Pretoria, Jun 11 (Prensa Latina) South Africa and Cuba have reached and signed a cultural exchange and cooperation agreement geared up to strengthening two-way relations in this sector.
Two guests on one of the first cruise ships to sail from the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic hit tested positive on Thursday, Royal Caribbean said, adding that all passengers and crew had been vaccinated.
The Celebrity Millennium, carrying about 600 passengers and 650 crew, set sail from the Caribbean island of Saint Maarten on Saturday for a seven-day cruise including stops in Barbados, Aruba and Curacao.
“Two guests sharing a stateroom onboard Celebrity Millennium tested positive for COVID-19 while conducting the required end-of-cruise testing,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement. “The individuals are asymptomatic and currently in isolation.”
It said that the ship exceeded US COVID-19 guidelines, and all guests were required to show proof of vaccination as well as a negative COVID-19 test before sailing.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently requires that more than 95% of passengers and crew be vaccinated for cruise lines to bypass a requirement for trial voyages.
Cruise operations were suspended on Mar 14 last year when the CDC issued a “no sail order” to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. Several ships already had deadly outbreaks on board.
Antigua and Barbuda lays claim to more ocean space than most other countries in the region. Not only are the twin-island nation’s world-famous waters a lynchpin of the tourism industry, they’re also a critical source of food and jobs.
Perhaps never before has the need to protect them been greater – along with the creatures which call them hom
Yesterday, government unveiled its most ambitious plan yet to do just that.
The UK-funded ‘maritime blue economy plan’ aims to ensure sustainable use of the ocean, while creating jobs, diversifying the economy and protecting one of the country’s most valuable ecosystems.
It follows an initiative announced by the British Prime Minister in 2015 to support the marine economies of 17 Commonwealth small island developing states.
Blue Economy Minister Dean Jonas and Resident British Commissioner Lindsy Thompson welcome the launch of the maritime blue economy plan (Photo by Gemma Handy)
Speaking at Thursday’s launch, Resident British Commissioner Lindsy Thompson said the financial blow to Antigua and Barbuda from the Covid pandemic had been “particularly acute”.
“This plan will bring economic change and increased options for people here … including the creation of high value jobs,” she explained.
Cabinet approved the plan in March after three years of “hard work”, making it the first country in the Commonwealth to do so, Thompson added.
Addressing the launch virtually, Lord Tariq Ahmad, UK Minister responsible for the Caribbean, said the 60-page document formed the “foundation of a successful, climate-resilient, ocean-based economy”.
“The pandemic has taken its toll on all the world’s economies … but when I look at the Caribbean and its reliance on tourism, I see additional challenges the pandemic poses,” he continued.
Lord Ahmad said the plan represented a combination of “local knowledge and scientific expertise”, and would help ensure responsible use of marine resources.
“We need to protect our oceans for generations to come,” the minister added.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chet Greene said yesterday’s launch came “at a critical time for the country’s economy” – and against the backdrop of Tuesday’s World Oceans Day.
“For us to make strides, we must work across all ministries and agencies; this requires a whole government approach,” he said, adding, “We must take this plan from bold ambition to a timely, practical reality.”
Blue Economy Minister Dean Jonas said he was “elated” by the launch of “new jobs, new opportunities and new growth”.
“This will attract investment while safeguarding the vast ocean spaces available to Antigua and Barbuda,” he said. “The plan solidifies sustainable, long-term use of our ocean resources and recognises the unique link between our people, culture and marine environment.”
He told Observer it paved the way for more seafood to be farmed rather than fished, with one aquaponics training programme already underway.
With overfishing one of the biggest threats facing the country’s waters, Jonas was asked what the plan means for conventional fishing methods – a livelihood for hundreds of local residents. Fishing currently accounts for around two percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
“We are not about stopping anyone from fishing at this time but there is a need to diversify away from hunting fish to farming,” he said, adding, “The potential is there because of our vast open space to produce a lot more through fish farming – not only for local consumption but for export too.”
What does the plan seek to do?
Update climate resilient policies – and manage increasing risks of coastal hazards
Enhance the country’s capabilities to cater for cruise ships and leisure vessels
Create a national ocean policy that protects the rights and jurisdiction of marine areas and resources
Encourage fisherfolk to target lionfish as a food – and develop a way to market it
Monitor and control pollution in line with local and international commitments
Beef up information on the aquaculture sector and its market potential
Cuba has said it would temporarily stop accepting cash bank deposits in dollars, blaming tighter U.S. sanctions that are restricting its ability to use greenbacks abroad, although it will still accept transfers.
