Glee star died from alcohol and heroin
Cory Monteith, star of the hit TV musical comedy Glee, died from a heroin and alcohol overdose, a coroner in British Columbia has announced.
The 31-year-old Canadian actor, who played Finn Hudson in the Fox TV hit, was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room on Saturday.
Monteith, who had been in the musical comedy since its 2009 start, was treated for drug addiction in April.
Fox TV officials had described Monteith as "an exceptional talent".
In a statement, the coroner's office said: "There is no evidence to suggest Mr Monteith's death was anything other than a most tragic accident."
It said a post-mortem examination had determined "a mixed-drug toxicity involving heroin and alcohol" was the cause of death.
Monteith is thought to have been alone when he died because video footage and other evidence suggested he had returned to his room at the city centre Pacific Rim Hotel by himself after spending time with other people.
The alarm was raised when he failed to check out at midday on 13 July. He had been staying at the hotel for a week.
--BBC
Syria refugee crisis worst since Rwanda says UN
The conflict in Syria has caused the world's worst refugee crisis for 20 years, with an average of 6,000 people fleeing every day in 2013, the UN says.
UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said refugee numbers had not risen "at such a frightening rate" since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
He was speaking to the UN Security Council, which also heard that 5,000 people are being killed each month.
UN aid chief Valerie Amos said at least 6.8 million Syrians needed urgent help.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are locked in a fierce battle with opposition fighters for control of the country.
There has been deadlock at the UN Security Council over the crisis, with Russia and China refusing to back action against Mr Assad proposed by the other veto powers, the US, Britain and France.
Mr Guterres said two-thirds of the nearly 1.8 million refugees registered with the UN had fled Syria since the beginning of the year - an average of 6,000 a day.
"We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago," he told a rare public briefing to the Security Council.
Mr Guterres said the impact of the refugee crisis on neighbouring countries was "crushing", but said the acceptance of Syrians by countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq was "saving hundreds of thousands of lives".
And he said the "danger that the Syrian conflict could ignite the whole region" was "not an empty warning".
The UN last month said nearly 93,000 people had been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.
The UN's assistant secretary general for human rights, Ivan Simonovic, told the meeting that some 5,000 lives were being claimed each month, demonstrating "a drastic deterioration of the conflict".
"In Syria today, serious human rights abuses, war crimes and crimes against humanity are the rule," he said.
Ms Amos said $3.1bn was still needed to provide aid in and around Syria for the rest of the year, and she accused both sides in Syria of "systematically and in many cases deliberately" failing in their obligation to protect civilians.
"We are not only watching the destruction of a country but also of its people," she said.
Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari, said his government was doing "everything possible... to meet the humanitarian needs and basic needs of its citizens".
UN says Syria refugee crisis worst since Rwanda
The conflict in Syria has caused the world's worst refugee crisis for 20 years, with an average of 6,000 people fleeing every day in 2013, the UN says.
UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said refugee numbers had not risen "at such a frightening rate" since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
He was speaking to the UN Security Council, which also heard that 5,000 people are being killed each month.
UN aid chief Valerie Amos said at least 6.8 million Syrians needed urgent help.
Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are locked in a fierce battle with opposition fighters for control of the country.
There has been deadlock at the UN Security Council over the crisis, with Russia and China refusing to back action against Mr Assad proposed by the other veto powers, the US, Britain and France.
Mr Guterres said two-thirds of the nearly 1.8 million refugees registered with the UN had fled Syria since the beginning of the year - an average of 6,000 a day.
"We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago," he told a rare public briefing to the Security Council.
Mr Guterres said the impact of the refugee crisis on neighbouring countries was "crushing", but said the acceptance of Syrians by countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq was "saving hundreds of thousands of lives".
And he said the "danger that the Syrian conflict could ignite the whole region" was "not an empty warning".
The UN last month said nearly 93,000 people had been killed since the uprising began in March 2011.
The UN's assistant secretary general for human rights, Ivan Simonovic, told the meeting that some 5,000 lives were being claimed each month, demonstrating "a drastic deterioration of the conflict".
"In Syria today, serious human rights abuses, war crimes and crimes against humanity are the rule," he said.
Ms Amos said $3.1bn was still needed to provide aid in and around Syria for the rest of the year, and she accused both sides in Syria of "systematically and in many cases deliberately" failing in their obligation to protect civilians.
"We are not only watching the destruction of a country but also of its people," she said.
Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Ja'afari, said his government was doing "everything possible... to meet the humanitarian needs and basic needs of its citizens".
--BBC
US Lawsuits Contest Legality of Government Surveillance
An unusual coalition of U.S. political advocacy and religious groups has filed suit contesting the legality of the government's surveillance of Americans' telephone records.
