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5 ways dairy is key to sustainable development

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 14:30:01 +0000

5 ways dairy is key to sustainable development

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 14:30

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

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Health Archives - Liberia news The New Dawn Liberia, premier resource for lates…

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5 ways dairy is key to sustainable development

#WorldMilkDay

Commemorating World Milk Day by focusing on sustainability in the dairy sector, as well as environmental, nutritional, and socioeconomic empowerment

NAIROBI, Kenya, 1st June 2022 -/African Media Agency (AMA)/- June 1st is World Milk Day, a day set aside by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation where we put the spotlight on the dairy industry. It’s impossible to imagine our lives without milk and all its various products, yet beyond the food itself, the dairy industry remains pivotal in our livelihoods, communities, and economies. This year’s theme draws attention to sustainability in the sector, as well as environmental, nutritional, and socioeconomic empowerment. This focus is poignant given the urgent need to accelerate climate action – a call on us all to rethink, reduce and repurpose in our journey towards a sustainable future. In east and southern Africa region (ESAR), this theme touches on a broad set of considerations that are connected to sustainable development goals:

1. Over 75% of humans on earth consume milk and milk products

More than 6 billion people worldwide are estimated to consume dairy products, that’s just over 75% of the global population. Many of these consumers are in developing economies, and for them, milk is a source of much-needed nutrition, and it is also crucial as a vehicle for delivering micronutrients. Dairy products are versatile enough to be fortified with essential micronutrients such as Zinc, a range of Vitamins and Calcium, to help boost the whole family’s immunity.

2. Dairy sector is significant in growing national herds

Agriculture contributes nearly a quarter of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, with a recorded 13.4 million dairy farms on the continent. A country’s national herd has direct correlation with its milk production; therefore, its growth has significant impact on the economy. Zimbabwe’s dairy herd that peaked at 123,000 cows in 1990, producing 260 million litres of milk annually, has shrunk to an estimated 39,000 dairy cows, producing at a deficit of 48% of national demand. Interventions are underway to boost the herd to 60,000 by 2027. One such initiative with an objective to help grow the national herd is the Nestlé Dairy Empowerment Scheme launched in 2011 to support agripreneurship in Zimbabwe. The scheme’s activities have been underpinned by strong sustainability credentials, including provision of solar-powered boreholes and cooling systems to reduce energy use, pasture and silage support to reduce commercial feed requirements, and knowledge transfer in labour practices and animal welfare.

3. Accelerating interventions for more sustainable dairy practises

The theme for 2022’s focus on sustainability is one that has been consistent with the founding of World Milk Day. On an outcome basis, the carbon footprint of a glass of milk today is notably lower than it was 70 years ago, but emissions from the sector increased by 18% between 2005 to 2015 to meet the increased demand for milk. There is much that can be done to further reduce the environmental footprint of dairy farming. Nestlé ESAR is piloting Africa’s first net zero dairy farm at Skimmelkrans Boerdery, in George, South Africa, with a projection to reach net zero in 2023. The project uses regenerative agriculture methods such as soil work, water conservation, feed management and manure processing, where some of the biggest reductions of greenhouse gases occur.

4. Rethinking dairy feeds to reduce emissions while controlling invasive species

Water stewardship in dairy farming is a key touchpoint in evolving operations and making them more sustainable. In South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal region, controlling an invasive species, black wattle, coincided with Nestlé’s largest Black-owned dairy supplier, Springfontein Dairy Farm’s appetite to explore non-commercial dairy feeds that boost milk production. The farm is part of Makhoba Farms, a community-owned enterprise, that, together with Nestlé, partnered with the University of KwaZulu Natal to pilot the use of black wattle in cow feed. Black wattle has proven to be high-value animal roughage with multiple benefits to ruminants that result in a remarked increased in milk quality. The intervention has reduced the farm’s dependency on bought feed, in turn reducing its emissions.

5. The dairy sector creates employment and amplifies agripreneurship

Unlike seasonal subsectors of agriculture, dairy is active throughout the year and by its very nature, supports local economies. Its broad value chain enables employment beyond the farm, and for emerging African economies that are growing their manufacturing capabilities, this is crucial in socio-economic development. According to the World Bank, every 100 litres of milk results in between 1.2 and 5.7 full time jobs in Kenya and Ghana. In South Africa, about 1,200 dairy farms with a herd of about 1.2 million dairy cows produce around 26,000 jobs. In 2022, Nestlé and Makhoba Farms reported on the creation and filling of 34 jobs within three years, targeting young people from the Makhoba community as part of the Youth Employment Service programme. These numbers from part of a global estimate of more than one billion livelihoods supported by the dairy sector.