The move came shortly before the government was due to present its annual resolution to end the crippling, decades-old U.S. trade embargo on the Communist-run country at the United Nations General Assembly.
Some Cubans and analysts speculated it was an attempt to control the black market price of the dollar. That has risen to more than twice the official exchange rate since the import-dependent country started opening stores selling in hard currency and stopped selling greenbacks due to a cash crunch.
Cuban bank account holders will have until June 21 to deposit dollars before the suspension takes effect.
“It is ever more difficult for Cuba to find international banking or financing institutions willing to receive, convert or process U.S. currency in cash,” the Cuban Central Bank said in a statement shared by state-run media.
It added that the measure would not affect operations carried out by transfer or deposits in other currencies that are freely convertible and accepted in Cuba.
More than 20 banks have stopped processing transactions involving Cuba since former President Donald Trump tightened U.S. sanctions on the island nation, Central Bank Vice President Yamile Berra Cires said in a roundtable discussion on state television.
For many years, Cuba had a 10% tax on dollars, citing how difficult it was for the government to use them because of the U.S. embargo. But it lifted that tax last year as it opened more shops selling in hard cash rather than in the local currency.
U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, vowed during his campaign to reverse some of Republican Trump’s Cuba measures that “have inflicted harm on the Cuban people and done nothing to advance democracy and human rights.”
But he has yet to roll back any measures and his administration has said a shift in policy toward Cuba is not among its top foreign policy priorities.
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Peru has finished counting the votes in a tight presidential run-off election, but an official announcement may take days.
Leftist Pedro Castillo kept a lead of about 60,000 votes over conservative Keiko Fujimori, who has claimed fraud without providing detailed evidence.
Ms Fujimori wants hundreds of thousands of votes to be reviewed. Observers say Sunday’s poll was carried out cleanly.
A political novice, Mr Castillo has pledged to rewrite the constitution.
The primary school teacher was little known before winning the first round of the election, and campaigned on a promise to help the poor by introducing higher taxes on powerful mining firms in this copper-producing nation.
But there are fears his plans could destabilise the country’s economy. Whoever wins will have a tough task ahead bringing together a polarised nation of 32 million which has seen its economy crumble as it was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the electoral body Onpe, Mr Castillo had 50.2% of the votes against 49.8% for Ms Fujimori. The final votes came from rural areas, where Mr Castillo is popular, and from embassies abroad, most of which went to his rival.
Ms Fujimori asked electoral authorities to review 300,000 votes and nullify 200,000 others. It may take days before a decision on her requests, and potential appeals and reviews, are made. Only then the electoral tribunal will be able to officially declare a winner.
On Twitter, Ms Fujimori, who is running for the presidency for the third time, said: “We’ll continue to defend the legitimate right of millions of Peruvians until the last vote.”
Mr Castillo’s party, Peru Libre, or Free Peru, says there is no evidence of fraud. Speaking to supporters from a balcony in the capital Lima, Mr Castillo called for reconciliation after a divisive election, saying: “The people have awakened.”
Fujimori’s legal woes
Keiko Fujimori is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who is in jail serving a 25-year sentence for crimes including corruption and human rights abuses.
Ms Fujimori herself is being investigated for alleged corruption and money laundering, claims she says are politically motivated. She spent 13 months in jail between 2018 and 2020, when she was released on parole.
image copyrightEPA
Keiko Fujimori says the accusations against her are politically motivated
In a surprise development on Thursday, prosecutor José Domingo Pérez requested that Ms Fujimori be returned to pre-trial custody, alleging that she had been in contact with a witness, violating the terms of her parole.
A decision is expected in the coming days. Ms Fujimori said Mr Pérez was attempting “to distract us” from their attempts to review the election count. A victory in the election would halt the case until the end of her administration.
President Bolsonaro said the decision to host the tournament was not up for discussion
Host: Brazil Dates: 13 June to 10 July Coverage: Live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app.
BBC- The Copa America, which is set to start on Sunday, can go ahead in Brazil, the country’s Supreme Court has decided.
Judges held an emergency session on Thursday to consider requests to halt the competition because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It was argued that hosting the tournament would endanger the lives of thousands of people.
The judges said that the Brazilian constitution did not give the court the power to block it.
But they said that state governors and city mayors should do more to ensure “appropriate health protocols” are respected.
They also expressed their dismay at President Jair Bolsonaro’s last-minute decision to stage the tournament, which will be held with no fans in stadiums.
