Regional News: Drone Surveillance in T&T, Jamaica Advances Plastic Ban, and China Battles Deadly Flooding
By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News
Trinidad & Tobago: Drones Infiltrate Barracks Housing High-Risk Inmates
The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force confirmed it intercepted two drones flying over the Teteron Barracks. At this facility, high-risk inmates from the Maximum Security Prison were relocated at the onset of the ongoing state of emergency.
Attorney General John Jeremy, addressing Parliament, said intelligence confirmed that organized criminal gangs—both inside and outside prisons—are operating as syndicates, plotting assassinations, robberies, and kidnappings.
“The locations where problematic inmates were removed to were infiltrated by two drones,” he noted, as Parliament extended the state of emergency by three months.
Police Commissioner Alys Govaro disclosed that those targeted in the alleged assassination plots had already been warned and emphasized that the emergency powers are essential to dismantle the syndicate.
Jamaica: Fourth Phase of Single-Use Plastic Ban in Full Effect
Jamaica is phasing out more non-biodegradable plastics, as part of its fourth stage in a comprehensive single-use plastic ban initiated in 2018.
Jillian Guthrie, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, underscored the need for consumer behavior change in adopting eco-friendly alternatives.
Banned items now include:
- Plastic bags
- Styrofoam food containers
- Polypropylene straws
- Personal care products with microbeads
Anthony McKenzie, Director at NEPA, urged the public to report non-compliant food vendors and support biodegradable paper-based alternatives to help curb microplastic pollution.
China: Devastating Rains Kill 30 as Flash Floods Sweep Northern Beijing
At least 30 people are dead and over 80,000 residents evacuated in northern China following torrential rains and severe flooding.
Beijing and the surrounding areas were hit with extreme downpours, landslides, and widespread power outages. The deaths include 28 in Meng and 2 in Yanqing, with damage reported across over 100 rural villages.
The capital is on high-level flood alert, and authorities have suspended schools, construction sites, and tourism activities. This comes just days after another round of record-setting rains left 33 dead, echoing the worst rainfall in 140 years in 2023.
