Tag Archives: caribbean

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Capitol Attack: Trump Being Probed Over Potential Criminal Conspiracy

Messages between Mark Meadows and others suggest the Trump White House coordinated efforts to stop Joe Biden’s certification

The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is examining whether Donald Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy on 6 January that connected the White House’s scheme to stop Joe Biden’s certification with the insurrection, say two senior sources familiar with the matter.

Though Biden never mentioned Trump by name, he was explicit in blaming the former president for fomenting the violence of a year ago.
Biden condemns Trump’s ‘web of lies’ a year on from deadly Capitol assault

The committee’s new focus on the potential for a conspiracy marks an aggressive escalation in its inquiry as it confronts evidence that suggests the former president potentially engaged in criminal conduct egregious enough to warrant a referral to the justice department.

Donald Trump

House investigators are interested in whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy after communications turned over by Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and others suggested the White House coordinated efforts to stop Biden’s certification, the sources said.

The select committee has several thousand messages, among which include some that suggest the Trump White House briefed a number of House Republicans on its plan for then-vice president Mike Pence to abuse his ceremonial role and not certify Biden’s win, the sources said.

The fact that the select committee has messages suggesting the Trump White House directed Republican members of Congress to execute a scheme to stop Biden’s certification is significant as it could give rise to the panel considering referrals for potential crimes, the sources said.

Members and counsel on the select committee are examining in the first instance whether in seeking to stop the certification, Trump and his aides violated the federal law that prohibits obstruction of a congressional proceeding – the joint session on 6 January – the sources said.

The select committee believes, the sources said, that Trump may be culpable for an obstruction charge given he failed for hours to intervene to stop the violence at the Capitol perpetrated by his supporters in his name.

But the select committee is also looking at whether Trump oversaw an unlawful conspiracy that involved coordination between the “political elements” of the White House plan communicated to Republican lawmakers and extremist groups that stormed the Capitol, the sources said.

Trump supporters clash with security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021.
Trump supporters clash with security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021. Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images

That would probably be the most serious charge for which the select committee might consider a referral, as it considers a range of other criminal conduct that has emerged in recent weeks from obstruction to potential wire fraud by the GOP.

The vice-chair of the select committee, the Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, referenced the obstruction charge when she read from the criminal code before members voted unanimously last November to recommend Meadows in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify.

The Guardian previously reported that Trump personally directed lawyers and political operatives working from the Willard hotel in Washington DC to find ways to stop Biden’s certification from happening at all on 6 January just hours before the Capitol attack.

But House investigators are yet to find evidence tying Trump personally to the Capitol attack, the sources said, and may ultimately only recommend referrals for the straight obstruction charge, which has already been brought against around 275 rioters, rather than for conspiracy.

The justice department could yet charge Trump and aides separate to the select committee investigation, but one of sources said the panel – as of mid-December – had no idea whether the agency is actively examining potential criminality by the former president.

A spokesperson for the select committee declined to comment on details about the investigation. A spokesperson for the justice department declined to comment whether the agency had opened a criminal inquiry for Trump or his closest allies over 6 January.

Still, the select committee appears to be moving towards making at least some referrals – or alternatively recommendations in its final report – that an aggressive prosecutor at the justice department could use to pursue a criminal inquiry, the sources said.

Vice-President Mike Pence presides over the joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden as the next US president in the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
US Capitol attack: Liz Cheney says Mike Pence ‘was a hero’ on 6 January

The select committee is examining the evidence principally to identify legislative reforms to prevent a repeat of Trump’s plan to subvert the election, but members say if they find Trump violated federal law, they have an obligation to refer that to the justice department.

Sending a criminal referral to the justice department – essentially a recommendation for prosecution – carries no formal legal weight since Congress lacks the authority to force it to open a case, and House investigators have no authority to charge witnesses with a crime.

But a credible criminal referral from the select committee could have a substantial political effect given the importance of the 6 January inquiry, and place pressure on the attorney general, Merrick Garland, to initiate an investigation, or explain why he might not do so.

