Ronaldo wins Ballon d’Or over Lionel Messi & Manuel Neuer
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been named world footballer of the year after winning the Ballon d'Or for the second year in a row.
The Portugal captain beat Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to the award.
Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler was named women's player of the year, while Colombia's James Rodriguez won goal of the year.
Germany's World Cup winner Joachim Low won men's coach of the year.
Wolfsburg boss Ralf Kellermann was named women's football coach of the year after a successful defence of the Champions League.
The three candidates for the Ballon d'Or were all picked in the team of the year, along with defenders Philipp Lahm, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Sergio Ramos, midfielders Andres Iniesta, Toni Kroos and Angel Di Maria and forward Arjen Robben.
'Boyhood' Wins Big at Golden Globes
A movie that took 12 years to make won the top dramatic film prize at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association”s 72nd annual Golden Globes Awards Sunday in Beverly Hills.
“Boyhood” won awards for best dramatic film, the best director prize for Richard Linklater and best supporting actress award for Patricia Arquette.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” won the Golden Globe for best musical or comedy film, beating out “Birdman,” “Into the Woods,” “Pride,” and “St. Vincent.”
In television awards, online retail giant Amazon scored its first ever Golden Globes with two wins for its comedy “Transparent.” The series, starring veteran actor Jeffrey Tambor, tells the story of a man who has transitioned to become a woman and is working out the details of telling his family. “Transparent” won for best comedy/musical series and Tambor won best actor in a comedy/musical TV series.
Gina Rodriguez took home the Globe for best comedy TV actress for her performance in “Jane the Virgin,” based on a Venezuelan telenovela.
The best television drama Globe went to “The Affair” and Ruth Wilson won the best dramatic TV actress prize for her role in “The Affair,” beating out Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder,” Claire Danes in “Homeland,” Julianna Margulies in “The Good Wife” and Robin Wright in “House of Cards.”
George Clooney received the Cecil B. DeMille award; an honorary Golden Globe for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.
Clooney was among those who voiced his support for France following the Paris attacks. Clooney said "Je suis Charlie" upon accepting his award, in a reference to the attack on the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Earlier, actor Jared Leto had also said "Je suis Charlie."
On the red carpet ahead of the televised event, Clooney and his wife Amal, Helen Mirren and Kathy Bates displayed the "Je Suis Charlie" slogan.
Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler wasted no time in skewering Hollywood”s most tender subjects - the hacking of Sony Pictures over “The Interview” and the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby. They were joined onstage several times by comedian Margaret Cho, playing a North Korean government character who voiced her displeasure with all aspects of the show.
France Deploying 10,000 Troops After Attacks
France's defense minister says more than 10,000 troops will be deployed across the country by Tuesday. European governments are reviewing security measures following last week’s terror attacks that killed 17 people in France.
Speaking to French broadcaster BFMTV, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the country “must not let down its guard” because the security threat to France is “still present.”
He says the highest level of France’s terror alert system is being maintained.
The 10,000 troops due to be deployed by Tuesday is the first time so many have been deployed in the country. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazaneuve said nearly 5,000 security force troops would be tasked with protecting the country's more than 700 Jewish schools.
"The French state right now is most anxious to avoid a repeat of the attacks," said Shaun Gregory, an international securities expert at Britain’s Durham University. "I think at this moment therefore putting extra troops on the ground, perhaps rolling up a few plots earlier than they would like to have done. That kind of thing I think is inevitable right now."
Also Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced he will travel to France on Thursday and Friday for talks on countering extremist violence. He said U.S. intelligence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are coordinating with French investigators.
The top diplomat told reporters that he and President Barack Obama had been "deeply engaged" with French authorities since the first attack in Paris last week.
Source-VOA
Chris Gayle accuses West Indies board over World Cup omissions
Chris Gayle has accused the West Indies Cricket Board of victimisation after Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were omitted from the World Cup squad.
Bravo and Pollard were seen as leading the player revolt, following a pay dispute with the WICB, that led to the abandonment of October's tour of India.
"There's no way you can tell me those guys shouldn't be in the team," opening batsman Gayle insisted.
