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headline

Nevis Gender Affairs Minister Launches Boys’ Mentorship Programme

 Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams, Junior Minister of Gender Affairs, could hardly contain her excitement as she launched a Boys’ Mentorship Programme on Nevis hosted by the Department of Gender Affairs.

The programme began with 15 men in the first in a series of training sessions following a ceremony to launch the programme on November 16, 2021 at the Department of Gender Affairs conference room. During her remarks, Minister Brandy-Williams endorsed and expressed satisfaction with the programme.

“I am indeed happy to know that we in Nevis have taken that bold step, starting a mentorship programme for boys. It’s something that has been in the making for a while but today demonstrates that we’re indeed very serious about making this thing happen…

“I am happy that we have come to this point and I want to say congratulations to those of you who would have stepped forward,” she said.

The minister spoke of the significance and far-reaching implications of mentorship, and the programme’s importance to Nevis.

“Mentorship is something that we all need and indeed we experience it in our lives. I am certain that all of you who are sitting here could name at least one person who would have mentored you, who would have given you some level of encouragement in whatever project you have done over the years…

“For some of us the influences have led us to become technicians, skilled persons, sports gurus, sports enthusiasts and things like that, and others have had different experiences and we all know. We see what is going on in our communities today, and those differing experiences have led some to unsociable behaviour, and that is the kind of behaviour we need to stamp out of our communities. Hence why we have seen it fitting to start this very important programme in Nevis,” she said.

Mrs. Brandy-Williams noted the importance of having positive role models and thanked the men who answered the department’s call to commit to becoming mentors to the boys of Nevis while encouraging others to join them.

“I want to thank those of you who are here today, who have stepped forward, who have raised your hands and you have said to yourself ‘I want to make that commitment towards helping our boys,’ and it is because I believe, someone would have helped you along the way.

“I want you to encourage other young men who have something to offer, something positive, to our boys and say ‘Let us be a part of this group.’ You know why? Because mentorship cannot operate in a vacuum. It has to be an ‘all hands on deck’ approach and so it involves the schools, the churches, the families, the homes and most importantly the community. We must have the community buy-in for this to work,” she stated.

The Junior Minister of Gender Affairs used the opportunity to thank counterparts in St. Kitts for lending their assistance.  She also commended Mr. Dion Browne, Gender Field Officer in the Ministry of Social Development and Gender Affairs on St. Kitts, who is one of the facilitators.

“Mr. Browne said as well it is not going to be an easy task, yes, because we are all busy people juggling work, family life, and other things but we must remember that somebody years ago made that sacrifice and that commitment to mentor you, and so what you are doing is giving back. So I must applaud you who would have stepped forward to assist us.

“I also want to thank our counterparts in St. Kitts. They established their mentorship programme in 2016 and so far, they have been very successful. They have now come to help us to set up our mentorship programme and I am hoping from that collaboration we too will see some level of success with our programme,” she said.

Apart from mentoring boys, Mrs. Brandy-Williams, who is also an advocate for gender equality, said the programme would fulfill the Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality. She dispelled the myth that the matter of gender equality is only about women, noting that the topic would be addressed during the training sessions.

“That is not true, and so I believe it will be covered in the training to show that gender equality is about men and women, boys and girls, and I am certain once you are to get the full understanding of what gender equality is about, you then will be the advocates for gender equality.

“Women are not here to fight with men. We are here to operate alongside men so that there can be a balance, a good balance and when we have that balance that is when situations in our communities could only get better. We have to understand that half of the world, 50 percent of the world is women, and once we have a balance, things would be so much better,” she said.

Among those present at the ceremony were Ms. Latoya Jeffers, Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs who delivered the Vote of Thanks; and Mr. Mario Phillip, Gender Affairs Officer and coordinator of the programme. He chaired the ceremony.

 

 

The post Nevis Gender Affairs Minister Launches Boys’ Mentorship Programme appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

US Buys Pfizer Shots, AZ Covid Cocktail Works, Guyana Teens Vaccinated, World Stats, More

US to buy 10M courses of Pfizer COVID-19 pill

 

© Getty Images

The Biden administration announced Thursday that it has reached a deal to buy 10 million courses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment, in a move that officials hope will help hasten the end of the pandemic.

The $5.29 billion deal will allow for the first deliveries of the pills to be made this year, with the order concluding next year.

Pfizer’s pill, known as Paxlovid, has been shown to be very promising in trials, reducing the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent.

Significance: Experts say that once the pill is available, it will help end the crisis phase of the pandemic, given that in addition to vaccines, it will help lower the risk from COVID-19 and make it more manageable.

