SmallShop Caribbean News

The Belize Times Free : "She rose to fame leading into the 2006 municipal elections when Belize City residents endorsed her as the favourite to run the old capital and then voted for her overwhelmingly at the polls. But since Zenaida Moya Flowers got into office, City Hall has been besieged by allegations of sweetheart deals, bloated contracts, mismanagement of public funds, misappropriation of public funds, missing money, corruption and complete incompetence."

Voice Online "ANXIOUS members of Birmingham’s Jamaican community have called a series of emergency meetings in response to the crisis in the Caribbean island over the extradition of Christopher ‘Dudas’ Coke. Even before the first shots had been fired in Jamaica last week, community leaders called a meeting at Birmingham’s African Caribbean Millennium Centre to thrash out a plan of action and voice their concerns."

wcbstv.com : "A lawyer for reputed Jamaican drug boss Christopher Coke is reportedly in talks with the Justice Department about Coke's possible safe removal to New York to face charges."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "ANOTHER murder-suicide has plunged a family in south Trinidad into grief, in which a husband stabbed his wife to death then hanged himself. The tragedy occurred hours after a similar incident in Tobago, in which a man slit his wife’s throat on Friday night then ingested poison."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE police yesterday detained eight persons, some described as extremely close to Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, as they shifted their focus to the more affluent communities of St Andrew in an effort to apprehend the man whom United States authorities have described as one of the world's most dangerous drug kingpins. Coke is wanted in the US on drug and gun-running charges."

JamaicaObserver.com : "CONTRARY to a widespread claim that alleged drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke wanted to make a deal with United States (US) authorities, Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair yesterday disclosed that the alleged don was more interested in taking his chances with a local court instead. Blair, who also chairs the Peace Management Initiative, told his congregation at the Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre in Kingston yesterday that he had met with the reputed gang leader twice, prior to last Tuesday's visit to Tivoli Gardens with Public Defender Earl Witter."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "THERE is an alleged cover up into the death of a man of Diego Martin who was fatally knocked down by a vehicle along the Diego Martin Highway on Saturday evening. The victim was identified as Denis Lumpres, 55, of Cuthbert Circular, Four Roads, Diego Martin. Lumpres worked at the Ministry of Works as a supervisor. Eyewitnesses reported they saw a young girl, believed to be about 15 years old, driving the vehicle at the time of the incident."

Kaieteur News : "A Hague, West Coast Demerara resident said he saw a strange man leaving Bibi Rafeena Saymar’s flat minutes after someone brutally silenced her screams for help. His description of the stranger is strikingly similar to that of the 22-year-old labourer who has allegedly confessed to sneaking into the hairdresser’s flat through an open window and killing her. The resident told Kaieteur News that he was awakened shortly after 01:00 hrs on Saturday by repeated screams of ‘rape’, and “a big heavy tumbling and fighting” in the hairdresser’s flat. His first thought was that Rafeena and her reputed husband were having a spat. But when he peered outside and failed to see the man’s vehicle, he realised that Rafeena’s husband was not at home. The man said that he then realised that the hairdresser was being attacked."

Stabroek News : "As Bibi Raffina Saymar lay dying early Saturday morning, her reputed husband, who is accused of putting a contract on her, showed up, looked at the still living Saymar and walked from their apartment without offering help."

Nation News "THREE YEARS AFTER MEMBERS of his congregation accused him of abandoning them in their hour of need, Apostle T. Wayne Bishop is back in Barbados - and heading a new church. He returned to the island about three weeks ago, for the first time in more than three years, after 'preaching and ministering' in the United States."

Image via Wikipedia JamaicaObserver.com : "BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Prime Minister David Thompson is seeking to quell rumours that he is gravely ill two weeks after he told the nation he was unwell and would be absent from duty for an unspecified period of time. As the rumours intensified yesterday, Thompson issued a statement from his New York apartment where he and his wife, Mara, have been waiting out his period of medical observations since complaining of severe stomach pains." Related articles by Zemanta Barbados premier heading to US for medical tests (seattletimes.nwsource.com) Bajan PM flies out for cancer treatment (news.smallshop.com)

