Tag Archives: caribbean

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World View: US Vaccine Mandate, China Tensions, Afghan Airlilft, More

Sep 10, 2021

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The Associated Press

 

The Rundown

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WASHINGTON (AP) — In his most forceful pandemic actions and words, President Joe Biden ordered sweeping new federal vaccine requirements for as many as 100 million Americans — private-sector employees as well as health care workers and federal…Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke with China’s Xi Jinping on Thursday amid growing frustration on the American side that high-level engagement between the two leaders’ top advisers has been largely unfruitful in the early going of th…Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Evacuation flights have resumed for Westerners, but thousands of at-risk Afghans who had helped the United States are still stranded in their homeland with the U.S. Embassy shuttered, all American diplomats and troops gone an…Read More

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In the ghastly rubble of ground zero’s fallen towers 20 years ago, Hour Zero arrived, a chance to start anew. World affairs reordered abruptly on that morning of blue skies, black ash, fire and death. …Read More

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Supply trucks are once again delivering beer on Bourbon Street and the landmark Cafe Du Monde is serving beignets, fried pastries covered with white sugar, even though there aren’t many tourists or locals around to partake o…Read More

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SILAT Al-DHAHR, West Bank (AP) — More than two weeks after the attack, Tareq Zubeidi still spends most of his time in bed, too scared to leave home even if the wounds on his f…Read More

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t flinch. Down one point with 1:24 to go in the kickoff to the NFL season, the defending Super Bowl champions we…Read More

The following account from Associated Press photographer Richard Drew is excerpted from the book “September 11: The 9/11 Story, Aftermath and Legacy,” an in-depth look at AP’…Read More

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US Bound Migrants Claim Being Held Prisoners in Mexico

TAPACHULA, Mexico, Sept 9 (Reuters) – U.S.-bound migrants, mostly from Central America and the Caribbean, said on Thursday that a Mexican government crackdown was keeping them “prisoner” in the south of the country.

The migrant comments contrasted with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s promises of humane treatment ahead of Thursday’s high-level meeting between Mexican and U.S. officials in Washington, where the two countries agreed that development of poor regions was a long-term solution to slow migration north.

“Mexican authorities are mistreating us migrants,” said Guillermo Rivas, 25, from El Salvador, who said he was beaten by agents while in a detention center in the southern city of Tapachula.

Mexico’s immigration agency, which runs the detention center, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rivas said he has been waiting in the city for nearly five months for asylum paperwork that would allow him to move freely in Mexico.

“Tapachula is like a prison,” he told Reuters by telephone on Thursday. “We’re asking that Mexico open its doors to allow migrants to cross the country without danger, abuse, or mistreatment.”

Migration was one of the top issues in the high-level talks in Washington, where officials agreed to pursue development programs in southern Mexico and Central America aimed at tackling the economic causes that drive immigration to the United States.

Ahead of the talks, Lopez Obrador said Mexican officials and security forces have “complete and absolute respect for human rights” of migrants and heralded the Washington discussions as the beginning of a “new stage” in migration politics.

“Today’s meeting is very important,” he said, “because there has been no attention to the population that sees it as necessary to migrate. There’s been nothing for years; everything is to contain, everything is coercive, and that’s not how to resolve social problems.”

But in the lead-up to the bilateral discussions, Mexico faced mounting pressure from Washington to take immediate steps to curtail U.S.-bound immigration, even as frustration among migrants in Tapachula boiled over and hundreds of people departed the city in a series of caravans.

In response, Mexico deployed security forces, including the heavily militarized National Guard, to block, sometimes violently, the groups, which included many families and young children.

“I had to risk my life to avoid getting arrested,” said Max, a Haitian caravan member who declined to give his last name, as he trudged along a highway in the southeastern state of Veracruz on Wednesday.

Describing how he threw himself under a bridge in order to avoid being captured, he denounced the treatment he and other migrants have received from Mexican security forces in recent days.

“The migration process shouldn’t be like this,” he said.

The National Guard referred Reuters to Mexico’s immigration agency, which said in statements that it has suspended two agents and that the agency “condemns any aggression against migrants.”

Reporting by Jose Torres in Tapachula, additional reporting by Tamara Corro in Veracruz and Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey; writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

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Holland Addressing Role in Slave Trade

Descendants of African slaves have told the BBC they will change their surnames, after a Dutch city decided to make the procedure free of charge.

Utrecht council has decided to remove the €835 (£715) cost and bureaucracy to help people shake off their “slave names” and have the option to adopt one that recognises their African ancestry.

Under existing Dutch rules, if you have a surname considered ridiculous such as Anus, Garlic or Naked-born, there is no requirement to prove it is undesirable. However, if your name has its origins in the Dutch colonial legacy, an expensive psychological examination is often required on top of the fee.

“It’s not right to then ask for money to turn back the procedure,” says Linda Nooitmeer, chair of the national institute for Dutch slavery history.

Her own name translates as Never Again. Even though she’s relatively happy as it was chosen by her ancestors, she is thinking of changing it. She sees Utrecht’s move as “part of the healing process, to give people the freedom and identity back”.

Three centuries of slavery

Between 1596 and 1829 the Dutch shipped more than half a million Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to work on plantations.

They were treated as objects and possessions and their names were erased, part of what Linda Nooitmeer describes as the “dehumanising” process.

Guno Mac Intosch
Guno Mac Intosch welcomes the chance to change his name officially to Yaw
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“Everything is stripped. You were part of the cargo, like cattle. It’s not only the name, but rituals, language, your identity, all evidence that you were African was taken away.”

The Netherlands was one of the last countries to abolish slavery in 1863, 30 years after British abolition. Even then slaves in Suriname, on the north-east coast of South America, had to wait 10 years to be fully free. Slaves were also shipped to Brazil, as well as Haiti, Curaçao and elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Anyone enslaved in Suriname had to be on a slave register, so it is known that some 80,000 people lived in slavery there in the 30 years before abolition.

Stigma for descendants

Freed slaves were given artificial names, often tied to the slave owner, the plantation or random amalgamations of Dutch cities or Dutch-sounding words, although regular Dutch surnames were banned.

A painting shows the arrival of a Dutch slave ship with a group of African slaves for sale in Jamestown, Virginia, 1619
Dutch ships transported slaves across the Atlantic for more than 200 years

Berghout and Seedorf were used as was Madretsma (Amsterdam spelt backwards) and Eendragt, a plantation name that means harmony. Other names translate as Obedient, Cheap, Tame and Submission.

Linda Nooitmeer believes these names serve as a reminder they were once subordinate, and that the chain was never fully relinquished.

Hundreds express interest

With that link to their ancestral home long destroyed, many have gone in search of their African roots to find a name that better represents who they are.

Among them was Yaw, who went to Ghana. And now Utrecht is removing the cost, he plans to make Yaw official, replacing his existing name Guno Mac Intosch.

“As soon as that door opens,” he gestures to the city hall, “I’ll be at the front of the queue.”

Last year almost 3,000 people opted to switch their surnames, but only one mentioned colonial connotations. Utrecht’s promise to cancel the fee and paperwork has already resulted in hundreds of expressions of interest.

“Maybe it’s not the exact same name our ancestors had,” Ms Nooitmeer explains, “But it was given within the spirit from Africa. And that’s really powerful to give your children and descendants.” Their names are an integral part of their identity, she says.

From the 600,000 enslaved who came from Africa and went to Curaçao, Suriname, and all the other islands, after slavery, there were 60,000 left.
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After emancipation, some created collectives and bought the cotton fields.

For them, adopting a new name was an act of empowerment, as the owned became the owners. Ms Nooitmeer believes they would have understood why their descendants were trying to rediscover what she calls their African energy.

A slavery exhibition was recently held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, curated by its head of history, Valika Smuelders.

People ride bicycles on May 12, 2021 in Amsterdam near the Rijksmuseum displaying a poster of the exhibition "Slavery". -
The Rijksmuseum recently hosted an exhibition entitled “Slavery”

We meet in The Hague’s historic centre, in Lange Voorhout, which she explains was built on wealth generated by the slave trade.

Ms Smuelders is mixed-race and descended from the enslaved, enslavers and contractors. Her name incorporates Dutch, Scottish, and Portuguese and she considers it “very much colonial history”. For her, changing a surname is a complex, personal choice and unlikely to create an immediate rush among as many as one million people in the Netherlands.

“People react very differently to circumstances. So for some, [their name] might be something that they want to embrace,” she explains.

Valika Smuelders
This is part of who I am, and I don’t let my circumstances dictate who I am. For other people, it could be so painful that they want to get rid of it and start afresh. – Valika Smuelders
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Many people who have a Dutch name plan to keep it, because numerous studies have shown a foreign-sounding name in the Netherlands can expose you to discrimination in education, housing or employment.

Yaw’s son pointed out that the Scottish name Mac In Tosch probably opened doors in his corporate life.

Sitting in the shadow of the slave memorial in Amsterdam’s bustling Oosterpark, Linda Nooitmeer remembers the moment Mayor Femke Halsema apologised for the council’s role in the slave trade.

“It really did something to me. I would never have imagined that even four years ago, never. So we’re making steps.”

As I speak to Yaw outside Utrecht city hall a man comes over shouting racial abuse: “You’re not African, just because you’re black. If you think you are African, go back! Coming here for our benefits.”

People glance up until another white man intervenes.

It is a shocking moment but Yaw takes it in his stride. For him the Netherlands is still on a journey and the recognition of people’s desire to drop their slave names represents a small but significant step.

Mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema attends Keti Koti, the annual commemoration of the abolition of slavery on 1 July 2021
Earlier this year Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema formally apologised for the city’s role in slavery

“Dutch people claim that they are really liberated and the country is liberated, then you see these things, this behaviour,” he says.

The world-wide Black Lives Matter movement has made a difference, he believes, and the name-changing move is part of a process that shows greater awareness.

“We are here, we built this country, and we don’t let people chase us away because they say that we do not belong here.”

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Nevis: Dr. Albert Liburd Sr. Medal of Honour Recipient for Medical Career

Nevisian doctor honoured for outstanding contribution to National Service in medical field

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (September 09, 2021) — Dr. Albert Linton Liburd Sr. was presented with the 2020 Medal of Honour for his outstanding contribution to National Service in the field of Medicine. Her Honour Mrs. Hyleeta Liburd, Deputy Governor General on Nevis, made the presentation at an Investiture Ceremony at Government House in Bath Plain on September 09, 2021.

He is one of the three Nevisians awarded with the medal for 2020 by Sir Tapley Seaton, Governor General of St. Kitts and Nevis at an Investiture Ceremony at Government House in St. Kitts on August 17, 2021, however, Dr. Liburd was unable to attend

According to his profile, Dr. Liburd who was born in Brown Pasture in 1940,  developed a burning desire at a tender age to become a surgeon, following an accident in which he almost lost one of his toes.

His academic prowess began at the St. John’s Infant School, the Gingerland Boy School, and later at the Charlestown Secondary School (CSS) where he graduated with best results in the Cambridge, General Certificate Examinations (GCE). He then attended the Sixth Form at the St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla Grammar School where he obtained the second-best results in the Cambridge Advances Level examination and was awarded a scholarship

The Nevisian doctor began his tertiary education at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus in 1960. In 1963 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Latin and Economics. In 1966 he enrolled in medical school at the UWI Mona Campus in Jamaica, and in 1972 graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science

Dr. Liburd became a resident surgeon at the UWI, the Long Island Jewish/ Hillside Medical Centre and at the Queen’s General Hospital in New York.

One memorable event which he says he continues to be proud of, as part of his tenure in Jamaica in 1976, was being a part of a team of doctors who performed vascular surgery on members of Bob Marley’s band who had suffered serious gunshot wounds

He subsequently pursued additional studies in Surgery, at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland, and in 1978 earned a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) which earned him the title Mr. A. Linton Liburd

Dr. Liburd pursued his medical profession in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as Registrar in Neurosurgery, Paediatric and General Surgery

The accomplished Nevisian doctor was among the first team of doctors to perform open heart surgery at the UWI Hospital in Jamaica. He served as Medical Superintendent at the Alexandra Hospital in Nevis, and also as surgeon for a short time at the Joseph N. France General Hospital in St. Kitts before his resignation from that health facility and subsequently leaving the Federation

In 1984 with the acute shortage of medical practitioners on Nevis, Dr. Liburd realized that the vast knowledge, experience and skills he had acquired over the years were sorely needed. Despite the numerous job offers he had received overseas, his decision to return home was easy.

On his return to Nevis, he “established the Liburd Medical Centre at the Liburd Foundation House, and was the first surgeon to introduce office surgery in Nevis. He was appointed Medical Advisor to the Executive committee of the St. George’s and St. John’s Senior Citizens Home when it was established in 1993, and served the facility with distinction for many years.

“He is extremely passionate about his profession and always aims to deliver the ultimate in medical service to which many patients can attest…Dr. Liburd experiences a sense of pride and gratitude in helping humankind in whatever way he could. However, due to failing health, he retired from his medical practice in 2017 but continues to give advice to his successor, Dr A. Linton Liburd Jr.,” his profile said.

Dr. Liburd expressed gratitude to God Almighty, his parents and siblings, his wife and children, his extended family and many friends and colleagues who have assisted and supported him in this legacy of medicine.

Meantime Hon. Mark Brantley Premier of Nevis and Minister of Health, lauded Dr. Liburd for his accomplishments and his contribution to the development of Nevis in the field of Medicine

“I’m happy despite the difficulties in terms of health that you are able to be here sitting next to your lovely wife Carla Blackett now Carla Liburd, your son who is here, your family members and well-wishers who are here, and in the presence of Your Honour our Deputy Governor General and all who are gathered in this very historic place, Government House

“I believe it’s a fitting place to recognize someone who has made us all proud, and so Dr. Liburd with those few words I want to congratulate you, and to say how proud we are that Nevis has produced sons such as you.,” he said

Also present at the ceremony was Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams, Junior Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration.

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Sergio Ramírez: Nicaragua Orders Arrest of Award-Winning Author

 BBC- State prosecutors in Nicaragua have ordered the arrest of award-winning novelist Sergio Ramírez.

