Huge
oil fields discovered in Guyana
Guyana is poised to become the next big oil producer in the Western
Hemisphere, attracting the attention and investment dollars of some of the
biggest oil companies in the world.
Exxon
Mobil and Hess
announced the successful drilling of a deepwater exploration well that may
soon confirm that the seafloor beneath Guyana’s coastal waters contains
one of the richest oil and natural gas
discoveries in decades. Experts now estimate that one of its offshore
fields alone, known as Liza, could contain 1.4 billion barrels of oil
mixed with natural gas, comparable to some of the larger fields drilled in
South America.
With a population of fewer than one million
people, Guyana would be able
to export nearly all of the oil that it will begin producing, probably
starting around 2020.
The company announcements came only days after
the Guyanese government announced its intention to build a $500 million
petroleum processing and service center on Crab Island, an enormous
investment for one of the poorest countries in the region.
Early rough estimates by experts of how much
recoverable oil Guyana could have range to more than four billion barrels,
which at today’s prices would be worth more than $200 billion. But the
country, which currently produces precious little energy, sorely needs
pipelines and other support infrastructure to begin a major production and
export effort.
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Phillips
new PNP leader in Jamaica
Dr.
Peter Phillips became the fifth president of the People’s National Party
by acclamation today as he replaced veteran parliamentarian Portia Simpson
Miller, following her recent decision to step down.
The new leader of the
Opposition served as Minister of Finance and Planning of Jamaica from 2012
to 2016. He is Member of Parliament for East Central St Andrew. He holds a
Bachelor's degree in Economics, a Master's in Government, and a Doctorate
in International Political Economy and Development Studies
He
follows Norman Manley, the organisation’s first president, his son
Michael Manley, PJ Patterson, and Simpson Miller as the persons who have
held that distinguished office. All before him, except for Norman Manley,
have become prime minister of Jamaica.
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St
Lucian-born Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Walcott dies
St
Lucian poet, playwright, and Nobel Laureate Sir Derek Alton Walcott has
died. Sir Derek passed away at his home in Cap Estate this morning at the
age of 87, after a prolonged illness. He received the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1992. On February 28, 2016, was invested with the Knight
Commander of Saint Lucia (KCSL).
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Former
Haitian President Aristede survives possible assassination attempt
At least two people were injured after shots were fired at a motorcade
carrying former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Port-au-Prince
recently in an apparent assassination attempt.
Aristide, Haiti's first democratically elected president, was leaving a
courthouse when "shots were fired ... directly at the vehicle in
which President Aristide was a passenger," Ira Kurzban, a Miami
attorney who represents Aristide, told NBC News. Kurzban said the gunmen
appeared to be wearing police uniforms.
Aristide
was providing testimony in a money laundering case against Jean Anthony
Nazaire, former commissary of the Haitian national police, when the
bullets flew towards his car. Social media captured protests by Aristide
supporters in the streets of Port-Au- Prince after news of the shooting
spread.
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Puerto
Rico to be hit with painful austerity measures
The
newly appointed head of a federal control board that oversees Puerto
Rico’s finances has warned that the US territory will be hit with
painful austerity measures in upcoming months.
Interim
Director Ramon Ruiz said there are no other options given the island’s
dire economic situation and recommended that the government act quickly.
Some
government officials have balked at measures suggested by the board, which
include slashing US$300 million from the public university’s budget and
cutting 10 per cent from a public retirement system that is expected to
run out of money within a year. Last week, nearly a dozen top university
officials resigned in protest against the looming cuts, and tens of
thousands of retired government workers fear for their financial future.
Ruiz
said the local government is cooperating with the board, but warned that
if it doesn’t submit a fiscal plan with cuts needed to address an
anticipated US$7-billion deficit, the board will implement its own plan.
In
addition to submitting a fiscal plan, the governor has approved several
measures aimed at cutting costs, promoting economic development and
stabilising the economy. Rossello announced on Tuesday he would submit a
measure calling for a special referendum that would allow police officers
to vote on whether they want to be part of the Social Security system.
Currently, Puerto Rico police officers do not receive Social Security and
depend solely on the island’s troubled public retirement system for
their pensions.
