Antigua questions US legislation on Citizenship by Investment Programme
The Antigua and Barbuda government Wednesday questioned legislation before two Committees in the United States House of Representatives regarding the Citizenship by Investment Programmes (CBI).
On March 3, three US legislators introduced the “No Travel for Traffickers Act” designed to penalise countries that operate CBI programmes, including revoking their eligibility for US visa waivers and by working on the United Kingdom and the European Union to eliminate visa-free travel in the Schengen area.
Antigua and Barbuda is one of several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries as well as those in Europe and North America that operate CBI programmes which they say play a significant role in their government’s earnings and in their gross domestic product.
Several Caribbean countries use the the CBI to provide citizenship to foreign investors who make a substantial investment in the socio-economic development of their countries.
In a letter to the members of the House of Representatives Committees on the Judiciary and Foreign Relations, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders said that St. John’s “fully agrees that measures should be taken against any country whose government abuses its citizenship and residential programmes, such as the US EB-5 Immigrant Investor Programme, to allow criminal activity of any kind”.
He explained that it is because “Antigua and Barbuda strongly opposes the abuse of citizenship and investor programmes” that he thought it appropriate to clarify that his country’s programme “ensures no abuse by criminals, no opportunity for human trafficking, and no tolerance for any person who may pose a threat to our neighbours, such as the US, or to the global community, or ourselves”.
The Act was introduced to the US House of Representatives by Congressmen Burgess Owen (Utah), Steve Cohen (Tennessee) and Tom Malinowski of New York.
In introducing the Act, the Congressmen claimed that “these schemes require little vetting and are notoriously abused by human traffickers, international criminals, and corrupt oligarchs. Russia is one of the world’s worst offenders when it comes to using these golden passport schemes as a back door into other countries”.
In his letter to the members of the two Committees, Sir Ronald said, “when the Russian Federation invaded the sovereign state of Ukraine, my Government immediately banned all Russians and Belarusians, whether or not on a list of persons subject to sanctions, from being considered for access to our Citizenship by Investment Programme.
“That policy position was taken on March 4th and communicated to all agencies concerned with the Programme. It has been strictly enforced by the Police, Immigration Control, and the Citizenship by Investment Unit”.
The Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador also told the US House Representatives, including the three who introduced the Act that “every person who applies for consideration under our Citizenship by Investment scheme is subject to several layers of intense investigation.
“These include but are not limited to: a police report from their country of origin and their country of residence; clearance from INTERPOL that they are not wanted by any country in the world and are not fugitives from justice; and a full review of their financial background, companies and businesses with which they have been associated by international due diligence companies”.
The Antigua and Barbuda diplomat said therefore, “it would not be correct to suggest that the Citizenship by Investment Programme in Antigua and Barbuda “require(s) little vetting” or that it is “abused by human traffickers, international criminals, and corrupt oligarchs” as is suggested by the three Congressmen.
In offering to provide any further information, including by testifying before the US House Committees, Sir Ronald urged the US Congressmen to “examine carefully the operations of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Programme before taking legislative action that would be extremely harmful to a consistent ally of the United States even before the independence of both our countries”.
Source-CMC
Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa serve up new song "Sweetest Pie"
After almost a week of teasing, Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion treated fans to their new song "Sweetest Pie."
The first-time collaborators released the track at midnight Friday, with a seductively, sweet music video to match, directed by Dave Meyers. Dua's smooth vocals are a nice compliment to Megan's flow as the two make use of the double entendre that is the song title.
"Uh, this the ride of your life / hold on 'cause, baby, I might / I might just give you a bite of the sweetest pie / Uh, baby, we can go fast / I'll drive and you just lay back / I got the flavour that lasts / yeah, the sweetest pie," the English singer-songwriter sings in the chorus.
Megan's verses are just as suggestive and full of double meanings with lyrics like "I got cake and I know he want a slice."
Both Dua and Megan first teased "Sweetest Pie" on their Instagrams last weekend. Dua's post featured a tiny snippet of the song, while the "Savage" rapper showed photos of herself and Dua on a series of cakes.
In addition to the two now having a song together, fans attending Dua's Future Nostalgia tour will possibly get the chance to see them perform together since Megan will be featured as the opening act starting March 15.
