SAN JUAN — At least five Haitian migrants drowned and 68 others were rescued Thursday after a suspected human smuggling boat dropped the group off in waters near an uninhabited island west of Puerto Rico, officials said. The incident is the latest in a string of deadly voyages across the northern Caribbean carrying mostly Haitian […]
Category: Humanitarian News
Haiti Battling Multiple Crises and Surging Gang Violence As Hunger Worsens
PORT-AU-PRINCE — In Haiti, where almost half the population is already food insecure, hunger is set to rise amidst increasing inflation, high costs of food and fuel and deteriorating security, warns the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). As criminal groups block roads, WFP continues to provide assistance to vulnerable Haitians and supports the humanitarian […]
A Year After Protests, Cuba Struggles To Emerge From Crisis
HAVANA — A year after the largest protests in decades shook Cuba’s single-party government, hundreds of people who participated are in prison and the economic and political factors that caused the demonstrations largely remain. Streets and public squares filled with protesters on July 11 and 12, 2021, some answering social media appeals, others joining spontaneously […]
Girlfriend of Prisoner Who Died In STT Jail Wants ‘Justice For Craig’
CHARLOTTE AMALIE — The girlfriend of a hemophiliac man who died in the St. Thomas jail has started a GoFundMe page for his funeral expenses in California. Taylor Hayes, said her boyfriend Craig Vanausdal, needed life-sustaining medication “multiple times per week” which he was not given at the Charlotte Amalie facility. Vanausdal, 36, a native […]
Coast Guard Rescues 38 Survivors From Capsized Vessel in the Mona Passage
SAN JUAN — The Coast Guard suspended at 10 p.m. Sunday the four-day search for additional survivors of a capsized vessel in Mona Passage waters between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Rescued are 38 survivors, 36 Haitian and two Dominican Republic nationals. Rescue crews also recovered 11 people deceased, whose nationalities are yet to […]
IBEX CARES: Jamaican Team Raises $6,462.69 To Help Co-Worker Who Lost Her Legs
KINGSTON — IBEX, a leading global provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) and customer engagement technology solutions, today announced its team in Jamaica raised $6,462.69 ($1 million Jamaican dollars) to help pay for new prosthetic legs for teammate Charmonique Willis. Willis lost her legs when she was two years old and needs new prosthetics. “I […]
Food Shipment Supports At Least 3,700 Families After Haitian Earthquake
PORT-AU-PRINCE — At least 3,700 families across several Salesian programs and educational centers in Haiti had access to better nutrition thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and Rise Against Hunger, an international relief organization that provides food and life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable. In the […]
Cuba Adopts Russian Narrative On Ukraine War
HAVANA — When Brent Renaud was killed covering the impact of the Ukraine war, state media in Cuba described the American photojournalist as a CIA agent. The state-run news website Cubadebate cited an Iranian news outlet as the source of the story, which it ran on March 13. But it didn’t specify the name of the […]
Mother, Father Put Baby In Car Safety Seat On Sidewalk Saying: ‘We Don’t Want To Care For Her Any More’
SAN JUAN —The San Juan Municipal Police arrested a woman this morning who abandoned her three-month-old baby on Lippit Street in Santurce, Puerto Rico. According to preliminary information, at about 1:15 a.m., a call came in reporting that a baby was left abandoned on a sidewalk in her car seat. Municipal police officers immediately responded […]
Social Security Will Allow Citizens To Self-Identify Sex Of Choice In Their Records
Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the agency will offer people the choice to self-select their sex on their Social Security number (SSN) record. The agency anticipates this option will be available in the fall of 2022. “The Social Security Administration is committed to reducing barriers and ensuring the fair treatment of […]