Country Code: +1284International Call Prefix: 011 Calls from the British Virgin Islands to the US, other NANP Caribbean nations, are dialled as 1 + NANP area code + 7-digit number. Calls from the British Virgin Islands to non-NANP countries are dialled as 011 + country code + phone number with local area code. Number Format: nxx-xxxx Telephones - main lines in use: 11,700 Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,000 Telephone system: worldwide telephone service general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: Connected via submarine cable to Bermuda. Prior to 2006, in common with many other Caribbean countries, Cable & Wireless had a statutory monopoly on telephone and other electronic communications services. However, in the 1990s, a local company called CCT Boatphone, which had provided radio boatphones to tourists on charter boats, expanded into cellular telecommunications for land-based users. Although technically in breach of the statutory monopoly, CCT Boatphone was backed by a powerful collection of local interests known as the BVI Investment Club.

Negotiations between Cable & Wireless and CCT Boatphone led to a split of the monopolies, with Cable & Wireless retaining a monopoly over fixed line and internet services, CCT Boatphone keeping a de facto monopoly over cellular telephones. In 2007 the government abolished the existing monopolies under an order made pursuant to the new legislation; the process proved politically fraught, the government's Minister for Communications and Works, Alvin Christopher, ended up leaving the government and joining the opposition party as a result of the furore. The process was criticised as cumbersome and slow, the initial deregulation having been announced in 2004, taking no less than three years to come to fruition through delays in legislation and regulation. Although there have been no new entrants into the fixed line industry, the government issued three licences under the new regime to cellular telephone service providers; the existing provider, CCT Boatphone, obtained one licence. Bmobile, the cellular arm of Cable & Wireless, obtained a second.

The third licence was obtained by a local cable television service. The licence in favour of BVI Cable was controversial, as the Regulator had announced in advance that only three licences in total would be issued, BVI Cable TV had crumbling cable television infrastructure, was in no position to office cellular telephone services. However, bmobile's main regional competitor, was rejected for a licence; the decision was regarded as controversial in the local media. Digicel issued court proceedings against the Regulator, arguing that he had acted improperly by imposing an arbitrary limit of three licences. Bmobile was joined to the suit as an interested party. High Court Judge Rita Joseph-Olivetti quashed the original decision. Digicel commenced separate proceedings against Cable and Wireless in the English courts, claiming that Cable & Wireless has unfairly stifled competition in several Caribbean jurisdictions. During the intervening period, bmobile has obtained a virtual stranglehold on the cellular telecommunications market in the British Virgin Islands by a combination of low prices and aggressive advertising, as well as significant investment in infrastructure and technology.

Digicel was granted a licence on 17 December 2007 and started operations in the BVI on 28 November 2008. This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

The Harlequin Puppet Theatre is a puppet theatre at Rhos-on-Sea, Wales. Britain's oldest permanent puppet theatre, the Harlequin was built in 1958 by Eric Bramall and is now run by his former puppeteer partner, Chris Somerville; the small, 100-seat theatre is home to a collection of 1,000 marionettes that feature in puppet shows during Britain's school holiday seasons. Theatre founder Eric Bramall began putting on touring puppet shows in 1946, with the help of his mother. From 1951 to 1956, Bramall performed elaborate puppet shows each summer in a temporary theatre built onto an existing bandstand in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. After Colwyn Bay Council said he could no longer use the bandstand, a fellow puppet enthusiast named Millicent Ford who lived on the seafront at Rhos-on-Sea offered him a portion of her land on which to build a permanent puppet theatre. Architects drew up plans based on Eric Bramall's detailed ideas; the Harlequin was built in eleven weeks, using wood and local stone salvaged from derelict servants' quarters which had occupied the site.

Bramall painted the murals on the auditorium walls in a single week. The Opening Ceremony was performed by Sir Clayton Russon on 7 July 1958; the resulting building won a Civic Trust Award for its design. Its construction marked the first time in British history that a permanent theatre had been designed and built for puppet playing. Since 1958 Bramall's marionette skills had been featured on a children's television show; this and other outside work helped enable the Harlequin Puppet Theatre to stay in business, despite declining attendance over the decades. Eric Bramall died in July 1996; as of 2012 his theatre continues to operate under Chris Somerville's stewardship. In an interview for The Telegraph, Somerville commented on the endangered status of marionette artistry: I worry that the marionette is not the puppet of choice any more – you see a lot of hand puppets in the West End shows but marionettes take time to learn the craft. Why would people spend the time training when there are no jobs and no money?

