Zimbabwe game 'now big' for Ireland
Ireland's game with Zimbabwe on Saturday is "now very big" after their World Cup thrashing by South Africa, says captain William Porterfield.
Hashim Amla's 159 and Faf du Plessis's 109 helped South Africa to 411-4 with the Irish all-out for 210 in Canberra on Tuesday.
However, a win in Hobart on Saturday will keep Ireland's hopes of a quarter-final spot very much alive.
"The game against Zimbabwe now is very big for us," said Porterfield.
"We'll be looking to go down there [to Hobart] and pick up two points."
Porterfield acknowledged that the Irish had endured a "difficult evening" against a sharp Proteas side.
"They played very well. We had one early breakthrough and wanted more but then it was hard for us," said the Ireland skipper after his team were unable to build on John Mooney's early dismissal of Quinton de Kock.
Ireland's prospects weren't helped when Amla was dropped on 10 as Ed Joyce failed to hold a sharp chance with the opener going on to hit another 149 runs.
"You want to be taking your chances but that's part of cricket," added Ireland skipper Porterfield.
"All credit to him [Amla]. He played very well. It was a very good pitch and it was very difficult to muster up those wickets."
Du Plessis, Amla and AB de Villiers departed to leave South Africa on 301-3, but Ireland's death bowling was once again punished as Rilee Rossouw (61) and David Miller (46) produced a 110-run partnership.
Any slim Irish hopes of getting near the huge South African total ended as Paul Stirling, Porterfield, Joyce, Niall O'Brien and Gary Wilson were cheaply dismissed to leave them on 48-5 in the 11th over.
Andrew Balbirnie's 58 and Kevin O'Brien's 48 helped the Irish edge towards respectability and some late aggressive hitting by George Dockrell and Max Sorensen moved them beyond 200 before they were all-out in the 46th over.
"All credit to the lower order for the way that they stuck at it," continued Porterfield.
"And with the partnership [of 81] between Kevin O'Brien and Andrew Balbirnie, there were still a few good things in there."
Ireland remain well placed to qualify, although the margin of defeat at the Manuka Oval will have a negative impact on their net run rate before Saturday's Zimbabwe contest.
Source-BBC Sports
Bill Gates still world’s richest man, Forbes says
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates kept his spot as the world’s richest man, a rank he has held for 16 of the past 21 years, Forbes magazine said Monday.
The Microsoft co-founder’s fortune increased $3.2 billion since last year to $79.2 billion, the business magazine said, despite a $1.5 billion gift of Microsoft shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in November.
Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim held onto second place thanks to his $77.1 billion, ahead of American investor Warren Buffett, with $72.7 billion.
The so-called Oracle of Omaha was the biggest gainer of the Forbes list this year, up $14.5 billion from last year riding on the rising share price of his Berkshire Hathaway.
In fourth was Amancio Ortega, founder of the Inditex fashion group that includes Zara clothing retail shops. He counts a fortune of $64.5 billion.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg jumped five spots to land in number 16, the first time he made it within the exclusive circle of the world’s 20 richest people.
Jack Ma, whose Alibaba online marketplace made the biggest global IPO ever last year, was ranked among the world’s 50 richest people, along with two other Chinese nationals.
The number of billionaires is growing steadily, breaking an all-time record this year, with 1,826 — up from 1,645 last year.
The rise of the dollar against the euro, along with plunging oil prices, had a significant impact on this year’s list.
Aston Martin targets female buyers
Aston Martin plans to broaden its range of cars to attract more female buyers as well as younger drivers.
New sportscars, a four-seater and a small SUV are in the pipeline as the UK company tries to reverse falling sales in the face of stiff competition from larger premium carmakers.
"The brand has to be relevant," chief executive Andy Palmer told a press conference at the Geneva Motor Show.
Aston Martin sales have fallen to about 4,000 from 7,300 in under a decade.
"Aston Martin must be less dependent on a narrow portfolio and one type of customer," Mr Palmer said.
The company's cars may be synonymous with James Bond, but the brand is a favourite among middle-aged sportscar enthusiasts.
Mr Palmer, recruited last year from Nissan to draw up a new strategy for loss-making Aston Martin, said he wants to make the company "relevant to a customer who would never before have considered buying an Aston Martin".
Mr Palmer's plans are ambitious, as he hopes to take sales of the core sportscar models back up to about 7,000. However, he said sales would be capped at this level to retain Aston Martin's exclusivity.
