Grenada – The Hon. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, has made a call for regional governments to embrace the reforms that are needed to create a sustainable air transport sector in the Caribbean. The Prime Minister was speaking at a seminar on Air Transport Connectivity and Competitiveness, hosted by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in Grenada.

“Reliable connectivity of air transport in the region is quintessential to the movement of people, to the movement of goods. So it is evident that reliable air transport is important to the integration movement. It is also fundamental to the overall economic growth and resilience, especially in the tourism sector, [of] those countries that are heavily dependent on tourism,” said Browne.

He noted that one of the most critical areas for reform involves the reduction of regional airport taxes and service charges, saying that this would stimulate additional travel within the Region, as well as increases in tourism. However, the Prime Minister added that any solutions to the challenges faced in the air transport industry would need to have buy-in from all countries in the Region.

“One of the solutions that I am proposing is a subvention by all countries within the region, certainly within the OECS and Barbados […] We have to see the subsidy as an investment in our tourism product, an investment in the integration of our people, to move goods, to move people and to ensure that the integration process works,” he said. During the seminar, CDB also presented a working paper on Aviation Competitiveness and Connectivity. Dr. Justin Ram, Director of Economics at CDB, noted that the research seeks to provide an evidence-based approach to examining the importance of air transport connectivity to the Region.(CDB)…[+]

Catherine Healy, who helped decriminalise prostitution, honoured with an Order of Merit for services to the rights of sex workers. When New Zealand police arrested Catherine Healy after raiding the Wellington brothel she worked in during the 1980s, it was impossible to imagine that one day she would be recognised by the Queen for her services to the industry. “It could have never happened in our minds,” Healy told the Guardian. “It couldn’t have happened in my mind even a couple of weeks ago.”For years she and her fellow sex workers fought stigma while campaigning for greater rights and recognition.

On Monday, Healy was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the rights of sex workers. “I was very daunted and found it very hard to believe,” she said. “You look around and there are many people I admire and you kind of figure out where you fit in society. I did not ever think this was a possibility.”

In 1986, Healy helped found the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, an organisation that supports sex workers’ rights. “Back then, I remember reading stories that spoke about us, but journalists never spoke to us. It was just so disrespectful.” Now the landscape has changed. She helped develop a bill alongside politicians that would decriminalise the work and safeguard sex workers’ rights. Healy was in the public gallery in 2003, when the bill passed in parliament by a single vote.(theguardian)…[+]

Donald Trump on Monday said that he has an “absolute right to pardon myself”, adding “but why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?” in his latest broadside against the Russia investigation. The US president’s remarks came in tweets in which he said his right to pardon had been “stated by numerous legal scholars”. Last year Trump had said that he has the “complete power to pardon”.

On Monday Trump was renewing his attacks on the special counsel investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election and allegations of collusion with the Trump campaign. Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, in television interviews on Sunday, suggested Trump might have that authority to pardon himself but would be unwise to use it.  Giuliani told NBC’s Meet the Press: “Pardoning himself would be unthinkable and probably lead to immediate impeachment.” He added: “He has no need to do it, he’s done nothing wrong.”

Giuliani said he would be “willing to sit down with Mueller and argue it out if he has an open mind to it”. The former New York Mayor and mob prosecutor has taken a leading role in defending Trump, sometimes with conflicting statements that get information out there but also making it appear accidental or disinformation.

On Thursday, Trump said that he is considering pardoning Martha Stewart, the home decorating mogul who served five months in prison for obstructing justice and similar charges as part of a 2004 insider trading investigation, and the former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.(theguardian)…[+]

Grenada – The ocean plays a role in the livelihood of approximately 40 percent of the world’s population that lives in coastal areas, and makes a significant contribution to economic growth. However, most countries in the Caribbean Region are yet to fully leverage the blue economy as a driver or growth, shows a new study released yesterday by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The blue economy is made of up of economic activities that either take place directly in the ocean, or use outputs from the sea for consumption or as a source of income.

The CDB-study, entitled “The Blue Economy: A Caribbean Development Opportunity”, explores the potential of the ocean-based economy for the Caribbean, and also presents financing options that can allow policymakers to explore blue economy strategies at a national and regional level.

Dr. W^m. Warren Smith, President, CDB noted that “New and high-value blue economy growth industries such as aquaculture, marine biotechnology, deep seabed mining, and ocean renewable energy remain under-developed in our Region.”

“Development of the blue economy should be accompanied by intelligent management and protection of coastal and marine resources,” he added.

Dr. Justin Ram, Director of Economics at CDB said, “While a number of blue economy initiatives can be highlighted within the Caribbean, the scope and scale remain below the potential, mainly because the blue economy has not been formally recognised as an important economic driver. Leveraging a blue economy strategy will allow Caribbean countries to more effectively drive the triple bottom line of sustainable development: Growing the economy, protecting the environment, and advancing social well-being.” The paper, produced in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), identifies four key industries which could be targeted for further growth under a blue economy strategy, namely, fisheries and aquaculture; coastal and marine tourism; marine renewable energy; and marine transport. It also suggests that a blue economy strategy cannot be applied uniformly across all countries in the Region, but can provide an opportunity to collaborate with regional peers to achieve greater efficiency and output.(CDB)…[+]

Bashar al-Assad is to visit North Korea, Pyongyang state media has claimed, in what would be a first state visit to the isolated nation under the leadership of Kim Jong-un.The report by the official Korean Central News Agency did not say when the visit would be, but the two sanctions-hit nations have been allies for decades and Washington has accused the North of assisting Syria with its weapons programmes.

