Official: Hallmark Trust card services have been suspended
It’s official. RTC can now surely confirm that Hallmark Trust Ltd.’s card service has been interrupted by MasterCard.
In a press release from the TCI Financial Services Commission (FSC), it was confirmed that Hallmark Trust’s services have been discontinued for the time being.
This official confirmation follows widespread speculation yesterday, Wednesday, October 31st, 2018, when rumors began swirling that Hallmark Trust Ltd. may be closing its doors in the TCI and that account holders should remove their funds immediately.
It was alleged in public forums that this closure was the result of an FSC investigation.
Yesterday, reliable sources at the FSC told RTC that this notion of their involvement in the closure was false and if Hallmark Trust services were to be interrupted, it would be the decision of MasterCard, of which Hallmark Trust is a principal member.
We now know this scenario to be true following the release of the official press statement in which the FSC also confirmed that they are aware of the suspension and they are working with Hallmark Trust to address the disruption of services and to ensure the protection of cardholders’ funds.
Hallmark Trust Ltd. is a registered and licensed trust company based in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Hallmark is also a principal member of MasterCard Worldwide. Hallmark Trust Ltd. issues the Compass Prepaid Mastercard which is used widely by TCI residents.
Further guidance will be provided to cardholders on this matter in the coming days. RTC will keep you updated as more details become available.
Source: Allie Capron (RTC News)
Kanye West quits politics, says his "eyes are now wide open"
Kanye West, an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, announced he is quitting politics after being 'used to spread messages I don't believe in' and denounced the president over his immigration policy.
The singer made the surprising declaration on Twitter on Tuesday.
'My eyes are now wide open and now realize I've been used to spread messages I don't believe in. I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative !!!,' he wrote.
In an extended Twitter rant, he criticized Trump's immigration policy, denounced the 'blexit' movement, and thanked his family.
West indicated the split came over Trump's policies on immigration, which had seen migrant children separated from their parents who came to the country illegally and ordering troops to the border to stave off a caravan of people walking to the United States from Central America.
'I support those who risk their lives to serve and protect us and I support holding people who misuse their power accountable. I believe in love and compassion for people seeking asylum and parents who are fighting to protect their children from violence and war,' the rapper wrote.
He also denounced the 'blexit' movement - black people leaving the Democratic Party - and its conservative founder Candace Owens.
West said even though his name was used he 'never wanted any association' and has 'nothing to do with it.'
'I introduced Candace to the person who made the logo and they didn't want their name on it so she used mine. I never wanted any association with Blexit. I have nothing to do with it,' he tweeted.
Owens has urged Black voters to leave Democrats as part of her 'blexit' campaign.
'Blexit is a Renaissance,' Owens told Fox News on Monday. 'Blexit is the black exit from the Democratic Party. It's the black exit from permanent victimhood, the black exit from the false idea that we are somehow separate from the rest of America.'
Her movement got national attention after she said West helped her design its logo.
'Kanye saw my original design, and said, 'I can do it better,' Owens said. 'It certainly was. He redesigned the logo with vibrant colors inspired by his trip to Uganda.'
The rapper and designer also debuted a line of shirts endorsing a 'Black Exit' from the Democratic Party at the Young Black Leadership Summit in Washington, DC, on Saturday - even as he denounced the movement on Tuesday.
West did not attend the summit although there had been rumors he would be there.
West also thanked his family for their support. He is married Kim Kardashian, who has met with Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner about prison reform.
'I would like to thank my family, loved ones, and community for supporting my ACTUAL beliefs and my vision for a better world,' West wrote on Tuesday.
Kardashian's May meeting at the White House led the president to grant clemency to Alice Marie Johnson, whom Kardashian had become a prominent supporter of after reading about her case online.
Kardashian visited the White House in September for a second time. She's not known to have spoken to the president during that trip. She participated in a prison reform panel with Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
West is close with Trump, having first met with him at Trump Tower shortly after Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
He has tweeted his support of him and often wears a red 'Make America Great Again' hat.
He also met with the president in the Oval Office earlier this month where he went on an extended rant as he sat across from Trump at the Resolute Desk, where he dropped the F bomb, spoke about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and even shared a warm hug with the president, who concluded that his speech 'pretty impressive'.
