Journey to the CFU Boys U14 Football Tournament
The Turks and Caicos Islands Boys U14 National Football Team are now on their way to Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic to participate in the Group Stage of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Boys U14 Challenge Series. These development matches intend to give much needed competition and provide the opportunity to member associations, like TCIFA, to assess their youth development programmes ahead of other future international tournaments. The tournament also serves as a proving ground and transition and introduction to the world of International Football prior to the Concacaf U15 Tournament in 2019.
The Turks and Caicos Islands was drawn to Group 5, playing against host country – Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Sint Martin and St. Lucia.
“This opportunity will no doubt provide our team with the exposure to what is expected at the next level of football within the region. The support of the TCIFA, President Fulford, the General Secretary and Executive Committee is a strong indication of the value they have placed on the development of our young players,” said Head Coach, Dane Ritchie. “With this in mind we will use this competition as a development tool for these young players; therefore our expectations for winning every game is not on the front burner but rather to see how these players compete against their peers and to see how they put what has been worked on over the past months to use on the field.”
Coach Ritchie added, “the boys are excited and ready to get on the field and show their talent, and we will be doing our best as the coaching staff to guide them as best as possible throughout this tournament. We expect them to work hard, do their best, and have FUN whilst doing it.”
Coach Ritchie announced that team captains will be rotated throughout the tournament and be referred to as team leaders. This would avoid burdening one player with the task of leading the team throughout the entire tournament, as well as afford other players a chance at carrying the position.
TCIFA Technical Director expressed his excitement with regard to the upcoming tournament - “I am extremely happy with the way Head Coach Dane Ritchie has selected and coached these boys since February. I am also very excited that two boys from our sister island programme, Grand Turk, was selected to be apart of the team. We play 4 games whilst in Santo Domingo, and though these games will be physically and mentally demanding on the players, I do believe our strong squad of eighteen will certainly represent the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association in a positive way. “
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS GAME SCHEDULE- GROUP 5, SANTO DOMINGO
4TH AUGUST 2.30 V ST LUCIA
6TH AUGUST 4.30 V DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
8TH AUGUST 2.30 V ST MARTIN
10TH AUGUST 2.30 V PUERTO RICO
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS U14 BOYS NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM DELEGATION
# 1- ZACHARY SCHOLAR-GOAL KEEPER
# 2- FREDLIN MORENCY-DEFENDER
# 3- SELVIN OLBRICE- DEFENDER
# 4- CHRISTOPHER LOUISY- DEFENDER
# 5- CORY WILLIAMS- STRIKER/MIDFIELD
# 6- JAKE WHENT- DEFENDER
# 7- KYLE CUSHING MEEHAN-STRIKER/MIDFIELD
# 8- CALLUM PARK- MIDFIELD
# 9-HARRY SCHOFIELD- STRIKER/MIDFIELD
# 10-CHARLIE HAWKINS-MIDFIELD
# 11-DALE TAYLOR- DEFENDER/MIDFIELD
# 12-ANTHONY GARDINER-DEFENDER/MIDFIELD
# 13-JEAN WATSON-MIDFIELD
# 14-MICHAEL SAUNDERS- DEFENDER/MIDFIELD
# 15-HAYDEN WILLIAMS- MIDFIELD
# 16-OMARI LIGHTBOURNE-DEFENDER/MIDFIELD
# 17-JARRED JENNINGS- DEFENDER/MIDFIELD
# 18-GEORGE ELLIS- GOAL KEEPER
HEAD COACH – DANE RITCHIE
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/ TEAM MANAGER- DARREN MEEHAN
TEAM DOCTOR- DR. FRANCOIS BOURNE
Apple reaches $1,000,000,000,000 value
Apple just became the first American public company to cross $1 trillion in value.
The iPhone maker achieved that big number on Thursday when the stock passed $207.04 a share. Its new all-time high is $207.05. Apple is now up more than 20% this year.
Shares surged after Apple reported earnings that topped forrecasts and a healthy outlook on Wednesday.
Even though some think Apple (AAPL) needs a new product to keep sales and profits booming, Apple has rallied past the trillion level thanks to solid sales of the iPhone 8 and X -- particularly in China and Japan -- and surging services revenue from the App Store.
