HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Speculation is rife here that opposition parliamentarian Terry Lister will announce his resignation from the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) during Friday's sitting of the House of Assembly. Unconfirmed reports say Lister, a former cabinet minister, will sit as an independent. He has twice put himself up for the PLP leadership but failed on both occasions.

NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas government says a constitutional referendum planned for the 40th anniversary of independence has been re-scheduled to November. Bahamas gained its political independence from Britain on July 10, 1973. Prime Minister Perry Christie told parliament a request from Constitutional Commission for an extension of its report which must be debated by all nationals before the referendum, has been granted.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - This newspaper endorses the suggestion by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states introduce a visa regime similar to the Schengen visa of some European Union members. The system would allow seamless travel by visitors across the Community after clearing immigration/customs at their initial port of entry. Such a system was in place for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, but lapsed thereafter.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Nation News - TOP CARIBBEAN TOURISM OFFICIALS are supporting calls for Great Britain’s air passenger duty (APD) to be scrapped after an economic impact study by audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed abolishing the tax would help the region’s tourism sector. The study shows that getting rid of the APD could bring a lasting boost to Britain’s economy, generating a net tax gain for the Treasury and creating almost 60 000 new jobs by 2020.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders meet in Haiti next week for their annual Inter-sessional summit where they will discuss a wide range of issues including crime and security, the CARICOM Regional Aid for Trade Strategy, and a report on the Regional Architecture for Financial Stability. A CARICOM Secretariat statement said that the “historic” meeting will be addressed by the host head of state, President Michel Martelly, St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and the CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC - Caribbean Community (CARICOM) parliamentarians have been told they must adopt a strong position at the 9th Regional meeting of the African Caribbean and Pacific –European Union (ACP-EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) against the EU’s approach to differentiation.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Crime and Security will be the major item considered by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) when they meet in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for their 24th Intersessional Meeting on 18-19 February.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Crime and climate change were the major topics of discussion between the Prime Minister of The Bahamas the Rt Honourable Perry Christie and the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque at the Prime Minister’s Nassau office on Thursday.

The IDEAS Energy Innovation Contest is funded by Inter American Development Bank, DFID, and is being jointly implemented by IDB and Global Village Energy Partners International (GVEP-I).The contest was first staged in 2009 in Latin America and the Caribbean and saw 3 winners from CARICOM Region.  For this the second staging greater emphasis is being placed on Caribbean Region.  A number of mini-launches is being done across the CARICOM countries in Haiti, St Lucia, Guyana and Suriname, for this second staging.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The issue of crime and security as one of the greatest threats to development in the Caribbean was at the core of discussions on Wednesday between the Honourable Dr Bernard Nottage, Minister of National Security of The Bahamas and Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).