NEW YORK, CMC – A New York state legislature is seeking to expand college aid for young people from the Caribbean and other countries. The State’s Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has joined with his counterpart, Francisco Moya, and the State’s Higher Education Committee Chair, Deborah J. Glick, in introducing the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. The bill, if it becomes law, would provide educational support for tens of thousands Caribbean and other immigrant youth.
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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The main opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has launched its campaign for the February 21 general elections promising voters strong leadership to deal with the island’s socio-economic problems over the next five years. BLP leader and former prime minister Owen Arthur Saturday night told party faithful that he was offering “a leadership that has been tried, leadership that has been tested and leadership that has been proven”.
WASHINGTON, CMC – A major think tank here is urging the Obama Administration to quickly adopt three important initial steps that would “trigger a speedy rapprochement” with the Spanish-speaking nation.
In its latest report, the Washington-based Council of Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) urged Washington to “immediately phase out the embargo, free the ‘Cuban five,’ and remove Havana from the spurious State Department roster of nations purportedly sponsoring terrorism.
MEXICO CITY — A mysterious explosion at the headquarters of Mexico’s state-owned oil company here on Thursday killed at least 25 people and injured 101, according to government officials, as windows shattered, the ground shook and thousands of employees fled into a panicked downtown. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. It occurred just before 4 p.m. in the basement of an administrative building next to the 52-story tower of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – High Court judge Mira Dean-Armorer says she expects to deliver before March 29, a judgement in the case in which several people, including former government ministers and two financiers of the ruling United National Congress (UNC) are challenging the decision of the State to repeal legislation they said would have prevented them from facing fraud related charges stemming more than 10 years ago.
WASHINGTON, CMC – At least two Caribbean groups here have commended the German automobile company, Volkswagen, for its advertising campaign in recognizing what they describe as “the global impact of Jamaican culture.” While there have been some criticisms of the advertisement, Dr. Claire Nelson, the Jamaican-born president of the Washington-based Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) and the Caribbean Heritage Organization (CHO), said her groups have found the commercial “amusing and indeed, a fascinating example of subtlety in subliminal messaging”.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - SO PRIME Minister Freundel Stuart has finally announced the date for next month’s general election. And he did so with a ‘scoop’ (as we say in the media) by upstaging all and sundry, including real and pretentious political gurus, in naming February 21 as the day when Barbadians will trek to polling booths to elect a new government for the next five years.
HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC -- The new One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) government has scrapped the island’s term limit policy, introduced by the previous administration 12 years ago, in a move aimed at boosting the sluggish economy. Announcing the policy change during a media briefing on Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy said “We believe that the elimination of the policy will help spark economic growth and create employment opportunities for Bermudians. “I want to assure the people of this country that this was not a decision that was taken lightly.
WASHINGTON, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that despite a “difficult economic environment,” the overall fiscal position of St. Kitts and Nevis through the end of September last year was “stronger than expected.” After undertaking the fifth review under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), the Washington-based financial institution said on Wednesday that the latest update on the twin-island federation was “due to buoyant non-tax revenue and lower-than-expected capital outlays.” An IMF mission, led by George Tsibouris visited St.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The government could decide to call it quits with the country’s second biggest contributor to the economy – the financial services sector. Experts have previously warned the sector is under severe threat, but it’s the first time the government has admitted it might not be worth the fight. Finance Minister Harold Lovell said a review would be launched shortly.