Malaysia

Territory added to EU ‘grey list’

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 17:50:01 +0000

Territory added to EU ‘grey list’

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__12768.jpg

admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 17:50

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Original Publisher

Business - The BVI Beacon

Original Article

Territory added to EU ‘grey list’

The Virgin Islands has been added to the European Union’s “grey list” along with nine other jurisdictions in the Caribbean and elsewhere, the EU Council announced after its meeting on Feb. 24.

Besides the VI, the EU added the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Israel, Montserrat, Russia, Tunisia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Vietnam, bringing the total list up to 25 jurisdictions.

Although the inclusion does not mean that any penalties or sanctions will be levied against the territory, according to the EU, the move represents a significant setback after the territory rushed through economic substance legislation at the end of 2019 in order to meet EU requirements on tax reform.

In a Feb. 24 press release, the EU Council said that the list reflects “ongoing EU cooperation with its international partners and the commitments of these countries to reform their legislation to adhere to agreed tax good governance standards.”

The countries on the grey list are working toward meeting the EU’s tax standards, the release stated.

According to the EU, criteria for the list cover tax transparency, fair taxation and preventing tax base erosion and profit shifting. The organisation called implementation of the list a “dynamic process,” and noted that the next revision is scheduled for October of this year.

Anguilla, Botswana, Costa Rica, Dominica, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, Qatar, the Seychelles, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay were previously added and remain on the grey list.

The blacklist, which remained unchanged after last month’s announcement, currently includes American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.

VI response

At a press conference late last month, Premier Andrew Fahie urged onlookers not to view the move as a censure of the territory.

He said the grey-listing meant the VI has “substantially met all international tax standards set out by the EU, but that ongoing improvements are being made to implementing tax good governance.”

As a result, he said, it has been grey-listed while it implements policies and procedures in the territory’s Country-by-Country Reporting framework.

“No defensive measures flow from being on such list and the BVI is still a cooperative jurisdiction,” he said. “Once the BVI meets these commitments, it will be removed from the annex.”

He added that the territory “takes its international obligations seriously” and had already been finalising the necessary steps to ensure successful implementation of the recommendations.

This week, BVI Finance CEO Elise Donovan directed queries to the Premier’s Office. Director of Communications Dr. Arliene Penn said, “BVI’s addition to EU’s Annex II is a positive rating for us because it acknowledges that BVI is a cooperative jurisdiction that has implemented measures (in the case of the Country-by-Country Reporting) in accordance with the high international standards prescribed. The BVI remains highly committed to the transparency and international cooperation agenda.”

The EU has hinted for some time that it would seek to modify its requirements for the list, the latest iteration of which was announced last October.

In February 2021, the European parliament passed a resolution calling for a measure that would automatically blacklist British territories like the VI, the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands that have a zero percent corporate tax rate — and that now have a weakened voice in the EU in the wake of the United Kingdom’s split from the organisation.

The resolution did not mention the VI at the time, but it came before the revelation that nearly two-thirds of companies named in the far-reaching Pandora Papers investigation last year were based in the VI.

Panama, which is already on the EU blacklist, was host to the second highest number.

World response

Meanwhile, the EU Observer reported late last month that tax-reform campaigners are already applauding the news.

Chiara Putaturo, a campaigner with the non-profit Oxfam, praised the move, but complained that the Cayman Islands was not included.

“If the [new] grey-listing … is confirmed, we will see some real tax havens finally at risk to be blacklisted [in the future],” she said. “However, there are still other tax havens that are left off the hook, … such as the Cayman Islands, because the criteria remain weak.”

History

As in other OTs, leaders in the VI have long criticised the EU’s blacklists as arbitrary and misleading, maintaining that the territory’s financial services industry is tightly regulated in keeping with international standards.

Nevertheless, the VI was grey-listed along with other jurisdictions in 2017. In March 2018, the EU concluded that the VI, the Bahamas and Cayman needed further technical guidance from the EU and had until the end of 2019 to adapt local legislation, which resulted in the Economic Substance Act being rushed through the House of Assembly in late 2018.

