SmallShop Caribbean News

People & Power looks at the controversial handling of gang violence in Jamaica amidst evidence of police brutality

Sun St. Kitts "Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS) – Police officers in St. Kitts and Nevis will have heightened visibility in communities as the Ministry of National Security rolls out aspects of its revised patrol strategy. 'Officers are (now) assigned on the beat in pairs, in selected areas, on a 24 hour basis,' Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of National Security, Sam Condor said at a press conference at Government Headquarters yesterday."

Jamaica Gleaner News : "THE ONGOING criminal mayhem in Montego Bay, St James, took another wicked twist yesterday when a five-year-old girl was shot and killed in Glendevon after thugs opened fire on the vehicle in which she was travelling to school with her father and an elder sister."

JamaicaObserver.com : "A five-year-old girl and a church deacon were among the Jamaicans murdered yesterday as gunmen continued wanton killings across the island, pushing the murder toll to almost 530 in just four months. The life of five-year-old Christiana Salmon was cut short by trigger-happy gunmen while her dad was taking her and her elder sister to school early in the morning. Her sister, 9, was shot and injured."

Stabroek News "Prime Minister Samuel Hinds has once again put the screws on the sale of scrap iron following numerous complaints of vandalism which has plunged to new depths as not even the dead are spared since their tombs are invaded and the metal removed by thieves."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "A confident Herbert Volney, describing himself as the next member of Parliament for St Joseph in a CNC 3 interview last night hours after he had been successfully screened to contest the seat, has said he had decided to go into politics with the UNC which was the only vessel to save this country from “a tyrant”."

Nation News "That's what Minister of Economic Affairs Dr David Estwick is demanding of Opposition parliamentarian and former Attorney-General Dale Marshall , if he is to prove his allegation that the Cabinet minister pulled a gun on him during a verbal altercation in the precincts of Parliament. In New York where he participated in an investment seminar on insurance sponsored by Invest Barbados, Estwick told WEEKEND NATION: 'The fact of the matter is that it has gone too far. He [Marshall] is going to do two things and my good friend Owen Arthur [former Prime Minister]. You either bring the evidence, shut up or you are going to be deal with it in the large courts."

NYDaily News "A local record label is poised to clean up at Sunday's 29th International Reggae & World Music Awards in Queens. Artists signed to Jamaica-based VP Records have been nominated for a stunning 27 awards at the Caribbean music equivalent to the Grammys. VP nominees include performers like Sean Paul , Queen Ifrica and Tarrus Riley ."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "A NEW website, promoting Prime Minister Patrick Manning and featuring images of him with former Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley, this week caused ripples on popular social networking internet site Facebook. While Rowley is yet to appear on a PNM platform, he has now made an appearance online with Manning, being featured in a photo gallery prominently displayed at the website, www.meetmanning.com."

Kaieteur News : "Guyana’s economic freedom score is 48.4, making its economy the 153rd freest in the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom. The report however stresses that Guyana’s overall score remains the same as last year because improvements in three of the 10 economic freedoms were offset by declines in investment freedom and property rights. Guyana is ranked 27th out of 29 countries in the South and Central America/Caribbean region, and its overall score is well below the world and regional averages.

Stabroek News "A woman was killed yesterday in a horrific early morning accident opposite the Sparendaam Police Station, after the vehicle she was travelling in struck a lantern post before crashing into a chain-link fence."

Jamaica Gleaner News "In response to Sunday's carnage in which five persons were murdered in Salt Spring, St James, National Security Minister Dwight Nelson has announced that a permanent police/military post is to be established in the nearby Montego Hills community."

JamaicaObserver.com : "MONTEGO BAY, St James — A lesser woman would have probably buckled under the pressue long ago. However after 19 years of caring for her blind, bed-ridden teenage son, Dawn Shaw has learned a thing or two about survival. Abandoned by the child's father who blamed her for his condition, and unable to take up several job opportunities as a result, the 55-year-old master artisan told the Observer West that it the only thing standing between herself and insanity is God."

More than three months after the Haitian earthquake, the UN says its now reached nearly all of the one-and-a-half million displaced people living in emergency shelters. But some say those figures are misleading and dont reflect the realities on the ground. And many Haitians remain angry over their squalid living conditions. Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker has more from Port-Au-Prince

Nation News "FOURTEEN year old Jamar Bailey of Greenidge Road, Hindsbury Road, St Michael died today after being swept away by strong sea currents in the area behind M.G Tucker & Company Ltd on Bay Street. Bailey, a student of St George Secondary school went to the beach there at about 6:30 a.m. with two friends, brothers Shawn Nurse, 20 and Shonkell Nurse, 14. At 11 a.m. the Barbados Coast Guard called off a near two-hour search for Bailey."

JamaicaObserver.com : "BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — The Opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) is alerting regional and hemispheric organisations to what it claims are serious threats to the physical safety of High Court Judge Louise Blenman . Judge Blenman's ruling to declare vacant the parliamentary seats of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and two of his Cabinet colleagues, is currently a matter before the country's Appeal Court."

JamaicaObserver.com : "BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Opposition Leader Mia Mottley, along with a fellow Barbados Labour Party (BLP) representative, were today evicted from parliament during a stormy opening session of the House. “Time and time again you have refused to listen to the Chair … in my view you have been most disrespectful,” Speaker Michael Carrington told the opposition legislators before asking the marshalls to “please remove these two members from the Parliament."