Aston Martin underlined its new strategy by unveiling its DBX concept car. It would be the first all-electric, four-wheel drive Aston Martin.
Mr Palmer said that when Aston's design team set to work on the new DBX they had in mind a customer who was a young lady, American - and rich. What's more, the designers dubbed this fictitious customer "Charlotte".
"She's an attractive lady, cool, in her 30s," Mr Palmer said.
It meant that the interior and ergonomics of the new car had to be slightly different than if the designers were targeting a man. "Of course, we will see a lot of guys buying the car as well. But the DBX is about reaching a new market."
The carmaker also showcased its long-awaited Vulcan, a racetrack-only car that will cost more than £1.5m. Mr Palmer said only 24 Vulcans would be made.
Israeli PM Making Case Against Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to escalate his campaign against international diplomatic efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran during a speech before a joint meeting of Congress in Washington Tuesday.
Netanyahu, who said he is privy to emerging details of the ongoing negotiations, fears the U.S. and its other world partners will give Iran too many concessions.
Iran is sponsoring terrorism across the world -- enveloping the world with its “tentacles of terror,” Netanyahu said Monday during a speech to AIPAC, the leading American pro-Israeli lobbying group.
“Imagine what Iran would do with nuclear weapons,” he added.
Netanyahu is expected to use even harsher rhetoric on Capitol Hill.
He has said he thinks the so-called P5+1 group of global powers is planning to ease international sanctions without the ironclad safeguards needed to deny Tehran a nuclear bomb.
The U.S. administration says that is just not true, and warned that Netanyahu could unravel the negotiations if he mobilizes US lawmakers in the Republican-held Congress against it.
The White House is also wary of Netanyahu revealing any of the closed-door negotiations designed to curb Iran's nuclear drive.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf warned Netanyahu against revealing details of the deal shared in confidence in classified briefings with the Israelis.
"Any release of any kind of information like that would, of course, betray that trust," she said Monday.
President Barack Obama on Monday appeared to wave off any prospect the bedrock U.S. alliance with Israel might be ruined by the rancor.
"I don’t think it's permanently destructive," Obama told Reuters in an interview. "I think that it is a distraction from what should be our focus. And our focus should be, ‘How do we stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon?’ "
Netanyahu denied his acts had harmed the traditionally close US-Israeli alliance.
"Reports of the demise of the Israeli-US relations are not only premature, they're just wrong,” he said.
Also on Monday, Netanyahu voiced frustration his speech to Congress on Tuesday has created such controversy, in Israel and the U.S.
He insisted his speech to Congress was not meant to show any disrespect toward Obama or the Oval Office, nor did he wish to make Israel part of a partisan debate.
"Israel and the United States agree that Iran shouldn't have nuclear weapons. But we disagree on the best way to prevent them from developing those weapons,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said his speech would simply be about his nation’s survival survival.
“I plan to speak about an Iranian regime that is threatening to destroy Israel, that's devouring country after country in the Middle East, that's exporting terror throughout the world and that is developing, as we speak, the capacity to make nuclear weapons - lots of them,” Netanyahu said Monday.
Adding to the controversy, the speech comes just two weeks ahead of a tight national election in which Netanyahu is fighting to hold onto his job.
Obama does not plan to meet with Netanyahu while he's in Washington, saying he wants to avoid any perception that he is meddling in Israel's election.
As many as 40 members of the House and more than a handful of senators are expected to skip the speech, which many have labeled a partisan political stunt.
Vice President Joe Biden, president of the Senate, also won't be there. He's on a trip to Central America and his seat on the dais will be filled by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, president pro tempore.
Many Democrats will be in the audience, however. Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia said he would attend “to find out more about the prime minister's point of view on this.”
Hatch, from Utah, said Monday that Congress should complement the prime minister's address with the threat of more sanctions.
“I am deeply troubled that our president's solution won't work,” Hatch said. “This administration has opted for a policy of conciliation that does nothing to curb this growing threat. And all the while, the threat to Israel grows stronger every day.”
Thousands of miles from the political storm unfolding in Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met early Tuesday after two brief negotiating sessions on Monday.
Their morning talks lasted two hours, but they were expected to resume again in the afternoon with the negotiations due to stretch into Wednesday.
Both sides said they were making progress.
Source-VOA
GM's sales up 4.2% as trucks soar, cars dive
Booming demand for General Motors' pickups and SUVs in February helped ease the sting of a 21 percent drop in car sales.
