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Season's over, but new storm forms

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Odette formed in the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, four days after the official hurricane season ended, and threatened Haiti, Jamaica and other islands, but probably not Florida, forecasters said.

Odette was the first recorded tropical storm to form in the Caribbean Sea in December, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Tropical storm warnings were issued for Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic west of Santo Domingo. Odette had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, just over the tropical storm threshold of 39 mph, and was expected to strengthen but not become a hurricane.

Five to 10 inches of rain can be expected in the storm's path, forecasters said. The rains could cause flash floods and mud slides, particularly in the mountains of Haiti.

Tropical storm watches were in effect for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turk and Caicos Islands.

At 10 p.m., Odette was centered near 14.0 north latitude, 75.0 west longitude, or about 295 miles south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It was moving northeast near 8 mph.

WARSAW - Prime Minister Leszek Miller was hospitalized with back injuries after his official helicopter crash-landed Thursday in a forest on the way to Warsaw.

Several government aides and six bodyguards were also injured when the Soviet-made Mi-8 chopper with 15 people aboard went down near Pilawa, about 15 miles south of the capital, officials said.

CUBA: The president of Cuba's largest state-run tourism enterprise was abruptly removed from his post amid reports Thursday of an inquiry involving the disappearance of millions of dollars from the company's coffers.