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The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Federal Conservative, Liberal and Green parties all boasted record fundraising hauls as they headed into an election year, but the New Democrats continued to struggle to raise money.According to financial returns filed with Elections Canada, the Conservatives raked in $7.4 million in the last three months of 2018 — the best fourth quarter result the party has ever recorded. That puts their total for last year at $24.3 million, the party’s best ever haul in a non-election year.The governing Liberals were close behind, pulling in $6.4 million in the last three months of 2017 — their best fourth quarter result in a non-election year. Overall last year, the party pulled in $16.6 million.Even the Greens were able to make their own fundraising history. They brought in almost $1.5 million in the last three months of the year for a total annual take of $3.1 million — representing the party’s best fourth quarter ever and best overall non-election year haul.By contrast, the NDP pulled in $1.97 million in the last three months of 2018, its lowest fourth quarter result in eight years. The party took in just under $5.2 million for the entire year, only slightly better than the dismal $4.9 million the NDP raised in 2017, which represented its worst yearly result since 2011.The results are a far cry from 2015, an election year in which the NDP was thought to be a real contender for power. The party raked in $18.6 million that year. read more

Login/Register With: Nordstrom’s Pop-In shop concept is curated by Olivia Kim, a fashion world darling and vice-president of creative projects at Nordstrom. Kim came to the Seattle-based, high-end department store from her longtime gig at New York store-turned-label Opening Ceremony, which she helped grow with designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon.The woman Vogue called a “rock star buyer,” Kim directs her own themed boutique within Nordstrom stores, which changes up every few weeks. Recent examples have included her KFashion (Korean fashion) tribute, as well as specially created offerings from Alexander Wang and Nike.READ MORE Advertisement Advertisement Facebook LEAVE A REPLY Cancel replyLog in to leave a comment Good news for fans of Goop, actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s nine-year-old aspirational lifestyle website. This Friday, Nordstrom at the Eaton Centre launches a “Pop-In” boutique called Goop x Nordstrom for a five-week run. The California-based site does not ship to Canada, so this is the first time keeners can get ahold of her buzzy gear.Goop has made news for its ahead-of-the-curve and sometimes off-the-wall lifestyle products and advice. The website features clothing collaborations with major designers, to create “classic and timeless” pieces reproduced from favourite items in Paltrow’s own wardrobe.There are also exclusive cleanse, dietary supplement and cookery items (Paltrow has cast herself as an accomplished home cook and has published several cookbooks, one with celeb chef Mario Batali), plus natural, detoxifying beauty products, to match her focus on leading a “clean” life. The site ranges from luxe travel tips and fine jewelry to New Age-y advice, including a recent divisive paean to the health benefits of mugwort vaginal steaming. Advertisement Twitter read more

21 July 2010The West African countries of Burkina Faso and Niger have submitted a dispute over their common border to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) as part of a wider agreement by the two States to resolve the situation peacefully. The West African countries of Burkina Faso and Niger have submitted a dispute over their common border to the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) as part of a wider agreement by the two States to resolve the situation peacefully.In a joint letter filed yesterday, the ICJ – which is also known as the World Court – has been asked to delineate the border between the two nations from the Tong-Tong marker to the start of the Botou bend.The court has also been asked to observe the two countries’ agreement on the results of the work of a joint technical commission set up by Burkina Faso and Niger on two other sections of their shared border.The decision to refer the matter to the ICJ is in line with a special agreement signed by the two countries last year in Niamey, the capital of Niger.Established in 1945 under the UN Charter, the ICJ is one of the six principal organs of the world body. It settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions on legal questions that have been referred to it by authorized UN organs or specialized agencies. The court is based in The Hague in the Netherlands. read more

