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New Year’s Day Address by Dr. the Hon Timothy Harris, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis

2021-01-01 FreeNews

“My fellow citizens and residents, a New Year has dawned.

“We look to 2021 with much hope, much optimism and much excitement despite the challenges we faced in 2020,” said Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, during his New Year’s Day address to the Federation.

“While the shadow of COVID-19 still hangs over us, there are many bright signs of a happy New Year ahead,” he said.

“Here in St. Kitts and Nevis, the future which we promise to deliver is a stronger and safer future for our young people, better jobs and wealth generation for our working population, expanding opportunities for our entrepreneurs, and support for each of our citizens and residents to realize their full potential.

“The future we will enjoy in 2021 and beyond depends solely on our ingenuity, ambition and industry today.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues its impact on our Federation and the rest of the world. Nevertheless, this year we will rebuild our economy. We will rebuild our workforce and redouble our efforts to keep the Federation healthy and safe. All of us must come together to restore our economy and our standard of living to its pre-COVID-19 levels and above.

“Part of our plan will see a significant improvement in the delivery ethos of our people. Our employees in the public and private sectors must not only render loyal, but efficient, effective and courteous service.

“In 2021, we will begin to build out our pay-for-performance programme while we revisit the Regulations and Laws governing the public service. High performance must become the norm, and sterling performance must be identified and rewarded so others can be motivated to follow.

“Our future will be stronger and safer as we enhance the quality of our technology infrastructure and provide greater access to the benefits so derived.

“Our ICT build out will ensure wider use in every domain and facet of society. That is why in my 2021 Budget Address I lauded the projects to be unfolded by The Cable this year. They include:
• Provision of free Wi Fi hotspots in all Community Centres in St Kitts;
• Offering of up to 200 specially developed High Speed Internet Packages to approved entrepreneurs by the new Ministry of Entertainment, Entrepreneurship and Talent Development; and
• The deployment of a multi-million dollar fibre to the home network upgrade which would result in High-Speed Internet to all households in St Kitts.

“Our E-Government reforms will continue with our build out of E-payment platforms across key revenue collecting agencies, such as the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise Departments. Our Land Registry, Departments of Health and Labour will enhance their information systems, all in a thrust to make government more modern, efficient, elegant, viable and responsive to the demands of an E-society.

“We are serious about people’s empowerment and development, hence our investments in our citizens will continue. Our tremendous investments will be employed to enhance the level of skills and general human resources of our people. We have budgeted $10 million to defray economic and other costs of our students’ participation in tertiary level training, at the University of the West Indies (UWI), University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Monroe, and others.

“Tertiary level education makes the greatest contribution to our country’s growth and development. This will be complemented with our Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme. New and improved learning spaces will be provided at our secondary schools in St Kitts and Nevis and at our Advanced Vocational Education Centre (AVEC) in St. Kitts. We shall commence construction of the Basseterre High School (BHS). It will be the most modern and cutting-edge secondary school in the region.

“Our health sector investments will enhance our primary health care delivery, step up our fight against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and a state-of-the-art Cardiac Unit at the JNF Hospital will be another significant deliverable. National Health Insurance (NHI) will advance closer to implementation in 2021. Of course, our major challenge will continue to be containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The availability of a range of vaccines is good news. Better news will be for vaccines that are safe and efficacious to become universally available. Your government has taken the proactive step to pay in advance to secure our access to vaccines. These are expected to be available by the first half of 2021.

“My government will work with all parties and entities to consolidate the early recovery of our economy. Our $192 million capital budget will see implementation of 113 projects including the BHS, road networks, health centres and JNF Hospital Phase III. Our solar energy project will commence. All these will result in more jobs and better incomes.

“Our hotel sector will continue to bring more rooms into operation for staycations i.e. vacation in place and quarantine purposes. Some 13 residential facilities namely: Royal St. Kitts Hotel, OTI, Oualie Beach Resort, Bird Rock Apartments Complex, Golden Rock Hotel, KOI Resort, Ocean’s Edge, Paradise Beach Resort, Park Hyatt, Potworks Estate Apartments, St Kitts Marriott Hotel and Marriott Vacation Club, have all been approved by the Task Force as sites for vacation in place or quarantine. We are open for doing business in a safe way.

