NEWS ITEM ON TROPICAL DEPRESSION FIONA ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS
DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION, AT 6AM MONDAY 22ND AUGUST 2016.
FIONA HOLDING ON AS A TROPICAL DEPRESSION
AT 5:00AM EDT, THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION FIONA WAS
LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.4°NORTH AND LONGITUDE 58.4° WEST OR ABOUT 525 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.
TROPICAL DEPRESSION FIONA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT 18 MPH. A CONTINUED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD MOTION WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS FORECAST LATER TODAY AND ON TUESDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MILES PER HOUR (MPH)
WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS, BUT FIONA COULD BECOME A POST-TROPICAL REMNANT LOW IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.
THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT NOON.
PREPARED BY FORECASTER: ORSON NIXON 08/22/2016.
Grand Turk’s First Annual Eco-Camp a Great Success!
MINISTRY OF TOURISM, ENVIRONMENT, HERITAGE AND GAMING
Last week Grand Turk youth had the opportunity to participate in the island’s first, annual Eco-camp. The camp, a collaboration between the Turks & Caicos National Museum, and the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources (DECR), ran from the 15th to the 19th August, and not only allowed for some summer fun but also introduced participants to some of the environmental issues faced by the TCI.
“The DECR is pleased to have collaborated successfully with the National Museum! It was wonderful to witness Grand Turk’s youth show an interest and learn so much about their environment. We look forward to this becoming an annual event in Grand Turk’s summer calendar,” said DECR’s Environmental Outreach Coordinator, Amy Avenant.
The camp was sponsored by the TCNM’s Children’s Club and the DECR, which made it possible for a total of 13 children to enjoy activities such as learning to swim, kayaking, snorkelling, and even a trip to Gibb’s Cay! All children had to do was register the week before, at no expense, and ensure they showed up on time every day.
“This camp gave the youth of Grand Turk the opportunity to learn first-hand about the wonderful natural resources Grand Turk has to offer, and also how to protect them for future generations,” said Patricia Saxton, Director of the Turks & Caicos National Museum.
The TCNM and the DECR would like to thank the following individuals / organisations for their kind contributions towards making this program a success:
Ben Strubenberg, Turks & Caicos Swimming Federation
Reef Peepers
Oasis Divers
Papa J’s Tours
FIONA HOLDING ON AS A TROPICAL DEPRESSION
NEWS ITEM ON TROPICAL DEPRESSION FIONA ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION, AT 6AM MONDAY 22ND AUGUST 2016.
FIONA HOLDING ON AS A TROPICAL DEPRESSION
AT 5:00AM EDT, THE CENTER OF TROPICAL DEPRESSION FIONA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.4°NORTH AND LONGITUDE 58.4° WEST OR ABOUT 525 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS.
TROPICAL DEPRESSION FIONA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT 18 MPH. A CONTINUED WEST-NORTHWESTWARD MOTION WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS FORECAST LATER TODAY AND ON TUESDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 35 MILES PER HOUR (MPH) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS, BUT FIONA COULD BECOME A POST-TROPICAL REMNANT LOW IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.
THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT NOON.
PREPARED BY FORECASTER: ORSON NIXON
08/22/2016.
TROPICAL STORM FIONA
NEWS ITEM ON TROPICAL STORM FIONA ISSUED BY THE BAHAMAS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST OFFICE SECTION, AT 12 NOON THURSDAY 18TH AUGUST 2016 …
AT 11:00 AM EDT, THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM FIONA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 16.4°NORTH AND LONGITUDE 40.5° WEST OR ABOUT 1095 MILES WEST OF THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.
FIONA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST (WNW) AT 8 MPH
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 45 MILES PER HOUR (MPH) WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SLOW STRENGTHENING IS POSSIBLE DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO, FOLLOWED BY GRADUAL WEAKENING OVER THE WEEKEND.
THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT 6:00 PM
PREPARED BY FORECASTER : N.ARMSTRONG
18TH AUGUST 2016
VW to cut hours for workers at 3 German plants amid supplier dispute, report says
HAMBURG/BERLIN -- Volkswagen Group will cut working hours for more than 10,000 staff at its Wolfsburg base and reduce output at two more German sites, a source close to the company told Reuters, as the automaker faces supply problems caused by a supplier not keeping to delivery commitments.
VW had said on Wednesday that production of its top-selling Golf model at Wolfsburg was being hit because supplier ES Automobilguss GmbH has stopped delivering cast iron parts needed to make gearboxes.
A spokesman for ES Automobilguss said by email: "Our consortium is in a legal dispute with Volkswagen and is obliged maintain confidentiality." He gave no further details.
A spokesman at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg headquarters said shortening staff hours were a possible response to supply problems but a decision has not been made yet.
The plans to shorten hours at the Wolfsburg factory, which employs 60,000 people, marks the latest escalation in a supplier dispute that is causing problems in operating business while Volkswagen tries to recover from its diesel-emissions scandal.
The other two plants affected by shorter working hours are VW's gearbox-making facility in Kassel and a car plant in the eastern German city of Zwickau, according to the person.