by The Canadian Press Posted Jun 13, 2013 2:41 pm MDT AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to RedditRedditShare to 電子郵件Email BlackBerry shares rise after Societe Generale upgrades company to Buy TORONTO – Shares of BlackBerry (TSX:BB) rose nearly six per cent on Thursday following an upgrade of the company’s stock rating from Societe Generale on better-than-expected sales of the company’s new smartphones.Analyst Andy Perkins boosted the smartphone maker to a “buy” from a “sell,” saying that the phones have been “selling well.”BlackBerry shares closed up 83 cents at $14.70 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, near the highs of the day but still below their 52-week high of $18.49.“Our base case scenario now assumes that the new handset sales have been faster than we previously assumed,” Perkins wrote in a note.“Putting the prices into context, the new Blackberry handsets are holding up reasonably well against a number of recently released handsets.”Perkins expects the company to sell more than four million of its BlackBerry Z10 touchscreen devices in the first quarter, based on checks within phone sellers.That number would be on top of the one million sold in the fourth-quarter when the touchscreen phones hadn’t debuted in many countries, including the crucial U.S. market.Meanwhile, Perkins predicts BlackBerry will sell one million of its Q10 keyboard devices in the period.BlackBerry will include official sales figures when its reports first-quarter earnings June 28.Note to readers: This is a corrected story: A previous version misspelled “Generale” in paragraph 1 read more

by The Canadian Press Posted Mar 7, 2017 2:37 pm MDT Last Updated Mar 7, 2017 at 3:20 pm MDT AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to RedditRedditShare to 電子郵件Email Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:Toronto Stock Exchange (15,608.78 down 20.97 points):Amaya Inc. (TSX:AYA). Online gaming. Up $1.09, or 5.75 per cent, to $20.06 on 7.5 million shares.Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Aerospace, rail equipment. Down 10 cents, or 4.29 per cent, to $2.23 on 6.7 million shares.B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO). Miner. Up three cents, or 0.80 per cent, to $3.79 on 5.9 million shares.BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE). Media. Down 21 cents, or 0.36 per cent, to $58.02 on 5.4 million shares.Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX:CGC). Drug manufacturer. Down 84 cents, or 7.14 per cent, to $10.92 on 5.1 million shares.Yamana Gold Inc. (TSX:YRI). Miner. Down two cents, or 0.59 per cent, to $3.37 on 4.9 million shares.Companies reporting major news:Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:BAM.A). Real Estate Services. Up 26 cents, or 0.54 per cent, to $48.45 on 640,847 shares. The Toronto-based group is poised to expand its extensive solar and wind power holdings with a friendly takeover of two U.S. companies affiliated with SunEdison Inc., which has been under bankruptcy protection for nearly a year. The offer values TerraForm Power’s total equity at US$1.7 billion and TerraForm Global at US$787 million, not counting debt to be assumed. Brookfield would also provide TerraForm Power with US$500 million in funding for growth after the deals close.Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TECK.B). Miner. Up 28 cents, or 1.05 per cent, to $26.91 on 2.3 million shares. The Canadian mining giant has received a growing number of inquiries from shareholders about how climate change and carbon pricing will affect its operations, an official with the company said. Speaking at the world’s largest annual gathering for the mining industry, currently underway in Toronto, Chris Adachi said the company is receiving “very detailed inquiries” about climate change from investors and other stakeholders. Most actively traded companies on the TSX read more

Former FARDC (DRC national armed forces) Lieutenant Colonel Bedi Mobuli Engangela, also known as “Colonel 106” after the battalion he commanded in South Kivu, was convicted on 15 December and sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in his homeland for crimes against humanity, including a 20 year sentence for rape and a 15 year sentence for sexual slavery. According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, Mr. Engangela was also charged with murder, torture, abduction, and “other forms of grave deprivation of physical liberty.”“Such a high-profile conviction of a senior officer will, I hope, bring some measure of comfort and catharsis to the victims of the horrific human rights violations committed and ordered by Engangela,” Mr. Zeid said in a press release today. “This case is a major boost in the fight against impunity.”The decision by the military court in Bukavu in South Kivu province in eastern DRC is just the latest in a recent string of convictions of military and police officers for sexual violence crimes.In November, FARDC General Jerome Kakwavu was sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape, murder and torture, the first case ever in which a general faced prosecution by a military tribunal in DRC for rape. Meanwhile, on October 25, FARDC soldiers and national police officers (PNC) officers were also convicted for the rapes of women and girls in separate cases in North Kivu Province and Kasai Occidental Province.In his press release, the UN rights chief called on DRC authorities to build on the momentum created by these cases and “to continue to prioritise justice and accountability for gross human rights violations while ensuring that victims of such crimes receive adequate assistance and compensation.” Equally, Mr. Zeid continued, authorities should “ensure that the rights of the accused – to a fair trial and to appeal judicial decisions – are fully respected.” read more

