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The government of the British Virgin Islands is introducing a seven-percent tax on all monies leaving the territory through money transfer agencies. This will be made possible through a bill entitled the Financing & Money Services (Amendment) Act 2020, which passed in the House of Assembly on Friday, April 17. “The fee applies only with respect to monies transferred outside the territory and is to be collected by the licensed transmitter to be paid to the Financial Services Commission (FSC),” Premier Andrew Fahie said during Friday’s sitting of the House. Fahie, who is also the Minister of Finance, further said…

(AFP) — New York state, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, has experienced its lowest one-day death toll in two weeks, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday. Cuomo said 540 people had died in his state of 20 million inhabitants in the preceding 24 hours, and he suggested New York may now be on the downslope after a recent plateau in deaths. That would be the lowest total since 432 deaths were registered on April 2, according to data from the authoritative COVID-19 Tracking Project. On April 3, the state logged 562 deaths, and six days later…

CMC) — The Director of Epidemiology and Hygiene in Cuba, Dr Francisco Duran, on Saturday reported that 35 persons have been healed from COVID-19 – the highest number in one day. Based on this 227 people have been cured from the virus. According to Duran, in the past 24 hours, only one death has been reported for a total tally of 32 since the beginning of the outbreak 38 days ago. In his daily press briefing on the situation of Covid-19 in Cuba, Duran said there are currently 725 patients hospitalized with the viral infection, of these 710 are progressing favourably,…

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Head of Surgery at the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew, Professor Joseph Plummer has been placed under quarantine after reportedly coming in contact with a patient who tested positive for COVID-19. Highly placed sources at the type A hospital confirmed the information to OBSERVER ONLINE this morning, stating that doctors were initially told that the patient, who was flown into the island from the Turks and Caicos Islands this week for major surgery, had tested negative for the infectious disease. “Yes, the information is true,” one of the sources, who asked not to be identified,…

LIAT will extend the suspension of passenger services to May 15 given the current environment. Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Julie Reifer-Jones explained that extension of the suspension was based on a review by the Board of Directors and Executive Management of the airline. “Several destinations have extended their border closures and instituted strict travel restrictions which mean that passengers are unable to travel.” Mrs. Reifer-Jones noted that the airline was however still operating cargo flights to several destinations. The airline has issued an updated travel advisory for all affected passengers. Passengers booked during the period of suspension will automatically have…

By António Guterres – Secretary-General of the United Nations As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the globe, we are seeing an alarming pattern. The poorest and most vulnerable members of society are being hardest hit, both by the pandemic and the response. I am especially concerned about the well-being of the world’s children. Thankfully, children have so far been largely spared from the most severe symptoms of the disease. But their lives are being totally upended. I appeal to families everywhere, and leaders at all levels: protect our children. Today we are launching a report that highlights the risks they…

Four rums from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, produced by the St. Vincent Distillers Ltd. have this year received awards from the World Rum Awards. For the Worlds Best Column Still Rum Award, Unaged category, Sunset Very Strong Rum was the Style Winner, while SLR white was the Gold Winner of same category. In the 6-10 years category, Captain Bligh XO came away as the silver winner. Sparrow Premium Aged Rum, was also the silver winner in the 5 years and under category. The World Rum Awards are the global awards selecting the very best in all the international recognized styles, award and promote…

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica now has 163 confirmed cases of COVID-19 following an increase of 20 new cases over the past 24 hours. Three of the new cases are from ST Catherine, of which two— a 33-year-old female and a 19-year-old female— are Alorica employees. The third case is a 42-year-old man who is now under investigation. The ministry said information on the other 17 individuals would be provided at a later date. The full text from the Ministry of Health and Wellness is published below: Jamaica now has 163 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), following 20…

As student, during the lunch hour, I chose to pitch marbles and was late for the Afternoon Session. As a consequence, UISS finest was administered to me by the principal. I had to keep quiet about it because if my mother found out, school discipline would have been reinforced at home. As far as I know, no record was kept of that punishment. Needless to say, I was not late again. Years later, my Psychology professor at Andrews University, purported that one living Phycologist is worth more than a number of dead ones. He suggested that Corporal Punishment be administered…

“The situation that we find ourselves in now has nothing to do with the additional washing required from COVID. It is simply a case of us experiencing substantially less rainfall than we have experienced in over the last decade. We’ve had the lowest amount of rainfall for the first 3 months of the year than we’ve had since 2010. We have, basically, 29% below the 10 year average and we are now 25% below what we got last year. So the situation with the deficit at our sources – Montreal, Majorca and Dalaway – has to do primarily with the…