Caribbean news briefs

GUYANA: Norway pledges up to $250 million for gov't if it honors promise to protect rainforest

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — How much is the lush forest in the South American country of Guyana worth? At least $30 million, if you ask Norway's government.

The European nation plans to pay Guyana that amount — and possibly up to $250 million — if the government's fight against deforestation leads to a cut in greenhouse gas emissions and to reduced poverty.

The U.S. environmental group Conservation International announced the agreement Monday.

Guyana is seeking up to $580 million a year from countries and international groups to protect its 15 million hectares (37 million acres) of jungle and prevent timber companies from exploiting it.

Last year, Norway promised Brazil $1 billion by 2015 under a similar agreement to protect the Amazon rain forest.

BERMUDA: Prosecutor fined, admonished over Facebook posting during murder trial

HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — A prosecutor in Bermuda has been fined $1,000 for posting Facebook messages about testimony in a murder case while the trial was in progress.

The Bermudian Bar Council also issued an admonishment to Takiyah Burgess.

The council found Burgess acted improperly by posting messages describing testimony given at the February murder trial in the British Caribbean territory as "a pack of lies."

Defense lawyers complained the messages could sway jurors and called for a mistrial. The judge allowed the trial to continue and the defendants were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Burgess did not respond Monday to a request for comment.

Council President Kiernan Bell told The Royal Gazette newspaper the prosecutor accepted responsibility and the matter is closed.

US VIRGIN ISLANDS: Governor apologizes for using public money to install home security system

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands has apologized for using public money to install a security system at his house that critics say is worth nearly half a million dollars.

Gov. John DeJongh says he will return the fences and electronic devices when he leaves office. He says he also will reimburse the government for other expenses related to the upgrades. He did not cite an amount during a radio address Monday, and his office did not immediately provide details.

Sen. Adlah Donastorg had demanded a public apology from the governor. He estimates the project cost $490,000.

Donastorg lost to DeJongh in the 2006 gubernatorial race.

PUERTO RICO: New York lawyer tied up, robbed inside room at Ritz-Carlton hotel

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A New York lawyer was robbed inside his room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Puerto Rico by assailants who tied him up before dawn Monday and stole $800 in cash, police said.

The robbers bound Robert J. Anello with lamp cords and a necktie and threatened him until he gave up the password for a debit card that was stolen along with the cash from a safe, according to a police statement.

His phone was also taken, said his assistant, Donna Kolakowski, of the New York firm Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer.

Six people have been arrested in the case, said police Sgt. Ricardo Haddock. He said investigators were taking fingerprints from the hotel and no further information was available.

Police said Anello, 54, declined medical attention following the robbery at one of the Caribbean island's top luxury hotels, located in the Isla Verde tourist district east of San Juan.

Hotel spokeswoman Mirem Ubarri said she could not comment on the robbery during the police investigation. She said guests' safety is a top priority for the hotel and there is no need to change security procedures.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Villalona out on bond after family of slain man asks judge to drop case

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A top baseball prospect for the San Francisco Giants has been freed on bond after the family of the man he is accused of killing asked a judge in the Dominican Republic to drop the case.

Angel Villalona would have spent two months in jail while attorneys prepared the case.

Prosecutor Jose Antonio Polanco told The Associated Press that he still intends to prosecute the 19-year-old first baseman.

Villalona turned himself in 12 hours after a Sept. 19 shooting at a bar in La Romana. He could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of killing Mario Felix de Jesus Velete.

Villalona was signed by the Giants in 2006 and received a club-record $2.1 million signing bonus.

TRINIDAD: Tobago police charge 2 men with murder after German native killed

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Two men have been charged in the killing of a 49-year-old German man on the Caribbean island of Tobago.

One of the suspects appeared in court Monday, while the other was in the hospital for unknown reasons. The two do not have attorneys and are not expected to plead until the preliminary inquiry begins.

Police have not revealed a motive in the slaying of Peter Taut.

His body was found Nov. 1 in a shallow grave at his home in the neighborhood of Bacolet along the island's southern coast. It is the same neighborhood were a British couple was brutally attacked with a machete in August.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Gov't to receive $1.7 billion loan from IMF aimed at jump-starting economy

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic will receive an initial $300 million from the International Monetary Fund as part of a larger loan to boost the country's economy.

The Caribbean nation's Central Bank said Monday the Washington-based international lender has approved a $1.7 billion loan. In exchange, the government promises to reduce tax exemptions, improve banking supervision and better manage public debt.

President Leonel Fernandez said recently that a nearly $600 million budget deficit spurred the government to seek help from the IMF.

It is the second time the Dominican Republic has requested an IMF loan. It received nearly $700 million to overcome a 2003 banking crisis that led to high inflation and devalued the peso.