Camilla Lightbourne appointed as Executive Assistant to Experience TCI
Experience Turks and Caicos is continuing to build its team. The organization is pleased to welcome Camilla Lightbourne, a native of South Caicos, to the post of Executive Assistant to the CEO effective February 06th, 2024.
Lightbourne is currently pursuing further education while working full-time, and being a mother to 2 young ladies.
Lightbourne previously worked as an Import Logistics Associate at Graceway Trading Ltd. and a Business Account Executive at Digicel Televommunications.
In welcoming Lightbourne to the team, Racquel Brown, Change Manager and Interim CEO of Experience Turks and Caicos said quote "Ms. Lightbourne’s appointment underscores the growth of the organisation. Experience Turks and Caicos is growing as we fill out key positions and responsibilities in the organization. As such, it has become necessary to bolster the CEO’s office by adding an Executive Assistant to work with the CEO on the effective administration of the day-to-day tasks." End quote
Lightbourne said she is pleased to be part of the Experience Turks and Caicos team, looking forward to making her mark in the future development of our country’s tourism product.
Congratulations Camilla, we wish you all the best in your new role!
Christopher Eyre is the Acting Commissioner Of Police in the TCI
Mr Christopher Eyre on Monday February 12th 2024,took the Oath of Affirmation of Office as the acting Commissioner of Police of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF).
The Oath was administered by Her Excellency the Governor Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam at Police Headquarters, Airport Road, Providenciales, and witnessed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police Rodney Adams, Assistant Commissioners of Police Kendall Grant, Darron Williams and Mat Newton.
Superintendents of Police Dwight Gardiner and Willet Harvey were also present.
Following the brief ceremony, acting Commissioner Eyre met with the officers of Division B at the Ethel Ingham Centre.
Acting Commissioner Eyre expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to lead the Force temporarily and vowed to work tirelessly to ensure the well-being and safety of all within the TCI.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead and serve”.
“I look forward to collaborating with the Force Executive and community stakeholders to address emerging challenges and uphold the principles of justice. I am deeply committed to serving our community with integrity, transparency, accountability and dedication while upholding the rule of law and fostering trust between law enforcement and the community.
Mr Eyre has 37 years of experience as a police officer, including 18 years as Assistant Chief Constable Rank and above. His final role in UK policing was as Chief Constable (Commissioner equivalent) of Nottinghamshire Police.
During his career, Mr Eyre led the operational response to terrorist attacks, riots, major demonstrations, international criminal investigations and sensitive covert operations. In his last post, Mr Eyre led the British Overseas Territory Police Force in the Sovereign Base Area of Cyprus.
DECR Valentine’s Vendors’ Market
The Department of Environment & Coastal Resources (DECR) is excited to invite the community of Providenciales to the Bight Culture Market’s ‘Valentine’s Vendors’ Market’! Show our local vendors some love on February 14th between 10am and 3pm, and enjoy good music, great shopping and a special unveiling of custom artwork by The Island Kyd, Mr. Durando Pinder.
This is a wonderful opportunity to share in the cultural heritage of the Turks and Caicos Islands, while supporting small business and we hope to see you there.
Blue Hills Community Clinic will be closed on February 13
The general public is hereby advised that the Blue Hills Community Clinic will be closed on February 13th, 2024, for the reminder of the week due to unforeseen circumstances. The government operated clinic at the Cheshire Hall Medical Center will be operational during the following times:
February 13th, 2024, from 9:00 am until 3:30 pm
February 14th to 16th, 2024 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
The extended hours clinic at the hospital will remain operational Monday to Friday, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
The Blue Hills clinic will resume regular services on February 19th, 2024, at 8:30 am.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by this closure.
UK chip designer Arm sees shares almost double
UK chip designer Arm Holdings has seen its stock market value almost double in less than a week as investors bet on the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
The Cambridge-based company reported financial results last Wednesday that showed demand for AI-related technology is boosting its sales.
Chips designed by Arm already power almost every smartphone in the world.
The firm was taken private by Japan's SoftBank in 2016 and it returned to the stock market last September.
Arm's shares have soared since its earnings announcement last week and are now up by more than 98%.
It comes as chipmaker Nvidia has seen its shares more than triple in value in the last year on soaring demand for its AI chips.
The AI boom has helped Nvidia become one of the most valuable publicly-traded companies in the world, with a stock market valuation of around $1.8 trillion (£1.4 trillion).
It has also made it the fifth publicly traded US company to join the so-called "Trillion-dollar club", along with technology giants Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon.
Arm's technology is not directly used for AI work, but chip makers like Nvidia are choosing it for central processing units (CPUs) that complement their AI-specific chips.
Aside from Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Arm's customers also include well-known consumer brands like Apple.
Demand for Arm-designed chips is also growing in the car making industry thanks to the development of self-driving technology.
Arm was founded in 1990 by a group chip designers in the university city of Cambridge.
