Football administration in St. Kitts and Nevis has a new president and executive. Former St. Kitts and Nevis national player Atiba Harris was on Sunday elected President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association at the 2021 SKNFA Ordinary Congress held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort. Majority of the members of his team that contested the elections were also elected on the new executive. Of the 26 votes available, Mr. Harris garnered 15 votes, while his challenger Don Grant got 11 votes. Mr. Grant served as first vice president in the outgoing SKNFA executive. Shawn White was elected first vice president and Cuthbert Caines second vice president. In his first address as President, Mr. Harris congratulated his fellow executive members and promised to raise the standard of football in St. Kitts and Nevis. “Looking forward to raising the standard of football in St. Kitts and Nevis. It’s going to be with inclusiveness, equality, fairness all across the board, both in St. Kitts and Nevis. Whatever is happening in St. Kitts should be happening in Nevis as well,” he said with applause from the audience. “I am looking for everybody’s support going forward. So, thank you for electing us and we are ready to work,” he added.
The other members of the SKNFA Executive are John Bergan (15 votes), Javeim Blanchette – (12 votes), Phil Cooper (14 votes), Patricia Claxton (14 votes), Ernest Queeley (14 votes), Alleyne Morris (13 votes) and Carlton Pinney (14 votes). Speaking shortly after the congress, Mr. Harris said his team, though new will bring some new ideas to the table, building on the gains already made by the previous executive. “The previous executive has been doing a good job. Getting insurance (for the players) and we are just looking on building on it so that St. Kitts and Nevis can be a strong reputable nation in world football,” he said.
He also wants to prioritize improving the stake of the various national teams of St. Kitts and Nevis. “Youth development—We got to look at the foundation and I think having consistent running programs will be vital for us going forward,” he said. I strongly believe we can qualify for a youth World Cup because its raw talent for talent at that level and we’re going to be pushing for that. Also, Women’s Football is something dear to me and we are going to be paying a lot of attention to this,” he promised.
The executive he said, would look at the current state of the various programs to determine the step forward. In the meantime, however, he stressed that the SKNFA Leagues will resume as soon as they would have received the greenlight from the health authorities.
“I think a tentative date was put out for September 18 however we have to revisit. We have to be careful because we are actually in a pandemic still and we have to be very cautious. With the numbers increasing we got to sit down with the Ministry of Health etc. also with the Minister of Sports (along with the COVID-19 Task Force) to see what’s the best way forward,” Harris said. “Once we get the go ahead, we look to start football immediately because I think that a lot of the clubs have been training, they’ve have been having friendly matches against each other and the footballers are eager to play some football along with the fans. I think we need to have fans back at our games because the fans bring the atmosphere so we want to have that solid atmosphere in football in St. Kitts and Nevis.” Mr. Harris was congratulated by outgoing president Anthony Johnson, who during the congress spoke of the accomplishments of the SKNFA under his tenure.
THE NGO SAVE THE CHILDREN is deeply concerned about the safety of foster children and children who have lost their parents in the recent earthquake in Haiti, as they are at risk of neglect, different forms of abuse or even trafficking.
An estimated 30 per cent of 48 children’s homes in the south of Haiti that care for about 1,700 children were damaged by the earthquake on 14 August, according to reports, forcing children onto the streets and sleeping outside. Some children are now being cared for by foster families.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake claimed around 2,200 lives with thousands more injured, and an unknown number of children having probably lost their parents. In crises like these, unaccompanied children face a higher risk of abuse and neglect, Save the Children warned.
Fabienne (not her real name), lives in one of the children’s homes where she helps to care for other children. She goes to a nursing school and was inside the building when the earthquake happened: “Because of the earthquake, we cannot go inside. We are sleeping outside, and looking at the house with no possibility to enter again. And also school has stopped, this is shocking.
“When it happened, we started to run and we ran all into each other. I was slightly injured and unfortunately when we got downstairs we saw dead bodies that were sent to funeral homes. Thank God the building didn’t fall.
“Life has changed in a way that I now feel traumatised. I am afraid that I don’t feel the aftershocks. I don’t want to go inside because I’m that stressed, that I don’t know whether to run or not.”
Save the Children has been helping some of the impacted foster homes with items like tarpaulin sheets, jerry cans and other basic goods, and is urging for extra protection for these already extremely vulnerable children. It also supported the reactivation of a coordinating group of organisations that work on protection.