Thanks to this move, the VI was white-listed, alongside 16 other jurisdictions, in February 2020.

The post Territory added to EU ‘grey list’ first appeared on The BVI Beacon.

The post Territory added to EU ‘grey list’ appeared first on The BVI Beacon.

Caribbean

Business

Sue over blacklist, says economist

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 17:40:01 +0000

Sue over blacklist, says economist

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__1388.png

admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 17:40

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Original Publisher

Business - The BVI Beacon

Original Article

Sue over blacklist, says economist

Caribbean countries that live in fear of being blacklisted by the European Union should band together and take legal action, according to Barbados-based economist and Caribbean policy expert Marla Dukharan.

“I felt like there should be some legal recourse that should be pursued collectively,” Ms. Dukharan said on Feb. 23 on the regional livestreamed show “Territories Talk,” hosted by Shaina Smith-Archer, chairwoman of the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association.

The EU blacklist often comes under fire in the VI for being a moving target.

Ms. Dukharan said it is also unfair. EU member states such as the Netherlands and Ireland are “well known for their extensive money laundering and tax evading activities,” but have never been included on any EU blacklist, she said.

To her, this suggests Eurocentrism or even racism, and perhaps an effort to undermine countries that are “eating part of their pie,” she said of the EU.

Grey-listed

In February, the territory was added to the EU’s “grey list,” along with nine other jurisdictions in the Caribbean and elsewhere.

Besides the VI, the EU added the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Israel, Montserrat, Russia, Tunisia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Vietnam, bringing the total on the list up to 25 jurisdictions.

Although the February inclusion does not mean that any penalties or sanctions will be levied against the territory, the move represents a significant setback after the VI rushed through economic substance legislation at the end of 2019 in order to meet EU requirements on tax reform.

The standards for inclusion on the EU lists have frequently changed, and Ms. Dukharan pointed out that the European Parliament itself has noted problems with the selection process.

In 2021, the legislative body proposed that the tax regimes of EU member states be scrutinised along with the rest of the world and subject to blacklisting if they don’t measure up.

“That tells you that you have a legal leg to stand on, because they, the policymakers, have acknowledged that we are not applying our own standards to our own member states, and that’s not fair,” she said. “Why is it that our countries have not come together, found a law firm that will represent us collectively, and taken them to court over this action?”

Fighting back

She added that even a statement from the Caribbean Community condemning the actions of the EU is simply “not strong enough.”

“I think if all of the countries came together from the Pacific and the Caribbean and agitated and protested, I think that there is a chance,” she said. “For example, if you appeal to the United Nations, you appeal to the World Trade Organisation, somebody is going to hear you. But when each individual little tiny micro state appeals individually, it is just white noise.”

She also recommended that countries that object to the blacklist expel EU ambassadors.

“The second thing I think we need to do is take diplomatic action,” she said.

With changing criteria, she noted, even countries that have satisfied the Financial Action Task Force and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development standards still run the risk of being blacklisted.

“But we don’t have the courage to do these things because we are small and we are insecure maybe,” she said.

Current list

In a Feb. 24 press release, the EU Council said that the grey list reflects “ongoing EU cooperation with its international partners and the commitments of these countries to reform their legislation to adhere to agreed tax good governance standards.”

The countries on the grey list are working toward meeting the EU’s tax standards, the release stated.

According to the EU, criteriafor the list cover tax transparency, fair taxation and preventing tax base erosion and profit shifting. The next revision is scheduled for October.

Anguilla, Botswana, Costa Rica, Dominica, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, North Macedonia, Qatar, the Seychelles, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay were previously added and remain on the grey list.

The blacklist for “non-cooperative” tax jurisdictions, which remained unchanged after the February announcement, currently includes American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States VI, and Vanuatu.

The post Sue over blacklist, says economist first appeared on The BVI Beacon.

The post Sue over blacklist, says economist appeared first on The BVI Beacon.

