Drake and Live Nation partner to bring live music venue, History, to Toronto
No need to wonder "What's Next" for Drake. On Tuesday, it was announced that the rapper has teamed up with Live Nation to bring a new music venue to his hometown of Toronto.
The venue, called History, holds an intimate capacity audience of 2,500, something the 34-year-old rapper believes will be memorable for artists and fans alike.
"Some of my most memorable shows were playing smaller rooms like History,” said Drake in a statement, according to Variety. "I wanted to take those memories and what I learned to create an incredible experience for both the artists and the fans."
After more than three years in development, History is set to open its doors later this summer. The venue will offer a multitude of seating configurations that will allow a variety of events to take place there. Per the announcement, the space will "offer artists a versatile and intimate destination to perform and connect with fans in Toronto," with plans to host 200 concerts and events annually.
Find more information at HistoryToronto.com.
Source-ABC
Two Caribbean countries record COVID deaths
Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname recorded deaths linked to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic over the last 24 hours, according to health authorities in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries.
In Trinidad, the Ministry of Health said that 10 deaths brought the death toll to 599 while 280 positive cases brought the total number to 27,079 since the first case was detected in March last year. The country has 9,833 active cases with 16,647 people having recovered from the virus.
The ministry said eight men including “one young adult male” and two women, all with comorbidities succumbed to the virus that has 450 patients in hospitals across the island, 117 in state sanctioned quarantine facilities and 8,934 in home isolation.
In Suriname, five people died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. As a result, the number of corona deaths rose to 355 overall, including 53 in just the first week of June. Last month, a record 98 people died from the virus.
The health authorities said that of the 497 citizens who reported to the swab units in the past 24 hours, 49.3 per cent tested positive. With the 245 new cases, the country now has 16,786 positive cases.
There are 261 people in the hospitals, and 35 patients are in the intensive care units. A total of 12,725 civilians have been healed, including 207 in the past 24 hours. Currently, there are 1,894 people who have tested positive in isolation.
Source-CMC
Guterres tapped for second term as UN chief
The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday approved Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a second term, with conflict resolution set to top his agenda at the world body's helm.
The 72-year-old former prime minister of Portugal has held the office since 2017 and faced no competition for the next term in the job.
Around 10 other people also sought the post, but they were not formal candidates because none of the 193 UN member states endorsed them.
During a brief closed door session the Security Council voted unanimously to recommend that the General Assembly give Guterres another term, said the council's current president, Estonian ambassador Sven Jurgenson.
Approval from the General Assembly is seen as a formality and expected to take place soon.
During his first term Guterres was forced to concentrate on limiting the potential damage from the unilateral, nationalist and alliance-wary foreign policy of then US president Donald Trump.
Now, as he embarks on a new term, Guterres will need "a battle plan" for all the crises around the globe, one diplomat said.
He can point to few major diplomatic victories over the past five years. Wars or conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Mali, for instance, are nowhere near resolution.
A peace process has begun in Libya, which descended into violent chaos after the death of Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, but the UN is mainly seen as playing an accompanying role.
Critics also point to the UN's passivity in the face of Myanmar's military crackdown against the Rohingya people since 2017, which UN investigators have said amounts to genocide.
Guterres said last month that "key elements" of his work depended on discretion.
"Sometimes to be effective, it needs to be done discreetly, to establish back channels between parties," Guterres said.
Such channels, he said, "are essential to avoid the worst in the confrontations and to try to find solutions".
Under constant pressure from major powers and small countries alike, Guterres managed to avoid alienating any of the five permanent members of the Security Council. This locked in a second term for him.
Source-AFP
DEPUTY PREMIER AND MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HON. E. JAY SAUNDERS VISITS SISTER ISLANDS
Deputy Premier & Minister for Health and Human Services, Hon. E. Jay Saunders commenced an all-island tour of the Primary Health Care facilities and other health departments across the Turks and Caicos on Monday, May 17th, 2021.
Beginning on North Caicos at 10:00am, Deputy Premier Saunders and his team from the Ministry visited the Primary Health Care clinics, Environmental Health Department and dumpsites. On May 27th, 2021 the team conducted similar visits on South Caicos.
