CASTRIES, St. Lucia, , CMC – The Trade Union Federation (TUF) is keeping up the pressure on the Kenny Anthony government for a six per cent increase in salaries for public servants who on Monday began the third week of their dispute with both sides sticking to their positions.
The TUF, which groups many of the public sector unions here, remains convinced that the government can meet its demand despite indicating that it could only afford a four per cent wage hike.
The TUF is schedule to meet with the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) this week.

(Trinidad Guardian) Vasant Bharath, Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment and Minister in the Ministry of Finance and the Economy, received a courtesy call from his Costa Rican counterparts, Anabelle Gonzalez, Minister of Trade and Fernando Ocampo, Vice-Minister of Trade, on Friday at his Port of Spain offices.

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) says it is moving ahead with plans to develop the yachting sector in the sub-region. A statement issued by the Str. Lucia-based OECS Secretariat Monday, said that a meeting was held late last month in the British Virgin islands to advance plans for the development of an action plan for the sector. The meeting was supported by the European Union under the 10th European Union Development (EDF) Economic Integration and Trade of the OECS region project.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC - A senior United Nations humanitarian official is expressing grave concern about recent incidents of forced evictions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Haiti. Acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Ross Mountain, made the comment following a visit to a site from which thousands of people were forced to leave. While recognizing the right of owners to enjoy their property, Mountain recalled that the practice of forced eviction often results in violations of human rights such as the right to life and security of the individual.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados will be establishing a drug treatment court this year as it seeks to deal with a high prison population and the recurring problem of recidivism. Home Affairs Minister, Adriel Brathwaite said the issue is providing a “major headache” for the authorities and that the government is continuing to explore all avenues to tackle the problem including the soon to be introduced Drug Treatment Court (DTC).

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A charity for former U.S. President Bill Clinton awarded more than $700,000 to develop the country's agriculture sector.
The Clinton Foundation announced Monday that the grants will go toward efforts to plant trees, build a coffee farm and train farmers.
Clinton has been the United Nations' special envoy to Haiti since shortly before the devastating 2010 earthquake. He left Haiti following a two-day visit accompanied by potential investors representing a perfume company, restaurants and a lingerie company.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Teenage pregnancy continues to be a major concern for the Ministry of Health with eight girls between the ages of 11 and 14 years giving birth in 2012, Health Minister Clayton Burgin has told Parliament.
He said that teenage pregnancy remains high even as the nation recorded a constant decrease in the number of babies dying before birth -- prenatal mortality.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Less than 24 hours after Barbados declared an alert following an increase in gastroenteritis on the island, health authorities in Guyana say they are monitoring reports of an outbreak of the infection of the lining of the digestive tract in the north west district that has so far resulted in the death of one person.

ROSEAU, Dominica - Dominica’s CARICOM Youth Ambassador, Natasha Jervier, has been charged with the responsibility of promoting issues affecting health in the regional union. Jervier recently joined other youth ambassadors from across the region for internship at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana. “They (CARICOM) needed one young person among the youth ambassadors to take on the responsibility of health and health promotion and I was given that responsibility,” she said.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - It is good to know that at this time when rising fuel prices continue to impact on the general cost of living, fresh thinking is being encouraged for Barbados to revisit its absence from among the countries of the Caribbean that have long been beneficiaries of Venezuela’s significantly subsidized Petrocaribe project.