After a devastating earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, governments and foundations from around the world pledged more than $9 billion to help get the country back on its feet. Only a fraction of the money ever made it. And Haiti's President Michel Martelly says the funds aren't "showing results." Roughly 350,000 people still live in camps. Many others simply moved back to the same shoddily built structures that proved so deadly during the disaster.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Guardian - Government is embarking on two major maritime projects as a cost of US$3 billion. This is just one of the several initiatives aimed at creating an investment climate for trade to take place. Trade Minister Vasant Bharath announced when he addressed a conference on Improving the Ease of Doing Business in T&T at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain. He said his ministry is on an aggressive path of putting T&T on the world stage and the two projects are being funded by two local private sector companies with an international presence.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Chronicle - AGRICULTURE Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has indicated that a number of activities have been finalized regarding the future of the coconut industry following a stakeholders’ conference held in the Boardroom of the Ministry of Agriculture last month.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Decorated Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel was sworn in as U.S. defense secretary yesterday after a bruising Senate confirmation battle, promising to renew old U.S. alliances and forge new ones without attempting to “dictate” to the world. Addressing Pentagon employees shortly after a small, closed-door swearing-in ceremony, Hagel spoke optimistically, if vaguely, about global challenges ahead and the importance of American leadership abroad. “We can’t dictate to the world. But we must engage the world.

(Trinidad Express) Though lacking a GPS system, the 767 aircraft used by Caribbean Airlines to fly to London/Gatwick are suitable because they fulfilled the requirement of having a flight route which ensures the aircraft is no more than 120 minutes away from a suitable airport, Finance Minister Larry Howai stated.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A pastor with the Seventh Day Adventist Church is claiming that Latin American assassins are operating in Trinidad and Tobago and called for an all out war on crime. “We have Latin American assassins in this country. We have Colombians in this society, hired by the godfathers who have the art of slicing heads and legs, training secondary school students to do the same thing in this society,” Pastor Clive Dottin said at the funeral for police sergeant Hayden Manwaring, who was shot and killed by bandits last week.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Advocate - “IF you are importing $800 million in food, there must be opportunities to produce food; but if you want to eat New Zealand lamb, Idaho potatoes and Texas beef, then we have a problem. We will not survive if we continue importing, we have to produce more of what we consume in this country for the good of the economy, to save foreign exchange. Our estimate is, we can cut that food import bill by half in five years if we do what has to be done. But you can’t do it by believing agriculture is backwards,” charged Agriculturalist, Chelston Brathwaite.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Advocate - There needs to be a diversification of the tourism industry, greater job opportunities in the food and beverage sector, a development of our natural resources and wider education of farmers to help them be more marketable and earn more. This challenge was voiced by Agriculturalist, Chelston Brathwaite, who says that there needs to be more job creation.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados health authorities Wednesday said that no meat product containing horsemeat had been imported into the country in light of the controversy currently sweeping Europe. Senior Veterinary Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Mark Trotman, said “extensive trace back investigations” had been conducted and to date, none of the identified products had been imported into the island.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, insisting that he has no intention of closing down a radio station widely regarded as supportive of the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), has nonetheless instructed his lawyer “to pursue the fruits of my judgement” in two defamation cases. Nice Radio Monday paid EC$206,000 (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) to Gonsalves representing the full payment for a defamation judgement he won following statements made by a radio host almost 10 years ago.