CARPHA concludes risk of getting zika in the Caribbean low at this time
The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has concluded that zika virus transmission in the Caribbean region has been interrupted, and that the risk to residents and visitors to the region of acquiring Zika is low. This follows a review by CARPHA of the data of the last 30 months pertinent to the situation.
Zika virus (ZIKV) was first detected in the Caribbean region in late 2015. The number of cases increased in the first half of 2016 and reached its peak circulation in August 2016, and then declined rapidly by December 2016.
At this time, ongoing surveillance and laboratory testing in CMS indicate that the epidemic circulation of ZIKV has been interrupted in Caribbean territories. This is based on congruency of data available from several sources and on experience of previous outbreaks of mosquito-borne viral diseases in the region:
- Local surveillance in member states has demonstrated both a decrease in general fever-related illness as well as a specific absence of ZIKV reports over the past year.
- CARPHA Regional Laboratory continues to test samples for mosquito-borne disease, including ZIKV, dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV). These tests have shown the drastic decrease from the peak of ZIKV circulation in 2016 to a situation where no cases of ZIKV have been confirmed among samples received from any CMS over the past 12 months
- CARPHA has reached out to international public health agencies, including the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the European Centres for Disease Control (eCDC), for information on cases of ZIKV in travelers returning from the Caribbean to Canada and Europe respectively. The data shared indicate a similar pattern to that seen in regional data – a drastic decrease from a high-point in 2016, to sporadic cases in the immediate aftermath and no cases this year.
CARPHA advises that there is still a need to be vigilant given the ongoing risk for dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.
Guyanese Government commits to hiking teachers’ pay
MINISTER of Education, Ms. Nicolette Henry, said talks between the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) held last Thursday were not concluded but rather, some aspects of the union’s terms were agreed and a decision was taken for another meeting to be held to iron out the outstanding issues.
However, she noted that the government remains committed to paying teachers their increases. The union has called on its members to go on strike and has since notified the Ministry of Education of its intention. In an invited comment with the Ministry of the Presidency’s Public Information and Press Services Unit, Minister Henry said that coming out of last week’s meeting, the two sides agreed to some recommendations, but noted that some could not be agreed, while others were completely withdrawn by the union.
Minister Henry said given the difference of opinions and the number of issues that had to be addressed, the union and the government’s side “agreed in principle that we will meet subsequently to address the issues that were not resolved at that first meeting. So, my understanding and at least the agreement that came out of that meeting, is that we will meet subsequently; and it is my intention to invite the union to continue to have meetings as was agreed [to] at our initial meeting.”
Serena Williams loses to Petra Kvitova at Cincinnati's Western & Southern Open
Former world number one Serena Williams says she is at the start of a "long comeback" after losing 6-3 2-6 6-3 to Czech Petra Kvitova in Cincinnati.
The second-round loss comes on the back of her heaviest career defeat, a 6-1 6-0 loss to Britain's Johanna Konta in the Silicon Valley Classic first round.
"I'm still at the very beginning," said the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
"I'm just going to continue to work hard, and hopefully I'll start winning more matches."
Puerto Rican Little League Baseball team riding strength of a hurricane
For the players from Radames Lopez Little League, their unlikely journey to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was borne out of the island's worst natural disaster in more than a century.
Less than a year ago, Hurricanes Irma and Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Guayama, a small coastal town on the southeastern part of the island, was among the hardest-hit areas from Maria.
Yet its resilient Little League team of 11- and 12-year-olds, despite untold damage to their homes, their community and their baseball fields, went undefeated in the Caribbean regional tournament to qualify for its first trip to Williamsport.
For Radames Lopez, which opens play Thursday against South Korea (1 p.m. ET on ESPN), going to the Little League World Series was a way of giving thanks to baseball. The game provided a sense of normalcy for the people of Guayama as they tried to rebuild their lives amid the chaos and confusion in the aftermath of the hurricane
The passing of former Bahamian Director General of Tourism David Johnson
Former Director General of Tourism Mr. David Johnson has lost his battle with colon cancer yesterday.
Johnson had succeeded Vernice Walkine, who joined the executive management team of the Nassau Airport Development Company and Lynden Pindling International Airport.
Johnson is a 39-year tourism and aviation industry veteran and former Senior Deputy Director of Tourism. Prior to his appointment as Director General, Johnson served as Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Tourism and president of the Grand Bahama Island tourism board.
Johnson also served as Director Marketing and General Manager of Bahamasair between 1986 and 1992.
A sportsman at heart, he was an avid golfer, basketball and softball fan and cultural artist. He exceeded expectations.
Nearly $500K disappeared from school cafeterias. Officials say the lunch ladies did it
For four years, nearly half-a-million dollars quietly vanished from cafeteria registers at two schools in Connecticut.
No one noticed the money was missing from the schools in New Canaan until 2017, when the school district installed an enhanced accounting system, authorities said.
Now two sisters are accused of allegedly pocketing $478,000 in cash from New Canaan Public Schools -- a scam that authorities say dates to 2013.
Joanne Pascarelli, 61, and Marie Wilson, 67, both worked at cafeterias at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School during that time. They were arrested this week and charged with larceny and defrauding a public community, the school district said.