Wall Street thinks Apple could go even higher. Thirteen analysts have a price target of above $225 for Apple. The most bullish, Brian White of Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co., has a price target of $275 a share. That would value Apple at $1.3 trillion.
Apple is benefiting from investor euphoria surrounding the tech sector broadly as well -- and it could soon have company in the trillion dollar club.
Apple is not the first publicly traded company in the world to surpass the trillion dollar mark though.
Oil giant PetroChina (PTR) briefly topped a trillion dollar valuation in 2007 when its stock began trading in Shanghai, but shares quickly plunged afterward. PetroChina, which is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is now worth about $205 billion.
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION UNIT
Keeping with the international standards agreed by the Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands Exchange of Information Unit under the Ministry of Finance, Trade & Investment was paid an onsite visit by a team of OECD Assessors. The visit took place between the period July 23 -27, 2018 with a series of meetings with public and private sector stakeholders, primarily in the area of financial services.
The exercise was based on a second round Peer Review examination of the legislative framework, policies, procedures and cooperation of the industry with the EOI Unit practices in the collection and exchanging information for tax purposes with treaty partners. Two previous assessments carried out on exchange of information by request revealed TCI to have a largely compliant rating.
The Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, including the Minister for Finance, Ministry of Finance, Exchange of Information Unit sincerely thanks all of its partners that were engaged and participated in the examination for their cooperation and professionalism. Following adoption of the report, it will be made publicly available.
Serena Williams suffers worst defeat of her career
Serena Williams is usually the one who inflicts heavy defeats on others, but the former world No.1 suffered the most one-sided loss of her illustrious career Tuesday when she was knocked out of the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic after a 6-1 6-0 defeat.
During a 53-minute rout, British No.1 Johanna Konta, ranked 48th in the world, won 12 games in a row -- including two service games to love in the second set -- to progress to the second round in San Jose.
Senators: Trump 'not paying attention' to Russian threats in 2018
Two leading senators are asserting that President Donald Trump has not focused on the clear threat the Kremlin poses in the 2018 elections, with one Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee contending that Russian hackers may have already targeted most -- if not all -- sitting US senators.
Ratcheting up the push for a more robust US response to Russian interference in the midterms and 2020 elections, Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are now slated to get a committee vote this month on a bipartisan bill is aimed at shoring up the nation's election system. But the two senators said their plan has run into hurdles for months -- and say the Russian threat is real headed into the midterms.
In a joint interview as the primary season wraps up and with the November midterms less than 100 days away, the senators told CNN Wednesday that there is far more that has to be done -- from the White House on down to the states.
"The intelligence community has been very active on this, the Department of Homeland Security has been active on this," Lankford said. "While the President has been inconsistent in his tweets, and some of the messaging that he's put on it, he's the only one in the government that hasn't been paying attention to this."
Klobuchar added: "There were clearly delays based on things the President was saying that weren't really directing their people to coordinate, they've admitted that under oath. But from the very beginning, Director (Dan) Coats made it clear that Russia has been emboldened and they're getting bolder."
he senators revealed that one of the Russian targets appear to be themselves. Asked about a Daily Beast Report that Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill has been targeted by Russian hackers, Lankford acknowledged that virtually every senator has faced a similar threat, calling it a "pretty regular thing around here."
"I would be shocked if there's a senator that hasn't been targeted, quite frankly," said Lankford, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Because this a common issue for people trying to get in to get access to your information. And if they can get access into one office, they can get access into multiple offices. So they can look for any spot they were able to get into."
The comments come as Congress is moving to toughen the US response to Russian aggression in the elections amid growing bipartisan angst that the administration is not moving swiftly enough. After Trump's handling of last month's summit with Vladimir Putin was widely panned, Senate Republicans have called for more sanctions on the Kremlin -- and more lawmakers are calling for new legislation to force the federal government and states to take more significant action.
Australia senator sues opponent over 'sexist slurs'
Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young has filed a lawsuit against a political opponent who made "sexist slurs" towards her.
