PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Haiti welcomed delegates to the Fifth Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) with Foreign Minister Pierre Richard Casimir, indicating that the event is essential in strengthening regional cooperation. Several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are being represented at the summit that is being held under the theme “Revitalizing the Vision of the Association of Caribbean States for a Stronger and More United Greater Caribbean” and ends on Friday.
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KINGSTON, Jamaica - DECLARING THAT Jamaica is by no means satisfied with how the free movement of nationals across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region is being facilitated, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade AJ Nicholson has announced that the Government is gearing up to take the matter to the highest level of the CARICOM secretariat for discussions. Nicholson, who was addressing the Rotary Club of St Andrew meeting on Tuesday.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - PARTICIPANTS in the ill-fated Boston Marathon could not have known or anticipated that a fatal bombing awaited them at the finish line. This incident again raises the ugly spectre of terrorism, which knows no bounds. We have previously said that although we are not in the line of fire, the Caribbean is not entirely immune from such horror. We need to pay particular attention to national security, particularly the drug trade that engulfs us so much that the focus is on establishing special drug courts.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - When you're talking about rum, how much does the Caribbean really matter? For the rum world, it's a more serious question than it sounds, and the answer exposes a schism in the industry, a divide between massive producers who value uniformity in a global market and smaller players and connoisseurs who prefer nuanced production that reflects the time and place a rum is made. A walk down the rum aisle of a liquor store sees this played out.
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Grenada says it will use funds provided by the World Bank to facilitate the liberalisation of its electricity sector as part of an initiative being undertaken by other countries within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Public Utilities Minister Gregory Bowen told Parliament that EC$1.4 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) from the World Bank would be used to facilitate the process.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados government says the recent arrest of two people involved in a human trafficking ring is proof that the island is making strides in addressing the issue.
Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite said the arrests and rescue five people between the ages of 17 and 21 were also a signal that the work of the committee established to deal with human trafficking was paying off.
“I was very happy to read the newspaper article,” he said, as he addressed the 27th Annual General Meeting of the Soroptimist International of Jamestown.
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Former foreign affairs minister Karl Hood, who filed a motion of no confidence in the former Tillman Thomas administration, has been appointed Grenada’s Ambassador to China.
Hood, who appeared on the political platform of the then opposition New National Party (NNP) ahead of the February 19 general election, will replace Stephen Fletcher, who has since returned home.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The St. Lucia government will table legislation that will make it mandatory for potential candidates in a general election to declare whether or not they are in possession of a passport from another country. Dame Pearlette Louisy, delivering the traditional Throne Speech at the start of a new session of the St.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - As the Prime Minister begins the first full day of her official four-day visit to Canada today, a trade and investment mission facilitated by InvesTT and ExporTT will conduct a concurrent session from tomorrow. “From April 25-27, a delegation of Trinidad and Tobago senior government officials and private sector business leaders will conduct a trade and investment mission to Toronto, parallel to an official visit by the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Canada,” a release from the Government Information Services Ltd (GISL) said yesterday.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - t is rather worrisome that acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams should have chosen to fulsomely praise fired national security minister Jack Warner. “He has been an exceptional minister, and I want to put that on record,” Mr Williams told the media last Monday. Even in the normal course of affairs, the Commissioner of Police should refrain from expressing an opinion about any minister of national security. This is because, although the minister sets policy, the office of the CoP is supposed to be non-partisan.