9th September 2010 – At 8:00AM the centre of Tropical Storm Igor was located near Latitude 14.1 North/Longitude 24.2 West, or about 50 miles south southeast of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands. Igor is drifting northward at about 2 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 40mph. Igor is expected to gradually turn west northwest today then accelerate and take a track to the west by Friday. By... 

Roseau, Dominica (September 6, 2010) – On September 25, 2010, RBC Royal Bank of Canada is sponsoring fundraising walk/runs across the Caribbean to benefit the RBC/RBTT Children’s Cancer Fund. In Dominica, the walk/run will start at 5:30 a.m. from the RBC Royal Bank of Canada branch on the Dame Eugenia Boulevard. RBC invites community members to join RBC employees in the event to raise funds for... 

Organic Records’ Roger Grant and co founder of the newly formed 619 Entertainment, continues in his bid to discover and unearth new talent. Grant, who was instrumental in the career of Guyanese national Natural Black’s rise and subsequent success with songs including Songs with Feeling and Bad Mind, is forging ahead with numerous musical projects. Grant along with Marcello Johnson, Benton Dunn... 

Fifteen lights rising from the West will shine bright in October when The University of the West Indies (UWI) confers honorary degrees in the annual Graduation Ceremonies to be held throughout its four campuses. The ceremonies begin on October 16th at the Open Campus Graduation, where Mrs Beverley Steele, CBE, MH and Professor Caryl Phillips will receive the honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) and Doctor... 

Alphonsus Arrow Cassell Alphonsus Arrow Cassell is in Antigua for medical treatment. A spokesperson for the family says he is at the Mount St. John Hospital for specialized medical care. He is under the expert supervision of well known physician Dr. Prince Ramsey and the respected Dr. Deon Thomas. Arrow has been ill for some time and the entire Montserrat Community at home and abroad has been praying... 

Literary enthusiasts will travel to Montserrat in November for the second annual literary festival, the Alliougana Festival of the Word. With the theme, Discovering New Worlds Through Words, the November 12-14 event will bring together acclaimed writers and readers from the Caribbean, North America, United Kingdom and Australia. Confirmed speakers include award-winning poet and author Kwame Dawes... 

SCOTCH PLAINS, New Jersey (September 4, 2010) – The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism has announced its sponsorship of the Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx), slated for the Jamaican capital of Kingston from September 30 to October 4, 2010. “It’s wonderful to be recognized in this way by the Ministry, led by Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, one of the... 

DEFINITION A hurricane is a tropical cyclone (see below) in which the maximum average wind speed near a centre or eye exceeds 74 mph or 119 Km/h. The winds rotate in a counter-clockwise spiral around a region of low pressure. In the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific such systems are they are called HURRICANES. In the Western Pacific, including the Philippines – TYPHOONS, near Australia – WILLY WILLY... 

ST AUGUSTINE, Trinidad And Tobago – Professor Clement Sankat, Pro Vice Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI) and St Augustine Campus Principal, together with Mr Ewart Williams, Governor of the Trinidad and Tobago Central Bank and current Chair of the UWI St Augustine Campus Council, will host a press conference on Thursday September 2nd at 11a.m. at the Central Bank to launch an appeal... 

September 2, 2010 – At 11:00 am  Tropical Depression Gaston was located near 14.0/38.9W, or about 1500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, moving northwest at 7 mph. Maximum sustained winds are holding at 35 mph and the minimum central pressure was recorded at 1008MB. Gaston is expected to track slowly to the west to west-northwest for the next few days. Following this, a faster motion to... 

 Princess Thundah With the ability to woo any audience, reggae music’s newest singing sensation Princess Thundah, believes it’s only a matter of time before she becomes a household name. It has been a while now since the militant songbird, born Princess Saulas, has been honing her voice in numerous studios, with the hope that one day her hard work would eventually pay off. When... 

Dr Ernest Madu, chief executive officer at the Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC), speaking at the Observer Monday Exchange meeting of reporters and editors this week. Beside him is Dr Dainia Baugh, president HIC and chair of the Heart Institute of the Caribbean Foundation. (Photo: Naphtali Junior) CARDIOLOGIST Dr Ernest Madu believes a number of Jamaica’s health and economic problems could... 

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has called on residents to monitor the passage of Tropical Storm Fiona as the island emerged virtually unscathed from its close encounter with Hurricane Earl on Monday. Spencer told citizens that it may become necessary for the Leeward Islands to be placed under a tropical storm watch as Fiona was formed in the Atlantic on Monday afternoon. The... 

MIAMI, CMC – A powerful hurricane was moving across the northern Leeward Islands on Monday with weather officials predicting it could strengthen further over the next 24 hours. At 5.00 pm local time, Hurricane Earl was located 110 miles north east of San Juan Puerto Rico and was expected to pass east of the Turks and Caicos Islands later on Tuesday or early Wednesday. It was moving at 15 miles per... 

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Several persons were evacuated from their homes on Monday as a rampaging Hurricane Earl dumped seven inches of rain on Antigua and Barbuda, flooding low lying communities. Disaster officials said that the Category Three storm felled trees and utility poles and triggered an island wide blackout. Officials from the State-owned Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) were... 

MIAMI, CMC – Hurricane Earl strengthened to a Category Three storm on Monday even as some Caribbean islands were breathing a sigh of relief over its passage. At 11.00 am, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the center of Hurricane Earl was located 95 miles east north east of St. Thomas and 165 miles east of San Juan Puerto Rico. The storm is packing winds of 120 miles per hour. But... 

