KINGSTON, Jamaica - IT IS automatically added to every flight out of the UK, but when The Voice spoke to Caribbean-bound travellers at Gatwick Airport, some had never even heard of air passenger duty (APD).
The travel tax has been rising year-on-year making billions in revenues for the government, but pricing out ordinary people from travelling to the tropical region.
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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad- Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday explored the possibility of holding a CARICOM-US summit in T&T, according to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister. Persad-Bissessar did so in Washington yesterday when she met with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to discuss ongoing bilateral issues. She is in the US attending an OAS Americas-Africa business forum which she will address this morning.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad- Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday met with United States Deputy Secretary of State William Burns to discuss ongoing bilateral issues.
According to a release from the Prime Minister’s office, the PM and Burns addressed several important matters affecting Trinidad and Tobago and the region, among them the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which was enacted by Congress in 2010 and is part of the US effort to combat tax evasion by US citizens holding overseas investments.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua - It is very difficult not to be impressed and humbled by the reaction of Bostonians to the bombings that ripped lives and limbs apart on their marathon day.
The scenes on Boston’s streets on Monday have echoes of things that happen with awful frequency on the streets of Syria or Iraq. Yet Boston’s poise, humanity and calm amid the shock are all the more noteworthy, because no one, rationally, could have prepared themselves for such an attack against such a target.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - he savage attack on the crowds viewing and participating in the Boston Marathon on Monday was a ruthless assault on innocents that will serve to remind all in authority in democratic nations that cowardly attacks on civilians remain the most potent weapon in the arsenal of terrorists.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana - The presidential elections in Venezuela indicate that the country, without the influence of former President Chávez’s extraordinary charisma and influence, remains essentially democratic in form and practice as it has tended to be since the end of the Jimenez dictatorship, with the polarization between the current two main parties now reaching extreme limits.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - IT HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID that democracy thrives in a turbulent climate. It is also true that for it to function effectively there will be winners and losers, who must accept the verdict and the will of the majority of the people.
The situation in Venezuela is the latest example of the difficulty that could arise where party leadership is not prepared to accept the results of an election which could plunge a country into chaos and economic instability. Ideology also plays a pivotal role in most situations.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - MR Nicolas Maduro, late President Hugo Chavez' choice to succeed him, was elected president of Venezuela on Monday by a very narrow margin. But his opponent, Mr Henrique Capriles has challenged the legitimacy of the result, claimed victory and called for a recount by hand of all paper ballots.
Although Mr Maduro publicly pledged to allow the recount, the electoral council has refused and is defending the integrity of the electoral process.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - WELL, the fierce battle to elect a successor to the late president Hugo Chavez is over.
However, a heavy cloud of uncertainty hangs over Venezuela amid official arrangements for Friday’s oath-taking ceremony of Nicolas Maduro as new Head of State of that influential oil-rich nation of the Greater Caribbean region.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – The Dominica government says it is looking forward to working with President –elect Nicholas Maduro as it welcomed his victory in Sunday’s presidential elections in Venezuela.
Acting Prime Minister Petter Saint Jean described the victory “as a fitting tribute to the fallen comrade, President Hugo Chavez.”