Shericka Jackson talks up tilt at Flo-Jo 200m record
Jamaican world champion Shericka Jackson says she is targeting the 34-year-old 200m world record set by American great Florence Griffith-Joyner in Thursday's Diamond League final.
Jackson ran the second fastest time in history - 21.45 seconds - to win gold in Eugene in July.
Griffith-Joyner won Olympic gold at Seoul 1988 in 21.34 seconds.
"I'm very great at the 200m," said Jackson with a smile. "I am definitely looking for a fast, fast time."
"At the World Championships I had a lot in my legs and was still able to run 21.4 seconds so to come out here, I expect to perform at my best."
Jackson played down fears that the timetable for the season finale in Zurich may hamper her.
She is also competing in the 100m final, 80 minutes before she runs in the longer distance.
"That recovery is enough for me. I want to challenge myself and I think here is the best place to do it," she added.
Jackson revealed that she set her World Championships-winning time as a goal earlier in the season and has since revised it downwards.
"Before this season I wrote that exact time on a piece of paper," she said.
"I left it on my trophy stand so every time I step in my house or go to training I know I have that target.... I wanted it so badly.
"I went back home [after the Worlds] and I wrote another time because I definitely want to go faster and I think I am capable of doing that.
"If it is not done tomorrow then definitely I come back next year and work even harder."
Asked if her new goal would break Joyner-Griffiths' world record, she replied that it was "definitely round about there".
Fraser-Pryce saved by school email
Jackson will take on her friend and compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100m final, with Great Britain's Daryll Neita also in the field.
Fraser-Pryce, 35, believes she can end her season by improving on the 10.60-second personal best she set in Lausanne in 2021.
Only two women have ever run faster. Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah clocked 10.54 in the wake of her win in Tokyo, while Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 world record has remained out of reach since July 1988.
Fraser-Pryce may not have matched last season's best but she has hit new levels of consistency. She has run six of the 18 fastest times in history this year.
"What drives me is that I am at this point of my career, is that I have dreamt of running 10.6 seconds and now being able to do that consistently, I want to challenge myself every time I step to the line," she said.
"I am definitely chasing a personal best."
Fraser-Pryce also revealed that she is only taking part in Zurich after her five-year son Zyon's return to school was delayed.
"It was going to be his first day and Zurich was not going to happen," she added.
"I was ready to go home and it was like divine intervention in that I got an email from his school saying they were postponing, so that is why I am here."
Source: BBC
Apple unveils new iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods
CNN — Apple unveiled its new iPhone 14 lineup at a press event on Wednesday, along with three new Apple Watch models, an update to its popular AirPods product line and a feature that could save lives when cell service isn’t available.
At a closely-watched event from its headquarters in Cupertino, California, Apple showed off four new smartphones, including a larger 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus model and an updated iPhone 14 Pro that rethinks the much-maligned notch. In typical Apple fashion, the devices also offer better battery life and camera features than the year prior.
The biggest surprise, however, may be the price: The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus will start at $799 and $899, respectively, the same starting prices as last year’s models. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max start at $999 and $1099, respectively, also unchanged from the year prior. Analysts widely predicted Apple would hike the price of the premium models by $100.
“It is impressive that Apple has maintained year-on-year pricing parity on the new iPhone 14 devices in the US,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at market research firm CCS Insight. “We had anticipated that inflation, increased production and component costs, and other expenses such as more expensive shipping would have led Apple to increase its retail pricing.”
For Apple, the stakes are always high to convince customers to upgrade devices, and especially the iPhone, which remains its central product. That task is potentially made more difficult this year by broader economic jitters, including fears of a looming recession.
Throughout the event, Apple appeared to alternate between pitching its suite of products as tools for living our best lives and also for avoiding any number of ills that may befall customers in an uncertain world, ranging from car crashes to getting stranded in the wild.
Apple announced several new Apple Watch models, including a higher-end version that costs $799 and is designed to support the needs of a rarefied group of outdoor enthusiasts. It also added an option for its watches to detect when a user has been in a car crash, as well as a satellite connectivity feature for phones, which is intended to help people communicate when their cell service isn’t working.
Here are the big highlights from the event:
The new iPhone 14 lineup
Apple unveiled four new smartphones, including the new iPhone 14 with a 6.1-inch screen and the iPhone 14 Plus with a larger 6.7-inch screen.
