Category Archives: headline

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SV&G Records 1st Fully Vaccinated COVID Death, More Than 200 New Cases

Loop News- St Vincent and the Grenadines has recorded its first fully-vaccinated COVID-19 death.The Ministry of Health says a 67-year-old woman who presented to the Accident and Emergency Department on January 5, 2022, after a one-week illness, died of COVID-19 pneumonia on January 6.

The patient, who, tested positive on admission had preexisting non-communicable diseases. She was fully vaccinated during the period April to July 2021.

Her death brings the death toll from COVID-19 to 84.

The news comes as St Vincent and the Grenadines recorded 208 new COVID cases during the period January 3 to January 4, 2022.

There are currently no patients admitted for COVID-19 at the Argyle Isolation Facility. Sixteen patients are admitted to the COVID-19 ward at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, two of whom are fully vaccinated and fourteen patients are unvaccinated.

St Vincent and Grenadines has over 700 active COVID cases.

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UK’s Prince William Seeks Nominees for His Environmental Earthshot Prize Competition

Britain’s Prince William appealed for innovators around the world to submit nominations for his Earthshot Prize, a competition aimed at finding new ways to tackle climate change.

William and his charity, The Royal Foundation, launched the prize in 2020 inspired by US President John F Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” speech that challenged Americans to go to the moon by the end of the decade.

The prize, to be awarded to five winners every year until 2030, is billed as the most prestigious of its kind. Each winner will receive a grant of 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) to develop and scale up their ideas.

This year’s prizes will go to projects aimed at “tipping point” issues where there are opportunities to create significant benefits over the next few years, the foundation said. These include personal transportation, agriculture that restores the environment, buildings designed to minimize pollution and energy use, and initiatives that extend the life of clothing, food and plastic products.

“I can’t wait to see what solutions the prize helps to champion this coming year,” William said in a statement. “In 2022, we are determined to go further by seeking even more nominations from every corner of the world, ensuring that we spotlight and scale the very best ideas and innovations that will put our planet on a sustainable path and protect our world for generations to come.”

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Omicron Spreads to Antigua and Barbuda

By Orville Williams

The Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Health has confirmed that the Omicron Covid-19 variant has officially been detected in the twin island nation, while Covid infections continue to escalate this week.

In a media statement published yesterday, the ministry said the variant was identified in a batch of samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing last month.

With the discovery, Antigua and Barbuda joins Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, among other countries that have also confirmed the variant’s presence.

Based on the rapid spread of Omicron across the world, many believed it was only a matter of time before it touched down in the country and the Health Ministry confirmed in the statement that it too had previously suspected its presence.

It means all five of the World Health Organization (WHO)-designated variants of concern – Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron – have now been found in Antigua and Barbuda, and this latest variant could not come at a worse time.

Just hours prior to confirming the presence of Omicron, the Health Ministry reported that 229 new Covid infections were recorded over the period January 1 to January 4.

That followed a similar report on Tuesday, when 203 new infections were confirmed to have been detected over the period December 27 to December 31 last year.

This shot the number of active cases up from just 27 in the middle of December, to a whopping 499 up to last night.

Health officials had been warning of a likely spike in infections following the festive season, based on last year’s experience when returning nationals and visitors flocked to the country, resulting in hundreds of persons contracting the virus early in 2021.

The major difference in this case is that Covid vaccines are widely available and nearly 60,000 persons have already been fully vaccinated.

According to physician Dr Dwayne Thwaites, the fact that so many people are already inoculated, coupled with the low number of hospitalisations reportedly being caused by the Omicron variant globally, means the variant’s presence shouldn’t cause more alarm than the Delta, for example.

“When viruses variate, we have what we call nonsense variation and that is where the viruses change, but [the change] doesn’t affect [persons afflicted] in any way.

“Here, we have a change, where the variant is more contagious and spreads easier, but it is not as dangerous, it doesn’t destroy [organs] like we used to see with the Delta variant.

“Because of what we’re seeing now in Antigua and Barbuda, with the number of [Covid] cases, it seems like people are getting some kind of immunity. People who are vaccinated are getting extra immunity, because they’re still picking up the disease and they’re not getting as sickly,” Dr Thwaites told Observer.

