LOCAL NEWS

Next  Pfizer closures another blow to Puerto Rico economy Thursday, May 20, 2010 (Reuters) -- Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc's decision to eliminate 6,000 jobs at plants in Puerto Rico and elsewhere is a poorly-timed setback for a Caribbean island economy in its fourth year of recession. The Pfizer restructuring includes the shuttering of two Puerto Rico plants. read more... Man arrested at airport with stun gun, blade Thursday, May 20, 2010 WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) -- US authorities have a arrested a man trying to board a flight in Puerto Rico armed with a small arsenal of weapons, including a stun gun, pepper spray canister, box cutters and a switch blade, officials said on Wednesday. Airport authorities detained Jose Pol as he went through a security check. read more... Moderate quake off Puerto Rico Monday, May 17, 2010 (AFP) -- A moderate earthquake measuring 5.7 shook an area in the Caribbean Sea off the island of Puerto Rico early Sunday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, the US government said. The epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 0516 GMT, was located in Mona Passage. read more... Puerto Rico institutions sign agreement with world's largest aquarium Friday, May 7, 2010 BAYAMON, Puerto Rico -- The Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center and the Inter American University of Puerto Rico signed last week a partnership agreement with the Georgia Aquarium for the conservation of endangered marine species. As explained by Professor Juan Martínez, chancellor of the... read more... Scotiabank may bag Puerto Rico's Firstbank Wednesday, May 5, 2010 (Reuters) -- As US banking regulators move to clean up the financial mess in Puerto Rico and put the island's ailing economy back on track, another major local lender, First BanCorp, could emerge as a blip on the takeover radar. In such a case, Bank of Nova Scotia could be the perfect suitor. read more... US regulators seize three Puerto Rico banks Saturday, May 1, 2010 WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- US regulators seized three Puerto Rican banks on Friday and sold their deposits to other banks, costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp insurance fund $5.3 billion -- one of the largest hits in the banking crisis. The FDIC said regulators had seized the banking operations... read more... US lawmakers clear path for new Puerto Rico referendum Friday, April 30, 2010 WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) - The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a measure allowing the territory of Puerto Rico to set a new referendum on statehood or possible independence. House members voted 223 to 169 to approve the measure, which now moves to the Senate. read more... Puerto Rico awarded $25.8 million in broadband stimulus funds Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Critical Hub Networks has been awarded a $25.7 million ARRA grant through the US Department of Commerce to bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare through the improvement of broadband Internet services in Puerto Rico. read more... UN cruise ship hotel to leave Haiti Wednesday, April 28, 2010 (AFP) -- The Sea Voyager, one of two luxury cruise ships where hundreds of UN staff have been lodging while working in Haiti, will be leaving on May 11, a UN official said on Tuesday. The UN workers staying aboard will be moving into tents at Camp Charlie, said Anne Poulsen. read more... High school students in Haiti protest Wednesday, April 28, 2010 (AFP) -- Hundreds of high school students held demonstrations for the second straight day here Tuesday to demand that their schools be cleared of homeless people so that classes can resume. A crowd of protesters in high school uniforms hurled rocks at the Education Ministry building. read more... Puerto Rico awarded $25.8 million in broadband stimulus funds Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Critical Hub Networks has been awarded a $25.7 million ARRA grant through the US Department of Commerce to bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare through the improvement of broadband Internet services in Puerto Rico. read more... Puerto Rico Electric boosts debt issue by 67% as yields attract Thursday, April 22, 2010 NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority increased its debt sale by 67 percent to about $963 million of tax-exempt and Build America bonds and lowered its borrowing costs in an issue on Wednesday. PREPA had planned to sell $575 million in debt. It more than doubled the  bonds. read more... Mortgage lender to raise up to $600 million Tuesday, April 20, 2010 NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- Mortgage lender Doral Financial Corp said it will raise up to $600 million through a private placement, joining a slew of Puerto Rican firms chasing regulator-backed deals. The company said $180 million of the total raised amount will be permanent capital. read more... USVI governor asks US senator to reconsider legislation harming territory's economic future Tuesday, April 13, 2010 ST THOMAS, USVI -- Governor John deJongh has written to US Senator Robert Menendez