A general view shows some of 35 coffins of deceased people stored in a warehouse in Ponte San Pietro, near Bergamo, Lombardy, on March 26, 2020 prior to be transported in another region to be cremated, during the country's lockdown following the COVID-19 new coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)
#Caribbean – April 17, 2020 — Someone needs to answer for the Coronavirus which has infected over two million people around the globe, killed over 145,000 of those infected and collapsed dreams, industries and economies.
In under four months, the contagion has wiped out decades of
dedicated work to building a more interlinked and interlocked global community
and deflated the expectation for a buoyant beginning to a new decade.
The 2020 we all imagined is forever tarnished, and while
there is optimism that this season will pass, it is startling that country
leaders – save for maybe one – lack vigor when it comes to finding the culprit.
Wuhan, China – file
At an agonizingly slow pace, truths are emerging including that China under reported deaths related to the novel coronavirus by 40 percent and other, more controversial charges allege that the disease is not at all derived from a bat bought and eaten in Wuhan through its blacklisted wet market, but more dastardly, that it was created in a laboratory in that capital city of China’s Hubei province.
It is a peculiar thing to many mourners, onlookers and victims
that this crime against humanity, as it appears to be, has no obvious
investigator trying to hunt down the perpetrator.
Usually, in events when people are hurt or killed, there is unrelenting, headlining, focus on catching a suspect; apprehending a possible killer. Not only in an effort to ensure someone is held responsible for the injustice, but to ensure that the tragedy never, ever repeats itself.
Not so or less so in this case.
The world’s health police has reported no such investigation and the world’s leaders who pay them on behalf of the 7.5 billion people on the planet, including the 145,000 who have died and the 195 million projected to be thrust into unemployment are virtually ‘mum’ on the matter.
Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)
Except for the vociferous Donald Trump, President of the United States of America – who was scolded for announcing that the US would halt funding to the United Nations’ health arm, aka the World Health Organization – there is no mainstream report of someone demanding better service by the WHO and prominently pursuing who caused this mess.
As expected, since U.S. President Trump made his announcement, there are finally media reports probing and pressing for pertinent answers on who is responsible for the virus which has precipitated such a dismal level of causalities and a world recession of unprecedented proportions, as announced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this week.
It is unacceptable that people who have scraped and scrounged, people who have dug deep and plowed hard to build their families and countries had to die alone; locked in a room, forced to make death declarations to four walls, or strangers all while gasping for air, when they ordinarily enjoyed a rich relationship with their loved ones.
It is unacceptable, that millions of people, who were poised
to have their best year ever financially, have had to accept letters of
termination or closed the doors of businesses they have built from
scratch.
It is unacceptable that we can no longer shake each other’s
hands or give a greeting by kiss or hug; that we are now afraid to speak face
to face due to fear that a sliver of saliva may reach our mouths or eyes and
infect us with this respiratory attacker.
It is unacceptable that people who have labored in the
valued medical profession are being sickened, are terrified of going to their
own homes, being with their own families and some of them catching COVID-19 and
dying from it.
It is unacceptable that we cannot visit our aged -parents
and grand-parents because they have superannuated and are most susceptible to
death from this disease. Generations unfairly
unhinged by this public health crisis.
Caribbean Country Leaders in CARICOM meeting this week. Photo from The Bahamas Office of the Prime Minister
And it is unacceptable that our governments, who in most of our small island countries were already struggling to make ends meet for the people dependent upon them, are now scampering to find solutions. We have watched these administrators labour for ways to ease the pain, fill the voids and pledge what they cannot afford, which means our indebted countries are plunged further into debt.
Deandrea Hamilton Magnetic Media CEO
If my commentary sounds angry about what Coronavirus has done to the world; you are not mistaken. I am angry and I am brokenhearted every time I consider the pain and suffering this is causing to my fellow human beings.
We all hear the rumors and reports, so conveniently labelled
‘fake news’ about the possible motivation for this allegedly man-made
contagion. Greed and Pride and Folly;
among the most shallow characteristics have probably birthed this beast.
I am a believer in Jesus Christ and Almighty God and so I
know there is purpose and there is embedded within humankind an indomitable spirit
which will cause us to prevail and to emerge enriched by this experience.
Still, my faith in this truth does not extinguish the fire
for answers and explanations on behalf of mankind.
The culprit or culprits cannot and must not go undetected or
unpunished and 2020 must be the year when global organisations which pledge to
uphold marvelous mandates on behalf of humanity, will recommit to doing their
jobs or else face being terminated by the people of this planet.
It is time to find the cause of this killer of our loved
ones, our livelihoods, our ways of life and our economies; it is time to for
the narrative to shift from coping with COVID-19 to catching whomever is
culpable.
Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.
May 15, 2025 – NOAA will issue its outlook for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season during a news conference on Thursday, May 22, at the Jefferson Parish Emergency Operations Center in Gretna, Louisiana, and virtually.
Speakers will announce the anticipated activity for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, factors that may influence hurricane development and provide advice for how the public can prepare for the season, which officially begins June 1 and ends November 30.
WHAT
News conference announcing NOAA’s 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook
WHEN
Thursday, May 22; 10:00 a.m. CDT / 11:00 a.m. EDT
WHERE
Jefferson Parish Emergency Operations Center, 910 3rd Street, Gretna, LA 70053
WHO
Laura Grimm, acting NOAA administrator
Ken Graham, director, NOAA’s National Weather Service
Cynthia Lee-Sheng, Jefferson Parish president
Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction will also be available for questions and interviews.
FOR IN-PERSON REGISTRATION
Media interested in attending the in-person news conference must register hereoffsite link by 4:00 p.m. EDT on May 20. Space is limited. For any questions, email nws.pa@noaa.gov.
