Messi scores three, before a Deportivo own goal
Lionel Messi scored the 30th hat-trick of his Barcelona career as his side beat Deportivo La Coruna to move one point behind leaders Real Madrid.
The Argentina forward, who missed out on winning the Ballon d'Or to Real's Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday, opened the scoring with a looping header.
He netted again when he collected Neymar's pass and dinked the ball over home goalkeeper Fabricio Agosto.
Messi grabbed his third with a low shot, before an own goal from Sidnei.
Ex-Barcelona winger Isaac Cuenca had a chance for Deportivo but shot over when the score was 2-0, although the hosts were comprehensively outclassed.
It was a dominant performance from Luis Enrique's Barca, who had 68% possession and 14 attempts at goal with the only surprise being that they scored only four.
The future of Messi, La Liga's all-time record goalscorer, has been questioned recently after he said "I don't know where I'll be next year", although Enrique then insisted he would not sell the 27-year-old.
Messi has now scored six of his side's last eight league goals and Barcelona's victory was their 14th in 19 league matches this season.
Source-BBC
Islamic State Group Releases 200 Iraqi Yazidis
The Islamic State group has released at least 200 Yazidis after five months of captivity in Iraq.
Islamic State fighters transported the freed Yazidis by bus to Hawaija, 55 kilometers southwest of Kirkuk, and from there they took cars to the Khaled Bureau District some 25 kilometers away where they entered Kirkuk.
Officials said almost all of those released Saturday were elderly or sick, including several children, and nearly all bore signs of abuse and neglect.
Gen. Shirko Fatih, commander of Kurdish peshmerga forces in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, said it appears the militants released the prisoners because they were too much of a burden.
"It probably became too expensive to feed them and care for them,"he told The Associated Press.
Islamic State fighters attacked the Yazidis in August, forcing thousands of them to flee to Sinjar mountain.
Islamic State militants declare most people in their path infidels, but seem to reserve a special wrath for those of the Yazidi faith.
In their advance across Iraq, Islamic State fighters have summarily shot and killed Yazidi men, kidnapped women and girls, and boasted of selling them as slaves. Recent guidelines by the Islamic State group detail the types of sexual and other assault that slaves may be subjected to.
Many Yazidi villages remain under Islamic State control.
Source-VOA
Boko Haram Kidnaps Dozens in Cameroon
Officials in Cameroon say Boko Haram militants kidnapped at least 60 people Sunday in a cross-border raid from Nigeria.
The officials say several people who tried to stop the militants were killed and about 80 homes were burned to the ground.
Cameroon's Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary called the kidnappers barbaric and lawless and said nothing can stop them from killing.
The kidnappings, which included children, came a day after Chad sent thousands of troops into Cameroon to help fight Boko Haram - the Nigerian Islamic militant group that African officials say is quickly becoming a threat to the entire region.
Boko Haram has been seizing territory along the border between Nigeria and Chad. It recently took control of a military base near the shores of Lake Chad, killing a number of villagers.
United States Eases Travel And Trade Rules On Cuba
Swiftly expanding trade ties with Cuba, the Obama administration opened the door to easier travel and a wide range of new export opportunities with the communist island starting last Friday, punching the biggest hole to date in America's half-century-old embargo.
Less than a month after the Cold War foes agreed to end their enmity, the US Commerce and Treasury departments unveiled new rules last Thursday permitting US citizens to visit Cuba without special permits.
Most US travellers still will be required to go on supervised group trips, but now virtually any US company or organisation can offer such trips without the paperwork and inspections that discouraged past expansion of travel to Cuba.
Some tour operators, already seeing unprecedented interest in legal travel to Cuba, expect some tourists to simply ignore the restrictions.
American companies also now will be permitted to export telephones, computers and Internet technology, and to send supplies to private Cuban firms.
However, Cuban authorities have said nothing about the restrictions they might impose on US products entering a country that has long frustrated foreign investors with red tape and tapped-out infrastructure.