Africa

Liberia: NPFL General on TRC “Most Notorious” List Dies; Angry Victims Say He Escaped Justice

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 20:10:01 +0000

Liberia: NPFL General on TRC “Most Notorious” List Dies; Angry Victims Say He Escaped Justice

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admin Sat, 06/18/2022 - 20:10

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

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News – FrontPageAfrica

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Liberia: NPFL General on TRC “Most Notorious” List Dies; Angry Victims Say He E…

***CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story carried an image of a family member of Melvin Sogbandi. FrontPage Africa and New Narratives regret the error ***

By Eric Opa Doue, Senior New Narratives Justice Reporter

JUAH TOWN, Grand Bassa – James Diggs broke down in tears when he heard the news of the death of Melvin Sogbandi. Sogbandi led “Strike Force Marine”, one of the deadliest divisions of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) during the civil war.

Now 64 and blind, Mr. Diggs cannot forget when, he says, Sogbandi terrorized people here. Mr. Diggs says Sogbandi made him and others walk for days with loads on their heads.

“No one dare say ‘I am tired’ or you got killed and eaten by the rebels,” according to Mr. Diggs.

“I experienced so, so bad, bad things, because they beat me, they did all kinds of things to me,” Mr. Diggs says. “They put me in the kitchen, they put fire under it and the smoke left small to kill me.”

The former NPFL General died on January 31 at the Fidelity Hospital, in Monrovia, aged 53. Sogbandi was listed number 88 on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s “Most Notorious Perpetrators” list for allegedly committing human rights violations of killing, torture, massacre and looting.

Diggs lost his sight five years after the end of the war. He now lives here in a town called SOS, one of the former rebel bases, with his wife and two of his ten children.

Rose Korkollie says her brother was killed by Sogbandi’s forces. Unlike Mr. Diggs Madame Korkollie, 67, and living with her grandchildren in District 2, says she is glad Sogbandi is dead. She says his early death is a reward for all the atrocities she says he and his men committed.

“Bad can always pay bad, good can always pay good,” Madame Korkollie says. “The way they themselves they do bad, bad thing to us and even make for our brother to die that kind of nasty way. The things they used to do to people, the place where he was thinking he was never going to go, that’s the place he laying down.”

Alphonso Gargar was a boy aged 10 when he says Sogbandi’s rebels killed and ate one of his small friends right before his eyes. Gargar, now in his late 30s and a motorist in District 2 still carries rage. He says he would set Sogbandi’s corpse ablaze if he had the opportunity.

The TRC found Sogbandi had been involved in a June 1993 massacre of 600 people at Harbel in Margibi County. The Report also found he gave orders for the killing of 26 unarmed civilians in Gbah, Bomi County in January 2000.

Sogbandi is the second alleged war criminal to have died in Liberia in less than a month. Former General Alhaji G. V. Kromah, head of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (or ULIMO) faction died on January 18 at the age of 68. According to the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Kromah’s ULIMO is responsible for over 11,500 different forms of abuses and atrocities committed during the war. Neither man faced justice for their alleged crimes. Kromah and Sogbandi join a growing list of ex-warlords who have died without facing justice. Some of them include former-Vice President Moses Blah, Edward Mlehn, Christopher Vambo, alias Gen. Mosquito, George Dweh and Gen. Charles Julu.

The recent deaths of suspected war criminals are a disappointment to those pursuing justice for the victims of the civil war says Hassan Bility of the Global Justice Research Project (GJRP). Mr. Bility says government should take the lead in passing a bill to establish a War and Economic Crimes Court to prosecute those accused of committing human rights violations during the wars in Liberia.

“I really blame the Liberian Government, the Executive and the legislative branches of government. They are responsible for policy, they should have been able to implement these,” Mr. Bility says. “But the whole thing has been politicized to the extent that the implementation has become difficult.”

Mr. Bility says that all those accused of war crimes in Liberia might die without being prosecuted. Despite pressure from national justice advocates, donor governments and the UN, two successive governments – that of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and George M. Weah- have ignored calls for a court.

In June 2021, the Liberian National Bar Association led a group of civil society organizations to formally present a bill to the Legislature for the court but it has yet to come up for discussion in the House chamber. The Speaker of the House of Representatives has the sole authority to decide what appears on the House agenda, according to the body’s rules, but current Speaker, Bhofal Chambers, a one-time advocate for the court, has yet to do so. That failure has provoked criticism from advocates for the court.

Campaigns for the court seem to have been overshadowed by politics as Liberia braces for next year’s presidential election. President Weah, seeking re-election, has enjoyed the support of some former rebel leaders—notably, Senator Prince Johnson of vote-rich Nimba County. Senator Johnson tops the TRC’s list of most notorious perpetrators.

