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Category Archives: Caribbean

Irregular Migration Flows to the Americas from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean – Reliefweb

Posted: March 10, 2017 at 3:30 am

Background On May 4, 2016, the Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel A. Gonzlez Sanz, was received by the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States during a special meeting to address to situation of irregular migration flows in the region. As part of his remarks, the minister noted the recent phenomenon of irregular migration flows that have seen a significant uptick throughout the region. The minister explained the situation in Costa Rica, which has been a point of entry and transit for thousands of migrants of Cuban origin and from outside the hemisphere, primarily from Africa and Asia. During this same speech before the Permanent Council, the Costa Rican state requested that the OAS Secretary General prepare an urgent study on the migration situation in the region, to address the recent increase in the irregular flow of migrants from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The OAS Permanent Council received the request during the meeting. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, in response to the request, commissioned the study to the Secretariat of Access to Rights and Equality, through its Department of Social Inclusion, the area charged with supporting OAS efforts on migration matters. The OAS Secretariat of Multidimensional Securitys Department of Public Security and the OAS representation in the Dominican Republic also contributed to the report.

Given the International Organization for Migrations (IOM) work as the main international organization on migration, the OAS Secretary General and the Deputy Director General of the IOM agreed to partner in preparing this study. This report presents the joint work of these two organizations. The study also includes contributions from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), through its Regional Delegation for Mexico, Central America, and Cuba.

Main Conclusions

Irregular migration transcends issues of a bilateral or regional nature: it includes countries of origin, transit and destination.

Irregular flows into the Americas of migrants from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean must be analyzed according to their specific origins and characteristics.

Lack of documentation, language barriers, and lack of consular and diplomatic representations make it difficult for national authorities, international organizations and civil society to manage migration.

The final most likely destination of flows is the United States, followed to a lesser extent by Brazil for Haitians, Africans and Asians. For the Cubans, the other preferred destinations are Mexico and Ecuador.

Migrants are much more likely to find a relative, friend, or fellow national that facilitates their immigration to the United States than to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Royal Caribbean: Cruise ship approaching Broward home was operating safely (w/ video) – Tampabay.com

Posted: March 9, 2017 at 3:40 am

Royal Caribbean Cruises said a cruise ship was operating safely and did not touch bottom in response to a Broward County couple's complaint that the boat had stopped within 100 feet of striking their waterfront home.

According to WFOR-TV and WPLG-TV in Miami, the Celebrity Equinox was leaving Port Everglades on Friday afternoon and heading toward the patio of Bill and Yasmine Todhunter.

Bill Todhunter said the cruise ships usually pass hundreds of yards away their home.

"I looked up and I knew something was wrong, because I was looking up at the bow of the boat," Todhunter told WFOR-TV.

Yasmine Todhunter grabbed her cellphone and began recording video, which shows engines on the front of the ship apparently trying to slow its approach. Her husband said the ship had "come aground."

Royal Caribbean Cruises, issued a statement saying the ship was navigating safely " under the guidance of local port pilots" and that it did not touch bottom.

The Equinox is 1,041 feet long and weighs more than 120,000 gross tons.

The Coast Guard told WFOR-TV that ships must report collisions or groundings, and Royal Caribbean has not. The Todhunters said they contacted the Coast Guard and said the agency was planning to investigate.

Royal Caribbean: Cruise ship approaching Broward home was operating safely (w/ video) 03/08/17 [Last modified: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 2:41pm] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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Photographer unearths Jewish treasures of the Caribbean – Jweekly.com

Posted: at 3:40 am

Sand on the floor of a synagogue is not a typical interior design choice, at least in the Bay Area. But for a historic shul in the Caribbean, why not?

That there was and is a Jewish community in a region renown for reggae music and the golden age of buccaneers may come as a surprise to many Jews unfamiliar with the communitys early origins in North America.

But Jews there were, and they built some of the first synagogues, even before many in the United States.

Such historic sites from the 17th and 18th centuries are the subject of a book of photography and an exhibition of the same name at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center in Foster City. Entitled Jewish Treasures of the Caribbean, it is the brainchild of New York-based photographer Wyatt Gallery.

