Starlink One Step Closer to Entering TCI Market
Billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink is now closer to offering broadband services in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
This development follows a major regulatory shift by the Telecommunications Commission, which introduced a new licensing framework after determining that Starlink’s original application did not fit within the existing model for traditional internet service providers. After an extensive consultation process, the Commission created a new licence category, adjusted its fee structure, and approved the updated system.
Officials say the move—requiring significant legislative changes—could help address the territory’s long-standing internet challenges, particularly in underserved areas like Grand Turk. If granted final approval by Cabinet, Starlink is expected to increase competition, lower internet costs, and expand consumer access, including to U.S.-based streaming services.
The update was shared during an interview on RTC’s First Edition with Cheryl-Ann Forman on March 25, 2026, featuring Minister for Public Safety and Utilities Hon. Otis Morris and Telecommunications Commission Director General Kenva Williams.
Minister Morris explained that legislative reform was necessary to accommodate satellite providers. Existing laws did not allow for such licences, making Starlink’s October 2024 application difficult to process. The new framework now enables licences specifically for broadband services delivered via satellite.
Director General Williams noted that Starlink had initially applied under a traditional ISP category, which did not align with its low-earth orbit satellite model. This mismatch prompted the Commission to undertake a broader regulatory overhaul, including a longer consultation period to establish appropriate rules and fees.
He added that improving internet access—especially in Grand Turk—has been a priority for years. While fibre-optic infrastructure remains the long-term goal, delays in implementation led officials to explore alternative solutions like satellite connectivity after engaging with Starlink at a technology conference in Barcelona.
Addressing concerns about transparency, both officials emphasized that the process included more than a year of public consultation. Surveys conducted during that period showed strong public support for satellite-based internet services.
While Starlink is viewed as a short-term solution, the government continues to pursue long-term plans to expand fibre infrastructure across all inhabited islands, potentially creating a nationwide fibre network.
Despite the advantages, regulators say safeguards will be in place to ensure fair competition and protect existing local providers.
The Commission retains authority to monitor pricing, enforce compliance, and even revoke licences if necessary.
Regionally, Starlink already operates across several Caribbean nations, including Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Barbados, providing high-speed internet to homes, businesses, and even maritime users such as cruise ships operated by Royal Caribbean.
London clubbers' waning thirst for alcohol forces nightlife industry to get more creative
LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - Diminishing demand for late-night drinking and rising operating costs mean London's nightclubs are having to work harder than ever to keep their doors open.
Younger generations of partygoers are demanding more than just access to after-hours alcohol, forcing clubbing venues to focus on providing an 'experience' and to reinvent themselves with daytime parties, food and live acts.
Britain's nightlife sector generated about 154 billion pounds ($206 billion) in spending last year, according to data firm CGA's Night Time Economy Market Monitor.
But the industry has been struggling for years, as changing habits, the COVID pandemic, steep increases in operating costs, tighter licensing rules and the rising cost of living for customers all took a toll.
The number of late-night venues fell 4.1% in 2025 and is now 28% below pre-pandemic levels, including new openings, CGA data showed.
Alex Guiste, a 27-year-old social media manager and frequent club-goer, said many clubs can now feel stale if they fail to adapt to growing demand for experience-led nights out, such as DJ events and live performances.
"People are going out for the music and the experience, no longer just to drink until late," he said. "Clubbing feels less routine now and more like something people savour."
COSTS RISE AS SPENDING FALLS
Don't be fooled by queues snaking outside venues in central London - club operators say survival has become increasingly difficult even when attendances hold up against the trend.
Alice Hoffmann-Fuller, who works with venues and promoters, said many clubs' business models were built around alcohol sales. But surveys show around 39% of 18- to 24-year-olds don't drink alcohol.
Corsica Studios, an electronic music venue under railway arches in south London, closed at the end of March after more than two decades at the heart of the city's clubbing scene.
"We're as busy as ever, if not busier," Matt Wickings, its programming manager, told Reuters ahead of the closure. But bar takings were as low as they had ever been, he said, while costs continued to rise.
