Region's tourism experts urge governments to forego measure on proof
Caribbean tourism experts are urging regional governments to seriously consider allowing visitors with proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test result to forego current quarantine requirements.
The suggestion was raised Wednesday and immediately picked up traction among industry leaders at an online discussion hosted by the umbrella Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) under the theme 'Peak Position'.
“Perhaps the time has come for Caribbean destinations to consider allowing people to skip quarantine once they are vaccinated and have a negative COVID-19 test,” Collin Pegler, managing director of resort marketing international, urged his colleagues at the well-supported CTO event.
Barbados Today online quoted Pegler as saying: “…So perhaps we will have to move into a vaccine passport situation. A lot of governments have shied away from this but I can't see it is a bad thing.
“You got a vaccination and you have a card in your hand that proves that you have had that vaccination along with a negative test up to three days before travel, then I don't understand the need for somebody to go into quarantine.”
Pegler's sentiments were echoed in the respected CondeNast Traveller magazine by Dr Karl Minges, chair of health administration and policy at University of New Haven, who said it is fair to assume that soon, hotels, airlines, and immigration services may require proof of vaccination before people are allowed to travel.
“This may be especially true for countries that have near-zero rates of transmission — New Zealand or parts of Australia — and are waiting to vaccinate the entire country,” said Minges. “You could receive a COVID-19 vaccination record to bring with you, for example.”
ECCB approves Royal Bank of Canada sale
Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, has confirmed that his organisation will be approving the sale of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) operations in several territories in the Eastern Caribbean.
Antoine, accompanied by chair of the Monetary Council, St Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Timothy Harris, made the disclosure during a press briefing following the conclusion of an ECCU Monetary Council meeting held recently at the ECCB headquarters in Basseterre, St Kitts.
RBC assets will be sold to a consortium of indigenous banks within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union jurisdiction, namely the 1st National Bank of St Lucia, Antigua Commercial Bank, National Bank of Dominica, Bank of Montserrat; and Bank of Nevis.
“On the question of RBC, the ECCB has approved the application for the sale of the RBC operations in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union to a consortium of indigenous or national banks. That process is now moving forward, and an announcement will be made in due course. But the idea is to conclude that transaction not too long from now,” Antoine said.
“So that is moving forward. In fact, I can tell you [on February 11, 2021] we submitted to the finance ministers a vesting order or vesting orders, which is an important legal instrument to transfer assets from one bank or banking entity to another,” he added.
The governor also briefly addressed the recent announcement by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) that its bid to sell a majority stake in FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited (FCIB) failed to meet the approval of Caribbean regulators.
“In terms of the sale of CIBC, I would simply confirm that regulators across the region considered it. Central Bank of Barbados is the lead regulator, based on the jurisdiction of CIBC FCIB. But all regulators, including the ECCB, were involved in that discussion, and came to that decision which has been conveyed… the application was denied,” he said.
Source- The Observer
PUBLIC FORECAST FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT FRIDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2021
TCI FORECAST FOR FRIDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY TO MOSTLY SUNNY AND WARM IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS…VARIABLY CLOUDY, WARM AND WINDY WITH THE CHANCE OF A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 10 T0 15 KNOTS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS AND EASTERLY AT 15 TO 25 KNOTS IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS.
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS AND 5 TO 8 FEET IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
Twitter unveils 'super follow' feature
Twitter has announced plans for a new "super follow" feature which will enable account holders to charge for exclusive additional content.
This could take the form of extra tweets, joining a community group or receiving a newsletter, the firm said.
Twitter unveiled its plans at a virtual event held for investors.
It's the first time in a while that the platform has announced significant changes to the way in which people can use it.
It also said it was testing a live audio discussion service - which has proved popular on a new rival, the audio-only social network Clubhouse.
"Why don't we start with why folks don't believe in us," said Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.
"It comes down to three critiques: we're slow, we're not innovative, and we're not trusted."
Twitter, which was launched in 2006 and recorded its first annual profit in 2018, said it hoped to double its revenue in 2023.
"Twitter is unquestionably looking for ways to drive new revenue streams with this new service," said analyst Ben Wood from CCS Insight.
"For those with compelling enough content this service could be attractive but I expect it will be hard to deliver big paydays for the average Twitter user."
The news has received a mixed reaction among Twitter users. Social media consultant Matt Navarra asked his followers whether they would be prepared to pay a premium for their favourite accounts - and 85% responded that they would not.
A spokesman for Twitter said Super Follow was due to be launched this year.
Source-BBC
TCI TODAY AND TONIGHT THURSDAY 25TH FEBRUARY 2021
TCI WEATHER: MOSTLY SUNNY, WARM AND BREEZY WITH THE CHANCE OF A FEW PASSING SHOWERS TODAY. FAIR AND BREEZY TONIGHT.
ADVISORY: A SMALL CRAFT CAUTION REMAINS IN EFFECT.
WINDS: EASTERLY AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS OVER OPEN WATERS.
SEAS: 4 TO 7 FEET OVER THE OCEAN.
DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE: 84°F 29°C
OVERNITE LOW TEMPERATURE: 72°F 22°C
SUNRISE: 6:36 AM SUNSET: 6:08 PM
MOONSET: 4:38 PM MOONRISE: 6:17 AM FRI.
HIGH TIDE: 6:11 AM & 6:28 PM
LOW TIDE: 12:38 PM & 12:36 AM FRI.
