TCI Community College Appoints New Executives
The TCI Community College (TCICC) takes a bold step towards academic excellence, student success, and operational innovation with the introduction of its new Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and the "Charting the Future" initiative, accompanied by the hiring of two new Vice Presidents.
This announcement was made at a press conference held on Tuesday, 30th January 2024.
Underlining the significance of this development is the recent amendment to the college ordinance, reflecting a commitment to a more strategic and forward-looking approach for the institution.
This initiative positions TCICC as a pioneer in shaping the educational landscape in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Newly Hired Vice Presidents:
• Dr. Delores Stapleton Harris: Vice President - Academic, Vocational, and Student Affairs
• Dr. Shaun McKay: Vice President - Administration and Operations
Dr. Stapleton-Harris, based at the Provo West Campus, brings invaluable expertise in academic and student affairs, contributing to the mission of becoming the first choice for education and training in the region. Dr. Shaun McKay, stationed at the Grand Turk Campus, will play a pivotal role in optimizing administrative and operational functions.
Dr. Williams outlined that, “Achieving our vision to become the first choice hinges on our ability to fulfil our mission of providing world-class education and training through innovation and community engagement, utilising qualified professionals focused on human capital development. Our commitment to qualified professionals underscores our dedication to hiring and retaining experienced and skilled educators and staff, ensuring the delivery of a high standard of education and training.” End quote
The combined efforts of the Executive Leadership Team, the amended ordinance, mark a significant stride towards a future characterized by academic excellence, innovation, and active community engagement.
Ministry of Education hosted a series of stakeholder consultations
The Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, and Social Services hosted a series of stakeholder consultations and engagements sessions on Providenciales and Grand Turk on 22nd-25th January 2024.
The multifaceted author, global youth & family specialist, youth intervention consultant, mentor, and motivational speaker Dr. David Borrows, and a delegation from the Bahamas facilitated the sessions.
This multisector intervention against youth violence in the Turks & Caicos Islands is an intentional and strategic plan of action and was organized and implemented by an assembled working Group that consisted of critical public and private sector stakeholders inclusive of the Ministries of Education, Tourism, Home Affairs & Public Safety, Health & Human Services, National Security Secretariat, TCI Christian Council, the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force and Turks & Caicos Islands Hotel & Tourism Association.
The “Reaching the Streets” Programme – Lessons in Reaching & Impacting Troubled Youth from the Streets and Gangs, was designed by Dr. David Borrows, with contributions from Dr. Carlos Reid and Dr. Eric Fox. These reformed men and spiritual leaders have dedicated much of their lives to accessing, engaging, and mentoring troubled youth. This programme equips experts and everyday individuals to intervene effectively in the lives of our youth, potentially rescuing many more than would have been saved otherwise.
To effectively launch this grand and critical initiative, an opening ceremony was held on January 22nd, 2024, at the Paradise Baptist Church in Five Cays.
Immediately following the opening ceremony, phase one of this multisector youth intervention strategy was activated and brought together key stakeholders from the private and public sectors, inclusive of vital governmental agencies, law enforcement, judiciary, social and community action groups, parents, churches, business owners and concerned citizens to discuss the issue of gang and gun violence. An opportunity was provided for stakeholders to provide the facilitators with insights on their outreach efforts, as well as gain valuable insights from Dr. Borrows and his team.
On January 25th, 2024, the same sessions and efforts were duplicated on Grand Turk at the Bible Baptist Church.
Community outreach and engagement visits were facilitated and allowed the visiting consultants an opportunity to tour vulnerable communities on Providenciales and Grand Turk to witness and interact firsthand with youth and community members in their environment.
Phase two of this multi-sector intervention will bring to fruition a massive and comprehensive Training & Development for all mentioned stakeholders that will provide persons with proven intervention and prevention strategies, improved knowledge and skills to understand the complex needs of youth better, employ trauma-informed approaches, and effectively communicate and engage with this population.
Teachers begin nationwide strike in Guyana
The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Ministry of Education Monday differed sharply as to the response of teachers for them to participate in a general strike to press demands for increased salaries.
