Two people have been killed as a result of several days of persistent torrential rains in Trinidad.

An elderly woman was killed by a landslide and in a separate incident a four-year-old girl died when she was covered under large quantities of mud in her home.

The rains and landslides have also caused major damage to roads, bridges, vehicles and a number of houses.

The minister of social development, Dr Amery Brown, said disaster management officials are dealing with the situation and bringing relief supplies to those affected.

Antigua addressing BMI cuts

Three regional countries are looking to team up to provide airlift out of Manchester, England after airline BMI cuts its direct service next April.

	BMI cutting back on flights

Antigua and Barbuda's tourism minister Harold Lovell says his government is speaking with its counterparts in Barbados and St Lucia to have an "alternative carrier" take up direct from Manchester.

Mr. Lovell says British Airways will provide an "add on" service until an alternative carrier is sourced.

The Antiguan aviation minister also says that the government has worked out a deal with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays to do joint marketing and promotion in the United Kingdom.

Embattled minister goes

After weeks of demands in the media for Dominica's embattled Public Works Minister Ambrose George to be sacked, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit confirmed in an address to the nation on Tuesday night that he was being dropped from the Cabinet.

	PM Skerrit - failed to explain why he dropped the public works minister

But the announcement came almost as an after-thought in Mr Skerrit's three minute speech, in which he'd earlier said that the country must be mindful of the signals it sends in respect to fiscal prudence and adherence to acceptable standards of governance.

While announcing a small Cabinet reshuffle the prime minister pointed to the inclusion of one new minister and the absence of Ambrose George in the revamped line-up.

But no mention was made of allegations that Mr George had been caught up in an alleged Internet scam.

Two killed in Haiti crash

Police in Haiti say a helicopter crashed in the northern part of the country on Tuesday, killing two Americans.

Investigators say the two middle-aged US nationals were aboard the Ranger chopper when it fell into a lagoon.

It's not thought to have taken off from Haitian soil - the authorities say they had not issued any permission for the helicopter flight.

The UN mission in Haiti had quickly informed authorities that the crash did not appear to involve a UN helicopter.

Violence against children denounced

A group of Jamaicans in the United States have thrown their support behind efforts on the island against the problem of violence against children.

The Jamaican Diaspora Movement North East USA have called on individuals, families and communities along with the authorities on the island to protect the country's children.

So far this year an estimated sixty children have been killed in Jamaica.

The US-based Jamaicans have applauded the actions of concerned islanders who were meeting on Wednesday for a march and vigil in Kingston - in keeping with the observance of the International Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse.

Spokesperson Lavern McDonald says there's need for a multi-dimensional approach to tackling the problem of violence against children.

Children denied travel rights

More than a dozen Cuban doctors and medical professionals who defected from the communist island say their children are not being allowed to travel to the United States.

These Cuban exiles say their children are being denied the opportunity to join them in the US even though they have visas.

The parents are Cubans who worked in countries such as Venezuela and Belize as part of a Cuban government programme.

Most fled to the United States, but their children remained in Cuba.

Under a 2006 Homeland Security policy these defectors can bring spouses and children to the US.

But critics charge that Cuba has made that difficult.