Ghana only has about 60 western chimpanzees left spread across spots like Bia National Park and a couple of forest reserves, and the Wildlife Division says illegal mining operations are basically wiping out their habitat while mercury and cyanide from gold processing contaminate everything. A pathologist examined over 4,000 placentas and found heavy metals everywhere, with about 500 miscarriages linked to contamination, and doctors in mining towns are seeing more kids born with heart defects and deformities but most stay quiet because they fear retaliation.
A 13-year-old named Kwaku dropped out of school to crush ore and burn mercury-gold mixtures over open flames while inhaling toxic fumes that cause brain damage. Primatologist...
The Dormaahene dropped a brand-new car on Jennifer Addae after she locked down valedictorian status at the University of Energy and Natural Resources with a 3.95 GPA in chemistry. Osagyefo Oseadeayo Agyemang Badu II announced the school's graduation ceremony in Sunyani, and he said top performers will keep getting vehicles every year while he runs the council. He also threw a million cedis at infrastructure upgrades for the Dormaa campus.
Addae used her speech to talk about climate stuff being a major issue, and she told everyone to level up their communities wherever they land. The chief stressed that diversity matters for getting students industry-ready, and the whole setup focuses on practical training instead of just theory.
The US Embassy in Accra confirmed that nine Ghanaians got shipped to America this year over cybercrime charges, and Chargé d'Affaires Rolf Olson told reporters the suspects allegedly ran financial scams that hit victims for millions through online impersonation schemes. He made it clear that extradition does not mean guilt since everyone gets a fair trial, but anyone convicted could end up doing serious prison time depending on what the courts decide.
Olson praised Ghana's government for cooperation levels he called exceptional, saying President John Dramani Mahama's administration helped make the nine extraditions happen through a strong partnership between the Attorney General and the Interior Minister. The diplomat noted America...
Dominica's PM Roosevelt Skerrit says his country could step in to cool things down between Washington and Caracas if either side wants help, and he keeps pushing the whole Caribbean-as-a-peace-zone angle while American military ops ramp up around Venezuela. He pointed out that Dominica has pulled off the middleman thing before and stays tight with both governments, but he really hopes nobody actually needs mediation since the US has a track record of brokering deals elsewhere.
Washington has been hitting vessels near Venezuela since September under the drug war banner, and over 80 people have died from those strikes. The UN human rights chief and the Inter-American Commission both said the operations break international law and need to...
Trinidad and Tobago signed off on letting American military planes use their airports over the next few weeks, and the opposition is losing it over what the government keeps calling a standard logistics thing. Foreign Minister Sean Sobers says it covers supply runs and crew swaps, and he pointed to past benefits like joint training ops and a radar setup that helps catch drug shipments. Former Foreign Minister Amery Browne went off on the radio, saying the country never gave open-ended clearance like this before and that it breaks from how CARICOM usually handles foreign military stuff.
The approval lines up with heavier US counter-narcotics activity around the Caribbean, which Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar backs, even though...
Jamaica's tourism sector hit a major comeback marker after Hurricane Melissa tore through as a Category 5 storm, with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett confirming over 300,000 people have shown up since the disaster. The count covers both cruise passengers and regular arrivals, and all the big resort zones like Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Negril, and Kingston are back online for the winter rush.
The government managed to get operations running again within about six weeks, and the three main airports are handling normal traffic. Hotels are sitting at roughly 71% reopened by year's end, with more properties expected to come back through early 2026.
Tourism makes up over 30% of the country's economy and keeps about a third of workers...
Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness had to tell everyone that Christmas parties are not banned after social media started spreading fake news claiming the government shut down all holiday celebrations following Hurricane Melissa. The confusion came from a Cabinet announcement that only canceled official government events at ministries and agencies, while private citizens and businesses got the green light to keep partying as long as they follow safety rules and get proper permits from police.
Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon said small office gatherings are fine, but government departments cannot rent external venues for big blowouts. She pushed private companies to spend money and boost economic activity since some regions took...
Jamaica plans to ditch the emergency food handout system and switch hurricane victims over to vouchers by next month so people can actually buy what they need instead of getting stuck with random care packages. Ambassador Rocky Meade from the Prime Minister's office told Parliament that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is finalizing the program details after presenting it to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who wants a few tweaks before launch.
The voucher setup gives residents purchasing power to hit local stores once businesses get back on their feet, instead of waiting for government trucks to show up with preset supplies. Meade said the ministry will handle eligibility screening and figure out who gets priority access under...
Dominica opposition leader Thomson Fontaine barely held onto his job after beating Pastor Randy Rodney by eight votes in the United Workers Party leadership race, and he told everyone to stop tearing the party apart from the inside if they actually want to win elections. The economist pulled 83 votes against Rodney's 75, then immediately called out members for sitting around hoping he fails, while the party has stayed locked out of power since 2000.
Fontaine said his methods look different from old-school UWP tactics because the political landscape has changed since the 1990s, and people need patience while he tries rebuilding the organization against Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's Dominica Labour Party juggernaut. He complained...