“I am going to visit the DPRK and meet HE Kim Jong-un,” Assad was quoted as saying, using an acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “HE” stands for “his excellency”. Kim has not hosted any other heads of state since coming to power in 2011 after the death of his father. In recent months he has met the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, in a flurry of diplomacy that is expected to culminate in a summit with Donald Trump in Singapore on 12 June. Kim has yet to host a foreign leader in , Pyongyang.

“The world welcomes the remarkable events in the Korean peninsula brought about recently by the outstanding political caliber and wise leadership of HE Kim Jong-un,” Assad was quoted as saying. “I am sure that he will achieve the final victory and realise the reunification of Korea without fail.”(theguardian)…[+]

The Catalan independence leader Jordi Sànchez who has been in prison for eight months, has called on the Spanish government to reconsider its adherence to the principle of “the indisputable unity of the homeland”, saying it is the only way out of the political crisis. Sànchez, a regional MP and former leader of the Catalan National Assembly, is facing sedition and rebellion charges over the part he played in demonstrations in the run-up to the unofficial independence referendum last October.

In an interview with the Guardian conducted before Pedro Sánchez replaced Mariano Rajoy as prime minister, the Catalan politician called for a complete overhaul of Madrid’s approach to “the most important political crisis” Spain has experienced since its return to democracy following the death of the dictator Francisco Franco.(theguardian)…[+]

Grenada – The President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. W^m. Warren Smith, is urging regional leaders and development partners to work collaboratively and proactively to address the Region’s vulnerabilities, and to support resilience-building in the energy, agriculture and air transport sectors.

In his opening statement to the Bank’s Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors, the President shared perspectives on resilience, examined regional success stories and lessons learned, and pointed to opportunities for the Caribbean to triumph over recent setbacks—including the impacts of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. “Our Region has had to cope with countless natural disasters and other shocks throughout its history. And we have demonstrated repeatedly our ability to ‘bounce back’ from such disastrous events,” Smith told delegates at the event, which is being held in Grenada.

“However, our responses have been largely reactionary; and the cost of responding has been rising steadily, undermining other efforts to get onto a sustainable development platform,” the President added. In his statement, Smith urged regional leaders to climate-proof their countries’ energy systems and invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency to build economic resilience. In addition, he highlighted opportunities that technological advances and price reductions in renewables present.(CDB)…[+]

The risk of contracting HIV is one in two if you are a black man in the US who has sex with men. This statistic is all the more startling because so few people are aware of it.“I was feeling very sick” says Daryon McCurdy, “so I went to the doctor and they said, ‘Okay, you have gonorrhea and acute HIV.’ I was so shocked.” The 25-year-old was diagnosed with HIV in August 2017, three years after moving to Atlanta, the black gay capital of the US. The city provides a coming-of-age setting for men from across the US. For those from the south, it can be lifesaving.

The deep south is a notoriously tough place to grow up black and gay, as McCurdy knows too well. In his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, he was outed by rumours that started at school and ended with his parents. “My stepdad said ‘If I hear one more thing about you being gay in middle school, I’ll ship you back to your dad’.” Years of bullying at school and at home were to follow.For men who grow up gay in the south, this kind of shame and stigma makes them less likely to seek information about, and protection for, their sex lives. Closeted sex is inherently dangerous, because it happens in places where it is not safe to talk openly to people who may be able to help. What follows can be a lack of knowledge about safe sex or a huge underestimation of the risk of infection.(theguardian)…[+]

A Vogue cover photo of a Saudi princess behind the wheel of a red convertible has ignited a heated debate following a string of arrests of women’s rights activists.

The image of Princess Hayfa bint Abdullah al-Saud in the driver’s seat wearing leather gloves and high heels is on the front cover of Vogue Arabia’s June edition, published as the conservative kingdom prepares to lift a driving ban on women. The issue is dedicated to the “trailblazing women of Saudi Arabia” and lauds the reforms launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to loosen social restrictions in the conservative kingdom and curb the powers of religious hardliners.

“In our country, there are some conservatives who fear change. For many, it’s all they have known,” Princess Hayfa, daughter of the late King Abdullah, was quoted as saying in the magazine. “Personally, I support these changes with great enthusiasm,” added the princess, whose cover photo was shot in the desert outside the western city of Jeddah. But the image was criticised by campaigners protesting at the arrests in May of at least 11 activists, mostly identified by rights groups as veteran women campaigners for the right to drive and to end Saudi’s male guardianship system.

At least four of those activists were released last week, Amnesty International said, but the fate of the others remains unclear. Reports in state-backed media branded some of the detainees traitors and “agents of embassies”. Many on social media posted the Vogue cover with images of the detained activists photoshopped over the princess’s face.(theguardian)…[+]

Italy’s new populist government has been sworn into power after the president, Sergio Mattarella, agreed to a revised slate of ministers – just days after a bitter row over the incoming leaders’ stance on the euro ended their initial bid to assume power.

Giuseppe Conte was sworn in as prime minister on Friday after a last-ditch coalition deal ended months of political deadlock and narrowly avoided snap elections in the eurozone’s third largest economy. Conte, an academic and political novice, will head a government of ministers from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League party. The first populist coalition in a founding EU member has raised concerns in some European quarters. The 53-year-old was sworn in alongside his cabinet, which will see the M5S leader, Luigi Di Maio, and League chief, Matteo Salvini, in key ministerial posts. The deal will bring at least temporary calm to a political crisis that has embroiled Italy for weeks. The tumult raised questions – in Brussels and among investors around the world – about whether the rise in Italian populism and the collapse of traditional parties posed a fundamental threat to the country’s future in the eurozone.(theguardian)…[+]