The Ministry of Immigration Launches Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Immigration Ordinance and Regulations
The Ministry of Immigration and Border Services has announced the launch of public consultations on the proposed amendments to the Turks and Caicos Islands Immigration Ordinance.
The Ministry, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, which has a remit for citizenship, and the Immigration and Population Policy Council (IPPC), has concluded its internal reviews of the ordinance and has gained Cabinet’s approval to engage the public on the proposed amendments.
Key highlights are the proposed time limits on work permits, the changes to residency by investment, the increased powers of officers, the vestment of authority in the Director General, and the need for persons to carry proof of status producible upon request by an officer.
Additionally, there are new categories of PRC and Temporary Work Permits and the opportunity for Business Visas and some classifications of Temporary Work Permits to be purchased at ports on arrival.
The public consultation will be undertaken in three main phases, the first being the publication of the proposed amendments on June 30th, followed by the launch of an online survey and email address for feedback on July 15th, and countrywide face-to-face live engagement with the public commencing the week of July 17th. The entire process will be brought to a close on July 31st, 2023.
The Minister of Immigration and Border Services, the Hon. Arlington A. Musgrove, in speaking on the initiative states, “My team and I, along with the members of Cabinet, have put in long hours and engaged in deep debate about what improvements should be proposed for the Immigration Ordinance. Likewise, the Chair and members of the IPPC and the management of the Ministry of Home Affairs have also been instrumental in their contribution to this process.
“I am now asking that the public make a concerted effort to actively participate in the many avenues for engagement on the proposed amendments and to ensure that they provide feedback so that we all work together to shape the future of our beloved country.”
Notices of the commencement of future phases will be issued in due course and the public is encouraged to participate in the consultation process.
Please see the attached proposed amendments to the TCI Immigration Ordinance and Regulations 2021.
DECR hosts Environmental Stewardship Awards
The Department of Environment and Coastal Resources hosted the Environmental Stewardship Awards, on Wednesday. The award ceremony, which coincides with World Environment and World Oceans Day, is an opportunity for the DECR to honour those individuals and organisations that have kindly contributed their assistance to the DECR to further conservation and an environmentally sustainable Turks and Caicos.
This year, a total of 41 recipients were recognised for their stewardship at an event held in Providenciales, after a brief hiatus.
"We are elated to be resuming the annual Environmental Stewardship Awards. When we first acknowledged the community’s commitment to environmental issues, in 2014, we did so with deep gratitude to those who assisted us to further our mission and vision of ensuring that the TCI remains ‘Beautiful by Nature’," said the Director of the DECR, Lormeka Williams.
Director Williams continued, "We are fortunate to be bolstered by a community that cares, a community that tries, and we are stronger together! Our work at the DECR relies on the collective effort: action, education, presence and concern – We see you and we extend our deepest thanks for all you have done for the Department, and for the broader community".
Guests also had an opportunity to hear about an exciting project the DECR is collaborating with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) on A technical assistance programme for effective coastal-marine management in the TCI. The programme, which is developing an enhanced evidence base to support status assessment and management programmes in coastal and marine environments, provides tools, in-depth support and capacity building to assist decision-making in implementing a new TCIG Environment Strategy.
Crisis-hit Pakistan strikes $3bn IMF bailout deal
Crisis-hit Pakistan has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over $3bn (£2.4bn) of funding.
The deal, which still needs to be approved by the global lender's board, comes after an eight-month delay.
The South Asian nation is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1947.
To help secure the deal, Pakistan's central bank raised its main interest rate to a record high of 22% on Monday.
Pakistan's economy, which was already struggling after years of financial mismanagement, has been pushed to the brink by a global energy crisis and devastating floods that hit the country last year.
"The economy has faced several external shocks such as the catastrophic floods in 2022 that impacted the lives of millions of Pakistanis and an international commodity price spike in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine," Nathan Porter, IMF's mission chief for Pakistan said.
"As a result of these shocks as well as some policy missteps... economic growth has stalled," he added.
Once agreed at staff level such deals are usually granted by the IMF's Executive Board. The board is expected to consider the agreement in the coming weeks.
"This deal gives Pakistan the economic breathing room that it so badly needs," Michael Kugelman from the US-based Wilson Center think tank told the BBC.
