Migrant boat from Senegal carrying 200 people missing off Canary Islands
Spanish rescuers are searching waters off the Canary Islands for a boat carrying at least 200 African migrants who went missing more than a week ago.
The aid group Walking Borders says the fishing boat sailed from Kafountine, a coastal town in southern Senegal that is roughly 1,700km (1,057 miles) from Tenerife.
The group says many children are on board, Spain's Efe news agency reports.
Two similar boats carrying dozens more people are also said to be missing.
Spain's maritime rescue service told Efe that a plane had joined the search.
The boat with 200 people left Kafountine on 27 June, heading for the Canary Islands.
There are few details about the other two boats, however, Reuters news agency quoted Helena Maleno of Walking Borders as saying that one has about 65 people on board, the other up to 60. That would bring the number of people missing across the three boats to more than 300.
The news comes just weeks after Europe saw one of its worst Mediterranean migrant shipwrecks when an overcrowded trawler sank off the Greek coast.
At least 78 people were confirmed drowned, but the United Nations (UN) reported that up to 500 were still missing.
The voyage from West Africa to the Canary Islands is among the most dangerous routes for migrants, not least because they usually sail in simple dugout fishing boats that are easily tossed by powerful Atlantic currents.
Last year at least 559 people died at sea attempting to reach the Spanish islands, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. The death toll for 2021 was 1,126.
However, the IOM says information about the number of departures from West Africa is scarce and shipwrecks are often not reported.
It adds that the migrants are often from Morocco, Mali, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, or are of other sub-Saharan origins.
According to Spain's Interior Ministry, 15,682 people arrived in the Canary Islands without permission in 2022, a more than 30% decrease compared to 2021.
"Despite the year-to-year decrease, flows along this dangerous route since 2020 remain high compared to prior years," the IOM says.
Source- BBC
Barbados government temporarily reduces airport service charge
In an effort to increase regional travel to the Island, the government has reduced the airport service charge from US$35 to US$20, a statement from the Government Information Service said.
Tourism and International Transport Minister, Ian Gooding-Edghill, last week told Parliament that given the high cost of inter-regional travel, the six-month reduction was intended to stimulate CARICOM travel to Barbados and by extension, the local market.
“We recognize that the CARICOM market is price sensitive [and] we recognize if we are going to drive traffic to the destination in the absence of having what was LIAT in its former form, then we had to take the necessary steps to make the adjustments," he said.
“We took this step because we felt confident that a reduction in the airport service charge would stimulate travel within the region and ensure that we get more arrivals from the Caribbean into Barbados."
The temporary reduction is expected to end on December 14, 2023.
He also told the Parliament that his ministry was in dialogue with regional airlines, such as Air Antilles and InterCaribbean, to increase the number of weekly flights to the island adding that “I am pleased to say, based on the load factors coming out of both regional carriers, that we are seeing an increase in the number of arrivals from within CARICOM.”
Source- Loop News
Armed Robbery Investigation
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are investigating a robbery that occurred
yesterday ( Saturday 08th July).
At around 4:46 p.m., calls were placed to the Police Control Room indicating there was a
robbery at a Supermarket located along Industrial Drive, Providenciales.
A team of officers responded.
Based on eyewitness accounts, three armed, masked men entered the establishment and
announced a hold-up.
Patrons and employees at the establishment were robbed of their valuables. The robbers then
escaped in a waiting white vehicle.
Investigations are continuing by our Serious Crime Team.
Should you have any information about this incident, the public is being advised to notify the
closest police station or to contact TCI Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 and anonymously give
information about this incident or any other illegal activity.
Top US senator calls for probe into KSI and Logan Paul energy drink
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on regulators to investigate an energy drink promoted by high-profile YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul.
Mr. Schumer alleges the drink is being targeted at children despite its high caffeine content.
Prime Energy contains 200mg of caffeine per can, which is around twice the amount in rival energy drink Red Bull.