The new iPhone 14 features a 12 MP main camera with bigger pixels, a faster aperture and improved sensors. It also uses the same chip as last year’s iPhone 13 Pro model (the A15), the first time it’s repeated a chip in years.
For the first time, however, the new front camera has auto focus, allowing it to focus at multiple distances in low light for better individual and group selfies. It also has a new action mode that lets users keep videos stable while moving.
Apple’s new Pro line features an always-on display and the ability to receive notifications and activities through what the company is calling “the dynamic island,” the much polarizing notch at the top of the phone that is now considered a feature. The Pro line also comes with the first-ever 48 MP camera on an iPhone.
In a notable shift, the iPhone 14 lineup also eliminates the need for a physical SIM card and instead uses a digital “e-SIM” card. Now, users can store multiple e-SIMs on the same device and have multiple cellular plans and phone numbers on the same phone. It also prevents others from removing the physical SIM card if your iPhone is lost or stolen. Apple said all US models of the iPhone will no longer have the SIM tray.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro will come in five colors: midnight, starlight, blue, purple and red.
New Apple Watches
Apple unveiled three new smartwatches at the event: the Series 8, the SE and the Ultra.
At the high end, the Ultra model is designed to help users track endurance training, scuba diving adventures and triathlons. The device gets about 36 hours on a single charge, is more water resistant and boasts an enhanced compass that can work at night, in the ocean and other conditions.
At the low end, Apple updated the SE to be up to 20% faster than the prior version. It starts at $249 for GPS models and $299 for cellular models.
And in the middle is the Series 8 model, which starts at $399. Like prior versions of Apple’s smartwatch, the Series 8 is intended to motivate users to stay active and fit. Apple also emphasized the Watch’s features for women’s health, with revamped period cycle tracking tools that can predict ovulation. The tracking data is kept on each device and only accessible through a passcode or face ID, according to the company. Apple does not have a key to encrypted data and so it cannot access it without your express permission.
The announcement comes as data security for women has become a major flashpoint in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
New AirPods Pro 2
Apple showed off its latest generation of AirPods Pro, one of its bigger breakout products of recent years. The new AirPods Pro will have six hours of listening time with a single charge, better than the original version. Each headphone and the case itself are now equipped to make a noise to help you find it. And a light swipe up and down the headphone will increase or decrease volume.
AirPods Pro now comes with improved dynamic noise-cancellation technology, and can cancel out double the amount of noise compared to the original version. Meanwhile, a new adaptive transparency mode aims to reduce harsh environmental noise.
The AirPods Pro 2 cost $249 and hit stores on Friday.
Satellite connectivity for emergency situations
While Apple did not unveil any groundbreaking new hardware products, at least one new feature could prove to be a game changer for customers — albeit in rare situations.
The new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, which Apple said has been in the works for years, was designed and built specifically for iPhone 14 devices to connect to satellites when not near a terrestrial tower. By allowing users to point their device toward a satellite, which the phone will help locate, users will be able to send and receive information to get emergency help.
The company said it created a short text compression mechanism to condense messages that take about 15 seconds to send if a user has a clear view of the sky. (It may take a few minutes longer if something like foliage is in the way.)
Apple said local providers will be alerted to help call for help.
Price of war: UK and EU throw $500 billion at energy subsidies
London (CNN Business) — The United Kingdom on Thursday confirmed plans to subsidize energy bills for households and businesses, joining other European governments in a costly race to protect their economies from freezing up this winter as Russia cuts off supplies of gas.
The UK plan could cost as much as £150 billion ($172 billion), analysts said. Add that to recent similar announcements by Germany, Austria and other EU governments, and the region’s bill for drawing the sting of rising prices is already more than €500 billion ($500 billion).
Starting in October, the typical UK household will pay no more than £2,500 ($2,880) for their energy for the next two years. The government will also support businesses, charities and public sector organizations with their energy costs for the next six months, and possibly longer.
“Because the program does not specifically target the most needy but is rather broad-based, it will be relatively expensive,” said Salomon Fiedler, an analyst at Berenberg bank.
“The support package for households may cost around £100 billion (over 4% of UK GDP). Further measures for businesses may take the total price tag to around £150 billion,” he added.