Overall, GM sold 231,378 light vehicles last month, up 4.2 percent from a year earlier. Sales to individual buyers rose 1 percent while deliveries to fleet customers increased by 12 percent, GM said today.
Combined sales of pickups, SUVs and vans rose 36 percent. Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups totaled 60,552, up 19 percent and higher than that of Ford's F series (55,236).
Sales of GM's large SUVs -- redesigned for the 2015 model year and launched about a year ago -- continue to surge as GM moves past quality and logistics hiccups at its Arlington, Texas, plant. Combined sales of the SUVs, which include the Chevy Suburban and Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade, rose 68 percent.
Sales of 9,076 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups, which hit showrooms in the fall, aided GM's trucks total. That was higher than GM's January total of 8,147.
The outsize truck sales drove GM's average transaction price to $34,700, up $2,700 from a year ago, but the lowest mark since October.
“Our new SUVs and crossovers, combined with the three-pickup strategy we outlined more than a year ago, are dovetailing perfectly with the growing U.S. economy and a stronger job market,” Kurt McNeil, GM's U.S. vice president of sales operations, said in a statement.
GM's overall crossover sales rose 5 percent, led by the company's smallest entries: The Buick Encore, up 60 percent, to 4,921 sales; and the Chevy Trax, which debuted in December and sold 3,821 units in February.
Truck brand GMC led the way with a 19 percent gain, to 42,433 vehicles, the brand's strongest February sales since 2002.
Slumping car sales hurt GM's other three brands though. Chevy’s 3.8 percent gain sales masked sharp drops for its highest-volume cars -- Chevrolet Cruze down 16 percent, Malibu off 20 percent, Impala down 25 percent and Sonic down 62 percent.
After snapping a seven-month skid of flat or lower sales in January, Cadillac reversed course last month with a 13 percent decline. The Escalade was the lone bright spot, outselling every car in Cadillac's lineup.
Sales of the Cadillac ATS compact, down 16 percent, were hurt by a stop-sale order that that took effect Feb. 12 for an eventual recall to fix a problem with the sunroof.
Buick sales fell 9.2 percent amid weak demand across its car lineup. For the first time since it was added to the lineup in early 2013, the Encore was Buick's highest-volume nameplate for the month.
It was Buick's second straight monthly decline after the brand gained market share last year with an 11 percent sales increase.
Source-Automotive News
Caribbean observes World Birth Defects Day
The Caribbean Tuesday joined the international community in observing World Birth Defects Day with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) noting that congenital anomalies, or birth defects, are the second-leading cause of death in children under five in the region.
PAHO said that combined with prematurity, asphyxia and sepsis, birth defects account for 44 per cent of deaths among children. Globally, birth defects affect one in 33 babies and cause 3.2 million disabilities each year.
“The commemoration of this day aims to raise awareness about this common, costly and challenging problem but also to foster the development and implementation of prevention programs and to expand healthcare services for all people with birth defects,” said Suzanne Serruya, Director of PAHO’s Latin American Center for Perinatology (CLAP).
PAHO said congenital anomalies can have genetic, infectious or environmental origins, although in most cases it is difficult to identify a cause.
It said the most common serious birth disorders are heart and neural tube defects and Down syndrome.
Each year, an estimated 270,000 newborn babies die in the first 28 days of life from congenital anomalies, which are the fourth-leading cause of neonatal deaths after complications of premature delivery, neonatal infections and complications of childbirth, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data.
For babies who survive and live with these conditions, birth defects increase their risk of long-term disabilities, which greatly impact the individuals affected, their families, health systems and society, PAHO said.
It said many birth defects can be prevented or treated. Sufficient folic acid and iodine consumption during pregnancy, vaccination against rubella, which can be transmitted to children during pregnancy, and proper prenatal care are all key prevention measures.
“Our vision is for every child to be born with the best health possible and with the potential for a full and productive life.”
Source-CMC
Dominica to formally adopt CCJ on Friday
The Commonwealth of Dominica, will on Friday 6 March 2015, officially recognize the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as its final appellate court.
The historic occasion, scheduled to take place at the State House’s conference room from 10AM in the presence of Sir Denis Byron, the president of the CCJ, will be carried live on Vibes Radio.
The CCJ, headquartered in Port of Spain, Trinidad, was established in 2001, to replace the London-based Privy Council as the region’s final court of appeal.
Dominica signed the agreement establishing the CCJ on 15 February 2003 and in 2014 received the formal go-ahead from Britain to delink from the Privy Council and join the CCJ.