In the meantime, "Sweetest Pie" is available to stream now.
Instagram banned in Russia over 'calls to violence'
Russia's state media watchdog Roskomnadzor says Instagram will be blocked in the country due to "calls for violence" against Russian soldiers.
Instagram owner Meta said it would let its users in some countries call for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers.
It will temporarily allow some violent posts such as "death to the Russian invaders" that usually break its rules.
However, it says it won't permit calls for violence against Russian civilians.
In response to Meta's shift in policy, Russia called on the US to stop the social media giant's "extremist activities".
On Friday, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office called for a criminal investigation to be launched against Meta, citing Russian propaganda and extremism laws, according to a statement quoted by privately-owned news agency Interfax.
The agency added that the Prosecutor General's Office had asked state media watchdog Roskomnadzor to restrict access to Instagram over the "distribution of information materials containing calls to carry out violent actions against Russians, including servicemen".
On 4 March, Roskomnadzor said it was blocking access to Facebook in Russia over "discrimination" against Russian media.
Meta owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.
However, WhatsApp is not currently being blocked in Russia as it is a messaging platform rather than a social network.
Meta announced it had changed its policy after the Reuters news agency said it had seen internal emails outlining the policy shift.
"In light of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, we made a temporary exception for those affected by the war, to express violent sentiments toward invading armed forces," a Meta spokesperson told the BBC.
Under the amended policy, users in countries including Russia, Ukraine and Poland will also be able to call for the deaths of Mr Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The emails reportedly said calls for the leaders' deaths will be allowed unless they contain other targets, or included a location or methods.
Calls for violence against Russians are also allowed when the post clearly references the invasion of Ukraine, the emails reportedly said.
"We demand that US authorities stop the extremist activities of Meta, take measures to bring the perpetrators to justice," Russia's embassy in the US tweeted.
"Users of Facebook and Instagram did not give the owners of these platforms the right to determine the criteria of truth and pit nations against each other," it added.
Russia announced last week that it was blocking Facebook and its platforms, citing 26 cases of "discrimination" against Russian media by Facebook since October 2020.
While access to the site had already been restricted in Russia, it was not completely unavailable.
Moscow has cracked down on several social media platforms as it pursues what it calls a "special operation" in Ukraine.
Source-BBC
Jamaican jurist to lead Commission of Enquiry into divers’ deaths
Renowned Jamaican jurist Justice Cecil Dennis Morrison Q.C has been appointed to lead a three-member Commission of Enquiry (COE) that will look into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of four divers who were working on an underwater crude oil pipeline last month, Energy and Energy Industries Minister Stuart Young announced Thursday.
The regional legal luminary will be assisted by Gregory Wilson, a subsea specialist. The third member of the COE will be a representative from an international investigative firm with experience in conducting probes into large industrial accidents, including in the oil and gas sector.
“This member is still being sought,” Young said at a news conference.
“The Commission of Enquiry shall sit in public but has the discretion to sit wholly in public, from time to time in public, and sometimes in private. The Commissioners must submit their report to the President within six months of their first sitting.”
The COE replaces the five-member investigative team that was initially tasked, by the Government, with determining the liability and what led to the deaths of divers Yusuf Henry, Kazim Ali Jr, Fyzal Kurban, and Rishi Nagessar at facilities owned by the Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited in Point–a-Pierre on February 25. A fifth diver who had gone missing, Christopher Boodram, had been rescued.
Among the COE’s objectives are to: identify the precise facts and circumstances which led up to and resulted in the loss of life; examine all the decisions and actions taken after it became clear that the five divers went missing; identify whether Paria and LMCS Ltd., the divers’ employer, used sufficient safeguards and measures to ensure the safety of its contracted employees, property, and the prevention of the incident; identify, whether by act or omission, any identified or unidentified party directly or indirectly caused loss of life; and examine all other material circumstances that led up to and surrounding the incident that led to the deaths of four LMCS divers, continuing up to the recovery of their bodies.
The Commission will also seek to examine the role played by Paria and LMCS through its respective units, individually and collectively, in dealing with the incident; examine policy, procedure and practices, and conduct related to employees/organized labour for maintenance exercises; and investigate the nature, extent, application of any standing orders, policy considerations, legislation, or other instructions in dealing with the situation that gave rise to the incident.