Caribbean

Business

INTERVIEW: Why Nigerian filmmakers undervalue stunt performers – Stuntman, Mr Nollywood

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 11:00:01 +0000

INTERVIEW: Why Nigerian filmmakers undervalue stunt performers – Stuntman, Mr Nollywood

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__11921.jpg

admin Thu, 02/24/2022 - 11:00

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Original Publisher

Arts & Entertainment – Premium Times Nigeria

Original Article

INTERVIEW: Why Nigerian filmmakers undervalue stunt performers – Stuntman, Mr N…

A stuntman is a trained professional who performs daring acts like jumping off a high-rise building or passing through a ball of fire in a movie, but when they take the place of another actor, they are known as stunt doubles.

While stunt work is a lucrative career in Hollywood, it is still undervalued in Nollywood.

David Patrick, or Mr Nollywood, is an unassuming Nigerian stuntman. You would walk past him and not realise that months ago, he was a stunt double for the footballer Alex Iwobi when he was required to jump over several cars in Lagos traffic.

As a first-generation Nollywood stuntman, he spent most of 2020 and 2021 falling off multi-story buildings, crashing cars, choreographing fights, and surviving infernos.

He has featured in several movies, including ‘King of Boys,’ ‘Soólé,’ and ‘Devil in Agada’ ‘Superstar,’ and the recently released ‘Mambas Diamond’.

In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, he speaks about some of his death-defying leaps and the low appreciation of the stunt industry in Nigeria.

PT: What is the role of stunt performers in movie production?

Mr. Nollywood: The stunt or choreography industry has been there for a long time. The stunt coordinator is the safety manager on that set. For instance, I’ve been set on fire before, I have jumped from two-story buildings, and many other risky things. So I risk recommending a safer approach for lead actors.

PT: How did you get into the stunt game?

Mr Nollywood: It started 20 years ago in 2001 when I was in secondary school. I was learning Karate, martial arts, and Nigerian Man O’war, not knowing that all these things would accumulate to be a better thing for me. My colleagues and I were featured in Nollywood movies pro bono. We didn’t even realise what we were doing, we just felt that we were action actors, but as the years went by, we realised that the industry in Hollywood was called the stunt and fight industry.

PT: What were your childhood aspirations?

Mr Nollywood: I wanted to be a doctor. I once sold herbal medicine; joined the Nigerian Red Cross, where I was certified. But as I was approaching my dreams, other side attractions started coming in. I loved Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Van Damme, so I embraced martial art. I was playing with my mind, and it became a reality.

PT: What death-defying stunts have you performed?

Mr Nollywood: I have been burnt on a movie set. I have also used a dispatch ride to collide with a moving vehicle; I did it twice. I take these risks to understand the safety measure. But, unfortunately, we don’t have all the facilities to spare in Nigeria. So the stunt artists put our lives on the line to protect our superstars.

The most dangerous one I have done is set myself on fire without a fire drill. Ideally, I was supposed to have carried out a fire drill as it would have to help me prepare for an evacuation in the event of a fire or other emergency or so the fire doesn’t touch my skin. Unfortunately, the producers had a string shoe budget. He initially wanted to set a dummy on fire, which wasn’t realistic for me, so I rose to the occasion.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 💠MrNollywood🎬Actor.Trainer🥋 (@mrnollywoodng)

PT: How did you do it?

Mr Nollywood: I coated myself with so much cloth and water. People would think it was just cloth and water, but it was burning inside. Though it didn’t rip off my skin, I felt all the heat. And they poured five liters of fuel on me. Funny enough, the movie is yet to be released.

PT: You featured in three highest-grossing movies in 2021

Mr Nollywood: Yes, I was featured in three movies, ‘Soole,’ ‘King of Boys,’ ‘Mambas Diamond,’ ‘Devil in Agbada’. I also coordinated and performed the stunt coordination in the accident scene in the ‘Superstar’ movie.

PT: What does it take to perform a stunt in a movie?

Mr Nollywood: If you didn’t pull off a realistic car accident, you would have to use a condemned car. This will help you know the accident’s impact on the car because I can’t perform some stunts twice. If the camera is not well set and correctly angled and you pull such a stunt on a new car, it will amount to colossal damage.