Britons desperately need the support. Already, the average annual household energy bill has increased by 54% this year to £1,971 ($2,263). Without the new plan to cap prices, bills would have soared above £3,500 in October, and even higher earlier next year. Businesses were facing even greater increases and many had warned they would not survive the winter.
“The price of inaction would have been far greater than the cost of this intervention,” finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng said in a statement. He is due to reveal the cost later this month.
Announcing the measures in parliament, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss again ruled out imposing a new “windfall tax” on the bumper profits of energy companies to pay for the measures. Instead, her government will likely have to increase government borrowing to subsidize bills.
That plan could spook investors already concerned that the country’s finances are on an unsustainable path. Heavy borrowing could convince investors to dump the pound, which has already dropped to its lowest level in 37 years, further driving up prices.
A $500 billion intervention
Bruegel, a think tank based in Brussels, said last month that the European Union and United Kingdom had already committed €280 billion ($280 billion) to protect consumers from eye-watering energy prices.
The analysis included spending commitments made between September 2021 — when global energy prices started to rise — and July this year. They include measures taken to help with other cost-of-living pressures.
But the bulk of the support has come since late February, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, sending natural gas and oil prices soaring, Giovanni Sgaravatti, a research analyst at Bruegel told CNN Business.
On Sunday, the German government announced a €65 billion ($65 billion) package to help households and businesses meet their energy costs. Austria announced Wednesday that it would freeze electricity prices from December until June 2024. Reuters reported that the plan would cost up to €4 billion ($4 billion)
Added together, Europe and the United Kingdom have so far promised to spend more than €500 billion ($500 billion) to subsidize bills.
But governments know that more needs to be done as its energy standoff with Russia heats up.
On Friday, EU energy ministers will hold an emergency meeting. On the table will be a price cap on Russian natural gas, breaking the link between the price of gas and electricity, and a mandatory target for countries to use less power, in addition to other measures.
“We must cut Russia’s revenues, which Putin uses to finance this atrocious war against Ukraine,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Wednesday.
World leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
LONDON — The death on Thursday of Queen Elizabeth II prompted an outpouring of condolences from leaders around the world.
Presidents, prime ministers and fellow monarchs all paid tribute to the queen, Britain’s longest-serving monarch. At 96, she remained one of the world’s most recognizable people, her image a symbol of the nation both at home and abroad.
Her personality remained an enigma to many of her subjects, but she was famous for her sense of duty and took part in hundreds of public engagements a year.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter that he would never forget the queen’s “warmth and kindness.”
“During one of the meetings she showed me the handkerchief Mahatma Gandhi gifted her on her wedding,” he said. “I will always cherish that gesture.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, also on Twitter, said that he would “remember her as a friend of France, a kind-hearted queen who left a lasting impression on her country and her century.”
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres mourned her loss in a statement, saying she was a “reassuring presence throughout decades of sweeping change, including the decolonization of Africa and Asia and the evolution of the Commonwealth.”
The Commonwealth is a group of states that includes the United Kingdom and many of its former territories.
In a statement addressed to the new king, Charles III, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa “expressed his profound and sincere condolences” for the queen’s death.
“Her Majesty was an extraordinary and world-renowned public figure who lived a remarkable life. Her life and legacy will be fondly remembered by many around the world,” Ramaphosa said.
Dickie Arbiter, a former press secretary for the queen, said her legacy would be one of “stability and continuity” and that thanks to her lengthy stewardship, Britain has a monarchy that is “world-recognized.”
Elizabeth served for 70 years and for most Britons, she was the only monarch they ever knew.
Robert Hardman, author of “Queen of the World,” said she may be remembered in the pantheon of British monarchs as the first to reverse 1,000 years of accepted royal practice that a monarch’s job is to consolidate or conquer or expand territory.
In the queen’s case, she came to the throne “with the specific expectation that she would hand stuff back, withdraw, reduce Britain’s footprint," Hardman said. “It’s been a lifelong exercise in managed decline.”
She did preside over the dramatic decline of the British Empire and during her reign, several countries removed the queen as head of state. Others, such as Australia and Jamaica, actively debated replacing her as their sovereign.
In Jamaica, a Commonwealth realm, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, said the country was praying for Elizabeth’s family “and the people of the United Kingdom, as they grieve the loss of their beloved Queen and matriarch.”
Earlier this year, when Prince William and his wife, Catherine, visited Jamaica, they were met with protests over the legacy of colonialism and calls for reparations from Britain for its involvement in the slave trade.