Sun St. Kitts "The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police have issued a bulletin advising the people of the federation that they are on the hunt for two men. 'We wish to inform the general public that the police have in their possession warrants in the first instance for the arrest of the following persons who committed the offence of Unlawful Carnal Knowledge on 11 April 2010 at Lower Monkey Hill,' a police release said."

Antigua Sun "A teenager who was charged with murder last year has been committed to stand trial in the High Court before a judge and jury. The 14-year-old, in the company of his mother who stood at his side-as required by law, appeared in the St. John’s Magistrates’ Court yesterday before Chief Magistrate Ivan Walters. He was committed to stand trial during the September sitting of the Criminal Assizes. The teen’s attorney Steadroy 'Cutie' Benjamin asked the court to reduce the murder charge to the lesser count or to discharge the young man."

mirror.co.uk : "The only man to admit to the killing of Malcolm X was released from prison yesterday. Thomas Hagan spent 44 years behind bars for the murder of the black rights activist. He was one of three men convicted of the shooting at a rally in New York in 1965."

Jamaica Gleaner News "Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller has criticised the Government over its handling of the extradition request for West Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke in an application filed yesterday in the Supreme Court for her name to be removed as a defendant."

Jamaica Gleaner News "A week after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn ruled that he be charged with murder, Constable Orlando Lamont attempted to flee the island on Saturday but was nabbed at the Sangster International Airport by his colleagues."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THREE men believed to be major players in the multi-million dollar illegal cigarette trade were yesterday arrested during a raid in the upscale Beverly Hills community in Kingston. More than 56 cases of assorted cigarettes, which the Customs Department valued at $12.9 million, millions of dollars in local and foreign currency, as well as several cases of expensive liquor were seized in the raid carried out by the police's Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID) and the Customs Enforcement team at 9 Shenstone Drive."

Kaieteur News : "A 28-year-old Amerindian fisherman is recovering at the Lethem Hospital after miraculously surviving a 15-minute battle with a ferocious female jaguar. At the end of the battle, the jaguar lay dead with stab wounds inflicted by Clarence Bernard, who sustained severe injuries to both of his hands and one of his feet, while fighting off the vicious animal. Bernard, who hails from Parikwarunawu Village, located some 30 miles south of Lethem, had left his village and went fishing about one mile away early Monday morning."

Kaieteur News : "Hafeez Hoosein, a Death Row inmate in the Camp Street jail, is now in solitary confinement. And his detention in solitary is not in keeping with similar punishment meted out to inmates of his calibre. He is being accommodated in the Brick Section which is reserved for those who misbehave in the General Population. On Monday, prison officials were prompted to conduct a mid-morning search of the condemned man’s cell. Reports out of the prison stated that they found nothing. However, they returned sometime later, around 17:00 hours, and after almost ripping apart the cell, found a hammer and a chisel in the bathroom used by 11 condemned inmates."

Stabroek News "Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy has approved the Medical Council of Guyana’s recommendation for the censure of Police Surgeon Dr. Mahendra Chand, for professional misconduct in the treatment of a teen boy who was tortured in police custody last year."

Nation News "VOICES WERE RAISED. Tantrums were thrown. People were asked to leave because of disorderly conduct. People walked out in protest. And it all happened in the House of Assembly yesterday. The melee resulted in the ejection of two members of the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) for the remainder of the day's sitting by Speaker of the House, Michael Carrington, a move that saw every Opposition MP walk out in protest."

Nation News "AT THE HEIGHT of the CLICO controversy, executive chairman Leroy Parris has called it quits. Parris, who turned 65 this year, yesterday announced his retirement as chairman of parent company, CLICO Holdings Barbados Limited and its subsidiaries, CLICO International Life Insurance Limited and CLICO International General Insurance Limited, effective May 31. He retires from CLICO Mortgage and Finance immediately."

Nation News "ACCORDING TO DEPUTY Opposition Leader Dale Marshall, it was the threat of a slap to the head that started an incident in the House of Assembly last month that has now become a national talking point. Breaking his silence to provide his version of what happened in the precincts of the House of Assembly on March 19, Marshall yesterday reported that Goverment MP Dr David Estwick had started threatening him that day from inside the chamber where MPs were debating the 2010 Estimates. It was about 11 a.m. Marshall, th"

The Insurance Journal "Antigua and Barbuda's former top financial regulator was ordered Monday to be extradited to the United States to face charges he assisted accused Texas financier Allen Stanford in an alleged $7 billion fraud, a spokesperson for the Antigua attorney general's office said."

Stabroek News "Embattled television broadcaster Chandra Narine Sharma made yet another appearance at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday to answer a charge of attempting to obstruct the course of justice and was placed on $100,000 bail."

Kaieteur News : "Once again, television station owner, Chandra Narine Sharma, who is embroiled in a sex probe with an underage girl, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson. This time he was charged with obstructing the course of justice, when he allegedly removed the underage girls and their mother from their home, to prevent the police from finding them."

Nation News "In discussing some of the findings of a study conducted for the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies in collaboration with the Bureau of Gender Affairs on the Prevalence and Characteristics of Domestic Violence in Barbados, Wickham noted men who believed they should not hit women became victims as they chose to not retaliate when women became violent. Therefore, he said, men were increasingly being victims of abuse at the hands of women."

Nation News "PRISON OFFICERS are up in arms over an incident in which a man who was visiting the prison allegedly pulled a gun on one of their colleagues. Reports indicate that the incident occurred last week at the main entrance to the Dodds, St Philip penal institution and involved one of the warders who was working at the main gate and a former inmate."

