JAMAICA – Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, is calling for the Government to immediately address the systemic issues in the tourism industry that have led to a series of strikes over the past weeks. On Monday line staff at Excellence Oyster Bay Resort in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, walked off the job protesting low wages, lack of overtime pay and lack of job security. Their strike followed others at Royalton Negril and Iberostar and Breathless resorts in St James.

Golding asserted in a media release on Tuesday that the ongoing unrest in the tourism sector is a direct result of poor governance. “For too long, the Minister of Tourism has neglected the critical needs of the local industry. The high cost of living, inadequate transportation and poor road conditions have placed tremendous pressure on hotel operators and workers, bringing the situation to a boiling point,” he said.

“It is disrespectful to the serious concerns of tourism workers to suggest that they are being politically manipulated when they take action to have their grievances addressed. Instead of the Prime Minister seeking to ‘pass the buck’ by blaming the People’s National Party for current unrest in the sector, he should take responsibility for failing to address these issues in the sector over the past nine years,” he added.

Golding reiterated his call for the Government to establish a Joint Council as a robust mechanism for constructive dialogue to protect the rights of tourism workers and uphold the Decent Work Agenda of the International Labour Organization. He is also calling for a comprehensive analysis of the industry as a matter of urgency, and a cohesive response from the ministries of labour, tourism and transport to address the challenges facing the sector. (Jamaica-Gleaner)

Photo: Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding.

USA – Google has said it would harm consumers and businesses if it is forced to sell Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) will propose the measure to a judge on Wednesday, Bloomberg has reported. Judge Amit Mehta ruled Google operates an online search monopoly in August, and has been considering what remedies or penalties to impose.

The DOJ has not commented on the report – but Google has made clear it is a proposal it opposes. “The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” said Google executive Lee-Anne Mulholland in a statement. Google will also reportedly be asked to establish new measures around its artificial intelligence, Android operating system and use of data. “The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed,” Ms Mulholland added.

Chrome is the most used browser worldwide – with web traffic tracker Similarweb placing its global market share at 64.61% in October. Meanwhile Google search corners an almost 90% share of the global search engine market as of October, according to Statcounter.

It is the default engine in Chrome as well as on many smartphone browsers, including Safari on iPhones. Judge Mehta said in his ruling in August that the default search engine was “extremely valuable real estate” for Google. “Even if a new entrant were positioned from a quality standpoint to bid for the default when an agreement expires, such a firm could compete only if it were prepared to pay partners upwards of billions of dollars in revenue share,” he wrote. The DOJ had been expected to provide its final proposed remedies to the court by Wednesday. (BBC)

USA – President-elect Donald Trump is preparing for his return to the White House, choosing a growing list of loyalists to play key roles in his administration, some of which have sparked controversy. Trump is expected to be in Palm Beach this week as he continues to build out his Cabinet. Among the key positions he’s yet to fill are secretaries of Treasury and Education. Trump confirmed Monday morning that he’s prepared to declare a national emergency that would unlock Pentagon resources to implement his plan to deport migrants at a large scale. The incoming administration’s sweeping immigration plans continue to come into focus, sources tell CNN, including implementing strict border measures.

Sources say Trump is insistent on seeing his pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, confirmed by the Senate despite scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct. Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee is expected to meet Wednesday as it weighs whether to release its final report on Gaetz, sources tell CNN. Trump’s team is also facing questions over a 2017 sexual assault allegation against defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth. (CNN)

Photo: Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

POLAND – The Polish government has signed a letter of intent with domestic companies to make the nitrocellulose and multi-base powders necessary for producing ammunition, it said on Monday. Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has taken significant steps to bolster its defensive capabilities in the event of future conflict. “It is the first step towards rebuilding Polish ammunition production capabilities,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a statement.

State-owned companies Grupa Azoty, Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) and Mesko agree on the need to establish a nitrocellulose and multi-base powders factory, Grupa Azoty said in a statement. Poland currently imports explosives from Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Finland, Switzerland and Canada. The Polish government announced plans this month to invest 3 billion zlotys ($750 million) to boost ammunition production. (Reuters)

Photo: Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 85th anniversary of the start of World War Two at Westerplatte, in Gdansk, Poland. (Reuters)

JAMAICA – MONTEGO BAY, St James — Bahamasair commenced twice weekly flights between Nassau and Montego Bay on Sunday, and received a warm welcome from Jamaican tourism officials, who praised the carrier for the direct air link between the two Caribbean states that Sandals Resorts International Executive Chairman Adam Stewart described as “superpower tourism destinations”. “As a sixth-generation Jamaican in the tourism business, having this connection between these two countries, first and foremost, unlocks the ability between our two economies for locals to do business; to trade; to visit family, friends; for school and education — which has been one of the main thoroughfares for us over the years,” Stewart, who chair’s Jamaica’s Tourism Linkages Network, said at the welcome ceremony at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. “But, of course, for those of us in the tourism business it allows us to split sales and expand the reach of a single trip by connecting these two superpower tourism destinations,” added Stewart, who is also executive chairman of the Jamaica Observer.

