Caribbean RoundUp

A 38-year-old Bahamian mother of seven was sentenced to four years in jail, after she failed to report the abuse of two young children.

Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans sentenced the woman, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of her children, after she failed to notify officers of the abuse of her five-year-old son in July.

She appeared in court with a man who was accused of assaulting the woman’s five year-old and four year-old sons in a manner causing them unnecessary suffering and injury.

The man denied two counts of cruelty to the children, while the mother pleaded guilty to failing to report child abuse.

A report was made to the police about the physical abuse.

In passing sentence, Magistrate Vogt-Evans said she found a custodial sentence in the “very disturbing case” because she believed failing to report child abuse was child cruelty itself.

Her co-accused denied the allegations and his case was adjourned to October for trial. He was granted US$5,000 bail and ordered not to have contact with the children.

Former chairman and publisher of the Jamaica Observer newspaper, Gordon “Butch” Stewart, was inducted into the Caribbean Media Hall of Fame, during a recent virtual ceremony marking the 52nd Annual General Assembly of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU).

Chairman of the selection panel for the awards, Vic Fernandes, who is also the longest-serving CBU president, said his panel of adjudicators said Stewart had made a significant contribution at both the national and international level, which qualified him for their recommendation.

Stewart, who died in June was also hailed for his contribution at the highest level to other media organizations including the Trinidad Express newspaper and Caribbean Communications Network (CCN), part of One Caribbean Media (OCM).

It was also noted that Sandals Resorts, which Stewart founded, also operated an Environmental Media Awards program for several years honoring journalists for work done in reporting on ecological matters and how they affected the region’s ecosystems.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has issued an appeal to all Dominicans to take all the necessary steps to fight the pandemic that has, to date, led to one death on the island.

In his address to the nation last week, Skerrit said that citizens should use “simple, old common sense to fight its way out of the clutches of this disease and back to a position of normality in numbers.”

Skerrit told the nation that he will not be going to Parliament to pass a law to make it mandatory for anybody to take the vaccine.

The Grenada government last week increased the hours of an existing curfew as well as rescinded approvals granted for various social events for the next two weeks, as the island moves to combat an upsurge in COVID-19 cases.

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell said in a radio and television broadcast that the measures are not intended to be punitive, they are necessary actions which we believe will help contain the spread of COVID-19 here in Grenada.

He said the changes to the existing COVID-19 regulations will take effect from midnight on Aug. 21, 2021. The curfew will be implemented at 9 pm and end at 5 am daily.

He said all approvals already granted for social events, including private parties, bus tours and boat rides, within the next two weeks, have been rescinded.

He said the measures will remain in effect until Sept. 5.

Grenada has recorded 211 cases since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Currently there are 30 active cases and 20 of those persons have no recent travel history, Mitchell said.

A release from the Ministry of Health on Monday, Aug. 30 noted that there were 104 new cases recorded on that day. Grenada now has 461 confirmed cases with 122 imported and recorded its second death.

The Jamaica government has announced seven non-movement days in the country, in a bid to curb the latest surge in Covid-19 cases.

According to the government, the days are Monday, and Tuesday last week; Sunday, Aug. 29 to Tuesday, Aug. 31, and Sunday, Sept 5.

The government said the tightening of the current curfew, which forms part of the government’s infection prevention and control measures, are also aimed at reducing hospitalizations and deaths.

The new measures come as the virus’ more transmissible Delta variant was confirmed to be present in Jamaica.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness is appealing to everyone to make these no-movement days a success.

The St. Lucia government says it will appoint a special prosecutor to probe the allegations of corruption against the former Allen Chastanet administration, deputy governor general announced.

Chastanet’s United Workers Party (UWP) was swept out of office in the July 26 general election when it won only two seats in the 17-member Parliament, down from the 11 seats it had enjoyed in the  2016-21 period.

The St. Lucia Labor Party (SLP) under the leadership of Phillip J Pierre won 13 seats, with two independents also being victorious.

Delivering the traditional Throne Speech at the start of the new Parliament last week, Charles told legislators that his government, in conjunction of the widespread unprecedented reports of alleged corruption during the term of the last administration, will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of corruption in the government.

He said the appointment is expected to complete soon and the government will strengthen the Integrity Commission to return the island to  system that respects democratic norms and the rights of people.

The Trinidad and Tobago Airports Authority (AATT) says all airlines which operated out of Piarco and ANR Robinson International Airports prior to the closure of TT’s borders due the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 have returned. said

AATT said most airlines have provided winter schedules and should resume operations between September and November.

The Airlines operating according to the authority’s website operating out of Piarco include American Airlines, Air Canada, Jet Blue, British Airways, Liat, Suriname Airways, Caribbean Airlines, and Trans Guyana Airways.

The Airlines operating out of Tobago’s ANR Robinson Airport include British Airways, Conndor, Caribbean Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic.

The authority said “our  COVID-19 response systems have helped us to achieve

Pakistan beat West Indies by 109 runs in second Test.