The changes are the latest step in President Barack Obama's plan to rebuild relations with Cuba after a history marred by suspicion, espionage and conflict. The new regulations come three days after US officials confirmed the release of 53 political prisoners Cuba had promised to free.
The US is now "one step closer to replacing out-of-date policies", Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Thursday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the new rules "immediately enable the American people to provide more resources to empower the Cuban population to become less dependent upon the state-driven economy".
They also allow US citizens to start bringing home small amounts of Cuban cigars, long adored by aficionados but banned under US law. The limit is US$100 for alcohol and tobacco products and US$400 in total goods.
Only Congress can fully end the 54-year embargo. Obama announced last month he would soften the restrictions, arguing that "these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked".
The new spirit of cooperation emerged after 18 months of secret talks that culminated in the exchange of imprisoned spies and the release of Alan Gross, a US government contractor who had been imprisoned in Cuba for five years.
The few US companies facilitating travel to Cuba say inquiries have exploded since December and American visits are expected to surge this year from about 90,000 annually.
"We're hiring more people. We've secured more hotel rooms and assets in Cuba to provide additional travel," said Tom Popper, president of New York-based insightCuba.
Hotels in Havana and elsewhere generally fall short of international standards, and those with better food and service are almost always fully booked during the winter high season. So the tourism surge could be challenging.
"American tourists are really demanding," said Maikel Gonzalez, a 34-year-old hotel receptionist in Havana.
"How do I explain to one that the taxi didn't come because it doesn't have tyres or that there's no water in the rooms?"
Cubans also can legally rent out their homes or apartments, which could mean money outside of state control going to private citizens - something American officials say they want.
Most of the other possible changes now depend on Cuban President Raul Castro's government.
US officials say American companies will have to weigh for themselves the risks of their exports colliding with Cuban bans.
Profitability is another issue. Foreign companies operating in Cuba currently deal almost entirely with state-owned firms that are notoriously slow, inefficient and short on cash.
Also casting a shadow on potential deals is the possibility of litigation by Cuban-Americans and US firms whose property was confiscated in Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Some may sue companies entering into business with the Cuban government.
In Washington, Congress may also seek to erect barriers to new investment.
The sudden rapprochement between Cold War foes has divided US lawmakers. Republican Marco Rubio of Florida and Democrat Bob Menendez of New Jersey, both Cuban-Americans, have been particularly opposed.
But some business groups have welcomed the opportunity to open a new export market in a country 90 miles from Florida. Thomas Donohue, head of the US Chamber of Commerce, said last Wednesday it was better for the US to sell computers, smartphones and cars to Cuba than to cede such business to countries like Russia and China.
Cuba is already awash in American products brought in people's luggage, including iPhones and flat-screen TVs. The main barriers to Internet access are high prices and restrictions imposed by a government desperate for hard currency and worried about allowing citizens unrestricted communications. It's unclear if Cuba's government has grown more comfortable providing such access.
Cuban officials are keen on greater travel by American tourists and the hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans who currently visit the island each year under a general licence.
American officials stress that a general travel prohibition for Americans remains in force. Travellers must certify compliance with US laws with airlines in advance, officials say, and investigators can demand to see records and documents up to five years after a trip is made. Infractions can incur penalties.
But the 12 categories of people now allowed to visit to Cuba are broad. Months after the musicians Jay-Z and Beyonce went to Havana, a Treasury Department auditor declared their trip legal under rules allowing educational travel. They visited an art school and a local theatre group.
And cracking down on violators under the new arrangement may prove difficult.
"It's basically unenforceable," said John McAuliff, executive director of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, a non-governmental organisation that arranges trips to Cuba.
Source- AP
Dominican Republic to attend Caribbean Energy Security Summit
The White House announced that US Vice President Joseph Biden will host the first ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 26, and the Dominican Republic is expected to attend.
