A package of news briefs from the Caribbean

BAHAMAS: Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer says he will back Larry Birkhead's custody bid

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) _ A Bahamian lawyer for Anna Nicole Smith's estate said Wednesday he will support giving full custody of the Playboy Playmate's baby daughter to the girl's father, Larry Birkhead.

Attorney Wayne Munroe said Smith's companion and the executor of her will, Howard K. Stern, instructed him to resist any custody claim made by Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, who was estranged from her daughter at the time the reality TV star collapsed and died in February in Florida.

The new legal strategy makes allies of Birkhead and Stern, who feuded over paternity until a DNA test revealed Tuesday that Birkhead is the father of the girl, Dannielynn.

"It has the effect of making my enemy my friend in this case," Munroe told The Associated Press.

During a hearing Friday a judge is expected to discuss who will raise 7-month-old Dannielynn. Stern, who has been caring for the baby since Smith's death, said he will not try to stop Birkhead from taking the baby to California.

Arthur has not abandoned her quest for custody. Her lawyer indicated Wednesday that she might seek joint custody of the girl she initially wanted to take home to Texas.

Arthur, who met Dannielynn for the first time after Smith's death, would have difficulty winning even partial custody because of her estrangement from her daughter, according to Joshua Forman, a family law attorney in New York.

JAMAICA: Official: Pakistani detectives helping investigate cricket coach's murder

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ Two Pakistani detectives are helping investigate the mysterious murder of the country's World Cup cricket coach after Jamaican police failed to make a breakthrough after more than three weeks, a security official said Wednesday.

The Pakistani investigators arrived in the capital of Kingston on Monday to help solve the murder of Bob Woolmer, who was found strangled a day after his squad was ousted from the sport's premier tournament, said Gilbert Scott, permanent secretary in Jamaica's Ministry of National Security.

"They will be here for as long as it takes," Scott told The Associated Press. They came at the request of the Caribbean island's government, he added.

The detectives join four Scotland Yard investigators and two forensic experts from Interpol, the France-based international police agency, who have been aiding in the probe for about two weeks.

Woolmer, 58, died March 18, a day after his powerhouse squad was upset by Ireland. A Jamaican pathologist initially ruled his death "inconclusive," but four days later announced Woolmer was strangled.

Mark Shields, Jamaica's deputy police commissioner, has said the foreign investigators would help with DNA analysis and also examine theories that Woolmer, Pakistan's coach since 2004, may have been poisoned before he was strangled.

Authorities are still awaiting toxicology reports.

CUBA: Cuba, Venezuela protest pending release of anti-communist militant from U.S. jail

HAVANA (AP) _ Tearful relatives of those killed in bombings blamed on Luis Posada Carriles lashed out at Washington on Wednesday, outraged that the jailed former U.S. operative could soon be released on bond.

Convalescing leader Fidel Castro echoed those sentiments in a signed statement, accusing American authorities of freeing a "monster" after a U.S. judge upheld a decision to grant bail to Posada.

"I'm outraged," said Iliana Alfonso, whose father was among those killed on a 1976 Cubana de Aviacion flight that exploded off Barbados. "In the United States they are talking about good terrorism and bad terrorism. To me, all terrorism is bad."

Posada, a Cuban-born former CIA operative and naturalized citizen of Venezuela, is wanted in Cuba and Venezuela for masterminding the jetliner bombing, which killed 73 people _ charges Posada denies. Cuba's government has repeatedly accused the U.S. government of protecting Posada by holding him on a far less serious charge.

The 79-year-old is being held in New Mexico on immigration charges, but could go free after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone's refusal to reverse her earlier ruling granting his request for bail.

Cardone ruled in El Paso, Texas, on Friday that Posada could be released on US$250,000 (euro186,200) bond from the Otero County jail, pending trial on charges of lying to immigration authorities in a bid to become a naturalized American citizen.

BERMUDA: Booming business sector transforms skyline of capital

HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) _ Financial businesses flocking to Bermuda are transforming the skyline of the tiny capital, alarming preservationists who fear a loss of the island's colonial charm.