Mr Ramírez, who won Spain’s Cervantes Prize for literature in 2017, is one of Nicaragua’s foremost writers.

He has been accused of inciting hatred and conspiring to destabilise Nicaragua.

Dozens of influential Nicaraguans have already been detained on similar charges as part of a crackdown on critics of President Daniel Ortega.

Among those detained are several presidential hopefuls, union leaders and newspaper editors.

The 78-year-old novelist, who left Nicaragua in June, responded defiantly to the arrest order issued against him.

Writing on social media, he said words were his only weapons and that he would continue to use them to support freedom and democracy against dictatorship.

Mr Ramírez was once a close ally of President Ortega and served as his vice-president during Mr Ortega’s first presidency from 1985 to 1990.

Cuban President Fidel Castro (C) poses with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega (R) and Nicaraguan vice-president Sergio Ramirez, on January 11, 1985, during the inauguration of the "Victoria de Julio" sugar mill in Managua.
In 1985 Sergio Ramírez (l) stood shoulder to shoulder with Fidel Castro (c) and Daniel Ortega (r)

But he broke away from the Ortega-led Sandinista Party in 1995 in protest at what he said were Mr Ortega’s “autocratic tendencies”.

Has been has been an outspoken critic of Mr Ortega ever since. In an interview with Chilean daily La Tercera in July, he accused President Ortega of “not having limits”.

“His strategy is to remain in power at whatever cost,” he said of Mr Ortega, who is expected to run for a fifth term in office in elections in November.

The wave of arrests began in June when presidential hopeful Cristiana Chamorro was placed under house arrest and banned from running for office.

Unlike most of the other opposition figures, who have been charged with treason or inciting hatred, Ms Chamorro was accused of using a foundation she ran – the Violeta Barrios Chamorro Foundation – to launder money.

Prosecutors say Mr Ramírez received money from the Violeta Barrios Chamorro Foundation as well as another cultural organisation, which is also accused of “destabilising” Nicaragua.

Critics of the government say the arrests are a deliberate strategy to thin out the field of presidential candidates ahead of November’s election but the government says it is taking decisive action against “the enemies of Nicaragua” who, they say, are in the pay of the US.

Among those who have been detained or put under house since June are:

  • Berenice Quezada, candidate for vice-president and former beauty queen
  • Dora María Tellez, former comrade-in-arms of President Ortega turned critic
  • María Fernanda Flores Lanzas, former first lady and ex-Congresswoman
  • Ana Margarita Vijil, lawyer and opposition activist
  • Juan Sebastián Chamorro, presidential hopeful
  • Félix Maradiaga, presidential hopeful
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Nevis: Troy Liburd Announcees School Reopening, Sept.13

Junior Education Minister addresses reopening of school on Nevis

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (September 09, 2021) — The following is an address by Hon. Troy Liburd, Junior Minister of Education in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) regarding the reopening of school.

Fellow citizens and residents, 

I address you now in my capacity as Minister with Responsibility for Education on the Island of Nevis.

As you are aware, the Ministry of Education took the decision on Friday of last week, to delay the reopening of all public schools on Nevis by one week. At the same time the decision was also taken to temporarily close the offices of the Ministry and Department of Education at Marion Heights. This was as a result of a key education official contracting COVID-19, triggering a domino effect of contact tracing protocols, for most officers operating from that location, and extended to some principals and teachers in some of our schools.

The health and safety of our students during their time at our schools remains our top priority, and thus the decisions were taken to delay the reopening.

Notwithstanding the closure of our physical offices, education officials continued to work and to plan towards the reopening of schools. As of today September 9th 2021, the offices of the Ministry and Department of Education are now reopened.  

I want to assure you the parents and the general public that the Ministry of Education continues to work assiduously to ensure that all possible plans are in place to provide safe, quality education for our students on Nevis.  Education officials, principals and teachers have been involved in numerous planning sessions, fine-tuning the protocols to ensure the safest possible environment for all of our schools.

Therefore, the decision has been taken for all public schools on Nevis to open on Monday 13th September. The opening will be in accordance [with] the various protocols that have been developed for each school and communicated with parents. 

We have taken the decision to implement an alternate day schedule across the system for the first two weeks in the first instance. This is to decrease the numbers in the schools with the aim of protecting both students and staff and by extension, decrease the potential spread of the virus.

While we are aware of some of the implications associated with this decision, we want to reinforce the fact that every measure which is considered and implemented is done with the best interest of all parties in mind. Principals will communicate the arrangements and provide further details during your scheduled PTA meetings.

We ask parents to cooperate and to continue to partner with your schools to ensure that the teaching and learning process remains safe.

The Ministry continues to urge the immediate vaccination of all teachers, auxiliary school staff, day care and nursery providers. If you will not do it for yourself then I beg of you to do it for those in your care, those who are depending on you.