PT: Have you pulled such a stunt before?

History repeats itself as minister Muhwezi faces censure over torture

admin — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 04:20:01 +0000

History repeats itself as minister Muhwezi faces censure over torture

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__1125.png

admin Sat, 02/19/2022 - 04:20

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Original Publisher

Headlines

Original Article

History repeats itself as minister Muhwezi faces censure over torture

Africa

News

Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak

admin — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 16:00:01 +0000

Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__8914.jpg

admin Mon, 10/04/2021 - 16:00

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Original Publisher

Every corner of the world

The Pandora Papers investigation unmasks the covert owners of offshore companies, incognito bank accounts, private jets, yachts, mansions, even artworks by Picasso, Banksy and other masters – providing more information than what’s usually available to law enforcement agencies and cash-strapped governments.

People linked by the secret documents to offshore assets include India’s cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and an Italian mobster known as “Lell the Fat One.”

The mobster, Raffaele Amato, has been tied to at least a dozen killings. The documents provide details about a shell company, registered in the United Kingdom, that Amato used to buy land in Spain, shortly before fleeing there from Italy to set up his own crime gang. Amato, whose history helped inspire the highly praised movie “Gomorrah,” is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Amato’s attorney did not respond to ICIJ’s request for comment.

Tendulkar’s attorney said the cricket player’s investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities. Shakira’s attorney said the singer declared her companies, which the attorney said do not provide tax advantages. Schiffer’s representatives said the supermodel correctly pays her taxes in the U.K., where she lives.

In most countries, it’s not illegal to have assets offshore or to use shell companies to do business across national borders. Businesspeople who operate internationally say they need offshore companies to conduct their financial affairs.

Africa

News

Nathaniel Bassey, Tim Godfrey, others to minister at Marathon Messiah Praise Gospel Concert

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 21:20:01 +0000

Nathaniel Bassey, Tim Godfrey, others to minister at Marathon Messiah Praise Gospel Concert

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__750.jpeg

admin Fri, 02/26/2021 - 21:20

Friday, February 26, 2021

Original Publisher

Arts & Entertainment – Premium Times Nigeria

Original Article

Nathaniel Bassey, Tim Godfrey, others to minister at Marathon Messiah Praise Go…

Top Nigerian gospel artistes Nathaniel Bassey, Dunsin Oyekan and Tim Godfrey will join over 150 worship ministers and choral groups to minister at the 2021 edition of Marathon Messiah Praise tagged ‘BEHOLD THE KING’.

The concert is a globally renowned interdenominational gospel musical event of non-stop praises, worship, and prayers.

The first edition was held in 2012 when The General Overseer(GO) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, clocked 70.

This year’s edition will be held to commemorate Mr Adeboye’s 79th birthday.

The RCCG Intercontinental Music Director, Kunle Ajayi, during a virtual press conference Friday, said this year’s event will hold online at the Prayer Foyer of the 3/3 Auditorium, Redemption Camp.

Mr Ajayi said the number of hours is very significant as they symbolise the number of years Pastor Adeboye has spent on earth.

He explained that Marathon Messiah Praise was born out of a desire to gather men from all walks of life and different nations to celebrate God over the life of General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

‘‘It is a specific number of hours where sons and daughters of God come together to appreciate God’s mercy and faithfulness to the world. This year’s event will hold nonstop for seventy-nine hours across six continents across 30 countries from 1st to 4th March 2021,’’ he revealed.

During his address, Leke, son of the GO of one of the largest Pentecostal churches in the country, expressed optimism that the annual interdenominational gospel concert to celebrate his father’s birthday, will be an international day of praise.

Some of the participating countries include; Nigeria, the USA, Canada, England, Australia, Spain, Scotland, UAE, Cameroon, Kenya, Netherlands, Sweden, Malaysia, South Africa, Ireland, Ukraine, Brazil, Israel, Ghana, and New Zealand.

The organisers also added that worshippers can watch this year’s Marathon Messiah Praise live via Dove TV, RTM, X2D. HI-IMPACT TV, YouTube as well as Marathon Messiah Praise website, www.mmpraise.org.

