King and Queen say thanks for 'glorious occasion'
King Charles and Queen Camilla, crowned in a lavish, historic ceremony on Saturday, were "deeply touched" by the day's events, Buckingham Palace said.
The royal couple were "profoundly grateful" to all who helped to make it "such a glorious occasion" and the "very many" who turned out to show their support, the palace said.
Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales made a surprise trip to Windsor.
Crowds cheered as the couple chatted with people taking part in the Big Lunch.
A day earlier at Westminster Abbey, more than 2,000 guests including world leaders, fellow kings and queens, celebrities, and community champions packed the pews to witness the crowning of a king.
Outside, thousands lined the Mall despite the rain to cheer the king as his horse-drawn carriage passed from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.
Later, the couple, still in their crowns, appeared on the palace balcony to wave to the rain-soaked public, keen to be part of a moment in Britain's history.
Millions around the world watched the Coronation, the first in 70 years.
In the UK alone, at least 18 million viewers tuned in, provisional figures suggest.
Celebrations are continuing on Sunday with thousands of street parties and lunches ahead of a star-studded concert.
In Windsor, the Prince and Princess of Wales, William, and Catherine chatted and shook hands with people picnicking along The Long Walk which leads to Windsor Castle. Many will be gearing up for Sunday night's Coronation Concert.
The lunchtime crowds shouted "hip hip hooray" as the royals sipped a homemade gin cocktail, christened Purple Reign, from union jack paper cups while talking to a group of women in foam crowns.
Catherine, dressed in a pale blue blazer, smiled for a selfie with one woman and crouched down to console a tearful little girl who was overwhelmed by the occasion.
Speaking to another wellwisher, William revealed that his eldest son Prince George - one of the King's pages of honor at the Coronation - is a fan of classical rock music.
Caroline Mulvihill, from the Rock Choir in Windsor and Maidenhead, said: "Will was telling us in their household they have a very diverse music taste and George is very much into AC/DC and Led Zeppelin."
Another choir member, Sam Leckenby, said the royal couple had revealed they were "quite pleased" Saturday's ceremony had been shortened and was not the traditional five hours long.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh joined a Coronation Big Lunch in Cranleigh, Surrey, while the Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were at a community street party in Swindon.
The Duke of York's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, were attending a lunch in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire.
At Downing Street, the prime minister and his wife hosted their own lunch for community figures, Ukrainian families, youth groups - and US First Lady Jill Biden, who represented President Biden at Saturday's Coronation ceremony.
In all, some 50,000 Coronation lunches are expected to take place in the UK and across the world.
The King and Queen said they hoped the events would be "truly enjoyable", in a message posted on the Royal Family's official Instagram account.
Later at 20:00 BST, the Coronation Concert takes place at Windsor Castle and will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Radio 2.
Big names include Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who were at Saturday's Coronation, as well as Take That, Olly Murs, and Paloma Faith.
There will also be musical favorites from a world-class orchestra and a joint performance from The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera House, the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal College of Music, and The Royal College of Art.
Source- BBC
Man gets abusive after seeing a hickey on his babymother's neck
A man accused of physically assaulting the mother of his child after noticing a hickey on her neck was directed to seek counselling following his appearance in the St James Parish Court on Wednesday.
Josiah Johnson is charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.
Court documents revealed that on April 12, the complainant went to pick up their child from Johnson. However, when she got there, he noticed a hickey on her neck, which did not sit well with him.
As a result, he grabbed and punched the complainant before pushing her into the bushes. He then proceeded to damage her mobile phone.
Following the reading of the allegations, presiding parish judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley asked the couple if they would be open to counselling, and they agreed.
The judge then ordered the pair to attend counselling at the probation office and rescheduled the case for July 7.
Johnson's bail was extended.
Source- Jamaica Observer
Janet Yellen warns of debt ceiling 'catastrophe'
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned a failure to raise the US debt ceiling could have dire consequences.
Without an agreement to increase what the federal government can borrow, it could run out of money by early June.
