Turks and Caicos Islands latest FSAP experience is discussed in Caribbean Forum
The Caribbean Association of Insurance Regulators (CAIR) in conjunction with the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) organized a two day Conference and Meeting on June 10-12 in Trinidad and Tobago ,under the theme “Regional collaboration: enhancing insurance supervision and regulation”.
During the Conference, regional supervisory groups for insurance discussed their goals and objectives and current supervisory methodologies. Participants and presenters contributed ideas on how to better advance regulation regimes in the Caribbean and reviewed lessons learnt from Jamaica, Trinidad and the Bahamas.
Turks and Caicos Financial Services Commission (FSC) Managing Director Kevin Higgins gave insight into the TCI experience following its latest financial stability assessment conducted under the IMF’s Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP).
Noting that the assessment, which concluded in early May, had generated interest in the region, Mr. Higgins said dialogue and exchange at regulatory regional level is of fundamental importance to a sound supervisory regime, to the protection of policyholders and to financial stability as a whole.
“The Turks and Caicos Financial Commission was invited to this collaborative forum to discuss its views and experience on the heels of the FSAP; we are pleased that the Commission continues to bring a valuable perspective to the issue of insurance supervision and regulation in the region, ” said Higgins.
The TCI FSAP preliminary findings were summarized in a press release issued by the team of visiting International Monetary Fund experts. They indicated that, despite challenges and limitations, the FSC had made notable progress since the previous IMF assessment in 2003 and had now better governance, ample financial resources, and supervisory power.
The findings highlighted few initial recommendations such as the need to enhance regulation and supervision, to earmark funds for policyholder payout and to formalize communication and consultation with the industry in order to facilitate dialogues.
The final report is expected by July 2015.
David Smith to challenge extradition ruling
Convicted Ponzi schemer David Smith is to challenge a ruling by a Turks and Caicos magistrate that he be extradited to the United States to serve time.
Douglas Leys, QC, of the firm Leys Smith, told the Jamaica Observer that the ruling delivered by Magistrate Clifton Warner is to be challenged.
Warner had delivered a split decision. On the one hand he ruled that Smith be extradited on a charge of money laundering, while on the other hand he refused to extradite the former Olint boss on the more serious charge of wire fraud.
The wire fraud charge carries a sentence of 20 years, while the money laundering charge carries a 10-year sentence.
Smith's case was argued in the Turks and Caicos by Oliver Smith and Kimone Tenant of Leys Smith.
DAIC attends Third Regional Caribbean Growth Forum
The DAIC, at the invitation of the Government of St. Lucia, attended the “Third Regional Caribbean Growth Forum”, Pigeon Island, St. Lucia, June 16-17, 2015.
Dominica had representation from the Dominica Manufacturers Association and the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce. Other local private sector representation invitations were included however not all were able to participate. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Planning, Economic Development and Investment, Mrs. Gloria Joseph was in attendance as well as representatives from the Reform Unit and the Ministry of Finance.
The high level forum included regional representation of a wide base from Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, all the way to Belize and Suriname to name a handful. Ministers attended from across the region, alongside their Economic Advisors. A critical element in this forum was the presence of Civil Society, Academia, the youth and Private Sector representation, all of whom were given the task of formulating the original input in each of their countries at the onset of the Forum in 2012 and monitoring the implementation of the development of the policy reforms in each of their respective islands.
The Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF) is a facilitated methodology for public-private dialogue around issues central to private sector development and growth. It brings a non-traditional approach to the greatest challenge currently faced by the region – creating sustainable and inclusive growth. The Forum also aims to facilitate an action oriented dialogue around key policy reforms needed across three thematic areas: Investment Climate, Skills and Productivity and Logistics and Connectivity.
The Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF) is a joint initiative by the Compete Caribbean Program, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Caribbean Development Bank. It is supported by the Canadian International Development Agency, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, CARICOM Secretariat, and the University of the West Indies.
