A fourth person has tested positive to Covid in the Cook Islands, currently the only location to have quarantine-free travel arrangements with New Zealand.The latest positive case flew in from New Zealand on Air NZ flight NZ946…
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Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: Early learning centres warn of 'mass closures' due to lack of RAT testing
Early learning centres are warning “mass closures” loom due to the lack of access to Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs). It comes after the Ministry of Education reported on Thursday at least 320 schools and early learning centres were…
Waikato Homicide: 35yo man charged with Abdul Kareem's murder
A 35-year-old man has been charged with murdering Auckland fisherman Abdul Kareem whose body was found in a Waikato river earlier this week. Kareem, 40, was discovered dead in the Whangamarino River, Meremere, by a member of the…
Two passengers trapped on burning ferry in Greece, 11 others missing
Firefighters and rescuers raced to free two truck drivers still trapped in a burning ferry off northwestern Greece Friday after most of the nearly 300 people on board were evacuated, while authorities said another 11 people were reported missing.
The coast guard said 278 passengers and crew had been rescued from a fire that engulfed the Italy-bound Euroferry Olympia with 291 people on board near the Greek island of Corfu.
Officials said two truck drivers were stranded on the burning vessel awaiting a helicopter rescue that required assistance from Fire Department special forces due to the thick smoke that continued to billow out of the vessel.
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The cause of the blaze was unclear. The Italy-based ferry company said it started in a hold where vehicles were parked.
"This is a difficult operation and we must remain cautious. The final accounting of the people on board will take place on Corfu when everyone rescued is assembled there," Greek Deputy Minister for Shipping Costas Katsafados told state-run ERT television.
The rescued passengers were transported to Corfu where 10 people were hospitalised. None were in serious condition and most had breathing difficulties.
Greek authorities said 239 passengers and 51 crew members were on board, adding that the vessel was transporting more than 153 trucks and 32 cars.
The predawn fire broke out in the Ionian Sea on the Italy-flagged Euroferry Olympia three hours after it left the port of Igoumenitsa in northwest Greece for the Italian port of Brindisi.
The ship was northeast of the island of Ereikousa, close to Corfu, when the fire broke out, with the Coast Guard receiving a call about the fire on the ship around 4:30am local time.
Helicopter video released by the Greek coast guard showed thick smoke billowing from the vessel hours after the rescue started.
While a video published on the Greek news website Proto Thema showed the 183-metre ferry engulfed in flames amid plumes of smoke, with "May Day" blasting from the speakers.
A spokesperson for Grimaldi Lines, owner of the 1995-built Euroferry Olympia, told Reuters that while the cause of the fire was under investigation there were indications it started within the ship's hold.
Greek truck driver Giorgos Parlantzas, one of the rescued passengers, recounted what took place on the Euroferry Olympia. "I was sleeping in my cabin when they came to alert us. I grabbed my ID and headed for the deck where people were being assembled. It must have been about 3.00 or 4.00am. And we were put onto boats," Parlantzas told the AP, speaking by telephone after arriving in Corfu.
Six boats from Greece's coast guard and navy participated in the rescue effort along with four helicopters, an Italian customs inspection boat and several passing vessels, senior coast guard official Nikos Lagadianos said.
Rescued passengers, many wrapped in foil blankets, arrived in Corfu aboard the Italian inspection vessel and were being taken to an assembly area where paramedics were carrying out first aid checks, local officials said. Italy's customs agency said 243 people were rescued by its vessel.
Speaking on ERT, Corfu Hospital Director Leonidas Roubatis confirmed that three passengers with light injuries had been brought in as a precaution, and that an infant was also expected to be examined as a precaution.
In 2014, 10 people were killed when a car ferry carrying 466 passengers and crew caught fire while sailing from Greece to Italy.
Newspaper Cover for 18th February, 2022
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IMF Gives High Marks for A&B’s Economic Recovery
THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded that Antigua and Barbuda’s economic framework is improving following its virtual visit with authorities between February 7-11.
The visit, which was led by Varapat Chensavasdijai, reviewed the country’s economic development and policy priorities. Antigua and Barbuda suffered a 20.2 per cent cut in its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 which was the sharpest reduction in GDP since the 2009 global financial crisis in which it recorded a 12 per cent decline.
In its report, the IMF noted that real GDP grew by an estimated 4.8 per cent in 2021 and project a seven per cent expansion in 2022 underpinned by a sustained recovery in tourism and construction activity. Two-thirds of the country’s GDP before the pandemic was in the services sector with industry making up 21 per cent. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the few countries which offers a citizenship by investment programme with the country’s passport providing visa free access to 150 countries.
“Two-thirds of the population have been fully vaccinated, which is among the highest rates in the Caribbean. However, a prolonged pandemic (eg, due to the emergence of new virus variants) and supply chain disruptions could put a drag on the recovery at the same time as wage and price pressures build,” the IMF report stated on the threats to the country’s fiscal recovery.
