TURKS AND CAICOS POST CABINET MEETING STATEMENT
His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the 20th meeting of the Cabinet at the Hon. N J S Francis Building on Grand Turk on Tuesday, 28 July 2015.
All Ministers were present except the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning and the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communication.
At this meeting Cabinet:
·Considered proposals from CMK Sailrock Ltd related to the acquisition of property from the former High Point development on South Caicos;
·Agreed to mutate parcels of Crown Land on South Caicos and Providenciales which were vested in the Ports Authority under the Ports Authority Ordinance; and to amend the Ports Authority Ordinance to vest additional parcels of Crown Land on North Caicos to the Ports Authority which were acquired for the operations of the ports;
·Discussed and noted another strong financial performance by the Turks and Caicos Islands Government for the first quarter of the financial year 2015/16. Further information will be released shortly;
·Approved a request by North West Point Development to carry out maintenance on the public road to North West Point on Providenciales and agreed to donate 50 loads of quarry material from the airport stockpile necessary to maintain the road;
·Approved the inclusion of an Anti-Bribery Bill in the Government’s legislative agenda;
·Received an information paper prepared by the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs on stakeholder feedback on the proposed changes to the Fisheries Protection Ordinance which will be discussed further at the next meeting of Cabinet;
·Considered proposed language for inclusion in a draft development agreement related to Ambergris Cay.
At its meeting on 21 July 2015, Cabinet considered a proposal from the Crown Land Advisory Panel for a residential development on parcels 6113/180-191, 312-340 and 343-376 situated at Long Bay Hills, Providenciales.
Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.
InterCaribbean Airways and British Airways Announce Interline Ticket Agreement for more connections to the Caribbean
InterCaribbean Airways the airline carrier of the Western Caribbean offers more flights in the region than any other airline, now makes travel even more convenient for travellers to the Caribbean.
Today launches an interline agreement between interCaribbean and British Airways giving customers traveling to the Caribbean a convenient new option. Travelers from Europe can now plan their business or leisure trip and via British Airways and its appointed agents and issue a single ticket purchase for their journey combining their British Airways and InterCaribbean Airways flights.
InterCaribbean currently serves 12 cities in 6 countries in the Caribbean with several new cities set to launch before the end of the year. British Airways and interCaribbean currently serve the cities of Providenciales, Kingston, Nassau. Punta Cana is served also by British Airways and in time for the winter will also be served by interCaribbean Airways. British Airways is set to add an additional service to Providenciales with the winter 2015 schedule.
"InterCaribbean Airways new interline ticketing agreement with British Airways increases the travel choices of travellers coming to the Caribbean, whether a two or three island trip, travellers can pick their choices. Over the last 18 months interCaribbean retimed its schedule to create convenient “to and through connections” giving many travellers in the region choices never before available. With this new agreement we are proud to be able to partner with British Airways said Trevor Sadler, CEO of InterCaribbean Airways.
Debris in Indian Ocean checked for MH370 ties
Apparent airplane debris found off the coast of Reunion island, a French department in the western Indian Ocean, is being examined to see if it is connected to the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a member of the French Air Force in Reunion said today.
The debris was found off the coast of St. Andre, a community on the island, according to Adjutant Christian Retournat. "It is way too soon to say whether or not it is MH370. We just found the debris this morning," Retournat said.
He said the debris -- what appears to be a wing flap -- has been taken to the island, located about 380 nautical miles off the coast of Madagascar.
MH370 disappeared after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 8, 2014, bound for Beijing with 239 people aboard.
Source:CNN
Drake Diss Meek Mill "Back to Back"
Drake sticks to his word. When Drizzy rapped, "You going to make me buy bottles for Charlamagne," he meant it. Charlamagne posted on Instagram some bottles of Dom Pérignon with a note that said, "Let's be friends."
Drake is salivating at the thought of cooked beef with Meek Mill. As the world waits on a response record from his Philly foe, Drake turns up the heat with a second diss track.
The song is titled "Back 2 Back (Freestyle)." It hit Drizzy's Soundcloud during Wednesday's wee hours, shortly after Meek performed in Toronto via Nicki Minaj's The Pinkprint Tour. And this one has bite, making "Charged Up" sound like a warning shot by comparison.
"Is that a world tour or your girl's tour?" Drake asks, cheekily. "I know that you gotta be a thug for her/This ain't what she meant when she told you to open up more/Yeah, trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers/You getting bodied by a singing n***a."
It's been a tough week for Omeeka following Meek's reckless Twitter rampage that kicked off the rivalry. Since, Meek has been verbally attacked by Drake, Nicki's ex Safaree and even a Toronto politician. His scheduled response to "Charged Up" is way past deadline, and now he has even more jabs to counter. Oh, and OVO Fest is right around the corner. On a brighter note for the power couple, the lovey-dovey video for "All Eyes on You" finally dropped on Monday.
