Caribbean Headline News.....

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

The Government estimates that as many as 11 persons may have died during the passage of Tropical storm Gustav.  The police have confirmed seven deaths directly related to Tropical Storm Gustav.  But the authorities are yet to arrive at a final figure, and Prime Minister Golding fears it might rise to as many as 11.   A St. Catherine farmer died early Friday morning as heavy rains caused his house to collapse.  The dead man is 60 year old Gilbert Wright, (a.k.a. Manager, and family to Lady Cham), of Marley Hill near Woodhall in the parish, he was advised to leave his house by neighbors but he refused.  Former Jamaica Labour Party Councillor for the Ginger Ridge Division, Hyman Smith said that the house collapsed during the a heavy down pour.  Much of the government's attention is now focused on communities along the Hope River in St. Andrew such as Tavern and Kintyre, where several houses collapsed, and a number of these deaths occurred.  Other persons might have died while seeking to cross rivers elsewhere and others were washed away in their vehicles.

Mr. Golding says the government is now determined to put a stop to the construction of houses in vulnerable locations such as those along the Hope River.  He attributes this practice, in many instances, to faulty decisions by some politicians.  "The truth of the matter is that some of us are too careless and some of us politicians are too irresponsible, in the case of Hope Tavern for example, I am advised that it was declared for many years ago as a no build zone and a politician of great note thought it appropriate to go and allocate the lands to the people as a result the people went there and build their houses and its something that should never have been done, and we are paying the price now," he said.    As many as 150 houses were destroyed, a significant number of them in Portland.  Regarding the country's infrastructure, the prime minister highlighted the destruction of the Harbour View bridge, linking St. Thomas and the Corporate Area as well as the Westmoreland Bridge in St. Mary.  He says work will start almost immediately to erect a temporary bailey bridge across the Harbour View span to restore that vital link between the Eastern side of the island and the country's capital.  In the meantime, the prime minister says the government is very reluctant to legislate compulsory location of citizens from vulnerable communities.

Friday, August 29th, 2008

A hurricane warning remained in effect on Friday morning for Jamaica as Tropical storm Gustav continued to rain heavily on the island.

Gustav tore roofs off houses and led to both of Jamaica's international airports being closed. The streets in the capital, Kingston, remained deserted as forecasters predicted mud and landslides and serious crop damage. People in the low-lying area of Portmore to the east of Kingston were evacuated. Tourists who had tried to end their holidays early on Thursday and fly out of Jamaica were moved to secure hotels after the airports closed. Forecasters now predict that Gustav will increase in strength and head towards the Cayman Islands later on Friday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Gustav dumped similiar heavy rain on the island of Hispaniola which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Because of the deforested nature of the two countries, the heavy rains led to a death toll of around 59. Officials say this figure could rise. Meanwhile, the eighth named storm of the season, Hanna, formed 400 kilometres north-east of the Leeward Islands.
 

Two notorious criminals killed in Guyana

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Two of Guyana's most notorious criminals were killed on Thursday following a confrontation with the police. Rondel ‘Fineman’ Rawlins and Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles were gunned down at Kuru Kuru, a forested village located 30 miles outside the capital Georgetown, along the Soesdyke Linden Highway. A report from the Caribbean Media Corporation on Thursday afternoon said that the two criminals were shot dead when members of the Joint Forces surrounded and then entered the village. Other reports state that the two criminals had attempted to rob a Guyana Defence Force base when they were shot. Rawlins was thought to be the mastermind in two brutal and gruesome attacks at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, when armed bandits invaded a home and killed 11 people, including five children, on January 11 last, at Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara, 10 miles east of Georgetown, and five weeks later slaughtered 13 people, including 3 police officers at the mining town of Bartica, 80 miles from the capital city. Several homes were also robbed in the Bartica attack. Rawlins proudly claimed responsibility for the Lusignan massacre in what he described as reprisal for the police kidnapping his girl friend Tenisha Morgan. Despite a heavy half-a-million-dollar reward offered, after seven months the police were unable to capture ‘Fineman’, who was a former member of the Guyana Defence Force. His accomplice Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles, 19, was wanted for the brutal murder of a Minister of Government Satyadeo Sawh and three members of his family, who were brutally gunned down two years ago at their home just outside the city. He was arrested about a year after the slaughter and was charged with murder, but he escaped from police custody on June 26 from the lockups at Sparendaam Magistrate's Court. Reports from Georgetown and its environs on Thursday evening state that people are now relieved because they were fearful of another attack from these criminals. Three other persons have been charged in connection with the Bartica murders and are now in police custody.
 

Caribbean Headline News.....

