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Tag Archives: caribbean
Brazilian Cruise Ships Pause Operations After COVID-19 Outbreaks
BRASILIA, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Cruise ship companies in Brazil will suspend most operations until Jan. 21, an industry association said on Monday, after health authorities recommended against cruise ship travel following several offshore outbreaks of the coronavirus.
The industry association Clia said no ships will cast off during the “voluntary” suspension period, which could be extended, while those at sea will complete their voyages.
Last week, Brazil’s national health regulator Anvisa recommended cruise companies temporarily pause operations after five ships off Brazil’s coast registered over 300 new COVID-19 cases.
“During this pause, Clia is working on behalf of the cruise companies that operate in the country – MSC Cruzeiros and Costa Cruzeiros – to look for points of alignment with the federal government, Anvisa, states and municipalities,” the association said in a statement.
MSC Cruzeiros and Costa Cruzeiros are subsidiaries of Swiss-Italian cruise line MSC Cruises and Carnival Corp (CCL.N), respectively. Clia made its announcement after federal, state and municipal officials met with representatives of the tourism industry about the issue.
Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Gram Slattery; editing by Grant McCool
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Mexico Asylum Applications Surge in 2021, Haitians Top List
MEXICO CITY, Jan 3 (Reuters) – The number of asylum applications in Mexico nearly doubled in 2021 from two years earlier, the head of the country’s commission for refugee assistance said on Monday, with most applications being from Haitian and Honduran migrants.
When compared to 2019, the 131,448 applications mark an increase of 86.84%, according to the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR).
“By far the main nationalities (who requested refuge) were Haitians and Hondurans,” the head of COMAR, Andres Ramirez, said, adding that Cubans were a distant third.
The rise in the number of Haitians making their way through Mexico has been spurred by economic malaise, a devastating earthquake and political turmoil following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in July. read more
In the previous two years, most applications were filed by Honduran migrants.
Some 72% of those who applied for asylum in 2021 received a positive response, Ramirez said. Another 2% were also granted complementary protection.
Central American migrants fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries have long been crossing Mexico on their way north towards the U.S. border but in recent years, more and more migrants have applied for asylum in Mexico.
(Corrects headline and paragraphs 1 & 2 to reflect comparison year was 2019, not 2020)
Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Sandra Maler
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At least 23 killed During Armed Clashes in Colombia’s Arauca
BOGOTA, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Twenty-three people have been reported killed so far in Colombia’s Arauca province amid fighting between illegal armed groups, Defense Minister Diego Molano told a news conference late on Monday.
Fighting broke out over the weekend in Arauca – which sits on the border with Venezuela – as members of the National Liberation Army (ELN) fought with dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who reject a 2016 peace deal.
The groups were fighting over control of illegal economies such as drug trafficking, Colombia’s army said in a statement late on Sunday. The violence also displaced 12 families, Colombia’s human rights ombudsman said.
The violence harks back to the mid 2000s, when the FARC and ELN fought each other in Arauca and the neighboring Venezuelan state of Apure.
By the time fighting ceased in 2010, more than 58,000 people had been displaced in the province and at least 868 civilians had been killed, according to a report from advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW), which cited the government-run Colombian Victims’ Unit.
Some 5,000 people fled Apure at the end of March last year amid clashes between Colombian armed groups and the Venezuelan military.
HRW received reports of 24 deaths due to the violence, the group’s senior investigator for the Americas Juan Pappier said in a message on Twitter, adding that there had also been forced displacements and kidnappings.
“We are very concerned about the fighting between the ELN and dissidents of the FARC’s 10th front in Arauca and Apure,” Pappier said.
Colombia’s President Ivan Duque convened a meeting of military and police leaders to assess the situation in Arauca and to take measures to address it.
“I have ordered that two battalions be deployed within the next 72 hours to help with the task of territorial control,” Duque said in a video broadcast, while accusing Venezuela of sheltering FARC dissidents and the ELN.
Venezuelan Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino ridiculed the accusations on Twitter. Venezuelan military forces stationed in border municipalities have raised their level of alert in response to the fighting in Colombia, he added.
Reporting by Oliver Griffin in Bogota Additional reporting by Mayela Armas in Caracas Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Sandra Maler
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Bee farming: Police stung as beekeepers protest in Chile
BBC- Four beekeepers have been detained in Chile following a protest calling for government support for their industry.
