SmallShop Caribbean News

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "WORKS and Transport Minister Jack Warner yesterday alleged the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), during the tenure of the former PNM government, paid rent for the Reverend Juliana Pena — spiritual adviser of then Prime Minister Patrick Manning — for one year on a property owned by eminent attorney Bruce Procope. Contributing to the debate on the Senior Citizens Grant Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives, a fiery Warner challenged Opposition members to deny his revelation. “Say no! Say no,” he stressed. The Opposition MPs remained silent. Related articles by Zemanta Cops move to find Rev Juliana Pena (news.smallshop.com)

Image via Wikipedia Kaieteur News : "A 34-year-old man was gunned down yesterday morning in the passageway near his Thomas Street, Kitty, home, over a quarrel about a missing motorcycle. Troy Smith, a father of one, received a single gunshot to his upper chest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The shooter has been identified as a neighbour who lives about four houses away from Smith.

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "WITH high-profile extradition proceedings against two Trinidadians who are wanted in the United States, still pending, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Arturo Valenzuela yesterday re-affirmed that America will not back down from enforcing extradition treaties with this country and others in the region, including Jamaica. Related articles by Zemanta Fidel Castro says U.S. mistreating convicted spies (reuters.com) U.S. urges Cuba to free "unwell" detained contractor (reuters.com)

Stabroek News "The Guyanese couple who went missing on Monday after departing Suriname to fish has been found after a harrowing three days adrift at sea.

NationNews - Barbados : "ANTHONY GABBY CARTER has added a ninth title to his name. The man who has won a calypso crown in every decade since the competition started, drew even with tentmate Red Plastic Bag (RPB) early this morning when he took the coveted title away from the other nine finalists with a score of 441.5 points. Related articles by Zemanta Soca Royale turns into no contest - Barbados (news.smallshop.com) Fearful TC (news.smallshop.com)

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE funeral service for the late Lincoln Barrington ‘Sugar’ Minott, will be held on Sunday, August 1, at the National Arena in Kingston, starting at 10:00 am. A release from the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artiste and Affiliates, requested mourners to wear all white or red, green and gold, the colours of Rastafari . Related articles by Zemanta Reggae singer Sugar Minott dies at 54 (news.smallshop.com)

A sixteen year old boy was killed on July 29, when he was knocked off his bike on the Northern Highway in Ladyville. Love TV's Maria Novelo and cameraman Myles Gillett were at the scene shortly after and bring you the following report.

JamaicaObserver.com : "LEIGHTON ‘Livity’ Coke, brother of former Tivoli Gardens don, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke must now return to court on August 27, to answer charges of shooting with intent and illegal possession of a firearm. Appearing at the High Court Division of the Gun Court this morning Coke was remanded in custody until his next court date. He is accused of firing upon security forces in Tivoli Gardens on May 23, during their operation to arrest his brother, who has since been extradited to the United States to face drug and gun trafficking charges.

JamaicaObserver.com : "NEW YORK, United States – New York police say a Jamaican woman, frustrated over the demands of raising an autistic child, shot the boy to death before turning the gun on herself. Police said 37-year-old Micaela Jackson and Kenneth Holmes, 12, were found in the bed of the single mother's apartment in the Bronx on Wednesday night with a single gunshot to their heads. “I don't see the reason for any of this,” the child’s Jamaican father, Kenneth Holmes Sr, told reporters here. “We were just getting ready to go to Jamaica, and now this,” he added. Related articles by Zemanta Bronx mom, autistic son found dead in suspected murder-suicide (nydailynews.com) Mom's heart-wrenching blog post before apparent murder-suicide (nydailynews.com)

NewsNet5 "CLEVELAND - When Mike Wagner played his voicemail for NewsChannel5, he played a message from a man with a thick accent. Other than the accent, it was a typical call with a typical request to call back. If Mike Wagner redialed the '876' area code to see what the caller wanted, he'd get an international charges on his phone bill. Caller ID saved Wagner money. 'I see it's 876 so I know it's a Jamaica call,' Wagner explained. 'Jamaica' appeared on two viewers' phones as they got calls from an area code the FCC said is associated with scams.

