New parliamentary session begins September 12

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

File photo/Jeff K Mayers

THE new parliamentary session will begin on September 12. Acting President Christine Kangaloo made the announcement in Legal Notices 168 and 169, which were issued on Tuesday.

In Legal Notice 168, Kangaloo said the President is empowered under Section 68 (1) of the Constitution, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, at any time to prorogue or dissolve Parliament.

She declared it prorogued at midnight on September 9, 2022.

In Legal Notice 169, Kangaloo issued a proclamation that the new session of the current Parliament will begin on September 12 at 1.30 pm.

The first session of any new term always involves simultaneous sittings of the House of Representatives and Senate on the same day.

Kangaloo also said allowance will be made for any MP or senator to attend the session virtually if necessary, once the Speaker of the House or the Senate President has granted permission, owing to the ongoing covid19 pandemic.

Parliament officials said the opening of the new session next month will be a ceremonial one.

This type of event features an address by the President to a joint sitting of members of the House and Senate and a ceremonial military parade outside the Red House.

The Parliament’s first priority early in the new session will be the 2022/2023 budget.

In July, the Prime Minister hinted that Finance Minister Colm Imbert could present the budget earlier than usual when the new parliamentary session begins.

For the last six years, Imbert has presented the budget in the first week in October. By law, it must be debated in both the House and the Senate before October 31, when the new financial year begins.

The House’s Standing Finance Committee deliberates on the budget before the Senate debate begins.

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Ferguson warns of protests outside government ministers’ homes

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Scrap Iron Dealers Association Allan Ferguson addresses members of the media and a gathering near the Brian Lara Stadium in San Fernando on Wednesday morning, before the motorcade left for Port of Spain, in response to the government’s decision to ban the industry for six months. Photo by Marvin Hamilton

SCRAP Iron Dealers Association president Allan Ferguson warns that protests could happen on the doorsteps of government ministers if Government does not reverse its decision to ban the export of scrap iron for six months.

He issued this threat before the start of a motorcade by the association and supporters from the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba to Barataria.

Ferguson’s threat came after Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) president Ancel Roget and Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah condemned acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) McDonald Jacob for rejecting a request for the motorcade to end at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain.

Before the start of the motorcade, police questioned Ferguson and others involved about where in Port of Spain it would end. They said they had not received information about permission being obtained for the motorcade to enter the city.

Abdulah was first to condemn this.

“I want to say to (acting CoP) Jacob that what you have done today, with curtailing the route to prevent this motorcade from coming into Port of Spain, to prevent the motorcade from even coming down the Eastern Main Road – that, CoP Jacob, is an act of repressing freedom of expression.”

Head of the Trinidad and Tobago Scrap Iron Dealers Association Allan Ferguson (pink polo), at the meeting point near the Brian Lara Stadium in San Fernando on Wednesday morning, joined members and supporters for a motorcade to Port of Spain, in response to the government’s ban on the industry. Photo by Marvin Hamilton

Abdulah said there was no reason for the motorcade not being allowed to enter Port of Spain.

“That is a travesty of justice, and if that is the route you are going, you had better mash brakes.”

He accused Jacob of doing the Prime Minister’s bidding.

“Instead of trying to stop a peaceful motorcade of honest citizens from coming into town to express their views, you should be dealing with the spiralling murder rate.”

Roget agreed with Abdulah.

“We (JTUM) stand in total solidarity with the Scrap Iron Dealers Association and all of its members.”

He described Jacob as a minion of the Government.

“I could say it openly: it will not be too long from now that you will see him stepping totally out of his crease and preventing any action like this.”

Roget urged Jacob to go that route.

“That is why we have to condemn openly the action of the commissioner. This issue (closure of the scrap-iron industry) is more important than any other issue today.”

While not directly addressing its motorcade being denied entry into Port of Spain, Ferguson said the association was unfazed by it.

Michael Annisette, general secretary of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC), speaking near the Brian Lara Stadium in San Fernando on Wednesday morning, joins the Scrap Iron Dealer’s Association and supporters for a motorcade to Port of Spain, in response to the government’s decision to ban the industry for six months. Photo by Marvin Hamilton

“You see the Government and the ministers and all of them, we will be going by your house. I am telling you that. Put the police to guard your house because we are coming.”

Ferguson said the children of people who work in the scrap-iron industry have been hungry since its closure.

“We need help. We need help for them.”

He added, “We might be coming before school opens because we don’t have any books to send the children to school. We don’t have no money for uniforms.”

Ferguson said people should not think that protests over scrap iron would be limited to certain places.

