A package of news briefs from the Caribbean

BAHAMAS: Photos of Anna Nicole Smith with immigration minister revive political scandal

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) _ Photographs of Anna Nicole Smith embracing Immigration Minister Shane Gibson in bed revived a political scandal in her adopted home Monday, with one politician calling for Gibson's resignation.

Also Monday, Ford Shelley, the son-in-law of the American developer who claims ownership of Smith's Nassau residence, said he found methadone in her bedroom refrigerator when he went to secure the estate following her death last week in Florida.

A pathologist said methadone contributed to the death of Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel in the Bahamas in September. Daniel Smith died while visiting his mother and newborn half-sister in a Bahamas hospital.

Two photographs, published on the front page of The Tribune of Nassau, show Gibson and the former Playboy playmate, both fully clothed, embracing on a bed decorated with pink flowers and a white ribbon.

Gibson, an elected member of Parliament, has already been accused of showing Smith preferential treatment last year by fast-tracking her residency application. With general elections due this spring, many said the photographs, taken in Smith's bedroom, could damage the ruling Progressive Liberal Party.

DOMINICA: Environmentalist warns island against accepting Venezuela refinery deal

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) _ A prominent environmentalist in the Caribbean on Monday urged the government of Dominica to reject a proposal by Venezuela to build an oil refinery in the scenic island.

A team from Venezuela on Friday proposed building a US$50 million (euro38.5 million) refinery that would produce 40,000 barrels of petroleum products a day, Dominica Energy Minister Reginald Austrie said. Construction would be funded by the South American country as part of its Petrocaribe pact with the island, Austrie said.

The proposal was made one week before Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visits Dominica on Feb. 16 to open an oil storage facility paid for under Petrocaribe.

Atherton Martin, president of the Caribbean Conservation Association, said the proposed refinery "was incompatible with the image of the country as a nature island."

Martin also said the government's decision to "rush into an oil refinery was because it had fallen flat on its delivery of economic projects."

Austrie has said that building a refinery in Dominica would provide the public and industry with cheaper fuel and decrease its reliance on refined products coming from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

Chavez said in early February that Venezuela intends to build a refinery in Dominica but did not elaborate.

HAITI: U.K. medical journal The Lancet clears report of bias

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ British medical journal The Lancet has found there was no evidence of systematic bias in a recent study it published that said 8,000 people were slain under Haiti's previous interim government.

In a clarification published in its Feb. 3-9 issue, The Lancet said it opened a probe into the Aug. 31 study after learning that its American co-author, Athena Kolbe, had written articles about Haiti under the name Lyn Duff without disclosing it.

The Lancet said it also learned that Kolbe had volunteered at an orphanage founded by former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whose ouster after a violent uprising led to the appointment of the U.S.-backed interim government that led the country from 2004 to 2006.

The Lancet said it opened an inquiry to determine if Kolbe's past work and ties to Aristide constituted a conflict of interest.

The Lancet report blamed half the killings and rapes on criminals, but said Haitian police and anti-Aristide gangs also were involved.

Former Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, who led the two-year interim government, has rejected the report's findings.

CUBA: OAS chief seeks dialogue with expelled communist-run island

LIMA, Peru (AP) _ The leader of the Organization of American States said Monday that his group should initiate talks with Cuba, which was kicked out of it more than 40 years ago.

Cuba was expelled from the OAS in 1962 after member nations said its communist regime went against OAS principles.

"I'm not calling for Cuba's return to the OAS ... but it seems to me that the OAS should get involved in at least initiating a significant dialogue with Cuba," since many OAS member countries maintain diplomatic relations with the island nation, said OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza.

"The sooner the better," he said.

The United States is one of the few member countries that opposes Cuba's return to the OAS.

HAITI: U.N., police arrest 31 suspected gang members

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ U.N. peacekeepers and Haitian police arrested 31 suspected gang members in joint operations over the weekend, the United Nations said.

No shots were fired as the suspects were rounded up Saturday and Sunday in the southern Port-au-Prince slum of Martissant, the U.N. mission said in a statement.

On Friday, hundreds of U.N. troops raided another slum, Cite Soleil, and seized an area that had been controlled by armed gangs. One suspected gang member was killed and four wounded after a five-hour gunbattle, which also slightly injured two U.N. troops.

The 9,000-strong U.N. force has stepped up offensives in recent weeks to root out armed gangs that are blamed for a wave of kidnappings and other violence prompted by the 2004 uprising that toppled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Also Monday, friends and relatives held a funeral for a Haitian photojournalist found shot to death last month at his home in Martissant. Jean-Remy Badio, a freelancer, was killed days after he had photographed area gang members. No arrests have been made.

Rival street gangs have been battling for months in Martissant, among the Caribbean nation's most violent neighborhoods. Gang members rarely allow themselves to be photographed out of fear of being identified by police.

ART: Puerto Rico's Santa Rosa says Grammy win shows salsa music still strong

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Puerto Rico's Gilberto Santa Rosa celebrated his Grammy victory on Monday, saying it proves that salsa music is still strong despite the growing popularity of reggaeton.

Nicknamed the Salsa Gentleman, Santa Rosa's "Directo Al Corazon" won the award for best Tropical Latin Album on Sunday night.

"It doesn't matter who wins," he said in a statement. "If you are a salsa artist, this prize means that salsa is still in the fight at this level."

The tuxedo-wearing singer, known for his improvisation and wordplay, is on tour in Central America and did not attend the Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles.

Rafael Ithier, founder and musical director of the legendary salsa group El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, said in a telephone interview that Santa Rosa's victory shows salsa has not been killed off by reggaeton, a hybrid genre that blends salsa, Dominican merengue, Puerto Rican bomba, reggae, rap and hip hop.

"This shows that (salsa) is not dead," said Ithier, who is also a pianist. "With this Grammy the genre is reaching its peak once more."

CRICKET: 17-year-old allrounder makes Bermuda's World Cup squad

HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) _ Teenage allrounder Malachi Jones was named to the Bermuda squad that will make its debut in the cricket World Cup next month.

Jones, 17, only played his first match for Bermuda in November.

The squad contained no surprises. Irving Romaine was handed the captaincy in December because of the string of injuries to Clay Smith, who also made the 15-man squad. Romaine has one century in 17 one-day internationals.

David Hemp, the captain of English county side Glamorgan, was the most experienced player in the squad. Hemp was born in Bermuda but moved to Wales as a baby and completed his 100-day residency in late 2005 to qualify for Bermuda.

Bermuda failed to distinguish itself in the just completed World League, where it was criticized for being unfit and unprofessional, lost its first four matches to Kenya, Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands, and beat only Scotland, which had already qualified for the final.

Bermuda was in World Cup Group B based in Trinidad with India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.