Tiger Woods happy with 1st-round 69
Tiger Woods headed to the practice range after his opening round of the Open Championship, as much a positive sign as his 3-under-par 69 at Royal Liverpool.
Woods hit his first shots in a major championship in 2014 and saw his name inch onto the leaderboard with a six-birdie, three-bogey effort to trail early leader Rory McIlroy by three strokes.
"I knew I could do it," Woods said. "That's why I was telling you guys it was so important for me to play at Congressional. The fact that I was able to recover every day, and the fact that I was stronger, more explosive the more days I played.
"I'm only going to get better from that point. And I'm getting stronger, I'm getting faster, I'm getting more explosive. The ball is starting to travel again. And those are all positive things."
Woods' two rounds of 74 and 75 at the Quicken Loans National last month showed plenty of rust, but playing in that tournament undoubtedly helped him shake some of the first-tee jitters on Thursday.
UN chief urges solution on Dominican citizenship
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Dominican legislators on Wednesday to find a humanitarian solution to a fiercely debated court decision that could render thousands of people of Haitian descent stateless.
Ban spoke to the Caribbean country's bicameral legislature a day after meeting with President Danilo Medina.
"It won't be easy," he said. "This requires compromise and tough consultations. It requires your compassion as human beings and as leaders of this country."
The Dominican Republic recently passed a law that would create a path to citizenship for the descendants of tens of thousands of migrants who came from neighbouring Haiti. But human rights groups have said the law will likely exclude the majority of people born in the Dominican Republic to migrants, leaving them essentially stateless.
Ban asked that legislators keep working to protect the rights of all people and prevent what he called "the privatization of nationality."
Some lawmakers bristled at Ban's comments.
"He thinks Dominican nationality belongs to the Haitians who claim they were born here," legislator Vinicio Castillo said, calling the speech interference in Dominican affairs.
Reinaldo Pared, president of the Senate, said the government is trying to control a serious migration problem.
Israel, Hamas Resume Hostilities
Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian militants resumed hostilities in Gaza Thursday after a temporary humanitarian cease-fire came to an end. Meanwhile, talks on a more comprehensive truce are underway in Egypt.
Palestinian civilians received a brief reprieve from 10 days of conflict after Israel and Hamas agreed to a U.N. proposal to allow for humanitarian movement.
But U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories James Rawley told media earlier that the violence resumed shortly after the cease-fire expired.
"Rockets have been going out of Gaza and airstrikes and naval bombardment has resumed on Gaza," he said, "so once again the people of Gaza are suffering and probably dying, and the people of Israel are also being victimized by rockets and mortars going out of Gaza."
The streets of Gaza have been virtually deserted since Israeli military operations targeting Hamas began last week, as residents have stayed home or have sought protection at U.N. schools.
Malaysian Airliner Crashes in Eastern Ukraine
Russian media reports say a Malaysian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has crashed in eastern Ukraine.
Malaysia Airlines reported on Twitter that it lost contact of a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukrainian airspace Thursday. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members.
A Ukrainian interior ministry official, Anton Gerashchenko, said the airliner was hit by a ground-to-air missile.
In a posting on his Facebook page, Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said the plane was flying at 33,000 feet when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.
The Buk is a sophisticated, medium-range, Russian-designed surface-to-air missile systems that can fire missiles up to 72,000 feet.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a statment on the presidential website that he does not rule out that the airliner was shot down but stressed that the Ukrainian military was not involved.
T&T minister scolds Bravo
Trinidad and Tobago Sports Minister Anil Roberts has scolded Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo for public statements he made protesting a decision to change the name of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel for the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which began in Grenada last weekend.
Following their opening victory over Barbados Tridents Zouks, Bravo criticised the decision to drop the words Trinidad and Tobago from the franchise, which will now be known as Red Steel.
In a letter to the Red Steel manager, Colin Borde, which was copied to CPL CEO Damien O'Donohoe and T&T Cricket Board president Azim Bassarath, Roberts called Bravo's outburst "disrespectful and improper".