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Gustav death toll

Tropical storm Gustav has killed more than 15 people in Haiti and threatened to dump more rain as it passed around Jamaica on Thursday. Gustav dumped up to 12 inches of rain on Haiti's de-forested land before slowing down.Fatalities were linked to landslides in the country. The National Hurricane centre has issued a hurricane and tropical storm watch for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. In Jamaica, people have been stocking up on supplies in local shops. Gustav was projected to leave 6 to 12 inches of rain as it skirted south of Jamaica, then swopping up towards the Cayman Islands. The Centre has also predicted that Gustav could gain in power, returning to hurricane status by the time it crosses Cuba's north-eastern peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico.
 

Trinidad union

Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning is promising that heads of government will discuss his project for Trinidad's political union with three eastern Caribbean states. Over recent months, the Trinidadian leader has been pushing the proposal for union with Grenada, St Vincent, and St Lucia. He has paid several visits to individual territories, meeting government officials to discuss the proposal. He told reporters in the Trinidadian capital Port of Spain that there will be no political and economic union outside of Caricom's existing single market and economy without full discussion at a meeting of regional leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) grouping.
 

More dead bodies

Investigations are in progress concerning the fatal shooting of a man on Church Street in downtown Kingston on Wednesday. Dead is Donald Williams, 48, of Georges Lane in Kingston. According to reports, about 6:30am, residents heard explosions and called the police. Mr. Williams' body was found with gunshot wounds on Church Street. And in St. James, a man was shot dead in Hollywood Square, Hendon, Norwood also on Wednesday. Shortly before 11am, Christopher Russell, 31, of Hollywood was standing in the area when he was killed.
 

Caribbean Headline News.....

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Gustav leaves trail of death

Tropical storm Gustav drifted away from Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, leaving a trail of death, injury and destruction. Gustav swept over Haiti on Tuesday as a category one hurricane, killing at least five people, and injuring seven others. It triggered flooding and landslides, before being downgraded to a tropical storm. In neighbouring Dominican Republic, Gustav, the seventh named storm of the hurricane season, claimed eight lives. Forecasters warn that Gustav could regain hurricane strength on Thursday as it passes between Jamaica and the south eastern coast of Cuba.
 

Manning assesses talks

Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning has given an upbeat assessment of his recent Caribbean tour, to brief his counterparts about a planned political union between Trinidad and three OECS member states. This week Mr Manning visited the Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica and Suriname to inform the leaders of those countries about the integration proposals. Reports say the idea received a cold reception in Jamaica and Belize. But Mr Manning said the trip was merely to inform other Caricom countries which were not at the Port of Spain meeting, when the economic and political union were agreed upon.
 

St Lucia teachers threaten strike

The Saint Lucia Teachers Union has warned the government that classes could be disrupted at the start of the new school year on Monday, because of an impasse with the current administration over salaries. The Minister of Education has called for good sense to prevail. The Union has summoned an emergency meeting for Friday, where the decision on whether to stage a strike will be among key matters up for discussion.

Caribbean Headline News.....

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Hurricane Gustav bears down

Tropical storm Gustav has been upgraded to hurricane status overnight. The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said that a hurricane warning on for southern Haiti where Gustav is expected to make landfall on Tuesday afternoon. The Dominican Republic has declared a partial state of emergency as Hurricane Gustav headed for its southern coast too. Gustav was on Tuesday morning packing winds of up to 80 miles (130km) per hour. Areas in southern Cuba, including Las Tunas, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo, have also been put on hurricane watch. Central Cuba and the Cayman islands have been advised by Miami's Hurricane Centre to closely monitor Gustav's progress. On Monday, one cruise line diverted its ship to Mexico instead of Jamaica and other cruise lines were reported to be closely monitoring Gustav's path. Haiti is still recovering from Tropical storm Fay which is believed to have caused more than 50 deaths due to heavy rainfall.

Castro on boxing

Former Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, has blamed what he called a 'mafia' for Cuba's poor showing in the just-concluded Olympic Games. Cuba took two gold medals. This compared to nine gold medals at the previous Olympics Games in Athens. In an editorial in the official newspaper, Granma, Castro accused the boxing judges of being biased against Cuban fighters. He also defended the Cuban former Olympic taekwondo champion who kicked a judge in the face after being disqualified. Cuba also won eleven silver and eleven bronze medals.
 

MOH wants report on infant’s death at hospital

The Health Ministry has issued an ultimatum to the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) to produce a report on the death of a child at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James last year. In a release, the Ministry said the WRHA has until Wednesday to submit a report on the circumstances surrounding the death of the baby of Hope Bowen-Lawrence. The child was delivered at the hospital in September of last year. Mrs Bowen-Lawrence last weekend expressed serious concerns in the media about aspects of the delivery. On Monday, the Minister was briefed on the case by senior staff members at the hospital as well as acting Director of the Regional Health Authority, Dr Alex Konstantinov. Hospital personnel are maintaining that Mrs Bowen-Lawrence was provided with counseling and support in keeping with standard procedure when there is a concern or complaint from a patient.
 

Caribbean Headline News.....

Monday, August 25th, 2008