Where they used to take 10,000 pounds or 12,000 pounds a night, the club was now generating only 6,000 to 7,000 pounds.
The venue said last September it could no longer operate in its current form and be sure of its long-term future on the site. Corsica Studios is expected to reopen at some point, though what it will offer to customers remains unclear.
EARLIER NIGHTS, DIFFERENT HABITS
Nevertheless, industry figures insist Britain's nights out are far from over -- they are simply happening at different times, in different places, and to a different soundtrack.
Several large venues have opened or expanded in London over the past two years, betting that clubbers will still turn out - as long as their changing demands are properly met.
"Nightlife is evolving, and it always has," said Kate Nicholls, chair of industry body UKHospitality.
Though drinking habits have moderated, Nicholls said demand for socialising remains strong across age groups, with many people prioritising experiences over late-night drinking.
"It's not that people have stopped going out," Guiste said. "It's that the old club model doesn't feel special anymore."
($1 = 0.7468 pounds)
Meta pulls ads aimed at recruiting plaintiffs for social media addiction lawsuits
CHICAGO, April 9 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms, opens new tab said on Thursday it is pulling ads from Facebook and Instagram aimed at recruiting new plaintiffs for ongoing litigation accusing it and other social media companies of designing their platforms to be addictive to young users.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the company is actively defending itself against the lawsuits, which include thousands of cases in both state and federal courts in California, and is removing the ads.
“We will not allow trial lawyers to profit from our platforms while simultaneously claiming they are harmful,” Stone said in a statement.
The move follows Meta's loss in two key trials over the allegations.
At the end of March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Alphabet's Google, opens new tab liable for a young woman’s depression and suicidal thoughts after she said she became addicted to Instagram and Google's YouTube at a young age, ordering them to pay a combined $6 million in damages.
In a separate New Mexico case that wrapped up just a day earlier, jurors ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding the company misled users about the safety of its products for young users and enabled the sexual exploitation of children on its platforms.
More than 3,300 lawsuits involving addiction claims are pending in California state court against Meta, Google, Snapchat parent Snap Inc, opens new tab and ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. Another 2,400 lawsuits brought by individuals, municipalities, states and school districts have been centralized in California federal court, according to court records.
The companies have denied the allegations and say they take extensive steps to keep teens and young users safe on their platforms.
The state court cases largely involve individuals suing the companies over claims that addiction to social media caused mental health harms. The federal litigation includes more lawsuits filed by public entities such as school districts, states and municipalities, which claim the platforms harmed the mental health of young people, forcing the government entities to spend money to address the fallout.
FINDING PLAINTIFFS
Law firms representing plaintiffs in these types of cases typically work on contingency, so they are only paid if a plaintiff wins damages or receives a settlement. Often firms in mass cases are seeking to represent as many plaintiffs as possible to make the cases financially viable. Ads on television, radio and online are aimed at recruiting individual plaintiffs, who may not know about the litigation otherwise.
Law firms such as Morgan & Morgan, which represents plaintiffs in the litigation and was part of the trial team that won the Los Angeles case, are among the firms that placed ads on Facebook.
A spokesperson for the firm didn’t respond to a request for comment about the ads being pulled.
Companies that seek to connect potential clients with law firms, such as Tennessee-based White Heart Legal, are also advertising the litigation on social media, according to X Ante, a company that tracks mass tort advertising.
White Heart Legal did not respond to a request for comment.
X Ante founder Rustin Silverstein said social media has become an increasingly popular place for advertisers seeking potential law clients in mass tort litigation, but accounts for only a portion of the ads that have been airing this year for the social media cases.
A total of 671 television ads promoting social media claims aired nationwide in March — more than in any month since July 2024, Silverstein said. The number of radio ads in March nearly tripled to 20,000 after the verdicts, he said.
There are also ads on Google’s platforms for the litigation. Social Media Victims Law Center, one of the law firms leading the wave of lawsuits, advertises on Google, according to Google records.
Google didn’t respond to a question about whether it would also be pulling the ads related to the cases.
