Nepal shuts airport to big jets; more bodies found
Runway damage forced Nepalese authorities to close the main airport Sunday to large aircraft delivering aid to millions of people following the massive earthquake, but U.N. officials said the overall logistics situation was improving.
The death toll climbed to 7,250, including six foreigners and 45 Nepalese found over the weekend on a popular trekking route, said government administrator Gautam Rimal. Nepal's Tourist Police reported that a total of 57 foreigners have been killed in the April 25 quake, and 109 are still missing, including 12 Russians and nine Americans.
The main runway was temporarily closed to big planes because of damage. It was built to handle only medium-size jetliners, but not the large military and cargo planes that have been flying in aid supplies, food, medicines, and rescue and humanitarian workers, said Birendra Shrestha, the manager of Tribhuwan International Airport, located on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
There have been reports of cracks on the runway and other problems at the only airport capable of handling jetliners.
"You've got one runway, and you've got limited handling facilities, and you've got the ongoing commercial flights," said Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. coordinator for Nepal. "You put on top of that massive relief items coming in, the search and rescue teams that has clogged up this airport. And I think once they put better systems in place, I think that will get better."
He said the bottlenecks in aid delivery were slowly disappearing, and the Nepalese government eased customs and other bureaucratic hurdles on humanitarian aid following complaints from the U.N.
"The government has taken note of some of the concerns that we've expressed to them," he said.
Kai Tabacek, a spokesman for the British charity Oxfam, said the main problem was that Kathmandu airport was too small "to deal with huge volume of traffic. Of course, there have been some delays, but these have more to do with the challenge of moving large volumes of goods than customs."
Airport congestion was only the latest complication in the global effort to aid people in the wake of the April 25 quake, the impoverished country's biggest and most destructive in eight decades. Nepal's geography of high mountains and difficult road networks "is always going to be a challenge," McGoldrick said. Airlifting goods by helicopter "right now is quite limited," he said.
People in Nepal — both in remote villages and the capital, Kathmandu — have complained about not seeing any rescue workers or international aid and about a lack of temporary shelters, with many sleeping out in the open because of fears of aftershocks bringing down their damaged homes.
U.N. humanitarian officials said that they were increasingly worried about the spread of disease. They said more helicopters were needed to reach isolated mountain villages that were hard to access even before the quake.
Source-AP
The true extent of the damage from the earthquake is still unknown as reports keep filtering in from remote areas, some of which remain entirely cut off. The U.N. says the quake affected 8.1 million people — more than a quarter of Nepal's 28 million people.
The government said Sunday that the quake had killed 7,057 people. Laxi Dhakal, a Home Ministry official, said hopes of finding survivors had faded dramatically. "Unless they were caught in an air pocket, there is not much possibility," he said.
Among the latest fatalities to be counted were the 51 people, including six foreigners, whose remains were found in the Langtang Valley in Rasuwa district, nearly 60 kilometers (35 miles) north of Kathmandu. Most of the victims were Nepalese guides, hotel owners, workers and porters.
The area, with a dozen inns near the trekking trail, was buried by a landslide after the earthquake.
Nepal has been shaken by more than 70 aftershocks following the quake, and its people remain on edge. One brief aftershock Saturday afternoon shook the only paved road in the village of Pauwathok. Residents screamed and began to run, then stopped when the tremor eased.
The small village is located in the district of Sindupalchok, where more deaths have been recorded than anywhere else in Nepal — 2,560, compared to 1,622 in Kathmandu. The U.N. says up to 90 percent of the houses in Sindupalchok have been destroyed.
Fidel Castro meets with Japanese foreign minister
An official Cuban newspaper reports that Fidel Castro joined his brother, President Raul Castro, for a rare appearance to meet with Japan's foreign minister.
The daily Juventud Rebelde reported Sunday the 88-year-old former leader spoke with Fumio Kishido about improving relations between the two nations. It did not specify when the meeting occurred.
Kishido arrived in Cuba on Friday with a delegation of business leaders. He is the first Japanese foreign minister to visit the island.
Fidel Castro handed power to his younger brother in 2006 after suffering from poor health. He has made almost no public appearances in several months. The last photo of him to appear in Cuban media was published on April 20 when the official daily Granma reported the former president had voted from his home.