West, who wants to be known as Ye, said he has come to understand that 'bravery helps you beat this game called life' and that he was misdiagnosed with a mental health disease when he was really just sleep deprived in a 10-minute speech, followed by nearly 10 minutes of questions, in which he labeled himself a 'crazy motherf***er' and called the amendment that ended slavery a 'trap door' and said it should be abolished.
West showed up to the meeting wearing a 'Make America Great Again' ball cap.
'They tried to scare me to not wear this hat, my own friends, but this hat it gives me, it gives me power,' West asserted. 'You know, my dad and my mom separated, so I didn't have a lot of male energy in my home. And also, I'm married to a family that, you know – not a lot of male energy going on. It's beautiful though,' he said, breaking into nervous laughter as he spoke about his wife Kim Kardashian West and her family.
He said the hat is like a Superman cape and said that Trump made him a billionaire.
Brazilian soccer star found mutilated, police say he was tortured
A 24-year-old soccer player was found dead in southern Brazil over the weekend.
Police are investigating the death of Daniel Corrêa Freitas, a midfielder for Brazilian club Sao Paulo, after his body was discovered in a rural area southeast of the city of Curitiba on Saturday. The Legal Medical Institute of Curitiba listed knife wounds as the preliminary cause of death.
While police have not publicly discussed any of the findings of their investigation, multiple Braziliannewspapers reported Monday that Freitas was at a nightclub Friday night before his disappearance and his body had been mutilated. One newspaper, Folha de São Paulo, reported that Freitas was nearly decapitated, among other gruesome injuries.
Freitas, who was on loan with second-division Sao Bento at the time of his death, started his senior career with Botafogo before signing a contract with Sao Paulo. All three teams issued statements mourning his death.
"It is with deep regret that the São Paulo Football Club laments the death of Daniel and is in solidarity with friends and family in this moment of pain," Sao Paulo said in a news release.
"The club's board regrets the fact and sympathizes with the player's family and friends at this time of deep sadness," added Sao Bento, where Freitas was on loan.
Ganja shortage hits Canada just two weeks after legalizing
Marijuana shortage hits Canada just two weeks after legalisation.
“The producers keep saying there will be some bumps in the road, but right now it's not a bump in the road. It's a big pothole,” said Trevor Tobin, one of the owners of the Labrador City shop--a ganja store in Newfoundland.
His mother, Brenda Tobin, is a part-owner and said that after she tells customers there's nothing to buy, “a lot of them are saying, 'Oh, well. I guess it's back to the black market.'”
Legalisation arrived October 17th, and Canada became the world's largest national marketplace for so-called recreational marijuana. But for now, it's a superlative in name only.
The first weeks have felt more like a soft opening with few retail outlets operating and rampant supply shortages. It's not because Canada can't produce enough cannabis products — licensing those producers has been slow, and the federal government is taking steps to speed up the process.
The provinces are handling the sales and most of the regulations. Reports from around the country are similarly discouraging when it comes to supply.
Quebec closed its Government-run shops for three days this week because of a lack of supply and will continue to keep them shut Mondays through Wednesdays until availability is stabilised. Shortages in both brick-and-mortars and online stores could last six months.
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, won't have any stores open until April at the earliest as the new conservative Government writes regulations. Meantime, police have shut down at least 11 illegal dispensaries in the province.
Ontario residents who want to make legal purchases are flooding the online Government store. At least 150,000 orders arrived in the first week, more than all other provinces combined, and the store can't keep up.
Contributing to the delivery problem is a strike by workers at Canada Post, the nation's postal service that handles online marijuana orders that are legal countrywide.
T&T gearing up for more floods
Trinidad and Tobago still mopping up after heavy rains that caused widespread flooding and damage in the south and central parts of the island, is preparing for the passage of yet another inter-tropical conversion zone (ITCZ) over the next two days.
The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) in a bulletin Wednesday said that a “Yellow Level” is in effect and that there is a “70 per cent chance of heavy showers or thunderstorms during the period, which may lead to street/flash flooding as well as landslides/landslips in areas so prone”.