Africa

Entertainment

WORLD – Airline industry travel pass ready ‘within weeks’

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:20:01 +0000

WORLD – Airline industry travel pass ready ‘within weeks’

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__651.jpeg

admin Tue, 02/23/2021 - 17:20

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Original Publisher

Barbados Today

Original Article

WORLD – Airline industry travel pass ready ‘within weeks’

SOURCE: BBC News – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says it expects its digital Covid Travel Pass will be ready “within weeks”.

The pass is an app that verifies a passenger has had the Covid-19 tests or vaccines required to enter a country.

It also verifies they were administered by an approved authority.

The industry body sees the pass as essential for reopening air travel, as many countries still have strict restrictions or quarantines in place.

“The key issue is one of confidence. Passengers need to be confident that the testing they’ve taken is accurate and will allow them to enter the country.” said Vinoop Goel, IATA’s regional director of airports and external relations.

“And then governments need to have the confidence that the tests that the passengers claim to have is one which is accurate and meets their own conditions.”

IATA said the Travel Pass is designed in a “modular” way, so that it can work with other digital solutions that are being trialled around the world.

It will be available on iOS and Android platforms, and is expected to be free to passengers.

Singapore Airlines was the first airline to start trials of the travel pass in December.

Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air New Zealand are among the other airlines currently conducting trials, and IATA says it is discussing the pass with most airlines throughout the Asia Pacific region.

“We are currently working with a number of airlines worldwide and learning from these pilots. And the plan is to go live in March,” Mr Goel said.

“So basically we expect to have a fully functional working system over the next few weeks.”

The closest paper equivalent to the app is the Yellow Card, a World Health Organization document which confirms passengers have been vaccinated.

It is often used to prove that passengers have had yellow fever vaccinations required to enter some countries.

IATA says the risk of fraud with paper documents is too great.

Europol recently revealed that a forgery ring in France had been selling negative test results to passengers at Charles de Gaulle Airport and fraudsters had also been apprehended in the UK for selling forged results.

Malaysian police also reportedly recently arrested six Pakistani men suspected of forging negative results.

“This issue has come to the forefront, because there is the risk of fraud with paper certificates,” said Mr Goel.

However, the insistence by some governments on paper documentation has proved an obstacle to the rollout of the IATA app.

“We do have a case in the Republic of Korea that does require a paper certificate, so we are working with the government there to ensure they will allow digital certificates to be accepted,” Mr Goel said.

The airline industry is pinning its hopes on quarantine-free travel reopening this year, but expects progress to be slow, even with the app.

Covid has been disastrous for the airline industry, according to IATA’s figures, with demand plummeting nearly 70% in 2020 compared to 2019.

The industry is hoping for a recovery in 2021, but it’s unlikely that the vaccine rollout will solve the problem immediately, which is part of the reason IATA thinks the Travel Pass is needed.

“It will take too long. It will take at a minimum between 12 and 24 months. And it’s very dependent on the availability of vaccine globally,” said Conrad Clifford, the body’s regional vice-president for the Asia Pacific region.

“So we see a combination of testing and vaccination as being the long term solution to reopening borders,” he said.

Caribbean

News

Young Dominican on Forbes Magazine’s 2021 Entrepreneur List

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 16:00:01 +0000

Young Dominican on Forbes Magazine’s 2021 Entrepreneur List

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__3398.jpg

admin Sun, 02/21/2021 - 16:00

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Original Publisher

People – Dominican Today

Original Article

Young Dominican on Forbes Magazine’s 2021 Entrepreneur List

In the famous Next 1000 list, Forbes published the names of the first 250 entrepreneurs.

The famous Forbes Magazine this week presented a list of 250 entrepreneurs from 2021.

Next 1000 is a list of innovators and leaders of small businesses and industries in the US who redefine what it means to build and run a business amid an unprecedented economic crisis. Among them is the Dominican Sebastián Jiménez, CEO of Rillavoice.

Jimenez moved to Miami at age 17 to finish his senior year of high school at a Jesuit college, where he met his two co-founders.

