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UK: High Vaccination Rate, Also High COVID Rate? Overhaul of International Travel Rules Expected, World Stats, More

Why So Many COVID Cases When Most UK People are Vaccinated?

By Philippa Roxby
Health reporter

BBC- More than four out of five UK adults have now had two jabs, but reported daily Covid cases remain high.

Meanwhile, it’s been confirmed that millions of people will get booster vaccines – while children aged 12-15 will be offered single doses.

Why are infections still high when so many are vaccinated?

The vaccines are designed to protect people against becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid-19.

They’re less effective at stopping people becoming infected by the virus, developing mild symptoms or passing it on.

Although the vaccine does still reduce the likelihood of these things happening, it might only stop half of infected people from transmitting the virus.

Even if 100% of people in the UK were double vaccinated, the virus would still spread – but the key difference is that far fewer people would become seriously ill.

Do vaccines prevent hospitalisation and death?

They strongly prevent vaccinated people from getting Covid symptoms – and are even better at stopping people from ending up in hospital.

But effectiveness also depends on how well each vaccine works against individual variants. The most common variant in the UK today is Delta.

Public Health England (PHE) studies suggest having two vaccine doses protect 80% of people against getting symptoms from the Delta variant. That’s lower than the Alpha variant (89%), because Delta is more infectious. The PHE also found:

  • Vaccines are 96% effective at preventing hospitalisation
  • Covid deaths in the double-jabbed are four times lower than in the unvaccinated

But there will always be some deaths, particularly in the oldest and most vulnerable, because vaccines aren’t perfect.

Having two doses remains the best way to protect yourself. After four or five months, a large study suggests you have the same amount of protection whether you had AstraZeneca or Pfizer. Researchers don’t yet have enough data to compare the Moderna jab, but believe it is “almost certainly at least as good as the others”.

Some 44 million people in the UK, about 81% of people aged 16 and over, have now had their second jab.

Who will be offered third jabs?

Across the UK, single booster jabs will be offered to:

  • Over-50s
  • Frontline health and social care workers
  • Older adults in residential care homes
  • People aged 16-49 years old with underlying health conditions which put them at greater risk of severe Covid
  • Adults who share a household with vulnerable people

The doses will be offered at least six months after a second vaccination, and are likely to be either Pfizer or Moderna.

England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, says people should also take a flu jab if it is offered alongside the booster.

Which children will now be offered the vaccine?

All four UK governments have also confirmed healthy over-12s will be offered a single Covid jab.

The UK’s chief medical officers argue vaccinating this group will help limit school disruption if Covid spreads during the winter.

There is no vaccine currently approved for use in the under-12s in the UK.

Already, young people aged 16 and 17 are being offered one dose, with the intention of a second at a later date.

The vaccine is also available for over-12s with underlying health conditions, or those living with others at high risk.

How do I get a vaccine?

In England, adults and those within three months of turning 18 can book a jab online or by calling 119. You can also visit a walk-in clinic without an appointment. All 16 and 17-year-olds are asked to make an appointment through their GP.

In Scotland, over-16s can register to get the vaccine on the NHS inform website or by calling 0800 030 8013. Most health boards also have drop-in vaccination clinics. Over-12s can go to drop-in clinics from Monday 20 September.

In Wales, adults should contact their local health board if they’ve not been offered their jab.

In Northern Ireland, you can book online or call 0300 200 7813. Walk-in centres are open to older teenagers.

How soon should I get my second jab?

In England, the recommended gap between first and second jabs is between 8-12 weeks.

In Wales, the government says you should be called in for your second dose “within 12 weeks” of the first.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland the recommended gap is eight weeks.

Preparing a vaccineimage source, Getty Images

Which vaccine will I get?

People who are under 40 or pregnant are being offered Pfizer or Moderna rather than Oxford-AstraZeneca, because of concerns about a possible connection with extremely rare cases of blood clots.

Under-18s are currently being offered Pfizer, although the Moderna vaccine has also been authorised for use in children in the UK.

Table comparing the Oxford, Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax and Janssen vaccines

Is vaccination compulsory?

It’s not compulsory, although the health secretary has said it is “highly likely” that both Covid and flu jabs will be compulsory for all frontline NHS and care workers in England.

Being fully vaccinated will also be a condition of entry for nightclubs and some other events in Scotland from 1 October.

It also means you don’t have to self-isolate after visiting amber list countries or if a contact tests positive for Covid (as long as you test negative).

England’s chief midwife has also urged pregnant women to get the vaccine.

Modelled picture of a pregnant woman being vaccinatedimage source, Getty Images

What about side effects?

The most common ones include a sore arm, headache, chills, fatigue and nausea.

They are part of the body’s normal immune response to vaccines and tend to resolve within a day or two.

media captionWhy it is normal for some people to experience short-term side effects from Covid-19 vaccines

There are extremely rare but occasionally fatal cases of people developing blood clots after taking the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Separately, a very small number of people have experienced a severe allergic reaction after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

You should discuss any existing serious allergies with your healthcare professional before being vaccinated.