Turks and Caicos post Cabinet meeting Statement
His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the 12th meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, 29th April 2015, at the House of Assembly Building on Grand Turk, where among other things HE the Governor was advised to approve the Revised Edition of the Laws – the Commencement Order 2015 which provides for the revision and consolidation of the laws of the Turks and Caicos Islands and for the preparation and publication of the revised laws. The order will proceed to the House of Assembly at their next meeting;
• Cabinet advised the Governor to approve TCIGs participation in the Caribbean Bank's Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) 8th program of grant assistance to the islands. The BNTF is a project, jointly funded by the Caribbean Development Bank and the Government of Canada. TCIG first joined the BNTF in 1989 and has benefited tremendously from funding in the areas of education, health and skills training;
• His Excellency was also advised to approve a 5 year lease of a building in North Caicos to be used as a Police Station. The building will replace the two buildings that are currently used for this purpose and will enable the police department to better service the residents of both Kew and Bottle Creek as the station will be centralised;
• Cabinet advised the Governor to approve entering into a lease agreement for a new rental space situated in Butterfield Square, Providenciales, to accommodate the Department of Road Safety for a period of six months. The Department is being temporarily relocated to enable refurbishment works to their current accommodation;
• Cabinet noted the positive financial performance of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government for the period January to March 2015, as submitted in the Fourth Quarter Financial Report from the Accountant General and approved the publication of this report as required by section 46 of the Public Financial Management Ordinance, 2012;
• It also reviewed the Turks and Caicos Islands legislative agenda and approved the establishment of a working group to review several draft Bills; namely the Credit Union, Insolvency and Consumer Protection Bills, respectively.
Further details on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.
Value of imports increased by 9.6% for the 1st quarter of 2015
The Strategic Planning Policy Department (SPPD) today released some statistics that show Merchandise imports to the Turks and Caicos Islands increased by 9.6% during the first quarter of 2015 when compared to the same period last year.
It noted imports were valued at $102.7 million for the period when compared to $93.7 million in 2014. Exports from the Turks and Caicos Islands during this period were valued at $0.9 million when compared to $1.5 million during the first quarter of 2014.
This resulted in a merchandise trade
deficit of approximately $101.8 million during the first quarter of 2015. This was roughly 10.4 percent or $9.6 million above the deficit recorded during the corresponding period of 2014. The increase in the trade deficit is mainly as a result of the $0.5 million decline in the value of exports when compared to the $9.0 million increase in the value of Imports.
Given the projected growth in the tourism and construction sectors of the TCI economy and the lack of a more diversified group of exports, it is likely that the trade imbalance will continue to increase in the foreseeable future. Negative trade balance was recorded on all categories of goods.
Further details of the SPPD’s release can be found on RTC’s website www.rtc107fm.com
Turks_and_Caicos_Islands_1st_quarter_2015_Merchandise_Trade_Bulletin.pdf
Manny Pacquiao blames shoulder injury for loss to Floyd Mayweather
Manny Pacquiao blamed a shoulder injury for his defeat by Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, claiming it stopped him from using his right hand.
American Mayweather, 38, outclassed his Philippine rival at the MGM Grand and was awarded a wide unanimous decision.
Pacquiao, 36, said he thought he did enough to win the fight, despite most observers agreeing with the verdict.
"Three weeks before the fight I got a tear in my right shoulder," he said. "It got better but it wasn't 100%."
Mayweather started the brighter of the two and rocked Pacquiao with a number of right hand counter punches in the early exchanges.
The Filipino came back at the American in the fourth round, stunning Mayweather with a left hand and again in the sixth round but was never able to back it up and Mayweather ran out a comfortable winner on the judges scorecards.
Pacquiao said he wanted to have an injection in the shoulder before the fight but the Nevada Athletic Commission refused.
Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, claimed he informed the Commission of the injury five days ago and defended the decision not to cancel the fight, the most lucrative in boxing history.
"Athletes always fight hurt and we felt the work that was done on the shoulder during training would enable him to use his right hand," said Arum.
Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar said he first knew about the injury two hours before the fight, when Pacquiao's camp requested a doctor sit in his corner, a request that was denied.
Mayweather, meanwhile, said he was carrying injuries to both arms and hands.
"If he had come out victorious, I would have shown respect and said he was the better man," he said, after adding Pacquiao's WBO welterweight belt to the WBC and WBA titles he already owned.
Mayweather, a five-weight world champion, also criticised those who doubted him, telling them he had made them "eat their words".
"For years everyone said that I was scared and that I'd lose," said Mayweather, who is undefeated in 48 professional fights stretching back 19 years.
"I made the non-believers into believers. I was the better man, the smarter fighter - more calculated, more patient. He was applying pressure but not landing many punches and I was just keeping my jab in his face."
Mayweather, who said he was presented with a cheque for $100m (£66m) in his dressing room after the fight, also revealed he planned to relinquish his titles and that his final bout in September would be a non-championship fight.
As well as the welterweight belts, Mayweather is also the WBC light-middleweight champion.
Asked if his last fight might be against Britain's Amir Khan, Mayweather replied: "I'm not thinking about that. All I want to do right now is go home and rest."
Mayweather's father and trainer, Floyd Sr, criticised those who booed him before and after the fight.
"My son should be treated better," said Mayweather Sr. "I'm not saying it bothers him but if I was in his shoes, it would bother me.
