Turks and Caicos Islands Government Awarded 500 Coursera Digital Learning Licenses Under Vincula LAC Programme
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands - Tuesday, 29 July 2025: The Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG) is proud to announce its successful acceptance into the Vincula LAC: Digital Skills for the Future programme, a transformative initiative spearheaded by the World Bank and Coursera to boost digital talent across Latin America and the Caribbean. As part of the programme, the TCIG has been awarded 500 full-access Coursera licenses, the maximum allocation for any single country.
This digital learning initiative will empower Turks and Caicos Islanders from all walks of life to gain free access to courses and professional certifications from some of the world's most prestigious universities and companies, including Yale, Johns Hopkins University, London Business School, McMaster University, Google, Microsoft, Meta/Facebook, and many others.
“This is a massive win for the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. We are not just closing the digital divide, we are leaping over it,” said Hon. E. Jay Saunders, Minister of Innovation, Technology and Energy, who along with the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture, is spearheading this initiative. “Through this programme, anyone across the islands, be it a student, Civil Servant, retiree, or aspiring entrepreneur can now earn a certificate from top global institutions for free.”
The Vincula LAC programme offers six months of free access to more than 400 online courses and micro-credentials in high-demand areas including Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Computer Programming, Entrepreneurship, Project Management, Communication & Leadership, and many more.
Emphasising inclusion, the TCIG’s implementation plan prioritises students, Civil Servants, and vulnerable groups, including parolees and retirees, with a strong focus on ensuring that at least 50% of all participants are female.
“We’re incredibly proud of this achievement and excited about the opportunity it brings to our youth and educators,” said Hon. Rachel Taylor, Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture. “The skills learned through this programme will directly contribute to our government’s Vision 2040 goal of human capital development.”
Residents will also be able to participate in a vibrant learning community with monthly check-ins, motivation sessions, and community outreach events. The initiative is a key part of the TCIG’s broader digital transformation strategy.
Ms Lareesa Robinson, Head of Secretariat, Ministry of Innovation, Technology and Energy; and Dr. Candice Williams, President/CEO, Turks and Caicos Islands Community College, will be co-leading the programme.
Howard Hamilton International Airport Aerodrome Reopens Following Temporary Closure
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands—July 29th, 2025 - The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) would like to inform the public that normal operations at the Howard Hamilton International Airport Aerodrome have officially resumed.
We appreciate the patience and understanding of all stakeholders, travelers, and airport partners during the temporary closure. The safety and security of all airport users remain our top priority.
For continued updates, please follow TCIAA's official communication channels @tciairports.
Information about the Airports Authority
The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority Ordinance (“TCIAA”) was established in 2005 under The Airports Authority Ordinance (Ord.11 of 2005) for constructing, controlling, and managing airports, and providing and maintaining runways, taxiways, and terminals for the efficient operation of airports in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is further responsible for providing Border Control facilities (i.e. Customs and Immigration Services) and for Health and Security Checks. Since its establishment, the TCIAA has been instrumental in the development and improvement of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ six (6) public airports:
(1) The Howard Hamilton International Airport/ Providenciales International Airport (MBPV)
(2) The JAGS McCartney International Airport / Grand Turk International Airport (MBGT)
(3) The Norman B Saunders Sr International Airport / South Caicos Airport (MBSC)
(4) The Clifford Gardiner International Airport/ North Caicos Airport (MBNC)
(5) The Eric Arthur Airport/ Middle Caicos Airport (MBMC)
(6) The Henry Leon Wilson Airport / Salt Cay Airport (MBSY)
The TCIAA continues to operate as a focal point on the national agenda for economic and social development. The TCIAA Board consists of eight (8) members with a broad spectrum of experience in airport management, aviation, security, development, investment, law, and other industries, as well as public policy and government.
