WASHINGTON, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Wednesday said it had approved US$932.3 million loan under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Jamaica. The four-year EFF will support the Jamaica government’s comprehensive economic reform agenda and forms a critical part of a total funding package of two billion US dollars from Jamaica’s multilateral partners including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with each having preliminarily agreed to allocate US$510 million over the next four years.
News
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Several Caribbean countries were on Wednesday observing May Day, the international day set aside to recognise workers, with the traditional rallies and speeches against exploitation and the need for better working conditions despite the ongoing global financial and economic crisis.
While many workers, some armed with placards, urged unity in dealing with the crisis, labour leaders in several Caribbean countries, like Dominica, remained divided on the need for a trade union congress (TUC).
BOSTON – There is no right way to react to a terrorist attack. Oklahoma City rebuilt after Timothy McVeigh’s 1995 truck bomb attack on the federal government.
Atlanta moved on following anti-abortion activist Eric Rudolph’s 1996 bombing of the Olympics. New York displayed staggering resiliency after the September 11 attacks. Boston, though, may have set a new standard.
WASHINGTON, CMC - Caribbean nationals who have been deported from the United States are returning illegally to the country, according to a report released by an immigration think tank.
Immigration Policy Center (IPC) said that new figures show that the number of United States federal prosecution cases against previously deported immigrants from the Caribbean and other developing countries is increasing nationwide.
It said that criminal prosecutions for illegal re-entry to the US increased from 7,900 in fiscal year 2000 to 35,800 in fiscal year 2010.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – As several Caribbean countries prepare to celebrate MAYDAY, the traditional day of workers on Wednesday, a Dominican trade unionist is lamenting the failure to establish a Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the country.
Head of the Public Service Association (PSA), Thomas Letang, speaking on the state-owned DBS radio Tuesday, said while “a lot of work” had been done on a draft constitution several years ago, a TUC has not materialised.
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – A senior member of the St. Kitts-Nevis government has brushed aside opposition calls for a government of national unity.
"We don't want any unity government in St Kits and Nevis. We want to remain a stable country. I don’t' have to tell you what is happening in Trinidad and Tobago where unity is crumbling fast,” said Health Community and Social Development, Culture and Gender Affairs Minister Marcella Liburd.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, , CMC – Norway is reported to have expressed “serious concerns” about the status of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), following the decision by the National Assembly to approve a drastic reduction in the national budget as proposed by opposition legislators.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony will deliver the national budget on Tuesday, May 14.
The budget presentation follows the completion of the debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure over the last weekend. The debate on the budget presentation will be May16-17.
The government is expected to table an EC$1.3 billion (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) fiscal package and has already indicated that the recently introduced value added tax (VAT) would not be increased.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Any legal measure implemented by local and foreign law enforcement agencies to combat the drug trade is welcomed by this newspaper.
For we are resolute in our belief that the trafficking of narcotics is a most abominable crime for which those found guilty must feel the full weight of the law.
today KINGSTON, Jamaica - Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller will make her contribution to the 2013/2014 Budget Debate today.
Simpson Miller will make her presentation in Gordon House, on the heels of the Opposition Monday saying that Jamaicans can expect the speech to be filled with “fluff” and “rhetoric”.