Amandala Online : "In a Freetown Road shooting early Saturday morning, two brothers, Alexander Austin Murray, 16, and his older brother, Alton Murray, 24, were shot. Alexander, unfortunately, died while undergoing treatment.

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE Monday night murder of the island’s seventh policeman since the start of the year, in the quiet hamlet of Haughton Grove, Hanover, has turned thoughts nervously towards the collapsed State of Emergency. The killing near midnight in the western parish, stirred memories of the attacks on members of the security forces in the run-up to the joint police/military assault on Tivoli Gardens in Kingston, where former strongman and alleged drug kingpin Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke was holed up.

Kaieteur News : "Police on the East Coast of Demerara have detained five men following the death of a burglar who was caught in the act early yesterday morning. But residents of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, are up in arms over what they described unfair treatment of the men in custody. merciless thrashing from the Good Hope residents. This was not before he had inflicted severe wounds on his victims during an attack in their home.

 NationNews - Barbados : "A GRANNY who saved her three-year-old grandson’s life using the Heimlich manoeuvre is advocating that it be taught to everyone. Even though she learned the life-saving procedure several years ago, Stephanie Stuart, of Block 2G, The Ivy, St Michael, said everything she was taught came back to her in a flash when Machai swallowed a coin, started choking and slipped into a semi-conscious state. It all happened last Wednesday about 9:45 p.m. Stuart said she was walking towards her friend’s bar in the Ivy when she heard her daughter who lived a short distance away screaming “help! help”. Related articles by Zemanta How to Save a Life: Choking Resources (abcnews.go.com)

Spain: Cuba's political exiles. After years spent in dank jail cells, with only rare glimpses of daylight, the former political prisoners can now share freedom. But activists are determined to pursue their fight against the Castro regime.

From The Hut, To The Projects To The Mansion Singer Wyclef Jean is considering a run for president of Haiti, but his family says he's not made a decision yet. There have been rumors that the Haitian-born entertainer might enter the presidential contest. Related articles by Zemanta Wyclef Jean Eyes Presidential Bid in Haiti (politicalwire.com) Wyclef Running For President Of Haiti?! (perezhilton.com)

JamaicaObserver.com : "HOPEWELL, Hanover — The New Testament Church fraternity was yesterday thrown into mourning following the fatal shooting of 32-year-old clergyman Keaven Dixon of Tryall in Hanover's Sandy Bay. Dixon, who had gone to the Hopewell High School to collect a confirmation letter to commence teaching at the educational institution in September, was shot by a gunman posing as a parent.

NationNews - Barbados : "An emotional TC (Terencia Coward) claimed she feared for her safety and that of her dancing crew at Bushy Park on Sunday, which led to a decision not to perform in the controversial Soca Royale face-off. She gave her views to the country by calling into the television programme Festival Stage, hosted by Anthony Admiral Nelson, yesterday morning. Related articles by Zemanta Soca Royale turns into no contest - Barbados (news.smallshop.com)

Image via Wikipedia Subscription - WSJ.com : "Prosecutors used their closing arguments in the Kennedy Airport bomb-plot trial Monday to portray the defendants as men who were determined to carry out a deadly attack in support of al Qaeda. Lawyers for the defendants, arrested in 2007, countered that while their clients may have said disturbing things, they had done nothing criminal. The trial, in federal court in Brooklyn, is expected to go to the jury this week. Zainab Ahmad, an assistant U.S. Attorney, said the defendants—Guyanese native and Brooklyn resident Russell Defreitas and former Guyanese Parliament member Abdul Kadir—played extremely .. Related articles by Zemanta JFK plotter Defreitas was primed to boil over, prosecutor charges (nydailynews.com) Trial of 2 men accused of JFK bomb plot nears end (sfgate.com) Jurors hear closings at JFK bomb plot trial (washingtontimes.com)

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "Months before her murder, Dianne Williams gave her daughter Shelly Ann Williams, 16, this advice: “Never let men abuse you.” Williams last had a heart-to-heart talk with Shelly Ann earlier this year, as Shelly Ann lives with her aunt Jennifer Reid and relatives in Gasparillo. Reid’s family also raised Williams’ older son Jameel Reid, 17.

Stabroek News "A mentally ill man, who has been convicted of several offences and is fighting deportation to Guyana from the US, was recently granted a reprieve by two circuit judges who instructed the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to review its standard applied to the Convention Against Torture (CAT).

