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KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica says it will continue to promote technical and economic co-operation with developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as with traditional partners Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Observer - With a month to go before the second meeting of the OECS Assembly in Antigua, concerns are being raised about its format, in light of previous controversy. During the inaugural meeting here in August, the authorities removed the mace, Queen’s image, national flags and laws of Antigua & Barbuda from the building. The event was attended by legislators from the nine-member sub-regional grouping.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - Long admired for world-class academics moulding young minds, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, could be depleted of such individuals in the next few years. Professor Hubert Devonish has estimated that some 300 academics are due to retire in the next five years, and replacements are hard to find because of comparatively low salaries. Devonish noted that UWI brought salaries down to regional levels decades ago, but the continuing slide of the Jamaican dollar has had a negative impact.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Stabroek News - Jamaica has been given the green light to train aviation professionals for the global markets, which will need 350,000 pilots and 480,000 mechanics by 2026. The country officially received its ‘Trainair Plus’ full membership from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) during a joint Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCCA) regional symposium at the Hilton Rose Hall, Montego Bay, on Monday. The ICAO is a United Nations specialised agency and the only global aviation standards setting body in the world.

BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Police Wednesday charged junior minister Mark King with aggravated assault, use of threatening words and disorderly conduct, following a pre-dawn brawl at a casino in northern Belize over the weekend. King, 38, the junior minister of Human Development and Social Transformation, has been suspended without pay by Prime Minister Dean Barrow. He has also publicly apologised for his behaviour. The first time legislator, who will return to court on April 16, was one of two men who were thrown out of the casino after an altercation involving a member of his entourage.

WASHINGTON, CMC - The Organization of American States (OAS) has signed an agreement with the Grenada government to observe the February 19 general elections. The OAS said Secretary General José Miguel Insulza and Grenada’s the permanent representative to the hemispheric body Gillian Bristol signed the agreement on the privileges and immunities of observers, “which provides the conditions for the work of the electoral observation mission (EOM) to accompany the general elections in the country.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Portia Simpson Miller led administration has been forced to cut its spending this year by J$10 million (One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents) as it grapples with lower than projected revenue inflows. The cuts were outlined in the revision that the government has made to its spending plans for the current fiscal year, which ends next month. The governments' spending plans had been under pressure this fiscal year, as it was getting less money than needed to carry out the spending. The cuts were tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – A senior government official Wednesday said Antigua and Barbuda is still open to finding a resolution to its Internet Gaming dispute with the United States even though the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trade Ambassador, Colin Murdoch, speaking on the state-owned media, said that the Baldwin Spencer government has still not yet receieved any communication from Washington since the WTO ruling last week.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- The Coast Guard of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has increased border patrols in the wake of reports that more Haitians could be heading towards Jamaica. The heightened concern, follows the arrival of a group of 25 Haitians in Portland on Tuesday. Deputy Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, (ODPEM) Richard Thompson told reporters on Wednesday that based on information out of Haiti, nine boats left the country hoping to reach the United States.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - INTERNATIONAL JURIST Patrick Robinson is to be put forward by Jamaica for election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The announcement was made on Tuesday by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister A.J. Nicholson as he addressed diplomats during a Diplomatic Week forum in Kingston. The election to the ICJ takes place in November 2014.