Young said Paria has been cooperating fully with the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSH) and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Serve investigations, and he expects the company will also fully cooperate with the COE.
In a statement issued after the announcement of the COE, Paria said it welcomed the decision and “looks forward to presenting the facts on the incident”.
“OSH is currently conducting its own investigation into the incident and Paria is fully committed to making available all relevant documents and information to the investigating team, and we look forward to the completion of the investigation,” it added.
PUBLIC DENTAL NOTICE
The general public is asked to note that those persons awaiting the collection of dentures from Smile1000-Great Shape Voluntary Dental Project that was held in Conjunction with Beaches Resort and the Ministry of Health and Human Services held at the Prophecy Church in Five Cays of October 2021 are ready for collection.
Denture delivery will be at the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Dental Clinic at Cheshire Hall Medical Center Providenciales.
Dates and times of delivery: March 15 & 16 2022 between the hours of 9:00 am to 11:30 am.
Denture delivery will only be delivered to the person registered.
All COVID-19 protocols must be adhered to.
For further information. Please contact 16493385133.
Happy National Teachers’ Day
We are constantly reminded that it is teachers who make the difference and not the classroom. On this National Teachers’ Day, I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the level of dedication that you continue to invest in our country’s greatest assets. You are the molders of the future and therefore, the country depends on you for its success.
This Teachers’ Day is appreciated more than ever by the Ministry and Department of Education, especially by the students and parents, as you have proven to be resilient despite the impact of Covid 19. You remained dedicated to the course, building cadre of students who continue to succeedin-spite of. Teachers, it is your level of dedication, your love, care and passion that kept our students focused, despite the loss of physical contact limited by Covid and for this we salute you! Your influence in the lives of our students will never be erased, because to teach is indeed to touch lives forever, as big hearts like yours continue to shape the the lives of our students.
Apart from the moral support that you continue to invest in the lives of our students, you have so ably adopted to the new methods of teaching, assessments looked different from a distance and you provided that avenue, new platforms and new tools were a challenge, but with your desire to ensure that our students were cater for, you beat the odds and that’s the attitude of a teacher! Teachers, you continue to model the attitude of true professionalism through your collaborative efforts. You have ‘lived’ the lessons that you instilled in your students, the power of teamwork, love and respect for each other, lifelong learning and above all resilience; for that we are truly grateful. We pause today, to celebrate you, for you are indeed the vehicle as we create Change Agents!
As your Minister, it calms my heart and brings me great joy and at this time it is worthy to say that your work will not go in vain. You have demonstrated to our country that we are conquers despite the challenges and that in itself makes me so proud to be part of this team.
The Ministry and Department of Education will continue in our efforts to provide the necessary development workshops to better equip you to master the challenges and bridge the gaps of our students, as a result of the Covid pandemic. This is now the new normal and through your generosity of spirit, we will continue to propel the education system to one that will allow our students to grow and thrive despite their disability, home environment or circumstances.
As your Minister, I will continue to ensure that we propel with our efforts to advance the Educational System, as these changes will only impact the long-term success of our students. The introduction of early stimulation and screening of our Early Childhood Students, our ‘Let’s Reap Program’ that addresses the gaps in Literacy and Numeracy, with the inclusive of a Mathematics initiatives titled Building Bridges. A Coaching Program that partners secondary teachers with primary teachers to build numeracy, with a goal of improving Numeracy Skills at the primary level, our capacity building through our IT Workshops, the introduction of Literacy and Numeracy Assessments, the updated Primary Curriculum that is inclusive of STEM Education, providing opportunities for Critical Thinking and a project based approach, the incorporation of TVET that will bridge the gap in the labour force of this country and most recently, FREE ACCESS to Tertiary Education in the Turks and Caicos Islands amongst many others will only help in the advancement of our Educational System.
The spirit and flexibility that teachers have shown, gives us confidence that we have emerged from this crisis stronger, more united and more resilient than before.
Happy Teachers Day!
Jaguar & Land Rover pauses car sales to Russia
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) says it has paused the delivery of its cars to Russia due to "trading challenges".
The car maker, which has its headquarters in Coventry and plants in Castle Bromwich and Solihull, sold 6,900 vehicles to Russia last year.
