TOURISM ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS MONTH CONTINUES WITH A GREEN FEST
As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainable tourism, Experience Turks and Caicos and the Ministry of Tourism are celebrating Tourism Environmental Awareness Month this November under the theme, “Sustainable Choices, Lasting Impact.”
With a focus on promoting eco-friendly practices and raising awareness about environmental conservation, this month has seen a series of impactful initiatives aimed at preserving the natural beauty of our islands.
We started the month with community cleanups in Providenciales at Bird Rock Trail and in Grand Turk, a career fair in Grand Turk for the students of the HJ Robinson High School and the launch of Taste of Turks, a weekly exposition of food and culture in Grand Turk. As part of TEAM activities, Experience Turks and Caicos also supported the launch of the Simply Middle
Caicos group on November 9th with the production of storyboards to enhance the visitor experience in the community.
Activities continue for the rest of November and are as follows:
Saturday, November 16th – South Caicos Community Clean Up
Monday, November 18th – Panel discussion, South Caicos
Tuesday, November 19th – School visit, South Caicos
Friday, November 22nd – Farm Tour, North Caicos
Friday, November 22nd – Tourism Quiz, Grand Turk
Tuesday, November 26th – Community Connect Luncheon, Salt Cay
Friday, November 28th – Green Fest, Providenciales
Saturday, November 30th – Wheeland Pop-up Fish Fry
Experience Turks and Caicos is particularly excited to introduce the Green Fest to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Green Fest is an eco-friendly, family festival through which we will collaborate with local businesses, non-profit organisations, and vendors to showcase their sustainable and eco-friendly offerings. Students who participated in the Eco Costume
Competition will showcase their costumes at the event, which creates an opportunity for the winning school to display their costume and speak on their experience creating it.
Green Fest encourages environmental creativity and aims to raise awareness about sustainable choices to help the community develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues by giving them a chance to discover and support environmentally responsible businesses while also learning practical tips and ideas to incorporate into their personal lives.
Green Fest will take place at the Grace Bay Market and will include live entertainment and activities such as storytelling, face painting, local arts and craft and much more.
RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY HELD FOR H. J. ROBINSON HIGH
H. J. Robinson High School, the oldest high school in the Turks and Caicos Islands, celebrated the ribbon cutting for its highly anticipated Drainage and Beautification Project on Thursday, November 14th, 2024. The ceremony was a landmark occasion marking the first of its kind in the school’s history and a significant step toward enhancing the campus for current and future students.
During the ceremony, the Honourable Rachel M. Taylor, Minister of Education, encouraged students to play an active role in sustaining the school’s renewed environment. She extended a special challenge to each graduating class by inviting them to contribute to the grounds’ beauty by planting a tree or two as a legacy gift. “Let this be your way of leaving a part of yourselves embedded in the very fabric of the H. J. Robinson High School—a living tribute that grows with each new generation.” The Minister further urged students to cherish and protect the campus, emphasizing the importance of shared responsibility in maintaining the school’s environment.
The ceremony featured remarks from several key stakeholders involved in the project along with renditions performed by the H. J. Robinson High School Band. Speakers included the Principal of the H. J. Robinson High School, Mr. Berkley Williams, a representative from the construction company Island Drilling, Project Manager - Mr. Ronald Isidro from the Public Works Department, Hon Rachel Taylor, and the Deputy Premier – Honourable Jamal Robinson, all of whom contributed to the project’s success.
The project boasts an injection of $1.5M, which covered pavement with special parking areas, a drainage system and fencing. Additionally, funding was secured from the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) for the construction of a multipurpose gazebo valuing $97,000.00, as well as general beautification and landscaping. The security booth of H. J. Robinson has also received maintenance in partnership with the Physical Planning and Infrastructure
Department. This represents a collaborative effort to provide the staff and students of the H. J. Robinson High School with a safe and conducive environment. The project was primarily focused on alleviating the flooding of the compound that plagued the school for years. This new development has not only enhanced the aesthetic value of the school but will also contribute to its enduring legacy.
New PM names 18-member Cabinet
Newly installed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has named an 18-member Cabinet, retaining eight of the ministers who were chosen by his ousted predecessor.