Elizabeth was the first British sovereign to visit Australia, another Commonwealth realm where roughly 1 million people greeted her in Sydney during her first royal tour with Prince Philip in 1954.
“She celebrated our good times, she stood with us in the bad,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins also paid tribute to “her warm and enduring friendship" in a statement and described her landmark 2011 visit as “pivotal in laying a firm basis for an authentic and ethical understanding between our peoples."
Hugo Vickers, a royal biographer, said that the queen “bestowed an atmosphere of calm over a very fast-changing world” and was an “extraordinary conciliator.”
Source: The Washington Post
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Charles is the new King
At the moment the Queen died, the throne passed immediately and without ceremony to the heir, Charles, the former Prince of Wales.
But there are a number of practical - and traditional - steps which he must go through to be crowned King.
What will he be called?
He will be known as King Charles III.
That was the first decision of the new king's reign. He could have chosen from any of his four names - Charles Philip Arthur George.
He is not the only one who faces a change of title.
Although he is heir to the throne, Prince William will not automatically become Prince of Wales. However, he immediately inherits his father's other title, Duke of Cornwall. His wife Catherine will be known as the Duchess of Cornwall.
There will also be a new title for Charles' wife, whose full title will be Queen Consort - consort is the term used for the spouse of the monarch.
Formal ceremonies
In the first 24 hours or so after his mother's death, Charles will be officially proclaimed King. This happens at St James's Palace in London, in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.
This is made up of members of the Privy Council - a group of senior MPs, past and present, and peers - as well as some senior civil servants, Commonwealth high commissioners, and the Lord Mayor of London.
More than 700 people are entitled in theory to attend, but given the short notice, the actual number is likely to be far fewer. At the last Accession Council in 1952, about 200 attended.
The King does not traditionally attend.
At the meeting, the death of Queen Elizabeth will be announced by the Lord President of the Privy Council (currently Penny Mordaunt MP), and a proclamation will be read aloud.
The wording of the proclamation can change, but it has traditionally been a series of prayers and pledges, commending the previous monarch and pledging support for the new one.
This proclamation is then signed by a number of senior figures including the prime minister, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Chancellor.
As with all these ceremonies, there will be attention paid to what might have been altered, added or updated, as a sign of a new era.
The King's first declaration
The Accession Council meets again - usually a day later - and this time, the King will attend, along with the Privy Council.
There is no "swearing in" at the start of a British monarch's reign, in the style of some other heads of state, such as the President of the US. But there is a declaration made by the new King and - in line with a tradition dating from the early 18th Century - he will make an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland.
After a fanfare of trumpeters, a public proclamation will be made declaring Charles as the new King. This will be made from a balcony above Friary Court in St James's Palace, by an official known as the Garter King of Arms.
He will call: "God save the King", and for the first time since 1952, when the national anthem is played the words will be "God Save the King".
Gun salutes will be fired in Hyde Park, the Tower of London and from naval ships, and the proclamation announcing Charles as the King will be read in in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The coronation
The symbolic high point of the accession will be the coronation, when Charles is formally crowned. Because of the preparation needed, the coronation is not likely to happen very soon after Charles's accession - Queen Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in February 1952, but was not crowned until June 1953.
For the past 900 years the coronation has been held in Westminster Abbey - William the Conqueror was the first monarch to be crowned there, and Charles will be the 40th.
It is an Anglican religious service, carried out by the Archbishop of Canterbury. At the climax of the ceremony, he will place St Edward's Crown on Charles's head - a solid gold crown, dating from 1661.
This is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, and is only worn by the monarch at the moment of coronation itself (not least because it weighs a hefty 2.23kg).
Unlike royal weddings, the coronation is a state occasion - the government pays for it, and ultimately decides the guest list.
There will be music, readings and the ritual of anointing the new monarch, using oils of orange, roses, cinnamon, musk and ambergris.
The new King will take the coronation oath in front of the watching world. During this elaborate ceremony he will receive the orb and sceptre as symbols of his new role and the Archbishop of Canterbury will place the solid gold crown on his head.
Head of the Commonwealth
Charles has become head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries and 2.4 billion people. For 14 of these countries, as well as the UK, the King is head of state.
These countries, known as the Commonwealth realms, are: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.