Several new building projects _ skyscrapers for Hamilton at eight or nine stories _ have won exemptions from height limits meant to preserve the scale of a city dominated by a 60-meter (200-foot) cathedral tower. A 10-story office building approved last month will be the tallest in Bermuda.

The facelift is a sign of the British territory's shift from sleepy vacation spot to global financial hub. Since the late 1980s, thousands of firms have been lured to Bermuda by its reputation as a politically stable, low-tax haven.

Developers say the mid-Atlantic island known for short pants and pink-sand beaches has to project a new image to match the expectations of elite clients.

"It is really catering to that sophisticated international audience used to having great spaces wherever they are, from London to Tokyo to Singapore," developer Amanda Swan said of the 10-story Seon Place being built by her father, Sir John Swan.

The harbor-front office complex, featuring 11,300 square meters (122,000 square feet) of office and retail space, was initially capped at five stories. But the environment minister approved an appeal from Swan, a former premier, and the full-size development is slated to open by 2010.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Brawl inside Dominican prison injures two dozen inmates

SAN CRISTOBAL, Dominican Republic (AP) _ A brawl broke out between two gangs of knife-wielding inmates inside a Dominican prison Wednesday, and about two dozen prisoners were hospitalized with injuries, police said.

The fight began with a disagreement between the gangs known as the Kings and the Bloods at the Najayo prison, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) southwest of Santo Domingo, the capital, police spokesman Gen. Simon Diaz said.

At least one guard was seriously injured, along with many 18- to 21-year-old prisoners.

Some Dominican media outlets reported the violence occurred as prisoners were protesting alleged mistreatment by guards at the 130-bed facility.

CRICKET: World Cup: Australian pacer Tait enjoys World Cup success after initial failures

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) _ After playing in the losing side in his first four one-day internationals, paceman Shaun Tait is part of Australia's six-game inning streak at the World Cup.

Australia's understudy to the likes of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath, Tait is now a new-ball bowler despite arriving in the Caribbean with an experience of four one-day internationals, all of which Australian lost in the run-up to the World Cup.

The inexperienced pacer has quickly matured into a major threat for rival batsmen, underscoring his ability with a three-wicket burst against England in Sunday's game where he emerged as the man-of-the-match.

"I'm pretty pleased with the way I've bowled. It feels great to have success in my short career, said Tait, who made his limited-overs international debut two months ago in a match where he claimed 2-68, only for Australia to tumble by 92 runs to England.

"It was pretty daunting to walk out in front of a full house at the Sydney Cricket Ground in my first one-day international. Things did not go as well as I'd expected, but that's past now.

"I feel a lot more confident bowling now than a few months ago."

Tait made his test debut in the 2005 Ashes series in England, but had to wait for 18 months before getting to play his maiden one-day international.

BOXING: De La Hoya says he's planning to knock out Mayweather to solidify his legacy

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Oscar De La Hoya said Wednesday he's looking for a knockout in his May 5 World Boxing Council junior-middleweight title fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. to solidify his role as the biggest box office draw in boxing.

Taking a breather from training outside Puerto Rico's capital of San Juan, the 34-year-old De La Hoya, 2-2 in his last four fights, said he feels as though he's 25 _ back in his prime. But now the so-called "Golden Boy" said he has the benefit of experience.

"I have prepared myself better mentally for this fight than all the fights that I've had before," De La Hoya said at the Wilfredo Gomez Gymnasium in Guaynabo, a suburb of San Juan.

De La Hoya told reporters he has more "more maturity and experience" than Mayweather, considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

When De La Hoya (38-4, 30 knockouts) and Mayweather (37-0, 24 KOs) square off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for De La Hoya's title, the fight is expected to set pay-per-view records and be shown in a record 176 countries and could set purse records for a non-heavyweight bout.

De La Hoya said he chose to train for the highly anticipated fight in Puerto Rico, where he has kept a residence for five years, to be near family and friends. He is married to Puerto Rican singer Millie Corretjer.

The Los Angeles native has been training in Puerto Rico with Freddie Roach since March 1.