JamaicaObserver.com : "RETIRED tough cop Reneto Adams is urging the police not to rule out searching the homes of politicians affiliated with the Jamaica Labour Party and individuals who he termed 'society people' in their effort to nab alleged narcotic and gun fugitive Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. Coke, who has been on the run since last Monday when the security forces launched a massive operation in his Tivoli Gardens power base to apprehend him and restore order to the community, is wanted in the US on drug- and gun-running charges." Related articles by Zemanta 'Dudus' still here (news.smallshop.com) Where is 'Dudus'? (news.smallshop.com) 'Dudus' abandoned fighters in Tivoli, say security officials (news.smallshop.com)

JamaicaObserver.com : "MILITARY and police personnel Friday said that copies of the extradition documents filed by the United States Government against Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke were found in his Presidential Click office in Tivoli Gardens after the community was secured by the authorities. At the same time, they painted Coke as a coward who, after importing at least 400 gunmen from outside Tivoli to fight in his defence, fled the community shortly after the security forces began their operation last Monday to arrest him and restore order to the area." Related articles by Zemanta Dudus criminals in Kingston turned slum into 'fortress festooned with booby traps' (telegraph.co.uk) Search homes of politicians and the wealthy for 'Dudus' (news.smallshop.com)

Kaieteur News : "Police appear to have solved the brutal murder of 23-year-old hairdresser Bibi Rafeena Saymar, called ‘Amanda’, who was butchered in her Hague, West Coast Demerara apartment early yesterday morning. They have reportedly uncovered a diabolical scheme involving a wealthy and obsessive businessman, a killer he hired on the cheap, and a taxi driver who transported the alleged murderer to and from the crime scene. Police sources said, yesterday, that they have detained a 22-year-old labourer who confessed to stabbing the pretty hairdresser 11 times in her hallway, after being offered some $200,000 to do so. The man, who is from Holmes Street, Georgetown, reportedly identified Saymar’s 55-year-old reputed husband as the individual who approached him to carry out the deed. The alleged hit-man also identified a taxi driver from Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara as his accomplice. Kaieteur News understands that police nabbed the two men near the Demerara Harbour Bridge, a...

Stabroek News "A 23-year-old woman was found lying on her bedroom floor with 11 stab wounds early Saturday morning and police have since held her reputed husband along with a man suspected of being hired to kill her and a third man who transported the suspected killer." Related articles by Zemanta Man, 55, pays $200,000 to kill wife, 23 (news.smallshop.com)

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "IT was the third time lucky for three Jamaat al Muslimeen members who were yesterday acquitted by a Port-of-Spain jury on a single count of murder, bringing to an end an almost seven-month-long trial. The men – Andy “Sudan” Brown, Bryan “Soldier Barry” Barrington and Sebastian “Bassie” Joseph – were before the courts on two previous occasions in separate trials for the 2001 murder of Junior “Ombie” Fredericks at the corner of Fatima Trace and Mentor Alley, Laventille."

Nation News : "OUTGOING CLICO HOLDINGS (BARBADOS) EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN Leroy Parris must return all monies paid him by subsidiary company CLICO International Life Insurance Limited (CIL). And pressing for the repayment is chairman of the Oversight Committee William Layne. SUNDAY SUN investigations have revealed that Layne wrote CLICO Holdings president Terrence Thornhill on May 18 requesting that 'all money' forwarded by CIL to Parris and his private company Professional Financial Services (PFS) for 'management services' be repaid with interest."

Trinidad Express "A murder suicide in Tobago has left a couple dead, bringing the murder toll on the island to five for the year so far. Police reports state around 10.30 Friday evening, 39-year-old Ramdarasa Jagroo, an employee of Cost Cutters Supermarket, and his 28-year-old wife, Sunita, a Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) worker, got into an altercation. The couple lived at at Happy Hill, Glen Road, Tobago."

TheChronicleHerald.ca : "JAMAICA’S prime minister, Bruce Golding, had good reason to stall when the United States requested the extradition of Christopher (Dudus) Coke on drug and gun charges last August. The Shower Posse gang Coke allegedly runs — so named for showering its foes with bullets — is based in Golding’s own constituency in Tivoli Gardens, in the west of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital."

JamaicaObserver.com : "POLICE say they have intelligence that West Kingston fugitive Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is still in Jamaica, despite rumours that he has fled the island. Speaking at a press conference at Up Park Camp, the Jamaica Defence Force headquarters in Kingston, yesterday Police Commissioner Owen Ellington seemed confident that his intelligence was on point."

