Sports, cultural organizations recognized for reconciliation efforts in P.E.I.
CBC
23-05-18 20:55
The Charlottetown Islanders, Summerside Western Capitals, King's Playhouse and River Clyde Pageant are among four organizations honoured at the third annual L'nuey Reconciliation Recognition Awards. Recipients were chosen based on a series of criteria that serve to recognize, respect, and include the Mi'kmaq of Prince Edward Island "in such a way that it creates a positive and inclusive Island community with lasting impacts for future generations." The Cowboys were recognized for their efforts to raise awareness about residential school survivors by hosting an Every Child Matters game in 2021. The arts organizations, the Kings Playhouse and the River Clyde Pageant, were recognized for their Indigenous programming.
The Rhode Island Senate is expected to vote on legislation that would allow state funds to be used to pay for health plans that cover state workers and Medicaid recipients seeking abortions. The state is a Democratic stronghold and the bill is expected to be passed; if so, Democratic Governor Daniel McKee has said that he would sign the bill into law.
The British Columbia government is investing CAD 7m ($5.7m) toward the building of a food bank in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The Loaves and Fishes Food Bank will run the warehouse, which is set to be 25,000 sq ft. Through its food recovery initiative, the non-profit organisation distributes food around the island and reduces the amount of grocery waste. The project is designed to increase food security and decrease waste in remote areas. The Loaves and Fishes executive director, Peter Sinclair, said the building was critical to expanding their operations and coordinating more donations.
A 5.1-magnitude earthquake, centred off the south coast of the island of Crete, shook Greece on Thursday, but reports state there were no immediate injuries or damage. The Greek capital Athens' Geodynamic Institute said the tremor struck at a depth of nearly 9 km just before 10 a.m. local time on the island's southern coast. Greece is one of the world's most earthquake-prone nations due to its location atop the Mediterranean's active tectonic plate boundary, and in 1999 a quake in Athens killed at least 143 people. Crete is one of the most quake-prone regions of the country.
Cayla George, a professional basketball player, reveals how she and her sister-in-law, Serina George, came to honour the Torres Strait tradition of “island adoption”. Following George's struggles with infertility and IVF treatments, her sister-in-law told her and her husband that she would like to gift them a child, and in this case a baby girl called Pearl. The transplant is the highest form of respect within the Torres Strait culture, and was recently recognised and legislated with the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa Act 2020, which allows island adoption in Queensland.
P.E.I. School Food Program sees record growth while trying to tackle rising costs
CBC
23-05-18 23:09
An initiative in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), Canada, offering pay-what-you-can lunches for public school children is reporting a 20% increase in demand. The P.E.I. School Food Program has provided more than 520,000 meals in 2018/2019 to date, with some pupils whose parents are unable to afford food provided free meals. The initiative was launched in 2017 and has reportedly seen a decline in the amount paid by some parents in a situation experts link to high levels of food insecurity in P.E.I. In March, it emerged that almost 15% of Canadians live in poverty.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands led to a tsunami warning being issued. The earthquake hit at a depth of 37 kilometres, said the US Geological Survey. Earlier the depth had been reported as 10 kilometres. The Bureau of Meteorology warned that Lord Howe Island would be affected if a tsunami was generated, with dangerous rips and strong ocean currents possible from 4.15pm local time. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said that waves of up to three metres could impact Vanuatu. New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency also assessed the possibility of a tsunami.
China has warned that the US should not introduce geopolitical games to the South Pacific after it was announced Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Papua New Guinea. This comes after President Joe Biden cancelled his own plans to visit Papua New Guinea and take part in a meeting of leaders from the so-called Quad partnership. The US was particularly concerned last year after China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands which allowed for the presence of Chinese naval ships and security forces.
China has warned against the US playing "geopolitical games" in the South Pacific. At a press conference on Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said that while China did not oppose "normal exchanges and cooperation between relevant parties and Pacific Island countries, we also oppose any introduction of any geopolitical games into the Pacific Island country region." The comments came after US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced plans to visit Papua New Guinea next week amid escalating tensions between the US and China over increasing Chinese influence in the Pacific region.
Worker retention, better planning key to meeting P.E.I.'s need for health-care professionals
CBC
23-05-19 09:00
A report commissioned by the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) estimates that the area will need to hire over 2,000 new healthcare workers in the next decade, a number that includes creating new positions to support population growth and replacing those who retire or leave. The report may help recruiters, as it provides data for all positions across the system, but better planning and data collection throughout Canada may be necessary according to Ivy Bourgeault, a professor of sociology who has studied the Canadian healthcare workforce. The rising demand for healthcare workers may lead professionals to consider healthcare as a service, rather than an industry.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake in the South Pacific has prompted tsunami warnings for Vanuatu, Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Kiribati. Warnings of potential tsunami waves of up to 1m (3ft) were issued for Vanuatu, which prompted authorities in New Caledonia to evacuate certain beaches. The first tsunami activity could reach New Zealand’s shores by 5 p.m. local time around North Cape, according to New Zealand’s national emergency management agency. The Bureau of Metrology in Australia warned of possible “dangerous rips, waves, and strong ocean currents” for Lord Howe Island. Meanwhile, no tsunami threat has been expected for Hawaii as a result of the quake, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
China is to allow tour groups from Taiwan to visit, in a move aimed at increasing exchange with the island. The proposal was given a cautious welcome, with tourism associations in Taiwan planning to open up discussions about the possibility of reciprocal measures. The move comes before a crucial Taiwanese presidential election next year, with the Kuomintang party being more China friendly and the Communist Party keen to woo them. The ban on Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan remains in place.
