KINGSTON, Jamaica - FOREIGN AFFAIRS and Foreign Trade Minister Senator A.J. Nicholson yesterday said that if the late Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party wins in another national election "we would dare to hope that the PetroCaribe and other projects would continue." In an interview on Radio Jamaica yesterday, Nicholson sought to allay fears regarding the PetroCaribe deal, noting that Venezuelan Vice-President Nicholas Maduro had made a promise "not so long ago" that the entire agreement would be extended. He noted that there were many other spin-off projects from the agreement.
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ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – The Dominica government Tuesday night declared a national state of mourning in honour of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who died earlier following a long battle with cancer.
In an emotional address to the nation, Prime Minster Roosevelt Skerrit, who described Chavez as a personal friend “who held my hand in the brightest and darkest hours of my tenure and indeed as the prime minister, said that all flags will be flown at half mast from Wednesday until the morning after his burial.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Caribbean Community leaders were Wednesday paying tribute to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez who died Tuesday after a prolonged battle with cancer.
St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony said that the significance of Chavez's death "looms very large" for several Caribbean states especially those that shared a close working relationship with his administration.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC- Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias, who for more than 14 years, used his influence, oil and cash to fashion closer relationship among countries in the Caribbean died Wednesday, less than a month after he returned to Caracas from Cuba where he had been receiving treatment for cancer.
His death was announced by Vice President Nicholas Maduro in a brief television broadcast.
A tearful Maduro said Chavez had died at 16_25 (local time) "after battling a tough illness for nearly two years".
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s health has taken a turn for the worse as he battles a “new and severe” lung infection in the wake of a trouble-plagued cancer surgery, the government said Monday. In a televised announcement, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said Chávez’s respiratory problems had grown more severe since the chemotherapy he is receiving in Caracas has left his immune system compromised. “The president’s condition continues to be very delicate,” Villegas read from a prepared statement.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - West Indies fast-bowling legend Andy Roberts has criticised regional territorial boards for refusing to support former captain Clive Lloyd's bid to be president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Lloyd was nominated by the Guyana Cricket Board but a deadline ran out before regional cricket boards could second the nomination as stipulated by WICB election rules.
Roberts, who has served on various WICB committees, said Lloyd would have been the ideal person for the position, given his history and track record of leadership.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Doctors at the Mount Hope Maternity Hospital Monday delivered six babies as a 28 year-old woman became the first person to have sextuplets in the Caribbean.
The three boys and three girls were delivered by caesarean section and lead obstetrician Dr. Bharat Bassaw said the births had to be brought forward as the health of the mother was deteriorating.
“At this point the mother is very stable ...the babies of course are still very critical and the birth weights range from one pound nine ounces to just under three pounds.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - There are no reports of fatalities in the aftermath of an accident in Cuba which involved Caribbean nationals on Saturday.
According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, the accident that took place close to the town Santa Clara, involved several Caribbean students studying in Havana, who were on their way to Camaguey for an Independence activity for Grenada.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8 rattled parts of Trinidad on Monday but there were no reports of damage or injuries. The St. Augustine-based Seismic Research Centre of the Universality of the West Indies (UWI) said that the quake occurred at 9.23 am (local time) on the Paria Peninsular west of Trinidad. It said the event was located at 10.66 degrees north and 62.07 degrees west and that it was felt in the capital, Port of Spain and the western Diego Martin area.
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC - The Ministry of Transport and Aviation says a Haitian “sloop” confiscated during a recent drug enforcement operation had sunk in the harbour of Inagua on Sunday, spilling more than 200 gallons of a mixture of oil and diesel fuel into the water.
It said that incident occurred during the night when the 75 foot wooden vessel sank in adverse weather conditions.