Category: Central America

Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways dropping service to Cuba

Frontier Airlines and Silver Airways are dropping air service to Cuba , saying other airlines are adding too many flights to the island nation and making the routes unprofitable. U.S. airlines rushed to begin flights to Cuba last year after the Obama administration allowed commercial service for the first time in more than half a century.

It’s not women vs men

“Why does it seem that so many programmes are geared towards women and girls and none towards men and boys in Jamaica when that is where the real problem lies?” said a girlfriend of mine recently. I went on to explain that in fundamental areas, there is still a real and systemic problem for women and girls in Jamaica – like in overall employment, in positions of decision-making as political representatives, as CEOs and board directors – people who set the rules of the game.

Sewage plague threatens Jones Town

If an epidemic broke out it in a poor section of Kingston, it would quickly affect the better-off areas as the poor people go to work in those communities and work as cleaners and domestics. There is real danger that the untreated sewage flowing on to Benbow Street in Jones Town could lead to an outbreak in cholera that might trigger the deaths of Jamaicans.

Asylum case likely to set precedent for Cubans, following end to wet foot, dry foot policy

An elderly Cuban couple is expected to remain in detention while a judge who presided over their asylum hearing Friday makes a final determination on their fate. Aquilino Caraballo and Georgina HernA ndez, 67 and 64, have been held in separate facilities since they were taken into custody on Jan. 13 at Miami International Airport, a day after the former Obama administration announced an end to the immigration policy known as “wet foot, dry foot.”

Trinidad legislator joins call to curtail bank fees, loan rates

Senator Ian Roach, speaking during debate on FATCA-related tax information exchange agreements approved in the Senate on Tuesday night, said the legislation provides an opportunity to focus on the local operations of banks, particularly what they charge for their services. He said any ordinary citizen would consider Trinidad’s financial institutions “to be institutional bandits, financial extortionists and conscienceless, as they unilaterally impose any and all types of bank charges in addition to the already outrageous level of interest rates”.

The Booziest Honeymoon Destinations, Ever

Sample world-renowned rum in a bodega and learn about the slow-aged process that makes it the rum of choice for aficionados. After a visit to the distillery, head to Granada, the oldest colonial continental city in the Americas.

Rene Preval, President Of Haiti For Two Terms, Has Died At 74

Haiti’s two-term President Rene Preval, who presided over the aftermath of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake, has died at the age of 74. Preval was the country’s president from 1996 to 2001 and then for a second term from 2006 to 2011. “He is the only president in Haitian history to have served two full presidential terms and not be jailed, exiled or killed,” the Miami Herald reports .

Belize Government looking at legislation to tackle misuse of social media

BELMOPAN, Belize : The Belize government is moving to clamp down on the misuse of the social media and is establishing a taskforce to look at the issue of cyber laws, Solicitor General, Nigel Hawke has said. “We’ve just discussed that there’s a committee set up that is looking at the issue of cybercrime legislation but it’s at the stage where it’s just a number of multi-sectoral groups which have been discussing the issue with the view of coming up with a final policy position to take to Cabinet for approval,” he said.

Speed cameras not yet launched

In a press release today, the Ministry of Works and Transport sought to correct what it described as inaccurate information being circulated in the public domain, regarding the presence and operation of spot speed, fixed cameras and speed traps at various locations across the country. The release said the ministry is pursuing the required steps toward the eventual passage of legislation that will give effect to Spot Speed Camera Enforcement in Trinidad and Tobago.

Check out our starter motor! Cuban youths make pedal-powered Model T

It may be a rattle-heap but buying and running your first car marks a rite of passage for most teenagers, usually requiring a fill-up from the Bank of Mum and Dad, a friendly mechanic – and don’t mention the insurance. But high school pupils in Cuba, a country where few can contemplate, let alone afford, a car, decided to take banger-nomics to a new level and have built a replica of a Model T Ford – propelled with pedals instead of a petrol engine.

