ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The World Bank has suspended disbursements to Grenada after seven loan defaults in February. The Washington based financial institution said no new loans would be issued to Grenada unless the island makes good on the overdue payments amounting to US$750,000. The payments were due on February 15 February and the World Bank has written to Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell saying failure to make the loan payments on time is hampering its ability to assist other member countries.
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KINGSTON, Jamaica - Yesterday's deadly bomb blasts in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities were bloody reminders of the country's continued instability and the fact that it could still collapse into a Balkanised entity, or even a completely failed state.
But perhaps the greater lesson from today's Iraq is of the dangers that lurk when citizens are cowed or cajoled into forfeiting independent thought in favour of intellectual conformity and the embrace of iterative policies by their governments.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Last Friday was the second anniversary of the uprising in Syria and is a brutal reminder of the impotence the entire world has shown in resolving a conflict that has wrought destruction on one of the Arab world’s leading countries. It is reported that about one million Syrians are displaced, while 1.5 million refugees have streamed across the country’s borders in search of safe haven. Even the figure of 80 000 people killed probably understates the magnitude of the calamity, as thousands remain missing and/or suffering debilitating injuries.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - "It is incumbent in all of us to make our voices heard, armed with the facts, that the time has come for a dramatic change to the structure and governance of the West Indies Cricket Board as called for by the Patterson Report."
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD - Daryan Warner, the eldest son of National Security Minister Jack Warner, has dismissed speculation that he is under house arrest in the United States.
However, he has steadfastly refused to comment on if he is the subject of any investigation by federal authorities there.
Warner, 47, spoke to the Express in an exclusive interview (that ran on TV6 News last night) at his penthouse suite in Miami, Florida, where we tracked him down last Wednesday.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former government minister and diplomat John Donaldson jr died Tuesday at a private hospital after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 71 years old.
Donaldson served as Minister of National Security from 1976 to 1985 and also as Minister of Foreign Affairs in People’s Movement (PNM) administrations.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - It is estimated that there are as many Jamaicans living abroad as there are in Jamaica. This is because many people who are of Jamaican descent, but who have not themselves been to Jamaica, claim Jamaican identity.
This is undoubtedly a definite sign of the strength of the values, patterns of thought, and behaviour that are distinctly Jamaican. As such, people of Jamaican descent hold fast to their "Jamaicaness" because this unique culture is kept alive, regardless of what societies they live and work in.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - FINANCE Minister Dr Peter Phillips told Parliament yesterday that 'contingent discussions' are holding up submission of the Government's programme to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board for approval by month end.
"There are some contingent discussions now taking place between the Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank regarding the extent of the commitment from each institution to support the IMF programme (for Jamaica)," Dr Phillips said.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – National Security Minister Austin “Jack” Warner Tuesday maintained that he had no knowledge of an illegal flying squad operating in Trinidad and Tobago and like the rest of the population he was “anxiously awaiting” the outcome of an investigation ordered by Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar into the matter.