The inspiration for the collection came from his time working as a stringer in the region for the New York Times, Gallery tells J., where he came across several old synagogues and cemeteries. After witnessing the destruction following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Gallery says that he set out to document every site, a mission that is now complete. He traveled to Barbados, Curacao, Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. Eustatius and Suriname.

The early settlers were Sephardic, and the architecture was based on what Gallery says was a mother congregation in Amsterdam.

There are five shuls left today, he says.

Gallery is not a religious Jew now, but grew up going to High Holy Day services with his grandfather, and says he feels connected to Jewish culture and his heritage.

While exploring historic Jewish sites in the Caribbean, Gallery learned that the community there was quite powerful much more so than its counterpart at the time in the U.S.

Many Jews living in the region were merchants and amassed a significant fortune selling arms to the American revolutionaries a fact the British used to blame the Jews for losing the war. And yes, some Jews in the region who ran plantations owned slaves.

The most interesting find for Gallery was a cemetery that is located far off the beaten path. To locate it he had to take a boat up the river in the rainforests of Suriname, and then hike. Only a few people know of the graveyards existence, and how to find it, he says.

Finding each of the historic treasures required the help of the various local Jewish communities scattered around the region most of the shuls were located right in the center of cities, nearby where the Jewish merchants used to operate.

Contemporary communities are small, usually consisting of about 150 to 200 people.

Gallery hopes his book will raise awareness in the global Jewish community, and is seen as a call for preservation. Many of the shuls and especially the cemeteries have been damaged by the weather over the years, he says, and in some cases vandalized.

The PJCC exhibit comprises 37 photographs Gallery selected that he says represent the 200 in the book. I chose those that would create a portrait of the entire project, he says.

A gallery talk and a question-and-answer session will be held at 7 p.m. March 28, concluding the exhibitions run at the JCC.

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The Foreign Office is advising Brits not to travel with this Caribbean airline – The Sun

Posted: at 3:40 am

InselAir is one of the Caribbean's largest airlines, operating flights to countries like Jamaica, the US and Colombia

Brits have been warned against travelling with InselAir one of the Caribbeans largest airlines.

The Foreign Office has included the caution on the travel advice pages for countries that the company operates flights to, including Colombia, the US and the Caribbean.

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The government made the decisions after concerns were raised about the airlines safety record.

The message reads: Safety concerns have been raised about INSEL Air.

The US and Netherlands authorities have prohibited their staff from using the airline while safety checks are being carried out.

UK government officials have been told to do the same as a precaution.

InselAir, which is based on the Caribbean island of Curaao, served around 1.4 million customers last year.

While it mainly flies to Caribbean countries, it also runs flights to Miami, Caracas and Medellin.

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A spokesperson for InselAir told SunOnline: The Dutch Civil Aviation Inspectorate has recently visited Aruba and Curacao and met with the representatives of both InselAir Curacao and InselAir Aruba airlines.

They requested to perform spontaneous audits to which both airlines had no objections.

Both airlines remain until now unaware of any findings from the Dutch Civil Aviation Inspectorate that would have an effect on the airworthiness of their operations.

Upon the briefing received after the audit the inspectors said that they were pleasantly surprised with the conclusion of the findings in all of the following areas: Flight Operations, Operation Control Center, Safety and Security, Training, Scheduling, Quality and Maintenance of InselAir Curacao.

Currently neither of the airlines have major pending technical and operational findings with their respective Aviation Authority.

The ongoing grounding of the MD fleet in Aruba is due to a position taken by the Aviation Authority of Aruba in support of the government of Aruba that took the decision to freeze the bank account of the airline due to arrears in payment of taxes.

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New Pirates of the Caribbean 5 Poster: Heroes & Villains Unite – Screen Rant

Posted: at 3:40 am

Aside from the release of the next installments in the Marvel andStar Warscinematic universes, Disney will also be releasing the newest outing in one of their longest-running and most profitable franchises to date withPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Making the return of severalof thefranchises oldest players, like Orlando Bloom as Will Turner and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa, the new film promises to take the franchise to places its never quite been before. That includes the villainous Captain Salazar, a ghost pirate played with gleeful malevolence by the always reliable, Javier Bardem.