Mass funeral held for 20 Haitians who died in dismal prison

Relatives wailed in grief or stared stoically as flowers were placed on 20 caskets at a mass funeral Tuesday for the latest group of inmates who died miserably in Haiti’s largest prison, most without ever having been convicted of any crime. Marie Lumane Laurore broke into piercing screams as she collapsed in a church pew before the coffin of her son, Eddy.

680 Cubans returned home since end of ‘wet foot, dry foot’

” About 680 Cubans have been returned to the island from various countries since then-President Barack Obama ended a longstanding immigration policy that allowed any Cuban who made it to U.S. soil to stay and become a legal resident, state television reported Friday. Cuba’s government had long sought the repeal of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which it said encouraged Cubans to risk dangerous voyages and drained the country of professionals.

Jovenel Moise sworn in as Haiti’s new president

Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise sits with his wife Martine during his swearing-in ceremony at Parliament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017. Moise was sworn-in as president for the next five years after a bruising two-year election cycle, inheriting a struggling economy and a deeply divided society.

Caricel to continue trading despite legal issues

Telecoms provider Symbiote Investments Ltd, which trades as Caricel, says it will continue offering competitive services as an LTE advanced telecoms provider in Jamaica despite recent court developments. According to Minett Lawrence, company secretary for Symbiote Investments, the company will continue to offer a range of services to consumers on excellent terms and at affordable prices.

CUBA: U.S. Airline Opens First Office In Havana

American Airlines has become the first U.S. carrier to open a service center in Havana, another step toward normalizing travel between Cuba and the United States-and a sign that U.S. businesses hope the new Trump administration will maintain positive relations with the Cuban government of RaAol Castro. The inauguration ceremony, including cutting a red ribbon, took place yesterday at a business center in the upscale, neighborhood of Miramar, Cuba, where other non-U.S. international carriers have long had ticket counters.

Buffalo Grove eye doctor sees value of his work in Nicaragua

Villagers wait outside for the chance to be seen in one of the eight eye clinics set up inside the school in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. Dr. Larry Nierman examines one of the hundreds of patients he saw over the course of the week on a medical mission to Nicaragua with Volunteering Optometric Services to Humanity.

Pervasive charcoal trade getting major rethink in Haiti

Pungent wood smoke wafts daily across the hinterlands of Haiti’s southern peninsula, where villagers stack smoldering wood beneath dirt mounds to make the charcoal that nearly all the urban households in the country use to cook every meal. For decades, authorities and development workers have denounced such rural charcoal makers for stripping the nation’s forests, sending topsoil to sea and helping make Haiti the poorest country in the Americas.

National AIDS Commission hosts workshop on “Creating an enabling…

In an effort to train journalists/media personnel in reporting topics regarding HIV /TB , the National AIDS Commission hosted a two-day training on January 17th and January 18th. Held at The Inspiration Center in Belize City from 8AM to 4PM, the workshop was attended by Martha Carrillo , Lizet Aldana , Keron Cacho , Avil Steadman , Rhonda Gentle , and Chelsea Hall .

Providing a home for the elderly

In a former private home across the street from Marianao Methodist Church, 15 older Cubans find assistance and companionship at a facility run by the Methodist Church in Cuba. “This is not the storage of elders,” Susana Reyes, the home’s manager for the past 13 years, points out.

Ocean by H10 Hotel strengthens Marketing & E-Commerce teams

With the continued growth of its All-Inclusive resorts in Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba, Ocean by H10 Hotels has announced the integration of Sandra Diaz-Marta as Marketing Coordinator, reporting to Elia Cruz, the chain’s Marketing Manager. Ms. Diaz-Marta will support the company’s marketing efforts as it expands its offerings in Riviera Maya, Mexico and Cuba.

Current, former major leaguers die in Dominican crashes

Authorities in the Dominican Republic say that Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura and former major leaguer Andy Marte both have died in separate traffic accidents. Highway patrol spokesman Jacobo Mateo says Ventura died on a highway leading to the town of Juan Adrian, about 40 miles northwest of Santo Domingo.

