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Tag Archives: caribbean
Thousands turn out to do business after recent lockdown
Thousands in St. Kitts turned out on Thursday to conduct business all around Basseterre after five days of lockdown. Long lines could be witnessed at major businesses that were allowed to operate.
Banks, supermarkets, the Inland Revenue and other financial services were packed with individuals trying to get business done before the 24-hour lockdown returns Saturday.
The longest lines observed by this publication were seen at both branches of National Bank and at Ram’s Supermarket on Bay Road.
The Observer spoke to one female who was in the line at Ram’s, who said that on Saturday she tried to do her shopping but ran out of time, and had to shop at a local shop in her community. She said she would wait however long it took to ensure she gets all her shopping done at Ram’s on Thursday.
Chair of the COVID-19 Task Force, Abdias Samuel, thanked all the food distributors and retailers throughout the federation for their patience and cooperation. He also acknowledged the police for facilitating the retailers – allowing their staff to restock their shelves and allowing them to go to their distributors for food items to restock.
Samuel also appealed to the public to only travel if necessary.
“I want to appeal to the general public: if you do not have to leave your homes, please stay at home.”
He urged all to consider one person from your household to shop on your behalf.
Samuel also implored the businesses to adhere to the protocols for the two off-days.
“I am asking retailers and distributors to do their best to ensure these protocols are followed. Please ensure you limit the number of persons as per the capacity of 30 square feet per person within your establishment, and also ensure you have persons monitoring the highly touched areas and frequent sanitizing is done.”
He pleaded with public transport service providers to do the same.
“I want to reach out to the public transport service providers. Please ensure your customers sanitize their hands before entering your vehicle, and also, they wear their masks where they are going.”
Divisional Commander for District A, Superintendent Cromwell Henry, urged persons to avoid situations that put them at risk of infection.
“We continue to solicit the cooperation of all, as we strive to flatten the curve. We have been getting good cooperation and we continue to urge such cooperation
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South Africa’s Zuma Jailed for Corruption
Former South African President Jacob Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail yesterday by the country’s top court after failing to appear at a corruption inquiry.
Zuma, 79, is accused of financial scandals during his 2009-18 tenure known as “state capture”—where the corruption runs so deep it influences the decision-making process.
Zuma, an associate to Nelson Mandela and leader of South Africa for nearly a third of its post-apartheid history, alleges the probe is politically motivated. In place of appearing at court, the former president instead publicly released a letter addressed to the chief justice (read here), accusing the panel of bias.
Zuma has had a rocky legal history. He pleaded not guilty last month to corruption charges over a 1999 arms deal with a French manufacturer in which he allegedly took bribes while he was deputy president. He would be the first former South African leader to be imprisoned after his term.
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Storm Warnings Up as Elsa Moves into Caribbean
MIAMI (AP) – Tropical Storm Elsa has formed over the tropical Atlantic on Thursday morning and is expected to cause heavy rains that may lead to isolated flash flooding and mudslides in the Caribbean.
Elsa is the earliest fifth named storm on record, beating out last year´s Eduardo which formed on July 6, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Elsa had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kmh) with higher gusts and was 865 miles (1,390 kilometers) east-southeast of the Windward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (168 kilometers) from the center. It was moving west at 25 mph (40 kmh). An even faster motion to the west-northwest is expected over the next 24 to 36 hours.
The storm is expected to pass near or over portions of the Windward Islands or the southern Leeward Islands on Friday, move into the eastern Caribbean Sea late Friday and Friday night, and move near the southern coast of Hispaniola on Saturday.
Elsa is forecast to produce rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 centimeters) with maximum totals of 8 inches (20 centimeters) inches on Friday across the Windward and southern Leeward Islands, including Barbados. This rain may produce isolated flash flooding and mudslides.
Tropical storm warnings have been issued for Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Guadeloupe.