The Haitian government published a decree on Friday naming the Cabinet that replaces Garry Conille’s administration which lasted just five months amid a prolonged governance crisis and escalating gang-fueled insecurity,
The new team, unveiled less than a week after Fils-Aimé was sworn in, is tasked with overseeing the country until February 7, 2026.
Retained from the Conille Cabinet are: Antoine Augustin, Minister of National Education and Vocational Training; Georges Wilbert Franck, Minister of Social Affairs and Labour; James Monazard, Minister of Commerce and Industry; Ketleen Forestal, Minister of Planning and External Cooperation;
Lynn Sarah Devalis Octavius, Minister of Youth, Sports, and Civic Action; Moïse Jean-Pierre Fils, Minister of Environment; Raphaël Hosty, Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Communications; and Vernet Joseph, Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development.
The 10 new ministers are: Alfred Metellus, Minister of Economy and Finance; Duckenson Lorthe Blema, Minister of Public Health and Population; Erick Dessources: Minister of Tourism; Harvel Jean Baptiste, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship; Jean Michel Moise: Minister of Defence; Katia Verdier, Minister of Haitians Living Abroad; Patrick Delatour, Minister of Culture and Communication, heading a ministry that was merged with the Minister of National Education and Vocational Training under Conille; Patrick Pélissier, Minister of Justice and Public Security; Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, Minister of the Interior and Local Government; and Pedrica St-Jean, Minister for the Status of Women and Women’s Rights.
Political observers say the mix of fresh appointments and experienced individuals could help stabilise and jumpstart the government quickly.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, the country has been without any elected officials, from local council members to the head of state.
Source-CMC
Opposition MP wins lawsuit in Guyana
The High Court has awarded opposition parliamentarian David Patterson GYD$1 million (US$4,767) in damages for being prevented from leaving Guyana last year.
In her ruling on Friday, Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire also ordered the State to pay Patterson GYD$250 000 (US$1,191 in legal costs.
Though a victory for Patterson, he had been seeking GYD$25 million (US$119,190) after alleging that the authorities wrongfully stopped him from leaving the country on September 26, 2023 when he was going to join an opposition delegation that was set to meet with American congressmen and other officials.
Patterson has cleared security checks at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in preparation for his flight but was prevented from leaving by Immigration officials.
The Chairman of the Alliance For Change (AFC)was allowed to travel a few days later but attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes filed a lawsuit on Patterson’s behalf, claiming a breach of his fundamental right to freedom of movement and unspecified sums for exemplary damages, and costs. Patterson said he had experienced loss, shame, and embarrassment as a result of the travel block.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) explained that Patterson was mistakenly left on an Immigration Department watch list that barred him from flying – a list he was placed on after being charged with indecent exposure.
Patterson received an apology from the Police Force – the Commissioner of Police is the Chief Immigration Officer – and was acquitted of the indecent exposure charge in February this year.
Source- CMC
Measles cases surge worldwide, infecting 10.3 million people in 2023: WHO
Last year, there were 10.3 million cases of measles globally — an increase of 20% from the previous year, according to a newly released report from the World Health Organization.
Nearly 107,500 people died from measles worldwide in 2023 and children under the age of 5 were hit the hardest, the report found.
Measles is a highly infectious virus often characterized by a distinctive red, spotty rash that starts on the face and spreads downward, often merging into larger patches.
Both children and adults may develop potentially deadly complications, including pneumonia, which is a serious lung infection, or encephalitis, which is swelling in the brain. It can also lead to deafness, long-term intellectual disability and complications during pregnancy.
In the United States, there have been 277 measles cases reported across 30 states and the District of Columbia in 2024, more than four times the number of cases last year when there were 59 cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, there were 16 outbreaks in 2024 compared to just four in 2023.
Source-ABC
Trump picks Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head Department of Health and Human Services
President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he has picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, he announced in a social media post.
Trump said that Kennedy will "restore" the agencies under HHS "to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!"
Kennedy has been an anti-vaccine activist and founded the Children's Health Defense, a prominent anti-vaccine nonprofit that has campaigned against immunizations and other public health measures like water fluoridation. Medical experts expressed concerns about a rise in medical misinformation through Kennedy's candidacy. Notably, Kennedy has falsely claimed that childhood vaccines cause autism, despite the retraction of the study that originally suggested this link and numerous subsequent high-quality studies disproving this theory.