It was bought by SoftBank in 2016 for $32bn. Four years later, the Japanese conglomerate announced that it planned to sell Arm to Nvidia.
However, in April 2022 SoftBank shelved the deal after facing objections from regulators around the world and said it would instead sell shares in Arm on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York.
The jump in Arm's shares is welcome news for SoftBank, as it has been hit by losses due to the falling valuations of some of its investments, including struggling office space firm WeWork.
SoftBank, which still holds a roughly 90% stake in Arm, has seen its own shares gain almost 30% in the past week.
Source-BBC
BAHAMAS PM urges the media to keep crime off the front pages
Prime Minister Philip Davis is urging the local media to keep crime off the front pages amid concerns that the tourist sector, the lifeblood of the chain of islands, could be severely affected.
The US Embassy here has US Embassy has issued a security alert on crime in The Bahamas and the subsequent international reporting has highlighted the situation here.
Davis said that a plan of action is underway, with the government preparing to launch an aggressive campaign to promote and protect the country’s reputation
“You see the advisory that went out the other day, how that has taken legs?. We are now hearing some concerns about the falloff in tourism,” Davis told religious leaders on Monday as he discussed his administration’s plans to deal with the crime situation.
“Right now, the hotels are seeing some fall off, but more importantly, those who are in the hotels today, they’re not coming out into the community. They’re not going to the restaurants, for example. They’re not going sightseeing as they used to,” he said.
Of course, the hotel owners don’t mind because as long as they are staying in the hotels … they’re spending it all there. So here again, we are shooting ourselves in our foot by allowing this to get out of hand.
“What is happening in this country is not only happening here. If you go to Jamaica, they had over 70 murders in less than three and half weeks. Trinidad over 100 …”
The Bahamas has recorded 25 murders so far this year with police saying many of the murders are gang related.
Davis urged the press to understand their role in maintaining the country’s reputation, saying that other countries give less prominence to certain crimes than the local media does.
“I want to call upon the press to be sensitive. I think they should see their role as trying to help the country. I’m not saying not to report, but where you report, it may make a difference.
And all I ask them to do is check, check to see where their crime report is. Check Trinidad, check the United States, just check and see where it is. It’s never on the front page.
“But every bullet that is fired appears to be front page news on all of our daily news. And what happens, AP picks it up, Reuters pick it up and what happens, and it’s continuing,” Prime Minister Davis said.
He said that the long-promised anti-gang legislation will be released next week.
CTO offers regional tourism leaders exclusive training in airline route development
The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) says it will stage a landmark two-day training event focused on airline route development for regional tourism leaders.
It said the February 20-21 event to be held at its headquarters will be conducted in partnership with Airport Strategy & Marketing (ASM).
“By collaborating with ASM, a part of Informa’s Aviation Week Network and a major international authority in global route development, we are bringing together the best in the field to provide an unparalleled learning experience for our tourism leaders,” said CTO Secretary General, Dona Regis-Prosper.
She said that the “Aviation Marketing, Incentives & Negotiation” programme marks a significant milestone in the inter-governmental organization’s efforts to strengthen aerial highways to and from the region.
The CTO said that the event is geared towards high-level tourism professionals including tourism ministers, directors of tourism, chief executive officers and other senior officials, offering an in-depth knowledge and practical skills in key areas such as effective aviation marketing plans, successful incentive strategies, negotiation techniques for new airline routes, and the fundamentals of route development.
It said the training is expected to draw significant attention from industry leaders looking to gain an edge in the world of aviation due to its interactive approach; intimate, focused learning environment; and opportunity for networking and exchanging ideas.
“The collaboration between CTO and ASM, a leader in aviation strategy and marketing and founder of the renowned Routes events, is a strategic move to bolster the Caribbean’s position in the worldwide aviation market.
“As the Caribbean continues to evolve as a key player in the global tourism industry, training and networking events are crucial for staying ahead in an increasingly competitive field,” the Secretary-General said, urging stakeholders “to seize this unique opportunity to elevate their expertise related to airline route development and reshape their aviation strategies”.
The managing director of Strategy and Consulting for Aviation Week Network, David Stroud, said airline negotiations and route support mechanisms have become such an important part of air service development, “and this course will provide delegates with the understanding and the techniques required to come to new agreements with airlines that will help bolster the airlift of the Caribbean”.
The training session precedes Routes Americas 2024, the leading air service development event in the Americas, scheduled to be held in Bogota, Colombia from March 19-21.
“This key industry gathering will bring together senior professionals from airlines, airports and destinations, offering an efficient platform for building high-value relationships with key air service development decision-makers from across the region and beyond,” CTO added.
Source-CMC
Brazil President to attend CARICOM summit in Guyana
Brazil President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is among specially invited guests attending the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit that opens in Guyana on February 25.
Apart from the Brazilian leader, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Dr. Ilan Goldfajn, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem al Hashimy, will attend the three-day summit that will be chaired by Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali.