The Deputy Premier was accompanied on the tour by Mrs. Desiree Lewis, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Human Services, Dr. Nadia Astwood -Chief Medical Officer, Chief Dental Officer, Dr. Janice Baron, Chief Environmental Officer, Mr. Kenrick Neely, Primary Health Care Manager, Nurse Alrisa Gardiner, Deputy CMO, Dr Jeremy Myers, Director for Health Disaster Education & Training, Ms. Charlene Higgs, Ms. Renessa Williams, Head of Secretariat and Ms. Lareesa Robinson, Executive Administrator.
The delegation met with staff, assessed the progress made in respect to COVID-19 response, evaluated the readiness of facilities for the 2021 Hurricane Season and assessed any challenges staff currently face to ensure that plans are in place to provide the resources necessary for them to operate efficiently and effectively.
Commenting on the recent visits, the Deputy Premier said, “I am always happy when I get an opportunity to meet our team in person, particularly at their place of work. These visits allow me to hear their concerns and see firsthand the conditions that they’re working under. The Ministry of Health will ensure that our officers have the relevant resources and infrastructure to carry out their functions. It is important to me as Deputy Premier and Minister for Health that the needs of our healthcare professionals are always met and that they are given the tools to do their jobs at the highest level.”
Scotiabank TCI Manager Urges Vigilance on Fake Apps, Email Scams on the rise
Scotiabank has urged increased vigilance among its customers when navigating websites, using mobile applications, and responding to any email requests purporting to be from the Bank.
“Customers are also asked to take steps to verify the legitimacy of any email, websites and apps – especially sites used to conduct purchases and other financial transactions or requesting personal information,” shared Ira Taylor, Branch Manager, Scotiabank TCI.
Taylor notes that across the region, the Bank has noted multiple attempts to defraud customers or obtain personal information using online channels.
Fake websites and apps
Taylor says online criminals have become more skilled at creating fake websites and mobile applications that appear identical to legitimate one.
He noted that scammers often create fake correspondence, apps and websites with names that are so similar that a user may not notice the difference. One of the first things that a user can look out for is differences in the name, formatting, and general appearance of the online item. Broken links and sites that appear to be poorly designed are an immediate tell-tale sign that a website may be a fraud.
With regard to apps, if the user is bombarded with multiple requests for personal information, several pop-up ads or other abnormal requests, users should immediately exit and uninstall the app,” he instructed.
Missing Contact Information
Customers should check to ensure that retail websites have up-to-date contact information such as a working telephone number that a human representative answers, a legitimate email address as well as a mailing address. “This is important in the event that the customer or the Bank needs to seek redress on a purchase or transaction,” Taylor explained.
Suspicious Requests for Personal Information
Email or phishing scams are another way that customers are being deceived. “Many can be so convincing in appearance that they can be easily mistaken. Email scams often prompt recipients to take immediate action to prevent or stop unauthorized access and in doing so, customers can unwittingly expose their personal information.”
Scotiabank says it will never request personal information, payments, passwords, personal identification numbers (PINS) by asking them to click a link.
Scams Evolve
“We want everyone to be cautious as it is very difficult to provide a full list of the methods that are used to scam customers” Taylor said. ”If you may have accidentally clicked a link or provided such information, immediate contact should be made with the Bank.”
He also noted that increasingly the financial industry has been a key target for scammers who have even created sites that mimic Banks’ online and mobile channels.
AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FORECAST TUESDAY 8TH, JUNE 2021
HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS STATIONARY ACROSS THE BAHAMAS, PRODUCING PLEASANT WEATHER AND MODERATE TO FRESH WINDS OVER THE ISLANDS.
SPECIAL WARNINGS: THERE IS THE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS ALONG EASTERLY AND SOUTHEASTERN SHORELINES.
FOR ALL AREAS
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY HOT AND BREEZY WITH AN ISOLATED SHOWER, BECOMING FAIR AND WARM TONIGHT
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT CAUTION CONTINUES
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS WITH HIGHER GUSTS
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET, HIGHER IN GUST
DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE 90F 32C
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURE 73F 23C
SUN
SUNSET: 7:57 PM SUNRISE: 6:19 WED AM
MOON
MOONSET: 6:37 PM MOONRISE: 5:39 AM WED
TIDES
LOW TIDE: 1:18 PM 2:10 WED AM
HIGH TIDE: 7:42 PM 7:54 WED AM
WEATHER OUTLOOK: AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL PRODUCE CLOUDY SKIES WITH INCREASING SHOWER ACTIVITY ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS TOMORROW.
TROPICAL WEATHER: AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE HAS A LOW 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF DEVELOPMENT OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. SOME GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT WILL BE POSSIBLE AS THE SYSTEM MOVES SLOWLY NORTHWESTWARD TOWARD CENTRAL AMERICA.