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Changes to the rules on international travel are expected to be announced by the UK government later.

BBC- Ministers are considering scrapping the requirement for double-jabbed people returning to the UK to take PCR tests.

The traffic light system could also be simplified, with the amber list removed entirely.

Any changes would apply to England initially, as the UK’s devolved administrations are in charge of their own travel rules.

Meanwhile, the Guardian and the Times have reported that dozens of countries will be removed from the red list – the highest level of alert for international travel which means returning travellers must spend 11 nights in hotel quarantine at a cost of £2,285.

There are currently 62 countries on that list.

Currently, travellers who are not fully vaccinated are required to quarantine upon returning to the UK from an amber list destination.

By removing the amber category, only passengers arriving from red list countries would have to quarantine in a government-approved hotel.

Ministers have also been under pressure to reconsider the testing requirements for travellers.

Under current rules, people arriving from green list countries must take a PCR test shortly before their return and another on their second day back in the UK.

Simon Calder, travel editor of the independent, said holidaymakers would be hoping that the pre-flight test requirement would be removed – as it might give them greater confidence about booking trips, particularly with the October half-term school holiday coming up.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK told the BBC that testing requirements were preventing the UK travel industry from competing with European rivals.

He also warned that thousands of jobs could be at stake if restrictions remain while furlough support ends.

People walking along a beach in Ibizaimage source, Getty Images

Huw Merriman, Conservative chairman of the Commons Transport Select Committee, said PCR tests were expensive and “putting people off travel” while the rapid lateral flow tests were “just as safe”. The NHS charges £68 for a lab-processed PCR test.

Fully vaccinated people should only need a PCR test as confirmation if their lateral flow test came back positive, he said.

One justification for requiring PCR tests is that they can be used for gene sequencing and tracking coronavirus variants.

But Mr Merriman said just 5% of positive tests were sequenced in July, adding that people were being “ripped off”.

Alan McNally, professor of Microbial Evolutionary Genomics at the University of Birmingham, said lateral flow testing would be “sufficient” for travellers given the UK’s high Covid rate, but argued it was “vitally important” that genome-level surveillance of travel-related Covid cases continued.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I would really hope that there will be very strong mandate that any [lateral flow] tests from travel have to get a confirmatory PCR test.”

He said past experiences and the emergence of the Delta variant showed that travel-related Covid cases were a “very high risk” to the UK and could cause “big trouble” if they were not being monitored.

With countries such as those in the EU, there is a greater degree of confidence that variants are being reported and vaccination records are accurate, he said. But he said in others it may be less certain.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “Our top priority is to protect public health – decisions on our traffic light system are kept under regular review and are informed by the latest risk assessment from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and wider public health factors.”

===================================================

WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

227,856,410

Deaths:

4,684,461

Recovered:

204,547,146
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

[back to top ↑]

Latest News

September 17 (GMT)

Updates

  • 765 new cases and

The post UK: High Vaccination Rate, Also High COVID Rate? Overhaul of International Travel Rules Expected, World Stats, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Sept. 16: National Heroes Day in SKN

Today, Sept. 16, is National Heroes Day in St.Kitts and Nevis…a  time to celebrate people who helped shape the Federation.

The Saint Kitts-Nevis Federal Parliament in 1998, passed the National Honours Act, establishing a National Heroes Day and three classes of awards. These are the Order of National Hero, the Star of Merit and the Medal of Honour. Members of the public are able to submit nominations for the awards, which are for citizens of the Federation who have given distinguished service to their country.

The inaugural National Heroes Day was held on September 16, 1998. Since then, five of the federation’s stalwarts have been named National Heroes.

In recent years the ceremony has been held at the National Heroes Park located along the Kim Collins Highway.

In honour of National Hero’s Day, the following is a profile of the Federation’s Heroes.

Robert Llewelyn Bradshaw (16 September 1916 – 23 May 1978)

The first national Hero of St. Kitts and Nevis the Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewelyn Bradshaw, known affectionately as Papa Bradshaw is credited with leading St. Kitts and Nevis to Independence.

When the inaugural National Heroes Day was held on September 16, 1998, he was posthumously given the title of Knight Commander of the Order of The National Hero, thereby being named the nation’s first National Hero.

He was a legislator and labour activist and after the elections of 1966, Bradshaw was sworn in as Chief Minister. On February 27, 1967, he became the first Premier of the Associated State of St.Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla.

On the first National Heroes Day in 1998, the Golden Rock Airport in St. Kitts was renamed the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in his honour. The Social Security building in Basseterre is also named in his honour.

In 2007, the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw Memorial Park was dedicated at his birthplace in St. Paul’s. This park features a full-size sculpture of Bradshaw.

In 2010, the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw building was dedicated on the Windsor University School of Medicine campus in Cayon and the Robert L. Bradshaw Institute of Governance, Politics and Industrial Relations was launched on 2 March 2017.

National Hero’s Day is celebrated on his birthday, September 16th.

Bradshaw led the charge for independence but died only a few years before it came to fruition.

He died on May 23,1978 of prostate cancer at his home in Basseterre and was succeeded by his former deputy, Paul Southwell.

Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell (July 18, 1913 – May 18, 1979)

Following the death of Bradshaw in 1978, Sir Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell was appointed Premier.

Born in Dominica, Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell was a teacher, police officer, and trade unionist. A job in the Leeward Islands Police force brought him to St. Kitts which became his home.

In 1956 he became the first Chief Minister and from 1967 to 1978 served as Deputy Premier.

In 2004, Mr. Southwell was given the title of Knight Commander of the National Hero posthumously.

Southwell is said to have pioneered economic diversification in St. Kitts and Nevis. The industrial site is named in his honour and is called the C.A. Paul Southwell Industrial Park.

C.A. Paul Southwell died suddenly of heart disease (hypertension and coronary insufficiency) on the 18 May 1979 while chairing a meeting of the West Indies Associated States Council of Ministers in Castries, St. Lucia. He was 65. He had been Premier for less than a year.

Joseph Nathaniel France (16 September 1907 – 21 May 1997)

Sir Joseph Nathaniel France, KCMG, CBE  was born in Mt. Lily, Nevis. He travelled to St. Kitts at the age of 13 for vacation and was offered a job. He remained in St. Kitts working and raising a family until the time of his death.

He was a politician and trade union leader who assisted in re-shaping the structure of the Trade and Labour Union into the nineteen sections that exist today.

France served as a representative in the National Assembly and as Minister of Social Services under Chief Minister Paul Southwell. He was also the General Secretary for the St. Kitts and Nevis Trades and Labour Union.

Sir Joseph successfully contested nine General Elections- 1946, 1952, 1957, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1984.

In 1978, he was awarded the honour of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1996, France became a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. In 2004, he was posthumously granted the title of National Hero.

Sir Joseph died at age 89 on 21 May 1997.

The general hospital in St.Kitts was named in his honour for his invaluable contribution to the health sector.

National Heroes Day is also commemorated on his birthday.

Simeon Daniel (22 August 1934 – 27 May 2012)

Referred to as the Father of Modern Nevis, The Right Excellent Sir Simeon Daniel, NH was the first Premier of Nevis. He was a teacher, lawyer, civic activist, Premier of Nevis and the nation’s fourth National Hero.

Sir Simeon was among the founding members of a political party called the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) in 1970, which was formed in response to the Federal government’s neglect of Nevis.

He served as Chairman of the Local Council from 1972 to 1980 and was elected to the National Assembly in May 1975 and February 1980.

With Dr Kennedy Simmonds and the Peoples Action Movement (PAM) he and the other leaders of the Nevis Reformation Party formed the first coalition government to govern the affairs of St. Kitts and Nevis in 1980.  In the coalition, Sir Simeon assumed the portfolios of the Minister of Finance and Nevis Affairs on 19 February 1980.

He had a major role in framing the Independence Constitution of St. Kitts and Nevis, which led to the return of government to Nevis on Independence Day, September 19, 1983, with the formation of the Nevis Island Administration.

Sir Simeon was the first Premier of Nevis from 19 September 1983 (Independence Day) to 2 June 1992.

Outside of the political arena, Sir Simeon established the Bank of Nevis Ltd. in 1985. He also founded Daniel, Brantley & Associates, a full-service law firm.

In 2012, the Centre for the Performing Arts in Nevis was named in Sir Simeon’s honour and On 16 September 2013, he was awarded The Order of National Hero.

Sir Simeon died at his home in Brazier’s Estate, St. John’s Parish on Sunday, 27 May 2012 at the age of 77 after battling cancer.

Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds (born 12 April 1936)

The Rt. Excellent Rt. Hon. Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, KCMG is St. Kitts and Nevis’ first and only living National Hero.

Sir Kennedy was the Premier of St. Kitts and Nevis from 21 February 1980, until the twin-island state gained independence from the United Kingdom on 19 September 1983.

Upon independence, he became the first Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and served in that position from 1983 to 1995.

He was a founding member of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) party and was appointed President of the Peoples Action Movement (PAM) in 1975. Dr Simmonds contested and won the by-election in Central Basseterre called to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Premier Sir Robert L. Bradshaw.

He regained the Central Basseterre seat in successive elections in 1980, 1984, 1989 and 1993, but lost in 1995 and 2000.

Dr Simmonds resigned as Political Leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) in 2000 and retired from active politics that same year.

On the 16th of September 2004, the Rt. Hon Kennedy Simmonds was appointed a Knight Commander in the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael & Saint George (KCMG).

The announcement of the elevation of Sir Kennedy to the status of National Hero came in 2015. He was awarded for his contribution to nation-building at an investiture ceremony in 2016.

In 2019 the nation’s only living National Hero published his autobiography, ’The Making of a National Hero’, which documents the nation’s history and the part he played in its development.

In 2021, Sir Kennedy proudly received an honorary DSc from the University of the West Indies.

As has been done in previous years, the National Heroes were honoured this year at a ceremony punctuated with speeches and the laying of wreaths by family members and government officials at the National  Heroes Park.

Karla Berriidge
Loop

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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

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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

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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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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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