Boat­loads of Venezue­lans are still con­tin­u­ing to se­cret­ly en­ter Trinidad through Ica­cos even though the Na­tion­al Se­cu­ri­ty Min­is­ter Stu­art Young an­nounced that all bor­ders are now in lock­down. Guardian Me­dia vis­it­ed the coastal vil­lages of Coro­man­del, Fullar­ton, Ica­cos and Bonasse yes­ter­day to see whether there was any phys­i­cal proof of ad­di­tion­al se­cu­ri­ty. No ad­di­tion­al po­lice, sol­diers or coast guard were seen.

How­ev­er, res­i­dents said the num­ber of il­le­gal Venezue­lans had in­creased since vi­o­lent street protests erupt­ed in Venezuela fol­low­ing the at­tempt by Op­po­si­tion leader Juan Guai­do to oust Pres­i­dent Nicholas Maduro. Short­ly be­fore the T&T Guardian team ar­rived at Ica­cos Beach at noon, res­i­dents said a boat with five Venezue­lans pulled up and the oc­cu­pants ran out and en­tered a forest­ed area to hide. A source, who re­quest­ed anonymi­ty, said more than 50 Venezue­lans were seen en­ter­ing Ica­cos dur­ing Mon­day night and about a dozen ven­tured in dur­ing the day.(Trinidad Guardian)…[+]

MPs have approved a motion to declare an environment and climate emergency. This proposal, which demonstrates the will of the Commons on the issue but does not legally compel the government to act, was approved without a vote. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who tabled the motion, said it was “a huge step forward”. Environment Secretary Michael Gove acknowledged there was a climate “emergency” but did not back Labour’s demands to declare one.

The declaration of an emergency was one of the key demands put to the government by environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, in a series of protests over recent weeks. Addressing climate protesters from the top of a fire engine in Parliament Square earlier, Mr Corbyn said: “This can set off a wave of action from parliaments and governments around the globe. “We pledge to work as closely as possible with countries that are serious about ending the climate catastrophe and make clear to US President Donald Trump that he cannot ignore international agreements and action on the climate crisis.”(BBC)…[+]

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK – U.S. President Donald Trump directed officials to toughen rules for asylum seekers yesterday, including by introducing a fee for their applications and barring those who entered the country illegally from working until their claims are approved.

The moves are the latest effort by the Trump administration to stem a growing number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border, many of whom then seek asylum in the United States. Many of the changes would be dramatic shifts in how asylum seekers are treated, but would also require time-intensive regulatory procedures before they go into effect, which will likely take months.

Trump administration officials have repeatedly blamed U.S. laws protecting asylum seekers for encouraging fraudulent or non-deserving claims. But immigrant advocates say the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict asylum protections harms people legitimately seeking refuge from violence and persecution.

Yesterday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum that directed the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to, within 90 days, introduce a slew of new regulations tightening asylum policy, including one setting a fee for asylum applications, which are currently free to file.(Reuters)…[+]

The body of an 11-year-old girl who was reported missing four days ago was discovered yesterday with signs of a brutal sexual attack, a gut-wrenching discovery on the eve of Child Month in Jamaica. Trisha Morris of Pond, Hanover, was last seen about 2:50 p.m. on Saturday.

Doris Lysaith-Earl, the adoptive mother of Trisha, said that the screams of a churchwoman on Tuesday morning alerted her to the grisly discovery of the girl.

The child, who attended Watford Hill Primary School, was reportedly found with multiple wounds to her body and her underwear was ripped away, suggesting that she might have been sexually abused. Trisha was last seen about 8 p.m. on Saturday in the company of a church sister. At least 14 children have been slain in Jamaica this year.(Jamaica Gleaner)…[+]

At least three top-level probes have been launched into a dramatic early morning murder in St Catherine yesterday that culminated in a high-speed car chase and a deadly shoot-out involving an off-duty cop and the alleged attackers, who turned out to be his colleagues. The rogue cops were on suspension from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Mobile Reserve outfit to which they are assigned.

One of them was killed in the shoot-out, another arrested, while the third escaped, police sources have reported. A motorist was also killed in the crossfire.

The cop who escaped, Corporal Kirk Fraser, and the one arrested, are on bail in connection with a 2015 murder for which they were charged in 2017. The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) is investigating whether the three suspended policemen were contract killers who used police resources and intelligence to facilitate their criminal undertakings.“That’s one of the theories we’re looking into right now. As you can imagine, there is a lot to look at, but based on what we have seen and the knowledge we have of these guys, we are certainly looking at that,” a senior INDECOM investigator told The Gleaner yesterday from the Spanish Town crime scene.(Jamaica Gleaner)…[+]

Gunmen have opened fire on a church in northern Burkina Faso, killing at least six people, officials say. The attackers reportedly arrived on seven motorbikes at the end of Sunday’s service and killed the pastor, two of his sons and three other worshippers. It is the first attack on a church since jihadist violence erupted in the West African country in 2016.