President Weah will be looking forward to being re-endorsed by Mr. Johnson during the election, although the latter’s popularity has dwindled in recent elections.

The Legislature has the constitutional power to set up the court, even if the President vetoes its action. It can override his veto.

Africa

News

Flow of exports between January and April totaled US$4.1 billion

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 15:20:01 +0000

Flow of exports between January and April totaled US$4.1 billion

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admin Sat, 06/18/2022 - 15:20

Thursday, June 16, 2022

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Economy – Dominican Today

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Flow of exports between January and April totaled US$4.1 billion

Santo Domingo, DR.
The Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo), celebrating yesterday the 50th anniversary of its founding, highlighted the potential of the sector, citing that the export volume in this last four-month period of the year totaled US$4.1 billion, a growth of 9.87% compared to January-April 2021 and 31.69% compared to 2019, year.

Regarding the regime with the highest exports, Adoexpo pointed to the free zones with an amount of US$2.5 billion, a growth of 2.66% year-on-year and 33.49% compared to 2019, while the National regime of US$1.5 billion was exported, growing by 5.86% compared to January-April 2021 and 32.53% compared to 2019.

The president of Adoexpo, Elizabeth Mena, highlighted that this entity reached its half-century leading the promotion of this productive sector, improving conditions for the sector, promoting changes in public policies and playing a leading role in the generation of foreign exchange and formal employment.

She stated that gold is the main exported item, with US$470.74 million, for the first four months of the year, representing 11.40% of total exports.

In the second place, medical instruments and apparatuses stand out with an exported value of US$465.46 million, representing 11.27% of exports for this period, growing 37.12% year-on-year and 101.91% compared to 2019. In third place are cigars, with US$320.55 million representing 7.76% of total exports.

Destinations
Mena expressed that the “top 10” destination countries for Dominican exports comprise 86.55% of total exports in the first four months of 2022, composed of the United States, which remains our largest trading partner comprising 51% of total exports; followed by Haiti, (9. 60%), Switzerland (8.50%), Puerto Rico (5.38%), the Netherlands (3.22%), China (2.99%), India (2.88%), Germany (1.08%), Italy (0.95%) and Spain (0.88%).

Caribbean

Business

EXPLAINER: What methanol is and how it affects fuel, cars

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 23:40:01 +0000

EXPLAINER: What methanol is and how it affects fuel, cars

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admin Mon, 02/21/2022 - 23:40

Thursday, February 10, 2022

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Business – Premium Times Nigeria

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EXPLAINER: What methanol is and how it affects fuel, cars

Nigerian fuel retailer, MRS Oil Nigeria, on Wednesday stirred controversy when it announced that the petrol it received from Litasco, the Swiss trading arm of Russia’s Lukoil, was substandard.

MRS said it received the oil through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the end of January and 37,000 tonnes were delivered to multiple retailers in the country.

“NNPC through their trading arm Duke Oil, supplied a cargo of PMS (petrol) purchased from international trader Litasco and delivered it with Motor Tanker (MT) Nord Gainer,” MRS said in a statement.

The company explained that after delivery into the tank, it was observed that the product appeared hazy and dark. Analysis of the petroleum product revealed that the PMS discharged by MT Nord Gainer had 20% methanol.

Checks by PREMIUM TIMES showed that the global average for methanol content in petrol is between 2% to 3%.

Nigerians have begun to face yet another season of fuel scarcity as the authorities said they were working multiple options in a bid to resolve the substandard fuel problem that has seen national reserves coverage down by 10 days.

Methanol and uses

Methanol is a blending component for petrol that is made from alternative non-petroleum energy sources such as natural gas, coal and biomass. It’s a multipurpose fuel used as a blending component in fuels, or for the production of fuel components. It is in itself considered as a fuel for electric vehicles.

According to a publication of the Methanol Institute, methanol has been commercially blended into petrol at various times and locations since the late 1970s, or for over thirty years of commercial experience and research. Although methanol has been widely manufactured for use in chemical production, it has also been successfully used for extending petrol supplies in many markets around the world.

For conventional engines, methanol use is straightforward when converted to a petrol component called methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), or to diesel component called fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). High concentration methanol blends, such as 85% methanol in petrol, can be used in special automobiles such as the Flexible Fuel Vehicles.

In China, methanol is used as various blends, and in some markets, a blend of petrol and methanol is considered. In Europe and North America, blending of methanol in petrol is limited up to a few percentages, often less than 5%.

If methanol is used at high blending ratios in petrol, alcohol compatible materials in vehicles are needed to maintain stability and safety.

