Barbuda residents win appeal to protect land from development in potential precedent for Caribbean
A top court has ruled that two residents of the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda have the right to challenge construction of an airstrip that critics say endangers fragile ecosystems and was begun without any permits.
Tropical Storm Philippe soaks northeast Caribbean on a path toward Bermuda, New England and Canada
Tropical Storm Philippe is drenching the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as it spins away from the northeast Caribbean on a path that would take it toward Bermuda and later New England and Atlantic Canada.
Mexico shutters 23 pharmacies at Caribbean coast resorts after US warned of dangerous pill sales
Mexico has closed 23 pharmacies at Caribbean coast resorts, six months after a research report warned that drug stores in Mexico were offering foreigners pills they passed off as Oxycodone, Percocet, and Adderall.
Blinken says a multinational force is needed to help Haiti's National Police restore order
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken says a multinational force is needed to help Haitiโs National Police as he echoed recent appeals made by United Nations officials who warn that the countryโs insecurity is worsening.
Costa Rica finds 2 bodies in crash of plane carrying Germans
Authorities in Costa Rica have found two bodies in the search for six people, apparently including the German businessman behind Goldโs Gym, who went missing when their small plane disappeared from radar just off the countryโs Caribbean coast.
Train endangers some of Mexico's oldest pre-historic sites
The Mexican government has decided to invoke national security powers to forge ahead with a tourist train along the Caribbean coast known as the โRiviera Maya,โ threatening extensive caves where some of the oldest human remains in North America have been discovered.
Caribbean storm likely to gain force, hit Central America
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says a storm that has hurled rain on the southern Caribbean and the northern shoulder of South America is expected to hit Central America as a tropical storm over the weekend and eventually develop into a hurricane over the Pacific.
Elsa strengthens into season's 1st hurricane in Caribbean
Elsa has strengthened into the first hurricane of the Atlantic season and it's blowing off roofs, snapping trees and destroying crops in the eastern Caribbean, where officials closed schools, businesses and airports under the threat of flash flooding and landslides.
Tropical storm Elsa, 5th named storm, threatens Caribbean
Officials in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are warning people to plan for possible evacuations as the tiny islands hit recently by massive volcanic eruptions prepares for potential flooding and landslides from Tropical Storm Elsa, which was whirling toward the eastern Caribbean.
18th century graveyard found at former Caribbean plantation
An 18th century burial ground has been discovered at a former sugar plantation on the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, officials, and archaeologists say it likely contains the remains of slaves and could provide a trove of information on their lives.
St. Vincent seeks water, funds as volcano keeps erupting
Leaders of volcano-wracked St. Vincent say that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies and they estimated that the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere.
'Huge' explosion rocks St. Vincent as volcano keeps erupting
La Soufriere volcano has fired an enormous amount of ash and hot gas in the biggest explosive eruption yet since volcanic activity began on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent late last week, with officials worried about the lives of those who have refused to evacuate.
Married 66 years, husband, wife in Florida die minutes apart of virus
This undated photo provided by Sarah Milewski shows Bill and Esther Ilnisky. When they died minutes apart of COVID-19 on March 1, 2021, at a Palm Beach County hospice, it may have been a hidden blessing, their only child, Sarah Milewski, said. (Sarah Milewski via AP)FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. โ A Florida couple who spent decades as missionaries and ministers died 15 minutes apart of COVID-19. Bill and Esther Ilnisky were married almost 67 years when they died recently at a Palm Beach County hospice. They then moved to West Palm Beach in the 1970s and spent four decades running an Assemblies of God church there.
2 Royal Caribbean lines to resume Caribbean cruises in June
FILE - In this March 14, 2020 file photo, Royal Caribbean International cruise ship docked at PortMiami, among other cruise ships, as the world deals with the coronavirus outbreak in Miami. Royal Caribbean Group is putting its cruising toes back in the water this summer. The cruise company said Friday, March 19, 2021 that two of its lines Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises will resume Caribbean sailings in June. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)MIAMI โ Two Royal Caribbean cruises will resume in June, ending a yearlong hiatus, but passengers 18 and older must test negative for COVID-19 before getting on a ship. Shares of Miami-based Royal Caribbean rose more than 2% Friday.
Sun, sand, shots: Caribbean seeks vaccines to revive economy
The Caribbean is hunting for visitors and vaccines to jump-start the stalled economy in one of the worlds most tourism-dependent regions (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)SAN JUAN โ The Caribbean is hunting for visitors and vaccines to jump-start the stalled economy in one of the worldโs most tourism-dependent regions. Clear waters and warm sand attracted a record 31.5 million tourists to the Caribbean in 2019, but visits plummeted by an estimated 60% to 80% as the pandemic hit last year. โMany countries prefer hurricanes compared to what has happened with the pandemic,โ said Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, a former Bahamian tourism minister who also led the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Cuba โ the largest Caribbean nation and the only one working on its own vaccines โ choked off arrivals after seeing infections surge. Neil Walters, acting secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
Hurricane Iota heads for already battered Central America
Iota became a Category 2 hurricane late Sunday afternoon, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned it would likely be an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm when it approached the Central America mainland late Monday. It was already a record-breaking system, being the 30th named storm of this yearโs extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. It hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 120 people as torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides in parts of Central America and Mexico. Eta was the 28th named storm of this yearโs hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. The official end of hurricane season is Nov. 30.
