Category Archives: Caribbean

People displaced by climate crisis to testify in first-of-its-kind hearing in US

Posted on by

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hear how climate is driving forced migration across the Americas

Communities under imminent threat from rising sea level, floods and other extreme weather will testify in Washington on Thursday, as the region’s foremost human rights body holds a first-of-its-kind hearing on how climate catastrophe is driving forced migration across the Americas.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hear from people on the frontline of the climate emergency in Mexico, Honduras, the Bahamas and Colombia, as part of a special hearing sought by human rights groups in Latin America, the US and the Caribbean.

Continue reading...

St Vincent and the Grenadines court upholds laws criminalizing gay sex

Posted on by

Activists decry ruling by top court as ‘a travesty of justice’ after two men sought to strike down colonial-era laws

A top court in St Vincent and the Grenadines has upheld laws that criminalize gay sex, in a blow to activists who have long decried the violence the LGBTQ+ community has faced on the conservative Caribbean archipelago.

The ruling on Friday by St Vincent’s high court stems from a 2019 case filed by two gay men from St Vincent who live in the UK and US. They sought to strike down colonial-era laws that call for 10 years in prison for anal intercourse and five years for “gross indecency” with another person of the same sex.

Continue reading...

UK to send specialist assistance to Turks and Caicos after surge in fatal shootings

Posted on by

It is the second time in less than two years the Caribbean archipelago is seeing escalating violence, attributed to warring drug gangs

The United Kingdom is sending specialist assistance to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) following a surge in shooting deaths in the Caribbean archipelago.

Four men were found dead from gunshot wounds on the island of Providenciales on 1 and 2 February, and two more were killed during January.

Continue reading...

Actor Christian Oliver’s ex-wife pays tribute to him and children killed in plane crash

Posted on by

Actor and daughters, 12 and 10, died along with pilot on Thursday after small plane they were in crashed into Caribbean Sea

A Los Angeles pilates instructor who recently lost her two daughters and their father – actor Christian Oliver – has paid tribute to her girls and her former husband, saying their deaths are “deeply felt by all who knew” them.

Jessica Klepser’s remarks about Oliver and their daughters – Madita Maia and Annik Luna Klepser, ages 12 and 10, respectively – were contained in a statement published late Friday on Instagram by Wundabar Pilates, the studio where she works.

Continue reading...

US chocolate mogul charged over deaths of Canadian animator and partner in Dominica

Posted on by

Jonathan Lehrer, 57, and alleged accomplice appear in court after bodies of Daniel Langlois and Dominique Marchand were found

An American chocolatier and his alleged accomplice have been charged in the Caribbean island of Dominica with the murder of a Canadian animation innovator and eco-resort owner and his partner days after their bodies were found in a burned-out car.

Jonathan Lehrer, 57, and Robert Snider appeared in magistrates court in Roseau, the capital, on Wednesday to face charges relating to the murders of Daniel Langlois and Dominique Marchand. They did not enter a plea.

Continue reading...

EU must face legacy of colonialism and support reparations, say MEPs

Posted on by

Draft resolution to European parliament committee is first formal attempt to place reparations for slavery on EU agenda

The European Union should urgently address and reverse the lasting impacts of European colonialism and support a reparations programme to rectify continuing injustices, according to a draft resolution to be presented to the European parliament’s development committee.

Noting that the EU has made “no concerted efforts to recognise, address and rectify the lasting effects of European colonialism on social and international inequities”, the draft resolution calls for the creation of a permanent EU forum on restorative justice.

Continue reading...

African and Caribbean nations agree move to seek reparations for slavery

Posted on by

African Union and Caricom members establish global reparations fund and call for formal apologies from European nations

A global movement to seek reparations for slavery has been forged during a summit in Ghana this week, with the African Union partnering with Caribbean countries to form a “united front” to persuade European nations to pay for “historical mass crimes”.

The partnership between the 55-member African Union and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) of 20 countries will aim to intensify pressure on former slave-owning nations to engage with the reparations movement.

Continue reading...

Dominica creates world’s first marine protected area for sperm whales

Posted on by

Nearly 300 sq miles of water on west of Caribbean island to be designated as a reserve for endangered animals

The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica is creating the world’s first marine protected area for one of Earth’s largest animals: the endangered sperm whale.

Nearly 300 sq miles (800 sq km) of royal blue waters on the western side of the island nation that serve as key nursing and feeding grounds will be designated as a reserve, the government announced on Monday.

Continue reading...

Drop in Latin American drinking prompts Diageo to issue profits warning

Posted on by

Shares fall in world’s largest spririts company as consumers seek cheaper brands

The Guinness to Johnnie Walker drinks maker Diageo has issued a profit warning as a result of cash-strapped customers in Latin America and the Caribbean consuming less alcohol and seeking cheaper brands.

Shares in the world’s largest spirits company plunged more than 11% in early trading on Friday, making it the biggest faller in the FTSE 100, as investors worried that the trend in the region might spread to other markets.

Continue reading...

Colombian ex-army officer gets life in prison for killing of Haiti president Jovenel Moïse

Posted on by

Retired army officer Germán Alejandro Rivera García, 45, is second of 11 suspects detained and charged in Miami

A retired Colombian army officer has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse, which caused unprecedented turmoil in the Caribbean nation.