"For me, it's got to be victimisation towards those two guys."
The former West Indies captain added: "Come on guys, it's just ridiculous. Honestly, it choked me up.
"I don't know where our cricket is heading with this sort of situation. It's really sad."
Trinidadian all-rounders Bravo and Pollard had been told they would be left out of the World Cup squad as the Windies were building a team for the future.
"What they're telling us then, is this team selected is not going there to win the World Cup," added Gayle. "Building for the next World Cup [in 2019] is ridiculous."
Man of the match Gayle was speaking after he, Bravo and Pollard helped West Indies complete the highest run chase in Twenty20 history in a four-wicket win over South Africa in Johannesburg on Sunday.
West Indies open their World Cup campaign against Ireland in Nelson, New Zealand on 16 February.
Source-BBC
Minibus plunges into sea, four dead, several missing in St.Vincent
Residents across St. Vincent and the Grenadines are in mourning Monday after a bus carrying at least 18 people, including 14 school children, plunged into the sea, killing at least four people.
St Vincent authorities said three students were killed, one other missing and at least 10 others have been injured and taken to hospital.
Police in Owia, a community on the northwestern tip of the island, said that the accident occurred at Rockgutter, a community between Owia and Fancy.
The rough seas were said to be hampering the efforts to retrieve the bodies and crisis centres have been established in Kingstown and the northern part of the country.
A grief stricken Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, speaking on national radio, said the “entire nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines…has been touched by this tragedy.
“We all grieve and ask God for guidance and strength as well as we lean on one another,” he said, noting that the recovery of bodies from the sea is ongoing.
“Some of the questions you have are not fully answered, that will come in due time, right now it is the task of making sure that everyone is accounted for. We cannot yet give up hope because there are hope we can find additional survivors as inhospitable as the conditions are, we have to hope…and we have to put the pieces back together and to see what we can do to try to ensure that this…tragedy does not happen again,” Gonsalves said.
“It was a terrible accident and I think everyone’s heart is really heavy because of what has taken place,” he added.
At 12:20 pm, The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital has temporarily suspended visiting hours due to mass casualty situation.
According to reports from the Searchlight Newspaper’s Facebook page, “a section of the Accident and Emergency Unit has been transformed into a counseling area where some family members are receiving counseling at this time.”
Source-Carib360
DEAR EDITOR, THERE IS NO MORE TURNING A BLIND EYE TO OUR COUNTRY
Good day Turks and Caicos.
My name is Avi Adams, and I am writing to you today as a concerned citizen. I rarely ever have much to say publicly about social issues going on in the country, especially when it comes to politics. I now find myself extremely emotional and saddened by our culture and society.
I guess I should say lack of culture more so than anything. It’s no secret that within recent years we’ve seen an increase in violence, delinquency, robberies, murders and grand theft. something that once upon a time, we were not accustomed to. What’s crazy about this is that in the last ten years or so, we have since become accustomed to these events happening. In more current times, our nation has become plagued by the proliferation of gangs; because of this we have suffered a number of deaths, community intimidation, economic decay and withdrawal from civic engagement. We have people who live in Blue Hills (Phase 1 or Phase 2), Long Bay, Kew Town, who are burdened by robberies; who cannot leave their homes for an hour or two without it being broken into, or the fear of it being broken into. This is so disturbing to me because ALL OF US no matter where we live, turn a blind eye to these situations far too often. Why do we do it; because it is not happening directly to us? Since when did we become a selfish country? Since when, we are not our brother’s keeper? What happened to social responsibility? Please tell me Turks and Caicos…..please, I beg you.. Since when, do we not care about each other? Since when, do we not help build each other’s houses? I remember when I couldn’t go to Mrs. Dolly shop to buy a box of matches without her calling my parents, to find out if they sent me for them.
In my honest opinion, about 10% of our population has gone off to become educated and help uplift our country, but instead WE came back and we forgot our morals, our ethics, our principles; standards that our country was founded on; standards that was passed down from generation to generation. We forgot that we were even privileged the opportunity to travel and study abroad, an opportunity that a lot of our brothers and sisters never had (but we say we are gracious and humble…lol).