“But more needs to be done urgently to keep them safe. We are worried about the risk of possible illegal adoption of vulnerable children from Haiti”, said Perpetue Vendredi, Save the Children’s deputy country director. “Hundreds of children were taken out illegally of the country after the 2010 earthquake by western organisations. That cannot happen again.”
After the earthquake of 2010 that claimed about 230,000 lives, children were illegally ‘adopted’ and taken to other countries with adoptions fast-tracked, although many children most likely still had at least one parent or other family. According to early estimations, between 1,000 and 2,000 children were taken out of Haiti in the first few months after the 2010 earthquake.
Ms Vendredi continued: “Often, children in foster homes still have at least one parent, but families don’t have the means to take care of them. That’s a heart-breaking decision to make for any parent, and instead of taking these children even further away from them, we need to tackle the root causes of why children are brought to foster homes – poverty, a lack of a future. Children who have lost their parents are far better off in their own communities, in foster families or with extended family.”
Children from foster homes that were impacted by this month’s earthquake need extra protection, and the foster homes need urgent support to ensure that they can shelter children in a child friendly and safe way and help them to cope with their experiences, Save the Children said.
Save the Children emphasised that foster homes are always the last resort for children and it is far better to find families who can take care of children if they are really orphans, preferably extended family.
The role of the Christian church in Caricom will be the focus of the Caribbean Apostolic Council’s first-ever Apostolic Virtual Conference on September 4 and 5.
Setting Things In Order is the theme for the conference which will bring together Christian leaders from across the region to examine the role of the church in advancing the spiritual, economic and social development of the Caribbean.
“This will not be a talk shop. We will be considering some real issues. We must contribute to the positive development of the region,” said Apostle Terrence Honore, president of the Council.
He said the sessions will not follow “the traditional model of theological debate.”
“This is about how the church relates in real-time, in a real way, to real problems,” Honore explained. “We are dealing with the immediacy of the challenges we face. This is not about pontificating about creating impact for change on the Caribbean community.”
Established in 2019, the Caribbean Apostolic Council is an independent, non-profit Christian organisation, committed to improving the quality of life of the people of the region. Key areas of focus include the convening of special meetings and conferences among apostolic leaders in the Caribbean; staging of special events to enhance the contribution of apostolic leaders to the Caribbean; conducting research and studies on topics of interests and issues within the region; and collaborating and working with governmental and other agencies to improve the quality of life of people in the Caribbean.
The organisation was formed out of a need to establish apostolic leadership “that is indigenous to the region, culturally relevant and biblically based proclaiming the word to the region…to speak to nations.”
A statement explaining its rationale reads: “It is essential that the people of this region break free of the constraining factors that have been endemic and have negated our efforts to unite and fulfil the purpose of the church in the region.
“We subscribe to and support the United Nations MDG’s “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and the application of goals and targets for our Caribbean community.”
The upcoming conference, comprising two four-hour sessions over the first weekend in September, with presentations from Christian leaders, as well as panel discussions involving ministers and professionals in a range of disciplines.
Apostle Praim Persaud, of Guyana, will speak on “The True Apostolic Church,” followed by Dr Brenda Pratt, of the Bahamas on “Navigating and Transitioning Through the Apostolic.” There will also be presentations by Apostle Dave Alleyne of T&T and Apostle of Gilberto Bakhuis of Curacao.
Security expert Garvin Heerah, the former head of the National Operations Centre and financial expert Moonilal Lalchan are among the Christian professionals who will share their expertise as subject matter experts in panel discussions that are also part of the programme.
Coming out of these sessions a summary document will be shared with Christian organisations across the Caribbean and position points will be collated and submitted to the Caricom Secretariat.
Honore said the Council has written to Caricom seeking a meeting.
“We want to find out how Caricom perceives the church,” he said, adding that the objective is to realign the church for the advancement of societies across the region using dialogue and a consultative approach.
Noting that the church has a strength like no other institution in the region, Honore said the Council’s purpose is to “shift the reality in our Caribbean communities.”
Registration details and more information on the virtual conference can be obtained by calling 373-4988 or 678-0272.
Hurricane Ida has knocked out power to all of New Orleans and inundated coastal Louisiana communities after making landfall on the same date that Hurricane Katrina hit the state 16 years ago.
Residents in low-income neighborhoods are hunkering down in their homes because they don’t have money for gas to flee the devastating storm.
In Afghanistan, rockets apparently aimed at Kabul’s international airport have struck a nearby neighborhood. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack that did not halt the steady stream of U.S. military C-17 cargo jets taking off and landing.
Meanwhile, Ed Asner, who played Lou Grant in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” has died.
