ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – A one-day meeting of the Regional Security Council (RSS) of Ministers began here Wednesday amid concerns that some member territories were defaulting on the financial contributions to the regional security grouping.
Canada’s High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Richard Hanley, did not name the defaulting countries, nor the amount in arrears.

St. John’s Antigua- The Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) is offering two scholarships for Citizens of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and CCRIF member countries.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - A FORMER head of the country's utilities regulation body has warned that Jamaica's energy problem now requires the same urgency as the lottery scam and has proposed a draft of measures he says can help to address the issue.
With stakeholders divided between the use of coal as against liquified natural gas (LNG), J. Paul Morgan, the man who led the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) until five years ago, says it is time the Government steps forward and present a very clear energy policy.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - ONE WEEK after Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips disclosed that contingent talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank were holding up the approval of an extended fund facility (EFF), he now says the country is being negatively impacted by the delay.
Phillips, who yesterday announced at a Jamaica House press briefing that Jamaica would not meet its deadline to secure an IMF agreement by month end, said the issues being discussed relate to funding support for Jamaica's programme.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The People's National Party (PNP) socialists of the 1970s may have been dismal at managing the economy, but they knew how to rally people to their cause. The PNP of the current era, in so far as we can tell, has lost the art of mobilisation. So, the Cabinet has just emerged from a three-day special session to discuss the economy and to advance the Government's so-called growth agenda. Very few would argue if we conclude that it was a damp squib.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The development of this country as an international financial centre carried through during the first Tom Adams administration in the 1970s and was part of a major restructuring of a critical area of the Barbados economy. That sector was important then and it is important now!

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Central Bank Governor Dr. DeLisle Worrell Wednesday urged Barbados to seek ways of increasing foreign exchange earnings and called also on the government and the private sector to invest in “creating new high quality productive capacity, improving productivity, and maintaining and upgrading infrastructure”.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Tomorrow, as faithful Christians worship and observe the significance of Good Friday while preparing to celebrate the Resurrection, the people of Barbados in general will be particularly cognisant of a prevailing social and economic mood that reflects varying worrying concerns and negative messages in the media. The February 21 general elections came and went with the political status quo remaining as “Dems again” and the Bees’ promise of “a better tomorrow” deferred for another season – whether in five years or much earlier.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Legislators from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have paid tribute to the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, saying that his vision had inspired millions all over Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The people of our region will never forget that President Chavez held out his hand in solidarity, brotherhood and friendship and made a real difference to their lives.

St. John’s Antigua- Speaker of the House for the OECS Regional Assembly said when it comes to politics, the fairer sex can also be a strong force to reckon with in the sub-region. The conclusion of the OECS Regional Assembly, Tuesday marked the beginning of the organ’s work to guide the region into an integrated future. However, Speaker of the House, René Baptiste said the work has only begun to integrate women into the decision – making process in national parliaments.