Austin Peay State University students perform service work in Caribbean over winter break

A group of Austin Peay State University students recently spent a week during winter break in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, volunteering their time during an annual intensive service trip. This year’s group of 18 students traveled with Dr. Matthew Kenney, director of Austin Peay’s President’s Emerging Leaders Program , to the small town of La Romain, where they worked with Habitat for Humanity on a local housing project.

Prayer breakfast working, says committee chairman

Scepticism about the value of the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast has not daunted the man who heads the organising committee. The Rev Dr Stevenson Samuels says that while it was unfortunate that some people do not see the importance or purpose behind the event, and despite the fact that Jamaica is still plagued by crime and violence, there have been some notable achievements over the years.

Valley man testifies brother – sliced open’ the body of an

U.S. Border Patrol Agent Joel Luna’s, back left, attorney Carlos A. Garcia gives his opening statement in Luna’s capital murder trial in Brownsville, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. Luna, 30, was charged along with his two brothers, Eduardo Luna Rodriguez, 24, and Fernando Luna Rodriguez, 35, in the murder in the death of Honduran immigrant Jose Francisco Rodriguez Palacios Paz, 33. The Honduran was found decapitated off South Padre Island in March of 2015.

US Lifts Gun Ban

THE United States has resumed the authorisation process for firearm export licences to Jamaica, lifting an almost two-month ban that was imposed in November last year. The US Embassy in Kingston said in a news release yesterday that the State Department has resumed the authorisation process, considering each case on its merits.

Cuba sees explosion in internet access as ties with US grow

The 55-year-old theater producer connected the device to his phone and his laptop computer, which instantly lit up with a service unimaginable in the Cuba of just a few years ago – relatively fast home internet. “It’s really easy to sit and find whatever you need,” Gonzalez said as he sat in his living room updating his Facebook account, listening to Uruguayan radio online and checking an arriving tourist’s landing time for a neighbor who rents rooms in their building in historic Old Havana.

Cubans sold everything to reach U.S., now hundreds stranded

A group of Cuban migrants share travel stories outside the Caritas shelter for migrants in Panama City, Panama, January 13, 2017. Lilia Gonzales , a staff member of the Caritas shelter for migrants, explains the center policy and options to new Cuban migrants that arrived the previous night to the center in Panama City, Panama, January 13, 2017.

Power company wants to introduce sea water A/C system to Jamaica

Jamaican power and conservation solutions company, New Leaf Power said it is desirous of introducing sea water air conditioning technology to Jamaica following a 12-member public and private sector study tour of two alternative energy systems in Canada. This is against the background that in the Caribbean, according to the Caribbean Development Bank , air conditioning accounts, on average, for 50 per cent of total energy consumption in commercial buildings, while sea water technology is estimated to reduce electricity consumption for air conditioning by up to 90 per cent.

Obama administration ends special immigration policy for Cubans | Reuters

The Obama administration on Thursday repealed a measure granting automatic residency to virtually every Cuban who arrived in the United States, whether or not they had visas, ending a longstanding exception to U.S. immigration policy. The end of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allowed any Cuban who reached U.S. soil to stay but returned any picked up at sea, is effective immediately.

Ttfa boss should go tooJan. 13, 2017, 12:10 Am Ast

One has to ask-is the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association president David John-Williams the right person for the job? Since Mr John-Williams took the reigns this organisation has had little to cheer about. Questions must be asked about decisions made by those at the helm of Trinidad and Tobago soccer.

Prakash: Give workers share in PetrotrinJan. 8, 2017, 9:7 PM Ast

HOURS before strike action by Petrotrin workers over non-settlement of wage negotiations, former government minister Prakash Ramadhar has called upon the Government to consider a plan for the workers of Petrotrin to become part owners in the State-owned oil and gas company. Ramadhar said that while workers must be adequately compensated since the industry is nothing without them, the union may consider settling for less of a percentage increase in wages and accept shares in the company to become part owners of the industry.