Germán Alejandro Rivera García, 45, is the second of 11 suspects detained and charged in Miami to be sentenced in what US prosecutors have described as a conspiracy hatched in both Haiti and Florida to hire mercenaries to kidnap or kill Moïse, who was slain at his private home near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on 7 July 2021.

Continue reading...

Dominica’s mountain chicken frog disappears in ‘fastest extinction ever recorded’

Posted on by

Ecological calamity on the Caribbean island demonstrates how quickly wildlife can be destroyed, scientists say

They were once so numerous they were cooked as the national dish of Dominica. Every year, thousands of mountain chicken frogs, roasted with garlic and pepper, were eaten by islanders and tourists.

Two decades later, the animal – one of the world’s largest species of frog – has in effect disappeared from the Caribbean island. A series of ecological disasters has reduced its former healthy, stable population of hundreds of thousands of animals to a total of 21 frogs, according to scientists’ most recent survey.

Continue reading...

Dominica may have sold thousands more ‘golden passports’ than it disclosed, analysis suggests

Posted on by

Investigation raises questions about transparency and governance of $1bn citizenship by investment scheme

The Caribbean island of Dominica may have sold thousands more “golden passports” than its government has publicly disclosed, according to analysis that raises questions about the transparency and governance of its $1bn (£822m) citizenship by investment scheme.

An investigation by the Guardian and 14 other international news organisations, in partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, has conducted the first detailed examination of the identities and numbers of individuals who paid for Dominican citizenship.

Continue reading...

Revealed: thousands who bought ‘golden passports’ through Dominica’s $1bn scheme

Posted on by

Former Afghan spymaster, convicted millionaire and former Libyan colonel among those who became Dominican citizens

The Caribbean state of Dominica has sold citizenship to thousands of individuals including a former Afghan spymaster, a Turkish millionaire convicted of fraud and a former Libyan colonel under Muammar Gaddafi, the first detailed examination of the country’s controversial “golden passports” scheme has found.

The findings are from Dominica: Passports of the Caribbean, an investigation by the Guardian and 14 other international news organisations, in partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Continue reading...

Luxury rooms and a swim-up bar: hotel with funding from Dominica’s golden passport scheme

Posted on by

Former Afghan spy chief among those to gain citizenship though investment in Caribbean island

Nestled in a valley formed by an extinct volcano on the Caribbean island of Dominica, the InterContinental Cabrits resort has 101 luxurious rooms overlooking an emerald bay. Its website invites guests to “explore and unwind in paradise while discovering the pristine island”.

But waterfront views and a swim-up rum bar are not the hotel’s only attraction: for the wealthy investors who helped fund the project, it was also a route to another nationality.

Continue reading...

Caribbean nations set to demand royal family makes reparations for slave trade

Posted on by

Lloyd’s of London and Church of England also to be approached over role in past exploitation

Caribbean nations are preparing formal letters demanding that the British royal family apologise and make reparations for slavery.

National reparations commissions in the region will also approach Lloyd’s of London and the Church of England with demands of financial payments and reparative justice for their historic role in the slave trade.

Continue reading...

Large swells batter Caribbean as Hurricane Lee churns waters nearby

Posted on by

Storm not forecast to make landfall but is expected to strengthen again on Sunday and Monday and turn north

Large swells battered the north-east Caribbean on Saturday as Hurricane Lee churned nearby through open waters as a category 3 storm.

The storm, which is not forecast to make landfall, was located about 350 miles (565km) east and north-east of the northern Leeward Islands. It had winds of up to 115mph (185kph) and was moving west and north-west at 12mph (19kph).

Continue reading...

Hurricane Lee prompts weekend beach warnings on US east coast

Posted on by

Dangerous surf and rip currents expected along most of Atlantic coast from Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Lee is making its way through the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through early next week, prompting warnings of dangerous beach conditions on the US east coast over the weekend.

Between Wednesday and Thursday night, Lee evolved from a category 1 tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane. It then dropped down to a category 4 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center announced on Friday morning.

Continue reading...

Unicef sounds alarm as record numbers of children cross dangerous Darién Gap

Posted on by

Children risking lives to migrate across Latin America and Caribbean, with aid groups warning they cannot cope

Record numbers of children are migrating across Latin America and the Caribbean with more than 60,000 children risking life and limb to cross the treacherous Darién Gap jungle pass this year, according to a new Unicef report.

Sounding the alarm over the rising number of youngsters on the move, the UN’s children’s agency said at least 92 migrant children had died or gone missing last year – more than any other year since 2014.

Continue reading...

Tropical storm could become ‘extremely dangerous’ hurricane, US experts warn

Posted on by

Lee, currently in Atlantic, could be upgraded to hurricane later on Wednesday with its track still unclear

A tropical storm in the Atlantic might soon turn into an “extremely dangerous” major hurricane, with its future track and chances of making a potentially devastating landfall still unclear, the National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Lee could turn into a hurricane later on Wednesday and intensify to a category 3 or higher by this weekend. The National Hurricane Center issued advisories in areas near the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Continue reading...

Family of former British PM apologises for enslaver past in Guyana

Posted on by

Descendants of William Gladstone urge British government to discuss reparations in the Caribbean

The descendants of the former British prime minister William Gladstone have apologised for their family’s past as enslavers in Guyana and urged the UK to discuss reparations in the Caribbean.

Gladstone’s father was one of the largest enslavers in the parts of the Caribbean colonised by Britain.

Continue reading...