The GTU said that teachers from across the country heeded the call from the union, with GTU secretary general Coretta Mc Donald, saying “teachers are out today.
“They have downed tools. The majority of teachers have downed tools and that is an indication that this strike is not political; it is because teachers needs are not being met,” she added.
“We submitted a proposal since 2020 and this is 2024. But what we’ve recognised they’ve been doing over the years is that they’ve been pulling from the conditions we’ve been asking for, tweaking them and my good friend (the Chief Education Officer) Saddam Hussain is putting out all kinds of things suggesting that the GTU is asking for 41 things and they’ve already been satisfied 21 or 27 things, something like that,” McDonald told reporters.
But, Hussein said while an assessment of the strike impact was ongoing “from what I am seeing in front of the Ministry of Education and in Region Three, I am not seeing much of an impact.
“I am very happy that the teachers have made the right decision,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Education, through its network of education officers, would be collecting data from the ground.
Hussein said teachers were appreciative of the efforts that government has been making to improve their conditions and “they are going to make the right decision.
“In fact, I called a number of schools in Berbice where they had a hundred per cent turnout,” he said, noting that there was a “low turnout” at schools that are headed or managed by GTU members.
Hussain said there are 13,652 teachers in Guyana but GTU’s membership is less than 4,500.
But as they staged their protest, the teachers chanted and held placards that read, among other slogans, “Don’t expect excellence if you’re penny pinching”, “You expect excellence and leaving us penniless”, “Guyana shines at CXC, teachers pay like junkie”, Less pay, less work. Teachers ain’t no jerk”.
The teachers are also upset that for several years, their annual uniform allowances of GUY$8,000 (One GUY=US$0.004 cents) has stagnated while the annual allowance per child now stands at GUY$45,000.
“That cannot do anything. That cannot even buy shoes unless you go to a Chinese (store) and by the ti, an opposition legislator, dismissed government’s repeated claims that the industrial action was politically motivated.
“Teachers have needs. Teachers’ issues are not being met,” she said, questioning why strikes called by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-aligned Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) were not deemed political.
Last year, the government ignored repeated calls for collective bargaining and instead engaged a cross-section of teachers to hear their grievances and requests.
Senior Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh in a statement last December announced an across the board salary increase of 6.5 per cent that will benefit over 54,000 public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services and government pensioners and will place an additional GUY$7.5 billion in disposable income annually in the hands of these employees.
Chief Labour Officer, Dhaneshwar Deonarine, said the grievance procedure has not been exhausted, and that he had declined the union’s request tfor the matter to go to arbitration as there was an attempt to breach the grievance procedure.
But GTU president, Dr Mark Lyte, accused the Chief Labour Officer of violating the grievance procedure by failing to call a conciliation meeting.
“When the job of the Chief Labour Officer was to bring the two sides at the table and then he can decipher whether there was any need for that.”
Lyte said the union would not negotiate for fraction of the teaching population, and the government has an obligation to meet with the bargaining agent regardless of its perceived political affiliation.
Source-CMC
St. Lucia launches youth economy agency
The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Tuesday launched the St. Lucia Youth Economy Agency (YEA), marking a transformative leap towards youth empowerment and economic advancement.
The project was launched in collaboration with the St. Lucia government and under the agreement, US$7.6 million will be allocated to the initiative that the bank said is poised to make a lasting impact on the lives of more than 3000 young individuals.
The YEA, approved in July last year, is designed to provide business training or financing for aspiring young entrepreneurs, aged 15 to 35.
“As a pivotal element in promoting social inclusivity and gender responsiveness, the project is set to engage 600 young people in intensive business development, planning, marketing, and management training. Additionally, 120 youths will receive personalised business mentoring, coaching, and financial support,” the CDB said.
It said beyond individual capacity-building, the project aims to support over 3,000 young individuals, aged 18 to 25, in various enterprise activities encompassing agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, retail, and the services industries, spanning the blue, green, and orange economies.
