U-17 Reggae Girlz clip Haiti to lift regional crown
The entire Jamaican contingent here was a picture of euphoria after being crowned champions of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-17 tournament for the first time following their plucky 2-1 win over Haiti on Sunday.
Having lost out to Haiti by a similar scoreline at the CONCACAF Under-15 championships last year, and the Under-20 team suffering a 2-0 defeat to the same opponents in their final recently, the young Reggae Girlz exacted revenge on their age-group counterparts in a pulsating encounter.
Florida-based Shayla Smart opened the scoring for the Girlz in the third minute and Jody Brown got the other in the 67th minute, but Captain Nerilia Mondesir pulled one back for the Haitians in minute 71.
Head Coach Lorne Donaldson tried to contain his emotions, but managed to shower praise on his girls.
"Obviously they put the effort in because that was a good Haitian team, but tactically we did some stuff that worked. They executed as planned and they got the first goal very early, and then tactically the entire game they stuck it out, but it was a good, exciting game,"
Platini facing life ban from football
FIFA's ethics watchdog wants Michel Platini banned for life over a suspect payment, the UEFA president's lawyer said yesterday.
Platini, until recently the favourite to take over football's world body, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter will find out in the next month whether a FIFA court has found them guilty of ethics breaches.
"The investigatory chamber of FIFA's ethics committee has asked for Michel Platini to be banned for life. It is in the report sent to us," the Frenchman's lawyer, Thibaud d'Ales, told AFP.
He called the proposed punishment a "scandal" and "excessive".
Blatter's lawyers did not answer questions about whether the same punishment had been requested against the 79-year-old veteran sports baron.
His personal spokesman, Klaus Stoehlker, said Blatter did not know what punishment had been requested.
Platini and Blatter are already serving 90-day suspensions while an investigation is held into a $2 million (1.8 million euros) sum Platini received from FIFA in 2011.
That has ruled the 60-year-old Frenchman out of the race for the FIFA presidency to be decided in the election on February 26.
Canada to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by end of February
Canada's new Liberal Government said Tuesday it will resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year and another 15,000 by the end of February.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had wanted to resettle 25,000 refugees in Canada by December 31 but faced some pushback following the deadly attacks in Paris.
Immigration and Refugee Minister John McCallum said they wanted to do it fast but also want to do it right so they are taking a little bit more time to resettle them.
The Government said "robust health and security screening" will be completed overseas and beginning in December, transportation via privately chartered aircraft, with military aircraft assisting if needed, will be organised.
"We will welcome them with a smile," McCallum said.
"This is a wonderful humanitarian gesture by all Canadians."
Tuesday's announcement could raise alarm in the US, where many Republican governors have said they don't want any Syrian refugees.
The US plans to take 10,000 over the next year.
Germany saw 758,000 refugees and other migrants arrive between January and October. Sweden is expecting around 200,000 this year.
Canada's commitment reflects the change in government after last month's election. Former Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who lost the October 19 election to Trudeau, had declined to resettle more Syrian refugees, despite the haunting image of a drowned three-year-old boy washed up on a Turkish beach that focused global attention on the migrant crisis stemming from the civil war. The boy had relatives in Canada and the refugee crisis became a major campaign issue.
More than four million Syrians have fled their country since the conflict began in 2011.
Turkey pilots warned Russian jet 10 times before shoot-down
United States (AFP) – The US military backed up Turkey's claim Tuesday that Turkish pilots warned a Russian jet 10 times – but failed to get a response – before shooting it down after it briefly entered Turkish airspace.
"We were able to hear everything that was going on, these (communications) were on open channels," Baghdad-based military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said in a video call with reporters.
He added it was not immediately clear on which side of the Turkish-Syrian border the Russian jet had been flying and it would take some time to analyse data before arriving at that determination.
Turkish ambassador to the United Nations Halit Cevik said in a letter to the Security Council that two Russian planes had flown a little more than a mile into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds.
A US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the timing but said it remained unknown if Turkey had fired on one of the jets as it was in Turkish airspace, or after it had crossed back into Syria.
The Pentagon says no US forces were involved in the Turkish downing of the Russian jet.
The United States has a strong presence in Turkey and regularly flies warplanes out of the air base in Incirlik as it conducts bombing runs against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq.
