MIAMI, CMC – A United States federal judge has sentenced two Bahamian men to lengthy federal prison terms for conspiring to smuggle four Jamaican and Trinidadian nationals into South Florida. Prosecutors said that one of the passengers died during the smuggling attempt. Tyrel Levarity, 23, was sentenced to 17 and a half years while 24-year-old Ahmad Toussaint was jailed for 14 years for their roles... 

Tarrus Riley and saxaphonist Dean Fraser deliver a stirring performance The US leg of reggae singer Tarrus Riley’s latest tour continues to attract fans from across the United States.  The jaunt has so far played in Connecticut, Rhode Island in New York, Virginia, Washington and New Jersey. In a release, Riley was quite excited about the tour and spoke about the acceptance of reggae music by its... 

New York, New York (June 10, 2010): On March 1, 2010, Willifest Inc. announced the launch of WILLiFEST™, an arts festival established to provide a creative platform for today’s emerging artists. The festival, which is slated for September 23-26, 2010, issued a call for entries to producers of films, screenplays and music to make submissions through the festival’s website, WILLiFEST.com... 

Kingston, Jamaica (CNN) -Violence in Jamaica surrounding the planned extradition to the United States of an alleged drug kingpin continued Monday, with police saying a number of people had died in an attack on the suspect’s stronghold in West Kingston. Police would not divulge the number of casualties. The unrest revolves around U.S. attempts to extradite suspected drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus”... 

Carty, who was found guilty of capital murder in February 2002, is one of 10 women on death row in Texas. An execution date is expected to be set later this year. HOUSTON, Texas, CMC – The United States Supreme Court has refused to review the death sentence of a Caribbean-born woman convicted of murder here eight years ago, paving the way for her execution. The court rejected an appeal from... 

Al Sharpton BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC - United States civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton on Friday condemned a new immigration law in Arizona as being dead wrong. The law, signed last week by the state’s governor, Jan Brewer, makes it a state crime to be in Arizona illegally and requires police and other law-enforcement agents to use “reasonable suspicion” to question and detain... 

Ramkissoon, who has been in jail since her August 2008 arrest, will not serve any further jail time. *Photo credit: www.wral.com BALTIMORE, CMC – A judge here has imposed a five-year probation sentence on a Trinidadian woman who starved her one year-old son to death allegedly at the urging of a religious cult leader. Baltimore Circuit Judge Timothy J. Doory imposed the sentence on Ria Ramkissoon,... 

Usain Bolt. BOSTON, Massachusetts, Apr 20, CMC – What does the World fastest man and a two-time Mr. Schoolboy body-builder from Barbados have in common? The answer is the sports brand, Puma. Usain Bolt’s near US $400 million product endorsement with the German-based sports equipment icon has the touch of Barbadian Adrian Gill, who is currently vice-president of Footwear at Puma AG. “Those orange... 

Stanford, who has been jailed here since he was indicted last June, goes on trial in January. *Photo credit: www.usnews.com HOUSTON, CMC – A United States federal judge says she will conduct a hearing in early September to determine who will pay the legal bills for indicted Texas financier Allen Stanford. Judge Nancy Atlas said the hearing will determine whether Stanford himself and his former top... 

Kamua Brathwaite PRESS RELEASE: Celebrated Caribbean poet/historian/cultural critic Kamau Brathwaite will host a selection of films from the Best of CaribbeanTales Film Festival 2010 (CTFF), at New York University from April 26th to May 1, 2010. The four-day mini-festival is part of Marassa 10 2010 : A Festival of Caribbean Film, Story and Imagination, that will take place at the Institute of African... 

Stanford. Photo credit: www.aishamusic.com ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – A damming internal report produced by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that US regulators were suspicious of R Allen Stanford’s business dealings since the 1990′s, but took no action. Media reports said that the SEC’s interest was first triggered two years after the Stanford Financial... 

MIAMI, CMC – United States law enforcement officials said citizens from two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries face deportation after they were apprehended when a boatload of people landed illegally at a beach in Fort Lauderdale on Monday night. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said that while it is possible that some of the migrants may have evaded arrest, those detained... 

Buju Banton. TAMPA, Florida, CMC – The trial of Jamaican reggae star, Buju Banton on drug related charges, has been delayed by more than a month, after a judge here set a trial date of June 21. The Grammy-nominated singer was due to appear in court on April 19, but US District Judge James Moody Thursday changed the date without explanation. “We really want to go to trial and were ready to... 

Dr. Conrad Murray LOS ANGELES, California, CMC –The Grenada-born doctor facing an involuntary manslaughter charge over the death of music icon Michael Jackson could have his medical licence suspended when he appears in court on Monday. Dr Conrad Murray, who grew up in Trinidad, faces trial in a Los Angeles court in the pop star’s death on June 25 last year. The California medical board said... 

NEW YORK, CMC – The United States Border Patrol has reported a surge in Haitians seeking to enter the country illegally from Canada in the months following the catastrophic earthquake in their Caribbean homeland. Officials say that in Vermont alone, they have caught more than 100 Haitians who crossed the border illegally since the January 12 earthquake. According to a report in the Burlington... 

MIAMI, Florida, CMC – United States federal authorities say they have released three dozen Haitian earthquake survivors from Florida detention centres after more than two months in custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Officials said the evacuees were placed in detention after arriving in the United States without proper paperwork following the catastrophic earthquake... 

Sir Allen Stanford (centre) is seen here being escorted by law enforcement authorities after his arrest last year. HOUSTON, Texas, CMC – Disgraced financier Sir Allen Stanford has filed a motion in federal court asking for new attorneys, his fourth set of lawyers in less than a year. Kent Schaffer, who along with George Secrest, currently represents Stanford, said they are more than happy... 