“The opening of our borders fully in the last quarter of 2020 has resulted in a steady but very modest flow of arrivals providing a fresh lease on the livelihoods of our taxi operators, hotel employees and growth in businesses especially those which provide security services. Since the opening, and up to Sunday 27th December 2020, our airports: R. L. Bradshaw and Vance W. Amory International had a throughput of 862 flights and a passenger throughput of 2,323 passengers.

“My Government made a promise to create more jobs. And we shall deliver on that promise. We want to get our people back to work. For those unable to regain jobs we shall ensure that any severance payment due is paid. In 2020 we advanced $15.6 million to the Severance Fund.

“My government has budgeted a further $7 million for severance payment in 2021. These payments will be made as soon as practicable. Every effort will be made to improve the efficiency of processing claims in the future.

“In this regard, we expect a report to Cabinet shortly regarding the feasibility of setting up an E-platform for the Labour Department and Social Security to interface with each other on severance payments and related matters while observing and conforming with data privacy and data protection issues. This is in keeping with the new ethos of efficient and responsive government. Further, we shall move to implement actuarial recommendations on the Severance Fund, Long Service Gratuity and Unemployment Benefits. We are committed to these initiatives, and this evidences our advocacy for critical historical labour values that seem to have been diminished over the years. Moreover, this demonstrates our love and concern for workers. We will continue to protect our workers and ensure that their future is safe and secure. These are important Labour values, which further demonstrate our commitment that our workers are protected at all times.

“Your Team Unity government truly represents working class values. We deliver on them, and to increase worker empowerment my government will extend duty free concessions accorded to first time home builders to the Teachers’ Union, the Labour Union, and any of our Credit Unions and Banks which will undertake to build new offices or to make significant renovation of existing offices, and engage in approved residential developments within the next 12 months. This should spur further construction activity in our country and enhance the quality of our built environment. Applications will be processed within three weeks of receipt of same by the Ministry of Finance.

“Similarly, the FIRST mortgage programme offering duty free concession to first time homeowners remains open to applicants for the next 12 months. Applications will continue to be processed by the Ministry of Finance. This is the best time for our people to become part of an inclusive property-owning society. This will give meaning to our concept of people’s empowerment.

New Initiatives

“My Government has been attentive to the concerns from various local couriers, shipping agents and their customers, as it relates to the delivery of goods by suppliers in the United States of America to their facilities in Miami. The said goods should have arrived in the Federation in December, 2020. However, due to backlogs in Miami, these goods did not arrive by the December 31, 2020 deadline. Accordingly, our citizens and residents could not benefit from the usual US$200.00 concessionary allowance on their imports.

“In light of this, it is agreed that to facilitate non-commercial entities importing goods, the allowances will be extended to January 31, 2021.

“We understand that this crisis has affected different persons and segments of the economy in different ways. Therefore we will:

1. Extend the due date for the payment of Businesses and Occupation Licenses for all Businesses from January 31, 2021, until March 31, 2021.

2. Ensure that the Inland Revenue Department works with affected businesses to help them stay current with their existing tax liabilities by allowing them to enter low-interest payment plans to ease their cash flow situations.

3. Taxi and Tour Operators unable to pay their Businesses and Occupation Licenses for 2020 and 2021 would be allowed to license their vehicles provided that they enter into a payment plan for the settlement of any outstanding Businesses and Occupation Licenses.

Nevis

“We have ushered in the best working relationship between St. Kitts and Nevis. The historic and unprecedented support of the federal government and the new spirit of cooperation and unity advanced by my Team Unity Administration, have brought much to our citizens and residents on Nevis. Not least among them is substantial direct budget allocations totalling well over $220 million since 2015. Funding for projects on Nevis is now commonplace. We have given support for law enforcement: a brand new Police Station and Fire Hall at Newcastle, and installation of CCTV.