Rossello
also signed a bill aimed at retaining doctors in Puerto Rico. The
territory’s number of doctors has dropped from 14,000 to 9,000 in the
past decade, the majority leaving for higher salaries and lower living
costs on the US mainland.
Overall, more than 200,000 Puerto Ricans have left the island in recent
years, and many fear the exodus will worsen as new austerity measures are
implemented.
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112
specialist Cuban nurses to ease crisis in Jamaica
One
hundred and twelve nurses from Cuba, including 47 who specialise in
critical care, are to arrive in Jamaica in February to ease the shortage
of specialist nurses there.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Winston De La Haye disclosed that the nurses
are coming as part of an agreement between Kingston and Havana. De La
Haye’s revelation came a day after University Hospital of West Indies (UHWI)
Chairman James Moss-Solomon disclosed that the hospital was forced to
cancel major surgeries due to a shortage of specialist nurses and
Intensive Care Unit beds.
The shortage, he said, was being fuelled by the poaching of specialist
nurses by foreign companies, despite the hospital doubling the numbers of
nurses being trained in specialised disciplines.
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Grenada
to introduce National Health Insurance
The
Grenada government says it will introduce a National Health Insurance by
the end of June. Implementation Minister Emmalin Pierre, addressing the
convention of the ruling New National Party (NNP) recently, said that the
program will be rolled out within the next three months and will be
available for all nationals.
“We
believe that healthcare is a fundamental right that every citizen must
have access to. Just as we believe that education is a right, so we
believe that healthcare and the services must be a right to our people.”
The
scheme will be the first for Grenada and while the details of the type of
health care services were not given, the minister did not state whether a
cost ceiling would be applied to the scheme that would be managed by the
National Insurance Scheme.
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Venezuela
seals gas pipeline deal with Trinidad & Tobago
Venezuela
and Trinidad & Tobago have signed an agreement
for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a new gas
pipeline connecting the two nations. The deal is valued at over US$100
million and will involve the participation of Venezuelan state oil company
PDVSA, its Trinidadian counterpart National Group Gas, as well as
transnational Royal Dutch Shell.
The pipeline will
reportedly link Venezuela’s Dragon and Mariscal de Sucre fields, located
on the northern coast of eastern Sucre state, with the Hibiscus gas field
in Trinidad. Venezuelan Oil Minister Nelson Martinez indicated the project
will dramatically increase Trinidad & Tobago’s access to natural
gas, describing the deal as a “win-win”.
Venezuela is home to
some of the largest natural gas reserves on the planet, with the Dragon
field alone estimated to contain approximately 12 to 13 trillion cubic
feet.
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Cruise
line to pay largest-ever criminal penalty for deliberate vessel pollution
The United States
Department of Justice (DOJ) says a Caribbean cruise line has agreed to
plead guilty to seven felony charges stemming from its deliberate
pollution of the seas and intentional acts to cover it up.
The DOJ said Princess Cruise Lines Ltd will pay a US$40 million
penalty– the largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel
pollution – and plead guilty to charges related to illegal dumping of
oil contaminated waste from the Caribbean Princess cruise ship.
Princess, headquartered in Santa Clarita, California, is a subsidiary
of Carnival Corporation (Carnival), which owns and operates multiple
cruise lines and collectively comprises the world’s largest cruise
company. Carnival is headquartered in Miami.
As
part of the plea agreement with Princess, cruise ships from eight Carnival
cruise line companies (Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line NV,
Seabourn Cruise Line Ltd. and AIDA Cruises) will be under a court
supervised Environmental Compliance Program (ECP) for five years, the DOJ
said.
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Jamaica
cops highest ranking in int’l aviation standards in the Caribbean
Jamaica has achieved the highest ranking for implementing international
civil aviation standards, in the English-speaking Caribbean.
The result from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Validation Mission in June 2016 indicated an effective implementation of
international standards at 82.38 per cent.
This was disclosed by Director General of the Jamaica Civil Aviation
Authority (JCAA), Nari Williams-Singh, at the official opening of the new
air traffic control tower at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA)
earlier this week.
“The significance of this achievement is even more evident,
considering that the global average is currently at 63 per cent and that
of the North American, Central American and Caribbean region is 69 per
cent,” he explained.
