Caribbean Report 31-01-2003

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1. Headlines with anchor Rosie Hayes (00:00-00:30)
2. The home of the Bahamian Prime Minister is under high security after police uncovers a threat against him and his family from an alleged drug dealer. Mark Wilson, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security says that the PM by making the threat public does not wish to cause national alarm but to alert citizens to the serious nature of the drug issue (00:31-03:49)
3. The Bush administration decides to wave additional sanctions against Haiti for failing to cooperate with the US on the handling of drugs. A global report made to Congress makes a statement on Haiti’s failure to adhere to its obligations (03:50-04:34)
4. The WHO warns that terrorists groups could try to contaminate food supplies using chemical or biological agents that may lead to death or contraction of serious and terminal illnesses. Dr. Jørgen Schlundt, Director of Food Safety at the WHO states that its report booklet was designed not to alarm but to alert governments to boost their surveillance measures. BBC’s Bertram Niles reports (04:35-06:22)
5. Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Lester Bird withdraws a defamation lawsuit brought against two journalists who interviewed a teenage girl making sexual and drug allegations against him. The PM’s decision not to pursue the case is said to be an acceptance of the journalists just doing their job. BBC’s Colin James reports (06:23-08:03)
6. The Antillean government makes visas mandatory for all Colombians entering the Netherlands. It is said that Colombians are responsible for more than half the murders committed in the Dutch Antilles and that they are giving the Federation a bad name as the Caribbean is becoming a hotbed for cocaine transshipment into Europe (08:04-08:22)
7. The Central Bank of Barbados expects the island’s economy to resume growth of up to two and a half percent in 2003 after two years of decline provided that there is no war in Iraq. BBC’s Susie Blann reports (08:23-10:02)
8. London’s metropolitan police (Scotland Yard) have been ordered to pay about three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars in damages to a black man who was arrested in Brixton, South London for obstructing a police officer. A judge ruled that a number of policemen assaulted, falsely imprisoned and maliciously prosecuted the man (10:03-10:43)
9. The West Indies regional cricket season begins nine days before the start of the World Cup with a controversy over talented batsman Marlon Samuels. The selectors say though he was not fully recovered from a knee injury, he was surprisingly chosen for the Jamaican squad for the season opener. Sports journalist Simon Crosskill reports (10:44-13:42)
10. Molwyn Joseph, Antigua and Barbuda’s Tourism Minister is said to be unsupportive of the fight against sex tourism and the potential of sexually transmitted diseases. But one Antiguan puts forward the Minister’s case saying that he has provided a valuable service for eleven years and made a valuable contribution to the tourist trade by helping visitors to enjoy themselves. The BBC’s Rosie Hayes reports (13:43-15:32)

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