Picking up several years after the events of the last film,Dead Men Tell No Tales follows Johnny Depps Captain Jack Sparrow as he searches for the Trident of Poseidon, the only artifact capable of protecting him from Salazar and his undead crew. The latter of whom has just escaped the Devils Triangle by the time the film begins, looking to settle an old score with Sparrow, and simultaneously destroy every last Pirate still alive on the seas.

Disney just recently released a brand new, full theatrical trailer forDead Men Tell No Tales, and with a prime May release date, it promises to be a dark horse release for the studio this year. In continuation of the recent boost in promotional materials for the film, Disney has also unveiled a brand new international Dead Men Tell No Tales poster, unitingboth the moviesheroes and villains. Check it out for yourselves,down below:

Beginning back in 2001 withThe Curse of the Black Pearl, its doubtful anyone at the time could have predicted just how long thePirates of the Caribbeanmovie franchise would last for. Based initially on the Disney ride of the same name, the franchise started out as a fun, B-movie action film and went on to feature fights with Blackbeard, Davy Jones, and now, a Ghost Pirate and his undead crew. To say its been one of the zanier, and unexpected popular franchises of the 21st century then, wouldnt be much of an understatement.

Dead Men Tell No Talesmay or may not be the last installment in the franchise also, after the recent theatrical trailer marketed it as that,right before the directors contradicted that marketing choice. Whether or not it is, though, thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years and after the multiple year break-in between installments, itll be interesting to see just how much hypeDead Men Tell No Tales is able to garner for itself in the weeks leading up to its theatrical release.

Source: Disney

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New Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas cruise ship will be the world’s largest – USA TODAY

Posted: March 8, 2017 at 1:41 pm

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Royal Caribbean's next ship, Symphony of the Seas, will be slightly bigger than sister vessel Harmony of the Seas, shown here. Harmony currently is the biggest cruise ship at sea.(Photo: Michel Verdure)

A new cruise ship from Royal Caribbean coming in 2018 will be the biggest ever built.

Royal Caribbean Wednesday revealed that the fourth vessel in its record-breaking Oasis class series, scheduled to debut in April 2018, will measure about 230,000 tons, eclipsing the current size leader by about 3,000 tons.

Royal Caribbean also announced the name for the ship, which already is under construction at a shipyard in France: Symphony of the Seas.

In addition, the lineannouncedthe vessel willsail to the Caribbean out of Miami starting in November 2018. It'll move to the city after spending its first few months operating voyages in the Mediterranean.

"It's slightly longer, and it's a tad wider" than earlier Oasis Class ships, Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley said of Symphony during a conference call with cruise writers. He promised a vessel with attractions both familiar and new that was"packed full of adventure."

"It will boast all of the innovations that are so well known with (the) Oasis Class, and then of course, because we have to have a whole new set of features ... there are additions that we are not going to talk about today."

The new details about the ship cameas Royal Caribbean preparedto break ground Wednesdayon a new terminal at the port of Miami that will be able to accommodate ships as big as Symphony.

In addition to Symphony, the new terminal will be home to a second Oasis Class ship, Allure of the Seas, which will move to Miami from its current home in Fort Lauderdale in late 2018, Royal Caribbean also announced Wednesday.

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In becoming the world's largest cruise ship, Symphony will be dethroning the third vessel in the Oasis Class series, Harmony of the Seas. Unveiled just eight months ago, Harmony measures 226,963 tons and can carry up to 6,780 passengers.

Five things to love about Royal Caribbean's new Harmony of the Seas

Symphony will share many of the same features as Harmony, whichis about 1,700 tons larger than the first two Oasis Class ships, Oasis of the Seas and Allure,and offers attractions that aren't on the earlier vessels. Among features that were new on Harmony that will be debuting on Symphony, too:Ultimate Abyss, which has been heralded as the most thrilling attraction ever conceived for a cruise ship.

