ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Baldwin Spencer, will not be challenged for the post at the party’s convention on Sunday. A document listing the 14 positions up for grabs shows Spencer as the lone candidate vying for the position, while Leon “Chaku” Symister is the only contestant seeking to fill the post of chairman. Current chairman and Deputy Political Leader Harold Lovell, said Spencer has his “unequivocal” support.
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AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, CMC-Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans has expressed disapproval over Suriname’s choice of Errol Alibux for its ambassador to Turkey. “I regret that Suriname has again appointed one of the suspects in the December murder case as ambassador,” Timmermans said on Dutch TV on Wednesday. Liakat Errol Alibux, 65, a Netherlands trained sociologist who in previous Governments served as Foreign Minister, Finance Minister and Natural Resources Minister, was sworn in last week as Suriname’s first non-residing ambassador to Turkey.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Marijuana use has reached worrying proportions and is no longer confined to boys on the block and the unemployed. The National Council for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD) and the National Council for Substance Abuse (NCSA), think the alarm bells are ringing in relation to marijuana use which according to them is now prevalent among children as young as nine.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – The Roosevelt Skerrit government has been given a passing grade as it relates to its efforts to deal with unemployment in Dominica, but the population believes it is doing a good job in education. According to a mid-term review of the performance of the government conducted by the Barbados-based consulting firm, Caribbean Development Research Services Inc. (CADRES), “Dominicans are generally most impressed with the government's performance in "Education" and least impressed with the government's performance in the area of "Employment".
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC-Efforts to arrive at a settlement in the protracted wage talks between Government and the Trade Union Federation (TUF) received a further set back Wednesday when the general membership of the Civil Service Association (CSA) rejected the 4% increase with conditions proposed by the Government and earlier accepted by teachers and police. President of the Civil Service Association, Mary Issac said the general membership felt that conditions highlighted by the Government was more of a smoke screen and would represent empty promises.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Testimony in the high-profile case of former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier resumed Thursday, with another alleged victim describing abuses she says were committed under his rule. Dr. Nicole Magloire told an appellate court about the broad influence wielded by the former leader known as "Baby Doc," and the alleged violations associated with his 15-year government. Duvalier "was declared supreme leader of all the armed forces in the country," said Magloire, an opposition leader who fled into exile during that era. "He was in charge of the National Palace.
WASHINGTON, CMC – The United Nations expert on torture has called on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the practise of solitary confinement and its harmful effects in the Americas, including the Caribbean. Juan E. Méndez, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture, also called for stronger regulation on solitary confinement. “I am concerned about the general lack of official information and statistics on the use of solitary confinement,” Méndez told the Commission at its first-ever briefing on solitary confinement in the Americas.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC - The Police Service and Welfare Association will be holding candle light vigils as a form of protest against the proposed legislation to grant soldiers the power of arrest. President of the Association Anand Ramesar on Wednesday told reporters that the vigil would be headed by former president of the association, Emrol Bruce. "The theme of that (vigil) is 'Preserve the impartiality and the integrity of the Police Service' and, most of all, the independence of the Police Service. Police officers and their families will be in attendance," said Ramesar.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - GRENADA plans to commence talks with its creditors to restructure its EC$2.2- billion public debt. Rising interest payments in the face of falling revenue and a high wage bill has prompted the government to miss an interest payment due this month. It is the second time that it has been faced with an interest payment that it couldn't meet within the last six months, although back in September, when the Government felt it couldn't find the funds to pay the coupon on a US$193-million bond, due in 2025, it eventually paid the money before the grace period expired.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Caribbean is not expected to carve out a larger piece of the travel and tourism industry over the next 10 years.