He reiterated, “We coming to protest by all you (government ministers’ homes) just now. The protest will start by all you house.”

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) president general Ancel Roget, speaking near the Brian Lara Stadium in San Fernando on Wednesday morning, joins the Scrap Iron Dealer’s Association and supporters for a motorcade to Port of Spain, in response to the government’s decision to ban the industry for six months. Photo by Marvin Hamilton

Ferguson reiterated the association’s claims that Government was trying to kill the scrap-iron industry and poor people who depend on it.

“You are trying to kill us and we will struggle. We are going to fight all over TT.”

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Body discovered at Swallow’s Beach

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

File photo by David Reid.

Tobago police are trying to identify a Caucasian man whose body was discovered floating in the water at Swallow’s Beach, Pigeon Point Road, on Wednesday.

Police said around noon, Carlton Edwards, 32, of Store Bay Local Road, was sitting in his vehicle near the beach when he saw a body floating in the water.

Police on the scene at Swallow’s beach, Pigeon Point Road, on Wednesday, after a body was found floating in the water. – Photo by David Reid

He and a passerby later went into the sea to retrieve the body.

Crown Point police are investigating.

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Deyalsingh thanks PM for bonus $ to health workers

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has thanked the Prime Minister for his promise of a special payment to Ministry of Health workers in the 2022/2023 budget.

Dr Rowley made this promise when he spoke at a PNM public meeting in Belmont on Tuesday night.

Responding to a question from the media about it during the virtual covid19 news conference on Wednesday, Deyalsingh said, “I must thank the Prime Minister for recognising the heroic efforts of our health care team.”

He added that the public should await the 2022/2023 budget presentation by Finance Minister Colm Imbert for the details of what Dr Rowley had spoken about.

“I will surely be having some discussions with the Minister of Finance, now that the Honourable Prime Minister has given that instruction.”

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Mentally-ill man found dead in Bartica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: INews Guyana
Dead: Trevor Adams, known as “Max”

The body of a man who hailed from Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) was found on Monday under a dilapidated house in Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Dead is 34-year-old Trevor Adams known as “Max” of Grant Newport, Upper Pomeroon.

According to the dead man’s mother, Helen Cornelius, her son had moved to Bartica about two years ago, after he started experiencing issues with his mental health.

She stated that the father of one did odd jobs to survive and became very popular in the region.

However, on Friday morning she recalled receiving a telephone call instructing her to travel to Bartica since her son was not acting normally.

“I was told that he looks seriously ill and at that time I was already prepared, I was on my way going to Bartica with the expectation to see him and bring him home… when I reach to Parika I got the next call from a lady saying she know the location where he is…”

“She told me when I reach to Bartica she will take me there. By that time, his brother had reached Bartica before me… he went to the place and he saw him alive. He [Trevor] told his brother Glen that he wants to go home,” she said.

The woman said by the time her other son left the man and went to get an ambulance to take him to the hospital, people had discovered his lifeless body under the house.

“When he returned with the ambulance, the boy that was next door to him said like he passed away. The doctor then went and examine him and they pronounced him dead. He had like a mental issue but he wasn’t mad, he would work and so forth…”, she explained.

Adams’s body was picked up and transported to the Bartica Hospital’s Mortuary where a post-mortem examination will be conducted and an investigation will be launched.

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Man, who threatened to kill sister, dies during altercation with relative

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: INews Guyana

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Collin Wishart, a 50-year-old man of Well Road, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown which occurred at around 14:00hrs on Saturday.

A 20-year-old relative of the now dead man, who resided at the same location, told detectives that the victim had begun to behave disorderly at around 03:00hrs that very day. Wishart was reportedly hitting the walls of the house, disturbing family members and neighbours.

According to the relative, the man’s behaviour continued throughout the morning. At around 14:00hrs, the 20-year-old relative said he was in the yard washing his motorcar when the now dead man began to attack him with a cutlass.

The relative escaped the attack and the now dead man walked towards his room, continuing to behave disorderly. During the encounter, the man reportedly threatened to kill his 57-year-old sister, who also resides at the location. In fact, police said the man reportedly pelted the woman with bottles.

“The 20-year-old man, upon seeing that, pushed the [now] deceased into his bedroom, to calm him down. The [now] deceased then began to fight up and fell onto the bed frame, hitting his head before he fell to the floor, motionless,” police revealed.

Police were contacted and arrived on the scene where the body was examined. Injuries were seen to the left side eye, to the upper left ear, the right wrist and the forehead.

The man’s body was escorted to the Georgetown Public Hospital and subsequently to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, awaiting a postmortem.

The 20-year-old was arrested and is presently in custody at the East La Penitence Police Station assisting with the investigation.

