Regional News

(Trinidad Express) Trinidad and Tobago nationals stuck in Guyana and Venezuela have been given the green light by National Security Minister Stuart Young to return home.

(Jamaica Star) “It felt like prison.” Those are the exact words of Jermaine who returned to the island yesterday after he was stranded on a cruise ship for 56 days in South Hampton, United Kingdom.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Professor Frederick Hickling, one of Jamaica’s most respected psychiatrists and pioneer of cultural therapy, has died.

(Trinidad Guardian) There is now a full-blown crisis in the local petrochemical sector, with four plants shut down in four months and word that more could be taken out of operation as the sector reels under low commodity prices and the high cost of natural gas in T&T.

(Trinidad Guardian) The criminal investigation into the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its involvement in an alleged breach of data privacy laws in Trinidad and Tobago is now closed.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Michael Forrester, one of the 115 Jamaicans who were stranded in the United Kingdom and arrived aboard a TUI charter flight yesterday, revealed that his main reason for leaving his homeland was to tend to his elderly mother.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Indigenous groups from nine countries in the Amazon basin called esday for donations to help protect 3 million rainforest inhabitants who are vulnerable to the spread of the novel coronavirus because they lack adequate access to healthcare.

(Jamaica Observer) Millie Small, the Jamaican singer who introduced the world to ska with her hit My Boy Lollipop in the 1960s, died yesterday in England.

(Trinidad Guardian) Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith yesterday announced the investigation into accusations made by Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley benefited from a financial transaction connected to A&V Drilling in Florida was now officially closed.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Health and Wellness Ministry is reporting five additional COVID-19 cases in Jamaica, pushing the tally to 478.

(Trinidad Guardian) National Security Minister Stuart Young yesterday reiterated that Nutrien Ltd was not sending home any workers although it had decided to shut down one of its five plants at the Pt Lisas Industrial Estate.

(Trinidad Express) Trinidad-born Ricardo Babu­lal, who was tested positive for Co­vid-­19 in New York, was determined to survive and not leave his loved ones behind, especially his elderly father.

BOGOTA,  (Reuters) – Colombia has declared a second state of emergency to support sectors of the economy that will remain shut down for an extended period to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, President Ivan Duque said on Wednesday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Limited parental supervision and an emerging role reversal have hobbled the transition to ­online classes since the shuttering of schools nationwide, with Jamaican teachers reportedly the targets of nude images and other inappropriate content shared by their students.

(Trinidad Express) The parents of murdered siblings, Vishal and Vishanie Chitbahal, say the pain of losing their only children is something impossible to recover from.

(Trinidad Express) Cricket legend Brian Lara has celebrated another milestone in his life, having cross half-century.

(Trinidad Guardian) After 70 days waiting to ensure they were safe of COVID-19, 33 Trinidadian nationals were finally released from the step-down facility in Tacarigua and allowed to return to their homes yesterday.

The World Bank yesterday said it has provided US$412,000 to Suriname to purchase essential medical supplies for the country’s emergency response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.  “The World Bank is pleased that timely commitment of financing enabled rapid procurement and distribution of essential medical supplies and equipment to support the immediate needs of the Suriname health system,” said Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean in a press release.

The European Union (EU) on Monday sanctioned six Nicaraguan officials over human rights and the stalling of democracy.

The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr Carissa F Etienne has cautioned countries not to prematurely relax their social distancing measures as it could increase the spread of the virus and she has voiced particular concern over Haiti.