It is thought sanctions imposed by the UK, the EU and the US are making it difficult for JLR to sell cars into the market.
The company did not give further details.
In recent days global corporations, including car makers and energy giants, have cut business ties with Russia.
A JLR spokesperson said in a statement its priority was "the wellbeing of our entire workforce and their families, as well as those within our extended network".
"The current global context also presents us with trading challenges, so we are pausing the delivery of vehicles into the Russian market and continually monitoring the situation on behalf of our global customer base," it said.
Britain's biggest car manufacturer, owned by Indian company Tata Motors, has a European manufacturing facility based in Slovakia.
Swedish-based Volvo also said it would stop delivering cars to Russia until further notice.
JLR does not have any manufacturing sites in Russia nor Ukraine.
Source-BBC
Ambush in the Night by Hon. Edwin Astwood
Divide and Conquer -To make a group of people disagree and fight with one another, so that they will not join together, allowing them to be ruled over.
The narrative that there must be representation in our House of Assembly for other nationalities and ethnic groups living amongst us, in particular those from our neighboring Caribbean islands is as much misleading as it is false.
In 2021, following our General Elections, the Governor as mandated appointed two members to the Twelfth Legislature of the House of Assembly of the Turks and Caicos Islands; One of Dominican birth and the other of Haitian birth. While both Honorable members are more than cable of functioning in the position, they have been given strong representation on national issues; one is also my cousin. Appointments made along these Ethnic lines, comes as a slap in the face, not only to myself, but also to the majority of the Turks & Caicos Islanders. The appointment of any member to our House of Assembly, with ethnicity and or place of birth being one of the major factors was completely wrong and perhaps a cause for great concern given our current social context.
The Turks and Caicos in its very existence is representative of the phrase “out of many One”. As a people, we stood from very early in our history as a group integrated with our Caribbean brothers and sisters. All one has to do, is to ask any Turks and Caicos Islander “where your family from,” and you will get a wide variety of responses. “My grandmother is from the Dominican Republic, my grandfather is from Haiti, my parents are from the Bahamas, my father is from the Barbados, my mother is from St. Lucia, my great-grand parents are Jamaicans, I have uncles that are from Haiti, or my aunts are from Guyana.
All these are typical answers identifying our deep family ties and relationships with all our Caribbean neighbors.
Similarly, if you ask persons where their family name originated from, the list of countries would widen still, going beyond our Caribbean neighbors, into North and South America.
Should one pose the very question to past and present Members of the House of Assembly, and to many top government officials - where your family roots are from? You would get similar answers, naming many regional countries as their family origins. Therefore, it is quite evident that many of our close neighbors like Jamaica, Haiti, and Dominican Republic are already represented and have been represented for years by our very own presence in the House of Assembly.
The Turks & Caicos Islands is, and has been, a melting pot of nations for a long time and our Caribbean neighbors are certainly represented in our citizen population. However, this representation has never been called into question until recent time. Particularly, through the intentional appointment of members who the British Government identifies as representing the people in our country that are from Haiti and Dominican Republic.
Why is there a need for such types of ethnic appointments? Are we to expect appointment form the Philippines and Jamaica next? This can only seek to create further polarization of these individual nationalities within our already fragile social fabric. In so doing, divisions will be created and further separation of our people may occur.
When I see Turks and Caicos Islanders, and hear their family name, I see “our people forge and blend with multiplicity, of race and kind and creed and tongue, united by our goals,” as stated so eloquently in our national song, written by Dr. Rev. Conrad Howell. This is the truth about our Turks and Caicos Islands. Therefore, our Caribbean neighbours, and others, are already represented in our House of Assembly, and already represented in top positions of our government. Hence there is absolutely no need to directly focus on appointing members of certain ethnic origin to the House.
I am already representing them, if they are citizens of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Other parliamentarians are representing them as Turks and Caicos Islands, past Parliamentarians have been representing them as Turks and Caicos Islanders. The “they” are us, and we are the “them”, they are our families, we have been blended as one in past years. There should not be a direct action taken that separates us further as a people, and to put our people into different ethnic groups. We must continue to be seen as one people.
It is our democratic choice that we allow ourselves to be divided by political affiliation, religious denominations, and to a lesser extent island district division. I would not want to see a them versus us country, where persons vote in elections, and make other national decisions, solely based on which racial, ethnic, or national groups individuals identify with.