JamaicaObserver.com : "ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Police have launched an investigation into the weekend drowning death of a United States citizen whose body was found floating at a popular beach on Antigua’s northeast coast. The body of Haiber Raza-Rizvi, 27, a student of the American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine was found yesterday at Jabberwock Beach by a local fisherman."

Trinidad Express "A 47-year-old man was shot dead on Saturday night, taking the country’s murder toll to 162 up to yesterday evening on what was a bloody weekend. There were some eight murders across the country between Friday night and yesterday afternoon. Eyewitnesses reported to police that two men were seen exiting a car at Dairy Street, McBean, Couva, around 7 p.m. The men went into a house where Franklin Wellington was asleep. Several gunshots were then heard."

The Trinidad Guardian : "Police, yesterday, ordered members of Congress of the People (COP) to cease their demonstrations on Queen’s Park Savannah in front of President’s House. To symbolise the rising crime in T&T, members of COP and its political leader Winston Dookeran assembled about 50 red cardboard human cut-outs as a “symbolic gesture” to represent some of the 509 people murdered last year. Two officers of Belmont Police Station arrived and asked Dookeran to remove the cut-outs and cease all actions. Officers asked Dookeran if had he received permission from the Queen’s Park Savannah Authority to assemble in what they called a “sensitive” area."

JamaicaObserver.com : "MONTEGO BAY, St James — More than 12 gunmen went on a savage rampage in the tough Bird Hill area of Salt Spring early yesterday, killing five persons — two execution style — before fleeing the depressed community on foot. Up to press time one of the dead men was still unidentified. Police gave the names of the others as: Cornel Brown, 20 years old and Elton Hines, 23, both of Bird Hill; Damion Brooks and 20-year-old Byron Powell, whose addresses are not known."

Kaieteur News : "Ryan Brimmer of Zeskendren Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital sometime after 01:00 hours yesterday. At the time of the incident, Brimmer and two other relatives were off loading scrap iron from a horse cart at Hill Street, Albouystown, when a man rode up on a bicycle and confronted them with a firearm. One of the relatives who was with Brimmer at the time, told this newspaper that he was in the yard while, Brimmer and another relative were outside."

Stabroek News "Several hours before dawn yesterday a lone gunman murdered Ryan Brimmer execution style in Albouystown."

Nation News "ABOUT EIGHT HUNDRED PEOPLE are likely walking around Barbados today with useless pieces of paper, believing they own valid insurance policies from CLICO, according to former Prime Minister Owen Arthur . What is worse, Arthur suggested last night, is that according to executive chairman of CLICO Holdings (Barbados) Limited, Leroy Parris , Prime Minister David Thompson was aware of it but did nothing. Speaking at the successful nomination of Barbados Labour Party Christ Church South candidate Dr Jerome Walcott at Foundation School, Arthur said CLICO had no legal authority to sell business from August 2009, following the directive of the Supervisor of Insurance."

JamaicaObserver.com : "ORGANISED criminal gangs and drug dealers are behind the growing multimillion-dollar trade in illicit cigarettes locally, the Sunday Observer has learnt. According to the authorities, the drug lords' transition is driven by their desire to avoid the harsh penalties associated with narcotics trafficking, even though breaches of the Trade Marks Act can attract huge fines and prison time."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "A Gonzales man was yesterday shot and killed in full view of his family by three armed men who broke into his home. Sherwin “Popey”Holder, 37, of Circular Road, Gonzales, was one of five murders between the period over Friday night and Saturday. He is also one of six men killed in 24 hours, starting Thursday night. The murder toll for the year now stands at 159. The killings started just mere hours after 500 police officers were promoted to the rank of corporal. They are expected to be kept busy with the latest spate of killings."

Kaieteur News : "She was the victim of a brutal attack. She sustained two stabs in the region of her heart with “a Rambo knife” while she lay on her bed. Her other injuries included several stabs about her upper chest, gashes to her hands and cuts about her feet which some law men said indicated that though she was caught off guard she fought her attacker. She darted past shop owner (Patrick) two doors east, and sought refuge in a storeroom where she collapsed, took her last gulp of air and died in a pool of her own blood. Her niece, Stacy DeCambra, 21, reported that she was attacked, too, but managed to escape unhurt. She said that amidst the screams, she ran into her aunt’s room and saw the man and he turned in her direction and her aunt ran out of the house."

Stabroek News "The life of a 36-year-old woman was violently snuffed out yesterday when her husband of seven years repeatedly stabbed her with a Rambo knife, bringing an end to their turbulent relationship. Dead is Donnette Ward, a mother of one and Barbados based. She had been staying at her mother’s Lot 100 Herstelling East Bank Demerara residence, and it was here the killing took place around 10.30 am. It was the quick response of residents who chased after the suspect, 59-year-old Geoffrey Ward, that was instrumental in him being caught. The man was later handed over to police."

Nation News - Home : "SEVERAL ACTIONS taken by chairman of CLICO Holdings (Barbados) Limited, Leroy Parris , have been red-flagged by head of the Oversight Committee set up by Government to supervise the sale of three of CLICO's subsidiaries. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, William Layne, told the SUNDAY SUN yesterday that two matured deposits withdrawn by Parris from the subsidiary company Clico Mortgage and Finance Corporation (CMFC) were worth over a quarter million dollars. '. . . He withdrew two deposits in CMFC in the sums of BDS$129 827.74 and $136 776.58, respectively, when they matured on December 3, 2009 and January 8, 2010,' Layne said."

Grenada Herald "ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Global Petroleum Group (GPG), the Russia-owned company that remains eager to begin drilling off Grenada’s shores, has categorically denied any involvement in recent threats made against the wife of the Finance Minister Nazim Burke."