At that point, the federal government might not be able to make wages, welfare, and other payments.
"It's Congress's job to do this. If they fail to do it, we will have an economic and financial catastrophe that will be of our own making," she said.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday Ms Yellen said debt ceiling negotiations should not take place "with a gun to the head of the American people."
But time is running out for an agreement.
On Tuesday, President Biden will meet Republican leaders to ask them to agree to raise the current $31.4tn (£25.12tn) limit.
Congress typically ties approval of a higher debt ceiling to stipulations on budget and spending measures.
Last month the House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the ceiling, currently roughly equal to 120% of the country's annual economic output, but included in the bill sweeping spending cuts over the next decade.
President Biden wants Congress to agree to raise the debt ceiling, with no conditions. President Biden has said he will not negotiate over the increase and will discuss budget cuts after the issue is resolved.
Failure to find cross-party agreement on the issue could result in a "constitutional crisis" Ms Yellen said.
The Biden administration is considering whether there is scope within the constitution for the president to continue issuing new debt without the approval of Congress, but will this week strive to avoid that scenario.
"We should not get to the point where we need to consider whether the president can go on issuing debt. This would be a constitutional crisis," Ms Yellen told ABC.
The debt ceiling has been raised, extended, or revised 78 times since 1960, often with negotiations going down to the wire.
In the end, the threat of a default on government payments including debt obligations has always led to compromise. The US has never defaulted, an event that would upend global financial markets and have far-reaching economic impacts.
But delaying a resolution also had negative consequences, Ms. Yellen said in a letter to Congress last week.
"We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States," she wrote.
Source- BBC
James Harden stars as Philadelphia 76ers level series with Boston Celtics
James Harden scored 42 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics in overtime to level their playoff series at 2-2.
Harden scored to send the game into overtime then made the decisive three-pointer to clinch a 116-115 win.
Philadelphia led for much of the game before a late Boston surge helped them move into the lead.
The Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 129-124 to ensure their series is also level going into game five.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant scored 36 points apiece while Landry Shamet was a surprise hero off the bench, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.
Booker shot 14-for-18 and registered 12 assists while Durant added 11 rebounds and six assists as fourth-seeded Phoenix won their second straight game.
A career-best 53-point display by Nikola Jokic, who was succeeded as the league's Most Valuable Player this season by 76ers star Joel Embiid, came in vain for top-seeded Denver.
Jokic was given an unsportsmanlike technical foul just before half-time after an incident involving Mat Ishbia, who became the Sun's owner in February.
The ball went out of bounds and ended up in the hands of Ishbia, sitting in the front row. As Jokic tried to get the ball back, Ishbia held onto it and after it came loose, the Serb pushed Ishbia with the outside of his forearm, sending the 43-year-old back into his seat.
"The fan put their hand on me first," said Jokic, 28. "I thought the league was supposed to protect us."
Nuggets coach Michael Malone added: "Some fan is holding onto the ball who wants be a part of the game. Just give the ball up, man."
For the third-seeded 76ers, Embiid supported Harden with 34 points while Jayson Tatum (24), Jaylen Brown (23), and Marcus Smart (21) helped to keep the Celtics in the game until the dying seconds.
Smart thought he had won it for Boston, the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but his last-ditch three-pointer came after the buzzer.
"I put the work in and it was all about being aggressive. Tonight it was really do or die," Harden said.
Game five in their best-of-seven series is on Tuesday in Boston, while the Suns and Nuggets meet again in Denver on Tuesday.
So far the home team has won each game in their Western Conference semi-final series.
Source- BBC
Donald Trump mistook rape accuser E Jean Carroll for ex-wife, trial told
Donald Trump appeared to mistake E Jean Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples in a deposition played for jurors in Ms. Carroll's civil rape suit against him.
In the video, Mr. Trump was shown a photo of himself speaking to other people at an event. "It's Marla," he says before his lawyer corrects him.
"No, that's Carroll," the lawyer says.