Each drink carries a warning stating that it is not recommended for children under the age of 18.
However, Mr. Schumer alleged that Prime Energy was packaged and marketed "in nearly identical form" as a caffeine-free drink from the brand.
As a result, some parents had unknowingly bought the caffeinated drink for their children, he told reporters in New York on Sunday.
"The FDA [Food and Drug Administration] must investigate PRIME for its absurd caffeine content and its marketing targeting kids on social media," he later said on Twitter.
Prime did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
In 2022, Logan Paul and KSI - who have around 48 million YouTube followers between them - launched the caffeine-free Prime Hydration drink.
It quickly became an online sensation, sparking long queues and even headfirst dives into shelves at stores.
The caffeinated Prime Energy drink was launched in January this year. It is promoted by the company as being sugar-free and vegan.
A warning on each can of the drink states that it is not recommended for children under the age of 18, people who are sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women or women who are breastfeeding.
Some schools around the world have sent out warnings about Prime drinks or banned them altogether.
Earlier this year, the Milton Primary School in Newport, Wales sent a message to parents warning them not to confuse the caffeinated and non-caffeinated versions of the drink after a pupil fell ill outside of school hours.
Meanwhile, the Maryborough State High School in Queensland, Australia issued a ban on energy drinks.
"There are some new energy or hydration drinks that have recently hit the market... some of which have 4 TIMES the caffeine or stimulant as 'regular' energy drinks," the school said in a post on Facebook.
"These can cause significant concerns in students with (potentially unidentified) health issues," it added.
Source- BBC
Threads app signs up 100m users in less than a week
Threads, the social media app aimed at rivaling Twitter, has signed up more than 100 million users in less than five days, according to new data.
It means Threads, launched by Instagram owner Meta, has beat a record set by Open AI's ChatGPT app.
Threads went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries last Wednesday.
It not available in Europe due to the EU's data privacy legislation.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, which also owns Facebook, said the app had 10 million users within the first seven hours of launch and more than 30 million by Thursday morning.
Around 24 hours later, that figure had more than doubled.
At 100 million, according to figures from data platform Quiver Quantitative, Threads' base stands at less than a third of the 350 million regular users that Twitter is believed to have.
Some Twitter users have become disenchanted since billionaire Elon Musk took over. Thousands of jobs have been cut under his ownership and he has announced a number of changes to help generate revenue at Twitter.
Other rivals have emerged like Mastodon and Bluesky but have struggled without an existing user base. Threads has capitalised on being linked to Instagram which has more than one billion accounts.
Source- BBC
BBC bosses set to meet police today after presenter who ‘paid teen for sexual pictures’ is suspended
A scandal has now erupted at the BBC, with the presenter suspended and an urgent investigation launched.
The broadcaster confirmed bosses will meet with the Met Police later today to decide whether or not the unnamed presenter has broken the law.
He could face charges of causing or inciting sexual exploitation of a child under the Sexual Offences Act, which carries a maximum 14-year sentence.
The presenter could also be charged with making or possessing indecent images, which has a maximum tariff of ten years.
Under the law, a child counts as someone aged under 18 even if the content was created with their consent.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk also confirmed talks would be taking place as he suggested a further probe is needed into how the BBC handled the allegations.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: "These are very serious and concerning allegations. You ask me as a parent - I would be extremely concerned about that.
"I think in fairness, I don't know precisely what was said and at what time, but certainly you would expect allegations of that nature to be dealt with very robustly and promptly.
"I think what we are now seeing today… and I understand there is going to be a meeting with the police, and that is absolutely right.
"And it may be that in the fullness of time, there will need to be an investigation about how this allegation was handled. That is quite possible.
"But right now I think it is important, in the interest of that victim, of that complainant, that this is dealt with as quickly and fairly and robustly as possible."
It comes after Scotland Yard yesterday confirmed they had been contacted by the BBC but no formal report has been made.
