Russia hits targets in Syria from 'Mediterranean submarine'
Russia says it has for the first time hit targets in Syria with missiles launched from a submarine.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Kalibr cruise missiles from the Rostov-on-Don submarine were fired at so-called Islamic State (IS) militants, at two "terrorist positions" in Raqqa.
Russia began air strikes in Syria in September, saying this had been requested by President Bashar al-Assad.
A US-led coalition says Russia often targets moderate Syrian opposition.
The Kremlin denies the accusations.
It says it is hitting "all terrorists", but at least some of its air strikes have hit civilians and Western-backed rebels, according to Syrian activists.
"We used Kalibr cruise missiles from the Rostov-on-Don submarine from the Mediterranean Sea," Mr Shoigu said in televised meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
"We can say with complete confidence that fairly serious damage was done to weapons stores and a factory for preparing mines and, naturally, oil infrastructure," the defence minister added.
Raqqa, in northern Syria, is the self-proclaimed capital of the IS militant group.
Mr Shoigu also said that Russia had informed the US and Israel in advance about the missile strikes.
Neither country has publicly commented on the issue.
In October, Russia said it had fired 26 sea-based cruise missiles from warships in the Caspian Sea - about 1,500km (930 miles) away from targets in Syria.
The US-led coalition has been targeting IS militants in Syria since September 2014, and does not co-ordinate its raids with the authorities in Damascus.
Source-BBC
TCIG's MOH warns residents of Zika Virus
The Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services urges persons to take every precaution to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
While Chikungunya and Dengue are still sporadically occurring in our community, Zika virus, also a mosquito-borne disease which was first identified in Chile in February of last year, has since spread to Brazil, Columbia and the Caribbean.
Earlier in November 2015, the Caribbean Public Health Agency confirmed five cases of the Zika virus in a territory of the Caribbean Community. No cases of Zika have been detected in the TCI.
The disease is transmitted by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito, which bite mostly during the daytime. The same mosquito is also responsible for Dengue and Chikungunya.
The most common symptoms of Zika virus are mild and are: fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes (conjunctivitis).Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, pain behind the eyes, and vomiting.Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Zika.
If you suspect you have Zika, please see your health care provider!
To relieve fever and pain associated with the virus, it is recommended that persons drink lots of fluids and take pain relievers such as paracetamol. Aspirin, Advil, Ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be avoided .
In order to protect yourself from mosquito bites use insect repellents on exposed skin,when weather permits, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants and use air conditioning or window/door screens to keep mosquitoes outside. If you are not able to protect yourself from mosquitoes in your home, sleep under a mosquito bed net.
It is even more critical for women who are pregnant to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
A link between mothers who had Zika virus in pregnancy and an increased incidence of microcephaly in infants born to them is currently being investigated. Microcephaly is a condition where the size of an infant's head is smaller than normal, because of slowed or incomplete brain development.
The Environmental Health Department has enhanced its vector control activities to reduce mosquito breeding sites in addition to stepping up fogging.
Members of the public are urged to eliminate breeding sites for mosquitoes by keeping your surroundings clean. Cover or turn over containers. Tightly cover drums and rain barrels as well as boats and wading pools. Get rid of or cover old tires. Properly dispose of all garbage and refuse. Clean rain gutters and make sure they are flowing properly. Inspect your home and yard weekly.
Call the Environmental Health Department at 649-338-2143 or 649-338-2145 to treat large bodies of stagnant water on or around your property.
The MOHAHS will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.
J. Cole Announces Compilation Album, Revenge of the Dreamers II
Over the weekend, J. Cole announced some big news for his fans: new music is arriving this week.
The rapper took to Twitter and post the cryptic phone number 1-888-88-DREAM FREE, which revealed that Cole and his Dreamville members -- Bas, Omen, Elite and Cozz -- are getting ready to release a sequel to their compilation album Revenge of the Dreamers.
The nine-track set is scheduled to arrive on December 11. The set currently is available for pre-order on iTunes and includes Bas’ “Night Job” featuring Cole.
In related news, Cole has received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album for 2014 Forest Hills Drive and Best Rap Performance for “Apparently.”
Source-ABC
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Welcome Baby Boy
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian celebrated the birth of their second child early Saturday morning (Dec. 5) in Los Angeles.
The reality star gave birth to a new baby boy about three weeks ahead of her due date. The couple confirmed to the Associated Press that Kardashian and the baby are doing well.
“Kim Kardashian and her husband, Kanye West, welcomed the arrival of their son this morning,” read a note on Kardashian's website. “Mother and son are doing well.”
On Friday evening, Kardashian posted an Instagram photo of her bare belly with the caption, "Ready whenever you are lol."
The couple hasn’t yet revealed the name of their new child, nor have they posted any photos of the baby on social media.