After graduating, he left for New York to study at NYU, where he began a career in politics but then decided to switch to business, concentrating on Data Science.

After finishing his studies in 2018, he applied for a university program that finances the ten best entrepreneurship projects, but he was rejected when he presented his. Jiménez asked to speak with the person in charge of the program until he managed to convince him to let him in.

“I sent him an email asking him to give me five minutes to talk to him, and I convinced him. In that program, I learned to develop tools to be able to build good products,” Jiménez commented.

He realized that all those in the program were people with master’s and doctorate studies, but that did not stop him, and he managed to create a plan that began to generate financial resources.

With the proceeds of that project, Rillavoice began to finance a company that uses artificial intelligence to record companies’ conversations that seek to create loyalty with their consumers and learn about their experiences with their products.

“We currently have retail clients in the fashion market and more than a dozen Fortune 500 clients from Japan, China, Mexico, Malaysia, the United States, and the Dominican Republic who are currently testing our product,” Jiménez said.

The software enables retailers to capture, measure, and analyze customer feedback in real-time. The company is currently in a pre-revenue stage.

They made it to Forbes.

Rillavoice received funds from one of the largest investment companies in all of New York, where apart from financial support, they taught him how to run a company, “it’s like a master’s degree,” said Jiménez. One of the people who managed the media within the company nominated them for Forbes, where one juror was nothing more and nothing less than former player Alex Rodríguez.

“They gave us the title because we have many promises and we have only been working on the product for a year, but thanks to this many companies have heard from us, and that gives us more investment opportunities. They are investors that we did not even aspire to contact, and they have approached us without having to communicate with them,” said the Dominican.

He said that they are currently focusing on customers, providing quality service, and having a healthy capital that allows them to develop and grow the product.

The Next 1000 list will highlight 1,000 entrepreneurs, announced each quarter in installments of 250 highlights. This is part of Forbes’s ongoing mission to advocate for ambitious sole proprietorships, self-funded stores, and startups, all with less than $ 10 million in revenue or funding, that reflect America’s diversity.

Caribbean

Living Standard

Farmers ‘fear 11-day extra pause’

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 14:30:01 +0000

Farmers ‘fear 11-day extra pause’

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__622.jpg

admin Sat, 02/20/2021 - 14:30

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Original Publisher

Barbados Today

Original Article

Farmers ‘fear 11-day extra pause’

Farmers declared Friday that the extended COVID-19 lockdown, dubbed a “national pause” by Government, will cost them dearly in lost crops and spoiled poultry.

Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society James Paul said all options are being exhausted in an attempt to help farmers sell their produce and reduce their losses.

The initial lockdown was scheduled to last from February 3 to 17 but on Monday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley told the public that the desired results had not been reached and it would be extended until February 28.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Paul said the 11-day extension would be problematic.

With only essential businesses allowed to operate and vending prohibited, there were very few avenues for farmers to move their produce, he noted.

Paul said: “The first thing is that there will be spoilages because there are some commodities that farmers have to harvest on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, and if they aren’t harvested they will spoil. So crops such as okras and lettuce are a challenge because when these crops cannot be harvested at the time they are ripe they spoil.

“What we are trying to do from our end is to work with the supermarkets. We are going to on our own probably from next week, try to see if we can set back up the Farmer’s Store to do home deliveries to see if we can help to offload some of that produce. It’s going to be a difficult exercise in terms of trying to offload that produce that’s going to be available.

“When it comes to the issue of meats and poultry there can be some difficulties too because again the current supply chains are compromised and we can expect during the coming weeks a buildup of stock. The restaurants are closed, they are not buying and they account for as much as 25 per cent of the consumption of chicken in the country. Also too, the normal volume of chicken and pork are not being sold so there will be some buildup so farmers will be under some stress during this period and we are hoping of course to try to mitigate that.”

The BAS chief said he was pleased that farmers had risen to the occasion and did a commendable job in providing produce for the care packages programme.

But he said he was unaware whether the programme would also be extended due to the lengthened lockdown.

