World News

The funeral mass for South African anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has taken place at the Anglican cathedral in Cape Town. Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end the racist regime in South Africa, died last Sunday aged 90.

In his eulogy, President Cyril Ramaphosa described Tutu as "the spiritual father of our new nation". Tutu had insisted there should be no "lavish spending" on the funeral. He wanted "the cheapest available coffin".

Jamaican athlete Elaine Thompson Herah was voted the Person of the Year for 2021 at the Best of Jamaica Awards sponsored by the world’s top website and media platform focused on Jamaican and Caribbean news, travel, food, and culture.

The Best of Jamaica is the platform’s biggest event of the year and is all about what its readers and staff vote as the best Jamaica has to offer. The Best of Jamaica 2021 is based on the results of two surveys: The Best of Jamaica Abroad and The Best of Jamaica in Jamaica, both of which ask respondents for what – and who – they think is the best. The surveys seek responses from members of Jamaican Diaspora communities in major cities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

The results were announced on December 10, 2021, on the Jamaicans.com YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook pages on a show hosted by Jamaican media personalities Jody Ann Gray and Eddy Edwards. Jody Ann Gray enjoys a large fan base for her radio shows in Jamaica and Florida, hosted and Eddy Edwards is the executive producer and co-host of Caribbean Riddims, a popular radio program airing on CANEradio.com.

Jamaicans’ choice for 2021 Person of the Year is the sprinter and five-time Olympic champion Elaine Sandra-Lee Thompson Herah. She was born in Banana Ground, Manchester, Jamaica in 1992, but unlike other champion runners, Thompson Herah was not a stand-out athlete in her early years.

Over time, however, with the help of her disciplined and religious family, her own strong work ethic, and some world-class scouting, she overcame her early challenges to become one of the best and most recognized athletes in the world. Thompson Herah credits her grandmother for her start on the journey to becoming a world-class athlete.

One of her chores growing up was to go to the shops and bring back the items her grandmother requested. She would memorize the list of items her grandmother told her to get at the shops and then run back home as fast as she could to watch her favourite cartoons and movies on television. 

She competed for Christiana High School and Manchester High School during her teen years and took fourth place in Class Two 100 meters at the Jamaica ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships in 2009, clocking 12.01 seconds for the distance. After high school, she was recruited by Paul Francis, the brother of MVP Track Club head coach Stephen Francis, to compete for the University of Technology.

Thompson Herah said his tough-love approach was instrumental in getting better performances from her. He pointed out to her that she was not attaining the times she should be and counselled her to be less serious, not to be afraid of people, and to “shake it up.”

Her performance markedly improved under his coaching, and in 2013, she ran a personal best of 11.41 seconds at the Gibson Replay and took second place at the Jamaica Intercollegiate Championships. She then ran the first leg of the 4x100-meter relay for Jamaica at the Central American and Caribbean Championships, making a major contribution to Jamaica’s win of the gold medal with a time of 43.58 seconds.

She won her first intercollegiate title in 2014 with a fifth-place finish at the national championships, clocking 11.26 seconds. Her breakthrough moment came in 2015 at the Utech Classic when she ran the 100 meters in under 11 seconds for the first time, as well as achieving a personal best of 21.66 seconds in the 200-meter event.

With a personal best time in the 100 meters of 10.84 seconds, Thompson Herah was ranked 30th in the world.Injuries kept her from repeating her phenomenal performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she won gold medals in the 100 meters and the 200 meters, but she became more dedicated to her goal than ever.

She ran seven 100-meter races in 2020 and turned in times of less than 11 seconds in five of them. She won two Diamond League competitions that year and had a season’s best time in the 200 meters of 22. 19 seconds.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Thompson-Herah took gold in the women’s 100-meter final, equalling the second-fastest time in history and setting a Jamaican national record and an Olympic record with a time of 10.62 seconds. Running the 200 meters, she equalled her personal best time of 21.66 seconds in the semi-finals and won gold in the final, achieving a personal best of 21.53 seconds.

At the Prefontaine Classic in August 2021, Thompson Herah was the winner in the 100-meter event with a new personal best of 10.54 seconds, which was the second-fastest time in women’s sprint history. Thompson-Herah holds a bachelor’s degree in foodservice management and culinary arts, and she often prepares dishes that reflect her Caribbean heritage.

These include yellow yam, which fellow Olympic champion Usain Bolt has cited as a key reason for the superior sprint performance of Jamaica’s athletes. Thompson-Herah is also interested in fashion and favours glamorous, elegant clothes when she is not on the track.

Thompson-Herah is married to Derron Herah, a former athlete and coach.

Born Juliet Bodley, the Jamaican actor, comedian, and social media personality better known as “Julie Mango” was voted the Jamaican Social Media Person of the Year for 2021 at the Best of Jamaica Awards sponsored by the world’s top website and media platform focused on Jamaican and Caribbean news, travel, food, and culture.

Scots have been urged not to travel to England for new year celebrations to get around the more stringent Covid-19 restrictions north of the border.

There is no travel ban currently in place to stop people going to England, where nightclubs are still open. But Deputy First Minister John Swinney said that doing so would go against the spirit of Scottish Covid-19 measures.