"We are deeply upset by this alleged violation of our trust and the trust of the entire community, and are committed to continuing our full cooperation with the New Canaan Police Department regarding these allegations," the school district said in a statement.
Both women resigned in December, around the time the board of education started looking into the discrepancies.
Afghanistan Taliban withdraws protection for Red Cross
The Taliban says it will no longer allow safe passage to Red Cross staff working in Afghanistan.
The militants accuse the neutral humanitarian group of failing to meet its obligations to help Taliban prisoners in a jail in Kabul.
The International Committee of the Red Cross monitors detention conditions and provides medical aid. It scaled down its presence in Afghanistan last year after seven staff were killed.
Spokeswoman Andrea Catta Preta said the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) was in close contact with the Taliban following their announcement, and hoping to find a solution so the group's humanitarian work could continue.
The ICRC treats all parties harmed by warfare humanely and does not take sides. It has in the past given first aid training to Taliban members. It operates in Taliban-controlled areas with guarantees of safety and helps to repatriate bodies from both sides after fighting between the militants and the Afghan army.
In its statement on Monday, the Taliban said that many of its prisoners held in Pul-e-Charkhi jail in the capital Kabul were in a terrible state of health and that the ICRC would be responsible for whatever happened to them. Hundreds of fighters have been on hunger strike to demand better prison conditions.
Pennsylvania priests 'abused thousands of children'
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has released a grand jury report detailing sex abuse in the Catholic Church, naming over 300 accused clergymen. The landmark grand jury investigation found more than 1,000 children had been abused by members of six dioceses in the state for the last 70 years.
Officials say the probe found systematic cover-ups by the church. After an 18-month investigation, "over one thousand child victims were identifiable, from the church's own records," the grand jury states in the report released on Tuesday.
"We believe that the real number - of children whose records were lost or who were afraid ever to come forward - is in the thousands." The document states that young boys and girls, as well as teenagers, were abused by clergy.
"All of them were brushed aside by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all," the report reads. Due to alleged cover-up efforts by the church's senior officials, most of the cases are too old for prosecution, the grand jury noted. But officials warned there may be more indictments as the investigation continues.
While the report names hundreds of priests, some names remain redacted due to claims that naming them violates their constitutional rights. "Church officials routinely and purposefully described the abuse as horseplay and wrestling and inappropriate conduct. It was none of those things. It was child sexual abuse, including rape," Mr Shapiro said.
Many victims claimed they were drugged or otherwise manipulated. Some recalled being beaten by family members who did not believe their stories.
Morgana King: Godfather actress and Jazz singer dies aged 87
The Godfather actress and jazz singer Morgana King has died aged 87.
She played Carmela Corleone - the wife of Marlon Brando's Don Vito - in the first two Godfather films, alongside a Grammy-nominated jazz career.
King passed away from cancer on 22 March at her home in Palm Springs, California, the Riverside County coroner's office confirmed.
Her death had gone unreported until her friend John Hoglund posted a public message of condolence.
Paying tribute on Facebook he said that while "many will remember her as Marlon Brando's wife and Al Pacino's mother," King was also a "major part" of the jazz scene.
Born in New York to Italian parents, her father - a self-taught musician - died when she was 11, leaving her to be raised by her mother in the Bronx and attend James Munroe High School.
King's singing career began when she performed in clubs throughout her teenage years.
Respected by her peers, King went on to perform in Las Vegas and around the country as well as on television on The Tonight Show, Playboy After Dark and The Hollywood Palace.
A Grammy nomination for her 1964 hit single A Taste of Honey marked the commercial peak of her five-decade, 20-album career.
As rock'n' roll came to dominate the charts, King got her theatrical break in The Godfather after meeting with the trilogy's director Francis Ford Coppola.
The crime saga, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as mafia kingpins of the Corleone family, won three Oscars and remains one of the most critically-revered series of all time.
Her portrayal of 'Mama' Carmela, Vito's long-suffering wife in 1972's opening instalment, featured virtually no spoken lines, but saw her take centre stage during its memorable wedding scene, singing the Italian song Luna Mezz'o Mare.
Mystery Russian satellite's behaviour raises alarm in US
A mysterious Russian satellite displaying "very abnormal behaviour" has raised alarm in the US, according to a State Department official.
"We don't know for certain what it is and there is no way to verify it,"said assistant secretary Yleem Poblete at a conference in Switzerland on 14 August.
She voiced fears that it was impossible to say if the object may be a weapon.
Russia has dismissed the comments as "unfounded, slanderous accusations based on suspicions".
The satellite in question was launched in October last year.
"[The satellite's] behaviour on-orbit was inconsistent with anything seen before from on-orbit inspection or space situational awareness capabilities, including other Russian inspection satellite activities," Ms Poblete told the conference on disarmament in Switzerland.
"Russian intentions with respect to this satellite are unclear and are obviously a very troubling development," she added, citing recent comments made by the commander of Russia's Space Forces, who said adopting "new prototypes of weapons" was a key objective for the force.
Ms Poblete said that the US had "serious concerns" that Russia was developing anti-satellite weapons.
Alexander Deynko, a senior Russian diplomat, told the Reuters news agency that the comments were "the same unfounded, slanderous accusations based on suspicions, on suppositions and so on".
He called on the US to contribute to a Russian-Chinese treaty that seeks to prevent an arms race in space.