ScotiaBank Grace Bay closed Friday 20th July, 2018
Friday evening signaled the complete closure of the Scotia Bank Grace Bay branch in a controversial downsizing exercise with its Grand Turk Branch next.
On June 7, 2018, ScotiaBank confirmed that a format that’s being implemented region wide by the financial institution will dramatically alter operations in the TCI. Three branches will merge to become one.
Masses of customers have already flocked to alternative banks for the fear of a complete closure with customers’ deposits as previous banks have done in the past.
Weather Forecast, July 23rd, 2018
FOR THE TURKS AND CAICOS & SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
WEATHER: VARIABLY CLOUDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT
ADVISORY: BOATERS CAN EXPECT GUSTY WINDS AND HIGHER SEAS IN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 KNOTS
SEAS: 3 TO 5 FEET OVER THE OCEAN
HIGH TEMPERATURE TODAY 91F 32C
LOW TEMPERATURE TONIGHT 77F 25C
SUN
SUNRISE: 6:33AM SUNSET: 7:57PM
MOON
MOONRISE: 4:48PM MOONSET: 3:53AM TUE
TIDES
LOW TIDE: 10:29AM 11:24PM
HIGH TIDE: 4:57PM 5:09AM TUE
EXTENDED FORECAST: (FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS)...DEEP UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT UNSETTLED WEATHER ACROSS THE BAHAMAS AS IT SLIDES NEARER TO THE ISLANDS THROUGH EARLY IN THE WEEK...
TCI makes Debut in Central American and Caribbean Games!!!
The Turks and Caicos Islands makes debut in the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla Colombia.
The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The Games are for countries in Central America, the Caribbean, as well as for Bermuda, Mexico, and the South American countries of Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The CACGs are the oldest continuing regional games in the world, and only the Olympics have run longer. The Games are overseen by the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO) They are designed to provide a step between sub-CACG-region Games held the first year following a Summer Olympics and the Continental Championships, the Pan American Games, held the year before the Summer Olympics.
Ms. Judith Robinson, then Acting Director for Sports, worked diligently for three years to secure CACSO approval for the Turks and Caicos Islands. This process included high level discussions with the British Olympic Associations as well as with senior CACSO officials. A small steering committee was established in 2013 to advance the agenda of Turks and Caicos Island’s eligibility in Olympic affiliated events. The TCI was able to qualify with Athletics, Football, Basketball, sailing, Rugby, Swimming, Cycling, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball. However only Athletics will be representing in the 2018 games in Barranquilla under the umbrella of the Local Commonwealth Games Association led by President Vanessa Moyce - Gardiner.
The Minister for Sports, Hon Edwin Astwood, Deputy Permanent Secretary Ms. Tamera Robinson and Director of Sports Mr. Jarrett Forbes is among the delegation to commemorate this grand achievement for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Godfrey Been and Kivano Handfield represented the Turks and Caicos Islands at the Opening Ceremony yesterday, July 19, 2018. Kivano carried the flag for TEAM TCI during the parade of countries. The games will be held from July 19th to August 03rd, with more than 5,000 athletes from 37 countries taking part. The rest of Team TCI will join Godfrey and Kivano during the course of next week.
Let us wish TEAM TCI all the best in these games.
Go Team TCI!
Rapper XXXTentacion had $50,000. Four men have been indicted for killing him to get it.
Before Pompano Beach rapper XXXTentacion swung by Deerfield Beach’s Riva Motorsports to look at motorcycles on June 18, he stopped at a Bank of America branch to take out $50,000 in stacks of $100 bills.
That $50,000 was in the Louis Vuitton bag that gunmen stole when they fatally shot XXXTentacion as he and a friend tried to drive out of Riva’s parking lot, according to an arrest warrant.
Now, four men have been indicted for the crime. A Broward County grand jury indicted Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams, Robert Allen and Trayvon Newsome Thursday on charges of first degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm of the 20-year-old whose given name is Jahseh Onfroy.
Boatwright and Dedrick Williams, both 22, already are in Broward County jail on charges related to this incident and others. BSO has been trying to find Robert Allen, nicknamed “Big Rob” and “Fat Boy,” but the 5-foot-9, 300-pound Allen remains at large as does Newsome. Newsome is the only one of the four without prior criminal convictions.
Weather Forecast July 20th, 2018
BAHAMAS AND TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS PUBLIC FORECAST
GENERAL SITUATION: MID TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN USA AND TYPICAL DIURNAL PATTERN CONTINUE TO CREATE UNSTABLE CONDITION ACROSS THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS WHILE THE REMAINDER OF THE ISLANDS IS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE.
SPECIAL WARNINGS: BOATERS SHOULD BE ON ALERT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATERSPOUTS. BEACHGOERS IN THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS INCLUDING THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS SHOULD REMAIN ON ALERT FOR THE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS ALONG THE EASTERN COASTS.
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS INCLUDING THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS.
WEATHER: FAIR AND WARM TONIGHT. MOSTLY SUNNY, HOT AND HUMID WITH A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TOMORROW.
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT CAUTION REMAINS IN EFFECT.