Methanol properties allow automobile makers to design high efficiency engines to compensate for low energy density of methanol. In situations where methanol is applied as automotive fuel with higher blending ratios or as pure fuel, technical adjustments of the existing fuel infrastructure are required.

Standards and Damages

Global methanol demand has increased from 61 to 125 million metric tonnes from 2012 to 2016, even as production capacity of sustainable renewable methanol is only less than 1 million tonnes per year. The growth is said to be driven by Chinese demand.

Most of the current methanol standards related to the automotive sector are available in the US, Italy, Israel, China and India. In Europe, for instance, a maximum 3% volume of methanol is allowed to be blended in petrol under the Fuel Quality Directive and CEN standard.

In the United States, there are limits to methanol content and up to 2.75% with an equal volume of butanol, or higher content of alcohol, is allowed. Similarly, standards specifying fuel methanol blends are now being updated by the Task Force, just as specifications for neat methanol are being promoted.

Like all transportation fuels, methanol is toxic and should not be ingested. Car engines can actually be destroyed if the ethanol content in the fuel used is too high.

To be sure, blending of methanol raises the octane of petrol, and minimizes engine knock, which comes due to excess heat or pressure. So methanol content is essentially good for the engine, if applied with moderation.

But when the mixture comes in high percentages, it lowers the energy density of the fuel to the point where hard starting becomes problematic. It could result in a spike of pressure, and lead to structural failure or even an explosion. Methanol is highly corrosive to aluminum components, and an unregulated amount of the content in petrol can damage vital parts of an automobile like gaskets and rubber hoses.

READ ALSO: How substandard fuel was imported into Nigeria — NNPC

A plausible reason for the inclusion of a high percentage of methanol content in petrol is its relatively cheaper cost, especially when compared to ethanol and petrol. A paper released in 2021 claimed that methanol is the cheapest alternative fuel in India. The paper claimed that the calorific value of ethanol is more than that of methanol, so 1.28 litres of methanol would be required to produce as much energy as a litre of ethanol.

Calorific value refers to the energy contained in a fuel or food, as determined by measuring the heat produced by the complete burning of a specified quantity of the fuel or food.

In recent days, the substandard petrol imported into Nigeria, with 20% methanol content, has reportedly damaged a number of vehicles. In the last few days, there have been reports of complaints from car users whose vehicles were damaged by the off-spec petrol, with many threatening legal actions.

Africa

Business

Former Sierra Leone Special Court Guard Tells War Crimes Court Massaquoi Escape Possible

admin — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 01:10:01 +0000

Former Sierra Leone Special Court Guard Tells War Crimes Court Massaquoi Escape Possible

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admin Mon, 02/21/2022 - 01:10

Monday, January 10, 2022

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News – FrontPageAfrica

Original Article

Former Sierra Leone Special Court Guard Tells War Crimes Court Massaquoi Escape…

By Anthony Stephens and New Narratives staff

After nearly a year of hearings, including five months in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the ground-breaking trial of Gibril Massaquoi, a Sierra Leonean rebel charged with committing war crimes in Liberia, looks set to end this month. From there the fate of the 51-year-old former commander of the Revolutionary United Front will be in the hands of four judges of the District Court of Tampere, Finland’s second largest city.

Since the trial resumed in Tampere in October, after a second, unexpected set of hearings in Liberia, there have been just four sessions. The prosecution and defense teams have wrestled with new evidence, including notes, Finnish police say were illegally obtained, from an interrogator of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone after the interrogation of a Liberian witness who has accused Massaquoi of torturing him.

The court has also sought to have two key officials from the Special Court appear. Alan White, the former Chief Investigator of the Special Court, and Saleem Vahidy, the former chief of the court’s Witness and Victims Unit, are seen as key to answering a central, explosive question of this trial: did Massaquoi escape the Special Court witness protection program in Sierra Leone where he was giving evidence against Liberian President Charles Taylor and others about their crimes in Sierra Leone, to travel to Liberia between June and August 2003 to commit war crimes on behalf of Taylor?

After months of negotiations, both men have declined to appear according to Presiding Judge Juhani Paiho. White “was not willing to testify” said the judge by email and Vahidy is “not able to testify due to personal reasons not related to the case.”

The idea the Special Court would have a protection system in place that allowed their star witness to leave the safehouse to travel to Liberia at the risk of murder by Taylor (who, according to testimony in the trial, had already killed others he suspected of informing to the Special Court including RUF general Sam Bockarie) or to inform Taylor what was happening inside the investigation, would seem preposterous.

Massaquoi took the stand himself to tell the court as much. Under questioning by defense lawyer Kaarle Gummerus, Massaquoi systematically rejected the prosecution’s accusations.

