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Sun, beach and palm trees: picture-perfect tourism in the era of globalisation. Of the 20 countries in the world that depend most on tourism, 11 are in the Caribbean. Everyone longs to be there. Now, however, borders are sealed, planes grounded and cruise ships stranded at sea. The Covid-19 crisis has plunged the Caribbean into an existential crisis that seriously challenges its development model. In recent decades, countries in the region were optimised for globalisation. But now the globalised economy is imploding and they have got to figure out how to survive.

In many small Caribbean states, tourism accounts for three quarters of foreign exchange earnings and the majority of jobs. On larger islands like Jamaica, one third of the population is directly or indirectly employed in the tourism sector. Over time, the drastic lockdown measures imposed by almost all Caribbean governments will be relaxed. But there is no indication that their economic mainstay will recover. Although tourism authorities and operators seek to spread optimism, Caribbean tourism will not truly recover before a Covid-19 vaccine is widely available. That means that almost all bookings for both the summer and the winter high season will be cancelled. The social policies currently being drawn up wont begin to compensate for earnings lost over such a long period.

For many years, Caribbean countries grew by narrowly focusing on tourism. However, that resulted in great social inequality and massive dependency on imports for nearly all daily necessities, first and foremost food. Seven member states of the Caribbean Community CARCOM, including Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, import more than 80 per cent of their food. More than 90 per cent of the food for Antigua, St. Kitts and the Bahamas is imported.

This dependency is now taking its toll: The coronavirus crisis is convulsing global supply chains, including those for food. Higher priced imports mean that besides the loss of income from tourism, the cost of living is also rising sharply. In recent years, in the Caribbean, too, grandiloquent speeches were made about the need for food security. But that simply didnt pay. Before the tourism boom, Caribbean economies had been predominantly agrarian. The pandemic is now forcing countries to revive their neglected agricultural sectors manioc and plantains: Local crops for local consumption. What was once derided as a romantic niche economy has become a crucial element of social policy.

Beyond the coronavirus crisis, sustainable development requires ending US food imports. Processed foods with high sugar, salt and fat content are considered the main cause of the regions greatest health problems: the huge increase in diabetes (now affecting 10 per cent of the adult population) and obesity (more than 20 per cent of men and over 50 per cent of women), as well as hypertension and cardiovascular problems. These are exactly the pre-existing conditions that increase the risk of severe effects from Covid-19.

The Trump administration has removed the US from any competition for sympathy and soft power so China has it easy.

Next to tourism, a second pillar of the Caribbeans integration into the global economy results from emigration: Remittances from family members working abroad are crucial to many regional economies, accounting for more than 20 per cent of Haitis gross national product and 15 per cent of Jamaicas. Even for Cuba, remittances bring in much more money than tobacco and sugar combined.

The Caribbean has experienced dramatic economic and social shocks from hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions devastating entire regions. But these affect only individual islands or parts of the region. Emergency aid and reconstruction assistance come not just from neighbouring islands but also from emigrants who support their family members in the wake of such disasters. This has been termed the insurance function of remittances. Now, however, the situation is radically different. With the whole world simultaneously affected by the crisis, relatives in Miami, London and Madrid also have precarious livelihoods and cant send much money home. The World Bank most recently projected a 20 per cent economic slump in Latin America and the Caribbean. The people of the Caribbean are experiencing a crisis their insurance cant stem.

While the coronavirus crisis may be providing a distraction from the climate crisis, the consequences continue to be felt in the Caribbean. Western Cuba suffers from an unusual drought that is seriously impacting Havanas water supply just when frequent hand washing is more important than ever for keeping the population healthy. As the Bahamas continue to struggle with the devastation of last years hurricane, meteorologists are warning that already elevated temperatures in many Caribbean waters will cause an above-normal hurricane season this year, too.

The Trump administration has removed the US from any competition for sympathy and soft power so China has it easy. In the Caribbean, as in other parts of the world, Beijing is making a good reputation for itself by supplying medical equipment and protective clothing. The small size of most Caribbean countries is to its advantage: In countries with 100,000 inhabitants, Chinas small investment has a huge impact. Similarly, Caribbean states that continue to recognise Taiwan can expect rewards for loyalty in the form of facemasks and soft credits. Caribbeans already knew how to use privileges associated with state sovereignty to their economic advantage. Local pandemic management shows that this resource remains valuable.

The logic of comparative advantage dictated that, in order to integrate into the global economy, Caribbean countries had to specialise. This rationale made the region hyper-dependent on tourism and extremely vulnerable. The climate debate elevated resilience, the ability to manage external disturbances, to one of the main development goals. However, the coronavirus crisis is forcing us to take a broader view. Resilience now means building public health structures that can withstand a global pandemic and following a development model that reduces dependencies, even if as in the case of local food production in the Caribbean the logic of short-term profitability makes this seem uneconomical.

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North America: The curse of the Caribbean - IPS Journal

Research indicates an aggressive transplanting program might help staghorn corals survive/NOAA

In the watery world of national parks that touch the Caribbean Sea and the Straits of Florida, staghorn corals add some height to reefs. Their outstretched arms rise from the reefs, often mimicking elk or deer antlers to onlookers with some imagination. But since the 1970s more than 95 percent of these distinctive corals have died, and fears that they would vanish were growing. Now, though, research indicates that a vigorous transplanting initiative possibly could help recover the species.

The research is based onreef restoration projects in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary that borders Dry Tortugas National Park.

Staghorn coral can form dense groups called thickets in very shallow water, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These provide important habitat for other reef animals, especially fish. The coral's range included Dry Tortugas, Virgin Islands National Park, Buck Island Reef National Monument, Everglades National Park, and Biscayne National Park.

Staghorn coral used to be a dominant coral on Caribbean reefs and was so abundant that an entire reef zone is named for it. Beginning in the 1980s, the staghorn coral population declined 97 percent from white band disease. This disease kills the corals tissues. Populations appear to consist mostly of isolated colonies or small groups of colonies compared to the vast thickets once prominent throughout its range, with thickets still a prominent feature at only a handful of known locations. Successful reproduction is very rare, so it is hard for staghorn coral populations to increase. -- NOAA

Today staghorn coral populations are listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. In 2006, NOAA initiated a recovery plan. A central part of this plan is outplanting, in which corals are cultivated in a protected area before being transplanted to the restoration site.

Marine biologists have been studying staghorn reefs at Dry Tortugas National Park/NOAA

While outplanting efforts have been in place for many years, only recently has enough time passed to analyze their long-term potential. Now, Matthew Ware of Florida State University and colleagues have applied photographic monitoring and in-person measurements to assess 2,419 staghorn coral colonies outplanted to 20 different sites in the Florida Keys between 2007 and 2013 by the Coral Restoration Project.

The analysis revealed that survivorship--the percentage of colonies containing living tissue--was high for the first two years after outplanting, but declined in subsequent years. The researchers used statistical modeling to predict future survivorship, finding that 0 to 10 percent of the colonies would survive seven years post-outplanting. This means that large numbers of colonies need to be outplanted to start, so ecologically relevant numbers survive longer-term. Coral growth rates were similar to the wild population.

The authors acknowledge some limitations of their analysis, including a lack of comparison to natural populations at outplant sites, differences in colony numbers and outplant strategies among sites, and low sample sizes for some years.

