Caribbean | Common News Update

Apr92021 by adminNo Comments

St. Vincent volcano erupts twice in Caribbean amid evacuation

World

April 9 (UPI) -- A volcano on the southeastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted twice Friday, hours after displaying increased seismic activity and prompting a mass evacuation of residents and visitors. St. Vincent is the largest of a chain of islands in the Lesser Antilles that make up the country St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The country's National Emergency Management Organization announced the eruption of La Soufriere volcano. Advertisement The agency tweeted that the volcano erupted four days shy of the 42nd anniversary of its 1979 explosion and that ash plumes Friday reached 20,000 feet and blew eastward. The second eruption was smaller than the first. St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves issued an evacuation order on Thursday for those in the "red ...

Dec262020 by adminNo Comments

Researchers use DNA to track original settlers of Caribbean islands

Science

Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The origins of the Caribbean's first islanders can be traced to two distinct groups, thousands of years apart, suggesting the archipelago was settled by highly mobile people, with distant relatives often living on different islands, a study published Thursday by Nature found. The islands' first inhabitants, a group of stone tool-users, boated to Cuba about 6,000 years ago, gradually expanding eastward to other islands during the region's Archaic Age, the researchers said. Advertisement Where they came from remains unclear, as their genetics do not match any particular Indigenous group, according to the researchers. However, similar artifacts found in Belize and Cuba may suggest a Central American origin, study co-author William Keegan said in a press release. Following ...

Nov132020 by adminNo Comments

Positive COVID-19 tests reported on first Caribbean cruise to resume operations amid pandemic

World

Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The first cruise ship to set sail in the Caribbean since the cruise industry ground to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic has confirmed cases of the virus among its passengers. In a press release on Thursday, the SeaDream Yacht Club said guests aboard the SeaDream I vessel have tested positive for COVID-19. Advertisement The release did not say how many passengers tested positive for the deadly and infectious coronavirus but said all crew have been tested and their results came back negative. Due to the positive cases, the SeaDream I has "paused" its current Caribbean voyage and has returned to Barbados, the company said. "We are working closely with local health and government authorities to resolve this situation in the best possible way," SeaDream's Andreas Brynes...

Aug112020 by adminNo Comments

USS Pinckney crews seize $4.5M worth of cocaine in Caribbean

Business

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Crews on the USS Pinckney seized more than 120 kilograms of suspected cocaine -- worth $ 4.5 million -- at the end of July, according to the Navy. In a Tuesday press release, the Navy said a helicopter on routine patrol encountered a vessel 200 nautical miles southwest of Jamaica and summoned the Pinckney. Advertisement U.S. crew members working in conjunction with Colombia's government and Navy searched the vessel and detained six people suspected of drug smuggling. According to the Navy, the mariners are now in Colombian custody, though one required medical assistance and was medically evacuated from the vessel for treatment. The Pinckney is deployed to the U.S. Fourth Fleet area of operations conducting what the Navy describes as enhanced counter drug operations missio...

Jun82020 by adminNo Comments

Genomic researchers detail the peopling of the Caribbean

Science

June 5 (UPI) -- Until now, the peopling of the Caribbean -- one of the last parts of the Americas to be settled by humans -- has remained poorly understood. Thanks to new analysis of the genomes of 93 ancient Caribbean islanders, researchers are gaining new insights into Caribbean's earliest settlers. Advertisement Research into the peopling of the Caribbean has been held back by the region's hot, humid weather. "In tropical climates DNA deteriorates faster, making it more difficult to reconstruct the sequences to a degree that allows us to answer the questions we have," Kathrin Nägele, doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, told UPI in an email. Scientists have also struggled to find funding for excavation work on the islands. "Fu...