“No one in their right mind would do something that the prosecutor and the witness has said,” Massaquoi told the court. “It does not make sense.”
Gibril Massaquoi

A Finnish researcher, who has appeared in the trial previously, returned to repeat his assertions that travel on main routes between Monrovia and Freetown at that time would have been nearly impossible because of the heavy presence of LURD, the opposing rebel group that would go on to overwhelm Taylor’s forces and force the president into exile in August.

And yet dozens of Liberian witnesses in the Liberia hearings were adamant that they had seen Massaquoi, whom they knew by the name “Angel Gabriel”, murdering civilians and directing the murder, rape and torture of civilians in Bo Waterside in Monrovia and in villages in Lofa County between June and August 2003 as the forces of the LURD rebel movement closed in on President Taylor’s last strongholds.

In earlier testimony former Massaquoi allies had described the Special Court security as lax, saying people came and went from the safe houses where Massaquoi and his family were held. In the final hearing of 2021 the court heard from a former guard of the safe houses in which Massaquoi and his family lived from 2004 until they were relocated to Finland in 2008 in a widely criticized immunity deal with the Special Court. The witness, whose identity is being withheld by the court for his security, did not guard Massaquoi during the 2003 period in question. He described a witness protection program that gave Massaquoi surprising freedom given his admissions of violence, the threats to his life and the importance of his testimony. He testified that the security would not have been any better during the June to August 2003 period in question.

New Narratives was unable to travel to the court because of Covid restrictions but relied on court transcripts provided by Civitas Maxima, the Swiss-based justice advocates that helped gather evidence for the investigation of Massaquoi that are regarded as accurate by court watchers. They record the witness saying Massaquoi was protected by just one guard, who was not armed, in the first years of his detention which began in March 2003. Only later, after an attack on the safehouse that the witness believed was staged, did the Special Court move Massaquoi and his family to a more secure house and assign an armed guard around the clock.

“[Special Court] knows that the safe house was not protected well enough,” the witness said.

Under prosecution questioning the former guard said there was definitely a possibility for Massaquoi to leave the houses that the witness guarded without the protection officers knowing.

Prosecutor Laitinen: “Did Massaquoi have the possibility to leave without the security becoming aware of it?

Witness: “Sometimes the protection officer was present, sometimes not.”

Laitinen: “How did you make sure that whether Massaquoi was present in the Kington safe house or not?”

Witness: “When he came downstairs, or I went upstairs. There were no cameras in the safe house and no device on Massaquoi to monitor if he went out or not.”

Laitinen: “Did Massaqoui have an obligation to let you know that he was there?”

Witness: “No. We have a notebook in which we sign when a protection officer comes to work.”

Africa

News

Gold, still Dominican Republic’s export king

admin — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 20:10:01 +0000

Gold, still Dominican Republic’s export king

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admin Sun, 02/20/2022 - 20:10

Thursday, February 10, 2022

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Economy – Dominican Today

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Gold, still Dominican Republic’s export king

Santo Domingo.- The most important exported product by the Dominican Republic continues to be gold, reaching US$1.8 billion in January-December 2021.

Gold represents 15.5% of everything exported last year, with Switzerland being the main destination for this product, which has allowed that country to displace Haiti as the second export market. Much of the gold extracted in the world is refined in that European country.

The second product is medical instruments and devices with US$1.1 billion exported last year.

They account for 9.4% and 8.9%, respectively, of total Dominican exports.

The data was provided by the president of the Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo), Elizabeth Mena, in a press release.

The executive highlighted that 2021 was the year in which the country achieved the highest volume of exports in its entire history, reaching an amount of US$11.8 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 20% compared to 2020.

Caribbean

Business

CLA seeks protection for Jamaican ganja

admin — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 11:50:01 +0000

CLA seeks protection for Jamaican ganja

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admin Sat, 02/19/2022 - 11:50

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

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Jamaica Observer

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CLA seeks protection for Jamaican ganja

IN a move to strengthen the local medical cannabis industry, the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) is now engaged in the process of protecting the "brand equity" of Jamaican ganja through the application of intellectual property (IP) as well as the recommendation of regulations and policies to increase investment.

CLA interim CEO Daenia Ashpole told reporters during a recent Jamaica Observer Business Forum that the Cannabis Industry Task Force, led by minister of state in the Ministry of industry, Investment and Commerce Dr Norman Dunn, is now reviewing the best approach to acquiring IP protection for the locally grown herb.

"Additionally, the CLA has started its own technical consultation internally to see what is the best IP protection," she said, adding that the authority has considered registering the term "Jamaican ganja" as a geographical indicator.