The demand for registered nurses in Kentucky far exceeds the supply. Last year, KCTCS colleges awarded 840 nursing credentials, fulfilling 31 percent of the state’s total need. The funding request will allow the 16 KCTCS colleges to hire more nursing faculty and provide year-round course offerings and is expected to grow the number of nursing graduates by almost 25 percent annually.“The proposed expansion of nursing programs will help us fulfill our role as the solution to the state’s workforce shortage,” said Dr. Gail R. Henson, Chair of the KCTCS Board Regents.  “All areas of the state are hard hit by this shortage and as more baby boomers retire, this situation will only get worse.”During the meeting the board received a report from the President’s Contract Review Committee and decided to take no action.Related Article: WATCH: Scott Co. school board votes to save JROTCIn other business, the board:Ratified 27 certificate programs.Approved 23,658 academic credential requests between April 11, 2019 – July 17, 2019 (associate degrees, diplomas and certificates).  These credentials include:15,875 candidates for certificates;1,363 candidates for diplomas; and6,420 candidates for associate degrees. PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Board of Regents approved a 2020-2022 biennial budget request to be submitted and considered by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) during their quarterly board meeting.This request includes a seven percent increase to performance funding in 2021 and a 10 percent increase in 2021-22. It also includes a request to support the expansion of nursing programs at all KCTCS colleges.- Advertisement – The next meeting of the KCTCS Board of Regents is scheduled for December 6, 2019 at the KCTCS System Office, Versailles. read more

First Lady Mrs. Sandra Granger (centre), flanked by (from right), Lieutenant Colonel (ret’d) Yvonne Smith,Facilitator from the First Lady’s Office, Facilitator, Mr. Yohan Pooran, Councillor, Ms. Andrea Marks and Facilitator, Ms.Crystal Baptise with participants of the workshop at Sophia (MotP photo).First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger has encouraged female residents of North Sophia to recognise the skills they possess and turn those skills into business opportunities. She was at the time speaking at opening of the 30th Success in Business workshop, which is being executed by her office in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection and Interweave Solutions, the Ministry of the Presidency reported.This is the second such workshop that is being held in the Sophia community. It will, over the next five days, empower about 40 women; teaching them the pros and cons of entrepreneurship.Mrs. Granger said, “We have had women in abusive relationships who might feel that they have no skills what-so-ever, when they have something they don’t recognise as a skill… I want you to recognise that, and I want you to draw on the positives that you have”.She noted too, that many times women manage homes or care for elderly persons in their families and communities but they do not recognise the ability to provide care as a skill they can use to make money.The First Lady encouraged the residents to explore the possibilities of starting co-operative ventures in the areas of elderly and early childhood care within their community.Meanwhile, Ms. Tricia Benjamin, a participant said that she has been actively seeking employment but has encountered several challenges. She said her choice of business would be elderly care since she has already completed a course in that area and is certified.“This training will do a lot for me because I can open a business [after receiving] my certificate… I love to take care of elderly people, I did that before and I have a certificate in that,” she said.To date, the Self-Reliance and Success in Business Workshop has certified over 1500 persons in all Administrative Regions of Guyana. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)RelatedThird component of First Lady’s Early Childhood Development Workshop opensJuly 26, 2017In “latest news”First Lady takes business workshop to the RupununiDecember 8, 2015In “Business”First Lady launches workshop to help women market entrepreneurial skillsSeptember 18, 2015In “Business” read more