Still, the findings suggest that outplanting could help restore staghorn coral populations by protecting against local extinction and maintaining genetic diversity in the wild. Meanwhile, the same major stressors that have plagued these corals over the last few decades--disease and bleaching, both related to global warming--remain. The new findings support NOAA conclusions that mitigating these stressors is needed to achieve full, long-term recovery.

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Research Shows Transplanting Staghorn Corals Could Help The Species Recover In The Caribbean - National Parks Traveler

Not everybody is riding out the pandemic on land. I quarantine where one might vacation.

The hold of my friend Chads 40-foot Jeanneau monohull, the Loulou, swung open rustily to reveal 10-pound sacks of rice and beans, cases of macaroni and cheese, and enough Budweiser, Barefoot cabernet, and Mount Gay rum for a years worth of booze cruises. Given all of this, Im not sure when well be allowed to come back to land, he said.

All of this, was, of course, the COVID-19 virus, which, like a worm, had wriggled its way between the cracks of the borders of the British Virgin Islands, the island territory where Ive lived and worked for two years, and where a good portion of the population either lives and works on boatsincluding Chad. When hed invited me and my friend, Ayla, to stay on board, hed described his neighbors moored on their own boats in a peaceful anchorage off Norman Island called The Bighttwo nice charter captains, a couple of live-aboard nudists from Virginia, and Chads ex-wife. (Hey, its a small island). Many of them lived on their boats, either as cruisers (in what amounted to floating RVs) or as charter crew. They didnt have homes on land to go to, or if they did, they could no longer get there, with the borders closed and locked down. It was like this all over the Caribbean. According to the New York Times, as many as 600 boatssome from as far away as Europe have now congregated in neighboring St. John, USVI because it was the only territory willing to allow them in. Meanwhile, back in the BVI, we were entering one of the strictest lockdowns on the planetno exercise, no groceries, no banks, no nothing.

As unappealing as that was, albeit for a good reason, I figured I could have a bit of fun taunting my friends on social media about where Id be spending lockdown: My quarantine is better than your quarantine! Plus, with people around the world unable to travel, I was already luckier than most to live where they longed to vacation. As long as I had the opportunity, nobody could blame me for eking a little adventure out of the giant sack of crap that COVID-19 has dumped on all of us.

Of course, that was (maybe) what billionaire David Geffen was thinking, too, when he posted to Instagram a stunning sunset picture from the Grenadines from the promenade deck of his $590 million yacht, with the message Isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus.

Or maybe not. In any case, Twitter roasted him. Talbert Swan pretty much summed it up:

But a bunch of mini-Geffens we were not. The Loulou was modest, with two cabins, refurbished after Hurricane Irma half-sunk it. The floor creaked. It appealed to me because I was obsessed with Money Bay, a deserted cove at the back of Norman Island that had everything Robert Louis Stevenson must have dreamed of in a literary backdrop (he famously set Treasure Island there). I pictured myself as a kind of picaresque castaway heroine. Maybe Id emerge having written a roman clef to COVID-19The Decameron or My Journal of the Plague Year, at sea. Chad assured me we could have the run of the empty island, and he had enough food and wine to outlast the apocalypse, which meant I didnt have to shop. I was in.

Chad assured me we could have the run of the empty island, and he had enough food and wine to outlast the apocalypse, which meant I didnt have to shop. I was in.

Our first morning as castaways, it was only a dinghy ride and an easy 10-minute hike up the hill and down the other side, past the boarded-up Pirates Bight beach bar, manned by a sole live-in caretaker. A path led down to the beach, where a previous castaway had already constructed a crude shelter out of driftwood, fishing net, and grape leaves. The bottom was sandy and silky, so unlike the other side of the bay, which had rocks that cut into your feet, and was shallow and clear out almost to the reef. For a minute, I just floated and stared up at the sky and forgot that the world felt like it was ending. From shore, I vaguely heard Chad talking about coming back with a speargun to hunt for lobster and conch. I can do this, I thought. If its like this the whole time, I can do this. We made plans to come there every day.

However, that night, the self-appointed lockdown police swung into action, informing Chad that theyd spotted him onshore. It only got worse from there. Two snorkelers at 12 oclock, someone squawked the next morning. That afternoon: Paddleboard alert! The next day: Dinghy spotted in the channel, wonder where theyre going? Since all boat traffic had been prohibited, even the slightest movement was screamingly obvious. For some reason, Chads ex-wife started flying a drone and posting pictures of whatever she saw. The next day, the Marine Police, with scarves wrapped around their faces, roared up, looking grim. Apparently, they were there to scold the caretaker for going from boat to boat demanding mooring fees during a pandemic, which seemed fair, but we didnt want to test them further.

Now, it wasnt quite the afternoon booze cruise Id become accustomed to. Meanwhile, around us, other boats were starting to run low on supplies, and the government hadnt provided for them to get water, provisions, or fuel for the generators, pump out, or dump their rapidly accumulating garbage. Chad called the marine police on behalf of our neighbors, hoping they could be escorted to shore, but it was fruitless. I knew it was to keep people safe from the virus in a tiny place with a minuscule health-care system, but it still stung. We are the sailing capital of the world, as a friend in the marine industry put it. We cant not have boats in the water.

There was no conch, no lobster, no hikes, no barbecues. We had nightly live streams of government announcements, Netflix, and backgammon, which only Chad and Ayla seemed to understand, and spats over using too much water to wash dishes. We were making coffee on the stove because Chad had forgotten the coffeepot and we had no way to get another one. It had become just a regular, boring coronavirus lockdown, only we pumped the toilet instead of flushing it. I wondered how long it had taken David Geffen to realize the same thing.

It had become just a regular, boring coronavirus lockdown, only we pumped the toilet instead of flushing it. I wondered how long it had taken David Geffen to realize the same thing.

The highlight of our week was one of our neighbors snorkeling over like a Navy Seal. Ill trade you some coffee for some potatoes, she said. I kept talking because I didnt want her to leave. I realized I had started to lose track of time. With no traffic by your window or street noise, it was easy to do. At night, anchor lights competed with Orions belt for my attention alongside the slow slap of the sails against the mast.

Chads friend from up on the hill called and told us about the hundreds of boats in Coral Bay on St. John, part of the United States Virgin Islands just a few miles away, where the beaches and shops were still open.

Over time, theyve worked out a better system to take care of all the boats whose cruising holidays had turned into nightmares, coordinating with the Marine Police and Virgin Islands Search and Rescue. You dont move until someone says you have permission to move, as Chad put it.

One night around sunset I went for a boat showerin other words, jumping overboard, scrubbing as best as you can, then rinsing off with a hose. A sea turtle paddled by, flapping its limbs slowly and rhythmically. The Bight was rosy as a cloud. The iPod dock was playing Van Morrisons Into the Mystic. I thought back to some of my earliest sailing experiences, on a tall ship off Vancouver Island when everything was magic. For a second, it almost was.

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I'm Quarantined on a Yacht in the Caribbean. It's Not What You Think - Fodor's Travel

Royal Caribbean-owned cruise ships have been meeting up at the cruise lines private island to transfer the crew for repatriation.

Recently there has been a huge repatriation effort by many major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean brands such as Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.

In recent days ships have been meeting up at Royal Caribbeans own private island of Perfect Day at CocoCay located in the Bahamas. The cruise lines have been using the island for different vessels to meet and transfer crew members to be repatriated back home.