The BAS is also keeping a close eye on businesses to ensure they don’t use the “pause” as an excuse to import products that can be sourced locally, Paul said.

He said he is aware of one such product being imported and urged business owners to use local produce whenever possible.

Paul told Barbados TODAY: “I want to make the point that we are hoping that people do not use this as an opportunity to try to sell cheap, subsidized, imported goods to the public at the expense of goods that are produced here in the country. We are continually on the lookout for this.

“I saw some evidence where you had some cheap milk being imported from Malaysia and that is being pushed to consumers instead of the locally produced milk.”
([email protected])

Caribbean

News

Bachata experts from 31 countries are in “a zoom for the love of our country brand”

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 21:20:01 +0000

Bachata experts from 31 countries are in “a zoom for the love of our country brand”

/sites/default/files/imported_articles_images/node__176.jpeg

admin Wed, 02/17/2021 - 21:20

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Original Publisher

Local – Dominican Today

Original Article

Bachata experts from 31 countries are in “a zoom for the love of our country br…

The activity was attended by leading dancers, instructors, school directors, DJs, and event organizers worldwide.

Santo Domingo, DR

Experts or promoters of bachata from 31 countries scattered in 4 continents gathered in a virtual meeting called “A zoom for the love of our Country Brand, Bachata,” on the occasion of the celebration of the day of love.

The activity was attended by leading dancers, instructors, school directors, DJs, and event organizers worldwide.

The virtual get-together was led by the Vice Minister of Culture, Fernando Antonio Cruz (Bonny Cepeda), together with Victor Minaya, general producer of ADN Bachata, a virtual meeting with the dancers, instructors, school directors, DJs, and event organizers from around the world.

Cepeda thanked all the participants on behalf of President Luis Abinader and the Minister of Culture, Carmen Heredia, for embracing our musical culture, bachata.

“You are cultural ambassadors of our country and the best allies to invite the world to know our beautiful country, in your presentations, in your classes, in your animations and bachata events that you perform around the world,” he commented.

Victor Minaya, during his words of welcome, expressed “that the objective of this Zoom is to meet all of us who love bachata and to tell you that, from the Dominican Republic, the land where this romantic genre was born, you will have allies to consolidate this rhythm as your Country Brand and that we can continue to grow and take bachata events to every corner of the world with the seal of the Dominicans. Without you, the history of bachata cannot be written”.

The meeting was attended by the Republic of Korea, Dr. Federico Cuello Camilo, who praised the initiative and highlighted the participation of Korean bachata dancers and his interest that they recognize that bachata is a Dominican rhythm and use it as a tool for tourism promotion.

The principal dancers, DJs, singers, and organizers of bachata events in China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, Israel, Arab Emirates, Dubai, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria, Australia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, India, Canada, Colombia, Jamaica, Kenya, Poland, along with the host country the Dominican Republic, were present at the meeting.

The first virtual meeting was hosted by Rudi López (el tiguere del mambo) from the United States, Noura, and Willy from Rome. It was joined as guests by singer-songwriters Cheo Zorrilla, Daniel Santa Cruz, and actor Anthony Álvarez.

The digital gathering featured an exquisite list of the world’s best dancers, event organizers, and DJs.

Caribbean

News

Malaysia

Territory added to EU ‘grey list’

VI response

World response

History

Sue over blacklist, says economist

Grey-listed

Fighting back

Current list

INTERVIEW: Why Nigerian filmmakers undervalue stunt performers – Stuntman, Mr Nollywood

History repeats itself as minister Muhwezi faces censure over torture

Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak

Every corner of the world

Nathaniel Bassey, Tim Godfrey, others to minister at Marathon Messiah Praise Gospel Concert

WORLD – Airline industry travel pass ready ‘within weeks’

Young Dominican on Forbes Magazine’s 2021 Entrepreneur List

In the famous Next 1000 list, Forbes published the names of the first 250 entrepreneurs.

Farmers ‘fear 11-day extra pause’

Bachata experts from 31 countries are in “a zoom for the love of our country brand”

The activity was attended by leading dancers, instructors, school directors, DJs, and event organizers worldwide.