Let us go forward as one people, not allowing us to be divided into ethnic or racial groups, and not having any civic and statutory appointments made solely based on ethnicity, but based on one’s knowledge, skills and abilities of our people, and their concerns of the needs and interest of the citizens of Turks and Caicos Islands. Knowing that, rising to eminence by merit, we should live respected – and die regretted.
Jussie Smollett sentenced to 150 days in jail for hoax attack
Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in county jail on Thursday for fabricating a 2019 hate crime attack on himself.
Smollett was also ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago, fined $25,000 and must serve 30 months of felony probation.
As Cook County Judge James Linn was imposing a sentence, Smollett screamed out, "I am not suicidal. I am innocent."
The judge ordered Smollett to be taken to jail immediately.
Smollett, 39, appeared Thursday afternoon in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago to hear his fate after a jury convicted him in December on five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct stemming from him filing a false police report and lying to police, who spent more than $130,000 investigating his allegations.
Prior to the sentencing, Linn denied Smollett's motion for a new trial following a lengthy hearing.
"We've talked about this for two years," Linn said. "I do believe that at the end of the day, Mr. Smollett received a fair trial."
Source-ABC
Weekend forecast for the Turks & Caicos
WEATHER: VARIABLY CLOUDY, VERY WARM AND HUMID WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THE CHANCE OF A FEW THUNDERSTORMS CONCENTRATED NEAR THE EXTREME NORTHWEST BAHAMAS THROUGH TONIGHT.
WINDS: SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS, INCREASING TO 15 KNOTS BUT GUSTY AT TIMES BY TONIGHT.
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET OVER THE OCEAN BUT SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN LIGHT EASTERLY SWELLS ALONG ATLANTIC EXPOSURES TODAY, BUILDING 3 TO 5 FEET BY TONIGHT.
FOR THE TURKS & CAICOS:
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY TO SUNNY, WARM AND BREEZY WITH A FEW, LIGHT PASSING SHOWERS TODAY, BECOMING MOSTLY FAIR AND BREEZY TONIGHT.
ADVISORY: A SMALL CRAFT CAUTION IS IN EFFECT. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL COME INTO EFFECT BY TONIGHT.
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS TODAY, INCREASING 15 TO 25 KNOTS BY TONIGHT.
SEAS: 4 TO 7 FEET OVER THE OCEAN TODAY, BUILDING 5 TO 8 FEET TONIGHT.
DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE 86°F 30°C
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURE 72°F 22°C
SUNRISE: 6:22 AM MOONRISE: 12:20 PM
SUNSET: 6:16 PM MOONSET: 2:39 AM SAT
LOW TIDE: 8:45 AM LOW TIDE: 8:34 PM
HIGH TIDE: 2:27 PM HIGH TIDE: 3:10 AM SAT
EXTENDED FORECAST (FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS): A BRISK, WARM SOUTHERLY BREEZE ALONG WITH PREFRONTAL SHOWERS WILL PROPAGATE ACROSS THE ISLANDS THROUGH TO SATURDAY EVENING, AS A STRONG COLD FRONT SWIFTLY MOVES OVER THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS AS WELL AS THE TCI THROUGHOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEKEND.
FORECAST FOR SATURDAY
WEATHER: VARIABLY CLOUDY, VERY WARM AND BREEZY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY MAINLY IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS.
WINDS: SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST AT 15 TO 25 KNOTS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, SHIFTING SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS BUT GUSTY AT TIMES IN THE CENTRAL, SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS & TURKS AND CAICOS.
SEAS: 5 TO 8 FEET OVER THE OCEAN IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, SUBSIDING 4 TO 6 FEET IN THE TCI.
FORECAST FOR SUNDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY TO CLOUDY, COOL AND WINDY IN THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS, TURNING WARM AND HUMID WITH WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE TURKS & CAICOS.
WINDS: NORTH TO NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 25 KNOTS IN THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS, DECREASING 10 TO 15 KNOTS, FALLING LIGHT AND VARIABLE AT TIMES IN THE TCI.
SEAS: 5 TO 8 FEET OVER THE OCEAN IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, SUBSIDING 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS.