Caribzone News Highlights

Compiled by Caribzone.com

International

Despite efforts to reduce global poverty worldwide, roughly 1.3 billion people across 107 developing countries are still multidimensional poor, lacking access to proper nutrition, healthcare, education, and a decent standard of living.

This was among the key findings of the 2020 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which was released last Thursday by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHDI) by the University of Oxford and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

A household, and so all its members, is multidimensional poor if it is deprived in one-third or more of the weighted indicators.

While the data, which was collected prior to COVID-19, is focused on the fact that multidimensional poverty has declined, UNDP administrator Achim Steiner fears that the pandemic will derail the progress made so far.

“At least 270 million people have been lifted out of multidimensional poverty over the course of a decade. COVID-19 has changed everything. With its triple hit on health, education, and income and so many others in people’s lives, it threatens to reverse overall global human development perhaps for the first time since the UNDP started calculating it from the human development index,” he said.

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National

 

A divided federal appeals court last Friday upheld the Trump administration’s expansion of cheaper short-term health insurance plan,  

derided by critics as “junk insurance,” as an alternative to the Affordable Care Act’s costlier comprehensive insurance.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in a 2-1 decision, that the administration had the legal authority to increase the duration of the health plans from three to 12 months, with the option of renewing them for 36 months.

The plans do not have to cover people with preexisting conditions or provide basic benefits like prescription drugs.

President Donald Trump, who wants to get rid of the entire health care law but failed to repeal it in Congress, has praised the plans as “much less expensive health care at a much lower price.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the decision would allow the administration to “keep railroading vulnerable families into shoddy junk health insurance plans.”

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Sports

Multiple times world and Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, has been named a board member of the newly created Athletics Association, an independent athletes-led organization, advocating for the rights of track and field competitors worldwide.

The organization which was in development from last year, was officially launched last week.

Fraser-Pryce will be representing the sprint disciplines along with British sprinter Adam Gemili.

The association was created in response to calls for more athlete representation, specifically after World Athletics announced changes to the 2020 Diamond League format which saw the exclusion of the 200m, 3000m steeplechase, discuss throw and the triple jump events from the Diamond League final.

Christian Taylor, American world and Olympic champion who will serve as its first president, said that he was pleased by the work done to fully establish the framework that will allow them to carry out their goals.

Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo (Bahamas) and 2015 Pan American Games silver medallist hurdler Mikel Thomas (Trinidad and Tobago), are the other Caribbean members on the board. They will be representing the Americas region.

 

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Sports

Olympic finalist sprinter Deajah Stevens (USA), was last week slapped with an 18 months ban for missing doping tests and will miss the Tokyo Games if they go ahead as planned next year.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which prosecutes cases in track and field, said Stevens was unavailable for three (3) doping controls in 2019, in Oregon and West Hollywood. Three whereabouts violations within one year can lead to a ban.

The third and decisive missed test came when she could not be contacted after changing her telephone number to avoid harassment by an unknown individual, the disciplinary tribunal was told.

The 25-year-old American runner's ban was backdated to start on February 17, 2020. It will expire days after the scheduled closing ceremony of the postponed Tokyo Olympics in August, 2021.

The ruling came while another Olympic medal prospect from the United States, men's 100m world champion Christian Coleman, is under an AIU investigation for missed tests. Coleman was provisionally suspended one month ago.

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Trinidad & Tobago

Austin Jack Warner

Jack Warner is back in T&T politics and made his intention and his candidacy official at a media conference, last Friday, at his constituency office in Arouca.

He will contest the August 10 general elections for the constituency of Lopinot/Bon Air West, on the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) ticket.

According to a media release issued by his party—the Independent Liberal Party (ILP)—Warner discussed the duty of a Member of Parliament and his performance as a past Minister of National Security and Minister of Works and Transport, which he describes as “exemplary”, “so much so that even today his views and advice continue to be sought”.

77-year-old Warner filed his nomination papers last Friday morning under the ILP, which he founded in 2013, after breaking away from the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led People's Partnership.

Warner was elected Chaguanas West MP in 2010, under the PP, and won the seat again in 2013, in a by-election as the ILP candidate, which he triggered when he resigned the seat after he was fired by Persad-Bissessar.

Warner lost the Chaguanas West seat in 2015, to the United National Congress' Ganga Singh.

He was implicated in a bribery scandal and suspended by FIFA before resigning in 2011. He is currently fighting extradition to the US on alleged corruption charges that stem from his role as vice president of FIFA.

The US indictment also accuses Warner and other former FIFA executives of committing fraud to secure votes for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.

 

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Trinidad & Tobago

United National Congress leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who is predicting her party will win the August 10 General Election, has called for those from other political sides who are fed up with the People’s National Movement to unite to fight them in a National Accord Initiative.

 

Speaking at “On the Ballot” virtual meeting, Persad-Bissessar said, “I put out a clarion call to all and sundry from whichever political side who have become disheartened and disillusioned and even disgusted by the arrogance and aggression of the current administration, to become a part of the National Accord Initiative to heal and help restore T&T.

 

“And to those who have once been a part of us, I say welcome home. Now is the time to put aside our differences in the interest of our nation. Let us come together to fight this wicked Rowley Government. There is room for everyone at the table and under our tent.”

 

She added, “Join the National Accord Initiative to heal and help. Don’t complain about the things you’re not willing to become part of to change! Now is the time... Let us become united to rescue. We can do this together.’’

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