Migos Rapper Offset Arrested In Georgia On Felony Gun Charges
Migos rapper Offset was arrested in Georgia on Friday after being pulled over outside Atlanta.
It's reported that Offset, real name Kiari Cephus, was pulled over for an improper lane change. According to People, citing a police report, officers allegedly detected the smell of marijuana, which prompted them to search the vehicle.
Police found three guns and less than an ounce of marijuana in the car. The rapper was taken in four separate charges, including two felony charges: possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a weapon during a crime. He was also charged with possession of marijuana (one ounce or less) and an improper lane change. He was held at Clayton County Jail on bond, which was later posted.
The 26-year-old has been incarcerated before for violating his probation after felony convictions for burglary and theft.
Most recently, Offset had a brush with the law in April when Migos' tour bus was pulled over. Police found marijuana, codeine and Xanax on the bus. None of the group members were arrested, but some members in the group’s entourage were.
Uber driver streamed hidden camera videos on Twitch
An Uber and Lyft driver who broadcast videos of his passengers online has been suspended from both car-sharing services.
Jason Gargac live-streamed passengers' journeys on video-sharing site Twitch, where viewers would comment on their behaviour and appearance. Local newspaper the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said passengers were seen kissing, vomiting and gossiping about relatives and work colleagues. His Twitch channel has now been suspended.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, passengers did not always know he was live-streaming their journey from a camera mounted on the windscreen.
The practice is not typically illegal in Missouri as long as one party - in this case Mr Gargac - has given consent for the recording to take place.
However, there are additional rules about broadcasting footage where a person might have a "reasonable expectation of privacy".
Many viewers of Mr Gargac's videos left derogatory comments on the videos, rating passengers for their attractiveness.
"The blonde is a seven, the brunette a five," one wrote. "She doesn't sit like a lady," another added. Some of the videos also revealed passengers' names and addresses.
Following questions from the newspaper, Uber said it had suspended Mr Gargac."The troubling behaviour in the videos is not in line with our community guidelines," it said in a statement.
"The driver's access to the app has been removed while we evaluate his partnership with Uber."Lyft also suspended Mr Gargac.
UK may not oppose US death penalty for ISIS 'Beatles', official says in letter
The UK has indicated it may not be opposed to two members of a British ISIS cell known as "the Beatles" being executed in the US.
In a letter to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month, disclosed in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper Monday, British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that Britain would not demand "assurances" that two members of the terror cell would not receive the death penalty.
However, Downing Street on Monday insisted that UK policy is to "oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle" and that discussions were ongoing with the US about the case.
The letter, dated June 22, refers to the case of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh -- part of a four-man ISIS cell nicknamed "the Beatles" for their British accents -- who are believed to be responsible for beheading high-profile Western hostages in Syria and Iraq.
It is understood that the leaked letter is accurate but that the focus is on federal prosecution in the US, not Kotey and Elsheikh ending up in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
Capital punishment is illegal in the UK, and Javid's letter contradicts previous policy on seeking assurances about the death penalty.
In the letter, Javid said he was willing to make an exception in the case of Kotey and Elsheikh: "I am of the view that there are strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in this specific case, so no such assurances will be sought."
"As you are aware, it is the long held position of the UK to seek death penalty assurances, and our decision in this case does not reflect a change in our policy on assistance in US death penalty cases generally, nor the UK Government's stance on the global abolition of the death penalty," the letter continued.
The two ISIS fighters, whose cell was fronted by Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, were captured in January and are now being held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike in 2015.
The pair are believed to have been stripped of their British citizenship and are among dozens of foreign-born ISIS fighters in the region seemingly left in limbo as their countries of origin wrangle over responsibility -- often refusing to sanction their return to their countries of origin to stand trial.
Indeed, while Javid's letter says the UK is "committed to assisting the US with a federal prosecution of Kotey and El-Sheikh," it also says the UK does not intend to request their transfer home for prosecution.
The Home Secretary added that given the high profile of the fighters, they could also be "held up as an example of how we treat and deal with alleged ISIS fighters."