Image via Wikipedia FOXNews.com : "SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The volcanic island of St. Lucia plans to tap geothermal power trapped beneath sulfur springs and roiling mud pools in a rare attempt at developing alternative energy sources in the Caribbean. The chief of Qualibou Energy Inc. said Monday that the company has signed a 30-year contract with St. Lucia's government to extract geothermal power in a remote area where fumaroles are flooded with water heated by hot rocks below. Related articles by Zemanta St. Lucia: Volcanic Island Seeks Geothermal Power (abcnews.go.com)

Kaieteur News : "A Guyanese seaman is feared dead following a fuel explosion on a trawler, the ‘Captain Tan’, which subsequently sank in Suriname waters shortly after 01:00 hrs yesterday. Ravi Sankar Ragoonauth, 39, of De Willem, West Coast Demerara, is believed to have perished after being trapped on the blazing craft. Kaieteur News understands that three other crewmembers managed to jump overboard. Two of the seamen were reportedly rescued by the Suriname Coast Guard, while a passing trawler rescued the Captain.

Image via Wikipedia JamaicaObserver.com : "THE Opposition People's National Party (PNP), five days after its members of Parliament abstained in a vote to extend the limited State of Public Emergency, and in the face of mounting criticisms, yesterday accused the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) of playing politics, and labelled Prime Minister Bruce Golding a 'flip-flopper-in-chief.' In her address to conclude the party's two-day National Executive Council meeting at the University of the West Indies, Mona, PNP President Portia Simpson Miller charged that the Government had no intention of extending the State of Emergency.

NationNews - Barbados : "The much-hyped Soca Royale battle turned into a puzzling and embarassing no-contest when Sweet Soca Monarch T.C. did not appear on stage for the showdown between herself and Party Monarch Blood. The strange twist of events unfolded just a few moments ago at the Bushy Park racing circuit, with the result being that Party Monarch Blood won by default.

Fidel Castro made his first reported appearance outside Havana on Saturday since a health crisis forced him from power in 2006, the strongest indication yet he is reclaiming a major public persona after years out of the spotlight.

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "The dead man has been identified as Sterling Mackonen Diaz of Lodge Place. Diaz killing was recorded as the 18th police killing for the year thus far. It is alleged that Diaz was shot 17 times. Police claim Diaz was a suspect in a two homicides in the Morvant area. According to a police report, at about 7.50 pm a party of officers from the High Performance Team under Cpl Samuel and also from the North Eastern Task Force under Cpl Darryl La Pierre were on mobile patrol along Gerbera Street Extension when they observed four men acting in a suspicious manner. Related articles by Zemanta Police officer shot dead in Arima market (news.smallshop.com) Four murders in five hours (news.smallshop.com)

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "After two years, Trinidad and Tobago (TT) is again grappling with a dengue outbreak. The Health Ministry has received reports of five deaths out of which three have been confirmed as due to dengue haemorrhagic fever . There are approximately 600 clinical cases reported. Dengue fever is caused by an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito . Related articles by Zemanta Dengue epidemic threatens Caribbean, kills dozens (news.smallshop.com) Dead teen's siblings fear fever (news.smallshop.com) Massive effort against dengue starts in Santiago today (news.smallshop.com) Dengue Fever? What About It, Key West Says (nytimes.com)

Image via Wikipedia Kaieteur News : "President Bharrat Jagdeo said, on Friday, he has charged libel against Kaieteur News and daily columnist Freddie Kissoon because, according to him, the newspaper crossed the “racism” line. President Bharrat Jagdeo is suing Kissoon and Kaieteur News for over $10M, claiming libel in a publication on June 28, last. The President claimed that the article suggests that he is a racist and that “by extension, the State and Government of Guyana, practise racism as an ideology, dogma, philosophy and policy.” Related articles by Zemanta Jagdeo sues newspaper for libel (news.smallshop.com) Guyana's president sues over racism charge (news.smallshop.com)

Stabroek News "US prosecutors recently disclosed that former PNC parliamentarian Abdul Kadir had links to Iran as he was once closely connected to the Islamic school in Guyana whose Iranian head was abducted in April 2004 and later killed. Related articles by Zemanta JFK Terror Suspect Says He Doesn't Believe in 'Jihad' (news.smallshop.com)

JamaicaObserver.com : "OCHO RIOS, St Ann — The army and the police are insisting that an extension of the State of Emergency would have strengthened the efforts of the security forces in their push to flush out criminals islandwide. Defending his organisation's call for an extension of the State of Emergency, Colonel General Staff at the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Rocky Meade, on Friday likened the country's crime problem to a serious illness and said the just-lifted State of Emergency was the antidote.

