GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Stabroek News - Obviously, when we focused, in last Friday’s editorial, on PJ Patterson’s cry from the heart and forthright warning about the perils of neglecting Caricom, we thought that his argument was well reasoned and very persuasive. We still do. He and we may, however, have missed a most important point.
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KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The police in the central parish of Clarendon have four Haitians in their custody, two have been charged with illegal entry. According to reports here, two Haitian men were picked up on the weekend by the police as they carried out spot checks in the parish. It was then discovered that the men had illegally entered the country. The men were charged and taken to the police lockup in the parish capital of May Pen. While there, two women went to see them, during the visit it was discovered that they were also from Haiti.
UNITED NATIONS, CMC - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says the United States and other countries have failed to properly screen Haitian migrants interdicted at sea to ascertain whether they have “a credible fear” of violence and persecution. “People should be screened for credible fear, rather than having the burden of having to shout their way to be noticed,” said Leslie Velez, UNHCR’s senior protection officer.
Government confident of accessing millions to complete new international airport KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Feb 8, CMC - The St. Vincent and the Grenadines government says it is confident it will this year raise the US$80 million needed to complete the international airport at Argyle. The EC$652 million (one EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) airport is scheduled to become operational by 2014 and Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said he recently held talks with the Venezuelan government and it seems that the application for a US$10 loan “is progressing well.
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Grenada Thursday celebrated 39 years of political independence from Britain with Prime Minister Tillman Thomas telling citizens of the “significant strides” made and having “accomplished much in every sphere of life as a nation”. In an address delivered during the traditional Independence Rally at the National Stadium, Thomas, who is facing a general election on February 19, said despite the global economic crisis, Grenada has been able to withstand the shocks because of the policies of his administration over the past four years.
Grenada, CMC - As he gets ready to face an electorate in a general election on February 19, Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas is patting himself on the back as it relates to repealing legislation regarding criminal libel in his tiny Caribbean island.
“We are the only country in the Caribbean that has spoken about repealing the legislation and actually doing so,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), citing the need for the media to “be able to carry out its function without much hindrance”.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Guardian - Richard J Doumeng, president, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), and Beverly Nicholson-Doty, chairman, Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism, are supporting a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) which shows that the abolition of the UK’s Air Passenger Duty (APD) could bring a lasting boost to the UK economy, generating a net tax gain for the Treasury and creating almost 60,000 new jobs.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, Guardian - United States marine corps general John Kelly, commander of US southern command, who visited Port-of-Spain yesterday, said he was delighted to have met with the Government and defence leaders on his Caribbean visit. Kelly met with prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, national security Minister Jack Warner, foreign affairs minister Winston Dookeran and members of the T&T Defence Force led by chief of defence staff, Maj Gen Kenrick Maharaj.
OSLO, (Reuters) - The Amazon rainforest is less vulnerable to die off because of global warming than widely believed because the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide also acts as an airborne fertiliser, a study showed yesterday. The boost to growth from CO2, the main gas from burning fossil fuels blamed for causing climate change, was likely to exceed damaging effects of rising temperatures this century such as drought, it said.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - THREE OF the country's leading private-sector groups have given Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell and the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) 30 days to lay out a clear road map to secure massive reductions in electricity rates. The Government was banking on the introduction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to reduce the cost of electricity by up to 40 per cent. However, the fate of the LNG project hangs in the balance following the withdrawal of the Government from the process.