KINGSTON, Jamaica - SIR DENNIS Byron, president of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), is to deliver a public lecture at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, tomorrow. Sir Dennis' lecture is the second in the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) Distinguished Lecture Series. His visit comes less than two weeks before the CCJ opens its first hearing in Jamaica to consider the Shanique Myrie matter. Myrie has taken the Barbadian government to the CCJ on allegations that she was assaulted by an immigration officer in March 2011.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The judgment in a case now proceeding through the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) could prove to be a landmark in the movement of West Indians through each other's countries.

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Lawyers for Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit have defended the decision to go to the courts regarding the decision of the Integrity Commission to probe allegations that the head of government had breached the Integrity in Public Office’s (IPO) Code of Conduct. The Commission was due to have started its hearings on Monday, but Justice Brian Cottle last Friday granted the lawyers leave to apply for judicial review against the decision of the Integrity Commission.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The 2013 election is now over and the votes have been counted, disappointments and jubilation expressed and we have begun to return to normalcy. The Prime Minister is busy choosing his Cabinet and in due course the senators will be chosen and the debate on the annual Estimates of Government Revenue and Expenditure will begin.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - PRIME MINISTER FREUNDEL STUART has been able to achieve levels of support on par with former Prime Minister Owen Arthur. This is the view of the Democratic Labour (DLP) which, in a statement from its general secretary George Pilgrim yesterday, said Stuart had shown in two years an ability to muster as much support as Arthur, who led the country for 14 years.

WASHINGTON, CMC – The US Supreme Court has declined to block the deportation of thousands of Caribbean and other immigrants who over two years ago were not warned by their lawyers that, when they pleaded guilty to serious crimes, they would be targeted for deportation. The law calls for mandatory deportation for Caribbean and other immigrants, including lawful permanent residents, who have an “aggravated felony” on their record. In a 7-2 decision, the justices refused to apply the ruling retroactively to cases of immigrants who had unintentionally pleaded guilty before 2010.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - New discoveries in alternative sources of energy by developed countries such as the United States and Australia has slashed export demands from developing countries like T&T, which has this commodity in large supply. But Gordon Deane, chairman of energy company Atlantic says, however, that for the global energy business the future appears bright. He said this was the case despite challenges facing the global economy. “Energy continues to be the fuel for industrial and economic development.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - JAMAICA'S harsh experience with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to get a new $750 million loan, signals equally harsh conditions for many Caribbean countries in the not too distant future. The burden of the tough conditions placed on Jamaica by the IMF falls entirely on the Jamaican people and Jamaican businesses.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - AT their Inter-Sessional summit last week in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, Caribbean leaders called on the United States to comply with the ruling by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to end the long-running dispute with Antigua on Internet gaming. They affirmed their "full support" for their Caricom colleague in its fight against our giant neighbour to the north.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The foreign minister of Suriname is reported in the press as stating that his Government will neither nominate nor support Mr. Albert Ramdin, a distinguished Surinamese, for the post of secretary-general of the Organisation of American States (OAS). The minister is also reported to have said Suriname will support the Guyanese nominee for assistant secretary-general, the post which Mr. Ramdin now holds. This is a very strange position to state publicly since at this time there is no vacancy nor any formally announced candidates in either post.