Turks and Caicos Islands Government Launches Innovative Terminal Benefits Registration Portal
Since its successful launch in August 2023, the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Employee Terminal Benefits Program has been providing crucial support to all post-1992 employees. Additionally, the Pre-1992 TCIG Employees Gratuity Program has been reinstated to benefit our longest-serving public servants. Today, the Office of the Deputy Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands wishes to remind employees about the invaluable TCIG Terminal Benefits Registration Portal.
Three Separate Terminal Benefit Programs
It's essential to note that the Turks and Caicos Islands Government currently operates three distinct terminal benefit programs:
Pre-1992 Program: Public Servants confirmed before April 6, 1992
Post-1992 Program: Public Servants confirmed after April 6, 1992
Contract Employees: Public Servants with contracted lengths of employment and receive gratuities.
All employees, regardless of their category, are required to register on the TCIG Benefits Portal. Deductions currently being made from your salary contribute towards your individual terminal benefit entitlements under these three separate programs.
Two-Phase Launch
The portal's initial phase, which is now fully operational, focuses on simplifying registration, making it more convenient for public servants to enroll. The second phase, to be introduced in the future, will enhance the system's capabilities by facilitating benefit calculation and tracking data, providing comprehensive support for all participants.
Deputy Governor and Head of the Public Service, Her Excellency Anya Williams, reaffirmed the program's significance, stating:
"The Turks and Caicos Islands Pension Fund was launched with an initial investment of $7.8 million fully funded by the Government, and it has continued to thrive. As of September 2023, the TCIG Pension Fund holds approximately $16.2 million in its accounts, bolstered by employee and employer contributions, also fully funded by the government.
The introduction of this program has been enthusiastically embraced by the public service, especially for addressing the absence of a terminal benefits program for employees hired post-1992. In the 2022/2023 financial year, the fund distributed payouts to twenty-four Post-1992 public servants, including retirees and those who left the service for various reasons.
My office will continue to work diligently on the fund's private administration and investment management, with the goal of completing these processes before December 2023. An announcement regarding the successful bidder will be made in due course. In the meantime, we encourage all public servants to register their personal information and beneficiary details on the portal. This will expedite the processing and disbursement of benefits upon retirement or departure from public service."
How to Register
All serving Employees of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government are urged to register their personal and beneficiary data on the TCIG Benefits Portal to confirm their participation. To initiate the registration process, please visit https://tcigpension.gov.tc.
To access the portal, you will need the following details:
Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)
Your Employee ID (found on your monthly payslip)
Your TCIG email address
Upon submission, you will receive a verification code via your TCIG email address to grant access to the portal.
To complete the registration, have the following information ready:
Your employment start date
Two copies of identification (passport, status card, driver's license)
Beneficiary details, including name, birth date, address, telephone number, and email address
Once your registration is successfully completed online, you will receive an email confirmation of your registration details and beneficiary data for your records.
Statutory bodies will receive guidance on their registration process.
Should you encounter any issues during the registration process, please email tcipension@gov.tc for assistance.
CDB releases new publication to help member states
The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Monday said it is further assisting its borrowing member countries (BMC) strengthen and reform their regulatory frameworks to better facilitate private investments in renewable energy.
The region’s premier financial institution said that it has released a new publication titled ”The Minimum Regulatory Function for the Electricity Sector in Caribbean Countries”, which is the first in a series to be provided under its Accelerated Sustainable Energy and Resilience Transition 2030 (ASERT-2030) Framework.
The framework is a key strategy of the CDB’s Energy Sector Policy and Strategy, aimed at encouraging and supporting BMCs to pursue, expedite and scale-up investments in renewable energy.
Coordinator of the CDB’s Sustainable Energy Unit, Joseph Williams, said the series will add to the existing body of knowledge that addresses challenges associated with implementing sustainable energy activities and strengthen the Bank’s leadership role in the sector.
“This publication demonstrates the Bank’s commitment to sustainable energy and is a very important milestone, as it was a key recommendation emerging from the very robust regional regulatory ASERT-2030 Dialogue held earlier this year among stakeholders, including BMCs, regulators, utilities, and regional and international partners. It is therefore reflective of meaningful engagement and strong consensus,” he said.
The MRF includes key elements that should provide clarity, certainty, and transparency to potential private renewable energy investors. It will be used as a benchmark for identifying existing gaps within the regulatory frameworks of BMCs and defining the reforms and capacity-strengthening needs that CDB and other financiers will support.
“While CDB is providing initial leadership for this intervention, the intention is for other relevant regional agencies to provide management and coordination of subsequent reform and capacity-strengthening work to complement other interventions within the sector,” the CDB said.
It said the MRF aims to position Caribbean countries to tackle the persistent problem of inadequacy within the electricity sector enabling framework, spur improvement, significantly de-risking the sector and help unlock lower-cost private investments in renewable energy to help BMCs meet their energy security objectives, climate change targets and build resilience in the region.