St. Kitts Daily News "BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, APRIL 23RD 2010 (CUOPM) –� Fines and additional duties totalling nearly EC$200,000 have been levied on a local Chinese businessman for attempted fraudulent evasion of Customs duties, attempted bribery of a Customs officer and making an untrue declaration to Customs."

Antigua Daily News "ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – A former police officer has been extradited to the United States, where he is wanted on criminal charges. Weston Gordon was accompanied by two US Marshalls. Last year, US law enforcement authorities had requested Gordon’s extradition so he could stand trial"

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "AMERICAN citizen Henry Bernard Campbell, who was part of the political strategy team which propelled Barack Obama to the White House, was deported from this country early yesterday morning, hours after arriving at Piarco International Airport from the US. And at an immediate reaction, the US Embassy at Marli Street, Port-of-Spain contacted Government officials requesting an explanation for the treatment meted out to Campbell."

Kaieteur News : "The woes of the now embattled businessman and political party leader, Chandra Narine Sharma, reached a new depth. His United States visa was revoked yesterday. This newspaper understands that all airlines were notified of Sharma’s visa revocation shortly after 14:00hrs yesterday. Reports are that the revocation of his visa is a direct result of the current carnal knowledge allegations leveled against him and for which he is also charged."

Stabroek News "Five persons were yesterday charged after they allegedly offered inducements to the young girls at the centre of the child molestation case against Chandra Narine Sharma, including his son-in-law and three employees."

Nation News : "JOHAN BJORN BJERKHAMN returned to Barbados from Miami yesterday morning and gave police a statement on the circumstances surrounding his son Luke's death on April 11. By evening, after being released on bail, he headed back to Miami for further medical treatment on his left hand which sustained gunshot injuries on the night his 11-year-old son Luke was shot to death. Bjerkhamn was placed on $100 000 bail with two sureties when he appeared in court yesterday charged with unlawfully killing Luke. Around 8 a.m. yesterday, Bjerkhamn arrived at the District 'E' Police Station in St Peter, accompanied by family members and his attorneys Sir Richard Cheltenham and Andrew Pilgrim. Over the course of three hours he was questioned by police investigators, leaving briefly for a medical check-up. Upon his return, police completed the process of charging Bjerkhamn before he was taken to the Holetown Magistrates' Court."

A recent report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization shows the pace of deforestation worldwide slowed in the last decade. Clearing land for farming remains the leading cause of deforestation. But in Haiti, the loss of tree cover -- and the erosion that results -- have made it much harder for farmers to grow food. It's a major contributor to the country's hunger problems. But VOA's Steve Baragona found efforts are underway to try to return trees to Haiti's denuded hills.

Stabroek News "The body of Sangeeta Persaud, the Canal Number Two teen, who died following an ‘exorcism’ last month, will be exhumed and examined by an independent pathologist. Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee revealed this yesterday and cited the administration’s concern about the controversy that erupted following the 14-year-old’s death. Addressing the matter at a press conference at the ministry yesterday, he pointed out that the matter attracted national attention and concerns were raised by relatives and residents. Petitions have been written expressing dissatisfaction from different angles, Rohee said."

Stabroek News "Aviation officials were last evening carrying out checks to locate a Surinamese -owned helicopter which failed to land at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) after departing a Region Seven area late yesterday afternoon."

JamaicaObserver.com : "AN ex-policeman who was said to be the reputed leader of the Unity Gang was yesterday shot dead in an alleged shoot-out with the police at Morgans Lane in Homestead, St Catherine. Police said the reputed gang leader -- Mark Sewell -- was fatally shot after he engaged a police team in a shoot-out. A firearm was taken from his body."

The Naion Police in Barbados   are now investigating  a shooting which has  left four men nursing gunshot injuries. One of the men,  a bystander, is now paralysed and receiving orthopaedic attention  at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH). According to police reports, two armed men walked into Clarke’s Road, Spooner’s Hill,  St Michael, just before 9.30 p.m. Wednesday  and opened fire  on a group of men. The men scampered and the gunmen  followed them, still  firing their weapons. After the smoke  cleared, four men had been shot, and  a number of residences had bullet-holes. Anderson Kellman,  a 39-year-old bystander from Codrington Hill,  St Michael, was shot  in the pelvic area. 

Nation News "BJORN BJERKHAMN, father of Johan Bjerkhamn, says he cries every night. He says his family is hurting and crying since the entire episode that followed the tragic death of his grandson, 11-year-old Luke on April 11. Breaking his silence for the first time since the incident, the construction magnate, in an exclusive telephone interview with the WEEKEND NATION last night, said there was nothing to hide about the circumstances that led to the death of his grandson and the injury to his 39-year-old son. 'We have no intentions of running away from anything. I am just trying to save Johan's hand, something any father would do for his son,' Bjerkhamn said from his son's bedside in Miami."

Kaieteur News : "Yesterday, once again, one time death row prisoner, Odinga Greene, was committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of Nazalene Mohammed. He was committed at the Christianburg Magistrates’ Court by Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan. As the preliminary inquiry closed yesterday, Greene’s lawyer, Tanya Warren, presented to the Magistrate that in light of the evidence led against her client the court should find that a prima facie case has not been made out. Hence Greene should not be made to stand trial in the High Court."