“We have also provided assistance in the following critical areas: the fight against COVID-19, the construction of Technical and Vocational spaces at High Schools in Nevis, the payment of economic costs for students from Nevis, joint procurement of pharmaceuticals, and for the operation of STEP in Nevis.

“You would recall the SIDF’s support for such important projects in Nevis as the new diagnostic wing at the Alexandra Hospital, the Mundo Track, and the new Nevis Treasury Building. For 20 years prior to your Team Unity Government there was no Federal Government structured program of support to the people of Nevis. Team Unity has been making a real positive difference. Team Unity is working for you.

“In order to further strengthen the bond of friendship, love, mutual respect and cooperation between our citizens and residents of Nevis and of St. Kitts, I shall this year, reorganize the functioning of the Federal Office in Nevis. The goal is to better serve our people in Nevis. We have advanced the bond between the Federal Government and the Nevis Island Administration and more importantly the people to people contact between Kittitians and Nevisians is at the highest and best level in history. A Federal Office that is courteous, efficient, and effective, will allow more to be done. It will allow and enhance access to my office by our citizens and residents on both sides of the channel, and relieve Nevisians of the inconvenience of having to travel to Basseterre to consult with their Prime Minister.

“My government will continue to do all it can for all of our citizens and residents. We do so out of love and consideration for all. This has been the reality for the last five years. From time to time we must remind ourselves that this is one State, one Federal government to serve all the people of the State. I am humbled that it is my government which has thus far in our Nation’s history, presided over the best personification of St. Kitts and Nevis as (in the immortal words of our National anthem) “a nation bound together with a common destiny.

“As we embark together on this new year of limitless promise, let us remain rooted that we are One People, whose destiny is inextricably linked not just by constitutional arrangements, but through history, geography, ties of family and friendship.

“Our two islands must always work together if we are to reach our fullest potential. We have seen how that cooperation over the last five years made us a leader in the region and the hemisphere, on so many developmental and performance indices, including the United Nations Quality of Life Index, the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index and debt to GDP ratio. We will rise or fall together, but rise we must. It will take all of us working together, pooling and engaging our talents and resources, to continue to make our beloved Federation the best example of a progressive, well managed small island state.

“As a true son of our beloved Federation, I know that our shared prosperity must extend and manifest equally for all our people, from my father’s hometown of Cotton Ground, Nevis, to my mother’s in Tabernacle, St. Kitts.

“It is my pledge as Prime Minister to do all that I can always, to foster this endeavour. As Prime Minister with unbreakable familial ties to both islands, I will do all I can at such a time as this to make my beloved Federation the best example of a progressive and united small island state. I enlist the fullest support of all our citizens and residents to make it a reality.

“May we, this year and beyond, have the faith to believe with all our hearts that our people and our collective purpose will build a greater Nation. May we always do as much as we can, engaging our industry, ingenuity, creativity and innovation, in order to leave a Nation more beautiful and prosperous than we inherited. May we this year and beyond work to build and maintain our communities together. We must share the burdens and the problems of our brothers and our sisters and more importantly solve them together. We will continue to strive for and maintain unity of family, community and Nation on this path of self-determination and prosperity for all.

“We should never backtrack from the All-of-Society approach which has worked so very well this last year. I am trusting in Almighty God, and in our resilience and spirit of shared responsibility, as we work to make St. Kitts and Nevis the Garden of Eden which Marcus Garvey envisioned it to be.

“May God’s blessings be upon us all, this New Year and may He continue to bless the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis. I thank you for the honour and privilege to serve you and my beloved Country,” concluded Dr. Harris. “Happy New Year to All! May God continue to favour us in St Kitts and Nevis and may He keep us safe.”

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Volcano Eruptions Force Caribbean Evacuations

2021-01-01 FreeNews

Residents on several eastern Caribbean islands have been advised to evacuate their homes after volcanoes that have remained quiet for decades rumbled into life.