"As an employee in a privately run tournament, it is improper and completely disrespectful for him to publicly challenge the rules and regulations regarding the use of a country's name and also publicly attempt to belittle the valid concerns and legal responsibilities of an elected representative of that nation's government," the Trinidad and Tobago sports minister wrote.
ISLANDOM DONATES $20,000 TO FOUR LOCAL NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Four Turks and Caicos non-profit organizations received big cash donations from local cellphone carrier Islandcom Wireless. Money for the donation was raised at the Islandcom’s annual Battle of the Bands concert held this past June 21st. Each year Islandcom chooses different non profit organization as recipients of the proceeds collected at their event. “This year we focused on children in sports. Throughout the year, we receive tons of sponsorship requests from different sports organizations. Each one has an agenda to go beyond the norm for the kids they coach. We selected organizations that endeared us the most for their organization, commitment to youth, and the sport of choice,” said Islandcom’s Marketing Specialist- Chandra Craigg.
Each organization received $5,000.00 from Islandcom for expenditures towards the benefit of their youth leagues. The organizations chosen were the Provo Amateur Basketball Association (PABA) headed by Sydwell Glasgow and Keith Cox. Second organization was the Trailblazers Academy, which teaches sports such as soccer, indoor hockey, and rugby and is headed by Ian Hurdle. Third organization was Provo Children’s Home headed by Tanis Wake-Forbes. And fourth organization was the TCI Softball Federation headed by Goddfrey Been. Each group assisted in the running of the Battle of the Bands event this past June. Funds raised at the event contributed towards the money donated to the charities.
The Trailblazers Academy is a newly put together sports organization. Their goal is through physical activity and sports; teach young adults the ethics of partnership and hard work. They focus on sports such as rugby, tennis, indoor hockey, and soccer. Their current goal is to raise money to build a sporting facility for youth. With the money received from the donation Trailblazers Academy plans to revive training camps for some of their sports they have put on hold due to funding constraints.
The Provo Children’s Home has been the home to many orphans and disenfranchised youth of the Turks and Caicos. The organization is largely funded by public fundraising done yearly. There are currently nine children of various ages that reside at the home and need complete care. Money from the donation will go towards providing food, clothing, and supplies for the children in the home.
The Turks and Caicos Softball Federation oversees all softball related activities in the Turks and Caicos. There are numerous adult and youth leagues around the islands. Some of the more noted leagues within the Federation are the Churches League and the General Softball League. Over the past year, the Federation has made numerous efforts to provide equipment for their youth softball league. With the donation, they plan to purchase softball kits that will be provided to schools around the nation.
The Provo Amateur Basketball Association is a popular after hour sport with the young adult crowd in Providenciales. The Association is working hard to grow the youth arm of their association through numerous efforts. They have created a Saturday camp to teach young children the art of basketball. They also host several camps for their high school league. Most recently the Association accompanied members of their high school league to the reputable Duke University Coach K Camp in North Carolina. Funds from the donation will go towards further development of their youth girls basketball league. “We are very greatful to Islandcom for the donation to the PABA,” says Keith Cox. “They are doing a really great thing to help our youth programs. Its with the help of Corporate sponsors like Islandcom that we can keep our programs going.”
Digicel acquires Telstar Cable
Digicel said it has reached an agreement with Telstar Cable Limited to acquire its cable and fibre network in Jamaica.
Telstar provides cable television, broadband and telephony services.
On completion, which is subject to approval by the Broadcasting Commission, Digicel will invest significantly in the network to increase coverage and further expand the products, services and content available to cable customers in Jamaica, the telecommunications provider said in a release.
Digicel said the acquisition will be its fourth Caribbean cable acquisition in the last few months and will increase its cable footprint to six markets.
The company said that in April this year it acquired WIV Cable TV in the Turks and Caicos Islands and its sister company, TCT, which offers broadband services.
In February, it acquired SAT Telecommunications which provides a range of TV, telephony and broadband internet services to residential and business customers in Dominica.
