24.9% COVID-positivity rate; 137 new cases, 4 deaths recorded Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Jamaica News Loop News

Amid Jamaica recording 137 new COVID-19 cases over 24 hours up to Wednesday afternoon, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has reported a positivity rate for the one-day period of 24.9 per cent.

Four COVID-19 deaths that occurred from September 2021 to August 2022 were also recorded on Wednesday, bringing the overall coronavirus death toll in Jamaica to 3,216.

A 73-year-old man from St Thomas is among the latest recorded COVID fatalities nationally.

The separate deaths of two COVID-19 patients are under investigation by health officials, while the death of another patient has been classified as being coincidental.

There were 92 recoveries on the day, bringing that tally to 94,817.

The newly confirmed COVID-19 cases brought the total number on record for the island to 147,567.

Notably, the 24.9 per cent positivity rate was based on the samples tested on Wednesday.

Of the newly confirmed cases, 85 are females and 52 are males, with ages ranging from five months to 95 years.

The case count was made up of Kingston and St Andrew (48), St Catherine (31), St James (11), Westmoreland (nine), Manchester (nine), St Ann (eight), Clarendon (seven), Trelawny (five), St Mary (four), St Elizabeth (two), Portland (two), and St Thomas (one).

There are 24 moderately ill patients, three severely ill patients and five critically ill patients among 1,235 active cases now under observation in Jamaica.

A total of 116 patients are now hospitalised locally.

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Cop battling for his life after attack by gunmen in Westmoreland Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Jamaica News Loop Jamaica

Loop News

58 minutes ago

NEWYou can now listen to Loop News articles!

A policeman is now in the hospital battling for his life after he was attacked and shot by gunmen in Westmoreland.

Reports are that the policeman was home when he was attacked by men who drove up to his premises on a motorcycle.

Reports are that the men then fled the area after the incident.

The policeman was rushed to the hospital where he has since been admitted.

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A 65-year-old soup vendor was shot and killed on Barnett Street, St James on Wednesday, August 10, just meters away from the police station.

The deceased has been identified as Allan Morg

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A native of Jamaica is serving in the US Navy and was part of the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC).

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First Rock’s Shaun Myers stocks up on sleep to ensure efficiency Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Jamaica News Loop Jamaica

Habits for Success

Shamille Scott

42 minutes ago – Updated

Habits for Success: Shaun Myers

NEWYou can now listen to Loop News articles!

Shaun Myers, Vice President of Finance and Planning at First Rock, knows when to call it a night.

He lists adequate sleep among the top habits he practises to ensure he effectively functions as a leader.

Listen as Myers details his Habits for Success.

Source

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Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran join UAE’s ILT20 Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Jamaica News Loop News
Loop Sports

20 minutes ago

(From left) Kierron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran.

NEWYou can now listen to Loop News articles!

Ex-West Indies all-rounders Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo along with their Trinidad and Tobago compatriot Nicholas Pooran are among the latest stars to sign up for the UAE’s International League T20 (IL T20).

The trio from Trinidad and Tobago have joined Jamaicans Andre Russell, Fabian Allen, Rovman Powell, Sheldon Cottrell, and Kennar Lewis who are among the first list of players announced for the competition.

Some of the other signees from the Caribbean are Sunil Narine, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravi Rampaul, and Raymon Reifer

The ILT20 is set to begin in January next year in the UAE and is competing with South Africa’s T20 League for players.

Each squad of 18 will have two players from Associate countries and four players from the UAE.

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INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2022 Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Antigua News Room

The Caribbean Observatory Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in collaboration with the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA), salute all Youth in the Caribbean and join the rest of the world in celebrating International Youth Day 2022.

This year’s theme: Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages highlights the importance of recognizing our need for unity across generations and diversity – race, gender, ethnicity, religion and geographical location that prevent us from learning from and leaning on each other to overcome barriers that prevent us from learning from and leaning on each other as we strive to build a better Caribbean for all.

Caribbean adolescents face major barriers to access sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). This has contributed to the early sexual debut and one of the highest adolescent fertility rates in the world: 60.2 births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 (2010-2015 period). According to a PANCAP 2018 report, “Young people as a whole, and specifically young people from key populations, are disproportionally at risk for HIV infection, STIs and other sexual and reproductive health problems.

