Tag Archives: Caribbean

Pink News reports: On Monday, 12 December, the High Court of Barbados further undid its colonial-era homosexuality laws by scrapping Sections 9 and 12 of the Barbados Sexual Offences Act. Also known as “buggery” and “serious indecency” laws, which criminalised consensual same-sex intimacy, punishment ranged from life imprisonment under Section 9, and up to 10 years in jail under Section …

The Associated Press reports: Serious, standing upright and dressed in long gala dresses – despite the midday Cuban heat – Lisset and Liusba quietly walk up the ten steps of the notary office, their hands clenched and shaking. Less than a few feet ahead walk their two young daughters. Nearly an hour later, when they walked out of the doors, …

The BBC reports: Cuba has voted to legalise same-sex marriage in a national referendum. About two-thirds of the population voted to approve reforms in a new Family Code, which will also allow surrogate pregnancies and give gay couples the right to adopt children. It marks a big moment for Cuba, which saw gay people persecuted and sent to work camps …

Reuters reports: Cubans will cast ballots this Sunday on whether to approve a new ‘family code’ that would legalize gay marriage and boost women’s rights, with the government urging citizens to vote “yes” despite anger over the worst economic crisis in decades. The Communist-run government – long the vanguard of Latin America’s left – has in the last week flooded …

CNN reports: Power has gone out across all of the US territory of Puerto Rico on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us, as Hurricane Fiona bears down on the islands, which are already grappling with the threat of flooding and mudslides stemming from the Category 1 storm. “Puerto Rico is 100% without power due to a transmission grid failure from Hurricane Fiona,” …

Reuters reports: A Caribbean regional court has ruled that a Saint Kitts and Nevis prohibition on gay sex is unconstitutional because it violates the right to privacy, striking down one of a handful of bans on same-sex intercourse that still exist in the region. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court ruled against two portions of the Offences Against the Person Act, …

Reuters reports: Cuba’s communist government is seeking to rally support for a new family code that would open the door to gay marriage and boost women’s rights, but experts and a recent survey suggest an upcoming referendum vote may not provide a rubber stamp. The new code would legalize same sex marriage and civil unions, allow such couples to adopt …

The Associated Press reports: Barbados stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history. Barbados didn’t need permission from the U.K. to become a republic, although the island will remain a member of the Commonwealth Realm. It’s an event that the …

CNN reports: The US Geological Survey said it’s likely that casualties are “high” after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Haiti Saturday morning. “High casualties are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” according to the USGS. Haiti’s Civil Protection told CNN there have been fatalities and damage. A tsunami threat that had been issued for the region has passed, according …

The New York Times reports: Shouting “Freedom” and other anti-government slogans, hundreds of Cubans took to the streets in cities around the country on Sunday to protest food and medicine shortages, in a remarkable eruption of discontent not seen in nearly 30 years. Hundreds of people marched through San Antonio de los Baños, southwest of Havana, with videos streaming live …

The New York Times reports: Haitian government officials took the extraordinary step of requesting that the United States send in troops to protect Haiti’s port, airport, gasoline reserves and other key infrastructure as the country has descended into turmoil in the wake of the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moïse early Wednesday morning. Haiti has a history of unwanted American …

The Associated Press reports: Two men believed to be Haitian Americans — one of them purportedly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port au Prince — have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s president, a senior Haitian official said Thursday. Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s minister of elections, told The Associated Press that James Solages was among …

CNN reports: Four suspects connected to the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise [photo] were killed by police on Wednesday, and another two have been detained, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States said. Speaking to CNN en Español on Wednesday night, Ambassador Bocchit Edmond said the suspects were foreigners and Haitian National Police were in the process of determining their …

NBC News reports: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, the country’s interim prime minister said in a statement Wednesday. First Lady Martine Moïse is hospitalized following the attack late Tuesday, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. Joseph condemned what he called a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act,” adding that Haiti’s National …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Raúl Castro said Friday he was stepping down as chief of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party, leaving behind a demoralized country running on little except post-revolutionary fumes as it struggles with growing food shortages and rising discontent. Mr. Castro’s retirement announcement, which came during a four-day party congress in Havana, marks a generational change as the …

The Associated Press reports: La Soufriere volcano fired an enormous amount of ash and hot gas early Monday in the biggest explosive eruption yet since volcanic activity began on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent late last week, with officials worried about the lives of those who have refused to evacuate. Experts called it a “huge explosion” that generated …

The New York Times reports: A volcano in the southern Caribbean that had been dormant for decades erupted on Friday, spewing clouds of ash and smoke miles into the sky.  The volcano, known as La Soufrière, on the northern tip of the main island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which began showing signs of renewed activity in late December, …

The Guardian reports: A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck in the sea south of Cuba, triggering a tsunami warning for Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but tsunami warnings were quickly issued. The quake also hit the Cayman Islands, leaving cracked roads and what appeared to be sewage spilling from …

Erasing 76 Crimes reports: Trinidad’s High Court today ruled that the nation’s law against same-sex intimacy is unconstitutional. Justice Devindra Rampersad, who is presiding over the case, stated in his ruling: “The court declares that sections 13 and 16 of the [Sexual Offences Act] are unconstitutional, illegal, null, void, invalid and of no effect to the extent that these laws …

Trinidad’s Newsday reports: Over 500 activists, mobilised by T&T Cause – a coalition of local evangelical churches – congregated in front the Parliament building yesterday. It was the starting point of their peaceful march to protest the possibility that the High Court may rule against the constitutionality of buggery laws – all in defense of preserving family values. The protest …