Authorities order evacuations as wildfire threatens Lake Tahoe
Israel’s defense minister has held talks with the Palestinian president
Watchdog says North Korea appears to have restarted its main nuclear reactor
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Ida knocked out power to all of New Orleans and inundated coastal Louisiana communities on a deadly path through the Gulf Coast that was still unfolding and promised more destruction….Read More
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Witnesses say rockets have struck a neighborhood near Kabul’s international airport amid the ongoing U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The rockets struck Monday morning in Kabul’s Salim…Read More
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SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Fire officials ordered more evacuations around the Tahoe Basin as a two-week old blaze encroached on the threatened mountain towns surrounding glimmering Lake Tahoe. …Read More
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister held talks late Sunday with the Palestinian president in the first high-level meeting between the two sides in years, officials …Read More
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea appears to have restarted the operation of its main nuclear reactor used to produce weapons fuels, the U.N. atomic agency said, as th…Read More
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HAVANA, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Cuba, which to date had deployed exclusively its homegrown COVID-19 vaccines, will start also using the Sinopharm vaccine of its Communist-run ally China in its bid to battle one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world.
Health authorities will apply two doses of Sinopharm combined with a Cuban booster in the central province of Cienfuegos from Sunday, Vicente Verez, the head of the Cuban Finlay Vaccine Institute, was cited as saying by the provincial state-run outlet 5deSeptiembre.
The efficacy of the vaccine combo is above 90%, according to the outlet, without detailing where the data came from or whether Cuba’s drug regulator had authorized the use of the Chinese vaccine. The World Health Organization gave emergency approval to the Sinopharm shot in May.
Authorities who had said earlier this month they would be able to produce enough vaccines for all of Cuba by September did not explain why they were choosing to deploy a foreign one now.
“It seems obvious the decision to apply Sinopharm in Cienfuegos is associated to the limited availability of Cuban vaccines and the urgency caused by the explosion of cases,” said Brazil-based Cuban virologist Amilcar Perez Riverol.
The health ministry had said in May the plan was to have vaccinated 70% of the population by August but had so far only reached around 30%, said Perez Riverol, who has become a guru on Cuban COVID-19 data analysis, on Facebook.
Meanwhile, Cuba has one of the highest COVID-19 caseloads in the world which is overwhelming its vaunted healthcare system which is heavily focused on prevention and primary care.
The outbreak comes amid a shortage of basic goods including medicine that has fueled anger at the government, leading to unprecedented nationwide protests last month.
Cuban authorities, which blame the economic crisis largely on a tightening of U.S. sanctions, have hailed donations of medical gear and food since the protests from allies like China although it was unclear if the vaccines were donated or bought.
TOO LATE?
Government critics had long urged it to acquire foreign vaccines rather than simply relying on homegrown ones, accusing it of placing its desire for prestige and good publicity over health concerns. Authorities said they preferred to focus scant resources on vaccine development and production than imports.
U.S. President Joe Biden said last month the United States was prepared to send vaccines to Cuba if it was assured an international organization would administer them.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel retorted that if the United States cared about the island’s humanitarian situation, it would lift the U.S. sanctions they accuse amongst other things of slowing down production of its homegrown vaccines.
The country has developed an unusually large biotech sector for a country its size, partly in a bid for sovereignty given the decades-old crippling U.S. trade embargo.
It is the only Latin American country to have completed the development of two COVID-19 vaccines, Soberana 2 and Abdala, which have elicited interest from nations worldwide from Jamaica and Mexico to Vietnam and Argentina.
It says the three shot vaccines both have efficacy of over 90% although the data has not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals. It has authorized both for emergency use.
Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Additional Reporting by Nelson Acosta Editing by Marguerita Choy
BBC- A Brazilian woman has been sentenced to 31 years in prison for planning the murder of her husband, the former Greek ambassador to Brazil.
In 2016, Kyriakos Amiridis’ charred remains were found in the boot of a burnt-out car in Rio de Janeiro.
His wife Françoise de Souza Oliveira had been having an affair with a military police officer, Sergio Gomes.
Mr Gomes later confessed to killing the ambassador at the behest of his lover, and he has been jailed for 22 years.
At the end of their three-day trial, a judge described their crime as “bestial”.
Another man, Eduardo Moreira Tedeschi di Melo – a relative of Gomes – was acquitted of murder but has already served one year in prison for helping to hide Mr Amiridis’ body.