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Cuba
reduces infant mortality births in 2016
Cuba’s Health Minister Roberto Morales says the island reduced its
infant mortality rate to 4.3 per thousand live births last year and the
results will be replicated in 2017. According to Morales, the Spanish
speaking Caribbean island closed the year with improvements in the main
sanitary indicators and the child-mother program, while life expectancy
continued to grow. Cuba’s infant mortality rate is lower than the US.
Concerning infrastructure, he said nine thousand institutions,
including hospitals and clinics received some rehabilitation work as well
as new equipment. The health minister said the Cuban government is
determined to continue with a well-designed maintenance policy to avoid
spending millions of dollars each year unnecessarily.
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Grenada
to ban Styrofoam imports
The
Grenada government said it is to table legislation banning the importation
of Styrofoam and plastic as part of a proper waste management strategy.
Tourism
Minister Clarice Modeste disclosed
that the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association have already adopted a
policy of not using Styrofoam. As she also pointed out that Grenada was
“way, way behind time for that, there can be no argument about that,
they are not biodegradable so they stay in the earth, they stay wherever
they are thrown for years and years,”
She added, “Hoteliers
have been pushing for this, banning Styrofoam is one of the measures we
are taking to protect the environment.
“This has become an environmental problem, especially when we
look at our landfill which has so many problems, we just cannot afford to
continue to compound it,” she said.
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Harvard
names Rihanna its humanitarian of the year
Rihanna may be best known as an R&B superstar, but she has been
named the 2017 Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year for her charity
work. The 29-year-old singer from Barbados
has
·
charitably built a state-of-the-art centre for oncology and
nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat breast cancer at the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados
·
set up a scholarship program, named after her grandparents,
for Caribbean students studying in the United States, and
·
support efforts to give girls better access to education in
the developing world.
The singer joins an illustrious roster of past recipients that includes
former UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, Pakistani activist and Nobel
Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai, and singer Lionel Richie.
Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, has sold more than 200
million records, won eight Grammy Awards and scored 14 number-one hits.
She is also celebrated for her style and collaborates with Puma on a
clothing line.
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Jamaica
names Shaggy for Hall of Fame
Jamaican
singer Shaggy has been inducted into the Council of Voluntary Social
Services (CVSS) Hall of Fame for 10 years of outstanding support to the
Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, Jamaica.
Last year, Shaggy presented a checke for $55 million to the Bustamante
Children’s Hospital, representing proceeds from the 2016 fund-raiser
Shaggy and Friends Concert. Since its inception in 2009, the concert has
raised more than $255 million to acquire 450 pieces of medical equipment
used to treat over 77,000 children each year.
“The CVSS’s Volunteer Awards and Hall of Fame is a reflection of
the extraordinary contribution of the volunteers who work so tirelessly in
support of their respective charities and organisations. We are especially
happy to be honouring Shaggy who, by his philanthropic work, have made a
difference in the lives of our nation’s children,” said Saffrey Brown,
chair of the CVSS’s Volunteer Awards and Hall of Fame.
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Jamaica’s
'Aunt V', the world's oldest human
Jamaican
supercentenarian Violet Mosse Brown became the world's oldest human today,
Saturday April 15, after the passing of Italian woman Emma Morano, who was
born on November 29, 1899.
Mosse
Brown is 117 years old, having been born on March 10, 1900. Affectionately
called Aunt V, she lives in Duanvale, Trelawny. Her birth place, Duanvale,
is a neighbouring district to Sherwood Content, where Jamaican track
legend Usain Bolt was born.
Her
eldest child, Harold Fairweather, at age 96, is said to be the world's
oldest living person with a parent also alive. Aunt V's parents, Elizabeth
Riley (who lived to 96 years) and John Mosse brought her into the world on
the same premises which she now lives
Aunt
V and her husband worked as cane farmers, selling their crop to the Long
Pond Sugar Estate. Later, her husband became the caretaker at the
neighbouring cemetery, calling on his wife’s skills to assist him in
record keeping.
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For
the Life of Laetitia
by Trinidad -born Merle Hodge
Price: $10.54