Buju Banton. *Photo credit: www.bajanfuhlife.com CLEARWATER, Florida, CMC – A magistrate has refused to release Jamaican reggae star, Buju Banton, on health grounds, saying that the singer could flee the country if released. Magistrate Anthony Porcelli said he was also not going to interfere with the operations of the Pinella County Jail where the Jamaican singer is being held. The Grammy... 

DALLAS, Texas, CMC – The United States receiver for the estate of indicted Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford has sued former Texas lieutenant governor Ben Barnes to recover consulting and lobbying fees he allegedly received during the past five years. In a complaint filed in the federal district court here, Ralph Janvey is demanding that Barnes, 71, who is now working as a lobbyist in Texas... 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. *Photo credit: topnews.in UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, 16 March – With only five years left until the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for the adoption of a global action agenda for accelerating progress towards the Goals, when world leaders meet at a UN Summit in New York in September. “We must... 

PHOENIX, Arizona, CMC – A Haitian man was sentenced here on Tuesday to nearly 17 years in prison for his conviction on multiple counts for leading a mortgage fraud scheme here that cost banks as much as US$9.5 million. The US Attorney’s Office here said Mario Bernadel, 51, was found guilty by a jury in September 2009 on 19 counts related to mortgage fraud, including mail, wire, and bank fraud,... 

WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States’ House of Representatives Financial Services Committee is expected to vote shortly on a resolution asking the US Secretary of the Treasury to direct the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to block funding to the government of Antigua and Barbuda. The action is part of a concerted campaign by the so-called Stanford Victims Coalition (SVC),... 

President Barack Obama. WASHINGTON, CMC – The White House says President Barack Obama will donate part of his Nobel Peace prize cash award to Haiti. Three months after he received the prestigious award, President Obama said 10 charities would benefit from the US$1.4 million cash award, with Haiti getting US$200,000. He said Haiti, severely devastated by a massive earthquake on January 12 that also... 

Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Sir George Alleyne accepts a proclamation in honor of the late Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies, Professor Rex Nettleford from the United States Congress. WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States Congress has posthumously honoured the late Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Professor Rex Nettleford... 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. *Photo credit: www.topnews.in NEW YORK, CMC – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday led United Nations staff, as well as family and friends, in honouring the memory of the 101 men and women who died during the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. “Today, we commemorate the single greatest loss the UN has suffered in its history,” a visibly shaken Ban said during... 

“I look forward to working closely with the Haitian government, the Obama administration, my colleagues in the Congress, and my constituents to create long term solutions for Haiti,” Clarke said. *Photo credit: www.bet.com NEW YORK, New York, CMC – Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke on Sunday called for continued close collaboration with Haitian authorities and support in addressing... 

Yetraj “James” Mangar. *Photo credit: www.stabroeknews.com NEW YORK, CMC – A New York judge has sentenced a Guyanese national  to 15 years in jail for killing his wife almost 18 months ago. Judge Richard Sise of Schenectady County Court in upstate New York imposed the sentenced on Yetraj “James” Mangar, 61, after he pleaded to a lesser charge of first degree manslaughter in January. He... 

Ishwardat “Danny” Raghunath. *Photo credit: www.stabroeknews.com NEW YORK, New York, CMC – A Guyanese man who went on the run after being fingered in an alleged US$7 million mortgage fraud has been caught, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has said. Spokesman James Margolin said that Ishwardat “Danny” Raghunath, 46, who lived in Queens, was nabbed on Wednesday afternoon in the... 

Harlem Democratic Congressman Charles B. Rangel, the dean of the New York Congressional delegation, has been caught in a web of ethics inquiries. *Photo credit: www.nypost.com NEW YORK, CMC – An ardent United States Congressional advocate for the Caribbean on Wednesday said he will temporarily step down from his powerful post as chairman of Ways and Means Committee in the US House of Representatives. Harlem... 

Some of the devastation left after the magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Chile. *Photo credit: seattletimes.nwsource.com (28 February 2010) The United Nations System in Chile said today that there were no casualties among UN staff following the earthquake that hit that country during the early hours of 27 February, and they reaffirmed their solidarity and commitment to the government and people of Chile... 

*Photo credit: www.mobilemarketingwatch.com This report was issued by OCHA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and covers the period from 27 February to 1 March. The next report will be issued on or around the 4 March. I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES - Latest figures indicate at least 723 people killed and 2 million affected. - Major airport still operating with restrictions. - Government... 

Wyclef Jean. LOS ANGELES, California, CMC - The leading United States civil rights organisation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has honoured Grammy award-winning Haitian artiste, Wyclef Jean, for his humanitarian work in his native land. Jean, 37, a songwriter, musician, producer and humanitarian, received the group’s prestigious Vanguard Award on Friday... 

A car is crushed under the ruins of a building. The quake's epicenter was located off the coast of Maule, about 200 miles southwest of Santiago. *Photo credit: www.cnn.com SANTIAGO, Chile, CMC – Six weeks after a powerful earthquake devastated the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country of Haiti, a tremor with a magnitude of 8.8 destroyed large parts of southern Chile and sent huge waves racing... 

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. NEW YORK, CMC – Caribbean American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke says she has been vindicated by a review of the United States House of Representatives’ Ethics Committee on a trip to the Caribbean in 2007. “I am pleased that the House Ethics Committee concluded that I committed no wrongdoing and followed the proper procedures surrounding a trip that... 

Santiago, Chile (CNN) — A massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake rocked Chile early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, killing at least 147 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin. Warning sirens were sounded in Hawaii at 6 a.m., although any possible tsunami would not strike for several hours. Tsunamis can travel at 400 to 500 mph, the speed of a jet plane, said...