TCI SCUBA OPPERATORS - NATIONAL PARKS LICENSE HOLDERS
The Department of Environment & Coastal Resources (DECR) advises all SCUBA diving operators that they are to resume the submission of dive statistics (NP5 forms) as of January 2022. In accordance with the National Parks Regulations (section 12), failure to do so will result in the respective Business being unable to renew their National Parks Licenses for the 2022-2023 period.
Submissions are to be made on a monthly basis, starting with data for January 2022.
Submissions are to be made electronically to environment@gov.tc
Further information can be obtained from your nearest DECR office, or by contacting the DECR via telephone at 338-4175, or emailing environment@gov.tc
Premier Misick offers message in observance of International Anti-corruption Day 2021
News headlines are overrun with reports of global scandals citing corruption as the core issue. The acceleration in these reports involving Government institutions, private sector entities, academia and the public at large, is likely due to a progressively bolder voice throughout the world with more persons speaking out against injustices, prejudice and abuse of power.
The growth in demand for greater transparency in recent years, has galvanized the regulation and enforcement efforts of anti-corruption organisations and amplified their global influence.
Corruption erodes trust in Government, undermines economic efficiency by stealing away valuable resources, impedes investment and increases inequality and conflict; ultimately, stagnating sustainable development and growth.
The Turks and Caicos Islands understanding the tremendous risk attached to noncompliance, has implemented a surveillance and enforcement regime exercised by the Integrity Commission and other public bodies as a powerful defense against potential offenders through: certainty of detection, severity of punishment and swiftness of sentencing.
Although it is important that we stamp out corruption, it is equally important that we measure the approach and methods, led by anti-corruption regimes, that promote systemic conformity and target persons in positions of influence for exercising their decision-making rights. This model often leads to integrity disparagement and causes irreparable damage especially in cases where prosecution rules in favour of the defendant.
The Turks and Caicos Islands has an effective Anti-corruption system with high standards of accountability. I applaud and support the work of the Commission for their efforts in enhancing transparency throughout the public administration in these islands.
Gunmen shoot and kill three people in St.Lucia
Police are searching for gunmen who shot and killed three people including a woman during a drive by shooting in Marchand, east of here on Sunday night.
While the police have not released the names of any of those killed media reports have identified one of them as a 22-year-old man of Marchand, who died at the scene.
Eyewitnesses said that the shooting occurred at around 9.30 pm (local time) when the vehicle drove up and the occupants fired upon the people.
The St. Lucia Fire Service, which operates the ambulance services here, said that it had received a call for assistance and on arrival at the scene, the found the body of a man, who exhibited no vital signs.
Police said the two other persons were transported to the hospital in private vehicles, but died while receiving treatment.
Source-CMC
British PM says "There is a tidal wave of omicron coming."
British PM Boris Johnson said in a televised address on Sunday that "the UK's four chief medical officers have raised the COVID alert level to four, its second highest level, because of the evidence that omicron is doubling" in the UK every couple of days.
Johnson said they know "from bitter experience" how these exponential curves develop: "No one should be in any doubt, there is a tidal wave of omicron coming and I'm afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.
Johnson announced the UK is launching the "omicron emergency booster national mission," which he says is unlike anything they've done before in the vaccination program. Two weeks ago Johnson promised every eligible adult a booster by the end of January. In light of the omicron emergency, he's bringing that target forward by a whole month.
Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have a chance to get their booster before the New Year. And he says his administration will provide additional support to accelerate vaccinations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Source-ABC
ExxonMobil moves all chain supply services from Trinidad & Tobago to Guyana
The President of ExxonMobil Guyana, Alastair Routledge has announced that the US based company has now moved all of its supply chain services from neighboring Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana.
In making the recent announcement, Routledge said the decision has led to additional jobs being created for Guyanese in the sector.
“This has created opportunities for the Guyanese private sector, whether it is to build out the shore bases, warehousing, waste treatment facilities, or indeed as we look forward to the projects to come as part of the Yellowtail project we also plan to invest in a project shore base, that will enable an increase in the fabrication and load-out activities in Guyana”, the ExxonMobil Guyana CEO said.
Guyana started oil production two years ago and since then scores of new companies have been established to cater to the needs of the oil industry.
The Exxon CEO said the foundation set by the company goes well beyond the company.
He noted that all the well-established oil and gas companies in the world now have a presence in Guyana and have steadily been moving their activities from the United States, Brazil, and Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana.
According to Routledge, apart from benefiting from the oil revenues, Guyanese should also play an active role in developing the resource.
