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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Elections are over, the Cabinet has been sworn into office, as have been the senators recommended by the Prime Minister, and Parliament sits for the first time during the course of this week. Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and his colleagues are to be congratulated on having pulled off a nail-biting win, and should now expect to receive the goodwill of all Barbadians, tempered by such constructive criticism in keeping with the traditional decencies associated with our adversarial system of politics.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - With an eye to the economy and Government’s renewable energy platform, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is eagerly looking forward to his new term starting on Wednesday with the opening of Parliament and reading of the Throne Speech by Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave.
Speaking to the media after last Friday’s swearing in of Cabinet at Government House, Stuart said the Government was excited about its programme for the next five years and the prospects for Barbados. 

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – CXC officials are reporting that a significant number of students around the region failed to turn up for the January CSEC exams. The absenteeism was particularly evident in human and social biology with over 1600 candidates absent. Principles of business recorded over 1500, English over 3000, and Mathematics 4000 absentees.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The newly-installed government of Grenada wants speedy agreement on lingering joint marine resources issues with T&T in order to facilitate exploration of energy resources along the countries’ adjoining borders. In an interview with T&T Guardian, economic adviser to the government of Grenada, Dr Patrick Antoine, said the Keith Mitchell administration plans to “immediately push for the finalisation of the framework agreement on oil and gas” between the two countries.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government has confirmed that the construction of a multi-billion dollar methanol complex involving a Saudi Arabian company has been scrapped. Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine confirmed international media report that the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) had decided not to continue with negotiations for the planned US$5.3 billion complex after the "relevant parties did not reach a deal on the fundamental conditions for this project”.

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has brushed aside critics of his administration’s geothermal energy plan insisting that it represents the best hope for attracting foreign investments and improving the socio-economic wellbeing of Dominicans. Addressing the inauguration of the Trafalgar/Shawford/Fond Canie over the weekend, Skerrit said that his administration remains convinced that the geothermal project would bring relief to electricity consumers and that it is unfortunate that critics are continuing to object to the project.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The biggest energy challenge in the Caribbean is over-dependence on imported petroleum and petroleum products. In remarks at the opening ceremony of a Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (Coted) at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Caricom’s Office-in-Charge, Trade and Economic Integration, Desiree Field-Ridley said the region’s annual fuel import bill is about US$9 billion a year “with the tendency to be rising”.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - An important event is unfolding in Kingston today which, perhaps, may be a defining moment for Jamaica. We hope it is.
The matter to which we refer is the sitting here of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), albeit in its original jurisdiction, which it is to say in its capacity as arbiter of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that established the Caribbean Community's Single Market and Economy, of which Jamaica is a member.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) will today convene for the first time in Jamaica when it sits at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston to hear the case against the Barbadian Government by Jamaican Shanique Myrie.
Myrie is seeking damages for what she said was discriminatory treatment by Barbadian Customs and Immigration officials when she attempted to enter that Eastern Caribbean island in March 2011 via the Grantley Adams International Airport.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Caribbean nations are being urged to join other regions of the world in Earth Hour, a global activity intended to raise awareness of climate change. The concept is simple. On March 23, individuals and organisations in participating nations will turn off their non-essential lights for one hour. In 2012, official Earth Hour activities took place in more than 7,000 cities and towns across 152 countries.