Tag Archives: caribbean

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AT&T, Verizon to Delay 5G Rollout Near Certain Airports Over Flight Disruption Fears

By Caroline Vakil
The Hill

AT&T and Verizon on Tuesday each agreed to temporarily delay their 5G rollouts near certain airports amid concerns over possible flight disruptions.

The move follows mounting outside pressure and comes amid warnings from U.S. airlines that new 5G wireless service that was set to start Wednesday could ground flights and leave potentially thousands of Americans stranded while also delaying goods.

“At our sole discretion we have voluntarily agreed to temporarily defer turning on a limited number of towers around certain airport runways as we continue to work with the aviation industry and the [Federal Aviation Administration] FAA to provide further information about our 5G deployment, since they have not utilized the two years they’ve had to responsibly plan for this deployment,” an AT&T spokesperson said in a statement.

AT&T told The Hill in an email that it had “temporarily deferred turning on C-Band transmitters within a two-mile radius of the airport runways specified by the FAA,” though the telecommunications giant did not disclose the affected airports.

Verizon, in their own statement, said it “voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports.”

Verizon’s statement also did not detail which airports are affected.

The trade association Airlines for America, which represents passenger and cargo airlines, previously singled out the use of the service near airports such as John F. Kennedy in New York and George Bush Airport in Houston in an emergency request with the Federal Communications Commission late last year to delay the 5G rollout.

Following the trade association’s emergency request, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Steve Dickson asked for a delay in both cellphone carriers’ 5G rollout.

AT&T and Verizon, which were slated to start rolling out 5G service earlier this month, agreed to hold off for several weeks at the request of Buttigieg and Dickson. The companies are now expected to begin deploying the service Wednesday.

But patience is wearing thin as airlines and top Democrats have requested that both cellphone carriers hold off on rolling out their services in certain areas close to airports amid concerns over possible flight disruptions.

“We are frustrated by the FAA’s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it do so in a timely manner,” the AT&T spokesperson said.

President Biden commended both companies for agreeing to place limits around their 5G service rollout.

“This agreement will avoid potentially devastating disruptions to passenger travel, cargo operations, and our economic recovery, while allowing more than 90 percent of wireless tower deployment to occur as scheduled,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “This agreement protects flight safety and allows aviation operations to continue without significant disruption and will bring more high-speed internet options to millions of Americans.”

Buttigieg thanked AT&T and Verizon in a statement for “working with us to protect the flying public and the country’s supply chain,” also noting the “economic importance of expanding 5G.

 

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W.H.O. – Pandemic Not Over, Europe Case Records, Online Test Ordering, Pfizer Antiviral, World Stats, More

Covid: WHO warns pandemic not over amid Europe case records

WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaking to reporters
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the idea that the Omicron variant is a mild illness “is misleading”

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a warning to world leaders that the coronavirus pandemic “is nowhere near over”.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned against the assumption that the newly dominant Omicron variant is significantly milder and has eliminated the threat posed by the virus.

The intervention comes as some European nations saw record new case numbers.

France reported nearly half a million new daily cases on Tuesday.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, more than 100,000 new infections were recorded in Germany within 24 hours on Wednesday.

Speaking during a news conference at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, Dr Tedros told reporters that the Omicron variant had led to 18 million new infections across the world over the past week.

While the variant may prove to be less severe on average, “the narrative that it is a mild disease is misleading,” he said.

“Make no mistake, Omicron is causing hospitalisations and deaths, and even the less severe cases are inundating health facilities.”

He warned global leaders that “with the incredible growth of Omicron globally, new variants are likely to emerge, which is why tracking and assessment remain critical”.

“I remain particularly concerned about many countries that have low vaccination rates, as people are many times more at risk of severe illness and death if they are unvaccinated,” he added.

The WHO’s emergencies director, Dr Mike Ryan, also warned that Omicron’s increased transmissibility is likely to drive a rise in hospitalisations and deaths, especially in nations where fewer people are vaccinated.

“An exponential rise in cases, regardless of the severity of the individual variants, leads to inevitable increase in hospitalisations and deaths,” he said.

Record daily case rises in Europe

New coronavirus infections have been growing across Europe as the new Omicron variant takes hold across the continent.

In Denmark, officials reported a record 33,493 new daily cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, while health authorities in Italy recorded 228,179 new infections, up from 83,403 the previous day. In Germany a record 112,323 new cases were reported on Wednesday, and the incidence rate of cases per 100,000 people also climbed to a new high of 584.4 over the past week.

