Spanish taxis block roads in 'anti-Uber' protest
Taxi drivers across Spain have joined a strike against ride-hailing companies like Uber, demanding the government restrict their numbers.
The striking taxi drivers, some of whom have been camping out for days, say the services threaten their livelihood and are putting thousands of jobs at risk.
As a result, they have blocked main roads in the capital, Madrid, and in Barcelona with their parked cars.
A meeting on Monday to attempt to end the strike failed to reach a deal.
Taxi unions want the government to enforce a law which requires just one ride-hailing licence for every 30 taxi licences.
The government offered to give licensing powers to each of the regions during a four-hour meeting. This was rejected by taxi representatives, who say it would not fix the issue, but just pass it along.
Union representatives said in a statement that "Uber and Cabify are putting the viability of the taxi sector and 130,000 jobs at risk", adding it "considers this unfair competition intolerable".
Zimbabwe election underway as polls open in first Mugabe-free vote
Zimbabweans are voting in what many hope will be something the country has never seen before: a free and fair election, without the interference of former leader Robert Mugabe.
The landmark vote has been touted as the first time the African nation will hold an election without the former strongman in almost four decades, but although Mugabe is not on the ballot, his influence continues to be felt.
The now-disgraced 94-year-old could not resist stepping back into the political arena on the eve of the vote. In his first major political statement since being ousted from office last November, Mugabe said he would not vote for his former party Zanu-PF or the current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
At stake in the landmark presidential election is a chance for Zimbabwe to finally shed its reputation as a pariah state, and move to a democracy free from international sanctions.
The country, which suffered crippling hyperinflation under Mugabe, desperately needs the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to start giving it loans again. It also needs the United States, European Union and others to lift sanctions.
But those restrictions will remain in place until a free and fair election takes place -- anything less, and in international eyes at least, it may as well be Mugabe still in power.
Trump threatens shutdown over wall, immigration
President Donald Trump threatened Sunday to push the government into a shutdown ahead of the coming spending deadline in September if Congress does not fund his border wall and change the nation's immigration laws.
"I would be willing to 'shut down' government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!" Trump tweeted.
Trump has previously floated the possibility of a government shutdown over border security and immigration, and on Sunday he made his threat explicit, saying he would do so unless Congress funds his proposed wall, which he promised Mexico would pay for, and puts in place his preferred immigration policies. "They don't want the wall," Trump said. "But we're going to get the wall, even if we have to think about closing up the country for a while."
A shutdown over Trump's wall at the September deadline would mark the third lapse in appropriations this year, following a shutdown in January as Democrats battled with the Trump administration and congressional Republicans on protections for "Dreamers" as well as a brief shutdown when Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky blocked a spending vote.
Delano Williams to participate in Europeans Championship in Berlin, Germany
Our very own Delano Williams making strides... Keep up the great work!
Delano's statement
"It's with great pleasure that I announce my selection for Great Britain to the Europeans Championship in Berlin,Germany. I am taking part in the 200m and 4x4 relay. Life has a way of turning things around in the right direction. I want to say thanks to my Sponsors Flow TCI and Nike for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to showcase my talent to the world. My day one supporters who show me love daily , friends and family I say Thank you. 2 years until the Olympics in Japan and that's my main focus."
TCI CADETS CORPS CONDUCTS TWO WEEK SUMMER TRAINING CAMP
The Turks and Caicos Islands Cadets Corps under the auspices of the Cadet Commandant and the Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture and Library Services conducted a two-week summer training camp at the Long Bay High School.
The Camp commenced on Monday, July 9 2018 and the cadets received training in:
•Youth empowerment
•Drills and turned out and military knowledge
•Skill at arms
•Use of maps and Compass
•Field Craft
•Adventurous training, and
•Physical Activities.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Cadet Corps is no ordinary youth organization. It caters to the total development of TCI’s youth who are desirous of having fun and adventure while making a difference to their fellowmen. The main objective of the Cadet Force is to train and inspire young men and women to be model citizens.
With a strong focus on leadership and confidence, the Turks and Caicos Islands Cadet Corps caters to the holistic development of young people, mainly high school students, aged 12 to 18, by providing mental, moral and physical training. Additionally, the aim of the Turks & Caicos Islands Cadet Corps aims so to build discipline and character while instilling in our youths; positive values and attitudes, and the ideal of civic responsibility to community and country.
After the experience of this camp, cadets were not only able to work independently, but also as a team. They became more confident and displayed leadership qualities to help them into life’s next chapter.
At the recent Commandant’s parade on Friday, July 20 2018, some cadets who were involved in this year’s camp were awarded for the successful completion of different aspects of their military training, including badges for particular levels of training.
The summer camp provides cadets with the opportunity to complete their various star levels which they pursued during the course of the school year.
The Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture and Library Services would like to encourage all TCI youths to join the Cadet Corps. It is an opportunity to take part in a wide variety of activities that offer personal development, building discipline, life skills, and also contributing to their communities.
US to provide Jamaica with US$4.5m to aid human trafficking fight
The government of the United States of America has committed to providing assistance of US$4.5 million to Jamaica to aid the island in the fight against human trafficking.