"The question is if it can use this IMF deal as an opportunity to pivot from immediate relief to a long-term recovery," he added.
Katrina Ell, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics, said: "High inflation coupled with limited foreign reserves and lacking macroeconomic stability take time and sustained fiscal discipline to overcome."
Pakistan's annual inflation rate hit a fresh record high in May of almost 38%.
The $3bn of funding, which will be spread over nine months, is higher than expected.
Pakistan was awaiting the release of the remaining $2.5bn from a $6.5bn bailout package agreed in 2019, which expired on Friday.
The nation of more than 230 million people has been struggling for years to stabilize its economy.
This year the country's foreign exchange reserves fell to a level that covered less than three weeks of imports.
Deadly clashes between supporters of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan and police have also rattled financial markets.
In May, Mr. Khan was arrested on corruption charges, in a move that has since been ruled illegal by the country's Supreme Court.
Over the last year, the Pakistan rupee has fallen by around 40% against the US dollar.
Separately, donors from around the world have pledged more than $9bn to help Pakistan recover from devastating floods that hit the country in 2022.
It had been estimated that it needed more than $16bn to recover from the disaster.
Source- BBC
Jamaica's reputation in 400m could be set for a boost
Once again, there is cautious optimism that help is on the way for Jamaica's tarnished reputation in the men's 400m on the global level and the most optimistic of the track and field fans are hoping the resurgence will be imminent.
After a few false starts, there appears to be a light at the end of a very long tunnel after three men, 26-year-old Sean Bailey and Antonio Watson, and Zandrion Barnes, both of who will turn 22 later this year, have all run under 45.00 seconds already this year.
Additionally, Jevaughn Powell has also run under 45.00 seconds, setting his lifetime best at 44.87 seconds last year.
With the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Championships set for July 6-9 at the National Stadium, there is hope that they will run faster, as will the other men who are also chasing spots on the team to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August.
It will take faster times than those run so far to get into the final of the men's 400m at the World Championships but after not being a factor in men's quarter-mile for a long time, there is hope that a new era of Jamaican men are ready to take their places among the elites of the event.
All three men along with World Championships and Olympic Games finalist Christopher Taylor are the Jamaicans who have so far qualified for the individual event at the World Championships.
Taylor's inclusion in next month's National Championships and the World Championships are at this time unsure as he was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for violating the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Anti-Doping Code Article 2.3, after a six-month investigation determined that the 23-year-old evaded a doping test in November 2022.
Bailey, the national champion in 2021, ran his personal best 44.43 seconds in late May, in Los Angeles; Watson, who appears to have rediscovered his love for the one-lap event, was one of the highlights of the Racers Grand Prix where he won the B race in 44.75 seconds and then last weekend lowered his personal best in the 200m to 20.49 seconds, while Barnes, the former football player, ran 44.90 seconds at the Racers event.
Powell, who helped the University of Florida win the NCAA Division 1 men's title a few weeks ago, scoring in the final of the men's 400m and was part of the 4x400m relay team, could be a factor for a place in the individual event.
Jamaica has won medals in the men's 4x400m relays in four of the last five World Championships and a strong pool will be required to ensure another medal.
Outstanding schoolboy Delano Kennedy, as well as the veteran Rusheen McDonald, Javon Francis, and Akeem Bloomfield, if fit, could be part of the squad.
Source- JamaicaObserver
Travis Scott will not face criminal charges over deadly crowd crush at festival
The rapper Travis Scott will not face criminal charges over a deadly crowd crush during his concert, a Texas grand jury has decided.
Scott, 32, was performing at the Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas, in 2021, when 10 people were killed in a crowd crush.
His lawyer, Kent Schaffer, confirmed that a grand jury had decided not to indict the rapper on any criminal charges stemming from the event.
"He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt," Schaffer said, adding that the decision is "a great relief".
Police and federal officials have been investigating whether Scott, the concert promoter Live Nation, and others had sufficient safety measures in place.
Schaffer said he feels sympathy for those who were killed at the festival and their families. "But Travis is not responsible," he said. "Bringing criminal charges against him will not ease their pain."
Scott had previously said he didn't know fans were injured during the crush.
"It wasn't until minutes until the press conference [after the show] that I figured out exactly what happened," he told radio star Charlamagne Tha God on his YouTube channel in 2021.