The beekeepers held a demonstration outside the presidential palace in the capital, Santiago.
Seven police officers were stung as they tried to remove beehives placed by the protesters to block a main thoroughfare.
A prolonged drought has been ravaging beekeeping in Chile, affecting bees’ food sources such as flowers and crops.
To highlight their cause, the beekeepers set up some 60 hives containing around 10,000 bees in front of the palace and prevented the police from dispersing the demonstration.
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Haiti PM Ariel Henry Survives Assassination Attempt – Officials
BBC- Gunmen tried to kill Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry during an event on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the country’s independence, officials say.
The incident happened as Mr Henry took part in the ceremony at a church in the northern city of Gonaïves.
Video posted online showed the prime minister and his entourage scrambling toward their cars amid intense gunfire.
The security situation has deteriorated significantly since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse last July.
Mr Henry has pledged to crack down on powerful gangs that are blamed for a wave of kidnappings and for seizing control of much of the gas distribution around the country, causing severe fuel shortages.
The prime minister’s office said “bandits and terrorists” were behind the assassination attempt, and that arrest warrants had been issued for the suspects.
The office accused the group of hiding behind walls to attack the convoy and of threatening the bishop by surrounding the church, according to the Associated Press.
One person was killed and two others were injured in the gunfight between the armed men and security forces, local media reported.
The attack is another blow to the fragile administration led by Mr Henry, who became Haiti’s acting head of state two weeks after Moïse was killed. The circumstances of the assassination, believed to have been carried out by a group of mercenaries, are still unclear.
No date has been announced for a vote to elect a new president.
The rise in violence and a dire economic situation, made worse by several natural disasters in recent years, have led to a growing number of Haitians seeking opportunities in other countries.
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‘Pat’ Walters indelible footprints in the sands of time
Submission by Rawle Nelson
PATRICIA WALTERS CREATED HISTORY when she took over the reins of Cable and Wireless (C&W) in St Kitts and Nevis several years ago.
‘Pat’ as she is affectionately called, was the first female Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the Federation, and the first woman at the helm of the traditionally male-dominated telecommunications sector. Including the private sector.
‘Pat’ is gifted with foresight and insight. And she maximised those in tandem with her considerable marketing, communication and management skills to put her company, C&W, on firm footing for future jostling with later new entrants to the Caribbean, Digicel.
Now, don’t be fooled by her easy-going manner supported with that perpetual, infectious smile and winsome personality. Behind those is a fierce competitor who relishes adversity.
She had already begun creating head waves following her history-making appointment when C&W rival Digicel, officially began competing for a stake in the country’s lucrative communications’ pie.
With her brand there was an ‘open door’ policy: she embraced regular interviews and ensured that the press and media were kept up-to-date with issues about the firm she headed. There were also community outreach programmes. C&W sponsored a number of projects and programmes which enhanced build human capacity; burnished participants’ personalities; strengthened community relationships and forged holistic development while simultaneously enhancing the pool of skills and talents available in participating communities.
“Patricia Walters was one who you can easily stop and engage with. She ensured she visited several of their offices to observe the chemistry between her staff and customers. Those who didn’t know her would assume that she was a regular employee who just enjoyed her job as she operated very simple, immediately drawing love, admiration and attention from those looking on,” a Cable and Wireless (now Lime) customer recalled.
Another remembered: “What impressed me and continued to impress me over the years is that she was always reaching out to everyone and ventured into supporting organisations and institutions While they (C&W) were making profits, she never shied away from giving back, and that is why many organisations and institutions should credit their success for the way this woman operated the company.”
The rivalry from Digicel helped ‘Pat’ come up with some novel ideas. Many still recall the ‘Double Bubble Top Up’ a major hit with C&W customers and the rest of the nation. Under the scheme, customers received twice the amount of credit they put in their mobile phones.
Massive crowds snaked areas where the ‘Top Up’ was available.
“I was one of the many who enjoyed ‘Double Bubble’ so much that I topped up my phone with a certain amount so that I can wait patiently until it returned. At the time I was studying and couldn’t really afford to top up my phone regularly so the Double Bubble created opportunities for me to prudently spend my money, while maximising the benefits I got from the phone top up,” Michael remembered.