India's government has refused to renew the foreign-funding licence for a charity founded by Mother Teresa.

The Missionaries of Charity has thousands of nuns supervising projects like homes for abandoned children, schools, clinics and hospices.

BritJam UK, and Khori Hyde, it's founder, has been presented a citation by Seth George Ramocan CD, Jamaica High Commissioner to the UK at the Jamaica High Commission in London, UK.

BritJam is the number 1 international Spring Music event in the Caribbean. It infuses British/American culture with the Jamaican culture and turns it into a week of unbelievable fun where thousands of participants from the United Kingdom, Europe, USA and the Caribbean come together in famous tourist locations in Jamaica.

Starting in 2010, their first festival attracted 200 attendees from the UK, 85 from the USA and 35 from three Caribbean islands (Nassau, Cayman and Antigua) and had a combined total of 15,890 local and international patrons attended the festival over the week.

Over the years the numbers continue to grow by the hundreds and to date, we have experienced approximately 750% growth which translates in over $200,000USD in the local market place and $1,000,000USD total value creation per staging since 2015

The citation from the High Commissioner reads as follows:

“Presented to BritJam UK on the occasion of its 10^th anniversary of establishment.

I commend Mr. Khori Hyde, Founder, the Executive, members and friends of BritJam UK for their dedication over the years creating opportunities to promote tourism as well as strengthen cultural connections and empower young people of Jamaican heritage within the United Kingdom, to stay connected to their roots and culture. The organization has also played a key role in building and maintaining strong links between Jamaica and the second, third and fourth generations across the United Kingdom.

Congratulations and God’s richest blessings in the years ahead!”

As BritJam continues to push the brand as an authentic connector and cultural enabler, it is only fitting that the UK will see a homecoming event dubbed 'BritJam Live'. This will be held on 2 January 2022 at world famous Troxy in London.

With the continued support of launch event partner, Victoria Mutual Group (UK), they are then focusing on celebrating Jamaica 60 in the motherland of Africa - 1 week, 3 cities.

Ghana has been selected as its first destination on the continent and the brand BRITJAM is celebrating its 10th Anniversary experiencing significant growth year on year from 15-22 August 2022.

As the festival continues to attract millennials, with readily available disposable income, they treasure our festival as a best kept secret and return with others of similar interests each year.

The president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Nicola Madden-Greig, in a letter to the head of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and copied to the region’s Heads of Government and health and tourism leaders, called for the continued adherence to health safety protocols and stepped up vaccinations, but cautioned that rushing to close Caribbean borders and impose difficult and costly travel barriers could delay the recovery and have severe consequences for the region's economies.

XPO Logistics, Inc., a leading provider of freight transportation services, has expanded its support of military veterans with the donation of trucking services in seven states. The company will deliver a total of 1,666 wreaths to veterans’ cemeteries this week in preparation for National Wreaths Across America Day on December 18, 2021.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club continues to honour the loyalty of its valued members by extending their tier status. This initiative will benefit all Silver, Gold and Platinum members whose tier status is due for renewal between December 2021 and December 2022. The tier validity of these members would be automatically extended to 31 December 2022.

Warm blessings of this Season of Joy to all of you from U.S. Virgin Islands Tourism!

We have much to be thankful for after such a challenging year. As the pandemic continues to evolve, we resolve to maintain our commitment to protecting lives and livelihoods, and we remember and give thanks for lost ones as well as our frontline health care workers.

One of South African's best-known figures at home and abroad, the contemporary of Nelson Mandela was one of the driving forces behind the anti-apartheid movement in his country.

He was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984 for his role in the struggle to abolish the abhorrent system enforced by the White minority government against the Black majority from 1948 until 1991.

Expo 2020 Dubai visitor numbers have increased significantly to over 7.1 visitors up to December 20. The news comes as organizers continue to maintain robust Covid-19 measures, seeking to ensure a safe event for all attending.

The largest major global event to be held since the start of the pandemic, Covid-19 measures include the expansion of the number of on-site PCR testing facilities to four, and free testing for all country pavilion staff.

The world's biggest commercial airplane manufacturers are telling the Biden Administration to delay the rollout of 5G cell service next month.

Boeing (BA) CEO David Calhoun and Airbus Americas CEO Jeffery Knittel sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to say the January 5 rollout could cause interference that could "adversely affect the ability of aircraft to safely operate."

Australia's government will pay A$2m (£1.1m; $1.4m) in compensation to hundreds of Aboriginal people who said a welfare scheme was racist.

The "work for the dole" scheme required people in remote outback communities to work up to 25 hours a week to receive income benefits.

Jurassic World fans can get ready for a new adventure with the first-ever Jurassic World virtual run experience in the Asia Pacific region!

The Jurassic World RUN! is an immersive experience for participants of all ages featuring dinosaurs from the ground-breaking film franchise Jurassic World. Following the initial launch, CNeX and LIV3LY are excited to announce 5 new countries in Asia Pacific – Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Fresh from its success in being longlisted for the UK's City of Culture 2025, Derby is set to roll out a host of new visitor experiences in 2022.

After winning praise for is innovative transformation of its traditional Market Place into a summer al fresco meeting-and-eating venue and an autumn outdoor, and indoor, events space, Derby's city centre regeneration will pick up pace in the New Year.