"Even after the show you are just hearing things but I did not know the exact details.
"And even at that moment, you're like, 'Wait, what?' People pass out, things happen at concerts, but something like that..."
Nine-year-old Ezra Blount was the youngest person to die from injuries suffered during the crush.
The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27.
Some 300 people were treated at the festival site and 13 were admitted to hospital.
Scott still faces multiple civil suits over the deaths and injuries.
Source- Sky News
Virgin Galactic completes its first commercial flight into space
Galactic 01 carried a crew of six on its roughly 90-minute flight to the edge of space.
A rocket was released from a plane at around 50,000ft, its engine then ignited and sent it on a near-vertical climb to around 50 miles above the Earth.
The crew included three members from Italy - two Italian air force colonels and an aerospace engineer from the National Research Council of Italy - as well as their Virgin Galactic instructor and the spaceplane's two pilots.
The flight, from Spaceport America in New Mexico, was on a research mission and the crew was due to carry out 13 scientific research experiments.
The passengers unveiled an Italian flag to mark 100 years of the Italian air force after reaching a state of weightlessness before they returned to their seats ahead of the descent back towards Earth.
The spaceship VSS Unity landed safely back on the runway at around 4.45 pm UK time on Thursday, as Virgin Galactic tweeted: "Welcome back to Earth, #Galactic01! Our pilots, crew, and spaceship have landed smoothly."
While the Galactic 01 is being billed as Virgin Galactic's first commercial flight, this time it does not have tourists on board - but an upcoming flight in August will carry paying customers.
Virgin Galactic said its first commercial spaceflight represents a new era in government-funded, commercial human-tended research missions.
The company has been working for years to send paying passengers on short space trips and in 2021 finally won the federal government's approval and completed its final test fight in May.
The spaceflight collected data through wearable payloads and sensors, and autonomous payloads mounted in the cabin.
Source- Sky News
SPEECH BY HE THE GOVERNOR AT HER SWEARING IN CEREMONY
Your Honour Mr Speaker, Your Ladyship the Chief Justice, Honourable Premier, Honourable Leader of the Opposition, Your Excellency the Deputy Governor,
Honourable Attorney General, Honourable Ministers, Honourable Members of this House, former Members of the House, Commissioner of Police, and ladies and
gentlemen of these beautiful islands, Good morning.
Mr Speaker may I first thank you for the opportunity to address this House. Your Ladyship for administering the oath. Honourable Premier and Honourable Leader of
the Opposition for your kind welcome remarks and Her Excellency the Deputy Governor for your admirable and dedicated service as Acting Governor over the last
three months.
Thank you all for your presence here today to bear witness to my swearing-in as the 16th Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is a great honour, which I have
pledged to serve, in sincerity, the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, working with your elected representatives in support of all areas of the nation’s life.
In this resolve, I will seek to protect the well-being of all and work to support the advancement of national development of the Turks and Caicos Islands for a more
sustainable and prosperous future.
During the last six months, since my appointment was announced, I had the welcome opportunity to meet Mr Speaker, the Hon. Premier, Her Excellency the Deputy
Governor, Hon. Attorney General, the Hon. Ministers of Immigration and Health; the Commissioner of Police and a number of government officials. In March 2023, I also
had the opportunity to attend the Northern Caribbean Security Summit as part of the TCI delegation, where I spent a valuable three days discussing critical issues of
national security with leads from a number of partner agencies.
I am glad to now be here and look forward to spending much of my first ten days visiting each of your constituencies to meet as many people as possible.
As I make my way through every inhabited island, I will listen and hope to begin to appreciate your rich and multifarious societies; to witness with my own eyes the beauty
and diversity of each of the islands; and to learn about the gains and challenges these bring.
I am grateful to elected members for facilitating the tours, which are a key priority for me. I am sure each constituency is unique and only through meeting as many of you
as possible, can I begin to understand your respective concerns and ambitions for the islands and how I must shape my Governorship?
My previous role taught me much about the issues and challenges the Caribbean Territories face, our relationship with the United Kingdom and the region.
I will build on that experience to deliver the constitutional responsibility I now come to bear.