The regional leaders are expected to discuss a number of issues crucial to the 15-member regional integration grouping, including the ongoing socio-economic situation in Haiti where security remains a high priority highlighted by the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Rival criminal gangs have been seeking to control areas of the capital and a Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, approved by the United Nations Security Council last October to assist the government there restore law and order is yet to be fully deployed in the French-speaking CARICOM country.
The MSS will be led by Kenya and several CARICOM countries have already indicated a willingness to provide support to the team that will coordinate with the Haitian National Police.
In addition to Haiti, the regional leaders will also focus on territorial threats, including the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute, crime and violence, climate change and financing, regional food and nutrition security.
Additionally, the agenda will feature discussions on COP 28 and the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States. The summit will also deliberate on global and hemispheric issues, including developments in the Middle East and emerging situations in Argentina, Ecuador, and Guatemala.
The summit will most likely discuss the region’s position to be adopted at the VIII Summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that takes place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on March 1.
CELAC serves as an intergovernmental platform for dialogue and political consensus, comprising a membership of thirty-two nations across Latin America and the Caribbean. Functioning as a regional forum, CELAC aims to unify all countries in the Latin American and Caribbean regions, aspiring to represent a distinctive voice and establish structured mechanisms for policymaking in politics and cooperation to bolster regional integration initiatives.
Source-CMC
Lil Jon talks Super Bowl halftime show preparation + who's next?
Lil Jon says performing at the Super Bowl 58 halftime show, where he joined headliner Usher along with Ludacris for their 2004 hit "Yeah!," took a lot of work.
"It was quite a process to do," Jon tells XXL of putting the show together. "It was a lot of hard work. It was a lot of figuring out the proper setlists."
The Atlanta native says that they must've gone through "like 180 different versions of the setlists by the time we got to the end."
The final list, which was comprised of some of Usher's top hits, also included Jon's "Turn Down for What." He performed some of the song from a turned-up crowd on the field before joining Usher and Luda onstage.
Now Jon's ready to turn down a bit. He told XXL he'll be releasing a new meditation album called Total Meditation, expected February 16. It's a 10-track project Jon says should help "relieve anxiety, boost focus and find peace."
"I turned 50, started going through a lot of things. Started going through a divorce, I'm separated now, and all the emotions from the divorce and all that process was really getting to me. So, I found I had to start to go within to calm myself," Jon says.
Anybody listening to Usher? A lot of us are, apparently.
Thanks to his Super Bowl 58 halftime show, where Usher played some of his biggest hits and welcomed a few special guests like H.E.R., Alicia Keys and Ludacris, his musical catalog saw a rise in streams.
Immediately following the performance, Spotify logged a near 550% increase in streams of Usher's music.
Here's a look at a few of his past songs, all of which were part of his set list, that were downloaded at a major rate Sunday night:
"Caught Up" +2000%
"U Don't Have to Call" +1,200%
"Love in This Club" ft. Young Jeezy +1,100%
"Bad Girl" +1,050%
"Confessions Part II" +900%
"U Got It Bad" +715%
"My Boo" with Alicia Keys +690%
"Yeah!" ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris +520%
"Superstar" +350%
After Usher's viral, star-studded performance at Super Bowl 58, which CBS reports was the most-watched game in history, bids came in from artists who believe they should be next in line for the big gig.
One of the artists, T-Pain, says a halftime show featuring his many hits is a no-brainer.
"What If?..." reads a Super Bowl graphic, alongside a picture of T-Pain, that was shared to his Instagram Monday.
"I do got the hits," he captioned the post.
He also shared footage of an interview with Shannon Sharpe, who asked him if he'd be willing to take the halftime stage.
"You in?" asked Sharpe, to which T-Pain responded, "Absolutely. Why would I not do that?"
T-Pain's post included a final image of a fan comment on X, formerly Twitter, that reads, "Not gonna lie, I think we need a T-Pain Super Bowl halftime show."
Another hip-hop star hoping for a chance to take the stage is Lil Wayne. And, considering that the NFL has announced New Orleans, Wayne's hometown, as the location for Super Bowl 59, it might just make sense, Wayne thinks.
"I will not lie to you, I have not got a call or nothing," he said in a recent appearance on the 4Hunnid podcast. "But we all praying. We praying. We keeping our fingers crossed. I'm working hard. I'ma make sure this next album and everything I do is killer. I wanna just make it hard for them not to holler at the boy."
Speculation surrounding which hip-hop star will be next to perform at the Super Bowl stems from Jay-Z's involvement with the NFL and the halftime show.
West Indies beat Australia by 37 runs – 3rd T20I
West Indies defeated Australia by 37 runs in the final Twenty20 International of the three-match series at Perth Stadium here Tuesday.
Scores:
WEST INDIES 220 for six off 20 overs (Andre Russell 71, Sherfane Rutherford 67 not out, Roston Chase 37; Xavier Bartlett 2-37)
AUSTRALIA 183 for five off 20 overs (David Warner 81, Tim David 41; Roston Chase 2-19, Romario Shepherd 2-31)