Exclusive: Anthropic weighs building its own AI chips, sources say
SAN FRANCISCO, April 9 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence lab Anthropic is exploring the possibility of designing its own chips, three sources said, as the company and its rivals respond to a shortage of AI chips needed to power and develop more advanced AI systems.
The plans are in early stages and the company may still decide to only buy AI chips and not design any, according to two people with knowledge of the matter and one person briefed on Anthropic's plans. The company has yet to commit to a specific design or put together a dedicated team to work on the project, one of the sources said.
A spokesperson for the San Francisco-based company declined to comment on the article.
Demand for its AI model Claude has accelerated in 2026, with the startup's run-rate revenue now surpassing $30 billion, up from about $9 billion at the end of 2025, Anthropic said earlier this week.
Anthropic uses a range of chips, including tensor processing units (TPUs) designed by Alphabet's, opens new tab Google and Amazon's chips, opens new tab to develop and run its AI software and chatbot Claude.
Earlier this week, Anthropic signed a long-term deal with Google and Broadcom, opens new tab, which helps design the TPUs. That deal builds on the company's commitment to invest $50 billion in strengthening U.S. computing infrastructure.
Anthropic's discussions mirror similar efforts underway at large tech companies that are seeking to design their own AI chips, including Meta, opens new tab and OpenAI.
Designing an advanced AI chip can cost roughly half a billion dollars, according to industry sources, as companies need to employ skilled engineers and spend to make sure the manufacturing process has no defects.
Photos show stunning views of the moon and Earth from the Artemis II mission
The Artemis II astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — hurtled deeper into space than any other humans during a moon flyby Monday that marks NASA’s lunar comeback. They were greeted by a total solar eclipse as they became the first to gaze by eye at parts of the elusive far side of the moon, before hanging a celestial U-turn for home.
___
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Ships still aren’t going through the Strait of Hormuz. Here’s what it will take to get things going again
New York — A fragile ceasefire that’s mostly quieted the skies over the Middle East isn’t giving shippers the nerve to brave the narrow waterway that holds the key to 20% of the world’s oil supply.
The Strait of Hormuz may be officially re-opening for business, but shipping company executives and analysts told CNN uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire is still making transit too risky right now. Explicit approval and safety assurances from Iran, clear guidance on how and when to transit and a long-term view of the strait’s future are all so far missing, shippers told CNN.
Hapag-Lloyd, the fifth-largest shipping company in the world, has six container ships trapped in the strait, but it’s keeping them put for now.
“Our top priority is the safety of our employees on land and on sea. Based on our current risk assessment we are refraining from transiting the strait,” spokesman Nils Haupt said.
Word of a two-week ceasefire sent oil plunging and stocks soaring on Wednesday, a reflection of the strait’s importance to global commerce. That rally has given way to a reality check: Despite repeated assurances from President Donald Trump that the strait is open, only a few ships have made the journey in recent days. Oil, after notching double-digit declines, is again flirting with $100 a barrel.
Indeed, Lale Akoner, a global market analyst at financial services company eToro, told CNN it could take six months to get ship traffic back to where it was before the war began. More than 100 cargo-carrying vessels moved through the 21-mile-wide waterway daily before the conflict, according to shipping-data provider Lloyd’s List. That means the economic consequences of the war – higher energy costs and their varied knock-on effects – are likely to well outlast the fighting.
Here’s why: Shippers are hesitant to trust a ceasefire that’s already been shaky, especially without direction on which ships can go when. Just two oil or gas tankers have transited the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire was announced, according to Kpler, a data intelligence and analytics platform. Over 400 tankers, 34 LPG tankers and 19 LNG vessels remained in the region as of Wednesday, according to MarineTraffic data.
And ships don’t just need to get out – they also need to get in, so that they can load up stored-up oil that’s been trapped on land for weeks.
“Vessel operators believe it’s not worth taking the risk,” said Joe McMonigle, president of think tank Global Center for Energy Analysis and who lives in Saudi Arabia. “People are going to be extremely cautious about going back to normal.”
‘Temporary and conditional’
While other critical goods like fertilizer flow through the straight, oil is the number one priority.
“The ceasefire removes the worst-case scenario, but it’s temporary and conditional,” said eToro’s Akoner.