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World View: Trump Co. Indictment, Heat Death Hundreds, China’s Centenary, More
July 1, 2021
The Associated Press
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The Rundown
New York prosecutors are expected to announce the first criminal indictment Thursday in a two-year investigation into Donald Trump’s business practices, accusing his namesake company and its longtime finance chief of tax crimes related to fringe…Read More
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and released him from prison Wednesday in a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as “America’s Dad,” ruling that the prosecutor…Read More
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*****@SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Hundreds of deaths in in Canada, Oregon and Washington may have been caused by the historic heat wave that baked the Pacific Northwest and shattered all-time temperature records in usually temperate cities. …Read More
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BEIJING (AP) — China will not allow itself to be bullied and anyone who tries will face “broken heads and bloodshed in front of the iron Great Wall of the 1.4 billion Chinese people,” President Xi Jinping said at a mass gathering Thursday to mar…Read More
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SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — As the search for survivors of a Florida condo collapse enters its second week, rescue crews and relatives of those still missing are scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden Thursday, in a visit many are hoping will prov…Read More
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OTHER TOP STORIES
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel, a world leader in coronavirus vaccinations, reported its highest daily infection rate in three months as it scrambles to contain the spread of…Read More
PARIS (AP) — The musical notes waft through the apartment window, from the fast-moving fingers of the accordion player serenading restaurant diners below. For years, the wan…Read More
LONDON (AP) — Will one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine protect me? Yes, but not nearly as much as if you had both doses. Experts recommend getting fully vaccinated, espec…Read More
DIVJAKA, Albania (AP) — The pandemic has brought one good thing to western Albania’s Divjaka-Karavasta Lagoon — badly needed peace and quiet for endangered mating pelicans, a…Read More
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Jamaica Joins Call for Lifting US-Cuba Embargo
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BY BALFORD HENRY |
JAMAICA’S Parliament on Tuesday approved a United Nations resolution condemning the prolonged United States economic embargo against Cuba.
Minister of state for culture, gender, entertainment and sports, Alando Terrelonge, reminded the House of Representatives that the Government, as has been the case with all previous Jamaican Administrations since 1992, supports Cuba in its efforts to survive the economic blockade.
Although the resolution was passed a week after 184 of the 193-member United Nations’ General Assembly voted in favour, with only the United States and Israel voting against, members of the local Parliament gave full support to the resolution which overwhelmingly condemned the American economic embargo on Cuba for the 29th year.
This response from the US means President Joseph Biden chose to maintain former President Donald Trump Administration’s vote against the resolution last year, and a refusal to return to the Obama Administration’s 2016 decision to abstain. Three countries — Colombia, Ukraine, and Brazil — abstained this time.
Describing Cuba as a “friend to humanity”, Terrelonge recalled that, for decades, the US embargo against Cuba has caused much financial and humanitarian harm to the people of Cuba, and has resulted in a great injustice “that must be described as a global travesty to the people of Cuba”.
He added: “For decades the United Nations has voted and continuously voted more than 20 times that this unlawful and illegal blockade be dismantled. Notwithstanding, the United States of America and Israel were the sole two nations during the most recent vote of June 23, 2021, that voted for the continuance of the blockade.
He added that at some point, “the international community must mature beyond seeing differences in political ideology as valid reasons to label sovereign neighbours, as with the case of the US and Cuba, as terrorists or sponsors of terrorism”.
Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Lisa Hanna, criticised the United States for “intensifying” the embargo over the years
“The embargo has not allowed the full potential of our relationship with Cuba to flourish,” she said.
She added that ending the embargo was not only a US/Cuba issue, but was also crucial to the national interests of other Caribbean countries, many of whom have benefited from Cuba’s generosity. She suggested that the Biden Administration rethink its position on the issue.
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Haiti: 15 Killed in Capital Shooting Rampage, US Condems Violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – A shooting rampage down a main street running through a neighborhood in Haiti’s capital killed at least 15 people, including a journalist and a political activist, national Police Chief Leon Charles said Wednesday.
He said the attack late Tuesday was still under investigation and gave no details on whether it was staged by a single person or multiple shooters. Bodies were found scattered on sidewalks along a main road in Delmas 32, which is a bustling community within Port-au-Prince.