The coalition, represented by a digital rights advocacy group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation the, filed the lawsuit Tuesday. It claims the spying by the country's clandestine National Security Agency is "an illegal and unconstitutional program of dragnet electronic surveillance."
The lawsuit is the sixth filed against the government seeking to end its vast collection of telephone and Internet records in the aftermath of former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden leaking details of two secret NSA surveillance programs last month. The NSA collects what it calls "metadata" about the phone calls - the phone numbers Americans are calling and the length of the calls.
The 30-year-old Snowden fled first to Hong Kong, and then, after the United States accused him of espionage, flew to Russia. He is now encamped for a fourth week in a transit zone of a Moscow airport.
Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said Snowden applied Tuesday for temporary asylum in Russia, even though he still wants to eventually travel to Latin America, where leftist governments in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have offered him asylum. But Snowden is blocked from leaving Moscow as the U.S. has revoked his passport.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he does not know how the fugitive's case will play out. He said the U.S. "frightened other countries" into not accepting Snowden.
Putin said Snowden's case is "in limbo right now," but that he expects he will leave for another country "as soon as he has an opportunity to move elsewhere."
The Russian leader has rejected the U.S. request to extradite Snowden to stand trial on the espionage charges. But with Snowden seeking Russian asylum, Washington renewed its bid for his return.
The White House said Snowden is not a human rights activist or dissident, and that he is accused in the "leaking of classified information."
Pakistan Denies Local Taliban Has Sent Hundreds of Fighters to Syria
Pakistan's Foreign Office has denied reports suggesting that Pakistani Taliban fighters have gone to Syria to fight alongside Sunni rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Also on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Pakistan's Interior Minister said that Pakistani intelligence and police officials have not confirmed that any Taliban fighters have left for Syria.
Pakistani Taliban commanders are claiming to have set up camps in Syria and sent hundreds of men to fight alongside Sunni rebels there. Senior commanders of the Pakistan-based Tehrik-e-Taliban referred to the Syrian rebels this week as the Taliban's "Muslim brothers" and "Arab friends." One commander vowed to issue videos of the Pakistani Taliban's victories in Syria.
The news is not the first report of foreign Sunni fighters flocking to Syria to join what they see as a holy war against Shi'ite Muslims. The influx of foreign fighters further complicates U.S. efforts to help the rebels, especially as Washington considers arming Syrians fighting against the Assad government.
However, at least one Pakistani Taliban commander has denied the reports of setting up camps in Syria. He told the French News agency that only a few militants have left to fight in Syria, and those were mostly Arab and Central Asian fighters.
Greeks Strike Against Public Sector Cuts
Greek workers are striking to protest government plans to fire thousands of civil servants.
Tuesday's strike disrupted public services and slowed down most hospitals. Rail and plane schedules are also being affected.
Tourists hoping to see the ancient Acropolis Hill in Athens were turned away. Some tourists sympathized with the Greeks on strike, while others there left frustrated.
"It is so disappointing. Very terrible.''
"I am very upset because we are two to three days up in Athens, and it's impossible to see the archaeology and the Acropolis. So it's...I don't understand why.''
Athens must reform and shrink its civil service to receive more bailout funds from foreign lenders, but the latest job cuts plan has sparked uproar among Greeks.
The debt-wracked country has enacted a string of austerity measures recently in return for multi-billion euro international bailouts to avoid default.
RUGBY TEAM RETURNS TO THE TCI VICTORIOUS
The TCI U19 rugby team recently competed in a week long competition in Trinidad and Tobago returned to the TCI over the weekend.
Ten countries from around the Caribbean participated in the tournament.
The TCI defeated Guyana 34 to 0 and then proceeded to beat St. Lucia 46 to 0 in their last two games to win the trophy.
‘The TCI rugby football union is very proud of the young men that represented their country in this prestigious competition,’ said Keith Burant, President of the TCIRFU.
Mr. Burrant told RTC Sports ‘The entire country should be proud of the hard work and training these athletes have put in over the past 5 months to prepare for this tournament. Burant, who also coached the side in Trinidad, stated “the TCIRFU would like to thank all the supporters of rugby in the TCI and I look forward to receiving support from TCIG and Commonwealth Games Association now that these young men have shown the world that they have competed at the highest level in the Caribbean.
RTC Sports understands that the TCI will be participating in the junior and senior Commonwealth Games rugby Seven’s competition and hopes to enter the Olympic qualifying rounds next year.
Vice President Austin Dickenson told our Sports Desk that, “These young athletes are the foundation for future rugby competitions and the TCIRFU looks forward to preparing them for these international matches.”
