TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDER STATUS APPLICATIONS RESPONSES
The public is hereby advised that formal responses for all Turks and Caicos Islander Status applicants for the years 2016 to 2021 are ready for collection at the Customer Service Center between the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The Customer Service Center is located at the Three Degrees Building, Old Airport Road, Grand Turk, and the Government Industrial Park, Airport Road, Providenciales.
The following persons are invited to visit the Customer Service Center in the respective island:
GRAND TURK
Vishal Kakkanad
PROVIDENCIALES
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Addison Stoddard |
Jaquelin Bernadin |
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Alfred Meme |
Jean Pierre Demontigny |
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Amory Nieves Cheserton |
Jean Wilguens Sagesse |
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Anne Rose Piertil-Tiremar |
Johane Baptist-Louis |
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Arayih Tamara Wildish |
Josiane Elcius |
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Arlene Jennings |
Julian Petrucci |
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Ashley Joy Greenwood |
Louise Amanda Scott |
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Blair Allan Macpherson |
Louissaint Mimose |
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Caesar Hubert Campbell |
Marc Ernest Cherubin |
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Carol Anne Wildish |
Marie Betty Gaston |
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Charlene Escoe Barnett |
Martin Wilkiens |
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Claudimene Claudius Joseph |
Nelia Changa Chiluba Nsanta |
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Daniela Mccleery |
Nicholas Edward Paddison |
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Dena Louis Morley |
Nicola Haynes |
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Djimy Antenor |
Perla Nieves Cheserton |
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Doris Christine Baker |
Peter John Kerrigan |
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Elvin Agyin |
Pierrik Vincent Marziou |
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Emilienne Brutus |
Ruth Marie Dorcely Dorelus |
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Eugene Beaute |
Samuel Mccleery |
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Fay Beckford |
Sarah Jayne Haggie |
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Fitzerald Pierre Louis |
Simon Edward Michael Wood |
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Garry Stephen Hastings |
Sky Horton |
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Glenn Everest Cheserton |
Smith Corielan |
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Gregory Ian Watts |
Terrence Patrick Drummey |
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James Gordon Murphy |
Yngrit Carolina Reynoso Mota |
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Janice Bernadin |
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JAGS McCartney International Airport roof to be mended
Works to repair the roof of the JAGS McCartney International Airport passenger terminal in the Nation’s Capital has commenced. The roof of the terminal was severely damaged during Hurricane Fiona on the 21st of September 2022 which resulted in the temporary relocation of some passenger processing operations to the outside of the building.
The repair works are being carried out by Olympic Construction Ltd and encompass the demolition and restoration of the roof above the domestic and international arrival hall sections of the terminal building, as well as the rehabilitation of the interior of both arrival halls.
The works are intended to be carried out in phases beginning with the demolition and restoration of the roof, and immediately thereafter the rehabilitation of the domestic arrivals hall. The aim is to have the domestic arrivals hall fully restored and operational while construction remains ongoing in the international arrivals hall.
The works are scheduled to run for a period of 154 calendar days concluding on the 30th of June 2023. Imran Hoza of the TCI Airport Authority’s Projects Team is the assigned Project Manager. Works to erect a new and high-grade perimeter fence line for the airport are anticipated to commence in the near future.
Czech leader says Ukraine deserves to join NATO
Czech leader says Ukraine deserves to join NATO
Czech President-elect Petr Pavel has told the BBC that Ukraine should be allowed to join Nato "as soon as the war is over".
Mr Pavel, a retired Nato general, said Ukraine would be "morally and practically ready" to join the Western alliance once the conflict had ended.
In his first broadcast interview with the international media since his election, Gen Pavel gave a robust defence of Western military support to Kyiv, saying there should be "almost no limits" to what countries should send.
Speaking from the renaissance Hrzansky Palace, a few hundred metres from Prague Castle, he said for him sending Western fighter planes such as F-16s was "not taboo", but he was unsure they could be delivered in a timeframe that could prove useful to Kyiv.
US President Joe Biden has ruled out sending F-16s this week, although France's Emmanuel Macron has said nothing is excluded.
"I am proud of my country being one of the first to provide Ukraine with significant military help," he told the BBC.
The Czech Republic was the first Western country to send tanks and infantry fighting vehicles - Soviet-designed T72s and BMP1s - to Kyiv, part of a series of deliveries of heavy weapons that reportedly began as early as March 2022.
Almost a year on, after much agonising and soul-searching, countries including the UK, the United States and Germany have begun answering Kyiv's repeated calls to send modern, Western-made tanks such as Leopard 2s, Challenger 2s and M1 Abrams.
"Probably very few people could imagine that Western countries would be willing to provide Ukraine with modern main battle tanks or long-range artillery or anti-aircraft systems," he went on.
Now, he said, it was reality.