Charles said the shootings occurred just hours after a spokesman for a group of disgruntled police officers known as Fantom 509 was slain in that same area. He blamed allies of Fantom 509 for the mass killing but did not provide any evidence.
“The institution cannot tolerate these acts of reprisal in any form,” said Charles, who heads Haiti’s National Police.
Members of Fantom 509 could not be immediately reached for comment.
The dead included Diego Charles, who worked for Radio Vision 2000, and activist Antoinette Duclaire.
The killings shocked many in Haiti and come as gang violence escalates elsewhere in the capital in recent months.
The U.S. Embassy condemned the slayings in a statement, saying it was “deeply concerned by the loss of life and general insecurity.”
“The United States urges the government of Haiti to protect its citizens by countering the proliferation of gangs and by holding the perpetrators of violence and their accomplices accountable,” the embassy said.
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US Condemns Violence, Human Rights Violations
PORT-AU-PRINCE, June 30 (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday condemned what it described as a systematic violation of human rights, fundamental freedoms and attacks on the press in Haiti, urging the government to counter a proliferation of gangs and violence.
Violence has spiked in the impoverished Caribbean nation as rival gangs battle with one another and the police for control of the streets, displacing thousands and worsening a humanitarian crisis.
On Tuesday night, at least 15 people were killed in apparent retaliation for the murder of police union member Guerby Geffrard, said Leon Charles, director general of the national police force, at a news conference. Among those killed were two journalists.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the loss of life and general insecurity as a result of gang-related violence,” the U.S. embassy in Haiti said on Twitter.
“Violence, corruption and impunity have impeded Haiti’s development goals and the Haitian people’s aspirations for a better life for too long.”
Armed groups have become increasingly powerful in Haiti in recent years because of political unrest, growing poverty and a sense of impunity, rights organizations like the nonprofit Center for Human Rights Analysis and Research have said.
Elections slated for September could be a factor for the recent uptick in violence against police, which is not equipped to deal with gang members who have acquired ever more sophisticated weapons.
Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-au-Prince and Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien
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COVID-19 Cases Worsen in Latin America, Caribbean-No End in Sight
BRASILIA, June 30 (Reuters) – Cases of COVID-19 may be declining in North America but in most of Latin America and the Caribbean the end to the coronavirus pandemic “remains a distant future”, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.
While infections in the United States, Canada and Mexico are falling, in Latin America and the Caribbean cases are rising and vaccination is lagging badly. Only one in ten people have been fully vaccinated, which PAHO director Carissa Etienne called “an unacceptable situation.”
“While we are seeing some reprieve from the virus in countries in the Northern Hemisphere, for most countries in our region, the end remains a distant future,” she said.
The regional health agency discouraged summer holiday travel in the Americas now that movement restrictions are being lifted as more people are vaccinated in the Northern Hemisphere and travel destinations, such as the Caribbean, reopen for tourists.
Even people who have been vaccinated can become sick and spread COVID, Etienne said in a weekly briefing.
“Given the significant gaps in vaccine coverage and the still imminent risk of infection, now may not be the ideal time for travel – especially in places with active outbreaks or where hospital capacity may be limited,” she said.
Noting that the hurricane season in the Caribbean is arriving at a time when outbreaks are worsening, Etienne urged countries to outfit hospitals and expand shelters to reduce the potential for transmission. Social distancing and proper ventilation become difficult during storms, she said.
The highly transmissible Delta variant has already been detected in a dozen countries in the Americas, but so far community transmission has been limited, said PAHO viral disease advisor Jairo Mendez.
However, it has been found in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, the United States and Mexico, where it has spread in Mexico City, according to PAHO.
Given the presence of such variants, countries in the region should step up vigilance and consider the need to limit travel or even close borders, PAHO health emergencies director Ciro Ugarte said.
According to a Reuters tally, there have been at least 37,441,000 reported infections and 1,272,000 confirmed deaths caused by COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean so far, one third more than in Asia and Africa combined.