​​Internal discussions about criminal referrals intensified after communications turned over by Meadows revealed alarming lines of communication between the Trump White House and Republican lawmakers over 6 January, the sources said.

In one exchange released by the select committee, one Republican lawmaker texted Meadows an apology for not pulling off what might have amounted to a coup, saying 6 January was a “terrible day” not because of the attack, but because they were unable to stop Biden’s certification.

The select committee believes messages such as that text – as well as remarks from a Republican on the House floor as the Capitol came under attack – might represent one part of a conspiracy by the White House to obstruct the joint session, the sources said.

In referencing objections to six states, the text also appears to comport with a memo authored by the Trump lawyer John Eastman that suggested lodging objections to six states – raising the specter the White House distributed the plan more widely than previously known.

Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the select committee, added on ABC last week that the investigation had found evidence to suggest the events of 6 January “appeared to be a coordinated effort on the part of a number of people to undermine the election”.

Counsel for the select committee indicated in their contempt of Congress report for Meadows that they intended to ask Trump’s former chief of staff about those communications he turned over voluntarily, before he broke off a cooperation deal and refused to testify.

Thompson has also suggested to reporters that he believes Meadows stopped cooperating with the inquiry in part because of pressure from Trump, but the select committee has not opened a separate witness intimidation investigation into the former president, one of the sources said.

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Novak Djokovic: Judge Orders Immediate Release of Tennis Star

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COVID-19 Spreading in A&B, Omicron Dominant in BVI, Mexico Daily Virus Record, US Surge, World Stats

COVID-19 spreading among Antigua & Barbuda’s youth population

Dillon De Shong
Photo: iStock
Photo: iStock

Most of the over 800 people in Antigua and Barbuda, who are currently infected with coronavirus (COVID-19), are young.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Gaston Browne during his weekly talk show on Saturday.

“Because they are the younger stronger ones among us they have been having relatively mild symptoms. But we can expect that as our young people contract the disease, they will take it into their homes and it means therefore that their mature relatives are likely to contract the disease and could become vulnerable,” Browne said.

 

The country recently confirmed its first cases of COVID-19’s omicron variant after a surge of new infections that began in late 2021.

Health officials confirmed that the highly infectious omicron and delta variants are circulating in the community along with the other variants of concern.

Omicron has shown itself to be milder than previous strains of COVID-19 but the prime minister urged islanders not to be complacent since persons with comorbidities have died when they contract the variant.

 

He has encouraged all persons, who are eligible to be vaccinated, to either get immunized or their booster shots since the vaccines are working. About 60 per cent of the island’s population is fully vaccinated.

“If we didn’t have such a high prevalence of vaccinations within the country, I could have guarantee you that the effects of the omicron variant on our people would have been significantly different,” the prime minister noted.

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Mexico Hits Record 30,000 Daily COVID-19 Cases

Medical staff treat a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient in the emergency room at Metropolitano Hospital in Monterrey, Mexico, January 6, 2022. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

Medical staff treat a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient in the emergency room at Metropolitano Hospital in Monterrey, Mexico, January 6, 2022. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

MEXICO CITY, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Mexico hit a record in confirmed daily COVID-19 cases on Saturday, according to official data, posting more than 30,000 additional infections as the highly contagious respiratory disease spread in the country.

The health ministry tallied 30,671 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, after registering more than 20,000 new infections on each of the previous three days.

COVID-19 fatalities, however, have not shown a similar spike in recent days, with 202 confirmed deaths on Saturday.

The total number of confirmed cases in Mexico since the pandemic began stands at 4,113,789, with 300,303 confirmed fatalities, the fifth highest official death toll worldwide.

Mexican health authorities have said that both confirmed cases and the overall death toll likely represent a significant undercount due to the lack of widespread testing.

Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Editing by David Alire Garcia and David Gregorio

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Omicron overtakes delta to be the BVI’s dominant COVID variant

Dillon De Shong

 

Photo: iStock

Photo: iStock

Health officials in the British Virgin Islands believe that the omicron variant of COVID-19 has taken over delta to become the dominant strain.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Ronald Georges said almost half of the samples sent for genomic sequencing over the last few weeks were identified as omicron.

“This is how omicron functions. It comes in and slowly out-competes all other variants to become the dominant variant. We are going to see quite an increase in cases. The doubling time for omicron is considered between two and three days. So omicron is much more efficient in spreading from person to person,” he stated last evening.

Georges noted that most of the over 1,000 active cases in the territory are experiencing mild COVID-19 which is characteristic of omicron.

The CMO noted that while omicron might be mild, it has the ability to overload a system.

The hospital is currently taking steps to increase capacity to deal with the surge, which is expected to last for almost two months.

Officials expect hospitals to need about 75 per cent of what was needed during the delta surge.

Parents of young children, who are unvaccinated, have been urged to pay close attention to them since omicron has led to a spike in pediatric admissions to hospitals.

Georges is therefore urging persons, who are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, to take a shot of the vaccines available on the island.

Presently, just over 57 per cent of persons on the island are vaccinated.

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Vaccine plea for pregnant women

Pregnant women are already on the priority list for the Covid vaccine as they’re at increased risk from the virus. Now there’s a new drive for them to get jabbed or have a booster as soon as possible. It’s part of a government campaign which sees expectant mothers share their experiences to encourage others not to delay getting vaccinated. The government says the vaccine is safe and has no impact on fertility. Read more here.

Pregnant woman being vaccinated

Boosters in India as cases surge

Covid vaccine boosters are being given to priority groups in India as infections, fuelled by Omicron, surge. Health and front-line workers are among those being targeted as early studies show boosters may provide more protection from the variant. Find out more here.

A health worker inoculates a man with a third dose of the Covaxin vaccine at a vaccination centre in New Delhi on January 10, 2022, as the country sees an Omicron-driven surge in Covid-19 coronavirus casesImage source, AFP
Short presentational grey line

 

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Omicron fuels unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases

By Peter Sullivan – an unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases and placing a strain on hospital capacity, but experts say the spike could play out in the shape of an “ice pick” — a sharp but fast increase — that may leave the U.S. on better footing as soon as next month.  

The U.S. health care system is in for significant pain in the short term, but the fast surge could even help defeat the pandemic in the longer term by conveying broader immunity.  

Some experts are calling for people to buckle down for a last stretch of diligent precautions like mask-wearing in public, indoor settings to spread cases out and get hospitals through the next few weeks before the situation improves.  

“We need to have sort of the last effort so that we can make it to the spring,” Janis Orlowski, chief health care officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), said in a press briefing.   

Some experts predict that cases could peak in the U.S. later in January or in early February, though because of the large size of the country, certain areas will have localized spikes after currently hard-hit areas like New York have already peaked.  

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday the experience in South Africa indicates a “precipitous increase and then a precipitous decline,” in the shape of an “ice pick,” though she noted that pattern could be one that “travels across the country” at different times.   

Carlos del Rio, an infectious diseases professor at Emory University School of Medicine, predicted the national peak could come “between the third week of January and the first or second week of February.”  

Once the highly transmissible omicron variant burns through the population, the outlook will be improved.   

“At this rate we may actually really be able to reach herd immunity because we’re going to get so many people in the population infected that at some point in time this may be sort of the beginning of the end of the pandemic, at least in this country,” del Rio said, during a discussion hosted by Emory University. “Because omicron is really going to infect pretty much everybody who hasn’t been infected so far.” 

Experts still stress that it is far better to get your immunity from vaccinations and boosters without getting sick, rather than from getting the virus, which can have lingering effects even if it is not bad enough to require hospitalization.  