The complex effort has been done by ships docking with the crew disembarking and embarking via the gangways. Also, ships have been at anchor and crew transferred via lifeboats and tender boats. Many of the crew will also be repatriated via arranged charter flights depending on travel restrictions for specific countries.

Many ships are involved in getting the crew back home and we already know that some vessels have sailed to Manila, Philippines to disembark crew there including from Quantum of the Seas, Spectrum of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Celebrity Solstice. There are other ships that are heading to other countries and regions too including Europe, India, the Caribbean, South America, and Central America.

Cruise Industry News has posted where each of the ships from Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean will head to. Ships include Explorer of the Seas, Vision of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Celebrity Infinity, Enchantment of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Empress of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Celebrity Constellation. Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Eclipse could also be moving to the Mexico west coast to arrange charter flights from there.

Also Read: 30 Things to Know about Perfect Day at CocoCay Bahamas

Not all the vessels are sailing crew directly to their home countries. Some ships will head to countries such as the UK where charter flights are being arranged for their final destination.

At the moment, Royal Caribbean passenger cruise operations are on hold through June 11, 2020 with the first cruises resuming from June 12. However, the cruise company recently said it could be extending the suspension on cruises for even longer. Royal Caribbean cruise brands have also extended the Cruise with Confidence cancellation policy to provide further confidence in bookings moving forward.

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Royal Caribbean Owned Cruise Ships Gather at Private Island - Cruise Hive

As any frequent Caribbean traveler knows, a high-functioningsun shirt is a necessity.

In fact, the Caribbean Journal team travels with several sun shirts on every trip.

A good sun shirt is lightweight, fast-drying and easy to wash out in a sink and hang up to dry quickly.

Most importantly, though, it protects from the the sun.

Understandably, we are constantly looking for the best in sun-protection clothing and were delighted to discover Vapor Apparel and its Altered Latitudes brand of clothing, the makers of a full range of purpose built clothing ranging from sun shirts to board shorts, face and neck gaiters, leggings and hoodies.

But what really caught our eye was the companys diverse collection of Caribbean-inspired clothing, with a multitude of destinations for travelers to represent, from St Croix to Harbour Island and everywhere in between.

To learn more, we caught up with Vapor Apparels Ashley Prin.

Tell us about Vapor Apparel andAlteredLatitudes. What makes your company and clothing different?

Our clothing is extremely comfortable. It delivers superior UPF 50+ sun protection and amazing graphics that really pop. We are a small, self-funded, 16-year-old company focused on making a quality product at a very fair price. Originally we have sold to the trade but are now bringing our brand straight to you.

Tell us about UPF 50+ what does that mean and why is it important?

UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor and it is measuring the shirts ability to protect your skin. 50+ is the gold standard. Our gear not only meets UPF50+ standards it is also recognized by the Skin Cancer Foundation. Our UPF rating actually increases with every wash, offering you a shirt you can trust.

Some of yourshirts are made with recycledproducts. Whats that all about?

We make garments out of recycled water bottles. 16 water bottles are removed from the waterways or landfills with every one of our Repreve sustainable long-sleeve shirts. We are working on adding more and more recycled options in 2020. Everyone can be doing a little bit more to be kind to mother nature and we want that option for our customers. Youuse a zinc-based technologythat defends against bacteria. How does that work?

Zinc is an odorless element that is often added to apparel and textiles in production. Zinc eliminates odor by killing the bacteria that cause it. The technology we use meets all international textile standards and has a lower Co2 impact than others on the market. It is great technology. We are killing odors not the ozone layer.

For more, visit Altered Latitudes.

CJ

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The Perfect Sun Shirts for the Caribbean - Caribbean Journal

Two years ago, Colin Donihue, a biologist, released a sober scientific paper along with a series of endlessly GIF-able videos. They showed Caribbean anole lizards flailing in the wind from a leaf blower, holding on to a stick for dear life, not unlike the kitten in the classic Hang In There, Baby poster.

No anoles were harmed. But by proving how a lizard would try to grit its way through hurricane-force winds with sheer grip strength, those whimsical experiments led Dr. Donihue, now at Washington University in St. Louis, and a team of other researchers to a profound suggestion: Extreme weather events may bend the evolutionary course of hundreds of species. A paper published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers deeper evidence of their earlier finding.

Across Central and South America and the Caribbean islands, scientists found that lizards with larger toe pads seem to be more common in areas that have been hit by storm after storm in the last 70 years. That suggests that severe but fleeting cataclysms dont just leave lasting scars on people and places. They also reshape entire species.

We racked our brains for alternate explanations for this pattern, said Dr. Donihue. Could it be temperature? Precipitation? Taller or shorter trees in different locations? Nothing we tried explains that variation as strongly as hurricane history.

Not long after Dr. Donihue had been lassoing Anolis scriptus lizards with a loop of string at the end of a fishing rod on a pair of small islands in Turks and Caicos for what was supposed to be just a local conservation project, the same islands were blasted by a one-two punch of extreme weather.

First came Hurricane Irma, a screaming maelstrom of 160-mile-per-hour winds. Two weeks later came Hurricane Maria. When Dr. Donihue returned, trees were down and lizards were scarce. On average, he found the surviving anoles seemed to have much bigger, grippier toe pads than the population had averaged before, as if those with less sticky feet had been carried away by the storms.

That initial finding came out with the leaf blower videos. But the team kept digging. Eighteen months after the storm, Dr. Donihue went back to Turks and Caicos a third time to find a new generation of lizards scampering across new plant growth. Those carefree children of the survivors had kept their parents generations bigger toe pads.

Dr. Donihue and his colleagues then zoomed out, using high-resolution photos from natural history collections to perform the digital equivalent of a sneaker-fitting for 188 different anole species.

Then they compared those measurements to seven decades of historical hurricane data. The same pattern holds: On average, lizards on Caribbean islands slammed by two, three or even four recent direct hits have bigger toe pads than those dwelling on the mainland and other locations that have dodged storms.

Before this, the strongest evidence for how evolution can be shaped by the gauntlet of extreme climate events came from watching Darwins finches bounce back after droughts. But that work focused on a single island in the Galpagos.

Studies like this are still rare, wrote Peter and Rosemary Grant, the pioneering husband-and-wife research team from Princeton behind that Galpagos research in an email, praising it as well done.

Craig Benkman, an ecologist at the University of Wyoming who was involved in peer review of the paper for the journal, said he was confident in the conclusions. And given that climate change is fueling ever stronger storms, he said, more evidence might not be too hard to find. We need more such studies, he said. And unfortunately, we are likely to be overwhelmed with opportunities in the coming decades.

Now that his team has unveiled the fuller pattern in anoles, Dr. Donihue said hes hoping other biologists will chase down leads in organisms they study.

It could also be in plants, trees, snails, who knows? he said. I think well see more and more that there are other species whose evolutionary histories, and evolutionary futures, are impacted by survival of hurricanes.

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Hurricanes Are Reshaping Evolution Across the Caribbean - The New York Times

Some of the most famous cocktails in the world originated in the Caribbean, and while they come in a variety of tastes and traditions, they all share one common ingredient: rum. Here are some of our favorite Caribbean cocktails and how you can make them at home.

Pia Colada, Caribe Hilton

The Pia Colada is a midcentury classic that matches perfectly with its birthplace,San Juans Caribe Hilton hotel. Bartender Ramn Monchito Marrero invented the popular tropical drink in 1954, originallya non-alcoholic refresher blended in a shaker glass (it was years later thatMarrero began adding rum to the mix (the frozen variety arrived even later).The government of Puerto Rico declared the Pina Colada the commonwealthsofficial drink in 1978.