TCIFA GENERAL SECRETARY, OLIVER SMITH OFFERS APOLOGY FOLLOWING CONCACAF GAME.
A video posted online, which has surpassed 140 thousand views on Facebook, depicts TCIFA General Secretary Responsible for Coaching, Oliver Smith walking onto the football pitch in Providenciales and ripping a football out of the hands of member of the Haitian team.
This was after an exciting Concacaf World Cup Qualifier match-up between the TCI and Haitian football teams which ended in a 10-0 victory for the Haitian team. The initial reaction from the public ranged from anger to confusion.
Mr. Smith following the action has issued an apology to all who witnessed the ordeal via RTC Sports:
"On June 5, 2021, approximately 10 to 15 minutes after a World Cup qualifier game between the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti Men’s National Team there was an exchange between some members of the Haitian football team and I.
The exchange was as a result of the Haitian Team’s refusal to return footballs belonging to the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association. My response was not in keeping with established protocols, and was unbecoming of a representative of the TCIFA. For that I apologize to all affected parties.
This situation serves as a poignant reminder to all stakeholders to remain respectful of each other, and that football is a sport which unites all nations and creeds. It is through this sport that opportunities for advancement have been made available to many persons living in the Turks and Caicos Islands irrespective of nationality.
We all have a role in safeguarding the sanctity of the game, and we must never allow tempers or egos to overshadow its purpose. I am now equally painfully reminded of that and again express my apology."
RTC's Ruthea Robinson got the chance to ratify some of the details surrounding the incident in an exclusive interview with the President of the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association, Sonia Fulford. She explained that prior to the incident the match was a beautiful 90 minutes of football and that the video only captured an excerpt of the heat of the moment caused by emotions running high.
The confrontation started because of the confusion surrounding who keeps the footballs used in the game. In football culture a well known practice is that when a team or player performs a hat trick, which is the achievement of a generally positive feat (goal) three times in a game, they would take home the football that was used. In this case the team that performed the hat trick was Haitian team were allowed to keep one of the match balls after the match but were unaware that the TCI equipment manager was looking to put away the rest of the balls, two of which the Haitian team was still holding on to.
Smith went to retrieve these balls and after asking the Haitian team’s coach for assistance and after receiving none, he sought to collect them himself.
This, according to the President, led to Smith taking the ball from one of the Haitian players as seen in the viral video.
The president noted that beyond the confusion surrounding the possession of the balls there were other protocols that were being ignored by both teams. For instance, both teams were supposed to leave the field immediately after the match officially ended, however both teams stayed on the field.
The President stated that she does not condone the actions of the General Secretary in any way. However, she does acknowledge that both sides had a role in escalating the confrontation. On the note of taking disciplinary actions, she clarified that she cannot disclose the specifics but that the association is currently investigating the situation and is internally dealing with the matter.
She also shared a heart-felt apology on behalf of Smith and the Association saying that he wanted to take part in the interview but she advised against his appearance. The president did not mention what she thought the reaction of the TCI Sports Commission would be but noted that internationally situations like these are common place and that she has personally witnessed much worse incidents.
The President ended by stating that there will be immediate action taken to ensure that an incident like this does not happen again.
Following that interview, RTC Sports on Wednesday June 9th received an email from the TCIFA on the actions that will be taken against Mr. Smith:
Following the unfortunate incident involving our General Secretary, Oliver Smith, after the completion of our World Cup Qualifier game versus Haiti this past Saturday, an internal review of the incident and our General Secretary’s conduct has been undertaken by the TCIFA Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee has found that the General Secretary brought the TCIFA into disrepute, and did not act in the best interests of football or the FA. We acknowledge the sincere remorse and public apology of the General Secretary, however, the decision has been made to suspend the General Secretary with immediate effect for two months from all football activities.
Protocols will be more strictly enforced in the future added Mrs. Sonia Fulford.
The Conjuring 3 scares its way to No.1 at the box office
A horror film has once again taken the top spot at this week's box office. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It made an estimated $24 million besting last week's leader A Quiet Place Part II ($20 million), according to Comscore.
Third place goes to Disney's Cruella ($11.2 million), followed by Spirit Untamed ($6.2 million), and Raya and the Last Dragon ($1.3 million) rounds out the top five.