TTMS said that gusty winds can also be experienced in the vicinity of heavy downpours, adding that rainfall accumulations of 35 – 50 millimetres (mm) can be expected, with higher amounts in isolated areas.
The TTMS said that the Yellow Level would remain in effect until Friday and that potential damage can be avoided if persons monitor conditions and reduce their level of exposure.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), said it was urging all citizens to be extra vigilant “and to take the necessary steps to preserve life and property”.
It said that while it wanted to reiterate that *Trinidad and Tobago is not under tropical storm or hurricane watch, it is nonetheless necessary for the population to take precautions to lessen any injury or damage.
Earlier this month, heavy rains associated with an ICTZ caused various floods, landslide and damage to some of the country’s infrastructure.
The government has since said it would pay compensation to people affected by the floods.
Rumors are swirling that Hallmark Trust may be closing its doors
RTC is tracking two major stories this hour.
The first one concerns financial firm, Hallmark Trust Ltd.. Today, Wednesday, October 31st, 2018, rumors began to swirl that Hallmark Trust Ltd. may be closing its doors in the TCI and that account holders should remove their funds immediately.
It’s also being alleged in public forums that if this closure is in fact true, it may be the result of a Financial Services Commission (FSC) investigation.
Reliable sources at the FSC say that this notion is false. If Hallmark Trust is in fact closing its doors, it would be the decision of MasterCard, of which Hallmark is a principal member.
These rumors intensified after a poster was spotted at the Graceway IGA supermarket which reads:
HALLMARK CUSTOMERS
WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING ANY MONEY FOR THE HALLMARK PREPAID CARD. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. PLEASE CONTACT OFFICE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
RTC made several attempts to contact Hallmark Trust Ltd. throughout the day but we were unsuccessful--our calls went unanswered. We have been informed though, that an official statement regarding the matter will be released soon.
Hallmark Trust Ltd. is a registered and licensed trust company based in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Hallmark is also a principal member of MasterCard Worldwide. Hallmark Trust Ltd. issues the Compass Prepaid Mastercard which is used widely by TCI residents.
We are unaware at this time whether or not there is any truth to the closure rumors. We are awaiting official confirmation and will share those details as soon as they become available.
Source: Allie Capron (RTC News)
Rumor Report: Herzog laying off Turks and Caicos Nationals?
Is Herzog Caribbean Ltd. laying off Turks and Caicos Nationals? According to reports reaching RTC, this is a hot topic making its ways through the rumor mill and it's the second major story RTC has been tracking throughout the day.
A privately owned construction and project management company, Herzog Caribbean Ltd. opened its doors in 2004.
Late yesterday, RTC received an unconfirmed statement which accused Herzog Caribbean Ltd. of targeted layoffs of its employees with belonger status in favor of work permit holders. The statement also alleged that the some of these employees may be working on expired permits.
Through a reliable source, RTC made contact with one of the directors of Herzog Caribbean Ltd. who indicated that mass layoffs are not at all unusual for the company. In fact, it’s protocol when major projects come to an end. Until another major project is in the works, extra hands are not needed.
RTC is working on obtaining an official comment from the company. We were hoping to obtain this comment for our afternoon report at 1:30 and then for this edition of the nation’s report but through no fault of our own, we were unsuccessful.
We will share more on this story as soon as details become available.
Source: Allie Capron (RTC News)
Today's weather: Wednesday, October 31st
IN THE GENERAL WEATHER SITUATION, A STATIONARY FRONT IN THE VICINITY OF THE TCI AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS CONTINUES TO WEAKEN.
AS A RESULT, TODAY’S WEATHER WILL INCLUDE VARIABLE CLOUDINESS, BREEZY AND WARM WITH A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THE CHANCE OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE WEAKENING FRONTAL BOUNDARY THROUGH TONIGHT.
WINDS ARE NORTHEASTERLY AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS OVER OPEN WATERS IN THE TCI AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS. SEAS ARE 4 TO 7 FEET OVER THE OCEAN.
HERE AT HOME, WE’RE EXPECTING A DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE
86 °F OR 30 °C
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURE WILL BE 73 °F, that’s 23 ° in C
SUNRISE is at 7:17AM this morning.
