DIGICEL PLAY ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH ESPN TO ADD ESPN PLAY TO ITS OFFERINGS
Kingston, Jamaica – Thursday, 7th July, 2016: DIGICEL Play has announced an agreement with ESPN, which will see its customers enjoying seamless and even greater access to all their favourite sporting games on their mobile devices. By adding ESPN Play to its portfolio, Digicel Play customers can now watch the Olympics via all their internet connected devices, anytime, anywhere.
ESPN is one of the official Rio 2016 broadcasters in the region and ESPN Play, ESPN’s live streaming platform, will simulcast the network coverage of the Games.
Available in Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands as of July 1, 2016, DIGICEL Play customers can also get access to a host of other action-packed sporting events that are being shown on ESPN, including the Euro 2016, ICC Cricket, WICB NAGICO Super50, German Bun-de-sliga, NBA, England and Wales cricket, BCCI cricket, Italian Serie A, Dutch Eredivisie (ERIE-DIVISHA) MLB, as well as all four golf majors and all four tennis majors.
Speaking about agreement, Digicel Play CEO for Caribbean and Central America, John Su-ran-yi, said they are very excited about this agreement with ESPN that allows them to leverage all our platforms to deliver up-to-the-minute content to our customers – whether in their homes or on their mobile devices. “ESPN Play harnesses the quality ESPN has built through its TV networks to deliver rich, interactive and easy-to-use content and we’re very happy to be bringing this to our customers,” Su-ran-yi said.
To start watching their favourite games, Digicel Play customers can download the ESPN Play mobile app from the Google Play App Store or Apple App Store.
Digicel Play is a new frontier in home entertainment, giving customers the power to have their entertainment access and access to the internet the way they want it. Digicel Play is jam-packed with cool features, making it the most attractive home entertainment experience around as it turns homes into the ultimate entertainment zones and delivers TV, superfast broadband and telephony, coupled with the best channel and content line-up and the best viewing experience.
PREMIER EWING MEETS WITH PAHO AND US DEPARTMENT OF STATE OFFICIALS IN WASHINGTON D. C.
Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, Thursday July 28, 2016
The Premier and Minister of Health, Agriculture and Human Services, Dr. The Hon. Rufus W. Ewing will be leading a delegation to Washington DC this week to participate in two important meetings.
Premier Ewing will meet with his other Caribbean UK Overseas Territories Ministers of Health at the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Headquarters in Washington DC for an intense two days of meetings to advance the Multi-Country Strategy for the advancement of health care that was endorsed by the UKOT Ministers of Health in July 2014.
This is the first time that a multi-country strategy for technical cooperation has been developed to the benefit of the six Caribbean UKOTs of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The strategy will focus on three priority areas addressing health and the social determinants of health in alignment with the national health plans of the UKOTs and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #3 – “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. Premier Ewing will address the delegates on Thursday July 28th by giving an overview of the PAHO/WHO strategy for technical cooperation.
A key discussion will also take place on mental health and the incorporation of mental health care in primary health services. The Premier is joined by Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Health, Agriculture and Human Services, Mrs. Tamera Robinson and the Director of Health Services, Dr. Nadia Astwood.
On Friday July 29th Premier Ewing will meet with representatives of the U.S. Department of State for Energy to engage in high level discussions on renewable energy and opportunities for pilot projects being launched in the Turks and Caicos Islands. This is in keeping with the Government’s commitment to pursue initiatives for climate change adaptation and mitigation which is being led by the Cabinet appointed Climate Change Committee.
Discussions will be held under the umbrella of the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative that was launched by US Vice President Joe Biden in June 2014 and the commitments made by stakeholders at the January 2015 Caribbean Energy Security Summit that was hosted by Biden at the Department of State. These commitments included improved support for policy reform, improved donor coordination and increased access to investment towards the overall goal of comprehensive energy diversification to facilitate the introduction of cleaner forms of energy in the Caribbean.
The specific support areas provided to the Caribbean are through improvement in governance, facilitation of development of cleaner energy sources, development of collaborative networks on clean energy, financial support for clean energy projects, increasing energy efficiency and expansion of access to electricity, information and technology.
Among other initiatives, the US Department of State is currently supporting technical assistance in St. Kitts and Nevis for the development of their geothermal resources and the U. S. Department of Interior, along with State is assisting Jamaica with the development of commercial renewable energy on public lands. The Premier will be joined by the Director of the Office of the Premier and Chair of the Climate Change Committee, Ms. Althea Been and the Energy and Utilities Commissioner in the Energy and Utilities Department of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, Mr. Malike Cummings.
The delegations return home on Saturday July 30, 2016.
