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Jamaica’s Agriculture Minister Floyd Green Resigns After Being Caught Breaking COVID-19 Protocols

CNW- Jamaica’s Agriculture Minister Floyd Green has resigned following the surfacing of a video of him at a gathering that reportedly occurred during a “no-movement” day.

In the video, which was posted on social media on Tuesday, Green along with Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Mona Division in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, Andrew Bellamy, were seen celebrating and toasting alcohol.

Green and Bellamy joined with others in the maskless group in a toast after a member said “no movement day”. The gathering was held at the district 5 restaurant at the R Hotel in Kingston.

Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding was just one of the public figures that called on Floyd Green to resign.

In a statement this morning, Golding says for a Minister of Government, who ought to be setting an example for the population as a whole, to be flouting the no-movement day restrictions and partying with friends, is an arrogant insult to the people of Jamaica.

He described Green’s action as an inexcusable, disgraceful dereliction of duty.

“Ordinary Jamaicans would be locked up and charged with offences under the DRMA [Disaster Risk Management Act] for doing this. Yet a Government Minister and his cronies were there yesterday flossing and braffing away as if the COVID restrictions mean nothing, showing utter contempt for the rules that his Government has imposed on the people,” the statement read.

Jamaicans are restricted from moving on lockdown days – Sunday to Tuesday, with exemptions given to certain individuals to move in relation to their specific work.

Among the selected groups who are exempted on no-movement days are essential service workers and persons visiting vaccination sites to get vaccinated.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness asked Green to hand in his resignation.

Green apologized for his actions, saying it demonstrated a lack of sensitivity. He said the lapse in judgment will never happen again.

“Today, I have disappointed so many. My family including my son, my Prime Minister and most importantly, the people of Jamaica who I have sworn to serve. I accept that this was an error in judgment and that it sends the wrong signal especially in light of the Government’s drive to reduce the spread of COVID-19. For this, I am really and truly very sorry,” a statement from Green read.

He will remain as the Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South West.

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T&T Minister Blasts Nicki Minaj for False Vaccine Claim

Rapper Nicki Minaj has been criticised by Trinidad and Tobago’s health minister over a tweet in which she said her cousin’s friend in the country had been made impotent by a Covid vaccine.

Terrence Dyalsingh said on Wednesday that the “false” post had wasted his department’s time. The tweet also claimed the friend had swollen testicles.

It has caused backlash from health experts around the world who are concerned about vaccine disinformation.

Minaj made the comments on Monday to her 22 million followers.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Mr Deyalsingh said his department hasn’t seen a single recorded incident of testicles becoming swollen because of the vaccine in Trinidad and Tobago or “anywhere else in the world”.

He said that his team had spent all of Tuesday checking to “make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false”.

“Unfortunately we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim,” he said.

The tweet was also criticised by England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty who said Minaj should be “ashamed”.

“There are a number of myths that fly around, some of which are just clearly ridiculous and some of which are clearly designed just to scare,” he said. “That happens to be one of them. That is untrue”.

US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said the rapper should ” be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis”.

Earlier this week, Minaj said she had decided not to get vaccinated for the Met Gala and would get vaccinated when she had done enough research.

She later told her followers that she would get jabbed in order to tour.

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World View: Taliban Friction, UN Calls for Emissions Cuts, Cuba &Gays, More

Sep 16, 2021

Alternate text

The Associated Press

The Rundown

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Friction between pragmatists and ideologues in the Taliban leadership has intensified since the group formed a hard-line Cabinet last week that is more in line with their harsh rule in the 1990s than their recent promises of…Read More

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GENEVA (AP) — The head of the United Nations called Thursday for “immediate, rapid and large-scale” cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to curb global warming and avert climate disaster. Ahead of the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting next week, Anton…Read More

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The results of Tuesday’s recall election in which California Gov. Gavin Newsom defeated an attempt to remove him from office look all too familiar to the state’s enfeebled Republicans — they were embarrassed again by Democrats, who…Read More

