Regional News

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said he has no intention to dismiss National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, despite the escalating crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago.

(Trinidad Guardian) Eight-five per cent of the murders in T&T are gun-related, according to figures from the T&T Police Service (TTPS).

(Barbados Nation) Family  and friends of health care workers Derek and Kimberly Lovell are still trying to understand what would have caused the Geriatric Hospital orderly to kill his 27-year-old wife, a nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

(Trinidad Guardian) Eight-five per cent of the murders in T&T are gun-related, according to figures from the T&T Police Service (TTPS).

(Trinidad Guardian) – A blunder by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has led to the freeing of a man accused of being a member of the gang allegedly responsible for the assassination of former Independent senator Dana Seetahal, SC.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on Thursday to welcome efforts he is leading to facilitate dialogue between the government of Venezuela and members of the Venezuelan opposition, the State Department said.

GENEVA,  (Reuters) – National health officials stopped short yesterday of fully endorsing World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to end the aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes and baby foods for newborn and older infants.

RIO DE JANEIRO  (Reuters) – Rio de Janeiro police are investigating allegations that more than 30 men and boys raped a 16-year-old girl, officials said yesterday, as outrage spread in the host city for the Olympics and reverberated across the country.

(Trinidad Guardian) A man, who sparked panic among Trincity Mall patrons and employees after making a hoax call warning of an imminent terrorist attack, was arrested by police hours after the incident thanks to the help of the Strategic Security Agency (SSA).

(Reuters) – U.S. health officials yesterday reported the first case in the country of a patient with an infection resistant to all known antibiotics, and expressed grave concern that the superbug could pose serious danger for routine infections if it spreads.

PANAMA CITY, (Reuters) – Panama’s Supreme Court yesterday called on the Central American country’s government to request the extradition of former President Ricardo Martinelli from the United States.

(Trinidad Guardian) It will take more than just the police to address effectively the crime in the country, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said yesterday, as he again begged all sectors of society to help the police stop the current crime wave.

(Trinidad Guardian) Despite mixed emotions about an ISIS threat to detonate bombs at a mall in T&T, mall management teams yesterday went ahead and increased security measures in a bid to protect their tenants, shoppers and visitors.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil’s interim President Michel Temer said yesterday he would seek constitutional change to limit increases in public spending as part of a series of measures to curb a record fiscal deficit and regain investor confidence.

(Trinidad Guardian) Oil-rich Venezuela, which is faced with a severe food crisis, will soon bring relief to its citizens by purchasing US$50 million in goods from T&T.

(Jamaica Gleaner) – Despite a tense economic and social crisis enveloping his nation, Venezuelan President Nicolas  Maduro on Sunday came to an agreement with Prime Minister Andrew Holness to boost ties through the PetroCaribe oil-purchasing arrangement under which Jamaica and other Caribbean nations have benefited considerably over the past 10 years.

(Reuters) – The  Venezuelan bottler of Coca-Cola has halted production of sugar-sweetened beverage due to a lack of sugar, a Coca-Cola Co spokeswoman said yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) Members of the Muslim community as well as T&T-based Venezuelan activists will stage demonstrations at the Diplomatic Centre this morning “welcoming” Venezuelan President  Nicholas Maduro with lobbies concerning two different matters which they are respectively pressing for.

(Barbados Nation) A customer service representative is scheduled to appear at the District B Magistrates Court today to answer several drug charges.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Jamaica has been following, with concern, the political and economic developments in Venezuela, noting that this country will continue to be a voice of fairness and balance in the region.