The symptoms of omicron are milder on average, and people who are vaccinated and boosted are especially well-protected against severe disease. But even with only a small percentage of cases requiring hospitalization, the sheer number of total cases means overwhelmed hospitals.   

“We are overrun,” said Orlowski, of AAMC, which represents teaching hospitals across the country.   

The U.S. is recording more than 700,000 new cases per day and climbing, an unprecedented number, though between the protection from vaccinations and omicron’s diminished severity, many are mild or asymptomatic.   

Still, hospitalizations from COVID-19 are spiking to over 128,000, according to a New York Times tracker, though deaths have so far stayed relatively steady at about 1,400 per day.   

Orlowski and del Rio said about a third of patients in the hospital with the virus are not sick solely because of COVID-19, but have other conditions that in some cases are exacerbated by having the virus, too. Some hospitals reported as many as roughly half of patients testing positive were not primarily in the hospital because of COVID-19.   

Del Rio said that among patients solely in the hospital for COVID-19, about 80 to 90 percent are unvaccinated, or in some cases have received two doses of vaccine (without a booster shot) and also have an underlying condition.   

Hospital staffing shortages, from workers having burned out and left over the past two years, or from workers currently being home with the virus themselves, are adding to the strain.   

“The percent in the ICU is much lower [than previous surges], but that doesn’t mean that we’re not getting overwhelmed,” del Rio said.   

While the broad immunity provided after the omicron wave could improve the outlook going forward, potential new variants can always pose a curveball.   

For unvaccinated people infected with omicron, Leana Wen, a public health professor at George Washington University, said it is unclear “if there’s a new variant that arises in six months or a year, will they still be protected if they refuse to get vaccinated?” 

Advocates have long pushed the Biden administration to step up its efforts to vaccinate the world to help cut off the development of new variants.  

Few experts are calling for shutdowns like there were in the early days of the pandemic, but steps like mandating vaccination to eat in a restaurant or go to a concert, as several large U.S. cities have already done, would help, Wen said. Better availability of rapid tests has also been a major pressure point on the Biden administration.   

There is currently a split, Wen said, between the “very low” risk to individuals who are vaccinated and boosted, on one hand, and the “existential, very high societal risk,” of the “collapse of our health care system,” largely fueled by unvaccinated people.   

But even vaccinated people are harmed by overwhelmed hospitals, if they have a life-threatening medical event such as a heart attack or bodily trauma from a car crash. 

“It may have a long-term beneficial effect for a combination of reasons, leading with the fact that the spike is going to be quick,” said Ross McKinney, chief scientific officer at AAMC. “And then secondarily going to the fact that people may be protected having been exposed.”

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WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

307,982,664

Deaths:

5,507,272

Recovered:

259,627,916
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

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Latest News

January 10 (GMT)

Updates

  • 15,830 new cases and 741 new deaths in Russia [source]
  • 5,334 new cases and 26 new deaths in B

 

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Bahamian Sidney Poitier, First Black Man to Win Best Actor Oscar, Dies at 94

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Sidney Poitier, who broke through racial barriers as the first Black winner of the best actor Oscar for his role in “Lilies of the Field,” and inspired a generation during the civil rights movement, has died at age 94, an official from the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

Eugene Torchon-Newry, acting director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed Poitier’s death.

Poitier created a distinguished film legacy in a single year with three 1967 films at a time when segregation prevailed in much of the United States.

In “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” he played a Black man with a white fiancee and “In the Heat of the Night” he was Virgil Tibbs, a Black police officer confronting racism during a murder investigation. He also played a teacher in a tough London school that year in “To Sir, With Love.”

Poitier had won his history-making best actor Oscar for “Lilies of the Field” in 1963, playing a handyman who helps German nuns build a chapel in the desert. Five years before that Poitier had been the first Black man nominated for a lead actor Oscar for his role in “The Defiant Ones.”

His Tibbs character from “In the Heat of the Night” was immortalized in two sequels – “They Call Me Mister Tibbs!” in 1970 and “The Organization” in 1971 – and became the basis of the television series “In the Heat of the Night” starring Carroll O’Connor and Howard Rollins.

