Regional News

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Haitians ravaged by the  earthquake that devastated their capital this week begged for  food, water and medical assistance as the world rushed to bring  aid to survivors.

PORT-AU-PRINCE,  (Reuters) – Using doors, towels and  foam mattresses for floors, bedsheets for walls and bags of  clothes for pillows, Haiti’s earthquake survivors are making  their sidewalk homes as bearable as they can while they wait  for help.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez called off drastic energy rationing in Caracas after a chaotic first day of staggered blackouts angered his supporters, but the measures will continue across the country.

(Barbados Nation) – The legacy of the three Bs in Caribbean politics – Barrow, Bird and Burnham – will be celebrated on Errol Barrow Day on January 21.

(Trinidad Express) – Eight handguns, close to 200 rounds of ammunition and a ceremonial gold chain worth in excess of $200,000 were stolen from the police armoury at the headquarters of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation sometime between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – The United States Geological Survey’s website shows there have been approximately 80 earthquakes, measuring anywhere from 2.4 to 7.0, in the Caribbean within the past week.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – The United States (US) Government is stepping up its pressure on Jamaica to sign the extradition request for west Kingston strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – A UN-backed commission  has cleared Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom of links to a scandal that erupted last year when a lawyer recorded a video before he was murdered that accused the president of ordering the hit.

(Trinidad Express) – Veteran calypsonian Leroy ‘Black Stalin’ Calliste says while the attempted abduction of his daughter, Keina, last week has made his family more vigilant, he will not become a prisoner in his own home.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US critics of China’s trade policy yesterday seized on Venezuela’s recent currency action to prod the US Congress to pass legislation targeted at countries that manipulate their currency.

Economic uncertainty The Central Bank of Barbados says the island’s economy faces an uncertain year.

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Venezuelan  authorities backed by soldiers temporarily closed dozens of  retail outlets for price gouging after a currency devaluation  that triggered a frenzy of shopping but met market approval.

TIJUANA, Mexico, (Reuters) – Mexican police captured  a drug kingpin yesterday known for having the corpses of  tortured rivals dissolved in acid and blamed for much of a  surge in violence in the northern border city of Tijuana.

(Trinidad Express) Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Monday denied that she has a drinking problem, as insinuated by Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Jamaican Muslim cleric has been flown back to Kenya despite being deported last week because Nigeria refused to give him a transit visa to Gambia, the Kenyan government said yesterday.

Puerto Rico cuts staffUnion leaders in Puerto Rico say they anticipate several thousand more redundancies of public sector workers in March.

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Venezuela’s devaluation of its currency will further complicate its troubled commercial relationship with neighbouring Colombia, where the economy is already suffering from a breakdown in cross-border trade.

(Barbados Nation) Undocumented Caribbean migrants who have made no attempt to regularise their status in Barbados will be asked to leave.

(Trinidad Express) Sagicor Financial Corporation is in a strong financial position, the company’s president said last week following concerns raised about the financial institution after it issued more than 11.7 million new shares in a private placement in Barbados.

MANAGUA, (Reuters) – Nicaraguan President Daniel  Ortega issued a decree on Saturday that could extend the terms  of electoral officials supporting his controversial bid for  re-election in 2011, a move the opposition says oversteps his  powers.