Many Caribbean territories have a very good starting point with draft or completed national growth strategies. Therefore, the aim is to identify the priorities within the three pillars of the CGF that can contribute to these national strategies. In this respect, the CGF’s methodology has been designed to result in a consensual, concrete action plan with specific responsibilities and timelines, and it has built in transparency and accountability mechanisms to make sure that, over time, results are delivered. The CGF is part of the donor agencies’ commitment to support the Caribbean and develop and implement inclusive growth policies that generate jobs and opportunities for all. Ahead of the playing field in implementation of strategies to work towards reform and policy implementation are the Dominican Republic and Grenada. Affects of the agenda are already being realized in both countries.
Source-DominicaVibes
YouTube Launches ‘YouTube Newswire’
Google’s YouTube launched the YouTube Newswire channel that will post videos of the most newsworthy events occurring on a daily basis, according to reports.
According to a report by The Verge, Google will provide "a curated feed of the most newsworthy eyewitness videos of the day," which will allow viewers and journalists find the most relevant footage on YouTube.
YouTube has changed the way news organizations report on any big event and now with the launch of YouTube Newswire, the search engine giant wants to help the media find eyewitnesses videos and make sure they are trustworthy, reports CNET. The publication mentioned that YouTube Newswire collects and scrutinizes eyewitness videos from current events, making it convenient for news organizations to add them to their stories.
The new service is a joint collaboration between Google’s News Lab and Storyful, a News Corp-owned startup that targets at news coming from social media, reports CNET.
Olivia Ma, Head of Strategy and Operations, News Lab at Google said in an official blog post, “Today, more than 5 million hours of news video is watched on YouTube every day, and the role of the eyewitness has never had a more vital place in the newsgathering process.”
Besides the launch of YouTube Newswire, the YouTube official blog also announced the launch of two new projects that would support eyewitness journalism. The ‘First Draft Coalition; project announced by YouTube will be an educational resource for journalists as it will help them to verify eyewitness' videos and take cognizance of the ethics of using them is stories. The other project announced at the same time is YouTube’s partnership with Witness Media Lab that will provide a platform for people to share eyewitness video of human rights atrocities around the world.
According to a report on Tech Times, Storyful has been working with YouTube since a long time and it has verified YouTube videos since 2010, examining over 100,000 videos on YouTube till date.
Source-ibtimes
Google acts to curb ‘revenge porn’ from search results
Google said Friday it was taking steps to remove from search results “revenge porn,” or sexually explicit images of people posted without their consent.
The Internet search giant said it would soon put up an online form that will allow victims to make requests to remove these items from Google search queries.
“We’ve heard many troubling stories of ‘revenge porn': an ex-partner seeking to publicly humiliate a person by posting private images of them, or hackers stealing and distributing images from victims’ accounts,” Google search vice president Amit Singhal said in a blog post.
“Some images even end up on ‘sextortion’ sites that force people to pay to have their images removed. Our philosophy has always been that search should reflect the whole web. But revenge porn images are intensely personal and emotionally damaging, and serve only to degrade the victims — predominantly women.”
Singhal said Google will “honor requests from people to remove nude or sexually explicit images shared without their consent from Google search results.”
He said it was “a narrow and limited policy, similar to how we treat removal requests for other highly sensitive personal information, such as bank account numbers and signatures,” that may surface in search results.
“We know this won’t solve the problem of revenge porn — we aren’t able, of course, to remove these images from the websites themselves — but we hope that honoring people’s requests to remove such imagery from our search results can help.”
Twitter implemented a similar policy earlier this year, banning “intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject’s consent.”
Reddit also moved to curb the posting of explicit images without consent of the people in them, after the online bulletin board was criticized for allowing the distribution of hacked nude pictures of Hollywood stars.
Google is facing a legal dispute in Europe on a similar matter, after an EU panel ordered the US tech giant to honor requests from individuals to have links to information about them deleted from searches in certain circumstances, such as if the data is outdated or inaccurate.