Comprised of two swirling slides, Ultimate Abyss drops ninestories from near the top of the vessel down to one of its lowest decks (scroll through the carousel at the top of this story for a look at everything Harmony has to offer).

See what it's like to slide down the Ultimate Abyss on the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas. USA TODAY

Symphony also will have a multi-deck water slide area, something Royal Caribbean just begun adding to ships in 2016, and a Bionic Bar where the drinks are served by robot bartenders a concept that first debuted in 2014 on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas.

While remaining mostly mum on new and updated features planned for Symphony, Bayley said the vessel's forward-facing Solarium area wouldbe "quite a lot" different than the ones on the earlier Oasis Class ships. In addition, Symphony willhave 28 more cabins than Harmony.

Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class vessels have made waves in the cruise industry since they began debuting in 2009. All three of the Oasis Class ships currently at sea are in excess of 225,000 tons more than 30% larger than the next largest cruise ships.

With the arrival of Symphony, Royal Caribbean will have 26 ships.

The vessel's first voyages will openfor bookings Wednesday.

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New Caribbean Dive Site: A Ship That Survived Pearl Harbor – New York Times

Posted: at 1:41 pm


New York Times
New Caribbean Dive Site: A Ship That Survived Pearl Harbor
New York Times
The Kodiak Queen, which survived the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, was discovered rusting in the British Virgin Islands several years ago. It is to become an underwater art installation and wildlife habitat. Credit Adam Buyskes. On March 10, weather ...

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Taiwanese president to visit Caribbean amid concerns of ‘unstable’ relations with region – Jamaica Observer

Posted: at 1:41 pm

TAIPEI, Taiwan (CMC) President Tsai Ing-wen is to visit the Caribbean later this year amid concerns that its relations with some Caribbean allies have become unstable, Foreign Minister David Lee said Monday.

Taiwan has relations with St Kitts-Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Belize, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, and Lee acknowledged that relations with one or more of the Caribbean territories are kind of unstable.

That is why a visit by President Tsai Ing-wen to allies in that region in the second half of this year is being planned as part of the Governments efforts to cement ties with diplomatic partners there, Lee said when answering questions from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng at the Legislative Yuans Foreign and National Defence Committee.

Lee said that his ministry has taken measures to improve bilateral ties with these countries in question and that the situation is under control.

The foreign ministry has been keeping close tabs on ties with Taiwans diplomatic allies and will address issues immediately if it notices something wrong, he said, without elaborating on which country or countries in the Caribbean are in question.

Last August, the main Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in St Vincent and the Grenadines said it would switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China if it is elected to office in the next general election.

The announcement represented a change in one of the last common policies that the NDP shared with the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP).

St Vincent and the Grenadines has maintained unbroken diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 1981, even as several other Caribbean nations, including Dominica and Grenada, have switched ties over the last decade.

Beijing says Taiwan is a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland by force, if necessary.

The NDP said that as a modern political organisation, it continues to discuss and formulate a range of appropriate measures and responses to ongoing geo-political realities.

In this regard, fully cognisant of the ever-evolving symmetry of international affairs, and the principal responsibility and obligation of our party in or out of Government to diligently pursue and protect the best strategic interests of our country, I hereby formally announce that the New Democratic Party of St Vincent and the Grenadines, as of todays date, August 23, 2016, has taken the decision to recognise the United Nations accepted norm of a One China Policy, the NDP leader Arnhim Eustace said in a statement last August.

Last year, St Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Foreign Affairs Sir Louis Straker said Kingstown was hoping to establish diplomatic presence in Taiwan.

St Vincent and the Grenadines has benefited significantly from it relationship with Taiwan, both in terms of infrastructural and human resource development.

Taiwan financed the terminal building at the Argyle International Airport, 15 learning resource centres across the country, and bridges and other pieces of infrastructure projects.

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Foreign Office warns travellers not to fly on major Caribbean airline – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted: March 6, 2017 at 3:38 pm

British holidaymakers have been warned not to travel on one of the Caribbeans biggest airlines.