‘Double Bubble’ and other innovative intiatives helped wiped away the ill-will many had against C&W at the time, and their plans to flee en mass from the telecommunications firm, Michael recalled. He said it was a masterstroke by C&W decision-makers to employ a woman as CEO, and one with such substantial business acumen in combination with considerable managerial shrewdness.
That, Michael like many argued, saved C&W as a company.
Pat’s subordinates unanimously baptised her a trend-setter: one who leads from the front and single handedly revolutionised workers worldviews. Some of then told this publication, “Her impeccable track record of being service-driven has aided her accomplishing many firsts and even embracing unchartered territories”.
Her gilded footprints are left indelibly in London, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago, earning her the fond soubriquet, ‘The Golden Woman’.
Ask Donovan While, whose aggressive marketing ploy as the Marketing Manager of Anguilla, Antigua and St. Kitts and as the St. Kitts Nevis Country Manager to upend The Golden Woman’s influence fizzled into debased metal in the presence of her glistening, unalloyed campaign.
Digicel was lucky to snap up a 41 percent market share in the Federation after the departure of White in 2007, and its new Country Manager Richard Staunton’s, despite Staunton making waves for his company in Dominica as their Country Manager. However, the 41 percent market shares were credited due to Pat’s promotion in C&W in 2008 to another Caribbean territory and the presence of Digicel’s new Country Manager, Sean Latty efforts to replicate her feat. Digicel gained market shares under the leadership of Sean Latty who also served as Country Manager in St Vincent and the Grenadines and was responsible for St Kitts and Nevis operations from 2008 to 2012.
Dubbed a highly transformational leader with over a quarter of a century international experience, the qualified account started her career in finance in the Retail and Shipping industry before moving into the telecommunications business at C&W in the United Kingdom (UK). There she held positions as Financial Controller; Director.
She was also Company Secretary at C&W (Cayman Islands); Financial Controller, C&W (St Kitts and Nevis) Ltd; Chief Financial Officer at the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT); Chief Executive Officer of C&W (St. Kitts and Nevis) Ltd.
Pat was also Regional Executive Vice President, C&W, West Indies Ltd; Senior Vice President of Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd.
Walters now holds the post of CEO of St Kitts Nevis Cable Communications Ltd, ‘Thee Cable’, St. Kitts which is a privately owned company.
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Air Canada to Suspend Flights to Caribbean, Mexico from Jan. 31
by Dillon De Shong
Air Canada has announced it will be suspending its service to the Caribbean and Mexico for a 90-day period from January 31.
“The decision, designed to achieve an orderly reduction in service and minimise customer impact, was taken in collaboration with the Government of Canada,” the airline said in a brief statement.
The move comes weeks after the Canadian government advised residents and nationals to refrain from travelling internationally due to the presence of the highly infectious omicron variant of coronavirus in many countries.
“We see the situation abroad, and we’re afraid and concerned with what could happen to Canadians who would choose to go abroad in the next few weeks,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s health minister, during a news briefing on December 15.
“The situation abroad is already dire in many places, and it’s going to get worse very quickly. So we are afraid of what could happen to them if they chose to travel. And once they have left Canada, there is very little we can do to help them.”
Canada itself is currently dealing with a surge in new COVID-19 infections. In late December 2021, the country crossed 2 million total infections.
Passengers, who are affected by the cancellation, will receive an Air Canada Travel Voucher or Aeroplan points, with a 65 per cent bonus, in accordance with the company’s Refund and Cancellation Policy.
Air Canada currently offers flights to islands including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Aruba and Antigua and Barbuda.
It recently halted its service to Bermuda due to a COVID-19 surge caused by the omicron variant.
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COVID: 1,500 Cases Daily Expected in Jamaica by Mid January,182 in Hospitals
By Patrick Green and CMC
National Epidemiologist Dr. Karen Webster-Kerr said Jamaica could see up to 1500 cases and hospitalization of 182 patients daily, from COVID-19 by mid January because of the Omicron variant.