FOR VIRTUAL REGISTRATION
Credentialed reporters unable to attend in person may watch a live stream of the news conference and must register at this link.offsite link (For the best experience, download the Adobe Connect appoffsite link.) Reporters attending virtually will have the ability to submit written questions during the Q&A portion of the event.
Additional resources
Hurricane safety and preparedness is critically important before the season begins on June 1. NOAA’s National Weather Service provides resources to prepare for hurricane hazards and real-time updates about active tropical weather systems from the National Hurricane Center at www.hurricanes.gov.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, expresses joy and gratitude following the election of Pope Leo XIV.
By Marie Duhamel and Linda Bordoni
Speaking to Vatican News shortly after the announcement of the election of Pope Leo XIV from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, Archbishop Broglio, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “very pleased with the choice of the cardinals,” acknowledging his surprise at the outcome but affirming his deep sense of happiness and trust in the new pontificate.
“I certainly offer a prayer for Pope Leo,” he said, “and pray for the beginning of his mission and for its success.”
rchbishop Broglio shared that he had met Pope Leo XIV during official visits to Rome as part of his role with the bishops’ conference, recalling a man marked by warmth, openness, and a genuine desire to collaborate, as well as during the Synod on Synodality.
“On both occasions,” he noted, “he was very cordial and demonstrated a great desire to be helpful and work together. I was very grateful for that.”
What is in a name?
The choice of the name “Leo” evokes rich associations with Church history, particularly Pope Leo XIII, remembered for his groundbreaking work on Catholic social teaching and his encyclical Rerum Novarum.
“It sparks the memory of Leo XIII,” Archbishop Broglio reflected, “who was the first pope to enunciate in a clear fashion the social doctrine of the Church.”
The name also speaks to the new Pope’s roots. “Since Leo came from the neighbourhood of Rome, I think the people of Rome, primarily, will be very happy,” he said.
A call for peace
Highlighting the state of the world today, Archbishop Broglio stressed the need for the Pope to be a voice for peace and dialogue amid the many crises unfolding across the globe.
“I think all of us are extremely troubled by the by the situations that continue to ignite in our world. I think now of Pakistan and India, but we also have this disaster in Ukraine and in the Middle East, and so many parts of Africa. So that he would speak of peace, I think is essential. And I hope that he will be a pontiff who can further peace and dialogue in our world,” he said.
A united Church
Reflecting on Pope Leo XIV’s words about a united Church, Archbishop Broglio agreed that this message is also important for the people of the United States.
“One of the things we have to learn is to listen to each other,” he said. “We may disagree, but each person is created in the image of God, and that should never be lost. I hope we hear his message as an invitation to be unified and to become instruments of dialogue.”
A universal shepherd
Archbishop Broglio also commented on Pope Leo’s international background—French and Italian by heritage, with pastoral experience in Latin America—as a gift to his universal ministry.
“I think it’s excellent,” he said. “Living in different parts of the world makes a big difference. It brings depth, perspective, and a richness that will help him guide the Church.”
He added that such global experience helps keep the Church from becoming “lost in its own backyard.”
A Pastor for all
Noting the Pope’s decision to speak in Italian during his first public address, Archbishop Broglio remarked on the pastoral significance of language.
“As the Bishop of Rome, I think it’s important he spoke Italian,” he said, while also acknowledging the comfort this choice brings to Spanish-speaking Catholics, especially in light of the recent passing of Pope Francis. “It will be reassuring to see that their new pastor can reach their hearts as well.”
Concluding, Archbishop Broglio offered prayers for Pope Leo XIV: “I wish him tranquillity and every success in his ministry.”
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Turks and Caicos, May 2, 2025 – In a major diplomatic victory, CARICOM member states, including Barbados, have successfully negotiated an exemption from newly proposed U.S. tariffs that threatened to disrupt vital shipping routes and drive up the cost of living across the Caribbean.
The breakthrough comes after weeks of coordinated lobbying by regional governments, private sector stakeholders, and shipping companies, following the Trump administration’s plan to impose multimillion-dollar port fees on vessels made in China — the type commonly used to service Caribbean trade routes.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, who currently chairs CARICOM, confirmed that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has granted the region an exemption from the tariffs. The move spares CARICOM nations from what many feared would have been a crippling blow to regional economies already grappling with global supply chain challenges.
“This is testimony to what we can achieve when we work together,” said Mottley. “The impact of these fees would have driven up the cost of living and hindered access to essential goods. By speaking with one voice — governments, business leaders, and labor across our countries — we have protected the interests of our people.”
The U.S. had earlier announced a 10% reciprocal tariff on exports from several Caribbean nations, including The Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, and others. This was part of a broader policy shift under President Trump aimed at countering what Washington considers unbalanced trade practices by applying equal tariffs to countries that levy duties on American goods.
However, the newly proposed port fees on Chinese-built ships were viewed as disproportionately harmful to the Caribbean, where such vessels are essential to maintaining trade links. According to Gervase Warner, chairman of the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), these fees — exceeding US$1 million per U.S. port call — would have increased shipping costs significantly and caused inflation, shortages, and logistical delays.
Warner praised Mottley’s leadership and credited the collective regional response for swaying U.S. decision-makers. “We are grateful that the USTR recognized the devastating impact this would have had and acted accordingly,” he said.
The exemption highlights the power of unified regional diplomacy and underscores the importance of sustained engagement with major international partners.
“This success,” Mottley said, “goes beyond the immediate moment. It stands as a call to deepen our cooperation and defend our region’s interests, now and in the future.”