We became selfish, and believe that we are successful because we came back, got good jobs and great homes, but we lost our beliefs and integrity simultaneously. We became a capitalist country like the USA that always thinks about MONEY instead of GOD and each other. We came back and instead of supporting our people and serving our people, we turned our backs on our people. We came back and discouraged our people; we told them that they were LAZY and don’t want to work. We called them stupid, uninterested and apathetic; I have heard this countless times from the biggest officials all over (Private and Government). However, if you have been EXPOSED to the lifestyle in the USA or London, you would think and act differently from someone who has been here all of their life and is accustomed to a more relaxed, easygoing lifestyle. All of you college grads out there just because the USA or any country does it, that does not make it better, just different. Let’s follow our own traditions and beliefs. The ones we had when we were so much happier.
The craziest thing about it is that half of us who went to college still can barely afford to live so we ensure both parents are working, why? Because we covet vanity! We want all the nicest things in the world; we want the biggest house and nicest car. The down fall is that we sacrificed our kids, our spirituality and beliefs. Honestly, I hate to see a kid in church with an Ipad. What’s the use if we aren’t going to demand them to listen to the word? Turks and Caicos we cannot allow TV, internet, music and this sinful world to bring up our children, aka our future, anymore. We are creating criminals, idols, who have no sense of pride for their bodies, for our people or the country at large. This must cease. Too many times we turn a blind eye and don’t care until the person is in our house stealing or dating one of our “so called” good children.
For those of you who think this is just in Providenciales “the wild wild west”, you would be wrong. I was in Grand Turk over the weekend for a funeral. A great family man had died, Mr. Jackie Williams. He was a man who was a patriot to his country and his family, being married 51 years and someone in my opinion we should marvel over. Mr. Jackie was my friend Kyle Williams’s father. He and I have been friends well over 20 years, since we were 9 years old. Truth be told, I probably haven’t even been the best friend over the years but I felt compelled to be there in his time of need. What disturbed me is that Kyle has so many friends who live in Grand Turk (Just take a ride by the Pink Bar). How many of them were at the funeral? I recall seeing 2 others beside myself and two of us actually flew in from PLS so actually 1 from Grand Turk. All his “so called” friends were either too busy because they were working, sleeping or doing something else they'd rather do. People it’s time to put others first!!! We are putting MONEY before everything. Please note I have not written this just to put it out there, I am writing this because it is time to get our CULTURE back. I realize not everyone will agree with me about everything I have written down, but if you do agree that we need to take control of our country again, I am asking that we meet at St. Monica Anglican church on February 16, 2015 6pm.
The reason for this meeting is for all of us to put forth all of our ideas on how we can regain our culture and country, then prioritize and accomplish them. People don’t let the good fight that J.A.G.S. fought for us, go down in flames because we have become selfish. If we do not do something now, in 20 years it will be worse and maybe uncontrollable. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT IF YOU ARE NOT APART OF THE SOLUTION YOU ARE THE PROBLEM. THERE IS NO MORE TURNING A BLIND EYE TO OUR COUNTRY, JUST BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE DOING OK.
Please remember to bring ideas when you come. I ask that we come prepared to discuss what goals we are planning to set and how we will accomplish them. Honestly I have so much more to write but will save it for the meeting. I want to wish everyone the happiest New Year ever and let you know the TIME IS NOW. Please don’t say you are to busy, My pastor always says”The Devil’s biggest job is to keep us busy”. No matter how much work you do, if it isn’t for God, it doesn’t get you any closer to HEAVEN.
Numerous of us has done the ice bucket challenge for ALS, well I would like to challenge you to take back our neighborhoods, rebuild our communities, support our locals, learn to be brothers and sisters and inspire our youth. Martin Luther King says, “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it” The decision is yours. There is no more “I ain't in it”.
Netflix: VPN crackdown claims 'false', says executive
Netflix has criticised "false" reports it has been cracking down on customers using a work-around to watch media blocked in their area.
The company denied reports it had stepped up its attempts to block access via virtual private networks (VPNs).