For those looking to catch the sunset, it’s around 6:29 PM this evening in our beautiful by nature Turks and Caicos Islands.
Happy Halloween, TCI!
CDB announces $106-Million programme of assistance for The Bahamas
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has announced a USD106.5 million (mn) programme of assistance for The Bahamas, over the period 2018-2022. The programme is outlined in
a new Country Strategy Paper for the country, which was approved by CDB’s Board of
Directors on October 25.
“This Strategy has been designed in collaboration with the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and aims to help the country achieve its medium-term development objectives. As such, we focus on areas that are considered critical to inclusive growth, such as the provision of quality climate resilient infrastructure, energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as governance and human capital improvement,” said Dr. Justin Ram, Director, Economics,
CDB.
The Strategy is built around three key pillars.
- Environmental Protection
and Infrastructure Enhancement CDB-supported interventions will build economic
resilience to weather-related shocks, with the aim of minimising post-disaster
spending and maintaining macroeconomic stability in the event of a natural disaster.
In addition, the Bank will focus on projects that increase energy efficiency and
renewable energy, to improve public-sector efficiency.
- Inclusive Social
Development Under this pillar, CDB will support interventions that target the
creation of a certified, skilled and employable workforce. Projects will complement
existing activities, and provide solutions to create an inclusive and effective
education system, which responds to the learning needs of all citizens.
- Improved Governance and Productivity
CDB support will focus on reform in areas such as public policy capacity and project implementation capacity. Additional interventions will address skills shortages, and improved access to finance for MSMEs, in order to improve productivity and competitiveness. Gender equality, energy security and citizen security will also be mainstreamed across all CDB interventions during the strategy implementation period.
This Country Strategy follows the previous Strategy for the period 2013-2017, which had a resource envelope of $80.7 million USD.
Under this new programme of assistance, individual projects which align with the Strategy will be presented to the Bank’s Board of Directors for approval. Once approved, funds will be disbursed on completion of specific conditions. The proposed Strategy is aligned with CDB’s strategic objectives of supporting inclusive and sustainable growth and development, and promoting good governance.
Boston Red Sox win 2018 World Series
The Boston Red Sox clinched the 2018 World Series Sunday night after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 in the best-of-seven series. It's their fourth World Series title in 15 years and ninth overall.
The champions are bringing home more than the Commissioner's Trophy. They will also earn a sizable bonus.
All players who compete in the postseason receive a playoff bonus, but the amount depends on how far their team advances. The further they make it, the bigger the share they earn. In 2017, players earned a record $84.5 million from postseason bonuses, and the winning Houston Astros team split a record $30.4 million. The World Series runner-up, the Los Angeles Dodgers, split $20.3 million.
"The players' pool" — which is divided among the 10 postseason clubs — "is formed from 50 percent of the gate receipts from the Wild Card Games; 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first three games of the Division Series; 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the League Championship Series; and 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the World Series," according to the MLB.
It's too soon to tell how big the postseason pot will be this year, but both the Red Sox and Dodgers can expect a hefty bonus. Here's a breakdown of the percentage of the pool that goes to each team:
World Series Champion: 36 percent
World Series Runner-Up: 24 percent
League Championship Series Runners-Up (2): 24 percent (12 percent each)
Division Series Runners-Up (4): 13 percent (3.2 percent each)
Wild Card Game Runners-Up (2): 3 percent (1.5 percent each)
Once the money has been divvied out to each club, it's up to the players to decide who gets a share of their team's winnings.
"Each year, as stipulated in the basic agreement between the players union and Major League Baseball, teams headed to the postseason hold a meeting to distribute shares," The New York Times reports. "The money is designated in 25 full shares, but the players may divide the shares to include those who played during the year but were not on the playoff roster, as well as coaches, trainers and strength coaches."
Plus, "other nonuniformed personnel, like clubhouse attendants, chefs, public relations staff, security guards, bus drivers and grounds crew members — a precedent set in 1903 — can be awarded some of the cash."
In 2017, the Astros split their winnings into 60 full shares worth $438,901 each, 9.2 partial shares and four cash awards. The Dodgers chose to split their winnings into 65 full shares worth $259,722 each, 12.8 partial shares and 14 cash awards