Ms. Carroll, 79, has accused Mr. Trump, 76, of attacking her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, an allegation Mr. Trump has denied.
Lawyers for Ms. Carroll have argued that Mr. Trump's confusion over the photo undermines his claim that Ms. Carroll is "not my type", a comment he has repeated since she first came forward with the allegation in 2019.
Mr. Trump has not yet attended the civil trial, now drawing to a close after two weeks of proceedings in Manhattan. Both sides rested their case on Thursday, though Mr Trump's team called no witnesses in his defense.
He had told reporters he might cut his ongoing golf trip to Ireland short to "confront" Ms. Carroll in court.
"I'll be going back early because a woman made a claim that is totally false, it's fake," Mr Trump said.
Mr. Trump's suggestion that he would return to New York comes after his lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told the judge Mr. Trump would not testify in court.
Referring to Mr. Trump's comments, the judge said he would give Mr. Trump until Sunday afternoon to decide. After that, the judge said, "That ship has irrevocably sailed".
The nine-member jury was shown the video of a combative deposition between the former president and Roberta Kaplan, one of Ms. Carroll's lawyers, filmed last October.
Mr. Trump continued his emphatic denials of Ms Carroll's accusation, that Mr. Trump maneuvered her into a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan and raped her.
"If it did happen, it would have been reported within minutes," Mr. Trump said in the deposition, suggesting that others at the "very busy store" would have heard an ongoing attack.
Jurors in the nearly two-week trial heard days of graphic testimony. Ms Carroll told jurors she was left "unable to ever have a romantic life again" after the alleged attack.
Her account was supported in court by her friend, Lisa Birnbach, who testified this week to receiving a call from Ms Carroll minutes after she says she was raped.
And two other women - Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff - were called by Ms. Carroll's team and described alleged sexual assaults committed by Mr. Trump - claims he has denied.
A former columnist for Elle magazine, Ms. Carroll was able to bring the civil case against Mr. Trump after New York passed the Adult Survivors Act in 2022.
The act allowed a one-year period for victims to file sexual assault lawsuits in the state over claims that would have normally exceeded statute limitations.
Source- BBC
HT- New York, United States, Donald Trump
Dexta Daps celebrates success of Davido's record-breaking album
Having featured on African star Davido's history-making album, Timeless, versatile dancehall standout Dexta Daps says he is delighted to have been given the opportunity to lend his vocals to the project and believes its success is a sign of the genre's impact in the global music space.
Having featured on African star Davido's history-making album, Timeless, versatile dancehall standout Dexta Daps says he is delighted to have been given the opportunity to lend his vocals to the project and believes its success is a sign of the genre's impact in the global music space.
Davido's fourth studio album has enjoyed a tremendous response from music lovers across the globe and is currently the highest-charted African album to date with Dexta Daps featuring on the sixth track, a female-friendly, dance-inspiring entry titled BOP.
The 17-track project also made its debut on the Billboard 200 chart at number 37 for two weeks and continues to smash multiple records with Spotify announcing that in addition to Nigeria, the artiste's music is the most streamed in the United Kingdom, Canada, and France.
Timeless also created history on Audiomack, hitting over 12 million streams in its first 24 hours, more than any other album in the platform's history.
"I'm honored to be a part of this record-breaking, history-making project with my brother Davido, the album is really timeless. It's a great look for both cultures, mi love the vibe," Dexta Daps briefly shared with the Jamaica Observer.
"@davido congrats on the number one album brother 100 percent on repeat, DAVIDO AND DEXTA DAPS TRACK 6," he added in a message to the African star through a post on social media platform Instagram.
In Nigeria, Timeless grabbed the all-time record for the biggest debut week by any album on Spotify Nigeria on its first day of release, tallying 4.91 million streams on March 31, beating the previous record debut week total of 4.89 million by Burna Boy 'Love, Damini'.
Timeless has sold over 17,000 units in the United States alone, while in Nigeria, the album is now eligible for platinum certification with over 61,600 units in the first three weeks of its release in the country.
