The World Bank has offered to help Caricom nations

The World Bank says it wants to finance a programme to improve telecommunications infrastructure in the Caribbean.

Latest information suggests that while the region is awash with mobile phones, internet take-up is lagging.

In Jamaica, only seven in every 100 people has a personal computer; in Trinidad the estimate rises to 13 in 100.

Juan Navas-Sabater, a telecoms specialist at the Bank, told BBC Caribbean the programme was aimed at increasing the availability of broadband communications in particular.

Some governments may wish to improve infrastructure, some may want to develop a software industry and others further e-government, he said.

EU, Cuba in diplomatic row

A row has broken out between Cuba and the European Union over a visit by EU diplomats to the wife of a jailed opposition activist, Darsi Ferrer.

The diplomats, from five EU embassies in Cuba, brought with them donated food and clothing, when they visited Dr Ferrer's wife on Thursday.

Cuba responded by summoning the ambassadors from the five EU countries. An EU diplomat said Cuba accused them of meddling in its internal affairs and threatening the recently renewed EU-Cuban dialogue.

A Swedish diplomat, Ingemar Cederberg, said there were questions which needed clarifying over whether Dr Ferrer's prosecution on criminal charges, was in fact politically motivated.

Ex-Stanford aide makes damaging claims

New claims have been made now that an associate of the Texan financier, Allen Stanford, has pleaded guilty to involvement in a multi-billion dollar fraud.

In his plea deal, the former finance chief of the Stanford group, James Davis, said his boss created a business empire where bribes were paid from a secret Swiss bank account and investor profits were more fiction than financial genius.

Mr Davis said after the hearing in the American city of Houston on Thursday that he'd done wrong and he was sorry.

Mr Stanford was also due to appear in court but was sent to hospital after complaining of an irregular heart beat.

He's accused of cheating customers at his bank based on Antigua out of $7billion.

Army officers sacked after murder

The army in Guyana has announced the dismissal with dishonour of three coast guards linked to the brutal robbery and murder of a civilian at sea last week.

The three junior officers ordered a young man out of the boat in which he was travelling and into their coast guard vessel.

They later confessed that they then robbed the man of the equivalent of US$70,000 which he was carrying, strangled him and dumped his body in the river.

Chief government spokesman Roger Luncheon said the administration feels the event is a sign that something went radically wrong but was not picked up in time.

He wants a board of inquiry to investigate what may have led to the behaviour.