Mark Seibel, Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Jamaica, made the announcement at the National Task Force Against Trafficking In Person's (NATFATIP) conference at the Melia Braco Hotel in Trelawny on Wednesday.
According to Seibel, the monetary assistance is part of a collaborative effort by both governments to stamp out human trafficking in Jamaica and will be done over a period of four years, with multiple agencies of both countries working together for the cause.
Seibel said that the initiative is part of the US$12 million security assistance that the US will provide to Jamaica and will help to strengthen the island's efforts to prosecute and punish child traffickers, provide comprehensive services to victims and help prevent trafficking in the first place.
He said that the State Department, USAID and the Department of Homeland Security in the United States have sponsored training programmes, public sensitisation campaigns and guest speakers to address trafficking from the perspective of prevention, protection and prosecution.
Seibel said that the Department of Homeland Security has provided support for trafficking in person investigators in Jamaica, that resulted in the island's first-ever human trafficking conviction.
The blood moon lunar eclipse is here (and so is Mars)
The longest total lunar eclipse of the century arrives Friday night, showcasing a blood moon for most of the Eastern Hemisphere. Coincidentally, Mars is also at its brightest, putting two bright red objects in our sky.
The lunar eclipse happens during daylight hours for those in the Western Hemisphere, so people in North America will miss it.
Lunar eclipses can occur only during a full moon, and this one is extra special because it's also the blood moon. The moon will be in perfect alignment with the sun and Earth on Friday, with the moon on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun.
The totality of this lunar eclipse will last about an hour and 43 minutes, but a partial eclipse before and after the total phase means the moon will spend nearly four hours crossing the Earth's shadow.
When the full moon moves into Earth's shadow, it will darken, but it won't disappear. Sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere will light the moon in a dramatic fashion, turning it red. Depending on the weather conditions in your area, it may be rusty, brick-colored or blood-red.
This happens because blue light undergoes stronger atmospheric scattering, so red light will be the most dominant color highlighted as sunlight passes through our atmosphere and strikes the moon.
California fire kills two firefighters, thousands flee
A fast-growing northern California wildfire killed a second firefighter on Friday after high winds drove it into the city of Redding, prompting mass evacuations, destroying scores of homes and threatening some 5,000 other dwellings and businesses, officials said.
Flames raging in California's scenic Shasta-Trinity area erupted late Thursday into a firestorm that jumped across the Sacramento River and swept into the western side of Redding, home to about 90,000 people, forcing residents to flee for their lives.
Firefighters and police "went into life-safety mode," hustling door to door to usher civilians out of harm's way, said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).
Erratic winds blowing with gale force on Thursday night whipped the blaze into a frenzy, creating fire tornadoes that uprooted trees and tore into structures. "It was like a Tasmanian devil," McLean told Reuters.
Some 37,000 people remained under evacuation orders on Friday, as flames continued to burn in pockets of the city's west side, he said.
CalFire reported 65 structures destroyed by the blaze, but McLean called that tally a "placeholder" figure that would grow significantly, with the number of homes lost likely to run into "the hundreds" as the scope of devastation was fully assessed.
Nearly 5,000 homes were listed by CalFire as threatened.
Papa John sues Papa John's
John Schnatter, the ousted founder of pizza chain Papa John's, is suing his former company.
In a lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday, Schnatter's lawyers say he is seeking to inspect company documents "because of the unexplained and heavy-handed way in which the company has treated him since the publication of a story that falsely accused him of using a racial slur.Papa John's denied Schnatter's claims in a statement. The company said it was "saddened and disappointed" by the lawsuit, which it called "needless and wasteful."
Schnatter has admitted he said the N-word on a conference call with a marketing firm. Schnatter claimed the firm asked if he was racist, and he used the N-word in describing how KFC's Colonel Sanders used to talk. Schnatter has since said he also told the firm that he himself wouldn't ever use that word.
The company asked him to resign as chairman of the board, which he did, though he remains on the board as a director. He owns 29% of Papa John's stock.
Schnatter has since said he regrets stepping away from the company. He also accused the board of not "doing any investigation" and said its decision to remove him as chairman was based on "rumor and innuendo," according to a letter he sent to the board earlier this month.Papa John's has also removed Schnatter from its commercials and marketing materials and kicked him out of office space at its headquarters.
Facebook just had the worst day in stock market history
Shares plunged 19% on Thursday after executives warned that revenue growth would slow as the company focuses on user privacy.
The sell-off vaporized about $119 billion in market value — the biggest single-day loss for any public company in history, according to Thomson Reuters.
For founder Mark Zuckerberg, the loss came to almost $16 billion, according to Forbes, which tracks billionaire wealth in real time. That dropped him from fourth to sixth on the list of richest people in the world.
Facebook (FB) Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said on a conference call with investors that Facebook is "putting privacy first" after the Cambridge Analytica scandal triggered a wave of horrible press, customer angst and regulatory scrutiny around the world.
As an example of its new strategy, Wehner said Facebook will put more development muscle behind the company's Stories feature. That will put a drag on sales because Facebook makes more money on its core News Feed than its other products.
Facebook says it will spend a lot of money to accomplish its goals. Wehner said the company will invest billions of dollars per year improving safety and security after a bruising period of headlines about Facebook's role in enabling fake news and election meddling.
"We think that's the right thing to do for the business," he said