Source: BBC
Queen Elizabeth, longest-reigning British monarch, dies at 96
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has died. She was 96 years old.
"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," Buckingham Palace said in a statement Thursday afternoon. "The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
The queen is preceded in death by her husband of more than 70 years, Prince Philip, who died April 9, 2021, at the age of 99.
Queen Elizabeth is survived by her three sons, Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward; one daughter, Princess Anne; eight grandchildren, Princes William and Harry of Wales, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, and Peter and Zara Phillips, as well as Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. She is also survived by 12 great-grandchildren.
Her eldest son, Charles, the Prince of Wales, succeeds her as king. His wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, is expected to become queen consort, a title that Queen Elizabeth requested at the time of her Platinum Jubilee.
Charles's eldest son, Prince William, is now heir to the throne.
The queen was hospitalized in late October 2021 for what Buckingham Palace described as "preliminary investigations." After a one-night hospital stay, the queen returned home to Windsor Castle, where she resumed her work, the palace said at the time.
A few weeks later, on Nov. 14, the queen missed the annual Remembrance Sunday service after she sprained her back, Buckingham Palace said in a statement at the time.
In February 2022, the queen tested positive for COVID-19 but had only "mild cold-like symptoms" as a result of the virus, according to the palace.
Two months later, in April, the queen celebrated her 96th birthday at Sandringham, her country estate in Norfolk.
In June, the queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne. She attended just three events during the four-day celebration due to what Buckingham Palace described at the time as "some discomfort."
A history-making female monarch
When Queen Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952, some Britons were so thrilled by the young queen they declared it was a second "Elizabethan Age."
Elizabeth II would come to embody not only the British monarchy but a tradition of doing one's duty and maintaining a stiff upper lip.
On her 21st birthday, she pledged to her future subjects: "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service."
It was a promise she never forgot.
Queen Elizabeth, the longest-lived British monarch, reigned through 14 American presidents, and just as many British prime ministers, proving herself a savvy stateswoman and a constant leader on the world stage.
The queen, who traveled on more than 271 state visits during her reign, was sometimes the only female on the stage with world leaders, and she always stayed mum on her personal political opinions, proving her mastery of "soft diplomacy."
As recently as 2021, she met with world leaders at a Group of 7 summit meeting in Cornwall in June, and hosted President Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, at Windsor Castle afterward.
In addition to being sovereign of the United Kingdom and 15 Commonwealth realms, she was also the head of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 54 independent countries.
During her reign, she visited nearly every country in the Commonwealth -- missing only Cameroon and Rwanda -- and made many repeat visits, according to the royal family's official website.
Always committed to the service aspect of her role, the queen had links, either as royal patron or president, to over 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organizations, according to the royal family's official website.
Well into her 90s, the queen continued to attend royal engagements, from Buckingham Palace garden parties and receptions to knighting ceremonies, state banquets and travels throughout the Commonwealth.
She was a modern monarch who kept up with the times, including sending her first tweet in 2014 and publishing her first Instagram post in 2019.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Queen Elizabeth began doing video calls so that she could continue to connect with people while working from home.
Source: ABC
Hamilton University School of Medicine signs MOU with the Government of the TCI
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, August 10th, 2022 - July 28th, 2022, saw the momentous formalization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Hamilton University School of Medicine (HUSM) and the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The celebratory event took place in Providenciales at the office of the Invest Turks and Caicos Agency and underscored the Government's support and commitment to the project per the National Investment Policy. The MOU permits the Government and HUSM to discuss the next steps in implementing an agreement and moving forward with the project.
Present for the event was Honourable E. Jay Saunders, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Investment & Trade, and one of the Founders of HUSM, Dr. Dawn Perry-Ewing. Also present and witnessing the ceremonial signing were the CEO of Invest TCI, Angela Musgrove, Legal Officer, Judith Garland, Investment Services Executive, Sheryl McLaughlin, Attorney for HUSM, Yvette Marcelin of Twa, Marcelin, Wolf Attorneys at Law, and Anthony Walkin of Conservative Architect, architect for the project.
"We are honoured to have signed this MOU and look forward to collaborating with Hamilton University School of Medicine to make this project a reality. This MOU will allow us to undertake activities that support and contribute to the development of human capital through education and training for the people of the TCI. HUSM is a domestic investment, and we are excited about the big ideas and achievements for HUSM that will emerge from the signing of this MOU", commented Honourable E. Jay Saunders, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Investment & Trade.