Officials issued alerts on the island chain of St Vincent and the Grenadines, home to more than 100,000 people, as scientists rushed to study the renewed activity.

The government raised the alert level to orange for the volcano La Soufriere indicating it could erupt within 24 hours, and recommended people living nearby should leave their homes immediately.

La Soufriere began spewing ash along with gas and steam, in addition to the formation of a new volcanic dome caused by lava reaching the Earth’s surface, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said

An eruption by La Soufriere in 1902 killed more than 1,000 people.

Authorities on the Caribbean island of Martinique, an overseas French territory, are also watching the Mount Pelee volcano after tremors became more frequent last month.

In December, authorities issued a yellow alert due to seismic activity under the mountain, the first alert of its kind issued since the volcano last erupted in 1932, Fabrice Fontaine, from Martinique’s Volcanological and Seismological Observatory, told the Associated Press.

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'Our children die in our hands': Floods ravage South Sudan

2021-01-01 FreeNews

On a scrap of land surrounded by flooding in South Sudan, families drink and bathe from the waters that swept away latrines and continue to rise.

Some 1 million people in the country have been displaced or isolated for months by the worst flooding in memory, with the intense rainy season a sign of climate change. The waters began rising in June, washing away crops, swamping roads and worsening hunger and disease in the young nation struggling to recover from civil war. Now famine is a threat.

On a recent visit by The Associated Press to the Old Fangak area in hard-hit Jonglei state, parents spoke of walking for hours in chest-deep water to find food and health care as malaria and diarrheal diseases spread.

Regina Nyakol Piny, a mother of nine, now lives in a primary school in the village of Wangchot after their home was swamped.

"We don't have food here, we rely only on U.N. humanitarian agencies or by collecting firewood and selling it," she said. "My children get sick because of the floodwaters, and there is no medical service in this place."

She said she eagerly waits for peace to return to the country, with the belief that medical services will follow "that will be even enough for us."

One of her nieces, Nyankun Dhoal, delivered her seventh child into a world of water in November.

"I feel very tired and my body feels really weak," she said. One of her breasts was swollen, and her baby had rashes. She wishes for food, and for plastic sheeting so that she and her family can stay dry.

The mud sucks at people's feet as they engage in the daily struggles to hold back the waters and find something to eat.

Nyaduoth Kun, a mother of five, said the floods destroyed her family's crops and life has been a struggle for months, with people selling their prized cattle to buy food that's never enough.

The family eats just two meals a day and the adults often go to bed on empty stomachs, she said. She has begun collecting water lilies and wild fruits for food.

She said she had little knowledge of the coronavirus pandemic ravaging other parts of the world and spreading largely undetected in poorly resourced South Sudan. "There are many diseases living among us, so we can't figure out if it's coronavirus or not," she said.

Instead, her fear is that the makeshift water dike around their home could collapse at any time, flooding the young children.

The chief of Wangchot village, James Diang, made the decision early during the flooding to send badly affected children to the town centre after several drowned "and everything was being destroyed rapidly."

Now cattle are dying, he said, and survivors have been transported to drier areas.

Remaining residents are eating tree leaves and sometimes fish to survive, he said. Fevers and joint pain are widespread.

When there is no canoe to transport people during times that waters surge, "our children die in our hands because we are helpless," he said.

He hopes, like everyone, for sustainable peace, and for an improved dike so the community can have enough dry ground for planting.

The people of South Sudan put their trust in President Salva Kiir and former armed opposition leader Riek Machar to lead during this transition period, "but now they are failing us," said the government's acting deputy director in the area, Kueth Gach Monydhot. "We don't have hope, we lost confidence in them."

The situation in Fangak county remains volatile, with almost all of its more than 60 villages affected by the flooding and "no response from the government," he said. "Do you think they will plan for other people when they have failed to implement the peace agreement?"

At the clinic in Old Fangak run by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, Nyalual Chol said the dike she tried to build against the floodwaters collapsed, and her home quickly collapsed, too.