Source-AFP
Haitian-American circulates petition to stop DR deportation of Haitians
As the deadline nears for the deportation of Haitian Dominicans in the Dominican Republic, a New York City legislator has created and circulated a petition calling on the Dominican Republic Government to stop what he describes as “this unjust plan that will displace hundreds of thousands of people who call the Dominican Republic home”.
“The majority of the individuals being deported are of Haitian descent, but classifying them as Haitians is inaccurate because many of these men and women and boys and girls were born in the Dominican Republic or have lived in the Dominican Republic for most of their lives,” Dr Mathieu Eugene, the first ever Haitian to be elected to New York City Council, told the Caribbean Media Corporation on Sunday.
“Sending individuals who identify as citizens of the Dominican Republic back to Haiti simply because they have Haitian ancestry is incredibly unjust,” added the representative for the predominantly 45th Council District in Brooklyn.
“This human rights issue will impact not just the individuals facing deportation but our entire society,” Eugene continued. “If this discriminatory deportation occurs, so many men, women, and children will lose the lives they’ve worked so hard to create.”
The council member is urging the public to vociferously voice their objection to this “atrocious act”.
“My heart hurts for the hundreds of thousands of people who are facing the unfathomable deportation from their own country,” he said. “Hard-working individuals who call the Dominican Republic their home are being forced out by a discriminatory ruling.
“Families are in limbo right now, fearing the worst,” he added. ”We must take a stand against this injustice and tell the Dominican (Republic) Government we will not idly stand by as people are thrown out of their country.
“Please lend your voice to this issue and sign the petition at http://chn.ge/1fhRybg,” Eugene said.
On the petition, he described the impending deportation of Dominican Republic nationals of Haitian descent as “a human rights issue”.
“We must ensure that all people feel safe in the country they call home,” said Eugene, adding that “the United States must take a stand and address this important human rights issue for Dominican Haitians”.
On Friday, the United Nations refugee agency urged the Dominican Republic to ensure that Haitians and Haitian descendants whose citizenship was thrown into question by a 2013 ruling of the Constitutional Court will not be deported.
“The court’s ruling and the subsequent regularisation plan which gave individuals born in the Dominican Republic until mid-June to regularise their status, impacts tens of thousands of people”, Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told a press conference in Geneva.
“Most of them were born in the Dominican Republic and are of Haitian descent,” he added. “With a stateless population in the Dominican Republic estimated at more than 200,000 people, the consequences of expulsion could be devastating.”
Edwards said UNHCR is concerned about the human rights considerations for people who may be expelled and end up being pushed into Haiti, even though they are not considered as citizens of that country.
“This would have serious repercussions for all who are affected and be a serious setback to efforts worldwide to end the problem of statelessness,” Edwards said.
He said it is of “the utmost importance” that the Dominican Republic takes necessary action to prevent any expulsions of stateless Dominicans and to avoid creating a new refugee situation.
In this regard, UNHCR has offered its support to the Dominican authorities to identify and register these individuals.
While the Dominican Republic authorities have announced that they will conduct screenings of all individuals subject to deportation, UNHCR has recommended that, for people who claim to be Dominican Republic nationals but do not have the required documents, the authorities can use other screening approaches, such as knowledge of Spanish – “in order to allow a reasonable determination of whether people are likely to have been born and lived all their lives in the Dominican Republic,” Edwards said.
Last November, UNHCR voiced deep concern about the Dominican Republic Constitutional Court’s ruling that the country’s recognition of the competence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is unconstitutional.
Earlier, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Dominican Republic to revoke a judgement issued in September 2013 saying that the children of undocumented migrants, primarily Haitians, who have been in the country and registered as Dominican Republic nationals, as far back as 1929, cannot have Dominican Republic nationality, as their parents are considered to be “in transit”.
Reports indicated that the Constitutional Court said, when the Dominican Republic joined the jurisdiction of the regional court in 1999, it had done so without respecting its own constitution.
Source-CMC
St. Lucia reports increase in tourism arrivals
St. Lucia is the latest Caribbean country to report a jump in tourism numbers.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) announced that visitor arrivals to the region was up six per cent at the end of the first quarter, with St. Lucia recording a 6.4 per cent growth over the same period last year.
