Cilla described as Wonderful Lady Who had Touched All Our Lives
Fans, family and fellow stars have turned out to pay their respects to singer and TV presenter Cilla Black at her funeral in Liverpool. Hundreds of people applauded and threw flowers as her funeral cortege made its way to St Mary's RC Church.
Sir Cliff Richard told mourners the journey to the church had made him realise "how much people loved her". TV stars Paul O'Grady, Jimmy Tarbuck and Christopher Biggins joined her sons Robert and Ben in giving readings.
Sir Cliff performed the song Faithful One and told the congregation it seemed "outrageous" that she was gone. He said: "The one thing that hit me originally was that she was a woman of commitment and dedication. "She had the determination and above all she had the gift - she was able to do what she set out to do. "My memories of Cilla are going to be very, very happy ones."
The funeral Mass was celebrated by the Right Reverend Thomas Williams, Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool. Two of Black's sons also delivered readings. Robert Willis described his mother as a "wonderful lady who had touched all our lives and brought joy and laughter" to those she knew.
Ashley Madison: Leaked accounts fallout deepens
Data from the Ashley Madison website breach has flooded on to the web, leaving thousands of people fretting about the potential consequences.
Several big names have supposedly been "outed" by the press after the release of personal information stolen from the dating website, which is aimed at married people. And generally speaking, there is huge potential for damaging people's reputations.
There are questions about how - or whether - Ashley Madison will recover from the incident, which has the potential to be one of the messiest and most legally troublesome data dumps in history.
Source:BBC
Global economy woes spark share falls
Shares and oil prices around the world have seen further falls, sparked by renewed fears over the health of the global economy.
In China, the authorities intervened again on the stock market to little effect. Shares in Shanghai fell 1.5%.
And in Washington, expectations of a US interest rate rise dimmed after Federal Reserve policymakers said the economy was not ready yet.
European markets in Paris and Frankfurt were down 1% in morning trade.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.5%, while the price of Brent crude oil was down 1.1% at $46.66 a barrel. US crude was down 0.4% at $40.95.
Source: BBC
FortisTCI Now Offering In-Home Energy Audits
Residential customers in Providenciales can now apply for an In-Home Energy Audit facilitated by FortisTCI (the Company). This new service will be offered by the Company free of charge for one year, and is designed to assist customers in identifying ways to improve their energy efficiency at home.
To take advantage of the In-Home Energy Audit Program, customers must visit the FortisTCI Customer Service Centre on Leeward Highway to complete an application. The application and interview process allows for the collection of preliminary information, provides insight into what types of appliances are installed in the home, and typical behaviours of household members relating to day-to-day electricity usage. Once the application process and interview is completed, the energy audit is scheduled and performed at the home. All information gathered, including a utility bill analysis, is then compiled to create a summary of the total energy usage. Approximately one week following the In-Home Energy Audit, a final report is issued to the customer. This report details the key findings and recommendations to achieve better energy efficiency.
FortisTCI President and CEO Eddinton Powell said, “We are excited about the value proposition of this program. It will empower our customers by offering them solutions for managing their electricity costs. The bottom line is, the FortisTCI In-Home Energy Audit Program will help our customers save money by promoting the efficient use of energy.
Paula Radcliffe says athletes should not release blood data
Three-time London Marathon winner Paula Radcliffe has backed the anti-doping agencies in advising athletes not to make their blood data public.
In an interview with BBC sports editor Dan Roan, the 41-year-old Briton said the information is complicated and can be misunderstood and misinterpreted. She also said she was proud of her career and had always been clean.
"The whole point is you go through your career, you look back and say, 'That was the best I could do,'" she said. "If you take a short cut, you can't say that. You can't look yourself in the mirror and say that was the absolute best you were capable of."
O'Donnell Missing Daughter- Now Found
US talk show host Rosie O'Donnell has said her daughter who went missing a week ago has been found.
The comedian tweeted that Chelsea "has been found and is safe in police custody - thank u all for the help and light".
The 17-year-old was reported missing to police in Nyack, New York state, on 11 August after failing to return home.
O'Donnell, 53, had asked for the public's help in finding her adopted daughter, who was with a therapy dog.
Chelsea had stopped taking prescribed medication when she went missing.
"Chelsea, like millions of people, lives with mental illness," said a spokeswoman for Ms O'Donnell, Cindi Berger.
10 Gigabytes of Data Stolen from Ashley Madison
It appears that hackers have released 10 gigabytes of data stolen from Ashley Madison, a dating website for married people.