The goal of the TCIAA is to provide world-class airport operations through high-standard safety, security, quality, efficiencies, and customer service, recognizing its importance to the overall economic development and strategic growth of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
PRESS RELEASE: Environmental Health Issues A 30 Day Notice to Replace Pallet Garbage Storage With Secure Alternatives
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 29 July 2025– The Environmental Health Department is making all residents and businesses aware that pallet garbage storage is not an acceptable method for waste containment. The Department is notifying individualsand businesses that they have thirty (30) days to dismantle any pallet garbage storage and replace it with a secure, durable waste storage solution, such as a proper secure garbage bin with a tight-fitting lid or a concrete garbage house or enclosure.
Pallet-based garbage storage poses several environmental and public health risks, including:
- Attracting pests such as rodents, stray animals, and insects
- Creation and loose waste during wind or rain events
- Unsanitary conditions due to dripping, spillage and improper containment
The deadline for Compliance is September 1st, 2025. After this date, properties found using pallet garbage storage may be subject to warnings, fines, or further enforcement action in accordance with Public and Environmental Health
Ordinance, Section 8.49 which states:
Provision of Receptacles for Waste
49. (1) A health officer may serve notice in writing upon the owner or occupier of premises from which waste is collected by virtue of a waste collection service requiring him to provide at his own expense such number and type of receptacles for waste as are specified in the notice and, where the premises are commercial premises, to provide a suitable site within the curtilage of those premises for the location of bulk waste bins of the type and number specified in the notice, together with adequate access to allow any such wastebins to be collected and returned.
(2) A person who fails to comply with a notice served upon him under subsection (1), commits an offence and is liable—
(a) to a fine of $100 where the premises concerned are residential premises; or
(b) to a fine of $500 where the premises concerned are commercial premises:
Provided that it shall be a defence to a charge brought under this subsection to prove that the receptacles were not available on the Islands at the date of the offence.
Residents are encouraged to take action now as we work together to keep our communities clean, safe and healthy. For assistance or information on compliant garbage storage options, please contact the Environmental Health Department at Tel: 338-2142/2143 or Email: EHD@gov.tc.
Mattel introduces its first Barbie with Type 1 diabetes
NEW YORK (AP) — Mattel has introduced its first Barbie representing a person with Type 1 diabetes, as part of wider efforts from the toy maker to increase inclusivity among its dolls.
In an announcement Tuesday, Mattel said it had partnered with Breakthrough T1D — a Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF — to ensure that the design of the doll “truly captures the community.” That includes accessories that “accurately reflect the medical equipment” people with Type 1 diabetes may need, the California-based company noted.
“Visibility matters for everyone facing Type 1 diabetes,” Emily Mazreku, director of marketing strategy at Breakthrough T1D, said in an accompanying announcement. And as a mother who lives with Type 1 diabetes, she added, “it means everything to have Barbie helping the world see T1D and the incredible people who live with it.”
The new Barbie wears continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a device that tracks blood sugar levels, on her arm — while holding a phone displaying an accompanying app. She also has an insulin pump attached to her waist. And the doll carries a blue purse that can be used to carry other essential supplies or snacks on the go.
The Barbie’s outfit is blue, too — with polka dots on a matching top and skirt set. Mattel says that this color and design are nods to symbols for diabetes awareness.
This new doll “enables more children to see themselves reflected in Barbie,” Mattel wrote Tuesday, and is part of the company’s wider Fashionistas line committed to inclusivity. The line features Barbies with various skin tones, hair colors and textures, disabilities, body types and more. Previously-introduced Fashionistas include a Ken doll with a prosthetic leg and a Barbie with hearing aids. Mattel also introduced its first doll with Down syndrome in 2023.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38.4 million Americans of all ages — amounting to about 11.6% of the U.S. population — were estimated to have diabetes as of 2021, the latest year with data available. About 2 million had Type 1 diabetes, including about 304,000 children and teens younger than 20.