His other classic films of that era included “A Patch of Blue” in 1965 in which his character ias befriended by a blind white girl, “The Blackboard Jungle” and “A Raisin in the Sun,” which Poitier also performed on Broadway.

Poitier was born in Miami on Feb. 20, 1927, and raised on a tomato farm in the Bahamas, and had just one year of formal schooling. He struggled against poverty, illiteracy and prejudice to become one of the first Black actors to be known and accepted in major roles by mainstream audiences.

Poitier picked his roles with care, burying the old Hollywood idea that Black actors could appear only in demeaning contexts as shoeshine boys, train conductors and maids.

“I love you, I respect you, I imitate you,” Denzel Washington, another Oscar winner, once told Poitier at a public ceremony.

As a director, Poitier worked with his friend Harry Belafonte and Bill Cosby in “Uptown Saturday Night” in 1974 and Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in 1980’s “Stir Crazy.”

STARTED ON STAGE

Poitier grew up in the small Bahamian village of Cat Island and in Nassau before he moved to New York at 16, lying about his age to sign up for a short stint in the Army and then working at odd jobs, including dishwasher, while taking acting lessons.

The young actor got his first break when he met the casting director of the American Negro Theater. He was an understudy in “Days of Our Youth” and took over when the star, Belafonte, who also would become a pioneering Black actor, fell ill.

Poitier went on to success on Broadway in “Anna Lucasta” in 1948 and, two years later, got his first movie role in “No Way Out” with Richard Widmark.

In all, he acted in more than 50 films and directed nine, starting in 1972 with “Buck and the Preacher” in which he co-starred with Belafonte.

In 1992, Poitier was given the Life Achievement Award by the American Film Institute, the most prestigious honor after the Oscar, joining recipients such as Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Fred Astaire, James Cagney and Orson Welles.

“I must also pay thanks to an elderly Jewish waiter who took time to help a young Black dishwasher learn to read,” Poitier told the audience. “I cannot tell you his name. I never knew it. But I read pretty good now.”

In 2002, an honorary Oscar recognized “his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being.”

Poitier married actress Joanna Shimkus, his second wife, in the mid-1970s. He had six daughters with his two wives and wrote three books – “This Life” (1980), “The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography” (2000) and “Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter” (2008).

“If you apply reason and logic to this career of mine, you’re not going to get very far,” he told the Washington Post. “The journey has been incredible from its beginning. So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.”

Poitier wrote three autobiographical books and in 2013 published “Montaro Caine,” a novel that was described as part mystery, part science fiction.

Poitier was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1974 and served as the Bahamian ambassador to Japan and to UNESCO, the U.N. cultural agency. He also sat on Walt Disney Co’s board of directors from 1994 to 2003.

In 2009, Poitier was awarded the highest U.S. civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama.

The 2014 Academy Awards ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of Poitier’s historic Oscar and he was there to present the award for best director.

Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Howard Goller

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SV&G Records 1st Fully Vaccinated COVID Death, More Than 200 New Cases

Loop News- St Vincent and the Grenadines has recorded its first fully-vaccinated COVID-19 death.The Ministry of Health says a 67-year-old woman who presented to the Accident and Emergency Department on January 5, 2022, after a one-week illness, died of COVID-19 pneumonia on January 6.

The patient, who, tested positive on admission had preexisting non-communicable diseases. She was fully vaccinated during the period April to July 2021.

Her death brings the death toll from COVID-19 to 84.

The news comes as St Vincent and the Grenadines recorded 208 new COVID cases during the period January 3 to January 4, 2022.

There are currently no patients admitted for COVID-19 at the Argyle Isolation Facility. Sixteen patients are admitted to the COVID-19 ward at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, two of whom are fully vaccinated and fourteen patients are unvaccinated.

St Vincent and Grenadines has over 700 active COVID cases.