"But at the same time we see it's still not enough" to counter Russia's significant resources of men and materiel, he added.
He acknowledged Kyiv's disappointment at the speed of deliveries, especially Western tanks, which were explicitly designed to punch holes - literally and figuratively - through Soviet armoured formations.
Ukraine has asked for 300 such tanks and says the West has so far promised to send at least 120. But Gen Pavel said he hoped that would speed up - especially if Russia launches its anticipated spring offensive.
The president-elect brushed aside the view - long held in some European capitals, especially Berlin - that such deliveries could be seen as "escalation".
Russia has warned that increased supplies of Western weapons will lead to Nato countries increasingly becoming directly involved in the conflict.
"We have no alternative," he said. "If we leave Ukraine without assistance, they would most probably lose this war. And if they lose - we all lose."
President-elect Pavel also said that he and other European leaders had a duty to explain to their sceptical - and in many cases frightened populations - of the sense in helping Ukraine.
"Our cities are not being destroyed by Russian artillery and missiles. But our future could be destroyed if we don't support Ukraine to a successful end to this conflict."
And he also dismissed claims - among them from the man who stood against him this weekend, former Prime Minister Andrej Babis - that he was closing the door to diplomacy.
"Once there is even the slightest chance of peace talks, let's support it. But there are no signs of it from the Russian side," said Mr Pavel, who was often portrayed as a warmonger during the campaign.
"What needs to be said is this: the end of war is entirely in Russian hands. It would take only one decision from President Putin to withdraw his forces from Ukraine and the war is over."
And once it was over, he told the BBC, he could see a clear place for Ukraine in Nato.
"The Ukrainian military will be probably the most experienced military in Europe. Ukraine deserves to be part of a community of democratic countries."
Including Nato? I asked.
"I believe they really deserve it."
Source - BBC
Police target overseas players in Kingston violence
Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson says a number of overseas players continue to drive crime in Jamaica, including the recent flare-up of violence in west Kingston.
“We already had given some of those names to our (overseas) partners, and we will be giving additional names to them, and we will be pursuing them here and there,” Anderson said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
Anderson said the persons of interests overseas are among a number of violence producers being targeted by law enforcement officials to address the crime wave in that section of the capital.
“We are going to get those persons who believe they are going to disrupt normal lives in communities and cause violence to go up in Kingston, we are not having that,” Anderson said.
“There are specific people who coming out of this briefing we will name as persons who we want and will continue to put out a list of persons who may assist us with our investigations and these are the persons of interest,” said Anderson.
In an effort to quell future ‘flare up’ Anderson said the police will continue to partner with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and embark on deliberate searches where they believe guns are ‘secreted’.
Source - Jamaica Observer
Government promises robust crypto regulation
The government is announcing measures to "robustly" regulate the cryptocurrency industry.
It says the proposals, being published on Wednesday, will give consumers confidence while allowing the sector to "thrive".
Critics say ministers should take a cautious approach, given the industry's prolonged global slump.
The crisis has seen companies collapse, crypto values tumble and customers lose huge sums of money.
Ministers say the measures will "mitigate the most significant risks" of crypto technologies, while "harnessing their advantages".
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said the government remained "steadfast in our commitment to grow the economy and enable technological change and innovation - and this includes crypto-asset technology".
"But we must also protect consumers who are embracing this new technology - ensuring robust, transparent and fair standards," he added.
Even when the crypto market was booming, in 2021, calls for regulation were loud.
After the chaos of 2022, the calls for order are now deafening.
Hundreds of billions of pounds were wiped from the crypto landscape and companies and people went bankrupt thanks to scandal after scandal.
The UK's plan to finally put concrete proposals in place will be welcomed by consumer investors hit in their pockets.
But I expect the consultation to be fiery, with many different groups wading into the debate about how to tame the wild beast of Bitcoin and other digital coins.
Part of the original appeal of cryptocurrency was its independence of traditional financial networks.
Moves to allow establishment control will infuriate a core group of true believers.
But with the right form of regulation, others will argue, the industry could truly blossom.
Source - BBC
As Global Economy Weakens, Paypal cuts 2,000 jobs
PayPal is shedding around 2,000 jobs, or 7% of its workers, as it becomes the latest big tech firm to cut costs.
The online payments company says it was forced to make the decision as it faces "the challenging macro-economic environment."
PayPal's announcement follows tens of thousands of layoffs by technology giants in the last month alone.
This year, Google's parent companies Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft have announced major job cuts.
"We must continue to change as our world, our customers, and our competitive landscape evolves," PayPal's chief executive Dan Schulman said in a statement.
Also on Tuesday, Snap - the parent company of social media platform Snapchat - warned that revenue for the three months to the end of March could fall by as much as 10%.
"We anticipate that the operating environment will remain challenging, as we expect the headwinds we have faced over the past year to persist throughout Q1," the company told investors.