Barbie’s new doll with Type 1 diabetes was also introduced at Breakthrough T1D’s 2025 Children’s Congress held in Washington, D.C. this week, where the organization is advocating for continued federal research funding. This year, Breakthrough T1D has been particularly focused on the Special Diabetes Program, which is currently set to expire in September.
Trump tariffs goods from Brazil at 50%, citing ‘witch hunt’ trial against country’s former president
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump singled out Brazil for import taxes of 50% on Wednesday for its treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, showing that personal grudges rather than simple economics are a driving force in the U.S. leader’s use of tariffs.
Trump avoided his standard form letter with Brazil, specifically tying his tariffs to the trial of Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss. Trump has described Bolsonaro as a friend and hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020.
“This Trial should not be taking place,” Trump wrote in the letter posted on Truth Social. “It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”
There is a sense of kinship as Trump was indicted in 2023 for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The U.S. president addressed his tariff letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who bested Bolsonaro in 2022.
Lula responded in a forceful statement that said Trump’s tariffs would trigger the country’s economic reciprocity law, which allows trade, investment and intellectual property agreements to be suspended against countries that harm Brazil’s competitiveness.
He noted that the U.S. has had a trade surplus of more than $410 billion with Brazil over the past 15 years.
“Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not accept being taken for granted by anyone,” Lula said.
Bolsonaro testified before the country’s Supreme Court in June over the alleged plot to remain in power after his 2022 election loss. Judges will hear from 26 other defendants in the coming months, and legal analysts say a decision could come as early as September. The country’s electoral authorities have already barred Bolsonaro from running for office until 2030.
The former president did not comment about Trump’s tariff decision on his social media channels, but wrote that he is being politically persecuted.
In his statement, Lula defended the country’s legal system, saying the “proceedings against those who planned the coup d’etat is a competence of the Brazilian judiciary and is not subject to interference or threats that harm the independence of national institutions.”
For Trump, the tariffs are personal
Trump also objected to Brazil’s Supreme Court fining of social media companies, saying the temporary blocking last year amounted to “SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders.” Trump said he is launching an investigation as a result under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which applies to countries with trade practices that are deemed unfair to U.S. companies.
Among the companies the Supreme Court fined was X, which was not mentioned specifically in Trump’s letter. X is owned by Elon Musk, Trump’s multibillionaire backer in the 2024 election whose time leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency recently ended and led to a public feud over the U.S. president’s deficit-increasing budget plan. Trump also owns a social media company, Truth Social.
“In Brazil, freedom of speech is not mistaken by aggression or violent behavior,” Lula said in his statement. “To operate in our country, every company, local or foreign, must be subjected to Brazilian legislation.”
Brazilian lawmakers allied with Lula blamed Bolsonaro and two of his sons, congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, for Trump’s tariff action. Sen. Lindbergh Farias, the whip of Lula’s Workers’ Party in the Senate, said on social media that the Bolsonaros “must be very happy to harm Brazil, our economy and our jobs.”
The Brazil letter was a reminder that politics and personal relations with Trump matter just as much as any economic fundamentals. And while Trump has said the high tariff rates he’s setting are based on trade imbalances, it was unclear by his Wednesday actions how the countries being targeted would help to reindustrialize America.
The tariffs starting Aug. 1 would be a dramatic increase from the 10% rate that Trump levied on Brazil as part of his April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement. In addition to oil, Brazil sells orange juice, coffee, iron and steel to the U.S., among other products. The U.S. ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year, according to the Census Bureau.
Trump initially announced his broad tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, arguing under a 1977 law that the U.S. was at risk because of persistent trade imbalances. But that rationale becomes problematic in this particular case, as Trump is linking his tariffs to the Bolsonaro trial and the U.S. exports more to Brazil than it imports.
Trump also targeted smaller trade partners
Trump also sent letters Wednesday to the leaders of seven other nations. None of them — the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka — is a major industrial rival to the United States.
