Facebook to introduce advert rules
Facebook has announced a series of new policies to notify users about how they are being targeted with adverts.
Users will be informed when an advertiser has used a data broker, a company that collects and sells customer data to allow better advert targeting.
Advertisers will also have to confirm that the information was collected legally.
The changes will come into effect on 2 July.
The move is seen as a response to the crises that have plagued the social media giant over the past year, including the Cambridge Analytica scandal and accusations of Russian interference in the US election.
The policy change comes after a so-called "apology tour" which saw Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg appear before the US Congress and the European Parliament.
Other tech companies such as Apple have upped the data privacy consideration in their products.
Comcast bids for Murdoch's Fox assets in Disney challenge
Comcast, the US media conglomerate, has submitted another offer to buy parts of 21st Century Fox, after getting rebuffed last year in favour of Disney.
Comcast said it has offered $65bn (£48.6bn) in cash for Fox's studios and international businesses.
The bid sets up a fight with Disney, which announced its own plan to acquire Fox's businesses last year.
The two firms are also vying for ownership of Sky in the UK.
Comcast said its proposal is "at least as favourable" to shareholders as Disney's offer.
Comcast's proposal would create a massive media conglomerate with few rivals in America.
The firm, one of the largest providers of internet and pay TV in the US, already has a large television and film business, with subsidiaries such as NBC, Telemundo, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation.
It is seeking to add Fox's television and film studios, as well as international properties, including Star India and Sky.
The bid is a challenge to Disney, which announced in December that it would take over those assets in a stock transaction then valued at $52.4bn, or more than $66bn including debt.
The deal, described by the two companies as a merger, was set to give Fox shareholders a roughly 25% stake in Disney.
As part of the deal, Disney pledged to seek to win full ownership of Sky.
Fox, which is led by Rupert Murdoch and his sons, rejected an offer from Comcast last year, citing concerns that antitrust officials would oppose a deal.
But a court ruling this week on a similar merger may have alleviated those worries.
On Tuesday, a federal judge cleared the AT&T's takeover of Time Warner, rejecting regulator concerns that the tie-up would stifle competition and lead to higher consumer prices.
Regulators are currently reviewing the Disney transaction. Makan Delrahim, assistant attorney general for antitrust, recently signalled that regulators were open to the combination.
Under the Disney proposal, Fox would retain its news and sports businesses, including Fox News.
Source-BBC
Weather for TCI & Bahamas
GENERAL SITUATION: A PERSISTENT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IN THE EASTERN GULF OF MEXICO CONTINUES TO PUMP DEEP LAYERED TROPICAL AIRMASS ACROSS THE AREA GENERATING UNSETTLED WEATHER MOSTLY ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS
SPECIAL WARNINGS: BOATERS SHOULD REMAIN VIGILANT AS THERE REMAINS THE HIGH POTENTIAL FOR WATERSPOUT ACTIVITY MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS
FOR THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
WEATHER: VARIABLY CLOUDY, HUMID AND BREEZY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT OPERATORS SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXERCISE CAUTION
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET OVER THE OCEAN
HIGH TEMPERATURE TODAY 90F 32C
LOW TEMPERATURE TONIGHT 77F 25C
SUN MOON TIDES
SUNRISE: 6:20AM MOONRISE: 6:10AM HIGH TIDE: 6:53AM 7:25PM
SUNSET: 7:58PM MOONSET: 7:59PM LOW TIDE: 1:00PM 1:55AM THU
EXTENDED FORECAST: (FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS)...THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL WEAKEN WHILE CONTINUING TO PULL A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS ACROSS THE BAHAMAS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS GENERATING UNSETTLED WEATHER ACROSS THE ISLANDS
FORECAST FOR THURSDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY TO CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WINDS: SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS FALLING LIGHT AND VARIABLE IN THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS AND SOUTHEASTERLY AT 15 KNOTS IN THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS.
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS AND 3 TO 5 FEET IN THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
FORECAST FOR FRIDAY
WEATHER: VARIABLE CLOUDINESS WITH A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS
WINDS: SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH AT 10 KNOTS OR LESS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS AND EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
SEAS: 1 TO 3 FEET IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS AND 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK: Disorganized showers and thunderstorms located over the western Caribbean Sea are associated with a surface trough. This activity is forecast to move westward to northwestward over Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula during the next couple of days, with no significant development expected. Environmental conditions could become slightly more conducive for some development if the system moves into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico by the end of the week. Formation chance through 5 days is low...about 20 percent.
ExxonMobil announces the start of drilling off shore in Guyana
The US-based oil giant ExxonMobil yesterday announced that it has started development drilling offshore.
In a statement, the company said that the Liza Phase 1 development continues to rapidly progress and that development drilling began in May for the first of 17 wells planned for Phase 1, laying the foundation for production start-up in 2020.