She had been alone at home with her four children. As with many families, her husband was away on duty in another part of the country as a soldier.

She reached the clinic by canoe after an hour of travel, seeking help for her sick child. There, she also received a ration of food.

The Doctors Without Borders project coordinator in Old Fangak, Dorothy I. Esonwune, recalled the sight of newly displaced people sheltering under trees without mats, blankets or mosquito nets.

Meanwhile, the charity's mobile clinics were suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, further complicating efforts to reach sick people stranded by the flooding.

"The water continues to rise and the dikes continue to break and there are people still displaced, yet they don't have the main necessities," she said, describing several people often crammed into a single shelter.

Now the international community has rung the alarm about likely famine in another flood-hit part of Jonglei state.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization representative in South Sudan, Meshak Malo, has appealed to the parties that signed the country's peace accord to cease violence and ensure safe humanitarian access to prevent the dire situation from turning into a full-blown catastrophe.

The new report of likely famine is an eye-opener and a signal to the government, which has not endorsed its findings, said the chairman of the National Bureau of Statistics, Isaiah Chol Aruai.

"There is no way that the government would ignore or downplay an emergency when it's really found out to be an emergency," he said.

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NSW couple flee officers at Melbourne Airport

2021-01-01 FreeNews

Victoria Police are searching for a man and woman who fled officers at Melbourne Airport.

The pair disembarked a flight from Canberra just before 11am on New Year's Day.

"They were spoken to by authorised officers and informed they would be required to quarantine for 14 days as per current CHO directions," Victoria Police said in a statement.

"The pair then ran from the officer, fleeing the airport and were picked up by a vehicle outside."

The 26-year-old man and 24-year-old woman normally reside in NSW are believed to be in the Sunbury area.

Police have released photos of them and an image of a vehicle similar to one they were travelling in.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The Health Department confirmed on Friday night that another two COVID cases had emerged in Victoria with clear links to existing infections that were seeded at the Smiling Buffalo Thai Restaurant earlier in the week.

The two new positive cases dined at the restaurant on December 21 before travelling into southern NSW where they learned of the outbreak and got tested before returning home.

Because the new infections were identified in NSW they will only be officially added to Victoria's tally on Saturday, bringing it to 10.

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Victoria's new coronavirus outbreak grows to 10

2021-01-01 FreeNews

Cars have queued for up to five hours awaiting a coronavirus test in Melbourne today, with no guarantee of reaching the front as the number of cases grew.

Several south eastern testing stations were forced to close early, with dedicated frontline staff simply unable to meet the demand of people urgently seeking a COVID test.

Late today the Health Department confirmed another two COVID cases have emerged in Victoria with clear links to existing infections that were seeded at the Smiling Buffalo Thai Restaurant earlier this week.

The two new positive cases dined at the restaurant on December 21 before travelling into southern NSW where they learned of the outbreak and got tested before returning home.

Because the new infections were identified in NSW they will only be officially added to Victoria's tally on Saturday, bringing it to 10.

Authorities are yet to pin down who started the outbreak.

"Until we identify the absolute index case and its connections to every other case, of course we remain concerned," COVID Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said.

Health Minister Martin Foley is almost convinced it came from interstate.

"The NSW link is still our primary line of investigation for this outbreak," he said.

"We expect genomic testing to come through very shortly and to assist us in confirming the lines of enquiry for our investigation."

More than 170 close contacts and positive cases are in self-isolation, spread across several suburbs and beyond Melbourne into Leongatha and Barwon Heads.

"This is not just a Bayside issue, this is a wider Victorian exposure risk," Mr Weimar said.

There were 13,108 test results received yesterday.

Face masks have become compulsory (except in your own home), house guests have been cut from 30 to 15 souring last night's New Year celebrations.

Border shuts

There have been long queues at the border as thousands race home from NSW before they're locked out at midnight. From tomorrow, any returning Victorian will need to be tested and also self-quarantine for 14 days.

"I stood here some time ago and reconsider going to NSW, don't go to Sydney," Mr Foley said.

