Politiebond per direct in staking

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: De Ware Tijd Online

Tekst en beeld Jason Pinas PARAMARIBO — “Iedereen moet morgen hier zijn. Gaat u niet aan het werk. De regering

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Signature d’une feuille de route entre l’Etat, la Région et le Département pour cadrer la structuration du Syndicat Mixte de Gestion de l’Eau en Guadeloupe

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Guadeloupe FranceAntilles

Rédaction web

Ce mardi à Paris, Alexandre ROCHATTE, Ary CHALUS, Guy LOSBAR, et Jean-Louis FRANCISQUE, ont signé la feuille de route détaillant le plan d’actions prioritaires à mettre en œuvre, ainsi que les contributions respectives des acteurs dans le cadre de la structuration du SMGEAG.

Cette feuille de route a été signée en présence de M. Jean-François CARENCO, ministre délégué auprès du ministre de l’Intérieur et des Outre-mer, chargé des Outre-mer.

Plusieurs engagements déterminants

Pour assurer l’efficacité du SMGEAG dans la réussite de ses missions :

– Poursuite de la structuration du syndicat avec la mise en place de son plan de retour à l’équilibre financier ;

– Mise en œuvre d’un comité de pilotage resserré entre la Préfecture, le Conseil régional, le Conseil départemental et le SMGEAG ;

– Réalisation d’une liste des travaux d’urgence et des réseaux à renouveler en priorité ;

– Assistance technique des services de l’Etat sur les missions prioritaires ;

– Soutien exceptionnel et massif de l’Etat pour accompagner le SMGEAG vers le retour à l’équilibre financier.

L’ensemble des acteurs souhaite mutualiser les efforts pour accompagner le syndicat dans sa structuration de long terme, tout en répondant rapidement à la crise de l’eau et de l’assainissement. Le ministre de l’Intérieur et des Outre-mer, Gérald DARMANIN et le ministre chargé des Outremer, Jean-François CARENCO, savent pouvoir compter sur la pleine mobilisation de tous pour améliorer progressivement la distribution d’eau potable et l’assainissement au service des guadeloupéennes et des guadeloupéens.

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Robbery, rape, abduction carried out by gunmen at premises in Kingston Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Jamaica News Loop News

Criminals went to premises in a marked taxi

Loop News

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Robbery in Kingston

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Police are now searching for four gunmen who went to premises in the vicinity of Seaward Drive in Kingston, and reportedly abducted a male, sexually assaulted a female, and also robbed several people of their valuables on Tuesday.

Reports are that the men went to the location, said to be a tenement settlement, in a marked taxi.

Residents were tied up and beaten by the men who then stole money and appliances including a 50-inch television set along with several other valuables from the premises.

There are also reports emerging that a female at the premises was sexually assaulted by the criminals before they made their escape from the location.

The police were later called to the location and a search was launched for the criminals.

Residents in the area where the attack took place say the incident has left them traumatized.

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Antigua and Barbuda says China and India should pay into climate compensation fund

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Antigua News Room

Highly polluting emerging economies including China and India should pay into a climate compensation fund to help countries rebuild after climate change-driven disasters, the prime minister of island nation Antigua and Barbuda said on Tuesday.

The comments marked the first time the two nations have been lumped into the list of major emitters that island states say should be held to account for damage already being wrought by global warming.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne, speaking on behalf of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) negotiating bloc, told reporters the world’s first- and third-biggest greenhouse gas emitters – though still emerging economies – have ares ponsibility to pay into a fund.

Delegates at the conference agreed to put the topic of loss and damage onto the formal agenda for the first time in the history of international climate negotiations.

“We all know that the People’s Republic of China, India – they’re major polluters, and the polluter must pay,” Browne said. “I don’t think that there’s any free pass for any country and I don’t say this with any acrimony.”

In U.N. climate talks, the phrase “loss and damage” refers to costs already being incurred from climate-fuelled weather extremes or impacts, like rising sea levels.

To date, climate vulnerable countries have called on historical emitters like the United States, United Kingdom andthe EU to pay climate reparations. China itself has previously supported the creation of a lossand damage fund but has not said it should pay into it. The EU and United States have said that China, the world’s biggestgreenhouse gas emitter, should pay.

India, though a top emitter, has per capita emissions that are significantly lower than the world average.

AOSIS wants a full commitment to launch a multibillion dollar fund by 2024.

Egypt’s lead climate negotiator Mohamed Nasr told Reuters that the goal for the COP27 negotiations was to get some clarity on the way forward for loss and damage, but that there was still a wide range of views.

“Now we have a starting point, so it is more streamlined and more focused and hopefully by the end of the two weeks we’ll have something that would identify the road map, the milestones to deliver,” he said.

