Tag Archives: caribbean

headline

T&T Enacts New Gambling Laws for Revenue

CNW- Trinidad and Tobago recently passed a new bill recently that could see the Caribbean island earn up to $2bn in revenue.

The Gaming and Betting Control Bill 2021 passed through the House of Representatives in June, giving the government firmer control over the taxation of the industry.

They will now collect taxes from the cost of gaming owners’ license, gaming tables, customs duty on imported gaming devices and corporation tax. According to News Day, it is seen as a huge step forward for Trinidad and Tobago to reduce their budget deficit, thought to be $8bn.

The bill lists the sums payable to the government as $120,000 for every Black Jack table, $120,000 for every roulette table, physical and electronic, and $24,000 for every slot machine. Failure to comply will see establishments hit with stiff penalties, including $1m and a $250,000 administrative fine for anyone using unapproved chips and devices or counterfeit gaming machines.

If an establishment breaches its license terms or fails to obtain a license, there will be a $5m penalty and a further $1.25m administrative fee.

The bill has come into being because the government feel the gaming industry on the island has not been paying its dues in the past. The Minister of Public Administration, Allyson West, believes that the industry is worth $16bn annually, but the taxes have never exceeded $82m.

Whilst many have welcomed the move, Allan Bhaggan, the owner of the Oasis Lounge on Broadway, has voiced his concerns at the rising costs of owning such an establishment, saying: “The rent for some casinos could be about $60,000. A machine costs about $200,000. To rent one costs about 50 per cent of your revenue. It could cost about over $100,000 to rent a machine. If somebody cracks a screen, it costs about $3,000 to $4,000 to fix it. If there is a power outage and machines go down, it costs a lot to repair. These machines are a huge cost to maintain. Very expensive.”

The worldwide casino industry has struggled over the past 18 months or so due to the pandemic. Doors had to be closed on many physical establishments, in Trinidad and across the Caribbean.

This has seen an increase in people playing online, with providers in that sector becoming particularly diverse and appealing. Not only can an online provider offer multiple online slots, certainly at a cost lower than $200,000, but they can also offer live events without the overheads associated with a casino.

Online provider Gala Casino has a range of live games such as Mega Fire Blaze Roulette and Infinite Blackjack, which create the illusion of being in a real casino without actually attending.

That variety and depth make it very tough for physical locations to thrive, even without the added burden of such heavy taxation. Whilst those market forces are a problem for the likes of Bhaggan, he confesses he believes the legislation is needed, but the timing, on the back of a challenging 18 months, could be a problem.

“I have no problem with the legislation,” he added. “I think the State’s timing is not right. Maybe another two years. Maybe by 2023. They have to be careful that the legislation does not force the local owners out. They have to be careful that it does not allow only the foreign owners to survive. That can happen if the small man cannot pay his taxes.”

The worry doesn’t seem to be whether the casinos will survive; Trinidad and Tobago does provide an excellent backdrop for establishments that online gaming cannot, with sun and the Caribbean Sea all around.

The problem is whether the local owners can thrive under the new legislation or struggle and see their businesses gobbled up by larger providers with the resources to meet the new taxation structure.

The post T&T Enacts New Gambling Laws for Revenue appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

US COVID-19 Vaccines Arriving in Region

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr Carissa Etienne, says 15 countries will receive approximately six million of the 25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that the United States has earmarked for deployment to help ease the global shortage.

She said that these nations include countries in Central and South America, and the Caribbean, inclusive of CARICOM member states.

Speaking during PAHO’s COVID-19 digital briefing on Wednesday, Dr Etienne said 1.5 million of the doses arrived last Sunday (June 27), from which the first allocation was dispatched to Honduras.

She said that “millions more [are expected] to be delivered in the coming days”.

Dr Etienne noted that PAHO, through its Revolving Fund, has been working tirelessly with the US Government and those of the recipient countries, as also the World Health Organization COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility “to ensure that these vaccines are received promptly, safely and are ready to be deployed as soon as they arrive”.

The Director advised that PAHO is also in discussions with Canada, Spain, and other partners to secure more vaccine donations and ensure speedy deployment to member countries.

Noting that global vaccine supplies remain “very limited”, Dr Etienne maintained that donations are “our best option in the short-term to protect the most vulnerable in Latin America and the Caribbean”.

She said that PAHO is grateful to the US for the “generous donation”, which she pointed out, “will make a difference in some countries that are suffering extreme hardships due to COVID-19”.

Dr Etienne indicated that PAHO, in tandem with COVAX, governments, vaccine producers and other partners has, to date, delivered more than 21 million doses to 31 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

She pointed out, however, that “the reality is… we still face a glaring gap in access to vaccines”.

“We are hopeful that these donations [by the US] and the support [provided] will be duplicated by other developed countries so that we can expand access to vaccines as soon as possible,” Dr Etienne said.

The region of the Americas has recorded a staggering 72 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 1.9 million deaths since the pandemic’s onset.

These figures include 1.1 million new cases and 30,000 additional deaths recorded last week.

The post US COVID-19 Vaccines Arriving in Region appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

The Caribbean should support ecocide as an international crime

By Sir Ronald Sanders  

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

 

Small island states and countries with low-lying coast are the victims of ecocide.

A draft law, unveiled on June 22, defines ecocide as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”.

Getting the law accepted would be a long process.  It could take years.  And, that is precisely why small islands and low-lying coastal states should embrace and promote it now.   Every year that passes brings greater dangers of irreparable damage without compensation.

While Climate Change is not specifically mentioned in the draft law, supporting it and eventually joining in its enactment, would send a serious message to states and entities that do little or nothing to stop ecological damage to vulnerable countries.

Something has to give in this unlevel playing field in which small island states and low-lying coastal states are made to suffer.  Therefore, the initiative for a new international criminal law, called “Ecocide”, by a group of legal experts, co-chaired by British Professor Philippe Sands QC, and Dior Fall Sow, a UN jurist and former prosecutor from Senegal, is heartening news.

At least, it would open the door for criminal prosecutions against entities that cause ecological damage.  Eventually, it could lead to the inclusion of the harmful effects of Climate Change, which, despite all the efforts of small island states, show no prospect of slowing down, let alone ending.

The possibilities for damage to countries that could be classified under ecocide are: transboundary nuclear accidents, major oil spills and Amazon deforestation.   The Caribbean has long been exposed to nuclear accidents by the passage through the region of ships carrying nuclear waste from Japan to Europe.  Major oil spills have also now become a matter for concern in the area as oil production new extends from Trinidad and Tobago to Guyana and Suriname.

Caribbean nations ought not to be pessimistic about the chances of ‘ecocide’ being added to the four international crimes that now exist and are triable by the ICC.  It should be recalled that it was a Caribbean man, A.N.R Robinson, a former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago who, in 1989, revived the idea of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with jurisdiction over international crimes.  He triggered the process that eventually led to the adoption of the Rome Statute – the Court’s founding treaty that came into force in 2002.   Large tasks have been taken on by small countries to success when they act together.

Several other small island nations, including Vanuatu, in the Pacific, and the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, called for “serious consideration” of a crime of ecocide at the ICC’s annual assembly of states parties in 2019.   Undoubtedly, they had Climate Change in mind.  But, even if, at this stage, including climate change in the definition of ecocide is not possible, the opportunity should be grasped to make it attainable in the future.  The perpetrators, who are now getting a free pass, should see that the victims are serious about recompense for damage.

The initiative for a new criminal law is a serious one, backed by the ‘Stop Ecocide Foundation’, a Netherlands-based global coalition.  It is the Foundation that gathered a panel of 12 leading lawyers, including Sands and Sow, to work on the draft law.

Professor Sands said it creates “a definition that catches the most egregious acts but doesn’t catch the kinds of daily activity that so many of us, myself included, and regions and peoples and countries are involved in which cause significant harm to the environment over the long term”.  The other co-chair, Dior Fall Sow said: “The environment is threatened worldwide by the very serious and persistent damage caused to it, which endangers the lives of the people who live in it. This definition helps to emphasise that the security of our planet must be guaranteed on an international scale”.

So, while the law, if it is enacted, will not include climate change,  the panel of lawyers passionately believe that the proposed definition could provide a basis for the consideration of a new international crime. As Sands puts it “what is original and innovative, is that the environment will be put at the heart of international law”.

The initiative has attracted the support of the Caribbean’s Sir Shridath Ramphal, himself an international lawyer, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and member of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development, whose 1987 report, “Our Common Future” awakened the world to the major threat to the environment.  He said of this new initiative: “I urge serious global support for the work of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal  Definition of Ecocide, organised by the Stop Ecocide Foundation. Their ‘Commentary and Core Text’ of a definition of ‘ecocide’ as an international crime deserve humanity’s urgent attention”.

Every country in the Caribbean should embrace and promote the draft law to make ecocide an international crime.  Doing so would give them the support of  a further strand of international law which, along with diplomacy, is a principal tool for the defence of their interests.

Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com

The post The Caribbean should support ecocide as an international crime appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Dominica PM: ‘Nonsense’ that His Govt. Helped Abduct Choksi

Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has termed “total nonsense” the claims that his government was involved in the alleged abduction of diamantaire Mehul Choksi, wanted in ₹13,500 crore scam in Punjab National Bank, from neighbouring Antigua and Barbuda, local media there reported.

In his weekly “Annou Palay” show, Skerrit said his government will allow the court to carry out its process regarding Choksi and gave the assurance that his rights and obligations will be respected, Dominica News Online reported.

Skerrit refuted the allegations of a plot between India and Dominica government to kidnap Choksi from neighbouring Caribbean country Antigua and Barbuda, where he was staying since 2018 as a citizen, after fleeing from India, and bring him to Dominica, the news portal reported.

“To say that the government of Dominica and the government of Antigua along with India colluded in any way, give me a break, that’s total nonsense. We don’t get involved ourselves in those kinds of activities, those practices, not at all. I mean that is absurd and we reject it and it is unfortunate that anybody would want to propagate this unsubstantiated claim by a gentleman who is before the courts,” he was quoted as saying by Dominica News Online.

He further said “whether it would be fair for a local who commits murder in Dominica and flees to another country, is allowed to roam free or instead be apprehended and sent back to Dominica to face his charges”.

Also read: Mehul Choksi remanded to State prison in Dominica, but to remain in hospital: His lawyer

Citing the case of a Dominica citizen wanted by the United States whose extradition proceedings are going on in courts to counter opposition on Choksi, Skerrit said the country cannot treat people differently depending on who they are or how much money they may have.

“All of us are subjected to the laws irrespective of our position or how much money we may have or how much we don’t have. And I believe that in this circumstance…Dominica has a right and obligation to apprehend this person and bring the person before the courts and let the courts determine,” he said.

“We here in Dominica with the opposition talking about Choksi but there is a young boy from Grand Bay…Where there is an extradition request by the United States government on allegations that he committed a crime in St Thomas and we are mandated and obligated to apprehend him.”

“And the police acted on the instruction of the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) arrested the young man and he is remanded at the State prison awaiting his extradition hearing. His lawyers will fight his case. If the courts believe that there is no reason to extradite him to the United States then he will go freely,” Skerrit said.

Choksi’s lawyer in Dominica Justin Simon claimed that United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police, known as Scotland Yard, has started looking into allegations of torture and kidnapping of Choksi as citizens there were allegedly part of the plot, the news site reported.

Simon told media that there will be international implications if Dominica or Antigua turns out to be involved in the alleged plot, it said.

The post Dominica PM: ‘Nonsense’ that His Govt. Helped Abduct Choksi appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Tropical Storm Elsa Strengthens to Hurricane Near Barbados

July 2 (Reuters) – Tropical storm Elsa has strengthened into a hurricane and is about 20 miles (30 kilometers) west-southwest of Barbados with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 km/h), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Friday.

Elsa is located about 70 miles (110 km) east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (95 km/h), the NHC said, adding that by Sunday, Elsa is forecast to move near to Jamaica and parts of eastern Cuba.

Elsa’s track will move it through the Windward Islands on Friday. On Saturday the storm will approach Hispaniola. Elsa then moves near Jamaica and Cuba on Sunday.

By Monday evening, Elsa will approach the Florida Keys with sustained winds expected to still be around 65 miles per hour.The current long-range track has Elsa skirting up the Gulf Coast of Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Elsa formed July 1, making it the earliest E-named storm on record, breaking the record set last year by Edouard.

The post Tropical Storm Elsa Strengthens to Hurricane Near Barbados appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

World View: Farewell Afghanistan, Heatwave Deaths, Space Race, More

July 2, 2021

Alternate text

The Associated Press

The Rundown

I'm an image

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said…Read More

I'm an image

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — Susana Alvarez fled her home on the 10th floor of Champlain Towers South, escaping with her life and almost nothing else. “I don’t have anything,” said the 62-year-old survivor of the condominium building collapse jus…Read More

I'm an image

NEW YORK (AP) — With Thursday’s arraignment of Donald Trump’s company and his longtime finance chief on tax fraud charges, New York authorities notched their first indictment in a two-year ongoing investigation of the former president….Read More

I'm an image

BEIJING (AP) — As the World Health Organization draws up plans for the next phase of its probe of how the coronavirus pandemic started, an increasing number of scientists say the U.N. agency it isn’t up to the task and shouldn’t be the one…Read More

I'm an image

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Many of the dead were found alone, in homes without air conditioning or fans. Some were elderly — one as old as 97. The body of an immigrant farm laborer was found in an Oregon nursery….Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is acting swiftly to launch a new investigation of the violent Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, choosing a diverse slate of ei…Read More

TULELAKE, Calif. (AP) — Ben DuVal knelt in a barren field near the California-Oregon border and scooped up a handful of parched soil as dust devils whirled around him and bi…Read More

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Imtiaz Mohmand, just 19, makes a living selling melons out of a crate perched on his three-wheel motorcycle in the Afghan capital’s Kart-e-Now neig…Read More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson is aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days….Read More

The post World View: Farewell Afghanistan, Heatwave Deaths, Space Race, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Xi Warns China Will Not Be ‘Oppressed’ in Anniversary Speech

BBC- China’s President Xi Jinping has warned that foreign powers will “get their heads bashed” if they attempt to bully or influence the country.

He delivered a defiant speech at an event marking the centenary of the ruling Communist Party on Thursday.

Mr Xi also said Beijing would not allow “sanctimonious preaching”, in remarks widely seen as directed at the US.

It comes as China faces criticism over alleged human rights abuses and its crackdown in Hong Kong.

Relations between the US and China have worsened in recent times over trade, espionage and the pandemic.

The issue of Taiwan is also a major source of tension. While democratic Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state, Beijing views the island as a breakaway province.

The US, under its own laws, is required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself should Beijing use force to take the island back.

On Thursday Mr Xi said China maintains an “unshakeable commitment” to unification with Taiwan.

“No one should underestimate the resolve, the will and ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.

Aircraft from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force fly in formation during a parade to celebrate the the 100th founding anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party at Tiananmen Square on July 1, 2021 in Beijing, China.Military aircraft flew in formation to mark the 100th anniversary

In response, Taiwan said it was determined to defend its sovereignty and democracy.

“Beijing should introduce democratic reforms, such as party competition, and respect for human rights while behaving as a responsible regional player,” the island’s Mainland Affairs Council was quoted as saying by the Taiwan News website.

The 100th anniversary celebrations on Thursday morning saw military jet fly-pasts, cannon salutes and patriotic songs played.

A carefully vetted crowd were in attendance in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, many of whom were not wearing masks.

The country has seen a media blitz in recent weeks promoting a party-approved version of China’s history.

Hong Kong is also marking its handover anniversary on the same day.

People in the streets of Beijing take photos and wave at planes flying in formation to Tiananmen SquarePeople in the streets of Beijing waving at planes flying in formation to Tiananmen Square

What stood out in Xi’s message?

Mr Xi, who spoke for around an hour, reiterated the role of the party in modern China, saying that it has been central to the country’s growth and that attempts to separate it from the people would fail.

“Only socialism can save China, and only socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China,” he said, referring to the system under which the party embraced markets to reform the economy.

He added that “we will never allow anyone to bully, oppress or subjugate China”.

“Anyone who dares try to do that will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall of Steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people,” he said.

Students wave Chinese flags before the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on July 1, 2021.
The celebrations at Tiananmen Square saw massive crowds

China has repeatedly accused the US of trying to curb its growth – and these comments are also seen as a reference to Washington.

On Hong Kong and Macau – which he said both retain a “high degree of autonomy” – they should “accurately implement the principles of ‘one country, two systems’”, which underpinned the deal for Britain and Portugal to return the territories to China.

Presentational grey line

Analysis box by Robin Brant, Shanghai correspondentModern China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, wore a light grey suit which appeared to be identical to the one worn by the Communist Party founder in the famous portrait that adorns one side of Tiananmen Square.

Mr Xi praised his people for the “new world” he said they had created.

What he was also saying was that this is a world that could not have come into being without the Party.

At one point military jets flew over the crowd in formation of the number 100; flown by pilots loyal to the Party and the people.

It’s easy to forget when you live here but a key part of the Communist Party strategy has been to try to morph the Party and the machinery of government and the perception of the nation of China into one.

They attribute any success, progress, advancement – and there has been phenomenal economic advancement – to the people and the government but most of all the Party.

Just to make sure the message went out loud and clear, at the end of the ceremony, the crowd sung a song called “Without the Communist Party There Would Be No New China”.

Presentational grey line

The post Xi Warns China Will Not Be ‘Oppressed’ in Anniversary Speech appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Bagram: Last US, Nato Forces Leave Key Afghanistan Base

The US air force was still using Bagram on Thursday 

BBC- US officials say the last US and Nato forces have left Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase the centre of the war against militants for some 20 years.

The pull-out could signal that the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is imminent. President Joe Biden has said US forces will be gone by 11 September.

But the withdrawal from the sprawling base, north of Kabul, comes as the main jihadist group, the Taliban, advances in many parts of Afghanistan.

The 11 September deadline is the anniversary of the attacks on America in 2001, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda, an international jihadist group then based in Afghanistan with the support of the Taliban, who had been in control of the country since the 1990s. A US-led coalition invaded the Afghanistan later that year to defeat both groups.

America now wants to end its longest war with its huge cost in human lives and vast expense, and is leaving security to the Afghan government.

Some 2,500-3,500 US troops were thought to be still in Afghanistan until recently, and they are due to depart along with some 7,000 other coalition troops, leaving fewer than 1,000 American soldiers in the country.

Meanwhile, a resurgent Taliban, buoyed by the expectation of the foreign withdrawal, has overrun dozens of districts, amid fears that a new civil war could erupt after the departure of foreign forces.

Presentational grey line

A top target for the Taliban

Analysis box by Lyse Doucet, chief international correspondent

Bagram is a bellwether of what’s to come. This symbol of American military might was once a stronghold of Soviet forces. Now Afghan security forces will soon confront the challenge of securing this sprawling city within a city.

Bagram is vital – in symbolic and strategic ways. Taliban fighters, advancing in districts across the country, have this prize in their sights. Even last October, residents of the town which has swelled all around it told us the Taliban were already in their midst.

On a recent visit to the base, as the US packed up, we heard how Afghan security forces saw it as a mixed blessing. There’s a wealth of military assets within its walls; but that treasure is a top target for Taliban, not to mention corrupt commanders and others eying this fortune.

For the countless Afghans whose lives and livelihoods have long banked on this base – and who now feel abandoned – Bagram’s new chapter is deeply worrying.

Presentational grey line

Why is Bagram so important?

The airfield, built up by the Soviets when they occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s, and named after a nearby village, lies around 40km (25 miles) north of Kabul.

The US-led coalition forces moved in during December 2001, and it was developed into a huge base capable of holding up to 10,000 troops.

It is served by two runways, the most recent of which is 3.6km long, where large cargo and bomber aircraft can land.

It has 110 parking spots for aircraft, which are protected by blast walls, and had a 50-bed hospital with a trauma bay, three operating theatres and a modern dental clinic, the Associated Press reports.

Its hangars and buildings included the main prison facility for people detained by US forces at the height of the conflict, which became known as Afghanistan’s Guantanamo – after the infamous US military prison in Cuba.

Bagram was one of the sites identified in a US Senate report on the CIA’s interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects, including the use of torture, carried out in detention facilities.

What happens next?

About 650 US troops are expected to remain in the country, the Associated Press reports, to provide protection for diplomats and help guard Kabul’s international airport, a vital transport hub for the landlocked country.

They are guarding the airport alongside troops from America’s Nato ally Turkey, while a new agreement for its security is negotiated with the Afghan government.

The airport’s US protection includes a counter-rocket, artillery, mortar system and the troops to operate it, as well as helicopter support.

Other American troops will guard the US Embassy in Kabul.

Military analysts say the ability of the Afghan government to maintain control over Bagram will be vital to its efforts to defend Kabul and push back the Taliban.

While the Taliban stopped attacks on coalition forces after signing an agreement with the US in February of last year, they have continued fighting government forces.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, welcomed the US withdrawal from Bagram, telling AFP news agency it would “pave the way for Afghans to decide about their future between themselves”.

The war is thought to have taken the lives of more than 47,000 Afghan civilians and nearly 70,000 Afghan troops, as well as the lives of 2,442 US soldiers and more than 3,800 US private security contractors, and 1,144 soldiers from other coalition countries.

The Costs of War project at Brown University, which analyses America’s wars this century, estimates that the war has cost America a total of $2.26tn (£1.64tn).

The post Bagram: Last US, Nato Forces Leave Key Afghanistan Base appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Barbados Announces Total COVID Screening Ability

Barbados says starting this week, it will be in a position to screen positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases for all variants of the virus as the authorities urged people to get vaccinated in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease.

Health and Wellness Minister retired, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic said that the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory should be in a position to screen positive COVID-19 cases for all variants and that equipment, which had been sent overseas to be recalibrated to facilitate the screening had been returned.

“I am happy to say that there is going to be some validation over this weekend to make sure that the shipping process did not affect the calibration. Once that is successful, then the lab would be in a position to be able to screen all positive cases for all of the variants.

“This is a significant step in the process; this will allow us to see exactly what we’re dealing with,” said Bostic, noting that the public health laboratory had already started screening for the Alpha variant.

He told reporters that primers received from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) would assist the lab in testing for other variants and that the ministry had sent off more samples to the Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for screening.

Bostic also disclosed that the British High Commission in Barbados had made an offer to assist in this regard, while not going into detail.

“The most important thing, really, is the fact that hopefully from next week, once all goes well this weekend, we’ll be in a position to do the screening for all positive cases, so we will be able to do the first screening for all of the variants,” Bostic emphasised.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Kenneth George, is urging persons, particularly young people and those who work in health care facilities, to come forward and be vaccinated against COVID-19.

There are presently over 94,000 persons living in Barbados who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and about 69,000 persons who have had their second dose and are fully vaccinated.

“This is good, but we need to improve on this. And there are some special groups I would like to encourage to come forward to make sure that they are vaccinated,” the Chief Medical Officer said.

He noted that the island had already received two sets of vaccines through the COVAX Facility after starting off with 100,000 vaccines through a donation from the Government of India. In addition, he noted that the Sinopharm vaccine was expected to arrive on the island shortly.

CMC

The post Barbados Announces Total COVID Screening Ability appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Trump Exec Weisselberg Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud, Conspiracy Charges

By Brett Samuels and Harper Neidig

 New York City prosecutors on Thursday charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with various fraud and conspiracy charges.

Weisselberg, who turned himself in earlier Thursday morning, pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges, which include tax fraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records. He and the Trump Organization have denied wrongdoing.

In an indictment that was unsealed Thursday afternoon, prosecutors alleged that Weisselberg helped orchestrate a scheme to compensate himself and “other Trump Organization executives” with unreported income.

According to prosecutors, Weisselberg avoided paying taxes on about $1.7 million in income between 2005 and 2017. The indictment alleges that the Trump Organization had been paying for his rent in a Manhattan apartment, living expenses, a relative’s private school tuition and the lease on a Mercedes.

Former President Trump was not mentioned in the charging documents but prosecutors suggested that executives other than Weisselberg were implicated in the scheme.

Carey Dunne, an attorney in the district attorney’s office, said in court on Thursday that prosecutors found widespread wrongdoing within the company.

“As spelled out in the indictment, this was a fifteen year-long tax fraud scheme, involving off the books payments, which is a type of crime that’s charged against companies and executives all the time,” Dunne said. “Contrary to today’s assertion by the company’s former CEO this is not a ‘standard practice in the business community,’ nor was it the act of a rogue or isolated employee.

“Instead, it was orchestrated by the most senior executives, who were financially benefiting themselves and the company by getting secret pay raises at the expense of state and federal taxpayers.”

Ron Fischetti, an attorney representing the company in the case, scoffed at the prosecutors’ case in a statement issued after the arraignment.

“After years of investigation and the collection of millions of documents and devoting the resources of dozens of prosecutors and outside consultants, this is all they have?” Fischetti said. “The District Attorney is supposed to be apolitical, but everyone knows that the only reason they are proceeding with this case is because it is ‘Trump’. As far as we are concerned, this case is over.”

The Trump Organization in a statement lambasted the prosecutors involved in the case, accusing them of pursuing charges with flimsy evidence because of political motivations.

“Today in New York City, violent crime continues to steadily rise to levels not seen in decades. Subway slashings, gun violence and hate crimes have become an every-day occurrence, with random shootings even happening in the middle of Times Square. Yet, instead of focusing on protecting the people of New York, the District Attorney has instead devoted countless resources for the sole purpose of targeting the former President,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.

Trump responded to the news of the charges by calling it a “political witch hunt.”

“The political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats, with New York now taking over the assignment, continues,” Trump said. “It is dividing our Country like never before!”

Attorneys for Weisselberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Weisselberg is the first Trump Organization official to be indicted in the long-running investigations by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James into the company’s financial dealings.

The charges come just months after Vance’s office obtained Trump’s tax returns and other financial records following a protracted legal battle that twice reached the Supreme Court.

Weisselberg was led past reporters and broadcast crews in handcuffs at a Manhattan courthouse Thursday as he made his first appearance before a judge.

President Biden, who was in southern Florida to meet with local officials and families of those killed or missing after a condo collapse there, told reporters he knew nothing about the charges given he had been traveling.

“And even if I did, I wouldn’t comment on an ongoing case, if it’s an ongoing case,” he said.

James in a statement called the charges unsealed Thursday “an important marker” in the ongoing investigation into Trump’s business dealings.

The charges are likely to turn up the pressure on Trump, especially if Weisselberg chooses to cooperate with prosecutors in the criminal probe, which the district attorney’s office says is ongoing.

Trump had said little about the case publicly this week as the anticipation built around charges being filed. He issued a lengthy statement on Monday decrying the New York investigations as politically motivated, seeking to muddy the waters ahead of any formal announcement.

Multiple sources in Trump’s orbit said there has been chatter among aides in recent days about the looming announcement of charges, but some were unsure of the seriousness given it would not directly implicate the former president.

The post Trump Exec Weisselberg Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud, Conspiracy Charges appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.