After the announcement Snap's shares fell by almost 15% in extended trade in New York.
At the start of this year, Amazon announced it planned to cut more than 18,000 jobs because of "the uncertain economy" and rapid hiring during the pandemic.
Also this month, Alphabet said it would shed 12,000 jobs, while Microsoft said up to 10,000 employees would lose their jobs.
Last week, Swedish music-streaming giant Spotify said it would cut 6% of its about 10,000 employees, citing a need to improve efficiency.
In another sign of the technology industry slowdown US computer chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Tuesday reported a 98% fall in net income for the last three months of 2022.
The company also said it expects revenue to drop by as much as 10% in the current quarter.
However, the figures were better than many investors had expected and AMD's shares rose after the announcement.
In Asia on Wednesday, the world's second-biggest memory chip maker SK Hynix posted its largest quarterly loss on record.
The South Korean company reported a worse-than-expected 1.7tn won ($1.4bn; £1.1bn) loss for the last three months of 2022, as sales fell by 38%.
The firm pointed to falling computer chip prices and joined rival technology giants as it warned that it expects an industry-wide downturn to worsen in the coming months, before recovering later in the year.
It came after rival Samsung Electronics on Tuesday reported its lowest quarterly profit in eight years.
Source - BBC
Ice-T to be honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Ice-T is getting a star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the rapper and actor, 64, will be awarded the star on February 17, with legendary rapper Chuck D serving as a guest speaker, along with walk-of-famers Mariska Hargitay and Dick Wolf, who Ice-T works with on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
While Ice-T is being awarded the star in the category of Recording, he's a multi-hyphenate. Aside from his role on Law and Order: SVU, his film and television credits include New Jack City, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Saturday Night Live, and the reality series Ice Loves Coco.
As an author, the Grammy Award-winner has written five books, including his 2022 memoir Split Decision. He's also lent his voice to various video games like Grand Theft Auto and Gears of War 3.
It all began, though, with gangster rap. Ice-T started his career as a rapper in the 1980s and eventually formed the label Rhyme Syndicate Records in 1989, where he released a string of groundbreaking West Coast rap tracks.
Source - ABC
Chelsea complete British record £107m fee for Benfica midfielder
Chelsea has signed Benfica's Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for a British record 121m euro (£107m) transfer fee.
The deal eclipses the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in 2021.
Fernandez, who only joined Benfica for a reported £10m in August, was named young player of the tournament during Argentina's World Cup triumph in Qatar.
The 22-year-old's arrival takes Chelsea's January spending to £289m, according to transfer website Transfermarkt.
He has signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
The deal follows an outlay of £270m in the summer - a record for a British club in the summer window - taking their total spend under new American owner Todd Boehly to more than £550m on 17 new players.
It is the joint-sixth most expensive signing of all-time, equalling the 120m euros Barcelona paid for France forward Antoine Griezmann in 2019.
Fernandez, signed by Benfica from Argentine side River Plate, has scored four goals in 29 appearances for the Primeira Liga side.
Benfica confirmed on Tuesday night that River Plate will earn 25% of the transfer fee, around 30m euros.
He scored once during the World Cup, netting Argentina's second goal in their 2-0 group-stage win over Mexico.
"The spending now from Chelsea is a staggering, eye-watering amount of money," said BBC Radio 5 Live senior football reporter Ian Dennis.
"What an excellent bit of business from Benfica, who held their nerve because Chelsea has pursued him throughout the whole window. Bit of brinkmanship and they've got their rewards."
European football expert Guillem Balague added: "He didn't start the World Cup but he was absolutely crucial to Argentina winning it. It is down to his reading of the game.
"You look at what he did during the World Cup and you think 'really? Is that 121m euros?' but the answer is no - you didn't see the full picture. He is much more than that.
"He can play in any place in the midfield. He can be a holding midfielder, on the right, on the left, the stats show he increases the quality on the move, he gives the last pass and the one before last - and he's been scoring as well.
"It's not easy to find that kind of player that when the game goes into a really high intensity he still displays good football."
Source - BBC
Governor and Premier make official visit to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
On 4th to 8th December 2022, a delegation led by His Excellency the Governor, Nigel Dakin and the Premier, Honorable Charles W. Missick made an official visit to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The delegation also included officials from the National Security Secretariat, Police, TCI Regiment and the Office of the Premier.
Day one of the three-day visit included meetings with: the Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon. Phillip Davis; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service, Hon. Frederick Mitchell; the Ministry of National Security, Hon. Wayne Monroe; the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Commodore Raymond King and the British High Commission.
The agenda for the second day involved a courtesy call with H.E. Governor General, Sir Cornelius Smith, followed by detailed meetings with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, led by its Commander, Dr Raymond King and the Royal Bahamas Police Force led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Leamond Deleveaux. This included a tour of the Defence Force base at Coral Harbour. The second day ended with a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Michael Pintard.