Reporting by Anthony Boadle Editing by Sonya Hepinstall
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Mexico: Carlos Slim to Pay for Rebuilding Collapsed Rail Overpass
(CNN) Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim will pay for all the costs needed to rebuild Mexico City’s subway overpass-stretch, which left 26 dead after it collapsed last month, according to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Lopez Obrador said during his daily press briefing on Wednesday that he met with Slim, and that the billionaire assured the President that his construction firm “will pay for everything” needed for the reconstruction of Mexico City’s Subway Line 12 overpass.
“He will take care of the reconstruction of the entire [subway line] stretch, making sure that it gets done with all the necessary safety [measures] at no cost to the [Mexican] people and without asking [the government] for a budget,” Lopez Obrador said.
Slim “will not wait for the judicial [final investigation findings],” and will begin coordinating with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum “so that in a year” the line will be open and operational once again, Lopez Obrador added.
The Carlos Slim Foundation declined to comment on Lopez Obrador’s statement when reached by CNN, as did Mexico City authorities.
Dozens of people lost their lives when an elevated portion of Line 12 known as the “Golden Line” collapsed in Mexico City on May 3.
The subway line had been touted as one of the most expensive and ambitious public works projects in Mexican history when it was inaugurated in October 2012.
The highly publicized ribbon-cutting was attended by the who’s-who of Mexican politics and power at the time, including then-president Felipe Calderón and Marcelo Ebrard, who was then in his last days as Mexico City’s mayor and is now foreign minister.
Carlos Slim, the owner of one of the construction companies involved, was also there.
Now, an independent investigation by the Norwegian firm DNV and a separate investigation by the local attorney’s office are looking into the causes of the deadly collapse, as well as those involved in the construction project, including Slim himself.
According to the investigation’s preliminary findings, deficient welding of metal studs, which apparently were not well connected to steel beams supporting a concrete slab and the elevated train rails, was among a number of issues that contributed to the May 4 incident.
The report said missing metal studs in some sections of the structure, different kinds of concrete used for the slab and unfinished or badly welded joints were some of the other factors that caused the raised railway to buckle, sending two subway carriages plummeting to the streets below.
Reporting contributed by CNN’s Natalie Gallon and Karol Suarez in Mexico City.
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Canada: Record Heat, 230 Deaths, Wild Fire Forces Town Evacuation
(CNN)A day after a village in British Columbia saw Canada’s highest recorded temperature, the residents of Lytton have been ordered to evacuate due to a wildfire.
Mayor Jan Polderman issued the evacuation order late Wednesday, according to a news release from the Village of Lytton. “All residents are advised to leave the community and go to a safe location,” it said.
Lytton, which is located about 195 miles east of Vancouver, has a population of 249 residents.
“It’s dire. The whole town is on fire,” Polderman told CBC News. “It took, like, a whole 15 minutes from the first sign of smoke to, all of a sudden, there being fire everywhere.”
“At the First Nation band office, the fire was a wall about three, four feet high coming up to the fence line. I drove through town, and it was just smoke, flames, the wires were down,” Polderman told the Canadian broadcast network.
DriveBC, which provides information on driving conditions in the province, is reporting that two wildfires have closed highways to the north and south of Lytton.
In a tweet early Thursday, the BC Wildfire Service said it was responding to the “evolving situation” in Lytton by assisting the village’s fire service.
The nearby city of Merritt has opened a reception center for evacuees from Lytton, according to its Facebook page.
Temperatures in Lytton climbed to 121° F (49.5° C) on Tuesday, the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada. It was the third day in a row that records were smashed in the area, according to ECCC Weather British Columbia.
There are currently 67 fires burning in British Columbia and 44 of those have begun in the last two days, according to the B.C. Wildfire Dashboard.
To date, the province has experienced 450 fires this year, it said.
The extreme temperatures have had devastating impact on the province as more the 230 deaths have been reported in British Columbia since Friday, officials said Tuesday.
The province’s chief coroner called it an “unprecedented time.”
“Since the onset of the heat wave late last week, the BC Coroners Service has experienced a significant increase in deaths reported where it is suspected that extreme heat has been contributory,” Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a statement.
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