Age-specific consent laws restrict adolescents’ access sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including access to essential information and guidance required to make informed decisions. Integrating age-appropriate CSE in the Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) curriculum is a positive step in equipping adolescents and youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence to make wise decisions and prevent early sexual debut, teenage pregnancy, STIs, GBV, suicide, and to protect vulnerable youth.

Ageism in the Caribbean and the culture of silencing youth, dismissing their voices and experiences and the right of decision-making regarding their lives and wellbeing has devastating consequences for them and the whole society. This is a major barrier to intergenerational solidarity in the face of challenges that threaten our collective future. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us the importance of our interdependence, human solidarity and community. We are also reminded of the urgency to come together to find solutions in the face of our mutual vulnerability.

Youth are a vital priority for the CFPA and the Caribbean Observatory on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. At the heart of our vision and mandate is our commitment to ensure that no one is left behind. In observance of #IYD2022, we will be hosting a Community Dialogue on August 12, 2022, at 11:30 AM (AST) to discuss how we can strive towards advancing the health and wellbeing of youth in the region. We call on governments, civil society, community and faith-based organisations to recognize and

commit to advancing the Rights of Youth, build intergenerational solidarity and to support them in making informed and wise decisions regarding their bodies and lives.

Happy International Youth Day!!

See Zoom link here to register

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ABTA Announces New U.S. Market Travel Advisory Board

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Antigua News Room

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) has chosen a “dynamic” and “remarkable” group of travel trade professionals within the United States for a new ABTA (USA) Travel Advisory Board from September 2022.

The board consists of travel business owners within the Midwest, Southeast, East Coast and West Coast of the United States.

They have been chosen because of their strong relationship with the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority’s U.S. Office, the passion they have for the destination, and the important role they play in the travel industry.

They will offer their assistance and guidance to the ABTA until September 2023.

Charles Fernandez, minister of tourism, Antigua and Barbuda, addressed the new members at a dinner held at Sandals Grande Antigua resort and said, “I feel privileged and honored to be in your company this evening because I know of your commitment—and your mission—to help our tourism product grow.” The minister thanked the group for their support, particularly within the recent years and for their partnership. “We benefit from your knowledge and expertise, so I would also like to congratulate those of you who have had careers spanning more than 30 years in the travel industry and who are proud owners and managers in your respective field,” he added.

Dean Fenton, U.S. director of tourism, said: “The last few days have been very productive. The group has been engaged in strategic think tank sessions, producing big ideas that will help Antigua and Barbuda stand-out and drive more business to the destination from the U.S.”

The trade partners spent five days in Antigua, familiarizing themselves with the newest destination updates and brainstorming.

The 2022-23 Board members include: Brenda O’NealeWith This Ring Destination Weddings and HoneymoonsDebra BrownSmartBird World TravelSusan BermanBerman TravelTerry StraussDedham TravelNiki RakowitzCare TravelEdouard JeanMassive TravelsTom VargheseTravel Tom; and Donna BorrelliHamden Travel.

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Has CARICOM reached its limits of regional integration?  Part 3

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Antigua News Room

By Sir Ronald Sanders 

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States.   He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto) 

So far in this attempt to answer the question, “Has CARICOM reached its limits of regional integration”, it has been established that, after almost 50 years, the regional project has failed to deliver the commitments expected from the 1973 Treaty of Chaguaramas and its Revision in 2001.

In summary, while the 2001 revision of the CARICOM Treaty laid the framework for a single economic space (the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), the attempts at regional integration have made very little progress. Not even a Custom Union, let alone a Common Market has been established.

The ‘Sovereignty’ of individual states continues to be the dominant characteristic of decision making, resulting in inadequate or no implementation of regional decisions.  The Secretariat, having started off brilliantly under William Demas and Alister McIntyre (two widely respected Caribbean figures), and with enthusiastic support from the then member governments, has drifted into paralysis and bureaucratic management, in addition to being poorly funded.

Additionally, CARICOM expanded prematurely instead of focussing on deepening its integration.  The admission of Haiti in 2002 has caused problems for trade and economic integration – one that is unlikely to be solved in the foreseeable future.  Further, successive governments of Haiti have breached the 1997 CARICOM Charter of Civil Society in relation to free and fair elections, good governance, and civil and political rights.  The Bahamas is not a member of the common market aspects of CARICOM. While it has participated beneficially in some aspects of “functional cooperation”, its governments have been inconsistent in the coordination foreign policy with other CARICOM states.

