Black Immigrant Daily News

by Khaila Gentle

WASHINGTON D.C., Mon. July 4, 2022

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles will be among several other outstanding persons to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honour in the United States—from President Joe Biden.

According to the White House, the medal is awarded to individuals who have “made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”

Biles, along with sixteen others, including Denzel Washington, Megan Rapinoe, Steve Jobs, and John McCain, will be awarded this Thursday. The 25-year-old gymnast, whose adoptive mother—Nellie Cayetano Biles—is Belizean, will become the youngest athlete to receive such an honor, taking the title from Tiger Woods who had been awarded in 2019 at the age of 43.

Upon announcing the list of awardees, President Biden praised Biles for being an advocate for athletes’ mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault. He also commended Washington, an Oscar-winning actor, for his extended work with the Boys & Girls Club of America, and Rapinoe, Biles’ fellow Team USA Olympian, for her advocacy for gender pay equality, LGBTQ rights, and racial justice.

“These seventeen Americans demonstrate the power of possibilities and embody the soul of the nation – hard work, perseverance, and faith,” said the White House.

Other awardees include Father Alexander Karloutsos, former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Alan Simpson, who served as a U.S. Senator for 18 years;  and Diane Nash, a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who “organized some of the most important civil rights campaigns of the 20th century.”

Simone Biles was recently in Belize for the Fourth of July weekend—spending the holiday on Ambergris Caye. The gymnast, who holds Belizean citizenship through her mother, has often referred to the country as her “second home”.

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POLICE are investigating the killing of a 35-year-old father of two, after he and others were ambushed while at work in Santa Cruz on Wednesday morning.

Police said Sashlay Ryan, 35, was with his co-workers at Hololo Road, Santa Cruz when a car passed and an occupant opened fire. Ryan, who lived in Barataria, and two other men were shot. However, Ryan died at the scene.

Speaking with the media at the scene, a close female relative of Ryan said he was a quiet person who kept to himself but was still a people person.

The woman said she was told that when the killer started shooting, Ryan shielded an elderly co-worker who was shot in the hand.

A co-worker and others placed Ryan in the tray of the elderly man’s van to take him to hospital, but the killer had shot out the tyres.

“He shielded two co-workers, one of them an elderly man, so that will tell you the type of person he was. He was always happy and calm and used to barber at times. He used to charge adults and give children haircuts for free,” the woman said.

She said Ryan, who had two sons, 12 and 10, worked at the San Juan Laventille Regional Corporation. She said he was looking forward to receiving his sons’ report books as he took their education seriously.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said Ryan was her best friend and said she will miss everything about him. She found out about his killing from a friend who called her.

Another female relative said Ryan was given the nickname “Milo” because of his dark complexion and his sweet personality. Ryan, she said, was the third of five children and was a quiet person throughout his life.

She said based on information she received, Ryan was killed because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time as the killer was targeting someone else.

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A resident of Sea Lots throws fuel on burning debris during a protest on Monday over the killing of a man and two teen boys by police in Port of Spain on Saturday morning. – ANGELO MARCELLE

The 15-year-old boy who was hospitalised after being shot by police on Saturday was discharged from hospital on Tuesday but was too distraught to speak about what happened when three of his friends were shot dead at Independence Square, Port of Spain.

Newsday contacted the child’s mother on Wednesday night and was told her son was unable to speak with the media. She said he had just watched the news and was reminded of what happened and was overwhelmed.

“Right now he is emotionally broken, he can’t talk to nobody. Right now he not in any position to talk to anybody right now.”

The woman said she too is distraught as one of the men killed is her godson.

Police said the teen was shot in the hand and grazed on the abdomen when officers of the Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB) shot at a car he was in.

He and two others, both released from police custody, survived an alleged shootout with police after a car chase from Diego Martin ended when the car crashed into Republic Bank.

Those killed were identified as Fabien Richards, 21, Leonardo Niko Williams and Isaiah Roberts, both 17. They were from Snake Valley, Laventille; Trou Macaque and Beetham Gardens.

Roberts was supposed to leave the country on Wednesday to live with his mother in the US.

On Monday, protesters burned tyres and other debris to block off the east- and west-bound lanes of the Beetham Highway demanding justice for the three deceased.

Hours after Monday’s protest, one of two of the survivors who was arrested was released without charge. The second was released a day later.

Newsday unsuccessfully searched for the other two survivors, both of whom live at Beetham Gardens.

Speaking with Newsday at his Sea Lots parlour on Wednesday Elijah Mitchell said while the protest may not change much, it makes the powers that be listen to the plight of those in so-called hotspot areas.

Both police and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) are investigating the incident with the PCA calling on anyone with information to come forward.

As part of the police investigation, four GEB officers were placed on clerical duties.

Acting Police Commissioner Mc Donald Jacob, at a media conference on Monday, said police have video footage of what happened but will not be releasing it since that forms part of the police investigation.

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PARAMARIBO — De Nederlandse regering heeft tweehonderdduizend euro beschikbaar gesteld als noodhulp aan de gebieden in het binnenland die zijn

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Gustave Joachim-Arnaud, président de la Team Pédale Pilotine Blue Car

À deux jours de la 41e édition du Tour cycliste de Martinique, Gustave Joachim-Arnaud, dont l’équipe est tenante du titre, revient sur la saison écoulée, ses ambitions et évoque la prochaine échéance à venir.

France-Antilles Martinique

831 mots – 07.07.2022

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