GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Chronicle - THE ORGANISASTION of American States (OAS) is scheduled to hold its 43rd General Assembly in June when elections will take place for the posts of Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General (ASG). Neither of the incumbents—Secretary General Miguel Insulza, a former Foreign Minister of Chile, and Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin, the Suriname-born diplomat and former Assistant Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARIC0M)—is eligible to seek re-election.
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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Advocate - THE Principal of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies is asking government to sit down with them and develop a strategy for its growing debt problem. Professor Sir Hilary Beckles maintained that the debt problem began to increase significantly with the death of former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance David Thompson, who had a firm grasp on the University’s finances.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - HEAD OF Delegation for the European Union to Jamaica Ambassador Paola Amadei has urged Jamaicans to develop the capacity to compete around the world and not to depend on tariff barriers to make domestic industries relevant. "It is not by applying tariffs that you will develop a competitive industry or a competitive agricultural sector. It has been proven that by applying tariff and the higher the tariffs are, the worse it is for the consumers.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Dominica will use a meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council on Trade and Economic Development (COTED) in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday for support for its renewable energy development programme.
The Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said the meeting “will discuss and seek agreement on a CARICOM Energy Policy.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - A five-member team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in Antigua and Barbuda to conduct reviews of the island's economic performance under a three-year stand-by arrangement (SBA). The team headed by Geoffrey Bannister has already held meetings with various public and private-sector representatives to discuss economic developments in Antigua. In June 2010, the IMF approved a US$117.8 million loan to support the implementation of Antigua's Fiscal Consolidation Programme.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va., (Reuters) – President Barack Obama today warned of threats to Navy readiness and a storm broke over the government releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants due to budget pressure as automatic government spending cuts crept closer. In the latest event staged by the White House to warn of the possible damage to public services, Obama spoke at the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard where scheduled maintenance to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been delayed due to the budget crisis.
(Trinidad Express) Europe’s largest oil company Royal Dutch Shell once more has a significant stake in Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector. The company said yesterday it has struck a deal with Spain’s Repsol SA to buy Repsol’s liquefied natural gas assets in Trinidad and Tobago and Peru in a deal worth US$6.2 billion. Shell said it would pay $4.4 billion in cash and assume $1.8 billion in Repsol debt and other obligations.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – A pastor with the Seventh Day Adventist Church is claiming that Latin American assassins are operating in Trinidad and Tobago and called for an all out war on crime. “We have Latin American assassins in this country. We have Colombians in this society, hired by the godfathers who have the art of slicing heads and legs, training secondary school students to do the same thing in this society,” Pastor Clive Dottin said at the funeral for police sergeant Hayden Manwaring, who was shot and killed by bandits last week.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony will address the nation on Wednesday as public workers stayed away from their jobs for a second consecutive day “resting and recuperating.” The Trade Union Federation (TUF) is seeking a 9.5 per cent wage increase for the workers, including teachers, but the government has said it could only afford a four per cent salary hike for the 2010-12 triennium.
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC –Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace says he has instructed his lawyers to demand an apology from Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves over statements he made on a radio programme earlier this month. Eustace, speaking on radio here, said that his attorneys were also instructed to file a law suit seeking damages if Prime Minister Gonsalves, an attorney, refuses to apologise. The announcement by Eustace is the latest salvo in the ongoing controversy regarding allegations of bribery involving foreign investor Dave Ames.