Black Immigrant Daily News

MADRID (AP) — Manchester United reached a deal Friday to sign midfielder Casemiro from Real Madrid, ending the Brazilian’s successful stint in Spain and giving the struggling English giant a much-needed reinforcement.

Both clubs confirmed the deal but did not provide financial details, although Spanish media said the deal for the 30-year-old Brazilian was worth about 70 million euros ($70 million) plus variables.

United said the transfer is subject to the agreement of personal terms, UK visa requirements and a medical. United, which have lost their opening two games of the Premier League season, have been in the market for a central midfielder since the transfer window opened.

Casemiro’s arrival should be a boost for beleaguered United manager Erik ten Hag, who unsuccessfully deployed playmaker Christian Eriksen in a deeper-lying midfield role in last weekend’s 4-0 loss at Brentford.

Madrid thanked Casemiro and called him a club legend. He had been with Madrid since 2013 and helped them to win 18 titles, including five Champions League and three Spanish leagues.

The club said Casemiro will be honoured at an event at the team’s training center on Monday.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti had said earlier Friday that Casemiro was in negotiations for a move and a deal was imminent.

He said he spoke with Casemiro and felt “there was no way back,”

“He wants to try a new challenge, a new opportunity,” Ancelotti said in a news conference. “The club understands. With all he’s done for this club and the person he is, we have to respect it. There are talks right now, he’s still a Real Madrid player at this stage, but he wants to leave.”

Ancelotti said he didn’t try to change Casemiro’s mind about leaving.

“I haven’t tried to convince him, I just listened, because I have spoken to Casemiro throughout my time here and he has helped us so much,” Ancelotti said. “Having heard what he wants, there’s no way back. If he doesn’t stay, we’ll have an enormous sense of gratitude to him for all he’s done.”

The 30-year-old Casemiro is regarded as one of the world’s best holding midfielders. Madrid’s midfield has been one of the best in the world in recent years with Casemiro playing alongside Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

He has more than 60 appearances with Brazil’s national team and is set to play in the World Cup in Qatar. He helped Brazil win the 2019 Copa Am?rica.

Ancelotti said Madrid has replacements for Casemiro, though, including young France midfielder Aur?lien Tchouam?ni, who was signed in the offseason. The club has other players who can fill in as well, including Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and even David Alaba, a defender who can play in midfield if needed.

“Tchouam?ni was signed for this position and he’s one of the best central midfielders on the market right now,” Ancelotti said. “Then we’ve got Kroos, who can play in that position too, just like he did in my second year here, and there’s Camavinga as well.”

Ancelotti said the six midfielders he still has in the squad would be “enough to negotiate the season.”

“They are six top quality players,” the coach said.

Ancelotti said Madrid’s targets will remain the same despite Casemiro’s departure.

“Real Madrid’s plans don’t change,” he said. “Our plans are to fight and compete in every competition, which we will do with or without Casemiro. That said, everyone is well aware of how important the player is and how much we love him.”

Madrid won the Champions League, the Spanish league and the Spanish Super Cup last season. They opened this season by winning the UEFA Super Cup.

Casemiro will join former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo at United, although the Portugal forward’s future at the English club is still in doubt.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival has been endorsed by New York state officials for its significant contributions to culture and diversity.

This endorsement came in the form of two proclamations at the 10th annual staging of the festival which was hosted by GK Foods USA in New York on July 31, 2022.

This year’s festival saw over 15,000 patrons turning out to the Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York, to indulge in rich Jamaican heritage through food, music, fashion, and games.

The proclamations, which are official declarations made by mayors and governors for historical, cultural, and civic celebrations of city and state-wide impact, were received from New York Mayor Eric Adams, and New York State Senator Leroy Comrie.

Mayor Adams commended GK Foods USA for the annual event which shares Jamaica’s rich heritage with people from all backgrounds and exemplifies New York’s multiculturalism and resiliency.

He also acknowledged the 100th anniversary of the GraceKennedy Group, which is being celebrated this year, and lauded the value the company continues to add to life in New York by providing quality Jamaican food.

