THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES

JAMAICAN DELEGATION TO 2022 CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE HEADED BY SAMUDA
Jamaican Senator Matthew Samuda, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC), is leading Jamaica’s delegation to the 27th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The conference runs from November 6 through 18, 2022. Samuda, who is supported by the MEGJC’s Climate Change Division, Omar Alcock, Le-Anne Roper, and other senior officials, said Jamaica continues to lobby for developed nations to help address the issue by donating funds and for gaining more access to and equitable sharing of the funds. The theme of COP27 is “Together for Implementation,” and nations are expected to demonstrate how they plan to turn commitments they made under the Paris Agreement into action.

KAMINA JOHNSON SMITH WARNS AGAINST ILLEGAL FISHING
Jamaican Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, the portfolio minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, said the ministry will develop and implement protocols designed to protect fishers on the high seas. Her ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will partner on developing the protocols, and she called on fishers to conduct their high seas operations responsibly. Johnson Smith warned that anyone caught fishing illegally may face imprisonment overseas. She called illegal fishing a “major international issue’ and noted that it is irresponsible for fishers to operate on the high seas without considering the risks and protections necessary for those involved. Johnson Smith gave her warning in response to a case that involves 34 Jamaicans who were thought to have been fishing illegally in waters off Colombia.

THIS WEEK’S TOP CARIBBEAN NEWS

PRIME MINISTER OF ANTIGUA WANTS OIL FIRMS TO PAY FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
Gaston Browne, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, is calling for oil and gas companies to pay for the damages caused by climate change through the imposition of a global carbon tax on their profits. Browne spoke on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a group of 39 nations, at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. He accused the producers of fossil fuels to have reaped the benefits of “extortionate profits at the expense of human civilization.” While they profit, the planet burns, he added, and they have done nothing to help small island nations like those in the Caribbean from the effects of global warming, which is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. He noted that six fossil fuel firms made almost US$71 billion in profits in the first six months of 2022, “more than enough” to cover the costs of climate damage in developing countries, Browne maintained. He also reported that a group of island nations has registered a commission with the United Nations to examine the responsibility of states for injury resulting from their climate activities and breaches in their obligations.

THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS

SEVERAL CANDIDATES OF BLACK CARIBBEAN HERITAGE SCORED MID-TERM ELECTION VICTORIES IN U.S.
On November 8, 2022, in the United States mid-term elections, Black Caribbean Americans were some of the biggest winners on the Democratic ticket. Two of these candidates, Jamaican American Westley “Wes” Watende Omari Moore became the first Black governor of the state of Maryland, gaining nearly 60 percent of the vote. Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost, 25, who is of Cuban ancestry and a first-generation Afro-Cuban American, will be the first member of “Generation Z” to be elected to the US Congress after winning a House seat in the 10th Congressional District of Florida. Democrat Haitian American Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick won a term representing Florida’s 20th Congressional District with 74 percent of the vote, and Marleine Bastien won a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission in Florida, the first Haitian woman to do so. Jamaican American Yvette Clarke won her New York Congressional seat with more than 82 percent of the vote.

THIS WEEK’S TOP BUSINESS NEWS

JAMAICA TOURISM INDUSTRY TO MAKE RAPID RECOVERY FROM COVID-19 ERA
According to Audley Deidrick, president of the Airports Authority of Jamaica, the nation’s travel and tourism industry is poised to make a complete recovery from the damage caused to the industry by the COVID-19 pandemic. Deidrick noted the rapid recovery rate in aviation traffic in 2022 and believes it is safe to predict that there will be a full recovery in 2023 to the pre-COVID 2019 level. This represents a recovery that is some three years ahead of the original recovery forecast estimated to occur in 2026. By June 2022, traffic at Sangster International Airport nearly equaled that of June 2019, and by September 2022, the airport’s traffic for the month was 16 percent higher than that measured in 2019.

THIS WEEK’S TOP ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

TYRONE DOWNIE, KEYBOARD PLAYER WITH THE WAILERS, DIES AT AGE 66
A keyboard player and producer best known for his time with Bob Marley and The Wailers, Tyrone Downie, died on November 5, 2022, in Kingston, Jamaica, following a short illness. Downie, 66, was born in Kingston in 1956 and had always been drawn to music. He studied at Kingston College and sang with the chapel choir. Downie joined Bob Marley’s band in 1973 when he was in his 20s and made his first recording wit “Rastaman Vibration. He also sang backup vocals on some of band’s most iconic reggae recordings of through the 1980s. He moved to France in the 1990s to focus on production, working with Youssou N’Dour of Senegal. Several of his musical compositions appeared in films, including “Slaves of New York” in 1989 and “The Mighty Quinn.” Grace Jones wrote the song “My Jamaican Guy” in 1983 about Downie. He is survived by nine children, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Tuff Gong Studio in Kingston, which was founded by Marley, issued a statement expressing sadness at Downie’s passing, adding, “We are blessed to count him as a member of the Tuff Gong Family.”

THIS WEEK’S TOP SPORTS NEWS

JAMAICA’S “BUNNY” SHAW NAMED PLAYER OF THE MONTH IN UK’S WOMEN’S SUPER LEAGUE
Jamaican Khadija “Bunny” Shaw, who is playing her second season for Manchester City at the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) in England, has been named the “Player of the Month” for October 2022. Shaw is in Jamaica for an international series against Paraguay totaling two matches. She scored five goals for her team in October and has led Manchester City after a slow start to the current season. Shaw scored two goals versus Leicester to give Manchester City a 4-0 victory, and then less than a week later, scored another two goals against Tottenham for a 3-0 win before scoring another win against Liverpool.