France meanwhile reported 464,769 new daily infections on Tuesday, more than four times higher than Monday’s figure of 102,144 and a daily record for the pandemic. Infections have now climbed past a weekly average of over 300,000 new cases per day.

Women walk in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing Covid face masks, November 2021Image source, Getty Images
France reported a record daily rise in new infections on Tuesday

Amid the latest surge, French ministers are also facing a dispute with teachers’ unions, who have called for a second major strike this week to protest against the government’s Covid testing and isolation protocols, which they say are severely disrupting classes.

The move follows a one-day walkout last week that saw half of the country’s primary schools close.

Teachers say class disruptions have become unmanageable, with many parents struggling to get vaccination appointments for their children and long lines forming outside pharmacies as students wait for tests.

French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer. meanwhile. is facing calls to resign after it emerged he had announced a strict Covid-testing protocol for schools while he was on holiday in Ibiza.

There are however some early indications that the Omicron wave may have already peaked in some European countries.

In Ireland new cases have started to fall in recent days, with health minister Stephen Donnelly telling public broadcaster RTÉ that restrictions introduced over Christmas and the New Year period could be loosed by the end of the month.

Spanish government data has shown that new infections have started to fall for first time since the Omicron wave began two and a half months ago – although experts warned about reading too much into the data.

And in the UK, government ministers are set to review coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday amid a decline in daily infections

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Americans  can now order free rapid tests online

 

© Getty Images

After weeks of pharmacies selling out of rapid tests, Americans now have an easier option than scouring local retailers: a new government website that sends tests to your home.

COVIDTests.gov went live on Tuesday in a “limited capacity” to work out any issues ahead of an official launch on Wednesday, the White House said.

Any American can order rapid tests for free through the website, and they will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. All that is required is a name and mailing address; no credit card information is needed.

But, there are some major limits: Each residential address is limited to four tests. And the tests will usually take seven to 12 days to ship, the White House said.

President Biden has been facing pressure to expand access to testing given the shortages of rapid tests at retailers, as well as long lines at testing sites.

Many experts say the White House should have acted months ago to set up the kind of free rapid test program that is now launching.

With a limit of four tests per address, the website alone will not provide for the kind of frequent testing that many experts have called for.

Other option: As of Saturday, health insurers are also now required to cover up to eight rapid tests per month, though that process can be cumbersome in that it often requires people to pay up front and then submit their receipts for reimbursement from their insurer.

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Pfizer says antiviral effective against omicron

The Pfizer logo is displayed at the company's headquarters, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in New York City.

© Associated Press/Mark Lennihan

Lab studies show Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment pill Paxlovid to be effective against the omicron variant, the company announced Tuesday.

Pfizer said three separate lab studies showed nirmatrelvir, the drug’s main protease inhibitor, maintains its effectiveness against omicron. A protease inhibitor is a class of drugs that stop a virus from replicating.

Pfizer announced the findings in a press release and said it was submitting them to pre-print medical journals.

The emergence of the omicron variant has led to questions about the effectiveness of Paxlovid, as well as other COVID-19 treatments, because the variant has many more mutations compared to earlier strains.

Paxlovid is seen as a major step forward in the fight against the virus, with trials showing that it reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent in high-risk patients. Some experts have suggested that because the drug is a protease inhibitor, it won’t be as limited by mutations as other types of treatments.

The Food and Drug Administration last month authorized Paxlovid for use in high-risk patients. The fact that Paxlovid is a pill rather than an injection, as in previous treatments, is expected to make it more accessible and easier to take.

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AT LEAST 20 PERCENT OF AMERICANS HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH CORONAVIRUS

At least 20 percent of Americans have now been infected with COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows more than 66,400,000 Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began in early 2020. The country has seen more than 850,000 deaths.

The total number of Americans who had COVID-19 could be much higher due to asymptomatic cases.

About 63 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated, though that figure significantly varies by locality — from about 48 percent in Alabama and Wyoming to nearly 87 percent in Washington, D.C.

The omicron variant currently spreading across the country has proven far more transmissible than previous strains, even among vaccinated populations. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the variant accounts for 98 percent of all new infections.

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WORLD  STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

335,521,830

Deaths:

5,574,726

Recovered:

271,151,064
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

January 19 (GMT)

Updates

  • 1,173 new cases and 11 new deaths in Libya [source]
  • 1,281 new cases and 7 new deaths in Laos [source]
  • 33,899 new cases and 698 new deaths in Russia [source]

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USVI: Two Teens Murdered, Two Wounded in US Territory

Loop News- Two 17-year-old boys were shot dead last evening in the US Virgin Islands, with two other men wounded.

The US Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) reported that four men were brought to the Juan Francisco Luis Hospital and Medical Centre with gunshot wounds.

