Man dies in hospital following crash in Richmond Hill
Traffic officers from the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) are investigating a fatal motor vehicle collision in Richmond Hill along the Leeward Highway last night.
About 6:55PM (Wednesday 12 February 2014), police and other emergency services were called to an area in Richmond Hill, along Leeward Highway, after reports of a collision.
On arrival officers found a blue Toyota corolla car and a white Cherokee jeep had collided.
Emergency services attended the scene and freed the driver, 43-year-old Werlly Jean Baptiste of Five Cays, who was trapped in the vehicle. He was rushed to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre in a serious condition with multiple injuries. The sole passenger in that vehicle, a 44-year-old male was also transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre and admitted for non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the white Cherokee jeep, a 20-year-old male was treated for non-life threatening injuries and released but has returned to the hospital where he remains at present seeking further medical treatment.
43-year-old Werlly Jean Baptiste died in hospital lastnight (Wednesday 12 February 2014).
Police are urging anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1-800-8477 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www.crimestoppers.tc. Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
TCI Post Cabinet Statement for Feb 12, 2014
His Excellency the Governor, Peter Beckingham, chaired the meeting of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ (TCI) Cabinet at the Hilly Ewing Building, Providenciales, on Wednesday, 12 February 2014.
All Ministers were present except for the Hon. George Lightbourne.
At this meeting Cabinet:
· Noted the positive financial performance of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government for the period October to December 2013, as submitted in the Third Quarter Financial Report from the Accountant General, and approved the publication of the financial report as required by Section 46 of the Public Financial Management Ordinance, 2012;
· Approved recommendations from the Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture to extend the term of office for members of the following boards - Community College Board of Governors and the Scholarship/Education Advisory Committee to 31 March 2014;
· Advised the Governor to instruct the Acting Attorney General to draft legislation for the establishment of a Statute of Limitations Bill in line with the Limitations Act, 1980 of the United Kingdom and/or the Limitations Act, 2002 of the Canadian Province of Ontario for civil matters only, for consideration by Cabinet and the House of Assembly;
· Granted approval for TCIG to enter into a land swap in exchange for a portion of Parcel 10102/1, which consists of approximately 7.60 acres at North Creek, Grand Turk for a comparable acreage of Crown Land immediately adjacent to the said parcel 10102/1 in accordance with section 34 of the Crown Land Ordinance;
· Granted approval for TCIG to enter into a land swap in exchange for the granting of a 99 year lease for a comparable acreage of Crown Land (Parcels 10503/118 &121) in accordance with section 34 of the Crown Land Ordinance;
· Considered the Turks and Caicos Islands Draft Energy Policy including establishment of an Energy Council. The overarching objective of the policy is to reduce the cost of electricity and to improve energy security and environmental sustainability. Cabinet approved the policy for public consultation prior to final adoption. This follows the Turks and Caicos Islands expression of interest to join the ten island challenge, an initiative of the Carbon War Room, which supports the Government's plans to move towards renewable energy sources.
The following Minister will be absent from the Islands on official business for a period of one week in February: Hon. Premier, with Hon. Deputy Premier being Acting Premier.
Further information will be provided by Ministers in due course.
PM calls on students to read more
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who is a former teacher, has called on Dominican students to read more and learn how to differentiate between news and gossip.
Mr Skerrit, in admonishing students gathered at the Public Library for the opening of Black History Week on Monday, February 10, lamented the lack of reading among citizens on the island.
“With the advent of talk shows and, of course, we are not a hugely reading population; too many of us do not read in Dominica”.
“So when you listen to the talk shows, for example, every caller calls to react to what the previous caller said, not to draw to our attention to something that he has read and he would like to educate the masses”.
He noted that most of the talk show hosts are not well read and introduce topics “not knowing anything about the topic and the little that they know, they are not in a position to share it with the listenership”.
“We are going down a very dangerous road where those who are supposed to educate people through the mass media are not reading,” Mr Skerrit warned.
“If you are not reading how are you going to educate us? How are you going to inform us on new things and how are you going to guide us on the way forward,” he posited.
He therefore urged students to read extensively so that they will be able to differentiate facts from fiction and news from gossip.
Mr Skerrit also noted that it is important that the education system pays particular attention to these things and “not necessarily be too perturbed about the CXC results and how many 1s we can get and how many 2s we can get”.
Rather, the education system should ensure that it produces “students who can stand the test of time and who can withstand all of the pressures out there in the world, Dominica included”.
Source-Dominica Vibes News
Kartel trial to end next week
Justice Lennox Campbell Tuesday afternoon indicated to the 11-member jury panel in the Vybz Kartel murder trial that the case will be handed over for their verdict next week.
"We are close to the end, perhaps it's safe to say that we are at the beginning of the end," Campbell told the jurors before dismissing them for the afternoon.
Tuesday morning attorneys Tamika Harris and Everton Dewar filed no case submissions before the court for Andre 'Mad Suss' St John and Shane Williams respectively.
Lead prosecutor Jeremy Taylor has been rebutting the no case submissions, at the end of his rebuttal Justice Campbell will review the arguments and hand over his ruling.
Kartel and four co-accused are currently being tried for the alleged murder of Clive 'Lizard' Willams.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Shirley Temple is dead
Shirley Temple, the dimpled, curly-haired child star who sang, danced, sobbed and grinned her way into the hearts of Depression-era moviegoers, has died.
She was 85.
Temple, known in private life as Shirley Temple Black, died Monday night at her home near San Francisco. She was surrounded by family members and caregivers, publicist Cheryl Kagan said.
“We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and adored wife for fifty-five years of the late and much missed Charles Alden Black,” a family statement said. The family would not disclose Temple’s cause of death.