Jamaica has continuously questioned the benefits of its own participation in CARICOM, focusing issues on its trade with Trinidad and Tobago only and ignoring the fact that it enjoys a large trade surplus with all other CARICOM states, especially those that are also members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).  Also depending on which political party holds office, Jamaican governments have chosen to do very little coordination of its foreign policy positions.

The 2017 Jamaica Commission, headed by former Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, which reviewed Jamaica’s relations with CARICOM, recommended that, if fundamental changes were not made to CARICOM’s processes, Jamaica should “withdraw from the CSME” but retain membership “similar to that of The Bahamas”.  The latter event would put Jamaica in the same semi-detached position as The Bahamas, weaking the Organization even more.   Note should be taken, however, that there were many valid observations and remarks in the Golding Report, regarding reform of CARICOM, especially regarding implementation of its decisions.

In 2003, fourteen years before the Golding report,  another Jamaican Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson, a committed regionalist, proposed to a CARICOM Heads of Government meeting, a mechanism to facilitate the deepening of the regional integration.  Seemingly convinced, the leaders adopted “The Rose Hall Declaration”.  However, even then, there were signs of reticence and reluctance with one Prime Minister insisting on accepting the Rose Hall Declaration “in principle”, not in practice.   The Declaration was never executed.

This caused  Sir Shridath Ramphal, the elder Caribbean Statesman who chaired the 1992 West Indian Commission, to observe, in 2014, that nothing came of the Declaration because it offered “a regionalism which, for all its checks and balances against supra-nationality, was still too much for the cloistered immaturity of a political culture fixated by the obsessive compulsions of local control”.  Sir Shridath also remarked with poignant resonance today, that had regional leaders implemented the mechanism proposed by P.J. Patterson, “many of our countries would not be experiencing the extent of the terrible economic misfortune and uncertainty they now endure”.

Realistically, the challenged faced by CARICOM countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname with their present-day riches of oil and gas, is that none of them, individually, enjoys sustainable economic independence.  Each of them is dependent on aid for social and economic development and security in all its dimensions.  Consequently, this dependence deprives each of them of genuine political independence.  As the late Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Lester Bird, put it in 1992, “No small state, severely limited in its natural, human and financial resources, can operate as if it were a large country [-] It is an unrealistic approach to problem-solving and decision-making in a world which has embraced economic alliances, merges and the creation of single regional markets as ways to survive”.

Given all this, CARICOM has not reached its limits of regional integration; indeed, CARICOM has barely scratched the surface of the economic and political benefits of integration.

The region’s current leaders must navigate their countries through the maelstrom of high debt, continuing poor terms of trade, inadequate access to concessional financing for development, imported high costs for food and energy, inadequate technological infrastructure and the impact of Climate Change.  While some of them, with oil and gas especially, may weather this storm for now, the underlying weaknesses of individual small economies will persist.   A committed approach to the deepening of regional integration with effective machinery for implementation is the only answer.

The adherence to a “Caribbean Community of Sovereign States” is unlikely to change.  But its leaders should, at least recognize that “sovereignty” is only beneficial if it has force in dealing with an international community. Many of the member states of the international community are fed-up with the constant demands on their taxpayers’ money from individual small and powerless states.  They have themselves pursued integration as their salvation as for instance, in the European Union, the federation of the United States of America, the federation of Canada, the federation of Mexico and the federation of Brazil.

While Federation is a contemplation now too imbued with fear, at least deeper integration must be high on the priorities and commitment of leaders as the 60th anniversary of CARICOM approaches.  Leaders might usefully consider adapting one of the Golding Commission’s recommendations, “to appoint an oversight body of three to five eminent CARICOM nationals to review CARICOM’s performance and, in particular, the compliance of member states…”. The review could be considered in July 2023 and delivered to the public.  There is no shortage of solid, authoritative work that would aid the review.

As Dr Eric Williams, a renowned Caribbean historian, who led his country, Trinidad and Tobago, to independence in the wake of the break-up of the West Indies Federation, advised with compelling prescience in 1962: “Separation and fragmentation were the policy of colonialism and rival colonialisms.  Association and integration must be the policy of independence”.

Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com 

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Presentation of Credentials – Mr. Pieter Bult UNICEF Representative to the Eastern Caribbean Area

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Antigua News Room
Bult

On 11th August, 2022, Mr. Pieter Bult, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative to the UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area, presented his Letter of Credence to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda which was received by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Trade, Hon. E.P Chet Greene.