Teams face mandatory testing every 48 hours. Their movements will be restricted and they will travel to host cities aboard chartered flights.
The tournament, postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, was originally to have been staged in Colombia and Argentina.
But Colombia was removed as co-host on 20 May because of domestic civil unrest, and Argentina was then stripped of its host status on 30 May, with organisers citing coronavirus concerns and the “present circumstances”.
Earlier this week, Brazil’s players criticised the decision to hold the tournament in their country.
Brazil has recorded more than 475,000 deaths attributed to coronavirus, the second highest number in the world after the US.
The UK will donate 100m surplus coronavirus vaccine doses within the next year to low-income countries as part of at least 1bn doses due from the G7.
The US has promised to buy 500m Pfizer vaccines at a cost of $3bn for distribution to 100 poorer countries, with 200m to be distributed this year, in addition to releasing 80m of its surplus by the end of June.
But a group of campaigners including the former UK prime minister Gordon Brown said the G7 package did not address the structural problems facing low-income countries in securing a regular supply of vaccines, adding that these countries needed 11bn vaccines, at a cost of $50bn.
The World Health Organization said infections had been rising in the past three weeks across Africa. “Forty-seven of Africa’s 54 countries – nearly 90% – are set to miss the September target of vaccinating 10% of their people unless Africa receives 225m more doses,” it said. “At 32m doses, Africa accounts for under 1% of the over 2.1bn doses administered globally. Just 2% of the continent’s nearly 1.3 billion people have received one dose and only 9.4 million Africans are fully vaccinated.”
Boris Johnson first promised in February that the UK would give a majority of its surplus vaccines to poor countries, and Thursday’s announcement provided some of the details.
The UK will donate 5m doses by the end of September, beginning in the coming weeks. A further 95m doses will be supplied within the next 12 months, including 25m by the end of 2021. Eighty per cent of the UK’s 100m doses will go to Covax, the UN-led international clearing house for vaccines for poorer countries, and the remainder will be shared bilaterally with countries that the UK selects.
The UK believes it can afford to give up 5m doses in the coming weeks without delaying completion of its own vaccine programme. It has calculated that the 100m donation still leaves a buffer in case of new strains or supply bottlenecks. It points out it was the fourth-largest donor to Covax last year, and 96% of the doses it gave were Oxford/AstraZeneca, of which it helped fund the development.
Johnson said: “As a result of the success of the UK’s vaccine programme we are now in a position to share some of our surplus doses with those who need them. In doing so we will take a massive step towards beating this pandemic for good.”
UK officials said the cost of transferring the vaccines would be treated as overseas development assistance but would not come from the existing ODA budget, currently lowered to 0.5% of the UK national income. This means the as yet unsettled additional cost will represent additional UK aid spending.
Brown, speaking alongside Nita Deerpalsing from the UN Economic Commission for Africa, said the G7 should “guarantee that 11bn vaccines, enough vaccines to cover the whole world, will be available in months, and that the G7 will ensure that protection is delivered to all by paying their fair share of the $50bn cost of the vaccines, the testing, the protective equipment that the world urgently needs.”
Kirsty McNeill, Save the Children’s policy director, described the British contribution as “a good start” but added: “It’s really on the financing that the summit will be judged and we need a 24-hour drive from the PM to negotiate a global costed and financed roadmap to vaccinate the world and scale up supply.”
On Thursday, the eve of the G7 summit, Joe Biden confirmed his plan to buy 500m doses and said the US will be “the vaccine arsenal of the world”. The US president said in Cornwall: “This is about our responsibility, our humanitarian obligation, to save as many lives as we can. When we see people hurting and suffering anywhere around the world, we seek to help any way we can.”
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said pharmaceutical firms needed to donate 10% of their vaccines, and set a target of “60% of Africans vaccinated by the end of the first quarter 2022”.
Western leaders have been wary of sending surplus vaccines abroad, insisting they must protect their own populations first, but the balance of the argument has gradually shifted as stockpiles have mounted.
The UK has joined the EU in resisting a call led by South Africa and now backed by France and the US for a compulsory waiver on vaccine patents. It fears such a waiver would deter pharmaceutical firms from investing in research and development.
The UK is instead asking the G7 to encourage pharmaceutical companies to adopt the Oxford/AstraZeneca model of providing vaccines at cost for the duration of the pandemic. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have already pledged to share 1.3bn doses on a non-profit basis with developing countries. On this model, pharmaceutical firms only start to rack up profits once the initial pandemic has been controlled.
