Regional News

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Venezuela is talking to some OPEC members and Russia about the possibility of joint action to prop up oil prices, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said, while another diplomat said Moscow wanted better ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Haiti’s lawmakers selected an opposition senator who served as interior minister under former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide as interim president yesterday, in a move aimed at filling a power vacuum threatening stability in the Caribbean nation.

(Trinidad Guardian) Port-of-Spain Mayor Raymond Tim Kee is expected to tender his resignation today.

(Jamaica Observer) Ash Wednesday was no ordinary holiday for friends and relatives of Lansil Gregory, 71, and his 74-year-old wife Corita, who had gathered to clean the couple’s rural Manchester home.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Haiti disbanded its abusive armed forces two decades ago but uniformed veterans and young recruits are resurfacing to add another destabilising factor to the volatile Caribbean nation already dealing with a political vacuum.

WASHINGTON/HAVANA (Reuters) – The United States has recovered an inert Hellfire air-to-ground missile that had mistakenly ended up in Cuba, US and Cuban officials said yesterday.

(Trinidad Guardian) One man, believed to be a close companion of Japanese musician Asami Nagakiya, remains in police custody, while three others, two women and one man, each gave a statement in relation to the murder of the tenor pannist and have been released.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Supreme Court approved President Nicolas Maduro’s “economic emergency” decree on Thursday, setting up a showdown after the Venezuelan Congress rejected the measure last month.

HAVANA, (Reuters) – Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill embraced and kissed yesterday in a historic meeting, uniting to issue a global appeal for the protection of Christians under assault in the Middle East.

(Jamaica Observer) Owners of UC Rusal have signed an agreement with a Chinese firm for the purchase of Alumina Partners of Jamaica (ALPART), a bauxite mining and alumina processing plant located at Nain, St Elizabeth, in the south of Jamaica.

(Trinidad Guardian) Autopsy results today revealed that Japanese pan player Asami Nagakiya was strangled.

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – A judge in Brazil’s state of Minas Gerais has frozen 470 million reais ($118 million) of assets owned by Vale SA and 1.8 million reais linked to BHP Billiton Ltd to ensure payment of damages related to a deadly dam rupture, Rio de Janeiro’s O Globo newspaper said yesterday.

(Barbados Nation) ST JOHN’S – LIAT, The Caribbean Airline, has issued a travel advisory for all customers with reservations booked on or before February 10 who are concerned about travelling to destinations with the Zika virus.

(Trinidad Guardian) There are now calls from the public to have Raymond Tim Kee removed as Mayor of Port-of-Spain.

BOGOTA, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Around 3.6 million people in Haiti are struggling to feed themselves as three consecutive years of drought have ruined harvests and raised food prices, worsening hunger among the poor, the U.N.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation will continue its bauxite mining operations in Jamaica amid filing for bankruptcy protection in the United States.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Jamaica reduced its oil import bill by more than US$438 million (J$52 billion) for the first six months of the fiscal year based on the slide of commodity prices, according to newly released data from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ).

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuelan shopping centers are scaling back hours of operation causing an uproar among consumers, in the wake of the government’s move to reduce their electricity supplies in the early afternoon and evening.

(Trinidad Guardian) After 11 attempts at trying to capture the Calypso Monarch crown, Devon Seale yesterday snatched the coveted title and $1 million first prize from his 11 rivals.

SAN ANTONIO DE LOS BANOS, Cuba, (Thom-son Reuters Foundation) – Long known for its cigars and rum, Cuba has added organic honey to its list of key agricultural exports, creating a buzz among farmers as pesticide use has been linked to declining bee populations elsewhere.