Black Immigrant Daily News

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has updated its travel advisory effective August 29, 2022 to facilitate the smooth movement of passengers to and from the country. Antigua and Barbuda has benefitted from a highly successful strategy of mass vaccinations, quick detection of imported and community-spread infections, and proactive public awareness campaigns in significantly reducing COVID 19 infection levels for the past five (5) months. At the same time, the State remains focused in its ongoing interventions to mitigate the risk of resurgence of COVID-l9 levels. This strategy is intended to protect and safeguard the health of both residents and visitors to Antigua and Barbuda.

Nationals and residents of Antigua and Barbuda are strongly advised to check travel advisories of destination countries prior to travel at this time.

The protocols implemented are as follows:

All COVID-l9 restrictions are to be lifted for arriving passengers by air.
COVID-9 restrictions are also tifted for persons arriving by yacht or ferry services. However, all marine pleasure craft and ferry services entering the waters of Antigua and Barbuda should contact the Antigua Port Authority, using VHF Channel 16, at least six (6) hours prior to arrival. Instructions will be given to guide the crafts to either the Nevis Street Pier or English/Falmouth Harbours, Jolly Harbour, or other holding area.
Passengers arriving aboard cruise ships are subject to the protocols enforced by the cruise lines until such time as the cruise lines themselves alter their protocols.
Visitors are required to observe all protocols as stipulated by the management businesses such as offices, banks, hotels, restaurants and excursions for the duration of their trip.
The wearing of face masks and social/physical distancing protocols in public spaces is actively encouraged throughout Antigua and Barbuda, especially wherever there are gatherings of significant numbers of people e.g., ports, supermarkets, bars and clubs.
Aniving passengers with symptoms of COVID-l9 may be isolated as determined by the Health Authorities.

Military Vessels/Aircraft and other Watercraft transporting food, medical supplies, humanitarian and emergency supplies will be required to follow the Port Authority/Port Health Guidelines and must give prior notification before arrival.

Any restrictions for maritime traffrc, and the consequential Antigua Port Authority guidelines, shall not restrict vessels engaged in innocent passage and/or transit passage, withinthe territorial seas and/or archipelagic waters of Antigua and Barbuda, under the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

This Travel Advisory replaces ALL previous Travel Advisories issued by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

– Advertisement –

Honey production and exports present a viable economic option for a large group of Saint Lucia’s rural population.

To ensure the development of the sector and maximization of profits, Export Saint Lucia, with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF), is in the process of implementing the Bee City Honey Cluster Project.

Succinctly referred to as “Bee City”, this project will position Saint Lucian honey in specificmarkets through the development of a cluster model. Bee City seeks to increase thecompetitiveness of stakeholders within the sector, build the capacity of local stakeholders in the beekeeping industry and encourage the entrance of new members to drive and expand apiculture.

As work continues in the implementation of Bee City, a local consultant, Mr Melvin Edwards, has been engaged to develop a three-year strategic plan for the operations of beekeeper groups participating in the Bee City Honey Cluster.

– Advertisement –

During his consultancy, Edwards will also develop and facilitate training workshops and provide instruction in governance and cooperative management to the beekeeping cluster and industry stakeholders.

Partnering on this consultancy and the project as a whole is the Ministry of Agriculture and specifically the Veterinary and Livestock Services Division.

Like other IDB Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility Projects, Bee City will contribute to an improvement in the standard of living and quality of life of participants.

The program is also expected to result in an increase in the production of honey, and the number of beekeepers and apiaries on the island.

The Bee City Honey Cluster Project aims to remove any constraints that currently hinder the development of the honey industry.

Export Saint Lucia’s Chief Executive Officer, Sunita Daniel, remarks “Saint Lucia’s honey industry is brimming with export potential. As a trade promotion agency, Export Saint Lucia understands first-hand that the entrance of local honey to international, niche markets will result in increased economic prosperity at home.

The strategic plan being developed will be in tune with the overall plan of the Government for the sector’s development.

Daniel added that “The work in cooperative governance and management will assistin the proper maintenance of current and future cooperatives and groups. Export Saint Lucia has the utmost confidence in Mr Edwards’ ability to perform his duties toward a positive end for the men and women involved in our beekeeping industry.”

The consultancy will take place over the course of four (4) months, after which, Saint Lucia’s honey industry is expected to be in a more competitive state moving forward.

SOURCE: Export Saint Lucia

– Advertisement –

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark message Friday: The Fed will likely impose more large interest rate hikes in the coming months and is resolutely focused on taming the highest inflation in four decades.

Powell also warned more explicitly than he has in the past that the Fed’s continued tightening of credit will cause pain for many households and businesses as its higher rates further slow the economy and potentially lead to job losses.

“These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation,” he said in a high-profile speech at the Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole. “But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”

Investors had been hoping for a signal that the Fed might soon moderate its rate increases later this year if inflation were to show further signs of easing. But the Fed chair indicated that that time may not be near.

After hiking its key short-term rate by three-quarters of a point at each of its past two meetings — part of the Fed’s fastest series of rate increases since the early 1980s — Powell said the Fed might ease up on that pace “at some point” — suggesting that any such slowing isn’t near.

Powell said the size of the Fed’s rate increase at its next meeting in late September — whether one-half or three-quarters of a percentage point — will depend on inflation and jobs data. An increase of either size, though, would exceed the Fed’s traditional quarter-point hike, a reflection of how severe inflation has become.