The urologist warned though, that residents should still get vaccinated as a matter of priority in order to reduce the likelihood of more variants being formed.

“If you’re unvaccinated and the virus gets to you, it keeps multiplying and the more it multiplies, the greater the chance that it will variate again,” Dr Thwaites said.

To date, the Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa, has been detected in more than 120 countries.

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Ellison “Tommy” Thompson Named CEO of St. Kitts Tourist Authority

The St. Kitts Tourism Authority announces the appointment of Ellison “Tommy” Thompson as CEO

In this role, Thompson will lead international marketing efforts for the destination, with a focus on trade and airline relationships; earned, paid and owned media; partnerships; and stakeholder communication.

Thompson will focus on leisure and cruise, two perennially high performing areas for tourism to St. Kitts. He will also prioritize the romance and MICE markets, with the goal of increasing tourism’s economic benefits across the island. Thompson begins work on January 10, 2022.

“Mr. Thompson brings more than three decades of Caribbean tourism sales and marketing experience, including a deep knowledge of marketing Bahamas’ outer islands,” said Nick Menon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “He has proven success increasing leisure travel, expanding key industry relationships, and implementing creative global marketing campaigns. We are thrilled to have his expertise at the helm of the Tourism Authority.”

“Tommy Thompson’s experience working with tourism ministries and destination marketing entities make him the premier choice to lead the St. Kitts Tourism Authority,” added Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, Transport and Ports. “We are confident that under his leadership, we will continue driving high demand for the destination among air and cruise passengers as part of tourism’s continuous rebound.”

Thompson will utilize a data-driven approach to assess St. Kitts’ primary audiences and their behaviors. His initial intentions also include working closely with travel agents and tour operators, and partnering with airlines to increase passenger load and service to the destination.

“St. Kitts is an emerging destination with tremendous potential to excite travelers from around the world,” Thompson said. “I am looking forward to developing and implementing creative strategies that will increase St. Kitts’ visibility in our key source markets, put St. Kitts into the consideration set for travelers, and ultimately drive bookings.”

Most recently, Mr. Thompson served as Deputy Director General of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. In this role, he developed global marketing strategies for the Ministry, with a focus on the Family Islands, Grand Bahama Island, and niche market promotions.

He also led the sales teams in the United States, Canada and Europe as well as Asia and Latin America, and oversaw campaigns targeting consumers, tour operators and wholesalers, travel agents and airlines. Mr. Thompson has also held a number of other positions for both The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and The Bahamas Tourist Offices in the UK. He has additional experience managing visitor relations, cruise development, product development, and sales representation.

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US Bars 8 Cuban Officials from Entering Country

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday barred eight Cuban officials from entering the country over their role in the detention and sentencing of protesters in July demonstrations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The State Department did not name the officials. Blinken said they are implicated in attempts to silence Cuban people through repression, unjust detentions and harsh prison sentences.

“The United States took steps to enforce visa restrictions in response to Cuban government attempts to deny Cubans their freedom and rights through continued intimidation tactics, unjust imprisonment, and severe sentences,” Blinken said.

The largest protests since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution erupted in Cuba in July amid an economic crisis and surge in COVID-19 infections.

Thousands took to the streets, angry over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the handling of the pandemic. Hundreds of protesters were arrested.

Blinken said 600 protesters remain jailed after the protests, some with no access to proper food or medicine and with worsening health conditions.

Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Eric Beech; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

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Canada, Other Nations Vow Action Against Iran Over Downed Jet

OTTAWA, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine on Thursday said they had abandoned efforts to talk to Tehran about reparations for an airliner downed by Iran and would try to settle the matter according to international law.

Most of the 176 people killed when Iran shot down the Ukrainian jet in January 2020 were citizens from those four countries, which created a coordination group that seeks to hold Tehran to account.

“Despite our best efforts over the past two years and multiple attempts to resolve this matter through negotiations, the Coordination Group has determined that further attempts to negotiate with Iran … are futile,” it said in a statement.

“The Coordination Group will now focus on subsequent actions to take to resolve this matter in accordance with international law,” it continued, but did not give details.

Tehran says Revolutionary Guards accidentally shot down the Boeing 737 jet and blamed a misaligned radar and an error by the air defense operator at a time when tensions were high between Tehran and the United States.