Attorney General Levi Peter said during a radio program on state owned DBS Radio on Monday 2 March, the decision to adopt the CCJ as Dominica’s final appellate court is a significant one as.
“The cost entailed in often paying for an attorney or attorneys to travel from Dominica, in addition to the UK attorneys, who have to be engaged, in addition to the air flights, the class of air flight, to be provided, expenses involved and just the other general cost in relation to legal proceeding,” he said.
Mr Peter explained that the reduction in the cost will also allow more people to take advantage of, or seek to exercise the right that they have than the very small number who currently go to the Privy Council.
“Because for most ordinary people, the Privy Council is beyond their reach for a number of reasons and cost is one of those reasons,” he said.
While Mr Peter noted that the closeness of the court is another benefit of adopting the CCJ, he said there is need to create, develop and advance jurisprudence “that comes from ourselves”.
“We need to further develop our self-confidence and our belief in ourselves as individuals and also our fellow compatriots, men and women from our jurisdiction and from other jurisdictions in the region”.
“We have people who have the intelligence, capacity, ability to sit in judgments over our issues and in-effect take forward laws that are by us and of us, and it is high time that we do so and complete the circle of sovereignty which we have embarked upon initially through associated statehood,” he said.
Dominica joins Belize, Guyana and Barbados, the only three countries of CARICOM which have abolished the Privy Council and made the CCJ their final appellate court.
The CCJ also acts as an international tribunal interpreting the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs the 15-member regional integration movement.
THE UK HAS APPROVED THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS’ 2015-16 BUDGET
The Turks and Caicos and UK governments have agreed the Territory’s 2015-16 budget, it was announced today, Monday, 2 March 2015.
The budgeted expenditure of US$224.7m is a 9% increase on the previous year, and proposes tax cuts, significant investment in education and infrastructure as well as delivering a surplus of $13.4m.
Some of the key features of the proposed budget include:
• a 50% reduction in the cost of business licenses in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI)
• the removal of the 7.5% Freight Insurance Tax which is applied to nearly all landed goods that are imported to the Islands
• an additional four staff to expedite the speedier processing of work permits
• an additional $1m for scholarships for Islanders, including $250,000 to help civil servants complete personal and professional development activities
• improved terms and conditions for public sector workers with the implementation of the pay and grading review
• the accelerated $2m completion of the new Long Bay Hills High School
The top ten areas of spending in the budget are (and increase/decrease over 2014/15 budget):
1. $60.7m (3.4% increase) for the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services
2. $33.2m (27% increase) for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Library Services. In addition to the scholarship funding, an additional $500,000 has been allocated to the TCI Community College, and $250,000 for upgrading public sporting facilities
3. $21.8m (32.7% increase) for the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, including $2.9m for the completion of the Caicos Causeway and $1.2m for road repairs and improvements
4. $20.9m (0.8%) for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force
5. $17.3m (-10.3% decrease) for the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment
6. $9.6m (16.2%% increase) for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communications, including an allocation for a new juvenile detention centre
7. $9m (18.1% increase) for the Attorney General’s Chambers
8. $7.8m (15.1% increase) for the Ministry of Border Control and Labour
9. $7m (28.1% increase) for the Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture
10. $6.7m (-19% decrease) for the Judiciary
The remainder of the budget consists of statutory charges, including pension and gratuities, contingency fund and debt servicing ($16m), the Governor’s Office ($4m), House of Assembly ($2.8m), the Premier’s Office ($2.3m), the Director of Public Prosecutions ($2.3m), the Deputy Governor’s Office ($2.2m) and other costs, such as the constitutional and statutory bodies.
“This budget has been designed to support further growth in the TCI,” said Minister of Finance Washington Missick. “As an example, we are proposing to allow the airport and ports authorities to retain their surpluses, rather than paying them to government, so that they can invest them in upgrading South Caicos Airport and the South Dock harbour facility in Providenciales, respectively.
“These ambitious measures have only been made possible by my government’s continued fiscal prudence. We have set a course that sees us continue to reduce our debt obligations, while also looking for opportunities to make a real difference in people’s lives.”
Although approved in principle by UK Ministers, the TCI budget is still a proposal which will be scrutinised by the House of Assembly’s Appropriation Committee in the next few weeks, before being fully debated by elected representatives before the end of March 2015.
TURKS AND CAICOS AND UK AGREE ISLANDS’ 2015-16 BUDGET
The Turks and Caicos and UK governments have agreed the Territory’s 2015-16 budget, it was announced today, Monday, 2 March 2015.