The company and its co-venturers have so far discovered estimated recoverable resources of more than 3.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block.
President of ExxonMobil Development Company, Liam Mallon, said the work being done in Guyana is remarkable.
“We are well on our way to producing oil less than five years after our first discovery, which is well ahead of the industry average for similar projects. The Liza development and future projects will provide significant economic benefits to Guyana,” he said.
Liza Phase 1 is expected to generate over US$7 billion in royalty and profit oil revenues for Guyana over the life of the project.
The oil company said additional benefits will accrue from other development projects now being planned. Liza Phase 1 involves the conversion of an oil tanker into a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel named Liza Destiny, along with four undersea drill centers with 17 production wells. Construction of the FPSO and subsea equipment is under way in more than a dozen countries.
ExxonMobil said Liza Destiny will have a production capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day, and that a second FPSO with a capacity of 220,000 barrels per day is being planned as part of the Liza Phase 2 development, while a third is under consideration for the Payara development.
It said that together, these three developments will produce more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day.
“Guyanese businesses, contractors and employees have been an essential element of our exploration, drilling and development progress. Our focus is on enabling local workforce and supplier development, and collaborating with the Government to support the growth and success of Guyana's new energy industry,” Mallon said.
The company said that about 50 per cent of its employees, contractors and subcontractors are Guyanese, a number that will continue to grow as operations progress.
ExxonMobil said it spent about US$24 million with more than 300 local suppliers in 2017, and opened the Centre for Local Business Development in Georgetown, Guyana, to promote the establishment and growth of small and medium-sized local businesses. The centre has enabled access to training and capacity-building support for more than 275 local businesses.
The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres.
Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 per cent interest. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd holds 30 per cent interest and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25 per cent interest.
'I do trust him': Trump opens up about Kim Jong-un after historic summit
North Korea will denuclearize, President Trump declared in an exclusive interview with ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos just hours after intense and historic negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Stephanopoulos asked how Trump could trust the brutal dictator.
"I do trust him, yeah," Trump said. "Maybe in a year you’ll be interviewing and I'll say I made a mistake. It's possible. We’re dealing at a high level, a lot of things can change a lot of things are possible."
He pressed the president on his previous criticism of North Korea's human rights abuses including starving his people, running labor camps and assassinating members of his own family.
"George, I'm given what I'm given," Trump said. "This is what we have, this is where we are, and I can only tell you from my experience, and I’ve met him, I've spoken with him. I’ve met him. And this is, this has started early and it's been very intense. I think that he really wants to do a great job for North Korea. I think he wants to de-nuke, without that, there's nothing to discuss. It was on the table from the beginning, and you see a total denuclearization of North Korea – so important."
Trump talked about the agreements that were reached at the summit in Singapore Tuesday, saying that he believes the North Korean leader "wants to do the right thing".
"We have the framework for getting ready to denuclearize," Trump said. "He's de-nuking the whole place. I think he's going to start now."
Trump seemed to hold an optimistic take on Kim's intentions, saying that the dictator "really wants to do something I think terrific for their country."
When asked if there was talk of pulling U.S. troops out of South Korea, Trump said the topic didn't come up.
"We didn't discuss that, no. We're not going to play the war games... I thought they were very provocative. I also they're also very expensive," Trump said.
Another potential sticking point that didn't come up? The nuclear umbrella that the U.S. has over South Korea, that is intended to protect it from any missile strikes from the North.
When asked by Stephanopoulos if the removal of the nuclear umbrella was "on the table," Trump said no, saying the umbrella had not even been discussed.
An underlying strain of Trump's takeaways from the interview was Kim's perceived willingness to do the right thing.
"Over my lifetime I've done a lot of deals with a lot of people and sometimes the people you most distrust turn out to be the most honorable ones and the people that you do trust turn out to be not the honorable ones," Trump said.
"I believe he wants to get it done."
Source-ABC
Fans and soccer stars arrive in Russia ahead of World Cup
Fans and stars of international soccer are arriving in Russia as the country prepares for the World Cup that kicks off on Thursday.
The month-long tournament will begin with Russia playing Saudi Arabia in Moscow. National teams have been arriving for the past week, spreading out to team bases across the 11 cities that are hosting the tournament, from Sochi on the Black Sea to Ekaterinburg on the western edge of Siberia.
Russian authorities have said they expect around one million fans to visit. In Moscow on Tuesday, small groups were beginning to appear around the city in brightly-colored national dress.
A massive fan zone, capable of holding 25,000 people, has been constructed in the shadow of the Stalinist skyscraper of Moscow State University, looking out over the city’s main Luzhniki stadium, where the World Cup final will be played. A viewing area has been set up on Red Square by the Kremlin, more widely known abroad for the tank parades that roll across it each year.