CaribeHilton Pia Colada:

Directions: Mix rum, cream of coconut, heavy cream and pineapple juice in a blender. Add ice and mix for 15 seconds. Serve in a 12 oz glass and garnish with fresh pineapple and a cherry.

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From The Bahamas to St Thomas, the Caribbean's Most Famous Cocktails - Caribbean Journal

Volcanoes are the building blocks for many Caribbean islands.

There are 19 active volcanoes in the Caribbean, according to the University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Centre.

These towering natural wonders can be found on islands as far north as Hispanola to Grenada in the south.

Here is a list of the most popular volcanoes in the Caribbean:

Soufrire Hills Volcano, Monserrat

(Photo: iStock)

Soufrire Hills is one of the most active and studied volcanoes in the Caribbean. The volcano is 1050 metres (m) tall and is located on the islands south-western region. Volcanic activity at Soufrire Hills has been ongoing since 1995. An eruption on June 25, 1997, claimed 19 lives and resulted in two-thirds of the island being uninhabitable. Entry into the volcanos exclusion zone is heavily regulated. Soufrire Hills Volcano is the 19 tallest mountain in the Caribbean.

Mount Pele, Martinique

(Photo: iStock/stevegeer)

Mount Pele is 1,397 m tall and is located on the northern tip of Martinique, near the town of Saint-Pierre. It is the tenth tallest mountain peak in the Caribbean. In 1902, a cluster of eruptions claimed more than 28,000 lives.

La Grande Soufrire, Guadeloupe

La Grande Soufrire has been dormant since the 1970s when seismic activity forced authorities to completely evacuate the island. The volcano is 1,467 m tall and can be found on the southern region of Basse-Terre. La Grande Soufrire is the eighth tallest peak in the Caribbean.

La Soufrire, St Vincent and the Grenadines

La Soufrire is 1,234 m tall and is located on the northern section of the island of St Vincent. The volcano last erupted in April 1979 and no lives were lost during the event. La Soufrire is the 13 tallest peak in the Caribbean.

Mount Liamuiga, St Kitts

(Photo: iStock/mtcurado)

Mount Liamuiga has been dormant for over 1,000 years. The volcano is the 14 tallest mountain in the Caribbean measuring 1,156 m. Mount Liamuiga is a popular tourist site and can be hiked. From atop the volcano, hikers can see the islands of Nevis, Saba, Saint Barthlemy, St Eustatius, St. Martin and Antigua.

Nevis Peak, Nevis

This volcano does not have any recorded eruptions but researchers noted that it has the potential to erupt. There are hot springs and fumaroles around the volcano which is 985 m. Its the 16 tallest mountain in the Caribbean.

Mount Scenery, Saba

(Photo: Public Entity Saba)

Mount Scenery is the most prominent feature on the island of Saba. The volcano has not erupted since 1640. The volcano is Sabas main tourist attraction and was made into a national park. At 887 m tall, Mount Scenery is also the highest point of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Quill, Sint Eustatius

(Photo: iStock/Stephan Kogelman)

The Quills summit is 601 m making it the second-tallest mountain in the Netherlands. It is part of the Sint Eustatius National Parks Foundation and is popular with hikers. The Quill has not erupted in over 1,000 years.

Morne Diablotins, Dominica

Morne Diablotins is located in the northern region of Dominica. Morne Diablotins is the ninth tallest mountain in the Caribbean at 1447 m. It has not erupted in over 1,000 years. The volcano is popular with hikers and bird watchers who seek to glimpse the endemic Imperial amazon (sisserou parrot).

Morne Trois Pitons, Dominica

Morne Trois Pitons are three volcanoes (Morne Watt, Morne aux Diables and Morne Plat Pays) located in the southern region of the country. Morne Watt is the only volcano in the group to have a recent eruption which occurred in 1997. The area is a popular eco-tourism spot with hikes and sightseeing trips available.

Mount Saint Catherine, Grenada

Mount Saint Catherine is a dormant volcano located in the northern region of Grenada. The summit of Mount Saint Catherine is 840 m tall. There have not been any recorded eruptions of Mount Saint Catherine. The volcano is also a popular hiking spot.

Kick 'em Jenny

Kick 'em Jenny is a highly active submarine volcano north of Grenada. The last seismic activity recorded at the site was in July 2015. Ships are banned from sailing close to Kick 'em Jenny due to a sinking hazard caused by the gases it releases.

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Do you know the volcanoes of the Caribbean? - Loop News Barbados

Caribbean hotels may have to scrap conveniences, such as buffets and drinks stations, and reduce the sitting capacity of la carte restaurants in order to attract post-COVID-19 guests, suggest two hospitality experts. Instead, they will have to find creative ways to attend to customers, like serving dinner in secluded areas on the beach, say Emile Gourieux and Rico Louw, senior managers at STR, a Tennessee-based firm that tracks supply and demand data for multiple market sectors, including the global hotel industry.

We may never return to travel as normal, as we understood it before. Things like buffet breakfast may never be seen again. So, there's a lot of things that we need to rethink, says Gourieux, STRs hotel sector business development executive in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. At least at the very beginning of recovery when people are coming back, people are going to be very leery about close contact. So, the hotels that succeed and thrive are going to be the ones that find a way to address that anxiety.

Louw, the senior account manager and client liaison at STR, adds that buffets and minibars may be totally out of the question moving forward.

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Both emphasize the enormity of the challenge ahead for the regions hospitality sector, which recorded occupancy of under 6 percent during the week of April 12 and a fall in revenue of over 80 percent. They say its difficult to predict when arrivals will return to pre-pandemic levels, noting that based on several factors, including airlift, it could be up to three years before parity is achieved.

Gourieux and Louw are guests on the latest episode of a podcast series produced by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), entitled,COVID-19: The Unwanted Visitor, where they addressed what the Caribbean hospitality sector could look like in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis, which has brought tourism to a virtual standstill. The podcast is available on several platforms, including Anchor and Spotify, as well on the CTOs Facebook page.

To listen, visithttps://anchor.fm/onecaribbean.

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Caribbean Hotels Advised to Replace Buffet Dinners and Minibars - Travel Agent

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to expand in Latin America, following patterns seen in other parts of the world.

Brazil, the largest and most populous country in the region, reports the highest number of confirmed cases and fatalities, followed by Peru, Chile and Ecuador.

Most countries in the region have weak and fragmented health systems, which do not guarantee the universal access needed to address the COVID-19 health crisis.

Generally, health systems are organized through public-sector services for people with low income, social security services for formal workers and private-sector services for those who can afford them. Health systems remain segregated and unequal, resulting in different services of varying quality to different population groups.

Although reform is underway to reduce fragmentation and expand access, health systems are still inadequate.

Over the last several weeks, an increased impact on the health of personnel on the frontlines has been noted, due to their heightened level of exposure and lack of adequate personal protection equipment (PPE).

Additionally, over the last several weeks, governments in the region have taken measures to scale up the capacities of their health systems to respond to COVID-19.

As the epidemic continues to grow and is expected to reach its peak in May and June 2020, preventive social isolation measures and nation-wide lockdowns continue in the vast majority of countries, exacerbating existing inequalities and affecting the most vulnerable population groups. Refugees and migrants from Venezuela in host and transit countries are especially affected.

