ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
New prime minister
ST. JOHN'S — Gaston Browne was sworn into office Friday as the new prime minister following a sweep of parliamentary elections by the Labor Party which won 14 of 17 seats in Parliament, according to the elections office. At 47, he is the youngest prime minister in the country's history.
Defeated Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer barely held onto his own seat as his United Progressive Party was swept out after 10 years in power. The Organization of American States said its observers found the election to be well-run but said there were long lines as about 90 percent of registered voters cast ballots. The country, with a population of about 90,000, is heavily dependent on tourism and struggled during the global recession while still recovering from the 2009 collapse of the R. Allen Stanford's fraudulent Antigua-based financial empire. The Texas financier helped fund the government and was the Caribbean country's largest private employer until U.S. authorities accused him of defrauding investors in his offshore bank.
HAITI
11 dead in accident
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Police identified Jules Lionel Anelus, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, as the driver of an SUV which slammed into a small bus known as a “tap-tap,” killing 11 people, including an infant, on Saturday. Seme Calixte, police commissioner in the western town of Saint Marc, said the authorities suspected the lawmaker was speeding and lost control of his four-wheel drive. Another 10 people including Anelus were injured in the crash, which was still being investigated.
Deadly traffic accidents are common in Haiti, where police seldom enforce traffic laws and many vehicles are overloaded.
JAMAICA
Bauxite disinvestment
KINGSTON — Jamaica is selling its seven percent or $11 million stake in a bauxite refinery operation West Indies Alumina Company, referred to as Windalco, whose parent company is Russian aluminum giant UC Rusal. The proceeds will go to Windalco, roughly halving a $21.5 million debt to the company. The once flourishing bauxite industry has fallen on hard times in recent years. Globally, high levels of aluminum supplies have led to lower prices.
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