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UK’s Prince William Seeks Nominees for His Environmental Earthshot Prize Competition

Britain’s Prince William appealed for innovators around the world to submit nominations for his Earthshot Prize, a competition aimed at finding new ways to tackle climate change.

William and his charity, The Royal Foundation, launched the prize in 2020 inspired by US President John F Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” speech that challenged Americans to go to the moon by the end of the decade.

The prize, to be awarded to five winners every year until 2030, is billed as the most prestigious of its kind. Each winner will receive a grant of 1 million pounds ($1.4 million) to develop and scale up their ideas.

This year’s prizes will go to projects aimed at “tipping point” issues where there are opportunities to create significant benefits over the next few years, the foundation said. These include personal transportation, agriculture that restores the environment, buildings designed to minimize pollution and energy use, and initiatives that extend the life of clothing, food and plastic products.

“I can’t wait to see what solutions the prize helps to champion this coming year,” William said in a statement. “In 2022, we are determined to go further by seeking even more nominations from every corner of the world, ensuring that we spotlight and scale the very best ideas and innovations that will put our planet on a sustainable path and protect our world for generations to come.”

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Omicron Spreads to Antigua and Barbuda

By Orville Williams

The Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Health has confirmed that the Omicron Covid-19 variant has officially been detected in the twin island nation, while Covid infections continue to escalate this week.

In a media statement published yesterday, the ministry said the variant was identified in a batch of samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing last month.

With the discovery, Antigua and Barbuda joins Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, among other countries that have also confirmed the variant’s presence.

Based on the rapid spread of Omicron across the world, many believed it was only a matter of time before it touched down in the country and the Health Ministry confirmed in the statement that it too had previously suspected its presence.

It means all five of the World Health Organization (WHO)-designated variants of concern – Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron – have now been found in Antigua and Barbuda, and this latest variant could not come at a worse time.

Just hours prior to confirming the presence of Omicron, the Health Ministry reported that 229 new Covid infections were recorded over the period January 1 to January 4.

That followed a similar report on Tuesday, when 203 new infections were confirmed to have been detected over the period December 27 to December 31 last year.

This shot the number of active cases up from just 27 in the middle of December, to a whopping 499 up to last night.

Health officials had been warning of a likely spike in infections following the festive season, based on last year’s experience when returning nationals and visitors flocked to the country, resulting in hundreds of persons contracting the virus early in 2021.

The major difference in this case is that Covid vaccines are widely available and nearly 60,000 persons have already been fully vaccinated.

According to physician Dr Dwayne Thwaites, the fact that so many people are already inoculated, coupled with the low number of hospitalisations reportedly being caused by the Omicron variant globally, means the variant’s presence shouldn’t cause more alarm than the Delta, for example.

“When viruses variate, we have what we call nonsense variation and that is where the viruses change, but [the change] doesn’t affect [persons afflicted] in any way.

“Here, we have a change, where the variant is more contagious and spreads easier, but it is not as dangerous, it doesn’t destroy [organs] like we used to see with the Delta variant.

“Because of what we’re seeing now in Antigua and Barbuda, with the number of [Covid] cases, it seems like people are getting some kind of immunity. People who are vaccinated are getting extra immunity, because they’re still picking up the disease and they’re not getting as sickly,” Dr Thwaites told Observer.

The urologist warned though, that residents should still get vaccinated as a matter of priority in order to reduce the likelihood of more variants being formed.

“If you’re unvaccinated and the virus gets to you, it keeps multiplying and the more it multiplies, the greater the chance that it will variate again,” Dr Thwaites said.

To date, the Omicron variant, which was first identified in South Africa, has been detected in more than 120 countries.

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Ellison “Tommy” Thompson Named CEO of St. Kitts Tourist Authority

The St. Kitts Tourism Authority announces the appointment of Ellison “Tommy” Thompson as CEO

In this role, Thompson will lead international marketing efforts for the destination, with a focus on trade and airline relationships; earned, paid and owned media; partnerships; and stakeholder communication.