Kaieteur News : "Police are currently working on all possible leads that may lead them to the killer of local businessman, Junior Richards, called ‘Non Stop’. The nude body of the businessman, who owned Le Rich Hotel, and Le Rich Imports, was found at his 186 Anaida Avenue, Eccles, East Bank Demerara home, some time after 09:00 hours yesterday. This newspaper was told that the discovery was made by the man’s maid and two of his employees. According to one of the man’s employees it was very unusual for Richards not to turn up at either of his places of business early in the morning."

Stabroek News "Broadcaster and Justice for All Party leader Chandra Narine Sharma was yesterday released on $2M bail, after a brief stay in the Georgetown Prison."

Stabroek News "The body of Junior Richards, also known as ‘Non-Stop,’ 49, of Lot 18, Anaida Avenue, Eccles East Bank Demerara, was found in his home around 10:45 hrs. Police said that there were marks of violence to Richards’ head and they were treating the case as a suspected murder. According to reports, the body was discovered in his bedroom in the upper flat of his two-flat home by his maid. Richards operated several businesses in the city, including Le Rich Guest House on Princes Street as well as a garment entity and a taxi service."

Nation News "COMMISSIONER OF POLICE DARWIN DOTTIN has defended the force against allegations and criticisms of treatment of suspects differently based on their status. He was reacting to some public perceptions which suggested that Johan Bjerkhamn was treated specially throughout the just over two-week investigation of his 11-year-old son's tragic death."

Nation News "JOHAN BJERKHAMN WILL be charged with the unlawful killing of his son Luke Bjerkhamn. In a Press conference held yesterday, Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin said an agreement had been reached with Bjerkhamn's lawyers that he would return from Miami tomorrow to be taken into police custody. ' . . . Mr Bjerkhamn's attorneys have informed us that he will return to Barbados on Friday morning. The judicial process will take its course,' Dottin said. When contacted yesterday evening, attorney-at-law Andrew Pilgrim, who is among a team of lawyers representing the 39-year-old gun dealer confirmed the agreement. 'We agreed that he (Bjerkhamn) will return and that his counsel will accompany him to the police station,' Pilgrim said."

Nation News "HE HAD just robbed a wholesale drinks place at gunpoint, earned himself over $20 000 in ill-gotten gains, and left a parting shot in the roof of the business. But Troy Anderson Greene did not got away scot-free as he had hoped. Instead, the owner and his staff hunted the burglar down and, despite being shot at, ran him over with their car and then pelted him with rocks until a passing lawman stopped. 'I beg for them to call the police,' Greene told the No. 5 Supreme Court yesterday. 'But they insist that them ain't bout no money, that them looking to kill me. It is at that point that my whole life flash before me and I panic and fire off the gun,' he said. Greene, 26, of Harewood Road, Hillaby, St Andrew, had just pleaded guilty to seven of eight charges."

Nation News "WHEN JOHAN BJERKHAMN returns to Barbados from Miami on Friday, he will be charged with manslaughter. News of this came from Commissioner of Police, Darwin Dottin today as he outlined the events leading up Bjerkhamn’s departure, even as police were waiting to interview him on the circumstances surrounding his son Luke’ death. Up until Monday, Bjerkhamn was a patient at the Bayview Hospital where he was being treated for a gunshot injury he received to the hand. The injury reportedly ocurred while cleaning a gun at his Leslie Gardens, St Peter residence two Sundays ago. His son Luke was believed to have been accidentally shot in the chest at the same time. Luke, a first form St Michael School pupil, died from his injuries."

With around 10,000 international groups who all say they are doing what they can to help rebuild the country following January's deadly 7.0 magnitude earthquake, Haiti has become known by some as the "Republic of NGOs". More than a million Haitians were left homeless, and efforts to relocate many of them have proved challenging. Now the government - which itself suffered heavy losses - is beginning to evict what some are calling squatters. But many say they have nowhere to go. Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker reports from the capital Port-au-Prince

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "A TEN-YEAR-OLD standard four schoolboy sustained severe injuries to his neck and vertebra including a slipped disc and torn ligaments after he was struck a blow to the back of his neck while standing with school-mates at assembly last week Wednesday at the Guaico Presbyterian Primary School. Schoolboy Brian Torries cannot move his neck or even nod as his chest, neck and head remain heavily bandaged to aid the healing process on his vertebra. Brian said that at about 8.30 am last week Wednesday, while standing in assembly prior to the start of classes, he felt a heavy, painful blow to the back of his neck."

JamaicaObserver.com : "JAMAICAN hotels are struggling to find alternative accommodations for their guests stranded here because of the shutdown of airports across Europe, due to the eruption of the volcano Eyjafjalla in Iceland. Wayne Cummings, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), said a number of local hotels have had to move out stranded visitors, some of whom have run out of money, to other suitable locations to make way for arriving guests."

Stabroek News "Broadcaster and Justice For All Party leader Chandra Narine Sharma was yesterday remanded to prison after pleading not guilty to a single charge of carnal knowledge before acting Chief Magis-trate Melissa Robertson."

Nation News "MINISTER OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS Dr David Estwick, under fire for his role in a March 19 incident involving an Opposition MP, has flatly denied he brandished a gun whilst at Parliament during last month's Estimates debate."

Nation News "A BARBADIAN COUPLE has been arrested and charged for attempting to smuggle cocaine into England. Tremaine Devon Greene, 25, a member of the Royal Barbados Police Force Band and his wife Joyann Katrina Cox-Greene, 28, both of Eden Lodge, St Michael, were arrested at the Manchester International Airport on March 29."