"Reconsider going to NSW because the border can change quickly on the basis of public health advice and we saw that happen yesterday. Today, I say, if you are returning to Victoria as of today you must get tested and you must isolate for 14 days."

Mr Weimar warned returned travellers about further lengthy queues at the Victorian border.

"The border to NSW will shut at 11.59pm tonight. Anybody who is at queue at the border at 11.59pm will be allowed to go through but that does not extend to people wandering through at 8am tomorrow morning," Mr Weimar told reporters.

"So please, if you are in NSW and you want to be back in Victoria you need to leave now if you haven't left already.

"You need to prepare for a lengthy wait at the border. So please ensure you have fuel, water, food and also whatever you need to isolate safely when you get home."

He said warnings about the risks of getting stranded "on the wrong side of the border" have been issued for days so travellers must decide where they intend to stay.

"If that's NSW that's absolutely fine, if you intend to return to your home in Victoria you need to be getting on the road now," he said.

Victoria's Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said it was a difficult but necessary decision.

"We have to do everything we possibly can to lock in the situation we have here in Victoria, keep ahead of where case numbers might be, especially in light of case numbers coming out of NSW and to protect the precious gains we have achieved over the course of 2020 here in Victoria," she said.

The latest directions in Victoria come as NSW recorded 10 new cases yesterday, with five linked to the Avalon cluster.

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News Briefs

2021-01-01 FreeNews

Israel’s virus surveillance tool tests its democratic norms

By TIA GOLDENBERGtoday

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — In the early days of the pandemic, a panicked Israel began using a mass surveillance tool on its civilians, tracking people’s cellphones in hopes of stopping the spread of…

New Year’s revelries muted by virus as curtain draws on 2020

By FRANK JORDANS and DEREK GATOPOULOStoday

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By SAMUEL PETREQUINtoday

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Race to vaccinate millions in US off to slow, messy start

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and MICHAEL KUNZELMANyesterday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Terry Beth Hadler was so eager to get a lifesaving COVID-19 vaccination that the 69-year-old piano teacher stood in line overnight in a parking lot with hundreds of other…

Full Coverage: Coronavirus vaccine

California passes 25,000 deaths, finds 3 more variant cases

By BRIAN MELLEY and STEFANIE DAZIOtoday

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California surpassed 25,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic and officials disclosed Thursday that three more cases involving a mutant variant of the virus…

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To Spite Biden, Trump to Label Cuba Terrorist State

2021-01-01 FreeNews

(CNN) The Trump administration will soon take steps toward designating Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as an 11th hour effort to create hurdles for the incoming Biden administration, which is likely to pursue warmer ties with Havana.

A senior administration official told CNN that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to make the designation in the coming days. A second official confirmed that discussions are taking place, although the timing is uncertain. ]

The Cuban government has already denounced the move, which is one of a series of bold initiatives the Trump administration is taking as it attempts to leave a lasting imprint on US foreign policy with just three weeks left before President Donald Trump leaves office.

Currently, only three other nations bear the US terrorism designation: Iran, North Korea and Syria. Sudan was recently removed from the list as part of its agreement to normalize ties with Israel.

Such a designation would impose restrictions on US foreign assistance, a ban on defense exports and sales, certain controls over exports and various financial restrictions.

It would also result in penalization against any persons and countries engaging in certain trade activities with Cuba.

The New York Times was first to report that Pompeo was considering the designation. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on Tuesday, saying “we do not discuss deliberations or potential deliberations regarding designations.” The White House declined to comment on the record when reached by CNN.

Momentum to get the designation through had waned in recent months when one of the original advocates for the plan, Mauricio Claver-Carone — a hawkish Cuban-American attorney — left the National Security Council to become president of the Inter-American Development Bank.

However, others within the administration, including Elliott Abrams, Trump’s special representative for Venezuela, and senior Western Hemisphere official Michael Kozak, as well as Florida Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, all supported following through with the idea — despite a lack of support from most of the State Department’s Cuba desk, according to a former administration official.