Kaieteur News : "A 30-year-old minibus conductor had his head crushed yesterday morning after the minibus hit a motorcar on the Rupert Craig Highway in the vicinity of Conversation Tree. Dead is Ervin Ramroop, 30, of Lot 1 Lusignan, East Coast Demerara. The mid-morning accident also left several other passengers nursing serious injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital."

Stabroek News "Pretipaul Jaigobin, who was drenched with acid on Tuesday, was hot on the trail of a series of financial improprieties at the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) such as a $26M hike in the cost of a hostel at LBI and persons close to the board want the police to carefully probe this lead. Stabroek News yesterday spoke with two persons fully knowledgeable of board matters who requested anonymity out of concern for their safety, in light of the attack on Jaigobin."

Macleans.ca : "The events are taking place almost exclusively in slum areas in and around the island’s capital of Kingston, far from north coast tourist resorts. Many of these areas are referred to as political ‘garrisons’ – places where 90% or more of the electorate votes for a single political party – a process reinforced since the early 70s through coercion, intimidation and bribery. Many of the country’s leading political figures have played roles in arming the ghettos and fomenting violence among poor citizens, through sins of both commission and omission. Violent death is at home in these places, which account for the majority of the astounding 1,700 murders recorded on the island in 2009"

Trinidad Express "Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has instructed her National Security Minister, John Sandy, that his first act be to provide security for former prime minister Patrick Manning. Speaking shortly after the oath-taking ceremony for ministers, ministers of State and parliamentary secretaries at Knowsley House, Port of Spain, yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said her directive to Sandy was not a reaction to events at Balisier House on Thursday evening when Manning faced a hostile reception from an angry crowd of People’s National Movement (PNM) supporters and had to be assisted by officers of the Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB)."

Trinidad Express "The Indentured Indians, after serving their term or contract of five years on the British Colonial Estate, were given options of return passage to India, renewing their bond, or accepting land as payment in lieu of return passage to India. Many of the Indentured Indians accepted land as payment in lieu of the return passage to India to stay in a land they made their home during their contracted term. They built thatch houses on the land acquired and planted small crops to continue their livelihood. Having come to the West Indies with very little possessions, East Indians adapted by making replicas of tools and kitchen utensils which they used in India to do their chores, both at home and in the fields."

JamaicaObserver.com : "EDWARD Seaga, former leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and Member of Parliament for West Kingston is calling for the resignation of his successor, Prime Minister Bruce Golding. The man who built the community of Tivoli Gardens, Seaga is accusing Golding of mismanaging the United States extradition request for local area don Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, who is wanted on gun and drug trafficking charges. 'Frankly that is my view because he is showing day by day that he cannot cope,' Seaga said in an interview aired on TVJ last night." Related articles by Zemanta Gangs and politics (news.bbc.co.uk)

JamaicaObserver.com : "BUSINESSMAN Keith Clarke was yesterday shot dead as members of the security forces stormed his Kirkland Heights, Red Hills, community in Upper St Andrew in search of alleged drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. Clarke, 63, is the brother of former People's National Party Government minister Claude Clarke."

- JamaicaObserver.com : "RESIDENTS of Tivoli Gardens wept openly, chided some members of the security forces and threw verbal blows at their member of parliament, Prime Minister Bruce Golding, when some of them got their first chance to vent their anger during a media tour of the troubled inner-city community yesterday. With the smell of rotting flesh permeating the air at sections of the community, soldiers and police escorts took media personnel through selected places, most of the time having to endure verbal onslaughts by residents."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "Keeping the promise she made at her swearing-in ceremony, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar led a three-hour rescue mission yesterday to several communities that were badly affected by the floods on Wednesday. She immediately made arrangements to have six families relocated from their homes which remained under flood waters even though the rains had eased yesterday."

TrinidadExpress : "he stone that the builder rejected has become the cornerstone. Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley, on whom the leadership trained its guns for the last two years, was yesterday embraced by the General Council when they asked the PNM parliamentarians to indicate to President George Maxwell Richards that they were supporting him for the position of Opposition Leader. The General Council yesterday accepted the resignation of Political Leader Patrick Manning and in doing so with immediate effect, the General Council also rejected Manning’s offer to stay on until a replacement was found."

