CANE BAY — North Shore Road (officially Sidney Lee Road) is a “death trap” — especially trying to drive it at night — St. Croix residents angrily complained on social media this weekend. Teams of 45-inch high warning bollards with heavyweight rubber bases are stacked at the edge of particularly rough stretches of a St. […]
Category: Territorial Affairs
Jamaica Likely To Follow Barbados’ Lead In Becoming Independent Republic
KINGSTON — Jamaica’s Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte says an announcement is expected by the end of the second quarter next year in relation to Jamaica’s way forward to becoming a republic, The Jamaica Observer reported. “A document is currently being prepared for the prime minister and I do believe that, in due course, perhaps […]
Barbados Bids Farewell To British Monarchy, Becomes Independent Republic
BRIDGETOWN — Barbados stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II today as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history. Several leaders, dignitaries and artists, including Prince Charles and Rihanna, attended the ceremony that began late Monday in a popular square where the statue of […]
France Sends More Police, SWAT Team, Extends Curfew In Caribbean Territory
PARIS — The French government will send police reinforcements, including an elite SWAT team, and extend a curfew in the French island of Guadeloupe after two weeks of unrest, the overseas territories minister said on Monday. Police have been shot at and stores looted in protests against plans to make vaccination for health workers compulsory, […]
French Interior Minister Heads To Caribbean Territories to Defuse Tensions
PARIS — France’s minister for overseas territories will hold crisis talks on its Caribbean islands starting today, an official said, as the government looks to defuse tensions after more than a week of unrest stemming from its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic there. “I don’t think we will return to Paris necessarily having resolved the […]
France Caves To Violent Protests In Martinique, Guadeloupe Over COVID Rules
PARIS — France has postponed a mandatory coronavirus vaccination requirement for health workers in Guadeloupe and Martinique, after the measure spurred several days of widespread protests and unrest in the French Caribbean territories. In a statement today, the French health ministry said the implementation of the vaccination requirement – also in place in mainland France – would […]
France Says Several Police Injured During Unrest in Martinique and Guadeloupe
BASSE-TERRE — French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said today that several members of the police force had been injured as a result of civil unrest during protests against COVID-19 protocols on France’s Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. “In Guadeloupe and Martinique, our security forces as well as journalists have been the target of attacks […]
France’s Martinique Territory Imposes Curfew After Looting, Lawlessness
FORT-DE-FRANCE — Authorities on the Caribbean island of Martinique ordered a curfew on Thursday after protesters looted shops and set up burning barricades as demonstrations against COVID-19 protocols spread across France’s overseas’ territories. Martinique and neighboring Guadeloupe have been hit by violent unrest over the last week after the government imposed tougher measures to curb […]
A New Republic Is Born: Barbados Celebrates Ditching Britain’s Queen
BRIDGETOWN — Barbados, a former British colony, will next week ditch Queen Elizabeth as head of state, breaking its last remaining imperial bonds with Britain nearly 400 years since the first English ship arrived at the Caribbean island. Barbados casts the removal of Elizabeth II, who is queen of Barbados and 15 other realms including […]
Gunshots Fired At Police In France’s Martinique, Guadeloupe Still Tense
FORT-DE-FRANCE — Gunshots were fired overnight at police in Martinique for the second night running, French media reported today, in a sign that unrest triggered by COVID-19 restrictions that has also rocked the nearby island of Guadeloupe. BFM TV, quoting police forces, reported that shootings lasted for several hours and noted the situation was still […]