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Latin America and the Caribbean Region COVID-19 Situation Report No. 2 - Argentina - ReliefWeb

Lizards in the Caribbean have evolved to hold on for dear life with their toes in order to survive hurricanes, according to new research.

A study from Washington University in St. Louis published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science showed that lizard groups on Caribbean islands that experience more frequent hurricanes develop larger toepads than lizards that experience fewer tropical cyclones.

That trait is a survival mechanism that helps lizards grip vegetation during high winds, and thus avoid being blown away and killed, the researchers said.

"Correcting for things like differences in body size, we found that island populations that had been hit by hurricanes more [frequently] had larger toepads," Colin Donihue, a postdoctoral fellow in biology at Washington University and lead author of the study, said in a news release.

"Hurricanes seem to be having some sort of additive effect on the evolution of these lizards that the more hurricanes you have, the larger toepads you have, on average."

(MORE: May Weather: What to Watch Out For and Look Forward To)

Anolis lizards have specialized toepads that enable them to cling to smooth surfaces. Researchers found that the toepads of surviving lizards after hurricanes are significantly larger than others.

Donihue and his colleagues looked at populations of Anolis sagrei lizards on 12 islands, as well as 188 Anolis species with ranges from Florida to Brazil. They culled through 70 years of NOAA hurricane data as well as hundreds of measurements of lizard toepads.

The idea that lizards might be growing larger toepads first came to Donihue in 2017, when he finished a previous survey of Anolis lizards in Turks & Caicos just before hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the islands two weeks apart. Donihue did a comparison immediately after the storms that showed the lizards who survived had different physical traits than the general lizard population before the hurricanes.

Donihue and his fellow researchers returned to Turks & Caicos a year later to take new measurements for the most recent study. They discovered that a new generation of lizards had also adapted the larger toepads.

The scientists say similar evolutionary responses are likely happening in other animals.

"My best guess is that this isnt just a lizard thing," Donihue said. "For any other species affected by hurricanes where survival is non-random, you would predict this same kind of pattern occurring."

(MORE: 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season Expected to Be More Active Than Usual)

Such adaptations could help species defend themselves against climate change.

"Our best idea right now is that tropical cyclones will become less frequent globally. However, a higher percentage of them will become intense hurricanes," said Alex Kowaleski, a study co-author who specializes in meteorology and atmospheric science at Penn State University. "Increases in sea-surface temperatures will cause a higher percentage of tropical cyclones that do form to become Category 4 or 5 hurricanes."

Donihue added that there are likely other evolutionary factors at play in lizard survival besides big, strong toes.

"Most of the selective pressure is to just be good at being a lizard: to go catch food, find a mate and avoid predators," Donihue said. "These hurricane events are very infrequent and unpredictable, so we expect that there are other selective pressures that are acting on toepads. In other words, over time, these toepads are not going to turn into big snowshoes, or something like that. Theres a balance."

The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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Hold on Tight: Researchers Say Caribbean Lizards Grow Bigger Toes to Survive Hurricanes - The Weather Channel

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Pirates are going to be back together with their fun-packed experiences. The first film was released in 2003, which received many fans and responses. It was one of those films which received the highest turnover globally.

The final fifth picture was released in 2017, which was the last time. It had a caption that Dead Men Tell No Tales. Everyone is currently waiting for the voyage of experiences to release. Disney scheduled the movie release for 2021.

Its prepared to start from the Year 2021. According to sources that a new writer Terry Rossio and Jeff Nathans is producing the narrative and it will launch in the cinemas in the middle of 2021.

Jack Sparrows role will be performed by Johnny Depp, whos the heart and soul of the film. Orlando Bloom will look like William Turner. Keira Knightly is going to be presented as Elizabeth Swam. Brenton Thwaites will replay the son of Elizabeth Turner and the married couple William Turner. Kevin McNally is going to be viewed as Joshanee Gibbs. It is rumored that a new cast will play a significant part.

The movie was likely to be released in 2020 but has been delayed. Its also expected that Johnny Depp and with his famous character Jack Sparrow due to the allegations with his ex-wife Amber Heard would not be playing. Among the fan, concepts are that a female lead pirate might replace Jack Sparrow. Because there is absolutely no formal structure to the movie, the options are endless and seem concerning what 2020 entails about this film.

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Pirates Of The Caribbean 6: Release Date, Plot, And Get All The Latest Updates We Have So Far - World Top Trend

The 5.5 magnitude is one of several tremors which rocked Puerto Rico today, the most recent of which came in at 4.5.

Tsunami.gov, the American Tsunami monitoring body, said there is currently no tsunami warning for Puerto Rico, according to data from the latest tremors.

They have advised people may have experienced "shaking".

READ MORE:NASA reveals Puerto Rico earthquake damage in satellite images

Puerto Rico isn't the only country to feel the sting of an earthquake today, as Greece was also hit by a significant tremor.

The USGS reported a 6.6 magnitude earthquake near Ierapetra at 12.51pm, which rumbled in the sea to the south of the Cretan town.

Currently, the earthquake monitors suggest people on the island will not feel its effects, and there is a low chance of death or significant economic damage.

The USGS released a green pager warning for both estimates, with a maximum 65 percent chance one person would die, and damages could stray into the $1 million (750,000) band.

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Puerto Rico earthquake: 5.5 magnitude quake rocks Caribbean - is there a tsunami warning? - Express.co.uk

April 29, 2020

At the end of 2018, model-turned-photographer Kacey Jeffers returned to his home on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean, after his visa expired. Frustrated by the New York grind, hedecided to take some time to recalibrateand recharge his creative energyby immersing himself in a new project: a series of portraits of schoolchildren,brought togetherin hisnew book, Uniform.

My camera was my tool to build something, Jeffers says. Portraiture is my foundation as a photographer, and I wanted to photograph local kids at school in their uniform so I could merge elements of fashion, portraiture and reportage. Clothes are never the first thing I look at; Im more interested in the person but I wanted to show how what that person is wearing shapes their character. For me, fashion has a purpose.

On Nevis which is the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton, fourth President of America who has recently been resurrected in the Broadway musical, Hamilton education and the promise it brings is highly esteemed. When I started to think about the project, I had to think about what it meant to me and look at my memories, Jeffers says.

Every Sunday, from preschool until fourth grade, Jeffers mother would steam, iron, and starch his uniform three yellow cotton shirts and two khaki pants to perfection. Each morning, she would caution, Go to school and learn, and bring this uniform back home just how you left with it. Jeffers did just that, recognising thatlearning to respect himself in this way was an integral part of his education.

When it came to the time for him to make these portraits, Jeffers sought out students who might not have the same advantages as those at the top of the class or those regarded as traditionally beautiful. Instead, he wanted to photograph the shy and the rambunctious alike, the students who might otherwise slip through the cracks and present them as individuals worthy ofrespect and regard in their own right.

Growing up in Nevis, which onlygained its independence from the UK in 1983, among a population of 12,000 citizens predominantly of African descent, Jeffers had not thought about being seen as other until he moved to New York. With the understanding of what W.E.B. DuBois deemed double consciousness, Jeffers approaches his work from the understanding that race is just one part of the story being told.

When I photograph black people, it has to come from something deep and authentic, he says. I am looking within for intimacy, presence, and a connection to something other than the physical to capture the essence of that person.