Source-CMC
MONTSERRAT VOLCANO MVO says no increase in volcanic activity
The Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) Monday sought to reassure citizens that the strong smell of “sulfur” in the air, does not signify any change or increase in volcanic activity at the Soufrière Hills volcano.
The Soufrière Hills are an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit.
The Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since. Its eruptions have rendered more than half of Montserrat uninhabitable, destroying the capital city, Plymouth, and causing widespread evacuations
In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the MVO said that it is aware that people here “have noticed a strong smell of ‘sulfur’ in the air.
“The odor is a result of the current unusual wind direction, which is blowing volcanic gases to the north. It’s essential to understand that volcanic gases are constantly released, and we only notice the smell when the wind carries them in our direction,” the MVO said, adding “This occurrence does not signify any change or increase in volcanic activity”.
Source-CMC
TCI 3 Day Forecast
GENERAL SITUATION: A FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN THE VICINITY OF THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS CAN GENERATE SPOTTY SHOWER ACTIVITY TODAY.
SPECIAL WARNINGS: MARINE CONDITIONS WILL BECOME VERY HAZARDOUS BEGINNING TUESDAY AND LASTING THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. BEACHGOERS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO REFRAIN FROM ENTERING THE SEAWATER AND SMALL CRAFT SHOULD REMAIN IN PORT DUE TO IMPENDING LIFE-THREATENING MARINE CONDITIONS.
ALL AREAS
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS TODAY. CHANCE OF RAIN IS 20%. PARTLY CLOUDY WITH CHANCE OF SHOWERS TONIGHT. CHANCE OF RAIN IS 50%.
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT CAUTION
WINDS: NORTH TO NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS, INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS TONIGHT
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET
DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE 88°F 31°C HEAT INDEX 100°F 38°C
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURE 81°F 27°C
SUNSET: 6:18 PM
NEXT HIGH TIDE: 3:22 PM (2.6 FT)
NEXT LOW TIDE: 9:55 PM (1.0 FT)
EXTENDED FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS: THE STATIONARY FRONT IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN IN PLACE THIS WEEK. AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY INTERACTS WITH HURRICANE TAMMY, THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL INCREASE BETWEEN IT AND THE HIGH-PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE UNITED STATES. THIS WILL LEAD TO STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS AND ROUGH SEAS IMPACTING THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS STARTING TONIGHT AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE WEEK.
FORECAST FOR TUESDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY WITH CHANCE OF SHOWERS. CHANCE OF RAIN IS 40%. PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AT NIGHT. CHANCE OF RAIN IS 20%.
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT CAUTION
WINDS: NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET, BUILDING UP TO 8 FEET IN THE EVENING
SUNRISE: 6:48 AM
SUNSET: 6:17 PM
HIGH TIDE: 3:40 AM (2.3 FT) 4:22 PM (2.6 FT)
LOW TIDE: 9:50 AM (0.7 FT) 10:50 PM (0.7 FT)
FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS POSSIBLE BECOMING MOSTLY FAIR WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS POSSIBLE AT NIGHT.
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT SHOULD REMAIN IN PORT
WINDS: NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS
SEAS: 6 TO 9 FEET IN NORTHEAST SWELL
SUNRISE: 6:48 AM
SUNSET: 6:16 PM
HIGH TIDE: 4:47 AM (2.3 FT) 5:18 PM (2.6 FT)
LOW TIDE: 11:00 AM (0.7 FT) 11:41 PM (0.7 FT)
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK:
HURRICANE TAMMY IS LOCATED A FEW HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 80 MILES PER HOUR WITH HIGHER GUSTS. TAMMY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH NEAR 7 MILES PER HOUR. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST OR NORTHEAST IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATER TODAY AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY.
1. SOUTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA: A LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA COULD FORM INTO A SHORT-LIVED TROPICAL DEPRESSION BEFORE THE SYSTEM MOVES INLAND OVER NICARAGUA BY EARLY TUESDAY.
CHANCE OF FORMATION THROUGH 7 DAYS...MEDIUM...60 PERCENT.
Tyler Perry signs multiyear deal with Netflix
One of the biggest names in Hollywood has officially joined forces with one of the biggest names in streaming. Tyler Perry has signed a first-look deal with Netflix.
The partnership is described as a multiyear agreement that would have the writer, producer, director and entertainment mogul behind the Madea movies creating content for the platform.
Perry was already in business with Netflix: His Tyler Perry Studios is backing 2024's based-on-real-life WWII ensemble drama Six Triple Eight, with Kerry Washington leading an all-star cast. He also has lined up the legal drama Mea Culpa starring Kelly Rowland with the streamer.
Tyler released 2020's A Fall from Grace, and 2022's A Jazzman’s Blues and A Madea Homecoming via Netflix.
Incidentally, the documentary about his life, Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story, is bound for another streaming service, Prime Video, on November 17.
Source- ABC
Trump now claims Sidney Powell never represented him, and more campaign trail takeaways
Former President Donald Trump looked to create some separation between him and a lawyer he had said worked for him -- amid his legal trouble in Georgia, as he continues to deny all wrongdoing.