AS THE FIRST winter snows fell on Bulgaria this week, thousands of refugees crammed into makeshift camps — many of them Syrians fleeing fighting in their country — are rueing that Europe is not the haven they had hoped.“If they keep us living in this tent in the snow, I’d rather go back to the war,” Abd Al Jalil Bonja fumed at the Harmanli refugee camp in southeastern Bulgaria.“We thought Bulgaria was the European Union, a normal country like Germany, France, Italy,” he complained to AFP as his wife and four children huddled around a stove in a leaking military tent they shared with another family of five.“If we knew what we would find, we never would have come here.”Over 11,100 refugees, most of them Syrians, have entered Bulgaria illegally this year, crossing the porous 274-kilometre border with Turkey.That may be a drop in the ocean compared to the two million refugees sheltering in Syria’s neighbouring countries, but they are overwhelming the European Union’s poorest nation.Bulgaria’s three refugee facilities were quickly overfilled. Authorities hastily opened four more shelters in dilapidated former schools or deserted army camps, like the one in Harmanli, where 1,254 Syrian and Afghan refugees are registered.On an AFP visit of the Harmanli camp, thick black smoke from improvised stoves filled the area, as children waded barefoot in freezing puddles and their mothers cooked on open fires outside rows of khaki tents and metal containers.Coughing could be heard everywhere. Many complained about not being able to get simple medicine or proper treatment for chronic illnesses.The camp’s inhabitants are not allowed to leave except to buy food, which is not provided by the cash-strapped Bulgarian government. They are given no money either, forking out whatever they still have to pay for bread and potatoes, the cheapest foods available.Samia Juju, 26, holds her baby seven-month-old baby Lavan at the Harmanli camp [Valentina Petrova/AP/Press Association Images]Bulgaria is taking urgent measures to stem the flow.Hundreds of extra soldiers and police, equipped with thermal imaging cameras, have been deployed to stop migrants bypassing border posts.Defence Minister Angel Naydenov said the extra patrols had already cut the number of asylum-seekers making it through.Also planned is the construction of a three-metre high fence with razor-wire coils along 33 kilometres of the border.“I have absolute confidence that we will manage to contain the refugee crisis in all its aspects,” Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev told reporters near the border area.Yovchev, who is also deputy prime minister, said refugee claim processing would be sped up, the capacity of the crammed shelters would be increased, and immigrants deemed to have arrived for purely economic reasons would be more quickly deported.[Valentina Petrova/AP/Press Association Images]Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders last week slammed the conditions at Harmanli as “inhumane” and “appalling”.The government reacted by stepping up preparations to move people from tents into adjacent dilapidated buildings under repairs.But the inhabitants, forced to share just a few toilets and to strip wood from the buildings to make fires for heat, are in despair.“Animals live better than us. But what is worse is that we are forgotten here without any hope,” said Abdul Alghni, 35, who used to be a lawyer in the Syrian city of Aleppo.He fled to seek a new life for his wife and two small children but complained of being trapped in a limbo without money and without an idea when and if they could have their refugee status claims processed.“Everybody here wants documents so they can leave,” he said.“I don’t want to stay here. I want to go to Germany where I have a brother,” 32-year-old Siawash Askary from Herat in Afghanistan agreed, hugging his sleeping two-month-old baby boy.“We understand that the government here is very poor. What we don’t understand is why they don’t tell us ‘Look, we are poor, we can’t help you’,” said Jamil.“Give us the (asylum status) documents and send us to Europe, or even send us back to Turkey,” he appealed.© – AFP 2013Read: Rain puts ‘fear in the eyes of children’ in the PhilippinesRead: Pacific islander loses bid to become world’s first ‘climate change refugee’ read more

Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL) in Cherry Hill, NJ has been working on a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) called the Samarai Micro Air Vehicle. It’s flight is based on how a maple seed descends and uses a single-wing design that requires only two moving parts.Where as the maple seed only descends and does not control its own direction, ATL has improved upon the design to allow for controlled flight. The benefit of Samarai is how simple it is, which translates to it also being very cheap to produce. Other benefits include its vertical take off and landing, as well as having the ability to throw it in the air before applying power, as it will just gently fall like its equivalent seed. In terms of size it’s less than 40cm long and weighing under 200 grams making it very easy to carry around.That size and weight is just the beginning though, and because the design is so simple ATL plans to reduce its dimensions considerably. Their ultimate goal? A Samarai no bigger than your fingertip equipped with a camera.There’s a way to go before that happens, but ATL has just shown off the first working prototype of the Samarai publicly during the AUVSI Unmanned Systems conference this week. As you can see in the video above, it is possible to maintain fine control over the flight of the Samarai, but learning to fly this single-rotor vehicle is meant to be quite challenging at the moment.Obviously flight control needs to be as simple as possible, so ATL is hoping to get it working with a touchscreen device running an OS like Android that also gives control over the on-board camera too.Samarai is set to end up in the backpacks of soldiers if ATL can miniaturize it to the point where it becomes a pack-and-forget device. Its ability to be thrown in the air with a few minutes of flight possible on a single charge, coupled with the addition of a camera, could make it an invaluable quick surveillance tool on the battlefield.Read more at Popular Mechanics and Lockheed Martin read more