Mr Amiridis, 59, served as consul in Rio de Janeiro from 2001-04, and returned to Brazil as ambassador the year he was killed.
He married Françoise in 2004 and the couple have a daughter.
Before his death, Mr Amiridis had travelled from the capital, Brasilia, to the city of Nova Iguacu, north of Rio, to spend the Christmas holidays with his wife and her parents.
Mrs Amiridis first reported him missing, telling police that he’d left their flat without explanation and driven off in a rental car.
The burnt-out car was found the next day under a flyover, with the ambassador’s body inside.
Investigators found blood stains on a sofa in the flat where the couple had been staying, and it’s believed he was killed there before his body was taken away.
BBC- Tributes have been paid to the legendary Jamaican singer and music producer Lee “Scratch” Perry, who has died at the age of 85.
He died in hospital in Lucea, north-west Jamaica, local media reported.
Perry is known for his pioneering experiments in dub, which revolutionised not only reggae, but also hip hop, dance and other genres.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness called him “unforgettable” and praised his “sterling contribution” to music.
The Beastie Boys, who first worked with Perry when he opened for them in Japan in 1996 before they joined forces on the track Dr Lee PhD as party of 1998’s Hello Nasty album, hailed the musician’s “pioneering spirit”.
“We are truly grateful to have been inspired by and collaborated with this true legend,” the group said in a tweet.
Flying Lotus, whose real name is Steven Ellison, wrote on Twitter: “Blessed journey into the infinite. RIP Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry.”
Rapper Lupe Fiasco also remembered Perry, tweeting: “African blood is flowing through I veins so I and I shall never fade away.”
Music legends
Perry was born in rural Jamaica in 1936 and moved to the capital Kingston in the early 1960s.
In a 1984 interview with NME magazine, he said: “My father worked on the road, my mother in the fields. We were very poor. I went to school… I learned nothing at all. Everything I have learned has come from nature.”
He started his music career in the 1950s as an assistant at a reggae music label, before moving up to become a recording artist with the same label.
Over the next seven decades Perry went on to work with a number of fellow music legends, including Bob Marley and the Beastie Boys.
Pictured in 1984, said everything he learned had “come from nature”
He also won a Grammy in 2002, was nominated four other times – in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2014 – and received a Jamaican national honour, the Order of Distinction.
In a 2010 interview with Rolling Stone, Keith Richards described Perry as “the Salvador Dali of music”.
“He’s a mystery. The world is his instrument. You just have to listen,” Richards said. “More than a producer, he knows how to inspire the artist’s soul.”
Electronic group The Prodigy shared a photo of Perry on Twitter showing him at a mixing desk.
“RIP to the King”, wrote British rapper Ghostpoet,
If Bob Marley was the face and voice of reggae, Lee “Scratch” Perry was its soul.
He was a towering figure despite his diminutive stature and eccentric appearance, but his influence was much deeper than most reggae fans realise. Much like Nile Rodgers, he was the producer and brains behind many songs more famously sung by other people.
And it was his spirit that converted Marley’s band – The Wailers – from a rocksteady and ska trio to a much more bass-fuelled, political and spiritual group, a process later accelerated by Chris Blackwell.
Shamanistic and reliably stoned, “Scratch” nevertheless had a remarkable work ethic. He fell out with many of his collaborators, including the great Studio One boss Coxsone Dodd, and indeed The Wailers, though he and Marley would later reconcile.
But by coming to the height of his powers in late 1960s and 1970s Jamaica, he was a charismatic engineer and catalyst for the group of artists who produced much of the best music of the 20th century.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said he sees three alternatives for his future: prison, death or victory in next year’s presidential election.
The right-wing populist leader is trailing left-wing former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in the polls.
“I have three alternatives for my future: being arrested, killed or victory,” he told evangelical leaders.
But the former military officer said there was no chance of prison because “no man on Earth will threaten me”.
Mr Bolsonaro was nearly stabbed to death on the campaign trail in 2018. His remarks come amid fierce tensions between him and the country’s judiciary and election authorities.
CNW- Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness has reported that several hospitals across the island are facing a shortage of oxygen as the country sees a shape increase in its COVID-19 cases.
On Sunday, Jamaica set a new record for the highest total of daily COVID-19 cases, with 929 new COVID-19 infections and confirmed 21 deaths. The new cases moved the total number of infections to 66,663. Active cases are over 16,000.
Jamaica has an Oxygen shortage
In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said that “all hospitals were low in supply and some were out and had to be supplemented. At the same time, hospitalisations for COVID-19 stood at some 723, with 67 persons critically ill.”The Ministry said it was working with the country’s only supplier of medical oxygen, IGL Limited, who are seeking to have stores increased in the coming days.
