UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The United Nations on Wednesday, lauded the commitment Hugo Chávez to the cause of social justice in the Caribbean, as the General Assembly paid tribute to the memory of the late President of Venezuela. Chávez, a socialist firebrand, died on March 5 after struggling with cancer for almost two years. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Chávez ensured that Venezuela provided crucial assistance to Haiti following the devastating earthquake of 2010.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Some 10,000 workers from across the European Union protested outside a summit of EU leaders yesterday, demanding they end years of austerity and focus instead on curbing runaway unemployment with more spending. The protest in frost and snow just outside EU headquarters vented frustration over spending cuts and tax hikes imposed by the bloc's governments to deal with the debt crisis.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Incumbent West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dr Julian Hunte is dismissing claims that he informed fellow directors that he would not be seeking re-election. In an interview ahead of the WICB’s annual general meeting in Barbados on March 27, Hunte sought to set the record straight against the background of earlier reports that suggested he would not be going after a fourth successive term.

NEW YORK, CMC – Police here say that at least 18 people were arrested as fights between them and angry youth erupted for the third consecutive night in the predominantly Caribbean district of East Flatbush in Brooklyn over police shooting death of a Caribbean youth. On Thursday police reported that they struggled to control an irate crowd that broke away from a planned peaceful vigil after attendees learned that 16-year-old Kimani “Kiki” Gray, the son of Guyanese and Jamaican parents, was shot in the back on Saturday night.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Baldwin Spencer, will not be challenged for the post at the party’s convention on Sunday. A document listing the 14 positions up for grabs shows Spencer as the lone candidate vying for the position, while Leon “Chaku” Symister is the only contestant seeking to fill the post of chairman. Current chairman and Deputy Political Leader Harold Lovell, said Spencer has his “unequivocal” support.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, CMC-Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans has expressed disapproval over Suriname’s choice of Errol Alibux for its ambassador to Turkey. “I regret that Suriname has again appointed one of the suspects in the December murder case as ambassador,” Timmermans said on Dutch TV on Wednesday. Liakat Errol Alibux, 65, a Netherlands trained sociologist who in previous Governments served as Foreign Minister, Finance Minister and Natural Resources Minister, was sworn in last week as Suriname’s first non-residing ambassador to Turkey.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Marijuana use has reached worrying proportions and is no longer confined to boys on the block and the unemployed. The National Council for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD) and the National Council for Substance Abuse (NCSA), think the alarm bells are ringing in relation to marijuana use which according to them is now prevalent among children as young as nine.

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – The Roosevelt Skerrit government has been given a passing grade as it relates to its efforts to deal with unemployment in Dominica, but the population believes it is doing a good job in education. According to a mid-term review of the performance of the government conducted by the Barbados-based consulting firm, Caribbean Development Research Services Inc. (CADRES), “Dominicans are generally most impressed with the government's performance in "Education" and least impressed with the government's performance in the area of "Employment".

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC-Efforts to arrive at a settlement in the protracted wage talks between Government and the Trade Union Federation (TUF) received a further set back Wednesday when the general membership of the Civil Service Association (CSA) rejected the 4% increase with conditions proposed by the Government and earlier accepted by teachers and police. President of the Civil Service Association, Mary Issac said the general membership felt that conditions highlighted by the Government was more of a smoke screen and would represent empty promises.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Testimony in the high-profile case of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier resumed Thursday, with another alleged victim describing abuses she says were committed under his rule. Dr. Nicole Magloire told an appellate court about the broad influence wielded by the former leader known as "Baby Doc," and the alleged violations associated with his 15-year government. Duvalier "was declared supreme leader of all the armed forces in the country," said Magloire, an opposition leader who fled into exile during that era. "He was in charge of the National Palace.