Nation News "JOHAN BJERKHAMN HAS nothing to hide. That was the word yesterday from Bjerkhamn's attorney Sir Richard Cheltenham who has accused the Royal Barbados Police Force of misleading the public by portraying his client as a fugitive from justice. Police last Monday evening issued a warrant of arrest for the 39-year-old businessman, of Leslie Gardens, Maynards, St Peter, after he had earlier left the island on a private jet for Miami. Yesterday, he was picked up by police in Miami. Sir Richard said, however, that since last Friday, correspondence had been sent to Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin, with copies to his deputy Bertie Hinds, as well as Director of Public Prosecutions Charles Leacock, outlining the necessity for Bjerkhamn to go overseas for urgent medical treatment."

Nation News "JOHAN BJERKHAMN, who slipped out the island by private jet Monday, was taken into custody by police in Miami tonight. �The 39-year-old gun dealer, who had a warrant issued for his arrest hours after his departure, was being held at the Doral Police Department, Western Dade Miami, just about five miles from the Miami International Airport. “We have him in our custody and we are just awaiting verification about the warrant of arrest from Barbados,” Detective Gracia told the MIDWEEK NATION tonight."

JamaicaObserver.com : "ANGRY bus operators who ply the number 81 route, which runs from Waterhouse to downtown Kingston, yesterday withdrew their services in protest over Saturday's killing of a colleague along Spanish Town Road in Kingston. The bus operators, who gathered in front of the Denham Town Police Station, said they were fed up with the constant pestering from extortionists and other criminal elements and called on the lawmen to provide protection for them."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "FORMER Udecott executive chairman Calder Hart is eligible to vote in the Port-of-Spain North/St Ann’s West constituency which was once held by controversial PNM Sports Minister Gary Hunt, according to public Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) records"

Kaieteur News : "Embattled television station owner and Presidential candidate, Chandra Narine Sharma, is expected to appear in court today, to answer various charges ranging from carnal knowledge to indecent exposure. Sources close to the investigation said that Sharma was expected to appear in court, yesterday, but complications concerning his health had to be addressed. The source said that the officers visited him at the hospital and told him of the various allegations which are being levied against him. Unconfirmed reports claim that Sharma suffered a relapse after he learnt that he would have being brought to court. Sharma, according to the source is vehemently denying the allegations. On Saturday, the girls aged five, nine, 18 and 21, as well as a cousin, aged 12, were all questioned by ranks at the Criminal Investigation Department at Eve Leary. The eldest sister is claiming that the father of her child is C.N. Sharma."

Nation News "AN ARREST WARRANT has been issued for Johan Bjerkhamn. The new twist of events took place yesterday after Bjerkhamn left the island by private jet for Miami, Florida. Bjerkhamn, who was a patient at Bayview Hospital after suffering a gunshot injury to the left hand, was expected to give police a statement about the circumstances surrounding the death of his 11-year-old son, Luke Bjerkhamn, but up until yesterday had not. The first form St Michael School pupil was believed to have been accidentally shot in the chest, while his father was cleaning a gun at his Leslie Gardens, St Peter residence two Sundays ago. Police sources told the DAILY NATION yesterday that investigators were taken by surprise when they learnt that the 39-year-old registered gun dealer had been discharged from the hospital and had left the island. The source said it was at that time that the arrest warrant was issued."

The Nassau Guardian "Investigators from the Central Detective Unit are questioning the parents of the three-year-old girl found dead in a car in Fox Hill on Saturday, police said yesterday. According to police reports, sometime around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, the young girl was discovered in a green 2001 Daewoo vehicle on Abner Street, off Fox Hill Road. 'Police responded and discovered the toddler in the front passenger seat of the vehicle clad in a jeans jumper and red shirt with no visual signs of trauma,' reported police press liaison officer Sergeant Chrislyn Skippings. She said EMS officials pronounced the girl dead on the scene."

JamaicaObserver.com : "CASTRIES, St Lucia — ST LUCIA has become the latest Caribbean Community (Caricom) country to place a ban on Jamaican dancehall singer, Vybz Kartel, who had been scheduled to perform here at the end of the month. A statement from the St Lucian government today noted that in deciding whether or not to grant a work permit to the singer, the government had deliberately refrained from rushing to a judgement by establishing an adhoc committee to discuss the request from the promoters."

Taiwan News Online : "The staff of a daily newspaper owned by jailed Texas financier Allen Stanford is still putting out the paper despite an announcement that it would close, an editor said Monday. Employees of the Antigua Sun returned without pay because they want to keep the daily in the public's eye, managing editor Timothy Payne said. He said several financing options are being considered to keep the newspaper afloat but did not provide details. Monday's 16-page edition did not mention the paper's financial problems or the staff decision to continue working. Employees received letters Friday from the Stanford-owned Sun Printing & Publishing saying the company could no longer sustain operations and they were being laid off immediately."

JamaicaObserver.com : "FORMER national security minister Dudley Thompson believes that the ongoing impasse between Jamaica and the United States over the extradition of Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is hurting this north Caribbean island badly, internationally. Ambassador Thompson, who served as Jamaica's envoy to several African countries, including Nigeria, Namibia and Ghana, said that Prime Minister Bruce Golding had his back against the wall in not acting fast enough in the 'Dudus' affair, adding that further delays in settling the matter could have far-reaching effects."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "POLITICAL analyst Michael Harris yesterday warned that the entire governance system in the country was collapsing, adding that as a result of this people had lost all trust in the leaders who are at the helm. He believes this collapse started since Independence. Harris was speaking at a joint trade union meeting at the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) head office at Paramount Building, Circular Road, San Fernando."

Kaieteur News : "As the twist in the ‘Sharma sex probe’ continues to unfold, the two girls who presented initial affidavits countering the allegations of the 13-year-old who accused Chandra Narine Sharma of repeated rape, have since recanted. This newspaper understands that the genesis of the countering affidavits lay in a threat to have their mother incarcerated should they support their 13-year-old sister in her allegations against Sharma. The girls aged 5, 9, 18 and 21 as well as a cousin aged 12, were all questioned at the Eve Leary Police headquarters. They joined their 13-year-old sister and relayed tales of repeated sexual encounters with the Television Station owner and Presidential Candidate of the Justice For All Party."

Nation News "INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARIAN HAMILTON LASHLEY last night signalled he was returning to the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) after an 11-year break in his chequered political career. He did so at a robust constituency conference where Prime Minister David Thompson, Deputy Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and Minister of Social Care Christopher Sinckler were the other speakers."

JamaicaObserver.com : "CLOSE to 40 attorneys have been barred from practising law in Jamaica over the last 25 years, most of them for misappropriation of clients' funds, forcing honest lawyers on the back-foot, in a fight to protect the image of a great profession. The General Legal Council (GLC), which monitors the conduct of the 3,864 registered attorneys islandwide, confirmed that 38 lawyers have been disbarred from practising in Jamaica since 1985."

JamaicaObserver.com : "A forensic audit of the operations of the State-owned Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) and Petroleum Company of Jamaica (PETCOM) has uncovered contract irregularities, poor management of the PetroCaribe Development Fund (PCDF) and a cash-skimming scheme that 'partly involved PCDF monies' which the auditors have recommended be referred to the police for further investigation."

TrinidadExpress : "It is final - Trinidad and Tobago’s leading opposition parties and some trade unionists have agreed to unite and contest the May 24 general election under a single banner. And they have agreed that United National Congress leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar would remain as the prime ministerial candidate. Following a five-hour long meeting at Kampo Restaurant in Chaguanas last night, the United National Congress, Congress of the People, National Joint Action Committee and the Movement for Social Justice announced that the decision was taken."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "AFTER EIGHT days of uncertainty and anxiety over the date, the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday announced that the general election will take place on May 24, just over five weeks from today."

Kaieteur News : "As the twist in the ‘Sharma sex probe’ continues to unfold, the two girls who presented initial affidavits countering the allegations of the 13-year-old who accused Chandra Narine Sharma of repeated rape, have since recanted. This newspaper understands that the genesis of the countering affidavits lay in a threat to have their mother incarcerated should they support their 13-year-old sister in her allegations against Sharma. The girls aged 5, 9, 18 and 21 as well as a cousin aged 12, were all questioned at the Eve Leary Police headquarters. They joined their 13-year-old sister and relayed tales of repeated sexual encounters with the Television Station owner and Presidential Candidate of the Justice For All Party."

Stabroek News "Accusations of sexual assault which have been levelled against broadcast CN Sharma, increased yesterday as three other young women made allegations of their own to authorities, among them being a 12-year-old girl."

Nation News "MOURNFUL FATHER Johan Bjerkham, with a heavily bandaged left hand, sat stoically in the chapel at Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens yesterday morning, as hundreds around him joined sadly to say good-bye to 11-year-old Luke. He grimaced as memories of 11-year-old Luke Bjerkham's tragic death last week were recalled by Luke's mother, Gail, as she paid tribute to her only child. 'In the blink of an eye, 11-and-a-half years have turned into a memory,' she said, as she recounted the active life of 'a fearless, loving, caring, generous' child who 'had a way of pulling at my heart strings', and 'an extremely close bond with Johan [his father]'."

Telegraph : "A tribunal found last year that Miss DeBique, a former corporal in the Royal Signals from St Vincent in the Caribbean, suffered indirect racial and sexual discrimination because of the combined effect of military and immigration rules on foreign soldiers who become single parents."

BusinessWeek : "Two Caribbean newspapers owned by jailed Texas financier Allen Stanford were ordered closed because of financial constraints. The Antigua Sun has operated for 13 years, and the Sun St. Kitts and Nevis nearly six years. About 50 employees of the two newspapers received a letter Friday stating that Stanford-owned Sun Printing & Publishing 'will be unable to sustain operations in the immediate future.' The letter, signed by General Manager Patrick Henry, stated that the company's directors were working with lawyers to explore possible financing options. Last month, the Antigua Sun stopped publishing for several days as it struggled to pay its bills."

The Trinidad Guardian : "Christopher “Duddus” Coke is suspected of being involved in serious crime, including international arms and drug trafficking, but repeated US requests to extradite him have been continually rebuffed by the Jamaican authorities. The Americans believe that the lack of cooperation by the government in Kingston stems from Coke’s alleged links to senior members of the ruling party."

Al Jazeera "Caribbean leaders have urged the US to do more to stop the trafficking of drugs to island nations, saying support for a crackdown on cartels in Mexico has forced smugglers to find new routes through the region. The comments came during a regional security conference in Barbados attended by the US defence secretary, Robert Gates. During the meeting David Thompson, the prime minister of Barbados, said all Caribbean nations saw drug smuggling as 'a threat to our individual, national and regional well-being'."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THURSDAY night's fatal shooting of three people, including a gunman, at the 'Little Pub' bar in the usually quiet district of Broadgate, St Mary has left the owners fearful and doubtful about continuing in business. 'I don't know if I want to continue this bar thing; I really can't deal with it. I (am) not waiting for them to come back for me,' said the bar owner, who asked that her name be withheld."

