JAMAICA: Widow of island's first premier dies; "Lady B" remembered as ardent supporter of unions>
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Gladys Bustamante, the widow of Jamaica's first prime minister and a fierce supporter of women's and workers' rights, has died. She was 97.
A statement from the office of Prime Minister Bruce Golding says Bustamante died Saturday at the hospital after suffering from a fever.
"Lady B," as she was known, married Alexander Bustamante in 1963, one year after Jamaica was granted independence from Britain. Her husband was named a national hero, an honor bestowed to a select few including black civil rights leader Marcus Garvey.
Gladys Bustamante continued to work for the Jamaica Labor Party long after her husband died in 1977 at age 93.
CARIBBEAN: Guyana opens ophthalmology center; to replace free medical treatment in Cuba
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Guyana has cut the ribbon on a $700,000 ophthalmology center where patients who previously would have been flown to Cuba for free eye surgery can seek treatment.
President Bharrat Jagdeo says the center is one of several institutions built with help from Cuba.
Jagdeo said Saturday that Cuban doctors will staff the facility initially and expect to perform up to 10,000 surgeries a year.
Guyanese medical students studying in Cuba would eventually replace them.
The first operations are to be performed on Tuesday.
More than 5,000 Guyanese have gone to Cuba for free surgery under a regional program largely financed by Venezuelan oil money.
JAMAICA: Police say gunmen posing as churchgoers shoot 5 people, killing 1
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaican authorities say that gunmen bearing bibles and posing as churchgoers have shot five people in a gritty neighborhood.
A police statement says that 15-year-old Dorian Scott died immediately. Police say that three other teenagers and a 30-year-old person have been hospitalized with serious injuries.
No one has been arrested.
Police said the suspects arrived in Kingston's Marverly neighborhood around 8 a.m. Sunday dressed in suits.
More than 700 people have been reported killed in Jamaica, which has one of the world's highest murder rates.
CARIBBEAN: Jamaica to convert more abandoned mining grounds into fertile fields
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Jamaica says it has thousands more acres of former mining sites that can be converted into fields under a program aimed at boosting food production.
Mining Minister Laurence Broderick says the plan aims to ease proverty following a recent World Bank report that says rural areas remain impoverished.
He says the state owns more than 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of land once mined for bauxite that can be converted.
He said Friday in a statement that some 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) have already been converted and yield more than 700,000 pounds (318,000 kilograms) annually of cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet pepper and other crops.
Jamaica is one of the world's top producers of bauxite, the main ore in aluminum.
CARIBBEAN: Guyanese past-time of songbird competitions at NYC park under scrutiny
NEW YORK (AP) — For years, an unusual event has been held at a Queens park in the Richmond Hill neighborhood on Sunday afternoons with scant attention from outsiders.
Birds whistle songs at each other, as people watch — and keep count. The first bird to tweet a certain number of songs is considered the winner.
The bird singing races at the park have drawn increased scrutiny recently from law enforcement, as federal officials target illegal smuggling of finches from Guyana. Authorities also suspect the men bet on the races, which would be illegal.
The people who flock to the races, mostly Guyanese immigrant men, argue that it is simply a harmless cultural past-time.
PUERTO RICO: Prison visits to resume; certain groups still banned amid swine flu scare
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Prison officials in Puerto Rico will allow visitations to resume nearly two weeks after having suspended them because of swine flu concerns.
Corrections Secretary Carlos Molina says health officials will first screen visitors for flu symptoms before they are allowed to enter. He said Sunday that visits have been shortened and those in high-risk groups such as children and pregnant women will be turned away.
Officials say they are investigating more than 1,600 suspected swine flu cases in the U.S. Caribbean territory of 4 million.
Nine people have died from the virus, and officials are investigating another 22 suspected deaths.
DOMINICA: Bangladesh beats West Indies in ODI for 1st time
ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — Bangladesh beat West Indies for the first time in a one-day international, winning by 52 runs Sunday after left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak claimed four wickets in the first of the three-match series.
Razzak took 4-39 to help dismiss West Indies for 194 in 43.4 overs at Windsor Park. Devon Smith topscored with 65.
Bangladesh had totaled 246-9 with Mohammad Ashraful hitting 57, captain Shakib-al-Hasan 54 and Mahmudullah 42 after being sent in to bat. Fast bowler Kemar Roach led the home team with 5-44.
The 27-year-old Razzak, flown in for the limited-overs leg of this tour, opened the bowling and took a wicket with his first ball, trapping Dale Richards lbw for 1 to make it 2-1.
The innings continued to be derailed as left-arm seamer Syed Rasel and Mahmudullah took early wickets.
Andre Fletcher dragged a ball from Rasel onto his stumps on 5, while Mahmudullah claimed captain Floyd Reifer to a skewed catch to backward point on 3 to lave the score on 23-3 in the eighth over.
Razzak landed another blow 19 runs later when he bowled Travis Dowlin for 10 in the 12th over.
Smith and David Bernard revived the chase in a 78-run stand for the fifth wicket. But Shakib returned to trap Smith lbw after missing a sweep. Smith hit three fours in 84 balls.
Bernard followed 10 runs later as Bangladesh took control at 130-6. The right-hander hit three fours in 38 off 62 balls before he holed out to deep midwicket off Naeem Islam's offspinners.
Copyright 2009 AP Features