I don't earn enough to pay tax and I only go home to sleep, I work the rest of the time. But I'm one of the lucky ones. I get the same thrill out of this. Official website Telegraph article published on 6 Aug 2010

The Holy Ghost Church of East Africa, known among its adherents as Akurinu, is an African sect of Christianity common in the central region of Kenya among the Agikuyu community. The sect incorporates some aspects of Christianity with those of traditional Kikuyu religious beliefs; the sect was registered in 1959. However, it traces its origins between the years 1926 - 1930 in Limuru, Kiambu County, Central Kenya; the origin of the word akurinu is not clear. It is said by some to come from the Kikuyu question ‘Mukuri-ni’ which translates to ‘who is the redeemer?’. Others say that it comes from the growling sounds made by early adherents to the sect when possessed by the spirit, an act described as gukurina. In his book Facing Mt. Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta states that the akurinu referred to themselves as Arothi, people of God; the akurinu identify Joseph Ng’ang’a as the founder of the sect. It was Ng’ang’a who ascended Mt. Kenya with the first four akurinu prophets - Joseph Kanini, Henry Maina, Philip Mukubwa and Lilian Njeru.

It was on this ascension that the akurinu say Njeru was instructed to remove all adornments she had worn, throw them into the River Nyamindi and cover her hair. They claim to have been instructed by God to lift their hands in the air as they pray; these two practices form an integral part of akurinu religious beliefs today. Henry Maina is credited with composing most of the 544 hymns in the akurinu hymn book, it is said. However, after marrying a woman from Nyahururu, he lost his musical prowess, his name was replaced by that of David Ikegu in the Akurinu New Testament. In the 1950s at the height of tension between the British colonial government and natives, the movement came under heavy suppression from the colonial government, opposed to any indigenous religious movement. Joseph Ng’ang’a was shot dead on 2nd February 1934 by British soldiers while praying in a cave. Adherents to the sect are known to be reserved about their religious beliefs and do not interact with non-Akurinu, they are conspicuous in their white robes and turbans as their scripture dictates that they should discard all forms of European dressing.

The white turban is meant to show that they are peace-makers. These are some of the main differences between the akurinu mainstream Christianity, they place him above God the father and the son. Elders seclude themselves for 7-14 days before any important event. Akurinu men are not allowed to marry before attaining the age of 25. For women, the minimum age limit for marriage is 22. Consumption of alcohol is forbiddenThey do not believe in having idols in homes; as such, it is forbidden to have any idols of the Virgin Jesus Christ. This, they say, is drawn from the 10 commandments which states “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”Akurinu baptism is not by water. It can be done using oil or by the laying of hands. This, they say, is drawn from the Bible in Matthew 3:11 where John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water but after me comes one, more powerful than I... who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”Dead bodies are not allowed near church premises.

Praying for the dead is done at the burial site. The dead are not supposed to be taken to a mortuary. Instead, they are preserved using other traditional methods. Consumption of pork and pork products is forbiddenThe Akurinu prefer traditional medicine to modern/ Western medicine, they believe. Today, the church has split into several different sub-sects, each with its own style of dress

Show jumping known as "stadium jumping", "open jumping", or "jumping", is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that includes dressage, eventing and equitation. Jumping classes are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are limited to jumpers, sometimes jumper classes are offered in conjunction with other English-style events, sometimes show jumping is but one division of large, all-breed competitions that include a wide variety of disciplines. Jumping classes may be governed by various national horse show sanctioning organizations, such as the United States Equestrian Federation in the USA or the British Showjumping Association in Great Britain. International competitions are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Show jumping events have jumper classes and hunt seat equitation classes. Hunters are judged subjectively on the degree to which they meet an ideal standard of manners and movement; this includes flowing, sweeping movement of the horse, an ideal hunter should jump with square knees that are tucked-in and a rounded neck.

Hunters' appearance should tend toward quiet and soft to give the appearance of effortless grace, the horse's tack and the rider's attire should be conservative so that nothing detracts from the horse's performance. The horse's tack bits, crops and martingales is regulated because the goal is to showcase the horse's natural ability, excessive tack takes away from this. Hunters are not allowed to wear boots or polos on their legs when competing to show the judges their fluid movement. Show hunters should be immaculately groomed with their manes and tails neatly braided to emphasize tradition, as well as their beauty and athleticism. Hunter courses are simplistic and the jumps are made out of natural-looking materials to represent the sport's fox-hunting origin. Conversely, jumper classes are scored objectively, based on a numerical score determined only by whether the horse attempts the obstacle, clears it, finishes the course in the allotted time; every rail, knocked down during competition results in a 4 fault penalty.