Mr. Bult underscored the excellent collaboration which existed between UNICEF and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, and commended the Government’s efforts in establishing a strong partnership regarding social programmes and education.

The official highlighted the presence of the newly established United Nations (UN) common premises which is located on Independence Drive.

The multi-functional building allows UN agencies to operate in a single location in Antigua and includes the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Minister Greene noted the multifaceted approach of UNICEF which extends beyond education to include tackling issues surrounding youth and climate change. The Foreign Minister also assured Mr.

Bult of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to supporting the leadership of UNICEF especially in this COVID-19 climate.

Accordingly, the UNICEF representative underpinned that the organization will work closely with schools on island in order to adequately prepare them in the event of natural disasters, thereby improving resilience and recovery.

UNICEF also hopes to adopt an all-inclusive approach by engaging children, particularly those under 18 years, by instilling a sense of community and responsibility as customarily demonstrated in Caribbean societies.

Both officials held further discussions on matters surrounding the work of UNICEF on island.

Mr. Bult will engage with other senior government officials during his official visit.

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Venezuelan authorities arrest four people for sex trafficking to Trinidad and Tobago

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

Stock photo source: Pixabay

The Public Ministry (MP) of Venezuela has reported that four people have been arrested for sexual treatment and trafficking of women to Trinidad and Tobago.

In a statement sent to the Venezuelan media on Wednesday, the ministry said it acted after four women and a teenager made complaintd.

In the statement, the MP said five women who had been “brought to TT under false pretences to be sexually exploited entered Venezuela and made complaints about what they experienced.”

The MP said investigations began after a boat carrying 56 Venezuelans arrived at the port of Guiria on August 4, from TT.

The five victims were met by MP prosecutors. They said they had been captured through social networks on which decent, well-paying jobs in TT had been advertised.

“Victims were forced into sex work, and paid in local currency in exchange for their freedom, which was equivalent to US$4,000,” the press release said.

The ministry arrested and charged four people with the offences of human trafficking and criminal association.

On Tuesday, the director of the Venezuelan Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC), Douglas Rico, reported the arrest of a 35-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, a brother and sister, in the state of Monagas,for theiralleged link to a human trafficking network for the purpose of sexual slavery.

Rico said because of the increase in complaints from relatives of victims of trafficking and sex trafficking, the CICPC opened a department to co-ordinate investigations into human trafficking.

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Campbell siblings pedal to double bronze at Elite Pan Am Champs

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Sports

TT’s cycling siblings Teniel, left, and Akil Campbell celebrate their bronze medal performances in the women elimination and men’s scratch races at the Elite Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Lima, Peru on Thursday. – COURTESY: TTCF

SIBLINGS TENIEL and Akil Campbell pedalled to bronze medals in the women elimination and men’s scratch races respectively on day two of the 2022 Elite Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Lima, Peru on Thursday.

In the ten-lap event, Teniel utilised her European road experience to control the bunch for the most of the race.

With three laps to go, American Olivia Cummins was eliminated. Her exit left Teniel, Canadian Sarah Van Dam and Mexican Yareli Acevedo to battle for the top three spots.

Chasing glory, Van Dam and Acevedo accelerated past race leader Teniel and maintained their advantage to force the TT cyclist into bronze medal position.

Sprinting to the end, Van Dam bettered Acevedo to claim top honours while the Mexican settled for silver.

And in the men’s 15km (60 laps) scratch race, Akil was unable to repeat his golden showing at the 2021 edition and held on to bronze this time around. Wining gold was American Grant Koontz while Canadian Dylan Bibic earned silver.

In other morning session events on Thursday, TT’s Nicholas Paul and Kwesi Browne eased into the second round of keirin competition after both won their respective first round rides. Paul won heat two while Browne topped heat five.

The remaining keirin rounds will be contested in the evening session.

Additionally, Sylese Christian was eliminated in the women’s sprint qualifying round. She clocked 12.575 seconds at a speed of 57.256 kilometres per hour. Her time was 24th fastest and did not fall within the advancing cyclists.

Teniel and Akil’s performances sent TT’s Elite Pan Am Champs medal tally to three as the sprint trio of Paul, Browne and Zion Pulido blasted to men’s team sprint gold on Wednesday.

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