“This promising treatment could help accelerate our path out of this pandemic by offering another life-saving tool for people who get sick with COVID-19,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

What’s next: The drug still needs to be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration before it can be used. Pfizer applied for authorization earlier this week.

The company also announced a deal this week to share the formula for the pill to allow low-income countries to make it.

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ASTRAZENECA ANTIBODY COCKTAIL 83 PERCENT EFFECTIVE

AstraZeneca found its antibody cocktail to be more than 80 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in a company analysis released on Thursday — a strong result for a treatment that could help immunocompromised people avert severe illness from COVID-19.

The pharmaceutical company said its study showed its long-acting antibody combination called AZD7442 reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 by 83 percent over six months. The data has not yet been peer-reviewed but will be submitted for publication.

Researchers provided the one-time 300mg dose in two separate, sequential shots to participants, a majority of whom had comorbidities that put them at high risk of severe COVID-19.

Participants were not vaccinated, and researchers will continue to study them for 15 months.

Since about 2 percent of the world’s population is estimated to not have an adequate immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine, the preventative treatment would be designed to help these at-risk people prevent serious illness from the virus.

In a separate analysis of another trial, one 600mg dose of AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody combination was found to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and death by 88 percent among patients who were treated within three days of developing symptoms.

In the works: AstraZeneca previously submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant an emergency use authorization for AZD7442 last month.

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CANADA, MEXICO TO ANNOUNCE VACCINE DEAL

The heads of Canada and Mexico on Thursday will pledge to share millions of vaccine doses with other countries in need at the first gathering of North American leaders at the White House since 2016.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will meet with President Biden for the North American Leaders Summit, where the three will discuss economic initiatives, migration, climate change and the pandemic.

The leaders will announce that Canada and Mexico will send millions of vaccines to other nations in the region as part of an agreement to pay forward doses after the U.S. first shared millions of the shots with its neighbors, a senior Biden administration official told reporters on a call previewing the summit.

The exact number of doses, recipients and timing of the donations will be determined by health experts and announced at a later date, the official said, but it will be part of a broader effort to expand vaccine production capabilities in the region.

“We’re going to have public health experts determine the timing and the amount and the types of doses so that we’re working — North America — not just for our own well-being and competitiveness, but as a way to project in supporting our regional partners to come back from the pandemic stronger than before,” a senior administration official said.

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Antigua: Over 80% of students vaccinated in secondary school system

Unvaccinated students can return to classroom with negative test

By Dillon De Shong

Loop

Photo: iStock

Antigua and Barbuda has achieved a milestone in its vaccination campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic among secondary school students with more than 80 per cent of eligible students in both public and private being vaccinated.

In the secondary school system, approximately 7,200 students are eligible for the vaccine and more than 6,200 have been vaccinated or taken their first dose.

More than 90 per cent of public-school teachers have also been vaccinated.

As a result of this, the delivery of education to these students will be altered with unvaccinated students being allowed back in the classroom from Monday, November 22, 2021, both in public and private secondary schools.

“Remaining unvaccinated students who are still pending their first dose will be allowed to return to school with one caveat, that they will have to return with a rapid antigen test that indicates their negative status.  

This will continue for the rest of the term and into the new term on the basis they will have to do it twice per month. Every two weeks they will be required to undertake one of these tests,” says Minister of Information Melford Nicholas.

The tests will be available at the clinics free of charge to students. This means unvaccinated secondary school students returning to the classroom on November 22 will have to present their negative COVID-19 status.

The change to the delivery of education in the secondary school system in Antigua and Barbdua is being done given the challenge of operating a dual system of persons attending face to face school on intermittent days while teachers also provide remote learning for those students who could not be in the classroom.

Minister Nicholas says it is no longer feasible, the resource constraints are significant and teachers cannot pay attention to both audiences.

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WORLD  STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

256,441,840

Deaths:

5,149,859

Recovered:

231,656,697
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

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Latest News

November 19 (GMT)

Updates

  • 37,156 new cases and 1,254 new deaths in Russia [source]
  • 163 new cases and 6 new deaths in Japan [source]
  • 16,699 new cases and 42 new

The post US Buys Pfizer Shots, AZ Covid Cocktail Works, Guyana Teens Vaccinated, World Stats, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Brazil: Amazon Sees Worst Deforestation Levels in 15 Years

BBC- Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has hit its highest level in over 15 years, official data shows.

A report by Brazil’s space research agency (Inpe) found that deforestation increased by 22% in a year.

Brazil was among a number of nations who promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030 during the COP26 climate summit.

The Amazon is home to about three million species of plants and animals, and one million indigenous people.

It is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.

According to the latest data, some 13,235 sq km (5110 sq miles) was lost during the 2020-21 period, the highest amount since 2006.

