Regional News

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States plans to give priority to child migrants over adults in deportation hearings as part of a broader initiative to deal with a surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the border illegally, a Justice Department official told Reuters.

MANAGUA, (Reuters) – A Nicaraguan committee approved a proposed route on Monday for a $40 billion shipping channel across the Central American country that would compete with the Panama Canal.

CHICAGO/ATLANTA, (Reuters) – Stray vials of the deadly smallpox virus from the 1950s have been discovered at a federal lab near Washington, U.S.

DHAKA, (Reuters) – A U.N. tribunal has awarded Bangladesh nearly four-fifths of an area sprawling over 25,000 sq km (9,700 sq miles) in the Bay of Bengal, ending a dispute over a sea border with India that has ruffled ties between the neighbours for more than three decades.

SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – Brazilian newspapers and websites were unanimous yesterday that the national team’s 7-1 hammering by Germany in the World Cup semi-final was the greatest shame in the country’s illustrious footballing history.

OSLO, (Reuters) – Swathes of the Amazon may have been grassland until a natural shift to a wetter climate about 2,000 years ago let the rainforests form, according to a study that challenges common belief that the world’s biggest tropical forest is far older.

BEIJING (Reuters) – The five BRICS nations have reached a broad consensus on their $100 billion development bank though some differences remain, a senior Chinese diplomat said yesterday ahead of a summit in Brazil next week to be attended by President Xi Jinping.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba has prosecuted and is likely to send Canadian businessman Cy Tokmakjian to prison after he denounced corruption in the Havana government’s awarding of contracts, his company said yesterday.

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – A strong earthquake shook the Guatemalan border with Mexico today, killing at least four people, damaging dozens of buildings and triggering landslides.

(Barbados Nation) Doctors say the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is facing its worst crisis ever.

(Trinidad Guardian) Five policemen were Friday facing charges after they were held following allegations made against them.

(Trinidad Guardian) Relatives of retired police officer Anderson Kenneth Alexander, 59, who died 11 days after he was allegedly beaten by the police, are confused that an autopsy could not determine his cause of death.

OTTAWA, (Reuters) – A top Canadian court yesterday invalidated the Conservative government’s decision to limit health coverage for many people in the country making refugee claims, declaring the federal action to have been shocking and outrageous.

(Jamaica Observer) Infor-mation Minister Sandrea Falconer says the Govern-ment has not been notified if the United States Embassy has revoked the visa of embattled outgoing Police Commissioner Owen Ellington.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Several Caribbean Airlines passengers were Thursday night left stranded at the Norman Manley Inter-national Airport in Kings-ton after the flight, destined to Fort Lauderdale, was denied landing by United States Border Control, while mid air.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – South Florida’s coastal real estate may become uninsurable as the sea level rises unless Miami’s county government takes urgent action, a task force said on Tuesday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Several Caribbean Airlines passengers were last night left stranded at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston after the flight, destined to Fort Lauderdale, was denied landing by United States Border Control, while mid air.

(Trinidad Express)  Two days after pilot sick-out action caused chaos and cancellations for Caribbean Airlines Ltd, the majority recognised union Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) finally released a statement yesterday on the matter to say it cannot sanction industrial action.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Hit hard by the severity of pressures being applied by significant international partners, the Portia Simpson Miller administration might have been forced to ensure that Police Commissioner Owen Ellington be immediately stripped of his position, following a series of alleged mishaps in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), according to Gleaner sources.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Airlines with direct flights to the United States have been told to tighten screening of mobile phones and shoes in response to intelligence reports of increased threats from al Qaeda-affiliated militant groups, U.S.