"He's paying the price for being honest and for being too good. When these guys are throwing punches and he's making them miss, people call that boring.
"They don't know boxing, that's the problem."
Source-BBC
US Stuns Jamaica In the 4x100 meters in Jamaica
Jamaica’s men’s 4x100m relay team followed another team to the line for the first time at a major international championships since the 2008 Olympic Games as a blistering second leg by Justin Gatlin led the USA to victory at the IAAF World Relays in The Bahamas last night.
It wasn’t a pleasant return to the archipelago for Bolt who was in 2002, christened ‘Lightning Bolt’ by the Bahamians. Not even the world’s fastest man could find the spark needed to come back after getting the baton almost 10 metres behind Ryan Bailey, who crashed the tape in 37.38 seconds with the Jamaicans taking the silver in 37.68. Japan were third in 38.20.
The Jamaicans will set their sights firmly on closing out today’s final day in style with the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams, the men’s 4x200m and women’s 4x100m all gunning for medals.
The women’s 4x800m relay team will also be looking for a positive outing, with an improvement on last year’s fifth place finish, which brought with it a national record, 8:17.22 the target.
The women’s 4x200m team of Samantha Henry-Robinson, Veronica Campbell- Brown, Shericka Williams and Sherone Simpson weren’t exactly smooth with the exchanges, and though they crossed the line third, the silver was their’s in a time of 1:31.73 after a Bahamas disqualification. The USA also failed to finish after Jenebah Tarmoh ran into Allyson Felix as Nigeria, 1:30.52, took top honours with Germany promoted to the bronze in 1:33.61.
In the men’s 4x400m heats, Javon Francis on the anchor leg, again showed his amazing ability, with his unofficial 44.01 seconds split dragging the Jamaicans, who posted 3:02.98, from sixth place to second and an automatic qualifying spot, as they finished second to the United States, who clocked 3:02.81.
Botswana were third in 3:03.08 but Francis, though happy with the team’s progress, will be hoping to get the stick closer to the front in today’s final, which will bring the curtain down on the event at 10:01p.m. (9:01pm Jamaica time).
“It would be nice to get the baton closer but we got the job done, we are in the final,” Francis told the Sunday Gleaner. “I just focus on running my best and helping my team to qualify.”
“Hopefully we will go out there and make it on the podium tomorrow (today). I will be telling my teammates to stay focused because we have a big day. I just want to get it (baton) close to the leader.”
Schoolboy Nathon Allen, who ran a solid third leg, brining the Jamaicans back in the race, after receiving the baton in last place, was ecstatic following what was his first appearance at major senior international meet.
“I was a bit nervous at first but I managed to gather myself as the race went on. I saw them in front but I just told myself ‘run!’ Bert Cameron (team coach) told me earlier ‘ Do your part and even more.’
Jamaica’s women are also through to the final of the mile relay, as the team of Christine Day, 800m specialist Natoya Goule, Anastasia Le-Roy and Stephenie-Ann McPherson were dominant in their heat, winning in 3:26.41 ahead of Great Britain, 3:28.51 and Brazil, 3:29.38.
Diamond race winner Novlene Williams-Mills will come in for Goule in the medal round, but McPherson was pleased with the team’s performance, while Le-Roy expressed ambitions of pulling of a win over the Americans, who won their heat in a world leading 3:24.05.
“We were always confident of making the final, now we are looking forward to that and we are hoping to go out there and give it our best,” McPherson said adding that their recent win over the Americans at the Penn Relays has boosted their confidence going into today’s showdown.
The women’s 4x400m will face the starter at 9:45 p.m. (8:45pm)
Royal daughter enters the world
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have introduced their daughter to the world, as they left hospital to take her home to Kensington Palace.
The princess, whose name has yet to be announced, slept in her mother's arms during her first public appearance outside St Mary's Hospital, in London.
The princess - who is fourth in line to the throne - was delivered at 08:34 BST on Saturday after a short labour.
The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth of the 8lbs 3oz (3.7kg) baby.
The couple emerged from the hospital to crowds of well-wishers and the world's media. They stood on the steps briefly before heading back into the hospital to put the princess in a car seat. Prince William then drove them to Kensington Palace.
They did not speak to the media.
The duchess had been in hospital for just over 12 hours before leaving.
The baby was born less than three hours after the couple arrived at the Lindo Wing, at St Mary's Hospital.
Source-BBC
Airport Customs holding up aid in Nepal
The United Nations has urged Nepal to relax customs controls which it says are holding up deliveries of aid to survivors of last week's earthquake.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Nepal had a duty to provide faster customs clearance for relief supplies.
Many people are yet to receive the aid, which is piling up at Kathmandu airport following, a week after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
At least 6,840 have died. Authorities have ruled out finding more survivors.