St. Lucia officials have reported that the growth has continued past the first quarter, with a 1.4 per cent and 7.2 per cent increase recorded in April and May respectively.
At the end of the first five months of the year, total stay-over arrivals to the island was 159,077; up 5.5 per cent from the same period in 2014. The figures recorded in the first four months were the highest for these months ever recorded in the island’s history. The 29,658 arrivals recorded in May this year, was also the highest figure for that month in the last five years.
“As impressive as the growth performance figures were, there will be no letup in St. Lucia’s push toward reenergizing and invigorating the international marketplace via well-orchestrated strategies in key source markets,” said Tourism Minister Lorne Theophilus.
The North American Market has been extremely buoyant this year, with Canada recording a 10 per cent increase in arrivals year-to-date (YTD) and the United States nine per cent, stemming largely from the increase in airlift and strategic marketing approach within the respective markets.
The greatest percentage increase was noted from the Caribbean, which stood at 22,142 arrivals at the end of May – a 21 per cent increase from the same period last year.
Europe however, has not fared as well as other source markets, with marked declines in arrivals from the United Kingdom and Germany along with other European countries being recorded several months this year.
Tourism officials say targeted promotions and marketing campaigns planned for later this year should result in increased arrivals from these markets.
Meantime, cruise tourism is also on the rise, with a nine per cent increase in arrivals being recorded between January and April, following a four per cent increase in cruise calls. In yachting, a 1.5 per cent decrease in arrivals was noted, despite there being a 14 per cent decrease in calls.
Source-Caribbean360.
GSAT student scores 100% in all subjects
Eleven-year old, Tariq Wright, a student at the Holy Childhood Preparatory School, will be attending the Wolmer’s Boys’ School in September after receiving perfect scores in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).
Results for GSAT were released to primary and preparatory schools across the country today.
A very happy Tariq told JIS News that he received 100 per cent in mathematics, 100 per cent in language arts, 100 per cent in science, 100 per cent in social studies, and 12/12 for communication task.
“I studied very hard to get good grades and that helped. I did two hours of studying each day,” Tariq said.
He said he was surprised that he received all hundreds as “I thought I would get one wrong in the science and one wrong in the social studies”.
Tariq noted that he chose Wolmer’s Boys’ School as it was an “all-round institution” that focuses not only on education but also on extracurricular activities such as sports.
He also thanked the teachers at Holy Childhood Preparatory, whom he said, “assisted the students greatly” in their preparations for GSAT.
Proud mother Roxanne Wright, who is Account Supervisor at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), said she is very pleased about of her son’s performance.
“I am feeling proud of him and I thank God as without God all of this would not have been possible,” Wright said.
She told JIS News that she was not surprised by his performance as she “knew that he could do it”.
“I helped him... when he came home with his homework if there is anything to research I would try to help him with the research aspect of it. I also quizzed him to ensure that he knew the material,” Wright said.
Tariq told JIS News that he hopes to pursue a career as an industrial engineer.
Wolverine Will Obviously Appear in 'X-Men: Apocalypse'
Although production of "X-Men: Apocalypse" started last April, there is no official confirmation yet that Wolverine will make an appearance in the movie. However, a custom leather goods company from Brooklyn, KikaNY, has confirmed that Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as the clawed mutant in the follow-up to "X-Men: Days of Future Past".
KikaNY posted on its Instagram a picture of a design for a leather backpack. They have been asked to make a custom duffel bag for Jackman which he may use on the "Apocalypse" set. Another thing that can be inferred from the caption is that Jackman is currently in Montreal for the movie filming. "We were just asked to make a special duffle backpack for Hugh Jackman who is filming the new X MEN movie in Montreal," the company captioned the photo.
"We started sketching - The bag will be ready next week- we will keep you posted! #hughjackman #Xmen #movie #backpack #special," they continued. However, it is unclear if the backpack is for Jackman's personal use or will be used as the property in the movie.