Most economic analyses say the tariffs will worsen inflationary pressures and subtract from economic growth, but Trump has used the taxes as a way to assert the diplomatic and financial power of the U.S. on both rivals and allies. His administration is promising that the taxes on imports will lower trade imbalances, offset some of the cost of the tax cuts he signed into law on Friday and cause factory jobs to return to the United States.
Trump, during a White House meeting with African leaders, talked up trade as a diplomatic tool. Trade, he said, “seems to be a foundation” for him to settle disputes between India and Pakistan, as well as Kosovo and Serbia.
“You guys are going to fight, we’re not going to trade,” Trump said. “And we seem to be quite successful in doing that.”
Trump said the tariff rates in his letters were based on “common sense” and trade imbalances, even though the Brazil letter indicated otherwise. Trump suggested he had not thought of penalizing the countries whose leaders were meeting with him in the Oval Office — Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau — as “these are friends of mine now.”
Countries are not complaining about the rates outlined in his letters, he said, even though those tariffs have been generally close to the ones announced April 2 that rattled financial markets. The S&P 500 stock index rose Wednesday.
“We really haven’t had too many complaints because I’m keeping them at a very low number, very conservative as you would say,” Trump said.
Tariff uncertainty returns with Trump’s letters
Officials for the European Union, a major trade partner and source of Trump’s ire on trade, said Tuesday that they are not expecting to receive a letter from Trump listing tariff rates. The Republican president started the process of announcing tariff rates on Monday by hitting two major U.S. trading partners, Japan and South Korea, with import taxes of 25%.
According to Trump’s Wednesday letters, imports from Libya, Iraq, Algeria and Sri Lanka would be taxed at 30%, those from Moldova and Brunei at 25% and those from the Philippines at 20%. The tariffs would start Aug. 1.
The Census Bureau reported that last year the U.S. ran a trade imbalance on goods of $1.4 billion with Algeria, $5.9 billion with Iraq, $900 million with Libya, $4.9 billion with the Philippines, $2.6 billion with Sri Lanka, $111 million with Brunei and $85 million with Moldova. The imbalance represents the difference between what the U.S. exported to those countries and what it imported.
Taken together, the trade imbalances with those seven countries are essentially a rounding error in a U.S. economy with a gross domestic product of $30 trillion.
The letters were posted on Truth Social after the expiration of a 90-day negotiating period with a baseline levy of 10%. Trump is giving countries more time to negotiate with his Aug. 1 deadline, but he has insisted there will be no extensions for the countries that receive letters.
The president threatened additional tariffs on any country that attempts to retaliate.
Exclusive: OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome
SAN FRANCISCO, July 9 (Reuters) - OpenAI is close to releasing an AI-powered web browser that will challenge Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) market-dominating Google Chrome, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The browser is slated to launch in the coming weeks, three of the people said, and aims to use artificial intelligence to fundamentally change how consumers browse the web. It will give OpenAI more direct access to a cornerstone of Google's success: user data.
If adopted by the 500 million weekly active users of ChatGPT, OpenAI's browser could put pressure on a key component of rival Google's ad-money spigot. Chrome is an important pillar of Alphabet's ad business, which makes up nearly three-quarters of its revenue, as Chrome provides user information to help Alphabet target ads more effectively and profitably, and also gives Google a way to route search traffic to its own engine by default.
OpenAI's browser is designed to keep some user interactions within a ChatGPT-like native chat interface instead of clicking through to websites, two of the sources said.
The browser is part of a broader strategy by OpenAI to weave its services across the personal and work lives of consumers, one of the sources said.
OpenAI declined to comment.
The sources declined to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Led by entrepreneur Sam Altman, OpenAI upended the tech industry with the launch of its AI chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022. After its initial success, OpenAI has faced stiff competition from rivals including Google and startup Anthropic, and is looking for new areas of growth.
In May, OpenAI said it would enter the hardware domain, paying $6.5 billion to buy io, an AI devices startup from Apple's (AAPL.O) former design chief, Jony Ive.
