Caribbean Headline News...

Updated Sunday, June 28th, 2008

In Barbados, residents in the Country Road, St Michael, area awoke to a massive furnace on Saturday morning.  At around 4 a.m. fire engulfed Tropical Laundries, leaving nothing but burnt walls and the shells of the machinery.   The business lost all the clothing stock on the premises. The main clients for the laundry were hotels such as Royal Pavilion, Hilton Barbados, Almond Beach, and the Barbados Defense Force (BDF).   The laundry for most of the hotels was delivered to them on Thursday night but a load of uniforms belonging to the BDF was lost in the blaze.   Public relations officer for the BDF, Captain Kirkley Archer, was not certain of the exact number of uniforms but confirmed the loss.  He could not say how soon the burnt uniforms would be replaced because the force was already in its financial year. Managing director of the laundry, Jeffrey Hoyte, said his concern apart from his major loss was the inconvenience it would cause his customers.  

In Jamaica, the Electoral Office began island wide distribution of new voter ID cards on Saturday, June 27th. St. Ann and Trelawny have been added to the list of parishes where the exercise is being carried out.  The EOJ says 135,000 electors have so far collected ID cards.  In order to facilitate distribution it has extended opening hours at its constituency offices, which will also be opened on weekends.  Although the EOJ is hoping to complete delivery by September 30, it says there is no deadline for collection of the new cards.  The EOJ says persons whose names appear on the May 31 Voters' List are entitled to a new ID card.  There are 1.3 million persons on that list. 

Cuban authorities have approved the first therapeutic vaccine to extend the lives of lung cancer patients.   Scientists say the drug, ClimaVax EGF, is available for use at the island's hospitals.   A modified protein, the new treatment has been shown to wipe out cancer cells, by targeting them directly.  However researchers have warned that this is not an all out cure for the disease.  The drug has been shown to increase survival rates by four to five months on average, and some patients may live longer.   Cuban authorities say the treatment is available to all those who are free to travel to Havana

 

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, has rejected claims that soldiers and police officers are brutalizing citizens and acting outside of the law.  The law association in Port of Spain has raised concerns about the legality of soldiers taking allegedly state of emergency type action in certain known crime spots in the city.   The soldiers have established a camp in the western town of Diego Martin, following the very visible murders of an army corporal and his friend.   Commenting on the situation, the law association has criticized the government for allowing the army to carry out state of emergency lockdowns without declaring an emergency.  Prime Minister Manning says the statements are regrettable.

Montserrat will have to wait two more years to find out whether it will get permission from Britain, to participate in the Caricom Single Market and Economy.  London has turned down a request from the volcano-ravaged overseas territory to be a part of the regional initiative.    Minister Lowell Lewis has said that he is disappointed with the decision.  But he also said he didn't expect any major fall-out from Caricom over the British move.  Dr Lewis said he hoped the regional bloc will still provide the UK territory with the development funding earmarked for its lesser developed countries:

The government of Jamaica has signed documents marking the official start of the divestment of state-run sugar factories. The signing of the Heads of Agreement between the government, led by Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Brazilian company Infinity Bio-Energy, took place at Jamaica House on the morning of Friday, June 27th, three days earlier than scheduled.  While the documents signed on Friday are not the final sale agreement, the official hand over of the five state-run factories at Frome, Moneymusk, Bernard Lodge, Long Pond and Duckenfield is now set for October 30.  In the meantime, the Sugar Corporation of Jamaica (SCJ) will continue to manage the entities to ensure out-of-crop repairs and maintenance are carried out.  Officials from Infinity are also expected to establish a presence in the factories in the interim to ensure that the transition is smooth and production for the next crop is assured.

Health officials in Martinique want more than 2000 people to get tested for hepatitis B.  Officials in that French Caribbean island say these people had contact with an infected surgeon who worked at University Hospital Centre on the island.   The health officials said in a statement however, that it was highly unlikely that anyone became infected.  Hepatitis B is a virus that attacks the liver. It is transmitted through blood or body fluids.