Thompson will focus on leisure and cruise, two perennially high performing areas for tourism to St. Kitts. He will also prioritize the romance and MICE markets, with the goal of increasing tourism’s economic benefits across the island. Thompson begins work on January 10, 2022.

“Mr. Thompson brings more than three decades of Caribbean tourism sales and marketing experience, including a deep knowledge of marketing Bahamas’ outer islands,” said Nick Menon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “He has proven success increasing leisure travel, expanding key industry relationships, and implementing creative global marketing campaigns. We are thrilled to have his expertise at the helm of the Tourism Authority.”

“Tommy Thompson’s experience working with tourism ministries and destination marketing entities make him the premier choice to lead the St. Kitts Tourism Authority,” added Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, Transport and Ports. “We are confident that under his leadership, we will continue driving high demand for the destination among air and cruise passengers as part of tourism’s continuous rebound.”

Thompson will utilize a data-driven approach to assess St. Kitts’ primary audiences and their behaviors. His initial intentions also include working closely with travel agents and tour operators, and partnering with airlines to increase passenger load and service to the destination.

“St. Kitts is an emerging destination with tremendous potential to excite travelers from around the world,” Thompson said. “I am looking forward to developing and implementing creative strategies that will increase St. Kitts’ visibility in our key source markets, put St. Kitts into the consideration set for travelers, and ultimately drive bookings.”

Most recently, Mr. Thompson served as Deputy Director General of The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. In this role, he developed global marketing strategies for the Ministry, with a focus on the Family Islands, Grand Bahama Island, and niche market promotions.

He also led the sales teams in the United States, Canada and Europe as well as Asia and Latin America, and oversaw campaigns targeting consumers, tour operators and wholesalers, travel agents and airlines. Mr. Thompson has also held a number of other positions for both The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism and The Bahamas Tourist Offices in the UK. He has additional experience managing visitor relations, cruise development, product development, and sales representation.

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US Bars 8 Cuban Officials from Entering Country

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday barred eight Cuban officials from entering the country over their role in the detention and sentencing of protesters in July demonstrations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The State Department did not name the officials. Blinken said they are implicated in attempts to silence Cuban people through repression, unjust detentions and harsh prison sentences.

“The United States took steps to enforce visa restrictions in response to Cuban government attempts to deny Cubans their freedom and rights through continued intimidation tactics, unjust imprisonment, and severe sentences,” Blinken said.

The largest protests since Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution erupted in Cuba in July amid an economic crisis and surge in COVID-19 infections.

Thousands took to the streets, angry over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the handling of the pandemic. Hundreds of protesters were arrested.

Blinken said 600 protesters remain jailed after the protests, some with no access to proper food or medicine and with worsening health conditions.

Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Eric Beech; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

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Canada, Other Nations Vow Action Against Iran Over Downed Jet

OTTAWA, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine on Thursday said they had abandoned efforts to talk to Tehran about reparations for an airliner downed by Iran and would try to settle the matter according to international law.

Most of the 176 people killed when Iran shot down the Ukrainian jet in January 2020 were citizens from those four countries, which created a coordination group that seeks to hold Tehran to account.

“Despite our best efforts over the past two years and multiple attempts to resolve this matter through negotiations, the Coordination Group has determined that further attempts to negotiate with Iran … are futile,” it said in a statement.

“The Coordination Group will now focus on subsequent actions to take to resolve this matter in accordance with international law,” it continued, but did not give details.

Tehran says Revolutionary Guards accidentally shot down the Boeing 737 jet and blamed a misaligned radar and an error by the air defense operator at a time when tensions were high between Tehran and the United States.

A court in Ontario, Canada, this week awarded C$107 million ($83.8 million), plus interest, to the families of six people who died. In June, Canada said it had found no evidence that the downing of the plane had been premeditated. read more

($1 = 1.2772 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

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