Seven in ten Greeks are dissatisfied with their lives and feel let down by the country’s two main political parties while a third would not vote for any of the five parties in Greece’s Parliament, a new poll revealed this week.According to the survey carried by polling firm Public Issue on a sample of 1,006 citizens in the first week of July, 65 per cent of respondents said they trusted neither ruling PASOK nor the main conservative opposition New Democracy to run the country. Another 25 per cent said they think PASOK is the best party to lead the country while only 4 percent said they would want ND in power.Still, eight out of ten respondents said they were unhappy with the work of the PASOK administration, which has focused on pushing through a raft of austerity measures since it came to power last October.Nine out of ten said they were unhappy with ND, which has been riven with internal disputes since last November when Antonis Samaras was elected party leader. A third of respondents said they would prefer a coalition government while another 17 per cent wants a government representing all the parties in Parliament.As regards the popularity of political leaders, Prime Minister George Papandreou has seen his support decline by three percentage points, to 40 per cent, while Antonis Samaras has dropped 4 percentage points to 19 per cent. A third of respondents said they would want neither of the two in the role of Prime Minister.In one of the most shocking findings, a third (35.5 per cent) of the poll’s respondents said that if elections were held today, they would either boycott the vote or cast a blank ballot. Facebook Twitter: @NeosKosmos Instagram read more

An unnamed Chinese club have been reportedly in negotiations with Manchester United over signing Marouane Fellaini.The 31-year-old midfielder has been at Old Trafford since the summer of 2013 after his former Everton boss David Moyes signed him for £27.5m on deadline day.Fellaini has been an ever-present figure in the United squad under Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho.The Belgium international has only managed 31 minutes of action under interim coach Ole Gunner Solskjaer since replaced Mourinho on December 18.This is due to a calf injury Fellaini sustained in training with Solskjaer revealing on January 18 that the midfielder will likely be out for a “few weeks”.But Sky Sports reports that Fellaini’s time at United may be coming to a quicker an anticipated end after an approach from an unnamed Chinese club.Apparently, United and this club are locked in negotiations right now over Fellaini’s transfer to the Far East.This comes as a big surprise given that he only signed a new two-year deal last summer after allowing his original contract to run out at the end of last season.Liverpool legend Nicol slams Harry Maguire’s Man United form Andrew Smyth – September 14, 2019 Steve Nicol believes Harry Maguire has made some “horrendous mistakes” recently, and has failed to find his best form since joining Manchester United.Despite the English transfer window closing on Thursday, neither United or this unnamed club will be in a hurry to conclude a deal with the Chinese Super League deadline set until February 28.Speaking in a press conference on Monday, Solskjaer had suggested that there would be no departures from Old Trafford come Thursday.“At the moment, I can see everyone staying at the club because no deal has been done with anyone I think, but then again there is still a few more days,” said Solskjaer.“But I am not too involved in the negotiations so whatever happens, happens. It will be good to get the window closed so we can just focus on the squad and just improving the ones that stay here.”Fellaini has managed 22 goals and 12 assists in 177 appearances for United across all competitions.The Belgian has won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, Europa League and Community Shield in his five and a half years at the Red Devils.Should a move to China go ahead, Fellaini will join his Belgium team-mate Mousa Dembele after he left Tottenham for Guangzhou R&F earlier this month. read more