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HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — The draft of a new family code for Cuba released Wednesday proposes allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as giving children greater participation in decisions that affect them. …Read More

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ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — When Virginia Oliver started trapping lobster off Maine’s rocky coast, World War II was more than a decade in the future, the electronic traffic signal was a recent invention and few women were harvesting lobsters. …Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — France’s president announced the death of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara’s leader late Wednesday, calling Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi’s killing “a majo…Read More

MOSCOW (AP) — After a few weeks of desultory campaigning but months of relentless official moves to shut down significant opposition , Russia is holding three days of votin…Read More

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Republican attorney general, Eric Schmitt, sued China over the coronavirus. He signed on to a failed lawsuit seeking to overturn the results…Read More

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Environmentalists in Sri Lanka are challenging a court order issued earlier this month that would allow the return of 14 illegally captured wild e…Read More

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Wonder of the Seas Ditches China, Sailing to Caribbean

Royal Caribbean’s newest and largest cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas, which was due to begin sailings from Shanghai, China, in early 2022, will now sail Caribbean and Mediterranean itineraries.

Royal Caribbean, which restarted sailings from Singapore in late 2020 with Quantum of the Seas, still has a presence in Asia.

Due to COVID-19, however, China is currently not allowing cruises, so the line will relocate Wonder of the Seas — the newest and largest in the line’s much-loved Oasis Class — to Fort Lauderdale, where it’ll begin a series of spring Caribbean voyages on 4 March 2022. Port calls will include Cozumel, Mexico; St. Maarten; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, among others.

From there, the ship will relocate to Barcelona, Spain, to offer a summer season of seven-night Mediterranean cruises, calling on ports like Capri and Palma de Mallorca. (Wonder of the Seas replaces Allure of the Seas in the Med, following Allure’s relocation to Fort Lauderdale, where the ship now offers six- and eight-night Caribbean voyages.)

Wonder of the Seas will join fleetmate and fellow new ship Odyssey of the Seas in these regions for 2022.

“The momentum taking off across bookings and our returning ships in the U.S. and Europe is significant,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, in a statement. “With half of our fleet sailing again, we are encouraged by what we’re seeing. These regions are in the position to welcome a brand-new, innovative ship like Wonder of the Seas.”

As with other ships in the Oasis Class, Wonder of the Seas will feature a neighbourhood concept, including the open-air Boardwalk; Central Park, which features thousands of live plants; and the Royal Promenade, where passengers can dine, drink and shop. It will also include a brand-new Suite Neighbourhood, bringing the number of onboard neighbourhoods from seven to eight.

The Suite Neighbourhood offers Royal Suite Class cruisers access to a private restaurant, lounge and sun deck with a plunge pool and dedicated bar. Also found in this area is the line’s largest Ultimate Family Suite, which can accommodate up to 10 people.

The ship will also offer a reimagined pool area; Wonder Playscape, an interactive, top-deck family play area; and The Vue, a cantilevered bar that offers panoramic sea views.

Passengers booked on Wonder of the Seas’ original China itineraries have been contacted by Royal Caribbean and will be given full refunds of any money paid.

Wonder of the Seas’ Caribbean itineraries are currently open for booking; its Mediterranean bookings open on 22 September 2021.

Featured photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean.

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Cuba Publishes Family Code that Opens Door for Gay Marriage

HAVANA, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Cuba published a long-awaited draft of a new family code on Wednesday that would open the door to gay marriage if approved, in a move that LGBT rights activists applauded cautiously as they remained wary of whether it would actually be implemented.

The new code defines marriage as the “voluntary union of two people” without specifying gender, as opposed to the current definition as the “union of a man and woman.”

The draft still needs to go to a grassroots debate, however, and will then be amended to take into account citizens’ opinions before going to a referendum. Activists fear the commission charged with it could relent under pushback from religious groups and those who prefer traditional machismo culture.

