Cocaine Haul Found Hidden in Backhoe Tyres.

ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — Former Virgin Islands Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal has been denied another attempt to secure release from federal custody while she appeals her criminal convictions, this time by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.In a terse order issued Tuesday, a two-judge panel consisting of Circuit Judges Cheryl Ann Krause and Cindy K. Chung denied O’Neal’s motion for release pending appeal.The order consisted of a single sentence:...

PHILIPSBURG, St Maarten — The Government of Sint Maarten has been ordered to pay more than US$44,000 in damages, plus interest and court costs, to an American tourist who suffered a serious hamstring injury after stepping into a pothole on a public road.The ruling, which has drawn attention to the legal responsibility governments may face for poorly maintained infrastructure, comes as the British Virgin Islands continues to grapple with widespread public frustration over the Territory’s own de...

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — A dispute that began with a Prime Minister complaining about lenient sentences has rapidly developed into one of the Caribbean’s most serious recent confrontations between political power and the judiciary.Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has publicly threatened to deport a sitting judge because of sentencing decisions he considers too lenient.The judge was not named.But Browne made his position unmistakably clear during a National Security Council meetin...

Former Managing Director of the British Virgin Islands Airports Authority (BVIAA), Kurt A.G. Menal, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Antigua and Barbuda’s VC Bird International Airport, marking a return to regional airport leadership following his departure from the Virgin Islands earlier this year.The Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority announced that Menal officially assumed the role on August 1, following what it described as an extensive recruitment process spanning several m...

Students across the British Virgin Islands will soon experience one of the most significant changes to Caribbean secondary education in decades after the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) announced it will replace traditional School-Based Assessments (SBAs) in most non-practical subjects with supervised assessments.The reforms, introduced in response to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), are expected to affect hundreds of students in the Virgin Islands who sit Caribbean Secondary...

The Caribbean literary community is mourning the loss of one of its most celebrated voices following the passing of renowned poet, novelist, columnist and sports writer Dr. Ian McDonald.Tributes have poured in from across the region, with Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, describing McDonald as “a literary figure of worth” and one of the Caribbean’s most distinguished sons.In a heartfelt message of condolence, President Ali reflected on McDonald’s remarkable life, which spanned several Ca...

Nearly nine years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands, the territory’s recovery effort has entered one of its darkest chapters.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), under the Trump Administration, has suspended all future federal funding to the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority (VIHFA), accusing the agency of years of financial mismanagement, weak oversight, false certifications, improper payments and allowing a culture in which fraud ...