SANTIAGO, Chile, CMC - The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is predicting a two per cent growth for Caribbean economies in 2013.
ECLAC said that the anticipated result is “on the back of the buoyancy of economies specialized in producing and exporting raw materials, mainly Guyana and Suriname, and the recovery in countries more focused on exporting tourist services, as a result of the improved economic situation in the United States”.

BOSTON (AP) — The two brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon appear to have been motivated by a radical brand of Islam but do not seem connected to any Muslim terrorist groups, U.S. officials said Monday after interrogating and charging Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with crimes that could bring the death penalty.
Tsarnaev, 19, was charged in his hospital room, where he was in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the throat and other injuries suffered during his attempted getaway. His older brother, Tamerlan, 26, died Friday after a fierce gunbattle with police.

It was a tough start to the week for many air travellers. Flight delays piled up all along the East Coast on Monday as thousands of air traffic controllers were forced to take an unpaid day off because of federal budget cuts.
Some flights into New York, Baltimore and Washington were delayed by more than two hours as the Federal Aviation Administration kept planes on the ground because there weren't enough controllers to monitor busy air corridors.

BEIJING — The devastating earthquake that struck southwest China over the weekend has drawn a flood of donations from across the country.
But in contrast to the pattern after a major quake in the same region five years ago, those eager to bolster relief efforts are looking to donate to private charity organizations, not to official groups that now have a reputation for corruption.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government, insisting it is committed to facilitating the media in its work, Monday said it would hold discussions with the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) and other media stakeholders “on the matter of protocols governing media interviews with the Prime Minister”. The announcement by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) follows criticism by the PAJ over what it termed the deliberate efforts to shield Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller from facing answering questions from the media on current and controversial national issues. .

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Former general secretary of the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Senator Paul “Chet” Greene does not fear wider fallout for Caribbean football after the resignation of Trinidad & Tobago’s former National Security Minister Austin “Jack” Warner.
Warner on Monday resigned from his post as national security minister, as chairman of the United National Congress (UNC), the main party of Trinidad & Tobago’s ruling coalition government.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The United States should seriously reconsider its diplomatic stand-off with Venezuela, now extended to its reservations over the recent presidential poll that resulted in a very close victory – less than two per cent – for Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late president Hugo Chavez.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC - Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries say they are looking forward to “continued goodwill, friendship and cooperation” that has characterised their relationship with Venezuela following the electoral victory of Nicolás Maduro. Maduro, who had been chosen by the late Venezuelan Leader Hugo Chavez, was sworn into office over the weekend following his victory at the polls earlier this month. The ceremony was attended by several Caribbean leaders.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Antigua and Barbuda government will seek funding from the World Bank to ensure the implementation of an “Open Data” project that would make available to the public non-sensitive, non-personal data which it collects in the course of its operations.
Telecommunications, Science and Technology Minister Dr. Edmond Mansoor said the island had been chosen as the pilot country for the assessment of the project given its leadership role in information communication and technology (ICT) in the region.

WASHINGTON, CMC – A new study is suggesting that nearly US$100 million would be required annually to implement key mitigation strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study, which has been released here on Monday, estimates net additional costs of reducing emissions related to land use, energy and transport – the three main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It says a 97 per cent decarbonization of the power sector by 2050 would require US$66 billion in net annual investments.