Commonwealth nations face hurdles to follow Barbados’ republican path
Kingston, Jamaica Reuters Barbados’ declaration of a republic on Tuesday may fuel fervor in other Commonwealth countries to follow suit, but experts say removing the queen requires overcoming political hurdles that have for decades stymied republican initiatives. Barbados inaugurated President Sandra Mason as its head of state on Tuesday to replace Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II […]
France says it is willing to discuss autonomy for Guadeloupe
Paris, FranceReuters France is willing to discuss autonomy for the French Caribbean territory of Guadeloupe if it is in the interests of the people who live there, government minister Sebastien Lecornu said. Guadeloupe and the nearby French island of Martinique have seen several days of protests against COVID-19 measures that have spilled over into violence. […]
Migrant caravan limps north through Mexico, despite dengue and exhaustion
Mapastepec, MexicoReuters A caravan of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers from Central America and the Caribbean resumed its trek through southern Mexico on Monday, despite concerns that half of them could be injured or sick, including some from dengue fever. Over the past week, the approximately 3,000 migrants, mostly women and children, have trekked […]
Migrants denounce Mexico’s crackdown amid bilateral talks in Washington
Tapachula, MexicoReuters US-bound migrants, mostly from Central America and the Caribbean, said on Thursday that a Mexican government crackdown was keeping them “prisoner” in the south of the country. The migrant comments contrasted with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s promises of humane treatment ahead of Thursday’s high-level meeting between Mexican and US officials in […]
Luxury to essential: Latin America boosts internet access in pandemic
ANASTASIA MOLONEY and FABIO TEIXEIRA, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how the pandemic exposed a deep digital divide across Latin America and the Caribbean – and what is being done to address it…
Updated: Rescuers race to find Haiti quake survivors as death toll hits 1,297
Updated: 9am (AEST)Port-au-Prince, HaitiReuters The death toll from a devastating earthquake in Haiti rose to 1,297 on Sunday as neighboring countries rushed to send aid and rescuers scrambled to find survivors buried beneath the rumble before a tropical storm hits. The 7.2 magnitude quake on Saturday destroyed thousands of homes and buildings in a Caribbean […]
Caribbean’s St Lucia seeks climate cash to tackle storms, stinky seaweed
Bogota, ColombiaThomson Reuters Foundation St Lucia’s new Prime Minister, Philip J Pierre, has urged the United States and other rich nations to ramp up climate finance and disburse funds more quickly to vulnerable Caribbean nation states, as “fast and furious” hurricanes become the new normal. The tiny eastern Caribbean nation of St Lucia and other […]
Panel advises Dutch Government to apologise for slavery
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsReuters An advisory panel in the Netherlands has told the government to acknowledge that the 17th to 19th century transatlantic slave trade amounted to crimes against humanity, and to apologise for the Dutch role. The independent panel, whose recommendations are not binding, was set up following protests over the murder of George Floyd, […]
Wow!: New coral reef restoration technology aims to reverse climate change damage
CASSANDRA GARRISON, of Reuters, reports on a new initiative to restore coral reefs in the Caribbean…
Volcano erupts in southern Caribbean, sparking evacuation “frenzy”
Rose Hall, St Vincent and the GrenadinesReuters La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent erupted on Friday after decades of inactivity, sending dark plumes of ash and smoke billowing into the sky and forcing thousands from surrounding villages to evacuate. Dormant since 1979, the volcano started showing signs of activity in […]