Iota threatens 2nd hurricane strike for Nicaragua, Honduras
Eta weakened from the Category 4 hurricane to a tropical storm after lashing Nicaragua's Caribbean coast for much of Tuesday, its floodwaters isolating already remote communities and setting off deadly landslides. (AP Photo/Carlos Herrera)ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. โ Tropical Storm Iota was strengthening in the Caribbean Sea on Saturday, threatening a second major hurricane strike for Nicaragua and Honduras, countries recently clobbered by a Category 4 Hurricane Eta. The Caribbean island of Providencia and parts of Nicaragua and Honduras were under hurricane warnings. Iota is already a record-setting system, being the 30th named storm of this yearโs extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. Eta was the 28th named storm of this yearโs hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms.
Hurricane Eta grinds inland into Nicaragua; at least 3 dead
A man fixes the roof of a home surrounded by floodwaters brought on by Hurricane Eta in Wawa, Nicaragua, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Carlos Herrera)MANAGUA โ Hurricane Eta churned inland through northeast Nicaragua Tuesday night with devastating winds and rains that destroyed rooftops, caused rivers to overflow and left at least three people dead in the region. The hurricane had sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, down from an overnight peak of 150 mph (240 kph). Even before it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, Honduras reported the first death after a mudslide trapped a 12-year-old girl in San Pedro Sula and two miners were killed in a mudslide in Bonanza, Nicaragua. Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30.
Tropical Storm Warning issued for parts of Virginia with Zeta expected to make landfall Wednesday evening
ROANOKE, Va. โ 5 p.m. Wednesday updateA Tropical Storm Warning has been issued for many along and south of U.S. 460. Hurricane Zeta has continued to gain strength this afternoon and itโs now a category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph. 5 a.m. Tuesday updateZeta made its first landfall along the Yucatan Peninsula and is now emerging into the Gulf of Mexico as a strong tropical storm. Hurricane and tropical storm warnings have been posted in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and western Cuba ahead of the stormโs arrival. On the forecast track, Zeta will move into the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall late Wednesday along the Gulf Coast.
New storm Zeta a hurricane threat to Mexico, US Gulf Coast
MIAMI โ Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta gradually strengthened Sunday in the western Caribbean and forecasters said it would likely become a hurricane before hitting Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast in coming days. Zeta was the earliest named 27th Atlantic storm recorded in an already historic hurricane season. The system was centered about 260 miles (420 kilometers) southeast of Cozumel island late Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The government is still handing out aid, including sheet roofing, to Yucatan residents hit by Hurricane Delta and Tropical Storm Gamma earlier this month. The hurricane center said it could make landfall anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
UN: Pandemic has cost 34 million jobs in Latin America
All rights reserved)MEXICO CITY โ The U.N.โs International Labour Organization said Wednesday that at least 34 million jobs have been lost in Latin America due to the coronavirus pandemic. The count was up from the ILOโs previous estimates in early August that 14 million jobs had been lost in the region. The organization's Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Vinรญcius Pinheiro, called it โan unprecedented challenge.โPinheiro said the third quarter had brought a recovery in economic activity and, according to preliminary data, a tentative recovery in employment. The ILO figures were based on data from nine countries which account for 80% of the region's workforce. The ILO lists Latin America and the Caribbean as the worst-hit region in the world in terms of lost working hours, with a drop of 20.9% in the first three quarters of the year, compared to an average of 11.7% worldwide.
Venezuela says captured US spy sought to sabotage power grid
Authorities said cellphones taken from the men when they were arrested last week include images of a large bridge in Zulia state, military installations and dilapidated oil refineries in Falcon state. President Nicolรกs Maduro announced on Friday that an unnamed suspected U.S. spy had been captured, saying he was a Marine and former CIA operative in Iraq. Venezuela also struggles to provide electricity to residents, especially in Zulia state, once a major hub of the nation's vast oil production. The three Venezuelans accused of conspiring with Heath include a military officer, Saab said, adding that they helped him enter from Colombia. The ex-Green Berets in Goudreau's force โ Luke Denman Airan Berry Venezuela โ have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Damaged Venezuelan oil tanker drawing international concern
CARACAS The sight of a huge oil tanker that has taken on water and is leaning to one side off a remote stretch of Venezuela's coast has triggered international calls for action. However, anti-government oil workers like Eudis Girot, head of the Unitary Federation of Petroleum Workers of Venezuela, has launched a campaign seeking to get President Nicols Maduro to pay attention. He is urging the embattled leader to look beyond years of bitter disputes between his government and the oil workers union to head off a potential environmental disaster. PDVSA and Venezuelas ministry of communications did not immediately respond to emailed requests by AP seeking comment on the Nabarima. Consilium, compared the Venezuelan tanker to the FSO Safer, which has been decaying for years off the coast of Yemen with more than 1 million barrels of oil.