Over the coming year the goal would be to identify a mechanism for delivering loss and damage funding.

“We’ll be looking at the different options. Is it a facility? Is it a new fund? Is it the existing funds? I mean there are a lot of options,” he said. “What we heard from many countries is that they want to keep their options open.”

Another AOSIS negotiator, Deputy Environment Minister of International Cooperation Milagros De Camps, said from the perspective of island nations like hers that face more frequent and powerful natural disasters like hurricanes and cyclones the need for a new dedicated compensation fund is clear.

“We need specific fund fit for purpose… a separate operating entity,” she told reporters. “This is a matter of survival for small island developing states.”

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2 contractors go after Nidco for OAS arbitration award $$$

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

File photo

GARNISHEE proceedings have been initiated against the National Infrastructure Development Company (NIDCO) by at least two contractors for money they are claiming they are owed by Brazilian firm Construtora OAS SA.

So far, at least one company, Ansad Services Ltd, has received provisional garnishee orders against NIDCO for payment from the billion-dollar arbitration award of $857 million in favour of OAS.

In April, an arbitration panel ruled that Nidco must pay OAS a total of US$126 million ($857 million) to the Brazilian firm for the termination of the contract for the Point Fortin highway project.

The partial award to OAS was made on April 16 and revealed a month later by Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal in Parliament.

In separate applications, Ansad Services is seeking sums of TT$$2,934,011.50, US$1,663,032.61, TT$32,135,397.42, and US$2,554,719.78 while Unisure Ltd is asking for TT$11,731,924.87.

The garnishee proceedings are before two masters of the High Court and notices were published in the daily newspapers, the latest on Monday.

Immediately after the arbitration award was made in April, Nidco appealed the decision. That matter comes up for hearing on Friday before Justice Frank Seepersad.

The judge has been asked to set aside the billion-dollar award.

Nidco has also asked the court to find, among other things, that its contract with the Brazilian construction firm was validly terminated. The limited-liability state company has also asked the court to send back the partial final arbitral award to the tribunal for reconsideration, as well as an order staying the enforcement of the award until the claim is determined and one preventing the arbitrators from continuing any hearing until the appeal is decided.

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Senator Deyalsingh: Don’t raise fees to discourage gun-licence applicants

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

File photo: Independent Senator Dr Varma Deyalsingh.

Independent Senator Dr Varma Deyalsingh is urging the government to carefully discuss its stance on allowing firearms users licence (FUL) applications and avoid raising fees to dissuade applicants.

Deyalsingh spoke in debate on the Finance Bill in the Senate on Tuesday. He noted the increase in fees for FULs, gunsmith licences, firearms dealers’ licences and firearms disposal licences.

He said an increase in administrative fees over time was necessary to generate revenue, but should not be used to discourage people from applying for FULs.

He stressed that many people felt a need to better defend themselves against crime and urged the government to consider the value of FULs.

“We are dealing in some dangerous times with home invasions – we see individuals coming into the home now where eight well-armed, very fit people – some instances have shown members of the army involved in these robberies that occur, and these individuals are armed to the teeth coming into our homes.

“Increasing the fees for the licence to get revenue is one thing. But trying to look at getting an increase in fees or change the mindset of people wanting to apply for firearms is another. I know the government is under discussion with this and I want to beg to move that persons out there would have found that somehow they would have rather been given a chance to defend themselves.”

Referring to instances in which legitimate businessmen were forced to close their businesses after being threatened and extorted by criminals, Deyalsingh said the perception of many people was that only a privileged class was allowed to own legal firearms.

He said he felt adequate measures were in place to prevent misuse of firearms by FUL holders, and questioned the government’s hesitance in issuing the permits.

“I’m honestly trying to figure out what is government’s hesitance with giving people firearms.

“It’s just like a car: if I have a licence I can buy five cars. We have better checks and balances than the USA and other countries. There are things in place.

“So I’m thinking and I’m hoping the government will realise that once people have those checks and balances, it is enough, because even trained policemen can have accidental discharges (of guns).”

Deyalsingh added that most people who wanted FULs were not advocating violence, but only wanted an additional measure to protect themselves and relatives from criminals.

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Gypsy: ‘Nothing untoward’ in NCC seeking new CEO

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

File photo: NCC chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters.

There is nothing untoward in the National Carnival Commission’s (NCC) looking for a new CEO, its chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters has said.

He added that the contract of its previous CEO Colin Lucas, simply came to an end.

The commission recently advertised the post. The closing date for applications was October 31.

Lucas said his contract came to an end in October and was now moving on to assist with a family business.

