Almost 2,000' killed by Syria barrel bombs in 2014
Almost 2,000 people have been killed by Syrian government air attacks in the northern city of Aleppo so far this year, an activist group says.
The dead included 283 women and 567 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The Syrian air force has used so-called "barrel bombs" dropped from aircraft to try to put down a rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.
Aleppo has seen fierce fighting since a rebel offensive in the area in 2012.
The UK-based SOHR said 1,963 people had been killed in the city - Syria's largest - and the surrounding area since January.
The government has used air and ground forces to drive the rebels back, but they remain in control of some areas to the east of Aleppo.
Police sacked over hanged girls
Two police officers in India have been sacked for refusing to help search for two missing girls who were later found gang-raped and hanged, authorities say.
One officer was arrested while the other fled. Two of the suspected attackers have also been detained.
The government has pledged to set up a fast-track court to prosecute the crime, which took place earlier this week in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Alleged police inaction sparked outrage in the teenagers' village.
He said that when policemen found out he was from a lower caste, they "refused to look for my girl".
The sacked officers were charged with criminal conspiracy, police said on Friday.
Two of the three men accused of raping and killing the girls have been arrested. The third suspect was on the run, authorities added.
PAHO reports jump in dengue cases
American Health Organization (PAHO) says the number of dengue cases in the Americas, including the Caribbean increased five-fold between 2003 and 2013.
According to data presented this week at a high-level regional meeting on dengue hosted by PAHO, between 2009 and 2012, over 1 million cases were reported annually, on average, with more than 33,900 severe cases and 835 deaths.
PAHO said last year was one of the worst years for dengue in the hemisphere’s history, with 2.3 million cases, including 37,705 severe cases and By comparison, the number of cases reported region-wide in 2003 was 517,617, PAHO said.
Despite countries’ efforts to control the disease, PAHO warned that dengue continues to spread due to, among other reasons, uncontrolled, unplanned urbanization, lack of basic services in communities, poor environmental management and climate change.
In the Americas, nearly 500 million people are at risk of contracting the disease, PAHO said.
Girls’ Empowerment Day at H.J. Robinson High
Following on from a highly successful ‘Boys Day Out’ in January of this year, the H.J. Robinson High School, through its Guidance Unit, today hosted a school day, exclusively for Girls, the first Girls’ Empowerment Day, under the theme “Cupcakes and Conversation – Young Women, Real Talk, Real Issues,”
Girls were in the company of their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, their mentors or some other woman whom that they hold in high esteem for a day.
This initiative was a part of the school’s effort to provide young girls with a friendly atmosphere where they can sit with other women, both young and old, for an engaging conversation, one that will ask the hard questions and get candid answers to relevant topics such as: Sex, Relationships, Reproductive Health & Wellness, Mental Health, Physical Health, Nutrition, Substance Abuse and much more, without the fear of being ridiculed by their peers or rebuked by their love ones.
It is recognized that during the adolescence years, teen girls are certain to face a plethora of challenges, the greatest of which may be making it through her adolescent years with her self-esteem intact. In addition, it is essential that she develops a sense of who she is and who she desires to be in the world as well as to have a 'voice' she feels confident with and is capable of using in a variety of forms and forums.
To this end, a number of resource persons were in attendance, including Minister of Health and Human Services and the acting Minister of Education, Hon Amanda Missick; Leader of the Opposition Hon Sharlene Robinson; Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Ms. Portia Clarke; Director of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, Dr. Alicia Malcolm; Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, Mrs. Doreen Quelch-Stubbs; Director of Gender Affairs, Co-ordinator for HIV/AIDS/STI’s, Mrs. Aldora Robinson; Ms. Claudette Rigby, a person living with HIV; Mrs. Carolyn Dickenson; Chief Nursing Officer, Mrs. Jackurlyn Sutton; Ms. Jayla Kennedy, a social worker in the department of Social Development and Gender Affairs; Sgt. Curvalene Skippings-Godette of the training division of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and Miss Turks and Caicos Universe, Shanice Williams
The Hon Amanda Missick in her remarks, highlighted the theme “Cupcakes and Conversation – Young Women, Real Talk, Real Issues.”