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No need to close schools – Manickchand on monkeypox

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: INews Guyana
Education Minister Priya Manickchand addressing students [File Photo]

Following the detection of the first case of monkeypox in Guyana, Education Minister Priya Manickchand has made it clear that there is no need to close schools.

Speaking with reporters today, Minister Manickchand contended that the total shutdown of schools is not a move that the PPP/C administration will ever want to embark upon again.

“We learnt from Covid-19 that schools must be the last place to close and the first place to open because too much gets lost…when schools close,” the Minister expressed.

In addition to the significant learning loss experienced by children, she explained that many pupils contended with malnourishment during the closure of schools as a result of school feed programmes being halted amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, she contended that many children suffered abuse in various forms during this period.

“The damage is way too big when we close schools. We don’t have any intention of ever closing schools again. Whether circumstances in the world will dictate that, is something that we will have to watch and see. What I do know is that we’re in a better place to respond to school closures now,” Minister Manickchand posited.

“We expect to open all our schools as normal for September 5,” she added.

According to the Education Minister, all schools across the country as properly equipped to keep stakeholders safe.

“We have for the first time in the country, all schools with handwashing facilities, running water, soap and other facilities to keep ourselves clean and sanitised,” she reasoned, noting that measures are also in place to keep students properly distanced in the learning environment.

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has said that the country does not anticipate many cases of monkeypox on local shores.

“Monkeypox is relatively rare, we only have one case now in Guyana, the patient is very stable, and in the next 14 days, that patient should be discharged, once everything goes well. So, we don’t expect a lot of cases,” he had expressed.

On Monday, it was announced that a 57-year-old man from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) tested positive for monkeypox; he is currently isolated at the Infectious Diseases Hospital.

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Ringtone states WI Kulcha Mexico 70 will be ‘compensated’ Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Barbados News

Jarrell Fenton, alias Ringtone, the CEO of WI Kulcha, has delivered on his promise to issue a statement about the Mexico trip today, but it has fallen very short of the mark in the eyes of patrons and others who are following this melee.

In his highly-anticipated statement, he tweeted:

“Sincere and heartfelt apologies to our Mexico trip patrons, the experience on the recently concluded trip fell short of the world-class service we aim to provide.

“As was mentioned in an earlier statement, the death of the wife of WI Kulch’s local concierge service provider, on the first day of the trip, caused him to pull out and left us in a difficult position.

We leaned heavily on our local concierge because of the language barrier.

“Moving forward:

We’ll be communicating directly with our Mexico trip patrons to start the compensation process.We’ll be rebuilding our company processes from the ground up to ensure something like this can never happen again.

“I apologise again to our Mexico trip patrons and will be working tirelessly on the compensation process.”

And the top four issues that readers on Twitter had with the statement were, ‘Why is it only on Twitter?’, ‘Compensation not refund?’, ‘Why was everything dependent on one person?’ and ‘That’s it? No more information after calling reviews and recaps by patrons lies? No Twitter Space to be held?’

Why is your concierge service for a trip of 70 persons not a reputable business with multiple employees?

One person who was going off the vibe from Jet Lag, the only party to come off “successfully” in Mexico, was upset that the Bali trip is being promoted on Instagram and none of the apology or statements posts are on any of the other WI Kulcha socials. “Agreed post it on insta too. I almost pre book the Bali trip”.

Some quote tweets in response to the CEO’s statement issued today, August 24, 2022, at 11:25 am, include:

“It’s very weird that they’re only addressing this on Twitter. If you follow them on any other platform, you’d think the trip was a success. Shady business through and through.”

“Why are these statements only on Twitter. Is it on IG you did most of your advertising? Hmm”

“This and nothing is the same tbh”

“Ummm question tho… Are you gunna address the things you were “extremely disheartened by” Specifically the “exaggerations” “sensationalizing” and “the lies regarding certain events” orrrr nah? Asking for me..”

Moving forward where?

“Lol. He didn’t say refund. Imagine if the compensation is a discount on the Bali trip or free WiKulcha gear”

“Why is your concierge service for a trip of 70 persons not a reputable business with multiple employees? Why is it just Pablo?”

“This is exactly the same statement already released with more spacing. This doesn’t address any of the logistical failures. The change in accommodation should have been communicated in advance, the excursion bookings should have been confirmed before arrival. This is flat.”

“The wildest thing is that if you don’t use Twitter and you follow this brand you would have no idea about all of this think he slick”

“So Risk Management was never considered? You cannot tell me that one person pulling out caused so much mess on the trip. Better make that compensation process a smooth one! And pls… Moving forward? Where? Mwen menm ?k sa!”