Grenada's electoral office says the voters list for the July 8 general election has less voters than the one used in the last election.  More than 70,000 Grenadians are eligible to vote in the poll, which is now less than two weeks away.  They will choose from 40 candidates representing three political parties, including the ruling New National Party of Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and the National Democratic Congress, led by Tillman Thomas.   The voters list used five years ago had 82,000 registered voters.  Supervisor of Elections Nadica McIntrye says her office has been trying to clean up the list.

The 2^nd Annual Friends & Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV's) of Guyana Fundraiser, (http://guyfrog.org) will be held on Friday, July 18th at 8:00 pm to Midnight. The fundraiser will be hosted at Liberty Express Restaurant & Bar, 120-12 Liberty Ave, South Richmond Hill, Queens, NY.  A raffle will be held during the event, which will include prizes with all proceeds going to the organization. The event will be featuring reggae, soca and chutney music from DJ Sparber.    Friends and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Guyana (FROG) was created in 2007 as a non-profit organization that connected former RPCVs with each other, with the greater development community and with new opportunities. To date, over 470 Volunteers have assisted in the areas of health, education, community development and information technology in the small South American country.

In Jamaica, the chairman of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, Douglas Chambers was shot dead on the afternoon of Friday, June 27th.  Spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, Reginald Allen, said that there was a meeting between the union representatives and the management of the JUTC and Mr. Chambers was a part of the exercise.  Mr. Allen said that towards the close of the meeting there was a break and Mr. Chambers went to the entrance of the depot where he was in conversation with some people and then shots were heard and he was found lying  immediately at the entrance of the depot with multiple gunshot wounds, in fact multiple head wounds.  Mr. Chambers was appointed Chairman last September.  He was the target of an angry protest by workers at the depot in early June.  The employees complained that JUTC management did not respect them or labor codes and called for his resignation.  One female employee had to be restrained as she threatened to get into a physical fight with him.   While that was happening, a nonchalant Mr. Chambers sat just a few meters away smoking a cigarette.

United States Democratic candidate for President, Senator Barack Obama is promising 100% debt relief for the Caribbean if he becomes the next leader of the US.  Senator Obama's foreign policy advisor, Dan Restrepo told officials attending the Caribbean Tourism Organization meeting in Washington DC that this is one of the policies to be pursued if Senator Obama is elected to office.  Mr. Restrepo also spoke about Mr. Obama's intention to facilitate trade between the US and Cuba.  He said the presidential candidate would personally lead direct diplomacy with Cuban officials.  According to Mr. Restrepo, Senator Obama understands the unique security challenges of the Caribbean and that the issue of trans-national crime is of great importance to the region.  As a result, he has promised to restore funding for drug control programs, which were cut by the George W. Bush administration.

US Airways has joined American Airlines in exempting boxes of duty-free liquor purchased in the Virgin Islands from checked bag charges, but other airlines have not followed suit.  Except for the liquor boxes, American charges $15 for the first checked piece of luggage and $25 for the second. The charge is $100 per bag for the third, fourth and fifth checked bags.  American, the territory's major carrier, changed its mind about charging for the liquor boxes after Delegate Donna M. Christensen pointed out to the airline that duty-free liquor purchases contributed to the territory's economy and that people would not by alcohol if they have to pay $20 or $25 to take it home.  Gov. John deJongh Jr. has written to the other airlines about the issue.
 

In Dominica, Police Chief Mathias Lestrade has lashed out against the local media for circulating wild rumors of events surrounding the murder of 35 year old Damien Dorival of ElmsHall.   According to the police, the headless corpse of Damien was found on June 12 in Elmshall. A subsequent search of nearby Palm Grove recovered the severed head.   A police investigation led to the arrest of a man who has since been charged with murder.   Since the gruesome and shocking death was made public, the local airwaves have been awash with rumors of the young man been first shot then beheaded with a chainsaw. It was also rumored that he was killed over a dispute with his landlord for the nonpayment of rent.   The police revealed that there was no evidence of a chainsaw being used, nor were bullet wounds found.   The police are continuing their investigations.
 