As a self-taught photographer, Jeffers works from instinct, knowing exactly the mood for the work then collaborating with his subjects to allow it to unfold naturally. While he made photographs in the islands 14 schools, he wanted to make sure the locations did not overwhelm the shot with narrative information that would frame his subjects as mere children. Jeffers understood, like race, they were more than just their age the whole being greater than the sum its parts.

This is how I want to shoot fashion, Jeffers says. Something merges my culture with the world, where it has a purpose and represents something to people in my community. I see fashion everywhere.

Uniformby Kacey Jeffers is out now.

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One Photographer Documents the Lives of Schoolchildren in the Caribbean - AnOther Magazine

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The Pirates of the Caribbean is a film set that consolidates five psychological experiences right up til the current moment.

The series is created through the craftsman Jerry Bruckheimer. The five continuing series has earned more noteworthy compared to 4. five billion. The Pirates of the Caribbean 6 series would be extraordinary for everyone.

Caption Jack Sparrow, who is played by way of Will Turner and Johnny Depp, plays Orlando Bloom is the characters Within the film, and Elizabeth Swann grasps Keira Knightleys conduct. The most effective possible quantity of funding for the franchise movie industry was $4.524 billion in recent decades.

The movie will be released from today. As the resources discovered, Disney is expressed to be toward the start of the 6th season of this Caribbean privateers. The movie series is your screenplay by method for Terry Rossio and founders Jeff Nathanson. The date of appearance will be approximately 2021.

It is assumed that in the moving toward film Johnny Depp, which performed the most leader inside the film, Jack Sparrow, wouldnt play with its individual as he mentioned 90 million bucks of his part, which Disney got not prepared to play with.

Another caution of the manufacturers decided to alter the position turned into his wrongdoing.

Fans and fans are also anxious to capture the 6th movie megastar cast. Regardless, Depp can not be seen inside the film as set up by way of its late-settled on journalists of the series.

There have been bits that were snitch, together with Johnny Depp, which demanded a payout and attained the split. It is realized that the plot spins around Wills terrible vision of exploring the nearness of Davy Jones.

This innovative and enlightening works as Davy Jones is and in no manner, form or shape improvements on, building a vengeance attack. Similarly, the gamers inward pieces are going to be within the game. A lady hooligan is reliable to win Johnny Depp in our temperament.

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Heres Everything You Know So Far About Pirates Of Caribbean 6 - World Top Trend

Right now, many of us are wishing that we could be on an island somewhere, with a fruity drink in our hands and our toes dipped in the sand. Unfortunately however, the reality is that were living amidst a global pandemic and leisure travel will not be on the horizon for quite some time.

The good news: you can escape to the Caribbean through your own kitchen! Here are a few recipes to bring the fare of your favorite tropical hotspot right into your home.

Lionfish Ceviche with Mango and Lime - St. Lucia

Ingredients: 1 pound lionfish (can be substituted for any fresh, mild, white fish); 1 tbsp kosher salt; 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice; 1 cup white vinegar; 2 medium jalapenos (minced); 1 large sweet red pepper (julienned); 1 large firm mango (finely julienned); 1 medium red onion (shaved); 1 tsp minced garlic; tbsp freshly ground black pepper; tsp crushed red chili flakes; cup extra virgin olive oil; cup freshly picked cilantro leaves. Instructions: Cut lionfish into short, thin, julienned pieces. Place in a stainless steel bowl and season with 2 teaspoons of salt. Pour lemon and lime juice over fish, cover, and refrigerate for half an hour. Drain citrus juices using a colander. Pour the vinegar over the fish while tossing lightly. Using a large bowl, add jalapenos, peppers, mango, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Toss lightly and cover with olive oil. Cover and refrigerate to let set for at least half hour. Add cilantro and mix well before serving. (Recipe courtesy of Jade Mountain)

Guava and Cream Cheese Rolls - Cayman Islands

Ingredients: 3 eggs, room temperature; cup (6 oz) buttermilk, room temperature; cup sugar; 2 teaspoon dry yeast; 4 cup (21 oz); All purpose flour; 6 tablespoons butter, melted & cool; 1/3 cup soft butter; 1 cup brown sugar; 8 ounces cream cheese, frozen and cut into cubes; 8 ounces guava paste, cubed; 8 ounces guava shells, chopped, no syrup; 8 tablespoons butter, room temperature; 1 cups powdered sugar; 8 ounces cream cheese; 8 ounces Guava paste cubed; tsp vanilla extract; 1/8 teaspoon salt.Instructions: In a mixer, whisk eggs and buttermilk to mix. Add the sugar, salt and yeast, allow yeast to activate for about 15 minutes. Add 2 cups of flour and the butter, stir with a spatula. Add the other 2 cups of flour and knead with the dough hook on low speed for 5 minutes. The dough should come clean from the sides, add more flour if necessary. Knead for 5 more minutes, then knead by hand for 1 minute. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover for 2 hours to allow for proofing. Roll the dough to 21x16 and thickness. Spread the butter on the dough leaving border free of the butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly. Distribute the cream cheese cubes, guava paste and chopped guava over the dough. Roll the dough, and pinch at the seams then cut into 1 thick. Place in a buttered pan, cover and allow to proof for 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degree for 20-25 minutes. For the icing, beat all the ingredients except for the guava paste until fluffy. Scrap down the bowl and add the guava paste and beat until incorporated into smaller pieces. (Recipe courtesy of Chef Thomas Tennant of Tomfoodery Kitchen)

Jerk Beef Tenderloin - Jamaica

Ingredients: 6 oz. beef medallions; 2 tbsp Jerk Seasoning; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 small onion, finely diced; 2 tbsp scallion, chopped; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 sprig fresh thyme; 1 tbsp butter; 1 cup beef stock; 1/2 cup dry red wine; 1 tsp cornstarch. Instructions: Place beef into a Ziplock bag with jerk seasoning. Coat beef in seasoning and place in the fridge to marinate overnight or for at least 4 hours. After marinating, warm olive oil in a large skillet on high heat. Once the oil is hot, sear beef on each side for 1 minute or until brown and remove from heat. In a separate pot, add onion, scallion, garlic and thyme and butter and saute for 2 minutes. Add beef stock and and red wine and bring to a boil, add cornstarch to thicken as desired. Pour sauce over beef and enjoy while hot. (Recipe courtesy of Chef Stefan Spath at Couples Resorts in Jamaica)

Pineapple Coconut Chia Pudding - Jamaica

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups (360ml) of coconut milk; 6 tablespoon chia seeds; 2 tablespoon honey; 2 cups (480ml) diced fresh pineapple; 1 cup (240ml) fresh pineapple juice; 2 teaspoon brown sugar; Juice from 1 lime; Fresh pineapple, mint and coconut flakes for decoration.Instructions: In a bowl, mix coconut milk with honey until honey is completely dissolved. Add chia seed and stir for about two minutes, you can also refrigerate this overnight. Add sugar in a medium sauce pot, or saut pan, over medium heat and dissolve until caramelized. Add diced pineapple, pineapple juice and lime juice. Cook until juice is reduced and set aside to chill. Prepare serving cups by putting a layer of pineapple marmalade on the bottom, then a layer of chia pudding on top. Garnish with fresh pineapple and coconut flakes. (Recipe courtesy of Florian Durre at Palace Resorts)

