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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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,... 

MIAMI, CMC – Hurricane Danielle intensified on Friday to reach Category Four status and residents in the British Overseas territory of Bermuda were being told they should monitor the progress of the second named hurricane for the 2010 Atlantic season. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Danielle was about 545 miles south east of Bermuda with winds of 135 miles per hour. NHC... 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- Six Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations – among the world’s most vulnerable to climate change – have now endorsed the controversial climate change deal struck last December, the environment and development non-governmental organisation, Panos Caribbean, reported Thursday. Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica have joined... 

MIAMI, CMC – Hurricane Danielle moved closer towards the Leeward Islands on Wednesday as another storm formed in the Eastern Atlantic. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Danielle was now 685 miles east northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and was packing winds of 85 miles per hour. The NHC said that Danielle, a Category One storm, was located at latitude 21.2 north, longitude... 

WASHINGTON, CMC – Energy ministers from two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries will join their counterparts from Central America for a three day meeting in South Florida. The Organisation of American States (OAS) says it has joined with the United States Department of State and the Brazil government in organising the August 26-28 “Renewable Energy Meeting and Site Visit for Energy Ministers... 

MIAMI, CMC – A strengthening Hurricane Danielle was moving closer to the Leeward Islands on Wednesday, amid concerns that the Category One storm could further strengthen as it churns across the Atlantic. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Danielle, the second named hurricane for the 2010 season, was 795 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds... 

MIAMI, CMC – Hurricane Danielle weakened to a Category One storm on Tuesday but weather forecasters said it could regain strength over the next 48 hours. Danielle, the second hurricane for the 2010 season, was located 985 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and the forecasters said it does not pose a threat to any Caribbean country. Danielle is moving towards the west-northwest at 20 miles per hour... 

MIAMI, CMC – The second hurricane of the 2010 season strengthened to a Category Two status, but weather forecasters said that Danielle was far out at sea and posed no immediate threat to any Caribbean country. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the storm was 1, 110 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and had winds of 100 miles per hour. It said that Danielle was located latitude... 

MIAMI, CMC – Tropical storm Danielle became the second hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic  season on Monday with weather forecasters indicating that it would become a “major hurricane” by Wednesday. The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the hurricane, packing winds of 75 miles per hour, was posing no threat to any Caribbean country adding that no coastal watches or warnings were... 

Thomas ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Prime Minister Tillman Thomas leaves here on Tuesday to attend the two-day meeting a  major environmental meeting in the United States. A government statement said that Thomas, who is also Chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a  United Nations sub-group of 43 states, will attend the August 25-26 conference in  Louisiana which is being held... 

MIAMI, CMC – Tropical Storm Danielle was strengthening and could become a hurricane by Monday night, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC). But it said that the storm, which was located about 1,925 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands posed no immediate threat to Caribbean countries. Danielle was packing sustained winds of 65 miles per hour and the present movement is west... 

TOKYO, Japan, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) foreign ministers are due here early next month to attend the second Japan-CARICOM Ministerial conference, it has been officially announced. An official statement said that the September 1 meeting will be followed by a public symposium on Climate Change and Biodiversity. “The fourteen member countries of the CARICOM represent one of the most... 

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 jolted Dominica on Monday but there were no reports of damage or injury. The Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies (UWI) said that the earthquake occurred southeast of Dominica at 12.30 a.m. local time and was also felt in St. Lucia. “The event was located at 15.32°N, 61.03°W. The magnitude was 4.9 and the depth... 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner says he will be seeking support from the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping in approaching international organisations for support in dealing with environmental matters in the region. In a statement, Warner said that the statistics on the annual rainfall in Trinidad and Tobago and the average temperatures over the... 

NEW YORK, CMC – Grenada’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr. Dessima Williams has praised the contributions of Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean countries to the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Dr. Williams, who is also chair of AOSIS, made the comment during a meeting on Friday with a delegation from Trinidad and Tobago which included Environment Minister, Dr.... 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A 5.1 magnitude earthquake rattled Trinidad and Tobago during the early hours of Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies (UWI) said that the quake, which occurred at 4.40 am local time, was centred north of the Paria Peninsula. It was located at 11.28 degrees north, 62.49... 

Bissessar PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The chief executive officer of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) has quit amidst criticism of the agency’s handling of the recent flooding in parts of the country. National Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy said Colonel George Robinson, who had been on secondment from the state-owned oil company, Petrotrin, would be returning... 

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Meteorologists are monitoring two weather systems in the Atlantic, one of which they believe has the potential to become at least a tropical storm over the next two days. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, which is responsible for storm prediction in the Caribbean basin, said Wednesday that a low pressure system producing showers and thunderstorms about... 

BONN, Germany, CMC – Antigua and Barbuda says the latest round of negotiations on a global agreement on climate change ended here on Monday with very little signs of overall progress. As a result, Antigua and Barbuda, which chaired the United Nations’ Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP), said many of the nearly 2000 delegates from 175 countries predict that the task of deciding the... 

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Sluggish Tropical Storm Colin has been downgraded to a tropical depression, but forecasters said it remained a threat to Bermuda until it passed the island on Sunday afternoon. The Bermuda Weather Service (BWA) said the closest point of approach to the island by Colin, packing 35 miles per hour winds, would be 3:00pm local time when it would be 44 miles to the west. “Strong,... 

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC –At least six international flights were cancelled and beaches remained closed on Saturday as Tropical Storm Colin, packing winds of up to 40 miles per hour, headed towards Bermuda. The Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) in its latest bulletin at 2.00 pm (local time), said the storm was more than 200 miles to the south-southwest and that it would come within 48 miles north-west... 

CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – Environmental Minister Richard Frederick says UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) has deferred a decision on whether or not to place St. Lucia’s world famous mountains, the Pitons, on an endangered list. Frederick addressed the WHC at its meeting in Brazil this week amid growing concerns here that the Pitons, which were declared a world heritage site in 2004, could... 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Heavy rains over the past few days have shut down the operations at the state-owned oil company, Petrotrin, but Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan has given an assurance that the temporary closure will not result in a shortage of gasoline and other petroleum products. “I’m informed by Petrotrin officials that the complete restart process should take... 

CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – An American company is set to soon begin drilling for geothermal energy in St Lucia after reaching a new agreement with the island’s government. The binding 30-year agreement between the St Lucia government and UNEC Corporation of the United States allows the company to begin drilling in the Soufriere exploratory region, west of here. A drilling schedule is expected... 

Gray FORT COLLINS, Colorado, CMC – Forecasters at the Colorado State University are maintaining their prediction for an above average Atlantic hurricane season this year. The hurricane team, which includes the respected meteorologist William Gray, said it was sticking with its June prediction of 18 named storms – ten of them hurricanes – the year based on unusually warm sea surface temperatures... 

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Heavy rains over the past few days have resulted in widespread floods across the country, destroying a number of homes and properties but no casualties, disaster officials have said. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters that her administration is concerned that the flood relief efforts being led by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management...