Behind the scenes shipping companies are trying to figure out how to get their ships out of the Persian Gulf safely.
Shipping executives say they have “no information” on how to transit the strait during the ceasefire and are not in contact with Iranian authorities, according to Sanne Manders, president of Flexport, a global shipping logistics company.
Shipping experts say Iran is still in charge of the strait – and those authorities haven’t laid out a plan for safe passage yet.
Martín Izaguirre Salgado, a seafarer who has been stuck on board his company’s oil tanker in the Persian Gulf since late February, said as of Thursday, they were still stuck.
Shippers want “explicit approval from the people that may do you harm,” said Ron Widdows, the former head of the World Shipping Council. “How that process works, who exactly is the body that’s got the authority to say, ‘Yeah, you can or not.,’”
Adding to the uncertainty, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed Thursday that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply and then stopped following what it said was an Israeli ceasefire violation in Lebanon.
Getting out – and getting back in
Tankers that have been stuck in the strait for weeks aren’t the only issue.
“You also must have a willingness of empty tankers to come back in through the strait, refill and then go back out,” an oil industry source told CNN. “That whole process takes several days.”
Hapag-Lloyd, for example, has no vessels waiting to get into the waterway. “That would not make sense at all,” spokesman Haupt said.
Instead, shipping companies are “basically waiting until others test” passage, said Flexport’s Manders.
“Oil tankers and vessels of Chinese origin will likely test these waters first,” Manders said. (China is an Iranian ally.)
Iran is also now raising charging a new toll to get out of the strait.
“The IRGC has been charging ships up to $2 million per tanker to transit. Payment is accepted in Chinese yuan or cryptocurrencies, bypassing the dollar-based financial system and US sanctions,” said Manders.
Even Trump himself has floated the idea of a toll, suggesting the idea in an interview with ABC News’ Jon Karl Wednesday as part of a “joint venture” with Iran, whose civilization Trump threatened to end just a day earlier.
The strait’s future has real impacts on everyday Americans: Average gas prices are up 40%, about $1.18, per gallon since the start of the war, according to AAA. Getting gas prices back to the pre-war $3 a gallon level is still a long way off, even if oil begins to flow freely again.
“If this continues for another week or two, the consequences not just for energy prices but for the global economy are dire,” McMonigle said. “This is a very tenuous ceasefire.”
Croatian fishermen feel the strain after Iran war ramps up fuel prices
PULA, Croatia (AP) — As the sun sets over the Adriatic Sea, Marijan Jakopovic prepares his boat and nets to sail out as he has done for the past 30 years. But the 55-year-old fisherman from Croatia says times have never been so tough for many in his line of work.
Rising prices of fuel driven by the war in Iran are taking their toll on Croatia’s fishing industry, adding to a myriad of existing problems, from limited stocks and fishing restrictions, to widespread imports of frozen seafood.
Key providers of fresh fish during Croatia’s summer tourism season, the fishermen are warning that if the ceasefire in Iran does not hold and fuel prices surge again, things could become unbearable.
“This is turning into an almost hopeless situation,” said Jakopovic, who is from the small village of Lanisce, in the northern Croatian peninsula of Istria.
Prices in Croatia of so-called blue diesel, fuel solely used by farmers and fishermen, have increased by around 70% in a month, from 0.80 euros ($0.94) per liter on March 8 to 1.36 euros ($1.59) per liter on April 7, according to official data.
Croatia’s government has temporarily capped the price rise but this did not fully avert the blow. Other countries in the region have been similarly affected despite introducing state subsidies or price limits.
Vedran Spehar, a senior official in Croatia’s Ministry of Economy, said this week on state-owned Croatian Radio that prices of blue diesel would have reached at least 2 euros ($2.34) per liter had it not been for government action, which also ensured there were no shortages.
A European Union member state since 2013, Croatia adopted the euro currency in 2023, a transition that coincided with price increases across many sectors. Previously, the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine had pushed up energy and food prices even before the start of the Iran war.
Croatia currently has the highest inflation in the EU at 4.8% annually.
