries before the Powerplay<br />
was done and Pakistan’s<br />
fifty was raised in 24<br />
balls - their fastest in T20Is.<br />
However, once New Zealand<br />
doused Sharjeel’s fire,<br />
Pakistan’s went out as well.<br />
The batsmen down the order<br />
could not back up the early<br />
flurry and will face critique<br />
for being poor chasers.<br />
There were no boundaries<br />
- not one - in the last<br />
five overs, which led to the<br />
18th failed chase of a 150-<br />
plus target for Pakistan. It<br />
left their hopes of qualifying<br />
for the semi-finals extremely<br />
bleak. New Zealand had<br />
done their homework again<br />
- underneath a cover of grass<br />
lay a belter of a pitch and<br />
Martin Guptill began taking<br />
advantage of it as soon as he<br />
strode out to bat.<br />
The seventh ball he<br />
faced, from the seven-foot<br />
New Zealand into World T20 semi-finals<br />
tall Mohammad Irfan, was<br />
lofted toweringly high into<br />
the air and became the first<br />
of six of the night.<br />
That shot, and his entire<br />
innings - 80 off 48 balls -<br />
was simple in design and an<br />
exhibition of a batsman well<br />
aware of his strengths. Guptill<br />
is a tall man. His reach<br />
is longer than most players<br />
and he is not short of power<br />
either.<br />
So the moment he decides<br />
to hit straight, he has<br />
the upper hand. He secured<br />
32 of his runs in the arc between<br />
long-off and long-on,<br />
including two of his 10 fours<br />
and all three of his sixes.<br />
Guptill had a clear strategy<br />
against spin too. The sweep<br />
shot, and on a pitch that<br />
wasn’t turning excessively,<br />
it helped him dominate even<br />
when he misread the delivery<br />
off the bowler’s hand.<br />
Guptill played two of<br />
those against Afridi soon<br />
after reaching his fifth T20I<br />
fifty over his last 10 innings.<br />
Sharjeel came out and<br />
played an innings equal of<br />
Guptill’s, at least in impact.<br />
His strength appears to be<br />
in the midwicket region<br />
and New Zealand’s bowlers<br />
fed him a delicious diet of<br />
length and short balls. They<br />
attempted to pull the pace<br />
off, bowled over and around<br />
the wicket and changed their<br />
fields but very few thought<br />
of changing the line and<br />
probing him in the corridor<br />
around the off stump.<br />
Mitchell McClengaghan<br />
was smacked for three fours<br />
and a six in the fourth over<br />
and was taken off. The new<br />
bowler Adam Milne dismissed<br />
Sharjeel with wider,<br />
fuller delivery that was met<br />
with a slog and ended up as<br />
a top-edge to point.<br />
That wicket gave New<br />
Zealand some breathing<br />
room. It allowed their spinners<br />
to get into the game<br />
without fear of being hit out.<br />
Mitchell Santner, who<br />
bowled the first over and<br />
was smashed for 15 runs,<br />
finished his full quota with<br />
two wickets and gave away<br />
only 14 further runs. His<br />
partner Ish Sodhi, who was<br />
back in Punjab, the state of<br />
his birth, conceded only one<br />
boundary in his four overs<br />
and took the crucial wicket<br />
of Afridi as well.<br />
The back-end squeeze<br />
was fruitful for both teams.<br />
At one point New Zealand<br />
looked set for over 200. Mohammad<br />
Sami was the key<br />
man for Pakistan, his 19th<br />
over went only for four runs<br />
and he finished his spell with<br />
two wickets and an economy<br />
rate of 5.75.<br />
But Ross Taylor withstood<br />
that spell and led a<br />
scrappy lower-order effort<br />
to muster 53 runs in the last<br />
five overs and that Pakistan<br />
could not find a contribution<br />
like that became their undoing.<br />
Umar Akmal played a<br />
woeful innings at No. 4 - 24<br />
off 26 balls, with no fours or<br />
sixes.<br />
Ahmed Shehzad was similarly<br />
subdued - he scratched<br />
around for 30 off 32 balls.<br />
Afridi attempted to make<br />
up for it, but he was caught<br />
on the long-off boundary by<br />
Corey Anderson, who timed<br />
his leap to perfection.<br />
New Zealand’s strangle<br />
at one end had defused a big<br />
threat at the other, and they<br />
kept squeezing until Pakistan<br />
had nothing left. (ES-<br />
PNcricinfo)