BBC Caribbean News in Brief

Optimistic about Caricom

Grenadian Prime Minister Tillman Thomas says he is optimistic that regional leaders will get it right eventually and move Caribbean integration forward.

During a brief stopover in New York on his way to China, Prime Minister Thomas told BBC Caribbean that the sub-regional OECS could serve as a model for the wider Caricom.

He said that, while some Caribbean Community countries implement decisions taken at regional level, others don’t.

“So the issue is to come up with a structure, whereby there would be some unanimity, in a sense a pool of sovereignty to ensure that when a decision is taken that decision is implemented in all the jurisdictions,” Prime Minister Thomas said.

Youths demonstrate against president

Dozens of young Haitians demonstrated on Tuesday against President Rene Preval, demanding that he step down.

They burned tyres and at least one car during their protest action in the capital Port-au-Prince.

The demonstration came one day after Haiti marked the six-month anniversary of the 12 January earthquake.

The youths, from some of the poorest areas of Port-au-Prince, set at least one vehicle on fire and erected barricades of burning tires along city centre streets.

Marginal growth predicted

The governor of the Barbados Central Bank says the island’s economy is likely to feature unemployment, increased inflation and marginal growth.

Governor Delisle Worrell has been reviewing the economy for the first six months of the year.

Dr Worrell said that, although visitor numbers were up, Barbados’ tourism performance was not robust enough to provide a much needed boost in foreign exchange reserves.

He said the remainder of the year “is clouded in uncertainty about the strength of the recovery in Barbados’ main tourism markets “.

Barefoot Bandit deported

An American teenager accused of a string of crimes across the United States has been deported from the Bahamas after he was captured on Sunday following a high-speed boat chase.

Colton Harris-Moore, known to US police as the Barefoot Bandit, was sent back to his homeland after pleading guilty to entering the Bahamas illegally in a stolen plane.

An FBI spokeswoman in Florida said the fugitive was taken to the Federal Detention Centre in Miami and would appear in court on Wednesday.