(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) A senior Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) official has called upon members of the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) to make full use of a standby Facility for capacity building under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.

VIENNA, Austria, (CMC) — The Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) says it will visit several Caribbean countries as part of its campaign for the repeal of criminal defamation laws in the region.
Among the countries it will be visiting are Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic, from April 15 to May 6.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Stabroek News - To many long-time observers, the current behaviour of the government of North Korea now led by Kim Jong-Un, is reminiscent of Winston Churchill’s 1939 comment on the Soviet Union under Stalin. He described it as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”  But at the same time, commentaries on the death this week of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her relationship with President Gorbachev in a then changing atmosphere in the Soviet Union, similarly remind us of that country’s evolution from the era of Stalin.

SABANETA, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Sitting under the shade of mango trees in the childhood backyard of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro kicked off his election campaign with a sentimental chat with members of the ex-president’s family.
Chavez’s five brothers regaled Maduro, the acting president, with stories of how they played marbles and ate mangoes as children on the grassy lawn. It was all part of Maduro’s efforts to highlight his ties to the symbolically important family ahead of the presidential election on Sunday.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - STRAPPED for cash and looking forward to signing a US$958-million loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by month end, the Jamaican Government is continuing to court other multilaterals, Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips said yesterday.
On Monday the management of the IMF indicated that it will be making the recommendation to the Board that the loan be approved when it meets some time this month. It also indicated its intention to move the initial loan of US$750 million to US$958 million (over four years).

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Apr 9, CMC – Embattled National Security Minister Austin “Jack” Warner says he has no intention of resigning from his cabinet post accusing his detractors of trying to prevent the coalition People’s Partnership government of successfully dealing with the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - Visitor arrivals fell by six per cent in 2012 but new Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell is confident Bermuda can bounce back this year and cash in on a number of market opportunities.
Crockwell, whose One Bermuda Alliance has been in power for just under four months, told a news conference on Tuesday that visitor arrivals dropped from 655,000 in 2011 to 615,000 last year.
Air arrivals fell by less than two per cent, but cruise arrivals, after a record high year in 2011, saw a nine per cent decline because of 20 fewer ship calls.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Opposition legislators Tuesday boycotted the presentation of the national budget insisting that the long tabled vote of no confidence in the Dr. Denzil Douglas administration be debated.

“We the majority of Elected Representatives in the National Assembly of St. Kitts and Nevis will not participate in the debate of the 2013 Budget,” the six opposition legislators, including former deputy prime minister Sam Condor and senior minister Dr. Timothy Harris said in a statement.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Haiti’s Finance and Economy Minister Marie Carmelle Jean-Marie resigned Wednesday with immediate effect. Jean-Marie, who has been in the post for a year, sent her letter of resignation to Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. Her resignation comes amidst constant reports that she no longer feels she has the support of her colleagues in her effort to manage the local economy.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas Tuesday presented an EC$528.1 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) tax free budget to Parliament outlining a reduction in corporate taxes as well as extending several incentive packages that his administration had earlier implemented in a bid to stimulate the economy of the twin-island federation.