- usw^caribbeantody..c.I


CARIBBEAN TODAY


n e WS


No plans to scrap Cuba's communism President Castro


HAVANA, Cuba, CMC -
President Raul Castro has
declared that he is open to
discuss all issues with the
United States, but emphasized
that there are no plans to
change Cuba's communist sys-
tem of government.
 Addressing the Cuban
National Assembly on Aug. 1,
Castro expressed ire over
repeated comments by United
States Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton that Washington
expected Havana to scrap com-
munism in order to imnronv


Fidel Castro led the communist
revolution in Cuba.


it," he added. "We are ready
to talk about everything,
but... not to negotiate our
political and social system."

'DOOMED' IDEA
 Castro, who formally took
over the presidency from his
ailing brother Fidel last year,
also scoffed at critics who
have predicted that the
Spanish-speaking Caribbean
country's political system will
crumble after "the death of
Fidel and all of us.
 "If that's how thev think


Raul Castro is determined to keep
Cuba's communist system alive.


and anti-Cuban rhetoric on
the part of the administra-
tion," Castro said.
 He repeated Cuba's will-
ingness "to sustain a respect-
ful dialogue with the U.S.,
between equals." But he
noted that while Obama said
he wants to r,.xIi relations
with Cuba and has eased the
47-year-old embargo by allow-
ing Cuban Americans to trav-
el and send money freely to
the island, overall, the embar-
go remained intact.
 No riush to channp ef .


relations between the two restore capitalism in Cuba, they are doomed to failure." predecessor George W Bush policy on Cuba and Haiti,
neighbors. nor to hand over the revolu- However, Cuba's presi- with regards to Cuba. says Obama. Story on page 6.
 "I have to say with all due tion," Castro said. dent conceded that U.S. "It's true there has been a
respect to Mrs. Clinton...they "I was elected to defend, President Barack Obama has diminution of the _,rLion% W
didn't elect me president to maintain and continue per- been less .-.,rL ""INL" than his
 fecting socialism, not destroy U.S. cops raid office of Michael


 Guyanese wins $133M lotto jackpot in New York Jackson's Caribbean-born doctor


NEW YORK A 49-year-old
Guyanese man is America's
latest millionaire.
 Aubrey Boyce, a
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority employee from
Queens, New York, is the
winner of the $133 million
Mega Millions jackpot.
 He bought his ticket at a
Jamaica, Queens store on July
7, quick pick style.
 "Shocked and still a little
nervous about the whole
thing; that's how I feel," said
the eight-year MTA veteran.
"It's still very much a dream, a
dream come true."
 Boyce also revealed he
and his wife have not slept
much since the morning he
discovered his numbers, 25, 27,


35, 38, 39, and (Mega Ball) 28,
was the sole winning ticket.
 Late last month he
received his giant check on a
balcony inside the Grand


Aubrey Boyce, right, talks about his luck.
Central Terminal in Manhattan.
He said he is still in shock over
his change of fortunes and now
plans to go fishing somewhere


warm.
 After signing the ticket,
Boyce said he immediately
locked it up in a safe deposit
box. It was weeks later that
Boyce and his wife of 15 years,
Francis, said they were finally
ready to come forward about
their news.
 His after tax total is a bit
above $54.6 million.
 Shiv Convenience, the
Jamaica grocery store where
Boyce purchased the winning
ticket, received a $10,000
bonus from the New York
Lottery Commission for selling
the winning Mega Millions
Jackpot ticket.

- CaribWorldNews


LOS ANGELES, California -
United States federal law
enforcement officials last
month raided the office of the
Grenadian-born personal doc-
tor of the late
pop singer
Michael
Jackson.
 Ed
Chernoff, the
lawyer for Dr.
Conrad
Murray, who Murray
grew up in Murray
Trinidad and
Tobago, said authorities were
looking for evidence to sup-
port manslaughter charges.
 "The search warrant
authorized law enforcement to
search for and seize items,
including documents, they
believed constituted evidence
of the offense of manslaugh-
ter," he said.
 Chernoff said U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration
(DEA) agents and Los
Angeles police left the
Armstrong Medical Clinic
with "a forensic imagL of a
computer hard drive and 21
documents. The raid came a
day after Chernoff said


WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Seven Trinidadians, including
a former member of the
Trinidad and Tobago Defence
Force elite Special Forces
Unit, face the possibility of
life imprisonment without
parole after they were found
guilty of murdering a United
States war veteran while he
was on holiday in Trinidad
four years ago.
 Former soldier Ricardo
De Four, along with Zion
Clarke, Kevon Demerieux,


authorities also wanted to
interview the doctor again.
 "The coroner wants to
clear up the cause of death.
We share that goal," he said.

'HARASSED'
 Chernoff said Murray
returned to his home in Las
Vegas, Nevada, and walks
around with a full-time body-
guard because he is "harassed
no matter where he goes."
 Jackson, 50, died June 25
after Murray reportedly found
him unconscious in bed with
only a faint pulse. Murray said
he performed CPR on the
superstar during a chaotic 20
or 30 minutes that preceded a
911 call from Jackson's rented
mansion.
 Police later recovered
prescription drugs and a stash
of the powerful anaesthetic
propofol, used only in hospital
settings. Chernoff said Murray
should not be a target of crim-
inal charges.
 "Dr. Murray was the last
doctor standing when Michael
Jackson died, and it seems all
the fury is directed toward
him," Chernoff said.
0


Anderson Straker, Wayne
Pierre, Christopher Sealey
and Kevin Nixon had been
extradited to face charges of
murdering Balram Maharaj,
62, who was kidnapped out-
side a bar on April 6, 2005.
 The prosecution's case
was that Maharaj was held
hostage under very harsh con-
ditions, including depriving
him of essential medications,
while his abductors demanded

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 4)


August 2009


 Support shelter pets.

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* Provide toys, beds and sweaters for cold weather and more!
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Donating online is secure, convenient and a great way to lend a
helping hand.
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 for information on other ways to help.


 Trinis face life imprisonment

for murder of U.S. war veteran


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