Regional News

SANTIAGO,  (Reuters) – Chilean authorities announced yesterday the end of a state of emergency in force since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a sign of life returning to normal following a sharp decrease in cases in the South American nation.

PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Seven Venezuelan oil workers have been detained by military counterintelligence officers following an outage at a unit of state oil company PDVSA’s 310,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Cardon refinery, according to eight sources familiar with the matter.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s National Academy of Medicine yesterday expressed concern over the use of Cuba’s Abdala coronavirus vaccine due to a lack of scientific research on its safety and efficacy.

(Trinidad Guardian) The man accused of fatally chopping 15-month-old Sariah Williams appeared virtually before a San Fernando Magistrate yesterday charged with her murder.

(Trinidad Guardian) After spending over a decade on remand, a 37-year-old man from Tunapuna has been freed of murdering a security guard during a casino robbery.

(Trinidad Express) The super-infectious Covid-19 Delta “variant of concern” has reached community spread in Trinidad and Tobago.

(Trinidad Express) The Police Service Commission (PolSC) has withdrawn the suspension letter which it had issued on Friday, September 17, to Gary ­Griffith.

(Trinidad Express) There was a protest in Mango Alley, Laventille, yesterday morning following the death of an 18-year-old man in a police involved shooting.

(Trinidad Express) Police have arrested a 25-year-old relative in connection with the murders of a grandmother, mother and son at a house in San Juan on Friday afternoon.

(Trinidad Guardian) Since T&T’s borders reopened on July 17, Caribbean Airlines has been the only major airline flying into this country.

CARACAS/HOUSTON/WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Venezuela has agreed to a key contract to swap its heavy oil for Iranian condensate that it can use to improve the quality of its tar-like crude, with the first cargoes due this week, five people close to the deal said.

(Trinidad Guardian) Police officers attached to the Homicide Bureau of Investigation have arrested a suspect in connection with the killing of three family members, two of whom were women in San Juan yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) A 58-year-old Ste Madeleine man has been charged with the murder of one-year-old Sariah Williams and will face a San Fernando Magistrate on Monday September 27th to answer to the charges.

UNITED NATIONS,  (Reuters) – An impassioned Barbados prime minister yesterday sought to spur meaningful action from the 193-member United Nations on crises from climate and COVID-19 vaccines to poverty and education, invoking singer Bob Marley: “Who will get up and stand up?”

(Jamaica Gleaner) Europe-based global clean energy firm MPC Energy Solutions, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in Norway, is reporting that it has leased several acres of land in Jamaica as part of a major project to develop a 72.5-megawatt, MW, solar power plant here.

(Trinidad Guardian) Three relatives from El Socorro have been murdered at their home in what appears to be execution-styled killings.

HAVANA,  (Reuters) – Cuba is allowing a staggered opening of restaurants, shopping centres and beaches in provinces that have lowered coronavirus cases even as it battles some of the highest nationwide rates of infection per capita worldwide.

(Jamaica Observer) FLORENCE HALL, Trelawny — While underscoring that he will not be forcing anyone to take the COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday said that mandatory vaccination will become unavoidable when a larger segment of the population becomes inoculated and demand that they should not be restricted by safety measures because some people refuse to take the jab.

(Trinidad Express) Businesses that have been closed or restricted amid the Covid-19 pandemic are finally being allowed to fully reopen from October 11.

VALENCIA, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Venezuelan evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci has promised to mobilize his vast network of followers in upcoming regional elections to defeat the ruling Socialist Party candidate and become governor of the industrial state of Carabobo.