They say the government should not have stipulated a referendum on what are fundamental human rights. The government says it wants to build rather than force acceptance of change.

In 2018 the government decided to withdraw an amendment to Cuba’s new constitution that would have opened the door to same-sex unions after campaigning by evangelical churches.

“The blueprint for the family code is everything one could have hoped for,” said Maykel Gonzalez Vivero, director of Tremenda Nota, a digital magazine that focuses on women, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community and the Black community.

“It took a long time and there was no transparency in its interminable process of nearly 15 years. But it’s there.”

Cuba, which sent gays to correctional labor camps in the early years after its 1959 leftist revolution, made considerable advances in LGBT rights in the 2000s and 2010s, despite the widespread persistence of machismo.

The island nation introduced the right to free sex reassignment surgery, banned workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and started holding annual marches against homophobia – Cuba’s equivalent of gay pride.

Many members of the LGBT community say, however, they have been frustrated by a slowdown in the pace of change in recent years while a handful of other Latin American countries have moved forward with approving gay marriage.

Reporting by Sarah Marsh in Havana Editing by Matthew Lewis

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Mayor's clever trick to stop people cutting down trees for water view

It's a long-time Sydney underbelly thing. With the city perched on the rises and drops of sandstone and guttered by harbour and sea, it offers a rich topography that presents vistas from all angles.

And if a few trees grow and get in the way, it's time for a midnight visit with a gurgling Husqvarna or handsaw, or a handheld drill and a drum of poison. Problem solved. Vista returned.

And so it was, again, that a certain swatch of shrubbery struggled to survive on the shores of Brighton Le Sands, on the banks of Botany Bay. It would not be the sandy soil; nor blight or borer. The pest here is terminal chainsaw, which a few weeks back carved a new vista through beachfront bush.

READ MORE: How rural Aussies are helping their city mates in lockdown

On the shores of Brighton Le Sands, on the banks of Botany Bay trees and shrubbery keep disappearing, thanks to residents desperate for a view of the sea.

"We thought, how can we possibly send a strong message to the vandals," says Bayside Council mayor Joe Awada, "and I thought, enough is enough, we can't keep tolerating this."

So after this latest planting of mature banksia was brought down, Bayside Council decides to replace them with modern ironbark; two and a half shipping containers bumped in beachside, to obscure the blight, and the view for which the bush was brutalised.

"If they're trying to achieve a view, then they haven't achieved what they were aiming for," says Mayor Awada, "and I think it's a first in Sydney."

"Geez boss," I say, "you play for keeps"."

READ MORE: Coogee Bay Hotel's iconic music venue Selina's to be demolished

On the shores of Brighton Le Sands, on the banks of Botany Bay trees and shrubbery keep disappearing, thanks to residents desperate for a view of the sea.

I tell you what;" the boss says, "people love it." And they do.

"We're so delighted to see the council actively deal with the situation," says one.

"What type of monster would just cut down a bunch of trees, for a view of the water?" from another.

"I think it's pretty good; it's a nice mural too," concludes a third.

It seems there's little resistance to proffering the neighbourhood arboreal Edward Scissorhands can now gaze upon the yellow-tailed black cockatoo mural strapped across the containers' façade for a goodly while.

"These containers will stay for at least two years; we've got newly planted trees behind the containers," says Joe Awada, "and we want to give them time to mature."

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Big Surge in Early Voting for Canada’s Snap Election

OTTAWA, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Canadians voted in advanced polls in record numbers ahead of an upcoming election, some looking to beat crowds amid the coronavirus pandemic,according to data released this week, though an expected avalanche of mail-in ballots has failed to materialize.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who called the snap Sept. 20 election to try to secure a majority, is now fighting to keep his job with his Liberal party in a tight race against their main rival, the Conservatives.

Nearly 5.8 million Canadians voted early this election, up 18.5% from the 2019 vote, preliminary data from Elections Canada shows. Separately, a record 1.2 million mail-in ballots have also been issued, though that is far fewer than the 2.3 million to 4.3 million range Elections Canada had predicted.