Geographical indication (GI), according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, is a sign or name affixed to products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation based on their origin. Examples of GI include Champagne (sparkling wine) from France, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese from Italy, Idaho potatoes in the US, and Jamaican Jerk.

However, Ashpole argued that protecting Jamaican ganja would require a layered approach that would necessitate exploring options other than GI. To this end, she explained that local players in the medical cannabis industry will also need to get involved to protect their own products.

The CEO further pointed out that the CLA has started "discussing a technical assistance programme that would help individual cultivators or individual licensees appreciate the role of intellectual property in protecting their strains, which they would apply for through the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office.

"So that has started and you'll see greater lobbying for protection of IP...But there are other IP protection like trademarks, which include the protection of the names our licensees are using. There is copyright protection and there are other types of IPs, but the conversation has started," she elaborated.

Ashpole said, too, that Jamaica becoming a signatory to the Madrid Protocol in December 2021 also presented an opportunity for strengthening the Jamaica ganja brand.

According to chairman of the CLA LeVaugh Flynn, Jamaica is "known to produce high-quality strains [of cannabis] because of our climate and soil type".

He added: "Persons still recognise the advantages to having a cannabis industry based in Jamaica and the brand equity that we have built up over the years through Rastafarian communities and through reggae music."

He believes that greater protection of the local medical cannabis industry would also require greater collaboration between local stakeholders and indicating the opportunities for investment.

While noting that could not quantify the demand for Jamaican cannabis, he said that the demand for the drug can be ascertained through the number of shipments through retailers over the last year.

Since its establishment in 2021, CLA has issued 113 export authorisations, more than half of which it issued in 2021. So far, the entity has authorised exports to Germany, Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Cayman Islands, Israel, Portugal, and Switzerland.

Moreover, the CLA has facilitated the trans-shipment of cannabis from St Vincent and the Grenadines via Jamaica to Germany.

"We want to maximise the opportunities that the medical cannabis industry provides," Flynn told the Business Observer.

"We've been engaging the Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica and the Medical Doctors Association of Jamaica because we believe that's where the biggest opportunity is. Persons need greater access to cannabis by-products," the CLA chairman continued.

The CLA, as a result, has been finalising policies and regulations that will allow more Jamaicans to access medical cannabis products through prescriptions.

This, Flynn said, would translate to "economic returns both for licenses and the country" and contribute to GDP.

He however cautioned that while CLA saw the medical cannabis industry as an economic enabler, contributor to public health and greater social inclusion, the authority was committed to the herb's medical, scientific and therapeutic uses.

When asked if Jamaica was threatened by other Caribbean countries establishing their own medical cannabis industry, he responded: "No. A lot of the Caribbean countries have been using Jamaica as a benchmark or as a reference point to set up their own industries...Jamaica has its own value proposition no matter what another country does or their proximity to us."

Caribbean

Business

Il Divo star Carlos Marín dies from COVID-19 aged 53

admin — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 22:50:01 +0000

Il Divo star Carlos Marín dies from COVID-19 aged 53

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admin Fri, 02/18/2022 - 22:50

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

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People – Dominican Today

Original Article

Il Divo star Carlos Marín dies from COVID-19 aged 53

Marín dies from covid after slipping into a coma despite being fully vaccinated

Il Divo star Carlos Marin has died from Covid aged 53, his bandmates announced on Sunday. The baritone member of the international pop-opera fusion vocal quartet had contracted the virus on December 7 and was admitted to a hospital in Manchester. The Spanish singer went into a coma after that and died on Sunday.

Marin’s death comes as a major shock to the music fraternity. The singer was fully vaccinated but ultimately didn’t make it after slipping into a coma. He had been in the intensive care unit and was intubated after having his oxygen “compromised.” Marin’s life support system was turned off on Sunday night.

Although Marin was admitted to the hospital on December 7, the announcement was made by the band only on December 16.

The baritone’s bandmates, David Miller, Sébastien Izambard, and Urs Bühler, paid tribute to Marín in a post on social media: “It is with heavy hearts that we are letting you know that our friend and partner, Carlos Marin, has passed away. He will be missed by his friends, family, and fans.”

After falling ill on Il Divo’s UK tour on December 7 7, Marín was taken into hospital, his bandmates confirmed. The singer was later placed in an induced coma before he died. Marín’s agent has since confirmed that the singer, who was reportedly vaccinated, had tested positive for COVID-19.

“There will never be another voice or spirit like Carlos,” his bandmates added. “For 17 years the four of us have been on this incredible journey of Il Divo together, and we will miss our dear friend. We hope and pray that his beautiful soul will rest in peace.”