And some people did specifically hone in on the fact that Fenton hopes to bounce back from this. Many asked, “Moving fowardddddddd?????” and “Moving forward where?”

In just about two hours the statement tweet has amassed 196 quote tweets.

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Heavy showers, thunderstorms as Tropical wave passes Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Barbados News

The Barbados Meteorological Services is monitoring a tropical wave of immediate interest to the southeast of Barbados.

As of 8 am, this morning, the wave was near 55W or 460 km (290 miles) off the island.

The Met Office said in a midday alert that the tropical wave remains disorganized with an elongated area of low pressure to the southeast of Barbados.

However, the update also shared that the current model guidance is now suggesting the tropical will bring some moderate to heavy showers, rain and thunderstorms during the night, tonight, Wednesday, August 24, and continue into Thursday, August 25, 2022.

Recommendations to the public:- Download the BMS insight app for Android or CAP.CAP for significant weather alerts.- Continue to monitor the BMS website and Social media pages for official weatherupdates.- Prepare yourself well in advance in case this alert elevates to orange or red.

This is the final information statement on this tropical wave, however, due to the already saturated nature of some areas across the island, flood watches or warnings may be required at short notice.

The Barbados Meteorological Service continues to monitor a number of tropical waves in the Atlantic.

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Artist Behind AI Rapper FN Meka Criticized Capital Records: ‘That’s Karma’

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Urban Islandz

The rapper behind the voice of short-lived Artificial Intelligence rapper FN Meka is speaking out.

Kyle The Hooligan, who says he was the original voice behind FN Meka is accusing Capital Records of cutting him out of a deal and call the downfall of the virtual artist, “karma.” On Tuesday afternoon, Capitol dropped FN Meka, the first robot rapper the label boasted that it signed two weeks ago. The label took the measure after news of the signing on Monday led to major backlash, particularly from the black community, which felt that the virtual rapper’s use of the n-word should be checked, especially if the person behind the Artificial Intelligent being is not black.

Capital Records issued a full apology for offending people as the music released used racist slurs. The AI, which used a human voice to record its raps, had released a new song via Capitol called “Florida Water,” featuring Atlanta rapper Gunna. The label boasted that the AI entity already had millions of fans on Tik Tok and even a larger amount of views on Spotify.

In the statement, the label said it had failed to make the appropriate checks and investigations before signing on to the project. As a result, Capital “severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately.”

“We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it. We thank those who have reached out to us with constructive feedback in the past couple of days — your input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project.”

Right after the news went viral that the AI artist secured a label deal and was dropping a song, there was an immediate backlash as many accused the label of using the AI entity to make money, so they don’t have to pay real rappers royalties.

Some also pointed out that black artists have difficulty landing a deal and label backing, especially in a black-founded and driven genre like hip hop.

A pro-black group that is focused on equity in music, Industry Blackout, also found the entire thing racist and offensive as the AI fashioned its speech and mannerisms after black artists. However, it’s unclear if a black person is behind it.

“We find fault in the lack of awareness in how offensive this caricature is. It is a direct insult to the Black community and our culture. An amalgamation of gross stereotypes, appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics,” Industry Blackout wrote in an open letter posted to social media.

FN Meka was created by Factory New which has a listed founder, Anthony Martini, a Caucasian man. Some Twitter users were not pleased about that information as many referred to the AI as “Digital Blackface”- a white person profiting from black art where otherwise black people continue to suffer from using the same lyrics the AI uses.

Some discussed the current case of collaborators Gunna and Young Thug, who are facing life in jail if convicted on RICO charges. A lot of the evidence proffered by prosecutors comes from their song lyrics.

Martini said in a New York Times article that the AI personality is voiced by a human- “he’s a Black guy,” he said and defended the AI invention as “not this malicious plan of white executives. It’s literally no different from managing a human artist, except that it’s digital.”

He also said that the team behind FN Meka is “actually one of the most diverse teams you can get — I’m the only white person involved.”

Martini did admit, however, that the whole thing, when taken out of context, is worse than it was intended.

Kyle The Hooligan says this is their karma as he spoke out on Instagram.

“So everything going good,” Kyle said. “Next thing I know, n***as just ghosted me. Use my voice, use my sound, use the culture and literally just left me high and dry. I ain’t get a dime off of nothing, and they got record deals, all this stuff. I wasn’t involved in no meetings or none of that, which is f***ed up. So, I’m glad they a*s got canceled ‘cause that’s karma for they a*s ‘cause God don’t play with me. I’m gonna tell you that right now.”

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