When cops arrived at the medical facility they found the teens in a vehicle unresponsive.

The teens have been identified as Odonnie Heywood of Concordia Manor and Jahny Ledesma of Canebrake Apartments.

The third adult victim was taken into the medical facility for treatment and is listed in stable condition.

The fourth gunshot victim was treated and released.

VIPD reported that the fourth victim told them that he was in Castle Coakley, near Thomas Bakery, around 9 o’clock when he observed a vehicle approaching and the occupants began shooting.

Sean Santos, St. Croix District Chief of Police, denounced this shooting, sending condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

“It is always sad when young men, full of promise, fall victim to senseless gun violence before that promise is realised,” Santos said.

He is encouraging everyone who saw what happened to call 911, the Crime TipLine at (340) 778-4950, or Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-8477 or online at p3tips.com to bring those responsible to justice.

A motive for the shooting was not revealed but Toby Derima, Public Information Officer of the Virgin Islands Police Department, told Loop Caribbean that cops are investigating all of the leads they have received thus far.

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REUTERS WORLD NEWS: Autocracies Outdo Democracies on Public Trust, Sunami-hit Tonga Islands Extensive Damage, G-5 Set to Cripple Airlines

 

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Reuters
The Reuters Daily Briefing

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

by Linda Noakes

Hello

Here’s what you need to know.

Autocracies outdo democracies on public trust, tsunami-hit Tonga islands suffered extensive damage, and Israel sees its Omicron wave waning in a week

Today’s biggest stories

A Southwest Airlines plane approaches San Diego International Airport, California, January 6, 2022.

U.S.

The chief executives of major U.S. passenger and cargo carriers warned of an impending “catastrophic” aviation crisis in less than 36 hours, when AT&T and Verizon are set to deploy new 5G service. The airlines said the service could render a significant number of widebody aircraft unusable. Read our explainer on the dispute over 5G and airline safety.

The family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and their supporters, some shouting, “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Voter suppression has got to go,” marched in Washington urging passage of a law to protect voters from racial discrimination. But Democrats will start their voting rights showdown with no clear path to victory.

The White House is preparing an alternative to its $1.75 trillion spending bill that will keep climate change measures but pare down or cut items like the child tax credit and paid family leave, hoping to appeal to Senator Joe Manchin and other Democrats as soon as this week, said two people working on the plan.

A U.S. appeals court handed a defeat to abortion clinics by delaying a legal challenge to a Texas law banning most abortions in that state. The Republican-backed law bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

A winter snowstorm creeping up the East Coast of the United States into Canada was expected to dump more than two feet of snow in some areas, grounding planes and stranding motorists.

A satellite image shows the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano after its main eruption, January 18, 2022.

WORLD


Tonga’s small outer islands suffered extensive damage from a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, with an entire village destroyed and many buildings missing, a Tongan diplomat said, raising fears of more deaths and injuries. Here’s why Tonga could be cut off from the rest of the world for weeks.

An air strike killed about 14 people in a building in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, residents said, during strikes across the city launched by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi group. The alliance strikes followed an attack claimed by the Iran-aligned Houthis yesterday on coalition partner the United Arab Emirates.

Public trust in governments running the world’s democracies has fallen to new lows over their handling of the pandemic and amid a widespread sense of economic pessimism, a global survey has found. The Edelman Trust Barometer conversely showed rising scores in several autocratic states, notably China.

Israel will continue to offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot despite preliminary findings that it is not enough to prevent Omicron infections, a senior health official said, predicting cases stoked by the variant will wane in a week.

Mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik gave a Nazi salute as he entered court for a parole hearing that will decide if he should be released after spending more than a decade behind bars. Breivik, a far-right extremist, killed 77 people in Norway’s worst peacetime atrocity in July 2011.
BUSINESS

The Biden administration is reviewing e-commerce giant Alibaba’s cloud business to determine whether it poses a risk to U.S. national security, according to three people briefed on the matter, as the government ramps up scrutiny of Chinese technology companies’ dealings with U.S. firms.

When Christian Hurtz opened his electricity bill just before New Year, his jaw dropped: it had more than trebled from the rate he signed up for. The 41-year-old software developer from Cologne, Germany, is one of millions of Europeans who have seen their energy costs balloon as providers go out of business because of soaring gas prices or pass them on to customers.

British employers added a record 184,000 staff to their payrolls in December, showing little impact from the Omicron variant of coronavirus, while job vacancies hit a new record high, potentially fueling the Bank of England’s inflation worries.