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "“VERY gruesome”, was how Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar described the discovery of dismembered body parts believed to have belonged to a woman and child, at the Forres Park landfill at Claxton Bay on Wednesday. She said Government was taking steps to halt the “bullet train” of crime. Persad-Bissessar made her feelings on the discovery of the remains known while speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing yesterday. She said that at the current rate of murders taking place (300 in 199 days as of Wednesday) there could be 550 murders by year’s end.

Kaieteur News : "A juror did not disclose that he had an indictable matter in court and that the defense counsel is his attorney in Magistrate court. The result was that Justice Brassington Reynolds was forced to abort the retrial of murder accused Alfred Campbell, called Sobers, when he learnt that one of the jurors sitting in the case has an indictable matter before the Reliance Magistrate’s Court.

JamaicaObserver.com : "NORTH Trelawny Member of Parliament Dr EV Patrick Harris faces the possibility of going to prison immediately if he does not pay $1.6 million in back property taxes owed to the Jamaican Government. A local court issued a 'forthwith order' yesterday, meaning that Dr Harris, 54, must pay the money immediately, or face the prospect of making prison his temporary home for the next 30 days.

NationNews - Barbados : "WHY HASN’T the extradition matter against three men wanted in the United States on drug trafficking matters resumed? And why hasn’t the Chief Magistrate, who is hearing the extradition, concluded it as ordered by the Court of Appeal in a decision a year ago? These questions were asked by two judges of the Court of Appeal yesterday as they dealt with applications by Frederick Christopher Hawkesworth, Sean Gaskin and John Scantlebury, for leave to appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

DominicanToday.com : "SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Two undocumented aliens from the Dominican Republic appeared today before the United States District Court Magistrate Judge Justo Arenas, facing charges for various violations to current United States immigration laws. The defendants, Raulin Figari-Rosario and Ruddy Carmona-Antigua, were arrested after two separate incidents on Sunday; one in Rio Hondo, Bayamon, and the other at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina."

Cuban dissident Pablo Pacheco has been tasting freedom for the first time since the spring of 2003. The freelance journalist is in Madrid with his wife and his 11-year-old son. He was freed with some 50 other political activists a few days ago after spending seven years in prison in Cuba. Pacheco's friends continued to write his blog during his incarceration. Euronews met with him outside his hotel in the suburbs of the Spanish capital.

BusinessWeek : "July 20 (Bloomberg) -- A former member of Guyana’s parliament accused of plotting to blow up New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport testified he doesn’t believe in “jihad” in the sense of fighting. “I do not subscribe to fighting because I have no need to fight,” Abdul Kadir told jurors today at his terrorism trial in federal court in Brooklyn, New York."

CNN.com : "(CNN) -- A 'vigorous' tropical weather system forming in the eastern Caribbean has a 'high' chance of turning into a tropical depression or more serious tropical storm over the next two days, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center put the chances of the system developing into a depression or storm at 60 percent."

Kaieteur News : "Revelations that the heavy duty road building equipment for the construction of the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project would arrive today, will not materialise. When contacted yesterday for an update Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn, said that he is advised that the equipment is to arrive in Guyana this Saturday. The Minister said that he is willing to facilitate having the media present when the equipment arrives and allow for photographs to be taken. He declined to comment on the $300 million (US$1.5 million) advance to the contractor Makeshwar Fip Motilall to purchase the equipment when no advance should have been given."

Stabroek News "The charred body of an elderly woman was pulled from the ruins of her Debuff, Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara home after it was gutted by a mysterious fire early yesterday morning."

