ST JOHN’S, Antigua – General Counsel for the office of United States Trade Representative (USTR) Timothy Reif is warning that the United States “cannot” allow the World Trade Organisation’s decision in the online gaming dispute to be used as a tool for “piracy” by Antigua & Barbuda.
“We, the US government, obliviously cannot allow any WTO decision to be distorted into a license for piracy,” the USTR attorney told OBSERVER Media in an exclusive interview yesterday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Caribbean countries will be automatically alerted in the event of any major differences in sea level rise or major displacements due to earthquakes.
Acting Director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU), Dr. Lorna Inniss, speaking at the launch of Caribe Wave 2013, said the system was important given the fact that tsunamis were waves that travelled between and among countries.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE female immigration officer in Barbados who is accused of 'finger raping' Jamaican Shanique Myrie will now have to testify in a suit brought by Myrie against the Barbadian Government. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday ruled that a statement be taken from the officer by Roger Forde, Queen's Counsel, who is representing the Government of Barbados in the case, according to Myrie's attorney Michelle Brown. The CCJ's ruling follows an application by Myrie for the woman to give evidence.

NEW YORK, CMC - Two immigrant advocacy groups say they have found that United States Immigration border patrol agents who arrest Caribbean and other immigrants in New York State get gift cards, bonuses and extra vacations.
The Families for Freedom and the New York University (NYU) Immigrant Rights Clinic said in a new report that the rewards include US$100 Home Depot gift cards. They said some agents also got as much as US$2,500 a year each.

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Senior Customs and Immigration officials from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) are calling for guidelines to improve the socio-economic potential of the sub-region through the further development of the tourism industry. Chief Immigration and Comptrollers of Customs officials met in Antigua recently to develop an action plan to facilitate ease of travel for both OECS nationals and tourists from the wider region and beyond. Programme Officer for Tourism at the St. Lucia-based OECS Secretariat, Dr.

BASSETTERE, St. Kitts, CMC - Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor on Thursday announced his resignation from the Cabinet with immediate effect, citing recent developments as his reasons for stepping aside.
"The recent developments pertaining to issues of Good Governance and Constitutional Integrity have brought me to the point where I feel constrained to tender my resignation as a Member of Cabinet, with immediate effect.  

KINGSTON, Jamaica - WE share the concerns articulated by former Jamaican Prime Minister P J Patterson about the restriction of free movement of Caribbean Community (Caricom) nationals among member states.
Mr Patterson’s concerns are particularly relevant given that CARICOM heads of Government have committed to measures to ease travel difficulties at ports.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – A précis of PJ Patterson’s “cri de coeur for CARICOM,” his speech to the Rotary Club of Georgetown on Monday, would actually make an excellent editorial, without any need for additional comment. The speech is already resonating beyond the audience of Rotarians who were privileged to hear it and will no doubt be scrutinised and subject to further discussion by those who care about the region. But we would like to focus on a few critical points.

Who says magical realism is dead? In Latin America, where that form of imaginative literature was born, the absurd is the stuff of everyday headlines. Events that defy belief are just another aspect of the daily routine of life in the region. Or, to put it another way, you can’t make this stuff up.
Venezuela

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Late Chairman Mao Tse-Tung of China reportedly once said that without the loneliness and desolation of winter one would not appreciate the warmth and splendour of spring. This seems not to be the case with Egyptians and North Koreans.
After initial flashes of goodwill from the new leadership in North Korea and Egypt, the situation appears to be going from bad to worse. In the case of the former, the march of folly and intransigence in the pursuit of nuclear weapons continues.