He commended the airline’s chair, Tanya Pratt, and Managing Director Tracy Cooper for their vision in establishing the route, saying, “You are going to be in great hands coming to Jamaica… We are going to make sure this is an incredibly successful route. (Jaicaobserver)

Photo: Chairman of Tourism Linkages Network and executive chairman of Sandals Resorts International Adam Stewart (right) and The Bahamas’s Minister of of Immigration and National Insurance Alfred Sears share lens time at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay on Sunday.

AUSTRALIA – Australian senators on Monday voted to censure an Indigenous colleague, who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month. The censure of independent Senator Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues’ disapproval of her conduct, during the first visit to Australia by a British monarch in 13 years. The motion was carried 46 votes to 12. Government leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, said Thorpe’s outburst sought to “incite outrage and grievance”. “This is part of a trend that we do see internationally which, quite frankly, we do not need here in Australia,” Wong told the Senate.

Thorpe launched an expletive-laden rant at Charles following his speech during his visit to Canberra and Sydney. “You are not our king. You are not sovereign,” Thorpe yelled at Charles as she was led by security guards from the reception. “You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,” she added.  Following her censure, Thorpe said she would repeat her rant if Charles returned. “If the colonising king were to come to my country again, our country, then I’ll do it again,” Thorpe told reporters. “And I will keep doing it. I will resist colonisation in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands; First Peoples are the real sovereigns. You don’t have some random king rock up and say he’s sovereign,” she added. Senator Mehreen Faruqi, a member of the minor Greens party, opposed the censure motion.

“The bubble of white privilege that encapsulates this parliament is a systemic issue,” Faruqi said. “That’s why we are here today, debating a Black senator being censured for telling the truth of the British crown’s genocide on First Nations people and telling it the way she wants to.” The vote took place before Thorpe arrived on a flight from Melbourne. Thorpe said she had wanted to be in Parliament for the vote, but government senators refused to wait. Indigenous people account for fewer than 4% of Australia’s population and are the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic group. (Jamaica- Gleaner/ Photo AP)

RUSSIA – President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia with long-range missiles supplied by the US has sparked a furious response in Russia. “Departing US president Joe Biden… has taken one of the most provocative, uncalculated decisions of his administration, which risks catastrophic consequences,” declared the website of the Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Monday morning. Russian MP Leonid Slutsky, head of the pro-Kremlin Liberal-Democratic Party, predicted that the decision would “inevitably lead to a serious escalation, threatening serious consequences”.Russian senator Vladimir Dzhabarov called it “an unprecedented step towards World War Three”. Anger, yes. But no real surprise. Komsomolskaya Pravda, the pro-Kremlin tabloid, called it “a predictable escalation”. What really counts, though, is what Vladimir Putin calls it and how the Kremlin leader responds. So far he’s stayed silent. But on Monday President Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that “if such a decision has been taken it means a whole new spiral of tension and a whole new situation with regard to US involvement in this conflict”. Mr Peskov accused the Biden administration of “adding fuel to the fire and continuing to stoke tension around this conflict”. (BBC)

Photo: Putin previously said Moscow would view the move as “direct participation” of Nato countries in the Ukraine war. (Getty Images)

GUYANA – American oil supermajor, ExxonMobil has constantly recognised Guyana for fostering an environment to propel the rapid pace of oil and gas projects. The company, is presently eyeing an eight development although its seventh project, Hammerhead may be in limbo.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat during an engagement with the media had indicated that Longtail is anticipated to be the oil giant’s next local project. Bharrat told reporters: “Already they are moving ahead with Hammerhead and we have heard talks that Longtail will come after that.” The Longtail project, according to Bharrat will yield more gas, a key resource to this country’s energy security.

Presently, the Government of Guyana is pursuing a Gas-to-Energy project that is expected to generate 300 megawatts of cleaner and cheaper electricity. The initiative will be supplied with gas from the Liza One and Liza Two projects in the Stabroek Block, however, with the reserves at the two projects dwindling and the project yet to start up, it is likely that other projects will be connected to the pipeline to supply gas to the Wales Development site on the West Bank of Demerara where the power plant is being constructed.

In June 2018, ExxonMobil announced the Longtail discovery, its eight successful find in the Stabroek Block. The company revealed that Longtail- 1 well was drilled in a new reservoir, encountering approximately 256 feet (78 meters) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The well was safely drilled to 18,057 feet (5,504 meters) depth in 6,365 feet (1,940 meters) of water.

Subsequently, Exxon announced the discovery of Longtail-3 in June 2021. Drilling at Longtail-3 encountered 230 feet (70 meters) of net pay, including newly identified, high quality hydrocarbon bearing reservoirs below the original Longtail-1 discovery intervals. The well was drilled in more than 6,100 feet (1860 meters) of water.