A talented and ultra-adorable entertainer, Shirley Temple was America’s top box-office draw from 1935 to 1938, a record no other child star has come near. She beat out such grown-ups as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford.
In 1999, the American Film Institute ranking of the Top 50 screen legends ranked Temple at No. 18 among the 25 actresses. She appeared in scores of movies and kept children singing On the Good Ship Lollipop for generations.
Source-AP
Obama Declares Emergency in Georgia as Ice Storm Approaches
U.S. President Barack Obama has declared an emergency in Georgi,a where forecasters predict a crippling ice storm.
Mr. Obama has ordered federal funds to supplement state response to the storm that threatens to coat cities and highways with ice. The storm is expected to pull down trees and power lines and possibly knock out power to thousands.
Forecasters have posted a winter storm warning for Georgia through Thursday afternoon. Heavy rain and cold gusty winds can be expected.
Wednesday's storm also is predicted to bring ice and snow from Alabama into Virginia, while heavy snow can be expected Thursday in the mid-Atlantic through New England.
The normally temperate south is not used to fierce winter weather and sometimes finds itself unprepared. An ice storm that hit the city of Atlanta two weeks ago took authorities by surprise and paralyzed traffic.
Small Earthquake Shakes Puerto Rico
A small earthquake caused shaking in parts of Puerto Rico on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The 2.5-magnitude quake, which struck at around 5:19 AM, led to light shaking in western and northern Puerto Rico.
It occurred at a depth of about 17 kilometres, with an epicentre about 3 kilometres north-northeast of the city of San Sebastian — about 92 kilometres west of Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan.
The shaking came after a similar 3.1-magnitude quake struck off the north coast of the British Virgin Islands early Tuesday morning.
There were no reports of damage or injuries.
The Caribbean region has experienced a number of earthquakes in the past month, including a 6.5-magnitude quake near Puerto Rico that was the region’s strongest in several years.
Source- Caribbean Journal
Syria Extends Humanitarian Pause in Homs
The United Nations says the Syrian government and opposition have agreed to extend a humanitarian pause in the beleaguered city of Homs for another three days.
U.N. Humanitarian Affairs chief Valerie Amos in a statement Monday welcomed the agreement that came days after she says U.N. and Syrian Arab Red Crescent workers were "deliberately targeted" in the city.
Amos says she hopes the humanitarian pause will allow them to evacuate more civilians and deliver much needed supplies to the area. More than 800 people have been evacuated from the rebel-held city since Thursday.
Meanwhile Monday, delegates from the Syrian government and the opposition opened a second round of peace talks in Geneva Monday.
U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met separately with the two sides in an attempt to set the agenda for discussing issues such as setting up a potential transitional government and humanitarian aid in besieged areas.
Syrian opposition spokesman Monzer Akbik said his side laid out its vision of a transitional government in Syria.
"We submitted also another paper talking about our vision to the political solution by transition to a transitional governing body, this is what Geneva communique says and the vision shows that a transitional governing body should be able, with the full authority, in a neutral environment, should be able to end the violence and take the country towards reconciliation and democracy."
A spokesman for Syria's opposition National Coalition, Louay al-Safi, also denounced what he said were the government's use of "barrel bombs", which the opposition says were responsible for the deaths of more than 1,800 people last week.
"It is not acceptable that the regime would send its own delegation to talk peace while it is killing our people in Syria. This must stop, we ask the international community to do something about it. "
Monday's talks followed an initial round last month that ended with little progress, but one that Brahimi called "a modest beginning" to build on. Following the meeting with opposition delegates, Brahimi met with the Syrian government delegation, but no afternoon talks were expected.
Source- Voice Of America
Darts 2014 National Championship playoffs climaxed in the TCI
The Turks and Caicos National Darts Association held their 2014 National Championship playoffs this past Saturday at Doo Dos Rib Cage.
The following are the results:
The 2014 Men National Champion went to Mr. Brent Robinson – undefeated and runner-up was Mr. Sidney Garland.
Mr. Brent Robinson also scored 2-180’s in the tournament.
The 2014 Women National Champion went to Ms. Danzella Jennings – undefeated and runner-up was Ms. Delphine Simons
The National Darts Team for 2014 will be representing the Turks and Caicos Islands in the American Cups and the Caribbean Cup in July 12-20 2014 in Tampa, Florida which includes the following darts players
Men Team
Brent Robinson Sidney Garland
James Fulford Keith Malcolm
Henry Saunders Quentin Clinton
Tito Cox David Smith
Women Team
Danzella Jennings Delphine Simons
Chukka Skippings Sonji Williams
Villa Simons
Team Manager will be James Fulford
The Team is looking forward to representing the islands as they continue to practice every Tuesday and Thursday nights at Doo Doo Ribs Cage in Grand Turk.
South Africa considers bid to host 2022 Commonwealth Games
The South African government is to consider a proposal to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Gideon Sam, president of the South African Sports Confederation & Olympic Committee (SASCOC), hopes to bring the Games to Africa for the first time.
"I do believe it is Africa's turn," Sam told the BBC.
A spokesperson from the South African department of sport and recreation said sports minister Fikile Mbalula had received the application and backs it.
Speaking with the BBC's Queen's Baton Relay reporter Mark Beaumont, Sam added: "The time is right for them [Africa] to host the Commonwealth Games.
"In South Africa, we can host these games easily. Infrastructure is there. The know-how is there after hosting so many international competitions.
"We have already submitted our documentation. Once they give the go ahead, it is all systems go."
The sports ministry will now work with SASCOC before making a presentation to the South African cabinet, who will make the final decision.
Source-BBC