PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - After Friday’s revelations at Fifa, enumerated in a damning report prepared by Sir David Simmons and released to the public, it was just a matter of time before the People’s Partnership Government and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar would have had to make a decision about Jack Warner. The report, which listed many troubling findings about Mr Warner’s role in Concacaf during his time as its president, demands a full response from the former football boss.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar said she accepted the resignation of her embattled national security minister Austin “Jack” Warner because he had become a major distraction to the work of her coalition People’s Partnership government.
“Mr Warner’s resignation from the Cabinet comes with a degree of regret as he was a highly industrious and productive member of the government, having served with distinction in the Ministries of Works and National Security,” she said.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - For decades, wherever he has stood, especially with regard to football, Austin 'Jack' Warner left a stench - of the type most people associate with corruption. That, of course, has never been proven where such things are determined - in courts of law. What was unique about Mr Warner, though, is that those closest to him seemed to lack the olfactory capacity for his range of scents. That deficiency, Mr Warner seemed to assume, was universal, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago, his home. Accusations against him were to be denied and toughed out. Life would go on.

China is continuing a massive rescue operation in Sichuan province, deploying thousands of workers, after a powerful earthquake on Saturday. Rescue workers are using dynamite and heavy equipment to get through roads blocked by landslides to reach remote areas, reports say. But reaching these areas has been a struggle, with bad weather and powerful aftershocks contributing to delays.

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — Horacio Cartes, a Paraguayan tobacco magnate, faced various challenges during his presidential bid. He was pressed to explain why antinarcotics police officers apprehended a plane carrying cocaine and marijuana on his ranch in 2000; why he went to prison in 1989 on currency fraud charges; and why he had never even voted in past general elections. till, voters across the country seemed ready to give Mr. Cartes the benefit of the doubt, handing him a solid victory in Paraguay’s presidential election on Sunday.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — The Roman Catholic Church weighed in yesterday on Venezuela's political crisis, with Pope Francis expressing deep concern and calling for dialogue in the wake of a disputed presidential election.
President Nicolas Maduro and Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles both welcomed the pope's statement on their Twitter accounts, while sidestepping the call for a dialogue.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – About the only tranquil place in Caracas over the last few days is a hilltop military museum housing the remains of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez.
Visitors tip-toe around his marble sarcophagus, reprimanded by guards if their voices rise above whispers.
Outside, a shell-shocked nation is still reeling both from Chavez’s death from cancer last month and a week of violence and recriminations over the disputed election to succeed him.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers asked yesterday why the FBI had failed to spot the danger from one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, and they complained it was one of a series of cases in which someone the agency had investigated had later taken part in attacks.
House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul wrote to the FBI and other officials asking why Tamerlan Tsarnaev did not raise suspicions after Russia asked the bureau to investigate him two years ago.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Antigua & Barbuda is in line to benefit from a US $42 million fund to protect marine and coastal habitats.
It comes under a project called “the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI)” – led by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) – which seeks to have 20 per cent of near shore areas in Caribbean islands set aside as marine protected sites by the year 2020.
Countries are first required to create National Conservation Trust Funds and show how they will sustainably finance them. The funds will be used strictly to create and manage marine protected areas.

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC-Leader of the Opposition Stephenson King has written to Prime Minister Kenny Anthony, concerning the long-standing issue of Value Added Tax (VAT) on medication.
In a letter, King brought to the attention of the prime minister the number of citizens who complain about their inability to purchase medication in a timely manner due to the additional burden brought on by the tax.