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ALI PROMISES STRONG LAWS FOR OIL SECTOR
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President Irfaan Ali has signalled his intention to punish his Finance Minister and the Finance Secretary if all oil and gasrelated transactions are not published.
Addressing the National Assembly today, Ali has noted that he intends to introduce legislation during this session of the national assembly, making the finance minister and the Finance Secretary responsible for publishing details of all revenue and expenditure in the official gazette allowing people to track all transactions. Fail to do so, will be punished severely under the law,” the President told the House
The President explained that the new legislation that will be enacted, would ensure that the Guyanese people keep track, of how the oil and gas sector is being run by the Government.
President Ali pointed to
aimed at promoting the transparency of all revenue and expenses relates to oil and gas sector.
“My Government intends to account from the nations for every earned from the industry and for every cent that is spent. To accomplish this legislation will be made the transformation that the sector is expected to bring to the country as he said its revenue must benefit Guyanese.
“The right to make decisions in our national interest, while the prospect for the oil and gas wealth is now real. It could dissipate if we fail to take the necessary steps to ensure that Guyana’s interest and its rightful income is safeguarded.” Ali said
The Head of State promised a robust laws that would guide investment, guide Guyana’s negotiations with oil companies and a Local Content Policy.
Opposition MPS protest President Ali’s presence at Parliament
The APNU-AFC Opposition today protested President Irfaan Ali’s presence in the National Assembly. The Parliamentary opposition MPs have labelled the President’s presence as disrespect to the House
The APNU-AFC MPs were not present in the House for the President’s address. The lone opposition MP was Deputy Speaker Lennox Shuman.
Chanting “fraud is a fraud”, the opposition MPs stood at the entrance of Arthur Chung Conference Center where the National Assembly is being held.
Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon described the action as peaceful, “we are here today to basically protest the statements which would be made by President Ali in the Parliament,” Harmon said “In fact, you recall that we spent 133 days during last year recounting ballots that were cast at the second of march election and this place is the place where the fraud which was discovered that benefited the PPP that is on the basis in which PPP Regine now exercises governance” Mr. Harmon said.
Harmon blasted the government for failing to consult with the parliamentary opposition as well as his constitutional office as he said his members represent more than half of the voting population. “We have a situation in which that regime has failed to recognize and fail to recognize the representative, the legitimate representative of over 217,000 persons whom we represent in that house and so that disrespect in which he has shown to us,” Harmon pointed out, “If you disrespect me outside my house, You cannot come into my house and disrespect me,” he said.
Even as the protest continued on the arrival of the Head of State, Opposition MP. Sherod Duncan claimed that he was assaulted by the ranks of the Guyana Police Force with clear directions from authorities.
The confrontation occurred when opposition members were told that they cannot get close to the ACCC with their placards.
A move, the opposition labelled this hypocritical as they argued that the then opposition PPP was allowed to protest President David Granger in a similar way.
Pharmacist takes first jab with COVID-19 vaccine
In the interest of Guyana reaching herd immunity, the Ministry of Health administered the first dosage of vaccine On Thursday, one day after a donation of 1500 dosages of COVID-19 Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine from Barbados.
Frontline healthcare worker Brinnet Bernarai a pharmacist attached to the Georgetown Hospital Public Hospital was the first to receive the jab.
Bernarai in relating her experience said that she was nervous but then felt relaxed later in the process.
With the first dose being administered, several other health care workers are expected to get the vaccine.
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said that his ministry will be rolling out an awareness campaign aimed at sensitizing the public on the safety of the vaccine.
“We will really need a lot of public education awareness to ensure that people understand how vaccines work, how they can protect you,” Dr. Anthony said, “and also dispel the negativity that surrounds vaccines. They are persons that are totally against the vaccine, and you know, that isn’t gonna be helpful in this fight against the pandemic” Anthony explained.
As the vaccination campaign rolls out, the Government of Guyana will be focusing on immunizing some 80% of the population.
By which, the Ministry has noted that some 22,000 healthcare workers in the Public sector and private sector will first be vaccinated since health care is the first to come into contact with the virus.
As the process continues older persons among others will be vaccinated.