The Bank of Japan raised its inflation forecasts but said it was in no rush to change its ultra-loose monetary policy, as rising prices fan speculation it may soon signal a shift in its decade-old stimulus experiment.

If playing catch up with Tesla is what everyone in the auto industry is about then Stellantis, the company formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot, has had a good start – its shares have far outpaced its U.S. rival in its inaugural year. But this is just the first lap

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Nevis’ Paradise Beach Named Tops in Caribbean Travel Awards

Dionne Baptiste

Loop

Paradise Beach Resort has been named “Best Resort Villa of the Year” in the 2021 Caribbean World Travel and Living Awards.

The luxurious resort, nestled along the western shoreline of Nevis features a collection of eight secluded villas and five beach houses.

Each villa has private pools and kitchens, ideal for small or large groups of friends and corporate retreats.

Chief Executive Officer of the Nevis Tourism Authority, said: “We are delighted to see Paradise Beach Resort recognised as the best in class in the Caribbean when it comes to villa resorts. Their luxury villas and beach houses perfectly showcase just how exquisite a trip to Nevis can be.”Nevis was also shortlisted in the “Best Wedding Island”, “Best Honeymoon Island” and “Best Golf Island” categories.

In its 27th year, the Caribbean World Travel and Living Awards celebrate the best that the Caribbean has to offer while highlighting hotels, resorts, islands and industry personnel that have exceeded expectations over the last year.

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Barbados PM Mottley, Who Broke with UK, Hopes for Election Boost

Pollsters predict a comfortable win for Mia Mottley, but she faces criticism of running a ‘one-party state’

She wowed Cop26 by castigating dithering global leaders for inflicting a “death sentence” on island nations and then made headlines around the world when she ditched the Queen as head of state, installing the singer Rihanna as an official national hero.

On Wednesday, the Barbados prime minister, Mia Mottley, hopes her soaring international profile will translate into a second term when the country goes to the polls in a snap general election.

Like Rihanna, whose umbrella is now exhibit No 1 in the Museum of Barbados, Mottley is known locally just by her first name. Her Barbados Labour party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in the 2018 election, is running with the slogan: “It’s safer with Mia – stay the course.” Bumper stickers dismiss the opposition with the legend: “Dem rest ain’t ready.”

She called the election on 27 December, more than a year earlier than necessary. Her opponents accuse her of disenfranchising more than 5,500 Bajans who are in Covid-19 quarantine and will be unable to vote as the Omicron variant sweeps Barbados.

On Monday night, Mottley embarked on a tour of the island, which has a population of 287,000.

Arriving at a basketball court in Gall Hill in the eastern parish of St John, she danced to her dancehall campaign song Mia Encore and launched into a speech that concentrated on hyperlocal issues: craterous potholes that make driving in the east “like a Disneyland ride” and the upgrading of pit toilets – open latrines still common in some parts of an island famed as a playground for the rich and famous.

Other campaign pledges include building 10,000 homes and developing a Barbadian wealth fund to give Bajans cash from government assets and land.

Wearing gold hoop earrings and a red “Safer With Mia” branded jacket, she then rushed off to Carrington Village in St Michael on the west coast where she went on the defensive about the “fake news” briefings in the weekend papers.

Lucille Moe, a former minister who is advising the opposition Democratic Labour party (DLP) after Mottley sacked her last year, called Mottley a dictator in an interview. “She is autocratic and does not allow anyone to have an opposing view or opinion. Everyone must be in the Mia Mottley choir,” said Moe.

Mottley’s administration has also been criticised for accepting investment from the Chinese government, including a US$115m (£84m) loan for road repairs and $210m (£154m) to upgrade the water and sewage system on the south coast.

But she was at pains to tell the loyal crowd in Gall Hill that she wanted wealth to stay in Barbados. “We are not only concentrating on people from overseas,” she said.

Chinese contractors are rebuilding Sam Lord’s Castle, once the island’s landmark hotel. The BLP has pledged to divest its ownership of the site and offer shares in it “as an investment opportunity to ordinary Barbadians and to the credit union movement”.

An MP since she was 28, Mottley is Barbados’s first female prime minster and the eighth since the island declared independence from the UK in 1966.

The DLP, which was in power from 2008 to 2018 before its electoral wipeout, is largely trying to win votes by arguing Barbados needs an opposition.

Its leader, Verla de Peiza, a UK-educated lawyer like Mottley, has spoken out against the “one-party state”. Her manifesto promises a more socially democratic Barbados, “much more than a cosmetic republic”, as well as a rethink of the island’s tourism industry to focus on “heritage tourism, eco-agro tourism, the yachting community and community-based tourism”.

