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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - gainst the backdrop of less than favourable reports coming out of the Central Bank of Barbados last week on the performance of Barbados’ economy and with the ensuing comments from the business leaders, some are questioning whether our approach to riding out the recession has been right all along. Traditional industries are crying out for more stimulus and non-traditional sectors claim they are being starved of the necessary attention needed to take them forward. The consensus seems to be, “no more talk, we need action...

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Government is correctly preoccupied with what it calls "the growth agenda", and has been telling the country that there will be growth in the immediate future. This is not likely, and there is no gain in talking optimistically about the imminence of economic growth. That kind of talk must be reserved for assuaging speculation, as would be necessary to maintain stability and confidence in financial markets, but does nothing to promote economic growth.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Jamaica Government is threatening to withdraw the Air Jamaica brand from the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines (CAL) following reports that the carrier would be reducing the number of daily flights to Jamaica. Last week, CAL Communications Manager Clint Williams confirmed media reports that the airline would be cutting back on the number of flights to Jamaica, effective today, April 16. Transport Minister Dr. Omar Davies said the decision by the cash-strapped airline would contradict the agreement signed when CAL acquired Air Jamaica two years ago.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - FRESH FROM his electoral victory in Grenada’s February 19 parliamentary election, in which his People’s National Party captured all 15 seats, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell chose to go public last week with a rather surprising negative message about the sole intra-regional airline, LIAT.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A senior international tourism official has warned that increased taxes on air transportation and tourism will damage economies and reduce travel to destinations such as the Caribbean.
Addressing the 24th annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-14) here on Monday night, Carlos Vogeler, the regional director for the Americas within the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said taxes on tourism are an all too common occurrence.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Caribbean Airlines (CAL) will not be filing for bankruptcy and is not another BWIA in the making, Finance Minister Larry Howai assured yesterday. “There is no such thought at this stage. The thing is the airline industry is a very difficult industry to manage. Throughout the world we have had a number of different airlines  going into Chapter 11,” he told reporters yesterday after the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers' Association’s (TTMA)  Annual General Meeting at the Hyatt Regency , Port-of-Spain.

Three years after Haiti’s devastating Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, there are 320,050 people living in camps — 27, 230 less than those living in the squalid encampments in December, the International Organization for Migration said Monday.
The number represents a 79 percent drop from the 1.5 million Haitians who sought shelters in hundreds of makeshift tent cities after the disaster.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago is calling for a united approach towards developing the region’s tourism industry as it prepares to host the 14th Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC) here on Monday.
The three day event is being held under the theme “Keeping the right balance_ Enhancing destination sustainability through products, partnerships, profitability”.
Host Tourism Minister Stephen Cadiz told reporters that a collective approach was the only way the region can become the number one “warm-weather destination” in the world.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Several stakeholder groups agreed yesterday that National Security Minister Peter Bunting sent the wrong signal about his commitment to tackling Jamaica's crime problem in statements he made on the weekend. While there was support for Bunting from several quarters, including one of his predecessors, he drew strong criticisms for statements some argued "he had no business making". "It does send a wrong signal to the criminals.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The main opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) says it is alarmed at a statement by National Security Minister, Peter Bunting acknowledging that the fight against crime seems to be a futile endeavour in Jamaica. “It is not only alarming; it is the tone and the manner in which he expressed himself, though I empathise with him, it seems to me that this is not the right or appropriate approach to dealing with this crime situation,” said the JLP’s spokesman on Crime, Delroy Chuck. He said Bunting is sending a wrong signal to the country.