“We are starting today, but by the end of the month and going into march our hope is that every single health worker will be able to get vaccinated,” Dr. Anthony said, “so by then, we would have enough dosage of vaccines to be able to provide for every health care worker. We have worked out a deployment plan for how we are gonna roll out vaccine and the first set of people the health care workers after that we will go to persons who are older cause against the base on the risk profile, we have seen older persons will get the more severe form of the diseases,” the Minister said
The Health Ministry intends to use the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and other vaccines as they become available.
Magistrate to do PI to ascertain whether there is evidence against Roxanne Meyers
Magistrate Leron Daly had ruled that the matters Involving Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Roxanne Myers would remain indictable.
As such, two charges against Myers for misconduct in office will go through and preliminary inquiry, leaving it up to the Magistrate to determine whether or not the evidence provided is sufficient enough to commit her to a trial in the high court.
Myers’s lawyer Nigel Hughes had made the submissions asking that the matters remained indictable.
Special Prosecutor, Ganesh Hira told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will be appealing the ruling of the Magistrate and will provide it to the Court on March 9, 2021.
Myers, who is currently on $300,000 bail on two charges of misconduct in the office during the March 2020 Elections.
Police back then would have launched an investigation into allegations of fraud at the GECOM and Meyers was wanted for questioning.
Myers, Chief Elections Officer (CEO), Keith Lowenfield, and Returning Officer of Region Four, Clairmont Mingo are facing criminal charges in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court relating to alleged electoral fraud.
21 year old housewife found murdered
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 21-year-old woman. The woman was found face down in her yard in an unregulated housing settlement in La Retraite.
The dead woman was identified as Yashoda Andrews, called “Debbie”
Based on reports, people from the area recalled seeing the woman lying motionless in her yard.
As such, police arrived on the scene and later confirmed those reports.
On arrival of the body was checked for marks of violence but none were seen.
However, a black telephone wire was seen next to the body, a wire of which neighbors in the area, who came to her aid, removed.
The body was later escorted to the West Demerara Hospital where it was pronounced by a doctor on duty.
An investigation is said to have been launched into the matter.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname — The Nederlands Daily, Dagblad, reports that the Dutch parliament on January 9 is urging Dutch King Willem Alexander to make a state visit to Suriname now that “diplomatic ties between the two countries have been strengthened after the departure of Desi Bouterse, who was president for ten years.” “A state visit would be good to give the relationship a further boost” a majority of the House of Representatives have urged the cabinet. And according to the motion, “the King’s visit should take place in the context of the celebration of 46 years of Suriname’s independence. That will be celebrated in Suriname on November 25.”
Last state visit was in 1978, three years after Suriname became an independent country. “The last state visit of the Royal Family to the former colony of Suriname was in 1978, then Juliana was still queen.”
President of Suriname, Chandrika Prasad Santokhi announced his first presidential visit to the Netherlands on January 13. Since 2006, there has been no presidential visit from Suriname to Holland.
Sankokhi campaigned for closer ties with the Hague, and it will be his second overseas visit since taking office, Guyana being his first. The Netherlands foreign minister Stephen Blok visited Suriname in November 2020.
“Relations between both countries have intensified since the government of Santokhi / Brunswijk has taken office. The two foreign ministers have now started a journey of renewed cooperation,” Santokhi said. “Various discussions have led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between both countries at ambassador level. The technical cooperation has now been reactivated and has resulted in the Hoog Civil Service Conference in November 2020,” he also said in January 2020.
Santokhi added: “Various sectors have been identified for concrete cooperation, as well as the use of the remaining treaty resources. Support for discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also been confirmed.”
Under the previous government of Suriname, the economy was despondent, but conveniently, the Netherlands and the United States were blamed. However, it is remittances, travel and tourism from Holland and the United States that kept the economy afloat.
Reportedly, Santokhi would like Holland and the diaspora to invest in Suriname.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Exportoriented businesses in Barbados, Dominica, and St Kitts and Nevis will be offered globally standardised testing at domestic laboratories as early as next year says Daniel Best, Director Projects Department at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
The bank has partnered with the European Union (EU) and the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) to upgrade labs, train staff, and, in the case of St Kitts and Nevis, develop a national quality policy; to ensure businesses can deliver globally recognised goods and services required for the trade.