On the third day, the TCI delegation was hosted by the United States Embassy led by Mrs. Usha Pitts, Charge d’ Affaires, and the United States Coast Guard led by Captain Benjamin Golightly. That evening a reception was held by the Charge d’ Affaires and, on the previous evening, a formal Dinner by the Governor General.
The focus of the visit was threefold - to say thank you to the Government of the Bahamas for their support over the last year – particularly the deployment of twenty-four Bahamian Police Officers to TCI and the operationalizing of the Bahamas/TCI Ship-Rider Agreement. TCI also noted and welcomed the decentralization of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force which brought naval assets closer to the TCI borders and opportunities to further fuse and co-ordinate our collective surveillance assets, including TCI being invited to provide Liaison Officers in the Bahamas Defense Force Command Centre to better fuse maritime intelligence.
Secondly, to brief on and discuss matters of shared National Security interests and threats. Thematic areas of mutual interest included: Operation Bahamas and Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) including the next OPBAT conference, scheduled for March 2023; maritime security (future ratification of jurisdictional boundaries between the TCI and Bahamas); expansion of coastal radar networks; decentralization of Defence Force naval assets; expanding the Bahamas/TCI Ship-Rider program; and sharing of resources, information and intelligence which will be aided by TCI’s new legal intercept provisions.
Additionally, through discussions with Bahamian colleagues, it was evident that TCI and the Bahamas face similar threats individually and collectively in the region including trans-national gangs, smuggling of people, illicit drugs and weapons and the continued destabilization of Haiti – which if left unchecked - could lead to a mass migration event that could have significant implications for the Lucayan Island chain (TCI and Bahamas).
Thirdly, the delegation from TCI sought to explore areas to deepen and strengthen TCI’s friendship with the Bahamas – now and in the future. TCI advised of its intention to seek full membership of CARICOM - for which a letter of entrustment that allows for this negotiation has been provided by the United Kingdom. Deliberations consisted of a request to extend the Bahamian Police contingent in TCI – since agreed - and strengthening the: National Security-to-National Security, Police-to-Police and Military–to-Military relationships including information sharing, improved collaboration and training.
Moreover, the unanimous resolve is to establish and strengthen a relationship between our national security functions on all matters of national security. In this first instance, both countries will seek to learn from each other on two key common challenges: informal settlements and causes of crime.
Furthermore, the TCI offered the Royal Bahamas Defence Force an opportunity to host and deploy their naval assets in Grand Turk, to jointly task the aerial surveillance aircraft that is being procured by the United Kingdom, for TCI, and to share – in real time, TCI’s coastal radar network with the Maritime Operations Center in the Bahamas. This mutually beneficial arrangement will expand the Bahamian southern border of protection while allowing for increased coverage of TCI’s waters.
Also, the Premier, in communicating his intention to open an official TCIG office in Nassau in February 2023 had this to say:
“As part of the Turks and Caicos development goals it is important to leverage the broad contribution that our kin and kind offer to the homeland. While we are reaching out to our global diaspora family it is generally believed that the largest proportion of Turks and Caicos Islanders live through-out the Bahamas: for that reason it is only fitting that we start by establishing an office there. The office will not have consular status but will with deference to the Governor’s office liaise with the British High Commission in Nassau where and when required to do so.
Additionally, the Bahamas is our closest neighbour. The people of our countries share similar cultures, close family ties and perform important roles in each other countries. We also enjoy a high level of informal co-operation in many fields including security, medicine law and politics. Additionally, we share leadership of several church and civic organisations. The Bahamas has been a friend to the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is only fitting that we formally recognise our friendship and a commitment to work closely together in our mutual interest. An office in the Nassau will help us to do just that. We also welcome the expressed intention of the Bahamas to establish a consular office in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
H.E Nigel Dakin said:
“The Bahamas could not have made us feel more welcome or valued. The regional and trans-national threats we face are too large for TCI to face alone. Indeed, because criminals and smugglers so easily cross borders, they are too large for the Bahamas, or even the US, to face alone. We are stronger together - and our individual security needs to be increasingly thought of in terms of our collective security.
We have worked diligently over recent years to strengthen OPBAT. We can feel the difference at sea, and the Bahamas support to our Policing effort has helped demonstrate that very clearly to our population on land.
But there is so much more we can do together - particularly in the area of intelligence sharing, where TCI is developing, and will develop further strength, that our allies can draw on. While the threat won’t diminish, I’m confident our collective response will only now accelerate, and we can disrupt and arrest those that believe they can operate between and against our jurisdictions. I look forward to the OPBAT Conference in March to continue this engagement and I’m grateful that the Bahama’s have chosen to continue their Tactical Firearms Officer Support to us as we enter 2023”.
(Turks and Caicos Islands Government Delegation with the leadership of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force)