Canada has more than 27 million eligible voters.

The surge at advanced polls, coupled with softer demand for mail-in ballots, shows Canada’s highly vaccinated populace is comfortable voting in-person, alleviating some worries voters would not show up due to pandemic fears, said experts.

“Most people are double vaccinated now. So I think they are maybe less afraid to go vote in-person,” said Daniel Beland, a professor of political science at McGill University.

“If we were still in the third wave, where few people had been vaccinated, I think things might be different.”

More than 77% of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated, but a Delta-driven fourth wave has cases surging across the country.

While mail-in voting is proving less popular than anticipated, it could still slow counts in a handful of tight ridings, potentially delaying the overall outcome for days. Most mail ballots will be counted only after they are checked against in-person votes.

“This will be an unusual election because we will break the record for mail-in ballots federally. That plus the pandemic makes it difficult to get a sense of the likely voter turnout,” said Nik Nanos, the head of Nanos Research.

The Conservatives and Liberals are locked in a dead heat at 31.2% to 30.5% of the vote less than a week from election day, according to the latest Nanos poll. The left leaning New Democrats have 21.4%.

Trudeau was attacked by his rivals on Wednesday, after data showed inflation was at an 18-year high amid upward pressure on prices for everything from gasoline to housing to furniture. read more

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Mexico: ‘Viceroy’ Sentenced to 28 Years for Drug Trafficking

BBC- A court in Mexico has sentenced the former leader of one of the country’s biggest drug trafficking cartels to 28 years in jail.

Vicente Carrillo Fuentes took over control of the Juárez cartel after his brother died during botched plastic surgery in 1997.

Thousands of people were murdered in turf wars between rival cartels.

The Juárez cartel has lost much of its power since Vicente Carrillo Fuentes was arrested in 2014.

Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, who was known as The Viceroy, was found guilty of drug trafficking and organised crime.

The 58-year-old was one of the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) most wanted men for whose capture they offered a reward of $5m (£3.6m).

A DEA-supplied photograph of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Mexico December 7, 1999image source, Getty Images
image captionFor decades, the DEA and Mexican police tried to track down Vicente Carrillo Fuentes

He was detained at a police checkpoint in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila in October 2014 along with one of his bodyguards.

Police said he had been keeping a “low profile”

Vicente Carrillo Fuentes became the leader of Juárez cartel after the death of his older brother Amado, who was known as Lord of the Skies for his knack of smuggling large quantities of drugs in his private fleet of aeroplanes.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes had taken control of the Juárez cartel after killing its previous leader, Rafael Aguilar Guajardo.

Under The Lord of the Skies, the cartel became one of the main criminal organisations in Mexico as it gained control of the bulk of cocaine trafficking to the United States.

Like his younger brother, The Lord of the Skies rarely let himself be photographed.

In 1997, Amado Carrillo Fuentes checked into a Mexican hospital to have plastic surgery to alter his appearance and evade capture.

He died as a result of the botched operation. The doctors who performed it were killed some months later.

Vicente Carrillo Fuentes built up a complex financial structure to launder the proceeds from the cartel’s drug trafficking.

But during his time at the helm, the Juárez cartel entered into a bloody rivalry with the Sinaloa cartel, led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

The battle with its rivals from Sinaloa left the Juárez cartel seriously weakened but it is still thought to be behind a large number of murders in its stronghold in Ciudad Juárez.

Vicente Carrillo Fuentes’s 28-year-sentence takes into account the years he has already spent in prison since his arrest.

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El Salvador: Mass anti-Bitcoin Protests Sweep the Nation

BBC-Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in El Salvador, angry at the introduction of Bitcoin as its legal tender.

President Nayib Bukele says the cryptocurrency will help Salvadorans working abroad to send money back home.

But demonstrators fear it will bring instability and inflation to the impoverished Latin American country.