A spokesperson added: "We will require additional information before determining what further action should follow."
The Sun exclusively revealed the presenter was taken off air after he allegedly paid the youngster over £35,000 when they were 17.
The mum told how the teenager used the man’s alleged funds to feed a drug addiction.
She said they had gone from a “happy-go-lucky youngster to a ghost-like crack addict” in just three years.
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, she also claimed the family complained in May but became frustrated that the star was still on air a month later.
The family has since handed a dossier of evidence to the broadcaster’s lead investigator, ex-cop Jeff Brown.
The Government is now demanding answers from BBC chief Tim Davie as the scandal deepens.
Former Culture Minister Damian Collins said: “I think the concern will be that this was raised by the family in May this year, but what happened when the complaint was initially raised?
“Why didn’t they do something sooner, I think is a fair challenge to the BBC.”
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer sat down with Mr. Davie and said she was promised the firm was "investigating swiftly".
The chief later sent an email to staff saying he was taking the allegations "incredibly seriously".
Source- The Sun
Commonwealth Games: Broadbell produce world-leading 12.94 seconds in 110m hurdles
COMMONWEALTH Games gold medallist Rasheed Broadbell produced a personal best and world-leading 12.94 seconds (0.7m/s) to win the 110m hurdles in a stirring battle with Olympic champion Hansle Parchment during the Jamaica Athletics Administrative, Association (JAAA) National Championships at the National Stadium on Sunday.
Parchment was second with 13.12 and Orlando Bennett third in 13.19 — both season's best runs.
Broadbell's scintillating run bettered American Cordell Tinch's previous world lead of 12.96. It also broke the Jamaican's previous best of 12.99 set last year. A day earlier, Broadbill had run his season's best 13.06.
Jackson sizzle on the final day of national championships
Shericka Jackson served notice she is ready for the World Athletics Championships just over a month after she completed a fine sprint double, winning the women's 200m in a world-leading 21.71 seconds (-0.5m/s).
It was Jackson's second world leader of the weekend after her personal best of 10.65 to win the 100m on Friday.
Jackson took charge of the race off the curve and powered her way home, beating her previous season's best of 21.98 seconds and Julien Alfred's previous world lead of 21.91.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a season's best 22.26, beating the 22.39 she ran in Saturday's semi-finals, while Lanae-tava Thomas was third in 22.55.
Andrew Hudson retained his men's 200m title, running a season's best 20.11 (-0.2m/s) and beating Rasheed Dwyer (20.26). Tyquendo Tracey was third with a season's best 20.48.
Yohan Blake, the second-fastest man of all time over the distance, was fourth in 20.51. He will miss the World Championships.
Olympic Games women's 100m hurdles bronze medallist Megan Tapper produced a solid display of hurdling as she got off to a flying start and held off NCAA champion Ackera Nugent.
Tapper, who had run a lifetime best 12.44 in Saturday's semi-finals, won with 12.64 (-1.9m/s). Nugent clocked 12.67, while former World Champion Danielle Williams snatched the third spot with 12.82.
Sean Bailey won the highly anticipated battle with Antonio Watson to take his second national men's 400m title, running 44.48 — just off his personal best of 44.43 set earlier this season.
Watson lowered his personal best for the second time in just over a month, clocking 44.54 to take second place. Jevaughn Powell was third with 45.19.
Powell is yet to achieve the World Championships qualifying mark of 45.00 seconds, which could lead to Zandrion Barnes, who finished sixth, getting the nod along with Bailey and Watson for spots on the team to Hungary.
Bailey said while he was satisfied with the victory, there are things to fix.
"I haven't felt like myself throughout the rounds," he told the Jamaica Observer.
"I just talked to my coach about it and fixed it in the finals. I felt great the first 100 meters so I'm like, 'Okay, let me just relax.' I know Antonio Watson's a great finisher so I just wanted to have something to come home with because I know he'd be finishing strong," Bailey said.
