World News

Texas native Opal Lee has seen a lot of history in her 96 years. She lived through the Great Depression, World War II and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. In this century, she voted for the first African American president of the United States. Lee herself has made history, too.

In 2016, at age 89, the retired schoolteacher and longtime community activist took up the cause of elevating Juneteenth as a federal holiday. And she succeeded.

Tens of thousands have been evacuated in India and Pakistan as parts of the countries braced for an extremely severe cyclone today. Biparjoy - a cyclone over the Arabian Sea - is forecast to make landfall in Kutch in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

In Pakistan, the storm is expected to hit the coast of Sindh province and affect parts of Karachi city. Seven people have died in India amid heavy rains.

Jamaican poet Christena Williams is one of ten young Caribbean creatives who will be featured at the 40th edition of UNESCO’s Poetry Market to be held from 7 to 11 June at the Place Saint Sulpice in Paris, France.

Her selection means that Christena will participate in public readings of her poems, meet with publishers, and enjoy exchanges with other authors. Williams will also be able to network with important figures in Europe’s literary scene.

HookieLife Entertainment proudly presents the highly anticipated J'ouvert and Mas events that have become a fixture during its annual weekend of festivity, Hookie Weekend. The beloved staples ‘Lion’s Pride J’ouvert’ and ‘Riddim & Road’ are back for 2023 with creative themes much to the delight of patrons.

Taking place at the Rosecroft Raceway on Saturday June 17^th and Sunday June 18^th respectively, Lion’s Pride J’ouvert and Riddim & Road are both celebrations of Caribbean culture, music, and vibrant revelry. These exhilarating events promise to arouse the DMV with an explosion of colour, energy, and energizing rhythms that will captivate the diverse collection of attendees.

The African Development Bank Group and the Republic of Tanzania have launched the Skills Development for Youth Employability in Blue Economy project. This is a project that will enable Zanzibari youth to find well-paying maritime and other blue economy jobs.

The Bank is providing grant financing of $48.65 million for the project, with the Tanzanian government contributing an additional $5.42 million. Both parties signed the grant agreement on the 21st of November 2022, with its official launch taking place on 17 May 2023. The project will benefit about 43,000 youth (40% of them female) and prepare over 1,500 of them to start their own enterprises.

The US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has reported that Kīlauea Volcano on Hawaiʻi Island is currently experiencing a new eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater that started at approximately 4:44 a.m.

The summit eruption of Kīlauea that began within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at 4:44 a.m. HST today, June 7, 2023, continues at this time.  All activity is confined to Kīlauea summit region, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. There are no indications of activity migrating out of the summit region.

Trillions of dollars in reparations are owed to nations affected by slavery, a recently concluded study on the quantification of reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery (TCS) in the Americas and the Caribbean has found.

The report identifies the reparations that are due in respect of 31 countries in which TCS was practised, according to Judge Patrick Robinson, former honorary president of the American Society of International Law and the project’s initiator, who spoke at the report’s launch yesterday at the Regional Headquarters of The University of the West Indies. To assess the reparations that are due, it must be established that the injuries or harm suffered by the enslaved are the consequence of wrongful conduct by those who carried out TCS.

The United States is the largest provider of international food assistance in the world, and it takes care that the food that feeds hungry people is safe and nutritious. The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that food products are inspected and meet quality standards. What’s more, it requires packaging to keep the food safe and alerts the U.S. Agency for International Development, responsible for managing food aid to other countries, about any issues.

With USAID, the Agriculture Department conducts annual on-site audits of U.S. food commodity suppliers as part of its food safety/quality efforts, says Rufino Perez, senior food technology advisor for USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. And all food provided by USAID adheres to the “Codex Alimentarius Recommended International Code of Practice” — a collection of internationally adopted food standards.

The Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB) have introduced its first-ever destination magazine, ‘Uniquely Anguilla’, a glossy new publication that brings the destination to life. Compelling imagery, in-depth features covering every aspect of Anguilla’s rich and vibrant heritage and culture, along with helpful travel tips on getting to and around the island, make this magazine the most comprehensive source for information about the island.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo has assumed her duties as Chair of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term, effective from the conclusion of the 79th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Istanbul, Türkiye on 5 June.

Makolo is the 81st chair of the IATA BoG and the first woman to take on this role. She has served on the BoG since November 2020. She succeeds Pegasus Airlines Chairperson of the Board Mehmet Tevfik Nane who will continue to serve on the BoG.

Jamaican Jemar Bather, who is a native of the parish of Saint Catherine in Jamaica, has completed his Ph.D. in Biostatistics at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is now working at Merck as a senior scientist in biostatistics. In his new role, Dr. Bather will collaborate with physicians to develop new medications for individuals living with infectious diseases.

Jemar Bather was born in Jamaica and raised in the Bronx, New York. He credits his mother, who had migrated to the United States to pursue a better life, with encouraging him in his interest in mathematics.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has identified sustainability of the national economy as key to his vision for tourism in the immediate future. As a step in that direction, the Ministry of Tourism has embarked on the creation of a tourism strategy for Jamaica in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and stakeholders from a wide cross-section of industries and government agencies.

The first in a series of strategy development workshops being staged in resort destinations was held on Friday (June 2) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, St. James. Mr. Bartlett related that his vision was “to make tourism inclusive and the driver of the economy of Jamaica, but most importantly, to make it the centre of community enrichment and human development.”

The first face-to-face Skal Asia Congress since the pandemic opened to a fanfare welcome to Asia Skalleagues.

Once again highlighting the association’s strong bonds of friendship and camaraderie in the association’s long 91-year-old history. The Asia Area represents almost 18% of all global members worldwide. Members from more than a dozen countries make up the dynamic Skal International Asia region.

In 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives officially designated June as Caribbean American Heritage Month, a time when Americans celebrate Caribbean history, culture and the vast contributions Caribbeans have made to American society.

Some of the United States’ greatest achievements — in education, literature, LGBTQ+ rights, public health and science — were made possible thanks to its Caribbean American population.

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority in partnership with the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority has launched its second instalment of its ‘Love Lane’ fast track service for couples travelling to the destination during Antigua and Barbuda’s Romance Month in June.

Couples entering the ‘Love Lane’ on arrival at the award-winning V.C. Bird International Airport from June 1 – June 30, will be fast-tracked through immigration via a special couples-only lane for the month of June celebrations.

Arçelik, one of Europe's leading home appliances companies, announced a significant milestone in its ongoing commitment to sustainability. Through its innovative initiatives, in 2022 alone, the company utilized a total of 13,207 tons of recycled plastic in the production of its appliances.

The company has successfully recycled 192 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfill from 2017 to 2022. By using recycled PET bottles, the company has built sustainability and inventive resource solutions into its products such as its washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers and air conditioners.