A package of news briefs from the Caribbean

CARIBBEAN: Strong quake jolts region's west; no injuries, damages reported

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ A strong earthquake shook parts of Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Sunday, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

The magnitude 6.1 quake and was centered in the Caribbean Sea about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 200 kilometers (125 miles) southwest of Bayamo, Cuba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Colorado. It occurred just before 4:00 p.m. local time (2100 GMT).

Seismologists at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica measured the quake at a 5.3 magnitude.

Authorities in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands said no damages or injuries had been reported.

"We consider it a strong earthquake," said USGS geophysicist Bruce Presgrave. "It's enough off the coast that I would not expect any major damage, (though) there's a possibility of some minor damage."

No tsunami warnings were issued for the Caribbean and no tsunami activity was observed in the region, said Stuart Weinstein, assistant director of the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

In Jamaica, the quake was felt the strongest in the country's west end and nearly all of the country's parishes have reported feeling it, said Margaret Grandison, of the University of the West Indies' seismic unit.

On Jan. 14, Jamaicans marked the 100th anniversary of an earthquake that killed hundreds of people in Kingston.

CARIBBEAN: Haiti, Colombia presidents to meet in Dominican Republic for drug talks

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) _ The presidents of Haiti, Colombia and the Dominican Republic plan to hold talks here on a regional strategy for fighting drug trafficking in the Caribbean, the Dominican foreign ministry said Sunday.

Haiti and the Dominican Republic are major transshipment points for drugs moving from South America to Europe and the United States.

The talks between Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, Haiti's Rene Preval and Colombia's Alvaro Uribe, which are scheduled for March 15, are expected to include U.S. drug enforcement officials. A location has not yet been selected, Dominican anti-drug agency spokesman Roberto Lebron said.

The conference follows a Friday meeting in Santo Domingo between the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy and the head of the Dominican anti-drug agency to discuss stepping up cooperation to combat drug trafficking.

JAMAICA: Malaria cases jump to 280

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ Two malaria cases have been discovered in southern Jamaica, bringing the total number of people infected to 280 in the country's first outbreak of the disease in 40 years, health officials said Sunday.

A team from the health ministry has been dispatched to St. Elizabeth parish, a fishing community in the south, to determine how many people have malaria, Health Minister Horace Dalley said.

The St. Elizabeth cases were the only ones identified outside of Kingston, St. Catherine and Clarendon parishes since health officials announced the first cases in November.

No fatal cases have been reported, and authorities say they have successfully treated most of the people suffering from the mosquito-borne illness.

Crews have sprayed pesticides and cleared stagnant water around Kingston to fight the malaria outbreak, the Caribbean island's first since 1965. Teams also have gone from house-to-house in key affected areas testing people for the disease and authorities have distributed free mosquito repellent.

Malaria, one of the world's deadliest diseases, kills about 1 million children a year in poor countries with warm, damp climates ideal for the mosquitoes that transmit the parasite that carries the disease.

CAYMAN ISLANDS: Britain's Prince Edward views storm repairs, blue iguana release in Caymans

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) _ Britain's Prince Edward toured a neighborhood rebuilt after a hurricane in 2004 and viewed the release of three rare blue iguanas during his visit on Sunday to the Cayman Islands.

Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, visited homes and spoke with residents in the East End district, which he toured shortly after Hurricane Ivan tore through the Caribbean and destroyed thousands of homes as one of the strongest storms on record.

Since then, the British territory has largely rebuilt the district, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of the capital, George Town.

Edward also watched the release of the baby blue iguanas _ which are found only in the Cayman Islands. The small population is endangered by development, and the Caymans has a program to increase their numbers in the wild.

The prince did not make comments to reporters but asked staff from a local reserve about the iguanas and threats to the animal.

Edward, whose visit ends Tuesday, also was scheduled to view several environmental projects in the territory and attend groundbreaking ceremonies for a wind power project and a new police marine base.