Biden's office said the prime ministers or cabinet ministers from Jamaica, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago are also attending the Summit, whose goal is to promote a cleaner and more sustainable energy future in the Caribbean through improved energy governance and greater access to finance.
According to the White House, the Summit is a key component of the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative that the vice president announced in June 2014. It will be hosted by the White House and the State Department in partnership with the Atlantic Council and the Council of the Americas.
EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI AWARENESS WEEK OBSERVED IN THE TCI
The Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) will observe Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Week from January 11th -18th, 2015 themed around having the residents of TCI prepared for the next earthquake through a process of learning, planning and preparing.
The main objective of the week is to strengthen the earthquake and tsunami preparedness and response capacity of the disaster management system in the TCI by building resilience to earthquake impacts at the community level. The overall goal is to have the TCI more resilient to earthquake impacts by implementing the necessary safeguards at the personal, community and national levels to save lives and protect property.
Several activities have been planned to mark the week, which is primarily aimed at increasing the awareness of the general public to the importance of preparing for an earthquake and tsunami event. The events began with a Church Service at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Grand Turk on Sunday. The special service was conducted in English and Haitian Creole, and was dedicated to remembering the victims of the devastating earthquake which struck Haiti on January 12th 2010.
The Magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck at 14:53 (2:53 p.m.) on Tuesday January 12, causing an estimated 250,000 residential buildings and 30,000 commercial buildings to either totally collapse or sustain substantial damage. Following the devastating earthquake at least 52 aftershocks, measuring 4.5 in magnitude, shook the country. The number of deaths caused by the earthquake, vary from an estimated 220,000 lives at the lower end of the scale to 316,000 at the upper end of the scale. The Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment (PDNA) published by the Haitian Government in March 2010, estimated the cost of the damage at US$7.9 billion. The reconstruction cost was originally estimated at US11.5 billion.
As Haiti and the rest of the world commemorate the fifth anniversary of that fateful day in Haiti’s history, it is fitting the TCI pause to reflect, share expertise and pledge to do whatever needs to be done to ensure that all persons in TCI are as prepared and ready if this was to ever happen in the TCI. The question is can this happen in the TCI.
To answer that question, it is important to put the Caribbean seismicity into perspective. The Caribbean is a very active seismic region, with three live volcanoes, and where over a thousand earthquakes happen every year, though most of them are too small to feel. The area between the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands average more than a dozen measurable earthquakes every week.
According to CCRIF’s Country Risk Profile for the TCI, the islands risk profile indicate that the TCI islands are vulnerable to earthquake and tsunami risks, but at a low to moderate level. The report also indicates that the TCI is vulnerable to tsunami events generated along the Northern Caribbean Plate, presenting an additional hazard to a multi-island country like TCI. The USGS Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Programme (GSHAP) concurs with CCRIF’s assessment in its report where it states that there is a low to moderate level of susceptibility in the Turks and Caicos Islands to seismic activity, based on a 2013 seismic analysis, undertaken as part of the process of developing the TCI Building Code under the Hurricane Ike Recovery and Rehabilitation Project.
In terms of tsunami events, the northern Caribbean has seen some 40 confirmed tsunami events over the last five hundred years. From 1842 -1998, an estimated 3,510 persons have lost their lives from tsunami events (Caribbean Tsunami: A 500 Year History from 1498-1998 by Karen Fay O’Loughlin and James F. Lander).
Earthquakes cannot be predicted with any level of accuracy and we can’t stop them from happening. However, we can be prepared to respond to an earthquake event if and when it happens. This theme of preparedness will be the ethos of the activities planned to mark this year’s second annual Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Week by DDME. The department is seeking to raise awareness of what can be done to ensure that you survive the next earthquake. As a little preparation can possibly save your life and that of your family, Make sure you have a family plan to deal with any emergency.
DDME is also encouraging the residents to visit its Facebook Page to obtain tips on earthquake and tsunami preparedness and ways in which you can make yourself, your family and your community more resilient to the impacts of earthquakes and tsunamis.