The vision of former Premier of the TCI, Honourable Dr. Rufus Ewing and Dr. Dawn Perry-Ewing, Hamilton University School of Medicine is a proposed medical university to be located in Grace Bay, Providenciales. The establishment of this university will advance opportunities for higher education in the health sciences in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The organization’s key pillars also include a focus on global health initiatives to enable social transformation through research and the improvement of health equity and access to care. The structure comprises a 5-storey building, and the medical complex will encompass approximately 45,000 square feet, inclusive of a University Medical Clinic that will house specialist clinics serving both the educational needs of the students as well as the evolving health care needs of the local community.
The HUSM’s main campus will accommodate students for their first two years of pre-clinical training and students will thereafter complete their clinical years of training in teaching hospitals in the US, Canada, the UK and the Caribbean.
The university’s design will incorporate state-of-the-art learning technologies, an accredited curriculum and a practice-based approach to learning in order to provide students with the key foundational knowledge required for future success.
Construction is proposed to begin in 2023.
Ministry of Education Announces the Pilot National Internship and Apprenticeship Program
The Ministry of Education, Labour, Employment and Customer Services is pleased update the general public of the latest with our Pilot National Internship and Apprenticeship Program.
This past Saturday on the 6th August 2022, our team hosted a series of Soft Skills training sessions for our student Interns. As the vision of the Turks and Caicos Government is to Build the Human Capacity of our people, we saw fit that this program is the ideal platform in steeping into the direction of bringing our vision to fruition.
The training sessions were a two-part session that ran simultaneously though out the day.
The session theme “First Impression” as named, was to focus on the verbal, written, and professional dress code of a young professional.
Ms. Melanie Smith from TCI Recruitment Group was the facilitator that brought lessons on Email Etiquette, Resume Writing, and Cover Letter Writing. As a life personal coach and a well-known facilitator, Ms. Smith also touched on life values, she highlighted the importance of “balance” and how our values influence how we find balance.
Ms. Blythe Clare of the Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board was the facilitator that brought lessons on Customer Service, Dress Code, and Presentation. As a mogul in her industry with years of experience, Ms. Clare was passionate about her delivery as she emphasized to our young people the need for them to take their place as the next generation to come, her experiences shared both personally and as a facilitator gave power to her voice.
The Minister of Education, Labour, Employment and Customer Services Hon. Rachel Taylor, was pleased with the overall outcome of the first sessions of the Soft Skills training, before she sat to listen in during training, she was delighted to share open remarks to the students “I am with great pleasure to see our young people rise up to this occasion, your attendance today brings overwhelming joy. As a by part of our National Internship and Apprenticeship Program, we have provided you with this training opportunity. My team and I, are sincere about Building the Human Capacity of our people, hence we are setting the way for you, do not think of it another class room setting, but focus on the content and the purpose of today lessons.”
There will be a follow up training session this coming Saturday on August 13th 2022, where our focus will be Collaboration and Presentation.
CDEMA and Norway Government signs agreement to extend support for the Comprehensive Disaster Management Project in the Caribbean
Bridgetown, Barbados, July 13th, 2022 - The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), have agreed to an extension of the programme period for their project: “Support to the Advancement of the Comprehensive Disaster Management in the Caribbean Region”, by one year until December 2023.
The extension was formalized on June 15th, this year, when representatives from CDEMA and MFA signed an addendum to their 2019 agreement, effectively extending Project deadlines by 12 months. Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Riley signed on behalf of CDEMA, while Ambassador at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Havana, Ms. Beate Stirø, signed for the MFA.
Following the signing, Ms. Riley said, “As the lead agency in CARICOM with responsibility for Disaster Management, we at CDEMA cannot overemphasize the importance of this project in helping to further strengthen the region’s disaster resilience given that the Caribbean is operating within a multi-hazard environment. Tangible results have already been delivered to the Safe Schools Programme in Saint Lucia and initiated in other states. It is against this backdrop that we are pleased with the decision of the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extend the project for a further year.”
MFA is providing grant funding for the Disaster Management project, which was originally scheduled to be implemented between December 2019 and November 2022.
The project’s major goal is to advance Caribbean disaster management implementation at the national and community levels in CDEMA participating states, for enhanced resilience building.