Coconut Curry Fish on Plantain Wheel - British Virgin Islands

Ingredients: 1 Snapper or fillet of your choice;1 Plantain sliced; 4 ounces Cream cheese; 2 tbsp Curry season to taste; Roasted Red pepper; 8ozs Coconut milk; 1 sprig of Thyme.Instructions: Peel and slice plantain 1/2 inch round diameter and boil for about 5 to 7 mins. Drain and set aside. Rub red bell pepper with a touch of olive oil and on a grill pan Roast half the pepper. Peel the skin of the pepper. Season fish with salt and pepper to taste. Then sear each side for 3-4 mins until cooked or golden brown. Blend roasted pepper, fish, cream cheese, coconut milk and thyme in a food processor. Season with the curry. Add more curry, salt and pepper to your taste. Use a piping bag to decorate the plantain with the fish mix and garnish the top with microgreens. (Recipe courtesy of Chef Brent Lettsome from the British Virgin Islands)

Caribbean Reef Chicken - Dominica

Ingredients: 4 chicken thighs; 1/2 tsp salt;1/4 tsp pepper; 1.7 oz dark brown sugar; 4 tbsp dark rum - divided; 1 tbsp lime juice; 2 tbsp lemon pepper; 1 tbsp ginger;1 tbsp cloves - ground; 1/4 tsp cinnamon; 1/4 tsp garlic powder; 4 tbs mango chutney; Parsley - to serve. Instructions: Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken. Cover and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, 2 tablespoons of rum, lime juice, lemon pepper, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, garlic powder into a paste. Cover and set aside. Place the chicken skin side up in a shallow baking pan. Run Caribbean paste evenly over the chicken. Bake in a 200C oven for 45 minutes. Combine the mango chutney with 2 tablespoons of rum. Drizzle the chutney and rum mixture over the chicken and bake about three minutes more or until chutney is warm. Serve the chicken with a sprig of parsley. (Recipe courtesy of Discover Dominica)

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Escape To The Caribbean With These Soulful Recipes - Essence

The Evergreen Arkadia called at Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal

Evergreen Shipping has launched a new weekly container service to and from the Caribbean and the Port of New Orleans (NOLA), growing export business for commodities such as resin, poultry, forestry and agricultural products.

The addition of the CAJ service adds to the Taiwanese lines current offerings in and out of New Orleans on the Ocean Alliances Asia and North Europe services.

The new service will be handled by terminal operator Ports America at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. The direct ports of call will be Manzanillo, Colon, Kingston and Port Au Prince with connections to/from Asia, West Coast South America and the Caribbean.

Port NOLA president and CEO Brandy D. Christian said: We are thrilled to welcome Evergreens new service to the Port and for the opportunity to provide our shippers with increased global connectivity through Evergreens extensive network of services in Panama.

The service may also help the port, which saw 13% loaded import container volume growth last year, generate further import growth from overseas markets. It now has a total of 13 direct weekly container services.

Christian added: The addition of the Evergreen service at this time underscores confidence in Port NOLAs and our terminal operators ability to move cargo throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic challenges, keeping the health and safety of our frontline employees top of mind.

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Port of New Orleans gains new Evergreen service offering connections to the Caribbean - Container Management

A few years ago, the European Union placed the concept of resilience at the center of its Global and Security Strategy. In a more complex, contested and interconnected world, the assumption made was that security and well-being were going to face new geopolitical challenges as well as transnational risks derived from globalization. This required strengthening the capacity of each country to adjust and overcome external shocks. This is an objective of our international cooperation, but it also challenges an EU that knows that it is vulnerable to these risks.

Today, the COVID-19 is a critical test of resilience for societies, economies, and governance around the world. In the face of a global pandemic, there is no room for exclusively national responses or an interested use of cooperation or economic power for geopolitical purposes. To be sure, there are different capacities and responsibilities to start with, but without mutual support or joint global actions, the impact of the disease can be even more devastating for everyone.

The European Union and its citizens are going through very hard times. But we are aware that to overcome the pandemic we must cooperate with all our partners, working side by side. And we know this because we have been doing it for decades throughout the world, facing other shared challenges, and in particular in Latin America and the Caribbean. And that is why, despite our own difficulties, the European Union has decided to immediately reorient the technical and financial cooperation programs with Latin America and the Caribbean to respond to this pandemic, with a total of 918 million Euros, as part of the global response in support of the efforts of partner countries to tackle COVID-19. Thus, 9 million Euros will be allocated to finance the work of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the International Federation of the Red Cross in Venezuela and neighboring countries.

In the Caribbean, the EU is funding the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) with 8 million Euros, and in concrete in Jamaica, the EU has financed 29 respirators for intensive care units.

In Cuba, the EU is strategically adapting to the new context the cooperation projects being implemented in the country, especially those related to food security, in dialogue with the government and relevant institutions. Likewise, urgent needs are being identified in the health services and other social services to direct possible additional funds, particularly those that may result from the donors conference on May 4, an initiative organized by the European Commission with the purpose of raising funds on a global scale to contribute to the fight against the pandemic.

Beyond these resources, where our strategic partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean can be most effective in promoting together a robust coordinated and multilateral response. Our regions have known how to respond to the health crisis, applying drastic but necessary measures such as social distancing or confinement. But the health crisis knows no borders, regions or countries. And this is why we thank Cuba for responding immediately to the request for doctors and nurses made by Italy and other countries worldwide, in a clear demonstration of solidarity between our people.

The challenge has only just begun. The coronavirus is causing a global economic crisis, which will increase inequalities and more severely affect the most vulnerable. Europe and Latin America can do much more if we act together, advancing a multilateral agenda in the G20, the UN and the multilateral financial institutions so that there is more fiscal space to avoid health collapse, economic collapse and a serious social crisis.

The coronavirus is an unprecedented challenge to the global economy. An effective response will need to mobilize international collective action. The EU and Latin America and the Caribbeanan association of 60 countriesmust join forces again. It is in times of acute crisis when the ties between friendly countries are tested. And this crisis has once again reminded us that our resilience also depends on international cooperation. We will only come out of this crisis together.

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European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean: joining efforts against the coronavirus - OnCubaNews

Photo credit: KEN HAYDEN PHOTOGRAPHY

From Town & Country

I traveled to Rosewood Little Dix Bay in mid February, soon after its renovation. On March 24, it temporarily suspended operations because of the coronavirus pandemic. The resort team is closely monitoring the situation, in coordination with the government of the British Virgin Islands, and will announce reopening plans when the time is right.

There have never been many hotels in the world that you could say were decades ahead of their time; cutting-edginess is not an imperative in the hospitality business. But as the catamaran that picked me up from Tortola, where commercial flights to the British Virgin Islands land, approached Virgin Gordas Little Dix Bay and its eponymous resort (its quite the mood setter: a half-mile crescent of palm-fringed white sand), I thought of its founder, Laurance Rockefeller.

Keep the environment as undamaged as possible, he directed architect Walther Prokosch after buying up 500 acres of Virgin Gordas coast and hills in 1959. Keep things simple and informal Utilize natural resources andbenefit the local economy.

It wasnt just high-minded principles that moved Rockefeller, it was also his belief that untrammeled nature was the ultimate luxury for harried humans. (He wouldnt even allow the lawns to be fine-mowed.) His well-heeled guests, he felt, would find true repose and rejuvenation not at a conventional resort but in something extraordinary, which he imagined as a sophisticated fishing village with a central, welcoming long house.

And so they dideven Queen Elizabeth, who visited in 1966, two years after Little Dix opened.