Vaccination remains our best hope of getting passed this dreadful disease. It is the best way to beat this disease, and it is the best way for our teachers and caregivers to help to protect the children that parents send to school daily.

It remains a cause for concern, and indeed it is disheartening to know that more than half of our teaching staff remain unvaccinated.

I implore you to consider the health and safety of our children, to consider that those below the age of 12 do not have an option to vaccinate, and are thus dependent on us to ensure that we buffer them from the devastation that COVID-19 can bring.

Throughout this global pandemic the government has continuously called on our people to act responsibly. Time and time again we have asked that our people adhere to the protocols, wear their mask, wash their hands and use hand sanitizer regularly, avoid crowded places and practice social distancing.

In addition, we have deployed vaccines for free. The government has secured Astra Zeneca and now the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccines for the protection of our people.

Many have come forward, and we thank you, but still some have said that they prefer to chance it. I would urge that you would reconsider, as we are dealing with a highly contagious and dangerous virus, and your decision may expose others.

In this difficult time, and it just that, a difficult time for all of us here in Nevis, it is perhaps okay for us to ask, what kind of a country are we? What kind of a people are we? and what direction we want to move in? COVID-19 is here, none of us brought it but all of our lives have been impacted by it.

I would ask that we continue to be our brother’s keeper, that we adhere to the necessary protocols, and that we partner with the Ministry of Education, with our parents and teachers and staff to ensure a safe and productive school year.

Thank you and may God continue to protect us all.

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Biden Speech: Blames Unvaccinated for US COVID-19 Surge, UK Boosters, World Stats

By Morgan Chalfant
Th Hill

President Biden on Thursday admonished unvaccinated Americans and some elected officials for exacerbating the coronavirus pandemic as he laid out new, more aggressive steps his administration is taking to confront COVID-19.

President of the United States of America Joe Biden

“We have the tools to combat COVID-19, and a distinct minority of Americans, supported by a distinct minority of elected officials, are keeping us from turning the corner. These pandemic politics, as I refer to it, are making people sick, causing unvaccinated people to die,” Biden said in prepared remarks from the State Dining Room of the White House.

“We cannot let these actions stand in the way of protecting the large majority of Americans who have done their part and want to get back to life as normal,” he said.

Biden captured the frustration expressed by vaccinated Americans, saying the U.S. has made substantial progress against the virus but that the remaining 25 percent of eligible Americans — about 80 million people — who have not yet gotten vaccinated for COVID-19 threaten those gains. He went on to address unvaccinated people directly, telling them that his patience is “wearing thin.”

“My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see? We have made vaccinations free, safe and convenient. The vaccine is FDA approved. Over 200 million Americans have gotten at least one shot. We’ve been patient but our patience is wearing thin and your refusal has cost all of us,” Biden said. “So please, do the right thing.”

Biden, without naming anyone, also accused some elected officials of “actively working to undermine the fight against COVID-19.”

“Instead of encouraging people to get vaccinated and mask up, they are ordering mobile morgues for the unvaccinated dying of COVID-19 in their communities,” Biden said. “This is totally unacceptable.”

Biden’s remarks represented a notable shift in tone as he more sternly confronts Americans who have not got the COVID-19 vaccine and conservative politicians who have spouted anti-vaccine messages. Biden has previously sparred with the Republican governors of Texas and Florida for seeking to ban mask mandates in schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

At one point on Thursday, Biden suggested the unvaccinated could reverse U.S. gains in the economic recovery. 

On Thursday, Biden announced a new rule that will require all private employers with upwards of 100 employees to mandate weekly testing as well as plans to require vaccines for most federal workers and contractors. Biden also said he would require employers to provide paid time off to get the vaccine and he urged large entertainment venues to require proof of vaccination or testing to gain entry.

Biden, who two months ago was celebrating the country’s progress against COVID-19 with a large outdoor Independence Day gathering, warned that the U.S. faces a difficult road ahead against the highly contagious delta variant. At the same time, he stressed that the situation would not be as dire as last winter because of the strength of the vaccines in combating serious illness.

“We’re in a tough stretch and it could last for a while,” Biden said.

COVID-19 cases have risen across the U.S. after a low point earlier this year, as the delta variant has spread among unvaccinated Americans. In some areas of the country, such as Texas, COVID-19 patients have overwhelmed hospitals.

Just over 75 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while over 64 percent are fully vaccinated. Polls have shown that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to shun the vaccine.

The White House has spent months encouraging vaccinations by turning to celebrities, reaching younger Americans on social media, backing promotions and incentive programs, and working to address questions and concerns among various communities.

Biden, who was initially hesitant to support vaccine mandates, at the end of July directed federal workers to either attest to their vaccination status or submit to regular testing. The new order announced Thursday is a more aggressive step. The White House said that federal workers will have 75 days to become fully vaccinated, with limited exceptions for religious or medical reasons, and that not doing so could result in disciplinary action including termination. The new Labor Department rule impacting private sector employers is expected to impact millions.  