Pentagon officials have previously condemned the actions and tactics of Russian pilots after Russian jets twice violated Turkish airspace last month.
In Tuesday's incident, the Turkish army said the plane was shot down by two Turkish F-16s after violating Turkish airspace 10 times within a five-minute period.
Russia insists the jet was inside Syrian airspace and condemned the downing as "a very serious incident".
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for urgent measures to de-escalate tensions.
Students to study in Russia
Twenty-five Jamaicans have been awarded scholarships valued at over $100 million to study in Russia by aluminium conglomerate, UC Rusal, which owns the Alpart and Windalco bauxite companies.
The fully funded scholarships are valid for up to six years and the students will pursue studies in chemical, mining, electrical, instrumental, and mechanical engineering.
Awardees are from the Alpart and Windalco-operating areas, and they were selected through a competitive
process, which included essay writing.
The awards add to the five engineering scholarships granted by Windalco in 2012 for Jamaican students to study in Russia.
Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell during a visit to UC Rusal’s headquarters in Russia earlier this year, made a request for the company to expand the scholarship programme
Barbados push legalization to seize assets
The Barbados Government will next year table legislation amending the Proceeds of Crime Act so as to allow the authorities to seize the assets of people with no legitimate source of income.
Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite, addressing a ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) meeting over the weekend, said that drug barons and others engaged in criminal activities would not be allowed to flourish in Barbados.
“I want to ensure that if (you) see a fellow with a big fancy car and he doesn’t work anywhere, we will seize it and give it to the police. If I see him living in a big fancy house and he doesn’t work anywhere, we will seize it and turn (it) into a halfway house for people who are drug dependent.
“I am very clear about this. We need to attack them and I intend to lead the charge on behalf of the people of… Barbados. We must do it.
“We cannot allow Barbados to go in that direction. We must strike hard. We cannot allow those persons with ill-gotten gains to destroy the moral fabric of this society.”
Brathwaite, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said that Caribbean countries have been hard-hit by an upsurge in criminal activity, not only because of economic challenges but because the region is now being used as a transhipment point for drugs.
“Over the last year we have had without doubt and upsurge in violent crime in this country. We read our newspapers every day and we see the heavy use of firearms and it concerns all of us,” he said, telling DLP supporters there is no wand that would make guns and criminal activity magically disappear.
But he also said that part of the problem is that there is an ongoing fight with a generation whose value systems are “warped.
Mass Casualty Management Training Course Monday 30 November to Friday 4 December, 2015 South Caicos
The Ministry of Health Agriculture and Human Services through its National Health Emergency Management Unit says they are remaining committed to providing a comprehensive approach to health emergency management in response to public health threats including natural and man-made disasters affecting the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The team in a release to RTC news said that they recognize that we have to be in readiness for adequate response. We are not only in the hurricane path, but also have significant air traffic locally and internationally.
Further, TCI is in the flight path for many Trans-Atlantic and Caribbean flights. TCI also has a thriving Cruise Ship Industry with cruise ships docking in Grand Turk nearly every day. We operate ferry services between North Caicos and Providenciales, between South Caicos and Providenciales and between Salt Cay and Grand Turk. We also need to be IHR (International Health Regulations) compliant.
To this end, the Ministry of Health Agriculture and Human Services seeks to strengthen disaster and emergency management responses and build capacity through an intense training in Mass Casualty Management.
In June 2014, a Mass Casualty Management Course was conducted in Providenciales. This year, a Mass Casualty Management Course was conducted in North Caicos, and now the course is being extended to include South Caicos to ensure all communities have personnel who are adequately prepared and trained to respond to mass casualty events.
The facilitators are Mr Delwin Ferguson, and Director of Emergency Medical Services, Dr. Denise Braithwaite- Tennant, Director of Clinical Services at TCI Hospitals and Mrs. Mary Forbes, Health Disaster Coordinator.
The Mass Casualty Management Training will help to increase the TCI’s capacity and ability to respond to any mass casualty event that may occur.
