By Azad Ali
Trinidad and Tobago: Trinidad and Tobago will soon have its first female president.
Come March this year, retired Court of Appeal judge Paula Mae Weekes will make history when she is inaugurated as the first woman to be elected president of Trinidad and Tobago.
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By Nelson A. King
Jamaica: Funerals began Monday for many of the victims, including Jamaicans, who perished in a massive fire in the Bronx on Dec. 28.
Iholt Francis had been planning a trip from Jamaica to New York to visit his twin brother to celebrate their 28th birthday. Instead, he arrived last week to take his brother off life support, according to reports.
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By Tangerine Clarke
Guyana: Neil Chan, a larger than life figure who launched Solo Sounds International, and dominated the landscape of Arts and Entertainment in Guyana, commanding large costume and float parade bands at Mashramani in the 70s and 80s in Georgetown, died on Jan. 5. He was 88 years old.
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By Albert Baldeo
Viewpoints: Dear Speaker Johnson:
“For of those to whom much is given, much is required.”-President John F. Kennedy
Congratulations on your elevation as the second most powerful person in NYC government! Indeed, the discrimination you overcome for being openly gay and HIV-positive has fortified you for the fights ahead. Your history and the issues that you have worked have stood in solidarity with communities of color, the marginalized and the vulnerable. Like you said, “That is where you come from. That is what my life’s work has been about.”
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Wayne Kublalsingh
Trinidad and Tobago: Dear Mr. Massive Gosine,
Permit me to extend my sincere thanks for your recent kaiso, “Rowley Mother Count.” Carefully, I listened to its articulation. The word ‘count’ was pronounced faithfully, meticulously, cautiously, abiding strictly to the rules of English phonetics. I do not regard this as an accident. I regard it as your careful, wary efforts to not exceed the norms of simple courtesy. It cannot be otherwise, for, as we all know, a righteous woman is a joy and boon to the nation.
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By Sarah Guillet
Haiti: I found out that I was a different from my fellow immigrant classmates in high school, as I applied for college and scholarships. At the time I didn’t understand why I had to pay the same tuition as someone who lived in another state. And I didn’t understand why I couldn’t meet any of the scholarship requirements.
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By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Books: You’re not backing down.
There’s a line in the sand and nobody’s crossing it on your watch. When something isn’t right and you can fix it, you’re going to defend it, too, even if it costs you. As you’ll see in “Facing Frederick ” by Tonya Bolden, if you lived in the mid-1800s, you’d be in good company.
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By Kam Williams
On Jan. 9, 2014, a coal industry cleansing agent called MCHM started leaking from an above-ground storage tank into West Virginia’s Elk River. The major chemical spill was covered up by Freedom Industries, the company that owned and operated the tank.
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By Azad Ali
Sports: Former West Indies cricket coach Phil Simmons has been appointed head coach of Afghanistan. He took over the job from which was left vacant when the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) terminated the contract of Lalchand Rajput, just three months after the former Indian batsman was appointed.
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By Azad Ali
Trinidad and Tobago: The Trinidad and Tobago government has taken a decision not to support a bid to host matches in the Twenty20 Women’s World Cup, which will be played in the Caribbean this year.
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By George Alleyne
Barbados: Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart’s decision not to call early elections has angered a private sector leader, who demanded that the government must seek a new mandate from the people to boost the island’s sagging economy.
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By Nelson A. King
Travel: Citizenship Invest, a Dubai-based firm leading in obtaining second passports, has seen a spike in the demand for passports to the Caribbean and Europe among passport holders in the United Arab Emirates.
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Nelson A. King
United Nations chief of policy advice and planning Greg Puley has issues a warning that Caribbean and other governments internationally should act early to mitigate the destructive impacts of El Nino and La Nina
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