A court in Ontario, Canada, this week awarded C$107 million ($83.8 million), plus interest, to the families of six people who died. In June, Canada said it had found no evidence that the downing of the plane had been premeditated. read more

($1 = 1.2772 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

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Mexico: 2 Arrested After SUV Found with 10 Bodies Inside

BBC-Two arrests have been made after 10 bodies were found inside a car in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas.

The discovery came after the vehicle was left outside a historic local state governor’s office in the middle of a public square.

Officials became suspicious of the car, a Mazda SUV, and found the bodies early on Thursday morning.

David Monreal, governor of the central state, later confirmed on social media that two suspects had been detained.

“They came to leave them here in front of the palace,” he said of the crime, adding the victims were “apparently beaten”.

The Mexican security ministry confirmed they are sending assistance to help the local investigation.

Mexico has long suffered with high levels of crime and rising murder rates.

Zacatecas state has also seen a surge in violence linked to a turf war between rival drug gangs operating in the area, including incidents where bodies have been left or displayed in public places.

Responding to the discovery in a video at the scene, Mr Monreal pledged to try and tackle the problem.

“Bit by bit we will recover our peace. What we received was a cursed inheritance,” he was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying about the violence.

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Two Haitian Reporters Burned Alive by Gang

(CNN) Two Haitian journalists were burned alive by a gang in the country’s capital on Thursday, a source with the Haitian Security Forces told CNN.

The source said the Ti Makak gang carried out the killings in the Petion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. The motive and details of the attack remain unclear, the source said.

A third journalist managed to escape, the source added.

Haitian media outlet Radio Écoute FM confirmed that one of its journalists, John Wesley Amady, was killed in the attack while he was on assignment documenting the lack of security in the area.

In a statement to CNN Thursday, the outlet said Amady “was savagely shot and burned alive by armed bandits.”

“We condemn with the utmost rigor this criminal and barbaric act,” Radio Écoute FM said, calling it a “serious attack on the right to life.”

Radio Écoute FM has suspended operations until further notice “as a sign of solidarity with the family of the victim,” the statement said.

The attacks come against the backdrop of extreme violence and deteriorating security conditions in Port-au-Prince, with rival groups battling one another or the police for control of the streets, displacing tens of thousands of people in one of the poorest nations in the Americas.

In July last year, Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise was assassinated during an attack on his private residence, leaving a power vacuum that deepened the turmoil from the violence, Haiti’s growing humanitarian crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The United States on Tuesday arrested a Colombian man for his alleged involvement in Moise’s assassination.

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Woman seriously injured after car flips, crashes into pet shop

A car came flying off the road and into the front of a shop in Sydney's Inner West overnight, leaving a woman seriously injured.

Video shows the Toyota Corolla careering into the air before lodging into a pet store on Parramatta Road in Leichhardt about 2am.

The male driver escaped injury but his female passenger, aged in her 20s, had to be cut free from the twisted mess of metal.

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A car came flying off the road and into the front of a shop in Sydney's Inner West overnight.

Detective Acting Inspector Sarah Dunn from NSW Police said today officers are investigating whether speed, alcohol or drugs were a factor.

The owners of the pet shop, the Wambeek family, said the damage to their store is another blow in what's been a tough year for their business.

"We've just come out of COVID, and we're just trying to get back into the groove of things, and this happens now, it's devastating," Stefan Wambeek said.

READ MORE: Talented Sydney sportsman, just 23, dies from COVID-19

A woman was left seriously injured in the crash.

"It's a family business and I love this shop.

"It is heartbreaking… it is heartbreaking," Deepika Wambeek added.

Detective Acting Inspector Dunn said it's lucky the shops were not open during the crash.

READ MORE: NSW reintroduces some restrictions as COVID-19 cases surge

Video shows the Toyota Corolla lodging into a pet store on Parramatta Road in Leichhardt.

"It's just incredibly fortunate that there were no shops open that time of the morning and there were no pedestrians around, this could have been very serious and a lot more injuries," she said.

The driver was taken to the RPA Hospital under police guard. The 35-year-old is facing the very serious charge, of dangerous driving, occasioning in grievous bodily harm.