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Growing Up Hip Hop star and child prodigy Romeo Miller welcomed a second baby, a little girl whom he shared with the world on Wednesday. The rapper/actor
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Former Bad Boy CEO, Diddy says he wants BET to become a black-owned asset as he confirms reports that he is among several buyers who have expressed
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Valiant is letting his feelings be known after expressing his disdain for Popcaan while on Instagram Live earlier this week.
The “Rasta” deejay appeared to be vibing with his friends in his car, and was online interacting with fans with music playing in the background. Vybz Kartel’s song “Mobay Anthem” came on when Kartel shouted out Popcaan in the the track’s into. Valiant immediately commands the person controlling the music off-camera to turn off the music.
“You know the style already we have the collab wid me and Vybz Kartel ready up,” Valiant said before the song came on. “Play the right song weh the blood? Eh bwoy tun off that wid da name deh inna it, turn off that, hey hey,” Valiant yelled at another person in the vehicle.
It’s unclear why the two artists are at odds and the reason behind it, but months ago, before Valiant blew up as an artist, Popcaan seemed to have given him the opportunity to perform in front of his unruly fans. However, something that Popcaan said offended fans of Valiant. In a video of the two artists on stage, Popcaan asks the crowd if they like Valiant right after he performs one of his earlier tracks. Without more, Popcaan says, “no dem nuh like you”, something the “Dunce Cheque” artist’s fans felt was a diss.
All seemed well despite that incident as shortly after, Popcaan and Valiant were seen together in an interview on the entertainment show, OnStage, where Popcaan introduced Valiant, who also sang Popcaan’s praises for opening doors for him.
However, while on the Let’s Be Honest Podcast with JaiiFrais three weeks ago, Valiant was asked about him being mentored by Popcaan, but while he didn’t name-drop Popcaan, he seemingly spoke about enduring disrespect from the OVO artist.
“Mi and di dawg dem a flick from before Popcaan time, when dem a style mi inna di road and nah gimmi nuh fahwud,” Valiant said. The artist explained that that led to him breaking off from the Unruly Camp and going on to form his own music group, Diplomats.
After his comments, Popcaan appeared to react to the comments by resharing a fan post that read, “tap eh f**ry nuff artist the unruly boss gi strength. Simple things a the blessing memba good nuh man.”
Popcaan reposted the fan Story with the hand emoji similar to his unruly sign. Poppy deejay has not responded to Valiant’s latest diss, but knowing Poppy, he will clap back at some point. The Unruly Boss is also getting ready to embark on his Great Is He European tour, so perhaps he doesn’t want any distraction as he preps to his the road.
In the meantime, both Valiant and Popcaan currently have impressive runs in dancehall. Val emergence on the scene late last year with “Dunce Cheque” created a wave that he is riding straight into 2013. At one point during the fall of last year, the young deejay had five songs in the top trending on YouTube, and since the start of this year, he has already released over a dozen new songs.
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Dr Irfaan Ali said that Guyana’s forests are not just standing trees, but important global assets that provide “global services”.
To this extent, he said that Guyana is “very pleased” to sign a four-year EUR5m grant (approximately GY$1.1b) with the European Union (EU) for the sustainability of the country’s forests and forest-dependent communities.
At Wednesday’s official announcement and press briefing at State House, the President said that “it is only fair that the forests earn for the country and the people who ensure that it stays intact in support of those global services”.
He explained that Guyana is also working to provide global leadership on sustainable forest management and is looking to provide a practical example to the world on how the environment, forests, freshwater, and biodiversity must be safeguarded to sustain life.
“We also look to develop new ways of incentivising the global fight to safeguard forests. The main actions identified to be advanced by this cooperation will look to strengthen sustainable livelihoods in forest communities and enhance knowledge and capacity for sustainable use and supply of nature-based goods and services.”
Guyana’s forests, as they stand are estimated to store more than 19.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide with the capacity to remove 154 million tonnes more every year from the atmosphere.
This, the President said, shows that Guyana’s forests provide vital ecosystem and environmental services to the world.
During the press briefing, the Deputy Secretary-General of the European Union External Action Service, Helena K?nig, praised Guyana for its “historically low deforestation rates”.
She explained that Guyana is the only country in the world in which the EU has signed both the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement–FLEGT, and the Forest Partnership Memorandum of Understanding.