In an interview with HOT 97, Davido highlighted that it was the first time that he did not feature a US artiste on his album and expressed elation that the project was still able to garner support and respect in the US market in spite of this. He also believes it's a clear sign of the genre's increasing global recognition.
BOP features Dexta Daps' silky vocals and suggestive lyrics, wrapped on an uptempo Afrobeat track which is sure to resonate on the party scene as the pair encourages the females to "mix up the rum with the wine" and "Party and enjoy your life".
Source- Jamaica Observer
Addidas admits that Kanye West Yeezy loss is hurting them
Adidas has said the ending of its collaboration with Kanye West is "hurting" the business, with sales in North America hard hit.
The sportswear giant cut its ties with the designer and rapper, known as Ye, late last year after he posted anti-Semitic comments on social media.
West designed trainers under the Yeezy brand and Adidas said the loss of the business cut sales by €400m (£350m) in the first quarter of the year.
Overall, total revenue fell by 1%.
Despite the dip, the figures were better than analysts had been expecting and Adidas said that sales were up 9% when the impact of the Yeezy business was excluded.
Adidas said it was benefiting from the current trend for "terrace" style trainers and was seeing "extraordinary demand" for its Samba, Gazelle, and Campus brands.
Terrace styles are those that were originally popular among football fans in the 1980s when supporters first embraced designer fashion brands such as Fila and Sergio Tacchini.
While Adidas said it had a limited supply of such shoes at the start of the year, it plans to increase production in the coming months.
In its latest results, Adidas said sales in North America had fallen by 20% as the region was particularly affected by the ending of the Yeezy business.
Adidas chief executive Bjorn Gulden said the loss of Yeezy is "of course hurting us".
The company scrapped its tie-up with West in October last year following the rapper's anti-Semitic comments. At the time, the firm said: "Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech."
Adidas said that if it decided not to "repurpose" its remaining unsold Yeezy stock, this would hit its operating profit by €500m this year.
The company still has to decide what to do with the remaining products, and whether it will sell them or scrap them.
Mr Gulden the firm was narrowing its options on the Yeezy stock, and the company was getting "closer and closer" to a decision.
The company is being sued by investors who claim Adidas knew about Kanye West's problematic behavior years before it ended their partnership.
Investors allege Adidas failed to limit financial losses and take precautionary measures to minimize their exposure.
In response, Adidas said it rejected "these unfounded claims", adding that it would take "all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them".
Despite the drop in overall sales during the first three months of the year, Adidas reported a higher-than-expected operating profit of €60m.
Strong demand for its football, running, and tennis shoes helped footwear revenues grow by 1%.
However, Mr. Gulden - who joined Adidas at the start of this year from rival Puma - warned that 2023 would be "a bumpy year with disappointing numbers".
He also said that Adidas was aiming to make sure that 50% of the products it sells in China are designed specifically for the Chinese market.
China is the world's second-largest sportswear market, but Adidas has been falling behind its rivals there.
In the first three months of the year, its sales in China were down 9.4% from a year earlier.
Source- BBC
Ed Sheeran wins copyright infringement lawsuit involving "Thinking Out Loud"
Ed Sheeran has won a copyright infringement lawsuit involving his Grammy-winning song "Thinking Out Loud" and the Marvin Gaye classic "Let's Get It On."
A Manhattan jury has found the musician did not engage in willful copyright infringement following a trial that saw Sheeran playing and singing in court.
The jury reached its decision after roughly three hours of deliberations.
Sheeran, seated at the defense table in a suit and tie between his lawyers, hugged his attorneys when the verdict was read.
Sheeran had been accused of copying the sheet music for "Let's Get It On" by the family of the song's late co-writer, Ed Townsend.
During opening arguments in Manhattan federal court, renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the plaintiffs, said the case is about "giving credit where credit is due."
The defense, meanwhile, said Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge "independently created" the song "Thinking Out Loud."
"Their song was born from an emotional conversation," Sheeran's attorney, Ilene Farkas, said. "It was their original creation."