Fighters affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as the local Ansarul Islam have been active. Sunday’s attack on the Protestant church happened in the small town of Silgadji near Djibo, the capital of Soum province, at around 12:00 local time (12:00 GMT). The number of attackers involved or their possible affiliations is not clear.(BBC)…[+]

An actor who appeared in an award-winning film about child criminals in Naples has been stabbed by an alleged member of one of the Italian city’s “baby gangs”.

Artem Tkachuk, 18, originally from Ukraine, played a young mobster in The Piranhas, which told the story of the phenomenon of baby gangs, criminal groups led by youngsters, in Naples. The title refers to lingo used by the Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia, for the gangs and was based on a 2016 novel by the Italian writer Roberto Saviano.

Tkachuk was stabbed in Chiaia, a seafront neighbourhood in Naples, while out with a friend. Tkachuk told police the pair were approached by a baby gang at about 3am on Sunday morning. One of the gang members asked him if he lived in a neighbourhood called Rione Traiano, Tkachuk said, at which point he was stabbed twice in the stomach and his friend was beaten. The wounds are not serious. Police believe the youngster may have been set upon because of his role in the film, directed by Claudio Giovannesi, which won a Silver Bear best screenplay award at this year’s Berlin film festival. Tkachuk played the fictional character Tyson.(theguardian)…[+]

An elec­tri­cal black­out at the San Fer­nan­do Gen­er­al Hos­pi­tal left pa­tients hun­gry and in tears yes­ter­day. The hos­pi­tal, which ac­com­mo­dates more than 750 pa­tients, went dark around 1 pm. Be­fore the black­out, pa­tients were told that elec­tri­cal works had to be done and there would be a dis­rup­tion in sup­ply from 1 pm to 7 pm.

When the T&T Guardian vis­it­ed the hos­pi­tal around 5 pm the cor­ri­dors on the low­er floors were in com­plete dark­ness. Vis­i­tor Ra­jesh Ma­haraj, who went to Ward One, said, “You need a torch­light to go in there. The whole place dark and it is not even night time as yet.” Shan­ti Lokai wiped sweat from her brows. “It so hot in there I could not take it. I had to leave. I don’t know how they ex­pect peo­ple to stay in there.”

One the first floor of the Neo-sur­gi­cal Unit, a male pa­tient was seen bare­back on the cor­ri­dor and sweat­ing pro­fuse­ly. “I am feel­ing so sick in there. I can­not un­der­stand how there is no gen­er­a­tor. I am pray­ing that the cur­rent will come back soon,” he said. He added that the worst part of the black­out was the clo­sure of the kitchen.

“They gave us some bread and milk and said that is sup­per. We can­not get any food be­cause the kitchen is closed so we have to pray that some­one vis­its to bring us some­thing to eat,” he said.(Trinidad Guardian) …[+]

The outrage of the students striking from school over climate change inaction is “certainly justified”, according to Sir David Attenborough, who said older generations had done terrible damage to the planet. In an interview with the former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, the broadcaster and naturalist dismissed critics of the widely praised global movement of school strikes as cynics.

“[Young people] understand the simple discoveries of science about our dependence upon the natural world,” he said. “My generation is no great example for understanding – we have done terrible things.” The protests by young people were enormously encouraging, Attenborough said. “That is the one big reason I have for feeling we are making progress. If we were not making progress with young people, we are done.”

However, asked about the world his great-grandchildren will live in, he said: “I don’t spend time thinking about that because I can’t bear it. I’m just coming up to 93, and so I don’t have many more years around here. I find it difficult to think beyond that because the signs aren’t good.” On Friday, the youth strikes will continue with protests expected in 485 towns and cities in 72 countries, according to the Fridays for Future website. Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager whose solo strike sparked the worldwide action, told politicians this week: “You lied to us. You gave us false hope.”(theguardian)…[+]

WILLEMSTAD  – With tourism’s expanding role on the island and the launch of the new “Feel It for Yourself” branding campaign, it was time for a new website. The Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) has built and has just launched a new website. The new site sports vibrant colors and spectacular imagery of the island, with pictures and videos that will no doubt arouse the curiosity of potential travelers, prompting them to come and experience for themselves what the island is all about. Through the new website, the CTB offers travelers an easy-to-use platform that will help them have a memorable experience before, during and after their vacation in Curaçao. At the same time, the site is also a source of information to stakeholders in Curaçao and abroad.
Curacao.com is a key element of the digital marketing efforts to attract more visitors to the island. The new website was designed with modern travelers in mind, who are on the lookout for resources that will allow them to organize and plan their trip in advance. With the new curacao.com, users are for instance able to create an itinerary to visit and experience a number of local tourist attractions. As another feature, the new website also includes authentic experiences as told by past visitors to the island.
The new website offers content in six languages. French has been added to the previously offered languages; English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and German. This way, the CTB is providing visitors in the major markets with all the information they need about Curaçao in their own language. Please visit us at curacao.com and Feel It For yourself…[+]