“Norway’s support to CDEMA confirms our increased engagement and commitment to collaborate with the region. We consider CDEMA an important partner in our common efforts to make immediate and coordinated response and relief efforts to any disastrous event affecting member-states of CARICOM. Over the last two years we have strengthened our ties and broadened our understanding of the needs and opportunities of your region. We know this large territory is vulnerable to natural disaster and hazards most often caused by climate change which we know will have a direct bearing on the education sector. We are therefore proud to support CDEMA in their effort to address some of these evident vulnerabilities. Being prepared and keeping the population safe when natural disasters approach are top priorities, said Ambassador Stirø.
Targets include: improving regional disaster management in several areas including advancing the “model safe school” programme; strengthening community-based disaster risk management; enhancing the Regional Training Centre to provide standardized, accredited and sustained training; supporting the CDEMA Safer Building training programme; and ensuring that training in safer building is undertaken in at least six CDEMA participating states.
Vulnerable regional communities and the educational sector are intended to be major beneficiaries of the project which supports the roll out of school safety action plans, and a safe-school recognition programme across six countries, while three participating states will benefit from the application of a framework and standards for safe and resilient communities.
Tonga eruption blasted enough water to fill 58,000 Olympic pools into the Earth's atmosphere, NASA says
(CNN) - One of the most powerful volcanic eruptions on the planet blasted such a massive amount of water vapor high into the atmosphere that it's likely to temporarily warm the Earth's surface, according to detections from a NASA satellite.
When the undersea Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted on January 15, 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Tonga's capital, it created a tsunami as well as a sonic boom that rippled around the world -- twice.
The eruption sent a tall plume of water vapor into the stratosphere, which is located between 8 and 33 miles (12 and 53 kilometers) above the Earth's surface. It was enough water to fill 58,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to detections from a NASA satellite.
The detection was made by the Microwave Limb Sounder instrument on NASA's Aura satellite. The satellite measures water vapor, ozone and other atmospheric gases. After the eruption occurred, the scientists were surprised by the water vapor readings.
They estimate that the eruption delivered 146 teragrams of water to the stratosphere. One teragram is the equivalent of a trillion grams, and in this case, it was equal to 10% of the water already present in the stratosphere.
That's nearly four times the amount of water vapor that reached the stratosphere after the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines.
A new study about the water vapor findings published in July in Geophysical Research Letters.
"We've never seen anything like it," said study author Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, in a statement. "We had to carefully inspect all the measurements in the plume to make sure they were trustworthy."
Keeping an eye on Earth
The Microwave Limb Sounder instrument can measure natural signals of microwaves from Earth's atmosphere and detect them even through thick ash clouds.
"MLS was the only instrument with dense enough coverage to capture the water vapor plume as it happened, and the only one that wasn't affected by the ash that the volcano released," Millán said.
The Aura satellite launched in 2004 and since then it has only measured two volcanic eruptions that lofted substantial water vapor so high up in the atmosphere. But the water vapor from the 2008 Kasatochi event in Alaska and the 2015 Calbuco eruption in Chile dissipated rather quickly.
Typically, powerful volcanic eruptions like Mount Pinatubo or the 1883 Krakatoa event in Indonesia cool Earth's surface temperature because the gas, dust and ash they spew reflects sunlight into space. This "volcanic winter" happened after the Mount Tambora eruption in 1815, triggering "the year without a summer" in 1816.
The Tonga eruption was different because the water vapor it sent into the atmosphere can trap heat, which could cause warmer surface temperatures. The excess water vapor could stay in the stratosphere for several years, according to the researchers.
The additional water vapor in the stratosphere could also lead to chemical reactions that temporarily contribute to the depletion of Earth's protective ozone.
Anatomy of an eruption
Fortunately, the warming effect of the water vapor is expected to be small and temporary, and will dissipate as the extra vapor diminishes. The researchers don't believe it will be enough to exacerbate existing conditions due to the climate crisis.
The researchers believe the main reason for the amount of lofted water vapor was due to the depth of the volcano's caldera 490 feet (150 meters) below the ocean's surface.
If it was too deep, the depth of the ocean would have muted the eruption, and it was too shallow, the amount of seawater heated by the erupting magma wouldn't have matched what reached the stratosphere, the researchers said.
Scientists are still working to understand the unusually energetic eruption and all of its superlatives, including hurricane-strength winds that reached space.
- Source: CNN