Aurangabad: A Member of Parliament from Kenya travelled all the way to Maharashtra’s Aurangabad city just to repay a debt of Rs 200 he had taken from a grocer 22 years ago. The grocer, Kashinath Gawli, was filled with emotion after he met Richard Nyagaka Tongi, the lawmaker from the Nyaribari Chache constituency in Kenya. Tongi had studied management at Maulana Azad College from 1985-89 and was provided food provisions by Gawli each day, according to a post on his Facebook page. Also Read – Dehydrated elephant being given treatment Advertise With Us When he returned to Kenya, Tongi had an outstanding debt of Rs 200 with Gawli, who then ran his grocery shop in the Wankhedenagar locality. It was the place where Tongi had resided. “I had a debt from 22 years ago that I had not paid, they had given me food but I had not paid. So when I got married, I vowed to return to India and payback. Now, my heart is at peace,” he told reporters. Also Read – CBI carrying out surprise checks at 150 government departments Advertise With Us Tongi, who visited Aurangabad with his wife Michelle, said that it was an emotional journey to undertake. “As a student in Aurangabad, I was at my lowest point, when these people (Gawlis) helped me. Then I thought that someday, I will come back and (re)pay. I want to say thank you. This is so emotional for me,” the Kenyan MP said. “God bless the old man (Gawli) and his children. They were wonderful to me. They wanted to take me to a hotel for a meal but I insisted that we should eat in their house,” a beaming Tongi added. The Kenyan politician also interacted with the students at the college where he had studied. Before leaving Aurangabad, Tongi invited Gawli to visit his country soon, the Facebook post said. read more

Map of DhakaA seven-month old boy was burnt to death and his parents sustained injuries as a fire broke out in a building of the capital’s Mirpur area early Wednesday, reports UNB.The deceased is Tamim , son of Manik, 35 and Mina, 28, who were injured in the incident.The fire, originated from a cigarette butt, broke out at the ground floor of a four-storey building around 11:45pm and spread soon, said Rashed Shikdar, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense central control room.The fire was spread all over the room due to the leakage of gas line, he said.They were taken to the Burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where the doctor declared Tamim dead around 1:30am.The injured were admitted to the Burn unit of DMCH, he added.

.Locals demonstrated in the city’s Uttara area over the death of a minor domestic help, reports UNB.A minor domestic help was found hanging in her employer’s house in Uttara on Tuesday.Police recovered the body of Baishakhi, 12, daughter of Azizul and Jannatul, from the house at Road No.18 of Sector-3 in the afternoon.The locals staged the demonstration in front of the house alleging that the minor domestic help was murdered.Quoting employer Rifat Ferdous who along with his wife and a child has been residing in the house, sub-inspector Delwar Hossain of Uttara West police station said house inmates called Baishakhi after they woke up in the morning.Later, she did not respond to repeated calls, he said, adding that they informed the house owner of it.The house owner together with some neighbours broke open the door only to find her hanging from the ceiling.Assistant commissioner (Uttara) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Quamruzzaman said the reason behind the death will be cleared after getting the post mortem report. read more

