LONDON, CMC – The London-based human rights watchdog, Amnesty International, has urged United States authorities to urgently end indefinite detention at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, following reports that more than half the detainees are now on hunger strike.
According to Amnesty International, it has been confirmed that 84 of the 166 detainees held at the US naval base are on hunger strike. The detainees began their protest in early February to protest against what they said were abusive cell searches and deteriorating conditions.
United Kingdom
LONDON — A horse-drawn gun carriage bore the coffin of Margaret Thatcher to St. Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday for a ceremonial funeral that divided British opinion, much as the former prime minister known as the Iron Lady stirred deep and conflicting emotions during her lifetime and, in death, triggered an equally passionate debate over her legacy.
BRUSSELS, Belgium, CMC – The United Nations-backed Global Fund says it needs an estimated US$87 billion to bring under control the threat posed by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, during the 2014-2016 period, in the Caribbean and globally.
LONDON -- Love her or loathe her, one thing's beyond dispute_ Margaret Thatcher transformed Britain.
The Iron Lady who ruled for 11 remarkable years imposed her will on a fractious, rundown nation - breaking the unions, triumphing in a far-off war, and selling off state industries at a record pace. She left behind a leaner government and more prosperous nation by the time a mutiny ousted her from No. 10 Downing Street.
Thatcher's former spokesman, Tim Bell, said that the former prime minister had died Monday morning of a stroke. She was 87.
UNITED NATIONS, CMC – Caribbean nations are participating in a full-scale tsunami alert exercise organized by the United Nations to test their reaction to a possible disaster.
The exercise organized under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) a ficticious earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale will strike 90 kilometres off the coast of Oranjestad, Aruba, in the Caribbean Sea, generating a tsunami.
UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The United Nations on Wednesday, lauded the commitment Hugo Chávez to the cause of social justice in the Caribbean, as the General Assembly paid tribute to the memory of the late President of Venezuela. Chávez, a socialist firebrand, died on March 5 after struggling with cancer for almost two years. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Chávez ensured that Venezuela provided crucial assistance to Haiti following the devastating earthquake of 2010.
ON, England (AFP) — EU president Herman van Rompuy warned yesterday that Britain will struggle to win support for its plans to renegotiate its membership of the European Union, and said that trying to exit the bloc could prove costly.
In a speech in London, Van Rompuy urged Britain to stay inside the 27-member group, saying it had a role to play in reforming the union and would have a stronger voice in world affairs than if it went it alone.
UNITED NATIONS, CMC – Three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are in arrears with payments to the United Nations and have “lost” their vote in the world body. According to a January 15th letter sent by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the President of the General Assembly, Dominica along with Grenada and St Lucia are among 18 countries in arrears. Dominica owes US$7,231, while St. Lucia is in arrears to the tune of US$35,727 and Grenada US$40,100.
LONDON—A pledge by the Group of Seven most powerful economies to not intentionally weaken their currencies pushed stocks higher on yesterday while dragging the dollar lower against the Japanese yen and the euro. The G-7 nations, which include the US, Japan and Germany, said their economic policies should be "oriented towards meeting domestic objectives and not towards setting specific exchange rates." That was meant to ease concerns that major economies were retooling their monetary policies to specifically weaken their national currencies to help domestic exporters.
Switzerland—British Prime Minister David Cameron wants nothing to do with a United States of Europe, an idea that’s gaining currency as the countries that use the euro struggle to fix their debt crisis. A day after he shook up Europe’s political landscape by offering citizens the prospect of a vote on whether to stay in the 27-country European Union, Cameron insisted yesterday he wants Britain to remain an integral part of the bloc but that more unification would not be the answer.