Nation News "THE Christian church in the Caribbean must adjust its theology to accept blackness as a positive concept. This challenge has come from Methodist theologian Reverend Dr Steed Davidson, who argues that Marcus Garvey and other pan-Africanists have done more than the church in affirming blackness as a noble concept."

Police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd outside the ruins of Haiti's national palace on Thursday, after they had gathered to demand the resignation of President Rene Preval.

Reuters : "* The Great Hurricane of 1780 killed at least 27,500 people when it smashed through the eastern Caribbean. The Category 4 storm is the deadliest on record. Most of the casualties were in Barbados, Martinique and Saint Lucia. No estimate of cost. It damaged British Navy ships fighting U.S. independence."

Trinidad Express "’There will be no witch hunt but we will ensure that those who have done the crime will do the time,’ Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stated in her first press conference following her swearing-in at Knowsley Building, Port of Spain, yesterday."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "FORMER Prime Minister Patrick Manning, if he was so inclined, would have watched yesterday’s historic swearing in of TT’s first woman Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, on the television from the comfort of his private residence in Sumadh Gardens, Vistabella. This was so after both he and his wife, former Local Government Minister Hazel Manning, moved out of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence and Diplomatic Centre in La Fantasie, St Ann’s after the PNM suffered a resounding defeat in Monday’s General Election."

JamaicaObserver.com : "WITH the immediate threat of the overrun of the capital city by criminals backing Christopher 'Dudus' Coke behind us the million-dollar question Jamaicans were asking yesterday was: 'Where is 'Dudus'?' Officials maintained that they had no clue to the whereabouts of Coke, but in the absence of official information, speculation was rife. Usually accurate Observer sources suggested that the deposed Tivoli Gardens strongman had voluntarily surrendered himself to the United States, which wants him to face trial for alleged trafficking in drugs and guns."

Kaieteur News : "An Annandale, East Coast Demerara, business is offering a $1M dollar reward to anyone who could provide information on who is responsible for the channa bombing of his house early yesterday morning. Around 2:30 hours Navin Ali and his family were asleep in their 191 Narine Street home when they were aroused by the sound of broken glass as a result of something thrown against the front wall of the house. When they got up they got the shock of their lives as a small fire engulfed a section of the front bedroom of the property."

Stabroek News "The assistant Chief Security Officer of IPA, Sidwell Dexter Collins, was found dead on Camp Street, Georgetown early yesterday after he was attacked by a lone gunman and a relative suspects he was the victim of a contract killing."

Nation News : "AN APPARENT MURDER-SUICIDE attempt shook the small neighbourhood of The Woods, The Ivy, St Michael, early yesterday. Callista 'Theresa' Alleyne, a popular fruit and vegetable vendor, who operated a stall along My Lord's Hill, St Michael, just opposite the Texaco Gas Station, was found dead in the backyard of her home shortly before 6 a.m. The nude body of the 51-year-old St Lucian-born woman, with multiple wounds to the head and shoulders, lay in its own blood."

BusinessWeek May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Jamaican hotels are adding security to reassure tourists as clashes in the capital Kingston cause visitors to cancel trips, said Wayne Cummings, the head of Jamaica’s Hotel and Tourism Association. There have been 300 hotel room cancellations on the Caribbean island since Prime Minister Bruce Golding declared a state of emergency May 23 to contain gang violence related to the government’s efforts to extradite an accused drug lord to the U.S., Cummings said today. At least 44 people have been killed in street battles between police and supporters of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the target of a four-day manhunt.