She recognized the significance of the theme to a child’s life and the care that must be taken through every stage of their lives.
The keynote speaker, Miss Turks and Caicos Universe, Shanice Williams, in sharing with the audience her journey through high school, sought to focus on having a high self-esteem, which she said is dear to her. She says it’s an aspect of her life which she has made her personal philosophy; one which she endeavors to live by and which has motivated her throughout her experience.
Down to earth, no-holds-barred questions were submitted by students of H.J. Robinson High and fielded to members of the panel who all expressed their delight that students felt open and comfortable enough to verbalize their thoughts in such a forum and expressed the hope that the students at would have gained much insight from the down to earth answers that were so ably provided by all of the resource persons.
RTC News will share highlights of those H.J. Robinson High School’s first Girls’ Empowerment Day in our next newscast.
Minister of Health Attends Seminar on Autism
Minister of Health and Human Services Hon. Porsha Stubbs-Smith is currently in Lake Placid, New York, where she’s attending the four-day Can/Am Expertise Exchange 2014, being hosted by the One World Foundation under the theme, “Autism: A New Frontier or a New Focus.”
The One World Foundation is an International non-profit charitable corporation made up of volunteers from America and Canada, sharing a common dedication to better the lives for people with developmental disabilities on-site around the world. Services provided by the 1 World Foundation focus on four primary areas:- technical assistance, training, donations and clinical services.
The objective of the meeting is to provide the Minister and other government officials with an increased awareness of developing a more comprehensive and structured approach to Special Needs programmes. Additionally, focus will be on nutrition and autism; ABA (applied behavioural analysis) based programming for children and young adults; autism movement therapy; and traditional martial arts (for persons with special needs).
One of the objectives of this official visit is to review programmes and visit facilities that provide similar services to individuals with Special Needs. It is anticipated that this visit will assist the Ministry of Health and Human Services in terms of utilising best practices.
Overall, the focus of the One World Foundation programmes is to:-
· Continue to strengthen expertise exchanges and individual mentoring
· Encourage and promote international research and best practices
· Support humanitarian efforts to promote international understanding of developmental disabilities through exchanges of professional and material resources
Minister Stubbs -Smith is accompanied by Permanent Secretary for Health and Human Services, Mrs. Desiree Lewis; Director of Special Needs, Ms. Betty-Ann Been and Head of Secretariat, Ms. Renessa Williams. The delegation left the TCI on May 27 and will return to the country on June 3rd 2014.
World No Tobacco Day celebrated in the TCI
The Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, Ministry of Health and Human Services joins the rest of the world in celebration of World No Tobacco Day on Saturday, May 31, 2014 under the theme "Raise Taxes on Tobacco"
The Department is using the day to highlight its accomplishments including a draft national policy to make all public places throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands smoke free. Draft legislation to regulate the manufacture, sale, advertising and sponsorship of tobacco and tobacco products was also developed and submitted to cabinet. Both the policy and legislation are in accordance with the 2003 World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Word no Tobacco Day is celebrated every year since 1987 to bring awareness to the health consequences of tobacco use. The Ministry of Health is inviting all of the Turks and Caicos to make Saturday May 31, 2014 a SMOKE-FREE DAY.
Department of Education’s policy review of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) guidelines
Over 400 students from Primary schools throughout the islands anxiously sat off this morning to begin day one of their GSAT examinations.
The Grade Six Achievement Test is a pre-requisite to determining whether those students have the ability to pass those exams and enter the secondary level of their education at one of the high schools in the islands.
Ahead of the exams the People’s Democratic Movement had taken exception to what it refers to as major changes to this year’s G-SAT examination
A week ago today, RTC News shared a story where the leadership of the PDM registered their concern with regards to what is being proposed for the 2014 GSAT Examinations.