Jakopovic said accumulated costs have forced some fishermen to spend up to 70% of their earnings on fuel, depending on the type of boat they use. And, this is in addition to the cost of crews, maintenance and equipment, he pointed out.
The problem is not new.
Commercial fishing in Croatia has faced difficulties for years even as tourism along the country’s breathtaking coastline and islands exploded — last year alone, more than 20 million tourists visited the country.
This year, the price of fish at Croatian markets and in restaurants could go up.
Almira Raimovic is a vendor at the market in the northern town of Pula. She predicted that if fishermen raise the price of their catch to accommodate the fuel cost, this would affect both market and wholesale prices.
Raimovic herself used to fish but shifted to a more profitable option — she now takes tourists out for trips on what used to be her fishing boat. People will always buy fish in the Mediterranean countries, Raimovic said, but their habits might have to change.
“The focus will likely shift to cheaper fish, sardines and anchovies, which are still more affordable than other (fish),” she said. “Rising fuel prices will affect everyone, inflating the cost of living and of food across all sectors, not just fishing.”
Fishermen have already complained of shrinking stocks, seasonal bans on some kinds of fish, catch limits and protected sea zones designed to help preserve certain endangered species.
As a member of the EU, Croatia has adopted the bloc’s strict rules on sustainable fishing.
All this means that fishermen now have to sail further out and spend more time at sea, ramping up their fuel consumption. The vicious circle could drive many out of business as each sea trip now comes with too much uncertainty, said Jakopovic.
“We don’t know how much longer we will be able to keep working,” he said.
VW to stop making its top electric vehicle in the US
DETROIT, April 9 (Reuters) - Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), opens new tab said on Thursday it will end production of the ID.4 electric SUV out of its Tennessee plant this month, citing a challenging time for the U.S. electric vehicle market.
Automakers have scaled back or canceled production of EVs after the federal government last fall ended the use of a $7,500 tax credit toward the purchase of an EV.
- Volkswagen is shifting production at its Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant to its higher-volume gas-powered SUVs, the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport.
- The automaker will launch production this summer of a redesigned version of its Atlas midsize SUV, scheduled to go on sale in 2027.
- Volkswagen is planning a future version of the ID.4 for the North American market, but did not provide timing on its release.
- The current inventory of ID.4 is expected to last into 2027.
- ID.4 sales declined 62% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Volkswagen will still offer the ID. Buzz electric van in the U.S. market.
China's car exports accelerate despite disruption from Mideast crisis
BEIJING, April 9 (Reuters) - Car exports, an increasingly important source of growth for China's hyper-competitive auto sector, picked up pace in March despite shipment disruptions from the crisis in the Middle East, one of the industry's key overseas markets.
Exports grew 73.7% from a year earlier to nearly 700,000 vehicles last month, faster than the 54.1% in the first two months, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Thursday.
"Car exports have entered a stage of super high growth, beating our expectations," said Cui Dongshu, the association's secretary-general.
Domestic sales dropped 15.2% from a year earlier to 1.67 million vehicles last month, a sixth straight month of decline, as rising fuel prices dampened demand for conventionally fuelled models while electric vehicle sales continued to feel the impact of reduced incentives amid a sputtering economic recovery.
Combustion engine car sales were down 15.7%, accelerating from a 13.4% decline in the January-February period, although China has capped domestic fuel price hikes to soften the impact of surging oil prices from the Mideast conflict.
Dealers remain under pressure from bloated inventories, with an index tracking unsold vehicles ticking up last month as consumers showed little interest in buying new EVs on reduced incentives, including the end of a purchase tax exemption.
Facing cut-throat competition in the home market where sales of EVs and PHEVs slipped 14.4% year on year, EV giant BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab posted a seventh consecutive monthly sales drop in March, despite continued strong growth in overseas markets such as Europe where fuel price hikes drove EV demand.
BYD executives said they were optimistic the company would sell more than 1.5 million vehicles overseas this year.
3-DAY PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST
(TCI National Weather Service) - GENERAL SITUATION: A prefrontal trough combined with a warm, moist, and unstable air mass will increase the likelihood of showers later today.