ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Observer- A probe is underway to determine what caused a LIAT plane to fill with smoke while en route to Antigua on Sunday night.
Several members of the country’s national swim team were on that flight, which was forced to divert to Guadeloupe.
OBSERVER media’s Rory Butler has more details about the incident, which passengers have described as traumatic.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Antigua and Barbuda says it is positioned to benefit from the establishment of a major tourism development project with Qatar. In a statement on Saturday, it was revealed that Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer recently held official talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, regarding cooperation for the new Azure Bay Property Development Project. According to Spencer, the Azure Bay Property Development project, when implemented, will represent the “largest high-end hospitality development opportunity in Antigua and Barbuda.”
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Observer - – A local medical practitioner is making a case for government to relax the rules on the use of marijuana … while at the same time calling for a complete ban on tobacco. Dr Leslie Walwyn acknowledged that ganja has some harmful effects such as inducing mental health issues but she stressed that the medicinal properties are even more significant. Non-smokers are also at risk of developing complications associated with exposure to second hand smoke.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – A Suriname based foundation is calling on the Netherlands to apologise for its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Chairman of the Broki (Bridge) Collective said if the Dutch didn’t apologise in 2013, then the group would lodge a complaint with international organizations. “If the Dutch don’t apologize this year, I will seek support from other countries with a slavery past to bring this matter to the attention of the European Union and the United Nations and force the Netherlands to formally apologize,” Bottse said.
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – Police are appealing for public assistance in apprehending those involved in the murder of two unidentified people, whose charred remains were found inside a vehicle over the weekend.
Police said that they had responded to a “bush fire” and after extinguishing the blaze, fire fighters discovered the remains.
The police statement gave no details about the identity of the bodies, expect to say they “are appealing to members of the public who may have any information that can assist police in arresting the perpetrators to contact them anonymously”.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Antigua and Barbuda government says it is seeking to build a new prison to alleviate “some of the issues caused by the overcrowding of the current prison.
The Baldwin Spencer administration said that the new prison, which will accommodate 550 inmates, would “focus on rehabilitation and not just incarceration”.
The original prison was built in 1735 to accommodate 151, but at the end of December last year had a population of 395.