It should be noted that while Exxon has made an application to the Government of Guyana for its seventh project, Hammerhead, the Chief Policymaker for the sector, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo had made it clear that there is no guarantee approval would be granted. (Kaieteur News)

Photo: President, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Alistair Routledge. (Kaieteur News) …[+]

DELHI  –  Air pollution in India’s capital Delhi has soared to extremely severe levels, choking residents and engulfing the city in thick smog. Monitors recorded pollution levels of 1,500 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 15:00 IST (09:30 BST), according to tech company IQAir – 15 times the level the Word Health Organization (WHO) considers satisfactory for breathing.

The toxic air has disrupted flight services, and had already prompted authorities to shut schools and ban construction work in the city. It comes just weeks after Lahore, in neighbouring Pakistan, also recorded pollution levels above 1,000. And experts warn that the situation could get worse in Delhi in the coming days, saying more severe measures may be needed to combat the city’s pollution problem.

According to the WHO, air with AQI values above 300 are considered to be hazardous for health. India’s pollution control authority has classified the air in Delhi as “severe plus”, after the city passed 450 according to its measurements on Monday morning. As well as shutting schools and banning construction work, the city has also banned the entry of non-essential trucks into Delhi and has asked all offices to ask 50% of their staff to work from home.

Last week, the government banned all activities that involve the use of coal and firewood, as well as diesel generator use for non-emergency services. Every year, Delhi, India’s northern states and parts of Pakistan battle hazardous air during the winter months of October to January due to plummeting temperatures, smoke, dust, low wind speed, vehicular emissions and crop stubble burning.

And every year, the government imposes pollution control measures during these months. Yet, Delhi’s pollution problem hasn’t gone away. On Monday, Delhi’s Chief Minister Atishi said that all of northern India was experiencing a “medical emergency” due to stubble burning continuing unchecked across the country, particularly in the neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

She accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of not taking steps to curb the practice despite the problem intensifying over the past five years. The BJP, in turn, has blamed Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party for not being able to put a check to pollution in the city. Meanwhile, Delhi’s residents continue to gasp for air. (BBC)

Photo: Delhi is enveloped in a thick blanket of smog on most mornings. (Reuters) …[+]

GAZA  –  Pope Francis has said that allegations of a genocide in Gaza should be “carefully investigated” marking some of his strongest criticism yet of Israel’s war in the territory.

“According to some experts… what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” Vatican News, the Holy See’s official news outlet, cited the pontiff as writing in a forthcoming book. “It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

Speaking of refugees, the pope said: “I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory,” according to Vatican News.

With few exceptions, most Gazans have been prevented from leaving the territory since the war began, but almost the entire population of more than 2 million has been internally displaced.

The excerpts are from the book “Hope never disappoints: Pilgrims towards a better world,” which is due to be released on November 19.

Responding to the report in Vatican News, Yaron Sideman, Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, said “there was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens,” referring to the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage.

“Since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens,” Sideman wrote on X. “Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish state.”

The 87-year-old pontiff is the latest among a growing number of international figures and organizations to refer to Israel’s military operation in Gaza as a potential genocide.

Israel is facing a case brought by South Africa at the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ) in which Pretoria accuses the Jewish state of genocide, saying Israeli leadership is “intent on destroying the Palestinians in Gaza.”

Israel earlier this year rejected what it called the “grossly distorted” accusation of genocide leveled against it by South Africa, arguing at the ICJ that its war is being fought in self-defense against Hamas, and that it was targeting the militant group rather than Palestinians as a whole. (CNN)

Photo: Pope Francis delivers his speech during a mass on the occasion of the World Day of the Poor in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican on Sunday. (AP) …[+]

PARAMARIBO – Reports suggest that some pharmacies are wrongfully charging additional costs for medicines that are covered by the State Health Insurance Fund (SZF). There are clear agreements between the nation’s pharmacies and the SZF but some pharmacies do not stick to the agreements. Health Minister Amar Ramadhin recently informed parliament that there is a list of 271 medicines that are free of charge and that no extra costs must be covered. This list will be published this week to enable people with state health insurance to check if they are wrongfully being charged extra. The Health minister explained that the list would be published to protect the nation against certain schemes. He pointed out that the SZF and the Health Ministry recently found out that a person who has state health insurance had to pay SRD 2,000 for a medicine that only costs SRD 800 per month. “This is an indication that something is going on and that the SZF and the Ministry did not know anything about it,” said Minister Ramadhin.

PARAMARIBO – “District Commissioners are not allowed to be visible or actively involved in the activities of political parties, especially given that the general elections will be held in a few months,” said Gracia Emanuel, Minister of Regional Development and Sports (ROS), in response to complaints presented to her in Parliament last Friday.

MPs Melvin Bouva (NDP) and Ebu Jones (NDP) complained about DCs who have ties with political parties and who are actively participating in the election campaigns. “I can assure you that it is against the rules for DCs to partake in the activities of political parties can assure you that it is against the rules for DCs to partake in the activities of political parties. We have taken notice of the comments of the members and will issue the necessary instructions,” said Minister Emanuel.

Although DCs are appointed by political parties, there are protocols in place to protect the integrity of the institution. The DCs play an important role in organizing elections and coordinating activities at polling stations. In order to protect the objectivity the ROS and the entire electoral organization must keep an eye on the DCs to make sure that they remain neutral.