According to Best, the Strengthening of the Regional Quality Infrastructure Programme in Barbados, Dominica, and St Kitts and Nevis Project, which is supporting these upgrades “will add value to local and regional enterprises and focuses on several important subsectors in each economy namely, agro-processing, transportation and construction.”
This, he indicated is being provided at an opportune time given the economic hurdles being faced by the region.
The intervention is being funded by the CARIFORUMEuropean Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Standby Facility for Capacity Building financed by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) and managed by CDB. It is part of the Bank’s wider thrust to stimulate private sectorled growth focused on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) development.
Director-General of CARIFORUM at the CARICOM Secretariat, Percival Marie set the context for the project, stating that while there have been improvements in the region’s trade with Europe by businesses leveraging export opportunities, there were gaps in both private and public sectors which required attention. The region in response has committed significant funding to strengthen the relevant institutions.
According to Marie,
“one of the major components of this CARIFORUM regional capacity building programme is a programme of support to CARIFORUM Member States in seizing market access opportunities through advancing the use of internationally recognised regional quality infrastructure”.
Increasing the capabilities of the regional enterprise is the intent of several interventions supported by the EU in the region. Luis Maia, head of
4
cooperation at the EU delegation in Barbados stated: “As COVID-19 forces unprecedented changes to the way we work, live, and learn; the Standby Facility creates a critical avenue to address inequalities and constraints threatening growth in trade while providing much-needed aid to effectively implement CSME and EPA related activities at the national level”.
Deryck Omar, chief executive officer at CROSQ, which is implementing the US$ 874,932 project, supported this view.
“Through projects and resources, such as the European Union’s Standby Facility, we can make steps to bring our businesses and, by extension, our economies ever closer to being more competitive and sustainable.”
US$ 587,325 was allocated from the Standby Facility while CDB provided US$118,840 from its Special Development Fund (SDF).
Exporters from various productive sectors in the region face several barriers when entering new markets, including issues related to quality and adherence to globally accepted standards. This project will assist local firms in accessing resident metrology services increasing export readiness. These arrangements will serve to strengthen manufacturing, reduce production costs and increase the competitiveness of local commodities.
The Standby Facility is a €8.75 million resource managed by CDB, which offers opportunities to 15 Caribbean economies to grow trade; deepen integration and economic involvement; and impact competitiveness, market access, and exports by implementing targeted projects in thematic areas.
Haiti – a country to which all other countries that suffered slavery are deeply indebted – is once again in turmoil.
By Sir Ronald Sanders
Therefore, no Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country should stand aside, silently, while Haiti is sliding into further catastrophe, retarding its already impoverished economy and depriving the Haitian people of hope for an improved future.
Of course, no country should interfere in the internal affairs of any other state. CARICOM has never done that. In the times, when the organization has played a role in resolving political, electoral, and constitutional issues in a CARICOM memberstate, it has done so at the invitation of the government and other political parties. This occurred most recently in Guyana, where CARICOM played a pivotal role in upholding democracy and ensuring the credible result of elections.
Non-interference in the internal affairs of a state should not be construed as approval. And, when conditions reach the point of loss of lives, the least that friendly states should do is to offer to help to bring about peace and to assist in resolving the issues that are causing violence and destruction. While the Haitian government might not agree, the present circumstances of the country are crying out for remedial action.
Hence, CARICOM was right, on February 11, to issue a public statement “encouraging all parties to engage in meaningful dialogue in the interest of peace and stability” and “strongly urging that action be taken to foster a safe environment, a return to normal life and the building of sustainable democratic institutions”.
Since October 2019, when president Jovenel Moïse postponed parliamentary and local elections, there has been no legislature in Haiti. The president has ruled the country by decree, contrary to its Constitution. Even at the municipal level, when the terms of elected Mayors end, Moïse has appointed persons of his own choosing.
Further, in the absence of a legislature which, under the Constitution, is required to approve appointments to independent institutions and law enforcement agencies, including the police, president Moïse has unilaterally installed favoured persons. For over a year, these circumstances have infuriated opposition parties as would be expected, but they also caused alarm among human rights groups within the country and internationally.