Image via Wikipedia Times Online : "Bruce Golding, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, has complained of an international conspiracy against his Government after news reports suggesting that US authorities consider him a “known criminal affiliate” of the fugitive drugs baron Christopher “Dudus” Coke. More than 60 people have been killed since soldiers stormed Mr Coke’s bastion in the barricaded Kingston slum of Tivoli Gardens in an unsuccessful bid to arrest him for extradition to the United States, where he faces drug-trafficking and gun-running charges." Jamaica TV is reporting  nineteen people killed in Spanish Town over the past two days and is calling the area a security nightmare.It appears as though gunmen in the Spanish Town area are attacking residents as well as the police.The below video is from Brian Max's you-tube channel and gives the full report Related articles by Zemanta Fighting rages in Jamaica (videonews.smallshop.com)

Nation News "THERE is no gang activity or forms of nakedness (skin outs) at Club Xtreme. Co-owner of this Christ Church nightclub, Mary Cottrell, wants to make this absolutely clear. She was responding to online information currently being circulated which refers to the nightclub as a place where gangs hang out, and where individuals, especially females, walk around naked. 'We have 18 security staff at the club on nights. If anyone takes off their clothes they would be thrown out because we have a dress code in place,' Cottrell stated."

Kaieteur News : "Shortly after the Guyana Defence Force had completed testing its guns on Monday, in preparation for last night’s fireworks display, another explosion rocked the quiet Queenstown neighbourhood in Georgetown, at about 23:15hrs. Someone had lobbed a fragmentation grenade into the premises at 146 Oronoque and Crown Streets. This is a three-storey construction being undertaken by contractor, Doodnauth Samaroo, of Hampton Court, Essequibo Coast. Samarooo said that he was at Hampton Court at the time of the explosion. “I had just gone to bed when I got a phone call informing me of the explosion. I have no idea who would want to do such a thing since I have no problem with anyone.”"

Stabroek News "KINGSTON, (Reuters) – Jamaican soldiers and police skirmished yesterday with armed supporters of a fugitive alleged drug lord facing U.S. extradition in the third day of violence that has killed 31 people, mostly young civilians."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE State yesterday vowed to continue its effort to capture Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, recover illegal weapons in Tivoli Gardens and to rout criminal elements across the island. The pledge came during a press conference at Jamaica House in Kingston where it was confirmed that 26 men have been killed, and 211 people -- including two women -- detained during the security forces' operation in Tivoli Gardens that started on Monday to apprehend Coke, who is wanted in the United States on drug- and gun-running charges."

JamaicaObserver.com : "AS tension continued to mount in downtown Kingston yesterday, gunmen in St Catherine sought to capitalise on the mayhem, committing several murders in that parish. Shortly before noon, armed thugs travelling in a white Nissan Sunny motorcar shot dead three men and injured a teenager at a bar and wholesale on Old Harbour Road, near the McCook's Pen community."

St. Kitts Daily News: "HAMILTON, BERMUDA (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas told the Bermuda House of Assembly on Friday that he will return to the twin-island Federation ever mindful of the fact that the blood that unites St. Kitts and Nevis and Bermuda “is stronger than the water that divides us.”"

At least 31 people have been killed as security forces stormed the stronghold of an alleged drug lord in the Jamaican capital Kingston. Gunfire broke out as police clashed with supporters of Christopher Coke, who's facing extradition to the U.S., where he's wanted on narcotics and arms trafficking charges. A state of emergency has been in place in parts of the capital since Friday.

Police in Jamaica say they're now in control of the slum stronghold of alleged druglord Christopher Coke. He's wanted on drugs and arms smuggling charges. At least 30 people have died during three days of gunbattles between his supporters and security forces. Sebastian Walker reports from Kingston.

Image by aziritt via Flickr Accused Jamaican drug lord is deeply connected - thestar.com : "Fierce fighting between Jamaican security forces and gunmen trying to protect a powerful gang leader extended into a third day Tuesday in Kingston, highlighting a convoluted political system in which Jamaican politicians and crime bosses often team up to share power. The police on Tuesday provided their first account of the civilian toll of the fighting: 26 have been killed and 25 wounded. The government said that three police officers and soldiers had been killed, along with a security official." Al Jazeera English Profile: Christopher Coke : "Christopher 'Dudus' Coke is described by the US justice department as one of the most dangerous drug lords in the world. From a slum stronghold in Kingston,the Jamaican capital, the 42 year-old is said to run a sprawling drug and gun running empire that reaches around the world. On the impoverished streets of the Tivoli Gar...

