Haitian MPs cry fraud
Some lawmakers have alleged that there was fraud in last month’s parliamentary elections in Haiti.
They say the elections should be thrown out because of allegations of voter fraud and political manipulation.
Senator Youri Latortue, the head of the chamber’s justice and security committee, and at least three other senators said this week that they would try to block victors of next month’s run-offs from taking office to protest the results.
The April 19 first-round voting was marred by low turnout, officially 11 percent, and isolated violence that forced one race to be cancelled.
Cuban rolls record-breaking cigar
A Cuban cigarmaker has entered into the Guinness World Book of Records for rolling the world’s largest cigar.
Jose Castelar “Cueto” Cairo was given the Guinness honour for his cigar which measured 45.38 metres in length.
Mr Castelar explained he learned to make cigars when he was 14 years old. But the athletic-looking sexagenarian said he limits himself to smoking one cigar a day.
Lester Bird charged under Public Order Act
Opposition Leader Lester Bird is among seven members and supporters of the Antigua Labour Party charged with public order offences by the police.
The charges result from a dispute at a May Day rally organised by the party’s affiliate, the Antigua Trades and Labour Union. The union had barred politicians from speaking at the rally, but it is claimed that Mr Bird and other speakers defied the union’s decision and addressed assembled workers. National security minister Errol Cort said they had no permission to do so.
Dr Cort also disclosed that an assistant commissioner of police had been suspended for allegedly disobeying instructions on handling the May Day rally.
Mexico criticises Haitian decision
Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderon, has condemned what he called “discriminatory measures” against his country after Haitian officials rejected a Mexican ship carrying aid. The vessel, carrying a cargo of rice, fertiliser and emergency food kits, was due to arrive last Saturday in Port-au-Prince, as part of an Inter-American Development Bank aid commitment. Haitian officials gave no explanation, but a health ministry director said all ships’ crews coming from Mexico must fill out questionnaires to determine whether they carry a swine flu threat.
President Calderon said Haiti’s action was another example of unfair treatment of Mexico because of the influenza epidemic.
Caribbean recovery
likely, says IMF
The International Monetary Fund says Latin America and the Caribbean will recover more quickly from the global crisis than advanced economies.
It said this was partly because the region was less exposed to systematic banking problems.
It expects growth in the Caribbean as a whole to rebound by 1.5 percent in 2010.
It forecast that output in the Caribbean region will decline by 0.2 percent this year from an estimated 3 percent growth in 2008.
The steepest falls this year will be in the Bahamas and Barbados with Suriname and Guyana projected to show the strongest expansion.
FAO calls for more food investment
A year ago, soaring food costs around the world were a major preoccupation, especially after they triggered riots in a number of poor countries.
Today, food prices have fallen, at least on international markets, but according to Jacques Diouf of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), that’s had no impact in developing countries.
Quite the contrary, he said.
The number of hungry people in the world today has never been higher, Mr Diouf said.
He called for a big increase in investment in agriculture and aid to support farmers’ incomes.
Rum project gets going
The ground-breaking ceremony has taken place in the US Virgin Islands for one of the most controversial industrial projects in the territory’s history.
Spirits makers Diageo are building a 165 million dollar distillery in St Croix to supply all its Captain Morgan branded rums to the United States, where it is said to be number two in the market.
The project involves the grant of hundreds of millions of dollars in concessions and subsidies from the USVI, which enticed Diageo to move from Puerto Rico.
It also led to tensions between the two US territories.
But Governor John De Jongh said he was confident that the project would bring bring great benefits to the USVI.