The Greens senator, 36, is the first Australian sitting politician to sue another for defamation.
She alleges Senator David Leyonhjelm made "defamatory statements" about her personal life in parliament and in the Australian media.
Mr Leyonhjelm, 66, has said he will strenuously defend himself.
The Liberal Democrat senator widely criticised in June after he told Ms Hanson-Young to "stop shagging men" during a debate in the Senate about curbing violence against women.
After Ms Hanson-Young spoke out about the remarks, he repeated similar comments in television and radio interviews.
Ms Hanson-Young said Mr Leyonhjelm's comments were an attack on her character and had caused considerable harm to her family.
"I'm calling this out because it is wrong," she said in a statement on Thursday.
"No woman, whether she be working behind a bar, in an office or in the Parliament, deserves to be treated this way, and it needs to stop."
The feud between the two senators has prompted renewed public discussion about sexism in Australian politics. Women make up less than third of parliament
Google in China: Internet giant 'plans censored search engine'
Google is developing a version of its search engine that will conform to China's censorship laws, reports say.
The company shut down the engine in 2010, complaining that free speech was being limited.
But online news site The Intercept says Google has being working on a project code-named Dragonfly that will block terms like human rights and religion, a move sure to anger activists.
One state-owned newspaper in China, Securities Daily, dismissed the report.
When questioned about the claim, a spokeswoman for Google provided a brief statement.
"We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com," it said.
French rappers Booba and Kaaris brawl at Paris airport
Two French rappers have been arrested after fighting broke out at a Paris airport that caused flight delays and the closure of part of the building.
Booba and Kaaris were detained along with members of their entourages following scuffles at a departure lounge at Orly airport on Wednesday.
Police say 11 people were arrested in relation to the incident.
The clashes, which took place at a duty-free shop at the airport, were witnessed by dozens of tourists.
Footage posted on social media showed the men fighting between the shelves of the shop and chasing and kicking one another around the departure lounge.
The two rappers had been on their way to a concert in Barcelona. However, the reason behind the altercation is not yet clear.
For Better or Worse, the Nissan Juke Is No More
According to a report by Nissan's ever-polarizing Juke subcompact crossover is—in the U.S. at least—discontinued. Dead. Donezo. Finito.
The report explicitly blames its demise on weak U.S. sales brought on by the Juke's, er, divisive styling. In 2017, Nissan reportedly sold just 10,157 Jukes in this country, 48 percent less than the year before.
The small crossover has, however, found decent success in the European market where Juke sales totaled approximately 95,000 in 2017. In fact, the company's plant in Sunderland, U.K. just celebrated building its millionth Juke two weeks ago. Europeans apparently love this crossover so much, they went and built a million of 'em. Yeah, I was surprised too.
On American soil, however, the Juke will soon be replaced by the Kicks, a new subcompact crossover from Nissan with an equally silly name but styling that's quite a bit less outlandish. Starting at $18,965, the Kicks will undercut the car it replaces by more than $1,000.
Automotive News reported the Juke was originally built as a "sports car crossover" aimed at single, young males who would then trade up to a 370Z rather than a Rogue or Pathfinder. We'll leave it up to you to decide how successful the Juke was in garnering a cool-guy, sporty-car image but the sales figures don't lie. Perhaps the wild-looking Nissan was just too cool, too edgy for most American buyers.
Tokyo Medical University 'changed female exam scores'
Reports that one of Japan's most prestigious medical universities tampered with female applicants' entrance exam scores have sparked an outcry on social media. Tokyo Medical University began altering results in 2011 to ensure under 30% of successful applicants would be women.
Users online took aim at the Japanese government over the scandal. Critics suggested the allegations were ironic given Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stated commitment to boost female participation in the workforce.
An unnamed source said officials adopted a "silent understanding" to reduce the number of female entrants over concerns female graduates were not going on to practice medicine in employment. "Many female students who graduate end up leaving the actual medical practice to give birth and raise children," the source told the newspaper. In 2010, before the measure was allegedly introduced, female student participation was about 40%.
The newspaper reports that after the two-round application process earlier this year, only 30 female applicants were accepted to study, versus 141 men.