Environment Minister Joaquim Leite said the data represents a “challenge” and said “we have to be more forceful in relation to these crimes”.

He added that the data “does not exactly reflect the situation in the last few months”.

Deforestation of the Amazon has increased under President Jair Bolsonaro. who has encouraged agriculture and mining activities in the rainforest.

He has also clashed with Inpe in the past over its deforestation, accusing the agency in 2019 of smearing Brazil’s reputation.

But at November’s climate conference in Glasgow, Brazil was among a number of nations who signed a major deal to end and reverse the practice.

The pledge included almost £14bn ($19.2bn) of public and private funds. Some of that will go to developing countries to restore damaged land, tackle wildfires and support indigenous communities.

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Analysis box by Katy Watson, South America correspondent

Just this week, Jair Bolsonaro, on tour in Dubai, told investors that attacks towards Brazil on deforestation were ‘unfair’.

‘We want people to know the real Brazil,’ he said, adding that 90% of the forest is still preserved.

Well, these latest figures reveal the real Brazil – a country whose government has from the very beginning talked up the opportunities in developing the Amazon and at the same time, belittled environmental concerns.

Not only that, these figures were actually dated October 27 – it appears they were held until after COP26.

Jair Bolsonaro didn’t turn up to COP26 but his delegation wanted to go to Glasgow and convince the world that people were wrong about Brazil – it even said it would move forward its commitment to ending deforestation by 2028.

But with numbers like these, who can believe Jair Bolsonaro now?

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Puppy stolen in daring robbery returned, brother still missing

One of two puppies stolen in Perth this week has been handed in to police overnight.

Sun, a one-month-old staffy cross, was delivered to Mirrabooka Police Station in the city's north. However her brother, Jay Jay, is still missing.

The two puppies were stolen in seperate daring robberies.

READ MORE: Expert's warning on William Tyrrell search

CCTV footage shows the dognapper lifting one of the puppies over the fence.

Jay Jay was snatched in the early hours of Sunday morning. Then on Monday night, dognappers pinched Sun.

It's believed the suspected thieves distracted Jay Jay and Sun's parents before swooping on the pups.

The staffy cross puppies were born to guard dogs at Malaga Automotive Service and are part of a larger litter.

READ MORE: War of words erupts between states, PM heats up

Owner Nasisch last night pleaded for their safe return.

The calculated and cruel theft has devastated the owners and affected the stolen dogs' mother, Ace.

Jay Jay and Sun were stolen on Sunday and Monday evening.

"She didn't eat anything," the puppy's owner, Nasisch, who asked to be referred to only by her first name, told 9News.

"We tried different food for her, we took her out. But she didn't eat."

READ MORE: Major crime figure charged in jaw-dropping drug bust

The puppies' mother has not eaten since Sun and Jay Jay were stolen.

In a bid to protect Sun, Nasisch tried to get her microchipped early, but by the time the appointment rolled around it was too late.

They want the pups back and are willing to pay any price as a reward.

"We just need them to be back," Nasisch said.

headline

Daughter of Victorian MP hospitalised after violent street attack

The daughter of Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick says she was attacked by a man and chased down a Melbourne street for being "too political".

In an Instagram story, Kielan Meddick, 25, said she was forced to run for help after being left bleeding in an attack on Smith Street in Fitzroy last night, where a man threw a spray can at her head.

"Tonight on Smith Street in Fitzroy I was attacked by a man for being 'political' he chased me down the street as I called for help he threw a spray can at my head," she said.

"I started bleeding a lot as I kept running until I made it to The 86.

"They closed and locked the doors and treated my wound as best they could."

9News has obtained CCTV vision of Ms Meddick following the attack.

Video shows Ms Meddick clutching the back of her head as she stumbles down Smith Street.

Ms Meddick was hospitalised for her injuries and later released to recover at home.

A three-centimetre gash on the back of her head remains, which required three stitches and glue to treat.

"I'm home safe now, thank you so much for all the support."

She thanked staff at The 86 Cabaret Bar for coming to her aid when she was "bleeding on their floor".

"Thank you for helping me when I was screaming for help and no one else did."

The owner of The 86 Cabaret Bar, Anthony Wallace, told 9News that staff heard screams on the street before an injured Ms Meddick came rushing in for help.

"This woman had suffered an injury to the head, she was bleeding profusely," he said.

Staff member Joel said he locked the door behind Ms Meddick, who was crying out for help.

"She was saying he's attacking me, he's going to kill me," he said.

Police confirmed they are investigating the incident.

Investigators have been told Ms Meddick was spray painting over a poster on Smith Street when the unknown man approached her about 11pm.

"The pair had an argument before the woman threw the spray can towards the man as she attempted to leave the scene," a police statement read.