A web browser would allow OpenAI to directly integrate its AI agent products such as Operator into the browsing experience, enabling the browser to carry out tasks on behalf of the user, the people said.
The browser's access to a user’s web activity would make it the ideal platform for AI "agents" that can take actions on their behalf, like booking reservations or filling out forms, directly within the websites they use.
TOUGH COMPETITION
OpenAI has its work cut out - Google Chrome, which is used by more than 3 billion people, currently holds more than two-thirds of the worldwide browser market, according to web analytics firm StatCounter. Apple's (AAPL.O) second-place Safari lags far behind with a 16% share. Last month, OpenAI said it had 3 million paying business users for ChatGPT.
Perplexity, which has a popular AI search engine, launched an AI browser, Comet, on Wednesday, capable of performing actions on a user's behalf. Two other AI startups, The Browser Company and Brave, have released AI-powered browsers capable of browsing and summarizing the internet.
Chrome's role in providing user information to help Alphabet target ads more effectively and profitably has proven so successful that the Department of Justice has demanded its divestiture after a U.S. judge last year ruled that the Google parent holds an unlawful monopoly in online search.
OpenAI's browser is built atop Chromium, Google's own open-source browser code, two of the sources said. Chromium is the source code for Google Chrome, as well as many competing browsers including Microsoft's (MSFT.O) Edge and Opera (OPRA.O).
Last year, OpenAI hired two longtime Google vice presidents who were part of the original team that developed Google Chrome. The Information was first to report their hires and that OpenAI previously considered building a browser.
An OpenAI executive testified in April that the company would be interested in buying Chrome if antitrust enforcers succeeded in forcing the sale.
Google has not offered Chrome for sale. The company has said it plans to appeal the ruling that it holds a monopoly.
OpenAI decided to build its own browser, rather than simply a "plug-in" on top of another company's browser, in order to have more control over the data it can collect, one source said.
Nvidia's stock market value hits $4 trillion on AI dominance
July 9 (Reuters) - Nvidia (NVDA.O) briefly reached a market capitalization of $4 trillion on Wednesday, making it the first company in the world to reach the milestone and solidifying its position as one of Wall Street's most-favored stocks.
Shares of the leading chip designer rose as much as 2.8% to an all-time high of $164.42, benefiting from an ongoing surge in demand for artificial-intelligence technologies.
The company's stock ended with a gain of 1.80%, leaving it with a market value of $3.97 trillion.
Nvidia's soaring market value underscores Wall Street's confidence in the rapid growth of AI, with the company's high-performance chips forming the backbone of this technological advance.
"It highlights the fact that companies are shifting their asset spend in the direction of AI and it's pretty much the future of technology," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in New York.
The stock's recent rally follows a sluggish start to the year, when the emergence of a Chinese discount artificial-intelligence model developed by DeepSeek shook confidence in stocks linked to the sector.
Nvidia achieved a $1 trillion market value for the first time in June 2023 and tripled it in about a year, faster than Apple (AAPL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), the only other U.S. firms with market values above $3 trillion.
Microsoft is the second-most valuable U.S. company, with a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion. Its shares gained 1.4% on Wednesday to close at $503.51.
Nvidia has rebounded about 74% from its lows in April, when global markets were jolted from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff volley.
Optimism around trade partners reaching deals with the U.S. has lifted stocks of late, with the S&P 500 (.SPX) hitting an all-time high.
Nvidia accounts for 7.3% of the S&P 500. Apple and Microsoft account for around 7% and 6%, respectively.
Nvidia is now worth more than the combined value of the Canadian and Mexican stock markets, according to LSEG data, and it exceeds the total value of all publicly listed companies in the UK.
Its stock recently traded at a 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 32, below its three-year average of 37, according to data compiled by LSEG.
While Nvidia's chips dominate the AI industry, Amazon (AMZN.O), Microsoft, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and other major customers have faced pressure from investors to rein in their heavy spending on AI.