Biden’s announcement triggered swift backlash from Republicans, with a handful of GOP governors accusing him of federal overreach and vowing to fight him in court.

But polls have showed that a majority of Americans support vaccine mandates, suggesting that most of the public will be on Biden’s side even if he incurs criticism from GOP elected officials and voters.

“We have the tools to combat the virus if we can come together as a country and use those tools,” Biden said, expressing confidence that the U.S. can ultimately get beyond the virus. “We can and we will turn the tide on COVID-19. It will take a lot of hard work and it will take some time.”

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Ministers hoping vaccines watchdog will back mass rollout of booster jabs

Government awaits JCVI decision as MHRA says third jab of Pfizer or AstraZeneca would be safe

Gloved hands fill a syringe
A healthcare professional draws up a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
and
Guardian

Ministers have piled pressure on the vaccines watchdog to approve a large-scale programme of Covid booster injections in time for winter, as the number of people in hospital with the virus exceeded 8,000 for the first time since March.

On Thursday the UK’s medicines regulator granted emergency approval for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to be used as third shots to tackle potentially waning immunity, also putting pressure on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to approve a new jab programme.

Hours later, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, said he was confident that such injections would begin imminently. “We are heading towards our booster programme,” he said. “I’m confident that our booster programme will start later this month, but I’m still awaiting the final advice.”

The JCVI is expected to announce imminently whether it has approved boosters, and if so on what scale. Members of the committee, which advises UK health departments, met virtually for more than four hours on Thursday and were briefed on interim results from the Cov-Boost study.

While the study’s results have not yet been made public, they were cited as supporting evidence by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in its emergency approval of the vaccines to be used as boosters.

Javid and ministerial colleagues are believed to be impatient to begin a mass rollout of booster jabs, as has already happened in Israel. However, the JCVI could disagree; it has described the issues under discussion as complex and containing numerous ethical implications.

One of the leading figures in the development of the Oxford AstraZeneca jab, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, has said a mass coronavirus vaccine booster campaign may not be necessary.

Immunity was “lasting well” for most people, she told the Daily Telegraph on Friday, and suggested extra doses should be directed to countries with a low rate of vaccination.

The JCVI has already approved third jabs for around 500,000 very clinically vulnerable adults and older children. Even if it does approve boosters, it could decide that these should initially be limited to older adults, or those with other health conditions.

Last week the JCVI declined to approve the use of Covid vaccinations for all 12- to 15-year-olds, something also strongly sought by ministers, instead expanding the use of jabs for those in the age group with severe health conditions.

The decision to withhold mass vaccinations for older children could still be reversed by a review of wider evidence by the chief medical officers of the four UK nations, which is also due to report imminently.

The MHRA’s announcement stressed that while it had approved booster vaccines in principle, it remained the JCVI’s decision over how, if at all, they could be used. “This is an important regulatory change as it gives further options for the vaccination programme, which has saved thousands of lives so far,” said Dr June Raine, the MHRA’s chief executive.

“It will now be for the JCVI to advise on whether booster jabs will be given and, if so, which vaccines should be used

While some scientists welcomed the MHRA’s move, others questioned whether it was ethical to provide millions of extra jabs to people with existing immunity when so many people worldwide had not yet received any vaccinations – a consideration that is not in the JCVI’s remit.

“By any standards this is good news,” said Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London. “As we see in daily breakthrough caseload, Delta has really stress-tested our defences. While UK cases are held down to about 40,000 a day as we head into autumn, there’s clearly little room for complacency. Data from Israel has already shown clearly that a third dose can enhance protection substantially to bring breakthroughs right down.”

But Prof Andrew Hayward, the director of the UCL institute of epidemiology and healthcare, suggested that while the announcement was good news for countries with a plentiful supply of jabs, it could have downsides when it comes to fair distribution of vaccines around the world.

“Those who have had any doses of vaccine will be at much lower risk of severe Covid-19 than those who have had none – so whilst the booster dose is likely to further increase protection in those receiving it, the dose would save more lives if given to someone in a country who has not yet had the opportunity to get any doses,” he said.

“This is one reason not to consider a general, whole-population approach to booster doses, but to focus on those who are most vulnerable – [such as] the elderly and those who are extremely clinically vulnerable – who were also vaccinated earlier and have therefore had longer for antibodies to wane.”

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The world needs more vaccine supply – Oxford jab creator

It is “too simplistic” to ask whether booster jabs should be given to people in the UK over giving first doses to people in other countries, the scientist behind the Oxford vaccine says.

Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert tells the BBC News Channel: “The problem we really have is that the world needs greater vaccine supply.

“We need more doses of all of the vaccines that are currently licensed and we need more vaccines to be licensed so that we’re not talking about choices between vaccinating in one country or another country.”

She says the “good news” is that “supply is increasing”.

Asked whether over-50s and those with weakened immune systems in the UK should be offered a booster jab, Gilbert says this is a “very complex decision”, which has to take into account which vaccines are available, so we should wait for advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

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WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

224,117,770

Deaths:

4,622,503

Recovered:

200,712,876
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

September 10 (GMT)

Updates

  • 18,341 new cases and 789 new deaths in Russia [source]
  • 10,397 new cases and 78 new deaths in Japan [source]

The post Biden Speech: Blames Unvaccinated for US COVID-19 Surge, UK Boosters, World Stats appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Venezuela talks – mountain went forth and produced a mouse

By Sir Ronald Sanders  

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States.  He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto.  The views expressed are his own)  

It was predictable that, in an attempt to show that they are capable of collaboration, the rival political groups in Venezuela would pick their spurious claim to two-thirds of Guyana’s territory as a show of unity.  

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, quickly and rightly rejected this grand but cheap show of solidarity, displayed at yet another attempt to broker an agreement between the warring Venezuelan parties.  

The Venezuelans were meeting in Mexico from September 3 to 6, in Norway’s third effort to mediate between the factions led by President Nicolás Maduro and pretender Juan Guaidó.  Their joint statement “ratified Venezuela’s rights” over what they call “Guayana Esequiba”.  

Of course, the statement changed nothing in Venezuela and did not improve the lives of its people, millions of whom have already voted with their feet.   More than five million Venezuelans have fled the country, making Venezuela the country with the world’s second largest refugee crisis, exceeded only by war ravaged Syria.  Indeed, the statement was met with a shrug by most Venezuelans except the political- military regime that have long held ambitions to seize the Guyana territory.  

What the rival political factions in Venezuela should be focussing on is improving the dire conditions in which most Venezuelans live and restoring an economy and a country of which the Venezuelan people can be proud and to which the refugees can return.  

But that’s the hard part.  It would call for political compromise by the opposing parties, including the ceding of power by leading politicians on both sides; an agreement on an independent electoral machinery to organise Presidential and other elections in a transparent and trusted manner; open election campaigns with guaranteed media freedom;  observation of the elections by international groups; credible machinery for spending the country’s oil and gas revenues; an agreed social welfare programme that does not discriminate politically; a judicial system that is independent; a military that stays out of politics; and an interim government comprised of the major political parties until elections are held.  

The likelihood of achieving these major but necessary measures is extremely remote.  Yet, both within Venezuela and in its diaspora and refugee community, there exists remarkably talented and skilled people in the areas of governance, economic development and finance.  Given a stable political climate, they could rebuild their country,  

It is right that Mexico, Norway and others should try to promote an agreement that would end the political impasse that has plagued the country and contributed to its rapid economic and social decline.  But the joint statement on Guyana, that they oversaw from the Venezuelan factions, has not advanced their efforts in any way.  The mediators merely grabbed the one thing that would not be contentious to Venezuelan parties.  It gave the Venezuelan people no greater hope of rising out of the morass into which their country has sunk.  

Responding to the joint statement by the Venezuelan Government and Opposition, the Guyana foreign ministry described it as “an overt threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana” and went on to say, “Guyana cannot be used as an altar of sacrifice for settlement of Venezuela’s internal political differences”.  In diplomatic but cutting language, the Guyana government said that while it “welcomes domestic accord within Venezuela, an agreement defying international law and process is not a basis for mediating harmony”.  

The Venezuelan contention with Guyana is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Guyana says it will remain there, rebuffing a remark from Jorge Rodriguez, president of the Venezuelan Congress and leader of Maduro’s negotiating team, calling on Guyana “to resume the path of negotiations in order to reach an agreement on the territory.”  

But Guyana has never negotiated with Venezuela on any “agreement on the territory”.  Guyana has always maintained that the Essequibo is Guyana’s territory, an assertion that it has been prepared to put before the ICJ for a decision in keeping with a decision by the UN Secretary-General.  For its part, Venezuela has rejected an independent hearing by the world’s leading international judges, indicating a lack of faith in the merits of their demand for Essequibo.  

The Venezuelans base their claim on a memorandum, written in 1944, by an American lawyer, Severo Mallet-Prevost, who was a junior counsel for Venezuela at an 1899 Arbitration that settled the boundary between Venezuela and Guyana (then British Guiana).   Shortly after Mallet-Prevost received from the Venezuelan government the Order of the Liberator for services to Venezuela, he allegedly wrote a note to his law partner that was opened after his death in 1949.  In the note, he alleged the settlement of the boundary was the result of collusion between the British judges, the Russian President of the Tribunal and the American Judges.  That is the pretext for the Venezuelan claim.  

It is no wonder that no Venezuelan government wants to lay a case before the ICJ and prefers to cajole Guyana into direct negotiations where its military capacity, that it has used in the past, could be employed  as leverage.  