Derrick Reckord, president and CEO of GK Foods USA, said that GraceKennedy has been delighted to sponsor the festival by way of the popular Grace brand, since its inception in 2010.

“We are proud of the association with such an event that brings recognition to the food and culture of Jamaica to the world,” Reckord said.

“As the GraceKennedy Group celebrates its 100th year,” he continued, “and Jamaicans everywhere celebrate the country’s 60th year of independence, it was thrilling to see over 15,000 people coming out to enjoy the flavour of real Jamaican jerk from Grace, as well as other aspects of the culture…”

Kimberly Lue Lim, GraceKennedy Foods global category manager, who participated in the event, commented on the growth of the annual fest, noting that it has become one of the most anticipated and culturally significant events for Jamaicans living in the diaspora.

“Jamaican and Caribbean nationals, as well as foreigners who adore our culture, look forward to this festival each year, and we are proud to have grown from strength to strength over the last 10 stagings,” she said.

“This year is extremely special to us as we celebrate not only the festival’s 10-year milestone and [two] major proclamations from New York state officials, but also the 100th-anniversary celebration of the Group,” Lue Lim proudly noted.

This year, festival-goers enjoyed scintillating performances from popular dancehall and reggae artists such as Laa Lee, Protoje, Lila Ik?, Nadine Sutherland, Spragga Benz, Romain Virgo and Christopher Martin.

The Grace Culinary Pavilion featured over 30 Caribbean restaurants and food vendors, who prepared jerk-themed dishes, infused with the flavours of Grace Jamaican Jerk Seasoning.

Celebrity chefs competed for the coveted “Dutch Pot Trophy” while other influencers competed in a Jerk cook-off game.

The Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival is a partnership between GK Foods USA and the event organisers, Jamaican Jerk Festival NY LLC, in association with VP Records.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News

St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen (left) with the help of little In this … file photo, Rishaan Hosein and Councillor Richard Rampersad planting a coconut tree,the first of her 1000 tree project at the Helping Hand Recreational Ground, Streatham Lodge Road Extension , St Augustine. File photo/Sureash Cholai

St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen says she wants to continue doing her part in helping people to maximise their potential.

Speaking to Newsday at a career fair she held on Friday, Ameen said, “One of the things that most young people come to the MP’s office for is concerning jobs. There are people with master’s degrees whose fields are saturated, and they are working in minimum-paying jobs. What we want is to bring the ideas to young people and to parents about what opportunities exist.”

She stressed the importance of people broadening their horizons and not limiting themselves, saying it is vital to be aware of every possibilitye.

The career day, hosted at the Tunapuna Community Centre, Centenary Street, was held under the theme Connections for Success. It featured a number of tertiary-level educational institutions including: UWI; SBCS Global Learning Institute; the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of TT (COSTAATT); SITAL College of Tertiary Education Ltd; and CTS College of Business and Computer Science Ltd, among others. Industries providing guidance on the culinary arts, as well as skills training, were also present, such as the Academy of Baking and Pastry Arts, Electrical and Plumbing and the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC). They offered information and brochures on what types of careers people can go into, as well as the prerequisites and qualifications needed. Many developmental courses were also promoted, to help people boost essential everyday skills such the ability to carry on conversations.

In addition to providing academic guidance and personal development, the event also aimed to help people discover potential job or internship opportunities, as well as enabling a smooth transition into the world of work and practising and enhancing their networking skills.

Ameen said although the event was held in St Augustine, because the venue is so close to the Priority Bus Route, many people from other parts of the country also attended.

She was pleased how well-received the event was, saying, “I must say, the stakeholders, the participants, both the service providers as well as those coming in, have been really warm in their reception.”

She added that this great reception had led to requests from other communities to host similar events, which she is more than happy to do.

“In Oropune Gardens area, where we have a lot of young unemployed persons, we want to have barbering and hairdressing, along with entrepreneurship. In the St Augustine south area, where there is a high concentration of agriculture, we want to have things like agro-processing and so on.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Today Friday August 19, 2022 the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs reports a total of 81 new cases of COVID-19 from samples processed on Wednesday August 17, 2022 and Thursday August 18, 2022.