“The timely project will drive youth economic empowerment and contribute to investment and capacity development in youth-led enterprises with the ultimate goal of mitigating youth unemployment and enhancing social resilience.
“The project’s commitment to social inclusivity and gender equality, will ensure that services, investments, and operations cater to the diverse needs of men, women, boys, and girls,” the CDB said.
“We absolutely see the value in this as a viable development solution. This is a solemn obligation to the generations that are here that will assure that our young people will continue to thrive,” said CDB Division Chief, Dr Martin Baptiste.
He said the YEA is “truly transformational,” adding “this project is here because the future is now”.
The chief executive officer of the Youth Economy Agency, Bryan Vidal,said the YEA is anticipating significant personal growth among its clientele.
“In providing resources to the agency, the bank has endorsed the vision of Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, further enabling our expanded cadre of officers to do even more to grow the youth entrepreneur ecosystem. With their assistance, we are now better poised to water the roots, and to place our clients in positions where they can bloom,” said Vidal, adding that the YEA is pleased with the response to the project.
“The YEA was created to support St. Lucia’s young entrepreneurs through interventions including funding and training, to plant the seeds for the next generation of business leaders. From inception, we have been overwhelmed by the volume of interest from eligible persons, clearly indicative of the need for such an organisation. We are delighted that the CDB has also recognised the agency as fit for purpose,” Vidal said.
The CDB said that the launch reinforces the strengthened partnership between bank and St. Lucia since January 2023, with initiatives and agreements exceeding US$63 million in loan and grant funding, including co-financing commitments from the Government and donor partners including the InterAmerican Development and the European Investment Bank.
Sourcve-CMC
Robert Downey Jr. to receive Modern Master Award
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced Monday that the Oscar-nominated Oppenheimer star Robert Downey Jr. will be presented with the highest honor — the Maltin Modern Master Award — later this week.
Leonard Maltin, the film scholar for which the award was renamed in 2015, will moderate a panel with the star after the presentation on Friday, February 9, at the Arlington Theatre.
For his part, Maltin commented, "Robert Downey Jr. has staged one of the most spectacular second acts in show business history ... and we in the audience are the beneficiaries. He commands the screen without any visible effort, which is perhaps the greatest feat of all."
Previous Maltin Master Award winner — and Oppenheimer's Oscar-nominated director Christopher Nolan — expressed, "It's thrilling to see audiences responding not just to Robert Downey Jr.'s incredible charisma, but to a performance which, stripped of any movie star trappings, shows once again that he is one of the greatest actors."
Source-ABC
Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have killed dozens of people, including two children ages 12 and 2, while the Israeli army said Monday its ground forces were fighting Hamas militants who remain in northern and central Gaza.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said 113 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours alone, raising the known Palestinian death toll to 27,478 people after nearly four months of war. A quarter of Gaza’s residents are now starving and 85% of the population has been driven from their homes, with hundreds of thousands crammed in makeshift tent camps.
Source-ABC
King Charles III, 75, has cancer, Buckingham Palace announced on Monday.
"During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted," Buckingham Palace said in a statement. "Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer."
On Monday, Charles started "a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties," the palace said. "During this time he'll "continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual."
The type of cancer or treatment was not specified.
"The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure," the palace continued. "He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible."
The statement added, "His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer."
One week ago, on Jan. 29, Charles was discharged from The London Clinic after undergoing a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate, according to Buckingham Palace. Charles was expected to resume public engagements after a "short period of recuperation," the palace said at the time.
The palace first shared the news of Charles' medical condition on January 17, announcing that he would be hospitalized for a "corrective procedure." At the time, the king's condition was said to be benign, meaning non-cancerous.
Source-ABC
Kylian Mbappe set to join Real Madrid
French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé will be on the move this summer, as he’s reportedly agreed to join Real Madrid once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ends at the end of the season, according to multiple reports, including Le Parisien and ESPN, citing unnamed sources.
Mbappé has been linked to a possible move to the Spanish giants over the last couple of years, but nothing ever unfolded as he remained in Paris.
According to ESPN, Mbappé has not informed PSG or Real Madrid of his decision but is expected to make an announcement next week.
