The sub-region has a new Regional Association for Heritage Protection as six OECS member states and two French Departments of the Americas launched the Regional Heritage Association (RHA) on January 29, 2008 at the Rex Resorts Hotel in St. Lucia. The RHA is a non-profit, non governmental organization. read more...

---

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): French President Nicolas Sarkozy led thousands of mourners at a state funeral Sunday in Martinique for Aime Cesaire, poet and pioneer of the black pride movement. Revered on his native Caribbean island and elsewhere in the French-speaking world, Cesaire died aged 94. read more...

---

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): French poet Aime Cesaire, a leading voice of black cultural identity whose struggle against colonialism resonated in Africa and the United States, died Thursday in Martinique. He was 94. Cesaire was a cult figure on his native Martinique and the French-speaking Caribbean.  read more...

---

My nephew Thomas Swain is missing with his companion on Martinique. They are Mormon missionaries from Utah and New Zealand/ex UK. Please kindly ask your readers/viewers/listeners to help to look for them and keep them in their prayers. read more...

---

NEW YORK, USA: The Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA reports that the island’s tourism infrastructure emerged unscathed following Thursday's 7.3 magnitude earthquake, which according to the US Geological Survey struck 90 miles deep in the ocean floor 13 miles northwest of Martinique. read more...

---

NEW YORK, USA: Travelers who believe Martinique’s 426 square miles are comprised of little more than sun, surf and sand should think again. Just as Paris is a mecca for history, the fine arts and culture, so too does Martinique pay homage to its history and rich cultural heritage. read more...

---

FORT DE FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): A strong earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey, struck near the French Caribbean island of Martinique Thursday, causing at least one death. An Englishman died after suffering a heart attack, the civil security officials in Martinique said. read more...

---

WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters): A powerful but very deep earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck near the Caribbean island of Martinique on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said.  The quake hit at 3 p.m. local time 13 miles northwest of the island, at a depth of 90 miles, it said. read more...

---

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AFP): A dozen preserved foetuses found in a closet in a Martinique medical school for midwives were destroyed on Wednesday, health services official said. The foetuses, preserved in jars, were found when the school was preparing to move to a new facility. read more...

---

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Caribbean mobile operator Digicel Group has announced the promotion of Ghada Gebara, former CEO of Digicel Haiti, as the new regional CEO to lead Digicel's French Caribbean operations: Haiti, French West Indies and French Guiana, into their next stage of growth. read more...

---

CASTRIES, St Lucia: In order to show its dedication to strengthening the ties between the French Caribbean and the OECS, the University of the French West Indies and Guiana (Université des Antilles et de la Guyane – UAG) is offering a language training programme to new applicants from the OECS. read more...

---

PARIS, France (AFP): The French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique face a "health disaster" with soaring cancer and infertility rates because of the massive use of banned pesticides on banana plantations, a top cancer specialist warned Monday. read more...

---

ROSEAU, Dominica: A Team from the Conseil General of Martinique have just concluded a two-day visit to Dominica, where they conducted an assessment of the damage caused to the island’s road infrastructure following the passage of Hurricane Dean. The four-member delegation focused on critical areas. read more...

---

PARIS, France (Reuters): Hurricane Dean caused damage of around 500 million euros ($679.7 million) on Martinique and Guadeloupe when it hit the French Caribbean islands earlier this month, the French government said on Wednesday. Overseas Minister Christian Estrosi said insurers would likely pay 185 million euros. read more...

---

More photographs from around the region after the impact of Hurricane Dean on several Caribbean islands. The hurricane roared through the Caribbean, gradually increasing in intensity, leaving a trail of devastation from Martinique, Guadeloupe and St Lucia in the east to Belize in the west. read more...

---

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is appealing for almost 1.6 million Swiss francs (US$1.3 million) to help 35,000 people affected by Hurricane Dean, which has left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean. read more...

---

POINTE-A-PITRE, Guadeloupe: Five days after the passage of Dean over Guadeloupe and Martinique, it’s time to review the consequences of this hurricane. French prime minister, Francois Fillon, arrived in Martinique and was due to follow with a trip Guadeloupe for a very short stay. read more...

---

NEW YORK, USA: Martinique’s tourism industry remains intact following the passing of Hurricane Dean. The international airport – Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport – re-opened at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, while the island’s hotel infrastructure emerged virtually unscathed with only minor cosmetic damage. read more...

---

Latest photographs from around the region before, during and after the impact of Hurricane Dean on several Caribbean islands. The hurricane is a huge Category 5 storm, which lashed the Caribbean coast near Mexico's border with Belize on Tuesday, with heavy rain and howling winds that battered beach resorts. read more...

---

PARIS, France (Reuters): Prime Minister Francois Fillon will fly to the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe on Wednesday and Thursday to visit areas that were ravaged by Hurricane Dean, his office said on Monday. The hurricane destroyed all of Martinique's banana crop. read more...

---

PARIS, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Hurricane Dean has destroyed all of Martinique's banana crop and 80 percent of the plantations in the nearby Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the head of the banana producers union said on Saturday. Dean trampled Martinique, and other Caribbean islands on Friday. read more...

---

MIAMI, USA: Hurricane Dean intensified to a category three hurricane Friday with winds reaching 125 miles per hour, US weather watchers said, causing devastating flooding in Martinique and other Caribbean islands. The massive storm plowed through the eastern Caribbean on a direct course for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. read more...

---

PARIS, France (AFP): Police have seized almost a tonne of cocaine on board a yacht near the French Caribbean island of Martinique, arresting two Portuguese nationals, customs officials said on Wednesday. Acting on an intelligence tip-off, a French customs patrol boat intercepted the yacht at sea on Friday. read more...

---

PARIS, France (AFP): More than 150 years after France abolished slavery, a website on the French Caribbean island of Martinique has given voice to its slave descendants in a bid to keep the memory of their ancestors alive. read more...

---

PARIS, France (AFP): On a visit Sunday to the French Caribbean island of Martinique, Centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou has taken a carefully aimed swipe at France's governing establishment, calling for the abolition of the elite training college, the National Administration School (ENA). read more...

---