Its renovation, which was just completed by its current owners, Rosewood Hotels, after a four-year closure during which the place was nearly wiped out by Hurricane Irma, pays homage to and reinvigorates Rockefellers ideas.

The central open-sided dining pavilionfour soaring conical roofs designed, in Prokoschs words, to evoke something storm-tossed, irregular, tropical[with] the look of tamed wildnesssurvived the decades but for a few roof tiles, which have been replaced.

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Everyone still congregates there among the Midcentury Moderntinged rustic furnishings, and the new rum bar is excellent, as are the three restaurants, which serve largely farm-to-table food from an abundant kitchen garden (tours welcome).

The guest quarters, built of wood and the original local stone, occupy the same footprints as before and are still irregularly shaped and sited, as if they sprang up organicallyrectangular and hexagonal, tucked into vegetation or on stilts to better capture the sea views.

They come with large private terraces and patios (you can practically live outside, and there is 24/7 room service); each has its own footpath to the never-crowded beach, its own thatch-roofed palapa and chaise longues on the sand, and most have outdoor showers, some big enough to throw a party in, as one guest remarked.

The resort now has six tennis courts, a large fitness center, and a vertiginously situated spa. (Rockefeller might not have approved: He had a horror of all organized resort facilities, even croquet lawns.) But the hot outing remains the classic beach drop: by boat, with a picnic, to one of the nearby deserted strands of sand.

As for air conditioning, Rockefeller hated it. (So do I.) The rooms now have it, but this is the first resort where I have come back from dinner after turndown to find the AC off and the terrace doors open to the trade windsexactly as I left them.

This story appears in the May 2020 issue of Town & Country. Subscribe now

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A Rockefeller Resort in the Caribbean Is Restored to Its Rustic Glory - Yahoo Lifestyle

Full of adventure, danger, and romance, thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise has something for everyone. Over five swashbuckling films, fans have followed Captain Jack Sparrow and his companions on quests for mythical artifacts, into battle on the High Seas, and against adversariesas varied as the Royal Navy and the Kraken.

RELATED:Pirates Of The Caribbean: The 10 Greatest Sword Fights

Every member of the colorful cast has tested their mettle by crossing blades with buccaneers, soldiers, and cursed killers. The films boast some of the most elaborate duels ever to appear in cinema, including one of the longest and most elaborate between Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and James Norrington inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.Here's every main character ranked by their sword-fighting skills.

The son of Elizabeth and William Turner, Henry Turner had both his parents' good looks and their rebellious spirit. Resentful at his father for being cursed to command theFlying Dutchman,when he was of age he set off to free him by finding the Trident of Poseidon inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

An officer in the Royal Navy, Turner learned his way around firearms and sabers in an effort to track down his parents' old compatriot, Captain Jack Sparrow. Like his father, Henry is a skilled swordsman, if a little wet behind the ears.

Though she appeared as a damsel in distress inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,byPirates of the Caribbean: At World's EndElizabeth Swann had been around pirates long enough to pick up their handiwork with a blade, which she put to great use in the battle between the Pirate Brethren, Davy Jones, and the Royal Navy.

In an unlikely turn of events, Elizabeth Swann was made Pirate King of the Brethren Court in the franchise's third film, and she fought valiantly beside her pirate companions when Davy Jones and the Royal Navy attempted to destroy them.

A pick-pocket and master thief, Angelica was introduced inPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tidesas both the ex-lover of Captain Jack Sparrow and the daughterof the infamous pirate Blackbeard.

RELATED: Keira Knightley's 10 Best Movies, According to IMDb

Having spent time in some of the most salacious ports in the Caribbean and on the decks of some of the most dreaded pirate vessels on the High Seas, Angelica was the match of any male scalawag she encountered, especially during her fight with Barbossa and the Royal Navy over the Fountain of Youth.

Decorated by the Spanish Royal Navy for his pursuit of pirates across the Spanish Main, Armando Salazar was on the verge of capturing the elusive Captain Jack Sparrow when he ran afoul of the Devil's Triangle and it cursed him and his crew.

A formidable opponent in battle, Salazar was able to destroy any ship that found itself in the Triangle, and even in his cursed state he proved capable of taking on the likes of Hector Barbossa and Captain Jack Sparrow until Barbossa mortally wounded him.

Introduced in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesEdward Teach, or Blackbeard as he was known on the High Seas, was a real pirate that plundered the Caribbean. He was known for placing lit matches in his beard during boarding parties and wearing bracers across his chest with six pistols.

Blackbeard came by his reputation through psychological intimidation, savvy battle tactics, and never letting himself be manipulated (including at his own daughter's hand). Unfortunately, he was no match for Captain Jack Sparrow's blade.

Thought to be the stuff of old legend, Davy Jones was a fearsome pirate who captained theFlying Dutchman,charged with ferrying souls to the netherworld by the woman he loved, the sea goddess Calypso. Her betrayal led him to abandon his duties, and kill innocent sailors out of anger and grief.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: 5 Best Villains (& The 5 Worst)

Davy Jones couldn't be killed except by being stabbed through the heart, which was not on his person but extracted and kept hidden away in a chest. He was invincible in combat until his heart was located and used against him by Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company.

Once first mate under Captain Jack Sparrow, Hector Barbossa mutinied against him and stole theBlack Pearlfor himself,winding up cursed for his trouble by a chest of Aztec gold. Barbossa wasn't bested in combat by Sparrow until the curse was lifted and he could bemortally wounded.

He was resurrected by the sea goddess Calypso in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and became Sparrow's begrudging ally in the fight against the East India Trading Company and Davy Jones. He survived through all five films in the franchise, until he finally sacrificed himself to save his daughter.

Once a Commodore in the Royal Navy, James Norrington found himself without a ship and a commission after failing to capture Captain Jack Sparrow inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.He became a begrudging member of Sparrow's crew after that, biding his time until he could double cross him and retain his rank.

RELATED: Pirates of the Caribbean: Every Main Character, Ranked By Intelligence

After an intense duel between Sparrow, Will Turner, and himself at the end of the film, he obtained the heart of Davy Jones, which he exchanged for a Letter of Marque signed by Lord Cutler Beckett and an Admiral's rank. Disciplined and skilled with a blade, his only weakness was Elizabeth Swann.

Though introduced as a humble blacksmith inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,Will Turner's inconspicuous trade belied his exceptional skill as a swordsman. He practiced three hours a day with the blades that he made, so that when he encountered a pirate like Captain Jack Sparrow, he could kill it.

Turner would go from being Sparrow's friend to being his adversary, dueling the pirate over the heart of Davy Jones to lift the curse on his father. By the third film however, they wouldtake a stand against Davy Jones and the East India Trading Company, Turner once again putting his exceptional fighting skills to good use.

Captain Jack Sparrow may appear perpetually drunk and overly confident, but he has good reason for both; it causes everyone to underestimate his prowess with a blade. As he demonstrated to Will Turner during their first encounter, he was nigh unbeatable in a duel.

Over the five films in the franchise, Jack Sparrow crossed swords with Will Turner, Hector Barbossa, James Norrington, Blackbeard, Armando Salazar, and many others, always emerging to fight another day.

NEXT: Star Wars: 10 Best Lightsaber Duels, Ranked

NextWhich Brooklyn Nine-Nine Character Are You Based On Your Zodiac Sign?

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she's particularly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she's working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Every Main Character, Ranked by Sword-Fighting Skills - Screen Rant