Kardashian and West, who married in May 2014, welcomed their first child, daughter North West, in June 2013.
Source-Billboard
Uefa president's lawyers to go to Cas over Fifa ban
Uefa president Michel Platini will find out this week whether his 90-day Fifa ban will be temporarily lifted.
Platini, 60, was suspended with Fifa president Sepp Blatter in October while corruption claims are investigated. They deny any wrongdoing.
His lawyers will attend a preliminary hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) on Tuesday.
Cas said a decision over Platini's ban appeal will be made by Friday, 11 December.
The former France midfielder wants to run for the Fifa leadership but is banned from any football-related activity.
Platini and Blatter have been suspended over allegations that a "disloyal payment" of £1.3m was made to Platini in 2011 for work he carried out for Fifa between 1998 and 2002.
If Platini wins his appeal, the Fifa electoral committee has said it would review his case, but there is no guarantee he would be able to stand in the election to replace Blatter.
Blatter has announced he will stand down, and Fifa's next president will be chosen at a special congress on 26 February 2016.
Source-BBC
Sri Lanka player fails drugs test and is sent home
Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera has tested positive for a banned substance and has been sent home from their tour of New Zealand.
A statement from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said Perera failed a random test during the recent tour of Pakistan.
The 25-year-old, who will be replaced by Kaushal Silva in New Zealand, played five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches during the tour.
SLC says it will test his B sample in line with anti-doping regulations.
The governing body added it would "make every endeavour" to enable Perera to resume his career "at the earliest opportunity in compliance with the ICC regulations".
Silva, 29, joins the squad for two Tests, five one-day internationals and two T20 matches in New Zealand from December 10 to January 10.
Source-BBC
Greece Approves 2016 Budget With Less Spending, Higher Taxes
Greece's Parliament has approved the 2016 budget that includes deep spending cuts and tax hikes amid economic recession.
The budget passed early Sunday, 153-145, with two lawmakers absent in the 300-member Parliament. The vote was strictly along partisan lines.
The government forecasts zero economic growth this year and a contraction of 0.7 percent in 2016. Earlier, it had predicted declines of 2.3 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Parliament that growth would resume in the second half of 2016 and a strong tourist season could let the country avoid a recession altogether.
Despite spending cuts of around 2 billion euros ($2.18 billion) and a similar amount in tax hikes, debt is forecast to grow to 327.6 billion euros ($356 billion), or 187.8 percent of gross domestic product, from 180.2 percent in 2015.
Biden Announces $190M in New Aid for Reforms in Ukraine
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says $190 million in new U.S. aid to Ukraine will help the country implement reforms and fight corruption.
"It’s absolutely critical for Ukraine, in order to be stable and prosperous and part of a secure Europe, to definitely, thoroughly completely root out the cancer of corruption," Biden said in Kyiv on Monday during a joint briefing with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko following bilateral talks.
"That means ramping up the pace of reforms, avoidance of past practices, advancing good governance, increasing transparency across the board at every level of the government and strengthening the rule of law," he added.
Poroshenko has overseen the dismissals of nearly 4,000 graft-tainted prosecutors since taking office in May 2014. Last week, he also introduced a special anti-corruption prosecutor whose responsibilities will include rooting out graft and limiting the political power of shadowy business tycoons long seen as obstructing good government practices in the former Soviet republic.
During their joint briefing Monday, Biden also said the U.S. "stands firmly with the people of Ukraine" in the face of "continued aggression" by Russia and Russia-backed separatists. He said the best way to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine is through the "diplomatic framework" laid out in an agreement signed in Minsk, Belarus, by representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian governments, and the separatists.
"Minsk cannot succeed if Russia does not fulfill its commitment and President Putin fails to live up to the promises he has repeatedly made to my president, to you and to the international community,” Biden said, adding that Russia is "systematically violating" the cease-fire agreed to in Minsk.
Despite the cease-fire, sporadic fighting between government troops and pro-Russian rebels continues in eastern Ukraine, after more than 18 months of combat and nearly 8,000 deaths, most of them civilians.
Earlier Monday, Biden met with former world boxing champion and now Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko and congratulated him on adopting important police, transparency and procurement reforms in the capital city. He will meet later in the day with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
Biden's two-day visit - his fourth since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in early 2014 - comes ahead of formal U.S. approval of a third $1 billion bailout loan guarantee.
The Obama administration already has provided $470 million in direct economic assistance since pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power nearly two years ago, after weeks of anti-government protests in Kyiv.
Key U.S. officials say that during his visit, Biden will seek to reassure Kyiv that Washington will continue an array of economic sanctions against Russia, until Moscow and its Ukrainian rebel allies fully meet their obligation under the Minsk agreement to end the conflict and pull back heavy weapons.