“The family has had a guest house for a few years and covid19 kind of devastated that – it closed it down completely – and we are now in the process of reopening. We just reopened last month, actually. That is basically what I am going to be focusing on for a little while,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

He said it was unlikely that he would be back to spearhead Carnival initiatives.

He was contracted as the commission’s CEO for four years, which was extended for a further six months, which ended in October. In a 2018 press release, the commission announced that Lucas, its former chairman, would act as CEO from May 1-July 31 that year.

The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts of that time, headed by Dr Nyan Gadsby Dolly, dismissed rumours that Lucas had been fired as chairman, saying his competencies matched closely with those needed at the commission at that time.

Lucas was chairman and executive chairman from November 2017-April 2018.

Peters was appointed chairman in 2018 and on November 23, 2021 the commission’s board was reinstated, with Peters as the chair and Davlin Thomas as deputy chairman.

In a one-on-one interview about Carnival 2023 on Monday, asked about the position being advertised, Peters said, “We have already advertised and we are having interesting people. We have a lot of people who have applied so far. So we know that HR (Human Resources) will be looking at that.”

He said Lucas’s contract had ended.

“Nothing untoward at all. Mr Lucas is a great man to me, and a great friend. He has been my friend for a long time, and it has nothing to do with anything else but that.”

The commission’s ad said the qualified individual must have a proven track record of strategic leadership in the public sector, entertainment, creative industry or tourism/culture management environment and must possess a “demonstrated strong work ethic and be capable of critical and creative thinking.”

The individual must also have an MSc or MBA in business management or project management, and certification in Carnival studies would be an asset.

Carnival 2023 was launched on November 5 at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

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Local government election decision goes to court

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

News

Social activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj

GOVERNMENT is facing a threat of legal action over its decision to postpone local government elections by a year.

The threat comes from activist Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj, who says as a voter in the Maracas/Santa Margarita electoral district, he is aggrieved by the decision taken by Cabinet and announced by Local Government and Rural Development Minister Faris Al-Rawi, last week.

Balgobin-Maharaj has given the Government until 4 pm on November 14 to return to the original period for holding the election – constitutionally due between December 2022 and March 2023 – or he will go to court for judicial review relief. He says he believes “there is the real risk that councillors, aldermen, and mayors will be unlawfully occupying their respective offices from December 3, 2022.”

Balgobin-Marahaj’s threat of legal action was sent to the Prime Minister, Attorney General and Al-Rawi in a pre-action protocol letter written by attorney Vishaal Siewsaran of Freedom Law Chambers.

In the letter, Balgobin-Maharaj said he has grown frustrated by the poor representation in his district.

“The electoral district continues to have numerous potholes, the drains are not regularly cleaned, the environment is unkempt, and when it rains there is widespread flooding and mosquitoes in the area.”

He said he was looking forward to the local government elections “to vote for a new representative in hope that better representation could be provided for the burgesses of the electoral district of Maracas/Santa Margarita.”

The letter also set out the history behind the Miscellaneous Provisions (Local Government Reform) Bill.

Balgobin-Maharaj is contending the decision of the Cabinet was unauthorised, contrary to law and an abuse of power to “retrospectively apply an amendment to the law to increase the terms of councillors which ultimately delays the local government elections.”

He also alleges, “Government’s attempt to delay the elections by retrospectively applying the amendments to the Municipal Corporations Act is a fraud committed on the electorate, in bad faith, which amounts to an improper use of the legislation.”

The letter adds, “The decision also denies the electorate of their legitimate expectation that the councillors (whom) they elected in 2019 would only be in office for a three-year term.

“Furthermore, those persons serving on the council have also been denied their legitimate expectation that they would only serve a three-year term.”

The letter said any decision to change or amend the act must be done expressly and unambiguously.

“In other words, whenever elections are to be denied or deferred it ought not to be done by implication. “The laws ought to be interpreted in a way which facilitates the holding of elections unless the contrary intention is expressly shown.

“If it were the intention of the Government, who holds a parliamentary majority, to amend the law to defer the elections, it ought to have confronted the issue squarely in the Parliament.”

The letter said it was “inherently wrong” for the Government to amend the law “under the guise of local government reform, only to attempt to apply those amendments implicitly in a piecemeal and retrospective manner to alter the terms of the council which was elected in 2019 under and by virtue of the law that existed at the material time.”

It added, “The effect of the Government’s interpretation of the law is to extend the life of the current council by one year.

“In other words, the electorate is being denied its right to vote in elections for that period by amendments which do not state on its face that it is to have retrospective effect, and which clearly ought not to be interpreted in that manner.”

It argued, “An analysis of whether the amendments have retrospective effect must be conducted subject to the constitutional significance of the right to vote.”