Last year, the 25-year-old said he would not renew his contract at PSG, which expires at the end of the 2023-24 season when he could leave Paris for free. He is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club.
Source_ESPN
Facebook and Instagram to label fake AI images
Meta says it will introduce technology that can detect and label images generated by other companies' artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
It will be deployed on its platforms Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
Meta already labels AI images generated by its own systems. It says it hopes the new tech, which it is still building, will create "momentum" for the industry to tackle AI fakery.
But an AI expert told the BBC such tools are "easily evadable".
In a blog written by senior executive Sir Nick Clegg, Meta says it intends to expand its labelling of AI fakes "in the coming months".
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, he conceded the technology was "not yet fully mature" but said the company wanted to "create a sense of momentum and incentive for the rest of the industry to follow".
But Prof Soheil Feizi, director of the Reliable AI Lab at the University of Maryland, suggested such a system could be easy to get around.
"They may be able to train their detector to be able to flag some images specifically generated by some specific models," he told the BBC.
"But those detectors can be easily evaded by some lightweight processing on top of the images, and they also can have a high rate of false positives.
"So I don't think that it's possible for a broad range of applications."
Meta has acknowledged its tool will not work for audio and video - despite these being the media that much of the concern about AI fakes is focused on.
The firm says it is instead asking users to label their own audio and video posts, and it "may apply penalties if they fail to do so".
Sir Nick Clegg also admitted it would be impossible to test for text that has been generated by tools such as ChatGPT.
"That ship has sailed," he told Reuters.
On Monday, Meta's Oversight Board criticised the company for its policy on manipulated media, calling it "incoherent, lacking in persuasive justification and inappropriately focused on how content has been created".
The Oversight Board is funded by Meta but independent of the company.
The criticism was in response to a ruling on a video of US President Joe Biden. The video in question edited existing footage of the president with his granddaughter to make it appear as though he was touching her inappropriately.
Because it was not manipulated using artificial intelligence, and depicted Mr Biden behaving in a way he did not, rather than saying something he did not, it did not violate Meta's manipulated media policy - and was not removed.
The Board agreed that the video did not break Meta's current rules on fake media, but said that the rules should be updated.
Sir Nick told Reuters that he broadly agreed with the ruling.
He admitted that Meta's existing policy "is just simply not fit for purpose in an environment where you're going to have way more synthetic content and hybrid content than before."
Source-BBC
From January, the company has had a policy in place which says political adverts have to signal when they are using digitally altered images or video.
Tesla owners told not to wear Apple virtual reality headsets while driving
Tesla owners have been reminded to keep their eyes on the road after videos of drivers wearing Apple's virtual reality headset have gone viral.
US Secretary for Transport Pete Buttigieg posted on X (formerly Twitter) to say that all current vehicles require the driver to be engaged "at all times".
However, one driver admitted his video was a prank.
Tesla and Apple have been contacted for comment.
Videos posted online show people in the drivers seats of cars which have an autonomous mode, while wearing the Apple headset over their eyes.
One was reposted by Pete Buttigieg, who wrote: "Reminder - ALL advanced driver assistance systems available today require the human driver to be in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times."
Another video, posted on the day the Apple Vision Pro became publicly available, showed a man appearing to get pulled over by the police while wearing the headset in a Tesla.
However, Gizmodo reports that he said it was a "skit" he made with friends, reporting that he "drove with the headset for 30-40 seconds".
Apple's user guide warns against using its headset while driving, while Tesla says drivers should always "maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle," even when it is in autonomous mode.
The Apple Vision Pro headset went on sale in the US on 2 February with a $3,499 (£2,749) price tag. There is no release date for it in the UK.
While users can see through the glass in some modes, it would still severely restrict vision while driving.
The company has tried to stay clear of calling it virtual reality or any other similar name, instead referring to it as "spatial computing".
"Don't describe your app experience as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), or mixed reality (MR)," it said in a blog post targeting developers.
Videos have been posted online of people wearing the headset on the New York subway and at the gym.
Source-BBC