The Mass Casualty Management Course is a didactic, multisectoral training course consisting of lectures, field exercises and role playing, designed to sharpen the response skills of mass casualty responders, to effectively manage events in human and/or other resources-challenged areas. It will culminate in a series of practical field exercises held at night to underscore nocturnal challenges. On successful completion, participants will be eligible for a certificate in Mass Casualty Management.
In this exercise, Thirty four persons are expected to be trained. Participants were drawn from amongst the various response agencies in South Caicos and throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands that would be front line responders in any mass casualty situation.
These include Medical and Nursing personnel, Emergency Medical Services staff, District Administration, Police, Fire, Airport Authority, Ports Authority, Environmental Health, Social Development, Immigration, Customs, Public Works Department, and Shelter Managers.
Tourism Day at the Providenciales Campus – TCICC
The Providenciales Campus of the Turks & Caicos Islands Community College will be participating in the month long Tourism activities on “Tourism Day” on Wednesday, November 25, 2015 from 9:30am - 3pm.
There are many planned activities for students and the wider public to enjoy including:
The event starts off with A panel discussion, on the topic of “Professionalism, HR & Etiquette in the Hospitality Industry” with Speakers Mr. Oliver Mills and Ms. Desiree Adams. The discussion will be moderated by TCICC student Carlansia Lightbourne. This will take place at 10:30am and again at 1pm.
Three hotels will present a display during the day so students will have a chance to see a real slice of what is offered in a hotel setting for guests who visit the “Number 1 Island in the World.”
On hand will be a bouncing castle and other activities such as face painting and a grab bag for the children so students are being asked to spend some of their allowance in support of the activities while there. There will be a quiz competition so students will be able to test their skills against their counterparts.
The theme for this year’s Tourism Month is “Tourism is the key… It starts with me” and with that thrust the students from the TCICC’s Providenciales Campus will also be highlighting all the islands of the Turks & Caicos in their featured display during this celebratory month.
Thanksgiving Lunch will also be on sale at the recently opened “Ve Nook Restaurant and Tasting Deck”.
An invitation is extended to the general public to stop by the Providenciales Campus and be a part of the “Tourism Day” celebration activities starting at 9:30am tomorrow November 25, 2015.
The College Family welcomes you.
Tourism report calls for strong direction; exposes lack of planning
The KPMG National Tourism report has been released and reveals that the Caribbean is the most dependent region in the world on Tourism and out of the 185 countries the world over, the Turks and Caicos is the nation third most dependent upon the industry.
KPMG calls the tourism tale of the Turks and Caicos a success story; air arrivals have doubled in the past 12 years and cruise ship arrivals shot from 0 to nearly a million in just seven. We see that residents believe tourism provides the best career opportunities and that nearly all visitors enjoy their vacation experience here; 96% are satisfied and 98% would recommend the destination.
The downside though is the TCI has stumbled into its tourism success and that to date there is no national development plan, no tourism market development strategy and the country, believe or not, has no tourism marketing plan.
The KPMG report says the TCI Tourist Board possesses something they call the ‘Z-Factor’; and if you think it is positive, not so. The ‘Z-Factor’ points to consistent under-funding of the Tourist Board; the potential to have enduring success has been railroaded by unsustainable extremes.
The Tourist Board has gone from receiving as much as $14.6 million between 2006 and 2009 per fiscal year, to now only receiving just $2.2 million dollars for this budget year.
The report also painted a grim picture, The Turks and Caicos is not proactive when it comes to inward investment and this reactive posture has seen resources wasted on incomplete projects. KPMG was contracted last year for the comprehensive review of tourism and among its recommendations was the introduction of 15 programs to be implemented this year and it includes preparing a three year tourist board budget.
There is more to come from the 106 page report presented last week at the National Tourism Symposium by Managing Director, Gary Brough.
Contribution to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development BIll 2015
Good morning Mr. Speaker, Honourable colleagues, all Turks and Caicos Islanders, and the entire resident population in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to lend my support to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bill 2015. Please allow me to congratulate this Government for presenting this bill to the House after three long hard years that small businesses have been suffering. While I would like to shout to the business world that help has finally arrived, Mr. Speaker, I feel like I would be setting our struggling business persons up for more disappointment from this Government therefore, I would not do so.
Micro_Small_and_Medium_Enterprises_Development_Bill_2015_Speech2.docx