SOURCE - BBC
Trump tweets explosive threat to Iran
President Donald Trump issued a furious, all-caps challenge to the Iranian regime late Sunday night, warning that any threats to the US would be met with unspecified dire consequences.
The tirade signaled an immediate escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran, and capped a weekend of angry tweets by the President on the Russia investigation and the legal problems facing his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
"To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE," Trump tweeted after returning to the White House from a weekend at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. "WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"
Trump's comments were apparently a response to earlier remarks by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, who warned the US that war with Tehran would be the "mother of all wars."
Rouhani warned Trump not to "play with the lion's tail, because you will regret it eternally." He also held out the possibility of a peaceful relationship with the US, in remarks reported by Iranian state media.
On Monday, a senior officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Commander General Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, described Trump's remarks as "psychological warfare," the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.
Coral reef disease on the rise in the region, experts warn!
A report by the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) earlier this month warned divers and other marine researchers in the Caribbean area to be on the lookout for sites with an unusually high percentage of diseased and recently dead corals.
The report, produced by AGRRA, working in continuing conjunction with The University of the West Indies (UWI) Discovery Bay Marine Lab, stated that sick and decaying corals was first noted offshore of the Miami-Dade County area in September, 2014.
The outbreak area has since progressed 175 km (108 miles) to the northern limit of the Florida reef tract and southwest to Looe Key in the Lower Florida Keys and that numerous coral species have been afflicted, disease prevalence has reached 80 percent of all colonies present at a site, and a number of coral diseases have been observed.
In addition, the prevalence of sick and dying corals on north Jamaican reefs has increased dramatically since this area experienced a severe bleaching event in the autumn of 2017. The species of affected corals and their signs of disease show considerable overlap with the reports from Florida.AGRRA also stated that, on July 3, researchers in Mexico discovered a reef near Puerto Morelos, Mexico to have a severe outbreak of coral disease affecting similar species and exhibiting similar patters as those in Florida.
The Florida Disease Advisory Committee (FDAC) is now referring to all affected Floridian corals as having “tissue-loss disease” and is advising divers and all persons that come into contact with coral or marine life to take the necessary sanitary precautions to ensure that the disease does not spread.
The diseases observed include what appear to be “White Plague”, the unknown white disease “White Blotch”, and other indistinguishable white diseases. In light of this, the FDAC is advising people to rinse their diving gear in chlorine anti-septic and continue to be as distant to the coral reefs as possible and avoid touching the reefs that have become infected.
CIBC First Caribbean Wins Most Innovative Bank Award
Less than two months after releasing enhancements to its Mobile App and Online Banking, CIBC First Caribbean has been named the Most Innovative Bank in the region at the prestigious World Finance Banking Awards presented by UK-based World Finance Magazine.
The bank is the only Caribbean-based bank to have been recognized at this year’s event.
Earlier this year, CIBC First Caribbean revamped its mobile banking app to include services that are built on Visa technology – namely, mobile location confirmation and “Freeze My card” service. These features were the first of their kind to be introduced within the Caribbean by a bank. Through the app, clients can also easily check their account balances, transfer funds between accounts or to other CIBC First Caribbean clients and pay bills, all from their mobile device.
“Our success could not have been possible without our investment in technology. Technology remains one of our top priorities as a bank and it has allowed us to deliver on our promise of “banking that fits your life” by responding to client feedback and creating solutions that allow them to bank when and how they want.
CDB and Partners Kick off Project to Support Micro and Small Enterprises in Haiti
A project has been launched to give female and male entrepreneurs in Haiti better opportunities to grow their businesses.
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Inter-American Development Bank, Global Affairs Canada and Desjardins International (DID) of Canada have partnered to increase access to business loans, saving products, and services for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Haiti.
The project, launched this week, will support Le Levier Fédération—a network of savings and credit cooperatives—in establishing a specialized MSE Finance Unit.
The Project titled, ‘Support for the Establishment of a Specialised Micro and Small Business Financing Assessment Unit, within the Le Levier Fédération’ has an investment of US$3.04 million, which includes a loan component of US$500,000 for onlending to first-tier savings and credit cooperatives within the Le Levier network that utilise the CFE model for the financing of MSEs.
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!