Permanent Secretary of Border Control and Labour receives an OBE from Her Majesty The Queen
The Governor’s Office today Tuesday 13th January, announced that Mrs. Clara Gardiner, the Permanent Secretary of Border Control and Labour, received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in Her Majesty the Queen’s New Year Honours this month. The Award was for Mrs. Gardiner’s services to immigration issues in the Overseas Territories, and Turks and Caicos in particular.
Speaking about the Award His Excellency the Governor Peter Beckingham commented…. “I was delighted to read in the New Year’s Awards that Clara Gardiner was honoured with an OBE. I have seen a good deal of Clara’s work, not least when there have been the threats of illegal immigration from chartered sloops arriving in TCI. She is evidently a dedicated and resourceful member of the Public Service. Her Award is a tremendous recognition of the work that she, and many members of the Immigration service, do for Turks and Caicos.”
The Minister of Border Control and Labour, The Hon Don Hue Gardiner, has joined the Governor in welcoming this Award. The Minister said: “I am thrilled that my Permanent Secretary has received this distinction. It is a great honour to her, the Department and TCI, and a mark of her hard work and perseverance in a challenging environment,” the Minister said.
Mrs. Gardiner will be invited later this year to Buckingham Palace to receive the Award from Her Majesty the Queen or another member of the Royal Family.
The Governor and his wife, Mrs. Jill Beckingham received a private Audience with Her Majesty The Queen last December.
PROVO RUNNERS CLUB MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN MARATHON BAHAMAS
A group of 13 Provo Roadrunners departing Providenciales between the 14th and 16th of January will participate in Marathon Bahamas to be held on this coming Sunday, January 18, 2015 in Nassau, Bahamas. After several weeks of training the group will embark upon the half marathon completing 13.1 miles.
The Marathon is in its sixth year and has been publicized as one of the top and more popular marathons within the Caribbean. It has attracted hundreds of runners from around the world and locally in the Bahamas. Members of the Provo Roadrunners are no strangers to participating in international full marathons and half marathons in the US and Canada including the New York and Boston marathons but this is the first regional participation of the group.
The group is excited to participate in a regional half marathon held by one of our neighbors such as the Bahamas.
UNICEF Sponsored Early Childhood Education Workshop
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Turks and Caicos Islands Ministry of Education, Youth Sports and Library Services hosted an Intervention seminar for early childhood practitioners throughout the Islands, from January 12 -14th at the Regent Palms, Providenciales. The workshop was being facilitated by both regional and local educators and expertise within the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD).
The main goal of this workshop was to expose participants to the key features of designing an effective screening and early intervention system for children at risk.
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
Ø Understand the importance of the Early Childhood period and its impact on later development
Ø Describe normal physical, cognitive, language, sensory and socio-emotional development in the early years
Ø Describe deviations in normal development in the early years
Ø Understand the importance of screening and early identification of children with developmental and behavioural disabilities and disorders
Ø Understand the difference between screening and diagnostic tests
Additionally, the early childhood sector is one such area that the Ministry of Education has committed to strengthening both from a human capital development standpoint and infrastructure wise. The Education Sector Plan, 2013-2017, Strategic Imperative 6, clearly outlined key pointers that the ministry has adopted. The central tenet would be to:
Ø review guidelines to allow all children an opportunity to enroll at ages 2 and 3 year.
Ø register and supervise a sufficient number of schools to allow all children the opportunity to enroll
Ø review the curriculum guidelines to ensure that they are appropriate for use in the Turks and Caicos
Ø Provide both pre-service and professional teacher development opportunities for early childhood teachers
Ø provide professional and technical assistance to the early Childhood Centres
In closing, the Ministry thanked UNICEF, the local educators, and participants who have, and continue to contribute to the high education standards established here in the TCI.
THE PDM EXPRESSES ITS DISAPPOINTMENT REGARDING THE PLIGHT OF BAFSL
We remain committed to work towards the attainment of all of these goals."