Netflix said its existing policy against the use of VPNs to circumvent geographical content barriers remained unchanged.
But it said its service would still work via some VPNs.
"The claims that we have changed our policy on VPN are false," said Netflix's chief product officer Neil Hunt.
Speaking at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, he said: "People who are using a VPN to access our service from outside of the area will find that it still works exactly as it has always done."
He was speaking in response to widespread claims that the popular media streaming firm had begun a crackdown on customers who used VPNs at the behest of studios unhappy at their licensing arrangements being ignored.
They followed complaints by Netflix users on Reddit that their normal VPN setups were no longer working.
Netflix said it did routinely block the work-arounds using "industry standard" techniques, but there was no special effort being undertaken to block more of them than usual.
Coca-Cola to cut up to 1,800 jobs worldwide
Drinks giant Coca-Cola is set to cut up to 1,800 jobs worldwide as it continues cost-cutting efforts.
Coca-Cola reported a 14% fall in earnings for the July to September quarter last year and sluggish revenue growth.
The job cuts will affect the firm's Atlanta headquarters, as well as its international operations.
The firm said it had already started to inform those workers who will be affected by the cuts.
"[We have begun] the process of informing associates in the United States and in some international locations about the impacts to their departments," a spokesperson from Coca-Cola said in an emailed statement to the BBC.
The firm said further cuts would be made by different departments at various times.
"We have identified 1,600 to 1,800 positions in Corporate, Coca-Cola North America and Coca-Cola International that will be eliminated in the coming months," the spokesperson said.
Coca-Cola has a global workforce of about 130,000.
Source-BBC
US economy adds 252,000 jobs in December
The US economy added 252,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.6% from 5.8%, according to Labor Department figures.
In addition, figures for the number of jobs created in October and November were both revised upwards.
The jobless rate is now at its lowest since June 2008.
But weak wage growth and low inflation are likely to give the Federal Reserve pause for thought over raising interest rates.
The increase in jobs was higher than expected with the strongest growth in professional and business services, construction, healthcare and food services, according to the data released by the US Labor Department.
However, there was little improvement in December for part-time workers wishing to work more hours, and average hourly earnings fell by 5 cents after rising 6 cents in November.
The fall in the jobless rate was largely due to a drop in the number of people seeking work.
Over the whole of 2014, job creation averaged 246,000 a month.
Source-
Chris Brown Ready To Marry Karrueche Tran, But Still Love Rihanna
Chris Brown is ready to walk down the isle with his current girlfriend Karrueche Tran. But that doesn’t mean Rihanna is totally out of the equation.
Brown and Tran briefly split over the holidays but reconciled just before Christmas.
During their split Chris Brown went on a rant during a concert and also on social media accusing his on-again off-again girlfriend of cheating on him with Drake while he was being rot in jail for months. Both Tran and Drizzy denied the allegations.
Breezy later apologize saying he love her and that he was just emotional.
Source connected to the couple also told Urban Islandz that Brown is acknowledging his flaws and want to grow up and to prove that he wants to marry her and start a family.
“He knows his flaws and lately he has been more accepting of them and everyone can see he is trying really hard to work on them, we all know Chris love Karrueche and she is a great girl. But there comes a time when he will have to step up to the plate and he is starting to do that,” the source told us.
“He told his close friends that to prove himself to her and the world he is going to marry her,” the source added.
The couple spend Christmas together with his family and some of her family.
“Today was a really inspiring day and also a Great CHRISTMAS. Being able to bring people together with joy and laughter is something we need,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Chris will always love Rihanna but he knows deep down that he may have lost any chance he had with her for good. Their last breakup wasn’t really pleasant but it happens and you can’t go back in time and change what happen,” the source says.
“No one really understand the connection between him (Chris Brown) and Rihanna except them. But people have grown up like we all do and grown up decisions will have to be made,” the source revealed.
Since their reconciliation during the holiday, Chris Brown has been spoiling Karrueche Tran with gifts and affection.
He bought her a dog and some diamond ring for Chris Brown and we’re told he is planning an over the top surprise for her for Valentine’s Day.