As well, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) and other rivals aim to take some of Nvidia's market share by selling lower-cost processors.
Nvidia reported total revenue of $44.1 billion in the first quarter, marking a 69% jump from a year ago.
For the second quarter, Nvidia expects revenue of $45 billion, plus or minus 2%. It will report second-quarter results on August 27.
Including the session's gains, Nvidia is up about 22% this year compared with a nearly 15% rise in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index (.SOX).
Instagram wrongly accuses some users of breaching child sex abuse rules
Instagram users have told the BBC of the "extreme stress" of having their accounts banned after being wrongly accused by the platform of breaching its rules on child sexual exploitation.
The BBC has been in touch with three people who were told by parent company Meta that their accounts were being permanently disabled, only to have them reinstated shortly after their cases were highlighted to journalists.
"I've lost endless hours of sleep, felt isolated. It's been horrible, not to mention having an accusation like that over my head," one of the men told BBC News.
Meta declined to comment.
BBC News has been contacted by more than 100 people who claim to have been wrongly banned by Meta.
Some talk of a loss of earnings after being locked out of their business pages, while others highlight the pain of no longer having access to years of pictures and memories. Many point to the impact it has had on their mental health.
Over 27,000 people have signed a petition that accuses Meta's moderation system, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), of falsely banning accounts and then having an appeal process that is unfit for purpose.
Thousands of people are also in Reddit forums dedicated to the subject, and many users have posted on social media about being banned.
Meta has previously acknowledged a problem with Facebook Groups but denied its platforms were more widely affected.
'Outrageous and vile'
The BBC has changed the names of the people in this piece to protect their identities.
David, from Aberdeen in Scotland, was suspended from Instagram on 4 June. He was told he had not followed Meta's community standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity.
He appealed that day, and was then permanently disabled on Instagram and his associated Facebook and Facebook Messenger accounts.
David found a Reddit thread, where many others were posting that they had also been wrongly banned over child sexual exploitation.
"We have lost years of memories, in my case over 10 years of messages, photos and posts - due to a completely outrageous and vile accusation," he told BBC News.
He said Meta was "an embarrassment", with AI-generated replies and templated responses to his questions. He still has no idea why his account was banned.
"I've lost endless hours of sleep, extreme stress, felt isolated. It's been horrible, not to mention having an accusation like that over my head.
"Although you can speak to people on Reddit, it is hard to go and speak to a family member or a colleague. They probably don't know the context that there is a ban wave going on."
The BBC raised David's case to Meta on 3 July, as one of a number of people who claimed to have been wrongly banned over child sexual exploitation. Within hours, his account was reinstated.
In a message sent to David, and seen by the BBC, the tech giant said: "We're sorry that we've got this wrong, and that you weren't able to use Instagram for a while. Sometimes, we need to take action to help keep our community safe."
"It is a massive weight off my shoulders," said David.
Faisal was banned from Instagram on 6 June over alleged child sexual exploitation and, like David, found his Facebook account suspended too.
The student from London is embarking on a career in the creative arts, and was starting to earn money via commissions on his Instagram page when it was suspended. He appealed after feeling he had done nothing wrong, and his account was then banned a few minutes later.
He told BBC News: "I don't know what to do and I'm really upset.
"[Meta] falsely accuse me of a crime that I have never done, which also damages my mental state and health and it has put me into pure isolation throughout the past month."
His case was also raised with Meta by the BBC on 3 July. About five hours later, his accounts were reinstated. He received the exact same email as David, with the apology from Meta.
He told BBC News he was "quite relieved" after hearing the news. "I am trying to limit my time on Instagram now."
Faisal said he remained upset over the incident, and is now worried the account ban might come up if any background checks are made on him.
A third user Salim told BBC News that he also had accounts falsely banned for child sexual exploitation violations.