More recent events in Haiti, however, have attracted strong criticism of Moïse. The most compelling condemnation has come from seven members of the House of Representatives of the United States of America (US). In early February, they wrote to the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, demanding the departure of Moïse “in accordance with the Haitian Constitution”.
For several months, the contention has been made by political and civil rights groups in Haiti, that in conformity with the Constitution, the president’s term ended on February 7 – five years after the last elections in November 2016. He has contended that, notwithstanding the position stated in the Constitution about the life of the president’s term, he is entitled to remain in office for another year, since he did not assume office until February 2017.
In a situation in which a president’s stewardship has brought peace, economic development and social progress, the Haitian society may have gone along with Moïse’s view. Unfortunately, the situation on the ground in Haiti has been very different. Moïse was not a popularly elected president. The 2016 elections had a low turnout of voters. His actions, since then, especially his ruling by decree, weakened his approval still further.
In this atmosphere, the country slipped into lawlessness – some of it allegedly engendered by Moïse’s ruling party. Kidnappings and killings haunted rich and poor alike, and marauding gangs ruled districts driving fear into communities. Massacres occurred in neighbourhoods where opposition to Moïse is strong.
All this led to street protests which the government met with an iron fist. In recent weeks, police have fired live ammunition into crowds, killing and wounded people including two journalists, one of whom is in a critical condition.
During this, on February 7, Moïse alleged that there was a plot to overthrow him. Police arrested and detained 23 persons, including a former presidential candidate, a high-ranking police inspector and a judge on the country’s highest court. Additionally, Mosie, arbitrarily sent three judges of the Court of Justice on retirement. One of these judges was named jointly by the opposition parties as the “interim president” of Haiti – much as happened with Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó. The US Embassy in Haiti issued a statement questioning the merits of the action to unseat the judges.
Several nonCARICOM countries, looking for a solution to the current problem, are doing what they usually do – focussing on presidential elections to end the conflict.
The problem is that there is no credible election machinery in Haiti, including no upto-date and verifiable electoral list. What is more, Moïse appointed a Committee of his associates to make recommendations on institutional and political reform, including of the provisional electoral council (CEP) which administers elections.
The much greater problem is that he plans to hold a referendum on April 25 on a draft constitution that his Committee has drafted. Amongst other things, the draft Constitution, will set the stage for presidential and other elections. The process has no credibility and no support from opposition political parties and civil rights groups and, therefore, will continue to rouse protests and crowd demonstrations.
Haiti, including president Moïse, and all the other actors – political and civil – need the help of honest brokers and mediators to help create agreed conditions to remedy the institutional issues, including the election machinery. Without it, the situation in Haiti will worsen.
No country or organisation can impose itself to assist Haiti. The Haitian players must invite such help. Until they do so, all organisations, including CARICOM and the Organisation of American States should express their concerns and stand ready to be helpful to the people of Haiti who deserve the chance for a better life.
Atlanta (CNN Business)In an apparent tit for tat move, BBC World News has been banned from airing in China, according to a statement from China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) on Thursday.
The announcement comes one week after Ofcom, the British media regulator, said it had withdrawn a license for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, to broadcast in the UK.
In the statement, China’s NRTA claimed that BBC World News had broadcast reports on China that “infringed the principles of truthfulness and impartiality in journalism.”
On February 4, China’s Foreign Ministry lodged a stern representation with the BBC criticizing the broadcaster for its coverage of China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, dismissing their reports as “fake news.”
‘We are disappointed that the Chinese authorities have decided to take this course of action. The BBC is the world’s most trusted international news broadcaster and reports on stories from around the world fairly, impartially and without fear or favour,” a BBC spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Business.
Beijing has also repeatedly expressed its frustration with BBC reporting on China’s “re-education” camps for Uyghurs. The BBC alleges that women have been systematically raped, sexually abused, and tortured at the camps. China accuses the BBC of having been on “a spree to spread explicit falsehoods about China’s policy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.”
The BBC defended its journalism in a statement at the time, saying they stand by their accurate and fair reporting of events in China.