“To date, there are more than 3,200 Guyanese working on our operations and more than 800 local suppliers, with whom we have spent more than US$513M since 2015. The revenues generated by these projects and workforce as well as the related economic activity is a key component of planning for the private sector companies,” the local Exxon CEO said.
According to the Exxon CEO, while the government has a critical role to play in managing the country’s oil and gas sector, it is up to the private sector to take the lead. He however noted that before that can happen, there must be heavy investment in education so that persons can maximize what the sector has to offer.
Source - Cananewsonline
Max Verstappen's win decided by a questionable call at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
As Max Verstappen battled the torrent of emotions coursing through him after winning his first Formula 1 world title, one word kept kept coming to his lips: "Insane."
It seemed an appropriate way to describe not only a remarkable see-sawing race, in which Lewis Hamilton seemed on course to win an eighth world title only to have it wrenched from his grasp in highly contentious circumstances right at the end, but the whole 2021 championship itself.
"It just summed up the whole season," Verstappen said, "which is completely unpredictable and crazy."
Abu Dhabi, a circuit renowned for producing soporific grands prix over the years, served up a race brimming with controversy, in which the rancour and ill-feeling that has grown between the Mercedes and Red Bull teams spilled over both during the race and after it.
The race ended with intense controversy - about whether the rules had been correctly followed when it was restarted for one final racing lap with Hamilton a sitting duck on old tyres, a lap that turned the world championship upside down.
It was a bad-tempered way to end what had become an increasingly bad-tempered season.
There was another aggressive overtaking move by Verstappen on the first lap that led to more controversy. Hamilton went off track to avoid him as the Dutchman dived deep into the first chicane, but the Briton was allowed to keep the position.
Red Bull complained about that, but race director Michael Masi shrugged them off, saying Verstappen had forced Hamilton off the track and any advantage gained had been given back.
As the race developed it became increasingly apparent that Hamilton had far too much pace for Verstappen to have any hope of catching up again in a straight fight.
A virtual safety car gave Red Bull hope, allowing them a free pit stop for fresher tyres. But it made little difference - the gap between Hamilton and Verstappen merely stabilised rather than growing every lap, and Hamilton appeared to be driving to the title.
But then Williams' Nicholas Latifi crashed with five laps to go. A safety car was deployed and Verstappen pitted again for fresh tyres.
Mercedes dared not. If Hamilton had stopped, it would have cost them the lead, as Verstappen, behind him, would almost certainly have stayed out. Verstappen's tyres were still relatively fresh after his second pit stop and the idea of trying pass him with the title on the line and knowing that if both cars crashed out Verstappen would be champion understandably did not appeal.
Hamilton would most likely not have been able to get by again. Plus, it was far from clear that the race would restart. Mercedes had no choice but to hang on in front and hope for the best.
Hamilton immediately realised the potential consequences - if the race restarted he would be a sitting duck on old tyres with Verstappen right behind him on fresh ones.
Real Madrid won for the 10th game in a row to beat neighbours Atletico Madrid
La Liga's top scorer Karim Benzema powered in a fantastic volley from Vinicius Jr's cross to give Carlo Ancelotti's side the lead.
And Vinicius picked out Marco Asensio to slot home their second.
Defending champions Atletico, who are 13 points behind Real, had chances but the clinical hosts deserved the win.
Real have only lost twice in 23 games - and none since 3 October - since Carlo Ancelotti replaced Zinedine Zidane in the summer.
Diego Simeone's Atletico, who sit fourth, look miles away from the team who won La Liga last season.
They did force Real keeper Thibaut Courtois into six saves, including to keep out Antoine Griezmann's free-kick.
A double change at the break and the introduction of Luis Suarez could not help them find a way through though.
Real deserved their win with Vinicius involved in both goals. Benzema's opener was his 13th La Liga goal of the season and his 36th for Real in all competitions in 2021, his best annual haul for the club. He was replaced by Luka Jovic at the break.
Barcelona are down in eighth, 18 points behind Real, after a 2-2 draw at Osasuna.
Source - BBC
Peloton responds with parody ad after shares tumble
Fitness equipment maker Peloton has offered a humorous response after the brand featured in the HBO Max show.
At the end of last week, the firm's shares slumped after a key character died while using one of the company's exercise bikes.
The company approved the show's use of its bikes but said it was not told that Mr Big, played by character Chris Noth, would die after the workout.
But Peloton has now released an advert that brings the character back to life.
In the first episode of "And Just Like That..." John James Preston, more commonly known by his nickname Mr Big - the on-off partner and eventual husband of Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw, died after suffering a heart attack during a workout on a Peloton.
The company's shares have slumped by more than 16% since the show first aired on 9 December.
