BAHAMAS 3-DAY PUBLIC FORECAST
THIS IS THE BAHAMAS’ 3-DAY PUBLIC FORECAST FOR 6:00 AM, TODAY AND TONIGHT, FRIDAY, 1ST
OCTOBER, 2021, ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY.
GENERAL SITUATION: HIGH PRESSURE ANCHORED NORTH OF THE AREA WILL GENERATE MODERATE
TO OCCASIONALLY FRESH BREEZES ACROSS THE BAHAMAS, WHILE A WEAKENING COLD FRONT, ALSO
NORTH OF THE AREA, SAGS SOUTHWARDS TO THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS BY THIS EVENING. SWELLS
ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE SAM WILL IMPACT THE ISLAND CHAIN, RESULTING IN HAZARDOUS
BEACHING AND BOATING CONDITIONS TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT.
SPECIAL WARNINGS: THERE IS A MODERATE THREAT FOR WATERSPOUT AND/OR FUNNEL CLOUD
ACTIVITY IN OR NEAR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. BEACHGOERS AND SWIMMERS SHOULD
EXERCISE CAUTION DUE TO THE MODERATE RISK OF RIP CURRENTS ALONG NORTH AND EAST COAST
BEACHES.
AREA: NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL BAHAMAS
WEATHER: VARIABLY CLOUDY AND BECOMING BREEZY WITH A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT.
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT OPERATORS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION.
WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS AND GUSTY AT TIMES.
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET OVER THE OCEAN, BUT UP TO 8 FEET IN MODERATE NORTHEAST TO EASTERLY
SWELLS ALONG ATLANTIC EXPOSED SHORELINES.
AREA: SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY AND WARM WITH THE CHANCE OF A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TODAY, BECOMING WARM TONIGHT WITH A PASSING SHOWER OR TWO POSSIBLE.
ADVISORY: SMALL CRAFT OPERATORS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION.
WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS.
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET IN SHELTERED AREAS, BUT UP TO 8 FEET IN MODERATE NORTHEAST TO EASTERLY
SWELLS ALONG ATLANTIC EXPOSED SHORELINES.
HIGH TEMPERATURE TODAY: 91°F / 32°C
LOW TEMPERATURE TONIGHT: 72°F / 22°C
SUNRISE: 7:02 AM
SUNSET: 6:54 PM
MOONSET: 4:05 PM
MOONRISE: 3:04 AM SAT.
LOW TIDE: 10:14 AM
HIGH TIDE: 4:40 PM
LOW TIDE: 11:11 PM
HIGH TIDE: 5:05 AM SAT.
EXTENDED WEATHER OUTLOOK (FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS): HIGH PRESSURE WILL STRENGTHEN
ACROSS THE BAHAMAS MAINTAINING MODERATE TO FRESH BREEZES WHILE SWELLS ASSOCIATED
WITH HURRICANE SAM CREATE HAZARDOUS BEACHING AND BOATING CONDITIONS THROUGH THE
WEEKEND.
FORECAST FOR SATURDAY
WEATHER: VARIABLY CLOUDY AND BREEZY WITH THE CHANCE OF A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS AND
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS.
WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS AND GUSTY AT TIMES.
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET OVER THE OCEAN, BUT UP TO 8 FEET ALONG ATLANTIC EXPOSED SHORELINES IN
MODERATE NORTHEAST TO EASTERLY SWELLS.
FORECAST FOR SUNDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY AND BREEZY WITH A FEW BRIEF PASSING SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE DAY. BREEZY AND MILD AT NIGHT.
WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS AND GUSTY AT TIMES.
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET OVER THE OCEAN, BUT UP TO 8 FEET ALONG ATLANTIC EXPOSED SHORELINES IN
MODERATE NORTHEAST TO EASTERLY SWELLS.
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK: TWO AREAS ARE BEING MONITORED IN THE TROPICS AT THIS TIME;
(1) HURRICANE SAM LOCATED ABOUT 550 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA MOVING NORTH-
NORTHWEST NEAR 16 MILES PER HOUR WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF 145 MILES PER
HOUR.
(2) TROPICAL STORM VICTOR LOCATED ABOUT 585 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE CABO VERDE ISLANDS
MOVING WEST-NORTHWEST AT 12 MILES PER HOUR WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS OF 60
MILES PER HOUR. ELSEWHERE, TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT
FIVE DAYS.