It is unclear how much impact China’s ban of BBC World News would have in the country. The BBC have never been allowed to broadcast in mainland China or into Chinese homes. BBC World News was only ever been available in international hotels.
“China’s decision to ban BBC World News in mainland China is an unacceptable curtailing of media freedom,” Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. “China has some of the most severe restrictions on media and internet freedoms across the globe and this latest step will only damage China’s reputation in the eyes of the world.”
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Exportoriented businesses in Barbados, Dominica, and St Kitts and Nevis will be offered globally standardised testing at domestic laboratories as early as next year says Daniel Best, Director Projects Department at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
The bank has partnered with the European Union (EU) and the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) to upgrade labs, train staff, and, in the case of St Kitts and Nevis, develop a national quality policy; to ensure businesses can deliver globally recognised goods and services required for the trade.
According to Best, the Strengthening of the Regional Quality Infrastructure Programme in Barbados, Dominica, and St Kitts and Nevis Project, which is supporting these upgrades “will add value to local and regional enterprises and focuses on several important subsectors in each economy namely, agro-processing, transportation and construction.”
This, he indicated is being provided at an opportune time given the economic hurdles being faced by the region.
The intervention is being funded by the CARIFORUMEuropean Union Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Standby Facility for Capacity Building financed by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) and managed by CDB. It is part of the Bank’s wider thrust to stimulate private sectorled growth focused on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) development.
Director-General of CARIFORUM at the CARICOM Secretariat, Percival Marie set the context for the project, stating that while there have been improvements in the region’s trade with Europe by businesses leveraging export opportunities, there were gaps in both private and public sectors which required attention. The region in response has committed significant funding to strengthen the relevant institutions.
According to Marie,
“one of the major components of this CARIFORUM regional capacity building programme is a programme of support to CARIFORUM Member States in seizing market access opportunities through advancing the use of internationally recognised regional quality infrastructure”.
Increasing the capabilities of the regional enterprise is the intent of several interventions supported by the EU in the region. Luis Maia, head of
6
cooperation at the EU delegation in Barbados stated: “As COVID-19 forces unprecedented changes to the way we work, live, and learn; the Standby Facility creates a critical avenue to address inequalities and constraints threatening growth in trade while providing much-needed aid to effectively implement CSME and EPA related activities at the national level”.
Deryck Omar, chief executive officer at CROSQ, which is implementing the US$ 874,932 project, supported this view.
“Through projects and resources, such as the European Union’s Standby Facility, we can make steps to bring our businesses and, by extension, our economies ever closer to being more competitive and sustainable.”
US$ 587,325 was allocated from the Standby Facility while CDB provided US$118,840 from its Special Development Fund (SDF).
Exporters from various productive sectors in the region face several barriers when entering new markets, including issues related to quality and adherence to globally accepted standards. This project will assist local firms in accessing resident metrology services increasing export readiness. These arrangements will serve to strengthen manufacturing, reduce production costs and increase the competitiveness of local commodities.
The Standby Facility is a €8.75 million resource managed by CDB, which offers opportunities to 15 Caribbean economies to grow trade; deepen integration and economic involvement; and impact competitiveness, market access, and exports by implementing targeted projects in thematic areas.
