GUYANA: Buxton: Anti-government protesters vent concerns, ministers offer promises on same day

Buxton: Ministers offer promises on same day

Posted by: Denis Chabrol in Demerara Waves – Monday, 4 July 2022

Picketers voicing concerns regarding neglect of Buxton and other Afro- Guyanese villages at Buxton Public Road, East Coast Demerara

As an estimated 100 anti-government protesters on Buxton Public Road on Monday vented their frustration with police killings and alleged discrimination against African Guyanese in the delivery of benefits, a high-level government delegation was meeting with hundreds other villagers and promising to resolve concerns.           

CANADA: Ontario’s SUMMERUP 2022 – Reference List of Courses and Webinars

Special Note:
SummerUp is a program designed to serve and support the personal and professional aspirations of Ontario’s Black youth.

The program is developed and presented by the Lifelong Leadership Institute (LLI), and it is primarily funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The quality of the SummerUp experience is assured by the contributions of a diverse group of individuals, educators, institutions, and corporations – all of whom are committed to championing the well-being, development, and advancement of Black youth.

The Lifelong Leadership Institute also offers the Leadership by Design program which provides extensive leadership-development opportunities to Black youth. The SummerUp 2022 program is primarily funded by the Ontario Ministry of
Education.

SUMMERUP 2022 – QUICK REFERENCE LIST OF COURSES WEBINARS (Website Version) – As of June 19 2022

Guyana’s local content law is likely to achieve the opposite of what was intended – Letter by Andre Brandli

Jun 25, 2022  Letters – Kaieteur News

Dear Editor, — Letter by Andre Brandli

National news outlets, including this distinguished newspaper, have been documenting problems that are emerging as a consequence of the Local Content Act, which was passed by Parliament in late December 2021. Companies, such as Ramps Logistics Guyana, the largest logistics company servicing the oil and gas sector has apparently been denied access to the local content register.

Timothy Tucker, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has been quoted saying that “rent-a-citizen” tactics run counter to the local content law. Finally, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has recently voiced that the government is having difficulties with companies trying to circumvent the Local Content Act.       

USA: US influence in the Americas is waning – The Long View by David Jessop

Sunday | June 26, 2022 – Jamaica Gleaner

The recently ended Summit of the Americas will likely be best remembered for the US decision not to invite Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, the chaotic unprepared way in which Washington tried to manage this, and the decision by some hemispheric leaders, most notably Mexico’s president, not to attend.

While this may be unfair in terms of substance, it is a real indication that in the longer term, the United States’ influence in the Americas is waning and that others sense opportunity for influence or division.

Despite this, the Los Angeles summit had multiple positive short to medium-term outcomes and saw a consensus among participants on several shared concerns.           

GUYANA: Energy Crisis: The time has come for CSME to play it s role – Letter by Eusi Kwayana

Dear Editor:

In a discussion on Sunday June 19, 2022, the panelists on Observer Radio in Antigua considered a statement by Prime Minister Gaston Brown of Antigua and Barbuda. That statement suggested that it might be necessary for the Caribbean countries in CARICOM to approach Venezuela for a second chapter of Petro Caribe which was designed to help Caribbean countries at the time of Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian Revolution.

At this point it is good to remember that Trinidad and Tobago during the days of its oil boom had extended credit facilities to some of the Caribbean islands in CARICOM. One of them, Guyana, benefitted from these credits up to its limit of $500M in US dollars, I suppose largely for fuel imports. It was reported that a substantial amount of these debts ($482.5M US dollars) were eventually written off by the Trinidad and Tobago government as Guyana was unable to honour its debt. (See note at end).           

CLIMATE CHANGE: Visualizing the Impact of Rising Sea Levels — by Country

VISUAL CAPITALIST: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/sea-level-rises-2100-by-region/

June 24, 2022 – By  Florent Lavergne and  Carmen Ang

Visualizing the Impact of Rising Sea Levels, by Country

Climate change is already causing sea levels to rise across the globe. In the 20th century alone, it’s estimated that the mean global sea level rose by 11-16 cm.

How much will sea levels change in the coming years, and how will it affect our population?

In the below series of visualizations by Florent Lavergne, we can see how rising sea levels could impact countries in terms of flood risk by the year 2100.

These graphics use data from a 2019 study by Scott Kulp and Benjamin Strauss. Their study used CoastalDEM—a 3D graphics tool used to measure a population’s potential exposure to extreme coastal water levels—and examined rising sea levels under different levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.   

FINANCE: Dollar Dominance: Russia, China Set to Develop New Reserve Currency

Russia and China are brewing up a challenge to dollar dominance by creating a new reserve currency

George Glover – Jun 24, 2022 — BUSINESS INSIDER

Russia and the other ‘BRICS’ countries are working on an alternative reserve currency that would rival the IMF’s SDR. 

Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via Reuters

• Russia and China are developing a new reserve currency with other BRICS countries, President Vladimir Putin said.
• The basket currency would rival a US-dominated IMF alternative and let Russia widen its influence, an analyst said.
• The dollar’s dominance is already eroding as central banks diversify into the Chinese yuan and smaller currencies.

President Vladimir Putin signaled the new reserve currency would be based on a basket of currencies from the group’s members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.         

BARBADOS-IMF: New instrument to help build economic and climate change resilience

sherrylynclarke@nationnews.com. — Barbados

IMF’s, Kristalina Georgieva and Prime Minister Mia Mottley. (GP)

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, on Tuesday June 21 said the establishment of a new instrument, the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, will help countries build economic and climate change resilience.

Speaking at the Grantley Adams International Airport minutes after her team arrived for talks with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and her team, Georgieva said this was something for which the latter had advocated.       

CANADA: The Economist Global Livability Index 2022: Three places in Top10 Countries

CALGARY VANCOUVER and TORONTO IN TOP 10 COUNTRIES

The 2022 global liveability index is out and Toronto has earned its way back into the top ten after sliding in the rankings during the pandemic.

The Economist’s Global Liveability Index 2022 report ranks 172 cities based on criteria including stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education and infrastructure.

Toronto was among three Canadian cities to land in the top ten most liveable places this year, taking the eighth spot on the list from the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist magazine.         

EDUCATION: Latin America and Caribbean students adversely affected by COVID-19

– New World Bank-UNICEF report calls for urgent action to mitigate the learning crisis in wake of COVID-19

Jun 24, 2022- Kaieteur News – PANAMA CITY/WASHINGTON D.C., June 23, 2022 – Four in five sixth graders in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are expected to lack basic reading comprehension proficiency, according to a report issued on Thursday June 23, 2022 by the World Bank and UNICEF, in collaboration with UNESCO.

While the region was already in a learning crisis prior to the pandemic, this represents a substantial increase. This new and staggering estimate also suggests that two years of COVID-19 school closures in the region may have set learning outcomes back by more than a decade. Emerging evidence from across LAC buttresses these estimates.