Fans racial abuse of St. Kitts & Nevis midfielder leads to jailtime
A 50-year-old football fan who racially abused St Kitts & Nevis midfielder Romaine Sawyers on a social media site was jailed for eight weeks.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that Simon Silwood’s message was intentionally racist and not the result of autocorrect to “baboon” from “bafoon” as he had claimed. Sawyers, 29, now on loan with Championship club Stoke City, became aware of the post after English club West Bromwich Albion, the club for which he previously played, lost 5-0 to Manchester City in January. Silwood was also ordered to pay £500 (U.S. $672) in compensation to the player.
After Thursday’s sentencing, Sawyers urged his fellow professionals to report abuse hurled at them to police, having told the court: “The whole incident has left me extremely upset. I find it difficult to believe that in 2021 there are still people out in society who believe it is acceptable to behave like this.” Sentencing Silwood, district judge Briony Clarke, said: “There is no place for racism or racist abuse online. This clearly, in my view, crosses the custody threshold. I assess the remorse you have for your actions as very minimal indeed.”
Silwood, a West Brom supporter, was charged following an investigation carried out by police constable Stuart Ward, the United Kingdom’s first dedicated hate crime officer within a football unit. After sentencing, Ward said: “Sadly, we’ve seen a rise in online hate crimes over the last 12 months and we won’t hesitate to take action against those responsible, as this case shows.” After his conviction, West Brom issued Silwood with a lifetime ban. The court heard previously that Sawyers was left feeling “harassed, alarmed and distressed” after reading Silwood’s post.
Source - CMC
POPULAR MONEY SCHEMES MAY BE CRIMINAL OFFENCE, SAYS POLICE COMMISSIONER
“You may be committing a criminal offence…” the words of Commissioner of Police, Travor Botting, speaking in relation to what the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has called unregulated money schemes or ponzi schemes.
Over the past year several of these unregulated money schemes have gained increasing popularity within many social circles in the TCI, particularly as persons have come to feel the crunch of the COVID pandemic on their finances. With names such as the Lotus, the Flower and the Circle, these schemes have attracted many persons in the TCI community, believing that they are a quick and easy way to make money. However, many residents have been left high and dry after losing their money.
The FSC recently issued a press statement on its website warning residents of these schemes, which promise upwards of $10,000 dollars in a month. RTC News has been told that some persons participating in these schemes have made as much as $50,000, while others have lost around $2,000 or maybe even more.
The schemes usually work by having two persons create a pot or fund with money and then they have to find other persons to add money to that pot, and those new persons have to each find other new persons, creating several levels. The person at the highest level takes the pot and more participants are needed to keep the payments going. An arrangement that the FSC says is unsustainable, fraudulent, and structured like a Ponzi Scheme, leaving unsuspecting participants tricked out of their cash.
Commissioner Botting says that he is aware of the social media posts regarding these Ponzi or Circle Schemes being run in the TCI and he wants to remind those engaged in these schemes or attracted to such systems that Ponzi Schemes and other similar activities are illegal, and those involved may be subject to criminal charges. Botting says that the RTCIPF will be working closely with the FSC to respond to complaints about these schemes.
The Commissioner says that he would discourage all persons involved in these schemes or those considering investing money into them from engaging in this activity, as you may be committing a criminal offence and you are likely not to get your money back. He went on to say that the RTCIPF will investigate complaints but, as it stands, no direct complaints have been made to the Force.
You can contact the RTCIPF Financial Crimes Unit by email at fcu@tcipolice.tc if you wish to make a complaint or if you have any information as to the criminal conduct of others.
Police Service Commission completely crumbles as chairman resigns
The chairman of the beleaguered Police Service Commission (PSC) resigned on Thursday, amid controversy over the selection of the twin-island republic’s next top cop. A brief statement from the Office of the President indicated that President Paula-Mae Weekes “today accepted the resignation with immediate effect of Ms. Bliss Seepersad as Chairman and Member of the Police Service Commission”.
Seepersad is the last member of the PSC to step down, following Courtney Mc Nish, Dr. Susan Craig-James and Roger Kawalsingh who resigned between last week and this week. The three had disagreed with Seepersad’s handling of issues that arose after the PSC began selection of a Police Commissioner. Gary Griffith, whose three-year contract as Commissioner of Police (COP) ended on August 17, 2021, was to remain acting in that position until the completion of the selection process for the post.
He went on two weeks’ vacation leave in early September, during which time Deputy Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob performed the duties of COP. However, Griffith was suspended in a letter dated September 17, from Seepersad, in which he was instructed to immediately cease reporting for duty until further notice.
The notice of suspension was withdrawn six days later, after Griffith agreed to go on voluntary leave pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of corruption in the granting of firearm users’ licences and possible interference in a police investigation against the head of the legal unit in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
Despite the withdrawal of the letter, Griffith is set to return to court on November 10 to seek a declaration from the court that his suspension was unlawful.