The Conjuring 3, however, was short of beating A Quiet Place's record for the best opening during the pandemic era with $48 million. Currently, 75 percent of all North American theaters are open.
It was confirmed on Friday that a third installment of the latter was greenlit with a tentative date of March 31, 2023, for release. Jeff Nichols is set to take over writing and directing from John Krasinski as the film expands on the universe created by the former The Office star, according to Deadline.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson star as married paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren in The Conjuring 3, a couple who witnessed the exorcism of an eight-year-old in the small Connecticut town of Brookfield. Due to the events of that fateful night, the Warrens become involved with the investigation into the demon's origins while chasing the exchange of an evil totem that takes them across state lines.
The film costars Ruari O'Connor, John Noble, Sterling Jerins, and Charlene Amoia.
Cinemascore audiences gave the film a B+.
Also making its debut this weekend is DreamWorks Animations Spirit Untamed, a spin-off of 2002's Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The latest film, directed by Elaine Bogan, follows the adventures of a spirit young girl named Fortuna (voiced by Isabela Merced), who discovers she has a magical connection to a wild horse most are intimidated by.
Other featured voices include Julianne Moore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza González, Andre Brauer, and Walton Goggins.
Moviegoers at Cinemascore awarded the animated film an A rating.
Check out the June 4-6 numbers below:
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It— $24 million
A Quiet Place Part II — $20 million
Cruella — $11.2 million
Spirit Untamed— $6.2 million
Raya and the Last Dragon — $1.3 million
Wrath of Man — $1.3 million
Spiral—$900k
Godzilla vs. Kong— $500k
Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train— $450k
Dream Horse— $230k
Source-EW
Atlanta Hawks moves onto victory over Philadelphia 76ers
Trae Young scored 35 points as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-124 in the opening game of their NBA play-off series.
Young starred in Atlanta's first-round series win over the New York Knicks, averaging 29 points a game.
And the 22-year-old was on form again, leading the Hawks to a dominant victory despite a late 76ers fightback.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 126-111 in game seven of their first-round series.
Young helped the Hawks to a fast start and they held a 19-point lead with eight minutes left.
Philadelphia produced a late comeback, scoring 11 straight points, but Atlanta held on.
Game two of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series is in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The series winners will face either the Milwaukee Bucks or the Brooklyn Nets for a place in next month's NBA Finals.
Source-BBC
PREMIER ATTENDED UKOTA PRE JOINT MINISTERIAL COUNCIL MEETING
The Premier and Minister for Finance, Investment and Trade, Honourable Charles Washington Misick attended the annual United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) Pre-Joint Ministerial Council (Pre JMC) Meeting which was hosted virtually by the UKOTA President of Political Council, Premier of Bermuda the Honourable David Burt, on Thursday, 27 May 2021.
All Overseas Territories (OT) Leaders made representation at the conference to discuss and agree on pertinent matters and the format of the annual Joint Ministerial Conference.
During the meeting, Overseas Territories (OT) Leaders discussed a number of topics including: -
- OT/ UK Relationship post EU Exit
- Environment
- Ocean Management
- Crisis and Disaster Management
- Border Security
- Financial Services
- Post COVID economic recovery and resilience
The Premier shared with OT heads of government and delegates, TCI’s successes in the management of COVID-19 and highlighted the country’s positive vaccination rate. The council heard also updates from the Premier on the impact of the pandemic on the TCI’s tourism industry, the TCI Citizen Relief Stimulus and the careful management of the country’s finances during the COVID-19 pandemic period, Premier Misick stated: “We were fortunate to have entered the pandemic in a strong financial position with a BBB+ credit rating and I am pleased to report that we will maintain that standard going forward.”
Amendments to the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution were also highlighted as a priority matter to be discussed at the upcoming Joint Ministerial Council Meeting at the end of the year.
OT Leaders all expressed a united stance on all issues raised. At the end of the meeting, agreed priority agenda items was collated in a letter which will be submitted to the Minister for the Commonwealth at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Ahmad ahead of the Joint Ministerial Conference 2021.
The Premier was joined by Executive Director for the Office of the Premier, Ronlee James and United Kingdom Representatives from the TCI Government London Office, Tracy Knight and Kimo Tynes.
The Pre JMC was launched as an initiative of the United Kingdom Overseas Territory Association (UKOTA). UKOTA was established to promote the interests of Overseas Territories and the co-operation between them. Specifically, UKOTA demonstrates the collective and individual partnerships between the territories and the United Kingdom Government.