Stabroek News "Faithful to her promise delivered during the campaign, Kamla Persad-Bissessar ’rises’ today from the position of MP to PM, becoming the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Persad-Bissessar, who slew one lion (Basdeo Panday) in January, last night slew another, the Leo-born Patrick Manning, leading the People’s Partnership to an historic and convincing 29/12 victory in the general election. The coalition forces did not, however, only retain the accustomed Opposition seats and comfortably win the marginal constituencies. Seats located in traditional PNM strongholds, such as Arima, D’abadie/O’Meara and Toco/Sangre Grande just tumbled as they were buried under an avalanche of coalition votes."

Kaieteur News : "Kaieteur News columnist Frederick Kissoon has vowed that he will not be silenced by the attack on his person last night when a man threw fecal matters into his face. Kissoon had just emerged from Nigel’s Supermarket on Robb Street around 19:00 hours, and had already entered his vehicle when the man walked up to him and threw the substance on him. Although momentarily stunned by the attack, Kissoon managed to drive behind the perpetrator who ran north along Light Street then west into North Road before jumping into a waiting white AT 192 Toyota Carina motorcar and escaped. A soiled Kissoon tried to intercept the car but backed off to avoid a collision. The popular columnist believes that the attack is connected to the article he wrote which was published in yesterday’s edition of the Kaieteur News. In the article, Kissoon suggested that he had damning information on the 19-year-old woman, Nicole Ming, who has implicated former chief executive officer of the...

Image via Wikipedia Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "Former Prime Minister PatrickManning said he will take full responsibility for the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) loss to the People’s Partnership in yesterday’s General Election. Addressing a handful of loyal supporters at PNM headquarters, Balisier House, Port-of-Spain last night, Manning said the results came as somewhat of a surprise to him. “I am here to concede defeat in the General Election 2010. We had reason to believe we were going to be successful, but it just didn’t work that way. I want to assure you that it’s not the end of the world or the end of the political world." Related articles by Zemanta Manning: I am not going anywhere... (news.smallshop.com) Manning doesn't like East Indians ;Jack tells Partnership supporters at rally (news.smallshop.com) PM blanks motorcade (news.smallshop.com)

Related news on The Jamaica Observer Tivoli assault — Security forces come under heavy fire  "GOVERNMENT spokesmen last night insisted that Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was not caught in yesterday's police/military operation in Tivoli Gardens in which a soldier was shot dead and six members of the security forces were injured. National Security Minister Dwight Nelson and Information Minister Daryl Vaz both denied widespread reports that Coke, who is wanted by US authorities, was captured by the security forces who fought pitch battles with gunmen in Tivoli for most of yesterday." PNP gunmen being paid to unleash pro-Dudus mayhem  "CRIMINAL gangs aligned to the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) in the Maxfield Avenue area of Whitfield Town are being paid up to $100,000 per day to join in the mounting unrest in the Corporate Area sparked by resistance to the security forces' attempt to arrest Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' ...

Write text here... Related articles by Zemanta U.S. Drug War Sparks Violence in Jamaica (alternet.org) Jamaicans battle over alleged drug lord (msnbc.msn.com) Jamaica: Gunfire, fire bombs in barricaded slum (seattletimes.nwsource.com) Accused Jamaican Drug Lord: 'I Will Not Surrender' (abcnews.go.com) Jamaica Emergency: Gunfire, Fire Bombs Erupt (abcnews.go.com) Jamaica: Gun battles intensifying, spreading (msnbc.msn.com) Canada warns about travel to Jamaica after violence (ctv.ca)

At least eight journalists have been murdered in Honduras in less than three months. The killings have raised concerns over the safety of reporters, especially those working on stories about human rights abuses. From the capital Tegucigalpa, Kimberly Halkett reports.

Jamaica Observer "THE Government yesterday placed Jamaica's capital city under a limited State of Public Emergency in response to acts of anarchy by gunmen determined to prevent Tivoli Gardens don, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke from being arrested for possible extradition to the United States. The State of Emergency -- which took effect at six o'clock yesterday evening -- is tentatively scheduled to last for a month." Related Stories carried by The Jamaica Observer Tivoli 'war' overshadows Kartel/Mavado peace Jamaica News -  "HE stand-off between security forces and 'Dudus' supporters in Tivoli Gardens, West Kingston, last week overshadowed a significant move towards peace in two other troubled Kingston communities. Passers-by stood in amazement as residents from Big Yard and Cassava Piece, two long-standing rivals at the centre of a bloody feud, faced off in a busy parking lot off Mannings Hill Road." Five cops shot and strand...