Russia increases Ukraine drone attacks by 44% since Trump election
Russia increased the intensity of its long-range drone attacks on Ukrainian cities by around 44% in the week following President-elect Donald Trump's election victory, an ABC News analysis shows.
The size and complexity of drone attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have been steadily increasing since the full-scale war began in February 2022. The past five weeks have seen around 4,500 UAVs cross the shared border in either direction.
But Trump's electoral victory — confirmed in the early hours of Nov. 6 — aligned with an uptick in Moscow's use of Iranian-produced Shahed strike drones to bombard Ukrainian targets nationwide.
The week since Trump's win saw Russia launch 641 strike drones into Ukraine, per daily figures published by Ukraine's air force — an average of more than 91 UAVs each day.
Source-ABC
Another journey': Mariah Carey and Lee Daniels appear to tease biopic
Back in 2020, Mariah Carey said she was "talking about" turning her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, into a biopic, telling Jimmy Fallon, "I really feel like it should [be a movie]; that was always my goal." Now it seems she may have found a director.
Lee Daniels, who directed Mariah in the film Precious, posted a video on Instagram of him and Mariah together. "Here we are again," he said. "With all different eras of our lives."
"With Leeeeee!" Mariah squealed, throwing her arms around the director.
"Getting ready to go on another journey, Oh my God," Daniels concluded.
He captioned the post, "The Meaning of Mariah ... A long time coming … I love this woman!"
When asked recently by BuzzFeed if she planned to tour the world in 2025, Mariah said, "I know that I’m working on a project that needs to be finished, so I don’t think I can go on a world tour. I would if I were able to finish the project while on tour, but I can’t."
Could she have been referring to a movie? Stay tuned.
Source-ABC
GloRilla releases 'I LUV HER' music video
GloRilla has released her new video for "I LUV HER" featuring T-Pain. Directed by Benny Boom, it follows Big Glo as she falls in love with actor Da'Vinchi.
They form an inseparable bond, and have dinner dates and a baby, growing together as a power couple — before Glo realizes it was a figment of her imagination.
The video for "I LUV HER," from Glo's Glorious album, arrives days after she secured two Grammy nominations: Best Rap Song and Best Rap performance for "Yeah Glo!"
It features Glo rocking a brown jumpsuit with fake baby bump prosthetics, like the photo she shared teasing the track. The pictures led to some confusion, though Glo had been walking around in crop tops during her press run and had just said she was not interested in delivering a child herself.
“I do want to have kids, but not my own kids,” she previously told Charlamagne tha God. “Like, I wanna do the surrogate. I want somebody else to have my baby. I want them to have my DNA, but I don’t want to have it. I just don’t want to actually have a baby. All of my friends got kids and they’re restricted a lot when they’re pregnant. [Nine months] is too long.”
Source-ABC
Boyz II Men biopic and documentary are in the works
Boyz II Men are getting the biopic treatment, Variety reports. The group has teamed with production and financing companies Compelling Pictures and Primary Wave to develop a narrative feature film, which will feature songs from the group's discography. A long-form documentary about their success in the '90s, 2000s and today is also in the works, with Compelling behind the production.
“We’ve been waiting to find the right partners who understand our story and are willing to tell it all,” said Nathan Morris, who serves as executive producer alongside members Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris. “Denis [O' Sullivan] and Jeff [Kalligheri] at Compelling Pictures understood us day 1.”
“Having grown up as huge fans of Boyz II Men, and having spent the past couple of years getting to know the guys and become friends with them, it’s a tremendous honor to help bring their unique and untold story to the big screen,” added Denis and Jeff. “We’re excited to show the brotherhood and comradery, as well as the challenges and strife, humor and heartbreak, that has accompanied the unparalleled success that Nate, Shawn, Wanya, and Mike have worked so hard to achieve."
Joining them on the producer side of things are Larry Mestel for Primary Wave, the group's manager, Joe Mulvihill, for the Mulvi Group and Jeremy M. Rosen for Roxwell Films.
“Being with them for over 22 years now, I’ve seen the highs the lows and all the in-depth emotional human turmoil. I think people will be pleasantly surprised to see behind the curtain,” Mulvihill says.
Source-ABC