After Sidney Powell, an attorney who vocally backed Trump's baseless election fraud conspiracies, last week pleaded guilty in the Fulton County, Georgia, election subversion case, Trump took to social media claiming that she was never his lawyer and went on to repeat false claims about the 2020 race.
"Despite the Fake News reports to the contrary, and without even reaching out to ask the Trump Campaign, MS. POWELL WAS NOT MY ATTORNEY, AND NEVER WAS," Trump posted on social media.
That post flies in the face of a November 2020 announcement from Trump in which he named Powell as an addition to his legal team, however. He tweeted on Nov. 14, 2020, that Powell was "added to our other wonderful lawyers and representatives."
Powell has admitted to six misdemeanor charges in the Georgia case over efforts to overturn Trump's loss there. As part of the agreement, Powell must "testify truthfully about any co-defendants" involved in the case, according to the judge. Trump, a co-defendant, has pleaded not guilty to his own charges.
Source- ABC
Israel preps ground offensive, as first truckloads of aid reach Gaza
As Israel prepares for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, tensions are rising along its northern border and in the contested West Bank. Israel has ordered the evacuation of 14 additional communities near the Lebanese border as the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah intensifies its attacks.
Aid workers and officials fear that Israel’s call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.
Another small convoy of humanitarian aid trucks crossed into Gaza from Egypt Sunday, after twenty trucks carrying medicine and food were allowed to enter on Saturday. But aid workers say it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed to address the approximately two million Palestinians fleeing their homes. In particular, they say, fuel is needed to power generators for hospitals and water desalinization plants.
Source-ABC
J. Cole's Dreamville Festival announces 2024 dates
J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival will be back next year.
The event is set to return to Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 6 and 7. Fans can head over to Dreamvillefest.com to sign up for a presale password.
“Dreamville Fest 2023 was a major cultural moment for the spring festival season,” Dreamville Festival President Adam Roy said in a statement. “We had amazing performances from some of the biggest artists of my generation, and we plan to bring that same energy in 2024! Lineup coming soon.”
According to Billboard, the lineup for the fest will be announced early next year. This year’s headliners were Usher, Burna Boy, J. Cole and Drake.
Last week, J. Cole achieved his first Billboard Hot 100 for his new Drake collab, “First Person Shooter.”
Instagram sorry for adding 'terrorist' to some Palestinian user bios
Meta has apologized for adding "terrorist" to the biographies of some Instagram users describing themselves as Palestinian.
Meta said it fixed a problem "that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations" in some of its products.
"We sincerely apologize that this happened," it told the BBC.
The platform has also faced accusations of suppressing content voicing support for Palestinians during the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Some users say they have been "shadow-banned" on Instagram over pro-Palestinian posts. This is when a platform intervenes to make sure posts do not appear in other people's feeds.
The users claim 24-hour posts on Stories referencing the conflict have had fewer views than others and that their accounts cannot be found as easily in search.
The tech giant acknowledged a bug had affected Stories but said it had nothing to do with the subject matter.
This followed posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and TikTok by Instagram user @khanman1996 on Sunday which drew attention to the translation error and documented it happening in a screen recording.
He had written in his bio that he was Palestinian, followed by a Palestinian flag and the word "alhamdulillah" in Arabic - which translates to "praise be to God" in English.
However, upon clicking "see translation", viewers were given an English translation reading: "Praise be to God, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom".
@khanman1996 said in his posts he was not Palestinian himself but had tested the error out after being told about it by an unnamed Palestinian friend.
He said in a video posted after Instagram fixed the issue that the glitch had been up for at least three hours, adding that "to me personally, the fact that it was up at all was insane".
Shadow banning is when online services limit the reach or visibility of an account or its content to other users, usually if it falls foul of their guidelines.
Instagram released a transparency tool in late 2022 that lets users see whether any restrictions have been placed on their accounts that might prevent their posts from being recommended to other users.
Source-BBC
Bryan Abreu can serve ban in '24, pitch in Game 7
Bryan Abreu's two-game suspension was upheld by an independent arbitrator but will be delayed until the start of the 2024 season, making the Houston Astros' primary setup reliever available for Game 7 of the AL Championship Series on Monday night.
Abreu was suspended in the wake of a benches-clearing incident in the eighth inning of Game 5 on Friday when he threw a first-pitch fastball at the left arm of Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia.
Garcia, who two innings earlier had boisterously celebrated a go-ahead home run, immediately turned to Astros catcher Martin Maldonado, seemingly believing that he had called for the pitch inside, then went after him again after players from both sides had spilled onto the field during a 12-minute delay before play resumed.
MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill on Saturday wrote that Abreu was punished for "intentionally throwing at" Garcia, adding that all six umpires had determined the pitch was intentional in ejecting him. MLB wrote that it "took into account the dangerous nature of the pitch and its potential impact on player safety."
Abreu, along with several other members of the Astros, denied he hit Garcia on purpose. The right-hander appealed the ban prior to Game 6, clearing the way for his availability Sunday night.
Source-ESPN