Il Divo has pioneered the pop-opera, or ‘popera’ genre, recording covers of hit pop songs in a classical style alongside stars Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand.

An international group with roots across Europe and beyond, Il Divo often perform in their native languages, Spanish and French. For example, Marín was a Spanish baritone born in Germany, Miller was a tenor born in the US, Izambard was a French pop singer, and Bülher was a Swiss tenor.

The quartet has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, their biggest hits ranging from ‘I Believe in You (Je crois en toi), a French-English duet with Dion, and ‘Regresa a Mí,’ a Spanish cover of Toni Braxton’s ‘Un-Break my Heart.’

Il Divo was formed in 2003 by music mogul Simon Cowell, though the group later parted ways with him. Cowell has said the idea behind Il Divo came to him after hearing Andrea Bocelli singing ‘Con te partirò’ (Time to Say Goodbye).

Cowell paid tribute to Marín in a post on social media, saying: “I am finding this so difficult to put into words how I feel right now. I am devastated Carlos Marin has passed away. He loved life. He loved performing and always had so much appreciation towards the fans who supported the group from day 1. Rest in peace Carlos. I will miss you.”

Marín, born in Germany in 1968, was raised in Spain and recorded his first album, aged just eight years old.

The singer starred in hit musicals Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, and Grease, and the Spanish version of Cinderella before joining Il Divo.

Speaking about his musical tastes with Classic FM in 2015, Marín said: “Each of us has different inspirations. Myself, I listen to Tom Jones, the oldies like Frank Sinatra, and I’m also a big fan of 80s music like Queen, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran.”

Marín’s final concert with Il Divo was reported in Bath, UK, on December 6, before he was hospitalized two days later.

The baritone was married to French-born singer Geraldine Larrosa, also known by her stage name ‘Innocence,’ until 2009. The former couple, who remained great friends, had been due to sing together for a New Year’s Eve concert on Spanish TV.

Caribbean

Mwele's lasting footprints in science

admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 09:30:01 +0000

Mwele's lasting footprints in science

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admin Thu, 02/17/2022 - 09:30

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Original Publisher

The Citizen

Original Article

Mwele's lasting footprints in science

Dar es Salaam. The death of renowned Tanzanian scientist and researcher Mwele Malecela, 59, has left many grieving her loss owing to the trail of inspiration she has left and the many lives she touched.

Dr Malecela died on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland where she worked as the director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) at the World Health Organisation Headquarters. In 2019 she was diagnosed with cancer.

She had a rich background in institutional leadership which saw her hold various roles including becoming director of Research Coordination and Promotion (DRCP) at NIMR in 1998 before moving on to become the director of the Lymphatic Filariasis programme in 2000. She further climbed the leadership ladder and was appointed NIMR’s director general – becoming the first woman to hold this position. However, in 2017 her appointment was revoked, after which she went on to establish an international career.

Dr Syriacus Buguzi, a co-founder of ResearchCOM, a research communication firm based in Dar es Salaam said Dr Malecela exuded a sense of professionalism at the point when politics and science were competing in Tanzania.

“I think her career inspired a number of people at a time when the public was so concerned about how researchers were being handled in Tanzania from 2016 onwards,” he expressed.

He added that Dr Malecela’s unceremonial exit from NIMR as the director general triggered sentiments among researchers who saw it as an attack on science and it was something talked about each time Mwele’s name came up. There was a way scientists perceived Dr Malecela - she symbolised professionalism. She encouraged the fight against neglected tropical diseases by championing a movement to enable the youth to learn about how and why they can combat such ailments.

Dodoma-based programme officer for Neglected Tropical Disease Control and Focal Point for Onchocerciasis Control Programme, Dr Clara Jones, met Mwele in 2010 at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences during her master’s degree.

She recalls how Dr Malecela encouraged and exposed her to different chances in the field of neglected diseases. Dr Malecela was also her supervisor in her PhD.

“We have lost a leader and a scientist who had an unmatched vision. She demonstrated it was possible to do something good even when there was no fund allocated for the cause. She worked so hard on improving the state of NTDs in the country and she will be remembered for that,” said Dr Jones.

She added: “Mwele believed in positive outcome and would push for it. She was a good mentor and supported anyone regardless of their background.”

Mr Donat Pamba is a Health Systems Researcher at the Ifakara Health Institute, he said Tanzania lost one of the most knowledgeable, strong and leading scientist. “She was innovative and organised.”

“She was more trusted globally by her ability to work on technical working groups. She stimulated and promoted public health research in Tanzania. She initiated the availability of panel national research priority to make sure no disease is left out without it being researched on.”