Guyana Post Friday February 12, 2021
US President Joe Biden Minnesota health clinic has rescinded the national killer was charged emergency order used to fund Donald Trump’s border wall. Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes said during a morning press conference. “She went to work and she didn’t come home due to the senseless gun violence inflicted by Gregory Ulrich.” Ulrich is also accused of detonating two bombs in the building, one near the entrance and a second in the interior of Gregory Paul Ulrich the clinic. Investigators found a third, The suspect in the handgun, and began undetonated explosive Tuesday shooting at a threatening the staff. He near his briefcase that Minnesota health clinic then allegedly entered consisted of black that killed one person the reception area and powder in a small and wounded four shot two victims, before cylinder, the complaint others was charged with moving to the interior of said. murder on Thursday. In the clinic and shooting At 10:58 a.m., Ulrich
Loujain al-Hathloul a criminal complaint that three more. called 911 and told police
In a letter to Congress resources appropriated announcement. “Now detailed the gruesome The first four shooting that he would surrender, on Thursday, Mr Biden or redirected” to the we must cancel the attack, authorities said victims survived. But the the complaint said. wrote that the order was construction of the wall. contracts and ensure Gregory Ulrich, 67, also final victim, who was Police said they found “unwarranted” and said Building a border that not another foot detonated two explosive hit by a bullet that tore him laying facedown in that no further tax dollars wall was a signature of the border wall is devices. through her liver and the entryway with his will be spent on the wall. pledge of Mr Trump’s constructed.” Ulrich was charged spine, later died of her arms out. When he was
Mr Trump declared a 2016 presidential Former Trump with second-degree injuries, the complaint searched by police, he state of emergency over campaign. campaign advisor Jason murder, four counts of said. The victim was was allegedly carrying the southern border in But the project faced Miller also took to attempted murder, and later identified by Allina two loaded magazines, 2019, which allowed strong opposition in the Twitter to comment on one count each of felony Health as Lindsay ammunition, and two him to bypass Congress Democratic-controlled the decision, writing use of an explosive Overbay, a 37-year-old marijuana cigarettes, and use military funds House, and the “Biden loves illegal device and carrying a medical assistant who and a preliminary for its construction. Republican president immigration”. pistol without a permit. had worked for Allina search of his phone
When Mr Trump announced he would But some parts of the According to the Health since November allegedly revealed left office, about $25bn use emergency powers Trump administration’s criminal complaint, of 2018. a “rambling video (£18bn) had been spent to fund its construction. immigration policy will Ulrich entered the clinic “The victim was message that alluded on the project. An emergency be left in place. just before 11 a.m., pulled a mother, a wife, a to an incident at the
Judge: US can’t expel declaration allows At a press conference out a semi-automatic daughter, a sister,” clinic.” migrant children over US presidents to on Wednesday, White Covid-19 circumvent the usual House Press Secretary
How much of Trump’s political process and to Jen Psaki appeared wall has been built? access military funding. to confirm the new
Who decided to Various types of administration would separate immigrant fencing totalling 654 keep a Trump-era policy families in the US? miles (just over 1,000 that allowed border
The announcement km) were already in officials to summarily from President Biden place before Mr Trump expel undocumented is the latest in a series became president in immigrants amid the of executive orders 2017. coronavirus pandemic. that have rolled back During his time in “Due to the pandemic key parts of the former office, 80 miles of new and the fact that we president’s agenda. barriers were built have not had the time,
Last week, Mr Biden where there were none as an administration, to signed orders seeking to before, and almost 400 put in place a humane, reunite migrant families miles replaced existing comprehensive split up by Trump-era parts of the structure. process for processing policies, and ordered a “Trump’s national individuals who are probe of his predecessor’s emergency was never coming to the border,” immigration agenda. about security,” wrote she said. “Now is not
In a letter on Arizona Democratic the time to come, and Thursday, Mr Biden Congressman Raul the vast majority of wrote that he would also Grivalva on Twitter people will be turned seek a review of “all following Biden’s away”.
International Sports Fernando Alonso has been involved in a road accident while cycling in Switzerland
The two-time world champion is “conscious and well in himself” and now awaiting further medical examinations on Friday morning, his Alpine F1 team said in a statement.
No further details were released, with the team saying that the next update will be on Friday.
Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Alonso was hit by a car while he was cycling on roads near Lugano.
The newspaper says that the Spaniard was hospitalised for checks, with X-rays showing a suspected jaw fracture, and that Alonso was being transferred to Bern for further examination.
F1 pre-season testing starts in Bahrain in four weeks’ time, with the racing season underway at the same venue on March 26-28.
Alonso is returning to F1 this year after two seasons spent racing in other categories, with the 39-year-old back with the team he won his two world titles with in 2005 and 2006.
The former McLaren and Ferrari driver won the World Endurance Championship with Toyota in 2019, while he has also competed in the Indy 500 and Dakar Rally.
Facebook says it is “horrified” at the continued online abuse of footballers and has announced what is says are tougher measures to tackle the issue
The social media platform is changing the rules governing direct messaging on Instagram, a platform it also owns.