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Assoc. Press: Past Week in Regional Photos

2021-01-01 FreeNews

Abortion-rights activists watch live video streaming of lawmakers in session, outside Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. Congress approved a bill that legalize abortion in Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

DECEMBER 25 – 31, 2020

This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press Photographers in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was curated by AP Photo Editor Tomas Stargardter in Mexico City.

Follow AP visual journalism:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews

AP Images on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Images

AP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com

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Brazil Lags Behind in Race to Corona Vaccinate

2021-01-01 FreeNews

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil, a nation proud of its role as a regional leader in science, technology and medicine, finds itself falling behind its neighbors in the global race for immunization against a pandemic that has already killed nearly 200,000 of its people.

Latin America’s largest nation, long heralded for its domestic vaccine development programs, appears to be at least three or four weeks away from launching any formal immunization campaign against COVID-19. In contrast, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica and other countries in the region have already begun giving shots to their populations.

The Brazilian government has not approved a single vaccine and has stumbled in attempts to acquire even syringes and needles for an immunization effort that, as of the new year, still had no definite rollout date.

Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus infections in the country reached a new high in December — peaking with more than 70,000 cases on Dec. 16.

The lightning rod in Brazil’s vaccine debate is President Jair Bolsonaro, who has cast skepticism on all of the vaccines being developed even as his government negotiates to obtain them. He has said he doesn’t plan to get a shot himself and joked at one point that side effects might turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.

Such talk has left Brazil’s image abroad “very damaged,” Margareth Dalcolmo, a professor in respiratory medicine at the state-funded Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, also known as Fiocruz, told The Associated Press.

“No one is saying that Bolsonaro really believes this, but he is discrediting the vaccine,” said Walter Cintra, a professor in health management at the Getulio Vargas Foundation university in Sao Paulo. “When the government behaves like this, it loses credibility. And these are million-dollar contracts.”

One of the earliest vaccines on the horizon appears to be one developed by China’s Sinovac company, which has contracted with the government of Brazil’s largest state, Sao Paulo, for distribution and production.

Sao Paulo Gov. João Doria announced plans to start distributing shots on Jan. 25 if federal health authorities approve the vaccine. Doria is a vocal critic and likely challenger in the 2022 presidential election, and his announcement added pressure on the Bolsonaro administration to come up with its own federal immunization plan.

The president initially sneered at the Chinese vaccine, saying its origins don’t inspire trust, but other states quickly showed interest in acquiring some

Another contender for early release nationwide is likely to be the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which could be available by early February once regulators approve it, according to Brazil’s state laboratory Fiocruz, which is producing it in Brazil.

Fiocruz is one of Brazil’s largest public laboratories for vaccine production, including measles, polio and yellow fever. Relying on advanced technology and Fiocruz’ ability to produce at a low price, Brazil is the world’s biggest manufacturer of yellow fever vaccines, exporting millions of doses to dozens of countries worldwide, according to Fiocruz information.

Fiocruz said it expects to have 100 million of domestically produced COVID-19 doses by the end of July. Two doses are needed.

The government also expects an additional 42 million doses from the global vaccine partnership known as COVAX, with no set date, and has signed a memorandum with Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, for 38 million doses of its single-shot vaccine when it becomes available.

The government has struggled to reach a deal for the first vaccine approved globally, the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. Pfizer complained in late December of Brazil’s regulatory hurdles, while Bolsonaro expressed surprise that pharmaceutical companies did not show more eagerness to sell to a nation of roughly 210 million people.

Tensions seemed to wane in a meeting between regulators and Pfizer on Dec. 30, during which officials said they would simplify protocols and Pfizer said it would consider applying for emergency use approval. The Brazilian government and Pfizer earlier signed a memorandum of understanding for 70 million doses, according to information from the health ministry.

For Cintra, the professor in health management, the confusion over the COVID-19 vaccine approval is symptomatic of this administration’s chaotic handling of the pandemic, during which Bolsonaro has repeatedly denounced local officials’ efforts to impose social distancing rules and described the virus as a “small flu”.

