PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Debate on the motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the People’s Partnership Government is set for next Monday. Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley who filed the motion, was not prepared to comment on the view that the motion was frivolous. “I will make my case on Monday,” he said, adding that a no-confidence motion was not about defeat or victory but about what is said in the debate.
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonezy arrives here on Tuesday as part of a visit to seven Caribbean countries. Ablonezy will hold talks with Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas during her two day visit. Ablonzey, who is now winding up a visit to the Bahamas, will also visit Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. “Canada shares a special, historic relationship with the countries of the Caribbean.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC –Caribbean Community (CARICOM) foreign ministers Tuesday began two days of discussions here amidst calls for the region to adopt a new paradigm in dealing with a changing global environment. “It is therefore critical that our diplomatic encounters must be able to advance and expand our own political and economic space and we must do so starting right here in the Caribbean,” said the incoming Chairman of the CARICOM Council for Foreign and Community Affairs (COFCOR), Winston Dookeran.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The challenges confronting the just re-elected Freundel Stuart administration are already showing up in the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure laid in Parliament yesterday. Government is projecting that total revenue coming into state coffers for the 2013-2014 financial year will fall to $2.59 billion from the $2.62 billion approved for 2012 -2013.
EUROPE’S economic problems are growing steadily worse, with unemployment in parts of the Continent now above the level reached in the United States during the Great Depression.
Meanwhile, policy makers dither over solutions. Last week, the European Central Bank cut interest rates by a meager quarter of a percentage point, akin to giving two aspirin to a patient with pneumonia. Meanwhile, pressure is growing to ease the emphasis on austerity and to allow larger budget deficits.
If it were only that simple.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The extractive sector—the mining, quarrying, dredging, oil and gas extraction industries—plays an important role in the global economic landscape, contributing significantly to the GDP of its host countries. These industries are capable of contributing to the sustainable development of communities and to the wider economy when interventions are implemented, taking into consideration the rights of the people most affected.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Inzulsa,has called for greater equity and transparency in the systems of political financing in the Caribbean. Addressing the regional forum, “Strengthening Regulation of Political Parties and Political Financing Systems in the Caribbean,” the OAS chief said these are necessary “not only for the consolidation of free and fair elections but for the strengthening of democracy.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Cabinet has approved the construction of a US$200 million medical facility in the western parish of St. James in an attempt to tap into the multi-billion dollar global health tourism industry.
Minister of Health, Dr. Fenton Ferguson said construction of the facility represents the first formal health tourism project for Jamaica and will be spearheaded by members of the Diaspora, through an established partnership with the Government of Jamaica .
WASHINGTON, CMC - The United States Congress has started formal consideration of a sweeping immigration reform bill that creates a “path to citizenship” for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, including Caribbean nationals.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to finish work on the bill this week adopting Republican amendments aimed at stronger border security.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - RATING Agency Standard and Poor's says that last week's approval by the International Monetary Fund of a new agreement with Jamaica does not warrant a review of that country's credit worthiness at this time, as the details of the agreement were in line with expectations. At the same time, agency spokesman and analyst Joydep Mukherji has acknowledged that "meeting the targets will be challenging" for the country.