Over 100 dead in South Asia monsoon flooding
More than 100 people have been killed in monsoon floods in South Asia, as torrential rain caused chaos in several countries. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, with many rescued from rising waters and housed in shelters. Nepal has suffered the highest death toll with over 75 people killed this week in floods and landslides. Hundreds die every year across the region during the monsoon season between June and September. In Nepal the army has been evacuating hundreds of people from villages submerged by rising flood waters, with western parts of the country worst hit.
Pets left hungry as smart feeder breaks
Owners of smart pet-feeding device Petnet were told to "feed their pets manually" after a server problem stopped the device from working.
Petnet allows owners to schedule and control feeding via a smartphone app.
Adam Simon, an analyst with research company Context, said it was important users "always had a manual back-up" for smart systems.
"Increasingly, people are becoming dependent on these smart objects, and that could become a problem," he said.
"In this case, your pet could be left hungry."
Cardinal George Pell denies child abuse claims
Australia's most senior Roman Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, has called claims that he sexually abused children "a scandalous smear campaign". Details of alleged incidents have been broadcast by the country's public broadcaster, ABC television. Police in Victoria State have confirmed they are investigating several allegations against the cardinal. Cardinal Pell's office says he "unequivocally rejects any allegations of sexual abuse against him".
Guatemalan ex-leader Perez Molina faces new graft probe
A judge in Guatemala has ordered that former President Otto Perez Molina be investigated in connection with a multi-million dollar corruption case. Mr Perez Molina resigned on 2 September over allegations of graft. He was arrested a day later. He is already under investigation over a bribery scheme at Guatemala's customs services but has denied any wrongdoing. The latest investigation focuses on allegations he received $37.9m (£28.8m) in return for construction contracts. Investigators allege that the former president was also given a helicopter, a plane and a luxury car. He has previously been accused by an anti-corruption commission of taking bribes from a Spanish port company.
France church attack: Second suspect in priest killing named
French prosecutors have identified the second man involved in the killing of a priest in a Normandy church on Tuesday as 19-year-old Abdel Malik Petitjean. Like the other attacker, Adel Kermiche, he was known to the security services. The teenagers were shot dead by police outside the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray where they had killed Father Jacques Hamel, 86, and taken hostages. So-called Islamic State (IS) released a video of what it said were the two men pledging allegiance to the group. "Following DNA tests, it emerged that the terrorist has been identified as Abdel Malik Nabil Petitjean," a source in the Paris prosecutor's office said. Petitjean, from a town in eastern France, had been on a watch list as a potential security threat since June after trying to enter Syria from Turkey. He had been harder than Kermiche to identify because his body was badly disfigured in the police shooting, but officers found an ID card belonging to him in Kermiche's home and confirmed his identity in a DNA match with his mother. After Petitjean was named, his mother, Yamina, denied he could have been the killer. "I know my kid, he is kind. I did not produce a devil. He never talked about IS," she told BFM television.
US election: We'll carry Clinton to victory, says Obama
US President Barack Obama has implored voters to help continue his legacy by carrying Hillary Clinton to victory at the polls in November. Mr Obama praised Mrs Clinton at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, as the most qualified person ever to run for the White House. He said voters faced a choice between hope and fear, attacking "home-grown demagogue" Republican Donald Trump. Mr Trump responded by rejecting the president's optimistic portrayal. "Our country does not feel 'great already' to the millions of wonderful people living in poverty, violence and despair," he said on Twitter.
Gilmore Girls return date announced
The revival of popular US TV series Gilmore Girls will premiere globally on 25 November, Netflix has announced. The series, which originally ran from 2000-07, sees cast members Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel reunited in the mother-daughter comedy drama.
It also features the return of original cast members Melissa McCarthy and Scott Patterson. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life will feature four 90-minute episodes, each covering a season of the year.
A trailer offering a first look at the new series attracted almost one million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours online.
Lloyds cuts a further 3,000 jobs and doubles branch closure plan
Lloyds has accelerated its job-cutting scheme, axing a further 3,000 roles, even as it reported a 101% increase in pre-tax profits. It has also doubled its planned branch closures, with 200 more set to vanish from High Streets by the end of 2017.
The bank attributed the cuts to changes in people's banking habits, and the effects of interest rates remaining low for the foreseeable future. Lloyds is already carrying out 9,000 redundancies and 200 branch closures.
It announced those cost-cutting measures in 2014. The bank confirmed that the decision to make further cuts was taken before the EU referendum on 23 June. The news of fresh job losses came as Lloyds reported a £2.5bn pre-tax profit for the half year to the end of June 2016.
In the same period last year, it made £1.2bn. The profits rise was largely due to a sharp drop-off in payment protection insurance (PPI) compensation payouts, which dented previous profits.
PPI has cost the bank more than £16bn since 2011. Lenders are expecting the scheme to be wrapped up soon.