There are time limits per course and failure to be under the time allowed results in a time fault every second over. Jumper courses tend to be much more complex and technical than hunter courses to test the rider's and the horse's skill and athleticism, jumper jumps are made with bright colors and are built to look airy instead solid. An ideal jumper is fast, agile and brave. In jumper classes, the fence heights can be much taller than in hunters or equitation, so to compete at the top level, a horse's jumping ability is the primary focus; because jumpers are not judged on the horse or rider's appearance, there are fewer restrictions on tack and rider apparel. Many riders will select tack and apparel that match their barn or company's colors as a way to indicate, who they ride for. However, horses should still be groomed and riders should be professional and tasteful with their attire; as show jumping is a large international's sport, it is an event in the summer Olympics. In addition to hunters and jumpers, there are equitation classes, sometimes called hunt seat equitation, which judges the ability of the rider.

The equipment and fence styles used in equitation more resemble hunter classes, although the technical difficulty of the courses may more resemble showjumping events. This is because both disciplines are designed to test the rider's ability to control the horse through a difficult course consisting of rollbacks and higher obstacles. Equitation is geared towards junior riders as a way to promote disciplined and technical riding abilities, but there are equitation classes for adults as well. In the fall, there are four main equitation championships which include the USET Talent Search Final, the USEF Dover Hunt Seat Medal Final, the Washington International Horse Show Equitation Championship, the ASPCA Maclay Equitation Championship. Winners of these events go on to become prominent competitors in the equestrian world. Jumper classes are held over a course of show jumping obstacles, including verticals and double and triple combinations with many turns and changes of direction; the intent is to jump cleanly over a set course within an allotted time.

Time faults are assessed for exceeding the time allowance. Jumping faults are incurred for blatant disobedience, such as refusals. Horses are allowed a limited number of refusals before being disqualified. A refusal may lead to a rider exceeding the time allowed on course. Placings are based on "faults" accumulated. A horse and rider who have not accumulated any jumping faults or penalty points are said to have scored a "clear round". Tied entries have a jump-off over a raised and shortened course, the course is timed. In most competitions, riders are allowed to walk the initial course but not the jump-off course before competition to plan their ride. Walking the course before the even

Christopher James Scott is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender in the Football League for Burnley. Scott was born in Lancashire into a footballing family with strong links to Burnley, his father, grandfather and younger brother have all played for the club. He attended St Theodore's RC High School, he started his career in 1997. He played 14 matches in all during the 1998 -- 99 season, his debut for the club came on 22 August 1998, when he came on as a substitute for Lee Howey in the 0–1 defeat to York City at Turf Moor. In 2000, he had a loan spell with Football Conference side Leigh RMI. After failing to properly break into the first team at Burnley, he moved to Leigh on a permanent basis in the summer of 2001, he stayed with the Railwaymen for two seasons, playing just 14 times in the league before leaving the club in May 2003. In November 2004 it was announced. Chris Scott at Soccerbase

The University of Dodoma is a public university in central Tanzania located in Dodoma, the country's capital. Building is taking place on a 6,000-hectare site in the Chimwaga area about 8 kilometres east of downtown Dodoma; the University of Dodoma was formally established in March 2007 following the signing of the Charter by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania. The first academic programmes commenced in September 2007. UDOM is the fastest growing university within the country, its biggest more than any other university within the country, it's praised with producing competent and qualified candidate capable of competing in job market. In line with Tanzania’s Development Vision 2025, the University of Dodoma, when operational, will be able to enroll 50,000 students; this is more than triple the size of the University of Dar es Salaam when UDOM becomes operational. Up to now it is 80% complete and is two times bigger the size and capacity of The university of Dar es salaam; the university of Dodoma has seven colleges: College of Earth Science, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, College of Informatics and Virtual Education, College of Education, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Health and Allied Science and College of Business studies and Law, in there was establishment of newly academic institute within college of humanities and social science UDOM named institute of Development studies charged with responsibility of strengthening professionals within the field of Development studies.

Official website UDOM Images