“With this, she wanted all researchers to identify areas that are less explored in their field to make sure they come up with different outcomes. She initiate NIMR conference every year which saw all researchers meet and share experience and ideas on how Tanzania can develop further,” said Pamba.

Africa

News

‘Pandora Papers’ data leak involves mostly VI firms

admin — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 11:10:01 +0000

‘Pandora Papers’ data leak involves mostly VI firms

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admin Sat, 12/11/2021 - 11:10

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Original Publisher

Business – The BVI Beacon

Original Article

‘Pandora Papers’ data leak involves mostly VI firms

More than two thirds of the companies named in a massive new offshore data leak analysed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists were incorporated through the Virgin Islands, the ICIJ stated when rolling out its extensive coverage of the leak over the weekend.

The “Pandora Papers” — consisting of 11.9 million confidential files that name hundreds of high-level politicians, business leaders and other famous figures — hit the media on Sunday afternoon, resulting in headlines across the globe.

For the Virgin Islands, the leak is the latest and largest in a series of similar leaks involving the jurisdiction in recent years, and it is expected to amplify global calls for more transparency and speedier implementation of the public company register the VI government has promised to establish in 2023.

“It seems clear here that one of the aims of some of the ICIJ journalists right now is heavily aligned with the aims of transparency campaigners generally, like Oxfam, Global Witness and The Guardian newspaper,” VI asset-recovery lawyer Martin Kenney told the
Beacon. “And that aim is to encourage regulators and policymakers in places like the UK to compel smaller territories like ours to have, as soon as possible, open [beneficial ownership] registers.”

Media coverage

The news coverage resulting from the leak — which was a collaboration among more than 600 journalists around the world — ranged widely, but VI companies were often front and centre.

In one of the more prominent stories, the ICIJ alleged that the King of Jordan used VI structures to secretly buy millions of dollars’ worth of properties in central London. Another story alleged that the president of Azerbaijan and his associates used VI companies in a way that shielded his property transactions from public view, at one point registering a building in the United Kingdom to his then-11-year-old son.

Other UK property transactions also loomed large in the reporting as well, with the BBC alleging that more than 1,500 UK properties were bought by clients using offshore firms.

Some of the buyers, according to the BBC, have been accused of corruption.

The leak also exposed information about companies linked to other famous people, most of whom are not accused of any wrongdoing, including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, German supermodel Claudia Schiffer, and Colombian pop singer Shakira.

The files name several jurisdictions across the globe, including Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and South Dakota in the United States. But out of the 14 financial services firms whose files formed the basis of the leaks, the two most prominent — Trident Trust
Group and Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee — have offices in the VI.

The source of the leak has not been identified, and the legal implications for the firms whose data was compromised is not yet clear. The VI passed a Data Protection Act this year, but has yet to name a regulator.

The VI government, meanwhile, has remained mum on the leak, and the Financial Services Commission and the Premier’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. BVI Finance CEO Elise Donovan, however, told the Beacon, “We remain confident not only of the high-quality services that BVI firms provide, but also of the strength and efficacy of the BVI’s regulations. Together, these play a vital role in helping organisations to operate efficiently, generating growth and jobs around the world.”

For the VI, the leak is the latest in a string of blows to the territory’s financial services industry, which brings in more than half of government revenue each year. The ICIJ’s 2016 Panama Papers leak, for instance, included millions of documents about offshore companies set up by Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which was later forced to close its offices here and abroad.

However, this week’s investigation involved more than three times as many public figures as the Panama Papers, according to the ICIJ. The
organisation said its analysis identified 956 companies linked to 336 politicians, as well many other companies linked to hundreds of other
public figures.

“The findings by ICIJ and its media partners spotlight how deeply secretive finance has infiltrated global politics — and offer insights into why governments and global organisations have made little headway in ending offshore financial abuses,” the organisation wrote on its website.

However, the ICIJ also said it’s not possible to know how much of the world’s $1.3 trillion in wealth it says is held offshore is linked to tax evasion or other crimes. Owning an offshore company is not a
crime, the organisation noted, and those named in the leak who responded to the ICIJ’s requests for comment denied any wrongdoing.

Though the ICIJ did not hint at the source of the leak, Mr. Kenney said the Pandora Papers differ from previous leaks in the number of firms affected. In the previous leaks, data typically came from just one firm at a time. This time, the leak includes data linked to 14 firms.

“We’re being told it happened concurrently,” he said. “There were a lot of resources poured into this by someone. Now, the only person[s] with
those resources to infiltrate into 14 systems are large, wellfunded government intelligence agencies like the [US National Security Agency]. Or other foreign governments agencies, or one or more high-net-worth individuals with a lot of resources have a political
agenda.”

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