Nickesha Pryce won her first women's title as she held off the hard-charging Janieve Russell, the 400m hurdles champion, to win in a new personal best of 50.21.
Russell also lowered her lifetime best to 50.76 while last year's champion, Candice McLeod, was third in 51.01.
Rajay Hamilton won his first national title, securing the men's 800m in 1:47.28 minutes while beating last year's champion and national record holder Navasky Anderson (1:47.67). Tyrese Reid was third in 1:48.45.
Natoya Goule-Toppin won her ninth national championships, clocking 1:58.89 and finishing comfortably ahead of Adelle Tracey who was second in a season's best 2:01.11. Jessica McLean was third in 2:05.76.
Elvis Graham won the men's javelin throw with 74.19m, finishing ahead of Zaavan Richards (70.91m) and Devon Spencer (65.78m).
Source- JamaicaObserver
New Lotus Emira: Mercedes-AMG four-cylinder version to debut at Goodwood
It’s Lotus’ 75th anniversary this year and the firm will have quite the presence at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed with Evija, Eletre and Emira all in attendance - the latter will also be shown off in four-cylinder guise for the first time.
Lotus says customer deliveries of the four-cylinder Lotus Emira will begin later this year, the new version joining the existing V6 model. With a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive setup the Emira goes up against the likes of the Alpine A110 and the Porsche Cayman in the sports car segment.
“It’s a bespoke rear-wheel drive variant of the transmission developed by Lotus in collaboration with AMG. On top of that, the gearshift strategy has been defined by the Hethel team as part of the car’s performance attributes. It is unique to the Emira,” explains Gavis Kershaw, director of Attributes & Product Integrity and long-standing chassis guru at Lotus.
Features such as 20-inch lightweight forged wheels with three colour options, 12-way adjustable heated seats, rear parking sensors, climate control, cruise control, keyless start and selectable drive modes are standard. There is also Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity along with a premium audio system.
First Edition buyers also receive three option packs thrown in, including the Driver’s Pack, which gives customers the choice of two suspension options and tyre choices. Softer Tour suspension comes with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport tyres, while the Sport suspension option comes with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
The standard-fit Design Pack adds privacy glass, Alcantara headlining and a choice of brake calliper colour, plus Lotus-branded mats. The Convenience pack adds front parking sensors, a reversing camera, rain-sensing wipers and auto-dimming mirrors. Options include the £1200 Black pack which brings lots of black detailing and a £1,800 six-speed paddle-shift automatic gearbox for the V6 model.
Customers are also offered seven no-cost interior colour choices with either Nappa leather or black Alcantara (the latter with different coloured stitching). Six exterior paint colours are available, with more to be added throughout 2022.
The First Edition models will eventually make way for ‘entry-level’ models using both engines. Lotus has already confirmed a starting price of £59,995 for the four-cylinder, although we’ve seen prices for the Emira shoot up since that announcement was made.
The V6 version of the Emira is powered by a supercharged version of Toyota’s 2GR-FE 3.5-litre V6 engine, which produces 395bhp and 420Nm of torque. That torque figure rises to 430Nm in the automatic version.
Lotus says this is enough for a 0-62mph time of 4.3 seconds, or 4.2 seconds with the automatic model. The top speed is 180mph, while power goes through the rear wheels in all versions.
Joining the 3.5-litre V6 version of the Emira, the four-cylinder version of the brand’s last ever combustion car uses the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine as the Mercedes-AMG A 45 hot hatch. In the Lotus, it develops 360bhp, a little down on the output of the A 45. Drive goes to the rear wheels via an eight-speed DCT automatic gearbox with paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel.
Performance figures have not been confirmed, but the four-cylinder model will almost certainly be lighter, certainly so compared with the automatic version of the supercharged V6 car, and its power deficit stands at only 25bhp.