As for "Back 2 Back (Freestyle)," the track has more barbs than Nicki's fan club.
Source: BET
Dad ‘numb’ after daughter’s death
ATLANTA, USA (AP) -- R&B singer Bobby Brown said Monday that his daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was "an angel" and that the family must find a way to honour her memory.
Bobbi Kristina, the daughter of singer Whitney Houston, died Sunday in hospice care, six months after she was found face-down in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta town home. Authorities are investigating her death.
Source: Jamaican Observer
World economy fragile, faces downside risks
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde says the world economy is recovering but fragile and "faces some downside risks." In an online press conference, Lagarde describes the United States "a strong performer" and China "resilient" despite a recent drop in Chinese stock prices. She is also optimistic over the 19 countries that use the euro. "The euro area is beginning to turn the corner ... We have a more upbeat forecast than we have in a long time," she said. Lagarde called again for Greece's creditors to reduce its debt burden and said the IMF could work with Greece's left-wing government, which has criticized IMF policies. "There are lots of things that you say (in politics)," she said. "What matters at the end of the day is what you do."
Source: Jamaican Observer
Shooting at Roehampton Leaves Two Gunman Dead
Two men, believed to be from the community of Flanker, were shot dead during a joint police/military operation in Roehampton, as the St James Police Division moves to cut the high level of violence in the parish.
Police said two illegal firearms were also recovered after the alleged confrontation between gunmen and the police.
According to commander of the St James Police Division, Senior Superintendent Steve McGregor, yesterday morning a team, comprising 117 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and 65 members of the Jamaica Defence Force went into the tough Flanker community to conduct an operation when men, who allegedly escaped the dragnet, went into a nearby community called Roehampton.
"My police officers came in contact with them and two men were shot and injured and two firearms taken from them. They were pronounced dead when they were taken to the hospital," McGregor said.
The senior superintendent said 25 men, including five who are wanted for murders and shootings in the community, were taken into custody during the special operation.
Source: Jamaican Observer
Vigilante justice discouraged; Police and Pastor speak in Smith Murder investigation
Over three months later and Police have finally confirmed that the remains found in Grand Turk on April 16 are those of Kevino Smith, the 25 year old man who had been reported missing in early March. What the Police and the Smith family’s pastor, Rev Chad Archibald are discouraging is vigilante justice.
And there are a lot of issues that are going on here in the Division (Grand Turk). We must take heed as it relates to law and order; we cannot go out on a daily basis and commits acts of crime and expect nothing to be done. The Police will be taking a serious look into these…”
This sounds to be of major concern to the Police as there are talks erupting about the case which has polarized much of the Grand Turk community.
Rev Chad Archibald: “This attitude of ‘Town’ vs ‘Backsalina’ and I think it is so immature, I think it is ridiculous and I think as parents and community leaders and persons within the communities we need to have a serious chat with some of the youngsters who are getting involved in this nonsense.”
Police say this is an active investigation and they are still soliciting information in the now murder investigation. The forensic examination was performed in the US according to DCP Rodney Adams who revealed that the results returned to the TCI late on Friday.
Man Dies In Channel Tunnel
A man has been killed while at least 1,500 migrants tried to enter the Channel Tunnel in Calais on yesterday night, French police have said. Eurotunnel, which says incursions are now a nightly occurrence, said migrants had been removed from the site. It advised freight services to consider alternative transport for today. Sections of the M20 in Kent are closed in both directions for Operation Stack. It comes as the UK government comes under pressure to combat the crisis.
Speaking after a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, Home Secretary Theresa May said the UK was pressing for the rapid installation of 1.2 miles of new security fencing which it has pledged to pay for at Coquelles, near the tunnel entrance. Mrs May added there were some migrants "particularly trying to get into the Eurotunnel and on to the trains before that security fencing is going up". France's interior minister said 120 police officers were being sent to Calais to reinforce security at the site.
Source: BBC
Pollution On Guanabara Beach Threatens RIO 2016 Olympics Games
Sailors in Guanabara Bay have reported seeing pollution including furniture and floating animal carcasses. Nearly 70% of sewage in the Brazilian city is spilled raw into its waters. Thomas Bach said Games preparations were on track but challenges remained, "first of all the cleaning of the bay". The Rio state government has already said it will miss its target of reducing pollution in the Guanabara bay by 80% ahead of the Olympics, which begin on 5 August 2016.
Bach said some measures to clean the waters had already started, while others "will be applied to the bay just before the Olympics to make sure there is the safety and the health of the athletes"."We are very confident we will have a great Games in one year. Acknowledging challenges is the first and most important step to overcoming them."
Source: BBC