National Chairman of PDM, Hon. Clarence Selver, quoted what he said was a reliable source as saying the changes were being done without consultation with all the stakeholders, including the teachers and parents.
“Up until now, the GSAT Examinations were written over a three day period and all interested parties (teachers, PTA and students) prepared themselves in keeping with this time frame. What is now being instituted is for the exams to be written over TWO days. The same volume of works will still be undertaken but it is the MATHS examinations that was split in two papers will now be sat as one paper for 2 ½ (two and one half hours). This is a mammoth task for the 11 + year olds. They have not been prepared for an exam this long. We don't think CXC has papers this long. This is far too long an examination and there are scientific reasons why it should not be done in this manner as we could see frustration, confusions, a feeling of heightened anxiety and diminishing returns as the exam progresses beyond the 1 ½ hour mark,” Hon. Selver said in that release.
He contended there were no mock trials to inform students on time management techniques for papers with 2 ½ hours duration.
“We therefore sincerely urge the Ministry of Education to delay the change for another time when the Ministry would have consulted the stakeholder and the teachers be given an opportunity to prepare students to be examined for 2 ½ hours if it is still the decision to move in this direction. We further urge the government not to make this change simply for financial concerns in an attempt to save money and reduce the cost attached to the examinations,” Selver added.
RTC News had sought clarification from the Ministry of Education on the concern expressed by the PDM and in a press release to Tuesday, the Ministry and Department of Education noted its policy review of the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) guidelines (specifications), which it says has been incorporated, following changes to reduce the number of papers for Science, English and Mathematics.
According to the release, Mathematics has been changed from two papers to one paper and will be structured in three sections. Section A has forty (40) multiple choice items, Section B is short answer items and Section C contains structured type questions.
- -Science will have a single paper as opposed to two papers
- -Minor changes to the English papers
- - And a reduction in the number of days for the administration of the test, from three days to two days.
The Ministry of Education says the review of the GSAT specification, is informed by the annual GSAT statistical data, comments from invigilators, markers, Principals and Grade 6 teachers and observations from parents. During the last five-year period the Department says it was asked by the majority of primary schools and parents to consider incorporating the changes mentioned.
The Department of Education says it recognizes the validity in these recommendations, based on the statistical data and observations made over a five-year period. Based on this, some of the changes were incorporate during the last specification review.
It noted in schools where mock tests were administered, the changes were incorporated into the design of the papers and the children were tested, using the specified time periods.
The Department of Education says it will monitor the time that the majority of students actually spend on this paper and is prepared to make adjustments, where necessary for future papers. “The cycle of reviews to the specifications help to maintain high standards, taking into account the learning objectives of the primary curriculum and how children treat with the test from year to year,” the department’s release noted.
It also said that the reduction in the number of papers, and the subsequent reduction in the number of days for the administration of the test are not linked in any way to budgetary constraints as alluded to in the PDM’s release.
“Expenditure on the administration of the GSAT remains within the annual estimates. The amount allocated for this year has not been reduced when compared with the amount allocated during the same period last year,” the Education department noted.
Deputy Governor’s Public Sector Spotlight for MAY – TCIG Treasury
“Although widely viewed simply as the department solely for the processing of payments, there is much, much more to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government Treasury,” said Anya Williams, Deputy Governor and head of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ public service, today, Wednesday, 28 May 2014 as she announced the latest government department to be spotlighted - TCIG TREASURY
“With a staff complement of 30 spread across four islands, our Treasury colleagues have a duty and responsibility that goes deep into every department and function of Government. That they are responsible for the accounting of the tax-payers dollar, the compilation and management of the Government’s accounts and the processing of payroll for over 1,700 members of staff and to thousands of vendors, is no small feat,” said Mrs. Williams.
Treasury staff members are at the heart of good governance and accountability in the Turks and Caicos Islands, preparing amongst other tasks: monthly reporting packs for loan financiers, quarterly and annual financial reports, all of which are now produced on time and published on www.gov.tc. They have also developed and implemented new manuals on vendors’ payment procedures and payroll procedures, for example.