The Fed chair said that while lower inflation readings that have been reported for July have been “welcome,” “a single month’s improvement falls far short of what the Committee will need to see before we are confident that inflation is moving down.”

He noted that the history of high inflation in the 1970s, when the central bank sought to counter high prices with only intermittent rate hikes, shows that the Fed must stay focused.

“The historical record cautions strongly against prematurely” lowering interest rates, he said. “We must keep at it until the job is done.”

Powell’s speech is the marquee event of the Fed’s annual economic symposium at Jackson Hole, the first time the conference of central bankers is being held in person since 2019 after it went virtual for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since March, the Fed has implemented its fastest pace of rate increases in decades to try to curb inflation, which has punished households with soaring costs for food, gas, rent and other necessities. The central bank has lifted its benchmark rate by 2 full percentage points in just four meetings, to a range of 2.25 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

Those hikes have led to higher costs for mortgages, car loans and other consumer and business borrowing. Home sales have been plunging since the Fed first signalled it would raise borrowing costs.

In June, the Fed’s policymakers signalled that they expected their key rate to end 2022 in a range of 3.25 per cent to 3.5 per cent and then to rise further next year to between 3.75 per cent and 4 per cent. If rates reached their projected level at the end of this year, they would be at the highest point since 2008.

Powell is betting that he can engineer a high-risk outcome: Slow the economy enough to ease inflation pressures yet not so much as to trigger a recession.

His task has been complicated by the economy’s cloudy picture: On Thursday, the government said the economy shrank at a 0.6 per cent annual rate in the April-June period, the second straight quarter of contraction. Yet employers are still hiring rapidly, and the number of people seeking unemployment aid, a measure of layoffs, remains relatively low.

At the same time, inflation is still crushingly high, though it has shown some signs of easing, notably in the form of declining gas prices.

At its meeting in July, Fed policymakers expressed two competing concerns that highlighted their delicate task.

According to minutes from that meeting, the officials — who aren’t identified by name — have prioritized their inflation fight. Still, some officials said there was a risk that the Fed would raise borrowing costs more than necessary, risking a recession. If inflation were to fall closer to the Fed’s 2 per cent target and the economy weakened further, those diverging views could become hard to reconcile.

At last year’s Jackson Hole symposium, Powell listed five reasons why he thought inflation would be “transitory.”

Powell indirectly acknowledged that history at the outset of his remarks Friday, when he said, “at past Jackson Hole conferences, I have discussed broad topics such as the ever-changing structure of the economy and the challenges of conducting monetary policy.”

“Today,” he said, “my remarks will be shorter, my focus narrower and my message more direct.”

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

The contracting firm implementing resurfacing work under the Government of Antigua and Barbuda Second Road Infrastructure Rehabilitation project (SRIRP) on Valley Road North (VRN) has reported that seventy percent (70%) of the work is now complete.

Valley Road North is one of four roads earmarked for rehabilitationas part of the multi- road improvement initiative now underway. The other roads are Old Parham Road, Anchorage Road and Sir Sydney Walling Highway.

Oversight for the SRIRP is being provided by the Ministry of Works through the Project Implementation Management Unit (PIMU).

The PIMU is calling on road users and residents to exercise patience as the Government rehabilitates the twin island’s road network.

The project office is also urging road users to proceed with extreme caution especially when travelling within road work zones.

The project office is also asking that all road users respect and adhere to the traffic management measures being employed for public safety.

The contractor C.O. Williams Construction Company Ltd. acknowledges that there have been recent setbacks in the progress of work in the Jennings area and they plan to remedy the situation by conducting work over the weekend. It is expected that by mid-September, the section of road will be resurfaced and reopened to the normal flow of traffic.

The delays are mainly due to inclement weather conditions as well as the requirement for full depth excavation in the area. The patience and cooperation of residents is appreciated during this challenging time.

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda was successful in obtaining financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards offsetting the cost of the Second Road Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project. The project is projected to end in 2023 -END

Project Facts: 

Project Contractor: C.O. Williams Construction Company Ltd.

All traffic interventions will be controlled by flag persons whenever necessary. Road users are advised to proceed with caution when travelling in the work zones.  For additional information, please contact the PIMU via email: [email protected] or call us: 562-9174/6 or 562-7782.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

News

File photo

Two men appeared before a Chaguanas magistrate on Thursday for multiple shooting offences, a police release said.

Nicholas Reid, 28, from Cunupia and Nevash Maraj, 20, from Las Lomas, were charged with several offences, including shooting with intent, possession of firearms and possession of firearms to endanger lives. They were charged with eight offences in total.

Reid was remanded in custody, and Maraj was granted bail of $350,000. The matter was adjourned to September 22.

The release on Friday said the two victims were in their vehicle in Chase Village on August 22 when another vehicle pulled up alongside and a man armed with a gun got out. The gunman shot at the victims several times and hit their vehicle.

The victims escaped to the Freeport police station, chased by the gunmen. At the station, the victims pointed out the attackers’ vehicle to the police, who chased it along the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway.

The two suspects were eventually intercepted and police found a Smith and Wesson revolver and three spent shells in the vehicle.

In a separate incident on Thursday evening, police in Petit Valley found a Glock pistol loaded with a magazine containing five rounds of ammunition at a house on Simeon Road. Investigations are ongoing.

NewsAmericasNow.com