Caribbean Report 27-02-2002

1. Headlines (00:00-00:25) ; 2. The polls close in the first ever referendum in the Bahamas. The country’s voters are being asked to approve or reject five changes to the constitution. Each measure requires a two thirds majority from the electorate. Bertram Niles speaks to Jerome Sawyer, BBC Correspondent, about referendum day (00:26-03:40) ; 3. Two more Caribbean countries, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, come off the international black list of uncooperative tax havens drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Orin Gordon reports (03:41-05:44) ; 4. Guyana and Venezuela reach agreement in key areas at the Guyana-Venezuela High-Level Bi-Lateral Commission meeting in Georgetown. The agreement is highly significant given Venezuela’s claim to three fifths of Guyana. Colin Smith reports on the views of attorney and spokesperson on foreign affairs for Guyana’s main opposition party, Clarissa Riehl and Guyana’s Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally (05:45-08:02) ; 5. Thousands of people in Venezuela take part in a demonstration demanding a referendum on the future of President Hugo Chavez and organisers give a petition to the government. Simultaneously, thousands of people take part in a counter-demonstration in support of Mr. Chavez. Correspondents say these demonstrations mirror the increasing political divide between supporters and opponents of Mr. Chavez’s leadership (08:03-08:26) ; 6. Haiti’s Central Bank suspends the operations of one local bank, the Haitian Development Bank, after what officials call a serious cash flow problem. Ken Richards reports (08:27-09:56) ; 7. Former President of The West Indies Cricket Board, Pat Rousseau, expresses concern about the region’s preparedness for the Cricket World Cup, even though the event is years away. However, Chris Deering the Managing Director Designate of the region’s World Cup organising company says the West Indies is on course to host the World Cup and much preparatory work has already been done (09:57-13:07) ; 8. ...