Carib-briefs

Christie said Poitier, 88, is being honored because of his life story and diplomatic efforts. He has been Bahamian ambassador to Japan and UNESCO. The Oscar-winning Poitier was born in the United States but spent much of his childhood on Cat Island, a sparsely populated island in central Bahamas.

GRENADA

ST. GEORGE'S-The four-star La Source resort closed Monday, adding to the island's tourism woes. It said the closure was due to unforeseen circumstances but didn't elaborate. The 100-room resort was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and didn't reopen until February 2008. More than 150 workers will be laid off as a result of the closure which came months after Delta Air Lines and American Eagle cancelled service to the country and American Airlines, British Airways and regional carrier LIAT announced flight reductions to the island.

HAITI

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Nobel peace laureate Mohammad Yunus announced that his pro-business development group is financing several endeavors through a mix of loans and equity. The projects that incorporate Yunus' development philosophy of “social business” include two poultry farms, a bakery and a plantation of jatropha plants that can be used for biodiesel, offering an alternative energy source while creating jobs for 200 farmers. The amount invested in each will range from $80,000 to $500,000 and feature loans with interest rates ranging from six to 10 percent.

JAMIACA

KINGSTON — Health officials have stepped up mosquito eradication and are urging the public to stamp out breeding grounds to combat dengue fever. Health Minister Fenton Ferguson said five people are believed to have died from the mosquito-borne virus so far this year but only one was confirmed by an autopsy. Ferguson said there have been more than 1,200 suspected cases this year, compared to 887 during the same period last year. About half the cases have occurred in the capital Kingston.