Hackers claim to have distributed the personal information on 33 million accounts via the dark web and it is now being pored over by security researchers, among others.
Many, including security expert Brian Krebs, believe the dump is genuine.
What data has been released?
The BBC has not independently verified the authenticity of the dump, but those who have investigated it so far have said it contains users' names, addresses, phone numbers, encrypted passwords, and 36 million email address. Online security magazine CSO is also reporting that the leak contains over 15,000 government or military email addresses (ending .mil or .gov).
However, having a personal email address linked to an account doesn't mean that person is really a user of Ashley Madison. Users are able to sign up to the site without responding to an email verification, meaning anyone's email address could have been used to create an account.
Indeed, an SNP MP whose email address appears in the list has denied ever using the site.
Growth in US Economy
The US economy grew at an annualised pace of 2.3% in the three months to June, official figures have shown.
The figure - the first estimate of growth in the second quarter - followed an upwardly revised growth rate of 0.6% in the first three months of the year.
The Commerce Department said growth was boosted by increased consumer spending and cheaper fuel prices.
Analysts said the figure could make the US Federal Reserve more likely to raise interest rates in September.
The 2.3% annualised growth rate is equivalent to 0.6% growth quarter-on-quarter, as measured in most other countries. For example, on Tuesday, official figures showed that the UK economy grew by an estimated 0.7% in the April-to-June period from the previous quarter.
"Updated GDP numbers deliver a double-punch to US economy doom-mongers, painting a reassuringly bright picture of the health of the US economy so far this year and raising the odds of the Fed hiking interest rates in September," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at research firm Markit.
The 0.6% annualised growth rate for the first quarter of the year was an improvement on the previous estimate of a 0.2% contraction.
Consumer spending - a key driver of the US economy - grew at a rate of 2.9% in the second quarter, compared with 1.8% in the first three months of the year.
Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2015
The House of Assembly yesterday passed the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2015. This important piece of legislation has three main features as follows:
1. It amends the definition of “gainful occupation” to exclude from the definition (but only for the purposes of applying for a business license) persons who have invested in a business and who do not intend to work in that business and passive investors who are non-executive directors of the business and who are not involved in the day to day operation of that business.
The previous law required all such investors to possess a work permit in order for the business to be granted a business license. This amendment revised this provision. However, if the investor intends to be involved in the day to day operation of the business or intends to work in the business, he or she would still require a work permit.
2 The Bill also amends section 13(1) and section 30 of the Immigration Ordinance by deleting the phrase “living together with the Belonger” to be replaced by “and the holder of a Residence Permit”.
The effect of this amendment at section 13(1) is that a spouse of an Islander who holds a Residence Permit is free to work in the Islands, thereby requiring spouses of Islanders to get a residency permit in order to work, as opposed to just relying on their living together with their Islander spouse for their working rights.
The practical effect of this amendment is that so long as a spouse of an Islander is in possession of a Residence Permit, he or she may work in the Islands, even if they are no longer living together.
3. Persons who were married before the change of law on August 13, 2012, can benefit from the law as it was on that date, with the result of this amendment being that those persons will only be required to be married to and living with an Islander spouse for 5 years ending with the date of his or her application for Islander status, whereas everyone who would have gotten married on or after August 13, 2012, would have to continue to wait the 10 years, as prescribed in the 2012 amendment.
For any further questions regarding the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2015, please contact the Office of the Minister for Border Control and Employment.
Final call for votes ahead of World Travel Awards Caribbean & North America Gala Ceremony 2015
Members of the hospitality industry, consumers and tourism stakeholders from across the Caribbean and North America are being encouraged to cast their ballots ahead of the deadline for votes at the World Travel Awards Caribbean & North America Gala Ceremony 2015.
The ceremony will take place in Sandals Emerald Bay, Bahamas, on October 17th, with voting scheduled to close on August 23rd.
Ahead of the Gala Ceremony 2015 World Travel Awards President Graham Cooke said: “With thousands of votes already cast, we have a few days left before we close the ballot ahead of our Gala Ceremony.
"This is one of the most highly anticipated events on our annual Grand Tour, with many fantastic organisations competing for recognition.
“Cast your ballot now on the World Travel Awards website."
A full list of nominees can be seen here, while interested parties are urged to visit the official World Travel Awards website and register to vote here.
World Travel Awards Gala Ceremonies are widely regarded as the best networking opportunities within the travel and tourism industry, attended by government and industry leaders, luminaries, and international print and broadcast media.
There is more information on the official website.