US envoy in Cuba engages critics on and offline

WHP CBS 21 - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

HAVANA (AP) — A U.S. diplomat has become a sort of tweeter-in-chief for the U.S. mission in Cuba, reaching out to some of Washington's most vocal critics on the island.The U.S. Interests Section has long cultivated ties to dissident bloggers and tweeters. But the mission's deputy chief Conrad Tribble has been reaching out to the communist Twitteratti as well.That has prompted ...

Xi to visit Latin America and the Caribbean

Global Times - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico from May 31 to June 6, the foreign ministry announced on Tuesday.Hong Lei, foreign ministry spokesperson, told a press briefing on Tuesday that they will be the first state visits to Latin America and the Caribbean by Xi.Hong said Xi's visit to Trinidad and Tobago will be the first visit to an ...

Two killed in shooting spree

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

A police officer gathers evidence following a shooting spree that started on Kemp Road and ended in Nassau Village on the Whit Monday holiday yesterday. TORRELL ...

Man stabbed to death another shot dead

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Police are investigating the murder of a man stabbed on Saturday and the murder of another man found shot to death several hours later. The first victim was killed after an early morning argument escalated into a fight, police said. Police said the man was seen arguing with another man at a restaurant on Baillou Hill Road just before 6 a.m. During the altercation, the victim was stabbed ...

Families prepare to bury runway crash victims

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

More than six weeks after three people were killed in a runway accident on Mayaguana, their families are finally able to bury their remains. The families had to wait for police to receive the remains from a lab in the United States that conducted a forensic evaluation. Former Cabinet Minister Sidney Collie, who lost his mother, sister and brother-in-law in the tragedy, said a funeral will take ...

Lauryn Rolle is 2013 Primary School Student of the Year

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Eleven-year-old Lauryn Rolle of St. Thomas More Catholic Primary School was on Saturday declared the Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year Foundation's '2013 Student of the Year'. Lauryn won the award over 122 other outstanding students from primary schools throughout The Bahamas. The prestigious title came with a $5,000 scholarship donated by Bank of The Bahamas and a ...

Group pushes for charges after custody death ruling

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

A human rights group has called for two police officers to be tried in relation to the custody death of Aaron Rolle. Attorney Elsworth Johnson, president of the advocacy group Bahamas Human Rights Network (BHRN), said criminal charges before the Supreme Court were the "lawful and reasonable progression" after a coroner's jury found that Rolle was unlawfully killed. Rolle, 20, ...

Johnson Both parties bear responsibility for shanty towns

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Both the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Free National Movement (FNM) governments bear collective responsibility for the proliferation of shanty towns throughout the country, according to the head of a local human rights group. Elsworth Johnson, president of the Bahamas Human Rights Network (BHRN), said the Department of Environmental Health and the Ministry of Works have failed in their ...

Smith thinks mortgage plan was ‘noble’ effort

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Former Minister of State for Finance James Smith suggested recently there was not much more commercial banks could have done to guarantee the success of the government's Mortgage Relief Plan. Smith, chairman of CFAL, said the government's plan presented last September was an effort at best. "I think that it is noble in itself, but in terms of something happening, well something ...

Bahamians lost to Lupus remembered at Hope Floats

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

On Whit Monday, more than 100 Bahamians gathered at the top of Fort Charlotte for Hope Floats, a balloon release ceremony to remember Bahamians who have died from lupus. For the second year in a row, Lupus 242 partnered with event sponsors The Balloon People for the ceremony, which included poems, tributes by loved ones and the reading of a list of names of Bahamians loss to lupus. Shortly ...

Aunt pleads for teen’s return

Nassau Guardian - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

The surrogate mother of an 18-year-old teenager is pleading for her safe return. Melony Thompson said she last saw her niece Michaela Thompson last Thursday evening at their home on East Street South. Thompson spoke to The Nassau Guardian after police released a missing person's alert along with the teen's photo to the media. However, Thompson revealed that Michaela left a note, ...