According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health, Jamaica had 93,920 cases of COVID-19 with 2,473 deaths. Fully vaccinated Jamaicans amounted to 566,889 (19.1%) while 712,468 have gotten their first vaccination (24.1%). Jamaica has gotten 1,208,789 doses of COVID vaccines so far. The country’s highest one day case count was on August 23rd, when 1,430 persons tested positive. 65,594 persons have recovered from the effects of the virus.
Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton, says health officials are collaborating with international partners and agencies, as more research is being conducted on the newest coronavirus (COVID-19) variant, Omicron.
Speaking during a recent COVID Conversations press briefing Tufton says that following reports that a traveler from Jamaica to the United Kingdom had tested positive with the Omicron variant – it can be concluded that the variant is “here within our population”.
Against this background, National Epidemiologist Dr. Karen Webster-Kerr said “there are some changes in the genes of the Omicron variant that’s associated with possibly higher transmissibility.”
She said the new variant has shown community transmission “of one and a half days to three days.”
Additionally, she said some indications suggest a reduction in effectiveness related to the vaccines. “That means, it still protects, but the effectiveness is lower, and boosters actually increase your protection from the Omicron variant,” she stated.
Webster-Kerr noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) listed Omicron as a variant of concern since November of this year. It has since spread to 89 countries globally.
“Hospitalizations, we note in the United Kingdom and South Africa, continue to rise,” she said, adding that this could potentially mean an increase in hospitalizations in Jamaica.
1500 cases daily
“If it is, we already have Omicron circulating in communities, but we’re not aware of it yet, by mid-January we could see over 1500 cases daily [and] we could be admitting 182 patients per day,” she advised.
Against this background, Dr. Tufton is calling for Jamaicans to not be complacent but continue to follow the existing social distancing protocols.
“So the conclusion is that we have to be careful, we have to prepare and we have to recognize the importance of personal responsibility. No matter what we do, there are some indisputable realities that we have to face,” he said.
“Complacency could be a false sense of security and I say so in our context here in Jamaica, [because] we have low vaccination rates. The more persons who get the virus, the greater the likelihood of hospitalizations going up, particularly among the vulnerable, or the immunocompromised individuals,” he further noted.
Tufton said just about 50 per cent of the 60 to 80 age cohort are not vaccinated, which “means that if the virus spreads in that population, even in cases where it may be mild, the more people who get the virus, the more we expect that some will become ill and go to the hospital.
“Which is why the projections are as follows, that we could end up with up to 2000 persons being hospitalized,” he disclosed.
More hospital beds and Staff
Meanwhile, in preparation for a possible spike in cases, Tufton said approximately 1,200 beds will be available to support in-patient care.
The Ministry has also extended the contract of more than 1,300 additional temporary staff, who were contracted to support operations in health facilities, including hospitals, as well as the vaccination program.
“We have extended their employment to the end of the first quarter of next year, and that is to ensure that we have the personnel [available],” Dr. Tufton said.
D Webster-Kerr said the WHO’s recommendations for non-clinical infection prevention still include the use of a well-fitting mask, physical distancing, ventilation of indoor spaces, crowd avoidance and proper hygiene.
“We are to enhance our surveillance, testing and sequencing and have stricter contact tracing. We should also anticipate our caseload in our hospitals, which we are doing, and efforts to accelerate the vaccination coverage which is very important. We all should try and get vaccinated if we haven’t done so before,” she said.
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Sint Maarten: 13-Year-Old Girl Stabbed to Death by Friend
It’s a tragic start for the New Year in Sint Maarten.
An 18-year-old girl has been held in connection with the fatal stabbing of a teenage girl in Sint Maarten which occurred New Year’s Day.
The deceased, who is 13 years old, was reportedly stabbed in her chest by the 18-year-old. The name of the victim has not been released.
According to the Police Force of Sint Maarten, it received a call about a stabbing that took place after 7 pm on L.B. Scott Road in the vicinity of the John Cooper/Jose Lake Ballpark.
At the scene the patrol and paramedic found the teenager bleeding and showing very little signs of life. She was transported to St Maarten Medical Center (SMMC), but she subsequently succumbed to her injury.
The circumstances that led to this fatal stabbing is under investigation. However, the police force says what is known is the two were part of a group of friends gathered together in the area where the stabbing occurred.
The Police Force of St Maarten has expressed condolences to the family of the deceased.
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