"The man followed the woman and threw the spray can which struck her in the back of the head.

"The man left the scene as staff from a nearby venue rendered assistance to the woman before she attended hospital for treatment to minor injuries."

There are rising fears protests opposing Victoria's pandemic bill have incited violence in the city, with politicians, their families and staff all being victims of threats.

Mr Meddick in a statement this afternoon said his "worst fears had become a reality" when he heard his "beautiful" daughter was attacked on the street.

He said he was by her bedside in hospital until the early hours of this morning.

"My deepest gratitude is with those nearby who helped her when she was most in need, and to the wonderful carers and health workers who have treated her since," he said.

"She will be ok – but it will take time."

The MP, along with his family and colleagues, have received "threats and intimidation" since the debate of the pandemic bill in Parliament.

https://twitter.com/AndyMeddickMP/status/1461525137497333763

Mr Meddick has thrown his support behind the proposed pandemic legislation, a decision that has riled up angry demonstrators and others who oppose the bill.

The MP said he believed the attack was a result of his position on the pandemic bill and his parliamentary role.

"I have reason to believe that this could be linked to my role as an MP and the positions I have taken on the pandemic response," Mr Meddick said.

Mr Meddick said police were investigating and asked for people to respect the privacy and dignity of his family.

"I do also ask that people understand and respect the fact that comments, insults, intimidation and incitement can all have very real and absolutely devastating consequences."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the attack on Twitter today, describing it as an "attack on democracy" and an innocent person.

"This is not on," he said.

https://twitter.com/ScottMorrisonMP/status/1461548058475302914

"It has no place in Australia. This is not just an attack on an innocent person but an attack on our very democracy.

"My thoughts – and those of all Australians – are with you Andy & your family."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews described the attack as "extreme" and inexcusable.

"Andy and I don't agree on everything, but on this we are 100% in agreement: Violence of any form, for any reason, against any person has absolutely no place in Victoria. Ever."

https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/1461557532829257728

The premier also decried the "violent and extremist threats" directed toward him and his family this morning.

Mr Andrews said the threats had targeted not only himself but his wife and children and have come from "rabid anti-vaxxers".

"We have seen extremists, rabid anti-vaxxer and others making all sorts of threats, threats against me, my wife and my kids," Mr Andrews told Today.

"My family are okay. They are used to some of the difficult parts of this job."

Disturbing video was captured of an inflatable Daniel Andrews on a makeshift gallows during the protests, which was condemned by politicians across the board.

"When you see this sort of appalling behaviour, nothing is less democratic than driving around – wheeling around a set of gallows out the front of Parliament House," Mr Andrews said.

"That's wrong. And it should be called out. Not just for my family, for every family."

Mr Meddick's Chief of Staff Georgie Purcell said their office had received several "sick and threatening" letters over the past week.

"Some are threatening, some are sick — all of them are wrong," she said on Twitter last week.

"My boss puts on a brave face, but I'll say it: we're struggling.

"Everyone has the right to voice opinions to pollies. But not like this."

headline

Police uncover possible clue in the search for William Tyrrell

Police have found a piece of fabric while draining a creek in the search for William Tyrrell's remains on the NSW Mid North Coast.

An eight-by-eight centimetre piece of faded blue fabric was found near the creek in Kendall.

The fabric was marked, photographed and bagged for forensic testing.

READ MORE: Major crime figure charged in jaw-dropping drug bust

A faded piece of blue fabric has been found during the search for William Tyrrell's remains.William Tyrrell

It comes after officers spent more than three hours draining a creek, as investigators searched beyond the initial area they had been looking in.

Officers also searched soil in the same pocket of bushland, running small sections through a motorised sieve.

The extensive search has brought in several experts including an archaeologist, forensic anthropologist and a water expert.

Meanwhile more than a dozen officers today worked on the first area identified in the search, with no significant breakthroughs so far.

Several pieces of string have so far been found, with testing ongoing.

Australian Federal Police used ground-penetrating sonar over a concrete slab at the nearby home William disappeared from, but detected no anomalies.

The results of luminol testing to detect blood beneath the home's balcony are also underway, as detectives investigate the possibility that William fell from the balcony and was then transported into the bush.

READ MORE: War of words erupts between states, PM heats up

William was three when he disappeared from the Kendall home on September 12, 2014 and he has never been found.

The new searches were launched this week, with police confirming they were looking for William's remains.

Today marks the fifth day of the search for William's remains.

READ MORE: Australia's biggest maritime mystery solved

William Tyrrell search November 16

A car that formerly belonged to William's now-deceased foster grandmother was also seized and is undergoing forensic testing.

William's foster mother is being treated as a person of interest in the case.

She has not been arrested or charged.