Bahamas
Bahamas police say the island chain has seen a record number of killings this year.
Police say 96 persons already have been killed. That tops the previous full year record of 94 set last year.
The recent slaying of three men in an impoverished neighborhood in the capital Nassau raised the total past the earlier record.
Assistant Police Commissioner Hulan Hanna told reporters that he is alarmed but committed to fighting crime.
The Bahamas has a population of more than 313,000 people.
Barbados
Barbados is moving to recruit foreign nurses when the new $160 million private hospital opens in another two years.
Work on the facility, to be built on the site of the old St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Peter, should begin within the next six months.
It is set to open between the late 2013 and 2014.
Dr. Paul Angelchik, chairman and chief executive officer of American World Clinics Ltd. (AWC), the company spearheading the project, said bringing in foreign nurses would be necessary as Barbados did not have the full complement of nurses that this hospital would need.
“We will hire Barbadian nurses where possible at all levels, including leadership positions,” he said.
“Our objective is to staff our facilities with the best people without depleting the talent pool available to existing institutions in Barbados.
Likely sources would include the U.S. and the Philippines,” Dr. Anglechik said.
Guyana
The government of Guyana through the Office of the President and Chinese electronics giant Haier recently signed an agreement for the procurement of 27,000 laptops under the One Laptop Per Family Initiative.
President Bharrat Jagdeo and Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Yu Wenzhe, were on hand at the Office of the President to witness the historic signing, which would see the procurement of the first batch of laptops in October for distribution.
Guyana
Guyana’s police chief said a police officer suspected of fatally shooting a substance abuse counselor has turned himself in but is not cooperating with authorities.
Henry Greene said the police corporal has refused to provide a statement. He is still being questioned.
Police say the corporal and other people had left a nightclub recently and stopped at a roadside food stand where they got into a fight with other customers.
Investigators say 54-year-old Ralph Turpin was shot dead when he tried to break up the fight.
Haiti
Protestors calling for the withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers from Haiti clashed with police recently outside the earthquake-damaged Haitian National Palace.
The protestors hurled rocks at Haitian police in riot gear. The officers responded by firing volleys of tear gas toward the crowd.
Protestors say they were angry over the alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old Haitian man by U.N. peacekeepers from Uruguay in the town of Port Salut in July. They also expressed anger over a cholera outbreak likely introduced by a battalion from Nepal.
Jamaica
A serial rapist who escaped police custody three months ago was shot dead by police.
Vivian Brady who was awaiting trial for rape, robbery and assault charges was shot after he attempted to abduct a young lady in Ironshore, St. James. When the young lady resisted, she was stabbed several times by Brady, but still managed to escape.
The victim alerted police who then cornered Brady. He allegedly attacked the police and was shot.
St. Kitts
St. Kitts and Nevis Deputy Governor General Eustace John has warned against calls by the Concerned Citizens Movement and the People’s Action Movement to declare a state of emergency in the federation.
While John said the increasing incidence of criminal activities in the federation was a serious threat to peace, stability and economic development, he said declaring a state of emergency such as Trinidad and Tobago has done could do more harm than good.
According to him, an emergency declaration could seriously damage the federation’s tourism industry and investment climate.
“We will give full support to the new commissioner of police and work with the Federal government to improve the mobility, surveillance and investigative capabilities of the police force,” he said.
“Ultimately, our efforts will be futile unless the police become more aggressive in apprehending criminals and rooting out gang violence,” the deputy governor general said.
Suriname
Police said eight persons, including six Guyanese nationals, have been remanded to prison after they were arrested on drug related charges following a search of a boat in which they were passengers.
The police said a Jamaican national had been arrested.
Police spokesman Humphrey Naarden, said a joint police and army patrol had spotted a boat crossing the Corentyne River from Guyana to the Dutch speaking country.
He said that the eight persons, including three women, had been acting suspiciously and after a search was carried out 14 parcels containing the drugs were found.
They have been charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
This is the second drug bust along the Corentyne River over the past two weeks.
Trinidad
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said that a United Nations Agency will be coming to Trinidad and Tobago soon to help destroy small arms, which were discovered recently by the police during the State of Emergency.
She made the announcement shortly after arriving in Trinidad from a one-day U.S. trip for a United Nations meeting.
The prime minister said she met with a U.N. agency, which had already visited Trinidad and Tobago and had two conferences here, sharing a strategy paper on small arms.
“In October the agency will return to help us destroy some of the small arms in T&T because once you collect them, what do you do with them?” she asked.
“There is to be a process to ensure they are totally destroyed and removed completely,” she added.
The police have seized more than 100 weapons and 30,000 rounds of ammunition since the state of emergency was declared a month ago.
Compiled by Azad Ali