DELICATE BALANCE
The President also outlined that over the years, Guyana has found a “very delicate” balance in the development and advancement of forest-dependent communities in the context of sustainable forest management.
He noted that sustainable livelihoods sit at the heart of this endeavour.
“When we create the opportunities for people, for economic advancement, and social upliftment, we provide them with resources to make decisions to safeguard the environment and protect forests.”
He said that Guyanese should never “undervalue our contribution and our record in terms of deforestation rates. That is not by accident; that is by deliberate planning, deliberate policy and a strong understanding of the role of forests in today’s environment and in the fight against climate change”.
The President said that the partnership between Guyana, the EU and by extension the France Development Agency (AFD) and the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Guianas underpins the focus on what works and moves to create practical solutions to development challenges.
It was also pointed out that forest-dependent communities have already outlined their village sustainability plans. These, he said, will be complemented and augmented with the project so that they align closely with the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
Moving forward, he explained that all actions carried out under the project are expected to be done in close coordination with national institutions and local partners, such as the National Toshaos Council to maximise the benefits of significant resources already invested at the community level.
President Ali also praised the partnership between the EU and Guyana and said that they are working together for global sustainability.
This project, which is a flagship project of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, will also benefit Suriname, which is expected to receive a similar grant.
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The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) continues to take proactive measures to ensure consumers on Nevis have an adequate supply of potable water, commissioning a new 250,000 gallon water tank in the Zetlands area on March 13.
Spencer Brand, Minister responsible for Water Services on Nevis, said the official commissioning of the new glass-fused-to-steel reservoir “signals again the commitment of the Nevis Island Administration to the people of Nevis in ensuring that we build out Nevis in a sustainable way, and I think this new tank is a clear indication that we are committed to that plan. This tank will now serve Market Shop area all the way down to Morning Star [Estate].
“One of the mandates of the Nevis Water Department is to ensure that we can produce water for the people of Nevis 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and I believe we are well on our way to accomplishing that.”
Deputy Premier Eric Evelyn, elected parliamentary representative for St. George, said he is proud to be part of an Administration intent on ensuring that every household and business on the island has access to a good quality of water.
“I am happy as the area representative for St. George, Gingerland, because as part of that mandate of the Administration, the people of St. George are not being left behind. I’m also very happy that this is the second tank of this quality that has been installed in my constituency, we have one in the Stoney Hill area and this one installed here at Pond Hill borders my constituency and the constituency of St. John’s,” he said.
Also present at the ceremony were Denzil Stanley, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Water Services; Floyd Robinson, Water Resources Manager; Santonnya Mills, Water Department Manager; Clychawn Wilson, Head of Production at Water Services; and Ronell Webbe, Manager of Precision Construction, the company contracted to build the facility.
The new reservoir replaced on older fiber glass tank which lost water due to leakage. Minister Brand assured that the NIA would continue the build out of the island’s water storage capacity to be able to meet the increasing demand for the critical resource.
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Yung Miami is lifting up a fellow queen and has offered Zeus reality star Chrisean Rock words of comfort amid her break up with rapper Blueface and his public urgings that she should have an abortion.
It’s been super toxic in the past few days after Blueface had another meltdown in Dubai while Chrisean remained in the states, where she had a performance and was seen interacting with male fans. The “Thotiana” rapper has been disparaging Rock over the past two days, and on Tuesday, he even asked her to abort her last three months of pregnancy.
Blueface has been ranting on Twitter and even used his “loving” relationship with his baby mother, Jaidyn Alexis, whom he impregnated while with Rock, to shade and disrespect her. He based Rock’s behavior and alleged that she was still fighting and drinking alcohol while pregnant, and in the same breath, he praised the mother of his two children for her chaste lifestyle – being committed to him and his children although he has been dating other women, including Rock.
“This is what it’s supposed to look like when a women tells a man she’s pregnant,” he captioned the video, where he appears excited when he sees the positive pregnancy test. “Any other response or question you should abort the baby an treat the next n***a better for the sake of you him an the baby.”
An insecure Blueface has been angry at Rock after she exchanged numbers with rapper Lil Baby whom he accused of having ulterior motives for wanting to know Rock, and Rick Ross, who posed for an innocent picture with her at Super Bowl Sunday last month.