Kaieteur News : "The police have now launched a search for the mother of the victim of the alleged acts of carnal knowledge involving television personality and businessman, Chandra Narine Sharma. Reports are that the woman is wanted for questioning in connection with the rape allegations leveled by the woman’s 13-year-old daughter against Sharma. A medical examination has been conducted on the teenager but the Police Force has been tightlipped on the findings. This newspaper understands that the child’s mother was supposed to have turned up at the Child Protection Agency yesterday but this never materialised."

Stabroek News "Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday remanded Laurence Hunte to prison on the allegation that he sodomised a seven-year-old boy. Hunte pleaded not guilty to the charge of buggery, denying that between September 1, 2005 and February 28, 2006, at North Ruimveldt, he buggered the boy. Hunte informed the court that he had been charged for the alleged offence before but after nothing was happening in the case� the matter was withdrawn."

Nation News "SUPERINTENDENT OF CEMETERIES Emeric Ancil 'Ricky' Cummins and his assistant Stephen Niles were granted bail after pleading not guilty to charges of selling graves at St James Cemetery when they had no authority to do so. Cummins, 59, of Ridge View, Cane Vale, Christ Church, and Niles, 49, of West Terrace, St. James, appeared in the Holetown Magistrates' Court before Magistrate Ian Weekes and opted to be tried at the Magistrates' Court."

Nation News "POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING the unnatural death of a 68-year-old man. The body of Jeffrey Proverbs, of Brighton Beach Road South, Spring Garden, St Michael, was found floating after 5:30 a.m. yesterday morning after he went into the sea, reportedly to retrieve a dinghy."

Nation News : "A 14-MONTH-OLD BABY is dead and his grieving parents are wondering whether delayed attention at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) could have contributed to his death. Renee Springer and Tony Waithe, both 31, said they were turned away from the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) not once, but twice. They said that their baby, Telani, appeared to be critically ill and despite lying their way into the A&E they were unable to get him the urgent attention they felt he required."

msnbc.com : "GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Guyana is blaming careless kite-flyers for a spate of recent power outages. The South American country is frequently hit by blackouts that are usually caused by faulty generators. But the government says it believes 10 of 17 outages this month were caused by kites that got tangled in live wires."

Three months after a devastating earthquake ravaged much of Haiti, Katie Couric returns to this island nation and reports on the ongoing progress of the prolonged restoration efforts there.

Sun St. Kitts "Following the most recent murders of a retiring couple and a well-known taxi driver, Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas made a commitment that the full force of the law will be employed to solve these cases."

Antigua Sun : "Two children, ages six and nine years respectively, perished in an early morning fire in Urlings yesterday, but there was little damage in another fire in the Jennings community. The fire started in the kitchen of the three bedroom 27X16 wooden and concrete structure, owned by Everod Bachelor of Urlings and occupied by Kelvin Bachelor and 45-year-old Pamela Augustus and her five children. According to police reports, after the fire started it spread quickly throughout the house."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE Manatt, Phelps & Phillips controversy in which the Bruce Golding Administration has been embroiled for the past month deepened yesterday with a Washington Post report stating that attorneys from the American blue-chip law firm made contact with US Government officials and that one of those meetings was attended by a Jamaican minister."

Kaieteur News : "Almost four months after her sudden demise, Junior Minister of Education, Dr. Desrey Fox’s son, Terrence Fox, has been charged with causing her death. Terrence Fox appeared yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson. It is alleged that on December 8, last, at the junction of J.B. Singh Public Road and Thomas Road, he drove motor car PKK 8875 in a dangerous manner resulting in the death of Dr. Desrey Fox, his mother."

Stabroek News "Flooded out city residents yesterday condemned the authorities for failing to heed several calls made over the past seven months for drainage works to be carried out."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "The dark, overcast sky mirrored the black mood of PNM supporters who yesterday demanded that Pennelope Beckles be chosen as their candidates for Arima during a rowdy protest at Balisier House, Port-of-Spain. “No Penny, no vote! The voice of the people, is the voice of God! Arima say Penny!” supporters from the Arima constituency chanted, waving placards with pictures of Beckles on them."

Nation News "Red light, green light, one, two, three! THE MOMENTS IT TOOK YOU to recite this childhood rhyme was just about all the time delinquent drivers needed to tear through the traffic signals - totally ignoring the bright red light that always says stop. Some of these racers behaved as if they were colour blind, able to see only the green that signals go. Worse yet, many were unapologetic."

Nation News "ABOUT 800 TRAVELLERS were likely stranded in Barbados overnight due to the cancellation of flights into Britain yesterday. That was the word from president of the Barbados Hotel & Tourism Association (BHTA), Wayne Capaldi, in the wake of the suspension of flights into and out of Britain as a result of ash from the volcanic eruption in Iceland that has affected air travel throughout Europe."

Amandala Online : "The Cayo District has been the scene of many brazen holdups in recent memory, but each time, the robbers seem to be producing new heights of terror for their victims, as on Sunday night around 7:15, two robbers, thought to be Guatemalans, attempted a daring holdup and robbery on a bus on the Western Highway in San Jose Succotz village, just outside of Benque Viejo del Carmen Town."

Jamaica Gleaner News - "Eighteen Jamaicans, including two women, were extradited last year, even as the Bruce Golding administration tussled with the United States government over its extradition request for west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE United States White House and State Department declined yesterday to confirm or deny reports out of Washington that a career diplomat has been identified as ambassador-designate to Kingston. But impeccable Observer sources insisted that the person had been identified, though not announced, and that a career diplomat was deemed to be more desirable than a political appointee, in the frosty environment caused by the stand-off over Christopher 'Dudus' Coke."