Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY AUG 12

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WORLD NEWSWednesday 12 August 2015

Cuba’s tourism boom: some worry they’ll be left out OAS:

ANDREA RODRIGUEZ ond-largest city is suffering detente between the U.S. a sweeping view of the Irregularities did
Associated Press a tourist drought. and Cuba. Caribbean. not disrupt overall
SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) — Santiago saw less than a That’s raising concerns that The city sits about 500 miles elections in Haiti
This 500-year-old city smells tenth of the tourist traffic a rising tide of tourist dollars (800 kilometers) east of
of fresh paint and varnish. in Havana last year and will leave some areas of Havana on highways that EVENS SANON
narrow outside the capital Associated Press
Cuban singer Candido Fabre sings at a carnival concert in Santiago, Cuba. Santiago’s to horrifically rutted roads PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)
clogged with horse carts, — An international mission
promoters lament that tourists are missing out on the city’s rich Afro-Cuban culture, its bicyclists and stray cows. that monitored legislative
The journey by road can elections in Haiti said this
meandering streets, colonial architecture and its prized role as the home of Cuban musical last 15 hours, and far lon- week that there were scat-
ger in Cuba’s notoriously tered problems with vio-
genres such as trova and son. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) unreliable and uncomfort- lence and other disruptions
able inter-city buses. Train during Sunday’s first round
Residents stroll along a re- less than a 20th of the visi- Cuba booming and others and domestic plane tick- but not enough to disrupt
cently completed harbor tors to the beach resort struggling against a back- ets are virtually impossible the legitimacy of the overall
promenade under gleam- of Varadero even amid drop of broader economic to obtain without waiting vote.
ing new streetlights, en- large-scale government in- stagnation. hours in lines that may or The Organization of Ameri-
joying sea breezes while vestment in renovating the “They’re promoting Ha- may not end in satisfac- can States had 28 observ-
relaxing on newly installed city for its 500th anniversary vana and the center of the tion. There are only three ers monitoring Sunday
metal benches. this summer. Other Cuban country but they’ve forgot- flights a week from the U.S. elections that saw Haitians
Missing are the tourists. As c are seeing similarly stag- ten about Santiago,” said Cruise ships provide a choose lawmakers for the
foreign visitors flood Ha- nant visitor numbers de- Gladys Domenech, who promising new potential next Parliament in a contest
vana and a select group spite the dramatic surge rents tourists a room in her source of visitors, although that was delayed for nearly
of other colonial cities and in overall tourism set off home in the historic center dockings here remain rela- four years. They visited 171
beach resorts, Cuba’s sec- by the announcement of that features a terrace with tively rare. of more than 1,500 voting
“It’s tough for those who centers across the country
go to Havana and want of 10 million people.
to come here,” said Virgen At a news conference in
Maria Jerez, owner of an Haiti’s capital, Mission chief
elegant private restaurant Enrique Castillo said ob-
near Domenech’s home servers found that delays
in central Santiago. “Trans- and disorder at a number
port is vital and we’re dis- of voting centers were not
connected.” “so generalized or so big as
Those who do reach San- to be able to question the
tiago find a city rich with whole process.”
history but hampered by In a preliminary report, Cas-
what visitors and residents tillo’s team praised Haiti’s
alike call substandard ac- Provisional Electoral Coun-
commodations, few high- cil for trying to fix problems
quality restaurants and a over the course of election
lack of fun things to do at day.
night.q Sunday’s first round sought
to fill two-thirds of the
Canadian gets 40 years in Puerto Rico for child porn 30-member Senate and the
entire 119-member Cham-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico says Denis Victor Cour- child pornography on his tracted to prepubescent ber of Deputies in the na-
(AP) A Canadian man has chesne of Fort McMurray laptop computer and an girls. Investigators said he tion still struggling to recov-
been sentenced in Puerto in Alberta was sentenced external hard drive. The downloaded hundreds er from a 2010 earthquake
Rico to 40 years in prison Tuesday in the U.S. Carib- 46-year-old Canadian of child pornography im- that devastated the capital
for possession and pro- bean territory. had just arrived on a flight ages as a paid subscriber and surrounding areas.
duction of child pornog- He was arrested last year from Panama. to an online group and Haiti’s last legislature was
raphy. at the island’s main air- In an affidavit, U.S. agents also produced unlawful dissolved about eight
The U.S. Immigration and port when U.S. customs alleged Courchesne told images with his cellular months ago because the
Customs Enforcement officers found images of them he was sexually at- phone.q terms of lawmakers expired
before new elections could
be held due to a political
showdown between Haiti’s
executive and opposition.q