Covid-19 pandemic: Chile capital locks down despite mass vaccination
image copyrightReuters
Critics accuse the Chilean authorities of getting caught up in triumphalism over the vaccine rollout
Chile has announced a lockdown in the capital Santiago amid rising Covid cases, despite nearly 60% of the country being fully vaccinated.
More than eight million residents living in and around the capital now must stay at home from Saturday.
On Thursday, Chile reported 7,716 new daily cases, with the vast majority of infections being among those who had not been fully vaccinated.
Intensive care beds are nearing full capacity, health officials warn.
Jose Luis Espinoza, the president of Chile’s National Federation of Nursing Association, says his members are “on the verge of collapse”, Reuters reports.
About 58% of the country’s 17.5 million people have been fully vaccinated, and as many as 75% have received at least one vaccine dose.
But critics have accused the government of getting caught up in triumphalism over the vaccine rollout and of having loosened coronavirus restrictions too fast.
Chile’s borders had been closed from March to November 2020. But after a strict lockdown had driven infections down, the decision was taken to reopen them.
Chileans were also given special holiday permits to travel more freely around the country during the southern hemisphere summer holidays.
Restaurants, shops, and holiday resorts were opened up to kickstart the faltering economy.
Chile has had nearly 1.5 million infections since the pandemic began, with more than 30,000 Covid-related deaths, according to America’s Johns Hopkins university.
The FBI director, Christopher Wray, has said that the bureau considers the 6 January Capitol attack an act of “domestic terrorism” and suggested that “serious charges” were still to come in its continuing criminal investigation.
Testifying before Congress on Thursday, the director rubbished Donald Trump’s claims about a stolen presidential election. “We did not find evidence of fraud that could have changed the outcome of the election,” he told lawmakers on the House judiciary committee.
Wray’s testimony came as federal prosecutors charged six members of a rightwing militia group with conspiring to storm the Capitol, the latest in a series of such charges arising from 6 January.
Democratic lawmakers repeatedly grilled Wray, appointed by Trump in 2017, over what they said were intelligence failures that left law enforcement ill-prepared for the deadly attack.
“The FBI’s inaction in the weeks leading up to January 6 is simply baffling,” said Jerry Nadler, the House judiciary committee chairman. “It is hard to tell whether FBI headquarters merely missed the evidence – which had been flagged by your field offices and was available online for all the world to see – or whether the bureau saw the intelligence, underestimated the threat, and simply failed to act.”
A Senate report recently concluded that the deadly insurrection had been planned “in plain sight” but that warnings had gone unheeded due to a troubling mix of bad communications, poor planning, faulty equipment and lack of leadership.
Wray said that “almost none” of the 500 people charged so far with participating in the attack had been under FBI investigation previously, suggesting it would have been difficult for the FBI to have monitored them in advance.
“You can be darn sure that we are going to be looking hard at how we can do better, how we can do more, how we can do things differently in terms of collecting and disseminating” intelligence, Wray said.
US Capitol attack was planned in plain sight, Senate report finds
Thursday’s charges against six men, all from California, were disclosed in an indictment unsealed in federal court in Washington. Two of them, Alan Hostetter and Russell Taylor, were seen a day before the riot with Roger Stone, a friend and adviser to Trump, during a protest outside the US supreme court against the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
About 30 people – including members of two other rightwing groups, the Oath Keepers and The Proud Boys – have been accused of conspiracy, the most serious charges related to the riot. Those pending cases are the largest and most complex of the roughly 500 brought by the justice department since the attack.
Asked whether the FBI was investigating Trump or Stone, Wray said he could neither confirm nor deny any FBI investigation.
“I’m talking about Mr Big, No 1,” said the Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, referring to Trump. “Have you gone after the people who incited the riot?”
Wray responded: “I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to be discussing whether or not we are or aren’t investigating specific individuals.”
Wray also faced questions about the recent spate of ransomware attacks against major US companies. The FBI’s director told lawmakers that the bureau discouraged ransomware payments to hacking groups.
“It is our policy, it is our guidance, from the FBI, that companies should not pay the ransom for a number of reasons,” Wray said.
Still, recently hacked companies including Colonial Pipeline and JBS, the world’s largest meat processing company, have admitted paying millions to hackers in order to regain control of their computer systems.
The justice department has said it was able to recover the majority of the ransomware payment made by Colonial Pipeline after locating the virtual wallet used by the hackers.
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