Kaieteur News : "Popular Water Street businessman Terry Bacchus 36, of 34 Gas Station Street Anna Catherina, was shot execution style while sitting in his vehicle outside the KFC outlet on Water Street, shortly after 22:00 hrs on Saturday. Nothing was stolen from the man and the motive of the brazen killing has left police investigators baffled. Kaieteur News understands that Bacchus was sitting in his vehicle when a white car drove alongside his and opened fire. After being shot Bacchus managed to drive to his store further up Water Street and crashed into a utility pole and tree."

Stabroek News "Businessman Terry Bacchus died shortly after he was shot outside his Water Street, Georgetown business place on Saturday night, just over a month after he received a threatening phone call. Bacchus, 36, of Lot 34 Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital some time around 10.30 pm. He was shot just outside of the Vendor’s Mall, about an hour earlier."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "Several businesses across Trinidad have reduced their working hours as a result of today’s General Election. The Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has granted everyone eligible to vote, a maximum of two hours voting time, outside their regular working hours."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "Trinidad and Tobago nationals who are students at the UWI Mona campus, Jamaica yesterday said they are safe but very scared in the wake of a declaration of a state of emergency in the country’s capital Kingston and St Andrew parish, as a gun-battle between the authorities and protesters over a wanted accused drug dealer broke out. “We don’t know what is going to happen next. The university has sent out messages to the student body warning us to stay away from downtown (Kingston) but no special instructions or further information has been given,” Kinia Johnson, 24, a second year banking and finance student told Newsday."

Telegraph : "The authorities ordered women and children to leave the Tivoli Gardens neighbourhood in the capital where a policeman and one civilian were wounded by gunfire in street clashes. Three police stations came under attack. Police said that gunmen from various communities across the Caribbean country had joined forces with criminal elements in Tivoli Gardens in a bid to protect reputed gang leader, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke."

Nation News "UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit Barbados early next month, according to highly placed sources in Washington. She is expected, while here, to meet with CARICOM foreign ministers and their advisers to discuss crucial United States-Caribbean relations. 'Meetings will be involved in the visit to Barbados,' according to one diplomatic source."

Image via Wikipedia The Associated Press: "KINGSTON, Jamaica — Masked men and security forces are trading gunfire in a barricaded slum in Jamaica's capital. A police station is burning after gunmen lobbed fire bombs at it, sending black smoke spiraling into the sky. The government has declared a state of emergency." Related articles by Zemanta Slum standoff in Jamaica over don's US extradition (seattletimes.nwsource.com) The women behind the dons (news.smallshop.com) Take in 'Dudus' .....Police tell lawyers to turn over Tivoli strongman (news.smallshop.com)

CNN.com : "(CNN) -- Authorities in Jamaica declared a state of emergency in Kingston on Sunday night after gang members blockaded a large swath of the capital city and attacked at least two police stations. The declaration follows the United States issuing on Friday a travel alert for its citizens concerning the Caribbean nation. The U.S. cited unconfirmed reports of criminal gang members amassing in Kingston and the mobilization of Jamaican defense forces. 'The possibility exists for violence and/or civil unrest in the greater Kingston metropolitan area,' the alert said." Related articles by Zemanta U.S. issues travel alert for Jamaica (cnn.com) The women behind the dons (news.smallshop.com) Take in 'Dudus' .....Police tell lawyers to turn over Tivoli strongman (news.smallshop.com) Jamaica police have warrant for accused kingpin (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Image via Wikipedia St Lucia News Online : "PRESS RELEASE: Prime Minister Stephenson King has condemned the latest murders over the past twenty four hours and has promised strong action on his return to island over the weekend. The Prime has announced that he will be meeting with the Hierarchy of the Police Force and the Minister of Home Affairs and National on his return to review the current situation and to examine measures to deal with what he called “the intolerable level” of homicide in St Lucia." Related articles by Zemanta SLP "shocked and horrified" at brazen shootings and runaway crime (news.smallshop.com) JetBlue Increases Summer Flights to St. Lucia (flycaribbean.com)