Blueface shared he has doubts about the baby’s paternity.
“No man should question the paternity of a child if they do 9x outta 10 the women hasn’t been valuing herself enough which makes them believe theirs a possibility it’s not theirs this is a wholesome beautiful moment that every righteous women deserves fr,” he wrote on Twitter.
He also insulted her over her missing tooth, which his baby mother had knocked out during a vicious fight while on his former reality Blue Girls Club.
Rock responded to Bluface writing, “I take you serious. You just hate me rn . I don’t need the next n***a I got my self.”
In another tweet, she said, “Ion regret anything about my self so honestly trynna put me down is a low blow coming from a man that know he loves me.”
Rock was later seen on a boat enjoying life on Monday, and this incensed Blueface to continue his rant on Tuesday, which coincidentally is also Rock’s birthday.
He even went further to say he would give her $100,000 and pay all the fees for her to have an abortion.
As for Rock, her positive attitude has not gone unnoticed as her fans and followers, including Yung Miami, commended her for getting to the point of leaving Blueface alone and going further with her life following the success of their reality show and her own music career.
“You’re beautiful & FULL OF LIFE,” Yung Miami wrote as she retweeted Rock’s last tweet, which read, “Don’t feel bad for me ima shake dis off fr. Plus I’m grown I did this to myself.”
In the meantime, it seems that Rock’s decision to remain single and stop taking disrespect from Blueface is just one of a few celebrities packing it up and calling it quits.
Yung Miami seemingly broke up with Diddy after he welcomed a secret baby with another woman in October (2022), and she appeared stunned when he announced the baby, Love Sean Combs, via his Twitter account.This week, she announced, “I’m single, baby. What man you saw me with? I’m single. S-I-N-G-L-E, baby!”
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Just over a month after he dismissed rumors that his administration could be moving towards holding an early general election, the British Virgin Islands’ Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley is getting ready to announce the election date this week.
“We are not going to have early elections,” he had said in February.
The House of Assembly was dissolved last Friday paving the way for the general election that must be held within two months. General elections are constitutionally due by mid-May.
Natalio Wheatley became head of government after premier Andrew Fahie was detained in Miami in April last year by United States agents posing as cocaine traffickers from a Mexican drug cartel.
He said that his ruling Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is close to finalizing its slate of 13 candidates for the election.
“Some time ago we would have gone to our party Congress where we selected 10 individuals to move forward for this general election and we will have a Congress to ratify our remaining members. We should be having the Congress over the next few days,” he told the CARIB Update television program.
At least four political parties and several independents are expected to contest the elections, but Natalio Wheatley said he remains confident that the VIP would be returned to power.
“We have been able to steady the ship, we have improved our relationship with the United Kingdom and of course, we have been able to implement recommendations and the United Kingdom has expressed their pleasure of the progress even though there are areas we have to improve upon.
“But generally they are pleased with the progress and of course, people of the British Virgin Islands are pleased with the progressed made so far and correcting things in our governance,” he added.
Last year, the British government decided not to impose direct rule on the BVI, despite a report finding gross failures of governance in the territory.
The review had recommended the BVI’s constitution should be suspended and its government dissolved amid corruption concerns. But the foreign secretary will instead allow a new administration to implement reforms in the next two years.
The inquiry was commissioned in 2021 amid claims about corruption and misuse of taxpayers’ money. The sole Commissioner, British judge Sir Gary Hickinbottom, in his report had described the state of governance in the BVI as “appallingly bad”.
Sir Gary had called for a two-year suspension of the BVI constitution, cessation of the elected ministerial government, and the imposition of direct rule by the UK. He also recommended reviews of the government’s welfare payments, the sale of public land, and law enforcement on the islands.
Residents of the BVI took to the streets outside the official residence of Governor John Rankin protesting the recommendations and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) government also condemned the move by London.
The sub-regional Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in its condemnation noted “the general feeling is that we don’t understand why the British in the 21st century, making decisions similar to what they had done years ago in other countries”.
In the last general elections held on 25 February 2019, for the 13 of the 15 seats in the House of Assembly, there were a total of 41 candidates nominated including 11 women.
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The total cost of Violence Against Women in Jamaica in 2018 was JMD 102 billion (or more than USD $ 1 billion).
This represents 6.49 %of GDP.
