KINGSTON, Jamaica — Forty-three civil society organisations and individuals across Jamaica have issued a joint statement calling for urgent climate justice measures following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. KINGSTON, Jamaica — Forty-three civil society organisations and individuals across Jamaica have issued a joint statement calling for urgent climate justice measures following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.The Category 5 storm made landfall on Jamaica’s southwest coast last Tuesday, killing 32 people so far and leaving widespread destruction across western Jamaica before affecting parts of Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. With winds exceeding 185 miles per hour and record rainfall, the hurricane has been described as one of the most powerful storms ever to strike the island.In their statement, the groups said the disaster underscores the deep inequities of the global climate crisis.“Hurricane Melissa was not a natural disaster—it was a profound manifestation of climate injustice,” the statement read.“Its unprecedented strength and rapid intensification were a direct consequence of global warming caused by fossil fuel dependence, corporate greed and decades of political inaction. Our communities, those least responsible for this climate crisis, are now paying the highest price.”The signatories, including representatives from the Jamaica Environment Trust, Jamaicans for Justice, the Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council, National Integrity Action, and BirdLife Jamaica urged both the Government of Jamaica and international leaders to take bold action ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, scheduled for November 6–21.They called on the Jamaican government to sign the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, push for stronger commitments to the 1.5°C target, secure loss and damage financing that reaches affected communities swiftly, and prioritise community-led rebuilding efforts.Developed countries were urged to phase out fossil fuel expansion, deliver transparent and equitable climate financing, and “pay their climate debt.”The coalition emphasised that rebuilding efforts must go beyond recovery and toward reimagining a resilient and just future.“As we rebuild, we must not return to broken systems,” the groups said.Among the signatories were environmental advocates such as Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust; human rights campaigners like Mickel Jackson of Jamaicans for Justice; and academics including Dr. Patricia Northover of UWI Mona.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Tuesday called for the Caribbean to remain a zone of peace, warning against the impact of the military build-up by the United States ostensibly to deal with drug traffickers in the region. ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Tuesday called for the Caribbean to remain a zone of peace, warning against the impact of the military build-up by the United States ostensibly to deal with drug traffickers in the region.“We remain resolute in our call for the Caribbean a zone of peace and this is a call we continue to emphasise and reiterate in all forums,” Browne said as he addressed the launch of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference (CHOGM) to be held here November 1-4 next year.“The reality is, if as a result of the military buildup that we are seeing the southern Caribbean results in any form of conflict...the small island states, particularly the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) countries that will suffer disproportionately and that is because we are so vulnerable”.Browne told the ceremony attended by the country's Governor General Sir Rodney Williams and the Commonwealth Secretary General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, that even the fruits consumed in the region are imported from North America.“If there is any curtailment of shipping or airlift between the Caribbean region and the United States, the impact will be disproportional ” he said, reminding the audience of the impact the Russian war on Ukraine has had on the region, with prices increasing by as much as 10 per cent.“That was not even in our hemisphere, so just imagine the impact if there should be any form of military action in this hemisphere. I will say to our Caribbean people that we must all coalesce and stand against any form of military action in this hemisphere. And I must say to our Caribbean people that we must all coalesce and stand against any form of military action...any form of military intervention. We are not getting involved in any geopolitical spat between any group of countries. We are defending our own national interests and it is not in our national interests for any form of military action to take place within this hemisphere because of dipropionate impact that will take place,” he said.Browne said that while Antigua and Barbuda is “small and vulnerable, we should not be afraid to stand on the truth and if there are going to be consequences standing on the truth let it be so. But at the end of the day history will absolve us and will remember us as a nation, a non-aligned nation that continues to call for peace, justice, love among humanity and certainly to call out all of the inequities in the global system”.He said that is the obligation of human beings living on a planet with other people with whom “we are all brothers and sisters...with a common grandmother 250 thousand years ago, notwithstanding the colour of our skin, the texture of our hair.”Browne said this should be the hallmark of humanity reminding that ‘when you discriminate or undermine any nation, any set of people, you are literally undermining all of humanity and when you take military action against any nation, any group of nations, you are literally undermining all of humanity and we should not be afraid to stand for peace and justice”.In recent weeks, the United States military has been bombing vessels in the international waters claiming that the occupants were drug traffickers without offering any evidence of such activity.The United Nations UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk also strongly condemned the airstrikes carried out by the United States against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific.

PARIS, France (AFP)—Asian e-commerce giant Shein Tuesday pledged to "cooperate fully" with French judicial authorities after an uproar over it selling childlike sex dolls, and said it was prepared to disclose the names of people who bought them. PARIS, France (AFP)—Asian e-commerce giant Shein Tuesday pledged to "cooperate fully" with French judicial authorities after an uproar over it selling childlike sex dolls, and said it was prepared to disclose the names of people who bought them.The controversy comes as the ultra-fast fashion giant is set to open its first bricks and mortar store in the world, in the prestigious BHV department store in central Paris on Wednesday."We will cooperate fully with the judicial authorities," Shein's spokesman in France, Quentin Ruffat, told RMC radio, adding the company was prepared to share the names of those who have bought such dolls."We will be completely transparent with the authorities," he said."We will put the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that this does not happen again," Ruffat added.The Paris prosecutor's office said it had opened investigations against Shein, and also rival online retailers AliExpress, Temu and Wish, over the sale of sex dolls.The probes were for distributing "messages that are violent, pornographic or improper, and accessible to minors", the office told AFP.The investigations were launched after France's anti-fraud unit reported on Saturday that Shein, a Singapore-based company which was originally founded in China, was selling childlike sex dolls.French media published a photo of one of the dolls sold on the platform, accompanied by an explicitly sexual caption.The pictured doll measured around 80 centimetres (30 inches) in height and held a teddy bear.Ruffat described what had happened as "serious, unacceptable, intolerable."He chalked up the sale of the dolls to "a malfunction in our processes and governance".- 'Who can stop it?' -On Monday, Shein announced it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them.Shein's meteoric rise has been a bane for traditional retail fashion companies and, even before the uproar over the dolls, the arrival of Shein in the fashion capital had sparked controversy.Critics fear that Shein will further hurt stores in France that have had to lay off staff or close."Shein in France. Who can stop it?" left-leaning French daily Liberation said on its front page.Frederic Merlin, the 34-year-old director of the SGM company that operates BHV, has been criticised for partnering up with Shein, which has been accused of unfair competition, environmental pollution and poor working conditions.Merlin admitted on Tuesday that he considered pulling the plug on the partnership with Shein after the latest uproar."It's despicable," he told broadcaster RTL."I find it sickening to know that we can freely sell this kind of stuff on the internet," Merlin added.But he said he had reconsidered, adding that Shein's stance and readiness to cooperate with the French authorities "convinced me to continue".He said he was confident about the Shein products that will be sold at the department store, and denounced a "general hypocrisy" surrounding Shein and its "25 million French customers".He expressed hope that the Asian giant would help increase footfall at the department store.