The Foreign Office (FCO) has issued guidance not to fly on InselAir, the national carrier of Dutch Caribbean island Curacao, due to safety concerns.

Safety concerns have been raised about Insel Air, the FCO said. The US and Netherlands authorities have prohibited their staff from using the airline while safety checks are being carried out. UK government officials have been told to the same as a precaution.

Boasting a fleet of 18 aircraft, and serving 26 destinations across the Caribbean and South America, as well as Miami in the US, Insel Air carried 1.4 million passengers in 2016. Its SkyTrax rating is just 3/10, however,with its page on the airline rating website garnering some less-than-positive reviews.

InselAir said it was aware that the Dutch Civil Aviation Inspectorate had recently visited Curacao as well as its sister airline Insel Air Aruba and performed spontaneous audits. It said the inspectors left pleasantly surprised.

In a statement the airline said: Contrary to the information being circulated by the media, both local and abroad, both airlines remain until now unaware of any findings from the Dutch Civil Aviation Inspectorate that would have an effect on the airworthiness of their operations.

Currently neither of the airlines have major pending technical and operational findings with their respective Aviation Authority.

The FCO does not normally pass judgement on airlines as standards are governed by national aviation authorities. It points travellers towards the International Air Transport Association for records on airline safety.

There are currently more than 100 airlines banned from EU airspace, or facing operational restrictions, as they dont come up to scratch. Insel Air is not banned from the EU. The list does include every airlines from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Sudan, as well as dozens from Indonesia.

Earlier this year, it was announced by AirlineRatings.com that Qantas is the worlds safest airline. Other carriers to make the top 20 include British Airways, Swiss, Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic.

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Taiwan President to visit Caribbean amid concerns of ‘unstable’ relations with region – Jamaica Observer

Posted: at 3:38 pm

TAIPEI, Taiwan (CMC) President Tsai Ing-wen is to visit the Caribbean later this year amid concerns that its relations with some Caribbean allies have become unstable, Foreign Minister David Lee said Monday.

Taiwan has relations with St Kitts-Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Belize, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and Lee acknowledged that relations with one or more of the Caribbean are kind of unstable.

That is why a visit by President Tsai Ing-wen to allies in that region in the second half of this year is being planned as part of the governments efforts to cement ties with diplomatic partners there, Lee said when answering questions from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng at the Legislative Yuans Foreign and National Defence Committee.

Lee said that his ministry has taken measures to improve bilateral ties with these countries in question and that the situation is under control.

The Foreign Ministry has been keeping close tabs on ties with Taiwans diplomatic allies and will address issues immediately if it notices something wrong, he said, without elaborating on which country or countries in the Caribbean are in question.

Last August, the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in St Vincent and the Grenadines said it would switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China if it is elected to office in the next general election.

The announcement represented a change in one of the last common policies that the NDP shared with the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP).

St Vincent and the Grenadines has maintained unbroken diplomatic ties with Taiwan since 1981, even as several other Caribbean nations, including Dominica and Grenada, have switched ties over the last decade.

Beijing says Taiwan is a renegade province to be reunited with the mainland, by force, if necessary.

The NDP said that as a modern political organisation, it continues to discuss and formulate a range of appropriate measures and responses to ongoing geo-political realities.

In this regard, fully cognisant of the ever-evolving symmetry of international affairs, and the principal responsibility and obligation of our party in or out of Government to diligently pursue and protect the best strategic interests of our country, I hereby formally announce that the New Democratic Party of St Vincent and the Grenadines, as of todays date, August 23, 2016, has taken the decision to recognise the United Nations accepted norm of a One China Policy, the NDP leader Arnhim Eustace said in a statement last August.

Last year, St Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sir Louis Straker, said Kingstown was hoping to establish diplomatic presence in Taiwan.

St Vincent and the Grenadines has benefitted significantly from its relationship with Taiwan both in terms of infrastructural and human resource development.

Taiwan financed the terminal building at the Argyle International Airport, 15 learning resource centres across the country, bridges and other pieces of infrastructure projects.

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Taiwan President to visit Caribbean amid concerns of 'unstable' relations with region - Jamaica Observer

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