The disruptions coincide with similar problems in Emden, VW's northern German plant where supplier Car Trim GmbH, a sister company of ES Automobilguss, stopped deliveries of seat covers earlier this month. Both firms are part of Wolfsburg-based Prevent DEV GmbH. Prevent has not responded to a Reuters' request to comment.
VW has idled its Emden plant for five days from Aug. 18-24, affecting around 8,000 of its 9,000 workers per day and losing production of 6,250 cars, a VW spokesman said.
Analysts at Swiss bank UBS said in a note published on Thursday that should the dispute result in output cuts at the Wolfsburg and Kassel plants, the financial impact "could be more severe than initially expected" with the reduced output at Emden.
Grappling with an emissions-test cheating scandal that is costing VW billions of euros, VW is expected by analysts to seek price cuts from its suppliers to mitigate those costs.
VW said in June it would integrate components units with the goal of saving costs and boosting efficiency from a single management and unified strategy.
VW's engine plant in Salzgitter declined to comment on possible repercussions on production while spokespeople at a commercial-vehicle factory in Hanover and a component plant in Brunswick had no immediate comments.
Syria conflict: Image of injured boy in Aleppo draws outrage
Syrian activists have released striking pictures of a young boy rescued from a destroyed building after an air strike in the divided second city of Aleppo. Video and photos of the boy sitting dazed and bloodied in an ambulance were shared widely on social media, with many expressing shock and outrage. He was identified as Omran Daqneesh, 5, who was treated for head wounds on Wednesday night, according to a doctor. His parents and three siblings are believed to have survived the attack. Fighting between government and rebel forces has escalated in recent weeks in Aleppo, once Syria's commercial and industrial hub, leaving hundreds dead. The victims include dozens of children, NGO Save the Children said. This morning, UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura asked for a "gesture of humanity from both sides" and urged them to agree to a 48-hour pause in the hostilities in Aleppo to allow aid deliveries to the two million people trapped there. He had earlier abandoned a meeting of the UN's humanitarian task force for Syria after only eight minutes, because not a single aid convoy had been allowed to reach besieged areas since the start of the month. Russia said it was ready to stop military operations in the city for a 48-hour period as early as next week.
Rio 2016 Olympics: US swimmers 'damaged petrol station door'
Four US Olympic swimmers who say they were robbed in Rio de Janeiro reportedly damaged a petrol station door during a night out, media reports say. One Brazilian security source said they were involved in a dispute with a security guard and asked to pay for the damage. Three of the swimmers remain in Brazil and are due to be questioned by police. The fourth, gold medalist Ryan Lochte, returned to the US on Monday.
Rio 2016: Sakshi Malik, the female wrestler who got India's first medal
Female wrestler Sakshi Malik has delivered India its first medal of the 2016 Rio Games, sending a nation into ecstasy. But her journey to the Olympic podium has not been easy. After a gritty performance at the 58kg women's wrestling category she won bronze, becoming the first Indian female wrestler and the fourth Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. "I never thought I would become the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling," she told The Hindu newspaper. "I hope the remaining wrestlers will also do well."
ITV to switch off its seven channels for an hour for Olympics event
ITV is switching off all seven of its channels for an hour to encourage people to get off their sofas and take part in sport following Team GB's Olympics success.
ITV will stop broadcasting from 09:30 on 27 August as part of the I Am Team GB campaign. The move, organised with the National Lottery, will also see thousands of sports clubs open to let people try new sports for free. Olympic medallists, including long jumper Greg Rutherford, will take part.
The Bank Holiday weekend event is part of the celebrations to welcome home Team GB from the Rio Olympics. The Coronation Street and Emmerdale sets will be hosting events, along with the Copper Box Arena in London, Glasgow National Hockey Centre and Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff.
Rutherford, who won a bronze medal in Rio, urged people to get involved, adding: "You don't have to be an Olympian to be part of Team GB." ITV would usually show Murder, She Wrote at the time of the blackout, with the Coronation Street omnibus on ITV2.
A statement from I Am Team GB described the day as "a homecoming for our lottery-funded Olympic athletes when they return from Rio, inspiring everyone, no matter what their level of fitness, to come together with Olympic heroes and famous faces from ITV in the biggest ever UK-wide sports day".
Toronto Film Festival to screen Birth of a Nation 'as planned'
The Toronto Film Festival has said it will screen slavery drama The Birth of a Nation as scheduled, despite ongoing controversy concerning its director.
In a statement, the festival said it would "present the film as planned". The film's release plans have been cast into doubt after it emerged that a woman who accused Nate Parker of rape in 1999 later took her own life.
Parker, who both directs and stars in the Oscar-tipped film, was acquitted of raping the woman while at university. His roommate Jean Celestin, who has a story credit on The Birth of a Nation, was convicted of sexual assault.
The conviction was later overturned when the woman opted not to testify again for a 2005 retrial. The incident has come back into the press ahead of the US release of Parker's drama about Nat Turner's 1831 slave rebellion.
Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the film is to have its Canadian premiere at Toronto next month. On Tuesday, Parker responded to the news of his accuser's death with a Facebook post in which he expressed "profound sorrow". According to Variety, the 36-year-old will continue to be his film's "public face" and will honour his Toronto media commitments.