EXTENDED FORECAST: (FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS) A BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE WILL SUPPORT MOSTLY STABLE CONDITIONS AND BRISK WINDS ACROSS THE AREA INTO THE WEEKEND.
Tiger Woods "awake" and "recovering" following rollover car crash
Golfing legend Tiger Woods is "awake, responsive, and recovering" after a serious rollover car crash early Tuesday morning in Southern California.
"Mr. Woods suffered significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery by Orthopaedic trauma specialists at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center," Anish Mahajan, MD, Chief Medical Officer & Interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said in a statement late Tuesday night on Woods' Twitter account.
He is currently recovering in his hospital room after undergoing a long surgical procedure on his lower right leg and ankle after being brought to the hospital, officials said.
Investigators will be determining if distracted driving was a factor, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. There was no evidence of impairment, he said.
"Thankfully, the interior was more or less intact, which kind of gave him the cushion to survive what otherwise would have been a fatal crash," added Villanueva.
Woods also was wearing a seatbelt, which authorities said may have also played a part in saving his life.
Woods was going to a second day of shooting for sponsor GolfTV with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert when the crash took place, according to ESPN.
House Republican leaders clash over Trump speaking at CPAC
Former President Donald Trump and his future with the GOP was the subject of an awkward clash Wednesday between two House Republican leaders.
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy was unequivocal when asked if Trump should be speaking this Sunday at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference -- the large gathering of GOP and conservative leaders -- where Trump intends to focus on the election and press the narrative that he won it in a landslide.
"Yes he should," McCarthy, who recently went to visit Trump in Mar-a-Lago, replied.
House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney, the third-ranking House Republican who voted to impeach Trump and became his target, gave a different answer.
"That's up to CPAC ... I don't believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country," Cheney said as she stood behind McCarthy.
Representative Steve Scalise, the second-ranking House Republican, who also has visited Trump in Florida, shook his head.
McCarthy is slated to speak Saturday at the CPAC convention in Orlando, Florida.
Source- ABC
Djokovic dominates Medvedev to win record-extending ninth Australian Open
Peerless world number one Novak Djokovic demolished Russia's Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win his ninth Australian Open title and extend his record-breaking reign at Melbourne Park yesterday.
Djokovic overpowered the fourth seed 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in front of 7,400 fans on Rod Laver Arena to end the Russian's unbeaten run at 20 matches.
In winning a third-straight Australian Open for the second time, the Serb claimed his 18th Grand Slam title to move within two of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who have 20 each, while denying Medvedev his first.
Rarely has a player been so dominant at a single tournament, with the Serb's record-extending ninth title moving him past Federer's eight at Wimbledon, but still some way behind the 13 Nadal has won at Roland Garros.
But it was a roller-coaster ride to get there, with Djokovic dropping five sets en route to the final and battling an abdominal tear that nearly forced him to pull out after the third round.
Despite admitting it was a gamble to keep playing, with a risk the injury could get worse and affect the rest of his season, the 33-year-old chose to continue and it paid off.
He said, though, that the problem was “not healed” and he planned to take time off with no tournament commitments locked in after Australia.
Source-BBC
Tournament key to WI preparation for Sri Lanka series, says Grave
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave says the successful staging of the Super50 Cup will have positive repercussions for the West Indies team, especially being hosted just prior to the three-match one-day series against Sri Lanka next month.
The Super50, which bowled off here on February 7 and concludes next Saturday, is the first domestic regional tournament to be staged by CWI since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the Caribbean last march.
“The Super50 Cup is a really important tournament for us. It will lead in nicely to the One-Day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka which, obviously, forms part of the World Cup qualifiers for 2023,” Grave explained.
“So it's really important for the players that they've been given this opportunity to play some cricket for the selectors to get to see them up close and personal.
“Hopefully we can take those matches as preparation into the ODI series because it's really important on the back of losing all three in Bangladesh that we can bounce back and get up that Super League table, so that we don't have to go through the qualification for the next World Cup.”
The first-class championship was the last tournament to be staged by CWI and that was aborted last March with two rounds remaining, due to the threat of the coronavirus.
And while the Caribbean Premier League went ahead in August and September in Trinidad, the Super50 Cup remained off the table.
Eminem's "Lose Yourself" notches 1 billion steams on Spotify
Not many songs get to boast about being streamed a billion times, but when it comes to Eminem's breakout 2002 hit "Lose Yourself," the song has been dropping bombs on Spotify.
"Lose Yourself" continues to earn the rapper win after win. The Grammy and Academy Award-winning song officially surpassed a billion streams on Spotify.
Eminem took to Twitter to celebrate the major milestone, writing, "You can do anything you set your mind to, man... $LoseYourself is over 1 billion on @Spotify."
The 48-year-old artist also included a movie reel highlighting the single's numerous accolades over the years, starting with the song becoming his first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Lose Yourself" was the title track of 8 Mile, Eminem's 2002 semi-autobiographical movie. The movie's soundtrack also bowed atop the Billboard 200 when it hit shelves.
"Lose Yourself" later made history when it won the Oscar for Best Original Song, becoming the first hip hop song to do so. It also collected Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance. It was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media.
The song later earned certified-Diamond status from the RIAA, of which in 2014 he became the first artist in the recording agency's history to earn two digital diamond awards.
Source-ABC