Baltimore County Schools Superintendent S. Dallas Dance didn’t plan on being an educator.S. Dallas Dance, Baltimore County Superintendent, says he is racing to better prepare public school students for the challenges of the future. (Courtesy photo)He went to college planning to study law, but once he discovered his talent tutoring other students, he shifted to studying education.Dance earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Virginia Union University and went on to earn a master’s and doctorate in educational administration and leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.His educational career path led to him working as an administrator in the Henrico County Public Schools district of Richmond, Va., as well as Chesterfield and Louisa County Public Schools in Virginia. It was while he was serving as chief officer of the Houston Independent School District in 2012 that he was named as the new Baltimore County Schools superintendent at only 30 years old.Dance recently faced opposition over his reported income as an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond, and that he set up a limited liability corporation. An ethics panel called for Dance to adjust his financial disclosure forms, which he agreed to do, noting that there was not a clear place on his financial disclosure forms for him to previously do so. The school board ultimately voted to continue is contract.When he first joined the Baltimore County school system, he succeeded Joe Hairston, under whom Baltimore County Schools saw significant growth with 50 percent of the county’s high schools ranking in the top seventh percentile nationwide at the time.Dance came in with a plan to build upon that foundation by increasing student’s skills in science, technology and math as well as showing students how to apply the lessons their learning to the real world. He took on the challenge of engaging kids to take ownership for their education.“When we start thinking about the role we play as educators, we have to make sure that we engage them to the point they understand that here and now matters so much if you’re really going to impact what the future looks like,” Dance told the AFRO earlier this year.This line of thinking led Dance to spearhead the development of “Blueprint 2.0,” a five-year strategic plan aiming to improve academics, safety, communication, and organizational effectiveness. This plan made high school graduation a system-wide priority, and as a result, the graduation rate rose to 87.8 percent for the 2015 graduating class, an increase of four percentage points since he began his tenure. He additionally introduced a Passport Schools program to implement world language instruction for elementary students.Because of his successes, Dance has been nominated for the LifeChanger of the Year award, and has been honored by the Center for Digital Education with the Top 30 Technologists, Transformers, and Trailblazers Award, as well as the Community Builder Award from the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training. He was appointed to former President Barack Obama’s Commission for Educational Excellence for African Americans, and was also named a Connected Educator Champion of Change. His list of awards and accolades goes on and on.Dance has also been moving education forward with the Students and Teachers Accessing Tomorrow (S.T.A.T.) initiative, which aims to create an accessible digital learning environment for all students while emphasizing personalized instruction and critical thinking skills.“We were not a district in crisis by any measure,” Ryan Imbriale, executive director of the district’s Department of Innovative Learning, told The Journal in an interview. “But we had reached a point where we felt we had to step back and ask, ‘What do our students, our community and our partners need from this school district? What do we need to do to create learner centered environments and make sure that our students have access to the tools and resources?’ In real terms that meant ensuring that every student, eventually, would have access to a device in their hands in the classroom.”Through S.T.A.T., Microsoft designated BCPS as its first “Showcase” school system for innovative digital teaching and learning. In December, the school district unveiled a Mobile Innovation Lab, a mobile classroom converted from a school bus. The lab emphasizes bringing “Makerspaces” and a hands-on learning experience while teaching children about coding, robotics, programming and circuitry.“While technology alone won’t improve learning outcomes, I know from experience that it has the power – when implemented and used effectively – to create more vibrant, interactive learning environments; achieve improvements throughout the education system; and prepare students for a lifetime of success,” Dance said in a blog post. “It’s my hope that the success of S.T.A.T. inspires schools around the country to embrace technology and transform education.” read more

Joel Campbell, 22, joined in on the viral phenomenon known as the Ice Bucket Challenge, a fundraiser for ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).* Campbell, a talented Tico forward who will star for Costa Rica in next month’s Central America Cup, let out a yelp as a couple of helpers dumped (allegedly) freezing cold water on to his head.  The Arsenal striker called on his La Sele teammate Yeltsin Tejeda to step up to the challenge next.While, according to the daily La Nación, Campbell did the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for the ALS Association. Other Ticos, including Costa Rica goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton, have done an Ice Bucket Challenge for the benefit of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation of Costa Rica as an ice bath has proven to be a successful way to galvanize fundraisers.Celebrities have played an enormous role in the ALS campaign’s viral success. Participants include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ben Affleck.“Thor” actor Chris Hemsworth took part in the challenge last week while on vacation in Costa Rica.Nominees have 24 hours to complete the challenge or donate money to the ALS Association (although celebrities usually, and appropriately, do both).Some 1.7 million donors have combined to raise almost $80 million to fight the neuromuscular disease, according to Time magazine,The ALS Association has raised $79.7 million to combat Lou Gehrig’s Disease since July 29, as the Ice Bucket Challenge continues to encourage people around the world to dump ice over their heads and send in money.The organization raised just $2.5 million during the same period last year [and $64 million in all of 2013]. Facebook Comments Related posts:‘Thor’ actor Chris Hemsworth takes Ice Bucket Challenge during Costa Rica vacation Another Costa Rican heads to Europe as Tico midfielder Yeltsin Tejeda signs with French club Evian Hollywood celebrity Matt Damon and family vacation in Costa Rica WATCH: Costa Rica’s Joel Campbell scores for Arsenal in first Premier League start read more