More can come from this Mercedes engine - it develops up to 415bhp in the ‘S’ version of the current A 45 super hatch. As such, it could eventually supersede the V6 as the most powerful option.
Source- AutoExpress
July 3rd was officially the hottest day ever recorded globally
The entire planet sweltered to the unofficial hottest day in human recordkeeping on July 3, according to University of Maine scientists at the Climate Reanalyzer project.
High-temperature records were surpassed on July 3 and 4 in Quebec and northwestern Canada and Peru. Cities across the U.S. from Medford, Oregon to Tampa, Florida have been hovering at all-time highs, said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Beijing reported 9 straight days last week when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F).
This global record is preliminary, pending approval from gold-standard climate measurement entities like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. But it is an indication that climate change is reaching uncharted territory. It legitimately captures global-scale heating and NOAA will take these figures into consideration when it does its official record calculations, said Deke Arndt, director of the National Center for Environmental Information, a division of NOAA.
“In the climate assessment community, I don’t think we’d assign the kind of gravitas to a single day observation as we would a month or a year,’’ Arndt said. Scientists generally use much longer measurements — months, years, decades — to track the Earth’s warming. In addition, this preliminary record for the hottest day is based on data that only goes back to 1979, the start of satellite record-keeping, whereas NOAA’s data goes back to 1880.
But Arndt added that we wouldn’t be seeing anywhere near record-warm days unless we were in “a warm piece of what will likely be a very warm era” driven by greenhouse gas emissions and the onset of a “robust” El Nino. An El Nino is a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide and generally makes the planet hotter.
Human-caused climate change is like an upward escalator for global temperatures, and El Nino is like jumping up while standing on that escalator, Arndt said.
The global daily average temperature for July 3 came in at 17.01 degrees Celsius or 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a common tool often used by climate scientists for a good glimpse of the world’s condition. The analyzer is based on a NOAA computer simulation intended for forecasts that use satellite data. It is not based on reported observations from the ground. So this unofficial record is effectively using a weather tool that is designed for forecasts, not record-keeping.
This average temperature may not seem that hot, but it’s the first time in the 44 years of this dataset that the temperature surpassed the 17-degree Celsius mark.
Hotter global average temperatures translate into brutal conditions for people all over the world. In the U.S., heat advisories are in effect this week for more than 30 million people in places including portions of western Oregon, inland far northern California, central New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and the coastal Carolinas, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center. Excessive heat warnings are continuing across southern Arizona and California, they said.
Source- Fortune
Murder Investigation Launched
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are investigating the circumstances that led to
the murder of a male victim earlier today (Wednesday 05 th July 2023).
Based on preliminary information a call was placed to the Police Control Room at around 1:24
a.m. indicating that the lifeless body of a male was laying on the ground, at a location in Five
Cays, Providenciales.
When officers arrived they saw the decapitated body of a male.
A few hours later, at around 7:45 a.m., officers received further information and went to an area
known as Club Med in Five Cays, where they discovered the head of a male victim.
The RTCIPF can confirm the body is that of DESMOND ARTHUR.
ARTHUR, 48, aka PIE and GOMER resided in Five Cays and was last seen around 11 p.m.
yesterday (Tuesday 04th July).
Specialist-trained officers of the RTCIPF are supporting his family through this traumatic loss.
Head of Crime, Safeguarding, and Public Protection Superintendent Dean Holden said: “Whilst
we have no definitive motive at this time, we remain open-minded. However, a key line of
inquiry is whether this could have been some form of retribution as a result of the victim's
apparent involvement in local crime.
“We are also aware of apparent footage on social media of the victim’s body. The circulation of
such imagery is appalling and demonstrates a complete lack of respect for the victim's family
and friends. I am urging people not to view, share, or continue to post any material of this
nature.
“Should you have any information which can assist in the advancement of this investigation,
kindly contact the nearest police station, 911, or TCI Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 and give any
information on this incident or any other illegal activity anonymously”.