Airbnb offering five people free 2-month sabbatical in the Bahamas
Airbnb is offering a once in a lifetime opportunity to five people looking to make a difference. A two month sabbatical in the Bahamas. Itโs a joint effort between Airbnb and the Bahamas National Trust. Those selected to take part in the sabbatical will spend April and May traveling to three Bahamian locations to help preserve the country s natural and cultural resources. Airbnb will announce who has been selected for the project on March 25.
The most VIP Super Bowl weekend costs $1.5M, includes butler
(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)MIAMI, Fla. โ Private jet service, a personal butler, or how about a meal with former Patriots star Rob Gronkowski to top off Super Bowl weekend? One package includes a 4-day cruise around the Caribbean on a private yacht after the game for $720,000. On Location Experiences' Sam Soni says their top Super Bowl package last year in Atlanta went for $17,500. Tables at LIV nightclub are booking for $20,000 during Super Bowl weekend โ up from their usual cost of $5,000. Grutman said his steakhouse has more than tripled its order for steaks to 1,000 for Super Bowl week, along with crates of caviar.
Tasty Tuesday: Caribbica Soul
You get Carribica Soul in downtown Roanoke. When Musgraves wraps up her tour in Nashville, Carribica Soul will be there to serve roughly 800 people. Everything from his now famous jerk chicken to a delicious red snapper makes you feel like you're right on the island. The jerk chicken has a kick, but it's not too hot. When you go to Carribica Soul, you can also help the planet that's afforded them with such great food.
Three tropical storms are spinning in the Atlantic
CNN image(CNN) - Tropical Storms Karen, Jerry and Lorenzo are spinning across the Atlantic Basin Monday and two of the storms threatened islands. A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, within the next 36 hours. Tropical Storm Jerry moves towards BermudaTropical Storm Jerry is still in the Atlantic and generally moving north-northwest. A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued for the island. Tropical Storm Lorenzo forms near AfricaOn the other side of the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Lorenzo has formed a few hundred miles southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands.
Tuesday marks climatological peak of Atlantic hurricane season
ROANOKE, Va. - On the heels of Dorian, September 10 marks the climatological peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin (Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico). Regardless, experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are forecasting a near-to-above average hurricane season still. There have been a total of seven named storms already in the Atlantic Basin, with Barry and Dorian each making a U.S. landfall. Hurricane season runs through November 30, with some notable storms having occurred in October. This is why it's best to be weather aware of the inland impacts, such as flooding and mudslides, even after Tuesday's climatological peak.
Several airlines offering travel waivers ahead of TS Dorian
Several U.S. airlines are offering travel waivers to customers with scheduled flights to the eastern Caribbean as the storm travels through the Caribbean Sea. The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch for Puerto Rico on Tuesday morning. SouthwestCustomers flying Southwest to Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico between today and Aug. 30 may rebook a flight. AmericanAmerican Airlines will waive the fee to change flights scheduled until Aug. 29 if they're canceled. Trips to Barbados, Haiti, Martinique, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia are subject to cancellation.
Puerto Rico under tropical storm warning as Dorian approaches
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch for Puerto Rico on Tuesday morning as Tropical Storm Dorian continues to move across the Caribbean toward the island. The storm, which weakened a bit overnight as the system hit Barbados, is expected to pass near, or just south of Puerto Rico Wednesday afternoon and evening as a strong tropical storm. A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours and a tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected within 36 hours. "St. Lucia seems to be the bull's eye (Monday night) for tropical storm conditions," including strong winds and heavy rain, Brink said. Tropical storm conditions are possible throughout the Lesser Antilles through Tuesday morning and over Puerto Rico Wednesday, the center said.
Teen Girl Survives After Parents Drown While Vacationing in the Caribbean
A 15-year-old Texas girl was pulled to safety, but her mother and father drowned during a family vacation in the Caribbean, police said. The bodies of Roy Perez, 38, and Irma Barrera, 33, were plucked from the waters off Bambarra Beach in the Turks and Caicos islands, authorities said. Their daughter survived, as did the daughter of family friend Dr. Richard Okoloise, who perished along with the couple. "We are at a loss for words," reads a post on the fundraising page, "but are rallying together to help." The Turks and Caicos Islands, a popular vacation destination, is a British territory of 40 coral islands located southeast of the Bahamas.
New Dominican safety measures aim to ease tourist fears
(CNN) - The Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism is rolling out new safety measures in an effort to calm the fears of Americans traveling to the Caribbean island, according to the ministry's chief of staff Pablo Espinal. The measures include inspecting hotels more often, requiring hotels to post emergency contact information in every guest room, adding more monitoring measures to medical facilities located inside hotels and opening an emergency tourist center. At least 10 American citizens have died after an apparent sudden health issue in the Dominican Republic since June 2018. Dominican Republic authorities maintain that their own investigations revealed that the Americans died from natural causes. The emergency tourist center is expected to open in Punta Cana in partnership with the Dominican Republic Attorney General's office.