In the USVI, Federal and local minimum wage is going up to $6.55 per hour as of July 24th and up to $7.25 per hour a year later, on July 24, 2009.   No state or territory can have a minimum wage lower than that of the federal government, and V.I. law also says the territorial minimum wage cannot be less than the federal minimum. The V.I. Department of Labor is reminding area employers they must pay employees accordingly.

June 24 - In Jamaica, community leaders and other representatives in August Town, St. Andrew, will be signing an agreement Tuesday, June 24th that will help put an end to disputes and conflicts in the area for a five year period.  The community has been plagued by periods of extreme violence for several years.  President of the August Town Sports and Development Foundation Kenneth Wilson said that Tuesday's signing is the culmination of a series of consultations with various groups in the area which began on Ash Wednesday, February 6^th.  Mr. Wilson said one of the conditions of the agreement is that all forms of gun violence in the community will end.  "There will be no shooting in the community ... no gun salutes, none of that. If we're able to achieve that for five years, who knows what is possible. The long term vision is really for disarmament something down the road," he said.  Mr. Wilson said the level of collaboration and checks and balances in this peace deal should ensure its success.  "It is the first that they have agreed to put their signature on paper and they are the ones who came up with the rules. There will also be in place, a council of leaders that will meet on a monthly basis and they will monitor the agreement.  The five year agreement will be reviewed every six months and renewed at the end of every year," said Mr. Wilson.  The signing will take place Tuesday at the Mona bowl at the University of the West Indies Mona campus at 4pm.
 

Former Prime Minister of St. Lucia Dr. Kenny Anthony on Friday criticized what he called a conspiracy of silence among governments in the region on the tense political situation in Zimbabwe.  Dr. Anthony, the Opposition leader in the St. Lucian Parliament, urged Caribbean governments to denounce Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.  He says that the elections in Zimbabwe could not conceivably be free and is certainly not free from fear and the evidence indicates that extraordinary violence is being meted out against the opposition.  The Former Prime Minister said in his view Caribbean governments cannot continue to justify their silence especially given the fact that what is taking place in Zimbabwe destroys the democratic principles that they have stood for over the year.
 

A lawyer from the Dominican Republic is the new president of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).  Enrique De Marchena Kaluche, 45, is offering promises of improved marketing and collaboration for the hospitality and tourism industries across the region.  Mr. De Marchena, who has been on the Board of Directors of Hotels and Restaurants Association of Dominican Republic since 1998, was elected at the first annual Caribbean Tourism Summit in Washington DC.  Mr. De Marchena, who will be president for the 2008-2010 term, said his platform will include goals to raise the level of awareness and respect for the hospitality and tourism industry by collaborating with governments and the people of the Caribbean.
 

In the run up to the July 8th general election in Grenada, the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced that it will remove a 3% reconstruction levy, imposed on workers after Hurricane Ivan four years ago, if it is elected to government.  NDC Leader Tillman Thomas made the announcement at a political meeting on the night of Sunday, June 22nd as the party launched its election manifesto, promising to help solve the cost of living problem facing citizens.  The levy, a tax on salaries introduced in the wake of the 2004 hurricane, was met with strong resistance by trade unions.  The 36-page manifesto launched at the rally before thousands of supports did not include that plan to remove the levy, but outlined measures the NDC said it would implement to stifle the spiraling cost of living problem.  These include introducing emergency agricultural food production support program and embarking on a new food security campaign.
 

The board of Jamaica's national airline has been asked to resign.  The decision is reported to have been prompted by concerns within the government of Prime Minister Bruce Golding that the ailing Air Jamaica is being badly managed.   Local reports say the board was split over a decision to grant a 14 percent salary increase to some categories of the carrier's employees.   Air Jamaica has been making heavy losses annually, and Prime Minister Golding said on Monday that his cabinet had approved plans to sell the cash-strapped airline by March of next year.