Senior officials say Biden also will stress that recent U.S. overtures aimed at gaining cooperation from Russian President Vladimir Putin in the fight against Islamic extremists in Syria will in no way affect Western support for Kyiv.
Source-VOA
US Homeland Security to Unveil New Terror Alert System
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Monday "a new phase in the local terrorism threat” in the U.S, following an attack last week in San Bernardino, California that left 14 people dead.
“I believe in this environment we need to get beyond [the current terror-alert system] and go to a new system that has an intermediate level to it,” Johnson said during a Defense One forum in Washington, D.C. that precedes the unveiling of a new U.S. government domestic terrorism alert system.
The announcement comes after husband and wife, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in a shooting referred to by the White House as an “act of terror.”
The couple was not flagged as terror suspects. U.S. government officials have expressed concern about so-called lone-wolves who commit attacks in support of organizations like the Islamic State but without direct orders.
Johnson said even if there is no specific credible intelligence of a plot, there can still be risk. He emphasized the possibility of a terror-inspired act by a person who might not be on law enforcement’s radar.
A color-coded alert system was put in place, following the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, DC. Nearly 10 years later, it was replaced by a two-tier advisory. Johnson said the National Terrorism Advisory System [NTAS] is inadequate, and has never been used because it is dependent on a specific threat or threats to the country.
“We need a system that adequately informs the public at large, not through news leaks of joint intelligence bulletins to law enforcement, not through leaks from anonymous government officials,” said Johnson.
But Seth Jones, Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center for RAND Corporation said this change won’t make much of a difference to the public’s sense of safety.
“I don’t really think that the alert system is particularly that important for most Americans. I don’t think most Americans pay attention to it. What they probably pay attention to, in some cases, is when senior administration officials have come out publicly about plots.”
DHS chief Johnson said that after the Paris attacks, the U.S. has been on a “heightened security posture.” He said there currently is no actionable information, however, of a planned attack in the U.S.
“There is no specific credible intelligence of a Paris-like attack on the homeland, but we are concerned about copy-cat acts. We are concerned about terrorism-inspired acts by the lone wolves,” Johnson said.
The DHS secretary also mentioned that his department and the State Department are evaluating vetting procedures of the K-1 visa program or fiancé visa, after direct orders from President Barack Obama. Malik, the wife of U.S. born Farook, entered the country with that visa.
Source-VOA
Premiers Speech-International Day of Persons with Disabilities
The Turks and Caicos Islands is truly a great place to live and my Government is ensuring that no Turks and Caicos Islander is left behind. As a part of my Government's plan for an inclusive approach to national development, it is of importance that those with special needs are included especially with physical development which stresses the need for ramps, rails and other basic and essential aids that makes the lives of many easier.
Before we look forward we must look back and thank those who created the foundation which we now have in place. A firm foundation built on the needs of a people. Looking back at history, in 1992, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 3rd December as the International Day of Disabled Persons; today countries all around the world continue to celebrate this day.
Annually, the UN announces a theme. The theme for 2015 is: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities. There are also three sub-themes this year:
• Making cities inclusive and accessible for all
• Improving disability data and statistics
• Including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development
The Special Needs Unit within the Ministry of Health Agriculture and Human Services focus is improving the collection of data and statistics in relation to persons with disabilities in the TCI in order to inform policies and the development of services based on needs,
The annual theme provides a framework for considering how people with disabilities are excluded from society by promoting the removal of all types of barriers including those relating to the physical environment, information and communications technology (ICT), or attitudinal barriers.
Leviticus 19:32 reminds us to "'Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD." My Government is committed doing the same. Today, the elderly can now say without a doubt, I am receiving my roses whilst I am alive. A year ago the new facility at the Wellness Center in Grand Turk was a dream and today it is nearing completion. This is the dream of many being fulfilled. A commitment was made and kept in accordance with the Government's mandate that the elderly and those with special needs will be protected by the Government through enhanced policies. Other products and services will be rolled out in due course to better sensitize our community.
In order for the Government to create programs and put the necessary infrastructure in place throughout the length and breadth of the country for persons with special needs, it is important for the community to participate. I encourage all to get registered as this will allow us to know the needs of various persons within the community. We would therefore be better able to address person's needs.
Registration drives will take place throughout the TCI commencing December 3, 2015 on Grand Turk with dates and times to be announced throughout the islands. No longer are certain services available to a few but through great partnerships such as those with the 1World Foundation, Seven Stars Hotel, Turks and Caicos Hospitals and others, children with special needs are being assessed and managed in country with the same techniques used in the United States. This action is a commitment to the people and for the people by this Government.
My fellow citizens and residents, we must rest assured that there are things men cannot accomplish but with faith in God, much is possible.
Isaiah 42:16
"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, in paths they do not know I will guide them I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone."