Teachers return to classroom, postpone industrial action
Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin has welcomed the decision by the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) whose members have decided to forgo threatened industrial action and return to the classrooms.
“Well, I don’t want to get into the internal politics of the union, but I know as the Minister of Education I am very pleased that teachers will be in the classroom. Next week, the children of this nation will return to school fully face-to-face and we can begin to stabilize education in this country,” Hanna-Martin said.
BUT President Belinda Wilson said that teachers were reviewing the final draft of their full industrial agreement and were completing a few details.
Last month, the BUT informed teachers that they should be prepared for industrial action on August 22 following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum given to the government to sign off on a full industrial agreement with the union.
The government recently signed a new industrial agreement with the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union and Bahamas Educators, Counsellors and Allied Workers Union.
Hanna Martin said she is aware that negotiations have been ongoing and that at least two other unions have completed their negotiations.
“So, I don’t know what has led to the prolonged one with BUT in particular, but the bottom line is that the whole purpose of what we all are doing is to advance education in The Bahamas. Whatever we do to get there should be done expeditiously, but I certainly don’t know what the dynamics were in negotiations over that period of years.”
But President said that she was pleased with the member's involvement in the negotiations, noting that approximately 800 attended a meeting last Sunday.
“As you are aware we voted in high numbers to take industrial action Monday, August 22, 2022, the first day of school for teachers,” she said, adding “however, within the past four days have been at the table on Thursday, August 18, 2022…and the numerous communications between the government negotiators and the Bahamas Union of Teachers negotiating team, in light of the progress made, you, the members, have decided to forgo industrial action.
“As you are also aware, we are reviewing the final draft of our full industrial agreement and we (are) completing a few details and should be completed with a view to signing a new industrial agreement for all of the members of the Bahamas Union of Teachers from Grand Bahama to Inagua. We expect to sign in short order,” she added.
Source-CMC
West Indies fined for slow over-rate in final ODI against New Zealand
West Indies have been fined 40 percent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Barbados on Sunday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Monday.
They will also lose two points from their points tally during the Super League.
In a statement, the ICC said Richie Richardson of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Nicholas Pooran’s side, which lost the series 2-1 in the decider, was ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.
“In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offenses, players are fined 20 percent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time,” it added.
“In addition, as per Article 16.12.2 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League Playing Conditions, a side is penalized one point for each over short. Consequently, West Indies will lose two points from their points tally during the Super League.”
The ICC noted that Pooran had pleaded guilty to the offense and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
On-field umpires Joel Wilson and Leslie Reifer, third umpire Gregory Brathwaite and fourth umpire Nigel Duguid leveled the charge.
Source-CMC
SNAP CENTRE BULGARIZED
The Ministry of Health and Human Services wishes to advise the public that the SNAP Centre within the Special Needs Unit, was burglarized over the weekend of August 12, 2022, and a second attempt was made on the 16 of August 2022.
Various items were stolen inclusive of cleaning supplies, school supplies, food items, appliances, television, microwaves, towels, sheets, comforters and other specialized manipulatives.
This blatant, criminal act has impacted the lives of our society’s’ most vulnerable as the life skills room and early childhood program has been completely derailed.
Ms. Betty-Ann Been, Director of Special Needs Unit stated that, “this is unfortunate and disheartening, for such an institution providing educational and life skills opportunity for children with special needs.”
The origins of The SNAP Centre, formally P.A.T.H. Centre were based on community efforts as it was started by a group of parents of children with special needs and advocates of special needs. Subsequently, through consultation and a common goal, the initiative became a joint partnership with Government. In 2010, the Turks & Caicos Islands Government fully assumed responsibility for the program as it continues to make great strides over the years.
The SNAP Centre provides intellectual and life skills opportunities for children and young persons that have been assessed with various developmental delays between the ages of 3-21 years, using the Individual Educational Program.
As investigations are ongoing, the Special Needs Unit encourages the general public to report any information anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 (TIPS) that is answered in Miami, Florida or the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, Chalk Sound Police Station at 338-5901 or 941-8082.
PUBLIC FORECAST FOR TODAY AND TONIGHT
WEATHER: VARIABLY CLOUDY, HOT AND A BIT BREEZY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN ISLANDS THROUGH TONIGHT
ADVISORY: EXPECT GUSTY WINDS AND HIGHER SEAS IN OR NEAR SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS, SMALL CRAFT CAUTION REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE TCI.
WINDS: EASTERLY AT 15 TO 20 KNOTS IN THE TCI
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET IN THE TCI
HIGH TEMPERATURE TODAY 94 °F 34°C
LOW TEMPERATURE TONIGHT 81°F 27°C
SUNRISE: 6:45 AM SUNSET: 7:38 PM
MOONSET: 3:52 PM MOONRISE: 2:25 AM MON
LOW TIDE: 10:04 AM & 11:12 PM
HIGH TIDE: 4:39 PM & 4:54 AM MON
EXTENDED FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS: MID TO UPPER LEVEL TROUGHING IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ACROSS THE ISLANDS ENHANCING THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WHILE HIGH PRESSURE WEAKENS GENERATING MODERATE BREEZES ACROSS THE AREA.
FORECAST FOR MONDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY AND HOT WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BECOMING FAIR AND WARM AT NIGHT WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
WINDS: 15 TO 20 KNOTS AT FIRST THEN FALLING TO 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE TCI.
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET BUT DIMINISHING TO 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE TCI.
More monkeypox vaccines on the way
Starting Monday, an additional 360,000 vials of monkeypox vaccine will be available, potentially enough for 1.8 million shots in arms using the administration's new approach and a number that will nearly triple the U.S. supply of vaccines available so far, the White House Monkeypox Response Team announced Thursday.
The expansion of supply follows a strategy the administration rolled out last week that changed the recommendation for how to inject the vaccines, moving from a deeper injection to a shallower, intradermal one that uses only one-fifth of the vaccine, but still carries the same efficacy, officials say, allowing the administration to stretch doses five-fold.
More than 14 thousand cases have been confirmed in the US, with the virus disproportionately affecting people of color according to data presented by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
Source-ABC
More monkeypox vaccines on the way
Starting Monday, an additional 360,000 vials of monkeypox vaccine will be available, potentially enough for 1.8 million shots in arms using the administration's new approach and a number that will nearly triple the U.S. supply of vaccines available so far, the White House Monkeypox Response Team announced Thursday.
The expansion of supply follows a strategy the administration rolled out last week that changed the recommendation for how to inject the vaccines, moving from a deeper injection to a shallower, intradermal one that uses only one-fifth of the vaccine, but still carries the same efficacy, officials say, allowing the administration to stretch doses five-fold.
More than 14 thousand cases have been confirmed in the US, with the virus disproportionately affecting people of color according to data presented by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
Source-ABC
Dr. Dre says doctors thought he'd be "outta here" after brain aneurysm
When Dr. Dre suffered a brain aneurysm in 2021, his doctors thought he was going to die. According to the famed producer, the medical staff at Cedars-Sinai hospital bypassed COVID restrictions and invited his loved ones to see him one last time.
"They weren’t allowing anybody to come up, meaning visitors or family or anything like that, because of COVID, but they allowed my family to come in,” Dre revealed on the Workout the Doubt podcast. “I found out later, they called them up so they could say their last goodbyes because they thought I was outta here."
Dre admits he "didn’t know it was that serious." "Seeing my mom and my sister and everybody coming in the room. Nobody told me, I had no idea," he continued. "That was crazy.”
Dre spent roughly two weeks in the ICU, where he underwent hourly tests that ensured his brain was properly functioning. Months after his release, he suggested that high blood pressure was the cause of his hospitalization.
“It’s a really weird thing. I’ve never had high blood pressure. And I’ve always been a person that has always taken care of my health," the rapper told the Los Angeles Times. "But there’s something that happens for some reason with Black men and high blood pressure, and I never saw that coming. But I’m taking care of myself ... I’m feeling fantastic."
Source-ABC
World Bank funds to help the Caribbean region respond to overlapping challenges
The World Bank Group (WBG) says it has deployed US$20.7 billion during its just completed fiscal year in June to support Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as the region continues to deal with the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The WBG said this brings its support to LAC since April 1, 2020, to an unprecedented total of US$49.8 billion to fight the health, economic, and social impacts of COVID-19, as well as support the region’s response to the overlapping challenges of the sharp economic slowdown, rising inflation and deepening food insecurity due to the war in Europe, among others.
World Bank Group commitments during this period included a combined US$24.9 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), US$19.5 billion from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to promote private sector led sustainable development, and US$5.4 billion in guarantees by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
“The World Bank Group has provided strong support to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, reaching a record US$49.8 billion in total lending since the pandemic began,” said World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean Carlos Felipe Jaramillo.
“As we look beyond COVID, our region faces important challenges and we are committed to working together in critical areas such as addressing education losses, regaining fiscal sustainability, strengthening health, acting on the climate change agenda, and fostering climate-smart agriculture and the digital economy, to build a more sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits the people of Latin America and the Caribbean, especially the most vulnerable.”
The Washington-based financial institution said that its financing and expertise this past fiscal year focused on social protection, vaccine procurement and deployment, strengthening countries’ health systems, supporting fiscal sustainability, and a green recovery.
In the past fiscal year, IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, committed US$8.7 billion in Latin America and the Caribbean, including mobilization ($3.7 billion) and short-term finance ($1.8 billion).
Since April 2020, when IFC kickstarted its COVID-19 response, IFC has committed $6 billion in liquidity support in the region – both COVID financing outside and through the Fast Track COVID Facility (FTCF) –, which has helped expand lending to MSMEs and women entrepreneurs so they can continue operations, worked with financial institutions to promote green finance, promoted sustainable infrastructure projects, and supported export-oriented agribusinesses in region.
“Our priority in the region is to help the private and public sectors work together to overcome crucial development challenges and navigate the economic headwinds that our countries are facing,” said Alfonso Garcia Mora, IFC’s Vice President for Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.
“In the last 12 months, IFC delivered projects with high development impact that help improve people’s lives, promote inclusion and help drive the growth of the region’s green economy”, he said. “In the last fiscal year, 47 percent of our own account investments in this region were focused on climate-smart projects and we are ready to intensify our efforts to strengthen a green, inclusive and sustainable recovery so the region can reach its development goals”, he added.
MIGA, the world’s leading insurer of non-commercial risks, whose mandate is to help drive impactful foreign direct investment to developing countries, issued US$1.6 billion in new guarantees in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since April 2020, it has issued $5.4 billion for the region.
“MIGA’s guarantees enabled foreign capital to come into the region to help build resilience to shocks like pandemics and climate change,” said Junaid Ahmad, MIGA’s vice president of operations.
“We are pleased that with our help projects such as Port Antioquia, a major port in the region, were implemented, achieving important development goals.”
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, total World Bank Group financing has reached US$272 billion to help public and private sector clients fight the health, economic, and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source-CMC
Barbados PM warns of more food supply disruption
The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley has warned of more disruption to the food supply into next year as a result of droughts in North America, China and other parts of the world.
Speaking to the in-person and virtual audience attending to the Agri-Investment Forum and Expo II at the Queen’s Park Savannah here on Friday, Mottley stressed that a reorganization of plans beyond the medium term is imperative.
“It, therefore, means that our plans cannot only be medium-term plans to substitute feed, which we must do, as Guyana is planning to do under the distinguished leadership of my brother, President [Dr. Irfaan] Ali by 2025, with corn and soya production being ramped up to scale,” she stated.
“We don’t have the luxury of that. Because we have a population that is feeling the vagaries and the negative consequences of rampant inflation. But inflation is going to also reinforce the fact that the lack of access is going to be there because of these droughts.”
Given this expectation, Mottley repeated the urgency for regional farmers to grow six and twelve weeks’ crops and suggested that they also focus on rearing six-weeks livestock to meet the needs of the region.
“None of us can avoid the reality that our people must eat. And the reality is, that there are things that we can do and that we have done in our past to ensure survival.
And we are there again. Whether it is rabbits or chickens, whether it is fishing, whether it is new forays as we are doing in Barbados in aquaculture, we have the responsibility for urgent action today,” the Prime Minister added.
Since the hosting of the Guyana forum, Mottley shared that regional heads had been asked to formulate a framework for financing. She added that Barbados had worked assiduously with the financiers as well as with regional and international organizations to effect this.
“We’ve written every Minister of Agriculture asking for the projects. Some have started to come in already and they’ll be loaded on the electronic dashboard that will be available for heads to see today. Also on that dashboard will be training support from CARDI…,”
The Prime Minister also reiterated the importance of tackling the issue of air and maritime transportation, pointing out that regional heads were working on these areas, which she emphasized was a work in progress.
The Expo, which concludes on Sunday, has as its theme: Transforming Agriculture through Innovation and Investment.
Source-CMC
Team TCI takes on Freeport, Bahamas for the NACAC Open Championships after making history
Turks and Caicos Islands National Track & Field athletes are on the move again, competing at the NACAC Open Championships in Freeport, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas from August 19-21, 2022.
The Championships hosts North American, Central American, and Caribbean teams fighting for the top spots.
On the first day of the meet, former 400m National Record holder Angelo Garland competed in the 400m, finishing with the 9th fastest cumulative time (49.52) from the two heats, narrowly missing the finals.
Ifeanyichukwu Otuonye, also competed at the inception of the meet, jumping in the Long Jump qualifying round with a successful result. He vies for a podium finish in the final on August 21, 2022. Otuonye is the current National Record Holder for Long Jump with a personal best of 8.03m.
Otuonye will also be competing in the 4x100m relay alongside Aleiando Durham, Angelo Garland, and Courtney Missick on Sunday, August 21, 2022.