regarding the senator’s criticism of two beneficial, long-term economic development agreements secured by the US Virgin Islands Government. The partnerships will keep a global company in the United States... read more... Puerto Rico's largest bank posts wider first-quarter loss Tuesday, April 13, 2010 (Reuters) -- Popular Inc, the parent of Banco Popular, reported a seventh-straight quarterly loss as it works around its credit problems to navigate the economic downturn. Shares of the company fell 8 percent to $2.80 in extended trading, after closing at $3.05 Monday on Nasdaq. read more... Youth in Puerto Rico to gain from technology access and training Saturday, March 27, 2010  Microsoft has donated US$60,000 to the Trust for the Americas, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS), to establish its program, Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), in Puerto Rico. read more... Puerto Rico Electric to sell $850 million in tax-exempt bonds, its largest issue Thursday, March 25, 2010 NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, whose credit rating is two levels higher than the Caribbean commonwealth’s, began marketing a record $850 million in tax-exempt bonds on Wednesday with yields at a three-month low. This is the first sale in almost two years for PREPA. read more... National Puerto Rican Coalition urges health equality Friday, March 12, 2010 WASHINGTON, USA -- The National Puerto Rican Coalition (NPRC) has urged Congress to adopt revisions to the pending health care reform legislation to better address the needs of US citizens in Puerto Rico. "We are on the verge of historic reforms, so let's do the job right," said NPRC President Rafael Fantauzzi. read more... Puerto Rico bets on public-private deals in 2010 Thursday, March 11, 2010 MIAMI, USA (Reuters) -- Puerto Rico's government is preparing public-private partnerships to jump-start the island's stalled economy and wants several of the big-ticket deals in place by year's end. Governor Luis Fortuno has in 15 months in office eliminated thousands of government jobs. read more... Puerto Rican rum fight spills over to NY Parade Monday, March 8, 2010 NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- Organizers of the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade, one of the largest US outdoor events, said they are ending a 30-year relationship with the makers of Captain Morgan Rum citing Diageo PLC's plans to move distillation of the drink from Puerto Rico. read more... White House task force hears Puerto Rico grievances Wednesday, March 3, 2010 (Reuters) -- Puerto Ricans told a White House task force on Wednesday that persistent wrangling over the US Caribbean territory's political status was hampering solutions to its worsening social and economic problems. The status debate has long dominated politics in Puerto Rico read more... Diageo fires shot at Bacardi in Carribean rum war Wednesday, February 24, 2010 NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- Diageo PLC accused rival Bacardi Ltd of trying to drive its Captain Morgan rum production out of the United States in order to protect its own substantial rum subsidies from the Puerto Rican government. Guy Smith, executive vice president of Diageo North America, said... read more... Puerto Rico announces large tree-planting initiative Saturday, February 20, 2010 Puerto Rico's Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, or DRNA, has launched an ambitious, island-wide reforestation project that includes the goal of planting a million trees over the next three years. One tree supplies the daily oxygen requirements of five people. read more... Coast Guard repatriates seven migrants to Dominican Republic Wednesday, January 13, 2010 The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Pea Island repatriated seven Dominican men to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday, following an at-sea interdiction by Caribbean Border Interagency Group Law Enforcement authorities on Monday. The crew detained one other Dominican man. read more... US administration urged to develop 'Government-wide Marshall Plan' for Puerto Rico Saturday, January 9, 2010 WASHINGTON, USA -- With Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate now at 16.5 percent, the Chairman and President of the National Puerto Rican Coalition on Friday urged the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status to develop “a government-wide ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild the economy of Puerto Rico”. read more... Judge halts plans for monkey-breeding facility Saturday, January 2, 2010 In response to a lawsuit filed by local citizens and supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Superior Court Justice Juan Frau Escudero has ruled that further construction of a massive monkey-breeding facility in Guayama, Puerto Rico, must be brought to a halt. read more... Canadian drug manufacturer to close or sell plant in Puerto Rico Friday, December 11, 2009 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- Canadian contract drug manufacturer Patheon Inc said it plans to close or sell its plant in Caguas and consolidate its Puerto Rico operations into its site located in Manati. The company