Caribbean Trade Mission To China Planned
Caribbean governments and top private sector executives in the tourism and investment sectors are being urged to participate in a 10-day trade mission to four top cities in China, set for this September 14th-23rd.
The trip comes on the heels of the June 5th Avalon Invest Caribbean Now Forum in New York City and is being planned by Peter Zhang and Li Li of the Chinese American Business Development Center, in collaboration with Hard Beat Communications' CMO, Felicia Persaud.
CABC has been leading trade missions for U.S. companies to China for the past 10 years while Hard Beat's Invest Caribbean Now forum is in its third year.
The planned trip to Beijing, Shann-xi , Zhe-jiang and Guangdong comes on the heels of Chinese President's Xi Jinping first visit to the Caribbean island of Trinidad on May 31st and his pledge of more than $3 billion in loans to 10 Caribbean nations and Costa Rica on June 2nd.
The 2013 Caribbean/China Trade Mission is designed to help Caribbean premiers, ministers of governments, investment agencies and C-level private sector business leaders, meet with top Chinese officials from varied ministries, such as tourism and finance as well as C-level company execs including from the China Import Export Bank, to: promote direct in country investment opportunities and company products and services; establish strategic connections, strengthen existing relations, explore opportunities for joint ventures, source potential suppliers and extend friendships and create relationships for return visits to the Caribbean region.
The Mission will provide Caribbean governments and business leaders' new access and close-up insight into the dynamic Chinese market- including its scale, diversity and potential.
Consequently, the Chinese ministry and private sector executives will be able to enhance and expand business and investments to the Caribbean in their quest to compete effectively in today's global marketplace.
China's 1.3 billion people are rapidly gaining purchasing power. In fact, by 2020, China will surpass the U.S. in middle class consumption. And as quickly as China is emerging as a new market for Caribbean real estate and products like tourism.
RTC Partners with the Body Show
The nation’s station, Radio Turks and Caicos (RTC) is partnering with organizers of this summer’s hotly anticipated spectacular sensation - The Body Show: Miss Body Beautiful & Mr Best Body - by creating an online voters poll that will feature the 2013 Body Show Contestants.
The poll, which starts today, through to Sunday, July 21st, is available on www.rtc107fm.com/entertainment.
The RTC site www.rtc107fm.com allows visitors to cast a vote for their favorite Miss Body Beautiful and Mr Best Body Contestant. In real time, each visitor will see how many votes that the contestant has received, along with his or her percentage points. What is more, at the end of the polling, the male and female contestant that received the highest points will receive an RTC Viewers Choice Award and a gift certificate to Spa Sanay in Provo.
Courtney Robinson, Executive Producer said: “It is always an honor and a privilege to partner with the ‘Nation’s Station’. The RTC online poll in a nationwide initiative that connects the local with the global; thereby giving The Body Show contestants the widest possible viewership. We could not have asked for a better opportunity to promote this event.”
The RTC Viewers’ poll will not form part of the scores going towards choosing the Miss Body Beautiful or Mr Best Body winners. For the competition itself, the contestants are being judged on three categories: Introduction, Sportswear and Swimwear, with the highest score attainable being ten (10) points. These three categories will go towards naming the winners of The Body Show: Miss Body Beautiful & Mr Best Body.
The Body Show competition will take place on Saturday, July 27th at Brayton Hall, Venetian Road, Providenciales – with the top two contestants (of the Miss Body Beautiful & Mr Best Body Contest) receiving LIME advertisement campaigns, cellular phones with plans and consolation prizes. However, its the winners that will each receive USD$1,000 in Cash!
Latoya Pinder, Miss Body Beautiful TCI 2012 and Washanda Registre TCI Top Model 2012 will crown and sash Miss Body Beautiful 2013, with Samentha Etienne, TCI Top Model 2013 to sash Mr Best Body.
Performances by today’s leading singers, musicians, fashion models, dancers and other headliners will provide entertainment throughout the evening.
Delano Williams qualifies for UK team
TCI sprint sensation Delano Williams (coached by Neil Harrison) has completed his trials and has been selected to be apart of the Great Britain team, as they get ready to travel to Moscow.
British Athletics today named their 60 man team for the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia August 10-19.
Delano will be apart for the 4 by 400 team and will be taking part in the 200m in Moscow. Delano won his semi finals in the 200 and came third, in an impressive time of 20.5 to qualify on Sunday.
Deputy Premier of the TCI & Minister of Sports, Akierra Missick extended congratulations via twitter this morning after the story broke. Other congratulations pouring into RTC Sports, came from Rita Gardiner and Dr.Carlton Mills.