Source - CMC
Scarlett Johansson and Disney have settled Black Widow dispute
Scarlett Johansson's Periwinkle Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company have settled their dispute regarding the release of Black Widow.
Johansson filed suit last month against Marvel Studios' parent company, Disney, claiming that the studio's decision to simultaneously release Black Widow on Disney+ and in theaters was a breach of her contract, which guaranteed Black Widow an exclusive theatrical window before it hit the streaming service. The suit further claims Disney's decision to do otherwise cost Johansson millions in potential earnings.
“I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney. I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team," the actress said in a statement on Thursday. "I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come,” Alan Bergman, Chairman of Disney Studios Content, added, “I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow. We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney’s Tower of Terror.”
Neither side gave any indication of how much money was involved in the settlement. Scarlett Johansson served as an executive producer on Black Widow, and therefore had profit participation "points" tied to the film's box-office performance. The movie grossed $367 million at the box office. However, Disney revealed in August that the movie had grossed $125 million on streaming, which some assert detracted from the film's box-office earnings potential, and Johansson's bottom line.
Source - ABC
Biden suffers blow as trillion-dollar vote delayed
US President Joe Biden has suffered a setback after Congress delayed a vote on a $1tn (£750bn) infrastructure plan. Part of his Democratic Party refuses to move forward with the plan until Congress signs off on a separate $3.5tn plan on welfare and climate change. That plan is at the heart of the party's agenda for government and passions are high among its liberal (progressive) and centrist wings. Centrists want to scale the legislation back radically. The $1tn public works bill, which would apply to routine transportation, broadband, water systems and other projects, enjoys wide support but liberal Democrats are linking it to their more ambitious welfare and climate change bill.
That bill would raise taxes on corporations and the rich, investing the revenue in a broad array of social programmes, including early childhood education, universal preschool, government-funded two-year college education, paid family and medical leave, an expansion of government health insurance and environmental spending. President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been trying to reconcile the liberals with the centrists. Reflecting the centrist position, Senator Joe Manchin said he was ready to meet the president less than halfway, at $1.5tn. He described the proposed figure of $3.5tn as "fiscal insanity".
Sen Bernie Sanders, a leading liberal, said the issue was "not a baseball game" but "the most significant piece of legislation in 70 years". A fellow liberal, Representative Ilhan Omar, said: "Trying to kill your party's agenda is insanity. Not trying to make sure the president we all worked so hard to elect, his agenda pass, is insanity." The House will be back in session on Friday when efforts to push through the bills will resume.
"We are not there yet, and so, we will need some additional time to finish the work, starting tomorrow morning first thing," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Thursday. Mr Biden's party has the thinnest of majorities in both the House and Senate, and is eager to push through its signature policies before next year's congressional elections, when the Republicans attempt to regain control. On Thursday Congress did pass a temporary measure to keep the federal government funded until early December. Federal museums, national parks and safety programmes would have had to close without the funding, which also includes hurricane relief and help for Afghan refugees.
Source - BBC
Aukus: Australia-EU trade talks delayed as row deepens
Trade talks between Australia and the European Union have been postponed as a row with France over the so-called Aukus security partnership deepens.
Last month, Canberra cancelled a $37bn ($27.5bn) deal with France to build a fleet of conventional submarines.
Instead, it will build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with US and UK technology.
The decision angered Paris, which called the deal a "stab in the back" by the US and Australia.
In fact, soon after the Aukus agreement was announced, France recalled its ambassadors from both Canberra and Washington.
The ambassador to Washington will now return to his post, but it is not clear if the ambassador to Canberra will do the same.
In solidarity with France, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has questioned whether the EU would be able to strike a trade deal with Australia.
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan declined to comment on what part, if any, the submarine deal had played in delaying negotiations but confirmed that the next round of talks, which were scheduled to start on 12 October, had been postponed until the following month.
"I will meet with my EU counterpart Valdis Dombrovskis next week to discuss the 12th negotiating round, which will now take place in November rather than October," he said.
In June, after the last round of talks over a free trade deal, the European Commission said negotiations had "progressed in most areas of the future agreement".
The next round of talks was expected to include a number of subjects including trade, investment and intellectual property rights.
The EU is Australia's third-biggest trading partner, with trade in goods and services totalling almost $72bn last year.
Analysts have described Aukus as probably the most significant security arrangement between the three nations since World War Two.
But France considers the Indo-Pacific region to be of key strategic and economic importance, with around 1.5m French citizens in the area.