On Saturday Baroness Amos said she had reminded Prime Minister Sushil Koirala that Nepal had signed an agreement with the UN in 2007 for simpler and faster customs clearance for relief aid in a disaster.
"He has undertaken to ensure that happens, so I hope that from now we will see an improvement in those administrative issues," she told AFP news agency.
The UN representative in the country, Jamie McGoldrick, said the Nepalese government "should not be using peacetime customs methodology".
Nepal lifted import taxes on tarpaulins and tents on Friday but home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said all goods arriving from abroad had to be inspected.
"This is something we need to do," he said.
Rameshwor Dangal, of Nepal's National Disaster Management Division, said many people were waiting to receive emergency supplies or be airlifted to safety.
More than 14,021 people were injured in the quake which struck near Kathmandu.
Landslides and poor weather have hampered efforts to deliver aid to isolated districts, and there are only about 20 helicopters available for the rescue and relief operations.
Nepal has criticised both the speed of foreign aid deliveries the type of products countries are sending.
Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said: "We have received things like tuna fish and mayonnaise. What good are those things for us? We need grains, salt and sugar."
Krishna Devi Sreshta is carefully picking her way through the rubble of what was her home. It's one of about 25 houses in Sankhu, just an hour's drive from Kathmandu, that was completely destroyed by the earthquake.
She's here to see if she can salvage anything. "We were in the field when the earthquake hit," she says. "That's why we were saved."
Not everyone was so lucky. About 50 members of this community died. She points to the clothes that she's wearing. "This is what I was wearing last Saturday. It's all I have left."
The fate of thousands of people in remote areas remains unknown.
The death toll could go up, as search and rescue efforts continuing in several hill districts including Dhading, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok, the government has said.
Source-BBC
Barbra Streisand's Dog Attacks Flight Attendant
Barbra Streisand's cute dog Samantha went wild during a plane trip from New York to Washington D.C earlier this week. The 12-year-old Coton de Tulear bit a female flight attendant of the singer-songwriter's private jet.
Based on Barbra's representative's story, the attendant approached the dog after noticing its presence. She reportedly wanted to pet the dog without offering it her hand first. The gesture was said to be the common strategy used when ones wanted to get acquainted with unfamiliar animals. Samantha bit the woman as the dog felt threatened and considered the woman a stranger.
"This never happened before. The dog has never had this kind of behavior," the rep explained. "The flight attendant started petting the dog, and when it's a stranger, you put the hand out. And the dog nipped at her, and it would be inaccurate to make it more than it is. Barbara felt terrible."
The attack left the victim with an open wound that required some stitches. Immediately after learning of the incident, Barbra apologized to the victim. It was also said that the 73-year-old singer felt so terrified and embarrassed. "This never happened before and Barbra apologized profusely to the flight attendant," the rep added.
Barbra said in a statement back in 2013 that the dog meant a lot to her. She even treated the dog like her own daughter, something that she always longed for. "She's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen," Barbra said of the dog. "She's like the daughter I never had ... She always comes with us. I would never leave her."
Source-AceShowbiz
From Finland, the 1,341-horsepower electric supercar
Finland is famous for its reindeer and global leadership in education, and at least one of those seems to be paying off in the automotive realm.
At April’s 2015 Top Marques auto show in Monaco, Finnish company Toroidion unveiled the 1MW Concept, a completely Finland-designed-and-built supercar. The moniker references the car’s 1 megawatt of output, the metric equivalent of 1,341 horsepower, which makes the Toroidion the first electric car to break a barrier that only a handful of gasoline-powered cars have surpassed. In an electric car this is more a matter of basic math than super tuning carburetors; each wheel has its own motor, with two 200-watt motors in the front and two 300-watt in the back. Given that electric motors produce 100% of their torque at zero rpm, we’d expect the Toroidion to be fast — perhaps ludicrously so — off of the line.
The eye-catching concept model is bulbously sleek and self-consciously light — behind the butterfly doors with handles of 3D-printed latticework, the interior is stylishly sparse — and the whole enterprise is light on details. That’s okay for Top Marques, where the goal is to find buyers willing to FINANCE the build of their own supercar, but auto enthusiasts of the shallow-pocketed kind are anxious for more details.
What we do know is that the design is courtesy of Passi Pennanen, an automotive stylist who has worked for Jaguar and Honda, and run an eponymous design studio since 2004. We also know that the 1MW is built on a new powertrain model, one that is designed to be scalable for different applications, implying both racing and street versions to come. Tantalisingly, the website notes that “The high-capacity battery of the Toroidion powertrain is as easily replaced in the pit-lane as it is in the home garage,” making us wonder what hot-swappable wonder Pennanen has imagined.
The name, “toroid ion” should give us some kind of hint, some idea of how a molecularly charged donut might make for a lighter high-performance battery or more efficient electric motor. But, alas, we didn’t go to school in Finland.