NationNews - Barbados : "THE MAN accused of seriously injuring an off-duty lawman was remanded when he appeared in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court yesterday. Neverlaine Rohan O’Neal Springer, 28, an auto mechanic, of 3rd Avenue, Long Gap, Spooners Hill, St Michael, will spend the next 28 days on remand despite urgings from his counsel that the denial of bail should not be used as a punishment."

JamaicaObserver.com : "WASHINGTON DC, United States — THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday said that the economy of Antigua and Barbuda is experiencing its worst recession in decades and that gross domestic product (GDP) declined by seven per cent last year. It said that the decline in GDP followed five years in which the local economy grew by an average six per cent. The Washington-based financial institution, which last month concluded consultations with the Antigua and Barbuda government, said that following a decline in 2008, inflation has remained in the low single digits despite a 20 per cent increase in fuel prices and higher consumption taxes"

Reuters : "C&W Communications said on Wednesday the group had traded in line with expectations, despite its struggles with falling tourist numbers, a weak economy and strong competition in the Caribbean. Shares in the group were up 2 percent in early trading, ahead of the wider telecoms index, which was up 1.4 percent."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "An Arima woman who was reported missing from her home since Friday, was found dead and floating in the Blanchisseuse River yesterday. Homicide Bureau detectives are working on the theory that Helen Hosein might have been pushed to her death, down a precipice and into the river. Related articles by Zemanta Police officer shot dead in Arima market (news.smallshop.com) Seven Murders in 36 Hours (news.smallshop.com) Four murders in five hours (news.smallshop.com)

Amandala Online : "Anthony Matura, 18, a resident of Ladyville, is dead tonight as a consequence of a single stab wound to the chest in the area of his heart. The family gave an initial time to Amandala of 4:30 p.m. when they received a call telling them that Matura was killed.

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE death of Millicent Forbes, the diminutive woman who took on the Jamaican state for the murder of her daughter Janice Allen at the hands of police in 2000, yesterday elicited a 'confession' from a former member of the Jamaica Police Force for unrelated misdeeds.

Stabroek News "A 55-year-old man was electrocuted last week Wednesday and while the occupants of the Betervewagting (BV) address where his body was discovered said that he fell down in their yard and died, a post-mortem examination performed on his body last Friday revealed that he was electrocuted.

Image via Wikipedia NationNews - Barbados : "Hurt by a downturn in tourism, ZM taxis are targeting bus routes and creating a financial nightmare for ZRs and minibuses. President of the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO), Morris Lee, made this charge Saturday night. “Because they’re making less money with tourism in trouble, people with ZM vans are now plying our routes, competing with our members and the Transport Board,” he told the DAILY NATION. Related articles by Zemanta Gloomy outlook (news.smallshop.com)

Image via Wikipedia N.Y.Daily News "The Joint Terrorist Task Force informant who helped bring down the plot to blow up Kennedy Airport was sleeping with a would-be terrorist's daughter. Steven Francis, an ex-con playing the role of a wanna-be terrorist, had an affair with the daughter of one of the co-conspirators, according to the lawyer for defendant Abdul Kadir. Related articles by Zemanta Guyanese pleads guilty in NY terror plot (news.smallshop.com) JFK Bomb-Plot Jury Watches Video of Surveillance Talk (businessweek.com) Terror plot defendant scoffed at JFK security (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Image via Wikipedia examiner.com "Monday's shooting of 14 year-old Marie Perez Chaparro, visiting on a call made by the Carnival Victory and caught in the cross-fire of two warring gangs, has caused all cruise lines visiting the island to warn passengers of the incidents. While no itineraries have been modified, caution is being urged for those going ashore. Related articles by Zemanta Teenage Cruise Passenger Killed in Caribbean Gang Shootout (news.smallshop.com)

The Associated Press "SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Mosquito-borne dengue fever is reaching epidemic stages across the Caribbean, with dozens of deaths reported and health authorities concerned it could get much worse as the rainy season advances. The increase in cases is being blamed on warm weather and an unusually early rainy season, which has produced an explosion of mosquitoes . Health officials say the flood of cases is straining the region's hospitals. Related articles by Zemanta Massive effort against dengue starts in Santiago today (news.smallshop.com) One Dengue Death (news.smallshop.com) Dengue epidemic threatens Caribbean, kills dozens (msnbc.msn.com) Deaths as dengue fever grips Caribbean (independent.co.uk)