The deputy Governor noted that in recent years, The Treasury has undergone a major restructuring exercise, aimed at equipping the department with vital modern day technical skills for effective treasury management and accounting services. Professional training and development being a key component of the restructuring exercise, the Treasury has in the past two years benefitted from the placement of eight accounting and finance degree returning students and has worked towards the personal development of all other staff as well through local training and through international agencies.
Members of the Treasury staff regularly take part in international professional development training, including with the International Consortium on Government Financial Management (ICGFM) conferences on Good Public Financial Management Practices and Innovations. Several also took part in a two week Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) training conference on Cash flow Management and Forecasting and a training conference on Business Continuity Management.
Today’s Treasury has three core functions: Payments & Payroll; Revenue and Asset Management; Finance and Accounting. In addition, specialist Treasury finance managers were appointed to each Ministry where they work alongside and advice the Permanent Secretaries and their Heads of Departments.
Deputy Governor Assistant Accountants General Ahmed Jones; Joanne noted the Treasury Department is one of the key departments in Government and plays a very vital role to persons in and outside of Government. To this end she offers her congratulations to the department on its recent achievements as well as personal thanks to the various Treasury staff throughout the islands.
Here in Grand Turk, Accountant General Arnold Ainsley; Assistant Accountants General Ahmed Jones; Joanne Williams and Sally-Jean Astwood who are responsible for Payments & Payroll; Revenue & Asset Management; and Accounting & Finance respectively; Wendy Bovell - Finance Manger for Debt Management; Keshina Parker - Senior Finance Officer for Payroll; Carmaine Ariza - Application Support Officer; Elaine Garland- Head of Cashiers
Finance Officers Letrelle Walkin and Shandera Hall; Accounts officers Cindy, Latoyaand Dernelle Williams; Fabian Thomas; Ivena Brooks; and Sherolee Forbes; Cashiers Colea Coalbrooke and Kenrick Lightbourne; Finance Managers: Andrew McRae, Cherise King, Kimberley Simmons, Pamela Clarke and Shireen Gardiner
NORTH CAICOS
Barbara Gardiner - Sub-Treasury Manager
Margaret Forbes - Accounts Officer
PROVIDENCIALES
Pearl Malcolm - Sub-Treasury Manager
Rosita Smith - Accounts Officer
Vanessa Forbes - Accounts Officer
SOUTH CAICOS
Rotika Johnson – Sub Treasury Manager
Camea Lewis - Accounts Officer
Lara To Play For MCC Vs Rest Of The World
West Indies legend Brian Lara is among the final six players confirmed as a participant in the MCC versus Rest of the World Bicentenary match at Lord's on July 5.
Lara will play alongside India icon Sachin Tendulkar in an MCC side which also includes hard-hitting Australia batsman Aaron Finch.
Tendulkar will captain the side to take on Shane Warne's Rest of the World Eleven, a team that features his close friend Kevin Pietersen, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shahid Afridi.
Ex-South Africa all-rounder and MCC World Cricket committee member Shaun Pollock will manage the Rest of the World Eleven, while the MCC Eleven will be managed by Club President Mike Gatting.
Chris Bosh: Intent to stay in Miami
Chris Bosh has hinted for some time that he doesn't intend to go anywhere after he can become a free agent next month, and the Miami Heat center made his strongest statements on the matter in the past two days.
In an interview on ESPN Radio show in Miami on Tuesday, Bosh said he wants to stay with the Heat.
"I don't want to go anywhere. I like it here. It's Miami," Bosh said. "Everybody wants to come here. Yeah."
He has two seasons and $42 million left on his contract with the Heat but can opt out before June 30 and become an unrestricted free agent.
Bosh made his eighth All-Star team this season and figures to have multiple suitors, including the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, if he becomes a free agent.
He could sign a five-year contract worth in excess of $100 million. He also could do what he did in 2010, when he accepted less than the max contract to sign with Miami, taking a six-year, $110 million deal with the opt-out this summer.
Source-Espn