Some protesters set fire to a brand-new Bitcoin machine, while others held signs reading “Bukele Dictator”.

Last week, El Salvador became the first country to use the virtual currency as a legal tender, alongside the US dollar.

Bitcoin ATM vandalised
Some demonstrators vandalised newly installed Bitcoin ATMs
Protesters
The protesters accuse President Bukele of authoritarianism

The demonstrators, gathered in the capital San Salvador on the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence, brandishing placards reading “No to Bitcoin” and “Respect the Constitution”.

They accuse the president of using authoritarian means to tighten his grip on power.

Mr Bukele has moved to cement control over the judiciary which recently cleared him to run for office for a second successive term despite constitutional limits.

“It’s important to say this morning: Enough already! What the government is doing is arrogant, it is authoritarianism,” protester Dora Rivera told Reuters news agency.

But Mr Bukele still enjoys strong support in El Salvador, with a recent newspaper poll showing 85.7% of people approved of the president.

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Submarine deal shows China 'the three nations will not be bullied'

A senior British MP has declared the new alliance of Australia, the UK and the US is to show, "the three of us will not be bullied or divided" by Beijing.

In an interview with 9News, Tom Tugendhat, the Chair of the UK Parliament's powerful Foreign Affairs Selection Committee, argued; "The reality is that several years of Chinese bullying mean that it's pretty clear what you're dealing with."

Mr Tugendhat, who says he was aware of what has become known as AUKUS "many months ago", said the agreement "indicates is an extremely close relationship between our three nations.

"It demonstrates not just a bet on today but a very strong bet on the future," he said.

READ MORE: PM hails nuclear sub deal with stark warning of 'new era' for region

British MP Tom Tugendhat

"It's about the fact that your allies and partners in the region are seeing the construction of island platforms by China, you're seeing a greater militarisation by the People's Liberation Army Navy," Mr Tugendhat said.

"The political dimension has changed because the threat has changed."

READ MORE: 'That fellow Down Under': Awkward moment at alliance announcement

The cornerstone of today's announcement was the sharing of military secrets and technologies to allow Australia to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines to be delivered in over a decade.

"We're bringing an extraordinary submarine capability, the small modular reactors that power our submarines they are the best in the world," Mr Tugendhat said.

READ MORE: 'No doubt we will be hearing from China and no doubt China will be outraged'

The UK already operates the Astute-class nuclear submarine.

Mr Tugendhat, a former military officer who did tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, believes the benefits of the nuclear-powered vessels lie in their ability to allow submarines to spend more time underwater.

"Total secrecy, total silence thousands of miles away from your shores it turns your submarine fleet from being a secret in-shore fleet, into a true bluewater total silent nuclear fleet. That's a huge capability for Australia," he said.

"It means you become even more essential partner to countries like Japan and indeed the UK and US.

"Having the ability to stay silent for long is absolutely essential to the secrecy of your submarine fleet."

https://twitter.com/TomTugendhat/status/1438273128245907460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

It's understood the top-level agreement was worked on behind the scenes for more than a year.

US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met in person at the G7 summit in Cornwall in June.

The AUKUS pact was announced this morning.

READ MORE: Nuclear submarines offer key military edge for Australia

"I can tell you I first heard about it many months ago, and it was an Australian initiative and frankly this is a very, very impressive piece of foreign policy and diplomacy by our Australian partners," Mr Tugendhat said.

"This is an entirely appropriate response by Scott Morrison's Government it's an extremely welcome one.

"(It) demonstrates that Australia is what it always has been a absolutely tough partner to her friends and a deterrer of her enemies."

The three countries also plan to work together on artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and undersea capabilities like unmanned drones.

"Not having AUKUS would leave us all frankly weaker," Mr Tugendhat said.

"The direction is clear where it ends up leading us I can only dream at the moment.

"What I hope we do next is start working with other partners with France with Japan and bring in those other countries that wish to share the kind of technological innovation we're going to develop and to stand with us in defending the liberties of our people and people around the world."