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– Photo by Sureash Cholai

Diplomatic and economic relations between TT and China are expected to be strengthened as Port of Spain and Shanghai are due to be made sister cities on Tuesday.

The idea began with Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting Trinidad and Tobago in 2012 and was further discussed during the Prime Minister’s visit to China in 2018.

Speaking at a ceremony at Port of Spain City Hall, Knox Street, on Tuesday morning, Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne was optimistic the twinning would be mutually beneficial to the people of both countries.

From the left, Dr Amery Browne Minister for Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Chinese Ambassador Fang Qiu and Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez sign the Letter Of Intent at the Twinning Ceremony at City Hall, Port of Spain – Photo by Sureash Cholai

Citing TT’s long history of relations with China, Browne commended Chinese ambassador Fang Qiu for showing interest in the initiative.

“Even before the vision of a sister-city relationship started to become a reality, Port of Spain had become home to major projects undertaken by the Shanghai Construction Group, such as the National Academy for the Performing Arts and the Diplomatic Centre, both of which have become well-recognised landmarks in this city.

“Using this as a precedent, it is my hope that further economic activities both in Port of Spain and in Shanghai will accrue from today’s signing.”

Referring to Chinatown on Charlotte Street in downtown Port of Spain, Browne said the two countries have shared historic ties and was confident the twinning of the cities would bode well for further collaboration.

Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez, who was also at the ceremony,said China’s partnerships with TT have benefited the city of Port of Spain.

Recalling his visits to Shanghai in 2017 and 2019, Martinez said he was impressed by its reputation as a commercial and financial hub.

Fang Qiu said TT was a valuable partner in the Caribbean, adding that the signing of the letter of intent to become sister cities was the culmination of decades of warm relations.

He said China’s plans for the future included a continued investment to developing countries which would benefit his country and TT.

“The ties between Shanghai and Port of Spain are nourished by the comprehensive partnership between our two countries as China embarks on a new journey towards its seventh centenary goal of being a modern socialist country in all respects.

“More development opportunities will be offered to other countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, as China remains committed to the fundamental national policy of opening up to the outside world.”

From the left, Dr Amery Browne, Minister for Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez and Chinese Ambassador Fang Qiu taking a photo of the Mayor signing the Letter Of Intent at Twinning Ceremony in City Hall Port of Spain – Photo by Sureash Cholai

Mayor of Shanghai Gong Zheng attended the ceremony via Zoom and thanked TT’s government for its efforts to maintain good relations with China.

Noting that both Port of Spain and Shanghai were port cities which formed the backbone of industry and culture in their respective countries, Zheng said he was excited to boost relations and made three suggestions on how the twinning could bring tangible benefits.

“I really hope that we can make full use of the China International Import Expo as a platform to enhance our economic and trade ties (and) promote co-operation on infrastructure in the digital economy for mutual benefit of the cities.

“Second, we need to enhance our cultural and tourism co-operation. We can encourage the exchange of artistic troupes so that we can entertain our people with each other’s unique cultural performance.

“Third we need to strengthen our co-operation on public health, I really hope our two cities will strengthen our public health co-operation, especially in the area of the prevention, diagnosis, control and treatment in the pandemic, to make our people healthy.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

By: La’Wanda McAllister

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has vented its frustration with its lack of capacity to conduct DNA testing locally.

This was expressed by Crime Chief Wendell Blahnum during a press conference organised by the GPF.

“The lack of capacity to conduct DNA testing indeed is affecting us because many of the cases are before the court and there is a huge backlog. It is quite expensive to send these samples overseas. We were able to get some to a lab in Miami recently but we still have a backlog and we’re hoping that that situation can be resolved as early as possible,” he said.

He said the criminal justice system is currently seeing a backlog of more than 20 cases due to the country’s incapability to conduct such testing.

While he could not state how long there has been a backlog, the Crime Chief said that has been going on for some time now.

Having this type of testing, he explained, would help to eliminate backlogs, strengthen crime laboratory capacity, and stimulate research and development.

In May of this year, it was announced that Guyana’s DNA testing capabilities are set for a massive upgrade with the procurement of new equipment, costing the state some US$300,000.

The equipment is expected to arrive in the country soon, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn had told the media.

It has been reported that even though the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory can perform DNA testing, there are challenges when those tests are to be conducted on badly decomposed bodies and in other circumstances where sampling is poor.

Currently, the forensic lab can conduct DNA testing for comparison or matching evidence to suspects, paternity testing, and family mapping.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Nine-year-old Amaya James has written her first number 1 bestselling book in the beauty category on Amazon in Canada called ‘Afro No’. The book tackles the sometimes-complicated relationship that young black girls have with their hair and alludes to the beauty, individuality, and satisfaction that comes with the agony and difficulty of getting their hair done.

Amaya, the daughter of St Lucian mother Juli-Ann James and Canadian father Andrew James, began drawing at the age of four, and when her parents realized her skill, they equipped her with the digital tools she needed to develop it.

According to her mother, Amaya’s drawings were more advanced than the average four-year-old drawings.

“Amaya started drawing first actually, her primary passion is drawing. She has been drawing since the age of four and her father and I recognized that she had a talent for drawing. We wanted to equip her with not just a pen or pencil and paper, but also the digital skills to capture her drawings. So, we got her an iPad and installed a program called Procreate on the iPad where she can actually draw with pencil and paper, take a picture of her drawing and digitize it in Procreate. You could see the difference in her drawings at four and other four-year-old drawings because she has siblings. We could see the difference and we knew that she had a talent so we tried to encourage her.”

The idea of the book came about when Amaya drew this character, a girl with an extremely enormous afro that would pick up objects while she walked because her hair was so big. She showed it to her older sister who encouraged her to show it to her parents, who took it a step further and helped her publish a book.

Amaya wrote and illustrated the book, which was published on October 31 by her parents’ publishing company Summerhill Publishing.

“The book was published on October 31 but the concept of the drawing started in August this year. The book was published by Summerhill Publishing which is a publishing company that her father and I started. We both published a book under it but it had been dormant until she came up with the book idea and brought everything together, we just figured we would publish under Summerhill Publishing. The book became live on Amazon on November 1 and within a day it hit the number one bestselling spot in the beauty category on Amazon in the Canadian marketplace.”

“People think that the book is quite exceptional being that she is nine years old and she wrote and illustrated the entire book herself. The feedback has been very positive, she has done a few interviews. The story in the book is very much about her even though the character is not named Amaya, it’s very true to her own story. She has a lot of hair and is very tender-headed so that’s been a source of trauma. I know a lot of young black girls can relate to this that pulling and doing your hair can be a very painful process for both the child and the mother. She is just happy at the fact that something that is painful to her is bringing such joy to other people.”

Andrew, Amaya’s father, believes that empowering children to finish tasks they start, see things through until the end, and do what they want is something that parents should do, and seeing Amaya do what she has is something that encourages him and warms his heart.

“You see her doing her interviews and answering the questions so articulately, you’re like wow, this is our kid. So, we are proud and honoured. I think that if we as parents listen to our kids, don’t think that their ideas are too farfetched and really empower them to be able to do it, it will really give them a sense of knowing that there is no limit to what they can do.”

‘Afro No’ can be purchased on Amazon for US $10.97 and is also available at a Booklore in Orangeville, Canada.

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