News

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Margaret Thatcher and Hugo Chávez came from opposing ends of the political spectrum but, in a curious way, they shared a common trait_ both were capable of arousing, in death as in life, great admiration and devotion, on the one hand, and deep loathing on the other. In the latter respect, reactions to their death in their respective countries make for an interesting comparison. Mrs Thatcher’s funeral on Wednesday was a grand affair, just the type of thing at which the British excel.

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – The coach of the Dominica Football team, Kurt Hector, is among two people missing and feared dead after the vehicle in which they were travelling fell into a large hole at Pond Case, south east of here as a result of heavy rains over the past few days. Gerald George, a spokesman for the Dominica Football Association (DFA) speaking on the state-owned DBS radio, said that the accident occurred during the early hours on Friday as team members were travelling to the capital in preparation for travel to St.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - National Security Minister Jack Warner has the “full support of every single member of the Cabinet”, Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed said yesterday.
Mohammed was responding to questions on whether the Cabinet had discussed the various controversies associated with Warner and the fact that he continues to be the focus of negative attention.
Members of the Cabinet include Congress of the People (COP) leader Prakash Ramadhar and chairman Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, as well as other COP members (including Mohammed).

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The lone commissioner in the enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial Limited, Sir Anthony Colman, QC, yesterday ruled that Clico business magnate Lawrence Duprey and former group financial director of CL Financial, Andre Monteil, must present themselves to testify at the ongoing enquiry.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves will join leaders from across the Commonwealth’s small states at a high-level conference on governance in London from April 23 to 25. The Vincentian delegation will also include the Prime Minister’s wife, Eloise, Minister of National Reconciliation, Maxwell Charles, and Cabinet Secretary, Susan Dougan. While in London, Gonsalves is scheduled to meet Vincentians in the High Wycombe area on April 25 during a town hall meeting.

GRAND TURK, Turks and Caicos, CMC – Over 160 Haitians will be repatriated after their boat was intercepted off the coast of the British Overseas territory on Monday. Turks and Caicos Minister for Border Control and Labor, R.D.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Haiti says it will rename an airport in the north of the country in honour of the former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez who died of cancer in March. A government spokesman said that the Cap-Haitien International Airport will now be called the Hugo Chavez International Airport. The airport’s 17,500-foot runway was repaved in October with a loan from the Venezuelan government and had opened up the industrial park in the north.

WASHINGTON, CMC – Canada’s International Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino will meet with Haiti’s Prime Minister Laurent Lamote on Friday more than four months after he questioned the level of aid to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country. The meeting here will also be attended by officials from several international donors. In January, Fantino said his office would not initiate new projects until it had reviewed its Haiti assistance programme, warning that Canadian aid would not be a “blank cheque.”

CASTRIES, St. Lucia CMC---Civil Servants have ended their battle with government for a 9.5 per cent wage increase, with a stunning decision to settle for a wage freeze. After a heated extra-ordinary meeting Wednesday most of the over 400 members of the Civil Service Association (CSA) voted in favour of a 0.00 per cent wage proposal. The decision to forgo the increase followed the President's report that the Government’s Negotiating Team (GNT) was sticking to 4 per cent as its final wage offer, in addition to refusing the requested allowances.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - A trade quarrel over toilet paper between Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica is heading to CARICOM for a solution. Speaking to the Express yesterday, Trade Desk Officer of the T&T-Jamaica Trade Facilitation Desk at the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association(TTMA), Naika Pichi-Ayers, said TTL, one of their members, had contacted them in early March to resolve their concerns that Jamaican authorities were not allowing their products entry into the market.