Member

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - There is too much misinformation regarding the CLICO issue going across the country, said Prime Minister Freundel Stuart as he sought to debunk the myths. Speaking at Paragon in St. Michael South, Prime Minister Stuart said that the CLICO issue has been wrapped in myths by the Barbados Labour Party. He said that one of the biggest myths is that there are 30 000 policy holders in Barbados. “There are not 30 000 CLICO policy holders in Barbados. There never have been 30 000 CLICO policy holders in Barbados.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government has dismissed suggestions that the US-based airline, Delta Airlines was forced out of the country because former president Bharrat Jagdeo was subjected to baggage checks by the airline. President Donald Ramotar said that no time did his administration move to have Delta out of Guyana, but rather would like the airline to continue operating the Georgetown- New York route. “Guyana is asking them to stay… we would very much like them to stay, because it’s a reputable airline.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua - Four weeks ago Minister of Tourism John Maginley sounded a positive note in announcing new aircraft leases for our embattled airline, LIAT. Our headline writers were positively euphoric in declaring “LIAT’s flying high again – Tourism Boss”. As encouraging as the news might have been, it is far too optimistic to assume that LIAT’s problems are over. This, of course, is typical of government enterprises in which the smallest bit of good news is promoted as the solution to all problems.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has accused two journalists with the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC) of accosting him Sunday on an airplane in Barbados and has said that he will write to the London-based media house to complain about the incident.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The jury is still out about our Jamaican psyche. Yes, we are fun people but are we builders of civilisation, spectators or players, minstrels or masters? Are we in charge of our fate, or zombies? This IMF thing has unleashed a spirit of fear and some desperation. We seem beholden to the IMF, yet it asks no obeisance. We speak in hushed tones as if the Lord is nigh; are our leaders in thrall to a body which has no armies, navies or soldiers? no trinkets to buy us, or prisons to incarcerate us?

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Tourism, a mainstay for the majority of Caribbean economies for their foreign exchange and jobs, continues to be hit by major challenges, prompting the industry to issue an urgent call on governments to convene a summit by June to tackle key issues and ensure its long-term sustainable growth.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - THIS week, as Jamaicans brace themselves for severe belt-tightening because of the accord to be signed between the Government and the IMF, two incumbent parties in the Eastern Caribbean will be struggling to avoid becoming one-term administrations. The governments facing this survival "political cliff" — while Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's ruling People's National Party (PNP) struggles against its very challenging "fiscal cliff" — are those of Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart in Barbados and of his Grenadian counterpart Tillman Thomas.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The two main political parties here are in a statistical dead heat ahead of Thursday’s general election with Barbadians giving the nod to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart over his main challenger, Owen Arthur, according to the latest opinion poll published here on Sunday. The poll by the Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES), published in the Sunday Sun newspaper however indicates that Arthur’s Barbados Labour Party (BLP) still hold a “slight edge” for control of the 30 seats in the parliament.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Grenada’s two major political parties were entering the final 24 hours of their campaign for Tuesday’s general election, buoyed by the large turnout of supporters Sunday and predicting a win that allow them to govern this Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country for the next five years.

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- When Jamaican officials snubbed a group of young Haitian soccer players who visited two years ago on the heels of a deadly cholera outbreak in their quake-torn homeland, a revolted Marguerite Rigaud immediately went into action. In a matter of days, the Pétionville restaurateur had thousands of Haitians marching through the streets of Port-au-Prince protesting the boys’ mistreatment by a fellow Caribbean nation. “I couldn’t believe that another black nation would do this to a sister nation. I found it revolting,” Rigaud said.