The budgeted expenditure of US$224.7m is a 9% increase on the previous year, and proposes tax cuts, significant investment in education and infrastructure as well as delivering a surplus of $13.4m.
Some of the key features of the proposed budget include:
• a 50% reduction in the cost of business licenses in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI)
• the removal of the 7.5% Freight Insurance Tax which is applied to nearly all landed goods that are imported to the Islands
• an additional four staff to expedite the speedier processing of work permits
• an additional $1m for scholarships for Islanders, including $250,000 to help civil servants complete personal and professional development activities
• improved terms and conditions for public sector workers with the implementation of the pay and grading review
• the accelerated $2m completion of the new Long Bay Hills High School
The top ten areas of spending in the budget are (and increase/decrease over 2014/15 budget):
1. $60.7m (3.4% increase) for the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services
2. $33.2m (27% increase) for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Library Services. In addition to the scholarship funding, an additional $500,000 has been allocated to the TCI Community College, and $250,000 for upgrading public sporting facilities
3. $21.8m (32.7% increase) for the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, including $2.9m for the completion of the Caicos Causeway and $1.2m for road repairs and improvements
4. $20.9m (0.8%) for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force
5. $17.3m (-10.3% decrease) for the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment
6. $9.6m (16.2%% increase) for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communications, including an allocation for a new juvenile detention centre
7. $9m (18.1% increase) for the Attorney General’s Chambers
8. $7.8m (15.1% increase) for the Ministry of Border Control and Labour
9. $7m (28.1% increase) for the Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture
10. $6.7m (-19% decrease) for the Judiciary
The remainder of the budget consists of statutory charges, including pension and gratuities, contingency fund and debt servicing ($16m), the Governor’s Office ($4m), House of Assembly ($2.8m), the Premier’s Office ($2.3m), the Director of Public Prosecutions ($2.3m), the Deputy Governor’s Office ($2.2m) and other costs, such as the constitutional and statutory bodies.
“This budget has been designed to support further growth in the TCI,” said Minister of Finance Washington Missick. “As an example, we are proposing to allow the airport and ports authorities to retain their surpluses, rather than paying them to government, so that they can invest them in upgrading South Caicos Airport and the South Dock harbour facility in Providenciales, respectively.
“These ambitious measures have only been made possible by my government’s continued fiscal prudence. We have set a course that sees us continue to reduce our debt obligations, while also looking for opportunities to make a real difference in people’s lives.”
Although approved in principle by UK Ministers, the TCI budget is still a proposal which will be scrutinised by the House of Assembly’s Appropriation Committee in the next few weeks, before being fully debated by elected representatives before the end of March 2015.
CARPHA EXPERT CONSULTATION ON CHIKUNGUNYA IN THE CARIBBEAN
Dr. Shandey Malcolm, Deputy Chief National Epidemiologist, Mr. Leroy Adams, Deputy Director of Environmental Health and Ms. Alrisa Gardiner, Senior Public Health Nurse, will be representing the Ministry of Health and Human Services at the CARPHA Expert Consultation on Chikungunya in the Caribbean in Trinidad, March 3-5, 2015.
The Conference is being held under the theme “Chikungunya in the Caribbean; Meeting Today’s Challenge and Preparing for the Future.”
Chikungunya virus was first detected in the Caribbean in 2013 and has led to more than 800,000 suspected cases in the Caribbean and Latin America and has considerable impact on the health and economics of the entire Caribbean Region.
Cases of Chikungunya were first reported in the Turks and Caicos Islands in May of 2014. Reports of Chikungunya increased during the rainy season when we experienced flooding throughout the TCI. In recent months, reported cases of Chikungunya have decreased. However, we have to remain vigilant.
Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. The best way to prevent the spread of Chikungunya is to protect yourself from mosquito bites, eliminate mosquito breeding sites and keep your environment clean.
During the three-day meeting, discussions will be held on the long-term impact of Chikungunya surveillance and outbreak response; entomological surveillance, control and management; clinical care and services as well as laboratory services, research and innovation; and communication strategies and experiences.
The Ministry of Health and Human Services is pleased to be represented at this meeting. As stated by the Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Dr. James Hospedales, the meeting is expected to provide a unique opportunity to review efforts to position mosquito-borne diseases as a high priority in the public health agenda, and examine the potential for public-private partnerships as Government alone cannot solve the problem.