Just off the square on Tuesday, a small crowd of pleased and bemused-looking Russians watched as a group of elderly Brazilian fans played drum music and sang. Most of the fans nearby were from South American countries, such as Peru, Columbia and Uruguay. Thousands of Americans are still expected to travel, with over 88,000 tickets sold to U.S. fans, despite their team’s failure to qualify.
More visible than the fans so far in Moscow was the massive security presence being deployed to guard the event against fan trouble, and in particular Islamic terrorism. Thousands of extra police have been called up from all over the country and there are extra patrols in many areas.
Concerns about security have been prominent, with attention particularly focused on potential violence from Russian soccer hooligans, who ran amok at the last major international competition involving Russia, the 2016 European Championship in France. But worries that Russia could see a repeat of the chaotic street battles that took place in Marseilles there have been overblown amid an intense crackdown by Russian security services against the hooligan groups.
Hooligans have described to ABC News receiving calls and house visits from police and officers from the FSB security service informing them to behave. They said their groups' leaders are under surveillance, with their phones tapped.
Zhenya, a veteran member of a hooligan group that supports CSKA Moscow and who didn’t not want to give his full name for fear of repercussions, told ABC News how armed police had raided his house as a warning.
A wave of arrests last year has also chilled the violent fan scene, while anti-hooligan practices long common in Europe, such as stadium bans have been introduced.
“The movement is effectively paralyzed,” Ivan ‘Il Duche’, a well-known former fan leader, told ABC News.
Under such pressure, over a dozen former and active hooligans told ABC News that they expect no major violence.
Source-ABC
Maxwell releases ominous new single, “We Never Saw It Coming”
After teasing new music over the past few weeks, Maxwell released his new single, “We Never Saw It Coming,” Wednesday.
The song is accompanied by a short film called The Glass House featuring Nigerian model/journalist Yomi Abiola. The three-time Grammy Award winner tweeted clips from the mini-movie as he appears with her in a spacious home atop a mountain. She’s pregnant, and obviously angry as she slams a coffee cup in the kitchen.
As the couple sit across from each other at a table, she says, “What are you saying, I don’t understand.”
Later, as she holds a baby in her arms, they stand at a window, holding hands, and witness an explosion from afar as a mushroom cloud forms over the city.
In the song, Maxwell sings, “We never been so divided, scattered and spread among/Like useful ashes the phoenix overcomes/And what can I do I know it’s so uncontrollable/We never saw it, like the bombs that’s blasting, religious clashing, the world is asking/We never saw this, we never never saw this coming, coming.”
The film was directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, who shot the short film Kill Jay-Z for JAY-Z’s 2017 album 4:44.
Maxwell’s most recent album, blackSummers’night, was released July 1, 2016. No word yet on the release date of his next album.
Source- ABCNews
13th POST CABINET MEETING STATEMENT
Her Excellency the Acting Governor, Anya Williams, chaired the 13th meeting of Cabinet on Wednesday, 6 June 2018, at the Hon. Hilly Ewing Building on Providenciales.
All Ministers were present except the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture.
At this meeting Cabinet:
· Approved a business licence application by Griffiths and Partners Attorneys to operate business in an area of restricted business activity in accordance with the Business Licensing Regulations;
· Advised Her Excellency the Acting Governor to approve, with amendments being made, the draft TCIG Contributions Policy Paper governing cash grant contributions by government departments to organisations promoting the interests of TCI;
· Approved the appointment of Mrs Noreane Beatrice Williams-McKoy as the Chair of the South Caicos District Board in accordance with Section 4 of the Caicos District Boards Ordinance 1945;
· Received an information paper from the Hon. Premier, as Minister of Finance, Trade and Investment, updating Cabinet on the ongoing work into the review of the Service Charges (Hotels and Restaurants) Ordinance (2004);
· Approved the draft Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2018 and Immigration (Amendment) Regulations 2018 for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval;
· Approved the draft Companies (Amendment) Bill 2018 for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval;
· Discussed a proposal by InterHealth Canada (TCI) to refresh the IT systems at its hospitals in TCI. Cabinet agreed, in principle, that the IT systems should be refreshed subject to further information being provided to Cabinet;
· Advised Her Excellency the Acting Governor to approve, subject to clarifications and amendments being made, the 2018/19 Draft Revenue and Expenditure Budget Estimates of the Self-Financing Statutory Bodies for tabling at the next sitting of the House of Assembly in accordance with Section 52 of the Public Finance Management Ordinance 2012;
· Advised Her Excellency the Acting Governor to approve, subject to clarifications and amendments being made, the 2018/19 TCI Government Draft Revenue and Expenditure Budget Estimates for forwarding to the House of Assembly once approval of the Fiscal Strategic Policy Statement 2018/2022 has been received from the UK Government;
· Was advised by the Hon. Premier of her intention to attend the Pre Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) meeting being held in London from 12-15 June;
· Was advised by the Hon. Premier that the House of Assembly would reopen on 18 June;
· Was advised by the Hon. Deputy Premier and Minister of Border Control of his ongoing dialogue with the UK Border Force Team and their intention to submit their findings by 11 June;
· Was advised by Her Excellency the Acting Governor of the outcome of the 4th State of Preparedness Meeting which she co-chaired with the Hon. Acting Premier and the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs on 30 May on Grand Turk to discuss TCI's state of preparedness for this year's hurricane season;
· Received an update from the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs on his tour of hurricane shelters around the islands and the completion of visits to North, Middle and South Caicos and his intended visit to Salt Cay;
· Was advised by Her Excellency the Acting Governor of the receipt of three vector control vehicles from the UK Government Agency, Public Health England, which would be officially handed over to the Hon. Minister of Health and his Ministry for deployment as part of a wider package of vector control assistance for TCI being funded by the UK Government.
Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.
Trump says Russia should be part of summit
US President Donald Trump says Russia should be attending a summit of the G7 group of key industrialised nations.
Russia was expelled in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea, but Mr Trump said he wanted them there.
The build-up to the meeting has been marred by clashes between the US president and other nations over his imposition of trade tariffs.
There are also likely to be disagreements with Mr Trump over Iran and climate change.
The G7 summit, which groups Canada, the US, the UK, France, Italy, Japan and Germany, is being held in the town of La Malbaie in Quebec, Canada.
The leaders of the nations, which represent more than 60% of global net worth, meet annually. Economics tops the agenda, although the meetings now always branch off to cover major global issues.
Arriving at the summit, Mr Trump said he regretted the meeting had shrunk in size - potentially putting him at odds with other members on another issue.
"You know, whether you like it or - and it may not be politically correct - but we have a world to run and in the G7, which used to be the G8 they threw Russia out, they should let Russia come back in," he said.
Although much has been made of the bonhomie between the US president and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the latter was pulling no punches ahead of the talks.
In a tweet, Mr Macron said if Mr Trump wanted to be isolated, the six other nations would sign their own agreement if need be "because these six countries represent values, they represent an economic market which has the weight of history behind it and which is now a true international force".
Host leader Justin Trudeau has also flirted with a "bromance" approach to Mr Trump but has appeared far more confrontational recently, particularly with the stalling of talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).
He described Mr Trump's citing of national security to defend his steel and aluminium tariffs as "laughable".
Never one to back down, Mr Trump fired off defiant tweets, accusing Mr Trudeau of being "indignant" and the European Union and Canada of erecting "massive trade tariffs and non-monetary trade barriers against the US" for years.
"Take down your tariffs and barriers or we will more than match you," he wrote.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May appeared to take a more conciliatory approach, saying she wanted the EU to act with restraint and proportion in retaliating to the US tariffs.
It is likely that Brexit, in particular trade deals following the UK's exit from the EU, will also be on her agenda.
Unlike Mr Macron and Mr Trudeau, she won't be having a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump, but insisted on Friday it was not a snub.
Mr Trump will apparently be the last to arrive and the White House said he would fly out early, on Saturday morning, to head to Singapore for his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Source-CNN
Celebrity chef found dead at 61
US celebrity chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain has been found dead in his hotel room, aged 61, of a suspected suicide, CNN reports.
The culinary enfant terrible was in Strasbourg, France, working on a shoot for his series, Parts Unknown, on CNN.
"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," the cable network said in a statement on Friday.
Bourdain was a best-selling food, fiction and nonfiction author.
CNN's statement continued: "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller.
"His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time."
He shot to fame in 2000 with a best-selling book called Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, a behind-the-scenes expose on the world of haute cuisine.
In the book he wrote candidly about his abuse of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and LSD.
Bourdain travelled more than 250 days of the year to film his show, he told the Wall Street Journal in March.
Bourdian's death comes days after the suicide of another much-loved celebrity, 55-year-old fashion designer Kate Spade, in New York.
On Thursday, US government health officials said US suicides had risen by 30% since 1999, and that the crisis presented a growing problem. Nearly 45,000 Americans died by suicide in 2016.
US President Donald Trump said as he left the White House for the G7 summit: "I want to extend to his family my heartfelt condolences."
"That was a shock when I woke up this morning: Anthony Bourdain is dead! I enjoyed his show, he was quite a character."
He added that he also wished to give condolences to the family of Kate Spade.
Tributes have been pouring in from fellow foodies, celebrities, entertainers, and broadcasters.
Source- CNN