The total costs of VAWG for a ‘typical case’ were estimated at 15.646 billion Jamaica dollars/USD 121.8 million or 0.77 per cent of the 2018 GDP.
The National Study on the Economic Costs of Violence Against Women and Girls (ECOVAWG) in Jamaica was launched by Representative of UN Women MCO Caribbean Tonni Brodber under the EU-UN Spotlight Program with European Union Ambassador to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen in partnership with Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honorable Olivia Grange.
Ms. Brodber highlighted: “In Jamaica, the total costs of violence against women and girls, is 15.646 billion Jamaica dollars for a typical case… The typical case is based on administrative data. So these are just the women who are showing up to the police and this is an underreported crime. 15.646 billion Jamaica dollars.”
“This study provides evidence which will hopefully inform decision-making and justify the budget decisions that are required for effective response yes, but also effective prevention. It is costing Jamaica too much. The stakes are really too high,” she added.
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The Trinidad and Tobago government says it has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the state-owned Venezuelan oil company, Petr?leos de Venezuela (PDVSA) as efforts continue for Port of Spain to benefit from the billion-dollar Dragon Gas project.
“We executed a confidentiality agreement (Non-Disclosure Agreement) which governs the negotiations between the parties and the exchange of information as we progress the technical and commercial aspects of the planned development,” Energy and Energy Industries Minister, Stuart Young wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Young is leading a delegation to Caracas for the talks, including Eugene Okpere, Senior Vice President of Shell Trinidad and Tobago.
He said the PDVSA is being led by its president, Pedro Rafael Tellechea, and included PDVSA vice presidents.
Young last month visited the South American country where he met with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodrigues, to discuss hydrocarbons and joint projects.
The Dragon deal, if successful, will give Trinidad and Tobago access to the field said to be holding about 4.2 tscf (trillion standard cubic feet) of natural gas. The project will be able to feed an approximated 150 mscf/day (million standard cubic feet per day) to the country.
On January 24, this year, the United States Treasury Department agreed to grant a license to Port of Spain to develop a major gas field located in Venezuelan territorial waters, there was not much more to be said.
“They tell a country it has permission to negotiate with Venezuela, but it cannot pay in dollars or any form of cash. It must pay with food or products,” Maduro said, adding “that is colonialism”.
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The Caribbean Country Director of the World Bank, Lilia Burunciuc, Tuesday warned that Caribbean countries were “lagging behind” regarding the development of the tourism industry.
Lilia Burunciuc told an online webinar that discussed “Global Economic Prospects for Small States” that even when an examination is made of the tourism sector in the region ” the Caribbean (countries) are lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of the growth of this sector.
“Actually, the growth of the tourist sector in the Caribbean is lower than average of the tourist sector in the world, which means that probably the current model has exhausted its potential and the region needs to think about doing significant restructuring of the way tourism is being done in the Caribbean so that the sector continues to grow and the sector brings more revenue and more jobs to the people in the Caribbean,” she added.
The statement by the World Bank officials follows the announcement last week by the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) predicting that visitor arrivals to the region this year will surpass the pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic figures as the Caribbean recorded a significant increase in tourist arrivals last year.
CTO acting Secretary General, Neil Walters, told a news conference that nearly 90 per cent of the region’s travel demand for 2019 has already been recovered and some destinations have already passed their pandemic levels.
“When compared to 2022, it is expected that overall arrivals to the region will increase by between 10 and 15 per cent. This means that between 31.2 and 32.6 million tourist can be expected to visit the region this year (and) thus arrivals this year might surpass pre-pandemic levels,” he told reporters.
The World Bank said that the Caribbean’s diverse economic features share attributes that make them especially vulnerable to shocks, including dependence on imports of essential goods, highly concentrated economies, elevated levels of debt, reliance on external financing, and susceptibility to natural disasters and climate change.
The Washington-based financial institution said that given that the region is expected to see a slowdown in growth, with an estimated 5. 6 per cent growth in 2023 and 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 7.7 per cent last year, there is a need for policies to boost investment growth, tailored to country circumstances but also include comprehensive fiscal and structural reforms, including the repurposing of expenditure on inefficient subsidies.
Earlier, the senior economist at the World Bank’s Chief Economist Office, Dana Vorisek, told the webinar that small states like the Caribbean are highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, and even volcanic eruptions.
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