Image via Wikipedia Grace Foods USA voluntarily recalls two batches of corned beef due to high levels of drug Ivermectin : "MIRAMAR, Fla. - Caribbean food products maker Grace Foods USA is voluntarily recalling two batches of its canned corned beef because they have higher than acceptable levels of a drug used to treat cattle for parasites, the company said Saturday. There is a remote possibility that people could be sickened if they use the product, the company said." Related articles by Zemanta Grace Foods recalls cans of corned beef (sfgate.com) Libby's Corned Beef Recall: Possible Ivermectin Contamination (friendseat.com)

Raul Castro, the Cuban president, has started to ease the role of the government in the country's economy. After a decision earlier this year, a number of enterprises, including barbers and beauticians, are now self-run. The move gives Cubans an incentive to work harder and perhaps boost the socialist state's economic output. Cuba and North Korea are the world's only remaining Soviet-style command economies in which the state controls more than 90 per cent of economic activity. Other communist countries such as China and Vietnam have long since liberalised retail trade, services and small business. Al Jazeera's Rachel Levin reports from Havana.

JamaicaObserver.com : "A noticeable feature of last Thursday's demonstration in support of Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was that the majority of protestors were women. In what was obviously a well-organised effort, the women -- most dressed in white T-shirts -- were very vocal in their praise of Coke's benevolence and firmly told the authorities to leave him alone." Also on the Jamaica Observer Police clear roadblocks, warn against erecting barricades THE police yesterday cleared roadblocks mounted on Industrial Terrace and sections of Spanish Town Road and again warned people to refrain from engaging in the illegal act as tension continued to grip that section of West Kingston. ...more ‘Dudus’ tension no worry for Saturday shoppers MARKET vendors and grocers did brisk business in downtown Kingston yesterday, despite mounting tension over the United States' extradition request for Christopher 'Dudus' Coke who is wante...

TrinidadExpress : "Even if they are likely to see God’s face, which I doubt, the one thing I sure they ain’t seeing is the departure of Patrick Manning!' Prime Minister Patrick Manning thundered yesterday as he dismissed the 'Manning must go' mantra of the Opposition. Speaking before an energetic crowd of thousands in the Eddie Hart Savannah at the party’s grand election finale, Manning said: 'They have singled out the political leader (of the People’s National Movement) to vilify. They have thrown...everything they have, plus the kitchen sink at the political leader. And here I am,' he said, with arms outstretched, 'still standing. Still standing! Proud to have the opportunity to lead the PNM... And I am asking you, my dear friends, for the opportunity to continue to do it for another five years'."

Nation News "JAMAICANS IN DOWNTOWN KINGSTON seemed to breathe easier yesterday as they went about their business following a week of high drama that saw security forces and residentsof Tivoli Gardens draw lines over plans to extradite Christopher 'Dudus' Coke,who is wanted on gunand drug chargesin United States."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "The United States Department of State has issued an advisory for all of its citizens travelling to TT as well as those living in the country, to exercise precaution in the days leading up to Monday’s General Election. The advisory which was released Thursday, stated that all US citizens in Trinidad and Tobago must be vigilant of possible public disturbances that may accompany any large gatherings such as rallies and public meetings."

Kaieteur News : "The government will only call an independent commission of inquiry into allegations of a “Phantom squad” that carried out unlawful killings if evidence comes forward, Presidential Advisor Gail Teixeira said yesterday."

Nation News : "A DARING DAYLIGHT robbery yesterday left canteen staff, students and teachers of the Parkinson School in a state of shock. Reports from sources at the school indicate that it was just about 12:55 p.m. when two masked men burst open the canteen door and made off with the money from the day's sales. Workers said one shot was fired."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE police yesterday appealed to the lawyers retained by Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke to take him to the nearest police station in order for the extradition warrant against him to be executed. The Government, after several months of inaction, on Tuesday finally signed the order for extradition proceedings against Coke — wanted in the US to answer drug- and guntrafficking charges — to begin. Government Senator Tom Tavares-Finson, who had been representing Coke since the US issued the extradition request last August, Tuesday withdrew from the legal team and attorney Don Foote was retained as the lead attorney" Related Articles from The Jamaica Observer Police photographs of Tivoli, Denham Town 'fortifications'   WARNING residents of Tivoli Gardens and Denham Town in West Kingston that it has "no desire to engaged in armed conflict", the police today released photographs of residents building what authorit...