Pollsters predict a comfortable win for the BLP and Mottley, with the party losing a handful of seats to the DLP.

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Maya Angelou the First Black Woman on US Quarter Coin

By Suzzanne Cousins

“’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”

These are the famed words of Maya Angelou, American author, poet, and Civil Rights activist. She is one of five women receiving honor from The United States Mint under its American Women Quarters Program (AWQ).

The US Mint said Monday it has begun shipping quarters featuring the image of Angelou. Hers is the first coin launched under the program.

The quarter design depicts Angelou with outstretched arms. Behind her are a bird in flight and a rising sun, images inspired by her poetry.

Today, there are thousands of inspirational quotes by Maya Angelou, making her one of the most quoted African-American poets of all time. But her rise to fame dates back to 1969 when she published her flagship book, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. Furthermore, Angelou was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 by President Barack Obama, four years before her passing at age 86.

The mint’s program seeks to issue 20 quarters over the next four years honoring women and their achievements in shaping the nation’s history.

Additional honorees in 2022 will be a physicist and first woman astronaut Sally Ride and Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Also, other women receiving recognition include Nina Otero-Warren and Anna May Wong. Otero-Warren was a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools. Wong is famous for being the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood.

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Guatemala Pushes Back 622 Migrants from U.S.-Bound Caravan

GUATEMALA CITY, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Guatemalan authorities said on Monday they have sent back more than 600 migrants who entered the country in a caravan that was bound for the United States.

Guatemala’s foreign ministry said 622 people, mainly from Honduras and Nicaragua, entered through border posts with Honduras, with minors making up about a quarter of the group.

The caravan left Honduras on Saturday but was largely broken up over the weekend. Video images showed Guatemalan police using riot shields to stop a large group of migrants from pushing forward. The authorities said some people made illegal crossings as well.

The Guatemalan ministry said the migrants, who are mostly men, were returned to their nations or the country from which they entered Guatemala because they did not meet immigration or health requirements. Fifteen Cubans were returned to Honduras.

Migrants elsewhere said they would press on with plans to cross Central America in a northward direction.

“We can’t go on another day here … I want to get to the United States,” said a Nicaraguan man who planned to leave his country on Monday and asked not to be named.

The U.S. government has sought help from Central American nations and Mexico to prevent large groups of people from heading north to the U.S. border. Several U.S.-bound caravans have left Central America in recent months as people from across Latin America and the Caribbean flee poverty and violence, but the groups have largely broken up during the difficult route.

Guatemala’s consulate in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Monday said it was assisting close to 300 Guatemalans, including 55 unaccompanied minors, who were detained as they were being transported in a truck along with 65 people of other nationalities.

The consulate said in a statement it would follow up with each Guatemalan after medical examinations so that “they can return to Guatemala soon.”

Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Sofia Menchu Writing by Drazen Jorgic Editing by Paul Simao

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Peru Communities Reject Latest Proposal to End Las Bambas Mine Conflicts

By

SAYHUA, Peru, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Leaders of a group of Peruvian communities said in a public hearing on Monday that they rejected a government proposal to prevent future blockades affecting the Las Bambas copper mine.

Capacmarca district leaders said they would analyze the proposal for 15 days before deciding whether to once again block the mining road used by Las Bambas to transport its copper onto a seaport. read more

The road has been blocked by local communities since Las Bambas, owned by China’s MMG 1208.HK began operations in 2016. Blockades have totaled over 400 days on and off since then and most recently forced the mine to suspend operations in December.

The refusal to sign the proposal, which would have committed Las Bambas to financially support Ccapacmarca, is a blow for the government of leftist President Pedro Castillo. His administration has tried to prioritize the needs of poor mining communities while also relying on profits from the sector.

Las Bambas is one of Peru’s largest copper mines. The Andean nation is the world’s No. 2 copper producer and mining is a key source of tax revenue for the country.

Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun, writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by David Gregorio

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro to Visit Suriname and Guayana for Talks on Oil Cooperation

BRASILIA, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will visit Suriname and Guayana on Thursday and Friday for talks on economic cooperation following recent discoveries of oil and gas by Brazil’s two neighbors, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Bolsonaro and the presidents of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, and Guayana, Irfaan Ali, will hold a working lunch in the Surinamese capital Paramaribo on Thursday to discuss “projects of common interest,” a ministry statement said.

It said the three governments were resuming a strategic dialogue at a time of “prospects for greater economic and social development in Suriname and Guyana, driven by recent discoveries of oil and gas.”

Representatives of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) are expected to accompany Bolsonaro for talks on cooperation in oil and gas and possible investments.

Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Karishma Singh

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