Digicel acquired Caribbean Cable Communications Holding Ltd., a cable TV and internet service provider in Anguilla, Nevis and Montserrat in November 2013.
The company said it has also been investing heavily in greenfield fibre build-outs, having broken ground on next-generation fibre networks in Barbados, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad.
It said the investment in fibre reflects the company’s ongoing focus on business solutions, which has shown an almost 40 per cent year-on-year growth in revenues. Those fibre build-outs are nearing completion and pre-selling of the services has already started, the release said.
In order to drive the delivery of multimedia content, as well as improve offerings for mobile data services and business solutions, Digicel has also secured significant off-island sub-sea fibre bandwidth.
In December 2013, Digicel entered into a share and asset purchase agreement with Global Caribbean Fibre to acquire certain submarine fibre assets in the Eastern Caribbean region.
That deal will provide Digicel with a wholly-owned submarine fibre optic cable network of approximately 2,100 kimometres, providing capacity from Trinidad to Guadeloupe. The proposed transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the coming weeks, the company said.
Digicel Group CEO, Colm Delves said: “We are investing heavily in cable TV, content and fibre across our markets to ensure that Digicel is positioned at the forefront of a data intensive world where our customers are able to enjoy multimedia experiences on multiple devices and avail of advanced solutions for their businesses. We look forward to expanding our footprint further in this space in the coming year through a combination of acquisitions and greenfield builds.”
Source-Business Gleaner.
TCI’S U20 BOYS SOCCER TEAM TRAVEL TO HAITI TODAY FOR THE BOYS UNDER20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
The Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) Under20 Soccer Team travelled to Haiti today, Wednesday, July 16th 2014. There, the team will compete in the Boys U20 World Cup Qualifiers consisting of three games against Haiti, Saint Lucia and Suriname. The first match up will be against Haiti will be held this coming Friday, July 18th at 7PM. This game, along with the others, will be held at the Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The Cup is the world championship of football for male players under the age of 20 and is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association - FIFA. Until 2005, the FIFA U-20 World Cup was known as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The Championship is held every two years since the first tournament was held in Tunisia in 1977.
Lead by Craig Harrington, Technical Director and Head Coach Dane Ritchie, the U20 Boys squad, consists of 16 players. The players are as follows: James Lee Louis, Mackenson Cadet, Adner Davilmar, Jepthe Francious, Jose Elcius, Fred Dorvil, Ras Diamond, Wilkins Sylvain, Gilbert Tellus, Jeff Beljour, Idlin Belony, Wilnardo Cenaria, Patrick Slattery, Steve Santana, Windy Joseph and Myron Pierrea. Travelling along with the team are Olivia Graveley, Team Manager, Alexander Bryan, Assistant Team Manager and Fritz Elvariste, Equipment Management.
The dates and times of the games are as follows:
Friday, 18th July
TCI vs Haiti at 7PM
Sunday, 20th July
TCI vs Suriname at 5PM
Tuesday, 22nd July
TCI vs Saint Lucia at 5PM
Syria's Assad Sworn In for New 7-Year Term
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been sworn in for a new seven-year term following an election; the opposition and its Western allies have dismissed the election as a sham.
He took the oath of office today Wednesday during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Damascus attended by members of the country's parliament.
Last month Assad won a landslide election held only in government-controlled areas.
Speaking at the ceremony, the president warned that Western and Arab nations that supported what he called "terrorists" would pay a high price. He congratulated the Syrian people for their "victory," telling the crowd that others "wanted it to be a revolution, but you were the real revolutionaries."
The Syrian government routinely refers to rebels opposed to Assad as terrorists.
Western and Arab nations have given money and equipment to help opposition fighters during Syria's nearly three and a half year civil war, but recently Assad's troops have advanced on several fronts against poor-equipped rebels distracted by infighting.
The government says Assad won 89 percent of the June vote with 10 million people casting ballots.
An estimated 170,000 people have been killed and 2.9 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011. The fighting has forced another 6.5 million people from their homes within Syria.