Peloton responded by saying said that Mr Big's lifestyle and family history was the likely cause of his death and using one of its exercise bikes "may have even helped delay his cardiac event."
On Sunday, it released a parody advert, in which Mr Big was brought back to life - with the caption: "And just like that... he's alive".
In the advert, Mr Noth and Peloton instructor real-life Peloton instructor Jess King - who also starred in the HBO episode - are seen sitting by a fire. He asks her if she would like to take another ride. Actor Ryan Reynolds, whose advertising firm produced the promo, provides the voiceover.
This is not the first time that one of Peloton's adverts have been in the news.
In 2019, the company's shares slumped after a backlash over its Christmas advert, which showed a woman being given an exercise bike for Christmas by her partner.
She then records her workouts over the following year in a vlog and presents it to him as a way of saying thank you.
"A year ago, I didn't realise how much this would change me," she says. Critics of the 30-second promo said it was "sexist" and "dystopian".
Peloton was given a major boost by the pandemic beneficiary, as people who were forced to stay at home looked for ways to stay in shape.
The company's shares rose five-fold in 2020 before losing most of those gains this year.
Investors are concerned that the company will struggle to grow in the future.
Peloton has faced other problems in recent months. In May, the company withdrew its treadmills after reports of a death and several injuries.
In August, it cut the price of its flagship exercise bike as people headed back to the gym and did less exercise at home.
It came as losses widened at the firm in the fourth quarter of the year and revenue growth began to slow.
Source - BBC
Anne Rice, author of the gothic novel Interview with the Vampire, has died at the age of 80.
The American writer, who sold more than 150 million books, died surrounded by her family on Saturday night.
She died due to complications resulting from a stroke, her son Christopher Rice announced on her Facebook page.
"In her final hours, I sat beside her hospital bed in awe of her accomplishments and her courage," he wrote.
Interview with the Vampire was published in 1976 and went on to be a best seller. It was later adapted into a movie starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in 1994.
She went on to wrote sequels to the book, forming a series called The Vampire Chronicles. Another of her books from the series, Queen of the Damned, was also made into a film in 2002.
Rice also wrote erotic fiction under the pseudonyms Anne Rampling and AN Roquelaure, including Exit to Eden.
"The immensity of our family's grief cannot be overstated. As my mother, her support for me was unconditional - she taught me to embrace my dreams, reject conformity and challenge the dark voices of fear and self-doubt," her son wrote.
"As a writer, she taught me to defy genre boundaries and surrender to my obsessive passions."
Source - BBC
Meta releases social VR space Horizon Worlds
Meta has released its social virtual reality space, Horizon Worlds, after more than a year in private test mode.
It is the first major such release since Facebook renamed itself Meta and announced its plans to "build the metaverse" of connected digital worlds.
The app lets users build their own mini-games and activities on top of Meta's base game - similar to Roblox or other creator-focused apps.
There is no way for creators to make money directly from their worlds.
Instead, Meta has put $10m (£7.6m) into a "creator fund" to reward community creators who win competitions. That is different from apps such as Roblox, where creators can sell their games for in-app currency.
Horizon Worlds is, however, free to players using an Oculus Quest 2 headset sold by Meta.
Anyone aged 18 and over can create a legless, floating VR avatar - the same style as Meta is using in its workplace-focused meeting system - and get started.
"Our vision for Horizon Worlds is to bring to life a creator-friendly VR space with best-in-class social world-building tools," Meta said in its announcement. "And we've spent the past year developing those tools and improving them based on creator feedback."
The creation tools are built directly into the virtual reality game, so players can access them directly without any extra downloads or steps.
Players can fly around their world and place items such as trees or shapes to use as "building blocks" to make a custom digital environment. Then, they can use "scripts" - pre-made snippets of code that affect the world around the player - to set the rules of the game.
Similar ideas have already been implemented by other VR developers - such as Rec Room, which allows players to create their own "rooms" with games to play, or VR Chat, which allows the community to create avatar skins and social environments.
Meta says its take on the format has "thousands of worlds built already" during the invite-only beta.
They include shooting games, river cruises, a magic flying broomstick world, and platforming games, among many other ideas.
The US release of Horizon Worlds comes the day after the announcement that smash hit Among Us is being ported to virtual reality, as well as the surprise release on Friday of a Lady Gaga expansion pack for fan favourite Beat Saber - both announced at the Game Awards on Thursday.
At the same awards ceremony, the VR version of horror-action game Resident Evil 4 - which is exclusive to Meta's Oculus platform - picked up the accolade for best VR game.
Source - BBC