He highlighted his case to journalists, stating that appeals are "largely ignored", business accounts were being affected, and AI was "labelling ordinary people as criminal abusers".
Almost a week after he was banned, his Instagram and Facebook accounts were reinstated.
What's gone wrong?
When asked by BBC News, Meta declined to comment on the cases of David, Faisal, and Salim, and did not answer questions about whether it had a problem with wrongly accusing users of child abuse offences.
It seems in one part of the world, however, it has acknowledged there is a wider issue.
The BBC has learned that the chair of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee at the National Assembly in South Korea, said last month that Meta had acknowledged the possibility of wrongful suspensions for people in her country.
Dr Carolina Are, a social media researcher at Northumbria University's Centre for Digital Citizens, said it was hard to know what the root of the problem was because Meta was not being open about it.
However, she suggested it could be due to recent changes to the wording of some its community guidelines and an ongoing lack of a workable appeal process.
"Meta often don't explain what it is that triggered the deletion. We are not privy to what went wrong with the algorithm," she told BBC News.
In a previous statement, Meta said: "We take action on accounts that violate our policies, and people can appeal if they think we've made a mistake."
Meta, in common with all big technology firms, have come under increased pressure in recent years from regulators and authorities to make their platforms safe spaces.
Meta told the BBC it used a combination of people and technology to find and remove accounts that broke its rules, and was not aware of a spike in erroneous account suspension.
Meta says its child sexual exploitation policy relates to children and "non-real depictions with a human likeness", such as art, content generated by AI or fictional characters.
Meta also told the BBC a few weeks ago it uses technology to identify potentially suspicious behaviours, such as adult accounts being reported by teen accounts, or adults repeatedly searching for "harmful" terms.
Meta states that when it becomes aware of "apparent child exploitation", it reports it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US. NCMEC told BBC News it makes all of those reports available to law enforcement around the world.
- BBC
Days after Texas floods, at least 161 people are still missing in one county
At least 161 people are still missing in a single Texas county four days after deadly and devastating flash floods hit parts of the state, Governor Greg Abbott said, as hope fades for survivors to be found.
The missing in the hard-hit Kerr County include five campers and a counsellor from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer camp located on the banks of the Guadalupe River.
At least 111 people have died in the disaster, according to the latest county-by-county tolls published by US media. More than 90 were in the Kerrville area.
Texas is not alone. Neighbouring New Mexico saw a flash flood emergency on Tuesday as well, causing the deaths of at least three people.
Up to 8.8cm (3.5in) of rain fell there, causing river waters to inundate the village of Rudioso, officials said. That flood has now receded.
In Texas, frantic search and rescue efforts continue, with Abbott vowing emergency crews "will not stop until every missing person is accounted for".
Abbott added that it was very likely more missing would be added to the list in the coming days, and urged people to report anyone they think was unaccounted for.
General Thomas Suelzer from the Texas National Guard said search efforts were using Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters with rescue hoists.
He said there were 13 Black Hawk helicopters helping in the search effort, including four that arrived from Arkansas. Authorities have also been using reaper drones.
Responders from various agencies are working together on rescue efforts. They include agents from border patrol, the FBI and the National Guard.
More than 250 responders from various agencies have been assigned to the Kerrville area alone to help with search and rescue.
One of those rescue volunteers, named Tim, told the BBC he had never seen any destruction at this scale before.
"I've done the floods down in East Texas and Southeast Texas, and hurricanes, and this is a nightmare," he said.
Another rescue volunteer, named Justin, compared the effort to "trying to find a single hay in a haystack".
"There's a wide trail of destruction for miles, and there's not enough cadaver dogs to go through all of it," he told the BBC.
"It's hard to access a lot of it with heavy machinery. Guys are trying to pick at it with tools and hands, and they're not even putting a dent in it – not for lack of effort."
Questions have been raised about whether authorities provided adequate flood warnings before the disaster, and why people were not evacuated earlier.
Experts say there were a number of factors that contributed to the tragedy in Texas, including the extreme weather, the location of the holiday homes and timing.
Abbott, who had spent part of the day surveying the flood zone, said authorities had issued a storm warning and knew about a possible flash flood, but "didn't know the magnitude of the storm".
No-one knew it would lead to a "30-foot high tsunami wall of water", he said.
The governor responded to a question about who was to "blame" for the enormous death toll, saying: "That's the word choice of losers."
He made a sports analogy, saying American football teams make mistakes; champion teams are the ones who don't "point fingers".
Most of the victims died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday.
Camp Mystic had earlier confirmed at least 27 girls and staff were among the dead.
Those who survived are now focused on trying to rebuild.
Justin Brown has lived along the Guadalupe River for more than 25 years.
A week ago, he lived in his mobile home at the Blue Oak RV Park with his two young daughters and dog. Now, there is a huge puddle where his home once stood – his RV swept away in the floods.
"We were one of the few parks that got almost everybody out," Mr Brown told the BBC, as he described the efforts of his landlord and emergency workers, who evacuated almost all of the park's residents.
Looking out over the empty land where his home once stood – now just debris – he said he hopes to move back in as soon as he can.
President Donald Trump will travel to the flood-ravaged areas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday.
In neighbouring New Mexico, officials from the National Weather Service (NWS) declared a flash flood emergency on Tuesday and told residents of Ruidoso to be on high alert for flooding.
A flood wave on the Rio Ruidoso went on to reach a height of 15ft, the NWS said. Houses were swept down the river, and a man and two children were killed.
Officials there have been working with boats to rescue people who got trapped. A number of locals were unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening.
- BBC News
Ukraine suffers heaviest attack as Trump criticises Putin
President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has been hit by the biggest ever aerial attack from Russia, after 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles struck cities around the country in multiple waves.
Zelensky condemned the "telling attack", adding: "It comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all."
The overnight strike came after President Donald Trump said the US would send more weapons to Kyiv - a reversal of last week's suspension which US media said Trump had not known about.
On Tuesday, the US leader expressed growing frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was "pretty calm about this. Trump's way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses."
The two leaders have been in regular contact but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine - something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day.
Last week, following a phone call with the Russian president, Trump said he was "very unhappy".
"He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it's no good," Trump said of Putin.
The criticism came even as the Trump administration announced a suspension of military aid to Ukraine, reportedly authorised by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy.
Asked by reporters on Tuesday who had taken the decision, Trump - sitting right next to Hegseth - replied: "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"
The reversal of the decision may now mean that 10 Patriot missiles may be sent to Ukraine, according to US outlet Axios.
Kyiv relies on the interceptors to try to counter Russia's missile and drone attacks, which continue to grow in intensity and frequency.
On Tuesday Trump also said he was "looking at" a sanctions bill by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham that would see 500% tariffs imposed on countries that trade with Russia.
Trump has been threatening sanctions on Russia since taking office in January but has so far failed to impose any. In June, he stated that he pointed out sanctions "cost a lot of money" and signalled he was waiting to see whether a deal between Russia and Ukraine would be signed instead.
However, last week the US president said he and Putin had discussed sanctions "a lot" and added: "He understands it may be coming."
Although the east of the country and Kyiv come under fire on a regular basis, no corner of Ukraine has been spared by Russian strikes.
The city of Lutsk - which lies 90km (56 miles) from the Polish border and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid - suffered the brunt of Tuesday's overnight attack.
Explosions were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.
For their part, Russian authorities have said that a Ukrainian drone attack on the border region of Kursk killed three people and injured seven others on Tuesday.
Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled - and neither Moscow nor Kyiv appear optimistic that diplomacy will solve the conflict, which was sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia's summer offensive in eastern Ukraine grinds on.
"We are moving forward," said Peskov on Wednesday. "Each new day the Ukrainians have to accept the new realities."
- BBC