This is from a total of 326 samples, of which 297 samples are from the Ezra Long Laboratory and 29 samples from the Laboratory Services and Consultations Limited.

These samples were collected from August 13, 2022 to August 18, 2022. This number of positive cases makes up 24.8% of all the samples processed on these dates. These new cases bring the total number of cases diagnosed in country to date to 28, 542.

Confirmation was also received of the recovery of 91 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. This brings the number of active cases in country to date to 127. Currently, there are eleven positive cases of COVID-19 admitted at the Respiratory Hospital, of which one is critically ill.

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To date, a total of 54, 739 individuals have been fully vaccinated. Another 5, 166 are partially vaccinated and 7, 765 have received their booster shot.

Vaccination will take place at various Wellness Centres as per the published COVID-19 vaccination schedule.

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs will continue providing frequent updates to the public as new information becomes available.

SOURCE: Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs

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Black Immigrant Daily News

A comprehensive, multi-agency public order campaign led by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), has been under way in Montego Bay, St James since Monday morning, and is set to continue and be intensified over the next 90 days.

At mid-week, Divisional Commander, Senior Superintendent Vernon Ellis, reinforced the message and advised that the campaign is aimed at bringing back the city streets from the public order crisis that is presently there.

He said the overall problem would have stemmed from one vendor breaking the law and getting away with it for some time, one taxi operator moving outside of the assigned area and not being prosecuted, “which, over time, have led to many others following, and now that sort of public disorder has become quite entrenched on some of the city’s streets, and clearly needs to be nipped in the bud.”

Members of the Quick Response Team supporting the ongoing public order drive in Montego Bay, St James.

His plan is strategically employing the support of a wide cross-section of public and civic agencies and organisations “to ensure that the campaign is sustainable, systematic and inclusive of the range of stakeholder inputs that will produce broad changes, improvement and critically, civility among the present offenders.”

Ellis said the chaos on critical streets in the city fosters more major crimes, so public order within the general space conversely contributes to lower rates of crime overall, including the more serious offences, within the applicable spaces and even further afield, due to the positive chain effect of improved civility and personal pride among citizens in general.

“We intend to get back to basics and reform the overall space, bring back public order and seek to give the persons involved an opportunity to be part of a productive and orderly system, instead of a chaotic situation that exposes all to some undesirable circumstances, including street violence, gross public inconvenience, road rage and other negatives,” elaborated Ellis.

‘Smooth sailing’ conditions for both motorists and pedestrians on some normally crowded streets in Montego Bay in St James.

He said the city’s official transport centre on Barnett Street is to be strongly supported to be restored as the place of central focus in relation to public passenger vehicle (PPV) operations within the city, and a place of standard, orderly operations.

“The vendors will need to fit into structured and approved areas and arrangements, and the taxi drivers and other PPV operators will need to connect with the transport centre in their operations, as the days of taking over some street and street corners, service stations and sections of commercial centres are fast coming to an end,” said the parish top cop.

He added that the structured, systemic and broad-based campaign will prove to be difficult to defy, hence the anticipated success of the initiative that could become useful for other urban centres across the country.

“This plan, with its range of matrixes and layers of implementation, is not a regular venture, and it will be taking all and sundry involved way outside of the proverbial box. So the advice to those whose activities have largely contributed to the problems that are being addressed, is to seek to find a workable place within the legitimate system, rather than hoping to remain untouched inside the problem syndrome,” urged Ellis.

He said ultimately, the public order, once full established and made entrenched in the city’s daily life, is to be maintained through a four-plank approach that involves continued education, monitoring of the applicable spaces, reporting of violations, and accountability among the broad-based stakeholder groups that are to be involved.

Along with members of the private sector, the participating agencies include the following:

The JCF/Jamaica Defence Force (JDF)The Municipal PoliceNational Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA)The Island Traffic AuthorityThe Transport AuthorityThe National Waste Management Authority (NSWMA)The Ministry of Health and Wellness (Public Health Department)The Planning AuthorityThe St James Municipal Corporation (Roads and Works)Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS)National Water Commission (NWC)The Customs Enforcement TeamMembers of the Law Magistrates’ Association

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