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Slices of
the week that was: Caribbean
26 August - 1 September 2002
Compiled by: Luke Brown
Bermuda
Forget antibiotics as
a means to combat marauding mosquitoes. Authorities in Bermuda are
combating
property owners instead, hauling thirteen of them into court,
for, amongst other things, failing to diminish the amount of water
collecting on their land that lead to mosquitoes congregating. Perhaps
more resources should have been applied to fighting violent crimes,
including domestic violence on the island. Hundreds
of protestors organised a march on the government, planning
to hand over signatures condemning the government's inaction. In
happier news, John McGregor, a Bermuda-born
writer made it onto the prestigious Booker list for his first
novel, "If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things".
Antigua and Barbuda
Check your diary. With
the celebration of their twenty-first anniversary of independence
from the British (1 Nov. 1981) in a couple of months, plans for
the Independence
Calypso competition are hotting up. According to Committee Chairman
Paul Chet Greene, because the anniversary will be a 21st, the competition
"…will include 21 calypsonians symbolically representing
21 years of independence."
Whether current PM Lester Bird will still be in the top job when
it comes time to celebrate their independence is something that
the opposition United Progressive Party would not like to see. Their
leader, Baldwin Spencer, has been calling
on Bird and his cabinet to step down due to corruption allegations.
Bird said he would like to retire sometime, but, of course, he can't
risk his opposite number getting in and running the country down.
Jamaica
One of Guyana's most
wanted fugitives was buried this week after being killed in
a shoot-out with police. Andrew Douglas is one of five men who escaped
from prison in February after he was held on charges of robbery.
Bus
drivers have also been subject to violence, with two from the
Jamaica Urban Transit Corporation murdered this year; buses are
frequent targets of attacks.
Barbados
Rumours that an early
general election was going to be called have been quashed
by PM Owen Arthur. While elections are only officially due in March
2004, speculation has been rife that a poll would be called sooner,
in part because of comments the PM made earlier this year. Arthur
said that with the current recession, he had more important matters
to attend to than electioneering rhetoric.
Virgin Islands
Tropical Storm Dolly
will not threaten the Virgin Islands according to forecasters,
but residents of the Virgin Islands have been warned not to be complacent.
Dominican Republic
According to the Chief
of the Dominican Republic Army, security will be stepped
up on the Haiti border. With unrest in Haiti causing the influx
of refugees, and the trafficking of drugs and contraband a problem,
he sees this as his top priority. He might want to have a chat with
the Dominican vice counsel to Haiti who was arrested
in Santo Domingo, with four others, with a large amount of cocaine
in his car.
St. Lucia
Instances of AIDS are
on the increase on this small island, with the number of St. Lucia's
women
in the 15-30 year age group, double that of the men.
Cuba
With Russia closing down
military and intelligence outposts around the world, their spying
facility in Lourdes is reported
to have become the next to go. Cuban authorities protested. Boo
hoo.
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