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Two Men Granted Bail – One Remanded On Illegal Gun, Ammunition Charges – St. Lucia Times News

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: St. Lucia Times News

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A Second District Court Magistrate granted bail to two men and remanded the third man in custody when the trio appeared on Friday charged with illegal gun and ammunition possession.

The Magistrate granted Lorian Swanson and Jahium Papius bail of $55,000 cash, suitable surety, or land documents.

Swanson and Papius must report to the Richfond police station every Monday and Friday before 6.00 pm, surrender travel documents and not leave the state without permission.

In addition, they are not to apply for any travel documents while the case is ongoing.

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On the other hand, the court denied bail to Dominica national Kyle Seaman, whom police have also charged with attempted murder concerning a shooting incident at Ti Colon on Monday, October 24, at about 10.00 pm.

Officers arrested Seaman, Swanson, and Papius and charged them with possessing firearms and ammunition after recovering two pistols and twenty rounds aboard a vehicle at Richfond.

Headline photo: Internet stock image

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Bajans have it out on gender identity in revised Constitution Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Barbados News

It appears that Barbadians are divided on the inclusion of the rights of all genders and sexual orientations in the revised Constitution of Barbados.

On Sunday, several heated audience members at the Constitution Reform Commission (CRC) town hall at the Deighton Griffith Secondary School contended and emphasised that Barbados is a Christian society, and is on the path towards moral decline should there be the implementation of gender neutrality, in the revised Constitution. Meanwhile, others called for the inclusion of LGBTQ+ rights – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer.

we are not only thinking of ourselves now, we are thinking about our children

One member of the audience who was standing up for the LGBTQ+ community was advocate Isadora Barrow who called for amendments to Chapter 3 of the Protection of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of an individual. The educator also appealed to the CRC for the removal of the buggery and indecency laws.

“Whether or not others in society want to recognise, acknowledge or accept minority experiences in this society, they exist and the law should offer protection. In the last meeting there were sentiments that what worked in the past will work today, but at some point in the past, the rights that were being considered were whether or not some were to be seen as fully human or whether some had the right even to participate politically. If we remain bound to these ideas and understandings of the past, we will never fully live in the present and the future will become harder to see,” Barrow asserted.

It appears to me every time you disagree with a particular group of people you are considered a bigot

She insisted that the Constitution should reflect a commitment “to protecting the rights of minorities and the vulnerable”, thereby rejecting the notion of exclusion due to gender or sexuality.

“When we write this [new] Constitution [as a new parliamentary Republic] we are not only thinking of ourselves now, we are thinking about our children and their children. Will they want to live on an island that continues to restrict some from fully participating in society? I don’t believe so,” she maintained.

She was supported by Michael Alexander of the LGBTQ+ group – Equals Barbados. Alexander voiced that discrimination remained a concerning issue and extended into law enforcement, who they reach out to for help and protection.

“According to some people there is no discrimination against the LGBT+ community in Barbados but might I remind everyone that just because you do not discriminate, see discrimination occurring or hear about it does not mean that it does not happen.

“We often hear the argument that there is no proof. It is easy to say there is no proof when the systems in place do not call for certain things to be recorded but the same systems fail to act on the incidents that are actually recorded,” Alexander stated.

He shared that according to the Shared Incident data-base developed by the organisation in 2017, 70 per cent of cases reported experienced verbal abuse, 43 per cent physical violence and 13 per cent have been forced to leave home. Additionally, persons have been denied access to services, been fired from their jobs or denied educational opportunities due to their gender identity or sexual orientation.

On the other side of the coin, Reverend Ferdinand Nicholls argued that the LBGTQ+ community is forcing their ideological beliefs on others.

“It appears to me every time you disagree with a particular group of people you are considered a bigot. You and I ought to be able to have a discussion and a disagreement without you thinking I hate you. I don’t hate you. I will tell you what I hate – I hate you trying to discriminate against me because people seem to think discrimination only flows one direction, but it does not.

“What you are saying is because of what I believe, I am compelled to push that aside to accept you and that is simply not going to happen. If a Constitution were ever going to make provision for that type of violation of religious freedom, you would have a riot in this country.

“Let’s face a reality, you can’t talk about discrimination and just have it one way. You have to appreciate the fact there are other people who think differently and we agree to disagree,” said the Pentecostal minister.

Sociologist and executive director of Freedom-Faith-Family Barbados, Veronica Evelyn who was also in attendance urged legislators to “follow the science” and “act out of an abundance of caution” as she called for the non-inclusion of sexual orientation in the revised Constitution.

“With respect to the term sexual orientation, I would like to suggest that a similar approach be adopted and that we both follow the science and act on an abundance of caution when considering whether to import this term from the Charter into the revised Constitution. Its implications will reverberate for years to come,” said the sociologist.

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