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS OVER OPEN WATERS.
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET OVER THE OCEAN.
NORTHWEST BAHAMAS
WEATHER: PARTLY CLOUDY WITH WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. PARTLY SUNNY, HOT ND HUMID WITH A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TOMORROW.
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT SHOULD BE ALERT FOR GUSTY WINDS AND HIGHER SEAS IN OR NEAR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
WINDS: SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS OVER OPEN WATERS.
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET OVER THE OCEAN.
OVERNITE LOW TEMP 79 °F 26 °C
DAYTIME HIGH TEMP 93°F 34 °C
HEAT INDEX 105 °F 41 °C
SUNSET: 7:59PM
SUNRISE: 6:32AM FRI
MOONSET: 1:11AM FRI
MOONRISE: 2:08PM FRI
LOW TIDE: 7:28PM 7:49AM FRI
HIGH TIDE: 1:27AM FRI 2:12PM FRI
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK: TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS.
SOURCE DDME
Jamaica to Invite Thai boys and coach on free vacation
The Government will be inviting the 12 boys from a youth football team in Thailand and their coach who were recently rescued from a flooded cave to vacation in the island with all expenses paid.
Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said he “couldn’t think of a more appropriate gesture for these brave and extraordinary young men than to have them come and enjoy our beautiful island home”.
“We will be using all our diplomatic channels through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, also the Jamaican Honorary Consulate in Bangkok, Thailand, to try and make this a reality,” he said.
“This will be an all-expense paid vacation and something that we are happy to do as part of the international community and to show appreciation for the special friendship we have had with the people of Thailand over the years,” Minister Bartlett added.
More jail time for South Korea ex-leader
Disgraced former South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been jailed for a further eight years for corruption, on top of the 24 she is already serving.
A court in Seoul sentenced Park to six years for illegally accepting funds from the country's spy agency, and two years for interfering in elections.
Park, the country's first female president, has boycotted court hearings, maintaining her innocence.
She says her trials have been politically motivated and that the judiciary and prosecution are biased against her.
The prosecutions brought to light the longstanding close ties between South Korea's political elite and the chaebols, or family-run conglomerates, which dominate its economy.
UK sets up Brexit battle over Irish border, rejecting 'unworkable' EU plan
British Prime Minister Theresa May has told the European Union that the UK will not accept its proposals to deal with one of the thorniest issues in Brexit talks -- the issue of the Irish border.
In a speech in Belfast Friday, May criticized the EU's "backstop" plan, whereby Northern Ireland would remain closely tied to European regulations after Britain leaves the bloc, in the event of the two sides failing to reach an agreement on a future relationship
The proposal is intended to avoid a "hard" border between Northern Ireland, which will leave the EU as part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, which remains in the bloc. Border infrastructure such as customs and security posts were removed as part of the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland in the late 1990s.
But, if implemented, it would effectively create a border down the Irish Sea between the island of Ireland and Great Britain. May said that would be unacceptable to any British prime minister. May has proposed instead that any backstop should apply to the whole of the UK.
The border issue is politically perilous for May. The Democratic Unionist Party -- the right-wing Northern Irish party which is currently propping up May's minority Conservative government in Westminster -- has vowed not to accept any suggestion that Northern Ireland would have a different relationship with the EU than the rest of the UK.
Johnson & Johnson to pay $4.7bn damages in talc cancer case
Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay $4.7bn (£3.6bn) in damages to 22 women who alleged that its talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer.
A jury in the US state of Missouri initially awarded $550m in compensation and added $4.1bn in punitive damages.
The verdict comes as the pharmaceutical giant battles some 9,000 legal cases involving its signature baby powder.
J&J said it was "deeply disappointed" and plans to appeal.
In the six-week trial, the women and their families said they developed ovarian cancer after using baby powder and other talc products for decades.
Of the 22 women represented in this case, six have died from ovarian cancer.
Their lawyers alleged the company knew its talc was contaminated with asbestos since the 1970s but failed to warn consumers about the risks.
Trump says he's 'ready' to put tariffs on all $505 billion of Chinese goods imported to the US
President Donald Trump has indicated that he is willing to slap tariffs on every Chinese good imported to the U.S. should the need arise.
"I'm ready to go to 500," the president told CNBC's Joe Kernen in a "Squawk Box" interview.
The reference is to the dollar amount of Chinese imports the U.S. accepted in 2017 — $505.5 billion to be exact, compared to the $129.9 billion the U.S. exported to China, according to Census Bureau data.
Thus far in the burgeoning trade war, the U.S. has slapped tariffs on just $34 billion of Chinese products, which China met with retaliatory duties.
By sheer dollar volume, the Chinese won't be able to come close to the U.S. in a tit-for-tat battle. Trump's comments point to a willingness to push the envelope as far as the U.S. needs to get Chinese tariff concessions, along with a pledge to stop stealing American technology. "I'm not doing this for politics, I'm doing this to do the right thing for our country," Trump said. "We have been ripped off by China for a long time."
Trump said the U.S. is "being taken advantage of" on a number of fronts, including trade and monetary policy. Yet he said he has not pushed the tariffs out of any ill will towards China.