Source - BBC
Facebook grilled over mental-health impact on kids
Facebook has defended the impact of its products, saying Instagram has "affirmatively helped" young people. Its global head of safety, Antigone Davis, testified to the US Senate, about child protection. It comes after a leak exposed how Instagram's own research had found the platform could harm children’s well-being.
Previously, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said the app's effects on teenagers' mental health were "quite small". The committee opened by reiterating Facebook's own research - first reported on by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) - which found Instagram could have a negative impact on body image and self-esteem. Teenagers "blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression", it said. But Ms Davis then told the committee: "We conduct this research, to make our platform better, to minimise the bad and maximise the good and to proactively identify where we can improve.
"We want our platforms to be a place for meaningful interactions with friends and family and we cannot achieve that goal if people do not feel safe." But Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate commerce, science, and transportation subcommittee on consumer protection, product safety, and data security, highlighted how Facebook had, in August, denied it was aware of any research that showed a negative correlation.
"We know it chooses the growth of its products over the well-being of our children," he said. "And we now know that it is indefensibly delinquent in acting to protect them. "It is failing to hold itself accountable and the question that haunts me is how can we or parents or anyone trust Facebook."
In the hearing, Ms Davis repeatedly failed to answer the committee's questions and said she would have to check with the relevant Facebook teams “It is simply not accurate that this research demonstrates Instagram is 'toxic' for teen girls," head of research Pratiti Raychoudhury blogged. "The research actually demonstrated that many teens we heard from feel that using Instagram helps them when they are struggling with the kinds of hard moments and issues teenagers have always faced."
But Facebook, releasing slides to illustrate its research, admitted: "One exception was body image". One in three teenage girls who had already experienced body-image issues told Facebook using Instagram made them feel worse. In particular filtered images, posting selfies and viewing content with hashtags affect well-being, the slides suggest. It comes just days after the company paused its scheduled rollout of Instagram Kids, which had been due to launch this year for users aged under 13.
"As every parent knows when it comes to kids and tweens, they're already online," Ms Davis told the committee. "We believe it is better for parents to have the option to give tweens access to a version of Instagram that's designed for them where parents can supervise and manage their experience - rather than to have them lie about their age to access the platform that wasn't built for them." Ms Davis said Instagram was also testing a feature called Take a Break which "would encourage somebody to take a break" from their screen. This would display "when we think [users] may be rabbit hole and down certain kinds of content or are on the app too long." The whistleblower who leaked the documents to the Wall Street Journal will testify in a separate hearing next week and the committee said it would be seeking interviews from other social media companies in regards to children's mental health harms.
Source - BBC
Ford extends production halt at German plant
Ford Motor will extend a production stoppage at its factory in Cologne, Germany, until the end of October because of the global shortage of microchips.
The company will not be able to resume production of the Fiesta small hatchback at the plant as planned, a Ford spokesperson said. The plant will remain idle until Oct. 31, the spokesman continued. "Due to the still tense situation on the global semiconductor market, supply bottlenecks continue to occur," said the spokesman. Fiesta production in Cologne has largely been at a standstill since July.
Ford said it was not yet clear whether production could resume in November. The availability of semiconductors on the world market will remain "very volatile" for the foreseeable future, the spokesman said. Ford therefore assumes "that there may always be production stoppages in the foreseeable future." The Fiesta is the only model built in Cologne. European sales of the hatchback fell 25 percent to 72,276 through August, according to JATO Dynamics market researchers. The Fiesta is Ford's second-bestseller in Europe after the Puma small crossover built in Romania. Puma sales rose 75 percent to 106,360 in the first eight months.
Ford has said it will sell only full-electric passenger cars in Europe by 2030. The automaker is investing $1 billion in the Cologne plant to build electric cars based on Volkswagen Group's MEB platform starting in 2023. Ford's move to extend the production stoppage follows Opel's decision to close its plant in Eisenach, Germany, where the company builds the Grandland X compact SUV, until the end of the year because of the semiconductor shortage.
Source - Autonews
WEATHER AS OF 12 PM EDT, THURSDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER 2021.
VICTOR FORECAST TO STRENGTHEN OVER THE EASTERN TROPICAL
ATLANTIC...
AT 11 AM EDT, THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM VICTOR WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 9.5° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 28.9° WESTOR ABOUT 555 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE CABO VERDE ISLANDS.
VICTOR IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH. A WEST-NORTHWEST TO NORTHWEST MOTION OVER THE EASTERN TROPICAL ATLANTIC IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS REMAIN NEAR 45 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. GRADUAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST, AND VICTOR COULD BE NEAR HURRICANE STRENGTH ON FRIDAY. A WEAKENING TREND IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN OVER THE WEEKEND.