All hospitals – through the regional technical directors at the regional health authorities (RHAs) and senior medical officers – have, in the interim, been instructed on oxygen conservation while the island awaits the restoration of supplies.
The ministry said that of particular concern are critically ill COVID-19 patients as well as non-COVID-19 patients in need of high amounts of oxygen. Surgeries will also not be performed as patients will not be able to be ventilated without oxygen.
The Ministry and the RHAs are doing everything possible to provide the best possible care for all persons, until oxygen stores can be restored.
The out patient department at the Mandeville Regional Hospital. Photo via Twitter.
In a release on August 26, the Ministry said that effective immediately, public hospitals islandwide “will be restricted to conducting emergency care services only. This comes as the public health facilities register continued increases in confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 infections that required hospitalisation. This has caused the facilities to exceed their COVID-19 isolation capacity.”
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie said that most hospitals are over the capacity of beds designated for COVID-19 management. As such, general hospital beds are being used for COVID-19 care.
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Covid Infections in England 26 Times Higher Than Last Year
Coronavirus infections in England are now 26 times the levels that were experienced this time last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. Scientists described the figures as “sobering”.
They warned that the reopening of schools in England this week was likely to trigger further rises in Covid cases – with more to follow when students return to universities and colleges. A fresh wave of infections could, in turn, lead to new social restrictions being imposed as winter approaches.
As a result, pressure is mounting on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to approve the deployment of booster jabs for vulnerable people and the extension of vaccinations to most 12- to 15-year-olds. The latter move would bring the UK into line with the US and most large European nations and is backed by most ministers.
Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at Reading University, said that in the week ending 20 August, the ONS estimated that 756,900 people in England were infected with Covid-19, which equated to one person in 70.
“This time last year, the ONS estimated that 28,200 people in England were infected. That is the equivalent of one person in 1,900 being infected with Covid-19. That means that community infections are 26 times more common now than they were a year ago, when the population was unvaccinated and the country was three months into its reopening.”
The fact that deaths and hospital admissions from Covid-19 are a fraction of their levels at the height of the outbreak in Britain demonstrates the protective power of the vaccines – more than 60% of the UK population has had two jabs.
“The last time infections were at their current level in England was late January,” said Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at the Open University. “There were around 2,300 daily hospital admissions and 1,100 deaths a day then. By contrast, the most recent daily figures for England are about 770 hospital admissions and about 80 deaths.”
However, the high case level across the country still worries scientists. “Increasing numbers of community infections still translate into growing numbers of very sick patients, and an unnecessarily high burden on the NHS,” said Clarke. He added that cooler autumn weather, leading to increased indoor social mixing, was likely to drive further increases in coming weeks.
“The end of summer holidays and return of people to work and education, without clear guidance on physical measures to avoid transmission such as mask wearing or social distancing, is also likely to push up infection rates.”
This point was backed on Saturday by Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) which advises the government. Speaking to Times Radio, he said September would be a key month for monitoring Covid-19 and argued that vaccinating younger age groups could provide protection beyond classrooms.
“Schools are no more risky than any other environment where people mix in close proximity to one another. But it’s what happens around schools – when schools go back, parents tend to return to work and people mix in other environments. If we have high levels of vaccination across younger age groups, it should provide both direct and indirect protection.”
Care was also going to be crucial later in the month when universities return, added Professor Linda Bauld, a behavioural scientist at Edinburgh University. “Universities will have to do three things: provide access to good regular testing; help to provide vaccines for students who have not hang similar measures might help to make university life more manageable this year.”
Havana, Aug 28 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday urged to remain vigilant about the consequences of Hurricane Ida in the country after heavy rains and strong winds.
On his Twitter account, the president called to ‘show the effectiveness of the Civil Defense of a State that protects its people.’
According to official sources, Hurricane Ida, a category one cyclone in the Saffir-Simpson scale, caused preliminary damage to crops in western Cuba, as well as loss of roofs on facilities, falling trees, power lines and telephone lines.
After directly affecting the Isla de la Juventud Special Municipality and Pinar del Rio province, the National Meteorology Institute reported that the hurricane left Cuba for the Gulf of Mexico.
‘Ida is moving away, a strong challenge, but the greatest of all remains and grows: #COVID19. Let us put our efforts at the height of the innovation of our science and sacrifice of health personnel,’ the head of State tweeted.
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