Black Immigrant Daily News

Prominent attorney-at-law Isat Buchanan has labelled the sudden transfer of high-profile prisoner Vybz Kartel from Horizon Remand Centre to Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre (formerly General Penitentiary) as “an attempt at his life”.

The incarcerated entertainer, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, was transferred on Thursday.

“Transferring Mr Palmer in the rain, causing him to get wet, given his medical condition is an attempt at his life,” Buchanan told Loop News on Thursday evening.

“It is deliberate and/or negligent and unacceptable,” Buchanan insisted.

The attorney said no reasons were given by the Department of Correctional Services for the transfer.

“His case is before the highest court of this land. I am very disappointed that taxpayers’ money is being wasted for fishing expeditions and PR stunts. The move comes following the airing of an interview on Fox 5 by his fianc?e as well as the eve of the anniversary of his arrest 11 years ago,” Buchanan said.

Kartel’s transfer came right after it was revealed during a Fox 5 New York interview that Vybz Kartel was now engaged to Turkish social worker Sidem Ozturk. Ozturk told journalist Lisa Evers that she and Kartel got engaged in the summer of 2022 during an authorised prison visit.

“I urge all Jamaicans to download ‘True Religion’, a tribute to Sidem, which comes out tonight at 11pm. It’s a really good love story,” Buchanan said.

Vybz Kartel is awaiting the outcome of his appeal at the Privy Council in the UK. He has been in prison since 2011 for the murder of a man named Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams, along with his co-accused fellow artiste Shawn Storm and two others.

— Claude Mills

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Consumers who find themselves with substandard products are being reminded to make the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) their first point of contact for redress, prior to going to the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA).

According to Inspector-in-Charge, Import and Domestic Commodities Inspectorate at the NCRA, Dr Wendell Richards for a consumer to get redress, the CAC must be their first point of contact.

“When they come directly to the NCRA, what we can only do is investigate or we can take action against the entity; we can’t do anything for the consumer,” he explained.

Dr Richards pointed out that once consumers contact the CAC and their claims are proven, the CAC will mediate on their behalf, which may result in them getting a replacement of the product or financial compensation.

The CAC is an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC). Its role is to enforce the Consumer Protection Act and facilitate ethical behaviour in the marketplace between vendors and consumers.

Between April 1 and August 31, 2022, the CAC reported that it secured $15.9 million in refunds and compensation for aggrieved consumers.

“So, the advice is always to go through the CAC. They send us a report and then we do the investigations, and we send the report back to them,” Dr Richards explained.

He pointed out that although the NCRA’s role does not include intervention on behalf of the consumer, the Authority, through its regulatory function, has removed several substandard products from the marketplace, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves and hot plates, tissue paper, detergent, rice and flavoured water.

Meanwhile, during his Sectoral Presentation in May 2022, Minister of State in the MIIC, Dr Norman Dunn, noted that during the 2021/2022 Financial Year, the value of goods withdrawn from sale by the NCRA for consumer protection amounted to approximately $10 million.

“We recalled fans that were a safety hazard and detained and withdrew from sale 68,700 substandard concrete blocks and 13,058 litres of substandard petroleum products, valuing $2.2 million,” said Dr Dunn.

The NCRA is also an agency of the Ministry. It is responsible for inspecting and monitoring food-processing establishments, inspecting commodities at the ports of entry and in the domestic market, and ensuring that the scales and measuring devices used in trade are accurate.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

PGA Fellowship Programme

Introduction

The President of the General Assembly Fellowship Programme aims to promote youth engagement in multilateralism and support the next generation of diplomats.

The Fellowship will bring to New York a small group of young diplomats and civil servants from developing countries, particularly from Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), while also ensuring geographical representation and gender balance.

Fellowship Training Components

The Fellowship will partner with United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to impart training on the United Nations, its organs and subsidiary bodies. The trainings will also cover topics such as sustainable development, climate change, peace and conflict resolution and human rights as well as skills development in negotiation, drafting and public diplomacy.

Fellows will be attached on a rotational basis with the teams of the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA) – Peace and Security; Human Rights and Humanitarian; Sustainable Development; Reform, Legal and Budget; and Communication and Media. Through their work in the OPGA, the Fellows will gain an in-depth understanding of the workings of the United Nations system, from the Secretariat to the United Nations funds and programmes, specialized agencies and other entities and bodies.