Dutch Film The Marathon a Hit in Cuba

Prensa Latina - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Havana, May 21 (Prensa Latina) The combination of comedy and tragedy makes the Dutch film "El Maraton" (The Marathon) a hit with moviegoers in Cuba, a country where people often laugh at their problems. "Maybe that was the key, in the perfect combination of tears and laughter, because the joke on its own doesn't work," the film's actor and screenwriter, Martin van ...

Internet cable from Cuba to Jamaica comes online

Miami Herald - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

HAVANA -- A company that monitors global Internet traffic says another branch of the Venezuela-to-Cuba undersea fiber-optic cable has come online, connecting the island to nearby Jamaica.Internet analysis firm Renesys says it detected the new traffic between Cuban state telecom monopoly Etecsa and Cable & Wireless Jamaica beginning May 13.Renesys analyst Doug Madory announced the new ...

Cuba Hosts Accounting and Management Congress

Prensa Latina - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Havana, May 21 (Prensa Latina) Latin American Students begin today in this capital the 1st Congress of Accounting and Administration (CONTAD), to promote a professional performance based on social responsibility, ethics, and sustainability. The forum, to be held at the Havana's Conference Center and concludes on Friday, May 24, should be an opportunity to highlight the development of the ...

Influence of Haitian Culture Focus of Colloquium in Cuba

Prensa Latina - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Havana, May 21 (Prensa Latina) The legacy of Haitian culture for contemporary Cuban authors is one of the leading discussions at today's International Symposium on Cultural Diversity in the Caribbean, sponsored by Havana-based Casa de las Americas. Haiti's influence on the works of writers such as Enrique Serpa and Antonio Benitez will be the main topics of lectures by professors from ...

Media Alert - Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Heats up Toronto

CNW Group - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Toronto Caribbean Carnival. The York South-Weston MPP will be joined at the podium with new and returning corporate and media sponsors, and festival executives at the ONTARIO SCIENCE ...

Dominican Republic court hands Catholic Church a stunning setback

Dominican Today - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Santo Domingo.- A National District court on Monday handed down an unprecedented setback against Dominican Republic's Catholic Church, rejected a restraining order against the family planning organization's (ProFamilia) sex education campaign. Civil Court 5th Chamber judge Eunice Minaya ruled that the NGO's sexual education campaign doesn't violate the fundamental rights of ...

Caribbean Cruise Line -- Scam Artists Apprehended in New Jersey Reveal Travel Industry Concerns

General Sources - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

A New Jersey Couple Recently Accused of Money Laundering and Deception in a Travel Scam Has Showcased the Importance of Legitimate Providers in the Industry; Caribbean Cruise Line Scam Watch Highlights This Incident and Provides ...

Caribbean crunch Villas-Boas Levy Lewis to thrash out Tottenham summer plans

General Sources - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

REUTERS - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson capped his final season in charge of the English Premier League champions by clinching the League Managers' Association Manager of the Year award for the fourth time on Monday. The 71-year-old Scot's unparallelled success in British soccer ended on Sunday with a remarkable 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion. "In a way I am glad ...

Small and Large Steps towards Equality for Gays in Cuba

IPS - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

CIEGO DE VILA, Cuba , May 20 2013 (IPS) - The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in Cuba has won advances on issues like the change of name of pre-operative transgender persons, while they continue to fight for the right to same-sex civil ...

Moodys warns of debt default relapse for Jamaica Belize

Global Times - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

Ratings agency Moody's Investor Service said Monday that there is a high probability that Jamaica and Belize will relapse into default."At the moment, we see a high probability that Belize and Jamaica will relapse into default," Moody's said in a statement as it singled out Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname as two of the few Caribbean countries that had stable ...

Baseball fuels dreams desperation in Dominican Republic

CBC News - Tuesday 21st May, 2013

(Nick Purdon is a current affairs reporter and Leonardo Palleja is a current affairs producer and videographer with CBC's The National. Purdon and Palleja visited the Dominican Republic in late April 2013 to explore the dark side of Dominican baseball. Like many profesional ball teams, the Toronto Blue Jays have a number of stars from the Dominican Republic: Jose Bautista, Jose Reyes, Edwin ...