The online warning for the opening show of the summer season at Regent’s Park, Once on this Island, may be off-putting to families, according to a review of the Caribbean-themed production of "The Little Mermaid". Advisories about distressing themes in productions, such as Once on this Island which includes “scenes which some may find upsetting involving racism and racial trauma and sexual abuse”, may discourage spectators according to the review. Lincolnshire's Red Lion Quarter apologised to customers in March after taking the decision to cancel Peter Rabbit's Easter Adventure, which was aimed at families with young children, due to “content and sensitivity issues”.
New nurse deal makes P.E.I. competitive in recruiting, says union
CBC
23-05-19 12:13
Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) nurses have ratified a new agreement that covers a period dating back to March 2021. With the help of incentives and pay increases coming in October, these changes could benefit recruitment and retention in health care. Nurse pay will receive a double-digit increase with night and weekend incentives increasing from $3 to $4 per hour, and a new incentive allows for offering an additional $1.25 an hour in designated units. The full-time work bonus is worth $5,000 per year. The union voted 83.4% in favour of the deal.
A tender for a plot of land in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong that is expected to yield around 450 flats began last week. It is the first government tender process of this financial year. The plot is expected to attract around five bidders, fetching approximately HKD2.3bn ($294m) - conservative estimated bids of HKD2.2bn to HKD2.3bn has been predicted. Some flats will enjoy sea views on Hong Kong Island, making this particularly appealing to end users and investors, said CHFT Advisory and Appraisal's Alex Leung.
With most of Australia's key attractions and cities located around its fringes, cruises (preferably topped and tailed with land-based touring) are a great way to explore numerous Down Under wonders in a single trip, writes John Lee in iNews. Although Brits tend to overlook Australia as a cruise destination, the country with the world's largest island has over 37,000 miles of coastline fronting the Southern, Pacific and Indian Oceans as well as several smaller seas. There are several types of cruises available in the country, from mega-ships with a plethora of facilities, boutique brands with a more refined air, and luxurious riverboats to expedition ships that can sail to remote places. The Kimberley, Western Australia's vast and sparsely populated wilderness region, is one such place and is best explored with Coral Expeditions, which has been cruising the area for four decades. A ten-night Darwin to Broome cruise with the company costs from £3,965 ($5,495) per person and departs between April and September each year.
Amid an ongoing culture war over free speech, gay rights and other progressive issues, record efforts to ban books are fueling fights in Texas, Virginia and across the US. Yet only one previous case of a library book ban has ended up before the Supreme Court, that of Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, largely forgotten outside law school classrooms. The Pico saga began on Long Island in September 1975, when two members of the Island Trees school board searched the library of Island Trees High School, finding nine books they deemed “objectionable”. Months later, the board removed all nine books for being “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and just plain filthy”. Five students, including the student council president, sued the board in January 1977. The US Court of Appeals ruled in favour of the students, in June 1982, but with only two justices fully joining their opinion, the ruling set a weak precedent. Book-banning continues to this day, drawing in victims of the lawfare culture.
Cross-Strait security and reinforcing Taiwan’s position in the global supply chain are key priorities for Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in her final year, as she lays the path for her deputy's ascendancy. Tsai reaffirmed her commitment to dialogue with China and promoting orderly exchanges, warning that "war is not an option". Further challenges include Taiwan's ongoing recession and its position as part of the deteriorating relations between the US and China. Both Vice President Lai Ching-te, of the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party, and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih of the opposition Kuomintang are in the running for the January elections.
Allan and Celine Bacani, owners of Lee's Donuts on Granville Island in Vancouver, have expanded their business by opening a warehouse to produce more doughnuts, reaching more areas of Vancouver and launching Honey Dip, a gallery and events space. The Bacanis acquired Lee’s in 2018, and shortly thereafter renovated the storefront. Classic flavours stayed the same. The shop was featured on the premiere episode of the Netflix series Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner in 2019.
Strategic pacts between the US and Pacific island states Palau and Micronesia are set to be signed next week, part of US efforts to shore up support among such states to counter competition from China. The pacts include Compact of Free Association (COFA), under which the US retains responsibility for defence and provides economic assistance while gaining exclusive access to strategic swathes of the Pacific. Earlier this month, US envoy Joseph Yun said that "topline" agreements would provide the three COFA states with a total of $6.5bn over 20 years.