I am acutely aware of some of the issues on your minds, in particular national security, social development, the Constitution and the economy. My meetings with elected
representatives, communities, officials and bodies, over this coming month, will equip me with what I need to help focus my priorities to serve best the interests of the Turks
and Caicos Islands.
Tackling the present challenge, of ensuring the safety of these precious islands requires, now more than ever, a strong relationship between the police, partner
agencies and the communities that they serve. I will be working closely with all involved, including international partners, to address the stark levels of criminality and
much-needed justice reforms to tackle this.
Through partnership and by ensuring the rule of law prevails, we can ensure appropriate protections, continue to welcome visitors and reassure investors that
these islands remain safe and prosperous.
The Archbishop of Canterbury said during the Coronation ceremony of King Charles III:
‘We crown a King to serve. The King of Kings, Jesus Christ was anointed not to be
served, but to serve. He creates the unchangeable law of good authority that with the
privilege of power comes the duty to serve.’
As I embark on my Governorship, I will seek to serve firmly the interests of the Turks
and Caicos Islands and commit to taking forward my duties with humility, integrity, and
openness.
May God bless these beautiful nature islands Turks and Caicos, and all those who
call it home.
Texas airport worker dies after being sucked into Delta plane engine Published
An airport employee has died after being sucked into a passenger plane engine in Texas.
Officials said that the worker was "ingested" into the engine of a Delta plane that was taxiing towards its gate with one engine turned on.
The worker's employers say an initial investigation shows the incident was unrelated to safety procedures, but it is unclear how it happened.
A government agency is also carrying out an investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it had been in contact with Delta Air Lines and was "in the information-gathering process at this point."
The plane, an Airbus A319, arrived at San Antonio on Friday night from Los Angeles International Airport.
Officials have not yet named the employee of Unifi Aviation, which Delta Air Lines contracts for ground crew operations,
"From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi's operational processes, safety procedures, and policies," the company said.
A Delta spokesperson said the airline was "heartbroken" to grieve the loss of an "aviation family member's life".
"Our hearts and full support are with their family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time."
The airline also told local broadcaster KENS 5 that it was working with authorities "as they begin their investigation".
On Wednesday, regional airline Piedmont was fined $15,625 (£12,285) by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the death of a ground crew worker six months earlier in a similar incident in Alabama.
"Proper training and enforcement of safety procedures could have prevented this tragedy," OSHA said.
Source- BBC
BET Awards 2023: The winners list
The BET Awards, known as "culture's biggest night," aired Sunday night live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, honoring notable names in music, film, sports and entertainment.
Here is the list of awards announced during the broadcast:
Best Female Hip Hop Artist
Latto
Video Director of the Year
Teyana “Spike Tey” Taylor
Best New Artist
Coco Jones
Viewer’s Choice Award
"Break My Soul," Beyoncé
Best International Act
Burna Boy (Nigeria)
BET Her
"Break My Soul," Beyoncé
Lifetime Achievement Award
Busta Rhymes
Source- ABC
Facebook owner launches virtual reality subscription service
Facebook owner Meta has launched a virtual reality (VR) subscription service as it tries to make that part of its business profitable.
Meta says paying users will get access to two new games a month.
For the first three months of the year, the parent company of Instagram saw a $4bn (£3.1bn) loss in its VR unit.
Meta faces competition from firms including technology giant Apple, which unveiled its highly anticipated mixed-reality headset this month.
On Monday, the company said the Meta Quest+ service, which costs $7.99 a month or $59.99 for an annual subscription, was compatible with its Quest 2, Quest Pro, and upcoming Quest 3 headsets.
In 2021, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg unveiled plans to build a "metaverse" - an online world where people can play games, work and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets.
"Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we're building towards," Mr Zuckerberg said.
In February last year, Meta unveiled several ambitious artificial intelligence projects, and Mr. Zuckerberg described AI as "the key to unlocking the metaverse".
The company reported a profit of $5.7bn for the first three months of this year, surpassing market expectations.
However, its Reality Labs division, which produces VR headsets and other products, reported a net loss of $4bn for the period.
Earlier this month, Apple unveiled its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, in its first major hardware launch in almost a decade.
Apple's headset, which will be released early next year in the US, will be priced at $3,499.
That is considerably more than other headsets currently available in the market. Meta's VR headsets are priced between $299.99 and $999.99.
Source- BBC