It will disable the accounts of those found to have repeatedly sent abusive private messages on Instagram.
UK head of content policy Fadzai Madzingira said it was “saddening” to see continued abuse on the platforms.
Madzingira told BBC Sport: “I’m horrified at the type of abuse that people, especially these footballers, have to deal with on the basis of who they are, whether it’s their race or their religion or their gender, and as a company, we’re disappointed to see that sort of behaviour that plays out offline also playing out on our platform.
“It’s why we’re making the announcements today about taking tougher measures to go after accounts that are violating our community standards and our goals within Instagram direct messages.”
Guyana Post Friday February 12, 2021
Facebook says it is “horrified”......... Con’t from pg8 messages which are Bristol Rovers full-back harder to police because Mark Little - the target of privacy rules.“To date, of a racist message on if someone violated the social media that is being rules in Instagram direct investigated by police messages, we would set a - said he was surprised specific ban or a block for that those in charge of a certain amount of time the platforms were only and extend that period, reacting now. should they continue He said: “I welcome to violate,” Madzingira that they’re making a explained. change but it’s quite “Today we’re confusing for me, as what announcing that we they have announced will now be removing is what I assumed was those accounts, should happening before. they continue to violate “They’ve jumped to within Instagram direct a standard rather than messaging.” getting anywhere near Facebook said it would what I would think would not spell out how many be acceptable for what is A number of Premier League footballers - including Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Axel Tuanzebe, West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers and Chelsea fullback Reece James - have been subjected to abusive online messages in recent weeks. The Football Association has called for action from the government, which has since stated social media companies could face “large fines” potentially amounting to “billions of pounds” if they fail to tackle abuse on their platforms. Asked by BBC sports editor Dan Roan whether Facebook was enabling such abuse, Madzingira said: “No, to imply that it’s about enabling I think would be inaccurate. offences would trigger removal as offenders could use the information to “game the system”. We are a small part in fixing this’ Facebook said it was “doing everything we can going on.” Little, 32, added that “a big corporation like Facebook should be able to set the precedent for what is going on in wider society” and that “the police need more help “I think that platforms to fight hate and racism on from the social media like ours allow our platform” but added platforms”. communities of people to the “problems are bigger He added: “I don’t connect on the things that than us”. think it would be that they love. If we need to Some users have sought difficult to identify the have a conversation about a ban on specific emojis people who are doing hate, it really needs to be commonly used in racist this. not what is just happening messages but Madzingira “Everyone should on the platform.” argued against banning have some form of What will change on symbols that could be identification to use these Instagram? used innocently in other platforms and I think Footballers past and contexts. that would eradicate a present have called for She also said filters very large portion of the users of social media could be used to prevent abuse.” platforms to be required others from leaving ‘More has to be done to provide verification offensive comments to stamp out abuse’ documents when creating on posts, and that work Culture Secretary accounts so that they can was also being done to Oliver Dowden be traced more effectively prevent banned users from welcomed the tougher if they breach rules. opening new accounts. measures but insisted Facebook says Asked whether “racist abuse is still a this measure would Facebook has prioritised fact of life for too many prove challenging in profits over clamping people and more has to communities where such down on abuse, be done across the board documents would not be Madzingira said: “I to stamp it out”. readily available. think that would be an He added: “For too “If we were to insist inaccurate assessment. long, the world’s most on using government ID “Because if people popular and powerful or passport details we didn’t feel safe on the social media companies would be barring access platform they wouldn’t be have failed to tackle to the very people who able to be there. the stream of horrific use our platforms to build “We accept that racist attacks on their communities, so we are being able to deal with platforms. very conscious we allow this issue is everyone’s “We’re introducing a for that access,” added responsibility and we new age of accountability Madzingira. want to play our part. for these companies The company claims The frustration that these through our upcoming it “took action” on 6.5 players have is right - it is Online Safety Bill and million pieces of hate horrifying the abuse they this could see huge fines speech on Instagram are receiving.” for firms which fail to between July and ‘The police need more clearly and transparently September last year, help from social media protect their users.” including within direct platforms’