"X-Men: Apocalypse" will be released May 27, 2016 across the States. Rumor has it, the film will center on Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Professor X (James McAvoy) who team up to fight a new and uniquely powerful enemy. Directed by Bryan Singer, the movie added new members like Ben Hardy, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Alexandra Shipp.
Source-AceShowbiz
IMF predicts economic growth for St Kitts-Nevis
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says St Kitts-Nevis is at a turning point where the twin island Federation has the opportunity to establish itself on a sustainable long-term growth pattern.
An IMF delegation has just ended a two week visit to the island and it said in order to achieve that goal, St Kitts-Nevis would have to make “difficult decisions and careful choices to preserve the hard-earned gains.
“It will also require continued fiscal discipline and the implementation of structural reforms to expand growth potential,” said Judith Gold, who headed the mission.
She said macroeconomic conditions improved significantly over 2013 and 2014 and that the economy recorded two years of strong growth, averaging about six per cent annually, the strongest in the region by far.
“This reflects primarily a construction boom fuelled by inflows under the Citizenship by Investment programme (CIP); government and Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) investment and spending, including on the People’s Employment Programme (PEP); and a continued recovery in tourist arrivals.”
She said employment expanded by 23 per cent over the two years, while inflation has remained low. Banks have remained stable following debt restructuring, although the NPL ratio significantly increased notably due to removing public sector loans from the total loan portfolio following the debt-for-land swap. Credit to the private sector is still sluggish, expanding by 0.5 per cent in 2014.
“The outlook for 2015 remains positive, although the pace of expansion is expected to moderate to about 4.5 per cent. However, there is uncertainty as a result of the imposition of travel restrictions by Canada, combined with new competition on the CIP front from neighbouring countries.”
Gold said that over the medium term, the IMF projects a return to more moderate growth rates, as construction projects conclude and the tourism sector continues to expand.
She said a strong fiscal performance was supported by a robust outturn in tax revenues, more than compensating for higher-than-planned expenditures, including the 13th -month wage bonus.
“CIP revenues to the budget increased to about 14 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product), slightly higher than in 2013. As a result, the government surplus after grants was a healthy 9.5 per cent of GDP, somewhat smaller than in 2013, but only on account of considerably less SIDF support.”
She said that the strong fiscal outcome, combined with additional progress with the debt/land swaps, and some advance debt repayment, led to a further decline in the share of public debt in GDP to 80 per cent at end-2014, compared to over 100 per cent at end-2013, and about 160 per cent in 2010.
Gold said St. Kitts and Nevis’ debt-to-GDP ratio is now below the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) average.
“The authorities should take corrective measures to prevent adverse impact to government’s finances from the new exemptions to value added tax and import duties, introduced in December 2014 and April 2015.”
Gold said while the government’s current surplus position allows it to absorb the impact in the short term; it implies growing reliance on volatile CIP inflows to finance government operations and could undermine efforts to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio to the 60 percent target by 2020.
“We therefore encourage the authorities to implement corrective measures to close the gap created by these exemptions, including substantially reducing tax exemptions to construction projects, while continuing to implement other structural reforms that are already in train, including reforming the civil service and improving public financial management.
“We commended the authorities for their commitment to and progress with reform of the CBI program, and encourage them to accelerate the pace of implementation. We also welcome their efforts to enhance cooperation with neighbouring islands, which will help make the programs sustainable.”
The IMF official said that the rapid growth of CIP revenues and increased government savings provide an opportunity to build precautionary buffers to help deal with future exogenous shocks.
“Increased uncertainty regarding CIP inflows underscores the importance of careful use and preservation of the stock of accumulated savings. The team recommends the adoption of an effective and transparent framework to manage the CIP inflows and savings in the banking system, as well as more stringent oversight of development projects.
“The SIDF operations should also be reviewed, and its audited accounts should be made available to the public. Moreover, the strong economic environment provides an opportunity to streamline PEP’s operations and reinforce the temporary nature of its programme,” she added.