Black Immigrant Daily News

Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi is reportedly likely to miss the international friendly against Jamaica at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey tonight at 7:00 Jamaica time.

According to reports, the forward could miss the match in New York City, with Manchester City’s 22-year-old forward Julian Alvarez coming in to replace him.

Messi’s absence is believed to be related to an illness rather than an injury.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has been in great form recently for Argentina, scoring eight goals in his last four matches.

On Friday, he scored a brace against Honduras in Argentina’s 3-0 win, bringing his international tally to 88 goals.

The Reggae Boyz match is the last test for Argentina before the long-awaited Qatar 2022 World Cup gets underway.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held between November 20 and December 18 and Argentina are in Group C alongside Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland.

Jamaica will not be in the tournament.

Argentina have won the FIFA World Cup twice; at Argentina 1978 and Mexico 1986 editions.

Argentina have also been runners-up at the FIFA World Cup three times; at Uruguay 1930, Italia 1990, and Brazil 2014 editions.

The Argentina squad includes the gifted quartet of Paulo Dybala, Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Gonzalez, and Lautaro Martinez.

The match will be the first for new Reggae Boyz head coach Iceland’s Heimir Hallgr?msson, who was hired on September 17.

Hallgrimsson, who guided Iceland to FIFA World Cup qualification in 2018, signed a four-year deal with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), which take him through the next FIFA World Cup qualifying cycle.

Hallgr?msson, 55, was on the coaching staff of Iceland’s national team from 2013-18. A former defender, he coached Qatar’s Al-Arabi from 2018-21.

During a pre-game press conference on Monday, Hallgr?msson told journalists that the Reggae Boyz need to adapt to what Argentina will be doing on the field.

“The tactics we want to do, it is not solely in our hands, said Hallgr?msson. We have to adapt to what Argentina is doing. They will have a majority of possession, they will high press. So we can kind of predict how the game will be played. But first and foremost to play a team like Argentina, we have to play with power, play as a unit. That is a must if you want to get a result.”

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

News

Carol-Ann Birchwood-James

TOBAGO Hotel and Tourism Association vice-president Carol-Ann Birchwood-James has described the $57.6 fiscal package as “painful.”

She welcomed the $220 million incentive for health workers who worked tirelessly during the covid19 pandemic over the past two and half years.

But Birchwood-James said the fare increases on the sea- and airbridge as well as the increase in fuel prices would put additional strain on Tobagonians.

“It is good that (Finance Minister Colm Imbert) gave an incentive to health care workers – the $220 million, as a thank you from the nation. So that’s a good move. But there is a lot of pain in the budget because you are taking about raising gasoline and as you raise gasoline, everything else rises,” she told Newsday.

“Then you raise the airbridge and seabridge, which will add more pain to Tobagonians, because we are travelling back and forth for a necessity.”

In his presentation on Monday, Imbert announced that diesel has increased to $4.41 per litre and super gasoline is now $6.97 per litre. Premium gasoline has increased to $7.75 per litre and kerosene, $4.41 per litre.

He also announced that fares on the airbridge have moved from $150 to $200 per individual (one way) and passengers on the inter-island ferries will now have to pay $75 for standard class (one way) and $150 for premium class.

People 60 and over, who were not required to pay for trips on the seabridge, will now have to fork out $25 (one way) to travel on the ferries.

Referring to the seabridge, Birchwood-James recalled that when she was a child, people often travelled to Trinidad for holidays.

“But people generally don’t do that any more. When people travel to Trinidad, it is for medical, business or travelling reasons.”

She said she knows many people over 60 who do not travel frequently on the ferry.

“We go because we have to go to Trinidad for land business, lawyer issues.”

She said the government should not have increased the fares on both the air- and seabridge.

“I am saying you cannot raise the two of them. Raise one or the other. It’s pain, but you cannot deliver the pain on both sides.”

She believes the ferry fare should have remained at $50 for standard class.

“The tickets should have been kept as (is) – and forget about the 60-plus who are going on the ferry and have worked hard in Trinidad and Tobago and then you are trying to punish them when when they have gotten a little reward.”

However, Birchwood-James welcomed measures to enhance Tobago’s tourism sector and expand the GATE programme.

She said she listened to a television programme on CNN recently in which a female entrepreneur said they were not looking for people with university degrees and diplomas alone, but those with technical skills.

“That tells you that in all of those developed countries, they looking for technical people. So there must be a big push for technical/vocational training.”

Birchwood-James said mechanics and other technically-skilled personnel with recognised businesses should be given incentives for training young people. She added the young people should also be given stipends.

She said the budget was silent on issues pertaining to the ease of doing business and the repeal of the Land Licence Act.

“We need people to come here to live with money to invest, build villas, hotels, and you have to ease up the idea of doing business in Tobago to encourage tourism.”

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

El alcalde de Villalba, Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz, tronó una vez más contra LUMA Energy ante la respuesta de ayuda para restablecer el servicio eléctrico, cuando en su municipio solo el 2% cuenta con el servicio, mientras que un 50% tiene agua potable tras el paso del huracán Fiona.

El ejecutivo municipal aseguró que está abriendo caminos a nueve días del paso del evento atmosférico, y anticipó que ya hay gente enferma, aparte de las muertes directas e indirectas que ya investiga el Instituto de Ciencias Forenses (ICF) en conjunto con el Departamento de Salud (DS).

“Comunicación ineficiente no es buena comunicación. Tú puedes llamarme todos los días a preguntarme cómo yo estoy, pero si tú no me resuelves, no es comunicación efectiva en medio de una emergencia […] Están colgados hace rato y se colgó también el Gobierno con ellos porque LUMA trabaja para el Gobierno. O sea, que no se divorcien de LUMA porque LUMA son ellos”, expresó Hernández Ortiz al denunciar que la hidroeléctrica del pueblo está encendida, pero que no están recibiendo energía, por lo que pidió al Gobierno establecer que sea el municipio quien la controle, y no la privatizadora. 

Nota relacionada: LUMA Energy llegará a acuerdo con municipios para que asistan en la reparación del sistema eléctrico

“Estamos esperando que la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE) firme, por fin, el contrato de transferencia, que su división legal está revisando, porque ya tenemos la autorización del Departamento de Energía federal y la autorización del Departamento de Vivienda federal con la asignación de fondos CDBG-R para comenzar cuanto antes el proyecto”, explicó Hernández Ortiz.

En el día de ayer, activó la Villalba Power para que sus brigadas asistan en la reparación del sistema y reiteró que el Código Municipal permite que los alcaldes y alcaldesas entren en dicha acción. A diferencia de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AAA), el ejecutivo municipal aseguró que “LUMA, que parece que no ha aprendido, y no quiere aprender”.

[embedded content]

[embedded content]

[embedded content]

[embedded content]

NewsAmericasNow.com