Great hope was placed in the talks in Mexico by the Venezuelan factions.  At a meeting of the Organization of American States, I publicly expressed support for any further attempt to end the political impasse that would help Venezuela to rebuild in the interest of its people.  

If the joint statement on Guyana by the Venezuelan politicians is all that the mediation produced, then the mountain went forth and produced a mouse.  

The countries of the Americas must continue to hope that the talks, when they resume, will yet prove productive for the Venezuelan people.  

Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com 

The post Venezuela talks – mountain went forth and produced a mouse appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Department of Cooperatives pledges continued support for Newtown Fishermen Co-op

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, September 9, 2021 (MMS-SKN) — The Department of Cooperatives played a key role in the revitalisation of the Newtown Fishermen Cooperative Society Limited, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperatives and Environment, Ms Sharon Rattan, has pledged continued support for the society.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperatives and Environment, Ms Sharon Rattan, delivering remarks. Seen at the head table are Ms Maritza Queeley, and Mr Glenroy Guishard.

“The cooperative, while the oldest, it was dormant for some time and the Registrar of Cooperatives and the Deputy Registrar played a key role in helping to get them back on track,” said Ms Rattan. “We were very happy at the Ministry and at the Department of Cooperatives to help you to come on your feet again.”

The Permanent Secretary made the remarks on Wednesday September 8 at a press conference held at the Department of Fisheries on Newtown Bay Road where members of the society’s new Executive Board and Supervisory Committee were inducted in the wake of the annual general meeting that had been held on Thursday September 2.

Accompanied by the Registrar of Cooperatives Mr Clyde Thompson, and the Deputy Registrar of Cooperatives Mrs Earla Allen, Ms Rattan said that they were happy at the Department of Cooperatives to have given the moral and financial support, and the encouragement, that has enabled the society to stand proudly.

“I want to thank you for recommitting and I want to ask you to rebrand, and not just to jump on the bandwagon of rebrand because it is a 21st century word,” she advised. “I mean truly rebrand, as we are living in a generation of possibilities.”

She promised that the Department of Cooperatives will be there to guide them in every way, telling them that they can call on the Department every time and she introduced Ms Tracy Ann Gaskin, the Cooperatives Officer assigned to the society, and who was present at the press conference.

“Please stay in touch,” appealed the Permanent Secretary. “You provide a very important source of proteins for our diets and we look forward to that continuous access and availability.”

Inducted members of the Executive Board were President, Mr Craig Tuckett; Vice President, Mr Antonio Huggins; Treasurer, Mr Frank Farrell; Executive Member who will also serve as the PRO, Mr Glenroy Guishard; and Secretary Mr Damion Jacobs.

Members of the Supervisory Committee inducted were Chairman, Mr Wycliffe John, and floor members Mr Andrew Clarke, and Mr Wilmoth Buchanan.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources was represented by Ms Maritza Queeley, Head of Support Services Division, Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, who gave remarks on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Mr Ron Dublin Collins.

According to Ms Queeley, the Department of Marine Resources had supported the formation of the fisheries cooperative, and noted that it was a means by which fishers can pool their resources for the benefit of not just themselves individually, but for the community and the Federation as a whole.

With the revitalisation of the Newtown Fisherman Cooperative Society Limited, she pointed out that “it would give fishers in the Federation a greater opportunity to develop the fisheries product not just in catching fish and selling fish locally, but on a greater scale where product development and marketing will be encouraged and supported by this Department.”

Present at the induction press conference was the Area Parliamentary Representative for East Basseterre (St. Christopher One), the Hon Dr Geoffrey Hanley, who congratulated President Craig Tuckett and his entire team, and implored them to work together for the betterment of all of the fisher folks in the community.

Clockwise from top: Assistant Registrar of Cooperatives Mrs Earla Allen; Hon Dr Geoffrey Hanley, Ms Maritza Queeley, and Treasurer of the Newtown Fishermen Cooperative Society Limited, Mr Frank Farrell.  

“I stress – work together – noting that working as a team you are able to accomplish much more by doing that, and working as a team you certainly will be able to overcome the various challenges that you would be faced with,” said Dr Hanley.

In the meantime, the immediate past Area Parliamentary Representative for East Basseterre, Ambassador His Excellency Ian Patches Liburd, in a live telephone message said that today in an era of the Covid-19, when many people feel powerless to change their lives, cooperatives represent a strong, vibrant, and viable economic alternative that together a group of people can achieve goals that none of them could achieve individually.

“The Newtown Fishers Cooperative Society Limited will be expected to generate and provide an economic boost to the community as well and by extension to the entire country,” said His Excellency Liburd. “It is my further hope that your cooperative would be a democratic organisation controlled by its members, who should be allowed to actively participate in setting your policies and making your decisions.”

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