Sheeran took the stand throughout the trial, at times singing and playing guitar during his testimony.
At one point, he performed a mash-up on guitar of his songs and Marvin Gaye's as he tried to demonstrate how common the four-chord progression was for his hit "Thinking Out Loud."
Source- ABC
White House assembled tech bosses informing them to protect the public from AI
Tech bosses were summoned to the White House on Thursday and told they must protect the public from the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Sundar Pichai of Google, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, and OpenAI's Sam Altmann were told they had a "moral" duty to safeguard society.
The White House made it clear that it may regulate the sector further.
Recently launched AI products like ChatGPT and Bard, have captured the public's imagination.
They offer ordinary users the chance to interact with what is known as "generative AI", which can summarise information from multiple sources within seconds, debug computer code, write presentations, and even poetry, that sounds plausibly as if they might have been human-generated.
Their rollout has sparked renewed debate over the role of AI in society, by offering a tangible illustration of the potential risks and rewards of the new technology.
Technology executives gathered at the White House on Thursday were told it was up to firms to "ensure the safety and security of their products" and were warned that the administration was open to new regulations and legislation to cover artificial intelligence.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAi, the firm behind ChatGPT, told reporters that in terms of regulation, executives were "surprisingly on the same page on what needs to happen".
US Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement following the meeting that the new technology could pose a risk to safety, privacy, and civil rights, although it also had the potential to improve lives.
The private sector had "an ethical, moral, and legal responsibility to ensure the safety and security of their products", she said.
The White House announced a $140m (£111m) investment from the National Science Foundation to launch seven new AI research institutes.
Calls for the dramatic rise in emerging AI to be better regulated have been coming thick and fast, from both politicians and tech leaders.
Earlier this week, the "godfather" of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, quit his job at Google - saying he now regretted his work.
He told the BBC that some of the dangers of AI chatbots were "quite scary".
In March, a letter signed by Elon Musk and Apple founder Steve Wozniak called for a pause to the rollout of the technology.
And on Wednesday, the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Lina Khan, outlined her views on how and why AI needed to be regulated.
There are concerns that AI could rapidly replace peoples' jobs, as well as worries that chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard can be inaccurate and lead to the dissemination of misinformation.
There are also concerns that generative AI could flout copyright law. Voice cloning AI could exacerbate fraud. AI-generated videos can spread fake news.
However, advocates like Bill Gates have hit back against calls for an AI "pause" saying such a move would not "solve the challenges" ahead.
Mr. Gates argues it would be better to focus on how best to use the developments in AI.
And others believe there is a danger of over-regulating - which would give a strategic advantage to tech companies in China.
Source- BBC
Flow TCI announces completion of North Caicos Network Upgrade
Flow TCI has confirmed that the transmission upgrade project to alleviate concerns with mobile network congestion in North and Middle Caicos was successfully completed. Flow’s technical teams continue to monitor the performance of the upgraded network, however, reports from residents have confirmed significant improvement in the service.
Flow TCI Country Manager, Joanne Missick stated: “I must thank our technical operations team for delivering on our promise to the residents in the sister islands and I also extend that thanks to the residents for their cooperation and patience while we worked to deliver a superior network experience. The now move into the next phase which is our Fibre to the Home rollout to transition customers over to our upgraded fibre network.”
MAINTENANCE WINDOW SCHEDULE
Activity Date Start Time Progress
Phase I: Bottle Creek April 4-5th, 2023 9:00am EST Completed
Phase II: Bottle Creek April 11-15th, 2023 9:00am EST Completed
Phase III: Monitoring & Feedback April 21-23rd, 2023 - Completed
Residents who may experience any further issues should report them to our normal fault reporting numbers.
Our team will continue to alert residents via SMS and social media on any scheduled maintenance and will continue to conduct checks to verify network stabilization.
Flow TCI Facilities Lead, Ronald Gardiner stated: “Though we experienced some delays initially, we have delivered the promised outcome of a better service experience for the twin islands thanks to the additional assistance provided by our technical support teams.”