said it was planning to offer available positions at Manati to affected employees. read more... Faulty fuel monitor likely caused Puerto Rico fire Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (Reuters) -- A malfunctioning fuel monitoring system was the likely cause of an Oct. 23 explosion and massive fire at a Puerto Rican fuel storage depot, the US Chemical Safety Board said on Tuesday. No one was killed at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp (Capeco) facility in Bayamon. read more... Starwood Hotels set to double portfolio in Puerto Rico Tuesday, November 10, 2009 WHITE PLAINS, USA -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has announced that it will double its presence in Puerto Rico in the next year with the opening of the island’s first W and St Regis hotels and its second Sheraton. Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel – the first full-service hotel and casino built in... read more... USVI governor commends National Guardsmen who battled Puerto Rico blaze Wednesday, November 4, 2009 ST CROIX, USVI -- Governor John deJongh on Tuesday expressed his appreciation and commended the members of the US Virgin Islands National Guard who assisted in a recent fuel depot fire in Puerto Rico. DeJongh said he was pleased to see VING personnel reaching out to the USVI's Puerto Rico neighbours. read more... Fuel leak caused depot blast, says FBI Saturday, October 31, 2009 (Reuters) -- A fuel leak created a vapor cloud that caused last week's explosion and massive fire at a Puerto Rican fuel storage depot, according to federal investigators who ruled out arson or sabotage on Friday. The fire raged for more than two days at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. read more... Coast Guard investigates grounding of vessel Thursday, October 29, 2009 Coast Guard Marine Investigators are investigating the cause that led to the grounding of the 570-foot tank ship Port Stewart, after the vessel grounded and was later refloated on Tuesday, approximately one and a half nautical miles east of the Shell Yabucoa Harbor in Puerto Rico. read more... Firefighters put out oil depot blaze Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (Reuters) -- Firefighters in Puerto Rico extinguished a huge fire on Saturday that had raged for more than two days at an oil storage depot outside San Juan and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 local residents.  Federal agents prepared to make a detailed inspection of the site at the Bayamon facility. read more... More evacuations as oil blaze burns on Saturday, October 24, 2009 (Reuters) -- Authorities in Puerto Rico on Friday ordered the evacuation of hundreds more residents from homes around a huge fire at an oil depot which spewed a column of toxic black smoke into the sky near San Juan. Despite the size of the blaze, no deaths have been reported. read more... Drug feud shooting kills 8 in Puerto Rico Tuesday, October 20, 2009 (Reuters) -- Feuding drug gangs opened fire in a crowded bar in Puerto Rico over the weekend, killing eight people, including the unborn child of a pregnant woman who was wounded, police said on Monday. A 9-year-old girl was also among the 20 injured. read more... Puerto Rico strikers shut down centre of San Juan Friday, October 16, 2009 (Reuters) -- Tens of thousands of Puerto Rican public workers protesting layoffs shut down the center of the capital San Juan on Thursday in a one-day strike that closed many government offices, businesses and schools. Labor unions called the 24-hour strike to protest the firing of thousands of workers. read more... Governor threatens protestors with terrorism charges Thursday, October 15, 2009 As Puerto Rico struggles with a 17 percent unemployment rate, Republican Governor Luis Fortuno is pushing forward with his plan to lay off more than 17,000 state government employees. The Governor has targeted government employees who provide critical public services to children. read more... Cuba advocates decolonisation of Puerto Rico at United Nations Wednesday, October 7, 2009 HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba once again advocated the decolonisation of Puerto Rico and the Western Sahara during a session of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation. “The cause of the Puerto Rican and the Sahrawi peoples should remain a priority for this world body,” said Rodolfo Benitez. read more... St Kitts-Nevis PM welcomes agreement with University of Puerto Rico Tuesday, October 6, 2009 BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Denzil Douglas has hailed the cooperation agreement between the OECS and the University of Puerto Rico that benefits nationals of the English-speaking Caribbean. Speaking at a dinner in his honour in the Puerto Rican Municipality of Caguas... read more... St Kitts-Nevis PM praises new efforts for Eastern Caribbean-Puerto Rico relations Friday, October 2, 2009 CAGUAS, Puerto Rico (CUOPM) -- St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas says a three-day exhibition and trade fair in the Puerto Rican city of Caguas signifies a new level of interaction that United States commonwealth and the member countries of the Eastern Caribbean states. read more... Next