Despite the country’s debt to GDP ratio ballooning to 97.56 per cent in 2020 due to the decline in GDP, the country remains on track to improve its fiscal management through debt consolidation which is aimed at bringing the ratio down to 70 per cent by 2030. The 2022 budget envisions a net zero primary balance after narrowing the gap by two per cent to 1.8 per cent in 2021. The report noted that the country has to improve its tax compliance and implement reforms amid an uncertain revenue outlook and the need to contain spending amid rising international oil prices.
“The financial sector is showing signs of recovery. Banks are well-capitalised and liquid, but credit growth has been slow, particularly to the household sector. Loans under moratoria at banks and credit unions have declined significantly in 2021 and non-performing loan ratios have remained stable. Nonetheless, supervisors should closely monitor asset quality and ensure that loan loss provisioning is proportional to credit quality risks, especially at credit unions.,” the report added.
While the Caribbean nation remains highly susceptible to natural disasters and climate change as seen from its bouts with Hurricane Irma, the National Adaption plan is on track to be completed by year end as well as the ongoing initiatives to make the infrastructure more disaster resilient. The Blue Economy plan will identify new sustainable sectors and opportunities to diversify the economy and improve capacity building.
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Normality Returning to Trinidad After 12 Hour Blackout
The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Corporation (T&TEC) has apologized for a more than 12-hour power outage in Trinidad that severely disrupted life.
The blackout caused water shortages, traffic gridlock, early closure of businesses, and inconvenienced mobile and land telecommunication devices users. Normality has returned to the country following the lengthy electricity blackout.
T&TEC says a fault on the Gandhi Village/Union Estate 220 KV line resulted in system instability and caused all the generating machines operated by Independent Power Producers to trip. As a result, the devices at Trinidad Generation Unlimited went into shutdown mode leading to a loss of supply to all customers in Trinidad.
The sister isle of Tobago was not affected by the power blackout.
T&TEC’s general manager Kelvin Ramsook said while they could identify the faulted location, they were still investigating the reason.
“We have never had this situation occurring for many years, and all four generating stations are separated, and we are having challenges getting the capacity back onto the grid and interconnection thereafter,” he said.
Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzalves, who has promised an independent investigation into the incident, says he will make recommendations to Cabinet to ensure that another such situation does not occur as he apologized to the country “for this major disruption and inconvenience.”
While he praised T&TEC workers for “going out of their way and collaborating with independent power producers to bring electricity back, he noted that what transpired has exposed the vulnerabilities on the electrical grid.
Blackout affected water, mobile, and landline services
The Water and Sewerage Authority said most of its treatment facilities and booster stations were also severely affected and warned it might take 24 to 72 hours for the supply to normalize to some affected areas.
Mobile users were also affected by the situation even though the two primary providers, B Mobile and Digicel, kept communication running through their cell towers.
Acting Police Commissioner, McDonald Jacob, said that police deployed officers to ensure the safety of citizens amid reports of robberies and other criminal activities.
Many people flocked to supermarkets to purchase candles and batteries as it became clear that the blackout could last for several more hours.
CMC/
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REUTERS WORLD NEWS: Pro-Russian Rebels Accuse Ukrainians of New Shelling, Storm Eunice Batters England & Ireland, Trump Ordered to Testify
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Militants of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic walk in a trench at combat positions near the line of separation from the Ukrainian armed forces outside the settlement of Molodizhne (Molodezhnoye) in the Luhansk region, Ukraine February 17, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump stands with his son Donald Trump Jr. (R) and daughter Ivanka Trump during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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Cuba Developing New Cerebral Stroke Treatment
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Grieving Perth mother campaigns to establish a 'wind phone'
A grieving Perth mother is campaigning for a unique instrument to be set up to help people connect with lost loved ones.
Merle Taylor says she hopes to have a 'wind phone' installed in the suburb of Bayswater, just north-east of Perth.
A 'wind phone' is an disconnected telephone booth that serves as a place where people can have one-way conversations with loved ones who have passed away.
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The concept originated in Japan in 2011 as way of grieving following a devastating tsunami and earthquake in the Tōhoku region that killed more than 15,000 people.
Ms Taylor lost her son Chris when he was just 34 years old after he stopped breathing in his sleep during a holiday in Bali with his wife and two young boys, she told 9News.
"Chris was an amazing man and father," Ms Taylor said.
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Now she says she wants to connect with her deceased son through the 'wind phone', and hopes it can help others too, with the disconnected phone line designed to act as an avenue of comfort for the grieving.
"It's just a telephone that people can go and use to talk to a loved one that's on the other side," Ms Taylor said.
"Picking up a phone and dialling a phone number just changes everything."
Ms Taylor said she hopes the public 'wind phone' can be installed at Claughton Reserve in Bayswater, which was her son's favourite spot.
"I think it's a lovely sentiment," Bayswater Mayor Filomena Piffaretti said.
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"I can't imagine what it feels like to lose a child but I do know what it feels like to lose a loved one. Grief affects all of us and I know this [wind phone] is a tool that's been used successfully in Japan as part of the healing process," Ms Piffaretti said.
The Bayswater Council is set to vote on the 'wind phone' proposal on Tuesday, and Ms Taylor says it will mean a lot to her if it gets approved.
"You do whatever you can to get through it and this just might be one thing that people can use that will help them get through their grief."