Related posts:CELAC should be seen as an ally of the region’s social movements, says indigenous leader Costa Rica celebrates 66th anniversary of the abolition of its army Costa Rica announces its own international aid policy Costa Rica to ‘take a hard look’ at its diplomatic missions, foreign minister says after meeting with US Secretary of State Kerry The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the near future should become an area free of extreme poverty, and one where poverty in general is diminished, according to Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño.This, along with the advancement of science, technology and innovation, as well as the strengthening of education at all levels throughout the region, are issues that CELAC should prioritize over the next five to 10 years, according to the South American official.The goal is to prompt leaders of the 33-nation bloc to agree on these and other top issues during the third CELAC summit meeting, scheduled for the end of this month in Costa Rica, Patiño told a press conference after meeting here this week with his Costa Rican counterpart and host, Miguel González.In González’s view, the needs and problems vary throughout the bloc, and the issues should be dealt with through dialogue, joint effort and consensus. By working together, regional weaknesses could be overcome more efficiently, the Costa Rican official said during a joint press conference at Casa Amarilla, Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry in downtown San José.One of the issues during the ministers’ meeting this week was “the possibility that on this occasion, when the heads of state meet, … as one of CELAC’s priorities we could declare [the region] an extreme poverty-free zone sometime in the near future,” Patiño said.The Ecuadorean official pointed out that during the second summit, held last year in Havana, Cuba, CELAC was declared a “peace zone.”“We must tirelessly work so that no war may surprise or affect us,” he said. “We also want this to be a territory or a zone that is free of extreme poverty, which is a priority for the government of Costa Rica, particularly for President [Luis Guillermo] Solís, as well as all the presidents in Latin America and the Caribbean.”Patiño highlighted Costa Rica’s case as one of “many prominent experiences” in reducing poverty and extreme poverty.“Costa Rica has a prominent experience, [and] their indicators rank among the best in the region,” he said. Meanwhile, “Ecuador is trying to at least come close,” with Brazil among the countries also ranking high in this field.“Others are somewhat behind,” and need the more successful experiences to be shared with them, Patiño said.“There’s no reason why we continue having poverty and inequality … in this region,” added the minister, who noted that priorities should include “developing science, technology and innovation.”“Our countries won’t be able to sustain their development levels if we’re not also at the forefront of this, because otherwise we will always be dependent,” he said. A man walks in front of the national flags of the countries members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in Havana, Cuba, on Jan. 24, 2014. Yamil Lage/AFPThe minister also mentioned a concern shared by Solís and Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa that Latin American and Caribbean universities “aren’t among the top universities worldwide.”“They have to get there,” he added.“If we want our countries’ development to be sustained over time, we can’t be behind in technological development,” Patiño said. “We have to be at the forefront, and we can do it.”For González, “there are different needs and problems in the countries that make up this community,” but “with the effort that’s already been made, it has been possible to identify those on which there is consensus, and those where the problems are the same and the weaknesses are the same.”“We’ve understood that only through unity, dialogue, consensus and working together those weaknesses can be more efficiently addressed and overcome,” he said. Costa Rican Foreign Minister Manuel González speaks at the Casa Amarilla in San José, on Aug. 4, 2014. Alberto Font/The Tico TimesThe Costa Rican official described CELAC as “a bridge with which Costa Rica is able to interact [and] hold talks … more efficiently than through bilateral relations or as a member of … other international organizations.”“That’s the added value we see,” he added.The 33-member community is scheduled to hold its third summit meeting Jan. 28-29 in what Costa Rican officials describe as the largest international meeting in this Central American country’s history. During the closing session, Ecuador will receive from Costa Rica the bloc’s yearly rotating presidency.The summit follows a technical meeting on Jan. 24-25 to finalize documents to be presented to heads of state, and a meeting of foreign ministers over the next two days.CELAC was created in 2011 in México as a regional forum “to unite” all Latin American and Caribbean states.Related: Costa Rica’s Solís to address trade imbalance with China at CELAC meeting Facebook Comments read more

Dubai International Airport has showcased why it is the second busiest airport for international passengers, with double-digit growth in passenger movements during May this year compared to last year.According to a Dubai Airports traffic report, the international gateway experienced an 18.9 percent growth in passengers numbers recorded from 4.3 million in May 2012 to 5.2 million in May 2013.In addition, May was also the sixth consecutive month the airport recorded passenger numbers exceeding five million, while the year-to-date traffic is up 16.8 percent to 27.1 million compared to 23.2 million during the first five months of 2012.India remained the top destination country in terms of total passenger numbers for the month, while in terms of percentage growth in passenger numbers Eastern Europe remained the strongest market.Dubai Airport chief executive Paul Griffiths said it was also the airport’s tenth consecutive month of double-digit growth and expects it to get busier as Ramadan and summer approaches.Source = ETB News: N.J. Maintains its titles as secondbusiest airport for int’l passengers. read more