The OPGA Senior Management Team will hold regular meetings with the Fellows to enrich their learning experience and deepen their understanding of the work of the General Assembly. Fellows may have the opportunity to travel on official visit(s) away from United Nations headquarters.

Selection Process

Member States and Observer States, from underrepresented countries, particularly LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, are invited to nominate, through their Permanent Mission in New York, one candidate for the Fellowship.

Nominees for the Fellowship should meet the following criteria:

Between the ages of 25 and 32

Hold a university degree

Demonstrate fluency in verbal and written English

Have a maximum of three years of experience working in national government

An independent three-member selection board, composed of a representative from a Member State, the United Nations system and a Civil Society Organization, will review the applications, interview short-listed candidates and select the Fellows. Gender balance and regional representation will be considered in the selection of the Fellows.

To nominate a candidate, please send the following materials to Mr. Shojiro Nishimura, Senior Adviser at the OPGA at [email protected] with a copy to [email protected], mentioning “Application for PGA Fellowship” in the Subject:

Note Verbale from the Permanent Mission nominating the candidate for the Fellowship;
Candidate’s cover letter expressing intent to join the Fellowship (up to 300 words); and
Candidate’s CV.
Indicative Timeline
Last day for submitting applications
:
28 October 2022
Successful candidates to be notified
:
late-November 2022
Acceptance to be conveyed
:
5 December 2022
Fellowship commencement date
:
16 January 2023

Fellows will receive:

A roundtrip economy airfare ticket from their home country to New York City

A fixed settling-in allowance

A laptop and cell phone for use during the Fellowship

A monthly stipend

Furnished room

Health Insurance

Nominating Missions will be responsible for:

Securing a US visa for the Fellow

Accreditation of the Fellow to their Permanent Mission in New York and thereafter secondment to the Office of the President of the General Assembly

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The finale of Antigua Sailing Weeks series of invitational regattas came to a spectacular conclusion at The Royal Southern Yacht Club with the Land Union September Regatta on 24-25 September.

The final weekend was blessed with magnificent racing, superb shoreside entertainment and outstanding prizes from Land Union , The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority and various Antigua Sailing Week sponsors.

With sunny breezy conditions in the Solent, the 70 boats in 7 classes were competing, not just to win the Land Union September regatta, but to win the coveted Grand prize – the opportunity to fly to Antigua and race at Antigua Sailing Week 2023 in bareboat comfort on a Dream Yacht Charter.

Regatta entry, dockage at Falmouth Harbour Marina and private dedicated Wi-fi from Axxess Marine are also included in the event package which is scheduled for April 29 – May 5, 2023.

Land Union & Antigua Sailing Week have collaborated on the September Regatta for three years and the hundreds of sailors who take part look forward to the shoreside entertainment along with the goodies. After the first day of racing, sailors return to find Den’s Deck at the Royal Southern Clubhouse transformed into Oktoberfest with live entertainment, pretzels, gingerbread cookies, German Beer and Sausage supper. On the second day of racing, crews returned to a treat of Antiguan English Harbour 5 year old rum while the results were being tallied.

Lutz Strangemann of Land Union & Rana Lewis of Antigua Sailing Week  ©Richard Langdon

Antigua Sailing Week’s Rana Lewis, was on hand to present the largest regatta prize in the region, made possible by the generous support of Antigua & Barbuda Tourism.

With five bullets and a second, Ian Atkins’ GP42 Dark ‘N’ Stormy from Hill Head Sailing Club was the victor in the thirteen-strong IRC One Class. Second in class, and top Cape 31, was Johnny Cooper’s Fanatic. Third in IRC One was RSrnYC member Rob Bottomley’s Mills 41 Sailplane 3. They each received bottles of English Harbour Rum in addition to their Land Union trophies.

Overall winners – Ian Atkins and the crew of Dark ‘N’ Stormy  © Richard Langdon

“I have been to Antigua many times but never competed at Antigua Sailing Week,” commented a delighted Ian Atkins. “The only problem is that we can’t fit all of the Dark ‘N’ Stormy crew on one Dream Yacht Charter boat, but I am sure we can remedy that! This has got to be one of the best prizes at any UK regatta this season. A big thank you to Antigua Sailing Week and of course the Royal Southern which has produced a top class Summer Series.”

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