ATLANTA, CMC – The United States government has reversed its decision to deny a Barbadian woman more time with her cancer-stricken daughter. Petra Gooding, 30, said she was given a September 2 deadline to leave the United States after her visitor’s visa expired. She has spent 10 months here as her 7-year-old-daughter, Niamh Stoute, undergoes intense chemotherapy for stage four cancer at the Aflac... 

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Two earthquakes rattled Dominica on Sunday night, but there were no immediate damage or injuries. The Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies said that the quakes were felt one minute apart and had a magnitude of 2.7. It said that the two earthquakes occurred on land in Southern Dominica and the preliminary results may vary “when additional data is processed”. On... 

Bissessar PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has said that four people, including two who had refused to accept the Trinity Cross in previous years, would be given Trinidad and Tobago’s new highest national awards as the country prepares to mark its 48th anniversary of political independence from Britain on Tuesday. Persad Bissessar said that the Order of Trinidad... 

MIAMI, CMC – Hurricane Earl, the third named storm of the 2010 season, is moving across the northern Leeward Islands on Monday, with Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla issuing hurricane watches for its residents. In addition, the French islands of Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius as well as the British and US Virgin Islands have also... 

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Residents here rushed to purchase items and secure their property on Sunday as Tropical Storm Earl headed toward the northern Leeward Islands. Dozens of residents could be seen making last-minute purchases of candles, bottled water, tinned foods, garbage bags and other items, while scores lined up at gas stations to purchase fuel for their vehicles. The authorities announced... 

WOODS HOLE, Massachusetts, CMC – Scientists have confirmed widespread plastic pollution across areas of the Caribbean and the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. “It is the most extensive de scri ption of plastic in the North Atlantic Ocean,” said Kara Lavender Law, a physical oceanographer at the Sea Education Association and lead author of the study. She said the plastic in question is swirling around... 

Banton MIAMI, CMC – The trial of reggae superstar Buju Banton – whose correct name is Mark Myrie – has again been pushed back, leaving the Jamaican to spend more time in an American jail before getting a chance to clear his name, the Gleaner newspaper reported Sunday. The latest postponement has left the legal team of the reggae icon frustrated. “The trial was pushed back to September... 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Ministry of Health said that an adult male has been confirmed as the first recorded death as a result of Dengue Fever in Barbados. Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joy St. John expressed sympathy to the family of the deceased and urged Barbadians who are experiencing symptoms of Dengue Fever, including sudden high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, muscle and... 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has given an assurance that the harmonious relations that exist between Barbados and Cuba will continue, as Cuban Ambassador, Pedro Garcia Roque’s tour of duty ends. Stuart said that ties between the two nations had deepened and strengthened since diplomatic relations commenced more than 30 years ago. He pointed to the upcoming... 

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – The Traffic Department has advised motor vehicle owners to remove all vehicles including broken down vehicles from College and Westbourne Ghauts and other water courses around the island, ahead of the passage of Tropical Storm Earl which is expected to affect the island on Sunday. “Motorists are also asked to avoid crossing these water courses when they are active,... 

nhc.noaa.gov MIAMI, CMC – Hurricane warnings are in effect for several countries as Tropical Storm Earl, which is expected to become a hurricane later Sunday, races for the northern Leeward Islands. At 5:00am Earl was located near latitude 16.9 north, longitude 56.9 west or about 420 miles/675 kilometres east of the northern Leeward Islands. Earl is packing maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per... 

LIAT/TROPICAL STORM EARL ADVISORY # 1 ISSUED AT 5:30PM ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, August 28, 2010 – LIAT wishes to advise that it will be forced to suspend some services from Sunday afternoon due to the expected passage of Tropical Storm Earl over the Leeward Islands. The following flights are likely to be affected: ·         LI 508/509 – Antigua/St. Maarten/Tortola/St. Maarten/Antigua ·        ... 

by Peter Richards PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Five eminent Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nationals have called on the Trinidad and Tobago government to “distance itself” from what they refer to as threats to the existence of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). In a three-page statement, former Jamaica prime minister PJ Patterson, former Caribbean Community (CARICOM) secretary general Alister... 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados is sending a four-member delegation to the third joint meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and the Council of the for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) that takes place in Guyana, from September 1. Environment Minister Dr. Denis Lowe is heading the team to the three day Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meetings at which several key... 

Douglas BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – The Kitts and Nevis government says it will launch the first phase of a project that provides high school and college students with their personal laptops by the end of the year. But Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas has warned recipients that the laptops must be valued and viewed as the key to intellectual liberation and academic advancement. “I urge all recipients,... 

MIAMI, CMC – A tropical storm warning was in effect for a number of Caribbean islands, including Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis as Tropical Storm Earl moved closer to the Leeward Islands on Saturday. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the storm which could become a Hurricane “by tonight or Sunday” was 800 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands... 

Price KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Tax officials Friday seized two vehicles belonging to the popular dancehall artist Bounty Killer after all efforts to get him to pay outstanding taxes have failed. The Special Enforcement Unit (SET) of the Island Revenue Department, with the support of the police moved into Bounty Killer’s residence in St. Andrew and took away two top class automobiles. The singer,... 

MIAMI, CMC – Residents in the Northern Leeward Islands were on Friday urged to monitor the progress of Tropical Storm Earl that could become a hurricane by Sunday. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the storm was now located latitude 15.7 north, longitude 43.6 west or about 1,300 miles of the Northern Leeward Islands. It could become the third hurricane of the 2010 season,... 

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – A one-day Caribbean workshop on human rights in the Western Hemisphere is taking place here on Friday with gays and lesbians preparing the ground-work to file complaints of discrimination to the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Co-chair of Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Joel Simpson told the workshop that the Organisation...