News
Sandals Foundation partners with interCaribbean Airways for ICCD 2024
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – October 25, 2024 – With a team of more than 100 volunteers gathered on the Grace Bay
beach for International Coastal Clean-up Day 2024, more than six hundred pounds of waste was collected from our coastline. Sandals Foundation, Beaches Turks and Caicos and interCaribbean Airways teamed up to breathe fresh air into the island’s coastline.
Environmental Projects Manager at the Sandals Foundation, Georgia Scarlett shared, “while celebrating International Coastal Clean-up Day is a major mission for the Sandals Foundation, the partnership with Beaches Turks and Caicos Earth Guardians and interCaribbean is representative of the power of partnership and a common mission to strengthen conservation efforts.”
“Together we were able to join resources and our efforts in ridding our coastlines of waste that can create harm to our marine life. This year our Sandals Foundation ambassadors executed clean-ups across all nine islands in which we operate. I am also delighted by our partnership
with interCaribbean which also executed activities in Barbados as well as here in Turks and Caicos Islands,” Scarlett shared.
Speaking to the impact of the partnership, interCaribbean CEO Trevor Sadler shared, “the Sandals Foundation’s major purposes of covering the community, education and the environment helped us to make this partnership more meaningful. The International Coastal Clean-up day allowed both entities to join hands and hearts in protecting the environment. The volunteers were enthused to give back to the environment as they know the value of providing a safe space for marine life and for our tourism product.” Managing Director of Beaches
Turks and Caicos, James McAnally noted, “the success of this initiative is helping to bolster partnerships between industry stakeholders as well as training the younger generations to appreciate the value of protecting the environment. We had a number of our team members’ children who are aware of benefits of volunteering and keeping our shoreline and oceans clean.
Cliffande Mano from the Cost Control department who was one of the volunteer at the event shared her experience at the event. “The Grace Bay beach is rated as one of the best in the world. Being able to help in providing the support needed to keep our shoreline and our ocean
clean was a good experience. I love to go to the beach. Now I am more conscious of the role that all of us here in the Caribbean need do to protect our environment,” Mano noted.
Through this annual event, the International Ocean Conservancy hopes to spread awareness and encourage everyone to stop trash at the source, a mission the Sandals Foundation fully supports.
Turks and Caicos, December 7, 2024 – “Homicide detectives of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force are actively investigating a homicide in Five Cays, Providenciales.
Initial reports indicate that shortly after 10 pm yesterday (December 06th), the Police Control Room received several calls stating that
gunshots were being heard in the area of Sandy Land.
RT&CIPF officers responded to the given location and found the lifeless body of a male with what appeared to be gunshot wounds about the body. The victim was later identified as NEIL RIGBY, 52, of Five Cays.
The RT&CIPF offers condolences to Mr. Rigby’s relatives and friends.
The RT&CIPF is asking anyone with information that may help in this investigation to contact the closest police station, 911, the Serious Crime Unit at 231-1842, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 to provide any information anonymously.
Additionally, individuals are encouraged to download the Crime Stoppers P3 app.
Statement from the Minister of Immigration
Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos, December 5, 2024 – The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands categorically states that we will not, under any circumstances, accept deportees from the United States or any other nation who are not citizens of Turks and Caicos. Our country’s immigration policies are clear and firmly rooted in the principles of sovereignty, the protection of our borders, and the welfare of our people.
Turks and Caicos, like all nations, has the sovereign right to determine who may reside within its borders. The unilateral imposition of third-country deportation policies, such as those reportedly under consideration by the incoming Trump administration, is fundamentally at odds
with international norms and legal standards.
We are deeply concerned about any suggestion of displacing individuals to countries with which they have no connection. Such policies disregard the cultural, social, and economic implications for receiving countries and the humanitarian impact on the individuals affected.
We remind all stakeholders that Turks and Caicos is already facing significant challenges managing irregular migration and the accompanying strain on our resources. We will not permit external policies to exacerbate these challenges, nor undermine or dictate our national security.
Our Government remains committed to maintaining strong diplomatic relations with the United States and our other international partners. However, we are steadfast in our commitment to protecting the interests of the Turks and Caicos Islands and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.
To be clear: The Turks and Caicos Islands will not participate in any program that seeks to forcibly relocate individuals here against their will, or ours.
Turks and Caicos, December 03rd, 2024 – The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is actively investigating incidents involving an attempted robbery and a reported armed robbery in Providenciales on November 30 and December 02, 2024.
Incident 1: Attempted Robbery at Service Station
Shortly after midnight on November 30, 2024, officers responded to a report of an attempted robbery at a Service Station on Leeward Highway. Based on preliminary reports, a lone male approached the premises from a black Honda Fit vehicle. The suspect, armed with a firearm,
struck an employee, causing a wound. The suspect fled in the car. At the same time, the employee was transported to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where he received treatment for his injuries.
Incident 2: Armed Robbery at Eatery
On November 30, 2024, at approximately 6:57 p.m., the police received a report of an armed robbery at an eating establishment in Blue Hills. Two masked individuals, one armed with a firearm, entered the premises and robbed patrons. No injuries were reported, and the suspects fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction.
Incident 3: Robbery/Malicious Injuries to Property
On the evening of Monday, December 2, 2024, a male driver was proceeding along Walter Cox Drive when he stopped to drop off a passenger. While reversing, an unidentified male armed with a cinder block demanded the driver exit his vehicle. The driver complied and was robbed of personal belongings. The suspect proceeded to use the cinder block to shatter the rear passenger side window before fleeing the scene.
We urge anyone with information about these incidents to come forward.
Individuals can contact the Serious Crime Unit at (649)-232-6696 or report anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477.
Additionally, persons are asked to download the Crime Stoppers P3 app and provide information.
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