“This is not about Anvisa (the regulator), or excessive regulation. It’s about the federal government systematically sabotaging the fight against the pandemic, or completely destroying the Brazilian health system,” he said.

Cintra noted that a public tender to acquire over 330 million syringes and needles for the government’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign resulted this week in bids for only 8 million units within the acceptable price range — less than 3% of what was required.

The Ministry of Health said in a statement that it would keep the tender open.

“There is a real risk of having a vaccine but not enough needles and syringes,” warned Carlos Eduardo Lula, president of a council of state health secretaries.

The head of Brazil’s bar association, Felipe Santa Cruz, told the newspaper Valor that further delays in the vaccination program could lead the association to draft an impeachment request against Bolsonaro.

For physics teacher Francisco Ferreira, 55, hope for a vaccine any time soon is fading.

“Brazil is getting a mix of bad faith and incompetence on the vaccine issue,” Ferreira said as he walked through the Sao Paulo international airport. “There are serious administrations around the world giving out the shots, but this isn’t our case.”

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Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. AP videoreporter Tatiana Pollastri contributed to this report

The post Brazil Lags Behind in Race to Corona Vaccinate appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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North Korea's Kim thanks people in rare New Year's cards

2021-01-01 FreeNews

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un thanked the public for their trust and support "in the difficult times" and wished them happiness and good health in his first New Year's Day cards sent to his people.

Kim usually gives a televised speech on January 1, but he is widely expected to skip it this year since he will address the country's first ruling party congress in five years sometime in early January.

"I will work hard to bring earlier the new era in which the ideals and desires of our people will come true," Kim said in his letter, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

IN PICTURES: New Year's Eve celebrations look like never before

"I offer thanks to the people for having invariably trusted and supported our party even in the difficult times," he said.

"I sincerely wish all the families across the country greater happiness and beloved people, good health."

North Korea is one of the world's most cloistered countries, and it's virtually impossible to independently confirm whether all its 25 million people received Kim's letter.

KCNA said the letter was handwritten by Kim. The last time the North Korean leader sent such a letter to ordinary citizens was on January 1, 1995, by Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.

Kim, who succeeded his father upon his death in late 2011, is facing the toughest challenges of his nine-year rule due to the pandemic, several natural disasters last summer and persistent US-led sanctions amid a diplomatic impasse over his nuclear program.

Kim will likely use the Workers' Party congress as a venue to muster a stronger unity and lay out new development goals for the next few years.

North Korea's pandemic-related border closure with China, its biggest trading partner, is hurting the economy. Bilateral trade volume in the first 11 months of 2020 plunged by about 79 per cent from the same period in 2019, analyst Song Jaeguk at Seoul's IBK Economic Research Institute said.

The congress, the first since 2016, is officially the party's top decision-making body though real day-to-day decisions are made by Kim and his close associates. The rubber stamp body of delegates is expected to endorse Kim's new initiatives without major debates.

State media didn't say when exactly the meeting will take place. In 2016, the congress was held for four days.

Ushering in the new year, a large crowd packed Pyongyang's main square to watch fireworks, a concert and a flag-hoisting ceremony. State TV showed people wearing masks and heavy coats, waving and standing close together.

North Korea has steadfastly claimed to be coronavirus-free — an assertion doubted by outsiders. But experts also say any outbreak likely wasn't widespread and so North Korea considered it safe to hold big events like the party congress in Pyongyang.

Also Friday, North Korea said it has successfully completed "an 80-day battle," a productivity campaign it often launches to press citizens to work extra hours and report bigger production numbers ahead of major political events. During the congress, experts say North Korea will likely underscore building a stronger self-reliant economy to tackle the difficulties in an attempt to squeeze people to work harder.

KCNA said "the all-people advance by dint of self-reliance" achieved "a proud victory of the historic 80-day battle." It said the North Koreans have either fulfilled or exceeded newly set quotas at factories, mines, farms, flooding recovery works, anti-coronavirus steps and various other areas.